============+==========+=========+========
Districts. | Turaiha. | Others. | Total.
~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
Cawnpur | 18 | 141 | 159
Fatehpur | 349 | 1,745 | 2,094
Bânda | ... | 10,371 | 10,371
Hamîrpur | ... | 2,308 | 2,308
Allahâbâd | ... | 19 | 197
+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
Total | 367 | 14,762 | 15,129
============+==========+=========+========
Donwâr; Dunwâr.—A mixed Râjput-Bhuînhâr sept found in the districts of
Gorakhpur, Ghâzipur, and Azamgarh. According to Sir H. M. Elliot [360]
at one time they were strong enough to establish a principality on the
Kosi in Western Tirhût, and there are several monuments still existing
in that neighbourhood which attest the power of the Donwâr Râja Karna
Deva. In Ghâzipur [361] the Râjput and Bhuînhâr branches are quite
distinct. They have a dark complexion and a cast of countenance which
is not what is usually called Aryan. In Azamgarh [362] both sects admit
descent from common ancestors, Sonpâl being the father of the Râjput,
and Kuspâl of the Bhuînhâr. The Râjput branch say that they came from
Don Darauli in Sâran, and are descended from Mayûra Bhatta, the
mythical ancestor of the Bisen family of Salempur Majhauli, who,
however, disclaim all connection with them. Among Râjputs they are of
little consideration. The Bhuînhâr branch say that they came from
Raindih near Delhi, but they admit their connection with the Donwârs of
Tirhût and Sâran, and speak of themselves as the descendants of Jham
Bhatta, whom they connect in a vague way with Mayûra Bhatta. They are
sometimes known as Rainiya from the village of Raini in Pargana
Muhammadâbâd, an early settlement in Azamgarh.
Dor.—A Râjput sept, now almost all Muhammadans, who before the coming
of the Bargûjars were the chief owners of the country now included in
the Aligarh and Bulandshahr Districts. Colonel Tod [363] remarks “that
though occupying a place in all the genealogies, time has destroyed all
knowledge of the past history of a tribe to gain a victory over whom
was deemed by Prithivi Râja worthy of a tablet.” The local traditions
in Aligarh and Bulandshahr agree that they were lords of a large tract
of country between the Ganges and Jumna long anterior to the Muhammadan
invasion. They were at all times probably subordinate to the Delhi
Râjas; and in Bulandshahr their power had been weakened, and their
possessions encroached upon by the attacks of the Mewâtis, and the
colonisation of their territories by the Bargûjars, Jâts, and other
races. In and about Koil at least they seem to have retained some
remnant of their former authority until the defeat of Prithivi Râja and
the conquest of Delhi and Ajmer. [364] They claim kinship with the
Panwârs and say that they came from the Upper to the Middle Duâb in the
tenth century. They have a curious legend that their name is derived
from the fact that one of their kings offered his head to the local
goddess, Dor being a corruption of Dûnd, “headless.” Haradatta was
their king at the time of the invasion of Mahmûd of Ghazni, and most of
the ruined forts in the Central Duâb are attributed to him and his
descendants. They were finally, in the middle of the twelfth century,
expelled by the Mîna Meos, Bargûjars, and Gahlots, and their power was
finally broken by Shahâb-ud-dîn Ghori. They have now little influence.
A clan of Gûjars of the same name in Khandesh claim their origin from
them. [365]
Dorha; Daurha; Dauraha. [366]—A small caste found only in the Kheri
District, who are so called because they make baskets (dauri). They
have no sub-divisions. They call themselves Râjputs, the descendants of
Râja Vena, who was the old world Brâhmanical type of impiety. They
allege that the poorer members of the tribe were obliged by poverty to
settle down in the Kheri District and take to their present occupation.
