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Title: The tribes and castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, Vvolume 2 (of 4)

Author: William Crooke


        
Release date: April 24, 2026 [eBook #78543]

Language: English

Original publication: Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1896

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRIBES AND CASTES OF THE NORTH-WESTERN PROVINCES AND OUDH, VVOLUME 2 (OF 4) ***




                                  THE
                           TRIBES AND CASTES
                                 OF THE
                   NORTH-WESTERN PROVINCES AND OUDH.

                                   BY
                            W. CROOKE, B.A.,
                         BENGAL CIVIL SERVICE.


                            IN FOUR VOLUMES.

                                VOL. II.


                               CALCUTTA:
      OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING, INDIA.
                                 1896.









THE TRIBES AND CASTES OF THE NORTH-WESTERN PROVINCES AND OUDH.

VOLUME II.


Bhar. [1]—A caste of apparently Dravidian origin found in the eastern
parts of the United Provinces.

They are also known as Râjbhar, Bharat, and Bharpatwa. The word Bhar is
derived by the Pandits from the Sanskrit root bhri, to nourish, but
this is improbable, and it is more likely to be of non-Aryan origin.
Dr. Oppert [2] indulges in some curious speculations on the subject. He
suggests their connection with the Barrhai of Ptolemy (VII–2–20), and
with the Bharatas, a mountain tribe mentioned in connection with the
Sabaras and with the Barbara, Varvara, or Barbarian. The derivation of
large numbers of local names in Upper India from the same source, such
as Bihâr, Bahrâich, Bârabanki, Bareilly, Barhaj, Barhar, and even
Varanasi or Benares, etc., must be accepted with the greatest caution.

[Traditions.] 2. This tribe has given rise to much wild speculation. In
Gorakhpur they claim to be the descendants of, and named from, an early
Kshatriya Râja named Bhâradwâja, whose sons strayed from the ancient
way of life and took to the use of meat and wine. Their descendant
Surha settled in the village of Surauli, and wishing to marry a high
caste Râjput girl, was murdered by her relations, and became an evil
spirit, who does much damage still if he is not duly propitiated. That
they claim to have been once a dominant race in the eastern part of
Oudh and the North-Western Provinces is certain. Thus Sir C. Elliott
writes:—“The scene before us in Oudh at the fall of the historic
curtain is an uninhabited forest country and a large colony of
Sûrajbansis occupying Ajudhya as their capital. When the curtain rises
again we find Ajudhya destroyed, the Sûrajbansis utterly banished, and
a large extent of country ruled over by aborigines, called Cheros in
the Far East, Bhars in the Centre, and Râjpâsis in the West. The great
revolution seems to be satisfactorily explained by the conjecture that
the Bhars, Cheros, etc., were the aborigines whom the Aryans had driven
to the hills, and who, swarming down from thence not long after the
beginning of our era, overwhelmed the Aryan civilisation even in
Ajudhya itself, drove the Sûrajbansis under Kanaksen to emigrate into
distant Gujarât, and spread over all the plain between the Himalayas
and that spur of the Vindhya range which passes through the south of
Mirzapur.” [3] Again we read that the primitive inhabitants of
Sultânpur are said to have been Bhars. “Their character is painted in
the most sombre colours. They are represented to have been
dark-complexioned, ill-favoured, and of mean stature, intemperate in
their habits, and not only devoid of any religious belief themselves,
but addicted to the persecution of those who ventured to profess any.
They are said to have possessed a few scattered and detached fortresses
to serve as rallying points; but to have been otherwise of nomadic and
predatory habits, while their numbers are said to have barely sufficed
to furnish a scanty population to the tract they occupied.” [4] In
support of these pretensions to have been a ruling race in the eastern
part of the Province, numerous old stone forts, embankments, wells, and
subterraneous caverns are attributed to them. Thus the Chiraiyakot
fort, in Ghâzipur, is said to have been their work. [5] The same is the
case with numerous ruins in the Basti and Ghâzipur Districts. [6] The
present town of Bahrâich is said to take its name from them and to have
been their oldest abode, from which they spread southward into Faizâbâd
and Sultânpur. Similarly they are said to have left their name in the
Bhadohi and Barhar parganas of Mirzapur. [7] Two other fortresses of
the Bhars are said to have been Zahurâbâd and Lakhnesar, in Ghâzipur.
[8] In Gorakhpur they are said to have been ousted by the Kausik
Râjputs. Mr. Sherring considers their capital in Mirzapur to have been
Pampapura near Bindhâchal, where extensive ruins and a curious series
of bearded stone figures are attributed to them. [9] In fact,
throughout Oudh and the eastern part of the North-West Provinces every
town the name of which does not end in pur, âbâd, or mau is assigned to
them. [10]

[Historical evidence.] 3. An attempt has been made to support these
traditions by historical evidence. On the evidence of two inscriptions
from Ajaygarh and Kalinjar, in Bundelkhand, and a passage from
Farishta, Mr. W. C. Benett [11] argues “that a man whose name is not
given, but who is described as the founder of his family, possessed
himself of the fort of Ajaygarh. One of his descendants was Malika,
whose brother, Dalki, on the overthrow of the last Kanauj King,
conquered the whole of the Duâb; and Farishta records the utter defeat
and destruction of Dalki and Malki, who had royal forts at Kalinjar and
Karra and held the whole country as far as Mâlwa in their possession,
by Nasir-ud-din Muhammad, the King of Delhi, in 1246 A.D. The universal
tradition of Southern Oudh proves that these princes were really Bhars,
and that the whole of the south of the province as far as the Ghâgra
was included in their dominions.” This theory, however, has failed to
stand further investigation, and the Princes Dalki and Malki are
identified by General Cunningham with the Baghel Râjas Dalakeswar and
Malakeswar. [12] It is probable that out of the same legend has arisen
the worship of Râja Bal, who is specially venerated by Bhars and Ahîrs.
His worship is connected with protection from snake-bite. He is said to
have been one of two Bhar brothers who ruled at Dalmau and Râê Bareli,
and were slain by the Muhammadans in the time of Ibrahim Sharqi of
Jaunpur. In their memory, it is said that the Bharautiya section of
Ahîrs in time of mourning abstain from wearing anklets. Bal Râja is
chiefly worshipped in Râê Bareli, Basti, and Eastern Oudh. He has
76,395 followers. The evidence, then, for an extensive Bhar kingdom in
the eastern part of the Province rests almost entirely on the so-called
Bhar dihs or ancient mounds and forts which abound all over the
country, and on the so-called Bhar tanks, which are distinguished from
those of a later date by being Surajbedi or longer from east to west,
while modern tanks are Chandrabedi or lie north and south. Who may have
been the builders of these monuments, our existing knowledge hardly
entitles us to say with certainty. But that the identification of these
monuments with the Bhars is not in every case to be trusted is proved
by the fact that two buildings at Bihâr, in Partâbgarh, which are
confidently ascribed to the Bhars by a writer in the Oudh Gazetteer,
[13] are proved by General Cunningham to be genuine Buddhist stupas.
[14] Similarly, the identification of the Bhars with the early rulers
of the country presents many features of difficulty. Their
identification with the Ubaræ of Pliny and the Barrhai of Ptolemy [15]
is little more than conjectural. As Sir H. M. Elliot pointed out
[16]:—“It is strange that no trace of Bhars is to be found in the
Purânas, unless we may consider that there is an obscure indication of
them in the Brahma Purâna, where, it is said, that among the
descendants of Jayadhwaja are the Bhâratas, who, it is added, are not
commonly specified on account of their great number, or they may
perhaps be the Bhargas of the Mahâbhârata subdued by Bhimsen on his
Eastern expedition.” To this it has been replied by Mr. Sherring [17]
that, first, Brâhmanical writers generally speak of the Dasyus and
Asuras with superciliousness and contempt, and, secondly, the
abandonment of a considerable tract of country by the Aryans was
dishonourable and not likely to be mentioned. It is, perhaps, possible
that the Bhars, like the Doms, may have established a fairly advanced
civilisation prior to their downfall. But, as Dr. Tylor
remarks:—“Degeneration probably operates even more actively in the
lower than the higher culture,” [18] and we must be cautious in
identifying the race of fort and tank builders with the existing Bhars
mainly on the uncertain evidence of popular tradition. Whoever these
people were, they probably succumbed before the eastern emigration of
the Râjput tribes contemporaneous with the fall of Kanauj and the
invasion of Shahâb-ud-dîn Ghori. In Azamgarh and Ghâzipur they were
driven out by the Sengar tribe, who reckon fifteen generations since
their immigration; in Mirzapur and the adjoining part of Allahâbâd by
the Gaharwâr; in Bhadohi, north of the Ganges, by the Monas, and
further west, in Allahâbâd, by the Bais, Sonak, Tissyâl, Bisen, and
Nanwak; in Faizâbâd and Eastern Oudh by the Bais; and in Gorakhpur by
the Kausik. “The overthrow of the Bhars was followed by the
establishment, much as we find them now, of the principal elements of
modern Oudh society. The country was divided into a number of small
chieftainships, ruled over by clans who, whatever their real origin may
have been, all professed themselves to be of the ruling caste of
Chhatris. Many of these, such as the Kânhpuriyas of Partâbgarh, the
Gaurs of Hardoi, and their offshoot the Amethiyas of Râê Bareli are
probably descendants of men or tribes who flourished under the low
caste government.” [19] How far this process may have gone on is one of
the problems connected with the Râjput Ethnology of the eastern part of
the Province. Mr. Carnegy was of opinion that the more respectable and
influential Râjput clansmen may have fled before the then dominant
rulers of the serpent race or of the followers of Buddha; but that the
mass of the Chhatris remained and were in fact none other than the
Bhars, Cheros, and the like, and that the final overthrow of these
degraded races after the fall of Delhi was neither more nor less than
the restoration of Râjput influence in those parts where it had been
dormant, and the social reclamation of the Bhars. [20] Mr. V. A.
Smith[20] again believes them to have been Jains, and Mr. Millett
thinks them to be probably of Scythic origin, and that the termination
of their influence was coeval with the first Aryan invasion. [21] The
most probable supposition is that the Bhars were a Dravidian race
closely allied to the Kols, Cheros, and Seoris, who at an early date
succumbed to the invading Aryans. This is borne out by their appearance
and physique, which closely resemble that of the undoubted non-Aryan
aborigines of the Vindhyan Kaimûr plateau.

[Internal structure.] 4. The last Census classes the Bhars under the
main sub-castes of Bhâradwâj, Kanaujiya, and Râjbhar. We find among the
locally more important sub-castes the Hela of Benares, the Goriya of
Jaunpur; in Ghâzipur, the Baltent, Dhelphor, Dhongiya, Kharwâra,
Khutant, Kinwâr, Kuntel, Maunas, Pataun, Sarpos; in Ballia, the
Dhelphor and Kulwant; in Faizâbâd, the Bhagta, Gangoha, and Râêdâs; and
in Bahrâich, the Patolbans. The Bhars of Mirzapur name three endogamous
sub-divisions—Bhar Bhuînhâr, Râjbhar, and Dusâdha. The local Pâsis
represent the Bhars as merely a sub-caste of their tribe; but this is
denied by the Bhars themselves. The Bhar Bhuînhâr assert that they are
the remnant of the ruling race among the Bhars. In support of this they
wear the sacred thread, and have begun generally to call themselves
Sûrajbansi Râjputs. The other Bhars, they say, are the descendants of a
single pregnant woman who escaped the general massacre of the tribe by
the Turks or Muhammadans. The Dusâdha Bhars are not acknowledged by the
Dusâdhs themselves, but the Bhars claim them as a regular sub-caste.

[Exogamy.] 5. Bhars have the usual rule of exogamy, that is they will
not intermarry in their own family or in that of their maternal uncle
and father’s sister until four or five generations have elapsed. They
prefer to marry in those families with whom they have been accustomed
for generations to eat and smoke. In Gorakhpur the usual sevenfold
division is made up of the Bhar, Râjbhar, Musahar, Godiya, Chain,
Patiwân, and Tiyar, in which we have several different, but possibly
originally cognate tribes mixed up. In Azamgarh [22] they name several
sub-castes—Bhar, Râjbhar, Biyâr, Patiwân, Bind, and Jonkaha or
“leech-finders.” Of these the Bind and Biyâr are practically
independent castes, and have here been accordingly treated separately.
In Azamgarh the Bhars are reckoned outcasts, but the Râjbhar are
counted among Hindus. There the special title of the Râjbhars is
Patait, and of the common Bhars Khuntait. The latter rear pigs, which
the former do not. These divisions intermarry, but the families who do
not keep pigs will not marry with those who do. Intercourse between the
sexes is regulated by no strict rule. If an unmarried girl intrigue
with a clansman they are married after a fine is exacted from the
girl’s father by the tribal council. A man may take a second wife in
the lifetime of the first, with her consent, which is generally given,
as it relieves her of household work. [23] In Azamgarh the tendency
seems to be towards monogamy, and a second marriage is allowed only
when the first wife is barren, insane, or hopelessly diseased. When a
second wife is taken she is usually a younger sister or close relation
of the first. Concubinage is not permitted. They have a strong
representative council (panchâyat), which is presided over by a
chairman (chaudhari), whose office is hereditary. The council deals
with offences in connection with marriage and caste usages.
Illegitimate children by women of other castes follow the caste of the
father, but are not allowed to eat, smoke, or intermarry with
legitimate Bhars. Widow marriage is permitted. Widows generally marry
widowers. The levirate is permitted but not enforced.

[Rules of marriage.] 6. In the marriage of a widow by sagâi the
bridegroom, accompanied by his friends, goes to the house of the widow,
where he pays a nominal sum as the bride-price. They are all
entertained on pork, boiled rice, and pulse. The bride is dressed in
ornaments and clothes provided by her suitor. Next morning he brings
her home and announces the union by feeding his clansmen. If he be not
a widower he has to perform a special ceremony. The bride and
bridegroom sit opposite each other, and a silver ring is placed between
them. The Pandit repeats some verses, during the recital of which the
bridegroom marks the ring five times with red lead. He then puts on the
ring, and never takes it off during his life. Girls are usually married
at the age of five or seven. In Azamgarh marriages are reported to take
place usually when the girl is nine years of age. A girl above ten is
known as rajaswâli, and it is a disgrace not to have her married. The
bride-price payable by the friends of the bridegroom is two-and-a-half
rupees and a sheet for the bride. In Azamgarh no bride-price is paid,
and if the bridegroom’s family is poor his friends contribute something
to the marriage expenses, which is known as tilak. Any serious physical
defect appearing in either party after marriage is recognised as a
valid ground for divorce. A wife cannot be divorced except for adultery
with a stranger to the caste. The divorce must be with the leave of the
tribal council, who will accept no evidence short of that of actual
eye-witnesses. Marriage negotiations are carried on by the maternal
uncle of the boy. When the match is settled the bride’s father goes to
the boy’s house and gives him a rupee. Then on a fixed day he returns
with some of his clansmen “to drink water” (pâni pîni kâ din). A square
(chauk) is formed in the court-yard, in which the boy and his future
father-in-law sit opposite each other. The bride’s father marks the
boy’s forehead with rice and curds, and he and his party are
entertained on rice, pork, goat’s flesh, and wine. On this day, with
the approval of the Pandit, the wedding day is fixed. The ritual is of
the usual type. It begins with the matmangar, or collection of earth,
as practised by allied castes. Then the pavilion (mânro) is set up at
both houses, in which a plough-share and plantain stems are fixed, near
which the family rice-pounder and corn-mill are placed. That day the
Pandit makes the boy wear an amulet to keep off evil spirits. This
contains some mango leaves, an iron ring, and some mustard seed. Next
follows the anointing (ubtauni), and the sacrifice of a young pig to
Agwân Deva, the Pânchonpîr, and Phûlmati Devi. At the last Census
25,069 people recorded themselves as worshippers of Agwân Deva.
According to Mr. Baillie the word means “a leader and may be the priest
(pujâri) in any temple. One District note states that Agwân is a
disease godling, the son of Râja Ben, and, therefore, brother to the
seven small-pox sisters.” With many of the lower castes to the east of
the province he seems to be connected with the worship of fire (agni)
in the form of the homa. The higher class Bhars sacrifice a goat
instead of a pig to the Pânchonpîr. As the procession starts the usual
incantation ceremony (parachhan) is done by the boy’s mother. The rest
of the ritual is of the usual type. At the bride’s door the Pandit
worships Gauri and Ganesa, and the pair, with their clothes knotted
together, move five times round the centre pole of the shed. Next
follows the ceremony in the retiring room (kohabar), where jokes are
played on the boy by the bride’s father’s sister, who will not desist
until she gets a present. The rest of the ceremonial is of the
customary type.

[Birth ceremony.] 7. During pregnancy the oldest woman in the family
waves a pice or a handful of grain over the woman’s head, and vows to
offer a pig to Birtiha (who is regarded as a village deity, dih), and
to Phûlmati Devi, if the confinement is easy. The Chamâin midwife cuts
the cord with a sickle and buries it in the delivery room: a fire is
lighted over it, and kept burning during the period of pollution. After
the sixth day ceremony (chhathi) the barber’s wife takes the place of
the midwife. The birth pollution ceases on the twelfth day (barahi)
when the father offers a pig and some wine to Birtiha Deva. On her
first visit to the well the mother worships it and lays a little washed
rice (achhat) on the platform. The husband does not cohabit with his
wife for six months after her confinement. [24] The only initiation
ceremony is the usual ear-boring (kanchhedan, kanbedha), which is done
at the age of five or six. After this the child must observe the caste
rules of food.

[Death ceremonies.] 8. The dead, except those who are unmarried or
those dying of cholera or small-pox, are cremated. The others are
buried or their corpses thrown into running water. Within six months
they are cremated in effigy with the usual ritual. The death pollution
lasts ten days, during which, daily, the chief mourner pours water on a
bunch of kusa grass fixed in the ground on the edge of a tank as a
dwelling place for the disembodied spirit. He also daily lays out a
little food for the ghost. They shave on the tenth day and offer sacred
balls (pinda) in the usual way. On that day uncooked grain (sîdha) is
given to Brâhmans, and the clansmen are fed on pork, boiled rice, and
wine.

[Religion.] 9. Bhars are hardly ever initiated into any one of the
regular Hindu sects. Their tribal deities are Agwân Deva, Phûlmati
Bhawâni, the Pânchonpîr, generally represented by Parihâr, and a
deified ghost known as Bânru Bîr. The Pânchonpîr are worshipped in the
months of Jeth or Kuâr with fowls and cakes (malîda). The other deities
require the sacrifice of a pig or goat and an oblation of wine. In
Gorakhpur the tribal godlings are Kâlika and Kâshi Dâs Bâba, a deified
Bhût. His platform is in a jungle in the Deoriya Tahsîl. There they go
once a year to worship him with an offering of cakes, rice, milk, and
curds. Kâlika is worshipped in the house or in the field when it is
ready for the sowing of the spring crop. Her favourite offering is a
young, fat pig. According to Mr. Baillie, Kâshi Dâs is particularly
worshipped by Ahîrs in the Eastern Districts. It is uncertain whether
in life he was a Brâhman or an Ahîr. His votaries number, according to
the last Census returns, 172,599. [25] They have the usual feast to the
dead in Kuâr. Their religious duties are done by Brâhmans of the low
village class. They observe the festivals of the Phagua, Dasami,
Diwâli, Kajari, Khichari, and Tîj. A special sacrifice of a pig is made
to the evil spirits who reside in the old fig trees of the village.
This is done in Aghan. Some go to Gaya to perform the srâddha ceremony.
The pîpal tree is regarded as the abode of Vasudeva, and women bow and
cover their faces as they pass it.

[Social customs.] 10. Women are tattooed on the arms. A pig or an ass
is regarded as a lucky meeting omen. Women wear glass bangles (chûri)
on the wrist, bead necklaces, nose rings (nathiya), ear ornaments
(karanphûl), and anklets (pairi). Men wear a gold coin (mohar) round
the neck. Children have two names, one given by the Pandit, which is
kept secret, and the other, for ordinary use, selected by the parents.
They swear on Ganges water, on the head of a son, and standing in
water, and in the phrases Râma kriya, Râma duhâi, Ganga mâi kriya,
Bhawâni kriya. They believe in magic and witchcraft, but do not
practice these arts themselves. They believe in demoniacal possession
and the Evil-eye, and in such cases call in an Ojha to treat the
patient. They will not kill the cow. They will not touch a Dhobi, Hela,
Dom, or Dharkâr, nor the younger brother’s wife, nor the wife of the
senior brother-in-law. They will not call their wives by their name.
They drink liquor freely and eat the flesh of goats, sheep, deer, etc.,
but they will not eat the meat of the cow, crocodile, monkey, horse,
jackal, or fowls. During the fortnight in Kuâr sacred to the worship of
the sainted dead (pitra paksha), they abstain from meat. Among
themselves they use the salutation salâm, and address other low castes
in the form Râm! Râm! which is also used to the father-in-law of their
daughters. Women who assist the men in work are treated fairly well.
They eat kachchi and pakki cooked by Brâhmans. Like all Hindus they eat
pakki cooked by Halwâis or Chhatris, and, in fact, all Vaisyas, except
Kalwârs, Doms, Dharkârs, and similar menials, eat kachchi cooked by
them.

[Occupation.] 11. They are usually employed as day-labourers and
ploughmen. A few are tenants without occupancy rights. Some of them
have rather an equivocal reputation. They are occasionally burglars and
field thieves, and they have been known to combine for road robbery and
dacoity. The Bhars of Bhadohi, in the Mirzapur District, are nothing
short of a pest to their respectable neighbours at harvest time, and
much of the labour spent on field watching is due to their
depredations. Of the Oudh Bhars [26] it is said—“In appearance they
resemble low caste Hindus, Koris, and Chamârs; and I have not noticed
any Mongolian traits in their physiognomy. They have, however, one
striking peculiarity in common with the Thârus—their hatred of the
cultivated plain. When land has attained a certain pitch of cultivation
they always leave it for some less hospitable spot, and their lives are
spent in wandering from jungle to jungle. They commence the struggle
with nature, and after the first and most difficult victory over
disease and wild beasts, leave it to the Kurmis and Ahîrs to gather the
fruits of their desultory energy. They are very timid, very honest and
keen sportsmen, untiring in pursuit, and excellent shots with their
long guns. They show the influence of orthodox Hinduism in sparing the
nîlgâi, but are fond of the flesh of pigs, washing down their feasts
with copious draughts of spirits of rice or mahua.” They offer goats to
Samai, and decapitate chickens before the snake god Kârê Deo. Their
worship of Banspati Mâi is more Hindu in its character, and their pure
offering of grain and clarified butter are handed over to be eaten by a
Brâhman. The worshippers of Banspati Mâi according to the last Census
returns amounted to 16,489 persons. Marriages are contracted without
the intervention of a Pandit, and with the rites in use among other low
castes, such as Koris and Chamârs. With a magnificent assumption of
rights not recognised by our law, a bride’s father makes over in gift
(sankalpa) to the bridegroom a small patch of forest to clear and
cultivate. [27]


         DISTRIBUTION OF THE BHARS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

===============+==============+=============+===========+==========+=========
     District. |  Bhâradwâj.  |  Kanaujiya. |  Râjbhar. |  Others. |  Total.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~
Sahâranpur     |    ...       |     ...     |         7 |       68 |       75
Muzaffarnagar  |    ...       |     ...     |         8 |      118 |      126
Morâdâbâd      |    ...       |     ...     |    ...    |       15 |       15
Pilibhît       |    ...       |     ...     |    ...    |        4 |        4
Allahâbâd      |    ...       |     ...     |         5 |       11 |       16
Benares        |    ...       |     ...     |    28,141 |   14,490 |   42,631
Mirzapur       |    ...       |     ...     |     2,284 |      858 |    3,142
Jaunpur        |    ...       |        38   |    16,048 |    7,732 |   23,818
Ghâzipur       |    ...       |     ...     |     1,965 |   58,021 |   59,986
Ballia         |      86      |     1,258   |    47,608 |    9,908 |   58,860
Gorakhpur      |   1,498      |        14   |    19,094 |   53,338 |   73,944
Basti          |    ...       |     ...     |    15,820 |    6,789 |   22,609
Azamgarh       |   2,562      |       990   |    25,094 |   62,711 |   91,357
Lucknow        |    ...       |     ...     |    ...    |        8 |        8
Unâo           |    ...       |     ...     |           |        7 |        7
Râê Bareli     |    ...       |     ...     |           |       11 |       11
Hardoi         |    ...       |     ...     |         4 |          |        4
Kheri          |    ...       |     ...     |         4 |        5 |        9
Faizâbâd       |              |     ...     |    20,014 |    6,855 |   26,869
Gonda          |              |     ...     |       714 |    9,820 |   10,538
Bahrâich       |    ...       |     ...     |         2 |      608 |      610
Sultânpur      |    ...       |     ...     |     1,041 |    2,063 |    3,104
Partâbgarh     |    ...       |     ...     |         1 |        1 |        2
               +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~
     Total     |   4,146      |     2,300   |  1,77,858 | 2,33,441 | 4,17,745
===============+==============+=============+===========+==========+=========


Bhâradwâj.—(Sanskrit, Bhâradwâja, Bharadwâja, bringing or bearing food;
a skylark.)—A small sept of Râjputs. It is a common appellation for
Brâhmanical and other gotras.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE BHÂRADWÂJ RÂJPUTS
ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    =====================
      District. | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Sahâranpur  |    12
    Meerut      |     5
    Bulandshahr |    10
    Agra        |    35
    Etah        |     7
    Morâdâbâd   |     5
    Cawnpur     |     2
    Bânda       |    27
    Jâlaun      |    11
    Lalitpur    |     6
    Benares     |    14
    Ghâzipur    |     9
    Gorakhpur   |     1
    Basti       |    97
    Azamgarh    |    22
    Lucknow     |    35
    Râê Bareli  |     1
                +~~~~~~~~
          Total |   299
    ============+========


Bharbhûnja. [28]—(Sanskrit bhrashtra, a frying pan; bhrij, to fry.)—The
caste of grain parchers. They are also known as Bhûj, Bhujua, and
Bhurji. As a purely occupational tribe their sub-divisions are somewhat
confused. At the last Census they were recorded under no less than
three hundred and sixty-four sub-castes for the Hindu and forty for the
Muhammadan branch. These are of the familiar type. Some illustrate some
real or supposed connection with other castes and tribes, such as the
Bhadauriya, Chaubê, Chauhân, Kanjar, Kâyasth, Khatri, Lodhi, Râthaur,
Baddhik, Teliyabans, and the like. Others are local sub-divisions like
Audhbâsi, Bâtham (of Srâvasti), Bhatnâgar, Desi, Gangapâri,
Hamîrpuriya, Kanaujiya, Jaunpuriya, Mathuriya, and so on. The last
Census classifies them under the main heads of Bhatnâgar, Jagjâdon,
Kaithiya, Kându, Râthaur, Saksena, and Sribâstab. Of these, by far the
most numerous are the Kanaujiyas and Saksenas. The Bhatnâgar are said
to derive their name from the old town of Bhatner in the Bikâner State;
the Jagjâdons assert a connection with the Jâdon Râjputs; the Kaithiya
with Kâyasths, as the Bhujâris of the Dakkhin say they are Kâyasths
from Upper India; [29] the Kându is usually treated as a separate
caste; the Râthaur claim descent from the Râjput tribe of that name;
the Saksena and the Sribâstab are said to be derived from the two
ancient cites of Sankisa in the Farrukhâbâd District, and Srâvasti or
Sahet-Mahet in the Gonda District. But this does not exhaust the list
of the sub-divisions. Thus in Agra, they divide themselves into
Saksena, Srivâstâvya or Sribâstab, Kându, Lakhautiya, Dhankûta or paddy
pounders, and Sanksa, who are probably identical with the Saksena. In
Mirzapur they are sometimes called Kându; but the two tribes are said
not to be identical, as the real Kândus do not parch grain at all, and
distinguish themselves from the Bharbhûnjas by calling themselves
Madhesiya Kându, or those of “the middle land.” Here, however,
Bharbhûnjas regard Kândus as a sub-division of their caste, and say
that they have really three main sub-divisions—Kanaujiya, Kându, and
Dhîmar. Kanaujiyas have again two sections, Purbiya or Eastern, and
Pachhiwâha or Western, and to these the true Bharbhûnjas say they
belong. These two sections admittedly intermarry; and it is alleged
that quite recently, or even occasionally, at present, Dhîmars and
Kândus intermarry. But this is more than doubtful. In Bareilly, again,
there are said to be three endogamous sections, Saksena, Kabâriya, and
Kandiya, while in Bânda the caste is known as Kândua, Renrkûta, or
“pounders of the castor-oil seed,” and Tilbhûnja, or “parchers of
sesamum,” and has three endogamous sections—Teliya, Bhunjua, and
Dophansiya, or “two-noose men.” It thus appears that the internal
organisation of the caste is at present in a state of transition, and
that the tendency is to break up into an increasing number of
endogamous sections which will probably in time form a number of
so-called separate castes.

[Marriage customs.] 2. The sections are, as has been said, almost
certainly all endogamous, and they seem generally to practise the
ordinary rule of exogamy which bars the line of the paternal and
maternal uncle and aunt. Widow marriage by the forms known as sagâi,
kâj, or karâo, and the levirate prevail.

[Religion.] 3. To the east of the Province they are usually of the
Vaishnava sect and worship the Pânchon Pîr and Hardiya Deva or Hardaur
Lâla, the cholera godling, whose worshippers at the last Census
amounted to 5,034 persons; and worshippers of these two different
deities are said usually not to intermarry. In Bareilly their tribal
godling is Chanda Kartâl, of whom nothing appears to be known. In Bânda
and Fatehpur they are said to be generally Sâktas and worshippers of
Devi, Mahâdeva, and Mahâbîr. The offerings consist of rice, goats,
spirits, flowers, and money. Devi and Mahâdeva are worshipped on
Mondays, and Mahâbîr on Tuesdays.

[Social customs.] 4. They eat goat’s meat and the flesh of deer and
similar animals, except when they have been regularly initiated or have
taken the vow of a Bhagat. All high castes can eat pakki from their
hands, and Kahârs and Nâis will eat kachchi. They will not eat kachchi
cooked by any caste but their own, and will take pakki cooked by any
Brâhman, Kshatriya, or Vaisya. According to Mr. Hoey [30] there are in
Lucknow “three classes of grain parchers. The poorest are those who
merely parch grain for those who bring it. They receive one paisa per
ser on expensive grain and a quarter paisa per ser on cheap grain. A
stage above these are grain-parchers, who buy grain and store it and
sell parched grain. These are termed Charbanfarosh. Above both of these
is a much more comfortable class who buy rice in the autumn and store
it. They make lâi, chiura, and khîl, which are in daily demand, and
also in special demand at the Diwâli and on occasion of fairs, etc.
There are some Bhurjis especially well-off who have their oven in the
immediate neighbourhood of large grain markets. Merchants who import
grain treat these very liberally, and think nothing of flinging down a
couple of sers of grain and taking in exchange half a ser of parched
grain (chabena).” The work they do, and particularly the heavy part of
it, which consists in sweeping up dry leaves for fuel, tends to lower
them in popular estimation. It is a favourite curse to wish an enemy
that he may some day come to stoke the kiln of a grain-parcher, and a
common proverb is Bharbhûnjâ kî larkî kesar kâ tîkâ—the grain-parcher’s
slut with saffron on her forehead.”


                      DISTRIBUTION OF BHARBHÛNJAS AND THEIR SECTIONS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

===============+===========+==========+==========+===========+=======+=========+=========+===========+========+===========+========
   District.   |Bhatnâgar. |Jagjâdon. |Kaithiya. |Kanaujiya. |Kându. |Râthaur. |Saksena. |Sribâstab. |Others. |Musalmâns. | Total.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~
Dehra Dûn      |    ...    |   ...    |   ...    |       281 |  ...  |   ...   |   ...   |    ...    |     72 |     ...   |    353
Sahâranpur     |        58 |   ...    |      30  |        48 |  ...  |   ...   |   ...   |    ...    |  1,211 |  1,103    |  2,450
Muzaffarnagar  |       451 |     690  |     632  |        18 |  ...  |   ...   |   ...   |    ...    |     71 |    188    |  2,050
Meerut         |    ...    |      85  |   2,040  |    ...    |  ...  |   ...   |   ...   |    ...    |  1,123 |    126    |  3,374
Bulandshahr    |    ...    |     144  |   ...    |    ...    |  ...  |   ...   |   ...   |     54    |    520 |  1,881    |  2,599
Aligarh        |    ...    |   ...    |     104  |    ...    |  ...  |      24 |   ...   |    ...    |  1,407 |    670    |  2,205
Mathura        |         1 |      38  |   ...    |    ...    |  ...  |       6 |      10 |    ...    |    510 |     10    |    575
Agra           |    ...    |      41  |     503  |    ...    |  ...  |       2 |     321 |    102    |  1,163 |    328    |  2,460
Farrukhâbâd    |    ...    |   ...    |   4,228  |       195 |  ...  |   ...   |   5,169 |    252    |    220 |    113    | 10,177
Mainpuri       |    ...    |   ...    |   2,269  |       365 |  ...  |   ...   |   2,210 |    252    |     76 |     67    |  5,239
Etâwah         |    ...    |   ...    |   2,859  |       128 |  ...  |   ...   |   1,348 |    427    |    181 |      7    |  4,950
Etah           |    ...    |   ...    |     874  |    ...    |  ...  |   ...   |   1,055 |      7    |    273 |    227    |  2,436
Bareilly       |    ...    |     320  |     288  |       362 |  ...  |   ...   |   7,591 |    ...    |  1,127 |  ...      |  9,688
Bijnor         |    ...    |     602  |    ...   |    ...    |  ...  |   ...   |   ...   |    ...    |    440 |    901    |  1,943
Budâun         |    ...    |      18  |     528  |    ...    |  ...  |   ...   |   4,481 |     47    |    210 |    746    |  6,030
Morâdâbâd      |      179  |   1,329  |     448  |    ...    |  ...  |   ...   |   1,461 |      5    |  1,143 |    499    |  5,064
Shâhjahânpur   |    ...    |   ...    |   2,152  |      240  |  ...  |       3 |  12,517 |    357    |    453 |    ...    | 15,722
Pilibhît       |    ...    |      11  |     442  |       70  |    30 |       2 |   4,198 |     33    |    380 |     83    |  5,249
Cawnpur        |    ...    |   ...    |     338  |    8,362  |   142 |     166 |     435 |     55    |    645 |      1    | 10,144
Fatehpur       |    ...    |   ...    |    ...   |    6,934  |  ...  |      32 |   ...   |    ...    |    705 |    ...    |  7,671
Bânda          |    ...    |   ...    |    ...   |    5,683  |  ...  |   ...   |   ...   |     71    |  1,609 |    ...    |  7,363
Hamîrpur       |    ...    |   ...    |      90  |    2,526  |  ...  |   ...   |      14 |    293    |     96 |    ...    |  3,019
Allahâbâd      |    ...    |   ...    |    ...   |   13,631  |  ...  |   ...   |      16 |     21    |    613 |    ...    | 14,281
Jhânsi         |    ...    |   ...    |      39  |       14  |     8 |   ...   |      32 |    168    |    139 |     23    |    423
Jâlaun         |    ...    |   ...    |     597  |      187  |  ...  |       2 |     129 |    169    |     91 |    300    |  1,475
Lalitpur       |    ...    |   ...    |    ...   |        8  |  ...  |   ...   |   ...   |     26    |     18 |    ...    |     52
Benares        |    ...    |   ...    |    ...   |    1,509  |    50 |   ...   |   ...   |    ...    |    703 |    ...    |  2,262
Mirzapur       |    ...    |   ...    |    ...   |    4,901  |    53 |   ...   |   ...   |    ...    |    309 |    ...    |  5,263
Jaunpur        |    ...    |   ...    |    ...   |   11,324  |  ...  |   ...   |   ...   |    ...    |    383 |    ...    | 11,707
Ghâzipur       |    ...    |   ...    |    ...   |       80  |  ...  |   ...   |   ...   |    ...    |     70 |    ...    |    150
Gorakhpur      |    ...    |   ...    |     ...  |    5,816  |  204  |   ...   |   ...   |    ...    |    792 |    ...    |  6,812
Basti          |    ...    |   ...    |     ...  |    9,845  |  ...  |   ...   |   ...   |    ...    |     96 |    ...    |  9,941
Azamgarh       |    ...    |   ...    |     ...  |      142  |  ...  |   ...   |   ...   |    ...    |    ... |    ...    |    142
Tarâi          |    ...    |   261    |     ...  |      ...  |  ...  |   ...   |   755   |    ...    |     43 |     22    |  1,081
Lucknow        |    ...    |   ...    |     ...  |    5,013  |  159  | 1,745   |     3   |    ...    |  1,266 |      4    |  8,190
Unâo           |    ...    |   ...    |     251  |    3,209  |  ...  |   400   |    48   |     11    |  3,204 |    ...    |  7,123
Râê Bareli     |    ...    |   ...    |      73  |   10,018  |  103  |   584   |   ...   |    ...    |  1,099 |    ...    | 11,877
Sîtapur        |    ...    |   ...    |       3  |    8,159  |  147  |   ...   |   884   |  2,365    |  1,801 |    193    | 13,552
Hardoi         |    ...    |   ...    |   1,080  |       30  |   25  |   ...   |13,855   |    ...    |    426 |    ...    | 15,416
Kheri          |    ...    |   ...    |     186  |    4,476  |  ...  |   ...   | 3,300   |  1,805    |    948 |     87    | 10,802
Faizâbâd       |    ...    |   ...    |     ...  |    8,040  |  ...  |   ...   |   ...   |    ...    |    222 |    ...    |  8,262
Gonda          |    ...    |   ...    |     ...  |   16,539  |  ...  |   168   |   ...   |    ...    |     18 |     41    | 16,766
Bahrâich       |    ...    |   ...    |     ...  |   10,317  |  235  | 1,227   |   ...   |      2    |     50 |    327    | 12,158
Sultânpur      |    ...    |   ...    |     ...  |   14,082  |   460 |   ...   |   ...   |    ...    |    576 |      15   | 15,133
Partâbgarh     |    ...    |   ...    |     ...  |    8,240  |  ...  |   ...   |   ...   |    ...    |    312 |    ...    |  8,552
Bârabanki      |    ...    |   ...    |     ...  |   10,894  | 1,413 |   ...   |   ...   |    ...    |  4,670 |   1,047   | 18,024
               +~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
         Total |    689    |  3,539   |   20,054 |  171,686  | 3,029 |  4,361  |  59,832 |    6,522  | 31,484 |   9,009   |310,205
===============+===========+==========+==========+===========+=======+=========+=========+===========+========+===========+========


Bharsaiyân, Bharsiyân.—A sept of Râjputs found in Sultânpur. The word
is a corruption of Bhainsauliyân, or natives of Bhainsaul, whence the
sept derives its origin. They are not shown separately in the returns
of the last Census. They are said to be originally Chauhâns of
Mainpuri. Their leader into Oudh was Karan Sinh, who married into a
Bais family. One of his successors, Bâz Sinh, was converted to Islâm in
the reign of Shîr Shâh, and received the title of Khân-i-Âzam
Bhainsauliyân. His descendants are manifestly the Chauhân-i-nau-Muslim,
alluded to in the Aîn-i-Akbari as occupying the Inhauna Pargana. [31]

Bhât. [32]—(Sanskrit, bhatta, “lord,” probably connected with bhartri,
“a cherisher,” “nourisher”).—A caste of family bards and genealogists.
Traditionally they are generally supposed to be descended from the
intercourse of a Chhatri and a Brâhman widow. Many legends are told of
their origin. Some believe them to be “the modern representatives of
the Magadha spoken of in Manu as the offspring of a Vaisya father and a
Kshatriya mother. Lassen regards this mythical pedigree as a
theoretical explanation of the fact that the professional singers of
the praises of great men had come by Manu’s time to be regarded a
distinct class. Zimmer, on the other hand, seems to take the tradition
more seriously and speaks of the Magadha as a “mixed class,” out of
which, as we learn by numerous passages in later writings, a guild of
singers arose, who devoting themselves to the deeds of the
Kosala-Videha and Kuru Panchâla may have laid the foundation of the
epic poems.” [33] Sir John Malcolm says [34]:—“According to the fable
of their origin, Mahâdeva first created Bhâts to attend to his lion and
bull; but the former killing the latter every day gave him infinite
vexation and trouble in creating new ones. He, therefore formed the
Châran, equally devout as the Bhât, but of bolder spirit, and gave him
charge of these favourite animals. From that period no bull was ever
destroyed by the lion.” By another account:—“Once upon a time Brahma
performed a sacrifice when two men appeared and stood before the
sacrificial fire. When Mahâkâli saw that they were dying of thirst she
gave them suck from her breasts, and named them Mâgadha and Sûta. The
Mâgadha Brâhmans settled in the East and the Bhât Brâhmans are their
descendants; the Sûta settled in the West, and from them sprang the
Bhâts.” By another legend, when Kâli destroyed the Râkshasas she formed
a figure out of her sweat and breathed life into it, so that it might
record her victory.

2. Again, according to Mr. Nesfield, the Bhâts are an “offshoot from
those secularised Brâhmans who frequented the courts of princes and the
camps of warriors, recited their praises in public, and kept records of
their genealogies. Such without much variation is the function of the
Bhât at the present day. The ancient epic known as the Mahâbhârata
speaks of a band of bards and eulogists marching in front of
Yudhishthira as he made his progress from the field of Kurukshetra
towards Hastinapur. But these very men are spoken of in the same poem
as Brâhmans. Nothing could be more natural than that, as time went on,
these courtier-priests should have become hereditary bards, who receded
from the parent stem and founded a new caste bound together by mutual
interests and sympathies. There are several facts in support of this
theory, that one of the sub-castes is called Baram or Biram Bhât; that
some Gaur Brâhmans still act as bards and genealogists; that the Bhât
still wears the sacred thread, and is addressed by the lower caste by
the Brâhman title of Mahârâja; and lastly, that by an obvious survival
of Brâhmanical titles, the Bhât’s employer is called jajmân, “he who
gives the sacrifice,” while the Bhât himself is jagwa jâjak or jâchak,
“the priest by whom the sacrifice is performed.” To this Mr. Risley
objects that “if the Bhâts of the present day are descended solely from
a class of degraded Brâhmans, if, in other words, they are a
homogeneous offshoot from the priestly class, how do they come to have
a number of sections which are certainly not Brâhmanical, and which
appear rather to resemble the territorial exogamous groups common among
the Râjputs? Brâhmans, however degraded, hold fast to their
characteristic series of eponymous sections, and I know of no case in
which it can be shown that they have adopted section names of a
different type. On the other hand, there is nothing specially
improbable in the conjecture that Râjputs may have taken up the
profession of bard to the chiefs of their tribe, and thus may, in
course of time, have become incorporated in the Bhât caste. It will be
seen that this solution of the difficulty in no way conflicts with Mr.
Nesfield’s view, but merely modifies it by introducing a second factor
into the formation of the caste. Mr. Nesfield regards the Bhâts as a
homogeneous functional group thrown off by the Brâhmans. I look upon
them as a heterogeneous group made up of Brâhmans and Râjputs welded
together into one caste by virtue of their exercising similar
functions. I may add, however, that the inviolability of the Bhât’s
person, which was admitted in Western India towards the end of the last
century, makes rather for Mr. Nesfield’s view than for mine; while the
theory of Roth and Zimmer, that the first germ of the Brâhman caste is
to be sought in the singers of Vedic times, may perhaps be deemed to
tell in the same direction.” At the last Census the Bhâts were recorded
under no less than nine hundred and sixty-eight sub-castes for the
Hindu and one hundred and sixty-one for the Muhammadan branch. The
analysis of the sub-castes goes on the whole to support Mr. Risley’s
theory. We find very few distinctively Brâhmanical titles, such as
Achârya, Bhâradwâja, Dikshit, Gangaputra, Gaur, Sândilya, Sâraswata, or
Sarwariya, but many either of purely local origin, such as Bhatnâgar,
Dakkhinwâr, Dalpuriya, Dilliwâl, Hamîrpuri, Hastinapuri, Jaiswâr,
Jaunpuriya, Mathuriya, and the like; and many derived from the names of
existing Râjput or other tribes, such as Bargûjar, Bargyân, Bhadauriya,
Bundel, Chandrabansi, Kachhwâha, Râthaur, Sakarwâr, and so on.

[Internal structure.] 3. The structural division of the caste is not
very well defined. At the last Census in these Provinces they were
recorded under nine main endogamous sub-castes: Bhâradwâja, “the lark,
the bringer of food,” which is a gotra title common to Brâhmans and
other castes; Biram or Brâhman Bhâts; Dasaundhi, of which there are at
least two derivations, either from the Hindi dasaundh, or “receiver of
tithes,” or Sanskrit dasa-vandika, in the sense of “reader of the
stars,” “an astrologer,” which is more probable; Gajbhîm; Jâga
(Sanskrit yakshya, “to be sacrificed or worshipped”); Keliya;
Mahâpâtra; Râê; and Râjbhât. Among the sub-castes locally important we
find in Bulandshahr the Sapahar; in Mathura, the Barwâr; in Etâwah, the
Athsaila and Barwa; in Cawnpur, the Lâhauri; in Allahâbâd, the Gangwâr;
in Ghâzipur, the Bandijan; in Azamgarh, the Lakhauriya; in Unâo and
Sîtapur, the Kanaujiya; in Râê Bareli, the Amlakhiya; in Faizâbâd, the
Athsaila, Bandijan Dakkhinwâr, and Gangwâr; in Gonda, the Basoriya; in
Sultânpur, the Gadh, Gangwâr, Madhuriya, and Râna; in Partâbgarh, the
Gadhwa, Gangwâr, and Jujhaina; in Bârabanki, the Basodhiya. Sir H. M.
Elliot has given a very complete account of the Bhâts in these
provinces:—“By some tribes the Bhât and Jâga are considered synonymous,
but those who pretend to greater accuracy distinguish them by calling
the former Birmbhât or Bâdi, and the latter Jâgabhât. The former recite
the deeds of ancestors at weddings and other festive occasions; the
latter keep the family records, particularly of Râjputs, and are
entitled by right of succession to retain the office, whereas the
Birmbhâts are hired and paid for the particular occasion. Jâgabhâts pay
visits to their constituents every two or three years, and receive
perquisites to which they are entitled. After recording all the births
which have taken place since their last tour, they are remunerated with
rupees, cattle, or clothes, according to the ability of the registering
party. Those of the North-Western Râjputs generally reside between the
borders of Râjputâna and the Delhi territory. Many also live at
Dâranagar on the Ganges, and travel to the remote East to collect their
fees; whereas the Birmbhâts are resident in towns and do not emigrate
periodically. Both of these classes are held in the same dread for
their exactions, which are satisfied by their constituents for fear of
being lampooned and paraded in effigy before the other members of the
family. Several communities of Bhâts reside in the north of Oudh, and a
few are scattered over these Provinces. In Rohilkhand the occupation of
Bhâts as bards is frequently usurped by Gaur Brâhmans. There are
several sub-divisions of the Bhâts of these provinces, and an attempt
is sometimes made, as with many other classes, to reduce them to the
definite number of seven, viz.—Athsaila, Mahâpâtra, Keliya,
Mainpuriwâla, Jangira, Bhatara, and Dasaundhi. But there are several
which are not included under these heads, as Chaurâsi, Gajbhîm,
Chungelê, Gujariwâla, Sikatpuriya, Nagauri, Barua, etc., which shows
that the classification into seven is not correct.

4. This, however, does not exhaust the sub-divisions of the Bhâts.
Thus, in Mirzapur, they are divided into the Jagawa or Jâga, Barpagwa,
“those who wear a large turban,” Phulwariya, “of the flower garden,”
Dasaundhi, Kavirâj, or poets, Kewat kê Bhât, or those attached to the
Kewat caste, and the Musalmâni. The Hindu Bhâts have, besides, a number
of gotras or sections which are identical with those of Brâhmans. The
Dasaundhi, again, who call themselves Jasaundhi, and derive their name
from the Hindi jas, Sanskrit, yasas, “glory,” are sub-divided into
Kalsa, Pâtha, and Kulîn. In Hardoi they give their sub-divisions as
Keliya, Mahâpâtra or “prime minister,” Athsaila, Bhâradwâja,
Mohanmûrat, Bhatara, Changelê, and Brahmbhât. In Râê Bareli they give
their sub-divisions as Banswariya, Mahâpâtra, Keliya, Athsaila,
Gajbhîm, Gohorwâriwâl, Jaisari kâ Bhatra, Pihâniwâl, Mainpuri kâ
Bhâtra, Pitarpuri Rauwa, Senbasiya, Kuttaha, Dospuriya, Pipariha,
Dukanha, Gangwâr, Bhagtaha, Majhgânwiya, Sirohiwâl, Lahariwâl,
Nagrauiyân, Ghoraha, Nabinagar kâ langota, Garhwapâri, Chaurasiya, and
Katiha. These are said to be exogamous sections, many of which are of
the territorial type. Among these the Keliya, Mahâpâtra, Banswariya,
Athsaila, Gajbhîm, Gohorwariwâl, and Jaisari kâ Bhâtra are regarded as
superior and practise a form of hypergamy, taking brides from the other
sections, but not giving them their daughters in return. In Bareilly,
again, there are two sub-divisions of the Jâga sub-caste who are
Muhammadans—the Sârhê tîn ghar or “three and a half houses,” and the
Das ghar or “ten houses,” of whom the former practise hypergamy with
the latter.

[Marriage rules.] 5. Where there are exogamous sections or gotras the
rule of exogamy follows the standard formula as in the case of the
higher castes; in other places, as in Mirzapur, they will not marry
their sister’s daughter, father’s sister’s daughter, brother-in-law’s
daughter, maternal uncle’s daughter, or any member of their own family
(kul). They can marry a sister-in-law, but not if she be older than the
first wife, because, by virtue of the giving away of the bride
(kanyâdân), the younger sister is considered daughter of the elder.
Marriage is carried out in infancy, and it is only when the parents are
very poor that the marriage of a daughter is deferred until puberty,
and then it involves social discredit. It is usual for parents to give
a dowry with the bride, which becomes the property of the bridegroom’s
parents. Some of the poorer Bhâts take a bride-price; but this is
considered disgraceful. This payment, however, appears to be generally
given by old men or widowers who would otherwise find it difficult to
marry. Widow marriage and the levirate are both prohibited.

[Domestic ceremonies.] 6. All the domestic ceremonies are of the
orthodox type. When a son is born the Nandi mukh srâddha is performed,
and in marriage the giving away of the bride (kanyâdân) is the binding
part of the ceremony. They follow the ordinary Hindu law of
inheritance.

[The Muhammadan Bhâts.] 7. Those in the Eastern Districts have an
absurd story that they were in the service of Chait Sinh and were
forcibly converted to Islâm by Mr. Jonathan Duncan in revenge for some
advice they gave to their master. Others to the West say that they were
converted by the orders of Shahâb-ud-dîn Ghori. They practise a curious
mixture of Hindu and Muhammadan rites. At marriage they call in a
Pandit, collect the sacred earth (matmangar), erect a marriage shed,
give away the bride, and make the pair perform the usual
circumambulations. When this is all over they send for the Qâzi, and
the nikâh is read in the usual Muhammadan fashion. They are a miserable
sort of people, who wander about singing at respectable houses. They
are more violent and abusive in their language if not suitably rewarded
than their Hindu brethren. In Mirzapur they have exogamous
sub-divisions, such as Jâga, Kanjriwâl, or those attached to the Kanjar
vagrants, Khawâni, Râjbhât, and Bandijan. In some places the title of
Jâga seems to be appropriated to them. They circumcise their boys and
bury their dead in the usual Muhammadan fashion, but they do a sort of
srâddha and pay annual worship to the spirits of the dead as Hindus do.

[The religion of the Hindu Bhâts.] 8. The Hindu Bhâts are orthodox
Hindus. They are usually either Vaishnavas or Sâktas. In Mirzapur, they
worship, in addition to the ordinary gods, of whom the most venerated
is Siva in the form of Gauripati, Barê Bîr, Mahâbîr, and Sârda. Barê
Bîr, who appears to be the deified ghost of some worthy of the tribe,
is honoured by making a plastered square in the court-yard and placing
within it a lighted lamp. To Gauripati they offer a burnt sacrifice
(hom) and some sweets (laddu) on the last day of Baisâkh in the family
kitchen. Mahâbîr is worshipped on a Tuesday in the month of Baisâkh by
painting a representation of him on the back of a brass tray with red
lead. This is placed on a stool, and the eldest male or female member
of the family bathes, marks his or her forehead with sandal, and offers
to the god sweet cakes (rot), laddu sweetmeats, a Brâhmanical thread
(janeû), garlands of flowers, a small loin cloth (langoti), and a
head-dress (pâta). Then a fire sacrifice (hom) is made, and the
articles offered are distributed among the members of the family. By
the Census Returns only 381 persons have recorded themselves as
exclusive worshippers of Mahâbîr; but this is made up for by 937,493
worshippers of Hanumân. Sârda is a corruption of the name of the
goddess Saraswati, the patroness of learning; she is not worshipped in
any systematic way, but is invoked whenever they commence their
recitations. The Census shows that Saraswati has 5,311 exclusive
worshippers. In common with many of the lower castes, they also worship
Birtiya on a Wednesday in the month of Aghan. A Chamâr Ojha is
selected, and he in front of the house makes a sacrifice of a young pig
and some turmeric. The head of the victim is buried deep in the ground,
and the rest of the meat is taken by the Ojha, who also gets some
uncooked grain and a few pice. Their other domestic ceremonies are done
by Sarwariya Brâhmans. In other parts of the Eastern Districts they
worship Bhawâni and Devi, particularly when epidemic disease prevails.

[The Chârans.] 9. No account of the Bhâts would be complete without
some reference to the Chârans, though they are hardly to be found in
this part of India. In Gujarât they are Vaishnavas, and find employment
in the Courts of Native Princes or in the families of private
gentlemen. Many go from place to place and earn a living by reciting
the pedigrees and family achievements of those from whom they ask alms.
They wear on their persons a variety of ornaments, such as the earring,
necklace, anklets, etc., and by way of arms they carry a sort of sword.
They are cultivators and have enough money to lend at interest. There
are not a few who stand security for a consideration. They are a
warm-blooded and passionate people, as many acts of theirs in past
times testify. [35] They had, some years ago, a ready way of extorting
money, or the fulfilment of a pledge made to them. If a man refused to
keep a promise made to them they brought a girl or an old woman of
their family to the house of the defaulter and threatened to kill or
did actually kill her. Not a century ago the faith placed in the word
of a Bhât was perhaps the only way of obtaining the feeling of security
necessary to conduct business of any kind. All men, from the prince to
the peasant, trusted to the Bhât or Châran that he would keep his word
or die. Soon after the advent of the British the use of this
intermediary collapsed, and the bad points in his character came into
relief; but his good work in past times should not be overlooked. By
violent threats to kill some member of their family, the Bhâts for a
long time, and up to quite recent times, were able to extort money or
the accomplishment of any promise made to them; but the late Mahârâja
Khandê Râo enacted a special provision of law to meet these cases of
extortion, and put an end to them. The Bhât women are as bold, voluble,
and ready in retort as the men. When a Bhât woman passes a male
caste-fellow on the road, it is the latter who raises a piece of cloth
to his face till the woman is out of sight.

10. The Chârans, [36] as they are called, still fill a large place in
the society of Western India, though their services as bards and
genealogists are less in demand than they were in the old days. They
are, nevertheless, considered, from their calling, to bear a sacred
character, and any injury done to one of them will bring down an
anathema on the head of the evil-doer, which no amount of penance will
wash away. The awe they inspire is as great with the Râjput chief as
with the illiterate Bhîl. They are also the principal carriers of the
country, and as such enjoy immunity from taxation, to which the rest of
the community have to submit. When the Châran cannot obtain what he
wants, or considers he has been unjustly dealt with, he will resort to
what is known as tragya, or self-sacrifice, by cutting or wounding
himself, or perhaps taking the life of some member of his family, in
order that the blood of the victim may rest upon the head of his
oppressor; and so great is the dread inspired by even the mere threat
of carrying out this act that a ready acquiescence is generally given
to all demands. The death of a Châran by his own hands would be
considered by the outside world a sort of excommunication of the chief,
against which the latter would find it almost hopeless to contend.
Holding such a formidable weapon over the heads of all alike, high or
low, the Châran becomes overbearing and avaricious, and consequently
they are a class difficult to manage. Members of the tribe are to be
found travelling over the length and breadth of India, with their
droves of pack-bullocks, by means of which, notwithstanding the
increased mileage of railways of late years, a great part of the
enormous trade of that vast continent is still transported to its
destination. It might have been thought that the railway would have
materially reduced their profits, and although it has curtailed the
sphere of their operations, it has obliged them to open up fresh lines
of traffic, and to become feeders to the various lines of railway.
Salt, grain, and seeds form the principal articles of transport by
means of their caravans. The loads are carried in strong thick bags
thrown across the backs of the bullocks without any rope or strap to
fasten them, but merely balanced on them, and after the day’s march is
over the bags are piled in stacks, around which the Nâik, his family,
and companions keep guard during the night, although the sacred calling
of tribe and the dread of their anathema are quite sufficient to insure
them immunity from all plunderers. There is no more picturesque sight
than one of these large caravans wending its way along the high road.
The men and women are invariably on foot and distributed along the
drove of bullocks, re-loading a beast which may have thrown his pack,
or balancing and adjusting another as the case may be. The men with
their large, loosely-folded turbans, white flowing robes, many of them
with necklaces, generally of gold, about their person, form a pleasing
contrast to the women in their brightly-coloured garments, with large
conical caps adorned with gold and silver chains and small bells, from
which is pendant a light richly-coloured scarf hanging gracefully over
the shoulders. Tall and upright in figure, lithe and active, often with
pleasing features and not an over-dark skin, her petticoat of one
colour, her boddice of another, but somewhat brighter, her jet-black
hair bound up and entwined with gold and silver coins, her arms encased
from wrist to elbow in bracelets of white and coloured ivory, bangles
of silver on her ankles, and the high conical cap profusely ornamented
on her head, the matron presents a picture which once seen is not
easily forgotten. As bard of the chief, the Châran occupies an exalted
position, and is one of the retainers always about his person, and
frequently the medium of communication on difficult and delicate
missions, such as an alliance in marriage, when he is the bearer of the
cocoanut, which is the emblem sent on such occasions. He used
invariably to accompany him in all his expeditions against his enemies,
in order that he might transcribe in glowing verse the deeds of prowess
done by his chief and the clan. The genealogy of the family is in his
keeping, and he can recount from memory all the stirring events
connected with the history of the house, which have been orally handed
down to him by his father before him. Like the Scald of the ancient
Norseman, the bard delights in narrating in open darbâr when called
upon by his lord, some inspiring themes connected with the fortunes of
the family. It is then, surrounded by an admiring and sympathetic
audience, that he will launch out in the flowery language of his
country, and with magical effect stir the hearts of his listeners with
the thrilling account of how their ancestors fought in defence of their
homes and their race, and fell covered with wounds, performing deeds
that have left them deathless names, and how by emulating their example
and treading in their footsteps they will make resplendent the blood of
their ancient line. All this has in these days become utterly unreal,
but the respect with which the bard is regarded when he recalls the
most stirring memories of the race is not matter for surprise.

11. In social position the Bhât ranks fairly high, and is as particular
in eating and drinking as a Brâhman: but he bears an indifferent
reputation for volubility and abusive language. One proverb about them
is,—


    Bhât, Bhatiyâri, Beswa, tînon jât kujât:
    Âtê kâ âdar karen; jât na pûchhen bât.


“The bard, the inn-keeper, and the harlot are a bad lot: when you come
they are civil; when you go they care nothing.”


    Banyak dâta, Thakurak hîn,
    Baidaka pût byâdh na chînh,
    Bhâtak chup, beswak mail,
    Kahen Ghâgh—pânchon ghar gail.


“A generous Banya, a mean Râjput, a physician’s son who cannot diagnose
disease, a silent Bhât, and an unclean courtesan—all five, says Ghâgh,
are on the road to ruin.”


                                DISTRIBUTION OF BHÂTS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

=============+===========+======+==========+========+======+=======+==========+=======+========+=======+============+========
  District.  | Bhâradwâj.|Biram.|Dasaundhi.|Gajbhîm.|Jâga. |Keliya.|Mahâpâtra.| Râê.  |Râjbhât.|Others.|Muhammadans.| Total.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
Dehra Dûn    | ...       |   211|    ...   |  ...   | ...  |  ...  |  ...     | ...   |  ...   |   119 |       40   |     370
Sahâranpur   | ...       |   431|    ...   |  ...   | 117  |  ...  |  ...     | ...   |   80   | 1,003 |      227   |   1,858
Muzaffarnagar| ...       |   911|    ...   |  ...   | 549  |  ...  |  ...     | ...   |  ...   |   214 |      119   |   1,793
Meerut       | ...       | 1,771|    ...   |  ...   | 300  |  ...  |  ...     |  58   |  ...   |   382 |      364   |   2,875
Bulandshahr  | ...       | 1,173|    ...   |  ...   |  62  |  100  |  ...     |   1   |  ...   | 2,480 |      223   |   4,039
Aligarh      | ...       |   799|    ...   |  ...   | ...  |  ...  |   14     | 203   |  ...   | 2,193 |       50   |   3,259
Mathura      | ...       |   237|    907   |   29   |  20  |   43  |  ...     | 347   |    8   |   386 |        2   |   1,979
Agra         |   5       | 2,151|     13   |  ...   |  10  |   20  |  ...     |  14   |  ...   |   811 |        8   |   3,032
Farrukhâbâd  |   5       |   640|      7   |   17   | 175  |  877  |  ...     |   8   |    2   |   455 |      189   |   2,375
Mainpuri     |  24       | 1,263|     15   |  ...   |  44  |   42  |  ...     |  23   |  ...   |   796 |       54   |   2,261
Etâwah       |  14       |   637|     36   |  101   |  21  |  852  |   22     | ...   |  ...   | 1,601 |      130   |   3,414
Etah         |   3       | 2,313|    ...   |        | ...  |  ...  |  ...     | ...   |  ...   |   625 |       46   |   2,987
Bareilly     | ...       |   832|          |  ...   |  90  |    14 |  ...     |    44 |        |     9 |      151   |   1,180
Bijnor       |       4   |   447|    ...   |  ...   | 203  |       |  ...     |  ...  |  ...   |   210 |      121   |     985
Budâun       |       3   | 1,133|    ...   |  ...   | ...  |       |          |    16 |  ...   |   252 |      213   |   1,617
Morâdâbâd    |       2   |   396|          |  ...   |  66  |  ...  |          |  ...  |  ...   |   739 |      241   |   1,444
Shâhjahânpur |       9   | 1,224|       3  |  ...   | ...  |   157 |  ...     |     7 |     49 |   295 |      196   |   1,940
Pilibhît     |       2   |   396|    ...   |  ...   |   2  |    15 |          |       |  ...   |    31 |       89   |     535
Cawnpur      | ...       |   367|      11  |   13   |  58  | 3,883 |       8  |     4 |  ...   | 2,421 |      121   |   6,886
Fatehpur     | ...       |    15|      57  |  109   |   1  | 1,290 |     109  |       |      5 | 2,030 |      138   |   3,754
Bânda        | ...       |    85|     137  |  197   | ...  | 1,542 |      20  |  ...  |     25 |   940 |       16   |   2,961
Hamîrpur     |       8   |   254|      78  |   69   |  12  | 1,384 |      42  |  ...  |  ...   | 1,079 |   ...      |   2,926
Allahâbâd    |      25   |    21|      83  |   24   |   2  |   218 |       6  |    18 |    911 | 3,947 |    1,592   |   6,847
Jhânsi       |      55   |   416|      91  |   13   |   3  |    33 |  ...     |  ...  |        |   809 |   ...      |   1,420
Jâlaun       |       4   |   979|     125  |   58   | ...  |   114 |  ...     |       |        |   702 |        3   |   1,985
Lalitpur     | ...       |   344|      24  |   29   |   3  |    12 |      26  |  ...  |  ...   |   469 |        2   |     909
Benares      | ...       |  ... |     392  |  ...   |   2  |     8 |  ...     |  ...  |    713 |   848 |      479   |   2,442
Mirzapur     | ...       |  ... |     244  |  ...   | ...  |     3 |  ...     |  ...  |  1,397 |   322 |      657   |   2,623
Jaunpur      | ...       |  ... |   2,177  |  ...   | ...  |   185 |  ...     |  ...  |  1,363 |   558 |    1,383   |   5,666
Ghâzipur     |  53       |  ... |     65   |  ...   | ...  |  ...  |   ...    | ...   |   873  |   560 |    1,086   |   2,637
Ballia       | ...       |  ... |      1   |  ...   | ...  |  ...  |   ...    | ...   |   272  |   179 |      832   |   1,284
Gorakhpur    |   9       |     7|  1,316   |  ...   | ...  |  ...  |   ...    |  19   | 1,583  | 1,115 |    2,146   |   6,195
Basti        | 245       |   559|  1,982   |   47   | ...  |  ...  |   ...    |   2   |  ...   |    32 |    2,974   |   5,841
Azamgarh     |   6       |  ... |    153   |  ...   | ...  |  ...  |   ...    |   7   |   756  | 1,354 |    1,631   |   3,907
Tarâi        | ...       |     1|   ...    |  ...   |  2   |  ...  |   ...    |   7   |  ...   |   279 |       20   |     309
Lucknow      | ...       |    53|     27   |  ...   | ...  | 1,223 |    38    | ...   |  ...   |   649 |      577   |   2,567
Unâo         |  19       |   266|   ...    |   46   | ...  | 2,854 |    94    | ...   |  ...   | 2,224 |      657   |   6,160
Râê Bareli   |  38       |    11|     46   |    9   | ...  | 1,230 |   348    |  10   |    31  | 3,111 |      165   |   4,999
Sîtapur      |   4       |   162|     19   |  ...   | ...  | 1,817 |     4    | ...   |  ...   | 1,312 |    2,152   |   5,470
Hardoi       | ...       | 1,257|   ...    |  ...   | ...  | 2,185 |   ...    |   2   |  ...   |   128 |      900   |   4,472
Kheri        | ...       |   869|     22   |  ...   | ...  |   590 |   ...    |  22   |  ...   |   293 |    1,046   |   2,842
Faizâbâd     |   7       |  ... |     64   |  ...   | ...  |   103 |   113    | ...   | 1,067  | 3,696 |    2,040   |   7,090
Gonda        |...        |      |  2,556   |  ...   | ...  |  ...  |    21    |   52  |   103  | 1,490 |      320   |   4,542
Bahrâich     |...        |    1 |    666   |   53   | ...  |   255 |    28    |   19  |     1  | 1,585 |    2,737   |   5,345
Sultânpur    |...        |  ... |    257   |  ...   |      |   304 |  ...     |  316  |   732  | 4,491 |      942   |   7,042
Partâbgarh   |...        |  ... |    100   |   14   | ...  |  ...  |  ...     |  184  |   155  | 5,482 |    1,194   |   7,129
Bârabanki    | 61        |  ... |    148   |   56   | ...  | 1,262 |   116    |   65  | 1,000  | 2,842 |    1,190   |   6,740
             +~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
      Total  | 605       |22,631| 11,822   |  884   |1,742 |22,615 | 1,009    | 1,448 | 11,126 |57,588 |   29,463   | 160,933
=============+===========+======+==========+========+======+=======+==========+=======+========+=======+============+========


Bhathiyâra. [37]—(Sanskrit, Bhrishtakâra, “a preparer of roasted and
fried meat”).—The keepers of inns and cooking-houses and sellers of
tobacco. Their business is the entertainment of travellers, and their
functions thus trench on the occupations of the baker (nânbâi), the
preparer and seller of fried meat (kabâb farosh), and the tobacconist
(tambâkuwâla). They trace their origin to Salîm Shâh, son of Shîr Shâh,
who reigned between 1545 and 1552 A.D., and one tradition makes them
out to be the descendants of members of the household establishments of
Shîr Shâh and Salîm Shâh, who, after the overthrow of their masters by
Humâyun, were doomed to servitude as attendants on travellers. The real
name of Salîm Shâh was Jalâl or Islâm Shâh, and both he and his father
still live in the traditions of the people. One proverb about them is
Kya legâya Shîr Shâh? Kya legâya Salîm Shâh?—“In spite of their
greatness what has Shîr Shâh or Salîm Shâh taken with him to the
grave?”. Another is Shîr Shâh ki dârhi bari yâ Salîm Shâh ki?—“Which
had the longest beard, Shîr Shâh or Salîm Shâh?” i.e., “What is the use
of arguing over trifles?” The establishment of inns (sarâi) goes,
however, back as far as the reign of Chandra Gupta. The traveller Terry
writes:—“In this kingdom there are no Innes to entertain travellers;
only in great Townes and Cities are faire houses built for their
receipt, where any passenger may have roome freely, but must bring with
him his Bedding, his Cooke and other necessaries.” [38]

[Tribal organisation.] 2. In memory of their traditional origin they
have two sub-divisions known as the Shîrshâhi and Salîmshâhi, who are
distinguished by the women of the former wearing petticoats and the
latter drawers. Another tradition, which is apparently based merely on
the similarity of name, makes them out to be in some way connected with
the Bhatti tribe. In the east of the Province there are two
sub-divisions—Bhathiyâra and Hariyâra—which differ only in this, that
the women of the former wear metal bangles (mâthi), and the latter
those made of glass or lac. The Census Returns classify them under
fifty-two clans, none of which are of much local importance, and
display a curious mixture of Hindu and Muhammadan names, such as
Bahlîm, Bhîl, Chauhân, Chiryamâr, Jalkhatri, Madariya, Mukeri, Sadîqi,
Nânbâi, Shirâzi, and Sulaimâni.

[Marriage rules.] 3. They profess to follow the ordinary Muhammadan
laws of marriage, of which the nikâh is the binding portion. The two
divisions, Salîmshâhi and Shîrshâhi, are said to be endogamous, because
the women of the latter bear an indifferent reputation; in fact it is
alleged that they are prostituted both before and after marriage. Dr.
Buchanan [39] says:—“Many of their women, but by no means the greater
part, refuse no favour to a liberal customer;” and Forster writes
[40]:—“The stationary tenants of the serauee, many of them women, and
some of them very pretty, approach the traveller on his entrance, and
in alluring language describe to him the varied excellencies of their
several lodgings.” The levirate prevails, but is not compulsory on the
widow. They follow the usual Muhammadan rules of divorce and
inheritance.

[Religion.] 4. They are Muhammadans of the Sunni sect. To the east of
the Province they reverence Ghâzi Miyân and the Pânchon Pîr, to whom
sweetmeats and garlands of flowers are offered on the first Sunday in
the month of Jeth. They bury their dead and offer to the spirits of
deceased ancestors vermicelli (siwaiyân), and bread on the ‘Id and the
halwa sweetmeat on the Shab-i-barât. In former times, it is said, they
used to consult Brâhmans in fixing an auspicious day for marriages—a
practice which appears now to be abandoned. They do the usual third day
(tîja) and fortieth day (chehlam) ceremony for the repose of the
spirits of the dead.

[Occupation.] 5. Besides their special business of entertaining
travellers they also catch fish, and are hence in the west of the
Province, known as Mahigîr or “fishcatcher.” Their women are known as
Mehtarâni, a sort of mock honorific title. Of the Grand Trunk Road Dr.
Buchanan writes [41]:—“On the great road more attention is shown to the
real convenience of travellers than in any part of India which I have
yet visited; and regular inns (sarâi, bhathiyârkhâna) are kept at
convenient distances. Each inn consists of a number of distinct
chambers, which are let by the night to any traveller or company, eight
or ten persons travelling together often occupying one chamber. The
chamber usually consists of a wretched straw hut, seven or eight cubits
long and five or six wide, and is in general totally destitute of
furniture; a few only afford a little straw or a mat to sleep on; but
some kept by obliging nymphs have bedsteads, where favourites are
received. The Bhathiyâras or keepers are low Muhammadans, such
attention to strangers being incompatible with Hindu reserve. Each
keeper, according to his means, has a number of chambers, which are
usually disposed in a row (alang); and in most inns are several keepers
whose rows of chambers surround squares or wide lanes, in which the
cattle of carriages of the travellers stand. Hindus pay from one to two
pice a night for each chamber, and Muhammadans pay double because the
Bhathiyârin cooks for them. The keeper generally retails fire-wood,
tobacco, and the charcoal balls used in smoking, and purchases for his
guests whatever other article they want. Some of them also retail
earthen ware and shoes. Hindus of the highest rank can sleep in such
places, when no pure person will give them accommodation; but they, of
course, can receive little or no assistance from the keeper, who cannot
bring water that his guest will use, nor can the Brâhman cook in the
inn. He must go to some pure place, and for that purpose usually
selects the side of a river which in this country is the most common
abode of Cloacina.” In these inns the Bhathiyâra women are said often
to act as go-betweens (saparda). Some add to their income by keeping
pony or bullock carts (ekka, bahli).


DISTRIBUTION OF THE BHATHIYÂRAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+========
      District.   | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Dera Dûn      |     10
    Sahâranpur    |    280
    Muzaffarnagar |    396
    Meerut        |    802
    Bulandshahr   |    884
    Aligarh       |  1,984
    Mathura       |    658
    Agra          |  1,588
    Farrukhâbâd   |    851
    Mainpuri      |  1,136
    Etâwah        |    947
    Etah          |  1,244
    Bareilly      |  4,488
    Bijnor        |    729
    Budâun        |  2,607
    Morâdâbâd     |  1,147
    Shâhjahânpur  |  1,601
    Pilibhît      |    660
    Cawnpur       |    750
    Fatehpur      |    634
    Bânda         |     56
    Hamîrpur      |     57
    Allahâbâd     |  1,542
    Jhânsi        |     24
    Jâlaun        |     38
    Benares       |    793
    Mirzapur      |    248
    Jaunpur       |    450
    Ghâzipur      |    254
    Ballia        |     78
    Gorakhpur     |    112
    Basti         |    160
    Azamgarh      |    401
    Tarâi         |     51
    Lucknow       |    548
    Unâo          |    311
    Râê Bareli    |    136
    Sîtapur       |    215
    Hardoi        |    493
    Kheri         |    126
    Faizâbâd      |    228
    Gonda         |    135
    Bahrâich      |     84
    Sultânpur     |    284
    Partâbgarh    |     34
    Bârabanki     |    404
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
           Total  | 30,658
    ==============+========


Bhatiya. [42]—A tribe of money-dealers and traders found in these
Provinces only in Mathura. Of those in the Panjâb Mr. Ibbetson writes:
[43]—“The Bhatiyas are a class of Râjputs, originally coming from
Bhatner, Jaysalmer, and the Râjputâna Desert, who have taken to
domestic pursuits. The name would seem to show that they were Bhâtis
(called Bhatti in the Panjâb); but be that as it may, their Râjput
origin seems to be unquestioned. They are numerous in Sindh and
Gujarât, where they appear to form the leading mercantile element, and
to hold the place which the Aroras occupy higher up the Indus. They
have spread into the Panjâb along the lower valleys of the Indus and
Sutlej, and up the whole length of the Chenâb as high as its debouchure
into the plains, being indeed most numerous in Siâlkot and Gujarât.
They stand distinctively below the Khatri, and perhaps below the Arora,
and are for the most part engaged in petty shop-keeping, though the
Bhatiyas of Dehra Ismail Khân are described as belonging to a
widely-spread and enterprising mercantile community. They are often
supposed to be Khatris, and in Jahlam they are said to follow the
Khatri divisions of Bhari, Bunjâhi, Dhâighar, Chârzâti, etc. They are
very strict Hindus, far more so than the other trading classes of the
Western Punjâb; and eschew meat and liquor. They do not practise
widow-marriage.”

[Tribal tradition of the Mathura Bhatiyas.] 2. The Bhatiyas of Mathura
claim to be descended from a personage called Bhâti Sinh, from whom
they take their name. He was the founder of the city and kingdom of
Jaysalmer. It is related that the Yaduvansis, or descendants of Yadu,
engaged in a deadly intestine quarrel, and of them only two escaped the
general destruction—Odhu and Bajarnâbh. The latter lived at the time at
the house of his maternal grandfather, Râja Bânâsura. In return for the
services which Sri Krishna, himself a Yaduvansi, had once rendered to
Râja Parikshit, in protecting him while still in his mother’s womb, the
latter brought Bajarnâbh from Bânâsura’s house and delivered to him the
kingdom of Mathura and Indraprastha. Bajarnâbh ruled wisely and
protected his subjects, and raised a temple in honor of Sri Krishna at
Dwârika. Eighty of his successors ruled in succession at Mathura; but
during the reign of the last, Râja Jay Sinh, Râja Ajaypâl of Biyâna
invaded Mathura, and, in the battle which ensued, Jay Sinh was killed,
and his three sons, Bijaypâl, Ajây Râj, and Bijay Râj, fled to Karauli.
Bijaypâl, the eldest of the three, gained the kingdom of Karauli, but
he quarrelled with his brothers, and they retired to a forest in the
neighbourhood of Karauli, where they devoted themselves to the worship
of Ambâmâna Devi. At the end of a year of devotion, when they failed to
propitiate the goddess they determined to gain her favour by offering
their heads to her in a furnace (bhatti). Pleased with this final act
of piety the deity appeared to them and desired them to crave a boon
from her. They answered that as Kshatriyas they needed a kingdom.
Whereupon the Devi ordered Ajay Râj to go towards the West and found a
kingdom in the Râjputâna Desert, and henceforth to call himself Bhâti
Sinh, as he had been saved from the burning fiery furnace. He followed
her orders and founded the kingdom of Jaysalmer, and there established
his tribe under the name of Bhattis or Bhatiyas.

3. Here it may be noted that the Jaysalmer tradition is different from
this. [44] “Prayâg or Allahâbâd was the cradle of the race, after which
Mathura remained the seat of the Yaduvansi power for a long period. On
the death of Sri Krishna, the deified leader of the Jâdons, from whom
the Bhatti Râjputs claim descent, the tribe became dispersed; many of
them abandoned Hindustân, among them two of the sons of Krishna, who
proceeded northward along the Indus, and settled there. Some time after
this one of their descendants being defeated and killed in a battle,
the tribe was driven southward into the Panjâb, where Sâlivâhana, son
of Gaj, founded a town called after his name, and conquered the whole
region. His grandson was named Bhatti; he was a great warrior and
conquered many of the neighbouring princes, and from him the patronymic
was changed, and the tribe was henceforth distinguished by his name.
Shortly after this the tribe was again driven southward by the King of
Ghazni, and crossing the Sutlej found refuge in the Indian Desert,
which was henceforth to be their home. This traditional account may
represent in outline the early migrations of the Bhatti tribe, which
may be supposed to have entered India from the north-west under heroic
leaders now deified as the sons of Krishna, and to have settled for
some time in the Panjâb. One of the grand expeditions of Mahmûd of
Ghazni was against the city of Bhattia, also called Bhera, which place
is now said to have been on the left bank of the Jahlam, opposite the
Salt Range. Mr. E. Thomas considers that the four last Hindu Kings of
Kâbul, before the Ghaznavis, may have been Bhatiya Râjputs.”

[Internal organisation.] 4. The Mathura story runs that when the
Bhatiyas left their Western home and came to Mathura they had
considerable difficulty in finding alliances for their children,
because having by this time taken to trade the Râjputs of the
neighbourhood were unwilling to intermarry with them. They accordingly
convened a meeting of the caste at Multân, and there consulted learned
Brâhmans and the books of the law, and it was after great discussion
decided that a man might marry within his own tribe in a family removed
from himself by forty-nine degrees, and that the families thus removed
should each form a nukh or exogamous group. These nukhs were designated
after some person, village, or occupation, such as the nukh Râêhariya
was named after Râê Hari Singh; Râê Gajariya after the village
Gajariya, and Râê Tâmbol after a Tâmboli or seller of betel. This story
describes in a very interesting way the manner in which new exogamous
and endogamous groups are formed.

5. The following are the names of the Mathura gotras with the nukhs
which each includes:—


(1) Parâsara gotra including twenty-three nukhs:—Râê Gajariya; Râê
    Panchloriya; Râê Palîja; Râê Gagla; Râê Sarâki; Râê Soni; Râê
    Suphla; Râê Jiya; Râê Mogaya; Râê Ghaga; Râê Rîka; Râê Jaydhan; Râê
    Korhaiya; Râê Kova; Râê Rariya; Râê Kajariya; Râê Sijballa; Râê
    Jiyâla; Râê Malan; Râê Dhava; Râê Dhîran; Râê Jagta; Râê Nisât.
(2) Sanras gotra containing eleven nukhs as follows:—Râê Dutaya;
    Râê Jabba; Râê Nâgobabla; Râê Suâra; Râê Dhawan; Râê Danda; Râê
    Dhaga; Râê Kandhiya; Râê Udesi; Râê Bâdhûcha; Râê Balâyê.
(3) Bhâradwâj gotra with the following eighteen nukhs:—Râê Hariya;
    Râê Padamshi; Râê Maidaya; Râê Chandan; Râê Khiyâra; Râê Thula; Râê
    Sodhiya; Râê Bora; Râê Mochha; Râê Tâmbol; Râê Lakhanbanta; Râê
    Dhakkar; Râê Bhudariya; Râê Mota; Râê Anghar; Râê Dhadhâl; Râê
    Degchanda; Râê Asar.
(4) Sudharvans gotra with the following eight nukhs:—Râê Sapta; Râê
    Chhachhaiya; Râê Nagara; Râê Gâthababla; Râê Parmala; Râê Potha;
    Râê Ponrdhagga; Râê Mathura.
(5) Madhobadhas gotra including the following eleven nukhs:—Râê
    Ved; Râê Surya; Râê Gugalgandhi; Râê Nâêgandhi; Râê Panchal; Râê
    Phurâsgândhi; Râê Parêgândhi; Râê Jujargândhi; Râê Praima; Râê
    Bibal; Râê Povar.
(6) Devdâs gotra including the following nine nukhs:—Râê Ramaiya;
    Râê Pawâr; Râê Râja; Râê Parijiya; Râê Kapûr; Râê Gurugulâb; Râê
    Dhâdhar; Râê Kartari; Râê Kukaur.
(7) Rishivans gotra consisting of the following four nukhs:—Râê
    Multâni; Râê Chamuja; Râê Daiya; Râê Karangona.


6. The Census Returns supply them with a set of sections most of which
are of the Banya type, such as Agarwâla, Belwâr, Bhâlê, Bhorâr, Bhudi,
Bohra, Gaur, Jaysalmer, Kain, Madkul, Maheswari, Mârwâri, Oswâl,
Palliwâl, Râhtu, Sahasri.

[Marriage rules.] 7. Marriages may take place between members of the
same gotra, but not of the same nukh. There is no exact formula or
exogamy; but a man cannot marry among his near relations on the
father’s or mother’s side, and the same rule applies to women.
Differences of religion, provided both parties are followers of some
form of Hinduism, and changes of occupation, are not a bar to
intermarriage; but differences of local or geographical position are a
bar. Thus intermarriages between Bhatiyas of Bombay, Kachh, and
Gujarât, and those of the Panjâb, Sindh, and the North-Western
Provinces, are not permitted. Thus Bhatiyas may be divided into the
following two endogamous groups based on geographical position:—The
first group consists of Kâchhis, Halâis, Prijas, Kathiâwâris, Gujarâtis
and Bhatiyas of Dhârangânw. The second group consists of Bhatiyas of
Jaysalmer, Sindh, the Panjâb, and the North-Western Provinces. As a
rule no Bhatiya can take a second wife in the lifetime of the first,
unless she be barren or unfaithful to her husband, in which case she
will be expelled from caste. In no case can the number exceed two, and
that limit is seldom reached. When a Bhatiya happens to have two wives
they live under the same roof and enjoy the same privileges in every
respect. In the case of girls marriage must be performed before the age
of twelve: there is no time fixed in the case of males. Marriage is
arranged by the friends in both sides, and there are no marriage
brokers. The children of both marriages, should a man have two wives,
rank equally for purposes of inheritance. Widow marriage is not
allowed, and the offspring of an illicit connection are not admitted
into the caste, and do not rank as heirs to the estate of their father.
An unfaithful wife is excommunicated, and so is a man who openly keeps
a concubine.

[Marriage ceremonies.] 8. At the betrothal the father of the girl sends
what is called the sagun, consisting of one rupee, a cocoanut, and some
coarse sugar, for the boy, which is given to him in the presence of the
brethren, who are invited to be in attendance, and the betrothal is
thus complete. The ceremony presupposes the mutual consent of the
parents of the parties. Betrothal is generally not reversible, and is
not annulled except on the discovery of some very serious physical
defect in either bride or bridegroom, and, if annulled, the expenses
are repaid by the party breaking the engagement, though there is no
distinct rule on the subject. Betrothal may take place any time before
marriage. The marriage ceremony is of the orthodox type, and the
binding part of it is the giving away of the bride (kanyâdân) and the
perambulation (pheron phirna) round the sacred fire. The marriage is
complete and irreversible when the fourth circuit is finished. Pokharnê
Brâhmans act as priests at marriage and other ceremonies.

[Occupation.] 9. The chief occupation of the Bhatiyas is money-lending,
and to this they add trade of all kinds—agriculture, landholding, and
Government service. Many of them go on expeditions to Arabia, Kâbul,
Bokhâra, and other distant places on business. Many in Bombay carry on
trade with Zanzibar, Java, and the Malay Peninsula. Their religion
continues to be mainly Vedic; but some have become followers of
Vallabhachârya. The Bhatiyas of these Provinces in appearance, customs,
and dress, strongly resemble Khatris; but between the two castes there
seems to be no real connection.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE BHATIYAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    =================+=======
     District.       |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
     Mathura         |  264
     Cawnpur         |    1
                     +~~~~~~~
              Total  |  265
    =================+=======


Bhatti—(Sanskrit, bhâtta, “lord”).—A Râjput sept. Of the Panjâb branch
Mr. Ibbetson [45] writes:—“Bhatti, the Panjâb form of the Râjputâna
word Bhâti, is the title of the great modern representatives of the
ancient Yaduvansi Royal Râjput family, descendants of Krishna, and
therefore of Lunar race. Their traditions tell that in very ancient
times they were driven across the Indus; but that, returning, they
dispossessed the Langah, Joya, and others of the country south of the
Lower Sutlej, some seven centuries ago, and founded Jaysalmer. This
State they still hold, though their territory has been greatly
circumscribed since the advent of the Râthaur; but they still form a
large proportion of the Râjput subjects of the Râthaur Râjas of
Bikâner. At one time their possessions in those parts included the
whole of Sirsa and the adjoining portions of Hissâr and the tract still
known as Bhatiyâna. The story current in Hissâr is that Bhatti, the
leader under whom the Bhattis recrossed the Indus, had two sons, Dûsal
and Jaysal, of whom the latter founded Jaysalmer, while the former
settled in Bhatiyâna. From Dûsal sprang the Sidhu and Barâr Jât tribes,
while his grandson Rajpâl was the ancestor of the Wattu. According to
General Cunningham the Bhattis originally held the Salt Range Tract and
Kashmîr, their capital being Gajnipur, or the site of the modern
Râwalpindi, but about the second century before Christ they were driven
across the Jahlam by the Indo-Scythians, and their leader, the Râja
Rasâlu, of Panjâb tradition, founded Siâlkot. The invaders, however,
followed them up, and dispersed them and drove them to take refuge in
the country south of the Satlaj, though their rule in the Kashmîr
valley remained unbroken till 1339 A.D.

2. “The Bhatti is still by far the largest and most widely distributed
of the Râjput tribes of the Panjâb. It is found in immense numbers
along the lower Satlaj and Indus, though on the former often, and on
the latter always classed as Jât. It is hardly less numerous on the
Chanâb, the Upper Satlaj, and on the Biyâs; it is naturally strong in
Bhatiyâna; there is a large colony in the Delhi District, while it is
perhaps most numerous of all in the seats of its ancient power—in
Siâlkot, Gujarât, and the Salt Range country. And if we reckon as
Bhatti the Sidhu and Barar Jâts of the Mâlwa, we shall leave no portion
of the Panjâb in which a large Bhatti population is not to be found.

3. “Yet it is strange if the Bhatti did hold so large a portion of the
Panjâb, as General Cunningham alleges, how almost universally they
trace their origin to Bhatner in Bhatiyâna, or at least to its
neighbourhood. Either they were expelled wholly from the Upper Panjâb,
and have since returned to their ancient seats, or else the glory of
their later has overshadowed that of their earlier dynasties, and
Bhatner and Bhatiyâna have become the city and country of the Bhatti
from which all good Bhatti trace their origin. The subject population
of Bikâner is largely composed of Bhatti, while Jaysalmer is a Bhatti
State; and it seems impossible that if the Bhatti of the higher Satlaj
are immigrants, and not the descendants of the old Bhatti who escaped
expulsion, they should not have come largely from both these States,
and moreover, should not have followed the river valleys in their
advance. Yet the tradition almost always skips all intermediate steps,
and carries as straight back to that ancient city of Bhatner on the
banks of the long, dry Ghaggar, in the Bikâner territory bordering on
Sirsa. The Wattu Bhatti of Montgomery, while tracing their origin from
Râja Sâlivâhana, the father of Râja Rasâlu of Siâlkot, say that their
more immediate ancestors came from Bhatner; the Nûn Bhatti of Multân
trace their origin to the Delhi country, while the Bhatti of
Muzaffargarh, Jhang, Gujrânwâla, Siâlkot, Jahlam, and Pindi, all look
back to Bhatner as the home of their ancestors. It is possible either
that Bhatner is used merely as a traditional expression, or that when
the Ghaggar dried up or the Râthaur conquered Bikâner, the Bhatti were
driven to find new homes in the plains of the Punjâb. Indeed, Mr.
Wilson states that in Sirsa or the old Bhatiyâna, the term Bhatti is
commonly applied to any Musalmân Jât or Râjput from the direction of
the Satlaj as a generic term almost synonymous with Rath or Pachhâda.”

[Bhattis of these Provinces.] 4. In these Provinces [46] they are also
known as Jaiswâr. They claim to be Jâdons who returned from beyond the
Indus in the seventh or eighth century. A large number of them became
Muhammadans in the time of Qutb-ud-dîn and Ala-ud-dîn. They say they
came to Bulandshahr under Kansal, or as others say, Deo and Kârê, in
the time of Prithivi Râja, having ejected the Meos. They are divided
into two clans—Bhatti and Jaiswâr. The former is the superior of the
two, the latter having intermarried with spurious Râjputs. A majority
of the clan are now reckoned as Gûjars. Another story is that they are
descended from Râja Dalîp, son of Jaswant Râo of Nâna Mau, near Bithûr.
He had two sons, Bhatti and Rânghar; their descendants settled in
Bhatiyâna; the branch converted to Islâm was called Rânghar. The
national dress is not trousers and waist cloth, but a broad sheet of
coarse cloth, plain or checked, which reaches from the neck to the
ankle and is tied at the waist. The wife of Tuglaq Shâh and mother of
Fîroz Shâh was a Bhatti woman. The Muhammadan Bhattis along the Kâli
Nadi in the Etah District are a turbulent, idle set, much dreaded by
their neighbours.

5. In the Upper Duâb they are reported to give brides to the Chauhân,
Gahlot, Tomar, Panwâr, Kachhwâha, and other high class Râjputs, and to
marry their sons in the Bargûjar, Chauhân, Kachhwâha, Pundîr, and other
high and middle class septs.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE BHATTI RÂJPUTS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    =====================+=========+==============+========
     District.           | Hindus. | Muhammadans. | Total.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn            |         |       39     |     39
    Sahâranpur           |     37  |      443     |    480
    Muzaffarnagar        |     80  |      343     |    423
    Meerut               |    180  |              |    180
    Bulandshahr          |  3,482  |    2,455     |  5,937
    Aligarh              |      5  |      576     |    581
    Mathura              |         |       49     |     49
    Agra                 |         |        1     |      1
    Farrukhâbâd          |     10  |    1,177     |  1,187
    Mainpuri             |         |        8     |      8
    Etah                 |     80  |    2,671     |  2,751
    Bareilly             |         |    3,762     |  3,762
    Budâun               |    587  |              |    587
    Morâdâbâd            |         |      514     |    514
    Shâhjahânpur         |     33  |              |     33
    Cawnpur              |         |       25     |     25
    Allahâbâd            |         |       41     |     41
    Ghâzipur             |         |      854     |    854
    Gorakhpur            |    125  |       66     |    191
    Azamgarh             |         |       25     |     25
    Tarâi                |         |       86     |     86
    Lucknow              |         |       75     |     75
    Unâo                 |         |      112     |    112
    Sîtapur              |         |       10     |     10
    Hardoi               |         |      198     |    198
    Kher                 |         |      195     |    195
    Faizâbâd             |         |        2     |      2
    Gonda                |         |       34     |     34
    Bahrâich             |         |      267     |    267
    Sultânpur            |         |      137     |    137
    Partâbgarh           |         |    1,652     |  1,652
    Bârabanki            |         |    1,353     |  1,353
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
                  Total  |  4,619  |   17,170     | 21,789
    =====================+=========+==============+========


Bhikha Sâhib.—A sect among the Râjputs of Ballia, of which the
following account is given in the District Gazetteer:—“There was a
devotee in Delhi whose name was Shâh Muhammad Yâri. In his time a
certain zamîndâr of Bhirkura, named Mardan Sinh, was arrested for
default of payment of revenue, and sent by the Viceroy (Sûbahdâr) to
Delhi, where he was imprisoned. A servant, who had attended Mardan
Sinh, paid visits in his leisure hours to Muhammad Yâri Shâh. One day
the devotee enquired what he was and where he lived. On this the
servant narrated the circumstances of his master’s imprisonment and of
his own presence there.

“‘Go and tell your master,’ said the devotee, ‘that he will be set free
to-morrow by the order of the Minister of State, and that he should
then present himself to me.’ Mardan Sinh was actually released the next
day, and, as directed, attended on Muhammad Yâri Shâh. After several
days’ attendance and devotion, the devotee expressed himself satisfied,
and directed Mardan Sinh to proceed to his own country, and there
worship the Âtma, and show mercy to the poor and hungry.

2. “He also gave him a seli or necklace of black silk, worn as a
distinguishing mark by the Chief, who sits on the cushion (gaddi) when
he has occasion to go to his disciples. Mardan Sinh was further
instructed by Muhammad Yâri Shâh to observe the following ceremony. At
the time of making a disciple, a kanthi, or sacred garland, is to be
put round his neck, and the disciple is enjoined to repeat constantly
the invocation Râm! Râm! and never to take life or tyrannize over any
one. Mardan Sinh on his return to Bhirkura made one Bhikha his
disciple, and the latter finally settled in Baragâon. This happened
some four hundred years ago, and the Bhikha Sâhib gaddi or seat was
thus founded. It may be noticed in regard to the above account that a
Muhammadan Faqîr is represented as enjoining the repetition of the
strictly Hindu formula Râm! Râm! If the legend is a correct statement
of fact, the circumstance is an interesting illustration of the partial
amalgamation of Muhammadan and Hindu forms, which we know is the aim of
some of the Vaishnava reformers.”

3. At the last Census the sect of Bhikha Sâhib included 1,227 votaries.

Bhîl—(Sanskrit, Bhilla).—We have in these Provinces only a few
fragments of the great Bhîl race of Central India. Professor Lassen
identifies them with the Phyllitæ of Ptolemy, whom Colonel Yule classes
with the Pulinda, a general term for various aboriginal races.
According to Dr. Caldwell the name Bhilla (vil, bil) means “a bow.”
[47] There is a curious early Hindu legend, which, however, is not
found in the Mahâbhârata, which tells how Drona, the preceptor of the
Pândavas, was jealous of the skill of the Bhîl Râja in archery, and
directed him and his subjects to cut off the forefinger of the right
hand. [48] Another story tells that Mahâdeva was one day reclining sick
in the forest, when a beautiful damsel appeared, the first sight of
whom effected a cure for all his pain. The result of their meeting was
the birth of many children, one of whom, distinguished for his
ugliness, slew the favourite bull of Mahâdeva, for which crime he was
expelled to the woods and mountains, and his descendants have been the
outcast Bhîls. They still call themselves “thieves of Mahâdeva.” [49]
There can be little doubt that they are a branch of the great Dravidian
race which is found along the mountains of Central India, and are akin
to the Gonds, Kharwârs, Mânjhis, Cheros, and Santâls, who live further
to the eastward. Sir J. Malcolm [50] thinks that they have emigrated
from Jodhpur and Udaypur to their present territory, and as a proof
that they were originally lords of the land, he points to the fact of
their giving the tîka to some of the existing Râjput princes. The most
solemn form of oath among them is mixing cowdung, salt, and the jawâri
millet, and lifting the mixture over their heads. [51] They have, like
many of the indigenous tribes, some relations with the local gods, and
are priests to one of the most ancient temples in Omkâr. According to
Sir A. Lyall [52] they are divided into a variety of distinct groups, a
few based on a reputed common descent, but most of them apparently
muddled together by simple contiguity of habitation, or the natural
banding together of the number necessary for maintaining and defending
themselves. Sir J. Malcolm says that the Bhîl women are invariably the
advocates of the cause of good order. They have much influence, and the
principal hope of an enemy’s escape lies in the known humanity of the
women. They worship peculiarly Sîtala, the small-pox goddess, and
Mahâdeva, from whom they claim descent. [53] The chief historical
tradition regarding them in these Provinces is that they were formerly
rulers in Rohilkhand, whence they were expelled by the Janghâra
Râjputs. [54] The clans recorded at the last Census in these Provinces
were the Guranawa, Jaiswâr, Karâwai, Majhûraya, Munaharbhâl, Râma, and
Râwat.

[Manners and customs.] 2. The best available account of the manners and
customs of the real Bhîls is that given by a writer in the Râjputâna
Gazetteer: [55]—“All Bhîls go about armed with the tribal weapons, bows
and arrows; except the headmen and others of consequence, who carry
swords. They are a dirty race. The men wear their hair long, and
hanging in uncombed masses from their shoulders. Their women are small
and ugly, those of rank being distinguishable by the number of brass
rings on their legs, often extending from the ankle to the knee. They
kill and eat kine and are much addicted to spirits, vast quantities of
which are consumed on festive occasions, which frequently end in
quarrels and bloodshed. Fond of fighting, they resort to their weapons
on the slightest provocation, but their most serious affrays arise out
of cattle-lifting and the abduction of women. If a Bhîl run away with a
betrothed girl, a feud will frequently ensue, which will not end till
the villages of both sides have been burnt and many lives lost. As a
rule they keep tolerably quiet in the winter and the rainy season; but
in the summer, between the gathering in of the last harvest and the
sowing of the next, they begin raiding on each other; and even the
richest think this time, which hangs heavily on their hands, favourable
for paying off old scores. There are sixty different sections of the
Bhîl tribe in Bânswâra.

[Marriage.] 3. “Bhîl children are not betrothed by their parents in
their childhood. A Bhîl girl is often unmarried up to the age of twenty
or twenty-five. Her father can take no steps of his own accord for his
daughter’s marriage; were he to do so, suspicion would be aroused that
there was something wrong with the girl. His friends can take steps on
his behalf, but he himself must wait for a proposal from the father of
some eligible lad, which he can entertain or not as he pleases. Should
he accept the proposal, the lad’s father, having provided himself with
a couple of pots of liquor, will return to complete the ceremony of
betrothal (sagari), sitting down under some large tree or other cool
spot in the village. The girl’s father and his friends join them, and
the question as to the amount of money to be paid by the father of the
lad to the father of the girl is there and then disposed of. This
amount varies according to the means and status of the parties
concerned from thirty to sixty rupees. When this is settled, the father
of the boy makes a cup of leaves of the Dhâk tree (Butea frondosa), and
placing it on the top of the pot of liquor, puts inside it two annas
worth of copper coins. The girl’s brother or some other boy among her
relations then takes the coin and turns the cup of leaves upside down.
The betrothal is then complete; and nothing remains but to drink the
liquor, which is done on the spot. The girl’s father then kills a goat
and gives a feast to his future son-in-law and his father, after which
the latter return home.

4. “Some four or six months after the betrothal arrangements for the
wedding are set on foot. The boy’s father takes a present of clothes, a
sheet (sâri), a petticoat, and a corset for the girl, who at once puts
them on. Her father, if well off, kills a buffalo, if poor, a goat, and
gives a feast to all the village, and to the boy’s father and all his
friends. On this occasion a Brâhman is called in, and on receipt of
four annas from each father, fixes some auspicious day for the wedding.
Half the amount previously fixed upon is now paid to the girl’s father
in cash, and the remainder in kind, in the shape of a bullock, etc. On
the day fixed by the Brâhman for the wedding, the boy, after being well
anointed with pît, a mixture of turmeric, flour, etc., proceeds to the
girl’s house, accompanied by all his friends and relations. They halt
at the borders of the village, whither the girl’s father, with all his
friends, and accompanied by drummers and women singing, proceeds to
meet them; and after performing the ceremony of tilak, that is marking
the boy on the forehead with saffron, escorts them into the village,
and settles them down under some large tree or in some other convenient
spot. The girl’s father then returns to his house, and the boy’s father
pays certain customary dues.

5. “On the evening of the wedding day a great feast is given by the
bride’s father; and the bride and bridegroom are provided with a
separate hut for the night, while their friends get drunk. Next morning
the bride’s father presents his daughter with a bullock or a cow, or
with any other worldly goods with which he may wish to endow her, and
after presenting the boy’s father with a turban gives him leave to
depart.

[Funeral rites.] 6. “The following are the ceremonies said to be
performed by the Bhîls on occasions of death. When a man dies a natural
death, his corpse is covered with white cloths, and a supply of food in
the shape of flour, clarified butter and sugar, uncooked (called sâra),
is placed by his side for use on his journey to the next world. They
are afterwards thrown into the water by the side of which he is burnt.
A small copper coin is also thrown on the ground when the corpse is
burnt, apparently as a sort of fee for the use of the ground for the
purpose. Three days after the body has been burnt, the ashes are thrown
into the water, and a cairn is raised on the spot by the people
present, who wring out their clothes over the stones after bathing. On
the twelfth day after death, all friends, far and near, assemble for
the kâta or mortuary feast, for which the heir of the deceased, if
well-to-do in the world, will have provided some two hundred rupees
worth of spirits. In the morning the ceremony of the arad is commenced,
and lasts generally throughout the day.

7. “The Bhopa, or witch-finder of the village, is seated on a wooden
platform, and places near him a big earthen pot with a brass dish over
the mouth of it. A couple of Bhîls beat this with drum sticks, at the
same time singing funeral dirges. The spirit of the deceased is now
supposed to enter the heart of the Bhopa, and through him to demand
whatever it may want. Should the man have died a natural death, the
spirit will call for milk, ghi, etc., and will repeat through the Bhopa
the words he said just before his death. Whatever is demanded is at
once supplied to the Bhopa, who smells the articles given to him and
puts them down by his side. Should the deceased have died a violent
death, the Bhopa generally calls for a bow and arrows, or for a gun,
whichever the deceased was killed with, and works himself up into much
excitement, going through the motions of firing, shouting the war cry,
etc. The spirits of the ancestors of the deceased are also called up by
the Bhopa, and the same ceremonies are gone through with them. In the
evening the Bhîl Jogi appears on the scene and goes through various
ceremonies. He is first of all provided with twelve sers of wheat flour
and five sers maize flour, which he places in front of the bier of the
deceased. The Jogi then plants his brass image of a horse on the top of
the flour and sticks an arrow in front of it, and also some small
copper coins. Two empty jars, the mouths tied up, one with red and the
other with white cloth, are also placed by him in front of the horse. A
rope is next tied round the horse’s neck. The Jogi then calls out the
names of the ancestors of the deceased, at the same time signifying to
the heir that now is the time for him to give alms or religious grants
to the memory of his father or ancestors, which appeal is generally
responded to; and a cow is given to the Jogi. The heir after this
directs the Jogi to provide the deceased with food. The Jogi cooks some
rice and milk and pours it into a hole he has dug in the ground. He
also pours in an ewer full of liquor and drops in a copper coin and
then fills up the hole again with earth. Other mystic rites follow; the
heir makes presents to the Jogi, and the family friends give presents
to the heir. The ceremonies conclude with some hard drinking. The next
day the relatives of the deceased give a feast to the village, each
relation providing something towards this feast,—one rice, another ghi,
and so forth. The honour of providing a buffalo belongs to the
son-in-law of the deceased, and failing him, the brother-in-law and the
brother.

[Widow marriage.] 8. “The widow of the deceased, if young, is now asked
by all the relatives whether she wishes to remain in her late husband’s
house or to be married again—a ceremony called nâtra. If she, as she
generally does, wishes to be married again, she replies that she will
return to her father’s house. If the deceased has a younger brother, he
will at once step forward and assert that he will not allow her to go
away to any other man’s house; and going up to her he throws his cloak
over the widow, who thus becomes his wife, and is taken away by him to
his house there and then. Eight days afterwards, when she is supposed
to have done mourning for her late husband, her new husband supplies
her with a set of armlets in the place of those given by her former
lord, which are taken off. The nâtra is then complete. The younger
brother is not, however, compelled to keep his brother’s widow should
he not wish to do so, but it is such a point of honour that a boy even
will claim and exercise the right. Should the deceased have no younger
brother, then the widow is taken away by her father or relations eight
days after the kâta. She will remain at her father’s house for a month
or two, when either she will be given away in nâtra to some man with
her father’s consent or she will run off and take up her quarters in
some man’s house without his consent. The man she flies to may not wish
her to come, and may have no idea of her intention to do so; but
nevertheless, once she has placed herself under his protection he is in
honour bound to keep her, and she remains as his wife. The widow can go
to any man she pleases provided he be of a different section to that of
her father.

9. “Should the father have given his widowed daughter away in nâtra,
her late husband’s heir will at once pick a quarrel and demand
satisfaction from him. As a preliminary step the heir generally attacks
the widow’s father and burns down his house, after which, in course of
time, a committee (panchâyat) is generally appointed to settle the
dispute, when a sum of money, varying from fifty to two hundred rupees,
according to the means of the parties, is awarded to the heir in
compensation. The father will then in his turn demand repayment from
his son-in-law, and should the latter refuse to pay up, he proceeds to
burn down his house and make himself otherwise objectionable till his
claim is satisfied. Should the widow run off, as she generally does,
without her father’s or relatives’ consent, her deceased husband’s heir
will at once attack the man to whose protection she has gone.

10. “Should some unmarried and unbetrothed girl take a fancy to and run
off with some young man, her father and brothers, as soon as they have
found out where she has gone to, at once attack and burn his house, or
in the event of their being unable to do that they burn any house in
the village which comes handy. This most probably is resented and
retaliated, and the quarrel may be prolonged for some time, but, as a
rule, a panchâyat is sooner or later appointed to settle the dispute.
The compensation awarded to the girl’s father never exceeds one hundred
rupees. A hole is dug in the ground and filled with water. The girl’s
father and his son-in-law then each drop a stone into it, and their
quarrel is finally settled. The panchâyat and party then consume some
liquor at the son-in-law’s expense, and depart in peace.

11. “Should an unmarried and unbetrothed girl refuse to run off with a
man when asked to do so, the man will generally shout out in the
village that he has taken so-and-so’s daughter’s hand, and woe to him
who dares to marry her. A panchâyat is then assembled, and the father
generally gives his daughter to the man, receiving double the
compensation that would have been awarded had the girl consented to
marry him in the first instance. Should a girl unmarried, but who has
been betrothed, run off with somebody else, the man to whom she was
betrothed at once attacks and possibly kills the man whom she has run
off with, and burns both his and the girl’s father’s huts. The quarrel
often goes on for years, and leads to retaliation, till the entire
village community on either side are drawn into the quarrel and turn
out and attack each other.

12. “Should a wife run away from her husband to somebody else, the
injured husband and his friends often burn the whole of the village in
which the recipient of the faithless wife’s favours lives. Eventually,
when a panchâyat is formed, the wife is often given up and taken back
by her husband, any children that she may have borne in the meantime
being left with their father. Should the man refuse to give her up,
then some two hundred rupees is awarded to the husband in compensation
by the panchâyat, not to mention the liquor required by the latter
during their consultation.

[Death customs.] 13. “The Bhîls erect stone tablets in memory of their
male dead (never to deceased women) and, as a rule, the figure of the
deceased is carved on the stone. He is often represented on horseback
with sword, lance, or shield, sometimes on foot, but invariably clothed
in the best of long clothes and armed with a sword and shield,—a style
of dress he was quite unaccustomed to in the flesh. Tablets are also
erected to boys who have died while still minors; but instead of a
figure of the deceased, a large hooded snake is carved on the stone.

[Religion.] 14. “Bhîls will eat the flesh of all animals, even that of
a dead camel. Bhîls and Mînas having no order of priesthood, resort to
the Guru of the Chamârs. These Gurus assume the appellations and badges
of Brâhmans. They do not adopt disciples; but the office is hereditary,
descending from the father to all the sons. The minstrel of the Bhîls
is called Kamriya. The principal deities of the Bhîls and Mînas are
Mâtâji and Devi. They also worship Agru. The Chauhân warrior-saint
Gûgaji is much worshipped in Sirohi as a protector from the bite of the
nâg sânp or cobra. [56] He is worshipped under the form of a warrior on
horseback and also under the form of a cobra.”


DISTRIBUTION OF THE BHÎLS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ===============+===========
       District.   |   Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~
    Muzaffarnagar  |        1
    Agra           |       17
    Farrukhâbâd    |        1
    Mainpuri       |        5
    Etâwah         |        1
    Etah           |       37
    Morâdâbâd      |        5
    Jhânsi         |      109
    Tarâi          |       14
                   |
          Total    |      190
                   |
    Males          |      117
    Females        |       73
    ===============+===========


Bhoksa, Bhuksa. [57]—A tribe akin to the Thârus who are found in the
Tarâi and Bhâbar from Pilibhît District on the East to Chândpur on the
Ganges on the West. There are a few scattered colonies in Dehra Dûn.
There are three main sections of them, the Pûrabi or “Eastern” which
lies east of the Râmganga and as far west as the Gola or Sârda, where
the Thârus begin; the Pachhami or “Western” which inhabits the Pâtli
Dûn and Bijnor between the Râmganga and the Ganges; and a section
reaching still further west from the Ganges to the Jumna. Between the
Eastern and Western sections there is no friendly intercourse; each
shuns the other, and the usual fictions are repeated about eating frogs
and lizards. [58]

[Appearance.] 2. Dr. Stewart thus describes them in Bijnor. [59]—“The
members of the tribe are of short stature and very sparse in habit, in
both respects somewhat exceeding the ordinary Hindu peasant of the
District, from whom, however, they do not differ much in general build
or in complexion. The eyes are small; the opening of the eye lids being
narrow, linear and horizontal (the inner angle not inclining downwards
so far as observed); the face is very broad across the cheek bones, and
the nose is depressed, thus increasing the general flatness of the
face: the jaw is prognathous and the lower lip thick and the moustache
and beard are very scanty.” Some of these peculiarities are more marked
in some individuals than in others, but one Bhoksa will always
recognise another, though a Kumâuni says he only recognises them when
they speak. The features of the women are similar to those of the men.

[Traditions of origin.] 3. Some of them claim to be Panwâr Râjputs, and
“assert that their chief Udayjît was driven from house and home in a
quarrel that he had with his brother Jagatdeo, the Râja of Dhâranagar,
and came to dwell with a few followers at Banbasa on the Sârda. Udayjît
had not been there long when his aid was solicited by the Râja of
Kumâun, whose territories required defence against some of the
neighbouring powers. Success attended the efforts of the Panwâr, and
the gratitude of the Râja induced him to offer his defenders an asylum
in his territories. Upon this they are represented to have left Banbasa
and to have taken up their residence in their present abodes.” [60] But
their traditions are very vague; some say that they came from the
Dakkhin; others, from Delhi; others, that they were expelled from the
Dakkhin by the Marhattas. The Mahra or Dehra Dûn branch say that they
came into the District from beyond the Ganges at the invitation of Râja
Sukh Dâs Sâh of Tehri, who used them as guides through the jungles on
his shooting expeditions. They fix their emigration into the Dûn at
some five generations from the present day.

[Tribal organisation.] 4. The last Census returns give the septs of the
Bhoksas, as Jâdubansi, Panwâr, Partuja, Râjbansi, and Tunwar. Sir H. M.
Elliot describes them as having fifteen septs (gotra), of which twelve
are of superior and three of inferior rank. The superior, according to
his list, are Bargûjar, Tabâri, Barhaniya, Jalwar, Adhoi, Dugugiya,
Râthaur, Negauriya, Jalâl, Upâdhya, Chauhân, Dunwariya. The three
inferior are the Dîmar-Râthaur (descended from a Teli woman), Dhangra
(from a hill woman), and Goli from a woman of the barber caste. “The
names of these tribes indicate considerable mixture with other classes,
both Râjput and Brâhman. Bhoksas are prohibited marrying in their own
gotra; but may select any other gotra they choose. Those who reside in
Kilpuri and Sabna are said occasionally to intermarry with the Thârus.
The Bhâts of the Bhoksas, who are descended from a follower of Udayjît,
reside still at Banbasa, and pay occasional visits to their
constituents. The priests (purohit) of the Bhoksas are Kanaujiya
Brâhmans, who are also descended from one of the followers of Udayjît.”

[The Mahra Bhoksas.] 5. The meaning of the word Mahra is not certain.
The same title is applied to Kahârs when it means “a confidential
person who enters the inner apartments” (Sanskrit mahilla, “a woman”).
This name is applied only to the Dehra Dûn section, and fresh
immigrants are known as Bhoksa. Marriage in a man’s gotra and in the
family of the maternal uncle for two generations is prohibited. They
may marry as many wives as they please, but two is usually the limit.
If a girl, prior to marriage, is detected in an intrigue with a man of
her own tribe, her parents have to pay a fine, which generally amounts
to five rupees, to the tribal council, and then she is restored and
allowed to marry in the tribe; but if her lover be a man of lower caste
than herself she is permanently excommunicated. If her lover be a man
of higher caste than herself the offence is condoned on payment of a
fine of ten rupees. Boys are generally married at the age of twelve. No
money is paid by either side. If the marriage be subsequently annulled
and the girl marries again, her second husband has to refund the
expenses of the first marriage. The only valid grounds for annulling a
marriage are infidelity on the part of the wife or the impotence of the
husband. If either leave the other for any reason other than the above
they will be fined by the council. When a man divorces his wife all he
does is to turn her out of his house and inform the council. Widows can
marry again by the form known as karâo. Children, the fruit of such
union, are regarded as legitimate, and inherit on the same footing as
the offspring of a regular marriage. It is asserted that the widow may
marry the elder as well as the younger brother of her late husband; but
this is so much opposed to the usual custom regulating such cases that
it must be received with caution. When the widow marries outside the
family of her late husband the guardianship of the children of the
first marriage passes to her husband’s brothers. There is no trace of
the fiction by which the children of the second marriage are attributed
to the late husband.

6. Of the tribe in the Dûn Mr. Baillie writes [61]:—“The Mahras are the
aboriginal inhabitants and occupy all the unhealthy villages in the
Eastern Dûn, where no one else can live. These are also Râjputs, and
are closely allied to the Bhoksas of the Rohilkhand Tarâi, and Thârus
of the Oudh Tarâi. They are clearly all one and the same race. The
Mahras have few traditions, except that their ancestors were Râjputs.
They present many points of resemblance to the Bhoksas, though neither
will acknowledge any connection with the other. They are of settled
habits, dwellers in swamps and cultivators of rice, and are proof
against malaria. They do not admit outsiders into the caste. They are
timid and averse to intercourse with strangers. They generally marry on
attaining puberty. They are in their habits and customs Hindus of the
ordinary low caste type, and Gaur Brâhmans are employed by them as
priests for marriage and funeral ceremonies. Remarriage of the widows
is permitted. The widow is not obliged to marry her husband’s elder or
younger brother. They eat pork and fowls, and drink spirits like most
of the dwellers in the Tarâi swamps. Some of them are hunters, and
catch game, and others are good fishermen.” The traditions which point
to a Râjput origin are, of course, as baseless as those of the Thârus
and the allied races.

[Mahra Bhoksas—Birth ceremonies.] 7. There is no ceremony during
pregnancy. The caste supplies midwives to the higher castes; so they
attend each other at their confinements. On the sixth day is the
worship of Bihâi, who causes children to laugh or cry in their sleep. A
ball of cowdung is made and wrapped up in a cloth. The midwife brings
this ball to the mother and she worships it. On that day the entire
house is plastered, and a dish of curry and rice is made and
distributed among the clansmen and friends. The next day the mother
gets some Ganges water from a Brâhman, and, mixing it with ordinary
water, takes a bath. This is the only purification. After a month the
shaving (mûndan) is performed, and on this occasion the clansmen are
fed. There is no adoption ceremony. When a man marries a widow and has
no issue it is very common for him to adopt one of his stepsons.

[Mahra Bhoksas—Marriage.] 8. The betrothal is done in the usual way. At
the marriage a shed (mânro) is erected in the courtyard, and beneath it
the nine planets are worshipped. After this the sacred fire is lighted,
and the pair walk five times round it.

[Mahra Bhoksas—Disposal of the dead.] 9. The dead are cremated, if
possible, at the Ganges, and in any case the ashes are deposited in the
sacred river. The corpse is shrouded in a piece of white cloth, five
yards long, to which a yard of red cloth is attached. There is no
ceremony at the cremation, but thirteen days after they give some
grain, cloth, and vessels to a Brâhman, and this purifies them. On
every day up to the thirteenth the mourners give a cake to the cow
before they eat themselves. Every year, in the month of Kuâr, they feed
the relatives of their daughters in order to propitiate the ghosts of
the dead—possibly a survival of the matriarchate.

[Eastern Bhoksas—Manners and customs.] 10. The Eastern section are very
closely connected with the Thârus. “Both tribes,” says Mr. E. Colvin,
[62] “are superstitious, and, as a rule, truthful, much given to
intoxicating drink and not very chaste; both more or less migratory,
only continuing to cultivate the land until it is exhausted, and then
moving on to fresh grounds; both utterly reckless with water with which
they inundate their fields. They bear a good moral character; are
inoffensive and peaceable, as well as intensely ignorant and indolent.
They have no arts and manufactures, and live on the chase and a scanty
cultivation. They are particularly fond of wild pig, and this may be
one of the reasons why they change the site of their villages every two
or three years. In some places they collect the wild jungle produce,
but in no systematic way. They also engage in gold washing, extracting
gold dust to the value of a few hundred rupees a year from the
auriferous sands of the Sona Nadi. They are slowly but surely dying
out, and now number only a few thousands.” Mr. Colvin says that they
are less intelligent than the Thârus. “To this day neither the Bhoksas
nor the Thârus build even earthen walls for their houses, which are
made of posts driven into the ground with beams resting upon them. They
employ hill or plainsmen as blacksmiths; all which tends to prove that
they never possessed knowledge sufficient to admit of their erecting
the buildings or sinking the masonry wells, ruins of which still exist
in the Tarâi.” Of their villages in Bijnor Dr. Stewart says:—“All are
built on the same plan of one straight street, generally of
considerable width (in some cases as much as 40 or 50 feet) and kept
very clean—in both respects differing remarkably from the villages of
the plains. The huts are placed end to end, with intervals after every
group of three or four, and the walls are for the most part built of
wattle and dab, but sometimes of thatch (chhappar), of which latter the
roofs are also constructed. The houses are windowless, but each has a
door in front and another behind, the latter affording access to the
shed for cattle, etc. The doorways and roofs are very low, and the
floors of beaten earth are considerably raised above the general level
of the grounds. Those Western Bhoksas do not at any time live in houses
built on poles, as is stated to be the case with those opposite
Kumâun.”

[Eastern Bhoksas—Religion.] 11. This division of the Bhoksas has been
so far Hinduised that some of them employ Gaur Brâhmans in their
marriage and funeral ceremonies. Some are Sikhs, and the wife follows
the religion (path) of her husband, and the children that of their
father. One of the Tarâi Parganas is called Nânakmatha, after the great
Sikh Guru, and there is a Sikh shrine there as well as at Dehra and
Srinagar. But they have their own indigenous medicine men (padhân).
They pay special devotion to the death goddess known as Bhawâni or
Devi, whose functions are the same as those of the Thâru goddess,
Kâlika. They have also two local saints, Sarwar Lakhi and Kâlu Sayyid,
of whom Dr. Stewart could learn nothing. Sarwar Lakhi is evidently the
famous Sakhi Sarwar Sultân, also known as Lakhdâta or the giver of
lakhs. His real name was Sayyid Ahmad, and he flourished about the
middle of the twelfth century. His principal shrine is at Nagaha, in
the Dehra Ghâzi Khân District. He is said to have been a disciple of
Bâba Nânak: he is the patron of athletes, and especially of wrestling.
[63] Kâlu Sayyid may have some connection with Kâli Sinh, the Panjâb
snake godling. [64] But he is more probably identical with the deity
known to the Baheliyas as Kâlu Bîr, to the Banjâras as Kâlu Deo, and to
the Kahârs, as Kâlu Kahâr. One story is that he was born of a Kahâr
girl, who by magical charms compelled King Solomon to marry her, with
the result that she bore a son, Kâlu Bâba, who is worshipped
extensively by Kahârs, Chamârs, Sainis, Gadariyas, and other low castes
in the form of a fetish stick decorated with peacocks’ feathers. The
last Census shows 266,191 votaries of this godling. Sarwar Lakhi has a
shrine at the entrance to the main pass through the Siwâlik hills into
the Pâtli Dûn, and all wayfarers, as they pass, of whatever race,
tribe, or creed, make offerings to his shrine.

[Eastern Bhoksas—Witchcraft.] 11. Like many isolated jungle tribes,
they have acquired a reputation for sorcery and witchcraft. In fact,
Bhogsa or Bhoksa, is the name for a sorcerer in Garhwâl. “Some are even
said to be able to assume the form of a wild animal, and thus
accomplish the destruction of an enemy. Sudarsan Sâh rid Garhwâ of
sorcerers in the following manner:—He called all the Bhogsas together
under pretence of needing their assistance in some ceremony, and
promised them all sorts of rewards should he succeed, and so induced
them to come themselves and bring all their books with them. When all
were assembled that had any pretensions to power as sorcerers, he
caused them to be bound hand and foot, and thrown with their books and
implements into the river.” [65]


DISTRIBUTION OF THE BHOKSAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    =================+========+=========+=========
     District.       | Mahra. | Bhoksa. |  Total.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~
     Dehra Dûn       |    599 |         |    599
     Morâdâbâd       |      8 |         |      8
     Allahâbâd       |     92 |         |     92
     Tarâi           |        |  1,208  |  1,208
                     +~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~
               Total |    699 |  1,208  |  1,907
    =================+========+=========+=========


1. Bhot, Bot, Bhotiya [66]—(Sanskrit, Bhota).—A tribe originally of
Hill origin. In the Panjâb, those who in the Spiti and Lahûl Districts
returned themselves as Bot, merely imply that they are Tibetans. The
proper name of the tract of Chinese territory, which we call Tibet, is
Bodyul, or Bod land, and the people Bodpas, corrupted by the Indians
into Bhotiyas—a name now applied to the Tibetans living on the borders
between India and Tibet, while the people of Tibet Proper are called
Huniyas, and the country Hundes. Boti is the name for the language, and
Bot for the people; but they rarely apply it to themselves. “If they
did,” says Mr. Diack, “it would be like a Panjâbi describing himself as
an Asiatic.” There they consist of four classes—Jocho, Lonpa, Chhazang,
Loban. [67] In these Provinces a tribe of the same name is found in
small numbers in the Kumâun Division. There they usually call
themselves Raghubansi Râjputs, and trace their origin to Bhutwal in
Nepâl. They fix their emigration into Northern Oudh in the reign of
Nawâb Asaf-ud-daula (1775–1797). They now present a curious instance of
a tribe of non-Aryan origin, who have in a very short time become
completely Brâhmanised. Among some of them the rule of exogamy is that
they do not marry their sons into families to which, within the memory
of man, they have given daughters as brides. But others have adopted
the complete Hindu law of exogamy, and the creation of a full set of
Brâhmanical gotras is probably only a question of time.

[Marriage ceremonies.] 2. These are of the usual Hindu type. When the
bride’s palanquin arrives at the house of her husband the gods are
worshipped, and then she is admitted into the house. Some rice, silver,
or gold, is put in the hands of the bridegroom, which he passes on to
the bride. She places them in a winnowing fan, and makes them over as a
present to the wife of the barber. This ceremony is known as Karja
bharna. A man can have three wives and no more. The wife of the first
marriage is the head wife, and she receives by inheritance a share
one-tenth in excess of that given to the other wives. Marriage is
generally performed under the age of fifteen, but no special age is
fixed. No price is paid on either side. Concubinage and the levirate
are allowed. There is no form of divorce, and though a man or woman is
excommunicated if detected in illicit intercourse, they can be restored
to caste on giving a tribal feast.

[Marriage ceremonies.] 3. The marriage ceremonies are in the standard
form. Respectable people marry by the common charhana ritual, which
begins with the ceremonies at the door of the bride’s house (darwâza
châr or duâr châr). When they come to the marriage shed (mânro), the
officiating Brâhman does the usual worship. The bride’s younger brother
sprinkles parched grain over the pair, and receives from the father of
the bride a sheet, which is known as lâi bhujua, or the remuneration
for parching rice. Then the bridegroom rolls a stone over the parched
rice on the ground, and this is known as the “line of the stone”
(patthar kî lakîr), which is the binding part of the ceremony. Then
follows the tying of the clothes (ganth bandhan), and the
circumambulation of the fire (bhanwari). Next comes the pâsa sâr, where
the bride and bridegroom exchange jewels—a survival of the gambling
custom which appears in the standard ritual. Then follows the feeding
of the bridegroom (bâsi khilâna), and the usual feast to the clansmen.
After the marriage is over, on an auspicious day, the grass used as
thatch for the wedding shed and other things are thrown into a river or
tank by the women. This is called maur serwâna, “the setting afloat of
the marriage crown.” The lower kind of marriage is called pair pûjna,
in which all the ceremonies are done at the house of the husband. The
last form, dharaua, is simple concubinage. Persons who have not been
married till they are of advanced years very often keep a woman in this
way.

[Disposal of the dead.] 4. Those who die of cholera or snake-bite, and
young children, are buried; others are cremated. There is no fixed
burial-ground, and no ceremonies are performed at the time of burial.
Richer people keep the ashes for removal to some sacred stream; others
bury them. After the cremation a stalk of kusa grass is fixed in the
ground near a tank, and water and sesamum is poured upon it for ten
days so as to convert it into a refuge for the spirit until the rites
are completed.

[Religion.] 5. They employ Brâhmans as priests. Their chief object of
worship is Devi, to whom goats are sacrificed. Young pigs are also
occasionally offered to her.

The worshippers make the sacrifice and consume the meat themselves.
They observe the usual festivals. On the Barsâti Amâwas, on the
fifteenth of Jeth, women worship a banyan tree by walking round it and
tying a thread round the trunk. This they do to increase the life of
their husbands. Women fast on the Tîja, or third day of Bhâdon. At the
Godiya, on the fifth of Kârttik, they worship the dragon, Nâg Deota,
and girls offer dolls to Devi and Mahâdeva. The care of malignant
spirits is the business of the exorcisor (nâwat). Women reverence the
bargad or banyan tree, because its name (bargad) is supposed to be
connected with their husbands (bar).

[Social customs.] 6. They do not eat the turnip (shalgham). They will
not touch a Dhobi, Bhangi, Chamâr, or Kori. They eat the flesh of
goats, sheep, hare, deer, water-birds, and fish; they will not eat the
monkey, cow, pig, fowl, crocodile, snake, lizard, rat, or other vermin.
Intoxicating liquors are forbidden; bhang and gânja are used, but
excess is reprobated.

[Occupation.] 7. Their occupation is agriculture; they do not hold land
as zamîndârs but as tenants, and some work as field labourers. They
practice no handicraft.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE BHOTIYAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+========
      District.   | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Muzaffarnagar |      1
    Gorakhpur     |      6
    Kumâun        |  7,270
    Garhwâl       |    174
    Tarâi         |      6
                  +~~~~~~~~
            Total |  7,457
    ==============+========


Bhuînhâr—(Sanskrit Bhûmi, “land,” kâra, “maker”).—An important tribe of
landowners and agriculturists in the Eastern Districts. They are also
known as Bâbhan, Zamîndâr Brâhman, Grihasth Brâhman, or Pachhima, or
“Western” Brâhmans. They must, of course, be very carefully
distinguished from the Dravidian Bhuînhâr or Bhuiyâr tribe, of whom
some account has been given in a separate article.

