_Kanphata_.--(One who has his ears bored or pierced.) A class of
Jogi mendicants.
_Kansari_.--Synonym of Kasar.
_Kanwar_.--Synonym of Kawar.
_Kanwarbansi_.--A subtribe of Khairwar.
_Kaonra_ or _Kora_.--A caste. A subcaste of Ahir.
_Kaore_.--A sept of Gonds. A surname of Maratha Brahmans.
_Kapalia_.--(Covered with skulls.) A section of Telis in Betul.
_Kaparia_.--(From _kapra_ cloth, owing to their wearing several
dresses, which they change rapidly like the Bahrupia.) Synonym
of Basdewa.
_Kapasia_.--(From _kapas_, cotton.) A section of Mahar.
_Kapdi_.--Synonym of Basdewa.
_Kapur_.--(Camphor.) A section of Khatri.
_Kapuria_.--A subdivision of Arhaighar Saraswat Brahmans in
Hoshangabad, probably deriving their title from being the priests of
the Kapur section of Khatris.
_Karai Nor_.--A section of Basor. They perform the Meher ceremony of
eating the marriage cakes near a well and not in the house.
_Karait_.--(A poisonous snake.) A section of Ahir, Halba and Panka.
_Karan_ (Mahanti).--A caste. A subcaste of Kayasth. An eponymous
section of Binjhwar and Tanti.
_Karaola_.--(One who pours sesamum oil on his clothes and
begs.) Synonym for Jasondhi and Bhat.
_Karbal_.--Subcaste of Khangar.
_Karchuli_.--A clan of Rajputs, formerly a ruling race in the
Jubbulpore country. See Rajput-Haihaya. A section of Joshi and Mochi.
_Kare, Karia_.--(Black.) A subcaste of Marar. A section of Binjhwar,
Ahir, Chhipa and Lodhi.
_Karela_.--(Bitter gourd.) A section of Sonkar.
_Karhada_.--A subcaste of Maharashtra Brahmans deriving their name
from Karhad, near the junction of the Krishna and Koyana rivers,
about fifteen miles from Satara.
_Karhaiya_.--(Frying-pan.) A section of Raghuvansi.
_Karigar_.--(A workman.) An honorific title of Barhai and Lohar. A
subcaste and synonym of Beldar.
_Karijat_.--Subcaste of Pardhi. The members of this subcaste only
kill birds of a black colour.
_Karkarkadhe_.--(Stone-diggers.) Subcaste of Mang.
_Karnam_.--Synonym of Karan, a palm-leaf writer.
_Karnata, Karnataka_.--One of the five orders of Panch Dravida or
southern Brahmans, inhabiting the Canarese country.
_Karnati_.--(From the Carnatic.) Synonym for a class of Nats or
acrobats.
_Karohla_.--A religious mendicant who wanders about singing praises
of Devi. See Jasondhi.
_Karpachor_.--(Stealer of straw.) A sept of the Uika clan of Gonds
in Betul.
_Karsayal_.--(A deer.) A sept of the Kawar tribe. Also a sept of Ahir,
Bhaina, Dhobi in Chhattisgarh, Kewat, Lohar and Turi.
_Karsi_.--(From _kalas_, a pitcher.) A totemistic sept of Kawar. They
do not drink water from a red jar on the Akti festival.
_Karwa_.--Subcaste of Kunbi.
_Karwar_.--(An oar.) A section of Dangi in Damoh. A section of Kawar.
_Kasai_.--A caste of butchers. Name applied to Banjaras.
_Kasar_.--A caste. A subdivision of Audhia Sunar. A section of Kewat.
_Kasarwani_.--A subcaste of Bania.
_Kasaundhan_.--A subcaste of Bania.
_Kasda_.--(One who hides himself in the bed of the river.) A sept of
Korku; a man of this sept has the privilege of directing the ceremony
for the readmission of an outcaste.
_Kasdhonia_.--A subcaste of Dhimar. They wash the sand in the sacred
rivers for coins thrown there by pilgrims, and dive into water to
find lost ornaments or gold.
_Kasera_.--Synonym of Kasar.
_Kashi_.--(Benares.) A section of Agharia, Ahir, Dhuri, Kewat, Kurmi
and Mali.
_Kashyap_.--Name of a famous Rishi or saint. The name may perhaps
be really derived from _kachhap_, a tortoise. One of the common
eponymous sections of Brahmans. Also a section of Barai, Bari, Beldar,
Bharbhunja, Bhulia, Binjhwar, Chandnahu Kurmi, Gond, Jangam, Joshi,
Kalar, Kasar, Kasarwani Bania, Khangar, Nai, Rajput, Sunar. Some
castes say that they are all of the Kashyap _gotra_ or section, the
tortoise being considered a common ancestor of mankind, because it
supports the world.
_Kasia_.--(Kansa, or bell-metal.) A section of Chamar. They draw a
picture of a bell-metal dish at their weddings.
_Kasondhi_.--A subcaste of Bania.
_Kassab, Kassia_.--(A butcher.) Synonym of Kasai.
_Kast_.--A small caste found in the Maratha Districts and Bombay,
who appear to be a separate or inferior group of the Kayasths. In
Chanda they work as patwaris and clerks to moneylenders, while some
are merchants and landholders. Like the Kayasths, they wash their pens
and inkstands on the Dasahra festival and worship them. Their principal
deity is the god Venkatesh, a Maratha incarnation of Vishnu. In Bombay
the Kasts claim to be Yajur-Vedi Brahmans, dress like them and keep
the regular Brahman ceremonies. [454] But they are considered to be
half Marathas and half Brahmans, and strict Deshasth and Kokanasth
Brahmans hold their touch unclean. [455]
_Katare_.--(_Katar_, dagger.) A surname of Sanadhya Brahmans in
Saugor. A section of Agarwal and Oswal Bania, Chhattisgarhi Ahir or
Rawat, Chadar and Basor. The Katare sept of Basors worship a dagger.
_Katharia_.--(From Kathibar, the old name of eastern Rohilkhand.) A
section of Gadaria and Kasar.
_Kathbhaina_;--Subcaste of Baiga in Bilaspur.
_Kathi_.--A Rajput clan included in the thirty-six royal races of
Rajputs. Originally an indigenous tribe of Gujarat, who gave their
name to Kathiawar.
_Kathia_.--Name of an Akhara or school of Bairagi religious
mendicants. See Bairagi.
_Kathotia_.--(_Kathotia_, a wooden bowl.) A section of Darzi.
_Kati_ or _Khatti_.--Subcaste of Bhuiya.
_Katia_.--A cast of spinners. A subcaste of Balahi and Mahar.
_Kattri_.--Subcaste of Are.
_Katwa_.--(From _Katna_, to cut.) Synonym of Katia and Chamar.
_Kaur_.--Synonym of Kawar.
_Kaushalya_.--(From Koshal, the name of a famous Rishi or saint.) A
section of Agarwal Bania, Darzi, Lodhi and Khatri Sunar.
_Kaushik_.--The name of a Rishi or saint. An eponymous section of
Brahmans. A section of Ahir, Dhobi, Rajput, Sunar and other castes.
_Kaviraj_.--Title of a Bhat who has the qualification of literacy,
and can therefore read the old Sanskrit medical works. A physician.
_Kayasth Patwa_.--A subcaste of Patwa in Hoshangabad and Saugor.
_Kekre_.--Subcaste of Gujar.
_Kesaria_.--(From _kesar_, saffron.) A section of Ahir and Gadaria.
_Kewat_.--A caste. A subcaste of Dhimar and Mallah.
_Khad_.--Subcaste of Mana.
_Khadal_.--A caste of palanquin-carriers.
_Khadal_ [456] (honorific titles _Nayak_ and _Behera_).--A small
Dravidian caste of labourers in the Uriya country. In 1901 they
numbered 1200 persons and resided principally in the Patna and
Sonpur States now transferred to Bengal. The Khadals are probably an
offshoot of the great Bauri caste of Bengal, with which the members
of the caste in Patna admitted their identity, though elsewhere they
deny it. Their traditional occupations of palanquin-bearing and
field labour are identical with those of the Bauris, as stated by
Sir H. Risley. [457] The name Khadal is a functional one, denoting
persons who work with a hoe. The Khadals have totemistic exogamous
groups, the Kilasi sept worshipping a tree, the Julsi and Kandualsi
sept a snake-hole, and Balunasi a stone and others the sun. Each
sept salutes the revered object or totem on seeing it, and those
who worship trees will not burn them or stand in their shade. When a
marriage takes place they worship the totem and offer to it flowers,
sandalwood, vermilion, uncooked rice, and the new clothes and ornaments
intended for the bride, which she may not wear until this ceremony
has been performed. Another curious custom adopted by the Khadals
in imitation of the Hindus is that of marrying adult boys and girls,
for whom a partner has not been found, to a tree. But this does not
occur when they arrive at puberty as among Hindu castes, but when a
boy still unmarried becomes thirty years old and a girl twenty. In
such a case he or she is married to a mango, cotton or _jamun_ tree,
and after this no second ceremony need be performed on subsequent
union with a wife or husband. A widower must pay Rs. 10, or double the
usual price, for a second wife, owing to the risk of her death being
caused by the machinations of the first wife's spirit. When a corpse
has been buried or burnt the mourners each take a twig of mango and
beat about in the grass to start a grasshopper. Having captured one
they wrap it in a piece of new cloth, and coming home place it beside
the family god. This they call bringing back the life of the soul,
and consider that the ceremony procures salvation for the dead. The
Khadals are usually considered as impure, but those of Sonpur have
attained a somewhat higher status.
_Khadia_.--(A kind of snake.) A section of Ahir and Raghuvansi. A
sept of Nahal.
_Khadra_, [458] _Khadura_ or _Kharura_.--A small Uriya caste whose
occupation is to make brass ornaments. They are immigrants from
Cuttack and say that they are called there Sankhari, so that the
Khadras may not improbably be an offshoot of the Sankhari caste of
shell-cutters of Bengal. According to their traditions their original
ancestor was created by Viswakarma, the celestial architect, for the
business of making a pinnacle for the temple of Jagannath at Puri,
in which eight metals had to be combined. He left two sons, one of
whom became the ancestor of the Khadras, and the other of the Kasars,
with whom the Khadras thus claim affinity. They have no subcastes but
four _gotras_ or clans called after the Nag or cobra, the Singh or
lion, and Kasyap and Kachchap, both derived from the tortoise. They
also have four _bargas_ or family names, which are Patra (a term of
respect), Das (slave), Sao (banker) and Maharana (artificer). The
groups are supposed to be descended from four families who migrated
from Curtack. Neither _bargas_ nor _gotras_ are now considered in the
arrangement of marriages, which are prohibited between blood relatives
for three generations. Marriage is infant, and a girl arriving at
puberty while still unwed is permanently expelled from the caste. The
Khadras still follow the old rule of writing the _lagun_ or date
of the marriage on a palm-leaf, with which they send Rs. 10-4 as a
bride-price to the girl's father, the acceptance of this constituting
a confirmation of the betrothal. The marriage ceremony resembles
that of the other Uriya castes, and the Khadras have the rite called
_badapani_ or breaking the bachelorhood. A little water brought from
seven houses is sprinkled over the bridegroom and his loin-cloth is
then snatched away, leaving him naked. In this state he runs towards
his own house, but some boys are posted at a little distance who give
him a new cloth. Widow-marriage and divorce are permitted, but the
hand of a widow must not be sought so long as she remains in her late
husband's house, and does not return to her father. When a bachelor
marries a widow he must first perform the regular ceremony with a
leaf-cup filled with flowers, after which he can take the widow as
his second wife. All important agreements are confirmed by a peculiar
custom called _heskani_. A deer-skin is spread on the ground before
the caste committee, and the person making the agreement bows before
it a number of times. To break an agreement made by the _heskani_
rite is believed to involve terrible calamities. The Khadras eat the
flesh of animals and fish but not that of birds, and they do not drink
country liquor. When an estate is to be partitioned the eldest son
first takes a tenth of the whole in right of primogeniture and the
remainder is then divided equally. The Khadras rank as an artisan
caste of somewhat low status.
_Khadura_.--Synonym of Khadra.
_Khaijraha_.--(A resident of Khaira, a town in Central India.) Subcaste
of Chamar.
_Khair, Khaira_.--(From _khair_, catechu or the catechu tree. A maker
of catechu.) Synonym for Khairwar.
_Khairchura_.--(Carechu preparer.) A subcaste of Khairwar.
_Khaire_.--A subcaste of Are (Gondhali), Kanbi and Oraon.
_Khairwar_.--A catechu-making caste. A section of Chamar.
_Khaiyaware_.--(_Khai_, ditch; owing to their houses having been
originally built on the ditch of Hatta fort.) A section of Beldar
Sonkars in Damoh.
_Khaki_.--(From _khak_, ashes.) A class of Bairagi, or religious
mendicants.
_Khalifa_.--(Lord.) An honorific title for Darzis or tailors, and
Muhammadan barbers.
_Khaltaha_.--Subcaste of Ghasia.
_Khaltati_.--(Illegitimate.) Subcaste of Andh.
_Khaltia_.--Subcaste of Basdewa.
_Khamari_.--(Farmservant.) A section of Kolta.
_Khambi_.--(One who hides behind the graveyard.) A sept of Korku.
_Khanda_.--(A sword.) A section of Panka and Mahar.
_Khandait_.--(A swordsman.) An Uriya caste. A subcaste of Sansia,
Taonla and Chasa. Also a name of Koltas in Cuttack.
_Khandapatra_.--(One who cleans swords.) A section of Khandwal.
_Khandapi_.--(_Khanda_, a sword.) A sept of the Dhurwa clan of Sahdeve
or six-god Gonds in Betul, named after the sword of Raja Durga Shah
by which a victory was gained over the Muhammadans.
_Khandele_.--(From _khanda_, sword.) A section of Raghuvansi Rajputs
in Hoshangabad.
_Khandelwal_.--A subcaste of Bania.
_Khandeshi_.--(A resident of Khandesh.) A territorial subcaste of
Darzi, Joshi, Mahar and Mang.
_Khanne, Khanna_.--A subdivision of Chargarh Saraswat Brahmans in
Hoshangabad, probably deriving their name from being priests of the
Khanna section of Khatris. A section of Khatri.
_Khanonkha_.--(A kind of basket to catch birds with.) A totemistic
sept of Rautia Kawars in Bilaspur.
_Kharadi_.--(A turner, one who turns woodwork on a lathe.) A synonym
of Kundera and Barhai.
_Kharchi_.--Bastard Marathas forming a separate division as
distinguished from the Khasi or pure Marathas.
_Khare_.--A subdivision of Srivastab, Gaur and Saksena Kayasths,
meaning those of pure descent.
_Khari Bind Kewat_.--Title of the Murha caste.
_Kharodia_.--(A resident of Kharod in Bilaspur.) A subcaste of Nunia.
_Kharsisjha_.--(Maker of cowdung cakes.) A section of Mali.
_Kharwade_.--(Refuse.) A subcaste of Simpi or Maratha Darzi (tailor)
originally formed of excommunicated members of the caste, but now
occupying a position equal to other subcastes in Nagpur.
_Kharwar_.--Synonym of the Khairwar tribe. Subcaste of Chero and Kol.
_Khasi_.--A subdivision of Marathas, meaning those born in wedlock.
_Khasua_.--(A eunuch.) Synonym of Hijra.
_Khati_.--(From the Sanskrit _kskatri_, one who cuts.) A subcaste of
Barhai and Lohar.
_Khatik_.--A caste. Synonym of Chikwa. A subcaste of Pasi in Saugor,
said to have originated in a cross between a Bauri and a Khatik woman.
_Khatkudia_.--(Illegitimate.) A section of Teli in Betul.
_Khatri_.--A caste. A subcaste of Chhipa and of Sunar in Narsinghpur.
_Khatua_.--(Having a cot.) A section of the Hatwa caste.
_Khatulha_ or _Khatola_.--A subtribe of Gond.
_Khatulwar_.--A subtribe of Gonds in Chanda, the same as the Khatulha
of the northern Districts.
_Khawas_.--A title of Nai or barber. A subcaste of Dhuri. A section
of Halba.
_Khedawal_.--A subcaste of Gujarati Brahmans. They take their name
from Kheda or Kaira, a town in Gujarat.
