Various sayings show that the Bahna is not considered a proper
Muhammadan, as
Turuk to Turuk
Aur Bahna Turuk,
or 'A Muhammadan (Turk) is a Muhammadan and the Bahna is also a
Muhammadan'; and again--
Achera, [84] Kachera, Pinjara,
Muhammad se dur, Din se niyara,
or 'The Kachera and Pinjara are lost to Muhammad and far from the
faith'; and again--
Adho Hindu adho Musalman
Tinkhon kahen Dhunak Pathan,
or 'Half a Hindu and half a Muhammadan, that is he who is a Dhunak
Pathan.' They have a grotesque imitation of the Muhammadan rite of
_halal_, or causing an animal's blood to flow on to the ground with
the repetition of the _kalma_ or invocation; thus it is said that when
a Bahna is about to kill a fowl he addresses it somewhat as follows:
Kahe karkarat hai?
Kahe barbarat hai?
Kahe jai jai logon ka dana khat hai?
Tor kiamat mor niamat,
Bismillah hai tuch,
or "Why do you cackle? Why do you crow? Why do you eat other people's
grain? Your death is my feast; I touch you in the name of God." And
saying this he puts a knife to the fowl's throat. The vernacular verse
is a good imitation of the cackling of a fowl. And again, they slice
off the top of an egg as if they were killing an animal and repeat the
formula, "White dome, full of moisture, I know not if there is a male
or female within; in the name of God I kill you." A person whose memory
is not good enough to retain these texts will take a knife and proceed
to one who knows them. Such a man will repeat the texts over the knife,
blowing on it as he does so, and the Bahna considers that the knife
has been sanctified and retains its virtue for a week. Others do not
think this necessary, but have a special knife, which having once been
consecrated is always kept for killing animals, and descends as an
heirloom in the family, the use of this sacred knife being considered
to make the repetition of the _kalma_ unnecessary. These customs are,
however, practised only by the ignorant members of the caste in Raipur
and Bilaspur, and are unknown in the more civilised tracts, where
the Bahnas are rapidly conforming to ordinary Muhammadan usage. Such
primitive Bahnas perform their marriages by walking round the sacred
post, keep the Hindu festivals, and feed Brahmans on the tenth day
after a death. They have a priest whom they call their Kazi, but elect
him themselves. In some places when a Bahna goes to the well to draw
water he first washes the parapet of the well to make it ceremonially
clean, and then draws his water. This custom can only be compared
with that of the Raj-Gonds who wash the firewood with which they are
about to cook their food, in order to make it more pure. Respectable
Muhammadans naturally look down on the Bahnas, and they retaliate
by refusing to take food or water from any Muhammadan who is not
a Bahna. By such strictness the more ignorant think that they will
enhance their ceremonial purity and hence their social consideration;
but the intelligent members of the caste know better and are glad to
improve themselves by learning from educated Muhammadans. The other
menial artisan castes among the Muhammadans have similar ideas, and
it is reported that a Rangrez boy who took food in the house of one
of the highest Muhammadan officers of Government in the Province was
temporarily put out of caste. Another saying about the Bahnas is--
Sheikhon ki Sheikhi,
Pathanon ki tarr,
Turkon ki Turkshahi,
Bahnon ki bharrr ...
or 'Proud as a Sheikh, obstinate as a Pathan, royal as a Turk, buzzing
like a Bahna.' This refers to the noise of the cotton-cleaning bow,
the twang of which as it is struck by the club is like a quail flying;
and at the same time to the Bahna's loquacity. Another story is that
a Bahna was once going through the forest with his cotton-cleaning bow
and club or mallet, when a jackal met him on the path. The jackal was
afraid that the Bahna would knock him on the head, so he said, "With
thy bow on thy shoulder and thine arrow in thy hand, whither goest
thou, O King of Delhi?" The Bahna was exceedingly pleased at this and
replied, 'King of the forest, eater of wild plums, only the great can
recognise the great.' But when the jackal had got to a safe distance
he turned round and shouted, "With your cotton-bow on your shoulder and
your club in your hand, there you go, you sorry Bahna." It is said also
that although the Bahnas as good Muhammadans wear beards, they do not
cultivate them very successfully, and many of them only have a growth
of hair below the chin and none on the under-lip, in the fashion known
as a goat's beard. This kind of beard is thus proverbially described
as '_Bahna kaisi darhi_' or 'A Bahna's beard.' It may be repeated in
conclusion that much of the ridicule attaching to the Bahnas arises
simply from the fact that they follow what is considered a feminine
occupation, and the remainder because in their ignorance they parody
the rites of Islam. It may seem ill-natured to record the sayings
in which they are lampooned, but the Bahnas cannot read English,
and these have an interest as specimens of popular wit.