Their rules of intermarriage and social position are very much the same
as that of the Gorchhas (q.v.). Their present occupation is the making
and selling of fans, baskets, boxes, etc. A few of them have taken to
agriculture. They marry in the ordinary Hindu form, and employ a
village Pandit to take the auspices. The essential part of the rite is
the sevenfold perambulation of the bride and bridegroom round the
central pole of the marriage shed (mando). The widow usually lives with
her younger brother-in-law. The only rite at such marriages is
investing her with a new set of glass bangles (chûri) and feeding the
brethren. A wife can be turned out for misconduct, and can then marry
again like a widow. They eat mutton and goat’s flesh, fowls and fish,
and drink spirits. They will not eat the flesh of the cow, monkey, pig,
or vermin like crocodiles, jackals, snakes, lizards, rats or the
leavings of other people. No one will eat, drink, or smoke with them.
They number only 68 souls in the Kheri District.
Drâvira.—One of the five sub-castes of Brâhmans which go to make up
what is called the Pancha Drâvira, one of the two great Brâhmanic
groups. According to Dr. Wilson, [367] connected with their Vedic
relations, they are divided into Rig Vedis, Krishna Yajur Vedis, Shukla
Yajur Vedis, Sama Vedis, Drâvida Atharva Vedis, and Nunbis. And by sect
they are either Smârtas, Vaishnavas, Sri Vaishnavas, Bhâgvatas or
Sâktas. “The Drâvira Brâhmans profess to be the most scrupulous in
India in reference to caste observance and practice, and in support of
their pretensions in this respect they exhibit all kinds of absurdities
and puerilities. They are great opponents of the re-marriage of widows
and other proposals of reform.” Their country lies to the south of
Tailangâna and Maisûr and to the east of the Cochin and Travancore
territories.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE DRÂVIRA BRÂHMANS ACCORDING
TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.
============+=========
Districts. | Number.
~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~
Sahâranpur | 1
Mathura | 61
Bareilly | 1
Morâdâbâd | 7
Cawnpur | 2
Fatehpur | 1
Bânda | 5
Jâlaun | 1
Ghâzipur | 7
Garhwâl | 22
Unâo | 181
Faizâbâd | 1
Bahrâich | 7
+~~~~~~~~~
Total | 297
============+=========
Dugdha.—A tribe of inferior Brâhmans on the borders of Fatehpur and
Allahâbâd. “They date their origin from the time of Jay Chand, who
figures in so many fabulous legends of those parts. A certain Pânrê
Brâhman by name Barru, set up his abode as a recluse in Parsakhi,
between Shâhzâdpur and the Ganges, and withdrew himself entirely from
worldly concerns. His credit as a holy man was so great that Jay Chand
became anxious to see him, and promised to reward any one who would
bring him into his presence. After several unsuccessful attempts by all
the chief officers of his Court, a woman of the Râjput tribe, and of
great personal charms, ventured on the difficult undertaking. Her wiles
and blandishments could not be withstood, and before long, the holy
hermit confessed himself the father of several children; and as the
lady succeeded in the object of introducing him to an audience with Jay
Chand, a grant of several villages was bestowed upon her. On the death
of the hermit, she is said to have married a Qâzi, but it is not
probable that such a connection took place at the early period of the
Muhammadan conquest. However, she divided the inheritance, it is
asserted, amongst her children. Those by the Pânrê, who were Dugdha
Brâhmans (i.e., of mixed blood) received forty-eight villages, of the
greater part of which they are in possession to this day. The Musalmân
descendants also retain some of the villages said to have been granted
at the same time. The Dugdhas are reckoned in no repute as Brâhmans;
indeed they are properly Bhuînhârs and are very indifferent about the
