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Table of Contents

Abhimanchkul.—A section of Komti in Chānda. They abstain from using a preparation of lead which is generally ground to powder and applied to wounds.

Abhīra.—An immigrant nomad tribe from which the modern Ahīr caste is believed to have originated. A division of Marātha and Gujarāti Brāhmans, so called because they are priests of the Abhīras or the modern Ahīrs.

Abdhūt.—Name for a religious mendicant. Applied to Gosains, q.v.

Achārya, Achāraj.—(Superintendent of ceremonies.) Title of the heads of the Swāmi-Nārāyan sect. A surname of Adi Gaur Brāhmans in Saugor.

Adhia.—(Half.) A subcaste of Telis considered to be illegitimate in Betūl.

Adhaighar, Arhaighar.—(2½ houses.) A subdivision of Sāraswat Brāhmans.

Adhāli.—A name given to Malyārs by outsiders.

Adigaur.—A subdivision of Brāhman, probably a branch of the Gaur Brāhmans, though in Saugor they are considered to be Kanaujias.

Adkandh, Adikandh.—(Superior Khonds.) A subcaste of Khonds, being the most Hinduised section of this tribe. A title of Khond.

Adnath, Adinath.—A subdivision of Jogi. Adināth was the father of Matsyendranāth and grandfather of Gorakhnāth, the first great Jogi.

Agamudayan.—A large Tamil cultivating caste, of which a few members reside in the Central Provinces in Jubbulpore and Raipur. They are the families of Madras sepoys who have retired from regiments stationed in these places. The Agamudayans sometimes call themselves by the title of Pillai, which means ‘Son of a god’ and was formerly reserved to Brāhmans.

Agarwāla, Agarwāl.—A subcaste of Bania. See Bania-Agarwāla.

Agastya.—An eponymous section of Brāhmans.

Aghorpanthi.—Synonym for Aghori.

Agnihotri.—A surname of Kanaujia and Jijhotia Brāhmans in Saugor. (One who performs the sacrifice to Agni or the god of fire.)

Agnikula.—A name given to four clans of Rājpūts said to have been born from the fire-pit on Mount Abu. See article Panwār Rājpūt.

Agrahari.—A subcaste of Bania found chiefly in Jubbulpore District and Raigarh State. Their name has been connected with the cities of Agra and Agroha.

Agrajanma.—(First-born.) A synonym for Brāhmans.

Ahāria.—Clan of Rājpūt. Synonym for Sesodia.

Ahīr.—The professional caste of herdsmen. A clan of Marātha. A subcaste of Rāwat and Sālewār Koshti in Nimār. A subcaste of Bishnoi, Gurao, and Sunār.

Ahīrwār.—A resident of the old town of Ahar in the Bulandshahr district. Subcaste of Kori.

Ahivāsi, Ahiwāsi.—(From Ahiwās, ‘The abode of the dragon,’ the hermitage of Sanbhari Rishi in Mathura.) A Brāhmanical or pseudo-Brāhmanical tribe. They are said to be sprung from a Brāhman father and a Kshatriya mother, and were formerly pack-carriers. Found in Jubbulpore and the Nerbudda Valley.

Ahke.—(Seduced.) A sept of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betūl. They are said to be so named because their priests once seduced a Dhurwa girl, and her son was given this name.

Aithāna.—A subcaste of Kāyasth.

Ajodhia.—Subcaste of Jādam.

Ajudhiabāsi.—See Audhia.

Akāli.—Order of Sikh devotees. See article Sikh.

Akhādewāle.—A class of Bairāgis who do not marry. Also known as Nihang.

Akhroti.—A subdivision of Pathāns. (From akhrot, walnut.)

Akre.—A bastard Khatīk. Title of a child a Khatīk gets by a woman of another caste.

Alia.—A grower of the āl plant. A subcaste of Bania and Kāchhi, a synonym of Chasa.

Alia, Alkari.—These terms are derived from the āl or Indian mulberry (Morinda citrifolia). The Alias are members of the Kāchhi caste who formerly grew the āl plant in Nimār for sale to the dyers. Its cultivation then yielded a large profit and the Alias devoted themselves solely to it, while they excommunicated any of their members who were guilty of selling or giving away the seed. The imported alizarin has now almost entirely superseded the indigenous dye, and āl as a commercial product has been driven from the market. Alkari is a term applied to Banias and others in the Damoh District who were formerly engaged in the cultivation of the āl plant. The members of each caste which took to the cultivation of this plant were somewhat looked down upon by the others and hence became a distinct group. The explanation generally given of the distaste for the crop is that in the process of boiling the roots to extract the dye a number of insects have to be killed. A further reason is that the red dye is considered to resemble or be equivalent to blood, the second idea being a necessary consequence of the first in primitive modes of thought, and hence to cause a certain degree of pollution to those who prepare it. A similar objection is held to the purveying of lac-dye as shown in the article on Lakhera. Notwithstanding this, clothes dyed red are considered lucky, and the āl dye was far more commonly used by Hindus than any other, prior to the introduction of aniline dyes. Tents were also coloured red with this dye. The tents of the Mughal Emperors and royal princes were of red cloth dyed with the roots of the āl plant.1 Similarly Nādir Shāh, the victor of Pānipat, had his field headquarters and lived in one small red tent. In these cases the original reason for colouring the tents red may probably have been that it was a lucky colour for battles, and the same belief may have led to the adoption of red as a royal and imperial colour.

Alkari.—Synonym for Alia.

Alua.—A subcaste of Uriya Brāhmans, so named because their forefathers grew the ālu or potato.

Amal.—A section of Komti. The members of this section do not eat the plantain.

Ambadār.—(Mango-branch.) A section of Rāwat (Ahīr).

Ambashta.—A subcaste of Kāyasth.

Amethia.—(From Amethi, a pargana in Lucknow District.) A sept of Rājpūts, who are Chauhāns according to Sir H.M. Elliott, but others say they are a branch of the Chamār Gaur.

Amisht.—A subcaste of Kāyasth.

Amnāit.—Subcaste of Bhatra.

Amrite.—(From Amrit nectar.) A section of Kirār.

Anapa.—(Leather-dealers.) Subcaste of Mādgi.

Anavala.—A subdivision of Gujarāti or Khedāwāl Brāhmans. They derive their name from the village Anaval in Baroda. They are otherwise known as Bhatela, Desai or Mastān.

Andhra, Tailanga.—One of the five orders of the Pānch Dravid Brāhmans inhabiting the Telugu country.

Antarvedi.—A resident of Antarved or the Doāb, the tract of land between the Ganges and the Jumna rivers. Subcaste of Chamār.

Apastambha.—A Sutra of the Vedas. A subdivision of Brāhmans following that Sutra and forming a caste subdivision. But they marry with Rig-Vedis, though the Sutra belongs to the Black Yajur-Vedi.

Athārvarvedi, Anthārwarvedi.—A subcaste of Brāhmans who follow the Athārvar-Veda and are very rarely met with.

Arab.—This designation is sometimes returned by the descendants of the Arab mercenaries of the Bhonsla kings. These were at one time largely employed by the different rulers of southern India and made the best of soldiers. In the Marātha armies2 their rate of pay was Rs. 12 a month, while the ordinary infantry received only Rs. 5. General Hislop stated their character as follows:3

“There are perhaps no troops in the world that will make a stouter or more determined stand at their posts than the Arabs. They are entirely unacquainted with military evolutions, and undisciplined; but every Arab has a pride and heart of his own that never forsakes him as long as he has legs to stand on. They are naturally brave and possess the greatest coolness and quickness of sight: hardy and fierce through habit, and bred to the use of the matchlock from their boyhood: and they attain a precision and skill in the use of it that would almost exceed belief, bringing down or wounding the smallest object at a considerable distance, and not unfrequently birds with a single bullet. They are generally armed with a matchlock, a couple of swords, with three or four small daggers stuck in front of their belts, and a shield. On common occasions of attack and defence they fire but one bullet, but when hard pressed at the breach they drop in two, three, and four at a time, from their mouths, always carrying in them from eight to ten bullets, which are of a small size. We may calculate the whole number of Arabs in the service of the Peshwa and the Berār Rāja at 6000 men, a loose and undisciplined body, but every man of them a tough and hardy soldier. It was to the Arabs alone those Provinces looked, and placed their dependence on. Their own troops fled and abandoned them, seldom or never daring to meet our smallest detachment. Nothing can exceed the horror and atarm with which some of our native troops view the Arab. At Nāgpur in November 1817 the Arabs alone attacked us on the defence and reduced us to the last extremity, when we were saved by Captain Fitzgerald’s charge. The Arabs attacked us at Koregaon and would have certainly destroyed us had not the Peshwa withdrawn his troops on General Smith’s approach. The Arabs kept General Doveton at bay with his whole army at Nāgpur for several days, repulsing our attack at the breach, and they gained their fullest terms. The Arabs worsted us for a month at Mālegaon and saved their credit. They terrified the Surat authorities by their fame alone. They gained their terms of money from Sir John Malcolm at Asīrgarh. They maintained to the last for their prince their post at Alamner and nobly refused to be bought over there. They attacked us bravely, but unfortunately at Tālner. They attacked Captain Spark’s detachment on the defence and destroyed it. They attacked a battalion of the 14th Madras Infantry with 26-pounders and compelled them to seek shelter in a village; and they gave us a furious wind-up at Asīrgarh. Yet the whole of these Arabs were not 6000.”

There is no doubt that the Arabs are one of the finest fighting races of the world. Their ancestors were the Saracens who gained a great empire in Europe and Asia. Their hardihood and powers of endurance are brought to the highest pitch by the rigours of desert life, while owing to their lack of nervous sensibility the shock and pain of wounds affect them less than civilised troops. And in addition their religion teaches that all who die in battle against the infidel are transported straight to a paradise teeming with material and sensual delights. Arab troops are still employed in Hyderābād State. Mr. Stevens notices them as follows in his book In India: “A gang of half-a-dozen, brilliantly dishevelled, a faggot of daggers with an antique pistol or two in each belt, and a six-foot matchlock on each shoulder. They serve as irregular troops there, and it must be owned that if irregularity is what you want, no man on earth can supply it better. The Arab irregulars are brought over to serve their time and then sent back to Arabia; there is one at this moment, who is a subaltern in Hyderābād, but as soon as he crosses the British border gets a salute of nine guns; he is a Sheikh in his own country near Aden.”

The Arabs who have been long resident here have adopted the ways and manners of other Musalmāns. Their marriages are in the Nikāh form and are marked by only one4 dinner, following the example of the Prophet, who gave a dinner at the marriage of his daughter the Lady Fātimah and Ali. In obedience to the order of the Prophet a death is followed by no signs of mourning. Arabs marry freely with other Sunni Muhammadans and have no special social or religious organisation. The battle-cry of the Arabs at Sitabaldi and Nāgpur was ‘Dīn, Dīn, Muhammad.’

Arakh.—A caste. A subcaste of Dahāit, Gond and Pāsi.

Aranya.—Name of one of the ten orders of Gosains.

Are.—A cultivating caste of the Chānda District, where they numbered 2000 persons in 1911. The caste are also found in Madras and Bombay, where they commonly return themselves under the name of Marāthi; this name is apparently used in the south as a generic term for immigrants from the north, just as in the Central Provinces people coming from northern India are called Pardeshi. Mr. (Sir H.) Stuart says5 that Are is a synonym for Arya, and is used as an equivalent of a Marātha and sometimes in a still wider sense, apparently to designate an immigrant Aryan into the Dravidian country of the south. The Ares of the Central Provinces appear to be Kunbis who have migrated into the Telugu country. The names of their subcastes are those of the Kunbis, as Khaire, Tirelle, a form of Tirole, and Dhanoj for Dhanoje. Other subdivisions are called Kāyat and Kattri, and these seem to be the descendants of Kāyasth and Khatri ancestors. The caste admit Brāhmans, Banias, and Komtis into the community and seem to be, as shown by Mr. Stuart, a mixed group of immigrants from Mahārāshtra into the Telugu country. Some of them wear the sacred thread and others do not. Some of their family names are taken from those of animals and plants, and they bury persons who die unmarried, placing their feet towards the north like the forest tribes.

Arka.—A sept of Gonds in Chānda who worship the sāras crane.

Armachi.—(The dhaura tree.) A totemistic sept of Gonds.

Arora, Rora.—An important trading and mercantile caste of the Punjab, of which a few persons were returned from the Nimār District in 1901. Sir D. Ibbetson was of opinion that the Aroras were the Khatris of Aror, the ancient capital of Scinde, represented by the modern Rori. He described the Arora as follows:6 “Like the Khatri and unlike the Bania he is no mere trader; but his social position is far inferior to theirs, partly no doubt because he is looked down upon simply as being a Hindu in the portions of the Province which are his special habitat. He is commonly known as a Kirār, a word almost synonymous with coward, and even more contemptuous than is the name Bania in the east of the province. The Arora is active and enterprising, industrious and thrifty. … ‘When an Arora girds up his loins he makes it only two miles from Jhang to Lāhore.’ He will turn his hand to any work, he makes a most admirable cultivator, and a large proportion of the Aroras of the lower Chenāb are purely agricultural in their avocations. He is found throughout Afghanistan and even Turkistan and is the Hindu trader of those countries; while in the western Punjab he will sew clothes, weave matting and baskets, make vessels of brass and copper and do goldsmith’s work. But he is a terrible coward, and is so branded in the proverbs of the countryside: The thieves were four and we eighty-four; the thieves came on and we ran away; and again: To meet a Rāthi armed with a hoe makes a company of nine Kirārs (Aroras) feel alone. Yet the peasant has a wholesome dread of the Kirār when in his proper place: Vex not the Jāt in his jungle, nor the Kirār at his shop, nor the boatman at his ferry; for if you do they will break your head. Again: Trust not a crow, a dog or a Kirār, even when asleep. So again: You can’t make a friend of a Kirār any more than a sati of a prostitute.”

Asāthi.—A subcaste of Bania. They are both Jains and Hindus.

Ashrām.—Name of one of the ten orders of Gosains.

Ashthāna.—A subcaste of Kāyasth.

Athāradesia.—(A man of eighteen districts.) Subcaste of Banjāra.

Athbhaiya.—(Eight brothers.) A subdivision of Sāraswat Brāhman in Hoshangābād. An Athbhaiya cannot take a wife from the Chaubhaiya subdivision, to whom the former give their daughters in marriage.

Athia.—A subcaste of Chadār, so named because they worship their goddess Devi on the 8th day (Athain) of Kunwār (September), and correspond to the Brāhmanical Sākta sect, as opposed to the other Chadār subcaste Parmasuria, who correspond to the Vaishnavas.

Audhalia.—Synonym for Audhelia.

Audhia, Ajudhiabāsi.—A resident of Oudh. Subcaste of Bania and of Kasār and Sunār.

Audichya.—A subcaste of Brāhmans coming from Oudh.

Aughad.—A subdivision of Jogi. They resemble the Aghoris with the difference that they may not eat human flesh.

Aughar.—A subdivision of Jogi.

Aukule.—A subcaste of Koshtis. They are also called Vidurs, being of mixed descent from Koshtas and other castes.

Aulia.—(A favourite of God.) Title of Muhammadan saints.

Bāba.—Synonym of Gosain.

Bābhan.—Synonym for Bhuinhār, being the name of a landholding caste in Bengal. Used as a title by Bhuiyas.

Bābuān.—Title for the descendants of the former ruling families of the Chero tribe.

Bachhalya, Bachhap, Bachhilia.—(From bachha, a calf.) A section of Bania, Chadār and Khangār. A section of Patwa in Raipur. They do not castrate bullocks.

Bad.—(High or great.) Subcaste of Agharia and Sudh.

Bād or Bhānd.—A caste. Title of Khatīk.

Bad.—(Banyan tree.) A section of Joshi.

Badaria.—(From badar, cloud.) A section of Kandera.

Badgainya.—(From Badgaon (bara gaon), a large village.) A surname of Sarwaria Brāhmans. A section of Basdewa, Gadaria and Kurmi.

Badgūjar.—(From bada, great.) One of the thirty-six royal races of Rājpūts. A subcaste of Gūjar, also of Gaur Brāhman. A section of Mehtar.

Badhaiya.—(Barhai, carpenter.) A subcaste of Lohār and Kol. A sept of Savar.

Badhāria.—A resident of Badhās in Mirzapur. Subcaste of Bahna and Dhuri.

Bādi.—(A rope-walker.) Synonym of Nat.

Badkur.—Title used in the Dhobi caste.

Badwāik.—(The great ones.) A subcaste of Māna. A title of Dhobi and Pān or Gānda.

Bagaria.—(A young buffalo.) A sept of Dhanwār and Sonkar.

Bāgh, Bāghwa.—(Tiger.) A totemistic sept of Ahīr, Bhatra, Kawar, Munda, Oraon, Sonkar, Teli and Turi.

Baghel, Baghela.—(A tiger or tiger-cub.) A clan of Rājpūts which has given its name to Baghelkhand. A subcaste of Audhia Sunār and Chamār. A section of Bhilāla, Dhanwār, Gond, Lodhi, Māli, and Panwār Rājpūt.

Bāghmār, Bāghmārya, Bāgmār.—(A tiger-slayer.) A section of Oswāl Bania, Basor, Chamār, Dhīmar, Koilabhuti Gond, and Teli. A subsept of Nika Gonds in Betūl, who abstain from killing tigers.

Bāgri.—A clan of Rājpūts. A subcaste of Jāt. One of the 72½ sections of Maheshri Banias. People belonging to the Badhak or Bawaria, and Pārdhi castes are sometimes known by this name.

Bāhargainyān.—(From Bāhar gaon, outside the village.) A subcaste of Kurmi.

Baharketu.—(Bush-cutter.) A subcaste of Korwa.

Bahelia.—The caste of fowlers and hunters in northern India. In the Central Provinces the Bahelias are not to be distinguished from the Pārdhis, as they have the same set of exogamous groups named after the Rājpūt clans, and resemble them in all other respects. The word Bahelia is derived from the Sanskrit Vyādha, ‘one who pierces or wounds,’ hence a hunter. Pārdhi is derived from the Marāthī pāradh, hunting. The latter term is more commonly used in the Central Provinces, and has therefore been chosen as the title of the article on the caste.

Bāhre.—(Outside the walls.) A subdivision of Khedāwāl Brāhmans.

Bahrūp.—Subcaste of Banjāra.

Bahrūpia.—A small class of mendicant actors and quick-change artists. They are recruited from all classes of the population, and though a distinct caste of Bahrūpias appears to exist, people of various castes also call themselves Bahrūpia when they take to this occupation. In Berār the Mahār, Māng and Marātha divisions of the Bahrūpias are the most common:7 the former two begging only from the castes from which they take their name. In Gujarāt they appear to be principally Muhammadans. Sir D. Ibbetson says of them:8 “The name is derived from the Sanskrit bahu, many, and rūpa, form, and denotes an actor, a mimic or one who assumes many forms or characters. One of their favourite devices is to ask for money, and when it is refused to ask that it may be given if the Bahrūpia succeeds in deceiving the person who refused it. Some days later the Bahrūpia will again visit the house in the disguise of a pedlar, a milkman or what not, sell his goods without being detected, throw off his disguise and claim the stipulated reward.” In Gujarāt “they are ventriloquists and actors with a special skill of dressing one side of their face like a man and the other side like a woman, and moving their head about so sharply that they seem to be two persons.”9 Mr. Kitts states that “the men are by profession story-tellers and mimics, imitating the voices of men and the notes of animals; their male children are also trained to dance. In payment for their entertainment they are frequently content with cast-off clothes, which will of course be of use to them in assuming other characters.”10 Occasionally also they dress up in European clothes and can successfully assume the character of a Eurasian.

Bahrūpia impersonating the goddess Kāli

Baid.—(Physician.) A surname of Sanadhia and Marātha Brāhmans in Saugor. A section of Oswāl Bania, and Darzi.

Bairāgi.—A caste or religious order. Subcaste of Bhāt.

Bais.—A clan of Rājpūts.

Bajania.—(One who plays on musical instruments.) Subcaste of Panka.

Bajanya.—(Drummer.) A subcaste of Panka in Bālāghāt.

Bajārha.—(Bazār.) A section of Daraiha in Bilāspur.

Bajna, Bajgari.—(Musicians at feasts and marriages.) Subcaste of Gānda.

Bājpai.—(A priest officiating at the horse sacrifice.) A surname of Kanaujia Brāhmans. A section of Brāhmans. Title of some old families whose ancestors were sacrificial priests.

Bakar Kasai.—(Goat-butcher.) A subcaste of Khatīk.

Bakra.—(Goat.) A totemistic sept of Bhatra and Halba.

Baksaria.—From Buxar in Bengal. A clan of Rājpūts. A section of Daraiha and Lodhi.

Balla.—One of the 36 Rājkuls or royal clans of Rājpūts noted in Tod’s Rājasthān.

Balnīk.—Subcaste of Kāyasth.

Bālūsudia.—(Shaven.) Title of Khond.

Bālutedār.—Name for a village menial in Berār. Title of Dhobi.

Balwanda.—(Quarrelsome.) A section of Teli.

Bām-Mārgi.—Synonym for the Vām-Mārgi sect.

Bāman or Brāhman. Subcaste of Bishnoi, Darzi and Gondhali.

Bāmania.—(From Brāhman.) A section of Ahīr. They do not touch the pīpal tree. A section of Mahār and of Rājjhar in Hoshangābād.

Bāmhan Gour or Brāhman Gour.—A clan of Rājpūts in Saugor and Narsinghpur.

Bāmhania.—A subcaste of Kasar, from Bāmhan or Brāhman. A section of Katia.

Bāmnaiha.—(Belonging to a Brāhman.) A section of Basor.

Banāphar, Banāfar.—A clan of Rājpūts. A section of Daharia.

Banbhainsa.—(Wild buffalo.) A section of Rāwat (Ahīr).

Bānda.—(Tailless.) A section of Kirar.

Bānda Bāgh.—(Tailless tiger.) A section of Teli.

Bāndar.—(A rocket-thrower.) Synonym of Kadera.

Bandarwāle.—(One who catches monkeys.)—Subcaste of Pārdhi.

Bandesia.—(A man of 52 districts.) Subcaste of Banjāra.

Bandhaiya.—A subcaste of Nunia who confine themselves to the excavation of tanks and wells. Also a subcaste of Dhīmar.

Bandhaiya.—(From Bāndhogarh.) Subcaste of Nai.

Bandhia—(From bāndh, an embankment.) A subcaste of Darzi and Dhīmar. A section of Chamār.

Bandrele.—(Monkey.) A section of Basor, and Barai.

Banghore.—(Wild horses.) A section of Dom (Mehtar).

Bania.—A caste. Subcaste of Bishnoi. A synonym of Sunār in Sambalpur. A subcaste of Banjāra. A section of Nāndvansi Gauli.

Bānka.—A small caste found principally in the Kālāhandī State which now forms part of Bengal. The caste was formed from military service like the Khandaits, Pāiks and Marāthas, and some families bear the names of different castes, as Brāhman Bānka, Kumhār Bānka, and so on. They were formerly notorious freebooters, but have now settled down to cultivation. Each man, however, still carries a sword or knife on his person, and in Kālāhandī they are permitted to do this without taking out a licence.

Banku.—(One who frequents sequestered parts of forests.) A sept of Korku.

Bānsberia.—(One who performs acrobatic feats on a stick or bamboo.) Synonym of Kolhāti.

Bansia.—(Angler.) From bansi, a fishing-hook. Subcaste of Dhīmar.

Bānsphor.—(A breaker of bamboos.) Synonym of Basor. Subcaste of Mehtar and Mahli.

Bānstalai.—(A tank with bamboo trees on its bank.) A section of Teli.

Bant.—Subcaste of Dhīmar.

Bantia.—(From banāt, a red woollen blanket.) A section of Oswāl Bania.

Baone or Baonia.—From the phrase Bāwan Berār, a term applied to the Province by the Mughals, because it paid fifty-two lakhs of revenue, as against only eight lakhs realised from the adjoining Jhādi or hilly country in the Central Provinces. Subcaste of Kunbi, Mahār and Māli.

Baoria.—Synonym of Badhak.

Bāra-hazār.—(Twelve thousand.) Subcaste of Chero.

Barāde, Berāri.—A resident of Berār. Subcaste of Bahna, Barhai, Chamār, Dhangar, Dhobi, Khatīk, Māng and Nai.

Baram or Birm.—Subcaste of Bhāt.

Barapatre.—(A large leaf-plate.) A section of Koshti.

Baraua.—(A fisherman.) Synonym of Dhīmar; title of Dhīmar.

Bardhia.—(From bārdh, a term for the edge of a weapon.) Synonym of Sikligār.

Bardia.—One who uses bullocks for transport. Subcaste of Kumhār.

Baretha.—(A washerman.) Synonym for Dhobi.

Barga.—Subcaste of Oraon.

Bargāh,11 Bargāha, Barghāt.—A small caste of cultivators belonging principally to the Bilāspur District. They appear to be immigrants from Rewah, where the caste is numerically strong, and they are also found in the adjacent Districts of the United Provinces and Bengal. In the United Provinces they are employed as higher domestic servants and make leaf-plates, while their women act as midwives.12 Here they claim kinship with the Goāla Ahīrs, but in the Central Provinces and Bengal they advance pretensions to be Rājpūts. They have a story, however, which shows their connection with the Ahīrs, to the effect that on one occasion Brahma stole Krishna’s cows and cowherds. Krishna created new ones to replace them, exactly similar to those lost, but Brahma subsequently returned the originals, and the Bargāhas are the descendants of the artificial cowherds created by Krishna. In Sargūja, Bargāha is used as a title by Ahīrs, while in Rewah the Bargāhs are looked on as the bastard offspring of Baghel Rājpūts. Dr. Buchanan writes of them as follows:13 “In Gorakhpur the Rājpūt chiefs have certain families of Ahīrs, the women of which act as wet-nurses to their children, while the men attend to their persons. These families are called Bargāha; they have received, of course, great favours and many of them are very rich, but others look down upon them as having admitted their women to too great familiarity with their chiefs.” In the United Provinces they also claim to be Rājpūts, as they returned themselves as a clan of Rājpūts in 1881.14 Their position as described by Buchanan is precisely the same as that of the Dauwa Ahīrs, who are the household servants of Bundela Rājpūts in Bundelkhand, and the facts set forth above leave little or no doubt that the Bargāhs are a mixed caste, arising from the connection of Rājpūts with the Ahīr women who were their personal servants. In the Central Provinces no subdivisions of the caste exist at present, but a separate and inferior subcaste is in process of formation from those who have been turned out of caste. They are divided for the purpose of marriage into exogamous gotras or clans, the names of which correspond to those of Rājpūts, as Kaunsil, Chandel, Rāna, Bundela, Rāthor, Baghel, Chauhān and others. Marriage between members of the same clan and also between first cousins is prohibited. The custom of gurānwat or exchanging girls in marriage between families is very prevalent, and as there is a scarcity of girls in the caste, a man who has not got a daughter must pay Rs. 100 to Rs. 200 to obtain a bride for his son. On the arrival of the marriage procession the bridegroom touches with a dagger a grass mat hung in front of the marriage-shed. During the marriage the bridegroom’s father presents him with a grass ring, which he places on his wrist. The hands of the bridegroom and bride are tied one over the other with a piece of thread, and the bride’s parents catching the hands say to the bridegroom, ‘We have given you our daughter; protect her.’ The couple then walk seven times round a sacrificial fire and a pestle and slab containing seven pieces of turmeric, nuts and heaps of coloured rice, the bride leading and kicking over a heap of rice from the slab at each turn. The other common ceremonies are also performed. The Bargāhs do not tolerate sexual offences and expel a girl or married woman who goes wrong. The Bargāhs are usually cultivators in the Central Provinces, but they consider it beneath their dignity to touch the plough with their own hands. Many of them are mlguzrs or village proprietors. They take food cooked without water from a Brāhman, and water only from a Rājpūt. Rājpūts take water from their hands, and their social position is fairly high.

Bargandi—Synonym for Kaikāri.

Barghāt.—Synonym of Bargāh.

Barki.—High. Subcaste of Rautia.

Bārkia.—(A spinner of fine thread.) Subcaste of Mahār.

Barmaiyan, Barmian, Malaiya.—Subcaste of Basor, Dhīmar and Gadaria.

Baroni.—Title of a female Dhīmar.

Barora or Warkara.—(Wild cat.) A subsept of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betūl.

Barpaihi.—(Bar, banyan tree.) A sept of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betūl, so named because their priest offered food to their gods on the leaves of a banyan tree.

Barwa.—Synonym for Gārpagāri. One who wards off hailstones from the standing crops. Subcaste of Jogi.

Bashishta.—See Vasishta. A section of Vidūr.

Bastarha.—A resident of Bastar State. Subcaste of Halba.

Bathri.—(From batkur, a vegetable.) A subcaste of Dhobi and Teli.

Bāthudia.—Subcaste of Bhuiya.

Batri.—A grower of batar, a kind of pea. Subcaste of Teli.

Batti.—(A ball.) A subsept of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betūl, so named because their priest stole balls of cooked mahua. They do not kill or eat goats or sheep, and throw away anything smelt by them.

Bāwan, Bāwanjaye.—(Bāwan−52.) A subcaste of Sāraswat Brāhmans.

Bāwaria.—A dweller of Bhānwargarh tract in Betūl district. Subcaste of Korku.

Bāwisa.—(Twenty-two.) A subcaste of Gujarāti Brāhmans in Hoshangābād and Makrai State.

Bayar, Biyar, Biar.—A small caste of labourers belonging to the eastern Districts of the United Provinces, of whom about 200 persons were returned from Bilāspur in 1891. They are found in the Korba zamīndāri, and are professional diggers or navvies, like the Murhas. They are apparently a mixed caste derived from the primitive tribes with some Hindu blood. They eat fowls and pork, but will not take food from any other caste. They work by contract on the dangri system of measurement, a dangri being a piece of bamboo five cubits long. For one rupee they dig a patch 8 dangris long by one broad and a cubit in depth, or 675 cubic feet. But this rate does not allow for lift or lead.

Bāzigar.—(An acrobat.) Synonym of Nat.

Behār.—(Cat.) A totemistic sept of Kawar.

Behera.—A subcaste of Taonla. A section of Tiyar. A title of Khadāl.

Belwār, Bilwār.—A small caste of carriers and cattle-dealers belonging to Oudh, whose members occasionally visit the northern Districts of the Central Provinces. They say that their ancestors were Sanādhya Brāhmans, who employed bullocks as pack-animals, and hence, being looked down on by the rest of the caste, became a separate body, marrying among themselves.

Benaika, Binaika.—A subcaste of Parwār Bania, consisting of the offspring of remarried widows or illegitimate unions. Probably also found among other subcastes of Bania.

Benatia.—A subcaste of Sānsia in Sambalpur.

Bendiwāla.—Name of a minor Vishnuite order. See Bairāgi.

Benetiya, Benātia.—Subcaste of Chasa and Sānsia.

Bengali.—Bengali immigrants are usually Brāhmans or Kāyasths.

Bengani.—(Brinjal.) One of the 1444 sections of Oswāl Bania.

Benglāh.—An immigrant from Bengal. Subcaste of Bharbhūnja.

Beora Basia.—(Hawk.) A totemistic sept of Bhatra.

Berāria, Berādia.—(Belonging to Berār.) A subcaste of Bahna, Barai, Barhai, Chamār, Dhangar, Dhīmar, Kasār and Kunbi.

Beria.—A caste of gipsies and vagrants, whose women are prostitutes. Hence sometimes used generally to signify a prostitute. A subcaste of Nat.

Besra.—(Hawk.) A totemistic sept of Bhatra and Rāwat (Ahīr).

Besta.—A Telugu caste of fishermen. They are also called Bhoi and Machchnāik, and correspond to the Dhīmars. They are found only in the Chānda District, where they numbered 700 persons in 1911, and their proper home is Mysore. They are a low caste and rear pigs and eat pork, crocodiles, rats and fowls. They are stout and strong and dark in colour. Like the Dhīmars they also act as palanquin-bearers, and hence has arisen a saying about them, ‘The Besta is a great man when he carries shoes,’ because the head of a gang of palanquin-bearers carries the shoes of the person who sits in it. At their marriages the couple place a mixture of cummin and jaggery on each other’s heads, and then gently press their feet on those of the other seven times. Drums are beaten, and the bridegroom places rings on the toes of the bride and ties the mangal-sūtram or necklace of black beads round her neck. They are seated side by side on a plough-yoke, and the ends of their cloths are tied together. They are then taken outside and shown the Great Bear, the stars of which are considered to be the spirits of the seven principal Hindu Saints, and the pole-star, Arundhāti, who represents the wife of Vasishtha and is the pattern of feminine virtue. On the following two days the couple throw flowers at each other for some time in the morning and evening. Before the marriage the bridegroom’s toe-nails are cut by the barber as an act of purification. This custom, Mr. Thurston15 states, corresponds among the Sūdras to the shaving of the head among the Brāhmans. The Bestas usually take as their principal deity the nearest large river and call it by the generic term of Ganga. On the fifth day after a death they offer cooked food, water and sesamum to the crows, in whose bodies the souls of the dead are believed to reside. The food and water are given to satisfy the hunger and thirst of the soul, while the sesamum is supposed to give it coolness and quench its heat. On the tenth day the ashes are thrown into a river. The beard of a boy whose father is alive is shaved for the first time before his marriage. Children are tattooed with a mark on the forehead within three months of birth, and this serves as a sect mark. A child is named on the eleventh day after birth, and if it is subsequently found to be continually ailing and sickly, the name is changed under the belief that it exercises an evil influence on the child.

Betala.—(Goblin.) One of the 1444 sections of Oswāl Bania.

Bhadauria.—(From Bhadāwar in Gwalior State.) A clan of Rājpūts. A clan of Dāngi in Saugor from whom Rājpūts take daughters in marriage, but do not give daughters to them. A surname of Sanādhia Brāhman.

Bhadonia.—Subcaste of Dāngi.

Bhadoria.—(A drum-beater.) Subcaste of Chamār.

Bhadri, Bhaddari.—A synonym for Joshi, having a derogatory sense, as of one who begs with deceit or fraud.

Bhadune.—(From the month Bhādon.) A section of Kalār.

Bhagat.—(Devotee.) A section of Ahīr or Gaoli, Barai and Panwār Rājpūt.

Bhains-Māra.—(Killer of the buffalo.) A section of Kanjar.

Bhainsa.—(Buffalo.) A section of Chamār, Dhanwār, Gānda, Kawar, Kanjar, Māli, Panka and Rāwat (Ahīr).

Bhairon.—(The god Bhairon.) A section of Pānwar Rājpūt.

Bhaiya.—(Brother.) One of the 72½ sections of Maheshri Bania.

Bhala.—(Spear.) One of the 72½ sections of Maheshri Bania.

Bhaldār.—(A spear-man.) A class of Dahāits, who have commonly been employed as village watchmen.

Bhale Sultān.—(Lords of the spear.) A clan of Rājpūts.

Bhāmti, Bhāmtia.—Synonyms of Bhāmta.

Bhanāre.—Named after the town of Bhandāra in the Central Provinces. Subcaste of Dhīmar.

Bhānd, Bhānr.16—A small caste of story-tellers and buffoons. The name is derived from the Sanskrit Bhānda, a jester, and the caste are also known as Naqqāl or actor. Only a trifling number of Bhānds are shown by the census as belonging to the Central Provinces. Mr. Crooke remarks: “The Bhānd is sometimes employed in the courts of Rājas and native gentlemen of rank, where he amuses the company at entertainments with buffoonery and a burlesque of European and native manners, much of which is of a very coarse nature. The Bhānd is quite separate from and of a lower professional rank than the Bahrūpia. The bulk of the caste are Muhammadans, but they have exogamous sections, some of which, as Kaithela (Kāyasth), Bamhaniya (Brāhman), Gujartha (Gūjar), Nonela (Lunia), and so on, are derived from those of Hindu castes, and indicate that the caste is a heterogeneous community recruited from different sources. There are two recognised endogamous subcastes—the Chenr, which seems to mean little (Hindi, Chenra), and the Kashmīri. The former trace their origin to the time of Tamarlane, who, on the death of his son, gave himself over to mourning for twelve years. Then one Sayyid Hasan, a courtier of the Emperor, composed a humorous poem in Arabic, which gained him the title of Bhānr. Sayyid Hasan is regarded as the founder of the caste. Though he was a Sayyid the present Bhānrs are either Shaikhs or Mughals; and the difference of faith, Sunni and Shiah, is a bar to intermarriage. The Kashmīri Bhānrs are said to be of quite recent origin, having been invited from Kashmīr by Nasīr-ud-Dīn Haidar, king of Oudh.” The Bhānds perform their marriages by the Nikāh form, in which a Kāzi officiates. In virtue of being Muhammadans they abstain from pork and liquor. Dr. Buchanan17 quaintly described them as “Impudent fellows, who make long faces, squeak like pigs, bark like dogs, and perform many other ludicrous feats. They also dance and sing, mimicking and turning into ridicule the dancing boys and girls, on whom they likewise pass many jokes, and are employed on great occasions.” The Bhānd, in fact, seems to correspond very nearly to the court jester of the Middle Ages.

