Gondhali. [97]--A caste or order of wandering beggars and musicians
found in the Maratha Districts of the Central Provinces and in
Berar. The name is derived from the Marathi word gondharne, to make a
noise. In 1911 the Gondhalis numbered about 3000 persons in Berar and
500 in the Central Provinces, and they are also found in Bombay. The
origin of the caste is obscure, but it appears to have been recruited
in recent times from the offspring of Waghyas and Murlis or male and
female children devoted to temples by their parents in fulfilment of
a vow. Mr. Kitts states in the Berar Census Report [98] of 1881 that
the Gondhalis are there attached either to the temple of Tukai at
Tuljapur or the temple of Renuka at Mahur, and in consequence form
two subcastes, the Kadamrai and Renurai, who do not intermarry. In
the Central Provinces, however, besides these two there are a number
of other subcastes, most of which bear the names of distinct castes,
and obviously consist of members of that caste who became Gondhalis,
or of their descendants. Thus among the names of subcastes reported
are the Brahman, Maratha, Mane Kunbi, Khaire Kunbi, Teli, Mahar,
Mang and Vidur Gondhalis, as well as others like the Deshkars,
or those coming from the Deccan, the Gangapare, [99] or those from
beyond the Ganges, and the Hijade or eunuchs. It is clear, therefore,
that members of these castes becoming Gondhalis attempt to arrange
their marriages with other converts from their own caste and to
retain their relative social position. There is little doubt that all
Gondhalis are theoretically meant to be equal, a principle which at
their first foundation applies to nearly all sects and orders, but
here as elsewhere the social feeling of caste has been too strong
to permit of its retention. It may be doubted, however, whether in
view of the small total numbers of the caste all these groups can
be strictly endogamous. The Kunbi Gondhalis can take food from the
ordinary Kunbis, but they rank below them, as being mendicants. The
caste has also a number of exogamous groups or gotras, the names of
which may be classified as titular or territorial. Instances of the
former kind are Dokiphode or one who broke his head while begging,
Sukt (thin, emaciated), Muke (dumb), Jabal (one with long hair like
a Jogi), and Panchange (one who has five limbs). Girls are married
as a rule before adolescence, and the ceremony resembles that of the
Kunbis, but a special prayer is offered to the deity Renuka, and the
boy is invested with a necklace of cowries by five married men of the
caste. Till this has been done he is not considered to be a proper
Gondhali. Celibacy is not a tenet of the order. The remarriage of
widows is allowed, and the ceremony consists in the husband placing
a string of small black glass beads round the woman's neck, while
she holds out a pair of new shoes for him to put his feet into. The
second wife often wears a small silver or golden image of the first
wife round her neck, and worships it before she eats by touching it
with food; she also asks its permission before going to sleep with
her husband. The goddess Bhawani or Devi is especially revered by
the caste, and they fast in her honour on Tuesdays and Fridays. They
worship their musical instruments at Dasahra with an offering of a
goat, and afterwards sing and dance for the whole night, this being
their principal festival. They also observe the nine days' fasts
in honour of Devi in Chait (March) and Kunwar (September) and sow
the Jawaras or pots of wheat. The Gondhalis are mendicant musicians,
and are engaged on the occasion of marriages among the higher castes
to perform their gondhal or dance accompanied by music. Four men are
needed for it, one being the dancer who is dressed in a long white robe
with a necklace of cowries and bells on his ankles, while the other
three stand behind him, two of them carrying drums and the third a
sacred torch called dioti. The torch-bearer serves as a butt for the
witticisms of the dancer. Their instruments are the chonka, an open
drum carrying an iron string which is beaten with a small wooden pin,
and two sambals or double drums of iron, wood or earth, one of which
emits a dull and the other a sharp sound. The dance is performed in
honour of the goddess Bhawani. They set up a wooden stool on the stage
arranged for the performance, covered with a cloth on which wheat is
spread, and over this is placed a brass vessel containing water and
a cocoanut. This represents the goddess. After the performance the
Gondhalis take away and eat the cocoanut and wheat; their regular fee
for an engagement is Rs. 1-4, and the guests give them presents of a
few pice (farthings). They are engaged for important ceremonies such
as marriages, the Barsa or name-giving of a boy, and the Shantik or
maturity of a girl, and also merely for entertainment; but in this
case the stool and cocoanut representing the goddess are not set
up. The following is a specimen of a Gondhali religious song:
Where I come from and who am I,
This mystery none has solved;
Father, mother, sister and brother, these are all illusions.
I call them mine and am lost in my selfish concerns.
Worldliness is the beginning of hell, man has wrapped himself in
it without reason.
Remember your guru, go to him and touch his feet.
Put on the shield of mercy and compassion and take the sword
of knowledge.
God is in every human body.
The caste beg between dawn and noon, wearing a long white or red
robe and a red turban folded from twisted strings of cloth like the
Marathas. Their status is somewhat low, but they are usually simple
and honest. Occasionally a man becomes a Gondhali in fulfilment of
a vow without leaving his own caste; he will then be initiated by a
member of the caste and given the necklace of cowries, and on every
Tuesday he will wear this and beg from five persons in honour of the
goddess Devi; while except for this observance he remains a member
of his own caste and pursues his ordinary business.