_Khedule_.--From _kheda_, a village. Subcaste of Kunbi.
_Khendro_.--Subcaste of Oraon.
_Kheralawala_.--An immigrant from Kherala in Malwa. Subcaste of
Rangrez.
_Kherawal_.--See Khedawal.
_Kheti_.--(Cultivation.) A section of Dumal.
_Khewat_.--Synonym of Kewat.
_Khichi_.--A clan of Rajputs, a branch of the Sesodia clan.
_Khoba_.--(Sticks for fencing the grain-store.) A sept of Kawar;
they abstain from using these sticks.
_Khoksa_.--(A kind of fish.) A totemistic sept of Rautia Kawar in
Bilaspur.
_Khuntia_.--A subcaste of Agaria. One who uses a _khunti_ or peg to fix
the bellows in the ground for smelting iron. A sept of Savars. (Those
who bury their dead on a high place.)
_Khursam_.--A sept of Pardhan and Dhur Gond.
_Khutha_.--(Impure.) A section of Tamera in Mandla.
_Khyaurokar_.--(One who shaves, from _kshaur_, to shave.) A synonym
of Nai or Bhandari.
_Kilanaya_.--(_Kilna,_ a dog-house.) A nickname section of Ahir.
_Kilkila_.--(The kingfisher.) A sept of Khairwar.
_Killibusum_.--(One who eats dead animals.) A sept of Korku.
_Kindra_.--(One who hides behind a tree.) A sept of Korku.
_Kirachi_ or _Karachi_.--A sept of Gonds of Raipur and Betul.
_Kirad_.--Synonym of Kirar.
_Kirahiboijir_.--(A kind of fruit.) A section of Teli in Nandgaon.
_Kirar_.--A caste. Synonym Dhakar. A subcaste of Kachhi. A section
of Khatik.
_Kirnakha_.--A sept of Gonds in Chanda.
_Kirvant_ or _Kilvant_.--A subdivision of Maharashtra Brahmans in
Khairagarh. The name is said to be derived from _kira_, an insect,
because they kill insects in working their betel-vine gardens. Another
explanation is that the name is really Kriyavant, and that they
are so called because they conducted _kriya_ or funeral services, an
occupation which degraded them. A third form of the name is _Kramwant_
or reciters of the Veda.
_Kisan_.--(A cultivator.) Oraons are commonly known by this name in
Chota Nagpur and Gonds in Mandla and other Districts. A section of
Marar, Rawat or Ahir, and Savar.
_Koathia_.--A section of Bais Rajputs.
_Kochia_.--Perhaps a name for Bahnas or cotton cleaners.
_Kodjet_.--(A conqueror of crores of people.) A section of Bhulia.
_Kohistani_.--(A dweller on mountains.) A section of Pathan.
_Kohkatta_.--A sept of Gonds in Khairagarh.
_Kohri_.--A synonym for the Kohli caste.
_Koi_.--A class of Gonds.
_Koikopal_.--A subcaste of Gond.
_Koilabhut_ or _Koilabhuti_.--A subtribe of Gonds. Their women are
prostitutes.
_Koiri_.--A synonym of the Murao caste.
_Koitur_.--A synonym for Gond. The name by which the Gonds call
themselves in many Districts.
_Kokonasth_ or _Chitpavan_.--A subcaste of Maharashtra Brahmans
inhabiting the Konkan country. Chitpavan means the pure in heart.
_Koksinghia_.--_(Koka,_ the Brahmani duck.) A subsection of the
Pardhan section of Koltas.
_Kol_.--A tribe. Subcaste of Dahait.
_Kolabhut_.--A name for Gonds.
_Kolam_.--A tribe. A subtribe of Gonds in Chanda.
_Kolchar_.--A clan of Maratha.
_Kolia_.--(From _kolu_, oil-press.) A section of Teli in Betul.
_Koliha_.--(Jackal.) A section of Panwar Rajput, Chamar and Kawar.
_Kolita_, _Kulta_.--Synonyms of Kolta.
_Kolta_.--A caste. A subcaste of Chasa.
_Kolya_.--(One who hides behind a jackal-hole.) A sept of Korku.
_Komalwar_.--(_Komal_, soft.) A section of Kurumwar.
_Komati_.--Synonym of Komti.
_Kommu_.--(A story-teller.) Subcaste of Madgi.
_Kondawar_.--(_Konda_, a mountain.) A section of Palewar Dhimar and
Koshti in Chanda.
_Kondwan_ or _Kundi_.--A name of a tract south of the Mahanadi which is
called after the Khond tribe, and was formerly owned by them. Subcaste
of Baiga.
_Korai_.--A subcaste of Ahir or Rawat in Bilaspur.
_Koraku_.--(Young men.) Subcaste of Korwa.
_Koratkul_.--A section of Komti; they do not eat the _kumhra_
or pumpkin.
_Korava_.--Synonym of Yerukala.
_Korchamar_.--A descendant of alliances between Chamars and Koris or
weavers. Subcaste of Chamar.
_Kori_.--A caste. A subcaste of Balahi, Jaiswara Chamar and Katia.
_Korku_.--A tribe. A subtribe of Nahal.
_Korre_.--(Residents of the Korai hill-tract in Seoni.) Subcaste
of Injhwar.
_Kosaria_.--A subcaste of Rawat or Ahir, Barai, Dhobi, Kalar, Mali,
Panka and Teli; a section of Chamar and Gond.
_Koshti_, _Koshta_.--A caste of weavers. See article. A subcaste of
Katia and Bhulia.
_Koskati_.--A subcaste of Koshti.
_Kothari_--(A store-keeper, from _kotha_, a store-room.) A section
of Oswal and Maheshri Banias.
_Kotharya_.--(A store-keeper.) Subcaste of Chitrakathi.
_Kotwal_.--(Keeper of a castle, or a village watchman.) Honorific title
of the Khangar caste. A surname of Yajurvedi Brahmans in Saugor. A
section of Halba.
_Kotwar_.--A person holding the office of village watchman. This post
is usually assigned to members of the lowest or impure castes derived
from the aboriginal tribes, such as the Mahars, Ramosis, Gandas,
Pankas, Minas and Khangars. Some of these were or still are much
addicted to crime. The name _kotwar_ appears to be a corruption of
_kotwal_, the keeper or guardian of a _kot_ or castle. Under native
rule the kotwal was the chief of police in important towns, and the
central police office in some towns is still called the kotwali after
him. In some villages there are still to be found both a kotwal and
a kotwar; in this case the former performs the duties of watch and
ward of the village, and the latter has the menial work of carrying
messages, collecting supplies and so on. Both are paid by fixed
annual contributions of grain from the cultivators. In Hoshangabad
the kotwar is allowed to glean for a day in the fields of each tenant
after the crop has been removed. It would appear that the kotwar was
chosen from the criminal castes as a method of insurance. The kotwar
was held responsible for the good behaviour of his caste-fellows,
and was often under the obligation of making good any property stolen
by them. And if a theft occurred in another village and the thief was
traced into the borders of the kotwar's village he was bound to take
up the pursuit and show that the thief had passed beyond his village,
or to pay for the stolen property. Thieves were sometimes tracked by
the kotwar, and sometimes in Gujarat and Central India by a special
official called Paggal, [459] who measured their footprints with a
string, and in this way often followed them successfully from village
to village. [460] The rule that the kotwar had to make good all thefts
occurring in his village or perpetrated by criminals belonging to it,
can only have been enforced to a very partial extent, as unless he
could trace the property he would be unable to pay any substantial
sum out of his own means. Still, it apparently had a considerable
effect in the protection of property in the rural area, for which
the regular police probably did very little. It was similarly the
custom to employ a _chaukidar_ or night-watchman to guard private
houses when the owners could afford it, and this man was taken from
a criminal caste on the same principle.
The kotwar was also the guardian of the village boundaries, and his
opinion was often taken as authoritative in all cases of disputes
about land. This position he perhaps occupied as a representative of
the pre-Aryan tribes, the oldest residents of the country, and his
appointment may have also been partly based on the idea that it was
proper to employ one of them as the guardian of the village lands,
just as the priest of the village gods of the earth and fields was
usually taken from these tribes.
In some localities those members of an impure caste such as the
Mahars, who hold the office of village watchman, obtain a certain
rise in status on account of the office, and show a tendency to
marry among themselves. Similarly persons of the impure Ganda caste,
who joined the Kabirpanthi sect and now form a separate and somewhat
higher caste under the name of Panka, usually work as village watchmen
in preference to the Gandas. Under British rule the kotwar has been
retained as a village policeman, and his pay increased and generally
fixed in cash. Besides patrolling the village, he has to report all
cognisable crime at the nearest police post as well as births and
deaths occurring in the village, and must give general assistance
to the regular police in the detection of crime. Kotwar is used in
Saugor as a synonym for the Chadar caste. It is also a subcaste of
the Kori caste.
_Kowa_.--(A crow.) A section of Tamera and of Gond in Chanda.
_Koya_ A subtribe of Gond in Bastar.
_Koyudu_.--A synonym of Gond in Chanda used by Telugus.
_Kramikul_.--A section of Komti. They do not use the black radish.
_Kshatriya_.--Name of the second Hindu classical caste or the warrior
caste. Synonym for Rajput.
_Kshirsagar_.--(Ocean of Milk.) A section of Panwar Rajput, and a
proper name of Maratha Brahmans.
_Kuch_.--(A weaver's brush.) A section of Raghuvansi Rajputs in
Hoshangabad.
_Kuchbandhia_, _Kunchbandhia_.--(A maker of weavers' brushes.) Synonym
and subcaste of Beldar in Chhattisgarh.
_Kudaiya_.--(_Kodon_, a small millet.) A section of Ahir.
_Kudappa_.--A sept of Gonds in Raipur and Khairagarh.
_Kudarbohna_.--A Hindu Bhana.
_Kudaria_.--(_Kudali_, a pickaxe.) A section of the Bharia tribe.
_Kukra_.--(A dog.) A totemistic sept of Bhatra Gonds. A section
of Kumhar.
_Kukuta_.--(Cock.) A sept of Gonds in Raipur.
_Kulatia_.--A section of Basor. From _kulara_, a somersault, because
they perform somersaults at the time of the _maihir_ ceremony, or
eating the marriage cakes.
_Kuldip_.--(The lamp of the family.) A section of Panka in Raipur.
_Kuldiya_.--(Those who stop eating if the lamp goes out at supper.) A
section of Ghasia.
_Kulin_.--(Of high caste.) A well-known class of Bengali Brahmans. A
subdivision of Uriya Mahantis. A section of Panka.
_Kulshreshta_.--(Of good family.) A subcaste of Kayasth.
_Kuman_.--Subcaste of Barai.
_Kumarrha_ or _Kumarra_.--(A bird.) A sept of Sahdeve or six-god
Gonds. In Betul the members of this sept do not eat or kill a goat
or sheep, and throw away any article smelt by one.
_Kumarshishta_.--A section of Komti. They do not use _mehndi_ or
henna leaves.
_Kumbhar_.--(Potter.) Marathi synonym for Kumhar. A section of Ganda
and Bhulia.
_Kumbhoj_.--(Born of a pitcher, a Rishi or saint.) An eponymous
section of Agharia.
_Kumbhira_.--(Crocodile.) A totemistic sept of Bhulia.
_Kumbhwar_.--(_Kumbh_, a pot.) A surname of Gandli in Chanda.
_Kumharbans_.--(Descended from a potter.) A section of Ghasia.
_Kumrayete_.--(_Yete_, a goat.) A sept of the Uika clan of Sahdeve
or six-god Gonds in Betul. They do not eat goats, and are said to
have offered human sacrifices in ancient times.
_Kunbi_.--A caste. Subcaste of Dangri, Gondhali and Maratha.
_Kumrawat, [461] Patbina, Dangur_.--A small caste of _san_-hemp growers
and weavers of sacking. They are called Kumrawat in the northern
Districts and Patbina (_pat patti_, sacking, and _binna_, to weave)
in Chhattisgarh. A small colony of hemp-growers in the Betul District
are known as Dangur, probably from the _dang_ or wooden steelyard which
they use for weighing hemp. Both the Kumrawats and Dangurs claim Rajput
origin, and may be classed together. The caste of Barais or betel-vine
growers have a subcaste called Kumrawat, and the Kumrawats may be an
offshoot of the Barais, who split off from the parent body on taking
to the cultivation of hemp. As most Hindu castes have until recently
refused to grow hemp, the Kumrawats are often found concentrated in
single villages. Thus a number of Patbinas reside in Darri, a village
in the Khujji zamindari of Raipur, while the Dangurs are almost
all found in the village of Masod in Betul; in Jubbulpore Khapa is
their principal centre, and in Seoni the village of Deori. The three
divisions of the caste known by the names given above marry, as a rule,
among themselves. For their exogamous groups the Dangurs have usually
the names of different Rajput septs, the Kumrawats have territorial
names, and those of the Patbinas are derived from inanimate objects,
though they have no totemistic practices.
The number of girls in the caste is usually insufficient, and hence
they are married at a very early age. The boy's father, accompanied
by a few friends, goes to the girl's father and addresses a proposal
for marriage to him in the following terms: "You have planted a
tamarind tree which has borne fruit. I don't know whether you will
catch the fruit before it falls to the ground if I strike it with my
stick." The girl's father, if he approves of the match, says in reply,
'Why should I not catch it?' and the proposal for the marriage is
then made. The ceremony follows the customary ritual in the northern
Districts. When the family gods are worshipped, the women sit round a
grinding-stone and invite the ancestors of the family by name to attend
the wedding, at the same time placing a little cowdung in one of the
interstices of the stone. When they have invited all the names they
can remember they plaster up the remaining holes, saying, 'We can't
recollect any more names.' This appears to be a precaution intended
to imprison any spirits which may have been forgotten, and to prevent
them from exercising an evil influence on the marriage in revenge for
not having been invited. Among the Dangurs the bride and bridegroom
go to worship at Hanuman's shrine after the ceremony, and all along
the way the bride beats the bridegroom with a tamarind twig. The
dead are both buried and burnt, and mourning is observed during a
period of ten days for adults and of three days for children. But if
another child has been born to the mother after the one who has died,
the full period of mourning must be observed for the latter; because
it is said that in this case the mother does not tear off her _sari_
or body-cloth to make a winding-sheet for the child as she does when
her latest baby dies. The Kumrawats both grow and weave hemp, though
they have no longer anything like a monopoly of its cultivation. They
make the _gons_ or double bags used for carrying grain on bullocks. In
Chhattisgarh the status of the Patbinas is low, and no castes except
the most debased will take food or water from them. The Kumrawats of
Jubbulpore occupy a somewhat more respectable position and take rank
with Kachhis, though below the good cultivating castes. The Dangurs
of Betul will take food from the hands of the Kunbis.
_Kumrayete_.--(_Yete_, a goat.) A sept of the Uika clan of Sahdeve
or six-god Gonds in Betul. They do not eat goats, and are said to
have offered human sacrifices in ancient times.
_Kunbi_.--A caste. Subcaste of Dangri, Gondhali and Maratha.
_Kundera_.--A caste. A subcaste of the Larhia Beldars.
_Kundera_, _Kharadi_.--A small caste of wood-turners akin to the
Barhais or carpenters. In 1911 the caste numbered 120 persons,
principally in Saugor. When asked for the name of their caste they
not infrequently say that they are Rajputs; but they allow widows to
remarry, and their social customs and position are generally the same
as those of the Barhais. Both names of the caste are functional, being
derived from the Hindi _kund_, and the Arabic _kharat_, a lathe. Some
of them abstain from flesh and liquor, and wear the sacred thread,
merely with a view to improve their social position. The Kunderas
make toys from the _dudhi_ (_Holarrhena antidysenterica_) and huqqa
stems from the wood of the _khair_ or catechu tree. The toys are
commonly lacquered, and the surface is smoothed with a dried leaf of
the _kevara_ tree. [462] They also make chessmen, wooden flutes and
other articles.
_Kundgolakar_.--A subdivision of degraded Maratha Brahmans, the
offspring of adulterous connections.
_Kunjam_.--A sept of Solaha in Raipur. A section of Basor and
Bhunjia. A sept of Gond and Pardhan.
_Kunnatya_--(Rope-dancer.) A name applied to Nats.
