taken from the main articles and are arranged here in index form as
an aid to identification. Section or clan names, however, will not
usually be found in the main articles. They have been selected from
an alphabetical list prepared separately, and are included as being
of some interest, in addition to those contained in the articles. The
Glossary also serves the purpose of indicating how subcaste and clan
names are common to several castes and tribes.
GLOSSARY
_Abhimanchkul_.--A section of Komti in Chanda. They abstain from
using a preparation of lead which is generally ground to powder and
applied to wounds.
_Abhira_.--An immigrant nomad tribe from which the modern Ahir caste
is believed to have originated. A division of Maratha and Gujarati
Brahmans, so called because they are priests of the Abhiras or the
modern Ahirs.
_Abdhut_.--Name for a religious mendicant. Applied to Gosains, _q.v._
_Acharya_, _Acharaj_.--(Superintendent of ceremonies.) Title of
the heads of the Swami-Narayan sect. A surname of Adi Gaur Brahmans
in Saugor.
_Adhia_.--(Half.) A subcaste of Telis considered to be illegitimate
in Betul.
_Adhaighar_, _Arhaighar_.--(2 1/2 houses.) A subdivision of Saraswat
Brahmans.
_Adhali_.--A name given to Malyars by outsiders.
_Adigaur_.--A subdivision of Brahman, probably a branch of the Gaur
Brahmans, though in Saugor they are considered to be Kanaujias.
_Adkandh_, _Adikandh_.--(Superior Khonds.) A subcaste of Khonds,
being the most Hinduised section of this tribe. A title of Khond.
_Adnath_, _Adinath_.--A subdivision of Jogi. Adinath was the father
of Matsyendranath and grandfather of Gorakhnath, the first great Jogi.
_Agamudayan_.--A large Tamil cultivating caste, of which a few members
reside in the Central Provinces in Jubbulpore and Raipur. They are the
families of Madras sepoys who have retired from regiments stationed
in these places. The Agamudayans sometimes call themselves by the
title of Pillai, which means 'Son of a god' and was formerly reserved
to Brahmans.
_Agarwala_, _Agarwal_.--A subcaste of Bania. See Bania-Agarwala.
_Agastya_.--An eponymous section of Brahmans.
_Aghorpanthi_.--Synonym for Aghori.
_Agnihotri_.--A surname of Kanaujia and Jijhotia Brahmans in
Saugor. (One who performs the sacrifice to Agni or the god of fire.)
_Agnikula_.--A name given to four clans of Rajputs said to have been
born from the fire-pit on Mount Abu. See article Panwar Rajput.
_Agrahari_.--A subcaste of Bania found chiefly in Jubbulpore District
and Raigarh State. Their name has been connected with the cities of
Agra and Agroha.
_Agrajanma_.--(First-born.) A synonym for Brahmans.
_Aharia_.--Clan of Rajput. Synonym for Sesodia.
_Ahir_.--The professional caste of herdsmen. A clan of Maratha. A
subcaste of Rawat and Salewar Koshti in Nimar. A subcaste of Bishnoi,
Gurao, and Sunar.
_Ahirwar_.--A resident of the old town of Ahar in the Bulandshahr
district. Subcaste of Kori.
_Ahivasi_, _Ahiwasi_.--(From Ahiwas, 'The abode of the dragon,'
the hermitage of Sanbhari Rishi in Mathura.) A Brahmanical or
pseudo-Brahmanical tribe. They are said to be sprung from a Brahman
father and a Kshatriya mother, and were formerly pack-carriers. Found
in Jubbulpore and the Nerbudda Valley.
_Ahke_.--(Seduced.) A sept of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betul. They
are said to be so named because their priests once seduced a Dhurwa
girl, and her son was given this name.
_Aithana_.--A subcaste of Kayasth.
_Ajodhia_.--Subcaste of Jadam.
_Ajudhiabasi_.--See Audhia.
_Akali_.--Order of Sikh devotees. See article Sikh.
_Akhadewale_.--A class of Bairagis who do not marry. Also known
as Nihang.
_Akhroti_.--A subdivision of Pathans. (From _akhrot_, walnut.)
_Akre_.--A bastard Khatik. Title of a child a Khatik gets by a woman
of another caste.
_Alia_.--A grower of the _al_ plant. A subcaste of Bania and Kachhi,
a synonym of Chasa.
_Alia_, _Alkari_.--These terms are derived from the _al_ or Indian
mulberry (_Morinda citrifolia_). The Alias are members of the
Kachhi caste who formerly grew the _al_ plant in Nimar for sale
to the dyers. Its cultivation then yielded a large profit and the
Alias devoted themselves solely to it, while they excommunicated
any of their members who were guilty of selling or giving away the
seed. The imported alizarin has now almost entirely superseded the
indigenous dye, and _al_ as a commercial product has been driven from
the market. Alkari is a term applied to Banias and others in the Damoh
District who were formerly engaged in the cultivation of the _al_
plant. The members of each caste which took to the cultivation of this
plant were somewhat looked down upon by the others and hence became a
distinct group. The explanation generally given of the distaste for
the crop is that in the process of boiling the roots to extract the
dye a number of insects have to be killed. A further reason is that
the red dye is considered to resemble or be equivalent to blood, the
second idea being a necessary consequence of the first in primitive
modes of thought, and hence to cause a certain degree of pollution
to those who prepare it. A similar objection is held to the purveying
of lac-dye as shown in the article on Lakhera. Notwithstanding this,
clothes dyed red are considered lucky, and the _al_ dye was far more
commonly used by Hindus than any other, prior to the introduction of
aniline dyes. Tents were also coloured red with this dye. The tents
of the Mughal Emperors and royal princes were of red cloth dyed with
the roots of the _al_ plant. [408] Similarly Nadir Shah, the victor
of Panipat, had his field headquarters and lived in one small red
tent. In these cases the original reason for colouring the tents
red may probably have been that it was a lucky colour for battles,
and the same belief may have led to the adoption of red as a royal
and imperial colour.
_Alkari_.--Synonym for Alia.
_Alua_.--A subcaste of Uriya Brahmans, so named because their
forefathers grew the _alu_ or potato.
_Amal_.--A section of Komti. The members of this section do not eat
the plantain.
_Ambadar_.--(Mango-branch.) A section of Rawat (Ahir).
_Ambashta_.--A subcaste of Kayasth.
_Amethia_.--(From Amethi, a pargana in Lucknow District.) A sept of
Rajputs, who are Chauhans according to Sir H.M. Elliott, but others
say they are a branch of the Chamar Gaur.
_Amisht_.--A subcaste of Kayasth.
_Amnait_.--Subcaste of Bhatra.
_Amrite_.--(From Amrit nectar.) A section of Kirar.
_Anapa_.--(Leather-dealers.) Subcaste of Madgi.
_Anavala_.--A subdivision of Gujarati or Khedawal Brahmans. They
derive their name from the village Anaval in Baroda. They are otherwise
known as Bhatela, Desai or Mastan.
_Andhra_, _Tailanga_.--One of the five orders of the Panch Dravid
Brahmans inhabiting the Telugu country.
_Antarvedi_.--A resident of Antarved or the Doab, the tract of land
between the Ganges and the Jumna rivers. Subcaste of Chamar.
_Apastambha_.--A Sutra of the Vedas. A subdivision of Brahmans
following that Sutra and forming a caste subdivision. But they marry
with Rig-Vedis, though the Sutra belongs to the Black Yajur-Vedi.
_Atharvarvedi_, _Antharwarvedi_.--A subcaste of Brahmans who follow
the Atharvar-Veda and are very rarely met with.
_Arab_.--This designation is sometimes returned by the descendants
of the Arab mercenaries of the Bhonsla kings. These were at one time
largely employed by the different rulers of southern India and made
the best of soldiers. In the Maratha armies [409] their rate of
pay was Rs. 12 a month, while the ordinary infantry received only
Rs. 5. General Hislop stated their character as follows: [410]
"There are perhaps no troops in the world that will make a stouter
or more determined stand at their posts than the Arabs. They are
entirely unacquainted with military evolutions, and undisciplined;
but every Arab has a pride and heart of his own that never forsakes
him as long as he has legs to stand on. They are naturally brave and
possess the greatest coolness and quickness of sight: hardy and fierce
through habit, and bred to the use of the matchlock from their boyhood:
and they attain a precision and skill in the use of it that would
almost exceed belief, bringing down or wounding the smallest object
at a considerable distance, and not unfrequently birds with a single
bullet. They are generally armed with a matchlock, a couple of swords,
with three or four small daggers stuck in front of their belts, and
a shield. On common occasions of attack and defence they fire but
one bullet, but when hard pressed at the breach they drop in two,
three, and four at a time, from their mouths, always carrying in
them from eight to ten bullets, which are of a small size. We may
calculate the whole number of Arabs in the service of the Peshwa
and the Berar Raja at 6000 men, a loose and undisciplined body,
but every man of them a tough and hardy soldier. It was to the Arabs
alone those Provinces looked, and placed their dependence on. Their
own troops fled and abandoned them, seldom or never daring to meet
our smallest detachment. Nothing can exceed the horror and atarm with
which some of our native troops view the Arab. At Nagpur in November
1817 the Arabs alone attacked us on the defence and reduced us to the
last extremity, when we were saved by Captain Fitzgerald's charge. The
Arabs attacked us at Koregaon and would have certainly destroyed us had
not the Peshwa withdrawn his troops on General Smith's approach. The
Arabs kept General Doveton at bay with his whole army at Nagpur for
several days, repulsing our attack at the breach, and they gained
their fullest terms. The Arabs worsted us for a month at Malegaon
and saved their credit. They terrified the Surat authorities by their
fame alone. They gained their terms of money from Sir John Malcolm at
Asirgarh. They maintained to the last for their prince their post at
Alamner and nobly refused to be bought over there. They attacked us
bravely, but unfortunately at Talner. They attacked Captain Spark's
detachment on the defence and destroyed it. They attacked a battalion
of the 14th Madras Infantry with 26-pounders and compelled them to
seek shelter in a village; and they gave us a furious wind-up at
Asirgarh. Yet the whole of these Arabs were not 6000."
There is no doubt that the Arabs are one of the finest fighting
races of the world. Their ancestors were the Saracens who gained
a great empire in Europe and Asia. Their hardihood and powers of
endurance are brought to the highest pitch by the rigours of desert
life, while owing to their lack of nervous sensibility the shock
and pain of wounds affect them less than civilised troops. And in
addition their religion teaches that all who die in battle against the
infidel are transported straight to a paradise teeming with material
and sensual delights. Arab troops are still employed in Hyderabad
State. Mr. Stevens notices them as follows in his book _In India_:
"A gang of half-a-dozen, brilliantly dishevelled, a faggot of daggers
with an antique pistol or two in each belt, and a six-foot matchlock
on each shoulder. They serve as irregular troops there, and it must
be owned that if irregularity is what you want, no man on earth can
supply it better. The Arab irregulars are brought over to serve their
time and then sent back to Arabia; there is one at this moment, who
is a subaltern in Hyderabad, but as soon as he crosses the British
border gets a salute of nine guns; he is a Sheikh in his own country
near Aden."
The Arabs who have been long resident here have adopted the ways
and manners of other Musalmans. Their marriages are in the Nikah
form and are marked by only one [411] dinner, following the example
of the Prophet, who gave a dinner at the marriage of his daughter
the Lady Fatimah and Ali. In obedience to the order of the Prophet
a death is followed by no signs of mourning. Arabs marry freely
with other Sunni Muhammadans and have no special social or religious
organisation. The battle-cry of the Arabs at Sitabaldi and Nagpur was
'_Din, Din, Muhammad_.'
_Arakh_.--A caste. A subcaste of Dahait, Gond and Pasi.
_Aranya_.--Name of one of the ten orders of Gosains.
_Are_.--A cultivating caste of the Chanda District, where they numbered
2000 persons in 1911. The caste are also found in Madras and Bombay,
where they commonly return themselves under the name of Marathi; this
name is apparently used in the south as a generic term for immigrants
from the north, just as in the Central Provinces people coming from
northern India are called Pardeshi. Mr. (Sir H.) Stuart says [412]
that Are is a synonym for Arya, and is used as an equivalent of a
Maratha and sometimes in a still wider sense, apparently to designate
an immigrant Aryan into the Dravidian country of the south. The Ares of
the Central Provinces appear to be Kunbis who have migrated into the
Telugu country. The names of their subcastes are those of the Kunbis,
as Khaire, Tirelle, a form of Tirole, and Dhanoj for Dhanoje. Other
subdivisions are called Kayat and Kattri, and these seem to be the
descendants of Kayasth and Khatri ancestors. The caste admit Brahmans,
Banias, and Komtis into the community and seem to be, as shown by
Mr. Stuart, a mixed group of immigrants from Maharashtra into the
Telugu country. Some of them wear the sacred thread and others do
not. Some of their family names are taken from those of animals and
plants, and they bury persons who die unmarried, placing their feet
towards the north like the forest tribes.
_Arka_.--A sept of Gonds in Chanda who worship the saras crane.
_Armachi_.--(The _dhaura_ tree.) A totemistic sept of Gonds.
_Arora_, _Rora_.--An important trading and mercantile caste of the
Punjab, of which a few persons were returned from the Nimar District in
1901. Sir D. Ibbetson was of opinion that the Aroras were the Khatris
of Aror, the ancient capital of Scinde, represented by the modern
Rori. He described the Arora as follows: [413] "Like the Khatri and
unlike the Bania he is no mere trader; but his social position is
far inferior to theirs, partly no doubt because he is looked down
upon simply as being a Hindu in the portions of the Province which
are his special habitat. He is commonly known as a Kirar, a word
almost synonymous with coward, and even more contemptuous than is
the name Bania in the east of the province. The Arora is active and
enterprising, industrious and thrifty.... 'When an Arora girds up
his loins he makes it only two miles from Jhang to Lahore.' He will
turn his hand to any work, he makes a most admirable cultivator,
and a large proportion of the Aroras of the lower Chenab are purely
agricultural in their avocations. He is found throughout Afghanistan
and even Turkistan and is the Hindu trader of those countries; while
in the western Punjab he will sew clothes, weave matting and baskets,
make vessels of brass and copper and do goldsmith's work. But he is a
terrible coward, and is so branded in the proverbs of the countryside:
The thieves were four and we eighty-four; the thieves came on and we
ran away; and again: To meet a Rathi armed with a hoe makes a company
of nine Kirars (Aroras) feel alone. Yet the peasant has a wholesome
dread of the Kirar when in his proper place: Vex not the Jat in his
jungle, nor the Kirar at his shop, nor the boatman at his ferry;
for if you do they will break your head. Again: Trust not a crow,
a dog or a Kirar, even when asleep. So again: You can't make a friend
of a Kirar any more than a _sati_ of a prostitute."
_Asathi_.--A subcaste of Bania. They are both Jains and Hindus.
_Ashram_.--Name of one of the ten orders of Gosains.
_Ashthana_.--A subcaste of Kayasth.
_Atharadesia_.--(A man of eighteen districts.) Subcaste of Banjara.
_Athbhaiya_.--(Eight brothers.) A subdivision of Saraswat Brahman
in Hoshangabad. An Athbhaiya cannot take a wife from the Chaubhaiya
subdivision, to whom the former give their daughters in marriage.
_Athia_.--A subcaste of Chadar, so named because they worship their
goddess Devi on the 8th day (Athain) of Kunwar (September), and
correspond to the Brahmanical Sakta sect, as opposed to the other
Chadar subcaste Parmasuria, who correspond to the Vaishnavas.
_Audhalia_.--Synonym for Audhelia.
_Audhia_, _Ajudhiabasi_.--A resident of Oudh. Subcaste of Bania and
of Kasar and Sunar.
_Audichya_.--A subcaste of Brahmans coming from Oudh.
_Aughad_.--A subdivision of Jogi. They resemble the Aghoris with the
difference that they may not eat human flesh.
_Aughar_.--A subdivision of Jogi.
_Aukule_.--A subcaste of Koshtis. They are also called Vidurs, being
of mixed descent from Koshtas and other castes.
_Aulia_.--(A favourite of God.) Title of Muhammadan saints.
_Baba_.--Synonym of Gosain.
_Babhan_.--Synonym for Bhuinhar, being the name of a landholding
caste in Bengal. Used as a title by Bhuiyas.
_Babuan_.--Title for the descendants of the former ruling families
of the Chero tribe.
_Bachhalya_, _Bachhap_, _Bachhilia_.--(From _bachha_, a calf.) A
section of Bania, Chadar and Khangar. A section of Patwa in
Raipur. They do not castrate bullocks.
_Bad_.--(High or great.) Subcaste of Agharia and Sudh.
_Bad_ or _Bhand_.--A caste. Title of Khatik.
