==============+=======
Districts. |Number.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
Muzaffarnagar | 211
Meerut |5,974
Bulandshahr | 17
Bijnor | 686
Morâdâbâd | 15
Allahâbâd | 100
+~~~~~~~
Total |7,003
==============+=======
Golahrê—(gola, “a grain mart”).—A small sub-caste of Banyas found only
in Jhânsi, numbering 608. They are all Jainas.
Golapûrab. [455]—An interesting caste of agriculturists found only in
the Agra District, where they occupy several villages in the southern
parganas, and a few in the northern pargana of Ihtimâdpur. The former
claim to be the earlier residents; but they have no traditions as to
the period of their emigration. They are, however, unanimous in fixing
the village of Birthara, about 28 miles south of Agra, as the
head-quarters of their ancestors; and this assertion is corroborated by
the fact that one of their most influential gotras is called
Birthariya, though they have been residing for generations a long way
from that place. The caste is known by no other name than that of
Golapûrab. In Khairagarh they attribute their origin to Dholpur.
According to Râja Lachhman Sinh, their correct and original name seems
to be Golak Pûrna Brâhman, which is equivalent to Golak Brâhman or
“bastard” Brâhman. The adverb pûrna is often inserted between the two
component parts of a compound word, when periphrastically expressed in
Sanskrit. As for Gola, which is evidently a corruption of Golaka, “a
bastard,” it is well known that the sons of concubines among the higher
castes are known as Gola or Chela, and in Sholapur there is a tribe
known as Gola, who say that they were originally Brâhmans who were
degraded for killing cows. The tribal tradition which derives their
name from the Rishi Galava, who, according to the Harivansa, was the
son, and, according to the Mahâbhârata, the pupil of Visvamitra, rests
on no authority, and no rule of syllabic mutation would convert the
descendants of Galava into Golapûrab. This Rishi, some say, was married
to a low caste widow; according to others to Sukseni, the daughter of
the Chandrabans Râja Chandra Sen.
[Connection with Sanâdh Brâhmans.] 2. Râja Lachhman Sinh gives various
reasons for believing that the Golapûrabs are a spurious branch of the
Sanâdhya Brâhmans. His argument is first that the villages occupied by
the two tribes are closely intermixed; secondly, that the names of the
gotras of both are derived from the names of villages occupied by their
ancestor, and not, as among other Brâhmans, from the names of their
ancestors or their titles. Several gotras, again, notably Birthariya,
are common to both. Thirdly, the customs and ceremonials of Golapûrabs
closely resemble those of the Sanâdhyas. Both wear the sacred cord
(janeû) and do not permit widow-marriage. Unlike the Sanâdhyas,
however, they employ family priests (purohit), which implies that they
are not pure Brâhmans. Fourthly, they will eat kachchi from the hands
of Sanâdhyas alone, and from no other caste or even tribe of Brâhmans.
Some of the Ihtimâdpur families attribute their origin to the village
of Chitora, which is said to lie somewhere south of Agra. They perform
the tonsure (mûnran) ceremony under a nîm tree, which they consider as
sacred as the pîpal. Of this custom they can give no explanation; but
there are some Râjput clans which reverence the nîm tree, and will, on
no account, cut even the smallest branch of it. In Agra the names of
the chief gotras of the caste are derived from those of villages
situated immediately round Birthara, such as Birthariya, Pairiha,
Khosariya, Madheriya, and Badhiya. Their connection with the Sanâdhya
Brâhmans is also shown by the fact that their priests are all drawn
from that sub-division of Brâhmans.
3. At the same time their sections, as given in the detailed Census
lists to the number of 76, do not tend to establish their Brâhmanical
origin, and we find no trace of even the stock names such as
Bharadwâja, Kasyapa, and the like. On the contrary are found local
terms such as Jaiswâr, Mathuriya, or titles derived from Râjput or
other tribes such as Chauhân, Kachhwâya, Panwâr, Râjput, Thâkur, or
occupational as Ghaskata, “grass cutters.” All this decidedly weakens
their claim to Brâhmanical origin.