_Kunti_ or _Kunte_.--(_Kunti_, lame.) A subcaste of Kapewar, synonym
Bhiksha Kunti or lame beggars.
_Kunwar_.--(Prince.) A title of Rajput ruling families. A section of
Rajput and Kawar.
_Kura Sasura_.--Husband's elder brother. Title of Kharia.
_Kurathiya_, _Kuratia_.--(From _kur_, a fowl, which they have given
up eating.) A subtribe of Gonds in Khairagarh.
_Kurha_ or _Sethia_.--Title of the Sonkar caste headman.
_Kurkere_.--One who moulds his vessels on a stone slab revolving on
a stick and not on a wheel. Subcaste of Kumhar.
_Kurmeta_.--A sept of Gonds in Chanda.
_Kurmgutia_.--(From _kurm_, tortoise.) A section of Mahar.
_Kurmi_.--A caste. A subcaste of Agharia in the Uriya country. A
subcaste of Barai. A sept of Pardhan. A section of Mahar.
_Kurochi_.--(_Kur_, hen.) A sept of the Uika clan of Sahdeve or
six-god Gonds in Betul, so named because their priest once stole a hen.
_Kurpachi_.--(_Kur_, hen.) A sept of the Uika clan of Gonds in
Betul, so named because their priest offered the contents of a hen's
intestines to the gods.
_Kurru_ or _Kura_.--Title of Yerukala.
_Kusangia_.--(Of bad company.) A section of Lohar.
_Kushbansi_.--A subcaste of Ahir. (Descendants of Kush, one of the
two sons of Rama.)
_Kush Ranjan_.--A section of Brahman, Barai, Chamar, Chandnahu Kurmi,
Rawat (Ahir), Marar and Rajbhar.
_Kushta_, _Koshta_.--Subcaste of Kori.
_Kuslia_.--(_Kusli_, boat.) A subcaste of Mali.
_Kusram_.--_(Kusri_, pulse.) A sept of the Uika Gonds in Betul
and Chanda.
_Labhana_.--Synonym and subcaste of Banjara.
_Lad_.--The old name for the territory of Gujarat. A subcaste of Bania,
Kalar, Koshti and Sunar.
_Ladaimar_.--One who hunts jackals and sells and eats their
flesh. Subcaste of Jogi.
_Ladele_.--(Quarrelsome.) A section of Shribathri Teli.
_Ladjin_.--Subcaste of Banjara.
_Ladse_ or _Ladvi_.--Subcaste of Chamar and Dhangar.
_Ladwan_, _Ladvan_.--A subcaste of Mahar. Perhaps from Lad, the old
name of Gujarat.
_Laheri_.--Synonym of Lakhera.
_Laheria_.--Subcaste of Brahman.
_Lahgera_ or _Lahugera_.--(_Lahanga_, weaver.) A subcaste of Kori.
_Lahuri Sen_.--A subcaste of Barai in the northern Districts who are
formed of excommunicated members of the caste.
_Lahuria_.--(From Lahore.) A section of Rathor and Chauhan Banjaras.
_Lajjhar_.--Synonym of Rajjhar.
_Lakariha_.--A subdivision of Pardhan in Kawardha. While begging they
play a musical instrument, hence the name from _lakri_, a stick.
_Lala_.--(A term of endearment.) Synonym for Kayasth. A subcaste
of Chamar.
_Lalbegi_.--A follower of Lalbeg, patron saint of the sweepers. Synonym
of Mehtar.
_Lal Padri_.--Red priests, because they rub _geru_ or red ochre on
their bodies. Title of Jogi.
_Lamechu_.--A subcaste of Bania.
_Langoti_.--Subcaste of Pardhi. They wear only a narrow strip of
cloth called _langoti_ round the loins.
_Lanjia_.--A subcaste of Lohar and Nai, from Lanji in Balaghat. A
subtribe of Gonds in Khairagarh.
_Lanjiwar_.--(One living round Lanji in Balaghat.) Subcaste of Injhwar.
_Laphangia_.--(Upstart.) A section of Kolta.
_Laria_, _Larhia_.--(Belonging to Chhattisgarh.) A synonym of
Beldar. A subcaste of Bhaina, Binjhwar, Chamar, Ganda, Ghasia, Gond,
Gosain, Kalar, Kewat, Koshti, Mahar, Marar, Mowar, Panka, Savar,
Sunar and Teli.
_Lasgaria_.--A class of Bairagi mendicants.
_Lasukar_.--A subcaste of Gondhalis who sell books and calendars.
_Lat_.--Subcaste of Chamar.
_Lave_.--Subcaste of Kunbi.
_Laya_.--(Bird.) A section of Binjhwar, Mahar, and Panka.
_Lekha_.--Subcaste of Gujar.
_Lemuan_, _Limuan_.--(Tortoise.) A totemistic sept of Audhelia,
Munda and Oraon.
_Lidha_.--(Excrement of swine.) Subcaste of Khatik in Jubbulpore.
_Lilia_.--(From _lil_ or _nil_, the indigo plant.) Subcaste of Kachhi.
_Lilorhia_.--Subcaste of Gujar.
_Limba_.--_(Nim_ tree.) A totemistic section of Dumals.
_Lingayat_.--A religious order which has become a caste. See article
and subordinate article to Bania. A subcaste of Bania and Kumhar.
_Lodha_.--Synonym of Lodhi. Subcaste of Lodhi.
_Lohar_.--A caste of blacksmiths, synonym Luhura. A section of Binjhwar
and Ganda.
_Lohar Barhai_.--A subcaste of Barhai in Bundelkhand.
_Loharia_.--A subcaste of Ahir.
_Lonaria_.--A salt-maker. Subcaste of Mahar.
_Lonchatia_.--(Salt-licker.) A sept of the Uika clan of Gonds. The
members of this sept lick salt on the death of their relatives. Another
account from Betul says that they spread salt on a platform raised
in honour of the dead and make cattle lick it up.
_Londhari_.--A small caste of cultivators found in the Bhandara
District. They appear to be immigrants from northern India, as their
women wear the Hindustani dress and they speak Hindi at home. At their
weddings the bridal couple walk round the sacred post according to
the northern custom. When a widow marries again the couple worship a
sword before the ceremony. If a man is convicted of an intrigue with
a low-caste woman, he has to submit to a symbolical purification by
fire. A heap of juari-stalks is piled all round him and set alight,
but as soon as the fire begins to burn he is permitted to escape
from it. This rite is known as Agnikasht. The Londharis appear to be
distinct from the Lonhare Kunbis of Betul, with whom I was formerly
inclined to connect them. These latter derive their name from the
Lonar Mehkar salt lake in the Buldana District, and are probably
so called because they once collected the salt evaporated from the
lake. They thus belong to the Maratha country, whereas the Londharis
probably came from northern India. The name Lonhare is also found as
a subdivision of one or two other castes living in the neighbourhood
of the Lonar Mehkar lake.
_Londhe_, _Londe_.--(One who hides himself behind cloth.) A section
of Kohli. A sept of Korku.
_Londibacha_.--A subcaste of Kasar, including persons of illegitimate
descent.
_Lonhare_, _Lonare_.--(From Lonar-Mehkar, the well-known salt lake
of the Buldana District.) A subcaste of Kunbi. A section of Arakh
and Ahir.
_Ludhela_.--A section of Basor who worship the _ludhia_, a round
stone for pounding food, at the Maihar ceremony.
_Luhura_.--(One who works in iron.) Synonym of Lohar. Subcaste
of Sidhira.
_Lunia_.--Synonym of Murha, Nunia.
_Machhandar_.--(One who catches fish.) Synonym of Dhimar.
_Machhandra Nath_.--A subdivision of Jogi.
_Machhia_.--(From _machhi_, fish.) A section of Dhimar and Lodhi.
_Machhri_.--(Fish.) A sept of Oraon.
_Mada Kukuria_.--(Dead dog.) A subsection of the Viswal section
of Koltas.
_Madankul_.--A section of Komti. They do not use red clothes, nor
the wood of the swallow-wort tree.
_Madari_.--A class of Fakirs or Muhammadan beggars.
_Made_.--A resident of the Mad country in Chanda and Bastar. Subcaste
of Pardhan.
_Madgi_, _Madiga_. [463]--The Telugu caste of workers in leather
corresponding to the Chamars, which numbers nearly 1 1/2 millions in
Madras, Mysore and Hyderabad. In 1911 there were nearly 6000 Madgis
in the Central Provinces and 3000 in Berar. According to tradition,
the Madigas derive their name from that of a sage called Matanga Muni,
and it is said that a dynasty belonging to the caste once ruled in
the Canarese country. The following legend of their origin comes from
Mysore: [464] In former times the sage Jambava Rishi was habitually
late in attending at Siva's court. Siva asked him why this happened,
and he replied that he was occupied in tending his children. On
this Siva took pity on him and gave him the sacred cow, Kamdhenu,
from which all the needs of the children could be satisfied. But one
day while Jambava was absent at Siva's court, another sage, Sankhya,
visited his hermitage and was hospitably entertained by his son,
Yugamuni. The cream which Sankhya was given was so good that he
desired to kill the cow, Kamdhenu, thinking that her flesh would
taste even better. In spite of Yugamuni's objections Sankhya killed
the cow and distributed the meat to various persons. While this was
in progress Jambava returned, and, on hearing what had been done,
dragged Sankhya and Yugamuni before Siva's judgment seat. The two
offenders did not enter the court but stood outside the doorway,
Sankhya on the right side and Yugamuni on the left. Siva condemned them
to become Chandalas or outcastes, and the descendants of Sankhya have
become the right-hand Holias, while those of Yugamuni and his wife
Matangi are the left-hand caste of Madigas. The latter were set to
make shoes to expiate the sin committed by their ancestor in killing
a cow. Another story given in the Central Provinces is that the Golla
caste of cowherds, corresponding to the Ahirs and the Madgis, are the
descendants of two brothers. The brothers had a large herd of cattle
and wanted to divide them. At this time, however, cattle disease was
prevalent, and many of the herd were affected. The younger brother did
not know of this, and seeing that most of the herd were lying on the
ground, he proposed to the elder brother that he himself should take
all the cattle lying on the ground, and the elder brother all those
which were standing up, as a suitable method of division. The elder
brother agreed, but when the younger came to take his cattle which
were on the ground he found that they were all dead, and hence he had
no alternative but to take off the hides and cure and sell them. His
descendants continued his degraded profession and became the Madgi
caste. In Chanda the following six subcastes of Madgis are reported:
The Nulka Chandriah or caste priests; the Anapa or leather dealers;
the Sindhi who are supposed to have been performers of dramas; the
Masti or dancers; the Kommu or tellers of stories; and the Dekkala
or genealogists of the caste. It is said that Kommu really means a
horn and Dekka a hoof. These last two are the lowest subdivisions,
and occupy a most degraded position. In theory they should not sleep
on cots, pluck the leaves of trees, carry loads on any animal other
than a donkey, or even cook food for themselves, but should obtain
their subsistence by eating the leavings of other Madgis or members
of different castes. The Nulka Chandriah or priests are the highest
subdivision and will not take food or water from any of the others,
while the four remaining subcastes eat and drink together, but do
not intermarry. There are also a number of exogamous groups, most of
which have territorial names; but a few are titular or totemistic,
as--Mukkidi, noseless; Kumawar, a potter; Nagarwar, a citizen;
Dobbulwar, one who possesses a _dobbulu_ or copper coin; Ippawar, from
the mahua tree; Itkalwar from _itkal_ a brick, and so on. The caste
customs of the Madigas need not be recorded in detail. They are an
impure caste and eat all kinds of food, and the leavings of others,
though the higher subdivisions refuse to accept these. They live
outside the village, and their touch is considered to convey pollution.
_Madhavacharya_.--A Vishnuite sect and order of religious
mendicants. See Bairagi.
_Madhyanjan, Madhyandina_.--A class of Brahmans, the same as the
Yajur-Vedis, or a section of them.
_Madia_.--A class of Gonds in Bastar.
_Madpotwa_.--(One who distils liquor.) Subcaste of Teli.
_Madrasi_.--Subcaste of Dhobi.
_Magadha_.--A subcaste of Ahir or Rawat in Chhattisgarh, who ask for
food from others and do not cook for themselves.
_Magar, Magra_.--A sept of Khangar, Ahir or Rawat, Gond and Chadar.
_Magida_.--Synonym of Madgi.
_Mahabrahman_.--A degraded class of Brahmans who accept gifts for
the dead.
_Mahadeva Thakur_.--(Lord Mahadeo.) A section of Mali.
_Mahajalia_.--(Deceitful.) A section of Lohar.
_Mahajan_.--A banker. Title of the Bania caste.
_Mahakul_.--Synonym for Ahir.
_Mahalodhi_.--(Great Lodhi.) Subcaste of Lodhi.
_Mahanadiya_.--(Those who came from the Mahanadi river.) A subcaste
of Lodhi. A section of Ganda, Ghasia and Panka.
_Mahant_.--Chief of a _math_ or monastery. A superior class of
priest. A section of Ahir, Panka, Chamar and Koshta.
_Mahanti_.--A synonym for the Karan or writer caste of Orissa. A
section of Chasa.
_Mahapatra_.--A subdivision of degraded Brahmans who take funeral
gifts. An honorific title of Thanapati and of Uriya Brahmans. A
subcaste of Bhat.
_Mahar_.--A caste. A subcaste of Balahi and Gondhali. A section of
Rawat in Raigarh.
_Maharaj_.--(Great king.) A title of Brahmans.
_Mahurana_.--Synonym of Chitari.
_Maharashtra_ or _Marathe_.--One of the five orders of Panch Dravida
Brahmans inhabiting the Maratha country. They are also called Dakshini
Brahmans. A subcaste of Kumhar, Kasar and Lohar.
_Mahedia_.--A section of Basors who worship pounded rice mixed
with curds.
_Mahenga_.--(An elephant.) A totemistic sept of Rautia and Kawar
in Bilaspur.
_Maheshri_.--Subcaste of Baina.
_Mahili_.--Synonym for Mahli.
_Mahipia_.--(A drinker of curds.) A subsection of the Viswal section
of Koltas.
_Mahisur_.--(Lord of the earth.) A synonym of Brahmans.
_Mahli-Munda._--Subcaste of Mahli.
_Mahobia_.--(From the town of Mahoba in Central India.) A subcaste of
Barai, Chamar, Dangi, Ghasia, Khangar and Mahar. A section of Dangi,
Kumhar and Kori.
_Mahoda_.--A subdivision of Brahmans in Jubbulpore.
_Mahore, Mahure_.--A subcaste of Bania, Kori, Kumhar and Kalar.
_Mahratta_.--Synonym of Maratha.
_Mahto, Mahton_.--A chief or village headman. Subcaste and title of
Teli and Khairwar; title of the leader of the Bhuiya caste. A section
of Ganda and Rawat (Ahir).
_Mahur_.--(Poison.) A subcaste of Sunars in Chhindwara.
_Mahure, Mahuria_.--(From Mahur, a town in Hyderabad.) Subcaste of
Barhai and Dhangar.
_Mai_.--(Mother.) A division of the Kabirpanthi sect.
_Maichhor_.--A small clan of Rajputs. Perhaps from Maichuri in Jaipur.
_Mailwar_.--(Dirty.) A group of Sunars in Raipur.
_Maina_.--Synonym of Mina.
_Mair_.--A subcaste of Sunar named after Mair, their original ancestor,
who melted down a golden demon.
_Maithil_.--One of the five divisions of Panch Gaur Brahmans inhabiting
the province of Maithil or Bihar and Tirhut.
_Majarewar_.--A territorial section of Binjhwar (from Majare in
Balaghat).
_Majhi_.--(A village headman.) Title of Bhatra.
_Majhia_.--Synonym of Majhwar.
_Majhli_.--(Middle.) Subcaste of Rautia.
_Makaria_.--(From _makad_, monkey.) A subcaste of Kamar, so called
because they eat monkeys.
_Makhia_.--Subcaste of Mehtar.
_Malaiya_.--An immigrant from Malwa. Subcaste of Chhipa.
_Male_, _Maler_.--Synonyms of Mal.
_Malha_.--A boatman. Synonym of Mallah.
_Malhar_.--Subcaste of Koli.
_Mali_.--(A caste.) A section of Kalar.
_Mal-Paharia_.--Synonym of Mal.
