The principal festival of the Kunbis is the Pola, falling at about
the middle of the rainy season, when they have a procession of
plough-bullocks. An old bullock goes first, and on his horns is
tied the _makhar_, a wooden frame with pegs to which torches are
affixed. They make a rope of mango-leaves stretched between two posts,
and the _makhar_ bullock is made to break this and stampede back to
the village, followed by all the other cattle. It is said that the
_makhar_ bullock will die within three years. Behind him come the
bullocks of the proprietors and then those of the tenants in the order,
not so much of their wealth, but of their standing in the village and
of the traditional position held by their families. A Kunbi feels it
very bitterly if he is not given what he considers to be his proper
rank in this procession. It has often been remarked that the feudal
feeling of reverence for hereditary rights and position is as strong
among the Maratha people as anywhere in the world.