The Chamars are broken up into a number of endogamous subcastes. Of
these the largest now consists of the members of the Satnami sect
in Chhattisgarh, who do not intermarry with other Chamars. They
are described in the article on that sect. The other Chamars call
the Satnamis Jharia or 'jungly', which implies that they are the
oldest residents in Chhattisgarh. The Satnamis are all cultivators,
and have given up working in leather. The Chungias (from _chungi_,
a leaf-pipe) are a branch of the Satnamis who have taken to smoking,
a practice which is forbidden by the rules of the sect. In Chhattisgarh
those Chamars who still cure hides and work in leather belong either
to the Kanaujia or Ahirwar subcastes, the former of whom take their
name from the well-known classical town of Kanauj in northern India,
while the latter are said to be the descendants of unions between
Chamar fathers and Ahir mothers. The Kanaujias are much addicted to
drink, and though they eat pork they do not rear pigs. The Ahirwars,
or Erwars as they are called outside Chhattisgarh, occupy a somewhat
higher position than the Kanaujias. They consider themselves to be the
direct descendants of the prophet Raidas or Rohidas, who, they say,
had seven wives of different castes; one of them was an Ahir woman,
and her offspring were the ancestors of the Ahirwar subcaste. Both
the Kanaujias and Ahirwars of Chhattisgarh are generally known to
outsiders as Paikaha, a term which indicates that they still follow
their ancestral calling of curing hides, as opposed to the Satnamis,
who have generally eschewed it. Those Chamars who are curriers have,
as a rule, the right to receive the hides of the village cattle in
return for removing the carcases, each family of Chamars having
allotted to them a certain number of tenants whose dead cattle
they take, while their women are the hereditary midwives of the
village. Such Chamars have the designation of Meher. The Kanaujias
make shoes out of a single piece of leather, while the Ahirwars cut
the front separately. The latter also ornament their shoes with fancy
work consisting of patterns of silver thread on red cloth. No Ahirwar
girl is married until she has shown herself proficient in this kind of
needlework. [447] Another well-known group, found both in Chhattisgarh
and elsewhere, are the Jaiswaras, who take their name from the old
town of Jais in the United Provinces. Many of them serve as grooms,
and are accustomed to state their caste as Jaiswara, considering
it a more respectable designation than Chamar. The Jaiswaras must
carry burdens on their heads only and not on their shoulders, and
they must not tie up a dog with a halter or neck-rope, this article
being venerated by them as an implement of their calling. A breach
of either of these rules entails temporary excommunication from caste
and a fine for readmission. Among a number of territorial groups may
be mentioned the Bundelkhandi or immigrants from Bundelkhand; the
Bhadoria from the Bhadawar State; the Antarvedi from Antarved or the
Doab, the country lying between the Ganges and Jumna; the Gangapari
or those from the north of the Ganges; and the Pardeshi (foreigners)
and Desha or Deswar (belonging to the country), both of which groups
come from Hindustan. The Deswar Chamars of Narsinghpur [448] are now
all agriculturists and have totally abjured the business of working in
leather. The Mahobia and Khaijraha take their names from the towns of
Mahoba and Khaijra in Central India. The Ladse or Ladvi come from south
Gujarat, which in classical times was known as Lat; while the Maratha,
Beraria and Dakhini subdivisions belong to southern India. There are
a number of other territorial groups of less importance.