The caste admit outsiders by a disgusting ceremony in which the
candidate is shaved with urine and forced to eat a mixture of
cowdung, basil leaves, dub [28] grass and water in which a piece of
silver or gold has been dipped. The women do not wear the choli or
breast-cloth nor the nose-ring, and in some localities they do not
have spangles on the forehead. Women are tattooed on various parts
of the body before marriage with the idea of enhancing their beauty,
and sometimes tattooing is resorted to for curing a pain in some
joint or for rheumatism. A man who is temporarily put out of caste
is shaved on readmission, and in the case of a woman a lock of her
hair is cut. To touch a dead cow is one of the offences entailing
temporary excommunication. They employ a Brahman only to fix the dates
of their marriages. The position of the caste is very low and in some
places they are considered as impure. The Ghasias are very poor, and
a saying about them is 'Ghasia ki jindagi hasia', or 'The Ghasia is
supported by his sickle,' the implement used for cutting grass. The
Ghasias are perhaps the only caste in the Central Provinces outside
those commonly returning themselves as Mehtar, who consent to do
scavenger's work in some localities.