Khandait, Khandayat.--The military caste of Orissa, the word Khandait
meaning 'swordsman,' and being derived from the Uriya khanda, a
sword. Sir H. Risley remarks of the Khandaits: [485] "The caste is
for the most part, if not entirely, composed of Bhuiyas, whose true
affinities have been disguised under a functional name, while their
customs, their religion and in some cases even their complexion and
features have been modified by long contact with Hindus of relatively
pure Aryan descent. The ancient Rajas of Orissa kept up large armies
and partitioned the land on strictly military tenures. These armies
consisted of various castes and races, the upper ranks being officered
by men of good Aryan descent, while the lower ones were recruited
from the low castes alike of the hills and the plains. In the social
system of Orissa, the Sresta or 'best' Khandaits rank next to the
Rajputs, who have not the intimate connection with the land which
has helped to raise the Khandaits to their present position." The
Khandaits are thus like the Marathas, and the small body of Paiks
in the northern Districts, a caste formed from military service;
and though recruited for the most part originally from the Dravidian
tribes, they have obtained a considerable rise in status owing to their
occupation and the opportunity which has been afforded to many of them
to become landholders. The best Khandaits now aspire to Rajput rank,
while the bulk of them have the position of cultivators, from whom
Brahmans will take water, or a much higher one than they are entitled
to by descent. In [486] the Central Provinces the Khandaits have no
subcastes, and only two gotras or clans, named after the Kachhap or
tortoise and the Nagas or cobra respectively. These divisions appear,
however, to be nominal, and do not regulate marriage, as to which
the only rule observed is that persons whose descent can be traced
from the same parent should not marry each other. Early marriage is
usual, and if a girl arrives at adolescence without a husband having
been found for her, she goes through the ceremony of wedlock with an
arrow. Polygamy is permitted, but a person resorting to it is looked
down on and nicknamed Maipkhia or wife-eater. The essential portion of
the marriage ceremony is the bandan or tying of the hands of the bride
and bridegroom together with kusha grass. The bridegroom must lift
up the bride and walk seven times round the marriage altar carrying
her. Widow-marriage and divorce are permitted in the Central Provinces,
and Brahmans are employed for religious and ceremonial purposes.