_Bad_.--(Banyan tree.) A section of Joshi.
_Badaria_.--(From _badar_, cloud.) A section of Kandera.
_Badgainya_.--(From Badgaon (_bara gaon_), a large village.) A surname
of Sarwaria Brahmans. A section of Basdewa, Gadaria and Kurmi.
_Badgujar_.--(From _bada_, great.) One of the thirty-six royal races
of Rajputs. A subcaste of Gujar, also of Gaur Brahman. A section
of Mehtar.
_Badhaiya_.--(Barhai, carpenter.) A subcaste of Lohar and Kol. A sept
of Savar.
_Badharia_.--A resident of Badhas in Mirzapur. Subcaste of Bahna
and Dhuri.
_Badi_.--(A rope-walker.) Synonym of Nat.
_Badkur_.--Title used in the Dhobi caste.
_Badwaik_.--(The great ones.) A subcaste of Mana. A title of Dhobi
and Pan or Ganda.
_Bagaria_.--(A young buffalo.) A sept of Dhanwar and Sonkar.
_Bagh_, _Baghwa_.--(Tiger.) A totemistic sept of Ahir, Bhatra, Kawar,
Munda, Oraon, Sonkar, Teli and Turi.
_Baghel_, _Baghela_.--(A tiger or tiger-cub.) A clan of Rajputs
which has given its name to Baghelkhand. A subcaste of Audhia Sunar
and Chamar. A section of Bhilala, Dhanwar, Gond, Lodhi, Mali, and
Panwar Rajput.
_Baghmar_, _Baghmarya_, _Bagmar_.--(A tiger-slayer.) A section of
Oswal Bania, Basor, Chamar, Dhimar, Koilabhuti Gond, and Teli. A
subsept of Nika Gonds in Betul, who abstain from killing tigers.
_Bagri_.--A clan of Rajputs. A subcaste of Jat. One of the 72 1/2
sections of Maheshri Banias. People belonging to the Badhak or Bawaria,
and Pardhi castes are sometimes known by this name.
_Bahargainyan_.--(From _Bahar gaon_, outside the village.) A subcaste
of Kurmi.
_Baharketu_.--(Bush-cutter.) A subcaste of Korwa.
_Bahelia_.--The caste of fowlers and hunters in northern India. In the
Central Provinces the Bahelias are not to be distinguished from the
Pardhis, as they have the same set of exogamous groups named after the
Rajput clans, and resemble them in all other respects. The word Bahelia
is derived from the Sanskrit Vyadha, 'one who pierces or wounds,' hence
a hunter. Pardhi is derived from the Marathi _paradh_, hunting. The
latter term is more commonly used in the Central Provinces, and has
therefore been chosen as the title of the article on the caste.
_Bahre_.--(Outside the walls.) A subdivision of Khedawal Brahmans.
_Bahrup_.--Subcaste of Banjara.
_Bahrupia_.--A small class of mendicant actors and quick-change
artists. They are recruited from all classes of the population,
and though a distinct caste of Bahrupias appears to exist, people of
various castes also call themselves Bahrupia when they take to this
occupation. In Berar the Mahar, Mang and Maratha divisions of the
Bahrupias are the most common: [414] the former two begging only from
the castes from which they take their name. In Gujarat they appear
to be principally Muhammadans. Sir D. Ibbetson says of them: [415]
"The name is derived from the Sanskrit _bahu_, many, and _rupa_,
form, and denotes an actor, a mimic or one who assumes many forms
or characters. One of their favourite devices is to ask for money,
and when it is refused to ask that it may be given if the Bahrupia
succeeds in deceiving the person who refused it. Some days later the
Bahrupia will again visit the house in the disguise of a pedlar,
a milkman or what not, sell his goods without being detected,
throw off his disguise and claim the stipulated reward." In Gujarat
"they are ventriloquists and actors with a special skill of dressing
one side of their face like a man and the other side like a woman,
and moving their head about so sharply that they seem to be two
persons." [416] Mr. Kitts states that "the men are by profession
story-tellers and mimics, imitating the voices of men and the notes
of animals; their male children are also trained to dance. In payment
for their entertainment they are frequently content with cast-off
clothes, which will of course be of use to them in assuming other
characters." [417] Occasionally also they dress up in European clothes
and can successfully assume the character of a Eurasian.
_Baid_.--(Physician.) A surname of Sanadhia and Maratha Brahmans in
Saugor. A section of Oswal Bania, and Darzi.
_Bairagi_.--A caste or religious order. Subcaste of Bhat.
_Bais_.--A clan of Rajputs.
_Bajania_.--(One who plays on musical instruments.) Subcaste of Panka.
_Bajanya_.--(Drummer.) A subcaste of Panka in Balaghat.
_Bajarha_.--(Bazar.) A section of Daraiha in Bilaspur.
_Bajna_, _Bajgari_.--(Musicians at feasts and marriages.) Subcaste
of Ganda.
_Bajpai_.--(A priest officiating at the horse sacrifice.) A surname of
Kanaujia Brahmans. A section of Brahmans. Title of some old families
whose ancestors were sacrificial priests.
_Bakar Kasai_.--(Goat-butcher.) A subcaste of Khatik.
_Bakra_.--(Goat.) A totemistic sept of Bhatra and Halba.
_Baksaria_.--From Buxar in Bengal. A clan of Rajputs. A section of
Daraiha and Lodhi.
_Balla_.--One of the 36 Rajkuls or royal clans of Rajputs noted in
Tod's _Rajasthan_.
_Balnik_.--Subcaste of Kayasth.
_Balusudia_.--(Shaven.) Title of Khond.
_Balutedar_.--Name for a village menial in Berar. Title of Dhobi.
_Balwanda_.--(Quarrelsome.) A section of Teli.
_Bam-Margi._--Synonym for the Vam-Margi sect.
_Baman_ or _Brahman_. Subcaste of Bishnoi, Darzi and Gondhali.
_Bamania_.--(From Brahman.) A section of Ahir. They do not touch the
pipal tree. A section of Mahar and of Rajjhar in Hoshangabad.
_Bamhan Gour_ or _Brahman Gour_.--A clan of Rajputs in Saugor and
Narsinghpur.
_Bamhania_.--A subcaste of Kasar, from Bamhan or Brahman. A section
of Katia.
_Bamnaiha_.--(Belonging to a Brahman.) A section of Basor.
_Banaphar_, _Banafar_.--A clan of Rajputs. A section of Daharia.
_Banbhainsa_.--(Wild buffalo.) A section of Rawat (Ahir).
_Banda_.--(Tailless.) A section of Kirar.
_Banda Bagh_.--(Tailless tiger.) A section of Teli.
_Bandar_.--(A rocket-thrower.) Synonym of Kadera.
_Bandarwale_.--(One who catches monkeys.)--Subcaste of Pardhi.
_Bandesia_.--(A man of 52 districts.) Subcaste of Banjara.
_Bandhaiya_.--A subcaste of Nunia who confine themselves to the
excavation of tanks and wells. Also a subcaste of Dhimar.
_Bandhaiya_.--(From Bandhogarh.) Subcaste of Nai.
_Bandhia_--(From _bandh_, an embankment.) A subcaste of Darzi and
Dhimar. A section of Chamar.
_Bandrele_.--(Monkey.) A section of Basor, and Barai.
_Banghore_.--(Wild horses.) A section of Dom (Mehtar).
_Bania_.--A caste. Subcaste of Bishnoi. A synonym of Sunar in
Sambalpur. A subcaste of Banjara. A section of Nandvansi Gauli.
_Banka_.--A small caste found principally in the Kalahandi State
which now forms part of Bengal. The caste was formed from military
service like the Khandaits, Paiks and Marathas, and some families
bear the names of different castes, as Brahman Banka, Kumhar Banka,
and so on. They were formerly notorious freebooters, but have now
settled down to cultivation. Each man, however, still carries a sword
or knife on his person, and in Kalahandi they are permitted to do
this without taking out a licence.
_Banku_.--(One who frequents sequestered parts of forests.) A sept
of Korku.
_Bansberia_.--(One who performs acrobatic feats on a stick or
bamboo.) Synonym of Kolhati.
_Bansia_.--(Angler.) From _bansi_, a fishing-hook. Subcaste of Dhimar.
_Bansphor_.--(A breaker of bamboos.) Synonym of Basor. Subcaste of
Mehtar and Mahli.
_Banstalai_.--(A tank with bamboo trees on its bank.) A section
of Teli.
_Bant_.--Subcaste of Dhimar.
_Bantia_.--(From _banat_, a red woollen blanket.) A section of
Oswal Bania.
_Baone_ or _Baonia_.--From the phrase _Bawan Berar_, 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 hilly country in the Central Provinces. Subcaste of Kunbi,
Mahar and Mali.
_Baoria_.--Synonym of Badhak.
_Bara-hazar._--(Twelve thousand.) Subcaste of Chero.
_Barade, Berari_.--A resident of Berar. Subcaste of Bahna, Barhai,
Chamar, Dhangar, Dhobi, Khatik, Mang and Nai.
_Baram_ or _Birm_.--Subcaste of Bhat.
_Barapatre_.--(A large leaf-plate.) A section of Koshti.
_Baraua_.--(A fisherman.) Synonym of Dhimar; title of Dhimar.
_Bardhia_.--(From _bardh_, a term for the edge of a weapon.) Synonym
of Sikligar.
_Bardia_.--One who uses bullocks for transport. Subcaste of Kumhar.
_Baretha_.--(A washerman.) Synonym for Dhobi.
_Barga_.--Subcaste of Oraon.
_Bargah_, [418] _Bargaha_, _Barghat_.--A small caste of cultivators
belonging principally to the Bilaspur District. They appear to
be immigrants from Rewah, where the caste is numerically strong,
and they are also found in the adjacent Districts of the United
Provinces and Bengal. In the United Provinces they are employed as
higher domestic servants and make leaf-plates, while their women act
as midwives. [419] Here they claim kinship with the Goala Ahirs, but
in the Central Provinces and Bengal they advance pretensions to be
Rajputs. They have a story, however, which shows their connection
with the Ahirs, to the effect that on one occasion Brahma stole
Krishna's cows and cowherds. Krishna created new ones to replace them,
exactly similar to those lost, but Brahma subsequently returned the
originals, and the Bargahas are the descendants of the artificial
cowherds created by Krishna. In Sarguja, Bargaha is used as a title
by Ahirs, while in Rewah the Bargahs are looked on as the bastard
offspring of Baghel Rajputs. Dr. Buchanan writes of them as follows:
[420] "In Gorakhpur the Rajput chiefs have certain families of Ahirs,
the women of which act as wet-nurses to their children, while the men
attend to their persons. These families are called Bargaha; they have
received, of course, great favours and many of them are very rich,
but others look down upon them as having admitted their women to too
great familiarity with their chiefs." In the United Provinces they
also claim to be Rajputs, as they returned themselves as a clan of
Rajputs in 1881. [421] Their position as described by Buchanan is
precisely the same as that of the Dauwa Ahirs, who are the household
servants of Bundela Rajputs in Bundelkhand, and the facts set forth
above leave little or no doubt that the Bargahs are a mixed caste,
arising from the connection of Rajputs with the Ahir women who were
their personal servants. In the Central Provinces no subdivisions of
the caste exist at present, but a separate and inferior subcaste is in
process of formation from those who have been turned out of caste. They
are divided for the purpose of marriage into exogamous _gotras_ or
clans, the names of which correspond to those of Rajputs, as Kaunsil,
Chandel, Rana, Bundela, Rathor, Baghel, Chauhan and others. Marriage
between members of the same clan and also between first cousins is
prohibited. The custom of _guranwat_ or exchanging girls in marriage
between families is very prevalent, and as there is a scarcity of girls
in the caste, a man who has not got a daughter must pay Rs. 100 to
Rs. 200 to obtain a bride for his son. On the arrival of the marriage
procession the bridegroom touches with a dagger a grass mat hung in
front of the marriage-shed. During the marriage the bridegroom's father
presents him with a grass ring, which he places on his wrist. The
hands of the bridegroom and bride are tied one over the other with a
piece of thread, and the bride's parents catching the hands say to the
bridegroom, 'We have given you our daughter; protect her.' The couple
then walk seven times round a sacrificial fire and a pestle and slab
containing seven pieces of turmeric, nuts and heaps of coloured rice,
the bride leading and kicking over a heap of rice from the slab at
each turn. The other common ceremonies are also performed. The Bargahs
do not tolerate sexual offences and expel a girl or married woman
who goes wrong. The Bargahs are usually cultivators in the Central
Provinces, but they consider it beneath their dignity to touch the
plough with their own hands. Many of them are mlguzrs or village
proprietors. They take food cooked without water from a Brahman,
and water only from a Rajput. Rajputs take water from their hands,
and their social position is fairly high.
_Bargandi_,--Synonym for Kaikari.
_Barghat_.--Synonym of Bargah.
_Barki_.--High. Subcaste of Rautia.
_Barkia_.--(A spinner of fine thread.) Subcaste of Mahar.
_Barmaiyan, Barmian, Malaiya_.--Subcaste of Basor, Dhimar and Gadaria.
_Baroni_.--Title of a female Dhimar.
_Barora_ or _Warkara_.--(Wild cat.) A subsept of the Uika clan of
Gonds in Betul.
_Barpaihi_.--(_Bar,_ banyan tree.) A sept of the Uika clan of Gonds
in Betul, so named because their priest offered food to their gods
on the leaves of a banyan tree.
_Barwa_.--Synonym for Garpagari. One who wards off hailstones from
the standing crops. Subcaste of Jogi.
_Bashishta_.--See Vasishta. A section of Vidur.
_Bastarha_.--A resident of Bastar State. Subcaste of Halba.
_Bathri_.--(From _batkur_, a vegetable.) A subcaste of Dhobi and Teli.
_Bathudia_.--Subcaste of Bhuiya.
_Batri_.--A grower of _batar_, a kind of pea. Subcaste of Teli.
_Batti_.--(A ball.) A subsept of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betul,
so named because their priest stole balls of cooked mahua. They do
not kill or eat goats or sheep, and throw away anything smelt by them.
_Bawan, Bawanjaye_.--_(Bawan_-52.) A subcaste of Saraswat Brahmans.
_Bawaria_.--A dweller of Bhanwargarh tract in Betul district. Subcaste
of Korku.
_Bawisa_.--(Twenty-two.) A subcaste of Gujarati Brahmans in Hoshangabad
and Makrai State.
_Bayar, Biyar, Biar_.--A small caste of labourers belonging to
the eastern Districts of the United Provinces, of whom about 200
persons were returned from Bilaspur in 1891. They are found in the
Korba zamindari, and are professional diggers or navvies, like the
Murhas. They are apparently a mixed caste derived from the primitive
tribes with some Hindu blood. They eat fowls and pork, but will not
take food from any other caste. They work by contract on the _dangri_
system of measurement, a _dangri_ being a piece of bamboo five cubits
long. For one rupee they dig a patch 8 _dangris_ long by one broad
and a cubit in depth, or 675 cubic feet. But this rate does not allow
for lift or lead.
_Bazigar_.--(An acrobat.) Synonym of Nat.
_Behar_.--(Cat.) A totemistic sept of Kawar.
_Behera_.--A subcaste of Taonla. A section of Tiyar. A title of Khadal.
_Belwar, Bilwar_.--A small caste of carriers and cattle-dealers
belonging to Oudh, whose members occasionally visit the northern
Districts of the Central Provinces. They say that their ancestors were
Sanadhya Brahmans, who employed bullocks as pack-animals, and hence,
being looked down on by the rest of the caste, became a separate body,
marrying among themselves.
_Benaika, Binaika_.--A subcaste of Parwar Bania, consisting of the
offspring of remarried widows or illegitimate unions. Probably also
found among other subcastes of Bania.
_Benatia_.--A subcaste of Sansia in Sambalpur.
_Bendiwala_.--Name of a minor Vishnuite order. See Bairagi.
_Benetiya, Benatia_.--Subcaste of Chasa and Sansia.
_Bengali_.--Bengali immigrants are usually Brahmans or Kayasths.
_Bengani_.--(Brinjal.) One of the 1444 sections of Oswal Bania.
_Benglah_.--An immigrant from Bengal. Subcaste of Bharbhunja.
_Beora Basia_.--(Hawk.) A totemistic sept of Bhatra.
_Beraria_, _Beradia_.--(Belonging to Berar.) A subcaste of Bahna,
Barai, Barhai, Chamar, Dhangar, Dhimar, Kasar and Kunbi.
_Beria_.--A caste of gipsies and vagrants, whose women are
prostitutes. Hence sometimes used generally to signify a prostitute. A
subcaste of Nat.
_Besra_.--(Hawk.) A totemistic sept of Bhatra and Rawat (Ahir).
