List Group 14

Mundârí - Munjkut - Munurwar - Murli - Musahars - Nagarchis - Nagasia (Naksia) - Nahâlí - Naikpod - Naiks - Nandiwalas - Naqqal - Nar (Nar,Nat, Nartak, Nâtak) - Nat - Nat (Badi, Dang-Charha,Karnati, Bazigar, Sapera) - Na†í - Nikkalavandhu - Nunia (Noniyan) - Nuniyas - Od - ÓpkÏ - Ojha - Ojha - Oraon (Uraon, Kurukh,Dhangar, Kîda, Kisân) - Oudhia - Pakhiwaras - Pandarams - Paravan - Pardhân - Pardhi (Bahelia, Mirshikar,Moghia, Shikari, Takankar) - Parja - Pathrot - Patras - Patwas - Pena - Penhârís

Mundârí.: -Mundârí is the dialect spoken by the tribe who call themselves hârâ-kó or 'men.' [1] The number of speakers is about half a million.

Name Of The Language.

Mundârí literally means the language of the Mundâs. According Mr. Risley, "the name Mundâ is of Sanskrit origin. It means headman of a village, and is a titular or functional designation used by the members of the tribe, as well as by outsiders, as a distinctive name much in the same way as the Santals call themselves Mâñjhí, the Bhumij Sardâr, and the Khambu of the Darjiling hills Jimdâr."

Area Within Which Spoken.

The principal home of the Mundâs is the southern and western portion of Ranchi District. There are, moreover, speakers in Palamau and the south-east of Hazaribagh. Towards the south we find Mundârí spoken side by side with Hó in the north of Singbhum. Speakers are further found scattered over the Chota Nagpur Tributary States, especially in Bonai and Sarguja, and further to the south-west, in Bamra and Sambalpur and the neighbouring districts of the Central Provinces. Emigrants have further brought the dialect to Jalpaiguri, Dinajpur, Bajshahi, the 24-Parganas, and other districts of the Bengal Presidency, and to the tea-gardens of Assam. The Mundâs of Ranchi assert that they have come from the north-east.

Dialects.

With regard to sub-dialects Mundârí can be compared with Santâlí. 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. The most idiomatic Mundârí is spoken in Mankipatti, a tract of land to the south-east of the town of Ranchi, comprising Tamar and a part of Singbhum. The Mundârí of Palamau is almost identical. In Hazaribagh and in Sambalpur and Bamra the dialect has come under the influence of the neighbouring Aryan forms of speech. In all essential points, however, it agrees with the Mundârí of Ranchi and Palamau. The same is the case in the State of Patna. In the State of Sonpur the Mundâs are found scattered in villages bordering on the jungles. They have originally come from Chota Nagpur and must formerly have spoken the same dialect as their cousins in Ranchi.

[1] Linguistic Survey of India.

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At the present day, however, they have almost entirely forgotten their old speech, and they now use a form of Oriyâ, intermixed with Mundârí words. The Kurukhs in the neighbourhood of the town of Ranchi have adopted Mundârí as their common tongue. Their dialect is known under the denomination of Horo liâ jhagar. We have no information about its character. It is, however, probable that it is identical with the dialect spoken by the so-called 'Kera-Uraons' to the east of Ranchi. Father de Smet is, so far as I am aware, the only authority who mentions that form of Mundârí. He states that the principal peculiarity of the dialect is that an r is substituted for the final t' or d of verbal tenses; thus, jam-der-â-m instead of jam-ked-â-m, thou atest. During the preliminary operations of this Survey, a Kol dialect called Bhuyau was reported to exist in Sambalpur. No specimens of any form of speech bearing this name have been forwarded, and no such dialect occurs in the Sambalpur tables of the last Census. It is therefore probable that Bhuyau is the dialect of the Mundâ Bhuiyas of the district, and the Bhuyau figures have, accordingly, been shown under Mundârí. Closely related forms of speech are spoken by the Bhumij tribe of Singbhum and neighbourhood; by the Bírhars of Hazaribagh, Ranchi, Singbhum and adjoining districts, and by most of the so-called Kódâs. Those dialects will therefore be dealt with immediately after Mundârí. The dialect of the H¡ós or Larkâ Kols of Singbhum is also so closely connected with Mundârí that it can almost be described as a sub-dialect of that form of speech.

Number Of Speakers.

According to information collected for the purposes of this Survey, Mundârí was spoken as a

vernacular in the following districts:

Bengal Presidency- Hazaribagh 125

Ranchi 322,148

Palamau 30,000

Jashpur State 100

Bonai 478

Sarguja State 395

------------

Total Bengal Presidency 353,246

Central Provinces-Sambalpur 7,500

Sakti 700

Bamra 13,569

Rairakhol 312

Sonpur 1,250

Patna 250

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Total central Provinces 23,581

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Grand Total 376,827

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Of the 7,500 speakers returned from Sambalpur, 1,500 were stated to speak Bhuyau. Outside the area where it is a vernacular Mundârí was returned from the following district:

Bengal Presidency-Jalpaiguri 8,965

Angul and Khondmals 46

--------

9,011

Central Provinces-Kalahandi 40

Assam-Cachar Plains 896

Sylhet 300

Kamrup 200

Darrang 2,300

Nowgong 1,350

Sibsagar 2,800

Lakhimpur 12,800

----------

20,646

---------

Grand Total 29,697

By adding these figures we arrive at an estimated total of speakers of Mundârí at home and abroad, as follows:

Mundârí spoken at home 376,827

Mundârí spoken abroad 29,697

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Total 406,524

The corresponding figures at the last Census of 1901 were as follows:

Bengal Presidency- Burdwan 835

Birbhum 214

Bankura 61

Midnapore 510

Hoogly 670

Howrah 79

24-Parganas 4,490

Nadia 42

Murshidabad 224

Jessore 4

Khulna 412

Rajshahi 4,255

Dinajpur 3,528

Jalpaiguri 10,290

Darjeeling 3,783

Rangpur 687

Bogra 1,421

Pabna 8

Dacca 84

Backergunge 118

Chittagong Hill Tracts 16

Patna 2

Bhagalpur 809

Purnea 96

Malda 63

Sonthal Parganas 849

Angul and Khondmals 619

Hazaribagh 7,910

Ranchi 298,611

Palamau 8,524

Manbhum 1,886

Singbhum 32,743

Kuch Bihar 2

Orissa Tributary States 837

Chota Nagpur Tributary

States 18,576

Hill Tippera 125

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Total Bengal Presidency 403,383

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Central Provinces-Sambalpur 10,844

Sakti 44

Sarangarh 22

Bamra 6,023

Rairakhol 825

Sonpur 594

Patna 261

Kalahandi 146

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Total Central Provinces 18,759

Assam-Cachar Plains 1,450

Sylhet 1,027

Goalpara 9

Kamrup 468

Darrang 6,642

Nowgong 608

Sibsagar 5,438

Lakhimpur 21,698

North Cachar 42

Naga Hills 29

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Total Assam 37,411

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Grand Total 459,553

It has been found convenient to add to this total some speakers who have been returned under the head of Kol, and who cannot be shown to speak any other Mundârí dialects, viz,

Assam 1,169

United provinces 3

Berar (Bassim) 19

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Total 1,191

It has been found convenient to add to this total some speakers who have been returned under the head of Kol, and who cannot be shown to speak any other Mundâ dialects, viz, Assam 1,169 United provinces 3 Berar (Bassim) 19 Total 1,191 The total number of speakers of Mundârí can therefore be put down at 460,744. It is, of course, possible that the speakers of 'Kol' do not belong to Mundârí, but are Kalhas. Their number is, however, so small that no great harm can be done in showing them under that language.

Hó or larkâ kol. H¡ó is the dialect spoken by a Mundâ tribe in Singbhum and the Tributary 1 States to the south. [1] The number of speakers in about 400,000.

[1] Linguistic Survey Of India.

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Name Of The Languages.

Hó is the name of a tribe, and the language is often called Hó -kâjí, i.e. the language of the Hós. The word Hó is identical with Hâr and hârâ, the words for 'man' in Santâlí and Mundârí respectively. The Hós are closely related to the Mundârís, and they assert that they have come into their present homes from Chota Nagpur. In Singbhum they are usually known as the Larkâ Kols, i.e . the fighting Kols. Mr. Bradley-Birt rightly remarks that they have fully justified this name. 'As far back as their annals go, they are found fighting, and always crowned with victory, driving back invaders or carrying war and devastation into the enemy's lands.' They have no sub-tribes, and the dialect is the same over the whole area where it is spoken.

Area Within Which Spoken.

The principal home of the Hós is Singbhum, the neighbouring States of Kharsawan and Sarai Kala, and the adjoining districts of Morbhanj, Keonjhar, and Gangpur. They are found only in small numbers outside these localities. Their territory lies in the midst of the country inhabited by the Mundârís, and both dialects are spoken side by side in the frontier tracts. In Singbhum, however, Hó is the predominant language, even if we consider the Aryan forms of speech. This is particularly the case in the south-east, in the Kolhan or Kol territory proper. It has already been mentioned that Kol or Kâlha has been returned as the dialect of numerous speakers in Hazaribagh, the Sonthal Parganas, and Manbhum, and that it is possible that some of the Kols of those districts speak Hó. The bulk of them, however, use a form of Santâlí which has been described above under the name of K¡ârmâlí.

Number Of Speakers.

According to local estimates made for the purposes of this Survey, Hó was spoken in the following districts:

Orissa Tributary States- Athmallik 200

Daspalla 45

Keonjhar 18,536

Morbhanj 45,479

Nilgiri 2,440

Pal Lahera 710

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Total 1 67,410

Singbhum Total 2 205,433

Chota Nagpur Tributary

States-Sarai Kala 9,975

Kharsawan 19,702

Gangpur 65,000

Korea 3

Bonai 3,348

Sarguja 276

---------

Total 3 98,304

Grand total (1+2+3) 371,147

Most of the speakers in the Chota Nagpur Tributary States were returned under the head of Kol, and it is possible that some of them in reality speak Mundârí. Outside the territory where it is spoken as a vernacular Hó was returned from the following districts:

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Bengal Presidency-Purnea 3,000

Angul and Khondmals 46

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Total 1 3,046

Central Provinces-Kalahandi Total 2 575

Assam-Cachar Plains 4,028

Sylhet 1,750

Kamrup 330

Darrang 500

Lakhimpur 1,750

---------

Total 3 8,358

Grand Total (1+2+3) 11,979

By adding all these figures we arrive at the following grand total for the dialect:

Hó spoken at home 371,147

Hó spoken abroad 11,979

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Total 383,216

At the last Census of 1901, 371,861 speakers of Hó were returned. I have only seen the details

from the Bengal Presidency. They are as follows:

Midnapore 334

Balasore 244

Angul and Khondmals 35

Manbhum 85

Singbhum 235,313

Orissa Tributary States 96,249

Chota Nagpur Tributary States 35,353

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Total 367,613

Mâhlé.

The Mâhlés are a caste of labourers, palanquin-bearers and workers in bamboo in Chota Nagpur and Western Bengal. They speak a dialect of Santâlí. The Mâhlé or Mâhilí dialect has been returned for the purposes of this Survey from the following districts:

Birbhum 650

Sonthal Parganas 17,237

Manbhum 10,794

Morbhanj State 280

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Total 28,961

The corresponding figures at the last Census of 1901 were widely different and are as follows:

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Burdwan 180

Birbhum 322

Midnapore 1,681

24-Parganas 369

Rajshahi 22

Dinajpur 282

Jalpaiguri 1,137

Darjeeling 180

Bogra 116

Malda 117

Sonthal Parganas 8,643

Angul and Khondmals 1

Hazaribagh 9

Ranchi 9

Manbhum 1,169

Singbhum 2,851

Kuch Bihar 12

Orissa Tributary

States 1,642

Chota Nagpur

Tributary States 59

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Total 18,801

Even the Census figures are probably too high, the name of the caste having, in many cases, been entered as denoting language. The principal home of the Mâhlé dialect is the central and southern portion of the Sonthal Parganas and the adjoining parts of Birbhum and Manbhum. Specimens have been received from Birbhum, the Nilgiri State, and the Sonthal Parganas. The Nilgiri specimens were written in a corrupt Santâlí, and those received from Birbhum contained a considerable admixture of Aryan words. I have therefore only reproduced a version of the Parable from the Sonthal Parganas. A list of standard words and phrases has been prepared with the utmost care and accuracy by the Rev. P.O. Bodding.

Mâhlé is closely related to Kârmâlí. Among themselves the Mâhlés to some extent make use of a kind of secret language, substituting peculiar words and expressions for the common ones. Thus they say thâk instead of tâkâ, a rupee; pítís instead of paisâ, a pice; mâch instead of pâe half a seer; lekâ instead of ânâ, an anna, and so forth.

Munjkut.: -They live in Punjab. They make ropes and work with cane.

Munurwar.: -See Od.

Murli.: -See Nandiwala.

Musahars.: -They Belong to the category of the Rajwars. They descend from the Munda or from the same Dravidian speaking tribe. For appearance, social organisation and religion they seem to belong clearly to Aboriginal stock. See also Rajawars.

Nagarchis.: -They are Muslim singers of North India. They exorcise evil spirit with music. See Dafalis.

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Nagasia.: -Naksia. -A primitive tribe found principally in the Chota Nâgpur States .[1] They now number 16,000 persons in the Central Provinces, being returned almost entirely from Jashpur and Sargîja. The census returns are, however, liable to be inaccurate as the Nagasias frequently call themselves Kisân, a term which is also applied to the Oraons. The Nagasias say that they are the true Kisâns whereas the Oraons are only so by occupation. The Oraons, on the other hand, call the Nagasias Kisâda. The tribe derive their name from the Nâg or cobra, and they say that somebody left an infant in the forest of Setambu and a cobra came and spread its hood over the child to protect him from the rays of the sun. Some Mundas happened to pass by and on seeing this curious sight they thought the child must be destined to greatness, so they took him home and made him their king, calling him Nagasia and from him the tribe are descended. The episode of one snake is, of course, a stock legend related by many tribes, but the story appears to indicate that the Nagasias are an offshoot of the Mundas; and this hypothesis is strengthened by the fact that Nâgbasia is often used as an alternative name for the Mundas by their Hindu neighbours. The term Nâgbasia is supposed to mean the original settlers (basia) in Nâg (Chota Nâgpur).

The tribe are divided into the Telha, Dhuria and Senduria groups. The Telhas are so called because at the marriage ceremony they mark the forehead of the bride with tel (oil), while the Dhurias instead of oil use dust (dhur) taken form the sole of the bridegroom's foot, and the Sendurias like most Hindu castes employ vermilion (sendur) for this purpose. The Telhas and Dhurias marry with each other, but with the Sendîrias, who consider themselves to be superior to the other and use the term Nâgbansia or ' Descendants of the Snake' as their tribal name. The Telha and Dhuria women do not wear glass bangles on their arms but only bracelets and also armlets above the elbow. Telha woman do not wear nose-rings or tattoo their bodies, while the Sendîrias do both. The Telhas say that the tattooing needle and vermilion, which they formerly employed in their marriage, were stolen from them by Wâgdeo or the tiger god. So they hit upon sesamum oil as a substitute, which must be pressed for ceremonial purposes in bamboo basket by unmarried boys using a plough-yoke. This is probably, Mr. Híra Lâl remarks, merely the primitive method of extracting oil, prior to the invention of the Teli's ghâni or oil-press; and the practice is an instance of the common rule that articles employed in ceremonial and religious rites should be prepared by the ancient and primitive methods which for ordinary purpose have been superseded by more recent labour-saving inventions.

Nahâlí.: -The Nahâlí are mentioned in old documents as hill robbers [2] . According to the Nimar Settlement Report, "'Nahal, Bheel, Kole' is the phrase generally used in old documents for hill plunderers, who are also all included in the term 'Mowassee.' The Raja of Jeetgurh and Mohkote has a lone account in his genealogy of a treacherous massacre by his ancestor, in the time of Akbar, of a whole tribe of these Nahals, in reward for which he got Jeetgurh in Jageer. Indeed they seem to have been inveterate caterans, whom nothing but extermination could put down. They do not now exist as a tribe, but only in scattered families, who are mostly in the position of hereditary village watchmen." According to the same authority the Nahâls then, in 1870, spoke Kîrkî. It is probable that this is still the case with many Nahâls. Others, however, use a mixed form of speech, which will be dealt with in what follows. This later dialect is the so-called Nahâlí, i.e., the language of the Nahâls. It is spoken by the Nahâls of Nimar, but no information is available as to the number of speakers, the Nahâls having been included under the head of Kîrkî in the local estimates and in the last Census reports. Nahâlí is different from the Nâharí dialect of Kanker, which is a broken Hâlbí and also from Naharí, a Bhíl dialect of Nasik and Sargana.

[1] See Russell.

[2] Linguistic Survey of India.

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Like both, however, it is strongly Aryanised, and probably on its way towards becoming an Aryan form of speech.

The base of the dialect is probably a Mundâ language of the same kind as Kîrkî. Then there is an admixture of Dravidian, and finally an Aryan superstructure. It is of interest to note that Nahâlí is spoken in a part of the country in which remnants of Mundâ and Aryan tribes still meet each other. To the north and west we find a continuous chain of dialects, viz., the various Bhíl dialects, which are now Aryan but are spoken by tribes who must have been of the same stock as the Nahâls.

Nouns.

There is apparently no grammatical gender and no dual. The usual plural suffix is tâ; thus, âbâ -tâ, fathers. There is apparently great confusion in the use of the various case suffixes. Ké or kí apparently corresponds to ken in Kîrkî and denotes the dative and the locative. Thus, âbâ -ké, to the father; khét -ké, in the field. The suffix kun corresponds to Hindí sé, from, to; thus, mâl -kun, from the property; hâl -kun, to the servants (he said). The genitive is formed by adding one of the suffixes ké, kî, n, né, and kâ. Thus mânchu -ké, of a man; âbâ -n and âbâ -kî, of the father; dhol -kâ, of drums. The case of the agent is apparently formed by adding n or né; thus, bâchuran, by the younger; âbâ -né, by the father. The use of the case of the agent, and the suffixes by means of which it is formed, are distinctly Aryan.

Naikpod.: -They live in South India, specially in Tamil Nadu. They are engaged in breeding cattle, but they are also good goldsmiths, blacksmiths and carpenters. They are in the official list of the Gonds, but do not speak Gondi nor have the social system of the Gonds. They like music and dance and exchange food from the Vanjara - Banjara,

Naiks.: -See Ramoshis.

Nandiwalas.: -They live in Maharashtra. They are a nomadic group of religious mendicants.

Naqqal.: -They move around in Punjab and Kashmir. In the past they used to be buffoons of the Rajas. They are excellent actors able to use buffoonery and sarcasm. They perform in the streets of villages.

Nar.: -Nar, Nat, Nartak, Nâtak, [1] a dancing and musician caste of Eastern Bengal, whom Dr. Wise identifies with the Brahmanical Kathak of Hindustân, mainly on the strength of a tradition that they first came to Dacca in the days of the Nawabs. Another theory of their origin makes them out to be the same as the Nuri who manufacture lac bracelets. Ward mentions that in his day none of the caste were to be found in Bengal, and that the Brahmans trace their descent from a Mâlâkâr and a female Sîdra. The modern Natas, not satisfied with this pedigree, claim to be the offspring of Bharadwâja Muní and a dancing girl, and assert that the Ganak Brahmans are sprung from a son of the same holy man, so Nars of Bikrampur affect to trace their origin to a dancer banished from Indra's heaven and condemned to follow his profession on earth.

[1] See Risley.