_Malvi_, _Malwi_.--(From _Malwa_.) A subdivision of Brahmans in
Hoshangabad and Betul. A subcaste of Ahir, Barhai, Darzi, Dhobi,
Gadaria, Kalar, Koshti, Kumhar, Nai and Sunar.
_Malyar._ [465]--A small and curious caste of workers in gold and
silver in Bastar State. They are known alternatively as Marhatia
Sunar or Panchal, and outsiders call them Adhali. The name Malyar is
said to be derived from _mal_, dirt, and _jar_ or _jalna_, to burn,
the Malyars having originally been employed by Sunars or goldsmiths
to clean and polish their ornaments. No doubt can be entertained that
the Malyars are in reality Gonds, as they have a set of exogamous
septs all of which belong to the Gonds, and have Gondi names. So
far as possible, however, they try to disguise this fact and perform
their marriages by walking round the sacred post like the Hindustani
castes. They will take food cooked without water from Brahmans,
Rajputs and Banias, but will not eat _katcha_ (or food cooked with
water) from anybody, and not even from members of their own caste
unless they are relatives. This custom is common to some other castes
of mixed descent, and indicates that illicit connections are frequent
among the Malyars, as indeed would necessarily be the case owing to
the paucity of their numbers. But their memories are short, and the
offspring of such irregular unions are recognised as belonging to
the caste after one or two generations. An outsider belonging to any
higher caste may be admitted to the community. The caste worship Mata
Devi or the goddess of smallpox, and revere the spirit of a Malyar
woman who became a Sati. They have learned as servants of the Sunars
the rudiments of their art, and manufacture rough ornaments for the
primitive people of Bastar.
_Mana Ojha_.--Subcaste of Ojha.
_Mandal_.--(A name for a prosperous cultivator in Chhattisgarh.) A
section of Chamar and Panka. See article Kurmi.
_Mandilwar_.--Name derived from Mandla. Subcaste of Katia.
_Mandkul_.--A section of Komti who do not eat mangoes.
_Mandlaha_.--(From Mandla town.) Subtribe of Gond.
_Mane Kunbi_.--Subcaste of Gondhali.
_Mang_ or _Mangia_.--A caste. Subcaste of Ganda, Gondhali, Bahrupia.
_Mangan_.--(From _Manghunia_, beggar.) A caste.
_Mangan_. [466]--A small caste found in Chhattisgarh and Sambalpur
who are the musicians and genealogists of the Ghasias. The term
is considered opprobrious, as it means 'beggar,' and many Mangans
probably return themselves as Ghasias. They are despised by the
Ghasias, who will not take food or water from them. At the marriages
of the former the Mangans play on a drum called _ghunghru_, which they
consider as the badge of the caste, their cattle being branded with a
representation of it. The only point worth notice about the caste is
that they are admittedly of mixed descent from the unions of members
of other castes with Ghasia prostitutes. They have five totemistic
exogamous sections, about each of which a song is sung relating its
origin. The Sunani sept, which worships gold as its totem and occupies
the highest position, is said to be descended from a Brahman father
and a Ghasia mother; the Sendaria sept, worshipping vermilion, from
a Kewat ancestor and a Ghasia woman; the Bhainsa sept, worshipping
a buffalo, from a Gaur or Ahir and a Ghasia; the Mahanadia sept,
having the Mahanadi for their totem, from a Gond and a Ghasia woman;
while the Bagh sept, who revere the tiger, say that a cow once gave
birth to two young, one in the form of a tiger and the other of a
human being; the latter on growing up took a Ghasia woman to himself
and became the ancestor of the sept. As might be expected from their
ancestry, the Mangan women are generally of loose character. The
Mangans sometimes act as sweepers.
_Mangta._--(A beggar.) A subcaste of Pasi in Sangor, who beg from
their caste-fellows.
_Maniara._--(A Pedlar.) Subcaste of Jogi.
_Manihar._--A caste. The Manihars are also known as Bisati. An
occupational name of Jogis.
_Manikpuria._--(A resident Manikpur.) Subcaste of Panka.
_Manjhi._--(Headman.) A synonym of Santal and Kewat. A section of
Chasa, Dhanuhar and Kolta. A title of Chasa.
_Manjur._--(Peacock.) A totemistic sept of Munda.
_Manjmar._--Term for a boatman. Included in Kewat.
_Mankar._--Name of a superior class of village watchmen in Nimar
District. See article Bhil. A subcaste of Mana and Halba.
_Mannepuwar._--A subcaste of Mala. Synonym, Teluga Bhoi.
_Manwa._--Subcaste of Kunbi.
_Marabi._--A common sept of Gond. A section of Nat.
_Marai._--(A name for the goddess of cholera, who is called Marai
Mata.) A common sept of Gond. Also a sept of Baiga, Pasor and
Bhunjia. A subcaste of Majhwar.
_Maral._--Synonym of Mali.
_Marapa._--A sept of Gonds in Betul, who abstain from killing or
eating a goat or sheep and throw away any article smelt by them.
_Marar._--Synonym for Mali, a gardener. Also a subcaste of Kachhi.
_Maratha, Marathe._--A caste. A subcaste of Barhai, Bedar, Chamar,
Dhimar, Gadaria, Kumhar, Mahar, Mali, Mang, Nai and Teli.
_Marathi, Maratha, Marthe, Marathe._--(A resident of the Maratha
country.) Subcaste of Bahrupia, Chamar, Dhargar, Gundhali, Gopal,
Injhwar, Kaikari, Kasar, Koshti, Nahal, Otari.
_Marathia._--Resident of Bhandara or another Maratha District. Subcaste
of Halba.
_Maria._--A well-known tribe of Gonds in Bastar and Chanda. See article
Gond. A subcaste of Gowari. A section of Ahir, Chamar and Kumhar.
_Markam._--(_Marka,_ mango.) One of the principal septs of Gonds. Also
a sept of Baiga, Basor, Bhumjia, Pardhan and Solaha.
_Marori._ [467]--A small caste of degraded Rajputs from Marwar found
in the Bhandara and Chhindwara Districts and also in Berar. The
name is a local corruption of Marwari, and is applied to them by
their neighbours, though many of the caste do not accept it and call
themselves Rajputs. In Chhindwara they go by the name of Chhatri, and
in the Tirora Tahsil they are known as Alkari, because they formerly
grew the _al_ or Indian madder for a dye, though it has now been
driven out of the market. They have been in the Central Provinces for
some generations, and though retaining certain peculiarities of dress,
which show their northern origin, have abandoned in many respects the
caste usages of Rajputs. Their women wear the Hindustani _angia_ tied
with string behind in place of the Maratha _choli_ or breast-cloth, and
drape their _saris_ after the northern fashion. They wear ornaments
of the Rajputans shape on their arms, and at their weddings they
sing Marwari songs. They have Rajput sept names, as Parihar, Rathor,
Solanki, Sesodia and others, which constitute exogamous groups and
are called _kulis._ Some of these have split up into two or three
subdivisions, as, for instance, the Pathar (stone) Panwars, the Pandhre
or white Panwars and the Dhatura or thorn-apple Panwars; and members
of these different groups may intermarry. The reason seems to be that
it was recognised that people belonged to the same Panwar sept who
were not blood kin to each other, and the prohibition of marriage
between them was a serious inconvenience in a small community. They
also have eponymous _gotras_, as Vasishtha, Batsa and others of the
Brahmanical type, but these do not influence exogamy. The paucity of
their numbers and the influence of local usage have caused them to
relax the marriage rules adhered to by Rajputs. Women are very scarce,
and a price varying from forty to a hundred rupees is commonly paid
for a bride, though they feel keenly the degradation attaching to the
acceptance of a bride-price. Widow-marriage is permitted, no doubt
for the same reasons, and a girl going wrong with a man of another
caste may be readmitted to the community. Divorce is not permitted,
and an unfaithful wife may be abandoned; she cannot then marry again
in the caste. Formerly, on the arrival of the marriage procession, the
bride's and bridegroom's parties let off fireworks, aiming them against
each other, but this practice is now discontinued. When the bridegroom
approaches the marriage-shed the bride comes out and strikes him on the
breast or forehead with a ball of dough, a sheet being held between
them; the bridegroom throws a handful of rice over her and strikes
the festoons of the shed with a naked sword. A bachelor espousing a
widow must first be married to a ring, which he thereafter carries
in his ear, and if it is lost funeral ceremonies must be performed
as for a real wife. Women are tattooed on the arms only. Children
have as many as five names, one for ordinary use, and the others for
ceremonial purposes and the arrangement of marriages. If a man kills
a cow or a cat he must have a miniature figure of the animal made of
gold and give it to a Brahman in expiation of his sin.
_Marskola_.--(From _markets_, an axe.) A common sept of Gonds and
Pardhans.
_Maru_.--Subcaste of Charan Bhats.
_Marwari_.--A resident of Marwar or the desert tract of Rajputana;
Marwar is also used as a name for Jodhpur State. See subordinate
article Rajput-Rathor. The name Marwari is commonly applied to Banias
coming from Marwar. See article Bania. A subcaste of Bahna, Gurao,
Kumhar, Nai, Sunar and Teli.
_Masania_.--(From _masin_, straw or grass mats, or _masina_, thatched
roof.) A section of Lohar. A synonym for San Bhatras in Bastar.
_Mashki_.--(A water-bearer.) Synonym of Bhishti.
_Masram_.--A common sept of Gonds.
_Masti_.--(Dancer.) Subcaste of Madgi.
_Mastram_.--(Mastra, brass bangles.) A sept of Gonds in Betul. The
women of this sept wear brass bangles.
_Masuria_.--A subcaste of Kurmi. From _masur_, lentil. A section
of Rajput.
_Mathadhari_.--(Living in a monastery.) A celibate clan of Manbhao
mendicants.
_Mathpati_.--(Lord of the hermitage.) A subcaste of Jangam.
_Mathur, Mathuria_.--(From Mathura or Muttra.) A subcaste of Kayasth. A
subdivision of Brahman. A subcaste of Banjara, Darzi and Nai.
_Matkuda_, _Matkora_.--(Earth-digger.) A subcaste and synonym of
Beldar. A name for Gonds and Pardhans who take to earthwork.
_Mattha_.--Corruption of Maratha. A subcaste of Koshti, Mahar and Teli,
and a title of Teli.
_Matti_.--A subdivision of low-class Brahmans returned from
Khairagarh. Also a class of Kashmiri Brahmans.
_Matwala_.--(A drinker of country liquor.) Subcaste of Kadera.
_Mawasi_, _Mirdhan_.--Subcaste of Dahait. Title of the headman of
the Dahait caste committee.
_Mayaluar_.--(Chief man of the caste.) A subcaste of Turi.
_Mayur_.--(Peacock.) A totemistic section of the Ahir, Hatwa, Gond,
Sonjhara and Sundi castes.
_Mayurmara_.--(Killer of peacock.) A section of Bahelia.
_Meda Gantia_.--(Counter of posts.) Title of Bhatra. Official who
fixes date and hour for wedding.
_Medara, Medari_.--The Telugu caste of bamboo-workers and mat-makers,
corresponding to the Basors. They have the same story as the Basors
of the first bamboo having been grown from the snake worn by Siva
round his neck, which was planted head downwards in the ground. The
customs of the Medaras, Mr. Francis says, [468] differ from place
to place. In one they will employ Brahman _purohits_ (priests), and
prohibit widow-marriage, while in the next they will do neither,
and will even eat rats and vermin. The better classes among them
are taking to calling themselves Balijas or Baljis, and affixing the
title of Chetti to their names.
_Medari_.--Synonym of Medara.
_Mehar_.--Synonym of Bhulia.
_Meher_.--A section of Malwi Ahir, a synonym for Bhulia. A title
of Chamar.
_Mehra_.--Synonym for Mahar. A subcaste of Katia and Kori.
_Mehta_.--A group of Brahmans. A section of Oswal Bania.
_Mehtar_.--(A prince or leader.) Common name for the sweeper
caste. Title of the president of the Dhobi caste committee.
_Meman_.--Synonym of Cutchi.
_Meshbansi_.--(Descendant of a sheep.) A clan of Rajputs.
_Mewada, Mewari_.--(From _Mewar_.) A division of Gujarati or Khedawal
Brahmans. A subcaste of Chhipa, Darzi, Mali and Sunar.
_Mewati_.--Synonym of Meo. See article. A class of Fakirs or Muhammadan
beggars.
_Mhali_.--Synonym of Nai.
_Mhasia, Mhashi_.--(_Mhas_, buffalo.) A sept of Halba. A section
of Kohli.
_Mihir_.--Synonym of Bhulia.
_Mina_.--A caste. A section of Raghuvansis.
_Mirdaha_.--A subcaste of Dahait, Khangar, and Nat. A section of
Raghuvansi. Name used for the mate of a gang of coolies.
_Mir-Dahait._--Title of the Mirdha caste.
_Mirdha_.--A small caste found only in the Narsinghpur District. They
are a branch of the Khangar or Dahait caste of Saugor and Damoh. The
names of their exogamous sections tally with those of the Khangars, and
they have the same story of their ancestors having been massacred at
a fort in Orchha State and of one pregnant woman escaping and hiding
under a _kusum_ tree (_Schleichera trijuga_), which consequently
they revere. Like Khangars they regard Muhammadan eunuchs and Fakirs
(beggars) with special friendship, on the ground that it was a
Fakir who sheltered their ancestress when the rest of the caste were
massacred by Rajputs, and Fakirs do not beg at their weddings. One
explanation of the name is that this section of the caste were born
from a Muhammadan father and a Dahait woman, and hence were called
Mir-Dahaits or Mirdaha, Mir being a Muhammadan title. Mirdha is,
however, as noted by Mr. Hira Lal, the name of the head of the caste
committee among the Dahaits; and in Hoshangabad he is a servant of
the village proprietor and acts as assistant to the Kotwar or village
watchman; he realises the rents from the tenants, and sometimes works
as a night guard. In Gujarat the name is said to be a corruption
of _mir-deh_ or 'mason of the village.' [469] Here it is said that
the Mirdhas are held to be of part foreign, part Rajput origin,
and were originally official spies of the Gujarat sultans. They are
now employed as messengers and constables, and therefore seem to be
analogous to the same class of persons in the Central Provinces.
_Mirshikar_.--Synonym of Pardhi.
_Misra_ or _Misar_.--A surname of Kanaujia, Jijhotia, Sarwaria and
Uriya Brahmans.
_Mistri_.--(Corruption of the English Mister.) A master carpenter or
mate of a gang. Title of Barhai, Beldar and Lohar.
_Mithia_.--(A preparer of sweets.) Synonym of Halwai.
_Mochi_.--(A shoemaker.) A caste. Subcaste of Chamar.
_Modh_.--A subdivision of Khedawal or Gujarati Brahmans who take
their name from Modhera, an ancient place in Gujarat. A subcaste of
Gujarati Bania.
_Modh-Ghaneli_.--Subcaste of Teli in Gujarat.
_Moghia_.--Synonym of Pardhi.
_Mohania_.--(Captivator.) A section of Rajjhar and Kirar.
_Mohtaria_.--Title of the headman of the Andh caste committee.
_Mohtera_.--One who fixes the auspicious moment, hence the headman
of the caste. A titular section of Basor.
_Monas_.--A subdivision of Brahmans.
_Mongre_, _Mongri_, _Mongrekair_.--(A club or mallet.) A section of
Ahir or Rawat in Chhattisgarh, and of Chamar, Ganda, and Panka.
_Mori_.--A branch of the Panwar Rajputs.
_Mor Kachhi_.--One who prepares the _maur_ or marriage-crown for
weddings. Subcaste of Kachhi.
_Morkul_.--A section of Komti. They do not use asafoetida (_hing_)
nor the fruit of the _umar_ fig-tree.
_Motate_.--(From _mot_, water-bag.) A subcaste of Kapewar.
_Moujikul_.--A section of Komti. They do not use pepper.
_Mowar_.--Subcaste of Rajwar.
_Mowasi_.--A resident of the forests of Kalibhit and Melghat known
as the Mowas. Subcaste of Korku.
_Muamin_.--Synonym of Cutchi.
_Muasi_.--Title of Korku; subcaste of Korwa.
_Muchi_.--Synonym of Mochi.
_Mudara_.--Subcaste of Parja.