Bhandāri.—(A barber, also a cook in the Uriya country.) A synonym for Nai. A subcaste of Gondhali. A section of Oswāl Bania and Halba. Title of the deputies of the chief guru of the Satnāmi sect.

Bhangi.—(Hemp-smoker.) Synonym of Mehtar.

Bhānr.—Synonym of Bhānd, a story-teller.

Bhānwar.—(A bee, also honey.) A section of Gadaria and Kawar.

Bhaosar.—Synonym of Chhīpa.

Bhāradwāj.—(A skylark. Name of a great Brāhman Rishi or saint.) One of the common eponymous sections of Brāhmans. Also a section of Joshi, Lohār, Prabhu, Sunār, and of several clans of Rājpūts.

Bharewa.—(From bharat, a mixture of copper and lead.) A group of brass or bell-metal workers classed with the Kasār caste, but of lower social standing than the Kasārs. A subcaste of Sunār in Raipur.

Bhārgava.—(Born of Bhrigu Rishi.) A subcaste of Kanaujia Brāhmans. A section of Marātha Brāhmans. Bhārgava Dhusar is a subcaste of Bania. See Bania-Dhusar.

Bharia.—(From the Bhar tribe.) A tribe. A subcaste of Baiga in Mandla, and of Kol.

Bharia-Bhumia.—Synonym of Bharia.

Bharotia or Mudia.—(Shaven.) Subcaste of Baiga, also of Ahīr.

Bhārthi.—Name of one of the ten orders of Gosains.

Bhātia.—A commercial caste of Sind and Gujarāt, a few of whom settle temporarily in the Central Provinces. Sir D. Ibbetson writes of them:18 “The Bhātias are a class of Rājpūts, originally coming from Bhatner, Jaisalmer and the Rājpūtāna desert, who have taken to domestic pursuits. The name would seem to show that they were Bhātis (called Bhatti in the Punjab); but be that as it may, their Rājpūt origin seems to be unquestioned. They stand distinctly below the Khatri, and perhaps below the Arora, and are for the most part engaged in petty shopkeeping, though the Bhātias of Dera Ismail Khān are described as belonging to a widely-spread and enterprising mercantile community. They are very strict Hindus, far more so than the other trading classes of the western Punjab; and eschew meat and liquor. They do not practise widow-marriage.”

Mr. Crooke’s account19 leaves little doubt that the Bhātias are a branch of the Bhatti or Yāduvansi Rājpūts of Jaisalmer who have gone into trade; and Colonel Tod expresses the same view: “The Bhattiah is also one of the equestrian order converted into the commercial, and the exchange has been to his advantage. His habits are like those of the Arora, next to whom he ranks as to activity and wealth.”20 “The chief occupation of the Bhātias,” Mr. Crooke states, “is moneylending, and to this they add trade of all kinds, agriculture, landholding and Government service. Many of them go on expeditions to Arabia, Kābul, Bokhāra and other distant places of business. Many in Bombay carry on trade with Zanzibar, Java and the Malay Peninsula.”

Bhatnāgar.—A subcaste of Kāyasth.

Bhātpagār.—(Wage of rice.) A section of Katia.

Bhīkshakunti.—(Bhīksha, begging; kunti, lame.) A subcaste of Kāpewār who are the Bhāts or bards of the caste.

Bhīl.—A tribe. A subcaste of Pārdhi.

Bhilaophod.—(Those who extract oil from the bhilawa nut, Semecarpus anacardium.) Subcaste of Kol.

Bhīlsaiyan, Bhīlsia, Bhīlasia.—(From Bhīlsa, a town in Gwalior State.) A section and surname of Jijhotia Brāhmans. A section of Purānia Sunār and of Rāthor Teli and Teli.

Bhima.—A small caste belonging to the Mandla and Seoni Districts. They are musicians of the Gond tribe and dance and beg at their weddings. The caste are an offshoot of the Gonds, their exogamous septs having Gond names, as Marābi, Markām, Dhurwa, Parteti, Tekām and so on; but they now marry among themselves. They worship the Gond god, Bura Deo, their own elders serving as priests. At their performances the men play and dance, wearing hollow anklets of metal with little balls of iron inside to make them tinkle. The women are dressed like Hindu women and dance without ornaments. Their instrument is called Tūma or gourd. It consists of a hollow piece of bamboo fixed horizontally over a gourd. Over the bamboo a string is stretched secured to a peg at one end and passing over a bridge at the other. Little knobs of wax are made on the bamboo so that the string touches them during its vibrations. The gourd acts as a sounding-board.

Bhogta.—Subcaste of Khairwār.

Bhoi.—(One who carries litters or palanquins.) Synonym of Dhīmar and Kahār. A title or honorific name for Gonds and one by which they are often known. See article Kahār. A section of Binjhāl.

Bhoir.—Synonym for Bhoyar.

Bhojni.—Subcaste of Chitrakathi. They serve the food at marriage and other ceremonies.

Bholia.—(From bhūlna, to forget.) Synonym of Bhulia.

Bhona.—A small caste of labourers in the Mandla District. They are practically all employed by the local Pansāris (Barai) or pān-growers in tending their barejas or betel-vine gardens. There is some ground for supposing that the Bhonas are an offshoot of the Bharia or Bharia-Bhumia tribe of Jubbulpore, which is itself derived from the Bhars. One of the sections of the Bhonas is named after the vulture, and at their weddings a man of this section catches a young chicken and bites off the head in imitation of a vulture.

Bhondih.—(From bhond, dung-beetle.) A section of Ahīr.

Bhonsla.—A clan of Marāthas to which the Rājas of Nāgpur belong.

Bhope or Bhoall.—Subcaste of Mānbhao.

Bhoriya.—Synonym of Bhulia.

Bhoyar.—A caste. A subcaste of Koshti and Marār.

Bhudes.—(The gods on earth.) Title of Brāhmans.

Bhuinhār.—Name of a landholding caste in Benāres and Bengal who claim to be Brāhmans or Rājpūts. They are also known as Bābhan. A title of the Bhuiya tribe. See article Bhuiya. A title of the Bhaina tribe.

Bhumia.—(Born from the land, or aboriginal.) A title of the Bharia tribe in Jubbulpore, also a title of Baiga and Korku. A synonym of Bhuiya. A subdivision of Gond. A section of Kurmi.

Bhūra.—(Grey.) One of the sections of Oswāl Bania. A proper name.

Bhusar.—(Lord of the earth.) A title of Brāhman.

Bhusārjīn.—(From bhūsa, the chaff of wheat.) Subcaste of Banjāra.

Bhuskate.—(From bhūsa, fodder, one who supplies fodder.) A family name.

Bhūta.—A subtribe of Gond in Betūl, the same as Koilabhūta. They are said to be of immoral character.

Biar.—Synonym of Bayar.

Bichhuwa, Bichhi.—(From bichhu, scorpion.) A section of Dhobi and Kawar.

Bidur.—Synonym of the Vidūr caste.

Biloria.—(From bilori, marble stone.) A section of Chhipa.

Bilwār.—Synonym of Belwār, a carrier and cattle-dealer.

Bind.—A large non-Aryan caste of Bihār and the United Provinces, of which 380 persons were returned in 1911. Sir H. Risley says of them:21 “They are a tribe employed in agriculture, earthwork, fishing, hunting, making saltpetre and collecting indigenous drugs. Traditions current among the caste profess to trace their origin to the Vindhya hills, and one of these legends tells how a traveller, passing by the foot of the hills, heard a strange flute-like sound coming out of a clump of bamboos. He cut a shoot and took from it a fleshy substance which afterwards grew into a man, the supposed ancestor of the Binds. Another story says that the Binds and Nunias were formerly all Binds and that the present Nunias are the descendants of a Bind who consented to dig a grave for a Muhammadan king and was outcasted for doing so.” A third legend tells how in the beginning of all things Mahādeo made a lump of earth and endowed it with life. The creature thus produced asked Mahādeo what he should eat. The god pointed to a tank and told him to eat the fish in it and the wild rice which grew near the banks. Mr. Crooke22 says that they use fish largely except in the fortnight (Pitripaksh) sacred to the dead in the month of Kunwār, and Sir H. Risley notes that after the rice harvest the Binds wander about the country digging up the stores of rice accumulated by field rats in their burrows. From four to six pounds of grain are usually found, but even this quantity is sometimes exceeded. The Binds also feast on the rats, but they deny this, saying that to do so would be to their own injury, as a reduction of the next year’s find of grain would thus be caused.

Binjhāl.—Synonym of Binjhwār.

Binjhwār.—A caste derived from the Baiga tribe. A subtribe of Baiga and Gond. A subcaste of Gowāri.

Birchheya.—(A dweller in the forest.) Subcaste of Ghosi.

Birchkia.—(From birchka, a tree.) A subcaste of Ghosi.

Birhor.—A small Kolarian tribe of whom about 150 persons were returned in 1911 from the Chota Nāgpur States. The name means a dweller in the forest. Sir H. Risley states that the Birhors live in tiny huts made of branches of trees and leaves, and eke out a miserable living by snaring hares and monkeys, and collecting jungle products, especially the bark of the chob creeper,23 from which a coarse kind of rope is made. They are great adepts at ensnaring monkeys and other small animals, and sell them alive or eat them. Colonel Dalton described them as,24 “A small, dirty, miserable-looking race, who have the credit of devouring their parents, and when I taxed them with it they did not deny that such a custom had once obtained among them. But they declared they never shortened lives to provide such feasts and shrank with horror from the idea of any bodies but those of their own blood-relatives being served up to them.” It would appear that this custom may be partly ceremonial, and have some object, such as ensuring that the dead person should be born again in the family or that the survivors should not be haunted by his ghost. It has been recorded of the Bhunjias that they ate a small part of the flesh of their dead parents.25 Colonel Dalton considered the Birhors to be a branch of the Kharia tribe, and this is borne out by Dr. Grierson’s statement that the specimen of the Birhor dialect returned from the Jashpur State was really Kharia.26 Elsewhere the Birhor dialect resembles Mundāri.

Birjhia, Birjia. (One who practises bewar or shifting cultivation in a forest.) Subcaste of Binjhwār, Baiga and Korwa.

Bīrkhandia.—From Bīrkhand (Sand of heroes), a name for Rājputāna. A section of Teli.

Birtiya. Title of Nai or barber.

Bisen, Bisān.—A clan of Rājpūt. A section of Daharia and of Panwār Rājpūt. A section of Marār.

Bobaiaya.—(From Bobbili, a town in Madras.) A section of Teli in Chānda.

Bogam.—A name for Madrāsi prostitutes, perhaps a separate caste. Their honorific title is Sani.

Bohra.—A Muhammadan caste. A section of Oswāl Bania.

Bombay.—A subdivision of Vālmiki Kāyasth.

Bondoya—A resident of Jītgarh and the Pachmarhi tract of the Central Provinces. Subcaste of Korku.

Bopchi.—A section of Pānwar Rājpūt.

Bopchi—A small caste in the Wardha District numbering a few hundred persons. They are in reality Korkus, the name being a corruption of that of the Bendoya subtribe, but they have discarded their proper tribal name and formed a separate caste. They retain some of the Korku sept names, while others are derived from the Marāthi words or from the names of other castes, and these facts indicate that the Bopchis are of mixed descent from Korkus and other low Marātha castes with which unions have taken place. As might be expected, they are very tolerant of sexual and social offences, and do not expel a woman who has a liaison with a man of another caste or takes food from him. She is readmitted to caste intercourse, but has to undergo the penalty of washing her body with cowdung and having a lock of her hair cut off. A man committing a similar offence has his upper lip shaved. They employ Gosains for their gurus and their social position is very low.

Borākar.(A mat-maker.) Synonym of Gopāl.

Borjharia.—(Bor-plum.) A sept of Halba.

Brahmachare.—(A celibate.) Subcaste of Manbhao.

Brāhman Gaur, or Bāmhan Gaur.—A branch of the Gaur clan of Rājpūts. A subcaste of Bhāt.

Brid-dhari.—Begging Bhāts. Subcaste of Bhāt.

Brihaspati, Brahaspati.—An eponymous section of Brāhmans.

Buchar.—A corruption of the English word ‘butcher.’ Subcaste of Khatīk in Agra.

Budālgir.—(From budla, a leathern bag made for the transport and storage of oil and ghī (butter).) Subcaste of Chamār.

Bukekari.—(A seller of scented powder (bukka).) Synonym of Atāri.

Bundela.—A clan of Rājpūts of mixed descent. Name probably from the Vindhya hills. A subcaste of Basor. A sept of Manihār and Rāwat.

Bundelkhandi.—A resident of Bundelkhand. Subcaste of Basdewa, Barai, Basor, Chamār, Darzi, Dhobi, Kumhār, Lohār, Nai and Sunār.

Bundhrajia.—Subcaste of Kamār.

Bunkar.—(A weaver.) Title of Balāhi.

Burad.—A synonym for the Basor caste of bamboo-workers. A section of Koshti and Oswāl Bania.

Burthia.—Subcaste of Chāran Banjāra.

Burud.—(A bamboo-worker.) Synonym for Basor in the Marātha country.

Butka.—(One who brings leaves.) Subcaste of Chasa.

Byahūt.—(Married.) Subcaste of Kalār.

Chadār.—A caste. A subcaste of Kori.

Chakere.—(One who uses the potter’s wheel in localities where other Kumhārs do not use it.) Subcaste of Kumhār.

Chakla.—(A professional washerman.) Synonym for Dhobi.

Chalukya.—A synonym for Solanki Rājpūts. (Perhaps from chhullu or challu, hollow of the hand.) A subcaste of Panwār Rājpūt.

Chamār, Chamara.—(From chamra, a hide.) The well-known caste of tanners. A subcaste of Banjāra, Barhai and Darzi.

Chamār Gaur.—(Chamār and Gaur.) A well-known clan of Rājpūts. See Rājpūt-Gaur.

Chambhār.—Name of the Chamār caste in Berār.

Chamra.—A contemptuous diminutive for the Chamār caste in Chhattīsgarh.

Chandan, Chandania.—(Sandalwood.) A section of Chamār, Kawar, Khangār and Kurmi.

Chandel.—A famous clan of Rājpūts. See Rājpūt-Chandel.

Chāndewār.—(Belonging to Chānda.) Subcaste of Injhwār.

Chandi.—(One who hides behind a fishing-net.) A sept of Korku.

Chandra, Chandrāha. (From chanda, the moon.) A section of Gūjar and Teli.

Chandravansi or Somvansi.—(Descended from the moon.) A clan of Rājpūts.

Chandravedi.—Synonym of Sanaurhia, meaning ‘One who observes the moon.’

Chankhatia.—A subcaste of Bhuiya and Chamār.

Channāgri.—A small Jain sect. A subcaste of Bania.

Chanti.—Name derived from chiti, an ant. Subcaste of Kawar. A section of Kumhār.

Chānwar.—(Whisk.) A totemistic sept of Kawar and Pābia.

Charak.—A subdivision of Marātha Brāhman; a section of Brāhman.

Chāran.—Subcaste of Banjāra and Bhāt. Title of Bhāt in Rājputāna.

Chārdeve.—A clan of Gonds worshiping four gods and paying special reverence to the tortoise.

Chārghar.—(Four houses.) A subdivision of Sāraswat Brāhmans.

Chārnāgri.—A Jain sect or subcaste of Bania.

Chatrapati.—(Lord of the umbrella.) Title of the ancient Indian kings.

Chatri, Chhatri.—A common synonym for a Rājpūt. A subcaste of Bhāmta.

Chatūrbhuji.—(Four-armed.) An epithet of Vishnu. A title of the Chauhān clan of Rājpūts. A class of Bairāgis or religious mendicants.

Chaube, Chaturvedi.—(From Chaturvedi, or one learned in the four Vedas.) A surname for Kanaujia, Jijhotia and other Hindustāni Brāhmans. Subcaste of Banjara.

Chaubhaiya.—(Four brothers.) A subdivision of Sāraswat Brāhmans. They take wives from the Athbhaiya subdivision, but do not give girls to them in marriage.

Chaudhri, Chaudhari, Choudhri.—(A headman, the first person.) Title of Kalār Panwār, Rājpūt and other castes; title of Dhobi, vice-president of the caste committee. A section of Ahīr, Maheshri Bania, Gadaria, Gūjar, Halba and Marār (Māli). A subdivision of Kāpewār.

Chauhān.—A famous clan of Rājpūts. Name of a low caste of village watchmen in Chhattīsgarh, perhaps the illegitimate descendants of Panwār Rājpūts.

Chauka.—Title of the Kabīrpanthi religious service. The chauk is a sanctified place on the floor of the house or yard, plastered with cowdung and marked out with lines of wheat-flour or quartz-dust within which ceremonies are performed.

Chaukhūtia.—A term which signifies a bastard in Chhattīsgarh. Subcaste of Bhunjia.

Chauske.—Subcaste of Kalār. They are so called because they prohibit the marriage of persons having a common ancestor up to four generations.

Chaurāsia.—Resident of a Chaurāsi or estate of eighty-four villages. Subcaste of Barai and Bhoyar. A section of Dhīmar and Kumhār. Many estates are called by this name, grants of eighty-four villages having been commonly made under native rule.

Chawara, Chaura.—One of the thirty-six royal races of Rājpūts.

Chenchuwār, Chenchuwād or Chenchu—A forest tribe of the Telugu country of whom a few persons were returned from the Chānda District in 1911. In Madras the tribe is known as Chenchu, and the affix wād or wādu merely signifies person or man.27 The marriage ceremony of the Chenchus may be mentioned on account of its simplicity. The couple sometimes simply run away together at night and return next day as husband and wife, or, if they perform a rite, walk round and round a bow and arrow stuck into the ground, while their relations bless them and throw rice on their heads. Each party to a marriage can terminate it at will without assigning any reason or observing any formality. The bodies of the dead are washed and then buried with their weapons.

Chenr.—(Little.) Subcaste of Bhānd.

Cheorākuta.—(One who prepares cheora or pounded rice.) Subcaste of Dhuri.

Chero.28—A well-known tribe of the Munda or Kolarian family, found in small numbers in the Chota Nāgpur Feudatory States. They are believed to have been at one time the rulers of Bihār, where numerous monuments are attributed, according to the inquiries of Buchanan and Dalton, to the Kols and Cheros. “In Shāhābād29 also most of the ancient monuments are ascribed to the Cheros, and it is traditionally asserted that the whole country belonged to them in sovereignty. An inscription at Budh Gaya mentions one Phudi Chandra who is traditionally said to have been a Chero. The Cheros were expelled from Shāhābād, some say by the Sawaras (Saonrs), some say by a tribe called Hariha; and the date of their expulsion is conjectured to be between the fifth and sixth centuries of the Christian era. Both Cheros and Sawaras were considered by the Brāhmans of Shāhābād as impure or Mlechchas, but the Harihas are reported good Kshatriyas.

“The overthrow of the Cheros in Mithila and Magadha seems to have been complete. Once lords of the Gangetic provinces, they are now found in Shāhābād and other Bihār Districts only holding the meanest offices or concealing themselves in the woods skirting the hills occupied by their cousins, the Kharwārs; but in Palāmau they retained till a recent period the position they had lost elsewhere. A Chero family maintained almost an independent rule in that pargana till the accession of the British Government; they even attempted to hold their castles and strong places against that power, but were speedily subjugated, forced to pay revenue and submit to the laws. They were, however, allowed to retain their estates; and though the rights of the last Rāja of the race were purchased by Government in 1813, in consequence of his falling into arrears, the collateral branches of the family have extensive estates there still. According to their own traditions (they have no trustworthy annals) they have not been many generations in Palāmau. They invaded that country from Rohtās, and with the aid of Rājpūt chiefs, the ancestors of the Thakurais of Ranka and Chainpur drove out and supplanted a Rājpūt Rāja of the Raksel family, who retreated into Sargūja and established himself there.

“All the Cheros of note who assisted in the expedition obtained military service grants of land, which they still retain. The Kharwārs were then the people of most consideration in Palāmau, and they allowed the Cheros to remain in peaceful possession of the hill tracts bordering on Sargūja. It is popularly asserted that at the commencement of the Chero rule in Palāmau they numbered twelve thousand families, and the Kharwārs eighteen thousand; and if an individual of one or the other is asked to what tribe he belongs, he will say, not that he is a Chero or a Kharwār, but that he belongs to the twelve thousand or to the eighteen thousand, as the case may be. The Palāmau Cheros now live strictly as Rājpūts and wear the paita or caste thread.”

It has been suggested in the article on Khairwār that the close connection between the two tribes may arise from the Kharwārs or Khairwārs having been an occupational offshoot of the Cheros and Santāls.

In Palāmau30 the Cheros are now divided into two subcastes, the Bāra-hazār or twelve thousand, and the Terah-hazār or thirteen thousand, who are also known as Birbandhi. The former are the higher in rank and include most of the descendants of former ruling families, who assume the title Bābuān. The Terah-hazār are supposed to be the illegitimate offspring of the Bāra-hazār.

“The distinctive physical traits of the Cheros,” Colonel Dalton states, “have been considerably softened by the alliances with pure Hindu families, which their ancient power and large possessions enabled them to secure; but they appear to me still to exhibit an unmistakable Mongolian physiognomy. They vary in colour, but are usually of a light brown. They have, as a rule, high cheek-bones, small eyes obliquely set, and eyebrows to correspond, low broad noses, and large mouths with protuberant lips.”

Cherwa.—Subcaste of Kawar.

Chetti.—Subcaste of Gandli.

Chhachān.—(A hawk.) A section of Rāwat (Ahīr).

Chhadesia.—(A man of six districts.) Subcaste of Banjāra.

Chhadīdār or Darwān.—Title of the Dahaits, who were door-keepers of the Rājas of Mahoba in former times.

Chhanava Kule.—(The ninety-six houses.) A subcaste of Marātha.

Chhatakia.—An illegitimate group of the Kumhār caste.

Chhattīsgarhi, Chhattīsgarhia.—Resident of Chhattīsgarh or the region of the thirty-six forts, a name given to the eastern tract of the Central Provinces. Subcaste of Bahna, Darzi and Halba.

Chhehghar (Chhenghar).—(Members of the six houses.) A hypergamous division of Kanaujia Brāhmans. They take daughters from the other two divisions, but do not give their daughters to them.

Chhīpa.—(A dyer.) Synonym of Darzi.

Chhoha or Saroria.—A subcaste of Agharia of mixed descent.

Chholia.—(Rubbish.) A section of Rājjhar.

Chhote.—(Inferior.) Subcaste of Agharia and Teli.

Chhoti Pangat.—A subcaste of Halba, Synonym Surāit. Chhoti Pangat signifies the inferior caste feast, and the implication is that these members cannot join in the proper feast.

Chhotki Bhir or Gorhi.—(Low.) Subcaste of Rautia.

Chhura—(Razor.) A section of Panka. It was their business to shave other members of the caste after a death;

Chicham.—(Hawk.)—A sept of Gonds.

Chicheria.—(From church, forelock, which the children of this sept wear.) A sept of Dhīmar.

Chika.—Subcaste of Majhwār.

Chikwa.—Synonym of Khatīk.

Chinchkul.—A section of Komti. They abstain from the use of ginger and from the juice of the bhilawa or marking-nut tree.

Chīta Pūrdhi, Chīlewāla.—(Leopard-hunter.) A subcaste of Pārdhi.

Chiturkar, Chitrakar.—(A painter.) Synonym for Chitāri.

Chiter.—(A painter.) See Chitāri.

Chitevari.—(One who makes clay idols.) Synonym for Mochi.

Chitpāwan.—(The pure in heart.) A synonym for Konkanasth Brāhman.

Chitragupta Vansi.—(Descendants of Chitragupta.) A name for Kāyasths.

Chobdār.—(A mace-bearer.) Title of Dahāit.

Chorbans.—(Family of thieves.) A section of Chamār.

Chourdhar.—(A whisk-carrier.) A section of Sunār.

Chuhra.—Subcaste of Mehtar. Name for the sweeper caste in the Punjab.

Chungia.—(One who smokes a leaf-pipe.) Subcaste of Chamār and Satnāmi.

Chunwiha.—(From chunri, a coloured sheet worn by women.) A section of Tamera.

Churha.—(Thief.) A subcaste of Sunār. A section of Chhīpa.

Cutchwāha.—Clan of Rājpūt. Synonym for Kachhwaha.

Daharia.—(From Dāhar, the old name of the Jubbulpore country.) A clan of Rājpūts which has developed into a caste. A subcaste of Bhoyar, Kalār, Mahār, Marātha and Teli. A section of Chadār, Chamār and Katia.

Dahāt.—A variant for Dahāit. A subcaste of Khangār.

Dahia.—One of the thirty-six royal races of Rājpūts.

Daijanya.—Subcaste of Chamār. They are so called because their women act as dai or midwives.

Dakhne, Dakshne, Dakshni, Dakshini.—(Belonging to the Deccan.) Subcaste of Bahna, Chamār, Gondhali, Gurao, Kunbi, Mahār, Māng and Nai.

Dakochia.—A synonym for Bhadri, an astrologer.

Dal.—(From dal, an army.) Subcaste of Khond.

Dalboha, Dalbuha.—(One who carries dhoolies or palanquins.) Subcaste of Ghasia and Katia.

Dālia.—(From dāl or the pulse of Burhānpur which had a great reputation). Subcaste of Kunbi.

Dal Khālsa.—(Army of God.) Title of the Sikh army.

Dandewāla.—(One who performs acrobatic feats on a stick or bamboo.) Synonym for Kolhāti.

Dandi.—(One who carries a stick.) Name of a class of religious mendicants. See article Gosain.

Dandsena.—(One who carries a stick.) Subcaste of Kalār.

Dang-charha.—(A rope-climber.) Synonym of Nut.

Dāngiwāra.—Name of part of the Saugor District, which is called after the Dāngi caste. Subcaste of Kadera.

Dāngua.—(A hill-dweller.) Subcaste of Taonla.

Dangūr.—A small caste of hemp weavers numbering about 100 persons, and residing almost entirely in the village of Māsod in Betūl District. They are of the same standing as the caste of Kumrāwat or Patbina which pursues this occupation in other Districts, but acknowledge no connection with them and are probably an occupational offshoot of the Kunbi caste, from whose members they readily accept any kind of cooked food. Like many other small occupational castes with no definite traditions, they profess to have a Kshatriya origin, calling themselves Bhagore Rājpūts, while their families are known by such high-sounding titles as Rāthor, Chauhān, Gaur, Solanki and other well-known Rājpūt names. These pretensions have no foundation in fact, and the Dangūrs formerly did not abjure pork, while they still eat fowls and drink liquor. They neither bathe nor clean their kitchens daily. They may eat food taken from one place to another, but not if they are wearing shoes, this being only permissible in the case when the bridegroom takes his food wearing his marriage shoes.

Dantele.—(With teeth.) A section of Purānia Sunārs in Saugor.

Daraihān.—A small caste of debased Rājpūts found in the Bilāspur District of Chhattīsgarh and numbering some 2000 persons in 1901. They say that their ancestors were Rājpūts from Upper India who settled in Chhattīsgarh some generations back in the village of Dargaon in Raipur District. Thence they were given the name of Dargaihān, which has been corrupted into Daraihān. Others say that the name is derived from dāri, a prostitute, but this is perhaps a libel. In any case they do not care about the name Daraihān and prefer to call themselves Kshatriyas. They have now no connection with the Rājpūts of Upper India, and have developed into an endogamous group who marry among themselves. It seems likely that the caste are an inferior branch of the Daharia cultivating caste of Chhattīsgarh, which is derived from the Daharia clan of Rājpūts.31

Like other Rājpūts the Daraihāns have an elaborate system of septs and subsepts, the former having the names of Rājpūt clans, while the latter are taken from the eponymous gotras of the Brāhmans. There are fourteen septs, named as a rule after the principal Rājpūt clans, of whom four, the Chandel, Kachhwāha, Dhāndhul and Sakrawāra, rank higher than the other ten, and will take daughters from these in marriage, but not give their daughters in return. Besides the septs they have the standard Brāhmanical gotras, as Kausilya, Bhāradwāj, Vasishtha and so on to the number of seven, and the members of each sept are divided into these gotras. Theoretically a man should not take a wife whose sept or gotra is the same as his own. The marriage of first cousins is forbidden, and while the grandchildren of two sisters may intermarry, for the descendants of a brother and a sister the affinity is a bar till the third generation. But the small numbers of the caste must make the arrangement of matches very difficult, and it is doubtful whether these rules are strictly observed. They permit the practice of Gunrāvat or giving a bride for a bride. In other respects the social customs of the caste resemble those of their neighbours, the Daharias, and their rules as to the conduct of women are strict. The men are well built and have regular features and fair complexions, from which their Rājpūt ancestry may still be recognised. They wear the sacred thread. The Daraihāns are good and intelligent cultivators, many of them being proprietors or large tenants, and unlike the Daharias they do not object to driving the plough with their own hands. In the poorer families even the women work in the fields. They have a strong clannish feeling and will readily combine for the support or protection of any member of the caste who may be in need of it.

Darbānia.—(Door-keeper.) Title of Khangūr.

Darshani.—Title of the most holy members of the Kānphata Jogis.

Darshni.—(From darshan, seeing, beholding, as of a god.) A sub-division of Jogi.

Darwān.—(A door-keeper.) Title of Dahāit.

Darwe or Dalwe.—A subcaste of Gonds in Chānda; the Darwes are also called Nāik.

Darwesh.—Persian name for a Muhammadan Fakīr or religious mendicant.

Darzi.—A caste of tailors. Subcaste of Ghasia.

Dās.—(Servant.) Used as the termination of their names by Bairāgis or religious mendicants. A term applied by Pankas and other Kabīrpanthis to themselves.

Dasa.—(Ten.) A subdivision of Agarwāla and other subcastes of Bania, meaning those of pure blood.

Dasghar.—(Ten houses.) One of the three subdivisions of Kanaujia Brāhmans. They give their daughters to members of the Chheghar or six houses and receive them from the Pānchghar or five houses.

Dasnāmi.—A member of the ten orders. Synonym for Gosain.

Datta or Dutt.—Surname of Bengali Kāyasths.

Daune.—A subdivision of Prabhu or Parbhu in Nāgpur, so called on account of their living in the island of Diu, a Portuguese possession.

Deccani.—See Dakhne.

Dehalwi.—(From Delhi.) A subdivision of Gaur Kāyasths.

Dehri.—(A worshipper.) Subcaste of Sudh.

Dekkala.—(A genealogist.) Subcaste of Mādgi.

Delki.—Subcaste of Kharia.

Deo.—(God.) A hereditary title borne by certain Feudatory Chiefs. A surname of Karhāra Brāhmans in Saugor. A subcaste of Gandli in Chānda.

Deobansi.—(A descendant of a god.) Subcaste of Patwa.

Deogarhia or Rājkunwar.—(From Deogarh.) A subcaste of Pardhān. A subcaste of Audhelia made up of prostitutes. A sept of Dhīmar.

Deokia.—Title used in the Bedar caste.

Deoputra.—(Son of god.) Synonym of Chāran.

Desa or Kota.—Subcaste of Balija.

Desai.—A variant for Deshmukh or a Marātha revenue officer. Title of the Pardhān caste.

Desāwal.—A subdivision of Brāhman in Jubbulpore. They take their name from Disa, a town in Pālanpur State in Bombay Presidency.

Desha, Desaha.—(Belonging to the home country.) The name is usually applied to immigrants from Mālwa or Hindustān. A subcaste of Ahīr, Bargāh, Bāri, Chamār, Dhuri, Gadaria, Kalār, Kol, Kurmi, Lakhera, Lohār, Mahār, Sunār and Teli.

Deshastha.—A subcaste of Marātha Brāhmans inhabiting the country (Desh) above the Western Ghāts. A subcaste of Gurao.

Deshkar.—(One belonging to the country.) A subcaste of Gondhali, Gurao, Kasār, Koshti, Kunbi, Mahār, Māli, Marātha, Nāi, Sunār and Teli.

Deshmukh.—Under Marātha rule the Deshmukh was a Pargana officer who collected the revenue of the Pargana or small subdivision, and other taxes, receiving a certain share. The office of Deshmukh was generally held by a leading Kunbi of the neighbourhood. He also held revenue-free land in virtue of his position. The Deshmukh families now tend to form a separate subcaste of Kunbis and marry among themselves.

Deshpānde.—The Deshpānde was the Pargana accountant. He was generally a Brāhman and the right-hand man of the Deshmukh, and having the advantage of education he became powerful like the Deshmukh. Now used as a surname by Marātha Brāhmans.

Deswāli.—Synonym for Mīna.

Devadāsi.—(Handmaidens of the gods.) Synonym for Kasbi.

Devarukhe.—A subdivision of Marātha Brāhmans. The word is derived from Devarishi, a Shakha (branch) of the Atharva Veda, or from Devarukh, a town in Ratnāgiri District of Bombay Presidency. Among Brāhmans they hold rather a low position.

Dewangan.—(From the old town of this name on the Wardha river.) Subcaste of Koshti.

Dhaighar.—(2½ houses.) A subcaste of Khatri.

Dhākan.—(A witch.) Subcaste of Bhāt.

Dhākar.—Name of a caste in Bastar. A clan of Rājpūts. A subcase of Barai, Bania and Kirār. A sept of Halba.

Dhālgar.—A small occupational caste who made leather shields, and are now almost extinct as the use of shields has gone out of fashion. They are Muhammadans, but Mr. Crooke32 considers them to be allied to the Dabgars, who make leather vessels for holding oil and ghī and are also known as Kuppesāz. The Dabgars are a Hindu caste whose place in the Central Provinces is taken by the Budalgir Chamārs. These receive their designation from budla, the name of the leather bag which they make. Budlas were formerly employed for holding ghī or melted butter, oil and the liquid extract of sugarcane, but vegetable oil is now generally carried in earthen vessels slung in baskets, and ghī in empty kerosene tins. Small bottles of very thin leather are still used by scent-sellers for holding their scents, though they also have glass bottles. The song of the Leather Bottél recalls the fact that vessels for holding liquids were made of leather in Europe prior to the introduction of glass. The Dhālgars also made targets for archery practice from the hides of buffaloes; and the similar use of the hides of cattle in Europe survives in our phrase of the bull’s eye for the centre of the target.

Dhāmonia.—(From Dhāmoni, a town in Saugor.) A subcaste of Sonkar. A territorial sept of Darzi and Dhobi.

Dhanak Sammāni.—(One who reverences the bow.) A section of Barai.

Dhandere.—(Probably from Dhundhar, an old name of Jaipur or Amber State.) A sept of Rājpūts.

Dhangar.—(A farmservant.) Synonym of Oraon.

Dhanka.—Perhaps a variant for Dhangar. Subcaste of Oraon.

Dhanoj, Dhanoje.—(From dhangar, a shepherd.) Subcaste of Are and Kunbi.

Dhānpagar.—(One serving for a pittance of paddy.) A section of Teli.

Dhanuhār.—(A corrupt form of Dhanusdhar or a holder of a bow.) Synonym of Dhanwār.

Dhānuk.—(A bowman.) A caste. A subcaste of Mehtār.

Dhanushban.—(Bow and arrow.) A sept of Kawar.

Dharampuria.—(Resident of Dharampur.) Subcaste of Dhobi.

Dhare.—Title of Gowāri.

