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

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 states498 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 described499 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.500

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.”501 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.502—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 Bombay503 the Muhammadan Sikligars are said to be Ghisāris or tinkers who were forcibly converted by Aurāngzeb. The writer of the Belgaum Gazetteer504 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. Crooke505 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.506—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.507 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.508 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.