rank of the families with which they intermarry, not unfrequently
receiving the daughters of Râjputs as wives.” [368]
Durgbansi.—A Râjput sept found in the eastern part of the Province and
Oudh. They are said to be a branch of the Dikhit sept. In Oudh it is
said that they take their name from Râja Durga Vâhan Dikhit of Ajudhya;
according to the Partâbgarh story, they are really an offshoot from the
Bilkhariya sept, and are named from their ancestor Durga Dâs, the
second son of Râja Râmdeo. Their social position may be judged from
their giving daughters in marriage to the Chamar Gaur, Bandhalgoti,
Tilokchandi Bais, Sombansi, Sûrajbansi, Sirnet, Baghel, and the
Gaharwâr of Kantit. Their sons marry in the septs of Chandel, Puâr,
Gautam, Raghubansi, Ujjaini, and the inferior grades of Bais. [369]
Dusâdh. [370]—A menial tribe found to the east of the province. An
attempt has been made to derive the name from the Sanskrit dush “to be
corrupted” and ad “to eat;” or from dauh-sâdhika, “a porter.” But the
name is more probably of non-Aryan origin. By the account current among
themselves they are the descendants of Duhsâsana, the son of
Dhritarashtra, who, when the Pândavas lost their wife Draupadi, in
gambling with Duryodhana, dragged her forward by the hair and otherwise
misused her. By another story they are the descendants of Bhîmsen. In
the hills they call themselves Khasiya Râjputs, and say they are so
called because they lived on the borders of Kumâun and Garhwâl. Another
legend makes them the descendants of the hero Salhes, who is connected
with the Lorik cycle. He was the companion of Harua and Barua who were
defeated by Lorik.
[Legend of Bâwan Ganga.] 2. There is another famous tribal legend which
is thus told by Mr. Beglar. [371] “There was a Dusâdh living in Râjgir,
whose daughter used to take the household pigs out in the field to
feed. It happened that as she was so engaged on the day of the full
moon of a certain great festival, she saw a Brâhman walking on very
rapidly. On questioning him he replied that he was going to bathe in
the Ganges on the full moon. The girl replied “You cannot possibly
reach the Ganges in time; but if you believe me and your mind be full
of faith, this is the exact moment of the full moon, and here is a pool
(in which her pigs were wallowing); dip into it and you will realise
the full fruits of bathing in the Ganges at this auspicious moment.”
The Brâhman did as she desired and when he was in the pool, she said
“Now is the exact moment. Dive in and see what you get.” The Brâhman
did as desired and found the bottom full of valuable gems, of which he
clutched a handful and came up. “Dive again,” said the girl. He dived
again and found only mud at the bottom. “You see,” said the girl, “that
I told you only the truth, when I said you will be too late if you go
to the Ganges, for at the moment of your first dive the moon was at its
exact full and you got your reward.”
3. “The Brâhman was astonished and seeing her as lovely as she was wise
proposed marriage. She referred him to her father who refused, saying
he could not presume to ally his daughter of low caste to a high caste
Brâhman. The Brâhman thereupon threatened to kill himself, and the
Dusâdh fearful of incurring the guilt of Brahmahatya, consented after
consulting his friends; the marriage was duly solemnised, and the girl
then taught her husband to ask no dowry of her father except a
particular cow, a particular pig, and a particular parrot. The Dusâdh,
on bidding his daughter good-bye and Godspeed when they were departing,
desired his son-in-law to ask for any gift she chose. The Brâhman
refused, but being pressed, he bound the Dusâdh by a promise to grant
his request, and then asked for the cow, the pig and the parrot, as he
had been taught. The Dusâdh being taken aback was bound by his promise
to give them up.
