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The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, Volume 3
6. Superstitions
Before beginning work for the day the Sālewār makes obeisance to his loom and implements, nor may he touch them without having washed his face and hands. A woman must not approach the loom during her periodical impurity, and if anybody sneezes as work is about to be begun, they wait a little time to let the ill luck pass off. In Nāgpur they believe that the posts to which the ends of the loom are fastened have magical powers, and if any one touches them with his leg he will get ulcers up to the knee. If a woman steps on the kūchi or loom-brush she is put out of caste and a feast has to be given to the community before she is readmitted. To cure inflammation in the eyes they take a piece of plaited grass and wrap it round with cotton soaked in oil. Then it is held before the sufferer’s eyes and set on fire and the drops of oil are allowed to fall into water, and as they get cold and congeal the inflammation is believed to abate. Among some classes of Koshtis the killing of a cat is a very serious offence, almost equivalent to killing a cow. Even if a man touches a dead cat he has to give two feasts and be fully purified. The sanctity of the cat among Hindus is sometimes explained on the ground that it kills rats, which attract snakes into the house. But the real reason is probably that primitive people regard all domestic animals as sacred. The Koshti also reveres the dog and jackal.
7. Clothes, etc
The Sālewārs of the Godāvari tract wrap a short rectangular piece of cloth round their head as a turban. Formerly, Mr. Raghunāth Wāman states, the caste had a distinctive form of turban by which it could be recognised, but under British administration these rules of dress are falling into abeyance. A few of the Sālewārs put on the sacred thread, but it is not generally worn. Sālewār women have a device representing a half-moon tattooed on the forehead between the ends of the eyebrows; the cheeks are marked with a small dot and the arms adorned with a representation of the sacred tulsi or basil.
8. Social rules and status
The caste eat flesh and fish and drink liquor, and in the Marātha Districts they will eat chickens like most castes of this country. In Mandla they have recently prohibited the keeping of fowls, under pain of temporary expulsion. Those who took food in charity-kitchens during the famine of 1900 were readmitted to the community with the penalty of shaving the beard and moustaches in the case of a man, and cutting a few hairs from the head in that of a woman. In Berār the Lād, Jain and Katghar Koshtis are all strict vegetarians. The Koshtis employ Brāhmans for their ceremonies, but their social status is about on a level with the village menials, below the cultivating castes. This, however, is a very good position for weavers, as most of the weaving castes are stigmatised as impure. But the Koshtis live in towns and not in villages and weave the finer kinds of cloth for which considerable skill is required, while in former times their work also yielded a good remuneration. These facts probably account for their higher status; similarly the Tāntis or weavers of Bengal who produce the fine muslins of Dacca, so famous in Mughal times, have obtained such a high rank there that Brāhmans will take water from their hands;620 while the few Tāntis who are found in the Central Provinces are regarded as impure and are not touched. The caste are of a turbulent disposition, perhaps on account of their comparatively light work, which does not tire their bodies like cultivation and other manual labour. One or two serious riots have been caused by the Koshtis in recent years.
9. Occupation
The standard occupation of the caste is the weaving of the fine silk-bordered cloths which are universally worn on the body by Brāhmans and other well-to-do persons of the Marātha country. The cloth is usually white with borders of red silk. They dye their own thread with lac or the flowers of the palās tree (Butea frondosa). The price of a pair of loin-cloths of this kind is Rs. 14, and of a pair of dupattas or shoulder-cloths Rs. 10, while women’s sāris also are made. Each colony of Koshtis in a separate town usually only weave one kind of cloth of the size for which their looms are made. The silk-bordered loin-cloths of Umrer and Pauni are well known and are sent all over India. The export of hand-woven cloth from all towns of the Nāgpur plain has been estimated at Rs. 5 lakhs a year. The rich sometimes have the cloths made with gold lace borders. The following account of the caste is given in Sir R. Craddock’s Nāgpur Settlement Report: “The Koshti is an inveterate grumbler, and indeed from his point of view he has a great deal to complain of. On the one hand the price of raw cotton and the cost of his living have increased very largely; on the other hand, the product of his loom commands no higher price than it did before, and he cannot rely on selling it when the market is slack. He cannot adapt himself to the altered environment and clings to his loom. He dislikes rough manual labour and alleges, no doubt with truth, that it deprives him of the delicacy of touch needed in weaving the finer cloths. If prices rise he is the first to be distressed, and on relief works he cannot perform the requisite task and has to be treated with special indulgence. The mills have been established many years in Nāgpur, but very few of the older weavers have sought employment there. They have begun to send their children, but work at home themselves, though they really all use machine-spun yarn. The Koshtis are quarrelsome and addicted to drink, and they have generally been the chief instigators of grain riots when prices rise. They often marry several wives and their houses swarm with a proportionate number of children. But although the poorer members of the community are in struggling circumstances and are put to great straits when prices of food rise, those who turn out the fine silk-bordered work are fairly prosperous in ordinary times.”
