The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, Volume 1

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.444

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.445 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,446 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.