4. “The parrot was an extraordinary one, as he would daily go to
Indra’s palace and bring the news of what took place there to his
mistress; the pig was the leader of all the pigs in the country, and
the cow was no other than the famous Surabhi. One day the parrot told
his mistress that Indra had given orders that during the approaching
rainy season, it should rain nowhere in the district except on the
sterile valleys and stony slopes of Râjgir. The girl on hearing this
immediately called her pig and directed him to dig up the whole of the
stony valleys and hill slopes of Râjgir; the pig with the aid of his
subject pigs did as she desired. She then directed her husband to go
and scatter paddy in all these places, explaining the object to her
husband. He did as desired. When it rained the paddy seed sprouted and
the whole of stony Râjgir was full of paddy, while outside not a blade
of paddy was to be found owing to want of rain. It being reported to
Indra that within Râjgir enough of paddy had been grown to stave off
famine, he ordered an army of mice and rats to be sent to destroy the
crops; but the girl informed of this order by her parrot, got her
husband to procure an army of cats as guard; when it was reported to
Indra that this plan of destroying the crops had failed, he directed
that when cut, each load of the paddy sheaves should produce only
one-and-a-quarter ser of clean paddy. The girl informed by her parrot
of this order, directed her husband to make bundles of only two stalks
of paddy each tied end to end. The order of Indra having gone forth and
become irrevocable, each of these bundles produced one-and-a-quarter
sers of paddy. Indra informed of this and seeing himself outwitted,
ordered a furious storm to blow and scatter all the paddy which had
been threshed out ready for storing. The girl informed of this and
aware that no wattle hut would resist the storm should he store it in
such, directed her husband to dig the deep moat now seen round Râjgir.
When the storm blew it naturally carried all the paddy into these
trenches where it lay safe till the storm had blown over, and thus was
the country saved from famine through the cleverness of this girl, in
memory of whom the pool where her pigs used to wallow was named Bâwan
Ganga or the fifty-two Ganges.” This story is interesting as it marks
the custom which still prevails among the Dusâdhs of introducing men of
higher caste than their own into their tribe, and this is one of the
reasons why it is so difficult to fix their position ethnologically,
and to lay down with certainty whether they are a degraded Aryan race
or of genuine Dravidian stock. The tribe is clearly very much mixed and
is probably a compound of many different races.
[Tribal organisation.] 5. At the last Census the Dusâdhs entered
themselves under seven sub-castes beside others whose numbers were not
sufficient to warrant their inclusion in the returns. These sub-castes
are Bharsiya, Dhârhi, Gondar, Kanaujiya, Madhesiya, Magahiya and Rajar.
Of these we have the Dhârhi separately noticed and the Gondar perhaps
mark a Dravidian branch akin to the Gonds and Mânjhis. Another Mirzapur
enumeration gives the sub-castes, which as usual are supposed to amount
to the mystical number seven, as Magahiya or “residents of Magadha”;
Kanaujiya from Kanauj; Dârhi, Dhârh or Dhârhi which may correspond to
the drummers and singers of that name; Baheliya who have been
separately described as a tribe of hunters and fowlers; Tirhûtiya or
those of Tirabhukti or Tirhût; Palwâr which is also the name of a sept
of Râjputs, and Gondar. A third Mirzapur list supplied by a member of
the tribe gives the sub-castes as Dusâdh, Khatîk, Pâsi, Pahri,
Kuchaniya, Kujra, and Dharkâr, where we have a mixture of various well
known tribes. The detailed Census lists show the sub-castes of local
importance as the Gujahua and Panwâr of Mirzapur; the Barwâr and Belwâr
of Ballia and the Bangariya, Gauriya, Katoraha, Khariya, and Kotiya of
Gorakhpur. All this goes to corroborate the theory of the mixed
character of the tribe. These sub-castes are now endogamous, but there
is some reason to believe that this process of fission into endogamous
groups may, in some instances at least, be of comparatively recent
origin. Thus in Mirzapur they assert that up to modern times the
Magahiya and Kanaujiya Dusâdhs used to intermarry; but now they have
ceased to do so because when the Kanaujiyas gave their daughters to the
Magahiyas, they would not allow them to return home with their
husbands, but insisted on their sons-in-law coming to live with their
fathers-in-law; in other words beena marriage was the rule in these two
groups. The result of this is said to have been that marriage ceased
between them and the groups became endogamous. The Mirzapur Dusâdhs fix
their original home in Magadha or Bihâr, and left it when their
ancestor Râhu, of whom more will be said later on, who used to live in
a place called Kedallean in Bengal was shut up in the temple of
Jagannâth at Puri. He sometimes comes out, and only ten years ago, he
appeared to a Dusâdh lad in Mirzapur who was ploughing in the field for
his master. The godling took pity upon him and showed him where a pot
of gold was buried, wherewith he purchased his freedom from slavery.
