Though the better-class Kasbis appear to have a sort of caste union,
this is naturally quite indefinite, inasmuch as marriage, at present
the essential bond of caste-organisation, is absent. The sons of
Kasbis take up any profession that they choose; and many of them
marry and live respectably with their wives. Others become musicians
and assist at the performances of the dancing-girls, as the Bhadua
who beats the cymbals and sings in chorus and also acts as a pimp,
and the Sarangia, one who performs on the sarangi or fiddle. The
girls themselves are of different classes, as the Kasbi or Gayan who
are Hindus, the Tawaif who are Muhammadans, and the Bogam or Telugu
dancing-girls. Gond women are known as Deogarhni, and are supposed
to have come from Deogarh in Chhindwara, formerly the headquarters
of a Gond dynasty. The Sarangias or fiddlers are now a separate
caste. In the northern Districts the dancing-girls are usually women
of the Beria caste and are known as Berni. After the spring harvest
the village headman hires one or two of these girls, who dance and
do acrobatic feats by torchlight. They will continue all through the
night, stimulated by draughts of liquor, and it is said that one woman
will drink two or three bottles of the country spirit. The young men of
the village beat the drum to accompany her dancing, and take turns to
see how long they can go on doing so without breaking down. After the
performance each cultivator gives the woman one or two pice (farthings)
and the headman gives her a rupee. Such a celebration is known as Rai,
and is distinctive of Bundelkhand.
In Bengal this class of women often become religious mendicants and
join the Vaishnava or Bairagi community, as stated by Sir H. Risley:
[408] "The mendicant members of the Vaishnava community are of evil
repute, their ranks being recruited by those who have no relatives, by
widows, by individuals too idle or depraved to lead a steady working
life, and by prostitutes. Vaishnavi, or Baishtabi according to the
vulgar pronunciation, has come to mean a courtesan. A few undoubtedly
join from sincere and worthy motives, but their numbers are too
small to produce any appreciable effect on the behaviour of their
comrades. The habits of these beggars are very unsettled. They wander
from village to village and from one akhara (monastery) to another,
fleecing the frugal and industrious peasantry on the plea of religion,
and singing songs in praise of Hari beneath the village tree or
shrine. Members of both sexes smoke Indian hemp (ganja), and although
living as brothers and sisters are notorious for licentiousness. There
is every reason for suspecting that infanticide is common, as children
are never seen. In the course of their wanderings they entice away
unmarried girls, widows, and even married women on the pretence of
visiting Sri Kshetra (Jagannath) Brindaban or Benares, for which
reason they are shunned by all respectable natives, who gladly give
charity to be rid of them."
In large towns prostitutes belong to all castes. An old list obtained
by Rai Bahadur Hira Lal of registered prostitutes in Jubbulpore showed
the following numbers of different castes: Barai six, Dhimar four,
and Nai, Khangar, Kachhi, Gond, Teli, Brahman, Rajput and Bania three
each. Each woman usually has one or two girls in training if she
can obtain them, with a view to support herself by their earnings
in the same method of livelihood when her own attractions have
waned. Fatherless and orphan girls run a risk of falling into this
mode of life, partly because their marriages cannot conveniently be
arranged, and also from the absence of strict paternal supervision. For
it is to be feared that a girl who is allowed to run about at her will
in the bazar has little chance of retaining her chastity even up to
the period of her arrival at adolescence. This is no doubt one of the
principal considerations in favour of early marriage. The caste-people
often subscribe for the marriage of a girl who is left without support,
and it is said that in former times an unmarried orphan girl might
go and sit dharna, or starving herself, at the king's gate until he
arranged for her wedding. Formerly the practice of obtaining young
girls was carried on to a much greater extent than at present. Malcolm
remarks: [409] "Slavery in Malwa and the adjoining provinces is chiefly
limited to females; but there is perhaps no part of India where there
are so many slaves of this sex. The dancing-girls are all purchased,
when young, by the Nakins or heads of the different sets or companies,
who often lay out large sums in these speculations, obtaining advances
from the bankers on interest like other classes." But the attractions
of the profession and the numbers of those who engage in it have now
largely declined.