[Origin of tribe.] 2. One story of their origin is that when Parasurâma
destroyed the Kshatriya race, he set up in their place the descendants
of Brâhmans, who, after a time, having abandoned their priestly
functions, took to land-owning. Another story tells that a King of
Ajudhya being childless, sought to obtain an heir by the sacrifice of a
Brâhman, and purchased the son of the Rishi Jamadagni for that purpose.
The uncle of the child, the sage Viswamitra, procured a child for the
Râja, and the sacrifice was rendered unnecessary; but the Brâhman boy
having been sold was considered degraded, and was forced to take to
agriculture, and became the ancestor of the Bhuînhârs. This, as Mr.
Risley says, is the famous legend of Sunahsephas in another form. [68]
“A third legend, perhaps the best known of all, traces the Bâbhans back
to a sacrifice offered by Jarasandha, King of Magadha, at which a very
large number of Brâhmans, some say a lakh and-a-quarter, were required
to be present. Jarasandha’s Dîwân, a Kâyasth of the Amisht or Karan
sub-caste, did his best to meet the demand, but was driven to eke out
the local supply by distributing sacred threads among members of the
lower castes, and palming them off on the King as genuine Brâhmans.
Jarasandha’s suspicions being roused by the odd appearance of some of
the guests, the Dîwân was compelled to guarantee their respectability
by eating the food which they had cooked, while the Brâhmans thus
manufactured had to set up a caste of their own, the name of which
(Bâbhan or Bâhman) is popularly supposed to mean a sham Brâhman, just
as in some districts an inferior Râjput is called a Râwat, the
corruption of the name betokening the corruption of the caste.” [69]

3. It has been suggested [70] that the legend that they were Brâhmans
degraded at the feast of Jarasandha points to the fact that after the
downfall of Buddhism, the Bâbhans were those Brâhmans (with whom there
was possibly some admixture of Râjputs) who were either converted to
the Buddhistic faith or chose to live under the Buddhistic system with
a changed status. Of this, however, there is no evidence.

4. On their relations to Brâhmans and Râjputs a competent observer, Mr.
J. R. Reid, writes [71]:—“Their Brâhman and Chhatri neighbours
generally insinuate that they are of mixed breed, the offspring of
Brâhman men and Chhatri women, or of Chhatri men and Brâhman women. By
other castes they are regarded as a kind of Chhatri, and are spoken of,
and indeed often speak of themselves, as Bhuînhâr Thâkurs. Their clans
(gotra) are the same as those of the Brâhmans, and, like the latter,
the Bhuînhârs wear a thread (janeû) ninety-six hands breadth (chaua) in
length, the Chhatri’s thread being eighty only. They do not perform
priestly offices, nor receive offerings given from a religious motive
(dân, dakshina); but they are saluted with the pranâm, or pâêlagi, and
return the salutation with a blessing (asîrbâd). Physically they are of
the same type as the Brâhman or Chhatri. In character they resemble the
former more than the latter; and the following proverbs are in vogue:—


    Nadi kai bhânwak,
    Bhuînhâr kai ghânwak.
    Sabse chatur Banya, tese chatur Sunâr;
    Lasê lûse lâike tehi thâgê Bhuînhâr.


“The Bhuînhâr is as uncertain as the current of the rivulet. Cutest of
all is the Banya; cuter than him is the goldsmith; but the Bhuînhâr
with his wiles tricks them both.”

“Brâhmans do not eat with them, nor do Râjputs. Possibly the existence
of the Bhuînhâr class is also evidence of the time when the bonds of
caste, as we know them, had not been forged, or, if forged, were not
worn by those who pushed forward into new settlements beyond the old.
It has been pointed out that to the non-Aryan inhabitants of the
country all Aryans were of one caste,—all Brâhmans. Within the Aryan
body the exchange of priestly for military employment was not
impossible, and did not involve degradation. It is unnecessary,
therefore, to believe that all Bhuînhârs are Brâhmans of inferior,
because illegitimate stock. They may be as true born as the Brâhmans or
Chhatris who surround them, and many of whom they possibly preceded in
the occupation of the land. Further, it seems probable that many so
called Kshatriya tribes are Brâhmans who have fallen from their former
status.”

5. Dr. Oldham, [72] speaking of the Ghâzipur branch of the tribe, says
that in popular estimation they share something of the sacredness which
attaches to Brâhmans. Their divisions are very often the same as those
of well-known Râjput tribes, such as the Kinwâr, Gautam, and Kausik
Bhuînhârs; and the corresponding Râjput tribe sometimes names the same
city or country as the first home of the race. In one case “a Bhuînhâr
and Râjput tribe both claim descent from a common ancestor, and each
admits that the pretensions of the other are well founded. The Bhuînhâr
tribes all intermarry on terms of equality and eat together; on the
other hand Râjputs marry their daughters into what they consider
superior, and their sons into inferior tribes, and are very chary of
eating together. There is consequently a much closer bond of sympathy
between the various Bhuînhâr tribes of the district than between the
Râjputs.”

6. Sir H. M. Elliot [73] thinks that “we perhaps have some indication
of the true origin of the Bhuînhârs in the names Garga Bhûmi and Vatsa
Bhûmi, who are mentioned in the Harivansa as Kshatriya Brâhmans,
descendants of Kasya princes. Their name of Bhûmi and residence at
Kâshi are much in favour of this view; moreover, there are to this day
Garga and Vatsa gotras among the Sarwariya Brâhmans.”

7. The theory that they are a mixed race, derived from a congeries of
low caste people accidentally brought together, is disproved by the
high and uniform type of physiognomy and personal appearance which
prevails among them. This, as Mr. Risley says, would not be the case
“if they were descended from a crowd of low caste men promoted by the
exigencies of a particular occasion, for brevet rank thus acquired
would, in no case, carry with it the right of intermarriage with pure
Brâhmans or Râjputs, and the artificially formed group, being compelled
to marry within its own limits, would necessarily perpetuate the low
caste type of features and complexion. As a matter-of-fact, this is
what happens with the sham Râjputs whom we find in most of the outlying
Districts of Bengal. They marry among themselves, never among the true
Râjputs, and their features reproduce those of the particular
aboriginal tribe from which they may happen to be sprung.”

8. The next supposition is that they may be Brâhmans who for some cause
(in this case it is said to have been because they took to agriculture)
have been degraded. There are, of course, many so-called Brâhmans, like
the Mahâbrâhman, Ojha, or Dakaut, who are of a degraded type; but many
of these are almost certainly derived from the lower races, and have
little or no Aryan blood in their veins. Further, many true Brâhmans
hold land and cultivate, and are not necessarily degraded by so doing.

9. Further, Mr. Risley seems to be certainly right in dwelling on the
fact that while they have sections both of the territorial and
eponymous class, the former regulate the exogamy of the tribe, and not
the latter. Many lower castes have adopted Brâhmanical gotras; but it
is unreasonable to suppose that if the Bhuînhârs were originally
Brâhmans, and as such necessarily provided with a set of real
Brâhmanical gotras, they would deliberately have discarded them and
adopted a tribal organization of the territorial type. On this ground
he regards them as more probably a branch of the Râjputs.

10. The question then of the origin of the Bhuînhârs is not capable of
exact determination. Their traditions, customs, and appearance point
all to a Brâhmanical origin; their tribal organization seems to show
that they are not, as is asserted by some, Brâhmans, who for a reason
obviously inadequate, have been degraded from their original position.
They may be a real branch of the Aryan stock, who in very remote ages
colonised the part of the country which they occupy at present, and
being reduced by the exigencies of their position to abrogate their
sacerdotal functions, took to a life of war and agriculture, and in
consequence of this organized their tribe in a manner analogous to
those of the early Kshatriya settlers.

[Tribal organisation.] 11. As has been already said, the tribal
divisions of the Bhuînhârs are organised on both the territorial and
eponymous systems. Of the former the chief sub-divisions in the eastern
part of these Provinces are the Kinwâr, Donwâr, Sakarwâr, Baghochhiya,
Bemuwâr, Karenawa, Kotraha, Karmâi, Kolhaniyân, Athariya, Jaithariya,
Chaudhari, Kotaha, Sobraniyân, Belhariya, Domkatâr, Baksariya,
Eksariya, Gautamiya, Titiha, Bhaiwadh, Kolaha, Sorhaniya, Biruâr,
Surohau, Birramiya, Kahatwâr, Mirzapuri, Raikwâr and Parasiya. Besides
these are a number of sub-divisions of the Brâhmanical type, such as
Dikshit, Garga, Gautam, Sândilya, Pânrê, Dûbê, Tiwâri, Upâdhya, Pâthak,
Shukl, Kapilgotri, Kausik, Bhâradwâja, and Payâsi Misr. They further
enumerate eighty-four of the regular Brâhmanical gotras, such as
Kasyapa, Vasishtha, Parâsara, Bhârgava, Vatsya, Katyâyana, Gargya,
Gobhila, Angiras, and so on. But in carrying out the rules of exogamy
the mûl or territorial section is alone taken account of, and not the
Brâhmanical gotra. With this exception the prohibited degrees follow
the standard Brâhmanical formula. Some of these sections are possibly
totemistic, such as the Baghochhiya or “tiger” (bâgh); Domkatâr, “Dom’s
knife,” Belhariya, from the bel tree; and these sections carry with
them some degree of inferiority, which results in a form of hypergamy.
The Census returns give no less than four hundred and fifty-eight
Bhuînhâr sections: but here the territorial sections and the
Brâhmanical gotras are mixed up together. The most important local
sections according to these returns are the Chaudhari, Gautam, and
Kolaha, in Benares: the Gautam in Mirzapur: the Bhâradwâja,
Bhrigubansi, Dichhit, Donwâr, Gautam, Kausik, Kinwâr, Kistwâr,
Sakarwâr, Sonwâr, in Ghâzipur: the Asuriya, Bhagata, Domkatâr, Kinwâr,
Manchaura, Nanauliya, and Bemwâr, of Ballia: the Baghochhiya,
Baksariya, Gautam, Kausik, and Sakarwâr, of Gorakhpur: the Barasi,
Birhariya, and Kausik, of Basti: and the Barwâr, Bhâradwâja,
Bhrigubans, Denwâr, Gargbans, Gautam, Purwâr, Sakarwâr, and Sândil, of
Azamgarh.

[Domestic ceremonies.] 12. The Bhuînhârs of this part of the country
follow in every respect the standard Brâhmanical rules.

[Religion.] 13. Bhuînhârs are usually Saivas or Sâktas, and worship the
deohâr or community of village godlings and local demons or ghosts such
as Goraiya, Hardiya, Bandi Mâi, and the like.

[Territorial sub-divisions.] 14. Some account may be given of the chief
territorial sub-divisions. [74]

[The Kinwâr.] 15. The Kinwâr Bhuînhârs claim an origin from Padampur,
in the Carnâtic, like the Kinwâr Râjputs. They have in Ghâzipur three
sub-sections—Rajdhar, Makund, and Pithaur Râê.

[Bemwâr.] 16. The Bemwâr Bhuînhârs say they came from Bempur and
settled in Narwan in Benares. They are respectable, well-to-do people.

[The Sakarwâr.] 17. The Sakarwâr Bhuînhârs are closely connected with
the Râjput sept of the same name, and like them their legends connect
them and their name with Fatehpur-Sikri. In Ghâzipur they are generally
rich, and have retained the greater part of their ancestral property.

[The Donwâr.] 18. The Donwâr sub-division say that their original home
was near Fatehpur-Sikri. When they settled in Azamgarh they were known
as Bhath. They derive their name from their parent village Donauli,
which took its name from Dona Achârya, a Pânrê Brâhman. Dr. Oldham says
that they are frugal and industrious. The ancestor of the Donwârs of
two or three villages was in the military service of one of the Delhi
Emperors, and received from him for his valour the title of Khân, which
is borne to the present day by all his descendants.

[The Gautam.] 19. Of the Gautam Bhuînhârs one tradition runs that about
the year 304 Hijri (882 A.D.) a Brâhman of the Gautam gotra, named
Khattu Misra, came to Benares. Every day after he had bathed he used to
pour some water at the root of a madâr tree (Asclepias gigantea) in
which lived a Râkshasa. One day he had forgot to make the accustomed
offering, and the Râkshasa appeared and implored him to relieve his
thirst. He complied with the request, and the Râkshasa offered him any
boon he chose. Khattu replied that he was much inconvenienced by having
to dry his wet loin cloth over his shoulders whenever he went to bathe.
So the demon gave him the power of throwing the cloth into the air,
where it was miraculously suspended until it dried. The Râkshasa then
introduced him to Vyâsa, who was living in Benares, and the fame of his
miracles rapidly brought him reputation and wealth. So he built a tank
at Benares, which is still known as Misra ka pokhara, and planted trees
on its bank. Benares was then ruled by Râja Banâr; and one day an
elephant belonging to the Râja injured one of the trees of Khattu
Misra, whereat he was wroth, and the Râja was forced to take the worthy
into his favour. One day the Râja gave Khattu a packet of betel on
which he had written a deed-of-gift of twenty-eight villages. Khattu
unwittingly swallowed the betel, and being considered to have thus lost
status by accepting a gift, he henceforth lost the power of drying his
loin cloth in the air. This estate was the present Gangapur, which
belongs to his descendant, the present Mahârâja of Benares, who belongs
to the Bipra branch of the Gautam gotra, with the title of Misra.
According to Mr. Sherring [75] it is “of the Kauthumiya sâkha, or
branch of Brâhmans following the ritual of the Sâma Veda. It has three
Pravaras, distinguished by the number of knots in the Brâhmanical
cord—the Gautam, Angiras, and Anthatiya. The clan intermarries with the
Bhuînhârs of the Madhyandina sâkha of Brâhmans, observing the ritual of
the Yajur Veda. It is traditionally allied to the Sarwariya Brâhmans of
Madhubani beyond the Ghâgra.”

[Occupation and social status.] 20. The Bhuînhârs of these Provinces
claim to observe a high standard of personal purity and carry out all
the rules of the Brâhmanical ritual. They are in the villages at least
quarrelsome and litigious; but they are, on the whole, a fine body of
sturdy yeomen, and turn out excellent crops, though they will not
plough with their own hands. To agriculture they very generally add
dealing in grain and money-lending.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE BHUÎNHÂRS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891. [76]

    ============+==========
      District. |  Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~
    Bulandshahr |       1
    Benares     |  21,272
    Mirzapur    |   9,385
    Jaunpur     |   4,292
    Ghâzipur    |  54,606
    Ballia      |  25,777
    Gorakhpur   |  31,202
    Basti       |  12,744
    Azamgarh    |  61,425
    Lucknow     |      86
    Faizâbâd    |     124
    Gonda       |       1
    Partâbgarh  |     112
                +~~~~~~~~~~
          Total | 221,027
    ============+==========


Bhuiya.—A Dravidian tribe found in the hill country of South Mirzapur
[77] to the number of 839.

[Legend of origin.] 2. Their legend in Mirzapur runs that two ancient
sages, Moma Rishi and Kumbha Rishi, had each a son known respectively
as Bhad or Bhadra and Mahesh. Bhad practised austerities in the forests
of Magadha or Bihâr, and his cousin Mahesh attended on him. Bhad once
sat between two nîm (melia azadirachta) trees, and when he felt hungry
ate the bark. The Bhuiyas hence know him as the Nîm Rishi. Mahesh went
into the forest every morning to collect roots and fruits. Half he used
to eat himself, and half he kept for his cousin. When Bhad had spent
twelve years in these austerities, the Lord tempted him by sending to
him one of the nymphs of heaven. She used to make some halwa out of
flour, butter and sugar and stick it on the bark of the tree beneath
which Bhad sat. Bhad knowing nothing of this used to eat it with the
bark which formed his daily food. Finally his eyes were opened and he
saw the lady. He fell in love with her and took her to wife, and had
seven sons, from whom are descended the Magahiya, Tirvak, Dandwâr,
Dhelwâr, Musahar, and Bhuînhâr or Bhuiyâr septs. From their descent
from the Rishi the Bhuiyas often call themselves Rishâsan Bhuiyas. The
fruits and roots which Mahesh collected he sowed in the Mirzapur
jungles, and since then they have begun to grow there. This legend is
very different from that recorded by Colonel Tickell, which would make
the Bhuiyas descended from shell fish, and of kindred origin to Kols,
Santâls, and Ghasiyas. [78] The Mirzapur legend asserts their kinship
with the Musahar and Bhuînhâr, who claim to be distinct tribes, and
disclaim any connection with the Bhuiyas.

Mr. Risley, remarking on the wide area over which the name Bhuiya has
spread, thinks we should “hesitate and demand some independent evidence
of affinity before we pronounce it to be an original tribal
designation, and accept the conclusion that all tribes which bear the
name at the present day are sprung from a common stock.” He adds that
“the advanced guard of the Aryan immigrants, pressing forward in quest
of land, and seeking a name for the alien races whom they found in
possession of scanty clearings in the forest-clad tract of Central
India, whither they had themselves been driven, would naturally ignore
the tribal names of the groups with which they came in contact, and
would call the strangers Bhuiyas or children of the soil” [79] (bhûmi).

[Physical characteristics.] 3. Colonel Dalton describes the Bhuiyas of
Gangpur and Bonai as “a dark brown, well proportioned race, with black,
straight hair plentiful on the head but scant on the face; of middle
height, figures well knit, and capable of enduring great fatigue, but
light framed like the Hindu, rather than presenting the usual muscular
development of the hillman. The features are very much of the same cast
throughout. The cheek and jaw-bones are projecting, so as to give a
breadth and squareness to the face. The nose is but slightly elevated,
still neither so depressed nor so broad at the root as the generality
of Turanian noses, and rather of a retroussé type: mouth and teeth well
formed, and the facial angle generally good. The eyes well shaped and
straight, but never very large or deep set.” [80] On the other hand he
describes the Keonjhar Hill Bhuiyas “as rather of an exaggerated
Turanian type: very large mouths, thick and somewhat projecting lips,
foreheads narrow and low, but not receding; eyes dark but well shaped,
hair plentiful on the head, though rather frizzly and generally scanty
on the face; but to this there are notable exceptions. Short of
stature, averaging about five feet two inches, round shouldered, and
many of them with a lump that is produced by the displacement of the
muscles in carrying loads bhangy fashion. The colour of the skin varies
from a deep chocolate, the predominating tint, to tawny.” [81] This
last description seems to answer more closely than the former to the
tribe as found in Mirzapur. They are distinguished with very great
difficulty from the Bhuiyâr, with whom they are doubtless very closely
connected, but are much less robust and active than the Korwas or
Parahiyas.

[Internal structure.] 4. The Mirzapur Bhuiyas have not the intricate
and confusing internal structure characteristic of the Bengal tribe.
They describe themselves as divided into eight septs—Tirvâh, Magahiya,
Dandwâr, Mahatwâr, Mahthek, Musahar, and Bhuînhâr or Bhuiyâr. Of these
the Dandwâr, Magahiya, Mahatwâr, Tirvâh, appear in the Bengal lists
from Lohardaga and the Musahar in Manbhûm. [82] Some of these
sub-divisions are totemistic, some local, and some occupational. Thus
the Tirvâh say they take their name from the fact that their original
ancestor was thrown when a baby into a river. One of the Dandwâr sept
rescued and brought him to the bank (tîr). Another version of the story
is that the ancestor of the sept was born on the river bank, fell in
accidentally, and was rescued by a Dandwâr. The Magahiya is a local
sept derived from Magadha or Bihâr, their place of origin. The Dandwâr,
again, is apparently an occupational sept. They take their name from
dand, athletic exercises, in which like Nats they are said to be
proficient. The Mahatwâr derive their name from the fact that they were
formerly leaders (mahto) of the tribe. The Musahar are so called
because they eat mice and rats (mûs). They say that they were
originally natives of Magadha or Bihâr, and emigrated into Mirzapur
only some three or four generations ago. They have now no connection
with their original seat in the way of marriages, pilgrimages, or
deriving their priests, barbers, or tribal officers from there. The
septs of the Tirvâh, Dandwâr, and Mahatwâr intermarry, and the
Magahiya, Mahthek, Bhuiyâr or Bhuînhâr, and Musahar intermarry. But
these rules appear to be in a very uncertain state, because there seems
no doubt that they also marry within their own sept, but not with a
family with whom an alliance has been contracted within two or three
generations, which is as far as memory runs. The internal structure of
the tribe is, in fact, in a state of transition. The Musahar and
Bhuînhâr or Bhuiyâr septs have practically completely separated, and
this process will doubtless continue until still more endogamous groups
are formed.

[Tribal council.] 5. They have a tribal council which is known as
Bhayyâri, or “the assemblage of the brethren.” The meetings for tribal
business take place when the members collect for marriages or funerals.
They have a permanent hereditary president called Mahto. The principal
cases which come before the council are charges of not feeding the
brotherhood at marriages and deaths, eating or drinking with outsiders,
and fornication or adultery. The usual punishment when an offence is
proved is that the offender is condemned to feed the brotherhood for
one or two days on goat’s flesh, rice, and liquor. If the hereditary
president happens to be a minor, his duties are undertaken, till he
grows up, by some other person appointed by the council.

[Marriage.] 6. Marriages are strictly local, and, as a rule, a Bhuiya
never goes to a distance to find a wife for his son. Difference of
occupation, provided other conditions are fulfilled, is not a bar to
marriage. All the sub-divisions are equal as far as marriage is
concerned, and the custom of hypergamy is unknown. They may have as
many wives as they can buy and support. There is no rule of precedence
among the wives, and all, if possible, live in different rooms in the
same house. Concubinage is not permitted. Women are allowed
considerable freedom both before and after marriage. If an unmarried
girl is detected in an intrigue with a man of her own caste her father
has to give a feast to the brethren, and the girl is married to her
lover. But apparently nothing short of actual detection in the act or
the pregnancy of the girl is sufficient to compel the council to take
action against her. If she is detected in an intrigue with a person not
of her own caste she is permanently expelled. The usual marriage age
for both boys and girls is twelve. The consent of the parents is
essential, except in the case of prenuptial immorality, and by this
means couples very often make up their own matches. The permanent
bride-price prescribed for the whole tribe, whether rich or poor, is
five rupees in cash, a cloth for the bride, four sers of rice, two sers
of sugar, and one ser of turmeric. If after marriage either bride or
bridegroom becomes idiotical, mad, leprous, impotent, or mutilated, the
marriage is annulled. But this is conditional on the other party being
ignorant before the marriage was carried out of such a defect.

[Divorce.] 7. Habitual infidelity on the part of either husband or wife
is a ground for divorce, but the fact must be proved to the
satisfaction of the tribal council, which scrutinizes the evidence very
closely. Divorced women can remarry, but the feeling is against it, and
only widowers or men who cannot afford the recognised bride-price for a
virgin will take such women.

[Widow marriage and the levirate.] 8. Widows are remarried in the sagâi
form. When a man marries a widow he has to repay the bride-price to the
relations of her late husband. There is no ceremony. All the man does
is to give the woman a sheet (sâri), and then takes her home, where he
has to give a feast to the brethren. The levirate is strictly enforced.
It is only when the younger brother of her late husband abandons his
claim on the widow that she can marry an outsider. The elder brother
can, under no circumstances, marry the widow of his younger brother. If
she marries an outsider her brother-in-law has a right to the custody
of all her children by the first marriage. If she marries an outsider
she loses all right to the goods of her first husband. Her sons by her
first husband are his heirs. In the case of the levirate the levir
takes over the goods and children of his late brother: if, when they
come of age, they wish to separate, they are considered entitled to an
equal share in the joint property with their step brothers. There is no
fiction that the children of the levir are affiliated to his late
brother.

[Adoption.] 9. They assert that a sonless man can adopt and pretend to
have some elaborate rules on the subject which are in imitation of
their Hindu neighbours. At any rate it is clear that there is no
religious motive for adoption, and if a man does adopt an heir it is
one of his brother’s sons. A man may not adopt his sister’s son, but he
may adopt his daughter’s son. A bachelor, a blind, impotent, or lame
man may adopt, but not an ascetic. The rule that the person adopted
should be unmarried is not enforced. Girls are never adopted.

[Succession.] 10. The rules of succession do not differ from those of
the cognate Dravidian tribes. Genealogies are not carefully kept. They
remember generally the names of four or five ancestors both in the male
and female line.

[Birth ceremonies.] 11. There is no ceremony at pregnancy. The Chamâin
midwife officiates. She cuts the cord (nâr) and buries it in the exact
place where the child was born, and lights a fire there. On the day of
her confinement the mother gets a decoction of flour, ginger, coarse
sugar, and turmeric, mixed up and boiled in water. She then gets
nothing to eat for three days, when she is fed on rice and pulse. She
remains secluded in the delivery room (saur) for six days, during which
time the Chamâin attends. On the sixth day is the chhathi ceremony. All
the men and women of the family have their dirty clothes washed by the
Dhobi. The men have their heads shaved, the women get the barber’s wife
to cut their finger and toe nails, and dye their feet with lac dye
(mahâwar). The house is replastered, and the old earthen vessels
replaced. The Chamâin bathes mother and infant. The delivery room is
first plastered by the Chamâin and then by the sister of the child’s
father (nanad), for which she gets a present in money, clothes or
cattle. If a son is born the Chamâin receive four annas and her food,
and two annas for a daughter. The washerman and the barber’s wife get
the same. The husband does not cohabit with his wife for two and-a-half
months after her delivery.

[Adoption ceremony.] 12. Adoption is made in presence of the brethren,
who are entertained. He acknowledges the boy as his son, and the boy
acknowledges him as his father. If this is not done the adoption is not
recognised.

[Puberty ceremony.] 13. There is no special ceremony when boys or girls
attain puberty, but at the age of five or six their ears are bored
(kanchhedana). The boring is done by a goldsmith, who gets one pice and
a ration of uncooked grain (sîdha). No tribal feast is given, but the
members of the household wear their best clothes and eat specially good
food that day. Up to that time it does not matter what the child eats,
but after the ear-boring he must conform to the rules of the caste.

[Marriage ceremonies. The betrothal.] 14. The selection of the bride is
the business of the boy’s father. When he has made his choice he comes
home and sends his brother-in-law, the tribal president (Mahto), and
four or five other male friends to the father of the girl. If the
proposal is accepted, the envoys are entertained for the night. Next
morning the bride’s father summons his clansmen. A square is made with
flour in the court-yard. Her father brings out the bride, who is made
to stand in the square, and her father then calls on the friends of the
bridegroom and the Mahto to examine her carefully and satisfy
themselves that she has no physical defect. When they are satisfied the
Mahto or brother-in-law of the bridegroom’s father fills the bride’s
hand with dry rice and sprinkles some grains (achhat) over her for good
luck. The bride then retires. Next the boy’s father sends for four
annas worth of liquor, and the girl’s father for two annas worth. This
is mixed, and the two fathers sit down with leaf platters (dauna) in
their hands. These they exchange five times and drink the liquor. [83]
The bride-price is then paid over to the girl’s father, and the
betrothal is considered complete.

[The preliminary marriage ceremonies.] 15. After the betrothal the
wedding day is fixed by the father of the bridegroom. Notice is sent
through his brother-in-law to the bride’s father. Three days before the
wedding the matmangara or “lucky earth” ceremony is performed in both
families. The women of the village go in procession to the village
clay-pit. At the head of them goes a Chamâr playing on his drum. This
drum is first worshipped by the women, and a mark (tîka) made on it
with red lead. The village Baiga then digs three spadesful of earth,
which the mother of the bride or bridegroom, as the case may be, takes
in her loin cloth, she standing behind him with her face veiled in her
sheet, while he passes the earth to her over his left shoulder. This
earth is placed in the marriage shed (mânro) which is erected in the
courtyard of the house, and on it is placed an earthen jar (kalsa) full
of water, into which some mango leaves and rice stalks are thrown. Next
comes the anointing (tel hardi) of the pair, which is done at their
respective houses by five women of the family (the number five is
selected as it is lucky) who rub them with oil and turmeric. A day
before the wedding day the brethren are entertained at a feast
(Bhatwân). They are also fed on the morning when the procession starts.
Before the procession starts the mother of the bridegroom seats herself
on the rice mortar (okhari). The bridegroom walks towards her and turns
back four times. The fifth time he comes close to her, when she seizes
him by the handkerchief which he wears over his shoulders, and will not
let him go until he promises a present. Next comes the imlighotna or
“mixing of the tamarind.” The bridegroom’s mother sits on the ground
with him in her lap. Her brother gives him a sip of tamarind mixed with
sugar and water. He spits it out on the palm of his mother, who licks
it up, and receives a present for doing so from her brother. Then comes
the parachhan ceremony as described among Majhwârs (para. 16). The
bridegroom then starts in procession for the bride’s house accompanied
by his relatives and clansmen.

[Ceremonies at the house of the bride.] 16. At the bride’s house a
marriage shed (mânro) has been erected. The posts, nine in number, are
formed of the wood of the siddh tree (Hardwickia binata), and roofed
with bamboos. The first post is erected by the village Baiga, and the
work finished by the male relations of the bride. Mango leaves are hung
on the pillars. At the same time a post of siddh wood is planted in the
ground at the door of the cook-house and covered with a cloth. This
post is decorated with red lead and turmeric, and is known as “the
auspicious one” (Kalyâni). When the procession approaches the bride’s
house, her relatives and friends go in a body (paghar) to receive the
bridegroom. The bridegroom is led in and seated in the square (chauk)
in the court-yards opposite his father-in-law, who makes a mark (tîka)
of rice and curd on his forehead. The bridegroom then with his friends
retires to the place arranged for them under a shady tree near the
village. This is the janwânsa. The relatives of the bride follow them
there and wash their feet. After this the bridegroom’s father sends the
bride a piece of stamped cloth (chunari), which she wears at the
wedding. Her father then invites the bridegroom to his house, where he
enters, and, seizing the bride roughly by the hand (an obvious survival
of marriage by capture [84]) brings her out into the marriage shed, and
seats her on his left near a branch of the siddh tree, which is fixed
in the ground in the centre of the shed. He then goes through the form
of marrying himself to the tree by marking it with red lead, and after
this rubs red lead on the parting of the bride’s hair. This done, the
bride’s father, or in some instances a Brâhman, who gets a fee of one
rupee, ties the garments of the pair in a knot and they walk round the
siddh branch five times. Each time as they go round when they approach
the water jar (kalsa [85]) the bride’s brother pours a little rice into
the bride’s bosom. The bridegroom then with his party retires. Next
morning is the ceremony of eating khichari or boiled rice and pulse.
The bridegroom goes to the bride’s house accompanied by five unmarried
boys of the same sept as himself. It is the etiquette that he refuses
to eat until he gets a present. After this the clansmen on both sides
are entertained.

[Ceremonies on the return of the bride.] 17. That same day the
bridegroom brings his bride home in procession. When they reach his
house two baskets are placed on the ground near the door, and they both
step in these as they enter. That day the relatives and clansmen are
entertained; and next morning disperse. A week after, the water jars
(kalsa) which have been brought in the return procession are taken by
the bride and bridegroom to an adjoining stream. The bridegroom first,
not letting the bride see him, plunges his jar into the stream. She
searches for it and fishes it out, and the bride plunges her jar in,
which the bridegroom recovers. Both bathe and return to the house
bearing the jars full of water, doing worship as they pass it to the
shrine of the village gods (deohâr). When the bride brings her jar into
the house she pours the contents of her jar over her mother-in-law and
asks if she is satisfied with the match. The old woman gives her some
trifling present.

[Binding portion of marriage ceremony.] 18. The binding portion of the
ceremony is the rubbing of red lead on the parting of the bride’s hair
by the bridegroom. If a betrothal is annulled the bride-price is
returned: but after the marking with red lead the marriage is final
until the parties are regularly divorced.

[Varieties of marriage.] 19. The forms thus described are known as the
charhauwa or “offering” for virgin brides and sagâi for widows. Another
recognised form is known as gurâwat, in which two men exchange their
sisters in marriage. [86]

[Disposal of the dead.] 20. No one is allowed to die in the house. The
bodies of the dead are carried on a bier to a neighbouring stream,
where they are placed on a pyre, the head north and the feet south. The
nearest relative of the dead person walks five times round the pyre,
and first scorching the mouth of the corpse with a grass torch sets
light to the pyre. Leaving it burning, the man who fired the pyre with
his friends goes and bathes. When they return to the house they sit in
the courtyard, and one man with a wisp of grass sprinkles water on
their feet out of an earthen pot. Then they sit in silence for an hour
round the chief mourner, and as they go away wash their hands in a
mixture of sugar and water. The next morning the chief mourner collects
the bones and ashes and consigns them to a neighbouring stream. From
that time until the tenth day he keeps aloof from every one, cooks for
himself, and does not sleep on a bed. He eats only once a day. Each
time before he eats he lays out food for the spirit of the dead along
the road by which the corpse was carried to cremation. [87] On the
tenth day the clansmen assemble at a tank and shave their heads. Thence
they go to the house of the deceased, where a goat is sacrificed in the
name of the deceased, some liquor is poured on the ground, and the meat
is boiled with rice and eaten. They have no srâddha ceremony, and no
Brâhman or Mahâbrâhman officiates at the funeral ceremony, nor are any
spells (mantra) or verses recited.

[Religion.] 21. The Bhuiyas call themselves Hindus, and, indeed, have
advanced considerably in the direction of Hinduism, as compared with
their brethren in Bengal, whose beliefs are almost altogether of the
animistic or fetishistic type. [88] Their chief deity is the Hindu
Kâli, who has doubtless succeeded some aboriginal goddess, such as the
Pauri or Pahâri Devi of the Bhuiyas in Singhbhûm. [89] Kâli and
Paramesar are worshipped in Aghan with an offering of sweet cakes and a
burnt sacrifice (hom). Kâli’s shrine consists of a rude thatched hut,
outside the village, with a flag in each of the four corners. A round
mound of earth on a raised platform in the centre of the shrine
represents the divinity. They worship through the Baiga the village
gods (dih) and the earth goddess Dharti Mâta in association in the
month of Chait. In fact a Bhuiya usually describes his faith, as the
worship of Dih Dharti. [90] Goats, young pigs, and fowls, are offered
to these deities. The Baiga receives as his perquisite the head of the
victim, and the worshippers consume the rest of the flesh. Women do not
join in this worship.

[Nâdu Bîr.] 22. They have a special tribal hero named Nâdu Bîr, of whom
the following legend is told:—“Once upon a time there lived in Magadha
or Vihâra a Bhuiya woman of exquisite loveliness. She had a son named
Nâdu, who surpassed his mother in beauty. He was accustomed to roam in
the forest and hunt any animal that fell in his way. One day he went
out a-hunting equipped with a bow and arrows. When he got into the
forest he happened to see a deer, which he pursued. He chased it till
nightfall with no success. As he had gone far into the forest he lost
his way, and was quite at a loss to know what to do and where to go.
Thirsty and tired, he wandered about till he reached fortunately the
Kuti or hermitage of an inspired ascetic, Koela Rishi by name. Seeing
the ascetic he bowed down to the earth before him and begged for water,
of which he stood badly in want. Koela Rishi took pity on him, and
calling his wife and daughter told them to give him what he wanted. The
daughter, in obedience to her father’s bidding, brought out a gourd
full of water, and her mother gave him fruits and roots, the only food
of the ascetic. The Bhuiya fed on the fruits and roots, and quenched
his thirst with water. He passed the night there. But since he saw the
daughter of the ascetic he was so much enamoured of her beauty that he
became beside himself. In the morning he got up and went to take leave
of the ascetic to go home. The ascetic saw through his mental eyes that
the Bhuiya was enamoured of his daughter’s beauty, and also that his
daughter was in love with him. He consulted his wife on the subject,
and with her permission he married his daughter to the Bhuiya. Nâdu
with his sweetheart returned to his mother, who was named Kamala.
Kamala was exceedingly glad to see the wife of her son so beautiful and
good. Nâdu loved his wife so much that he could never bear to leave
her. For a long time they lived together, but the union was unhappily
not blessed with a child. Discouraged and disheartened, Nâdu ran away
from home without giving any notice to his wife or mother. After many
days’ journey he reached Kamaru Kamachcha. One day as he was taking a
walk in the streets of the city the eyes of the daughter of the King of
that city fell on him. She invited Nâdu to dinner, and made love to
him. Her name was Naina Jogini. After some time she began to dread that
some other King’s daughter would appropriate her lover. To avoid this
she turned Nâdu during the day into an ox through her magical powers,
and at night changed him into a man, and lived with him. In this way
some days were passed. After some time Nâdu remembered his wife and
home, and begged Naina to allow him to visit his native land. Naina at
first refused permission, but at last finding that Nâdu could not live
long unless he was given leave, she granted him leave for a fortnight,
and caused him through her magical powers to reach home within a couple
of hours. He met his wife, stayed with her, and she became in child.
Nâdu, true to his promise, left home and reached Kamaru Kamachcha on
the fixed day. But when he left home he wrote his address on the gate
of the door. He also told his wife that the child, when born, would
search him out. In nine months Kausalya was delivered of a child most
beautiful, and he was named Tulasi Bîr. Tulasi Bîr was so powerful,
even on the day of his birth, that when he saw the light he at once
proceeded to the fields and brought to the house a very heavy log that
was lying there to be burnt in the saur, or room in which his mother
was secluded. At the age of five he made a gulli of lead, 25 maunds in
weight, and a danda, 52 maunds in weight, of iron. With these he used
to play tipcat. When he attained his seventh year he read the writing
on the gate, and having come to know that his father was a prisoner in
Kamaru Kamachcha, in the hands of Naina Jogini, he flew into a passion,
and started immediately for Kamaru Kamachcha. Reaching there, he
commenced fighting with the forces of Naina Jogini. He set fire to the
fort, and it was in a moment turned into a heap of ashes. The whole
army was killed, driven back, or burnt by Tulasi Bîr. Naina used all
her magical powers to defeat Tulasi, but in vain. Tulasi rescued his
father and brought him home.”

23. Another bold adventure of a Bhuiya hero is thus described:—In the
city of Marang there lived two brothers, Ganga Râm and Gajâdhar. They
had a sister, Bârij Somati by name, who was very beautiful, and for
whose love many men from distant quarters fought with her brothers,
were defeated, and returned home heart-broken. When Tulasi was informed
of it he fell in love with her without seeing her. He started for
Marang, taking leave of his mother and father. He first sent word to
Ganga Râm and Gajâdhar to give their sister to him in marriage. But
they paid no attention to the message. Tulasi then fought a duel with
the two brothers, defeated them, and took their sister by force, and
brought her home and married her. Lahang Bîr was born of Bârij Somati.
He was a very powerful man. Bhuiyas still speak of his boldness and
bravery in very high terms, and worship him with prayers and sacrifices
after every two years outside the village or in the family kitchen.
They worship him in this way:—

24. They dig a hole in the ground five or six cubits deep and one or
two cubits long. They burn fire in it, and walk on it bare foot. They
say that the man who is possessed of the Bîr does not feel any
sensation of burning by walking on fire. They also scatter thorny
branches of ber and kankor on the ground, and roll on them. They say
that the thorns become blunt when a man possessed of Lahang Bîr rolls
on them. Those who are possessed of the Bîr pronounce blessings on the
Bhuiyas, and they believe that these blessings turn out true. Bhuiyas
offer him sacrifices of goats, fowls, and hogs.

[Festivals.] 25. The only Hindu festival which they observe is the
Anant Chandas (14th light half of Bhâdon). They fast on that day and
wear a thread on the right arm, over which some rude spells (mantra)
are recited. Then they go into the forest and cut a branch of the karam
tree (anthocephalus cadamba) which they fix up in the court-yard. The
men bow to it, and the women decorate it with red lead. Then they get
drunk, dance round it, and sing the karama songs. The festival is an
occasion of rude license and debauchery. It is understood that if any
girl takes a fancy to a man she has only to kick him on the ankle
during the dance, and the parents get the pair married forthwith. They
believe firmly that persons killed by tigers become dangerous ghosts.
They are worshipped periodically by the Baiga with offerings of fowls
and liquor at a mud shrine erected at the place the person was killed.
[91] This is called the Baghaut. They also believe in the appearance of
ghostly fires in the jungle at night. One of these blazes on the Juriya
hill in Pargana Dudhi. It is said to be the fire of some holy faqîr,
but when any one goes near the place it disappears. If any one goes
into the forest wearing a red cloth the ghosts (bhût) which inhabit old
mahua (bassia latifolia) and pîpal trees (ficus Indica) enter into him.
A person in such a state has to go into the forest and bow down before
every tree of these species until the ghost leaves him. The field deity
is Hariyâri Devi (“the goddess of greenness”). She is worshipped in the
field by the Baiga with a sacrifice of fowls and liquor when the
harvest is completed.

[Ancestor worship.] 26. They dread the ghosts of the dead and offer
sacrifices and lay out food for them through the head of the house. If
they are not fed they remain hungry in the next world, appear in
dreams, and show their displeasure by besetting their living friends in
the form of the nightmare, which grips their throats, sits on their
breasts, and vampire-like drinks their blood at night. They appear to
have no knowledge of the remarkable mock human sacrifice described by
Colonel Dalton. [92]

[Various superstitions, omens, oaths, exorcisms.] 27. Friday is their
lucky day, and Saturday is unlucky. The numbers three and five are
lucky. The note of the Suiya bird singing on the left is a favourable
meeting omen. The East is the lucky direction. They swear on the head
of their sons, and by holding the tail of a cow. These oaths are used
for the decision of private disputes concerning tribal discipline. They
believe in magic and witchcraft. Only special sorcerers (ojha) and
witches (tonahi) have this power. They attack their victims by throwing
dust on them, and making them eat some special food, which brings the
victim under their influence. The Ojha prescribes in cases of witch or
ghost possession. He names the particular bhût which is at the root of
the mischief, and directs an offering of a fowl or a young pig, which
he sacrifices and eats himself. Ojhas also pretend to be able to
foretell the future. They do not believe much in dreams, except as an
indication that the deceased ancestors are displeased with them. They
believe in the Evil Eye, which is a power residing principally in
persons born on Saturday. There are special spells (mantra) to obviate
it. Any member of the tribe can learn and use these.

[Social observances.] 28. The women tattoo themselves in the way common
to all the allied tribes. They will not touch a Dom, Dharkâr, Dhobi, or
Chamâr; nor the wife of the wife’s elder brother, the wife of the
younger brother, or the mother of the wife or husband of their son or
daughter. In the morning they will not mention a monkey or a tiger.
They do not eat the flesh of the cow, buffalo, monkey, crocodile,
snake, lizard, or jackal. They eat pork, fowl, fish, and rats. Women do
not eat with men; the men eat first and women afterwards. They use
tobacco and liquor freely, and the latter is considered to ward off
malaria. But habitual drunkenness is discreditable. Younger people
salute their elders in the pâêlagi form, and the elders give the
blessing, nîkê raho, “may you be happy.” Old men are cared for, and
women, who are much used in outdoor and domestic work, appear to be
treated with a tolerable amount of consideration. But if they are
disobedient, wives are beaten by their husbands. Doms and Dharkârs will
eat their leavings. They will eat food cooked by Brâhmans, Râjputs, or
Banyas, and Ahîrs. Among the aboriginal tribes the only ones from whose
hands they will eat food are the Kharwârs.

[Occupation.] 29. Most of them are hereditary serf ploughmen (harwâha).
The usual wages are three sers of coarse grain per diem and ten annas
in cash per mensem. In winter they get a blanket, and in the rains a
palm leaf umbrella hat (khumari): at the beginning and ending of the
sowing season they get a special dinner from their masters. Some have
risen in the social scale, cultivate on their own account, and keep
cattle and sheep. Some of the Mirzapur Bhuiyas are makers of catechu
(khair), and are hence known as Khairaha. They are quiet, industrious,
simple, confiding people.

[Local organization.] 30. They have a local organization called “the
unity” (eka) embracing a group of villages. When any one encroaches on
their rights they meet and discuss the matter.

[Clothes and jewelry.] 31. The women are tolerably decently dressed.
The men’s dress is sometimes terribly scanty. Women wear no ornament in
the nose: in the ears they wear palm leaf ornaments (tarki); on the
neck beads (guriya), and necklaces; on the hands mattiya, and rings on
the fingers. The men wear brass earrings and bead necklaces.

Bhuiyâr: Bhuînhâr.—A Dravidian tribe in the hill country of South
Mirzapur. They are also known as Beonriha from beonra, which is a local
term for the dahya system of cultivation by which patches of jungle are
periodically burnt down and brought under the plough. Mr. Jonathan
Duncan in one of his reports speaks of them under the name of
Bewariyas, and describes them as being in such an exceedingly wild and
uncivilised state as not to have attended him to make their settlement.
[93] It is needless to say that they have no connection with the
semi-gipsy Bâwariyas. The tribe is also known as Baiga, because large
numbers of the aboriginal local priests are derived from this caste.
The word Bhuînhâr (Sanskrit, bhûmi-kâra) means “land-holder,” and is a
title of some of the allied tribes, e.g., the Mundas. [94] They are
probably identical with the Bhuryas described by Dr. Ball. [95] It is
hardly necessary to say that they have no connection with the regular
half Brâhman half Kshatriya Bhuînhârs of the Gangetic valley.

[Tribal constitution.] 2. The Mirzapur Bhuiyârs can name fifteen
exogamous septs (kuri). Five of these, the Khagoriha, Suidaha,
Khatkariha, Deohariya, Chargoriha, are admittedly local septs, deriving
their names from the villages in which they originated. They have
branched off in comparatively recent times. The original ten septs are
probably in a large degree of totemistic origin. These are Bhuînhâr or
“land-holder;” Nâpan, “the measurer;” Bhûsar, “the chaff men;” Bhall,
“arrow men;” Sisi; Bunbun, the bumble bee; Karwa, “bitter;” Râê,
“leader;” Daspût, son of a slave; Bhaniha, “he that has the rays of the
sun,” many of which are possibly nicknames. If any of these titles were
originally totemistic their significance has now been lost.

[Rule of exogamy.] 3. These septs (kuri) are all exogamous, and
marriage within the septs is absolutely forbidden. This rule, which
obviously permits very close intermarriage, is not supplemented by the
complete formula mamera, chachera, phuphera and mausera, which bars the
line of the paternal and maternal uncle and aunt. Here only the line of
the paternal and maternal uncle within one generation is excluded; and
after this intermarriage between their descendants is allowed.

[Traditions of origin.] 4. Their traditions of origin are very vague.
They speak of a place called Bhaunradah as their original
head-quarters, but of this they know nothing more than that it is
somewhere to the south.

[Tribal council.] 5. They have a tribal council (panchâyat) which meets
occasionally. There is no permanent president (mahto), but the oldest
or most competent person is appointed at each meeting. If a man is
convicted of adultery or fornication he is generally put out of caste
for a year or two. He is then restored on providing a feast for the
clansmen. The penalty is particularly high in the cases of incestuous
connection with women within the prohibited degrees. If proved guilty
of such conduct he has to provide five goats and as much liquor as can
be made in one distillation from a single still (bhatti). If the woman
with whom he is detected in an intrigue belongs to another caste, the
fine is one still of liquor and two goats. He must obey the order of
the council. If he is contumacious the fine is increased: if he submits
and pleads poverty, it is often reduced.

[Marriage.] 6. A man may marry in any of the ten septs (the five last
being regarded as only offshoots from the others), provided both
parties are in possession of full caste rights. Among these people we
have a distinct survival of marriage by capture in the sort of
wrestling or struggle which takes place between the bride and
bridegroom, before the latter during the marriage ceremony applies red
lead to the parting of the hair of the former. This custom of applying
red lead is an obvious survival of the original blood covenant when the
bride was marked with blood drawn from the body of the bridegroom, and
thus formally united to him. A man may have as many wives as he can
afford to purchase with the bride-price and support. The senior wife is
held in special respect and gets more jewelry and better clothes than
her juniors. She alone represents the women of the family at social
celebrations. This appears, as Dr. Westermarck remarks, to indicate a
transition from monogamous to polygynous habits, and not vice versâ, as
has often been suggested. [96] If the family house is large the wives
all live together; if not, in separate rooms grouped round the common
courtyard. [97] Another peculiarity among this tribe is the intense
fear of the menstrual pollution. [98] There are always two doors to the
dwelling house, one of which is used only by women in this condition.
While impure the woman is fed by her husband apart from the rest of the
family, and whenever she has to go out she is obliged to creep out on
her hands and knees so as to avoid polluting the house thatch by her
touch. Concubinage and polyandry are both prohibited, and the latter is
looked upon with such horror by them that it seems impossible to
believe that it could ever have been a tribal institution. [99] Women
enjoy a considerable amount of liberty both before and after marriage.
If an unmarried girl is detected in an intrigue with a clansman, the
tribal council imposes a fine on her paramour and marries her to him.
The fine consists of a goat, rice, and liquor. The marriage age for
girls is from ten to twelve, and to delay the marriage of girls to a
later period is considered unseemly. As the people put it, “the
brotherhood jeer” (birâdari hansat). The marriage of a boy is arranged
by his sister’s husband (bahnoi). It usually takes place by arrangement
between the pair, but love matches are allowed and are not unusual. The
bride-price consists of a sheet (orhna) valued at three rupees, five
rupees in cash, and fifteen sers of liquor. The bride receives the
sheet, and the money and the liquor are used in the marriage feast.
This is the invariable rate and does not vary with the means of the
parties. If after marriage it turns out that the bridegroom becomes
mad, blind, leprous, or impotent, her relations will withhold the
bride. In this case, if the husband have a younger brother, the
marriage is annulled by the council, and the bride is again married to
her brother-in-law by the less regular form used in the case of widows,
i.e., by sagâi. On the other hand if after marriage any defects
manifest themselves in the bride her husband is bound to accept her,
and if before marriage the relations of the bride were aware of any
defect in the bridegroom the marriage cannot be broken.

[Divorce.] 7. Adultery in the wife when proved to the satisfaction of
the council is a ground for putting her away, but no evidence short of
the testimony of eye-witnesses to the act of adultery is accepted.
Adultery in the husband is not a ground for divorce, but if his
misconduct is brought to the notice of the council they will reprimand
him. Ill-treatment, again, on the part of the husband is not a ground
for divorce, but the wife generally takes matters into her own hands
and escapes to the house of her parents, who will not restore her until
the husband gives security that the ill-usage will not be repeated. The
cost of brides acts, it is needless to say, as a check on ill-usage or
desertion. [100] A divorced wife is allowed to marry again by the sagâi
form with the permission of the council.

[Widow marriage and the levirate.] 8. Widows can many again by the form
known as sagâi, and women are so valuable that every young widow if not
taken over by her brother-in-law is married to some one else. If a man
wishes to marry a widow he must secure her consent and that of her
relations. When this is granted he takes for her a set of palm-leaf
earrings (tarki), brass arm rings (churla), and glass bangles (chûri).
These he puts on the widow, takes her home, and gives a feast to the
clansmen of goat’s flesh and rice. This feast is called after the
earrings tarki bhât. The levirate prevails under the usual restriction
that it is only the younger brother of the husband who can claim the
widow of his elder brother. If he resigns his claim she can marry an
outsider: she takes with her to her new home only infant children of
her first husband. The others are taken care of by the brother of their
father. The widow has no right to succeed her late husband: his heirs
are his sons, or, in default of sons, his brother. In the case of the
levirate there is no fiction that the children of the second marriage
are affiliated to the first husband. As a rule all marriageable widows
are taken either in the levirate or remarried by sagâi.

[Adoption.] 9. The tribe profess to have elaborate rules of adoption,
which are, however, clearly derived from an imitation of the practice
of their Hindu neighbours. There is no religious idea about adoption.
All that is certain is that only a sonless man can adopt, that he must
adopt in his own sept, and that almost as a matter of course he adopts
his brother’s son. The uncertainty of the conception of adoption is
shown in the fact that the adopted son is allowed to retain his right
of succession in the property of his natural father.

[Beena marriage.] 10. Beena marriages by the custom known as gharjaiyân
or ghardamâda, when the bridegroom serves a period of probation for his
bride are usual. In such a case the son-in-law has no right of
inheriting from his father-in-law, but retains the right of inheritance
from the estate of his father.

[Succession.] 11. The sons are the sole heirs to the estate of their
father. Primogeniture is so far observed that while the children of all
wives share equally, the eldest son of the senior wife gets what is
called tikaiti, or one in excess of each thing—cattle, cooking vessels,
etc.; but if the father die in debt, this right ceases, and all the
sons have to contribute equally to discharge the debt. The father
during his lifetime cannot nominate one of his sons to get a share
superior to that of the others.

[Birth.] 12. There is no pregnancy ceremony. The mother is attended by
her husband’s sister (nanad), the Chamâr midwife not being employed.
The woman lies on the ground during parturition. A fire is lit in the
room in which she is secluded as soon as the labour pains commence. The
umbilical cord is merely severed and allowed to dry, when it is taken
out and buried in the jungle by the sister-in-law in attendance. The
cord retains some mystic significance. Thus a common phrase in quarrels
about land is kya tuhâr nâr e men gâral gayal—“was your cord buried
here that you claim this land?” The cord usually falls off; and is
buried on the third day after delivery. The day it falls off her
sister-in-law bathes the mother and child, who are again bathed on the
expiry of a month from the date of delivery. On that day the
sister-in-law cleans and replasters the delivery room (saur), and
receives from the child’s father a sheet (orhna), as her remuneration,
as well as a piece of cheap jewelry. On that day the mother is pure,
and cooks for the family and neighbours of the clan. The husband does
not again cohabit with his wife for two or three months after her
confinement. [101]

[Marriage ceremonies.] 13. Until children are married it does not
matter from whose hand they take food: after marriage they are obliged
to conform to caste regulations. The marriage negotiations commence by
some old man of the tribe or the boy’s father going to inspect the
girl. Then the husband of the bridegroom’s sister goes to her with five
sers of liquor and two rupees, thus concluding the betrothal, which is
known among them as puchhâwat or “the asking.” If the bride’s father
accepts the proposal, he summons his clansmen and distributes the
liquor among them. At the same time they are given a dinner of goat’s
flesh and rice, which is provided by the boy’s father. After this, on a
day fixed by the girl’s father, the boy’s paternal uncle goes again
with two vessels, each containing five sers of liquor, and takes with
him three rupees in cash. This finally concludes the betrothal, which
is known as bajarâwat or “strengthening,” and barrekhi, or “the marking
down of the bridegroom.” This liquor and money are used in entertaining
the clansmen of the bride and the envoy of the bridegroom. Next the
bride’s father presses some oil with his own hands and sends it to the
boy’s house. This is mixed with turmeric, and the bridegroom is daily
anointed with it by his female relations. In the same way the boy’s
father presses some oil and sends it for the use of the bride. After
this a suitable date is fixed by mutual arrangement, and the bridegroom
comes with his procession to the door of the bride. Outside the door
the bride’s mother stands with her feet in a basket, and holds in one
hand a rice pestle (mûsal), and in the other a brass tray (thâli),
containing some cotton with the seed and a lighted lamp. She moves the
pestle five times round the boy’s head from left to right and five
times again from right to left, and pours the cotton over his head.
Next she warms her hands twice over the lamp and presses them on the
boy’s cheeks, and kisses his lips. After this the boy does salutation
(pâêlagi) to her. She then leads the bridegroom into the inner room,
where the girl sits in a corner. He sits there silent for some time. At
last some women friends who are also sitting there say,—“Give the boy
what he has come for.” Then her mother makes the bride stand up and
seats her to the left of the bridegroom. This done, the boy returns to
his friends, and the bride again retires into her corner. A couple of
hours after the pair are seated on two leaf-mats in the courtyard,
facing east. Both are stripped by the women, well rubbed with a mixture
of oil and turmeric, and dressed in new clothes. After this the boy’s
party are fed, and liquor is distributed. That night they spend in
singing and dancing the karama or national dance. Next day they meet
again, the friends of bride and bridegroom sitting in a line opposite
each other. The boy’s father produces the bridegroom before the bride’s
people; and says,—“Look! has he any physical defect?” The bride’s
father replies,—“No! there is nothing wrong with him.” In the same way
the bride’s father produces the bride for examination, and the
bridegroom’s father admits that she has no physical defect. All this is
done in the courtyard outside the nuptial pavilion (mânro). Then a mock
struggle commences between the bride and bridegroom. He tries to put a
bracelet on her wrist, and she clenches her hand, so that he is unable
to get it on. Her friends shout out,—“Her hand can never be opened
until you swear that you will take care of her and never give her
trouble.” Finally, when the bridegroom makes the necessary promise, the
girl opens her hand, and allows the bracelet to be put on her wrist.
Then the boy pours a little liquor on her feet, and after another mock
struggle marks the parting of her hair with red lead. There are no
revolutions in the pavilion, and this constitutes the marriage. The
bridegroom then brings the bride home. When they reach his house his
mother receives the bride in the same way in which the bridegroom was
received by the bride’s mother, and takes her inside the house, where,
after feeding the clansmen, the clothes of the pair are fastened in a
knot, and they dance together in the courtyard. The binding part of the
ceremony is putting on the marriage bracelet, and applying red lead to
the parting of the bride’s hair. Even after the ceremonies already
described of puchhâwat, bajarâwat, or barrekhi, the marriage can be
stopped. If the bride’s people break off the marriage they are
compelled to return the bride-price. The form of marriage already
described is known as charhauwa or “the offering,” as the bride is
offered to the bridegroom. This is the respectable form; but besides
this, the form known as sagâi is in force. In this case the lover sends
a friend to procure the consent of the bride’s father. When this is
granted, he goes to her house with ten rupees in cash, and five sers of
liquor. The girl’s friends drink the liquor, and the money is given to
her father, or if her father be dead, to her elder brother. Then the
man spreads out his hands over that of the woman, and her brother pours
some water over the hands of both. This constitutes the marriage
ceremony, and the bridegroom goes home at once, followed by the bride.
When they reach his house his mother comes out with a vessel (lota) of
water, washes the bridegroom’s feet, and blesses him with long life.
Then she washes the feet of the bride, who puts her forehead on the
feet of her mother-in-law. The old woman tries to raise her up, but she
will not get up until she receives a present known as “the sacrifice”
(baldân). Then the old woman says,—“I make over the house and all it
contains to you.” On this the bride releases her feet, and her
mother-in-law takes her into the house, and makes everything over to
her. That day the young wife cooks for the family and friends. This
sagâi form is something like the dola of low class Hindus, and is
practised by people who cannot afford a regular marriage.

[Death ceremonies.] 14. No one is allowed to die in the house. [102]
People who die of cholera and small-pox and unmarried persons are
buried; all others are cremated. They have regular cemeteries in the
neighbourhood of their villages. The corpse is cremated on the edge of
an adjoining stream. Very often, however, cremation is very carelessly
performed, and in epidemics corpses are exposed in the jungle to be
eaten by wild animals. Next day the ashes are collected and floated
away (serwâna) by throwing them into the water. On the third day the
relation who fired the pyre goes with the clansmen to the river, and
they shave one another. That day a date is fixed for the funeral feast,
when they assemble at the house of the deceased, and a little oil and
turmeric are given them, which they rub into their bodies. From the day
of the funeral the women of the family place some food on the road by
which the corpse was removed. [103] This is discontinued from the night
preceding the date of the funeral feast. On that day a cupful of food
and a cup of oil are taken by the oldest woman of the family to the
cremation place and thrown into the water. When she comes home a goat
is sacrificed in the house in the name of the deceased, and in the
evening the clansmen are fed on the flesh of the victim boiled with
rice.

[Ancestor worship.] 15. The souls of the dead, that is to say those of
a dead father and mother, for more distant progenitors are hardly ever
recognized, are feared and require propitiation. If not duly worshipped
they appear in dreams, frighten the sleeper, and sit on his chest and
throat like the nightmare. Most diseases and misfortunes are due to
their displeasure. The annual sacrifice of a goat and fowl is made to
them by the house master in the month of Aghan (November—December).
Poor people who cannot afford a victim wash some rice and pulse and
scatter it in the courtyard in the name of the dead.

[Religion.] 16. They call themselves Hindus. Their tribal god is called
Sewanriya and appears originally to be a deity of boundaries (sewâna).
Some worship Dharti or Mother-earth, and some Mahâdeva. They have a
vague idea of a place of torment after death, a pit full of snakes and
scorpions known as kîragarh or the “worm pit;” but it is doubtful how
far this may not be some vague reminiscence of missionary teaching.
[104] In the month of Aghan, when they worship the sainted dead, they
offer to these deities liquor, fowls, and goats. They believe that this
worship protects children and cattle from disease, and prevents the
latter from straying. This worship is not shared in by the women and
children, and is done by the headman of the family, if a Baiga. They
have nothing to say to Brâhmans, for whom they entertain contempt.
[105] The Brâhmans, they say, were the drummers of Râma’s army in his
campaign against Râwana. As they were crossing the sea their drums
(mândar) which, like the aboriginal drums of the present time, were
made of baked earth, melted away in the water, and the strings which
supported them became the Brâhmans’ sacred cord (janeû). They do not
keep priests of any other tribe; and have no regular temple. As already
stated, the ancestor worship is done by the head of the family, who if,
as is usually the case, he is a Baiga, does the worship to Sewanriya,
Dharti, and Mahâdeva. Most Bhuiyârs are Baigas, and officiate in their
own as well as allied tribes; in fact, as already stated, one general
name for the tribe is Baiga. The tribal gods are usually worshipped
under a pîpal tree, where a piece of stone represents all the deities
collectively. The flesh of the offerings is eaten by the worshippers,
except the head, which is the perquisite of the Baiga.

[Festivals.] 17. They have two special holidays on the tenth of the
light half of Kuâr, and the Phagua or Holi at the full moon of Phâlgun,
but they do not burn the Holi fire, although they will attend if Hindus
in the neighbourhood celebrate the festival. On both these festivals
they offer a fire sacrifice (hom), and worship the sainted dead with an
offering of fowls and liquor, which they drink freely on these
occasions. In order to provide for the dead in the next world they
throw on the pyre with the corpse some iron implement, usually an axe,
and when they bury the dead, they throw it into the grave. It is not
broken; with women they place a sickle (hansua) and when they collect
the ashes they throw some kodo and sâwân millet over the place as food
for the dead. They so far follow Hindu practice as to have a ceremony
(barsi) on the anniversary of a death. In the house worship a mud
platform or stone is the dwelling place of the ghosts of the dead.
Sewanriya is regarded as a jungle deity, and abides in any tree which
is selected for the purpose. They never go on pilgrimages to Gaya, and
have nothing analogous to the Hindu srâddha.

[Superstitions.] 18. They have a great respect for iron above all other
metals. They hold the bhânja or sister’s son in great honour, and make
periodical presents to him as Hindus do to a Brâhman. [106] These
presents always include some iron article.

[Appearance, clothes, tattooing.] 19. Of the tribe whom he calls
Bhuînhârs Colonel Dalton says:—“They are about the lowest type of human
beings I have ever come across in my wanderings, and I have had more
opportunities than most people of seeing varieties of race. They are
very dark, (41, about the average), faces, or rather heads, altogether
round as bullets, projecting jaws and lips, scarcely any prominence of
nose, pig’s eyes, large bodies, and small limbs, no muscular
development, very short of stature, not one of them more than five
feet, very filthy in their persons, with diseased skins and sore eyes.
One creature, an adult male of a group which appeared before me at
Moheri, in Sarguja, looked to me like a disgustingly superannuated
black baby. Baby-like, his round head rolled about his shoulders on a
very short and unnaturally weak neck. You could imagine his proper
place to be bundled up in a cloth slung from the shoulders of his black
mother, his head helplessly rolling about after the manner of native
infants thus supported. They speak Hindi plainly enough, but appear as
devoid of ideas as they are of beauty. They adore the sun and their
ancestors, but they have no notion that the latter are now spirits, or
that there are spirits or ghosts or anything. They have no veneration
for a tiger, but regard him as a dangerous enemy, whom it is their
interest to slay whenever they have the opportunity. They were asked to
dance, and did so; but it was a singularly feeble, motiveless
performance. Men and women were scantily clothed, and appeared to take
no thought for their personal appearance. The hair, uncared-for, was
matted and rusty coloured. The Bhuînhârs in Palamau are said to be good
cultivators; but I believe this means they are very docile farm
labourers and beasts of burden. They appear to have no independence of
character, and are for the most part in servitude or bondage, and
content so to remain. If we have now in existence the descendants of
human beings of the stone age, here I would say are specimens. They
remind me much of the specimens I have seen of the Andamanese.” [107]
These are certainly in every way a more degraded race than the Bhuiyârs
of Mirzapur who in appearance do not seem to differ much from the other
Dravidian tribes by whom they are surrounded. They rather resemble the
people whom Colonel Dalton calls Boyars. “In complexion,” he says, “I
found the Boyars generally of a dark brown colour, fairly proportioned,
and averaging upwards of five feet in height. The features were
characterised by great breadth across the cheek bones, very narrow
forehead, nose broad, nostrils wide apart, but the nasal bone more
prominent than in the types previously described; the mouth so wide as
nearly to equal the space occupied by both eyes, lips protuberant, chin
receding, but not so the brow. There was more appearance of hair on the
face than is generally found amongst the tribes of this class.” [108]
The Mirzapur people are also much better dressed than their Bengal
kinsmen. The men wear a small loin cloth, generally have an upper sheet
and a cloth wrapped round the head, the hair of which is allowed to
hang down uncut and unkempt behind. The women wear the single white
cotton cloth (dhoti) wrapped round the waist and brought over the
shoulders. A few wear a small boddice. The women tattoo themselves in
the manner common to all these aboriginal tribes. [109] There is no
tribal tattoo, and the pattern employed is according to the taste of
the wearer. Tattooing is invested with some religious significance; if
a woman is not tattooed Paramesar pitches her down from heaven when she
dies. The women wear on their arms brass rings (mâthi, bahunta),
anklets (pairi), in the ears palm leaf ornaments (tarki), with beads
made of clay round the neck. The men have small brass earrings.

[Omens, oaths, witchcraft, Evil Eye.] 20. Their lucky omens are the
tiger and the elephant. They have not the Hindu prejudice against the
south as an unlucky quarter. They swear on their sons’ heads, and if
they forswear themselves their sons die. These oaths are used in
enquiries into tribal matters. They are much witch-ridden. The Baigas
hate people with a reputation for witchcraft (tonaya), and expel them,
if possible, from their villages. Disease is usually caused by the
attacks of ghosts (bhût): these are identified by the Ojha, who places
some rice (achhat) before him. Then he and the patient get into an
ecstacy, and the Ojha asks the bhût:—“What worship (pûja) do you
require to let this man go?” Whatever he announces must be done. Dreams
never mean anything except that one of the sainted dead needs
propitiation. The meaning is interpreted by some old woman in the
family. They believe in the Evil Eye. Anyone born on a Saturday has the
power of casting it. Cases of this kind are made over to the Baiga, who
sacrifices a victim and secures relief.

[Social customs.] 21. They will not touch a Dhobi, a Chamâr, Dharkâr,
Dom, or Ghasiya: nor the wife of the younger brother, the wife’s elder
sister, paternal uncle’s wife, and a female connection through the
marriage of children (samdhin). They eat beef, but in secret they will
in fact eat any meat except that of the ass, the horse, the camel,
snake, lizard, rat, and jackal. Women do not eat pork, [110] and they
will not cook it in the cook-house where the sainted dead are
worshipped. Men and women eat apart; first the children eat, then the
men, of whom the head of the family eats last, and last of all the
women. They always eat in leaf vessels. They all chew tobacco: even
children five and six years old may be seen chewing. All drink liquor,
but drunkenness is considered discreditable. They do not use opium or
the drugs bhang and gânja.

[Salutation and social status.] 22. Among themselves they salute in the
form known as pâêlagi. If the husband is any time absent, on his return
his wife touches his feet with her hands. Chamârs are the highest caste
who will eat food touched by them. They carry their contempt for
Brâhmans so far that they will not eat food touched by them, and if a
Brâhman handle one of their water vessels they will pitch it out of the
house. Their usual business is cutting wood and bamboos, and collecting
silk cocoons, lac, dyes, and other jungle produce. It is only quite
recently that they have taken to eating anything but jungle fruits. Now
some of them cultivate, and as their name shows they are fond of the
dahya form of cultivation, cutting and burning the jungle. They have a
field goddess, Khetiyâr Devi, whom they propitiate with the offering of
goat or a fowl. The women are reputed chaste in married life as far as
intercourse with strangers to the caste is concerned, but there is
certainly a very considerable amount of intertribal immorality. They
have a fairly strong local organization which embraces some three or
four villages, and is known as “the unity” (eka). The members meet
occasionally to discuss matters of general interest. Its influence is
said now to be decreasing. They are notorious for their laziness in
field work, and for their readiness to abscond and leave their village
on the first signs of scarcity.

23. The Bhuiyârs do not appear to have been separately recorded at the
last Census. They have apparently been confused with the Brâhman Râjput
Bhuînhârs of the Gangetic valley.

Bhurtiya.—A small tribe found, according to the last Census, only in
Allahâbâd, but there are some certainly in the hill country of
Mirzapur. The origin of the name is very uncertain. Mr. Nesfield
without much probability derives it from bharti karna, “to lend money
for short periods.” They say themselves that it comes from bhurti,
which is the same as phurti, “quickness,” because one of their
ancestors was once in such a hurry to go to an entertainment that she
put her ornaments on all awry, and her descendants have been called
Bhurtiya ever since. They claim to be an offshoot of the Ahîrs, whom
they closely resemble in appearance and customs. They are very
respectable, industrious people, and make their livelihood by
cultivation and rearing cattle.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE BHURTIYAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+========
      District.   | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Allahâbâd     |  423
    ==============+========


Bidua.—A functional division of Brâhmans, the consecrator of images and
idols, wells, tanks, and mango orchards. “His name seems a corruption
of Vidya, an ancient synonym for Veda. The idol intended for
consecration undergoes various forms of ablution: first in water from
some sacred river, then in panchamrita or ‘five drinks of
immortality’—milk, cream, melted butter, honey, and sugar dissolved in
holy water. No one is allowed to bathe in a tank, drink water from a
well, or eat the fruit of an orchard until the above liquids have been
thrown into them. Brâhmans are also fed, and the homa sacrifice
performed. At such times seven places are assigned,—(a) for the
navagraha, the nine planets including the sun and moon; (b) the
asterisms (nakshatra); (c) the seven saints (Sapta Rishi); (d) the
three hundred and thirty millions of deities of the Hindu pantheon; (e)
the ancestral ghosts (pitri); (f) the deities of the quarters (dikpati,
dikpâla); (g) the sacred rivers of India and of the celestial
firmament.” [111]

Bihishti.—(Usually derived from Persian bihisht, Sanskrit vasishtha,
“Paradise;” but Major Temple points out [112] that bihishti in Persian
does not mean waterman, and suggests a derivation from the Sanskrit
vish, to sprinkle.)—The Musalmân water-carrier class, also known as
Saqqa, from the Arabic saqqi, “to give to drink.” The caste does not
admit outsiders, and has a large number of exogamous sections, of which
one hundred and twenty-six are returned in the lists of the last
Census. Many of these are well-known Muhammadan sub-divisions, such as
the Abbâsi, Bahlîmi, Bangash, Begi, Fârûqi, Ghori, Hanafi, Khurâsâni,
Quraishi, Mughal, Pathân, Shaikh, Sadîqi, Sayyid, Turki, and Turkomân,
to which none of the caste can have any real claim. Many are the names
of Hindu tribes, as Bais, Banjâra, Bhatti, Chauhân, Gaur, Gûjar, Guâl,
Jâdon, Janghâra, Jât, Katheriya, Mewâti, Mukeri, Panwâr, and Tomar.
Others, again, are local, as Dilliwâl, Gangapâri, and Kanaujiya. These
sections appear, however, to have little or no effect on marriage.

[Marriage.] 2. Their marriages are regulated by the standard Muhammadan
exogamic formula, and performed by the regular ritual. The levirate is
permitted, but is not compulsory. Divorce is permitted in the cause of
proved infidelity on the part of the wife, established to the
satisfaction of the tribal council.

[Religion.] 3. To the east of the Province they worship the Pânchonpîr
with a sacrifice of a fowl, gram pulse, and ordinary food. They bury
their dead according to the standard Muhammadan rules, and offer food
to the spirits of ancestors at the festival of the Shab-i-barât. They
are Musalmâns of the Sunni sect. They worship their leathern water bag
(mashk) as a sort of fetish, and burn incense (ubân) before it on
Fridays. They conform to Muhammadan rules regarding food. They will eat
food prepared by high class Hindus, but not by menials like Chamârs or
Mehtars.

[Occupation.] 4. Their occupation is acting as domestic servants and
supplying water on payment to Muhammadans and Christians,—a duty which
for Hindus is performed by the Kahâr. The trade must be a very ancient
one, as the leather bag is mentioned in the Veda and Manu. [113] There
is a legend that the Bihishti who saved Humâyun’s life at Chausa, and
was rewarded by sitting on the Imperial throne for half a day, employed
his short tenure of power in providing for his family and friends, and
caused his leather bag to be cut up into rupees, which were gilt and
stamped with his name and the date of his reign. The Bihishti is very
seldom before the Courts, and enjoys with the Kharâdi or turner the
reputation of never being sent to jail.


DISTRIBUTION OF BIHISHTIS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+========
      District.   | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |    127
    Sahâranpur    |  4,203
    Muzaffarnagar |  4,920
    Meerut        | 10,224
    Bulandshahr   |  7,977
    Aligarh       | 12,278
    Mathura       |  6,263
    Agra          | 10,573
    Farrukhâbâd   |    291
    Mainpuri      |  1,111
    Etâwah        |    573
    Etah          |  4,265
    Bareilly      |  1,996
    Bijnor        |  3,476
    Budâun        |  2,107
    Morâdâbâd     |  3,380
    Shâhjahânpur  |    350
    Pilibhît      |    595
    Cawnpur       |    418
    Fatehpur      |    297
    Bânda         |     63
    Hamîrpur      |     78
    Allahâbâd     |    370
    Jhânsi        |    442
    Jâlaun        |     99
    Lalitpur      |      6
    Benares       |     46
    Ghâzipur      |     25
    Ballia        |    265
    Gorakhpur     |      6
    Azamgarh      |      2
    Tarâi         |    664
    Lucknow       |  1,405
    Unâo          |     20
    Râê Bareli    |     55
    Sîtapur       |    219
    Hardoi        |     18
    Kheri         |    211
    Faizâbâd      |     62
    Gonda         |     17
    Bahrâich      |    244
    Sultânpur     |     95
    Partâbgarh    |      9
    Bârabanki     |    272
                  +~~~~~~~
           Total  | 80,147
    ==============+=======


Biloch, Baloch, Biluch.—Identified by Professor Max Müller [114] with
the Sanskrit mlechchha, “a foreigner, outcast, non-Aryan.”—The
enumeration at the last Census has failed to discriminate between two
different though probably originally-allied races—the ordinary Biloch
and the predatory Biloch or Rind of the Districts of the Upper Duâb.
Another theory of the origin of the name is given by Colonel Möckler in
a paper published in the Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal
for 1893:—

“This paper is mainly concerned with the Rind, one of the tribes or
clans inhabiting Balochistân. Their name signifies ‘a turbulent,
reckless, daring man.’ They have never acknowledged the authority of
any ruler in the country. They claim to be the true Baloch, and assert
that they originally came from ‘Alaf,’ which is supposed by themselves
and most other people to be Haleb or Aleppo, in Syria. They say that
they are Arabs of the tribe of Quraish, and were driven out from Alaf
by Yezîd I., for assisting Husain, the martyr nephew of the Prophet
Muhammad in 61 Hijrah. The author shows, however, from some Arab
authorities that the Baloch were established in Makran more than a
century before the commencement of the Muhammadan era, certainly so if,
as Firdusi relates, Naushirwân punished them in Makran in 550 A.D., and
still more certainly that they were located there within 22 years after
its commencement, and that therefore, if the Rinds left Aleppo in the
time of Yezîd I., about 61 H., the Baloch were in Makran before that
date. But it is doubtful whether the Rinds ever came from Aleppo, or
that they are Baloch at all. It is much more probable that they are the
descendants of a certain Al Harith Al ‘Alafi, that is of Harith of the
‘Alafi tribe, and of the Kahtanic stock of Arabs. He was the father of
two men, who, according to Tabary, in a blood feud killed an officer
who had been appointed by Al Hajjâj, the Governor of Irâq, to the
charge of Makran, in 65 Hijrah. They had come from ‘Uman, and after the
murder took possession of Makran. Subsequently, about 86 Hijrah, they
retired before a punitive force of Al Hajjâj into Sindh, where their
name is conspicuous in the annals of the country for the next 200 years
or so. This, and other facts, show that the Rinds really are of Arab
descent, but that they did not come from Aleppo, but are descended from
a man of the ‘Alafi tribe who came from ‘Uman; and that they are not of
the Quraish but the Kahtan stock. On account of their undoubted Arab
descent, the Rinds are held in very high respect by the other clans of
Baluchistân who, therefore, all claim to be related to them, through
one Jalâl Khân, an ancestor of the Rinds. Among the sons of this Jalâl,
Makran is said to have been divided after the death of Al Hajjâj. With
regard to the name Baloch, Colonel Möckler suggests its identity with
the Gedrosii of the Greeks. He says that the Baloch themselves explain
their name by the phrase ‘Baloch Badroch’ (or Badrosh). Here bad means
‘evil,’ and roch or rosh means ‘day.’ In Pahlavi or Zend gad is
synonymous with bad; therefore Badrosh = gadrosh or gadros, whence the
Greek Gedrosii. By the interchange of the liquids r and l, badroch
would become badloch, out of which the d must naturally drop leaving
the Baloch = the Gadrosii, or on the other hand, the proverbial
expression (Badroch Baloch) may have been current in the time of the
Greeks in the form of Baloch Gadrosh, and the Greeks confused the
epithet with the name.

“The latter would then be derived from Belus, King of Babylon, a
derivation which is adopted by Professor Rawlinson.”

[The ordinary Biloch.] 2. Of the ordinary Biloch Mr. Ibbetson writes
[115]:—“The Biloch presents in many respects a very strong contrast
with his neighbour, the Pathân. The political organisation of each is
tribal: but while the one yields a very large measure of obedience to a
chief who is a sort of limited monarch, the other recognises no
authority save that of a council of the tribe. Both have most of the
virtues and many of the vices peculiar to a wild and semi-civilized
life. To both hospitality is a sacred duty and the safety of the guest
inviolable; both look upon the exaction of blood for blood as the first
duty of man; both strictly follow a code of honour of their own, though
one very different from that of modern Europe; both believe in one God
whose name is Allâh, and whose Prophet is Muhammad. But the one attacks
his enemy from in front, the other from behind; the one is bound by his
promise, the other by his interests; in short the Biloch is less
turbulent, less treacherous, less blood-thirsty, and less fanatical
than the Pathân; he has less of God in his creed, and less of the devil
in his nature. His frame is shorter and more spare and wiry than that
of his neighbour to the north, though generations of independence have
given to him a bold and manly bearing. Frank and open in his manners
and without servility, fairly truthful when not corrupted by our
Courts, faithful to his word, temperate and enduring, and looking upon
courage as the highest virtue, the true Biloch of the Derajât frontier
is one of the pleasantest men we have to deal with in the Panjâb. As a
revenue-payer he is not so satisfactory, his want of industry and the
pride which looks upon manual labour as degrading, making him but a
poor husbandman. He is an expert rider; horse-racing is his national
amusement, and the Biloch breed of horses is celebrated throughout
Northern India. He is a thief by tradition and descent; but he has
become much more honest under the civilising influences of our rule.

3. “His face is long and oval, his features finely cut, and his nose
aquiline; he wears his hair long and usually in oily curls, and lets
his beard and whiskers grow, and he is very filthy in person,
considering cleanliness as a mark of effeminacy. He usually carries a
sword, knife and shield, he wears a smock frock reaching to his heels
and pleated about the waist, loose drawers and a long cotton scarf: and
all these must be as white or as near it as dirt will allow of,
insomuch that he will not enter our army because he would there be
obliged to wear a coloured uniform. His wife wears a sheet over her
head, a long sort of nightgown reaching to her ankles, and wide
drawers; her clothes may be red or white; and she plaits her hair in a
long queue. As the true Biloch is nomad in his habits, he does not
seclude his women, but he is extremely jealous of female honour. In
cases of detected adultery the man is killed, and the woman hangs
herself by order. Even on the war trail the women and children of his
enemy are safe from him. The Biloch of the Hills lives in huts or
temporary camps, and wanders with his herds from place to place. In the
plains he has settled in small villages; but the houses are of the
poorest possible description. When a male child is born to him, ass’s
dung in water, symbolical of pertinacity, is dropped from the point of
a sword into his mouth before he is given the breast. A tally of lives
is kept between the various tribes or families; but when the account
grows complicated it can be settled by betrothals, or even by payment
of cattle. The rules of inheritance do not follow the Islâmic law, but
tend to keep the property in the family by confining succession to
agnates; though some of the more leading and educated men are said to
be trying to introduce the Muhammadan laws of inheritance into their
tribes. The Biloch are nominally Musalmân, but singularly ignorant of
their religion and neglectful of its rites and observances; and though
they once called themselves, and were called by old historians ‘friends
of Ali,’ and though, if their account of their rejection from Arabia be
true, they must have been originally Shiahs, they now belong, almost
without exception, to the Sunni sect. Like many other Musalmân tribes
of the frontier they claim to be Quraishi Arabs by origin, while some
hold them to be of Turkomân stock: their customs are said to support
the latter theory; their features certainly favour the former.”

[The criminal Biloch of the North-Western Provinces.] 4. In the
Muzaffarnagar District they are also known as Rind. “They originally
emigrated from the Panjâb; that they are professional thieves of a
dangerous character is now well established. They depart on their
predatory tours assuming the character of faqîrs, physicians, and
teachers of the Qurân, and carry on their depredations at great
distances as far southward as Ajmere and westward as Lahore. Some few
in the Muzaffarnagar District have acquired landed property; but the
rest may be said to have no ostensible means of livelihood and to be
habitual absentees. Their mode of robbery is not by violence, but by
picking locks with needles. One thief makes an entry, receiving
two-thirds of the property as his share, while his confederate, who
sits outside to watch, receives one-third.” [116] The same people there
called Biloch are found in Ambâla and Karnâl. “During the rainy season
the whole country is inundated for months. A more suitable stronghold
for a criminal tribe could not be imagined. They are almost certainly
of true Biloch origin, and still give their tribal names as Rind,
Lashari, Jatoi, and Korai. But they are by their habits quite distinct
from both the land-owning Biloch and the camel-driver, who is so
commonly called Biloch simply because he is a camel-driver. They are
described as coarse-looking men of a dark colour, living in a separate
quarter, and with nothing to distinguish them from the scavenger caste
except a profusion of stolen ornaments and similar property. They say
that their ancestors once lived beyond Kasûr, in the Lahore District,
but were driven out on account of their marauding habits. The men still
keep camels and cultivate a little land as their ostensible occupation;
but during a great part of the year they leave the women, who are
strictly secluded at home, and wander about disguised as Fakîrs or as
butchers in search of sheep for sale, extending their excursions to
great distances, and apparently to almost all parts of India.” [117]


DISTRIBUTION OF THE BILOCH ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+========
      District.   | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |     41
    Sahâranpur    |    577
    Muzaffarnagar |  1,072
    Meerut        |  2,016
    Bulandshahr   |  1,945
    Aligarh       |    512
    Mathura       |    987
    Agra          |    231
    Farrukhâbâd   |     50
    Mainpuri      |     73
    Etâwah        |     67
    Etah          |     98
    Bareilly      |     11
    Bijnor        |    815
    Budâun        |    434
    Morâdâbâd     |    490
    Shâhjahânpur  |    425
    Pilibhît      |    231
    Cawnpur       |     87
    Bânda         |     12
    Hamîrpur      |      7
    Allahâbâd     |    113
    Jhânsi        |      4
    Jâlaun        |     59
    Benares       |    153
    Mirzapur      |     22
    Jaunpur       |    314
    Ghâzipur      |     31
    Ballia        |    216
    Gorakhpur     |    809
    Basti         |    116
    Azamgarh      |    325
    Tarâi         |    223
    Lucknow       |    222
    Unâo          |     26
    Sîtapur       |    173
    Hardoi        |    170
    Kheri         |    308
    Gonda         |     95
    Bahrâich      |     79
    Sultânpur     |     12
    Partâbgarh    |     11
    Bârabanki     |     10
                  +~~~~~~~~
            Total | 13,672
    ==============+========


Bind.—A non-Aryan tribe in the Eastern Districts of the Division, and
with scattered colonies elsewhere. The name is said to be derived from
the Vindhya [118] hills of Central India. One legend quoted by Mr.
Risley [119] tells “how a traveller passing by the foot of the hills
heard a strange flute-like sound coming out of a clump of bamboos. He
cut a shoot and took from it a fleshy substance, which afterwards grew
into a man, the supposed ancestor of the Binds. The myth seems to be of
a totemistic character, but other traces of totemism are not
forthcoming.” One account in Mirzapur makes Bind, Kewat, Mallâh,
Luniya, Paskewata, Kuchbandhiya, and Musahar the descendants of Nikhâd,
who was produced by the Rishis from the thigh of Râja Vena. Another
Mirzapur legend tells how, in the beginning of all things, Mahâdeva
made a lump of earth and endued it with life. The creature thus
produced asked Mahâdeva what he should eat. The god pointed to a tank
and told him to eat the fish and the wild rice (tinni) which grew near
the banks. Since then this is the food of the Binds. They have no
traditions of emigration from any other part of the country. The exact
position of the Binds is not easily determined. About Mirzapur there
are two sub-castes, Kharê and Dhusiya, the latter of whom probably take
their name from Jhusi, an old town on the Ganges, in the Allahâbâd
District. [120] The Kharê Binds call themselves Kewat, and there seems
little doubt that they intermarry with other Kewats. Another story says
Binds and Luniyas were formerly all Binds, and that the present Luniyas
are descendants of a Bind who consented to dig a grave for a Muhammadan
king, and was outcasted for doing so. Others, again, make out the Bind
to be a sub-division of both the Bhar and Luniya. [121] There is,
again, in Mirzapur, another division of them which is partly religious
and partly local. The sub-caste of Kharê Binds has three septs, the
Nârâyaniha, Pânchopiriha, and Maiwarha. The Nârâyaniha are worshippers
of the orthodox Hindu gods, Mahâdeva, Pârvati, Mahâbîr, or Hanumân,
and, in particular, Satya Nârâyan or Vishnu. The Pânchopiriha are
worshippers of the five saints of Islâm, who should, according to
orthodox belief, be Muhammad, ‘Ali, Bîbî Fatima, Hasan, and Husain. But
most Binds name them (if they can name them at all), as Ghâzi Miyân,
Rajab Sâlâr, Subhân, Parihâr, and Barahma or Barahna, who apparently
represents Ibrahîm or Abraham. The Maiwarha themselves derive their
name from the town of Mau in the Azamgarh District.

[Internal structure.] 2. The last Census Returns show sixty-seven
sub-castes. The progress attained in the Hinduising of the tribe is
shown by the use of Brâhmanical terms, like Garga, Kasipgotra, and
Joshi. Chain, Kewat, Mallâh and Kharwâr are side by side with Chauhân,
Gûjara, Jât, Maunas, and Râwat. The most numerous sub-castes are the
Jethwant or “Senior,” and the Kasipgotra. The Kharê Binds are very
strong in Benares, Mirzapur, and Ghâzipur; while the Kharwâr,
Kanaujiya, and Maunas are found in some strength in Ghâzipur, Ballia,
and Gorakhpur, respectively.

[Tribal organisation.] 3. They have a tribal council (panchâyat) which
may be summoned by any man with whom his castemen refuse to eat on the
ground of adultery, prostitution, or eating with a prohibited
tribesman. It is presided over by a permanent president (mukhiya) who
consults the members as assessors, but has the sole right of giving the
final order, which consists, in case of conviction, of a sentence to
give a certain number of feasts to the brethren. When a man seduces an
unmarried girl, he and the father of his mistress give a joint feast,
and the parties are then married. If a man commit adultery with a woman
of a caste so respectable that high caste Hindus will drink water from
their hands, he is not excommunicated, but has to give a feast. If his
mistress be of a caste from whose hands high caste Hindus will not
drink, he is permanently expelled.

[Marriage rules.] 4. In Mirzapur the Nârâyaniha and Pânchopiriha septs
are exogamous, and intermarry on equal terms: they so far practise
hypergamy that they give daughters to the Maiwarha, but do not take
their daughters in return. This rule of exogamy is reinforced by the
prohibition against marrying a daughter into a family into which a son
has been already married; and it seems to be a general condition that
marriage does not take place between families connected within the
period of recollection of relationship, which is five or six
generations. The two great sub-castes, Kharê and Dhusiya, are
endogamous, and do not intermarry or eat together. The Mirzapur branch
have now adopted adult marriages, which take place at the age of ten or
twelve. [122] Polygamy is permitted, but the tendency seems to be to
restrict it to the case when the first wife becomes barren. Marriages
are arranged by some of the seniors of the tribe, and the parties have
no power of selection. No bride-price is paid, and the giving of a
dowry, though permitted and approved, is not compulsory. Polyandry and
concubinage with a woman not of the tribe are prohibited. Widows are
remarried by the sagâi form only to widowers, the match being arranged
by the father or brother of the widow. The man goes to the house of the
widow on an auspicious day, taking with him a yellow sheet and one or
two articles of jewelry. These the bride puts on, and this is the
binding part of the ceremony. Her new husband then eats with the
relations of his wife, takes her home next day, and feeds his clansmen.
Children by such a marriage are considered legitimate, and succeed on
an equality with children of a regular marriage. The levirate is
permitted on the usual condition, that the younger brother of the
deceased husband can claim the widow: if he declines the match she can
marry a stranger, and in the latter case the property of the deceased
husband with his children remains in the charge of their father’s
brother, who rears them and makes the property over to the sons when
they attain puberty. They pretend to have a regular system of adoption
like that of the higher castes: as a matter of practice, however, a
sonless man can adopt only the son of his brother, and in preference of
his elder brother. There is nothing peculiar about the rules of
succession. Beena marriage (gharjanwai) is recognised in the case of
poor people when the son-in-law lives some time on probation in the
house of his father-in-law. Intertribal infidelity on the part of
husband and wife is thought little of, and divorce is practically
unknown, except when ill-usage of an aggravated form accompanies
adultery on the part of the husband. A married woman detected in an
intrigue with a man of another tribe is permanently expelled. She
usually turns Muhammadan or becomes a prostitute.

[Birth ceremonies.] 5 There is no ceremony during pregnancy. The woman
is delivered sitting on the ground facing any direction except the
south, the region of death. She is attended by a Chamâin midwife, who
cuts the cord, buries it in the room, and lights a fire over the place,
which is kept burning till the twelfth day. They have the usual extreme
fear of pollution from the secretions after delivery or menstruation.
The midwife attends till the sixth day, when the usual chhathi ceremony
is done, and the woman is kept secluded till the twelfth day (barahi)
in charge of the barber’s wife, when mother and child are bathed, all
the family clothes washed, the house plastered, and the earthen vessels
replaced. The mother then cooks for the family, and is pure. Her
husband does not cohabit with her again for two months after her
confinement.

[Puberty ceremony.] 6. The ceremony which marks the reception of the
child into caste after which he or she must conform to tribal rules of
eating and drinking is the ear-boring, which is done in the fifth or
sixth year. The occasion is marked by the use of choice food.

7. Marriage is conducted with some pretence of observing the orthodox
Hindu ritual. The girl’s father commences the negotiations, and when
the question of prohibited degrees is settled, then comes what
corresponds to the Hindu tilak, which is called “the day for drinking
water” (pânî pînê kâ din). The bride’s father visits the house of the
bridegroom, and sitting on a square (chauk) in the court-yard, eats
curds and treacle, which settles the match. All present are then
feasted. Five days before the wedding day the ceremony of “the lucky
earth” (matmangara) is done in both families in the usual way. The drum
of the Chamâr, who leads the procession, is worshipped, marked with red
lead and oil, and on it are placed some betel nuts and a quarter ser of
poppy-seed, which are the Chamâr’s perquisite. The earth is dug by some
old female relative, who brings it home and places it in the marriage
shed (mânro), in the centre of which is a ploughshare (haris), and a
water jar (kalsa). After this commences the anointing of the bride and
bridegroom with oil and turmeric, which is started by the Pandit
sprinkling it over them five times with a bunch of dûb grass. The
anointing should, if possible, be done by five unmarried girls. A day
previous to the wedding is the bhatwân, when the clansmen are feasted.
As the procession starts the boy’s mother waves (parachhan karna) over
his head a rice pounder (mûsar), or a water jar (kalsa), for good luck.
When the procession arrives at the bride’s house the women of the
neighbourhood receive them with a shower of rice. The bridegroom then
worships Gauri and Ganesa; and the bride meanwhile bathes and puts on
the clothes which the father of her future husband sends her. She then
retires into an inner room, into which the bridegroom forces his way
after a mimic struggle, a survival of marriage by capture, and brings
her under the shed, where her father washes the feet of the bridegroom.
He then marks the ploughshare with red lead, while the Pandit recites
texts (mantra), and the father taking some kusa grass in his hand
solemnly makes over his daughter to her husband. Then follow the usual
five perambulations round the ploughshare, while at each revolution the
bride’s brother pours parched rice into a winnowing fan (sûp) held by
the bridegroom, who scatters it on the ground. Bride and bridegroom
then go into the retiring room (kohabar), where the women play jokes on
the bridegroom, and he seizes the garment of his mother-in-law and
refuses to release her till she gives him a present. The wedding feast
follows, and the bridegroom takes his bride home next day, after his
father has first shaken one of the poles of the marriage shed, for
which he receives a present (mânro hilâi) from the bride’s father. This
done, the friends embrace all round and the procession starts for home.
Four days after the wedding festoons (bandanwâr), and the water jug
(kalsa), are taken to a neighbouring stream. The festoons are thrown
into the water by the married pair, and the jar is filled with water,
which is used by the bridegroom in plastering a place in front of the
shrine of the local gods (dih), where he offers a fire offering (hom)
with treacle and butter.

[Death ceremonies.] 8. The dead are cremated in the usual way. After
the burning the relatives chew leaves of the bitter nîm tree, and then
eat some treacle; next day the widow goes to a stream and washes the
red lead out of the parting of her hair. Poorer people merely throw the
body into a stream (prabâh), and young children are buried. For persons
who die at a distance they do the nârâyani bal. They make an image of
wheat flour, with a cocoanut representing his head; seeds of safflower
(kusum) represent the nails and teeth; the hair of a blanket represents
the hairs on the body; cowries for the eyes; some ground drug the
blood, birch bark (bhojpâtra) for the skin. These are covered with
three hundred and sixty palâsa leaves, and all is burnt. On the third
day they shave and are pure. The Mahâpâtra is dismissed on the eleventh
day, and on the twelfth the soul is admitted to the company of the
sainted dead. In the case of a person dying at home, on the tenth day
the chief mourner offers the balls (pinda), ten in number, in honour of
the dead, and daily, during the period of death pollution, lays out a
platter (dauna) filled with food along the road by which the corpse was
taken to the burning ground. On the tenth day the ceremony of pouring
water (tarpan) on the ground in honour of the sun is done, and the
clothes of the deceased, with his other personal effects, are given to
the Mahâbrâhman, who passes them on for his use in the world of the
dead. The funeral feast is known as dûdh ka bhât, because on this
occasion milk is mixed with the pulse, and the rice is eaten unwashed.
It is only on this occasion that milk is ever cooked with pulse. The
Mirzapur Binds perform a ceremony of propitiation for the dead at the
village of Râmgaya, near Bindhâchal, in the month of Kuâr.

[Religion.] 9. Binds more or less follow the Brâhmanical ritual, while
the esoteric doctrine, on which the whole body of symbolism depends, is
entirely unknown to the votaries of the popular religion. [123] In
Mirzapur their favourite deity is Mahâdeva, and they make annual
pilgrimages to Baijnâth (Baidyanâth), in Shahâbâd, where they pour
Ganges water over the lingam. Members of the Maiwarha sept act as
special priests of the Pânchonpîr. These five saints and the local
deities (dih) are generally worshipped. On the eighth day of the dark
half of Kuâr, the Jiutiya, women fast. Those who belong to Nârâyaniha
sub-division worship at Mau at the Sivarâtri in the month of Phâlgun,
Mahâdeva, Pârvati, Mahâbîr and Satya Nârâyan or Vishnu, with offerings
of cakes. Their priests are a class of low Brâhmans of Sikari, in
Mirzapur. “The patron deity (kuladevata) of all Binds is Kâshi Bâba,
about whom the following story is told:—A mysterious epidemic was
carrying off the herds on the banks of the Ganges, and the ordinary
expiatory sacrifices were ineffectual. One evening a clownish Ahîr, on
going to the river, saw a figure rinsing its mouth from time to time,
and making an unearthly sound with a conch shell. The lout, concluding
that this must be the demon causing the epidemic, crept up and clubbed
the unsuspecting bather. Kâshi Nâth was the name of the murdered
Brâhman, and as the cessation of the murrain coincided with his death,
the low Hindustâni castes have ever since regarded Kâshi Bâba as the
maleficent spirit that sends disease among their cattle. Now-a-days he
is propitiated by the following curious ceremony. As soon as an
infectious disease breaks out, the village cattle are massed together,
and cotton seed scattered over them. The fattest and sleekest animal
being singled out, is severely beaten with rods. The herd, scared by
the noise, scamper off to the nearest shelter, followed by the scape
bull, and by this means it is thought the murrain is stayed. In
ordinary times the Binds worship Kâshi Bâba in a simpler fashion, each
man in his own house, by presenting flowers, perfumes and sweetmeats.
The latter, after having done duty before the god, are eaten by the
votary. Kâshi Bâba, no doubt, was an actual person, who came by his
end, if not exactly as told in the legend, at least in some tragic
fashion, which led to his being elevated to the rank of a god. In some
of the other objects of the rural worship we may, perhaps, see
survivals of the primitive animism which formed the religion of the
aborigines of India before their insensible conversion to Brâhmanism.
Some of the tribal deities were, as we know, promoted to seats in the
Hindu pantheon: others, whose position was less prominent and whose
hold on the mind of the people was weaker, got thrust into the
background as patrons of various rural events.” [124]

[Festivals.] 10. In Mirzapur the Bind festivals are the Pachainiyân,
Tîj, and Kajari. The last is the women’s saturnalia in the rainy
season, when women get drunk, dance, sing obscene songs, and indulge in
rude debauchery, which on this occasion only is condoned by their
husbands.

[Social rules.] 11. They believe in the usual omens and demonology, and
practice sorcery through the Ojha. The women wear palm leaf ornaments
(tarki) in the ears, nose-rings, wristlets (dharkauwa), anklets
(pairi). They tattoo themselves on the breast and arms, and it is
believed that if they do not come into the next world with these marks,
Bhagwân will pitch them out of heaven. They give children two names,
one fixed by the Pandit, and the other selected by the parents. They
will not touch a Chamâr, Dom, or Dharkâr, nor the wife of the younger
brother, nor the mother-in-law of their children. They will not mention
by name the dead, nor their wives, nor their religious preceptors
(guru). After the close of the agricultural year they worship Hariyâri
Devi, “the goddess of greenness,” with an offering of sweetmeats. In
Bihâr the Binds eat crocodiles and field rats like the Musahars, and
are very fond of pork when they can get it. [125] In Mirzapur they
certainly eat field rats, but not the crocodile, at least publicly; and
they pretend to have given up pork and fowls. They now do not eat beef,
and rank higher in the social scale than Chamârs for this reason. They
use fish largely except in the fortnight (pitri paksha) sacred to the
dead in the month of Kuâr. They are certainly higher in the social
grade than the Binds of Bihâr, as described by Mr. Risley, and it
appears that even Brâhmans and Chhatris will drink water from their
hands. They will not eat food cooked in water (kachchi) except from
Brâhmans. According to another account they will not eat kachchi or
pakki cooked by any other caste but their own. They salute in the
pâêlagi form, and receive in return the blessing (asîs) from strangers.
They salute the father-in-law of their sons or daughters in the form
Râm! Râm! Women are fairly well treated, but hard worked. When a
stranger comes into the house the wife falls on his feet and gives him
tobacco. This is known as bhentna.

[Occupation.] 12. Some are non-occupancy tenants; many are hired
ploughmen (halwâha). The usual wages are two-and-a-half  sers of grain
in the local weight per diem, and a special ration (sîdha) on holidays.
They work, as in Bihâr, at fishing, well sinking, building mud walls,
mat and basket-making, preparing saltpetre, doing earthwork on tanks
and roads, watching fields and villages. But in some places they have
an indifferent reputation, particularly in Gorakhpur. [126]


DISTRIBUTION OF BINDS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+===========+=============+==========+=========
                  |             Sub-castes.            |
      District.   +~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+  Total.
                  | Jethwant. | Kasipgotra. |  Others. |
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~
    Mathura       |           |             |      24  |      24
    Hamîrpur      |           |             |       1  |       1
    Allahâbâd     |           |             |      25  |      25
    Benares       |           |             |  12,499  |  12,499
    Mirzapur      |           |             |  10,807  |  10,807
    Ghâzipur      |   2,242   |        53   |  30,178  |  32,473
    Ballia        |   5,910   |        30   |     465  |   6,405
    Gorakhpur     |  10,317   |       957   |   2,767  |  14,041
    Basti         |           |             |     552  |     552
    Azamgarh      |           |             |       8  |       8
    Lucknow       |           |             |      13  |      13
    Faizâbâd      |           |             |       1  |       1
    Sultânpur     |           |             |     137  |     137
                  +~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~
            Total |   18,469  |      1,040  |  57,477  |  76,986
    ==============+===========+=============+==========+=========


Bisâti—(Bisât “goods spread out for sale”; Sanskrit, visrita
“extended”).—A small pedlar, hawker, or huckster, who sells petty goods
of European manufacture, such as needles and pins, tape, buttons,
stationery, hardware, etc. They are a purely occupational caste, and
nearly all Muhammadans. According to the Census Returns they have a
curious list of sectional names—Banjâra, Mughal, Râjput, and Shaikh.
The Bisâti sells much the same class of goods as the Boxwâla (“the man
of the box”), who hawks small ware at European houses.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE BISÂTIS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=========+==============+========
      District.   | Hindus. | Muhammadans. | Total.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Sahâranpur    |      7  |         233  |   240
    Muzaffarnagar |         |          33  |    33
    Meerut        |     34  |         134  |   168
    Bulandshahr   |         |           3  |     3
    Aligarh       |         |           6  |     6
    Mathura       |         |           7  |     7
    Agra          |         |          11  |    11
    Farrukhâbâd   |         |          11  |    11
    Mainpuri      |         |           6  |     6
    Bareilly      |         |           1  |     1
    Bijnor        |         |          54  |    54
    Budâun        |         |          37  |    37
    Morâdâbâd     |     66  |          26  |    92
    Shâhjahânpur  |         |           2  |     2
    Pilibhît      |         |          17  |    17
    Cawnpur       |         |           7  |     7
    Fatehpur      |         |           6  |     6
    Hamîrpur      |         |          10  |    10
    Allahâbâd     |         |          10  |    10
    Jâlaun        |         |          32  |    32
    Ballia        |         |          29  |    29
    Gorakhpur     |         |           6  |     6
    Tarâi         |         |         112  |   112
    Lucknow       |         |           1  |     1
    Râê Bareli    |         |          17  |    17
    Sîtapur       |         |           1  |     1
    Sultânpur     |         |          13  |    13
    Bârabanki     |         |          27  |    27
                  +~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
            Total |    107  |         852  |   959
    ==============+=========+==============+========


Bisen.—A powerful sept of Râjputs found in considerable numbers in the
Allahâbâd, Benares, Gorakhpur, and Faizâbâd Divisions. The head of the
sept is the Râja of Majhauli, in Pargana Salempur Majhauli, of
Gorakhpur. They as well as the Donwâr (q.v.) claim descent from one
Mayûra Bhatta, who is said to have been a descendant of Jamadagni Rishi
of the race of Bhrigu. Regarding this personage the local tradition is
very vague. Some say he came from Hastinapur and was the son of one
Aswathâma; others that he was an emigrant from Mahârâshtra or the
Marhatta country. He read Sanskrit for a while at Benares, and became a
proficient in astrology. Quitting that city at last under a divine
impulse he settled at Kakradih, a village in Pargana Sikandarpur, of
Azamgarh. The whole of that Pargana came gradually under his authority.
His domestic arrangements illustrate a period when the bonds of caste,
as we know them, were unknown. He is said to have had three
wives,—first a Brâhmani named Nâgseni; the second Sûrajprabha, a
Sûrajbans Râjputni; the third Haikumâri, a Gautam Bhuînhârin. By his
wife Sûrajprabha he had a son, Biswa or Bissu Sen, who was the ancestor
of the Bisen sept of Chhatris; by Haikumâri, Balkal or Bagmar Sahi, the
ancestor of the Bhuînhâr families of Kuwâri and Tamkûhi; by Nâgseni,
Nages, Nagesar or Nâgsen; and by a Kurmin concubine Indradawwan Mal,
from whom sprang the Mals of Azamgarh, of whom a separate account will
be given. He expelled the Bhars, and finally went on a pilgrimage to
the Himâlaya, where he died. There are thus a family of Misr Brâhmans,
and a large half Kurmi clan which claim common descent with the
Majhauli Bisen family.

[The Gonda branch.] 2. “In the reign of Akbar and with the fall of the
Kalhans rule, the Bisens, who subsequently, under the Râjas of Gonda,
took a leading position among the trans-Ghâgra powers appear for the
first time on the stage of history. The clan is one of the most
numerous in Eastern Oudh, and is scattered in clusters of small
Zamîndâri communities throughout the Districts of Gonda, Faizâbâd, and
Partâbgarh, with the river Kuâno for its northern and the Ganges for
its southern limit. Its principal seat is beyond the boundaries of Oudh
at Majhauli, in Gorakhpur, and its members differ from those of many of
the other ruling clans in having no recollection of a departure from
some distant home in the West, and being unable to connect their
countless houses by any intelligible pedigree. They admit that they are
Bhûmiya Thâkurs, or indigenous, as far as they can ascertain, in their
present territory. It is true that they assert their descent from a
common ancestor, Mayûra Rishi; and in thus deriving themselves from a
mythical religious character outside the distinctions of caste, agree
with others of the less aristocratic among the local Chhatri families
who are unable to claim any connection with the heroes of the Solar and
Lunar races. The ties of common clanship are very vaguely recognised,
and I believe that the Bisen of Majhauli has always declined to confirm
them by eating with even the great homonymous chieftains of Gonda and
Râmpur, in Faizâbâd. Those settled in Oudh were all of them before the
time of Akbar in the position of ordinary village zamîndârs, dividing
their inheritance among all the males on the ordinary coparcenary
principles, and it was not till later that the title and position of
Râja were acquired by a few fortunate houses to the extreme north and
extreme south of their settlements. At the centre, in Faizâbâd, they
always remained in a subordinate position.” [127]

[The Partâbgarh branch.] 3. Of the Faizâbâd branch Mr. Carnegy
writes:—“What their claim may be to being placed under the Sombansi
line is not clear. Their avowed chief is the Râja of Majhauli, in
Gorakhpur. In Oudh we have no less than thirteen chiefs of this clan,
and their colonies are principally to be found in the Partâbgarh
District, but also in Bahrâich, Gonda, Daryâbâd, and Sultânpur. The
local heads are the Râja of Kâlakânkar, and the Râjas of Manikpur and
Bhinga. Sir H. M. Elliot affirms that the present Râja of Majhauli is
in the one hundred and fifteenth generation from Mayûra Bhatta, the
devotee. The Oudh branch state that they broke off from the parent stem
in the person of Râê Hûm, and settled in the Province under the wing of
Mânik Chand, the then powerful Gaharwâr Râja of Manikpur, he who so
happily picked up the foundling mother of all the Kânhpuriya clan.
Within the last few years the Râja of Majhauli took to himself a wife
from the Râjkumâr house of Dera,—a sure indication that the Bisens
(indigenous devotee Chhatris of Gorakhpur though they be) are higher in
the social scale than the Râjkumâr offshoot of the Mainpuri ex-convert
Chauhâns.”

[The Gorakhpur branch.] 4. From Gorakhpur it is now reported that they
intermarry with the septs of the Sirnet, Hayobans, Baghel, Chauhân,
Chandel, Gaharwâr, Sûrajbansi, Râjkumâr, Chandrabansi, Sombansi,
Gautam, Kausik, Gandhwariya, Hâra, Kachhwâha, Râna, Nâgbansi and Jâdon.
In Jaunpur they take brides from the Bais, Nikumbh, Chaupat Khambh, and
Kharagbâns, and give girls to the Nikumbh, Raghubansi, Bachgoti,
Râjkumâr, and Sombansi. In Gonda they are reported to give brides to
the Sirnet, Raikwâr, Janwâr, Chauhân, Kalhans, Bhadauriya, and
Kachhwâha, while they receive girls from the Bandhalgoti, Râjkumâr,
Palwâr, Sûrajbans, Bais, Chauhân, Kalhans, and other high class
Râjputs.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE BISEN RÂJPUTS BY THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+========+============+=======
      District.   |Hindus. |Muhammadans.| Total.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Sahâranpur    |      4 |          3 |      7
    Meerut        |      1 |       ...  |      1
    Mathura       |      7 |       ...  |      7
    Agra          |      6 |       ...  |      6
    Farrukhâbâd   |      2 |       ...  |      2
    Etah          |   ...  |          5 |      5
    Etâwah        |     17 |       ...  |     17
    Budâun        |     34 |       ...  |     34
    Morâdâbâd     |     31 |       ...  |     31
    Shâhjahânpur  |      1 |          8 |      9
    Pilibhît      |      1 |       ...  |      1
    Cawnpur       |    348 |       ...  |    348
    Fatehpur      |  1,070 |       ...  |  1,070
    Bânda         |    815 |          8 |    823
    Hamîrpur      |    199 |       ...  |    199
    Allahâbâd     |  7,809 |         25 |  7,834
    Benares       |  3,363 |       ...  |  3,363
    Mirzapur      |  3,374 |       ...  |  3,374
    Jaunpur       |  4,356 |         49 |  4,405
    Ghâzipur      |  2,486 |          2 |  2,488
    Ballia        |  5,558 |       ...  |  5,558
    Gorakhpur     |  9,623 |        207 |  9,830
    Basti         |    959 |      2,308 |  3,267
    Azamgarh      |  8,864 |      1,096 |  9,960
    Lucknow       |    368 |         36 |    404
    Unâo          |  1,102 |         22 |  1,124
    Râê Bareli    |    925 |        158 |  1,083
    Sîtapur       |    481 |      1,028 |  1,509
    Hardoi        |     74 |       ...  |     74
    Kheri         |    275 |      1,001 |  1,276
    Faizâbâd      |  7,212 |      1,272 |  8,484
    Gonda         | 27,697 |       ...  | 27,697
    Bahrâich      |  1,611 |      1,301 |  2,912
    Sultânpur     |  1,586 |        658 |  2,244
    Partâbgarh    |  4,778 |       ...  |  4,778
    Bârabanki     |  2,455 |        640 |  3,095
                  +~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
          Total   | 97,492 |      9,827 |107,319
    ==============+========+============+=======


Bishnoi—(worshippers of Vishnu).—Usually, as at the last Census,
classed as a sub-tribe of Banyas, but really a distinct religious sect.
They are strongest in the Meerut and Rohilkhand Divisions, and as they
are emigrants from the Panjâb, Mr. Maclagan’s interesting account [128]
of them may be quoted:—“The founder of the sect was Jhâmbaji, who lived
towards the end of the fifteenth Century. The following is the account
given by the people regarding him. At Pinpâsar, a village south of
Bikâner, in the Jodhpur territory, there lived a Râjput Panwâr, named
Laut, who had attained the age of sixty years and had no son. One day a
neighbour going out to sow his field met Laut, and deeming it a bad
omen to meet a childless man, turned back from his purpose. This cut
Laut to the quick, and he went out to the jungle and bewailed his
childlessness till evening, when a faqîr appeared to him and told him
that in nine months he should have a son, and after showing his
miraculous power by drawing milk from a calf, vanished from his sight.
At the time named a child miraculously appeared in Laut’s house, and
was miraculously suckled by his wife Hansa. This happened in Sambat
1508 (A.D. 1451). For seven years the boy, who was an incarnation
(avatâra) of Vishnu, played with his fellows, and then for twenty-seven
years he tended cattle, but all this time he spoke no word. His
miraculous powers were shown in various ways, such as producing sweets
from nothing for the delectation of his companions, and he became
gradually known as Achamba (“the Wonder”), whence his name of Jhâmba,
by which he is generally known. After thirty-four years a Brâhman was
sent for to get him to speak, and on confessing his failure, Jhâmbaji
again showed his power by lighting a lamp by simply snapping his
fingers, and uttered his first word. He then adopted the life of a
teacher, and went to reside on a sandhill, some thirty miles south of
Bikâner, where, after fifty-one years, he died and was buried, instead
of being burnt like an ordinary Hindu.

[Legend of Jhâmbaji.] 2. “Another account of Jhâmbaji says that when a
lad of five years old he used to take his father’s herds to water at
the well, and had for each head of cattle a peculiar whistle: the cows
and bullocks would come one by one to the well, drink, and go away. One
day a man named Udaji happened to witness this scene, and struck with
astonishment, attempted to follow the boy when he left the well. He was
on horseback and the boy on foot, but gallop as fast as he would he
could not keep up with the walking pace of the boy. At last in
amazement he dismounted and threw himself at his feet; the boy at once
welcomed him by name, though he then saw him for the first time. The
bewildered Udaji exclaimed,—“Jhâmbaji!” (omniscient), and henceforth
the boy was known by this name. On attaining manhood Jhâmbaji left his
home, and becoming a faqîr or religious mendicant, is said to have
remained sitting on a sandhill called Samrathal in Bikâner for a space
of fifty-one years. In 1485 A.D. a fearful famine desolated the
country, and Jhâmbaji gained an enormous number of disciples by
providing food for all who would declare their belief in him. He is
said to have died on his sandhill at the good old age of eighty-four,
and to have been buried at a spot about a mile distant from it. A
further account says that his body remained suspended for six months in
the bier without decomposing.

[The name of the sect.] 3. “The name Bishnoi is, of course, connected
with that of Vishnu, the deity to whom the Bishnois give most
prominence in their creed, though they sometimes derive it from the
twenty-nine (bîs-nau) articles of faith inculcated by their founder. In
fact, in our returns it was very difficult to distinguish the Bishnoi
from the Vaishnava, who was often entered as a Baishnav or Bishno. The
Bishnois sometimes call themselves Prahlâdbansi, or Prahlâdpanthi, on
the ground that it was to please Prahlâda Bhagat that Vishnu became
incarnate in the person of Jhâmbaji. The legend is that thirty-three
crores of beings were killed by the wicked Hiranya-Kasipu, and when
Vishnu, as the Narasinha Avatâra, saved the life of Prahlâda and asked
Prahlâda his dearest wish, the latter requested that Vishnu would
effect the salvation (mukti) of the remaining twenty-eight crores. To
do this required a further incarnation, and Jhâmbaji was the result.”

[Tenets of the Bishnois.] 4. “Regarding the doctrines of the sect Mr.
J. Wilson writes:—‘The sayings (shabd) of Jhâmbaji to the number of one
hundred and twenty were written down by his disciples, and have been
handed down in a book (pothi) which is written in the Nâgari character,
and in a Hindu dialect, similar to Bâgri, seemingly a Mârwâri dialect.
The ‘twenty-nine’ precepts given by him for the guidance of his
followers are as follows:—


    Tîs din sûtak pânch roz ratwanti nâri,
    Sera karo shnân sil santokh suchh pyâri.
    Pâni bâni îdhni itna lîjo chhân.
    Daya dharm hirdê dharo guru batâi jân.
    Chori nindya jûth barjya bâd na kariyo koê.
    Amal tamâku bhang lil dûr hi tyâgo.
    Mad mâs se dekh ke dûr hi bhâgo.
    Amar rakhâo thât bail tani na bâho.
    Amâshya barat rûnkh lîlo na ghâo.
    Hom, jap samâdh pûja bâsh baikunthi pâo.
    Untîs dharm ki âkhri guru batâi soê,
    Pâhul doê par châvya jis ko nâm Bishnoi hoê.


Which is thus interpreted: ‘For thirty days after child-birth and five
days after a menstrual discharge a woman must not cook food. Bathe in
the morning. Commit not adultery. Be content. Be abstemious and pure.
Strain your drinking water. Be careful of your speech. Examine your
fuel in case any living creature be burnt with it. Show pity to living
creatures. Keep duty present to your mind as the Teacher bade. Do not
steal. Do not speak evil of others. Do not tell lies. Never quarrel.
Avoid opium, tobacco, bhang, and blue clothing. Flee from spirits and
flesh. See that your goats are kept alive (not sold to Musalmâns, who
will kill them for food). Do not plough with bullocks. Keep a fast on
the day before the new moon. Do not cut green trees. Sacrifice with
fire. Say prayers. Meditate. Perform worship and attain heaven. And the
last of the twenty-nine duties prescribed by the Teacher—‘Baptize your
children, if you would be called a true Bishnoi.’”

[Social life.] 5. “Some of these precepts are not strictly obeyed; for
instance, though ordinarily they allow no blue in their clothing, yet a
Bishnoi, if he is a servant of the British Government, is allowed to
wear a blue uniform; and Bishnois do use bullocks, though most of their
farming is done with camels. They also seem to be unusually quarrelsome
(in words) and given to use bad language. But they abstain from
tobacco, drugs, and spirits, and are noted for their regard for animal
life, which is such that not only will they not themselves kill any
living creature, but they do their utmost to prevent others from doing
so. Consequently their villages are generally swarming with antelope
and other animals, and they forbid their Musalmân neighbours to kill
them, and try to dissuade European sportsmen from interfering with
them. They wanted to make it a condition of their settlement that no
one should be allowed to shoot on their land, but at the same time they
asked that they might be assessed at lower rates than their neighbours
on the ground that the antelope being thus left undisturbed do more
damage to their crops; but I told them that this would lessen the merit
(pun) of their good actions in protecting the animals, and they must be
treated just as the surrounding villages were. They consider it a good
deed to scatter grain to pigeons and other birds, and often have a
large number of half-tame birds about their villages. The day before
the new moon they observe as a Sabbath and fast-day, doing no work in
the fields or in the house. They bathe and pray three times a day, in
the morning, afternoon, and in the evening, saying Bishno! Bishno!
instead of the ordinary Hindu Râm! Râm! Their clothing is the same as
of other Bâgris, except that their women do not allow the waist to be
seen, and are fond of wearing black woollen clothing. They are more
particular about ceremonial purity than ordinary Hindus are, and it is
a common saying that if a Bishnoi’s food is on the first of a string of
twenty camels and a man of another caste touches the last camel of the
string, the Bishnoi would consider his food defiled and throw it away.

[Ceremony of initiation.] 6. “A number of representative Bishnois
assemble, and before them a Sâdh or Bishnoi priest, after lighting a
sacrificial fire (hom), instructs the novice in the duties of the
faith. He then takes some water in a new earthen vessel, over which he
prays in a set form (Bishno gâyatri), stirring it the while with his
string of beads (mâla), and after asking the consent of the assembled
Bishnois he pours the water three times into the hands of the novice,
who drinks it off. The novice’s scalp-lock (choti) is then cut off and
his head shaved, for the Bishnois shave the whole head and do not leave
a scalp-lock like the Hindus; but they allow the beard to grow, only
shaving the chin on the father’s death. Infant baptism is also
practised, and thirty days after birth, the child, whether boy or girl,
is baptized by the priest (Sâdh) in much the same way as an adult; only
the set form of prayer is different (garbh gâyatri), and the priest
pours a few drops of water into the child’s mouth, and gives the
child’s relatives each three handfuls of the consecrated water to
drink; at the same time the barber clips off the child’s hair. The
baptismal ceremony has the effect of purifying the house, which has
been made impure by the birth (sûtak).

[Customs of the Bishnois.] 7. “The Bishnois intermarry among themselves
only, and by a ceremony of their own, in which it seems the
circumambulation of the sacred fire, which is the binding ceremony
among the Hindus generally, is omitted. They do not revere Brâhmans,
but have priests (Sâdh) of their own chosen from among the laity. They
do not burn their dead, but bury them below the cattle-stall or in a
place frequented by cattle, such as a cattle pen. They observe the Holi
in a different way from other Hindus. After sunset, on that day, they
fast till the next forenoon, when, after hearing read the account of
how Prahlâda was tortured by his infidel father, Hiranya Kasipu, for
believing in the god Vishnu, until he was delivered by the god himself
in his incarnation of the Lion-Man (Nara-Sinha), and mourning over
Prahlâda’s sufferings, they light a sacrificial fire and partake of
consecrated water, and after distributing unpurified sugar (gur) in
commemoration of Prahlâda’s delivery from the fire into which he was
thrown, they break their fast.

“Bishnois go on pilgrimage where Jhâmbaji is buried, south of Bikâner,
where there is a tomb (math) over his remains, and a temple (mandir)
with regular attendants (pujâri). A festival takes place here every six
months in Asauj and Phâlgun, when the pilgrims go to the sandhill on
which Jhâmbaji lived, and there light sacrificial fires (hom) of jandi
wood in vessels of stone, and offer a burnt offering of barley, sesamum
(til), butter, and sugar, at the same time muttering set prayers. They
also make presents to the attendants of the temple, and distribute
grain for the peacocks and pigeons, which live there in numbers. Should
any one have committed an offence, such as having killed an animal, or
sold a cow or goat to a Musalmân, or allowed an animal to be killed
when he could have prevented it, he is fined by the assembled Bishnois
for the good of the temple, and the animals kept there. Another place
of pilgrimage is a tomb called Chhambola, in the Jodhpur country, where
a festival is held every year in Chait. There the pilgrims bathe in the
tank and help to deepen it, and sing and play musical instruments and
scatter grain to peacocks and pigeons. The Bishnois look with special
attention to the fire sacrifice (hom); it is only the rich who perform
this daily; the poor meet together to carry out the rite on the Amâwas
day only. The Gâenas or Sâdhs, who are their priests and are fed by
them like Brâhmans, are a hereditary class and do not intermarry with
other Bishnois; nor do they take offerings from any but Bishnois. The
Bishnois are a regular caste and have been shown as such in our tables;
and the returns of the caste are much more to be relied on than those
of the sect, for the reason given above that many Bishnois by sect must
have been shown in our tables as Vaishnavas, and vice versâ.

[Organization.] 8. “It is said that a member of any of the higher Hindu
castes may become a Bishnoi; but as a matter of fact they are almost
entirely Jâts or carpenters (Khâti), or less frequently, Râjputs or
Banyas, and the Banya Bishnois are apparently not found in the Panjâb,
their chief seat being Morâdâbâd, in the North-West Provinces. The man
who becomes a Bishnoi is still bound by his caste restrictions; he no
longer calls himself a Jât, but he can marry only Jât Bishnois, or he
is no longer a Khâti, and yet cannot many any one who is not a Khâti;
and further than this the Bishnoi retains the gotra of his original
tribe and may not marry within this. Karewa is practised among them,
but an elder brother cannot marry a younger brother’s widow.

[Connection with Vaishnavism.] 9. “There is not perhaps very much in
the teaching of Jhâmbaji to distinguish him from the orthodox pattern
of Hindu saints, and in some points his doctrine, more especially with
regard to the preservation of life, is only an intensification of the
ordinary Vaishnava tenets. But in the omission of the circumambulation
(phera) at marriage, the cutting off of the scalp-lock, the special
ceremony of initiation, and the disregard for the Brâhmanical
priesthood, we find indications of the same spirit as that which moved
the other Hindu reformers of the period.”

[The Bishnois of the North-Western Provinces.] 10. Mahant Âtma Râm,
known as Mahârâj or Mahant, the present leader of the Morâdâbâd
Bishnois, gives an account of them which, as far as the legends
connected with Jhâmbaji, agrees exactly with the Panjâb legend. He
names nine endogamous sub-divisions of them—Jât; Bishnoi; Banya
Bishnoi; Brâhman Bishnoi; Ahîr Bishnoi; Sunâr Bishnoi; Nâi Bishnoi;
Chauhân Bishnoi; Bayhar Bishnoi. The rule of exogamy is that they do
not intermarry in their own gotra or in that of their relatives as long
as any tie of relationship is remembered.

[Customs.] 11. The Morâdâbâd branch settled there when the District was
in the hands of the Nawâb Wazîr of Oudh, about one hundred and fifty
years ago. They do not admit outsiders except into their special
sub-division as given above. Polygamy is allowed; polyandry repudiated.
The marriage ceremonies are performed in the orthodox Hindu fashion.
Widows can re-marry by the sagâi form. Besides the special worship of
Jhâmbaji, they have, now following the example of their Hindu
neighbours, adopted also the worship of Siva and Bhawâni. When a child
is born the mother is secluded for forty days, when the Mahant sends
one of his disciples who makes her throw some butter into the fire.
This ceremony is known as basandar chhûna or “fire touching.” When a
man dies the nearest male relative of the deceased draws water from the
well in an unused earthen vessel, and places it at the door of the
house with the opening at the top covered with a piece of new cloth.
Upon this are placed some cakes (pûri). Just as the sun is setting some
of the clansmen assemble, and each takes a handful of water and pours
it on the ground in the name of the dead man. This is repeated on the
third, tenth, twentieth, and fortieth day, and after three, six, and
twelve months. The corpse is thrown into the Ganges with a pitcher full
of sand tied round the neck. They perform the srâddha in honour of the
sainted dead in the month of Kuâr, as ordinary Hindus do. Those who die
without issue have the srâddha performed by other relations, and on
this occasion clothes, etc., are given to Brâhmans. They will eat from
the hands of none but their own clansmen.

[Social life.] 12. They strictly abstain from spirits, meat, and
tobacco. Wherever they are numerous they erect by subscription a shed
which is known as a Vishnu temple (Vishnu mandir). There they assemble
on the fifteenth of every Hindu month, and the songs of Jhâmbaji are
chanted by the Mahant or some other Sâdh or priest. This meeting is
known as jumala. In the months of Kuâr and Chait they assemble in large
numbers and offer sweetmeats and money. Part of the offerings is taken
by the Mahant and the rest is divided among the worshippers present.
The Mahant and his Sâdhs practise celibacy. The Bishnois of Bijnor
appear to differ from those of the Panjâb in using the Musalmân form of
salutation, salâm alaikum, and the title of Shaikhji. They account for
this by saying that they murdered a Muhammadan Qâzi who prevented them
from burning a widow and were glad to compound the offence by
pretending to adopt Islâm.


DISTRIBUTION OF BISHNOI BANYAS [129] ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======
      District.   |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |     58
    Muzaffarnagar |    902
    Meerut        |    255
    Bijnor        |  1,626
    Morâdâbâd     |  2,748
    Cawnpur       |      7
    Bânda         |      5
                  +~~~~~~~
           Total  |  5,601
    ==============+=======


Biyâr, Biâr.—A tribe of labourers and cultivators in the Eastern
Districts.

[Origin and characteristics of the tribes.] 1. The word Biâr means “a
seed-bed,” and it is suggested that this may be the origin of the name
on account of their occupation, which is principally rice cultivation
and the construction of tanks and embankments. They may possibly be of
aboriginal origin, but the tribe appears to be very mixed, and while
they have to a great extent lost the broad nose characteristic of the
pure Dravidian races, like the Majhwârs or Korwas, they are not
noticeably different in appearance from the Chamârs and other menial
Hindu castes which surround them. They may perhaps be connected with
the Bhoyars of Betul, “who are said to have come originally from Upper
India: they are hard-working and industrious cultivators, thoroughly
alive to the advantages of irrigation, and generally expending much
labour and capital in the sinking of wells.” [130] The idea which at
one time prevailed that they were in some way connected with the great
Bhar race seems groundless. They consider themselves autochthones of
Pargana Barhar, in Mirzapur, and have no traditions of emigration. They
are slight, dark, wiry men, noted for their skill in earth-work, and
habitually employed on excavations of all kinds: a quiet, rather
depressed race, occasionally addicted to petty theft. In Mirzapur they
have now formed themselves into two endogamous divisions, the
Barhariya, who take their name from Pargana Barhar, north of the river
Son, and the Dakkhinâha or “Southerners,” who live south of the river.
Those north of the Son have begun to imitate Hindus so far as to start
one sub-division or sept (Kuri), the Chamanawa or Chandanawa, who say
they are descended from the chandan or sandal tree, and to this is
attached one gotra, that of Kâsip. These sub-divisions, however, do not
restrict marriage, the rules of exogamy within the two endogamous
sub-divisions being of a very elementary kind. They say that when a
girl is married into a family they do not permit another alliance with
that family for at least three generations. Others say that only the
family of the mother’s brother (mâmu) and the father’s sister’s husband
(phûpha) are barred. The tendency, however, seems to be to extend the
restriction to the orthodox limit fixed in many of these tribes and to
include the family of the father’s brother (chacha) and the maternal
aunt (mâosi). Other members of the caste, however, name seven
septs,—Kanaujiya, Sarwâr, Barwâr, Mahto, Kahto, Kâshi, and Barhar.
These are exogamous, and hypergamy is said to prevail to this extent
that the Kanaujiya intermarry only with the Barwâr, Sarwâr and Mahto.
Three of these are purely local sub-divisions, Kanaujiya (from Kanauj),
Kâshi (from Benares), Barhar (from the pargana of that name in
Mirzapur). The others are probably all occupational—Sarwâr “archer;”
Barwâr, “carrier of loads;” Mahto, “leader;” Kahto, “spokesman.”