Another of their revered ancestors was one Churla of whom many stories
are told. He fell in love with the daughter of a Râja and was killed by
him; since then he has become a tribal godling.
[Tribal council.] 6. The Dusâdhs have a tribal council known as
Panchâyat, of which the Chairman is known as Sardâr or Mâjan, a
corruption of Mahâjan or “great man.” Under him a summoner or wand
bearer, the Chharidâr, who summons the members to the meetings of the
council. All adult members of the tribe have a seat on the council; but
minors are not allowed to attend. The council deals with theft,
adultery, eating and drinking with a stranger, keeping a daughter
unmarried or not allowing her to join her husband or seducing another
man’s wife. The case is decided by the votes of all the members
present. The usual punishment is a fine which varies from five to
twenty rupees. Besides this the culprit has to give a feast to the
members of the council. Money realised by fines is spent in providing
spirits for the entertainment of the council. Those members who are too
poor to pay a fine, are punished with a shoe-beating which is
administered by one of the members. The council, as in all these
tribes, act as compurgators and use the knowledge they themselves have
obtained in deciding a case. When the Chairman whose office is
hereditary is a minor, his duties are discharged by one of his adult
relations.
[Marriage rules.] 7. They do not marry in the family of their maternal
uncle, of their father’s sister, of their sister, till three
generations have expired since the last connection by marriage, and in
their own family (kul) as long as any recollection of a marriage
relationship exists. They can marry a second wife in the lifetime of
the first if she be barren. The second wife is known as adheli or only
half a wife, and her position is very much inferior to that of the
first wife. They are not allowed to keep a concubine of a tribe lower
in the scale than their own; but a man can keep a woman of a higher
caste, and she and her children are admitted to full caste privileges
when the man who cohabits with her gives a tribal feast. Marriage is,
as a rule, adult, and if a girl has long passed the age of puberty, she
is usually treated as a widow and married by the inferior sagâi form.
The parents of the bridegroom in Mirzapur pay a bride-price which is
fixed by established caste custom at five rupees in cash, three sheets,
and four rupees worth of sweetmeats. The consent of the parents is in
all cases necessary to make a marriage valid. The occurrence of any
physical defect after marriage is a valid ground for repudiating the
woman; but such conduct is discouraged, and in all cases such
proceedings must have the sanction of the council. A man can expel a
wife who is detected in adultery, and such women may marry again by the
sagâi form; but before this is allowed, the parents of the guilty pair
have to feed the brethren. It is remarkable among them that the
offspring of the adheli or second wife are excluded from inheritance in
the estate of their father.
[Widow marriage.] 8. Widows and divorced women, if the fine have been
discharged, are married by the sagâi form. Usually a widow is married
to a widower. The match is arranged by a member of the tribe. A Pandit
is called in to announce a lucky date. Then the man with a few friends
goes to the house of the widow and gives her parents some clothes and
sweetmeats. Then the friends on both sides are entertained and at night
the bride is taken into a dark room where the bridegroom goes and
gropes about until he catches her and smears some red lead on her
forehead. It is the etiquette for her to avoid him for some time. This
smearing of powder is usually done in the Deoghar or room devoted to
the worship of the tribal godling. Next morning the bridegroom takes
the bride home and when he has feasted the clansmen the marriage is
recognised as valid.
[Birth ceremonies.] 9. The umbilical cord is cut by a Chamârin, and if
a woman of the caste were to perform this duty, she would be turned out
of caste. She puts it in an earthen pot, the mouth of which she closes
tightly and carries it to the bank of a tank where she buries it
secretly in the ground. In the confinement room a fire is lighted in
which a piece of iron is placed. At the door of the room a branch of a
thorny shrub called senhar is tied, and some hang a bunch of onions.
