The caste has twelve exogamous septs, though the list is probably
not complete. These appear to be derived from the names of
villages. Marriage is forbidden between the Baghmar and Baghcharia
septs, the Maratha and Khatnagar and Maralwati septs and the Sonwani
and Sonsonwani septs. These septs are said to have been subdivided and
to be still related. The names Baghmar and Baghcharia are both derived
from the tiger; Sonnwani is from Sona-pani or gold-water, and the
Sonsonwani sept seems therefore to be the aristocratic branch or _crême
de la crême_ of the Sonwanis. The children of brothers and sisters
may marry but not those of two sisters, because a man's maternal aunt
or _mausi_ is considered as equivalent to his mother. A man may also
marry his step-sister on the mother's side, that is the daughter of
his own mother by another husband either prior to or subsequent to
his father, the step-sister being of a different sept. This relaxation
may have been permitted on account of the small numbers of the caste
and the consequent difficulty of arranging marriages.