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In Hindustân the Kathaks still wear the Brahmanical cord and confer the Ásír-bâd, or benediction, on Sîdras; but in Bengal the Nars no longer do so, as the original settlers, few in number, were obliged to take wives from mean castes, and became degraded. Although the Nar caste requires to support a Brahman of its own, the Sîdra Nâpit and Dhobâ work for it. The Nars have one gótra, the Bharadwâja, and their patronymics are Nandí and Bhakta, by which latter title the caste is sometimes known, but whenever an individual excels in music, he is dignified by the title Ustâd. Like other Sîdras, the Nars celebrate the srâddha on the thirtieth day, are generally Vaishnavas in creed, and have a Patit Brâhman, to officiate to them. They decline to play in the houses of the Chandâls, Bhîinmâlís, and other low castes, and as their services are no longer required, have ceased to perform before Muhamadans. The Hindu Nar occupies a position corresponding to that of the Muhamadan Bâjunia, but the former is more sought after, as no Hindu will have a Muhamadan musician in his house if he can possibly avoid it. When young the Nar boys, then called Bhagtiyâs, are taught dancing, but on reaching manhood they become musicians, or Sampardâ, and attend on dancing girls (Bâí), who was usually Muhamadans. If former days no Hindu girls ever danced in public, although dancers among the Bâzí-gar and other vagrant tribes were common, but at present Baistabís and Hindu prostitutes are found among professional Nâch girls. There has been a tendency within the last thirty years for the Nar caste to separate into two classes-- one teaching boys to dance and playing to them, the other attending the Muhamadan Bâí. The latter class are the better paid and more skilful musicians, and a band (Sampardâí) accompanying a popular dancing girl often earn as much as twenty rupees a night, while the former consider they are well if they get five rupees for one night's amusement. The musical instruments generally used by the Nars are the Sârungí, Behla and Kâsí varieties of fiddles, the Tablâ or drum, and the Manjírâ or cymbals. Nars treat their instruments with great veneration, and always, on first rising in the morning, make obeisance before them. On the ±rí Panchamí in Mâgh, sacred to Saraswatí, a Nar will not play a note until his worship of the goddess is finished. Like the ‰ishí women, the Nar women will not play, sing, or dance in public, although at marriages of their own people they still do so. It is currently believed that many Nars have of late years become Muhamadans, but this accusation is denied by the caste. It is nevertheless true when a Sampardâ falls in live with a dancing girl, his only chance of marrying her is becoming a Muhamadan.

Nat.: -(Sanskrit nata, " a dancer, ") [1] a tribe of so-called gypsy dancers, acrobats, and prostitutes who are found scattered all over the Province. The problem of the origin and ethnological affinities of the Nats is perhaps the most perplexing within the whole range of the ethnography of Northern India, and the enquiries, of which the result is given here, leave its solution almost as uncertain as ever. The real fact seems to be that the name Nat is an occupational term which includes a number of different clans who have been grouped together merely on account of their common occupation of dancing, prostitution, and performance of various primitive industries. The same people are found also beyond the boundaries of these Provinces. Thus they appear to be identical, at least in occupation, with the Kolhatis of Bombay, who are also known as Dombari, and are "rope dancers and tumblers, as well as makers of the small buffalo horn pulleys which are used with cart ropes in fastening loads. They also make hide combs and gunpowder flasks. When a girl comes of age, she is called to choose between marriage and prostitution. If, with her parents' consent, she wishes to lead a married life, she is well taken care of and carefully watched. If she chooses to be a tumbler and a prostitute, she is taken before the caste council, a feast is given, and with the consent of the council she is declared a prostitute. The prostitutes are not allowed to eat with other Kolhatis, except with their own children.

[1] See Crooke. Based on information collected at Mirzapur and notes by Babu Badri-nath, Deputy Collector, Kheri ; M. Niyaz Ahmad, Fatehpur ; A. B. Bruce, Esq., C. S., Ghazipur ; Babu Sanwal Das, Deputy Collector, Hardoi ; M. Gopal Prasad, Naib Tahsildar, Etawah ; The Deputy Inspectors of Schools, Shahjahanpur, Budaun, Bijnor

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Still, when they grow old, their caste-fellows support them. They worship Amba Bhawani, Hanuman, Khandoba, and the cholera goddess Mariai; but their favourite and, as they say, their only living gods are the bread-winners or hunger-scarers, the drum, the rope, and the balancing pole." [1] Of the same people in the Dakkhin, Major Gunthorpe [2] writes: "The Kolhatis belong to the great Sansya family of robbers and claim their descent from Mallanur, the brother of Sansmal. There are two tribes, Dukar Kolhatis and Kam or Pal Kolhatis. The former are non-wandering criminal tribe, whereas the latter are a non-wandering criminal class. Depraved in morals, the males of both tribes subsist to a great extent by the prostitution of some of their females, though let it be said to the credit of the former that they are not so bad as the latter. They labour for themselves by cultivating land, by taking service as village watchmen, or by hiring themselves to villages to destroy that pest of Indian farmers, the wild hog, and above all they are professional robbers. Kam Kolhatis, on the other hand, are a lazy, good-for-nothing class of men who, beyond making a few combs and shuttles of bone, will set their hands to no class of labour, but subsist mainly by the immoral pursuits of their women. At every large fair may be seen some of the portable huts of this tribe, made of grass, the women decked in jewels and gaudy attire sitting at each door, whilst the men are lounging lazily at the back. The males of the Dukar Kolhati tribe are a fine manly set of fellows, and obtain the distinction of Dukar, 'hog' from the fact of their hunting the wild pig, and breeding the domesticated pig."

Again we have in Bengal [3] a people known as Nar, Nat, Nartak or Natak, who form the dancing and musician class of Eastern Bengal; on the other hand many of the people whom in these Provinces we class as Nats, such as the Bazigar, Sapera, and Kabutri, are classed in Western Bengal with the Bediya, who in Northern India are undoubted kinsfolk of the Sansya, Habura, and similar vagrant races. Lastly, of the same people in the Panjab, Mr. Ibbetso [4] writes: "The Nat, with whom I include the Bazigar, form a gypsy tribe of vagrant habits, who wander about with their families, settling for a few days or weeks at a time in the vicinity of large villages or towns, and constructing temporary shelters of grass. In addition to practising acrobatic feats and conjuring of a low class, they make articles of grass, straw, and reeds for sale; and in the centre of the Panjab are said to act as Mirasis, though this is perhaps doubtful. They often practise surgery and physic in a small way, and are not free from suspicion of sorcery. They are said to be divided into two main classes, those whose males only perform as acrobats and those whose women, called kabutri, perform and prostitute themselves. About three-quarters of their number returned themselves as Hindus, and most of the rest as Musalmans. They mostly marry by circumambulation (phera) and burn their dead; but they are really outcastes, keeping many dogs, with which they hunt and eat the vermin of the jungles. They are said especially to revere the goddess Devi, Guru Tegh Bahadur, the Guru of the Sikh scavengers, and Hanuman, or the monkey god, the last because of the acrobatic powers of monkeys. They very generally trace their origin to Marwar; and they are found all over the Province, except on the frontier, where they are almost unknown." There seems, then, very little doubt under the general name Nat are included various tribes; some of whom are closely allied to the vagrant criminal races, like the Sansyas, Beriyas, and Haburas; and as we shall find a well pronounced totemistic section system among some of the so-called sub-castes, it seems possible that they have decided Dravidian relationship.

Tribal Organisation.

As has been already stated, the tribal organization of the Nats is most complex. Everywhere they merge with the regular vagrant tribes, and where to draw the line is practically impossible.

[1] Bombay Gazetteer, XX, 186, sq.

[2] Notes on Criminal Tribes, 46, sqq. The Kolhatis take their name from Kolhat, the bamboo on which they perform-Bombay Gazettear XII -123

[3] Risley, Tribes and Castes, II 129.

[4] Panjab Ethnography, section 588.

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In the last Census, about two-thirds of the Nats in these Provinces declared themselves as Hindus and one third as Muhammadans. Of the Hindus we find ten main sub-castes: The Brijbasi, who take their name from their supposed country of origin, Braj or Mathura, and its neighbourhood. Next come the Gual or "cow herds," some of whom claim a Jat and others an Ahir origin. The Jogila seem to be connected in name with the vagrant, criminal Jogis. The Kabutara, who take their name from the pigeon (kabutar), are prostitutes so-called from characteristic wooing of the bird. The Kalabaz is literally "a tumbler or juggler." The Karnatak is supposed to come from the Karnata country, the modern Karnatic in Madras. The Mahawat is so called from the Sanskrit Mahamatra, "a great officer of state" or an "elephant driver," an occupation to which the word is now generally applied. The Mirdaha is literally "a village ruler" (Persian, mirdah), and now-a-days the word is usually applied to a man who carries a chain for a surveyor. The Rathaur is the name of a famous Rajput sept; and Sapera (Sanskrit, sarpaharaka) is literally "a snake catcher." But this is far from exhausting the tribal organization of the Nats. Thus Mr, Carnegy [1] divides the Oudh Nats into eight sub-castes: First, the Gwaliyari Nats or those of Gwalior, with three sections, Kapuri, Bhatu and Sarwani. Of these the Kapuri appear to take their name from the Sanskrit karpura, "camphor;" the Bhatu are seemingly the same as the Bhatu or Bhantu, a sub-caste of the Sansyas. The men of this sub-caste buy cattle for butchers, while the women are cuppers, dentists, and artists. They are Hindus, bury their dead, and drink inordinately. Secondly, the Sanwat, who are Muhammadans. They also supply butchers, and sing the praises of Alha and Udal, the heroic Banaphar warriors, who were afterwards subject to the Rathaurs, from whom this sub-caste claims descent. Thirdly, Brijbasi, who are Hindus. The men walk on high stilts and the women show their confidence by dancing and singing under them. They eat pork, drink spirits and bury their dead. They say that they came to Braj or Mathura after the capture of Chithor, which is the starting point of the traditions of so many other castes. Fourthly, the Bachgoti, who are Hindus and connected by Mr. Carnegy with the Rajput sept of the same name. The men wrestle and play single stick; the women are depraved. They bury their dead. Fifthly, the Bijaniya or Bajaniya, who seem to take their name from the music (baja) accompanying their performances. They are Hindus and dance on the tight rope. They are addicted to drinking; the bury their dead in an upright position. Sixthly, the Bariya, who are Hindus. They do not perform, but attend feasts and eat scraps. The women are depraved and all are addicted to drinking. They bury their dead. Seventhly, the Mahawat, who are Musalmans by religion. They are said to be expert in treating rheumatism and deal in cattle. Drinking is confined to the seniors on the occasion of deaths. Lastly come the Bazigar, or common conjurers, who are given to drinking. They bury their dead. In addition to this enumeration the present survey has produced a long set of diverse lists from different districts. The confusion, as already indicated, seems to have sprung from the practical impossibility of distinguishing the Nat from his allies, the Sansyas and similar tribes. Thus, in Mirzapur we find the Bajaniya, Byadha, Karnatak, Kashmiri, Kalabaz, Mahawat, Badi and Malar. From Shahjahanpur comes a list of Hindu sub-castes, including the Bhantu, who are Sansyas, with the Gual, Ghara, Kalabaz, Kabutariya, and Lakarbaz, or performers on stilts. From Kheri we find the Bhatiya, who are perhaps the Bhatu or Shahjahanpur; the Kingariya, who are discussed in a separate article; the Kanjar, who, of course, forms a tribe of his own. In Hardoi we find the Kalabaz, Karnatak, Brijbasi, and Bagula; in Bijnor, the Badi, Gual, and Keutar, the last of whom are possibly connected with the Kewats. The sub-castes of the Muhammadan Nats are much less well established. In Ghazipur we find the Panjabi, Goriya, and Hagiya; in Fatehpur, the Meghiya, Dariya, Chhijariya, and Krim or Karim. The complete Census returns show 386 section of the Hindu and 205 of the Musalman Nats. They have, as might have been expected, largely adopted the names belonging to other castes and septs, such as Bhantu, Chamargautam, Chamarmangta, Chamarnat, Chamar Sangla, Chamarwa, Chandel, Chauhan, Chhatri, Dhimar, Dhobi, Dom, Ghosi, Gond, Gujar, Gual, Gualbans, Jadon, Kabuli, Kanchan, Kayasth, Khatri, Kori, Korwa, Kormangta, Mainpuri Chauhan, Panwar, Paturiya, Rajput, Rathaur, Sakarwar, Teli.

[1] Notes, 17.

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With these are the usual local groups Brijbasi, Chithauriya, Daryabadi, Gangapari, Indauriya, Jaiswar, Jaypuriya, Kanaujiya, Kashipuri, Lahauri, Mathuriya, Panjabi, Rampuriya, Sribastam. The Musalman branch show an equally curious mixture of names. We have many distinctively Hindu titles as Bahman, Bais, Bhadauriya, Chauhan; Gaur, Gujar, Rathaur, and Tomar; regular Musalman names like Chisti, Ghori, Khwaja Mansuri, Khwaja Mayan, Lodi, Mughal, Nawab, Naumuslim, Pathan, Sadiqi, Shaikh, Turkiya, and Yusufzai; occupational terms and those connecting them with other gypsy tribes, such as Bazigar, Beriya, Buchar, ("Butcher"), Dom, Filwan ("elephant driver"), Kanchan, Mangta ("beggar"), Pahlwan ("wrestler"), Randi ("prostitute"),Sanpwala and Sapera ("snake men"), and Tawaif.

The Eastern Nats.

The information at present available is much more complete for the Eastern Nats, and it may be well to describe some of their sub-castes with more or less detail.

The Rajaniya Nats.

The Bajaniya Nats of Mirzapur have seven sections, which are obviously of totemistic origin. These are Makriyana which take their name from makri, "a spider," which no member of the section will kill; Gauharna which are called from goh the Gangetic alligator or lizard known as the goh sanp, which none of them will harm; Deodinaik or "leader given by God," the members of this section are generally headmen (chaudhari) of the tribe; Bahunaina or "the fly" which takes its name from having many eyes; this insect none of them will injure; Gagoliya of which they are unable to give any explanation; Sanpaneriya, none of whom will kill the snake (sanp); and Suganaik, none of whom will injure the parrot (suga). These sections are exogamous, but there is no other prohibition against intermarriage, and it is notorious that Nats marry very close blood relations. They say that they were originally residents or Marwar, and passed into Mirzapur through Bundelkhand. The migration is said to have occurred about a century ago. They have no other tribal tradition, except that they were created by Parameswar, whose pleasure it was that they should be aerobats and rope-dancers. They have their own council known as Panth, presided over by a head man (mutana), who is assisted by a messenger (harkara), whose business is to collect the elders for meetings. No woman can be divorced for simple adultery. Her paramour is merely fined five rupees, which is spent on drinking. They cannot marry again while the first wife is alive. They purchase brides, the price according to tribal custom being twenty-five rupees in cash, four rupees worth of sugar, one rupee worth of pulse (dal), one rupee worth of ghi, two rupees worth of wheat, some turmeric and cakes. Concubinage is not allowed. Widows can marry by the ordinary form, which the. call ghughuna. When the connection is sanctioned by the headman, the future husband goes to the house of the widow, puts bangles and a nose-ring of silver on the woman. Her friends then take the pair into a closed room, where they are left some time to themselves, and in the meantime wine is served round to the brethren. Next morning the husband takes his wife home, and business is over. The levirate is allowed on the usual conditions; if she marry a stranger, she loses all right to the goods of her first husband.

A Chamarin midwife attends the mother only for one day. The mother is kept secluded for six days with a fire and a box of iron for holding lamp-black (kajranta) near her. The ceremony on the sixth day is known as huabar. The mother bathes and then goes to the nearest well with the bosom of her sheet full of parched grain, with four pice, some powdered sugar and ginger, and two roots of turmeric. When she comes to the well, she lights a lamp, and collecting the lamp-black in her iron box, marks several lines with it and some vermilion on an earthen pot, and puts red lead on the parting of the hair of the women who go with her. She bows in obeisance to the well and returns home, where the parched grain is distributed among her women friends. At the same time the father serves round wine to his male friends, and after that the mother is considered pure.

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The betrothal is settled by the father of the boy paying five rupees to the girl's father, which is spent on wine for the brethren. A feast is given and the father of the bride sends a bead necklace and a handkerchief for his future son-in-law. When the wedding day is fixed, the bride-price is sent in advance. This is usually five days before the wedding, and during that time the pair are kept at their own houses in a thatched shed in the courtyard. This shed, contrary to the usual Hindu custom, is surrounded with screens. We have here probably a survival of the custom of seclusion at puberty. Every day the pair are anointed with turmeric and oil. A friend takes the bridegroom on his shoulder to the house of the bride, and when they reach her door her relatives make a square, in each corner of which a brass lota is placed. A pice is put into each lota, and the four vessels are joined with a string. Into this enclosure the pair are led, and inside it they make five circuits. This is the binding part of the ceremony. The bride returns to the house and the bridegroom to his friends. That night is spent in eating and drinking, and next morning the bride puts on a dress purchased out of the bride price. The pair stand at the door, and the bride's mother waves a plough yoke (jua) over their heads for good luck. Then the bride and bridegroom are taken home on the shoulders of two male friends. At the door the boy's mother again waves a plough yoke over them, and the boy, seizing the yoke, runs and demolishes with it the nuptial shed (manro) in the courtyard. This concludes the marriage. They bury their dead in their own cemetery. When a person dies they put a copper coin in his mouth as a viaticum. The corpse is taken on a bier and buried with the head to the north and the feet to the south. When the grave is filled, they pour some wine on the ground, and they do the same at the house of the deceased, where wine is served round when they return after the burial. The ceremonies for the repose of the soul are done some months later, when they can afford to do so. They go the side and cook cakes, rice, and pulse. Then they spread a cloth on the ground, on which the ghost is supposed to sit, and the nearest relative taking an earthen cup (purwa) and knife in his hand plunges into the water. He puts the knife on the cup and sits down till the cup, which is placed on his head, gets full of water. This cup full of water he brings out and places under the cloth on which the ghost is supposed to be sitting. Again he places four cups of water, one at each corner of the cloth, and connects them with a thread so as to form a square. In the enclosure thus formed they place a little of each kind of food for the refreshment of the ghost, and pray to it to partake of the food. They then wait for a few minutes while it is supposed to be eating, and then they address it: "Go and join those who have departed before you." Until this ceremony is performed, the ghost will not pass quietly to the world of the dead. They have no idea of ceremonial impurity resulting from death. Their tribal deities are Hulki Mai, the goddess of cholera, the Vindhyabasini Devi, Durga-Kali, and Parameswar. They worship these collectively every year when they return from their annual wanderings. This worship is done in the family kitchen and the only sacrifice is a he-goat with sweet bread and wine. This is their chief festival, and is done either on the tenth (dasmin) of Karttik or at the Holi. Whenever, during the year, any trouble comes upon them, they make a special offering of sweet bread and wine to the deified ancestors, all of which, after presentation, they consume themselves. They regard the Dom and the Hela with special dislike. They do not eat beef or vermin, such as rats; but they eat fowls, fish of every kind, crocodiles, tortoises, and the nilgae deer. They drink spirits and use gdnja, bhang, and palm wine (tari), but not opium. No respectable Hindu will take food or drink from their hands. They will eat food prepared by any one except a Dhobi, Pasi, Dharkar, Dom, or Chamar. The men wear short drawers (janghiya) turban (pagri), a necklace of white beads (guriya), and earrings (bali). The women wear a petticoat (lahnga), boddice (choli), a black and white bead necklace and ear-rings. The men are rope-dancers and acrobats. The women beg and prostitute themselves. They usually live in out-of-the way hamlets away from the village, and during the cold and hot weather they wander about from fair to fair and to the houses of rich people, usually sleeping under trees in the course of their journeys.

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The Byadha Nats.