_Besta_.--A Telugu caste of fishermen. They are also called Bhoi and
Machchnaik, and correspond to the Dhimars. They are found only in the
Chanda District, where they numbered 700 persons in 1911, and their
proper home is Mysore. They are a low caste and rear pigs and eat
pork, crocodiles, rats and fowls. They are stout and strong and dark
in colour. Like the Dhimars they also act as palanquin-bearers, and
hence has arisen a saying about them, 'The Besta is a great man when
he carries shoes,' because the head of a gang of palanquin-bearers
carries the shoes of the person who sits in it. At their marriages
the couple place a mixture of cummin and jaggery on each other's
heads, and then gently press their feet on those of the other seven
times. Drums are beaten, and the bridegroom places rings on the toes
of the bride and ties the _mangal-sutram_ or necklace of black beads
round her neck. They are seated side by side on a plough-yoke, and the
ends of their cloths are tied together. They are then taken outside
and shown the Great Bear, the stars of which are considered to be
the spirits of the seven principal Hindu Saints, and the pole-star,
Arundhati, who represents the wife of Vasishtha and is the pattern of
feminine virtue. On the following two days the couple throw flowers
at each other for some time in the morning and evening. Before the
marriage the bridegroom's toe-nails are cut by the barber as an act of
purification. This custom, Mr. Thurston [422] states, corresponds among
the Sudras to the shaving of the head among the Brahmans. The Bestas
usually take as their principal deity the nearest large river and call
it by the generic term of Ganga. On the fifth day after a death they
offer cooked food, water and sesamum to the crows, in whose bodies
the souls of the dead are believed to reside. The food and water are
given to satisfy the hunger and thirst of the soul, while the sesamum
is supposed to give it coolness and quench its heat. On the tenth day
the ashes are thrown into a river. The beard of a boy whose father is
alive is shaved for the first time before his marriage. Children are
tattooed with a mark on the forehead within three months of birth,
and this serves as a sect mark. A child is named on the eleventh day
after birth, and if it is subsequently found to be continually ailing
and sickly, the name is changed under the belief that it exercises
an evil influence on the child.
_Betala_.--(Goblin.) One of the 1444 sections of Oswal Bania.
_Bhadauria_.--(From Bhadawar in Gwalior State.) A clan of Rajputs. A
clan of Dangi in Saugor from whom Rajputs take daughters in marriage,
but do not give daughters to them. A surname of Sanadhia Brahman.
_Bhadonia_.--Subcaste of Dangi.
_Bhadoria_.--(A drum-beater.) Subcaste of Chamar.
_Bhadri_, _Bhaddari_.--A synonym for Joshi, having a derogatory sense,
as of one who begs with deceit or fraud.
_Bhadune_.--(From the month Bhadon.) A section of Kalar.
_Bhagat_.--(Devotee.) A section of Ahir or Gaoli, Barai and Panwar
Rajput.
_Bhains-Mara_.--(Killer of the buffalo.) A section of Kanjar.
_Bhainsa_.--(Buffalo.) A section of Chamar, Dhanwar, Ganda, Kawar,
Kanjar, Mali, Panka and Rawat (Ahir).
_Bhairon_.--(The god Bhairon.) A section of Panwar Rajput.
_Bhaiya_.--(Brother.) One of the 72 1/2 sections of Maheshri Bania.
_Bhala_.--(Spear.) One of the 72 1/2 sections of Maheshri Bania.
_Bhaldar_.--(A spear-man.) A class of Dahaits, who have commonly been
employed as village watchmen.
_Bhale Sultan_.--(Lords of the spear.) A clan of Rajputs.
_Bhamti_, _Bhamtia_.--Synonyms of Bhamta.
_Bhanare_.--Named after the town of Bhandara in the Central
Provinces. Subcaste of Dhimar.
_Bhand_, _Bhanr_. [423]--A small caste of story-tellers and
buffoons. The name is derived from the Sanskrit Bhanda, a jester,
and the caste are also known as Naqqal or actor. Only a trifling
number of Bhands are shown by the census as belonging to the Central
Provinces. Mr. Crooke remarks: "The Bhand is sometimes employed in
the courts of Rajas and native gentlemen of rank, where he amuses
the company at entertainments with buffoonery and a burlesque
of European and native manners, much of which is of a very coarse
nature. The Bhand is quite separate from and of a lower professional
rank than the Bahrupia. The bulk of the caste are Muhammadans, but
they have exogamous sections, some of which, as Kaithela (Kayasth),
Bamhaniya (Brahman), Gujartha (Gujar), Nonela (Lunia), and so on, are
derived from those of Hindu castes, and indicate that the caste is a
heterogeneous community recruited from different sources. There are
two recognised endogamous subcastes--the Chenr, which seems to mean
little (Hindi, _Chenra_), and the Kashmiri. The former trace their
origin to the time of Tamarlane, who, on the death of his son, gave
himself over to mourning for twelve years. Then one Sayyid Hasan,
a courtier of the Emperor, composed a humorous poem in Arabic,
which gained him the title of Bhanr. Sayyid Hasan is regarded as
the founder of the caste. Though he was a Sayyid the present Bhanrs
are either Shaikhs or Mughals; and the difference of faith, Sunni
and Shiah, is a bar to intermarriage. The Kashmiri Bhanrs are said
to be of quite recent origin, having been invited from Kashmir by
Nasir-ud-Din Haidar, king of Oudh." The Bhands perform their marriages
by the Nikah form, in which a Kazi officiates. In virtue of being
Muhammadans they abstain from pork and liquor. Dr. Buchanan [424]
quaintly described them as "Impudent fellows, who make long faces,
squeak like pigs, bark like dogs, and perform many other ludicrous
feats. They also dance and sing, mimicking and turning into ridicule
the dancing boys and girls, on whom they likewise pass many jokes,
and are employed on great occasions." The Bhand, in fact, seems to
correspond very nearly to the court jester of the Middle Ages.
_Bhandari_.--(A barber, also a cook in the Uriya country.) A synonym
for Nai. A subcaste of Gondhali. A section of Oswal Bania and
Halba. Title of the deputies of the chief _guru_ of the Satnami sect.
_Bhangi_.--(Hemp-smoker.) Synonym of Mehtar.
_Bhanr_.--Synonym of Bhand, a story-teller.
_Bhanwar_.--(A bee, also honey.) A section of Gadaria and Kawar.
_Bhaosar_.--Synonym of Chhipa.
_Bharadwaj_.--(A skylark. Name of a great Brahman Rishi or saint.) One
of the common eponymous sections of Brahmans. Also a section of Joshi,
Lohar, Prabhu, Sunar, and of several clans of Rajputs.
_Bharewa_.--(From _bharat_, a mixture of copper and lead.) A group
of brass or bell-metal workers classed with the Kasar caste, but of
lower social standing than the Kasars. A subcaste of Sunar in Raipur.
_Bhargava_.--(Born of Bhrigu Rishi.) A subcaste of Kanaujia Brahmans. A
section of Maratha Brahmans. Bhargava Dhusar is a subcaste of
Bania. See Bania-Dhusar.
_Bharia_.--(From the Bhar tribe.) A tribe. A subcaste of Baiga in
Mandla, and of Kol.
_Bharia-Bhumia_.--Synonym of Bharia.
_Bharotia_ or _Mudia_.--(Shaven.) Subcaste of Baiga, also of Ahir.
_Bharthi_.--Name of one of the ten orders of Gosains.
_Bhatia_.--A commercial caste of Sind and Gujarat, a few of whom
settle temporarily in the Central Provinces. Sir D. Ibbetson writes
of them: [425] "The Bhatias are a class of Rajputs, originally
coming from Bhatner, Jaisalmer and the Rajputana desert, who have
taken to domestic pursuits. The name would seem to show that they
were Bhatis (called Bhatti in the Punjab); but be that as it may,
their Rajput origin seems to be unquestioned. They stand distinctly
below the Khatri, and perhaps below the Arora, and are for the most
part engaged in petty shopkeeping, though the Bhatias of Dera Ismail
Khan are described as belonging to a widely-spread and enterprising
mercantile community. They are very strict Hindus, far more so than
the other trading classes of the western Punjab; and eschew meat and
liquor. They do not practise widow-marriage."
Mr. Crooke's account [426] leaves little doubt that the Bhatias are a
branch of the Bhatti or Yaduvansi Rajputs of Jaisalmer who have gone
into trade; and Colonel Tod expresses the same view: "The Bhattiah is
also one of the equestrian order converted into the commercial, and
the exchange has been to his advantage. His habits are like those of
the Arora, next to whom he ranks as to activity and wealth." [427] "The
chief occupation of the Bhatias," Mr. Crooke states, "is moneylending,
and to this they add trade of all kinds, agriculture, landholding and
Government service. Many of them go on expeditions to Arabia, Kabul,
Bokhara and other distant places of business. Many in Bombay carry
on trade with Zanzibar, Java and the Malay Peninsula."
_Bhatnagar_.--A subcaste of Kayasth.
_Bhatpagar_.--(Wage of rice.) A section of Katia.
_Bhikshakunti_.--(_Bhiksha_, begging; _kunti_, lame.) A subcaste of
Kapewar who are the Bhats or bards of the caste.
_Bhil_.--A tribe. A subcaste of Pardhi.
_Bhilaophod_.--(Those who extract oil from the _bhilawa_ nut,
_Semecarpus anacardium_.) Subcaste of Kol.
_Bhilsaiyan_, _Bhilsia_, _Bhilasia_.--(From Bhilsa, a town in Gwalior
State.) A section and surname of Jijhotia Brahmans. A section of
Purania Sunar and of Rathor Teli and Teli.
_Bhima_.--A small caste belonging to the Mandla and Seoni
Districts. They are musicians of the Gond tribe and dance and beg
at their weddings. The caste are an offshoot of the Gonds, their
exogamous septs having Gond names, as Marabi, Markam, Dhurwa, Parteti,
Tekam and so on; but they now marry among themselves. They worship
the Gond god, Bura Deo, their own elders serving as priests. At
their performances the men play and dance, wearing hollow anklets
of metal with little balls of iron inside to make them tinkle. The
women are dressed like Hindu women and dance without ornaments. Their
instrument is called Tuma or gourd. It consists of a hollow piece of
bamboo fixed horizontally over a gourd. Over the bamboo a string is
stretched secured to a peg at one end and passing over a bridge at the
other. Little knobs of wax are made on the bamboo so that the string
touches them during its vibrations. The gourd acts as a sounding-board.
_Bhogta_.--Subcaste of Khairwar.
_Bhoi_.--(One who carries litters or palanquins.) Synonym of Dhimar
and Kahar. A title or honorific name for Gonds and one by which they
are often known. See article Kahar. A section of Binjhal.
_Bhoir_.--Synonym for Bhoyar.
_Bhojni_.--Subcaste of Chitrakathi. They serve the food at marriage
and other ceremonies.
_Bholia_.--(From _bhulna_, to forget.) Synonym of Bhulia.
_Bhona_.--A small caste of labourers in the Mandla District. They are
practically all employed by the local Pansaris (Barai) or _pan_-growers
in tending their _barejas_ or betel-vine gardens. There is some
ground for supposing that the Bhonas are an offshoot of the Bharia or
Bharia-Bhumia tribe of Jubbulpore, which is itself derived from the
Bhars. One of the sections of the Bhonas is named after the vulture,
and at their weddings a man of this section catches a young chicken
and bites off the head in imitation of a vulture.
_Bhondih_.--(From _bhond_, dung-beetle.) A section of Ahir.
_Bhonsla_.--A clan of Marathas to which the Rajas of Nagpur belong.
_Bhope_ or _Bhoall_.--Subcaste of Manbhao.
_Bhoriya_.--Synonym of Bhulia.
_Bhoyar_.--A caste. A subcaste of Koshti and Marar.
_Bhudes_.--(The gods on earth.) Title of Brahmans.
_Bhuinhar_.--Name of a landholding caste in Benares and Bengal who
claim to be Brahmans or Rajputs. They are also known as Babhan. A title
of the Bhuiya tribe. See article Bhuiya. A title of the Bhaina tribe.
_Bhumia_.--(Born from the land, or aboriginal.) A title of the Bharia
tribe in Jubbulpore, also a title of Baiga and Korku. A synonym of
Bhuiya. A subdivision of Gond. A section of Kurmi.
_Bhura_.--(Grey.) One of the sections of Oswal Bania. A proper name.
_Bhusar_.--(Lord of the earth.) A title of Brahman.
_Bhusarjin_.--(From _bhusa_, the chaff of wheat.) Subcaste of Banjara.
_Bhuskate_.--(From _bhusa_, fodder, one who supplies fodder.) A
family name.
_Bhuta_.--A subtribe of Gond in Betul, the same as Koilabhuta. They
are said to be of immoral character.
_Biar_.--Synonym of Bayar.
_Bichhuwa_, _Bichhi_.--(From _bichhu_, scorpion.) A section of Dhobi
and Kawar.
_Bidur_.--Synonym of the Vidur caste.
_Biloria_.--(From _bilori_, marble stone.) A section of Chhipa.
_Bilwar_.--Synonym of Belwar, a carrier and cattle-dealer.
_Bind_.--A large non-Aryan caste of Bihar and the United Provinces, of
which 380 persons were returned in 1911. Sir H. Risley says of them:
[428] "They are a tribe employed in agriculture, earthwork, fishing,
hunting, making saltpetre and collecting indigenous drugs. Traditions
current among the caste profess to trace their origin to the Vindhya
hills, and one of these legends tells how a traveller, passing
by the foot of the hills, heard a strange flute-like sound coming
out of a clump of bamboos. He cut a shoot and took from it a fleshy
substance which afterwards grew into a man, the supposed ancestor of
the Binds. Another story says that the Binds and Nunias were formerly
all Binds and that the present Nunias are the descendants of a Bind
who consented to dig a grave for a Muhammadan king and was outcasted
for doing so." A third legend tells how in the beginning of all things
Mahadeo made a lump of earth and endowed it with life. The creature
thus produced asked Mahadeo what he should eat. The god pointed to
a tank and told him to eat the fish in it and the wild rice which
grew near the banks. Mr. Crooke [429] says that they use fish largely
except in the fortnight (Pitripaksh) sacred to the dead in the month of
Kunwar, and Sir H. Risley notes that after the rice harvest the Binds
wander about the country digging up the stores of rice accumulated
by field rats in their burrows. From four to six pounds of grain
are usually found, but even this quantity is sometimes exceeded. The
Binds also feast on the rats, but they deny this, saying that to do
so would be to their own injury, as a reduction of the next year's
find of grain would thus be caused.
_Binjhal_.--Synonym of Binjhwar.
_Binjhwar_.--A caste derived from the Baiga tribe. A subtribe of
Baiga and Gond. A subcaste of Gowari.
_Birchheya_.--(A dweller in the forest.) Subcaste of Ghosi.
_Birchkia_.--(From _birchka_, a tree.) A subcaste of Ghosi.
_Birhor._--A small Kolarian tribe of whom about 150 persons were
returned in 1911 from the Chota Nagpur States. The name means a dweller
in the forest. Sir H. Risley states that the Birhors live in tiny
huts made of branches of trees and leaves, and eke out a miserable
living by snaring hares and monkeys, and collecting jungle products,
especially the bark of the _chob_ creeper, [430] from which a coarse
kind of rope is made. They are great adepts at ensnaring monkeys and
other small animals, and sell them alive or eat them. Colonel Dalton
described them as, [431] "A small, dirty, miserable-looking race,
who have the credit of devouring their parents, and when I taxed them
with it they did not deny that such a custom had once obtained among
them. But they declared they never shortened lives to provide such
feasts and shrank with horror from the idea of any bodies but those of
their own blood-relatives being served up to them." It would appear
that this custom may be partly ceremonial, and have some object,
such as ensuring that the dead person should be born again in the
family or that the survivors should not be haunted by his ghost. It
has been recorded of the Bhunjias that they ate a small part of the
flesh of their dead parents. [432] Colonel Dalton considered the
Birhors to be a branch of the Kharia tribe, and this is borne out
by Dr. Grierson's statement that the specimen of the Birhor dialect
returned from the Jashpur State was really Kharia. [433] Elsewhere
the Birhor dialect resembles Mundari.
_Birjhia, Birjia._ (One who practises _bewar_ or shifting cultivation
in a forest.) Subcaste of Binjhwar, Baiga and Korwa.
_Birkhandia._--From Birkhand (Sand of heroes), a name for Rajputana. A
section of Teli.
_Birtiya._ Title of Nai or barber.
_Bisen, Bisan._--A clan of Rajput. A section of Daharia and of Panwar
Rajput. A section of Marar.
_Bobaiaya._--(From Bobbili, a town in Madras.) A section of Teli
in Chanda.
