In Wardha and Berar the customs of the Kunbis show in several
respects the influence of Islam, due no doubt to the long period
of Muhammadan dominance in the country. To this may perhaps be
attributed the prevalence of burial of the dead instead of cremation,
the more respectable method according to Hindu ideas. The Dhanoje
Kunbis commonly revere Dawal Malik, a Muhammadan saint, whose tomb
is at Uprai in Amraoti District. An _urus_ or fair is held here on
Thursdays, the day commonly sacred to Muhammadan saints, and on this
account the Kunbis will not be shaved on Thursdays. They also make
vows of mendicancy at the Muharram festival, and go round begging for
rice and pulse; they give a little of what they obtain to Muhammadan
beggars and eat the rest. At the Muharram they tie a red thread
on their necks and dance round the _alawa_, a small hole in which
fire is kindled in front of the _tasias_ or tombs of Hussain. At the
Muharram [36] they also carry horseshoes of silver or gilt tinsel on
the top of a stick decorated with peacock's feathers. The horseshoe
is a model of that of the horse of Hussain. The men who carry these
horseshoes are supposed to be possessed by the spirit of the saint,
and people make prayers to them for anything they want. If one of
the horseshoes is dropped the finder will keep it in his house,
and next year if he feels that the spirit moves him will carry it
himself. In Wardha the Kunbis worship Khwaja Sheikh Farid of Girar,
and occasionally Sheikh Farid appears to a Kunbi in a dream and
places him under a vow. Then he and all his household make little
imitation beggars' wallets of cloth and dye them with red ochre,
and little hoes on the model of those which saises use to drag out
horses' dung, this hoe being the badge of Sheikh Farid. Then they
go round begging to all the houses in the village, saying, '_Dam_,
[37] _Sahib_, _dam_.' With the alms given them they make cakes of
_malida_, wheat, sugar and butter, and give them to the priest of the
shrine. Sometimes Sheikh Farid tells the Kunbi in the dream that he
must buy a goat of a certain Dhangar (shepherd), naming the price,
while the Dhangar is similarly warned to sell it at the same price,
and the goat is then purchased and sacrificed without any haggling:
At the end of the sacrifice the priest releases the Kunbi from his vow,
and he must then shave the whole of his head and distribute liquor to
the caste-fellows in order to be received back into the community. The
water of the well at Sheikh Farid's shrine at Girar is considered
to preserve the crops against insects, and for this purpose it is
carried to considerable distances to be sprinkled on them.