[Tribal organisation.] 2. They have a caste council (panchâyat) which
meets on occasions of marriages and funerals, and disposes of tribal
business. The president (Mukhiya) is a hereditary officer, and he has
an assistant known as Chaudhari. Offences against morality are punished
by fine or castigation. The castigation is in the form of a
shoe-beating, which is administered by two strong young men at the
orders of the president. The fine takes the form of two or four days
feeding of the clansmen. When the offender agrees to do this he is
restored to caste privileges. If a man marries into a family already
excommunicated he has to give a two days’ feast of goat flesh and
liquor to the clan. If a poor man pleads poverty, the fine is sometimes
reduced, but if he disregards the sentence he is excommunicated for
two, four, or even ten years. If the Mukhiya or Chaudhari is a minor,
the council select some relative to act for him. The Chaudhari is
always appointed by the council.

[Rules of marriage.] 3. Difference in wealth or social station is no
bar to marriage. A man may marry as many wives as he can support. The
senior wife is mistress of the house, is respected among the relations,
and joins in the family worship. If a man marries a second time, and he
or she annoy or ill-treat the first wife, the council interferes in her
favour. As a matter of fact the senior wife generally selects the
junior wives, and urges her husband to polygamy, as their labour saves
her trouble. If there are more wives than one they live in separate
huts in the same enclosure, but, as a rule, they get on well together
and live in common. Concubinage, if the concubine (rakhui) is a member
of the tribe, is permitted. The abhorrence with which they regard even
the idea of polyandry is sufficient to show that it could never have
been an institution of the tribe. Women have considerable freedom both
before and after marriage. If a woman is caught in an intrigue with a
stranger to the tribe she is expelled. If her lover be a member of the
tribe, the fathers of both have to feed the clansmen: but it is a
peculiarity of this tribe that they will not allow the lovers to marry.
The reason is because such cases give rise to a feud between the girl’s
family and that of her lover, which is usually so serious that a
marriage alliance between them is out of the question. In such cases of
incontinence the girl’s father has to feed the tribesmen on pakki
rasoi, that is to say, butter cakes (pûri) and goat’s flesh, and the
next day on kachchi rasoi, that is, boiled rice and pulse (dâl, bhât).
The tribal punishment for the lover used to be fifty stripes with a
cane, but British law has put a stop to this, and he now gets fifty
blows of a shoe. After the beating is over he has, in addition, to give
the same feast as the girl’s father.

[Marriage and divorce.] 4. The marriage age for boys and girls is from
six to twelve. The headman arranges the match: the consent of the
parents is essential, and the parties have no right of choice. The
bride-price fixed by invariable custom is four rupees in cash, two
cloths (dhoti), four sers coarse sugar (gur), and a little turmeric. No
physical defect which appears in either party after marriage is
sufficient to break the tie; but this is not the case if fraud is
established against the parents of either party: and it is understood
that a woman may refuse to live with her husband if he is unable to
support her, or is impotent. A man can divorce his wife for adultery:
in fact, if after adultery is established, a man does not discard his
wife, he is punished by the council. But all separations must be by the
sanction of the headman, and he will not give leave until he has
enquired and heard evidence in the case. If a man marries a woman who
has been divorced for adultery he is put out of caste. The sons of the
senior wife are called jethri or superior: those of the second lauhri
or inferior. These two sets of children succeed equally, while the
children of a concubine have no rights, and receive only whatever their
father may please to give them during his lifetime. If the concubine
was a woman of the tribe, the children receive full caste rights and
can be married in the tribe: not so, if the mother was of another
tribe. Her children are called Biyâr after their father, but have no
rights of marriage or commensality.

[Widow marriage.] 5. A man may take a widow to live with him without
any ceremony. For a while the clansmen will not eat with him, but when
he feeds them he is generally restored to caste on condition that he
goes to bathe at Benares or Gaya. The levirate is allowed under the
usual restriction that the younger brother can marry his elder
brother’s widow, and not vice versâ. If the levir abandon his claim to
her she may marry an outsider. She takes with her only children at the
breast; the others remain with her late husband’s brother. Once she
marries again she loses all rights in her husband’s estate. Their uncle
manages the property for his nephews, and they succeed when they come
of age. So in the case of the levirate the mother manages the property
for her sons by the first marriage. Her second family has no claim to
share. There is no fiction by which the sons of the levir are
attributed to the first husband.

[Adoption.] 6. Only a sonless man can adopt, and that only with the
consent of his brethren and the council. A man usually adopts his
brother’s son, though occasionally the adoption of a daughter’s son is
allowed. A man may adopt if his only son is a permanent outcast. During
the life of one adopted son a second cannot be adopted. Curiously
enough a bachelor can adopt, but not a blind man, or a cripple, or an
impotent man, or a Jogi, or a woman, except a widow following distinct
instructions from her late husband given before witnesses. But in any
case she can adopt only one of her husband’s brother’s sons. A man
cannot give his only or eldest son or only brother in adoption. A boy
once married cannot be adopted: nor can a girl be adopted: nor a
sister’s son: nor a daughter’s son except in most exceptional
circumstances. As a rule a son adopted by another loses all rights to
his father’s estate, but cases are quoted to the contrary. If he be his
father’s only son he inherits in both houses. If a natural son be born
after adoption he and the adopted son share equally.

[Beena marriage.] 7. The custom of Beena marriage or gharjaiyân does
not prevail.

[Succession.] 8. In all cases the sons of a man are his heirs.
Primogeniture is so far observed that the eldest gets a tenth in excess
of everything, and the children of the first or senior wife get
something more than the others. The shares go by the sons, not by the
mothers. A man cannot select a special son in his lifetime to be heir
in excess of the others. Even if one son be better off than the others
by self-acquired property, dowry, etc., he gets his usual share.
Grandsons get their proportionate share in the inheritance of their
fathers. If there are no sons the associated brothers inherit equally.
The widow has a right to maintenance so long as she continue chaste: if
she becomes unchaste her husband’s brothers can expel her. A daughter
has no rights, but it seems to be usual for the brothers to give her
some of the family jewelry, etc., and if she is badly treated by her
husband or his friends she has a right to come back to her original
home and claim maintenance there. If a man die without a son or widow
his associated brothers succeed. If a widow marries while pregnant, and
a son is born, he will succeed to his real not to his step-father. If
the widow on remarriage takes little children with her the step-father
is bound to support them until they grow up and get them married. If a
man become an ascetic his sons get his estate: but a remarkable rule
prevails that in such case the sons get only the acquired property of
their father, while the ancestral property goes to his brothers.
Village and tribal offices such as that of mahto are ancestral: but if
the eldest son of the deceased proves unfit, the duty is made over to
one of his elder brothers.

[Relationship.] 9. Families in which sons are married or from which
sons-in-law come are considered relations. There is nothing peculiar in
the general system of relationship. They do not, as a rule, remember
the names of ancestors beyond the grandfather.

[Birth ceremonies.] 10. When a woman is being delivered she sits on the
ground facing east. She is attended by the Chamâin midwife, who cuts
the cord with a sickle and buries it in the place where the child was
born, lighting a fire on the spot, which is kept burning while the
woman remains in seclusion. After birth the child is rubbed with a
mixture of barley flour and oil. The first day the mother is fed on
halwa, which is made of wheat flour, coarse sugar (gur), and ghi. After
this she is given butter cakes (pûri), but in poor families only rice
and pulse. Every morning and evening she is given a mixture of gur,
ghi, and turmeric, which is known as kâra. On the sixth day the Chamâin
bathes mother and child, the Dhobi takes her clothes to the wash, the
barber’s wife cuts her finger and toe nails and colours her feet with
lac dye (mahâwar). On that day the men of the family shave and put on
clean clothes, and the woman’s husband’s sister (nanad) cleans the
delivery room (saur), for which she receives a present in cash,
clothes, or jewelry. The wives of the barber and Dhobi get four annas
each, and the Chamâin the same with her food for the days she has been
in attendance. That evening the clanspeople, male and female, are fed.
From that date the attendance of the Chamâin ceases. On the twelfth day
(barahi) the mother bathes in warm water, and the barber’s wife cuts
her nails and those of all the other women of the family. From that
time the mother is considered pure, and cooks for the family. On this
day the old earthen vessels of the family are replaced. The couvade so
far prevails that on the day the child is born the father does no work,
and has to take the first sip of the draught given to his wife. The
husband does not cohabit with his wife till the child is six months
old, and is first fed on grain (annaprâsana).

[Adoption ceremony.] 11. No adoption is valid unless the adoptive
father and the boy appear before the Mukhiya, Chaudhari and council and
make mutual engagements.

[Marriage ceremony.] 12. There is nothing very remarkable about the
marriage ceremony. The bride is selected by the boy’s father and
approved of by the Mahto. The boy’s father then on a date (lagan) fixed
by a Brâhman sends or takes to the bride’s father a present which fixes
the betrothal. This is known as neg bharna, and in some places consists
of four rupees in cash, two sers turmeric, two sers oil, and two sers
coarse sugar (gur); in others of one and-a-quarter sers turmeric, one
and-a-quarter sers sugar, and one and-a-quarter sers of oil. The
marriage pavilion (mânro) has the middle post of siddh wood (Hardwickia
binata). It is erected by the sister or paternal aunt of the bride, who
receives a small present for doing this. Five days before marriage the
matmangar ceremony is performed in the usual way as described in the
case of the Bhuiyas, except that the earth is dug by the father’s
sister’s husband (phûpha) of the bride, and is brought home by five
unmarried girls of the bride’s sept, who make out of it a rude altar
(bedi) in the marriage shed, on which is placed the lucky water jar
(kalsa), and a rude representation of parrots (suga) sitting on a tree,
which is made by the village carpenter out of the wood of the
cotton-tree (semal). On this day the family priest (purohit) sprinkles
the bride and bridegroom with a bunch of dûb grass soaked in turmeric
and oil (haldi charhâna). This is done five times. Before the
procession starts the bridegroom’s mother does the “waving” ceremony
(parachhan), as described in connection with the Bhuiyârs. The
bridegroom’s procession is met by the bride’s friends outside the
village, and they embrace (meli jholi). On reaching the reception place
(janwânsa) the bridegroom’s father takes the wedding present
(charhauwa) to the bride. This consists of some jewelry and a sheet for
the girl and her mother. When the bridegroom arrives he and the bride
are seated on leaf mats or stools in a square (chauk) made under the
marriage shed: the bride’s father washes the feet of the bridegroom,
and her mother does the same for the bride. Then the hands of the pair
are joined, and the bride’s father pours water over them, while the
Pandit [131] reads the sankalpa or “verses of donation.” They then walk
five times round the parrot images and water jar, the girl’s brother
pouring a handful of parched rice (lawa) over them each time they pass;
while some parched grain is thrown on the sacred fire (hom), which is
kept burning in the shed. Then the pair sit down, and the bridegroom
marks the right foot of the bride with red lead, and taking five
pinches of it between the thumb and the first finger of his right hand
rubs it in the parting of her hair. This is the binding portion of the
ceremony. Then the wife of the bride’s brother (bhaujâi) sprinkles some
red lead (sendur chhirakna) over the bridegroom and gets a small
present. She then escorts the pair into the retiring room (kohabar),
the walls of which are marked with rude figures drawn in red clay
(geru). Over these the bridegroom pours some oil, and has to submit to
a good deal of coarse practical jokes from the female relations of the
bride. [132] Next morning is the khichari or ceremony of confarreatio,
when the bridegroom and bride eat together. After this is the mânro
hilâi or “shaking of the marriage shed.” The father of the bridegroom
pulls up and pitches away one of the poles of the pavilion amid the
shouts of his party. This may possibly be a survival of marriage by
capture. On the bridegroom arriving at his house his sister, apparently
with the same idea, blocks the door, and will not admit the bride until
she gets a present. At the bridegroom’s house the kohabar ceremony, as
above described, is again performed. A day or two after this, on a day
fixed by the Pandit, some woman of the family takes the wreaths of
mango leaves (bandanwâr) which decorated the door and the sacred water
jar (kalsa), and throws them into a stream. The deities that preside
over marriages are Gauri (Devi) and Ganesa. Images of them made of
cow-dung are placed in the marriage shed, and are rubbed with a little
of the red lead before it is applied to the head of the bride. A
marriage can be broken off after the first embassage (puchhâwa) of the
headman, but once the red lead is applied it is final.

[Forms of marriage.] 13. The three forms of recognized marriage are the
charhauwa and the sagâi for widows. There is also the gurâwat, or
marriage by exchange, when two persons exchange sisters. [133]

[Death ceremonies.] 14. The dying person is removed into the open air
before death. [134] The ceremonies are performed in the ordinary way.
After cremation a stalk of the tall reed-like grass (jhurai) is planted
on the edge of a tank. This is apparently like the vessel (ghant) hung
on a pîpal tree, intended as an abode for the spirit (pret) during the
time which elapse before the funeral ceremonies are complete. [135]
During the next ten days the man who fired the pyre goes daily to the
tank and pours ten vessels (lota) of water over the grass-stalk. When
the mourners return from the pyre they sit and lament the deceased for
a short time, and each touches with his big toe a little vessel of
water which is laid in the court-yard. For ten days mourning goes on.
The man who fired the pyre cooks his food in an earthen vessel without
salt, eats only once a day out of a leaf platter (dauna), and the
relations do not eat pân or turmeric or put oil on their heads. The
chief mourner goes about with a knife and brass lota in his hands to
keep off ghosts. On the day after the cremation the women of the family
go to the tank. The dead man’s mother walks in front of the widow, and
all sing songs of mourning. When they arrive at the tank the widow
washes the red lead off the parting of her hair and pours ten handfuls
of water on the stalk of grass which embodies the spirit of her
husband. All the women do the same, and the same ceremony is performed
daily for ten days. On the tenth day (daswân) all the male relations
shave at the tank and get a Brâhman to offer up three balls (pinda) of
barley flour, which are thrown into the water in the name of the
deceased. They then return to the house, where the funeral priest
(Mahâpâtra, Mahâbrâhman) attends and receives the bed, clothes, and
vessels of the dead man, and one and-a-quarter rupee in cash from the
person who fired the pyre. These, it is believed, will pass on for the
use of the deceased in the next world (svarga). [136] “How could he get
on in the next world without these things?” is what they say; but of a
future in which felicity awaits the good and retribution meets the
evil-doer they have only the very vaguest idea. [137] On that day his
brother-in-law binds a turban on the head of the dead man’s successor,
and pân and betel-nut are distributed and the clansmen fed. On this
day, to mark her abandonment of married life, the widow floats away
(serwa dena) her little box which contains the red lead for the parting
of her hair (sendûra) and forehead spangles into the water.

[Ancestor worship.] 15. At the period sacred to the dead (pitra paksha)
in the month of Kuâr they plaster a little space under the eaves of the
house, spread there a little rice and flowers, and a vessel (lota) full
of water and a toothbrush (datwan) for the use of the dead. On the 15th
day of Kuâr they give some dry grain (sîdha) to a Brâhman, and feed a
few of the kinsfolk in the name of the dead. If this is not done, their
spirits beset them in dreams, cause the nightmare, and bring disease
and death.

[Religion.] 16. Their special deity is Mahâdeva in the form of the
lingam. As local deities they worship Sewanriya, the deity of
boundaries, and Dharti Mahâdeva, the earth-god. These local deities
have a shrine on the village boundary consisting of a mud platform
under a semal (bombax heptaphyllum), bahera (terminalia bellerica), or
pîpal (ficus indica) tree. A small red flag marks the shrine, near
which are placed images of elephants. This is the shrine of Sewanriya,
the deity of boundaries. In the name of Dharti and Mahâdeva two stone
pillars are set up in the ground on the outskirts of the village. When
the harvest is cut both these are propitiated by a burnt sacrifice
(hom) of sugar and butter (gur, ghi). People who are in trouble make
vows there, and, when the evil is removed, sacrifice a goat or fowl,
and sprinkle some liquor through the Baiga. For this he receives some
grain and a couple of pice. The women have a special worship to Amina
Devi, [138] in which men do not join. They make a burnt offering and
light a lamp in her honour. If this deity is not worshipped the deity
mounts on their heads and drives them into a fit of ecstacy (abhuâna).
They have the usual custom of boring the ears (kanchhedan) of children
when they are five years old. That day special food is served, and
after this the child must conform to caste usages in the matter of
food. Their religious business is done by a low class of Pânrê
Brâhmans. On the day a child’s ears are bored a goat is offered to
Juâla-mukhi Devi, and the meat is consumed by the worshippers and their
friends.

[Festivals.] 17. On the Râmnaumi of Chait they have the heads of their
children shaved at the shrine of Juâla-mukhi Devi at Kota in the
presence of the priest (panda) in charge of the temple. On that date
they offer a goat and a burnt offering (hom). On the snake festival,
Nâgpanchami, held on the fifth bright half of Sâwan, they will not
plough, and make a white protective mark round the walls of their
houses, oil the horns of the oxen, and give them salt. On the Dasahra,
the tenth light half of Kuâr, they eat specially good food. On the
feast of lamps, Diwâli, in the last day of the dark fortnight in
Kârttik, they plaster the house, light lamps, and on that day the Ahîr
herdsmen come and dance at the houses of their employers, and get some
old clothes and a small money present. At the Til Sankrânt, in the end
of the month of Pûs, they all eat rice boiled with pulse (khichari)
after a Brâhman has first touched the food and blessed it. On the
thirteenth light half of Pûs they bury the old year (Sambat gârna).
There is a regular place outside the village in which a stake of the
wood of the cotton tree (semal) is planted in the ground. Three days
after all the villagers collect fuel round this, and on the day of the
full moon (pûranmâshi) the village Brâhman fixes a time for burning the
old year (Sambat). The fire is lit by the village Baiga, and then all
the people apply fire to it, and parch stalks of barley in the fire and
eat them. They also make small lumps of cowdung and throw them into the
fire. Next morning all collect and sprinkle the ashes of the Sambat
into the air. This is known as râkh urâna. After marking their
foreheads with the ashes they return home. Next day, up to midday, the
men sing abusive songs, and throw earth and cowdung at the women. After
midday they bathe, put on clean clothes, throw about the powder of
ground mica or talc (abîr), eat wheat cakes (pûri) fried in butter, and
drink liquor. The feast winds up with a regular saturnalia in which
decency and order are forgotten. [139]

[Ghosts.] 18. Places like wells and tanks where any one has been
drowned are considered as specially haunted. [140] If any one goes
alone to bathe in such places the ghost pushes him in and drowns him.
They also have the same idea about deaths by a fall from a tree, which
are regarded as the work of the offended tree spirit. If they happen to
walk under a tree where such an accident has happened they bend their
heads and bow. To keep off such ghosts people take a piece of iron
about with them, such as a knife, a key, etc. They believe that if you
can succeed in catching one of these malicious Bhûts and cutting off
his scalp-lock, he will serve you for the rest of your life.

[Tattooing.] 19. The women tattoo themselves in the usual way among
these jungle tribes. [141] They believe that if they are not tattooed
God (Bhagwân) brands them in the next world with a torch of dry grass.
[142]

[Various superstitions, omens, oaths, witchcraft, etc.] 20. The lucky
days are Sunday and Monday and Friday; Tuesday and Saturday are
unlucky. Among numbers 5 and 3 are lucky, 13 unlucky. They take omens
from the kurli bird, whose song on commencing a journey or business is
lucky. A jackal crossing the road is inauspicious. The house door may
face the North, East, or West, but not the South. Every one has two
names, that fixed by astrology (râs), and that in ordinary use. They
swear by putting the hand on their son’s head or touching a Brâhman’s
feet. In the first place if they tell a lie the son dies, in the second
they lose their property or life. They are much in dread of witchcraft
(tona). Such cases are treated by the Ojha, who has power to drive off
or summon Bhûts, and can thus revenge himself on an enemy. Dreams only
mean the displeasure of the sainted dead at inattention, and are not
specially interpreted. Some women, particularly those born on a
Saturday, can cast the Evil Eye. When a child is thus affected its
eyelashes stand out straight, and when babies are struck they refuse
the mother’s breast. Even big children are affected. The sign of the
arrival of a person with this power is that the person affected if
eating immediately vomits. All disease is due to demoniacal influence.
It is only Ojhas who can recognise the particular Bhût which is at the
bottom of the mischief, and having marked him down they are able to
prescribe the appropriate offering or expel the evil spirit by bringing
the victim into a state of ecstacy (abhuâna).

[Social customs.] 21. Their dress presents no peculiarities. The women
wear jewelry, the satua on the fore-arm, rings (mundari) on the
fingers, the bahunta on the upper arm, the palm leaf ornament (tarki)
in the ears, necklaces (hansuli) and strings of beads on the neck,
heavy anklets (pairi). They do not wear the nose-ring. They use liquor
and tobacco freely. They will not eat the flesh of monkeys, cows,
buffaloes, horses, camels, crocodiles, snakes, lizards, jackals, or
rats. They eat pigs, goats, sheep, fowls, and all kinds of fish. Women
do not eat pork. Children eat first, then the men, and last of all the
women. They will not touch a Dom, Chamâr, Dharkâr, or Bhangi; nor the
wife of the younger brother, the wife’s elder sister, and a connection
(samdhin) through the marriage of children. They will not speak by name
of the wife or mother, or of the dead if it can be avoided. In the
morning they will not speak of death, disease, or quarrels, or of a
lame man or a cripple, or of a village where bad characters live or
where there was in former days a murder or a fight. They sow, if
possible, on the tenth light half of Jeth. Fields for the spring crop
are ploughed five times, for the autumn crop twice. They salute by the
pâêlagi form, and seniors give the blessing nîkê raho, “Live happily!”
If a woman’s relation visits her she seizes him by the feet and weeps.
Then in a sort of sing-song she describes all her troubles to him, and
ends by washing his feet and giving him tobacco. [143] When a guest
comes he is expected to bring with him some parched grain and coarse
sugar for the children. Then if he is a clansman the householder seats
him in the cooking place (chauka) and feeds him. Women are respected,
as they work very hard. Men who ill-treat their wives are divorced by
the tribal council, and put out of caste for a year or two as a
punishment. Old people are taken care of and given only light work. In
the hot weather they all collect in the evening under a tree, and chat
on village business. In the cold weather they assemble at each other’s
houses, sit round a fire of rubbish (kaura), and the house master finds
them in chewing tobacco. They are very clannish and detest and distrust
strangers. They will eat both kinds of food (pakki and kachchi) only
from a Brâhman. No one but a Dom will eat or drink from their hands.

[Occupation.] 22. Their business is ploughing (halwâhi) and doing
earthwork on embankments and tanks, in which men, women, and children
join. When they take service as ploughmen they get on the first day a
pot (hânri) full of grain and a rupee in cash, and the same when sowing
is over. Their daily wages are three sers of barley or sâwân millet.
The Biyârs are a very quiet, respectable tribe, and are very seldom
seen in our Courts.

23. They have a sort of local organisation (eka) in which three or four
villages join, but it is weak and ineffective, and as a tribe they are
little more than serfs, ascripti glebæ; a few are now beginning to
cultivate as sub-tenants.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE BIYÂRS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==========+========
    District. |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Benares   |  3,214
    Mirzapur  | 14,398
    Ghâzipur  |    537
    Ballia    |    579
    Tarâi     |     93
              +~~~~~~~~
        Total | 18,821
    ==========+========


Bohra.—(Sanskrit, vyavahâraka, “a trader”).—A general term for any
trader or money-lender. Those recorded under this name at the last
Census are almost entirely confined to the Meerut Division. They claim
to be and are usually admitted to be Brâhmans. Of them Sir H. M. Elliot
[144] writes—“The Bohras of these Provinces either come from the
neighbourhood of Jaypur, or are descendants of the original settlers
from that quarter, and preserve some peculiarities of speech and dress
by which they are readily known. An inferior class of Bohras is called
Kaiyân, who are said to take their name from their trick of constantly
saying Kahi, Kaîn, ‘Why?’ or Rahti—the continually revolving nature of
their dealings and monthly visits to their debtors have with reference
to the constant revolutions of the rahat or Persian wheel and buckets
procured them the designation of Rahti.” Another name for them is
Athwariya because they take interest every eighth (âthwen) day. The
Bohras, according to Sir H. M. Elliot, have larger dealings and with
higher classes than the Rahtis have, but, like the latter, are
generally eager to acquire possession of profitable estates. There is,
however, this difference between them, that the Rahtis lend and will
take in return only money; whereas the Bohras are ready to receive
every marketable article, including the produce of the soil as well as
cattle, among which may be enumerated horses, camels, sheep and goats
in payment of their debts.

2. Those in the Upper Ganges Jumna Duâb, claim to be Paliwâl Gaur
Brâhmans, from Pâli, in Râjputâna. [145] Trade is not lawful for a
Brâhman except in times of scarcity and under certain conditions. [146]
Hence to mark their separation from Brâhmans with whom they do not mess
or intermarry, they associate with the Mahâbrâhman, who is an
abomination to the Hindu on account of his functions as a funeral
priest.

3. In Kumâun the Bohras call themselves Khasiya Râjputs, but claim to
have been originally money-lenders. They are now thriving
agriculturists. [147] To the east of the Province the trading Brâhmans
are called Bâona, and are analogous to the Bâbhan or Bhuînhâr. [148]
Quite distinct from these trading Brâhmans are the Bohras of Central
India, who are Musalmâns. They are wholesale merchants of the first
class, as well as pedlars. They render implicit obedience to their
elected Mullas. They are of the Hasani tribe,—once so dreaded in Egypt
and Persia for acts of murder and desperation. The principal Bohra
colony is at Ujjain, where they have four special quarters (muhala.)
[149] In the Panjâb, as in these Provinces, all the Bohras are Hindus.

4. Their exogamous sections would lead to the conclusion that their
origin is mixed. The Kâchhi and Khangâr seem to represent a non-Aryan
element. Besides these are the Bachguâr, Balâi, Bâtham (from Srâvasti),
Bhatiya, Charwâr, Dasâti, Deswâl, Kama, Kâsib, Kundal, Maheswari,
Nâgar, Samel, Syâmi, and Sundi.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE BOHRAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======
      District.   |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Sahâranpur    |   622
    Muzaffarnagar |    13
    Meerut        |     2
    Bulandshahr   |    75
    Aligarh       |   386
    Etah          |    32
    Hardoi        |     1
                  +~~~~~~~
           Total  | 1,131
    ==============+=======


Boriya.—A tribe of village servants and cultivators found chiefly in
the Cawnpur and Hardoi Districts. Their sub-castes show that they are
closely connected with, if not an offshoot of, the great Pâsi tribe.
Thus we find among their sub-divisions Arakh, Baheliya, Gûjar, Khangâr,
Kisân, Luniya, Pâsi, Râjpâsi, Rakhpâsi. Some, again, are local
sections, such as Ajudhyabâsi, Antarbedi, Baiswâr, Banârasi, Brijbâsi,
Kanaujiya, Mahobiya; others imply some connection with other tribes as
Bhurtiya, Chauhân, Ghosi, Hâra, Kaithiya, Kathwâns, and Sombansi.
Others are occupational, as Ghurcharha, “horsemen;” Khetwâl, “field
men.”


DISTRIBUTION OF THE BORIYAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ===========+==========+==========+======+=======+======
     District. |Kaithwâns.|Pârasrâmi.| Pâsi.|Others.|Total.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~
    Cawnpur    |     2,990|     6,831| 4,739|  3,591|18,151
    Fatehpur   |       985|       232|   349|     86| 1,652
    Hamîrpur   |    ...   |    ...   |  ... |      2|     2
    Hardoi     |    ...   |    ...   | 7,031|     69| 7,100
    Bahrâich   |    ...   |    ...   |  ... |      4|     4
               +~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~
         Total |     3,975|     7,063|12,119|  3,752|26,909
    ===========+==========+==========+======+=======+======


Brâhman. [150]—The levite class of the Hindu caste system. The word
Brâhmana is derived from Brâhman (root brih, vrih,) “religious devotion
regarded as an impulse or feeling gradually growing up and expanding so
as to fill the soul.” To quote one of the latest and best authorities
[151]—“The common term used in the Veda for the officiating priest is
Brâhman (masculine, nominative singular, Brahma) originally denoting,
it would seem, ‘one who prays,’ ‘worshipper,’ or ‘the composer or
reciter of a hymn.’ In some passages the word also signifies a special
class of priests who officiated as superintendents during sacrificial
ceremonies, the complicated nature of which required the co-operation
of several priests. The fact that the terms Brâhmana and Brahmaputra,
both denoting the son of a Brâhman, are used in certain hymns as
synonymous of Brâhman, seems to justify the assumption that the
profession had already to a certain degree become hereditary at the
time when the hymns were composed.” The term Brâhman, as Dr. Muir [152]
remarks, must have been originally applied to the same persons who are
elsewhere in the Vedic hymns spoken of as Rishi, Kavi, etc., and have
denoted devout worshippers and contemplative sages who composed prayers
and hymns which they themselves recited in praise of the gods.
Afterwards when the ceremonial gradually became more complicated and a
division of sacred functions took place, the word was more ordinarily
employed for a minister of public worship, and at length came to
signify one particular kind of priest with special duties. The original
Aryan priest was the house father, and we still find among the lower
Dravidian races that the family worship is done either by the head of
the household or by the son-in-law or brother-in-law; and it was only
when the service of the gods became a more complicated and difficult
function that a special class of officiants was created for this
purpose. This differentiation of function took place, of course, at an
early date in the history of the development of Hinduism. Dr. Haug
[153] believes that the differentiation of the functions of the classes
of priests, Hotris, or repeaters of the Rik verses, the Udgâtris, the
chanters of the Rik verses, and the Adhvaryus, or manual labourers and
sacred cooks must have been at an early date, certainly not posterior
to the collection of the Mantras, and the dicta of the Brâhman priests
into separate works.

2. But, as Dr. Muir goes on to say: [154]—“Though towards the close of
the Vedic period the priesthood probably became a profession, the texts
do not contain anything which necessarily implies that the priests
formed an exclusive caste or at least a caste separated from of all
others by insurmountable barriers as in later times. There is a wide
difference between a profession and even a hereditary order in caste in
the fully developed Brâhmanical sense. There is, therefore, no
difficulty in supposing that in the Vedic era the Indian priesthood,
even if we admit its members to have been for the most part sprung from
priestly families, may have often admitted aspirants to the sacerdotal
character from other classes of their countrymen.” This theory, then,
that even the Brâhmans themselves are probably of mixed origin, and
that the caste, as we find it now, is in a great measure occupational
in origin, goes to the very root of the Brâhmanical caste system of
modern India, and deserves to be established by some examples from the
immense mass of evidence which might be adduced in support of it.

[Composite origin of Brâhmans.] 3. In the first place it may be noted
that under the general head of Brâhman are included various classes
which are almost generally admitted to be of distinct origin, such are
the Mahâbrâhman or funeral priest who, on account of his functions, is
detested by all Hindus who pretend to purity; the various kinds of
beggars and astrologers, such as the Joshi, Dakaut, and his brethren,
and the Ojha or devil priest, who is almost certainly the Baiga or
ghost-finder of the Dravidian races, who has been imported into
Hinduism. Next, the supposition that the early so-called Brâhmans were
strictly endogamous, is contradicted by much evidence. Dr. Muir [155]
on the evidence of the early texts, shows that they not only
intermarried with women of their own order or even with women who had
previously remained single, but were in the habit of forming
connections with the widows of Rajanyas or Vaisyas, if they did not
even take possession of the wives of such men while they were still
alive.

4. Secondly, we have a mass of facts pointing to the creation of
certain classes of Brâhmans in comparatively modern times. Thus in
Partâbgarh [156] there is a current legend that the celebrated Oudh
chieftain, Mânik Chand, created Brâhmans wholesale out of various
Kurmis, Ahîrs, and Bhars. A similar case occurred in Fatehpur. [157] In
Unâo, again, a story is told of Râja Tilok Chand, that one day while
hunting he was very thirsty, and having no attendant he asked a Lodha,
who was present there, to fetch him some water, which he brought in his
own drinking vessel. The Râja after drinking the water discovered that
the owner of the vessel was a low caste man, so he asked him to call
himself a Brâhman under the title of Pâthak of Amtara, as he was
watching the mango (âm) trees. This title still remains with his
descendants, who are acknowledged as Brâhmans. [158] Sir J. Malcolm
[159] in Central India found many low caste female slaves in Brâhman
houses, the owners of which had treated them as belonging to their own
caste. Under the head of Dusâdh a reference has been made to the
curious Bihâr story of the clever Dusâdh girl who married a Brâhman.
[160]

5. Thirdly, this intermixture of castes comes out very clearly in the
earlier legends of the race. Thus we find that the Angirasas, or sons
of Angiras, were Brâhmans as well as Kshatriyas. So the descendants of
Garga, although Kshatriyas by birth, became Brâhmans. [161] In the
Mahâbhârata Bhîma is married by his brother Yudhishthira to the Asura
woman Hidimbi, and the marriage rites were regularly performed, and
Draupadi, a Kshatriya girl, accepts as a husband in the Swayamvara
Arjuna, who pretends to be a Brâhman. [162] According to a passage in
the Mahâbhârata [163] all castes become Brâhmans when once they have
crossed the Gomati on a visit to the hermitage of Vasishtha. The
Brâhman Drona acts the part of a Kshatriya in the great war. Kakshîvat
was the son of Dirghatamas by Usij, a female servant of the Queen of
the Kalinga Râja, whom her husband had desired to submit to the
embraces of the sage in order that he might beget a son. The Queen
substituted her bondmaid Usij. The sage, cognisant of the deception,
consecrated Usij, and begot by her a son named Kakshîvat, who through
his affiliation to the Râja was a Kshatriya; but as the son of
Dirghatamas was a Brâhman. [164] So Visvâmitra, a Kshatriya, by the
force of his austerities, compelled Brahma to admit him into the
Brâhmanical order in order that he might be on a level with Vasishtha,
with whom he had quarrelled. [165] Even up to the time that Vasishtha
wrote the legality of a twice-born man marrying a Sûdra woman seems to
have been at least arguable. [166] Numerous instances of similar
mutability of caste in comparatively modern times might easily be
given. [167]

[Legendary origin of Brâhmans.] 6. The legends throw little light on
the origin of Brâhmans as a caste except to establish the substantial
unity of the Aryan peoples. By one account the Brâhman was produced
from the mouth of the Supreme Being, the Kshatriya from his arms, the
Vaisya from his thigh, and the Sûdra from his foot. In the Purusha
Sukta hymn of the Rig Veda the primæval man is hewed by the gods into
four parts, which form the four great divisions of the race. A later
legend bases the division on purely moral grounds, and degraded those
Brâhmans who gave themselves up to anger and pride into Kshatriyas;
those who lived by agriculture and flock tending, the yellow Vaisyas;
and those who gave way to lying and immorality, the black Sûdras.

[Division of Brâhmans.] 7. The usual division of Brâhmans is into ten
great orders. First the five Drâvidas south of the Vindhyan range,
consisting of the Mahârâshtras who dwell in the country where Marâthi
is spoken; the Andras or Tailangas of the Telugu country; the Karnâtas
of the Canarese country; and the Gurjaras of Gurjarâshtra or Gujarât.
Secondly, the five Gauda or Gaur, north of the Vindhyas, consisting of
the Sarasvatas, who take their name from the Sarasvati river; the
Kanyakubjas or Kanaujiyas, from Kanyakubja or Kanauj; the Gaudas or
Gaurs who are said to take their name either from Gaur in Bengal or
Gonda in Oudh; the Utkalas of Orissa, and the Maithilas of Mithila, the
modern Bihâr and its neighbourhood.

8. At the last Census the Brâhmans of these Provinces were recorded
under twenty-one main sub-castes,—Bangâli, Chaubê, Drâvira, Gangaputra,
Gaur, Gujarâti, Jhijhautiya, Kanaujiya, Karnâtak, Kashmîri, Khandelwâl,
Mahârâshtra, Maithila, Ojha, Palliwâl, Sakaldîpi, Sanâdh, Saraswata,
Sarwariya, and Utkal. Besides these divisions, which are in a large
degree territorial, there are others, such as Achârya, Hotri, etc.,
which are occupational. The Brâhmanic sub-castes will, for the sake of
convenience, be discussed in separate articles. The complete lists give
no less than nine hundred and two Brâhmanical divisions, but here
tribes and gotras are inextricably compounded.

9. Among the sub-divisions of local importance, we find in Dehra Dûn
the Gangâri; in Muzaffarnagar, the Achârya, Dakaut, and Taga; in
Meerut, the Achârya, Bohra, Chaurasiya, Dakaut, Dasa, and Gautam; in
Aligarh, the Abhinâshi, Agnihotri, Barwâna, Gautam, Parâsara, Pâthak,
and Upâdhya; in Mathura, the Gautam and Nâgar; in Agra, the Chaurasiya
and Gautam; in Farrukhâbâd, the Mahâbrâhman; in Etah, the Dichhit,
Gautam, Rajauriya, and Upâdhya; in Budâun, the Parâsara, Pâthak,
Tiwâri, and Upâdhya; in Morâdâbâd, the Gautam and Mahâbrâhman; in
Hamîrpur, the Bhagorê and Sanaurhiya; in Allahâbâd, the Mâlawi and
Râthi; in Jhânsi, the Bhagorê, Dakkhini, Karâri, and Sagarmodi; in
Jâlaun, the Aiwâsi; in Lalitpur, the Bhagor and Singirekh or
Sringirishi; in Benares, the Audich, Bhâradwâja, Nâgar, and Vedi; in
Mirzapur, the Sândil; in Jaunpur, the Kantil and Rajbhât; in Ghâzipur,
the Bhâradwâja, Chhatri, Gautam, Pachhaiyân, Parâsaragotra, Sândil,
Vedi, and Yajurvedi; in Ballia, the Gautam; in Basti, the Sândil; in
Bahrâich, the Belwâr; and in the Hills, the Bais, Bhal, Bhât, Gangâri,
Joshi, Khas, Lakhpâl, Lohni, Pânrê, Panth, Pâthak, Sarola, Tripâthi,
Tiwâri, Upâdhya, Upreti. Of many of these some account will be found in
other articles.

[Brâhmanic exogamy.] 10. The great sub-castes already named are for the
most part endogamous; but the rule appears to be occasionally relaxed
when the scantiness of brides in the small local group is an obstacle
to marriage. Thus there seems to be no doubt that in parts of the
country at least the Gaur and Saraswata sub-castes intermarry.
According to Manu persons are forbidden to marry who stand in the
relationship of sapindas, that is, who are within five degrees of
affinity on the side of the mother, and seven on that of the father.
The person himself constitutes one of these degrees; that is to say,
two persons stand to each other in the sapinda relationship if their
common ancestor, being a male, is not further removed from either of
them than six degrees, or four degrees when the common ancestor is a
female. This rule reinforces the principle that the gotra is an
exogamous unit. It is needless to say that this gotra system has been
developed to an extraordinary extent, and they have become so numerous
that it is practically impossible to procure any well established list
of the gotras of any of the chief tribes. The word gotra means
primarily a “cow-pen,” and has hence been extended to the descendants
of a common ancestor. Most of them are what has been called eponymous,
that is to say, they claim to be descended from and to derive their
names from some Rishi, or saint, who is supposed to have been their
first ancestor. All the Brâhmanical gotras have eight great ancestors
only—Visvamitra, Jamadagni, Bharadwâja, Gautama, Atri, Vasishtha,
Kasyapa, and Agastya. [168] These occupy with the Brâhmans about the
same position as the twelve sons of Jacob with the Jews, and only he
whose descent from one of these great Rishis was beyond doubt could
become the founder of a gotra. The Brâhmanical system of gotras has,
again, by a fiction been extended to other tribes, such as the Râjput,
Banya, Khatri, or Kâyasth, but among them the institution is exotic,
and naturally much less vigorous than among the tribe from whom it was
derived.

11. There is again another Brâhmanical division, that of the charana or
sâkha and the pravara. The sâkha or charana is usually applied to the
body of persons who follow one of the various schools of Vedic
teaching, which are said to be as many as 1,130, of which there are
1,000 for the Sama Veda, 100 for the Yajur Veda, 21 for the Rig Veda,
and 9 for the Atharva Veda. The institution of the pravara is, again,
purely religious. The pravara or arsheya, which are generally regarded
as synonymous terms are those sacrificial fires which several gotras
had in common. It was left to their own choice to which they wished to
repair.

[Domestic ceremonies.] 12. Under the articles dealing with the separate
Brâhmanical tribes an account of some of the domestic ceremonies has
been given. A few points may here be noticed, principally derived from
the customs of the Sarwariya Brâhmans of the Eastern Districts of the
Province.

[The Rajodarsan: garbhadâna.] 13. What is commonly known as the
rajodarsan (rajas, “pollution,” darsana, “seeing”) is the time during
which women remain impure for four days after the menstrual period, and
while in this state do not touch the drinking water or cook for the
household. This is, it is hardly necessary to say, consistent with the
common practice of the most primitive tribes. [169] The pollution is
removed by the rajasnân or ceremonial bathing on the fourth day.
Immediately on marriage follows the “impregnation rite,” garbhadâna. In
ancient times no bridegroom approached the bride till the fourth night
after the completion of the marriage ceremony. This interval is
prescribed by Gobhila. The present interval of two, three, or four
years in the case of child-marriages is quite unsupported by the
authority of ancient lawyers. Dhanvantari (in the Susruta) declares
that the Garbhadâna should not take place till a girl is sixteen. Dr.
Bühler has shown from the Vivaha Mantras that, in olden times girls
were married long after they had reached the age of puberty, and infant
marriages were unknown; moreover that the human husband is the fourth
husband, the three gods, Soma, Visvavasu, and Agni, being the first
three at the period of a girl’s becoming marriageable. As it should
take place on the fourth day, the consummation rite was sometimes
called Chaturthi karma. During the previous day the young married woman
was made to look towards the sun, or in some way exposed to the rays.
In the evening she was required to bathe. Her husband also performed
his ablution and went through other prescribed forms. Before
approaching his wife he was careful to secure the solemn imprimatur of
religion on an act which might lead to the introduction of another
human being into the world. He therefore repeated two mantras or texts
of the Rig Veda (X, 184), the first of which may be thus
translated,—“Let (all-pervading) Vishnu prepare her womb; let the
Creator shape its forms; let Prajapati be the Impregnator; let the
Creator give the embryo.” [170] At present, in Bengal, the girl is
subjected to a period of isolation which exactly corresponds to that
described by Mr. Frazer in the case of various primitive races, the
idea being that at this period of her life dangerous influences emanate
from the girl which it is necessary to counteract. In Upper India the
rite appears to consist in the worship of the kula devata or family
god, and if the head of the family is rich or illiterate, a Brâhman is
employed to read the Durgapâtha or songs in honour of the goddess
Durga. This rite is intended to obviate the danger of a miscarriage.

[Sîmanta pum savana.] 14. Next follows, in the sixth month of
pregnancy, the sîmanta pum savana, or the rite of male production, done
with the object of securing a male heir, the desire of every Hindu
mother. The expectant mother is bathed, dressed in red clothes which
are sent from her father’s house, and some fruit, the emblem of
prolificacy, is placed in her lap. She then goes to the family shrine
and worships the household god.

[Nandimukh srâddha.] 15. When the child is born, and before the cord is
cut, the head of the family does the nandimukh srâddha. He lays some
kusa grass on the ground and offers a pinda over it. After this the
cord is cut and it is buried in the room in which the delivery took
place. Over it a fire (pasanghi) is lighted, and wood of the tendu tree
is burnt. For twelve days the lamp is fed with nîm oil. During this
time the mother is fed with cakes (pûri, halwa), caudle (achhwâni), and
ginger (sonth). Bread and pulse cannot be given to her, because during
the period of pollution only substances cooked with ghi, milk, or
parched grain, can be taken from the family cookhouse. The members of
the family are impure for twelve days after a confinement in the house;
during this time no Deota can be worshipped, nor can any one drink
water from their hands. After the sixth day the Chamâr midwife is
dismissed, the mother and child are bathed, and after that the Nâin or
barber’s wife attends on her. But it is not absolutely necessary that
this rite should take place on the sixth day in case the omens are
adverse. In that case it is postponed for one or two days. At this rite
one of the women of the house waves some barley in a sieve or basket
over the mother and child, and this grain is given to the midwife. If
the first child die, the next born is usually put in a sieve, or it is
weighed in a scale against barley, which is given to the midwife. The
general rule appears to be that if a child die within six days after
birth the corpse is buried; if it die between that time and the
investiture with the sacred cord (janeû) it is thrown into a river (jal
pravâh); after investiture the dead are cremated. The corpses of girls
up to the age of seven are thrown into running water; if over that age
or married they are cremated.

[Barahi.] 16. On the twelfth day after birth is the barahi, when the
mother and child are bathed and the baby is shown to its male
relations, who are expected to put a money present in its hand. The
maternal grandmother sends a yellow sheet (pîari dhoti) for the mother,
and for the child a little coat (jhola), and a cap (topi). On that day
all the women friends collect and have their nails cut, while a barber
woman rubs them with a mixture of oil and turmeric (ubtan). If the baby
be a boy, the lady friends give the wife’s mother, or in her absence
the father, two annas each; in the case of a girl, the contribution is
half that amount. This is known as “the nail cutting” (nakh katiya,
nakh tarâshi). A list of these donations is made at the time, so that
the receiver may reciprocate them when a similar occasion occurs in the
family of the donor. The women also give a pice or two to the barber’s
wife, who does the anointing. All the women then sit down and sing the
birth song (sohar, Sans.: sobha). This is the only song (râg) which can
be sung at any time of the day; for the others appropriate times are
fixed.

[Mûla sânti.] 17. If the child be born in the asterism of Mûla, the
mûla sânti rite is performed to obviate the ill-luck attaching to this
period. In this case the woman and child are kept in the delivery room
for twenty-seven days from the date of birth, and during that period
the father is not allowed to see the face of the baby; he is also not
allowed to shave or change his clothes. There are two kinds of the Mûla
asterism, “the light” (halka, lâg); the other “heavy” (bhâri, drik). If
the birth occur in the latter, he must not see his child for twelve
years, and in that interval can neither shave nor change his clothes.
Many persons, under such unfortunate circumstances, become Jogis. On
the day of the mûla sânti rite everything follows the number
twenty-seven, the number of the asterisms (Nakshatra); water is drawn
from twenty-seven wells, the wood of twenty-seven varieties of trees,
sieves made with twenty-seven kinds of knots, blankets of twenty-seven
breadths, earth from both banks of the Ganges, clay that has been
pressed by the foot of a horse or elephant, and from the King’s
gateway, which at Chunâr is the main gate of the fort, are collected.
The child’s father bathes and goes into the courtyard. There a barber
woman makes a square of flour, and in it places a stool for him to sit
on. Near him is placed a jar (kalsa) filled with Ganges water. The
Purohit or family priest then worships Gauri and Ganesa. The earth and
blankets are put into the sieves and laid on the father’s head, while
over him is poured the water drawn from twenty-seven wells. After this
the barber’s wife receives the blankets as her perquisite, and a small
money present. This done, the father is considered pure, and he is
allowed to come out, shave, and bathe. Then he returns to the square,
where he worships a small brass or gold image of Vishnu. Near him is
placed a brass saucer (katori) which is filled with ghi from a black
cow. The ghi is melted until it becomes quite thin. The saucer is
placed before the father, who keeps his eyes fixed upon it. The mother
comes up from behind with the child in her arms, and she holds the baby
so that the father may see its image reflected in the ghi. After this
the child is seated in his lap, and he makes it a present in money. In
case the child is born in Mûl, the twelfth day rite is postponed, and
carried out with the observance on the twenty-seventh day. The ceremony
ends with the feeding of twenty-seven Brâhmans, and the presenting of
gifts to the friends and relatives who have attended the ceremony.

[Dolarohana.] 18. In the families of learned Brâhmans, such as Pandits,
when the child is two months old it is dressed in a new cap and coat
and placed in a swing (hindola). Up to that time it remains on a bed.
This rite is known as dola rohana. On that day the family god is
worshipped, and rich food (pûri, bakhîr) is cooked for the household.

[Vâhir nisarana.] 19. Pandits have also another rite known as “the
bringing out,” vâhirnisarana. The usual custom is that the child is not
brought out of the house until “the grain feeding,” annaprâsana. But if
it is desired to bring the child out before it is fed on grain, he
performs this rite. The baby is dressed in a new coat and cap of blue
cloth, the colour of the sky. These clothes are first dedicated at the
house shrine (diukari), and then the child’s forehead is marked with
lamp-black (kâjal) and a necklace of holy seeds (bajarbatta) and
tiger’s claws (baghnaha) tied round its throat. All these are devices
to repel the Evil Eye. It is then brought out; but as an additional
precaution a black piece of cloth, a colour which frightens evil
spirits, is hung round its neck, or at any rate the coat is bound with
black braid. In former times this bringing of the child into the open
air was known as the nishkramana.

[The Annaprâsana.] 20. According to the early ritual the “food-giving”
rite or annaprâsana was performed in the sixth month after birth. “The
child was carried in the arms of its father and placed in the midst of
a party of friends, including the family priest, who offered prayers
for its welfare and presented it gifts. A little food (generally rice)
was then for the first time placed in its mouth, and various qualities
were supposed to be imparted, according to the nature of the food
given, whether rice, butter, honey, milk, or the flesh of partridges or
goats.” [171] Now-a-days in the sixth month a lucky day is selected.
Rich food (pûri, bakhîr) is cooked; the waist string of some old member
of the family is broken and tied round the waist of the baby to ensure
its long life. Then a tray containing rich food is laid before the
oldest man in the family. He takes a little out, and after making a
holy circle round it with water, offers it to Vishnu. The reason of
this is that there was once a foolish Brâhman whose children used to
die one after the other, so he made a vow that if his child lived, he
would eat its ordure. The child did live, and he was fain to avoid
performing his rash vow; so he went to a learned Pandit at Benares, who
directed him to take out a little of his food that day in this manner,
and so his vow would be satisfied. Hence Brâhmans before eating always
take out a little food in this way, and offer it to the Thâkur. After
this has been done the old man before whom the food has been placed
takes up a little of the food on one of the silver coins of the ancient
kings or on a gold mohur of the Emperor Akbar, and puts it into the
child’s mouth. No English coin will answer the purpose. After this, if
the family can afford it, a few Brâhmans are fed. If they are poor they
consume the food which has been prepared for the rite, and give a
Brâhman some raw grain. Until the annaprâsana is done the child is
never left alone lest the witch Jamhua, who is really the impersonation
of the infant lock-jaw, which is so fatal to children owing to the
cutting of the cord with a blunt instrument and the neglect of all
antiseptic treatment, should carry off the baby. Hence a woman or child
is always left in charge. As an additional precaution, they also place
near the bed an iron lamp-black box (kajrauta), and anoint the child
four or five times with a mixture of oil and turmeric (ubtan) in the
belief that as it is rubbed its strength will increase.

[The Mûnran and kanchhedan.] 21. In the fifth year the rites of
head-shaving (mûnran) and ear-piercing (kanchhedan) are performed. The
regular ritual prescribes that the tonsure, shaving and cutting off the
hair should be done separately. They were known as chaula, chûdakarma,
kesanta, and kshaur. “When performed for the first time they were held
to have a purificatory effect on the whole character. In the case of a
Brâhman the ceremony of tonsure was performed in the third year, but
was often delayed, and sometimes did not take place till the seventh or
eighth year. According to Asvalayana the child was to be placed on the
lap of its mother to the west of the sacred fire. The father was to
take up his station to the south of the mother, holding in his hands
twenty-one stalks of kusa grass. He was to sprinkle the head of the
child three times with a mixture of warm water, butter, and curds. He
was to insert three stalks of kusa grass into the child’s hair on the
right side, saying,—‘O divine grass! protect him.’ Then he was to cut
off a portion of the hair and give it to the mother with the recitation
of various texts, leaving one lock (sikha, chuda) on the top of the
head, or occasionally three or five locks, according to the custom of
the family.” [172] At present it is usual for the Eastern Brâhmans to
have this rite performed at some shrine, such as that of Devi of
Bindhâchal. For three days before the shaving rite a song is sung in
honour of Devi, and many Brâhmans who have lost children, vow that if
the life of the last is spared, the mother will carry the whole way to
the shrine a clay pot (bursi) full of fire, and will eat nothing on the
road but parched grain. When they reach the courtyard of Devi’s temple,
they place the fire pot before the Panda, whose parishioners they may
happen to be. Next day, after bathing the child in the Ganges, the
parents take it to the temple, and the Panda instructs them how to
perform the usual circumambulation (parikrama). After this the baby is
seated in its father’s lap near the shrine, and a barber shaves its
head. A few sweets (laddu) are given to the child, and then a Sunâr
comes up from behind and pierces both its ears. They take home with
them a striped handkerchief (chundari) which they tie round their necks
for good luck, and some sweetmeats, which they distribute among their
friends as the holy food (prasâd) of the goddess.

[The Pâthana rite.] 22. The rites of childhood close usually with the
Pâthana or commencement of learning. A lucky day is selected, and with
earth and water from the Ganges a little platform (chabûtra) is made.
When it is ready some dry earth is sprinkled over it. Below the
platform the child is seated facing east, while the family priest faces
west. Ganesa, the deity of good luck, is first worshipped. Then a cowry
shell is placed on the platform and worshipped. Next the priest puts
the shell in the boy’s hand and makes him write with it five times the
words Sri Ganesa namah. This he has to obliterate with his right hand.
Some Brâhmans are fed if the family can afford it; and from that day
the boy’s education begins.

[The Upanayana rite.] 23. After this comes the important rite of
initiation known as upanayana. A Brâhman should be initiated when he
comes to be eight years old, dating from the time of conception. A time
should be selected when the stars are auspicious, and it should not be
performed in the evening or during a thunder-storm. First of all a shed
(mânro) is erected with bamboo supports. In the centre a ploughshare is
placed, and near it a jar (kalsa) filled with water. Under the thatch a
square (chauk) is marked out with flour, and on this two leaf mats
(patari) are laid, and under them some grains of barley are sprinkled.
On these mats the parents of the boy sit with the corners of their
garments knotted together and facing the east. The father wears a
yellow loin-cloth, and has a handkerchief (angochha) over his left
shoulder. The mother wears a yellow sheet. Then the officiating Purohit
places in the father’s right hand some holy rice (achhat) and flowers,
repeating at the same time some texts and directing him to pour the
contents of his hand on the ground. Next the Purohit puts some gold or
copper coins in his hands, and reads the sankalpa or formula of
dedication. Then he invokes Dharitri Mâta or Mother Earth, and the
father puts the money on the ground, which he touches reverently. He
then sprinkles the earth with water from a bunch of kusa grass, and
offers Malayagir or Malabar sandal-wood and incense to Mother Earth.
Then Ganesa is worshipped in the form of a representation of an
elephant which is made on the water jar (kalsa). The picture is drawn
with red lead or turmeric. Then an image of Gauri is made of cow-dung
and placed near the water jar. Some make seven images of cow-dung to
represent Gauri and her sisters.

24. Next the jar is filled with water by the father of the boy, and
over the mouth is placed a saucer containing some of the sacred grains,
the sâwân millet, unhusked rice or barley. This is followed by the
worship of the nine planets (navagraha). To the north-east of the jar
is made an altar (vedi), and on it a square is marked out with flour,
in which images of the planets are made in various ways. That of the
Sun is made of flour; Mangal or Mars of red lead; that of the Moon of
rice-flour; that of Vrihaspati or Jupiter of turmeric; that of Budha or
Mercury of turmeric; that of Venus or Sukra of rice-flour; that of
Sanischara or Saturn and Râhu and Ketu, the ascending and descending
nodes, of til or sesamum. Then with the recital of appropriate texts
offerings are made to each,—to the Sun, a cow, copper, wheat, red
sandal, and red cloth; to the Moon, a conch shell, Malabar sandal,
white cloth, a white cow, and rice; to Mangal, a red ox, red cloth,
copper, treacle, and rice; to Budha, camphor, mûng pulse, green cloth,
a black cow, and gold; to Vrihaspati, a yellow cow, yellow cloth, gram,
and turmeric; to Sukra, Malabar sandal, white cloth, rice, and a white
horse; to Sanischara, oil, sesamum, black cloth, a black cow, and iron;
to Râhu, a buffalo, or goat, a blanket, cotton and its seed, urad
pulse, and sesamum; to Ketu, cloth of various colours, grain, iron,
sesamum, and urad pulse.

25. All these offerings, except those made to the last three deities,
are taken by ordinary Brâhmans; those to Sanischara by the Bhanderiya
or Dakaut.

26. When the offerings are complete, the parents are dismissed, and the
boy who desires initiation is called. All his hair is shaved, and he is
invested with a waist-string (kardhana) of mûnj fibre, a small loin
cloth (kopin), and he is given a dand or bamboo stick, to the end of
which is tied a cloth containing some rice and pulse. This signifies
that he has adopted the role of the Sannyâsi. The Purohit repeats
texts, and five other Brâhmans sprinkle the eight parts of his body
with a mixture of rice and turmeric. Then another square is made, and
seven lamps and twigs of mango are tied together and placed within it.
Beside them are laid seven images of Gauri made of cow-dung, and he
worships the lights and the images of the goddess. Next he worships the
water jar, and goes to the house door, on each side of which seven
images of Gauri are made. These he worships with an offering of cakes
(pûri), red lead, sacred grass, incense, lamps and naivedya or a
mixture of treacle, curds, ghi, honey, and water. After this he returns
to the house, and in the inner room (kohabar) worships ten images of
Gauri in the same way. Next he pours ghi on the images of all the
deities whom he has up to this time worshipped. Then his parents are
recalled, the corners of their garments are knotted together, and they
are made to sit in a square facing the south. All the ancestors are
invited to appear and sit on leaf mats placed close by for their
reception. When their spirits are supposed to have taken their places,
some rice, ber fruit, treacle, ghi, honey, and sesamum are mixed
together and formed into a lump. This is offered to the sainted dead,
and afterwards placed in the shed. Again the parents are dismissed, and
the boy is called in. Eight Brâhmans are called in and fed on pakki
under the shed. The boy sits in the midst of them, and each Brâhman
gives him a morsel of his food, which he eats. On this occasion the boy
is not allowed to eat salt. When the meal is finished, the floor is
again plastered.

27. Next three altars are made in the shed. Each altar should be the
length of the distance of the point of the thumb from that of the ring
finger. The father entrusts his son to a priest of the Achârya grade,
and humbly requests him to instruct the lad and make him a full
Brâhman. The Achârya signifies his consent by taking the boy by the
arm, and the lad has to make an offering of eight Brâhmanical threads
(janeû). One is offered to the sacred water jar, one to Ganesa, five to
five Brâhmans, and one the lad keeps himself. Further, the lad presents
a full suit of clothes to the Purohit, Guru and Achârya, and one to
another Brâhman, who is regarded as the representation of Brahma. Then
beginning from the north-east he spreads kusa grass evenly on the three
altars, and the Achârya calls for fire, which is brought in a vessel
made of bell metal (kânsa). Upon this is heaped up wood of the madâr
(asclepias gigantea), palâsa (butea frondosa), khair (acacia catechu),
chirchiri (achyranthus aspera), pîpal, gûlar, sami, and some dûb grass.
This collection of wood is technically known as samidh. When this is
ready the lad makes a present to the Brâhman who represents Brahma, and
asks him to watch over the sacrifice and prevent any interruption of
it. Then the Achârya repeats the appropriate text one hundred and eight
times, and all the time keeps pouring ghi on the wood. This oblation of
ghi is known as ahuti, and is done with a leaf or twig of mango. Pieces
of dry cow-dung (goitha) and three sticks of palâsa wood are also
thrown on the fire, and so with all the kusa grass which had been
spread on the altars. On the top are placed some betel and cocoanuts.
On this five Brâhmans hold a Brâhmanical thread and invest the lad with
it, repeating the appropriate text.

28. After this the lad is bathed with water from eight jars, and he
puts on another sacred thread. He is dressed in yellow garments and
golden ornaments and wears wooden sandals (kharaun) stained with
turmeric. He next begs from all present.

29. He then runs out in the guise of a Brahmachâri with the object of
attaining religious knowledge, and is dissuaded by his parents from
adopting the life of a recluse. When he consents to return the women of
the house put treacle and washed rice in his hands, and kiss the eight
parts of his body. The deities and sainted ancestors who have graced
the rite with their presence are humbly requested to return to their
own abodes, and the rite is complete.

30. The ceremony, though disguised by an elaborate Brâhmanical ritual,
is obviously based on the same general principles of which an elaborate
account, derived from the usages of various primitive races, has been
given by Mr. Frazer. [173]

[Other domestic ceremonies.] 31. Some account of the other domestic
ceremonies of Brâhmans has been given in connection with the
Brâhmanical tribes, and need not be repeated here.

[The functions of the Brâhmans.] 32. The religious functions of the
Brâhman are various. If the word is, as Professor Schrader [174]
suggests, philologically the same as the Flamen of Rome, we have a link
with the religious practices of two branches of the great Aryan race.
We have first, the Upâdhyâya or Pâdha, who is the officiating priest,
with whom may be classed the Achârya, Hotri, and similar functionaries
whose business it is to superintend the more elaborate and mysterious
rites of the faith which can be performed by none but those deeply
conversant with the Vedic ritual. Next comes the Parohit or Purohit,
“one placed in front,” the prepositus or praeses of the Roman world.
The institution of the Purohita, who was not only a mere house priest,
but a political functionary, goes back to the early Aryan times. In
Vedic times he was regarded as a confidential and virtuous minister of
state; but by the time of Manu [175] he had fallen to a lower status,
and was regarded as inferior to other Brâhmans. His duties consist in
superintending the domestic rites at birth, initiation, and marriage.
He must be acquainted with the appropriate mantras or texts which are
used on these occasions, and he generally knows a modicum of astrology
(jyotish) by which he is enabled to cast horoscopes and announce the
lucky and unlucky days for the performance of the various family rites,
the commencement of agricultural operations, and the like. The ordinary
village Purohit is, it is hardly necessary to say, very seldom
proficient in Sanskrit or religious learning. He is able to mumble a
few texts without understanding them; but he rarely makes any attempt
to inculcate morality or improve the lives of his parishioners. This
duty, so far as it is done at all, he leaves to the Guru, who may or
may not be a Brâhman. The lowest class of semi-religious Brâhman is
that which, as Mr. Ibbetson [176] says, “exist only to be fed. They
consist of the younger members of the Purohit families, and of Brâhmans
who have settled as cultivators or otherwise in villages where they
have no hereditary clients. These men are always ready to tender their
services as recipients of a dinner, thus enabling the peasant to
entertain the desired number of Brâhmans on occasions of rejoicing, as
a propitiatory offering, in token of thanksgiving, for the repose of
his deceased father’s spirit, and so forth. The veneration for Brâhmans
runs through the whole social as well as religious life of the Hindu
peasant, and takes the practical form of either offerings or food. No
child is born, named, betrothed, or married; nobody dies or is burnt;
no journey is undertaken or auspicious day selected; no house is built,
no agricultural operation of importance begun, or harvest gathered in,
without the Brâhmans being fed; a portion of the produce is set apart
for their use; they are consulted in sickness and in health; they are
feasted in sorrow and in joy; and though I believe them to possess but
little real influence with the people, a considerable portion of the
wealth of the Province is diverted into their useless pockets.” This is
pretty much the state of the Brâhmans further east. As Mr. Sherring
[177] says of the Benares Brâhman:—“Light in complexion in comparison
with the rest of the people, frequently tall in stature, with the marks
of a clear penetrating intelligence depicted plainly, and sometimes in
a striking manner, upon his countenance, erect, proud, self-conscious,
the Brâhman walks along with the air of a man unlike any I have ever
seen, in which self-sufficiency, a sense of superiority and a
conviction of inherent purity and sanctity are combined.”

33. Besides these sacerdotal Brâhmans there are, it is needless to say,
numbers who have no religious functions whatever, who serve as soldiers
or messengers, clerks in our offices, and the like. There is also a
large body of Brâhman agriculturists, though most of them will not
themselves touch the plough.


DISTRIBUTION OF BRÂHMANS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=============================
    District.     |  Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |   15,027
    Sahâranpur    |   44,250
    Muzaffarnagar |   41,427
    Meerut        |  108,071
    Bulandshahr   |   92,000
    Aligarh       |  131,798
    Mathura       |  113,936
    Agra          |  122,636
    Farrukhâbâd   |   78,220
    Mainpuri      |   56,301
    Etâwah        |   91,019
    Etah          |   53,313
    Bareilly      |   47,085
    Bijnor        |   27,118
    Budâun        |   57,002
    Morâdâbâd     |   43,578
    Shâhjahânpur  |   60,453
    Pilibhît      |   25,147
    Cawnpur       |  178,399
    Fatehpur      |   68,180
    Bânda         |   99,041
    Hamîrpur      |   49,570
    Allahâbâd     |  196,349
    Jhânsi        |   34,633
    Jâlaun        |   48,269
    Lalitpur      |   21,745
    Benares       |  102,978
    Mirzapur      |  165,885
    Jaunpur       |  150,908
    Ghâzipur      |   68,379
    Ballia        |  103,547
    Gorakhpur     |  265,550
    Basti         |  196,412
    Azamgarh      |  110,103
    Kumâun        |  134,841
    Garhwâl       |   97,581
    Tarâi         |    6,705
    Lucknow       |   44,414
    Unâo          |  122,056
    Sîtapur       |  103,850
    Hardoi        |  113,190
    Kheri         |   69,654
    Faizâbâd      |  159,637
    Gonda         |  230,507
    Bahrâich      |   87,481
    Sultânpur     |  162,509
    Partâbgarh    |  124,424
    Bârabanki     |   86,091
                  +~~~~~~~~~
                  |          { Males   2,455,791
           Total  |4,719,882 {
                  |          { Females 2,264,091
    ==============+=============================


Brindabani.—A sub-caste of Gusâîns who take their name from Brindaban,
in the Mathura District (vrindavana, “the grove of tulasi” or basil).
It is not quite clear to which section of the Vaishnavas the term is
applied. The relation of Brindaban to the modern school of Hindu
reformers has been elaborately discussed by Mr. Growse. [178]


DISTRIBUTION OF THE BRINDABANI GUSÂÎNS ACCORDING
TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+========
       District.  |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Muzaffarnagar |      2
    Cawnpur       |      1
    Mirzapur      |     24
    Kheri         |     11
                  +~~~~~~~~
          Total   |     38
    ==============+========


Bughâna.—A class of Hill Brâhmans who by one account are descended from
Gaur Brâhmans of Benares; others say that they have the same origin as
the Naithâna Brâhmans (q.v.). They have the same relations with Sarolas
and Gangâris, are intelligent, and, when educated, make useful clerks
and officials. [179]

Bundela. [180]—A sept of Râjputs almost entirely confined to the
Bundelkhand country, to which they have given their name, now included
in the Allahâbâd Division. According to the Mirzapur tradition they are
descended from a family of Gaharwâr Râjputs, resident at the village of
Gaura, near Bindhâchal. Of their ancestors one took service with the
Râja of Panna, an independent state between Bânda and Jabalpur. The
Râja died childless, and the Gaharwâr adventurer took possession of his
fort. He had no son, and being disgusted with life, he made a
pilgrimage to the shrine of the Vindhyabâsini Devi, at Bindhâchal,
where he offered his head to the goddess. Out of the drops of his blood
which fell upon the altar a boy was born, who was called Bundela,
because he sprang from the drops (bûnd) of blood. He returned to Panna
and founded the clan which bears his name. In their own country they
are known among themselves as Bundela, but by outsiders as Gaharwâr.
They do not marry among Baghels, Bais, Gaur, Umath, or Sengar Râjputs,
who are known as the Sakuri group. They intermarry with Panwârs,
Dhanderas, or Chauhâns. Mr. Sherring’s assertion that they are
endogamous is contradicted by them. The prohibitions against marriage
are the loss of religion, residence among foreign peoples, disregard of
tribal custom, and engaging in occupations practised by low caste
people. The Bundelkhand branch represent themselves to be the
descendants of Pancham, Râja of Benares. During the reign of
Nasir-ud-din Mahmûd, Emperor of Delhi, (1246–1266 A.D.) Arjuna Pâla, a
descendant of Râja Pancham, left Benares for Mahoni, and made that
place his capital. One of his descendants became Râja of Kudâr; his
name was Saho Pâl and his descendant founded Orchha, and thence his
descendants spread over Bundelkhand.

[Marriage.] 2. The stages in the marriage ceremony are—

1st.—Phaldân, the betrothal, when the family priest of the bride’s
family gives the bridegroom a sacred thread (janeû), some rupees,
cloth, and a betel-nut, in the presence of the elders of his family.
The money is distributed as alms among the Brâhmans.

2nd.—Lagan patrika, or the fixing of the date for the marriage.

3rd.—Paurparsatkâr, the reception of the party (bârât) of the
bridegroom at the door of the bride’s house.

4th.—Charhau, offering of ornaments by the relatives of the bride to
the bridegroom.

5th.—Suhâg, the rubbing of red lead by the bridegroom on the parting of
the bride’s hair.

6th.—Kanyâdân, the giving away of the bride to her husband by her
father.

7th.—Panigrahana, the holding of the bride’s right hand by the
bridegroom as an indication that he promises to support her as long as
she lives.

8th.—Ahuti karna, the making of the fire sacrifice.

9th.—Parikrama, the revolutions of the pair round the sacred fire.

10th.—Dhruva sakshi karna, the promise of the bridegroom, in the
presence of fire, water, the sun, and other natural objects, that he
will be faithful to her and she to him.

11th.—Sayyadân, the presenting of a bed to the married pair.

12th.—Daija, dahej, or jahez dena, the giving of the dowry. Women can
be divorced for adultery, impurity, violation of tribal rules, and
neither divorced women nor widows are allowed to remarry.

[Religion.] 3. They belong to the Vaishnava sect, and are either
Râmâwats or worshippers of Râdha Krishna. In all respects they follow
the ceremonial usages of high class Hindus.

[Social rules.] 4. They believe their original profession to have been
soldiering, and some of them serve in our Native regiments. They hold
land as landlords and tenants. They will eat the flesh of goats, deer,
wild pig, and fish; but those who abstain from meat are considered more
respectable. Spirits are forbidden. They eat kachchi and pakki from the
hands of Brâhmans, and can eat pakki with Banyas and Khatris, by which
is meant that they will eat with them on the same floor, but not from
the same dish. They can drink water from the hands of Kahârs and Nâis.
They smoke only out of a pipe used by their clansmen. The Bundelas, on
the whole, are a fairly respectable Râjput sept, but they are
occasionally given to lawlessness, dacoity, and similar crimes of
violence.

5. In Jâlaun they give brides to the Dhandhera and Panwâr septs, from
whom also they take wives. They profess to belong to the Kasyapa gotra.
These Panwârs with whom they intermarry are the Râj Panwârs of inferior
grade in Bundelkhand.


DISTRIBUTION OF BUNDELA RÂJPUTS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    =============+=======
    District.    |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Bulandshahr  |    25
    Mathura      |     1
    Agra         |    15
    Farrukhâbâd  |    58
    Etâwah       |     6
    Etah         |     4
    Shâhjahânpur |    29
    Cawnpur      |     2
    Fatehpur     |    43
    Hamîrpur     |   618
    Allahâbâd    |   114
    Jhânsi       | 1,942
    Jâlaun       |   189
    Lalitpur     | 6,152
    Gorakhpur    |     2
    Basti        |    96
    Lucknow      |     2
    Faizâbâd     |     2
    Partâbgarh   |     7
                 +~~~~~~~
           Total | 9,307
    =============+=======


Burhela.—A sept of Râjputs in Râê Bareli, [181] who are not separately
entered in the Census Returns. Their sons many girls from the
Raghubansi and Bais septs; their girls marry Amethiya and with
difficulty Bais boys.









C


Châi, [182] Châin, Châini.—A cultivating, fishing, and thieving caste
found in Oudh and the Eastern Districts. Nothing certain is known as to
the origin of the name. It has been suggested that they are the
representatives of the Chârya, [183] a degraded Vaisya class, or that
the word is totemistic (meaning the seed of a tamarind; Sanskrit,
chârmika, “leather”). Mr. Risley [184] writes of them:—“They are
probably an offshoot from some non-Aryan tribe. They are found in Oudh,
where Mr. Nesfield connects them with the Thâru, Râji, Nat, and other
broken and gypsy-like tribes inhabiting the base of the Himâlayas, and
traces in their physiognomy features peculiar to Mongolian races. Mr.
Sherring, again, in one place speaks of them as a sub-caste of Mallâhs;
in another as a class of jugglers, thimble-riggers, and adventurers,
who attend fairs and other festivals like men of the same profession in
England. A sub-caste of the Nuniyas bears the name Châin, but the
Nuniyas do not admit any affinity. Mr. C. F. Magrath, in his Memorandum
on the Tribes and Castes of Bihâr, published in the Bengal Census
Report of 1872, says they closely resemble Binds in their occupation,
being chiefly boatmen, who also engage in fishing. Châins are thickest
south of the Ganges, while Binds are most numerous in North Bihâr. Mr.
Magrath adds that their reputation as thieves, impostors, and
swindlers, is in his experience not altogether deserved, as the men
whom the common people, and even the police of Bihâr, describe as
Châins, usually turn out on enquiry to be Maghaiya Doms, Nats, or
Rajwârs.” Their customs, according to Mr. Risley’s account, do not
differ from those of Mallâhs.

2. In Oudh, according to Mr. Carnegy, [185] they live chiefly by
fishing, cultivation, and making reed mats. They smoke with but do not
eat with Mallâhs. They frequent the neighbourhood of lakes and rivers,
and are divided into the Eastern and Western branches, which do not
intermarry.

In January they go to the hills to collect catechu (khair). They
worship the monkey-god Mahâbîr, Satnârâyan, and Devi Pâtan: to the
first they offer rice-milk (khîr) in October; to the second a mixture
of cooked rice and vetch (urad), called phâra; to the third, cakes
(pûri) and new rice, coriander, and molasses to Mahâbîr. They eat pork
and drink spirits. A woman who sins with one of her own tribe may be
absolved by feeding the brethren; but not so if her paramour is of
another caste. They are thimble-riggers, ornament-snatchers, swindlers,
and impostors. According to Mr. Risley they rank with Binds, Nuniyas,
and Pâsis, but nowhere do they rise to the distinction which Binds and
Nuniyas sometimes attain, of giving water and certain kinds of
sweetmeats to Brâhmans.

3. In Kheri the rule of exogamy bars the line of the maternal uncle and
father’s sister. They can marry two sisters in succession, but polygamy
is forbidden. Infidelity, even intertribal, is reprobated. Marriage
takes place at the age of ten or twelve, and is settled by the caste
Chaudhari. No money is paid by the relations of either party.
Widow-marriage is prohibited; but they can live with a man of the
tribe, the phrase used being ghar-baithna. The children of such
connections are recognised as legitimate, but they are not admitted to
full caste privileges. The levirate on the usual terms is permitted.
There is no custom of adoption or initiation into caste. Betrothals are
made in infancy, and the marriage ceremony is of the standard type, the
bhanwari or walking round the sacred fire being the binding portion of
it. They worship Mahâdeva, Sûrajnârâyan, and Kâli, who receive
sacrifices of goats and rams on a Monday. They will not take any food
or water from, or smoke with, any other caste. They have given up their
occupation of mat-making, and now live by fishing and thieving at
fairs.

4. In the returns of the last Census they are classed as a sub-caste of
Mallâh. The Châin is what is known as an Uchakka, Uthaigîra, or
Jebkatra—one who picks pockets and cuts with a little knife or sharp
piece of glass the knots in their sheets in which natives tie up their
valuables. They frequent fairs and bathing places, and the boys are put
on to steal, while the men act as “fences” and engage the attention of
the victim, or facilitate the escape of the thief.

Chamâr. [186]—The caste of curriers, tanners, and day-labourers found
throughout Upper India. Their name is derived from the Sanskrit
charma-kâra, a “worker in leather.” Traditionally the Chamâr is the
offspring of a Chandâla woman by a man of the fisherman caste. The
Kârâvara of Manu, [187] “who cuts leather,” is descended from a Nishâda
father and Vaideha mother. The Nishâda, again, is said to be the child
of a Brâhman and a Sûdra woman, and the Vaideha of a Vaisya father and
a Brâhman mother. On this Mr. Sherring [188] remarks:—“If the workers
in leather of the present day are lineal descendants of the workers in
leather in Manu’s time, the Chamârs may fairly consider themselves as
of no mean degree and may hold up their heads boldly in the presence of
the higher castes.” Mr. Sherring appears to have been impressed with
the high-bred appearance of some Chamârs. This may, perhaps, be to some
extent accounted for by liaisons with some of the higher castes; but
most observers will agree that Mr. Risley [189] is right in his
opinion, that “the average Chamâr is hardly distinguishable in point of
features, stature, or complexion from the members of those non-Aryan
races from whose ranks we should primâ facie expect the profession of
leather-dressers to be recruited.” Mr. Nesfield believes the Chamâr to
have sprung out of several different tribes, like the Dom, Kanjar,
Hâbûra, Chero, etc., the last remains of which are still outside the
pale of Hindu society. “Originally he seems to have been an impressed
labourer (begâr) who was made to hold the plough for his master, and
received in return space to build his mud hut near the village, a fixed
allowance of grain for every working day, the free use of wood and
grass on the village lands, and the skins and bodies of the animals
that died. This is very much the status of the Chamâr at the present
day. He is still the field slave, the grass-cutter, and the
carrion-eater of the Indian village.” But it is, perhaps at present,
until the existing evidence from anthropometry is largely increased,
premature to express a decided opinion of their origin further than
this, that the tribe is in all probability occupational, and largely
recruited from non-Aryan elements. Among all the Indo-Aryan races the
use of hides for clothing prevailed in primitive times. [190] The
Vishnu Purâna [191] enjoins all who wish to protect their persons never
to be without leather shoes; and Manu [192] warns the Brâhmans never to
use shoes that have been worn by another. In the Râmâyana Bharata
places on the vacant throne of Ajudhya a pair of Râma’s slippers, and
worships them during his exile. The Charmae of Pliny’s list have been
identified with the inhabitants of Charma Mandala, a district of the
West, mentioned in the Mahâbhârata, and also in the Vishnu Purâna under
the title of Charma-Khanda. [193]

[Traditions of origin.] 2. One curious legend of the origin of the
tribe has been referred to in connection with the Agarwâla Banyas:—Once
upon a time a certain Râja had two daughters, Châmu and Bâmu. These
married, and each gave birth to a son who was a prodigy of strength
(pahlwân). An elephant happened to die in the Râja’s palace, and being
unwilling that it should be cut up, he searched for a man strong enough
to take it out whole and bury it. Châmu undertook and performed the
task. Bâmu pronounced him an outcast; so the Banyas are sprung from
Bâmu, and the Chamârs from Châmu. Another legend tells how five Brâhman
brothers were passing along together. They saw a carcass of a cow lying
on the way. Four of them turned aside; but the fifth removed the dead
body. His brethren excommunicated him, and since then it has been the
business of his descendants to remove the carcasses of cattle. Another
tradition makes them out to be the descendants of Nona or Lona
Chamârin, who is a deified witch much dreaded in the eastern part of
the Province. Her legend tells how Dhanwantari, the physician of the
gods, was bitten by Takshaka, the king of the snakes, and knowing that
death approached he ordered his son to cook and eat his body after his
death, so that they might thereby inherit his skill in medicine. [194]
They accordingly cooked his body in a cauldron, and were about to eat
it, when Takshaka appeared to them in the form of a Brâhman, and warned
them against this act of cannibalism. So they let the cauldron float
down the Ganges, and as it floated down, Lona, the Chamârin, who was
washing on the bank of the river, not knowing that the vessel contained
human flesh, took it out and partook of the ghastly food. She at once
obtained power to cure diseases, and especially snake-bite. One day all
the women were transplanting rice, and it was found that Lona could do
as much work as all her companions put together. So they watched her,
and when she thought she was alone she stripped off all her clothes
(nudity being an essential element in all magic), muttered some spells,
and throwing the plants into the air they all settled down in their
proper places. Finding she was observed she tried to escape, and as she
ran the earth opened, and all the water of the rice fields followed
her, and thus was formed the channel of the Loni river in the Unâo
District.

[Internal structure.] 3. The Census Returns show eleven hundred and
fifty-six sub-divisions of Chamârs: of these the most important locally
are—


    Sahâranpur—Ajmar, Baliyân, Dharaun, Mochi, Sagahiya, Sirswâl.
    Bulandshahr—Bharwariya, Chandauliya or Chandauriya, Lâlman.
    Aligarh—Chandauliya, Harphor, Kathiyâra, Mochi, Ojha.
    Mathura—Chaurasiya, Kadam, Tingar.
    Mainpuri—Loniyân, Pajhasiya, Suji.
    Etâwah—Amrutiya, Bisaili, Nakchhikna.
    Etah—Nagar, Nunera.
    Bareilly—Bardwâri, Bhusiya, Chandauliya, Nona.
    Bijnor—Sakt.
    Budâun—Baharwâr, Chauhân, Kokapâsi, Uriya.
    Morâdâbâd—Bhayâr, Râmanandi.
    Cawnpur—Gangapâri, Rangiya.
    Fatehpur—Desi, Dhuman, Domar, Panwâr, Rangiya, Turkatwa.
    Bânda—Barjatwa, Dhaman, Dhûndhiya, Dhindhor, Janwâr, Rangiya, Seth,
    Sorahiya, Ujjain.
    Hamîrpur—Dhindhor, Rangiya, Umrê.
    Allahâbâd—Autarbedi, Chand Râê, Ghatiya, Kahâr, Turkiya.
    Lalitpur—Bhadauriya.
    Benares—Dhuriya.
    Mirzapur—Turkiya.
    Jaunpur—Banaudhiya, Turkiya.
    Ghâzipur—Kanaujiya.
    Ballia—Kanaujiya.
    Gorakhpur—Bamhaniya, Belbhariya, Birhariya, Dakkhinâha, Desi,
    Ghorcharha, Ghosiya, Kanaujiya, Mohahar, Râjkumâri, Sarwariya,
    Siudas, Tatwa, Uttarâha.
    Basti—Birhariya, Chhagoriya, Chamarmangta, Dakkhinâha, Desi,
    Mohahar, Sarwariya, Tanbuna, Uttarâha.
    Azamgarh—Guâl, Kanaujiya.
    Lucknow—Chauhân, Dusâdh.
    Unâo—Chauhân.
    Râê Bareli—Chandel, Dhaman, Dhundhar, Dhuriya, Ghorcharha, Gorait,
    Harphor, Khalkatiya, Kulha, Nona, Tanbuna.
    Sîtapur—Chauhân, Pachhwâhân.
    Sultânpur—Banaudhiya, Dhaman, Nona, Tanbuna.
    Partâbgarh—Banaudhiya, Chandel, Dhaman, Dhingariya, Jogeya, Nona,
    Surahiya, Tanbuna, Turkiya.
    Bârabanki—Jogiya, Pachhwâhân.


4. In the detailed lists we find the Chamârs of the Province classified
into sixteen main sub-castes. Aharwâr (principally found in the
Allahâbâd Division), Chamâr (chiefly in Meerut); Chamkatiyas (mostly in
Bareilly); Dhusiyas (in Meerut and Benares); Dohars (in Agra,
Rohilkhand, Allahâbâd, Lucknow); Golê (in Etâwah); Jaiswâras (strongest
in Benares, Allahâbâd, Gorakhpur, and Faizâbâd); Jatwas (in Meerut,
Agra and Rohilkhand); Koris (in Faizâbâd, and Gorakhpur); Korchamras
(in Lucknow); Kurils (in Lucknow and Allahâbâd); Nigoti (a small
sub-caste chiefly in Mainpuri); Patthargotis (in Agra); Purabiyas (in
Lucknow and Faizâbâd); Râêdâsis (tolerably evenly distributed
throughout the Province), and Sakarwârs (in Agra and Allahâbâd). But
there is hardly a District which does not possess, or pretend to
possess, the sevenfold division which is so characteristic of castes of
this social standing. Thus, in Ballia, we find Dhusiyas, Jaiswâras,
Kanaujiyas, Jhojhiyas, Jatuas, Chamartantos, and Nonas; in Agra,
Mathuriya, Jadua, Domara, Sakarwâr, Batariya, Guliya, and Chandauriya.
Some of these sub-castes are of local origin, some are occupational,
and some take their name from their eponymous founder. Thus the Aharwâr
are connected with the old town of Ahâr, in the Bulandshahr District,
or with the Ahar tribe; the Chamkatiyas take their name from their
trade of cutting hides (châm kâtna). This sub-caste claims to have
produced the saints Râê Dâs and Lona Chamârin. The Jatua or Jatiya
have, it is said, some unexplained connection with the tribe of Jâts.
The Kaiyân is also a sub-caste of the Bohras, and is said to be derived
from their habit of always saying kahê, “what?” “when?” The Jaiswâras
trace their origin to the old town of Jais, though some have a
ridiculous story that it is a corruption of Jinswâr, in the sense that
they are agriculturists and grow various crops (jins). The Koli or
Kori, a term usually applied to the Hindu weaver, as contrasted with
the Julâha or Muhammadan weaver, are connected by some with the Kols;
by others with the Sanskrit Kaulika, in the sense of “ancestral” or a
“weaver.” They say themselves that they take their name from their
custom of wearing unbleached (kora) clothes. The Jhusiya, and also
perhaps the Dhusiyas, have traditions connecting them with the old town
of Jhûsi, near Allahâbâd. There are again the Azamgarhiya of Azamgarh;
the Jatlot of Rohilkhand, who like the Jatiya say they are kinsfolk of
the Jâts; the Sakarwâr connect themselves with Fatehpur Sikri; in the
Central Duâb are the Saksena, who say they come from Sankisa, and the
Chanderiya from Chanderi. In Mirzapur we find the Jaiswâra, Jhusiya,
Kanaujiya, Kurla, Dusâdhu, kinsmen of the Dusâdhs, the Kori, the Mangta
or “beggars,” the Dolidhauwa or “palanquin carriers,” the Azamgarhiya,
and the Banaudhiya, who are residents of Banaudha,—a term which
includes the western parts of Jaunpur, Azamgarh and Benares, and the
south of Oudh. To these Mr. Sherring adds:—In Benares the Rangua (rang,
“colour”) who are dyers; the Katua or “cutters,” (kâtna) of leather;
and the Tantua, who manufacture strips or strings of leather known as
tânt. According to the same authority some of these sub-castes are
differentiated by function. Thus, many of the Jaiswâra are servants;
the Dhusiya or Jhusiya, who trace their origin to Sayyidpur, in
Ghâzipur, are shoe-makers and harness makers; the Kori, weavers,
grooms, and field labourers; the Kuril, workers in leather; and the
Jatua or Jatiya, labourers. The Jaiswâras will not carry burdens on
their shoulders, but on their heads, and are liable to excommunication
if they violate this rule. They supply most of our syces, and are
liable to be expelled if they tie up a dog with a halter, which they
worship. Any one who offends in this way is fined five rupees and a
dinner to the brethren. The Mangatiyas or Mangtas live on alms, which
they take only from the Jaiswârs. In Mirzapur they describe these
functions somewhat differently. There the Jaiswâras make shoes and work
as day labourers; the Jhusiyas are labourers and keep pigs, which is
also the occupation of the Dusâdhu; the Koris make shoes and weave
cloth; the Dolidhauwas carry palanquins, the Azamgarhiyas are menial
servants of Europeans, and tend swine. The Banaudhiyas tend swine and
are day labourers. There is again another local division of the Eastern
Chamârs into Uttarâhas or “Northerners,” and Dakkinâha or
“Southerners,” who live respectively north and south of the River
Sarju, and do not intermarry. The Chandaur or Chandauriya, of the
Central Duâb, claim to be descended from Chânûra, the famous wrestler
of Kansa, who was killed by Krishna.

[Rules of exogamy.] 5. These sub-castes are now all, or practically
all, endogamous; but there seems reason for believing that this fissure
into endogamous groups may be comparatively recent. Thus there seems no
reason to doubt that in the east of the Province the Dhusiya and
Kanaujiya intermarry. The rule of exogamy within the sub-caste seems to
vary. Those who are more advanced say that marriage is prohibited
within seven degrees in the descending line. Others say that they do
not intermarry as long as any previous relationship between the parties
is known or ascertainable. In Ballia, a careful observer states that
they do not marry in a family from which their mother, grandmother, or
great grandmother has come; nor do they marry in the family of their
parent’s sister. A man may marry two sisters, but not a daughter of a
brother-in-law. The descendants of one common stock are called Dayâd,
and among them marriage is prohibited. Besides, this occupation plays a
very important part in marriage alliances: thus, those who remove
manure or night-soil cannot intermarry with those who practise the
cleanlier duty of horse-keeping. As a rule they marry locally within
their own neighbourhood, if a suitable match can be so arranged. If a
Chamâr entice away the wife of a clansman, in addition to the
punishment inflicted by the tribal council, he is obliged to repay her
marriage expenses. If a girl is detected in an intrigue with a
caste-fellow, her parents are fined one and-a-quarter rupees, and in
Mirzapur the same is the punishment inflicted on a man who marries
again while his first wife is alive. In fact, polygamy is discouraged
unless the first wife be barren, when a second marriage will usually be
sanctioned by the council. Among Chamârs in particular it seems to be
believed that rival wives do not get on together; and this sort of
quarreling has the special name sautya dâh—“the ill-will between the
co-wives.” Other sayings to the same purport are Kâth ki saut bhi buri
hoti hai,—“Even a co-wife of wood is an evil;” and when one wife is
being carried to the burning ground, the other says:—Mor jiya na
patiâwe; saut ka pair hilta jâwê,—“I cannot believe that she is dead; I
am sure her legs are shaking still.” In Ballia it is said that if a
Chamâr marries a second time, the first wife usually leaves him, and
that her desertion for this reason is recognised as according to tribal
custom.

[Tribal council.] 6. Chamârs have a particularly well organised and
influential tribal council or panchâyat. The head of every family is
supposed to be a member of the panchâyat, and nearly every village has
a headman (pradhân, jamadâr). In large towns there is often more than
one headman. In small matters the village council is competent to
decide; but for the settlement of weightier questions the councils of
several villages assemble under their own headman, and then a general
meeting is formed. Custom varies as to whether the headman is a
permanent official or not. The most usual rule is that, if the son of
the late headman is competent, he is generally appointed; if he be
found guilty of misconduct, the headman is as liable as any of the
members to fine and excommunication. The cases which come before the
council may be classified as (a) cases of illicit sexual relations or
violation of tribal rules concerning food, etc.; (b) matrimonial
disputes; (c) petty quarrels, which would not come under the cognizance
of a Court; (d) disputes about small money transactions; (e) cases in
connection with Jajmâni: this last is very common. Every Chamâr family
has assigned to it a certain number of families of higher caste, which
are known as its Jajmân (Sans. Yajamâna): for which its members perform
the duties of cutting the cord at births, playing the drum at marriages
and other festive occasions, removing and disposing of the carcasses of
dead cattle, and in return for these services they receive money fees,
cooked food, and sometimes grain, flour, etc. In return they sometimes
supply shoes at marriages, a certain number of shoes annually in
proportion to the hides they receive, and also do repairs to leather
articles, such as well buckets used in cultivation. These rights are
very jealously watched, and any interference with the recognised
constituents of a family is strongly resented and brought before the
tribal council. These orders of the council in the way of fine or
entertainment of the clansmen are enforced under penalty of
excommunication, of which the most serious result is that, until the
ban is removed, all marriage alliances with the family of the offender
are barred, and if any one marries a member of such a family, he at
once becomes liable to the same punishment as that which they are
undergoing. Every council has a mace-bearer (chharidâr), who goes round
and calls the members to the meetings, and he is allowed a small money
fee for this service. The amount of fine varies from one to five
rupees, and it is very seldom that the process of excommunication has
to be used to enforce payment. If a person think fit to lay a charge
before the council he has to pay a fee of one and-a-quarter rupees to
the chairman, who will not take up the case until the fee is paid. This
money, which to the east of the Province is known as nâlbandi or lehri,
is spent in purchasing spirits for the refreshment of the members.

[Marriage.] 7. Chamârs show an increasing tendency to the adoption of
infant marriage. The usual age to the east of the Province is between
four and eight, and it is not uncommon in Ballia for little girls of
three to be married. It is very seldom that a girl remains unmarried
after the age of eight. There are no regular marriage brokers employed;
the negotiations are conducted by a member of the family who is known
as agua. As among other Hindu castes marriage is looked upon as a
sacrament, and not based on contract. It is complete and binding once
the prescribed ceremonies are gone through, and its validity does not
depend on the express or implied consent of the parties. But no
marriage is carried out without the consent of all the relations, even
those who are distant, and the descent and family connections of both
bride and bridegroom are carefully enquired into before the engagement
is made. In Mirzapur the bride-price payable to her relations is two
rupees and five sers of coarse sugar. In Ballia they deny that there is
a bride-price; but it is admitted that, if the parents of the bride are
very poor, the father of the bridegroom may give as much as four rupees
to defray the marriage expenses. As has been said, both bride and
bridegroom are carefully examined as to whether they are free from any
physical defect, and, as a general rule, if such be subsequently
ascertained, it would not be a valid ground for annulling the marriage.
If the husband become a lunatic after marriage, the wife in Ballia
would not be entitled to leave him, provided his relations continued to
support her; and in the same way the husband of a mad wife is held
bound to support her. Impotence or such mutilation as renders sexual
intercourse impossible is valid grounds for dissolving the marriage.
But, as a matter of fact, impotency, proved to the satisfaction of the
council, is the only valid reason for a wife abandoning her husband.
Divorce in the strict sense of the term is unknown; but a husband may
turn his wife out of the house for proved infidelity, while she cannot
leave him even if he be unfaithful to her, provided he gives her food
and clothes. A woman, whose expulsion has been recognised by the
council, can remarry by the sagâi or karâo form. The offspring of such
informal marriages rank equally for purposes of inheritance with those
of regularly-married virgin brides. As regards the offspring of illicit
connections they follow the caste and tribe of the father unless the
mother was a Musalmân, or of some tribe lower than a Chamâr in the
social scale. Such people are known by the name of Suratwâl or
Suratwâla. When a Chamâr takes a woman from a caste superior to his
own, their children will be recognised as members of the caste; but if
she be inferior to him, their children are considered illegitimate, and
will not inherit. This is always the case when the woman is a Bhangi,
Dom, Dhobi, Kûnchbandhua, or Musahar.

The child of a Chamâr at Ballia by a Dusâdh woman is known as Chamar
Dusâdha, and this is the only case in which a similar fusion of castes
is known to have been recognised. The importance of such facts in
connection with the problem of the origin of the mixed castes is
obvious.

[Widow-marriage and the levirate.] 8. Widow-marriage is, as has been
said, fully recognised; but among Chamârs, who have, like those at
Cawnpur, risen in the world, there seems a tendency to prohibit it. The
levirate is recognised, but the widow can live only with the younger
brother of her late husband. If the widow be young, and her younger
brother-in-law of a suitable age, they usually arrange to live
together; if this cannot be arranged, she usually marries some widower
of the tribe by the sagâi or karâo form. In this case the brother and
father of her late husband have a right to the custody of the children
of the first marriage: this rule is relaxed in the case of a baby,
which accompanies its mother. In some cases the widow is allowed to
take with her to her new home all the children of the first marriage.
Any dispute as to matters of this sort is settled by the tribal
council. If a widow marry an outsider she loses all claim to the estate
of her first husband, and so do any children she takes with her to the
house of her new husband.

In such cases the property passes to the brothers of her first husband.
If, on the contrary, she marry her husband’s brother, she or her
husband will inherit only if there was no male heir by the first
marriage. At the same time, though Chamârs are quite ready to lay down
definite rules on this subject, the tribal custom does not appear to be
quite settled, and when there are in the case of the levirate or
widow-marriage two families, the matter is usually left to the council,
who make a partition.

[Birth ceremonies.] 9. Among some branches of the tribe, as, for
instance, at Sultânpur, when the first pregnancy of a wife is
announced, a ceremony known as sathâi is performed, which consists of
the distribution of cakes (pûri) to the clansmen at their houses. But
as Chamârs are particularly exposed to fear of witchcraft and
diabolical agency generally, careful precautions are taken to guard the
woman from evil. To the east of the Province promises of offerings are
made to Vindhyabâsini Devi of Bindhâchal, Bânru Bîr, Birtiya, and to
the sainted dead of the family if they vouchsafe an easy delivery.
Thorny branches of the bel tree (Aegle marmelos) are hung at the door
of the delivery room to intercept evil spirits, who are also scared
away by the smoke from an old shoe, which is burnt for that purpose.
The woman sits on her heels during accouchment, and is supported by her
female relatives. She is attended by a woman of the caste for six or
twelve days, which is the period for impurity. When it is announced
that the child is a boy, the women sing the sohar or song of rejoicing.
Much of this consists of the invocation of Mâta, the goddess of
small-pox. After the cord is cut, if the child be a boy, the mother is
bathed in warm water; if a girl, she gets a cold bath. After the mother
and baby are bathed, she gets a meal consisting of molasses, turmeric,
and oil, and after twelve hours she is given some halwa sweetmeat. Next
day she gets her ordinary food. All through the period of impurity the
singing of the sohar is repeated. At the door of the delivery room
(sauri; Sans.: sutaka) a fire is kept constantly burning, and into it
some ajwain (lingusticum ajowan) is occasionally thrown. At least for
the first six days a light is kept constantly burning. On the night of
the sixth day the women sit up all night and worship Shashthi or
Chhathi, the goddess of the sixth, with an offering of cakes made of
barley-flour and rice boiled with sugar. These are presented in a leaf
platter (dauna), and then eaten by the members of the household. An
iron cutting instrument is also kept near the mother and child during
the period of pollution. If the child be a boy the father is expected
to entertain his friends which is usually done on the twelfth day.

On that day the parents or brothers of the mother—if they can afford
it—send her a coat and cap made of red cloth for the baby, and a yellow
loin-cloth for the mother. This present is sometimes accompanied by a
special sort of sweetmeat known as suthaura (sonth, dry ginger) made of
sugar, ginger, and other spices; sometimes with the suthaura is sent
some caudle (achhwâni). There is no distinct trace of the couvade,
except that the husband has to take the first sup of the cleansing
draught given to the mother, and that he does not shave for six days
after his wife’s delivery. There are no special ceremonies in
connection with twins, but they are considered inauspicious. If during
the pregnancy of a woman an eclipse happen to occur, she is made to sit
quiet while it lasts with a stone pestle in her hand, and is not
allowed to move or touch any cutting instrument. If she move, it is
believed that her child will be deformed, and if she touch a cutting
implement that it will be born mutilated. The child is named by the
senior member of the family. On the fourth or fifth day after the
mother rejoins her family, the child’s head is shaved (mûnran), and
when about six months old, it is fed for the first time on grain
(annaprâsana); it is at this time that it is usually named. At the age
of five or seven its ears are bored (kanchhedan), and this constitutes
the initiation: after this the child must conform to the rules of the
tribe regarding food.

[Adoption.] 10. When it is proposed to adopt a boy, the clansmen are
invited and in their presence the parents make over the boy to the
adopter with these words,—“You were my son by a deed of evil (pâp); now
you are the son of so-and-so by a virtuous act (dharm).” As the boy is
accepted, the members of the caste sprinkle rice over him, and the
adopter gives a feast.

[Betrothal.] 11. The customs of betrothal vary somewhat in different
places. Thus, in Mirzapur, when a marriage is proposed, the
bridegroom’s father with his uncle and other near relations visit the
bride. She is carefully examined to make sure that she has no physical
defect, and, if approved, the boy’s father gives her a rupee, and some
coarse sugar is distributed. Then her father entertains the party. Next
follows the regular betrothal (barrekhi). This generally takes place at
the village liquor shop, where the two fathers exchange platters
(dauna) full of liquor five times, and at the last turn the bride’s
father puts a rupee into the cup of his relation-to-be. Liquor is
served round, two-thirds of the cost of which is paid by the father of
the boy, and one-third by the father of the girl. On this day the date
of the wedding is fixed by the Pandit. In Ballia, on the contrary, the
parents and relations of the girl go to the boy’s house and present him
with a rupee and loin-cloth. This is known as paupûja, or “the
worshipping of the feet” of the bridegroom.

When these presents are received in the presence of the members of the
caste the engagement is complete.

[Marriage ritual.] 12. Marriage is of two kinds—the shâdi, charh, or
charhaua, which is the respectable form, and the dola, used by poor
people. In Mirzapur the wedding invitation is distributed by the
father’s sister’s husband of the boy. The marriage pavilion (mânro) is
then erected. In the Gangetic valley it consists of four bamboos;
Chamârs above the hills make it of nine poles of the siddh tree
(Hardwickia binata) in obvious imitation of the Dravidian races by whom
they are surrounded. On this day the Pandit ties round the wrist of the
bride an amulet formed of mango leaves and thread. The next day is
devoted to feeding the clansmen, and cakes of various kinds are offered
to the sainted dead. Then follows the matmangara ceremony, which is
done, as already described in the case of the Bhuiyas. Then as the
procession starts, the bridegroom’s mother does the wave ceremony
(parachhan) to keep off evil spirits. With the same object the bride’s
mother puts some lamp-black on the bride’s eyelids, and hangs a
necklace of beads round her neck. At the same time, as an assertion or
acknowledgment of maternity, she offers the girl her breast. The
bridegroom’s father is expected to take with the procession five ankle
rings (mathiya) for the bride. The marriage is then performed by making
the pair revolve five times round the ploughbeam (haris), which is
fixed in the centre of the pavilion. There also is erected a rough
wooden representation of a flock of parrots (suga) sitting on a tree.
When the marriage is over all present scramble for the wooden parrots;
but the pole on which they were hung is carefully kept for a year.
During the marriage, a special dance, known as the natua nâch, is
performed by members of the tribe, some of whom dress in women’s
clothes. Chamârs can give no explanation of this practice, which may
possibly be a symbolical ceremony done with the hope that the first
child may be a boy, as the Argive brides used to wear false beards when
they slept with their husbands. [195] It is specially to be noticed
that Brâhmans are not employed in the marriage ceremony. The whole
business is done by the uncle and brother-in-law (phûpha, bahnoi) of
the bridegroom. Before they leave the pavilion a goat or ram is
sacrificed to Paramesari Devi, and the flesh is cooked at the marriage
feast. The marriage ends with a general carouse at the nearest liquor
shop.

13. The dola marriage is done in quite a different way. The following
is the ritual at Ballia. The friends and relations are invited to
attend at the bridegroom’s house, and they are supplied with a meal
known as kalewa, which ordinarily consists of rice and pulse or parched
grain (sattu) or wheat cakes. The men then proceed to the bride’s house
and halt about a mile off to take refreshment. The boy’s father
subscribes twelve pice and the others two pice each with which liquor
is purchased. The sum given by the boy’s father is known as batsâri or
nisâri, and that contributed by his friends behri. After drinking they
go to the bride’s house, which they reach usually about sunset. There
the guardian of the boy pays twenty-four pice, known as neg, to the
father of the bride, who supplements it with sufficient to provide
another drink for the party. Then they are all fed, and next morning
they go away with the bride. The boy’s guardian presents two sheets
(sâri), one for the bride and one for her mother, and gives a couple of
rupees to her father, who in return gives a loin cloth (dhoti) and a
sort of handkerchief worn over the shoulder (kandhâwar) to the boy, as
well as a sheet for his mother. The barber, washerman and village
watchman receive a present of two annas each on this occasion.
Sometimes the owner of the village charges a rupee as marwachh or
marwâna, (mânro, the nuptial shed), which is paid by the father of the
bridegroom, and may perhaps be a survival of a commutation of the jus
primae noctis, but is more probably one of the ordinary village dues
levied from tenants by the landlord. This, however, is not invariably
taken, and in return he usually supplies some wood, etc., for the
wedding. The bride is supplied by her guardian with a sheet (sâri),
brass bracelets (mâthi), and anklets (pairi), made of bell metal. Her
brother or some other person as her representative accompanies her to
the house of the bridegroom. It is a peculiar custom that on this
occasion he always walks behind the bride. In the dola form of marriage
the bridegroom or his father very seldom goes to the house of the
bride. The duty of escorting the bride home is left to some relation or
clansman.

14. After the bride has arrived that very day or very soon after the
date of the wedding (lagan) is fixed. The family barber takes ten
pieces of turmeric, of which he gives five to the bride and five to the
bridegroom. With this he brings one and-a-quarter sers of paddy, which
he divides equally between them. The turmeric is ground into a paste,
which is rubbed on the foreheads of the pair, and the paddy is parched
and made into lawa for use in the ceremony of lawa parachhana. This
part of the ritual is called haldi or haldidhân. The next day or a day
after comes the ceremony of matkor or “the digging of the earth.” This
commences by the bridegroom’s mother worshipping a drum (dhol). If his
mother be dead, this is done by his aunt or some other elderly female
relation.

Turmeric and rice are ground into a paste (aipan). The woman smears her
hand in this and applies it to the drum. This is known as thappa
lagâna. A leaf of betel, a betel nut, and two pice are also placed on
the drum, which are the perquisite of the owner. Five marks (tîka) are
then made on the drum with vermilion, and the women form a procession
and go into a field, led by the drummer playing away vigorously. The
senior woman then worships Dharti Mâta or Mother Earth, and digs five
spadesful of earth, which are brought home and placed in the courtyard.
In the middle of the yard are placed an earthen pot full of water with
its top covered with a mango leaf and an earthen lid. Near it is a
ploughbeam (haris) and a green bamboo fixed in the earth. The earthen
pot is known as kalsa. In the evening there is a feast known as
matkora. It may be noticed here that there are in all five marriage
feasts—the haldidhân and matkora already described and the byâh, marjâd
and kankan or bidâi. From the commencement of the haldi ceremony up to
the end of the marriage ceremonies the women sing songs both morning
and evening.

15. The actual marriage always takes place at night. No Brâhman is
called in, but the village Pandit is consulted as to the auspicious
time, and he receives two pice for his trouble. For the marriage a
square (chauk) is marked out in the courtyard with barley-flour, and
the bride and bridegroom are seated within it, the bridegroom on a
stool (pîrha) or on a mat made of leaves (patal). The service is done
by some one in the caste who knows the ritual. He begins by the gotra
uchchâra or recital of the names of the couple, their fathers,
grandfathers and great-grandfathers. Then the marriage jar (kalsa) is
worshipped, and an offering of butter, rice, and barley is made to the
fire which is lighted close beside the jar, and a similar offering is
made to a fire which is lighted in the oratory (deokuri) sacred to the
household god. The bride’s father then gives her away to the bridegroom
(kanyâdân). He accepts the gift and marks her forehead with a line of
vermilion, which is the binding part of the ceremony. The ceremonies in
the dola and charhaua marriage are practically identical. The only
difference is that in the former the ceremony is performed at the house
of the bridegroom; in the latter at that of the bride.

[Death ceremonies.] 16. Those who have been initiated into the Siva
Nârâyani or Sri Nârâyani, Kabîrpanthi or Râmanandi sects are buried,
unless before death they have expressed a wish to be cremated. Their
corpses are removed to the burial-ground on a gaily decorated bier
without any marks of mourning and accompanied with shouts of Râm! Râm!
Sat hai. “The Lord is the Lord of Truth.” Ordinary Châmars are burnt in
the usual way. Those who are poor only scorch the face of the corpse
(mukhâg). The ashes, when the body is properly cremated, are thrown
into some neighbouring stream. The chief mourner who has fired the pyre
on the day after the cremation places outside the house an earthen pot
full of milk and rice gruel (mânr) with a pitcher of water for the use
of the disembodied spirit. On the third day after death comes the
tirâtri ceremony which consists of the offering of oblations and cakes
of barley-flour (pinda) to the departed soul. On the tenth day
(daswân), this ceremony is repeated, and the castemen are fed. On that
day the person who fired the pyre (dagiha) is purified by being shaved.
On the eleventh the utensils and private property of the dead man are
made over to his sister’s husband (bahnoi), who acts as the officiant
priest—perhaps a survival of the matriarchate. In some places, however,
and particularly where Chamârs are becoming rich and influential, the
Mahâbrâhman offers the sacred balls (pinda). When the service is done
by a member of the tribe he says,—Âr Ganga, pâr Ganga; Bihâri ka beta,
Râmbakhsh ka nâti, pinda det; Ganga Mâi bujbuji det—“Ganges on this
side, Ganges on that side; the son of Bihâri (or whatever his name may
be) the grandson of Râmbakhsh offers the cakes, but mother Ganges gives
only bubbles in return.” Some plant a few stalks of grass near a tank
as an abode for the spirit which wanders about until the funeral
ceremonies are complete. On this water is poured daily for ten days.
Some again give a tribal feast on the twelfth, some on the sixteenth
day after death. On the anniversary of a death twelve balls are
offered, and, if the family can afford it, the clansmen are fed. Some,
again, after the usual balls and oblations during the fortnight
(pitrapaksha) sacred to the dead, join in removing the corpse, and each
of the five touches his mouth with a burning brand. By this procedure
none of the five incurs any personal defilement.

[Religion.] 17. Chamârs in the main conform to the popular type of
village Hinduism. To the east of the Province all, except the richer
and more advanced members of the caste, dispense with the services of
Brâhmans, except in so far as they usually consult them about the
marriage auspices. To the west their marriage ceremonies are performed
under the guidance of the low Gurra or Chamarwa Brâhmans. To the east,
as they become rich and influential, they employ Sarwariya or Kanaujiya
Brâhmans of a degraded type. To the west the mourners accompanying the
corpse address the Creator in the words—Tûhi hai; tain ne paida kiya,
aur tain ne mâr liya. “Thou art He; Thou hast created and then
destroyed.” In Rohilkhand their clan deities are Bhawâni, Jagiswâr or
“the lord of the world,” Kâla Deo, Gaja Dewat, Zâhir Pîr, and Nagarsen.
In Agra they call themselves of the Gorakhi sect, and worship Devi,
Chamara, and Kuânwâla, “he of the well.” In Ballia they usually worship
a deity whom they call Parameswar or “the Supreme Being.” The godling
is supposed to dwell in a mound of earth erected in a room of the
house. On the day of the Dasahra festival seven wheaten cakes and some
halwa are offered, and some cloves and cardamoms are ground up and
mixed in water, which is poured on the ground. This is known as chhâk.
Sometimes the offering consists of a young pig and some spirits. When a
person is absent from home, he does not erect any mound or oratory
(deokuri) until he returns. In Mirzapur they have a special deity known
as Terha Deva or “the crooked one;” they also worship the Vindhyabâsini
Devi, of Bindhâchal; Bânru Bîr, a demon of whom they know nothing but
the name; Sairi Devi, Birtiya, and the sainted dead (purkha log). All
these deities are worshipped in times of trouble with the sacrifice of
a young pig, the meat of which is eaten by the worshippers and with a
libation of spirits. On the Pachainyân festival milk and parched grain
are offered at the hole occupied by the domestic snake. Those who have
no children fast and worship the sun godling, Sûraj Nârâyan, in the
hope of offspring. Fire and the moon are also occasionally worshipped.
To the east their chief festivals are the snake feast at the
Pachainyân; the Kajari, which is a sort of saturnalia held in the rainy
season, when women drink and the rules of modesty are held in abeyance;
the Tîj, on which women fast for the welfare of their husbands and
sons, and next day eat cakes (pûri); the Phagua or Holi. A second wife
wears an image representing the deceased, known as sirajna, round the
neck, and when she puts on fresh clothes or jewelry she touches them
first with the image as a sign that they have been offered to the
spirit of her predecessor. If this be not done, it is believed that the
offended spirit of the first wife will bring disease or death.

[The Siunârâyani or Srinârâyani sect.] 18. But the most remarkable form
of worship is that of the deistic, revivalist sect of the Srinârâyani
or Siunârâyani. The founder of this sect was Râêdâs or Ravidâs, who was
a disciple of Râmanand. Curiously enough in the Dakkhin quite a
different legend has been invented and the so-called Rohidas is said to
have been born at Chambhargonda now Ahmadnagar, and is described as a
contemporary of Kabîr in the twelfth or thirteenth century. [196] The
Northern India legend, as recorded in the commentary of Priya Dâs on
the Bhaktmâla, tells how a Brâhman disciple of Râmanand used daily to
receive the necessary alms from the houses of five Brâhmans. This was
cooked by his preceptor, and offered to the Creator before being eaten.
One day as it was raining and the houses of the Brâhmans were at a
distance, the Brahmachâri accepted the supplies from a Banya. When
Râmanand cooked it, the Divine Light refused to accept it, as it was
unclean. The preceptor made enquiries and discovered that the Banya had
money dealings with Chamârs and that the food was hence defiled.
Râmanand, in his displeasure caused his disciple to be reborn in the
womb of a Chamârin; and so it happened. When the infant was born,
remembering its past life, it refused to suck from the breast of its
mother because she was not initiated. Then a voice from Heaven spoke to
Râmanand and warned him that the punishment he had inflicted on his
disciple was disproportionate to his offence. He was directed to go to
the hut of the Chamâr and initiate the whole family. He was compelled
to obey this order. The child was named by his parents Râêdâs. When he
reached the age of eighteen he began to worship a clay image of Râma
and Jânaki. This was displeasing to his father, who turned him out of
doors. Râêdâs then set up business as a shoemaker and continued his
mode of worship. He used to present all wandering ascetics with new
shoes. One day a saint appeared before him and gave him the
Philosopher’s stone. Râêdâs took no notice of it; but the Saint touched
his shoemaker’s knife with it and turned it into gold. This had no
effect on Râêdâs, and the saint finally left the stone in the thatch of
his hut. Returning some time after he found Râêdâs in poor
circumstances, and learned to his surprise that he had not used the
stone. The saint then promised that before morning five gold coins
would appear in front of the divine image which Râêdâs worshipped.
These he also refused to accept. But he was warned in a dream not to
continue to despise wealth; so he converted his shed into a magnificent
temple and established regular worship. This enraged the Brâhmans, who
appealed to the Râja in a Sanskrit verse which means—“Where unholy
things are worshipped and holy things are defiled, three things
follow—Famine, Death, and Fear.”

19. Râêdâs was summoned before the Râja and ordered to exhibit his
miraculous powers. He replied that he could do only one miracle—that
the Sâlagrâma or ammonite representing Vishnu would at his word leave
its place and come down on the palm of his hand. The Râja ordered the
Brâhmans to perform a similar miracle. They failed and Râêdâs
succeeded. This miracle so affected the Râni Jhâli, whom one version of
the legend makes out to have been a Princess of Chithor, that she
became initiated. On this the Brâhmans refused to eat in the palace, on
the ground that it had been defiled, and some raw grain was given them
which they began to cook in the garden. But as they were eating they
suddenly saw Râêdâs sitting and eating between two Brâhmans. So they
fell at his feet, and then he cut his skin and showed them under it his
Brâhmanical cord; so he was proved to have been a Brâhman in his former
life.

20. The Grantha or Scriptures of the sect are believed to have existed
for eleven hundred and forty-five years, but to have been
unintelligible until Sîtala, an inspired Sannyâsi, translated them. The
present recension is the work of the Râjput Sivanârâyana, of Ghâzipur,
who wrote it about 1735 A.D. The most important of these works are the
Gurunyâsa and the Santa Virasa. The former is compiled from the
Purânas, and gives an account of the ten Avatâras of Vishnu or Nârâyana
in fourteen chapters, of which the first six treat of the author, of
faith, of the punishment of sinners, of virtue, of a future state and
of discipline. The latter is a treatise on moral sentiments. The
opening lines are,—“The love of God and his knowledge are the only true
understanding.” [197]

21. Siunârâyanis have a meeting house known as Dhâmghar, or “House of
Paradise;” Somaghar, or “House of meeting,” and Girja Ghar, or church,
a word derived through the Portuguese igreja from the Greek ekklesia.
It usually contains pictures of the Saints Gorakhnâth, Râêdâs,
Kabîrdâs, Sûrdâs, and others. The scriptures are kept rolled up in
cloth on a table at the East. They are carefully watched and never
given to any one but members of their own congregation. They meet here
on Friday evenings, and any educated man among them reads and expounds
passages from the Gurunyâsa. The only occasion when the Santavirâsa is
read is at death; it is then recited from the moment of dissolution
until the corpse is buried. They are not allowed to eat meat or drink
spirits before going to the weekly service, but this is the only
restriction. On the Basant Panchami, or fifth light half of Mâgh, a
Halwâi is called in, who cooks some halwa sweetmeat (which is known as
manbhog, or “food of the mind”) in a large boiler (karhâo). This is
first offered to Siunârâyana before the Scriptures of the sect, and
until this is done no Chamâr is allowed to touch it. The explanation of
this is that Siunârâyana was a Chhatri, and it would be defilement to
him if any Chamâr touched it before dedication. An offering of the same
kind is made to Guru Nânak by the Sikhs. [198]

22. The title Bhagat which they take does not imply that they abstain
from flesh and spirits, but they are monotheists (Sans: bhakta,
“devoted”). They say that their chief conventicle is at a place called
Barsari, in the Ghâzipur District, about which they repeat the
verse,—“As pâs Chandrawâr men, Ghâzipur Sarkâr; Bindu nirauni karat sab
Bâgh Râê ke pâs.” “In the neighbourhood of Chandrawâr, in the Ghâzipur
District, all meet together and discuss the doctrine of Unity. This
place is near the Râê’s garden.”

23. Persons of any caste may join the Siunârâyani sect. When a
candidate wishes to affiliate himself, they first warn him of the
difficulties before him and test him for a few days, when, if approved,
he is directed to bring a present according to his means to the
headman, known as Guru or Mahant. The candidate comes before the Guru,
who sits with the scriptures opposite him, and first makes a sacrifice
by burning camphor and dason, or ten kinds of perfumes. These are
thrown on fire, and the sweet savour which arises is their form of
worship. Then some camphor is burnt before the scriptures, and all
present rub the smoke over their faces. The candidate then washes the
big toe of the Guru and drinks the water (charanamrita). Next the Guru
recites privately into his ear the formula (mantra) of initiation,
which is carefully concealed from outsiders. After this the initiate
distributes sweets to the congregation. He is then considered Sant or
initiate, and receives a small book which he is permitted to study, and
which serves as a pass of admission to future meetings. If he loses it
he has to appear at the next Basant Panchami meeting, and pay two
and-a-half rupees for a new copy, as well as a fine of five rupees for
his negligence. At these meetings there is music and singing, men and
women sit apart, and after the Mahant has finished his reading, he
receives the contributions of the faithful. They are not allowed to
drink in the Dhâmghar, but they may smoke gânja, bhang, or tobacco
there. They never practise exorcisms (ojhâi), nor do they get into a
state of religious frenzy and deliver oracles. As already stated the
dead are buried with signs of rejoicing. Some camphor is burnt in the
grave before the body is laid there, and then all present join in
filling up the grave. All initiates, male and female, are buried in
this way. Children and persons not initiated are interred without any
ceremony. If the wife of an initiate die, her relatives can take away
her body and cremate it. They marry like ordinary Chamârs, and get a
Brâhman to fix a lucky time. A similar movement among the Châmars of
Bilâspur, in the Central Provinces [199] took place under Ghâsidâs
between 1820 and 1830, and in Bikâner under Lâlgir about fifty years
ago. Their sole worship is said to consist in calling on the invisible
lord (Alakh, Alakh).

[Demonology.] 24. The ordinary Chamâr believes that disease, death, and
all troubles are due to demoniacal influence. When a person falls ill a
sorcerer (ojha) is called in, and he points out the particular evil
spirit which is responsible for the mischief, and the appropriate
sacrifice by means of which he can be appeased. In the same way
barrenness in women is held to be due to her possession by some demon.
A widow is very careful to worship the spirit of her deceased husband.
In this case, as with a deceased wife, no image is used, but a piece of
ground is plastered, and on it is placed a new loin-cloth (dhoti) and a
waist chain (kardhani). Sometimes a pig is sacrificed. The soul of a
dead husband is called manushya deva or “the man-god.” Persons who die
in any sudden or unusual way become malevolent spirits (bhût), and must
be carefully propitiated. Their offering is a young pig and an oblation
of spirits. Chickens are offered to Ghâzi Miyân, goats to Devi, and
pigs to the family godlings and evil spirits. These are offered at the
house shrine, while offerings to godlings and saints are made at their
temples or tombs. The regular feast in honour of the dead is the
Mahâlâya Amâwas, Pitrbisarjan, or Pitrasaunan. Among trees they respect
the pîpal, tulasi, and nîm. The pîpal is the abode of Vasudeva, the
tulasi of Lakshmi, the nîm of Sîtala. Mother Ganges (Ganga mâi) is a
special object of reverence. The favourite method of propitiating evil
spirits of those who have died by accident is to pour spirits near the
place occupied by the Bhût, and to light some gânja in a pipe-bowl. For
ghosts of high caste persons, the proper offering is a fire sacrifice
(hom). The ordinary malignant evil spirit is called Bhût or Daitya;
that of a Muhammadan Shahîd Mard; the Jinn is higher and more powerful
than these. To the Shahîd Mard and Jinn the sacrifice is not a pig but
a fowl and flowers.

[Social regulations.] 25. The Chamâr from his occupation and origin
ranks even below the non-Aryan tribes who have been quite recently
adopted into Hinduism. He is considered impure because he eats beef,
pork, and fowls, all abomination to the orthodox Hindu. He will eat
cattle which die a natural death, and numerous cases have occurred
where Chamârs have poisoned cattle for the sake of the hides and flesh.
He keeps herds of pigs, and the Chamrauti or Chamâr quarter in a Hindu
village is generally a synonym for a place abounding in all kinds of
abominable filth, where a clean living Hindu seldom, unless for urgent
necessity, cares to intrude. One proverb describes a man setting up to
be Gopâl, a respectable Krishna worshipper, while his pots and pans are
as filthy as those of a Chamâr (Nem tem Gopâl aisan; hânri charui
Chamâr aisan), and another says,—“The worthy are dying and the unworthy
living because Chamârs are drinking Ganges water,”—Lajâlu marê, dhithau
jiyê; Ganga jal Chamârân piyê). This repugnance to him is increased by
his eating the leavings of almost any caste except Dhobis and Doms, and
by the pollution which attaches to his wife (Chamârin, Chamâin), who
acts as midwife and cuts the umbilical cord. But in spite of his
degraded social position, the Chamâr is proud and punctilious and very
conservative as regards the rights and privileges which he receives in
the village community. Their women wear, at least in the east of the
Province, no noserings; they have metal bangles (mathiya) on their
wrists; arm ornaments (bâju) and heavy bell-metal anklets (pairi).
Chamârs swear by Râma, the Guru, the Ganges, Mahâdeva Bâba, the
shoemaker’s last (pharuhi), and their sons’ heads. They will not touch
a Dom or Dhobi, nor the wife of a younger brother or nephew, nor will
they call their wives by their names. Women eat after the men. They
salute relatives and clansmen in the forms Râm! Râm! and pâêlagi.

[Occupations.] 26. The Chamâr practises a variety of occupations. His
primary business is curing skins and shoemaking, and the latter
business has developed what is really a separate caste, that of the
Mochi (Sans: mochika); in a village he provides all leathern articles
used in husbandry, such as whips, thongs, well buckets, and the like.
As a rule, he has a circle of constituents (jajmân) whose dead cattle
he receives, and to whom he gives leather and a certain number of shoes
in return. His wife has similarly a certain number of families to whom
she acts as midwife and performs various menial services at marriages
and festivals. The Chamâr himself is the general village drudge (begâr,
pharait), runs messages, and does odd jobs, such as thatching when he
is called Gharâmi, and the like. Sometimes he receives wages in cash or
kind, but perhaps more generally an allowance of grain per plough
belonging to the family he serves, or a patch of rent-free land.
Another part of his duties is to beat drums and blow trumpets during a
marriage or when cholera or other epidemic disease is being exorcised
from the village. Large numbers of Chamârs take to field labour, act as
ploughmen, carters, grooms, or emigrate to towns, where they do various
kinds of unskilled work. In Partâbgarh they are said to have usurped
the business of carrying palanquins, the hereditary occupation of
Kahârs. The extension of the leather trade at Cawnpur has made it a
great Chamâr centre. Many of them have become wealthy and aim at a
standard of social respectability much higher than their rural
brethren, and some have begun even to seclude their women which every
native does as soon as he commences to rise in the world.

