The social status of the Dhimar is somewhat peculiar. Owing to his
employment as palanquin-bearer, cook and household servant he has
been promoted to the group of castes who are ceremonially clean,
so that Brahmans in northern India will take water and food cooked
in butter from his hands. But by origin he no doubt belongs to the
primitive or non-Aryan tribes, a fact which he shows by his appearance
and also by his customs. In diet he is the reverse of fastidious,
eating crocodiles, tortoises and crabs, and also pork in the Maratha
Districts, though in the north where he is employed by Brahmans
as a personal servant he abstains from this food. With all this,
however, the Dhimars practise in some social matters a pharasaical
strictness. In Jubbulpore Mr. Pancham Lal records that among the four
subcastes of Rekwar, Bant, Barmaian and Pabeha a woman of one subcaste
will not partake of any food cooked by one of another division. A man
will take any kind of food cooked by a man of another subcaste, but
from a woman only such as is not mixed with water. A woman will drink
the water held in the metal vessel of a woman of another division,
but not in an earthen vessel; and in a metal vessel only provided
that it is brought straight from the well and not taken from the
_ghinochi_ or water-stand of such woman's house. A man will take water
to drink from the metal or earthen vessel of any other Dhimar, male or
female. In Berar again Mr. Kitts states [546] that a Bhoi considers
it pollution to eat or drink at the house of a Lohar (blacksmith),
a Sutar (carpenter), a Bhat (bard), a washerman or a barber; he will
not even carry their palanquins at a marriage.
Once a year at the Muharram festival the Dhimars will eat at the
hands of Muhammadans. They go round and beg for offerings of food
and take them to the Fakir, who places a little before the _tazia_ or
tomb of Husain and distributes the remainder to the Dhimars and other
Hindus and Muhammadans who have been begging. Except on this occasion
they will eat nothing touched by a Muhammadan. The Dhimar, the Nai or
barber, and the Bari or indoor servant are the three household menials
of the northern Districts, and are known as Pauni Parja. Sometimes
the Ahir or grazier is an indoor servant and takes the place of the
Dhimar or the Bari. These menials are admitted to the wedding and
other family feasts and allowed to eat at them. They sit in a line
apart from the members of the caste and one member of the family is
deputed to wait on them. Their food is brought to them in separate
dishes and no food from these dishes is served to guests of the caste.
Permanent expulsion [547] from caste is inflicted only for marrying,
or eating regularly, with a man or woman of some other low caste;
but in the case of unmarried persons the latter offence may also be
expiated. Temporary exclusion is imposed for killing a cat, dog or
squirrel, getting maggots in a wound, being sentenced to imprisonment
[548] or committing adultery with a person of any low caste. One
who has committed any of the above offences must be purified by the
Batta of the caste, that is a person who takes the sins of others
upon himself. The Batta conducts the culprit to a river and then
causes him to bathe, cuts off a lock of his hair, breaks a cocoanut
as a sacrifice, and gives him a little cowdung and milk to eat. Then
they proceed to eat together; the Batta eats five mouthfuls first
and declares that he has taken the sin of the offender on himself;
the latter gives the Batta Rs. 1-4 as his fee, and is once more a
proper member of the community. In Berar a Bhoi who has been put
out of caste is received back by his fellows when he has drunk the
water touched by a Brahman's toe, and has feasted them with a bout
of liquor. In towns the caste are generally addicted to drink, and
no marriage or other social function is held without a sufficient
supply of liquor. They also smoke _ganja_ (Indian hemp).