Dhāri.—A subcaste of Banjāra. They are the bards of the caste.

Dharkār.—Subcaste of Basor.

Dharmīk.—(Religious or virtuous.) A subcaste of Mahār and Marātha.

Dhed.—Synonym for Mahār.

Dhengar.—A subcaste of Bharewa (Kasār) and Gadaria.

Dhera.33—A small Telugu caste of weavers, the bulk of whom reside in the Sonpur State, transferred to Bengal in 1905. The Dheras were brought from Orissa by the Rāja of Sonpur to make clothes for the images of the gods, which they also claim to be their privilege in Puri. Their exogamous groups are named after animals, plants or other objects, and they practise totemism. The members of the Sūrya or sun group will not eat during an eclipse. Those of the Nalla (black) sept will not wear black clothes. Those of the Bansethi and Bhanala septs will not use the bandi, a kind of cart from which they consider their name to be derived. The Otals take their name from utti, a net, from which pots are hung, and they will not use this net. Those of the Gunda sept, who take their name from gunda, a bullet, will not eat any game shot with a gun. Marriage within the sept is prohibited, but the Dheras always, where practicable, arrange the marriage of a boy with his maternal uncle’s daughter. Even in childhood the members of such families address each other as brother-in-law and sister-in-law. When the bridegroom and bride go home after the marriage ceremony, the bridegroom’s sister bars the door of the house and will not let them in until they have severally promised to give her their daughter for her son. A girl must be married before arriving at adolescence on pain of permanent exclusion from the caste. If a suitable husband has not therefore been found when the period approaches, the parents marry the girl to her elder sister’s husband or any other married man. She is not bound to enter into conjugal relations with the man to whom she is thus united, and with his consent she may be consequently married to any other man in the guise of a widow. If a bachelor takes such a girl to wife, he must first be married to a sahara tree (Streblus asper). When a betrothal is arranged, an elderly member of the bridegroom’s family proceeds to the bride’s house and asks her people three times in succession whether the betrothal is arranged, and at each reply in the affirmative ties a knot in his cloth. He then goes home and in the bridegroom’s house solemnly unties the knots over another cloth which is spread on the ground. This cloth is then considered to contain the promises and it is wrapped up and carefully put away to keep them as if they were material objects.

Dherha.—(Brother-in-law or paternal aunt’s husband.) Title of Kharia.

Dhīmar.—A caste. Subcaste of Kori.

Dhimra.—Synonym for Dhīmar.

Dhobi.—The caste of washermen. A sept of Bharia and Bhaina.

Dhokhede.—One of doubtful parentage. A sept of Teli.

Dholewār.—(From dhola, a drum.) A subcaste of Bhoyar and Gaoli. A section of Basor.

Dholi.—(A minstrel.) Subcaste of Bhāt.

Dhubela.—Origin perhaps from the Dhobi caste. Subcaste of Basor.

Dhulbajia.—(From dhol, a drum.) A subcaste of Chamār, also known as Daijania.

Dhulia, Dholin, Dholi.—(A player on a dhol or drum.) Synonym for the Basor caste. A subcaste of Gond in Chānda and Betul. A subcaste of Mahār.

Dhunak Pathān.—Synonym for Bahna.

Dhunia.—(From dhunna, to card cotton.) Synonym for Bahna.

Dhunka.—(A cotton-cleaner.) Subcaste of Kadera.

Dhur Gond.—(From dhur, dust.) A subcaste of Gonds. They are also known as Rāwanvansi or descendants of Rāwan.

Dhuri.—A caste of grain-parchers. A subcaste of Dhīmar.

Dhuria.—Subcaste of Nagasia and Dhīmar. They are so called because they mark the forehead of the bride with dust (dhur) taken from the sole of the bridegroom’s foot.

Dhurwa.—The word may be derived from dhur, dust. Dhur is a name given to the body of Gonds as opposed to the Raj-Gonds. One of the commonest septs of Gonds. A sept of Baiga, Kolta, Kalār and Nat. A title of Parja.

Dhūsar.—Subcaste of Bania.

Dhusia.—Subcaste of Murha.

Digāmbari.—A sect of Jain Banias who do not clothe their idols and apply saffron to their feet. Also a class of Bairāgis or religious mendicants.

Diharia or Kisān.—(One who lives in a village or a cultivator.). Subcaste of Korwa.

Dikhit, Dikshit, Dixit.—(The Initiator.) A subcaste of Brāhman. A clan of Rājpūts of the solar race formerly dominant in the United Provinces.

Dila.—(A pointed stick tied to a calf’s mouth to prevent him from sucking.) A totemistic sept of Kawar. They do not use a stick in this manner. A section of Ahīr.

Dillawāl.—A subcaste of Kasār. Those belonging to or coming from Delhi.

Dingkuchia.—(One who castrates cattle and ponies.) Subcaste of Ghasia.

Dipawālia.—(One who supplies oil for the lamps at Diwāli.) A sept of Teli.

Dīpbans.—(Son of the lamp.) Title of Teli.

Diwān.—Title of the members of the Dahāit caste committee.

Dixit.—See Dikhit.

Dobaile.—(One who yokes two bullocks to the oil-press.) Subcaste of Telis in the Nāgpur country.

Dobīsya.—(Two score.) Subcaste of Halwai.

Doda or Dor.—One of the thirty-six royal races of Rājpūts.

Dogle.—Name applied to Kāyasths of illegitimate descent.

Dohor.34—A small caste of Berār, who are really Chamārs; in the Central Provinces the Dohors are a well-known subcaste of Chamārs, but in Berār they appear to have obtained a separate name, under which about 6000 persons were returned in 1911. They work in leather like the Chamārs or Mochis. With the ambition of bettering their social status among the Hindus the caste strictly observe the sanctity of animal life. No Dohor may molest an animal or even pelt it with stones. A man who sells a cow or bullock to butchers is put out of caste, but if he repents and gets the animal back before it is slaughtered, a fine of Rs. 5 only is imposed. If, on the other hand, the animal is killed, the culprit must give his daughter in marriage without taking any price from the bridegroom, and must feed the whole caste and pay a fine of Rs. 50, which is expended on liquor. Failing this he is expelled from the community. Similarly the Pardeshi Dohors rigidly enforce infant-marriage. If a girl is not married before she is ten her family are fined and put out of caste until the fine is paid. And if the girl has leprosy or any other disease, which prevents her from getting married, a similar penalty is imposed on the family. Nevertheless the Dohors are considered to be impure and are not allowed to enter Hindu temples; the village barber does not shave them nor the washerman wash their clothes. A bachelor desiring to marry a widow must first perform the ceremony with a rui or cotton-tree. But such a union is considered disgraceful; the man himself must pay a heavy fine to get back into caste, and his children are considered as partly illegitimate and must marry with the progeny of similar unions. Either husband or wife can obtain a divorce by a simple application to the caste panchāyat, and a divorced woman can marry again as a widow. The caste offer sheep and goats to their deities and worship the animals before killing them. At Dasahra they also pay reverence to the skinning-knife, and the needle with which shoes are sewn. The caste burn the bodies of those who die married and bury the unmarried. Before setting out for a funeral they drink liquor and again on their return, and a little liquor is sprinkled over the grave. When a man has been cremated his ashes are taken and thrown into a river on the third day. The chief mourner, after being shaved by his brother-in-law, takes the hair with some copper coins in his hand and, diving into the river, leaves them there as an offering to the dead man’s spirit.

Dolia.—(Palanquin-bearer.) A section of Dhīmar.

Dom.—An important caste in Bengal. See article Kanjar. Used as a synonym for Gānda in the Uriya country.

Domra.—Subcaste of Turi.

Dongaria, Dongarwār.—(From dongar, a hill.) A sept of Bhīl, Dhobi, Māli, Māng and Sonkar. A surname of Marātha Brāhmans.

Dora.—(Sāhib or Lord.) Title of the Mutrāsi caste.

Dosar.—Subcaste of Bania.

Dravida.—(Southern.) See Pānch-Dravida.

Dūbe.—(A teacher and a man learned in two Vedās.) A common surname of Hindustāni Brāhmans. A subcaste of Banjāra.

Dūdh.—(Milk.) Dūdh-Barai, a subcaste of Barai; Dudh-Gowāri, a subcaste of Ahīr or Gowāri; Dūdh-Kawar, a subcaste of Kawar.

Dūdh Bhai.—(Milk-brothers.) A fraternity of Gonds in Betūl, who are apparently foster-brothers. They do not marry, though they have different septs.

Dukar.—A subcaste of Kolhāti. From dukar, hog, because they are accustomed to hunt the wild pig with dogs and spears when these animals become too numerous and damage the crops of the villagers.

Dukaria.—Title of the officer of the Andh caste who constitutes the caste committee.

Dūlha.—(Bridegroom.) A section of Chadār.

Dumār or Dom.—A low caste of sweepers in Bengal. See Kanjar. Subcaste of Basor, Gānda, Panka and Turi. Synonym and subcaste of Mehtar. A section of Kawar.

Durgbansi.—A clan of Rājpūts in Rāgnandgaon.

Dūsre.—(Second.) A subdivision of Shrivāstab, Gaur and Saksena Kāyasths, meaning those of inferior or mixed origin as opposed to Khare or those of pure origin.

Dwārka.—One of the most holy places in India, situated on or near the sea in Gujarāt. It is supposed to have been founded by Krishna. Site of one of the monasteries (Ashrām) of Sankarachārya, the founder of the non-dualistic or Vedanta philosophy.

Dwija.—(Twice-born.) A title applied to the three higher classical castes, Brāhman, Kshatriya and Vaishya, and now especially to Brāhmans.

Ekbāhia.—(One-armed.) Subcaste of Teli, so called because their women wear glass bangles only on one arm.

Ekbaile.—One who yokes one bullock only to the oil-press. Subcaste of Teli.

Elama, Elma.—Synonym for Velāma. A subcaste of Kāpewār or Kāpu.

Erenga.—Subcaste of Kharia in Bengal.

Erna.—(From Eran, in Saugor district.) A section of Teli.

Fakīr.—A Muhammadan mendicant. Synonym Sain. See article.

Farīd.—Sheikh Farīd was a well-known Muhammadan saint. A section of Panwār Rājpūt.

Fārsi.—Persian. From the Province of Fārs. The term Fārsi is also used by the Hindus to signify foreign or non-Aryan languages like Gondi.

Fidawi.—(A disciple.) An order of devotees of the Khojah sect known to the Crusaders as Assassins. Title of Khojah.

Gadaba.—Synonym of Gadba.

Gadaria.—A caste. Subcaste of Ahīr.

Gadha.—(An ass.) A sept of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betūl, so named because their priest rode on an ass in crossing a river.

Gadhao.—(From gadha, an ass.) Subcaste of Kunbi.

Gadhewāl, Gadhere, Gadhwe, Gadhilla.—(One who keeps donkeys. From gadha, an ass.) A subcaste of Dhīmar, Katia, Koshti, Kumhār and Sonkar. A sept of Gond and Pardhān.

Gadhwana.—(From Garha, near Jubbulpore.) Subcaste of Nai.

Gādiwān.—(A cart-driver.) Subcaste of Dāngri.

Gādri.—(From gādar, a sheep.) A synonym of Gadaria. A subcaste of Dhangar.

Gaharwār, Gaharvāl, Gherwāl.—One of the thirty-six royal races of Rājpūts chiefly found in Bilāspur and Khairagarh. A section of Patwas.

Gahbainya or Gahboniya.—(Those who hid in a village when called by a king to his presence.) A subcaste of Kurmi. A section of Kurmi.

Gahlot or Sesodia.—A famous clan of Rājpūts. A section of Daraiha and Joshi.

Gahoi.—Subcaste of Bania. See article Bania-Gahoi.

Gahra.—Synonym for Ahīr or herdsman in the Uriya country.

Gai-Gowāri.—Subcaste of Gowāri.

Gaiki.—A cowherd. (A subcaste of Gond in Betūl.) A section of Chamār.

Gaikwār or Gaika.—(A cowherd.) A clan of Marātha. A section of Ahīr, Bhīl, Kunbi and Mahār.

Gaita.—Subcaste of Gond.

Gaiwāle.—(Cow-keeper.) A subcaste of Moghia.

Gajarha.—(Gājar, a carrot.) A section of Teli in Mandla.

Gajjām.—A sept of the Dhurwa clan of Gonds in Betūl named after Gajjāmi. (Bow and arrows in Gondi.)

Gānda.—(A messenger.) A low caste of village watchmen. In the Uriya country the Gāndas are known as Dom. A subcaste of Pardhān. Title of Kharia.

Gandhi.—A scent-seller. (From gandh, a Sanskrit word for scent.) Synonym of Atāri. A section of Maheshir Bania.

Gāndli.—The Telugu caste of oil-pressers, numbering about 3000 persons in the Central Provinces, in the Chānda, Nāgpur and Bhandāra Districts. They are immigrants from the Godāvari District of Madras and have been settled in the Central Provinces for some generations. Here many of them have prospered so that they have abandoned the hereditary calling and become landowners, traders and moneylenders. Like the well-to-do Telis they are keenly desirous of bettering their social position and now repudiate any connection with what may be known as ‘the shop,’ or the profession of oil-pressing. As this ranks very low, among the more despised village handicrafts, the progress of the Gāndlis and Telis to the social standing of Banias, to which they generally aspire, is beset with difficulties; but the Gāndlis, in virtue of having migrated to what is practically a foreign country so far as they are concerned, have achieved a considerable measure of success, and may be said to enjoy a better position than any Telis. A few of them wear the sacred thread, and though they eat flesh, they have abjured liquor except in Chānda, where they are most numerous and the proportion of wealthy members is smallest. Here also they are said to eat pork. Others eat flesh and fowls.

The Gāndlis are divided into the Reddi, Chetti and Telkala subcastes, and the last are generally oil-pressers. It is probable that the Reddis are the same as the Redu-eddu or Rendu-eddu subcaste of Madras, who derive their name from the custom of using two bullocks to turn the oil-press, like the Do-baile Telis of the Central Provinces. But it has been changed to Reddi, a more respectable name, as being a synonym for the Kāpu cultivating caste. Chetti really means a trader, and is, Mr. Francis says,35 “One of those occupational or titular terms, which are largely employed as caste names. The weavers, oil-pressers and others use it as a title, and many more tack it on to their names to denote that trade is their occupation.” Marriage is regulated by exogamous groups, the names of which are said to be derived from those of villages. Girls are generally married during childhood. A noticeable point is that the ceremony is celebrated at the bridegroom’s house, to which the bride goes, accompanied by her party, including the women of her family. The ceremony follows the Marātha form of throwing fried rice over the bridal couple, and Brāhman priests are employed to officiate. Widow-marriage is permitted. The dead are both buried and burnt, and during mourning the Gāndlis refrain from eating khichri or mixed rice and pulse, and do not take their food off plantain leaves, in addition to the other usual observances. They have the shāntik ceremony or the seclusion of a girl on the first appearance of the signs of adolescence, which is in vogue among the higher Marātha castes, and is followed by a feast and the consummation of her marriage. They now speak Marāthi fluently, but still use Telugu in their houses and wear their head-cloths tied after the Tulugu fashion.36

Gangabālu.—(Sand of the Ganges.) A family name of Gānda.

Gangābasia.—(Living on the banks of the Ganges.) A section of Ahīr.

Gangāpāri.—(One coming from the further side of the Ganges.) Subcaste of Barai, Barhai, Chamār, Dhobi, Gondhali, Kumhār and Umre Bania.

Gangasāgar.—(Sea of the Ganges.) A section of Chitāri and Kawar.

Gangāvansi.—(Descended from the Ganges.) A clan of Rājpūts. The chief of Bāmra State is a Gangāvansi.

Gangthade.—Dwellers on the banks of the Godāvari and Wainganga. These rivers are sometimes called Ganga or Ganges, which is used as a general term for a great river. A subcaste of Marātha.

Gannore.—Name of a minor Rājpūt clan. Subcaste of Balāhi.

Gānth-chor.—(A bundle-thief.) Title of Bhāmta.

Gaolān.—A synonym of Ahīr or Gaoli, applied to an inferior section of the caste.

Gaoli, Gauli.—(A milkman.) Synonym for Ahīr. Subcaste of Hatkar.

Gaontia.—(A village headman.) Title of the head of the Kol caste committee. Title of Kol.

Garde.—(Dusty.) A surname of Karhāra Brāhmans in Saugor.

Garg or Gargya.—The name of a famous Rishi or saint. An eponymous section of Brāhmans. A section of Agarwāla Banias. Gargabansi is a clan of Rājpūts.

Garhāwāla, Garhewāla, Garhewār.—A resident of Garha, an old town near Jubbulpore which gave its name to the Garha-Mandla dynasty, and is a centre of weaving. A subcaste of Katia, Koshti and Mahār, all weaving castes. A subcaste of Binjhāl.

Garkata.—(Cut-throat.) A section of Koshti.

Garpagāri.—A body of Jogis or Nāths who avert hailstorms and are considered a separate caste. See article. From gār, hail. A subcaste of Koshta and Kumhār. A section of Ghasia.

Gāte.—(A bastard.) Subcaste of Naoda.

Gaur.—The ancient name of part of Bengal and perhaps applied also to the tract in the United Provinces round about the modern Gonda District. A subcaste of Brāhman and Kāyasth. A clan of Rājpūts. See articles.

Gauria, Gauriya.—A caste. A subcaste of Dhīmar, Khond, Kumhār and Uriya Sānsia.

Gauriputra.—A son of Gauri, the wife of Mahādeo. Title of Balija.

Gautam.—A name of a famous Rishi or saint. A common eponymous section of Brāhmans. A clan of Rājpūts. A section of Agharia, Ahīr, Marātha, Panwār Rājpūt, Rangāri and Jangam.

Gāyake.—Subcaste of Pardhi, meaning a man who stalks deer behind a bullock.

Gayāwāl.—(From the town of Gaya on the Ganges, a favourite place for performing the obsequies of the dead.) A subcaste of Brāhmans who act as emissaries for the owners of the shrines at Gaya and wander about the country inducing villagers to undertake the pilgrimage and personally conducting their constituents.

Gāzulu.—(A bangle-seller.) Subcaste of Balija.

Gedam.—A sept of Gonds. A sept of Baigās.

Ghadyachi Tong.—(The rim of the pitcher.) A section of Kirār.

Ghanta.—(Bell.) A section of Kumhār.

Ghantra.—Name of a caste of Lohārs or blacksmiths in the Uriya country.

Gharbāri.—One who while leading a mendicant life is permitted to marry with the permission of his guru. A householder, synonym Grihastha. The married groups of the Gosain, Bairāgi and Mānbhao orders as distinguished from the Nihang or celibate section.

Ghāsi Mali.—Subcaste of Māli.

Ghātole, Ghātode.—Those who dwell on the ghāts or passes of the Sainhyadri Hills to the south of the Berār plain. Subcaste of Bahna, Gondhali and Kunbi.

Ghātmathe.—(Residents of the Mahādeo plateau in Berār.) Subcaste of Marātha.

Gherwāl.—A clan of Rājpūts. Synonym for Gaharwār.

Ghīdoda.—(Giver of ghī.) A section of Telis so named because their first ancestors presented ghī to the king Bhoramdeo.

Ghisādi, Ghisāri.—A group of wandering Lohārs or blacksmiths. Synonym for Lohār.

Ghoderāo.—(Ghoda, a horse.) Subcaste of Chitrakathi. They have the duty of looking after the horses and bullock-carts of the castemen who assemble for marriage or other ceremonies.

Ghodke.—Those who tend horses. Subcaste of Māng.

Ghodmāria.—(Horse-killer.) A sept of Binjhwār.

Ghopi.—(Wild jāmun tree.) A sept of Gonds.

Ghosi.—A caste. A subcaste of Ahīr. A section of Chamār.

Ghudchoda.—A subcaste of Pāsi, who have become grooms. (From ghora, a horse.)

Ghughu, Ghughwa.—(Owl.) A section of Gānda, Kawar, Kewat and Panka. Pankas of the Ghughu sept are said to have eaten the leavings of their caste-fellows.

Ghunnere.—(Worm-eater.) A section of Teli in Betūl and Rāthor Teli.

Ghūra or Gūra.—(Dunghill.) A section of Chadār and Sunār.

Ghuttin.—A sept of Bhīls. They reverence the gūlar, or fig tree.

Gingra.—A subcaste of Tiyar.

Girgira.—A small caste found in Sonpur State and Sambalpur district. They are fishermen, and also parch rice. They are perhaps an offshoot of the Kewat caste.

Giri or Gir.—(Gir, mountain.) An order of Gosains.

Girnāra.—A subcaste of Brāhmans in Jubbulpore. They are said to take their name from Girnār in Kāthiāwār, where they were settled by Krishna after he rose from the Dāmodar reservoir in the bed of the Sonrekha river at Junagarh. They have the monopoly of the office of priests to pilgrims visiting Girnār. (Bombay Gazetteer, ix.)

Goāl or Gowāla, Guāla.—(Sanskrit Gopāl, a cowherd.) Synonym of Ahīr, also subcaste of Ahīr.

Gaoli.—(A cowherd.) Synonym for Ahīr. Subcaste of Marātha.

Gobardhua.—(From gobar, cowdung.) Subcaste of Chamār.

Gohia, Gohi.—(From goh or gohi, a large lizard.) A section of Jain Bania or Khatīk. A sept of Bhatra and Parja.

Gohil.—A well-known clan of Rājpūts in the United Provinces.

Goia.—(From gohi, a mango-stone.) A section of Chadār. They draw a picture of the mango-stone at the Maihar or distribution of sacrificial cakes.

Gola.—Synonym of Golar.

Golak.—Synonym Govardhan or Gaomukh. An illegitimate group of Marātha Brāhmans.

Golalāre.—A subcaste of Bania.

Golandāz.—(An artilleryman.) Synonym of Kadera.

Golapūrab.—A subcaste of Bania, Darzi and Kalār.

Golkar.—Synonym of Golar and Ahīr.

Golia.—One who dyes cloth with goli kā rang, the fugitive aniline dyes. Subcaste of Chhīpa.

Golla.—Synonym of Golar.

Gollam.—Synonym of Golar.

Gondādya.—(Gond.) Subcaste of Otāri.

Gondi.—(From the Gonds.) A subcaste of Ahīr, Binjhwār and Lohār.

Gondia.—Subcaste of Dhīmar.

Gondi-Lohār.—A Gond who works as a blacksmith. Subcaste of Lohār.

Gondvansi.—(Descendants of Gonds.) A section of Ghasia.

Gondwaina.—Subcaste of Baiga.

Gopāl.—A caste. Synonym of Ahīr in Rājputāna.

Goranda.—Synonym of Goyanda.

Gorakhnāth.—A sect of Jogis. From Guru Gorakhnāth, a great Jogi.

Gorasia.—(From goras, milk.) A section of Lonāre Māli.

Gorigawār, Gaigowāl.—(A cowherd.) A section of Otāri and Panka.

Gosain, Goswāmi.—A caste. A surname of Sanādhya Brāhmans in Saugor.

Gotte.—A subcaste of Gond. They are also called Made in Chānda.

Goundia.—A class of Bairāgi. Synonym Mādhavachāri. A section of Bharia-Bhumia.

Gowālvansi.—Subcaste of Ahīr.

Goyanda, Goranda.—A name applied to a small class of persons in Jubbulpore, who are descendants of Thug approvers, formerly confined there. The name is said to mean, ‘One who speaks,’ and to have been applied to those Thugs who escaped capital punishment by giving information against their confederates. Goranda is said to be a corruption of Goyanda. The Goyandas are both Hindus and Muhammadans. The latter commonly call themselves Deccani Musalmans as a more respectable designation. They are said to be a gipsy class of Muhammadans resembling the Kanjars. The Hindus are of different castes, but are also believed to include some Beria gipsies. The Goyandas are employed in making gloves, socks and strings for pyjamas, having probably taken to this kind of work because the Thug approvers were employed in the manufacture of tents. Their women are quarrelsome, and wrangle over payment when selling their wares. This calling resembles that of the Kanjar women, who also make articles of net and string, and sell them in villages. Some of the Goyandas are employed in Government and railway service, and Mr. Gayer notes that the latter are given to opium smuggling, and carry opium on their railway engines.37

Grihastha, Gharbāri.—(A householder.) A name given to those divisions of the religious mendicant orders who marry and have families.

Guār.—(From guāra or gwāla, a milkman.) Subcaste of Banjāra.

Gudarh or Gudar.—(From gudra, a rag.) A sect of the Bairāgi, Gosain and Jogi orders of mendicants.

Gudha or Gurha.—(From gudh, a pigsty.) Subcaste of Basor.

Gugaria.—One who trades in gugar, a kind of gum. Subcaste of Banjāra.

Gūjar.—A caste. A subcaste of Ahīr, Darzi, Koshti and Pāsi. A clan of Marātha. A section of Khatīk.

Gujarāti.—(From Gujarāt.) A territorial subcaste of Bahelia, Bania, Barhai, Chhīpa, Darzi, Gopāl, Nai, Sunār and Teli.

Gurasthulu.—A synonym for the Balija caste.

Gurbhelia.—(A ball of molasses.) A section of Gohira Ahīrs in Chānda.

Guria.—(A preparer of gur or unrefined sugar.) Synonym of Halwai in the Uriya country.

Gurujwāle.—A class of Fakīrs or Muhammadan beggars.

Guru-Māta.—Title of the great council of the Sikhs and their religious meal.

Guru.—(A preacher or teacher or spiritual guide.) Brāhmans and members of the religious orders, Bairāgis and Gosains, are the Gurus of ordinary Hindus. Most Hindu men and also women of the higher and middle castes have a Guru, whose functions are, however, generally confined to whispering a sacred verse into the ear of the disciple on initiation, and paying him a visit about once a year; it is not clear what happens on these occasions, but the Guru is entertained by this disciple, and a little moral exhortation may be given.

Gurusthulu.—Synonym of Balija.

Guthau.—Title of Gadba.

Gwālbansi, Gokulbansi, Goālbansi.—(Descended from a cowherd.) A subcaste of Ahīr or Gaoli, A subcaste of Khairwār.

Gwālhare.—(Cowherd.) A subcaste of Lodhi.

Habshi.—Synonym of Siddi. An Abyssinian.

Hadi.—(Sweeper or scavenger.) One of the 72½ gotras of Meheshri Bania. A synonym for Mangan.

Hadia.—(From hadi, bone.) A section of Rāghuvansi.

Haihaya, Haihaivansi.—(Race of the horse.) A clan of Rājpūts of the lunar race.

Hajjām.—Muhammadan name for Nai or barber.

Hakkya.—Title of Hatkar.

Halai.—Subcaste of Cutchi.

Halbi.—Synonym of Halba. Subcaste of Koshti.

Haldia, Hardiya, Hardiha, Halde.—(A grower of haldi, or turmeric.) Subcaste of Kāchhi, Lodhi, Mali, Rājjhar and Teli. A section of Rājjhar.

Halia.—(Ploughman.) A subcaste of Teli in Nandgaon State.

Halua.—A subcaste of Uriya Brāhmans, so called because they use the plough (hal).

Hāns, Hānsi, Hānsa—(The swan.) A section of Agharia, Ahīr, Māli and Savar.

Hansele.—(Hansna, to laugh.) A section of Ahīr.

Hanumān, Hanumanta.—(The monkey-god Hanumān.) A section of Bhatra, Mahār and Mowār.

Hāra.—A clan of Rājpūts, a branch of the Chauhāns.

Harbola.—Derived from Hari, a name of Vishnu or Krishna, and bolna to speak. Synonym of Basdewa and also subcaste of Basdewa.

Hardās.—A religious mendicant who travels about and tells stories about heroes and gods accompanied with music. Synonym of Chitrakathi.

Hāri.—(A bone-gatherer.) Synonym of Mehtar and subcaste of Mehtar.

Haria.—(Hal, plough.) A subcaste of Mahār.

Harial.—(Green pigeon.) A section of Ahīr.

Harshe.—(Glad.) Surname of Karhāra Brāhmans in Saugor.

Hatgar.—Synonym of Hatkar.

Hatghar.—Subcaste of Koshti.

Hāthgarhia.—Subcaste of Kumhār, meaning one who moulds vessels with his hands only, without using the wheel as an implement.

Hāthia, Hasti.—(From hāthi, elephant.) A section of Ahīr, Chasa, Mehra and Mowār.

Hatkar, Hatgar.—A caste. A subcaste of Koshta and Maratha.

Hatwa.—A small caste of pedlars and hawkers in the Uriya country, who perambulate the village bazārs or hāts, from which word their name is derived. They sell tobacco, turmeric, salt, and other commodities. The caste are in reality a branch of the Kewats, and are also called Semli Kewat, because their ancestors travelled on the Mahānadi and other rivers in canoes made from the bark of the semal tree (Bombax Malabaricum). They were thus Kewats or boatmen who adopted the practice of carrying small articles up and down the river for sale in their canoes, and then beginning to travel on land as well as on water, became regular pedlars, and were differentiated into a separate caste. The caste originated in Orissa where river travelling has until lately been much in vogue, and in Sambalpur they are also known as Uriyas, because of their recent immigration into this part of the country. The Hatwas consider themselves to be descended from the Nāg or cobra, and say that they all belong to the Nāg gotra. They will not kill a cobra, and will save it from death at the hands of others if they have the opportunity, and they sometimes pay the snake-charmers to set free captive snakes. The oath on the snake is their most solemn form of affirmation. For the purposes of marriage they have a number of exogamous sections or vargas, the names of which in some cases indicate a military calling, as Dalai, from Dalpati, commander of an army, and Senāpati, commander-in-chief; while others are occupational, as Mahārana (painter), Dwāri (gatekeeper) and Manguāl (steersman of a boat). The latter names show, as might be expected, that the caste is partly of functional origin, while as regards the military names, the Hatwas say that they formerly fought against the Bhonslas, under one of the Uriya chiefs. They say that they have the perpetual privilege of contributing sixteen poles, called Naikas, for the car of Jagannāth, and that in lieu of this they hold seven villages in Orissa revenue-free. Those of them who use pack-bullocks for carrying their wares worship Banjāri Devi, a deity who is held to reside in the sacks used for loading the bullocks; to her they offer sweetmeats and grain boiled with sugar.

Havelia.—(Resident of a Haveli or fertile wheat tract.) Subcaste of Ghosi and Kurmi.

Hawāidār.—(A maker of fireworks.) Synonym of Kadera.

Hela.—(From hela, a cry.) Subcaste of Mehtar.

Hichami.—(A comb.) A sept of Māria Gonds.

Hijra.—(A eunuch.) See article. A subcaste of Gondhali.

Hindustāni.—Subcaste of Kunbi.

Hira, Hirāni.—(Diamond.) A section of Bhulia and of Uriya Sānsia.

Hirangotri.—(Hiran, deer.) A section of Agarwāl Bania.

Ho.—Synonym of Kol.

Holer.—(A hide-curer.) Subcaste of Māng.

Holia, Holer.—A caste. A subcaste of Golar. Holer, perhaps from Holia, a subcaste of Māng.

Hudila.—(Wolf.) A totemistic sept of Kawar.

Hulhulia Sāhu.—A section of Chasa so named, because as a mark of respect they make the noise ‘Hulhuli,’ when a king passes through the village.

Hūna, Hoon or Hun.—One of the thirty-six royal races of Rājpūts. Probably descendants of the Hun invaders of the fifth century. See articles Rājpūt and Panwār Rājpūt.

Husaini.—Subcaste of Brāhman.

Ikbainha.—A subcaste of Kurmi, so called because their women put bangles on one arm only.

Iksha Kul or Ikshawap Kul.—A section of Komti. They abstain from using the sugarcane and the sendia flower.

Ilākeband.—(From ilāqa or alāqa, meaning connection, and bāndhna, to bind.) Synonym of Patwa.

Inga.—Subcaste of Gowari.

Irpachi.—(Mahua flowers.) A sept of Dhurwa Gonds in Betūl.

Ivna Inde.—(Inde, chicken.) A sept of Dhurwa Gonds in Betūl. They offer chickens to their gods.

Ivna Jagleya.—(Jagna, to be awake.) A sept of the Dhurwa clan of Gonds in Betūl. They are so named because they kept awake to worship their gods at night.

Jādam, Jāduvansi, Yādava.—An important clan of Rājpūts now become a caste. Name derived from Yādu or Yādava. A subcaste of Gūjar. A subcaste and section of Ahīr; a section of Rāthor Rājpūts in Betūl.

Jadia, Jaria.—(An enameller.) A subcaste of Sunār. They practise hypergamy by taking wives from the Pitariye and Sudihe subdivisions, and giving daughters to the Sri Nagariye and Banjar Māhuwe subdivisions. Also an occupational term meaning one who sets precious stones in rings.

Jādubansi, Yādubansi.—See Jadum. A subcaste of Ahīr.

Jaga.—(Awakener.) Synonym of Basdewa.

Jagat.—(An awakener or sorcerer.) A sept of Gond in many localities. A section of Nat and Kasār.

Jaharia.—(From jahar, an essence.) Subcaste of Satnāmi.

Jain.—Name of a religion. See article. A subcaste of Kalār, Kumbār and Simpi (Darzi).

Jaina.—(One who follows the Jain faith.) Subcaste of Komti, Gurao.

Jain Koshti.—Subcaste of Koshti.

Jaipuria.—(A resident of Jaipur.) Subcaste of Māli.

Jaiswār.—(From the old town of Jais in Rai Bareli District.) A subcaste of Chamārs, who usually call themselves Jaiswāra in preference to their caste name. A subcaste of Barai, Kunbi and Kalār.

Jalālia.—A class of Fakīrs or Muhammadan beggars.

Jaitwa or Kamari.—A clan of Rājpūts; one of the thirty-six royal races mentioned by Colonel Tod.

Jallād.—(An executioner.) Subcaste of Kanjar.

Jamādagni.—An eponymous section of Karhāre Brāhman and Agharia.

Jambu.—(From the jāman tree.) A subcaste of Brāhman and Marār. A sept of Korku.

Jambu Dālia.—(Born in a shed made of jāman branches.) A section of Ghasia.

Jamnabāsi.—(Residing on the banks of the Jumna.) A subcaste of Dhobi.

Jangam.—A caste of Saiva mendicants, who call themselves Vīr Shaiva, and are priests of the Lingāyat sect; a subcaste of Jogi.

Jāngra.—(Perhaps the same as Jharia or jungly.) A subcaste of Lodhi. A section of Dhīmar, Māli and Sunār.

Jāni.—A wise man; an exorciser.

Janta.—(Flour grinding-mill.) A section of Panka, a sept of Kawar.

Janughanta.—Mendicants who tie bells to their thighs; a kind of Jogis.

Jaria.—A totemistic section of Basor, who worship the ber or wild plum tree.

Jasondhi, Dasaundhi.—A caste. A subcaste of Bhāt.

Jasondhi, Karohla.—A small caste of the Narsinghpur District, who were employed at the Gond and Marātha courts to sing the jas or hymns in praise of the chiefs. They may be considered as a branch of the Bhāt caste, and some of them are said to be addicted to petty theft. Some Jasondhis, who are also known as Karohla, now wander about as religious mendicants, singing the praises of Devi. They carry an image of the goddess suspended by a chain round the neck and ask for gifts of tilli (sesamum) or other vegetable oil, which they pour over their heads and over the image. Their clothes and bodies are consequently always saturated with this oil. They also have a little cup of vermilion which they smear on the goddess and on their own bodies after receiving an offering. They call on Devi, saying, ‘Maiji, Maiji Mata meri, kahe ko janam diya’ or ‘Mother, mother, why did you bring me into the world?’ Women who have no children sometimes vow to dedicate their first-born son as a Karohla, and it is said that such children were bound to sacrifice themselves to the goddess on attaining manhood in one of three ways. Either they went to Benāres and were cut in two by a sword, or else to Badrinārāyan, a shrine on the summit of the Himalayas, where they were frozen to death, or to Dhaolagiri, where they threw themselves down from a rock, and one might occasionally escape death. Their melancholy refrain may thus be explained by the fate in store for them. The headquaters of the order is the shrine of the Bindhyachal Devi in the Vindhyan Hills.

Jāt.—A caste. One of the thirty-six royal races of Rājpūts. A subcaste of Barhai, Bishnoi and Kumhār.