_Mudgalia_.--(From _mudgal_, Indian club--an athlete.) A surname of
Adi Gaur Brahmans in Saugor.
_Mudha_.--Synonym for Munda.
_Mudotia_.--(From _mudha_, a cheat.) A surname of Sanadhia Brahmans
in Saugor.
_Mughal_.--A tribal division of Muhammadans. See article Muhammadan
Religion.
_Muhammadan_.--Subcaste of Koli.
_Muhjaria_.--(Burnt mouth.) A section of Lodhi.
_Mukeri_.--Or Kasai, a small Muhammadan caste of traders in cattle
and butchers. In 1891 more than 900 were returned from the Saugor
District. Their former occupation was to trade in cattle like the
Banjaras, but they have now adopted the more profitable trade of
slaughtering them for the export of meat; and as this occupation is
not considered very reputable, they have perhaps thought it desirable
to abandon their caste name. The derivation of the term Mukeri is
uncertain. According to one account they are a class of Banjaras, and
derive their name from Mecca, on the ground that one of their Naiks
or headmen was camping in the neighbourhood of this town, at the time
when Abraham was building it, and assisted him in the work. When they
emigrated from Mecca their illustrious name of Makkai was corrupted
into Mukeri. [470] A variant of this story is that their ancestor was
one Makka Banjara, who also assisted in the building of Mecca, and
that they came to India with the early Muhammadan invaders. [471]
The Mukeris form a caste and marry among themselves. In their
marriage ceremony they have adopted some Hindu observances, such
as the anointing of the bride and bridegroom with turmeric and the
erection of a marriage-shed. They take food from the higher Hindu
castes, but will not eat with a Kayasth, though there is no objection
to this on the score of their religion. They will admit an outsider,
if he becomes a Muhammadan, but will not give their daughters to him
in marriage, at any rate until he has been for some years a member
of the caste. In other matters they follow Muhammadan law.
_Mullaji_.--Title of the priests of the Bohra caste.
_Multani_.--Subcaste and synonym of Banjara.
_Munda_.--(A village headman, from _munda_, the head.) Title and
synonym of Kol. A subcaste of Kharia and Oraon.
_Mundela_.--(Bald-headed.) A surname of Jijhotia Brahmans in Saugor.
_Mundle_.--(Shaven ones.) Subcaste of Gujar.
_Munikul_.--A section of Komti. They do not use _munga_ beans.
_Munjia_.--Name of an Akhara or school of Bairagi religious
mendicants. See Bairagi.
_Munurwar_.--Synonym of Kapewar.
_Murai, Murao_.--(From _muli_, or radish.) Subcaste of Kachhi.
_Murchulia_.--(One who puts rings on the fingers of the caste.) A
section of Ganda and Panka in Raipur.
_Muria_.--A well-known subtribe of Gonds in Bastar and Chanda.
_Murli_.--Synonym of Waghya.
_Musabir_.--Synonym of Mochi.
_Musahar_.--(A rat-eater.) Subcaste and title of Bhuiya.
_Musare_.--(_Musar_, a pestle.) A section of Mali.
_Mussali_.--Title of Mehtar.
_Mutracha_.--Synonym of Mutrasi.
_Mutrasa_.--Synonym of Mutrasi.
_Mutrasi_, _Mutrasa_, _Muthrasi_, _Mutracha_.--(From the Dravidian
roots _mudi_, old, and _racha_, a king, or from Mutu Raja, a sovereign
of some part of the Telugu country.) [472] A caste which is numerous
in Hyderabad and Madras, and of which a few persons are found in the
Chanda District of the Central Provinces. The Mutrasis are the village
watchmen proper of Telingana or the Telugu country. [473] They were
employed by the Vijayanagar kings to defend the frontier of their
country, and were honoured with the title of Paligar. Their usual
honorific titles at present are Dora (Sahib or Lord) and Naidu. As
servants they are considered very faithful and courageous. Some
of them have taken to masonry in Chanda, and are considered good
stone-carvers. They are a comparatively low caste, and eat fowls and
drink liquor, but they do not eat beef or pork. It is compulsory among
them to marry a girl before she arrives at adolescence, and if this
is not done her parents are put out of caste, and only readmitted on
payment of a penalty.
_Nabadia_.--(Boatman or sailor.) A synonym for Kewat.
_Naddaf_.--A synonym for Bahna or Pinjara.
_Nadha_.--(Those who live on the banks of streams.) Subcaste of Dhimar.
_Nadia_.--A clan of Dangi.
_Nag, Nagesh_.--(Cobra.) A sept of the Ahir or Rawat, Binjhal,
Bhatia, Chasa, Hatwa, Halba, Khadal, Kawar, Khangar, Karan, Katia,
Kolta, Lohar, Mahar, Mali, Mowar, Parja, Redka, Sulia, Sundi and
Taonla castes. Most of these castes belong to Chhattisgarh and the
Uriya country.
_Naga_.--A clan of Gosains or mendicants. See Gosain.
_Nagar_.--A subcaste of Brahmans belonging to Gujarat; a subcaste of
Bania; a section of Teli.
_Nagarchi_.--(A drum-beater.) A class of Gonds. A subcaste of Ganda
and Ghasia.
_Nagarchi_.--The Nagarchis appear to be a class of Gonds, whose special
business was to beat the _nakkara_ or kettledrums at the gates of
forts and palaces. In some Districts they now form a special community,
marrying among themselves, and numbered about 6000 persons in 1911. The
_nagara_ or _nakkara_ is known in Persia as well as in India. Here
the drum is made of earthenware, of a tapering shape covered at both
ends with camel-hide for the _zir_ or treble, and with cowhide for the
_bam_ or bass. It is beaten at the broader end. In Persia the drums
were played from the Nakkara-khana or gateway, which still exists
as an appanage of royalty in the chief cities of Iran. They were
beaten to greet the rising and to usher out the setting sun. During
the months of mourning, Safar and Muharram, they were silent. [474]
In India the _nagara_ were a pair of large kettledrums bound with
iron hoops and twice as large as those used in Europe. They were
a mark of royalty and were carried on one of the state elephants,
the royal animal, in the prince's _sowari_ or cavalcade, immediately
preceding him on the line of march. The right of displaying a banner
and beating kettledrums was one of the highest marks of distinction
which could be conferred on a Rajput noble. When the titular Maratha
Raja had retired to Satara and any of the Maratha princes entered
his territory, all marks of royalty were laid aside by the latter
and his _nagara_ or great drum of empire ceased to be beaten. [475]
The stick with which the kettledrum was struck was called _danka_,
and the king's jurisdiction was metaphorically held to extend so
far as his kettledrums were beaten. _Angrezi raj ka danka bajta hai_
or 'Where the English drum is beaten,' means 'So far as the English
empire extends.' In Egypt the kettledrums were carried on camels. [476]
_Nagaria_.--(A drum-player.) A section of Jasondhi Bhat and Teli.
_Nagbans_.--(Descended from the cobra.) A totemistic sept of Gadba,
Ghasia, and Gond.
_Nagla_.--(Naked.) Subcaste of Khond.
_Nagpure_.--(From Nagpur.) A section of Lodhi and Kohli.
_Nagvansi_.--A clan of Rajputs. See article Rajput-Nagvansi. A subcaste
and section of Sunar. A section of Daharia or Daraiha and Gond.
_Nahar_.--(Tiger.) A subtribe of Baiga. A section of Rajputs in Saugor.
_Nahonia_.--A clan of Dangi in Damoh and Saugor. They were formerly
Kachhwaha Rajputs from Narwar, but being cut off from their own
domicile they married with Dangis. Rajputs accept daughters from them
but do not give their daughters to Nahonias.
_Naidu_.--Title of the Balija, Mutrasi and Velama castes. Often used
by Balijas as their caste name.
_Naik_.--(Leader.) A subdivision of Gond, also known as Darwe. A title
of Banjara headmen. A title of Teli and Kolta. A section of Ahir,
Chamar, Chasa, Gadaria, Halba, Kewat, Khond, Mali, Sudh.
_Nakib_.--Mace-bearer or flag-bearer in a procession. Subcaste of
Jasondhi Bhat and Khangar.
_Nakshbandia_.--A class of Fakirs or Muhammadan beggars.
_Naksia_.--Synonym of Nagasia.
_Namdeo_.--A religious sect confined to members of the Chhipa and
Darzi castes, which has become a subcaste.
_Nanakshahi_.--Synonym of Nanakpanthi.
_Nandia_.--(One who leads about with him a performing bullock). From
Nandi, the bull on which Mahadeo rides. Subcaste of Jogi.
_Nandvansi_.--Subcaste of Ahir.
_Nanghana_.--A name given to the Kol tribe in Hoshangabad.
_Napita_.--Sanskrit name for Nai or barber.
_Naqqal_.--Title of Bhand.
_Naraina_.--Subcaste of Patwa.
_Naramdeo_.--A subcaste of Brahmans belonging to the Gaur branch. They
take their name from the river Nerbudda.
_Narbadi_, _Narmada_.--(From the river Nerbudda.) A subdivision of
Maharashtra Brahmans. A section of Yajur-Vedi Brahmans. A synonym
for Naramdeo Brahmans. A section of Agharia, Binjhal and Chamar.
_Narnolia_.--(From a place called Narnol in the Punjab.) Subcaste
of Mehtar.
_Narwaria_.--A clan of Dangi. A subcaste of Ahir.
_Nata_.--(A young bullock.) A section of Ahir and Oswal Bania.
_Nathunia_.--(Nose-ring.) A subcaste of Pasi.
_Navadesia_.--(A man of nine districts.) Subcaste of Banjara.
_Nawaria_.--A subcaste of Barhai, Lohar, Kachera or Sisgar, Nai
and Tamera.
_Nazir_.--(A cashier or usher.) Subcaste of Jasondhi Bhat.
_Negi_.--A vice-president of the caste committee in the Kharia caste.
_Nema_ or _Nima_.--A subcaste of Bania. See article Bania, Nema.
_Netam_.--(The dog in Gondi.) One of the common septs of Gond. Also
a sept of Basor, Bhatra, Bhuiya, Dewar, Kawar and Parja.
_Nawari_.--(From _newar_, thick tape used for webbing of
beds.) Subcaste of Bahna.
_Niaria_.--An occupational term applied to persons who take the refuse
and sweepings from a Sunar's shop and wash out the particles of gold
and silver. See article Sunar.
_Nigam_, _Nigum_.--A subcaste of Kayasth.
_Nihal_.--Synonym of Nahal.
_Nihang_.--A class of Bairagis or religious mendicants, who remain
celibate.
_Nikhar_.--A subcaste of Ahir, Bharewa (Kasar), Gadaria. A clan of
Rajput. A section of Koshti.
_Nikumbh_.--A clan of Rajputs included in the thirty-six royal races. A
section of Joshi.
_Nilgar_.--Synonym of Chhipa.
_Nilkar_.--(From _nil_, indigo.) A subcaste of Darzi or Simpi (tailors)
in Naagpur, so named because they took up the work of dyeing in
addition to their own and formed a new subcaste.
_Nimanandi_.--A Vishnuite sect and order of religious mendicants. See
Bairagi.
_Nimari_, _Nimadi_, _Nimaria_.--(A resident of Nimar.) A subcaste of
Balahi, Bania, Dhobi, Mahar and Nai.
_Nimawal_.--A class of Bairagi.
_Nirali_.--Synonym of Chhipa.
_Niranjani_.--Name of an Akhara or school of Bairagis. See Bairagi.
_Nirbani_.--(_Nir_, without; _bani_, speech.) A class of Bairagis
who refrain from speech as far as possible.
_Nirmohi_.--A class of Bairagis.
_Nona_ or _Lona_.--Name derived from Nona or Lona Chamarin, a
well-known witch. Subcaste of Chamar.
_Nulkachandriah_.--Caste priests. Subcaste of Madgi.
_Nun_.--(Salt.) A sept of Oraon.
_Nunia_, _Nonia_, _Lunia_.--(Saltmaker.) A synonym of Beldar. A
section of Binjhwar and Koli.
_Od_.--Synonym of Beldar.
_Odde_, _Ud_.--(From Odra the old name of Orissa.) Term for a digger
or navvy. A group of Beldars.
_Odhia_.--Synonym for Audhia Bania.
_Odia_ or _Uriya_.--Subcaste of Beldar in Chhattisgarh.
_Oiku_.--Subtribe of Majhwar.
_Ojha_.--(From _Ojh_, entrails.) A caste of Gond augurs, see article. A
title of Maithil Brahmans. A subcaste of Lohar, Nat and Savar.
_Okkilyan_.--Synonym of Wakkaliga.
_Omre_, _Umre_.--A subcaste of Bania. See Bania Umre.--A subcaste
of Teli.
_Onkar Nath_.--A subdivision of Jogis.
_Onkule_.--Subcaste of Koshti.
_Orha_.--Subcaste of Chasa.
_Oswal_.--A subcaste of Bania. See subordinate article to Bania.
_Ota_.--(One who recites the Vedas aloud in sacrifices.) An honorific
title of Uriya Brahmans.
_Otari, Watkari_.--A low caste of workers in brass in the Maratha
country. The name is derived from the Marathi verb _otne_, to pour
or smelt. They number about 2600 persons in the Bhandara and Chanda
Districts, and in Berar. The caste have two subcastes, Gondadya and
Maratha, or the Gond and Maratha Otaris. The latter are no doubt
members of other castes who have taken to brass-working. Members
of the two subcastes do not eat with each other. Their family names
are of different kinds, and some of them are totemistic. They employ
Brahmans for their ceremonies, and otherwise their customs are like
those of the lower artisan castes. But it is reported that they have
a survival of marriage by capture, and if a man refuses to give his
daughter in marriage after being asked twice or thrice, they abduct
the girl and afterwards pay some compensation to the father. They
make and sell ornaments of brass and bell-metal, such as are worn by
the lower castes, and travel from village to village, hawking their
toe-rings and anklets. There is also an Otari subcaste of Kasars.
_Pabaiya_.--(From Pabai in Bundelkhand.) A clan of Rajputs in
Hoshangabad.
_Pabia_.--A small caste in the zamindaris of the Bilaspur District,
and some of the Feudatory States, who numbered about 9000 persons
in 1911. They appear to be Pans or Gandas, who also bear the name
of Pab, and this has been corrupted into Pabia, perhaps with a view
to hiding their origin. They are wretchedly poor and ignorant. They
say that they have never been to a Government dispensary, and would
be afraid that medicine obtained from it would kill them. Their only
remedies for diseases are branding the part affected or calling in a
magician. They never send their children to school, as they hold that
educated children are of no value to their parents, and that the object
of Government in opening schools is only to obtain literate persons
to carry on its business. One curious custom may be noticed. When
any one dies in a family, all the members, as soon as the breath
leaves his body, go into another room of the house; and across the
door they lay a net opened into the room where the corpse lies. They
think that the spirit of the dead man will follow them, and will be
caught in the net. Then the net is carried away and burnt or buried
with the corpse, and thus they think that the spirit is removed and
prevented from remaining about the house and troubling the survivors.
_Pabeha_.--Synonym for Dhimar.
_Pabudia_ or _Madhai_.--A subcaste of Bhuiya.
_Pachadhe_.--(Western.)--A subdivision of Saraswat Brahman.
_Pachbhaiya_.--(Five Brothers.) A section of Ahir and Audhelia.
_Pada_.--(A pig-eater.) A section of Muria Gonds and Pardhans.
_Padhan_.--(An Uriya name for a chief or headman of a village.) A
section of Bhuiya, Chasa, Dumal, Hatwa, Kolta, Tiyar and other Uriya
castes. A title of Chasa and Kolta.
_Padmasale_.--Subcaste of Koshti.
_Padyal_.--A subtribe of Gond in Chanda. A section of Marori.
_Pahalwan_.--A small community numbering about 600 persons in the
Bilaspur District and surrounding tracts of Chhattisgarh. The word
Pahalwan means a wrestler, but Sir B. Robertson states [477] that
they are a small caste of singing beggars and have no connection with
wrestling. They appear, however, to belong to the Gopal caste, who have
a branch of Pahalwans in their community. And the men returned from
Bilaspur may have abandoned wrestling in favour of singing and begging
from trees, which is also a calling of the Gopals. They themselves say
that their ancestors were Gopals and lived somewhere towards Berar, and
that they came to Bilaspur with the Maratha leader Chimnaji Bhonsla.