27. The system of tanning pursued by the ordinary village Chamâr is of
the most primitive kind. The skins are placed in a pit and covered with
water, containing lime (chûna) and impure carbonate of soda (sajji);
after ten days they are taken out and the hair removed with an iron
scraper (khurpi). They are again removed, sewn up in the form of a bag,
which is again filled with the bark solution, and hang on a tree or
stand. This process lasts five days, when the tanning is considered
complete. [200]


                                                                        DISTRIBUTION OF CHAMÂRS BY SUB-CASTES ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

===============+==========+=========+=============+==========+=========+=======+==========+===========+=========+============+=========+=========+=============+===========+==========+===========+===========+===========
 District.     | Aharwâr. | Chamâr. | Chamkatiya. | Dhusiya. |  Dohar. | Gola. | Jaiswâr. |   Jatwa.  |  Kori.  | Korchamra. |  Kuril. | Nigoti. | Pathargoti. | Purabiya. | Râêdâsi. | Sakarwâr. |   Others. |   Total.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~
 Dehra Dûn     |    358   |   4,356 |    ...      |    ...   |      48 |   ... |     759  |       622 |     530 |    107     |     127 | ...     | ...         |     ...   |  1,478   |   ...     |     8,108 |    16,493
 Sahâranpur    |    ...   | 145,175 |    ...      |  8,118   |     ... |   ... |     812  |     3,092 |      20 |    ...     |      47 | ...     | ...         |     ...   |  1,400   |   ...     |    29,062 |   187,726
 Muzaffarnagar |    ...   |  87,595 |    ...      |      5   |     ... |   ... |      17  |    16,478 |     ... |    ...     |       2 | ...     | ...         |       3   |  5,152   |   ...     |     2,005 |   111,257
 Meerut        |    ...   |  31,219 |    ...      |    666   |     ... |   ... |   2,014  |   175,159 |     ... |      9     |     ... | ...     | ...         |     ...   |     68   |   ...     |     7,900 |   217,035
 Bulandshahr   |  5,185   |   6,068 |    ...      |  3,914   |     ... |   ... |     ...  |    87,319 |     ... |    ...     |     ... | ...     | ...         |     ...   | 15,860   |   ...     |    44,732 |   163,078
 Aligarh       |    ...   |     800 |    ...      |    ...   |     ... |   ... |     ...  |    64,523 |     ... |    ...     |     ... | ...     | ...         |     ...   |  3,697   |   ...     |    94,614 |   163,634
 Mathura       |     34   |      78 |    ...      |    ...   |     ... |   ... |   1,013  |   101,714 |     ... |    ...     |     331 | ...     |  51         |     246   |    366   |   ...     |     3,155 |   107,024
 Agra          |    ...   |     ... |    ...      |     36   |     239 |   ... |   1,546  |   159,093 |       8 |    ...     |      53 | 214     | 522         |      45   |    450   |   746     |    10,649 |   164,565
 Farrukhâbâd   | 15,550   |     ... |    ...      |     30   |  23,038 |   ... |     625  |    47,919 |     408 |    324     |     378 | ...     | ...         |     ...   |     12   |   ...     |       932 |    89,216
 Mainpuri      |    549   |     ... |    ...      |    359   |      73 |   ... |      23  |    84,207 |     ... |     68     |      19 | 521     |  19         |     ...   |      1   |   612     |    14,751 |   101,202
 Etâwah        |    499   |     ... |    601      |    159   |  56,427 | 3,861 |       1  |    45,991 |     ... |    ...     |     584 | ...     | ...         |     ...   |      4   | 1,078     |     2,225 |   111,430
 Etah          |     22   |     ... |    ...      |    ...   |     ... |    11 |     ...  |    88,156 |     ... |    ...     |      34 | ...     | ...         |       9   |    351   |   ...     |       797 |    89,380
 Bareilly      |  1,430   |     ... | 65,925      |    ...   |       6 |   ... |     ...  |    19,713 |     ... |    ...     |     ... | ...     | ...         |     ...   |  4,061   |   ...     |     4,007 |    95,142
 Bijnor        |    ...   | 113,971 |    ...      |    ...   |     ... |   ... |      20  |     8,743 |     ... |    ...     |       1 | ...     | ...         |     ...   |    994   |   ...     |       959 |   124,688
 Budâun        |    ...   |     ... |    ...      |    ...   |     ... |   ... |     629  |   120,350 |     ... |    ...     |     ... | ...     | ...         |     ...   |    762   |   ...     |     2,290 |   124,031
 Morâdâbâd     |    ...   |  12,631 |    ...      |    ...   |     ... |   ... |     111  |   157,964 |      95 |    ...     |     ... | ...     | ...         |     ...   |  1,438   |   ...     |     6,308 |   178,547
 Shâhjahânpur  |    ...   |     ... |    ...      |    ...   |  51,632 |   ... |   8,418  |    35,252 |     ... |    ...     |       5 | ...     | ...         |     358   |     90   |   ...     |     1,044 |    96,799
 Pilibhît      |    ...   |     ... |    ...      |    ...   |  14,600 |   ... |     184  |    17,600 |     ... |    ...     |     ... | ...     | ...         |     404   |    ...   |   ...     |       150 |    32,938
 Cawnpur       |  1,197   |     ... |    ...      |    ...   |  26,082 |   ... |   2,446  |     1,953 |     ... |      9     |  66,890 | ...     | ...         |     ...   | 11,804   |   ...     |    39,478 |   149,889
 Fatehpur      |     29   |     ... |  1,882      |    ...   |     ... |   ... |  25,016  |       642 |     ... |  1,117     |  14,713 | ...     | ...         |     ...   |  5,711   |   ...     |    22,615 |    71,731
 Bânda         | 11,220   |     ... |    ...      |    ...   |   5,589 |   ... |     107  |       ... |     ... |    ...     |   3,652 | ...     | ...         |     ...   |  8,888   |   421     |    80,847 |   110,716
 Hamîrpur      | 67,619   |     ... |    ...      |     24   |     697 |   ... |      95  |       290 |     ... |    ...     |   2,470 | ...     | ...         |     ...   |     65   | 1,962     |     1,721 |    74,919
 Allahâbâd     |      2   |     ... |    137      |    ...   |     ... |   ... |  60,438  |       ... |     685 |  2,654     |     139 | ...     | ...         |     ...   | 17,355   |   ...     |    64,508 |   145,942
 Jhânsi        | 49,940   |     ... |     27      |    ...   |   2,505 |   ... |     468  |     1,261 |     ... |    ...     |       7 | ...     | ...         |     ...   |    228   |   ...     |     1,942 |    56,378
 Jâlaun        |  2,417   |     ... |    ...      |    ...   |  27,280 |   ... |      17  |     6,220 |     ... |    ...     |      14 | ...     | ...         |     ...   |    128   |    23     |    25,500 |    61,599
 Lalitpur      | 32,419   |     ... |    ...      |    ...   |     ... |   ... |       9  |       ... |       1 |    ...     |     ... | ...     |  43         |     ...   |    184   |   ...     |     1,112 |    33,768
 Benares       |    ...   |     ... |    ...      | 31,377   |     ... |   ... |  67,071  |       ... |     ... |    ...     |     232 | ...     | ...         |     ...   |  1,113   |   ...     |     4,475 |   104,268
 Mirzapur      |    ...   |     ... |    ...      |    154   |      48 |   ... | 117,900  |       ... |     ... |    ...     |       1 | ...     | ...         |     ...   |  6,295   |   ...     |    22,897 |   147,295
 Jaunpur       |    ...   |     ... |    ...      |    344   |     ... |   ... | 184,538  |       ... |     ... |    ...     |     250 | ...     | ...         |   1,012   |    643   |     ...   |     1,180 |   187,967
 Ghâzipur      |    ...   |     ... |    ...      |    ...   |     ... |   ... |   6,766  |       ... |     ... |    ...     |     ... | ...     | ...         |     ...   |    576   |   ...     |   126,629 |   133,971
 Ballia        |    ...   |     ... |    ...      | 44,932   |     ... |   ... |     276  |       ... |     ... |    ...     |     ... | ...     | ...         |     ...   |    101   |   ...     |    23,483 |    68,792
 Gorakhpur     |    ...   |     ... |     69      | 11,445   |     ... |   ... |  42,798  |       580 |   1,756 |    ...     |   1,944 | ...     | ...         |     ...   |  1,829   |   ...     |   300,810 |   361,231
 Basti         |    ...   |     ... |  1,034      |    192   |     ... |   ... |  77,285  |       ... |  50,931 |  4,253     |   1,049 | ...     | ...         |     261   | 53,763   |   ...     |    88,238 |   276,966
 Azamgarh      |    ...   |     ... |    ...      |    502   |     151 |   ... | 162,916  |       ... |     ... |    372     |     607 | ...     | ...         |     ...   |  2,473   |   ...     |   131,842 |   298,863
 Kumâun        |    ...   |     ... |    ...      |    ...   |     ... |   ... |     ...  |       ... |     ... |    ...     |     ... | ...     | ...         |     ...   |    ...   |   ...     |       203 |       203
 Garhwâl       |    ...   |     ... |    ...      |    ...   |     ... |   ... |     ...  |       ... |     ... |    ...     |     ... | ...     | ...         |     ...   |     24   |   ...     |       ... |        24
 Tarâi         |    ...   |     482 |    ...      |    ...   |     ... |   ... |     198  |    18,786 |     ... |    ...     |     ... | ...     | ...         |     ...   |    142   |   ...     |     1,937 |    21,545
 Lucknow       |     92   |     ... |     40      |    609   |     ... |   ... |     125  |       372 |      28 |     47     |  58,688 | ...     | ...         |   3,605   |    898   |    97     |     4,242 |    68,848
 Unâo          |    ...   |     ... |    ...      |    ...   |     ... |   ... |      46  |       ... |     171 |    ...     |  95,079 | ...     | ...         |   2,023   |    ...   |   ...     |     1,372 |    98,691
 Râê Bareli    |  1,671   |   1,224 |  6,754      |    ...   |   1,465 |   ... |  14,610  |     2,877 |   1,339 | 15,727     |  23,850 | ...     | ...         |   1,135   | 16,503   |   ...     |     9,508 |    96,663
 Sîtapur       |     ...  |     ... |    906      |     ...  |       4 |   ... |     231  |       891 |      86 |     34     |   1,594 | ...     | ...         | 121,998   |     162  |   ...     |    19,164 |   145,070
 Hardoi        |   3,715  |     ... |    ...      |     ...  | 103,635 |   ... |      47  |     4,513 |     ... |    ...     |  67,058 | ...     | ...         |   8,513   |      57  |   ...     |       433 |   187,971
 Kheri         |     ...  |     ... |    ...      |     ...  |  35,932 |   ... |     231  |       408 |     ... |     11     |     163 | ...     | ...         |  77,354   |       8  |   ...     |     3,748 |   117,855
 Faizâbâd      |     ...  |     ... |  1,743      |     ...  |     ... |   ... |  97,781  |     1,177 |  42,260 |    ...     |     987 | ...     | ...         |   2,367   |  15,599  |   ...     |     5,821 |   165,735
 Gonda         |     ...  |     ... |     62      |     ...  |     ... |   ... |   ...    |       ... |     ... |    ...     |   2,170 | ...     | ...         |  14,634   |   6,439  |   ...     |    18,330 |    41,635
 Bahrâich      |     ...  |     ... |    ...      |     ...  |     ... |   ... |      79  |         7 |       1 |    ...     |     194 | ...     | ...         |  20,475   |      14  |   ...     |    50,571 |    73,341
 Sultânpur     |     ...  |     ... |  5,017      |     ...  |     ... |   ... |  22,983  |       ... |  96,342 |    107     |     ... | ...     | ...         |     ...   |  15,197  |   ...     |     8,934 |   148,473
 Partâbgarh    |     ...  |     ... |    143      |     ...  |     ... |   ... |  15,464  |       ... |  39,961 |    886     |     301 | ...     | ...         |     ...   |  15,108  |   ...     |    38,904 |   109,988
 Bârabanki     |     ...  |     ... |    325      |     ...  |     ... |   ... |      12  |       ... |     ... |    ...     |  24,280 | ...     | ...         |  35,205   |   2,590  |   ...     |    18,438 |    81,536
               +~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~ ~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~
     Total     | 193,948  | 403,599 | 84,665      | 102,806  | 349,451 | 3,872 | 916,125  | 1,264,878 | 234,622 | 25,515     | 367,913 | 735     | 635         | 289,647   | 220,073  | 4,939     | 1,352,570 | 5,816,053
===============+==========+=========+=============+==========+=========+=======+==========+===========+=========+============+=========+=========+=============+===========+==========+===========+===========+===========


Chamar Gaur.—A sept of Râjputs of whom Sir H. M. Elliot [201]
writes—“Among the Gaur Râjputs the Chamar Gaur who are sub-divided into
Râja and Râê, rank the highest, which is accounted for in this
way:—When trouble fell upon the Gaur family, one of their ladies, far
advanced in pregnancy, took refuge in a Chamâr’s house, and was so
grateful to him for his protection, that she promised to call her child
by his name. The Bhâts and Brâhmans to whom the others fled do not
appear to have had similar forbearance, and hence, strange as it may
appear, the sub-divisions called after their name rank below the Chamar
Gaur.” Pargana Sandîla, of Hardoi, was, so it is said, occupied by
Thatheras, [202] who by one theory are identical with the Bhars, and
then Chamar Gaurs came in from near Bijnaur in the time of Jay Chand.
They came in under two chiefs, bringing with them Dikshit Brâhmans, who
up to the present are their recognised priests. They differ entirely
from Chamar Gaurs, who came from near Cawnpur, and have for their
priests Tiwâri Brâhmans. The writer of the Hardoi Settlement Report
[203] speaks of the Chamar Gaurs as “a refractory, quarrelsome,
ill-conditioned set, their one redeeming quality (owed probably to the
fact that they are Râjputs in name rather than in reality) is that they
do not murder their daughters.” Their ancestor, Ganga Sinh, known as
Kâna, or “one-eyed,” is said to have driven out the Thatheras.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE CHAMAR GAUR RÂJPUTS ACCORDING
TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ================+========
     District.      | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
     Agra           |    15
     Farrukhâbâd    |   352
     Mainpuri       |    72
     Etâwah         |   185
     Shâhjahânpur   |    32
     Cawnpur        | 1,351
     Fatehpur       |   103
     Bânda          | 2,121
     Hamîrpur       |   226
     Allahâbâd      |     1
     Jhânsi         |    14
     Jâlaun         |    59
     Lalitpur       |    10
     Benares        |     6
     Gorakhpur      |    26
     Basti          |    11
     Lucknow        |    76
     Râê Bareli     |    57
     Sîtapur        |     9
     Hardoi         |   118
     Kheri          |   102
     Faizâbâd       |    55
     Bahrâich       |     1
     Sultânpur      |     5
     Partâbgarh     |    29
     Bârabanki      |    12
                    +~~~~~~~~
              Total | 5,048
    ================+========


Chanamiya.—A sept of Râjputs, not separately recorded in the Census
Returns, found in Jaunpur, Azamgarh, and Gorakhpur. They are generally,
according to Sir H. M. Elliot, [204] included among the Bais of
inferior descent, and are sometimes identified with the Gargbans.

Chandauriya.—A Râjput sept found in Faizâbâd. They are an offshoot of
the Bais of Baiswâra, who emigrated under their leader, Uday Buddhê
Sinh, who gained his estates under the protection of a noted faqîr
known as Kâli Pahâr. The title of Chandauriya from the village Chandaur
is said to have been conferred on the sept by the Râja of Hasanpur.
[205]

Chandel. [206]—(Sanskrit Chandra, “the moon”).—An important sept of
Râjputs. They claim descent from the moon, Chandra, up to Brahma.
According to one version of the tribal legend Hemâvati was the daughter
of Hemrâj, the family priest of Indrajît, the Gaharwâr Râja of Kâshi
(Benares), or of Indrajît himself. With her at midnight the moon had
dalliance. She awoke and saw the moon going away, and was about to
curse him saying,—“I am not a Gautam woman that I should be thus
treated.” When he replied,—“The curse of Sri Krishna has been
fulfilled. Your son will become a mighty hero, and will reign from the
sunrise to the sunset.” Hemâvati said:—“Tell me that spell whereby my
son may be absolved.” He answered:—“You will have a son and he will be
your expiation,” and he gave her this spell—“When the time of your
delivery comes near go to Asu, near Kalinjar, and there dwell. When
within a short time of being delivered, cross the River Ken and go to
Khajrain, where Chintaman Banya lives, and stay with him. Your son
shall perform the great sacrifice. In this iron age sacrifices are not
perfect. I will appear as a Brâhman and complete the sacrifice. Then
your absolution will be complete.” The fruit of this amour was Chandra
Varma, said to have been born in A.D. 157, and from him to Parmal Deo,
whose fort Kalinjar was taken by Kutb-ud-dîn in 1202 A.D., there are
said to have been by one account forty-nine and by another twenty-three
generations.

2. By another version their original birthplace was Kalinjar. The King
of that fort one day asked his family priest what was the day of the
month. He answered that it was the full moon (pûranmâsi), whereas it
was really the Amâvas or the last day of the dark fortnight. When the
Pandit became aware of the mistake which he had committed, he went home
and fell into deep distress. When his daughter learned the cause of his
sorrow, she prayed to the moon to appear at once full, and thus justify
her father’s words. The moon appeared, and as a reward lay with her,
and when her father heard of this he expelled her from his house; so
she wandered into the jungle, and there her child was born. There a
Banâphar Râjput saw her and took her home. Her father was so ashamed of
the affair that he turned himself into a stone, and as his name was
Mani Râm, he is now worshipped as Maniya Deva. The Chandel ascendancy
in Bundelkhand between the supremacy of the Gonds and the advent of the
Muhammadans is a well-known historical fact; it was during this period
that the great irrigation works in the Hamîrpur District, the forts of
Kalinjar and Ajaygarh, and the noble temples of Khajurâhu and Mahoba
were built.

3. All these legends may point indirectly to some flaw in the tribal
pedigree. We know that the Mirzapur legend of Oran Deo closely connects
them with the aboriginal Soiris as the Oudh story suggests kinship with
the Bhars. [207] The Unâo branch say they come from Chanderi, in the
Dakkhin, whence they emigrated after the overthrow of the Bundelkhand
kingdom of Mahoba by Prithivi Râja in spite of the bravery of the
Banâphar heroes Alah and Udal. [208] Part of them emigrated to Unâo as
late as the reign of Aurangzeb. As for the Eastern branch of the sept
they are admitted to be of Sombansi origin, but do not intermarry with
the leading tribes. The Bundelas are by one account a spurious breed
between them and slave girls. [209] One of the Cawnpur families fasten
their coats on the right side of the chest like Muhammadans. They say
they do this in memory of the Delhi Emperors who remitted their
tribute. [210]

[Manners and customs.] 4. In Bundelkhand they are reported [211] to
give their daughters in marriage to Jâdons, Sisodhiyas, Sengars,
Kachhwâhas, Bhadauriyas, and Tomars; but they take girls only from
tribes of the higher rank. After the bride is brought to her husband’s
house Devi is worshipped with the accompaniment of singing and dancing,
and then the bride marks the door with her spread hand smeared with
aipan or a mixture of powdered rice and turmeric. The maximum number of
wives that a man can take is seven; but the usual number is two or
three. Betrothal is usually performed in infancy and marriage very
early in life. The family barber often arranges the match, but
now-a-days a regular marriage broker is sometimes appointed. Some dower
is always given by the father of the bride. A wife may be divorced if
she contracts leprosy or if she be unfaithful. Such women cannot marry
again.

5. When the pregnancy of a woman is announced the ceremony of chauk is
performed in the fifth or seventh month. The husband and wife are
seated in a sacred enclosure (chauk), while a Brâhman recites texts.
After the ceremony parched rice and sweetmeats are distributed to the
brethren. At her confinement the mother is attended by a sweeper woman
for three days, and by a barber woman for forty days. When the delivery
takes place, an old woman of the family smears her hand with oil and
makes a mark on the wall of the room, after which the cord is cut. The
mother bathes on the third day, after which the ceremony of charua is
done, and this is followed by the usual sixth day observance (chhathi).

6. The betrothal (mangni) consists in the bride’s barber coming to the
house of the bridegroom and marking his forehead (tîka). Their marriage
and death ceremonies are of the ordinary orthodox form.

7. Their special god is Mahâdeva, who is worshipped by men, and Devi by
women and children.

8. In Oudh the Chandels take brides from the Chauhân, Gaharwâr,
Raikwâr, Janwâr, and Dhâkrê septs: and give wives to the Gaur,
Sombansi, and Punwâr. In Azamgarh they receive wives from the Baranwâr,
Kâkan, Singhel, Udmatiya, Donwâr and Gaharwâr septs: and give their
daughters to the Gargbansi Gautam, Palwâr, Sirnet, Râjkumâr, Bachgoti,
Kausik, Raghubansi, Bais and Chandrabansi.


DISTRIBUTION OF CHANDEL RÂJPUTS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+========+============+=======
    Districts.    |Hindus. |Muhammadans.| Total.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Sahâranpur    |     18 |       24   |     42
    Muzaffarnagar |     17 |     ...    |     17
    Meerut        |      2 |     ...    |      2
    Bulandshahr   |    265 |        1   |    266
    Aligarh       |     45 |     ...    |     45
    Mathura       |     32 |       10   |     42
    Agra          |    119 |     ...    |    119
    Farrukhâbâd   |  1,349 |       16   |  1,365
    Mainpuri      |    220 |       45   |    265
    Etâwah        |    681 |     ...    |    681
    Etah          |     82 |     ...    |     82
    Bareilly      |    342 |     ...    |    342
    Budâun        |  1,038 |       29   |  1,067
    Morâdâbâd     |     60 |     ...    |     60
    Shâhjahânpur  |  5,632 |       85   |  5,717
    Pilibhît      |    228 |     ...    |    228
    Cawnpur       | 12,868 |     ...    | 12,868
    Fatehpur      |  1,755 |        4   |  1,759
    Bânda         |    958 |     ...    |    958
    Hamîrpur      |    554 |       94   |    648
    Allahâbâd     |  1,659 |       27   |  1,686
    Jhânsi        |     84 |       31   |    115
    Jâlaun        |    978 |      117   |  1,095
    Lalitpur      |    125 |     ...    |    125
    Benares       |  1,944 |       58   |  2,002
    Mirzapur      |  4,947 |     ...    |  4,947
    Jaunpur       |  7,901 |        8   |  7,909
    Ghâzipur      |    806 |      257   |  1,063
    Ballia        |  3,109 |     ...    |  3,109
    Gorakhpur     |  3,429 |       60   |  3,489
    Basti         |    228 |      602   |    830
    Azamgarh      |  5,186 |       88   |  5,274
    Lucknow       |    810 |       15   |    825
    Unâo          |  2,834 |       74   |  2,908
    Râê Bareli    |  1,037 |       51   |  1,088
    Sîtapur       |    491 |      267   |    758
    Hardoi        |  5,379 |       37   |  5,416
    Kheri         |    490 |      121   |    611
    Faizâbâd      |    906 |       21   |    927
    Gonda         |    391 |     ...    |    391
    Bahrâich      |    195 |       40   |    235
    Sultânpur     |    751 |      131   |    882
    Partâbgarh    |    315 |       12   |    327
    Bârabanki     |    886 |       19   |    905
                  +~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
           Total  | 71,146 |    2,344   | 73,490
    ==============+========+============+=======


Chandrabansi.—Properly the race of the moon (Chandravansa). One of the
two great divisions of the Kshatriya race, of whom a full account is
given in the second chapter of Colonel Tod’s “Annals of Rajasthân.” In
these Provinces it is the title of a separate sept, who are quite
distinct from the Chandels who claim to represent the ancient children
of the moon. They are most numerous in the Bulandshahr District.

2. In Azamgarh they claim to belong to the Bhârgava gotra; they receive
brides from the Bisen, Sakarwâr, Nandwak, Râthaur, Palwâr, Gautam,
Ujjaini, Chandel, Bais, Udmatiya, Singhel, and Kausik septs; and marry
their daughters to the Gargbansi, Raghubansi, Sûrajbansi, Chauhân, and
Sirnet. In Aligarh they take girls from the Gahlot, Kachhwâha, Râthaur,
Bargûjar, Solankhi, Bâchhal, Jais, Janghâra, and Pundîr, and give
brides to the Chauhân, Gahlot, Bargûjar, Punwâr, Tomar, Râthaur,
Kachhwâha, Janghâra, and Dhâkra septs.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE CHANDRABANSI RÂJPUTS ACCORDING
TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======
      District.   |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Sahâranpur    |     7
    Muzaffarnagar |     2
    Meerut        |    40
    Bulandshahr   | 2,340
    Aligarh       | 1,007
    Mathura       |   205
    Agra          |    60
    Farrukhâbâd   |   411
    Mainpuri      |    14
    Etâwah        |    10
    Etah          |    16
    Morâdâbâd     |    13
    Shâhjahânpur  |    32
    Cawnpur       |    14
    Fatehpur      |    26
    Bânda         |     1
    Jhânsi        |    81
    Jâlaun        |     3
    Benares       |   509
    Ghâzipur      |    12
    Ballia        |    79
    Gorakhpur     |   121
    Basti         |    94
    Azamgarh      |   383
    Kumâun        |    25
    Tarâi         |    51
    Râê Bareli    |    22
    Sîtapur       |     7
    Hardoi        |    63
    Kheri         |   126
    Sultânpur     |    13
    Bârabanki     |     1
                  +~~~~~~~
         Total    | 5,788
    ==============+=======


Charandâsi.—A Vaishnava sect which takes its name from its founder,
Charan Dâs, of the Dhûsar caste, who was born at Dehra, in the Alwar
State in 1703. His father was Murli Dhûsar, who died when his son, then
called Ranjît Sinh, was only five years old. “The boy then emigrated to
Delhi and lived with some relations there. He became a disciple of Bâba
Sukhdeva Dâs, a religious faqîr of high religious attainments, at the
age of nineteen, at Sukra Tâl, near Muzaffarnagar, who gave him the
name of Râmcharan Dâs. Afterwards Charan Dâs established a separate
religious order in his own name, and, like others, preached, and made
many disciples. His principal disciples were Swâmi Râmrûp, Gusâîn
Jagatân, and a woman named Shâhgolâi. Each of these established a
monastery in Delhi and obtained grants from the Mughal Emperors, which
have been confirmed by the British Government.” [212]

2. Of the tenets of the sect, Prof. Wilson [213] writes:—“Their
doctrines of universal emanation are much the same as those of the
Vedanta school, although they correspond with the Vaishnava sects in
maintaining the great source of all things, or Brahma to be Krishna;
reverence of the Guru, and assertion of the pre-eminence of faith above
every other distinction, are also common to them with other Vaishnava
sects, from whom probably they only differ in requiring no other
qualification of caste, order, or even of sect, for their teachers;
they affirm, indeed, that originally they differed from other sects of
Vaishnavas in worshipping no sensible representations of the deity, and
in excluding even the tulasi plant and the Sâlagrâma stone from their
devotions; they have, however, they admit, recently adopted them, in
order to maintain a friendly intercourse with the followers of
Râmanand: another peculiarity in their system is the importance they
attach to morality, and they do not acknowledge faith to be independent
of works; actions, they maintain, invariably meet with retribution or
reward; their moral code, which they seem to have borrowed from the
Mâdhavas, if not from a purer source, consist of ten prohibitions. They
are not to lie, not to revile, not to speak harshly, not to discourse
idly, not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to offer violence to
any created thing, not to imagine evil, not to cherish hatred, and not
to indulge in conceit or pride. The other obligations are,—to discharge
the duties of the profession or caste to which a person belongs, to
associate with pious men, to put implicit faith in the spiritual
preceptor, to adore Hari as the original and indefinable cause of all,
and who, through the operation of Mâya, created the universe, and has
appeared in it occasionally in a mortal form, and particularly as
Krishna at Brindaban.

3. “The followers of Charan Dâs are both clerical and secular; the
latter are chiefly of the mercantile order, the former lead a mendicant
and ascetic life, and are distinguished by wearing yellow garments, and
a single streak of sandal or gopichandana down the forehead; the
necklace and rosary are of Tulasi beads. They wear also a small,
pointed cap, round the lower part of which they wrap a yellow turban.
Their appearance in general is decent, and their deportment decorous;
in fact, though they profess mendicity they are well supported by the
opulence of their disciples. It is possible, indeed, that this sect,
considering its origin and the class by which it is professed, arose
out of an attempt to shake off the authority of the Gokulastha Gusâîns.
The authorities of the sect are the Sri Bhâgwat and Gîta, of which they
have Bhâsha translations; that of the former is ascribed, at least in
parts, to Charan Dâs himself; he has also left original works, as the
Sandeha Sâgar and Dharma Jihâj, in a dialogue between him and his
teacher, Sukhdeva, the same, according to Charan Dâsis, as the pupil of
Vyâsa and narrator of the Purânas. The first disciple of Charan Dâs was
his own sister, Sahaji Bâi, and she succeeded to her brother’s
authority as well as learning, having written the Sahaj Prakâsh and
Solah Tat Nirnâya. They have both left many Sabdas and Kavits. Other
works in Bhâsha have been composed by various teachers of the sect. The
chief seat of the Charan Dâsis is at Delhi, where is the Samâdh or
monument of the founder. This establishment consists of about twenty
resident members. There are also five or six similar Mathas at Delhi
and others in the upper part of the Duâb, and their numbers are said to
be rapidly increasing.”

4. Unlike other dissenting sects the Charandâsis keep idols in their
temples and respect Brâhmans, who are found as members of the sect.
Their sacred place is Dehra, the birthplace of their chief, where there
is a monument over his navel string, and his garment and rosary are
kept. “The Charandâsi breviary (gutka) exhibits more Sanskrit learning
than those of the other sects, and instead of passing allusions to
mythology, goes into details regarding Sri Krishna’s family, and merely
popularises the orthodox Sanskrit teaching. Thus there is a chapter on
one of the Upanishads and another from the Bhâgwat Purâna. Its style
is, perhaps, more full and expressive, and less involved than other
books of the same class. The Sâdhs hold to the vernacular, and some
time ago are said to have resented an attempt of a learned Charan Dâsi
to substitute Sanskrit verse for the vulgar tongue. The breviary
contains the Sanedha Sâgar and the Dharma Jihâj mentioned above. One
rather striking chapter professedly taken from some Sanskrit book
should be called Nâsa Kshetra’s Inferno. Nâsa Kshetra is permitted to
visit the hells, and to see the torments of sinners, which are
described in detail, and the sins of each class specified. It is, in
fact, an amplification of the Purânic account of Naraka, adapted to
impress the minds of the vulgar. Nâsa Kshetra is then taken to visit
heaven, and subsequently returns to earth to relate what he has
witnessed.” [214]


DISTRIBUTION OF THE CHARANDÂSIS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+========
      District.   |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Muzaffarnagar |     11
    Meerut        |     47
    Bulandshahr   |     25
    Agra          |      7
    Bijnor        |     22
    Morâdâbâd     |      6
    Shâhjahânpur  |      2
    Cawnpur       |     11
    Bânda         |      7
    Hamîrpur      |     10
    Jhânsi        |      1
    Jâlaun        |     10
    Tarâi         |      2
                  +~~~~~~~~
           Total  |    161
    ==============+========


Chaubê—[Sans.: Chaturvedika—“one skilled in the four Vedas;” according
to others because they use four fire-pits (vedi)].—A sub-caste of
Brâhmans who have their head-quarters at Mathura, whence they are very
commonly known as Mathura ke Chaubê, Mathur or Mathuriya.

2. They are a sub-division of the great Kanaujiya stock, and according
to Dr. Wilson, [215] their principal sub-divisions are,—Nayapura,
Hargadi, Chaukhar, Kataya, Râmpura, Paliya, Hardâspura, Tibaiya,
Jamaduva, and Gargeya. According to another account they have seven
gotras and sixty-four als: of these it has been found impossible to
obtain a full list. The best known of the seven gotras are Bhâradwâja,
Dhuma, Sana, Astra, and Daksha. Some of their als are Pânrê, Pâthak,
Misra, Lapsê, Soti, Bharatwâr, Jonmanê, Ghebariya, Chhiraura, Donrwâr,
and Tivâri.

3. The local legend tells that during the Varâha incarnation of Vishnu,
the Daitya Hiranyâksha, twin brother of Hiranya-Kasipu, the hero of the
Holi legend, came to fight with the deity. Varâha killed him, but was
smitten with remorse, as his antagonist had been a Brâhman. So he sat
down on the Visrânt Ghât at Mathura, and began to meditate how he could
atone for the sin which he had committed. From the perspiration which
the deity rubbed from his body sprang the Chaubês of Mathura. With
their aid he performed a sacrifice and cleansed himself from his
iniquity.

4. The Chaubês of Mathura are endogamous. It is said that their women
can never live beyond the land of Braj. Hence the verse,—Mathura ki
beti, Gokul ki gâê, Karam phûtê to ant jâê. “Mathura girls and Gokul
cows will never move while fate allows.”

This custom of endogamy results in two exceptional usages—first, that
marriage contracts are often made while one or even both the parties
are still unborn; and, secondly, that little or no regard is paid to
relative age; thus a Chaubê, if his friend has no available daughter to
bestow upon him, will agree to wait for his first grand-daughter. They
will not, if it can possibly be avoided, marry in their own gotra; but
instances are said to occur in which this law of exogamy is not
observed. According to Mr. Raikes [216] they have four varieties of
marriage, called in the jargon of the tribe—awwal byâh or “first
class,” of which the total cost is Rs. 225; doum or “second class,”
costing Rs. 175; tisra or “third class,” costing Rs. 75, and kora or
“mean,” where only one rupee is paid by the bride’s folk; but no
disgrace attaches to this cheap wedding.

5. “They are still very celebrated as wrestlers, and in the Mathura
Mahâtmya their learning and other virtues are also extolled in the most
extravagant terms; but either the writer was prejudiced, or time has
had a sadly deteriorating effect. They are now ordinarily described by
their own countrymen as a low, ignorant horde of rapacious mendicants.
Like the Prâgwâlas at Allahâbâd, they are the recognised local
cicerones; and they may always be seen with their portly forms lolling
about near the most popular ghâts and temples, ready to bear down on
the first pilgrim that approaches. One of their most notable
peculiarities is that they are very reluctant to make a match with an
outsider, and if by any possibility it can be managed they will always
find bridegrooms for their daughters among the residents of the town.
Many years ago a considerable migration was made to Mainpuri, where the
Mathuriya Chaubês now form a large and wealthy section of the
community, and are in every way of better repute than the parent
stock.” [217] Another peculiarity of them is their notorious love for
bhang and sweetmeats. All are Vaishnavas and worshippers of Sri
Krishna.

6. Their women are well known for their beauty and delicacy of form. A
native traveller [218] writes:—“The Chaubâinis are in the grandest
style of beauty. The whole class is superb, and the general character
of their figure is majestic. Their colour is the genuine classical
colour of the Brâhmans of antiquity.” It is peculiar with them to
celebrate a number of marriages the same day in order to save expense.
Their greediness is proverbial—Achchê bhaê atal, prân gaê nikal—“A life
is well lost that is lost in gorging sweets.”


DISTRIBUTION OF CHAUBÊ BRÂHMANS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+========
      District.   |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |      9
    Sahâranpur    |     17
    Muzaffarnagar |      3
    Meerut        |     19
    Bulandshahr   |    243
    Aligarh       |    109
    Mathura       |  5,036
    Agra          |  2,293
    Farrukhâbâd   |     90
    Mainpuri      |  1,061
    Etâwah        |    122
    Etah          |    320
    Bareilly      |    249
    Budâun        |    300
    Morâdâbâd     |    388
    Pilibhît      |     20
    Cawnpur       |    166
    Allahâbâd     |    135
    Jhânsi        |      1
    Lalitpur      |      4
    Benares       |     27
    Mirzapur      |     33
    Ghâzipur      |     79
    Gorakhpur     |    114
    Kumâun        |      2
    Tarâi         |      3
    Lucknow       |      9
    Sîtapur       |    129
    Bahrâich      |     34
    Sultânpur     |      5
                  +~~~~~~~~
            Total | 11,020
    ==============+========

    Males    5,452
    Females  5,568


Chauhân.—An important sept of Râjputs. The Brâhmanical legend of their
origin is thus described by Colonel Tod [219]:—“Again the Brâhmans
kindled the sacred fire, and the priests assembling round the fire-pit
(agnikunda) prayed for aid to Mahâdeva. From the fire fountain a figure
issued out, but he had not a warrior’s mien. The Brâhmans placed him as
guardian of the gate, and hence his name Prithiha-dwâra. A second
issued forth, and being formed in the palm (challu) of the hand was
named Chalûka. A third appeared and was named Pramâra. He had the
blessing of the Rishis, and with the others went against demons; but
they did not prevail. 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, quiver filled, a bow in one hand and a brand in the other,
quadriform (Chaturanga), whence his name Chauhân.” Another account
derives the name from the Sanskrit Chaturbâhu, the name of the first
king of the tribe. General Cunningham [220] shows from inscriptions
that even as late as the time of Prithivi Râja, the Chauhâns had no
claim to be sprung from fire, but were content to be considered
descendants of the sage Bhrigu through Jamadagnya Vatsa, and he
suggests another explanation of the fabled descent from fire, which
does not seem very probable. According to tradition the famous city of
Analpur, or Analwâra Patan, the capital of the Solankis, was said to
have been founded by Vana Râja Solanki, who named it after Anala, a
Chauhân cowherd, who pointed out the site to him. According to another
version, the place was originally established by Anala Chauhân himself.
As the date of the event was unknown, and was certainly remote, Anala
was placed at the head of all the Chauhân genealogies as the progenitor
of the race. Then, as Anala means “fire,” it naturally follows that the
cowherd was dropped and the element of fire adopted as the originator
of the race. He adds that in early times the name is written Chahuwân
in agreement with the Chahumân of the old Shaikhâwati inscription of
A.D. 961, and is pointedly derived from the Hindi châh “desire or
choice,” which is an abbreviation of the Sanskrit ichchha. Dr. Buchanan
[221] derives the name from chintapavana, “the thought purifier,” and
the low grade so-called Chauhâns of Bijnor say they are so named
because when crossing the Indus with Mân Sinh’s army in 1586 A.D., they
lost the four requisites (chau “four”, hân “loss”) of Hindu communion,
religion (dharm), ceremonies (riti), piety (daya) and duties (karma).

2. Of the Oudh Chauhâns, Sir C. Elliot writes [222]:—“In all
probability they followed closely on the Dikhits in the date of their
immigration. They colonised a tract of land which lies south of
Dikhtiyâna, with the Panwârs, Bâchhals, and Parihârs between it and the
River Ganges. Chauhâna is the name popularly given to this tract, which
is properly said to consist of ninety villages. The traditional cause
which led to the migration is as follows:—A certain Râja of Mainpuri
married a second wife in his old age, though his first wife had borne
him two sons. The bride expostulated with her family at being given in
marriage to so old a man, and stipulated that if she had a son he
should succeed to the estate and the title. The Râja agreed, and signed
a written acknowledgment to that effect. After some time he died; but
his wife had already borne him a son, and on his death she produced the
bond which the Râja had signed. All the brotherhood agreed that they
ought to abide by it. The two elder brothers left the country in
disgust and settled in Oudh. The traditions of different villages in
Chauhâna differ as to the names of these two brothers, and it is stated
that only one of them remained here and the other went on to the
borders of the Gomati and settled in Isauli, where there is now a large
Chauhân colony. But as the whole of the great colonies of Bachgotis,
Râjkumârs, Rajwârs, and Khânzâdas, who rule in the Faizâbâd and
Sultânpur Districts, are Chauhâns disguised under various names, and
originally emigrated from Mainpuri about the same time, it is safe to
trust an isolated local tradition as to any close connection existing
between any of these two colonies. It is sufficient to remark that they
are all of the same gotra, and therefore belong to the same stock.”

[The Chauhâns of the Ganges-Jumna-Duâb.] 3. The most conspicuous
families and those of the bluest blood are those of Mainpuri, Rajor,
Pratâpner, and Chakarnagar. The Mainpuri family, [223] the head of the
sept, is said to have settled in the Central Duâb in the twelfth or
beginning of the thirteenth century. They are generally represented to
be the lineal descendants of Pratâp Rudra, who was son of Râna Sangat,
the great grandson of Chahir Deva, the brother of Prithivi Râja, the
last Chauhân King of Delhi, who was conquered by Shahâb-ud-dîn Ghori in
1193 A.D. It is almost certain, however, that the real founder of this
important branch of the Chauhâns was Deva Brahma, a less distinguished
cadet of the same house. Shortly after the defeat of Prithivi Râja and
the fall of the Chauhân dynasty, Brahma, accompanied by a numerous
following of kinsmen and retainers, left his original seat at Nimrâna
and settled at Pratâpner, near Bhongâon, in the Mainpuri District. The
founder of this branch was Pratâp Rudra, who is constantly mentioned in
the Makhzan-i-Afghâni of Niyâmat-ulla as having played a prominent part
in the reign of Muhammad Ala-ud-dîn and Bahlol Lodi. He held Bhongâon,
Kampil, and Patiyâli, and was confirmed by Bahlol Lodi as Governor of
that part of the country. In the war between Bahlol and the Sharqi
monarch of Jaunpur, Râê Pratâp and Qutb Khân, the Afghân Governor of
the adjoining District of Râpri, acted in concert, sometimes on one
side and sometimes on the other, and presumably on account of the
assassination of Narasinha Deva, son of Râê Pratâp, they organised a
conspiracy against Sultân Bahlol and compelled him to retreat towards
Delhi, leaving the Jaunpur King in possession of the Central and Lower
Duâb. A tradition runs that a Chauhân being sorely pressed by his
son-in-law, and smarting under the sense of disgrace, as the father of
a married daughter seemed to entail upon him, called together his son
and bound them by an oath to save his family from future contempt by
killing every female child that might be born to them. Since then the
sept has borne an evil reputation for the practice of infanticide.
[224]

[Traditions of other branches.] 4. One family in Lucknow are called
Rakhula, because it is said that one of them had to lay an evil spirit,
a Brahma Râkshasa, before he could occupy the village. Another story is
that this family had a Churel as their ancestress. [225] In Mathura
[226] the sept is classed as pure, because they do not allow
widow-marriage. The Bareilly [227] branch say that ten generations back
(1500–1550 A.D.), Nandhar Deva and Gandhar Deva came to Parauli in
Budâun, and thence moving on expelled the Bhîls from Bisauli. The
Gorakhpur branch are alleged by Dr. Buchanan [228] to have intermarried
with impure Hill tribes, and to have a Chinese caste of features. In
Bulandshahr [229] one branch accepted Islâm as they murdered the
Muhammadan Governor of Sikandarâbâd, and another adopted
widow-marriage, and have been expelled from the tribe. The legitimate
Azamgarh branch traces its origin to Sambhal, in the Morâdâbâd
District. [230]

[Inferior branches of the sept.] 5. In addition to the above, who claim
legitimate descent, there are others whose position is more than
doubtful. Such are those in Morâdâbâd and Bijnor, some of whom say they
were originally Gahlot, others Gaur, Bais, Pânwâr, and so on. [231]
They appear to be divided into three classes—Chaudhari, Padhân, and
Khâgi. The last of these are the lowest, widow-marriage being permitted
among them. The Chaudhari do not give their daughters to the Padhân,
but take theirs.

They, as a rule, worship Mahâdeva and Devi. In Morâdâbâd, by one
account, they take their name from chûha, “a rat,” which would connect
them with distinctly non-Aryan races like the Musahar. They are said to
have been driven into the Sub-Himalayan Tarâi by the advancing Thâkurs
and Ahars. Similar and probably akin to these are the Aswâl of the
hill, who also claim Chauhân origin. [232]

[Marriage rules.] 6. To the west of the Province the true Chauhâns
usually seek alliances for their daughters with the Kachhwâha,
Badhauriya, Baghel, and Râthaur, and the humble Chauhân will take a
wife from the Parihâr of Bundelkhand or the Jâdon of Karauli. In Râê
Bareli their sons marry Bisen girls, and their girls Kalhans and
Burheliya youths. In Faizâbâd they marry their sons to Bais and Gautam
girls and their daughters to the Panwâr, Chamar Gaur, Sûrajbans, and
Raikwâr. Their ancestor is said to have married a Kalhans maiden. From
Bulandshahr it is reported that the Chauhâns give brides to the Panwâr,
Râthaur, Gahlot, Tilokchandi Bais, Kachhwâha, Sisodiya, and other high
class Râjputs; and marry Bargûjar, Pundîr, Katheriya, Bâchhal, Gahlot,
and other high caste Râjput girls. In Unâo they usually marry their
girls in the Kachhwâha, Râthaur, Janwâr, Gahlot, or Panwâr septs, and
their sons to the Sombansi, Sakarwâre, or Chandel. In Gonda they give
brides to the Bhadauriya, Sengar, Râthaur, or Bisen: their sons to the
Bais, Bisen or other respectable Râjput septs. The bastard Chauhâns
marry much lower caste people. [233]


DISTRIBUTION OF CHAUHÂN RÂJPUTS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======+============+========
      Districts.  |Hindus.|Muhammadans.| Total.
                  |       |            |
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |  4,046|         248|  4,294
    Sahâranpur    | 13,250|       7,766| 21,016
    Muzaffarnagar |  7,041|       4,056| 11,097
    Meerut        | 19,529|         179| 19,708
    Bulandshahr   | 13,944|       7,236| 21,180
    Aligarh       | 16,344|          51| 16,395
    Mathura       |  3,825|         416|  4,241
    Agra          | 11,939|         154| 12,093
    Farrukhâbâd   |  5,495|           7|  5,502
    Mainpuri      | 24,680|          15| 24,695
    Etâwah        |  9,897|         168| 10,065
    Etah          | 13,706|         943| 14,649
    Bareilly      |  7,011|         239|  7,250
    Bijnor        | 77,890|     ...    | 77,890
    Budâun        |  6,368|         283|  6,651
    Morâdâbâd     | 37,836|       1,228| 39,064
    Shâhjahânpur  |  9,016|         375|  9,391
    Pilibhît      |  2,082|          13|  2,095
    Cawnpur       |  8,794|         106|  8,900
    Fatehpur      |  2,847|          76|  2,923
    Bânda         |  1,498|          43|  1,541
    Hamîrpur      |    533|          19|    552
    Allahâbâd     |  1,483|         523|  2,006
    Jhânsi        |    753|          39|    792
    Jâlaun        |  5,515|           9|  5,524
    Lalitpur      |    578|          24|    602
    Benares       |    591|         253|    844
    Mirzapur      |  1,675|          23|  1,698
    Jaunpur       |  1,680|         989|  2,669
    Ghâzipur      |  1,356|         656|  2,012
    Ballia        |  2,131|         357|  2,488
    Gorakhpur     |  3,461|       4,649|  8,110
    Basti         |  1,749|      10,453| 12,202
    Azamgarh      |  2,925|       3,926|  6,851
    Kumâun        |    134|     ...    |    134
    Tarâi         |  7,987|     ...    |  7,987
    Lucknow       |  5,745|         151|  5,896
    Unâo          | 10,540|          16| 10,556
    Râê Bareli    |  6,189|         797|  6,986
    Sîtapur       |  5,562|       3,424|  8,986
    Hardoi        |  6,712|     ...    |  6,712
    Kheri         |  4,627|       2,766|  7,393
    Faizâbâd      |  5,858|       1,978|  7,836
    Gonda         |  8,997|         402|  3,799
    Bahrâich      |  2,678|       6,845|  9,523
    Sultânpur     |  4,425|       1,478|  5,903
    Partâbgarh    |  3,065|         144|  3,269
    Bârabanki     |  3,356|         840|  4,196
                  +~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
           Total  |397,343|      64,363|461,706
    ==============+=======+============+========


Chaupata Khamb.—A Râjput sept found in small numbers in the Benares
division. According to Mr. Sherring [234] in the city of Benares they
are chiefly engaged in the manufacture of fine wire used in the frames
on which cloth of various description is woven. They trace their
descent to two Sarwariya Brâhman brothers, Baldeo and Kuldeo, who
settled at Pathkhauli, in the Jaunpur district. Râja Jay Chand is said
to have given his daughter in marriage to Baldeo, on which Kuldeo, to
mark his anger, erected a pillar (khamb), and the descendants of Baldeo
are hence called chaupata or “ruined.”

Chauseni—(Chahu, four; sena, an army).—A sub-caste of Banyas found
principally in the Meerut, Agra, and Rohilkhand Divisions. They are
said to be a spurious branch of the Bârahseni (q.v.). They hold very
low rank among Banyas. Till recently all the higher castes refused to
eat and drink things touched by them. They say they came from Mathura,
and claim descent from Chânûra, the wrestler of Râja Kansa, from whom
Chamârs also say they are sprung. Another story is that they are
descended from one Râja Phonda of Chanderi by an unmarried woman named
Kundaliya.


DISTRIBUTION OF CHAUSENI BANYAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+========
    District.     |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Muzaffarnagar |     30
    Meerut        |     85
    Bulandshahr   |  5,244
    Aligarh       |  2,177
    Mathura       |    423
    Agra          |    106
    Farrukhâbâd   |     75
    Mainpuri      |      6
    Etâwah        |      3
    Etah          |    783
    Bareilly      |    424
    Bijnor        |      6
    Budâun        |  1,261
    Morâdâbâd     |  1,022
    Shâhjahânpur  |      2
    Pilibhît      |    150
    Cawnpur       |      6
                  +~~~~~~~
          Total   | 11,803
    ==============+========


Chero.—A Dravidian race of labourers and cultivators found in the hill
country of Mirzapur where they number according to the last Census
4,881. The word may be possibly of non-Aryan origin. It has been
connected with the Hindi chela (Sanskrit chetaka, chedaka “a slave”).
Sir G. Campbell’s [235] theory that that Chero-Khero, Kharwâr is not
probable. The ethnology of the Cheros has been to some extent obscured
by the fact that they are in Bengal perhaps the most advanced of the
Dravidian races. Colonel Dalton calls them the last Kolarian tribe
dominant in the Gangetic Provinces. [236] They are said in Shâhâbâd to
have been rulers of the country extending from Charanadri, the modern
Chunâr, to Gridhaya kot (Giridhi), and from the Ganges to the hills
which now form the boundary of South Bihâr, including the entire extent
of the country in the Patna division south of the Ganges. The names of
the Kol Râj and the Chero Râj are now discriminately applied by the
natives of the South Bihâr to the kingdom of the aborigines. [237]
According to Dr. Buchanan Hamilton they extended as far as Gorakhpur or
Kosala, and destroyed the family of the Sun in Ajudhya, as well as that
of the Moon in Magadha. [238]

2. A tradition recorded by Mr. Forbes [239] states that Kesho Nârâyan
Sinh, a Bundya Râjput, and Râja of Garhgûmti, in Bundelkhand, was
blessed with an only daughter: being anxious to learn the future that
was in store for her, he sent for a learned Brâhman and requested him
to draw her horoscope. The Brâhman did so, and declared it was ordained
that the young girl, if married at all, could wed no other than a Muni,
or one to all intents and purposes dead. On learning this the Râja
determined to go to some holy shrine and offer (sankalpa) his daughter
to the first Muni he could find. He started accordingly taking his
daughter with him, and when passing through the Morong, [240] he one
day encamped in a tope of trees near to which there was a mound.
Enquiring from the people what this mound was, he learned that it was
the living sepulchre of a very pious Muni Chamman Muni Rishi. The Râja
immediately called for spade and shovel, unearthed the holy man, and
made the girl over to him. From this marriage sprung the Chero or
Chauhânbansi Râjputs. Their son was Chet Râê, who expelled the Râthaur
lords of the country. After him the following Chero Râjas ruled
Kumâun—Chhattardîs Râê, Udit Râê, Udand Râê, and Choân Râê, whose son,
Phûl Chand, conquered Bhojpur or South Bihâr. The Cheros entered
Palamau in 1612 A.D., and ruled the district for nearly two hundred
years, when they were expelled by the British.

3. General Cunningham accepts the account that they were conquered by
the Saura tribe in Shahâbâd and Benares. In Shahâbâd, the ancient
Karusha Desa, all old buildings are ascribed to them. Even as late as
the time of Akbar a Chero chief is said to have kept possession of
Chayanpur, one of the chief towns in the district. General Cunningham
thinks their power must have ceased before the accession of the Pâla
dynasty. One ancient chief or ruling family among them appears to have
been known as Chero Chai. [241]

4. There are no Cheros now in Ghâzipur; but Dr. Oldham describes those
on the Ghâzipur frontier as honest, industrious cultivators, not
differing from Hindus of the agricultural classes. The family records
of the Hayobans Râjas, formerly of Bihiya, and now of Haldi, notice a
conflict between the Chero and Hayobans chiefs which lasted for
hundreds of years, and terminated in the triumph of the Râjputs. As
late as the reign of the Afghân Emperor Shîr Shâh the power of the
Cheros was formidable, and on his overcoming Maharta, a chief of the
tribe, he indulged in transports of delight. On the Kaimûr plateau the
last famous robbers were Nora and Kora, who were captured in 1858.
[242] Their village was Chirvi, called after the tribe, as are the
Cherand Pargana and Cherand Island in the Sâran District. [243]

5. But in spite of their Brâhmanical traditions and extensive conquests
they are undoubtedly, as Dr. Buchanan Hamilton asserted, of Dravidian
origin. [244] Colonel Dalton remarks that in Chota Nâgpur their
physical traits have been considerably softened by their alliances with
pure Hindu families. He describes their features as of the Mongolian,
or, as he should rather have said, of the Kolarian or Dravidian type.
They vary in colour, but are usually of a light brown. They have, as a
rule, high cheek bones, small eyes obliquely set, and eyebrows to
correspond; low, broad noses, and large mouths with protuberant lips;
[245] in other words, they are not appreciably different from the other
Dravidian tribes, like the Kols, Majhwârs, etc. This is further shown
by the fact that in Mirzapur they are popularly known as Baiga, the
devil priest, which is the special business of the non-Aryan races.

[Internal structure.] 6. There is no trace in Mirzapur of the division
into Bârahhazâr and Terahhazâr of Palamau. [246] South of the Son they
have two exogamous sections, Mahto and Chaudhari: others call these
sections Nâgbansi, and pretend that they are like their brethren in
Chota Nâgpur, descendants of the Nâg or dragon, [247] and Pandobansi,
who say they are connected with the five Pandavas; another statement of
the sections shows the composite character of the race—Kol, Chero,
Hardaha (from the hartu tree, adina cordifolia), Kariha, Panariha,
Kutaha, Sinduraha (“those who use red lead”). Some of these are
possibly of totemistic origin. The Census Returns give another
list—Bardbansi, Bardhân, Bârubansi, Gaya, Khar, and Sûrajbansi.

[Exogamy.] 7. Their custom of exogamy even is uncertain. By one account
first cousins on the father’s side cannot intermarry, while marriage of
cousins on the mother’s side is permitted, and a paternal uncle’s son
can marry a maternal uncle’s daughter, but not vice versâ. On the other
hand, the more Hinduised Cheros profess to regulate exogamy by the
stock formula—chachera, mamera, phuphera, mausera, which bars the line
of the paternal uncle, maternal uncle, paternal aunt, maternal aunt.
There can be very little doubt that until comparatively recently they
used to intermarry with Bhuiyas, as is proved by numerous local
traditions. The Bhuiyas, on the other hand, say that they have given up
intermarrying with Cheros since the Cheros have taken to intermarry
with Kols, and the Cheros at any rate give Kol as one of their
sections. South of the Son it is generally asserted that Bhuiyas and
Cheros are the same. From all which it would appear that Kols, Cheros
and Bhuiyas are of one parent-stock, and have separated by a process of
abscission in comparatively recent times.

[Marriage rules.] 8. There is no trace of polyandry among them. It is
noticed as peculiar to the Cheros that, unlike the allied Dravidian
tribes, whenever they go any distance from home, as to the jungle after
cattle, to pay their rent, etc., they always bring their wives with
them. It is a tradition among them that formerly the custom was that if
a man remained six months absent from his wife, she was at liberty to
form a fresh connection: but it is said that this is now obsolete. The
standing price for a bride is five rupees, and it is entirely a
question of means how many wives a man has. Monogamy appears to be the
rule. Some Cheros admit that concubinage is allowed, and that a widow
or divorced woman may go and live with anyone she likes; but this
custom, too, appears becoming gradually discredited. Girls are said to
be allowed little liberty before marriage; but it seems certain that
many marriages are carried out when pregnancy is the result of an
ante-nuptial intrigue, [248] in which case the alliance is recognized
on her father giving a tribal feast (bojh bhât); but if her paramour be
of another caste she is permanently excluded. Like those in Chota
Nâgpur [249] the Mirzapur Cheros profess to marry their children
between the age of five and ten. Any relation may act as the negotiator
(agua). Though her father receives the bride-price it is spent on the
marriage, and he is expected to give her a dowry as far as his means
will allow. The customs regarding divorce, widow-marriage, the
levirate, and succession, are the same as among the Kols. The
Gharjaiyân marriage, where the youth serves for his bride on probation
in the house of her father, is common. [250]

[Relationship.] 9. The general scheme of relationship agrees with that
of the Kols. A father is bâba, dâda; father’s brother, kâka; mother,
dîdi; sister, bahin; father’s mother, âji; elder paternal uncle’s wife,
barki kâki, younger paternal uncle’s wife, chhutki kâki; elder
brother’s wife, bhauji; younger brother’s wife, dulhin; or bride, son’s
wife, patohiya; maternal uncle, mâmu; mother’s mother, nâni; mother’s
sister, mausi; mother’s father, nâna; mother’s grandfather, parnâna;
wife’s father, mahto, or “leader;” wife’s father’s wife, mahtoâin;
sister’s husband, âr (yâr, friend); brother-in-law’s father, mahto;
younger brother of wife, bâbu. A man names his wife by his son—Lallu ki
mahtâri—“Lallu’s mother.” A father is sometimes addressed as bhaiyya or
“brother.” They remember genealogies only to three generations, and in
the case of females only as far as the grandmother. They call clansmen
living in the same village ganwân bhâi.

[Birth ceremonies.] 10. The Cheros mark their approach to Hinduism by
having puberty ceremonies which are not usual among the allied
Dravidian races. On each occasion they sacrifice to Durga Devi and the
collective village gods (deohâr). Cocks, hens, pigs, goats, and liquor
constitute the offering which is made by the village Baiga, who first
bathes and then before the platform of the deity makes a cowdung fire,
into which he pours a mixture of sugar, butter, sesamum and rice, and
says,—Dih bâba hamâr kâraj toharê kirpa se ho gail; se jânab; ham
manaulê rahlê, so leh—“Village Lord! Our business has been completed
through thy favour! Know this! Accept the offering we owed.” After this
he sacrifices the victim, which the brethren divide, the head being the
Baiga’s perquisite. The worship is supposed to keep evil spirits from
the mother and her expected baby. The other birth ceremonies are the
same as among the Kols.

[Betrothal.] 11. The binding part of the betrothal ceremony is the
payment of the bride-price, five rupees. If the father of the girl
annul the engagement he is forced to return the bride-price, and is
severely dealt with by the tribal council besides.

[Marriage.] 12. There are three varieties of marriage,—Charhauwa, which
is the respectable form; dola, which is used by poor people and in
which the ceremonies are done at the house of the bridegroom, and
sagâi, for widows. The ritual is the same as among the Kols, but the
Cheros make more use than they do of Brâhmans in fixing the lucky time,
and even now in respectable families Brâhmans attend, but do not carry
out the service. Such people are clearly in rapid progress towards
complete Hinduism.

[Death.] 12. Similarly in the case of funeral ceremonies they are
beginning to employ Brâhmans and to do the regular srâddha, while they
still retain some of the non-Aryan practices noticed in the case of the
allied Dravidian races.

[Religion.] 13. Their chief deities are Sairi, a vague female form
sometimes known as Devi, Sîtala, the goddess of small pox, and the Dih,
or aggregate of village gods, which are worshipped both by men and
women. Fowls, goats, and pigs are sacrificed to the Manes, the victim
being fed on some rice and marked on the head with red lead in the name
of the sainted dead before being sacrificed. During the period of
mourning they do worship to the disembodied spirit (pret) with an
offering of a young pig. For their special worship in the Hindu form
they employ a low body of Sarwariya Brâhmans. The worship of the
village gods is done by a Baiga of their own tribe, and this local
priest is generally the president of the village tribal council. The
Baiga pretends to great personal purity, and is supposed to fast on the
day he makes the offering. They have apparently quite abandoned the
system of triennial sacrifices which prevails among the Eastern branch
of the tribe; [251] but their tribal traditions show that their
discontinuance is comparatively recent. The site of the Chero shrine
(deohâr) is usually under a nîm tree where rude earthenware images of
horses are collected. The offering very often takes the form of what is
called newaj, balls of sweetened flour fried in butter. These after
being offered are eaten by the family of the worshipper and the Baiga.
All their sacrifices are done in public, except those to Dulhadeo, the
godling of marriages, who is little more than a household deity, and
whose worship is in the hands of the women.

[Festivals.] 14. Their festivals are the Anant Chaudas, on the 14th day
of the light half of Bhâdon; the Jiutiya, during the fortnight sacred
to the dead (pitra paksha), in Kuâr, when women fast for a day and
night to procure long life (jiw) for their sons and husbands; and the
Phagua or Holi. Some Sundays are consecrated to the spirits of the
dead, and are called pretak, when a fast is imposed, and on Sundays
generally as well as at the Anant Chaudas, they do not eat salt. They
do the Phagua like ordinary Hindus. In the Pitrapaksha for ten days
they pour water on the ground in the name of the dead, and on the
eleventh day shave and put on clean clothes. On that day each family
gives the Brâhman two and a-half sers of uncooked grain (sîdha). The
only family festival is the Jiutiya, which some observe to bring good
luck on the family, and some in the hope of male offspring. One
platform in the house is the residence of the sainted dead and the
Devi. They are much afraid of the ghosts of persons drowned (bûrna),
and whenever they pass a place where such an accident occurred they
raise hands in an attitude of supplication.

[Ancestor worship.] 15. Ancestor worship is fairly well established,
but not universal. It can form even the subject of a joke as in a
proverb common among these people—châr kawar bhîtar, tab deota
pitar—“First eat four mouthfuls, then think of the godlings and the
sainted dead.” Sickness in a family is attributed to the anger of the
ancestral ghosts: in such cases fowls and goats are sacrificed in the
house, and a few drops of liquor are poured on the ground. On the tenth
day after a death the more Hinduised Cheros give the family priest
(purohit) a pair of loin-cloths (dhoti), a drinking vessel (lota), a
tray (thâli), and grain always in the ratio of one and-a-quarter sers,
maunds, measures (paseri). The ghosts of the dead if not propitiated
appear in dreams and prescribe the necessary offerings. If the
injunctions given by them in the first dream are not obeyed, the next
time they sit on the chest and squeeze the throat of the offender.
Ghosts (bhût) habitually haunt cremation grounds. Neglect of funeral
ceremonies does not necessarily involve the spirit becoming a Bhût, but
those who are killed by a Bhût invariably become Bhûts themselves.
Tattooing in its present form is little more than ornamental; but it is
clearly connected with puberty, [252] and is based in case of women on
a religious motive. If a woman die without being tattooed, Paramesar
will tattoo her himself with the thorns of acacia (babûl). Women pay
special reverence to the fig tree (pîpal), and bow when they pass near
it. They have the usual meeting omens. They do not follow Hindus in
giving two names to children. They swear by touching a cow-tail or the
feet of a Brâhman or by standing in water while they make a solemn
assertion to speak the truth. Poverty, leprosy, or loss of children
follows a broken oath.

[Witchcraft.] 16. Many of these women have a reputation for witchcraft
and the power of casting the Evil Eye. Such people are hated by the
Baiga, who gets them out of the village if he can. It is believed that
these witches specially select young men and children as their victims.
The head-quarters of the Ojhas who deal with such cases are at two
places called “the house of God” (Deoghariya), in Nagar Untâri,
District Lohardaga; people attacked by witchcraft visit these Ojhas
with trays of flowers. There are also local Ojhas usually of the
Kharwâr, Majhwâr, or Bhuiyâr tribes, who prescribe in cases of
witchcraft and instruct disciples. A favourite method of injuring an
enemy is to measure his footsteps in the dust with a straw, and then to
mutter a spell over it. This brings on wounds and sores in the foot.
There is a special word for this, pângna. [253] Disease is popularly
believed to be due to demoniacal agency, [254] and people are
particularly cautious to destroy cuttings of their hair, nails, etc.,
lest they should come into the hands of witches, who would thus obtain
control over their victims. [255]

[Social customs.] 17. The only meat from which Cheros habitually
abstain is that of the cow, and the prohibition of its use is based on
religious motives. Their taboos are the same as those of the Kols. Men
and women eat apart. They salute Brâhmans and other superiors in the
pâêlagi form, to others they salâm. When they meet a superior they very
often take off the turban and stand on one leg. They will eat food
cooked in butter (pakka khâna) only from the hands of Brâhmans. They,
in fact, affect a good deal of ceremonial purity like the Cheros of
Palamau and the Kharrias. [256] Kalwârs and all the wandering Banyas
who go about the country for grain will eat pakka khâna and drink water
from their hands. Their usual occupations are cultivating, ploughing
for others, cutting wood, collecting lac and other jungle produce. They
will not breed silkworms, which is considered a most disreputable
occupation and left to Bhuiyârs and Chamârs. They have an elementary
communal organisation (eka) in which the residents of three or four
villages join for general business. But this seems to be on the
decline. There is no trace of a periodical distribution of fields, but
only the lands near the village site are habitually cultivated. The
others are under a system of biennial fallow. In all but the cleared
and cultivated lands the right of pasturage is unrestricted. Cheros
have a reputation for honesty and good conduct, and they are liked in
villages better than Bhuiyas or Bhuiyârs: but they are lazy
cultivators.

[Houses.] 18. Like all these jungle races they keep their houses
separate from each other, partly through fear of witchcraft practised
by neighbours, to avoid infection, the work of evil spirits, and with
this object sick people constantly change their houses, partly through
fear of fire, as their houses are very inflammable. This is also the
rule with the Bhîls. [257]

Chhîpi. [258]—(Hindi, chhâpna, “to print,” Sans: kship, “to pour”).—The
caste of calico printers and chintz stampers, of whom there are both a
Hindu and a Muhammadan branch. The Hindu branch have a tradition that
they were once Râthaur Râjputs. In the same way the Bhavsârs or
calenders of Bombay have a tradition that when Parasurâma was
exterminating the Kshatriya race they were Râjputs living at Mathura,
and, fearing the same fate as their brethren, became followers of one
Râmdevji, a mendicant, and came to Mârwâr. This Râmdevji being a
calender his followers at first were called Chhîppas. Their present
name they derive from the fact of their having placed faith (bhâv) in
this mendicant. [259]

The Eastern Chhîpis refer their origin to a place which they call Dheri
Avarerachh, somewhere in Bundelkhand. Dheri is a village in the Samthar
State which lies between Jâlaun and Jhânsi, and Avarerachh is a
corruption of Irichh or Erichh, a town in Pargana Moth, of the Jhânsi
District, which is even to the present day noted for its manufacture of
chintz. [260]

[Internal structure.] 2. The internal structure of the caste is very
intricate. In Mirzapur they name seven endogamous sub-castes—Palhariya
(from palihanda, the stand on which the dye-pots are placed); Bulbulha
(from bulbul, the nightingale); Dunsua (said to mean “a large needle”);
Sâdh or “saints,” who pretend to special purity and will not eat meat
or kill animals; Sûrajbans, “children of the Sun”; Kanaujiya or
Kanaujiha, who say they come from Kanauj; and Pariya, or “those who
keep young buffalo calves.” These are the explanations current among
the members of the caste, and must, of course, be accepted with
caution. In Fatehgarh there are two endogamous sub-castes—Reli or
Dilwâri, that is Dehliwâl or “residents of Delhi;” Gola, “mixed,” or
Mârwâri or Sanganeri, who take their name from a place called Sanganer,
which is said to be somewhere near Jaypur. These, again, are divided
into a number of sections. Thus of the Reli are named the Milku;
Chhuriyapel; Ajudhiya; Nauchhirak; Sunawâr; Pânisap; Kupendiya;
Kachhot; Banawâr; Gadhaiya, and many others. The Golas are said to have
seven hundred and fifty sections, such as the Dharâvnê; Dûsayê;
Mertwâr, and Gothalwâr. In Fatehgarh the rule of exogamy appears to be
that a man cannot marry in his own section nor in a section in which a
near female relation is already married. In Bulandshahr they are
reported to have three endogamous sub-castes—Jeni or Jaini, Reliya, and
Tânk, and they do not marry in their own family or in that of the
maternal uncle. The Eastern Chhîpis state that they follow the standard
formula chachera, mamera, phuphera, mausera, which bars the line of the
paternal uncle, maternal uncle, maternal aunt, and paternal aunt.

3. According to the Census lists which record two hundred and two
sub-divisions of the Hindu and twenty-one of the Muhammadan branch,
their sections follow the rule so common in these occupational castes.
Some are of local origin and others imply some real or supposed
connection with other tribes. Thus among local terms we find
Ajudhyabâsi, Chhatarpuriya, Deswâri, Kanaujiya, Mârwâri, Mathuriya,
Pachhâin, Panjâbi, Purabiya, Sribâstav; while in the second class come
Agarwâl, Agrahari, Bais, Baiswâr, Bâgri, Chamâr, Chauhân, Chhatri,
Chiryamâr, Chûrihâr, Darji, Dhakarya, Jâdu, Kachhiya, Koliya, Kori,
Râjput, Râthaur, Râwat, Ruhela, Sakarwâr, Sûrajbansi, Tânk, Tomar, and
Ummar, most of which are derived from the names of tribes and
sub-castes or septs of Banyas and Râjputs.

[Marriage customs.] 4. They marry their children in infancy. To the
east polygamy is allowed to the extent of having two wives at one time
if the first be barren. To the west, though polygamy is tolerated, it
is said to be rare. There is nothing peculiar about their marriages,
which are conducted in the orthodox way. Intertribal adultery seems to
be little regarded, but an intrigue with a stranger involves expulsion
from caste. There is among the Hindu branch at least no regular form of
divorce, but a man with the leave of the tribal council can expel his
wife for infidelity. Divorced women can marry again with permission of
the tribal council. The levirate is recognized, but is not compulsory
on the widow.

[Religion.] 5. To the east of the Province they very seldom belong to
any recognised Hindu sect. Devi and the Pânchonpîr are their tribal
deities. Devi is worshipped on the 14th of Phâlgun with an offering of
cocoanuts, sweets (batâsha, halwa), cakes (pûri) and garlands of
flowers. The Pânchonpîr are honoured with sweet cakes (malîda) and
loin-cloths, which the worshippers put on after offering them to the
godlings. To the West the Relis are Nânakpanthis and the Golas
Vaishnavas. The Relis worship Nânak especially on the Ganga Sâtwîn and
at the Basant Panchami, when the halwa sweetmeat is offered to him and
then distributed among the worshippers. Women especially worship Shaikh
Saddu. In Bulandshahr they worship Mâta or the small-pox goddess, Mîrân
Sâhib, and Châmar Devi. Their tribal saint is Nâmdeva, of whom they
know nothing save that he was the first printer. One person of this
name is one of the authors of the Sikh Granth and another or perhaps
the same is regarded by the Marâthas as their oldest poet, and is said
to have been a contemporary of Kabîr, and to have lived in the twelfth
or thirteenth century. Of the Nâmdeopanthis who recorded themselves to
the number of 10,358 at the last Census, the unity of the deity and the
uselessness of ceremonial appear to be the leading characteristics of
the creed. Like Râêdâsi Chamârs and Senapanthi Nâis, the Nâmdeopanthi
cotton printers have been separated from their caste-fellows by the
superior purity of their belief, and now form a separate sub-caste,
shown in the caste returns as Nâmdeobansi. [261] They employ Brâhmans
as their priests; to the east these are usually Sarwariyas; to the west
Saraswat, Kanaujiya and Gaur Brâhmans serve them. They burn their dead
in the orthodox way, and throw the ashes, if possible, into the Ganges
or one of its tributaries. On the day of the Diwâli they worship the
dies with which they stamp the cloth as fetishes. The more careful
perform the annual srâddha during the pitrapaksha or fortnight sacred
to the sainted dead in the month of Kuâr.

[Occupation and social status.] 6. The great centres of the calico
printing trade in these provinces are Lucknow, Fatehgarh, Bulandshahr,
and Mirzapur, where it is largely in the hands of a colony of Sâdhs
from Fatehgarh. In Lucknow, according to Mr. Hoey, [262] there are
three different classes of cotton printers who pass under the same name
and use similar dyes. The first class is the stamper of real or
imitation gold or silver leaf on coloured cotton fabrics for use as
palanquin covers, curtains (parda), bed covers (lihâf), quilts, etc.
The process is simple but ingenious. The Chhîpi makes a mixture of gum,
chalk, and glue. He stamps the pattern on the fabrics with this mixture
by means of a wooden die. He then lays strips of silver leaf over the
pattern traced in this way, and taps it gently with a pad. The leaf
adheres to the gummy lines of the pattern stamped, and comes away from
the unstamped surface. The process of stamping an imitation of silver
differs. The Chhîpi in this case mixes pewter (ranga), gum, glue, and
chalk and stamps the pattern right off. After it dries he rubs it over
with a piece of wood (mura), and this gives a gloss to the inferior
metal. The second class mark patterns on muslin for embroiderers
(chikandoz), and the third prints cotton fabrics in fast colours for
use as quilts, sheets, bed covers, table cloths, etc. The Chhîpi, as a
rule, ranks fairly high in social estimation. To the east of the
Province he does not drink spirits or eat any meat. All Hindus,
including Brâhmans will, it is said, eat pakki cooked by him, and
tribes like the Kahâr will eat kachchi prepared by him. In Fatehgarh he
will eat pakki prepared by Agarwâla Banyas, and kachchi by Gaur
Brâhmans. Water they drink from the vessel of a Brâhman or Banya, but
they will smoke only from the pipe of a member of the tribe. Brâhmans
will eat pakki prepared by them; Nâis and Mâlis will eat kachchi cooked
by them, and drink from their vessels.


    DISTRIBUTION OF THE CHHÎPIS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

==============+=====+============+=====+=====+=======+============+======
Districts.    |Gole.|Nâmdeobansi.|Reli.|Tânk.|Others.|Muhammadans.|Total.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~
Dehra Dûn     | ... |      49    | ... | ... |    32 |    ...     |    81
Sahâranpur    | ... |     ...    | 337 |1,643| 1,474 |       8    | 3,462
Muzaffarnagar | ... |     ...    | 116 |1,366|   204 |     302    | 1,988
Meerut        | ... |     ...    | 698 |1,020| 2,176 |     105    | 3,999
Bulandshahr   | ... |     260    | 488 |   49|   558 |    ...     | 1,355
Aligarh       | ... |     ...    | ... | ... | 1,357 |    ...     | 1,357
Mathura       | 227 |      27    | ... |  124|   914 |    ...     | 1,342
Agra          | ... |      31    | ... | ... | 1,215 |    ...     | 1,246
Farrukhâbâd   | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |    75 |    ...     |    75
Mainpuri      | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |     7 |      39    |    46
Etâwah        | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |    54 |       5    |    59
Etah          | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |    70 |      31    |   101
Bareilly      | ... |     ...    | 322 | ... |   419 |    ...     |   741
Bijnor        | ... |     ...    | 237 |  958|   190 |   5,391    | 6,776
Budâun        | ... |       8    | ... |   29|   210 |       1    |   248
Morâdâbâd     | ... |     130    |1,219|  123|   674 |   1,444    | 3,590
Shâhjahânpur  | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |    31 |     221    |   225
Pilibhît      | ... |       4    |   21| ... |    33 |      23    |    81
Cawnpur       | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |    30 |     131    |   161
Fatehpur      | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |  ...  |     508    |   508
Bânda         | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |  ...  |     380    |   380
Hamîrpur      | ... |      50    | ... | ... | 1,341 |     192    | 1,583
Allahâbâd     | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |    29 |     530    |   559
Jhânsi        | ... |      17    | ... | ... |   695 |      30    |   742
Jâlaun        | ... |      77    | ... | ... |   409 |    ...     |   486
Lalitpur      | ... |      89    | ... | ... |   209 |    ...     |   298
Benares       | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |    19 |    ...     |    19
Jaunpur       | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |  ...  |      42    |    42
Basti         | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |   156 |    ...     |   156
Tarâi         | ... |     ...    |  171| ... |    26 |   2,425    | 2,622
Lucknow       | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |     5 |       6    |    11
Unâo          | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |    17 |    ...     |    17
Râê Bareli    | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |   137 |    ...     |   137
Sîtapur       | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |    73 |    ...     |    73
Kheri         | ... |      17    | ... | ... |   294 |       2    |   313
Faizâbâd      | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |     9 |       1    |    10
Gonda         | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |   149 |    ...     |   149
Bahrâich      | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |     1 |       3    |     4
Partâbgarh    | ... |     ...    | ... | ... |  ...  |      51    |    51
              +~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~
        Total | 227 |     759    |3,609|5,312|13,292 |  11,871    |35,120
==============+=====+============+=====+=====+=======+============+======


Chishti; Chishtiya.—The best available account of this class of
Muhammadan faqîrs is that of Mr. Maclagan [263]:—“The Chishtis trace
their origin to one Abu Ishâq, ninth in succession from Ali, the
son-in-law of Muhammad, who migrating from Asia Minor, settled down at
a village called Chisht in Khurasân and became thus the religious
preceptor of a large body of Musalmâns. One of his successors, Khwâja
Muîn-ud-dîn Chishti, a native of Sanjar, in Persia, having migrated to
India in the time of Ghiâs-ud-dîn Balban, settled in Ajmer, and was the
means of establishing the order in India. His Khalîfa or immediate
successor was Khwâja Qutb-ud-dîn Bakhtiâr Kâki, who is buried near the
Qutb Minâr at Delhi, and Qutb-ud-dîn’s successor was the celebrated
Bâba Farîd Shakkarganj, whose shrine is at Pâkpatan in the Montgomery
District. The surname of this saint is said to be derived from the fact
that owing to the purity of his body all he ate became sugar; if we may
trust another story, he nourished himself by holding to his stomach
wooden cakes and fruits when he felt hungry. This miraculous but
inexpensive provender is still preserved. An immense fair is held at
this shrine every year, and the object of every pilgrim who attends is
to get through the narrow gate of the shrine on the afternoon or night
of the fifth Muharram. The saint is adored by Hindus as well as
Musalmâns, and to be a disciple of Bâba Farîd does not necessarily
imply being a Chishti, and, again, the descendants of the saint and his
relations, carnal and spiritual, have formed themselves into a separate
caste of men who are found on the Satlaj in the Montgomery District,
and who, though bearing the name of Chishti, are now in all respects an
ordinary lay caste, quite apart from the religious order of the same
name.

2. “Bâba Farîd had two disciples, one of these was Ali Ahmad, surnamed
Sâbir, whose shrine is at Pîran Kaliyar near Rurki, [264] and whose
followers are known as Sâbir Chishtis, the other was the celebrated and
mysterious Nizâm-ud-dîn Auliya (1232–1324 A.D.), around whose tomb are
collected some of the choicest monuments of ancient Delhi, and whose
disciples are known as Nizâmis.

3. “The Chishtis in repeating the profession of faith lay a particular
stress on the words Illa ‘llâhu, repeating these with great violence,
and shaking, at the same time their heads and the upper parts of their
bodies. The sect is said to be specially affected by Shiahs, and it is
distinguished by its adoption of vocal music in its religious services.
The members of the order are worked up by these religious songs to a
high pitch of excitement, and often sink down exhausted. They
frequently wear coloured clothes, especially clothes dyed with ochre or
with the bark of the acacia tree. Their principal shrines in the Panjâb
are the tomb of Nizâm-ud-dîn Auliya at Delhi, the Khângâh of Mîrân Bhîk
in Ambâla, the shrine of Bâba Farîd at Pâkpatan, and the Khângâh of
Hazrat Sulaimân at Taunsa in the Dera Ghâzi Khân District.”

4. The Dargâh of Khwâja Muîn-ud-dîn Chishti at Ajmer is an object of
veneration and pilgrimage to all religions and sects. The Emperor Akbar
made a pilgrimage on foot to this tomb, and the Banyas of the Dargâh
Bâzâr daily lay their keys on the steps of the shrine before opening
their shops. Khwâja Muîn-ud-dîn Chishti is said to have died in the
year 1235 A.D. at the age of ninety-seven, and to have come to Ajmer at
the age of fifty-two. At Madîna a voice is said to have come to him
from the tomb of the prophet directing him to go to Ajmer and convert
the infidels. “He obeyed the call, and on his arrival at Ajmer rested
on a spot, now known as the Kangara Masjid in the Dargâh, where at the
time the King’s camels were tethered. From this he was ejected and went
and took up his abode on the hill, which overlooks the Anasâgar, the
margin of which lake he found covered with idol temples. The idolators,
enraged at the slaughter of kids by the Musalmâns, conspired to
massacre them; but coming in sight of the Khwâja, they remained rooted
to the spot, and though they tried to ejaculate Râm! Râm! could only
articulate Rahîm! Rahîm! In vain did the idolators, led by the great
sorcerer Ajaypâl, and the Deota Shâdi Deo, renew their attacks. They
were defeated on every occasion, and finally begged forgiveness of the
Khwâja, and invited him to come and take up his abode in the town.
[265]” One peculiar observance at the Dargâh is the looting of boiled
rice from great cauldrons which are filled by pious worshippers.

5. Another famous place of Chishti pilgrimage is the tomb of the saint
Salîm Chishti, by whose intercession a son was born at Fatehpur Sikri
to the Emperor Akbar, and named Salîm after the saint. He was
subsequently Emperor in the name of Jahângîr.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE CHISHTIS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=========
      District.   | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |   108
    Sahâranpur    |   486
    Muzaffarnagar |    16
    Meerut        |     6
    Bulandshahr   |   260
    Aligarh       |    88
    Mathura       |    20
    Agra          |    52
    Farrukhâbâd   |     3
    Mainpuri      |    32
    Etâwah        |    17
    Etah          |    44
    Bareilly      |   175
    Bijnor        |   115
    Budâun        |    98
    Morâdâbâd     |    53
    Shâhjahânpur  |    20
    Pilibhît      |    76
    Cawnpur       |     2
    Fatehpur      |    44
    Bânda         |    45
    Hamîrpur      |   312
    Allahâbâd     |   153
    Lalitpur      |    14
    Jaunpur       |   183
    Ghâzipur      |   152
    Ballia        |    19
    Basti         |   337
    Azamgarh      |   955
    Lucknow       |    45
    Unâo          |     2
    Râê Bareli    |   117
    Sîtapur       |    68
    Kheri         |    18
    Faizâbâd      |    38
    Gonda         |   377
    Bahrâich      |    36
    Sultânpur     |   328
    Bârabanki     |   227
                  +~~~~~~~~
         Total    | 5,141
    ==============+========


Chûrihâr.—(Sanskrit chûda-kâra).—A maker of glass bangles. Another name
for the caste is Manihâr (Sanskrit mani, a “jewel,” kâra) or Kachera
(kâch, Sanskrit kâcha, “glass”). The Lakhera makes bangles from lac
(lâkh, Sanskrit laksha). The bangles are ornamented with foil (panni),
beads (pot), counterfeit stones (nagîna). [266]

2. The caste is, judging from its sectional divisions, of mixed origin.
Out of one hundred and eleven names recorded in the Census Returns, the
number of local sections is remarkable, such as Baksariya, Bhojpuriya,
Dakkhinâha, Gopâlpuriya, Kanaujiya, Kânhpuriya, Makanpuriya,
Naikanpuriya, Purabiya, Sarwariya, Sankarpuriya, Shaikhpuriya,
Sikandarpuriya, Srivâstab, Sispuriya, Sîtalpuriya, Sukalpuriya,
Sûrajpuriya, Tâjpuriya. Besides these are some named from or connected
with other castes, as Bais, Chauhân, Julâha, Kachhwâha, Kâkan, Nûrbâf,
Sengara, and Tarkihâr. Others are occupational, as Sâbungar
(soap-makers), Mirdaha (heralds), Jonkwâr (leech men). The Jhusiya take
their name from the old town of Jhusi on the Ganges in the Allahâbâd
District. [267] Another is Todarmali, which takes its name from Akbar’s
revenue minister. Besides these are the Bannait, Chelaha, and
Solasinghi, of which the origin is doubtful. All these sub-divisions
are endogamous and practise the ordinary Muhammadan rules of prohibited
degrees. In Mirzapur they represent their head-quarters to be
Allahâbâd, and say that they emigrated from there some five or six
generations ago. They do not admit male outsiders into the caste, but
admit females, who are converted to Islâm and married to members of the
caste after passages from the Qurân have been read over them and the
clansmen feasted.

[Marriage rules.] 3. They practise infant marriage, marrying children
between the ages of five and ten. They have the usual three forms of
marriage—charhauwa, where the bridegroom goes in procession to the
bride’s house and marries her there; dola, practised by poor people,
where the bride is brought home quietly and the clansmen entertained;
and sagâi for widows. Marriage is performed in the usual Muhammadan
form, and the binding portion of the ceremony is the reading of the
Sharah by the Qâzi or some literate person representing him. A widow
may marry the younger brother of her deceased husband, but the levirate
is not enforced. If a woman commit adultery or is habitually
disobedient to the orders of her husband, he can divorce her by leave
of the tribal council (panchâyat). A woman cannot divorce her husband,
but can complain to the council if he is faithless to her or ill-treats
her. When a husband divorces his wife he gives her three and-a-half
rupees. They have a special tribal rule of succession, partly following
Hindu and partly Muhammadan rules, but adhering closely to the former.

[Religion.] 4. They are Muhammadans of the Sunni sect, but have various
tribal deities of diverse origin. Kâlika is one of the forms of Hindu
mother worship. [268] Sahja Mâi is the feminine element in the
quintette of the Pânchonpîr. Her worship is common in Bihâr. [269]
Hardiha or Hardaur Lâla, one of the aggregate of the collective village
gods (Deohâr), and three Muhammadan saints known as Ghaus Pîr, Barê
Pîr, and Ghâzi Miyân are also venerated. These deities are worshipped
in the months of Kârttik and Jeth with offerings of fowls and rice
boiled in milk with sugar (khîr). They bury their dead in a graveyard
like ordinary Muhammadans. At the festivals of the ‘Id and Baqar ‘Id
they offer food to the spirits of the dead (purkha log). To those who
have died a violent or unusual death special offerings are made of rice
milk (khîr) at the ‘Id, and the halwa sweetmeat at the Baqar ‘Id. Some
females on certain days in the week offer a fire offering (hom) to the
traditional teacher (ustâd) of the trade, whose name they have
forgotten.

[Occupation and social status.] 5. Their primary occupation is making
glass bangles. [270] Many have taken to agriculture and dealing in
hides and horns. The women have a good reputation; they are not
secluded, but go about village fairs selling bangles. The use of liquor
has been prohibited by the council in quite recent years. They eat the
flesh of the cow, goat, sheep, camel, fowls, fish, and all kinds of
deer. They will not eat food touched by a Mehtar, Hela, Chamâr or Dom.
Women will not eat food touched by any Hindu. All Muhammadans eat and
smoke with them, and they say that Doms and Chamârs will eat food
touched by them.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE CHÛRIHÂRS BY THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ===========+========
     District. | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
     Mathura   |   21
     Agra      |  155
     Bânda     |  232
     Allahâbâd |    7
     Jhânsi    |   92
     Lalitpur  |  113
     Faizâbâd  |   54
     Bahrâich  |   29
               +~~~~~~~~
         Total |  703
     ==========+========









D.


Dabgar—(Sans: darvakâra, “a maker of any spoon-shaped vessel”).—The
caste who make the raw hide jars in which oil, clarified butter, etc.,
are carried.

They are also known as Kuppêsâz, from kuppa, the leather vessel which
they make (Sans: kûpa, kutupa). They have a Hindu and Muhammadan
section, but no regular sub-castes. They are divided into gotras, of
which the most common to the east of the Province is the Sribâstab, who
take their name from the old town of Srâvasti, in the Gonda District.

Others are Dehliwâl, Dari, Mochi, Sripat, and Bengar. The Census lists
give for the Hindu branch Bankar, Benbansi, Dhâlgar or “Shield-makers,”
Goliwâla, Jâti, Kanaujiya, and Sribâstab, and for the Muhammadan
Panjâbi.

It is possible that they are an occupational offshoot from the Chamârs.

[Occupation.] 2. The Dabgar makes usually two classes of vessel, the
kuppa, or large oil and butter jar, and the phuleli, a sort of little
phial for holding scented oil, which may be seen in the bâzârs hung up
over the shops of the Gandhi or perfumer. These vessels are made of the
clippings (katran) or the scrapings (gûdar, chhîlan) of raw hides.
These he cuts up, crushes and bruises in water till they become a soft,
pulpy mass. This he plasters over a mould of soft clay made in the
shape of the vessel which he proposes to produce. The leather pulp is
laid on in layers. He then shapes the neck on an earthen ring and dries
the vessel in the sun. The inner core is extracted and the mouth-ring
left to give stability to the vessel. Vessels of this kind are
doubtless a very primitive survival of the leather bottle which was
universally used by all nomad tribes. [271]

[Marriage and social customs.] 3. There is nothing peculiar in their
marriage customs, and their rule of exogamy is of the ordinary type. To
the east of the Province they are worshippers of the Pânchonpîr, to
whom they offer a mixture of pepper and sugar (mirchwân), which is
poured on the shrine, and the remainder drunk by the worshippers.
Sometimes they also offer in the same way cakes (pûri), sweets, and,
when serious trouble comes, a he-goat.


DISTRIBUTION OF DABGARS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ===============+========+=============+========
     Districts.    | Hindus.| Muhammadans.| Total.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
     Sahâranpur    |   ...  |   5         |     5
     Mathura       |   ...  |   1         |     1
     Etâwah        |   ...  |  65         |    65
     Shâhjahânpur  |    32  | ...         |    32
     Pilibhît      |    83  | ...         |    83
     Cawnpur       |    53  | ...         |    53
     Fatehpur      |     5  |  21         |    26
     Hamîrpur      |   ...  |   5         |     5
     Allahâbâd     |    41  |  10         |    51
     Jâlaun        |   ...  |  16         |    16
     Ghâzipur      |   132  | ...         |   132
     Ballia        |   230  | ...         |   230
     Gorakhpur     |   330  | ...         |   330
     Basti         |    88  | ...         |    88
     Azamgarh      |   223  | ...         |   223
     Kheri         |    76  | ...         |    76
     Gonda         |   ...  |   6         |     6
     Bahrâich      |    60  | ...         |    60
                   +~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
             Total | 1,353  | 129         | 1,482
    ===============+========+=============+========


Dâdupanthi.—A Vaishnava sect which derives its name from Dâdu, a
Dhuniya or cotton-carder by caste, who died in 1703 A.D. He was,
according to popular belief, a direct successor of Râmanand, and the
line of descent is given—Râmanand, Kabîr, Kamâl, Jamâl, Budhdhan, and
Dâdu. Dâdu was born at Ahmadâbâd, in Gujarât, and at the age of twelve
migrated to Sambhar, and then to a place called Naraina, about fifty
miles south-west of Jaypur. There, at the age of thirty-seven, a voice
from heaven enjoined him to renounce the world and pass his life in
doing good to mankind and in devotion. His biographer, Jân Gopâl, in a
biography containing 2,864 lines, describes how he spent his life in
the country between Ahmadâbâd, Delhi and Agra, teaching, discussing,
and making many disciples. He seems to have lived a good deal at Amber,
the old capital of Jaypur. He had frequent interviews with the Emperor
Akbar at Fatehpur Sikri, and some wonderful stories are told of his
miracles and adventures there. Finally in the neighbourhood of Naraina
he was absorbed into the godhead in 1603 A.D. He is said to have had
fifty-two disciples who spread his doctrines through Râjputâna and the
neighbouring Provinces.

The chief of these were Rajab, Gharîb Dâs, and Sundar Dâs, and others
also are named, such as Jaisa, Prayâg Dâs, Bakhnagi, Sankar Dâs, Bâba
Sânwari Dâs, and Mâdho Dâs. Of these Rajab, the first disciple of Dâdu,
was a Musalmân, and his Hindu followers are sometimes known by the name
Uttarâdhi, as distinguished from the Nâga, who are Hindus. The latter
take their name from the Sanskrit nagnaka, “a naked ascetic.”

2. The Dâdupanthis are usually divided into the Virakta, or “those void
of attachment to worldly objects,” who go bare-headed, wear only a
single garment, and carry a drinking vessel; the Nâga or “naked
ascetics,” and the Vastradhâri, or “those who wear clothes” and lead a
family life. They have, in fact, like most religious communities in
India, an exoteric and an esoteric order. The exoteric or uninitiated
are the householders and disciples of the Swâmi Sâdhu, or initiated
order. These householders (grihastha) read, believe, and practise
certain of the doctrines of the Bâni or book of songs, which embody the
rules of the sect, and furnish the Dâdupanthi Swâmi with food and
accommodation when he visits their villages. They are not put out of
caste for becoming disciples (chela), and so retain all their marriage
and social rights and privileges.

Those of high caste retain their Brâhmanical cord (janeû) and other
charms, and are frequently found in the temples at idol worship. They
regularly attend the fairs (mela) of the sect and provide for the
support of the mendicant members of the community.

3. The esoteric branch are known as Swâmi, “master;” Sâdhu, “saint;”
Sant, “holy man,” or Guru, “teacher.” They renounce the world and live
under rules of celibacy and chastity, which are very strictly enforced.
Some of them are teachers (guru), of whom many are good scholars and
have a large following of disciples to whom they teach the bâni. These
wander about the country and are entertained by the faithful. Others
are mere beggars without any learning. They usually beg from door to
door, wear ochre-coloured clothes, and the bead necklace which is
forbidden by the strict rules of the order. Others practise worldly
professions. Thus some of the richest money-lenders in Jaypur are
Dâdupanthis; others are doctors, who have no knowledge of scientific
surgery or physic, and merely know some Sanskrit verses and charms for
the treatment of disease; a few keep grocery shops; others sell milk.

4. The Nâga or Military Dâdupanthis live in seven camps or villages in
the neighbourhood of Jaypur. Their pay is one anna per able-bodied man
a day. They are occasionally sent out to coerce revenue defaulters.
They are never all out on duty at the same time, and while they are
employed they are paid at the rate of two annas per diem. Those left at
home cultivate land, breed camels or lend money. Their founder is said
to have been Bhîm Sinh, a younger brother of one of the Râjas of
Bikâner. They have done good service to the State in former times, and
were faithful in the Mutiny. They are simple, quiet men, but now hardly
deserve the name of soldier. They are recruited by adoption from all
the higher Hindu castes, and as a natural result of a generation of
peace their numbers have much reduced.

5. Dâdu appears to have taught the unity of God. “To this day,” says
Mr. Coldstream, [272] “the Dâdupanthis use the phrase Sat Râm, the True
God, as a current phrase expressive of their creed. He forbids the
worship of idols and did not build temples; now temples are built by
his followers, who say that in them they worship “The Book.” “The
worship,” according to Professor Wilson, “is addressed to Râma, but it
is restricted to the Japa or repetition of his name, and the Râma
intended is the deity negatively described in the Vedanta theology.” In
fact the doctrine of Dâdu is sometimes described as pantheistic. The
religious works of the sect contain many of the sayings of Kabîr. The
chief of these are the Dâdubâni, the Sakya-granth and the Janamlîla,
which contains an account of the Guru and his disciples. In the Panjâb
the celibates of to-day wear white cloths in contrast to most other
Sâdhs who wear ochre-coloured clothes. They abjure flesh and wine, and
they shave both beard and moustache. They wear necklaces and have white
round caps on their heads, to which is attached a piece of cloth which
hangs down the back.

6. At the Census of 1891 there were only five members of this sect
recorded in these Provinces, of whom four were found in the Sahâranpur
and one in the Muzaffarnagar District.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE NÂGAS AND DÂDUPANTHIS ACCORDING
TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ===============+============+======+=======
       Districts.  |Dâdupanthis.|Nâgas.|Total.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn      |     ...    |     3|     3
    Sahâranpur     |       4    |    14|    18
    Muzaffarnagar  |       1    |     4|     5
    Aligarh        |     ...    |    25|    25
    Agra           |     ...    |    43|    43
    Mainpuri       |     ...    |     2|     2
    Etah           |     ...    |     4|     4
    Shâhjahânpur   |     ...    |     7|     7
    Fatehpur       |     ...    |     2|     2
    Bânda          |     ...    |     1|     1
    Hamîrpur       |     ...    |     5|     5
    Allahâbâd      |     ...    |     3|     3
    Gorakhpur      |     ...    |     4|     4
    Basti          |     ...    |   280|   280
    Garhwâl        |     ...    |    13|    13
    Tarâi          |     ...    |     1|     1
                   +~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
                   |       5    |   411|   416
          Total    +~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   |          Males    335
                   |          Females   76
    ===============+===========================


Dafâli. [273]—A tribe of beggars and musicians who are found throughout
the Province except the Hills, and take their name from the daf or
tambourine which they play. According to their own account they are
allied to the Madâris; but there is this difference, that the Dafâlis
worship Sayyid Sâlâr Ghâzi, of Bahrâich, and the Madâris, Madâr Sâhib,
of Makhanpur. Both are called Darwesh, but the Dafâlis try to
distinguish the tribes by calling themselves Darwesh and the Madâris
Durwesh. They say that they are the descendants of Roshan Darwesh, to
whom they make an occasional offering of cakes and burn incense.

[Tribal organisation.] 2. In the Census Returns they are recorded under
sixty-seven sections: but these appear to have no influence on
marriages. Some of these are purely Muhammadan titles, as Ansâri,
Quraishi, Lodi, Madariya, Mirâsi, Mujâwir, Sadîqi, and Sunni: others
are Hindu names, as Jât, Jhojha, Râjput, Rânghar: others are local, as
Bahrâichi, Dakkhinâha, and Uttarâha. They have a council (panchâyat)
under a hereditary president (chaudhari), which generally meets at
marriages and funerals and settles cases of breach of tribal rules.
Offenders are usually fined in sums varying from five to ten annas. The
money thus collected is spent in feeding the clansmen.

[Marriage rules.] 3. They practise the ordinary Muhammadan law of
exogamy, but object to marry their daughters into families which
reverence different saints or godlings. A man cannot marry a second
wife in the lifetime of the first without her consent. Divorce is
permitted for infidelity, and also if one party become an idiot,
lunatic, or suffer serious mutilation. But in all cases the divorce
must be with the sanction of the tribal council. Widow-marriage and the
levirate with the usual restrictions are both allowed. Divorced persons
can remarry in the tribe, provided they were not divorced for any
serious violation of caste custom. The usual service (sharah) is read
at marriages by one of the tribe who is known for the nonce as Maulavi.

[Birth.] 4. There are no ceremonies during pregnancy, except the tying
round the woman’s neck of a charm to ward off the evil spirits which
attack the mother. When parturition is delayed she is given water to
drink in which a sword has been washed, and the person who draws the
water must do so with his right hand only. When the child is born a
Chamârin is called in to cut the cord. She remains in attendance only
one day, and her place is then taken by the wife of the barber. The
mother is isolated for twelve days; but she is allowed to cook and do
other household work. On the twelfth day is the barahi, when a dinner
consisting of urad pulse, rice and meat is given to the brotherhood.
When the dinner is over some sweetmeats are offered to Ghâzi Miyân, and
then distributed among those present. When the child is a year old they
take it and the mother, if possible, to the Ganges in the month of
Bhâdon during the asterism (nakshatra) of Magha. The mother makes a
little paper boat, and in it she puts a garland of flowers, a lamp,
sugar, and bread, to which some add betel, and lets it float down the
stream. This, a custom derived from their Hindu neighbours, is known as
Ganga pujaiya. When a boy is seven years old they perform the rite of
circumcision (Musalmâni). This is usually done at the ‘Id, Baqrîd, and
Muharram. The friends are invited; a square is marked out in the
courtyard, and the friends sit round. The boy is bathed by the barber
and dressed in new clothes. Then his father’s sister’s husband (phûpha)
takes him in his arms to the nearest mosque to pray. On their return
the boy is given a dose of ma’jûm, and when the narcotic begins to take
effect he is placed in the square by his uncle (phûpha) and seated
facing the west. Then the barber performs the operation invoking God
and the Prophet. The only application used for the wound is some rose
water. After the operation is over the boy’s father gives a turban,
lota, and a few annas to the barber, and each of the friends present
puts a pice or two into his cup. After this a dinner of meat and bread
is served. When the wound is cured the barber bathes the boy again, and
receives some grain and a money present. [274] When they adopt they
usually adopt their son-in-law, or in default of him preference is
given to a brother’s son. No adoption is valid unless publicly
communicated to the assembled clansmen. A feast is given and the
adoption formally declared.

[Marriage ceremonies.] 5. As an instance of a low caste Muhammadan
wedding that of a Dafâli may be described. The betrothal is arranged by
some friend of both parties. When both parties agree, on an auspicious
day selected by the village Pandit the bride’s father takes to the
house of the bridegroom a ring and handkerchief on her behalf. These
are accepted, and the boy’s father announces to the assembled friends
that the marriage will take place. On this the girl’s father pays two
and-a-half annas, and the boy’s father five annas, and with this sugar
is bought and served round, after being offered to God and the Prophet.
Next morning the girl’s father returns home. Some time after the boy’s
father pays a visit to the bride and makes her a present of bangles
(chûri), a suit of clothes (tul kapra), a boddice (choli), and some
sweets. After a meeting of the tribesmen the wedding day is fixed. Poor
people, however, send the girl beforehand to her husband, and any
ceremony they can afford to do is done at his house. On the day before
the wedding is the ratjaga, when the women sit up all night and spend
their time making sweet cakes (gulgula). These are offered next morning
to God and the Prophet, and to the spirits of the ancestors of the
family. They are then distributed among the guests. The bridegroom is
bathed and dressed in a yellow coat (jâma), trousers, and a turban. A
large chaplet (sehra) hangs down from head to knee. He rides to the
bride’s house followed by his friends playing on the dafla. They halt
under a tree near the village, and from there the boy’s father sends a
present of bangles, clothes, curds, oil, and henna. Then they come to
the girl’s house, where the service is read by some old man of the
tribe who can read or repeat the words. Some sugar is put close by
which is distributed among the guests, and the marriage feast,
consisting of sugar, rice, and curds, is served. This is known as
shakarâna, or “the sugar feast.” Next day the bride’s father gives
presents to her barber, bangle-maker, water-woman, and the village
watchman, and then starts for the place where the bridegroom’s party
are staying, with a basket containing vessels, grain and anything else
he can afford to give as the dowry of his daughter. He places these
before the father of the bridegroom, and asks his forgiveness for not
being able to give more. The bridegroom’s father says the same, and
they exchange compliments. After this the dowry basket is passed round,
and all the friends present contribute as far as their means will go.
This is termed “the giving of the dowry” (jahez dilâna). The husband
then takes his wife away, and when he returns home he entertains his
clansmen on curds, sugar, and rice, and next day gives them a regular
dinner of bread and meat.

Every one present contributes two annas as dowry. After this the Ganga
pujaiya is done, as already described at births, and the whole business
ends with an offering of rice, curds, and sugar to Ghâzi Miyân, which
is divided among the audience.

[Death ceremonies.] 6. The funeral is carried out in the usual way of
Muhammadans. When it is over the mourners assemble at the house of the
deceased and drink sharbat. On the fourth day they again assemble, and
some verses of the Qurân are read over a vessel containing some sweets
(batâsha), grain, and oil. This is known as kul parhan, and the
contents of the vessel are divided among the audience. The clansmen are
fed on urad pulse and rice, and the faqîr in charge of the grave is
given a present. On the tenth and twentieth day bread and meat are
offered to the spirit of the dead man, and on the fortieth day a final
dinner is given, and next morning they put the clothes, beads, and
water vessel (badhana) of the deceased on his bed and take them to his
grave, where they are left for any one who wishes to carry them away.
An offering of food is made to the family dead at the Shab-i-barât.

[Religion.] 7. Their tribal deities are chiefly Kâlika, Sahjâdi, and
Ghâzi Miyân, three of the quintette of the Pânch Pîr. To Kâlika are
offered in the month of Aghan bread and rice cooked in milk. Sahjâdi is
worshipped at the same time. Ghâzi Miyân’s day is the first Sunday in
the month of Jeth, when his wedding is celebrated. Animal sacrifices
are made, and the meat is consumed by the worshippers. They also
worship a number of local martyrs (shahîd), and they are in great fear
of various demons and ghosts.

[Occupation.] 8. The Dafâli is a beggar, and goes about with a wallet
(jhori) in which he collects what he can get. But he also acts as a
sort of hedge priest to the lower class Musalmâns, and officiates at
marriages, funerals, and the like, for people who cannot afford to pay
for the services of the regular Qâzi. They beg in beats, and each house
has its body of parishioners (jajmân). One of their chief duties is the
exorcising of evil spirits by beating the drum, and driving the effects
of the Evil Eye from children. When a man’s children do not live he
gets the Dafâli to tie a string (baddhi) round the neck of the baby.
They are particularly conspicuous at the fairs of Ghâzi Miyân, whose
shrines they tend, act as his priests, and receive the offerings.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE DAFÂLIS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======
    Districts.    |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |    98
    Sahâranpur    | 4,151
    Muzaffarnagar | 1,797
    Meerut        | 1,733
    Bulandshahr   |    11
    Aligarh       |   211
    Mathura       |    52
    Agra          |   118
    Farrukhâbâd   |   360
    Mainpuri      |   153
    Etâwah        |   209
    Etah          |   408
    Bareilly      | 1,813
    Bijnor        |   162
    Budâun        |   788
    Morâdâbâd     |   315
    Shâhjahânpur  |   666
    Pilibhît      |   472
    Cawnpur       |   149
    Fatehpur      |   289
    Bânda         |   250
    Hamîrpur      |   121
    Allahâbâd     | 1,998
    Jhânsi        |    21
    Jâlaun        |    83
    Lalitpur      |  ...
    Benares       | 2,012
    Mirzapur      | 1,739
    Jaunpur       | 2,442
    Ghâzipur      |   652
    Ballia        |   439
    Gorakhpur     | 2,205
    Basti         | 2,416
    Azamgarh      | 1,189
    Tarâi         |   216
    Lucknow       |   378
    Unâo          |   355
    Râê Bareli    |   882
    Sîtapur       |   677
    Hardoi        |   287
    Kheri         |    90
    Faizâbâd      | 1,934
    Gonda         | 2,214
    Bahrâich      | 1,770
    Sultânpur     | 1,836
    Partâbgarh    |  ...
    Bârabanki     | 1,335
                  +~~~~~~~
          Total   |42,075
    ==============+=======


Dalera. [275]—A tribe of basket-makers, day-labourers, and thieves
found in Bareilly and the Tarâi. The name is derived from the Hindi
daliya, “a basket.” A common half humourous derivation is from diler,
“venturesome.” According to the tribal tradition a Bargûjar Thâkur once
violated a Kahâr woman and was excommunicated. His descendants are the
present Daleras. They are supposed to be closely allied both to Khâgis
and Mallâhs. Their head-quarters in Bareilly are at the village of
Ginganwa, in Tahsîl Aonla. They are also found at Munjkhera, in the
Bulandshahr District. They have no distinct traditions regarding their
place of origin, except that they came from somewhere in the South
about a hundred years ago. The Bareilly story is that they were driven
from Meerut and Bulandshahr by a famine.

2. Their sections, of which the last Census Returns enumerate
forty-four, do not throw much light on their origin. Many are derived
from well-known tribes, as Bais, Barai, Bargûjar, Chauhân, Chiryamâr,
Gurkha, Jâdubansi, Kânhpuriya, Mallâh.

[Marriage rules.] 3. Some of these are perhaps of totemistic origin,
such as the Sirisiya of Bareilly, who will not cut or injure the siris
tree (acacia sirisa). Their marriages are carried out according to the
standard ritual in force among the higher Hindu castes.

[Methods of thieving.] 4. The Daleras will not thieve at night, and
carry on their operations principally at fairs, bathing places, and the
like. At such places a Dalera takes his seat near a pilgrim and
pretends to cook. While his neighbour’s attention is occupied, the
Dalera steals his vessels or other property. When he steals a brass
pot, he goes into the water and with an iron spike he carries, makes
holes in it, which prevent the possibility of identification. Sometimes
they make a mock disturbance in a bâzâr, and in the confusion snatch
articles from shops which they rapidly pass into the hands of a
confederate. Or they go dressed as Thâkurs or Brâhmans and make a boy
steal while they keep the shop-keeper engaged. If the lads are caught
they never give their correct age or address. The thief gets a double
share of the booty, and most of the gains are spent in drink. If a boy
is arrested his well-dressed companions intercede for him. In their
methods of crime they closely resemble those of the Barwârs and
Sanaurhiyas.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE DALERAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==========+=======
    Districts.|Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Bareilly  | 2,009
    Bijnor    |    23
    Morâdâbâd |    29
    Pilibhît  |     6
    Gorakhpur |     1
    Tarâi     |   165
              +~~~~~~~
        Total | 2,233
    ==========+=======


Dângi. [276]—An agricultural tribe found chiefly in Jhânsi. The caste
professes to derive its name from a certain Râja Dang, a Raghubansi
Râjput, from whom they trace descent; but the word probably means no
more than “hill-man” (Hindi, dang, “a hill”). They profess to be
immigrants from a place called Nirver, in the Gwâlior State, with
which, however, they appear to hold no connection by marriage or
pilgrimage, selection of bards, priests, or barbers; and those at
present resident in the Jhânsi District have come chiefly within
comparatively recent times from the Datiya and Tîkamgarh States. They
have nothing in the way of a genealogical tree or traditions connected
with ancient sites or monuments which would throw any clear light on
their origin; but there seems good reason to suspect that they may be
connected with the Gond and similar races of the Central Indian
plateau.

[Sub-divisions.] 2. They have no sub-tribes, but are divided into a
number of exogamous gotras, among which we find in Jhânsi the Patra,
Nirveriya, Disauriya, Chakauriya, Madhpuriya, Dhauriya, and Pariya. Of
these the Nirveriya is derived from Nirver, their original settlement,
and though local enquiries have failed to explain the meaning of the
other terms, they are probably of similar local origin. Of the
sixty-seven names given in the Census lists very few can be connected
with those of other tribes, except perhaps the Basoriya, Luniya,
Niyâriya, Pahriya, and Sarwariya. The others appear to be of purely
local origin, and this would lead to the inference that the tribe has
been little, if at all, exposed to foreign influence.

[Tribal council.] 3. There is no regular tribal council; but there are
certain persons who are regarded in each group of villages as headmen
(mukhiya), and they assemble a meeting of the adult householders
whenever a case occurs demanding enquiry. They deal principally with
questions of marriage, excommunication, and restoration to caste
privileges.

[Marriage rules.] 4. Marriage is forbidden between members of the same
gotra and between first cousins. There are no prohibitions of
intermarriage based on difference of social status, geographical or
local position, worship or occupation. But intermarriage of persons
belonging to different religions is not permitted. When the bride
arrives at her husband’s house, his kinsmen make her small presents,
which are known as muchâi or munhdikhâi, “the showing of her face.”
There is no restriction on the number of wives: a man marries as many
as he can afford to keep. All the wives are much on the same footing;
but the first wife is known as Jethi or senior, and is held in more
respect in the family than those junior to her. They all live together
unless they quarrel, which is very unusual: in fact the senior wife
often urges her husband to marry again, as she thus obtains an
assistant in house and field work. North of the River Betwa at least
concubinage is permitted. Polyandry is prohibited. Little girls are
allowed a considerable amount of freedom; but if an unmarried girl is
detected in immorality, she is excommunicated, and her whole family as
well, unless they discard her. The age for marriage is, for girls seven
or eight; for boys twelve or thirteen. After betrothal the engagement
is not voidable on account of disease or physical defect. The match is
arranged by the parents, but those a little higher in the social scale
employ a Brâhman and barber. The consent of the parents is absolutely
necessary, and the parties have no freedom of choice. No price is paid
for either bride or bridegroom, but when the betrothal (tîka) is being
performed, the friends of the bride are expected to give the boy a
present. Even idiocy, lunacy or impotence appearing after marriage are
not grounds for annulling it. Divorce is permitted on the ground of
adultery in the wife. It is generally done by word of mouth, and the
woman is turned out of the house. But usually, even if there be no
regular tribal enquiry, the husband does not divorce his wife without
taking the opinion of four or five of the leading clansmen in an
informal way. A divorced woman cannot be remarried in the regular way,
but another man may take her as his concubine, in which case he must
give a dinner (roti) to the clansmen. Children by concubines, provided
that they are women of the caste, have the same rights as offspring by
regular marriages; but children who are the result of illicit
connections which have not been condoned, or whose mothers were not
members of the caste, are not admitted to tribal privileges and cannot
marry in the caste.

[Widow marriage.] 5. Remarriage of widows is prohibited; but a man may
take a widow of the caste to live with him without any ceremony, except
the assent of the leading clansmen and the giving of a tribal feast.
The levirate is allowed with the usual limitation, that it is only the
younger brother who can claim the woman. But the widow is not compelled
to live with her brother-in-law, and may set up house with an outsider,
in which case the children of her first husband remain with his
relations, and she loses all rights of maintenance in the household of
her former husband. Her children by the first husband inherit his
estate. If the first husband was childless his brothers inherit. There
is no fiction that the children by the levir are supposed to belong to
his dead brother.

[Birth ceremonies.] 6. There are no special observances during
pregnancy. The Chamârin midwife attends and cuts the cord. During
accouchement the mother adopts a sitting posture, and is held by the
women of the family. After parturition is over the wife of the village
barber acts as nurse. On the Dashtaun or tenth day the clansmen and
friends are fed; the relations of the mother send her presents (pûch)
and soaked gram is distributed. There is no indication of the couvade.
For ten days the women and her relations are considered impure and are
not allowed to touch other people or engage in worship of the gods.
There are no special customs in connection with twins.

[Adoption. Puberty.] 7. There is no special ritual in force at
adoption. The clan people are invited; the men are fed on sweets and
the women on soaked gram. There are no observances at the attainment of
puberty.

[Marriage ceremonies.] 8. The person who goes to the boy’s house to
arrange the betrothal gives a cocoanut, some money, and a packet of
betel (pân). This is the binding part of the ceremony, and the
betrothal is then irreversible. Betrothal generally takes place when
the girl is five or six years of age, and the consent of both parents
is essential. There is no rule for the repayment of the expenses if the
marriage does not take place.

9. Seven days before the actual marriage ceremony the bride’s father
sends a letter (lagan ki chitthi) to the bridegroom’s father fixing the
date and hour of the marriage. A sum of money already agreed on
accompanies this letter. When the procession starts to fetch the bride,
they halt outside her village at a place prepared for them called the
Janwânsa. In the evening they march in procession to the bride’s house,
being met half-way by her friends. At the door the tîka ceremony is
performed, and another present in money equal to that sent with the
lagan is made to the bridegroom. The bridegroom is then taken inside,
where he throws a fan on the marriage shed (mandap) and returns to his
party. Next day, after the dinner, and generally at night, the actual
Bhanwar or perambulation of the bride and bridegroom round the sacred
fire and the “giving away” of the girl (kanyâdân) are performed. The
parents of the bride are not allowed to be present at the Bhanwar
ceremony. On the third day the third dinner (roti) is given, and the
ceremony of permitting the girl to go with her husband (bidâi) is done.
Here, again, the bride’s father makes a third present equal in value to
the previous two, which is known as bela or “cup.” It is optional with
the parties to perform the ceremony of changing the seats of the
married pair (lautpatta). In case this ceremony is performed at the
marriage it is not necessary to repeat it when the bride is leaving for
her husband’s house. If done, then it is known as Chauka, and the
presents made at it by the father of the bride must equal in value half
the presents made at the marriage. The binding part of the marriage
ceremony is the perambulations round the fire and the giving away of
the bride. The only apparent survival of marriage by capture is the
ceremony of tîka or darwâza performed the first day. In this his
maternal uncle takes the bridegroom in his arms inside the house of the
bride, and there he strikes the marriage hut with a fan. As he is going
away the women of the family beat the man who is carrying him with
their fists and shout, “He has struck the mandap and is going away.”

[Death ceremonies.] 9. The dead are cremated and the ashes finally
consigned to the Ganges. Immediately after death the corpse is covered
with a piece of calico, white for men and red for women, and a few pân
leaves are put over the head and breast. No offerings are made, nor is
the body washed at the house. When they reach the cremation ground
(ghât) a fire is lighted and the corpse laid with the head facing the
south. Offerings of sesamum (til) and barley are made, and sesamum,
barley and honey placed on the eyes of the corpse. The pyre is then lit
by the heir, and he finally breaks the skull (kapâl kriya) to release
the spirit. On the third day the relatives and clansmen are shaved. In
the case of males the obsequies go on for thirteen days, and on the
last day at least thirteen Brâhmans or more are feasted. The usual
Srâddha is performed at the Kanâgat or Pitrapaksha in the month of
Kuâr. It is incumbent on the headman of the family during each of the
sixteen days to pour a libation of water in honour of his deceased
ancestors before he touches food or drink. The death ceremonies are
carried out by the family priest, and in his absence by any Brâhman.
There is no trace of the sister’s son or other relatives on the female
side exercising religious functions.

[Purification.] 10. The rules of ceremonial purification are carefully
obeyed. Thus, if a person commit suicide on account of the misconduct
of another, the offender is rigorously boycotted and is considered to
bear the guilt (hatya) of the death. The same is the case with a man
who has killed a cow, buffalo, or cat. The impurity after child-birth
lasts for ten days. The death impurity lasts for ten days, except in
the case of infants, when it is reduced to three days. The period of
menstrual impurity extends to five days. The impurity due to death,
child-birth, and menstruation is removed by the performance of the
stated ceremonies, and by bathing after the expiration of the fixed
period. But in the case of impurity due, as above described, to suicide
or the killing of a cow, the matter is much more serious. The offender
in order to purify himself is obliged to bathe in the Ganges, to feed
the clansmen and Brâhmans, to perform the marriage ceremony of the
Tulasi plant and the Sâlagrâma, or to pay all the expenses of the
marriage of a pair of poor children in the caste. The interdict lasts
until this expiation is undergone.

[Religion.] 11. Dângis are Hindus and worship all the ordinary deities,
such as Râmchandra, Krishna, Mahâdeva, Durga, etc. They also worship
the village godlings. Thus Sîtala is worshipped in the months of Asârh,
Kuâr, and Chait, with an offering of boiled rice and cakes, pice and
cowries; the food is taken by a Brâhman, the cash by a Mâli. Hardaul,
the cholera godling, is worshipped in Asârh, and during epidemics of
the disease. His offerings are cakes, sweetmeats, and packets of betel.
All these things, except the cakes, are taken by a Brâhman. Sîtala has
usually a regular masonry shrine, while Hardaul has only a platform.
These deities are chiefly worshipped by women and children, adult males
seldom visit their shrines. At marriages they propitiate the sainted
dead, whom they call deva pitra, but they have no definite idea of
their nature or functions. An old snake represents Bhûmiya or the
godling of the hamlet, and is worshipped in the month of Asârh
(June–July). Their sacred trees are the pîpal (Ficus religiosa) and the
chhonkar (Prosopis spicigera). Evil spirits (bhût, pret) are
propitiated in cases of sickness supposed to be due to demoniacal
agency. It is said that Brâhmans have no objection to eating pakki roti
from the hands of Dângis. Their priests are Dûbê or Tiwâri Brâhmans,
and are received on the same footing as other Brâhmans. Sometimes they
have a Guru in addition to a Purohit; sometimes the same man fulfils
both functions. They have a special festival known as the maur chhût or
“loosing of the marriage crown,” when in the month of Bhâdon the
marriage crown of a pair who have been married during the year is
thrown into the water. The only festival at which drunkenness is
permitted is the Holi. The cows of the family are worshipped at the
Diwâli and horses at the Dasahra.

[Oaths and exorcism.] 12. Oaths are made in the name of the Ganges and
the Tulasi plant; in the name of the gods; by holding a lota full of
Ganges water; by holding a son or grandson in the arms; by going to a
shrine and opening the door at the time of swearing. Taking a false
oath involves loss of property, disease, and death. Exorcism of evil
spirits is in the hands of the Syâna, or “cunning man.” Sickness due to
the Evil Eye is relieved by waving some mustard and salt round the head
of the patient, and then throwing it into the fire.

Social rules.

13. Meat is forbidden; some will not eat onions. They will not touch a
Bhangi or Basor, or a person guilty of Hatya, as above described. Women
are not allowed to touch the Sâlagrâma, and children under ten are not
permitted to join in any religious celebration. They observe the usual
taboo against the wife calling her husband by his name. It is said that
at the Akhtîj festival, on the third of the light half of Baisâkh, the
wife, in order to bring luck on the house, is obliged to call her
husband once by his name. They abstain from wine, the flesh of monkeys,
beef, pork, flesh of cloven-footed and uncloven-footed animals, fowls,
fish, and all kinds of vermin. The head of the family does not eat the
baingan or egg-plant (Solanum melongena) from Asârh till the Deouthân
feast in Kârttik, and this vegetable is not eaten on the eleventh day
of the light and dark fortnights in each month. Women and men eat
apart, and before eating two morsels are offered to the gods with
folded hands, and a libation of water is poured on the ground. The use
of intoxicating drugs is not forbidden, but excess use of them is
considered disgraceful.

[Salutation.] 14. Their form of salutation is Râm! Râm! with the hand
raised to the forehead.

[Food.] 15. They will eat close to Ahîrs, but not out of the same dish.
They will take food cooked by a Brâhman and will drink water from the
hands of a Mâli, Kâchhi, Dhîmar, or Nâu. They will not smoke out of the
pipe of a Basor, Bhangi, or Chamâr.

[Occupation.] 16. The Dângis are ordinary cultivators and practise no
handicrafts.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE DÂNGIS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    =============+=======
     Districts.  |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Shâhjahânpur |     9
    Jhânsi       | 2,186
    Jâlaun       |    74
    Lalitpur     |    94
                 +~~~~~~~
         Total   | 2,363
    =============+=======


Darvesh.—A general Persian word for a faqîr. Mr. Platts derives it from
the Zend root drigh, “to be poor, to beg,” and compares the Sanskrit
darbh, root dribh and daridra. The term in these Provinces does not
seem to denote a special caste; but Mr. Ibbetson [277] notices in the
Panjâb that there seems to be a colony of people of this name, who
cultivate land, play musical instruments, beg, make ropes, go to a
house where there has been a death and chant the praises of the
deceased, hang about mosques, and so forth. They are hardly ascetics,
yet the small number of women seems to show that they have not yet
formed into a separate caste, and are still recruited from outside.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE DARVESH ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ============+=======
     Districts. |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Farrukhâbâd |   390
    Mainpuri    |     2
    Etâwah      |     3
    Pilibhît    |     3
    Allahâbâd   |    13
    Jaunpur     |    75
    Sîtapur     |   498
    Kheri       |    92
                +~~~~~~~
         Total  | 1,076
    ============+=======


Daryadâsi.—A Vaishnava sect in the Ghâzipur district, founded by one
Darya Dâs, a Vaishnava mendicant of the Koeri caste, whose followers
now number 2,310.

Darzi.—(Persian darz, “a seam”) The tailor caste: pedantically known as
Khaiyât (Arabic khaiyât, “to sew”).—The caste is purely occupational
and consists of a Hindu as well as a Muhammadan branch. Like all
similar so-called castes it shows a tendency to break up into
endogamous occupational branches, such as the Rafugar or darner of old
clothes, the Khaimadoz or tent-maker, and the Dastarband or maker of
the elaborate turbans, such as are worn by office clerks and native
servants. The patron saint of the Muhammadan branch is Ibrahîm or
Abraham, who, according to them, practised the craft. In the month of
Sâwan they make offerings to him of rice stew (pulâo) and cakes. These
Musalmân Darzis take the titles of Shaikh and Khalîfa.

2. The Hindu Darzis are made up, as is shown by their exogamous
sub-divisions, of various elements. Thus, among the five hundred and
twenty-six sections of the Hindu and one hundred and forty-six of the
Muhammadan branch, we find the names of many well-known tribes and
castes, such as Agariya, Agarwâla, Atishbâz, Bâchhal, Baddhik, Baid,
Bais, Baiswâr, Bâmhan, Baniyâna, Bargûjar, Benbans, Bhât, Chamâr,
Chandeli, Chauhân, Chhatri, Dhânuk, Gûjar, Gaur, Jâdon, Janwâr,
Kachhwâhiya, Kâyasth, Kharwâr, Koli, Marâtha, Mukeri, Ojha, Panwâr,
Râjput, Râthaur, Raghubansi, Sakarwâr, Solankhi, Sûrajbansi, Taga,
Tânk, Tomar, and Turkiya. With these are many local titles, such as
Bareli, Bathmi, or Srivâtsav, Bhadwariya, Bhâgalpuriya, Dilliwâl,
Hardwâriya, Jaiswâr, Jalâlpuriya, Kânhpuriya, Mathur or Mathuriya, and
Sarwariya. The Kâyasth caste has contributed many recruits to them who
call themselves Sribâstab or Sribâstak Kâyasths from Dundiya Khera, the
head-quarters of the Bais Râjputs. The name is derived from the town of
Srâvasti, now Sahet Mahet in the Gonda district. In Garhwâl the Hindu
Darzi is known as Bora, most of whom seem to be of the Dom tribe. In
the Western Districts their endogamous sub-divisions are Râthaur,
Mathuriya, Mahor, and Saksena (from Sankisa): of these the Râthaur, who
claim descent from the Râjput tribe of that name, are the highest, and
Mathuriya and Mahor, who are often contemptuously termed Chamar Sujiya
or Chamârs’ tailors, are the lowest. In Benares, according to Mr.
Sherring, their sub-divisions are Sribâstav, Nâmdeo, Tânchara, Dhanesh,
Panjâbi, Gaur, Kantak, and Saksena. Among sections locally important we
find the Zahûri of Sahâranpur: the Chauhân and Jogi of Muzaffarnagar:
the Sadîqi of Sîtapur: the Turkiya of Kheri, and the Pîrzâda of Gonda.
The Musalmân Darzis follow the ordinary rules of Muhammadan exogamy;
but it is said that there is now-a-days a tendency to replace these by
the usual standard Hindu formula. Widows remarry by the sagâi or kâj
form, and the levirate is optional.

[Religion.] 3. Though most of the Darzis in the east of the Province
profess to be Sunni Muhammadans, they still cling to many Hindu usages.
They worship Kâlika, Bhawâni, and the Pânchonpîr, among whom they
particularly reverence Ghâzi Miyân. [278] These are worshipped in the
month of Jeth, when the wedding of Ghâzi Miyân is commemorated. The
offerings to them consist of rich cakes (malîda), bread, fowls,
sweetmeats, melons, cucumbers, gram-flour, and cakes made of pulse and
pumpkin (konhrauri). They bury their dead in the usual Muhammadan form,
and lay offerings to the spirits of their deceased ancestors at the ‘Id
and Shab-i-barât. They are said to eat beef more freely than ordinary
Muhammadans of their class. Those who are Hindus follow the rites and
customs of the higher castes.

[Occupation and social life.] 4. The ordinary Darzi is a very low-paid
and hard-worked craftsman. According to Mr. Hoey [279] in Lucknow the
rate for making men’s jackets (angarkha) is from three to eight annas
according as the work is plain or more or less ornamented: for men’s
drawers (mardâna pâêjâma) one and-a-half to two annas: coats (kurta)
one and-a-half annas: jackets (salûka) one and-a-half annas. The only
articles of female apparel made by them are drawers (pâêjâma), which
are either of the ordinary tight pattern (churidâr), or wide with
gussets (kalidâr), such as are worn by dancing women and servants. Some
are master-tailors, and these, according to Mr. Hoey, make as much
profit by each workman as his daily wages, one and-a-half annas to
three annas per diem. Their women are said to be constantly divorced,
and there are few women who have not changed husbands more than once.

5. The occupation is an ancient one. In the vocabulary of Amara Sinha
there are two words for workers with a needle—tunnavâya, or “those who
darn” (the modern Rafugar), and the other the sauchika (represented by
the modern Sûji), a general tailor. The profession of the latter was of
sufficient importance to necessitate the establishment of a special
tribe and a mixed class. The lawful issue of Vaisyas by a Sûdra woman
were, according to the ancient law book of Usanas, destined to live by
it and were called Sauchi or “needle-men.” [280] The occupation is a
poor one and held rather in contempt. The village proverb runs,—Darji
ka pût jab tak jîta tab tak sîta—“the tailor’s brat will do nothing but
sew all his life long.” Another is,—Darzi ki sûi khabhi tâsh men, kabhi
tât men—“the tailor’s needle now in embroidery, now in canvass.”