_Bogam._--A name for Madrasi prostitutes, perhaps a separate
caste. Their honorific title is Sani.
_Bohra._--A Muhammadan caste. A section of Oswal Bania.
_Bombay._--A subdivision of Valmiki Kayasth.
_Bondoya_--A resident of Jitgarh and the Pachmarhi tract of the
Central Provinces. Subcaste of Korku.
_Bopchi._--A section of Panwar Rajput.
_Bopchi_--A small caste in the Wardha District numbering a few hundred
persons. They are in reality Korkus, the name being a corruption of
that of the Bendoya subtribe, but they have discarded their proper
tribal name and formed a separate caste. They retain some of the Korku
sept names, while others are derived from the Marathi words or from
the names of other castes, and these facts indicate that the Bopchis
are of mixed descent from Korkus and other low Maratha castes with
which unions have taken place. As might be expected, they are very
tolerant of sexual and social offences, and do not expel a woman who
has a _liaison_ with a man of another caste or takes food from him. She
is readmitted to caste intercourse, but has to undergo the penalty
of washing her body with cowdung and having a lock of her hair cut
off. A man committing a similar offence has his upper lip shaved. They
employ Gosains for their _gurus_ and their social position is very low.
_Borakar._(A mat-maker.) Synonym of Gopal.
_Borjharia._--(_Bor_-plum.) A sept of Halba.
_Brahmachare._--(A celibate.) Subcaste of Manbhao.
_Brahman Gaur_, or _Bamhan Gaur_.--A branch of the Gaur clan of
Rajputs. A subcaste of Bhat.
_Brid-dhari_.--Begging Bhats. Subcaste of Bhat.
_Brihaspati, Brahaspati_.--An eponymous section of Brahmans.
_Buchar_.--A corruption of the English word 'butcher.' Subcaste of
Khatik in Agra.
_Budalgir_.--(From _budla_, a leathern bag made for the transport
and storage of oil and _ghi_ (butter).) Subcaste of Chamar.
_Bukekari_.--(A seller of scented powder _(bukka)_.) Synonym of Atari.
_Bundela_.--A clan of Rajputs of mixed descent. Name probably from
the Vindhya hills. A subcaste of Basor. A sept of Manihar and Rawat.
_Bundelkhandi_.--A resident of Bundelkhand. Subcaste of Basdewa,
Barai, Basor, Chamar, Darzi, Dhobi, Kumhar, Lohar, Nai and Sunar.
_Bundhrajia_.--Subcaste of Kamar.
_Bunkar_.--(A weaver.) Title of Balahi.
_Burad_.--A synonym for the Basor caste of bamboo-workers. A section
of Koshti and Oswal Bania.
_Burthia_.--Subcaste of Charan Banjara.
_Burud_.--(A bamboo-worker.) Synonym for Basor in the Maratha country.
_Butka_.--(One who brings leaves.) Subcaste of Chasa.
_Byahut_.--(Married.) Subcaste of Kalar.
_Chadar_.--A caste. A subcaste of Kori.
_Chakere_.--(One who uses the potter's wheel in localities where
other Kumhars do not use it.) Subcaste of Kumhar.
_Chakla_.--(A professional washerman.) Synonym for Dhobi.
_Chalukya_.--A synonym for Solanki Rajputs. (Perhaps from _chhullu_
or _challu_, hollow of the hand.) A subcaste of Panwar Rajput.
_Chamar, Chamara_.--(From _chamra_, a hide.) The well-known caste of
tanners. A subcaste of Banjara, Barhai and Darzi.
_Chamar Gaur_.--(Chamar and Gaur.) A well-known clan of Rajputs. See
Rajput-Gaur.
_Chambhar_.--Name of the Chamar caste in Berar.
_Chamra_.--A contemptuous diminutive for the Chamar caste in
Chhattisgarh.
_Chandan, Chandania_.--(Sandalwood.) A section of Chamar, Kawar,
Khangar and Kurmi.
_Chandel_.--A famous clan of Rajputs. See Rajput-Chandel.
_Chandewar_.--(Belonging to Chanda.) Subcaste of Injhwar.
_Chandi_.--(One who hides behind a fishing-net.) A sept of Korku.
_Chandra, Chandraha_. (From _chanda_, the moon.) A section of Gujar
and Teli.
_Chandravansi_ or _Somvansi_.--(Descended from the moon.) A clan
of Rajputs.
_Chandravedi_.--Synonym of Sanaurhia, meaning 'One who observes
the moon.'
_Chankhatia_.--A subcaste of Bhuiya and Chamar.
_Channagri_.--A small Jain sect. A subcaste of Bania.
_Chanti_.--Name derived from _chiti_, an ant. Subcaste of Kawar. A
section of Kumhar.
_Chanwar_.--(Whisk.) A totemistic sept of Kawar and Pabia.
_Charak_.--A subdivision of Maratha Brahman; a section of Brahman.
_Charan_.--Subcaste of Banjara and Bhat. Title of Bhat in Rajputana.
_Chardeve_.--A clan of Gonds worshiping four gods and paying special
reverence to the tortoise.
_Charghar_.--(Four houses.) A subdivision of Saraswat Brahmans.
_Charnagri_.--A Jain sect or subcaste of Bania.
_Chatrapati_.--(Lord of the umbrella.) Title of the ancient Indian
kings.
_Chatri, Chhatri_.--A common synonym for a Rajput. A subcaste of
Bhamta.
_Chaturbhuji_.--(Four-armed.) An epithet of Vishnu. A title of the
Chauhan clan of Rajputs. A class of Bairagis or religious mendicants.
_Chaube, Chaturvedi_.--(From Chaturvedi, or one learned in the
four Vedas.) A surname for Kanaujia, Jijhotia and other Hindustani
Brahmans. Subcaste of Banjara.
_Chaubhaiya_.--(Four brothers.) A subdivision of Saraswat
Brahmans. They take wives from the Athbhaiya subdivision, but do not
give girls to them in marriage.
_Chaudhri_, _Chaudhari_, _Choudhri_.--(A headman, the first
person.) Title of Kalar Panwar, Rajput and other castes; title of
Dhobi, vice-president of the caste committee. A section of Ahir,
Maheshri Bania, Gadaria, Gujar, Halba and Marar (Mali). A subdivision
of Kapewar.
_Chauhan_.--A famous clan of Rajputs. Name of a low caste of village
watchmen in Chhattisgarh, perhaps the illegitimate descendants of
Panwar Rajputs.
_Chauka_.--Title of the Kabirpanthi religious service. The _chauk_
is a sanctified place on the floor of the house or yard, plastered
with cowdung and marked out with lines of wheat-flour or quartz-dust
within which ceremonies are performed.
_Chaukhutia_.--A term which signifies a bastard in
Chhattisgarh. Subcaste of Bhunjia.
_Chauske_.--Subcaste of Kalar. They are so called because they
prohibit the marriage of persons having a common ancestor up to
four generations.
_Chaurasia_.--Resident of a Chaurasi or estate of eighty-four
villages. Subcaste of Barai and Bhoyar. A section of Dhimar and
Kumhar. Many estates are called by this name, grants of eighty-four
villages having been commonly made under native rule.
_Chawara_, _Chaura_.--One of the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs.
_Chenchuwar_, _Chenchuwad_ or _Chenchu_--A forest tribe of the Telugu
country of whom a few persons were returned from the Chanda District
in 1911. In Madras the tribe is known as Chenchu, and the affix _wad_
or _wadu_ merely signifies person or man. [434] The marriage ceremony
of the Chenchus may be mentioned on account of its simplicity. The
couple sometimes simply run away together at night and return next day
as husband and wife, or, if they perform a rite, walk round and round a
bow and arrow stuck into the ground, while their relations bless them
and throw rice on their heads. Each party to a marriage can terminate
it at will without assigning any reason or observing any formality. The
bodies of the dead are washed and then buried with their weapons.
_Chenr_.--(Little.) Subcaste of Bhand.
_Cheorakuta_.--(One who prepares _cheora_ or pounded rice.) Subcaste
of Dhuri.
_Chero_. [435]--A well-known tribe of the Munda or Kolarian family,
found in small numbers in the Chota Nagpur Feudatory States. They
are believed to have been at one time the rulers of Bihar, where
numerous monuments are attributed, according to the inquiries of
Buchanan and Dalton, to the Kols and Cheros. "In Shahabad [436]
also most of the ancient monuments are ascribed to the Cheros, and it
is traditionally asserted that the whole country belonged to them in
sovereignty. An inscription at Budh Gaya mentions one Phudi Chandra who
is traditionally said to have been a Chero. The Cheros were expelled
from Shahabad, some say by the Sawaras (Saonrs), some say by a tribe
called Hariha; and the date of their expulsion is conjectured to be
between the fifth and sixth centuries of the Christian era. Both
Cheros and Sawaras were considered by the Brahmans of Shahabad as
impure or Mlechchas, but the Harihas are reported good Kshatriyas.
"The overthrow of the Cheros in Mithila and Magadha seems to have
been complete. Once lords of the Gangetic provinces, they are now
found in Shahabad and other Bihar Districts only holding the meanest
offices or concealing themselves in the woods skirting the hills
occupied by their cousins, the Kharwars; but in Palamau they retained
till a recent period the position they had lost elsewhere. A Chero
family maintained almost an independent rule in that pargana till
the accession of the British Government; they even attempted to hold
their castles and strong places against that power, but were speedily
subjugated, forced to pay revenue and submit to the laws. They were,
however, allowed to retain their estates; and though the rights
of the last Raja of the race were purchased by Government in 1813,
in consequence of his falling into arrears, the collateral branches
of the family have extensive estates there still. According to their
own traditions (they have no trustworthy annals) they have not been
many generations in Palamau. They invaded that country from Rohtas,
and with the aid of Rajput chiefs, the ancestors of the Thakurais of
Ranka and Chainpur drove out and supplanted a Rajput Raja of the Raksel
family, who retreated into Sarguja and established himself there.
"All the Cheros of note who assisted in the expedition obtained
military service grants of land, which they still retain. The Kharwars
were then the people of most consideration in Palamau, and they
allowed the Cheros to remain in peaceful possession of the hill tracts
bordering on Sarguja. It is popularly asserted that at the commencement
of the Chero rule in Palamau they numbered twelve thousand families,
and the Kharwars eighteen thousand; and if an individual of one or
the other is asked to what tribe he belongs, he will say, not that he
is a Chero or a Kharwar, but that he belongs to the twelve thousand
or to the eighteen thousand, as the case may be. The Palamau Cheros
now live strictly as Rajputs and wear the _paita_ or caste thread."
It has been suggested in the article on Khairwar that the close
connection between the two tribes may arise from the Kharwars or
Khairwars having been an occupational offshoot of the Cheros and
Santals.
In Palamau [437] the Cheros are now divided into two subcastes,
the Bara-hazar or twelve thousand, and the Terah-hazar or thirteen
thousand, who are also known as Birbandhi. The former are the higher
in rank and include most of the descendants of former ruling families,
who assume the title Babuan. The Terah-hazar are supposed to be the
illegitimate offspring of the Bara-hazar.
"The distinctive physical traits of the Cheros," Colonel Dalton states,
"have been considerably softened by the alliances with pure Hindu
families, which their ancient power and large possessions enabled
them to secure; but they appear to me still to exhibit an unmistakable
Mongolian physiognomy. They vary in colour, but are usually of a light
brown. They have, as a rule, high cheek-bones, small eyes obliquely
set, and eyebrows to correspond, low broad noses, and large mouths
with protuberant lips."
_Cherwa_.--Subcaste of Kawar.
_Chetti_.--Subcaste of Gandli.
_Chhachan_.--(A hawk.) A section of Rawat (Ahir).
_Chhadesia_.--(A man of six districts.) Subcaste of Banjara.
_Chhadidar_ or _Darwan_.--Title of the Dahaits, who were door-keepers
of the Rajas of Mahoba in former times.
_Chhanava Kule_.--(The ninety-six houses.) A subcaste of Maratha.
_Chhatakia_.--An illegitimate group of the Kumhar caste.
_Chhattisgarhi, Chhattisgarhia_.--Resident of Chhattisgarh or the
region of the thirty-six forts, a name given to the eastern tract of
the Central Provinces. Subcaste of Bahna, Darzi and Halba.
_Chhehghar (Chhenghar)_.--(Members of the six houses.) A hypergamous
division of Kanaujia Brahmans. They take daughters from the other
two divisions, but do not give their daughters to them.
_Chhipa_.--(A dyer.) Synonym of Darzi.
_Chhoha_ or _Saroria_.--A subcaste of Agharia of mixed descent.
_Chholia_.--(Rubbish.) A section of Rajjhar.
_Chhote_.--(Inferior.) Subcaste of Agharia and Teli.
_Chhoti Pangat_.--A subcaste of Halba, Synonym Surait. Chhoti Pangat
signifies the inferior caste feast, and the implication is that these
members cannot join in the proper feast.
_Chhotki Bhir or Gorhi_.--(Low.) Subcaste of Rautia.
_Chhura_,--(Razor.) A section of Panka. It was their business to
shave other members of the caste after a death;
_Chicham_.--(Hawk.)--A sept of Gonds.
_Chicheria_.--(From _church_, forelock, which the children of this
sept wear.) A sept of Dhimar.
_Chika_.--Subcaste of Majhwar.
_Chikwa_.--Synonym of Khatik.
_Chinchkul_.--A section of Komti. They abstain from the use of ginger
and from the juice of the _bhilawa_ or marking-nut tree.
_Chita Purdhi, Chilewala_.--(Leopard-hunter.) A subcaste of Pardhi.
_Chiturkar, Chitrakar_.--(A painter.) Synonym for Chitari.
_Chiter_.--(A painter.) See Chitari.
_Chitevari_.--(One who makes clay idols.) Synonym for Mochi.
_Chitpawan_.--(The pure in heart.) A synonym for Konkanasth Brahman.
_Chitragupta Vansi_.--(Descendants of Chitragupta.) A name for
Kayasths.
_Chobdar_.--(A mace-bearer.) Title of Dahait.
_Chorbans_.--(Family of thieves.) A section of Chamar.
_Chourdhar_.--(A whisk-carrier.) A section of Sunar.
_Chuhra_.--Subcaste of Mehtar. Name for the sweeper caste in the
Punjab.
_Chungia_.--(One who smokes a leaf-pipe.) Subcaste of Chamar and
Satnami.
_Chunwiha_.--(From _chunri_, a coloured sheet worn by women.) A
section of Tamera.
_Churha_.--(Thief.) A subcaste of Sunar. A section of Chhipa.
_Cutchwaha_.--Clan of Rajput. Synonym for Kachhwaha.
_Daharia_.--(From Dahar, the old name of the Jubbulpore country.) A
clan of Rajputs which has developed into a caste. A subcaste of Bhoyar,
Kalar, Mahar, Maratha and Teli. A section of Chadar, Chamar and Katia.
_Dahat_.--A variant for Dahait. A subcaste of Khangar.
_Dahia_.--One of the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs.
_Daijanya_.--Subcaste of Chamar. They are so called because their
women act as _dai_ or midwives.
_Dakhne, Dakshne, Dakshni, Dakshini._--(Belonging to the
Deccan.) Subcaste of Bahna, Chamar, Gondhali, Gurao, Kunbi, Mahar,
Mang and Nai.
_Dakochia_.--A synonym for Bhadri, an astrologer.
_Dal_.--(From _dal_, an army.) Subcaste of Khond.
_Dalboha, Dalbuha_.--(One who carries _dhoolies_ or
palanquins.) Subcaste of Ghasia and Katia.
_Dalia_.--(From _dal_ or the pulse of Burhanpur which had a great
reputation). Subcaste of Kunbi.
_Dal Khalsa_.--(Army of God.) Title of the Sikh army.
_Dandewala_.--(One who performs acrobatic feats on a stick or
bamboo.) Synonym for Kolhati.
_Dandi_.--(One who carries a stick.) Name of a class of religious
mendicants. See article Gosain.
_Dandsena_.--(One who carries a stick.) Subcaste of Kalar.
_Dang-charha._--(A rope-climber.) Synonym of Nut.
_Dangiwara_.--Name of part of the Saugor District, which is called
after the Dangi caste. Subcaste of Kadera.
_Dangua_.--(A hill-dweller.) Subcaste of Taonla.
_Dangur_.--A small caste of hemp weavers numbering about 100 persons,
and residing almost entirely in the village of Masod in Betul
District. They are of the same standing as the caste of Kumrawat
or Patbina which pursues this occupation in other Districts, but
acknowledge no connection with them and are probably an occupational
offshoot of the Kunbi caste, from whose members they readily accept
any kind of cooked food. Like many other small occupational castes
with no definite traditions, they profess to have a Kshatriya origin,
calling themselves Bhagore Rajputs, while their families are known
by such high-sounding titles as Rathor, Chauhan, Gaur, Solanki and
other well-known Rajput names. These pretensions have no foundation
in fact, and the Dangurs formerly did not abjure pork, while they
still eat fowls and drink liquor. They neither bathe nor clean their
kitchens daily. They may eat food taken from one place to another,
but not if they are wearing shoes, this being only permissible in
the case when the bridegroom takes his food wearing his marriage shoes.