The Byadha are another tribe of these vagrants. They take their name from the Sanskrit Vyddha. "a hunter." They are short, black race, with very large dark eyes, very black hair, which they keep long and unkempt, short beard, whiskers and mustache, and a short, rather broad, nose. Those of Mirzapur are unable to name any of their exogamous sections, and their rules of intermarriage are very vague. They do not even maintain the ordinary formula that the line of the paternal uncle (chacha), maternal uncle (mamu), paternal aunt (phuphu), and maternal aunt (maosi) are to be avoided. In short, they have practically no prohibited degrees. Thus a man will marry his son to his own sister's daughter, to his maternal aunt's daughter, and so on. The marriage negotiations are carriage negotiations are carried on by the maternal uncle (Mamu) of the boy, a custom which may be a survival of the matriarchate. Sometimes one of the meaner Brahmans goes with the envoy. When the match is settled the boy's maternal uncle, brother-in-law, and some of his female relations go to the house of the bride and pay the bride price, which consists of twenty rupees in cash, a set of glass bangles (churi), a cocoanut, a betel nut, and a suit of clothes. These things are given to the mother of the Bride. They return after fixing the marriage day. A pavilion (manro) is erected at the boy's house, and next day he starts for the gride's house. They have no regular Purohit or family priest, but the lucky dates for these events are ascertained from some village Brahman. All the relations, including the women, which is absolutely opposed to all Hindu usage, accompany the procession. On that day the bride's father entertains the whole party with goat's flesh and rice. When the time comes for the marriage, the bridegroom takes his seat in the pavilion with the bride seated beside him, her mother shading her face with the end of her cloth. Then the bride's female relations rub the pair vigorously with a mixture of oil and turmeric. This is done three times while the ceremony goes on. The binding part of the rite is the rubbing of the parting of the bride's hair with red lead, which is done by the brother-in-law of the bridegroom, the husband of his sister. This is, of course, contrary to all Hindu usage; the boy usually does this rite himself. During the marriage the girl's father performs no rite, which again is very unorthodox. They have no retiring-room (kohabar) ceremony as among low Hindu castes. When the marriage is over, her father dresses the bride in new clothes, gives her a lota, and sends her off at once with her husband. The age for marriage is fifteen for boys and ten or twelve for girls: as a rule it takes place immediately when the pair have attained puberty. Widows are married by the sagai form and the levirate prevails under the usual condition that she marry the younger, not the elder, brother of her late husband. If the younger brother do not claim her, she may marry an outsider with leave of the tribal council. Nothing is paid to the parents of the widow. Her lover is expected to give a goat to the council. When this is done, he puts some oil on the widow's head, while her sister's husband (bahnoi) rubs red lead on the parting of her hair. He then takes her off to his house. At child-birth the mother is isolated and attended by the Chamarin midwife. After the fifth day is the chhathi or sixth-day rite when the brethren (atma), men and women, are fed. The Chamarin, who is known as soin, bathes the mother and baby, and gives their clothes and those of the other members of the house-hold to a Dhobi. All the men have their hair shaved. The birth pollution ceases on the twelfth day (barahi), when the mother and child are bathed again. The husband keeps away from his wife for twenty days after her confinement. The Chamarin among these people plasters the delivery-room, a duty which, among other Hindus, is usually done by the husband's sister (nanad). The menstrual pollution lasts for five days, during which the woman is isolated, and her husband cooks for her. These Nats say that they came originally from Ratanpur and Bolaspur in the Central Provinces. They bury their dead, not in a regular cemetery, but in any convenient place north of the village. The grave lies North and South, and they profess not to care in which direction the corpse is laid. A woman is buried face upwards and a man face downwards. After the burial, they all bathe and return to the house of the deceased, where they sit for a while in the courtyard, wash their hands, and then go home.

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No food is cooked in the house that day; the family are fed by a neighbour. On the tenth day the brethren assemble at some tank or stream and have their heads shaved. No sacred balls (pinda) are offered. They return to the house of mourning and there they are feasted. If the son of the deceased can afford it, he gives a cup and plate (lota, thali) and a female calf to a Brahman. This concludes the death rite. All who can afford it have an annual propitiation of the dead (barsi). They do not on this occasion feed the brethren, but give a Brahman some brass vessels. Then he stands up and raising his hands says: " Children of the dead man! Live in happiness." They have no regular fortnight of the dead (pitrapalcsha), and no sraddha.. In the month of Sawan, they worship Hariyali Devi, "the goddess of greenery," who watches the crops. To her a fire offering (hom) is made in the field with sugar and ghi. In Phalgun they burn the old year (sambat jalana) when they drink and eat good food. They observe no other Hindu festival except the Phagua or Holi. On some day in the light fortnight of Asarh, they worship their deceased ancestors (purakh leg). They make a fire offering with sugar and ghi, and sprinkle a little spirits on the ground. This worship is done by the head of the family at home. Their tribal deity is Bhawani Devi, who is worshipped every third year in the light fortnight of Phalgun. To her is offered a black goat, which is fed on rice before being sacrificed. The worshipper does the sacrifice himself. When sickness or other trouble comes upon them they sometimes get the Baiga to sacrifice a goat to the village gods (deohar). Men and women both eat the flesh of the victims to Bhawani. She has no temple, but most people make a stone or mud platform near their houses, where she is supposed to dwell. When they eat, they throw a little food and water on the ground for the ancestral ghosts, and say "If any of you are hungry, come and eat." The women of this tribe do not tattoo; this is done by the Badi Nats. The women get themselves tattooed with little spots on both wrists: but the custom is not well defined. If an unmarried woman is caught in an intrigue with a member of the caste, the council orders him to pay twenty rupees to her father, and she is then made over to him by a sort of informal marriage. In the same way, if a married woman is caught with a man, her paramour pays the husband twenty rupees and takes over the lady. If her lover be of another caste she is permanently expelled. They profess to have stringent rules to enforce chastity among their women, but they are not free from the suspicion of occasionally prostituting their girls. They have no occupation but begging, and do not dance, play, sing, or perform acrobatic feats. Their women wear glass bangles (churi), bead necklaces (guriya) of all colours, anklets (pairi) and arm ornaments (churla). They do not wear nose-rings. They will eat all ordinary meat except beef, monkeys, horses, tame pigs, and snakes. They swear by the words: "If I lie, may I eat beef," or on their sons' heads; or they fill a lota of water and swear by Kansasur Deota, "the godling of brass." Until a child is five or six years old they do not care what he eats; but when he arrives at that age he is obliged to conform to caste custom, and to commemorate this event, if they can afford it, they put a silver bangle on his wrist.

The Karnatak Nats.

This sub-caste of Nats is quite distinct from the Bajaniya, but they have the same sections, Gohna or Gouharna, Makriyana, Suganaik, Deodinaik, Gagoliya, Sanpaneriya and Waniawaraha, These are exogamous; but like all Nats they are very careless about prohibited degrees, and first cousins are allowed to marry. The highest section is the Deodinaik, and then follow the Suganaik, Gohna, Gagoliya and Sanpaneriya. Some of them are Hindus and some Muhammadans. Those who are Hindus worship the Vindhyabasini Devi of Bandhachal or Durga. They will eat the leavings of all high castes and are hence known as Khushhaliya or "those in prosperous circumstances." They dance on ropes and with cow horns tied to their feet; their women do not tattoo other women. Some of the better looking girls are reserved for prostitution, and these are never married in the tribe. One condition of marriage among them is that both parties should be of the same age. The Muhammadan branch in Etawah allow the levirate, and a widow can marry either the elder or younger brother of her late husband. There, it is said, they will admit any one into the tribe except a Bhangi, Dhanuk, Chamar, Teli, Dhobi or Bari.

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When the initiate is not a Muhammadan they send for the Qazi, who recites the Kalima over him. A girl who is seduced, whether her paramour be a tribesman or not, can be restored to caste rights on payment of a fine; but if her lover be a low caste man, like a Dom or Dharkar, she is permanently expelled. If her lover be a Brahman of Rajput, she is admitted back, and can be married in the caste.

Kashmiri Nats.

These people have no occupation except loafing, begging, and prostituting their women. Very few of the women are married in the tribe, and even the married women are sometimes prostituted. Most of their real wives are girls of other castes, who are bought by them or kidnapped. This is a costly and dangerous business; hence the number of old bachelors among them is very large. When they do marry in the tribe they observe no prohibited degrees and marry cousins. No regard is paid to the paternity of their children. Some of them are Hindus and some Muhammadans. The Hindus employ low Brahmans as their priests, and burn their dead. The Muhammadans bury. Hindus worship their ancestors in the month of Kuar, and to the cast of the Province their favourite deities are the Vindhyabasini Devi of Bandhachal and Garbara Devi. These are worshipped in the month of Aghan with the sacrifice of a goat and an offering of cakes and esweetmeats. The Hindu branch do not eat beef and pork. They eat mutton, goat's flesh, venison, and the like. They will not eat the flesh of the horse, camel, jackal or rats. The Muhammadans do not eat pork, but use beef and drink spirits. They eat the camel and fowls and the other animals which the Hindu branch of the tribe eat.

The Kalabaz or Gara Nats.

This branch of the Nats has exogamous sections, but few of them are able to give a list of them. In Hardoi their sections are Savai, Ghughasiya, Panchhiya, Jimiohhiya. Their tradition is that they were once Kshatriyas, and were forced to deny their caste when Ala-ud-din conquered Chithor in 1303 A.D. Another account of them is that their first ancestor was a Dhinwar, and that they were begotten by him from a Teli women. They wander about the country in rude huts (sirki) made of reeds. To the cast of the Province they appear to conduct their marriages in one of these huts with a rude form of the circumambulation (bhanwari) ceremony. They have a strange legend that Parameswar was once incarnated as a Nat at Sambhal in the Moradabad District, and became such an accomplished acrobat that in one bound he foxed a cart and in a second some mill stones in a tree which no Kalabaz has been since able to take down. Their occupation is rope-dancing and other acrobatic feats. They are fairly strict Hindus, and are said not to prostitute their women. In Oudh their favourite deity seems to be Hardeo or Hardaur Lala, the godling of cholera. From Etah it is reported that a distinction is drawn between the Baghaliya Nats, who dance on ropes, and the Kalabaz, who do somersaults and other athletic feats. They are very fond of singing the Alha song to the accompaniment of the drum. During the rains these people move about from village to village. It is understood that only one party encamps in the village at a time, and no other party is allowed to intrude on them until the performance is over. Wilful intrusion of this kind is severely punished by the tribal council. Even if any other body of Nats perform there, the fees go to the party which is first in possession of the place. The women do not perform or dance, sing or beg. They have regular circles within each of which the bones of the dead of the tribe are buried under a masonry platform, as is the rule among the Haburas, and to these the tribal worship is performed.

The Mahawat Nats.

The Mahawat Nats take their name from the Sanskrit Mahamatra "a high officer of state" or "an elephant driver." They say themselves that keeping elephants was their original occupation, and that from this they derive their name. They are also known as Baid, "physicina;" (Sanskrit Vaidya) and Lohangi, because they use surgical instruments of iron (laha) in treating their patients. They say that they are divided into four endogamous sub-castes; Turkata Pahlwan, Kapariya, Chamarmangta and Lohangi Nats.

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Of these the first and fourth are Muhammadans and the second and third Hindus. The Turkata Pahlwans teach wrestling and athletic exercises and their women tattoo. The Kapariyas are dealt with in a separate article. The Chamarmangta are so called because they beg (mangna) from Chamars. In Mirzapur the true Lohangi Nats marry second cousins. They say that they are descended from Hathila who has now been deified as one of the Panchon Pir. They worship him with prayers and the sacrifice of a fowl in the month of Jeth. This worship is done by Dafalis, who, while they make the offering to him is a red cock. This sacrifice is offered only by married men, and they alone are allowed to consume the offering. Their domestic ceremonies are of much the usual Nat type. They pay as a bride-price twenty or some multiple of twenty rupees. Infidelity in women is punished by a compulsory feast, and similarly a man is put out of caste if he cohabits or eats with a Domin or women of the menial tribes. They have a tribal council, the chairman of which is appointed at each sitting. The levirate and widow marriage are allowed under the usual conditions. Even when they profess to be Muhammadans, it is alleged that they perform no rite of circumcision (musalmani). They have practically no marriage ceremony. The girl's father attires her in a new dress, puts bangles and ear-ornaments (tarki) on her and then she is sent into the hut where her husband receives her. If he can afford it, he feeds the brethren. They bury their dead in any convenient place. When they bury a corpse, they put his tools with him, so that he may be able to support himself in the next world. When any one falls sick, they sacrifice fowls at the graves of their ancestors and make an offering of spirits and tobacco. They are nominally Muhammadans, but carry out hardly any of the rules of the faith. They worship the goddess known as Bhitari and Sayari, and their deified ancestor Hathia. Bhitari is worshipped on a Monday or Tuesday in the fields with a sacrifice of goats, which only the married males are allowed to eat. She is the protectress of their camp and children. Sayari is the patroness of their trade and is worshipped in the tent or hut with an offering of a black cock and some spirits. The Devi of Bindhachal also receives the sacrifice of a goat. The only festival which they observe is the Kajari, when they sing, drink, and practise a good deal of rude licentiousness. They have the usual fear of ghosts and demons. When a child suffers from the Evil Eye, they get a handful of dust from an exorcisor, and wave it over the child's head. They drink spirits, eat beef, goat's flesh, mutton, fowls, camels, venison, etc. They abstain from pork. They will not eat from the hands of a Dom, Dhobi, Musahar, Kol, or similar low castes, and no one will eat their food.

The Mahawat has all the appearance of a degraded outcaste. He wears dirty clothes and a filthy rag as a turban, keeps his hair long and unkempt, and has round his neck strings of coral beads or gaumri seeds. In his ears he wears iron rings. The women wear a petticoat (lahnga) sheet (sari), with strings of beads round their necks, bracelets, and thick anklets. The men carry in a wallet rude lances (nashtar), a cupping horn (singhi), and some hollow bamboo pipes, with which he extracts by suction the matter out of abscesses and sore ears. It need hardly be said that he is quite ignorant of cleanness and antiseptics, and his instruments must be responsible for much horrible infection. He takes the "worm" out of carious teeth, bleeds and lances abscesses, and cleans the wax out of ears, in which department of his business he is known as Kanmailiya (Kan "car," mailiya, "filth"), Khutkarha or Khuntkarha, "the man of the spike" (khunta) or Singhiwala. He wanders about the villages calling out Baid ! Baid ! "Who wants a doctor?" He is altogether rather a loathsome vagrant. Some of them are skilled fishermen and trap hares.

The Badi Nats.

The Badi sub-caste of Nats are said to take their name from the Sanskrit radya, "musical instruments." They are also known as Paras Badi (paras, "the philosopher's stone") and Tumriwala Madari (Tumri, "a hollow gourd"). In Mirzapur they specially beg among the Manjhis. They profess to have seven exogamous sections. These, when compared with those of the Manjhi-Majhwars, are, in many cases, identical, and they explain that like the Pataris they were priests of the Majhwars. It will be seen that the Pataris also follow the section organization of the Majhwars, and there must apparently have been some ancient connection between the tribes.

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As might have been expected, the explanation given of these section names is in some respect different from that of either the Manjhis or Pataris, but there seems little doubt that they are in the main of totemistic origin. The names of the sections, as given by the Mirzapur Badis, are Jaghat, which they say is a kind of snake: Ure, which they say means "a pig"; Marai, "a kind of tree;" Neta, which they say means "the mucus of the nose," in which form they came out of the nose of their first ancestor. The Neshtri was one of the Vedic priests, and the name may represent their ancient office, but is more probably some totem which has now been forgotten. The next section is Netam, which is found among the Majhwars. Of its meaning the Badis can give no explanation. Jhinjhariya is said by them to mean "a kind of bamboo." Next comes the Oika section. This is also found among the Majhwars. The Badis have an absurd story that a Badi woman had a son by a Muhammadan, and after they had admitted him to tribal rights, they called him Oika "What? Who?" because they could not admit him to any regular section. Their account of themselves is that they came from Garh Mandla, in the Central Provinces, with the Majhwars, and there is nothing in their appearance and manners which makes it improbable that they may really be of Gond descent, and may have been beggar priests who accompanied the Majhwars when they emigrated along the hills towards the East. The legend of their connection with the Majhwars they tell in this way: Mahadeva Baba once created four men. To one he gave the musical instrument known as nagdaman or "snake pipe," with which serpents are expelled, and his own drum, the damaru, whereby they might earn their living by playing and begging; to the second, he gave the musical instrument known as the kikari, by playing which he might support himself; to the third, he gave a loom, and he became a Panka; to the fourth, he gave the means of smelting iron, and he became an Agariya. This legend thus brings the Badis into contact with the Agariyas and Pankas who are certainly of Dravidian origin. The first man, according to the story, came to the Majhwars, who fed him and appointed him to be the receiver of their alms. These sections are divided into three groups, of whom the Jaghat, Marai, and Jinjhariya intermarry; so do the Ure and Neti, and, lastly, the Netam and the Oika. They have a tribal council under a hereditary chairman (mahto), who offend against caste rules. The fine ranges, according to the means of the offenders, from one and quarter to twenty rupees. If he fails to pay the fine, he is excommunicated for twelve years. The intermarriage of first-cousins is allowed, and they marry by preference their cousins on the mother's side. Widow marriage and the levirate are allowed. There is no ceremony in widow marriage, except that the Mahto admonishes them in the presence of the brethren to behave well to each other. In the marriage ceremony there is nothing peculiar, except that the father or mother of the bride washes the feet of the bridegroom, a rite which is known as nah chhorwa. When the bridegroom goes to fetch his bride, he carries a bow and arrows, and most part of the rite is done at the house of the bridegroom, possibly a survival of marriage by capture. The Badis of Mirzapur cremate their dead, unless they are unmarried, in which case they are buried. The ritual is practically the same as that in force among the Majhwars. The religion of the Badis is largely made up of ancestor worship. They offer to them, at the Holi, goats, cakes, and sweetmeats, as a propitiation. They say that formerly the Pataris officiated as their priests, but now do so no longer. They accept no services from Brahmans. Their chief objects of worship, except their deceased ancestors, are Jualamukhi, Burhi Mata "the old mother" and Masan, the deity of the cremation ground. Jualamukhi and Burhi Mata are worshipped on the seventh day of Sawan. Jualamukhi receives a she-goat and cakes; Burhi Mata, a libation of milk and treacle mixed together. This worship is performed in the court-yard of the house. They worship Masan at any time when trouble overtakes the household. At the last Census 1,929 persons recorded themselves as worshippers of Masan. They also regard their snake pipe (nagaaman) as a fetish. A piece of ground is plastered, the instrument laid within it, and a white cock is sacrificed. Some spirits is also poured on the ground. Mari is worshipped when cholera appears in the village. She receives the sacrifice of a hog and a libation of spirits. When snakes appear in considerable numbers, they lay milk and parehed rice at their holes.

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They observe only three festivals, the Sawani, when they worship Jualamukhi and Burhi Mata; the ninth (naumi) of Chait, when there is a worship of Burhi Mata, and the Holi, when they worship the sainted dead. They particularly respect the cotton tree (semal)which is the abode of Bhuts. They swear on the head of their sons or by holding a pig's tail at the shrine of their deity. They have a special detestation for the Dom. They will not eat beef, but the use all the animals, birds, and fish which are eaten by the Majhwars and similar Dravidian races. They will not eat meat while the funeral rites of a member of the sub-caste are being performed. Wine is the only intoxicant they habitually use. They salute one another by the paelagi form, and seniors give a blessing to their juniors. Only Korwas and Doms will eat from their hands. They will eat Kachhi cooked by Ahirs and Majhwars. The women wear a sheet (sari) nose-rings, ear ornaments (tarki) and arm ornaments, known as lahsaniya churla and heavy anklets (pairi). The Badi is a loafing beggar, who wanders about among the Majhwars and begs alms, playing on the nagdaman pipe, the drum (damaru) and the cymbals (jhanjh). The special business of the women is tattooing girls, and when marching through villages you will often hear a girl shrieking, and, on enquiring the cause you will find her tied down on a bed, while her friends sing to encourage her to bear the pain, and a Badi woman operates on her arms, breasts or legs, with two or three English needles tied together with thread. The punctures are rubbed with a mixture of lampblack and milk. The best lampblack is produced from the smoke of the wood of the salai tree.

The Malar Nats.