All these precautions are taken to bar the entrance of the evil spirit
Jamhua, which clutches, in the form of an owl, the throat of the child
and chokes it. Jamhua appears to take its name from Yama, the god of
death. The disease is really infantile tetanus, which is caused by the
careless cutting of the cord with a blunt instrument and the neglect of
all antiseptic precautions. The disease runs a course of about twelve
days, and this accounts among this and the allied castes for the
selection of the twelfth day (barahi) for the performance of ceremonies
to ward off the evil spirit. The Chamârin attends for six days and for
twelve days the mother is daily rubbed with the condiment called ubtan.
On the sixth day is the Chhathi, when the women of the tribe are
provided with oil to rub their heads and red lead to smear on the
parting of their hair. On this occasion some treacle is distributed
among them. The mother and child are bathed while the women sing the
sohar or birth song. The Chamârin receives as her perquisite the old
clothes of the mother. The ceremonies of the sixth day are repeated on
the twelfth day, and the house is purified in the usual way. On both
these occasions, they worship the clan deities Parameswari and
Bandi-Bhawâni in the family oratory (Deoghar) and offer to them balls
of ground rice mixed with sugar and water. Some add a burnt offering
(hom) with flowers and betel. In the same way they worship Gangaji and
all rivers generally in connection with marriage. The women go in
procession to the river side, and there are met by the Dafâli who sings
songs in honour of the Ganges, and the women offer sweets (laddu),
flowers, betel leaves, and make a burnt offering. All these things are
the perquisite of the Dafâli. On their return home the women of the
tribe are entertained on cakes (pûri) and rice boiled with sugar (mîtha
bhât).
[Adoption.] 10. Adoption is common among Dusâdhs. Usually the boy
adopted is the son of a brother or other near relative. All the members
of the caste resident in the villages are invited, and after the
adoption has been announced, they are entertained on spirits, boiled
rice, and pork. They say that the ceremonies on the sixth and twelfth
day after birth amount to an initiation into the caste equivalent to
the Brâhmanical investiture with the sacred thread (janeû), and they
have a great contempt for any one in whose case these ceremonies have
not been duly performed. When a boy is two years old, they get a
goldsmith to pierce his ears at the Khichari festival. The child is
seated facing the east, and is given some sweets during the operation.
The goldsmith receives as his remuneration one anna and a ration of
uncooked grain.
[Betrothal.] 11. Matches are arranged by one of the men of the caste,
who is known as the agua. [372] On an auspicious day fixed by the
Pandit, the father of the girl goes to the house of the boy accompanied
by three or four friends, and when he has inspected the boy, and
approved of him, he gives him some sweets. That day the date of the
formal betrothal, which they call hardi dhân, is fixed. On that day a
square is made in the courtyard and the two fathers sit inside it. A
Pandit is called in and he recites a few verses (mantra). The fathers
each exchange five handfuls of paddy, and the Pandit places a packet of
betel in the hand of each. Then the fathers rush together and each puts
his packet of betel leaves in the breast of the other. They each tie up
the paddy in a handkerchief, and salute each other with Râm!, Râm! Next
comes the changing of cups (piyâla badalna), when the fathers sit in
the square each with a cup of spirits in his hand. They exchange cups
and drink the contents, and the friends are treated to a drink. Then at
the house of the boy a dinner of rice, pulse, and pork is given, and
next day the Pandit fixes an auspicious day for the wedding.
[Marriage ceremonies.] 12. The marriage ceremonies begin with the
digging of the sacred earth (matti khan), which is done by the women,
each of whom receives some oil and red lead to decorate the parting of
her hair. The earth is brought and placed in the marriage shed (mânro),
in the centre of which a ploughshare is erected. Each woman gets some
cakes and in return presents four annas as a contribution to the
expenses of the wedding. The marriage ritual is of the normal type.