END OF VOL. III1
This article is based on information collected by Mr. Hīra Lāl in Jubbulpore, and the author in Mandla.
2
The word Dishai really means direction or cardinal point, but as the goddess dwells in the sheep-pen it is probable that she was originally the sheep itself.
3
The following particulars are taken from the Central Provinces Monograph on Woollen Industries, by Mr. J. T. Marten.
4
A Naturalist on the Prowl, 3rd ed., p. 219. In the quotation the Hindustāni word kammal, commonly used in the Central Provinces, is substituted for the Marāthi word kambli.
5
This article is compiled from an excellent monograph contributed by Surgeon-Major Mitchell of Bastar State, with extracts from Colonel Glasfurd’s Report on Bastar (Selections from the Records of the Government of India in the Foreign Department, No. 39 of 1863).
6
India Census Report (1901), p. 283.
7
Madras Census Report (1891), p. 253.
8
Ethnographic Notes in Southern India, p. 22.
9
Madras Census Report (1891), p. 253.
10
Report on the Dependency of Bastar, p. 37.
11
Report on the Dependency of Bastar, p. 37.
12
Ethnographic Notes in Southern India, p. 270.
13
Risley, Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. Pān.
14
The human sacrifices of the Khonds were suppressed about 1860. See the article on that tribe.
15
This article is compiled from papers by Mr. Jhanjhan Rai, Tahsīldār, Sārangarh, and Satyabādi Misra of the Sambalpur Census office.
16
Mund-jhulānā, to swing the head.
17
Based on notes taken by Mr. Hīrā Lāl at Chānda and the notices of the Gārpagāri in the District Gazetteers.
18
Village watchman.
19
Dr. Jevons, Introduction to the History of Religion, p. 171.
20
The Golden Bough, 2nd ed. vol. i. p. 68, quoting from French authorities.
21
This article is based on papers by Mr. Jeorākhān Lāl, Deputy Inspector of Schools, Bilāspur, and Bhagwān Singh, Court of Wards Clerk, Bilāspur.
22
The Celestial Physician.
23
This article is compiled partly from papers by Munshis Pyāre Lāl Misra and Kanhya Lāl of the Gazetteer Office.
24
Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. Ghāsi.
25
Central Provinces Gazetteer (1871), p. 273.
26
Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal, p. 325.
27
Ficus glomerata.
28
Cynodon dactylon.
29
Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. Ghāsi.
30
This article is based partly on a paper by Khān Bahādur Imdād Ali, Pleader, Damoh.
31
Punjab Census Report (1881), para. 272.
32
Crooke’s Tribes and Castes, art. Ghosi.
33
From a note by Mr. Hīra Lāl.
34
This article is compiled from papers by Kanhya Lāl of the Gazetteer Office, and Mādho Rao, Deputy Inspector of Schools, Bālāghāt.
35
Bālāghāt District Gazetteer (C. E. Low), p. 80.
36
Linguistic Survey of India, vol. iv. Dravidian Language, p. 386.
37
The country of Gondwāna properly included the Satpūra plateau and a section of the Nāgpur plain and Nerbudda valley to the south and west.
38
Early History of India, 3rd ed. p. 337.
39
Art. Gondwāna.
40
Linguistic Survey, Munda and Dravidian Languages, iv. p. 285.
41
Notes, p. 15.
42
Garha is six miles from Jubbulpore.
43
See article on Kol.
44
Mr. Standen’s Betūl Settlement Report.
45
The argument in this section will be followed more easily if read after the legend in the following paragraphs.
46
Highlands of Central India (Chapman & Hall).
47
Deo-khulla or threshing-floor of the gods. See section on Religion.
48
Passage from Mr. Hislop’s version.
49
Dhūpgarh in Pachmarhi might be indicated, which has a steep summit.
50
Terminalia arjuna.
51
This extract is reproduced by permission of the publishers, Messrs. Chapman & Hall, London.