This sub-caste is said to take its name from the Sanskrit, mallaka-kara, "the maker of a cocoanut-oil vessel." those in Mirzapur refer their origin to Lohardaga in Chota Nagpur, and say that they were originally Sunars. They even now procure Brahmans and barbers from that part of the country whence they say they emigrated some two generations ago. They have their own tribal council known as Kutumb bhai or "the family of the brethern," with a president (mahto). Offences against caste discipline are punished by fines usually amounting to twelve or thirteen rupees. This is spent in food and drink for members. The prohibited degrees are first-cousins on both sides. The usual age for marriage is twelve, or when the pair attain puberty. Marriages are arranged by the friends on both sides, but runaway matches appear not to be uncommon. The price of the bride is fixed by tribal custom at sixteen rupees. Polygamy is allowed, and the only privilege of the senior wife is that she alone is allowed to perform the worship of the family gods. Infidelity in women is forgiven on a fine being paid to the council. The council has the power of ordering divorce and a divorced woman can be remarried in the caste by the sagai form, after she provides a dinner for the brethren. Widow marriage and the levirate are permitted under the usual conditions. Their domestic ceremonies are much the same as those of the Majhwars, among whom they live. They are Hindus by religion and their tribal deities are Kali, Burhi Mai and Bhairon. They worship Kali at the Nauratra of Chait in the house chapel (deoghar) with an offering of a goat, and cakes, milk, and wine. Bhairon receives the same offering, but to him a blood offering is very seldom made. The women have no gods peculiar to themselves. They fast on Sundays and offer to the sun godling, Suraj Narayan, rice boiled with milk in a new earthen pot. They bow to him as he rises in the morning. They also bow to the new moon, but have no special form of worship. They occasionally consult a Sakadwipi Brahman, but the real tribal priest is the Mahto or headman. He acts for them at marriages and deaths. Most houses have a chapel (deoghar) with a mound of earth, on which are rude representatives of the tribal gods. They swear on the feet of Brahmans, on a leaf of the pipal tree or tutasi leaf, by holding a cow's tail or a piece of copper. They worship Hariyari Devi. Before they eat, they offer a little food to Devi. No one but a Dom will eat food cooked by them, and they will eat and drink from the hands of Kharwars and Majhwars. Their chief occupation is making brass or pewter rings, boxes to hold the lime used in chewing betel (chunauti), and various ornaments used by women.

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From Etah it is reported that among the Gual Nats, when a child is born, the clansmen are invited to be present at the naming rite. Food is distributed, but the attendance of a Brahman is unnecessary. Among the Kalabaz Nats, a Brahman is sent for on the tenth day after birth, and he names the child, receiving in return a ration of uncooked grain (sidha). There is a class of Nats known as Tasmabaz, who are so called because they practise one of the numerous games played by thimble-riggers in England, which was taught to them in 1802 by a British soldier. [1] The game is played thus: a strap is doubled and folded up in different shapes. The art is to put the stick in such a place that the strap (tasma), whence they derive their name, when unfolded, comes out double. They have an argot of their own of which the following are examples: When they are sitting on the roadside and see a yokel coming, they say Dhurayi: Tarade means, "to begin to play;" Asrade, "give back the money to this fellow or he will make a row;" Hakeri, "a European;" banriwala "a policeman;" Hanswala, "mounted officer;" Thou, "an official;" Beli means "one of the gang informing." In one of the earliest accounts to the Bazigar Nats, Captain Richardson [2] gives some specimens of their patois, most of which consist of mere inversions of syllables. Thus, Kag (ag), "fire;" nans (bans), "bamboo;" koad (yad), "remembrance;" komar (umr) "age;" nalash (talash), "search;" Kindustan (Hindustan), "India;" nagir (faqir) "beggar;" and so on. The Bajaniya Nats of Mirzapur call mother ja; son, dikaro; wife, biari; brother-in-law, banhewi; father-in-law, haro; mother-in-law, hau; elder brother's wife, bhadai; father's sister, phoi. Their numerals are: one ek, two baidna, three tana, four syarna, five pan, six sad, sever hat, eight dth, nine nau, the dahad.

Nat.: -Badi, Dang-Charha, Karnati, Bazigar, Sapera.[3]- The Nat (Sanskrit Nata- a dancer) appears to be applied indefinitely to a number of groups of vagrant acrobats and showmen, especially those who make it their business to do feats on the tight-rope or with poles, and those who train and exhibit snakes. Badi and Bazigar mean a rope-walker, Dang-Charha a rope-climber, and Sapera a snake-charmer. In the Central Provinces the Garudis or snake-charmers, and the Kolhatis, a class of gypsy acrobats akin to the Berias, are also known as Nat, and these are treated in separate articles. It is almost certain that a considerable section, if not the majority, of the Nats really belong to the Kanjar or Beria gypsy castes, who themselves may be aprung from the Doms.[4] Sir D. Ibbetson says: "They wander about with their families, settling for a few days or weeks at a time in the vicinity of large villages or towns, and constructing temporary shelters of grass. In addition to practising acrobatic feats and conjuring of a low class, they make articles of grass, straw and reeds for sale; and in the centre of the Punjab are said to act as Mirasis, though this is perhaps doubtful. They often practise surgery and physic in a small way and are not free from suspicion of sorcery"[5] This account would just as well apply to the Kanjar gipsies, and the Nat women sometimes do tattooing like Kanjar or Beria women. In Jubbulpore also the caste is known as Nat Beria, indicating that the Nats there are probably derived from the Beria caste. Similarly Sir H. Risley gives Bazigar and Kabutari as groups of the Berias of Bengal, and states that these are closely akin to the Nats and Kanjars of Hindustan. [6] An old account of the Nats or Bazigars [7] would equally well apply to the Kanjars; and in Mr. Crooke's detailed article on the Nats several connecting links are noticed.

[1] Selection, Records of Government, North-Western Provinces, 1, 312, sq.

[2] Asiatic Researches, VII, 451 sq.

[3] See Russell. This article is partly compiled from notes furnished by Mr. Aduram Chaudhri and Mr. Jagannath Prasad, Naib-Tahsildars.

[4] See art. Kanjar.

[5] Punjab Census Report ( 1881 ),

[6]Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. Beria.

[7] Asiatic Researches, VOL. VII., 1803, Nats. by Captain Richardson.

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The Nat woman are sometimes known as Kabutari or pigeon, either because their acrobatic feats are like the flight of the tumbler pigeon, or on account of the flirting manner with which they attract their male customers. [1]

In the Central Provinces the women of the small Gopal caste of acrobats are called Kabutari, and this further supports the hypothesis that Nat is rather an occupational term than the name of a distinct caste, though it is quite likely that there may be Nats who have no other caste. The Badi or rope-dancer group again is an offshoot of the Gond tribe, at least in the tracts adjoining the Central Provinces. They have Gond septs as Marai, Netam, Wika, [2] and they have the damru or drum used by the Gaurias or snake-charmers and jugglers of Chhattisgarh, who are also derived from the Gonds. The Chhattisgarhi Dang-Charhas are Gonds who say they formerly Belonged to Panna State and were supported by Raja Aman Singh of Panna, a great patron of their art. They sing a song lamenting his death in the flower of his youth. The Karnatis or Karnataks are a class of Nats who are supposed to have come from the Carnatic. Mr. Crooke notes that they will eat the leavings of all high castes, and are hence known as Khushhaliya or 'those in prosperous circumstances.' [3]

Muhammadan Nats.

One division of the Nats are Muhammadans and seem to be to some extent a distinctive group. They have seven gotras- Chicharia, Damaria, Dhalbalki, Purbia, Dhondabalki, Karimki and Kalasia. They worship two Birs or spirits, Halaila Bir and Sheikh Saddu, to whom they sacrifice fowls in the months of Bhadon (August) and Baisakh (April). Hindus of any caste are freely admitted into their community, and they can marry Hindu girls.

Social Customs Of The Nats.

Their Low Status. Generally the customs of the Nats show them to be the dregs of the population. There is no offence which entails permanent expulsion from caste. They will eat any kind of food including snakes, crocodiles and rats, and also take food from the hands of any caste, even, it is said, from sweepers. It is not reported that they prostitute their women, but there is little doubt that this is the case in the Punjab. [4] When a Nat woman marries, the first child is either given to the grandmother as compensation for loss of the mother's gains as a prostitute, or is redeemed by a payment of Rs. 30. Among the Chhattisgarhi Dang-Charhas a bride-price of Rs. 40 is paid, of which the girl's father only keeps ten, and the remaining sum of Rs. 30 is expended on a feast to the caste. Some of the Nats have taken to cultivation and become much more respectable, eschewing the flesh of unclean animals. Another group of the caste keeps trained dogs and hunts the wild pig with spears like the Kolhatis of Berar. The villagers readily pay for their services in order to get the pig destroyed, and they sell the flesh to the Bonds and lower castes of Hindus. Others hunt jackals with dogs in the same manner. They eat the flesh of the jackals and dispose of any surplus to the Gonds, who also eat it. The Nats worship Devi and also Hanuman, the monkey god, on account of the acrobatic powers of monkeys. But in Bombay they say that their favourite and only living gods are their bread-winners and averters of hunger, the drum, the rope and the balancing-pole. [5]

Acrobatic Performances.

The tight-rope is stretched between two pairs of bamboos, each pair being fixed obliquely in the ground and crossing each other at the top so as to form a socket over which the rope passes. The ends of the rope are taken over the crossed bamboos and firmly secured to the ground by heavy pegs. The performer takes another balancing-pole in his hands and walks along the rope between the poles which are about 12 feet high. Another man beats a drum, and a third stands under the rope singing the performer's praises and giving him encouragement.

[1] Tribes and Castes, art. Nat

[2] Crooke, l. C., art. Nat.

[3] Ibidem.

[4] Ibbetson, Punjab Census Report ( 1886 ), para. 588.

[5] Bombay Gazetteer. VOL. XX. P.186, quoted in Mr. Crooke's article.

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After this the performer ties two sets of cow or buffalo horns to his feet, which are secured to the back of the skulls so that the flat front between the horns rests on the rope, and with these he walks over the rope, holding the balancing-rod in his hands and descends again. Finally he takes a brass plate and a cloth and again ascends the rope. He places the plate on the rope and folds the cloth over it to make a pad. He then stands on his head on the pad with his feet in the air and holds the balancing-rod in his hands; two strings are tied to the end of this rod and the other ends of the strings are held by the man underneath. With the assistance of the balancing-rod the performer then jerks the plate along the rope with his head, his feet being in the are air, until he arrives at the end and finally descends again. This usually concludes the performance, which demands a high degree of skill. Women occasionally, though rarely, do the same feats. Another class of Nats walk on high stilts and the women show their confidence by dancing and singing under them. A saying about the Nats is: Nat ka bachcha to kalabazi hi karega; or 'The rope-dancer's son is always turning somersaults.' [1]

Sliding Or Walking On Ropes As A Charm For The Crops.

The feats of the Nats as tight-rope walkers used apparently to make a considerable impression on the minds of the people, as it is not uncommon to find a deified Nat. A Nat womsn is also sometimes worshipped, and where two sharp peaks of hills are situated close to each other, it is related that in former times there was a Natni, very skillful on the tight-rope, who performed before the king; and he promised her that if she would stretch a rope from the peak of one hill to that of the other and walk across it he would marry her and make her wealthy. Accordingly the rope was stretched, but the queen from jealousy went and cut it half through in the night, and when the Natni started to walk the rope broke and she fell down and was killed. She was therefore deified and worshipped. It is probable that this legend recalls some rite in which the Nat was employed to walk on a tight-rope for the benefit of the crops, and, if he failed, was killed as a sacrifice; for the following passage taken from Traill's account of Kumaon [2] seems clearly to refer to some such rite: "Drought, want of fertility in the soil, murrain in cattle, and other calamities incident to husbandry are here invariably ascribed to the wrath of particular gods, to appease which recourse is had to various ceremonies. In the Kumaon District offerings and singing and dancing are resorted to on such occasions. In Garhwal the measures pursued with the same view are of a peculiar nature, deserving of more particular notice. In villages dedicated to the protection of Mahadeva propitiatory festivals are held in his honour. At these Badis or rope-dancers are engaged to perform on the tight-rope, and slide down an inclined rope stretched from the summit of a cliff to the valley beneath and made fast to posts driven into the ground. The Badi sits astride on a wooden saddle, to which he is tied by thongs; the saddle is similarly secured to the bast or sliding cable, along which it runs, by means of a deep groove; sandbags are tied to the Badi's feet sufficient to secure his balance, and he is then, after various ceremonies and the sacrifice of a kid, started off; the velocity of his descent is very great, and the saddle, however well greased, emits a volume of smoke throughout the greater part of his progress. The length and inclination of the bast necessarily vary with the nature of the cliff, but as the Badi is remunerated at the rate of a rupee for every hundred cubits, hence termed a tola, a correct measurement always takes place; the longest bast which has fallen within my observation has been twenty-one tolas. or 2100 cubits in length. From the precautions taken as above mentioned the only danger to be apprehended by the Badi is from breaking of the rope, to provide against which the latter, commonly from one and a half to two inches in diameter, is made wholly by his own hand; the material used is the bhabar grass. Formerly, if a Badi fell to the ground in his course, he was immediately despatched with a sword by the surrounding spectators, but this practice is now, of course, prohibited. No fatal accident has occurred from the performance of this ceremony since 1815, though it is probably celebrated at not less than fifty villages in each year.

1 Temple and Fallon's Hindustani Proverbs, ;. 171. VOL. IV

2 As. Res. VOL. XVI., 1828, p. 213

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After the completion of the sliding, the bast or rope is cut up and distributed among the inhabitants of the village, who hang the pieces as charms on the eaves of their house. The hair of the Badi is also taken and preserved as possessing similar virtues. He being thus made the organ to obtain fertility for the lands of others, The Badi is supposed to entail sterility on his own; and it is firmly believed that no grain sown with his hand can ever vegetate. Each District has its hereditary Badi, who is supported by annual contributions of grain from the inhabitants." It is not improbable that the performance of the Nat is a reminiscence of a period when human victims were sacrificed for the crops, this being a common practice among primitive peoples, as shown by Sir J. G. Frazer in Attis, Adonis Osiris. Similarly the spirits of Nats which are revered in the Central Provinces may really be those of victims killed during the performance of some charm for the good of the crops, akin to that still prevalent in the Himalayas. The custom of making the Nat slide down a rope is of the same character as that of swinging a man in the air by a hook secured in his flesh, which was formerly common in these Provinces. But in both cases the meaning of the rite is obscure.

Snake-Charmers.

The groups who practise snake-charming are known as Sapera or Garudi and in the Maratha Districts as Madari. Another name for them is Nag-Nathi, or one who seizes a cobra. They keep cobras, pythons, scorpions, and the iguana or large lizard, which they consider to be poisonous. Some of them when engaged with their snakes wear two pieces of tiger-skin on their back and chest, and a cap of tiger-skin in which they fix the eyes of various birds. They have a hollow gourd on which they produce a kind of music and this is supposed to charm the snakes. When catching a cobra they pin its head to the ground with a stick and then seize it in a cleft bamboo and prick out the poison-fangs with a large needle. They think that the teeth of the iguana are also poisonous and they knock them out with a stick, and if fresh teeth afterwards grow they believe them not to contain poison, The python is called Ajgar, which is said to mean eater of goats. In captivity the pythons will not eat of themselves, and the snake-charmers chop up pieces of meat and fowls and placing the food in the reptile's mouth massage it down the body. They feed the pythons only once in four or five days. They have antidotes for snake-bite, the root of a creeper called kalipar and the bark of the karheya tree. When a patient is brought to them they give him a little pepper, and if he tastes the pungent flavour they think that he has not been affected by snake-poison but if it seems tasteless that he has been bitten. Then they give him small pieces of the two antidotes already mentioned with tobacco and 2,5 leaves of the nim tree [1] which is sacred to Devi.

On the festival of Nag-Panchmi (Cobra's Fifth) they worship their cobras and give them milk to drink and then take them round the town or village and the people also worship and feed the snakes and give a present of a few annas to the Sapera. In towns much frequented by cobras, a special adoration is paid to them. Thus in Hatta in the Damoh District a stone image of a snake, known as Nag-Baba or Father Cobra is worshipped for a month before the festival of Nag-Panchmi. During this period one man from every house in the village must go to Nag-Baba's shrine outside and take food there and come back. And on Nag-Panchmi the whole town goes out in a body to pay him reverence, and it is thought that if anyone is absent the cobras will harass him for the whole year. But others say that cobras will only bite men of low caste.

The Saperas will not kill a snake as a rule, but occasionally it is said that they kill one and cut off the head and eat the body, this being possibly an instance of eating the divine animal at a sacrificial meal. The following is an old account of the performances of snake-charmers in Bengal: [2]

[1] Melia indica.

[2] Bengali Festivals and Holidays, by the Rev. Bihari Lal De, Calcutta Review, VOL. V. pp. 59, 60.

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"Hence, on many occasions throughout the year, the dread Manasa Devi, the queen of sankes, is propitiated by presents, vows and religious rites. In the month of Shrabana the worship of the snake goddess is celebrated with great eclat.

An image of the goddess, seated on a water-lily, encircled with serpents, or a branch of the snake-tree (a species of Euphorbia), or a pot of water, with images of serpents make of clay, forms the object of worship, Men, women and children, all offer presents to avert from themselves the wrath of the terrific deity. Temporary scaffolds of bamboo work are set up in the presence of the goddess. Vessels filled with all sorts of snakes are brought in. The Mals, often reeling with intoxication, mount the scaffolds, take out serpents from the vessels, and allow them to bite their arms. Bite after bite succeeds; the arms run with blood, and the Mals go on with their pranks, amid the deafening plaudits of the spectators. Now and then they fall off from the scaffold and pretend to feel the effects of poison, and cure themselves by their incantations. But all is mere pretence. The serpents displayed on the occasion and challenged to do their worst, have passed through a preparatory state. Their fangs have been carefully extracted from their jaws. But most of the vulgar spectators easily persuade themselves to believe that the Mals are the chosen servants of Siva and the favourites of Manasa. Although their supernatural pretensions are ridiculous, yet it must be confessed that the Mals have made snakes the subject of their qualities, their dispositions, and their habits. They will run down a snake into its hole. and bring it out thence by controlling influence of a Mal. When in the act of bringing out snakes from their subterranean holes, the Mals are in the habit of muttering charms, in which the names of Manasa and Mahadeva frequently occur; superstition alone can clothe these meaningless words with supernatural potency. But it is not inconsistent with the soundest philosophy to suppose that there may be some plants whose roots are disagreeable to serpents, and from which they instinctively turn away. All snake-catchers of Bengal are provided with a bundle of the foots of some plant which they carefully carry along with them, when they set out on their serpent-hunting expeditions. When a serpent, disturbed in its hole, comes out furiously hissing with rage, with its body coiled, and its head lifted up, the Mal has only to present before it the bundle of roots above alluded to, at the sight of which it becomes spiritless as an eel. This we have ourselves witnessed more than once." These Mals appear to have been members of the aboriginal Male or Male Paharia tribe or Bengal.

Natí.: -The Nats are dancers, acrobats and prostitutes and they are found scattered over a wide area [1] . Their total number as returned at the Census of 1911 was 126,428, distributed as follows:

Assam 5,143

Bengal 9,979

Bihar and Orissa 5,651

Central Provinces and Berar 11,385

United Provinces 68,376

Central India Agency 10,090

Rajputana Agency 8,447

Elsewhere 7,357

----------

Total 126,428

Name The name Nat is a Prakrit-Sanskrit word and means 'dancer,' or 'actor.' It does not connote any definite tribe but comprises many different clans, who are only linked together by their common occupation.

[1] Linguistic Survey of India.

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Numerous names of sub-tribes have been returned from the various districts. Thus we find Baisiyâs and Banjârâs in Mainpuri, Bériyâs in Etawah, Brijbâsís, who state that they come from Braj, in Bahraich, Pahârí Bhâbars in Rampur, Pastos, Tasmabâz, and so forth. This simply means that any tribe may be represented among the people acting as Nats.

Language.

In such circumstances we cannot expect to find a separate language spoken by the Nats. In the information collected for the purposes of this Survey there figures a Nat language, returned under the name of nato-kí-bólí, with or without specifying additions such as Brijbâsí, Pastó, etc. The figures are as follows:

Bengal

Bhagalpur 4,584

------

Total 1 4,584

United Provinces

Aligarh 250

Mainpuri 2,000

Etawah 400

Bijnor 1,000

Rampur 300

Kheri 2,500

Bahraich 500

---------

Total 2 6,950

Grand Total (1+2) = 11,534

Nat Argot.