_Dantele_.--(With teeth.) A section of Purania Sunars in Saugor.
_Daraihan_.--A small caste of debased Rajputs found in the Bilaspur
District of Chhattisgarh and numbering some 2000 persons in 1901. They
say that their ancestors were Rajputs from Upper India who settled
in Chhattisgarh some generations back in the village of Dargaon
in Raipur District. Thence they were given the name of Dargaihan,
which has been corrupted into Daraihan. Others say that the name is
derived from _dari_, a prostitute, but this is perhaps a libel. In
any case they do not care about the name Daraihan and prefer to
call themselves Kshatriyas. They have now no connection with the
Rajputs of Upper India, and have developed into an endogamous group
who marry among themselves. It seems likely that the caste are an
inferior branch of the Daharia cultivating caste of Chhattisgarh,
which is derived from the Daharia clan of Rajputs. [438]
Like other Rajputs the Daraihans have an elaborate system of septs
and subsepts, the former having the names of Rajput clans, while the
latter are taken from the eponymous _gotras_ of the Brahmans. There
are fourteen septs, named as a rule after the principal Rajput clans,
of whom four, the Chandel, Kachhwaha, Dhandhul and Sakrawara, rank
higher than the other ten, and will take daughters from these in
marriage, but not give their daughters in return. Besides the septs
they have the standard Brahmanical _gotras_, as Kausilya, Bharadwaj,
Vasishtha and so on to the number of seven, and the members of each
sept are divided into these _gotras_. Theoretically a man should
not take a wife whose sept or _gotra_ is the same as his own. The
marriage of first cousins is forbidden, and while the grandchildren
of two sisters may intermarry, for the descendants of a brother
and a sister the affinity is a bar till the third generation. But
the small numbers of the caste must make the arrangement of matches
very difficult, and it is doubtful whether these rules are strictly
observed. They permit the practice of Gunravat or giving a bride for
a bride. In other respects the social customs of the caste resemble
those of their neighbours, the Daharias, and their rules as to the
conduct of women are strict. The men are well built and have regular
features and fair complexions, from which their Rajput ancestry may
still be recognised. They wear the sacred thread. The Daraihans are
good and intelligent cultivators, many of them being proprietors or
large tenants, and unlike the Daharias they do not object to driving
the plough with their own hands. In the poorer families even the
women work in the fields. They have a strong clannish feeling and
will readily combine for the support or protection of any member of
the caste who may be in need of it.
_Darbania_.--(Door-keeper.) Title of Khangur.
_Darshani_.--Title of the most holy members of the Kanphata Jogis.
_Darshni_.--(From _darshan_, seeing, beholding, as of a god.) A
sub-division of Jogi.
_Darwan_.--(A door-keeper.) Title of Dahait.
_Darwe_ or _Dalwe_.--A subcaste of Gonds in Chanda; the Darwes are
also called Naik.
_Darwesh_.--Persian name for a Muhammadan Fakir or religious mendicant.
_Darzi_.--A caste of tailors. Subcaste of Ghasia.
_Das_.--(Servant.) Used as the termination of their names by
Bairagis or religious mendicants. A term applied by Pankas and other
Kabirpanthis to themselves.
_Dasa_.--(Ten.) A subdivision of Agarwala and other subcastes of Bania,
meaning those of pure blood.
_Dasghar_.--(Ten houses.) One of the three subdivisions of Kanaujia
Brahmans. They give their daughters to members of the Chheghar or
six houses and receive them from the Panchghar or five houses.
_Dasnami_.--A member of the ten orders. Synonym for Gosain.
_Datta_ or _Dutt_.--Surname of Bengali Kayasths.
_Daune_.--A subdivision of Prabhu or Parbhu in Nagpur, so called on
account of their living in the island of Diu, a Portuguese possession.
_Deccani_.--See Dakhne.
_Dehalwi_.--(From Delhi.) A subdivision of Gaur Kayasths.
_Dehri_.--(A worshipper.) Subcaste of Sudh.
_Dekkala_.--(A genealogist.) Subcaste of Madgi.
_Delki_.--Subcaste of Kharia.
_Deo_.--(God.) A hereditary title borne by certain Feudatory Chiefs. A
surname of Karhara Brahmans in Saugor. A subcaste of Gandli in Chanda.
_Deobansi_.--(A descendant of a god.) Subcaste of Patwa.
_Deogarhia_ or _Rajkunwar_.--(From Deogarh.) A subcaste of Pardhan. A
subcaste of Audhelia made up of prostitutes. A sept of Dhimar.
_Deokia_.--Title used in the Bedar caste.
_Deoputra_.--(Son of god.) Synonym of Charan.
_Desa_ or _Kota_.--Subcaste of Balija.
_Desai_.--A variant for Deshmukh or a Maratha revenue officer. Title
of the Pardhan caste.
_Desawal_.--A subdivision of Brahman in Jubbulpore. They take their
name from Disa, a town in Palanpur State in Bombay Presidency.
_Desha, Desaha_.--(Belonging to the home country.) The name is usually
applied to immigrants from Malwa or Hindustan. A subcaste of Ahir,
Bargah, Bari, Chamar, Dhuri, Gadaria, Kalar, Kol, Kurmi, Lakhera,
Lohar, Mahar, Sunar and Teli.
_Deshastha_.--A subcaste of Maratha Brahmans inhabiting the country
(Desh) above the Western Ghats. A subcaste of Gurao.
_Deshkar_.--(One belonging to the country.) A subcaste of Gondhali,
Gurao, Kasar, Koshti, Kunbi, Mahar, Mali, Maratha, Nai, Sunar and Teli.
_Deshmukh_.--Under Maratha rule the Deshmukh was a Pargana officer
who collected the revenue of the Pargana or small subdivision, and
other taxes, receiving a certain share. The office of Deshmukh was
generally held by a leading Kunbi of the neighbourhood. He also held
revenue-free land in virtue of his position. The Deshmukh families now
tend to form a separate subcaste of Kunbis and marry among themselves.
_Deshpande_.--The Deshpande was the Pargana accountant. He was
generally a Brahman and the right-hand man of the Deshmukh, and having
the advantage of education he became powerful like the Deshmukh. Now
used as a surname by Maratha Brahmans.
_Deswali_.--Synonym for Mina.
_Devadasi_.--(Handmaidens of the gods.) Synonym for Kasbi.
_Devarukhe_.--A subdivision of Maratha Brahmans. The word is derived
from Devarishi, a Shakha (branch) of the Atharva Veda, or from
Devarukh, a town in Ratnagiri District of Bombay Presidency. Among
Brahmans they hold rather a low position.
_Dewangan_.--(From the old town of this name on the Wardha
river.) Subcaste of Koshti.
_Dhaighar_.--(2 1/2 houses.) A subcaste of Khatri.
_Dhakan_.--(A witch.) Subcaste of Bhat.
_Dhakar_.--Name of a caste in Bastar. A clan of Rajputs. A subcase
of Barai, Bania and Kirar. A sept of Halba.
_Dhalgar_.--A small occupational caste who made leather shields,
and are now almost extinct as the use of shields has gone out of
fashion. They are Muhammadans, but Mr. Crooke [439] considers them to
be allied to the Dabgars, who make leather vessels for holding oil
and _ghi_ and are also known as Kuppesaz. The Dabgars are a Hindu
caste whose place in the Central Provinces is taken by the Budalgir
Chamars. These receive their designation from _budla_, the name of
the leather bag which they make. _Budlas_ were formerly employed
for holding _ghi_ or melted butter, oil and the liquid extract of
sugarcane, but vegetable oil is now generally carried in earthen
vessels slung in baskets, and _ghi_ in empty kerosene tins. Small
bottles of very thin leather are still used by scent-sellers for
holding their scents, though they also have glass bottles. The song of
the Leather Bottél recalls the fact that vessels for holding liquids
were made of leather in Europe prior to the introduction of glass. The
Dhalgars also made targets for archery practice from the hides of
buffaloes; and the similar use of the hides of cattle in Europe
survives in our phrase of the bull's eye for the centre of the target.
_Dhamonia_.--(From Dhamoni, a town in Saugor.) A subcaste of Sonkar. A
territorial sept of Darzi and Dhobi.
_Dhanak Sammani_.--(One who reverences the bow.) A section of Barai.
_Dhandere_.--(Probably from Dhundhar, an old name of Jaipur or Amber
State.) A sept of Rajputs.
_Dhangar_.--(A farmservant.) Synonym of Oraon.
_Dhanka_.--Perhaps a variant for Dhangar. Subcaste of Oraon.
_Dhanoj_, _Dhanoje_.--(From _dhangar_, a shepherd.) Subcaste of Are
and Kunbi.
_Dhanpagar_.--(One serving for a pittance of paddy.) A section of Teli.
_Dhanuhar_.--(A corrupt form of Dhanusdhar or a holder of a
bow.) Synonym of Dhanwar.
_Dhanuk_.--(A bowman.) A caste. A subcaste of Mehtar.
_Dhanushban_.--(Bow and arrow.) A sept of Kawar.
_Dharampuria_.--(Resident of Dharampur.) Subcaste of Dhobi.
_Dhare_.--Title of Gowari.
_Dhari_.--A subcaste of Banjara. They are the bards of the caste.
_Dharkar_.--Subcaste of Basor.
_Dharmik_.--(Religious or virtuous.) A subcaste of Mahar and Maratha.
_Dhed_.--Synonym for Mahar.
_Dhengar_.--A subcaste of Bharewa (Kasar) and Gadaria.
_Dhera_. [440]--A small Telugu caste of weavers, the bulk of whom
reside in the Sonpur State, transferred to Bengal in 1905. The Dheras
were brought from Orissa by the Raja of Sonpur to make clothes for
the images of the gods, which they also claim to be their privilege in
Puri. Their exogamous groups are named after animals, plants or other
objects, and they practise totemism. The members of the Surya or sun
group will not eat during an eclipse. Those of the Nalla (black) sept
will not wear black clothes. Those of the Bansethi and Bhanala septs
will not use the _bandi_, a kind of cart from which they consider their
name to be derived. The Otals take their name from _utti_, a net, from
which pots are hung, and they will not use this net. Those of the Gunda
sept, who take their name from _gunda_, a bullet, will not eat any
game shot with a gun. Marriage within the sept is prohibited, but the
Dheras always, where practicable, arrange the marriage of a boy with
his maternal uncle's daughter. Even in childhood the members of such
families address each other as brother-in-law and sister-in-law. When
the bridegroom and bride go home after the marriage ceremony, the
bridegroom's sister bars the door of the house and will not let them
in until they have severally promised to give her their daughter for
her son. A girl must be married before arriving at adolescence on pain
of permanent exclusion from the caste. If a suitable husband has not
therefore been found when the period approaches, the parents marry
the girl to her elder sister's husband or any other married man. She
is not bound to enter into conjugal relations with the man to whom
she is thus united, and with his consent she may be consequently
married to any other man in the guise of a widow. If a bachelor takes
such a girl to wife, he must first be married to a _sahara_ tree
(_Streblus asper_). When a betrothal is arranged, an elderly member
of the bridegroom's family proceeds to the bride's house and asks her
people three times in succession whether the betrothal is arranged,
and at each reply in the affirmative ties a knot in his cloth. He
then goes home and in the bridegroom's house solemnly unties the
knots over another cloth which is spread on the ground. This cloth
is then considered to contain the promises and it is wrapped up and
carefully put away to keep them as if they were material objects.
_Dherha_.--(Brother-in-law or paternal aunt's husband.) Title of
Kharia.
_Dhimar_.--A caste. Subcaste of Kori.
_Dhimra_.--Synonym for Dhimar.
_Dhobi_.--The caste of washermen. A sept of Bharia and Bhaina.
_Dhokhede_.--One of doubtful parentage. A sept of Teli.
_Dholewar_.--(From _dhola_, a drum.) A subcaste of Bhoyar and Gaoli. A
section of Basor.
_Dholi_.--(A minstrel.) Subcaste of Bhat.
_Dhubela_.--Origin perhaps from the Dhobi caste. Subcaste of Basor.
_Dhulbajia_.--(From _dhol_, a drum.) A subcaste of Chamar, also known
as Daijania.
_Dhulia_, _Dholin_, _Dholi_.--(A player on a _dhol_ or drum.) Synonym
for the Basor caste. A subcaste of Gond in Chanda and Betul. A subcaste
of Mahar.
_Dhunak Pathan_.--Synonym for Bahna.
_Dhunia_.--(From _dhunna_, to card cotton.) Synonym for Bahna.
_Dhunka_.--(A cotton-cleaner.) Subcaste of Kadera.
_Dhur Gond_.--(From _dhur_, dust.) A subcaste of Gonds. They are also
known as Rawanvansi or descendants of Rawan.
_Dhuri_.--A caste of grain-parchers. A subcaste of Dhimar.
_Dhuria_.--Subcaste of Nagasia and Dhimar. They are so called because
they mark the forehead of the bride with dust (_dhur_) taken from
the sole of the bridegroom's foot.
_Dhurwa_.--The word may be derived from _dhur_, dust. Dhur is a name
given to the body of Gonds as opposed to the Raj-Gonds. One of the
commonest septs of Gonds. A sept of Baiga, Kolta, Kalar and Nat. A
title of Parja.
_Dhusar_.--Subcaste of Bania.
_Dhusia_.--Subcaste of Murha.
_Digambari_.--A sect of Jain Banias who do not clothe their idols and
apply saffron to their feet. Also a class of Bairagis or religious
mendicants.
_Diharia_ or _Kisan_.--(One who lives in a village or a
cultivator.). Subcaste of Korwa.
_Dikhit_, _Dikshit_, _Dixit_.--(The Initiator.) A subcaste of
Brahman. A clan of Rajputs of the solar race formerly dominant in
the United Provinces.
_Dila_.--(A pointed stick tied to a calf's mouth to prevent him from
sucking.) A totemistic sept of Kawar. They do not use a stick in this
manner. A section of Ahir.
_Dillawal_.--A subcaste of Kasar. Those belonging to or coming
from Delhi.
_Dingkuchia_.--(One who castrates cattle and ponies.) Subcaste
of Ghasia.
_Dipawalia_.--(One who supplies oil for the lamps at Diwali.) A sept
of Teli.
_Dipbans_.--(Son of the lamp.) Title of Teli.
_Diwan_.--Title of the members of the Dahait caste committee.
_Dixit_.--See Dikhit.
_Dobaile_.--(One who yokes two bullocks to the oil-press.) Subcaste
of Telis in the Nagpur country.
_Dobisya_.--(Two score.) Subcaste of Halwai.
_Doda_ or _Dor_.--One of the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs.
_Dogle_.--Name applied to Kayasths of illegitimate descent.
_Dohor_. [441]--A small caste of Berar, who are really Chamars;
in the Central Provinces the Dohors are a well-known subcaste of
Chamars, but in Berar they appear to have obtained a separate name,
under which about 6000 persons were returned in 1911. They work in
leather like the Chamars or Mochis. With the ambition of bettering
their social status among the Hindus the caste strictly observe the
sanctity of animal life. No Dohor may molest an animal or even pelt
it with stones. A man who sells a cow or bullock to butchers is put
out of caste, but if he repents and gets the animal back before it is
slaughtered, a fine of Rs. 5 only is imposed. If, on the other hand,
the animal is killed, the culprit must give his daughter in marriage
without taking any price from the bridegroom, and must feed the whole
caste and pay a fine of Rs. 50, which is expended on liquor. Failing
this he is expelled from the community. Similarly the Pardeshi Dohors
rigidly enforce infant-marriage. If a girl is not married before
she is ten her family are fined and put out of caste until the fine
is paid. And if the girl has leprosy or any other disease, which
prevents her from getting married, a similar penalty is imposed on
the family. Nevertheless the Dohors are considered to be impure and
are not allowed to enter Hindu temples; the village barber does not
shave them nor the washerman wash their clothes. A bachelor desiring
to marry a widow must first perform the ceremony with a _rui_ or
cotton-tree. But such a union is considered disgraceful; the man
himself must pay a heavy fine to get back into caste, and his children
are considered as partly illegitimate and must marry with the progeny
of similar unions. Either husband or wife can obtain a divorce by
a simple application to the caste _panchayat_, and a divorced woman
can marry again as a widow. The caste offer sheep and goats to their
deities and worship the animals before killing them. At Dasahra they
also pay reverence to the skinning-knife, and the needle with which
shoes are sewn. The caste burn the bodies of those who die married
and bury the unmarried. Before setting out for a funeral they drink
liquor and again on their return, and a little liquor is sprinkled
over the grave. When a man has been cremated his ashes are taken
and thrown into a river on the third day. The chief mourner, after
being shaved by his brother-in-law, takes the hair with some copper
coins in his hand and, diving into the river, leaves them there as
an offering to the dead man's spirit.
