_Brahman, Khedawal._--The Khedawals are a class of Gujarati Brahmans,
who take their name from Kheda or Kaira, the headquarters of the Kaira
District, where they principally reside. They have two divisions,
known as Inside and Outside. It is said that once the Kaira chief was
anxious to have a son and offered them gifts. The majority refused the
gifts, and leaving Kaira settled in villages outside the town; while
a small number accepted the gifts and remained inside, and hence two
separate divisions arose, the outside group being the higher. [427]
It is said that the first Khedawal who came to the Central Provinces
was on a journey from Gujarat to Benares when, on passing through
Panna State, he saw some diamonds lying in a field. He stopped and
picked up as many as he could and presented them to the Raja of Panna,
who made him a grant of an estate, and from this time other Khedawals
came and settled. A considerable colony of them now exists in Saugor
and Damoh. The Khedawals are clever and astute, and many of them are
the agents of landowners and moneylenders, while a large proportion
are in the service of the Government. They do not as a rule perform
priestly functions in the Central Provinces. Their caste observances
are strict. Formerly it is said that a Khedawal who was sent to jail
was permanently expelled from caste, and though the rule has been
relaxed the penalties for readmission are still very heavy. They
do not smoke, but only chew tobacco. Widows must dress in white,
and their heads are sometimes shaved. They are said to consider a
camel as impure as a donkey, and will not touch either animal. One
of their common titles is Mehta, meaning great. The Khedawals of the
Central Provinces formerly married only among themselves, but since
the railway has been opened intermarriage with their caste-fellows
in Gujarat has been resumed.