                    DISTRIBUTION OF DARZIS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

==============+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+========+========+==========+==========
Districts.    |Chhîpi.
              |       |Kaithiya.
              |       |       |Mathuriya.
              |       |       |       |Nâmdeobansi.
              |       |       |       |       |Râthaur.
              |       |       |       |       |       |Saksena.
              |       |       |       |       |       |       |Sribâstab.
              |       |       |       |       |       |       |        |Others.
              |       |       |       |       |       |       |        |        |Muhammadans.
              |       |       |       |       |       |       |        |        |          | Total.
              +~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~
Dehra Dûn     |    123|  ...  |   ... |   ... |   ... |      8|    ... |      89|        27|      247
Sahâranpur    |    789|  ...  |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |    ... |   1,079|     1,170|    3,038
Muzaffarnagar |  1,032|  ...  |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |    ... |     727|     2,487|    4,246
Meerut        |   ... |  ...  |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |    ... |     364|     9,385|    9,749
Bulandshahr   |   ... |    35 |     10|   ... |     33|   ... |    ... |   2,265|     2,267|    4,610
Aligarh       |   ... |  ...  |   ... |   ... |    238|   ... |    ... |   4,811|       132|    5,181
Mathura       |      1|  ...  |     70|   ... |     16|   ... |    ... |   3,220|       125|    3,432
Agra          |    254|    12 |     66|    258|    842|   ... |    ... |   2,940|        80|    4,452
Farrukhâbâd   |   ... |   889 |     88|   ... |   ... |    563|      69|      48|     2,666|    4,323
Mainpuri      |     17|   464 |    674|   ... |    230|    127|     154|   1,625|        49|    3,340
Etâwah        |   ... |   927 |    602|     44|     12|    135|     550|     606|        98|    2,974
Etah          |   ... |   476 |    454|   ... |    735|    243|       2|   1,170|       515|    3,595
Bareilly      |   ... | 1,723 |   ... |   ... |   ... |     29|     214|   1,603|     3,896|    7,465
Bijnor        |   ... |     2 |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |    ... |     123|     5,877|    6,002
Morâdâbâd     |   ... |   247 |     19|      4|   ... |    571|      16|     687|     3,456|    5,000
Budâun        |   ... |   622 |    835|   ... |     60|    760|      86|     657|     1,465|    4,485
Shâhjahânpur  |   ... |   919 |    361|   ... |      9|    850|     225|     324|     3,450|    6,138
Pilibhît      |   ... |   710 |     20|   ... |   ... |  1,408|       8|     113|     1,383|    3,642
Cawnpur       |     12| 1,126 |     17|   ... |   ... |     44|   2,651|     747|     1,706|    6,303
Fatehpur      |   ... |  ...  |   ... |      9|   ... |    107|   2,799|     746|       443|    4,104
Bânda         |   ... |  ...  |   ... |    106|   ... |    898|   2,225|   1,249|        15|    4,493
Hamîrpur      |      4|    26 |   ... |     15|   ... |    337|     107|   1,646|         4|    2,139
Allahâbâd     |   ... |  ...  |   ... |    149|   ... |   ... |   2,868|   1,457|     3,928|    8,402
Jhânsi        |   ... |  ...  |     13|    147|      5|   ... |      27|   2,168|         7|    2,367
Jâlaun        |   ... |   350 |   ... |    299|   ... |      7|     542|     866|     ...  |    2,064
Lalitpur      |   ... |  ...  |   ... |    137|   ... |   ... |    ... |   1,417|     ...  |    1,554
Benares       |   ... |     8 |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |     344|     236|     1,942|    2,530
Mirzapur      |   ... |  ...  |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |     120|     421|     2,642|    3,183
Jaunpur       |   ... |  ...  |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |     246|     102|     4,506|    4,854
Ghâzipur      |   ... |  ...  |   ... |   ... |   ... |     16|     102|      10|     2,619|    2,747
Ballia        |   ... |  ...  |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |    ... |    ... |     2,503|    2,503
Gorakhpur     |   ... |  ...  |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |     173|     120|     8,273|    8,566
Basti         |   ... |  ...  |   ... |   ... |   ... |     34|     338|       3|     8,765|    9,140
Azamgarh      |   ... |  ...  |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |    ... |    ... |     5,416|    5,416
Tarâi         |   ... |   162 |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |    ... |     194|       810|    1,166
Lucknow       |   ... |  ...  |   ... |     13|   ... |   ... |     580|     201|     3,362|    4,156
Unâo          |   ... |    30 |   ... |   ... |   ... |      1|   2,359|     373|     1,799|    4,562
Râê Bareli    |   ... |    17 |   ... |      6|   ... |   ... |   1,625|     577|     3,417|    5,642
Sîtapur       |   ... |    93 |   ... |   ... |   ... |    132|     412|      64|     6,884|    7,585
Hardoi        |   ... |   132 |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |      16|     157|     5,579|    5,884
Kheri         |   ... |   157 |   ... |   ... |   ... |      6|     212|     204|     6,625|    7,204
Faizâbâd      |   ... |  ...  |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |     111|      47|     4,938|    5,096
Gonda         |   ... |  ...  |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |     824|    ... |     8,640|    9,464
Bahrâich      |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |     33 |     28 |    7,698 |    7,759
Sultânpur     |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |    303 |    229 |    5,425 |    5,957
Partâbgarh    |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |  1,181 |    304 |    2,660 |    4,145
Bârabanki     |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |   ... |    376 |    ... |    6,569 |    6,945
              +~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~
        Total | 2,232 | 9,127 | 3,229 | 1,187 | 2,180 | 6,276 | 21,898 | 36,017 | 1,45,703 | 2,27,849
==============+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+========+========+==========+==========


Dasnâmi.—An order of the Gusâîns. The word means “the ten names,” and
is derived from their practice of affixing a special name to define the
endogamous sections. The term Sannyâsi properly means a person who is
undergoing the stage (asrama) of meditation and abandonment of the
world prescribed by the early law-givers. But it more specially means a
follower of the reformer Sankara Achârya. He is said to have had four
pupils, from whom ten orders were derived. Padaman Achârya founded the
Tîratha and Asrama classes; Sarûpa Achârya the Vana and Aranya; Tarnaka
or Tank Achârya the Giri, Sâgara and Parvata; Prithodar or Prithivi
Achârya the Puri, Bhârati and Saraswati. The lists, however, disagree
in the enumeration of the ten classes. In these Provinces they are
usually given as Tîratha; Asrama; Vana; Aranya; Sarasvati; Puri;
Bhârati; Giri; Parvata, and Sâgara. Mr. Maclagan, writing of the
Panjâb, says:—“According to some the order is divided into four
divisions (called math, “the hut of an ascetic”), the Joshi Math,
containing the Giri, Puri, and Bhârati; the Sangri Math, containing the
Vana, Aranya, and Tîratha; the Narâgani Math, containing the Parvata
and Asrama; the Brahmachâri Math, containing the Saraswati and Dandi.
The fact that there are ten groups of Sannyâsis is well known, but
different versions are given of the names. Of eight lists which I have
before me from different parts of the Province, the Giri, Puri, Aranya,
and Bhârati appear in all; but one or other of the following names,
Astâwar; Jati; Bodla; Dandi; Datta; Achârya; Kar; Nirambh, or Pari, is
often substituted for one or other of the remaining class names.
According to some accounts only eight of the classes are really
Sannyâsis, the Bhârati being Jogis and the Dandis Vaishnavas. Three
classes only, the Nirambh, Asrama, and Saraswati, are allowed to wear
or use arms. Five of the sub-divisions are said to be recruited from
Brâhmans alone, viz., the Saraswati, Achârya, Aranya, Vana, and Anandi,
the others being open to the public. A man of any caste may become a
Sannyâsi, but in practice the order is made up of Brâhmans and Khatris
mainly, and according to some the true Sannyâsi will partake of food
only in the house of a Brâhman or a Khatri.” [281]


DISTRIBUTION OF DASNÂMI GUSÂÎNS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ===============+=========
     Districts.    | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~
     Dehra Dûn     |     158
     Sahâranpur    |       5
     Muzaffarnagar |   1,119
     Meerut        |   5,083
     Bulandshahr   |   2,271
     Aligarh       |     996
     Agra          |   1,124
     Farrukhâbâd   |     399
     Mainpuri      |   1,159
     Etâwah        |     277
     Etah          |   1,315
     Bareilly      |   4,023
     Bijnor        |     667
     Budâun        |   2,755
     Morâdâbâd     |   2,018
     Shâhjahânpur  |   1,483
     Pilibhît      |   1,522
     Cawnpur       |   1,335
     Fatehpur      |     709
     Bânda         |     296
     Hamîrpur      |     438
     Allahâbâd     |   1,061
     Jhânsi        |     279
     Jâlaun        |     377
     Lalitpur      |      25
     Benares       |   1,899
     Mirzapur      |   4,258
     Jaunpur       |   3,638
     Ghâzipur      |   2,891
     Ballia        |   3,804
     Gorakhpur     |   7,010
     Basti         |   2,693
     Kumâun        |   2,944
     Tarâi         |     724
     Lucknow       |     738
     Unâo          |   2,289
     Râê Bareli    |   2,521
     Sîtapur       |   4,414
     Hardoi        |   1,128
     Kheri         |   3,631
     Faizâbâd      |   5,371
     Gonda         |  11,478
     Bahrâich      |   3,634
     Sultânpur     |   2,048
     Partâbgarh    |   1,307
     Bârabanki     |   4,006
                   +~~~~~~~~~
             Total | 103,320
                   +~~~~~~~~~
           Males   |  55,347
           Females |  47,973
    ===============+=========


Dhâkara; Dhâkra.—A sept of Râjputs who have been identified with the
Takoraioi of Ptolemy. [282] To the west of the Province they claim
Sûrajbansi origin; but this is not generally admitted. Some are said to
be emigrants from the banks of the Narbada; but the main body of the
sept in these Provinces say that they came from Ajmer in the beginning
of the sixteenth century and occupied the country now traversed by the
East Indian Railway from Etâwah to Barhan. In Hardoi [283] some say
that they came from Dharwâr; others from Mainpuri, of which place their
ancestor was Râja, and expelled the Thatheras. They were notorious in
the eighteenth century for their lawlessness, and we learn from the
letters of Ezâd Bakhsh [284] that in the neighbourhood of Agra they
gave the Imperial officers much trouble and rendered the communications
between that city and Etâwah insecure. “Their chief stronghold was then
Balampur, in the Chandwâr pargana, whence they issued in bands and
harassed the country far and wide up to the very walls of Agra. Their
lawless conduct brought about its own punishment, for before the close
of the century we find that they had greatly diminished in numbers, and
that their possessions had dwindled down to a few scattered villages.”
They seem to have gained their power by a close alliance with the
Bhadauriyas. In the Mutiny they broke out again and endeavoured to
seize their old fort at Barhan from the Râja of Awa; but they were
defeated by a combined force of Jâdons and Mewâtis. Since then they
have sunk into insignificance; but they are a turbulent, ill-conducted
sept, always ready for petty acts of violence and cattle-stealing.

2. In Unâo the Dhâkara give girls to the Gaur, Panwâr, Chandel,
Gaharwâr, Bâchhal, Janwâr, Nikumbh, Ahban, and Kachhwâha: they take
girls of the Gaur, Chandel, Ahban, Janwâr, Chauhân and Bais, and claim
to belong to the Bhâradvâja gotra. In Aligarh they receive brides from
the Gahlot, Pundîr, Chauhân and Bargûjar septs; and give girls to the
Chauhân, Gahlot, Sakarwâr, Panwâr, and Râthaur.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE DHÂKARA RÂJPUTS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    =============+========
     Districts.  | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
     Meerut      |      3
     Bulandshahr |    256
     Aligarh     |    251
     Mathura     |    233
     Agra        |  6,178
     Farrukhâbâd |    170
     Mainpuri    |  1,432
     Etâwah      |    957
     Etah        |    494
     Bareilly    |      3
     Budâun      |    289
     Morâdâbâd   |     37
     Shâhjahânpur|     22
     Pilibhît    |      2
     Cawnpur     |     25
     Allahâbâd   |      3
     Jâlaun      |    150
     Lalitpur    |      2
     Basti       |     11
     Sîtapur     |     29
     Hardoi      |  1,101
     Kheri       |     47
                 +~~~~~~~~
           Total | 11,695
    =============+========


Dhâlgar—(Sans: dhâlakâra).—A small occupational caste who make leather
shields, a profession now almost extinct. They are allied to the Dabgar
(q.v.). The Census Returns show their sections as Bankar, Benbansi,
Daras, Dhaba, Koliwâla, Sribâstav, and Phâdu.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE DHÂLGARS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ============+=========
     Districts. | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~
     Faizâbâd   | 40
     Gonda      |  5
                +~~~~~~~~~
          Total | 45
    ============+=========


Dhângar.—A Dravidian tribe found in some of the eastern districts of
the Province. [285] They are only shown in Gorakhpur, but there are
certainly a few in the south of Mirzapur, who are, however, possibly
not regular residents. According to Colonel Dalton “the Khurnkh or
Orâons of Chutia Nâgpur are the people best known in many parts of
India as Dhângar, a word that from its apparent derivation (dâng or
dhâng, “a hill”) may mean any hill-man, but amongst several tribes of
the southern tributary Mahâls the terms Dhângar and Dhângarin mean the
youth of the two sexes both in highland and lowland villages, and it
cannot be considered the national designation of any peculiar tribe.”
[286] According to Mr. Risley, Mr. Oldham says in a note on some
historical and ethnical aspects of the Bardwân district that the Mâlê
Pahariyas call their men of fighting age Dhângar or Dhângariya. The
Mâlê are cognates of the Orâons, the typical Dhângar labourers of Chota
Nâgpur, so that on this showing the word may well be nothing more than
the Orâon for an adult. According to another interpretation the name
has reference to the fact that persons working as Dhângars receive the
bulk of their wages in unhusked rice (dhân). [287] In Bilâspur, in the
Central Provinces, they are regarded as a sub-division of the Kanwar,
who are the largest sections of the aboriginal population next to the
Gonds, and have there taken to wearing the Brâhmanical thread. [288] In
Sambalpur they are said to be emigrants from Chota Nâgpur, [289] and in
Sâranggarh they act as weavers and village watchmen. [290] M. St.
Martin very doubtfully connects them with the Tânk Râjputs, the Tangana
of the Mahâbhârata, and the Tanganoi or Ganganoi of Ptolemy. [291] The
people known as Dhângar, in the Dakkhin, [292] whose name is derived by
Dr. J. Wilson from the Sanskrit dhenukâra, “dealer in cows,” are
described as a quiet and innocent race of people who wander about with
their flocks and herds. Their religion, manners, and language are to a
great extent like those of the Kunbi, but the temples at which they
worship are mere piles of large unhewn stones. The founder of the
Holkar family of Mâlwa sprang from this race. [293]

[Tribal organisation.] 2. The Mirzapur Dhângars say that the Munda
Kols, the Khariyas [294] of Chota Nâgpur, the Guriyas, Dhângars and
Urâin or Orâon are all endogamous divisions of the same race. They name
eight exogamous septs, most or all of which are certainly of totemistic
origin. Thus Ilha is said to mean a kind of fish which this sept does
not eat: Kajur is the name of a jungle herb which members of this
sub-division do not use: Tirik, which is possibly the same as the Tirki
or bull sept of the Orâons. In Chota Nâgpur members of this sept cannot
touch any cattle after their eyes open. [295] On the other hand,
Colonel Dalton describes the Tirki sub-division as prohibited from
eating young mice (tirki). [296]

The Lakara sub-division, which is apparently identical with that called
Lakrar among the Orâons, who must not eat tiger’s flesh, [297] derive
their name in Mirzapur from the hyæna (lakar bagha), which they will
not hunt or kill. The Bara sept, who are evidently the same as the
Barar of the Orâons, who will not eat from the leaves of the Bar tree
(Ficus Indica), in Mirzapur will not cut this tree. The Ekka sept in
Mirzapur say that the name means “leopard,” which they will not kill.
In Chota Nâgpur the same word is said to mean “tortoise,” and to be a
totemistic sept of Orâons. This is the Ekhar sept in Colonel Dalton’s
list. [298] The Tiga sept, in Mirzapur, say they take their name from a
jungle root of that name which they will not eat: but the Orâon
Dhângars of Bhâgalpur have a Tig sept which they say means “monkey.”
[299] The last of the Mirzapur septs is Khâha, which they say means
“crow,” a bird which they respect and will not injure. This is
evidently the same as the Khakhar sept of Orâons, who will not eat the
crow. [300] From all this the identity of the Mirzapur Dhângars with
the Bengal Orâons is conclusively established. At the same time the
diverging significance of these totemistic titles within a limited area
is interesting. The Census lists supply a much more Hinduised set of
sections including the Beldâr, Belwâr, Benbansi, Janwâr, Jhuar, Panwâr,
and Sribâstam.

[Appearance.] 3. Colonel Dalton’s description of the Orâons applies
very closely to their cognates the Mirzapur Dhângars. “Although the
Orâons when young are pleasant to look upon from their good humoured
and guileless expression, they are on the whole to be regarded as a
dark complexioned and by no means well-favoured race. When we see
numbers of them massed together in a market, the features we find to
predominate are excess of jaws and mouth, thick lips pushed out by the
projection of the jaws, a defect which age increases, the teeth
becoming more and more porrect till they appear to radiate outwards
from the upper jaw. The forehead is low and narrow, but not as a rule
receding; and the eyes have nothing very peculiar about them, often
bright and full, with long lashes and straight set, sometimes small and
dim, but not oblique. These upper features give them a human and
intelligent expression notwithstanding the Simian characteristic of the
lower. There is the indentation usual in the Turanian races between the
frontal and nasal bones, but the latter are more pronounced than we
find them in the Lohitic tribes. The colour of the majority is darkest
brown approaching to black. [301]” Mr. Risley adds that no signs of
Mongolian affinities can be detected in the relative positions of the
nasal and malar bones; the average naso-malar index for a hundred
Orâons, measured on the system recommended by Mr. Oldfield Thomas,
comes to 113·6. [302]

[Traditions.] 4. The Mirzapur Dhângars say they emigrated from a place
named Barwai somewhere to the south about nine or ten generations ago.
They say that they occupied a narrow valley called Sathorwa, where they
used to beset and rob travellers. At last a General of the Emperor made
terms with their leaders, Jura Mahto and Buddhu Bhagat, and on promise
of giving them a rent-free estate (jâgîr) induced the tribe to lay down
their arms, and then ordered a general massacre. The few survivors
escaped to Mirzapur. These two leaders, Jura and Buddhu, are the
deified heroes of the tribe. It is said that their heads spoke seven
days after they were decapitated, and advised them to emigrate.

[Tribal council.] 5. They have a tribal council (panchâyat) presided
over by a hereditary president, the Chaudhari, which meets for caste
business on occasions of marriages and deaths. For caste offences the
punishment is usually the providing of a feast including rice, one or
two goats and ten bottles of liquor. If a girl intrigues with a
clansman, her father has to provide two dinners to the clansmen, and
she is then restored to caste. Her lover has to provide the same feast
if he seduces an unmarried girl in the tribe. The pair are then
married. If a girl is detected in an intrigue with an outsider she is
permanently expelled, and so with a man who intrigues with a strange
woman.

[Marriage rules.] 6. The totemistic septs are exogamous, and in
addition the children of the mother’s brother, the sister and father’s
sister are barred. Polygamy is permitted only when the first wife is
barren, and then the consent of the Chaudhari and clansmen is required.
The marriage age is ten or twelve for boys and girls. The bride-price
is two rupees, and is invariably fixed by caste custom. No physical
defect subsequently ascertained can annul a marriage; but both parties
are carefully examined by the relatives before the engagement is made.
A man may divorce his wife if he discovers that she is a witch, and
habitual adultery on the part of husband and wife justifies divorce
with the leave of the council. Women who have been divorced can marry
again, but the general feeling is against the practice, and it is not
allowed in respectable families. The institution of the Bachelor Hall,
described by Colonel Dalton among the Orâons, [303] does not prevail
among the Mirzapur Dhângars.

[Widow-marriage and the levirate.] 7. The levirate prevails, and a
widow can marry an outsider by sagâi only when her younger
brother-in-law gives up his claim to her. The only ceremony is that the
lover comes with a yellow sheet to the widow’s house. She puts it on
and comes home with him, when he gives a feast to his clansmen, and it
is essential that the cooking should be done by the new-made wife. By
remarriage a widow loses all right to the property of her first
husband.

In the case of the levirate the property of the first husband passes to
the levir, and when they grow up, the sons by the first marriage are
entitled to a share in all the property of their step-father on the
same scale as his sons. There is no fiction of attributing the sons of
the levir to his deceased elder brother.

[Succession.] 8. Adoption is unknown. The heirs of a man are his sons:
but the eldest son gets something more than the others. When the father
and sons live jointly and distribution takes place after the father’s
death, all the sons share equally, no matter whether any part of the
property may have been acquired by any particular son.

Grandsons get their proportion of the share that would have fallen to
their fathers. The widow has a sort of life interest in her husband’s
estate, but is liable to expulsion for unchastity. Daughters have no
right of succession. But a girl who is ill-treated by her husband is
entitled to return to her own home and be maintained by her brothers.

[Domestic ceremonies. Birth.] 9. The birth ceremonies resemble those
among Bhuiyârs (q.v.). On the sixth day the chhathi ceremony is
performed, and after this the mother is pure. The husband does not
cohabit with his wife for two months after her confinement.

[Marriage.] 10. The betrothal is solemnized as among the Bhuiyas by the
exchange of platters of liquor between the parents of the parties.
After this both salute in the form known as Râmrahâi. [304] Notice is
given of the day of the ceremony. This is called din dharna. The pair
revolve round a branch of the siddh tree (Hardwickia binata), and a
water jar (kalsa) fixed in the marriage shed (mânro). Before the
procession starts, the bridegroom’s mother sprinkles some water over
him with a branch of rice stalks, and waves the water jar over his head
to keep off evil spirits. The binding part of the ceremony is the
rubbing of red lead by the bridegroom on the head of the bride. After
marriage the bridegroom has to eat rice and pulse (khichari) with the
bride, and refuses to do so until he gets a calf or eight annas from
his father-in-law. The bride walks behind the bridegroom on her way to
his house, and is supposed to weep bitterly all the time. When she and
her husband reach the door, they have to walk in over a series of
baskets arranged in a double line, while the women sing the song of
rejoicing (sohar). Then the bridegroom salutes his male relations
outside the house. Inside, the bride, shading her breast with the
corner of her sheet, touches the feet of the senior women, and they
reply with the blessing tuhâr ahibât barhê—“May your husband live
long.”

[Death ceremonies.] 11. The dead are cremated exactly as is done by the
Bhuiyas; after the mourners return from the cremation they come to the
house of the deceased and there some butter is thrown on a fire lighted
in the courtyard, and the mourners pass their hands through the smoke
and rub their bodies. The ashes of the dead are thrown into a
neighbouring stream. They have no idea of the careful preservation of
the bones as described by Colonel Dalton among the Orâons. [305] On the
day of the cremation all the women walk in a line to the river or tank
close by. They are very careful not to touch each other with their
toes, as they walk one after the other. The woman thus struck is
believed to lose her son or husband during the year. When they arrive
at the water the red powder is washed off the parting of the widow’s
hair. The chief mourner is impure for ten days, during which he places
a leaf platter (dauna) full of food daily on the road by which the
deceased was removed for cremation. On the tenth day the male relatives
shave and return to the house of the deceased, where the chief mourner
sacrifices a pig in the name of the deceased, and cutting off its feet
and snout buries them in the courtyard and covers them with a stone.
Then striking this stone with another stone he says,—“I have buried you
here, never to come out; you are to rest here no matter how hard an
exorciser (Ojha) or anyone else tries to wake you.” Then he pours some
liquor over the stone. There is no priest employed in the funeral
ceremony, and no formulæ of any kind are recited.

[Religion.] 12. The Dhângars in Mirzapur are nominally Hindus, but
worship none of the regular Hindu deities. Their deities are Barna
Bhawâni, a female, who may be the same as Barhona, a deity of the Kurs,
identified with Varuna, the spirit of the waters, [306] and Goraiya
Deva. Barna Bhawâni is worshipped by some once a year, by others four
times a year with the sacrifice of a he-goat, a she-goat, and a pig.
Goraiya is the god of cattle, and is worshipped every year on 15th
Kârttik. A pig and a white and black cock are sacrificed to him in the
cattle pen, and some liquor is poured on the ground. They carry on the
usual worship of the village gods (dih) through the Baiga. When
small-pox prevails the women worship Sîtala Bhawâni. Her offering,
which is conditional on the recovery of the child from the disease,
consists of bread and a sort of sweetmeat (halwa). If the child
recovers he wears all his life a silver image (sirjana) of the goddess,
with her figure gilt, round his neck. All the worship, except that of
the village gods, is done by the head of the household, and the
worshippers consume the flesh of the victim.

[Festivals.] 13. In Bhâdon they observe the Nâgpanchami by eating
better food than usual, but they do not make any special worship of the
snake as Hindus do. In Mâgh they have the Khichari, when they eat
pulse, parched grain, and sesamum. They do not light the Holi fire, but
they celebrate the Phagua by drunken revelry and foul abuse of women,
particularly of the brother’s wife (bhaujâi).

[Demonology and ancestor worship.] 14. Old wells and tanks are the
special abode of malevolent ghosts. These are propitiated through the
Ojha, who is believed to have special control over them. They have no
special ancestor worship, because they consider the spirits finally
disposed of by the pig-sacrifice already described.

[Social customs.] 15. The women tattoo themselves only on the arms. In
this they differ from the Orâons, who are tattooed in childhood with
the three marks on the brow and two on each temple that distinguish the
majority of the Munda women. [307] There is no special pattern and
nothing resembling a tribal tattoo. The women wear bracelets (mathiya),
pewter anklets (pairi), necklets (hansli), ear ornaments (utarna), bead
necklaces (guriya). They eat beef and pork, and almost any meat except
that of the lizard, jackal, alligator, and monkey. They use liquor and
smoking and chewing tobacco. The use of liquor they believe keeps off
malaria. They will not touch or name the wife of the elder brother.
They treat their women fairly well, consult them in family affairs, and
follow their advice. Their business is generally to work as ploughmen.
Their wages are four sers of grain for each working day, a rupee
and-a-half at the end of the agricultural year, one blanket and half a
bîgha of rent-free land. They also get food on the Panchaiyân,
Khichari, and Phagua festivals. They have no regular communal
organization, but they are very clannish and afraid of strangers. In
Mirzapur they are little better than a miserable, depressed tribe of
field serfs.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE DHÂNGARS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==========+=========+========+========+========+========
    District. |Benbansi.| Janwâr.| Panwâr.| Others.| Total.
    ~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
              |         |        |        |        |
    Gorakhpur |     218 |    292 |    200 |     73 |   783
    ==========+=========+========+========+========+========


Dhânuk [308] (Sans. dhanuska, “an archer”), a low tribe who work as
watchmen, musicians at weddings, and their women as midwives. They are
most numerous in the Agra division, but are found all over the Province
except in the Benares, Gorakhpur, and Faizâbâd divisions, and in the
hills. Their origin is very uncertain. According to Dr. Buchanan [309]
they are a “pure agricultural tribe, who from their name, implying
archers, were probably in former times the militia of the country, and
are perhaps not essentially different from the Kurmis; for any Jaiswâr
Kurmi, who from poverty sells himself or his children is admitted among
the Dhânuks. All the Dhânuks were at one time probably slaves, and many
have been recruited to fill up the military ranks—a method of
recruiting that has been long prevalent in Asia, the armies of
Parthians having been composed almost entirely of slaves, and the
custom is, I believe, still pretty general among the Turks. A great
many of the Dhânuks are still slaves; but some annually procure their
liberty by the inability of their masters to maintain them, and by
their unwillingness to sell their fellow-creatures. I have already
mentioned that the Dhanushkas or Dhamin Brâhmans are probably the
original priests of the tribe.” Mr. Risley [310] admits that the only
evidence from Bihâr in support of Dr. Buchanan’s theory of the
connection between the Dhânuks and the Kurmis is that, according to
some authorities, the Chhilatiya sub-caste is also known by the name of
Jaiswâr. Considering, however, how wide-spread the term Jaiswâr is for
the sub-castes and sections of the minor castes, this piece of evidence
is of little value.

[Internal structure.] 2. At the last Census the Dhânuks were recorded
in the following important sub-castes:—Dhâkara, Dusâdh, Kaithiya,
Kathariya, Kori, and Râwat. The complete lists show three hundred and
twenty sections of the usual, mixed type, some the names of well known
tribes, others of local derivation. A full list received from Etâwah
names twenty sub-divisions—Laungbarsa (the name means “raining cloves,”
and is said to arise from the custom prevailing in this sub-division of
tying a string of cloves round the necks of the bride and bridegroom
during marriage. They do not, however, appear to treat the clove
otherwise, with any particular respect, and do not forbear from naming,
eating, burning, or otherwise destroying it), Hazâri, Kathariha,
Lakariha, Bhuseli, Garuhaiya, Hâthichighar, Garpetha, Atariha,
Pichhauriha, Jashar, Jalâliya, Kachhwâha, Jugeli, Ruriha, Kharaiha,
Tahelê, Dunhân, Bagheli. Sir H. M. Elliot gives the seven sub-divisions
as follows:—Laungbasta (probably the same as the Laungbarsa of the
Etâwah list), Mathuriya, Kathariya, Jaiswâr, Magahi, Dojwâr,
Chhilatiya. In the east of the Province another list [311] gives
Jaiswâr, Dhânuk, Magahi, Dojwâr and Chhilatiya. The Dhânuks have no
tradition of the origin of these names, and it is dangerous to
speculate on such a subject. But there seems no doubt that the
Kathariya or Kathariha are so-called because they make a sort of mat
called kathri, which is one of the special handicrafts of this
sub-division to the present day. The Lakariha and Bhuseli have
obviously something to do with wood and chaff. The Hâthichighar are
elephant keepers; the Kachhwâha and Baghelê must have taken their names
from the similar Râjput tribes; while the Jaiswâr and Magahi are
clearly local names derived from the town of Jais and the country of
Magadha, respectively. There is little or no resemblance between these
lists and the Bihâr list given by Mr. Risley, a sufficient proof, if
proof were needed, of the astonishing facility by which tribes of this
social status modify their internal structure.

[Marriage rules.] 3. The rule of exogamy as stated by the Dhânuks of
Etâwah is that (a) no man or woman can marry in their own sub-division;
(b) no child can be married in a family in which the father or mother
have been married. The age of marriage is usually between seven and
eleven. No one can have more than two wives at the same time.
Unchastity on the part of an unmarried girl is punished by a fine
imposed on the parents by the tribal council. A man can get rid of his
wife for adultery, but a wife cannot abandon her husband for this
cause. Divorced women and widows can be remarried by the form known as
dharauna or dharukh. The levirate under the usual restrictions is
permitted. If a widow marry an outsider she loses all right to the
goods of her first husband. If he leave children they are his heirs; if
he dies childless his elder brother, or if he himself be the eldest,
then the brother next to him in age succeeds. If she marry the levir he
takes the goods of his deceased elder brother unless he has left
children. There is no fiction that children by the levir are attributed
to his late brother.

[Birth.] 4. There are no ceremonies during pregnancy. The mother is
attended by some old woman of the tribe. The only purificatory ceremony
is the chhathi on the sixth day after delivery. There is no trace of
the couvade. The only observance at adoption is the feeding of the
clansmen.

[Marriage.] 5. The marriage ceremonies are of the common low caste
type. In the respectable form (shâdi, biwâh) the ceremony, the binding
part of which is the revolutions (bhanwar), is done at the house of the
bride; in dola it is done at that of the bridegroom.

[Death.] 6. They burn their adult and bury the unmarried dead. The
ashes are thrown into any river or stream. They perform srâddha for the
repose of the souls of the dead. The malevolent dead are propitiated in
the months of Mâgh and Bhâdon. The service is done in the daytime but
secretly with all the doors closed. A fire is lighted and to it cakes
(pûri) are offered, and then eaten by the worshippers. On this occasion
if the house-holder be a rich man, he entertains the brotherhood; if he
is poor, he feeds only his sister’s or daughter’s husband—a custom
which may be a survival of descent in the female line. The ashes of the
fire made on this occasion are carefully preserved, and if any sickness
come upon the household during the year, they are rubbed on the part
affected, and a vow is made to repeat the service when the next
anniversary comes round. During the first fifteen days of the month of
Kuâr water is thrown daily on the ground, in honour of the dead, and
flour, butter, etc., are given to Brâhmans that they by consuming them
may convey them to the hungry dead in the other world. A fire is
lighted and cakes offered to it, and a piece of a cake is attached to
the wall in the place where marks have been made representing the
deceased ancestors of the family.

[Religion.] 7. The Dhânuks are Hindu by religion and are classed as
Sâktas because they are worshippers of Devi. But none of them are ever
regularly initiated. They make pilgrimages to the tomb of Madâr Sâhib
at Makhanpur, in the Cawnpur District, and in the month of Mâgh offer a
sort of pudding (malîda) and money which are taken by the Khâdims in
charge of the shrine. They also worship the two Miyâns: the great or
Bara Miyân has his tomb at Jalesar, in the Etah District, and the
little or Chhota at Amroha, in Morâdâbâd. These saints are worshipped
after child-birth; if the child happened to be a son they offer a
he-goat; for a daughter the offering is a kind of cake (gulgula). These
are consumed by the worshippers, and so is the goat, which is the right
of Devi. They are firm believers in the demoniacal theory of disease.
In such cases a sorcerer is sent for; he sits down with a broom in his
hand, which he waves while he smokes a huqqa, and thus drives off the
evil spirit which is the cause of the mischief. In cases of disease
caused by the Evil Eye the procedure is similar with this addition that
some chillies are waved seven times round the head of the patient and
then thrown on the fire, when the evil influence incontinently
disappears in the stench. Another plan is for the magician to summon
one of his domesticated spirits, which puts him under its influence,
and he is then able to announce with certainty the evil spirit which
has affected the patient. Another approved plan is to burn a hair from
the patient’s head, and this invariably gives relief.

[Agricultural customs.] 8. When they sink a well they erect an image of
Hanumân near the spot, and on the completion of the work feed Brâhmans
and distribute charity. Before sowing a little grain is sifted through
a sieve, and when the work is done the oxen are washed and the plough
worshipped. Before the grain is garnered a little is given to the poor
and to Brâhmans.

[Social rules.] 9. Dhânuks will eat mutton, pork, the flesh of the
cloven-footed animals, and fish. They drink freely. They will not eat
the flesh of monkeys, beef, flesh of uncloven-footed animals, fowls,
crocodiles, snakes, lizards, jackals, rats, vermin, or the leavings of
other people. Their salutation is Râm! Râm! They have the usual
ceremonial taboos. Elder relatives are addressed not by their names but
by their title of relationship. Younger persons and all male strangers
are addressed by name. All female strangers are addressed by name when
spoken to by women; but when men address them they call them
“so-and-so’s wife” or “so and-so’s mother.” If they are unmarried they
are addressed by name. So a husband calls his wife “so-and-so’s
mother.”

[Occupation.] 10. Their occupation is playing on trumpets at weddings
and other occasions of festivity. They act as servants, day-labourers,
village watchmen, and their women do midwifery. Some hold land as
tenants and work as field labourers. Many receive a patch of land
rent-free in lieu of wages.


        DISTRIBUTION OF DHÂNUKS AND THEIR SUB-CASTES BY THE CENSUS OF 1891.

===============+=======+=======+=========+==========+======+======+=======+=========
   Districts.  |Dhâkrê.|Dusâdh.|Kaithiya.|Kathariya.|Kori. |Râwat.|Others.| Total.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~
 Dehra Dûn     |  ...  |  ...  |   ...   |    169   |  ... | ...  |     45|     214
 Sahâranpur    |  ...  |  ...  |   ...   |    ...   |  ... | ...  |     50|      50
 Muzaffarnagar |  ...  |  ...  |   ...   |    ...   |  ... | ...  |   ... |    ...
 Meerut        |  ...  |  ...  |   ...   |    ...   |13,758| ...  | 11,263|  25,021
 Bulandshahr   |  ...  |  ...  |   ...   |    ...   |  ... | ...  |      1|       1
 Aligarh       |  ...  |  ...  |   ...   |    ...   |  ... | 286  |    354|     640
 Mathura       |  ...  |  ...  |   ...   |    ...   |  ... | ...  |     20|      20
 Agra          |  216  |  ...  |   ...   |    222   |  ... | 156  |  1,150|   1,744
 Farrukhâbâd   |  ...  |  ...  |   ...   |  3,094   |  ... | 227  | 12,524|  15,845
 Mainpuri      |  273  |  ...  |    28   | 13,946   |  ... | ...  |  1,293|  15,540
 Etâwah        |  554  |  ...  |   ...   |  8,829   |  ... | 423  |  6,897|  16,703
 Etah          |   99  |   86  | 1,070   |    965   |  113 | 506  |    973|   3,812
 Bareilly      |  ...  |1,832  |   ...   |    ...   |  ... | 372  |    399|   2,603
 Bijnor        |  ...  |  ...  |   ...   |    ...   |  ... | ...  |      5|       5
 Shâhjahânpur  |  ...  |  379  |   ...   |  8,925   |  ... |2,503 |  1,140|  12,947
 Pilibhît      |  ...  |  180  |     5   |  2,133   |  ... |1,925 |    331|   4,574
 Cawnpur       |  ...  |  ...  |   ...   |    439   |    3 | ...  | 19,452|  19,894
 Hamîrpur      |  ...  |  ...  |   ...   |    ...   |  ... | ...  |     1 |       1
 Allahâbâd     |   ... |   ... |   ...   |    ...   |  ... |    4 |   ... |       4
 Jhânsi        |   ... |   ... |   ...   |    ...   |  ... |    5 |     5 |      10
 Jâlaun        |    10 |   ... |   ...   |     45   |  ... |  ... | 2,439 |   2,494
 Lalitpur      |   ... |   ... |   ...   |    ...   |  ... |  ... |   ... |     ...
 Benares       |   ... |   ... |   ...   |    ...   |  ... |  ... |     5 |       5
 Ghâzipur      |   ... |   ... |   ...   |    ...   |  ... |  ... |     1 |       1
 Ballia        |   ... |   ... |   ...   |    ...   |  ... |  ... |     1 |       1
 Tarâi         |   ... |   ... |   ...   |      2   |  ... |   92 |     5 |      99
 Lucknow       |   ... |     1 |   ...   |    ...   |  ... |  ... |   788 |     789
 Unâo          |   296 |   ... |   ...   |    ...   |  ... |  ... | 5,213 |   5,509
 Sîtapur       |   ... |   ... |   ...   |    467   |  ... |  ... | 2,235 |   2,702
 Hardoi        |   ... |   ... |   ...   |  8,088   |  ... |  ... | 3,314 |  11,402
 Kheri         |   ... |   ... |   ...   |  1,121   |  ... |1,005 | 1,405 |   3,531
 Faizâbâd      |   ... |   ... |   ...   |      1   |  ... |  ... |    14 |      15
 Bahrâich      |   ... |   ... |   ...   |    ...   |  ... |  ... |    10 |      10
 Sultânpur     |   ... |   ... |   ...   |    ...   |  ... |  ... |     3 |       3
               +~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~
         Total | 1,448 | 2,478 | 1,103   | 48,446   |13,874| 7,504|71,336 | 146,188
===============+=======+=======+=========+==========+======+======+=======+=========


Dhârhi (possibly from Sans. dhrista, “impudent”), a tribe of dancers
and singers of whom there is a Hindu and a Muhammadan branch. They have
been described under one of their many names, Kingariya or Kingriya, in
another place. Another name for them is Pâwariya or Pâwanriya (from the
foot (pânw) carpet (pânwara) they use). In the hills, though socially
ranked with Doms, they do not belong to them, for they properly include
only those Khasiyas who have been put out of caste for some offence or
other and their offspring form a new caste with the special avocation
of singing and dancing.

[Internal structure.] 2. The Census lists show forty sections. Many of
these are local as Audhiya, Balrâmpuri, Chaurasiya, Desi, Gujarâti,
Jaunpuri, Haripuriya, Kanaujiya, Madhesiya, Pachhwâhan, and Sarwariya.
Others connect them with well-known castes or tribes, as Bânsphor,
Boriya, Dhelphor, Dusâdh, Ghosi, Kewat.

[Occupation.] 3. The Dhârhi has two distinct functions. In the first
place he is a musician and singer, and appears at houses on occasions
of festivity, such as a marriage or when a woman is purified after the
birth pollution and rejoins the household. He and the women who
accompany him, who are usually of equivocal reputation, sing and play
the double drum (mridang) or the guitar (tambûra), for which he gets
presents of grain, money or clothes. Secondly, the Hindu Dhârhi keeps
swine and acts in many villages as the priest of the local god
(Gânwdeota, deohâr) cleans and plasters his platform, and takes
anything in the way of an offering which is not consumed by the
worshippers themselves.

[Social rules.] 4. The Dhârhi from his habits of begging and going
about with women of bad character has rather an unsavoury reputation,
and socially ranks very little above the Chamâr. They permit
widow-marriage, divorce and remarriage of divorced women, but if a
woman separate from her husband without cause she must repay through
her second husband any charges which may have been incurred in her
first marriage. Muhammadan Dhârhis have their marriages done, if they
are well-off, by the Qâzi; if they are poor, by the village Dafâli.

The Hindu Dhârhis seldom or never employ a Brâhman except to take the
auspices and fix a lucky day for the wedding. Two common proverbs show
the opinion generally held of the Dhârhi—Dena lena kâm Dom Dhârhiyon
ka, muhabbat dusri chîs hai.—“Taking presents is the way of pimps and
buffoons; true love is quite a different thing.” Randi ki kamâi, ya
khâe Dhârhi, ya khâe gâri. “The prostitute’s earnings go to the pimp or
cabman.”


DISTRIBUTION OF DHÂRHIS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

================+===============================+==============+========
Districts.      |             Hindus.           | Muhammadans. | Total.
                +~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+              |
                | Dusâdh. | Madhesya. | Others. |              |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
Bulandshahr     |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |    3         |     3
Mathura         |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |    5         |     5
Agra            |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |   86         |    86
Farrukhâbâd     |   ...   |   ...     |    12   |   67         |    79
Mainpuri        |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |    16        |     16
Etah            |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |    32        |     32
Budâun          |   ...   |   ...     |     1   |   ...        |      1
Shâhjahânpur    |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |   180        |    180
Cawnpur         |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |    38        |     38
Bânda           |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |    31        |     31
Hamîrpur        |   ...   |   ...     |     3   |     3        |      6
Allahâbâd       |   ...   |   ...     |     1   |    48        |     49
Jhânsi          |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |     2        |      2
Jâlaun          |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |     4        |      4
Benares         |   ...   |   ...     |     8   |   ...        |      8
Ghâzipur        |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |    34        |     34
Gorakhpur       |   1,490 |   943     | 1,502   |     2        |  3,937
Basti           |   ...   |   ...     | 2,294   |   ...        |  2,294
Azamgarh        |   ...   |    17     |    54   |   ...        |     71
Lucknow         |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |   107        |    107
Unâo            |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |    35        |     35
Râê Bareli      |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |   115        |    115
Sîtapur         |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |    80        |     80
Hardoi          |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |    91        |     91
Kheri           |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |   128        |    128
Faizâbâd        |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |    36        |     36
Gonda           |    988  | 4,273     | 1,384   |    93        |  6,738
Bahrâich        |   ...   |   ...     |     2   |     5        |      7
Sultânpur       |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |    74        |     74
Partâbgarh      |   ...   |   ...     |   ...   |     7        |      7
                +~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
         Total  |  2,478  | 5,233     | 5,261   | 1,322        | 14,294
================+=========+===========+=========+==============+========


Dharkâr [312] (Hindi dhar, Sanskrit dhara, “a rope,” kâra, “maker”) a
sub-caste of the Eastern Doms. They are also known as Bentbansi,
because they work in cane (bent), which some corrupt into Benbansi or
of the race of Râja Vena. Their sections in Mirzapur are quite distinct
from those recorded by Mr. Risley in Bihâr. [313] South of the Son
there are four sections (kuri) which are exogamous: Aril, which is said
to be the name of a fine kind of bamboo used in making winnowing fans,
baskets, sieves, etc.: Neoriya, said to be derived from newar, a young
soft bamboo: Dauriha, said to take its name from dauriwa, a strong hard
bamboo used for baskets (dauri) which is not attacked by weevils:
Nagarha, from nagar, a very high thick bamboo. These sections
intermarry on equal terms, except the Aril, which is the highest, and
with it the others practise hypergamy. This rule of exogamy is
reinforced by the restriction against intermarrying in the family of
the maternal uncle (mâmu) and father’s sister’s husband (phûpha) for at
least three generations. In Oudh the rule of exogamy is said to be that
a man cannot marry the daughter of his sister and a son cannot be
married in a family to which a bride has been given until three or four
generations have passed. Two sisters cannot be married at the same
time; but a man may marry the sister of his deceased wife. They also
very often marry by exchanging sisters in the form known as Gurâwat,
the simplest form of marriage by purchase. [314] North of the Son they
name three sections which are endogamous—Benbans, Barua and Dom; but
the Benbans have developed under the influence of Hinduism regular
exogamous gotras, of which they know only two,—Bilkhariya and Matâr. To
the whole tribe, as is shown more particularly in the sections south of
the Son, the bamboo is a sort of totem and is treated with great
respect. [315]

The Mirzapur Dharkârs say that when Parameswar created their ancestor
he seated him under a bamboo and gave him the curved knife (bânka) with
which he was to make his living by basket making, etc.

[Tribal council.] 2. The tribal council (panchâyat) with a permanent
president (mahto) and an assistant (dîwân) is very powerful. The
council hears the evidence and gives its opinion, which may or not be
accepted by the Mahto, who gives the final order. The usual punishment
is an order to feed the clansmen for two days on goat’s flesh and rice.
For a second offence excommunication for twelve years is the sentence,
and during this time, unless he make humble submission and receive
pardon from the council, all marriages in his family are stopped, he is
not allowed to eat or smoke with his clansmen, and cannot sit on the
tribal mat (tât) at meetings of the council. In Oudh, however, it would
appear that they have no regularly constituted council. Whenever a case
affecting caste discipline occurs, a meeting of the adult householders
of the neighbourhood is convened: they appoint a Chairman for the
meeting and decide the case. They have a sort of local organization
(eka) for marriages, which generally take place within an assigned
local area. They seldom go any considerable distance to find wives.
[316]

[Marriage rules.] 3. A man may have as many wives as he can afford: but
monogamy is the rule. In Oudh they say that no man can have more than
seven wives at one time; but it is needless to say that very few
Dharkârs can afford more than one. If a man marries more than one wife,
the senior wife (jethi mehrâru) rules the household. Concubinage and
polyandry are prohibited. Women have considerable freedom, and
intertribal fornication is visited by a fine of a two days’ feast to
the clansmen. The lover has to pay the girl’s father in such cases
eight rupees in cash and to give her mother a cloth—an arrangement so
common apparently that there is a special name for it,—mâi kâpar, or
“the mother’s cloth.” He then feeds the council on goat’s flesh and
rice, and after this the young couple are recognized as man and wife.
Dharkârs practise adult marriage, the age being seventeen or eighteen.
The marriage is arranged by the father’s sister’s husband (phûpha) of
the bridegroom. The bride-price paid by the boy’s father is fixed—eight
rupees in cash, one loin cloth (dhoti), and one hundred cakes (pûri).
This is used in the marriage feast, and the cloth goes to the girl. The
parties are so carefully examined before marriage that no physical
defect subsequently ascertained is a bar to marriage. If the wife
without reason shown to the satisfaction of the council refuse to live
with her husband, her father has to refund the cash bride-price. If the
husband refuses to keep his wife, the council will punish him and
compel him to bring her home. If either husband or wife habitually
commit adultery, the injured party may divorce the other, but before
they can do so the case must be heard by the council and the Mahto must
give his permission, which will not be granted unless the fact is
proved by the evidence of eye-witnesses. If a woman is divorced, she
may be remarried in the tribe by the form known as sagâi or dharauna.
The children of a regular wife and a widow taken in sagâi rank equally
as heirs. If a man keep a concubine or even eat from her hand, he is
put out of caste and not restored till he gives a tribal feast.
Illegitimate children follow the father, but such a child cannot eat or
marry in the tribe. Only a widower can marry a woman by the sagâi form.
He goes to the widow’s house and proposes for her in a regular
form—hamâr ghar basâdê, “make my home inhabited.” Her father receives
the same bride-price as in a regular marriage. Her father gives a feast
and assembles the council. If at this meeting any person entitled to
claim the right of the levirate comes forward and says,—“Why are you
giving my woman to a stranger?” the council order her father to pay him
the bride-price. Then her lover takes her home, puts red lead on her
forehead and palm leaf ornaments (tarki) in her ears, and after feeding
the clansmen on goat’s flesh and rice the connection is legalised. The
levirate is recognised under the usual restrictions, and there is no
fiction of the affiliation of the children to the former husband. A
childless man can adopt his brother’s son. The sons are heirs, but the
eldest son gets something in excess as determined by the council.
Daughters have no rights, and after marriage even the claim to
maintenance is not recognized. The mother has a life interest if there
are no brothers of the deceased. The heirs of a sonless man are his
associated brothers and they are supposed to give the widow something
unless she is remarried, which is usually the case, unless she is
disabled by age or infirmity.

[Relationship.] 4. The father is called dauwa: the grandfather bâba:
the mother dâi: the grandmother barki dâi: the father’s elder brother
bara or barka (“great”). The wife is always called “the mother of
so-and-so,” her son. They call a daughter bahin or sister, which
perhaps points to loose ideas of family life. The wife’s father is
mahto, “leader.”

Relations generally are mit or yâr (“friends”). In particular they call
mit all persons who have the same name as themselves, and with such
they are particularly friendly. People resident in the same village are
gaunwa pariwâr.

[Birth ceremonies.] 5. When the birth pains begin they worship the
ancestors with the sacrifice of a he-goat and a cock, and bathe the
woman’s hands and feet or, in bad cases, her whole body with a
decoction of the bark of the Rohina or fig tree. The child is born on
the ground and the cord is cut by a Chamârin midwife, who buries it in
the place the child was born, placing a bit of iron and a copper pice
in the earthen fire pot. On the sixth day (chhathi) the Chamârin
retires and the mother is bathed by her husband’s sister (nanad), who
cleans the delivery-room (saur). The house earthen vessels are
replaced, and one or two of the clansmen fed. On the twelfth day
(barahi) the woman is again bathed and the house cleaned. On that day
she cooks for the family and is pure. Her husband does not cohabit with
her for six months after her confinement. They have the usual horror of
touching menstrual blood or clothes defiled at child-birth. The only
puberty ceremony is the ear-boring [317] (kanchhedan), which is done at
the age of eight or ten, after which the child must conform to caste
rules about food.

[Marriage.] 6. The betrothal is sealed by the exchange between the two
fathers of platters of liquor, one containing two rupees placed there
by the boy’s father, which the girl’s father takes. They have the usual
matmangar ceremony. [318] The usual anointing of bride and bridegroom
follows, which is begun by the fathers on each side taking up a little
oil in a wisp of dûb grass and sprinkling it on the bride or
bridegroom, as the case may be. During this time he calls out,—“If my
son or daughter is happily married we will worship the ancestors
(pitra) with a fire offering of butter and a goat or fowl.” Here
follows a curious emblematical ceremony. The boy’s mother sits on a
grain mortar (okhari) in the centre of the marriage shed, and her son
is seated in her lap. Then the boy, his mother, and the wedding
water-pot (kalsa) are all tied together with a string and a fire
sacrifice (hom) is done with sugar and butter. The boy’s sister holds
her hand over the blaze and collects some lampblack on her fingers,
which she rubs on her brother’s eyes. Then the mother comes under the
influence of the goddess Amina Bhawâni and begins to tremble, on which
her friends throw some rice over her and take her into the house,
whence she soon emerges again to do the wave ceremony (parachhan). She
holds a vessel (lota) full of water, a grain pounder (mûsal), and a
tray (thâli), on which is placed a lighted lamp. First she waves a lump
of dough five times over her son’s head; she does the same with the
lota, and pours the water on the ground. Then she moves the
rice-pounder five times over him, and with it touches the spot on the
ground where the water was poured out. He finally salutes her with the
pâêlagi form, and she says,—“Go son! Go son!” When he arrives at the
bride’s door her father meets him with a new basket, the emblem of his
craft, in which is a new loin-cloth dyed with turmeric. This is put on
the bridegroom, and the basket is handed to one of his friends. All the
friends on both sides stand at the bride’s door, beat drums and dance.
In this dance the men fasten rattling bangles (ghungru) on their ankles
and play on the tambourine (dafla), flute (bânsuli), and large drum
(mândar), while they leap high in the air and shout. Then they retire
to rest under a tree outside the village. One of the bride’s friends
then comes and washes their feet, after which the boy’s father sends a
loin cloth (dhoti) and one hundred cakes (pûri) to the bride. These,
when they arrive, are carefully counted, and twenty-five are sent back
to the bridegroom, who gives a piece to each of his friends.

7. At night the bride and bridegroom are seated in a square (chauk) in
the bride’s courtyard. The father’s sister’s husbands (apparently a
survival of the matriarchate) who manage the business, sit on each side
of the pair. They join the hands of the boy and girl, and putting a
ring of grass on her finger pour water over their hands while they cry
Bar kanya chiranji rahen—“Long life to bride and bridegroom.” This is
said five times, and water is poured over their hands five times. Then
the pair walk five times round a branch of the cotton tree (semal)
which is fixed up in the marriage shed. [319] Next a curry stone is
placed before the pair and on it is laid a piece of betel-nut. The
bridegroom holds the bride’s foot and knocks this off with her toe.
This is known as kuri metna—“to obliterate the pile,” and is said to
imply that the rule of the prohibited degrees has been observed in the
marriage. [320] Next the bridegroom takes some red lead and rubs the
girl with it from the tip of her nose up to the crown of her head,
while her sister comes forward and collects (sendur bahorna) any loose
grains in the corner of her sheet. For this she gets a fee of two
annas. Next the pair go into the kohabar or retiring room, where a good
deal of coarse merriment goes on at the expense of the bridegroom.
[321] The ceremony winds up with a feast and the escort of the bride to
her husband’s house. A day or two after bride and bridegroom take the
two wedding jars (kalsa) to a neighbouring tank. The bride stands with
her back to her husband and with an affectation of secrecy throws her
jar into the water (kalsa dulâna). He then stands with his back to her
and throws in his jar. Both proceed to search for them, and when they
find them fill them with water and bring them home. On the way they
rest them on the ground and pour a little of the bundiya sweetmeat made
of gram flour and butter on the ground. Then they proceed to the tree
under which is the shrine of Deonâth, the tribal god, and there make a
fire offering (hom) with sugar and butter. This closes the marriage
ritual, the binding portion of which is the application of red lead
(sendurdân) to the parting of the bride’s hair. [322]

[Death ceremonies.] 8. The tribe appears to be in the transition stage
between burial and cremation of the dead. In Oudh they bury: in
Mirzapur they usually burn the corpse. The dead are cremated in the
usual way on the bank of a neighbouring stream. After the cremation is
over they pour some oil on their toe-rings, which they take off and
warm over a fire and then return to the house of the deceased, where
they sit silent for some time before dispersing. On the third day the
chief mourner collects the ashes and throws them into running water,
and plants near the stream a few stalks of reed grass (jhurai) as a
receptacle for the vagrant spirit. Water is poured on this daily for
ten days. On the tenth day is the Ghât ceremony when the clansmen shave
each other, no barber being employed. Three balls (pinda) of flour are
thrown into the water by the chief mourner, and he pours three handfuls
of water on the ground in the name of the dead. While he does this he
turns his hands backwards. No Brâhman is employed and the part of
priest is taken by the sister’s son of the deceased (another survival
of the matriarchate), [323] for which he receives as his fee an axe and
a knife. After this the relations and members of the council sit round
the chief mourner, and his sister’s husband (bahnoi) ties a turban on
his head in proof that he has taken the place of his father.

[Ancestor worship.] 8. They are in great fear of the ghosts of the dead
who appear in dreams and worry people if they are not propitiated.
Their sacrifice is done at the Phagua (Holi) festival when a goat,
fowl, and some spirits are offered to them. When people are sick they
make vows to the sainted dead (purkha log), and, when they recover,
make offerings to them. In Oudh they are beginning to get a low Brâhman
to perform a sort of Srâddha.

[Religion.] 9. The Dharkârs call themselves Hindus but have a special
pantheon of their own, the functions of which are exceedingly vague.
Pahâr Pando is a sort of mountain god. Dûrasin is possibly a local
development of Jarasandha, the deified King of Magadha. Banhiya Bîr
(the hero of the arm—bânh) and Deonâth are deified tribal worthies.
Angârmati Bhawâni (“the goddess of the blazing charcoal”) is a vague
female divinity. Further north towards the Ganges they worship Birtiya,
a vague deity who is apparently merely a guardian godling (Sans.
vritti, “support, maintenance”), Dulha Deo, the god of marriage, and
the five saints of Islâm (Pânchonpîr), especially Parihâr. Dulha Deo is
worshipped on a Saturday in the light half of Kârttik or Baisâkh, when
a castrated goat (khasi) is offered in the house and the worshippers
consume the flesh. He is also propitiated with a loin-cloth dyed in
turmeric: and when the worshipper puts this on he gets into a state of
frenzy, shakes his head and announces oracles. If Dulha Deo is not
worshipped he sends fever and sundry other diseases. The Pânchonpîr are
worshipped with the sacrifice of a cock and cakes (rot); all who
worship them keep a house shrine in their honour. In Oudh they worship
Devi with an offering of a goat.

10. The more Southern Dharkârs worship the pantheon above described
collectively every second or third year in the house. First they make a
burnt sacrifice (hom) with butter and treacle, then offer a goat and
cock, and pour spirits on the ground. Any one can do this worship, and
no Brâhman or Baiga is employed. They worship the sainted dead at the
Holi, Dasahra, and in the month of Kuâr. On these occasions they all
get drunk and dance in a special way with rattling bangles (ghungru)
attached to their ankles to the music of the tambourine (dafla) and the
flute (bânsuli). Then they visit in procession the houses of the
respectable people in the village, dance, and receive fees (phirihri).
The usual allowance is a sieve (sûp) full of any kind of grain. They
believe sunstroke to be due to the attack of Angârmati Bhawâni, who
rides in her chariot through the sky in the hot weather. She is
appeased on such occasions with a burnt offering (hom) and the
sacrifice of a goat. All the collective godlings of their pantheon have
their abode in a mud platform (chaura) erected in the dwelling house.
Traces of tree worship are found in their adoration at marriages of a
branch of the cotton tree which has the special name of Kalyâni or “the
auspicious one.” Among the myriad ghosts which surround them they
particularly fear the ghosts of drowned people (bûrna) who infest tanks
where people have been drowned and push in unwary travellers.

11. Fields have also their special Bhûts, and the shrine of a person
killed by a tiger (baghaut) is specially reverenced. Their special
worship of the bamboo consists in their cutting one bamboo in the month
of Aghan when the general cutting begins. This they bring home with
marked respect and make a burnt offering (hom) before it with butter
and treacle. After this bamboo-cutting and basket-making go on. The
women tattoo themselves in the usual way: if they do not, Bhagwân
brands them with a torch when they die. Friday is their lucky day, and
on that day they commence bamboo-cutting. They have the usual meeting
omens and the ordinary ideas about the quarters of the heavens. They
believe in the demoniacal theory of disease. In such cases they get the
Baiga to do a sacrifice to the collective village gods (deohâr): a goat
or cock is the usual offering. In specially bad cases of illness the
Baiga or Ojha is called in and recognises the particular Bhût, which
causes trouble, by shaking about and counting some grains of barley in
a sieve. When a person is attacked by the Evil Eye they get some
cow-dung ashes, blow into it five times in the name of the sainted
dead, and then rub it on the child. In very bad cases a special
offering is made to the spirits of the dead (purkha log).

[Social customs.] 12. The women wear pewter anklets (pairi), glass or
lac bangles (chûri) on the wrists, and brass rings (churla) on the
upper arm, with a pewter ring on the big toe. They abandon this ring on
widowhood, and, as has been seen in treating of the death ceremonies,
it is supposed to have some mystic significance. On the toe next the
big toe women wear a small pewter ring (chhutki). This is also taken
off at widowhood. On their foreheads they wear spangles (tikuli), palm
leaf ornaments (tarki) in the ears, and beads (guriya) round the neck.
They swear by putting a bamboo on the head, and think that if they
forswear themselves they lose their children and property. They have
now prohibited eating beef and punish its use by excommunication: but
this is quite recent, and hardly prevails generally among the less
Hinduised branch of the tribe south of the Son. In Oudh some of them
will not eat meat during the fortnight (pitrapaksha) sacred to the
dead. They will not eat food cooked in butter (pakka khâna) if touched
by a Chamâr, Dhobi, Patâri, Bhuiya, or Dom. They consider themselves
much superior to the Doms, as they have abandoned the filthy habits
common to the ordinary Doms. Food cooked in water (kachcha khâna) they
will eat only if cooked by one of their own caste. They have the usual
Dom prejudice against the Dhobi. They will not touch their younger
brother’s wife, their wife’s elder sister or the mother (samdhin) of
their sons’ or daughters’ wives and husbands. They use spirits and
tobacco freely. Men and women eat apart; men first and women after
them: but a very old woman is allowed to eat with the men. Seniors they
salute in the pâêlagi form, and receive the blessing (asîs) in return.
They are very hospitable and will borrow to entertain a guest. As a
rule they treat women fairly well, but beat them if they misbehave
themselves. They are respectful to the old. No Dharkâr was ever known
to read or write. They have a very strong tribal council, and very
seldom come before the courts. They work only in bamboo, not in reed
(sentha). They make winnowing fans (sûp), baskets (dauri), boxes
(petâra), betel boxes (bilahra), and red lead boxes (pauti). These in
the villages are made always on grain wages, and it is only in towns
that they are paid in cash.


DISTRIBUTION OF DHARKÂRS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=========+=========+=======+=======
      Districts.  |Bânsphor.|Benbansi.|Others.|Total.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |    ...  |     ... |    13 |    13
    Sahâranpur    |    ...  |     ... |    32 |    32
    Allahâbâd     |    198  |     986 | 4,050 | 5,234
    Benares       |    ...  |   1,559 |   323 | 1,882
    Ghâzipur      |    ...  |     ... |     1 |     1
    Gorakhpur     |    102  |   3,588 | 1,538 | 5,228
    Basti         |    213  |   4,712 |   379 | 5,304
    Azamgarh      |    798  |   2,505 |   431 | 3,734
    Lucknow       |     28  |       1 |    40 |    69
    Faizâbâd      |    144  |   2,274 |   278 | 2,696
    Gonda         |    ...  |   1,311 |   485 | 1,796
    Bahrâich      |    ...  |      66 |    16 |    82
    Sultânpur     |    285  |   1,453 |   636 | 2,374
    Partâbgarh    |     37  |     555 |   602 | 1,194
                  +~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
           Total  |  1,805  |  19,010 | 8,824 |29,639
    ==============+=========+=========+=======+=======


Dhobi., [324]—the washerman caste who take their name from the Hindi
dhona (Sans. dhâv), to wash. Dhobis have no very distinct traditions of
their origin. In Bihâr, according to Mr. Risley, [325] they trace their
descent from Gâri Bhuiya—one of the local gods of that part of the
country. Another account makes them out to be the offspring of a
Kshatriya father and a Chamâr woman. In Mirzapur they name as their
ancestor a personage named Râwat, and say that Mahâdeva and Pârvati,
disgusted at the filth of the people of the world, created the Dhobi to
keep their clothes clean in future. Mr. Nesfield suggests that “the
washerman represents an impure caste, but is many degrees higher than
that of the Bhangi, from whom he has sprung. Both are descended from
the Dom, whose sole wealth, according to Manu, must be dogs and asses.
The Indian washerman has always been associated with the indigenous
ass, which carries the soiled clothes down to the bank of the river or
tank, and takes them back clean to the house. No Hindu of any caste,
even the lowest, will wash his own clothes, and so the Dhobi has been
formed into a caste which shall bear the impurities of all.” Mr. Risley
disputes this connection of Doms and Dhobis through the common use of
the donkey on various grounds. “In the first place the use of donkeys
by the Dhobi caste is so far from being universal that it has given
rise to the formation of a slightly inferior sub-caste called Gadhaiya.
Secondly, beyond the highly conjectural identification of the Doms with
the Chandâls spoken of by Manu, there is nothing to show that the Doms
have the faintest partiality for the donkey. On the contrary the
Magahiya Doms of Bihâr will not touch a donkey and regard the Dhobi
with very special aversion.” It does not appear necessary to connect
the Dhobi with either the Dom or Bhangi in order to account for the low
social rank which he holds. One of his chief tasks, except among the
Dravidian tribes who do the work themselves, is to wash the clothing of
women after child-birth, and his association with blood of this kind,
which is particularly abhorred, stamps him as specially impure. Like
the Kumhâr he keeps asses; but every Dhobi does not necessarily do so,
and may use oxen for carrying clothes to and from the river.

[Internal Organisation.] 2. Like many castes of the same social grade
Dhobis assert that there are seven endogamous divisions or sub-castes.
Thus Sir H. M. Elliot gives the sub-castes as Kanaujiya, Magahiya,
Pagahiya, Belwâr, Bâtham, and Sribâtham (who take their name from
Srâvasti) and Bharka. The last Census gives eleven—Ajudhyabâsi, Bais,
Chithoriya, Deswâr, Kaithiya, Kanaujiya, Kathariya, Mathuriya, Purbiya
or Purabiya, and Sribâstab. A list from Mirzapur gives them as
Kanaujiya, Belwâr, Magahiya, Sribâstab, Musalmân Dhobi, Baiswâra, and
Bhojpuriya. Another from Agra gives—Mathuriya, Bharka, Mârwâri,
Purbiya, and Purbiya Kampu. In Bareilly we find Kathariya, Dehliwâla,
Kampûwâla, and Musalmân. All these are endogamous. Their rule of
exogamy, as stated by them, at Mirzapur is that they will not marry in
the family of their maternal uncle, father’s sister or their own family
(kul) as long as any connection by marriage is remembered. The complete
Census Return shows no less than 925 sub-divisions of the Hindu and 216
of the Muhammadan branch. Of these the most important locally are the
Chauhân, Chhonkar and Gaur of Muzaffarnagar, the Chhonkar of Meerut,
the Purabiya of Agra, the Deswâli of Farrukhâbâd, the Sakarwâr of
Mainpuri, the Bakhar, Jalchhatri, Magadhiya, Mangasha and Pâthak of
Bareilly, the Râjput of Morâdâbâd, the Bhadauriya, Jalkhatri, and
Mahadwâr of Shâhjahânpur, the Deswâli and Purbiya of Pilibhît, the
Amethiya and Belwâr of Cawnpur, the Mâthur of Fatehpur, the Belwâr and
Mâthur of Bânda, the Dakkhinâha, Sarwariya and Uttarâha of Basti, the
Dakkhinâha, Deswâli, Sarwariya and Uttarâha of Azamgarh, the Purabiya
of Lucknow, the Jalpachhar, Magaraha and Sarwariya of Râê Bareli, the
Jaiswâr of Faizâbâd, the Ujjaini of Gonda, the Bahrâichiya of Bahrâich,
the Jaiswâr of Sultânpur, and the Mangaraha of Bârabanki.

[Marriage ceremonies.] 3. To the east of the Province the age for
marriage is twelve for girls and fourteen for boys. A match maker
(agua) at the request of the girl’s father looks out for a suitable
match. When the auspicious time (sa’at) has been fixed by the Brâhman,
he casts the horoscopes (gauna girâna), and when these are found to
correspond, the parents meet and the rite of kori katori is performed.
In this the girl’s father fills a glass full of liquor, puts into it a
silver coin and passes it over to the boy’s father with the words Râm!
Râm! When he has drunk he hands it back to the girl’s father, who also
drinks out of it, and then liquor is served to the clansmen present.
This constitutes the betrothal (mangni). Then a Brâhman is called in
for the dhân pân. In this the girl’s father takes one ser of paddy, two
packets of betel and two betel-nuts. Both fathers hold a cloth in their
hands. The Brâhman first throws one packet of betel and one betel-nut
into the cloth where it is held by the boy’s father, and does the same
for the girl’s father. He next throws a handful of paddy five times
into each side of the cloth. Both parents tie this up, and it is
parched and used for throwing over the pair at the wedding. Then the
Brâhman explains to both the fathers the lucky days for the collection
of the sacred earth (matmangara) and for the anointing (tel hardi), and
the proper date for the wedding. For this service each gives the
Brâhman a pice and a ration of uncooked grain. The girl is feasted that
night and returns home the following morning.

4. On the day of the matmangara the women assemble and sing after they
have anointed their heads with oil. Then the sacred earth is collected
in the way already described in the case of the Bhuiyas. On the day of
the anointing five men of the tribe erect the marriage pavilion in the
usual manner. The barber’s wife rubs the boy with a sprig of dûb grass
soaked in oil and turmeric. No Brâhman attends. On the bhatwân day the
clansmen are fed on rice and pulse, and at night they get drunk and
sing the song known as birha. When the bridegroom, dressed in his
wedding garments, starts with his procession, he is carried out as far
as the door in the arms of his brother-in-law. When he gets outside the
village his wedding clothes are taken off, and he does the rest of the
journey on foot until he approaches the house of the bride, when he is
dressed again. His brother-in-law again carries him in his arms to the
door of the bride’s house, where the wave ceremony (parachhan) is done
by his future mother-in-law, who moves a rice pounder, sieve and a lota
full of water round his head. During this time a Dhârhi plays the
mridang or double drum, and the women beat earthen saucers (thiliya)
with pieces of stone. Then men sing the birha and the women the lâchâri
songs. The wedding party then retire to the reception place (janwânsa)
where all the clansmen assemble. There some food is sent for the
bridegroom from the bride. Then the bridegroom and another boy who acts
as his best man (shâhbâla) eat together. This food is brought by the
girl’s brother-in-law, who receives one anna as his perquisite. Then
the clansmen have a drink and salute each other. When the lucky time
arrives for the marriage, they take the bridegroom to the pavilion and
seat him on a stool facing the east. The friends sit on each side. A
piece of mango wood is lighted and some clarified butter dropped on it
with mango leaves (tallo). The men recite the auspicious marriage songs
(sumangala swâha) and then the bride is brought into the pavilion by
her sister or sister-in-law and she knots together the clothes of the
pair. Then the bride’s father washes the great toes of the pair in a
tray full of Ganges water, which he drinks, and throws a little of the
water on his head. Then behind the shelter of a sheet which is held up
before them the boy applies red lead to the parting of the girl’s hair,
and they walk five times round the marriage pavilion. The boy’s elder
brother throws parched rice over them, and puts a necklace round the
bride’s neck. Then her sister-in-law escorts the pair into the retiring
room (kohabar) and makes them bow to the family god. After this the
boy’s wedding crown is removed and he returns to the wedding party.

5. Next comes the wedding feast (byâh ka bhât). Unmarried boys among
Dhobis do not eat boiled rice (bhât). They taste it first after they
are married. The next day the bride goes off with her husband. On the
third day is the panwpheri, when, if the two houses are near, the bride
goes alone back to her father’s house and comes home by herself to her
husband. Widows are married in the ordinary way by the sagâi or
dharauna form and the levirate is allowed, but it is not compulsory on
the widow to take the younger brother of her late husband.

[Birth and death ceremonies.] 6. The ceremonies at birth and death are
of the usual type common among tribes of the same social standing. The
ceremonial shaving (mûnran) is not usually done unless the parents have
been blessed with a son in answer to a vow (manauti).

[Religion.] 7. Dhobis usually worship the Pânchonpîr and Devi. They are
much given to the worship of ghosts, one of whom named Ghatoriya has a
great reputation in Bundelkhand. They have a very strong tribal council
and are very severe on breaches of caste custom. They rank of course
very low in the social scale, and no respectable Hindu will take
anything from their hands. He is the subject of many proverbs:


    Nai dhobiniya aweli,
    Chirkutwe sâbun laweli.


“The new washerwoman will apply soap even to rags.” “A new broom sweeps
clean.” Dhobi par Dhobi base, tab kapre par sâbun pare. “When many
Dhobis compete, then only does soap reach the clothes.” [326]


                        DISTRIBUTION OF DHOBIS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

==============+======+=====+======+===+=====+======+=======+======+======+===+======+=======+======+=======
  Districts.  | Ajudhiyabâsi.
              |      | Bais.
              |      |     | Bâtham.
              |      |     |      | Chithoriya.
              |      |     |      |   | Deswâr.
              |      |     |      |   |     | Kaithiya.
              |      |     |      |   |     |      | Kanaujiya.
              |      |     |      |   |     |      |       | Kathariya.
              |      |     |      |   |     |      |       |      | Mathuriya.
              |      |     |      |   |     |      |       |      |      | Purbiya.
              |      |     |      |   |     |      |       |      |      |   | Sribâstab.
              |      |     |      |   |     |      |       |      |      |   |      | Others.
              |      |     |      |   |     |      |       |      |      |   |      |       | Musalmân Dhobis.
              |      |     |      |   |     |      |       |      |      |   |      |       |      | Total.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
Dehra Dûn     |  ... | ... |  ... |...|  ...|   ...|    629|   ...|   ...|...|   ...|    719|   313|  1,661
Sahâranpur    |  ... | ... |  ... |...|  ...|   ...|    211|   ...|   ...|...|   ...|  3,652| 4,340|  8,203
Muzaffarnagar |  ... | ... |    12|...|  ...|   ...|    ...|   ...|   ...|...|   ...|    821| 5,413|  6,246
Meerut        |  ... | ... |  ... |...|  ...|   ...|    ...|   ...|   ...|...|   ...|  2,110| 8,684| 10,794
Bulandshahr   |  ... | ... |  ... |...|  ...|   ...|     19|    60|   186|...|   ...|  7,982| 1,906| 10,153
Aligarh       |  ... | ... |  ... |...|  ...|   ...|    ...|   ...| 4,665|...|   ...| 10,015| 1,187| 15,867
Mathura       |  ... | ... |   609|  1|  347|   ...|    109|   105| 1,488|...|   ...|  4,031| 1,046|  7,736
Agra          |  ... | ... | 2,951| 38|1,229|   ...|    264|   ...| 2,380|648|   ...|  4,998|   675| 13,183
Farrukhâbâd   |  ... |  142| 1,491|...|  ...| 4,435|  2,866|    76|   115|...|   142|  3,031|   239| 12,537
Mainpuri      |  ... |  129| 1,208| 11|  ...| 2,621|    297|   ...| 5,523|...|   ...|  3,674|    18| 13,481
Etâwah        |  ... | ... | 7,198|...|  ...|   920|    319|   ...|   510|...|    88|  2,480|     3| 11,518
Etah          |  ... | ... |     6|138|  ...|   645|     15|     7| 9,781|...|   ...|  1,406|   379| 12,377
Bareilly      |  ... | ... |  ... |...|  ...|   ...|    113| 8,604|   ...|...|   ...|  9,546| 3,838| 22,101
Bijnor        |  ... | ... |  ... |...|  ...|   ...|    152|   ...|   ...|...|   ...|  1,445| 7,030|  8,627
Budâun        |  ... | ... |  ... |...|  ...|   95 |     37|   715| 8,110|...|   ...|  2,400| 4,174| 15,531
Morâdâbâd     |  ... | ... |  ... |...|  ...|   ...|     17|   ...|   884|...|   ...|  5,967| 7,384| 14,252
Shâhjahânpur  |  ... |  107| 8,470|...|  ...|   390|  1,384|   382| 1,760|...|   376|  6,427|   325| 19,571
Pilibhît      |  ... |   60| 1,563|...|  ...|   ...|  1,621|   293|   734|...|   571|  4,819|   314|  9,975
Cawnpur       |  ... |   39| 8,202|...|  ...|   125|  1,528|    47|   ...|...| 2,173|  5,170|   117| 17,401
Fatehpur      |  ... |  276| 4,740|...|  ...|   ...|    105|   ...|   ...|...| 1,645|  1,795|   708|  9,269
Bânda         |  ... |  ...| 2,159|...|  ...|   ...|     15|   ...|   ...|...| 5,506|  1,057|   172|  8,909
Hamîrpur      |  ... |  249|   182|...|  ...|   ...|      7|   ...|    10|...| 5,806|  1,698|   377|  8,329
Allahâbâd     |  ... |  ...| 9,195|...|  ...|   ...|  4,840|   ...|   ...|...|   809|  5,715|   715| 21,274
Jhânsi        |  ... |  ...| 4,314|...|  ...|   ...|    315|   ...|    25|...|   637|  1,250|    15|  6,556
Jâlaun        |  ... |   14| 4,443|...|  ...|   ...|      9|   ...|   ...|...|   108|  1,667|   144|  6,385
Lalitpur      |  ... |   20| 3,771|...| ... |   ...|      1|   ...|   ...|...|   ...|    625|   ...|  4,417
Benares       |  ... | ... |  ... |...| ... |   ...|  6,878|   ...|   ...|...|   ...|    344|   818|  8,040
Mirzapur      |  ... | ... |  ... |...| ... |   442|  9,044|   ...|   ...|...|   ...|  2,308|   672| 12,466
Jaunpur       |  ... | ... |  ... |...| ... |   ...|    ...|   ...|12,776|...|   ...|  1,783| 1,080| 15,639
Ghâzipur      |  ... | ... |  ... |...| ... |   ...|  7,076|   ...|   ...|...|   ...|    396| 1,250|  8,722
Ballia        |  ... | ... |  ... |...| ... |   ...|  7,947|   ...|   ...|...|   ...|    280|     6|  8,233
Gorakhpur     |   117| ... |  ... |...| ... |   ...| 37,238|   ...|   ...|...|   ...|  9,174| 2,971| 49,500
Basti         | 4,128| ... |  ... |...| ... |   ...| 17,425|   ...|   ...|...|   ...| 12,367| 1,795| 35,715
Azamgarh      |  ... | ... |  ... | 22| ... |   ...| 14,071|   ...|    68|...|   ...|  1,115| 2,212| 14,488
Kumâun        |  ... | ... |  ... |...| ... |   ...|     11|   ...|   ...|...|   ...|    195|   ...|    206
Garhwâl       |  ... | ... |  ... |...| ... |   ...|    ...|   ...|   ...|...|   ...|     32|    29|     61
Tarâi         |  ... | ... |  ... |...| ... |   ...|     38| 1,258|   ...|...|   ...|    526| 2,096|  3,918
Lucknow       |   140|   82| 1,034|...| ... |   ...|  2,052|   ...|   ...|...| 2,092|  6,624|   769| 12,793
Unâo          |  ... |  447| 1,781|...| ... |   ...|  1,991|   ...|   ...|...| 7,784|  3,828|   311| 16,142
Râê Bareli    |    24|   33| 1,098|...| ... |    62|  3,258|    43| 1,715|...|   ...|  6,408|   474| 13,115
Sîtapur       |   318|  ...| 5,558|...| ... |   ...|  1,143|    27|    81|...| 3,768|  8,616|   889| 20,400
Hardoi        |  ... |  ...|14,628|...| ... |   ...|    497|   ...|   ...|...|   ...|  3,955|   452| 19,532
Kheri         |    27|   19| 8,874| 71| ... |    74|    499|   126|     5|...|   347|  3,017| 1,755| 16,814
Faizâbâd      | 1,094| ... |    14|...| ... |  ... | 12,698|  ... |  ... |...|   141|  2,632|   638| 17,217
Gonda         | 6,619| ... |  ... |...| ... |   283|  1,906|  ... |  ... |...|  ... | 14,377| 2,450| 25,635
Bahrâich      | 2,958|    2|   428|...| ... |  ... |  2,634|  ... |  ... |...|   259|  9,476| 3,469| 19,226
Sultânpur     |   165|   54| 1,163|...| ... |  ... |  6,612|  ... |  ... |...|   674|  3,951| 1,319| 13,938
Partâbgarh    |  ... | ... |  ... |...| ... |  ... |  2,632|  ... |  ... |...|   862|  5,557| 1,385| 10,436
Bârabanki     |    19|   78|   370|...| ... |  ... |  7,200|  ... |  ... |...|   763|  6,124| 2,591| 17,145
              +~~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
     Total    |15,609|1,751|95,462|281|1,576|10,092|157,723|11,693|50,816|648|36,551|197,585|78,947|658,734
==============+======+=====+======+===+=====+======+=======+======+======+===+======+=======+======+=======


Dhuniya, Dhuna (Hindi dhunna, “to card:” Sans. dhu, “to agitate”), the
cotton-carding caste. Other names for them are Behna (Sans. vija,
“seed”), who is properly the man who removes the cotton seed from the
fibre; Katera (kâtna “to spin”), Kandera (Sans. karsha, “dragging,”
kâra, “doer”); if he is a Muhammadan or the speaker a pedant he is
called Naddâf, which in Arabic means “separator.” There are some Hindus
who carry on this occupation; but most of them are Muhammadans, and
these alone find an entry in the returns of the last Census.

[The Hindu Dhuniyas.] 2. To the west of the Province the Hindu Dhuniyas
claim to be of Râjput origin. They are divided into five endogamous
sub-castes—Chauhân and Bargûjar, which are well-known Râjput septs; and
the Dhakeri, Bargali and Chhunkari, which take their names from the
dhâk tree (butea frondosa), the bar (Ficus Indica), and the chhonkar
(prosopis spicigera), all of which are sacred trees and regarded with
special respect by those Dhuniyas who take their names from them. This
idea is probably of totemistic origin. The sub-castes are endogamous,
and though there does not appear to be any regular formula of exogamy,
marriage is usually forbidden in the families of the uncles and aunts
on both sides. Their marriage, birth, and death customs are of the
usual type common to low castes in the same social grade. Their deities
are Mâta, the small-pox goddess, Mîrân Sâhib, the saint of Amroha,
Châmar, Devi, and the Ganges. They employ Brâhmans in their religious
ceremonies and perform the srâddha for deceased ancestors. They drink
spirits and eat the flesh of goats, sheep and fish, but not beef, pork,
fowls, or carrion.

[The Muhammadan Dhuniyas.] 3. These were recorded in the general Census
Report under only one main sub-caste, the Mansûri, who take their name
from a tribal saint, Khwâja Mansûr, of whom they can give no account,
save that he was a faqîr of wondrous piety, who had the power of
working miracles. He is believed to have been a native of Rûm or
Constantinople, and to have accompanied the Dhuniyas when they entered
the country in the train of the early Muhammadan invaders. To the east
of the Province they call themselves Sunni Muhammadans, but they have
retained in their domestic ceremonies many of the forms of the Hindu
ritual of the lower castes from which most of them are probably
converts. Thus they collect the sacred earth (matmangara) at marriages,
carry out the night watch (ratjaga) before marriage, and there is a
distinct survival of marriage by capture in the observance by which the
bride, when the bridegroom arrives at the house for the marriage, is
furnished with a small stick with which she gives him two or three
slight blows on the head as he enters the door. The marriage service is
read by the Qâzi if the parties are well-off; by the Dafâli if they are
poor. At death if there is an educated Muhammadan present he reads the
Fâtiha; but this is not indispensable. They are usually worshippers of
the Pânchonpîr, and they have one special usage, known as the Piyâla or
“cup,” when on a Tuesday in the month of Aghan the men and women go to
the riverside and offer up some spirits and sweetmeats to Sahjamâi, one
of the quintette of the Pânchonpîr; this is consumed by the Dafâli who
acts as priest. They spend the whole night by the river listening to
the songs sung in honour of the goddess by the Dafâli.

4. The complete Census Returns show 152 sections of the Muhammadan
branch of the tribe. Many of them are local terms, such as the
Ajudhyabâsi, Audhiya, Bahrâichi, Baksariya, Gangapâri, Mathuriya,
Purabiya; others are taken from well-known castes or septs, such as the
Baheliya, Banjâra, Bargûjar, Chauhân, Dhângar, Gaur, Gorakhi, Gûjar,
Kharebindi, Madâri, Mukeri, Naddâf, Panwâr, Pathân, Râjput, Râthaur,
Râwat; others are purely Muhammadan in form as Ansâri, Châryâri,
Jalâli, Khwâja-mahar, Khwâja-mansûri, Khwâja-Muhammadi, Khwâja-Sarâi,
Muhammad Hanfi, Muhammadi, Momîn, Sayyid, Shâhmansûri, Shaikh Shiah,
Sunni, Turkiya, and Usmâni.

[Occupation.] 5. The primary business of the Dhuniya is the carding or
rather scutching of cotton. This is done by subjecting it to the
vibration produced by a bow string (dhanuhi, Sanskrit, dhanus). The bow
is usually suspended from the roof so as to hang at a convenient height
above the pile of loose cotton. The string is then twanged with a
wooden catch so as to strike a small portion of the cotton, the fibre
of which is scattered by the impact and thrown off in an uniform
condition of soft fluff. At the same time any dirt which is entangled
in the fibre falls out and the clean cotton is made up into balls, some
of which are passed on to the spinner and some are used for the padding
of quilts and wraps (razâi, lihâf) and the warm-padded garments used in
the cold weather. The Dhuniya also sometimes keeps a small shop where
he sells thread and various articles, such as pewter bangles, forehead
spangles, and similar things. Another trade which he often follows is
the making of the little charcoal balls (tikiya) used for lighting the
tobacco in the huqqa.

[Nâmdeo, the saint.] 6. The Dhuniyas have in Nâmdeo Bhagat a tribal
saint who is much respected by them. He is said to have been born in
Mârwâr in A.D. 1443 and to have flourished in the time of Sikandar Lodi
(1488–1512). According to one account he was a Mahratta and was born at
Pandharpur, in the Dakkhin. “He is said to have been persecuted by the
Musalmâns, who tried to persuade him to repeat the words Allâh! Allâh!
instead of his favourite Râm! Râm! but by a variety of astonishing
miracles he escaped from their hands. After a considerable amount of
travelling to and fro, he at last settled in the village of Ghumân, in
the Batâla Tahsîl of the Gurdâspur District, where he died. A shrine,
known as the Darbâr, was erected in his honour in Ghumân, and on the
Sankrânt day of every Mâgh a crowded fair is held there in his honour.
His followers can scarcely be said to constitute a sect. They are
almost entirely Chhimbas (the Dhuniyas of these Provinces) or Dhobis by
caste. Their founder appears to have stoutly resisted the pretensions
of Muhammadanism, and was looked as a follower of Râmchandra, but his
Hinduism was by no means of the ordinary type. He taught emphatically
the unity of God and the uselessness of ceremonial, and his doctrines
would appear to have approached fairly close to those of Nânak and the
Eastern Sikhs; and several of his poems are included in the Sikh Adi
Granth. At any rate the followers of Bâba Nâmdeo are very largely Sikhs
by religion, and they are said, whether Sikhs or Hindus by religion, to
hold the Granth in reverence and to follow many Sikh customs. They have
no distinctive worship of their own.” [327]


DISTRIBUTION OF THE DHUNIYAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+========+=======+=======
      Districts.  |Mansûri.|Others.|Total.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |   ...  |    179|    179
    Sahâranpur    |   ...  |  2,799|  2,799
    Muzaffarnagar |   ...  |  3,013|  3,013
    Meerut        |   ...  |  4,422|  4,422
    Bulandshahr   |   ...  |  1,500|  1,500
    Aligarh       |  1,330 |  5,041|  6,371
    Mathura       |   ...  |     64|     64
    Agra          |     11 |    399|    410
    Farrukhâbâd   |      1 |  7,329|  7,330
    Mainpuri      |   ...  |  3,263|  3,263
    Etâwah        |     51 |  3,737|  3,788
    Etah          |   ...  |  4,525|  4,525
    Bareilly      |  1,520 | 11,708| 13,228
    Bijnor        |   ...  | 11,056| 11,056
    Budâun        |     44 |  1,808|  1,852
    Morâdâbâd     |   ...  |  7,862|  7,862
    Shâhjahânpur  |    118 |  8,589|  8,707
    Pilibhît      |     15 |  5,932|  5,947
    Cawnpur       |    126 |  8,383|  8,509
    Fatehpur      |  1,639 |  3,756|  5,395
    Bânda         |  2,681 |  4,724|  7,405
    Hamîrpur      |   ...  |  8,341|  8,341
    Allahâbâd     |  2,238 | 15,841| 18,079
    Jhânsi        |    228 |  4,374|  4,602
    Jâlaun        |     70 |  2,894|  2,964
    Lalitpur      |   ...  |  1,116|  1,116
    Benares       |    703 |  4,553|  5,256
    Mirzapur      |    372 |  6,003|  6,375
    Jaunpur       | 11,710 |  2,049| 13,759
    Ghâzipur      |  2,055 |  2,318|  4,373
    Ballia        |    608 |  3,042|  3,650
    Gorakhpur     | 30,520 |  9,949| 40,469
    Basti         | 28,559 |  1,024| 29,583
    Azamgarh      |  2,256 | 17,428| 19,684
    Tarâi         |   ...  |  1,745|  1,745
    Lucknow       |  1,460 |  4,186|  5,646
    Unâo          |    566 |  7,344|  7,910
    Râê Bareli    |    115 |  9,035|  9,150
    Sîtapur       |  5,845 |  7,749| 13,594
    Hardoi        |     50 | 10,708| 10,758
    Kheri         |    511 | 11,127| 11,638
    Faizâbâd      |      1 | 12,787| 12,788
    Gonda         |    699 | 12,264| 16,963
    Bahrâich      |  1,096 | 15,037| 16,133
    Sultânpur     |   ...  |  7,909|  7,909
    Partâbgarh    |    258 |  7,369|  7,627
    Bârabanki     |  1,064 | 13,186| 14,250
                  +~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
          Total   | 98,520 |303,467|401,987
    ==============+========+=======+=======


Dhûsar; Dhûnsar, [328] a tribe usually classed as a sub-caste of
Banyas, but who claim a higher origin than the ordinary Vaisyas. They
take their name from a hill called Dhûsi or Dhosi, near Nârnaul, on the
borders between Alwar and British territory. There their ancestor Chima
or Chimand Rishi is said to have performed his devotions. This Rishi is
said to have married a daughter of the Râja of Kâshi or Benares. Their
head-quarters in Western India are Rewâri, in Gurgâon. Their
pretensions to Brâhmanical origin are admitted by Brâhmans themselves,
and they are now usually known as Bhârgava or “descendants of Bhrigu,”
who was one of the Prajapatis or great Rishis, and is regarded as the
founder of the race of the Bhrigus or Bhârgavas, in which were born
Jamadagni and Parasurâma. Manu calls him son, and says that he confides
to him his Institutes. According to the Mahâbhârata he officiated at
Daksha’s celebrated sacrifice, and had his beard pulled out by Siva.
The same authority also tells the following story:—“It is related of
Bhrigu that he rescued the sage Agastya from the tyranny of King
Nahusha, who had obtained superhuman power. Bhrigu crept into Agastya’s
hair to avoid the potent glance of Nahusha, and when that tyrant
attached Agastya to his chariot and kicked him on the head to make him
move, Bhrigu cursed Nahusha and he was turned into a serpent. Bhrigu on
Nahusha’s supplication, limited the duration of the curse.” [329]

2. In the hills they appear to be in some places Banyas and in others
Brâhmans. “They take their food before morning prayer, contrary to the
usual Hindu custom. Of late years, however, they have begun to adopt
the more orthodox custom. They do not eat animal or other prohibited
food, and do not drink spirits. They worship the orthodox deities and
consider Brahma, Siva and Vishnu the same God under different forms.
The Brâhman Dhûsar marries among his caste fellows, and the Banya with
Banyas, avoiding always the same family (gotra) or one having the same
family deity.” [330] The only sections shown in the Census Returns are
Kâns and Mâhur.

3. In the plains their traditions vary. According to one account they
were driven from their original home, Kashmîr, by the tyranny of their
rulers, and settled in Delhi. In Benares they fix on Delhi as their
home. Those in Mathura have emigrated from Gurgâon and have acquired
considerable property and influence. “They combine the office aptitude
of the Kâyasth with the keen scent for money-making and the flinty
hard-heartedness to a debtor characteristic of a Banya. They are
consequently mostly hard landlords and wealthy men. They are the
hereditary Qânûngos of Mathura and Chhâta.” [331]

4. Dhûsars are all Vaishnavas, and in these Provinces at least none of
them are Sarâogis. They regulate their lives by the most orthodox rules
of Hinduism and are particularly careful in the observance of Hindu
ceremonies. They are a rising, ambitious, thriving class, excellent
clerks and men of business. They are also noted for their skill in
music.

5. The Bhârgava Sabha of Jaypur has supplied an account of the caste
which represents that the Dhûsars were formerly family priests
(Purohit) of various Râjas, but they now, since the Muhammadan
invasions, have discontinued these functions. Other usages (âchâr) they
practise like Brâhmans. Only those who are noted for Sanskrit learning
are known by the title Pandit. Like other Brâhmans they worship the
Rishis, from whom these eponymous gotras are derived. Some do the
oblation (tarpana) daily: others at the Pitrapaksha, or fortnight
devoted to the dead. They worship the ordinary Pâncha Devata or five
greater gods.

The main saints of the creed are Charandâsji, Navaldâsji and
Nârâyandâsji, who flourished at Delhi, Mathura and Bindraban,
respectively.

6. Their gotras are—

(1) Vid or Bandlas, with the Pravaras, Bhârgava, Chivan, Aptvân,
    Aurab, Bayidît.
(2) Bâchhlas or Vatsa, with Pravaras, Bhârgava, Chivan, Aptvân,
    Aurab, and Jâmdagna.
(3) Bâchhlas or Vatsa, with Pravaras, Bâchhal, Arjuna and Batsat.
(4) Kâsib or Kâship with Pravaras, Kâship, Kutsa, Bhârgava, Chivan,
    Aptvân, Aurab, Jâmdagna.
(5) Gârglas or Gâglas, with Pravaras, Gârgal, Dhriti, Mândava,
    Chivan, Vaishama, or Vinait.
(6) Kutsa or Kuchlas, with Pravaras, Kutsa, Aurab, Jâmdagna.
(7) Gâlas or Golas, with Pravaras, Bhârgava, Chivan, and Jâmdagna.
    All follow the ritual of the Yajur Veda. They claim to belong to
    the Pancha Gauda stock. They are invested with the Brâhmanical cord
    in the ordinary way. Each family has its own household god (Kula
    devata).


DISTRIBUTION OF THE DHÛSARS BY THE CENSUS OF 1891.[332]

    ==============+========
      Districts.  | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |     8
    Sahâranpur    |    33
    Muzaffarnagar |    21
    Meerut        |   395
    Bulandshahr   |    11
    Aligarh       |   148
    Mathura       |   956
    Agra          |   316
    Farrukhâbâd   |    28
    Mainpuri      |   106
    Etâwah        |   247
    Etah          |     3
    Budâun        |    13
    Morâdâbâd     |   258
    Shâhjahânpur  |     4
    Cawnpur       |   495
    Fatehpur      |   860
    Bânda         |   470
    Hamîrpur      |   535
    Allahâbâd     |    69
    Jhânsi        | 4,020
    Jâlaun        |   121
    Lalitpur      |   696
    Benares       |    75
    Mirzapur      |   212
    Jaunpur       |   703
    Ghâzipur      |    24
    Gorakhpur     |    19
    Basti         |   373
    Lucknow       |   864
    Sîtapur       |    31
    Kheri         |     1
    Faizâbâd      |    30
    Gonda         |    37
    Bahrâich      |    36
    Sultânpur     |   260
    Partâbgarh    |     1
                  +~~~~~~~
        Total     |12,497
    ==============+=======


Dikhit; Dikhshit (Sans. dikhshita, “initiated, consecrated”), a
functional division of Brâhmans.—“The priest specially employed to
initiate a Hindu boy into the performance of his religious duties, and
to give him the second birth is called a Dikhshit. The word is simply a
corruption of Dikhshitri, “one who initiates.” It is only boys of the
upper castes, that is those who are called “the twice-born” (dvija) who
are entitled to the privilege of Diksha. But Brâhmanism has for the
last thousand years and more been steadily descending into lower and
lower strata of the population, absorbing one indigenous tribe after
another; and hence the possession of this privilege cannot now be
considered a mark of twice-born ancestry. The orthodox age for
undergoing the rite of diksha is on the completion of the seventh year.
The Hindu book of ceremonies, known as Karam Kand, calls it the eighth,
but the figure is raised to eight by counting the nine months preceding
birth as an additional year. At the present day the orthodox age is not
always observed, and a boy can be initiated a year or two after if it
suits the convenience of the parents to postpone incurring the
expenditure which these rites entail. A boy, whatever his parentage may
be, is not a full Hindu until the diksha has been performed. Up till
then he is little better than a Sûdra or unregenerated person. But on
and after that day he incurs the religious responsibilities to which
his parents have all along intended to dedicate him, as a Christian boy
does by the double rite of baptism and confirmation. Girls are never
initiated as boys are; and thus a high caste woman who marries a man of
the Sûdra rank cannot but become a Sûdra herself. This, I suspect, is
the real explanation of the abhorrence felt by Hindus to a woman being
married into a caste lower than her own. The same abhorrence has never
been felt to a “twice-born” man marrying or cohabiting with a Sûdra
woman; for the woman can rise to the rank of her husband, but as she
has never been initiated she cannot raise the husband to her own. Thus
in Manu’s Code a Brâhman was allowed to take a Sûdra woman into his
house; but if a Sûdra man married a Brâhman woman, the son became a
Chandâla, a sinful and abominable wretch.

2. “The entire ceremony of diksha lasts some eight or nine days.
Throughout those days the boy is put upon a very strict diet, and
undergoes a vigorous course of ablutions. He is bathed regularly at
certain hours; after the bath mustard and oil are rubbed all over his
body, and he then undergoes a second bath to wash them all off again.
All this time he should wear nothing, day or night, but a string of the
sacred grass called kusa, which is tied round his waist and to which a
narrow cloth, called langoti, is attached, fastened between the legs
before and behind. Meanwhile the usual homa offerings are thrown on the
sacred fire by priests of the Hotri class, who have been summoned for
this purpose. When the last and the greatest of the homa offerings has
been made, the sacred thread (upavîta, janeû) is thrown over the left
shoulder of the boy by the Dikshit, and the first act of the initiation
is completed. The Dikshit then throws a cloth over his own and the
boy’s head, and under cover of this cloth he instils into his ear (in
the undertone so that no profane ears may catch what he says) the
Gâyatri and all the other sacred verses which a Hindu should utter on
stated occasions every day of his life. The repetition of all these
verses, and especially the Gâyatri, which is repeated first,
constitutes the closing ceremony by which the boy is formally initiated
into the rites of Hinduism. The boy must have heard and seen something
of these rites beforehand through living with his parents; but until he
has been formally initiated, and this by a Brâhman competent to
discharge the office, he is a mere heathen. For some weeks after the
conclusion of the ceremony the Dikshit remains with the novitiate so as
to help him to perform the several daily rites and make him
sufficiently perfect to be left to himself; and after leaving him he
continues to be his spiritual adviser for the rest of his life whenever
such advice may be required.” [333] The rite is obviously analogous to
the similar initiatory ceremonies which prevail among various primitive
races. [334]

Dikhit; Dikhshit (Sans. dikhshita, “initiated, consecrated”), a
powerful sept of Râjputs.—The traditions of the sept [335] relate that
they are descended from the Sûrajbansi Râjas who for fifty-one
generations ruled over Ajudhya. In the fifty-first generation from
Ikshwâku, Râja Durgavâhu left Ajudhya and emigrated to Gujarât, where
his descendants took the title of Durgbans after their founder. In the
twenty-fourth generation from him Kalyân Sâh Durgbans went to pay
homage to Râja Vikramaditya, the great King of Ujjain, the supreme
monarch of India. From him (about 50 B.C.) he received the title of
Dikhit, which his descendants bore instead of Durgbans. For many years
they remained stationary in Gujarât, and at the time when the kingdom
of Kanauj was at its zenith Balbhadra Dikhit took service with the
Râthaur Râja, and his grandson Jaswant saw the death of the Râja of
Kanauj and the destruction of the power and family of his benefactor.
The name of Balbhadra’s father was Samapradhân, which is a singular
name for a Râjput, and suggests a reason why the Dikhits do not rank so
high in the precedence table as they ought to do if their tradition was
correct. Pradhân was the old name for a Registrar (Qânûngo), which
office was only given to Kâyasths. There may be some intermixture of
Kâyasth blood which spoils the purity of their Sûrajbans descent. It is
curious that in the two sets of villages bordering on old Dikhtiyâna
and now held by Dikhits, there are traditions that the land once
belonged to Kâyasths, who, when hard pressed by their enemies, obtained
help from the Dikhits by ceding part of their villages to them. If the
above hypothesis be true, the Kâyasths in this case only called in
their own distant kindred. Jaswant Sinh had four sons, the eldest of
whom remained in Samoni, and his descendants possess the estate to this
day. The second, Udhaybhân, migrated into Oudh and colonized the
district of Dikhtiyâna. The third, Banwâri, went still further north,
crossing the Ghâgra and Râpti, and, choosing a safe retreat in the
sub-Himalayan forests, founded there the great Sirnet Râj of Bânsi. The
fourth, Khairâj, migrated to the east, and, settling down in the
district of Partâbgarh, took the town of Bilkhar, whence his
descendants are known as Bilkhariyas. The further fortunes of the sept
are given in great detail by Sir C. Elliott.

2. The Dikhtiyâna territory is said to have extended from the borders
of Baiswâra on the east, to Sandi Pâli on the west, and from the Gomati
to the Ganges, including fourteen parganas. Whatever be their claim to
an extensive dominion in the west, there can be no doubt that during
this period the Dikhit Râja held a very high position in the country,
and that this was the time when Dikhtiyâna became famous as a
geographical expression. The list of marriages preserved by the bard
proves this, containing, as it does, the names of the daughters of the
Jângra Râja of Dhaurahra, the Bachgoti of Korar, the Gautam of Argal,
the Bandhalgoti of Garh Amethi, and the Bisen of Mânikpur. With an Oudh
Râjput it is always an object of ambition to marry his daughters into a
family of a higher rank and position than his own, whatever the
attendant expense may be. The chiefs of Eastern Oudh make it their
ambition to marry their daughters only into the great Kachhwâha and
Chauhân clans of Mainpuri and Etâwah; that they should have chosen the
Râja of Dikhtiyâna for their son-in-law is a proof that at that time
his rank and influence were as great as those of the older Western
Râjas are now.

[The Dikhits of the North-west Provinces.] 3. The sept in pargana
Pachotar of Ghâzipur [336] is called from the country they occupy
Pachtoriya. They claim to be Sûrajbansis of Ajudhya, whence they
emigrated to Gujarât. The Ghâzipur branch say that they came from
Bulandshahr about twenty generations ago, and now occupy nearly the
whole of the Pachotar pargana. In Azamgarh [337] they have been
dispossessed of most of their property by the Birwârs. There is another
Azamgarh sept known as Dikhitwâr, who are probably their kindred. They
say that their ancestors came from somewhere in the west and occupied
untenanted land, where the sept now resides. According to Sir H. M.
Elliot, they give their daughters in marriage to the Sombansi,
Raghubansi, Gaharwâr, and Bais, and take brides from the Sengar,
Donwâr, and Kausik septs. In Oudh they have recently been allied only
with neighbouring clans—Sengar, Sakarwâr, Raikwâr, Janwâr, etc., and
infanticide used to be the general rule of the sept.

[Marriage connections.] 4. In Unâo the Dikhits generally give brides to
the Chauhân, Bhadauriya, Kachhwâha, Sengar, and Râthaur septs beyond
the Ganges, and occasionally to the Panwâr: they generally marry their
sons in the Janwâr, Bisen, Mahror, Gautam or Chauhân septs of the
district, Sombansi, Raghubansi, Amethiya, Gaharwâr, Kath, Bais, Gahlot,
Panwâr, or Solankhi septs.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE DIKHIT RÂJPUTS ACCORDING
TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+========
      Districts.  | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Sahâranpur    |    12
    Bulandshahr   |     2
    Mathura       |     7
    Agra          |     9
    Farrukhâbâd   |     7
    Mainpuri      |    32
    Etâwah        |   117
    Etah          |     2
    Bareilly      |    36
    Budâun        |    30
    Morâdâbâd     |   219
    Shâhjahânpur  |    14
    Cawnpur       |   868
    Fatehpur      | 5,560
    Bânda         | 8,159
    Hamîrpur      | 3,546
    Allahâbâd     |   813
    Jhânsi        |   369
    Jâlaun        |    55
    Lalitpur      |     4
    Benares       |   532
    Mirzapur      |   162
    Jaunpur       |   799
    Ghâzipur      |15,176
    Ballia        | 1,090
    Gorakhpur     | 3,613
    Azamgarh      | 5,158
    Lucknow       |   984
    Unâo          | 9,024
    Râê Bareli    | 2,099
    Sîtapur       |   299
    Hardoi        |   284
    Kheri         |   222
    Faizâbâd      |    13
    Gonda         |     5
    Bahrâich      |    69
    Sultânpur     |   364
    Partâbgarh    |   593
    Bârabanki     |   410
                  +~~~~~~
          Total   |60,727
    ==============+======


Diwâna, “those possessed of an evil spirit (dev, div), mad”,—a term
applied in these Provinces to an order of Muhammadan faqîrs, who have
not been separately enumerated in the returns of the last Census.

In the Panjâb they are Hindus, wear uncut hair, a necklace of shells,
and a large feather in their turbans. There is a considerable colony of
them in connection with the shrine of the saint Qâsim Sulaimâni, near
the fort of Chunâr, in the Mirzapur district.

2. Those at Chunâr call themselves the disciples of one Jamâl Diwâna.
Boys are usually initiated into the order at the age of twelve. His
friends take the candidate to the head faqîr of the order, who
says,—“Are you ready to drink of my cup (piyâla) and obey me in all
things?” If he agrees five articles of dress of an ochre colour are
prepared for him, viz., a head covering (pheta), a robe (kafani), a
neck handkerchief (guluband), and waist cloths (lung, langot). A barber
is sent for and his head completely shaved; he is bathed and invested
with the garments of the order. Then the Murshid or preceptor sits
facing the north, and the Murîd or disciple opposite him. An earthen
cup containing one and-a-quarter sers of sharbat made of sugar and
water is brought. First the Murshid recites the Dârûd or benediction
and drinks a little. Then he passes it to the Murîd, who drinks, and
while doing so keeps his eyes fixed on the Murshid. During this part of
the rite he must not even wink. The Murshid then says to him,—“I am now
responsible for your sins. Take care and fix your attention on me. Do
not close your eyes.” When he has drank the draught the Murshid gives
him a necklace made of jaitun wood or of earth from Makka known as khâk
safa or of the seed of the Canna Indica (‘aqîq’ l-bahr), a handkerchief
of ochre-coloured cloth, a thin walking stick made of the wood of the
peach tree (âru), and a wooden begging bowl (kajkol). With this he begs
from all the company. He also receives a wooden scraper (phâora), which
he ties to his waist. This over, he salutes the other members of the
order present in the word Miyân; and they reply Haqq Miyân. When he is
thus initiated he gets a station (takya), and the Sajjâda-nashin or
Abbot gives him daily for his food two cakes in the morning and three
in the evening with some pulse. If the disciple does not care to live
in the Dargâh or head-quarters of the order, he can remain with his
friends by leave of the Murshid. Those who live in the Dargâh remain
celibate; if they live with their friends they can marry.

[Domestic rites.] The non-celibate members of the order marry according
to the regular Musalmân formula. The dowry (mahr) is generally fixed at
fifty-one thousand rupees. Women in child-birth are secluded for forty
days; a fire is kept lighting in the room—and she is watched by her
female friends, a custom known as Qâzi Sâhib ki chauki. In their death
customs they conform to the usual Muhammadan ritual.

4. The Diwânas are a useless set of beggars and not held in much
estimation by any one.

Dogar,—a Panjâbi tribe who have emigrated in small numbers into the
western districts of these Provinces. Of them Mr. Brandreth writes in
his Fîrozpur Settlement Report [338]:—

“The Dogars are supposed to be converted Chauhân Râjputs from the
neighbourhood of Delhi. They migrated first to the neighbourhood of Pâk
Pattan, whence they spread gradually along the banks of the Sutlej, and
entered the Fîrozpur district about one hundred years ago. The Fîrozpur
Dogars are all descended from a common ancestor named Bahlol, but they
are called Mâhu Dogars, from Mâhu, the grandfather of Bahlol. Bahlol
had three sons, Bambu, Langar, and Sammu. The Dogars of Fîrozpur and
Mullanwâla are the descendants of Bambu; those of Khai the descendants
of Langar; the descendants of Sammu live in the Qasûr territory. There
are many other sub-castes of the Dogars in other districts along the
banks of the Sutlej, as the Parchat, the Topara, the Chopara, etc. The
Chopara Dogars occupy Mandot. The Fîrozpur Dogars consider themselves
superior in rank and descent to the other sub-castes. They are very
particular to whom they give their daughters in marriage, though they
take wives from all the other families. At one time infanticide is said
to have prevailed among them, but I do not think there is much trace of
it at the present day.

2. Sir H. Lawrence, who knew the Dogars well, writes of them that they
are “tall, handsome, and sinewy, and are remarkable for having almost
without exception, large, aquiline noses; they are fanciful and
violent, and tenacious of what they consider their rights, though
susceptible to kindness, and not wanting in courage, they appear to
have been always troublesome subjects, and too fond of their own free
form of life to willingly take service as soldiers. The Jewish face
which is found among the Dogars, and in which they resemble the
Afghâns, is very remarkable, and makes it probable that there is very
little Chauhân blood in their veins, notwithstanding the fondness with
which they attempt to trace their connection with that ancient family
of Râjputs. Like the Gûjars and Naipâlis they are great thieves, and
prefer pasturing cattle to cultivating. Their favourite crime is
cattle-stealing. There are, however, some respectable persons among
them, especially in the Fîrozpur Ilâqa. It is only within the last few
years that the principal Dogars have begun to wear any covering for the
head; formerly the whole population, as is the case with the poor
classes still, wore their long hair over their shoulders without any
covering either of sheet or turban. Notwithstanding the difference of
physiognomy, however, the Dogars preserve evident traces of some
connection with the Hindus in most of their family customs, in which
they resemble the Hindus much more than the orthodox Muhammadans.”

3. Mr. Ibbetson adds:—“The Râjput origin of the Dogars is probably very
doubtful, and is strenuously denied by their Râjput neighbours, though
I believe that Dogar or perhaps Doghar (doghla, probably Persian
daghol, dagh, “a stain”) is used in some parts of the Province to
denote one of mixed blood. Another derivation of the name is doghgar or
“milkman.” The Dogars seem to be originally a pastoral rather than an
agricultural tribe, and still to retain a strong liking for cattle,
whether their own or other people’s. They are often classed with
Gûjars, whom they much resemble in their habits. In Lahore and Fîrozpur
they are notorious cattle thieves, but further north they seem to have
settled down and become peaceful husbandmen. They are not good
cultivators. Their social standing seems to be about that of a low
class Râjput; they are practically all Musalmâns. Their chief clans in
the Panjâb are Mattar; China; Tagra; Mâhu, and Chokra.” In these
Provinces they are all Musalmâns.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE DOGARS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======
      Districts.  |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Sahâranpur    |    1
    Muzaffarnagar |  338
                  +~~~~~~~
           Total  |  339
    ==============+=======


Dom; [339] Domra; Domahra (Sans. Doma; Dama; Domba), a Dravidian menial
caste found scattered throughout these Provinces, regarding whose
origin and ethnological affinities there has been much speculation. To
the east of the Province they are usually known as Dom, but are
sometimes called Jallâd, “executioner,” Hatyâra, “murderous,
blood-thirsty,” or Supach, which is, as we shall see, traditionally the
name of the founder of the tribe, and who also enters into the legends
of the Bhangis. The name seems to represent the Svapâka or “cooker of
dogs,” a man of a degraded and outcast tribe, the son of an Ugra woman
by a Kshatriya. He is required to live outside towns like the Chandâla,
to eat his food in broken vessels, to wear the clothes of the dead, and
to be excluded from all intercourse with other tribes; he can possess
no other property than asses and dogs, and his only office is to act as
public executioner or to carry out the bodies of those who die without
kindred. His kinsman, the Chandâla, according to Manu, [340] ranks in
impurity with the town boar, the dog, a woman in her courses, and an
eunuch, none of whom must a Brâhman allow to see him when eating.
According to Dr. Caldwell [341] they are the surviving representatives
of an older, ruder, and blacker race who preceded the Dravidians in
India. Sir H. M. Elliot [342] considers them to be “one of the original
tribes of India. Tradition fixes their residence to the north of the
Ghâgra, touching the Bhars on the east in the vicinity of the Rohini.
Several old forts testify to their former importance, and still retain
the names of their founders, as, for instance, Domdiha and Domingarh,
in the Gorakhpur District. Râmgarh and Sahnkot, on the Rohini, are also
Dom forts.” Attempts have, also, been made to connect them in some way
with the Domkatâr or Domtikâr Râjputs of Gorakhpur, and with the Domwâr
Bhuînhârs. [343] All this discussion is, as Mr. Risley says, somewhat
profitless; but out of it seems to emerge “a general consensus of
opinion that the Doms belong to one of the races whom, for convenience
of expression, we may call the aborigines of India. Their personal
appearance bears out this opinion.” Mr. Beames [344] describes the Doms
of Champâran as “small and dark, with long tresses of unkempt hair, and
the peculiar glassy eye of the non-Aryan autochthon,” and Mr. Sherring
[345] remarks that “dark-complexioned, low of stature, and somewhat
repulsive in appearance, they are readily distinguished from all the
better castes of Hindus.” “The type, however,” Mr. Risley adds, “as is
the case with most widely-diffused castes, seems to display appreciable
variations. In Eastern Bengal, according to Dr. Wise, the Dom’s hair is
long, black, and coarse, while his complexion is oftener of a brown
than a black hue; and among the Magahiya Doms, whom I have seen in
Bihâr, only a small portion struck me as showing any marked resemblance
to the aborigines of Chota Nâgpur, who are, I suppose, among the purest
specimens of the non-Aryan races of India. On the whole, however, the
prevalent type of physique and complexion seems to mark the caste as
not of Aryan descent, although evidence is wanting to connect it with
any compact aboriginal tribe of the present day. The fact that for
centuries they have been condemned to the most menial duties, and have
served as the helots of the entire village community, would, of itself,
be sufficient to break down whatever tribal spirit they may once have
possessed, and to obliterate all structural traces of their true
origin.”

2. To this must be added another point which cannot be left out of
consideration in dealing with these menial races. The tribes of
scavengers, such as the Bhangi and Dom, have for many generations
formed a sort of Cave of Adullam for the outcastes of the higher races,
and the notorious immoral character of the women of these tribes must
have had a powerful effect in modifying the physique and appearance of
castes such as these. If the Dom varies in physical character from one
part of the Province to another, it is only what might naturally be
expected. On the whole it may perhaps be safer to regard the Doms, not
as a single, individual aggregate, but as a more or less mixed body of
menials, who have been for ages in a state of the utmost degradation,
and whose appearance and physique have been largely modified by the
rigour of their occupation and environment.

[Tradition of origin—Eastern Doms.] 3. The origin of the Dom to the
east of the Province is thus told by themselves. In the good old times
all people were equally well-to-do and happy. The Brâhmans had no
property and built no houses for themselves. When Parameswar desired to
appear in the world he took the form of a Brâhman. Then intending to
divide men into castes, he went about begging as a Brâhman, wishing to
ascertain what occupation each family followed. As he begged for alms
no man gave him aught but silver and gold. At last he reached the house
of a man who had killed a cow and was preparing to feed on the beef. He
begged for alms, and the cow-killer brought from his house a handful of
gold coins. Parameswar refused the money and asked for a little barley.
The Domin, or woman of the house, went inside and found a place in the
courtyard which had been trampled into mud by the feet of the cow in
her death struggle, and there a few ears of barley had suddenly
sprouted up. The woman plucked the grain and offered it to Parameswar,
who asked her where she had found it. She told him how the grain had
sprouted in her courtyard. Parameswar asked where was the cow which had
prepared the ground in which the grain had grown. She replied that it
had been killed by her husband. Then Parameswar was wroth and cursed
her husband: “Thou and thy posterity shall kill animals and remain
beggars for ever.” Then the Domin cursed Parameswar in the form of a
Brâhman—


    Jahân Brâhman jâwê,
    Châr dhakka khâwê,
    Ek pichhâri, chhattîs gantha.


“Wherever the Brâhman goes he shall receive four pushes. Thirty-six
knots in a single sheet.” So ever since Doms are beggars and slayers of
animals, and Brâhmans are poor and live on alms. This legend, of
course, cannot be of any great antiquity, as the feeling of respect for
the cow is of comparatively modern origin.

4. According to the Panjâb legend the ancestor of the Doms was a
Brâhman named Malludant. He was the youngest of the family, and his
elder brothers expelled him. One day the calf of their cow died, and
they asked Malludant to take away the carcass and bury it. When he did
so he was treated as an outcast, and was obliged ever after to make his
living by skinning and burying dead animals. This legend, under a
slightly different form, is told also in connection with the Bhangis.

5. Another story, again, makes the Doms the descendants of Râja Ben or
Vena, and from him one of their sub-castes has taken the name Benbansi.
The legend of this king suggests that he was some early reformer who
made himself obnoxious to Brâhmans. When he became king he issued a
proclamation,—“Men must not sacrifice nor give gifts nor present
oblations. Who else but myself is the object of sacrifice? I am for
ever the lord of offerings.” The sages remonstrated respectfully with
him, but in vain. They admonished him in sterner terms, and when he
persisted in his piety they slew him with blades of the sacred kusa
grass. After his death the sages beheld clouds of dust, and on inquiry
found that they arose from the bands of men who had taken to plundering
because the land was left without a king. As Vena was childless, the
sages rubbed his thigh, and from it there came a man “like a charred
log, with flat face and extremely short.” The sages told him to sit
down (nishâda). He did so, and hence was called Nishâda, from whom
sprang the “Nishâdas dwelling in the Vindhyan mountains, distinguished
by their wicked deeds.” It may be noted that Benbans is the title of a
modern Râjput sept which is of obvious Kharwâr origin. By another
account the name is derived by the Doms from their trade in making fans
(bena, Sans. vyajana).

[Internal structure.] 6. As might have been expected in the case of a
tribe which is obviously composed of various elements their internal
structure is most intricate. Under the general term Dom there are in
these Provinces at least three distinct classes of people. There are,
first, the wandering race of houseless thieves and vagrants who infest
Bihâr and the eastern districts of the North-Western Provinces. Some of
these have gradually raised themselves above the degraded status of
their vagabond brethren. Some of them have settled down on the
outskirts of towns and villages, and have taken to scavengering or
industries connected with cane-work and basket-making. Such are the
Dharkâr and Bânsphor or Basor, whom it is more convenient to discuss
separately. Next come the Doms of the Himalayan districts, who deny all
connection with the eastern branch of the tribe, and have gained a
fairly respectable position as husbandmen and artisans. Lastly come the
Dom or Dûm Mirâsi, who are singers and musicians, and are treated of
under the head Mirâsi.

[The Doms of the Eastern districts.] 7. Like so many of the lower
castes the Eastern Doms profess to have seven endogamous sub-castes.
According to the Mirzapur enumeration these are,—Magahiya; Bânsphor;
Litta; Domra or Domahra; Jallâd or Hatyâra; Dharkâr; and Harchanni;
which last take their name from the famous Râja Harischandra, whose
legend is given in connection with the Bhangis. Again, in Bânda, we
have a list of so-called exogamous sections or gotras inasmuch as they
will not give a bride to a section from which within memory they have
taken a bride. These sections are Tarkiya; Gepar; Gemar or Gaymar;
Pesadeli, Barhel; Hazâriya; Usarbarsa; Kundahor; Dharkâl or Dharkâr;
Chamrel; Chureliya; Satchuliha; Samand; Asrent; Mahtama; Naharkârei;
Mungariya; Nanet; Kaithel; Suador; Jugin; Nagarband; Dhaunsiya; Birha;
Sarkhiya; Baksariya; Gujariya; Lungtaya or Langotiya. Some of these
names probably denote some connection with other tribes, as the Chamrel
with Chamârs, Kaithel with Kâyasths, and Gujariya with Gûjrat. Others
are perhaps occupational or totemistic; but we know at present too
little of the origin or metamorphosis of these section names to make
any speculations as to their meaning of any value.

8. From Gorakhpur, again, we have another enumeration which is thus
described by Mr. J. Kennedy:—“The Doms say that they formerly
cultivated and owned the land, but when pressure came the Magahiyas
divided into two great sub-divisions—the Magahiyas and the Bânsphors.
The Magahiyas took to thieving, while the Bânsphors were content to
weave baskets and cultivate what land they could. These two
sub-divisions do not intermarry, and it must be remembered that my
notes relate to the thieving class alone, Magahiyas proper, who count
themselves the true, original stock. They always describe themselves as
sub-divided into seven distinct families; but excluding the Bânsphors,
of whom I have spoken, there are really six—Sâwant; Balgai; Chaudhari;
Chauhân; Bihâri, and Hazâri. The most of these names are taken from the
Hindus, and as Hazâri is a Muhammadan title of honour, this division
into families is probably of a comparatively recent date. Chaudhari and
Chauhân are evidently also meant as honorific titles, and at the time
the division was first made it must have been purely artificial. The
families have no recollection of any common ancestor, nor have they any
cult in memory of the founder. The Bânsphors, I am told, have no such
sub-divisions. The recent and artificial origin of the six
sub-divisions is, therefore, tolerably certain; they are imitations of
Hinduism, and the only use to which they are put is to regulate
marriage. Neither Magahiyas nor Bânsphors can marry their first cousins
by blood, and this was probably the original rule. Besides this no
Sâwant can marry a Sâwant or a Balgai, but any of the six families can
intermarry with any other. The wandering gangs of Magahiyas are
composed indiscriminately of men belonging to each clan family; but
each gang has its own leader and the office is hereditary in the
leader’s family. An outsider is never selected unless the family stock
has failed.” At the same time it may be urged that this form of
sectional exogamy is probably much more primitive than Mr. Kennedy is
disposed to believe. It is, of course, possible that the names of the
exogamous sections may have been changed under Hindu or Muhammadan
influence, but it seems also certain that this form of exogamy is one
of the primitive institutions of the caste.

9. The Magahiya Doms take their name from the ancient kingdom of
Magadha or South Bihâr. Curiously enough the Mirzapur Magahiyas have
lost all traditions of any connection with Magadha, and say that their
name means “vagrant” from the Hindi mag, Sanskrit marga, “a road.” They
have been identified with the Maccocalingae of Pliny, [346] and they
are found as far south as Madras. [347] In their original state the
Magahiyas are vagrants pure and simple, who have not even mats or tents
to cover themselves in rainy or cold weather. In this respect they are
in a lower grade than nomads like the Sânsyas or Hâbûras. They frequent
the jungles, but seem to have no aptitude for hunting or fishing. They
live by burglary and theft, while the women prostitute themselves. In
dry weather they sleep under trees, and in the rains or chill of winter
they slink into outhouses or crouch under a thatch or any other shelter
they can find. In their depredations they never use the sabari or
“jemmy” used by the ordinary Indian burglar. Their characteristic
weapon is the curved knife (bânka), with which they are supposed to
split the bamboo for making baskets, which with begging are their
ostensible occupations. But this knife is generally used for making
holes beside doorposts (baghli). In cold weather they carry about at
night an earthen pot full of hot coals, over which they crouch and warm
themselves; and this, when closely beset, they fling with great
accuracy at their assailants, often causing severe wounds.

10. Various attempts have been made to reform this branch of the tribe.
To quote a note by Mr. D. T. Roberts, prepared for the last Police
Commission:—“In Gorakhpur almost every scheme possible to think of has
been considered over and over again and rejected as hopeless, the
prevailing opinion being that nothing short of confinement between four
walls would do any good. In 1873, and again in 1880, the question of
bringing them under the Criminal Tribes Act was considered, and the
conclusion come to in 1880 was that no special measures for the
reclamation of this tribe seem likely to be successful, and there was
no use proclaiming them under the Act, because they have no means of
earning their livelihood honestly, and the only thing to be done was to
keep them under unceasing surveillance, and to punish with severity on
commission of crime.

11. “In 1884, Mr. Kennedy, the Magistrate of Gorakhpur, again applied
himself to the task. Some of the Doms were collected in the city and
employed as sweepers, taught brick-making, and made to work on the
roads, and others were settled in larger or smaller groups in different
villages, and received assignments of land, and up to date this scheme,
supported by an annual grant of Rs. 1,500, is being carried on. Some
Doms do regular work as sweepers; none of them have as yet acquired any
handicraft, even the simple one of brick-making. No work can be got out
of them except under incessant supervision. Their fields are cultivated
only when some one is standing over them, and when assistance is
rendered by other cultivators.

12. “Nevertheless, on a comparison of the earlier with the later
reports, a certain advance is observable. The Doms no longer skulk in
fields and forests. They are all settled in some village or another
which they recognise as their home. Whereas formerly Doms said that
they could not sleep under a roof because ghosts troubled them, they
now take kindly enough to living in houses, and will complain, not of
ghosts, but of the roof leaking. It is something to have restrained
their wandering propensities to this extent, and to have given them
some appreciation of a settled and civilised life.”

[Eastern Doms; tribal traditions.] 13. According to one story Mahâdeva
and Pârvati invited all the castes to a feast. Supach Bhagat, the
ancestor of the tribe, came late; and being very hungry ate the
leavings of the others. Since that time they have been degraded, and
eat the leavings of the other people.

14. Another legend connects them with Râja Râmchandra, in whose camp
one of their ancestors committed theft; hence the deity cursed them
with a life of begging and stealing.

15. A third legend tells that once upon a time the gods held a council
for the distribution of the nectar among themselves. A demon came and
stole some of the nectar and was detected by Vishnu, who severed his
head from his body; but as the demon had eaten the nectar he had become
immortal, the two pieces of his body became the demons, Râhu and Ketu,
who periodically devour the moon and cause eclipses. As the Doms, who
worship these demons are able to induce them to release the moon, pious
people give alms to this caste at eclipses in order to secure their
good offices to release the moon.

16. By another story Râmchandra once blessed Supach Bhagat, and said
that if any one were cremated with fire, received from him or any of
his descendants he would go straight to heaven. Since then the
descendants of Supach Bhagat supply fire at cremation grounds.

17. Lastly, a story explains the hatred of the Magahiya Doms for
Dhobis. Supach Bhagat once put up at the house of a Dhobi who, when he
was drunk, fed his guest on the dung of his ass. Supach Bhagat cursed
him and his kin for ever, and since that time no Dom will touch an ass
or a Dhobi. In the Bihâr form of the legend, as told by Mr. Risley,
Supach Bhagat had a quarrel with a Dhobi and killed and ate his ass. He
subsequently cursed the Dhobi. Mr. Risley suggests that the legend may
perhaps be a distorted version of some primitive taboo in which Dhobis
and donkeys somehow played a part, but it is perhaps equally possible
that the story may have been invented to explain why the general Hindu
taboo against the Dhobi and his ass is followed by a caste so little
scrupulous as the Doms.

[The Bânsphor Doms.] 18. The Bânsphor branch of the Eastern Doms forms
the subject of a special article, and they need not be discussed more
specially here.

[The Litta Doms.] 19. The Litta branch of the Doms are said to derive
their name from some word which means “wanderer.” They may perhaps be
connected with the Let sub-caste of the Bengal Bâgdis, who are probably
akin to the Doms. These people have no home and live by begging.

[The Domra branch of the Eastern Doms.] 20. The term Domra or Domahra,
which is applied to the whole tribe, is also apparently sometimes used
in the more restricted sense as designating those Doms who supply fire
at cremation grounds.

[The Jallâd or Hatyâra branch of the Eastern Doms.] 21. The term
Jallâd, which is an Arabic term for “a public flogger,” and Hatyâra
(Sans. hatya, “murder”) is more specially applied to those Doms who are
employed in cities to kill ownerless dogs and to act as public
executioners.

[The Dharkâr branch of the Eastern Doms.] 22. The Dharkâr branch of the
Eastern Doms has been treated of in a separate article.

[The Harchanni branch of the Eastern Doms.] 23. The Harchanni branch of
the Eastern Doms claim their name and descent from the celebrated Râja
Harischandra who, as told in connection with the Bhangis, gave away all
his wealth in charity and was reduced to become the slave of a Dom. In
return for the kindness of his master the Râja converted the whole
tribe to his religion, which they followed ever since.

[The tribal council of the Eastern Doms.] 24. Writing of the Magahiyas
of Gorakhpur Mr. Kennedy says:—“All disputes are settled by the
panchâyat, but the longest term of exclusion from the brotherhood is
twelve years. During that period no companionship can be held with the
outlaw even in a theft. Outlawry is, however, redeemable by a fine and
feast. The abduction of a Domra girl by force and the introduction of
foreign women into the camp are a frequent cause of panchâyats. I am
told that murder of any human being or of a cow is also severely
punished; but this is about the boundary line of Domra morality with
regard to outsiders. Strangers are occasionally adopted by the
Magahiyas. Two or three Chamârs, a Muhammadan, an Ahîr, and a Teli, who
had turned Domras, were lately among the inmates of the jail. It is the
women who chiefly attract these recruits.” Another frequent cause of
meetings of the Domra council is interference with the begging beat of
one camp. These beats are carefully recognised, and are sometimes given
as a dowry at marriage. Any strange Domra who begs or steals in the
beat of another is liable to excommunication, and the Domra of that
beat will have no hesitation in giving up to the Police a stranger of
the tribe who steals within his jurisdiction.

[Marriage rules.] 25. Among the Doms of Mirzapur the endogamous
sub-castes have exogamous sections, some of which are territorial or
titular, and some apparently totemistic; but no Dom can give even an
approximately correct list of his sections. If he is asked all he says
is,—“The Panch know.” This rule of exogamy is reinforced by the
prohibition of marriage in the family of the maternal uncle, the
father’s sister, or their own sisters, as long as there is any
remembrance of relationship, which is usually about three or perhaps
four generations. Polygamy is prohibited except the first wife be
barren, in which case a man, with the previous sanction of the council,
may take a second wife. But there seems no restriction in regard to
concubinage. Sahây, the famous Dom executioner at Gorakhpur, used to
keep four women. In Mirzapur if an unmarried girl is detected in an
intrigue with a member of the tribe, her lover has to pay a fine of
five rupees and a sheet to her father, and he then takes her over as
his recognised wife with the sanction of the council. They practise
adult marriage, the usual age for the marriage of a girl being eleven
or twelve. The marriage is arranged by the Chharidâr or “wandsman,” who
is the assistant of the Chaudhari or headman. The consent of the
parents is said to be necessary, but runaway matches appear not to be
uncommon. The bride-price among the settled Doms of Mirzapur is five
rupees, five sers of treacle, a sheet, five lumps of tobacco, and five
packets of betel leaf. The persons of both bride and bridegroom are
carefully examined, and any physical defects which may subsequently
appear are not sufficient grounds for annulling the marriage. After
betrothal if the bride’s friends refuse to make her over they are
obliged to refund the bride-price, and if the man fail to perform the
engagement he is severely punished by the council. Divorce is allowed
when habitual adultery is proved to the satisfaction of the council,
but, as a rule, only the direct evidence of eye-witnesses is considered
sufficient. Divorced women can marry again by the lower or Sagâi form.
Bastard children follow the caste of the father; but a man who
intrigues with a woman not a member of the tribe, if the union has not
been recognised, must pay a fine of two-and-a-half rupees and give a
feast of pork and rice to the clansmen. Widows can marry by the Sagâi
form, and are generally married to widowers. The bridegroom has to make
over eight rupees and one hundred cakes (pûri) to the father of the
woman. He then gives a feast to the clansmen, in the course of which
the relatives of the deceased husband come forward and claim the woman.
Then the assembled clansmen direct the woman’s father to make over the
compensation he has received to the relatives of her first husband.
When this is done the man takes the woman home, puts red lead on the
parting of her hair and palm leaf ornaments (tarki) in her ears. After
he does this and feeds the clansmen on rice and pork the marriage is
considered valid.

The levirate under the usual restrictions is admitted; but there is no
fiction that the children of the levir are attributed to the deceased
brother. Adoption is, of course, unusual; but if a man adopts, he
generally adopts the son of his brother.

26. In Gorakhpur it appears that the bride-price is always spent on the
marriage, and it is alleged that if either party after marriage become
blind, crippled, or leprous, the marriage may be annulled.

