The internal structure of the Kunbi caste in the Central Provinces
shows that it is a mixed occupational body recruited from different
classes of the population. The Jhare or jungly [17] Kunbis are
the oldest immigrants and have no doubt an admixture of Gond
blood. They do not break their earthen vessels after a death in
the house. With them may be classed the Manwa Kunbis of the Nagpur
District; these appear to be a group recruited from the Manas, a
primitive tribe who were dominant in Chanda perhaps even before the
advent of the Gonds. The Manwa Kunbi women wear their cloths drawn
up so as to expose the thigh like the Gonds, and have some other
primitive practices. They do not employ Brahmans at their marriages,
but consult a Mahar Mohturia or soothsayer to fix the date of the
ceremony. Other Kunbis will not eat with the Manwas, and the latter
retaliate in the usual manner by refusing to accept food from them;
and say that they are superior to other Kunbis because they always
use brass vessels for cooking and not earthen ones. Among the other
subcastes in the Central Provinces are the Khaire, who take their name
from the _khair_ [18] or catechu tree, presumably because they formerly
prepared catechu; this is a regular occupation of the forest tribes,
with whom it may be supposed that the Khaire have some affinity. The
Dhanoje are those who took to the occupation of tending _dhan_ [19]
or small stock, and they are probably an offshoot of the Dhangar
or shepherd caste whose name is similarly derived. Like the Dhangar
women they wear cocoanut-shell bangles, and the Manwa Kunbis also do
this; these bangles are not broken when a child is born, and hence
the Dhanojes and Manwas are looked down on by the other subcastes,
who refuse to remove their leaf-plates after a feast. The name of the
Khedule subcaste may be derived from _kheda_ a village, while another
version given by Mr. Kitts [20] is that it signifies 'A beardless
youth.' The highest subcaste in the Central Provinces are the Tirole
or Tilole, who now claim to be Rajputs. They say that their ancestors
came from Therol in Rajputana, and, taking to agriculture, gradually
became merged with the Kunbis. Another more probable derivation of
the name is from the _til_ or sesamum plant. The families who held
the hereditary office of Deshmukh, which conferred a considerable
local position, were usually members of the Tirole subcaste, and they
have now developed into a sort of aristocratic branch of the caste,
and marry among themselves when matches can be arranged. They do not
allow the remarriage of widows nor permit their women to accompany
the wedding procession. The Wandhekars are another group which also
includes some Deshmukh families, and ranks next to the Tiroles in
position. Mr. Kitts records a large number of subcastes in Berar. [21]
Among them are some groups from northern India, as the Hindustani,
Pardesi, Dholewar, Jaiswar and Singrore; these are probably Kurmis who
have settled in Berar and become amalgamated with the Kunbis. Similarly
the Tailanges and Munurwars appear to be an offshoot of the great Kapu
caste of cultivators in the Telugu country. The Wanjari subcaste is
a fairly large one and almost certainly represents a branch of the
Banjara caste of carriers, who have taken to agriculture and been
promoted into the Kunbi community. The Lonhare take their name from
Lonar Mehkar, the well-known bitter lake of the Buldana District,
whose salt they may formerly have refined. The Ghatole are those who
dwelt above the _ghats_ or passes of the Saihadri range to the south
of the Berar plain. The Baone are an important subcaste both in Berar
and the Central Provinces, and take their name from the phrase Bawan
Berar, [22] a term applied to the province by the Mughals because it
paid fifty-two lakhs of revenue, as against only eight lakhs realised
from the adjoining Jhadi or hill country in the Central Provinces. In
Chhindwara is found a small local subcaste called Gadhao because they
formerly kept donkeys, though they no longer do so; they are looked
down on by the others who will not even take water from their hands. In
Nimar is a group of Gujarati Kunbis who are considered to have been
originally Gujars. [23] Their local subdivisions are Leve and Karwa and
many of them are also known as Dalia, because they made the _dal_ or
pulse of Burhanpur, which had a great reputation under native rule. It
is said that it was formerly despatched daily to Sindhia's kitchen.