_Dolia_.--(Palanquin-bearer.) A section of Dhimar.
_Dom_.--An important caste in Bengal. See article Kanjar. Used as a
synonym for Ganda in the Uriya country.
_Domra_.--Subcaste of Turi.
_Dongaria_, _Dongarwar_.--(From _dongar_, a hill.) A sept of Bhil,
Dhobi, Mali, Mang and Sonkar. A surname of Maratha Brahmans.
_Dora_.--(Sahib or Lord.) Title of the Mutrasi caste.
_Dosar_.--Subcaste of Bania.
_Dravida_.--(Southern.) See Panch-Dravida.
_Dube_.--(A teacher and a man learned in two Vedas.) A common surname
of Hindustani Brahmans. A subcaste of Banjara.
_Dudh_.--(Milk.) Dudh-Barai, a subcaste of Barai; Dudh-Gowari,
a subcaste of Ahir or Gowari; Dudh-Kawar, a subcaste of Kawar.
_Dudh Bhai_.--(Milk-brothers.) A fraternity of Gonds in Betul, who
are apparently foster-brothers. They do not marry, though they have
different septs.
_Dukar_.--A subcaste of Kolhati. From _dukar_, hog, because they
are accustomed to hunt the wild pig with dogs and spears when these
animals become too numerous and damage the crops of the villagers.
_Dukaria_.--Title of the officer of the Andh caste who constitutes
the caste committee.
_Dulha_.--(Bridegroom.) A section of Chadar.
_Dumar_ or _Dom_.--A low caste of sweepers in Bengal. See
Kanjar. Subcaste of Basor, Ganda, Panka and Turi. Synonym and subcaste
of Mehtar. A section of Kawar.
_Durgbansi_.--A clan of Rajputs in Ragnandgaon.
_Dusre_.--(Second.) A subdivision of Shrivastab, Gaur and Saksena
Kayasths, meaning those of inferior or mixed origin as opposed to
Khare or those of pure origin.
_Dwarka_.--One of the most holy places in India, situated on or
near the sea in Gujarat. It is supposed to have been founded by
Krishna. Site of one of the monasteries (Ashram) of Sankaracharya,
the founder of the non-dualistic or Vedanta philosophy.
_Dwija_.--(Twice-born.) A title applied to the three higher classical
castes, Brahman, Kshatriya and Vaishya, and now especially to Brahmans.
_Ekbahia_.--(One-armed.) Subcaste of Teli, so called because their
women wear glass bangles only on one arm.
_Ekbaile_.--One who yokes one bullock only to the oil-press. Subcaste
of Teli.
_Elama, Elma_.--Synonym for Velama. A subcaste of Kapewar or Kapu.
_Erenga._--Subcaste of Kharia in Bengal.
_Erna_.--(From Eran, in Saugor district.) A section of Teli.
_Fakir_.--A Muhammadan mendicant. Synonym Sain. See article.
_Farid_.--Sheikh Farid was a well-known Muhammadan saint. A section
of Panwar Rajput.
_Farsi_.--Persian. From the Province of Fars. The term Farsi is
also used by the Hindus to signify foreign or non-Aryan languages
like Gondi.
_Fidawi._--(A disciple.) An order of devotees of the Khojah sect
known to the Crusaders as Assassins. Title of Khojah.
_Gadaba_.--Synonym of Gadba.
_Gadaria_.--A caste. Subcaste of Ahir.
_Gadha_.--(An ass.) A sept of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betul, so
named because their priest rode on an ass in crossing a river.
_Gadhao_.--(From _gadha_, an ass.) Subcaste of Kunbi.
_Gadhewal, Gadhere, Gadhwe, Gadhilla_.--(One who keeps donkeys. From
_gadha_, an ass.) A subcaste of Dhimar, Katia, Koshti, Kumhar and
Sonkar. A sept of Gond and Pardhan.
_Gadhwana_.--(From Garha, near Jubbulpore.) Subcaste of Nai.
_Gadiwan_.--(A cart-driver.) Subcaste of Dangri.
_Gadri_.--(From _gadar_, a sheep.) A synonym of Gadaria. A subcaste
of Dhangar.
_Gaharwar, Gaharval, Gherwal_.--One of the thirty-six royal races of
Rajputs chiefly found in Bilaspur and Khairagarh. A section of Patwas.
_Gahbainya_ or _Gahboniya_.--(Those who hid in a village when called
by a king to his presence.) A subcaste of Kurmi. A section of Kurmi.
_Gahlot_ or _Sesodia_.--A famous clan of Rajputs. A section of Daraiha
and Joshi.
_Gahoi_.--Subcaste of Bania. See article Bania-Gahoi.
_Gahra_.--Synonym for Ahir or herdsman in the Uriya country.
_Gai-Gowari._--Subcaste of Gowari.
_Gaiki_.--A cowherd. (A subcaste of Gond in Betul.) A section of
Chamar.
_Gaikwar_ or _Gaika_.--(A cowherd.) A clan of Maratha. A section of
Ahir, Bhil, Kunbi and Mahar.
_Gaita_.--Subcaste of Gond.
_Gaiwale_.--(Cow-keeper.) A subcaste of Moghia.
_Gajarha_.--_(Gajar_, a carrot.) A section of Teli in Mandla.
_Gajjam_.--A sept of the Dhurwa clan of Gonds in Betul named after
Gajjami. (Bow and arrows in Gondi.)
_Ganda_.--(A messenger.) A low caste of village watchmen. In the Uriya
country the Gandas are known as Dom. A subcaste of Pardhan. Title
of Kharia.
_Gandhi_.--A scent-seller. (From _gandh_, a Sanskrit word for
scent.) Synonym of Atari. A section of Maheshir Bania.
_Gandli_.--The Telugu caste of oil-pressers, numbering about 3000
persons in the Central Provinces, in the Chanda, Nagpur and Bhandara
Districts. They are immigrants from the Godavari District of Madras and
have been settled in the Central Provinces for some generations. Here
many of them have prospered so that they have abandoned the hereditary
calling and become landowners, traders and moneylenders. Like the
well-to-do Telis they are keenly desirous of bettering their social
position and now repudiate any connection with what may be known as
'the shop,' or the profession of oil-pressing. As this ranks very
low, among the more despised village handicrafts, the progress of
the Gandlis and Telis to the social standing of Banias, to which
they generally aspire, is beset with difficulties; but the Gandlis,
in virtue of having migrated to what is practically a foreign country
so far as they are concerned, have achieved a considerable measure of
success, and may be said to enjoy a better position than any Telis. A
few of them wear the sacred thread, and though they eat flesh, they
have abjured liquor except in Chanda, where they are most numerous
and the proportion of wealthy members is smallest. Here also they
are said to eat pork. Others eat flesh and fowls.
The Gandlis are divided into the Reddi, Chetti and Telkala subcastes,
and the last are generally oil-pressers. It is probable that the
Reddis are the same as the Redu-eddu or Rendu-eddu subcaste of Madras,
who derive their name from the custom of using two bullocks to turn
the oil-press, like the Do-baile Telis of the Central Provinces. But
it has been changed to Reddi, a more respectable name, as being a
synonym for the Kapu cultivating caste. Chetti really means a trader,
and is, Mr. Francis says, [442] "One of those occupational or titular
terms, which are largely employed as caste names. The weavers,
oil-pressers and others use it as a title, and many more tack it on
to their names to denote that trade is their occupation." Marriage
is regulated by exogamous groups, the names of which are said to be
derived from those of villages. Girls are generally married during
childhood. A noticeable point is that the ceremony is celebrated
at the bridegroom's house, to which the bride goes, accompanied by
her party, including the women of her family. The ceremony follows
the Maratha form of throwing fried rice over the bridal couple,
and Brahman priests are employed to officiate. Widow-marriage is
permitted. The dead are both buried and burnt, and during mourning
the Gandlis refrain from eating _khichri_ or mixed rice and pulse, and
do not take their food off plantain leaves, in addition to the other
usual observances. They have the _shantik_ ceremony or the seclusion
of a girl on the first appearance of the signs of adolescence, which
is in vogue among the higher Maratha castes, and is followed by a feast
and the consummation of her marriage. They now speak Marathi fluently,
but still use Telugu in their houses and wear their head-cloths tied
after the Tulugu fashion. [443]
_Gangabalu_.--(Sand of the Ganges.) A family name of Ganda.
_Gangabasia_.--(Living on the banks of the Ganges.) A section of Ahir.
_Gangapari_.--(One coming from the further side of the
Ganges.) Subcaste of Barai, Barhai, Chamar, Dhobi, Gondhali, Kumhar
and Umre Bania.
_Gangasagar_.--(Sea of the Ganges.) A section of Chitari and Kawar.
_Gangavansi_.--(Descended from the Ganges.) A clan of Rajputs. The
chief of Bamra State is a Gangavansi.
_Gangthade_.--Dwellers on the banks of the Godavari and
Wainganga. These rivers are sometimes called Ganga or Ganges, which
is used as a general term for a great river. A subcaste of Maratha.
_Gannore_.--Name of a minor Rajput clan. Subcaste of Balahi.
_Ganth-chor_.--(A bundle-thief.) Title of Bhamta.
_Gaolan_.--A synonym of Ahir or Gaoli, applied to an inferior section
of the caste.
_Gaoli_, _Gauli_.--(A milkman.) Synonym for Ahir. Subcaste of Hatkar.
_Gaontia_.--(A village headman.) Title of the head of the Kol caste
committee. Title of Kol.
_Garde_.--(Dusty.) A surname of Karhara Brahmans in Saugor.
_Garg_ or _Gargya_.--The name of a famous Rishi or saint. An eponymous
section of Brahmans. A section of Agarwala Banias. Gargabansi is a
clan of Rajputs.
_Garhawala_, _Garhewala_, _Garhewar_.--A resident of Garha, an old
town near Jubbulpore which gave its name to the Garha-Mandla dynasty,
and is a centre of weaving. A subcaste of Katia, Koshti and Mahar,
all weaving castes. A subcaste of Binjhal.
_Garkata_.--(Cut-throat.) A section of Koshti.
_Garpagari_.--A body of Jogis or Naths who avert hailstorms and are
considered a separate caste. See article. From _gar_, hail. A subcaste
of Koshta and Kumhar. A section of Ghasia.
_Gate_.--(A bastard.) Subcaste of Naoda.
_Gaur_.--The ancient name of part of Bengal and perhaps applied also
to the tract in the United Provinces round about the modern Gonda
District. A subcaste of Brahman and Kayasth. A clan of Rajputs. See
articles.
_Gauria_, _Gauriya_.--A caste. A subcaste of Dhimar, Khond, Kumhar
and Uriya Sansia.
_Gauriputra_.--A son of Gauri, the wife of Mahadeo. Title of Balija.
_Gautam_.--A name of a famous Rishi or saint. A common eponymous
section of Brahmans. A clan of Rajputs. A section of Agharia, Ahir,
Maratha, Panwar Rajput, Rangari and Jangam.
_Gayake_.--Subcaste of Pardhi, meaning a man who stalks deer behind
a bullock.
_Gayawal_.--(From the town of Gaya on the Ganges, a favourite place
for performing the obsequies of the dead.) A subcaste of Brahmans who
act as emissaries for the owners of the shrines at Gaya and wander
about the country inducing villagers to undertake the pilgrimage and
personally conducting their constituents.
_Gazulu_.--(A bangle-seller.) Subcaste of Balija.
_Gedam_.--A sept of Gonds. A sept of Baigas.
_Ghadyachi Tong_.--(The rim of the pitcher.) A section of Kirar.
_Ghanta_.--(Bell.) A section of Kumhar.
_Ghantra_.--Name of a caste of Lohars or blacksmiths in the Uriya
country.
_Gharbari_.--One who while leading a mendicant life is permitted
to marry with the permission of his _guru_. A householder, synonym
Grihastha. The married groups of the Gosain, Bairagi and Manbhao
orders as distinguished from the Nihang or celibate section.
_Ghasi Mali_.--Subcaste of Mali.
_Ghatole_, _Ghatode_.--Those who dwell on the _ghats_ or passes of the
Sainhyadri Hills to the south of the Berar plain. Subcaste of Bahna,
Gondhali and Kunbi.
_Ghatmathe_.--(Residents of the Mahadeo plateau in Berar.) Subcaste
of Maratha.
_Gherwal_.--A clan of Rajputs. Synonym for Gaharwar.
_Ghidoda_.--(Giver of _ghi_.) A section of Telis so named because
their first ancestors presented _ghi_ to the king Bhoramdeo.
_Ghisadi_, _Ghisari_.--A group of wandering Lohars or
blacksmiths. Synonym for Lohar.
_Ghoderao_.--(_Ghoda_, a horse.) Subcaste of Chitrakathi. They have
the duty of looking after the horses and bullock-carts of the castemen
who assemble for marriage or other ceremonies.
_Ghodke_.--Those who tend horses. Subcaste of Mang.
_Ghodmaria_.--(Horse-killer.) A sept of Binjhwar.
_Ghopi_.--(Wild _jamun_ tree.) A sept of Gonds.
_Ghosi_.--A caste. A subcaste of Ahir. A section of Chamar.
_Ghudchoda_.--A subcaste of Pasi, who have become grooms. (From
_ghora_, a horse.)
_Ghughu, Ghughwa_.--(Owl.) A section of Ganda, Kawar, Kewat and
Panka. Pankas of the Ghughu sept are said to have eaten the leavings
of their caste-fellows.
_Ghunnere_.--(Worm-eater.) A section of Teli in Betul and Rathor Teli.
_Ghura_ or _Gura_.--(Dunghill.) A section of Chadar and Sunar.
_Ghuttin_.--A sept of Bhils. They reverence the _gular_, or fig tree.
_Gingra_.--A subcaste of Tiyar.
_Girgira_.--A small caste found in Sonpur State and Sambalpur
district. They are fishermen, and also parch rice. They are perhaps
an offshoot of the Kewat caste.
_Giri_ or _Gir_.--(_Gir_, mountain.) An order of Gosains.
_Girnara_.--A subcaste of Brahmans in Jubbulpore. They are said to
take their name from Girnar in Kathiawar, where they were settled by
Krishna after he rose from the Damodar reservoir in the bed of the
Sonrekha river at Junagarh. They have the monopoly of the office of
priests to pilgrims visiting Girnar. _(Bombay Gazetteer_, ix.)
_Goal_ or _Gowala, Guala_.--(Sanskrit Gopal, a cowherd.) Synonym of
Ahir, also subcaste of Ahir.
_Gaoli_.--(A cowherd.) Synonym for Ahir. Subcaste of Maratha.
_Gobardhua_.--(From _gobar_, cowdung.) Subcaste of Chamar.
_Gohia, Gohi_.--(From _goh_ or _gohi_, a large lizard.) A section of
Jain Bania or Khatik. A sept of Bhatra and Parja.
_Gohil_.--A well-known clan of Rajputs in the United Provinces.
_Goia_.--(From _gohi_, a mango-stone.) A section of Chadar. They
draw a picture of the mango-stone at the Maihar or distribution of
sacrificial cakes.
_Gola._--Synonym of Golar.
_Golak_.--Synonym Govardhan or Gaomukh. An illegitimate group of
Maratha Brahmans.
_Golalare_.--A subcaste of Bania.
_Golandaz_.--(An artilleryman.) Synonym of Kadera.
_Golapurab_.--A subcaste of Bania, Darzi and Kalar.
_Golkar_.--Synonym of Golar and Ahir.
_Golia_.--One who dyes cloth with _goli ka rang_, the fugitive aniline
dyes. Subcaste of Chhipa.
_Golla_.--Synonym of Golar.
_Gollam_.--Synonym of Golar.
_Gondadya_.--(Gond.) Subcaste of Otari.
_Gondi_.--(From the Gonds.) A subcaste of Ahir, Binjhwar and Lohar.
_Gondia_.--Subcaste of Dhimar.
_Gondi-Lohar._--A Gond who works as a blacksmith. Subcaste of Lohar.
_Gondvansi_.--(Descendants of Gonds.) A section of Ghasia.
_Gondwaina_.--Subcaste of Baiga.
_Gopal_.--A caste. Synonym of Ahir in Rajputana.
_Goranda_.--Synonym of Goyanda.
_Gorakhnath_.--A sect of Jogis. From Guru Gorakhnath, a great Jogi.