[Eastern Doms: birth ceremonies.] 27. Among the Doms of Mirzapur the
mother is attended by the Chamârin midwife and the ceremonies of
purification common to the menial castes are performed. On the twelfth
day after birth the hair of the baby is shaved to remove that last
taint of the birth pollution. The child is named by the senior man in
the family a year after birth. When a man’s children have died in
succession the next baby is sold to some one for a nominal sum; and
then is called Pachkauri, Chhakauri, “he that was sold for five or six
cowries,” or by some other opprobrious epithet. In Gorakhpur the
services of the Chamârin midwife are dispensed with on the sixth day.

The Barahi or twelfth-day ceremony is done on the tenth day. The mother
and child are bathed; her hair is smeared with vermilion, and the
relatives are feasted, then a little liquor is sprinkled over the
woman, and after that she is considered pure.

28. Of the Magahiyas of Gorakhpur Mr. Kennedy writes:—“The birth of a
Domra is always celebrated by a sacrifice to Gandak and Samaiya.
Marriages are contracted when the boy is about ten years old. The
matter is settled by a go-between. The boy’s father pays for the
marriage feast and gives presents to the father of the girl; but the
Magahiyas deny that there is any idea of purchase. No religious
ceremony accompanies the marriage. A panchâyat is assembled, a feast
held, and the girl henceforth resides with her father-in-law. A man is
not restricted in the number of his wives, and concubinage is also
permitted, but the concubine is held in somewhat less esteem than the
wife. A woman is apparently allowed to leave her husband and transfer
herself to another; but in that case she becomes a concubine. The
panchâyat will not restore a wife who has decamped, but they will give
back any property she took away. The frequent residence of the
Magahiyas in jail often obliges women to transfer themselves to other
husbands for support, and makes polygamy advantageous. Polyandry is
unknown.”

[Marriage ceremonies: Eastern Doms.] 29. In Mirzapur the marriage is
arranged by the sister’s husband of the boy’s father. The betrothal
(barrekhi) is done in the usual way by the interchange of two leaf
platters full of liquor, into one of which the boy’s father puts a
couple of rupees, which he passes on to the representative of the
bride. They have the ordinary matmangara ceremony, with the difference
that the lucky earth brought from the village claypit is used for
constructing a large fireplace with a single opening on which the women
of the family cook a mess of rice and pulse, which is placed on a leaf
mat in the place where the marriage is performed. This is an offering
to the Manes, and the phrase used is pitr charhâna. The usual anointing
of bride and bridegroom follows, which is begun by the two fathers, who
sprinkle a little turmeric and oil on the ground and invoke the sainted
dead to assist them in bringing the marriage to a successful
conclusion. It is a peculiarity of the tribe that both men and women
join in the marriage procession. No Brâhman is employed. The boy’s
father repeats the names of his ancestors for five generations, and the
father of the bride does the same for her. Then the pair are seated
close together on a mat made of leaves. The husband of the sister of
the bride’s father drops water on her hands and says:—”Bar kanya
chiranjîva rahen”—“May the bride and bridegroom live long.” This is
done five times. The prominent part taken by the sister’s husband is
possibly a survival of the matriarchate. Then the garments of the pair
are knotted together, and they walk round a branch of the cotton tree
(semal), planted in the middle of the company, five times. After this
the boy puts red lead on the parting of the bride’s hair, and this
constitutes the binding part of the ceremony. They then go into a
retiring room (kohabar) or behind some bushes close by, and there a
good deal of coarse merriment goes on—an obvious survival of the habit
of immediate consummation of the marriage. Besides this, the
respectable form of marriage among the settled Doms, which is known as
charhauwa, there is another form called gurâwat, where two persons
exchange sisters, and a still lower form of the dola type, where the
girl is merely taken by her father to the house of her husband and
lives with him as his wife after a dinner has been given to the
brethren. The temporary connections of women whose husbands are in jail
with other men are also fully recognised. In addition to this almost
any kind of runaway match is allowed; in fact it would be hard to say
what form of sexual intercourse is not recognised as a marriage.

[Death ceremonies: Eastern Doms.] 30. “According to Dr. Wise it is
universally believed in Bengal that Doms do not burn or bury their
dead, but dismember the corpse at night, like the inhabitants of Tibet,
placing the pieces in a pot and sinking them in the nearest river or
reservoir. This horrid idea probably arose from the old Hindu law which
compelled the Doms to bury their dead at night.” [348] This idea does
not seem to prevail in these Provinces. The Doms appear to have no
settled usage as regards the disposal of the corpse. Those who are
fairly well off cremate the corpse, but unlike Hindus, take with them
from the house the fire which is applied to the pyre. The poorer and
vagrant Doms either bury, or sometimes cremate in a very rude and
perfunctory way, or, when it is more convenient, throw the corpse into
running water. Bodies of unmarried children are always thrown into a
river or buried. The Magahiya Doms of Gorakhpur often leave the body in
the jungle. Among the settled Doms of Mirzapur after a cremation they
return to the house of the deceased, light a little oil in the
courtyard and warm their feet in the smoke, the object apparently being
to bar the return of the ghost. Some of them, once the corpse is burnt,
do not take any trouble about the ashes, but leave them where the
cremation took place. Others who are more scrupulous collect them on
the third day and throw them into a neighbouring stream. Then they fix
upon the bank a few blades of grass as a refuge for the wandering
spirit, on which a little water is poured daily. Others lay out a
little platter of food for the use of the departed during the days of
mourning. On the tenth day they assemble at a tank, shave themselves,
bathe, and offer three balls (pinda) of flour. At these ceremonies the
sister’s husband of the chief mourner officiates as priest. This seems
to be another survival of the matriarchate. The same rule applies in
the Bihâr branch of the tribe:—“The son of a deceased man’s sister or
of his female cousin officiates as priest at his funeral and recites
appropriate texts (mantra), receiving a fee for his services when the
inheritance comes to be divided. Some Doms, indeed, assured me that the
sister’s son used formerly to get a share of the property, and that
this rule had only recently fallen into disuse; but their statements
did not seem to be definite enough to carry entire conviction, and I
have met with no corroborative evidence bearing on the point. So also
in marriage the sister’s son or occasionally the sister (suâsin)
repeats mantras and acts generally as priest. Failing either of these
the head of the household officiates. No other indications of an
extinct custom of female kinship appear to exist, and the fact that in
Western Bengal the eldest son gets an extra share on the division of an
inheritance seems to show that kinship by males must have been in force
for a very long time past.” [349]

[Religion: Eastern Doms.] 31. The religious practices of the tribe vary
with the social status of the sub-castes, and there is no standard type
of worship because they are not controlled by Brâhmans. Of the Magahiya
Doms of Gorakhpur Mr. Kennedy writes:—“The Magahiya Domras have two
special divinities of their own; the chief is Gandak, whose grave is to
be found at Karmaini Garhi, two days’ journey to the east of Motihâri,
in Bengal. According to their traditions Gandak was hanged for theft a
long time ago, and when dying he promised always to help the Magahiyas
in trouble. He is worshipped by the whole tribe and is invoked on all
important occasions; but he is pre-eminently the patron god of thefts.
A successful theft is always celebrated by a sacrifice and feast in his
honour. They also worship Samaiya, a female divinity. She is without
any special history, and there is no sharp distinction between her
sphere and Gandak’s. Her functions apparently relate chiefly to birth
and illness, etc.

32. “The Magahiyas sacrifice young pigs and wine with sugar and spices
to these two deities. Every Magahiya is capable of performing the
sacrifice, and the remains are divided among the company, when a vow is
made to Samaiya, e.g., on the birth of a child or when it is teething,
or on the occasion of an illness a special pig is chosen and devoted to
her, and is sacrificed in the fulfilment of the vow. The Magahiyas have
neither altars nor idols, nor do they erect any platform (chabûtra) for
worship. A spot is cleared and plastered in the middle of a field, and
the sacrifice is then offered.

33. “The Magahiyas naturally believe in ghosts and spirits. When a man
dies, my informant told me, he turns into an evil spirit (shaitân). The
godlings (deota) also, he added, were innumerable. In most villages of
this district there is a special altar for all the local ghosts and
deities, which may reside within the village boundaries, and the
Magahiyas are always ready to share in the sacrifices of the villagers
to them. They also reverence trees and platforms consecrated by Hindus
in passing, but pay no further homage. They acknowledge the village
Kâli and sometimes sacrifice to her; but the sacrifices do not differ
from those of the Hindus. They do not acknowledge Mahâdeva or any other
divinity, but they share the general Hindu belief in Parameswar, the
giver and destroyer of life and the author of good and evil. He created
the Magahiyas, they say, and ordered them to be filth and outcasts
among the Hindus. They somehow resort to a Brâhman for the reading of
the Vedas (katha). My informant had given a katha in this way on the
last occasion of his release from jail. In these cases the Magahiyas go
to the Brâhman’s house, but I could not find any other trace of special
reverence for the Brâhmans, nor have they any necessity for them.”

34. In Mirzapur Doms of the better class worship Bhawâni, to whom at
the Naurâtra of Chait they make an offering of hogs, cakes (pûri),
gruel (lapsi), and wreaths of flowers. The Bhawâni, if appeased, keeps
off illness from her votaries. They have a vague idea of an
all-powerful deity, Parameswar, who punishes the guilty, and of a hell,
but what it is and how sinners are punished they know not. The
scavenger Doms, like the Jallâd, have a special female deity called
Kukarmari, “the killer of dogs,” to whom a sacrifice of a young pig and
some spirits is offered outside the village as a propitiation for the
death of these animals. In the same way when a Dom hangman is tying the
rope round the neck of a criminal, he shouts out Dohâi Mahârâni, Dohâi
Sarkâr, Dohâi Judge Sâhib. “Help O great Queen! Help O Government! Help
Mr. Judge!” in order to free himself from any guilt attaching to the
death. They worship the collective local gods (deohâr) at marriages;
but the wandering, vagrant habits of the tribe prevent them possessing
any real respect for the village deities. Women have no worship special
to themselves. On the last day of the first fortnight of Kuâr they make
ten lumps (pinda) of flour and throw them into a river, and when they
come home they put some cakes and sweetened rice on a leaf-platter, and
lay it in a field to propitiate the dead. Some fast on Sunday in the
name of the Sun god Sûraj Nârâyan, but these practises prevail only
among the more Hinduised Doms in the neighbourhood of towns.

35. In Gorakhpur, besides the worship described above, they also
venerate their Guru who is said to have had his head-quarters at
Bhojpur, in the Ballia District, and to his shrine they make occasional
pilgrimages and make an offering of a pig at least four years old,
wine, and flowers. To a goddess named Juthaiya Bhawâni, of whose
functions they can give no account, they offer a young pig and some red
lead, with a lock of their hair, a forehead spangle, and a cake of
flour boiled with pulse.

[Demonology.] 36. Their demonology is much of the usual type common to
the lower castes by whom they are surrounded. They believe that trees
are inhabited by evil spirits, and unless they bow down to trees of
this kind, their ghosts revenge themselves by bringing disease and
death upon them. To such malignant ghosts they offer a young pig, which
is eaten by the worshippers. In Mirzapur the chief Dom festivals are
the Kajari and Phagua or Holi. At the Kajari in the month of Sâwan they
get drunk, dance, and sing. It is the regular woman’s saturnalia, and
on this occasion gross sexual license is tolerated. At the Phagua or
Holi the same is the case. In Gorakhpur, besides the Holi, they observe
the Jiutiya on the eighth of the dark half of Kuâr, and the Khichari on
the day the sun enters the sign of Makar. On the Jiutiya the women fast
in order to ensure long life to their husbands, and the Khichari they
beg boiled rice and pulse from door to door.

37. The Eastern Doms are particularly afraid of the ghosts of drowned
people who are called Bûrna (bûrna “to be drowned”). These malignant
ghosts drag under the water and drown boys who bathe in tanks and
rivers infested by them. [350] Fields are in charge of Mari Masân, the
deity which haunts cremation grounds, and Kukarmari, the dog goddess,
already mentioned. They are ever in dread of the ghosts of the dead,
which torment them in dreams if not propitiated with an annual
sacrifice. If neglected they appear in their original shapes and demand
a sacrifice. Women are tattooed on the arms, wrists, breasts, and
cheeks. If a woman not tattooed attempt to enter heaven the gate-keeper
of Parameswar pitches her down to the earth again. They have the usual
omens of meeting. Many of their women, as in the case of all solitary
and uncanny races such as they are, are said to practise witchcraft.
One way such persons acquire influence over a man is by throwing a
cowry shell at him. They believe firmly in the Evil Eye. When children
have been overlooked and pine away, the cure is to wave some garlic and
pepper pods round the child’s head on a Tuesday or Sunday, and then to
throw them into the fire. The evil influence is supposed to pass away
with the filthy smoke.

[Occupations and social position of the Eastern Doms.] 38. The
occupation and social position of the Eastern Doms differ much
according to the sub-castes. One duty of the ordinary Dom is to supply
fire for cremation. Mr. Sherring [351] describes the custom at Benares
as follows:—“On the arrival of the dead body at the place of cremation,
which in Benares is at the base of one of the steep stairs (ghât)
called the Burning Ghât, 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 fire is brought by the Dom, 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 this purpose; and if, from any circumstance, the
services of one cannot be obtained, great delay and inconvenience are
apt to occur. 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.” There is no fixed fee, and as the Dom naturally makes the
best of his position and raises his demands according to the position
and wealth of his customers, this class of Dom, who is known as
Kâshiwâla or “he of Benares,” has a bad reputation for insolence and
extortion.

39. From his business and environment the Dom is, of course, regarded
by all respectable Hindus with contempt, fear, and abhorrence. No one
will touch food or water from his hands. The Magahiya Dom of Gorakhpur
will eat anything except the flesh of the monkey, serpent, and lizard.
Mr. Kennedy says that they eat most things, including carrion; but
certain animals, beasts of prey, cats, and dogs, etc., they will not
eat. In Mirzapur I have seen them squabbling over the carcass of a dead
horse in an obvious condition of advanced decomposition. They are
always on the look out for tiger flesh, but they say that they stew it
down more than once, as it is very heating. They will, as already
stated, refuse the leavings of a Dhobi, and to this the more settled
Doms of Mirzapur add those of the Hela, Musahar, and Chamâr. Doms who
have adopted more cleanly occupations than their vagrant and scavenger
brethren, such as basket-making, are naturally becoming more Hinduised
and more careful in matters of diet. Those Doms who have settled down,
like the Bânsphor and the Dharkâr, to working in cane, and the Jallâd
to scavenging and acting as public executioners, are fairly
respectable, industrious people. Those who work in cane use a peculiar
curved knife known as bânki. They make fans (bena), baskets (dauri),
boxes (petâra), scales (tarâzu), winnowing fans (sûp), lampstands
(dîwat), irrigation baskets (dala), and betel boxes (belhara). These
workers in cane are known in cities by the Persian title of Bedbâf
[352] (Pers. bed, “cane;” bâftan, “to weave”). They split the cane into
eight strips (târ), with an instrument (taraunthi) like a lemon-slicer.
The outside cuttings he sells to bakers for making the mould (sâncha)
used for applying cakes to the walls of the ovens. The Bedbâf weaves
the backs and seats of chairs and makes baskets, etc. The Bânsphor
makes baskets, but works only in bamboo. He splits the bamboo into
strips (patta), which are soaked and woven into baskets. The allied
people known as Kori Chhapparband make door-screens (chiq, tatti) and
thatches (chhappar). They work in bamboos and the reed grass known as
sentha (saccharum sara). The Parchhatti and Gudariya make stools
(mondha), and the Dharkâr fine furniture, fine door-screens, baskets,
fans, etc., from bamboo, but he works in bamboo and they in reed.

40. Of the Gorakhpur Magahiyas Mr. Kennedy writes:—“They eat cow’s
flesh readily, but they will not kill the cow. They also offer milk,
like Hindus, to snakes at the Nâgpanchami, but have no reverence for
tigers or other animals. They express some reverence for the great
rivers, Ganga and Nârâyani, etc. This, I think, nearly marks the extent
to which they have been Hinduised. The pîpal is the only sacred tree,
and no Magahiya will pluck its leaves. They hold this superstition so
firmly that I suspect it is aboriginal. No reverence is paid to the
banyan or any other sacred Hindu tree or plant. They have a special
superstition about iron, and will not use it for certain purposes. A
Magahiya who commits burglary with an iron instrument will not only be
excluded from the brotherhood, but his eyes will some day start out of
his head. Their most solemn oath is celebrated after the following
fashion: A piece of ground is cleared and plastered as if for
sacrifice. A piece of iron, a dish of water, some leaves of the pîpal,
and a particular kind of Tarâi grass with some lighted charcoal are all
put separately on the ground. On the top a pice is placed, and the oath
is taken over it. An oath by the Dhobi is also particularly binding.”

Other oaths of the Eastern Doms are on the altar of the deities they
worship, on a pîpal leaf, on a knife stuck in the ground, with the
fingers of the right hand resting on a vessel full of spirits, or with
some cow-dung fixed on the horn of a dead cow. They use none of the
ordinary forms of salutation, but simply join their hands as a mark of
respect.

[The Doms of the Himalayas.] 41. The Doms of Kumâun have been thought
to be akin to the aboriginal Râjis; but the latter repudiate the idea
and profess the very greatest contempt for the Doms; so that if one of
that class enter the dwelling of a Râji, the place must be purified
with water brought from twenty-two different sources. They are supposed
to be the relics of the original inhabitants of the country,
corresponding to the Dhiyar or ore-smelters of Jammu, the Bâtal of the
Kashmîr Valley, the Bem of Ladâkh, the Newâr of Nepâl. In Garhwâl they
appear to have been enslaved by the immigrant Khasiyas. Under the name
of Dûm they are described in Jammu [353] as “dark in colour, small in
limb, and their countenance is of a much lower type than that of the
Dogras generally, though one sees exceptions, due no doubt to an
admixture of blood, for, curiously, the separation of them from the
daily life of the others does not prevent an occasional intercourse
that tends in some degree to assimilate the races.” In the Himalayan
Districts of these Provinces the Dom has been recognised as a
descendant of the Dasyus of the Veda, who are supposed to have held
Upper India before the advent of the Nâga or Khasa race.

[Sub-castes of the Himalayan Doms.] 42. The complete Census Returns
show as the main sections of the Hill Doms the Auji, Badhai, Bera,
Baroda, Chamâr, Chunara, Darzi, Das, Dhaki, Dhobi, Dholi, Dhunâr,
Kamar, Koli, Lohâr, Mochi, Nâth, Pahariya, Sahiya, Tamoli, Tamta, and
Teli, most of which are occupational. In Garhwâl, according to Mr.
Atkinson, [354] they are divided in popular estimation into four
classes. To the first belong the Kolis, Tamotas, Lohârs, Orhs, and
Dhârhis. The Kolis weave cloth, keep pigs and fowls, and are
agricultural labourers. The Tamotas or Tamtas represent the Thatheras
of the plains, and are workers in brass and copper. The Lohârs are
workers in iron. The Orhs comprise both masons and carpenters. Dhârhis,
though socially ranked with Doms, do not belong to them, for they
properly include only those Khasiyas who have been put out of caste for
some offence, and their offspring form a new caste with the addition of
the fresh avocation. To the second class belong the Bhûls, Chunyârs,
Ruriyas, Agaris, and Pahris. The Bhûls represent the Telis of the
plains, but also do field work. They are also called Bâryas. The
Chunyâras are turners, and make wooden vessels and the bottoms of
huqqas. The Ruriyas make various kinds of bamboo baskets and sieves.
The Agaris are iron smelters, and must be carefully discriminated from
the Dravidian Agariyas of Mirzapur. They are Doms attached to the
service of the mines by the former Râjas, but are gradually exchanging
a very ill-paid and dangerous avocation for that of road-making and
other profitable work. The Pahris are village messengers, and are the
same as the Chamâr village watchmen of the plains. To the third class
belong the Mallâhs, Daryas, and Chamârs. The Mallâhs are also called
Dhunârs, and are for the most part engaged in agriculture. The Daryas
are village sorcerers, and conjure away hailstorms and the like, for
which service they receive annual dues of grain. The Chamârs call
themselves Bairsawa, and will never acknowledge the name of Chamâr.
They sew leather and perform all the usual service duties of the Dom.

43. The fourth class includes the professional beggars and vagrant
musicians of the Hills—the Bâdi, Hurkiya, Darzi, and Dholi. The Bâdi is
the village musician; in the plains he is considered to be a Nat. He
plays on various instruments and sings at festivals. He goes from
village to village begging from door to door, and belongs to the class
of sturdy beggars who, if they do not get what they expect, lampoon the
people of the house and abuse them. For these reasons they are, to some
extent, feared, and are able to maintain themselves at the expense of
their neighbours. They also snare fowl and fish. The Hurkiya are so
called from the small double drum (huruk, huruka) shaped like an
hourglass which he carries. This is an archaic musical instrument like
the damaru, which is one of Siva’s emblems. They never take to
agriculture, and wander about with their women, who dance and sing. The
Darzi, also called Auji and Suji, lives by tailoring, though often
solely by agriculture. To the Darzi class belongs the Dholi so called
from beating the drum (dholak). This is done by way of incantation to
cause sprites and ghosts to enter or leave the person of any one, and
so induce that person to give money to the performer. The Darya, Bâdi,
Hurkiya, and Dholi are all Doms, and “are in the hills the recognised
priests of the malignant spirits of the hill and glen, whose aid is
always sought after before anything serious is undertaken or any
difficult task is attempted. It is the Doms who preserve to the present
day the pure demonism of the aborigines, while the Khasiyas temper it
with the worship of the village deities, the named and localised divine
entities, and furnish from their ranks the priests. Most of the Barhais
belong to the Orh division of the Doms, and the Chunapaz or
lime-burners belong to the Agari and Lohâr branches of the Doms.
Finally there is a class known as Domjogi, who are beggars. The portion
of the village site assigned to Doms is in the hills known as Domaura
or Domtola, like the Chamrauti where the Chamârs of the plains
congregate.”

44. Most of these divisions of the Doms of the hills are thus purely
occupational, and, as might have been expected, the enumeration varies.
Thus Pandit Juâla Dat Joshi writing of the Doms of Kumâun says that
Doms usually do not use the term Dom in speaking of themselves, but
call themselves Bairsawa, or Tallijâti or Bâbarjâti, “outcasts,” or
they call themselves by their occupation Orh, Lohâr, and so on. He
enumerates the Kumâun Doms under the heads of Sarki Dotiwâla, who work
in leather; Tamta, workers in brass; Lohâr, workers in iron; Orh and
Bârele masons; Tirua, who do tinning and making of horse shoes; Bhûl,
oilmen; Mochi, workers in leather; Koli, cloth-weavers; Bâruri, makers
of bamboo baskets, Dhuni, Dhuni Dom, and ordinary Doms who are said to
be a mixed race of men from the plains and ordinary Hill Doms who work
as ploughmen and day labourers; Dholi, who play on drums at festivals;
Hurkiya, who play and sing and prostitute their women; Chamâr, who skin
animals; Bâdi, who play on drums and work as tailors. He adds that the
reason of the increase of this caste is that they admit outcasts from
the superior tribes. The Baura are separate from the Dom, and say that
they were originally Jâts.

According to the same authority, the Orh, Tamta, Lohâr, Bârê, Bhûl,
Tirua, Mochi, Dhuni, Koli, and Bâruri are exogamous, but as they
advance in wealth, they show a tendency to break up into endogamous
groups. The Chamâr, Dholi, Bâdi, and Hurkiya are endogamous, and will
eat kachchi and pakki only from members of their own sub-caste. Their
rule of exogamy is simply that the recognised descendants of one common
ancestor will not intermarry. Some of them, as they are becoming more
Hinduised, have adopted the rule of not intermarrying within five
generations on the side of the mother and seven on the side of the
father. They can marry as many wives as they please, of whom the
youngest and best-looking is regarded as head. He says that the Doms do
not prostitute their women before marriage; but that among the Bhotiyas
it used to be the habit for young men and girls to meet in a special
house in the village, where, after drinking, each youth selected a girl
and cohabited with her in perfect freedom. The custom is now
disappearing. We have here a good example of that form of promiscuity
before marriage, of which Dr. Westermarck has collected numerous
instances. [355]

46. Girls, he goes on to say, are married between the age of eight and
ten. When the parties are of that age, their relatives arrange the
marriage for them; but when a girl has passed the age of puberty she
may choose a husband for herself. There are two recognised forms of
marriage, the superior, in which the father of the bride gives her away
with a dowry, and the less respectable form in which the relatives of
the bridegroom pay one-third of the expenses of the marriage.

47. They put away a woman when she is attacked with leprosy, becomes a
lunatic or loses caste. A divorced woman, provided she has not been
divorced on account of disease, may be taken on as a concubine, but she
cannot be married again by any of the regular forms. The levirate and
widow-marriage are recognised, and the children of a widow regularly
married and of a widow rank equally; but the children of a concubine
hold a lower rank, as they cannot join in the worship of deceased
ancestors. A widow taken over by a man is known as rakhui, and it is
said to be the custom for widows not to live with a man unless they
have no one to support them.

[Domestic ceremonies: Himalayan Doms.] 48. When a woman comes to the
seventh month of pregnancy she is forbidden to cook for her family or
to perform the domestic worship. When the child is born, a lump of
coarse sugar is distributed to those present; the child is bathed, and
red powder (rori) applied to its head and to that of the mother and all
the women of the house. For eleven days the male members of the family
are considered impure. In the case of the birth of twins, they perform
a propitiatory ceremony.

49. The marriage ceremony is in the form usual among the lower castes.
No Brâhman officiates, and his place is taken by the sister’s son who
receives a fee for his services. The binding portion of the ceremony is
the feeding of the brethren.

50. They burn their dead and dispose of the ashes into a neighbouring
stream. In this case also the sister’s son or the son-in-law of the
dead man officiates and is given a loin cloth and some money. The death
impurity lasts for eleven days. At her first menstruation a girl is
impure for eleven days, and only for four days at each subsequent
occurrence of the menses.

[Religion of the Himalayan Doms.] 51. According to Mr. Atkinson, [356]
“their montane and non-Brâhmanical origin is sufficiently shown by the
names of the deities worshipped by them—Ganganâth, Bholanâth, Masân,
Khabîsh, Goril, Kshetrpâl, Saim, Airi Kalbisht or Kaluwa, Chaumu,
Badhân, Hâru, Latu, Bheliya, the Katyûri Râjas, Rûniya, Bâlchan,
Kâlchan, Bhausi, Chhurmal. Ganganâth is the favourite deity of the Doms
and his origin is thus accounted for. The son of Bhabichand, Râja of
Doti, quarrelled with his family and became a religious mendicant. In
the course of his wanderings he arrived at Adoli, a village in Patti
Sâlam, and there saw and fell in love with the wife of one Krishna
Joshi. This Joshi was a servant at Almora, and the Jogi disguised
himself and took service in the house in which the woman lived. When
Krishna heard of the intrigue, he set out for Adoli, and, with the aid
of one Jhaparna Lohâr, murdered his wife and her lover. Like Bholanâth
and his companions, the Jogi, his mistress, and the unborn child became
goblins and vexed the people so that they built a temple and instituted
a regular service in honour of the three sprites. From Adoli the cult
of Ganganâth spread over Kumâun, and at Takuriya Lwâli and Narai in his
home patti we have temples in his honour. He is supposed especially to
harass the young and beautiful, if they do not propitiate him. When any
one is aggrieved by the wicked or powerful, he goes to Ganganâth for
aid, who invariably punishes the evil-doer. He sometimes possesses a
follower, and through him promises all that they desire to those who
offer the following articles—to Ganganâth himself a kid, cakes,
sweetmeats, beads, a bag and a pair of Jogi’s ear rings; to his
mistress Bhâna, a petticoat, a sheet, and a nose ring; and to the child
a coat and amulets—altogether forming a fair spoil to the Ghantuwa or
astrologer who conducts the ceremonies.

52. “The current legend regarding the origin of the local deity
Bholanâth and his consort Barhini forms one of the connecting links
between the Brâhmanical system of the present day and the universal
hierarchy of sprites and goblins common to all mountainous countries.
With the better classes Bholanâth is recognised as a form of Mahâdeva,
and Barhini as a form of his Sâkti, [357] thus meeting the requirements
of the popular worship and the demands of the orthodox school, but it
is evident that the idea of deifying mortals is an old one, and in this
case merely localised to explain the origin of a class of temples which
are acknowledged not to belong to the orthodox forms of Mahâdeva. One
story tells us how Uday Chand, Râja of Almora, had two queens, each of
whom bore him a son. When the children arrived at man’s estate, the
elder of the two took to evil courses and was disinherited and left
Kumâun. The younger in course of time succeeded his father as Gyân
Chand, and his administration gave great satisfaction and relief to the
people. Gyân Chand had been some years on the throne when his elder
brother returned to Almora, and took up his quarters there in the guise
of a religious mendicant. In spite of his disguise several recognised
the disinherited prince, and conveyed the news of his arrival to his
brother Gyân Chand. He became alarmed and gave orders for the
assassination of his brother which was carried out by a man of the
Bariya or gardener caste. The elder prince and his pregnant mistress
were both slain near the temple of Sîtala Devi. The mistress was the
wife of a Brâhman, and her connection with the Chand prince was
considered something more than adulterous. After death the elder
brother became a bhût. A small iron trident is sometimes placed in the
corner of a cottage as an emblem of Bholanâth, and is usually resorted
to when any sudden or unexpected calamity attacks the inmates.

53. “The demon Masân is usually found at burning grounds. He is
supposed to be of black colour and hideous appearance. He comes from
the remains of a funeral pyre and chases people passing by who
sometimes die of fright, others linger for a few days and some even go
mad. When a person becomes possessed by Masân, the people invoke the
beneficent spirit of the house to come and take possession of some
member of the family, and all begin to dance. At length some one works
himself into a state of frenzy and commences to torture and belabour
the body of the person possessed by Masân, until at length a cure is
effected or the patient perishes under this drastic treatment.

54. “Khabîsh resembles Masân in his malignant nature and fondness for
charnel grounds. He is also met with in dark glens and forests in
various shapes. Sometimes he imitates the bellow of a buffalo, or the
cry of a goat-herd or neat-herd, and sometimes he grunts like a wild
pig. At other times he assumes the guise of a religious mendicant and
joins travellers on their way, but his conversation (like that of all
the Indian bhûts who speak through their nose) is always
unintelligible. Like Masân he often frightens people and sometimes
possesses unfortunate travellers who get benighted.”

55. Goril, Goriya, Gwel, Gwâll or Gol is another deified mortal of whom
the legend is given by Mr. Atkinson. He was beaten out of Garhwâl by
Sudarsan Sâh. The idea that a bhût can be driven out by beating is
embodied in two well-known Hindi proverbs—Mâr kê âge bhût bhâgta hai,
“A thrashing makes a bhût run;” and Lâton kê bhût bâton sê nahîn mântê,
“Goblins that want kicking won’t mind words.”

56. Khetrpâl is the same as Bhûmiya, the protector of field and
homestead, extensively worshipped in the western districts. Saim or
Sayam, “the black one” (Sans. shyâma) is another form of the same
deity. He sometimes possesses people, and his sign is that the hair of
the scalp-lock becomes hopelessly entangled.

57. Kalbisht or Kaluwa is said to have been a neat-herd who lived some
two hundred years ago. His enemies persuaded his brother-in-law Himmat
to drive a peg into the hoof of one of Kalbisht’s buffaloes, intending
that he should be killed in attempting to extract it, but no harm
ensued. Himmat next attacked him from behind with an axe, and so
wounded him on the neck that he died, but not before he had torn the
treacherous Himmat limb from limb. He has now become a benevolent
sprite, and his name is used by herdsmen as a charm against wild
beasts, and oppressed persons resort to his temple for justice against
their oppressors.

58. Chaumu is also a deified mortal and a god of cattle; so is Badhân.
On the eleventh day after the birth of a calf his linga is washed first
with water and then milk and cakes, rice and milk are offered at his
temples. Hâru is the deified Haris Chandra, Râja of Champawat who built
the sacred bathing place at Hardwâr. Lâtu was his brother. The Katyûri
Râjas are the defied last independent Râjas of Katyûr. Rûniya is a
malignant bhût who wanders from village to village on coursers formed
of huge boulders, and at night especially exercises his noisy steeds.
He attacks only females, and should any woman attract his attentions
she invariably wastes away, haunted by her ghostly lover and joins him
in the spirit land. Bâlchan, Kâlchan, Bhasni, and Chhurmal are
malignant bhûts of the same kind.

[Religious and social customs of the Himalayan Doms.] 59. To quote
again Mr. Atkinson’s excellent account of this caste—“Doms do not wear
the sacred thread or the bracelet (râkhi) nor do they have caste marks
or wear, as a rule, the top-knot (sikha), and in a rough way they
imitate the customs of the better classes, especially those who have
made money in their contracts with Government. Their offerings to
deceased ancestors (srâddha), when made at all, are performed at the
Amâwas or last day of the Kanyâgat of Kuâr. The sister’s son, younger
sister’s husband or son-in-law act as Brâhmans on the occasion and
receive gifts as such. Doms eat the flesh of all animals, use their
skins, and eat food from all classes except the Bhangi, Musalmân, and
Christian. There is no fixed time for marriage. When an elder brother
dies the younger takes the widow to wife whether she has children or
not; hence the proverb Mal bhîr adhari ber, talai chîr men onchhi “When
the upper walls fall they come on the lower wall.” When the elder
brother dies, the burden falls upon the younger. The elder brother
cannot, however, take to wife the widow of a deceased younger brother,
and contracts a stain if even her shadow crosses his path. He transfers
her to some other of the brotherhood, but if during the lifetime of her
second husband he or she be dissatisfied, another may take her by
paying the cost of her marriage. This may be repeated several times.
The prohibited degrees are only a daughter, sister, uncle, aunt,
brother, and these they cannot eat or smoke with.”

60. To this may be added from the notes of Pandit Juâla Dat Joshi that
their greatest oath is to place the hand on the head of their son;
others say: “If I swear falsely may I eat your flesh.” They also swear
by placing their hands on the grain mortar (okhli), flour mill
(chakki), or on a bell. When there is a dispute about boundaries they
write a curse (bunda) on a piece of paper and holding it on the head of
a son recite the words which run as follows—“If the land in dispute be
mine may I and my children enjoy it, if it be not mine may Parameswar
prevent me from enjoying it.” They believe in the Evil Eye and remove
it by waving some mustard over the patient and then burning it near him
in a pan. They fully believe in the demoniacal theory of disease, and
patients are treated by an exorcisor known as Gannua. They salute one
another by the term pâlâgan; Brâhmans by the word seva and English and
Musalmâns by salâm. Many of them in addition cultivate and some
practise a kind of nomadic cultivation by burning down patches of
jungle.

[Connection between the Doms and Gypsies.] 61. There seems reason to
believe that some at least of the Gypsy tribes of Europe are akin to
the Magahiya Doms; and a connection has been traced between their
languages. Much speculation has been devoted to the term Romani, the
designation of the European gypsies. According to one theory it means
Roman or Roumanian. According to another “the word Rom in all the gypsy
dialects of Europe has a twofold meaning signifying “man” and “husband”
as well as “gypsy.” A satisfactory connection has still to be found for
it, that connected with Râma, the incarnate Vishnu of the Hindus being
discountenanced by the authority of Professor Ascoli of Milan. By a
curious and unexplained coincidence the identical word Rom or Rome
occurs with the meaning “man” in modern Coptic, and according to
Herodotus belonged also to the language of the ancient Egyptians.
Although this isolated fact in no way affects the general bearing of
the question, it is worth noting as an etymological curiosity. It is
not impossible that among the original elements of the Aryan mother
speech may have existed a root ro or rom, expressive of power, the
survival of which we can discern in the Greek romê, “strength,” the
Latin robur, and perhaps in the illustrious name of Rome itself.” On
the other hand Dr. Schrader [358] suggests that the word robur in the
sense of “oak” is the equivalent of arbor “a tree.” At the same time
there seems some reason for believing that Romani in the sense of “a
gypsy” may be connected with our Indian terms Dom and Domra. [359]


DISTRIBUTION OF THE DOMS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

==============+=========+=========+=========+============+=========
Districts.    |Benbansi.| Dhânuk. | Others. |Muhammadans.| Total.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~
Dehra Dûn     |   ...   |   ...   |  18,438 |     210    |  18,648
Sahâranpur    |   ...   |   ...   |      59 |   2,482    |   2,541
Muzaffarnagar |   ...   |   ...   |     254 |   2,299    |   2,553
Meerut        |   ...   |   ...   |   ...   |   4,257    |   4,257
Bulandshahr   |   ...   |   ...   |   ...   |   5,663    |   5,663
Aligarh       |   ...   |   ...   |      21 |     995    |   1,016
Mathura       |   ...   |   ...   |       8 |     873    |     881
Agra          |   ...   |   ...   |      15 |     869    |     884
Farrukhâbâd   |   ...   |   ...   |       3 |     117    |     120
Mainpuri      |   ...   |   ...   |   ...   |     152    |     152
Etâwah        |     6   |   ...   |      20 |     143    |     169
Etah          |   ...   |   ...   |   ...   |      95    |      95
Bareilly      |   ...   |   ...   |   ...   |     538    |     538
Bijnor        |   ...   |   ...   |   ...   |   2,929    |   2,929
Budâun        |   ...   |   ...   |   ...   |     603    |     603
Morâdâbâd     |   ...   |   ...   |       4 |   3,488    |   3,492
Shâhjahânpur  |   ...   |   ...   |   ...   |     307    |     307
Pilibhît      |   ...   |   ...   |   ...   |     295    |     295
Cawnpur       |   ...   |   ...   |      26 |      96    |     122
Fatehpur      |   ...   |   ...   |   ...   |      58    |      58
Bânda         |   ...   |   ...   |   ...   |       8    |       8
Hamîrpur      |   ...   |   ...   |      20 |      27    |      47
Allahâbâd     |   ...   |   ...   |     205 |     108    |     313
Jhânsi        |   ...   |   ...   |       8 |       4    |      12
Jâlaun        |   ...   |   ...   |      18 |      20    |      38
Lalitpur      |   ...   |   ...   |      26 |    ...     |      26
Benares       |   ...   |   ...   |   1,078 |      76    |   1,154
Mirzapur      |   ...   |   ...   |   8,039 |       3    |   8,042
Jaunpur       |   ...   |   ...   |   3,157 |     135    |   3,292
Ghâzipur      |   158   |    11   |   2,968 |      37    |   3,174
Ballia        |    36   |   ...   |   1,671 |    ...     |   1,707
Gorakhpur     |   ...   |   ...   |   7,817 |      72    |   7,889
Basti         |   ...   |   ...   |      82 |     101    |     183
Azamgarh      |     3   |   ...   |   1,234 |     135    |   1,372
Kumâun        |   ...   |   ...   | 137,760 |     ...    | 137,760
Garhwâl       |   ...   |   ...   |  66,529 |     ...    |  66,529
Tarâi         |   ...   |   ...   |   4,996 |     519    |   5,515
Lucknow       |   ...   |   751   |     908 |      12    |   1,671
Unâo          |   ...   | 1,285   |   1,904 |      30    |   3,219
Râê Bareli    |   ...   | 1,411   |   4,084 |      51    |   5,546
Sîtapur       |   ...   |   ...   |      12 |      21    |      33
Hardoi        |   ...   |   ...   |       3 |      24    |      27
Gonda         |   ...   |   129   |   1,790 |      27    |   1,946
Bahrâich      |     8   |    17   |     327 |     109    |     461
Sultânpur     |   ...   |   ...   |     ... |     102    |     102
Partâbgarh    |   ...   |    16   |      24 |       1    |      41
Bârabanki     |   ...   |   780   |   2,441 |     272    |   3,493
              +~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~
        Total |   211   | 4,400   | 265,949 |  28,363    | 298,923
==============+=========+=========+=========+============+=========


Domar.—A caste recorded at the last Census in Allahâbâd Division. The
Census returns show their sections as Lod in Fatehpur; in Bânda,
Bânsphor, Basor, Benbansi, Janwâr, Malik, Saijâd, Sûpabhagat, Thail,
and Tharkâri. This shows that they are really only a sub-caste of the
great Dom race.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE DOMAR ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ============+==========+=========+========
    Districts.  | Turaiha. | Others. | Total.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Cawnpur     |    18    |    141  |    159
    Fatehpur    |   349    |  1,745  |  2,094
    Bânda       |   ...    | 10,371  | 10,371
    Hamîrpur    |   ...    |  2,308  |  2,308
    Allahâbâd   |   ...    |     19  |    197
                +~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
          Total |   367    | 14,762  | 15,129
    ============+==========+=========+========


Donwâr; Dunwâr.—A mixed Râjput-Bhuînhâr sept found in the districts of
Gorakhpur, Ghâzipur, and Azamgarh. According to Sir H. M. Elliot [360]
at one time they were strong enough to establish a principality on the
Kosi in Western Tirhût, and there are several monuments still existing
in that neighbourhood which attest the power of the Donwâr Râja Karna
Deva. In Ghâzipur [361] the Râjput and Bhuînhâr branches are quite
distinct. They have a dark complexion and a cast of countenance which
is not what is usually called Aryan. In Azamgarh [362] both sects admit
descent from common ancestors, Sonpâl being the father of the Râjput,
and Kuspâl of the Bhuînhâr. The Râjput branch say that they came from
Don Darauli in Sâran, and are descended from Mayûra Bhatta, the
mythical ancestor of the Bisen family of Salempur Majhauli, who,
however, disclaim all connection with them. Among Râjputs they are of
little consideration. The Bhuînhâr branch say that they came from
Raindih near Delhi, but they admit their connection with the Donwârs of
Tirhût and Sâran, and speak of themselves as the descendants of Jham
Bhatta, whom they connect in a vague way with Mayûra Bhatta. They are
sometimes known as Rainiya from the village of Raini in Pargana
Muhammadâbâd, an early settlement in Azamgarh.

Dor.—A Râjput sept, now almost all Muhammadans, who before the coming
of the Bargûjars were the chief owners of the country now included in
the Aligarh and Bulandshahr Districts. Colonel Tod [363] remarks “that
though occupying a place in all the genealogies, time has destroyed all
knowledge of the past history of a tribe to gain a victory over whom
was deemed by Prithivi Râja worthy of a tablet.” The local traditions
in Aligarh and Bulandshahr agree that they were lords of a large tract
of country between the Ganges and Jumna long anterior to the Muhammadan
invasion. They were at all times probably subordinate to the Delhi
Râjas; and in Bulandshahr their power had been weakened, and their
possessions encroached upon by the attacks of the Mewâtis, and the
colonisation of their territories by the Bargûjars, Jâts, and other
races. In and about Koil at least they seem to have retained some
remnant of their former authority until the defeat of Prithivi Râja and
the conquest of Delhi and Ajmer. [364] They claim kinship with the
Panwârs and say that they came from the Upper to the Middle Duâb in the
tenth century. They have a curious legend that their name is derived
from the fact that one of their kings offered his head to the local
goddess, Dor being a corruption of Dûnd, “headless.” Haradatta was
their king at the time of the invasion of Mahmûd of Ghazni, and most of
the ruined forts in the Central Duâb are attributed to him and his
descendants. They were finally, in the middle of the twelfth century,
expelled by the Mîna Meos, Bargûjars, and Gahlots, and their power was
finally broken by Shahâb-ud-dîn Ghori. They have now little influence.
A clan of Gûjars of the same name in Khandesh claim their origin from
them. [365]

Dorha; Daurha; Dauraha. [366]—A small caste found only in the Kheri
District, who are so called because they make baskets (dauri). They
have no sub-divisions. They call themselves Râjputs, the descendants of
Râja Vena, who was the old world Brâhmanical type of impiety. They
allege that the poorer members of the tribe were obliged by poverty to
settle down in the Kheri District and take to their present occupation.
Their rules of intermarriage and social position are very much the same
as that of the Gorchhas (q.v.). Their present occupation is the making
and selling of fans, baskets, boxes, etc. A few of them have taken to
agriculture. They marry in the ordinary Hindu form, and employ a
village Pandit to take the auspices. The essential part of the rite is
the sevenfold perambulation of the bride and bridegroom round the
central pole of the marriage shed (mando). The widow usually lives with
her younger brother-in-law. The only rite at such marriages is
investing her with a new set of glass bangles (chûri) and feeding the
brethren. A wife can be turned out for misconduct, and can then marry
again like a widow. They eat mutton and goat’s flesh, fowls and fish,
and drink spirits. They will not eat the flesh of the cow, monkey, pig,
or vermin like crocodiles, jackals, snakes, lizards, rats or the
leavings of other people. No one will eat, drink, or smoke with them.
They number only 68 souls in the Kheri District.

Drâvira.—One of the five sub-castes of Brâhmans which go to make up
what is called the Pancha Drâvira, one of the two great Brâhmanic
groups. According to Dr. Wilson, [367] connected with their Vedic
relations, they are divided into Rig Vedis, Krishna Yajur Vedis, Shukla
Yajur Vedis, Sama Vedis, Drâvida Atharva Vedis, and Nunbis. And by sect
they are either Smârtas, Vaishnavas, Sri Vaishnavas, Bhâgvatas or
Sâktas. “The Drâvira Brâhmans profess to be the most scrupulous in
India in reference to caste observance and practice, and in support of
their pretensions in this respect they exhibit all kinds of absurdities
and puerilities. They are great opponents of the re-marriage of widows
and other proposals of reform.” Their country lies to the south of
Tailangâna and Maisûr and to the east of the Cochin and Travancore
territories.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE DRÂVIRA BRÂHMANS ACCORDING
TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ============+=========
     Districts. | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~
     Sahâranpur |    1
     Mathura    |   61
     Bareilly   |    1
     Morâdâbâd  |    7
     Cawnpur    |    2
     Fatehpur   |    1
     Bânda      |    5
     Jâlaun     |    1
     Ghâzipur   |    7
     Garhwâl    |   22
     Unâo       |  181
     Faizâbâd   |    1
     Bahrâich   |    7
                +~~~~~~~~~
          Total |  297
    ============+=========


Dugdha.—A tribe of inferior Brâhmans on the borders of Fatehpur and
Allahâbâd. “They date their origin from the time of Jay Chand, who
figures in so many fabulous legends of those parts. A certain Pânrê
Brâhman by name Barru, set up his abode as a recluse in Parsakhi,
between Shâhzâdpur and the Ganges, and withdrew himself entirely from
worldly concerns. His credit as a holy man was so great that Jay Chand
became anxious to see him, and promised to reward any one who would
bring him into his presence. After several unsuccessful attempts by all
the chief officers of his Court, a woman of the Râjput tribe, and of
great personal charms, ventured on the difficult undertaking. Her wiles
and blandishments could not be withstood, and before long, the holy
hermit confessed himself the father of several children; and as the
lady succeeded in the object of introducing him to an audience with Jay
Chand, a grant of several villages was bestowed upon her. On the death
of the hermit, she is said to have married a Qâzi, but it is not
probable that such a connection took place at the early period of the
Muhammadan conquest. However, she divided the inheritance, it is
asserted, amongst her children. Those by the Pânrê, who were Dugdha
Brâhmans (i.e., of mixed blood) received forty-eight villages, of the
greater part of which they are in possession to this day. The Musalmân
descendants also retain some of the villages said to have been granted
at the same time. The Dugdhas are reckoned in no repute as Brâhmans;
indeed they are properly Bhuînhârs and are very indifferent about the
rank of the families with which they intermarry, not unfrequently
receiving the daughters of Râjputs as wives.” [368]

Durgbansi.—A Râjput sept found in the eastern part of the Province and
Oudh. They are said to be a branch of the Dikhit sept. In Oudh it is
said that they take their name from Râja Durga Vâhan Dikhit of Ajudhya;
according to the Partâbgarh story, they are really an offshoot from the
Bilkhariya sept, and are named from their ancestor Durga Dâs, the
second son of Râja Râmdeo. Their social position may be judged from
their giving daughters in marriage to the Chamar Gaur, Bandhalgoti,
Tilokchandi Bais, Sombansi, Sûrajbansi, Sirnet, Baghel, and the
Gaharwâr of Kantit. Their sons marry in the septs of Chandel, Puâr,
Gautam, Raghubansi, Ujjaini, and the inferior grades of Bais. [369]

Dusâdh. [370]—A menial tribe found to the east of the province. An
attempt has been made to derive the name from the Sanskrit dush “to be
corrupted” and ad “to eat;” or from dauh-sâdhika, “a porter.” But the
name is more probably of non-Aryan origin. By the account current among
themselves they are the descendants of Duhsâsana, the son of
Dhritarashtra, who, when the Pândavas lost their wife Draupadi, in
gambling with Duryodhana, dragged her forward by the hair and otherwise
misused her. By another story they are the descendants of Bhîmsen. In
the hills they call themselves Khasiya Râjputs, and say they are so
called because they lived on the borders of Kumâun and Garhwâl. Another
legend makes them the descendants of the hero Salhes, who is connected
with the Lorik cycle. He was the companion of Harua and Barua who were
defeated by Lorik.

[Legend of Bâwan Ganga.] 2. There is another famous tribal legend which
is thus told by Mr. Beglar. [371] “There was a Dusâdh living in Râjgir,
whose daughter used to take the household pigs out in the field to
feed. It happened that as she was so engaged on the day of the full
moon of a certain great festival, she saw a Brâhman walking on very
rapidly. On questioning him he replied that he was going to bathe in
the Ganges on the full moon. The girl replied “You cannot possibly
reach the Ganges in time; but if you believe me and your mind be full
of faith, this is the exact moment of the full moon, and here is a pool
(in which her pigs were wallowing); dip into it and you will realise
the full fruits of bathing in the Ganges at this auspicious moment.”
The Brâhman did as she desired and when he was in the pool, she said
“Now is the exact moment. Dive in and see what you get.” The Brâhman
did as desired and found the bottom full of valuable gems, of which he
clutched a handful and came up. “Dive again,” said the girl. He dived
again and found only mud at the bottom. “You see,” said the girl, “that
I told you only the truth, when I said you will be too late if you go
to the Ganges, for at the moment of your first dive the moon was at its
exact full and you got your reward.”

3. “The Brâhman was astonished and seeing her as lovely as she was wise
proposed marriage. She referred him to her father who refused, saying
he could not presume to ally his daughter of low caste to a high caste
Brâhman. The Brâhman thereupon threatened to kill himself, and the
Dusâdh fearful of incurring the guilt of Brahmahatya, consented after
consulting his friends; the marriage was duly solemnised, and the girl
then taught her husband to ask no dowry of her father except a
particular cow, a particular pig, and a particular parrot. The Dusâdh,
on bidding his daughter good-bye and Godspeed when they were departing,
desired his son-in-law to ask for any gift she chose. The Brâhman
refused, but being pressed, he bound the Dusâdh by a promise to grant
his request, and then asked for the cow, the pig and the parrot, as he
had been taught. The Dusâdh being taken aback was bound by his promise
to give them up.

4. “The parrot was an extraordinary one, as he would daily go to
Indra’s palace and bring the news of what took place there to his
mistress; the pig was the leader of all the pigs in the country, and
the cow was no other than the famous Surabhi. One day the parrot told
his mistress that Indra had given orders that during the approaching
rainy season, it should rain nowhere in the district except on the
sterile valleys and stony slopes of Râjgir. The girl on hearing this
immediately called her pig and directed him to dig up the whole of the
stony valleys and hill slopes of Râjgir; the pig with the aid of his
subject pigs did as she desired. She then directed her husband to go
and scatter paddy in all these places, explaining the object to her
husband. He did as desired. When it rained the paddy seed sprouted and
the whole of stony Râjgir was full of paddy, while outside not a blade
of paddy was to be found owing to want of rain. It being reported to
Indra that within Râjgir enough of paddy had been grown to stave off
famine, he ordered an army of mice and rats to be sent to destroy the
crops; but the girl informed of this order by her parrot, got her
husband to procure an army of cats as guard; when it was reported to
Indra that this plan of destroying the crops had failed, he directed
that when cut, each load of the paddy sheaves should produce only
one-and-a-quarter ser of clean paddy. The girl informed by her parrot
of this order, directed her husband to make bundles of only two stalks
of paddy each tied end to end. The order of Indra having gone forth and
become irrevocable, each of these bundles produced one-and-a-quarter
sers of paddy. Indra informed of this and seeing himself outwitted,
ordered a furious storm to blow and scatter all the paddy which had
been threshed out ready for storing. The girl informed of this and
aware that no wattle hut would resist the storm should he store it in
such, directed her husband to dig the deep moat now seen round Râjgir.
When the storm blew it naturally carried all the paddy into these
trenches where it lay safe till the storm had blown over, and thus was
the country saved from famine through the cleverness of this girl, in
memory of whom the pool where her pigs used to wallow was named Bâwan
Ganga or the fifty-two Ganges.” This story is interesting as it marks
the custom which still prevails among the Dusâdhs of introducing men of
higher caste than their own into their tribe, and this is one of the
reasons why it is so difficult to fix their position ethnologically,
and to lay down with certainty whether they are a degraded Aryan race
or of genuine Dravidian stock. The tribe is clearly very much mixed and
is probably a compound of many different races.

[Tribal organisation.] 5. At the last Census the Dusâdhs entered
themselves under seven sub-castes beside others whose numbers were not
sufficient to warrant their inclusion in the returns. These sub-castes
are Bharsiya, Dhârhi, Gondar, Kanaujiya, Madhesiya, Magahiya and Rajar.
Of these we have the Dhârhi separately noticed and the Gondar perhaps
mark a Dravidian branch akin to the Gonds and Mânjhis. Another Mirzapur
enumeration gives the sub-castes, which as usual are supposed to amount
to the mystical number seven, as Magahiya or “residents of Magadha”;
Kanaujiya from Kanauj; Dârhi, Dhârh or Dhârhi which may correspond to
the drummers and singers of that name; Baheliya who have been
separately described as a tribe of hunters and fowlers; Tirhûtiya or
those of Tirabhukti or Tirhût; Palwâr which is also the name of a sept
of Râjputs, and Gondar. A third Mirzapur list supplied by a member of
the tribe gives the sub-castes as Dusâdh, Khatîk, Pâsi, Pahri,
Kuchaniya, Kujra, and Dharkâr, where we have a mixture of various well
known tribes. The detailed Census lists show the sub-castes of local
importance as the Gujahua and Panwâr of Mirzapur; the Barwâr and Belwâr
of Ballia and the Bangariya, Gauriya, Katoraha, Khariya, and Kotiya of
Gorakhpur. All this goes to corroborate the theory of the mixed
character of the tribe. These sub-castes are now endogamous, but there
is some reason to believe that this process of fission into endogamous
groups may, in some instances at least, be of comparatively recent
origin. Thus in Mirzapur they assert that up to modern times the
Magahiya and Kanaujiya Dusâdhs used to intermarry; but now they have
ceased to do so because when the Kanaujiyas gave their daughters to the
Magahiyas, they would not allow them to return home with their
husbands, but insisted on their sons-in-law coming to live with their
fathers-in-law; in other words beena marriage was the rule in these two
groups. The result of this is said to have been that marriage ceased
between them and the groups became endogamous. The Mirzapur Dusâdhs fix
their original home in Magadha or Bihâr, and left it when their
ancestor Râhu, of whom more will be said later on, who used to live in
a place called Kedallean in Bengal was shut up in the temple of
Jagannâth at Puri. He sometimes comes out, and only ten years ago, he
appeared to a Dusâdh lad in Mirzapur who was ploughing in the field for
his master. The godling took pity upon him and showed him where a pot
of gold was buried, wherewith he purchased his freedom from slavery.
Another of their revered ancestors was one Churla of whom many stories
are told. He fell in love with the daughter of a Râja and was killed by
him; since then he has become a tribal godling.

[Tribal council.] 6. The Dusâdhs have a tribal council known as
Panchâyat, of which the Chairman is known as Sardâr or Mâjan, a
corruption of Mahâjan or “great man.” Under him a summoner or wand
bearer, the Chharidâr, who summons the members to the meetings of the
council. All adult members of the tribe have a seat on the council; but
minors are not allowed to attend. The council deals with theft,
adultery, eating and drinking with a stranger, keeping a daughter
unmarried or not allowing her to join her husband or seducing another
man’s wife. The case is decided by the votes of all the members
present. The usual punishment is a fine which varies from five to
twenty rupees. Besides this the culprit has to give a feast to the
members of the council. Money realised by fines is spent in providing
spirits for the entertainment of the council. Those members who are too
poor to pay a fine, are punished with a shoe-beating which is
administered by one of the members. The council, as in all these
tribes, act as compurgators and use the knowledge they themselves have
obtained in deciding a case. When the Chairman whose office is
hereditary is a minor, his duties are discharged by one of his adult
relations.

[Marriage rules.] 7. They do not marry in the family of their maternal
uncle, of their father’s sister, of their sister, till three
generations have expired since the last connection by marriage, and in
their own family (kul) as long as any recollection of a marriage
relationship exists. They can marry a second wife in the lifetime of
the first if she be barren. The second wife is known as adheli or only
half a wife, and her position is very much inferior to that of the
first wife. They are not allowed to keep a concubine of a tribe lower
in the scale than their own; but a man can keep a woman of a higher
caste, and she and her children are admitted to full caste privileges
when the man who cohabits with her gives a tribal feast. Marriage is,
as a rule, adult, and if a girl has long passed the age of puberty, she
is usually treated as a widow and married by the inferior sagâi form.
The parents of the bridegroom in Mirzapur pay a bride-price which is
fixed by established caste custom at five rupees in cash, three sheets,
and four rupees worth of sweetmeats. The consent of the parents is in
all cases necessary to make a marriage valid. The occurrence of any
physical defect after marriage is a valid ground for repudiating the
woman; but such conduct is discouraged, and in all cases such
proceedings must have the sanction of the council. A man can expel a
wife who is detected in adultery, and such women may marry again by the
sagâi form; but before this is allowed, the parents of the guilty pair
have to feed the brethren. It is remarkable among them that the
offspring of the adheli or second wife are excluded from inheritance in
the estate of their father.

[Widow marriage.] 8. Widows and divorced women, if the fine have been
discharged, are married by the sagâi form. Usually a widow is married
to a widower. The match is arranged by a member of the tribe. A Pandit
is called in to announce a lucky date. Then the man with a few friends
goes to the house of the widow and gives her parents some clothes and
sweetmeats. Then the friends on both sides are entertained and at night
the bride is taken into a dark room where the bridegroom goes and
gropes about until he catches her and smears some red lead on her
forehead. It is the etiquette for her to avoid him for some time. This
smearing of powder is usually done in the Deoghar or room devoted to
the worship of the tribal godling. Next morning the bridegroom takes
the bride home and when he has feasted the clansmen the marriage is
recognised as valid.

[Birth ceremonies.] 9. The umbilical cord is cut by a Chamârin, and if
a woman of the caste were to perform this duty, she would be turned out
of caste. She puts it in an earthen pot, the mouth of which she closes
tightly and carries it to the bank of a tank where she buries it
secretly in the ground. In the confinement room a fire is lighted in
which a piece of iron is placed. At the door of the room a branch of a
thorny shrub called senhar is tied, and some hang a bunch of onions.
All these precautions are taken to bar the entrance of the evil spirit
Jamhua, which clutches, in the form of an owl, the throat of the child
and chokes it. Jamhua appears to take its name from Yama, the god of
death. The disease is really infantile tetanus, which is caused by the
careless cutting of the cord with a blunt instrument and the neglect of
all antiseptic precautions. The disease runs a course of about twelve
days, and this accounts among this and the allied castes for the
selection of the twelfth day (barahi) for the performance of ceremonies
to ward off the evil spirit. The Chamârin attends for six days and for
twelve days the mother is daily rubbed with the condiment called ubtan.
On the sixth day is the Chhathi, when the women of the tribe are
provided with oil to rub their heads and red lead to smear on the
parting of their hair. On this occasion some treacle is distributed
among them. The mother and child are bathed while the women sing the
sohar or birth song. The Chamârin receives as her perquisite the old
clothes of the mother. The ceremonies of the sixth day are repeated on
the twelfth day, and the house is purified in the usual way. On both
these occasions, they worship the clan deities Parameswari and
Bandi-Bhawâni in the family oratory (Deoghar) and offer to them balls
of ground rice mixed with sugar and water. Some add a burnt offering
(hom) with flowers and betel. In the same way they worship Gangaji and
all rivers generally in connection with marriage. The women go in
procession to the river side, and there are met by the Dafâli who sings
songs in honour of the Ganges, and the women offer sweets (laddu),
flowers, betel leaves, and make a burnt offering. All these things are
the perquisite of the Dafâli. On their return home the women of the
tribe are entertained on cakes (pûri) and rice boiled with sugar (mîtha
bhât).

[Adoption.] 10. Adoption is common among Dusâdhs. Usually the boy
adopted is the son of a brother or other near relative. All the members
of the caste resident in the villages are invited, and after the
adoption has been announced, they are entertained on spirits, boiled
rice, and pork. They say that the ceremonies on the sixth and twelfth
day after birth amount to an initiation into the caste equivalent to
the Brâhmanical investiture with the sacred thread (janeû), and they
have a great contempt for any one in whose case these ceremonies have
not been duly performed. When a boy is two years old, they get a
goldsmith to pierce his ears at the Khichari festival. The child is
seated facing the east, and is given some sweets during the operation.
The goldsmith receives as his remuneration one anna and a ration of
uncooked grain.

[Betrothal.] 11. Matches are arranged by one of the men of the caste,
who is known as the agua. [372] On an auspicious day fixed by the
Pandit, the father of the girl goes to the house of the boy accompanied
by three or four friends, and when he has inspected the boy, and
approved of him, he gives him some sweets. That day the date of the
formal betrothal, which they call hardi dhân, is fixed. On that day a
square is made in the courtyard and the two fathers sit inside it. A
Pandit is called in and he recites a few verses (mantra). The fathers
each exchange five handfuls of paddy, and the Pandit places a packet of
betel in the hand of each. Then the fathers rush together and each puts
his packet of betel leaves in the breast of the other. They each tie up
the paddy in a handkerchief, and salute each other with Râm!, Râm! Next
comes the changing of cups (piyâla badalna), when the fathers sit in
the square each with a cup of spirits in his hand. They exchange cups
and drink the contents, and the friends are treated to a drink. Then at
the house of the boy a dinner of rice, pulse, and pork is given, and
next day the Pandit fixes an auspicious day for the wedding.

[Marriage ceremonies.] 12. The marriage ceremonies begin with the
digging of the sacred earth (matti khan), which is done by the women,
each of whom receives some oil and red lead to decorate the parting of
her hair. The earth is brought and placed in the marriage shed (mânro),
in the centre of which a ploughshare is erected. Each woman gets some
cakes and in return presents four annas as a contribution to the
expenses of the wedding. The marriage ritual is of the normal type.
When the boy starts to fetch his bride, he is armed with a dagger
(katâr). He is accompanied by a party of musicians (bajaniya). On their
arrival at the bride’s house, the boy’s father sends the bride some
cheap jewelry, known as dal, which is placed in the marriage shed. The
friends all get drunk that night. At the actual wedding, the bride’s
father worships the feet of the bridegroom, and then an offering is
made to Gauri and Ganesa. The pair have their clothes knotted and walk
five times round the shed. After this the bridegroom goes into the
oratory (deoghar) and worships the family gods of the bride. At the
door as he comes out, the bride’s sister bars the way and will not let
him pass until she receives a present, apparently a survival of
marriage by capture. After the husband brings his wife home, the
brethren are fed and Gangaji is worshipped in the way already
described. [373]

[Death ceremonies.] 13. The infant or unmarried dead are buried. Adults
are cremated in the usual way. After the cremation is over the mourners
chew leaves of the bitter nîm tree as a sign of sorrow, and touch
water, their feet and head with a piece of iron to keep off the Bhût.
Then the man who fired the pyre pours a little spirit on the ground in
the name of the deceased, and takes a drink himself, which is also
distributed to the other mourners. Next day the chief mourner goes to
the cremation ground and pours some milk on the ground in the name of
the dead man. In the evening the clansmen assemble. A pit is dug in the
ground and over it they hold a leaf of the pîpal tree on which they
first pour a little milk and a little water, and let it drop into the
pit. The death impurity lasts for seven days. On the tenth day, there
is a ceremonial shaving of the mourners and clansmen; grain is given to
Brâhmans, and the brethren are feasted. They perform the usual srâddha,
and some even go from Mirzapur to Gaya for this purpose.

[Religion.] 14. Dusâdhs assert that they are orthodox Hindus. They are
very seldom initiated into the ordinary sects; but if this be done,
they prefer the Vaishnava cultus. But as appears from their tribal
worship, they have retained a large amount of the primitive animistic
beliefs. Their tribal deities in Mirzapur are Râhu and Ketu, the
ascending and descending nodes, Chhath, Bandi, and Manukh Deva. The
legends and worship of Râhu, the eclipse demon, have been considered
elsewhere, [374] and Mr. Risley [375] has given a very complete and
interesting account of the worship as it prevails in Bihâr. In Mirzapur
the worship of Râhu is done in this wise. A pit is dug in the ground,
one-and-a-quarter cubits wide and seven cubits long. In this logs of
wood are evenly laid, and on them oil is poured. Then a Brâhman is
called in who does the fire sacrifice (hom). When the wood in the
trench has burnt away until only some hot cinders are left, the
worshippers walk one after the other along it followed by the Brâhman
priest. In Bihâr, it is a tribal priest known as the Bhakat who
presides, and the association of the Brâhman in Mirzapur is a very
remarkable fact. Another form of the worship is to fix up two bamboos
in the ground a short distance apart. Between the poles a couple of
swords are tied and thus a sort of ladder is made. The officiant climbs
up these and stands on one of the sword blades with his naked feet and
from the top pours some milk on the ground in the name of Râhu. Then he
descends and a young pig is brought before him which he kills by
repeated thrusts of a sword or spear. Some spirits are also poured on
the ground and the meat and the rest of the offerings are consumed by
the worshippers.

[Songs in honour of Râhu.] 15. As a further illustration of this very
primitive form of worship it may be worth quoting the song sung on this
occasion by the Dusâdhs in the Mirzapur District:—


    1. Kai hâth bhagata tuiri khanawalê? kai man chailawa bojhai ho?
    2. Kai man bhagata ghiu dharkâwalê? Uthelê aginiyân kai dhâr ho?
    3. Sâtê hâth bhagata tuiri khanawalê; man das chailwa bojhan ho.
    4. Sawa man bhagata ghiu dharkâwalê; uthela aginiyân kai dhâr ho.


“O devotee! How many cubits long is the ditch which thou hast dug? How
much wood hast thou laid therein? How many maunds of butter hast thou
poured therein that the billows of fire rise in the air? O devotee!
seven cubits long is the trench which thou hast dug. Ten maunds of
firewood hast thou piled therein. One maund and a quarter of butter
hast thou poured thereon that the billows of fire arise.”


    1. Beriyânhi heri tonhi barajon maliniyân batiyân dawanawân mati
       lâo.
    2. Yahi bâten aihen mâlin Râhu kai khatolawa Ketu kai macholawa
       dawanawân jani lâo.
    3. Awê dehu Râhu kai khatolawa Ketu kai macholwa; ham debê anchara
       pasâr.
    4. Ghorawa ta bandhâwalê asoka ki dariyân; dhapasi kai paithalen
       phulwâr.
    5. Kethuen sinchâwali mâlin dawana menrawa, kethuen sinchâwali mâli
       arabul kai phûl.
    6. Dudhawon sinchâwalon mâlin dawana menrawa Ganga nire arabul ke
       phul.
    7. Dawana menrawa mâlin benchi khochi khaiha arabul kai phûl, mâlin
       rakhiye pratipâl.


“O wife of the gardener! I warn thee bring not thus the marjoram
leaves. The great litter of Râhu and the little litter of Ketu will by
and by pass this way. Bring not then the leaves of marjoram:—Let the
great litter of Râhu and the little litter of Ketu pass this way and I
will spread the robe that covers my breast. Râhu tied his horse to the
Asoka tree and passed quickly into the garden. Said he—“O wife of the
gardener! With what didst thou water the millet and the marjoram; and
with what the Arabul?” [376] She answered “With milk did I water the
marjoram and the millet; with Ganges water the Arabul.” Said Râhu—Sell
the marjoram and the millet and live on what you can make from them;
but preserve the Arabul.”

[Worship of Chhath, etc.] 16. They worship Chhath or Chhathi, the
sixth, on the sixth lunar day of Kuâr. All the previous day they fast
and before sunrise go singing to the river side. They strip and walk
into the water where they stand facing the east till the sun rises,
when they stand with folded hands and bow in reverence to him, and make
an offering of various kinds of cakes (thokwa, gulgula) and any other
kind of wood which they can procure. Some offer in addition grain,
rice, and sweetmeats. These are afterwards distributed among the
friends of the family. The other tribal deities, Bandi and Manukh Deva,
who is the “man spirit,” the Bhût of some dead worthy of the tribe, are
worshipped on the tenth day of Kuâr in the house temple (deoghar) with
a sacrifice of fowls and a young pig and an oblation of spirits. They
also offer seven cups of milk and seven pairs of cakes which they range
round the earthen mound which is the common abiding place of the tribal
gods. They observe most of the ordinary Hindu festivals and take
advantage of the Phagua or Holi and the Kajari to indulge in a good
deal of drinking and gross sensuality. In fact, on these occasions, the
rules of modesty and decency are allowed to fall into abeyance.

[Social rules.] 17. Their oaths are done by standing in water, or on a
pîpal tree, or by touching the head of one of their sons. They will not
eat beef; but use freely mutton, goat’s flesh, and venison. They are
now beginning to abandon the use of fowls. Before eating they put a
little food on the ground in honour of Dharti Mâta, the Earth goddess.
The women wear the ordinary Hindu dress with thick bangles (mâthi) on
the wrist and heavy anklets (pairi). They eat kachchi and pakki cooked
by all Brâhmans, Vaisyas, and Kshatriyas, and also by the more
respectable lower castes, as the Ahîr. They will not eat anything
touched by a Dom, Chamâr or Dharkâr.

[Occupation.] 18. It is said that most of Lord Clive’s army which
fought at Plassey consisted of Dusâdhs. Now they do not take military
service. Their drunken lazy habits prevent them from rising to the
position of occupancy tenants and most of them are ploughmen in the
service of other tenants or landlords or they serve as village watchmen
(gorait, chaukidâr). They practise no handicraft and some of them live
by wood cutting or collecting jungle produce.


                DISTRIBUTION OF DUSÂDHS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

============+=========+=======+=======+==========+==========+=========+======+=======+======
 Districts. |Bharsiya.|Dhârhi.|Gondar.|Kanaujiya.|Madhesiya.|Magahiya.|Rajar.|Others.|Total.
~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~
Sahâranpur  |   ...   |  ...  |  ...  |    ...   |    ...   |   ...   |  ... |     12|    12
Agra        |   ...   |  ...  |  ...  |    ...   |    ...   |   ...   |  ... |     82|    82
Bareilly    |   ...   |  ...  |  ...  |    ...   |    ...   |   ...   |  ... |     81|    81
Budâun      |   ...   |  ...  |  ...  |    ...   |    ...   |   ...   |  ... |    560|   560
Morâdâbâd   |   ...   |  ...  |  ...  |    ...   |    ...   |   ...   |  ... |     10|    10
Cawnpur     |   ...   |  ...  |  ...  |    ...   |    ...   |   ...   |  ... |     23|    23
Allahâbâd   |   ...   |  ...  |  ...  |    ...   |    ...   |   ...   |  ... |     64|    64
Benares     |   ...   |  ...  |  3,265|       21 |    ...   |   ...   |  ... |  1,471| 4,757
Mirzapur    |   ...   |  ...  |  3,444|    ...   |    ...   |   ...   |  ... |  4,090| 7,534
Ghâzipur    |   ...   |  ...  | 11,779|    ...   |    ...   |   ...   |  ... |    356|12,135
Ballia      |   ...   |  5,615|  2,474|    3,307 |    ...   |   ...   |    26|  9,578|21,000
Gorakhpur   |     291 |  7,692|  3,001|   17,293 |    1,714 |     719 | 1,729|  2,815|35,254
Basti       |   ...   |  ...  |  ...  |    ...   |    ...   |   ...   |  ... |      8|     8
Azamgarh    |   ...   |    337|    204|       80 |      645 |      14 |  ... |    109| 1,389
Hardoi      |   ...   |  ...  |  ...  |    ...   |    ...   |   ...   |  ... |      1|     1
Kheri       |   ...   |  ...  |  ...  |    ...   |    ...   |   ...   |  ... |      1|     1
Partâbgarh  |   ...   |  ...  |  ...  |    ...   |    ...   |   ...   |  ... |      2|     2
            +~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~
     Total  |     291 | 13,644| 24,167|   20,701 |    2,359 |     733 | 1,755| 19,263|82,913
~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~


Dûsar (dûsra, “second”), a sub-caste of Banyas numerous in parts of the
Allahâbâd and Lucknow Divisions. In the returns of the Census of 1881
great confusion was caused by the amalgamation of the Dûsar Banyas with
the Dhûsar or Bhârgava, who claim Brâhmanical origin. Even in the
returns of 1891 it is not certain that this error has been completely
eliminated. The Dûsars rank low among Banyas, admit widow marriage, and
are said to be a branch of the Ummar sub-caste descended from a second
wife, whence their name. From Cawnpur the curious rule is reported that
the parents of the bride pay a dowry, the maximum of which is Rs. 211
of the pice current in Râê Bareli, which are worth about eleven annas.
From this it is assumed that Râê Bareli was an early settlement of the
Dûsars.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE DÛSAR BANYAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    =============+=======
      Districts. |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Bulandshahr  |      7
    Mathura      |      6
    Farrukhâbâd  |    488
    Etâwah       |    138
    Pilibhît     |      2
    Cawnpur      | 10,001
    Fatehpur     |  6,566
    Hamîrpur     |      5
    Allahâbâd    |      9
    Benares      |      2
    Lucknow      |  2,925
    Unâo         | 14,368
    Râê Bareli   |  2,945
    Sîtapur      |      8
    Hardoi       |  6,817
    Kheri        |    138
    Faizâbâd     |    748
    Bârabanki    |    428
                 +~~~~~~~
          Total  | 45,601
    =============+=======









G


Gadariya; [377] Garariya; Gaderiya; Ganreriya—(Hindi gâdar, “a sheep:”
Sanskrit gandhâra, so called because originally brought from the
country of Gandhâra or Kandahar).—The caste of shepherds, goat-herds,
and blanket-weavers found all over the Province. In many parts they are
known as Guâl Gadariya, and there seems strong reason to believe that
they are in some way connected with the Ahîr or Guâla race, though
their personal appearance indicates a much larger admixture of
non-Aryan blood. This is strengthened by the fact noted by Mr. Risley
[378] that in Bihâr they will take both kachchi and pakki food from
Guâlas.

[Internal structure.] 2. According to the last Census the Gadariyas of
these Provinces recorded themselves in twelve sub-castes besides
several more whose numbers were too small to find a place in the final
returns. These sub-castes are Baghel; Bamhaniya; Chandel; Dhîngar;
Haranwâl; Kachhwâha; Nikhar; Phûl-singhiya; Râthaur; Rautela; Sâgar;
Saraswâr. Nearly half of these are the names of well-known Râjput
septs, and this may possibly go to show that the formation of these
endogamous groups, under at least their present names, may be of
comparatively modern date. It is asserted from Bareilly that they admit
outsiders into the caste: this is doubtful and apparently not the case
in the Eastern Districts. In Benares Mr. Sherring [379] gives an
entirely different set of sub-castes—Dhîngar; Nikhar; Jaunpuri, or
“those from Jaunpur;” Illahâbâdi, “those from Allahâbâd;” Bakarkasâu,
or “goat butchers;” Namdawâla, or “makers of felt,” and Chikwa who are
usually classed with the Qassâb. He asserts that the first four
sub-castes keep sheep and goats, not so the remaining three. They also
manufacture blankets. The Bakarkasâu and Namdawâla sub-castes do so
likewise. The Chikwas are Muhammadans. He also names two other
sub-castes—the Bharariya, who derive their name from bher, a sheep.
“Nevertheless they are not employed in tending sheep, but in other
kinds of labour. The Baikatas are the lowest in rank among the
Gadariyas. They live by begging scraps of hair from the other
sub-castes that keep flocks, and selling the proceeds.” Sir H. M.
Elliot names also the Taselha or Pachhâdê, “those of the west,” Chak,
Bareiya, Paihwâr, and Bhaiyatâr. From Agra it is reported that the
women of the Dhîngar sub-caste wear bangles of glass, bore their noses,
and do not eat meat; while those of the Nikhar do not wear glass
bangles, do not bore their noses, and eat meat. Of the 1,113 sections
of Hindu and 8 of the Muhammadan branch included in the detailed Census
Returns, those of the chief local importance are the Chandan, Mokha,
and Sahla of Sahâranpur: the Ahîr, Chhotisen, Sahla, and Uchahri of
Muzaffarnagar: the Bhatti, Ganga, Panwâr, and Râê of Bulandshahr: the
Hans, Madâriya, and Sengar of Aligarh: the Vaneli of Mainpuri: the
Raikwâr of Etâwah: the Sengar of Bareilly: the Sahla of Bijnor: the
Rautelê and Sahla of Morâdâbâd: the Magar and Panwâr of Cawnpur: the
Panwâr of Fatehpur: the Rohingar of Hamîrpur: the Darsiya of Ghâzipur:
the Sailiya of the Tarâi: the Thengar of Râê Bareli: the Barharwâr,
Dokhar, and Panwâr of Hardoi, and the Nikhad of Sultânpur.

[Traditions of origin.] 3. The Western Gadariyas call themselves
Marhattas and describe themselves as emigrants from Gwâlior. Some of
them still visit Gwâlior to worship the goddess Kâli Devi, and they
employ a colony of Gwâlior Bhâts who have come from Gwâlior and settled
at Anupshahr in the Bulandshahr District. The Gadariyas fix their
emigration from Gwâlior in the time of the Dor or Tomar Râja Buddh Sen.

[Marriage rules.] 4. The Gadariyas usually marry their girls at the age
of from seven to twelve. To the west it is a rule among them after
marriage to lodge the bride first on her arrival with her husband in a
separate room, and then she is not admitted into the house until she
pays a sum of money to the men or persons connected with her husband by
marriage with women of his family. In the course of this function a
mimic struggle goes on between the two parties. Next morning after she
is thus received into her husband’s family, the women of the house fill
an iron pan with water and place in it two silver rings and some blades
of grass. The married couple then struggle to see which of them will
secure the rings. The bridegroom’s female relations do their best to
help him. Whichever of the pair secures the rings will have the mastery
during married life. When the mock struggle is over, the winner pours
the contents of the vessel over the loser. There are no marriage
brokers; matches are arranged by a member of the caste. He receives a
rupee and a turban from the father of the bridegroom; but if he commit
any fraud in arranging the match, the council have one side of his
moustache shaved in the presence of the brethren, and also impose a
fine. A man may discard his wife for infidelity, but such women are not
allowed to remarry in the caste. Widow-marriage and the levirate are
permitted, and the children by any form of recognised marriage are
equal heirs. Illegitimate children are not allowed to intermarry or
even smoke with those of pure blood. A man who marries a widow has
generally to pay something to her relations, and in any case he has to
pay any debts she may have contracted during widowhood.

[Birth customs.] 5. The woman during delivery sits on a stool facing
the Ganges. She is attended by a sweeper or Koli midwife for at least
three days. When the birth of a male child is announced, one of the
mother’s female relations hurries out of the house, and draws all round
the walls a line of cowdung as a magic circle to keep off evil spirits.
She also makes a rude cowdung figure at each side of the door, and
fixes up seven pieces of broomstick near it. When a girl is born, only
a piece of a broken earthen pot is put up over the door. On the second
day the mother is given a condiment which is supposed to consist of
thirty-two drugs boiled together. On the tenth day the mother and child
are taken to the nearest well with singing, and she worships the well
by marking the platform with turmeric, and placing upon it the cowdung
figures which had been fixed up near the house door. They all return,
and soaked gram and sweets are distributed.

[Marriage customs.] 6. The marriage ceremonies are of the normal type.
There are some observances which may be survivals of marriage by
capture. Thus, while the marriage is going on, the women of the bride’s
family carry on a mock fight with the relations of the bridegroom, and
are allowed to strike them with the kneading roller (belan). If a girl
has a particular curl of the hair which is supposed to resemble a
female snake (sânpin), she is first married to a camel-thorn bush (jhar
beri). If a bachelor in the same way marry a widow, and she bear him a
daughter, in order to overcome the evil influence which is supposed to
arise from the dhareja form of marriage, he gets himself married to a
tree before he gives away the daughter in marriage to another.

[Death customs.] 7. Gadariyas cremate their adult dead, except those
who have died of snake-bite or small-pox. If such corpses are cremated,
they believe that at the burning a steam arises from them which strikes
the mourners blind. On the way to the burning ground a ball (pinda) is
offered in the name of the deceased. The son of the deceased fires the
pyre, and each of the mourners throws in five cakes of cowdung fuel.
Some ashes are sifted and placed the following day on the spot where
the death occurred, and next morning from the marks on the ashes they
speculate as to the form which the soul will assume in the next birth.
They perform the usual srâddha.

[Religion.] 8. Gadariyas are orthodox Hindus, the Musalmân branch of
the caste being very inconsiderable. Their chief deity is Kâli. They
also worship a local deity known as Châmar. This is more especially
done in the Naudurga of Chait and Kuâr and when cholera or other
epidemic disease is about. The offerings consist of cakes (pûri),
coarse sugar, and sometimes a goat. The last is taken by the Chamâr
priest and the former by the local Brâhman priest or Kherapati. Another
spirit named Jakhaiya or Jokhaiya is largely worshipped by Gadariyas in
the Western Districts. He is said to be the ghost of a Muhammadan
Ghosi. His priest is a sweeper, and his offering a young pig. The chief
shrine of Jokhaiya, who, according to the last Census, was worshipped
by 87,061 persons, is at Pendhat, in the Mainpuri District. He is there
said to have been a Bhangi, who was killed during the war between
Prithivi Râja of Delhi and Jaychand of Kanauj. His offering is a pig,
which is presented by women who long for children and pray for easy
delivery. The fair is said also to bring timely winter rain. To the
west of the Province they are served by Sanâdh Brâhmans; to the east by
low class Brâhmans of various tribes.

[Social status.] 9. In Bihâr, according to Mr. Risley, the Gadariya
ranks higher than the Ahîr; but this does not seem to be the case in
these Provinces.  They are, however, careful about food and drink, and
maintain a fairly high standard of personal purity. Their original
occupation is keeping and selling sheep and goats and making blankets;
but besides this they cultivate and practice various forms of trading.
The women have a reputation for untidy habits, as the common proverb
runs,—Ek to Garerin, dusrê lahsan khâê—“a shepherdess and eating garlic
in the bargain.”


                DISTRIBUTION OF GADARIYAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

==============+==============================================================================+===+=======
              |                                       Hindus.                                |   |
  Districts.  +~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~~~+   |Total.
              | Baghel.                                                                      |   |
              |   | Bamhaniya.                                                               |   |
              |   |      | Chandel.                                                          |   |
              |   |      |      | Dhîngar.                                                   |   |
              |   |      |      |      | Haranwâl.                                           |   |
              |   |      |      |      |     | Kachhwâha.                                    |   |
              |   |      |      |      |     |   | Nikhar.                                   |   |
              |   |      |      |      |     |   |       | Phulsinghiya.                     |   |
              |   |      |      |      |     |   |       |     | Rautela.                    |   |
              |   |      |      |      |     |   |       |     |     | Râthaur.              |   |
              |   |      |      |      |     |   |       |     |     |   | Sâgar.            |   |
              |   |      |      |      |     |   |       |     |     |   |     | Saraswâr.   |   |
              |   |      |      |      |     |   |       |     |     |   |     |     | Others.   |
              |   |      |      |      |     |   |       |     |     |   |     |     |       | Muhammadans.
              |   |      |      |      |     |   |       |     |     |   |     |     |       |   |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~+~~~~~~~
Dehra Dûn     |...|   ...|  ... |   399|  103|...|    311| ... |  ...|...|  ...|  ...|    590|...|  1,403
Sahâranpur    |...|   ...|  ... |   400|  585|...|    278|    7|  ...|...|  ...|   92| 10,088|...| 11,450
Muzaffarnagar |...|    50|   483|   489|1,226|...|    422|  455|  ...|...|  ...|  324| 12,104|...| 15,553
Meerut        |...|   ...|  ... |   473|   34|...|  9,088|   50|  ...|...|  ...|  ...|  6,717|...| 16,362
Bulandshahr   |...|   ...|   129|   453| ... |...|   ... |   37|  ...|...|  ...|  ...| 15,480|...| 16,099
Aligarh       |...|   ...|   398|12,281|3,109|...|  1,060| ... |  ...|...|  ...|  ...| 18,831|...| 35,678
Mathura       | 47|   ...|   177|11,726| ... | 92|    227|   10|  145|616|  160|  160|  4,485|...| 17,847
Agra          |431|   ...|   164|30,616| ... |352|    335| ... |   78|...|  776|   13|  4,448|...| 37,113
Farrukhâbâd   |...|   ...|  ... | 2,009|  329|...| 26,130|   24|    5|...|  ...|  ...|  1,692|  1| 30,190
Mainpuri      |...|   172|    31| 9,545| ... |...| 13,809|4,385|   33|145|  ...|  180|  1,794|...| 30,094
Etâwah        | 52|   ...|   224|15,535| ... |407|  4,178|  367|   92|162|  223|  233|  6,597|...| 26,070
Etah          |...|   277|    17|14,459|  250| 47|  8,807|  ...|  370|...|   69|   26|  3,082|...| 27,404
Bareilly      |...|  ... |  ... | 7,943|  ...|...|  5,202|  390|   91|...|  ...|  ...|  2,309|...| 15,935
Bijnor        |...|12,851|  ... | 4,272|   65|...|  ...  |  ...|  ...|...|  ...|  ...|    407|...| 17,595
Budâun        |...|  ... |    52|12,914|   40|...| 12,729|  ...|  ...|...|  ...|  ...|  2,659|...| 28,394
Morâdâbâd     |...|  ... |   209| 5,171|   59|...|  7,882|   13|   81|...|  ...|   38| 11,879|...| 25,332
Shâhjahânpur  |...|  ... |  ... | 1,091|  ...|...|  7,483|   70|  ...|...|  ...|  ...|    787|...| 19,431
Pilibhît      |...|  ... |  ... |   112|   16|...|  6,699|    1|    6|...|  ...|  ...|    384|  6|  7,224
Cawnpur       |...|   141|   354| 6,732|  ...|...| 27,872|  ...|   28|...|  ...|  531| 10,036|  3| 45,697
Fatehpur      |...|   372|   886| 4,136|  ...|...| 13,267|  ...|  ...|...|  ...|  291|  5,650|  1| 24,603
Bânda         |...|     5|   508|   294|  ...|...|  7,428|  ...|  ...|...|  ...|   35|  3,593|...| 11,863
Hamîrpur      |...|  ... |   202| 2,254|  ...|...|  3,215|   25|  ...|...|  ...|   30|  4,983|  9| 10,718
Allahâbâd     |...|  ... |    50|11,108|  ...|...| 28,950|  ...|  ...|...|  ...|  ...|  1,356| 20| 41,484
Jhânsi        |...|   ...|  189|  2,168|  ...|...|  7,097|   25|   82|...| ... |  ...|    963|...| 10,524
Jâlaun        |...|    86|  178|  9,492|  ...|...|    578|    6|   16|...| ... |  ...|  2,823|...| 13,179
Lalitpur      |...|   ...|    5|    247|   96|...|  4,218|   26|   39|...| ... |  ...|  1,431|...|  6,062
Benares       |...|   ...|  ...|    223|  ...|...|  9,898|  ...|2,583|...| ... |  ...|  1,266|...| 13,970
Mirzapur      |...|   ...|  ...|    ...|  ...|...| 20,187|  285| ... |...| ... |  ...|  3,163|...| 23,635
Jaunpur       |...|   ...|  ...|     94|  ...|...| 21,660|  ...| ... |...| ... |  ...|  3,241| 32| 25,027
Ghâzipur      |...|   ...|   25|    ...|   40|...|  5,382|  ...| ... |...| ... |  ...|  4,370|...|  9,817
Basti         |...|   ...|  ...|    174|  ...|...| 10,499|  ...| ... |...| ... |  ...|    199|...| 10,872
Ballia        |...|   ...|  ...|    ...|  ...|...|  2,152|  ...| ... |...| ... |  ...|  1,314|...|  3,467
Gorakhpur     |...|   ...|  ...|  5,732|  ...|...|  7,749|  ...| ... |...| ... |  ...|  2,686|...| 16,167
Azamgarh      |...|   ...|   18|    243|  ...|...|  7,715|  ...| ... |...| ... |   28|  1,484|...|  9,488
Kumâun        |...|   ...|  ...|    ...|  ...|...|   ... |  ...| ... |...| ... |  ...|      4|...|      4
Garhwâl       |...|   ...|  ...|    ...|  ...|...|   ... |  ...| ... |...| ... |  ...|     20|...|     20
Tarâi         |...|   ...|  ...|    440|   14|...|  1,030|  ...| ... |...| ... |  ...|  1,780|...|  3,264
Lucknow       |...|   ...|    4|  3,868|  ...|...|  6,822|  ...| ... |...| ... |    4|  1,516| 72| 12,286
Unâo          |...|   507|  479| 13,444|  ...|...|  4,430|  ...|  415|...| ... |  317|  5,663|...| 25,255
Râê Bareli    |...|  ... |   81| 25,069| ... |...|  4,233| ... | ... |...| ... | ... |    391|...| 29,774
Sîtapur       |...|    50| ... | 16,083|  329|...|    617| ... | ... |...| ... | ... |  1,685|...| 18,435
Hardoi        |...| 2,641| ... |    310| ... |...| 34,610|   24| ... |...| ... |  711|  4,356|...| 42,981
Kheri         |...|  ... | ... | 15,726| ... |...|    299| ... | ... |...| ... | ... |    520|...| 16,545
Faizâbâd      |...|  ... | ... |  2,658| ... |...| 13,743| ... | ... |...| ... | ... |    119|...| 16,520
Gonda         |...|  ... | ... |  6,128| ... |...| 12,274| ... | ... |...| ... | ... |    451|234| 19,087
Bahrâich      |...|  ... | ... | 15,586| ... |...|  2,215| ... | ... |...| ... | ... |    530|...| 18,331
Sultânpur     |...|  ... | ... |  7,948| ... |...| 14,970| ... | ... |...| ... | ... |  2,158|...| 25,076
Partâbgarh    |...|  ... | ... | 15,311| ... |...| 15,790| ... | ... |...| ... | ... |    638|...| 31,739
Bârabanki     |...|  ... | ... | 10,824| ... |...|  2,795| ... | ... |...| ... | ... |    754|...| 14,373
              +~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~+~~~~~~~
      Total   |530|17,152|4,763|304,180|6,295|898|406,337|6,200|4,064|923|1,228|3,013|173,476|378|929,437
==============+===+======+=====+=======+=====+===+=======+=====+=====+===+=====+=====+=======+===+=======

                            Total Hindus                       929,059
                            Total Muhammadans                      378
                                                               ~~~~~~~
                                                  Grand Total  929,437


Gaddi.—The caste of Muhammadan cow-herds. They have been separately
enumerated at the last Census, but they are often regarded as a
sub-caste of Ghosis. They are probably closely allied to the Ahîrs; in
fact many of them are almost certainly Ahîrs who have embraced Islâm.
In the Panjâb [380] there are two quite distinct classes of people
known by this name—the Musalmân Gaddis of Karnâl and its neighbourhood,
who are identical with the Gaddis of these Provinces, and a hill tribe
inhabiting the mountain range between Kangra and Chamba. Some of them,
again, are believed to be of Khatri origin, and these General
Cunningham is inclined to identify with the Gandaridae or Gangaridae.
In parts of these Provinces, according to Sir H. M. Elliot, [381] it is
not unusual to call any converted Hindu a Gaddi, which is looked on by
a true Musalmân as a term of reproach. They, with other low caste
tribes, were old occupiers of Oudh, and they were powerful enough to
make invasion costly to the advancing Râjputs. According to one
authority the women in Oudh are notorious for immorality, and the men
for the filthiness of their persons and stupidity. [382]

2. The complete returns of the last Census show 255 sections of the
tribe. These are of the usual type: some territorial, such as Aharwâr,
Audhiya, Bahrâichi, Balapura, Gorakhpuri, Kanaujiya, Mathuriya,
Purbiya, Saksena, Sarwariya, and Shâhpuri. Others are derived from the
names of well-known castes or septs, as Ahîr, Bâchhar, Bais,
Bhadauriya, Bhangi, Bhatti, Bisen, Chamarbans, Chandela, Chauhân,
Chhatri, Domar, Ghosi, Gûjar, Hurakiya, Jât, Kamboh, Kori, Mewâti,
Pathân, Râthaur, Sayyid, Shaikh, Tânk, Teli, Tomar, and Turkiya.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE GADDI ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======
      Districts.  |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Sahâranpur    |   360
    Muzaffarnagar |     5
    Meerut        | 3,421
    Bulandshahr   | 1,201
    Aligarh       | 1,292
    Mathura       |     7
    Agra          |    79
    Etah          |   386
    Bareilly      | 1,354
    Budâun        | 4,381
    Morâdâbâd     |   237
    Shâhjahânpur  | 1,079
    Pilibhît      |   446
    Cawnpur       |     3
    Fatehpur      |    20
    Bânda         |     8
    Allahâbâd     |    48
    Benares       |     1
    Ghâzipur      |   178
    Gorakhpur     | 2,394
    Basti         | 3,424
    Azamgarh      |   479
    Tarâi         |   363
    Lucknow       | 3,581
    Unâo          | 1,198
    Râê Bareli    |   353
    Sîtapur       | 4,164
    Hardoi        |10,598
    Kheri         | 7,347
    Gonda         |    65
    Bahrâich      | 2,098
    Sultânpur     |    59
    Bârabanki     | 1,340
                  +~~~~~~
          Total   |51,970
    ==============+======


Gaharwâr.—An important sept of Râjputs. Their name is spelt Gahadawâla
in the grants, and an eminent authority, Dr. Hoernle, connects it with
the Sanskrit root gah, in the sense of “dwellers in caves or deep
jungle.” [383]

[Tribal tradition.] 2. The tribal tradition, as told by the family
bards of the head of the sept, the Râja of Kantit, in the Mirzapur
District, is as follows:—From Chandrama the moon came Buddh, and from
Buddh came Pururavas. Some generations later was born Yayâti, who, when
he reached an old age, longed to recover his youthful vigour. With this
view he called his sons, born of his two wives, Devayâni and
Sarmishtha, and asked them to make over their youth to him. They all
refused except the youngest, the son of Sarmishtha. So Yayâti cursed
them all, and prayed that they might never enjoy royal power. One of
them, Yadu, was the ancestor of the Yaduvansis, none of whom have ever
gained sovereignty. Yayâti reigned many years, and finally abdicated
the throne and crowned his youngest son in his room and became an
ascetic. After many generations in his line Deva Dâsa reigned at Kâshi
or Benares. He was famous for his good works, and hence incurred the
envy of the malignant deity Sani or Saturn. He endeavoured to divert
Deva Dâsa from his life of piety, but he failed, and the good king
gained the title of graha-vâra or “overcomer of the planet,” of which
Gaharwâr is a corruption. He worshipped Mahâdeva so fervently that the
deity abandoned Kâshi and retired to the summit of Kailâsa. But he
became tired of his life of seclusion, and incited the other gods to
mislead Deva Dâsa. All failed, but the Dhundhê Râja Ganesa, who
overcame the piety of Deva Dâsa, who was obliged to retire to Kanauj,
which was then called Râshtradesa, and becoming lord of that land, his
descendants were known as Râthaur. His descendant was the famous Râja
Jaya Chandra, whose dominions are recorded in the Hindi verse:—


    Kara, Kâlpi, Kamaru, Kashmîr lawa desa:
    Khud, Kâshi, Kanauj dhani Sri Jaya Chandra naresa.


“Jaya Chandra, lord of men and powerful sovereign, was ruler of Kara,
Kâlpi, Kamaru, Kashmîr, Kanauj, and Benares.” After his defeat by
Shahâb-ud-dîn Ghori, Jaya Chandra’s nephew is said to have fled to
Rohtâsgarh; another to Krishnagarh, in Mârwâr; a third to Jodhpur, and
a fourth to Juâlamukhi. The son of the King of Rohtâsgarh was granted
by Shîr Shâh the Pargana of Kera Mangraur, now in the Mirzapur
District, and became a Musalmân. The younger fled to Kantit, in the
same district, and, with the aid of a Sukla Brâhman of Dhaurahra, near
Bijaypur, overcame the Bhar Râja of that place and founded the family
of the Gaharwâr Râjas of Kantit-Bijaypur. All the other Gaharwârs trace
their lineage to Benares or Bijaypur. Those in Hardoi say that the
country was held by Thatheras, whom they defeated and expelled. [384]

3. Sir H. M. Elliot thinks it doubtful whether they preceded the
Râthaurs at Kanauj, or, after being incorporated with them, were
dispersed with them at the final conquest of Kanauj by Muhammad Ghori.
Even now the Cawnpur branch derive their name from Gharbâhar, because
they were turned out of house and home after the fall of Kanauj. [385]

4. The Gaharwârs hold a high rank among Râjput septs. They give
daughters to the Baghel, Chandel, and Bisen, and take brides of the
Bais, Râjkumâr, Maunas, Gautam, Palwâr, Chauhân, Parihâr, Sombansi,
Sirnet, and Dikshit.

In Farrukhâbâd they give brides to the Chauhân, Râthaur, Bhadauriya,
and Kachhwâha, and take girls from the Nikumbh, Chandel, Raikwâr,
Solankhi, Gaur, Chamar-Gaur, Parihâr, and Ujjaini. They claim to belong
to the Bharadwâja gotra. In Unâo they receive brides from the Dhâkrê,
Janwâr, and Parihâr; and give their girls to the Gaur, Bais, Chandel,
and Sombansi.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE GAHARWÂR RÂJPUTS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======
    Districts.    |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Mathura       |     12
    Agra          |     46
    Farrukhâbâd   |  3,326
    Mainpuri      |    578
    Etâwah        |    389
    Etah          |  1,900
    Budâun        |    105
    Morâdâbâd     |      8
    Shâhjahânpur  |    269
    Pilibhît      |    164
    Cawnpur       |  2,162
    Fatehpur      |    118
    Bânda         |    433
    Hamîrpur      |    317
    Allahâbâd     |  4,013
    Jhânsi        |     17
    Jâlaun        |    219
    Lalitpur      |     19
    Benares       |    846
    Mirzapur      | 20,249
    Jaunpur       |  1,901
    Ghâzipur      |  6,583
    Ballia        |    693
    Gorakhpur     |    892
    Basti         |    369
    Azamgarh      |    260
    Lucknow       |  1,065
    Unâo          |  1,176
    Râê Bareli    |    509
    Sîtapur       |    360
    Hardoi        |  2,429
    Kheri         |    178
    Faizâbâd      |      2
    Gonda         |    120
    Bahrâich      |     32
    Sultânpur     |  1,076
    Partâbgarh    |    611
    Bâra Banki    |    131
                  +~~~~~~~
    Total         | 53,477
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~


Gahlot.—A sept of Râjputs also known as Sisodiya and Ahariya. One
derivation of the name Gahlot is from Sanskrit guha, “a cave.” It is
said that when the ancestors of the Râna of Mewâr were expelled from
Gujarât, one of the queens named Pushpavati found refuge among the
Brâhmans of the Maliya mountains: she was shortly after delivered of a
son, whom she called from the cave (guha) in which he was born, by the
name of Gahlot. Others derive the name from gahla, “a slave girl,” in
allusion to their supposed descent. One derivation of the name Sisodiya
is Siva sudhiya, “a devotee of the god Siva;” another is from sîsa,
“lead” as one of the tribe once drank melted lead with impunity. A
third is from sasa or sussa “a hare,” which is supposed to have been
the tribal totem. But it seems safer to regard the name as a local
appellation, derived from the town of Sisodha, the first home of the
sept, as Ahariya is taken from the town of Anandpur Ahâr, near Udaypur.
The name Gahlot was changed to Ahariya when the sept migrated to
Nagindra. The throne of Chithor was recovered in 1201 A.D. by Bharat,
who was succeeded by Rakûp. Two great changes were introduced by this
prince—the first in the title of the sept to Sisodiya; the other in
that of its prince from Râwal to Râna.

2. According to Colonel Tod [386] they migrated from Kosala under Kanak
Sen, and became rulers of Ballabhi and Gajni, from which the last
prince Siladitya was expelled by Parthian invaders in the 6th century.
“A posthumous son of his, Grahaditya, obtained a petty sovereignty at
Edar. A change was marked by his name becoming the patronymic, and
Grahilaut or Gahlot designated the Sûryavansa of Râma. With reverses
and migrations from the wilds of Edar to Ahâr, near the modern Udaypur,
the Gahlot was changed to Ahâriya, by which name the race continued to
be designated till the 12th century, when the elder brother, Rakûp,
abandoned his claim to the throne of Chithor, obtained by force of arms
from the Mori, and settled at Dungarpur, which they yet hold, as well
as the title Ahâriya; while the younger, Mahûp, established the seat of
power at Sisodha, whence Sisodiya set aside both Ahâriya and Gahlot.”
There seems to have been always a prejudice against the tribe, and in
ancient times they had a reputation for cowardice. Their name has been
identified with the Gallitalutæ of Ptolemy’s lists. [387]

[The Gahlots of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh.] 3. One branch of
so-called Gahlots, who are now known as Chirâr, were in the service of
the Râja of Mainpuri, but their claims to pure Gahlot blood are not
admitted. In Farrukhâbâd [388] the sept claims to have come from
Chithor. Govind Râo, the founder of the colony, is said to have come
with Prithivi Râja, the Delhi prince, in his expedition against Jay
Chand of Kanauj, and to have received one hundred and eighty villages
in this and the neighbourhood of Cawnpur as a reward for the valour he
displayed. From him they have preserved a pedigree down to the modern
representative of the sept; but this shows but thirteen or fourteen
generations from Govind Râo, while it would require over forty years a
generation to make him a contemporary of Prithivi Râja. It is most
probable that some names have dropped out of the list. In Unâo [389]
the sept were emigrants in the time of Aurangzeb and dispersed the
original Kori inhabitants. In Mathura [390] they are classed as pure,
because they do not practise widow-marriage. The families there call
themselves Sâh, Chaudhari, and Râo. In Bulandshahr [391] they are
supposed to have given their name to the town of Gulâothi. In Cawnpur
[392] they are said to have turned out the Gaurs from Pargana Bilhaur,
where their territory acquired unenviable notoriety which gave rise to
the name Tisâh or “three harvests”—kharîf, rabi, and plunder. They have
a very remarkable legend that Partâp Chand Gahlot, the conqueror of
Chithor, was married to a daughter or grand-daughter of the famous
Nausherwân, and hence the tradition that the Rânas of Udaypur are of
Persian descent.

4. In Sultânpur they are reported to take brides from the Bilkhariya,
Tashaiya, Chandauriya, Kath Bais, Bhâlê Sultân, Raghubansi, Gargbansi,
Râjkumâr, Bachgoti, and Bandhalgoti; to receive brides from Tilokchandi
Bais, Mainpuri Chauhâns, Sûrajbansis of Mahul, Gautams of Nagar, and
Bisens of Majhauli. In Bulandshahr they receive brides from the
Chauhân, Bargûjar, Pundîr, Panwâr, Solankhi, Tomar, Bhatti, and
Râthaur, and give brides to the Dhâkrê, Chauhân, Bâchhal, Kachhwâha,
Bargûjar, and Tomar. They call their gotra Sûrajbansi Sanoha of Chithor
and Udaypur. In Unâo they usually marry their daughters to the
Kachhwâha, Râthaur, Chandel, and Panwâr; and select wives from the
Chauhân, Dikhit, Parihâr, Chandel, and Sengar septs. In Ballia they
take brides from the Donwâr, Sengar, Karchhuliya, Banâphar, Raghubansi,
Kâkan, Bhrigubansi, Barhauliya, Ujjaini, Sombansi, and Kinwâr. They
give brides to the Raghubansi, Nikumbh, Kausik, Sûrajbansi, Gautam,
Drigbansi, Maunas, Sirnet, Râjkumâr, Jâdon, and Baghel septs. In Agra
they claim to belong to the Kasyapa gotra.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE GAHLOT RÂJPUTS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======+============+======
      Districts.  |Hindus.|Muhammadans.|Total.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~
    Sahâranpur    |    173|        8   |   181
    Muzaffarnagar |    401|      165   |   566
    Meerut        | 10,189|     ...    |10,189
    Bulandshahr   |  3,140|    1,200   | 4,340
    Aligarh       |  2,827|     ...    | 2,827
    Mathura       |  2,177|      173   | 2,350
    Agra          |  3,056|       26   | 3,082
    Farrukhâbâd   |  1,699|        6   | 1,702
    Mainpuri      |    669|     ...    |   669
    Etâwah        |  1,456|       14   | 1,470
    Etah          |  2,070|       32   | 2,102
    Bareilly      |     40|     ...    |    40
    Budâun        |    399|       63   |   462
    Morâdâbâd     |    234|       13   |   247
    Shâhjahânpur  |    346|       15   |   361
    Pilibhît      |     27|     ...    |    27
    Cawnpur       |  2,536|        6   | 2,542
    Fatehpur      |     25|     ...    |    25
    Bânda         |     38|     ...    |    38
    Hamîrpur      |    150|     ...    |   150
    Allahâbâd     |      5|        3   |     8
    Jhânsi        |     73|     ...    |    73
    Jâlaun        |    353|        4   |   357
    Benares       |    103|     ...    |   103
    Jaunpur       |    150|      115   |   265
    Ghâzipur      |    349|       99   |   448
    Ballia        |    766|     ...    |   766
    Gorakhpur     |    167|     ...    |   167
    Basti         |     87|     ...    |    87
    Azamgarh      |    457|        7   |   464
    Lucknow       |    112|     ...    |   112
    Unâo          |    921|     ...    |   921
    Râê Bareli    |    552|     ...    |   552
    Sîtapur       |     81|        5   |    86
    Hardoi        |     69|     ...    |    69
    Kheri         |    174|     ...    |   174
    Bahrâich      |     22|     ...    |    22
    Sultânpur     |     37|       19   |    56
    Partâbgarh    |     21|     ...    |    21
    Bârabanki     |     97|     ...    |    97
                  +~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~
           Total  | 36,245|    1,973   |38,218
    ==============+=======+============+======


Gahoi.—A sub-caste of Banyas, found chiefly in Bundelkhand and
Morâdâbâd.

2. The Gahois of Mirzapur, who do not appear in the Census lists, say
that they are emigrants from Bundelkhand in the commencement of this
century, whence they were driven by the pressure of the Pindâri raids.
One Biya Pânrê Brâhman protected their families in their misfortunes,
and divided them into twelve gotras and seventy-two als. He is said to
have been a schoolmaster and their tribal priest; after marriages his
services to them are commemorated by the bridegroom pouring some butter
and laying flowers and consecrated rice before a rude image of him
painted on the house wall. The twelve gotras as given by them in
Mirzapur are—Basil, Gol or Goil, Gangal, Bandal, Jaital, Kaunthil,
Kâchhil, Bâchhal, Kassab or Kasyapa, Bharal, and Patiya. The last or
Patiyas act as a sort of Bhâts or genealogists to the others, and are
feasted and rewarded at marriages and other entertainments. They eat
and drink on equal terms with their constituents. None of them can give
any trustworthy list of their als.

3. Their rule of exogamy is that they do not marry within their own
gotra or the al of the maternal uncle, father’s maternal uncle and
mother’s maternal uncle. Widow-marriage is prohibited.

4. The Gahois are Vaishnavas; none have adopted the tenets of the
Sarâogi or Jaina faith. Their tribal deity is Srikrishna, whom they
worship under the name of Bihâri Lâl. They rank high among Banyas, and
are said to be considered as respectable as Agarwâlas and Parwâls. They
abstain from meat and spirits. Their priests are Bhârgava Brâhmans from
Bundelkhand. They will eat pakki cooked by their clients. The Gahois
will eat kachchi cooked by their clansmen and priests.

5. They are traders in country produce, commission agents,
money-changers, and bankers.


DISTRIBUTION OF GAHOI BANYAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======
      Districts.  |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Mathura       |      7
    Agra          |    248
    Farrukhâbâd   |    100
    Etâwah        |    256
    Etah          |      1
    Bareilly      |     20
    Bijnor        |    295
    Morâdâbâd     |  3,510
    Shâhjahânpur  |     13
    Pilibhît      |      6
    Cawnpur       |    342
    Fatehpur      |     87
    Bânda         |  1,140
    Hamîrpur      |  1,614
    Allahâbâd     |      8
    Jhânsi        |  8,239
    Jâlaun        |  8,580
    Lalitpur      |  1,470
    Tarâi         |    235
    Lucknow       |     16
    Sîtapur       |  1,182
    Kheri         |  1,192
                  +~~~~~~~
           Total  | 29,361
    ==============+=======


Gandharb; Gandharv. [393]—A caste of singers and prostitutes. Of the
original Gandharvas Professor Dowson [394] writes:—“The heavenly
Gandharva of the Veda was a deity who knew and revealed the secrets of
heaven and divine truths in general. He is thought by Goldstücker to
have been a personification of the fire of the sun. The Gandharvas
generally had their dwelling in the sky or atmosphere, and one of their
offices was to prepare the heavenly soma juice for the gods. They had a
great partiality for women, and had a mystic power over them. The
Atharva Veda speaks of 6,333 Gandharvas. The Gandharvas of later times
are similar in character; they have charge of the soma, are skilled in
medicine, regulate the asterisms, and are fond of women. Those of
Indra’s heaven are generally intended by the term, and they are singers
and musicians who attend the banquets of the gods.”

[Marriage rules.] 2. The Gandharbs of these provinces are found in
small numbers only in Benares, Allahâbâd and Ghâzipur. They address
themselves by the title of Râê. They name seven exogamous gotras—Arakh,
Sîtal, Ramsi, Shâhimal, Hîwan, Pachbhaiya, and Udhomana. The detailed
Census Returns give the gotras as Anrukh, Arakh, Bacha, Bahajbana,
Bajbhân, Banal, Baturha, Bhakwa, Chhatri, Gandwâr, Kanaujiya, Kashmîri,
Khodari, Manho, Namahrin, Namin, Rabisi, Ramsan, Râwat, Sahmal,
Saliyâli, Shâhi, and Somal. A man must marry outside his own gotra,
that of his father, mother, and their ancestors, to the fifth degree.
He, moreover, cannot marry in the gotra of his sister’s and brother’s
father-in-law. He cannot marry two sisters at the same time; but if he
marry the elder of two sisters and she die, he can marry her younger
sister.

[The rules of prostitution.] 3. Beautiful girls or those who show from
their childhood a taste for music are selected for prostitution and not
allowed to marry in the caste. A meeting of the brotherhood is held
before the girl comes to maturity, and it is settled that she is to be
allowed to have intercourse with no one but a Hindu of high caste. If
she does not abide by this rule, she is at once expelled from the
caste. When the matter is thus settled, some sweets are distributed,
and she is formally declared to be a prostitute. The first man who
engages her services is regarded as her quasi-husband. On such an
occasion all the ordinary ceremonies of a Hindu marriage are performed
at the house of the girl, except the walking round the fire (phera).
Other girls not selected for prostitution are married in the tribe in
the ordinary way. But if a man take to any low or degrading occupation,
not sanctioned by tribal usage, he is not allowed to marry.

[Tribal traditions.] 4. The Gandharbs of Benares ascribe their origin
to Delhi. They tell the following legend to account for their
emigration. The fort of Chandrâvati was built by Râni Chandrâvati. This
is possibly the place of that name in the Jhallâwar State in Râjputâna.
She was a Chhatri by caste and married the Muni Uddâlaka. Their
descendants reigned there for many generations, until they were driven
out by the Raghubansi Râjputs, and were obliged to retreat to the banks
of the river Tons. Khemrâj was the first Raghubansi king of
Chandrâvati, and he was succeeded by his son, Doman Deo. He had a groom
named Shîru, who one day went out to cut grass in the jungle and fell
asleep. While he slept a cobra raised its hood over his head and a
wagtail (khanjarît) kept flying over him. Doman Deo happened to observe
these signs which pointed to his groom becoming a king, so he sent for
him and asked what he would do for him if he ascended the throne. Shîru
for a long time could not understand his meaning. At last he promised
to make Doman Deo his prime minister. So he went to Delhi, the throne
of which happened to be vacant at the time, and, as was the custom, an
elephant was given a garland which it was to lay on the neck of the
fittest. [395] Three times, to the astonishment of everyone, the
elephant laid the garland on the neck of Shîru, and he became Emperor
of Delhi under the name of Shîr Shâh, and according to his promise, he
made Doman Deo his prime minister. It need hardly be said that there is
no historical foundation for the story.

5. Doman Deo continued to hold the office of Wazîr for some time, and
at last had a quarrel with his master, because he bought a horse which
his master was anxious to secure. So he was banished and had to return
to Chandrâvati, and with him came a Gandharb, named Nandu, with his
wife Arjuni, the former of the Ramsi and the latter of Arakh gotra, and
from them were descended the present Gandharbs.

[Marriage.] 6. They do not admit outsiders into their caste. In most
cases marriage is infant; but there have been occasional instances of
the marriage of adults. Sexual license before marriage of these girls
selected for a respectable life is strictly prohibited. The prostituted
girls are never allowed to marry. Polyandry is totally forbidden, and
polygamy is allowed only when the first wife is barren or suffering
from some loathsome or contagious disease. A man can marry as many
wives as he can afford to keep; but they never have more than two or
three. Their marriage ritual is of the usual high class type.
Widow-marriage is strictly forbidden; but it appears that the keeping
of widows as concubines is not unknown; such are known as Suraitin;
they have no rights, and their children are illegitimate and not
admitted to caste privileges. If a man suspect his wife of adultery, he
brings the matter before the tribal council (Panchâyat) which, if the
case be proved, permits a divorce, though in some cases a stipend is
assigned to the woman. A divorced woman cannot be remarried, but she
often lives with some one as a concubine.

[Inheritance.] 7. They follow the Hindu law of inheritance. Among the
married people (grihasth) the daughter has no rights of succession;
among the dancing classes, on the contrary, the shares of a daughter
and a son are equal, and if a dancing girl lives with her friends and
dies among them, the uncle, mother, son, daughter, and brother would
share equally. On this question the Hindu law, as laid down by Mr.
Mayne, [396] is clear. “It is hardly necessary to say that as under the
ordinary Hindu law an adoption by a widow must always be to her
husband, and for his benefit, an adoption made by her to herself alone
would not give the adopted child any right, even after her death, to
property inherited by her from her husband, nor indeed to her own
property, however acquired, such an adoption being nowhere recognised
as creating any new status, except in Mithila, under the Kritima
system. But among dancing girls it is customary in Madras and Western
India to adopt girls to follow their adoptive mother’s profession, and
the girls so adopted succeed to their mother’s property. No particular
ceremonies are necessary, recognition alone being sufficient. In
Calcutta, however, such adoptions have been held illegal, and it seems
probable that the recognised immorality of the class of dancing girls
might lead the courts generally to follow this view.”

[Religion.] 8. Gandharbs are Hindus of the Vaishnava sect. The women
who are married specially worship Mahâdeva, while Ganesa is the special
patron of the dancing girls, since he is regarded by them as the author
of music. They offer wreaths of flowers, and a sweetmeat made of
sesamum and sugar called til-ka-laddu, to him on Wednesdays. Mahâdeva
is worshipped on no particular day with the leaves of the bel (aegle
marmelos). They also worship a deity known as Thâkur Deota, who is
probably some form of Vishnu. In the city of Benares these offerings
are taken by a class of Brâhmans called Panda; in villages by
Bhanreriyas or Husaini Brâhmans. The Gandharb women keep a fast
exclusive to them in the month of Bhâdon, known as the Tij bharat, in
honour of the goddess Pârvati. Their special tribal deity is Bâba
Kinnarâm, who was a famous ascetic. His shrine (asthân) is at Râmgarh,
in the Chandauli Tahsîl of the Benares District, and it is largely
frequented by barren women who come to pray for children, and by
dancing girls in hope of success in their profession. [397] They always
employ Brâhmans for ceremonial and seldom for religious purposes. Such
Brâhmans are treated on an equality by other Brâhmans: for their
funeral ceremonies they employ Mahâbrâhmans. The dead are cremated in
the orthodox way and the ashes consigned to the Ganges. They practice
the usual srâddha and feeding of Brâhmans after a death in the family.

[Occupation.] 9. The Gandharbs believe dancing and singing to be their
tribal occupation. A few have settled down in the Benares District as
agriculturists. Some live with their dancing girls and accompany them
to entertainments, where they play on the sâz, which consists of the
tambourine (tabla) and fiddle (sârangi). Half of the dancing fees are
received by these men and distributed in the following way:—Two
tambourine men get two annas each; the drummer three annas; one tuner
of the instruments one anna. Some, again, act as trainers of dancing
girls in music and dancing. Those in the villages are often tenants;
but it is a peculiarity among them that they will never sublet their
land to a person of their own caste. In Benares the sowing of poppy is
one of their favourite occupations.

[Social rules.] 10. They will eat the flesh of goats and sheep and
scaly fish and drink spirits. A good many who consider themselves
specially pious abstain from the use of meat and spirits. They will not
eat kachchi from the hands of any but Brâhmans and clansmen; and they
will smoke with no other caste but their own. The lowest caste that
they can take pakki from or drink with is the Ahîr. Another peculiarity
of them is that they will not eat pakki with any Hindu landlord of
their village.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE GANDHARBS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ============+========
     Districts. | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Allahâbâd   |   21
    Benares     |  590
    Ghâzipur    |   53
                +~~~~~~~
        Total   |  664
    ============+=======


Gandhi (Sanskrit, gandhika, gandha “perfume”), the manufacturer of
incenses and perfumes.—“The tendency to supplant Hindustâni by Persian
words has given rise to the use of many other terms—’Itrfarosh,
Khushbusâz, ’Itrsâz, and ’Attâr used in a perverted sense.” [398] They
are both Shaikh and Sayyid Musalmâns, who marry only among themselves.
Some of the more advanced follow the Musalmân rules of exogamy, but
among those who live much with Hindus there is a tendency to revert to
the recognised Hindu formula, and they will not marry the daughter of
the uncles or aunts on both sides. The final Census Returns include a
number of sections which, however, do not appear to influence marriage.
These are among the Hindu branch, which is not separately marked off in
the returns, Dinâr: and among the Muhammadans Deswâli, Gandhikâr,
Jagbasa, Kapariya, Kanju, Shaikh, Sadîqi, Sikhri, and Unta. They
believe themselves to be descended from two ancient worthies, Shaikh
Sana and Shaikh Zainuddîn, to whom at various seasons of the year they
make offerings of food and sweetmeats. In the Eastern Districts they
look on Jaunpur as their head-quarters. Widow-marriage is forbidden.
Marriage is performed in the forms known as shâdi or charhauwa, and the
dola, but by the Musalmân ritual women of other castes are admitted by
reading passages of the Qurân over them and making them eat the
leavings of a Gandhi. Wives are divorced for adultery, but the custom
of wives divorcing their husbands is unknown.

[Religion.] 2. They principally venerate Imâm Husain, ‘Ali and Ghâzi
Miyân. To these are offered sweetmeats, cakes (malîda), and a special
kind of prepared rice called tinchâwali. On the ‘Îd, Shab-i-barât, and
Baqar ‘Îd they make offerings of food to the spirits of their dead
ancestors.

[Occupation and social status.] 3. The process of manufacture is
distillation as practised at liquor distilleries, but the still
(bhabka, bhapka) used in distilling perfumes is of peculiar
construction. “I can best describe it as a gigantic goblet (surâhi)
made of copper. In this is placed what is called the zâmin or mâwa of
all perfumes, viz., Sandal ‘Itr, which is made at Kanauj. The flowers
from which the perfume is to be extracted are thrown into water in the
cauldron on the fire, and then perfume comes off in steam and passes
through the worm into the copper bhapka and combines with the Sandal
‘Itr. When the bhapka is removed the perfumed oil is separated from the
water in the bhapka by skimming the surface with the hands.” [399] They
follow the Musalmân rules regarding food, but will not eat food cooked
by Muhammadan Mehtars.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE GANDHIS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======
      Districts.  |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Sahâranpur    |   25
    Muzaffarnagar |  124
    Meerut        |  300
    Farrukhâbâd   |    3
    Etâwah        |    2
    Etah          |    1
    Bijnor        |    8
    Morâdâbâd     |   56
    Shâhjahânpur  |   42
    Cawnpur       |    1
    Fatehpur      |    2
    Jaunpur       |    2
    Ghâzipur      |   27
    Ballia        |   11
    Gorakhpur     |   29
    Azamgarh      |   33
    Tarâi         |    1
    Lucknow       |    8
    Unâo          |    2
    Bahrâich      |   22
    Bârabanki     |   79
                  +~~~~~~~
           Total  |  778
    ==============+=======


1. Gandhîla (Sanskrit gandha, “smell,” in the sense of “fetid,”
“mal-odorous”).—A vagrant tribe which was at the last Census found in
small numbers in the Meerut and Muzaffarnagar Districts. Their home
appears to be in the Panjâb. They are said by Sir H. M. Elliot [400] to
be a few degrees more respectable than the Bâwariyas; but in this
assertion he was certainly mistaken. According to Mr. Ibbetson, [401]
“they wander about bare-headed and bare-footed, beg, work in grass and
straw, catch quails, clean and sharpen knives and swords, cut wood, and
generally do odd jobs. They are said to eat tortoises and vermin. They
also keep donkeys (whence their other name Gadahla), and even engage in
trade in a small way. It is said that in some parts they lead about
performing bears, but this I doubt. They have curious traditions which
are reported to me from distant parts of the Province, regarding a
kingdom which the tribe once possessed, and which they seem inclined to
place beyond the Indus. They say they are under a vow not to wear shoes
or turbans till their possessions are restored to them.” Of the same
people Major Temple [402] writes:—“They are usually described in the
courts as “homeless sweepers.” They are Musalmâns of a very low order
of intelligence, and in appearance more like beasts than men. They come
principally from the Montgomery District, and are inveterate thieves,
especially of dogs, which they eat. They will also eat animals which
have died a natural death, and putrid flesh.”

2. In these Provinces [403] they are all Hindus. Some of them pretend
to have gotras within which a man cannot marry, but of these they can
give no list, and it would seem that they have no law of exogamy except
a vague injunction that they should not marry near relations. In the
detailed Census Returns four gotras are recorded—Abri, Chauhân,
Gandena, and Gohal. They wander about with little huts made of reed
(sirki), and seldom stay more than a few days in the same place. They
call themselves indigenous to the Upper Ganges-Jumna Duâb. They freely
admit outsiders into their community, and the only ceremony of
initiation is that the new comer has to drink with the members of the
tribe. Marriage takes place both in infancy and when they become
adults. As a rule they prostitute their girls, and infidelity is little
regarded. They allow the marriage of widows and divorced women by the
karâo form. They do not employ Brâhmans in any of their domestic
ceremonies, and the duty at marriages is performed by the
brother-in-law or son-in-law of the bridegroom known as dhiyâna.

3. They call themselves Hindus; but they worship none of the ordinary
Hindu gods, except Parameswar, who is worshipped by the women and
children in times of sickness or trouble. All their other ceremonies
are performed by the Dhiyâna above described. They do not perform the
srâddha; but they lay out a little food for the ghosts of the dead and
then eat it themselves. They eat any kind of carrion and vermin of all
kinds which they catch. They live by begging and prostituting their
women, and have only the most elementary industries, such as plaiting
straw into baskets, sieves, and the like; but of this they do little.
No other caste will eat with them; but it is said that some of them eat
food from the hands of Kanjars, Sânsiyas, and similar vagrants.



DISTRIBUTION OF THE GANDHÎLAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

==============+=======
 Districts.   |Number.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
Sahâranpur    |   71
Muzaffarnagar |   63
              +~~~~~~~
       Total  |  134
==============+=======


1. Gangâputra, “son of the Ganges.”—A class of Brâhmans who preside
over the bathing, srâddha, and other ceremonies which are performed on
the banks of the Ganges at Benares and elsewhere along its course. They
say themselves that when Bhagîratha brought the Ganges from heaven, he
worshipped certain Brâhmans, and gave them the right in future to
receive all offerings made to the sacred river. They are also known as
Ghatiya, because they occupy ghâts or bathing-places along the Ganges
bank. The right to seats at such places is very valuable, and disputes
about them often come before the Courts. The Gangâputras belong to no
special tribe of Brâhman. They may be Gaur, Sarwariya, or Kanaujiya,
and though their profession is very lucrative, they have an evil
reputation for roguery and rapacity, and not finding it easy to
intermarry with respectable Brâhmans, there is a tendency among them
towards endogamy.

2. His principal business is to act as the cicerone of pilgrims who
come to bathe. He keeps a book in which he records the name and address
of pilgrims who have accepted his ministrations, and about the time of
bathing festivals, he and his emissaries beset the roads leading to the
holy places and endeavour to attract visitors, whom he entertains for a
consideration, and personally conducts round the various shrines and
sacred bathing places. At his ghât he keeps a cow which the pilgrim
touches as he goes to bathe, and he provides the worshipper with a
little kusa grass and the materials for the pinda, which he usually
offers up to his deceased relations. In his occupation the Gangâputra
closely resembles the Gayawâl who acts as an emissary for the owners of
the shrines at Gaya, and wanders about the country inducing villagers
to undertake the pilgrimage, and personally conducting his
constituents. A similar functionary is the Prayâgwâl, who officiates at
the bathing festivals at Prayâgji or Allahâbâd and the Mathuriya Chaubê
of Mathura.

3. Another class of these mendicant Brâhmans is known as Sarvanriya
Gangâputra. There is some doubt whether they are really Brâhmans at
all, and some connect them with other mendicant singers like the
Khapariyas. They claim, however, to be Brâhmans and wear the
Brâhmanical cord. They carry about a pair of sticks called kadalkâth,
which they rattle together very much in the same way as the “bones”
used by negro minstrels. Some have an iron rattle called charua, with
bells (ghunghru) which ring as they walk along. Most of them wear an
iron bangle on the right wrist, which is used to keep off the evil
spirits who surround them, attracted by their singing. They derive
their name from their custom of going about and singing songs in
commemoration of the tragic legend of Sravana, who is sometimes known
as Sravana Rishi. He is by one account said to be the sister’s son of
Râja Dasaratha, of the solar race and King of Ajudhya. His father and
mother were blind, and prayed to the gods for a son, which was granted;
but it was decreed at the same time that their son’s wife should be
faithless. So when he came of age Sravana refused to marry; but his
parents insisted on his taking a wife. When he brought her home she
turned out to be an evil woman, faithless to her husband and harsh in
conduct to his parents. She had a dish made with two compartments, one
of which she filled with good food for her husband, and the other with
foul scraps for his father and mother. One day the food was changed by
accident, and Sravana discovered her deception. So, as the old people
were near their end, their dutiful son resolved to take them in a
basket (kanwari) slung across his shoulder to the Ganges. On the way he
came to the village of Sarwan, in the Unâo District, where the legend
is now localised, and laid his burden by the banks of a tank while he
went into the jungle to rest. It so chanced that Râja Dasaratha was
hunting in the forest, and hearing something move in the brushwood, he
discharged an arrow, which killed Sravana. His parents, in their
despair, cursed the Râja, and to their curse is said to be due the
trouble which afterwards fell on the royal house. “From that day to
this no Kshatriya has lived in the town which is founded on the spot
and is called Sarwan. Many Râjputs have tried it, but evil has
overtaken them in one way or another. The tank remains to this day, and
by it lies under a tree the body of Sravana, a figure of stone; and as
he died with his thirst unquenched, so, if water is poured into the
navel of the stone figure, the hole can never be filled up, but is
inexhaustible in its demand.” [404]

Sravanriya Gangâputras used formerly to go about begging and singing
from about 2 o’clock in the morning. They acquired an evil reputation
for snatching nose-rings and other jewelry from pious women who got up
to minister to their wants: they now usually defer their visits to a
later hour. It is considered meritorious among Hindus to listen to the
songs of the dutiful Sravana early in the morning, and on such
occasions, the singers are given alms, which usually consist of
uncooked grain, but seldom of money. Formerly they were, it is said, in
the habit of sitting dharna at the doors of people who refused to give
them alms. They find it dangerous to carry on such practices at
present. It is needless to say that they bear a most indifferent
reputation.


