The Gowaris have exogamous sections of the titular and totemistic
types, such as Chachania from chachan, a bird, Lohar from loha iron,
Ambadare a mango-branch, Kohria from the Kohri or Kohli caste, Sarwaina
a Gond sept, and Rawat the name of the Ahir caste in Chhattisgarh. Some
septs do not permit intermarriage between their members, saying that
they are Dudh-Bhais or foster-brothers, born from the same mother. Thus
the Chachania, Kohria, Senwaria, Sendua (vermilion) and Wagare (tiger)
septs cannot intermarry. They say that their fathers were different,
but their mothers were related or one and the same. This is apparently
a relic of polyandry, and it is possible that in some cases the Gonds
may have allowed Ahirs sojourning in the forest to have access to
their wives during the period of their stay. If this was permitted
to Ahirs of different sections coming to the same Gond village in
successive years, the offspring might be the ancestors of sections
who consider themselves to be related to each other in the manner of
the Gowari sections.
Marriage is prohibited within the same section or kur, and between
sections related to each other as Dudh-Bhais in the manner explained
above. A man can marry his daughter to his sister's son, but cannot
take her daughter for his son. The children of two sisters cannot
be married.