==============+=======
Districts. |Number.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
Dehra Dûn | 9
Sahâranpur | 343
Muzaffarnagar | 321
Meerut | 731
Bulandshahr | 530
Aligarh | 119
Mathura | 209
Agra | 336
Farrukhâbâd | 669
Mainpuri | 133
Etâwah | 26
Etah | 57
Bareilly | 23
Bijnor | 173
Budâun | 12
Morâdâbâd | 47
Shâhjahânpur | 364
Pilibhît | 78
Cawnpur | 235
Fatehpur | 107
Bânda | 55
Hamîrpur | 54
Allahâbâd | 263
Jhânsi | 38
Jâlaun | 100
Benares | 399
Mirzapur | 1
Jaunpur | 32
Ghâzipur | 2
Gorakhpur | 3
Kumâun | 31
Tarâi | 116
Lucknow | 130
Unâo | 180
Râê Bareli | 33
Sîtapur | 86
Hardoi | 802
Kheri | 195
Bahrâich | 2
+~~~~~
Total |7,044
==============+=======
Gurchha; Gurchhiya; Gorchha. [490]—A small tribe numbering only 963
persons and confined to the Kheri District. It is said that they were
formerly known as Kules or Kalhans Chhatris, and having emigrated to
Kheri from Gorakhpur they were known as Gorakhiya, which was
subsequently corrupted into Gorchha. They say they came originally from
Chithor and emigrated thence to Gorakhpur. They were once six brothers.
When some enemy attacked them only two of the brothers assailed him and
when they returned successful, they ejected their four cowardly
brothers from their possessions, and the latter were obliged to leave
their original home. Those in Kheri have severed all connections with
their brethren elsewhere. They also say that they had once a set of
annals of their race which was destroyed by fire when in charge of one
Jaddan Gorchha.
[Marriage rules.] 2. Few of them can name any of their sub-castes or
gotras. The Census lists give Kalhans, Kanaujiya, and Subhân. Their
rule of exogamy is that they cannot marry the children of their
maternal uncle, and cannot marry their sons in a family to which they
have already given a daughter as a bride. There is no restriction as to
the number of wives a man may have; but they seldom have more than two.
Immorality on the part of a girl before marriage is reprobated; if she
intrigue with a clansman, her parents are obliged to pay a fine and
give a feast; if her lover be a man of another caste, she is
permanently expelled from the tribe. Marriage takes place at the age of
ten or twelve, and is arranged by the parents of the couple. The bride
is generally given some presents at marriage, which remain her own
property. The offspring of connections with an outsider are not
received in the tribe; and they do not admit strangers to caste rights.
The levirate seems to be practically compulsory on the widow, who
always lives with a relative of her late husband.
[Birth ceremonies.] 3. There is no ceremony during pregnancy. When a
child is born a barber is sent to the house of the mother of the bride
to announce the fact; this is known as lochana bhejna, and he receives
a present and takes back with him some clothes, food, etc., for the
mother. The mother is isolated for twelve days after delivery, and they
have the usual sixth (chhathi) and twelfth day (barahi) ceremonies. In
the third or sixth month the paternal aunt of the child is expected to
make it a present of clothes, etc., and a sheet for the mother. In the
third year the ceremonial shaving (mûndan) of the child takes place;
and in the third, fifth, or seventh year, its ears are bored
(kanchhedan). They have no special adoption or initiation ceremony.
[Marriage customs.] 4. The marriage customs are of the usual
respectable form.
[Religion.] 5. Gurchhas are orthodox Hindus and worship Devi, Mahâdeva
and Parameswar. Devi receives a sacrifice of goats, rams, and a burnt
offering (hom) of butter, rice, barley, and sugar. To Mahâdeva are
offered leaves of the bel tree and milk. To Parameswar they present
cocoanuts, butter, betel leaves, milk, and sweetmeats. Devi is served
by a Panda, Mahâdeva by a Gusâîn, Parameswar by a Brâhman. Those who
are Bhagats offer only the ear of the victim. They do not kill the cow
or eat beef, and will not cut down the pîpal or bel tree.
[Social rules.] 6. They drink spirits and eat goats, sheep, hares,
fish, etc., but not fowls, jackals, or other vermin. When eating they
offer a little to Bhagwân by throwing a morsel on the ground. They will
not eat kachchi or pakki from any one but a clansman. They say they
were once landholders; now they are only tenants, and some work as
labourers and makers of mats.
Gurkha, Gorkha (gâu-raksha, “keepers of cows”).—The name for an
aggregate of various races who inhabit the numerous valleys
interspersed through the mountains of Nepâl. “The aboriginal
inhabitants appear from their physiognomy to be of Tartar or Chinese
origin, bearing no resemblance to the Hindu either in features,
religion, or manners. The period when the mountainous regions were
first invaded by the Hindus is uncertain; but according to the most
authentic traditions, the date is supposed to have been about the 14th
century. In the eastern part of the country the aboriginal tribes still
remain; and, until the predominance of the Gurkhas, they enjoyed
unmolested their customs and religion. But west of the Kâli river the
case is different, almost all the inhabitants claiming a descent from
Hindu colonists. They accordingly consist chiefly of the two superior
classes of Hindus, Brâhmans, and Kshatriyas, with their various
sub-divisions. East of the Kâli the tribes which possessed the country
were chiefly (1) Magars, who occupied the lower hills in the western
parts, and are at present enlisted by the Gurkha sovereigns, composing
a great majority of their troops; (2) the Gurungs, a pastoral tribe;
(3) the Newârs, an industrious people, following agriculture and
commerce, and more advanced in the mechanical arts than the other
mountain tribes; (4) the Dhenwârs and Mânjhis, the husbandmen and
fishers of the western districts; (5) the Bhotiyas; (6) the Bhanras, a
sept which branched off from the Newârs; (7) the Jariyas.” [491]