DISTRIBUTION OF GANGÂPUTRAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ============+=======
     Districts. |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Farrukhâbâd |  131
    Mainpuri    |    1
    Etâwah      |    4
    Bareilly    |   80
    Budâun      |  112
    Morâdâbâd   |  411
    Pilibhît    |    2
    Cawnpur     |  179
    Fatehpur    |  179
    Hamîrpur    |    4
    Allahâbâd   |   47
    Lalitpur    |    1
    Benares     |   45
    Gorakhpur   |  139
    Lucknow     |    6
    Unâo        |  103
    Râê Bareli  |  706
    Sîtapur     |    2
    Hardoi      |   46
    Faizâbâd    |   17
    Bahrâich    |    3
    Bârabanki   |   10
                +~~~~~~~
         Total  |2,228
    ============+=======


Gangâri.—A class of hill Brâhmans, who are inferior to the Sarolas, and
are so called because they live on the banks of the Ganges. “Those who
have settled in Chândpur and Lohoa call themselves Sarolas however, and
it would appear that the latter are the section of the Brâhmans living
along the Ganges, who obtained employment at the courts of the petty
Râjas. The offspring of any Sarola who sinks by intermarriage with a
lower family becomes simply a Gangâri. The offspring of a Sarola and a
concubine also becomes a Gangâri. Thus, if a Gairola, a sub-caste of
the Sarola, marries, his offspring by a lawful wife will be called
Sarola Gangâri, whilst his offspring by a concubine are called Gangâri
Gairola. Indeed the inhabitants of the sub-divisions away from the
river call all the people living along the Alaknanda, whether Brâhmans,
Râjputs, Banyas, or Doms, by the generic name Gangâri or Gangâl, and
there is no marked line of difference between the Sarola and Gangâri.
The principal sub-divisions of the latter are the Ghildyâl, the Dâdai,
and the Malâsi, who came from the Tarâi. The Ghildyâls serve the temple
of Kânsmardini Devi; the Unyâls at the temples of Mahikhmardini,
Kâlika, Râjrajeswari, Gharârî, and Damanda Unyâl; the Aswâls at Jwâlpa
and several Bhairava temples. Two explanations are given of the
superior position generally assigned to the Sarolas: one that they were
selected as the parent clan to prepare food for the Râjas of Garhwâl,
and hence their name; another is that when a standing army became
necessary, they were appointed to cook for the troops in the field by
Râja Abhaya Pâl, who further enjoined that all should eat from one
vessel the food prepared by his Brâhman cooks—a custom generally
observed to the present day. All the Brâhmans in Garhwâl are commonly
styled Gangâris, but the better classes call themselves Sarolas,
amongst whom the following sub-divisions are found—Kotyâl, Simwâl,
Gairala, usually cooks; Kanyûris, attached to the civil administration
of the Râjas; Nautyâls, teachers; Maithânis, servants; Thapalyâls,
Ratûris, Dobhâls, Chamolis, Hatwâls, Dyondis, Malaguris, Karyâls,
Naunis, Somaltis, cooks; Bijilwârs, Dhurânas, Manûris, Bhattalwâlis,
Mahinya ke Joshis, and Dimris. Most of these names are derived from the
village of origin (thât) of the sub-division. The Dimris are the cooks
of Badari Nâth, and the food prepared by them may be eaten by all
classes. Some are temple priests and claim to belong to the Dravira
division, the Kasyapa gotra and Madhindiniya sâkha, and to follow the
Yajur veda. Many Dimris claim a southern origin for themselves, and
others state that the Dimris are the offspring of the celibate Râwals
of the temple and the Brâhman female attendants who settled in the
village of Dimar, and hence the name. They are now the servants of
Badari Nâth in particular, and some have taken to agriculture, while
others wander all over India, asking for alms and selling images of the
deity stamped on metal, or exposing them for the worship of the
faithful. The Ratûris derive their name from Ratûra, a village of
Chândpur, and claim to have come there from Mahârâshtra in the time of
the Pâla Râjas to visit Badari Nâth, and to have remained in the
service of the Chândpur Râja. They belong to the Bhâradvâja gotra. They
now occupy themselves with agriculture and service and as priests. They
and the Dimris intermarry with other Sarolas. The Gangâris, like the
Khasiyas, serve in the temples of the village deities and as priests of
Bhairava; but the Sarolas, though not very orthodox in their ritual,
only worship the orthodox deities. The Garhwâl Brâhmans have a
reputation for gaining their ends by servile flattery, and the Khasiya
section are reckoned so stupid and stubborn as to be only managed by
fear; hence the proverb—Garhwâl samândâta nahîn, bina lâthi deta nahîn.
“The Garhwâl Brâhman will give only when you stand over him with a
cudgel.” [405]

Gâra (gârna, “to bury”).—A tribe of industrious cultivators practically
confined to the Sahâranpur and Muzaffarnagar Districts. Of them Sir H.
M. Elliot writes: [406]—“They are Musalmâns, and are frequently
considered to be, like the Jhojhas, converted slaves. They themselves
assert that they were formerly Sombansi Râjputs; that they came from
Nagara Bambera, to the west of Delhi, and that Akbar located them in
desert tracts, which have now been cleared by their industry. There
seems reason to believe that they are the progeny of Râjput clans,
because among themselves they have the sub-divisions of Bargûjar,
Chauhân, etc., but there are also perhaps among them descendants of
several inferior castes. All those on being converted to Muhammadanism,
were called (perhaps contemptuously) Gâra, from the new practice they
had adopted of burying, instead of burning, their dead. They now apply
the term to themselves, but endeavour to disguise its origin by
pretending to high birth. The Gâras generally intermarry in their own
clan; but there is a set of villages in Sahâranpur, called Sayyid Gâra,
from the fact of the daughters of Gâras marrying into Sayyid families.”
The complete Census Returns name 51 sections. Some of them are local,
such as Chaurasiya, Multâni; others are those of well-known castes and
septs, such as Bargûjar, Bhâl, Bhatti, Chandela, Chauhân, Julâha,
Pundîr, Râjput, Râthaur; others are purely Muhammadan, as Ansâri, Azîz,
Bahlîm, Ghori, Mughal, Mughal-Bharsawa, Muhammadi, Shaikh, Shaikh
Haidar, and Yâr Muhammad.

2. The Gâras are good cultivators, but very quarrelsome and litigious.
This is recorded in the native proverb that a Gâra is as great a
nuisance in a village as thorns in a field—Gânw men Gâra; Khet men
jhâra.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE GÂRAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======
     Districts.   |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |    203
    Sahâranpur    | 45,768
    Muzaffarnagar |  5,053
    Meerut        |     60
    Mathura       |      1
    Agra          |      2
    Partâbgarh    |      1
                  +~~~~~~~
           Total  | 51,088
    ==============+=======


Garg; Gargbansi.—A sept of Râjputs. They represent themselves to be the
descendants of the Rishi Garga who was the father of Sini, from whom,
according to the Vishnu Purâna, the Gârgyas and Sainyas, “Brâhmans of
Kshatriya race,” were sprung. The statement of the Bhâgavata is that
Gârgya from a Kshatriya became a Brâhman. With him we reach an age when
the modern distinctions of caste were unknown. In the Gargbansi are
sometimes included the Chanamiya (q.v.). In Faizâbâd [407] the sept
assert that their ancestor the Rishi was summoned from Kanauj by Râja
Dasaratha to assist him in performing the horse sacrifice; others say
that Vikramaditya sent for him from Kaikaides on his restoration to
Ajudhya. In the Eastern Districts of the North-West Provinces [408]
they are both Bhuînhârs and Chhatris, and in the latter caste they do
not rank high. [409] Those of the Garg Bhuînhârs, whose blood has not
been tainted by admixture with inferior races, take a fair rank among
Bhuînhârs. There can be no doubt that both are of the same stock. One
division of the Chhatri branch is called Surhaniya, from Surhan in
Pargana Mahul of Azamgarh. In Faizâbâd they are reputed to be thieves.
The Chhatri sept are generally regarded as Bais of inferior stock.

2. In Sultânpur they are reported to marry girls of Bilkhariya,
Tashaiya, Chandauriya, Kath Bais, and Bhâlê Sultân, Panwâr, Chandel,
Palwâr; and to give brides to the Tilokchandi Bais, Mainpuri Chauhâns,
Sûrajbansi of Mahul, Bisens of Majhauli, Râjkumâr, and Bachgoti. In
Faizâbâd they marry Palwâr, Raghubansi and Chandel brides, and give
girls to the Bachgoti, Sombansi, and Bais septs.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE GARGBANSI RÂJPUTS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1895.

    ==============+=======
     Districts.   |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Sahâranpur    |      4
    Agra          |      5
    Etah          |      1
    Morâdâbâd     |     46
    Cawnpur       |      5
    Fatehpur      |      1
    Allahâbâd     |     54
    Lalitpur      |      4
    Benares       |     82
    Jaunpur       |    113
    Ghâzipur      |      5
    Ballia        |     74
    Gorakhpur     |    183
    Basti         |    524
    Azamgarh      |  3,462
    Lucknow       |     32
    Râê Bareli    |      1
    Sîtapur       |      3
    Faizâbâd      |  3,193
    Gonda         |    132
    Bahrâich      |      6
    Sultânpur     |  3,216
    Partâbgarh    |      7
    Bârabanki     |     25
                  +~~~~~~~
            Total | 11,178
    ==============+=======


Gaur; Gauda. [410]—One of the five divisions of the Northern Brâhmans
which make up what is known as the Pancha Gauda, as distinguished from
the Pancha Dravira or Southern Brâhmans. There has been much
controversy as to the origin of the name. The tribal traditions all
point to the ruined city of Gaur or Lakhnauti, in Mâlda, which was once
the capital of Bengal, whence the story runs that they emigrated to the
neighbourhood of Delhi in the time of the Pândavas. By another account
they emigrated to Bengal on the invitation of Râja Agarsen, the
eponymous founder of Agarwâla Banyas. The objections to this account of
their origin are two-fold. In the first place their supposed emigration
from east to west reverses the usual course of the Brâhmanical
movements, and, secondly, it is difficult to understand how they could
have passed through the intervening Brâhmanical tribes, such as the
Sarwariya and Kanaujiya. This is not avoided by Mr. Colebrooke’s
supposition that Gauda was the name of a division of the country in the
neighbourhood of the modern Patna. And still less probable is Sir G.
Campbell’s theory, that the name is derived from their residence on the
banks of the Ghâghar, a tributary of the Sâraswati, the lost river of
the Western India desert. Perhaps the most plausible explanation is
that of General Cunningham, who writes: [411]—“These apparent
discrepancies are satisfactorily explained when we learn that Gauda is
only a sub-division of Uttara Kosila, and that the ruins of Srâvasti
have actually been found in the district of Gauda, which is the Gonda
of the Maps. I presume therefore that both the Gauda Brâhmans and the
Gauda Tagas must have belonged to this district originally, and not to
the mediæval city of Gauda in Bengal. Brâhmans of this name are still
numerous in Ajudhya and Jahângîrâbâd, on the right bank of the Ghâghra
river, in Gonda, Pâkhapur, and Jaisni, of the Gonda District, and in
many parts of the neighbouring division of Gorakhpur.” Our last Census
Returns show the Gaur Brâhmans most numerous in the Meerut Division,
and in decreasing numbers as we come through Rohilkhand and the lower
Ganges-Jumna Duâb.

[Divisions of the Gaur Brâhmans.] 2. The divisions of this branch of
the Brâhmans are very intricate, and the tribe itself is, as a rule, so
illiterate and unintelligent, that it is very difficult to ascertain
their tribal constitution. Dr. J. Wilson [412] divides them into eleven
divisions:—


(1)  The Gaudas or Kevala Gaudas, who are said to be Yajur Vedis, and
     to have their head-quarters at Hardwâr.
(2)  The Adi Gaudas or “original” Gaudas, who follow the white Yajur
     Veda, and are by sect Smârttas, Sâktas, or Vallabhachâryas.
(3)  The Suklwâla, who are a branch of the Adi Gaudas and come from
     Jaypur. Of these there are two sections—Ojha and Joshi.
(4)  The Sanâdhya, who have been separately enumerated at the last
     Census and form the subject of a special article.
(5)  The Sri Gaudas or “honourable” Gaudas, of which one division is
     called Tamboli, and deals in betel leaf, and another Adi Sri
     Gauda, found at Delhi, Mathura, and Brindaban.
(6)  The Gûjar or Gûrjjara Gaudas.
(7)  The Tekbâra Gaudas.
(8)  The Chamar Gaudas, who serve the Chamârs as priests.
(9)  The Hariyâna Gaudas, who take their name from the country of
     Hariyâna, in the Hissâr and Rohtak Districts of the Panjâb.
(10) The Kirtâniya Gaudas, who wander about these Provinces and
     Râjputâna as singers, reciters, and players upon instruments.
(11) The Sukal Gaudas, who live by mendicity, accepting alms from
    Brâhmans, but not from Kshatriyas, Banyas, or people of other
    castes.


3. According to Sir H. M. Elliot the chief Gaur tribes in these
Provinces are the Adi Gaur, Jugad Gaur, Kaithal Gaur, Gûjar Gaur,
Dharam Gaur, and Siddh Gaur. A list obtained from a member of the tribe
at Mirzapur makes them out to be divided into Gûjar Gaur, Dadhicha or
Dâima, Sikhwâl, Pârikh, Khandelwâl or Adi Gaur, and Sâraswata. Of these
the Dadhicha are classed by Dr. Wilson [413] among the Gujjara
Brâhmans; the Pârikhas or Purohita Parikhas are the family priests of
the Râjas of Jaypur, in whose territory they are especially abundant.
“They claim to be descended from Vasishtha. When his hundred sons with
their wives were destroyed through the jealousy of his rival
Visvamitra, a son named Sava fell from the womb of one of these wives,
who had Parâsara as his son, the father of Vyâsa.” The Sârasvatas,
again, are generally classed as distinct from the Gaur, and have been
so recorded at the last Census.

[The Dadhicha.] 4. Adopting this classification, it may be noted that
the Dadhicha of these provinces claim descent from Dadhicha, the son of
Atharvan, who was son of Brahma. The story runs that Dadhyang or
Dadhicha had a wife, Satya Prabha, who was left pregnant when her
husband died. She tore her womb open, and taking out the child, which
she laid at the foot of a pîpal tree, joined her husband in heaven.
After some time she remembered her child and prayed to Mûl Devi or
Sâkti, who promised that the child should be incarnated out of a human
skull. From being laid beside the pîpal tree he came to be known as
Pippalayana, and begot twelve sons, who were the ancestors of the
twelve gotras of the tribe. Each of these sons had twelve sons, and
from these one hundred and forty-four persons are named the sections
(al). The following are the gotras and als as far as it has been
possible to ascertain their names:—


(1)  Gautama gotra with sections—Patodya; Palod; Nahawâl; Kumbhya;
     Kanth; Badâdhara; Khatod; Badsaran; Bagadya; Bedwant; Banrasidara;
     Ledodya; Kakarah; Gagwâri; Bhuwâl; Disiyel; Masya; Mang.
     (2) Vatsa gotra with sections—Ratâwa; Koliwâl; Baldawa; Rolaryân;
     Cholankhya; Jopat; Ithodya; Polgala; Nasara; Namawâl; Ajmera;
     Kukarân; Tararâyân; Abdig; Didiyil; Musya; Maug.
(3)  Bharadwâja gotra with sections—Pedwâl; Sukl; Malodya;
     Asopadyaki; Barmota; Indokhwâl; Halsara; Bhatalya; Godiya;
     Solyarin.
(4)  Bhârgava gotra with sections—Inaryân; Patharyân; Kasalya;
     Silrondya; Kurarawa; Jagodya; Khewar; Bisâwa; Ladrawân; Baragarân;
     Kadalawa; Kaprodya.
(5)  Kavacha gotra with sections—Didwâryân; Malodya; Ghawarodya;
     Jatalya; Dobha; Murel; Maurjawâl; Sosi; Gotecha; Kudâl; Tretawâl.
(6)  Kasyapa gotra with sections—Choraida; Dirolya; Jamawâl;
     Shergota; Rajthala; Barawa; Balaya; Chaulankhya.
(7)  Sândilya gotra with sections—Rarawa; Bediya; Bed; Gotharawâl;
     Dahwâl.
(8)  Asraya gotra with sections—Sulwâl; Yajrodya; Dubarya; Sukalya.
(9)  Parâsara gotra with sections—Bhera; Parâsara.
(10) Kavala gotra with section—Chipara.
(11) Gorga gotra, with section—Talachhya.
(12) Mamraka gotra of which the sections have disappeared.


[The Gûjar Gaur.] 5. A list from Mirzapur gives the gotras and sections
(al) of the Gûjar Gaur as follows:—


(1)  Kausika gotra with sections—Jakhimo; Kurakyo; Tadukyo;
     Karadolya; Surolya; Modharyân; Sarsu; Guhadra; Katasala;
     Jirawalya.
(2)  Kausika gotra with sections—Chahadhota; Gobalya; Nagavalya;
     Kaitha; Kalaitha; Tetrawa; Nilsanda; Kethuryân; Dudu.
(3)  Vasishtha gotra with sections—Paghlida; Dughahasya; Khuraryân;
     Akodra; Jhujhrodyân; Rihdoliya; Pandurya; Sankhwat; Achraundya;
     Laiwâl; Poparudyân; Rachhtinari; Khiyaryân; Phaguryân.
(4)  Sândilya gotra with sections—Nausalya; Pachaswa; Gâlswa;
     Jajpura; Nanera; Kathoriwâl; Sânpa; Jhamkolya; Karauriwâl;
     Kusumbhiwâl.
(5)  Kausika gotra with sections—Bhairjwâl; Kânoilya; Naugra;
     Dughdolya; Gumtaryân; Adharûpa; Jodha; Harkhahi; Jastaryân.
(6)  Bharadwâja gotra with sections—Pisa; Gauryân; Jagala; Raurinja;
     Bapraundya; Lâd; Kalbadra; Silaura; Jigaryân; Chitaryân;
     Gugauryân; Pijuryân; Kajaura; Gauhandya; Bagda.
(7)  Gautama gotra with sections—Bhawânlya; Jajada; Bijaryân;
     Thinksara; Bilovaryân; Pandaita; Dikhat; Bilu; Umtaryân;
     Mandovasya.
(8)  Kasyapa gotra with sections—Bararaila; Rewal; Gunwâl;
     Sanbharya; Bajagya; Thariwâl; Lohdolya; Aimalya; Sajiganwa;
     Dewalya; Jâjandya; Matâryân; Rajdolya; Rihdolya.
(9)  Vatsa gotra with sections—Kântra; Bachh; Kaimalya; Chatsuwa;
     Dodwadra; Vyâs; Ghil; Gutaradya; Paiwâl; Chanwadra; Didwaryân;
     Chhichhâwata; Palhat; Chulhat; Suraulya; Rainhata; Sarsuda;
     Khinwasara; Chhadak; Bagada.
(10) Atrima gotra with sections—Bardundhya; Bagherwâl; Akodra;
     Karaudiwâl; Priyalauja; Babherwâl; Dabhadra; Kunjaudra;
     Ichharmarua.
(11) Muhrila gotra with sections—Surtaryân; Bhutâryan; Dhamauntya;
     Thâwalya; Lohawa; Bamhaurya; Kundera; Gadaryân; Raiswâl; Kunjodra;
     Muth; Pipalya.
(12) Parâsara gotra with sections—Khataud; Daigya; Pahadra;
     Narâryân; Kuchila; Baresura; Kachraudya; Dewalya; Dobarhatta;
     Gumataryân.
(13) Garga gotra with sections—Gudnâda; Kacharya; Ladaryân; Laiwâl;
     Bhangdolya; Ukhairwâl.


[Marriage.] 6. Gaur Brâhmans are, as a rule, endogamous, but they are
singularly liberal in their views as contrasted with the Kanaujiya, and
as in Bihâr, where the groups consist of limited numbers, they have
commenced to intermarry with the Sâraswata. In other respects they
practise the ordinary rule of exogamy common to other Brâhmans. When
the bride is introduced into the house of her husband there is a solemn
confarreatio rite known as dûdhabhâti. Their domestic ceremonies are of
the usual orthodox type.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE GAUR BRÂHMANS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======
     Districts.   |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |  1,904
    Sahâranpur    | 40,821
    Muzaffarnagar | 37,786
    Meerut        | 94,723
    Bulandshahr   | 77,132
    Aligarh       | 25,179
    Mathura       | 24,630
    Agra          |  3,792
    Farrukhâbâd   |  1,613
    Mainpuri      |  1,559
    Etâwah        |  1,313
    Etah          |  1,485
    Bareilly      |  7,289
    Bijnor        | 24,969
    Budâun        |  7,174
    Morâdâbâd     | 28,024
    Shâhjahânpur  |  1,150
    Pilibhît      |  2,625
    Cawnpur       |  4,473
    Fatehpur      |    377
    Bânda         |    183
    Hamîrpur      |    817
    Allahâbâd     |  1,236
    Jhânsi        |    486
    Jâlaun        |     94
    Lalitpur      |    199
    Benares       |  3,179
    Mirzapur      |  2,267
    Jaunpur       |    463
    Ghâzipur      |    245
    Ballia        |  1,224
    Gorakhpur     |    672
    Basti         |    876
    Kumâun        |     40
    Garhwâl       |  1,987
    Tarâi         |  2,567
    Lucknow       |  1,062
    Unâo          |    377
    Râê Bareli    |    117
    Sîtapur       |  1,452
    Hardoi        |    332
    Kheri         |  2,235
    Faizâbâd      |    802
    Gonda         |    328
    Bahrâich      |  2,146
    Sultânpur     |    112
    Partâbgarh    |     83
    Bârabanki     |    346
                  +~~~~~~~
            Total |414,082
    ==============+=======


Gaur.—A sept of Râjputs who are supposed to take their name from the
kingdom of Gauda, in Bengal; but as shown in the articles on Gaur
Brâhmans, their name may be derived from Gauda, the modern Gonda in
Northern Oudh. Colonel Tod [414] ranks them among the thirty-six royal
races and remarks:—“The tribe was once respected in Rajasthân, though
it never attained to any considerable eminence. The ancient kings of
Bengal were of this race, and gave their name to the capital Lakhnauti.
We have every reason to believe that they were possessors of the land
afterwards occupied by the Chauhâns, as they are styled in the old
Chronicles, The Gaur of Ajmer. Repeated mention is made of them in the
wars of Prithivi Râja as leaders of considerable renown, one of whom
formed a small state in the centre of India, which survived through
seven centuries of Mughal domination, till it at length fell a prey
indirectly to the successes of the British over the Marhattas, when
Sindhiya in 1809 annihilated the power of the Gaur and took possession
of his capital Sûpar.” He gives the five sâkha of the Gaur as Untahir,
Silhala, Tunwar, Dasena, and Budâno.

[The Gaurs of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh.] 2. According to
Sir H. M. Elliot [415] they fall into three sub-divisions, the Bhat
Gaur, Bâhman Gaur, and Chamar Gaur, names derived from some intercourse
with Bhâts, Brâhmans, and Chamârs. “To these are sometimes added the
Katheriya Gaur, descended from a Katheri, or carpenter. But it may be
doubted if the Katheriya are really Gaurs. No argument, however, can be
derived from the fact that daughters of Gaurs marry in Katheriya
families, because the Chamar Gaur and Bâhman Gaur also intermarry.” The
Katheriya really take their name from Katehar, the old name of
Rohilkhand. “The Chamar Gaur, who are divided into Râja and Râê, rank
the highest,” which is accounted for by the legend already given in the
special article on that sept. In Farrukhâbâd [416] they call themselves
Râthauriya, and are said to have come from Shâhjahânpur under the
brothers Sârhê and Bârhê. Each received a Chaurâsi or block of
eighty-four villages. Bârhê’s descendants chiefly settled in the
country now forming the Pargana of Shamsâbâd West, while Sârhê kept to
the south in Shamsâbâd East and Bhojpur. The Etâwah branch say they
came from Sûpar in the west as early as 650 A.D., having expelled the
Meos, and they allege that their power was broken by the Banâphar
heroes, Alha and Udal, early in the 12th century. [417]

[The Gaurs of Oudh.] 3. As regards the Gaurs of Oudh, the Hardoi
tradition [418] runs that Kuber Sâh Gaur was deputed by Jay Chand of
Kanauj to collect tribute from Thatheras. While he was at Kanauj twin
sons were born to him. Of these the Brâhmans in attendance on the
Thathera chief predicted that they would achieve greatness and expel
him from his kingdom. To avert such disaster the Thathera Chief ordered
the babes to be done away with; and the Brâhmans, giving out that if
Kuber Sâh should return and look upon his children’s faces he would
die, caused them to be buried alive. Hardly had the deed been done when
Kuber Sâh returned, heard the evil news, and had the babes dug up. Both
were still alive. One of them had lost an eye and was hence named
Kâna,—“one-eyed.” The other was named Anâi or Pakhni,—“under the wall.”
From them are sprung the Kâna and Anâi or Pakhni sub-divisions of the
Gaurs. One family in Unâo [419] profess to hold their lands by virtue
of a grant from the Emperor Bâbar. They are Bâhman Gaurs of the Modal
gotra. There is another colony of Gaurs in Pargana Harba, who are
claimed by the others as an offshoot from themselves. They also are
Bâhman Gaurs of the same gotra, but give a different account of their
origin. According to them Banthar was formerly inhabited by a race of
Gaddis or cow-herds who lived by the pasturage and paid an annual
tribute of ghi to the Government. One year, whether with intent to
defraud or to show their insubordination, they filled the vessels in
which the tribute was sent with cowdung and covered it over with a
small quantity of ghi. The fraud was discovered at court, and Gorapdes
Gaur, who held a military command at Delhi, was directed to raise a
body of followers and extirpate the offenders. After performing this
service, he received a grant of the conquered villages and settled
there with his clan.

[Religion.] 4. In the village of Dudhâwal, in the Lucknow [420]
District, stands a pîpal tree, and there is a small monument, a
memorial of the place where the Bâhman Gaur widows used to perform
sati, to which the Bâhman Gaur to this day bring offerings for the old
family priests of their tribe on the occasion of a marriage or any
other solemn ceremony in their house.

5. In Sîtapur they appear usually to give brides to the Tomar and Ahban
septs, and to take brides from the Bâchhal, Janwâr, and occasionally
from the Ahban. In Farrukhâbâd the Katheriya Gaur give their daughters
to the Sombansi, Bais, and Bamtelê, and receive girls from the Chandel
and Kaithiya septs. In Hamîrpur they give brides to the Chauhân,
Bhadauriya, Kachhwâha, Parihâr, Chandel, Râthaur, and Chamar Gaur, and
take wives from the Dikhit, Nandwâni, and Bais. In Hardoi they claim to
belong to the Bharadwâja gotra, marry girls of the Raikwâr, Chandel,
Dhâkrê, Janwâr, Kachhwâha, and Gaharwâr septs, while they give wives to
the Sombansi, Chauhân, Pramâr, Râthaur, Dhâkrê, Nikumbh, and Raikwâr.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE GAUR RÂJPUTS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+==========
    Districts.    | Numbers.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~
    Sahâranpur    |    102
    Muzaffarnagar |    132
    Meerut        |    958
    Bulandshahr   |  3,063
    Aligarh       |    147
    Mathura       |  1,053
    Agra          |    465
    Farrukhâbâd   |  4,741
    Mainpuri      |  1,908
    Etâwah        |  3,224
    Etah          |  2,804
    Bijnor        |     65
    Budâun        |  6,123
    Morâdâbâd     |  2,442
    Shâhjahânpur  |  2,531
    Pilibhît      |    323
    Cawnpur       | 13,246
    Fatehpur      |  1,663
    Bânda         |  1,477
    Hamîrpur      |  1,770
    Allahâbâd     |    197
    Jhânsi        |  1,083
    Jâlaun        |  1,816
    Lalitpur      |    565
    Benares       |     12
    Jaunpur       |     31
    Ghâzipur      |      1
    Ballia        |      7
    Gorakhpur     |    184
    Azamgarh      |      1
    Tarâi         |     29
    Lucknow       |    269
    Unâo          |  1,847
    Râê Bareli    |    472
    Sîtapur       |  4,536
    Hardoi        | 11,687
    Kheri         |  1,145
    Faizâbâd      |     23
    Bahrâich      |     39
    Sultânpur     |     86
    Partâbgarh    |    385
    Bârabanki     |    216
                  +~~~~~~~~~~
           Total  | 72,850
    ==============+==========


Gaurahar.—A small Râjput sept found in Rohilkhand and the borders of
Aligarh. They are supposed to be descended from the Chamar Gaur, and it
is sometimes added, by way of reproach, that they have a little Ahîr
blood in their veins. They trace their origin to Kainûr in the west,
whence they say they came to serve the Emperors of Delhi. [421]

Gauriya; Bangâli Gusâîn.—A Vaishnava order of recent origin. This
community “has had a more marked influence on Brindaban than any of the
others, since it was Chaitanya, the founder of the sect, whose
immediate disciples were its first temple builders. He was born at
Nadiya, in Bengal, in 1485 A.D., and in his youth is said to have
married a daughter of Vallabhachârya. However that may be, when he had
arrived at the age of twenty-four he formally resigned all connection
with secular and domestic affairs and commenced his career as a
religious teacher. After spending six years in pilgrimage between
Mathura and Jagannâth he finally settled down at the latter place,
where, in 1527 A.D., being then only forty-two years old, he
disappeared from the world. There is reason to believe that he was
drowned in the sea, into which he had walked in an ecstacy, mistaking
it for the shallow waters of the Jamuna, where he saw in a vision
Krishna sporting with the Gopis. His life and doctrines are recorded in
a most voluminous Bengâli work entitled Chaitanya Charitâmrita,
composed in 1590 by one of his disciples Krishna Dâs. Two of his
colleagues Adwaitanand and Nityanand, who like himself are styled Mahâ
Prabhus, presided over his establishments in Bengal, while other six
Gusâîns settled at Brindaban. Apart from metaphysical subtleties, which
naturally have but little hold on the minds of the populace, the
special tenet of the Bengali Vaishnavas is the all-sufficiency of faith
in the divine Krishna; such faith being adequately expressed by the
mere repetition of his name without any added prayer or concomitant
feeling of genuine devotion. Thus roughly stated, the doctrine appears
absurd; and possibly its true bearing is as little regarded by many of
the more ignorant among the Vaishnavas themselves, as it is by the
majority of superficial outside observers. It is, however, a legitimate
deduction from sound principles; for it may be presumed that the formal
act of devotion would never have been commenced, had it not been
prompted at the outset by a devotional intention, which intention is
virtually continued so long as the act is in performance. The sectarial
mark consists of two white perpendicular streaks down the forehead
united at the root of the nose and continued to near the tip. Another
characteristic is the use of a rosary of one hundred and eight beads
made of the wood of the tulasi.” [422]

2. The order takes its name from the city of Gaur, the ancient capital
of Bengal, which now lies a mass of ruins in the Mâlda District.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE GAURIYA GUSÂÎNS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    =============+=========
     Districts.  | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~
    Bulandshahr |   9
    Cawnpur     |   2
    Kheri       | 283
    Gonda       |  34
    Bahrâich    |  70
    Bârabanki   |  34
                +~~~~~~~~~
         Total  | 432
                |
    Males       | 246
    Females     | 186
    ============+=========


Gaurua.—Hardly the name of a special Râjput sept, but a general term
applied to those Râjputs who have lost rank by the practice of
widow-marriage (karâo). Those to the west of the Jumna are said to have
emigrated from Jaypur about nine hundred years ago. In Mathura some
call themselves Kachhwâha, others Jasâwat, others again Sisodiya.
Towards Delhi they are said to be particularly quarrelsome, but sturdy
in build and clannish in disposition. [423]

Gautam.—A sept of Râjputs who claim as their eponymous ancestor the
Rishi Gautama. They are usually treated as one of the Chandrabans, but
not in the thirty-six royal races. Their original home is Fatehpur, and
they claim to have been originally Brâhmans, the descendants of the
Rishi Gautama. By another account they are descended from the Rishi
Siringi. The descendant in the sixth degree from Gautama is said to
have married the daughter of Ajaypâl, the Gaharwâr Râja of Kanauj, and
to have received as her dowry the whole extent of the country from
Prayâg (Allahâbâd) to Hardwâr. From this event the sept ceased to be
Brâhmans and became Râjputs; the issue of the marriage took the title
of Râja of Argal, a village in the ravines of the River Rind, about
thirty miles west of Fatehpur. [424] Sir H. M. Elliot [425] distrusts
the story of their connection with Siringi Rishi or with the Gaharwârs,
because it is, in the first place, impossible that Siringi Rishi could
have been the contemporary of any Gaharwâr Râja; and in the second
place, it is highly improbable that the Gaharwârs could have preceded
the occupation of the Gautams. Nevertheless the story is devoutly
believed by many Gautams. In Oudh [426] they were certainly very early
settlers. They claim to be an offshoot from the Argal Râj, but their
traditions as to the cause and manner of their occupancy are too faint
and varying for record. In the Eastern Districts of the Province [427]
there is both a Chhatri and a Bhuînhâr branch: the former ignore the
latter, and say that they themselves came from Argal. The Bhuînhârs
allege that they are all one stock of Sarwariya Brâhmans, the Chhatris
having assumed their present caste only when the ancestor of the Râja
of Azamgarh became a Muhammadan and rose into power. In the
Ayîn-i-Akbari they are described as zamîndârs in Pargana Nizâmâbâd. The
Cawnpur branch is said to have emigrated from Argal four and-a-half
centuries ago, and to have expelled the Arakhs.

2. The Sakyas of Kapilavastu also reckoned the saint Gautama among
their forefathers, and they are represented by the existing Gautamiyas.
[428] These Gautamiyas are an inferior branch. They seem to be Gautams,
who from the low marriages of their daughters or other reasons have
fallen from a higher status or Chhatris of inferior stock who have
adopted the patronymic of the more famous clan. The real Gautams hold a
respectable rank among Râjputs. Those of the Eastern Districts give
their daughters in marriage to the Sombansi, Bachgoti, Bhandhalgoti,
Rajwâr, and Râjkumâr. Those of the Duâb give their daughters to the
Bhadauriya, Kachhwâha, Râthaur, Gahlot, Chauhân, and Tomar. To the east
they marry their daughters in the Sirnet, Bisen, Gaharwâr, Sûrajbansi,
Baghel, and Chandel septs, and take brides from the Kalhans, Palwâr,
Râjkumâr, Kausik, Chauhân, and Sengar. In Fatehpur they give their
daughters to the Chauhân, Parihâr, Bhadauriya, Kachhwâha, and Jâdon
septs, and marry wives from the Bais, Panwâr, Dikhit, Sombansi,
Chandel, Bisen, and Khichi. In Bundelkhand they especially worship
Gajpati Râê Durga at the Naurâtra of Kuâr and Chait. Nothing but a
sword is kept in the temple, and it is worshipped with prayers and
offerings of sandalwood, rice, perfumes, incense, and lamps. On the
first lunar day of Kuâr a decorated jar (kalsa) is placed in her
temple, and ten Pandits, sitting round it, recite the praises of Durga
Devi: a buffalo and a he-goat are daily sacrificed during the feast. On
the ninth day twenty or more buffaloes and fifty or sixty he-goats are
sacrificed. None but a Gautam can perform this sacrifice; and only a
man of the Bargâh caste, who are the hereditary servants of the clan,
is allowed to hold the victim. Before offering the sacrifice the sacred
sword is worshipped. On the last day (naumîn) the Râja himself offers
the sacrifice. The heads of the victims are buried deep in the ground,
but the goat-meat is regarded as holy (prasâd) and divided among the
worshippers. Only Chamârs eat the meat of the buffaloes offered to the
goddess. It is believed that if anyone but a Râja perform this
sacrifice, he will be destroyed root and branch.

3. In Lucknow they worship a tribal saint Bâba Nahuk, of Nigohan, and
burn a light daily at his shrine. [429]


DISTRIBUTION OF THE GAUTAM RÂJPUTS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+==========+==============
    Districts.    |  Hindus. | Muhammadans.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |      1   |      ...
    Sahâranpur    |      8   |      ...
    Muzaffarnagar |      5   |      ...
    Meerut        |     13   |      ...
    Bulandshahr   |     73   |        2
    Aligarh       |     26   |      ...
    Mathura       |      3   |      ...
    Agra          |     30   |      ...
    Farrukhâbâd   |     75   |      ...
    Mainpuri      |    217   |        5
    Etâwah        |     16   |      ...
    Etah          |     57   |      ...
    Bareilly      |    755   |        4
    Budâun        |  7,730   |        2
    Morâdâbâd     |  1,377   |       12
    Shâhjahânpur  |    843   |      ...
    Pilibhît      |    178   |       43
    Cawnpur       |  4,964   |        1
    Fatehpur      | 11,513   |    1,833
    Bânda         |  2,880   |       45
    Hamîrpur      |  2,129   |      ...
    Allahâbâd     |    854   |      ...
    Jhânsi        |     21   |        1
    Jâlaun        |    110   |      ...
    Lalitpur      |      4   |      ...
    Benares       |  2,293   |       92
    Mirzapur      |  2,772   |      ...
    Jaunpur       |  3,694   |       19
    Ghâzipur      |  7,777   |      238
    Ballia        |  8,467   |      ...
    Gorakhpur     |  2,610   |      411
    Basti         |  5,204   |      778
    Azamgarh      |  6,248   |      223
    Tarâi         |      3   |      ...
    Lucknow       |  1,785   |        8
    Unâo          |  2,691   |        7
    Râê Bareli    |  3,348   |       23
    Sîtapur       |    151   |      361
    Hardoi        |    235   |      ...
    Kheri         |    534   |      714
    Faizâbâd      |    849   |      ...
    Gonda         |    530   |      129
    Bahrâich      |    240   |       20
    Sultânpur     |  1,192   |       84
    Partâbgarh    |    990   |       10
    Bârabanki     |    430   |        5
                  +~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~
            Total | 85,925   |    5,070
                  | \~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~/
      GRAND TOTAL |       90,995
    ==============+====================


Gharûk.—A sub-caste of Kahârs, but they have now so completely
separated from the parent stock that they may be most conveniently
treated as an absolutely distinct group. Their only vague tradition is
that they are the descendants of the Pândavas, and they allege that
there is a temple at Hastinapur dedicated to Kâli Durga, at which they
worship. They have a tribal council (Panchâyat) presided over by a
chairman (mahant) who is elected by the members of the caste. They do
not marry in the families of their maternal uncle, father’s sister, and
mother’s sister. They can marry two sisters, but not at the same time.
Polygamy is permitted to an unlimited extent. Incontinence before
marriage is seriously dealt with, and the girl’s parents have to pay a
fine to the tribal council, and so has the man who subsequently marries
her. Divorce is allowed, and divorced women may remarry by the lower
form: such wives are called urhari. Widows can marry again, and the
levirate is allowed under the usual restrictions.

2. Their domestic ceremonies are of the normal type. They live much in
fear of ghosts, demons, and the Evil Eye, the effects of which are
removed by the sorcerer. Their oath is by the Ganges. Their chief
object of worship is Kâli Durga. They drink spirits, but will not eat
pork, beef, fowls, or vermin. They abstain from meat and wine during
the fortnight in the month of Kuâr sacred to the sainted dead. They
will not eat from the hands of low castes, like the Chamâr, Bhangi, or
Pâsi; but they can eat from the hands of Brâhmans, Râjputs, and
Bhurjis. Their chief occupation is fishing; some do a little
cultivation; and they supply many of the bearers in the service of
Europeans.


Ghasiya.—A Dravidian tribe found in the hill country of Mirzapur. They
do not appear in the returns of the last Census, and it is now
impossible to say among which of the allied Dravidian castes they were
included. Under the name of Ghâsi they are found in the adjoining
Bengal districts. [430] In Mandla one of their septs, Markâm, is the
title of a sept of Gonds. [431] They extend as far as Bastar, where
they are described as an inferior caste who serve as horsekeepers and
also make and mend brass vessels. They dress like the Mariya Gonds, and
subsist partly by cultivation and partly by labour. [432] Dr. Ball
describes them in Singhbhûm as gold-washers and musicians. [433]
Colonel Dalton speaks of them as “an extraordinary tribe, foul
parasites of the Central Indian hill tribes, and submitting to be
degraded even by them. If the Chandâlas of the Purânas, though
descended from the union of a Brâhmani and a Sûdra are “the lowest of
the low,” the Ghâsis are Chandâlas, and the people further south, who
are called Pariahs, are no doubt of the same distinguished lineage. If,
as I surmise, they were Aryan helots, their offices in the household or
communities must have been of the lowest and most degrading kinds. It
is to be observed that the institution of caste necessitated the
organisation of a class to whom such offices could be assigned, and,
when formed, stringent measures would be requisite to keep the
servitors in their position. We might thence expect that they would
avail themselves of every opportunity to escape, and no safer asylums
could be found than the retreats of the forest tribes. [434]” In the
uncertainty that still prevails as to the connection between the forest
tribes and the menial castes of Hindu society, it is premature to deny
the possibility of this theory; but their totemistic system of septs
and their appearance generally, which approximates closely to that of
the tribes which surround them, point to the supposition that they are
of local Dravidian origin and not refugees driven into the jungles
before the advancing Aryans. The legend recorded by Colonel Tickell
makes them of common origin with Kols, Bhuiyas, and Santâls. [435] The
word Ghasiya appears to mean a grass-cutter. (Hindi ghâs, grass:
Sanskrit ghâsa).

[Tribal organization.] 2. There seems to be little doubt that the clear
distinction which now prevails between the Ghasiya and the neighbouring
tribes is of comparatively modern growth. A case recently occurred in
which a Ghasiya adopted a Chero boy, and he has been readily received
and married among them. Unlike many of the kindred tribes, the Ghasiyas
in Mirzapur have retained a complete set of totemistic septs. These are
seven in number. The first sept is the Khatangiya, which is said to
mean “a man who fires a gun.” This sept worship the matchlock. Then
comes the Sunwân or Sonwân, who are the highest in rank. When any
Ghasiya becomes impure, one of the Sunwân sept is said to take a little
bit of gold (sona) and put it in a vessel of water, which he sprinkles
on the impure person with a mango leaf. From this practice of using
gold it is said that the tribe takes its name. It may more probably be
connected with their business of gold-washing. [436] The Janta is said
to take their name from the quern or flour-mill (janta). They have a
story that a woman of the sept was delivered of a child while sitting
at the mill, from which her descendants gained their name. The Bhainsa
say they are descended from the godling (deota) Bhainsâsur, [437] whom
they worship with the sacrifice of a young pig on the second of the
light half of Kârttik. Of the Simariya or Simarlokwa sept there is a
curious legend which explains their abhorrence of Kâyasths, and is told
in an imperfect form by Mr. Risley. The Mirzapur version runs that once
upon a time a Ghasiya was groom (sais) to a Kâyasth. One day he went
with his master’s son for a ride in the jungle. They came to a very
large and deep well: the boy dismounted and looked into it. The Ghasiya
said,—“Let us both look down and see whose reflection looks best in the
water.” Then the Ghasiya pitched the boy into the water. The boy was
hurt, but managed to hold on to the side of the well. He called out to
the Ghasiya,—“You have played a vile trick on me, but as we are old
friends I will give you something which will ensure your prosperity.”
So he took a piece of tile which lay in the well, and having scratched
on it an account of what had happened, he gave it to the Ghasiya
saying,—“Take this to my father, and he will give you a great reward.”
The foolish Ghasiya did as he was told, and when the Kâyasth read the
message, he sent men to the well without the Ghasiya’s knowledge. They
found the boy dead. So the Kâyasth planned his revenge. One day he said
to the Ghasiya, “As you have been my old and faithful servant, I intend
to give a feast to your tribe.” On the day of the Holi all the
Ghasiyas—men, women, and children—collected. Then the Kâyasth
said:—“There is a great cotton tree (semal) in the forest which I wish
to cut in order to burn the old year (Sambat), [438] but not a bit of
the wood or leaves must touch the ground, otherwise there will be no
merit in the sacrifice, and you must bring the tree as it stands.” So
all the Ghasiyas stood under the tree and tried to hold it up as it was
being cut, but it fell down and crushed them all. Only one pregnant
woman escaped, who took refuge with a Panika. The Kâyasth tried to
seize and kill her; but the Panika passed her off as his wife, and her
descendants were called Simarlokwa, or “the people of the cotton tree,”
and to this day this sept eat with Panikas, and on each Holi festival
throw out all their earthen vessels in memory of this tragedy and
cherish a hereditary hatred of Kâyasths. [439] The Koiya sept have a
legend that a Ghasiya was servant of a Gond Râja, and went out hunting
with him. One day the Râja killed a wild dog (Koiya, Cuon rutilans) and
persuaded the Ghasiya to eat it; whence this contemptuous title clung
to his descendants. The Markâm sept take their name from the tortoise.
This is also a sept among the Gonds. [440] One day a Ghasiya crossed a
river in a boat. The floods arose and he was unable to return, when a
tortoise took him on his back and carried him across. Hence the sept
worship the tortoise. The Bengal Ghâsis have a Kachhua (tortoise) and a
Simarloka or cotton tree sept. [441] These septs are exogamous, and
hypergamy is so far practised that the Sunwân is the most respectable
of all, and marriage alliances with that sept are much desired. The
Mirzapur Ghasiyas are very vague in their traditions: some fix their
head-quarters at a place called Koriya in Sarguja, others say they come
from Nâgpur, others from Singrauli, in Mirzapur. In Sarguja there is
said to be a mountain called Didûnkûra, in which there resides a deity
called Janta Deo, whose only representative is a stone in the form of a
flour-mill (janta). He is said to have some connection with the sept of
that name, and many Ghasiyas worship him through a Baiga.

[The tribal council.] 3. The Ghasiyas have a very powerful tribal
council (panchâyat). The president (mahto) is always a member of the
Sunwân sept. The post is hereditary; but if there is any dispute about
it, a reference is made to the Râja of Sarguja. The council deals with
three classes of cases—Kankati, Phûlpari, and Zinakâri. Kankati or “ear
cutting” is when any woman in a squabble gets the lobe of her ear, in
which thick palm-leaf ornaments (tarki) are worn, torn. It is believed
that any woman who gets into a mêlée of this kind is a shrew, and if it
is proved before the council that her ear was torn, she is put out of
caste. She is not restored till her friends give a three days’ feast of
goat’s meat and rice and a fourth of butter cakes (pûri) and liquor.
Phûlpari is when any one gets on his body any white mark or scab of the
nature of leprosy, or has a wound or sore which breeds maggots. Such
persons are put out of caste, because it is believed that such diseases
are a punishment for serious crimes committed in a previous life. In
such cases the fine is five goats and two days’ rice for the clansmen.
After this the Sonwân Mahto purifies the offender as already described.
Zinakâri embraces all offences against morality. In adultery or incest
cases the fine consists of a certain number of goats and rations of
rice according to the means of the offender; and, in addition, he has
to give, as a special fee, to the Mahto, a water vessel (lota), tray
(thâli), turban (pagri), jacket (kurta), and loin cloth (dhoti).

[Exogamy.] 4. As already stated, the septs are exogamous, but the only
additional provision is that the children of a sister are barred, while
marriage with the children of the mother’s brother (mâmu), and father’s
sister are allowed.

[Marriage rules.] 5. If a man takes to shoe-making, no one will marry
in his family, and the making of drums (mândar) is also thought a low
occupation. Polygamy is allowed, and the number of wives depends on a
man’s means. Few have more than one. Polyandry is unknown. If a girl is
caught in an intrigue with a stranger, the father has to give two
dinners: one pakki (or food cooked in butter) and one kachchi (or
plain) with five goats and a still of liquor. They practise adult
marriage, men being married at eighteen or twenty and girls at fifteen
or sixteen. The marriage is arranged by the Mahto, who gets as his fee
a turban and Re. 1–4 in cash. All marriages are supposed to take place
with the consent of the parents; but as a matter-of-fact the parties
often arrange their matches, and if a girl fancies a young man, all she
has to do is to give him a kick on the leg at the tribal dance of the
Karama, and then the parents think it as well to hasten on the wedding.
[442] In fact, it seems often to be the case that the man is allowed to
try the girl first and if she suits him, and seems likely to be
fertile, he marries her. [443] The bride-price is twelve rupees in
cash, two cloths, one for the bride and one for her mother, and ten
bottles of liquor. This is an invariable rule. If after marriage the
husband becomes insane, impotent, blind, or leprous, his wife may leave
him; but no fault of this kind in the wife will justify the husband in
discarding her. Mistakes of this kind are provided against by the
careful examination of each by the friends of the other previous to
marriage.

[Divorce.] 6. Divorces, or rather the putting away of wives, are
uncommon, because intertribal immorality is thought little of, and the
punishment on the relations of a woman for liaison with a stranger are
so severe that women are looked after. Besides this nothing but the
evidence of eye witnesses to the act of adultery is accepted. But it
appears to be good tribal law that a woman may leave her husband if he
intrigues with another woman. [444] In such case her parents can give
her in sagâi to another man; but if they do so they must return the
bride-price.

[Widow-marriage and the levirate.] 7. Women married in the regular way
and those taken in sagâi rank equally, and both are known as Suâsin.
Though there is a rule against concubinage, the children of a concubine
are recognised as children of the father, and admitted to caste. When a
man wants to take a widow, he goes to her father with a set of glass
bangles (chûri), some red lead, a sheet, a boddice (jhula), and a set
of ear-ornaments (tarki). The father says:—“All right! Put on the
things.” Then she touches them all, and takes them inside the house,
where the other women decorate her with them. Next morning the father
makes a pretence of pushing her out of the house as a disgrace to her
family, and then she goes off with her husband. When he comes home, he
feasts a few clansmen, and returns to her younger brother-in-law the
bride-price. A widow can marry an outsider only if the levir refuse to
have her. She leaves behind her all the children by her first husband
save a child at the breast. If she takes a young child away with her,
her first husband’s brother gives her a cloth every year for her
trouble in taking care of it. There is no pretence of attributing the
children of the levir to his elder brother.

[Adoption.] 8. They have some vague adoption rules in imitation of
their Hindu neighbours. There is no religious sentiment in the matter,
and when a man does adopt, he takes his brother’s son, the son of the
elder brother being preferred. An adopted son does not lose his rights
in the estate of his natural father.

[Beena marriage.] 9. Beena marriage known as gharjaiyân is common; in
this case the period of probation is one year, during which the
son-in-law works for his father-in-law, and is entitled to maintenance;
but has no right to inherit from his estate.

[Succession.] 10. Tribal offices are hereditary. When an old Baiga is
giving up office he goes with his son to the village shrine (deohâr)
with two fowls, which he makes his son sacrifice. Then he is considered
to have abdicated his functions. The sons are a man’s heirs, and
primogeniture so far prevails that the eldest son gets a tenth more
than the others. In a joint family the sons can claim partition inter
vivos: the sons get each the same share as their father, and his share
is divided at his death. A widow, if she remain unmarried, which is
unusual, is entitled to maintenance; but can be expelled for
unchastity. A daughter has no rights; but if she becomes a widow or
leaves her husband she is entitled to maintenance in her father’s house
until she remarries and as long as she remains chaste. A sonless
mother, too, has a life interest in her husband’s estate. She may spend
something in charity, but not waste the inheritance. If there are no
sons, the associated brothers succeed; a sister or her sons never
succeed.

[Relationship.] 11. The system of relationship is the same as among the
Kols. They remember the names of male and female ancestors for three or
four generations.

[Birth ceremonies.] 12. When a woman is ascertained to be pregnant,
they invoke the marriage god Dulha Deo in the words—“If you cause the
woman’s child to be born without trouble, we will give you an
offering.” The offering to him is a goat and a red cock. The woman is
delivered on the ground facing east. When the child is born the Chamâin
midwife is called in, and she cuts the cord and buries it in the place
the child was born, over which she lights a fire into which she puts a
bit of iron and copper to keep off evil spirits. While the cord is
being cut, the women of the clan sing the Sohar or song of rejoicing.
For three days the mother gets nothing but a decoction of herbs. [445]
On the third day she is given a decoction of the root of the Khajûr
palm (Phœnix dactylifera) and of the sarpat grass (Saccharum procerum)
mixed up in a ball with some of the mangrail seed (nigella indica),
ginger (sonth), coarse sugar, and the long pepper (pipal). Part of this
dose is drunk by the husband, probably a survival of the couvade. On
the sixth day (chhathi) the midwife bathes the mother and child, and
the barber’s wife cuts the nails of all the women in the family, and
colours their feet with lac dye (mahâwar). The Dhobi takes all the
clothes to the wash, and the barber shaves all the men. On that day the
husband’s sister (nanad) cleans the delivery room (saur) and receives a
present, generally a calf, for her trouble. On the twelfth day is the
barahi: the child’s head is shaved, the mother is bathed by her
sister-in-law, and the barber’s wife cuts her nails and colours her
feet with lac dye. She puts on clean clothes and she cooks for the
household and a few clansmen.

[Puberty ceremonies.] 13. As usual among these tribes the ear-boring
(kanchhedan), which is done for boys and girls at the age of eight or
nine on a lucky day fixed by the Mahto, represents their introduction
into caste and their abstention from food cooked by a stranger.

[Marriage ceremonies.] 14. The father of the boy inspects the girl, and
when he is satisfied, he sends the Mahto, who completes the
negotiations. The girl is produced before him and her father says:—“I
intend giving you to the son of so-and-so. Are you satisfied?”
Generally the girl agrees, but sometimes she refuses. In the latter
case the affair ends. If she agrees a date is fixed for the betrothal
(sukhdan), when the boy’s father, accompanied by the Mahto, makes over
to the girl’s father seven rupees in cash, ten bottles of liquor, a set
of glass bangles (chûri), some red lead, a set of ear ornaments
(tarki), some oil, and five sers of butter cakes (pûri). Then the
fathers exchange platters of liquor as described among Bhuiyas (para.
13). A marriage shed is erected at both houses containing nine bamboos
on the sides and a pole of siddh wood (Hardwickia binata) in the
centre. Near this is placed a jar (kalsa) full of water covered with a
lamp saucer with a burning wick surrounded with some urad pulse. Then
follows the matmangara ceremony as described among Bhuiyas (para. 14).
The mother of the bride or bridegroom, as the case may be, stands near
the Baiga and throws the border of her sheet over him as he digs the
earth. He passes five handfuls to her over his shoulder, and some
maiden of the tribe brings it in the corner of her sheet and places it
in the marriage shed, and lays the sacred water jar over it. On that
day the anointing begins (hardi uthna). It is begun by the Brâhman, who
takes up a little turmeric and oil with a bunch of the holy dûb grass
and sprinkles it over the bride and bridegroom. Then the women
relatives anoint them vigorously, and this is done five times a day for
three days. On the day the procession starts, the mother does the imli
ghotna or “mixing of the tamarind,” as described among Bhuiyas (para.
14). Then she warns her son to behave nicely to the relatives of the
bride, not to take it ill if they play jokes on him. “If you lose your
temper your marriage will not come off.” After this she kisses him on
the head and sends him off accompanied by music. As they approach the
bride’s village, her friends come out to meet them (agwâni), and at the
bride’s door her mother waves over his head for good luck a rice
pounder (mûsar), some cowdung and seed of the cotton tree (semal).
After this they retire to the place arranged for them (janwânsa), and
the bride’s father goes there and washes their feet and invites them to
dinner with the words aiyas! aiyas! Then the marriage is done. The
bridegroom comes, and, in the form of marriage by capture, drags out
the faintly resisting bride into the courtyard. They walk seven times
round the branch of the siddh tree, and each time as they pass, her
brother pours a handful of parched rice into the fold (khoinchha) of
the bride’s sheet, then the Brâhman puts five pinches of red lead
(sendur) into the hand of the boy, who rubs it on the parting of the
bride’s hair. After this her sister-in-law (bhaujai) comes and wipes
off as much of the dust as she can into her own sheet, and gets a
present of four annas. They then go into the retiring room (kohabar),
and there each of them fills with rice a little earthen pot. If after
filling it once the rice overflows the second time, it is an omen of
good luck. The rice, it is needless to say, is pressed down the first
time and then filled in loosely. After this, in direct opposition to
the customs of the kindred tribes, the bridegroom at once carries off
the bride to the janwânsa, where his clansmen are staying, and passes
the night with her in a shed arranged for the purpose. Next day he
takes her home. The day after they arrive, they go through the ceremony
of drowning the water jar (kalsa dubâna) as already described among the
Bhuiyas (para. 16). The binding part of this marriage ceremony
(charhauwa) is the payment of the bride-price and the marking of the
parting of the bride’s hair with red lead.

[Marriage by exchange.] 15. They have also the form of marriage by
exchange (gurâwat), when two persons agree to exchange sisters. Mr.
Westermarck calls this “the simplest way of purchasing a wife.” [446]

[Death ceremonies.] 16. Like all these tribes the Ghasiyas are very lax
in the disposal of the dead. Many simply singe the face and throw the
corpse into the jungle, where it is eaten by wild animals. Those who
are more exposed to Hindu influence cremate the adult dead. The corpse
is cremated on a pyre arranged near the bank of a stream: it is laid
with the feet pointing south. The chief mourner walks five times round
the pyre, and after throwing a small piece of gold on it sets it
alight. After bathing he plants on the edge of the stream or tank a few
stalks of the jhurai grass. [447] Returning home all the mourners wash
their feet and then touch some oil in which a flower of any variety has
been placed. After this they sit silent round the chief mourner for an
hour. On the tenth day they go to the place where the grass has been
planted and shave. On returning home the chief mourner presents a
turban, jacket, and loin-cloth to the chief mourner, by whom the whole
death ceremony is carried out. In the evening the clansmen are fed and
the death impurity ceases.

[Ancestor worship.] 17. On the last day of the fortnight of the dead
(pitrapaksha) in the month of Kuâr, they plaster a place under the
eaves of the house, sprinkle some flowers there, and lay out five leaf
platters (dauna) containing all the usual food, boiled rice, meat, etc.
Then they call out, “O ancestors, take this and be kind to our children
and cattle.” [448]

[Religion.] 18. They call themselves Hindus, but their religion is of a
very irregular type. They sometimes worship Mahâdeva with a burnt
offering (hom). At marriages they worship Dulha Deo. When they are
cutting the rice, they leave a little uncut in each field, and when
harvest is done cut this, clean it, and boil it, and then offer it to
the field goddess Hariyâri Devi, with a sacrifice of red coloured hens
and cock. [449] This offering is consumed by the family of the
worshipper. They also worship the village boundary deity Siwâna
(Terminus) with a goat, some liquor and a thick cake (rot), the head of
the goat and the cake being the perquisite of the Mahto, who performs
the worship. Curiously enough in this worship they do not employ the
Baiga. On the sixth of the month Mâgh, they worship an obscure tribal
god Chhat Bâba—“The lord of the sixth,” of whom no information can be
obtained except that he appears to be some deified worthy of the tribe.
In Bhâdon they have the tribal dance of the Karama. Unmarried girls
fast that day, and in the evening drink liquor, dance, and indulge in
rude debauchery. As already remarked (para. 5) this is the time when
young couples arrange their matches. In the month of Mâgh or Pûs they
have the Khichari festival [450] when they eat coarse sugar, a
sweetmeat (chûra), made of rice and sesamum, and drink liquor. They do
the Phagua in the ordinary way, but do not light the Holi fire unless
any of their Hindu neighbours do so, when they join in the ceremony.

[Various superstitions.] 19. They are greatly in fear of evil spirits,
which particularly infest rivers, wells, or tanks, where a person has
been drowned, or trees, by a fall from which a man has been accidently
killed. They are propitiated by a burnt offering (hom) and by pouring
liquor on the ground. They have the usual omens and lucky days. They
commence sowing on a Friday, when the Baiga sets the example to the
village. They swear by the Ganges, and by placing their hands on their
sons’ heads. If they forswear themselves, they believe they die and
contract leprosy. They do not practice sorcery or witchcraft
themselves, but they believe in the evil influence of witches. This is
relieved by passes (jhârna) done by the Baiga.

[Social Customs.] 20. They do not eat beef or the flesh of the monkey,
alligator, lizard, rat, jackal, or snake. They eat fowls, goats, and
pork, which last is not allowed to women. They use liquor, smoking and
chewing tobacco freely. They will not touch a Kâyasth or Dhobi, or the
younger brother’s wife; nor will a male connection by marriage (samdhi)
touch the mother of his son’s wife or daughter’s husband. Juniors
salute seniors in the form known as pâêlagi, and an old woman replies,
jiyo putra lâkh baras! “Live child ten thousand years!” They treat aged
relations and women well, and respect the latter for their powers of
work. They dread strangers and are very clannish among themselves. They
work generally as grooms and keepers of elephants. Their social status
is decidedly low, though as compared with the Bengal tribe, they are
somewhat higher, as they do not eat beef. [451] They will not do
degrading occupations, among which they consider shoe-making
disrespectable, and one who practises this trade is debarred from
marriage in the caste. Dr. Ball notes that one of them refused to carry
his dog in a basket. [452] No Hindu except a Dom will eat food touched
by them.

Ghasiyâra, Ghasyâra—(Sanskrit ghâsa, “grass,” kâraka “occupied
with”).—Grass-cutters, merely an occupation. But a few Muhammadans so
entered themselves at the last Census as a separate caste. They have,
of course, no connection with the Dravidian Ghasiyas.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE GHASYÂRAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    =============+=======
      District.  |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Shâhjahânpur | 66
    Gonda        | 38
    Bahrâich     | 94
                 +~~~~~~
           Total |198
    =============+======


Ghosi [453]—(Sanskrit ghosha, root ghush, “to shout,” as he herds his
cattle).—A tribe of Muhammadan herdsmen. There can be little doubt that
like the Gaddi most of them are Ahîrs who have been converted to Islâm.
To the east of the Province they claim a Gûjar origin and profess to be
divided into three endogamous sub-castes—Lilâr, Chopar, and Gaddi
Gûjar. In North Oudh again they have three endogamous sub-castes—Padhân
or Pradhân; Gaddi and Lâla. The detailed Census lists give 111
sections; but it is at present impossible to distinguish the exogamous
from the endogamous groups. These are of the usual type, some local
like Deswâli, Kanaujiya, Maghariya, Purabiya; and others following the
names of well known castes and septs, such as Baghela, Behna,
Chaudhari, Chauhân, Gaddi, Gahlot, Gaur, Guâl, Guâlbans, Jâdubansi,
Pathân, Râjput, Sayyid, Shaikh, Sadîqi, Tomar, Turk. The word Ghosi is
in fact rather vaguely used. In the Panjâb [454] it is applied only to
Musalmâns, and is often given to any cow-herd or milkman of that
religion, whether Gûjar, Ahîr, or of any other caste, just as Guâla is
used for a Hindu cow-herd. In Lucknow the Ghosis have no other
employment but the keeping of milch cattle, chiefly buffaloes of all
kinds, and they breed buffaloes. They sell milk to Halwâis, and make
inspissated milk (khoa). The Guâla, on the other hand, is generally an
Ahîr or Gadariya, and keeps both buffaloes and cows, and frequently
cultivates some land. They seldom sell milk and curds to Halwâis. The
Shîrfarosh or Dûdhwâla is a still more general term. They are of no
special caste, but are generally Ahîrs, Lodhas, Kurmis, Gadariyas,
Halwâis, or Brâhmans.

[Manners and customs.] 2. The Ghosi conforms to the rules of Islâm, but
retains, like many of these lower Muhammadan tribes, some Hindu beliefs
and practices. To the east of the Province they say that the ancestor
of the race was one Daya Râm Gûjar, who was in high favour with one of
the Muhammadan Emperors, and was by him induced to accept the faith of
Islâm. He was settled in the neighbourhood of Karra Mânikpur, which
they regard as their head-quarters. They profess to follow the Sunni
sect, and to the east worship as their tribal deities the Pânchonpîr,
Imâm Sâhib, and Ghâzi Miyân. To these they offer sugar and water and
cream. Like all Muhammadans they bury their dead and worship the
spirits of the sainted dead at the Shab-i-barât and ‘Id. On the former
feast they offer the halwa sweetmeat and cakes of wheaten flour; at the
latter vermicelli (siwaiyân), milk, and dates. In North Oudh they
worship Gorakh, Shâh Madâr, Sayyid Sâlâr, and Bhairon, besides various
saints and martyrs (pîr, shahîd). They employ Brâhmans to fix the
auspicious times for marriage and other observances. To the east of the
Province they will not eat beef nor will they eat with any Muhammadans
who consume it. This is said not to be the case in North Oudh. They
rank rather low in the social scale, and are proverbial for their
stupidity and for never taking to any other occupation, but the care of
cattle and dealing in milk, butter, curds, etc.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE GHOSIS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======
      Districts.  |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |    71
    Sahâranpur    | 2,086
    Muzaffarnagar |   217
    Meerut        |   753
    Bulandshahr   |     9
    Aligarh       |   482
    Mathura       |   127
    Agra          |   119
    Farrukhâbâd   |     5
    Etah          |    33
    Bareilly      |    63
    Bijnor        | 1,398
    Morâdâbâd     | 4,199
    Pilibhît      |    48
    Cawnpur       |   281
    Fatehpur      |   190
    Bânda         |   218
    Allahâbâd     |   286
    Jhânsi        |   274
    Benares       |     2
    Mirzapur      |   119
    Ballia        |    10
    Gorakhpur     | 1,541
    Basti         |   230
    Azamgarh      |    53
    Tarâi         | 1,812
    Lucknow       |   966
    Unâo          |     8
    Râê Bareli    | 1,108
    Kheri         |   866
    Faizâbâd      | 2,065
    Gonda         |   746
    Bahrâich      | 1,270
    Sultânpur     | 5,192
    Partâbgarh    |   545
    Bârabanki     |   358
                  +~~~~~~
         Total    |27,760
    ==============+======


Gindauriya—(Sellers of gindaura, a cake of sugar distributed at
marriages, etc.).—A small sub-caste of Banyas, most numerous in Meerut.
They worship Devi, Mahâdeva, Sûraj Nârâyan, the Sun-godling, and
Pârvati, the snake, and the Ganges, and have a special respect for the
cow and the Pîpal tree. Some of them now hold land as landlords or
tenants, and live by Government or private service.


DISTRIBUTION OF GINDAURIYA BANYAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======
      Districts.  |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Muzaffarnagar |  211
    Meerut        |5,974
    Bulandshahr   |   17
    Bijnor        |  686
    Morâdâbâd     |   15
    Allahâbâd     |  100
                  +~~~~~~~
          Total   |7,003
    ==============+=======


Golahrê—(gola, “a grain mart”).—A small sub-caste of Banyas found only
in Jhânsi, numbering 608. They are all Jainas.

Golapûrab. [455]—An interesting caste of agriculturists found only in
the Agra District, where they occupy several villages in the southern
parganas, and a few in the northern pargana of Ihtimâdpur. The former
claim to be the earlier residents; but they have no traditions as to
the period of their emigration. They are, however, unanimous in fixing
the village of Birthara, about 28 miles south of Agra, as the
head-quarters of their ancestors; and this assertion is corroborated by
the fact that one of their most influential gotras is called
Birthariya, though they have been residing for generations a long way
from that place. The caste is known by no other name than that of
Golapûrab. In Khairagarh they attribute their origin to Dholpur.
According to Râja Lachhman Sinh, their correct and original name seems
to be Golak Pûrna Brâhman, which is equivalent to Golak Brâhman or
“bastard” Brâhman. The adverb pûrna is often inserted between the two
component parts of a compound word, when periphrastically expressed in
Sanskrit. As for Gola, which is evidently a corruption of Golaka, “a
bastard,” it is well known that the sons of concubines among the higher
castes are known as Gola or Chela, and in Sholapur there is a tribe
known as Gola, who say that they were originally Brâhmans who were
degraded for killing cows. The tribal tradition which derives their
name from the Rishi Galava, who, according to the Harivansa, was the
son, and, according to the Mahâbhârata, the pupil of Visvamitra, rests
on no authority, and no rule of syllabic mutation would convert the
descendants of Galava into Golapûrab. This Rishi, some say, was married
to a low caste widow; according to others to Sukseni, the daughter of
the Chandrabans Râja Chandra Sen.

[Connection with Sanâdh Brâhmans.] 2. Râja Lachhman Sinh gives various
reasons for believing that the Golapûrabs are a spurious branch of the
Sanâdhya Brâhmans. His argument is first that the villages occupied by
the two tribes are closely intermixed; secondly, that the names of the
gotras of both are derived from the names of villages occupied by their
ancestor, and not, as among other Brâhmans, from the names of their
ancestors or their titles. Several gotras, again, notably Birthariya,
are common to both. Thirdly, the customs and ceremonials of Golapûrabs
closely resemble those of the Sanâdhyas. Both wear the sacred cord
(janeû) and do not permit widow-marriage. Unlike the Sanâdhyas,
however, they employ family priests (purohit), which implies that they
are not pure Brâhmans. Fourthly, they will eat kachchi from the hands
of Sanâdhyas alone, and from no other caste or even tribe of Brâhmans.
Some of the Ihtimâdpur families attribute their origin to the village
of Chitora, which is said to lie somewhere south of Agra. They perform
the tonsure (mûnran) ceremony under a nîm tree, which they consider as
sacred as the pîpal. Of this custom they can give no explanation; but
there are some Râjput clans which reverence the nîm tree, and will, on
no account, cut even the smallest branch of it. In Agra the names of
the chief gotras of the caste are derived from those of villages
situated immediately round Birthara, such as Birthariya, Pairiha,
Khosariya, Madheriya, and Badhiya. Their connection with the Sanâdhya
Brâhmans is also shown by the fact that their priests are all drawn
from that sub-division of Brâhmans.

3. At the same time their sections, as given in the detailed Census
lists to the number of 76, do not tend to establish their Brâhmanical
origin, and we find no trace of even the stock names such as
Bharadwâja, Kasyapa, and the like. On the contrary are found local
terms such as Jaiswâr, Mathuriya, or titles derived from Râjput or
other tribes such as Chauhân, Kachhwâya, Panwâr, Râjput, Thâkur, or
occupational as Ghaskata, “grass cutters.” All this decidedly weakens
their claim to Brâhmanical origin.

[Marriage rules.] 4. Marriage of two sisters is permitted. Difference
of belief is no bar to intermarriage. Generally polygamy is permitted
only when the first wife is barren or unfit through some infirmity or
disease for household work. When there are two wives, the senior enjoys
more respect than the junior, who, however, naturally receives more of
the affection of her husband. Unless serious quarrels arise, the wives
live in the same house. There is no fixed age for the marriage of
males, but girls are almost always married before puberty, when they
are about nine or ten years old. The marriage negotiations are carried
out by the village barber and the family priest. The marriage is void
in the absence of the consent of the father or other legal guardian. No
physical defect subsequently ascertained can annul a marriage, and
divorce is prohibited. Bastards or the offspring of illicit connections
are known as Dasa, [456] and are not admitted to full caste rights, and
do not inherit. As a rule they follow the tribe of the father, and only
in very rare cases that of the mother. Not only are illegitimate
children excluded from inheritance, but they are not admitted to the
domestic meals or to tribal feasts. Illicit connections involve the
excommunication of both parties. Widow-marriage and the levirate are
both prohibited.

[Birth ceremonies.] 5. There are no ceremonies performed during
pregnancy. During parturition neither the mother nor the midwife must
face the south. Some elderly woman of the family, or in default of such
a person, a hired woman acts as midwife, and after delivery the mother
is attended by the women of her own family. On the fifth or sixth day
after the child is born is the Chhathi worship, and on the twelfth day
the Dashtaun. On the former the women of the family and their
neighbours sing songs, eat rice and sugar, and worship the goddess,
Shashthi, the protectress of children. On the Dashtaun food and
presents are given to Brâhmans. The child-birth impurity rests on the
family until it is removed by the Dashtaun feast. There are no special
ceremonies in connection with twins.

[Adoption, initiation.] 6. The adoption ceremonies are of the normal
type, as laid down in the Dattaka Mimânsa and the Dattaka Chandrika.
The regular initiation ceremony or investiture ceremony (yajnopavîta)
is performed as among all “twice-born” castes.

[Marriage.] 7. The marriage ceremonies vary little, if at all, from
those current among the higher castes. The bride’s father or guardian
sends a cocoanut and a rupee or a gold muhar to the bridegroom. If
these are accepted, the barber who carries them puts a mark of sandal
(roli) on the boy’s forehead, and places a sweetmeat (batâsha) and a
betel leaf in his mouth. This ceremony is known as tîka, sikka, or
jaima. The first name is derived from the red forehead mark, the second
from the coin used as a pledge of betrothal, and the third is the feast
given to the barber at the house of the bridegroom. While the
negotiations for the betrothal are going on the barber may visit the
bridegroom’s house several times, but he will not eat there until the
match is finally settled. The betrothal is not complete before the tîka
ceremony, and after this ceremony it can be annulled, first, if either
of the parties is found to be suffering from some serious disease;
secondly, if it comes to light that they are within the prohibited
degrees; thirdly, when a doubt is raised as to the purity of descent of
either party. Betrothal takes place any time before marriage, generally
when the girl is seven years of age. If the betrothal is annulled the
presents are usually returned.

8. The actual marriage ceremony is of the normal type. The binding
portion of it is the saptapadi or walking seven times round the sacred
fire. In most cases now-a-days only six perambulations are performed.
The only apparent survival of marriage by capture is what is known as
the “door” or “vestibule ceremony” (darwâza, barothi) in which a mock
fight is carried on by the relations of the bride and bridegroom. It is
performed at the door of the bride’s house, and the bridegroom is
always girt with a sword while it is going on.

[Disposal of the dead.] 9. The dead are cremated. Customs vary in
different places, as to the position in which the corpse is laid for
cremation. In some places it is laid face downwards, in others on the
back. The latter is the more general. The head is in some place laid in
the direction of the north, in other towards the south. The latter is
in accordance with the rules of the Shâstra. If there be a river close
by the ashes are consigned to it, while any fragments of bone which
remain are reserved to be thrown into the Ganges when a convenient
opportunity occurs. The fire is lit and the skull broken by the nearest
relation of the deceased. After disposing of the ashes if there be a
river close by the mourners return home.

[Propitiation of the dead.] 10. Besides the ordinary srâddha, which is
performed in honour of deceased relations, childless relations (apût, a
corruption of aputra) are propitiated by performing the Kirtân
ceremony. At this certain professional Brâhmans sing religious songs,
and a feast is given to them. The srâddha performed on the eleventh day
after death is known as Ekoddishta or “directed towards this single
deceased person alone.” The subsequent srâddhas are common to the whole
body of deceased relations. They are done either monthly on the day the
deceased died, or annually in the month of Kuâr (September–October).
Those who are particularly religious visit some holy shrine, such as
the confluence of two sacred rivers, or, in preference, Gaya, for this
purpose. In most villages there is a particular spot on the outskirts
which is supposed to be haunted by the ghosts of deceased relations,
particularly those who have died childless or perished by a violent
death. Some pieces of stone are their representatives, and these are
worshipped by women at marriages, when the bride goes home with her
husband, and at some other festivals. If there have been a sati in the
family she is worshipped at the same time. [457] The ordinary srâddha
is performed in accordance with the standard ritual, and in all cases
among Golapûrabs, by the family priest.

[Ceremonial impurity.] 11. The parents and the nearest relations in the
direct line are impure for ten days after the birth of a child. The
death impurity lasts for twelve or thirteen days, and a woman in her
menses is impure for four days. In the first two cases the impurity is
removed by a regular ceremony in which Brâhmans are feasted; in the
third case the woman purifies herself by bathing on the fifth day.

[Religion.] 12. Golapûrabs invariably belong to the Vaishnava sect, and
employ as their priests Sanâdhya Brâhmans. In common with other and
lower castes they worship the village godlings, Châmunda Devi, a form
of Durga, Pathwâri Devi, who is the guardian of roads (patha) and the
protectress of travellers. Hardeo Bundela, the cholera godling; Sîtala,
the goddess of small-pox; [458] and Bhûmiya, the guardian of the
village site. Cows and bullocks are worshipped on the Govardhana day in
the middle of Kârttik (October–November), and horses at the Dasahra in
Kuâr (September–October). The animals are smeared with colours, and are
given a special feed of grain. The only means of propitiating the
ghosts of the dead is by the ordinary srâddha. They believe in dreams
and visions in which the spirits of the departed appear to their
relations, and there are certain places which are specially haunted by
malignant ghosts, which very often appear in animal forms, such as
those of the dog, cat, buffalo, etc. The appearance of such malignant
ghosts is generally understood to imply that their obsequies have not
been duly performed; and this can be remedied by a performance of the
srâddha, or pilgrimage to Gaya, and by erecting a tomb or platform in
the name of the deceased, or by planting one of the varieties of fig
tree (pîpal, bar, gûlar) in his honour. The ghosts of persons who have
died childless are much dreaded and are known as aût, or those who have
none to pour water for their refreshment in the world of the dead. The
only trace of special tree worship is the veneration felt by some of
the gotras for the nîm tree. They believe in astrology and the
influence of evil stars: these are propitiated by worship (pûja) and by
giving food and presents to the low class of astrologer Brâhmans, known
as Bhaddri, Bharâra, Parokhiya, or Dakaut. They believe in the usual
meeting omens. When a first child dies, the next baby is given an
opprobrious name as a protection against the Evil Eye and demoniacal
influence generally. Such names are Tînkauri or Pachkauri (“bought for
three or five cowries”); Kanchheda (“ear-pierced”), Nathua, Nakchhed,
Chhidda (“nose-pierced”); Bhika or Bhikâri (“beggar”); Chhitariya,
Ghasîta, Kadhera (“one put in a basket immediately after birth and
dragged about the house”); Ghâsi (“cheap as grass”); Jhâu (“valueless
as tamarisk”); Phûsa (“cheap as straw”); Mendu (“one taken immediately
after birth and partly buried on the boundary of the field as if it
were already dead”); Ghûri (“thrown on the dung-hill”); Nakta (“without
a nose”), and so on. These practices are rarely employed in the case of
girls, who are considered naturally protected.

[Oaths.] 13. The common forms of oath are—swearing in a temple, by
holding Ganges water in the hand or touching the idol, by the leaf of a
pîpal tree, by the sacred cord of a Brâhman, by going seven paces in
the direction of the Ganges, by touching the forehead of a Brâhman, by
swearing with son or grandson in the arms. The last oath, if taken
falsely, is supposed to cause the death of the child in a few days.
Violation of the other oaths brings sickness of men and cattle, plague
and pestilence, loss of crops, and so on.

[Demonology.] 14. The control of witches and other forms of demoniacal
agency is in the hands of the Syâna or “cunning man.” He is called in
in cases of sickness and smokes some tobacco which has been touched by
the sick man since the attack began. This causes him to fall into a
state of ecstacy, in which he mutters the name of the evil spirit which
is attacking the patient, and suggests the proper means of
propitiation. The Syâna generally has a private devil or two of his
own, which he lets loose to pursue the evil spirit which is afflicting
his patient. The office of Syâna is not confined to any special caste:
any one may undertake the duty if he learns the appropriate spell
(mantra) from some teacher (guru), or by intensity of devotion reduces
an evil spirit into his power. Some people learn the interpretation of
dreams from the special printed manuals on the subject. Anything
valuable is liable to the Evil Eye, because malignant people covet its
possession. The best means of obviating it is to throw grains of the
small mustard (râi), salt and bran into the fire. Great care is taken
of substances, such as clippings of the hair, fragments of the nails,
etc. These if allowed to lie about may get into the hands of some witch
and enable her to obtain influence over the original owner.

[Social rules.] 15. Meat of all kinds is prohibited food, and so are
onions, garlic, and turnips. They will eat with no caste which they
consider lower than their own, and will not touch a Bhangi, Dhobi, or
Chamâr: Khatîks and Kanjars are also held in abhorrence. A man should
not mention by name his Râja, his Guru, his father, elder brother,
eldest son, or father-in-law. Similarly women should not name their
husbands, mother-in-law, or the wife of the husband’s elder brother. If
a Râja is mentioned it is as Râjaji, the Guru as Guruji, the father as
Kâkaji, the elder brother as Bhaiyyaji, the eldest son as Lallu or
Nanhê. For other senior relations they use a periphrasis, calling them
“the son of so-and-so” or “the father of so-and-so.”

[Agricultural beliefs.] 16. A Brâhman is always consulted as to the
most propitious day for beginning to plough, sow, or reap. The most
important operation is the first ploughing after the first fall of
rain. This is known as halaita lena. The time is fixed by the Pandit,
who also names the member of the family who should drive it, and in
which direction it should be worked. A shower is unlucky if it fall on
the first day of the light half of Jeth (May–June), and at midnight on
the fifth of Sâwan (July–August). These indicate a bad rainy season.
Rain on the seventh of Sâwan is lucky, and thunder on the seventeenth
of Jeth is considered propitious. Vegetables and other more valuable
crops are protected from the Evil Eye by suspending a black pot in the
field.

[Food.] 17. There is no special kind of food allowed to men and
prohibited to women. When a person is initiated into any of the
Vaishnava sects (guru-dakhsha lena, gurumukh hona) he is obliged to
abandon the use of one particular kind of food or fruit. Women do not
eat with men, and young children, who are regarded as impure because
they touch dirt and eat without regard to caste rules, are not allowed
to enter the cooking place (chauka) of the adult males of the family.
All the men eat together or apart as is found most convenient. At the
commencement of meals offerings are made to the deities, and those who
are strict and in a position to observe the religious rules, perform
what is known as the vaiswadeva yajya, which consists in casting a
little of the food as an offering to the deities at the commencement of
a meal. Others merely repeat the words Lîjiye Thakurji Mahârâj, “Be
pleased Great Lord to accept our offering.” The smoking of gânja is
considered disreputable; against bhang and opium there is no
prohibition; any one drinking spirits is excommunicated.

[Salutation.] 18. Elders, Brâhmans, and men of rank are entitled to a
salute from all males. The salute to a Brâhman is the word Pâlagan “I
touch thy feet”; to a Râjput Juhâr or Mujra, and to others Râm! Râm! or
the name of the particular deity worshipped by the person making the
salute. Persons of rank are given the highest place at a feast or
social meeting. If a superior and inferior happen to sit on the same
cot, the former sits at the head and the latter at the feet. They will
eat kachchi roti or food cooked without ghi, with no one but a Sanâdh
Brâhman, and they will eat pakki roti with no one lower than a barber.

[Occupation.] 19. The Golapûrabs are a purely agricultural caste, and
are one of the most industrious peoples of the province, and the women
are particularly noted for their excellence in domestic work.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE GOLAPÛRABS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ===========+=======
     Districts.|Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Agra       | 9,717
    Etah       |     6
               +~~~~~~~
         Total | 9,723
               +~~~~~~~
       Males   | 5,315
       Females | 4,408
    ===========+=======


Goli.—A caste shown at the last Census only to the number of 21 in the
Muzaffarnagar District. As far as can be ascertained they are really
only a sub-caste of Luniyas. The detailed Census Returns give only one
section, Kaprahti.

Gond; Gonr.—Probably meaning an “inhabitant of Gauda” or Western
Kosala; according to Mr. Hislop from the Telugu Konda, “a hill.” Dr.
Oppert [459] suggests that the names of tribes with the first syllable
Ko or Go, such as the Kodulu, Konda, Gonda, Ganda, Kurava, etc., are
derived from the Gauda Dravidian root Ko, Konda, etc., in the sense of
“mountain.” In the Census Returns under the name Gond two quite
distinct classes of people seem to be mixed up,—the true Gonds of the
Central Indian hill country, and the Gonr of the Eastern Districts of
these Provinces, who is usually classed with the fishing tribes of
Kahâr and Mallâh and is a domestic servant, stone-cutter or
grain-parcher. In the detailed Census Returns the sections of these two
distinct tribes are inextricably mixed up together and defy analysis.

[The Central Indian Gonds.] 2. Of the Central Indian Gonds there are
very few in these Provinces except in Jhânsi and Lalitpur. But as will
be seen from the account of the Mânjhis and Kharwârs of South Mirzapur,
they are almost certainly an offshoot from the great Gond race, and
still preserve much of the tribal organisation of the real Gonds along
the Hills to the west. According to Mr. Hislop [460] the true Gonds
divide themselves into twelve and-a-half castes or classes in imitation
of the Hindus. These are Râj Gond; Raghuwâl; Dadavê; Katulya; Pâdâl;
Dholi; Ojhyâl; Thotyâl; Koilabhutâl; Koikopâl; Kolâm; Madyâl, and an
inferior sort of Pâdâl as the half caste. The first four, with the
addition, according to some, of the Kolâm, are comprehended under the
name of Koitor, the Gond par excellence.

[The Râj Gonds.] 3. The only branch of the tribe which seems to exist
under this name in these Provinces is the Râj Gond, some of whom are
reported to exist in the Jhânsi District. They are divided into the
following sections (gotra):—Sohâm; Chagâba; Markâm; Posâm; Korâm;
Dewar, which are exogamous. Of the Râj Gonds Mr. Hislop writes:—“The
Râj Gonds are so called because they have furnished from their number
most of the families who have attained to royal power. They are widely
spread over the plains and mountains of the Province of Nâgpur, and are
found in Berâr and the jungle south of the Wârda, as well as those
north of the Narbada. The Raghuwâl and Dadavê are more limited in their
range, being confined principally to the District of Chhindwâra. These
three classes generally devote themselves to agriculture. They eat with
each other, but do not intermarry. The Katulya, though not a very
numerous class in regard to individuals, is extensively scattered. It
includes all those who, originally belonging to one or other of the
preceding Koitor classes, have begun to conform to the Hindu religion
and to ape Hindu manners. Professing to be Kshatriyas, they have
invested themselves with a sacred thread, and make great efforts to get
the claim allowed by contracting marriage with needy Râjput brides.
With scrupulous exactness they perform the prescribed ablutions of
their adopted faith, and carry their passion for purification so far as
to have their faggots duly sprinkled with water before they are used
for cooking. At the time of dinner if a stranger or a crow come near
them the food is thrown away as polluted. These practices, which other
Koitors regard with profound contempt, are gaining ground among the
rich. It was only one or two generations ago that the Zamîndâr or petty
Râja of Khairagarh, the present bearer of which title still carries in
his features unmistakeable traces of his Gond origin, was received
within the pale of Hinduism; and similar transformations, though at a
more distant date, seem to have been undergone, by the royal dynasties
of Bastar, Mandla, and various smaller principalities. The tendency to
claim connection with Râjputs is not peculiar to ambitious Gonds: it
prevails among the Bhîls of Mâlwa, and is not unknown to the wandering
Kaikâdis of the Dakkhin, both of whom boast of being Yadavas or
Panwârs, or some equally highborn section of the Kshatriyas.” Exactly
the same is the case with the Kharwârs of Mirzapur, one of whom has in
quite recent times blossomed into a Râjput and invented a clan, the
Benbans, for himself. He has succeeded in marrying into a clan as
respectable as that of the Chandel.

[Physical appearance of the Gonds.] 4. Of the physical appearance of
the Gonds Mr. Hislop writes:—“All are a little below the average size
of Europeans, and in complexion darker than the generality of Hindus.
Their bodies are well proportioned, but their features are rather ugly.
They have a roundish head, distended nostrils, wide mouth, thickish
lips, straight, black hair, and scanty beard and moustache. It has been
supposed that some of the aborigines of Central India have woolly hair;
but this is a mistake. Among the thousands I have seen I have not found
one with hair like a Negro. A few, indeed, have curly locks, as a few
Britons have; but I have not met with one inhabitant of the forest who
exhibited any marked resemblance to the African race. On the contrary,
both their hair and features are decidedly Mongolian.” “Their women,”
writes Captain Forsyth, [461] “differ among themselves more than do the
men of these races. Those of the Gonds are somewhat lighter in colour
and less fleshy than the Korkus. But the Gond women of different parts
of the country vary greatly in appearance, many of them in the opener
parts near the plains being great robust creatures; finer animals by
far than the men, and here Hindu blood may be fairly expected. In the
interior, again, bevies of Gond women may be seen who are liker monkeys
than human beings. The features of all are strongly marked and coarse.
The girls occasionally possess such comeliness as attaches to general
plumpness and a good-humoured expression of face; but when their short
youth is over, all pass at once into a hideous age. Their hard lives,
sharing as they do all the labours of the men, except that of hunting,
suffice to account for this. They dress decently enough, in a short
petticoat, often dyed blue, tucked in between the legs so as to leave
them naked to the thigh, and a mantle of white cotton covering the
upper part of the body, with a fold thrown over the head. The most
eastern section of the Korkus add a boddice, as do some of the
Hinduised Gonds. The Gond women have the legs as far as they are
suffered to be seen tattooed in a variety of fantastic patterns, done
in indigo or gun-powder blue. The Pardhâns are the great artists in
this line, and the figures they design are almost the only ornamental
art attempted by these tribes. It is done when the girl becomes
marriageable; and the traveller will sometimes hear dreadful shrieks
issuing from their villages, which will be attributed to some young
Gondin being operated upon with the tattooing needle. Like all
barbarians, both races deck themselves with an inordinate amount of
what they consider ornaments. Quantity rather than quality is aimed at;
and both arms and legs are usually loaded with tiers of heavy rings, in
silver among the more wealthy, but, rather than not at all, then in
brass, iron, or coloured glass. Ear and noserings and bulky necklaces
of coins and beads are also common; and their ambrosial locks are
intertwined on State occasions with the hair of goats and other
animals.”

[Domestic rites—Marriage.] 5. The following account of Gond domestic
ceremonies by a writer in the Central Provinces Gazette may be quoted
[462], as the book is rare:—“Some of the Gond ceremonies are peculiar.
Thus, they have seven different kinds of marriages, some much more
binding than others, but all supposed to contain a sufficient quantum
of matrimonial sanctity about them. The first and surest is when a Gond
wants to marry his daughter, he first looks for a husband among his
sister’s children, as it is considered the proper thing for first
cousins to marry whenever such an arrangement is possible; though,
strange to say, the rule is only thought absolutely binding when the
brother’s child happens to be a girl, and the sister’s a boy. Even in
the opposite case, however, it is very commonly done, as by so
providing for a relation for life, the man is said to have performed a
very right and proper act. Another reason is that less expense is
entailed in marrying a relation than the daughter of a stranger, who is
apt to be more exacting. Among the poorer classes who can afford no
money as a dower, the bridegroom serves the bride’s father for periods
varying from seven or eight months to three years, or sometimes more,
according to arrangements made by the parents. When the children are
ten or eleven years old, a committee of the village elders is generally
held, and the term of apprenticeship decided; the term of service being
usually somewhat longer when the youth is serving his uncle for his
cousin, as relations are not supposed to exact so much work from the
Lamjina. The youth lives in one of the outhouses, and has to perform
all the menial work of the household, both in the house and in the
field. During his period of probation he is forbidden to hold any
intercourse with the girl.

6. “Another description of marriage is when the woman makes her own
match, and declining the husband provided for her by her relatives,
runs away with the man of her choice. A case of this sort seldom
happens. It is, however, quite recognised among the Gonds that the
women have the right to take their own way if they have the courage;
and the elders of the village in which the man resides generally
endeavour to arrange matters to the satisfaction of both parties.
Connected with this is compulsory marriage. Even after the girl has run
away from her father’s house, and taken up her residence in the house
of the man of her choice, it is quite allowable for the man she has
deserted to assert his rights to her person by carrying her off by
force; in fact not only is this right allowed to the deserted lover,
but any one of the girl’s first cousins may forcibly abduct her and
keep her for himself, if he has the power. Once carried off, she is
kept in the house of her captor, carefully watched, until she finds it
useless to attempt to resist, and gives in. Occasionally where the girl
has made what is considered an objectionable match with a poor man, who
has few friends, abductions of this sort are successfully carried out;
but, as a rule, they are not attempted. The last form is for very poor
people, or girls with no relations. In the latter case she selects some
man of her acquaintance, and going to his house takes up her abode
there. He signifies his acceptance by putting on her arms bangles
(chûri) and giving a small feast to the village elders. Sometimes he
objects, if the woman is useless or of bad character; but he gets
little redress from the elders; and unless he can induce some other man
to take her off his hands he is generally supposed to be bound to keep
the woman. As, however, the women are usually good labourers, and well
worthy of their hire, a man of property seldom raises any objection,
and the women, too, are usually sufficiently worldly-wise to choose for
their keepers men fairly well-to-do.”

[Widow-marriage.] 7. “Widows are expected to re-marry, and the Gond
customs provide for their re-marriage in two ways. The first consists
simply in the woman proceeding to the house of the man she has agreed
to live with after her husband’s death. The other is where the younger
brother marries his elder brother’s widow, which he is expected to do
by the custom of the tribe, unless the widow should insist on making
some other arrangement for herself. The ceremony in both the cases
consists simply of a presentation of bangles by the husband to the
wife, and a feast to the village elders. Elder brothers are not allowed
to marry the widows of their younger brothers. The only limit to the
number of wives a Gond may have is his means of supporting them.

[Death rites.] 8. “Cremation is considered the most honourable mode of
disposing of the dead, but being expensive is very seldom resorted to,
except in the case of elders of the tribe. The rule is that, if
possible, men over fifty should be burned; but as these wild tribes
have no means of telling the ages of their friends, it results that all
old men are burnt. Women are always buried. Formerly the Gonds used to
bury their dead in the houses in which they died, just deep enough to
prevent their being dug up again by the dogs; now they have generally
some place, set apart as a burial-ground near the village. Their
funeral ceremonies are very few; the grave is dug so that the head
shall lie to the south and the feet to the north; the idea being that
the deceased has gone to the home of the deities, which is supposed to
be somewhere in the north; but the Gonds do not appear to have any real
theory as regards an after-life, or the immortality of the soul. They
seem to consider that man is born to live a certain number of years on
the earth, and, having fulfilled his time, to disappear. When the
father of a family dies, his spirit is supposed to haunt the house in
which he lived until it is laid. The ceremony for this purpose may be
gone through apparently at any time after death, from one month to a
year and-a-half, or even to two years. During that period the spirit of
the deceased is the only object of worship in the house. A share of the
family food is set aside for him, and he is supposed to remain in the
house and watch over its inmates. After his funeral, when, if the
relatives can afford it, they clothe the corpse in a new dress, a
little turmeric and a pice is tied up in a cloth, and suspended by the
Baiga to one of the beams of the house; there it remains till the time
comes to lay the spirit, which is done by the Baiga removing the cloth
and offering it, with a portion of the flesh of a goat or a pig, to the
god of the village; a feast is given to the relations and elders, and
the ceremony is complete.”

[Religion.] 9. In Jhânsi they worship all the ordinary Hindu gods,
Mahâdeva, Bhawâni, Râma, Krishna, Mahâbîr, and Hardaul; but their
special tribal deity is Gonr Bâba, who is apparently one of the deified
worthies of the tribe. They seem to have become completely Hinduised:
cremate their dead, throw the ashes into the Ganges or one of its
tributaries, and employ the ordinary village Brâhmans in their domestic
ceremonies.

10. In their real home the number of their deities seems everywhere to
differ. Mr. Hislop says that he could never get any one man to name
more than seven. The best known are Dulha Deo, Nârâyan Deo, Sûraj Deo,
Mâta, Devi, Bara Deo, Khair Mâta, Thâkur Deo and Gansyâm Deo. Besides
these, the Gond peoples the forests in which he lives with spirits of
all kinds, most of them vested with the power of inflicting evil, and
quite inclined to use their power. To propitiate these he sets up a
shrine (pâl) in spots selected either by himself or by his ancestors,
and there performs certain rites, generally consisting of small
offerings on certain days. These shrines are sometimes merely a bamboo
with a piece of rag tied to the end, a heap of stones, or perhaps only
a few pieces of rag tied to the branches of a tree. However, the spirit
is supposed to have taken up its abode there, and, in consequence, on
the occasion of any event of importance happening in the Gond’s family,
the spirit has his share of the good things going, in the shape of a
little spirit and possibly a fowl sacrificed to him. In Mandla Thâkur
Deo is supposed to represent especially the household deity, and to
preside over the wellbeing of the house and farmyard; he has no special
residence, but has the credit of being omnipresent, and is consequently
not represented by any image. In Râmgarh, too, this deity is held in
great reverence; but there he is supposed to occupy more than one
shape. One village in the Shahpur Ta’aluqa is said to be very highly
favoured as one of the residences of their deity. Captain Ward was
shown there a few links of a roughly forged chain which the
superstition of the people had gifted with the power of voluntary
motion; this chain looked very old, and no one could say how long it
had been at Jata; it was occasionally found hanging on a ber tree,
sometimes on a stone under the tree, at others in the bed of a
neighbouring stream. At the time of Captain Ward’s visit it was on a
stone under the tree, from which it was said to have descended four
days before. Each of these movements is made the occasion for some
petty sacrifice, of which the attendant Baiga reaps the benefit, so
that it is, of course, his advantage to work on the credulity of the
Gonds; he does not appear, however, to abuse his power, as these
movements only occur about once in four months; so that the Gonds can
hardly complain of being priest-ridden to any extent.

11. The following account of Gansyâm Deo may be compared with what has
been elsewhere said about this deity. [463] “Throughout the greater
part of Râmgarh, and also in parts of Mandla, Gansyâm Deo is held in
great reverence, and about one hundred yards from each village where he
is in favour, a small hut is built for him. It is generally of the
rudest material, with little attempt at ornamentation. A bamboo, with a
red or yellow flag tied to the end, is planted in one corner, an old
withered garland or two is hung up, and a few blocks of rough stone,
some smeared with vermilion, are strewn about the place, which is thus
especially dedicated to Gansyâm Deo. He is considered the protector of
the crops, and in the month of Kârttik (November) the whole village
assembles at his shrine to worship him: sacrifices of fowls and
spirits, or a pig occasionally, according to the size of the village,
are offered, and Gansyâm is said to descend on the head of one of the
worshippers, who is suddenly seized with a sort of fit, and after
staggering about for a little, rushes off into the wildest jungles,
where, the popular theory is, if not pursued and brought back, he would
inevitably die of starvation, a raving lunatic; for as it is, after
being brought back, he does not recover his senses for one or two days.
The idea is that one man is thus singled out as a scapegoat for the
sins of the rest of the village.”


DISTRIBUTION OF THE GONDS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ===========+========+========+=======+=======
    Districts. |Dhuriya.|Jetwant.|Others.|Total.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Cawnpur    |   ...  |   ...  |      7|      7
    Bânda      |   ...  |   ...  |    166|    166
    Allahâbâd  |      15|   ...  |      6|     21
    Jhânsi     |   ...  |   ...  |      8|      8
    Jâlaun     |   ...  |   ...  |     10|     10
    Lalitpur   |   ...  |   ...  |    525|    525
    Benares    |  11,363|       9|  1,407| 12,779
    Mirzapur   |   8,368|    ... |    493|  8,861
    Jaunpur    |   2,171|    ... |   ... |  2,171
    Ghâzipur   |   5,976|   6,407|  1,926| 14,309
    Ballia     |   1,227|  23,358|  4,200| 28,785
    Gorakhpur  |   7,431|  38,503|  1,950| 47,884
    Azamgarh   |   4,585|   ...  |  4,387|  8,972
    Unâo       |       2|   ...  |   ... |      2
    Bahrâich   |   ...  |       1|      3|      4
               +~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
        Total  |  41,138|  68,278| 15,088|124,504
    ===========+========+========+======+========


Goriya, Guriya.—A fishing and cultivating caste of the Eastern
Districts, in all respects analogous to the Gonrhi or Gunrhi of Bihâr.
[464] They are usually treated as a sub-caste of Mallâh. They
correspond closely to the other allied castes in manners and customs;
but their women are said to bear an indifferent character—a state of
things naturally resulting in a caste the male members of which are
compelled by the nature of their occupation to absent themselves from
home for long periods. Their tribal gods are the Pânchonpîr. “Some
again worship a water god called Koila Bâba, described as an old
grey-bearded person, who, as Ganga ji ka beldâr, ‘the navvy of our lady
the Ganges’ saps and swallows up whatever opposes the sacred stream.
Before casting a new net or starting on a commercial venture, offerings
of molasses and seven kinds of grain, kneaded into balls, are offered
to him, and at the end of the ceremony one of the balls is placed on
the edge of the water, another on the bow of the boat. Another rite
common to many, if not to all fisher castes, is the Barwariya or Barahi
Pûja, when a subscription is made, and in the absence of a Brâhman a
pig is sacrificed in a garden or on a patch of waste land outside a
village. Jay Sinh, Amar Sinh, Chand Sinh, Dayâl Sinh, Kewal, Marang
Bandi, Goraiya, and a river named Kamalaji, are regularly worshipped.
Jay Sinh, who is also a favourite deity of the Tiyar caste, is said to
have been a Gonrhi of Ujjain who had a large timber trade in the
Sundariban. On one occasion the Râja of the Sundariban imprisoned 700
Gonrhis in consequence of a dispute about the price of wood. Jay Sinh
slew the Râja and released the prisoners, and has ever since been
honoured with daily worship. Goats, sweetmeats, wheaten cakes, pân
supâri and flowers are offered to him at regular intervals, and no
Gonrhi will light a pipe or embark on a fishing excursion without first
invoking the name of Jay Sinh. Once a year, in the month of Srâvan, a
flag is set up in honour of Hanumân on a bamboo pole in the courtyard,
and offerings of sweetmeats and fruits are presented to the god. These
offerings are received by the Brâhmans who officiate as priests, while
the articles of food given to the minor gods are eaten by the members
of the caste. The dead are buried, usually on the brink of a river, and
the ashes thrown into the stream. In Supal the practice is to burn in a
mango grove. Srâddha is performed on the thirteenth day after death.”
[465]

Govindpanthi, Gobindpanthi.—A Vaishnava sect whose adherents at the
last Census numbered 4,605 persons. It was founded by Govind Dâs, a
mendicant buried at Ahrauli, in the Faizâbâd District, in whose honour
an annual fair, attended by several thousand worshippers, is held in
the month of Aghan. [466]

Gûjar, Gujar. [467]—An important agricultural and pastoral tribe found
principally in the Western Districts. They take their name from the
Sanskrit Gurjara, the original name of the country now called Gujarât.
The current derivation from gâû-charâna “to pasture cattle” cannot be
accepted; as a curiosity of folk etymology it may be added that some
derive it from the fact that the tribe once took to feeding their
cattle on carrots (gâjar). The traditions of the tribe give little
information as to their origin or history. By one legend current in the
Panjâb they claim descent from a certain Nand Mihr, who is perhaps
Nanda, the foster father of Krishna, who was raised to distinction
because he slaked the thirst of Alexander the Great with a draught of
buffalo milk. They are identified by General Cunningham [468] with the
Kushan or Yuchi or Tochari, a tribe of Eastern Tartars. “About a
century before Christ their Chief conquered Kâbul and the Peshâwar
country; while his son, Vima Kadphises, so well known to the
numismatologist, extended his sway over the whole of the Upper Panjâb
and the banks of the Jumna as far down as Mathura and the Vindhyas, and
his successor, the no less familiar King Kanishka, the first
Indo-Scythian Buddhist prince, annexed Kashmîr to the kingdom of the
Tochari. These Tochari or Kushan are the Kaspeiræi of Ptolemy; and in
the middle of the second century of our era, Kaspeira, Kasyapura or
Multân was one of their chief cities. Probably about the beginning of
the third century after Christ, the attack of the White Huns recalled
the last king of the united Yuchi to the West, and he left his son in
charge of an independent Province, whose capital was fixed at Peshâwar;
and from that time the Yuchi of Kâbul are known as the Great Yuchi, and
those of the Panjâb as the Kator or Little Yuchi. Before the end of the
third century a portion of the Gûjars had begun to move southward down
the Indus, and were shortly afterwards separated from their northern
brethren by another Indo-Scythian wave from the North. In the middle of
the fifth century there was a Gûjar kingdom in South-Western Râjputâna,
whence they were driven by the Balas into Gujarât of the Bombay
Presidency; and about the end of the ninth century, Ala Khân, the Gûjar
King of Jammu, ceded the present Gûjardesa, corresponding very nearly
with the Gujarât District, to the King of Kashmîr. The town of Gujarât
is said to have been built or restored by Ala Khân Gûjar in the time of
Akbar.”

2. The present distribution of the Gûjars is thus described by General
Cunningham: [469]—“At the present day the Gûjars are found in great
numbers in every part of the north-west of India, from the Indus to the
Ganges, and from the Hazâra Mountains to the Peninsula of Gujarât. They
are specially numerous along the banks of the Upper Jumna near Jagâdri
and Buriya, and in the Sahâranpur District, which during the last
century was actually called Gujarât. To the east they occupy the petty
State of Samptar, in Bundelkhand, and one of the northern districts of
Gwâlior, which is still called Gûjargâr. They are found only in small
bodies and much scattered throughout Eastern Râjputâna and Gwâlior; but
they are more numerous in the Western States, and especially towards
Gujarât, where they form a large part of the population. The Râjas of
Riwâri to the south of Delhi are Gûjars. In the Southern Panjâb they
are thinly scattered, but their numbers increase rapidly towards the
North, where they have given their name to several important places,
such as Gujrânwâla, in the Rechna Duâb, Gujarât, in the Chaj Duâb, and
Gûjar Khân, in the Sindh Sâgar Duâb. They are numerous about Jahlam and
Hasan Abdâl, and throughout the Hazâra District; and they are also
found in considerable numbers in the Dardu Districts of Chilâs, Kohli,
and Palâs, to the east of the Indus, and in the contiguous districts to
the east of the river.”

3. As regards their ethnical affinities Mr. Ibbetson writes: [470]—“It
has been suggested, and is, I believe, held by many, that Jâts and
Gûjars, and perhaps Ahîrs also, are all of one ethnic stock; and this
because there is a close connection between them. It may be that they
are the same in their far distant origin. But I think they must have
entered India at different times or settled in separate parts, and my
reason for thinking so is precisely because they eat and smoke
together. In the case of Jât and Râjput the reason for differentiation
is obvious, the latter being of higher rank than the former. But the
social standing of Jâts, Gûjars, and Ahîrs being practically identical,
I do not see why they should ever have separated if they were once the
same. It is, however, possible that the Jâts were the camel graziers
and perhaps husbandmen, the Gûjars the cowherds of the hills, and the
Ahîrs the cowherds of the plains. If this be so, they afford a
classification by occupation of the yeoman class, which fill up the gap
between, and is absolutely continuous with, the similar classification
of the castes above them, as Brâhmans, Banyas, and Râjputs, and of the
classes below them, as Tarkhâns, Chamârs, and so forth. But we must
know more of the early distribution of the tribes before we can have
any opinion on the subject. I have noticed in the early historians a
connection between the migrations and location of Gûjars and Râjputs,
which has struck me as being more than accidental, and Mr. Wilson notes
that the Gûjars and the Bargûjar tribe of Râjputs are often found
together, and suggests that the latter may be to the Gûjars what the
Khânzâdas are to the Meos, and what most Râjputs are to the Jâts.”

4. In these Provinces they do not, as a rule, claim to be Râjputs: but
say they are descended from a Râjput father and a woman of some low
caste. The Kalsân branch, in Muzaffarnagar, claim descent from Kalsa, a
Râjput chief. “The Râwal Gûjars of Pânipat say that they are descended
from a Khokhar Râjput (a clan which has been considered the same as the
notorious Ghakkar); the Chhokar from a Jâdon; the Chamâyan from a
Tomar; the Kulsiyân of Kairâna and the Mâvi from a Chauhân; the Pilwân
from a Pundîr; the Adhâna from a Bargûjar, and the Bhatti from Râja
Kansal, a Bhatti Râjput from Jaysalmer.” [471] Besides this an
examination of the sections shows that it includes the names of many
well-known Râjput septs, such as Bâgri, Bais, Chandel, Chauhân, and
Tomar.

5. On the whole it seems probable that in the Panjâb and in the Western
Districts of these Provinces, at least, the tribe is fairly free from
intermixture with the lower races. Mr. Ibbetson describes the Gûjar as
“a fine, stalwart fellow of precisely the same physical type as the
Jât, and the theory of aboriginal descent which has sometimes been
propounded, is to my mind conclusively negatived by his cast of
countenance. He is of the same social condition as the Jât, or perhaps
slightly inferior; but the two eat and drink together in common without
any scruple, and the proverb says:—“The Jât, the Gûjar, the Ahîr, and
Gola, are all four hail fellows well met.” Of the Kashmîr Gûjars Mr.
Drew [472] writes:—“The race is Aryan, but their countenance cannot be
called high Aryan; their forehead is narrow; they want the well-formed
brow of the finer races. The lower part of the face is narrow, too; but
the nose has always something of the curve as is often seen in Aryan
nations. Some I met with had lighter eyes than are common among the
other tribes of the country, and generally their beard was scant. In
figure they are tall and gaunt, in motion slow and ungainly. They are
rather surly in disposition, having that kind of independence which
consists in liking to be left alone, and to have as little as possible
to do with other races. When, however, one does come in contact with
them they are not bad to deal with.” On the other hand, the eastern
branch of the tribe, and particularly those who have become
Muhammadans, appear to be very much mixed in blood.

[Tribal organisation.] 6. Like many castes which have a preference for
seven or one of its multiples, the Gûjars pretend to have eighty-four
exogamous gotras or sections. It has been found impossible to procure
any consistent or definite list of these. In the appendix to this
article three lists are given, two of the Hindu Gûjars of the Upper
Duâb, one from Bulandshahr, and the other collated from Sir H. M.
Elliot’s account of the tribe; the third of the Musalmân Gûjars of
Sultânpur. The Census lists contain no less than 1,178 gotras of the
Hindu and 380 of the Muhammadan branch. Of these those locally of most
importance are the Batar, Buchar, Chhotkana, Hamar, Kanas, Khatâna,
Khûbar, Rathê, and Râwal, in Sahâranpur: the Kalsiyân and Khûbar, of
Muzaffarnagar, the Adhâna, Bhatti, Chandela, Dhandhal, Hela, Kasâna,
Kharê, Khûbar, Marsi, and Nagari, of Meerut: the Adhâna, Bhadâna,
Bhatti, Kasâna, and Nagari, of Bulandshahr: the Tomar, of Mathura: the
Dalel and Pomar, of Agra: the Lohâr, of Jâlaun. It will be seen that
the names differ almost all through the lists. Most of these names are
said to be derived from the titles of tribal leaders or from the
villages in which their early settlements were formed. It is now
impossible to identify many of these with any degree of certainty. The
most important sections in the Upper Duâb are the Bhatti, who claim
descent from Bhatti Râjputs, and date their settlement from the time of
Prithivi Râja. One of them was given the office of “thief taker”
(chormâri) by the Emperor Shâh Alam. The Nagari say that they are the
illegitimate descendants of Râja Nâgrâj, fourth in descent from Anikpâl
Tomar of Delhi. They date their immigration from Hastinapur in 799
A.D., when they expelled the aboriginal Botiyas, with whom and the
Gûjars they intermarried and thus became degraded. The Nadwasiya claim
to be Panwâr Râjputs, and are said to have come from Badli in the
thirteenth century, and settled on the banks of the Kâlinadi, whence
they take their name. [473] It also appears that hypergamy occurs among
some of the sections; thus in Sahâranpur the Kalsiyân, Khaprâê, Râthi,
and Rausê sections hold the highest rank and intermarry, while the
Kalsiyân will not give their daughters to the Chhokar, Diveru, and Dâpu
sections. The sections, as already stated, are exogamous; but they have
an additional formula of exogamy, which is thus stated by the
Sahâranpur branch of the tribe. A girl may be married who is not of the
gotra of the paternal or maternal ancestors of the boy within six
generations, or who is not shown by her family name to be of the same
stock as his father or mother. But this rule seems not to be of general
application. In Bulandshahr a man will not marry within his own section
or that of his maternal uncle; but the chief rule which seems to be
most generally observed is that a man will not marry in his own village
and will not give a bride to a family from which within ordinary memory
they have received a bride. On the other hand, there seems no doubt
that Gûjars are very lax in their matrimonial arrangements. The
infanticide reports swarm with instances of those clans, who used to
practice this form of crime, supplying the resultant want of wives by
the introduction of women of other castes, and even now-a-days when
infanticide has practically disappeared, as is believed, among them,
they take concubines freely from other castes, and their offspring are
in most cases recognised as legitimate. [474]

[Polyandry.] 7. Another social arrangement arising from the same cause
is polyandry, of which we have perhaps the only well established
instance among the Hindus of the plains. On this subject Râja Lachhman
Sinh, who is a most competent authority regarding the Hindus of the
Bulandshahr District, has kindly furnished the following note:—“I was
assured on the spot that in almost every Gûjar village in the vicinity
of the Jumna, in the Bulandshahr District, polyandry was a fact. The
custom was mainly due to the scarcity of women in the tribe, and this
scarcity was the result of female infanticide, which several sections
of the caste practised very largely before the passing of the
Infanticide Act of 1870. Polyandry was not recognised as an
acknowledged or legal custom; but if adopted in a village the
neighbours made no objection to it, nor was it considered a serious
scandal. It was to the benefit of the married brother and his wife that
all the brothers should live together, and that the joint earnings
should be enjoyed by the single wife and her children. It was through
this feeling of self-interest that the wife and her real husband
permitted the other brothers to share her favours. The custom prevailed
only among the poorer families, the male members of which found it
difficult to get married in consequence of the scarcity of girls in the
caste, and also from the natural desire of parents to marry their
daughters to as affluent persons as possible. Brothers only and not
other relations or strangers were allowed to be the joint husbands. The
wife was formally married to one of the brothers, usually to the
eldest, if he were not too old, and her children were known as his
children only, though he as well as the other brothers knew that she
was at the disposal of all of them. Now as the Infanticide Act has put
a stop to the murder of infant girls the scarcity of women is no longer
felt, the custom of polyandry is dying out, and will soon be a thing of
the past. While making these enquiries I was struck with the fact that
polyandry did not, as might have been expected to be the case, affect
the child-bearing powers of the women who practised it, that is to say,
these women gave birth to as many children as those who had but a
single husband. I questioned my informants on this subject, and was
informed that the visits of the brothers were not so frequent as to
produce any effect of this kind.” [475]

[Marriage.] 8. Girls are allowed no freedom before marriage, and an
unmarried girl detected in immorality is expelled from the community.
It is only if her lover be a member of the tribe that she can be
restored and remarried in the tribe if her parents feed the clansmen.
Marriage usually takes place between the age of nine and sixteen. A
wife may procure a separation if her husband be impotent, and he can
put her away for infidelity proved to the satisfaction of the brethren.
Widow-marriage and the levirate under the usual restriction are
permitted. Betrothal consists in the acceptance of a sum of money in
the presence of the brethren, and then the girl’s barber, who acts as
envoy, makes a knot in the boy’s sheet, which clenches the engagement.
The marriage is of the usual respectable form, and the binding part of
the ceremony is the giving away of the bride (kanyâdân), and the usual
procession of the pair (bhanwari) round the marriage shed.

[Birth.] 9. There are no ceremonies during pregnancy except an
occasional vow to do some act if the delivery be easy. The mother is
secluded for ten days, but is not allowed to cook or enter the cooking
room for thirty days more. If the first child be a boy the women of the
clan assemble daily and sing songs of rejoicing as long as the
seclusion of the mother lasts. The family priest offers some dûb grass
to the father as a sign of congratulation, and receives a present in
return. On the third day the bed of the mother is moved with a rite
known as “the coming out” (bâhar nikalna). On the tenth day the
confinement room is purified by being plastered with cowdung, and
Ganges water is sprinkled on the clothes and utensils of the household.
A Brâhman is called in, who recites some verses and does a fire
sacrifice (hom), casts the horoscope of the child, after which some
Brâhmans are fed.

[Death.] 10. Gûjars cremate their dead, and all the rites are of normal
type. They perform the srâddha, and some even go on pilgrimages to Gaya
for that purpose.

[Religion.] 11. In religion they appear to be usually Saivas or Sâktas,
and are particularly careful in the worship of Sîtala Bhawâni, the
small-pox goddess. Among minor gods they worship Châmar, but their real
tribal worship is that of Pyârêji [476] and Bâba Sabha Râm. The temple
of Pyârêji is at Randewa, the parent (thîka) village of the Dâpu
Gûjars, equidistant between Nakur and Ambahta, in the Sahâranpur
District. His father, Râmji Padârath, born in Sambat 1545, at
Durjanpur, in Pargana Burhâna, of the Muzaffarnagar District,
disappeared suddenly after his birth. The consternation of the infant’s
father, Sajan, a rope-seller (bâdhfarosh) was, as may be imagined,
great. In six days he mysteriously reappeared. After this he was put to
herd cattle. One day the herd strayed into a sugarcane field, and the
owner made a complaint. Before the official sent to make an
investigation could reach the spot, the crop was miraculously restored.
The lad then gained many disciples, and he married a daughter of
Bhawâni Dâs, rope-seller of Khudi-Shikârpur. Their son was Raghu Nâth,
and his son, the famous Pyârêji. About this time there was a feud
between the Gûjars and Brâhmans of Sadarpur, in the course of which the
Gûjars, having invited the Brâhmans to a feast, treacherously murdered
several of them. Their ghosts avenged themselves in the form of
terrible Râkshasas, and the Gûjars were in such evil plight that
hearing of the fame of Pyârêji, they invited him to take them under his
protection. He expelled the demons, and Sadarpur regained its former
prosperity, so that its name was changed to Annadeva, “lord of grain,”
of which Randeva is said to be a corruption. Pyârêji died there, and
prayers are said and offerings made before his cenotaph. His son,
Lâlji, having no male issue bequeathed everything to his wife. Jada
Bairâgi managed her affairs, and the people elected one of his
disciples, Hargovind, to succeed him. Ever since the appointment has
been in the hands of the people of the Bâdhfarosh clan, descended from
Madâri, brother of Pyârêji, and the brothers of his son’s widow. They
own one-third of the village; the Mahants two-thirds. The Saint’s
followers are Vaishnavas, and wear black necklaces. His holiday is on
the sixth of the dark fortnight of Chait. Bâba Sabha Râm, another
tribal worthy, has a shrine on the banks of the Jumna, in the Ambâla
District, where the Gûjars make occasional pilgrimages.

[Social status and occupation.] 12. The Gûjars as a tribe have always
been noted for their turbulence and habit of cattle-stealing. Bâbar
[477] in his Memoirs describes how the commander of the rear guard
captured a few Gûjar ruffians who followed the camp, decapitated them
and sent their heads to the Emperor. The Gûjars of Pâli and Pâhal
became exceedingly audacious while Shîr Shâh was fortifying Delhi, so
he marched to the Hills and expelled them so that “not a vestige of
their habitations was left.” [478] Jahângîr [479] remarks that the
Gûjars live chiefly on milk and curds and seldom cultivate land; and
Bâbar [480] says:—“Every time I entered Hindustân the Jâts and Gûjars
have regularly poured down in prodigious numbers from the Hills and
wilds to carry off oxen and buffaloes. These were the wretches that
really inflicted the chief hardships and were guilty of the chief
oppression in the country.” They maintained their old reputation in the
Mutiny when they perpetrated numerous outrages and seriously impeded
the operations of the British Army before Delhi. According to the
current wisdom of the country side he is an undesirable neighbour—


    Kutta billi do; Gûjar Rânghar do,
    Yê char na ho to khulê kiwâré so.


“The dog and the cat, the Gûjar and the Rânghar, if these four were out
of the world a man might sleep with his doors open.”


    Yâr Dom ne kîna Gûjar,
    Chura chura ghar kardiya ûjar.


“When the Dom made friends with the Gûjar he was robbed of house and
home.”

The Gûjar though in popular estimation very closely connected with the
Jât is yet much inferior to him in every way. The proverb runs,—


    Huqqa, sukka, hurkani, Gûjar aur Jât,
    In men atak kaha, Jagannâth ka bhât.


“Pipe, tobacco, courtesan, the Gûjar and the Jât are all one like the
rice of Jagannâth’s temple which all castes may eat together.”

The Gûjar is in fact more a man of flocks and herds than the Jât, who
is one of the most industrious and skilled cultivators in the province.
They will drink spirits and eat mutton, pork, and fowls. They can in
most places eat, drink, and smoke with Ahîrs and Jâts. In Bhartpur the
Kharê Gûjars are inferior to the Laur, being principally engaged in
making butter and ghi, which their women sell, and which is looked on
by the others as derogatory. They have a curious custom of making a cow
of cowdung, covering it with cotton and going through the process of
killing it—a custom which seems to show that the reverence for the cow
which they now profess may be of comparatively modern growth. [481]

[Musalmân Gûjars.] 18. The Musalmân Gûjars are most numerous in Oudh
and the Meerut Division. They were apparently converted to Islâm at
various times; but their tradition in Oudh attributes this to the
compulsion of Timur when he attacked Delhi and converted all the people
in the neighbourhood by force. Some of them still maintain their Hindu
sections and regulate their marriages by them as their Hindu brethren
do; but in some places this is being replaced by the Muhammadan law of
prohibited degrees. They are mostly Sunnis, and Sunni will not
intermarry with Shiah families. In spite of their conversion they
retain a number of their old tribal practices. When the bride arrives
at the house of her husband her mother-in-law does the wave ceremony
(parachhan) over her head to scare evil spirits, and then takes her
into the household chapel (deoghar), where she worships the guardian
deities of the family, for whom they still retain respect. After this
the husband’s mother is allowed to see the face of the bride for the
first time, and gives her a present. Widows marry by the nikâh rite,
and the levirate is allowed. Some families retain the rule that the
elder brother cannot marry the widow of his younger brother, but this
is violated by some of the tribe in Oudh.

14. When a baby is born the Chamârin is called in and bathes the child
in a broken earthen pot (khapra): in this the father puts two pice
(khaprê ka taka), which are the fee of the midwife. Then the Pandit is
asked to fix a lucky time for the first bathing (nahân) of the mother,
and he again has to fix a time, generally on the twelfth day, when she
leaves her room. When a boy is four or five years of age he is
circumcised in the usual way.

15. Betrothal is done on a lucky day fixed by the Pandit, and the only
rite is that the fathers exchange cups of spirits. When the procession
arrives at the house of the bride the usual door rite (duâr ka châr) is
performed, and after the document fixing the dower (mahr) payable on
divorce is drawn up, the Qâzi reads the nikâh in the ordinary way.

16. They bury their dead. When the burial is over they make a fire
offering (agyâri) by burning incense in the name of the dead, and after
waiting a short time they upset a pitcher of water near the grave.

17. They visit the shrine of Ghâzi Miyân at Bahrâich, and offer there
sweet cakes (malîda). They also venerate various local saints and
martyrs, such as Alâ-ud-dîn Shahîd, Madâr Shâh, and Buddhi Chandra
Bâba. They employ Sarwariya and Sanâdh Brâhmans to give them omens and
propitiate the family gods. They so far observe the Holi and
Nâgpanchami festivals that on those days they do not work. On Fridays
they make offerings of food to their deceased ancestors, and when a
death occurs in their family they feed beggars in the hope that the
food will through them reach the dead man in the world of the dead.

18. They observe the ordinary Muhammadan rules about food, and will eat
with any Musalmân except a Dhobi, Dhuniya, or Mehtar.


                GÛJAR SECTIONS.

    ==========+============+=================
    Sultânpur.|Bulandshahr.|Sir H. M. Elliot.
    ~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
              |Adhâna.     |Adhâna.
    Akiya.    |            |
    Amota.    |Anbauta.    |
    Awâna.    |            |
              |Badhurê.    |Badkâna.
    Bâgri.    |Bahla.      |
    Bajâr.    |Bahrana.    |
              |Baisâho.    |
    Banya.    |Baislo.     |Baisle.
    Barakat.  |Bâsakta.    |Balesar.
              |Bharaila.   |Barsoi.
    Bokan.    |Bhâti.      |Bhatâr.
              |Bukar.      |Bhatti.
    Chauhân.  |Chandela.   |Chamâyan.
    Chhânchhi.|Chaprâna.   |Chechi.
    Chhokar.  |Chhâchhi.   |Chhokar.
              |Chhâorê.    |Chotkanê.
              |Chhokar.    |
    Dhandhar. |Dahariya.   |Dedê.
              |Dhangs.     |
              |Dhatrewa.   |
              |Dohla.      |
              |Dorauta.    |
              |Ghorarûp.   |
              |Gursi.      |Gorsi.
              |Hun.        |
    Jângar.   |            |Jâtli.
    Jauhar.   |Jauhar.     |Jindhar.
    Jhahangha.|Jawâra.     |
    Joya.     |            |
    Kahâri.   |Kahârê.     |Kadâhan.
    Kâras.    |Kaitheriya. |Kalsiyân.
    Katariya. |Kalyâna.    |Kanâna.
              |Kapâsiya.   |
              |Karahina.   |
              |Kasâna.     |Kasauni.
              |Kharsâna.   |Kharê.
    Khatâna.  |Khatâna.    |Khatâna.
    Khokar.   |Khogar.     |
    Kori.     |            |Khûbar.
              |            |Kusânê.
              |Lohmaurê.   |
              |Mâvi.       |Mahainsi.
    Mewâti.   |Modâr.      |Motê.
    Mûdan.    |Mudhan.     |Mûndan.
              |Munrera.    |
              |Nâgarê.     |Nâgarê.
    Pandêpûta.|            |
    Pasuâr.   |Patâo.      |Pîlwân.
    Phagna.   |Phagna.     |Pûrbar.
    Phular.   |Puswâr.     |
    Râthi.    |Râthi.      |Râthi.
              |Raunso.     |Rausê.
              |            |Râwal.
    Sakarwâr. |            |
    Sardawa.  |Sarândhina. |Sukul.
    Sarwan.   |            |Surâdnê.
              |Tomar.      |Tauhar.
              |Tungar.     |
    Untwâr.   |            |
    ==========+============+================


DISTRIBUTION OF GÛJARS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ===========================================
      Districts.  |Hindus.|Muhammadans.| Total.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |    527|       439  |    966
    Sahâranpur    | 57,053|    18,454  | 75,507
    Muzaffarnagar | 27,856|    13,239  | 41,065
    Meerut        | 69,387|        65  | 69,452
    Bulandshahr   | 46,632|     ...    | 46,632
    Aligarh       | 11,397|        11  | 11,408
    Mathura       |  7,430|        23  |  7,453
    Agra          | 13,238|         1  | 13,239
    Farrukhâbâd   |     83|        28  |    111
    Mainpuri      |    111|     ...    |    111
    Etâwah        |  3,113|     ...    |  3,113
    Etah          |      9|        22  |     31
    Bareilly      |  7,361|     ...    |  7,361
    Bijnor        |  6,265|       360  |  6,625
    Budâun        |  2,821|        38  |  2,859
    Morâdâbâd     | 11,499|       339  | 11,838
    Shâhjahânpur  |  3,255|     ...    |  3,255
    Pilibhît      |  3,460|     ...    |  3,460
    Cawnpur       |    278|        10  |    288
    Fatehpur      |      2|     ...    |      2
    Bânda         |    135|     ...    |    135
    Hamîrpur      |     12|     ...    |     12
    Allahâbâd     |     39|        55  |     94
    Jhânsi        |    747|         4  |    751
    Jâlaun        |  5,696|         8  |  5,704
    Lalitpur      |    229|     ...    |    229
    Benares       |  ...  |        37  |     37
    Mirzapur      |    368|     ...    |    368
    Jaunpur       |  ...  |        41  |     41
    Ghâzipur      |  ...  |         2  |      2
    Gorakhpur     |     24|     2,248  |  2,272
    Basti         |  ...  |       705  |    705
    Azamgarh      |      2|       675  |    677
    Garhwâl       |  ...  |       145  |    145
    Tarâi         |    973|        22  |    995
    Lucknow       |      7|       280  |    287
    Unâo          |  ...  |        10  |     10
    Râê Bareli    |  ...  |    11,959  | 11,959
    Sîtapur       |      1|     ...    |      1
    Hardoi        |    110|     ...    |    110
    Faizâbâd      |  ...  |       229  |    229
    Bahrâich      |     23|     1,884  |  1,907
    Sultânpur     |  ...  |     8,108  |  8,108
    Partâbgarh    |  ...  |       344  |    344
    Bârabanki     |  ...  |     4,639  |  4,639
                  +~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
         Total    |280,113|    64,424  |344,537
    ==============+=======+============+========


Gujarâti.—A sub-caste of Banyas who take their name from their place of
origin, Gujarât. There are a large number of them in Bombay, where they
bear a poor reputation. They are usually Jainas, and much opposed to
the killing of animals. Mr. Sinclair [482] describes them—“The males
are usually gross in face and the women featureless and clumsy.” Their
chief settlement in these Provinces is at Benares, where they are
generally Vallabhachâryas. They are keen, perhaps excessively keen, men
of business, and strongly inclined to a fanatical observance of their
creed.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE GUJARÂTI BANYAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======
      Districts.  |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |   3
    Sahâranpur    |  12
    Aligarh       |   6
    Mathura       |  72
    Agra          |  46
    Etâwah        |   5
    Morâdâbâd     |  92
    Shâhjahânpur  |   3
    Hamîrpur      |   1
    Allahâbâd     |   4
    Jâlaun        |   1
    Benares       | 469
    Jaunpur       |   1
    Ghâzipur      |   3
    Basti         |   1
    Azamgarh      |   1
    Lucknow       |  11
    Sîtapur       |   1
    Bahrâich      |   1
                  +~~~~~~~
         Total    | 723
    ==============+=======


Gujarâti.—A territorial division of Brâhmans, those of Gurjarâshtra or
Gujarât. Of the Gurjara Brâhmans Dr. Wilson says [483]—“In the general
classification of the Brâhmans usually current the Gurjara Brâhmans are
said to belong to the Pancha Dravida, though the greater portion of
Gujarât lies to the north of the River Narmada and the Vindhya range.
An examination of them in detail shows, however, that not a few of
their castes belong to the Pancha Gauda, while some of them have been
so long isolated from the other Brâhmanical fraternities that they have
lost sight altogether of their former connections. They are generally
estimated at eighty-four in number.”