52
Tekām the teak tree, Markām the mango tree, and Telengām the Telugu. These are the names of well-known exogamous septs.
53
See section on Religion.
54
See also art. Kahār.
55
The theory is stated and explained in vol. iv. of Exogamy and Totemism.
56
See para. 15.
57
Boswellia serrata.
58
Semecarpus anacardium.
59
Anogeissus latifolia.
60
Diosypyros tomentosa.
61
One rupee = 1s. 4d.
62
From Mr. Langhorne’s monograph.
63
The above rite has some resemblance to the test required of the suitors of Penelope in the Odyssey of bending the bow of Odysseus and shooting an arrow through the axes, which they could not perform.
64
The information on child-birth is obtained from papers by Mr. Durga Prasād Pānde, Extra Assistant Commissioner, and the Rev. Mr. Franzen of Chhindwāra, and from notes taken in Mandla.
65
See articles on Kunbi, Kurmi, and Mehtar.
66
Boswellia serrata.
67
The following examples of names were furnished by the Rev. Mr. Franzen and Mr. D. P. Pande.
68
See article on Kurmi.
69
Boswellia serrata.
70
Deputy-Commissioner, Chhīndwāra. The note was contributed to the Central Provinces Census Report for 1881 (Mr. Drysdale).
71
Ghora, a horse.
72
Diospyros tomentosa.
73
Cassia fistula.
74
This is incorrect, at present at any rate, as the Karma is danced during the harvest period. But it is probable that the ritual observances for communal fishing and hunting have now fallen into abeyance.
75
C. P. Gazetteer (1871), Introduction, p. 130.
76
This section contains some information furnished by R. B. Hīra Lāl.
77
Notes on the Gonds, pp. 15, 16.
78
Indian Caste, i. p. 325.
79
See article Birhor.
80
See article Bhunjia.
81
Notes, p. 1.
82
Highlands of Central India, p. 156.
83
Report on Bastar Dependency, p. 41.
84
Assessment of revenue for land.
85
Quoted in C.P. Gazetteer (1871), Introduction, p. 113.
86
Chhīndwāra Settlement Report.
87
Report on Bastar Dependency, p. 43.
88
Ind. Ant. (1876), p. 359.
89
See para. 65, Tattooing.
90
See para. 41, Religion.
91
Balaghat District Gazetteer, p. 87.
92
Rāwan was the demon king of Ceylon who fought against Rāma, and from whom the Gonds are supposed to be descended. Hence this song may perhaps refer to a Gond revolt against the Hindus.
93
The amaltas or Cassia fistula, which has flowers like a laburnum. The idea is perhaps that its leaves are too small to make a proper leaf-cup, and she will not take the trouble to get suitable leaves.
94
Hislop, Notes, p. 2.
95
Chhindwāra Settlement Report.
96
This article is based on a paper by Pandit Pyāre Lāl Misra.
97
This article is compiled from papers by Mr. Kesho Rao Joshi, Headmaster, City School, Nāgpur, and Pyāre Lāl Misra, Ethnographic Clerk.
98
Page 67.
99
In the Marātha Districts the term Ganges sometimes signifies the Wainganga.
100
Dam apparently here means life or breath.
101
Gunthorpe, p. 91.
102
This article contains material from Mr. J. C. Oman’s Mystics, Ascetics and Saints of India, Sir E. Maclagan’s Punjab Census Report, 1891, and Dr. J. N. Bhattachārya’s Hindu Castes and Sects (Calcutta, Messrs. Thacker, Spink and Co.).
103
Elaeocarpus.
104
Mr. Marten’s C.P. Census Report (1911), p. 79.
105
Orphéus, p. 137.
106
Oman, Mystics, Ascetics and Saints, p. 269.
107
Bhattachārya, Hindu Castes and Sects, p. 380.
108
Bhattachārya, ibidem, and Oman, Mystics, Ascetics and Saints, pp. 160, 161.
109
Buchanan, Eastern India, i. pp. 197, 198.
110
Nesfield, Brief View of the Caste System, p. 86.
111
J. C. Oman, Cults, Customs and Superstitions of India (London, T. Fisher Unwin), p. 11.
112
Mystics, Ascetics and Saints of India, pp. 156, 157.
113
Sir E. Maclagan, Punjab Census Report (1891), p. 112.
114
This article is based on notes by Mr. Percival, Assistant Conservator of Forests, and Rai Bahādur Hīra Lal.
115
For further details see article on Gond Gowāri.
