The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, Volume 2

Part 1

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The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India

R.V. Russell Of the Indian Civil Service Superintendent of Ethnography, Central Provinces Assisted by Rai Bahadur Hira Lal Extra Assistant Commissioner

Published Under the Orders of the Central Provinces Administration

In Four Volumes Vol. II.

Macmillan and Co., Limited St. Martin's Street, London.

1916

CONTENTS OF VOLUME II

Articles on Castes and Tribes of the Central Provinces in Alphabetical Order

The articles which are considered to be of most general interest are shown in capitals

Agaria (Iron-worker) 3 Agharia (Cultivator) 8 Aghori (Religious mendicant) 13 AHIR (Herdsman and milkman) 18 Andh (Tribe, now cultivators) 38 Arakh (Hunter) 40 Atari (Scent-seller) 42 Audhelia (Labourer) 45 BADHAK (Robber) 49 BAHNA (Cotton-cleaner) 69 Baiga (Forest tribe) 77 Bairagi (Religious mendicants) 93 Balahi (Labourer and village watchman) 105 Balija (Cultivator) 108 BANIA (Merchant and moneylender) 111 Subcastes of Bania

Agarwala. Agrahari. Ajudhiabasi. Asathi. Charnagri. Dhusar. Dosar. Gahoi. Golapurab. Kasarwani. Kasaundhan. Khandelwal. Lad. Lingayat. Maheshri. Nema. Oswal. Parwar. Srimali. Umre.

BANJARA (Pack-carrier) 162 Barai (Betel-vine grower and seller) 192 Barhai (Carpenter) 199 Bari (Maker of leaf-plates) 202 Basdewa (Cattle-dealer and religious mendicant) 204 Basor (Bamboo-worker) 208 Bedar (Soldier and public service) 212 Beldar (Digger and navvy) 215 Beria (Vagabond gipsy) 220 Bhaina (Forest tribe) 225 Bhamta (Criminal tribe and labourers) 234 Bharbhunja (Grain-parcher) 238 Bharia (Forest tribe) 242 BHAT (Bard and genealogist) 251 Bhatra (Forest tribe) 271 BHIL (Forest tribe) 278 Bhilala (Landowner and cultivator) 293 Bhishti (Water-man) 298 Bhoyar (Cultivator) 301 Bhuiya (Forest tribe) 305 Bhulia (Weaver) 319 Bhunjia (Forest tribe) 322 Binjhwar (Cultivator) 329 Bishnoi (Cultivator) 337 Bohra (Trader) 345 BRAHMAN (Priest) 351 Subcastes of Brahman

Ahivasi. Jijhotia. Kanaujia, Kanyakubja. Khedawal. Maharashtra. Maithil. Malwi. Nagar. Naramdeo. Sanadhya. Sarwaria. Utkal.

Chadar (Village watchman and labourer) 400 CHAMAR (Tanner and labourer) 403 Chasa (Cultivator) 424 Chauhan (Village watchman and labourer) 427 Chhipa (Dyer and calico-printer) 429 CHITARI (Painter) 432 Chitrakathi (Picture showman) 438 Cutchi (Trader and shopkeeper) 440 DAHAIT (Village watchman and labourer) 444 Daharia (Cultivator) 453 Dangi (Landowner and cultivator) 457 Dangri (Vegetable-grower) 463 DARZI (Tailor) 466 Dewar (Beggar and musician) 472 Dhakar (Illegitimate, cultivator) 477 Dhangar (Shepherd) 480 Dhanuk (Bowman, labourer) 484 Dhanwar (Forest tribe) 488 DHIMAR (Fisherman, water-carrier, and household servant) 502 Dhoba (Forest tribe, cultivator) 515 DHOBI (Washerman) 519 Dhuri (Grain-parcher) 527 Dumal (Cultivator) 530 Fakir (Religious mendicant) 537

ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOLUME II

31. Aghori mendicant 14 32. Ahirs decorated with cowries for the Stick Dance at Diwali 18 33. Image of Krishna as Murlidhar or the flute-player, with attendant deities 28 34. Ahir dancers in Diwali costume 32 35. Pinjara cleaning cotton 72 36. Baiga village, Balaghat District 88 37. Hindu mendicants with sect-marks 94 38. Anchorite sitting on iron nails 98 39. Pilgrims carrying water of the river Nerbudda 100 40. Coloured Plate: Examples of Tilaks or sect-marks worn on the forehead 102 41. Group of Marwari Bania women 112 42. Image of the god Ganpati carried in procession 116 43. The elephant-headed god Ganpati. His conveyance is a rat, which can be seen as a little blob between his feet 120 44. Mud images made and worshipped at the Holi festival 126 45. Bania's shop 128 46. Banjara women with the singh or horn 184 47. Group of Banjara women 188 48. Basors making baskets of bamboo 210 49. Bhat with his putla or doll 256 50. Group of Bhils 278 51. Tantia Bhil, a famous dacoit 282 52. Group of Bohras at Burhanpur (Nimar) 346 53. Brahman worshipping his household gods 380 54. Brahman bathing party 384 55. Brahman Pujaris or priests 390 56. Group of Maratha Brahman men 392 57. Group of Naramdeo Brahman women 396 58. Group of Naramdeo Brahman men 398 59. Chamars tanning and working in leather 416 60. Chamars cutting leather and making shoes 418 61. Chhipa or calico-printer at work 430 62. Dhimar or fisherman's hut 502 63. Fishermen in dug-outs or hollowed tree trunks 506 64. Group of Gurujwale Fakirs 538

PRONUNCIATION

a has the sound of u in but or murmur. a has the sound of a in bath or tar. e has the sound of e in ecarte or ai in maid. i has the sound of i in bit, or (as a final letter) of y in sulky i has the sound of ee in beet. o has the sound of o in bore or bowl. u has the sound of u in put or bull. u has the sound of oo in poor or boot.

The plural of caste names and a few common Hindustani words is formed by adding s in the English manner according to ordinary usage, though this is not, of course, the Hindustani plural.

Note.--The rupee contains 16 annas, and an anna is of the same value as a penny. A pice is a quarter of an anna, or a farthing. Rs. 1-8 signifies one rupee and eight annas. A lakh is a hundred thousand, and a krore ten million.

PART II

ARTICLES ON CASTES AND TRIBES

AGARIA--FAKIR

Agaria

1. Origin and subdivisions.

Agaria. --A small Dravidian caste, who are an offshoot of the Gond tribe. The Agarias have adopted the profession of iron-smelting and form a separate caste. They numbered 9500 persons in 1911 and live on the Maikal range in the Mandla, Raipur and Bilaspur Districts.

The name probably signifies a worker with ag or fire. An Agaria subcaste of Lohars also exists, many of whom are quite probably Gonds, but they are not included in the regular caste. Similar Dravidian castes of Agarias are to be found in Mirzapur and Bengal. The Agarias are quite distinct from the Agharia cultivating caste of the Uriya country. The Raipur Agarias still intermarry with the Rawanbansi Gonds of the District. The Agarias think that their caste has existed from the beginning of the world, and that the first Agaria made the ploughshare with which the first bullocks furrowed the primeval soil. The caste has two endogamous divisions, the Patharia and the Khuntia Agarias. The Patharias place a stone on the mouth of the bellows to fix them in the ground for smelting, while the Khuntias use a peg. The two subcastes do not even take water from one another.

Part 2

Their exogamous sections have generally the same names as those of the Gonds, as Sonwani, Dhurua, Tekam, Markam, Uika, Purtai, Marai, and others. A few names of Hindi origin are also found, as Ahindwar, Ranchirai and Rathoria, which show that some Hindus have probably been amalgamated with the caste. Ahindwar or Aindwar and Ranchirai mean a fish and a bird respectively in Hindi, while Rathoria is a gotra both of Rajputs and Telis. The Gond names are probably also those of animals, plants or other objects, but their meaning has now generally been forgotten. Tekam or teka is a teak tree. Sonwani is a sept found among several of the Dravidian tribes, and the lower Hindu castes. A person of the Sonwani sept is always chosen to perform the ceremony of purification and readmission into caste of persons temporarily excommunicated. His duty often consists in pouring on such a person a little water in which gold has been placed to make it holy, and hence the name is considered to mean Sonapani or gold-water. The Agarias do not know the meanings of their section names and therefore have no totemistic observances. But they consider that all persons belonging to one gotra are descended from a common ancestor, and marriage within the gotra is therefore prohibited. As among the Gonds, first cousins are allowed to marry.

