In northern India the members of different castes who have become
Bishnois have formed separate endogamous groups, of which Mr. Crooke
gives nine; among these are the Brahman, Bania, Jat, Sunar, Ahir and
Nai Bishnois. Only members of comparatively good castes appear to have
been admitted into the community, and in the Punjab they are nearly
all Jats and Banias. In the Central Provinces the caste forms only
one endogamous group. They have _gotras_ or exogamous sections, the
names of which appear to be of the titular or territorial type. Some
of the _gotras_, Jhuria, Ajna, Sain and Ahir, [385] are considered
to be lower than the others, and though they are not debarred from
intermarriage, a connection with them is looked upon as something of
a _mésalliance_. They are not consulted in the settlement of tribal
disputes. No explanation of the comparatively degraded position of
these septs is forthcoming, but it may probably be attributed to
some blot in their ancestral escutcheon. The Bishnois celebrate
their marriages at any period of the year, and place no reliance
on astrology. According to their saying, "Every day is as good as
Sankrant, [386] every day is as good as Amawas. [387] The Ganges flows
every day, and he whose preceptor has taught him the most truth will
get the most good from bathing in it."