Jatadhari.—(With matted hair.) A sect of celibate Manbhaos.

Jati.—Name of Jain mendicant ascetics.

Jaunpuri.—(From Jaunpur.) A subcaste of Halwai and Lohār.

Jemādār.—Honorific title of Khangār and Mehtar.

Jemādārin.—Title of the female leaders of the Yerukala communities of thieves.

Jera.—(A forked stick for collecting thorny wood.) A section of Dāngi.

Jhādī, Jhāde, Jharia, Jharkua. (Jungly.)—A name often applied to the oldest residents of a caste in any locality of the Central Provinces. In Berār it is used to designate the Wainganga Valley and adjacent hill ranges. A subcaste of Ahīr, Barai, Barhai, Chamār, Dhangār, Dhanwār, Dhobi, Gadaria, Gurao, Kāpewār, Kasār, Katia, Kewat, Khatīk, Khond, Kirār, Kumhār, Kunbi, Kurmi, Mahār, Māli, Nai, Sunār, Teli and Turi.

Jhadukar.—(From jhādu, a broom.) A synonym of Mehtar.

Jhal or Jhala.—One of the thirty-six royal races of Rājpūts. A subcaste of Rāj-Gond.

Jhānkar.—Name of a village priest in the Uriya country. The Jhānkar is usually a Binjhwār or member of another primitive tribe.

Jhara, Jhira, Jhora.—Synonym of Sonjhara.

Jharha.—subcaste of Lodhi. Jharia.—(Jungly.) See Jhadi. Jharola.—(Perhaps from the town of Jhalor in Mārwār.) A subcaste of Brāhmans in Jubbulpore.

Jhīnga.—(A prawn-catcher.) Subcaste of Dhīmar.

Jijhotia or Jujhotia.—(From Jajhoti, the old name of the country of Lalitpur and Saugor.) A subcaste of Brāhmans of the Kanaujia division. A subcaste of Ahīr; a section of Joshi and Kumhār.

Jīldgar.—(A bookbinder.) A class of Mochi.

Jīngar.—(A saddlemaker.) A class of Mochi. A subcaste of Chamār and of Simpi (Darzi).

Jirāyat.—Synonym for Mochis in Berār who have taken up the finer kinds of ironwork, such as mending guns, etc.

Jire-Māli.—Formerly was the only subcaste of Māli who would grow cumin or jira.

Jiria.—(From jira, or cumin.) Subcaste of Kachhi.

Jogi, Jugi. A caste. A subcaste of Dewar. A section of Chamār, Chhīpa and Lohar.

Joharia.—(From johar, a form of salutation.) Subcaste of Dahāits in Bilāspur.

Johri.—A subcaste of Rājpūt.

Jokhāra.—A small class of Muhammadans who breed leeches and apply them to patients, the name being derived from jonk, a leech. They were not separately classified at the census, but a few families of them are found in Burhānpur, and they marry among themselves, because no other Muhammadans will marry with them. In other parts of India leeches are kept and applied by sweepers and sometimes by their women.38 People suffering from boils, toothache, swellings of the face, piles and other diseases have leeches applied to them. For toothache the leeches are placed inside the mouth on the gum for two days in succession. There are two kinds of leeches known as Bhainsa-jonk, the large or buffalo-leech, and Rai-jonk, the small leech. They are found in the mud of stagnant tanks and in broken-down wells, and are kept in earthen vessels in a mixture of black soil and water; and in this condition they will go without food for months and also breed. Some patients object to having their blood taken out of the house, and in such cases powdered turmeric is given to the leeches to make them disgorge, and the blood of the patient is buried inside the house. The same means is adopted to prevent the leeches from dying of repletion. In Gujarāt the Jokhāras are a branch of the Hajjām or Muhammadan barber caste,39 and this recalls the fact that the barber chirurgeon or surgeon in mediæval England was also known as the leech. It would be natural to suppose that he was named after the insect which he applied, but Murray’s Dictionary holds that the two words were derived from separate early English roots, and were subsequently identified by popular etymology.

Jondhara.—(Indian millet.) A totemistic sept of Korku and Halba.

Joshi.—(An astrologer.) A caste. A surname of Karhāra Brāhmans.

Juthia.—(One who eats the leavings of others.) Subcaste of Basor.

Jyotishi.—A synonym for Joshi; an astrologer.

Kabirāya.—(Followers of Kabīr.) A subcaste of Kori. A section of Koshti.

Kabīrpanthi.—A member of the Kabīrpanthi sect. A subcaste of Panka and Agharia. A class of Bairāgis or religious mendicants.

Kabra.—(Spotted.) One of the 72½ sections of Maheshri Bania.

Kabūtari.—(Pigeon.) A synonym for Kolhāti. A name given to female dancers of the Nat caste.

Kabutkunia.—(Those who find place at the corner of the door.) A subcaste of Sudh in Sambalpur, being the illegitimate issues of the Baro Sudh subcaste.

Kachāra.—Synonym of Kachera.

Kachchhi.—(From Cutch in Gujarāt.) A subdivision of Bālmiki Kāyasths and Mathur Kāyasths.

Kachhap.—(Tortoise.) A totemistic sept of Agharia, Sudh, Bhulia, Chasa, Kamār and Khandait.

Kachhotia.—Subcaste of Jādam.

Kachhutva.—(The tortoise.) A totemistic sept of several groups of Gonds, also of Darzi, Halba, Kol, Rāwat, Munda, Jāt, Kāchhi and Lohār.

Kachhwāha.—(The tortoise.) One of the thirty-six royal races of Rājpūts, the princes of Jaipur or Amber being of this clan. They derive the name from Cutch, or from Kush, an eponymous ancestor. A section of Nāndbansi Ahīr, Gadaria, Kāchhi and Nat. The Kachhwāha section of Gadarias worship the tortoise.

Kada-kalle-bhallavi.—One who uses donkeys for pack-carriage (bhallavi), but stole a horse (kalle-kada). A sept of the Dhurwa clan of Satdeve Gonds in Betūl.

Kagar.—Synonym of Dhīmar.

Kagwaria.—From kagwār, an offering made to the ancestors in the month of Kunwār. Subcaste of Kol.

Kaibartta.—Synonym of Kewat.

Kaikādi.—Synonym of Kaikāri.

Kainthwāns.—A subcaste of Pāsi in Saugor and Betūl, said to have originated in a cross between a Badhak or Baori, and a Kāyasth woman.

Kaith.—Synonym for Kāyasth.

Kaitha, Kaithia.—Subcaste of Bharbhūnja and Darzi.

Kakra.—One who arranges for the lighting at the marriage and other ceremonies. Subcaste of Chitrakathi.

Kāla.—(Black.) A subcaste of Golkar (Ahīr.

Kālachuri.—Synonym for the Haihaya clan of Rājpūts.

Kalanga.—A caste. A subcaste of Gond.

Kalanki.—A subdivision of Mahārāshtra Brāhmans found in Nāgpur. They are considered degraded, as their name indicates. They are said to have cut up a cow made of flour to please a Muhammadan governor, and to follow some other Muhammadan practices.

Kālapīthia—(Having black backs.) A subcaste of Savars in Pūri of Orissa. They have the right of dragging the car of Jagannāth.

Kālawant.—Title of Mirāsi.

Kālbelia.—(Catcher of snakes.) A subcaste of Nat.

Kālibelia.—(Bel, an ox.) A section of Chadār. They draw a picture of an ox at their weddings.

Kalihari.—(Bridle.) A section of Teli in Nāndgaon, so named because they presented a bridle to their king.

Kalkhor.—(Castor-oil plant.) A totemistic sept of the Audhalia caste.

Kalutia, Kalota.—A subtribe of Gonds in Chānda and Betūl.

Kalwar.—Synonym of Kalār.

Kāmad.40—A small caste of jugglers, who come from Rājputāna and travel about in the Hoshangābād and Nimār Districts. They were not returned at the census, and appear to belong to Rājpūtāna. Their special entertainment consists in playing with cymbals, and women are the chief performers. The woman has eight or nine cymbals secured to her legs before and behind, and she strikes these rapidly in turn with another held in her hand, twisting her body skilfully so as to reach all of them, and keeping time with the music played on guitar-like instruments by the men who accompany her. If the woman is especially skilful, she will also hold a naked sword in her mouth, so as to increase the difficulty of the performance.

The Kāmads dress after the Rājpūtāna fashion, and wear yellow ochre-coloured clothes. Their exogamous sections have Rājpūt names, as Chauhān, Panwār, Gudesar, Jogpāl and so on, and like the Rājpūts they send a cocoanut-core to signify a proposal for marriage. But the fact that they have a special aversion to Dhobis and will not touch them makes it possible that they originated from the Dom caste, who share this prejudice.41 Reason has been found to suppose that the Kanjars, Kolhātis and other migrant groups of entertainers are sprung from the Doms, and the Kāmads may be connected with these. No caste, not even the sweepers, will accept food from the Kāmads. They employ a Brāhman, however, to officiate at their marriage and death ceremonies. Like the Gosains the Kāmads bury their dead in a sitting posture, a niche being hollowed out at the side of the grave in which the corpse is placed. Crushed bread (malīda) and a gourd full of water are laid beside the corpse. The caste worship the footprints of Rāmdeo, a saint of Mārwār, and pay special reverence to the goddess Hinglāj, who is a deity of several castes in Rājpūtāna.

Kamalbansī.—(Stock of the lotus.) Subcaste of Kawar.

Kamal Kul.—(Lotus.) A section of Komti. They do not use lotus roots nor yams.

Kamari, Kailwa.—One of the thirty-six royal races of Rājpūts.

Kamaria.—(From kambal, blanket.) A subcaste of Ahīr. A section of Dhīmar and Sonkar.

Kāmāthi, Kāmāti.—A term applied in the Marātha Districts to immigrants from Madras. It is doubtful whether the Kāmāthis have become a caste, but about 150 persons returned this name as their caste in the Central Provinces and Berār in 1911, and there are about 7000 in India, none, however, being recorded from the Madras Presidency. It is stated that the word Kāmāthi means ‘fool’ in Tamil, and that in Bombay all Telugus are called Kāmāthis, to whatever caste they may belong. Similarly, Marātha immigrants into Madras are known by the generic name of Arya,42 and those coming from Hindustān into the Nerbudda valley as Pardeshi, while in the same locality the Brāhmans and Rājpūts of Central India are designated by the Marāthas as Rāngra. This term has the signification of rustic or boorish, and is therefore a fairly close parallel to Kāmāthi, if the latter word has the meaning given above. In the Thāna District of Bombay43 people of many classes are included under the name of Kāmāthi. Though they do not marry or even eat together, the different classes of Kāmāthis have a strong feeling of fellowship, and generally live in the same quarter of the town. In the Central Provinces the Kāmāthis are usually masons and house-builders or labourers. They speak Telugu in their houses and Marāthī to outsiders. In Sholapur44 the Kāmāthis dress like Kunbis. They are bound together by a strong caste feeling, and appear to have become a regular caste. Their priests are Telugu Brāhmans, and their ceremonies resemble those of Kunbis. On the third day after a child is born the midwife lifts it up for the first time, and it is given a few light blows on the back. For three days the child sucks one end of a rag the other end of which rests in a saucer of honey, and the mother is fed on rice and clarified butter. On the fourth day the mother begins to suckle the child. Until the mother is pregnant a second time, no choti or scalp-lock is allowed to grow on the child’s head. When she becomes pregnant, she is taken with the child before the village god, and a tuft of hair is thereafter left to grow on the crown of its head.

Kamma.—A large cultivating caste of the Madras Presidency, of which a few representatives were returned from the Chānda District in 1911. They are derived from the same Dravidian stock as the other great cultivating castes of Madras, and, originally soldiers by profession, have now settled down to agriculture. No description of the caste need be given here, but the following interesting particulars may be recorded. The word Kamma means an ear ornament, and according to tradition a valuable jewel of this kind belonging to a Rāja of Wārangal fell into the hands of his enemies. One section of the great Kāpu caste, boldly attacking the foe and recovering the jewel, were hence called Kamma, while another section, which ran away, received the derogatory title of Velama (veli, away). Another story says that the Kammas and Velamas were originally one caste, and had adopted the Muhammadan system of gosha or purda. But finding that they were thus handicapped in competition with the other cultivating castes, it was proposed that the new custom should be abandoned. Those who agreed to this signed a bond, which was written on a palm-leaf (kamma), and hence received their new name. In the Central Provinces the Kammas are divided into three subcastes, the Illuvellāni or those who do not go out of the house, the Tadakchātu or those who live within tadaks or mat screens, and the Polumtir or those who go into the fields. These names are derived from the degrees in which the different subdivisions seclude their women, the Illuvellāni observing strict purda and the Polumtir none whatever, while the Tadakchātu follow a middle course. On this account some social difference exists between the three subcastes, and when the Illuvellāni dine with either of the other two they will not eat from the plates of their hosts, but take their food separately on a leaf. And the Tadakchātu practise a similar distinction with the Polumtir, but the two latter divisions do not decline to eat from plates or vessels belonging to an Illuvellāni. The Kammas forbid a man to marry in the gotra or family group to which he belongs, but a wife from the same gotra as his mother’s is considered a most desirable match, and if his maternal uncle has a daughter he should always take her in marriage. A man is even permitted to marry his own sister’s daughter, but he may not wed his mother’s sister’s daughter, who is regarded as his own sister. Among the Kammas of the Tamil country Mr. (Sir H.) Stuart45 states that a bride is often much older than her husband, and a case is cited in which a wife of twenty-two years of age used to carry her boy-husband on her hip as a mother carries her child. One other curious custom recorded of the caste may be noticed. A woman dying within the lifetime of her husband is worshipped by her daughters, granddaughters or daughters-in-law, and in their absence by her husband’s second wife if he has one. The ceremony is performed on some festival such as Dasahra or Til-Sankrānt, when a Brāhman lady, who must not be a widow, is invited and considered to represent the deceased ancestor. She is anointed and washed with turmeric and saffron, and decorated with sandal-paste and flowers; a new cloth and breast-cloth are then presented to her which she puts on; sweets, fruit and betel-leaf are offered to her, and the women of the family bow down before her and receive her benediction, believing that it comes from their dead relative.

Kammala.—A small Telugu caste in the Chānda District. The name Kammala is really a generic term applied to the five artisan castes of Kamsala or goldsmith, Kanchara or brazier, Kammara or blacksmith, Vadra or carpenter, and Silpi or stone-mason. These are in reality distinct castes, but they are all known as Kammalas. The Kammalas assert that they are descended from Visva Karma, the architect of the gods, and in the Telugu country they claim equality with Brāhmans, calling themselves Visva Brāhmans. But inscriptions show that as late as the year A.D. 1033 they were considered a very inferior caste and confined to the village site.46 Mr. (Sir H.) Stuart writes in the Madras Census Report that it is not difficult to account for the low position formerly held by the Kammalas, for it must be remembered that in early times the military castes in India as elsewhere looked down upon all engaged in labour, whether skilled or otherwise. With the decline of military power, however, it was natural that a useful caste like the Kammalas should gradually improve its position, and the reaction from this long oppression has led them to make the exaggerated claims described above, which are ridiculed by every other caste, high or low. The five main subdivisions of the caste do not intermarry. They have priests of their own and do not allow even Brāhmans to officiate for them, but they invite Brāhmans to their ceremonies. Girls must be married before puberty. The binding ceremony of the marriage consists in the tying of a circular piece of gold on a thread of black beads round the bride’s neck by the bridegroom. Widow-marriage is prohibited.

Kammari.—Telugu Lohārs or blacksmiths.

Kamsala.—(A goldsmith.) Subcaste of Kammala.

Kanalsia.—(Kanelu, a tile.) A section of Ahīr in Nimār who do not live in tiled huts.

Kānare.—(A resident of Canara.) A subcaste of Dhangar.

Kanaujia, Kānkubja.—A very common subcaste name, indicating persons whose ancestors are supposed to have come from the town of Kanauj in northern India, into the Central Provinces. A subcaste of Ahīr, Bahna, Bharbhūnja, Bhāt, Brāhman, Dahāit, Darzi, Dhobi, Halwai, Lohār, Māli, Nai, Patwa, Sunār and Teli.

Kanbajia or Ahirwār.—Same as Kanaujia. Subcaste of Chamār.

Kanchara.—(A brassworker.) Subcaste of Kammala.

Kand.—(Roots or tubers of wild plants.) A section of Rāghuvansi Rājpūts in Hoshangābād.

Kanda Potel.—(One who grows roots.) A section of Mali.

Kande.—Subcaste of Bedar.

Kandera.—Synonym for Kadera. Subcaste of Bahna.

Kandh.—Synonym of Khond. A subcaste of Taonla in Sambalpur.

Kandhana.—Subcaste of Khond.

Kandhia.—(A big-beaked vulture.) A sept of Dhanwar.

Kandia.—(Kandi, a shell, also a snake.) A section of Teli in Betūl.

Kandol.—A subcaste of Brāhmans, who take their name from the village Kandol, in Kāthiāwār.

Kandra.—A small caste of bamboo-workers in the Uriya country, akin to the Basors elsewhere. Members of the caste are found in small numbers in the Raipur and Bālāghāt Districts. The word Kandra may be derived from kānd, an arrow, just as Dhānuk, often a synonym for Basor, has the meaning of an archer. It is not improbable that among the first articles made of bamboo were the bow and arrow of the forest tribes, and that the bow-maker was the parent of the modern Basor or basket-maker, bows being a requisite of an earlier stage of civilisation than baskets. In Bhandāra the Kandras are an offshoot of Gonds. Their women do not wear their cloths over the head, and knot their hair behind without plaiting it. They talk a Gondi dialect and are considered an impure caste.

Kandu.—(A grain-parcher.) A synonym and subcaste of Bharbhūnja. A subcaste of Halwai.

Kandua.—(From kānd, onion, as they eat onions.) A subcaste of Bharbhūnja.

Kanera.—(From the kaner tree.) A totemistic section of Gānda and Khangār.

Kangāli.—(Poor.) A common sept of Gonds.

Kanhejin.—Subcaste of Banjāra.

Kānhpuria.—(From Cawnpore, which was founded by their eponymous hero Kānh.) A clan of Rājpūts.

Kanjar.—A caste of gipsies. A subcaste of Banjāra.

Kānkubja.—See Kanaujia.

Kānnow.—A sectarian division of Brāhmans.

Kanphata.—(One who has his ears bored or pierced.) A class of Jogi mendicants.

Kansāri.—Synonym of Kasār.

Kanwar.—Synonym of Kawar.

Kanwarbansi.—A subtribe of Khairwār.

Kaonra or Kora.—A caste. A subcaste of Ahīr.

Kaore.—A sept of Gonds. A surname of Marātha Brāhmans.

Kapalia.—(Covered with skulls.) A section of Telis in Betūl.

Kaparia.—(From kapra cloth, owing to their wearing several dresses, which they change rapidly like the Bahrūpia.) Synonym of Basdewa.

Kapasia.—(From kapās, cotton.) A section of Mahār.

Kapdi.—Synonym of Basdewa.

Kapur.—(Camphor.) A section of Khatri.

Kapuria.—A subdivision of Arhaighar Sāraswat Brāhmans in Hoshangābād, probably deriving their title from being the priests of the Kapur section of Khatris.

Karai Nor.—A section of Basor. They perform the Meher ceremony of eating the marriage cakes near a well and not in the house.

Karāit.—(A poisonous snake.) A section of Ahīr, Halba and Panka.

Karan (Mahanti).—A caste. A subcaste of Kāyasth. An eponymous section of Binjhwār and Tānti.

Karaola.—(One who pours sesamum oil on his clothes and begs.) Synonym for Jasondhi and Bhāt.

Karbal.—Subcaste of Khangār.

Karchuli.—A clan of Rājpūts, formerly a ruling race in the Jubbulpore country. See Rājpūt-Haihāya. A section of Joshi and Mochi.

Kare, Karia.—(Black.) A subcaste of Marār. A section of Binjhwār, Ahīr, Chhīpa and Lodhi.

Karela.—(Bitter gourd.) A section of Sonkar.

Karhāda.—A subcaste of Mahārāshtra Brāhmans deriving their name from Karhād, near the junction of the Krishna and Koyana rivers, about fifteen miles from Satāra.

Karhaiya.—(Frying-pan.) A section of Rāghuvansi.

Karīgar.—(A workman.) An honorific title of Barhai and Lohār. A subcaste and synonym of Beldār.

Karijāt.—Subcaste of Pārdhi. The members of this subcaste only kill birds of a black colour.

Karkarkadhe.—(Stone-diggers.) Subcaste of Māng.

Karnam.—Synonym of Karan, a palm-leaf writer.

Karnata, Karnataka.—One of the five orders of Pānch Dravida or southern Brāhmans, inhabiting the Canarese country.

Karnati.—(From the Carnatic.) Synonym for a class of Nats or acrobats.

Karohla.—A religious mendicant who wanders about singing praises of Devi. See Jasondhi.

Karpachor.—(Stealer of straw.) A sept of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betūl.

Karsayāl.—(A deer.) A sept of the Kawar tribe. Also a sept of Ahīr, Bhaina, Dhobi in Chhattīsgarh, Kewat, Lohar and Turi.

Karsi.—(From kalas, a pitcher.) A totemistic sept of Kawar. They do not drink water from a red jar on the Akti festival.

Karwa.—Subcaste of Kunbi.

Karwar.—(An oar.) A section of Dāngi in Damoh. A section of Kawar.

Kasai.—A caste of butchers. Name applied to Banjāras.

Kasar.—A caste. A subdivision of Audhia Sunār. A section of Kewat.

Kasarwāni.—A subcaste of Bania.

Kasaundhan.—A subcaste of Bania.

Kasda.—(One who hides himself in the bed of the river.) A sept of Korku; a man of this sept has the privilege of directing the ceremony for the readmission of an outcaste.

Kasdhonia.—A subcaste of Dhīmar. They wash the sand in the sacred rivers for coins thrown there by pilgrims, and dive into water to find lost ornaments or gold.

Kasera.—Synonym of Kasār.

Kāshi.—(Benares.) A section of Agharia, Ahīr, Dhuri, Kewat, Kurmi and Māli.

Kashyap.—Name of a famous Rishi or saint. The name may perhaps be really derived from kachhap, a tortoise. One of the common eponymous sections of Brāhmans. Also a section of Barai, Bāri, Beldār, Bharbhūnja, Bhulia, Binjhwār, Chandnāhu Kurmi, Gond, Jangam, Joshi, Kalār, Kasār, Kasarwāni Bania, Khangār, Nai, Rājpūt, Sunār. Some castes say that they are all of the Kashyap gotra or section, the tortoise being considered a common ancestor of mankind, because it supports the world.

Kasia.—(Kānsa, or bell-metal.) A section of Chamār. They draw a picture of a bell-metal dish at their weddings.

Kasondhi.—A subcaste of Bania.

Kassāb, Kassia.—(A butcher.) Synonym of Kasai.

Kāst.—A small caste found in the Marātha Districts and Bombay, who appear to be a separate or inferior group of the Kāyasths. In Chānda they work as patwāris and clerks to moneylenders, while some are merchants and landholders. Like the Kāyasths, they wash their pens and inkstands on the Dasahra festival and worship them. Their principal deity is the god Venkatesh, a Marātha incarnation of Vishnu. In Bombay the Kāsts claim to be Yajur-Vedi Brāhmans, dress like them and keep the regular Brāhman ceremonies.47 But they are considered to be half Marāthas and half Brāhmans, and strict Deshasth and Kokanasth Brāhmans hold their touch unclean.48

Katāre.—(Katār, dagger.) A surname of Sanādhya Brāhmans in Saugor. A section of Agarwāl and Oswāl Bania, Chhattīsgarhi Ahīr or Rāwat, Chadār and Basor. The Katāre sept of Basors worship a dagger.

Katharia.—(From Kathibar, the old name of eastern Rohilkhand.) A section of Gadaria and Kasār.

Kathbhaina;—Subcaste of Baiga in Bilāspur.

Kāthi.—A Rājpūt clan included in the thirty-six royal races of Rājpūts. Originally an indigenous tribe of Gujarāt, who gave their name to Kāthiāwār.

Kathia.—Name of an Akhāra or school of Bairāgi religious mendicants. See Bairāgi.

Kathotia.—(Kathotia, a wooden bowl.) A section of Darzi.

Kati or Khatti.—Subcaste of Bhuiya.

Katia.—A cast of spinners. A subcaste of Balāhi and Mahār.

Kattri.—Subcaste of Are.

Katwa.—(From Kātna, to cut.) Synonym of Katia and Chamār.

Kaur.—Synonym of Kawar.

Kaushalya.—(From Koshal, the name of a famous Rishi or saint.) A section of Agarwāl Bania, Darzi, Lodhi and Khatri Sunār.

Kaushik.—The name of a Rishi or saint. An eponymous section of Brāhmans. A section of Ahīr, Dhobi, Rājpūt, Sunār and other castes.

Kavirāj.—Title of a Bhāt who has the qualification of literacy, and can therefore read the old Sanskrit medical works. A physician.

Kāyasth Patwa.—A subcaste of Patwa in Hoshangābād and Saugor.

Kekre.—Subcaste of Gūjar.

Kesaria.—(From kesar, saffron.) A section of Ahīr and Gadaria.

Kewat.—A caste. A subcaste of Dhīmar and Mallāh.

Khad.—Subcaste of Māna.

Khadāl.—A caste of palanquin-carriers.

Khadāl49 (honorific titles Nayak and Behera).—A small Dravidian caste of labourers in the Uriya country. In 1901 they numbered 1200 persons and resided principally in the Patna and Sonpur States now transferred to Bengal. The Khadāls are probably an offshoot of the great Bauri caste of Bengal, with which the members of the caste in Patna admitted their identity, though elsewhere they deny it. Their traditional occupations of palanquin-bearing and field labour are identical with those of the Bauris, as stated by Sir H. Risley.50 The name Khadāl is a functional one, denoting persons who work with a hoe. The Khadāls have totemistic exogamous groups, the Kilāsi sept worshipping a tree, the Julsi and Kanduālsi sept a snake-hole, and Balunāsi a stone and others the sun. Each sept salutes the revered object or totem on seeing it, and those who worship trees will not burn them or stand in their shade. When a marriage takes place they worship the totem and offer to it flowers, sandalwood, vermilion, uncooked rice, and the new clothes and ornaments intended for the bride, which she may not wear until this ceremony has been performed. Another curious custom adopted by the Khadāls in imitation of the Hindus is that of marrying adult boys and girls, for whom a partner has not been found, to a tree. But this does not occur when they arrive at puberty as among Hindu castes, but when a boy still unmarried becomes thirty years old and a girl twenty. In such a case he or she is married to a mango, cotton or jāmun tree, and after this no second ceremony need be performed on subsequent union with a wife or husband. A widower must pay Rs. 10, or double the usual price, for a second wife, owing to the risk of her death being caused by the machinations of the first wife’s spirit. When a corpse has been buried or burnt the mourners each take a twig of mango and beat about in the grass to start a grasshopper. Having captured one they wrap it in a piece of new cloth, and coming home place it beside the family god. This they call bringing back the life of the soul, and consider that the ceremony procures salvation for the dead. The Khadāls are usually considered as impure, but those of Sonpur have attained a somewhat higher status.

Khadia.—(A kind of snake.) A section of Ahīr and Rāghuvansi. A sept of Nahal.

Khadra,51 Khadura or Kharura.—A small Uriya caste whose occupation is to make brass ornaments. They are immigrants from Cuttack and say that they are called there Sankhāri, so that the Khadras may not improbably be an offshoot of the Sankhāri caste of shell-cutters of Bengal. According to their traditions their original ancestor was created by Viswakarma, the celestial architect, for the business of making a pinnacle for the temple of Jagannāth at Puri, in which eight metals had to be combined. He left two sons, one of whom became the ancestor of the Khadras, and the other of the Kasārs, with whom the Khadras thus claim affinity. They have no subcastes but four gotras or clans called after the Nāg or cobra, the Singh or lion, and Kāsyap and Kachchap, both derived from the tortoise. They also have four bargas or family names, which are Pātra (a term of respect), Dās (slave), Sao (banker) and Mahāranā (artificer). The groups are supposed to be descended from four families who migrated from Curtack. Neither bargas nor gotras are now considered in the arrangement of marriages, which are prohibited between blood relatives for three generations. Marriage is infant, and a girl arriving at puberty while still unwed is permanently expelled from the caste. The Khadras still follow the old rule of writing the lagun or date of the marriage on a palm-leaf, with which they send Rs. 10–4 as a bride-price to the girl’s father, the acceptance of this constituting a confirmation of the betrothal. The marriage ceremony resembles that of the other Uriya castes, and the Khadras have the rite called badapāni or breaking the bachelorhood. A little water brought from seven houses is sprinkled over the bridegroom and his loin-cloth is then snatched away, leaving him naked. In this state he runs towards his own house, but some boys are posted at a little distance who give him a new cloth. Widow-marriage and divorce are permitted, but the hand of a widow must not be sought so long as she remains in her late husband’s house, and does not return to her father. When a bachelor marries a widow he must first perform the regular ceremony with a leaf-cup filled with flowers, after which he can take the widow as his second wife. All important agreements are confirmed by a peculiar custom called heskāni. A deer-skin is spread on the ground before the caste committee, and the person making the agreement bows before it a number of times. To break an agreement made by the heskāni rite is believed to involve terrible calamities. The Khadras eat the flesh of animals and fish but not that of birds, and they do not drink country liquor. When an estate is to be partitioned the eldest son first takes a tenth of the whole in right of primogeniture and the remainder is then divided equally. The Khadras rank as an artisan caste of somewhat low status.

Khadura.—Synonym of Khadra.

Khaijrāha.—(A resident of Khaira, a town in Central India.) Subcaste of Chamār.

Khair, Khaira.—(From khair, catechu or the catechu tree. A maker of catechu.) Synonym for Khairwār.

Khairchura.—(Carechu preparer.) A subcaste of Khairwār.

Khaire.—A subcaste of Are (Gondhali), Kanbi and Oraon.

Khairwār.—A catechu-making caste. A section of Chamār.

Khaiyawāre.—(Khai, ditch; owing to their houses having been originally built on the ditch of Hatta fort.) A section of Beldār Sonkars in Damoh.

Khāki.—(From khāk, ashes.) A class of Bairagi, or religious mendicants.

Khalīfa.—(Lord.) An honorific title for Darzis or tailors, and Muhammadan barbers.

Khaltaha.—Subcaste of Ghasia.

Khaltāti.—(Illegitimate.) Subcaste of Andh.

Khaltia.—Subcaste of Basdewa.

Khamari.—(Farmservant.) A section of Kolta.

Khambi.—(One who hides behind the graveyard.) A sept of Korku.

Khanda.—(A sword.) A section of Panka and Mahār.

Khandait.—(A swordsman.) An Uriya caste. A subcaste of Sānsia, Taonla and Chasa. Also a name of Koltas in Cuttack.

Khandapatra.—(One who cleans swords.) A section of Khandwāl.

Khandapi.—(Khanda, a sword.) A sept of the Dhurwa clan of Sahdeve or six-god Gonds in Betūl, named after the sword of Rāja Durga Shāh by which a victory was gained over the Muhammadans.

Khandele.—(From khanda, sword.) A section of Rāghuvansi Rājpūts in Hoshangābād.

Khandelwāl.—A subcaste of Bania.

Khāndeshi.—(A resident of Khāndesh.) A territorial subcaste of Darzi, Joshi, Mahār and Māng.

Khanne, Khanna.—A subdivision of Chārgarh Sāraswat Brāhmans in Hoshangābād, probably deriving their name from being priests of the Khanna section of Khatris. A section of Khatri.

Khanonkha.—(A kind of basket to catch birds with.) A totemistic sept of Rautia Kawars in Bilāspur.

Kharādi.—(A turner, one who turns woodwork on a lathe.) A synonym of Kundera and Barhai.

Kharchi.—Bastard Marāthas forming a separate division as distinguished from the Khasi or pure Marāthas.

Khare.—A subdivision of Srivāstab, Gaur and Saksena Kāyasths, meaning those of pure descent.

Khari Bind Kewat.—Title of the Murha caste.

Kharodia.—(A resident of Kharod in Bilāspur.) A subcaste of Nunia.

Kharsisjha.—(Maker of cowdung cakes.) A section of Māli.

Kharwade.—(Refuse.) A subcaste of Simpi or Marātha Darzi (tailor) originally formed of excommunicated members of the caste, but now occupying a position equal to other subcastes in Nāgpur.

Kharwār.—Synonym of the Khairwār tribe. Subcaste of Chero and Kol.

Khasi.—A subdivision of Marāthas, meaning those born in wedlock.

Khasua.—(A eunuch.) Synonym of Hijra.

Khāti.—(From the Sanskrit kskatri, one who cuts.) A subcaste of Barhai and Lohār.

Khatīk.—A caste. Synonym of Chikwa. A subcaste of Pāsi in Saugor, said to have originated in a cross between a Bauri and a Khatīk woman.

Khatkudia.—(Illegitimate.) A section of Teli in Betūl.

Khatri.—A caste. A subcaste of Chhīpa and of Sunār in Narsinghpur.

Khatua.—(Having a cot.) A section of the Hatwa caste.

Khatulha or Khatola.—A subtribe of Gond.

Khatulwār.—A subtribe of Gonds in Chānda, the same as the Khatulha of the northern Districts.

Khawās.—A title of Nai or barber. A subcaste of Dhuri. A section of Halba.

Khedāwāl.—A subcaste of Gujarāti Brāhmans. They take their name from Kheda or Kaira, a town in Gujarāt.

Khedule.—From kheda, a village. Subcaste of Kunbi.

Khendro.—Subcaste of Oraon.

Kheralawāla.—An immigrant from Kherāla in Mālwa. Subcaste of Rangrez.

Kherāwāl.—See Khedāwāl.

Kheti.—(Cultivation.) A section of Dumāl.

Khewat.—Synonym of Kewat.

Khīchi.—A clan of Rājpūts, a branch of the Sesodia clan.

Khoba.—(Sticks for fencing the grain-store.) A sept of Kawar; they abstain from using these sticks.

Khoksa.—(A kind of fish.) A totemistic sept of Rautia Kawar in Bilāspur.

Khuntia.—A subcaste of Agaria. One who uses a khunti or peg to fix the bellows in the ground for smelting iron. A sept of Savars. (Those who bury their dead on a high place.)

Khursām.—A sept of Pardhān and Dhur Gond.

Khutha.—(Impure.) A section of Tamera in Mandla.

Khyaurokar.—(One who shaves, from kshaur, to shave.) A synonym of Nai or Bhandāri.

Kilanāya.—(Kilna, a dog-house.) A nickname section of Ahīr.

Kilkila.—(The kingfisher.) A sept of Khairwār.

Killibusum.—(One who eats dead animals.) A sept of Korku.

Kindra.—(One who hides behind a tree.) A sept of Korku.

Kirachi or Karachi.—A sept of Gonds of Raipur and Betūl.

Kirād.—Synonym of Kirār.

Kirāhiboijir.—(A kind of fruit.) A section of Teli in Nāndgaon.

Kirār.—A caste. Synonym Dhākar. A subcaste of Kāchhi. A section of Khatīk.

Kirnakha.—A sept of Gonds in Chānda.

Kirvant or Kilvant.—A subdivision of Maharāshtra Brāhmans in Khairagarh. The name is said to be derived from kīra, an insect, because they kill insects in working their betel-vine gardens. Another explanation is that the name is really Kriyavant, and that they are so called because they conducted kriya or funeral services, an occupation which degraded them. A third form of the name is Kramwant or reciters of the Veda.

Kisān.—(A cultivator.) Oraons are commonly known by this name in Chota Nāgpur and Gonds in Mandla and other Districts. A section of Marār, Rāwat or Ahīr, and Savar.

Koathia.—A section of Bais Rājpūts.

Kochia.—Perhaps a name for Bahnas or cotton cleaners.

Kodjet.—(A conqueror of crores of people.) A section of Bhulia.

Kohistāni.—(A dweller on mountains.) A section of Pathān.

Kohkatta.—A sept of Gonds in Khairagarh.

Kohri.—A synonym for the Kohli caste.

Koi.—A class of Gonds.

Koikopāl.—A subcaste of Gond.