116
See article on Kunbi.
117
Early History of India, 3rd ed. pp. 409, 411.
118
Mr. Smith ascribes this discovery to Messrs. A. M. T. Jackson (Bombay Gazetteer, vol. i. Part I., 1896, p. 467); D. R. Bhandārkar, Gurjaras (J. Bo. R.A.S. vol. xx.); and Epigraphic Notes (ibidem, vol. xxi.); and Professor Kielhorn’s paper on the Gwālior Inscription of Mihira Bhoja in a German journal.
119
Bombay Gazetteer, Hindus of Gujarāt, Appendix B, The Gūjars.
120
The Khazars were known to the Chinese as Yetas, the beginning of Yeta-i-li-to, the name of their ruling family, and the nations of the west altered this to Hyatilah and Ephthalite. Campbell, ibidem.
121
See article on Panwār Rājpūt, para. 1.
122
Campbell, loc. cit. p. 495.
123
Tribes and Castes, article Gūjar, para. 12. The description is mainly taken from Elliott’s History of India as told by its own Historians.
124
Description of the Kāngra Gūjars by Mr. Barnes. Quoted in Ibbetson’s Punjab Census Report (1881), para. 481.
125
Census Report, para. 481.
126
Cf. Krishna’s epithet of Murlidhar or the flute-player, and the general association of the flute with herdsmen and shepherds in Greek and Roman mythology.
127
Ibidem.
128
Hoshangābād Settlement Report, para. 16.
129
Nimār Settlement Report (1868).
130
This article is based partly on a paper by Mr. Abdus Subhān Khān, Tahsīldār, Hinganghāt, and Mr. Adurām Chaudhri of the Gazetteer Office.
131
The trifoliate leaf of Aegle Marmelos.
132
Bombay Gazetteer, vol. xviii. p. 266.
133
History of the Marāthas, vol. i. p. 26, footnote.
134
Bombay Gazetteer, vol. x. p. 119.
135
Bombay Ethnographic Survey, Monograph on Gurao.
136
Sesamum.
137
Bombay Gazetteer, vol. xix. p. 101.
138
This article is compiled principally from a monograph by Munshi Kanhya Lāl, Assistant Master, Raipur High School, and formerly of the Gazetteer Office; and also from papers by Mr. Panda Baijnāth, Superintendent of Bastar State, and Mr. Gokul Prasād, Tahsīldār of Dhamtari. The descriptions of marriage, funeral and birth customs are taken from Munshi Kanhya Lāl’s monograph.
139
By the Rev. G. K. Gilder of the Methodist Episcopal Mission of Raipur.
140
Chalki is said to have been a Brāhman who gave shelter to the pregnant fugitive widow of a Rāja; and her child was the ancestor of the Bastar dynasty. But the name may also be taken from the Chalukya Rājpūt clan.
141
The Rāwats or Ahīrs are graziers, and the Bhatra, Parja and Muria are primitive tribes allied to the Gonds.
142
Linguistic Survey, vol. vii. p. 331, and a note kindly furnished by Sir G. Grierson at the time of the census.
143
Buchanania latifolia.
144
Bassia latifolia. Both these trees are valued because the fruit of the first and the flowers of the second afford food.
145
A black pulse.
146
The Hindus number the days of each lunar fortnight separately.
147
It is simply water in which gold has been dipped.
148
Crooke, ii. 481.
149
Brief View, p. 31.
150
Buchanania latifolia.
151
Based principally on the account of the Hatkars on p. 200 of Sir A. Lyall’s Berār Gazetteer, with some notes taken by Mr. Hīra Lāl in Buldāna.
152
Colonel Meadows Taylor, Tara, p. 404.
153
Ain-i-Akbari, quoted in Berār Gazetteer, p. 200.
154
Berār Gazetteer.
155
Partly based on a paper by Munshi Kanhaya Lāl of the Gazetteer Office.
156
Muhammadans of Gujarāt, by Khān Bahādur Fazalullah Lutfullah Faridi, pp. 21, 22.
157
Rāsmāla, ii. p. 90.
158
Faridi, ibidem.
159
See article on Bhāt.
160
Acacia arabica.
161
The late Mr. A. M. T. Jackson’s notes, Ind. Ant., August 1912, p. 56.
162
Laws of Manu, xi. p. 175, quoted in The Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas, ii. p. 476.
163
Westermarck, The Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas, ii. p. 470.
164
Ibidem, ii. p. 471.
165