_Gorasia_.--(From _goras_, milk.) A section of Lonare Mali.
_Gorigawar, Gaigowal_.--(A cowherd.) A section of Otari and Panka.
_Gosain, Goswami_.--A caste. A surname of Sanadhya Brahmans in Saugor.
_Gotte_.--A subcaste of Gond. They are also called Made in Chanda.
_Goundia_.--A class of Bairagi. Synonym Madhavachari. A section of
Bharia-Bhumia.
_Gowalvansi_.--Subcaste of Ahir.
_Goyanda, Goranda_.--A name applied to a small class of persons
in Jubbulpore, who are descendants of Thug approvers, formerly
confined there. The name is said to mean, 'One who speaks,' and
to have been applied to those Thugs who escaped capital punishment
by giving information against their confederates. Goranda is said
to be a corruption of Goyanda. The Goyandas are both Hindus and
Muhammadans. The latter commonly call themselves Deccani Musalmans as
a more respectable designation. They are said to be a gipsy class of
Muhammadans resembling the Kanjars. The Hindus are of different castes,
but are also believed to include some Beria gipsies. The Goyandas
are employed in making gloves, socks and strings for pyjamas, having
probably taken to this kind of work because the Thug approvers were
employed in the manufacture of tents. Their women are quarrelsome, and
wrangle over payment when selling their wares. This calling resembles
that of the Kanjar women, who also make articles of net and string, and
sell them in villages. Some of the Goyandas are employed in Government
and railway service, and Mr. Gayer notes that the latter are given
to opium smuggling, and carry opium on their railway engines. [444]
_Grihastha, Gharbari_.--(A householder.) A name given to those
divisions of the religious mendicant orders who marry and have
families.
_Guar_.--(From _guara_ or _gwala_, a milkman.) Subcaste of Banjara.
_Gudarh_ or _Gudar_.--(From _gudra_, a rag.) A sect of the Bairagi,
Gosain and Jogi orders of mendicants.
_Gudha_ or _Gurha_.--(From _gudh_, a pigsty.) Subcaste of Basor.
_Gugaria_.--One who trades in _gugar_, a kind of gum. Subcaste
of Banjara.
_Gujar_.--A caste. A subcaste of Ahir, Darzi, Koshti and Pasi. A clan
of Maratha. A section of Khatik.
_Gujarati_.--(From Gujarat.) A territorial subcaste of Bahelia, Bania,
Barhai, Chhipa, Darzi, Gopal, Nai, Sunar and Teli.
_Gurasthulu_.--A synonym for the Balija caste.
_Gurbhelia_.--(A ball of molasses.) A section of Gohira Ahirs in
Chanda.
_Guria_.--(A preparer of _gur_ or unrefined sugar.) Synonym of Halwai
in the Uriya country.
_Gurujwale_.--A class of Fakirs or Muhammadan beggars.
_Guru-Mata._--Title of the great council of the Sikhs and their
religious meal.
_Guru_.--(A preacher or teacher or spiritual guide.) Brahmans and
members of the religious orders, Bairagis and Gosains, are the Gurus
of ordinary Hindus. Most Hindu men and also women of the higher and
middle castes have a Guru, whose functions are, however, generally
confined to whispering a sacred verse into the ear of the disciple
on initiation, and paying him a visit about once a year; it is not
clear what happens on these occasions, but the Guru is entertained
by this disciple, and a little moral exhortation may be given.
_Gurusthulu_.--Synonym of Balija.
_Guthau_.--Title of Gadba.
_Gwalbansi, Gokulbansi, Goalbansi_.--(Descended from a cowherd.) A
subcaste of Ahir or Gaoli, A subcaste of Khairwar.
_Gwalhare_.--(Cowherd.) A subcaste of Lodhi.
_Habshi_.--Synonym of Siddi. An Abyssinian.
_Hadi_.--(Sweeper or scavenger.) One of the 72 1/2 gotras of Meheshri
Bania. A synonym for Mangan.
_Hadia_.--(From _hadi_, bone.) A section of Raghuvansi.
_Haihaya, Haihaivansi_.--(Race of the horse.) A clan of Rajputs of
the lunar race.
_Hajjam_.--Muhammadan name for Nai or barber.
_Hakkya_.--Title of Hatkar.
_Halai_.--Subcaste of Cutchi.
_Halbi_.--Synonym of Halba. Subcaste of Koshti.
_Haldia, Hardiya, Hardiha, Halde_.--(A grower of _haldi_, or
turmeric.) Subcaste of Kachhi, Lodhi, Mali, Rajjhar and Teli. A
section of Rajjhar.
_Halia_.--(Ploughman.) A subcaste of Teli in Nandgaon State.
_Halua_.--A subcaste of Uriya Brahmans, so called because they use
the plough (_hal_).
_Hans, Hansi, Hansa_,--(The swan.) A section of Agharia, Ahir, Mali
and Savar.
_Hansele_.--(_Hansna_, to laugh.) A section of Ahir.
_Hanuman, Hanumanta_.--(The monkey-god Hanuman.) A section of Bhatra,
Mahar and Mowar.
_Hara_.--A clan of Rajputs, a branch of the Chauhans.
_Harbola_.--Derived from Hari, a name of Vishnu or Krishna, and _bolna_
to speak. Synonym of Basdewa and also subcaste of Basdewa.
_Hardas_.--A religious mendicant who travels about and tells stories
about heroes and gods accompanied with music. Synonym of Chitrakathi.
_Hari_.--(A bone-gatherer.) Synonym of Mehtar and subcaste of Mehtar.
_Haria_.--(_Hal_, plough.) A subcaste of Mahar.
_Harial_.--(Green pigeon.) A section of Ahir.
_Harshe_.--(Glad.) Surname of Karhara Brahmans in Saugor.
_Hatgar_.--Synonym of Hatkar.
_Hatghar_.--Subcaste of Koshti.
_Hathgarhia_.--Subcaste of Kumhar, meaning one who moulds vessels
with his hands only, without using the wheel as an implement.
_Hathia, Hasti_.--(From _hathi_, elephant.) A section of Ahir, Chasa,
Mehra and Mowar.
_Hatkar, Hatgar_.--A caste. A subcaste of Koshta and Maratha.
_Hatwa_.--A small caste of pedlars and hawkers in the Uriya country,
who perambulate the village bazars or _hats_, from which word
their name is derived. They sell tobacco, turmeric, salt, and other
commodities. The caste are in reality a branch of the Kewats, and
are also called Semli Kewat, because their ancestors travelled on the
Mahanadi and other rivers in canoes made from the bark of the _semal_
tree (_Bombax Malabaricum_). They were thus Kewats or boatmen who
adopted the practice of carrying small articles up and down the river
for sale in their canoes, and then beginning to travel on land as well
as on water, became regular pedlars, and were differentiated into a
separate caste. The caste originated in Orissa where river travelling
has until lately been much in vogue, and in Sambalpur they are also
known as Uriyas, because of their recent immigration into this part of
the country. The Hatwas consider themselves to be descended from the
Nag or cobra, and say that they all belong to the Nag _gotra_. They
will not kill a cobra, and will save it from death at the hands
of others if they have the opportunity, and they sometimes pay the
snake-charmers to set free captive snakes. The oath on the snake is
their most solemn form of affirmation. For the purposes of marriage
they have a number of exogamous sections or _vargas_, the names
of which in some cases indicate a military calling, as Dalai, from
Dalpati, commander of an army, and Senapati, commander-in-chief; while
others are occupational, as Maharana (painter), Dwari (gatekeeper)
and Mangual (steersman of a boat). The latter names show, as might
be expected, that the caste is partly of functional origin, while as
regards the military names, the Hatwas say that they formerly fought
against the Bhonslas, under one of the Uriya chiefs. They say that
they have the perpetual privilege of contributing sixteen poles,
called Naikas, for the car of Jagannath, and that in lieu of this
they hold seven villages in Orissa revenue-free. Those of them who use
pack-bullocks for carrying their wares worship Banjari Devi, a deity
who is held to reside in the sacks used for loading the bullocks;
to her they offer sweetmeats and grain boiled with sugar.
_Havelia_.--(Resident of a Haveli or fertile wheat tract.) Subcaste
of Ghosi and Kurmi.
_Hawaidar_.--(A maker of fireworks.) Synonym of Kadera.
_Hela_.--(From _hela_, a cry.) Subcaste of Mehtar.
_Hichami_.--(A comb.) A sept of Maria Gonds.
_Hijra_.--(A eunuch.) See article. A subcaste of Gondhali.
_Hindustani_.--Subcaste of Kunbi.
_Hira, Hirani_.--(Diamond.) A section of Bhulia and of Uriya Sansia.
_Hirangotri_.--(_Hiran_, deer.) A section of Agarwal Bania.
_Ho_.--Synonym of Kol.
_Holer_.--(A hide-curer.) Subcaste of Mang.
_Holia, Holer_.--A caste. A subcaste of Golar. Holer, perhaps from
Holia, a subcaste of Mang.
_Hudila_.--(Wolf.) A totemistic sept of Kawar.
_Hulhulia Sahu_.--A section of Chasa so named, because as a mark of
respect they make the noise 'Hulhuli,' when a king passes through
the village.
_Huna, Hoon_ or _Hun_.--One of the thirty-six royal races of
Rajputs. Probably descendants of the Hun invaders of the fifth
century. See articles Rajput and Panwar Rajput.
_Husaini_.--Subcaste of Brahman.
_Ikbainha_.--A subcaste of Kurmi, so called because their women put
bangles on one arm only.
_Iksha Kul_ or _Ikshawap Kul_.--A section of Komti. They abstain from
using the sugarcane and the _sendia_ flower.
_Ilakeband_.--(From _ilaqa_ or _alaqa_, meaning connection, and
_bandhna_, to bind.) Synonym of Patwa.
_Inga_.--Subcaste of Gowari.
_Irpachi_.--(Mahua flowers.) A sept of Dhurwa Gonds in Betul.
_Ivna Inde_.--(_Inde_, chicken.) A sept of Dhurwa Gonds in Betul. They
offer chickens to their gods.
_Ivna Jagleya_.--(_Jagna_, to be awake.) A sept of the Dhurwa clan of
Gonds in Betul. They are so named because they kept awake to worship
their gods at night.
_Jadam, Jaduvansi, Yadava_.--An important clan of Rajputs now become
a caste. Name derived from Yadu or Yadava. A subcaste of Gujar. A
subcaste and section of Ahir; a section of Rathor Rajputs in Betul.
_Jadia, Jaria_.--(An enameller.) A subcaste of Sunar. They
practise hypergamy by taking wives from the Pitariye and Sudihe
subdivisions, and giving daughters to the Sri Nagariye and Banjar
Mahuwe subdivisions. Also an occupational term meaning one who sets
precious stones in rings.
_Jadubansi, Yadubansi_.--See Jadum. A subcaste of Ahir.
_Jaga_.--(Awakener.) Synonym of Basdewa.
_Jagat_.--(An awakener or sorcerer.) A sept of Gond in many
localities. A section of Nat and Kasar.
_Jaharia_.--(From _jahar_, an essence.) Subcaste of Satnami.
_Jain_.--Name of a religion. See article. A subcaste of Kalar, Kumbar
and Simpi (Darzi).
_Jaina_.--(One who follows the Jain faith.) Subcaste of Komti, Gurao.
_Jain Koshti_.--Subcaste of Koshti.
_Jaipuria_.--(A resident of Jaipur.) Subcaste of Mali.
_Jaiswar_.--(From the old town of Jais in Rai Bareli District.) A
subcaste of Chamars, who usually call themselves Jaiswara in preference
to their caste name. A subcaste of Barai, Kunbi and Kalar.
_Jalalia_.--A class of Fakirs or Muhammadan beggars.
_Jaitwa_ or _Kamari_.--A clan of Rajputs; one of the thirty-six royal
races mentioned by Colonel Tod.
_Jallad_.--(An executioner.) Subcaste of Kanjar.
_Jamadagni_.--An eponymous section of Karhare Brahman and Agharia.
_Jambu_.--(From the _jaman_ tree.) A subcaste of Brahman and Marar. A
sept of Korku.
_Jambu Dalia_.--(Born in a shed made of _jaman_ branches.) A section
of Ghasia.
_Jamnabasi_.--(Residing on the banks of the Jumna.) A subcaste
of Dhobi.
_Jangam_.--A caste of Saiva mendicants, who call themselves Vir Shaiva,
and are priests of the Lingayat sect; a subcaste of Jogi.
_Jangra_.--(Perhaps the same as Jharia or jungly.) A subcaste of
Lodhi. A section of Dhimar, Mali and Sunar.
_Jani_.--A wise man; an exorciser.
_Janta_.--(Flour grinding-mill.) A section of Panka, a sept of Kawar.
_Janughanta_.--Mendicants who tie bells to their thighs; a kind
of Jogis.
_Jaria_.--A totemistic section of Basor, who worship the _ber_ or
wild plum tree.
_Jasondhi, Dasaundhi_.--A caste. A subcaste of Bhat.
_Jasondhi, Karohla_.--A small caste of the Narsinghpur District,
who were employed at the Gond and Maratha courts to sing the _jas_
or hymns in praise of the chiefs. They may be considered as a branch
of the Bhat caste, and some of them are said to be addicted to petty
theft. Some Jasondhis, who are also known as Karohla, now wander about
as religious mendicants, singing the praises of Devi. They carry an
image of the goddess suspended by a chain round the neck and ask
for gifts of _tilli_ (sesamum) or other vegetable oil, which they
pour over their heads and over the image. Their clothes and bodies
are consequently always saturated with this oil. They also have a
little cup of vermilion which they smear on the goddess and on their
own bodies after receiving an offering. They call on Devi, saying,
'_Maiji, Maiji Mata meri, kahe ko janam diya_' or 'Mother, mother,
why did you bring me into the world?' Women who have no children
sometimes vow to dedicate their first-born son as a Karohla, and it
is said that such children were bound to sacrifice themselves to the
goddess on attaining manhood in one of three ways. Either they went
to Benares and were cut in two by a sword, or else to Badrinarayan,
a shrine on the summit of the Himalayas, where they were frozen to
death, or to Dhaolagiri, where they threw themselves down from a rock,
and one might occasionally escape death. Their melancholy refrain may
thus be explained by the fate in store for them. The headquaters of
the order is the shrine of the Bindhyachal Devi in the Vindhyan Hills.
_Jat_.--A caste. One of the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs. A
subcaste of Barhai, Bishnoi and Kumhar.
_Jatadhari_.--(With matted hair.) A sect of celibate Manbhaos.
_Jati_.--Name of Jain mendicant ascetics.
_Jaunpuri_.--(From Jaunpur.) A subcaste of Halwai and Lohar.
_Jemadar_.--Honorific title of Khangar and Mehtar.
_Jemadarin_.--Title of the female leaders of the Yerukala communities
of thieves.
_Jera_.--(A forked stick for collecting thorny wood.) A section
of Dangi.
_Jhadi, Jhade, Jharia, Jharkua_. (Jungly.)--A name often applied
to the oldest residents of a caste in any locality of the Central
Provinces. In Berar it is used to designate the Wainganga Valley
and adjacent hill ranges. A subcaste of Ahir, Barai, Barhai, Chamar,
Dhangar, Dhanwar, Dhobi, Gadaria, Gurao, Kapewar, Kasar, Katia, Kewat,
Khatik, Khond, Kirar, Kumhar, Kunbi, Kurmi, Mahar, Mali, Nai, Sunar,
Teli and Turi.
_Jhadukar_.--(From _jhadu_, a broom.) A synonym of Mehtar.
_Jhal_ or _Jhala_.--One of the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs. A
subcaste of Raj-Gond.
_Jhankar_.--Name of a village priest in the Uriya country. The Jhankar
is usually a Binjhwar or member of another primitive tribe.
_Jhara, Jhira, Jhora_.--Synonym of Sonjhara.
_Jharha_.--subcaste of Lodhi. _Jharia_.--(Jungly.) See
Jhadi. _Jharola_.--(Perhaps from the town of Jhalor in Marwar.) A
subcaste of Brahmans in Jubbulpore.
_Jhinga_.--(A prawn-catcher.) Subcaste of Dhimar.
_Jijhotia_ or _Jujhotia_.--(From Jajhoti, the old name of the country
of Lalitpur and Saugor.) A subcaste of Brahmans of the Kanaujia
division. A subcaste of Ahir; a section of Joshi and Kumhar.
_Jildgar_.--(A bookbinder.) A class of _Mochi._
_Jingar._--(A saddlemaker.) A class of Mochi. A subcaste of Chamar
and of Simpi (Darzi).
_Jirayat_.--Synonym for Mochis in Berar who have taken up the finer
kinds of ironwork, such as mending guns, etc.