[Marriage rules.] 4. Marriage of two sisters is permitted. Difference
of belief is no bar to intermarriage. Generally polygamy is permitted
only when the first wife is barren or unfit through some infirmity or
disease for household work. When there are two wives, the senior enjoys
more respect than the junior, who, however, naturally receives more of
the affection of her husband. Unless serious quarrels arise, the wives
live in the same house. There is no fixed age for the marriage of
males, but girls are almost always married before puberty, when they
are about nine or ten years old. The marriage negotiations are carried
out by the village barber and the family priest. The marriage is void
in the absence of the consent of the father or other legal guardian. No
physical defect subsequently ascertained can annul a marriage, and
divorce is prohibited. Bastards or the offspring of illicit connections
are known as Dasa, [456] and are not admitted to full caste rights, and
do not inherit. As a rule they follow the tribe of the father, and only
in very rare cases that of the mother. Not only are illegitimate
children excluded from inheritance, but they are not admitted to the
domestic meals or to tribal feasts. Illicit connections involve the
excommunication of both parties. Widow-marriage and the levirate are
both prohibited.
[Birth ceremonies.] 5. There are no ceremonies performed during
pregnancy. During parturition neither the mother nor the midwife must
face the south. Some elderly woman of the family, or in default of such
a person, a hired woman acts as midwife, and after delivery the mother
is attended by the women of her own family. On the fifth or sixth day
after the child is born is the Chhathi worship, and on the twelfth day
the Dashtaun. On the former the women of the family and their
neighbours sing songs, eat rice and sugar, and worship the goddess,
Shashthi, the protectress of children. On the Dashtaun food and
presents are given to Brâhmans. The child-birth impurity rests on the
family until it is removed by the Dashtaun feast. There are no special
ceremonies in connection with twins.
[Adoption, initiation.] 6. The adoption ceremonies are of the normal
type, as laid down in the Dattaka Mimânsa and the Dattaka Chandrika.
The regular initiation ceremony or investiture ceremony (yajnopavîta)
is performed as among all “twice-born” castes.
[Marriage.] 7. The marriage ceremonies vary little, if at all, from
those current among the higher castes. The bride’s father or guardian
sends a cocoanut and a rupee or a gold muhar to the bridegroom. If
these are accepted, the barber who carries them puts a mark of sandal
(roli) on the boy’s forehead, and places a sweetmeat (batâsha) and a
betel leaf in his mouth. This ceremony is known as tîka, sikka, or
jaima. The first name is derived from the red forehead mark, the second
from the coin used as a pledge of betrothal, and the third is the feast
given to the barber at the house of the bridegroom. While the
negotiations for the betrothal are going on the barber may visit the
bridegroom’s house several times, but he will not eat there until the
match is finally settled. The betrothal is not complete before the tîka
ceremony, and after this ceremony it can be annulled, first, if either
of the parties is found to be suffering from some serious disease;
secondly, if it comes to light that they are within the prohibited
degrees; thirdly, when a doubt is raised as to the purity of descent of
either party. Betrothal takes place any time before marriage, generally
when the girl is seven years of age. If the betrothal is annulled the
presents are usually returned.
8. The actual marriage ceremony is of the normal type. The binding
portion of it is the saptapadi or walking seven times round the sacred
fire. In most cases now-a-days only six perambulations are performed.
The only apparent survival of marriage by capture is what is known as
the “door” or “vestibule ceremony” (darwâza, barothi) in which a mock
fight is carried on by the relations of the bride and bridegroom. It is
performed at the door of the bride’s house, and the bridegroom is
always girt with a sword while it is going on.
[Disposal of the dead.] 9. The dead are cremated. Customs vary in
different places, as to the position in which the corpse is laid for
cremation. In some places it is laid face downwards, in others on the
back. The latter is the more general. The head is in some place laid in
the direction of the north, in other towards the south. The latter is
in accordance with the rules of the Shâstra. If there be a river close
by the ashes are consigned to it, while any fragments of bone which
remain are reserved to be thrown into the Ganges when a convenient
opportunity occurs. The fire is lit and the skull broken by the nearest
relation of the deceased. After disposing of the ashes if there be a
river close by the mourners return home.
[Propitiation of the dead.] 10. Besides the ordinary srâddha, which is
performed in honour of deceased relations, childless relations (apût, a
corruption of aputra) are propitiated by performing the Kirtân
ceremony. At this certain professional Brâhmans sing religious songs,
and a feast is given to them. The srâddha performed on the eleventh day
after death is known as Ekoddishta or “directed towards this single
deceased person alone.” The subsequent srâddhas are common to the whole
body of deceased relations. They are done either monthly on the day the
deceased died, or annually in the month of Kuâr (September–October).