The various clans classed together under the head of Nats speak the dialect of their neighbours. Like many other wandering tribes, however, they have a professional argot, made up by disguising ordinary words in the same way as in Criminal Sêsí. This argot has nothing to do with grammar. The underlying dialect is either the ordinary vernacular or a mixture of forms derived from different dialects, such as we might reasonably expect in the mouth of travelling professionals who roam over a wide area and who are recruited from more than one tribe or clan. The dialect of the Nats of the United Provinces contains and unmistakable admixture of Râjasthâní. Thus we find forms such as batr¡â, sons; batrâ-né, by the son, in addition to the regular batré-né, by the son; gayó, went; and lilpâ, went, in Mainpuri, and so forth. What is meant under the denominations Natí and Nâto kí bólí is not a definite but the professional argot of the Nats.

As in the case of Sêsí the argot of the Nats contains several peculiar words such as bórâ, boy; bînâ, chhai , water; chhumkar, day; chilapnâ, go; dímnâ, dîtnâ, eat; gém, gaim, thief; kâjâ, cultivator, squire; khollâ, house; khum, mouth; lugnâ, die; lód, nêd, bull; nâl, night; tiyârgâ, that (person or thing) concerned; tognâ, drink; tundâ, pig and so forth. Most of such words are known from other argots and dialects such as Sêsí and cannot yet be explained etymologically. The great majority of Natí slang words, however, have been taken from the common Aryan vocabulary of Northern India. To prevent outsiders from understanding them, they are then disguised in the same way as in the argot of the Sêsís and others. One and the same word can be made unrecognizable in several ways and accordingly assume many different forms.

I have not noted any certain instances of mere transposition. Compare, however, khum, mouth (Bijnor); chîbkâ =bachchâ, young (Mainpuri). The prefixing of a consonant, which then often supersedes an old initial, on the other hand, is very common.

A k is prefixed in forms such as kót, eighth (Rampur); kódmí, man; and substituted for and initial b in kêt, share (Mainpuri). Kh is much more common.

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Compare khi-mâlai, property; khimérâ, my; khandar, inside; khakâl, famine; khótâ, small; khin, day; khétai, belly; khainâí, having put on; khâd, after; khujhé, me (all from Mainpuri); khachchí, water; khunaddí, river; khapâní, water; khabdâ, big one, Sir; khabhédiâ, wolf (all from Bijnor); khanét, belly (Rampur), and so forth.

Ch is substituted for an old labial in words such as chakar, seize, hindóstâní pakar; khacholté, speaking, cf. Hindóstâní bólnâ, in the Bijnor specimens. Chh is similarly used in words such as chhîkal, hungering; chhulk =mulk, country (Mainpuri); chhód =bahut, much (Rampur), etc. The soft palatals are also used as substitutes for lahiâls in jatîp =bêtâ, share; jarâ =barâ, big (Rampur); jhurâ = burâ, evil; jhai££yâ = bhaiyâ, brother (Mainpuri), but also in cases such as jhék, one; jhakâl, famine (Bhagalpur).

Of dental substitutes we may note thâmné =sâmné, before (Rampur), and the frequent use of n, nh, thus, nét =khét, field; nâttí = chhâtí, breast; nautâj =mohtâj, wanting; namâ =samâ, together (Mainpuri), níchhe =píchhé, after; nanméswar = parméswar, God; nâth =sât, seven; nî =tî, thou; né = thé, were; nhé = chhé, six (Rampur), and so forth.

Of labials we may note, ph in phér, three (Rampur), b in forms such as bég, one; bithé, to him (Mainpuri); bór = aur, and; bîkí, watchman (Rampur); and m in words such as mahâ = kahâ, said; myo§ = kyu§§ ? mâhtâ = châhtâ, wishing; miâr = pyâr, love; mât = bâd, after, and so forth in the Mainpuri specimens. The form marluk, dead, is probably of another kind, the base mar being prefixed to the base lug, to die. In some of the Mainpuri specimens the old initial which has been replaced by m is subsequently added at the end of the word; thus, métkhé = khét, field; musikhé = khusí, merry; mótêchhé-né = chhóté-né, by the younger one; métébé = bété, sons; mâpbé = bâp, father; mérâté = térâ, thy; muarsé = sîar, swine, and so forth.

Of other substitutes we may note l in lilpâ = chalâ, went; lalchâlí = badchâlí, bad conduct (Mainpuri); r in rân = kân, ear; rahat = khét, field (Rampur); rótka = chhótâ, small; rabthó = sab, all (Bhagalpur), and so on. R is also used instead of g in the List of Words and Sentences from Rampur printed below on pp. 180 ff., in the word tiyârgí râé, cow, where râé corresponds to Hindóstâní gâe, while tiyârgí is a pronoun meaning 'that thing just mentioned.' As in the case of other argots we also find words disguised by means of additions at the end. Note forms such as khétaí =pét, belly; khimâlai = mâl, property (Mainpuri); labê = lab, direction (Bijnor), and several consonantal additions. Such are, k and g in forms such as kaugâ and kókâ, said; gaugâ, went; raugâ, stayed; paugâ, got (Mainpuri); ch and j in hóchâ, was (Rampur); kujâ, make (Bijnor); cerebrals in forms such as lagâdnâ, to apply (Bijnor); lugârnâ, to beat (Rampur); puchhwâró, asked (Mainpuri); t in forms such as khabâptâ, father (Etawah); p in verbs such as deppó, give; lilpâ, went; ligpâí, applying; karpâ, made (Mainpuri), and so on. Note also dhîr = dó, two; bâpsâ-ké, of the father (Rampur), kîlnâ to do, and the curious forms jâlurnâ, go; âlurnâ, come (Mainpuri); âlré, came (Rampur); jâsurtâ, going (Rampur); âsrâ, came (Bijnor), and so forth.

It will be seen from the figures given above that most speakers of Natí in the United Provinces have been returned from the western part of the Province, from Etawah in the south to Bijnor in the north. We are comparatively best informed about the state of affairs in Mainpuri. There are several tribes in the district who made use of the Nat slang, such as the Baisiyâs, the Banjârâs, the Habîras, the Kanjars and the Kalabâz. The base is apparently everywhere the current Hindóstâní dialect with a tissue of Râjasthâhí. This element has not been organically mixed up with the underlying Hindóstâní, but Râjasthâní forms are occasionally used side by side with the ordinary ones. Thus we find instances of the nominative in ó, the oblique base in â and the plural in â of strong masculine bases; compare rajéttó chíndâ hoichchó, there was a rich man, but commonly forms such as jharâ batrâ hoichciâ, the big son was (in the fields); batrâ-né and batré-né, by the son; dhór batrâ hoichché, there were two sons, and so forth.

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Nikkalavandhu.: -The Vagiri are called Nikkalavandhu by Telegus. See Vagiri.

Nunia.: -Noniyan, a Dravidian caste of Behar and Upper [1] India engaged in cultivation,, saltpetre-making, and various kinds of earthwork. The caste seem to have no traditions except a silly story that the Awadhia are descended from an ascetic named Bidur Bhakat, who broke his fast early, and being thereby disqualified for the higher life of mediation, was condemned by Ram Chandra to betake himself to the manufacture of saltpetre. This throws small light on the origin of the Nunias. It seems, however, to be generally believed that they are closely connected with the Binds and the Beldars, and I venture the conjecture that the Binds may be the modern representatives of an aboriginal tribe from which the Nunias have branched off as saltpetre-makers and the Beldars as earth-workers. All three groups are now endogamous. The hunting and fishing proclivities of the Binds seem to suggest that they are the oldest of the three, while the totemistic sections of the Nunias stamp them as Dravidian. The Beldars are probably a more recent offshoot, but the fact that the name Beldar (mattock-bearer) is assumed by members of any caste when employed on earthwork renders it difficult to determine their precise affinities. The Nunias of Behar are divided into seven sub-castes.

Internal Structure.

Awadhia or Ayodhiabasi, Bhojpuria, Kharaont, Maghaya, Orh, Pachainya or Chauhan, and Semarwar. Their sections appear to be for the most part totemistic. A man may not marry a woman belonging to his own section, but no other sections are barred to him; and the rule of simple exogamy is supplemented by the standard formula mamera, chachera, etc., already quoted. It deserves notice that intermarriage in the chachera line is forbidden as long as any relationship can be traced, while in the other three lines the prohibition only extends to three or, as some say, to five generations. All Nunias who can afford to do so marry their daughters as infants, adult-marriages being considered unfashionable, if not disreputable. Polygamy is permitted, but it is unusual to find a man with more than two wives; and I gather, although there is no distinct rule on the subject, that practice is held to be justified only by the necessity of procuring offspring. Widows are allowed to marry again by the sagai form, and are subject to no restrictious in their choice if a second husband except those arising from consanguinity. It is considered, however, right for a widow to marry her deceased husband's younger brother. Divorce is effected on grounds of adultery or incompatibility of temper by the order of the caste council (panchayat). A divorced woman may marry again by the sagai form unless she has gone wrong with a man of another caste--an offence which entails summary expulsion.

Marriage. Tirhutia Brahmans serve the Nunias as priests, and officiate at their marriages. The marriage ceremony is of the standard type. The bridegroom-price (tilak) is fixed by custom at a sum varying from Re. 1 to Rs. 5 and a pair of dhotis. After the marriage the bride does not go to her husband's house, but stays with her parents until she attains puberty, when her husband goes to fetch her with a few of his friends and brings her home in procession (dira gawau). Consummation is not effected until after this ceremony. Awadhiya Nunias nave a curious custom called asmaui shadi, which requires that the bride and bridegroom shall be held off the ground during the marriage ceremony.

[1] See Risley.

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Religion.

In matters of religion the Nunias follow the ordinary forms of Hinduism current in Behar. Most of them are Saktas, and there are said to be comparatively few Vaishnavas in the caste. Bhagavatiji is their favourite goddess. Bandi, Goraiya, and Sitala are worshipped on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. There are no deities specially worshipped by women and children, but women take part in the worship of Sitala. Sannyasi fakirs are the gurus of the caste. The dead are burned, and sraddh performed on the thirteenth day after death. The ashes are thrown into any river that may be handy. The bodies of children dying under five years of age are buried a point wherein Nunias depart from the usual custom, which is to bury after eighteen months.

Occupation

The caste believe the extraction of salt and saltpetre from saline earth to be their original occupation, and it is possible, as has been suggested above, that they may have broken off from the Binds by reason of their adopting this profession. At the present day we find them also employed in road-making, tauk-digging, well sinking, building and thatching houses, and all kinds of agricultural field labour. Many of them also hold lands of their own, and a few have gained a more secure position as occupancy raiyats. Nunias who have no land often wander about during the dry season in search of work, and build small grass huts for temporary shelter. None of them are artisans. In Bengal, according to Dr, Wise, Nunias readily obtain service with Goalas or other clean Sudras, but refuse to work as labourers or domestic servants with low-caste families. The social standing of Nunias seems to vary in different parts, and does not admit a very precise definition. In Patna, Mozufferpur, and parts of Monghyr they rank with Kurmis, Koiris, Kumhars, etc., and Brahmans will take water and certain kinds of sweetmeats from their hands. In Bhagalpur, Purniah, Champarun, Shahabad, and Gya they are placed on the same level as Tantis, and none of the higher castes will take water from them. In addition to the various kinds of food that are lawful for Hindus of the middle class, Nunias eat field-rats and pork, and drink fermented and spirituous liquors. It is significant of the Nunias' point of view in such matters that they think little of Bhakats, who practise small forms of asceticism by abstaining from certain kinds of food and drink; and I am informed that very few Bhakats are found among them.

Nuniyas.: -See Luniyas and Nunia,

Od.: -They wander around with their families searching for any kind of employment, but they are specially engaged in road and railway construction work.

ÓdkÏ.: -The Óds are a wandering tribe who are found all over India [1] . In Kathiawar they are pond diggers; in the Panjab they take small contracts on roads, canals, railways, and the like, and also build houses and dig tanks or wells. In Mathura they weave coarse cloth. In the South they cut out stones from the earth, convey them on their carts to where they are wanted, dig tanks and wells and so on. The number of Óds returned at the Census of 1911 was 610,162 distributed as follows:

Madras 550,109

Panjab 32,246

United Provinces 9,071

Rajputana Agency 7,839

Elsewhere 10,897

----------

TOTAL 610,162

[1] Linguistic Survey of India.

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Name

The root meaning of the word ód is uncertain. In the South it takes the form odda, and the Rev. F. Kittel compares Telugu odde, drudgery, oddevândlu, tank diggers. As most Ods belong to the South, it is very probable that the word is originally Dravidian, and connected with the name of the Vadaras.

Language.

The majority of the Óds, or about 600,000, are found in South India and are stated to speak a patois of Telugu. We have not sufficient information about the dialect of the remaining Óds. As a separate form of speech it has only been returned from Muzaffargarh in the Panjab, and from Cutch, Panch Mahals, Hyderabad and Thar and Parkar in the Bombay Presidency. The estimated number of speakers according to information collected for the purpose of this Survey was:

Panjab

Muzaffargarh 514

Bombay Presidency

Cutch 250

Panch Mahals 50

Hyderabad 1,500

Thar and Parkar 500

-----------

TOTAL 2,814

If we except the Dravidian South it is therefore probable that Mr. Baines was right in stating 1 that 'the earth-workers called Od or Waddar carry a language of their own from Peshawar to the sea, using a vocabulary less and less Dravidian as the tribe frequents tracts farther away from the East Deccan, from whence it probably originated.' The Óds were probably from the beginning Dravidians and spoke a form of Telugu. Later on, we are not able to say when, a comparatively numerous section seems to have spent a considerable time in a locality where the prevailing languages were Marâthí Gujarâtí and Râjasthâní. It is of interest to note that the Óds of Northern India are only found in the west, from the United Provinces to Sind. So far as we know their language everywhere contains a strong Marâthí element, and it seems likely that their North Indian home must have been in North-Western Dekhan. According to the returns at the Census of 1901 [2] their distribution in the

Bombay Presidency was as follows:

[1] Census of India, 1891. General Report. London, 1893, p. 137.

[2] No similar return is available for 1911.

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Ahmedabad 1,266

Broach 715

Kaira 805

Panch Mahals 461

Surat 53

Cambay 200

Cutch 188

Kathiawar 959

Mahikantha 106

Palanpur 491

Rewa Kantha 385

Karachi 201

Hyderabad 1,549

Shikarpur 1,338

Thar and Parkar 1,449

Upper Sind Frontier 127

Khairpur 287

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TOTAL 10,580

It is seen that the Óds were practically restricted to districts where Gujarâtí and Sindhí are the prevailing languages. The existence of a strong Marâthí element in Ódkí can only be explained under the supposition that these Óds have come from some place farther east, say in the hills bordering the Marâthí area. Such a localisation would also agree with the fact that the Óds of Southern India speak Telugu.

Marâthí affinities.

Ódkí words give a good idea of the nature of the dialect. It is seen that it is a mixed form of speech containing elements taken form different sources. As in the case of the Gypsy language of Europe these elements are important as showing, the route by which the tribe must have wandered. They are, however, to a great extent so perspicuous that it is unnecessary to enter upon a detailed discussion. It will be sufficient to draw attention to some of the most important features. The Marâthí element is particularly strong. Thus the neuter of strong bases ends in é or e§ as in Marâthí; compare taé, tank; kélé, it was said. Strong masculine bases end in â, plural é; thus, ghórâ, horse; ghóré, horses. Note also the oblique bases in â of weak and é of strong masculine bases, and in í of feminine bases; thus, désâ-mê, in a country; lerké-ché, of a man; malkatí-châ, of the property. The termination châ, chí, ché of the genitive is important. The same is the case with the termination lâ of the past tense of verbs; thus, gélâ, went; mârlâ, struck. Compare further the imperative plural in â; thus, âwâ, come; the infinitives in û and né; thus, kéhû, to say; mârné, to strike, and so forth. Such forms gain in importance when we remember that they all hail from districts where Marâthí is not a home tongue of the population.

Gujarâtí-Râjasthâní affinities.

Several of the usual terminations in Ódkí do not agree with Marâthí but with Gujarâtí and Râjasthâní. Such are the suffixes é of the agent and né of the dative, both of which are also found in Mâlví; the ablative in tí; the locative in mê; forms such as he§, I (compare Gujarâtí, Mâlví and Mârwârí hû); chhé, sé and hé, is; the conjunctive participle is tíné (Gujarâtí íné ) and so forth. The Gujarâtí element is strongest in Gujarâtí districts such as the Panch Mahals and Ahmedabad, but is also apparent in other districts.

Other-affinities.

Features borrowed from languages other than Marâthí and Gujarâtí have more of a local character. The locative termination mêy, which is prevalent in Mârwârí is, however, common in the Ahmedabad District, where Gujarâtí is the chief language. Of such local borrowings I may mention the common cerebralisation of a d in Cutch and in the districts of Hyderabad, Thar and Parkar, Shikarpur and Muzaffargarh; the Pañjâbí dative termination nû in the same districts with the exception of Cutch, and other sporadic instances of borrowings from the local dialects.

Ojha.: -They practice magic and divination. They study the gut or intestines of animals offered to a God in order to understand that God’s will. The ancient 'augurers' of Rome were practising the same rite.

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Ojha.: - The community of soothsayers and minstrels of the Gonds [1]. The Ojhas may now be considered a distinct subtribe, as they are looked down upon by the Gonds and marry among themselves. They derive their name from the word ojh, meaning 'entrail,' their original duty having been like that of the Roman augurs, to examine the entrails of the victim immediately after it had been slain as an offering the gods. In 1911 the Ojhas numbered about 5000 persons distributed over all Districts of the Central Provinces. An present the bulk of the community subsist by begging. The word Ojha is of Sanskrit and not of Gond origin and is applied by the Hindus to the seers or magicians of several of the primitive tribes, while there is also a class of Ojha Brâhmans who practise magic and divination. The Gond Ojhas, who are the subject of this article, originally served the Gonds and begged from them alone, but in some parts of the western Satpîras they are also the minstrels of the Korkus. Those who beg from the Korkus play on a kind of drum called dhânk, while the Gond Ojhas use the kingri or lyre. Some of them also catch birds and are therefore known as Moghia. Mr. Hislop [2] remarks of them: "The Ojhas follow the two occupations of bard and fowler. They lead a wandering life and when passing through villages they sing from house the praises of their heroes, dancing with castanets on their hands, bells at their ankles and long feathers of jungle birds in their turbans. They quails and the skins of a species of Buceros named Dhanchíria; these are used for making caps and for hanging up in houses in order to secure wealth (dhan), while the thighbones of the same bird when fastened round the waists of children are deemed an infallible preservative against the assaults of devils and other such calamities. Their wives tattoo the arms of Hindu and Gond women. Among them there is a subdivision known as the Mâna Ojhas, who rank higher than the others. Laying claim to unusual sanctity, they refuse to eat with any once, Râjpîts or even Brâhmans, and devote themselves to the manufacture of rings and bells which are in request among their own race, and even of lingas (phallic emblems) and nandis (bull images), which they sell to all ranks of the Hindu community. Their wives are distinguished by wearing the cloth of the upper part of the body over the right shoulder, whereas those of the common Ojhas and of all the other Gonds wear it over the left."

Mr. Tawney wrote of the Ojhas as follows:[3] "The Ojha women do not dance. It is only men who do so, and when thus engaged they put on special attire and wear anklets with bells. The Ojhas like the Gonds are divided into six or seven god gots (classes or septs), and those with the same number of gods cannot intermarry. They worship at the same Dcokhala (god's threshing-floor) as the Gonds, but being regarded as an inferior caste they are not allowed so near the sacred presence. Like the Gonds they incorporate the spirits of the dead with the gods, but their manner of doing so is somewhat different, as they make an image of brass to represent the soul of the deceased and keep this with the household gods. As with the Gonds, if a household god makes himself too objectionable he is quietly buried to keep him out of mischief and an new god is introduced into the family. The latter should properly bear the same name as his degraded predecessor, but very often does not. The Ojhas are too poor to indulge in the luxury of burning their deceased friends and therefore invariably bury them."