2. Marriage.

Marriage is usually adult. When the father of a boy wishes to arrange a marriage he sends emissaries to the father of the girl. They open the proceedings by saying, 'So-and-so has come to partake of your stale food.' If the father of the girl approves he gives his consent by saying, 'He has come on foot, I receive him on my head.' The boy's father then repairs to the girl's house, where he is respectfully received and his feet are washed. He is then asked to take a drink of plain water, which is a humble method of offering him a meal. After this, presents for the girl are sent by a party accompanied by tomtom players, and a date is fixed for the marriage, which, contrary to the usual Hindu rule, may take place in the rains. The reason is perhaps because iron-smelting is not carried on during the rains and the Agarias therefore have no work to do. A few days before the wedding the bride-price is paid, which consists of 5 seers each of urad and til and a sum of Rs. 4 to Rs. 12. The marriage is held on any Monday, Tuesday or Friday, no further trouble being taken to select an auspicious day. In order that they may not forget the date fixed, the fathers of the parties each take a piece of thread in which they tie a knot for every day intervening between the date when the marriage day is settled and the day itself, and they then untie one knot for every day. Previous to the marriage all the village gods are propitiated by being anointed with oil by the Baiga or village priest. The first clod of earth for the ovens is also dug by the Baiga, and received in her cloth by the bride's mother as a mark of respect. The usual procedure is adopted in the marriage. After the bridegroom's arrival his teeth are cleaned with tooth-sticks, and the bride's sister tries to push saj leaves into his mouth, a proceeding which he prevents by holding his fan in front of his face. For doing this the girl is given a small present. A paili measure of rice is filled alternately by the bride and bridegroom twelve times, the other upsetting it each time after it is filled. At the marriage feast, in addition to rice and pulse, mutton curry and cakes of urad pulse fried in oil are provided. Urad is held in great respect, and is always given as a food at ceremonial feasts and to honoured guests. The greater part of the marriage ceremony is performed a second time at the bridegroom's house. Finally, the decorations of the marriage-shed and the palm-leaf crowns of the bride and bridegroom are thrown into a tank. The bride and bridegroom go into the water, and each in turn hides a jar under water, which the other must find. They then bathe, change their clothes, and go back to the bridegroom's house, the bride carrying the jar filled with water on her head. The boy is furnished with a bow and arrows and has to shoot at a stuffed deer over the girl's shoulder. After each shot she gives him a little sugar, and if he does not hit the deer in three shots he must pay 4 annas to the sawasa or page. After the marriage the bridegroom does not visit his wife for a month in order to ascertain whether she is already pregnant. They then live together. The marriage expenses usually amount to Rs. 15 for the bridegroom's father and Rs. 40 for the bride's father. Sometimes the bridegroom serves his father-in-law for his wife, and he is then not required to pay anything for the marriage, the period of service being three years. If the couple anticipate the ceremony, however, they must leave the house, and then are recalled by the bride's parents, and readmitted into caste on giving a feast, which is in lieu of the marriage ceremony. If they do not comply with the first summons of the parents, the latter finally sever connection with them. Widow marriage is freely permitted, and the widow is expected to marry her late husband's younger brother, especially if he is a bachelor. If she marries another man with his consent, the new husband gives him a turban and shoulder-cloth. The children by the first husband are made over to his relatives if there are any. Divorce is permitted for adultery or extravagance or ill-treatment by either party. A divorced wife can marry again, but if she absconds with another man without being divorced the latter has to pay Rs. 12 to the husband.

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