Koilabhūt or Koilabhūti.—A subtribe of Gonds. Their women are prostitutes.

Koiri.—A synonym of the Murao caste.

Koitur.—A synonym for Gond. The name by which the Gonds call themselves in many Districts.

Kokonasth or Chitpāvan.—A subcaste of Mahārāshtra Brāhmans inhabiting the Konkan country. Chitpāvan means the pure in heart.

Koksinghia.—(Koka, the Brāhmani duck.) A subsection of the Pardhān section of Koltas.

Kol.—A tribe. Subcaste of Dahāit.

Kolabhūt.—A name for Gonds.

Kolām.—A tribe. A subtribe of Gonds in Chanda.

Kolchar.—A clan of Marātha.

Kolia.—(From kolu, oil-press.) A section of Teli in Betūl.

Koliha.—(Jackal.) A section of Panwār Rājpūt, Chamār and Kawar.

Kolita, Kulta.—Synonyms of Kolta.

Kolta.—A caste. A subcaste of Chasa.

Kolya.—(One who hides behind a jackal-hole.) A sept of Korku.

Komalwār.—(Komal, soft.) A section of Kurumwār.

Komati.—Synonym of Komti.

Kommu.—(A story-teller.) Subcaste of Mādgi.

Kondawār.—(Konda, a mountain.) A section of Pālewār Dhīmar and Koshti in Chānda.

Kondwān or Kundi.—A name of a tract south of the Mahānadi which is called after the Khond tribe, and was formerly owned by them. Subcaste of Baiga.

Korai.—A subcaste of Ahīr or Rāwat in Bilāspur.

Korāku.—(Young men.) Subcaste of Korwa.

Koratkul.—A section of Komti; they do not eat the kumhra or pumpkin.

Korava.—Synonym of Yerūkala.

Korchamār.—A descendant of alliances between Chamārs and Koris or weavers. Subcaste of Chamār.

Kori.—A caste. A subcaste of Balāhi, Jaiswāra Chamār and Katia.

Korku.—A tribe. A subtribe of Nahal.

Korre.—(Residents of the Korai hill-tract in Seoni.) Subcaste of Injhwār.

Kosaria.—A subcaste of Rāwat or Ahīr, Barai, Dhobi, Kalār, Māli, Panka and Teli; a section of Chamār and Gond.

Koshti, Koshta.—A caste of weavers. See article. A subcaste of Katia and Bhulia.

Koskāti.—A subcaste of Koshti.

Kothari—(A store-keeper, from kotha, a store-room.) A section of Oswāl and Maheshri Banias.

Kotharya.—(A store-keeper.) Subcaste of Chitrakathi.

Kotwāl.—(Keeper of a castle, or a village watchman.) Honorific title of the Khangār caste. A surname of Yajurvedi Brāhmans in Saugor. A section of Halba.

Kotwār.—A person holding the office of village watchman. This post is usually assigned to members of the lowest or impure castes derived from the aboriginal tribes, such as the Māhars, Rāmosis, Gāndas, Pankas, Mīnas and Khangārs. Some of these were or still are much addicted to crime. The name kotwār appears to be a corruption of kotwāl, the keeper or guardian of a kot or castle. Under native rule the kotwāl was the chief of police in important towns, and the central police office in some towns is still called the kotwāli after him. In some villages there are still to be found both a kotwāl and a kotwār; in this case the former performs the duties of watch and ward of the village, and the latter has the menial work of carrying messages, collecting supplies and so on. Both are paid by fixed annual contributions of grain from the cultivators. In Hoshangābād the kotwār is allowed to glean for a day in the fields of each tenant after the crop has been removed. It would appear that the kotwār was chosen from the criminal castes as a method of insurance. The kotwār was held responsible for the good behaviour of his caste-fellows, and was often under the obligation of making good any property stolen by them. And if a theft occurred in another village and the thief was traced into the borders of the kotwār’s village he was bound to take up the pursuit and show that the thief had passed beyond his village, or to pay for the stolen property. Thieves were sometimes tracked by the kotwār, and sometimes in Gujarāt and Central India by a special official called Paggal,52 who measured their footprints with a string, and in this way often followed them successfully from village to village.53 The rule that the kotwār had to make good all thefts occurring in his village or perpetrated by criminals belonging to it, can only have been enforced to a very partial extent, as unless he could trace the property he would be unable to pay any substantial sum out of his own means. Still, it apparently had a considerable effect in the protection of property in the rural area, for which the regular police probably did very little. It was similarly the custom to employ a chaukidār or night-watchman to guard private houses when the owners could afford it, and this man was taken from a criminal caste on the same principle.

The kotwār was also the guardian of the village boundaries, and his opinion was often taken as authoritative in all cases of disputes about land. This position he perhaps occupied as a representative of the pre-Aryan tribes, the oldest residents of the country, and his appointment may have also been partly based on the idea that it was proper to employ one of them as the guardian of the village lands, just as the priest of the village gods of the earth and fields was usually taken from these tribes.

In some localities those members of an impure caste such as the Mahārs, who hold the office of village watchman, obtain a certain rise in status on account of the office, and show a tendency to marry among themselves. Similarly persons of the impure Gānda caste, who joined the Kabīrpanthi sect and now form a separate and somewhat higher caste under the name of Panka, usually work as village watchmen in preference to the Gāndas. Under British rule the kotwār has been retained as a village policeman, and his pay increased and generally fixed in cash. Besides patrolling the village, he has to report all cognisable crime at the nearest police post as well as births and deaths occurring in the village, and must give general assistance to the regular police in the detection of crime. Kotwār is used in Saugor as a synonym for the Chadār caste. It is also a subcaste of the Kori caste.

Kowa.—(A crow.) A section of Tamera and of Gond in Chānda.

Koya A subtribe of Gond in Bastar.

Koyudu.—A synonym of Gond in Chānda used by Telugus.

Kramikul.—A section of Komti. They do not use the black radish.

Kshatriya.—Name of the second Hindu classical caste or the warrior caste. Synonym for Rājpūt.

Kshirsāgar.—(Ocean of Milk.) A section of Panwār Rājpūt, and a proper name of Marātha Brāhmans.

Kuch.—(A weaver’s brush.) A section of Rāghuvansi Rājpūts in Hoshangābād.

Kuchbandhia, Kunchbandhia.—(A maker of weavers’ brushes.) Synonym and subcaste of Beldār in Chhattīsgarh.

Kudaiya.—(Kodon, a small millet.) A section of Ahīr.

Kudappa.—A sept of Gonds in Raipur and Khairagarh.

Kudarbohna.—A Hindu Bhana.

Kudaria.—(Kudāli, a pickaxe.) A section of the Bharia tribe.

Kukra.—(A dog.) A totemistic sept of Bhatra Gonds. A section of Kumhār.

Kukuta.—(Cock.) A sept of Gonds in Raipur.

Kulatia.—A section of Basor. From kulara, a somersault, because they perform somersaults at the time of the maihir ceremony, or eating the marriage cakes.

Kuldip.—(The lamp of the family.) A section of Panka in Raipur.

Kuldiya.—(Those who stop eating if the lamp goes out at supper.) A section of Ghasia.

Kulin.—(Of high caste.) A well-known class of Bengali Brāhmans. A subdivision of Uriya Mahantis. A section of Panka.

Kulshreshta.—(Of good family.) A subcaste of Kāyasth.

Kūmān.—Subcaste of Barai.

Kumarrha or Kumarra.—(A bird.) A sept of Sahdeve or six-god Gonds. In Betūl the members of this sept do not eat or kill a goat or sheep, and throw away any article smelt by one.

Kumarshishta.—A section of Komti. They do not use mehndi or henna leaves.

Kumbhār.—(Potter.) Marāthi synonym for Kumhār. A section of Gānda and Bhulia.

Kumbhoj.—(Born of a pitcher, a Rishi or saint.) An eponymous section of Agharia.

Kumbhira.—(Crocodile.) A totemistic sept of Bhulia.

Kumbhwār.—(Kumbh, a pot.) A surname of Gandli in Chānda.

Kumhārbans.—(Descended from a potter.) A section of Ghasia.

Kumrayete.—(Yete, a goat.) A sept of the Uika clan of Sahdeve or six-god Gonds in Betūl. They do not eat goats, and are said to have offered human sacrifices in ancient times.

Kunbi.—A caste. Subcaste of Dāngri, Gondhali and Marātha.

Kumrawat,54 Patbina, Dāngur.—A small caste of san-hemp growers and weavers of sacking. They are called Kumrāwat in the northern Districts and Patbina (pat pattī, sacking, and binna, to weave) in Chhattīsgarh. A small colony of hemp-growers in the Betūl District are known as Dāngur, probably from the dāng or wooden steelyard which they use for weighing hemp. Both the Kumrāwats and Dāngurs claim Rājpūt origin, and may be classed together. The caste of Barais or betel-vine growers have a subcaste called Kumrāwat, and the Kumrāwats may be an offshoot of the Barais, who split off from the parent body on taking to the cultivation of hemp. As most Hindu castes have until recently refused to grow hemp, the Kumrāwats are often found concentrated in single villages. Thus a number of Patbinas reside in Darri, a village in the Khujji zamīndāri of Raipur, while the Dāngurs are almost all found in the village of Māsod in Betūl; in Jubbulpore Khāpa is their principal centre, and in Seoni the village of Deori. The three divisions of the caste known by the names given above marry, as a rule, among themselves. For their exogamous groups the Dāngurs have usually the names of different Rājpūt septs, the Kumrāwats have territorial names, and those of the Patbinas are derived from inanimate objects, though they have no totemistic practices.

The number of girls in the caste is usually insufficient, and hence they are married at a very early age. The boy’s father, accompanied by a few friends, goes to the girl’s father and addresses a proposal for marriage to him in the following terms: “You have planted a tamarind tree which has borne fruit. I don’t know whether you will catch the fruit before it falls to the ground if I strike it with my stick.” The girl’s father, if he approves of the match, says in reply, ‘Why should I not catch it?’ and the proposal for the marriage is then made. The ceremony follows the customary ritual in the northern Districts. When the family gods are worshipped, the women sit round a grinding-stone and invite the ancestors of the family by name to attend the wedding, at the same time placing a little cowdung in one of the interstices of the stone. When they have invited all the names they can remember they plaster up the remaining holes, saying, ‘We can’t recollect any more names.’ This appears to be a precaution intended to imprison any spirits which may have been forgotten, and to prevent them from exercising an evil influence on the marriage in revenge for not having been invited. Among the Dāngurs the bride and bridegroom go to worship at Hanumān’s shrine after the ceremony, and all along the way the bride beats the bridegroom with a tamarind twig. The dead are both buried and burnt, and mourning is observed during a period of ten days for adults and of three days for children. But if another child has been born to the mother after the one who has died, the full period of mourning must be observed for the latter; because it is said that in this case the mother does not tear off her sāri or body-cloth to make a winding-sheet for the child as she does when her latest baby dies. The Kumrāwats both grow and weave hemp, though they have no longer anything like a monopoly of its cultivation. They make the gons or double bags used for carrying grain on bullocks. In Chhattīsgarh the status of the Patbinas is low, and no castes except the most debased will take food or water from them. The Kumrāwats of Jubbulpore occupy a somewhat more respectable position and take rank with Kāchhis, though below the good cultivating castes. The Dāngurs of Betūl will take food from the hands of the Kunbis.

Kumrayete.—(Yete, a goat.) A sept of the Uika clan of Sahdeve or six-god Gonds in Betūl. They do not eat goats, and are said to have offered human sacrifices in ancient times.

Kunbi.—A caste. Subcaste of Dāngri, Gondhali and Marātha.

Kundera.—A caste. A subcaste of the Larhia Beldārs.

Kundera, Kharādi.—A small caste of wood-turners akin to the Barhais or carpenters. In 1911 the caste numbered 120 persons, principally in Saugor. When asked for the name of their caste they not infrequently say that they are Rājpūts; but they allow widows to remarry, and their social customs and position are generally the same as those of the Barhais. Both names of the caste are functional, being derived from the Hindi kund, and the Arabic kharāt, a lathe. Some of them abstain from flesh and liquor, and wear the sacred thread, merely with a view to improve their social position. The Kunderas make toys from the dūdhi (Holarrhena antidysenterica) and huqqa stems from the wood of the khair or catechu tree. The toys are commonly lacquered, and the surface is smoothed with a dried leaf of the kevara tree.55 They also make chessmen, wooden flutes and other articles.

Kundgolakar.—A subdivision of degraded Marātha Brāhmans, the offspring of adulterous connections.

Kunjām.—A sept of Solāha in Raipur. A section of Basor and Bhunjia. A sept of Gond and Pardhān.

Kunnatya—(Rope-dancer.) A name applied to Nats.

Kunti or Kunte.—(Kunti, lame.) A subcaste of Kāpewar, synonym Bhiksha Kunti or lame beggars.

Kunwar.—(Prince.) A title of Rājpūt ruling families. A section of Rājpūt and Kawar.

Kura Sasura.—Husband’s elder brother. Title of Kharia.

Kurathiya, Kuratia.—(From kur, a fowl, which they have given up eating.) A subtribe of Gonds in Khairagarh.

Kurha or Sethia.—Title of the Sonkar caste headman.

Kurkere.—One who moulds his vessels on a stone slab revolving on a stick and not on a wheel. Subcaste of Kumhār.

Kurmeta.—A sept of Gonds in Chanda.

Kurmgutia.—(From kurm, tortoise.) A section of Mahār.

Kurmi.—A caste. A subcaste of Agharia in the Uriya country. A subcaste of Barai. A sept of Pardhān. A section of Mahār.

Kurochi.—(Kur, hen.) A sept of the Uika clan of Sahdeve or six-god Gonds in Betūl, so named because their priest once stole a hen.

Kurpachi.—(Kur, hen.) A sept of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betūl, so named because their priest offered the contents of a hen’s intestines to the gods.

Kurru or Kura.—Title of Yerukala.

Kusangia.—(Of bad company.) A section of Lohār.

Kushbansi.—A subcaste of Ahīr. (Descendants of Kush, one of the two sons of Rāma.)

Kush Ranjan.—A section of Brāhman, Barai, Chamār, Chandnāhu Kurmi, Rāwat (Ahīr), Marār and Rājbhar.

Kushta, Koshta.—Subcaste of Kori.

Kuslia.—(Kusli, boat.) A subcaste of Māli.

Kusrām.—(Kusri, pulse.) A sept of the Uika Gonds in Betūl and Chānda.

Labhāna.—Synonym and subcaste of Banjāra.

Lād.—The old name for the territory of Gujarāt. A subcaste of Bania, Kalār, Koshti and Sunār.

Ladaimār.—One who hunts jackals and sells and eats their flesh. Subcaste of Jogi.

Ladele.—(Quarrelsome.) A section of Shribathri Teli.

Lādjin.—Subcaste of Banjāra.

Lādse or Lādvi.—Subcaste of Chamār and Dhangar.

Ladwan, Ladvan.—A subcaste of Mahār. Perhaps from Lād, the old name of Gujarāt.

Laheri.—Synonym of Lakhera.

Laherīa.—Subcaste of Brāhman.

Lahgera or Lahugera.—(Lahanga, weaver.) A subcaste of Kori.

Lahuri Sen.—A subcaste of Barai in the northern Districts who are formed of excommunicated members of the caste.

Lahuria.—(From Lahore.) A section of Rāthor and Chauhān Banjāras.

Lajjhar.—Synonym of Rājjhar.

Lakariha.—A subdivision of Pardhān in Kawardha. While begging they play a musical instrument, hence the name from lakri, a stick.

Lāla.—(A term of endearment.) Synonym for Kāyasth. A subcaste of Chamār.

Lālbegi.—A follower of Lālbeg, patron saint of the sweepers. Synonym of Mehtar.

Lāl Pādri.—Red priests, because they rub geru or red ochre on their bodies. Title of Jogi.

Lamechu.—A subcaste of Bania.

Langoti.—Subcaste of Pārdhi. They wear only a narrow strip of cloth called langoti round the loins.

Lānjia.—A subcaste of Lohār and Nai, from Lānji in Bālāghāt. A subtribe of Gonds in Khairagarh.

Lānjiwār.—(One living round Lānji in Bālāghāt.) Subcaste of Injhwār.

Laphangia.—(Upstart.) A section of Kolta.

Laria, Larhia.—(Belonging to Chhattīsgarh.) A synonym of Beldār. A subcaste of Bhaina, Binjhwār, Chamār, Gānda, Ghasia, Gond, Gosain, Kalār, Kewat, Koshti, Mahār, Marār, Mowār, Panka, Savar, Sunār and Teli.

Lasgaria.—A class of Bairāgi mendicants.

Lasukar.—A subcaste of Gondhalis who sell books and calendars.

Lāt.—Subcaste of Chamār.

Lave.—Subcaste of Kunbi.

Laya.—(Bird.) A section of Binjhwār, Mahār, and Panka.

Lekha.—Subcaste of Gūjar.

Lemuan, Limuan.—(Tortoise.) A totemistic sept of Audhelia, Munda and Oraon.

Lidha.—(Excrement of swine.) Subcaste of Khatīk in Jubbulpore.

Lilia.—(From līl or nīl, the indigo plant.) Subcaste of Kāchhi.

Lilorhia.—Subcaste of Gūjar.

Limba.—(Nīm tree.) A totemistic section of Dumāls.

Lingāyat.—A religious order which has become a caste. See article and subordinate article to Bania. A subcaste of Bania and Kumhār.

Lodha.—Synonym of Lodhi. Subcaste of Lodhi.

Lohār.—A caste of blacksmiths, synonym Luhura. A section of Binjhwār and Gānda.

Lohār Barhai.—A subcaste of Barhai in Bundelkhand.

Lohāria.—A subcaste of Ahīr.

Lonāria.—A salt-maker. Subcaste of Mahār.

Lonchatia.—(Salt-licker.) A sept of the Uika clan of Gonds. The members of this sept lick salt on the death of their relatives. Another account from Betūl says that they spread salt on a platform raised in honour of the dead and make cattle lick it up.

Londhāri.—A small caste of cultivators found in the Bhandāra District. They appear to be immigrants from northern India, as their women wear the Hindustāni dress and they speak Hindi at home. At their weddings the bridal couple walk round the sacred post according to the northern custom. When a widow marries again the couple worship a sword before the ceremony. If a man is convicted of an intrigue with a low-caste woman, he has to submit to a symbolical purification by fire. A heap of juāri-stalks is piled all round him and set alight, but as soon as the fire begins to burn he is permitted to escape from it. This rite is known as Agnikasht. The Londhāris appear to be distinct from the Lonhāre Kunbis of Betūl, with whom I was formerly inclined to connect them. These latter derive their name from the Lonār Mehkar salt lake in the Buldāna District, and are probably so called because they once collected the salt evaporated from the lake. They thus belong to the Marātha country, whereas the Londhāris probably came from northern India. The name Lonhāre is also found as a subdivision of one or two other castes living in the neighbourhood of the Lonār Mehkar lake.

Londhe, Londe.—(One who hides himself behind cloth.) A section of Kohli. A sept of Korku.

Londibacha.—A subcaste of Kasār, including persons of illegitimate descent.

Lonhāre, Lonāre.—(From Lonār-Mehkar, the well-known salt lake of the Buldāna District.) A subcaste of Kunbi. A section of Arakh and Ahīr.

Ludhela.—A section of Basor who worship the ludhia, a round stone for pounding food, at the Maihar ceremony.

Luhura.—(One who works in iron.) Synonym of Lohār. Subcaste of Sidhira.

Lunia.—Synonym of Murha, Nunia.

Machhandar.—(One who catches fish.) Synonym of Dhīmar.

Machhandra Nāth.—A subdivision of Jogi.

Machhia.—(From machhi, fish.) A section of Dhīmar and Lodhi.

Machhri.—(Fish.) A sept of Oraon.

Mada Kukuria.—(Dead dog.) A subsection of the Viswāl section of Koltas.

Madankul.—A section of Komti. They do not use red clothes, nor the wood of the swallow-wort tree.

Madari.—A class of Fakīrs or Muhammadan beggars.

Māde.—A resident of the Mād country in Chānda and Bastar. Subcaste of Pardhān.

Mādgi, Mādiga.56—The Telugu caste of workers in leather corresponding to the Chamārs, which numbers nearly 1½ millions in Madras, Mysore and Hyderābād. In 1911 there were nearly 6000 Mādgis in the Central Provinces and 3000 in Berār. According to tradition, the Mādigas derive their name from that of a sage called Mātanga Muni, and it is said that a dynasty belonging to the caste once ruled in the Canarese country. The following legend of their origin comes from Mysore:57 In former times the sage Jāmbava Rishi was habitually late in attending at Siva’s court. Siva asked him why this happened, and he replied that he was occupied in tending his children. On this Siva took pity on him and gave him the sacred cow, Kāmdhenu, from which all the needs of the children could be satisfied. But one day while Jāmbava was absent at Siva’s court, another sage, Sānkhya, visited his hermitage and was hospitably entertained by his son, Yugamuni. The cream which Sānkhya was given was so good that he desired to kill the cow, Kāmdhenu, thinking that her flesh would taste even better. In spite of Yugamuni’s objections Sānkhya killed the cow and distributed the meat to various persons. While this was in progress Jāmbava returned, and, on hearing what had been done, dragged Sānkhya and Yugamuni before Siva’s judgment seat. The two offenders did not enter the court but stood outside the doorway, Sānkhya on the right side and Yugamuni on the left. Siva condemned them to become Chandālas or outcastes, and the descendants of Sānkhya have become the right-hand Holias, while those of Yugamuni and his wife Mātangi are the left-hand caste of Mādigas. The latter were set to make shoes to expiate the sin committed by their ancestor in killing a cow. Another story given in the Central Provinces is that the Golla caste of cowherds, corresponding to the Ahīrs and the Mādgis, are the descendants of two brothers. The brothers had a large herd of cattle and wanted to divide them. At this time, however, cattle disease was prevalent, and many of the herd were affected. The younger brother did not know of this, and seeing that most of the herd were lying on the ground, he proposed to the elder brother that he himself should take all the cattle lying on the ground, and the elder brother all those which were standing up, as a suitable method of division. The elder brother agreed, but when the younger came to take his cattle which were on the ground he found that they were all dead, and hence he had no alternative but to take off the hides and cure and sell them. His descendants continued his degraded profession and became the Mādgi caste. In Chānda the following six subcastes of Mādgis are reported: The Nulka Chandriah or caste priests; the Anapa or leather dealers; the Sindhi who are supposed to have been performers of dramas; the Masti or dancers; the Kommu or tellers of stories; and the Dekkala or genealogists of the caste. It is said that Kommu really means a horn and Dekka a hoof. These last two are the lowest subdivisions, and occupy a most degraded position. In theory they should not sleep on cots, pluck the leaves of trees, carry loads on any animal other than a donkey, or even cook food for themselves, but should obtain their subsistence by eating the leavings of other Mādgis or members of different castes. The Nulka Chandriah or priests are the highest subdivision and will not take food or water from any of the others, while the four remaining subcastes eat and drink together, but do not intermarry. There are also a number of exogamous groups, most of which have territorial names; but a few are titular or totemistic, as—Mukkidi, noseless; Kumawār, a potter; Nagarwār, a citizen; Dobbulwār, one who possesses a dobbulu or copper coin; Ippawār, from the mahua tree; Itkalwār from itkal a brick, and so on. The caste customs of the Mādigas need not be recorded in detail. They are an impure caste and eat all kinds of food, and the leavings of others, though the higher subdivisions refuse to accept these. They live outside the village, and their touch is considered to convey pollution.

Madhavachārya.—A Vishnuite sect and order of religious mendicants. See Baīrāgi.

Madhyanjan, Madhyandina.—A class of Brāhmans, the same as the Yajur-Vedis, or a section of them.

Mādia.—A class of Gonds in Bastar.

Madpotwa.—(One who distils liquor.) Subcaste of Teli.

Madrāsi.—Subcaste of Dhobi.

Magadha.—A subcaste of Ahīr or Rāwat in Chhattīsgarh, who ask for food from others and do not cook for themselves.

Magar, Magra.—A sept of Khangār, Ahīr or Rāwat, Gond and Chadār.

Māgida.—Synonym of Mādgi.

Mahābrāhman.—A degraded class of Brāhmans who accept gifts for the dead.

Mahādeva Thākur.—(Lord Mahādeo.) A section of Māli.

Mahajalia.—(Deceitful.) A section of Lohār.

Mahājan.—A banker. Title of the Bania caste.

Mahākul.—Synonym for Ahīr.

Mahālodhi.—(Great Lodhi.) Subcaste of Lodhi.

Mahānadiya.—(Those who came from the Mahānadi river.) A subcaste of Lodhi. A section of Gānda, Ghasia and Panka.

Mahant.—Chief of a math or monastery. A superior class of priest. A section of Ahīr, Panka, Chamār and Koshta.

Mahanti.—A synonym for the Karan or writer caste of Orissa. A section of Chasa.

Mahāpātra.—A subdivision of degraded Brāhmans who take funeral gifts. An honorific title of Thānapati and of Uriya Brāhmans. A subcaste of Bhāt.

Mahār.—A caste. A subcaste of Balāhi and Gondhali. A section of Rawat in Raigarh.

Mahārāj.—(Great king.) A title of Brāhmans.

Mahūrāna.—Synonym of Chitāri.

Mahārāshtra or Marāthe.—One of the five orders of Pānch Dravida Brāhmans inhabiting the Marātha country. They are also called Dakshini Brāhmans. A subcaste of Kumhār, Kāsar and Lohār.

Mahedia.—A section of Basors who worship pounded rice mixed with curds.

Mahenga.—(An elephant.) A totemistic sept of Rautia and Kawar in Bilāspur.

Maheshri.—Subcaste of Baina.

Mahili.—Synonym for Māhli.

Mahipia.—(A drinker of curds.) A subsection of the Viswāl section of Koltas.

Mahisur.—(Lord of the earth.) A synonym of Brāhmans.

Mahli-Munda.—Subcaste of Mahli.

Mahobia.—(From the town of Mahoba in Central India.) A subcaste of Barai, Chamār, Dāngi, Ghasia, Khangār and Mahār. A section of Dāngi, Kumhār and Kori.

Mahoda.—A subdivision of Brāhmans in Jubbulpore.

Mahore, Mahure.—A subcaste of Bania, Kori, Kumhār and Kalār.

Mahrātta.—Synonym of Marātha.

Māhto, Māhton.—A chief or village headman. Subcaste and title of Teli and Khairwār; title of the leader of the Bhuiya caste. A section of Gānda and Rāwat (Ahīr).

Mahur.—(Poison.) A subcaste of Sunārs in Chhindwāra.

Mahure, Mahuria.—(From Mahur, a town in Hyderābād.) Subcaste of Barhai and Dhangar.

Mai.—(Mother.) A division of the Kabīrpanthi sect.

Maichhor.—A small clan of Rājpūts. Perhaps from Maichuri in Jaipur.

Mailwār.—(Dirty.) A group of Sunārs in Raipur.

Maina.—Synonym of Mina.

Mair.—A subcaste of Sunār named after Mair, their original ancestor, who melted down a golden demon.

Maithil.—One of the five divisions of Pānch Gaur Brāhmans inhabiting the province of Maithil or Bihār and Tirhūt.

Majarewār.—A territorial section of Binjhwār (from Majare in Bālāghāt).

Mājhi.—(A village headman.) Title of Bhatra.

Mājhia.—Synonym of Majhwār.

Majhli.—(Middle.) Subcaste of Rautia.

Makaria.—(From makad, monkey.) A subcaste of Kamār, so called because they eat monkeys.

Makhia.—Subcaste of Mehtar.

Malaiya.—An immigrant from Mālwa. Subcaste of Chhīpa.

Māle, Māler.—Synonyms of Māl.

Malha.—A boatman. Synonym of Mallah.

Malhar.—Subcaste of Koli.

Māli.—(A caste.) A section of Kalār.

Māl-Pahāria.—Synonym of Māl.

Mālvi, Mālwi.—(From Mālwa.) A subdivision of Brāhmans in Hoshangābād and Betūl. A subcaste of Ahīr, Barhai, Darzi, Dhobi, Gadaria, Kalār, Koshti, Kumhār, Nai and Sunār.

Malyār.58—A small and curious caste of workers in gold and silver in Bastar State. They are known alternatively as Marhātia Sunār or Panchāl, and outsiders call them Adhāli. The name Malyār is said to be derived from mal, dirt, and jār or jālna, to burn, the Malyārs having originally been employed by Sunārs or goldsmiths to clean and polish their ornaments. No doubt can be entertained that the Malyārs are in reality Gonds, as they have a set of exogamous septs all of which belong to the Gonds, and have Gondi names. So far as possible, however, they try to disguise this fact and perform their marriages by walking round the sacred post like the Hindustāni castes. They will take food cooked without water from Brāhmans, Rājpūts and Banias, but will not eat katcha (or food cooked with water) from anybody, and not even from members of their own caste unless they are relatives. This custom is common to some other castes of mixed descent, and indicates that illicit connections are frequent among the Malyārs, as indeed would necessarily be the case owing to the paucity of their numbers. But their memories are short, and the offspring of such irregular unions are recognised as belonging to the caste after one or two generations. An outsider belonging to any higher caste may be admitted to the community. The caste worship Māta Devi or the goddess of smallpox, and revere the spirit of a Malyār woman who became a Sati. They have learned as servants of the Sunārs the rudiments of their art, and manufacture rough ornaments for the primitive people of Bastar.

Māna Ojha.—Subcaste of Ojha.

Mandal.—(A name for a prosperous cultivator in Chhattīsgarh.) A section of Chamār and Panka. See article Kurmi.

Mandilwār.—Name derived from Mandla. Subcaste of Katia.

Mandkul.—A section of Komti who do not eat mangoes.

Mandlāha.—(From Mandla town.) Subtribe of Gond.

Māne Kunbi.—Subcaste of Gondhali.

Māng or Māngia.—A caste. Subcaste of Gānda, Gondhali, Bahrūpia.

Mangan.—(From Manghunia, beggar.) A caste.

Mangan.59—A small caste found in Chhattīsgarh and Sambalpur who are the musicians and genealogists of the Ghasias. The term is considered opprobrious, as it means ‘beggar,’ and many Mangans probably return themselves as Ghasias. They are despised by the Ghasias, who will not take food or water from them. At the marriages of the former the Mangans play on a drum called ghunghru, which they consider as the badge of the caste, their cattle being branded with a representation of it. The only point worth notice about the caste is that they are admittedly of mixed descent from the unions of members of other castes with Ghasia prostitutes. They have five totemistic exogamous sections, about each of which a song is sung relating its origin. The Sunāni sept, which worships gold as its totem and occupies the highest position, is said to be descended from a Brāhman father and a Ghasia mother; the Sendaria sept, worshipping vermilion, from a Kewat ancestor and a Ghasia woman; the Bhainsa sept, worshipping a buffalo, from a Gaur or Ahīr and a Ghasia; the Mahānadia sept, having the Mahānadi for their totem, from a Gond and a Ghasia woman; while the Bāgh sept, who revere the tiger, say that a cow once gave birth to two young, one in the form of a tiger and the other of a human being; the latter on growing up took a Ghasia woman to himself and became the ancestor of the sept. As might be expected from their ancestry, the Mangan women are generally of loose character. The Mangans sometimes act as sweepers.

Māngta.—(A beggar.) A subcaste of Pāsi in Sangor, who beg from their caste-fellows.

Maniāra.—(A Pedlar.) Subcaste of Jogi.

Manihār.—A caste. The Manihārs are also known as Bisāti. An occupational name of Jogis.

Mānikpuria.—(A resident Mānikpur.) Subcaste of Panka.

Mānjhi.—(Headman.) A synonym of Santāl and Kewat. A section of Chasa, Dhanuhār and Kolta. A title of Chasa.

Manjur.—(Peacock.) A totemistic sept of Munda.

Manjmār.—Term for a boatman. Included in Kewat.

Mānkar.—Name of a superior class of village watchmen in Nimār District. See article Bhīl. A subcaste of Māna and Halba.

Mannepuwār.—A subcaste of Māla. Synonym, Teluga Bhoi.

Mānwa.—Subcaste of Kunbi.

Marābi.—A common sept of Gond. A section of Nat.

Marai.—(A name for the goddess of cholera, who is called Marai Māta.) A common sept of Gond. Also a sept of Baiga, Pasor and Bhunjia. A subcaste of Majhwār.

Marāl.—Synonym of Māli.

Marapa.—A sept of Gonds in Betūl, who abstain from killing or eating a goat or sheep and throw away any article smelt by them.

Marār.—Synonym for Māli, a gardener. Also a subcaste of Kāchhi.

Marātha, Marāthe.—A caste. A subcaste of Barhai, Bedar, Chamār, Dhīmar, Gadaria, Kumhār, Mahār, Māli, Māng, Nai and Teli.

Marāthi, Marātha, Mārthe, Marāthe.—(A resident of the Marātha country.) Subcaste of Bahrūpia, Chamār, Dhargar, Gundhali, Gopāl, Injhwār, Kaikāri, Kasār, Koshti, Nāhal, Otāri.

Marathia.—Resident of Bhandāra or another Marātha District. Subcaste of Halba.

Māria.—A well-known tribe of Gonds in Bastar and Chānda. See article Gond. A subcaste of Gowāri. A section of Ahīr, Chamār and Kumhār.

Markām.—(Marka, mango.) One of the principal septs of Gonds. Also a sept of Baiga, Basor, Bhumjia, Pardhān and Solāha.

Marori.60—A small caste of degraded Rājpūts from Marwār found in the Bhandāra and Chhindwāra Districts and also in Berār. The name is a local corruption of Mārwāri, and is applied to them by their neighbours, though many of the caste do not accept it and call themselves Rājpūts. In Chhindwāra they go by the name of Chhatri, and in the Tirora Tahsīl they are known as Alkari, because they formerly grew the al or Indian madder for a dye, though it has now been driven out of the market. They have been in the Central Provinces for some generations, and though retaining certain peculiarities of dress, which show their northern origin, have abandoned in many respects the caste usages of Rājpūts. Their women wear the Hindustāni angia tied with string behind in place of the Marātha choli or breast-cloth, and drape their sāris after the northern fashion. They wear ornaments of the Rājpūtans shape on their arms, and at their weddings they sing Mārwāri songs. They have Rājpūt sept names, as Parihār, Rāthor, Solanki, Sesodia and others, which constitute exogamous groups and are called kulis. Some of these have split up into two or three subdivisions, as, for instance, the Pathar (stone) Panwārs, the Pāndhre or white Panwārs and the Dhatūra or thorn-apple Panwārs; and members of these different groups may intermarry. The reason seems to be that it was recognised that people belonged to the same Panwār sept who were not blood kin to each other, and the prohibition of marriage between them was a serious inconvenience in a small community. They also have eponymous gotras, as Vasishtha, Batsa and others of the Brāhmanical type, but these do not influence exogamy. The paucity of their numbers and the influence of local usage have caused them to relax the marriage rules adhered to by Rājpūts. Women are very scarce, and a price varying from forty to a hundred rupees is commonly paid for a bride, though they feel keenly the degradation attaching to the acceptance of a bride-price. Widow-marriage is permitted, no doubt for the same reasons, and a girl going wrong with a man of another caste may be readmitted to the community. Divorce is not permitted, and an unfaithful wife may be abandoned; she cannot then marry again in the caste. Formerly, on the arrival of the marriage procession, the bride’s and bridegroom’s parties let off fireworks, aiming them against each other, but this practice is now discontinued. When the bridegroom approaches the marriage-shed the bride comes out and strikes him on the breast or forehead with a ball of dough, a sheet being held between them; the bridegroom throws a handful of rice over her and strikes the festoons of the shed with a naked sword. A bachelor espousing a widow must first be married to a ring, which he thereafter carries in his ear, and if it is lost funeral ceremonies must be performed as for a real wife. Women are tattooed on the arms only. Children have as many as five names, one for ordinary use, and the others for ceremonial purposes and the arrangement of marriages. If a man kills a cow or a cat he must have a miniature figure of the animal made of gold and give it to a Brāhman in expiation of his sin.

Marskola.—(From markets, an axe.) A common sept of Gonds and Pardhāns.

Māru.—Subcaste of Chāran Bhāts.