Those who are particularly religious visit some holy shrine, such as
the confluence of two sacred rivers, or, in preference, Gaya, for this
purpose. In most villages there is a particular spot on the outskirts
which is supposed to be haunted by the ghosts of deceased relations,
particularly those who have died childless or perished by a violent
death. Some pieces of stone are their representatives, and these are
worshipped by women at marriages, when the bride goes home with her
husband, and at some other festivals. If there have been a sati in the
family she is worshipped at the same time. [457] The ordinary srâddha
is performed in accordance with the standard ritual, and in all cases
among Golapûrabs, by the family priest.
[Ceremonial impurity.] 11. The parents and the nearest relations in the
direct line are impure for ten days after the birth of a child. The
death impurity lasts for twelve or thirteen days, and a woman in her
menses is impure for four days. In the first two cases the impurity is
removed by a regular ceremony in which Brâhmans are feasted; in the
third case the woman purifies herself by bathing on the fifth day.
[Religion.] 12. Golapûrabs invariably belong to the Vaishnava sect, and
employ as their priests Sanâdhya Brâhmans. In common with other and
lower castes they worship the village godlings, Châmunda Devi, a form
of Durga, Pathwâri Devi, who is the guardian of roads (patha) and the
protectress of travellers. Hardeo Bundela, the cholera godling; Sîtala,
the goddess of small-pox; [458] and Bhûmiya, the guardian of the
village site. Cows and bullocks are worshipped on the Govardhana day in
the middle of Kârttik (October–November), and horses at the Dasahra in
Kuâr (September–October). The animals are smeared with colours, and are
given a special feed of grain. The only means of propitiating the
ghosts of the dead is by the ordinary srâddha. They believe in dreams
and visions in which the spirits of the departed appear to their
relations, and there are certain places which are specially haunted by
malignant ghosts, which very often appear in animal forms, such as
those of the dog, cat, buffalo, etc. The appearance of such malignant
ghosts is generally understood to imply that their obsequies have not
been duly performed; and this can be remedied by a performance of the
srâddha, or pilgrimage to Gaya, and by erecting a tomb or platform in
the name of the deceased, or by planting one of the varieties of fig
tree (pîpal, bar, gûlar) in his honour. The ghosts of persons who have
died childless are much dreaded and are known as aût, or those who have
none to pour water for their refreshment in the world of the dead. The
only trace of special tree worship is the veneration felt by some of
the gotras for the nîm tree. They believe in astrology and the
influence of evil stars: these are propitiated by worship (pûja) and by
giving food and presents to the low class of astrologer Brâhmans, known
as Bhaddri, Bharâra, Parokhiya, or Dakaut. They believe in the usual
meeting omens. When a first child dies, the next baby is given an
opprobrious name as a protection against the Evil Eye and demoniacal
influence generally. Such names are Tînkauri or Pachkauri (“bought for
three or five cowries”); Kanchheda (“ear-pierced”), Nathua, Nakchhed,
Chhidda (“nose-pierced”); Bhika or Bhikâri (“beggar”); Chhitariya,
Ghasîta, Kadhera (“one put in a basket immediately after birth and
dragged about the house”); Ghâsi (“cheap as grass”); Jhâu (“valueless
as tamarisk”); Phûsa (“cheap as straw”); Mendu (“one taken immediately
after birth and partly buried on the boundary of the field as if it
were already dead”); Ghûri (“thrown on the dung-hill”); Nakta (“without
a nose”), and so on. These practices are rarely employed in the case of
girls, who are considered naturally protected.
[Oaths.] 13. The common forms of oath are—swearing in a temple, by
holding Ganges water in the hand or touching the idol, by the leaf of a
pîpal tree, by the sacred cord of a Brâhman, by going seven paces in
the direction of the Ganges, by touching the forehead of a Brâhman, by
swearing with son or grandson in the arms. The last oath, if taken
falsely, is supposed to cause the death of the child in a few days.
Violation of the other oaths brings sickness of men and cattle, plague
and pestilence, loss of crops, and so on.