When the boy starts to fetch his bride, he is armed with a dagger
(katâr). He is accompanied by a party of musicians (bajaniya). On their
arrival at the bride’s house, the boy’s father sends the bride some
cheap jewelry, known as dal, which is placed in the marriage shed. The
friends all get drunk that night. At the actual wedding, the bride’s
father worships the feet of the bridegroom, and then an offering is
made to Gauri and Ganesa. The pair have their clothes knotted and walk
five times round the shed. After this the bridegroom goes into the
oratory (deoghar) and worships the family gods of the bride. At the
door as he comes out, the bride’s sister bars the way and will not let
him pass until she receives a present, apparently a survival of
marriage by capture. After the husband brings his wife home, the
brethren are fed and Gangaji is worshipped in the way already
described. [373]
[Death ceremonies.] 13. The infant or unmarried dead are buried. Adults
are cremated in the usual way. After the cremation is over the mourners
chew leaves of the bitter nîm tree as a sign of sorrow, and touch
water, their feet and head with a piece of iron to keep off the Bhût.
Then the man who fired the pyre pours a little spirit on the ground in
the name of the deceased, and takes a drink himself, which is also
distributed to the other mourners. Next day the chief mourner goes to
the cremation ground and pours some milk on the ground in the name of
the dead man. In the evening the clansmen assemble. A pit is dug in the
ground and over it they hold a leaf of the pîpal tree on which they
first pour a little milk and a little water, and let it drop into the
pit. The death impurity lasts for seven days. On the tenth day, there
is a ceremonial shaving of the mourners and clansmen; grain is given to
Brâhmans, and the brethren are feasted. They perform the usual srâddha,
and some even go from Mirzapur to Gaya for this purpose.
[Religion.] 14. Dusâdhs assert that they are orthodox Hindus. They are
very seldom initiated into the ordinary sects; but if this be done,
they prefer the Vaishnava cultus. But as appears from their tribal
worship, they have retained a large amount of the primitive animistic
beliefs. Their tribal deities in Mirzapur are Râhu and Ketu, the
ascending and descending nodes, Chhath, Bandi, and Manukh Deva. The
legends and worship of Râhu, the eclipse demon, have been considered
elsewhere, [374] and Mr. Risley [375] has given a very complete and
interesting account of the worship as it prevails in Bihâr. In Mirzapur
the worship of Râhu is done in this wise. A pit is dug in the ground,
one-and-a-quarter cubits wide and seven cubits long. In this logs of
wood are evenly laid, and on them oil is poured. Then a Brâhman is
called in who does the fire sacrifice (hom). When the wood in the
trench has burnt away until only some hot cinders are left, the
worshippers walk one after the other along it followed by the Brâhman
priest. In Bihâr, it is a tribal priest known as the Bhakat who
presides, and the association of the Brâhman in Mirzapur is a very
remarkable fact. Another form of the worship is to fix up two bamboos
in the ground a short distance apart. Between the poles a couple of
swords are tied and thus a sort of ladder is made. The officiant climbs
up these and stands on one of the sword blades with his naked feet and
from the top pours some milk on the ground in the name of Râhu. Then he
descends and a young pig is brought before him which he kills by
repeated thrusts of a sword or spear. Some spirits are also poured on
the ground and the meat and the rest of the offerings are consumed by
the worshippers.
[Songs in honour of Râhu.] 15. As a further illustration of this very
primitive form of worship it may be worth quoting the song sung on this
occasion by the Dusâdhs in the Mirzapur District:—
1. Kai hâth bhagata tuiri khanawalê? kai man chailawa bojhai ho?
2. Kai man bhagata ghiu dharkâwalê? Uthelê aginiyân kai dhâr ho?
3. Sâtê hâth bhagata tuiri khanawalê; man das chailwa bojhan ho.
4. Sawa man bhagata ghiu dharkâwalê; uthela aginiyân kai dhâr ho.
“O devotee! How many cubits long is the ditch which thou hast dug? How
much wood hast thou laid therein? How many maunds of butter hast thou
poured therein that the billows of fire rise in the air? O devotee!
seven cubits long is the trench which thou hast dug. Ten maunds of
firewood hast thou piled therein. One maund and a quarter of butter
hast thou poured thereon that the billows of fire arise.”