_Pahar_.--Subcaste of Mahli.
_Paharia_ or _Benwaria_.--Subcaste of Korwa.
_Paik_.--(A foot-soldier.) See Rajput-Paik.
_Paikaha_.--(One who follows the calling of curing hides.) Synonym
for Chamar.
_Paikara_.--(From Paik, a foot-soldier.) Subcaste of Kawar.
_Pailagia_.--(Pailagi or 'I fall at your feet,' is a common term of
greeting from an inferior to a superior.) Subcaste of Dahait.
_Paiyam_.--(From _paiya_, a calf.) A sept of Gonds in Betul.
_Pajania_.--(_Paijana_, tinkling anklets.) A section of Kurmi.
_Pakhali_.--(From _pakhali_, a leathern water-bag.) Synonym of Bhishti.
_Pakhawaji_.--(One who plays on the _pakhawaj_ or timbrel.) Title
of Mirasi.
_Pakhia_.--(They are so called because they eat the flesh of the _por_
or buffalo.) Subcaste of Khond.
_Palas._--(From the _palas_ tree, _Butea frondosa_.) A totemistic
sept of Gonds.
_Palewar_.--A _gotra_ of Binjhwar; a subcaste of Dhimar found in the
Telugu country. They are also called Bhoi in Chanda. A name for Telugu
Dhimars or watermen. A section of Binjhwar.
_Palgaria_.--(Sleeping on a _palang_ or cot.) A sept of Bhunjia.
_Palliwal_.--A subcaste of Brahmans belonging to the Kanaujia
division. They take their name from Pali, a trading town of Marwar. A
subcaste of Bania, whose name is derived from the same place.
_Palsa-gacha_.--(_Palas_ tree, _Butea frondosa_.) A totemistic sept
of Pans.
_Palshe_.--A subcaste of Maratha Brahmans. They derive their name
from Palsaoli village in Kalyan (Bombay Presidency).
_Pampatra_.--(Those who use their hands as pots.) A section of
Khandwal.
_Pan_.--(Name of a forest tribe.) Synonym for Ganda.
_Panch, Panchayat_.--(A caste committee, so called because it is
supposed to consist of five (_panch_) persons.) A section of Marar.
_Panchal_.--An indeterminate group of artisans engaged in any of
the following five trades: Workers in iron, known as Manu; workers
in copper or brass called Twashtik; workers in stone or Shilpik;
workers in wood or Maya; and workers in gold and silver designated
as Daivagnya. [478] The caste appear to be of Telugu origin, and
in Madras they are also known as Kammala. In the Central Provinces
they were amalgamated with the Sunars in 1901, but in 1891 a total of
7000 were returned, belonging to the southern Districts; while 2700
members of the caste are shown in Berar. The name is variously derived,
but the principal root is no doubt _panch_ or five. Captain Glasfurd
writes it Panchyanun. [479] In the Central Provinces the Panchals
appear generally to work in gold or brass, while in Berar they are
blacksmiths. The gold-workers are an intelligent and fairly prosperous
class, and devote themselves to engraving, inlaying, and making gold
beads. They are usually hired by Sunars and paid by the piece. [480]
They are intent on improving their social position and now claim
to be Vishwa Brahmans, presumably in virtue of their descent from
Viswa Karma, the celestial architect. At the census they submitted
a petition begging to be classified as Brahmans, and to support
their claim they employ members of their own caste to serve them as
priests. But the majority of them permit the remarriage of widows,
and do not wear the sacred thread. In other respects their customs
resemble those of the Sunars. The Berar Panchals, on the other hand,
appear to be a much lower group. Mr. Kitts describes [481] them as a
"wandering caste of smiths living in grass-mat huts and using as fuel
the roots of thorn bushes, which they batter out of the ground with
the back of a short-handled axe peculiar to themselves. The Berari
Panchals," he continues, "who differ from the Dakhani division in the
custom of shaving their heads and beards on the death of a parent,
have been in the Provinces for some generations. They live in small
_pals_ or tents, and move from place to place with buffaloes, donkeys,
and occasionally ponies to carry their kit. The women of the Berari
division may be distinguished from those of the Dakhani Panchals by
their wearing their _lugras_ or body-cloths tucked in at the back,
in the fashion known as _kasote_." It is no doubt from the desire to
dissociate themselves from the wandering blacksmiths of Berar that
the Panchals of the Central Provinces desire to drop their caste name.
_Pancham_.--A subcaste of Bania. A subcaste of Barai, the same
as Beraria.
_Panchbhai_.--(Five brothers.) A surname of Bhanara Dhimars, a section
of Ghasia.
_Panchdeve_.--A subdivision of Gonds, worshipping five gods and paying
special reverence to the _saras_ crane.
_Panch Dravid_.--One of the two primary divisions of Brahmans,
inhabiting the country south of the Vindhya hills and Nerbudda river,
and including the following five orders: viz., Karnata (Carnatic),
Dravid (Madras), Tailanga (Telugu country), Maharashtra (Bombay)
and Gurjara (Gujarat).
_Panch Gaur_.--One of the two primary divisions of Brahmans inhabiting
the country north of the Vindhya hills and Nerbudda river; it includes
the following five orders: Saraswat (Punjab), Kanaujia (Hindustan),
Gaur (Bengal), Utkal (Orissa) and Maithil (Bihar or Tirhut).
_Panchghar_.--One of the three subdivisions of Kanaujia Brahmans
in Hoshangabad.
_Panda_.--(A priest of Devi, a wise man.) A subcaste or title
of Mali. A subcaste and surname of Uriya Brahmans. A subcaste of
Jasondhi Bhats.
_Pandaram_.--A class of Brahman priests.
_Pande_.--(A wise man.) A surname of Kanaujia and Gaur Brahmans. A
section of Agharia, Barhai, Kewat and Marar. A title of Joshi and
Kumhar.
_Pandhare_.--(White.) Subcaste of Sunar.
_Pandit_.--(A learned man.) A title of Brahmans.
_Pandki_.--(Dove.) A totemistic sept of Bhatra, Kawar and Parja.
_Pandra_.--A small caste of cultivators in the Uriya country. It is
said that one of the Rajas of Patna had an illegitimate son to whom
he gave the village of Pandri. His descendants were the Pandras.
_Pandwar_ or _Padwar_.--A section of Panka in Raipur. They are said
to be so named because they washed the feet of others.
_Pangal_.--Subcaste of Gopal. They make mats, but in addition to this
they are mendicants begging from trees.
_Panhara_.--An occupational term meaning a seller of _pan_ or
betel-leaf.
_Panibhar_.--(A waterman.) Subcaste of Dangri.
_Panigrahi_.--(Husband.) An honorific title of Uriya Brahmans.
_Panjha_.--(Paw of an animal.) A sept of Gond.
_Panka_.--A weaver caste derived from the Gandas, being Gandas who
follow the Kabirpanthi sect. See article. In Chhattisgarh Pankas
sometimes call themselves Das, as servants of Kabir. Panka is also
a subcaste of Ganda.
_Pansari_.--(A druggist.) Synonym for Barai.
_Panwar_.--A clan of Rajput. See article Panwar Rajput. A subcaste
of Banjara and Bhoyar. A section of Ahir, Bhilala, Koshti, Maratha
and Marori.
_Parasar, Parashar_.--(Name of a Brahmanical saint.) An eponymous
section of Brahmans. A surname of Sanadhya and Gaur Brahmans. A
section of Basdeva, Rangari, Sunar and Vidur.
_Parauha_.--(From _para_, a male buffalo calf.) A subcaste of Basdewa
who deal in buffaloes.
_Parbat_.--Name of one of the ten orders of Gosain.
_Parbhu_.--Synonym of Prabhu.
_Pardeshi_.--(A foreigner.) The name is sometimes applied to immigrants
from Malwa, and also to those coming from northern India. A subcaste
of the Bahna, Barai, Barhai, Chamar, Dhimar, Dhobi, Garpagari, Kimbi,
Kasar, Kumhar, Lohar, Nai, Rangari, Sunar and Teli castes.
_Pardhan_.--(A chief.) A caste who are priests of the Gonds. See
article. A section of Chhattisgarhi Ahir or Rawat, Halba and
Pabia. Title of caste headman of the Kharia tribe.
_Pardhi_.--(A hunter.) A caste. See article. A subcaste of Khatik. A
section of Kunbi and Panwar Rajput.
_Parewa_.--(A pigeon.) A section of Chhattisgarhi Ahir or Rawat,
and Panka.
_Parganiha_.--A synonym of Pardhan (Gond priests) in Kawardha.
_Parihar_.--An important clan of Rajputs. See Rajput Parihar. A
section of Daharia and Daraiha, of Panwar Rajput and Pardhi.
_Parit_.--Synonym for Dhobi in the Maratha districts.
_Parka_. [482]--A small caste of labourers belonging to the Jubbulpore
District and adjoining tracts, whose strength was something over 2000
persons in 1901. Sir B. Robertson wrote [483] in 1891 that the Parkas
of the three northern Districts had been kept separate from the Panka
caste in the census tables, but that they were in all probability the
same. Mr. Hira Lal points out that several of the names of septs as
Padwar, Sanwani, Gullia and Dharwa are the same in the two castes,
and that in the Districts where Parkas are found there are no
Pankas. The Panka caste was probably formed in Chhattisgarh by the
separation of those Gandas or Pans who had embraced the doctrines of
Kabir from their parent caste, and the name is a variant of Pan. In
Jubbulpore the name Panka has no understood meaning, and it may
have been corrupted into Pandka (a dove) and thence to Parka. Like
the Pankas the Parkas often act as village watchmen. Many of the
Parkas are also Kabirpanthis and, as with the Pankas, those who
are not Kabirpanthis and do not abstain from flesh and liquor are
called Saktahas. Intermarriage is not prohibited between the Parka
Kabirpanthis and Saktahas. Some of the Parkas play on drums and act
as village musicians, which is a regular occupation of the Pankas and
Gandas. It may also be noted that the Parkas will take food cooked
with water from a Gond and that they worship Bura Deo, the great god
of the Gonds. Perhaps the most probable surmise as to their origin
is that they are a small mixed group made up of Pankas and Gonds. A
proverbial saying about the caste is '_Gond Raja, Parka Pardhan_,'
or 'The Gond is the master and the Parka the servant,' and this also
points to their connection with the Gonds. Several of their section
names indicate their mixed origin, as Kumharia from Kumhar a potter,
Gullia From Gaolia or milkman, Bhullia from Bhulia an Uriya weaver,
Andwan a subcaste of the Mahar caste, Tilasia a sept of the Kawars,
and so on. If a Parka man forms a connection with any woman of higher
caste she will be admitted into the community, and the same privilege
is accorded to a man of any equal or higher caste who may desire to
marry a Parka girl. A girl is only cast out when she is discovered
to have been living with a man of lower caste than the Parkas. All
these facts indicate their mixed origin. As already seen, the caste
are labourers, village watchmen-and musicians, and their customs
resemble those of low-caste Hindus, but they rank above the impure
castes. They will eat food cooked with water from Lodhis, many of whom
are landowners in Jubbulpore, and as such no doubt stand to the Parka
in the relation of employer to servant. Every year on the second day
of Bhadon (August) they worship a four-sided iron plate and a spear,
which latter is perhaps the emblem of the village watchman. Fines
imposed for caste offences are sometimes expended in the purchase of
vessels which thereafter become common property and are lent to any
one who requires them.
_Parnami_.--(A follower of Prannath of Panna.) Subcaste of Dangi.
_Parsai_.--(Village priest.) Synonym for Joshi.
_Parsoli_.--(_parsa_, an axe.) A section of Ahir or Rawat in
Chhattisgarh.
_Parwar_.--A subcaste of Bania. See article Bania-Parwar. A subcaste
of Kumhar.
_Passi_.--Synonym of Pasi.
_Patadhari_.--(One occupying the seat of instruction.) A section of
celibate Manbhaos.
_Patane_.--A subcaste of Prabhu, so called on account of their living
near Patan in Gujarat.
_Patbina_.--(From _patti_, sacking, and _binna_, to weave.) Synonym
of Kumrawat. Subcaste of Jogi.
_Patel_.--(Headman of a village.) A subcaste and title of Mali. A
surname of Gaur Brahmans in Saugor and of Parsis. A surname or section
of Agharia, Mahar and Kachhi. A title of the Ahir and Bhoyar castes.
_Pathak_.--(Teacher.) A surname of Kanaujia and other classes of
Brahmans.
_Pathan_.--One of the four tribes of Muhammadans. See article
Muhammadan Religion.
_Pathari_.--(A hillman.) Synonym of Pardhan. Subcaste of Katia.
_Patharia_.--A subcaste of Katia, Kurmi and Mahar. A section of
Halba. A subcaste of Agaria, who place a stone on the mouth of the
bellows to fix them in the ground for smelting iron.
_Pathmukh_.--A subsept of the Dhurwa Gonds in Betul. They offer a
young goat to their gods and do not kill bears.
_Pathrot_, _Pathrawat_.--(One who makes and sharpens millstones and
grindstones.) Synonym of Beldar.
_Pati_.--(Lord.) An honorific title of Uriya Brahmans.
_Patkar_.--(From _pat_, widow-marriage.) A subcaste of Sunar in
Wardha. A section of Rangari.
_Patlia_.--(From _patel_.) Title of Panwar Rajput.
_Patnaik_.--A surname of Karan or Mahanti, the Uriya writer caste.
_Patra_.--(An Uriya word meaning councillor.) A subcaste of Kolta
and Chasa, and title of several Uriya castes. Also a synonym for the
Patwa caste.
_Patti_.--(A thread-seller.) Subcaste of Kaikari.
_Patwa_.--A caste. See article. In Seoni tahsil of Hoshangabad
District Patwa and Lakhera appear to be synonymous terms. A section
of Oswal Bania.
_Patwari_.--(Name of the village accountant and surveyor, who is
now a salaried Government official.) The Kayasth caste were formerly
patwaris by profession. See article.
_Patwi_.--(A dyer who colours the silk thread which weavers use to
border their cotton cloth.) Synonym of Patwa. Subcaste of Koshti. From
_pata_, a woven cloth.
_Pawanbans_.--(The children of the wind.) Synonym for Bhuiya.
_Pendhari_.--Synonym of Pindari.
_Peng_.--Subcaste of Parja.
_Penthi_.--(Sheep.) A totemistic sept of Bhulia.
_Periki_, _Perki_, _Perka_.--The Perikis are really a subcaste of
the great Balija or Balji caste, but they have a lower position and
are considered as a distinct group. About 4000 Perikis were returned
in the Central Provinces in 1911 from the Nagpur, Wardha and Chanda
Districts. They derive their names from the _perike_ or panniers
in which they carried salt and grain on bullocks and donkeys. They
were thus formerly a nomadic group, and like the Banjaras and Bhamtas
they also made gunny-bags and sacking. Most of them have now taken to
cultivation, and in Madras some Perikis have become large landholders
and claim Rajput rank. In the Central Provinces the Balijas and Naidus
deny that the Perikis have any connection with the Balija caste.
_Peta_.--(A trading Balija.) Subcaste of Balija.
_Phal Barhai_.--(A carpenter who only works on one side of the
wood.) Synonym for Chitari in the Uriya country.
_Phanse_.--(A Pardhi who hunts with traps and snares.) Subcaste
of Pardhi.
_Phansigar_.--(A strangler.) Synonym of Thug.
_Pharsi_.--(Axe.) A section of Uriya, Ahir or Gahara.
_Phopatia_.--Title of the officer of the Andh caste who summons the
caste committee.
_Phulia_, _Phulmali_.--(A flower-gardener.) Subcaste of Kachhi
and Mali.
_Phuljharia_.--(From Phuljhar zamindari in Raipur.) A territorial
subcaste of Ahir or Rawat, Ghasia and Panka.
_Phul Kunwar_.--A section of Kawar. They use the _akre_ or swallow-wort
flower for their marriage-crown.
_Phulsunga_.--A totemistic section of Gadaria. They abstain from
smelling or touching a flower called _gadha_.
_Phurasti_.--(A wanderer.) Subcaste of Kaikari.
_Pindara_.--Synonym of Pindari.