The customs of the Ojhas resemble those of the Gonds. They take the bride to the bridegroom's house to be married, and a widow among them is expected, though not obliged, to wed her late husband's younger brother. They eat the flesh of fowls, pigs, and even oxen, but abstain from that of monkeys, crocodiles and jackals. They will not touch an ass, a cat or a dog, and consider it sinful to kill animals which bark or bray.

[1] See Russell.

[2] Papers relating to the Aboriginal Tribes of the C.P.., p. 6.

[3] Note by Mr. Tawney as Deputy Commissioner of Chhindwâra, quoted in Central Provinces Census Report of 1881

(Mr> Drysdale).

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They will take food from the hands of all except the most impure castes, and will admit into the community any man who has taken an Ojha woman to live with him, even though he be a sweeper, provided that he will submit to the prescribed test of begging from the houses of five Gonds and eating the leavings of food of the other Ojhas. They will pardon the transgression of one their women with an outsider of any caste whatever, if she is able and willing to provide the usual penalty feast. In physical appearance the Ojhas resemble the Gonds but are less robust. They rank below the Gonds and are considered as impure by Hindu castes, though they consier themselves clean. In 1865, an Ojha held a village in Hoshangâbâd District which he had obtained as follows:[1] "He was singing and dancing before Râja Râghuji, when the Râja said he would give a rent-free village to any one who would pick up and chew a quid of betel-leaf which he (the Râja) had in his mouth and has spat out. The Ojha did this and got the village."

The Maithil or Tirhît Brâhmans who are especially learned in Tântric magic are also sometimes known as Ojha, and a family bearing this title were formerly in the service of the Gond kings of Mandla. They do not now admit that they acted as augurs or soothsayer, but state that their business was to pray continuously for the king's success when he was engaged in any battle, and to sit outside the rooms of sick persons repeating the sacred Gâyatri verse for their recovery. This is often repeated ten times, counting by a special method on the joints of the fingers and is then known as jap. When it is repeated a larger number of times, a rosary is used.

Oraon.: -Uraon, Kurukh, Dhangar, Kîda, Kisân.-[2] The Oraons are an important Dravidian tribe of the Chota Nâgpur plateau, numbering altogether about 750,000 persons, of whom 85,000 now belong to the Central Provinces, being residents of the Jashpur and Sargîja States and the neighbouring tracts. They are commonly known in the Central Provinces as Dhângar or Dhângar-Oraon. In Chota Nâgpur the word Dhângar means a farmservant engaged according to a special customary contract, and it has come to be applied to the Oraons, who are commonly employed in this capacity. Kîda means a digger or navvy in Uriya, and enquiries made by Mr. B.C. Mazumdar and Mr. Híra Lâl have demonstrated that the 18,000 persons returned under this designation from Raigarh and Sambalpur in 1901 were really Oraons. The same remark applies to 33,000 persons returned from Sambalpur as Kisân or cultivator, these also being members of the tribe. The name by which the Oraons know themselves is Kurukh or Kurunkh, and the designation of Oraon or Orao has been applied to them by outsiders. The meaning of both names is obscure. Dr. Halm [3] was of opinion that the word kurukh might be identified with the Kolarian horo, 'man', and explained the term Oraon as the totem of one of the septs into which the Kurukhs were divided. According to him Oraon was a name coined by the Hindus, its base being orgorân, hawk or cunny bird, used as the name of a totemistic sept. Sir G. Grierson, however, suggested a connection with the Kaikâri, urîpai, man; Burgandi urâpo, man; urâng, men. The Kaikâris are a Telugu caste, and as the Oraons are believed to have come from the south of India, this derivation sounds plausible. In a similar way Sir. G. Grierson states, Kurukh may be connected with Tamil kurîgu, an eagle, and be the name of a totemistic clan. Compare also names, such as Korava, Kurru, a dialect of Tamil, and Kudâgu. In the Nerbudda valley the farmservant who pours the seed through the tube of the sowing-plough is known as Oraya; this word is probably derived from the verb îrna to pour, and means 'one who pours.' Since the principal characteristic of the Oraons among the Hindus is their universal employment as farmservants and labourers, it may be suggested that the name is derived from this term.

[1] Sir C.A. Elliott's Hoshangâbâd Settlement Report. p. 70

[2] See Russell.

[3] Linguistic Survey , vol. IV. p. 406.

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Of the other names by which they are known to outsiders, Dhângar means a farmservant, Kîda a digger, and Kisân a cultivator. The name Oraon and its variant Orao is very close to Oraya, which, as already seen, means a farmservant. The nasal seems to be often added or omitted in this part of the country, as Kurukh or Kurunkh.

Settlement In Chota Nâgpur.

According to their own traditions, Mr. Gait writes,[1] "The Kurukh tribe originally lived in the Carnatic, whence they went up the Nerbudda river and settled in Bihâr on the banks of the Son. Driven out by the Muhammadans, the tribe split into two divisions, one of which followed the course of the Ganges and finally settled in the Râjmahâl hills: while the other went up the Son and occupied the north-western portion of the Chota Nâgpur plateau, where many of the villages they occupy are still known by Mundâri names. The latter were the ancestors of the Oraons or Kurukhs, while the former were the progenitors of the Mâle or Saonria, as they often call themselves." Towards Lohardaga the Oraons found themselves among the Mundas or Kols, who probably retired by degrees and left them in possession of the country. "The Oraons," Father Dehon states, "are an exceedingly prolific tribe and soon become the preponderant element, while the Mundas, being conservative and averse to living among strangers, emigrate towards another jungle.

The Mundas hate zamíndârs, and whenever they can do so, prefer to live in a retired corner in full possession of their small holding; and it is not at all improbable that, as the zamíndârs took possession of the newly-formed villages, they retired towards the east, while the Oraons, being good beasts of burden and more accustomed to subjection, remained." In view of the fine physique and martial character of the Larka or Fighting Kols or Mundas, Dalton was sceptical of the theory that they could ever have retired before the Oraons; but in addition to the fact that many villages in which Oraons now live have Mundâri names, it may be noted that the headman of an Oraon village is termed Munda and is considered to be descended from its founder, while for the Pâhan or priest of the village gods, the Oraons always employ a Munda if available, and it is one of the Pâhan's duties to point out the boundary of the village in cases of dispute; this is a function regularly assigned to the earliest residents, and seems to be strong evidence that the Oraons found the Mundas settled in Chota Nâgpur when they arrived there.

It is not necessary to suppose that any conquest or forcible expropriation took place; and it is probable that, as the country was opened up, the Mundas by preference retired to the wilder forest tracts, just as in the Central Provinces the Korkus and Baigas gave way to the Gonds, and the Gonds themselves relinquished the open country to the Hindus. None of the writers quoted notice the name Munda as applied to the headman of an Oraon village, but it can hardly be doubted that it is connected with that of the tribe; and it would be interesting also to know whether the Pâhan or village priest takes his name from the Pâns or Gandas. Dalton says that the Pâns are domesticated as essential constituents of every Ho or Kol village community, but does not allude to their presence among the Oraons. The custom in the Central Provinces in Gond villages is that the village priest is always known as Baiga, because in some localities members of the Baiga tribe are commonly employed here. In villages first settled by Oraons, the population, Father Dehon states, is divided into three khînts, or branches, named after the Munda, Pâhan and Mahto, the founders of the three branches being held to have been sons of the first settler. Members of each branch belong therefore to the same sept or got. Each khînt has a share of the village lands.

Subdivisions.

The Oraons have no proper subcastes in the Central Provinces, but the Kudas and Kisâns, having a distinctive name and occupation, sometimes regard themselves as separate bodies and decline intermarriage with other Oraons. In Bengal Sir H. Risley gives five divisions,. Barga, Dhânka, Kharia, Khendro of other tribes, and Dhânka may be a variant for Dhângar. The names show that as usual with the tribes of this part of the country the law of endogamy is by no means strict. The tribe have also a large number of exogamous septs of the totemistic type, named after plants and animals. Members of any sept commonly abstain from killing or eating their sept totem. A man must not marry a member of his own sept nor a first cousin on the mother's side.

[1] Bengal Census Report (1901)

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Pre-Nuptial Licence.

Marriage is adult and pre-nuptial unchastity appears to be tacitly recognised. Oraon villages have the institution of the Dhîmkuria or bachelors' dormitory, which Dalton describes as follows: "In all the order Oraon villages when there is any conservation of ancient customs, there is a house called the dhîmkuria in which all the bachelors of the village must sleep under penalty of a fine. The huts of the Oraons have insufficient accommodation for a family so that separate quarters for the young men are a necessity. The same remark applies to the young unmarried women, and it is a fact that they do not sleep in the house with their parents. They are generally frank enough when questioned about their habits, but on this subject there is always a certain amount of reticence, and I have seen girls quietly withdraw when it was mooted. I am told that in some villages a separate building is provided for them like the Dhîmkuria, in which they consort under the guardianship of an elderly duenna, but I believe the more common practice is to distribute them among the houses of the widows, and this is what the girls themselves assert, if they answer at all when the question is asked; but however billeted, it is well known that they often find their way to the bachelor's hall, and in some villages actually sleep there. I not long ago saw a Dhîmkuria in a Sargîja village in which the boys and girls all slept every night." Colonel Dalton considered it uncertain that the practice led to actual immorality, but the fact can hardly be doubted. Sexual intercourse before marriage, Sir H. Risley says, is tacitly recognised, and is so generally practised that in the opinion of the best observers no Oraon girl is a virgin at the time of her marriage. "To call this state of things immoral is to apply a modern conception to primitive habits of life. Within the tribe, indeed, the idea of sexual morality seems hardly to exist, and the unmarried Oraons are not far removed from the condition of modified promiscuity which prevails among many of the Australian tribes. Provided that the exogamous circle defined by the totem is respected, an unmarried woman may bestow her favours on whom she will. If, however, she becomes pregnant, arrangements are made to 1 get her married without delay, and she is then expected to lead a virtuous life." [1] According to Dalton, however, liaisons between boys and girls of the same village seldom end in marriage, as it is considered more respectable to bring home a bride from a distance. This appears to arise from the primitive rule of exogamy that marriage should not be allowed between those who have been brought up together. The young men can choose for themselves, and at dances, festivals and other social gatherings they freely woo their sweethearts, giving them flowers for the hair and presents of grilled field-mice, which the Oraons consider to be the most delicate food. Father Dehon, however, states that matches are arranged by the parents, and the bride and bridegroom have nothing to say in the matter. Boys are usually married at sixteen and girls at fourteen or fifteen. The girls thus have only about two years of preliminary flirtation or Dhîmkuria life before they are settled.

Betrothal.

The first ceremony for a marriage is known as pân bandhi or the settling of the price; for which the boy's father accompanied by some men of his village to represent the panch or elders, goes to the girl's house. Father Dehon states that the bride-price is five rupees and four maunds of grain. When this has been settled the rejoicings begin. "All the people of the village are invited; two boys come and anoint the visitors with oil. From every house of the village that can afford it a handia or pot of rice-beer is brought, and they drink together and make merry. All this time the girl has been kept inside, but now she suddenly sallies forth. carrying a handia on her head.

Tribes and Castes, vol. ii. p. 141

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A murmur of admiration greets her when stepping through the crowd she comes and stands in front of her future father-in-law, who at once takes the handia from her head, embraces her, and gives her one rupee. From that time during the whole of the feast the girl remains sitting at the feet of her father-in-law. The whole party meanwhile continue drinking and talking; and voices rise so high that they cannot hear one another. As a diversion the old women of the village all come tumbling in, very drunk and wearing fantastic hats made of leaves; gesticulating like devils and carrying a straw manikin representing the bridegroom. They all look like old witches, and in their drunken state are very mischievous."

Marriage Ceremony.

The marriage takes place after about two years, visits being exchanged twice a year in the meantime. When the day comes the bridegroom proceeds with a large party of his friends, male and female, to the bride's house. Most of the males have warlike weapons, real or sham, and as they approach the village of the bride's family the young men from thence emerge, also armed, as if to repel the invasion, and a mimic fight ensues, which like a dissolving view blends pleasantly into a dance. In this the bride and bridegroom join, each riding on the hips of one of their friends. After this they have a feast till late in the night. Next morning bread cooked by the bride's mother is taken to the dari or village spring, where all the women partake of it. When they have finished they bring a vessel of water with some leaves of the mango tree in it. Meanwhile the bride and bridegroom are in the house, being anointed with oil and turmeric by their respective sisters. When everybody has gathered under the marriage-bower the boy and girl are brought out of the house and a heap is made of a plough-yoke, a bundle of thatching-grass and a curry-stone. The bride and bridegroom are made to stand on the curry-stone, the boy touching the heels of the bride with his toes, and a long piece of cloth is put round them to screen them from the public. Only their heads and feet can be seen. A goblet full of vermilion is presented to the boy, who dips his finger it and makes three lines on the forehead of the girl; and the girl does the same to the boy, but as she has to reach him over her shoulder and cannot see him, the boy gets it anywhere on his face, which never fails to provoke hearty bursts of laughter. "When this is complete," Dalton states, "a gun is fired and then by some arrangement vessels full of water, placed over the bower, are upset, and the young couple and those near them receive a drenching shower-bath, the women shouting, 'The marriage is done, the marriage is done.' They now retire into an apartment prepared for them, ostensibly to change their clothes, but they do not emerge for some time, and when they do appear they are saluted as man and wife."

Special Customs.

Meanwhile the guests sit round drinking handias or earthen pots full of rice-beer. The bride and bridegroom come out and retire a second time and are called out for the following rite. A vessel or beer is brought and the bride carries a cupful of it to the bridegroom's brother, but instead of giving it into his hand she deposits it on the ground in front of him. This is to seal of tacit agreement that from that time the bridegroom's brother will not touch his sister-in-law, and was probably instituted to mark the abolition of the former system of fraternal polyandry, customs of an analogous nature being found among the Khonds and Korkus. "Then," Father Dehon continues, "comes the last ceremony, which is called khirítengna handia or the handia of the story, and is considered by the Oraons to be the true form of marriage which has been handed down to them by their forefathers. The boy and girl sit together before the people and one of the elder men present rises and addressing the boy says: 'If your wife goes to fetch sâg and falls from a tree and breaks her leg, do not say that she is disfigured or crippled. You will have to keep and feed her.' Then turning to the girl: 'When your husband goes hunting, if his arm or leg is broken, do not say, "He is a cripple, I won't live with him." Do not say that, for you have to remain with him. If you prepare meat, give two shares to him and keep only one for yourself. If you prepare vegetables, give him two parts and keep only one part for yourself.

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If he gets sick and cannot go out, do not say that he is dirty, but clean his mat and wash him.' A feast follows, and at night the girl is brought to the boy by her mother, who says to him, 'Now this my child is yours; I do not give her for a few days but for ever; take care of her and love her well.' A companion of the bridegroom's then seizes the girl in his arms and carries her inside the house."

Widow-Remarriage And Divorce.

It is uncommon for a man to have two wives. Divorce is permitted, and is usually effected by the boy or girl running away to the Duârs or Assam. Widow-remarriage is a regular practice. The first time a widow marries again, Father Dehon states, the bridegroom must pay Rs. 3-8 for her; if successive husbands die her price goes down by a rupee upon a fresh marriage, so that a fifth husband would pay only eight annas. Cases of adultery are comparatively rare. When offenders are caught a heavy fine is imposed if they are well-to-do, and if they are not, a smaller fine and a beating.

Customs At Birth.

"The Oraons," Father Dehon continues, "are a very prolific race, and whenever they are allowed to live without being too much oppressed they increase prodigiously. What strikes you when you come to an Oraon village is the number of small dirty children playing everywhere, while you can scarcely meet a woman that does not carry a baby on her back. The women seem, to a great extent, to have been exempted from the curse to our first mother: 'Thou shalt bring forth, etc.' They seem to give birth to their children with the greatest ease. There is no period of uncleanness, and the very day after giving birth to a child, you will see the mother with her baby tied up in a cloth on her back and a pitcher on her head going, as if nothing had happened, to the village spring." This practice, it may be remarked in parenthesis, may arise from the former observance of the couvade, the peculiar custom prevailing among several primitive races, by which, when a child is born, the father lies in the house and pretends to be ill, while the mother gets up immediately and goes about her work. The custom has been reported as existing among the Oraons by one observer from Bilâspur, [1] but so far without confirmation.

Naming A Child.

"A child is named eight or ten days after birth, and on this day some men of the village and the members of the family assemble at the parents' house. Two leaf-cups are brought, one full of water and the other of rice. After a preliminary formula grains of rice are let fall into the cup, first in the name of the child and then successively in those of his ancestors in the following order: paternal grandfather, paternal great-grandfather, father, paternal uncle, maternal grandfather, other relatives. When the grain dropped in the name of any relative meets the first one dropped to represent the child, he is given the name of that relative and is probably considered to be a reincarnation of him."

Branding And Tattooing.

"When a boy is six or seven years old it is time for him to become a member of the Dhîmkuria or common dormitory. The eldest boys catch hold of his left arm and, with burning cloth, burn out five deep marks on the lower part of his arm. This is done so that he may be recognised as an Oraon at his death when he goes into the other world." The ceremony was probably the initiation to manhood on arrival at puberty, and resembled those prevalent among the Australian tribes. With this exception men are not tattooed, but this decoration is profusely resorted to by women. They have three parallel vertical lines on the forehead which form a distinctive mark, and other patterns on the arms, chest, knees and ankles. The marks on the knees are considered to be steps by which the wearer will ascend to heaven after her death. If a baby cries much it is also tattooed on the nose and chin.

[1] Panna Lâl, Revenue Inspector.

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Dormitory Discipline.

The Dhîmkuria fraternity, Colonel Dalton remarks, is under the severest penalties, bound down to secrecy in regard to all that takes place in their dormitory; and even girls are punished if they dare to tell tales. They are not allowed to join in the dances till the offence is condoned. They have a regular system of fagging in this curious institution. The small boys serve those of larger growth, shampoo their limbs, comb their hair, and so on, and they are sometimes subjected to severe discipline to make men of them.

Disposal Of The Dead.

The Oraons either bury or burn the dead. As the corpse is carried to the grave, beginning from the first cross-roads, they sprinkle a line of rice as far as the grave or pyre. This is done so that the soul of the deceased may find its way back to the house. Before the burial or cremation cooked food and some small pieces of money are placed in the mouth of the corpse. They are subsequently, however, removed or recovered from the ashes and taken by the musicians as their fee. Some clothes belonging to the deceased and a vessel with some rice are either burnt with the corpse or placed in the grave. As the grave is being filled in they 1 place a stalk of orai [1] grass vertically on the head of the corpse and gradually draw it upwards as the earth is piled on the grave. They say that this is done in order to leave a passage for the air to pass to the nostrils of the deceased. This is the grass from which reed pens are made, and the stalk is hard and hollow. Afterwards they plant a root of the same grass where the stalk is standing over the head of the corpse. On the tenth day they sacrifice a pig and fowl and bury the legs, tail, ears and nose of the pig in a hole with seven balls of iron dross. They then proceed to the grave scattering a little parched rice all the way along the path. Cooked rice is offered at the grave. If the corpse has been burnt they pick up the bones and place them in a pot, which is brought home and hung up behind the dead man's house. At night-time a relative sits inside the house watching a burning lamp, while some friends go outside the village and make a miniature hut with sticks and grass and set fire to it. They then call out to the dead man, 'Come, your house is being burnt,' and walk home striking a mattock and sickle together. On coming to the house they kick down the matting which covers the doorway; the man inside says, 'Who are you?' and they answer, 'It is we.' They watch the lamp and when the flame wavers they believe it to show that the spirit of the deceased has followed them and has also entered the house. Next day the bones are thrown into a river and the earthen pot broken against a stone.

Worship Of Ancestors.

The pitras or ancestors are worshipped at every festival, and when the new rice is reaped a hen is offered to them. They pray to their parents to accept the offering and then place a few grains of rice before the hen. If she eats them, it is a sign that the ancestors have accepted the offering and a man kills the hen by crushing its head with his closed fist. This is probably, as remarked by Father Dehon, in recollection of the method employed before the introduction of knives, and the same explanation may be given of he barbaric method of the Baigas of crushing a pig to death by a beam of wood used as a see-saw across its body, and of the Gond bride and bridegroom killing a fowl by treading on it when they first enter their house after the wedding.

