Many of the septs are named after animals and plants. Among the
commonest septs in all Districts are Markam, the mango tree; Tekam,
the teak tree; Netam, the dog; Irpachi, the mahua tree; Tumrachi, the
tendu tree; Warkara, the wild cat, and so on. Generally the members
of a sept do not kill or injure their totem animals, but the rule
is not always observed, and in some cases they now have some other
object of veneration, possibly because they have forgotten the meaning
of the sept name, or the object after which it is named has ceased
to be sacred. Thus the Markam sept, though named after the mango,
now venerate the tortoise, and this is also the case with the Netam
sept in Bastar, though named after the dog. In Bastar a man revering
the tortoise, though he will not catch the animal himself, will get
one of his friends to catch it, and one revering the goat, if he
wishes to kill a goat for a feast, will kill it not at his own house
but at a friend's. The meaning of the important sept names Marabi,
Dhurwa and Uika has not been ascertained, and the members of the sept
do not know it. In Mandla the Marabi sept are divided into the Eti
Marabi and Padi Marabi, named after the goat and pig. The Eti or goat
Marabi will not touch a goat nor sacrifice one to Bura Deo. They say
that once their ancestors stole a goat and were caught by the owner,
when they put a basket over it and prayed Bura Deo to change it into
a pig, which he did. Therefore they sacrifice only pigs to Bura Deo,
but apparently the Padi Marabi also both sacrifice and eat pigs. The
Dhurwa sept are divided into the Tumrachi and Nabalia Dhurwa, named
after the tendu tree and the dwarf date-palm. The Nabalia Dhurwas
will not cut a dwarf date-palm nor eat its fruit. They worship Bura
Deo in this tree instead of in the saj tree, making an iron doll
to represent him and covering it with palm-leaves. The Uika sept in
Mandla say that they revere no animal or plant, and can eat any animal
or cut down any plant except the saj tree, [57] the tree of Bura Deo;
but in Betul they are divided into several subsepts, each of which
has a totem. The Parteti sept revere the crocodile. When a marriage
is finished they make a sacrifice to the crocodile, and if they see
one lying dead they break their earthen pots in token of mourning. The
Warkara sept revere the wild cat; they also will not touch a village
cat nor keep one in their house, and if a cat comes in they drive it
out at once. The Kunjam sept revere the rat and do not kill it.