_Pindari_.--A caste. Subcaste of Mang.
_Pinjara_.--(One who cards cotton.) Synonym of Bahna.
_Pipar_.--(A tree.) A section of Khatik and Kalar.
_Pipariya_.--(From the pipal tree, or from Piparia, a common place-name
derived from the tree.) A clan of Rajputs in Saugor. A section of
Sunars in Saugor.
_Piria_.--Subcaste of Kachhi. From _piria_, the basket in which they
carry earth.
_Pit_.--Subcaste of Bhatra.
_Pitariya_.--(From _pital_, brass.) A subdivision of Pardeshi Sunars
in Nagpur. They practise hypergamy, taking wives from the Sadihe
subcaste, and giving daughters to the Srinagariye, Bangar, Mahuwe
and Jadiye subcastes.
_Pohni_.--Subcaste of Jhadi Telenga.
_Poiya_,--Subcaste of Majhwar.
_Polya_.--(One who did not take off his turban at the feast.) Title
of Hatkar.
_Pondro_.--(A tree.) One of the six subsepts of the Marai clan of
Pathari Gonds in Khairagarh.
_Ponwar_.--Synonym of Panwar Rajput.
_Portai_.--(Basket.) A subsept of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betul. They
do not kill the tiger or crocodile. A sept of Dhur Gonds.
_Potdar_.--(A money-tester.) Synonym and title of Sunar. A surname
of Karhara Brahmans in Saugor.
_Potdukh_.--(Stomach-ache.) A section of Teli in Chanda.
_Potharia_.--(One to whom a certain dirty habit is imputed.) Subcaste
of Korku.
_Potwa_.--(A worker in tasar silk.) Synonym for Darzi; a subcaste
of Darzi.
_Poyam_.--(Worshipper of eight gods.) A sept of Pardhan and of
Maria Gonds.
_Prajapati_.--Title of Kumhar.
_Pramara_.--Synonym for Panwar Rajput.
_Prannathi_.--A follower of Prannath of Panna. Synonym for Dhami.
_Pravar_.--A term for the ancestors sharing in a sacrificial
invocation, particularly that of the Horn or fire-sacrifice.
_Prayagwal_.--(From Prayag-Allahabad.) A subcaste of Brahmans who
preside at the ceremonial bathing in the Ganges at Allahabad.
_Puar_.--Synonym of Panwar Rajput.
_Pujari_.--(A worshipper.) Name for the priest in charge of a temple. A
title of Bhatra.
_Purad_.--A small mixed caste in Nagpur. They say that their ancestor
was a Brahman, who was crossing a river and lost his sacred thread,
on being carried down in a flood (_pur_). Therefore he was put out of
caste because the sacred thread must be changed before swallowing the
spittle, and he had no other thread ready. At the census the Purads
were amalgamated with Vidurs. They are shopkeepers by profession.
_Purait_.--(One who is of pure blood.) A subdivision of Jharia Rawat
(Ahir) in Chhattisgarh. A subcaste of Dhakar, Halba and Marar.
_Purania_.--(Old.) A subcaste of Kachera or Sisgar in Saugor. The
Puranias are the Muhammadan bangle-makers who originally practised
this calling. A subcaste of Barai, Basor, Nai and Sunar. A section
of Chamar and Darzi.
_Purbia_.--This term, which means eastern or coming from the east,
is used in Hoshangabad and other Districts to designate Rajputs
from Oudh and the adjoining tracts, especially retired sepoys from
the Bengal army. They appear to belong to different clans, but many
of them are Bais Rajputs. Some of the Purbias say that their king,
somewhere in northern India, heard that cows were being killed in the
Central Provinces, so he sent them to stop the practice and they came
and stopped it and settled there. In Gujarat this name appears to be
applied to Brahmans. A subcaste of Barhai and Gadaria. A section of
Nat and Sunar.
_Purkam_.--(_Purka_-pumpkin.) A sept of the Uika clan of Gonds
in Betul.
_Purohit_.--(Family priest.) A common title of Brahmans.
_Purouti_ or _Pudoti_.--(Bowels.) A sept of Gonds in Khairagarh.
_Pusam_.--(Worshipper of five gods.) A sept of Raj-Gond and Dhur Gond,
and of Baiga and Pardhan.
_Putka_.--A subcaste of Sudh, being the illegitimate issue of the
Dehri Sudhs.
_Qawwal_.--(One who speaks fluently.) Title of Mirasi.
_Rachhbandia_.--(Comb-makers.) A subcaste of Kuchhbandia (Kanjar).
_Raghunathia_.--A small group of Brahmans, so called because their
ancestors are said to have received a grant of five villages from
Raghunath Deo of Hindoli.
_Raghuvansi_.--A caste formed from a Rajput clan. See article. A
subcaste of Ahir; a section of Mali and Gond.
_Raghvi_.--Synonym of Raghuvansi.
_Rahmat_.--(Compassion.) A section of Panwar Rajput. A Muhammadan
proper name.
_Rai_ or _Raj_.--Subcaste of Darzi, Kalar, Khangar.
_Rai-bhaina_.--Subcaste of Baiga in Balaghat.
_Raipuria_.--(From Raipur.) A subcaste of Dhimars who do not wear
gold ornaments. A subcaste of Dewar in Bilaspur.
_Raj_ or _Rai_.--From Raja, a king. This term designates
the landholding division of certain tribes, as the Raj-Gonds,
the Raj-Korkus, the Raj-Khonds and the Rajbhars. The Raj-Bhats,
Raj-Dhuris and Rai-Darzis are similarly subcastes of good position
in their respective castes. Raj is also used as a synonym for Beldar,
meaning a mason.
_Raja_.--(A king.) Title of a ruling chief, and occasionally conferred
on prominent Indian gentlemen.
_Rajak_.--(A washerman.) Synonym for Dhobi.
_Rajbhar_.--(A landowning Bhar.) Synonym for Rajjhar.
_Raj-Bhat._--Subcaste of Bhat.
_Raj-Dhuri._--A subcaste of Dhuri, said to be descendants of personal
servants in Rajput families.
_Raj-Gond_.--The landholding subdivision of the Gond tribe; a section
of Chamar and Kachhi.
_Raj-Khond_.--Subcaste of Khond.
_Raj-Kunwar, Raj-Pardhan_.--A subcaste of Pardhan in Balaghat.
_Rajoria_.--(Kingly.) A section of Barhai, Dangi, Khatik and Sanadhya
Brahman.
_Raj-Pardhan_.--A subcaste of Pardhan. They are said to be also
known as Kunwar Pardhan or Gond Bhat and to be beggars and bards of
the Gonds.
_Raj-Pasi_.--Subcaste of Pasi.
_Rajput_.--(Son of a king.) A caste, representing the ancient Kshatriya
caste. See article. A subcaste of Banjara, Kadera, Kumhar and Patwa.
_Rajwaria_.--From the Rajwar caste. Subcaste of Dahait. Subdivision
of Kol in Mirzapur.
_Rakaseya_.--(From Rakas, a devil.) A section of Katia.
_Rakhotia_.--An illegitimate section of Kumhar.
_Rakhwaldar_.--(Village watchman.) Title of Ramosi.
_Raksa_.--(Demoniac.) A section of Kumhar and Kawar.
_Ramanandi_.--A class of Bairagis or religious mendicants. See
article Bairagi.
_Ramanuja_.--A class of Bairagis or religious mendicants. See article
Bairagi.
_Ramgarhia_.--(A resident of Ramgarh in Mandla.) Subcaste of Ghasia.
_Ramoshi_.--Synonym of Ramosi.
_Rana_.--A title of Sesodia Rajputs. A section of Halba and Panwar.
_Randgolak_.--A subdivision of degraded Maharashtra Brahmans, the
offspring of illicit unions or remarried widows.
_Rangari_.--(One who works in indigo (_nil_).) Synonym for Chhipa.
_Rao_.--Synonym for Bhat. A section of Chamar and Lohar. A title of
the Bhilala caste.
_Ratanpuria_.--(A resident of Ratanpur in Bilaspur.) Subcaste of
Nunia and Dewar.
_Ratha_.--(A car for carrying a god.) Honorific title of Uriya
Brahmans.
_Rathia_.--Subcaste of Kawar.
_Rathor_, _Rathaur_.--A famous Rajput clan. See article
Rajput-Rathor. A subcaste of Banjara, Bari and of Teli in Mandla,
Betul, Nimar and other Districts. A section of Ahir, Bhilala, Mochi,
Nahal and Pardhi.
_Ratna Banik_.--(Dealer in jewels.) A synonym of Sunar in Sambalpur.
_Rautadi_.--Subcaste of Bhuiya.
_Rautele_.--A subcaste of Kol. A section of Barai, Bhat, Gadaria and
of Sunar in Saugor.
_Rautia_.--A subcaste of Kol in several Districts. A subcaste of
Dahait. A subcaste of Kawar. A section of Chamar and Rawat (Ahir).
_Rawal_.--Title borne by some Rajput chieftains in Western
India. Probably a diminutive of Rao, the Marathi form of Raj or
Raja. A section of Chasa, Mali and Garpagari.
_Rawanbansi_.--Descendants of Rawan, the demon king of Ceylon. A
name applied to the Gonds generally, and now used as a subtribal
designation to distinguish them from Raj-Gonds.
_Rawanvansi_.--Name of a clan of Gosain mendicants.
_Rawat_.--A title borne by some minor Rajput chiefs. Probably a
diminutive of Rajputra, the original form of the term Rajput. An
honorific title of Gonds and Savars in Saugor and Damoh. The name by
which the Ahir caste is generally known in Chhattisgarh. A subcaste
and title of Khairwar. A title sometimes used by Sunars and Brahmans
in Bundelkhand and by Lodhis. A subcaste of Mehtar and Mali. A section
of Arakh, Banjara, Binjhwar, Dhanwar, Kawar, Khairwar, Kunbi, Nat,
Patwa, Panwar Rajput, and Sudh.
_Reddi_.--A synonym for the Kapewar or Kapu caste; a subcaste of
Kapewar and Gandli.
_Redka_.--A small labouring caste of Sambalpur. They are apparently
the result of intermarriages between some members of the Reddi or
Kapu cultivating caste of Telingana, who came to Sambalpur during
the Orissa famine of 1866, with low-class Uriya women. They still
speak Telugu among themselves, using Uriya to outsiders. Only one
curious feature of the marriage ceremony of the Redkas need be noticed
here. This is that the officiating Brahman actually places a red-hot
copper seal on the arms of the bride and bridegroom as a symbol of
sealing the marriage bond. In other respects their customs resemble
those of low-caste Uriyas.
_Rekwar_.--Subcaste of Dhimar.
_Rig-Vedi_.--Sectarian division of Brahmans.
_Rikhiasan Mahatwar_.--Subcaste of Bhuiya.
_Ritha Biknath_.--One who prepares and sells soap-nuts for washing
clothes. Subcaste of Jogi.
_Rohidasi_.--Honorific term for a Chamar. It signifies a follower
of the sect of Rohidas in Northern India. The Chamars often describe
themselves by this name instead of their caste name.
_Rohilla_.--A Pathan tribe who have settled in Rohilkhand or the
Bareilly tract of the United Provinces. They derive their name from
Roh, the designation given to the country where the Pushto language
is spoken by residents of Hindustan. The word Roh, like Koh, means
a mountain, and Rohilla therefore signifies a highlander. [484] The
Rohilla Pathans occupied Rohilkhand in the eighteenth century. Their
name first attracted attention when Warren Hastings was charged with
hiring out British troops for their suppression. The Rohillas say that
they are of Coptic origin, and that driven out of Egypt by one of the
Pharaohs they wandered westward till they arrived under that part of
the mountains of Afghanistan known as Sulaimani Koh. [485] Parties
of Rohillas visit the Central Provinces bringing woollen cloths and
dried fruits for sale. Here they formerly bore a bad character, being
accustomed to press the sale of their merchandise on the villagers on
credit at exorbitant interest; and when the time for realisation came,
to extort their money by threats of violence, or actual assault, or,
if this was not practicable, by defiling the graves of their debtors'
ancestors. These practices have now, however, been largely suppressed.
_Romya_ or _Haralya._--Subcaste of Chamar.
_Ror_.--Subcaste of Khatri.
_Rora_.--Synonym of Arora.
_Ruma_.--A resident of Basim and Gangra in Amraoti District. Subcaste
of Korku.
_Ruthia_.--A name formed from the noise _rut, rut_ made by the oil-mill
in turning. Subcaste of Teli.
_Sabara_.--Synonym for the Savar tribe. A section of Kawar and Teli.
_Sabat_.--(From _saot_, co-wife.) An honorific title of Uriya Brahmans.
_Sadaphal_.--(A fruit.) A section of Chandnahu Kurmi and Sonkar.
_Sada-Sohagal_.--A class of Fakirs or Muhammadan beggars.
_Sadhu_.--(A religious mendicant.) Synonym for Bairagis or Gosains.
_Sagar_.--Name of one of the ten orders of Gosains.
_Sagunsale_.--A group of illegitimate descent. Subcaste of Koshti.
_Sahadeve_.--A clan of Gonds worshipping six gods and paying special
reverence to the tiger.
_Sahani_.--(From _siahi_, ink.) An honorific title of Karan or
Mahanti. A subcaste of Paik.
_Sahara_.--Synonym for the Savar tribe.
_Sahasra Audichya_.--(A thousand men of the north.) A subdivision of
Gujarati Brahmans who are said to have accepted presents from Raja
Mulraj of Anhalwara Patan at a sacrifice, and hence to have suffered
some degradation in rank. Audichya probably signifies coming from Oudh.
_Sahra_.--Synonym of Savar.
_Sahu_.--(A trader.) An honorific title of Bania. A synonym for Sunar
in Sambalpur. A subdivision of Uriya Brahmans. A section of Khadra,
Kolta, Sundi and Teli.
_Sahukar_.--Title of Bania. See Sahu.
_Sain_.--Synonym for Fakir.
_Saiqalgar_.--From Arabic _saiqal_, a polisher. Synonym for Sikligar.
_Sais_.--The title by which grooms or horse-keepers are usually
known. The word Sais, Colonel Temple states, [486] is Arabic and
signifies a nobleman; it is applied to grooms as an honorific title,
in accordance with the common method of address among the lower
castes. Other honorific designations for grooms, as given by Colonel
Temple, are Bhagat or 'Saint,' and Panch, 'Arbitrator,' but neither
of these is generally used in the Central Provinces. Another name for
Saises is Thanwar, which means a person in charge of a stable or place
where a horse is kept. Grooms from Northern India are usually of the
Jaiswara division of Chamars, who take their name from the old town
of Jais in Oudh; but they drop the Chamar and give Jaiswara as their
caste. These men are thin and wiry and can run behind their horses for
long distances. The grooms indigenous to the Central Provinces are as a
rule promoted grass-cutters and are either of the Ghasia (grass-cutter)
or the Kori and Mahar (weaver) castes. They cannot usually run at
all well. It is believed that both the Jaiswaras and Mahars who work
as grooms have taken to marrying among themselves and tend to form
separate endogamous groups, because they consider themselves superior
to the remainder of the caste. A Sais will frequently refuse to tie
up a dog with a rope or lead him with one because he uses a rope for
leading his horses. This taboo is noticed by Sir B. Fuller as follows:
"Horses in India are led not by the bridle but by a thick cotton
leading-rope which is passed over the headstall, and such a rope is
carried by every Indian groom. I asked my groom one day to tie up with
his leading rope a dog that would not follow. He absolutely refused,
and I discovered that the rope was the fetish of his caste and was
formerly adored and propitiated in the course of an annual caste
festival. To touch a dog with it would have been sacrilege." [487]
_Saitwal_.--A subcaste of Jain Banias.
_Saiyad_.--One of the four Muhammadan tribes, which is supposed to
comprise the descendants of the Prophet.
_Sakadwipi_.--A tribe of Brahmans taking their name from Sakadwipa,
the country of the Sakas. The Sakas were a Central Asian tribe who
invaded India before the commencement of the Christian era, and
Sakadwipa is said to be the valley of the Kabul river.
_Sakarwal, Sikarwar_.--A clan of Rajputs whose name is said to be
derived from Fatehpur Sikri.
_Saksena_.--A subcaste of Kayasth, also called Sukhsena. A subcaste
of Bharbhunja and Kachhi.