_Jire-Mali._--Formerly was the only subcaste of Mali who would grow
cumin or _jira_.
_Jiria_.--(From _jira_, or cumin.) Subcaste of Kachhi.
_Jogi, Jugi_. A caste. A subcaste of Dewar. A section of Chamar,
Chhipa and Lohar.
_Joharia_.--(From _johar_, a form of salutation.) Subcaste of Dahaits
in Bilaspur.
_Johri_.--A subcaste of Rajput.
_Jokhara_.--A small class of Muhammadans who breed leeches and apply
them to patients, the name being derived from _jonk_, a leech. They
were not separately classified at the census, but a few families
of them are found in Burhanpur, and they marry among themselves,
because no other Muhammadans will marry with them. In other parts
of India leeches are kept and applied by sweepers and sometimes
by their women. [445] People suffering from boils, toothache,
swellings of the face, piles and other diseases have leeches applied
to them. For toothache the leeches are placed inside the mouth on
the gum for two days in succession. There are two kinds of leeches
known as Bhainsa-jonk, the large or buffalo-leech, and Rai-jonk,
the small leech. They are found in the mud of stagnant tanks and in
broken-down wells, and are kept in earthen vessels in a mixture of
black soil and water; and in this condition they will go without food
for months and also breed. Some patients object to having their blood
taken out of the house, and in such cases powdered turmeric is given
to the leeches to make them disgorge, and the blood of the patient
is buried inside the house. The same means is adopted to prevent the
leeches from dying of repletion. In Gujarat the Jokharas are a branch
of the Hajjam or Muhammadan barber caste, [446] and this recalls the
fact that the barber chirurgeon or surgeon in mediæval England was
also known as the leech. It would be natural to suppose that he was
named after the insect which he applied, but Murray's Dictionary holds
that the two words were derived from separate early English roots,
and were subsequently identified by popular etymology.
_Jondhara_.--(Indian millet.) A totemistic sept of Korku and Halba.
_Joshi_.--(An astrologer.) A caste. A surname of Karhara Brahmans.
_Juthia_.--(One who eats the leavings of others.) Subcaste of Basor.
_Jyotishi_.--A synonym for Joshi; an astrologer.
_Kabiraya_.--(Followers of Kabir.) A subcaste of Kori. A section
of Koshti.
_Kabirpanthi_.--A member of the Kabirpanthi sect. A subcaste of Panka
and Agharia. A class of Bairagis or religious mendicants.
_Kabra_.--(Spotted.) One of the 72 1/2 sections of Maheshri Bania.
_Kabutari_.--(Pigeon.) A synonym for Kolhati. A name given to female
dancers of the Nat caste.
_Kabutkunia_.--(Those who find place at the corner of the door.) A
subcaste of Sudh in Sambalpur, being the illegitimate issues of the
Baro Sudh subcaste.
_Kachara_.--Synonym of Kachera.
_Kachchhi_.--(From Cutch in Gujarat.) A subdivision of Balmiki Kayasths
and Mathur Kayasths.
_Kachhap_.--(Tortoise.) A totemistic sept of Agharia, Sudh, Bhulia,
Chasa, Kamar and Khandait.
_Kachhotia_.--Subcaste of Jadam.
_Kachhutva_.--(The tortoise.) A totemistic sept of several groups of
Gonds, also of Darzi, Halba, Kol, Rawat, Munda, Jat, Kachhi and Lohar.
_Kachhwaha_.--(The tortoise.) One of the thirty-six royal races of
Rajputs, the princes of Jaipur or Amber being of this clan. They
derive the name from Cutch, or from Kush, an eponymous ancestor. A
section of Nandbansi Ahir, Gadaria, Kachhi and Nat. The Kachhwaha
section of Gadarias worship the tortoise.
_Kada-kalle-bhallavi._--One who uses donkeys for pack-carriage
(_bhallavi_), but stole a horse (_kalle-kada_). A sept of the Dhurwa
clan of Satdeve Gonds in Betul.
_Kagar_.--Synonym of Dhimar.
_Kagwaria_.--From _kagwar_, an offering made to the ancestors in the
month of Kunwar. Subcaste of Kol.
_Kaibartta_.--Synonym of Kewat.
_Kaikadi_.--Synonym of Kaikari.
_Kainthwans_.--A subcaste of Pasi in Saugor and Betul, said to have
originated in a cross between a Badhak or Baori, and a Kayasth woman.
_Kaith_.--Synonym for Kayasth.
_Kaitha, Kaithia_.--Subcaste of Bharbhunja and Darzi.
_Kakra_.--One who arranges for the lighting at the marriage and other
ceremonies. Subcaste of Chitrakathi.
_Kala_.--(Black.) A subcaste of Golkar (Ahir.
_Kalachuri_.--Synonym for the Haihaya clan of Rajputs.
_Kalanga_.--A caste. A subcaste of Gond.
_Kalanki_.--A subdivision of Maharashtra Brahmans found in Nagpur. They
are considered degraded, as their name indicates. They are said to
have cut up a cow made of flour to please a Muhammadan governor,
and to follow some other Muhammadan practices.
_Kalapithia_,--(Having black backs.) A subcaste of Savars in Puri of
Orissa. They have the right of dragging the car of Jagannath.
_Kalawant_.--Title of Mirasi.
_Kalbelia_.--(Catcher of snakes.) A subcaste of Nat.
_Kalibelia_.--(_Bel_, an ox.) A section of Chadar. They draw a picture
of an ox at their weddings.
_Kalihari_.--(Bridle.) A section of Teli in Nandgaon, so named because
they presented a bridle to their king.
_Kalkhor_.--(Castor-oil plant.) A totemistic sept of the Audhalia
caste.
_Kalutia, Kalota_.--A subtribe of Gonds in Chanda and Betul.
_Kalwar_.--Synonym of Kalar.
_Kamad._ [447]--A small caste of jugglers, who come from Rajputana
and travel about in the Hoshangabad and Nimar Districts. They were
not returned at the census, and appear to belong to Rajputana. Their
special entertainment consists in playing with cymbals, and women are
the chief performers. The woman has eight or nine cymbals secured
to her legs before and behind, and she strikes these rapidly in
turn with another held in her hand, twisting her body skilfully so
as to reach all of them, and keeping time with the music played on
guitar-like instruments by the men who accompany her. If the woman
is especially skilful, she will also hold a naked sword in her mouth,
so as to increase the difficulty of the performance.
The Kamads dress after the Rajputana fashion, and wear yellow
ochre-coloured clothes. Their exogamous sections have Rajput names,
as Chauhan, Panwar, Gudesar, Jogpal and so on, and like the Rajputs
they send a cocoanut-core to signify a proposal for marriage. But
the fact that they have a special aversion to Dhobis and will not
touch them makes it possible that they originated from the Dom caste,
who share this prejudice. [448] Reason has been found to suppose that
the Kanjars, Kolhatis and other migrant groups of entertainers are
sprung from the Doms, and the Kamads may be connected with these. No
caste, not even the sweepers, will accept food from the Kamads. They
employ a Brahman, however, to officiate at their marriage and death
ceremonies. Like the Gosains the Kamads bury their dead in a sitting
posture, a niche being hollowed out at the side of the grave in which
the corpse is placed. Crushed bread (_malida_) and a gourd full of
water are laid beside the corpse. The caste worship the footprints of
Ramdeo, a saint of Marwar, and pay special reverence to the goddess
Hinglaj, who is a deity of several castes in Rajputana.
_Kamalbansi_.--(Stock of the lotus.) Subcaste of Kawar.
_Kamal Kul_.--(Lotus.) A section of Komti. They do not use lotus
roots nor yams.
_Kamari, Kailwa_.--One of the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs.
_Kamaria_.--(From _kambal_, blanket.) A subcaste of Ahir. A section
of Dhimar and Sonkar.
_Kamathi, Kamati_.--A term applied in the Maratha Districts to
immigrants from Madras. It is doubtful whether the Kamathis have
become a caste, but about 150 persons returned this name as their
caste in the Central Provinces and Berar in 1911, and there are
about 7000 in India, none, however, being recorded from the Madras
Presidency. It is stated that the word Kamathi means 'fool' in Tamil,
and that in Bombay all Telugus are called Kamathis, to whatever caste
they may belong. Similarly, Maratha immigrants into Madras are known
by the generic name of Arya, [449] and those coming from Hindustan
into the Nerbudda valley as Pardeshi, while in the same locality the
Brahmans and Rajputs of Central India are designated by the Marathas as
Rangra. This term has the signification of rustic or boorish, and is
therefore a fairly close parallel to Kamathi, if the latter word has
the meaning given above. In the Thana District of Bombay [450] people
of many classes are included under the name of Kamathi. Though they do
not marry or even eat together, the different classes of Kamathis have
a strong feeling of fellowship, and generally live in the same quarter
of the town. In the Central Provinces the Kamathis are usually masons
and house-builders or labourers. They speak Telugu in their houses
and Marathi to outsiders. In Sholapur [451] the Kamathis dress like
Kunbis. They are bound together by a strong caste feeling, and appear
to have become a regular caste. Their priests are Telugu Brahmans,
and their ceremonies resemble those of Kunbis. On the third day after
a child is born the midwife lifts it up for the first time, and it is
given a few light blows on the back. For three days the child sucks
one end of a rag the other end of which rests in a saucer of honey,
and the mother is fed on rice and clarified butter. On the fourth day
the mother begins to suckle the child. Until the mother is pregnant
a second time, no _choti_ or scalp-lock is allowed to grow on the
child's head. When she becomes pregnant, she is taken with the child
before the village god, and a tuft of hair is thereafter left to grow
on the crown of its head.
_Kamma._--A large cultivating caste of the Madras Presidency, of
which a few representatives were returned from the Chanda District in
1911. They are derived from the same Dravidian stock as the other great
cultivating castes of Madras, and, originally soldiers by profession,
have now settled down to agriculture. No description of the caste
need be given here, but the following interesting particulars may
be recorded. The word Kamma means an ear ornament, and according
to tradition a valuable jewel of this kind belonging to a Raja of
Warangal fell into the hands of his enemies. One section of the great
Kapu caste, boldly attacking the foe and recovering the jewel, were
hence called Kamma, while another section, which ran away, received
the derogatory title of Velama (_veli_, away). Another story says that
the Kammas and Velamas were originally one caste, and had adopted the
Muhammadan system of _gosha_ or _purda_. But finding that they were
thus handicapped in competition with the other cultivating castes, it
was proposed that the new custom should be abandoned. Those who agreed
to this signed a bond, which was written on a palm-leaf (_kamma_),
and hence received their new name. In the Central Provinces the Kammas
are divided into three subcastes, the Illuvellani or those who do not
go out of the house, the Tadakchatu or those who live within _tadaks_
or mat screens, and the Polumtir or those who go into the fields. These
names are derived from the degrees in which the different subdivisions
seclude their women, the Illuvellani observing strict _purda_ and the
Polumtir none whatever, while the Tadakchatu follow a middle course. On
this account some social difference exists between the three subcastes,
and when the Illuvellani dine with either of the other two they will
not eat from the plates of their hosts, but take their food separately
on a leaf. And the Tadakchatu practise a similar distinction with the
Polumtir, but the two latter divisions do not decline to eat from
plates or vessels belonging to an Illuvellani. The Kammas forbid a
man to marry in the _gotra_ or family group to which he belongs,
but a wife from the same _gotra_ as his mother's is considered a
most desirable match, and if his maternal uncle has a daughter he
should always take her in marriage. A man is even permitted to marry
his own sister's daughter, but he may not wed his mother's sister's
daughter, who is regarded as his own sister. Among the Kammas of the
Tamil country Mr. (Sir H.) Stuart [452] states that a bride is often
much older than her husband, and a case is cited in which a wife of
twenty-two years of age used to carry her boy-husband on her hip as
a mother carries her child. One other curious custom recorded of the
caste may be noticed. A woman dying within the lifetime of her husband
is worshipped by her daughters, granddaughters or daughters-in-law,
and in their absence by her husband's second wife if he has one. The
ceremony is performed on some festival such as Dasahra or Til-Sankrant,
when a Brahman lady, who must not be a widow, is invited and considered
to represent the deceased ancestor. She is anointed and washed with
turmeric and saffron, and decorated with sandal-paste and flowers;
a new cloth and breast-cloth are then presented to her which she
puts on; sweets, fruit and betel-leaf are offered to her, and the
women of the family bow down before her and receive her benediction,
believing that it comes from their dead relative.
_Kammala._--A small Telugu caste in the Chanda District. The name
Kammala is really a generic term applied to the five artisan castes
of Kamsala or goldsmith, Kanchara or brazier, Kammara or blacksmith,
Vadra or carpenter, and Silpi or stone-mason. These are in reality
distinct castes, but they are all known as Kammalas. The Kammalas
assert that they are descended from Visva Karma, the architect of the
gods, and in the Telugu country they claim equality with Brahmans,
calling themselves Visva Brahmans. But inscriptions show that as late
as the year A.D. 1033 they were considered a very inferior caste and
confined to the village site. [453] Mr. (Sir H.) Stuart writes in the
_Madras Census Report_ that it is not difficult to account for the
low position formerly held by the Kammalas, for it must be remembered
that in early times the military castes in India as elsewhere looked
down upon all engaged in labour, whether skilled or otherwise. With
the decline of military power, however, it was natural that a useful
caste like the Kammalas should gradually improve its position, and the
reaction from this long oppression has led them to make the exaggerated
claims described above, which are ridiculed by every other caste, high
or low. The five main subdivisions of the caste do not intermarry. They
have priests of their own and do not allow even Brahmans to officiate
for them, but they invite Brahmans to their ceremonies. Girls must be
married before puberty. The binding ceremony of the marriage consists
in the tying of a circular piece of gold on a thread of black beads
round the bride's neck by the bridegroom. Widow-marriage is prohibited.
_Kammari._--Telugu Lohars or blacksmiths.
_Kamsala._--(A goldsmith.) Subcaste of Kammala.
_Kanalsia._--(_Kanelu_, a tile.) A section of Ahir in Nimar who do
not live in tiled huts.
_Kanare._--(A resident of Canara.) A subcaste of Dhangar.
_Kanaujia, Kankubja._--A very common subcaste name, indicating persons
whose ancestors are supposed to have come from the town of Kanauj in
northern India, into the Central Provinces. A subcaste of Ahir, Bahna,
Bharbhunja, Bhat, Brahman, Dahait, Darzi, Dhobi, Halwai, Lohar, Mali,
Nai, Patwa, Sunar and Teli.
_Kanbajia_ or _Ahirwar._--Same as Kanaujia. Subcaste of Chamar.
_Kanchara._--(A brassworker.) Subcaste of Kammala.
_Kand._--(Roots or tubers of wild plants.) A section of Raghuvansi
Rajputs in Hoshangabad.
_Kanda Potel_.--(One who grows roots.) A section of Mali.
_Kande_.--Subcaste of Bedar.
_Kandera_.--Synonym for Kadera. Subcaste of Bahna.
_Kandh_.--Synonym of Khond. A subcaste of Taonla in Sambalpur.
_Kandhana_.--Subcaste of Khond.
_Kandhia_.--(A big-beaked vulture.) A sept of Dhanwar.
_Kandia_.--(_Kandi_, a shell, also a snake.) A section of Teli
in Betul.
_Kandol_.--A subcaste of Brahmans, who take their name from the
village Kandol, in Kathiawar.
_Kandra_.--A small caste of bamboo-workers in the Uriya country,
akin to the Basors elsewhere. Members of the caste are found in small
numbers in the Raipur and Balaghat Districts. The word Kandra may
be derived from _kand_, an arrow, just as Dhanuk, often a synonym
for Basor, has the meaning of an archer. It is not improbable that
among the first articles made of bamboo were the bow and arrow of the
forest tribes, and that the bow-maker was the parent of the modern
Basor or basket-maker, bows being a requisite of an earlier stage of
civilisation than baskets. In Bhandara the Kandras are an offshoot of
Gonds. Their women do not wear their cloths over the head, and knot
their hair behind without plaiting it. They talk a Gondi dialect and
are considered an impure caste.
_Kandu_.--(A grain-parcher.) A synonym and subcaste of Bharbhunja. A
subcaste of Halwai.
_Kandua_.--(From _kand_, onion, as they eat onions.) A subcaste
of Bharbhunja.
_Kanera_.--(From the _kaner_ tree.) A totemistic section of Ganda
and Khangar.
_Kangali_.--(Poor.) A common sept of Gonds.
_Kanhejin_.--Subcaste of Banjara.
_Kanhpuria_.--(From Cawnpore, which was founded by their eponymous
hero Kanh.) A clan of Rajputs.
_Kanjar_.--A caste of gipsies. A subcaste of Banjara.
_Kankubja_.--See Kanaujia.