1. Beriyânhi heri tonhi barajon maliniyân batiyân dawanawân mati
lâo.
2. Yahi bâten aihen mâlin Râhu kai khatolawa Ketu kai macholawa
dawanawân jani lâo.
3. Awê dehu Râhu kai khatolawa Ketu kai macholwa; ham debê anchara
pasâr.
4. Ghorawa ta bandhâwalê asoka ki dariyân; dhapasi kai paithalen
phulwâr.
5. Kethuen sinchâwali mâlin dawana menrawa, kethuen sinchâwali mâli
arabul kai phûl.
6. Dudhawon sinchâwalon mâlin dawana menrawa Ganga nire arabul ke
phul.
7. Dawana menrawa mâlin benchi khochi khaiha arabul kai phûl, mâlin
rakhiye pratipâl.
“O wife of the gardener! I warn thee bring not thus the marjoram
leaves. The great litter of Râhu and the little litter of Ketu will by
and by pass this way. Bring not then the leaves of marjoram:—Let the
great litter of Râhu and the little litter of Ketu pass this way and I
will spread the robe that covers my breast. Râhu tied his horse to the
Asoka tree and passed quickly into the garden. Said he—“O wife of the
gardener! With what didst thou water the millet and the marjoram; and
with what the Arabul?” [376] She answered “With milk did I water the
marjoram and the millet; with Ganges water the Arabul.” Said Râhu—Sell
the marjoram and the millet and live on what you can make from them;
but preserve the Arabul.”
[Worship of Chhath, etc.] 16. They worship Chhath or Chhathi, the
sixth, on the sixth lunar day of Kuâr. All the previous day they fast
and before sunrise go singing to the river side. They strip and walk
into the water where they stand facing the east till the sun rises,
when they stand with folded hands and bow in reverence to him, and make
an offering of various kinds of cakes (thokwa, gulgula) and any other
kind of wood which they can procure. Some offer in addition grain,
rice, and sweetmeats. These are afterwards distributed among the
friends of the family. The other tribal deities, Bandi and Manukh Deva,
who is the “man spirit,” the Bhût of some dead worthy of the tribe, are
worshipped on the tenth day of Kuâr in the house temple (deoghar) with
a sacrifice of fowls and a young pig and an oblation of spirits. They
also offer seven cups of milk and seven pairs of cakes which they range
round the earthen mound which is the common abiding place of the tribal
gods. They observe most of the ordinary Hindu festivals and take
advantage of the Phagua or Holi and the Kajari to indulge in a good
deal of drinking and gross sensuality. In fact, on these occasions, the
rules of modesty and decency are allowed to fall into abeyance.
[Social rules.] 17. Their oaths are done by standing in water, or on a
pîpal tree, or by touching the head of one of their sons. They will not
eat beef; but use freely mutton, goat’s flesh, and venison. They are
now beginning to abandon the use of fowls. Before eating they put a
little food on the ground in honour of Dharti Mâta, the Earth goddess.
The women wear the ordinary Hindu dress with thick bangles (mâthi) on
the wrist and heavy anklets (pairi). They eat kachchi and pakki cooked
by all Brâhmans, Vaisyas, and Kshatriyas, and also by the more
respectable lower castes, as the Ahîr. They will not eat anything
touched by a Dom, Chamâr or Dharkâr.
[Occupation.] 18. It is said that most of Lord Clive’s army which
fought at Plassey consisted of Dusâdhs. Now they do not take military
service. Their drunken lazy habits prevent them from rising to the
position of occupancy tenants and most of them are ploughmen in the
service of other tenants or landlords or they serve as village watchmen
(gorait, chaukidâr). They practise no handicraft and some of them live
by wood cutting or collecting jungle produce.