_Saktaha_.--A synonym for Shakta, a worshipper of Devi in
Chhattisgarh. Saktaha practically means a person who eats flesh, as
opposed to a Kabirpanthi who abstains from it. A subcaste of Panka,
who are not Kabirpanthis.
_Sakum_.--A sept of Korku. (One who hides behind a teak tree.)
_Salam_.--(Worshipper of six gods.) A clan of Gond. A section of Dewar.
_Salewar_.--A name for Telugu Koshtis. A subcaste of Koshti.
_Samaiya_.--A sect of Jains.
_San_.--A subcaste of Bhatra.
_Sanadhya_.--A subcaste of Brahmans belonging to the Gaur division.
_Sanak-kul._--A section of Komti. They do not use _jaiphal_ or nutmeg.
_Sanaurhia_.--Subcaste of Brahman. Synonym for Sanadhya.
_Sanbagh_.--(A little tiger.) A section of Bhulia.
_Sand_.--(The bull.) A totemistic sept of Kawar. They do not
use bullocks for ploughing, or are supposed not to. A section of
Khangar. They do not give a present of a bull at weddings. A section
of Mali.
_Sania_.--(A grower of _san_-hemp.) Subcaste of Kachhi.
_Saniasi_.--Name for a religious mendicant. Synonym for Gosain.
_Sanjogi_.--A class of Bairagis or mendicants who marry, also called
Grihastha.
_Sankrita_.--An eponymous section of Kanaujia Brahmans.
_Sanp_.--(Snake.) A sept of Gond and Kawar.
_Santal, Saonta, Sonthal._--An important tribe of Bengal, belonging
to the Munda family. The transfer of five of the Chota Nagpur States
has brought more than 10,000 Santals into the Central Provinces. They
belong principally to the Sarguja State and a few are returned from
Udaipur State and from the Bilaspur District, but in all those tracts
they are known as Saonta and appear to have been cut off from the main
tribe for a considerable period. According to Mr. Skrefsrud the name
Santal is a corruption of Saontar and was given to the tribe by the
Bengalis because they lived in the country about Saont in Midnapur. Sir
H. Risley held that the tribe might equally well have given its name to
the locality, and there was no means of ascertaining which theory was
correct. The forms Santal and Sonthal are only used by natives who have
come into contact with Europeans. Santals call themselves '_harko_,'
men, or '_harhapan_,' man-child. [488] At the present day when a
Santal is asked to what caste he belongs he will almost invariably
reply Manjhi, which means a village headman, and is the common title
of the tribe; if further explanation is demanded, he will add Santal
Manjhi. Whether the term Santal was derived from the Saont pargana
or not, it is therefore at any rate a name conferred by the Hindus
and affords no evidence in favour of a separate origin of the tribe.
There seems good reason to hold that the Santals are only a branch
of the Kols or Mundas, who have been given a distinct designation by
their Hindu neighbours, while their customs and traditions have been
modified either by long separation from the Mundas of Chota Nagpur or
by contact with Hindu influences. Sir G. Grierson's account of the
two dialects Santali and Mundari shows that they closely resemble
each other and differ only in minor particulars. The difference is
mainly to be found in the vocabulary borrowed from Aryan neighbours,
and in the grammatical modifications occasioned by the neighbouring
Aryan forms of speech. [489] Of Mundari he says: "Aspirated letters
are used as in Santali, the semi-consonants are apparently pronounced
in the same way as in Santali; genders and numbers are the same,
the personal pronouns are the same, the inflexion of verbs is mainly
the same." [490] Some points of difference are mentioned by Sir
G. Grierson, but they appear to be of minor importance. The Mundas,
like the Santals, call themselves _hara-ko_ or men. In the vocabulary
of common words of Mundari and Santali given by Colonel Dalton [491]
a large proportion of the words are the same. Similarly in the list
of sept-names of the tribes given by Sir H. Risley [492] several
coincide. Among the 15 names of main septs of the Santals, Besra,
a hawk, Murmu nilgai, or stag, and Aind, eel, are also the names of
Munda septs. The Santal sept Hansda, a wild goose, is nearly identical
with the Munda sept Hansa, a swan; the Santal septs Kisku and Tudu
are sept-names of the Hos, a branch of the Mundas; and in one or two
other names there is a great resemblance. The principal deity of the
Santals, Marang Buru, is a Munda god. In the inheritance of property
both tribes have the same rule of the exclusion of daughters. In
his article on Ho, Sir H. Risley indeed states that the Santals,
Hos and Mundas are local branches of the same tribe.
The Saontas of Sarguja and Bilaspur appear to have been separated from
the parent tribe for some generations and to have assimilated some of
the customs of the Gonds. They have some Gond sept-names, as Markam and
Dhurwa. Those of Pendra zamindari have no traditions of their origin
beyond saying that the adjoining Kenda zamindari was their original
home. They profess to revere only the sun, fire and water. In order to
worship the Jal-deota or water-god they pour water round the fire and
then throw a little butter on the fire in his name. Mr. C.U. Wills,
Settlement Officer, records of them the following curious custom:
When a man is at the point of death or actually dead, they sometimes
set fire to the hut in which his body is lying and run away, no doubt
to save themselves from being haunted and troubled by his spirit,
to the attainment of which end so large a part of funeral ritual is
everywhere directed.
The following short account of them by Colonel Dalton may be reproduced
for reference: [493]
"The name Saont or Saonta directs us to the Santal branch of the Kols,
and, as I have already noticed, there is in Sarguja a small tribe so
called. They are the sole inhabitants of the magnificent tableland
forming the southern barrier of Sarguja, called the Mainpat or more
correctly perhaps the Manipat. They are a small tribe living scattered
over the vast area of the plateau in about a dozen hamlets, and they
are strong in the belief that they were especially created to dwell
there, or that they and the plateau somehow sprang into existence
together, and cannot be separated. I saw a number of them when I
was last in Sarguja, and from their features I should be inclined
to class them as Kols, but they have some customs and notions which
they must have derived from the Dravidian Gonds. They acknowledge
Dulha Deo as a household god, and follow the customs of the Gonds
and other southerners in their marriage ceremonies.
"They worship the sun as Bhagwan, and like the Kharias offer sacrifices
to that luminary in an open place with an ant-hill for an altar. The
Mainpat is their Marang Buru, and as it is 16 miles long, 12 miles
broad, and rises 3850 feet above the sea-level, it is not unworthy
of the name, but they do not use that or any other Kol term. The
great Mainpat is their fatherland and their god. They have it all to
themselves except during the summer months, when it becomes a vast
grazing field for the cattle of Mirzapur and Bihar.
"The Saonts are armed like the Korwas with bows and arrows, and the
peculiar battle-axe of the country, but it is against the beasts of
the forest that these weapons are used. Formerly the Mainpat was a
magnificent hunting field, especially noted for its herds of antelope
and gaur. The late Maharaja of Sarguja strictly preserved it, but on
his death it fell into the hands of his widow, a very money-loving
old lady, who allowed it to become one of the great grazing tracts,
and the pasturage alone gives her an income of £250 a year; but the
wild animals have in consequence withdrawn from it.
"The position of the Saonts is altogether very curious, and though
they now speak no language but a rude Hindi, the evidence is, on
the whole, favourable to their being a remnant of the ancient Kol
aborigines of Sarguja, cut off from connection with those people by
successive inroads of other races or tribes. Their substitution of
a Hindi dialect for their own language seems to indicate that they
were first subjugated by Aryans. The Gond chiefs only count about
twenty-four generations in Sarguja, and they have all adopted the
Hindi language."
_Sanyasi_.--(A religious recluse.) Synonym for Gosain.
_Sao_.--(For _sahu_, a banker, a rich man.) A subcaste of Kalar and
Teli. An honorific title of Chhipa or Rangari. A sept of Gond.
_Saojin_.--(From _sao_, a banker.) Subcaste of Banjara.
_Saonr_.--Synonym of Savar.
_Saonta_.--Name by which the Santal tribe is known in Bilaspur. A
subcaste of Dhanwar.
_Sapera_.--(A snake-charmer.) Name of a clan of Nats, who exhibit
snakes. A section of Basor and Khatik.
_Saraf_.--(A money-changer and tester.) A synonym of Sunar.
_Saraia_ (Angler.) From _sarai_, a bamboo fishing-rod. Subcaste
of Dhimar.
_Sarangarhia_.--(From Sarangarh.) A subtribe of Gonds in Khairagarh. A
subcaste of Dewar.
_Saraogi_.--A name by which Jain laymen are known. Subcaste of Bania.
_Saras_.--(A large crane.) A section of Chamar.
_Saraswat_.--One of the five orders of Panch Gaur Brahmans inhabiting
the country of the river Saraswati. One of the ten orders of Gosains.
_Sarati_.--A sept of Gond and Pardhan.
_Sariyam_.--A subsept of the Dhurwa clan of Gonds in Betul, said to
be so called because the road to the place of the gods was swept by
their priests.
_Sarolia_ or _Sarwaria_.--(Inferior or mixed.) Subcaste of Agharia.
_Saroti_.--A sept of Pardhans said to be named after _sarra_, a whip,
because their priest once struck a man with a whip.
_Sarsatia_.--(From the Saraswati river.) Subcaste of Bahna.
_Satani_. [494]--A Telugu caste of priests and mendicants of which
900 persons were returned, principally from the Chanda District,
in 1911. In the Central Provinces, Ayawar, Satani and Dasari have
been taken as one caste, but elsewhere they are considered as
distinct. Ayawar is a term of respect analogous to the Hindustani
Maharaj, and is applied to the Satanis and other religious orders. The
Satanis and Dasaris are distinguished in Madras; Satani is stated [495]
to be a corruption of Sattadavan, which means 'One who does not wear'
(_e.g._ the sacred thread and scalp-lock). It is a mixed religious
order recruited from any caste except the Pariahs, leather-workers and
Muhammadans. The Dasaris [496] are said to be the reputed descendants
of a wealthy Sudra of one of the northern Districts, who, being
childless, vowed that if offspring should be granted to him he would
devote a son to the service of the god. After this he had several
children, one of whom he consecrated to the deity, calling him Dasan
(the obedient servant). Dasan and his offspring made their livelihood
by begging. This order, like that of the Satanis, is reinforced by idle
members of the lower Sudra castes, who become Dasaris by being branded
by the Guru of Tirupatti and other shrines. In the Central Provinces
the Dasaris are stated to be recruited from the impure Mala caste
of the Telugu country, and hence to rank below the Satanis. Many
of the Madrasi servants in European households call themselves
Dasaris. Members of the agricultural castes are usually admitted into
the Satani order and its status is almost equal to theirs. The caste,
in spite of its small numbers, has several subdivisions, as the Sale
Satanis, who are weavers, the Bukkas, who are sellers of _kunku_ or
red powder, and five other subdivisions who are all beggars. Some of
these eat together but do not intermarry. They have exogamous family
groups, usually named after sacred places in Madras or celebrated
Gurus (spiritual preceptors) or deities, as Tirupatti, Ramanujamwar,
Shaligramwar and so on. The caste marry in the ordinary way and do
not observe celibacy. Widow-marriage is allowed, but a widow must
marry a widower, and the officiating priest at the ceremony must
also be a widower. The Satanis principally revere Vishnu, whom they
worship on Fridays. Their priests are taken from their own order and
form a separate subcaste under the name of Parmastwar. A novice,
on being initiated to the order, is branded with the figures of a
Sankha (conch-shell) and Chakra (discus). They both burn and bury
the dead, and the spirits of female as well as of male ancestors are
propitiated. This is done by calling a married woman by the name of
the dead female, putting red powder on her forehead and worshipping
her. Among the Satanis a widow accompanies the corpse of her husband
to the grave. They officiate at funerals, and a Satani priest applies
the caste-mark to the body of the corpse and also to that of the four
persons who are to carry it. He receives presents in the name of the
dead man, and takes the red cloth with which the corpse is covered. At
the funeral feast the Satani offers cooked food, including flesh
and also liquor, to the god, and the assembled guests then partake
of them. The Satani drinks liquor only and does not eat the food,
and since he must stay to the end of the feast he sometimes becomes
intoxicated. The Satanis are priests and mendicants. Though they
do not wear the sacred thread themselves, the manufacture of it is
one of their hereditary occupations. They collect alms in a _lota_
or brass vessel, on which representations of the conch and discus
are drawn. The Dasaris wander about, singing hymns to a monotonous
accompaniment upon a leather instrument called _tappai_ (perhaps a
tabor). They are engaged by some Sudra castes to sing their chants
in front of the corpse at funerals. Others exhibit what is called
the _Panda sewai_, that is, they become possessed by the deity and
beat themselves over the body with a flaming torch. A few train young
bulls to perform tricks and travel about exhibiting them. Some have
become masons and goldsmiths. Men have the mark of the trident on
the forehead, the two outer lines being white and the middle one
red or yellow. They shave the head and face clean, not retaining the
scalp-lock. Women have a vertical streak on the forehead and do not
wear glass bangles nor the necklace of black beads. Neither men nor
women are tattooed. The Satanis have a fairly good social position
and the lower castes will take food from them.
_Satbhuiyan_ or _Utar_.--Subcaste of Khond.
_Satdeve_.--A clan of Gonds worshipping seven gods and paying special
reverence to the porcupine.
_Satghare_.--(Seven houses.) A division of the Maratha caste,
consisting of seven of the highest clans who marry among themselves
and sometimes take daughters from the other ninety-six clans.
_Satnami_.--A religious sect, which now practically forms a subcaste
of Chamar.
_Satputia_.--(Having seven sons.) A section of Lonare Mali.
_Satyanath_. A subcaste of Jogi or Nath.
_Savar_, _Savara_.--A tribe.
_Sawalakh_.--(1 1/4 lakhs.) A section of Dhobi.
_Sawara_.--Synonym for Savar. Subcaste of Kol.
_Segidi_, [497] _Shegadi_.--The Telugu caste of toddy-drawers
and distillers, of which a few representatives were returned from
the Nagpur District in 1901. They will draw _tari_ or palm-juice
only from the _sindi_ palm (_Phoenix sylvestris_) and not from the
palmyra palm (_Borassics flabelliformis_). This is the occupation
of a separate caste, the Yatas, from whom the Segidis will not even
take water. At a Segidi marriage the bride is shown the polar star,
which is believed to be the wife of Rishi Vasishtha, the model of
conjugal excellence. She is then made to step on to a stone slab to
remind her how Ahalya, the beautiful wife of Rishi Gautama, was turned
to a stone for committing adultery. Widow-marriage is permitted, and,
by a very curious exception to the ordinary rule, a widow may marry
her deceased husband's elder brother but not his younger one. The
usual prohibition on a widow marrying her husband's elder brother is
based on the ground that he is looked on as her father; the Segidis
say, on the other hand, that his younger brother is as her son. If
an unmarried adult male dies, the ceremony of marriage is performed
between the corpse and a plantain tree; and if an unmarried woman dies
she is married to a sword. A corpse is always buried with the head to
the east and the feet to the west. This peculiar practice may be a
reminiscence of Vedic times, when the west was considered to be the
abode of the departed, the sun being the first mortal who died and
went to the west as recorded in the Rig-Veda. The Segidis are also
cultivators, traders or soldiers. They have a method of divining a
boy's proper calling in his infancy. When his mouth is touched with
grain as food for the first time, they put a sword, a pen, a book,
food and other articles, being the symbols of different professions,
on the ground and place the child in front of them. And his vocation
in life is held to be determined by the article which he touches first.
_Senapati_.--(General.) Honorific title of Sundi.
_Sendia_.--Title of caste headman of Panwar Rajput.
_Sendur_.--A section of Ahir or Rawat.
_Senduria_.--Subcaste of Nagasia. They mark the forehead of the bride
with vermilion (_sendur_).
_Sengar._--A clan of Rajputs belonging to Saugor and Jubbulpore.
_Sesodia_.--A famous clan of Rajputs.
_Seth_.--(Banker or moneylender.) A title of Bania.
_Setti_.--A corruption of the Sanskrit Shreshta, good. Title of
Komti caste.
_Sewak_.--(Servant.) The name given to an inferior class of Brahmans
who serve in Vaishnava temples.
_Shaikh, Sheikh_.--One of the four tribes of Muhammadans. A subcaste
of Mehtar.