Mārwāri.—A resident of Mārwār or the desert tract of Rājputāna; Mārwār is also used as a name for Jodhpur State. See subordinate article Rājpūt-Rāthor. The name Mārwāri is commonly applied to Banias coming from Mārwār. See article Bania. A subcaste of Bahna, Gurao, Kumhār, Nai, Sunār and Teli.

Masania.—(From masin, straw or grass mats, or masina, thatched roof.) A section of Lohār. A synonym for San Bhatras in Bastar.

Mashki.—(A water-bearer.) Synonym of Bhishti.

Masrām.—A common sept of Gonds.

Masti.—(Dancer.) Subcaste of Mādgi.

Mastram.—(Mastra, brass bangles.) A sept of Gonds in Betūl. The women of this sept wear brass bangles.

Masūria.—A subcaste of Kurmi. From masūr, lentil. A section of Rājpūt.

Mathadhari.—(Living in a monastery.) A celibate clan of Mānbhao mendicants.

Mathpati.—(Lord of the hermitage.) A subcaste of Jangam.

Mathur, Mathuria.—(From Mathura or Muttra.) A subcaste of Kāyasth. A subdivision of Brāhman. A subcaste of Banjāra, Darzi and Nai.

Matkūda, Matkora.—(Earth-digger.) A subcaste and synonym of Beldār. A name for Gonds and Pardhāns who take to earthwork.

Mattha.—Corruption of Marātha. A subcaste of Koshti, Mahār and Teli, and a title of Teli.

Matti.—A subdivision of low-class Brāhmans returned from Khairagarh. Also a class of Kashmīri Brāhmans.

Matwāla.—(A drinker of country liquor.) Subcaste of Kadera.

Mawāsi, Mirdhān.—Subcaste of Dahāit. Title of the headman of the Dahāit caste committee.

Mayaluar.—(Chief man of the caste.) A subcaste of Turi.

Mayur.—(Peacock.) A totemistic section of the Ahīr, Hatwa, Gond, Sonjhara and Sundi castes.

Mayurmāra.—(Killer of peacock.) A section of Bahelia.

Meda Gantia.—(Counter of posts.) Title of Bhatra. Official who fixes date and hour for wedding.

Medara, Medari.—The Telugu caste of bamboo-workers and mat-makers, corresponding to the Basors. They have the same story as the Basors of the first bamboo having been grown from the snake worn by Siva round his neck, which was planted head downwards in the ground. The customs of the Medaras, Mr. Francis says,61 differ from place to place. In one they will employ Brāhman purohits (priests), and prohibit widow-marriage, while in the next they will do neither, and will even eat rats and vermin. The better classes among them are taking to calling themselves Balijas or Baljis, and affixing the title of Chetti to their names.

Medari.—Synonym of Medara.

Mehar.—Synonym of Bhulia.

Meher.—A section of Mālwi Ahīr, a synonym for Bhulia. A title of Chamār.

Mehra.—Synonym for Mahār. A subcaste of Katia and Kori.

Mehta.—A group of Brāhmans. A section of Oswāl Bania.

Mehtar.—(A prince or leader.) Common name for the sweeper caste. Title of the president of the Dhobi caste committee.

Meman.—Synonym of Cutchi.

Meshbansi.—(Descendant of a sheep.) A clan of Rājpūts.

Mewāda, Mewāri.—(From Mewār.) A division of Gujarāti or Khedāwāl Brāhmans. A subcaste of Chhīpa, Dārzi, Māli and Sunār.

Mewāti.—Synonym of Meo. See article. A class of Fakīrs or Muhammadan beggars.

Mhāli.—Synonym of Nai.

Mhasia, Mhashi.—(Mhas, buffalo.) A sept of Halba. A section of Kohli.

Mihir.—Synonym of Bhulia.

Mīna.—A caste. A section of Rāghuvansis.

Mīrdaha.—A subcaste of Dahāit, Khangār, and Nat. A section of Rāghuvansi. Name used for the mate of a gang of coolies.

Mīr-Dahāit.—Title of the Mīrdha caste.

Mīrdha.—A small caste found only in the Narsinghpur District. They are a branch of the Khangār or Dahāit caste of Saugor and Damoh. The names of their exogamous sections tally with those of the Khangārs, and they have the same story of their ancestors having been massacred at a fort in Orchha State and of one pregnant woman escaping and hiding under a kusum tree (Schleichera trijuga), which consequently they revere. Like Khangārs they regard Muhammadan eunuchs and Fakīrs (beggars) with special friendship, on the ground that it was a Fakīr who sheltered their ancestress when the rest of the caste were massacred by Rājpūts, and Fakīrs do not beg at their weddings. One explanation of the name is that this section of the caste were born from a Muhammadan father and a Dahāit woman, and hence were called Mir-Dahāits or Mīrdāha, Mir being a Muhammadan title. Mirdha is, however, as noted by Mr. Hira Lāl, the name of the head of the caste committee among the Dahāits; and in Hoshangābād he is a servant of the village proprietor and acts as assistant to the Kotwār or village watchman; he realises the rents from the tenants, and sometimes works as a night guard. In Gujarāt the name is said to be a corruption of mir-deh or ‘mason of the village.’62 Here it is said that the Mīrdhas are held to be of part foreign, part Rājpūt origin, and were originally official spies of the Gujarāt sultans. They are now employed as messengers and constables, and therefore seem to be analogous to the same class of persons in the Central Provinces.

Mīrshikār.—Synonym of Pārdhi.

Misra or Misar.—A surname of Kanaujia, Jijhotia, Sarwaria and Uriya Brāhmans.

Mistri.—(Corruption of the English Mister.) A master carpenter or mate of a gang. Title of Barhai, Beldār and Lohār.

Mithia.—(A preparer of sweets.) Synonym of Halwai.

Mochi.—(A shoemaker.) A caste. Subcaste of Chamār.

Modh.—A subdivision of Khedāwāl or Gujarāti Brāhmans who take their name from Modhera, an ancient place in Gujarāt. A subcaste of Gujarāti Bania.

Modh-Ghaneli.—Subcaste of Teli in Gujarāt.

Moghia.—Synonym of Pardhi.

Mohania.—(Captivator.) A section of Rajjhar and Kirār.

Mohtaria.—Title of the headman of the Andh caste committee.

Mohtera.—One who fixes the auspicious moment, hence the headman of the caste. A titular section of Basor.

Monas.—A subdivision of Brāhmans.

Mongre, Mongri, Mongrekair.—(A club or mallet.) A section of Ahīr or Rāwat in Chhattīsgarh, and of Chamār, Ganda, and Panka.

Mori.—A branch of the Panwār Rājpūts.

Mor Kāchhi.—One who prepares the maur or marriage-crown for weddings. Subcaste of Kāchhi.

Morkul.—A section of Komti. They do not use asafoetida (hing) nor the fruit of the umar fig-tree.

Motate.—(From mot, water-bag.) A subcaste of Kāpewār.

Moujikul.—A section of Komti. They do not use pepper.

Mowār.—Subcaste of Rajwār.

Mowāsi.—A resident of the forests of Kalibhīt and Melghāt known as the Mowās. Subcaste of Korku.

Muamin.—Synonym of Cutchi.

Muāsi.—Title of Korku; subcaste of Korwa.

Muchi.—Synonym of Mochi.

Mudara.—Subcaste of Parja.

Mudgalia.—(From mudgal, Indian club—an athlete.) A surname of Adi Gaur Brāhmans in Saugor.

Mudha.—Synonym for Munda.

Mudotia.—(From mudha, a cheat.) A surname of Sanādhia Brāhmans in Saugor.

Mughal.—A tribal division of Muhammadans. See article Muhammadan Religion.

Muhammadan.—Subcaste of Koli.

Muhjaria.—(Burnt mouth.) A section of Lodhi.

Mukeri.—Or Kasai, a small Muhammadan caste of traders in cattle and butchers. In 1891 more than 900 were returned from the Saugor District. Their former occupation was to trade in cattle like the Banjāras, but they have now adopted the more profitable trade of slaughtering them for the export of meat; and as this occupation is not considered very reputable, they have perhaps thought it desirable to abandon their caste name. The derivation of the term Mukeri is uncertain. According to one account they are a class of Banjāras, and derive their name from Mecca, on the ground that one of their Nāiks or headmen was camping in the neighbourhood of this town, at the time when Abrāham was building it, and assisted him in the work. When they emigrated from Mecca their illustrious name of Makkāi was corrupted into Mukeri.63 A variant of this story is that their ancestor was one Makka Banjāra, who also assisted in the building of Mecca, and that they came to India with the early Muhammadan invaders.64 The Mukeris form a caste and marry among themselves. In their marriage ceremony they have adopted some Hindu observances, such as the anointing of the bride and bridegroom with turmeric and the erection of a marriage-shed. They take food from the higher Hindu castes, but will not eat with a Kāyasth, though there is no objection to this on the score of their religion. They will admit an outsider, if he becomes a Muhammadan, but will not give their daughters to him in marriage, at any rate until he has been for some years a member of the caste. In other matters they follow Muhammadan law.

Mullāji.—Title of the priests of the Bohra caste.

Multani.—Subcaste and synonym of Banjāra.

Munda.—(A village headman, from munda, the head.) Title and synonym of Kol. A subcaste of Kharia and Oraon.

Mundela.—(Bald-headed.) A surname of Jijhotia Brāhmans in Saugor.

Mundle.—(Shaven ones.) Subcaste of Gūjar.

Munikul.—A section of Komti. They do not use munga beans.

Munjia.—Name of an Akhāra or school of Bairāgi religious mendicants. See Bairāgi.

Munurwār.—Synonym of Kāpewār.

Murai, Murao.—(From muli, or radish.) Subcaste of Kāchhi.

Murchulia.—(One who puts rings on the fingers of the caste.) A section of Gānda and Panka in Raipur.

Muria.—A well-known subtribe of Gonds in Bastar and Chānda.

Murli.—Synonym of Wāghya.

Musābir.—Synonym of Mochi.

Musahar.—(A rat-eater.) Subcaste and title of Bhuiya.

Mūsare.—(Mūsar, a pestle.) A section of Māli.

Mussali.—Title of Mehtar.

Mutrācha.—Synonym of Mutrāsi.

Mutrāsa.—Synonym of Mutrāsi.

Mutrāsi, Mutrāsa, Muthrāsi, Mutrācha.—(From the Dravidian roots mudi, old, and rāchā, a king, or from Mutu Rāja, a sovereign of some part of the Telugu country.)65 A caste which is numerous in Hyderābād and Madras, and of which a few persons are found in the Chānda District of the Central Provinces. The Mutrāsis are the village watchmen proper of Telingāna or the Telugu country.66 They were employed by the Vijayanagar kings to defend the frontier of their country, and were honoured with the title of Pāligar. Their usual honorific titles at present are Dora (Sāhib or Lord) and Naidu. As servants they are considered very faithful and courageous. Some of them have taken to masonry in Chānda, and are considered good stone-carvers. They are a comparatively low caste, and eat fowls and drink liquor, but they do not eat beef or pork. It is compulsory among them to marry a girl before she arrives at adolescence, and if this is not done her parents are put out of caste, and only readmitted on payment of a penalty.

Nabadia.—(Boatman or sailor.) A synonym for Kewat.

Naddāf.—A synonym for Bahna or Pinjāra.

Nadha.—(Those who live on the banks of streams.) Subcaste of Dhīmar.

Nadia.—A clan of Dāngi.

Nāg, Nagesh.—(Cobra.) A sept of the Ahīr or Rāwat, Binjhāl, Bhātia, Chasa, Hatwa, Halba, Khadāl, Kawar, Khangār, Karan, Katia, Kolta, Lohār, Mahār, Māli, Mowār, Parja, Redka, Sulia, Sundi and Taonla castes. Most of these castes belong to Chhattīsgarh and the Uriya country.

Nāga.—A clan of Gosains or mendicants. See Gosain.

Nāgar.—A subcaste of Brāhmans belonging to Gujarāt; a subcaste of Bania; a section of Teli.

Nagārchi.—(A drum-beater.) A class of Gonds. A subcaste of Gānda and Ghasia.

Nagārchi.—The Nagārchis appear to be a class of Gonds, whose special business was to beat the nakkāra or kettledrums at the gates of forts and palaces. In some Districts they now form a special community, marrying among themselves, and numbered about 6000 persons in 1911. The nagāra or nakkāra is known in Persia as well as in India. Here the drum is made of earthenware, of a tapering shape covered at both ends with camel-hide for the zīr or treble, and with cowhide for the bam or bass. It is beaten at the broader end. In Persia the drums were played from the Nakkāra-khāna or gateway, which still exists as an appanage of royalty in the chief cities of Iran. They were beaten to greet the rising and to usher out the setting sun. During the months of mourning, Safar and Muharram, they were silent.67 In India the nagāra were a pair of large kettledrums bound with iron hoops and twice as large as those used in Europe. They were a mark of royalty and were carried on one of the state elephants, the royal animal, in the prince’s sowāri or cavalcade, immediately preceding him on the line of march. The right of displaying a banner and beating kettledrums was one of the highest marks of distinction which could be conferred on a Rājpūt noble. When the titular Marātha Rāja had retired to Satāra and any of the Marātha princes entered his territory, all marks of royalty were laid aside by the latter and his nagāra or great drum of empire ceased to be beaten.68

The stick with which the kettledrum was struck was called danka, and the king’s jurisdiction was metaphorically held to extend so far as his kettledrums were beaten. Angrezi rāj ka danka bajta hai or ‘Where the English drum is beaten,’ means ‘So far as the English empire extends.’ In Egypt the kettledrums were carried on camels.69

Nāgaria.—(A drum-player.) A section of Jasondhi Bhāt and Teli.

Nāgbans.—(Descended from the cobra.) A totemistic sept of Gadba, Ghasia, and Gond.

Nāgla.—(Naked.) Subcaste of Khond.

Nāgpure.—(From Nāgpur.) A section of Lodhi and Kohli.

Nāgvansi.—A clan of Rājpūts. See article Rājpūt-Nāgvānsi. A subcaste and section of Sunār. A section of Daharia or Daraiha and Gond.

Nāhar.—(Tiger.) A subtribe of Baiga. A section of Rājpūts in Saugor.

Nahonia.—A clan of Dāngi in Damoh and Saugor. They were formerly Kachhwāha Rājpūts from Narwar, but being cut off from their own domicile they married with Dāngis. Rājpūts accept daughters from them but do not give their daughters to Nahonias.

Naidu.—Title of the Balija, Mutrāsi and Velama castes. Often used by Balijas as their caste name.

Nāik.—(Leader.) A subdivision of Gond, also known as Darwe. A title of Banjāra headmen. A title of Teli and Kolta. A section of Ahīr, Chamār, Chasa, Gadaria, Halba, Kewat, Khond, Māli, Sudh.

Nakīb.—Mace-bearer or flag-bearer in a procession. Subcaste of Jasondhi Bhāt and Khangār.

Nakshbandia.—A class of Fakīrs or Muhammadan beggars.

Naksia.—Synonym of Nagasia.

Nāmdeo.—A religious sect confined to members of the Chhīpa and Darzi castes, which has become a subcaste.

Nānakshāhi.—Synonym of Nānakpanthi.

Nandia.—(One who leads about with him a performing bullock). From Nandi, the bull on which Mahādeo rides. Subcaste of Jogi.

Nāndvansi.—Subcaste of Ahīr.

Nanghana.—A name given to the Kol tribe in Hoshangābād.

Napita.—Sanskrit name for Nai or barber.

Naqqāl.—Title of Bhānd.

Naraina.—Subcaste of Patwa.

Naramdeo.—A subcaste of Brāhmans belonging to the Gaur branch. They take their name from the river Nerbudda.

Narbadi, Narmada.—(From the river Nerbudda.) A subdivision of Mahārāshtra Brāhmans. A section of Yajur-Vedi Brāhmans. A synonym for Naramdeo Brāhmans. A section of Agharia, Binjhāl and Chamār.

Narnolia.—(From a place called Narnol in the Punjab.) Subcaste of Mehtar.

Narwaria.—A clan of Dāngi. A subcaste of Ahīr.

Nāta.—(A young bullock.) A section of Ahīr and Oswāl Bania.

Nathunia.—(Nose-ring.) A subcaste of Pāsi.

Navadesia.—(A man of nine districts.) Subcaste of Banjāra.

Nawaria.—A subcaste of Barhai, Lohar, Kachera or Sīsgar, Nai and Tamera.

Nāzir.—(A cashier or usher.) Subcaste of Jasondhi Bhāt.

Negi.—A vice-president of the caste committee in the Kharia caste.

Nema or Nīma.—A subcaste of Bania. See article Bania, Nema.

Netām.—(The dog in Gondi.) One of the common septs of Gond. Also a sept of Basor, Bhatra, Bhuiya, Dewar, Kawar and Parja.

Nawāri.—(From newār, thick tape used for webbing of beds.) Subcaste of Bahna.

Niaria.—An occupational term applied to persons who take the refuse and sweepings from a Sunār’s shop and wash out the particles of gold and silver. See article Sunār.

Nigam, Nigum.—A subcaste of Kāyasth.

Nihāl.—Synonym of Nahal.

Nihang.—A class of Bairagis or religious mendicants, who remain celibate.

Nikhar.—A subcaste of Ahīr, Bharewa (Kasār), Gadaria. A clan of Rājpūt. A section of Koshti.

Nikumbh.—A clan of Rājpūts included in the thirty-six royal races. A section of Joshi.

Nīlgar.—Synonym of Chhīpa.

Nīlkar.—(From nīl, indigo.) A subcaste of Darzi or Simpi (tailors) in Nāagpur, so named because they took up the work of dyeing in addition to their own and formed a new subcaste.

Nīmānandi.—A Vishnuite sect and order of religious mendicants. See Bairāgi.

Nimāri, Nimādi, Nimāria.—(A resident of Nimār.) A subcaste of Balāhi, Bania, Dhobi, Mahār and Nai.

Nimāwal.—A class of Bairāgi.

Nirāli.—Synonym of Chhīpa.

Niranjani.—Name of an Akhāra or school of Bairāgis. See Bairāgi.

Nirbani.—(Nir, without; bani, speech.) A class of Bairāgis who refrain from speech as far as possible.

Nirmohi.—A class of Bairāgis.

Nona or Lona.—Name derived from Nona or Lona Chamārin, a well-known witch. Subcaste of Chamār.

Nulkāchandriah.—Caste priests. Subcaste of Mādgi.

Nun.—(Salt.) A sept of Oraon.

Nunia, Nonia, Lunia.—(Saltmaker.) A synonym of Beldār. A section of Binjhwār and Koli.

Od.—Synonym of Beldār.

Odde, Ud.—(From Odra the old name of Orissa.) Term for a digger or navvy. A group of Beldārs.

Odhia.—Synonym for Audhia Bania.

Odia or Uriya.—Subcaste of Beldār in Chhattīsgarh.

Oiku.—Subtribe of Majhwār.

Ojha.—(From Ojh, entrails.) A caste of Gond augurs, see article. A title of Maithil Brāhmans. A subcaste of Lohār, Nat and Savar.

Okkilyan.—Synonym of Wakkāliga.

Omre, Umre.—A subcaste of Bania. See Bania Umre.—A subcaste of Teli.

Onkar Nāth.—A subdivision of Jogis.

Onkule.—Subcaste of Koshti.

Orha.—Subcaste of Chasa.

Oswāl.—A subcaste of Bania. See subordinate article to Bania.

Ota.—(One who recites the Vedas aloud in sacrifices.) An honorific title of Uriya Brāhmans.

Otāri, Watkari.—A low caste of workers in brass in the Marātha country. The name is derived from the Marāthi verb otne, to pour or smelt. They number about 2600 persons in the Bhandāra and Chānda Districts, and in Berār. The caste have two subcastes, Gondādya and Marātha, or the Gond and Marātha Otāris. The latter are no doubt members of other castes who have taken to brass-working. Members of the two subcastes do not eat with each other. Their family names are of different kinds, and some of them are totemistic. They employ Brāhmans for their ceremonies, and otherwise their customs are like those of the lower artisan castes. But it is reported that they have a survival of marriage by capture, and if a man refuses to give his daughter in marriage after being asked twice or thrice, they abduct the girl and afterwards pay some compensation to the father. They make and sell ornaments of brass and bell-metal, such as are worn by the lower castes, and travel from village to village, hawking their toe-rings and anklets. There is also an Otāri subcaste of Kasārs.

Pabaiya.—(From Pabai in Bundelkhand.) A clan of Rājpūts in Hoshangābād.

Pābia.—A small caste in the zamīndāris of the Bilāspur District, and some of the Feudatory States, who numbered about 9000 persons in 1911. They appear to be Pāns or Gāndas, who also bear the name of Pāb, and this has been corrupted into Pābia, perhaps with a view to hiding their origin. They are wretchedly poor and ignorant. They say that they have never been to a Government dispensary, and would be afraid that medicine obtained from it would kill them. Their only remedies for diseases are branding the part affected or calling in a magician. They never send their children to school, as they hold that educated children are of no value to their parents, and that the object of Government in opening schools is only to obtain literate persons to carry on its business. One curious custom may be noticed. When any one dies in a family, all the members, as soon as the breath leaves his body, go into another room of the house; and across the door they lay a net opened into the room where the corpse lies. They think that the spirit of the dead man will follow them, and will be caught in the net. Then the net is carried away and burnt or buried with the corpse, and thus they think that the spirit is removed and prevented from remaining about the house and troubling the survivors.

Pabeha.—Synonym for Dhīmar.

Pābudia or Mādhai.—A subcaste of Bhuiya.

Pachādhe.—(Western.)—A subdivision of Sāraswat Brāhman.

Pachbhaiya.—(Five Brothers.) A section of Ahīr and Audhelia.

Pada.—(A pig-eater.) A section of Muria Gonds and Pardhāns.

Padhān.—(An Uriya name for a chief or headman of a village.) A section of Bhuiya, Chasa, Dumāl, Hatwa, Kolta, Tiyar and other Uriya castes. A title of Chasa and Kolta.

Padmasāle.—Subcaste of Koshti.

Padyāl.—A subtribe of Gond in Chānda. A section of Marori.

Pahalwān.—A small community numbering about 600 persons in the Bilāspur District and surrounding tracts of Chhattīsgarh. The word Pahalwān means a wrestler, but Sir B. Robertson states70 that they are a small caste of singing beggars and have no connection with wrestling. They appear, however, to belong to the Gopāl caste, who have a branch of Pahalwāns in their community. And the men returned from Bilāspur may have abandoned wrestling in favour of singing and begging from trees, which is also a calling of the Gopāls. They themselves say that their ancestors were Gopāls and lived somewhere towards Berār, and that they came to Bilāspur with the Marātha leader Chimnāji Bhonsla.

Pāhar.—Subcaste of Mahli.

Pahāria or Benwaria.—Subcaste of Korwa.

Pāik.—(A foot-soldier.) See Rājput-Pāik.

Paikaha.—(One who follows the calling of curing hides.) Synonym for Chamār.

Paikara.—(From Pāik, a foot-soldier.) Subcaste of Kawar.

Pailagia.—(Pailagi or ‘I fall at your feet,’ is a common term of greeting from an inferior to a superior.) Subcaste of Dahāit.

Paiyām.—(From paiya, a calf.) A sept of Gonds in Betūl.

Pajania.—(Paijana, tinkling anklets.) A section of Kurmi.

Pakhāli.—(From pakhāli, a leathern water-bag.) Synonym of Bhishti.

Pakhawaji.—(One who plays on the pakhawaj or timbrel.) Title of Mirāsi.

Pakhia.—(They are so called because they eat the flesh of the por or buffalo.) Subcaste of Khond.

Palas.—(From the palās tree, Butea frondosa.) A totemistic sept of Gonds.

Pālewār.—A gotra of Binjhwār; a subcaste of Dhīmar found in the Telugu country. They are also called Bhoi in Chānda. A name for Telugu Dhīmars or watermen. A section of Binjhwār.

Palgaria.—(Sleeping on a palang or cot.) A sept of Bhunjia.

Palliwāl.—A subcaste of Brāhmans belonging to the Kanaujia division. They take their name from Pāli, a trading town of Mārwār. A subcaste of Bania, whose name is derived from the same place.

Palsa-gacha.—(Palās tree, Butea frondosa.) A totemistic sept of Pāns.

Palshe.—A subcaste of Marātha Brāhmans. They derive their name from Palsaoli village in Kalyān (Bombay Presidency).

Pampatra.—(Those who use their hands as pots.) A section of Khandwāl.

Pān.—(Name of a forest tribe.) Synonym for Gānda.

Panch, Panchāyat.—(A caste committee, so called because it is supposed to consist of five (pānch) persons.) A section of Marār.

Panchāl.—An indeterminate group of artisans engaged in any of the following five trades: Workers in iron, known as Manu; workers in copper or brass called Twashtik; workers in stone or Shilpik; workers in wood or Maya; and workers in gold and silver designated as Daivagnya.71 The caste appear to be of Telugu origin, and in Madras they are also known as Kammala. In the Central Provinces they were amalgamated with the Sunars in 1901, but in 1891 a total of 7000 were returned, belonging to the southern Districts; while 2700 members of the caste are shown in Berār. The name is variously derived, but the principal root is no doubt pānch or five. Captain Glasfurd writes it Panchyānun.72 In the Central Provinces the Panchāls appear generally to work in gold or brass, while in Berār they are blacksmiths. The gold-workers are an intelligent and fairly prosperous class, and devote themselves to engraving, inlaying, and making gold beads. They are usually hired by Sunārs and paid by the piece.73 They are intent on improving their social position and now claim to be Vishwa Brāhmans, presumably in virtue of their descent from Viswa Karma, the celestial architect. At the census they submitted a petition begging to be classified as Brāhmans, and to support their claim they employ members of their own caste to serve them as priests. But the majority of them permit the remarriage of widows, and do not wear the sacred thread. In other respects their customs resemble those of the Sunārs. The Berār Panchāls, on the other hand, appear to be a much lower group. Mr. Kitts describes74 them as a “wandering caste of smiths living in grass-mat huts and using as fuel the roots of thorn bushes, which they batter out of the ground with the back of a short-handled axe peculiar to themselves. The Berāri Panchals,” he continues, “who differ from the Dakhani division in the custom of shaving their heads and beards on the death of a parent, have been in the Provinces for some generations. They live in small pāls or tents, and move from place to place with buffaloes, donkeys, and occasionally ponies to carry their kit. The women of the Berāri division may be distinguished from those of the Dakhani Panchāls by their wearing their lugras or body-cloths tucked in at the back, in the fashion known as kasote.” It is no doubt from the desire to dissociate themselves from the wandering blacksmiths of Berār that the Panchāls of the Central Provinces desire to drop their caste name.

Pancham.—A subcaste of Bania. A subcaste of Barai, the same as Berāria.

Pānchbhai.—(Five brothers.) A surname of Bhanāra Dhīmars, a section of Ghasia.

Pānchdeve.—A subdivision of Gonds, worshipping five gods and paying special reverence to the sāras crane.

Pānch Dravid.—One of the two primary divisions of Brāhmans, inhabiting the country south of the Vindhya hills and Nerbudda river, and including the following five orders: viz., Karnata (Carnatic), Dravid (Madras), Tailanga (Telugu country), Mahārāshtra (Bombay) and Gurjara (Gujarāt).

Panch Gaur.—One of the two primary divisions of Brāhmans inhabiting the country north of the Vindhya hills and Nerbudda river; it includes the following five orders: Sāraswat (Punjab), Kanaujia (Hindustān), Gaur (Bengal), Utkal (Orissa) and Maithil (Bihār or Tirhūt).

Panchghar.—One of the three subdivisions of Kanaujia Brāhmans in Hoshangābād.

Panda.—(A priest of Devi, a wise man.) A subcaste or title of Māli. A subcaste and surname of Uriya Brāhmans. A subcaste of Jasondhi Bhāts.

Pandarām.—A class of Brāhman priests.

Pānde.—(A wise man.) A surname of Kanaujia and Gaur Brāhmans. A section of Agharia, Barhai, Kewat and Marār. A title of Joshi and Kumhār.

Pāndhare.—(White.) Subcaste of Sunār.

Pandit.—(A learned man.) A title of Brāhmans.

Pandki.—(Dove.) A totemistic sept of Bhatra, Kawar and Parja.

Pandra.—A small caste of cultivators in the Uriya country. It is said that one of the Rājas of Patna had an illegitimate son to whom he gave the village of Pandri. His descendants were the Pandras.

Pandwar or Padwar.—A section of Panka in Raipur. They are said to be so named because they washed the feet of others.

Pāngal.—Subcaste of Gopāl. They make mats, but in addition to this they are mendicants begging from trees.

Panhāra.—An occupational term meaning a seller of pān or betel-leaf.

Pānibhar.—(A waterman.) Subcaste of Dāngri.

Pānigrahi.—(Husband.) An honorific title of Uriya Brāhmans.

Panjha.—(Paw of an animal.) A sept of Gond.

Panka.—A weaver caste derived from the Gāndas, being Gāndas who follow the Kabīrpanthi sect. See article. In Chhattīsgarh Pankas sometimes call themselves Dās, as servants of Kabīr. Panka is also a subcaste of Gānda.

Pansāri.—(A druggist.) Synonym for Barai.

Panwār.—A clan of Rājpūt. See article Panwār Rājpūt. A subcaste of Banjāra and Bhoyar. A section of Ahīr, Bhilāla, Koshti, Marātha and Marori.

Parasār, Parashār.—(Name of a Brāhmanical saint.) An eponymous section of Brāhmans. A surname of Sanādhya and Gaur Brāhmans. A section of Basdeva, Rangāri, Sunār and Vidur.

Parauha.—(From para, a male buffalo calf.) A subcaste of Basdewa who deal in buffaloes.

Parbat.—Name of one of the ten orders of Gosain.

Parbhu.—Synonym of Prabhu.

Pardeshi.—(A foreigner.) The name is sometimes applied to immigrants from Mālwa, and also to those coming from northern India. A subcaste of the Bahna, Barai, Barhai, Chamār, Dhīmar, Dhobi, Garpagāri, Kīmbi, Kasār, Kumhār, Lohār, Nai, Rangāri, Sunār and Teli castes.

Pardhān.—(A chief.) A caste who are priests of the Gonds. See article. A section of Chhattīsgarhi Ahīr or Rāwat, Halba and Pābia. Title of caste headman of the Kharia tribe.

Pārdhi.—(A hunter.) A caste. See article. A subcaste of Khatīk. A section of Kunbi and Panwār Rājpūt.

Parewa.—(A pigeon.) A section of Chhattīsgarhi Ahīr or Rāwat, and Panka.

Parganiha.—A synonym of Pardhān (Gond priests) in Kawardha.

Parihār.—An important clan of Rājpūts. See Rājpūt Parihār. A section of Daharia and Daraiha, of Panwār Rājpūt and Pārdhi.

Parit.—Synonym for Dhobi in the Marātha districts.

Parka.75—A small caste of labourers belonging to the Jubbulpore District and adjoining tracts, whose strength was something over 2000 persons in 1901. Sir B. Robertson wrote76 in 1891 that the Parkas of the three northern Districts had been kept separate from the Panka caste in the census tables, but that they were in all probability the same. Mr. Hīra Lāl points out that several of the names of septs as Padwār, Sanwāni, Gullia and Dharwa are the same in the two castes, and that in the Districts where Parkas are found there are no Pankas. The Panka caste was probably formed in Chhattīsgarh by the separation of those Gāndas or Pāns who had embraced the doctrines of Kabīr from their parent caste, and the name is a variant of Pān. In Jubbulpore the name Panka has no understood meaning, and it may have been corrupted into Pandka (a dove) and thence to Parka. Like the Pankas the Parkas often act as village watchmen. Many of the Parkas are also Kabīrpanthis and, as with the Pankas, those who are not Kabīrpanthis and do not abstain from flesh and liquor are called Saktāhas. Intermarriage is not prohibited between the Parka Kabīrpanthis and Saktāhas. Some of the Parkas play on drums and act as village musicians, which is a regular occupation of the Pankas and Gāndas. It may also be noted that the Parkas will take food cooked with water from a Gond and that they worship Bura Deo, the great god of the Gonds. Perhaps the most probable surmise as to their origin is that they are a small mixed group made up of Pankas and Gonds. A proverbial saying about the caste is ‘Gond Rāja, Parka Pardhān,’ or ‘The Gond is the master and the Parka the servant,’ and this also points to their connection with the Gonds. Several of their section names indicate their mixed origin, as Kumharia from Kumhār a potter, Gullia From Gaolia or milkman, Bhullia from Bhulia an Uriya weaver, Andwān a subcaste of the Mahār caste, Tilasia a sept of the Kawars, and so on. If a Parka man forms a connection with any woman of higher caste she will be admitted into the community, and the same privilege is accorded to a man of any equal or higher caste who may desire to marry a Parka girl. A girl is only cast out when she is discovered to have been living with a man of lower caste than the Parkas. All these facts indicate their mixed origin. As already seen, the caste are labourers, village watchmen-and musicians, and their customs resemble those of low-caste Hindus, but they rank above the impure castes. They will eat food cooked with water from Lodhis, many of whom are landowners in Jubbulpore, and as such no doubt stand to the Parka in the relation of employer to servant. Every year on the second day of Bhādon (August) they worship a four-sided iron plate and a spear, which latter is perhaps the emblem of the village watchman. Fines imposed for caste offences are sometimes expended in the purchase of vessels which thereafter become common property and are lent to any one who requires them.

Parnāmi.—(A follower of Prānnāth of Panna.) Subcaste of Dāngi.

Parsai.—(Village priest.) Synonym for Joshi.

Parsoli.—(parsa, an axe.) A section of Ahīr or Rāwat in Chhattīsgarh.

Parwār.—A subcaste of Bania. See article Bania-Parwār. A subcaste of Kumhār.

Pāssi.—Synonym of Pāsi.

Pātadhari.—(One occupying the seat of instruction.) A section of celibate Mānbhaos.

Pātane.—A subcaste of Prabhu, so called on account of their living near Pātan in Gujarāt.

Patbina.—(From patti, sacking, and binna, to weave.) Synonym of Kumrāwat. Subcaste of Jogi.

Patel.—(Headman of a village.) A subcaste and title of Māli. A surname of Gaur Brāhmans in Saugor and of Pārsis. A surname or section of Agharia, Mahār and Kāchhi. A title of the Ahīr and Bhoyar castes.

Pāthak.—(Teacher.) A surname of Kanaujia and other classes of Brāhmans.

Pathān.—One of the four tribes of Muhammadans. See article Muhammadan Religion.

Pathāri.—(A hillman.) Synonym of Pardhān. Subcaste of Katia.

Patharia.—A subcaste of Katia, Kurmi and Mahār. A section of Halba. A subcaste of Agaria, who place a stone on the mouth of the bellows to fix them in the ground for smelting iron.

Pathmukh.—A subsept of the Dhurwa Gonds in Betūl. They offer a young goat to their gods and do not kill bears.

Pathrot, Pathrāwat.—(One who makes and sharpens millstones and grindstones.) Synonym of Beldār.

Pati.—(Lord.) An honorific title of Uriya Brāhmans.

Patkar.—(From pat, widow-marriage.) A subcaste of Sunār in Wardha. A section of Rangāri.

Patlia.—(From patel.) Title of Panwār Rājpūt.

Patnāik.—A surname of Karan or Mahanti, the Uriya writer caste.

Patra.—(An Uriya word meaning councillor.) A subcaste of Kolta and Chasa, and title of several Uriya castes. Also a synonym for the Patwa caste.

Patti.—(A thread-seller.) Subcaste of Kaikāri.

Patwa.—A caste. See article. In Seoni tahsīl of Hoshangābād District Patwa and Lakhera appear to be synonymous terms. A section of Oswāl Bania.

Patwāri.—(Name of the village accountant and surveyor, who is now a salaried Government official.) The Kāyasth caste were formerly patwāris by profession. See article.

Patwi.—(A dyer who colours the silk thread which weavers use to border their cotton cloth.) Synonym of Patwa. Subcaste of Koshti. From pata, a woven cloth.

Pāwanbans.—(The children of the wind.) Synonym for Bhuiya.

Pendhāri.—Synonym of Pindāri.

Peng.—Subcaste of Parja.