[The Bombay Gujarâti Brâhmans.] 2. To quote the best account of this
class of Brâhmans in their native home [484]—“In Sholapur the Gujarâti
Brâhmans are divided into Audich Nâgar, and Srimali. The names of their
family stocks are Bharadvâja, Kapila, and Vasishtha, and persons
belonging to the same family stock cannot intermarry. Their surnames
are Achârya, Bhat, Pandya, Râul, Thâkur, and Vyâs; and families bearing
the same surname can intermarry provided their family stock or gotra is
different both on the father’s and on the mother’s sides. They are
generally fair, with regular features, and neither very strong nor
tall. The men wear the moustache, whiskers and beard. The topknot
covers three-fourths of the head, and the hair is black and sometimes
curly. The women are fairer than the men, with delicate features, oval
face, and small hands and feet.

3. “Their home tongue is Gujarâti, but out-of-doors they speak
Hindustâni or Marâthi mixed with Gujarâti. They do not own houses, but
live in houses of the middle sort, one story high with mud and stone
walls and flat roofs. Their house goods consist of a wooden box or two,
one or two cotton bags, a carpet, some pieces of sack-cloth, woollen
waistcloths, and a few metal vessels. They keep neither servants nor
domestic animals. They are vegetarians, and their staple food is rice,
wheat-bread, pulse, butter, sugar or molasses. Their favourite spices
are black pepper, cloves, and cinnamon. They generally eat once in the
afternoon. They avoid onions, garlic, and masûr pulse, and use no
intoxicating drinks. Many drink hemp water at midday and in the
afternoon, but eat opium often twice a day—in the morning after bathing
and in the afternoon. They neither chew nor smoke tobacco.

3. “The men dress in an irregular, carelessly folded turban, with the
end left dangling a foot or a foot and-a-half from the head. It is
shorter and not half so broad as the Deccan turban, and is called batti
or “the lamp,” because if twisted it would be no thicker than an
ordinary lampwick. They wear a fine, white coat reaching to the knees,
with creases at the waist; the waistcloth, which is twelve feet long,
is worn doubled as Kunbis wear it; the shoulder-cloth is an old
waistcloth doubled to make it look short; and their shoes are not
double-toed like the Deccan shoes, and have a top to the heel. They
generally wear a rudrâksha rosary round their neck. Their women wear
the hair in a braid, which they afterwards either twist into a knot, or
leave hanging down the waist. They do not wear false hair, or deck
their heads either with ornaments or flowers. Their dress includes a
petticoat or a short robe, whose skirt they do not pass between the
feet; they draw a cloak (orhni) over the head, and wear a
short-sleeved, open-backed boddice. The robe is twelve feet long, or
only half as long as a Deccan woman’s robe. They sometimes buy a Deccan
robe, cut it in two and wear the cut end inside, and the bordered or
ornamental end outside, drawn from the left over the head, leaving the
left arm bare. The left arm is loaded with ornaments, while the right
has no ornaments. Their ornaments are worth Rs. 200–1,000, or more.

4. “These Gujarâti Brâhmans are extremely careful and frugal; they are
neither neat nor clean, but sober, thrifty and orderly. They are
beggars, astrologers, family priests, and cooks. They are well paid by
their Banya patrons, and are free from debt, and generally carry back
considerable sums to their native country. They are a religious people.
Their family deities are Amba Bâi and Bâlaji, and they worship all
Brâhman gods and goddesses, and keep all fasts and festivals. Their
priests belong to their own caste, and they go on pilgrimage to
Benares, Nâsik, Pândharpur, and Tuljapur. They believe in sorcery,
witchcraft, soothsaying, omens and lucky and unlucky days, and consult
oracles. They are bound together by a strong caste feeling, and settle
social disputes at meetings of caste men, and punish breaches of caste
rules by fines varying from one to fifty rupees, which are spent on
sweetmeats or in the repairs of their temples. They send their boys to
school, but do not keep them long there. They take to no new pursuits,
and are in easy circumstances.”

[The Gujarâti Brâhmans in the Panjâb.] 5. “The Gujarâti or Byâs
Brâhmans who come from Gujarât in Sindh are in some respects the
highest of all Brâhmans; they are always fed first; and they bless a
Gaur when they meet him, while they will not eat ordinary food from his
hands. They are fed on the twelfth day after death, and the Gaurs will
not eat on the thirteenth day if this has not been done. But they take
inauspicious offerings. To them appertain especially the Râhu offerings
made at an eclipse. They will not take oil, sesame, goats, or green or
dirty clothes; but will take old clothes, if washed, buffaloes, and the
seven varieties of grain (satnaja). They also take a special offering
to Râhu made by a sick person, who puts gold in ghi, looks at his face
in it, and gives it to a Gujarâti, or who weighs himself against
satnaja and makes an offering of the grain. A buffalo which has been
possessed by a devil to that degree that he has got on the top of a
house (no difficult feat in a village) or a foal dropped in the month
of Sâwan, or buffalo calf in Mâgh, are given to the Gujarâti as being
unlucky. No Gaur would take them. At every harvest the Gujarâti takes a
small allowance (seori) of grain from the threshing floor, just as does
the Gaur.” [485]

[The Central India Gujarâti Brâhmans.] 6. Of the Gujarâti Brâhmans of
Central India Sir J. Malcolm writes [486]:—“Some are employed in the
offices of religion, while others trade and gain a respectable
livelihood as writers and accountants. Many of the Mârwâr and Jodhpur
Brâhmans are also traders; but the great mass from that country as well
as from Udaypur are labourers and cultivators, forming indeed a very
considerable proportion of the most industrious husbandmen of Central
India.”

[The Gujarâti Brâhmans of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh.] 7. The
Gujarâti Brâhmans of these Provinces are most numerous according to the
last Census in the Upper and Central Ganges-Jumna Duâb. They trace
their origin to a sacrifice said to have been performed by Râja Mûla
Deva or Mûl Râj Solankhi, who reigned early in the 10th century A.D.
For this rite he is said to have collected one thousand Brâhmans, of
whom two hundred were Kanaujiya, one hundred from Benares, one hundred
and five from the Duâb, one hundred from Mathura, one hundred
Sarwariya, sixty-nine from Kurukshetra, one hundred from Ajudhya, and
one hundred and thirty-two from Pushkar. He worshipped their feet and
settled them in his kingdom. To some he gave Sihor, and their
descendants form the Sihoriya branch; a few rejected his gifts for a
time; but he persuaded them at last and gave them Cambay and twelve
dependent villages. They were called Tolakiya and form a separate
division. Some others he settled at Sidhpur, and they are hence called
Sidhpuriya. The following is a list of the gotras of the Sidhpuriya
Gujarâtis as far as it has been possible to ascertain them in these
Provinces—Bhrigu, with the title Dûbê; Bhârgava, Dûbê; Kausika, Pânrê;
Daribhya, Tivâri; Gautam, Dûbê; Vatsa, Thâkur; Parâsara, Dûbê;
Bharadwâja, Dûbê; Sândilya, Thâkur; Saunaka, Pânrê; Vasishtha, Tivâri;
Maunas, Thâkur; Jani, Garggotra; Katasas, Dûbê; Udvah, Dûbê;
Krishnâtri, Dûbê; Kaudinya, Dûbê; Mandavya, Pânrê or Pandit; Upamanyu,
Pânrê; Svetatreya, Dûbê. This, it will be seen, differs considerably
from Mr. Sherring’s Benares lists, and illustrates the difficulty of
obtaining precise information on such points.

8. The Sihoriya Gujarâtis are again divided into the following
gotras:—Krishnâtri, Garga, Bharadwâja, Svetatri.

9. It is also said that after their emigration into these provinces
they fell into two groups, the Bara Samudaya, or superior group, and
the Chhota Samudaya, or inferior group. One colony of them, settled at
Anupshahr, in the Bulandshahr District, are said to use arms like
Kshatriyas, and to devote most of their time to athletic exercises,
which is not the case with the ordinary Gujarâtis.

[The Nâgar Brâhmans.] 10. The Nâgar Brâhmans, again, are usually
classed as a sub-tribe of the Gujarâtis. “Nâgara,” writes Dr. Wilson,
[487] “is the adjective form of nagar, “a city.” It is applied to
several principal castes of Brâhmans in Gujarât, getting their
designations respectively from certain towns in the north-east portion
of that province.” Thus there are the Vadanagara, who take their name
from the city of Vadanagar, lying to the east of Anhilvâda Pattana; the
Visalnagar, from the town of Visal; the Satodra, from the town of
Satod, on the Narmada; the Prashnora of Prashnora; the Krishnora of
Krishnapura; the Chitroda of Chitrod; the Barada, the result of a split
between the Visalnagar and the Vadanagara.

11. In Gujarât [488] the “Nâgar Brâhmans will not take food from any
other Brâhman, and are very strict in their observances. Of these the
most strict is what is called the naven or purity in respect of food.
Having bathed he dresses himself in silk or woollen clothes, or, if he
is required to use cotton garments, they must be dipped in water, wrung
out and dried in some place where nothing impure can touch them. Thus
habited he sits down to dinner; but he must preserve himself from
numerous accidents which would render him impure and compel him to
desist from his meal. If he touch an earthen vessel he is impure,
unless the vessel have never contained water. The touch of a piece of
cotton cloth, or of a piece of leather or paper, which he may have
accidentally sat down upon, renders him impure. But if Hindu letters
have been written on the paper, they preserve him from defilement,
because they represent Sâraswati. If, however, letters be written on
cloth or leather, they remain impure. Thus, if the Gîta or any portion
of Scripture be required for use at the time, it must be bound with
silk and not with cotton; leather must be avoided, and instead of a
common paste of flour and water the binder must employ paste of pounded
tamarind seed. A printed book will not answer his purpose, because
printing ink contains impure matter. Some think that the touch of a
deer or tiger skin does not defile. Raw cotton does not render him
impure; but if it has been twisted for the wick of a lamp by a person
not in a state of ceremonial purity, it does; and, again, if it have
been dipped in oil or clarified butter, it does not. Bones defile, but
women’s ivory armlets do not, except in those parts of the country
where they are not usually worn. The touch of a child of the same
caste, who has not learned to eat grain, does not defile, but if the
child have eaten grain, it does. The touch of donkey, a pig, or a dog
defiles; some say that the touch of a cat also defiles; others are
inclined to think it does not, because, in truth, it is not easy to
keep the cat out. If a Brâhman who is pure be eating or if he has risen
from eating, the touch of his person defiles another Brâhman who is
pure, but has not begun his dinner.”

12. The Benares Nâgar Brâhmans are said to be divided into two distinct
classes, the Bhikhshu or “mendicants,” and the Mahta. The latter
opposed Mahmûd of Ghazni when he attacked Vadanagara, and thus lost the
peaceful habits of life which still characterise the Bhikhshu class.

[Domestic ceremonies of the Gujarâti Brâhmans. Birth.] 13. The
following account of the domestic rites of the Gujarâti Brâhmans was
given by a member of the tribe resident at Mirzapur:—“When a bride
after joining her husband menstruates, she becomes pure by bathing on
the fourth day. At the same time she worships Ganesa and the patron
goddesses of the tribe. Ganesa is worshipped with an offering of water,
washed rice, sandalwood, flowers, incense, and lamps. The worship of
the goddesses is more intricate. A red cloth is spread over a wooden
seat (pîrha), and on it sixteen compartments are marked out with
powdered rice. In each compartment is placed some rice dyed with red
(rori), and on the top of each pile of rice a betel-nut. The seat is
placed beside the wall of the room. On the wall a set of spots of red
are made in the form of a triangle, of which the base has seven marks,
diminishing by one at a time up to the apex. On these marks the woman
pours an oblation of ghi. This is known as basodhara. Next the
betel-nuts on the seat are worshipped with an offering of incense,
lights, sandalwood, curds, sugar, and rice. This done the woman is pure
and is allowed to return to her house work.

14. “When a woman becomes pregnant for the first time, and when the
eighth month of pregnancy arrives, the srimant rite is performed. This
is accompanied by the nandi mukh srâddha and the graha sânti—rites
intended to guard the embryo from injury. Some fruit of the Dhâk and
Anwla trees, millet, curd, washed rice and saffron are pounded and
mixed in a ball. Then twelve betel-nuts are placed on twelve
betel-leaves, and a portion of the mixture is offered to each. These
twelve betel-nuts are supposed to represent the twelve relations of the
unborn child, that is, six generations on the side of the father and
six on that of the mother. After this a fire sacrifice (homa) is
performed, and two Brâhmans are fed in the name of each of the twelve
ancestors. This constitutes the nandimukh srâddha.

15. “Next the expectant father and mother make nine compartments on a
board, and each of the nine planets [489] is represented by a piece of
cloth of a different colour. Each of these receives an appropriate
offering. Then Sâraswati is worshipped in the form of a water jar with
a spout, and to her the same offerings are made as to Ganesa. Then the
officiating Brâhman repeats texts and sprinkles washed rice over the
father and mother, and the jar (kalasa) is worshipped with an offering
of a cocoanut, the emblem of fertility, and some red cloth.

16. “A small raised platform is next made in the courtyard, and on it
three lines are drawn. From each line they take a pinch of dust and
throw it on the ground. Some mango wood is then lighted on the
platform. On the north side is placed a sacrificial vessel made of wood
and known as pranîta parokshoni. With this a mixture of five different
kinds of fruits, ghi, sugar, and incense are poured upon the fire. An
offering is made in this way to all the deities, and the rite concludes
with the feeding of Brâhmans.

17. “When the child is born the parents are instructed by the
officiating priest to worship Ganesa and the tribal goddesses in the
manner already described. They then worship the knife with which the
umbilical cord was cut by the midwife, and to it is made the usual
offering of incense, flowers, sandalwood, as in other cases. The mother
during the period of seclusion after child-birth bathes three times—on
the sixth, ninth, and twelfth day. At the sixth-day bath she offers an
oblation of water (argha) to the Sun-god, Sûrya. She also does this at
the subsequent bathings. On the twelfth day after bathing and making
the oblation, four women of the tribe move over the head of the child
the family pestle in order to scare evil spirits. The Chamâr midwife
attends for three days, and after that her place is taken by the wife
of the barber. If the child be a boy the midwife’s fee is one rupee;
for a girl four annas. On the twelfth day the Purohit or family priest
produces the horoscope (janam-pattri) of the child, and is suitably
rewarded.

[The grain-feeding.] 18. “When the child, if a boy, is six months’ old,
the rite of “grain-feeding” (annaprâsana) is performed. Ganesa and the
goddesses are worshipped in the way already described, by the parents,
and then the father marks the baby’s forehead with red powder. Then the
mother, or some other lady of the house, takes the child in her lap and
makes it lick some rice milk from a mango leaf.

[The shaving.] 19. “In the third year the mûnran or hair shaving is
done. The barber is sent for on an auspicious day and the parents do
worship to his razor. After the shaving is over the child is bathed and
the usual worship of Ganesa and the tribal goddesses is performed. A
fire sacrifice is done by the Brâhmans.

[The ear-piercing.] 20. “In the fifth year comes the rite of
ear-piercing (karnabedha). The usual worship is performed; the child’s
ears are bored by a Sunâr; Brâhmans are fed, and the Sunâr gets a
present.

[Investiture with the sacred cord.] 21. “In the eighth year of the
boy’s life comes the upanayana or investiture with the sacred cord. The
usual worship of Ganesa and the tribal goddesses is performed as
already described. Then the women of the household go to the house of
the potter and worship his wheel (châk), which is regarded as an emblem
of fertility. From there they bring two earthen jars, which are placed
in a holy square (chauk) in the courtyard. This is done some twelve
days or more before the actual initiation. On the day of the rite these
jars are worshipped with the same offerings as those given to Ganesa.
On the day of the rite the officiating priest makes two platforms of
sand and clay facing north and south. The candidate for initiation with
three other Brâhman boys is seated on the platform, and is fed on milk
and boiled rice. The candidate is then shaved by the barber and bathes.
He takes his seat on the platform and worships Ganesa and the nine
planets. Then the officiating priest invests the boy with a sacred cord
made of mûnj fibre (Saccharum munja) and a deer skin, thereby implying
that he has entered the stage of the Brahmachâri. He again worships
Ganesa and puts off the mûnj cord and the deer skin and receives a
cotton cord. Next a stick of the wood of the palâsa (Butea frondosa),
to the end of which a coloured thread (raksha) is tied, is placed on
his shoulder, the inference being that he has reached the Sannyâsi
stage. Then the priest whispers the gâyatri mantra into his ear at the
first platform known as the upanayana and at the second (rambha vedi);
he again worships Ganesa, and the priest putting some rice in a dish
with his finger writes on it the gâyatri mantra. He is then made to do
the fire sacrifice with the recital of the appropriate texts. Next the
priest sprinkles the boy from the sacred jars with a bunch of kusa
grass. In this water he bathes and cleans his teeth. He dresses, takes
a bamboo stick (dand), and pretends to go to Benares to learn. He is
dissuaded from doing this by his maternal uncle, who promises to get
him married. With the final worship of the tribal goddesses the rite
concludes.

[Marriage rites.] 22. “The age for marriage is fourteen or sixteen for
a boy and nine or ten for a girl. After the preliminary comparison of
the horoscopes a day is fixed for the betrothal (sagâi). This is done
by the girl’s father sending to the father of the boy through his
priest or some relative a sum in money, a cocoanut, and some
sweetmeats. A piece of ground is plastered in the boy’s courtyard, and
upon that he sits and worships Ganesa. The girl’s representative marks
his forehead with red (rori) and puts the presents in the corner of his
robe (dopatta), while the friends who have been admitted to the
ceremony chant songs. The boy eats the sweetmeats and the friends are
entertained. This completes the betrothal.

23. “After this the boy’s father sends invitations to the persons who
are asked to attend the procession (bârât). Distant friends usually
come four days before the date fixed for this event. Then the boy’s
father informs the father of the bride of the date fixed for the rite
of “setting up the little and the great Ganesa,” presently to be
described, and for the marriage.

24. “The bridegroom, his father and other friends go to the house of
the bride four days before the wedding day. They are lodged in a garden
or empty house close by. On their arrival some sharbat is sent for
their refreshment from the house of the bride. Then the two fathers
meet and embrace. Contrary to usual custom the ladies of the
bridegroom’s family also go on this occasion. They are also treated to
sharbat by the ladies of the bride’s household, and the mothers of the
pair meet and embrace. Then the bride’s father sets up in his courtyard
a pole of bamboo fixed in the direction of the sun as pointed out by
the family astrologer. On this pole wooden images of birds, parrots,
etc., are fixed. The pole is stained with turmeric and near it is
placed a water jar (kalsa) and a cocoanut. The technical name of the
pole is stambha. In the room of the house reserved for the worship of
the tribal goddesses two water jars are placed; one represents the
great Ganesa, Bara Ganesa; the other the little Ganesa, Chhota Ganesa.
Near them is a wooden seat (pîrha), on which is laid a cocoanut covered
with a piece of red cloth. This represents some woman of the family who
in former times has committed Sati. The father and mother of the bride
offer to this Sati washed rice, sandalwood, water, flowers, and a burnt
offering (homa). Then the Navagraha or the nine planets are worshipped
in the courtyard, and the father and mother of the bride, after bathing
and putting on new clothes, do the fire sacrifice before them. Next all
the ladies of the family and their female friends go to the potter’s
house and worship his wheel (châk) with water, washed rice, sandal,
incense, flowers, and a lamp, and smear it with red powder (rori). Then
they take twenty-eight jars from the potter, and on each of them a
representation of Ganesa is made. The potter receives a suitable
present. In each of these pitchers betel-nut and washed rice is placed,
and on the mouth of each a small earthen saucer (matuki) is laid. The
pitchers are then arranged in a square, seven on each side, and each
row is bound together with a piece of bamboo. This is known as chauri.
Inside this square the pair are made to sit. Before she takes her seat
her mother and four other women of the tribe sprinkle her with a
mixture of oil and turmeric from a wisp of kusa grass. The other women
sing songs while this is being done. Then her body is rubbed with
barley-flour, turmeric, and oil. The same rite is gone through for the
boy in the place (janwânsa) where he is staying with his friends.

25. “When the lucky time for the marriage comes the pair are dressed in
new clothes and a crown (maur, mukut) is placed on their heads. The boy
goes to the house of the bride mounted on a mare. At the bride’s door
is placed a pole on which are hung some wooden images of birds. This
the bridegroom knocks down with a stick—possibly a survival of marriage
by capture. This pole is known as toran. When the bridegroom alights
his mother-in-law comes to the door, holds him by his nose, and leading
him in marks his forehead with red powder. Then he takes his seat in
the square of vessels and does the fire sacrifice. The bride also comes
into the square and sits on his left side. She also does a fire
sacrifice. Then some henna (menhdi) is powdered and rubbed on her
hands, and the hands of the bridegroom are laid on her hands, while the
priest recites the appropriate verses. Their robes are knotted together
and they walk four times round the fire and do the fire sacrifice. Then
they go into the family oratory and worship the household deities, and
the bride goes with the bridegroom to the place where his party are
staying, and there worships his family gods.

26. “Next morning the bridegroom bathes, and puts on a silk (pitambar)
loin-cloth. The bride puts on a similar dress, and her husband comes to
her house and sits in the square (chauri) already described. The bride
sits on his left, and her mother lays before them a dish of boiled rice
and milk. Each of the pair feeds the other with this. This is known as
the “rite of the fourth” (chaturthi karma). The dowry is next paid
over; and if the bride is nubile, which is usually the case, she
returns to his house with her husband. Next day he worships the Ganges
or some other river, and the marriage rites come to an end.”

[Death ceremonies.] 27. The dead are cremated in the ordinary way. When
the burning is over the chief mourner offers to the spirit of the
deceased a jar of water and a lamp for his use during the period of
mourning. This pitcher he breaks with a stone. The stone is placed at
the ghât where the chief mourner usually bathes. For ten days he pours
water and sesamum (tilanjuli) on the stone, and on the tenth day, after
offering a holy ball (pinda), he throws the stone into the river or
tank near which it has been placed. On the eleventh day he offers
eleven pindas, and the tribesmen are fed. On the twelfth day is the
pitra nirauni, when four pindas are offered; three in the name of
deceased ancestors and one in the name of the deceased. After offering
them the chief mourner says:—“The deceased has now joined his sainted
ancestors.” Brâhmans are then fed. On the thirteenth day the chief
mourner worships Ganesa, the nine planets, and the water jar (kalasa).
The oldest man in the family marks his forehead, and he is invested
with a turban, showing that he has taken the place of the dead man.
Then he pours the water out of the sacred jar at the root of a nîm
tree. Verses are repeated, and the rites are concluded with the worship
of the tribal deity and the feeding of Brâhmans.


DISTRIBUTION OF GUJARÂTI BRÂHMANS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======
      Districts.  |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |    9
    Sahâranpur    |  343
    Muzaffarnagar |  321
    Meerut        |  731
    Bulandshahr   |  530
    Aligarh       |  119
    Mathura       |  209
    Agra          |  336
    Farrukhâbâd   |  669
    Mainpuri      |  133
    Etâwah        |   26
    Etah          |   57
    Bareilly      |   23
    Bijnor        |  173
    Budâun        |   12
    Morâdâbâd     |   47
    Shâhjahânpur  |  364
    Pilibhît      |   78
    Cawnpur       |  235
    Fatehpur      |  107
    Bânda         |   55
    Hamîrpur      |   54
    Allahâbâd     |  263
    Jhânsi        |   38
    Jâlaun        |  100
    Benares       |  399
    Mirzapur      |    1
    Jaunpur       |   32
    Ghâzipur      |    2
    Gorakhpur     |    3
    Kumâun        |   31
    Tarâi         |  116
    Lucknow       |  130
    Unâo          |  180
    Râê Bareli    |   33
    Sîtapur       |   86
    Hardoi        |  802
    Kheri         |  195
    Bahrâich      |    2
                  +~~~~~
           Total  |7,044
    ==============+=======


Gurchha; Gurchhiya; Gorchha. [490]—A small tribe numbering only 963
persons and confined to the Kheri District. It is said that they were
formerly known as Kules or Kalhans Chhatris, and having emigrated to
Kheri from Gorakhpur they were known as Gorakhiya, which was
subsequently corrupted into Gorchha. They say they came originally from
Chithor and emigrated thence to Gorakhpur. They were once six brothers.
When some enemy attacked them only two of the brothers assailed him and
when they returned successful, they ejected their four cowardly
brothers from their possessions, and the latter were obliged to leave
their original home. Those in Kheri have severed all connections with
their brethren elsewhere. They also say that they had once a set of
annals of their race which was destroyed by fire when in charge of one
Jaddan Gorchha.

[Marriage rules.] 2. Few of them can name any of their sub-castes or
gotras. The Census lists give Kalhans, Kanaujiya, and Subhân. Their
rule of exogamy is that they cannot marry the children of their
maternal uncle, and cannot marry their sons in a family to which they
have already given a daughter as a bride. There is no restriction as to
the number of wives a man may have; but they seldom have more than two.
Immorality on the part of a girl before marriage is reprobated; if she
intrigue with a clansman, her parents are obliged to pay a fine and
give a feast; if her lover be a man of another caste, she is
permanently expelled from the tribe. Marriage takes place at the age of
ten or twelve, and is arranged by the parents of the couple. The bride
is generally given some presents at marriage, which remain her own
property. The offspring of connections with an outsider are not
received in the tribe; and they do not admit strangers to caste rights.
The levirate seems to be practically compulsory on the widow, who
always lives with a relative of her late husband.

[Birth ceremonies.] 3. There is no ceremony during pregnancy. When a
child is born a barber is sent to the house of the mother of the bride
to announce the fact; this is known as lochana bhejna, and he receives
a present and takes back with him some clothes, food, etc., for the
mother. The mother is isolated for twelve days after delivery, and they
have the usual sixth (chhathi) and twelfth day (barahi) ceremonies. In
the third or sixth month the paternal aunt of the child is expected to
make it a present of clothes, etc., and a sheet for the mother. In the
third year the ceremonial shaving (mûndan) of the child takes place;
and in the third, fifth, or seventh year, its ears are bored
(kanchhedan). They have no special adoption or initiation ceremony.

[Marriage customs.] 4. The marriage customs are of the usual
respectable form.

[Religion.] 5. Gurchhas are orthodox Hindus and worship Devi, Mahâdeva
and Parameswar. Devi receives a sacrifice of goats, rams, and a burnt
offering (hom) of butter, rice, barley, and sugar. To Mahâdeva are
offered leaves of the bel tree and milk. To Parameswar they present
cocoanuts, butter, betel leaves, milk, and sweetmeats. Devi is served
by a Panda, Mahâdeva by a Gusâîn, Parameswar by a Brâhman. Those who
are Bhagats offer only the ear of the victim. They do not kill the cow
or eat beef, and will not cut down the pîpal or bel tree.

[Social rules.] 6. They drink spirits and eat goats, sheep, hares,
fish, etc., but not fowls, jackals, or other vermin. When eating they
offer a little to Bhagwân by throwing a morsel on the ground. They will
not eat kachchi or pakki from any one but a clansman. They say they
were once landholders; now they are only tenants, and some work as
labourers and makers of mats.

Gurkha, Gorkha (gâu-raksha, “keepers of cows”).—The name for an
aggregate of various races who inhabit the numerous valleys
interspersed through the mountains of Nepâl. “The aboriginal
inhabitants appear from their physiognomy to be of Tartar or Chinese
origin, bearing no resemblance to the Hindu either in features,
religion, or manners. The period when the mountainous regions were
first invaded by the Hindus is uncertain; but according to the most
authentic traditions, the date is supposed to have been about the 14th
century. In the eastern part of the country the aboriginal tribes still
remain; and, until the predominance of the Gurkhas, they enjoyed
unmolested their customs and religion. But west of the Kâli river the
case is different, almost all the inhabitants claiming a descent from
Hindu colonists. They accordingly consist chiefly of the two superior
classes of Hindus, Brâhmans, and Kshatriyas, with their various
sub-divisions. East of the Kâli the tribes which possessed the country
were chiefly (1) Magars, who occupied the lower hills in the western
parts, and are at present enlisted by the Gurkha sovereigns, composing
a great majority of their troops; (2) the Gurungs, a pastoral tribe;
(3) the Newârs, an industrious people, following agriculture and
commerce, and more advanced in the mechanical arts than the other
mountain tribes; (4) the Dhenwârs and Mânjhis, the husbandmen and
fishers of the western districts; (5) the Bhotiyas; (6) the Bhanras, a
sept which branched off from the Newârs; (7) the Jariyas.” [491]


DISTRIBUTION OF THE GURKHAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ===========+=======
    Districts. |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Agra       |     1
    Allahâbâd  |   262
    Jhânsi     |     9
    Gorakhpur  | 1,056
               +~~~~~~~
        Total  | 1,328
    ===========+=======


Gusâîn; Gosâîn [492]—(Sanskrit gosvâmin, “lord of cows,” or “one who is
master of his senses or organs”).—A term which is often used in an
uncertain sense. Thus in the Panjâb Mr. Maclagan [493] writes:—

“The term may, roughly speaking, be said to denote an ascetic of any
order, but with a slight implication that the ascetic is a man of some
standing and influence. This, however, is by no means the universal
meaning of the term; it is often used for a Sannyâsi and as often for a
Bairâgi; not unfrequently it seems to denote a separate order different
from either; and often the Brâhmans alone are considered entitled to be
called Gosâins. On the whole, the commonest use of the word appears to
be that which refers to the Bairâgis, who are of high caste, such as
the Brâhmans.”

2. It would seem that in this part of India the term Gusâîn is
generally restricted to the spiritual descendants of the famous Sankar
Achârya. The common account is that Sankar Achârya had four disciples,
Sarûpa Achârya, Padma Achârya, Naratroka Achârya, and Prithi Udra
Achârya. The first, Sarûpa, was sent by the master towards Dwârika, and
he had two disciples, Tîrtha and Asrama. Nanda Brahmachâri was their
teacher. These Gosâîns do not wear sewed clothes, and have garments
dyed in ochre. They will not eat kachchi cooked by any caste except
Brâhmans, but will accept pakki from Banyas, Kâyasths, and the like.
They do not pass more than one night in ordinary villages, but may stay
three nights at regular places of pilgrimage. Their chief sacred places
are Benares, Ajudhya, and Mathura. They do not touch with their hands
any kind of metal, nor do they cook their own food, because they are
prohibited from touching fire. They do not use intoxicating liquors or
tobacco, and do not eat fish or meat of any kind. They carry a begging
bowl (kamandal), wear a rosary of rudrâksha seeds, and smear their
faces with ashes (bhabhût). They specially worship Nârâyana, and admit
none but Brâhman initiates. They bury their dead. A grave is dug with a
niche towards the south, in which an alms bowl is placed. The face of
the corpse is turned towards the niche, and the body is covered with an
ochre-coloured cloth. The grave is filled up with salt and a pot (nâd)
placed at the top, which is covered with an earthen mound (samâdh).
There are no further death ceremonies, except that after a year or two
a feast (bhandâr) is given to the brethren.

3. The second disciple, Padma Achârya, had two disciples, Vana and
Aranya, and Chetan Brahmachâri was their teacher. Their mode of life is
like that of the Tîrtha and Asrama, but some of them have some property
in Gonda and Bahrâich, which was granted to them by one of the Mughal
Emperors.

4. Naratroka had three disciples, Parvata, Giri, and Sâgara, and their
teacher was Sarûpa Brahmachâri. The Barua, who are found in the
Rohilkhand Districts, are said to be connected with these.

5. Prithi Udra Achârya is said to have had three disciples, Ahoni,
Bhârati, and Giri.

6. These ten sections, which are generally given as Tîratha, Asrama,
Vana, Aranya, Sârasvati, Puri, Bhârati, Giri, Parvata, and Sâgara,
constitute what is known as the Dasnâmi Gusâîns. The last Census
classes under the head Gusâîn the Brindabani, Dasnâmi, Gauriya,
Gokulastha, Niranjani, Râdhavallabhi, which have been separately
discussed.

7. Gusâîns are both ascetics and family men; the former are generally
known as Kutichâr, Asandhâri, or Mathdhâri, and the latter Grihastha.
The head of the ascetic branch is called a Mahant, and he is generally
appointed by the votes of his disciples (Chela). [494]

Mr. Sherring [495] describes the mode of initiation as follows:—

“The candidate is generally a boy, but may be an adult. At the
Sivarâtri festival water brought from a tank in which an image has been
deposited is applied to the head of the novitiate, which is thereupon
shaved.

“The Guru or spiritual guide whispers to the disciple a sacred text
(mantra). In honour of the event all the Gusâîns in the neighbourhood
assemble together, and give their new member their blessing; and a
sweetmeat called laddu, made very large, is distributed among them. The
novitiate is now regarded as a Gusâîn, but he does not become a perfect
one until the Vijaya Homa has been performed, at which a Gusâîn famous
for religion and learning gives him the original mantra of Siva. The
ceremony generally occupies three days at Benares. On the first day,
the Gusâîn is again shaved, leaving a tuft on the head (Chundi sikha).
For that day he is considered a Brâhman, and is obliged to beg at a few
houses. On the second day he is held to be a Brahmachâri, and wears
coloured garments and also the sacred cord (janeû). On the third day
the janeû is taken from him and the headlock cut off. The mantra of
Siva is made known to him, and also the Rudri Gâyatri (not the usual
one daily pronounced by Brâhmans). He is now a full Gusâîn or
Vanaprasta, is removed from other persons, and abandons the secular
world. Henceforth he is bound to observe all the tenets of the Gusâîns.
The complete Gusâîns who have performed the ceremony of the Vijaya Homa
are celibates. It is customary, therefore, for men not to perform it
until they are forty or fifty years of age, as it involves the
abandonment of their wives and families.”

Among the trading Gusâîns the Mahant of Mirzapur, who belongs to the
Giri section, was for a long time notorious among the merchants of
Northern India. Such Gusâîns have practically abandoned all claim to
living a religious life, and exercise no priestly functions. When a
Mahant dies his corpse is taken in a sitting posture to the Ganges,
where it is bathed and barley is sprinkled over it. It is then inclosed
in a stone coffin, which is taken on a barge to the middle of the
river, and consigned to the sacred water.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE DASNÂMI GUSÂÎNS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+========
      Districts.  |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
    Dehra Dûn     |     158
    Sahâranpur    |       5
    Muzaffarnagar |   1,119
    Meerut        |   5,083
    Bulandshahr   |   2,271
    Aligarh       |     996
    Agra          |   1,124
    Farrukhâbâd   |     399
    Mainpuri      |   1,159
    Etâwah        |     277
    Etah          |   1,315
    Bareilly      |   4,023
    Bijnor        |     667
    Budâun        |   2,755
    Morâdâbâd     |   2,018
    Shâhjahânpur  |   1,483
    Pilibhît      |   1,522
    Cawnpur       |   1,335
    Fatehpur      |     709
    Bânda         |     296
    Hamîrpur      |     438
    Allahâbâd     |   1,061
    Jhânsi        |     279
    Jâlaun        |     377
    Lalitpur      |      25
    Benares       |   1,899
    Mirzapur      |   4,258
    Jaunpur       |   3,638
    Ghâzipur      |   2,891
    Ballia        |   3,804
    Gorakhpur     |   7,010
    Basti         |   2,693
    Kumâun        |   2,944
    Tarâi         |     724
    Lucknow       |     738
    Unâo          |   2,289
    Râê Bareli    |   2,521
    Sîtapur       |   4,414
    Hardoi        |   1,128
    Kheri         |   3,631
    Faizâbâd      |   5,371
    Gonda         |  11,478
    Bahrâich      |   3,634
    Sultânpur     |   2,048
    Partâbgarh    |   1,307
    Bârabanki     |   4,006
                  +~~~~~~~~
           Total  | 103,320
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
        Males     |  55,347
        Females   |  47,973
    ==============+========









H


Habashi; Habshi—(Arabic habash, “to collect or congregate”).—A general
term for all persons of Abyssinian, Kâfir, or negro blood. They are
Muhammadans. Their sections, according to the complete Census lists,
show a curious mixture. Beside the Chauhân section we have purely
Muhammadan names, such as Abbâsi, Hanafi, Sayyid, and Shaikh.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE HABASHIS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======
      Districts.  |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Morâdâbâd     |     14
    Cawnpur       |     10
    Gorakhpur     |      1
    Lucknow       |    163
    Râê Bareli    |      5
    Bahrâich      |      1
                  +~~~~~~~
         Total    |    194
    ==============+=======


Hâbûra. [496]—A vagrant thieving tribe found chiefly in the Central
Ganges-Jumna Duâb. The derivation of the name is very uncertain. It
possibly means a “bugaboo” (hawwa, which is probably through the
Prakrit the representative of the Sanskrit bhûta “an evil spirit”),
expressive of the fear in which they are held by their neighbours.
Ethnologically the Hâbûras are no doubt very closely connected with the
regular gypsy tribes of Sânsiya and Bhâtu; in fact there seems reason
to believe that these have only become quite recently endogamous
groups, and even now it is asserted that they occasionally marry.
Though the Hâbûras are now in much a superior grade to the Beriyas, who
live by prostituting their women, both the tribes have the same
traditional connection with the old ruined city of Noh-khera to the
north of Pargana Jalesar, in the Etah District, and many of the gangs
who traverse that part of the country make their way to Noh-khera
during the rainy season and there arrange marriages and other caste
matters in a series of general tribal councils.

[Legends of origin.] 2. According to one story their ancestor was a
certain Rig who one day went out hunting and pursued a hare into the
forest retreat then occupied by Sîta in her exile. She was so offended
at the intrusion, that she cursed him that all his descendants were to
be wanderers and live by the chase. By another account they were once
Chauhân Râjputs who lived at Jartauli in the Aligarh District. They
rebelled against the Emperor, and Alâ-ud-dîn sent a force to coerce
them. They were defeated, and most of them had to take refuge in the
jungle, where they lived on the game they killed. Meanwhile some of
their brethren compromised with the Emperor and returned to their
homes. They ascertained that one of their wild kinsmen had died, so
they went to see his widow become sati. When she was brought out she
saw a hare and immediately started after it with cries of hau! hau!
whence the tribe was called Hâbûra. The respectable Chauhâns were so
disgusted with her impiety that they excommunicated all the savage
branch of the tribe, and they have remained outcastes to the present
day.

[Tribal organization.] 3. They usually name four exogamous septs which
are all named after well-known Râjput tribes—Solanki Chauhân, Punwâr,
and Bhatti, also called Râthaur. The Census Returns give a list of
sections which illustrate the mixed elements out of which the caste has
been formed,—Ajudhyabâsi, Baddhik, Bahâdsiya, Bahâli, Bahâniya, Bâhas,
Banjâra, Banohra, Banwâr or Banwariya, Barchandi, Chauhân, Chiryamâr or
“bird-killers,” Dâli, Dom, Gauriya, Hindubalana, Jadwâr, Kalkanaur,
Kârgar or Kârigar, Khauna, Khaurkhâl, Lodh, Mardârbatti, Mârwâr,
Nahâli, Nandak, Phârli, and Tahali. These septs are exogamous. In
Bijnor they are said to have two endogamous sub-divisions: those who
wear a bead necklace (kanthi) and those who do not. According to
another account their only rule of exogamy is that they do not marry
blood relations, and it is very doubtful how far the sept system really
prevails. There is some reason to believe that all or at least some of
them practise a sort of group exogamy, not marrying in their own camp
or horde. They have a strong tribal council (panchâyat) under a
president (sardâr), who manages all caste business.

[Marriage.] 4. It is quite certain that up to modern times they were in
the habit of recruiting the clan by kidnapping girls of other castes;
since they have been placed under more careful supervision this has, it
is believed, in a great measure ceased, but there seems good reason to
believe, though the Hâbûras themselves are very reticent on the
subject, that they still introduce and marry in the tribe outcast women
of other castes. In Bijnor it is reported that people of other castes
introduced into the tribe in this way hold a lower social position than
the Hâbûras of legitimate descent. For a virgin bride the price fixed
by the tribal custom and payable by the father of the bridegroom is
twenty-five rupees, and he has also to pay the expenses of the marriage
feasting. The feeling against inter-tribal immorality appears to be
strong, and it is said that a man who seduces a married woman has to
pay as much as one hundred and twenty rupees before he will be
readmitted to caste. On the other hand the girls have considerable
liberty before marriage, and a faux pas is not very seriously dealt
with. Their women from their vagrant, mendicant life naturally bear an
indifferent character; but though not particularly virtuous, they are
not habitually prostituted by their male relatives as the Beriya women
are. Widows and divorced women are married in the tribe according to
the karâo or dharîcha form, and their children are regarded as
legitimate.

[Marriage ceremonies.] 5. The marriage is arranged by a go-between, who
is a member of the tribe and is called bichauliya. He takes two rupees
from the boy’s father to the father of the girl, and acceptance of this
constitutes the betrothal. If the relations of the bride break the
engagement they are fined from ten to twenty rupees by the tribal
council, and return the earnest money to the relations of the boy. The
marriage ritual is entirely carried out by the father of the girl and
the man who acted as marriage broker. No Brâhman is employed, and all
that is done is that the pair acknowledge in the presence of the
tribesmen that they are man and wife, and they then make five or seven
revolutions together round the marriage shed. In Etah a curious form of
marriage is reported. When the friends on both sides assemble, one of
the men mounts a horse and rides some distance on the plain close to
the camp. All the others, men and women, pursue him, and meanwhile the
bridegroom being left alone with the bride carries her into a grass hut
prepared for the purpose and immediately consummates the marriage. When
the friends return the event is celebrated with singing and dancing.
The ceremony at widow-marriage is the same as that prevailing among
other low castes.

[Birth.] 6. The mother during her confinement is attended by a midwife
of the Bhangi caste, and after that by the women of her own family.
They perform the usual sixth day ceremony (chhathi), and on the tenth
day the mother is taken to worship the well from which the family
supply of water is obtained. This is known as kuân pûja.

[Death ceremonies.] 7. Like the Beriyas, the Hâbûras are in the
intermediate stage between burial and cremation. In Mathura they either
cremate or throw the corpse into the Jumna. In Bijnor they either bury
or expose the corpse in the jungle. In no case is the Mahâbrâhman
called in. In Mathura when they cremate the dead they leave the ashes
where the corpse was burnt. They cover the corpse with cloth, tie it to
the bier, and fasten a number of wheaten cakes to it before they set
fire to the pyre. Then, on the next Monday or Thursday, whichever comes
first, the mourners are shaved and a dinner is given to those members
of the caste who joined in the funeral. On the twelfth day some
uncooked grain is given to Brâhmans and the brethren are feasted. Then,
in the month of Kuâr which next follows, on the date corresponding to
that of the death of the deceased, they do themselves a sort of srâddha
and pour water on the ground in the name of the dead. On this occasion,
too, uncooked grain is given to Brâhmans and the relatives are
entertained. In Aligarh, when they are well off and cremate the dead,
the relatives make an earthen platform on the site of the pyre, and
there they make periodical oblations in the name of the dead. From Etah
it is reported that when a man dies at home he is cremated, the bones
are buried on the spot, and a masonry platform erected over them. If a
man dies at a distance from home his bones are brought to one of the
regular camping places of the tribe, and are there buried as above
described. From the date of the burial of the bones the days of
mourning, including the Tîja or third day and the Terahwîn or
thirteenth, are fixed. The tombs of old men of the tribe are specially
venerated, and they are recognised as tribal godlings. When the bones
of an old and respected member of the tribe are being buried, the
senior man of the tribe who is present makes a sort of funeral oration
in which he dwells on the fact that the Hâbûras are the only really
free people in the country, as they are subject to none; and he thus
shows in detail how much superior they are even to Brâhmans and
Râjputs. Part of the speech is devoted to explaining one by one in what
respect other castes are inferior to them, and he ends by imploring
Parameswar that if it is fated that the soul of the dead man is to be
born again, he may be reborn as a Hâbûra.

[Religion.] 8. All the Hâbûras in these Provinces call themselves
Hindus; but, as we have seen, they accept little or no service from
Brâhmans. In Aligarh it is said that when a boy reaches the age of
twelve they initiate him before a Jogi and then begin to train him in
thieving. In Bijnor they usually worship Kâli Bhawâni. In Mathura they
have a local goddess, Kela Devi, to whom they make offerings in the
months of Kûar and Chait. These offerings are consumed by the
worshippers. But it is only on special occasions that they sacrifice a
buffalo or goat in her honour. This sacrifice is done at the house of
the person making the offerings; the goddess has no regular temple. The
victim is killed in her name, and the flesh distributed among the
relatives and friends. They celebrate the usual holidays—Salono, Holi,
Diwâli, and Dasahra. They never go to Gaya to propitiate the sacred
dead, but they bathe in the Ganges in their honour, and in Mathura
visit for the same purpose the temple of Dâûji.

[Social status and occupation.] 9. Like the Beriyas they appear to be
in a transitional stage as regards food. In Aligarh, it is reported
that they will eat almost any kind of food—the goh or iguana, the sânda
or lizard found in ûsar plains, the hedgehog, jackal, wild cat,
tortoise, buffalo, and deer; and that there are only four castes from
whose hands they will not take food—the Chamâr, Bhangi, Dhobi, and
Kalâr. They will not eat the cow or the donkey, and they have this much
respect for the cow that they will not geld an ox with their own hands.
It is also asserted that they do not drink spirits, which is almost
certainly incorrect. In Bijnor they drink spirits and eat pork, fowls,
the flesh of deer and goats, fish, the crocodile, jackal, and other
vermin, as well as the leavings of all respectable Hindus. They will
drink from the hands of all Hindus except Chamârs, Bhangis, Kanjars,
Sânsiyas, and the like. In Mathura they assert that they have given up
the use of vermin and eat the flesh of all cloven-footed animals,
except the cow, and fowls, and fish. As in other places, they will eat
the leavings of all high caste Hindus. The fact is that there are two
classes of Hâbûras: those who have settled down to agriculture and
become fairly respectable members of society, and those who still
preserve their vagrant mode of life. The former are gradually shedding
off the filthy habits and customs of their vagrant brethren under the
example of the Hindu castes by whom they are surrounded. By and by as
they become more civilised they will assert a descent from Râjputs, and
will, as they rise in the world, be accepted as such. From Etah it is
reported that if a member of the tribe commits an offence such as theft
or immorality, he is excommunicated for a certain time and is not
admitted until he draws blood from some part of his body, usually the
nose. Women are not allowed to eat goat’s flesh or rice, or to partake
in the funeral feasts. If any woman touches this food of the dead she
is expelled from the caste.

10. They do not use any medicine in disease but pray to Devi and Zâhir
Pîr. They attribute disease to the displeasure of their deceased
ancestors who have not been suitably propitiated. They have much fear
of the Evil Eye, and their remedy for it is to get a Faqîr or a Jogi to
blow on a vessel of water, which is then waved over the head of the
patient. In Aligarh if a woman is caught committing adultery with a
stranger to the tribe she is branded three times on the left arm with a
hot iron and has then to bathe in the Ganges, while her husband is
obliged to feast the brethren. Her paramour is not punished. When a boy
is born he is named on the tenth day by a Brâhman, who receives five
sers of grain. Then some wheat porridge is cooked with coarse sugar and
eaten only by the women. As a rule they are truthful among themselves,
but lie to others to procure the release of a clansman. Their oaths are
as follows:—The most binding is to light a lamp (chirâgh) and then blow
it out. By this he means,—“If I lie may my family be destroyed as I
blow out the light.” If a Hâbûra can be induced to take this oath, he
will never lie. Another is to cut the root of a pîpal tree. The third
is swearing by Devi.

[Criminal habits.] 11. The vagrant branch of the tribes supplies some
of the most audacious criminals in the Province. A recent report
says:—“They are the pest of the neighbourhoods which they frequent, are
continually pilfering, robbing standing crops, attacking carts and
passengers along the roads, committing robberies and even dakaities.”
It is preposterous to connect them, as has been done in this report,
with the Thârus, a particularly harmless, inoffensive race inhabiting
the Himalayan Tarâi. The boys are trained at first on field robbery,
and are then taken out on excursions for the purpose of burglary. When
they go to rob fields the gang consists of not less than twenty men.
When out for the purpose of burglary eight or nine go together. Unlike
the Sânsiyas the Hâbûras very seldom use violence except to save
themselves from arrest, and they never carry any weapons but bludgeons.
Mr. A. O. Hume [497] writes of them:—“They never worship Thâkurji
except in sickness or great misfortune, such as the visit of the Police
or of a Magistrate to their camp. At no time is their ritual a
complicated one; it consists of an extraordinary manipulation with
grains of wheat, the petitioners making at the same time a vow of
sacrificing a goat or a fowl, which is subsequently performed by half
roasting the offering in a flame of ghi in which salt and frankincense
are thrown, and then feasting upon it. If a crime has been committed
and traced to any horde, the chief immediately determines who are to be
given up. Usually a compromise is made with the Police; two out of six
or three out of eight are made over to justice, the rest escaping. All
the chief does is to repeat a form of words, and then taking two of the
grains of wheat offered to the god, he places them on the head of the
scapegoat. The oath of the brotherhood is upon him, and whether he be
guilty or not, he confesses to the Magistrate or Judge and goes to the
gallows or to a lifelong exile confident that his chief and brethren
will, as they are bound, feed and protect his wife and children that he
leaves behind even before their own. Marriage seems scarcely to be with
them a religious ceremony; it consists in placing four small coins in a
figure of diamond shape outside which a circle is drawn, and round this
the bride and bridegroom walk seven times.”

12. In Aligarh at the present day if a Hâbûra is killed in the
commission of any crime his accomplices give his widow one hundred and
fifty rupees; if he is only arrested they have to support his wife and
family until he is released. If an innocent man is convicted the real
offender has to support his wife and family while he is in prison. They
will not inform against each other; if anyone do so he is turned out of
the gang. Neither men nor women wear any jewellery. They do not go long
distances to commit crime, and in the daylight they can easily be
identified as Hâbûras, because both men and women wear the modicum of
clothes consistent with decency. They do not attempt to conceal their
movements from the Police; and if one of the gang be arrested, the
headman will at once give notice of the fact. The only stolen property
they bring into the camp is grain; jewellery, vessels, and clothes they
conceal in earthen vessels and bury them in the neighbourhood of the
encampment. They are generally supported by some landowner, who assists
them in the disposal of stolen property and gets a commission of four
annas in the rupee.

[Their argot.] 13. Hâbûras have a regular Thieves’ Latin of their own,
of which the following are examples:—


    Corn of all kinds—kau.
    Bread—tuk.
    Mother—ai.
    Father—bâbu.
    Son—dikra.
    Daughter—dikri.
    Wife—dhaniyâni.
    Husband—dhanni.
    Son-in-law—pahuna (guest).
    Vessels of all kinds—tanwara.
    Clothes—lugariya.
    Shoes—khakra.
    Bullock—dhanda.
    Cow—jengariya.
    Go from here—paro hind.
    Run away—nasija.
    Policemen—kapâhi.
    Police officer—Mota modhana.


[Schemes of reformation.] 14. A full account of the measures taken from
time to time with a view to the reclamation of the tribe will be found
in the report by Mr. D. T. Roberts appended to the report of the Police
Commission of 1890. In the Etah District they have been brought under
the operations of the Criminal Tribes Act but without much success, as
the only persons subjected to the Act were the settled branch of the
tribe who are, as a rule, comparatively harmless. A scheme for their
colonisation in the Morâdâbâd District seems to have met with
comparatively small success.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE HÂBÛRAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ======================
      Districts. |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Sahâranpur   |      2
    Aligarh      |    868
    Mathura      |    731
    Agra         |      4
    Farrukhâbâd  |     46
    Mainpuri     |    232
    Etâwah       |    189
    Etah         |    224
    Bareilly     |      1
    Morâdâbâd    |     26
    Shâhjahânpur |    113
    Pilibhît     |     42
    Mirzapur     |      1
    Lucknow      |      2
    Sîtapur      |    112
    Hardoi       |      1
    Kheri        |      2
                 +~~~~~~~
           Total |  2,596
    =============+=======


Halwâi. [498]—The confectioner class. They are often confounded with
the Kându, who is properly a grain parcher, though he also deals in
sweetmeats. These two castes are, however, totally distinct, and do not
intermarry. The Halwâi takes his name from halwa, a sweetmeat made of
flour, clarified butter, and sugar, coloured with saffron and flavoured
with almonds, raisins, and pistachio nuts.

[Internal structure.] 2. There are a number of endogamous sub-castes,
which are some of territorial origin and others which are possibly
recruited from other Hindu tribes who have taken to the occupation of
making sweetmeats. The last Census gives the Kanaujiya as their only
important sub-caste; and among those of local importance, the Kaithiya
of Farrukhâbâd, Shâhjahânpur, and Cawnpur; the Bharsiya of Mirzapur;
the Jaiswâr of Faizâbâd; the Godhiya of Gonda, and the Pachhwâhân or
“Western” of Bahrâich. According to the complete lists the Halwâis are
peculiar for the very large number of sections derived from local towns
and places. Thus we have the Ablapuriya, Ahalpuriya, Ajudhyabâsi,
Akhpuriya, Alamnagari, Alipuriya, Amalpuriya, Amritpuriya, Asodpuriya,
Audhiya, Aurangâbâdi, Balipuriya, Bargpuriya, Bhikhpuriya, Bilupuriya,
Chandpuriya, Chaurâsiya, Drigpuriya, Dûbêpuriya, Hâjipuriya,
Hâzirpuriya, Illahâbâdi, Imdâdnagari, Indauriya, Islâmpuriya,
Jagatpuriya, Jaypuriya, Jajapuriya, Janakpuriya, Jaunpuriya, Kanaujiya,
Khairâbâdi, Khurâsâni, Mahâbâdi, Mainpuriya, Makhdûmpuriya,
Maqsûdâbâdi, Mangalpuriya, Misrikha, Muhammadâbâdi, Muradâbâdi,
Naurangâbâdi, Nimkhâr, Pachhwâhân, Purabiya, Rajauriya, Ramnagari,
Rasûlpuriya, Rustamnagariya, Saksena, Sarwariya, Siupuriya,
Siurâjpuriya, Shâhjahânpuriya, Siyâmpuriya, Sribâstam, Tâjpuriya,
Tikaitganji, Tilokpuriya, Uttarâha. Those that suggest a connection
with other castes are not numerous, such as Kaithiya, Kalwâr,
Mehtariya, Sunarha, Sûrajbansi. To the east of the Provinces we find
the Kanaujiya (who take their origin from Kanauj): Kalwâr possibly
recruited from the distiller caste: Madhesiya (residents of the middle
land) (Madhya desa): Madhubansi (“sons of sweetness”): Nipâliya or
Naipariya (from Nepâl). Mr. Sherring adds from Benares Pachpiriya,
Bauniwâla, Gonr, Tihara, and Lakhnawa (from Lucknow). Sir H. M. Elliot
gives Chailha, Bukarra, Dûbê, Kanaujiya, and Tilbhûnja or “parchers of
sesamum.” All these tribes are endogamous. Mr. Sherring asserts that in
Benares the Kanaujiya intermarry with the Madhesiya; but this seems
very doubtful. But within these endogamous tribes they have a most
elaborate system of exogamous groups known as bâni. [499] Those persons
who belong to the same bâni cannot intermarry. These groups seem to be
territorial, and many of them have a mnemonic verse attached to them, a
few of which are given to illustrate a curious variety of intertribal
exogamy:—


    Nâth kê sarna.
    Tu Samai ati kê dân.
    Nangen kapara, bhûkhê bhât.
    Biswanâth ke larua chârhawa.
    Siva Kâsi men darsan pâwê.
    Madhesiya baithê na pâwê.
    Thân Benares.


“Under the protection of the Lord! You Samai are very charitable.
Garments for the naked, boiled rice for the hungry. Offer laddu
sweetmeats to Viswanâth (Siva, “Lord of the Universe”). Pay your vows
to Siva at Benares. Let not one of the Madhesiya sub-caste sit with
you. Head-quarters of the Bâni—Benares.”


    Larkharê khambh.
    Pât Sinh takht banâwa:
    Baithak tanâwa.
    Thân Karwati.


“Pillars tremble. Pât Sinh made a seat; arranged a resting place.
Head-quarters Karwati.”


    Madhu ki chori:
    Bîch ban.
    Thân Kandawa.


“The robbery of the honey in the midst of the jungle. Head-quarters
Kandawa.”


    Batya men kai singhor:
    Kutamban kai bator.
    Jo ban kai sarbar karai,
    Batan Sâhu kai khûnta sarai.
    Thân Bishal.


“Under the Singhora tree on the way is the gathering of the kinsmen. If
any one discuss the Bâni, the pillar of the house of Batan, the
merchant decays. Head-quarters Bishal.


    Chhot mot ghorawa:
    Barakai lagâm.
    Jhamai charh gayê chhuri bhûri:
    Ramai Padârath.
    Thân Anguri.


“The horse is small and fat; the rein is long. On it quickly Jhamai
mounted. Ramai Padârath. Head-quarters Anguri.”


    Khânrê kâ bhusaul:
    Mirich chabena.
    Thân Nagar Mahai.


“A chaff store house for sugar. Parched grain of chillies.
Head-quarters Nagar Mahai.


    Amrit kai biro:
    Pratham dân, pratham puniya.
    Thân Chunârgarh.


“A tree of the water of immortality: the first gift, the chief merit.
Head-quarters Chunâr Fort.”


    Chhânabê parwar.
    Khâra samundar.
    Thân Sudhawai.


“Ninety-six families, the Salt Ocean. Head-quarters Sudhawai.”


    Sonê sobhawa:
    Rûpê ardâs.
    Thân Kheli.


“The beauty of gold, the desire of silver. Head-quarters Kheli.”


    Sonê kai kharâun:
    Dupahar Kanhaiya,
    Dupahar râo.
    Thân Lachhagir, Amawa, Barwar.


“Bathing sandals of gold: for two watches like Krishna: for two watches
a king. Head-quarters Lachhagir, Amawa, Barwar.”


    Sone kai sinkâr
    Bandi chhor.
    Thân Kursath.


“A chain of gold and a gold ornament for the head. Head-quarters
Kursath.”


    Sone kai diya,
    Rûpê kai bâti
    Châr pahar barê din râti.
    Thân Dospur.


“A golden lamp with a silver wick. Four watches of night and day.
Head-quarters Dospur.”


    Sabhâdhar Pandit.
    Sabarnê kai harwa:
    Phûlê kai mâla gayê jhuriya.
    Birtiha Bâbhan bhojan karai.
    Barê gayê byâh kar lâyê.
    Sonê rûpê kai kalas dharâyê.
    Thân Kantit.


“The Pandit Sabhâdhar; a gold chain for the neck. The flower garlands
have withered. Feed the hereditary priest. He went to marry and
returned successful and laid down the sacred marriage pitchers of
silver and of gold. Head-quarters Kantit.”


    Lohai kai karâhi.
    Kâthê kai dâb:
    Phûte na karâhi,
    Tûte na dâb.
    Thân Kârê.


“The iron boiling pan and the wooden pounder. May the pan never crack
and the pounder never break. Head-quarters Kârê.”


    Kanchan bâri:
    Tansu Mansu;
    Thân Jhânsi:
    Parwar Santokh:
    Thân Manach.


“Lumps of gold: Tansu Mansu: head-quarters Jhânsi: the Santokh family:
head-quarters Manach.”


    Eklakhi pâkar
    Tekarê âgê chalê ghana nishân:
    Thân Nauganwa.


“The fig tree worth a lâkh of rupees before which the drums sound and
the flags flutter. Head-quarters Nauganwa.”


    Eklakhi pâkar
    Pharê to khaiyân:
    Nahîn to chhâhen jurayan.
    Thân Kantit.


“The fig tree worth a lâkh of rupees. Eat of it when it fruits,
otherwise refresh yourself under its shade. Head-quarters Kantit.”


    Ataiya bataiyân
    Dharê Kându ki maiyya.
    Thân Rîsal.


“Sharers catch the mother of the Kându. Head-quarters Rîsal.”


    Bânh pangar:
    Dûhê kai sad dhâr.
    Bhîm, Bhîmai mal.
    Thân Karê.


“Powerful arms: a hundred streams of milk. Bhîm, Bhîmai and Mal.
Head-quarters Karê.”


    Bhar karai, bhar karawa:
    Chhitan sâhu pîal bhar tharwa.
    Thân Bharthara.


“Chhitan, the merchant drank a full dish, a small cupful and a large
cup. Head-quarters Bharthara.”


    Dûî khairai kai musâr.
    Jabarê marê, dûbarê pratipâl karai.
    Thân Benares.


“Pestle made of two acacia trees. Beat the strong, protect the weak.
Head-quarters Benares.”

What the exact meaning of some of these verses may be it is not easy to
determine. The places designated are all to the east of the Province or
in the adjoining Districts of Bengal. In many of them some ancestor of
the exogamous group seems to be designated: others may be of totemistic
origin. Among the city Halwâis of Lucknow these groups have
disappeared, and their rule of exogamy is that marriage within seven
degrees of paternal and maternal kinship is forbidden.

[Marriage rules.] 3. The age for marriage runs from five to twelve, and
the better-off members of the caste marry their daughters in infancy.
One of the clansmen acts as negotiator (agua). It is forbidden to marry
again during the lifetime of the first wife without leave of the tribal
council. The levirate is permitted and prevails generally, but it is
not enforced on the widow, and her right to select a second partner is
recognised. [500] Marriage is as usual of three forms: shâdi or
charhauwa, the respectable ritual; dola, that used by poor people, and
sagâi for widows. In the first the worshipping of the bridegroom’s feet
(pairpûja) by the father of the bride and the smearing of vermilion
(sendurdân) on the parting of the bride’s hair are regarded as the
binding part of the ceremony, which goes through the usual states of
betrothal (barrekhi) and fixing of the marriage day (lagan). Then comes
a special ceremony called “the touching of the grain” (anâj chhûna); at
a lucky time fixed by the Pandit they send for some urdi pulse and
gram, and the women begin to grind it. During this ceremony no widow or
woman married by sagâi is allowed to be present. Then follows the
singing (gitgauna), when the women commence the marriage songs, and
next comes the matmangara, when some earth is collected and brought
into the marriage shed, when all the women get some sweets and oil for
their hair. Then follows the anointing (tel hardi), and on the day
before the procession starts the clansmen are fed (bhatwân), while the
father and mother of the bridegroom do the mâtri or mantri pûja, which
is an emblematical remarriage. Their clothes are tied together by the
Brâhman, their feet stained with dye (mahâwar), and they worship an
image of the nine planets (naugraha) made of cow-dung. At the bride’s
door the duâr pûja is done in the usual way. The clansmen are then fed,
and some food is sent from the bride’s house for the bridegroom. While
he eats it the barber rubs his father’s feet with a mixture of barley
flour and turmeric known as chîkas, and the clansmen are given a
mixture of sugar and pepper dissolved in water (mirchwân) to drink. On
the day after the marriage (barhâr) the boy is solemnly fed on rice and
pulse (khichari). When the bride arrives at her husband’s house,
Gangaji, Sati and Mahâdeva are worshipped, and on the fourth day
(chauthi) the bride’s father sends a present of rice, sweetmeats,
butter, clothes, etc., out of which part is set aside as an offering to
the godlings (deota). This is known as bujhwat.

[Birth and Death.] 4. When a woman is in the eighth month of pregnancy
the athwânsa ceremony is performed. Husband and wife are dressed in new
clothes and five kinds of butter cakes and five varieties of fruits in
season are placed in her cap. The other ceremonies are the ordinary
type. When a boy is five or six years old the ceremonial shaving
(mûnran) and ear piercing (kanchhedan) are done at some shrine, such as
that of the Vindhyabâsini Devi at Bindhâchal. This marks the boy’s
initiation into caste privileges, and from that time he is bound to
conform to the tribal rules regarding food.

[Religion.] 5. They have both a Hindu and a Muhammadan branch. Hindu
Halwâis are rarely initiated into any of the recognised sects, but are
by preference Vaishnavas. Their clan deities are Mahâdeva, Hardiya or
Hardaur and the Pânchonpîr, among whom Ghâzi Miyân is most regarded. He
is worshipped on the ninth of Kuâr with cakes (bara), urad pulse,
boiled rice, bread, and a goat is sacrificed. These offerings are
placed on seven stones near the family shrine. Mahâbîr and Mahâdeva are
propitiated with sweets (laddu), fried gram (ghunghuri), and sweet
cakes in the month of Sâwan. When a child is attacked with small-pox a
pice is waved round its head and put behind its pillow: a pit is dug in
the ground and sharbat prepared of five different fruits is poured into
it, and Sîtala Mâta worshipped with an offering of sweets (batâsha),
fried gram (ghunghuri), and garlands of flowers. Their priests used to
be of the special class of Brâhmans known as Kinnara Misra, but these
have now taken to music as their profession, and have fallen into
disrepute. Their place has been taken by ordinary Sarwariya Brâhmans.

[Occupation and social standing.] 6. Making of confectionery is the
special business of the caste, but some have taken to agriculture and a
good many to money-lending and other mercantile business like Banyas.
Their women, who often manage their shops, have in some places an
equivocal reputation. But they enjoy a character for personal purity.
Brâhmans will take water from their hands, and all Hindus, except the
Sarwariya Brâhmans, will eat pûris or cakes of wheaten dough fried by
them in melted butter. They nearly all indulge in spirits. They eat the
flesh of goats and sheep, but more particularly that of animals which
have been offered in sacrifice. They eat food cooked with butter
(pakki), cooked by Brâhmans, Kshatriyas and all respectable Vaisyas
excepting Kalwârs. Food cooked in water (kachchi) they will eat only
when prepared by members of their own caste or by their priests. Only
Chamârs and other menial castes will eat their leavings. The Achârwâla
or preparer of pickles, jams, etc., is generally an independent
Musalmân trader, not a Muhammadan Halwâi, as seems to be the case in
Bengal. [501] In the eastern parts of the Province the Hindu Halwâi
often makes jams and condiments (chatni).


DISTRIBUTION OF HALWÂIS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

==============+============================+============+============
              |         Hindus.            |            |
  Districts.  +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+Muhammadans.|Grand Total.
              |Kanaujiya.| Others.|  Total.|            |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dehra Dûn     |    ...   |      8 |      8 |     ...    |         8
Sahâranpur    |    ...   |   ...  |   ...  |    2,164   |     2,164
Muzaffarnagar |    ...   |      1 |      1 |    1,858   |     1,859
Meerut        |    ...   |    ... |    ... |      317   |       317
Bulandshahr   |    ...   |    ... |    ... |      191   |       191
Aligarh       |    ...   |    ... |    ... |       32   |        32
Mathura       |    ...   |      4 |      4 |        1   |         5
Agra          |    ...   |    ... |    ... |        7   |         7
Farrukhâbâd   |    100   |  1,167 |  1,267 |       93   |     1,360
Mainpuri      |    ...   |    176 |    176 |     ...    |       176
Etâwah        |      3   |    185 |    188 |        9   |       197
Etah          |    ...   |    ... |    ... |      219   |       219
Bareilly      |    ...   |     13 |     13 |      328   |       341
Bijnor        |    ...   |    ... |    ... |    1,634   |     1,634
Budâun        |    ...   |    129 |    129 |      115   |       244
Morâdâbâd     |    ...   |    ... |    ... |      518   |       518
Shâhjahânpur  |     44   |    444 |    488 |      409   |       897
Pilibhît      |    ...   |     78 |     78 |      220   |       298
Cawnpur       |  1,086   |  2,170 |  3,256 |       35   |     3,291
Fatehpur      |  1,286   |    304 |  1,590 |     ...    |     1,590
Bânda         |    615   |    317 |    932 |     ...    |       932
Hamîrpur      |    ...   |     79 |     79 |     ...    |        79
Allahâbâd     |    672   |  2,425 |  3,097 |      797   |     3,894
Jhânsi        |    ...   |      1 |      1 |     ...    |         1
Jâlaun        |    ...   |      5 |      5 |      30    |        35
Benares       |  3,658   |    624 |  4,282 |       7    |     4,289
Mirzapur      |  7,127   |    642 |  7,769 |       2    |     7,771
Jaunpur       |  5,408   |    608 |  6,016 |     193    |     6,209
Ghâzipur      |  1,350   |    124 |  1,474 |     ...    |     1,474
Ballia        |    185   |    438 |    623 |     ...    |       623
Gorakhpur     |  2,781   |    378 |  3,159 |       64   |     3,223
Basti         |  2,598   |    110 |  2,708 |      252   |     2,960
Azamgarh      |  2,610   |    943 |  3,553 |       30   |     3,583
Tarâi         |    ...   |    ... |    ... |      103   |       103
Lucknow       |    784   |  2,868 |  3,652 |      560   |     4,212
Unâo          |  1,757   |  1,839 |  3,596 |       49   |     3,645
Râê Bareli    |    689   |    894 |  1,583 |      458   |     2,041
Sîtapur       |  2,224   |  1,345 |  1,569 |    2,794   |     4,363
Hardoi        |     50   |  1,915 |  1,965 |       39   |     2,004
Kheri         |     79   |    476 |    555 |    2,880   |     3,435
Faizâbâd      |  1,922   |    645 |  2,567 |      273   |     2,840
Gonda         |    965   |    853 |  1,818 |    1,976   |     3,794
Bahrâich      |    107   |    789 |    896 |    5,362   |     6,258
Sultânpur     |    895   |    515 |  1,410 |      198   |     1,608
Partâbgarh    |    973   |     99 |  1,072 |    1,154   |     2,226
Bârabanki     |    446   |  2,677 |  3,123 |    6,173   |     9,296
              +~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~
       Total  | 38,414   | 26,288 | 64,702 |   31,544   |    96,246
==============+==========+========+========+============+===========


Hâra.—A famous Râjput sept which is now represented only in small
numbers in these Provinces. They trace their descent to the mythical
cow Kamdhenu, from whose bones (hâr) they say that they were produced.
The founder of the sept was Ishta Pâla, a descendant of Mânik Râê, King
of Ajmer, who in A.D. 685 “sustained the first shock of the Islâmite
arms.” Ishta Pâla was wounded in battle with the invading force of
Mahmûd of Ghazni. “His limbs which lay dissevered, as the story goes,
were collected by Sûra Bâi; and the goddess sprinkling them with the
water of life, he arose. Hence the name Hâra, which his descendants
bore from the bones (hâr) thus collected; but more probably from having
lost (hâra) Asi.” There are nineteen eponymous clans, of which Colonel
Tod gives a list. [502]

Hardoi.—A sub-caste of Banyas who take their name from the district of
that name.


DISTRIBUTION OF HARDOI BANYAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    =============+=========
     Districts.  | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~
    Farrukhâbâd  |      4
    Shâhjahânpur |    874
    Pilibhît     |     16
    Cawnpur      |      2
    Lucknow      |      3
    Sîtapur      |  4,220
    Hardoi       |  2,145
    Kheri        |  3,923
                 +~~~~~~~~~
          Total  | 11,187
    =============+=========


Harischandi.—A Vaishnava sect who take their name from the celebrated
Râja Haris Chandra, whose legend is thus told by Prof. Dowson:
[503]—“He was the twenty-eighth King of the Solar race and son of
Trisanku. He was celebrated for his piety and justice. There are
several legends about him. The Aitareya Brâhmana tells the story of his
purchasing Sunahsephas to be offered up as a vicarious sacrifice for
his own son. The Mahâbhârata relates that he was raised to the heaven
of Indra for his performance of the Râjasûya sacrifice and for his
unbounded liberality. The Mârkandeya Purâna expands the story at
considerable length. One day while Haris Chandra was hunting he heard
female lamentations, which proceeded from the Sciences, who were being
mastered by the austerely fervid sage Viswamitra, and were crying out
in alarm at his superiority. Haris Chandra, as defender of the
distressed, went to the rescue, but Viswamitra was so provoked by his
interference, that the Sciences instantly perished, and Haris Chandra
was reduced to a state of the most abject helplessness. Viswamitra
demanded the sacrificial gift due to him as a Brâhman, and the King
offered him whatever he might choose to ask—gold, his own son, wife,
life, kingdom, good fortune, whatever was dearest. Viswamitra stripped
him of wealth and kingdom, leaving him nothing but a garment of bark
and his wife and son. In a state of destitution he left his kingdom,
and Viswamitra struck Saibya, the queen, with his staff to hasten her
reluctant departure. To escape from his oppressor he proceeded to the
holy city of Benares, but the relentless sage was waiting for him and
demanded the completion of the gift. With bitter grief wife and child
were sold, and there remained only himself. Dharma, the god of justice,
appeared in the form of a hideous and offensive Chandâla and offered to
buy him. Notwithstanding the exile’s repugnance and horror, Viswamitra
insisted upon the sale, and Haris Chandra was carried off bound,
beaten, confused, and afflicted, to the abode of the Chandâla. He was
sent by his master to steal clothes from the graves in a cemetery. In
this horrid place and degrading work he spent twelve months. His wife
then came to the cemetery to perform the obsequies of her son, who had
died from the bite of a serpent. They recognised each other, and Haris
Chandra and his wife resolved to die upon the funeral pyre of their
son, though he hesitated to take away his own life without the leave of
his master. After all was prepared he gave himself up to meditation of
Vishnu. The gods then arrived headed by Dharma and accompanied by
Viswamitra. Dharma entreated him to refrain from his intention, and
Indra informed him that he, his wife, and son had conquered heaven by
their good works. Haris Chandra declared that he could not go to heaven
without the permission of his master the Chandâla. When this difficulty
was removed, Harischandra objected to go to heaven without his faithful
subjects. This request was granted by Indra, and after Viswamitra had
inaugurated Rohitaswa, the king’s son, to be his successor, Haris
Chandra, his friends and followers, all ascended in company to heaven.
There he was induced by the sage Nârada to boast of his merits, and
this led to his expulsion from heaven. As he was falling, he repented
of his faults and was forgiven. His downward course was arrested, and
he and his followers dwell in an aerial city, which, according to
popular belief, is still occasionally visible in mid air.”

2. The Harischandi Faqîrs follow the principles which Haris Chandra
taught his Dom master during the period of his servitude. Most of them
are Doms, and they are found in small numbers in these Provinces. They
appear to adopt merely a belief in Vishnu as the Creator of the
universe.

Harjala. [504]—A small tribe found only in Sîtapur and Kheri. According
to their own account of themselves they were once Guâl Ahîrs, and after
the capture of the fort of Chithor they were obliged to wander away in
the disguise of Jogis and other beggars. As they used to assume all
sort of disguises they were called Harcholiya (har, “every,” chola,
“body”), which was afterwards corrupted into Harjala. Another story
represents the word to be derived from the fact that they will drink
water from any one’s hand, (har, “every;” jal, “water”). They are
divided into three exogamous sections—Bahrâichi, Khairâbâdi, and
Lakhnawi, which take their names from their places of residence,
Bahrâich, Khairâbâd, and Lucknow. The Census Returns add Baranikali,
Brempuri, (possibly a corruption of Ibrahîmpuri), Guâlbans, and Lodh,
the last two of which would connect them in some way with Ahîrs and
Lodhas. They are all Hindus. Their occupation is begging in the
disguise of Jogis and other regular mendicants. They sing a special
song known as Sarwan, which is said to be originally a lament for the
Rishi Sarwan who was accidentally shot by Râja Dasaratha as he was
taking his blind father and mother slung in a basket over his shoulders
to a place of pilgrimage. The legend has been localised at a place
called Sarwan, in Pargana Maurânwân, of the Unâo District. [505] Some
of them keep buffaloes and sell ghi; others cultivate and live by
cutting grass and day labour.


DISTRIBUTION OF THE HARJALAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ============+=========
     Districts. | Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~
    Sîtapur     |  38
    Kheri       | 208
                +~~~~~~~~~
         Total  | 246
    ============+=========


Hayobans, Haihobans (said to be derived from haya-vansa, “the race of
the horse”).—A Râjput sept found in the Ballia district. They are of
the Lunar race and in the highest rank among the tribes of the
District. According to Sir H. M. Elliot [506]:—“Maheswati, the capital
of the Lunar Râjputs, in the Narbada valley, was founded by Sahesra
Arjuna, of the Hihya or Hayobans race. Their dynasty for fifty-two
generations was established at Ratanpur, in the Central Provinces. The
last of the dynasty, Râja Ragnâth Sinh, died about one hundred and ten
years ago. The Hayobans of Ballia claim descent from the Ratanpur
kings. Chandra Got, a cadet of this house, is said to have, in 850
A.D., migrated northwards and settled at Manjha, on the Ganges, now
included in the Sâran District, and waged successful war with the
aboriginal Cheros. After nearly a couple of hundred years his
descendants left Manjha and settled south of the Ganges at Bihiya,
where they remained for five centuries and subdued the Cheros.” In or
about 1528 A.D. the Râja Bhopat Deva, or perhaps one of his sons,
violated Maheni, a Brâhman woman of the house of the Purohit or family
priest of the Hayobans clan. She burnt herself to death, and in dying
imprecated the most fearful curses on the Hayobans race. After this
tragedy the clan left Bihiya, and passed beyond the Ganges to the
Ballia Pargana, where for a time they were located at Gâê Ghât, and
finally settled at Haldi, from which the Hayobans Râja now takes his
title. The tomb of Maheni, under a pîpal tree close to the Railway at
Bihiya, is still visited by women of every caste, who come in numbers
either to invoke her as a deified being or to offer oblations in
commemoration of her. None of them dares to enter Bihiya, which
contains the remains of their ancestors’ fort. They are more swarthy
than most Râjputs, and Mr. Carnegy suggests that they may have been
originally a Tamil race. [507]

2. These people may possibly be connected with the Haihya of the
Purânik lists. We read that they with the Jalajanghas, descendants of
Yadu, conquered King Bahu or Bahuka and were finally destroyed by
Sâgara. [508] A tribe of Haihayas still exists in the valley of
Sahajpur, who, according to Colonel Tod, are “aware of their ancient
lineage, and though few in numbers, are still celebrated for their
valour.” [509] Professor Wilson suggested their connection with the
Hia, Hoiei-ke, Hoieiha, and similarly denominated Hun or Turk Tribes,
who make a figure in Chinese History. “At the same time it is to be
observed that these tribes do not make their appearance until some
centuries after the Christian era, and the scene of their first
exploits is far from the frontier of India: the coincidence of
appellation may therefore be merely accidental. In the word haya, which
properly means ‘a horse,’ it is not impossible that we have
confirmatory evidence of the Scythian origin of the Haihyas.” [510]

Hijra, Mukhannas.—The class of eunuchs. In spite of the operations of
the Criminal Tribes Act (XXVII of 1871) these people are still found in
considerable numbers throughout the Province; but under the rigid
supervision to which they are now exposed their numbers are gradually
decreasing. Formerly when a deformed boy was born in a family the
Hijras of the neighbourhood used to beset the parents and endeavour to
obtain possession of him. This practice has now, of course, ceased.
Hijras divide the country into beats for the purposes of begging, and
none of them ventures to trespass in the beat of another. Most of them
wear a sort of female dress, and, as nearly all of them are
Muhammadans, they call themselves by Musalmân names such as Bari Begam,
Chhoti Begam, etc. They go about and attend marriage feasts and other
ceremonies. They play on the drum (dhol) and cymbals (manjîra). Their
death customs are the same as those of the low castes in their
neighbourhood. The Census Returns show that they have a considerable
number of women dependent on them.

2. The Census Returns give as sections of the so-called Hijra caste
some of purely Muhammadan origin, as Bani Hâshim, Khwâja, Khwâja Sarâi,
Khwâjazâd, Pathân, and Shaikh, with others of Hindu origin as Gangarâmi
and Tilokbans.


DISTRIBUTION OF HIJRAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

==============+===================+===================+=======
              |     Hindus.       |    Muhammadans.   |
  Districts.  +~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+ Total.
              | Males. | Females. | Males. | Females. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~
Sahâranpur    |  ...   |   ...    |  115   |   105    |  220
Muzaffarnagar |  ...   |   ...    |   21   |    12    |   33
Meerut        |  ...   |   ...    |   24   |     2    |   26
Bulandshahr   |  ...   |   ...    |    4   |     4    |    8
Aligarh       |  ...   |   ...    |    5   |   ...    |    5
Mathura       |  ...   |   ...    |    7   |   ...    |    7
Agra          |    1   |   ...    |   18   |   ...    |   19
Farrukhâbâd   |  ...   |   ...    |   12   |   ...    |   12
Mainpuri      |  ...   |   ...    |    6   |   ...    |    6
Etâwah        |  ...   |   ...    |   10   |   ...    |   10
Etah          |  ...   |   ...    |   11   |   ...    |   11
Budâun        |  ...   |   ...    |   25   |    10    |   35
Morâdâbâd     |  ...   |   ...    |   11   |   ...    |   11
Shâhjahânpur  |  ...   |   ...    |    8   |     7    |   15
Pilibhît      |  ...   |   ...    |    3   |   ...    |    3
Cawnpur       |    1   |   ...    |   28   |     1    |   30
Fatehpur      |  ...   |   ...    |   13   |     4    |   17
Bânda         |  ...   |   ...    |    9   |     6    |   15
Hamîrpur      |  ...   |   ...    |   11   |     1    |   12
Allahâbâd     |    2   |     3    |   26   |    15    |   46
Jhânsi        |  ...   |   ...    |    7   |   ...    |    7
Jâlaun        |  ...   |   ...    |    5   |   ...    |    5
Jaunpur       |  ...   |   ...    |    1   |     2    |    3
Ghâzipur      |  ...   |   ...    |   10   |     3    |   13
Ballia        |  ...   |   ...    |   15   |    13    |   28
Gorakhpur     |  ...   |   ...    |   16   |    11    |   27
Basti         |  ...   |   ...    |   27   |    32    |   59
Azamgarh      |  ...   |   ...    |   11   |     6    |   17
Lucknow       |  ...   |   ...    |   18   |   ...    |   18
Râê Bareli    |  ...   |   ...    |   44   |     9    |   53
Sîtapur       |  ...   |   ...    |   18   |   ...    |   18
Kheri         |  ...   |   ...    |   15   |   ...    |   15
Faizâbâd      |  ...   |   ...    |   28   |    20    |   48
Gonda         |  ...   |   ...    |    9   |     7    |   16
Bahrâich      |  ...   |   ...    |   34   |   ...    |   34
Sultânpur     |  ...   |   ...    |   82   |    65    |  147
Partâbgarh    |  ...   |   ...    |   40   |    34    |   74
Bârabanki     |  ...   |   ...    |    2   |   ...    |    2
              +~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~
       Total  |    4   |     3    |  749   |   369    |1,125
==============+========+==========+========+==========+=====


Hotri.—A functional sub-division of Brâhmans, “he that offers an
oblation or burnt offering.” His title and functions recall the animal
sacrifices of the Vedic age. “His business is to make the homa
offering, and to recite Vedic hymns at the opening of new temples, or
when large feasts are given to Brâhmans and sometimes in the private
houses of rich men. The last instance of a Vedic goat sacrifice, which
is the only form now allowed, that of the cow and horse being
prohibited, was performed in Benares about thirty years ago. The
account which I have received of it is as follows:—A certain Brâhman
from Southern India, who had inherited the charge of an eternal fire
from a remote and distinguished ancestry, had, through an inadvertence
for which he blamed himself, allowed the fire to go out. In order to
relight it and make a suitable atonement for the crime which he had
committed, he determined to celebrate a great sacrifice, and collected
from all the Hindu Râjas who could be induced to contribute, a sum of
about thirty thousand rupees for the purpose. The ceremony lasted for
twenty-one days. All this time Brâhmans were being fed in thousands,
offerings of homa were being thrown on the altar, and sacred words
(mantra) were repeated with each offering. The goat intended for the
sacrifice, which was to crown the work, was stalled in an enclosure set
apart for the sacrificial floor; and the greatest attention, amounting
almost to worship, was paid to it till the day of sacrifice came round.
As the goat was being led up to the altar, its neck was garlanded with
flowers, and red powder was showered on its head. The most learned and
distinguished Brâhmans who could be found were summoned from hundreds
of miles round to take part in this Vedic sacrifice. The spot on which
the goat was at last killed was screened off, so that no profane eye
might behold what the Brâhmans were doing, or witness the relighting of
the extinguished fire from the flame of the sacrifice. On receiving
this fire relighted, the man was taken to the Ganges to be bathed by
the Achârya or presiding priest; and such was the sanctity ascribed to
that part of the river where he had bathed, that almost the whole city
of Benares turned out to get a drop or two of water thrown at them by
the hands of the priest. It is said that no such sacrifice had been
performed before within the memory of any man living, nor is it
expected that such will ever be performed again.

2. “There is one more function left to the Hotri, which may be traced
back to the Vedic age, viz., the recitation of long passages from the
ancient hymn books. This is done at times when new temples are opened
or when large feasts are given to Brâhmans, and sometimes in the
private houses of rich men. A Hotri is sometimes employed by men who
are wealthy enough to engage his services to stand before an idol and
read extracts from the Veda on their behalf. Such repetition is placed
to the credit of the man who pays for it, and is believed to benefit
his soul in the life beyond the grave.” [511]

Hurkiya, Hurukiya.—A small tribe of musicians and pimps, attendants on
dancing girls, of whom some account has been given under the head
Tawâif. They are by religion Muhammadans. As sections, according to the
Census Returns, they recorded some of the other sub-castes of a similar
mode of livelihood, such as Kanchan and Paturiya; others connected with
higher castes, as Bâhamaniya, Kâchhi, and others of local origin, as
Bihariya from Bihâr, Kâlpi and Purabiya or “Easterns.”


DISTRIBUTION OF THE HURKIYAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

    ==============+=======
      Districts.  |Number.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
    Bulandshahr   |      6
    Aligarh       |      4
    Agra          |    105
    Farrukhâbâd   |    221
    Etâwah        |    432
    Jâlaun        |     33
                  +~~~~~~~
          Total   |    801
    ==============+=======


Husaini.—A class of so-called Brâhmans who take their name from the
Muhammadan saint Husain. In the Panjâb they are called Musalmân
Brâhmans, are found chiefly in the Delhi Division, and are said to
receive oblations in the name of Hindu gods from Hindus and in the name
of Allâh from Musalmâns. In Azamgarh they are described as half caste
Brâhmans and are also known as Bhanreriya, which is another term for
the Dakaut (q.v.). In Bombay they act as priests of the Bhangis.
According to Dr. Wilson they are found near Ahmadnagar, formerly the
seat of a Muhammadan dynasty. “They are half converts to the Muhammadan
faith, though they retain some of their Brâhmanical practices;
generally only intermarry among themselves. They ask alms both from
Muhammadans and Hindus.” Dr. Wilson suspects that their origin may have
been connected with the Brâhman to whom the Muhammadan founder of the
Brâhmani dynasty of the Dakkhin was so much indebted. [512]









NOTES


[1] Based on information collected at Mirzapur and notes received
through Mr. H. E. L. P. Dupernex, C.S., Azamgarh, and from Munshi
Chhedi Lâl, Deputy Inspector of Schools, Gorakhpur.

[2] Original Inhabitants of Bharatavarsa, 37, sqq.

[3] Chronicles of Unâo, 27.

[4] Settlement Report, 87, sq.

[5] Cunningham, Archæological Survey, XXII., 107.

[6] Buchanan, Eastern India, II., 379; Oldham, Memoir, I., 15–26.

[7] Elliott, Chronicles of Unâo, 26.

[8] Oldham, Memoir, I., 46.

[9] Hindu Tribes and Castes, I., 359, sqq.

[10] Chronicles of Unâo, 26; Lucknow Settlement Report, 62, 116. For
other instances see Sherring, loc. cit. I., 357, sqq.

[11] Oudh Gazetteer, Introduction, XXXV., sq.; Indian Antiquary, I.,
265, sq.; Clans of Râê Bareli, 2.

[12] Archæological Survey, XXI., 105; Census Report, North-West
Provinces, 1891, p. 220.

[13] I., 306.

[14] Archæological Survey, XI., 67.

[15] Mr. J. W. McCrindle, Indian Antiquary, VI., 339; XIII., 380.

[16] Supplemental Glossary, s.v.

[17] Journal Royal Asiatic Society, N. S., V., 376. On the Bharatas,
see Oppert, Original Inhabitants of Bharatavarsha, 578, sqq.

[18] Primitive Culture, I., 46.

[19] Oudh Gazetteer, Introduction, XXXV.

[20] Notes, 19.

[21] Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1877.

[22] Settlement Report, 33.

[23] See instances of this in Westermarck, History of Human Marriage,
496.

[24] On this see Westermarck, History of Human Marriage, 483, sq.

[25] A further account of him is given under Bind, 9.

[26] Oudh Gazetteer, I., 341.

[27] On this custom see Lubbock, Origin of Civilisation, 465; and
compare Korwa, para. 10.

[28] Based on local enquiries at Mirzapur and notes by the Deputy
Inspector of Schools, Bareilly and Agra, Mr. W. H. O’N. Segrave, Basti,
and Munshi Niyâz Ahmad, Fatehpur.

[29] Bombay Gazetteer, XVI., 60.

[30] Monograph on Trades and Manufactures, 76.

[31] Sultânpur Settlement Report, 178.

[32] Based on enquiries at Mirzapur and notes by Pandit Baldeo Prasâd,
Deputy Collector, Cawnpur; Bâbu Jay Gopal Banerji, Râê Bareli; Bâbu Mûl
Chand, Subordinate Judge, Konrh, Mirzapur; Bâbu Sânwal Dâs, Deputy
Collector, Hardoi.

[33] Risley, Tribes and Castes, I., 98.

[34] Central India, II., 132.

[35] For the immunity of the Bhâts compare that of the herald in
classical literature—Iliad, I., 334; Æschylus, Agamemnon, 498; Plato,
Laws, 941 A.

[36] North Indian Notes and Queries, July 1893.

[37] Based on enquiries at Mirzapur, and notes by Mr. E. Rose, C.S.,
Collector of Farrukhâbâd, and Munshi Chhotê Lâll, Archæological Survey,
Lucknow.

[38] Purchas, II., 1475, quoted in Hobson Jobson, s.v. Serai.

[39] Eastern India, II., 289.

[40] Travels, I., 86, Hobson Jobson, 615.

[41] Eastern India, loc. cit.

[42] Entirely based on a note by Munshi Atma Râm, Head Master, High
School, Mathura.

[43] Punjâb Ethnography, 297.

[44] Râjputâna Gazetteer, II., 170.

[45] Panjâb Ethnography, section 448.

[46] Râja Lachhman Sinh, Bulandshahr Memo., 162.

[47] Indian Antiquary, XIII., 361. General Cunningham takes Phyllitæ to
correspond to parna and to mean “leaf clad” like the Juangs up to the
present day. Dr. Oppert seems to consider Phyllitæ as derived from
Bhîl. Original Inhabitants of Bharatavarsa, 80, sq.

[48] Wheeler, History of India, I., 84, sq.; Westminster Review, 1868,
page 387.

[49] Captain Hunter, Journal Royal Asiatic Society, VIII., 181;
Malcolm, Central India, I., 526.

[50] Ibid., I., 519.

[51] Forsyth, Highlands of Central India, 172.

[52] Asiatic Studies, 160.

[53] Ibid., II., 180, sq.

[54] Bareilly Settlement Report, 19; Gazetteer, North-West Provinces,
V., 578, sq.

[55] I., 177, sqq.; III., 64, 114.

[56] Some account of Gûga, known also as Zâhir Diwân, will be found in
the Introduction to Popular Religion and Folklore, 133. At the last
Census 122,991 persons returned themselves as his votaries.

[57] For the Mahra Bhoksas mainly based on notes collected through Mr.
G. A. Tweedy, C.S., Dehra Dûn.

[58] Atkinson, Himalayan Gazetteer, II., 371: J. C. Nesfield, Calcutta
Review, LXXX., 41.

[59] Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal, XXXIV., II., 150.

[60] Elliot, Supplemental Glossary, s.v.

[61] Census Report, North-West Provinces, I., 321.

[62] Census Report, N.-W. P., 1865, I., Appendix 60, sqq.

[63] Ibbetson, Panjâb Ethnography, 115; C. F. Oldham, Contemporary
Review, XLVII., 412, sq.; Panjâb Notes and Queries, II., 181 sq.

[64] Ibbetson, loc. cit., 114.

[65] Atkinson, loc. cit. II., 833.

[66] Chiefly based on notes by Munshi Badri Nâth, Deputy Collector,
Kheri, and Munshi Mahadeo Prasâd, Head Master, Zillah School, Pilibhît.

[67] Panjâb Census Report, 1891, page 295, sq.

[68] Tribes and Castes, I., 28.

[69] Ibid.

[70] Calcutta Review, LXXVI., 82.

[71] Azamgarh Settlement Report, 27, sq.

[72] Ghâzipur Memo., I., 43.

[73] Supplementary Glossary, s.v.

[74] Oldham, ibid., I., 68, sqq.

[75] Hindu Tribes, I., 41, sq.

[76] These probably include a few of the Dravidian Bhuînhârs who were
not separately tabulated.

[77] For an account of the branch of the tribe who have lately become
notorious in Bengal, see Hunter, Orissa, II., 144.

[78] Dalton, Ethnology, 185.

[79] Tribes and Castes, I., 109, sq.

[80] Descriptive Ethnology, 140.

[81] Ibid., 147; also see Ball, Jungle Life, 267.

[82] Risley, Tribes and Castes, II., Appendix II.

[83] This is something like the custom of the Hos; but among them it is
the bride and bridegroom who pledge each other. Dalton, Descriptive
Ethnology, 193.

[84] Among the Bhuiyas of Bengal “the bridegroom acknowledges his wife
and threatens any one who attempts to take her from him.” Dalton,
Ethnology, 148.

[85] On the sacredness of the kalsa, see Campbell, Notes on the Spirit
Basis of Belief and Custom, 9.

[86] This Westermarck calls the “simplest way of purchasing a wife.”
History of Human Marriage, 390.

[87] Tylor, Primitive Culture, II., 30.

[88] Risley, Tribes and Castes, I., 115, sq.

[89] Dalton, Ethnology, 179.

[90] Cf. ibid., 148.

[91] The worshippers of people killed by tigers numbered 7,784
according to the Report of 1891. Mr. Baillie remarks (page 216), that
the worship is general throughout Oudh and the Gorakhpur Districts. “In
Gorakhpur, Gonda, or Bahrâich, it might have been expected, but it
seems extraordinary that such worship has retained its hold in
Sultânpur. Probably the comparative rarity of such a death in the
Southern Districts of late years made it appear the more impressive and
preserved its memory the longer.” For Baghaut worship, see Introduction
to Popular Religion and Folklore, 167.

[92] Ethnology, 146.

[93] Collection of Papers relating to the Settlement of South Mirzapur,
page 2.

[94] Risley, Tribes and Castes, II., 102.

[95] Jungle Life, 418.

[96] History of Human Marriage, 508.

[97] Ibid., 499.

[98] Ibid., 485; Frazer, Golden Bough, II., 238, sqq.

[99] Letourneau, Evolution of Marriage, 76.

[100] Westermarck, History of Human Marriage, 532.

[101] Westermarck, History of Human Marriage, 483.

[102] Tylor, Primitive Culture, I., 453.

[103] Tylor, Primitive Culture, II., 30.

[104] At the same time this seems to be a real belief of the Santâls.
Hunter, Rural Bengal, 210; and see Tylor, Primitive Culture, II., 97,
and Professor Max Müller writes:—“In the Vedic accounts of hell a pit
(karta) is mentioned into which the lawless are said to be hurled down
(Rig Veda, IX., 73, 8), and into which Indra casts those who offer no
sacrifice (Rig Veda, I., 121, 13). One poet prays that the Adityas may
preserve him from the destroying wolf and from falling into the pit
(Rig Veda, II., 29, 6). In one passage we read that those who break the
commandments of Varuna and who speak lies are born for that deep place
(Rig Veda, IV., 5, 5.).” Cf. Basor, 7.

[105] This condition in which there are no priests and the religious
duties are performed by the house father is undoubtedly primeval. It
was the case among the Homeric Greeks where Agamemnon himself performs
the sacrifice (Iliad, III. 271, and compare Wilson, Preface to Vishnu
Purâna, 2, Virgil, Æneid III, 80, Genesis, XIV, 17).

[106] This may possibly be a survival of the matriarchate, see Lubbock,
Origin of Civilization, 146.

[107] Descriptive Ethnology, 133.

[108] Ibid., 135.

[109] See Agariya, para. 22.

[110] Among the Mahili Mundas pork is tabooed. Risley, Tribes and
Castes, II., 12.

[111] Nesfield, Brief View, 52, sq.; Calcutta Review, CLXVII., 265.

[112] Indian Antiquary, XI, 117.

[113] Wilson, Rig Veda, II., 28: Manu, Institutes, II., 99. There is an
interesting account of the manner in which water was supplied and
cooled in Akbar’s Court in Blochmann, Aîn-i-Akbari, I., 55, sq.

[114] Lectures, I., 97, note.

[115] Panjâb Ethnography, 193.

[116] Report, Inspector-General of Police, North-Western Provinces,
1867, page 94, sq.

[117] Ibbetson, loc. cit., para. 533.

[118] The word Vindhya is probably derived from the root bind or bid,
“to divide.” The name, as is suggested by the legend of Agastya Muni,
seems to refer to the range as the main barrier against the Brâhmanical
exploitation of Central and Southern India: see Professor Wilson,
Works, III, 332.

[119] Tribes and Castes, I, 131.

[120] Jhusi was the head-quarters of the eccentric Râja of Harbong, for
whom see Elliot, Supplemental Glossary, s.v.

[121] Azamgarh Settlement Report, 33, sq.

[122] In Bengal they are in a transition stage. Risley, Tribes and
Castes, I., 131.

[123] Risley, Tribes and Castes, I, 132.

[124] Risley, Tribes and Castes, I., 133, and see Bhar, 9.

[125] Risley, loc. cit., I., 133.

[126] Report, Inspector-General of Police, North-Western Provinces,
1868, page 51.

[127] Gonda Settlement Report, 15.

[128] Panjâb Census Report, 1891, page 139, sqq., quoting Sirsa
Settlement Report, 136.

[129] The sect recorded as Bishnoi numbers 49,559, mostly found in the
Bijnor District.

[130] Central Provinces Gazetteer, 48.

[131] It need hardly be said that this custom of Brâhmans condescending
to perform ceremonies for people of low caste is irregular. See Manu,
III., 65, IV., 61, 81, 99.

[132] For the significance of the kohabar ceremony see Majhwâr,
paragraph 18.

[133] See Bhuiya, paragraph 18.

[134] Tylor, Primitive Culture, I., 453.

[135] Ibid., II., 152.

[136] Tylor, Primitive Culture, I., 481, 483, 490, 492, 495.

[137] Ibid., II., 75.

[138] Amina Sati is one of the Pânchonpîr.

[139] This festival has obvious analogies in European custom. Mannhardt
considers them to be sun-charms or magical ceremonies intended to
secure a proper supply of sunshine for men, animals, and plants. See
Frazer, Golden Bough, II., 268.

[140] Tylor, Primitive Culture, I., 109.

[141] See Agariya, para. 22.

[142] Tylor, Primitive Culture, I., 451.

[143] Tylor, Primitive Culture, II., 51.

[144] Supplemental Glossary, s.v.

[145] Râja Lachhman Sinh, Bulandshahr Memo., 151, sqq.

[146] Bühler, Sacred Laws, I., 72.

[147] Atkinson, Himalayan Gazetteer, III., 344, sq.

[148] Buchanan, Eastern India, II., 454.

[149] Malcolm, Central India, I., III., sq.

[150] Principally based on notes by Pandits Râmgharîb Chaubê and Bhân
Pratâp Tiwâri.

[151] Professor Eggeling, Encyclopædia Britannica, s.v., Brâhmanism.

[152] Ancient Sanskrit Texts, I., 213, 2nd edition; Nesfield, Calcutta
Review, CLXVII, 258.

[153] Aitareya Brâhmana, I., Introduction, 9.

[154] Aitareya Brâhmana, 263, sq.

[155] Ibid., I., 282, sq.

[156] Settlement Report, 117.

[157] North-West Provinces Gazetteer VIII, Part III, 49; VI, 351, sq.

[158] Oudh Gazetteer, I, 305, 365; III, 229.

[159] Central India, II, 201.

[160] Archæological Reports, VIII, 102, sqq.

[161] Wilson, Vishnu Purâna, 359.

[162] Ibid., 451.

[163] III, 8,026.

[164] Wilson, Rig Veda, I., 42, note.

[165] Ibid., II., 319.

[166] Bühler, Books of the East, II., 6.

[167] Max Müller, Ancient Sanskrit Literature, 58, sq.; Rajendra Lala
Mitra, Indo-Aryans, II., 266.

[168] Haug, Aitareya Brâhmana, II., 479.

[169] Frazer, Golden Bough, II., 238, sqq.

[170] Monier Williams, Brahmanism and Hinduism, 353.

[171] Monier Williams, Brahmanism and Hinduism, 358.

[172] Monier Williams, Brahmanism and Hinduism, 359.

[173] Golden Bough, II., 342, sqq.

[174] Prehistoric Antiquities, 416, 420.

[175] XII, 46, and see Muir, Ancient Sanskrit Texts, I., 128, note.

[176] Panjâb Ethnography, para. 236.

[177] Sacred city of the Hindus, 14.

[178] Mathura, 179, sqq.

[179] Atkinson, Himalayan Gazetteer, III., 270.

[180] Partly based on a note by Diwân Bijay Bahâdur Sinh of Lalitpur.

[181] Settlement Report, Appendix C.

[182] From enquiries at Mirzapur and a note by Bâbu Badri Nâth, Deputy
Collector, Kheri.

[183] Manu, Institutes, X., 23.

[184] Tribes and Castes, I., 166.

[185] Notes, 15.

[186] Principally based on enquiries at Mirzapur; an elaborate note by
Bâbu Vindhyeswari Prasâd, Deputy Collector, Ballia, and notes by the
Deputy Inspectors of Schools, Agra, Bareilly, Budâun, Bijnor; Pandit
Râmavatâr Pânrê, Karwi, and the Deputy Commissioner, Sultânpur.

[187] Institutes, X., 36.

[188] Hindu Tribes and Castes, I., 392.

[189] Tribes and Castes, I., 176.

[190] Schrader, Prehistoric Antiquities, 327, sq.

[191] II, 21.

[192] Loc. cit., IV, 66.

[193] McCrindle, Indian Antiquary, VI., 342, Note.

[194] For instances of this belief, see Spencer, Principles of
Sociology, I., 241.

[195] Frazer, Totemism, 79; Folklore, II., 181.

[196] Bombay Gazetteer, XVI, 71.

[197] Risley, Tribes and Castes, I, 178.

[198] Ibbetson, Panjâb Ethnography, para. 265.

[199] Central Provinces Gazetteer, 100, sqq.

[200] Hoey, Monograph, 90, sqq. It is in curious contrast to the
Homeric system of preparing hides, which consisted in rubbing with fat
and stretching. Iliad, XVII, 383.

[201] Supplementary Glossary, s.v., Gaur Râjput.

[202] Oudh Gazetteer, III, 307.

[203] P. 175.

[204] Supplementary Glossary, s.v.

[205] Settlement Report, 295.

[206] Partly based on notes by M. Jumna Din, Teacher of the Sumerpur
School, and M. Râmsabây, teacher of the School at Mahoba, Hamîrpur
District.

[207] Mirzapur Gazetteer, 120, sqq. Benett, Clans of Râê Bareli.

[208] Oudh Gazetteer, Introduction, XXXVI, Indian Antiquary, I, 265 sq.

[209] Elliott, Chronicles of Unâo, 23, 54.

[210] Buchanan, Eastern India, II, 458.

[211] Settlement Report, 20.

[212] Maclagan, Panjâb Census Report, 120, sqq.

[213] Essays, I, 178.

[214] Râjputâna Gazetteer, III, 215.

[215] Indian Caste, II, 156.

[216] Notes, 30.

[217] Growse, Mathura, 10.

[218] Bholanâth Chandra, Travels, II, 36.

[219] Annals, I, 102.

[220] Archæological Reports, II, 255.

[221] Eastern India, II, 462.

[222] Chronicles of Unâo, 42, sq.

[223] Mainpuri Settlement Report, 17, sqq.

[224] Raikes, Notes, 8.

[225] Settlement Report, LXVII.

[226] Ibid., 34.

[227] Ibid., 32.

[228] Eastern India, II, 462.

[229] Râja Lachhman Sinh, Memo., 164, sq.

[230] Settlement Report, 60.

[231] Census Report, 1865, Table IV, 6.

[232] Atkinson, Himalayan Gazetteer, III, 276.

[233] Eastern India, II, 462.

[234] Hindu Tribes, I., 229.

[235] Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1866, Part II. According to
Dr. J. Muir they were perhaps the Kîkatas of the Sanskrit
writers—Ancient Sanskrit Texts, II, 363. The Kîkatas appear to have
been residents of the modern Bihâr.

[236] Descriptive Ethnology, 125.

[237] Calcutta Review, CXXXVII, 351.

[238] Eastern India, II, 341.

[239] Settlement Report of Palamau, 28, sqq.

[240] This is probably the Morang, now one of the Nepâl Districts.

[241] Reports, Archæological Survey, XV, 60, XVII, 131, sq.: XXII, 75.

[242] Probably Kunwara, “Prince,” Neura, Neula, “weasel.”

[243] Memoir of Ghâzipur, I, 51.

[244] Eastern India, I, 24.

[245] Descriptive Ethnology, 126.

[246] Tribes and Castes, I, 199.

[247] Dalton, loc. cit., 126.

[248] Westermarck, History of Human Marriage, 23.

[249] Risley, loc cit., I, 201.

[250] Westermarck, loc. cit., 109.

[251] Risley, Tribes and Castes, I, 202.

[252] Westermarck, History of Human Marriage, 177, 180.

[253] This is possibly derived from pad, foot: ag, to move tortuously.

[254] Spencer, Principles of Sociology, I, 243.

[255] Spencer, Principles of Sociology, I, 243.

[256] Dalton, Ethnology, 160, Note; Risley, loc. cit., I, 202.

[257] Bombay Gazetteer, VI, 26.

[258] Based on enquiries made at Mirzapur and notes by Bâbu Bâsdeo
Sahây, Headmaster, High School, Farrukhâbâd, and Nawâb Muhammad Ali
Khân, Bulandshahr.

[259] Bombay Gazetteer, V, 73.

[260] Gazetteer, North-West Provinces, I, 423.

[261] Census Report, North-West Provinces, 1891, p. 235. For a further
account of Nâmdeo, see Dhuniya, 6.

[262] Monograph, 83–89.

[263] Panjâb Census Report, 193.

[264] The Pîran Kaliyar fair is held on the Ganges Canal, about four
miles north-east of Rurki. Its date is the first of the month
Rabi-ul-awwal. By Hindus it is largely attended, and is by them
supposed to celebrate the death of Râja Karan.

[265] Râjputâna Gazetteer, II, 6189.

[266] For details and calculation of profits, see Hoey, Monograph on
Trades and Manufactures, 147, sqq.

[267] Jhûsi must have been once an important place. It was the
head-quarters of the kingdom of Harbong, and is connected with the
legend of Gorakhnâth. Elliot, Supplemental Glossary, s.v., Harbong ka
râj; Gazetteer, N.-W. P., VIII, Part II, 189, sqq.

[268] See Monier Williams, Brahmanism and Hinduism, 227.

[269] Grierson, Behâr Peasant Life, 403.

[270] A full list of the implements used will be found in Grierson,
Behâr Peasant Life, 108, sqq., and Rural and Agricultural Glossary,
s.v., Chûrihâr.

[271] Schrader, Prehistoric Antiquities, 260, Note.

[272] Maclagan, Panjâb Settlement Report, 147.

[273] Mainly based on information collected at Mirzapur.

[274] For the regular circumcision ritual, see Lane, Modern Egyptians,
I, 71.

[275] From notes by Pandit Janardan Datt Joshi, Deputy Collector,
Bareilly, and Report, Inspector-General of Police, N.-W. P., 1869, p.
125, sqq.

[276] Based on a series of notes by Munshi Râdha Raman, Deputy
Collector, Jhânsi.

[277] Panjâb Ethnography, para. 526.

[278] In Gujarât on the sixth day of the birth a pair of scissors
covered with cloth is laid down, and the child made to bow to
them.—Bombay Gazetteer, V, 73.

[279] Monograph on Trade and Manufactures, 100.

[280] Rajendra Lala Mitra, Indo-Aryans, I, 184.

[281] Panjâb Census Report, 112.

[282] J. W. McCrindle, Indian Antiquary, XIII, 378.

[283] Settlement Report, 89.

[284] Elliot, Supplementary Glossary, s.v.

[285] In Central India a common name for them is Hatkar. The tale runs
that a Dhângar of the Mughal Viceroy’s body-guard used to salute his
master every day, but never to wait after he made his bow. In spite of
remonstrances he continued the practice, and as a punishment the
Viceroy ordered the door through which the Dhângar came to be closed
with swords. The Dhângar regardless of wounds passed on and made his
bow. The Viceroy was so pleased that he called him Hatkar or
“stubborn.”—Berâr Gazetteer, 200; Bombay Gazetteer, XVI, 56.

[286] Descriptive Ethnology, 245.

[287] Tribes and Castes, I, 219.

[288] Central Provinces Gazetteer, 106.

[289] Ibid., 458.

[290] Ibid., 463.

[291] J. W. McCrindle, Indian Antiquary, XIII, 376.

[292] There is an account of these Bombay Dhângars in the Gazetteer,
XIV, 259, sq.

[293] Ibid., I, 222: III, 225.

[294] For these people, see Risley, Tribes and Castes, I, 466.

[295] Risley, Tribes and Castes, II, 227.

[296] Descriptive Ethnology, 254.

[297] Ibid., 254.

[298] Risley, loc. cit., I, 261. Descriptive Ethnology, 254.

[299] Risley, loc. cit., II, 322.

[300] Dalton, loc. cit., 254.

[301] Dalton, loc. cit., 250.

[302] Tribes and Castes, II, 139.

The Orâons of Bengal are found to be extraordinarily fertile. They have
7,704 children in every 20,000 persons of both sexes—Census Report,
175.

[303] Descriptive Ethnology, 247.

[304] According to the Bengal Returns the Orâon man marries earlier
than any of the other Dravidians, nearly five years earlier than the
Munda Kol. Thirteen and-a-half is the general marriage age for girls of
the aboriginal tribes, but the Bhuiya, Orâon, Agariya, and Kurmi give
their daughters in marriage a little under thirteen years.—Census
Report, 200.

[305] Descriptive Ethnology, 262.

[306] Dalton, Descriptive Ethnology, 231.

[307] Dalton, Descriptive Ethnology, 251.

[308] Almost entirely based on notes by Bâbu Gopâl Prasâd, Naib
Tahsildâr of Phaphûnd; and Chaudhari Darshan Singh, of Auraiya, Etâwah
district.

[309] Eastern India, I, 166.

[310] Tribes and Castes of Bengal, I, 220, sqq.

[311] Buchanan, loc. cit.

[312] Based on enquiries at Mirzapur and a note by Bâbu Sânwal Dâs,
Deputy Collector, Hardoi.

[313] Tribes and Castes, II, App. 42.

[314] Westermarck, History of Human Marriage, 390.

[315] The bamboo is worshipped by some of the Chittagong Hill Tribes,
Dalton, Ethnology, 109; Lubbock, Origin of Civilisation, 290.

[316] See instances of this collected by Westermarck, loc. cit., 365,
sq.

[317] The rural proverb runs, E gur khâyen, kân chhedâyen, “You must
eat this sugar and have your ears bored,” doing a thing nolens volens.
Christian, Behar Proverbs, 68.

[318] For which see Bhuiya, para. 14.

[319] For the respect paid to the cotton tree among the Khânds, see
Tylor, Primitive Culture, II, 225.

[320] Kuri means “a pile,” and also the exogamous section of the tribe.

[321] For the significance of this ceremony, see Kol, para. 13.

[322] This represents the primitive blood covenant.

[323] See Lubbock, Origin of Civilisation, 149.

[324] Based to some extent on notes by Pandit Bhân Pratâp Tiwâri of
Chunâr.

[325] Tribes and Castes, I, 233.

[326] Christian, Behar Proverbs.

[327] Maclagan, Panjâb Census Report, 1891, 144; also see Chhîpi, 5.

[328] Partly based on a note by Bâbu Ishan Chandra Banarji, Head
Master, High School, Râê Bareli.

[329] Dowson, Classical Dictionary, s.v.

[330] Atkinson, Himalayan Gazetteer, III, 443.

[331] Settlement Report, 27.

[332] On the confusion between Dûsar and Dhûsar, see Dûsar.

[333] Nesfield, Calcutta Review, CLXVII, 266; Monier Williams,
Brâhmanism and Hinduism, 360.

[334] Frazer, Golden Bough, II, 342, sqq.

[335] Elliott, Chronicles of Unâo, 34, sqq.

[336] Oldham, Memo., I, 58.

[337] Settlement Report, 57, 61.

[338] Quoted by Ibbetson, Panjâb Ethnography, para. 474.

[339] For the Eastern Doms the valuable note by Mr. J. Kennedy, C.S.,
has been largely used, and that of Pandit Juâla Dat Joshi for the Hill
Doms. In addition to these, notes by Mr. H. D. Ferard, C.S., Bânda: M.
Chhedi Lâl, Deputy Inspector, Schools, Gorakhpur, and the Deputy
Inspector of Schools, Bijnor and Dehra Dûn, have been consulted.

[340] Institutes, III, 239.

[341] Grammar of the Dravidian Languages, 546, quoted by Risley, Tribes
and Castes, I, 240.

[342] Supplemental Glossary, s.v.

[343] Buchanan, Eastern India, II., 353: Archæological Reports, XXII,
65, sq.: Carnegy, Notes, 24.

[344] Races of the North-Western Provinces, 85.

[345] Hindu Tribes and Castes, I, 401.

[346] McCrindle, Indian Antiquary, VI, 337.

[347] Mullaly, Notes, 70, sqq.

[348] Risley, Tribes and Castes, I, 248.

[349] Risley, loc. cit.

[350] On this see Tylor, Primitive Culture, I, 109.

[351] Hindu Tribes and Castes, I, 401.

[352] For a good account of this industry, see Hoey, Monograph on
Trades, 72.

[353] Drew’s Jammu, 56.

[354] Himalayan Gazetteer, III, 277, sq.

[355] History of Human Marriage, 14.

[356] Loc. cit., II, 319.

[357] On this see Monier Williams, Brahmanism and Hinduism, 180, sqq.

[358] Prehistoric Antiquities, 272.

[359] Edinburgh Review, 1878, p. 140; Grierson, Indian Antiquary, XV.
14, sq. XVI. 35, sqq. Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th edition, article
Gypsies: Leland, Academy, 19th June 1875.

In the life of Edward Henry Palmer by Walter Besant (p. 184), Mr.
Leland writes—“Several times I interviewed, in his company in London, a
native of India who had been a Rom, that is to say, a gypsy. Palmer
examined the man long and closely in his native language, that is to
say as a shrewd lawyer would examine a man whose assertions he wished
to discredit. The result of the interview was that there is, in
Palmer’s opinion, one distinctive race of gypsies, who call themselves
Rom, who speak a language which is not identical with any Indian
tongue, though much like Panjâbi, but which is identical with Romany.
The man assured me subsequently that he would never have known from his
language that Palmer was not a born Hindu.”

[360] Supplementary Glossary, s.v.

[361] Oldham, Memo., I, 63.

[362] Settlement Report, 29, 43.

[363] Annals of Rajasthân, I, 125.

[364] Aligarh Settlement Report, II.

[365] Census Report, North-West Provinces, 1865, I, App. 17; Râja
Lachhman Sinh, Bulandshahr Memo., 147, 165; Bombay Gazetteer, XII, 67.

[366] Based on information supplied by Lt.-Col. W. P. Harrison, Deputy
Commissioner, Kheri.

[367] Indian Caste, II, 56, sqq.

[368] Elliot, Supplementary Glossary, s.v.

[369] Elliot, Supplementary Glossary, s.v.: Elliott, Chronicles of
Unâo, 34; Partâbgarh Settlement Report, 95, Note.

[370] Based on enquiries at Mirzapur.

[371] Archæological Reports, VIII., 102.

[372] Writing of Bengal Mr. O’Donnel says: “In the upper castes, in
which a girl is properly looked after and secluded from dangerous
acquaintances within the female apartments, it is safe to leave her
unmarried till, with Asiatic precociousness, she is an adult; but in
the lower orders, particularly amongst the labouring classes for Bihâr,
whose women go about openly and work in the fields, it is imperatively
necessary to anticipate the period of budding womanhood. The practice
of infant marriage among Dusâdhs, Musahars, and Chamârs is meaningless
without this explanation. The sexes are in very even proportions. There
is no lack of material for husbands and wives. At the same time people
that allow their girls a great deal of liberty in the way of freedom
from the personal restraint of the zenâna, but who may lose caste,
which even to a Dom means a very great deal, by any vagaries in their
connubial arrangements, must apply another safeguard against family
disgrace. It is necessary to marry their daughters as children, and not
to wait to a period when great risk would be inevitable.” Census
Report, 208.

[373] At the last Census no less than 284,594 persons declared
themselves worshippers of Gangaji.

[374] Introduction to Popular Religion and Folklore, 10.

[375] Tribes and Castes., I, 254, sqq. For walking through fire see
Indian Antiquary II, 190; III, 6; VII, 126.

[376] Arabul is perhaps the same as ariband, the lotus. For more of
these songs to Râhu see Grierson, Maithil Chrestomathy, 3, sqq.

[377] Based on notes by the Deputy Inspector of Schools, Bareilly: M.
Niyâz Ahmad, Head Master, High School, Fatehpur, and a note from Jhânsi
received through Mr. W. G. Jackson, C.S.

[378] Tribes and Castes, I, 271.

[379] Hindu Tribes, I, 338.

[380] Ibbetson, Panjâb Ethnography, section 498: Drew, Jammu, 108.

[381] Supplementary Glossary, s.v.

[382] Elliott, Chronicles of Unâo, 25: Williams, Oudh Census Report,
83.

[383] Indian Antiquary, XV, 988. In the Paurânik texts we find a people
known as the Gahvara or Girigahvara, who are described as dwellers in
caves. Wilson, Vishnu Purâna, 196.

[384] Hardoi Settlement Report, 89: Oldham, Ghâzipur Memo., II, 47,
sq.: Farrukhâbâd Settlement Report, 13: Buchanan, Eastern India, II,
459: Oldham, loc. cit., I, 58.

[385] Cawnpur Settlement Report, 22.

[386] Annals, I, 90.

[387] Beames, Indian Antiquary, I, 276: McCrindle, ibid., VI, 342,
note.

[388] Settlement Report, 12.

[389] Elliott, Chronicles, 53.

[390] Settlement Report, 34: Growse, Mathura, 464.

[391] Râja Lachhman Sinh, Memo., 115.

[392] Settlement Report, 22.

[393] Based on a note by Munshi Fasihuddîn, Deputy Collector, Benares.

[394] Classical Dictionary, s.v.

[395] For an example of this custom, see Tawney, Katha Sarit Sâgara,
II, 102.

[396] Hindu Law, 171.

[397] For Kinnarâm, see under Aghori.

[398] Hoey, Monograph on Trade and Manufactures, 107.

[399] Hoey, Monograph on Trade and Manufactures, 107.

[400] Supplementary Glossary, s.v.

[401] Panjab Ethnography, Section 595.

[402] Indian Antiquary, XI, 42.

[403] Note by the Deputy Inspector of Schools, Bijnor.

[404] Elliott, Chronicles of Unâo, 589.

[405] Atkinson, Himalayan Gazetteer, III, 267, sq.

[406] Supplementary Glossary, s.v.

[407] Settlement Report, 213.

[408] Azamgarh Settlement Report, 29, 57: Sir H. M. Elliot.

[409] Supplementary Glossary, s.v.v. Garg, Chanamiya.

[410] Largely based on notes by Pandit Râmgharîb Chaubê, the Deputy
Inspector of Schools, Bijnor: Chaudhari Dhyân Sinh, Morâdâbâd.

[411] Archæological Survey Reports, I, 327; also see a long discussion
on the Dravidian origin of the term in Oppert, Original Inhabitants of
Bharatavarsa, 114, sqq.

[412] Indian Castes, II, 159, sqq.

[413] Indian Caste, II, 117, 190.

[414] Annals, I, 124.

[415] Supplementary Glossary, s.v.

[416] Settlement Report, 13.

[417] Census Report, 1865, I, App. 84.

[418] Settlement Report, 100.

[419] Elliott, Chronicles, 52.

[420] Settlement Report, LII.

[421] Elliot, Supplementary Glossary, s.v.: Gazetteer, North-West
Provinces, VI, 41.

[422] Growse, Mathura, 183, sq.

[423] Elliot, Supplementary Glossary, s.v.: Growse, Mathura, 12:
Ibbetson, Panjâb Ethnography, para. 446.

[424] F. S. Growse, Indian Antiquary, XV., 260, sq.

[425] Supplementary Glossary, s.v.

[426] Elliot, Chronicles of Unâo, 34.

[427] Oldham, Ghâzipur Memo., I, 59: Azamgarh Settlement Report, 54,
sq.

[428] Duncker, History of Antiquity, IV, 336 sqq.: Buchanan, Eastern
India, II, 458.

[429] Oudh Gazetteer, III, 31.

[430] Risley, Tribes and Castes, I, 277: Dalton, Descriptive Ethnology,
325.

[431] Central Provinces Gazetteer, 273.

[432] Ibid., 34.

[433] Jungle Life, 123.

[434] Descriptive Ethnology, 325.

[435] Ibid., 885.

[436] See the reference to Dr. Ball in para. 1.

[437] This is the modern representative of the buffalo demon Mahisha or
Mahishâsura, who, according to various legends, was killed by
Karttikeya, Skanda or Durga. The last Census records 13,141 persons as
worshippers of Bhainsâsur.

[438] For this custom, see Biyâr, para. 17.

[439] This story of a tribe recruited from a single pregnant woman who
escaped the general destruction is common; see the legend of Orandeo,
the progenitor of the Chandel Râjputs, and that of the Chamar Gaur
tribe.

[440] See Majhwâr, para. 3.

[441] Risley, Tribes and Castes, II, App. 46.

[442] For a similar custom among the Garos, see Dalton, Descriptive
Ethnology, 64: Orâons, ibid., 248; Khandhs, ibid., 300. Gonds, Central
Provinces Gazetteer, 277.

[443] On this see Westermarck, History of Human Marriage, 530.

[444] This power, it may be noted, is debarred to the Hindu wife. Manu,
Institutes, V, 154.

[445] This is also the rule among the Birhors. Dalton, Descriptive
Ethnology, 219.

[446] History of Human Marriage, 390.

[447] On this custom, see Biyâr, para. 14.

[448] For other examples of this see Spencer, Principles of Sociology,
I, 153.

[449] This may perhaps be a relic of the ceremony described by the
author from Elliott, Hoshangabad Settlement Report, 178, quoted by
Frazer, Golden Bough, I, 172.

[450] Among Hindus this is solemnized on the last day of Mâgh.

[451] Risley, Tribes and Castes, I, 278.

[452] Jungle Life, 563.

[453] Based on enquiries at Mirzapur and a note by Bâbu Badri Nâth,
Deputy Collector, Kheri.

[454] Panjâb Ethnography, para. 497: Hoey, Monograph, 104.

[455] This account is almost entirely based on a note by Râja Lachhman
Sinh, Retired Deputy Collector, Agra.

[456] Dasa and Bîsa, as we have seen in connection with some of the
Banya tribes, mean “the tens” and “the twenties,” the latter claiming
to be of blue blood.

[457] At the last Census 8,533 persons scattered all over the province
recorded themselves as Sati worshippers.

[458] At the last Census, 119,139 persons recorded themselves as
worshippers of Sîtala, and 9,539 of the cholera godling.

[459] Original Inhabitants of Bharatavarsha, 13.

[460] Papers, 4.

[461] Highlands of Central India, 156.

[462] Page 276, sq.

[463] Introduction to Popular Religion, 74.

[464] For whom see Risley, Tribes and Castes, I, 294, sqq.

[465] Risley, loc. cit.

[466] Census Report, North-Western Provinces, 240.

[467] Based on notes received from Mr. F. W. Brownrigg, C.S.,
Sultânpur: Nawâb Muhammad Ali Khân, Bulandshahr: Bâbu Tarini Chandra
Sanyâl, Head Master, High School, Sahâranpur: the Deputy Inspector of
Schools, Meerut.

[468] Archæological Reports, II, 61.

[469] Loc. cit.

[470] Panjâb Ethnography, 481.

[471] Elliot, Supplementary Glossary, s.v.

[472] Jammu, 109, sq.

[473] Râja Lachhman Sinh, Bulandshahr Memo., 175, sq.

[474] At the same time it is significant that at the last Census the
Hindu Gûjars showed 160,573 males to 119,540 females.

[475] On this fraternal polyandry, see Westermarck, History of Human
Marriage, 472, sqq.

[476] There is a good account of this saint in Calcutta Review, LVII,
207.

[477] Dowson’s Elliot, IV, 231–240.

[478] Ibid., IV, 477.

[479] Ibid., VI, 303.

[480] Leyden’s Bâbar, 294.

[481] Râjputâna Gazetteer, 1, 162.

[482] Indian Antiquary, March 1874.

[483] Indian Caste, II, 91, sq.

[484] Bombay Gazetteer, XX, 30.

[485] Ibbetson, Panjâb Ethnography, para. 513.

[486] Central India, II, 122.

[487] Indian Castes, II, 96.

[488] Forbes, Râsmâla, II, 258.

[489] Of special planet worshippers 45,962 were shown at the last
Census.

[490] Based on a note by Bâbu Bâdri Nâth, Deputy Collector, Kheri.

[491] Imperial Gazetteer, VII, 106, sq.

[492] Based on enquiries at Mirzapur and notes by Chaubê Dhyân Sinh,
Honorary Magistrate, Morâdâbâd; Munshi Chhuttan Lâl, Deputy Collector,
Unâo; Munshi Mahâdeva Prasâd, Head Master, Zillah School, Pilibhît.

[493] Panjâb Census Report, 124.

[494] For the law on the subject see Genda Puri, v.s. Chhattar Puri,
Indian Law Reports, Allahâbâd, IX, 1. The rule to be followed is that
founded on customs and practice, which must be proved by evidence.

[495] Hindu Tribes and Castes, I, 256.

[496] Based on notes by Mr. F. W. Court, District Superintendent of
Police, Aligarh, Bâbu Atma Râm, Head Master, High School, Mathura, and
the Deputy Inspectors of Schools, Bijnor and Morâdâbâd.

[497] Selections from the Records of Government, N.-W. P., I, 420.

[498] Based on notes collected at Mirzapur and by M. Chhote Lâl,
Archæological Survey, Lucknow.

[499] The word bâni may represent either Sanskrit varna, “colour,”
“caste;” or vani “voice”, in allusion to the commemorative verses. The
latter is the popular and possibly incorrect explanation.

[500] It has been judicially decided that a man who is a member of the
Halwâi caste may contract a marriage in the sagâi form with a widow
even if he has a wife living, provided in the latter case he is a
childless man. Quere, whether a married woman may not contract a sagâi
marriage, notwithstanding that her husband is living if the panchâyat
has examined the case and reported that her husband is unable to
support her.

Kally Churn Shaw versus Dukhu Bibee. Indian Law Reports, Calcutta, V,
692.

[501] Hoey, Monograph on Trade and Manufactures, 50: Risley, Tribes and
Castes, I, 312.

[502] Buchanan, Eastern India, II, 461: Tod, Annals, II, 426.

[503] Classical Dictionary, s.v.

[504] Based on information received through Lieutenant-Colonel W. P.
Harrison, Deputy Commissioner, Kheri.

[505] Elliott, Chronicles, 5, sq.

[506] Supplementary Glossary, s.v.

[507] Oldham, Ghâsipur Memo., I, 55, sq.

[508] Wilson, Vishnu Purâna, 373, sq.

[509] Annals of Rajasthân, I, 41.

[510] Loc. cit., 418, sq.

[511] Nesfield, Calcutta Review, CLXVII, 263, sq.

[512] Wilson, Indian Caste, II, 29, 134: Ibbetson, Panjâb Ethnography,
para. 512: Azamgarh Settlement Report, 43A, app.












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