[Demonology.] 14. The control of witches and other forms of demoniacal
agency is in the hands of the Syâna or “cunning man.” He is called in
in cases of sickness and smokes some tobacco which has been touched by
the sick man since the attack began. This causes him to fall into a
state of ecstacy, in which he mutters the name of the evil spirit which
is attacking the patient, and suggests the proper means of
propitiation. The Syâna generally has a private devil or two of his
own, which he lets loose to pursue the evil spirit which is afflicting
his patient. The office of Syâna is not confined to any special caste:
any one may undertake the duty if he learns the appropriate spell
(mantra) from some teacher (guru), or by intensity of devotion reduces
an evil spirit into his power. Some people learn the interpretation of
dreams from the special printed manuals on the subject. Anything
valuable is liable to the Evil Eye, because malignant people covet its
possession. The best means of obviating it is to throw grains of the
small mustard (râi), salt and bran into the fire. Great care is taken
of substances, such as clippings of the hair, fragments of the nails,
etc. These if allowed to lie about may get into the hands of some witch
and enable her to obtain influence over the original owner.
[Social rules.] 15. Meat of all kinds is prohibited food, and so are
onions, garlic, and turnips. They will eat with no caste which they
consider lower than their own, and will not touch a Bhangi, Dhobi, or
Chamâr: Khatîks and Kanjars are also held in abhorrence. A man should
not mention by name his Râja, his Guru, his father, elder brother,
eldest son, or father-in-law. Similarly women should not name their
husbands, mother-in-law, or the wife of the husband’s elder brother. If
a Râja is mentioned it is as Râjaji, the Guru as Guruji, the father as
Kâkaji, the elder brother as Bhaiyyaji, the eldest son as Lallu or
Nanhê. For other senior relations they use a periphrasis, calling them
“the son of so-and-so” or “the father of so-and-so.”
[Agricultural beliefs.] 16. A Brâhman is always consulted as to the
most propitious day for beginning to plough, sow, or reap. The most
important operation is the first ploughing after the first fall of
rain. This is known as halaita lena. The time is fixed by the Pandit,
who also names the member of the family who should drive it, and in
which direction it should be worked. A shower is unlucky if it fall on
the first day of the light half of Jeth (May–June), and at midnight on
the fifth of Sâwan (July–August). These indicate a bad rainy season.
Rain on the seventh of Sâwan is lucky, and thunder on the seventeenth
of Jeth is considered propitious. Vegetables and other more valuable
crops are protected from the Evil Eye by suspending a black pot in the
field.
[Food.] 17. There is no special kind of food allowed to men and
prohibited to women. When a person is initiated into any of the
Vaishnava sects (guru-dakhsha lena, gurumukh hona) he is obliged to
abandon the use of one particular kind of food or fruit. Women do not
eat with men, and young children, who are regarded as impure because
they touch dirt and eat without regard to caste rules, are not allowed
to enter the cooking place (chauka) of the adult males of the family.
All the men eat together or apart as is found most convenient. At the
commencement of meals offerings are made to the deities, and those who
are strict and in a position to observe the religious rules, perform
what is known as the vaiswadeva yajya, which consists in casting a
little of the food as an offering to the deities at the commencement of
a meal. Others merely repeat the words Lîjiye Thakurji Mahârâj, “Be
pleased Great Lord to accept our offering.” The smoking of gânja is
considered disreputable; against bhang and opium there is no
prohibition; any one drinking spirits is excommunicated.
[Salutation.] 18. Elders, Brâhmans, and men of rank are entitled to a
salute from all males. The salute to a Brâhman is the word Pâlagan “I
touch thy feet”; to a Râjput Juhâr or Mujra, and to others Râm! Râm! or
the name of the particular deity worshipped by the person making the
salute. Persons of rank are given the highest place at a feast or
social meeting. If a superior and inferior happen to sit on the same
cot, the former sits at the head and the latter at the feet. They will
eat kachchi roti or food cooked without ghi, with no one but a Sanâdh
Brâhman, and they will eat pakki roti with no one lower than a barber.
[Occupation.] 19. The Golapûrabs are a purely agricultural caste, and
are one of the most industrious peoples of the province, and the women
are particularly noted for their excellence in domestic work.