Penthi.—(Sheep.) A totemistic sept of Bhulia.

Periki, Perki, Perka.—The Perikis are really a subcaste of the great Balija or Balji caste, but they have a lower position and are considered as a distinct group. About 4000 Perikis were returned in the Central Provinces in 1911 from the Nāgpur, Wardha and Chānda Districts. They derive their names from the perike or panniers in which they carried salt and grain on bullocks and donkeys. They were thus formerly a nomadic group, and like the Banjāras and Bhāmtas they also made gunny-bags and sacking. Most of them have now taken to cultivation, and in Madrās some Perikis have become large landholders and claim Rājpūt rank. In the Central Provinces the Balijas and Naidus deny that the Perikis have any connection with the Balija caste.

Peta.—(A trading Balija.) Subcaste of Balija.

Phal Barhai.—(A carpenter who only works on one side of the wood.) Synonym for Chitāri in the Uriya country.

Phānse.—(A Pārdhi who hunts with traps and snares.) Subcaste of Pārdhi.

Phānsigar.—(A strangler.) Synonym of Thug.

Pharsi.—(Axe.) A section of Uriya, Ahīr or Gahara.

Phopatia.—Title of the officer of the Andh caste who summons the caste committee.

Phūlia, Phūlmāli.—(A flower-gardener.) Subcaste of Kāchhi and Māli.

Phuljharia.—(From Phuljhar zamīndāri in Raipur.) A territorial subcaste of Ahīr or Rāwat, Ghasia and Panka.

Phul Kunwar.—A section of Kawar. They use the akre or swallow-wort flower for their marriage-crown.

Phulsunga.—A totemistic section of Gadaria. They abstain from smelling or touching a flower called gadha.

Phurasti.—(A wanderer.) Subcaste of Kaikāri.

Pindāra.—Synonym of Pindāri.

Pindāri.—A caste. Subcaste of Mang.

Pinjāra.—(One who cards cotton.) Synonym of Bahna.

Pipar.—(A tree.) A section of Khatīk and Kalār.

Pipariya.—(From the pīpal tree, or from Piparia, a common place-name derived from the tree.) A clan of Rājpūts in Saugor. A section of Sunārs in Saugor.

Piria.—Subcaste of Kāchhi. From piria, the basket in which they carry earth.

Pīt.—Subcaste of Bhatra.

Pītariya.—(From pītal, brass.) A subdivision of Pardeshi Sunārs in Nāgpur. They practise hypergamy, taking wives from the Sadihe subcaste, and giving daughters to the Srinagariye, Bangar, Mahuwe and Jadiye subcastes.

Pohni.—Subcaste of Jhādi Telenga.

Poiya—Subcaste of Majhwār.

Polya.—(One who did not take off his turban at the feast.) Title of Hatkar.

Pondro.—(A tree.) One of the six subsepts of the Marai clan of Pathāri Gonds in Khairagarh.

Ponwār.—Synonym of Panwār Rājpūt.

Portai.—(Basket.) A subsept of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betūl. They do not kill the tiger or crocodile. A sept of Dhur Gonds.

Potdār.—(A money-tester.) Synonym and title of Sunār. A surname of Karhāra Brāhmans in Saugor.

Potdukh.—(Stomach-ache.) A section of Teli in Chānda.

Potharia.—(One to whom a certain dirty habit is imputed.) Subcaste of Korku.

Potwa.—(A worker in tasar silk.) Synonym for Darzi; a subcaste of Darzi.

Poyām.—(Worshipper of eight gods.) A sept of Pardhān and of Māria Gonds.

Prajapati.—Title of Kumhār.

Prāmara.—Synonym for Panwār Rājpūt.

Prānnāthi.—A follower of Prānnāth of Panna. Synonym for Dhāmi.

Pravar.—A term for the ancestors sharing in a sacrificial invocation, particularly that of the Horn or fire-sacrifice.

Prayāgwāl.—(From Prayāg-Allahābād.) A subcaste of Brāhmans who preside at the ceremonial bathing in the Ganges at Allahābād.

Puār.—Synonym of Panwār Rājpūt.

Pujāri.—(A worshipper.) Name for the priest in charge of a temple. A title of Bhatra.

Purād.—A small mixed caste in Nāgpur. They say that their ancestor was a Brāhman, who was crossing a river and lost his sacred thread, on being carried down in a flood (pūr). Therefore he was put out of caste because the sacred thread must be changed before swallowing the spittle, and he had no other thread ready. At the census the Purāds were amalgamated with Vidūrs. They are shopkeepers by profession.

Purāit.—(One who is of pure blood.) A subdivision of Jharia Rāwat (Ahīr) in Chhattīsgarh. A subcaste of Dhākar, Halba and Marār.

Purānia.—(Old.) A subcaste of Kachera or Sīsgar in Saugor. The Purānias are the Muhammadan bangle-makers who originally practised this calling. A subcaste of Barai, Basor, Nai and Sunār. A section of Chamār and Darzi.

Purbia.—This term, which means eastern or coming from the east, is used in Hoshangābād and other Districts to designate Rājpūts from Oudh and the adjoining tracts, especially retired sepoys from the Bengal army. They appear to belong to different clans, but many of them are Bais Rājpūts. Some of the Purbias say that their king, somewhere in northern India, heard that cows were being killed in the Central Provinces, so he sent them to stop the practice and they came and stopped it and settled there. In Gujarāt this name appears to be applied to Brāhmans. A subcaste of Barhai and Gadaria. A section of Nat and Sunār.

Purkām.—(Purka-pumpkin.) A sept of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betūl.

Purohit.—(Family priest.) A common title of Brāhmans.

Purouti or Pudoti.—(Bowels.) A sept of Gonds in Khairagarh.

Pusām.—(Worshipper of five gods.) A sept of Rāj-Gond and Dhur Gond, and of Baiga and Pardhān.

Putka.—A subcaste of Sudh, being the illegitimate issue of the Dehri Sudhs.

Qawwal.—(One who speaks fluently.) Title of Mirāsi.

Rachhbandia.—(Comb-makers.) A subcaste of Kuchhbandia (Kanjar).

Rāghunāthia.—A small group of Brāhmans, so called because their ancestors are said to have received a grant of five villages from Rāghunāth Deo of Hindoli.

Rāghuvansi.—A caste formed from a Rājpūt clan. See article. A subcaste of Ahīr; a section of Māli and Gond.

Rāghvi.—Synonym of Rāghuvansi.

Rahmat.—(Compassion.) A section of Panwār Rājpūt. A Muhammadan proper name.

Rai or Rāj.—Subcaste of Darzi, Kalār, Khangār.

Rai-bhaina.—Subcaste of Baiga in Bālāghāt.

Raipuria.—(From Raipur.) A subcaste of Dhīmars who do not wear gold ornaments. A subcaste of Dewār in Bilāspur.

Rāj or Rai.—From Rāja, a king. This term designates the landholding division of certain tribes, as the Rāj-Gonds, the Rāj-Korkus, the Rāj-Khonds and the Rājbhars. The Rāj-Bhats, Rāj-Dhuris and Rai-Darzis are similarly subcastes of good position in their respective castes. Rāj is also used as a synonym for Beldār, meaning a mason.

Rāja.—(A king.) Title of a ruling chief, and occasionally conferred on prominent Indian gentlemen.

Rajak.—(A washerman.) Synonym for Dhobi.

Rājbhar.—(A landowning Bhar.) Synonym for Rājjhar.

Rāj-Bhāt.—Subcaste of Bhāt.

Rāj-Dhuri.—A subcaste of Dhuri, said to be descendants of personal servants in Rājpūt families.

Rāj-Gond.—The landholding subdivision of the Gond tribe; a section of Chamār and Kāchhi.

Rāj-Khond.—Subcaste of Khond.

Rāj-Kunwar, Rāj-Pardhān.—A subcaste of Pardhān in Bālāghāt.

Rājoria.—(Kingly.) A section of Barhai, Dāngi, Khatīk and Sanādhya Brāhman.

Rāj-Pardhān.—A subcaste of Pardhān. They are said to be also known as Kunwar Pardhān or Gond Bhāt and to be beggars and bards of the Gonds.

Rāj-Pāsi.—Subcaste of Pāsi.

Rājpūt.—(Son of a king.) A caste, representing the ancient Kshatriya caste. See article. A subcaste of Banjāra, Kadera, Kumhār and Patwa.

Rajwaria.—From the Rajwār caste. Subcaste of Dahāit. Subdivision of Kol in Mirzāpur.

Rakaseya.—(From Rakas, a devil.) A section of Katia.

Rakhotia.—An illegitimate section of Kumhār.

Rakhwāldār.—(Village watchman.) Title of Rāmosi.

Raksa.—(Demoniac.) A section of Kumhār and Kawar.

Rāmānandi.—A class of Bairāgis or religious mendicants. See article Bairāgi.

Rāmānuja.—A class of Bairāgis or religious mendicants. See article Bairāgi.

Rāmgarhia.—(A resident of Rāmgarh in Mandla.) Subcaste of Ghasia.

Ramoshi.—Synonym of Rāmosi.

Rāna.—A title of Sesodia Rājpūts. A section of Halba and Panwār.

Randgolak.—A subdivision of degraded Mahārāshtra Brāhmans, the offspring of illicit unions or remarried widows.

Rangāri.—(One who works in indigo (nīl).) Synonym for Chhīpa.

Rao.—Synonym for Bhāt. A section of Chamār and Lohār. A title of the Bhilāla caste.

Ratanpuria.—(A resident of Ratanpur in Bilāspur.) Subcaste of Nunia and Dewār.

Ratha.—(A car for carrying a god.) Honorific title of Uriya Brāhmans.

Rāthia.—Subcaste of Kawar.

Rāthor, Rāthaur.—A famous Rājpūt clan. See article Rājpūt-Rāthor. A subcaste of Banjāra, Bāri and of Teli in Mandla, Betūl, Nimār and other Districts. A section of Ahīr, Bhilāla, Mochi, Nāhal and Pārdhi.

Ratna Bānik.—(Dealer in jewels.) A synonym of Sunār in Sambalpur.

Rautadi.—Subcaste of Bhuiya.

Rautele.—A subcaste of Kol. A section of Barai, Bhāt, Gadaria and of Sunār in Saugor.

Rautia.—A subcaste of Kol in several Districts. A subcaste of Dahāit. A subcaste of Kawar. A section of Chamār and Rāwat (Ahīr).

Rawal.—Title borne by some Rājpūt chieftains in Western India. Probably a diminutive of Rao, the Marāthi form of Rāj or Rāja. A section of Chasa, Māli and Garpagāri.

Rāwanbansi.—Descendants of Rāwan, the demon king of Ceylon. A name applied to the Gonds generally, and now used as a subtribal designation to distinguish them from Rāj-Gonds.

Rāwanvansi.—Name of a clan of Gosain mendicants.

Rawat.—A title borne by some minor Rājpūt chiefs. Probably a diminutive of Rājpūtra, the original form of the term Rājpūt. An honorific title of Gonds and Savars in Saugor and Damoh. The name by which the Ahīr caste is generally known in Chhattīsgarh. A subcaste and title of Khairwār. A title sometimes used by Sunārs and Brāhmans in Bundelkhand and by Lodhis. A subcaste of Mehtar and Māli. A section of Arakh, Banjāra, Binjhwār, Dhanwār, Kawar, Khairwār, Kunbi, Nat, Patwa, Panwār Rājpūt, and Sudh.

Reddi.—A synonym for the Kāpewār or Kāpu caste; a subcaste of Kāpewār and Gandli.

Redka.—A small labouring caste of Sambalpur. They are apparently the result of intermarriages between some members of the Reddi or Kāpu cultivating caste of Telingāna, who came to Sambalpur during the Orissa famine of 1866, with low-class Uriya women. They still speak Telugu among themselves, using Uriya to outsiders. Only one curious feature of the marriage ceremony of the Redkas need be noticed here. This is that the officiating Brāhman actually places a red-hot copper seal on the arms of the bride and bridegroom as a symbol of sealing the marriage bond. In other respects their customs resemble those of low-caste Uriyas.

Rekwār.—Subcaste of Dhīmar.

Rig-Vedi.—Sectarian division of Brāhmans.

Rikhiāsan Mahatwār.—Subcaste of Bhuiya.

Ritha Bīknath.—One who prepares and sells soap-nuts for washing clothes. Subcaste of Jogi.

Rohidāsi.—Honorific term for a Chamār. It signifies a follower of the sect of Rohidās in Northern India. The Chamārs often describe themselves by this name instead of their caste name.

Rohilla.—A Pathan tribe who have settled in Rohilkhand or the Bareilly tract of the United Provinces. They derive their name from Roh, the designation given to the country where the Pushto language is spoken by residents of Hindustān. The word Roh, like Koh, means a mountain, and Rohilla therefore signifies a highlander.77 The Rohilla Pathāns occupied Rohilkhand in the eighteenth century. Their name first attracted attention when Warren Hastings was charged with hiring out British troops for their suppression. The Rohillas say that they are of Coptic origin, and that driven out of Egypt by one of the Pharaohs they wandered westward till they arrived under that part of the mountains of Afghānistān known as Sulaimani Koh.78 Parties of Rohillas visit the Central Provinces bringing woollen cloths and dried fruits for sale. Here they formerly bore a bad character, being accustomed to press the sale of their merchandise on the villagers on credit at exorbitant interest; and when the time for realisation came, to extort their money by threats of violence, or actual assault, or, if this was not practicable, by defiling the graves of their debtors’ ancestors. These practices have now, however, been largely suppressed.

Romya or Haralya.—Subcaste of Chamār.

Ror.—Subcaste of Khatri.

Rora.—Synonym of Arora.

Rūma.—A resident of Bāsim and Gāngra in Amraoti District. Subcaste of Korku.

Ruthia.—A name formed from the noise rut, rut made by the oil-mill in turning. Subcaste of Teli.

Sabara.—Synonym for the Savar tribe. A section of Kawar and Teli.

Sabat.—(From saot, co-wife.) An honorific title of Uriya Brāhmans.

Sadāphal.—(A fruit.) A section of Chandnāhu Kurmi and Sonkar.

Sada-Sohāgal.—A class of Fakīrs or Muhammadan beggars.

Sādhu.—(A religious mendicant.) Synonym for Bairāgis or Gosains.

Sāgar.—Name of one of the ten orders of Gosains.

Sāgunsāle.—A group of illegitimate descent. Subcaste of Koshti.

Sāhadeve.—A clan of Gonds worshipping six gods and paying special reverence to the tiger.

Sahāni.—(From siāhi, ink.) An honorific title of Karan or Mahanti. A subcaste of Pāik.

Sahara.—Synonym for the Savar tribe.

Sahasra Audichya.—(A thousand men of the north.) A subdivision of Gujarāti Brāhmans who are said to have accepted presents from Rāja Mulrāj of Anhalwāra Pātan at a sacrifice, and hence to have suffered some degradation in rank. Audichya probably signifies coming from Oudh.

Sahra.—Synonym of Savar.

Sāhu.—(A trader.) An honorific title of Bania. A synonym for Sunār in Sambalpur. A subdivision of Uriya Brāhmans. A section of Khadra, Kolta, Sundi and Teli.

Sahukār.—Title of Bania. See Sāhu.

Sain.—Synonym for Fakīr.

Saiqalgār.—From Arabic saiqal, a polisher. Synonym for Siklīgar.

Sais.—The title by which grooms or horse-keepers are usually known. The word Sais, Colonel Temple states,79 is Arabic and signifies a nobleman; it is applied to grooms as an honorific title, in accordance with the common method of address among the lower castes. Other honorific designations for grooms, as given by Colonel Temple, are Bhagat or ‘Saint,’ and Panch, ‘Arbitrator,’ but neither of these is generally used in the Central Provinces. Another name for Saises is Thanwār, which means a person in charge of a stable or place where a horse is kept. Grooms from Northern India are usually of the Jaiswāra division of Chamārs, who take their name from the old town of Jais in Oudh; but they drop the Chamār and give Jaiswāra as their caste. These men are thin and wiry and can run behind their horses for long distances. The grooms indigenous to the Central Provinces are as a rule promoted grass-cutters and are either of the Ghasia (grass-cutter) or the Kori and Mahār (weaver) castes. They cannot usually run at all well. It is believed that both the Jaiswāras and Mahārs who work as grooms have taken to marrying among themselves and tend to form separate endogamous groups, because they consider themselves superior to the remainder of the caste. A Sais will frequently refuse to tie up a dog with a rope or lead him with one because he uses a rope for leading his horses. This taboo is noticed by Sir B. Fuller as follows: “Horses in India are led not by the bridle but by a thick cotton leading-rope which is passed over the headstall, and such a rope is carried by every Indian groom. I asked my groom one day to tie up with his leading rope a dog that would not follow. He absolutely refused, and I discovered that the rope was the fetish of his caste and was formerly adored and propitiated in the course of an annual caste festival. To touch a dog with it would have been sacrilege.”80

Saitwāl.—A subcaste of Jain Banias.

Saiyad.—One of the four Muhammadan tribes, which is supposed to comprise the descendants of the Prophet.

Sakadwīpi.—A tribe of Brāhmans taking their name from Sakadwīpa, the country of the Sakas. The Sakas were a Central Asian tribe who invaded India before the commencement of the Christian era, and Sakadwīpa is said to be the valley of the Kābul river.

Sakarwāl, Sikarwār.—A clan of Rājpūts whose name is said to be derived from Fatehpur Sīkri.

Saksena.—A subcaste of Kāyasth, also called Sukhsena. A subcaste of Bharbhūnja and Kāchhi.

Saktāha.—A synonym for Shākta, a worshipper of Devi in Chhattīsgarh. Saktāha practically means a person who eats flesh, as opposed to a Kabīrpanthi who abstains from it. A subcaste of Panka, who are not Kabīrpanthis.

Sakum.—A sept of Korku. (One who hides behind a teak tree.)

Salam.—(Worshipper of six gods.) A clan of Gond. A section of Dewār.

Sālewār.—A name for Telugu Koshtis. A subcaste of Koshti.

Samaiya.—A sect of Jains.

San.—A subcaste of Bhatra.

Sanādhya.—A subcaste of Brāhmans belonging to the Gaur division.

Sanak-kul.—A section of Komti. They do not use jaiphal or nutmeg.

Sanaurhia.—Subcaste of Brāhman. Synonym for Sanādhya.

Sanbāgh.—(A little tiger.) A section of Bhulia.

Sānd.—(The bull.) A totemistic sept of Kawar. They do not use bullocks for ploughing, or are supposed not to. A section of Khangār. They do not give a present of a bull at weddings. A section of Māli.

Sania.—(A grower of san-hemp.) Subcaste of Kāchhi.

Saniāsi.—Name for a religious mendicant. Synonym for Gosain.

Sanjogi.—A class of Bairāgis or mendicants who marry, also called Grihastha.

Sankrita.—An eponymous section of Kanaujia Brāhmans.

Sānp.—(Snake.) A sept of Gond and Kawar.

Santāl, Saonta, Sonthāl.—An important tribe of Bengal, belonging to the Munda family. The transfer of five of the Chota Nāgpur States has brought more than 10,000 Santāls into the Central Provinces. They belong principally to the Sargūja State and a few are returned from Udaipur State and from the Bilāspur District, but in all those tracts they are known as Saonta and appear to have been cut off from the main tribe for a considerable period. According to Mr. Skrefsrud the name Santāl is a corruption of Saontār and was given to the tribe by the Bengalis because they lived in the country about Saont in Midnāpur. Sir H. Risley held that the tribe might equally well have given its name to the locality, and there was no means of ascertaining which theory was correct. The forms Santāl and Sonthāl are only used by natives who have come into contact with Europeans. Santāls call themselves ‘hārko,’ men, or ‘hārhāpān,’ man-child.81 At the present day when a Santāl is asked to what caste he belongs he will almost invariably reply Mānjhi, which means a village headman, and is the common title of the tribe; if further explanation is demanded, he will add Santāl Mānjhi. Whether the term Santāl was derived from the Saont pargana or not, it is therefore at any rate a name conferred by the Hindus and affords no evidence in favour of a separate origin of the tribe.

There seems good reason to hold that the Santāls are only a branch of the Kols or Mundas, who have been given a distinct designation by their Hindu neighbours, while their customs and traditions have been modified either by long separation from the Mundas of Chota Nāgpur or by contact with Hindu influences. Sir G. Grierson’s account of the two dialects Santāli and Mundāri shows that they closely resemble each other and differ only in minor particulars. The difference is mainly to be found in the vocabulary borrowed from Aryan neighbours, and in the grammatical modifications occasioned by the neighbouring Aryan forms of speech.82 Of Mundāri he says: “Aspirated letters are used as in Santāli, the semi-consonants are apparently pronounced in the same way as in Santāli; genders and numbers are the same, the personal pronouns are the same, the inflexion of verbs is mainly the same.”83 Some points of difference are mentioned by Sir G. Grierson, but they appear to be of minor importance. The Mundas, like the Santāls, call themselves hārā-ko or men. In the vocabulary of common words of Mundāri and Santāli given by Colonel Dalton84 a large proportion of the words are the same. Similarly in the list of sept-names of the tribes given by Sir H. Risley85 several coincide. Among the 15 names of main septs of the Santāls, Besra, a hawk, Murmu nilgai, or stag, and Aind, eel, are also the names of Munda septs. The Santāl sept Hansda, a wild goose, is nearly identical with the Munda sept Hansa, a swan; the Santāl septs Kisku and Tudu are sept-names of the Hos, a branch of the Mundas; and in one or two other names there is a great resemblance. The principal deity of the Santāls, Marang Buru, is a Munda god. In the inheritance of property both tribes have the same rule of the exclusion of daughters. In his article on Ho, Sir H. Risley indeed states that the Santāls, Hos and Mundas are local branches of the same tribe.

The Saontas of Sargūja and Bilāspur appear to have been separated from the parent tribe for some generations and to have assimilated some of the customs of the Gonds. They have some Gond sept-names, as Markām and Dhurwa. Those of Pendra zamīndāri have no traditions of their origin beyond saying that the adjoining Kenda zamīndāri was their original home. They profess to revere only the sun, fire and water. In order to worship the Jal-deota or water-god they pour water round the fire and then throw a little butter on the fire in his name. Mr. C.U. Wills, Settlement Officer, records of them the following curious custom: When a man is at the point of death or actually dead, they sometimes set fire to the hut in which his body is lying and run away, no doubt to save themselves from being haunted and troubled by his spirit, to the attainment of which end so large a part of funeral ritual is everywhere directed.

The following short account of them by Colonel Dalton may be reproduced for reference:86

“The name Saont or Saonta directs us to the Santāl branch of the Kols, and, as I have already noticed, there is in Sargūja a small tribe so called. They are the sole inhabitants of the magnificent tableland forming the southern barrier of Sargūja, called the Mainpāt or more correctly perhaps the Manipāt. They are a small tribe living scattered over the vast area of the plateau in about a dozen hamlets, and they are strong in the belief that they were especially created to dwell there, or that they and the plateau somehow sprang into existence together, and cannot be separated. I saw a number of them when I was last in Sargūja, and from their features I should be inclined to class them as Kols, but they have some customs and notions which they must have derived from the Dravidian Gonds. They acknowledge Dūlha Deo as a household god, and follow the customs of the Gonds and other southerners in their marriage ceremonies.

“They worship the sun as Bhāgwan, and like the Kharias offer sacrifices to that luminary in an open place with an ant-hill for an altar. The Mainpāt is their Mārang Buru, and as it is 16 miles long, 12 miles broad, and rises 3850 feet above the sea-level, it is not unworthy of the name, but they do not use that or any other Kol term. The great Mainpāt is their fatherland and their god. They have it all to themselves except during the summer months, when it becomes a vast grazing field for the cattle of Mīrzapur and Bihār.

“The Saonts are armed like the Korwas with bows and arrows, and the peculiar battle-axe of the country, but it is against the beasts of the forest that these weapons are used. Formerly the Mainpāt was a magnificent hunting field, especially noted for its herds of antelope and gaur. The late Mahārāja of Sargūja strictly preserved it, but on his death it fell into the hands of his widow, a very money-loving old lady, who allowed it to become one of the great grazing tracts, and the pasturage alone gives her an income of £250 a year; but the wild animals have in consequence withdrawn from it.

“The position of the Saonts is altogether very curious, and though they now speak no language but a rude Hindi, the evidence is, on the whole, favourable to their being a remnant of the ancient Kol aborigines of Sargūja, cut off from connection with those people by successive inroads of other races or tribes. Their substitution of a Hindi dialect for their own language seems to indicate that they were first subjugated by Aryans. The Gond chiefs only count about twenty-four generations in Sargūja, and they have all adopted the Hindi language.”

Dāsari religious mendicant with discus and conch-shell of Vishnu

Sanyāsi.—(A religious recluse.) Synonym for Gosain.

Sao.—(For sāhu, a banker, a rich man.) A subcaste of Kalār and Teli. An honorific title of Chhīpa or Rangāri. A sept of Gond.

Saojin.—(From sao, a banker.) Subcaste of Banjāra.

Saonr.—Synonym of Savar.

Saonta.—Name by which the Santāl tribe is known in Bilāspur. A subcaste of Dhanwār.

Sapera.—(A snake-charmer.) Name of a clan of Nats, who exhibit snakes. A section of Basor and Khatik.

Sarāf.—(A money-changer and tester.) A synonym of Sunār.

Saraia (Angler.) From sarai, a bamboo fishing-rod. Subcaste of Dhimār.

Sarangarhia.—(From Sārangarh.) A subtribe of Gonds in Khairagarh. A subcaste of Dewār.

Saraogi.—A name by which Jain laymen are known. Subcaste of Bania.

Sāras.—(A large crane.) A section of Chamār.

Sāraswat.—One of the five orders of Pānch Gaur Brāhmans inhabiting the country of the river Sāraswati. One of the ten orders of Gosains.

Sarati.—A sept of Gond and Pardhān.

Sariyām.—A subsept of the Dhurwa clan of Gonds in Betūl, said to be so called because the road to the place of the gods was swept by their priests.

Sarolia or Sarwaria.—(Inferior or mixed.) Subcaste of Agharia.

Saroti.—A sept of Pardhāns said to be named after sarra, a whip, because their priest once struck a man with a whip.

Sarsatia.—(From the Sāraswati river.) Subcaste of Bahna.

Satani.87—A Telugu caste of priests and mendicants of which 900 persons were returned, principally from the Chānda District, in 1911. In the Central Provinces, Ayāwar, Sātani and Dāsari have been taken as one caste, but elsewhere they are considered as distinct. Ayāwar is a term of respect analogous to the Hindustāni Mahārāj, and is applied to the Sātanis and other religious orders. The Sātanis and Dāsaris are distinguished in Madras; Sātani is stated88 to be a corruption of Sāttādavan, which means ‘One who does not wear’ (e.g. the sacred thread and scalp-lock). It is a mixed religious order recruited from any caste except the Pariahs, leather-workers and Muhammadans. The Dāsaris89 are said to be the reputed descendants of a wealthy Sūdra of one of the northern Districts, who, being childless, vowed that if offspring should be granted to him he would devote a son to the service of the god. After this he had several children, one of whom he consecrated to the deity, calling him Dāsan (the obedient servant). Dāsan and his offspring made their livelihood by begging. This order, like that of the Sātanis, is reinforced by idle members of the lower Sūdra castes, who become Dāsaris by being branded by the Guru of Tirupatti and other shrines. In the Central Provinces the Dāsaris are stated to be recruited from the impure Māla caste of the Telugu country, and hence to rank below the Sātanis. Many of the Madrāsi servants in European households call themselves Dāsaris. Members of the agricultural castes are usually admitted into the Sātani order and its status is almost equal to theirs. The caste, in spite of its small numbers, has several subdivisions, as the Sāle Sātanis, who are weavers, the Bukkas, who are sellers of kunku or red powder, and five other subdivisions who are all beggars. Some of these eat together but do not intermarry. They have exogamous family groups, usually named after sacred places in Madras or celebrated Gurus (spiritual preceptors) or deities, as Tirupatti, Rāmanujamwār, Shāligrāmwār and so on. The caste marry in the ordinary way and do not observe celibacy. Widow-marriage is allowed, but a widow must marry a widower, and the officiating priest at the ceremony must also be a widower. The Sātanis principally revere Vishnu, whom they worship on Fridays. Their priests are taken from their own order and form a separate subcaste under the name of Parmastwār. A novice, on being initiated to the order, is branded with the figures of a Sankha (conch-shell) and Chakra (discus). They both burn and bury the dead, and the spirits of female as well as of male ancestors are propitiated. This is done by calling a married woman by the name of the dead female, putting red powder on her forehead and worshipping her. Among the Sātanis a widow accompanies the corpse of her husband to the grave. They officiate at funerals, and a Sātani priest applies the caste-mark to the body of the corpse and also to that of the four persons who are to carry it. He receives presents in the name of the dead man, and takes the red cloth with which the corpse is covered. At the funeral feast the Sātani offers cooked food, including flesh and also liquor, to the god, and the assembled guests then partake of them. The Sātani drinks liquor only and does not eat the food, and since he must stay to the end of the feast he sometimes becomes intoxicated. The Sātanis are priests and mendicants. Though they do not wear the sacred thread themselves, the manufacture of it is one of their hereditary occupations. They collect alms in a lota or brass vessel, on which representations of the conch and discus are drawn. The Dāsaris wander about, singing hymns to a monotonous accompaniment upon a leather instrument called tappai (perhaps a tabor). They are engaged by some Sūdra castes to sing their chants in front of the corpse at funerals. Others exhibit what is called the Panda sewai, that is, they become possessed by the deity and beat themselves over the body with a flaming torch. A few train young bulls to perform tricks and travel about exhibiting them. Some have become masons and goldsmiths. Men have the mark of the trident on the forehead, the two outer lines being white and the middle one red or yellow. They shave the head and face clean, not retaining the scalp-lock. Women have a vertical streak on the forehead and do not wear glass bangles nor the necklace of black beads. Neither men nor women are tattooed. The Sātanis have a fairly good social position and the lower castes will take food from them.

Satbhuiyān or Utār.—Subcaste of Khond.

Satdeve.—A clan of Gonds worshipping seven gods and paying special reverence to the porcupine.

Satghare.—(Seven houses.) A division of the Marātha caste, consisting of seven of the highest clans who marry among themselves and sometimes take daughters from the other ninety-six clans.

Satnāmi.—A religious sect, which now practically forms a subcaste of Chamār.

Satputia.—(Having seven sons.) A section of Lonare Māli.

Satyanāth. A subcaste of Jogi or Nāth.

Savar, Savara.—A tribe.

Sawalākh.—(1¼ lakhs.) A section of Dhobi.

Sawara.—Synonym for Savar. Subcaste of Kol.

Segidi,90 Shegadi.—The Telugu caste of toddy-drawers and distillers, of which a few representatives were returned from the Nāgpur District in 1901. They will draw tāri or palm-juice only from the sindi palm (Phoenix sylvestris) and not from the palmyra palm (Borassics flabelliformis). This is the occupation of a separate caste, the Yātas, from whom the Segidis will not even take water. At a Segidi marriage the bride is shown the polar star, which is believed to be the wife of Rishi Vasishtha, the model of conjugal excellence. She is then made to step on to a stone slab to remind her how Ahalya, the beautiful wife of Rishi Gautama, was turned to a stone for committing adultery. Widow-marriage is permitted, and, by a very curious exception to the ordinary rule, a widow may marry her deceased husband’s elder brother but not his younger one. The usual prohibition on a widow marrying her husband’s elder brother is based on the ground that he is looked on as her father; the Segidis say, on the other hand, that his younger brother is as her son. If an unmarried adult male dies, the ceremony of marriage is performed between the corpse and a plantain tree; and if an unmarried woman dies she is married to a sword. A corpse is always buried with the head to the east and the feet to the west. This peculiar practice may be a reminiscence of Vedic times, when the west was considered to be the abode of the departed, the sun being the first mortal who died and went to the west as recorded in the Rig-Veda. The Segidis are also cultivators, traders or soldiers. They have a method of divining a boy’s proper calling in his infancy. When his mouth is touched with grain as food for the first time, they put a sword, a pen, a book, food and other articles, being the symbols of different professions, on the ground and place the child in front of them. And his vocation in life is held to be determined by the article which he touches first.

Senapati.—(General.) Honorific title of Sundi.

Sendia.—Title of caste headman of Panwār Rājpūt.

Sendur.—A section of Ahīr or Rāwat.

Senduria.—Subcaste of Nagasia. They mark the forehead of the bride with vermilion (sendur).

Sengar.—A clan of Rājpūts belonging to Saugor and Jubbulpore.

Sesodia.—A famous clan of Rājpūts.

Seth.—(Banker or moneylender.) A title of Bania.

Setti.—A corruption of the Sanskrit Shreshta, good. Title of Komti caste.

Sewak.—(Servant.) The name given to an inferior class of Brāhmans who serve in Vaishnava temples.

Shaikh, Sheikh.—One of the four tribes of Muhammadans. A subcaste of Mehtar.

Shaiva, Saiva.—(A worshipper of Siva.) The term Shaiva Brāhman is applied to Guraos.

Shandilya, Sandilya.—An eponymous gotra or section of Brāhmans. A section of Darzi, Rāj-Gond, Rāwat (Ahīr) and Sunār.

Shegudi.—See Segidi.

Shendia.—A section of Teli and Otāri (Kasār).

Shenvi.—A subcaste of Marātha Brāhmans in Hoshangābād.

Sheohāre or Sivahāre.—Subcaste of Kalār.

Shiah.—One of the two great sects of Muhammadans.

Shikāri.—(A hunter.) A synonym for Pārdhi or Bahelia.

Shimpi.—(A tailor.) Synonym for Darzi in the Marātha country.

Shīshi ke Telwāle.—Subcaste of Pārdhi. They sell oil obtained from the bodies of crocodiles.

Siddi, Sidi, Habshi.—The name given to Africans, whether Abyssinians or Negroes. Habshi means one coming from El Habish, the Arabic name for North-East Africa. Siddi is a corruption of Saiyad, the designation of a descendant of the Prophet, and is commonly used as a term of respectful address in North Africa, like Sāhib in India. The Bombay Gazetteer states91 that about the middle of the fifteenth century, when the Bahmani dynasty became independent of Delhi and intercourse with Northern India ceased, the fashion arose of bringing to Western India large numbers of Abyssinians and other East Africans. Though most of the Habshis came to India as slaves, their faithfulness, courage and energy often raised them to positions of high trust in the Bahmani court. According to Orme, the successful Abyssinians gathered round them all of their countrymen whom they could procure either by purchase or invitation, including negroes from other parts of Africa, as well as Abyssinians. From their marriages, first with natives of India and afterwards among their own families, there arose a separate community, distinct from other Muhammadans in figure, colour and character. As soon as they were strong enough they formed themselves into an aristocratic republic and produced some of the most skilful and daring soldiers and sailors of Western India. The rulers of Janjira and Sachin States in Bombay are Siddis by descent.

They are now employed as stokers and firemen on steamers and as fitters and mechanics in the dockyards of Bombay, and are described92 as “A hardy race with muscular frames, thick lips and crisp black hair—the very last men whom you would wish to meet in a rough-and-tumble, and yet withal a jovial people, well-disposed and hospitable to any one whom they regard as a friend.” In other parts of India the Siddis are usually beggars and are described as ‘Fond of intoxicating drinks, quarrelsome, dirty, unthrifty and pleasure-loving, obstinacy being their leading trait.’ They worship Bāba Ghor, an Abyssinian saint.93

It is recorded that the medicine called Silājit, a nervine tonic for the generative power, was formerly believed to be prepared from the flesh of Abyssinian boys. Mr. Hooper writes: “Silājit is allied to another ancient drug named Momiayi which has long been employed in the East. The original drug is said to have been made from Egyptian mummies, and subsequently to have been prepared by boiling down and extracting the essence of Abyssinian boys. Since the last source of supply has become scarce, several bituminous exudations are reported to have been substituted.”94 The drug is now said to be made from the gum of some stone in Hardwār, and this must be the bitumen referred to by Mr. Hooper. The virtue ascribed to the flesh of Abyssinian boys was no doubt based on their superior bodily strength and perhaps partly on the prolificacy of the negroes. In the case of mummies, as the body of the mummy was believed to have retained life or the capacity of life for many ages, its material would naturally possess extraordinary vitality and should be capable of imparting this quality to others when assimilated into their bodies.