Religion.

The Supreme Deity. The following account of the tribal religion is abridged from Father Dehon's full and interesting description: "The Oraons worship a supreme god who is known as Dharmes; him they invoke in their greatest difficulties when recourse to the village priests and magicians has proved useless. Then they turn to Dharmes and say, 'Now we have tried everything, but we have still you who can help us.' They sacrifice to him a white cock. They think that god is too good to punish them, and that they are not answerable to him in any way for their conduct; they believe that everybody will be treated in the same way in the other world.

[1] Sorghum halepense.

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There is no hell for them or place of punishment, but everybody will go to merkha or heaven. The Red Indians speak of the happy hunting-grounds and the Oraons imagine something like the happy ploughing-grounds, where everybody will have plenty of rice-beer to drink after his labour. They look on god as a big zamíndâr or landowner, who does nothing himself, but keeps a chaprâsi as an agent or debt-collector; and they conceive the latter as having all the defects so common to his profession. Baranda, the chaprâsi, exacts tribute from them mercilessly, not exactly out of zeal for the service of his master, but out of greed for his talbâna or perquisites. When making a sacrifice to Dharmes they pray: 'O god, from to-day do not send any more your chaprâsi to punish us. You see we have paid our respects to you, and we are going to give him his dastîri (tip).

Minor Godlings.

"But in the concerns of this world, to obtain good crops and freedom from sickness, a host of minor deities have to be propitiated. These consist of bhîts or spirits of the household, the sept, the village, and common deities, such as the earth and sun. Chola Pâcho or the lady of the grove lives in the sarna or sacred grove, which has been left standing when the forest was cleared. She is credited with the power of giving rain and consequently good crops. Churel is the spirit of a woman who has died while pregnant or in childbirth. She hovers over her burial-place and is an object of horror and fright to every passer-by. It is her nature to look out for a man whom she liked best during her lifetime. She will then come at night and embrace him and tickle him under the arms, making him laugh till he dies. Bhîla or the wanderers are the shades of persons who have died in unnatural death, either having been murdered, hanged, or killed by a tiger. 'They all keep the scars of their respective wounds and one can imagine what a weird-looking lot they are. They are not very powerful and are responsible only for small ailments, like nightmares and slight indispositions. When an Ojha or spirit-raiser discovers that a Bhîla has appeared in the light of his lamp he shows a disappointed face, and says: 'Pshaw, only Bhîla !' No sacrifice is offered to him, but the Ojha then and there takes a few grains of rice, rubs them in charcoal and throws them at the flame of his lamp, saying, 'Take this, Bhîla, and go away.' Mîrkuri is the thumping bhît. Europeans, to show their kindness and familiarity, thump people on the back. If this is followed by fever or any kind of sickness it will be ascribed to the passing of Mîrkuri from the body of the European into the body of the native. "Chordewa is a witch rather than a bhît. It is believed that some women have the power to change their soul into a black cat, who then goes about in the houses where there are sick people. Such a cat has a peculiar way of mewing, quite different from its brethren, and is easily recognised. It steals quietly into the house, licks the lips of the sick man and eats the food which has been prepared for him. The sick man soon gets worse and dies. They say it is very difficult to catch the cat, as it has all the nimbleness of its nature and the cleverness of a bhît. However, they some times succeed, and then something wonderful happens. The woman out of whom the cat has come remains insensible, as it were in a state of temporary death, until the cat re-enters her body. Any wound inflicted on the cat will be inflicted on her; if they cut its ears or break its legs or put out its eyes the woman will suffer the same mutilation. The Oraons say that formerly they used to burn any woman who was suspected of being a Chordewa.

Human Sacrifice.

"There is also Anna Kuâri or Mahâdhani, who is in our estimation the most cruel and repulsive deity of all, as she requires human sacrifice. Those savage people, who put good crops above everything, look upon her in a different light. She can give good crops and make a man rich, and this covers a multitude of sins. People may be sceptical about it and say that it is impossible that in any part of India under the British Government there should still be human sacrifices. Well, in spite of all the vigilance of the authorities, there are still human sacrifices in Chota Nâgpur. As the vigilance of the authorities increases, so also does the carefulness of the Urkas or Otongas increase. They choose for their victims poor waifs or strangers, whose disappearance no one will notice.

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April and May are the months in which the Urkas are at work. Doísa, Panâri, Kîkra and Sargîja have a very bad reputation. During these months no strangers will go about the country alone and during that time nowhere will boys and girls be allowed to go to the jungle and graze the cattle for fear of the Urkas. When an Urka has found a victim he cuts his throat and carries away the upper part of the ring finger and the nose. Anna Kuâri finds votaries not only among the Oraons, but especially among the big zamíndârs and Râjas of the Native States. When a man has offered a sacrifice to Anna Kuâri she goes and lives in his house in the form of a small child. From that time his fields yield double harvest, and when he brings in his paddy he takes Anna Kuâri and rolls her over the heap to double its size. But she soon becomes restless and is only pacified by new human sacrifices. At last after some years she cannot bear remaining in the same house any more and kills everyone."

Christianity. In Jashpur State where the Oraons number 47,000 about half the total number have become Christians. The non-Christians call themselves Sansâr, and the principal difference between them is that the Christians have cut off the pigtail, while the Sansâr retain it. In some families the father may be a Sansâr and the son a Kiristân, and they live together without any distinction. The Christians belong to the Roman Catholic and Lutheran Missions, but though they all know their Church, they naturally have little or no idea of the distinctions of doctrine.

Festivals.

The Karma Or May-Day. The principal festivals are the Sârhîl, celebrated when the sâl tree [1] flowers, the Karma or May-day when the rice is ready for planting out, and the Kanihâri or harvest celebration. "At the Karma festival a party of young people of both sexes," says Colonel Dalton, "proceed to the forest and cut a young karma tree (Nauclea parvifolia ) or the branch of one; they bear this home in triumph and plant it in the centre of he Akhâra or wrestling ground. Next morning all may be seen at an early hour in holiday array, the elders in groups under the fine old tamarind tress that surround the Akhâra, and the youth of both sexes, arm-linked in a huge circle, dancing round the karma tree, which, festooned with strips of coloured cloth and sham bracelets and merry laughter of the young people encircling it, reminds one of the gift-bearing tree so often introduced at out own great festival." The tree, however, probably corresponds to the English Maypole, and the festival celebrates the renewal of vegetation.

The Sâl Flower Festival.

At the Sârhîl festival the marriage of the sun-god and earth-mother is celebrated, and this cannot be done till the sâl tree gives the flowers for the ceremony. It takes place about the beginning of April on any day when the tree is in flower. A white cock is taken to represent the sun and a black hen the earth; their marriage is celebrated by marking them with vermilion, and they are sacrificed. The villagers then accompany the Pâhan or Baiga, the village priest, to the sarna or sacred grove, a remnant of the old sâl forest in which is located Sarna Burhi or 'The old women of the grove.' "To this dryad," writes Colonel Dalton, "who is supposed to have great influence over the rain (a superstition not improbably founded on the importance of tress as cloud-compellers), the party offer five fowls, which are afterwards eaten, and the remainder of the day is spent in feasting. They return laden with the flowers of the sâl tree, and next morning with the Baiga pay a visit to every house, carrying the flowers. The women of the village all stand on the threshold of their houses, each holding two leaf-cups; one empty to receive the holy water; the other with rice-beer for the Baiga. His reverence stops at each house, and places flowers over it and in the hair of the women. He sprinkles the holy water on the seeds that have been kept for the new year and showers blessings on every house, saying, 'May your rooms and granary filled with paddy that the Baiga's name may be great.' When this is accomplished the woman throws a vessel of water over his venerable person, heartily dousing the man whom the moment before they were treating with such profound respect. This is no doubt a rain-charm, and is a familiar process.

[1] Shorea robusta.

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The Baiga is prevented from catching cold by being given the cup of rice-beer and is generally gloriously drunk before he completes his round. There is now a general feast, and afterwards the youth of both sexes, gaily decked with the sâl blossoms, the pale cream-white flowers of which make the most becoming of ornaments against their dusky skins and coal-black hair, proceed to the Akhâra and dance all night."

The Harvest Festival.

The Kanihâri, as described by Father Dehon, is held previous to the threshing of the rice, and none is allowed to prepare his threshing-floor until it has been celebrated. It can only take place on a Tuesday. A fowl is sacrificed and its blood sprinkled on the new rice. In the evening a common feast is held at which the Baiga presides, and when this is over they go to the place where Mahâdeo is worshipped and the Baiga pours milk over the stone that represents him. The people then dance. Plenty of rice-beer is brought, and a scene of debauchery takes place in which all restraint is put aside. They sing the most obscene songs and give vent to all their passions. On that day no one is responsible for any breach of morality.

Fast For The Crops.

Like other primitive races, and the Hindus generally, the Oraons observe the Lenten fast, as explained by Sir J. G. Frazer, after sowing their crops. Having committed his seed with every propitiatory rite to the bosom of Mother Earth, the savage waits with anxious expectation to see whether she will once again perform on his behalf the yearly miracle of the renewal of vegetation, and the growth of the corn-plants from the seed which the Greeks typified by the descent of Persephone into Hades for a season of the year and her triumphant re-emergence to the upper air. Meanwhile he fasts and atones for any sin or shortcoming of his which may possibly have offended the goddess and cause her to hold her hand. From the beginning of Asârh (June) the Oraons cease to shave, abstain from eating turmeric, and make no leaf-plates for their food, but eat it straight from the cooking-vessel. This they now say is to prevent the field-mice from consuming the seeds of the rice.

Physical Appearance And Costume Of The Oraons.

"The colour of most Oraons," Sir H. Risley states, "is the darkest brown approaching to black; the hair being jet-black, coarse and rather inclined to be frizzy. Projecting jaws and teeth, thick lips, low narrow foreheads, and broad flat noses are the features characteristic of the tribe. The eyes are often bright and full, and no obliquity is observable in the opening of the eyelids." "The Oraon youths," Dalton states, "though with features very far from being in accordance with the statutes of beauty, are of a singularly pleasing class, their faces beaming with animation and good humour. They are a small race, averaging 4 feet 5 inches, but there is perfect proportion in all parts models of symmetry. There is about the young Oraons a jaunty air and mirthful expression that distinguishes him from the Munda or Ho, who has more of the dignified gravity that is said to characterise the North American Indian. The Oraon is particular about his personal appearance only so long as he is unmarried, but he is no hurry to withdraw from the Dhîmkuria community, and generally his first youth is passed before he resigns his decorative propensities. "He wears his hair long like a woman, gathered in a knot behind, supporting, when he is in 1 gala costume, red instruments useful and ornamental, with numerous ornaments of brass. [1] At the very extremity of the roll of hair gleams a small circular mirror set in brass, from which, and also from his ears, bright brass chains with spiky pendants dangle, and as he moves with the springy elastic step of youth and tosses his head like a high-mettled steed in the buoyancy of his animal spirits, he sets all his glittering ornaments in motion and displays as he laughs a row of teeth, round, white and regular, that give light and animation to his dusky features.

[1] In Bilâspur the men have an iron comb in the hair with a circular end and two prongs like a fork. women do not wear this.

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He wears nothing in the form of a coat; his decorated neck and chest are undraped, displaying how the latter tapers to the waist, which the young dandies compress within the smallest compass. In addition to the cloth, there is always round the waist a girdle of cords made of tasar-silk or of cane. This is now a superfluity, but it is no doubt the remnant of a more primitive costume, perhaps the support of the antique fig-leaves. "Out of the age of ornamentation nothing can be more untidy or more unprepossessing than the appearance of the Oraon. The ornaments are nearly all discarded, hair utterly neglected, and for raiment any rags are used. This applies both to males and females of middle age.

Dress Of Women.

"The dress of the women consists of one cloth, six yards long, gracefully adjusted so as to form a shawl and a petticoat. The upper end is thrown over the left shoulder and falls with its fringe and ornamented border prettily over the back of the figure. Vast quantities of red beads and a large, heavy brass ornament shaped like a torque are worn round the neck. On the left hand are rings of copper, as many as can be induced on each finger up to the first joint, on the right hand a smaller quantity; rings on the second toe only of brass or bell-metal, and anklets and bracelets of the same material are also worn." The women wear only metal and not glass bangles, and this with the three vertical tattoo-marks on the forehead and the fact that the head and right arm are uncovered enables them to be easily recognised. "The hair is made tolerably smooth amenable by much lubrication, and false hair or some other substance is used to give size to the mass into which it is gathered not immediately behind, but more or less on one side, so that it lies on the neck just behind and touching the right ear; and flowers are arranged in a receptacle made for them between the roll of hair and the head." Rings are worn in the lobes of the ear, but not other ornaments. "When in dancing costume on grand occasions they add to their head-dress plumes of heron feathers, and a gay bordered scarf is tightly bound round the upper part of the body."

Dances.

"The tribe I am describing are seen to best advantage at the great national dance meetings called Jâtras, which are held once a year at convenient centres, generally large mango groves in the vicinity of old villages. As a signal to the country round, the flags of each village are brought out on the day fixed and set upon the road that leads to the place of meeting. This incites the young men and maidens to hurry through their morning's work and dig up their jâtra dresses, which are by no means ordinary attire. Those who have some miles to go put up their finery in a bundle to keep it fresh and clean, and proceed to some tank or stream in the vicinity of the tryst grove; and about two o'clock in the afternoon may be seen all around groups of girls laughingly making their toilets in the open air, and young men in separate parties similarly employed. When they are ready the drums are beaten, huge horns are blown, and thus summoned the group from each village forms its procession. In front are young men with swords and shields or other weapons, the village standard-bearers with their flags, and boys waving yaks' tails or bearing poles with fantastic arrangements of garlands and wreaths intended to represent umbrellas of dignity. Sometimes a man riding on a wooden horse is carried, horse and all, by his friends as the Râja, and others assume the form of or paint themselves up to represent certain beasts of prey. Behind this motley group the main body form compactly together as a close column of dancers in alternate ranks of boys and girls, and thus they enter the grove, where the meeting is held in a cheery dashing style, wheeling and countermarching and forming lines, circles and columns with grace and precision. The dance with these movements is called kharia, and it is considered to be an Oraon rather a Munda dance, though Munda girls join in it. When they enter the grove the different groups join and dance the kharia together, forming one vast procession and then a monstrous circle. The drums and musical instruments are laid aside, and it is by the voices alone that the time is given; but as many hundreds, nay, thousands, join, the effect is imposing. In serried ranks, so closed up that they appear jammed, they circle round in file, all keeping perfect step, but at regular intervals the strain is terminated by a hurîru, which reminds one of Paddy's 'huroosh' as he 'welts the floor,' and at the same moment they all face inwards and simultaneously jumping up, they come down on the ground with a resounding stamp that marks the finale of the movements, but only for a momentary pause.

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One voice with a startling yell takes up the strain again, a fresh start is made, and after gyrating thus till they tire of it, the ring breaks up, and separating into village groups they perform other dances independently till near sunset, and then go dancing home."

Social Customs.

But more often they go on all night. Mr. Ball mentions their dance as follows:[1] "The Oraon dance was distinct from any I had seen by the Santâls or other races. The girls, carefully arranged in lines by sizes, with the tallest at one end and the smallest at the other, firmly grasp one another's hands, and the whole movements are so perfectly in concert that they spring about with us much agility as could a single individual." Father Dehon gives the following interesting notice of their social customs: "The Oraons are very sociable beings, and like to enjoy life together. They are paying visits or pahis to one another nearly the whole year round. In these the handia (beer-jar) always plays a great part. Any man who would presume to receive visitors without offering them a handia would be hooted and insulted by his guests, who would find a sympathising echo from all the people of the village. One may say that from the time of the new rice at the end of September to the end of the marriage feast or till March there is a continual coming and going of visitors. For a marriage feast forty handias are prepared by the groom's father, and all the people of the village who can afford it supply one also. Each handia gives about three gallons of rice-beer, so that in one day and a half, in a village of thirty houses, about 200 gallons of rice-beer are despatched. The Oraons are famous for their dances. They delight in spending the whole night from sunset till morning in this most exciting amusement, and in the dancing season they go from village to village. They get, as it were, intoxicated with the music, and there is never any slackening of the pace. On the contrary, the evolutions seem to increase till very early in the morning, and it sometimes happens that one of the dancers shoots off rapidly from the gyrating group, and speeds away like a spent top, and, whirlwind-like, disappears through paddy-fields and ditches till he falls entirely exhausted. Of course it is the devil who has taken possession of him. One can well imagine in what state the dancers are at the first crow of the cock, and when 'L'aurore avec ses doigts de rose entr'ouvre les portes de Porient,' she finds the girls straggling home one by one, dishevelled, too tired even to enjoy the company of the boys, who remain behind in small groups, still sounding their tom-toms at intervals as if sorry that the performance was so soon over. And, wonderful to say and incredible to witness, they will go straight to the stalls, yoke their bullocks, and work the whole morning with the same spirit and cheerfulness as if they had spent the whole night in refreshing sleep. At eleven o'clock they come home, eat their meal, and stretched out in the verandah sleep like logs until two, when poked and kicked about unmercifully by the people of the house, they reluctantly get up with heavy eyes and weary limbs to resume their work."

Social Rules.

The Oraons do not now admit outsiders into the tribe. There is no offence for which a man is permanently put out of caste, but a woman living with any man other than an Oraon is expelled. Temporary expulsion is meted out for the usual offences. The head of the caste panchâyat is called Pannu, and when an offender is reinstated, the Panna first drinks water from his hand, and takes upon himself the burden of the erring one's transgression. For this he usually receives a fee of five rupees, and in some States the appointment is in the hands of the Râja, who exacts a fine of a hundred rupees or more from a new candidate. The Oraons eat almost all kinds of food, including pork, fowls and crocodiles, but abstain from beef. Their status is very low among the Hindus; they are usually made to live in a separate corner of the village, and are sometimes not allowed to draw water from the village well. As already stated, the dress of the men consists only of a narrow wisp of cloth round the loins.

[1] Jungle Life in India , p. 134.

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Some of them say, like the Gonds, that they are descended from the subjects of Râwan, the demon king of Ceylon; this ancestry having no doubt in the first instance been imputed to them by the Hindus. And they explain that when Hanumân in the shape of a giant monkey came to the assistance of Râma, their king Râwan tried to destroy Hanumân by taking all the loin-cloths of his subjects and tying them soaked in oil to the monkey's tail with view to setting them on fire and burning him to death. The device was unsuccessful and Hanumân escaped, but since then the subjects of Râwan and their descendants have never had a sufficient allowance of cloth to cover them properly.

Character.

"The Oraons," Colonel Dalton says, "if not the most virtuous, are the most cheerful of the human race. Their lot is not a particularly happy one. They submit to be told that they are especially created as a labouring class, and they have had this so often drummed into their ears that they believe and admit it. I believe they relish work if the taskmaster be not over-exacting. Oraons sentenced to imprisonment without labour, as sometimes happens, for offences against the excise, insist on joining the working gangs, and wherever employed, if kindly treated, they work as if they felt an interest in their task. In cold weather or hot, rain or sun, they go cheerfully about it, and after some nine or ten hours of toil (seasoned with a little play and chaff among themselves) they return blithely home in flower-decked groups holding each other by the hand or round the waist and singing."

Language.

The Kurukh language, Dr. Grierson states, had no written character, but the gospels have been printed in it in the Devanâgri type. The translation is due to the Rev. F. Halm, who had also published a Biblical history, a catechism and other small books in Kurukh, More than five-sixths of the Oraons are still returned speaking their own language.

Oudhia.: -A part of the Oudhia group which is semi-nomadic. They are seen as criminal, thieves, pick-pockets and house breakers. They are also mendicants. They invoke the deity Kali Mata in order to be successful in their criminal actions.

Pakhiwaras.: -In former times they were considered a criminal caste. Now they live as hunters specially in the area of Sialkot.

Pandarams.: -See the Andis.