Sidhira, Sithira.—A small occupational caste of Sambalpur and the Uriya States. The caste is not found elsewhere in India. They are braziers by trade, and in spite of their small numbers say they have three subcastes, one of which, the Luhura, works in iron. They are an impure caste, whose touch conveys pollution in Sambalpur. They accept alms from a Munda or Oraon on the occasion of a death in the latter’s family, and have totemistic septs. They eat fowls and rats and consume much liquor. They also admit outsiders into the caste. It may be concluded, therefore, that they are an occupational caste formed from the tribes above mentioned or others, through adopting the calling of brass-workers. The adultery of a Sidhira woman with a man of any higher caste is looked upon as an absolutely trifling offence, and this is a common feature of low castes of mixed origin. As among many primitive tribes, one particular sept performs the ceremony of readmitting offenders to caste intercourse by sprinkling a little Ganges water over them. The man fulfilling this office is known as the Baikar, and after a wedding the bridal pair go to the Baikar’s house and he pours two jars full of water over their heads and bodies. They go inside the house, and the bridegroom then comes out and gives the wet clothes to the Baikar with a small present. This appears to be a sort of purificatory ceremony at marriage.

Sidi.—Synonym of Siddi.

Silpi.—(A stone-mason.) Subcaste of Kammala.

Sindhi.—(Performers of dramas.) Subcaste of Mādgi.

Sindhupushkar.—A subcaste of Brāhmans in Khairagarh State, perhaps the same as the Mārwāri Pushkama Brāhmans. It is said that Sindhu has the meaning of a lake.

Singāde.—(From singh, horn, and gādna, to bury.) Subcaste of Koli. The members of this group, when their buffaloes die, bury the horns in their compound.

Singar.—(A fish.) A totemistic sept of Kawar. A section of Agharia.

Singāria.—Those who cultivate the Singāra nut. Subcaste of Dhīmar.

Singh.—(A lion.) The usual suffix to the names of Rājpūts, Sikhs and castes which claim Rājpūt rank, such as Lodhis.

Singh, Singhi.—(Horn.) A totemistic sept of Dhanwār. A section of Kurmi, and of Oswāl and Maheshri Bania.

Singhāl.—(Ceylon.) A section of Brāhmans in Damoh.

Singrore.—Subcaste of Kunbi and Lodhi.

Sikligar, Bardhia, Saiqalgar.95—A small caste of armourers and knife-grinders. The name Saiqalgar comes from the Arabic saiqal, a polisher, and Bardhia is from bārdh, the term for the edge of a weapon. They number only about 450 persons in the Central Provinces and Berār, and reside mainly in the large towns, as Jubbulpore and Nāgpur. The caste is partly Hindu and partly Muhammadan, but very few members of it in the Central Provinces profess the latter religion. In Bombay96 the Muhammadan Sikligars are said to be Ghisāris or tinkers who were forcibly converted by Aurāngzeb. The writer of the Belgaum Gazetteer97 says that they are scarcely more than Muhammadans in name, as they practically never go to the mosque, keep Hindu gods in their houses, eschew beef, and observe no special Muhammadan rites other than circumcision. The Hindu Sikligars claim to be Rājpūts and have Rājpūt sept names, and it is not unlikely that in old times the armourer’s calling should have been adopted by the lower classes of Rājpūts. The headquarters of the caste is in Gwālior, where there is probably still some scope for their ancient trade. But in British territory the Sikligar has degenerated into a needy knife-grinder. Mr. Crooke98 describes him as “A trader of no worth. His whole stock-in-trade is a circular whetstone worked by a strap between two posts fixed in the ground. He sharpens knives, razors, scissors and sometimes swords.”

Sirdār.—Title of the Kawar caste.

Siriswār.—(From siris, a tree.) A section of Gadaria.

Sirnet.—A clan of Rājpūts.

Sirwa.—(A resident of the ancient city of Sravāsti in Gonda district.) Subcaste of Teli.

Sita Pādri.—Title of Vaishnava mendicants.

Sithira.—Synonym of Sidhira.

Solaha.99—A very small caste numbering less than a hundred persons in the Raipur District. The caste only deserves mention as affording an instance of an attempt to rise in the social scale. The Solahas are certainly of Gond origin. Their name appears to be a corruption of Tolaha, from tol, which means leather in Gondi or Telugu. Their exogamous sections, as Markam, Warai, Wika, Sori, Kunjām, are also Gond names, and like the Agarias they are an occupational offshoot of that great tribe, who have taken to the special profession of leather-curing and primitive carpentry. But they claim to belong to the Barhai caste and say that their ancestors immigrated from Benāres at the time of a great famine there. In pursuance of the claim some of them employ inferior Brāhmans as their priests. They also say that they accept food only from Brāhmans and Rājpūts, though they eat fowls, pork and even rats. Women of any other caste can be admitted into the community, but not men. The fact that they are not Barhais is sufficiently shown by their ignorance of carpentering tools. They do not even know the use of a rope for turning the drill and do it by hand with a pointed nail. They have no planes, and smooth wood with a chisel. Their business is to make musical instruments for the Gonds, which consist of hollow pieces of wood covered with skin to act as single or double drums. They use sheep and goat-skins, and after letting them dry scrape off the hair and rub them with a paste of boiled rice and powdered iron filings and glass.

Solanki, Solankhi.—A well-known clan of Rājpūts, also called Chalukya. The name is perhaps derived from Sulakshana, one bearing an auspicious mark. A section of Pārdhi and Gūjar.

Sompura.—A subdivision of Gujarāti Brāhmans in Jubbulpore. They take their name from Somnāth in Kāthiāwār.

Somvansi.—(Children of the Moon.) Subcaste of Mahār. A clan of Rājpūts.

Sonār.—Synonym for Sunār in the Marātha country.

Sonbarha.—(Gold pig.) A section of Teli in Khairagarh, so named as they presented a golden pig to their king Bharam Deo.

Sonboyir.—(Gold plum.) A section of Teli in Nāndgaon, so called because their ancestor presented a gold plum to their Rāja.

Sonbukra.—(Yellow goat.) A totemistic sept of Kawar.

Sondi.—(Sondi, tiger.) A sept of Gonds in Raipur. It is said to be of mixed descent from all the septs, and can intermarry with any other.

Sondhi.—Synonym for Sundi.

Songainda.—(Gold unicorn.) A section of Teli in Khairagarh, so named because they presented a golden unicorn to their king Bharam Deo.

Sonha; Sonkutta.—(Wild dog.) A sept of Dhanwār, Kawar, Saonta or Santāl, and Chero.

Soni.—Synonym for Sunār.

Sonjhara, Sonjharia.—(One who washes for gold in the beds of streams.) A caste. Subcaste of Binjhwār, Injhwār and Dhīmar.

Sonkar.—A small caste found in the Chhattīsgarh country, and also in Saugor and Damoh. The name Sonkar is said to be a corruption of Chūnkar or lime-dealer, and the Sonkars of Saugor make their living by carrying clay and lime on donkeys for building and whitewashing walls. In Saugor they are also known as Beldār (navvy) and Gadhera (donkey-driver), and occupy a despised position. Possibly on this account a few of them in the northern Districts and the whole community in Chhattīsgarh have abandoned their traditional calling, and have taken to growing vegetables like the Mālis and Marārs. Here their status is better, and they rank as a gardening caste. Their customs resemble those of the lower castes of Chhattīsgarh. They obtain auspicious dates for their marriages and different ceremonies from Brāhmans, but otherwise these are not employed, and the caste headman, known as Kurha or Sethia, officiates as priest. At their weddings the sacred post round which the couple walk must consist of a forked bough of the mahua tree divided in a V shape, and they take much trouble to find and cut a suitable bough. They will not take cooked food from the hands of any other caste, even from Brāhmans.

Sonkarasaria.—(Impure gold.) A section of Bhona or Bhulia.

Sonkutri.—(Bitch of the wild dog.) A totemistic sept of Kawar.

Sonpākar.—(A tree.) A totemistic sept of Kawar and Chero.

Sonratan.—(Gold jewel.) A section of Chandnāhu Kurmi.

Sonthaga.—(Gold-cheat.) A subdivision of Pardhāns in Kawardha. They cheated people by passing false gold, and hence were so named.

Sonthāl.—Synonym for Santāl.

Sonwāni.—(Sona-pāni, gold-water.) This is a common sept among the primitive tribes and castes derived from them. The members of this sept occupy a quasi-priestly position, and readmit offenders into caste by giving them water to drink in which gold has been dipped. They also purify those who have got vermin in a wound by sprinkling this water over them. A section of Ahīr and of Rāwat or Chhattīsgarhi Ahīr; a sept of Dhoba, Dhanwār, Gond and Kawar; a section of Kalanga, Kumhār, Panka and Teli.

Sori.—A sept of Gond and Pardhān. Sori and Khusro are the two subsepts of the Markām sept.

Soyām.—(Worshipper of seven gods.) A division of Gond in Chānda.

Srāvaka.—A Jain layman.

Sri Gaur Māla.—(A resident of Mālwa.) Subcaste of Barhai.

Srimāli.—(From the old city of Srimāl in Rājputāna.) A subcaste of Gujarāti Brāhman and Bania.

Srivāstab, Sriwāstab.—(From the old city of Srāvasti in the north of Oudh.) A well-known subcaste of Kāyasth. A subcaste of Bharbhūnja, Darzi and Teli.

Sua.—(Parrot.) A section of Chadār, Khangār and Kasār. A sept of Bhatra and Kawar.

Suda.—Synonym of Sudh.

Sudh.—A caste. A subcaste of Kolta and Lohār.

Sudha.—Synonym of Sudh.

Sudho.—Synonym of Sudh.

Sūdra.—The lowest of the four traditional castes. See Introduction. There is no Sūdra caste at present in the Central Provinces. A subcaste of Barai.

Suibadiwa.—(Sui, porcupine.) A totemistic sept of the Dhurwa Gonds in Betūl.

Sūji.—(From sui, a needle.) Synonym for Darzi.

Sukul, Shukul.—(White.) A surname of Kanaujia Brāhmans.

Sulankhi.—Subcaste of Mahli.

Sunār.—A caste of goldsmiths. Subcaste of Bishnoi.

Sundhi.—Synonym of Sundi.

Sungaria.—(One who keeps pigs.) Subcaste of Kumhār.

Sunni.—One of the two principal sects of Muhammadans who follow the orthodox traditions, Sunni meaning traditionist.

Sunri.—Synonym of Sundi.

Surāit.—A name signifying persons of impure or mixed descent. A subcaste of Dhākar and Halba. A subcaste of Jharia Rāwat (Ahīr) in Bastar, being the offspring of Jharia Rāwat fathers by women of other Rāwat subcastes. A subcaste of Sonkar in Kanker, consisting of the offspring of illegitimate unions. A subcaste of Jhādi Telenga, Kumhār and Marār (Māli).

Sūraj, Sūrya.—(The sun.) A section of Binjhwār, Gond, Khangār, Marār, Mowār, Rāwat (Ahīr) and Sānsia (in Sambalpur).

Sūrajdhwaja.—A subcaste of Kāyasth.

Sūrajvansi.—(Descendants of the Sun.) Name of one of the two great divisions of Rājpūts. A clan of Rājpūts. A subcaste of Barai, Khairwār and Kalār. A section of Chamār, Dhanwār, Gond and Koli.

Suratha.—A subdivision of Valmīki Kāyasth.

Sureyām.—A Gond sept named after the sui or porcupine, because, it is said, a porcupine passed by when they were worshipping their god.

Surkhi.—(Red.) A clan of Sūrajvansi Rājpūts.

Sutār.—The name of a carpenter in the Marātha Districts. Synonym of Barhai.

Suthra Shāhi.—Synonym for Nānakpanthi.

Sutsāle.—(A thread-weaver.) Subcaste of Koshti.

Suvarha.—Named after the suar or pig. Subcaste of Dhīmar.

Swāmi or Aiya (Iyer).—(Master.) A title given to leaders of the religious orders. A title of Sanādhya Brāhmans in Saugor. A subcaste of Jangam.

Swetāmbari.—A sect of Jains who put clothes on their images.

Tadvi.—A name for Muhammadan Bhīls.

Tāk, Takshac.—A clan of Rājpūts, now extinct.

Tākankar, Tākari.—(From tākna, to tap, to roughen the face of a mill-stone.) A synonym or subcaste of Pārdbi. A synonym for the Pathrot or Pathrāwat stone-workers in Berār, who are classed with Beldārs.

Takle.—(Fallen.) A subcaste of Kasār, said to consist of the descendants of persons excommunicated for sexual offences.

Tamāshawāla.—(Showman.) A name given to Nats.

Tambatkar.—(A coppersmith.) Synonym for Tamera.

Tamboli, Tamoli.—(A seller of the prepared betel-leaves.) Synonym for Barai.

Tandan.—A subdivision of Sāraswat Brāhmans in Hoshangābād, perhaps so called from their being priests of the Tandan Khatris.

Tānkiwāla.—(A sharpener of grindstones.) Subcaste of Dhimar.

Tānti.—(Tanta, weaver’s loom.) A caste. A subcaste of Bhulia and Mahli.

Tānti, Tātwa (from Sanskrit tantu, a fibre).—The great weaver caste of Bengal and Bihār. A few Tāntis were enumerated in Raipur District in 1911. Sir H. Risley is of opinion that the Tāntis are probably a functional group developed under the pressure of the natural demand for fine woven cloth.100 One tradition of their origin is that the first ancestor of the caste was begotten by the celestial architect Viswakarma on a low Sūdra woman. Viswakarma is regarded as the tutelary deity of the caste, and is worshipped twice a year with offerings of flowers, rice and sugar. Images are sometimes made of him, but more commonly the weaver’s loom or some of the tools of the craft are regarded as the dwelling-place or symbol of the god. In past times the Tāntis made the famous fine cotton cloth, known as abrawān or ‘running water,’ which was supplied only to the imperial zenāna at Delhi. Sir H. Risley relates the following stories illustrating its gossamer texture. On one occasion a daughter of Aurāngzeb was reproached on entering the room for her immodest attire, through which her limbs could be seen, and excused herself by the plea that she had on seven folds of cloth over her body. Again in the reign of Alīvardi Khān (1742–56), a Dacca Tānti was flogged and banished from the city for not preventing his cow from eating up a piece of abrawān cloth which had been laid out to bleach on the grass. The famous female spinners who used to wind the fine native thread were still to be found in 1873, but their art has now died out. In illustration of their delicate touch it is told that one of them wound 88 yards of thread on a reel, and the whole weight of the thread was only one rati or two grains. Nowadays the finest thread spun weighs 70 yards to the rati. The best cloths were woven by the Dacca Tāntis, to whom the Koshtis of Burhānpur in the Central Provinces stood second. The Bamanmāra tank in the old village of Dhanpur in Pendra zamīndāri of Bilāspur is so named from the fact that about a century ago some Brāhman traders were murdered on its bank for the sake of the fine cloths they were carrying rolled up in hollow bamboo sticks. In Bengal the Tāntis are included among the castes from whom a Brāhman can take water. Sir H. Risley is of opinion that they have to some extent raised themselves to this position by their own influence, their trade being prosperous and lucrative, and having long ago attained to the development of an urban industry. The ordinary status of the weaving castes being at the bottom of the social scale, the superior position of the Bengal Tāntis is an interesting exception. It is analogous to that of the Koshtis in the Central Provinces, also a class of urban weavers, who rank above the impure castes, though they have not attained to the position of the Tāntis, as Brāhmans will not take water from them.

Tanwar.—A subcaste of Kawar, to which zamīndārs belong.

Tanwat, Tanwatkari.—A synonym for Panchāl Sunār.

Tarane.—Synonym of Dobaile Teli.

Tasa.—Synonym of Chasa.

Tātwa.—Synonym for Tanti. (From Sanskrit tantu, a fibre.)

Tawāif.—(A prostitute.) Synonym for Kasbi.

Tekām.—(The teak tree.) One of the commonest clans of Gonds. A sept of Baiga, Bharewa, Binjhwār and Pardhān. A subdivision of Majhwār.

Telenga Dora.—(Telugu Lord.) A designation used by the Velama caste.

Telenge.—A Telugu name used by Balijas and other Telugu castes. Subcaste of Nai.

Telha.—Subcaste of Nagasia. The members of this subcaste mark the forehead of the bride with tel or oil at the marriage ceremony.

Teli.—A caste of oil-pressers. Subcaste of Barhai, Dāngri and Gondhali.

Teli-Bania.—A group of the Teli caste who have taken to shopkeeping. Subcaste of Teli.

Teli-Kalār.—A mixed group of the Kalār and Teli castes. Subcaste of Teli.

Teli-Marār.—A subcaste of Marār.

Telkala.—Subcaste of Gandli.

Terah-hazār or Birbandhi.—(Thirteen thousand.) Subcaste of Chero.

Thākur.—(Lord.) The common title of Rājpūts. This title is also used by Lodhis, Rāj-Gonds and other landowning castes. A surname of Karhāra Brāhmans in Saugor. A section of Ahīr, Marār (Māli), Panwār Rājpūt and Sudh.

Thakuria.—(Lordling.) A subcaste of Murao. A subcaste of Kol and Parja. A section of Darzi and Katia.

Thānāpati.—(Master of the sacred place.) Synonym for Gandhmāli.

Thāpak.—A surname of Sanādhia Brāhmans in Saugor. (From Sthāpak, the consecrator of idols.)

Thapatkari.—Synonym of Beldār.

Thathāri.—A caste of coppersmiths in Sambalpur.

Thatia.—A subtribe of Gonds, also called Gaiki or Mahato in Betūl.

Thethwār.—(One who follows the straight path.) A subcaste of Rāwat (Ahīr) in Chhattīsgarh.

Thotia, Thothia.—(Maimed.) A subdivision of Gonds and Pardhāns, who live by begging from the Gonds.

Thuria.—Subcaste of Banjāra in Sambalpur.

Tilokchandi.—(Bais.) A subdivision of the Bais clan of Rājpūts.

Tirelle.—(Tirole.) Subcaste of Are.

Tirgām.—A subsept of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betūl. A sept of Pardhān.

Tirmale, Tirmalle.—A small caste of wandering Telugu beggars. Nearly 400 were returned in the Central Provinces and Berār in 1911. Tirmales take about performing bulls. The animal is decorated with brass ornaments and bells, and his back is covered with a patched quilt of different colours. The Tirmale has a red turban with a scarf round his neck, and a follower carries a drum. The bull is cleverly trained and performs various tricks. The caste do this in the mornings, but in the afternoon they appear as Bairāgis or ordinary beggars, and in the evening as sellers of various sacred articles, such as sandalwood, Ganges water and rudrāksha beads. They take water from the Ganges in small phials and go down to the south of India selling it. On this account they are known in Poona as Kāshi Kāwadi or those who carry banghys from Kāshi (Benāres). In Telugu they are called Gangeddulu and in Tamil Endandi, both words meaning people who beg with bulls. They may properly be considered as a subcaste of Dasāris.101 The Tirmales travel with their families like the Banjāras, and live in tents or sheds outside the village. Their marriages are generally celebrated in the month of Shrāwan in the rains, when they return from their wanderings. They speak a corrupt Telugu among themselves, but Marāthi to outsiders. They eat flesh and drink liquor. The dead are buried.

Tirmalle.—Synonym of Tirmale.

Tīrtha.—Name of one of the ten orders of Gosains.

Titha.—(From titahri, a sandpiper.) A section of Basor.

Tiwāri.—(Learned in three Vedas.) A family name of Kanaujia and Gaur Brāhmans.

Tiyar.—A boating and fishing caste of Sambalpur and Bengal. In the Central Provinces they numbered 700 in 1911. The caste is a numerous one in Bengal and has been fully described by Sir H. Risley,102 so that no detailed notice of it is necessary here. The name is derived from the Sanskrit tivara, a hunter, the Tiyars styling themselves the hunters of the sea. They came to the Central Provinces from Angul in Orissa, and they offer to the goddess Durga in Angul an oblation of 60 to 100 jiān fish and a headload of lotus flowers on her special festival. In honour of Durga they observe a fast on the four Tuesdays of the months of Chait and Kunwār (March and September). In Chait they also worship their hooks and nets. At their marriages when a father has selected a bride for his son he consults an astrologer to compare their horoscopes. If the conjunction is unsatisfactory he will change the boy’s name to suit the astrological calculations. The wedding is celebrated in the common fashion of the Uriya castes. If a bachelor marries a widow he first goes through the form of wedlock with a bunch of flowers. Among their caste penalties, that imposed for the killing of a cow may be mentioned. It is called the Gocharan Brit, and the offender is required to consort with cows for twenty-one days. He must mix and take his meals in the cowshed, and must copy the behaviour of the cows, lying down when they lie down, standing up when they stand up, following them when they walk about, and so on. At the expiration of this period he makes a pilgrimage to a certain village, and on his return partakes of the five products of the sacred cow and gives a feast to the caste. The Tiyars are a low caste, and eat fowls and drink liquor. They will admit a member of any higher caste on his giving a feast to the community. In the Central Provinces they have exogamous sections within which marriage is prohibited; these generally have titular names, as Padhān chief, Dās slave, Guru preceptor, and so on. They catch fish with the ghani benda, a large bamboo basket covered with palm-tree bark, which is sunk under water and secured in the bed of the stream.

Todasai.—(Worshipper of six gods.) A section of Rāj-Gond.

Tomara, Tuar, Tawar.—(Tomar, a club.) A well-known clan of Rājpūts. A sept of Gond.

Toriya.—A name given to Gonds who worship twelve gods in Chānda.

Tumram.—(Tumria, a pumpkin.) A clan of Gond, said to be those who worship six gods.

Turi.—A caste. A synonym for Basors or bamboo-workers. A section of Kalanga.

Turk.—(Muhammadan.) A section of Panwā Rājpūt in Bālāghāt.

Turkān.—A subcaste of Bahna, so called because their forefathers are said to have been soldiers in the army of the king of Delhi.

Turkia, Kurkanya.—A Muhammadan group. Subcaste of Banjāra, Chamār.

Uchla.—(A lifter.) Title for Bhārota.

Uchle.—(Pickpocket.) Subcaste of Māng.

Uchodia.—A subcaste of Bhānd.

Ud.—Subcaste of Chasa. See Odde.

Udaināth.—A subdivision of Jogi.

Udaiputria.—(One belonging to Udaipur.) Subcaste of Dhobi.

Udāsi.—A class of religious mendicants. See Nānakpanthi.

Uika, Oika.—A very common clan of Gonds, who are said to be worshippers of six gods.

Ukās.—A subcaste of Barhai.

Ulluka.—(An owl.) A totemistic sept of Sudh and Dumāl.

Umre.—A subcaste of Bania. See subordinate article to Bania. A subcaste of Kalār, Nai and Teli.

Unayo, Unnaya.—(From Unan in Oudh.) A subdivision of Nigam Kāyasth. It is also sometimes considered as a half subcaste, in addition to the twelve proper subcastes.

Unewāl.—A subdivision of Rhedāwāl Brāhmans found in Jubbulpore. They take their name from Una, a village in Kāthiāwār.

Upādhya.—(A teacher.) A surname of Kananjia and Sanādhya Brāhmans. A title of Mānbhao.

Upmanyu.—An eponymous section of Brāhmans.

Uraon.—Synonym of Oraon.

Uriya—(A native of Orissa.) A synonym for the Sānsia caste of masons in Sambalpur. A subcaste of Gānda, Ghasia, Gond, Karan, Kewat, Koshti, Savar, Sundi and Sunār.

Urkara, Urkare.—(From Warkora, a wild cat in Gondi.) A section of Sunār and Gond.

Usrete.—A subcaste of Kurmi and Nai.

Uthaigira.—(A picker-up of that which has fallen.) Synonym of Sanaurhia.

Utkala.—(A resident of Orissa.) One of the five orders of Pānch Gaur Brāhmans inhabiting Orissa.

Vadar or Wadewār.—(A stone-cutter.) Synonym of Beldār.

Vade, Wade.—(A carpenter.) A sept of Māria Gonds.

Vadra.—(A carpenter.) Subcaste of Kammala.

Vāghe.—(From vāgh, a tiger.) See Wāghya.

Vaidika.—(Reciter of the Vedas.) A title of Brāhmans.

Vaishnava.—(A worshipper of Vishnu.) A name for the mendicant orders of Vishnuite devotees and Bairāgis.

Vaishnava Sunār.—A group of Sunārs who claim to be Brāhmans. See Panchāl.

Vaishya.—Name of the third of the four classical castes. See Introduction. There is no Vaishya caste at present, but the Bania caste are considered, perhaps incorrectly, to be descended from the Vaishyas.

Vajantri, Wajantri.—(Musician.) A subcaste of Gurao. A synonym and section of Māng.

Vallabkachārya.—A Vishnuite sect and order of religious mendicants. See article Bairāgi.

Valmīka, Valmīki.—A subdivision of Khedāwāl Brāhmans who take their name from the sage Valmīka. A subcaste of Kāyasths.

Vamachari Sect.—Synonym for Vām-Mārgi.

Vāni.—Synonym for Bania.

Varāde, Warāde.—(A resident of Berār, a variant of Berāri, q.v.) A subcaste of Simpi or Marātha Darzi. A subcaste of Dhangar and Nai.

Varendra or Barendra.—A subcaste of Bengali Brāhmans.

Vartāti.—(Pure.) Subcaste of Andh.

Vasishta or Vashishta.—Name of a famous saint in classical literature. An eponymous section of Brāhmans.

Vellāla.—The great cultivating caste of the Tamil country, to whom by general consent the first place in social esteem among the Tamil Sūdra castes is awarded. They have a strength of more than 2½ millions in India; in the Central Provinces there were in 1911 about 700 in Chānda, Nāgpur and other Districts. In the Madras Census Report of 1901, Mr. Francis gives an interesting description of the structure of the caste and its numerous territorial, occupational and other subdivisions. He shows also how groups from lower castes continually succeed in obtaining admission into the Vellāla community in the following passage: “Instances of members of other castes who have assumed the name and position of Vellālas are the Vettuva Vellālas, who are really Vettuvāns; the Puluva Vellālas, who are only Puluvāns; the Illam Vellālas, who are Panikkāns; the Karaiturai (lord of the shore) Vellālas, who are Karaiyāns; the Karukamattai (palmyra leaf stem) Vellālas, who are Balijas; the Guha (Rāma’s boatman) Vellālas, who are Sembadavāns; and the Irkuli Vellālas, who are Vannans. The children of dancing girls also often call themselves Mudali, and claim in time to be Vellālas, and even Paraiyāns assume the title of Pillai, and trust to its eventually enabling them to pass themselves off as members of the caste.” The Vellālas will not touch the plough with their own hands. Some of them abstain from flesh and liquor, and prohibit the remarriage of widows with a view to raising their social status.

Vidur.—A caste. A subcaste of Gondhali, Kasār, Komti, Kunbi, and Lohār, comprising persons of illegitimate descent.

Vīr.—Subcaste of Gopāl.

Vīrmushti.—A class of Bairāgis or religious mendicants.

Vishnu Swāmi.—A class of Bairāgis or religious mendicants.

Vishwāmitra.—Name of a famous saint in classical literature. An eponymous section of Brāhmans.

Vyās.—A section of Brāhmans and of Agharia.

Waddār.—A name for Telugu Oddes or navvies in Chānda. A subcaste of Beldār.

Wadewār.—Synonym of Odde or Beldār in Chānda.

Wāghe.—(Wāgh or bāgh, a tiger.) A section of Koshti and Māna, a clan of Marātha.

Wāghmāre.—(Tiger-killer.) A clan of Arakh, Gopāl and Mahār.

Wakkaliga, Okkiliyan.—A Canarese caste of cultivators, of which a few representatives were returned from Nāgpur. They reside mainly in the Madura and Coimbatore Districts. The name is derived from the Canarese okkalu,103 which means cultivation or agriculture.

Wakmar.—(One who left the pangat or caste feast while his fellows were eating.) Title of Hatkar.

Wāndhekar.—Subcaste of Kunbi.

Wanjāri.—Synonym for Banjāra. Subcaste of Kunbi.

Warāde.—(A resident of Berār.) Subcaste of Gurao.

Wārtki.—(A washerman.) Synonym for Dhobi in the Marātha country.

Wāsudeo, Wāsdeo.—The name of the father of Krishna, the Hindu god. Synonym of Basdewa. A subcaste of Joshi.

Watkari. See Otāri.

Wika.—Synonym for Uika, a well-known clan of Gonds.

Yādu, Yādava.—A well-known clan of Rājpūts.

Yādubansi.—(Of the Yadu race.) A subcaste of Ahīr.

Yādu-Bhatti.—Clan of Rājpūts. Synonym for Yādu.

Yajur-Vedi.—A subcaste of Brāhmans who follow the Yajur-Veda. They are also known as Madhyandan and Apastambha.

Yarande.—(One who presses the erandi or castor-oil seed.) Subcaste of Teli.

Yati.—(For Jati). A Jain ascetic.

Yelama.—Synonym of Velama.

Yogi.—Synonym of Jogi.

Yojna.—Subcaste of Komti.

End of Vol. I

1 Irvine, Army of the Mughals, p. 198.

2 Irvine, Army of the Mughals, p. 232.

3 Summary of the Marātha and Pindāri Campaigns, p. 264.

4 Bombay Gazetteer, vol. ix. part ii. p. 16.

5 Madras Census Report (1891), p. 221.

6 Punjab Census Report (1881), para. 543.

7 Berar Census Report (1881), p. 128.

8 Punjab Census Report (1881), para. 529.

9 Khān Bahādur Lutfullah Faridi in Bombay Gazetteer, Muh. Guj.

10 Berār Census Report, ibidem.

11 In 1911 about 3000 persons belonging to the caste were returned, mainly from Bilāspur District, and the Korea and Sargūja States.

12 Crooke, vol. i. p. 184.

13 Eastern India, ii. p. 467.

14 North-West Provinces Gazetteer, vol. xiv., Mirzāpur, p. 365.

15 Ethnographic Notes in Southern India, page 72.

16 This article consists of extracts from Mr. Crooke’s account of the caste in his Tribes and Castes.

17 Eastern India, ii. 248.

18 Punjab Census Report (1881), para. 542.

19 Tribes and Castes, art. Bhātia.

20 Rājasthān, ii. p. 292.

21 Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. Bind.

22 Tribes and Castes of the N.W.P. and Oudh, art. Bind.

23 Bauhinia scandens.

24 Ethnology of Bengal. pp. 158, 221.

25 See art. Bhunjia.

26 Linguistic Survey of India, vol. iv., Munda and Dravidian Dialects, p. 102.

27 Caldwell’s Dravidian Grammar, pp. 123 and 134. Captain Glasfurd says: ‘The termination wār is a Telugu affix signifying person or man’ (Settlement Report of the Upper Godāvari District (1868), p. 26).

28 This article consists only of extracts from the accounts of Colonel Dalton and Sir H. Risley.

29 Dalton’s Ethnology of Bengal, pp. 126, 127.

30 Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. Chero.

31 See also art. Daharia for a discussion of the origin of that caste.

32 Tribes and Castes, art. Dhālgar.

33 From a paper by Nārāyan Bohidār, Schoolmaster, Sonpur State.

34 This article is based on papers by Mr. D.P. Kshirsāgar, Naib-Tahsildar, Buldāna, and Mr. Khāndekar, Headmaster, Nandura.

35 Madras Census Report (1901), p. 149.

36 Bhandāra Settlement Report (Mr. A.B. Napier), p. 8.

37 Criminal Tribes of the C.P., p. 61.

38 Buchanan, i. p. 331.

39 B.G. Muh. Guj., p. 84.

40 This article is based on information collected by Mr. Hira Lai in Betūl.

41 Art. Dom. in Tribes and Castes of Bengal, and of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh.

42 See article Are.

43 Thāna Gazetteer, pp. 119, 120.

44 Sholapur Gazetteer, p. 158.

45 Madras Census Report (1891), p. 238.

46 Ibidem, p. 280.

47 Satāra Gazetteer, p, 41.

48 Nāsik Gazetteer, p. 54.

49 This account is taken from inquiries made by Mr. Hīra Lāl in Patna.

50 Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. Bauri.

51 From a paper by Mr. Kripāsindh Tripāthi, Headmaster, Saria Middle School, Sārangarh State.

52 From pag, a foot.

53 Malcolm, Memoir of Central India, ii. p. 21.

54 This paper is compiled from notes taken by Mr. Hīra Lāl at Rāj-Nāndgaon and Betūl.

55 Perhaps Pandanus fascicularis.

56 This article is compiled from papers by C. Ramiah, Kānungo, Sironchā, and W.G. Padāya Naidu, clerk, District Office, Chānda.

57 Mysore Census Report (1891), p. 205.

58 This article is compiled from a paper by Mr. Ghāsinām Dāni, Deputy Inspector of Schools, Bastar State.

59 The caste numbered 85 persons in 1911. The above notice is compiled from a paper by Mr. Krishna Sewak, Naib-Tahsīldār, Bargarh.

60 Based on inquiries made by Mr. Hīra Lāl, Assistant Gazetteer Superintendent in Bhandāra.

61 Madras Census Report (1901), p. 168.

62 Bombay Gazetteer, Guj. Mukh. p. 18.

63 Elliott’s Memoirs, vol. i. p. 54.

64 Crooke’s Tribes and Castes, vol. i. p. 161.

65 Madras Census Report (1891), p. 303.

66 India Census Report (1891), p. 200.

67 Man, November 1909.

68 Tone, Letter on the Marāthas (1798), India Office Tracts, p. 25.

69 Lane, Modern Egyptians, p. 373.

70 Census Report (1891), p. 211.

71 From a paper by Mr. Rājārām Gangādhar Deshpānde, Tahsildār, Wardha.

72 Settlement Report of the Upper Godāvari District (1868), quoted in Mr. Nunn’s Monograph on the Gold and Silver Industries of the Central provinces.

73 Monograph on the Gold and Silver Industries, loc. cit.

74 Berār Census Report (1881), p. 219.

75 Based on a paper by Mr. Ali Mustafa, Nāib-Tahsīldār, Hatta.

76 Census Report (1891), p. 179.

77 In the introduction to Firishta’s History (Elliot, vi. p. 568), it is stated that Roh is the name of a particular mountain (country) which extends in length from Swāt and Bajaur to the town of Siwi belonging to Bhakar. In breadth it stretches from Hasan Abdul to Kābul. Kandahār is situated in this country. (Crooke’s Hobson-Jobson, p. 766.)

78 Mr. Crooke’s Tribes and Castes, vol. iv. pp. 165, 166.

79 Proper Names of the Punjabis, p. 74.

80 Indian Life and Sentiment, p. 99.

81 Linguistic Survey, vol. iv. p. 30.

82 Linguistic Survey, vol. iv., Munda and Dravidian Languages, p. 79.

83 Ibidem, pp. 84, 85.

84 Ethnology of Bengal, p. 235 et seq.

85 Tribes and Castes of Bengal, App. I.

86 Ibidem, pp. 222, 223.

87 This article is written from papers by Mr. G.A. Khān, Assistant Commissioner, Venkatesh Tumaiya Ayāwar, Schoolmaster, Chānda, and Mr. G. Padaya Naidu, District Officer, Chānda.

88 North Arcot Manual, i. p. 200.

89 North Arcot Manual, i. p. 242.

90 Based on a paper by G. Pydiah Naidu of the Gazetteer Office.

91 Vol. xi. p. 433.

92 Mr. Edwardes, Byways of Bombay, p. 79.

93 Bombay Gazetteer, ibidem.

94 J.A.S.B., No. 3 of 1903, p. 103.

95 Partly based on a note by Mr. C.J. Irwin, Assistant Commissioner, Jubbulpore.

96 Bombay Gazetteer, vol. xvii. (Sholapur), p. 234.

97 Bombay Gazetteer, Belgaum, p. 250.

98 Tribes and Castes, art. Sikligar.

99 Based on a paper by Mr. Gokul Prasād, Nāib-Tahsīldār, Dhamtari.

100 Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. Tānti.

101 Madras Census Report (1901), p. 153.

102 Tribes and Castes of Bengal, s.v.

103 Madras Census Report (1891), p. 243.