Paravan.: -Concerning the origin of the Parava fishing community of the south-east coast, the following legends are current. [1] The author of the Historia Ecclesiastica (published in Tamil at Tranquebar in 1735) identifies them with the Parvaim of the Scriptures, and adds that, in the time of Solomon, they were famous among those who made voyages by sea; but it does not appear that there is any solid foundation for this hypothesis. It is the general belief among the Paravas that their original country was Ayodhya, or Oudh; and it appears that, previously to the war of Mahâbhârata, they inhabited the territory bordering on the river Yamuna or Juman. At present they are chiefly found in the seaport towns of the Tinnevelly district in the south of India, and also in some of the provinces on the north-west coast of Ceylon. With regard to their origin, there is a variety as well as discordancy of opinions. Some of the Tantras represent them to be descended from a Brâhman by a Sîdra woman, which the Jâtíbédi Nîl (a work of some celebrity among the Tamils) states them to be the offspring of a Kurava (or basket-maker) begotten clandestinely on a female of the Chatty (or merchant) tribe.

[1] See Thurston. Origin and History of the Paravas. Simon Casie Chitty. Journ Roy. As. Soc, IV, 1837.

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But the Paravas have among themselves quite a different tradition concerning their origin, which is founded on mythological fable. They relate that their progenitors were of the race Varuna (god of the sea), and on the occasion, when Siva had called Kartikeya (god of arms) into existence, for destroying the overwhelming power of the Asuras (evil spirits), they sprang up with him from the sacred lake Sarawana, and were like him nursed by the constellation Kartika. At the close of the last kalpa, when the whole earth was covered with a deluge, they constructed a dhóni or boat, and by it escaped the general destruction; and, when dry land appeared, they settled on the spot where the dhóni rested; hence it is called Dhónipura, or the city of the boat. The Paravas were once a very powerful people, and no doubt derived much of their ascendancy over other tribes from their knowledge of navigation. They has a succession of kings among them, distinguished by the title of Adíyarâsen, some of whom seem to have resided at Uttara Kósamangay, called at that time the city of Mangay, a famous place of Hindu pilgrimage in the neighbourhood of Râmnâd. In the Purâna entitled Valévísî Purânam, we meet with the following fable. Parvati, the consort of Siva, and her son Kartikéya, having offended the deity by revealing some ineffable mystery, were condemned to quit their celestial mansions, and pass through an infinite number of mortal forms, before they could be re-admitted to the divine presence. On the entreaty of Parvati, however, they were allowed, as a mitigation of the punishment, each to undergo but one transmigration, and, as about this time, Triambaka, King of the Paravas, and Varuna Valli his consort were making tapas (acts of devotion) to obtain issue, Parvati condesended to be incarnated as their daughter under the name of Tírysér Madenté. Her son Kartikéya, transforming himself into a fish, was roaming for some time in the north sea. It appears, however, that he left the north, and made his way into the south sea, where, growing to an immense size, he attacked the vessels employed by the Paravas in their fisheries, and threatened to destroy their trade. Whereupon the King Triambaka made a public declaration that whoever would cathc the fish should have his daughter to wife. Siva, now assuming the character of a Parava, caught the fish, and became re-united to his consort. In that section of the Mahâbhârata entitled Ádiparva it is said that the King of the Paravas, who resided on the banks of the Jumna, having found an infant girl in the belly of a fish, adopted her as his own daughter, giving her the name of Machchakindi, and that, when she grew up, she was employed, as was customary with the females of the Parava tribe, to ferry passengers over the river. On a certain day, the sage Parâsara having chanced to meet her at the ferry, she became with child by him, and was subsequently delivered of a son, the famous Vyâa who composed the Purânas. Her great personal charms afterwards induced King Santanu of the lunar race to admit her to his royal bed, and by him she became the mother of Vichitravírya, the grandsire of the Pândavas and Kauravas, whose contentions for the throne of Hastinâpîra form the subject of the Mahâbhârata. Hence the Paravas boast of being allied to the lunar race, and call themselves accordingly, besides displaying at their wedding feasts the banners and emblems peculiar to it. In the drama of Alliarasâny, who is supposed to have resided at Kudremallé on the north-west coast of Ceylon, the Paravas act a conspicuous part. We find them employed by the princess in fishing for pearls off the coast, and that under a severe penalty they were obliged to furnish her with ten kalams of pearls every season. It is noted, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, that "there are in reality three castes which answer to the name Paravan, and which speak Tamil, Malayâlam, and Canarese respectively. Probably all three are descended from the Tamil Paravans or Paratavans. The Tamil Paravans are fishermen of the sea coast. Their head-quarters is Tuticorin, and their headman is called Talavan. They are mostly Native Christians. They claim to be Kshatriyas of the Pândyan line of kings, and will eat only in the houses of Brâhmans. The Malayâlam Paravans are shell collectors, lime burners and gymnasts, and their women act as midwives. Their titles are Kurup, Vârakurup, and Nîrankurup (nîru, lime). The Canarese Paravas are umbrella-makers and devil dancers." It has been suggested that the west coast Paravas are the descendants of those who fled from Tinnevelly, in order to avoid the oppression of the Muhammadans.

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In the Census Report, 1871, the Paravas are summed up as being a fishing caste on the Madura and Tinnevelly coast, who "were found by the Portuguese, on their arrival in India, to be groaning under the Muhammadan yoke, and were assisted by the Portuguese on condition of their becoming Christians. This general conversion, for political ends, explains why the fishing population of the present day along the south-east coast is to a considerable extent Roman Catholic." It is noted by Mr. S.P. Rice [1] that the fishermen "who live in the extreme south are devout Catholics, and have preserved the Portuguese names by which their fathers were baptized into the Church, so that incongruous as it sounds, José Fernandez and Maria Santiago are but humble folk, catching fish in a primitive way, with no more clothing on than a small loin cloth and a picture of the Virgin."

Concerning the Paravas, Baldaeus [2] writes as follows. "The kingdom of Trevancor borders upon that of Coulang: all along the sea-shore inhabit the Paruas, who being for the most part Christians, you see the Shore all along as far as Comoryn, and even beyond it to Tutecoryn, full of little Churches, some of Wood, others of Stone. These People own their Conversion to Franciscus Xaverius, he being the first who planted the Principles of Christianity among them; they being so much taken with the reasonableness of the Ten commandments, that they received baptism in great numbers, the an accidental quarrel between a Parua and a Mahometan proved a strong motive to their Conversion.

The Paruas being sorely oppressed by the Mahometans, one John de Crus, a Native of Malabar, but who had been in Portugal, and honourably treated by John, the then king of Portugal, advised them to seek for aid at Cochin against the Moors, and to receive baptism. Accordingly some of the chief men among them (called Patangatays in their Language) were sent upon that errand to Cochin, where being kindly received they (in honour of him who had given his advice) took upon them the Sirname of Crus, a name still retained by most persons of note among the Paruas. In short, being delivered from the Moorish yoke, and the pearl-fishery (which formerly belonged to them) restored to the right Owners, above 20,000 of them received Baptism."

"The commencement of the Roman catholic Mission in Tinnevelly," Bishop caldwell writes, [3] "dates from 1532, when certain Paravas, representatives of the Paravas of fishing caste, visited Cochin for the purpose of supplicating the aid of the Portuguese against their Muhammadan oppressors, and were baptized there by Michael Vaz, Vicar-General of the Bishop of Goa. The same ecclesiastic, with other priests, accompanied the fleet which sailed for the purpose of chastising the Muhammadans, and, as soon as that object was accomplished, set about baptizing the Paravas all along the coast, in accordance with the agreement into which their representatives had entered. The entire Parava caste adopted the religion of their Portuguese deliverers and most of them received baptism. Some, however, did not receive baptism for some cause till Xavier's time, ten years afterwards. Xavier, on his arrival in the south, could not speak Tamil, and spent some months in committing to memory Tamil translations of the Creed, Lord's Prayer, Ave Maria, and Decalogue. He then proceeded to visit all the villages of the coast, bell in hand, to collect the inhabitants, and gave them Christian instruction. The Paravas thus Christianised-- called generally at that time the comorin Christians-- inhabited thirty villages, and numbered, according to the most credible account, twenty thousand souls. These villages extended all the way along the coast at irregular intervals from cape Comorin to the island promontory of Râmésvaram, if not beyond. It does not appear that any village in the interior joined in the movement."

[1] Occasional Essays on Native South Indian Life, 1901.

[2] A description of ye East India Casts of Malabar and Coromandel, 1703.

[3] History of Tinnevelly.

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"It appears," Mr. Casie Chitty states "that the Portuguese treated the Paravas with great kindness, permitted intermarriages, and even allowed them to assume their surnames, so that we find among them many Da Limas, Da Cruzs, Da Andrados, Da Canhas, etc. They gave the chief of the Paravas the title of Dom, and allowed him the exclusive right of wearing a gold chain with a cross as a badge of nobility. [The name of a recent hereditary chief or Jâti Talaivan or Talaivamore of the Paravas was Gabriel de Cruz Lazarus Motha Vas.] As soon as the Dutch took possession of Tutocoryn (Tuticorin) and other adjacent towns where the Paravas are found, they employed Dr. Baldaeus and a few other ministers of their persuasion to suppress the Roman Catholic faith, and to persuade the Paravas to adopt their own in its stead; but in this they met with a total failure, and were once very nearly bringing on a general revolt. Notwithstanding the intolerance of the Dutch with regard to the Romish Church, the Paravas still remember them with gratitude, as they afforded them the means of extensive livelihood by establishing in their principal town (Tutocoryn) a public manufactory of cloth, and thus maintaining a considerable working capital."

Concerning the history of the Paravas, and their connection with the pearl-fisheries on the Indian side of the Gulf of Manaar, much information is given by Mr. J. Hornell, [1] from whose account the following extracts are taken. "When the Portuguese rounded Cape Comorin, they found the pearl fisheries of the Gulf of Manarr in the hands of the Paravas, whom tradition shows to have had control of this industry from time immemorial. Of the origin of these people we know extremely little. We know, however, that in the old days, from 600 B.C. and for 1,500 years or more thereafter, the country now comprehended in the districts of Madura and Tinnevelly formed the great Tamil kingdom of Pândya. And, in the old Tamil work called the Kalveddu, the position of the pearl fishing caste to this monarchy is incidentally mentioned in the following extract: 'Vidanarayanen Cheddi and the Paravu men who fished pearls by paying tribute to Alliyarasani, daughter of Pandya, king of Madura, who went on a voyage, experienced bad weather in the sea, and were driven to the shores of Lanka, where they founded Karainerkai and Kutraimalai. Vidanarayanen Cheddi had the treasures of his ship stored there by the Paravas, and established pearl fisheries at Kadalihilapam and Kallachihilapam, and introduced the trees which change iron into gold.' In the Maduraik-kanchi the Paravas are described as being most powerful in the country round Korkai. 'Well fed on fish and armed with bows, their hordes terrified their enemies by their dashing valour.' The Maduraik-kanchi describes Korkai as the chief town in the country of Parathavar and the seat of the pearl fishery, with a population consisting chiefly of pearl divers and chank cutters. [2] When the Pandyan kingdom was powerful, the Paravas had grants of certain rights from the monarchy, paying tribute from the produce of the fisheries, and receiving protection and immunity from taxation in return. The conditions under which the Paravas lived at the opening of the sixteenth century are graphically set forth in a report, dated 19th December, 1669, written by Van Reede and Laurens Pyh, respectively Commandant of the coast of Malabar and Canara and senior merchant and Chief of the sea-ports of Madura. Under the protection of those Râjas there lived a people, which had come to these parts from other countries [3] they are called Paravas they lived a seafaring life, gaining their bread by fishing and by diving for pearls; they had purchased from the petty Râjas small streaks of the shore, along which they settled and built villages, and they divided themselves as their numbers progressively increased. In these purchased lands they lived under the rule of their own headmen, paying to the Râjas only an annual present, free from all other taxes which bore upon the natives so heavily, looked upon as strangers, exempt from tribute or subjection to the Râjas, having a chief of their own election, whose descendants are still called kings of the Paravas, and who drew a revenue from the whole people, which in process of time has spread itself from Quilon to Bengal. Their importance and power have not been reduced by this dispersion, for they are seen at every pearl fishery (on which occasions the Paravas assemble together) surpassing in distinction, dignity and outward honours all other persons there.

[1] Report on the Indian Pearl fisheries in the Gulf of Manaar, 1905.

[2] Shell of the gastropod mollusc, Turbinella rapa.

[3] "This," Mr. Hornell writes, "is most improbable. They are more probably the descendants of Naga fishermen settled in the district prior to the immigration of Tamil invaders.

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The pearl fishery was the principal resource and expedient from which the Paravas obtained a livelihood, but as from their residence so near the sea they had no manner of disposing of their pearls, they made an agreement with the Râjas that a market day should be proclaimed throughout their dominions, when merchants might securely come from all parts of India, and at which the divers and cutlers necessary to furnish provisions for the multitude might also meet; and, as this assemblage would consist of two different races, namely, the Paravas and subjects of the Râjas, as well as strangers and travellers; two kinds of guards and tribunals were to be established to prevent all disputes and quarrels arising during this open market, every man being subject to his own judge, and his case being decided by him; all payments were then also divided among the headmen of the Paravas, who were the owners of that fishery, and who hence became rich and powerful; they had weapons and soldiers of their own, which they were able to defend themselves against the violence of the Râjas or their subjects, The Moors who had spread themselves over India, and principally along the coasts of Madura, were strengthened by the natives professing Muhammadanism, and by the Arabs, Saracens, and the Privateers of the Sammoryn, [1] and they began also to take to pearl diving as an occupation, but being led away by ill-feeling and hope of gain, they often attempted to outreach the Paravas, some of whom even they gained to their party and to their religion, by which means they obtained so much importance, that the Râjas joined themselves to the Moors, anticipating great advantages from the trade which they carried on, and from their power at sea; and thus the Paravas were oppressed, although they frequently rose against their adversaries, but they always got the worst of it, until at last in a pearl fishery at Tutucoryn, having purposely raised a dispute, they fell upon the Moors, and killed some thousands of them, burnt their vessels, and remained masters of the country, though much in fear that the Moors, joined by the pirates of Calicut, would rise against them in revenge. The Portuguese arrived about this time with one ship at Tutucoryn; the Paravas requested them for assistance, and obtained a promise of it, on conditions that they should become Christians; this they generally agreed to, and having sent Commissioners with some of the Portuguese to Goa, they were received under the protection of that nation, and their Commissioners returned with priests, and a naval force conveying troops, on which all the Paravas of the seven ports were baptized, accepted as subjects of the King of Portugal, and they dwindled thus from having their own chiefs and their own laws into subordination to priests and Portuguese, who however settled the rights and privileges of the Paravas so firmly that the Râjas no longer dared interfere with them, or attempt to impede or abridge their prerogative; on the contrary they were compelled to admit of separate laws for the Paravas from those which bound their own subjects. The Portuguese kept for themselves the command at sea, the pearl fisheries, the sovereignty over the Paravas, their villages and harbours, whilst the Naick of Madura, who was a subject of the King of the Carnatic, made himself master at this time of the lands about Madura, and in a short time afterwards of all the lower countries from Cape Comoryn to Tanjore, expelling and rooting out all the princes and land proprietors, who were living and reigning there; but on obtaining the sovereignty of all these countries, he wished to subject the Paravas to his authority, in which attempt he was opposed by the Portuguese, who often, not being powerful enough effectual to resist, left the land with the priests and Paravas, and went to the islands of Manaar and Jaffnapatam, from whence they sent coasting vessels along the Madura shores, and caused so much disquiet that the revenue was ruined, trade circumscribed, and almost annihilated, for which reasons the Naick himself was obliged to solicit the Portuguese to come back again. The Political Government of India, perceiving the great benefit of the fishery, appointed in the name of the King of Portugal military chiefs and captains to superintend it, leaving the churches and their administration to the priests.

[1] The Zamorin of Calicut.

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Those captains obtained from the fisheries each time a profit of 6,000 rix-dollars for the king, leaving the remainder of the income from them for the Paravas; but seeing they could not retain their superiority in that manner over the people, which was becoming rich, luxurious, drunken, with prosperity, and with the help of the priests, who protected them, threatening the captains, which often occasioned great disorders, the latter determined to build a fort for the king at Tutucoryn, which was the chief place of all the villages; but the priests who feared by this to lose much of their consequence as well as of their revenue, insisted that, if such a measure was proceeded with, they would all be ruined, on which account they urged on the people to commit irregularities, and made the Paravas fear that the step was a preliminary one to the making all of them slaves; and they therefore raised such hindrances to the work that it never could be completed.

"The Paravas," Mr. Hornell continues, "although the original holders of the fishery rights, had begun, prior to the arrival of the Portuguese, to feel the competition of the restless Muhammadan settlers on the coast, who, coming, as many must have done, from the coast of the Persian Gulf, knew already all there was to know of pearl-fishing. The descendants of these Arabs and their proselytes, known as Moros to the Portuguese, are the Moormen or Lubbais of today. Their chief settlement was Kayal, a town situated near the mouth of the river Tambrapurni, and which in Marco Polo's time (1290-91) was a great and noble city. It shared with Tuticorin for fully 500 years the honour of being one of the two great pearl markets of the coast the one being the Moor, the other the Parava, head-quarters. Menezes, writing in 1622, states that for many years the fisheries had become extinct because of the great poverty into which the Paravas had fallen. Tuticorin, and the sovereignty of the pearl banks and of the Paravas, passed to the Dutch in 1658. In the report of the pearl fishery, 1 1708, the following entries occur in the list of free stones according to ancient customs: 96,5 to the Naick of Madura 4 Xtian Ian, 92f(1,2) Moorish; 10 to Head Moorman of Cailpatnam 5 Xtian, 5 Moorish. 60 to Theuver 60 Moorish. 185 to the Pattangatyns of this coast all Xtian stones.

"The 185 stones," Mr. Hornell writes, "given to the Pattangatyns or headmen of the Paravas was in the nature of remuneration to these men for assistance in inspecting the banks, in guarding any oyster banks discovered, in recruiting divers, and in superintending operations during the course of the fishery. In 1889, the Madras government recorded its appreciation of the assistance rendered by the Jati Talaivan, and directed that his privilege of being allowed the take of two boats be continued. Subsequently, in 1891, the Government, while confirming the general principle of privilege remuneration to the Jati Talaivan, adopted the more satisfactory regulation of placing the extent of the remuneration upon the basis of a sliding scale, allowing him but one boat when the Government boats numbered 30 or less, two for 31 to boats, three for 61 to 90 boats employed, and so on in this ratio. The value of the Jati Talaivan's two privilege boats in the 1890 fishery was Rs. 1,424, in that of 1900 only Rs. 172." The Jadi Talaivân is said to have been denominated by the Dutch the prince of the seven havens. It is noted in the pearl fishery report, 1900, that "the Paravas are a constant source of trouble, both on the banks and in the kottoo (shed), where they were constantly being caught concealing oysters, which of course were always confiscated. Only one Arab was caught doing this, and his companions abused him for disgracing them."

According to Mr. Casie Chitty, the Paravas are divided into thirteen classes, viz.:

Headmen.

Dealers in cloth.

Divers for corals.

Sailors.

Divers for pearl-oysters.

Divers for chanks.

Packers of cloth.

Fishers who catch tortoises (turtles).

Fishers who catch porpoises.

Fishers who catch sharks and other fish.

Palanquin bearers.

Peons, who wait about the person of the Chief.

Fishers, who catch crabs.

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It is noted by Canon A. Margóschis that the Parava females are famous for the excessive dilatation of the lobes of the ears, and for wearing therein the heaviest and most expensive gold ear jewels made of sovereigns. Ordinary jewels are said to cost Rs. 200, but heavy jewels are worth Rs. 1,000 and even more.

The longer the ears, the more jewels can be used, and this appears to be rationale of elongated ears.

In a recent account of a Parava wedding in high life, I read [1] that "the bride and bridegroom proceeded to the church at the head of an imposing procession, with music and banners. The service, which was fully choral, was conducted by a priest from their own community, after which the newly wedded couple went in procession to the residence of the Jâti Talavamore, being escorted by their distinguished host in person. The Jâti Talavamore, who wore a picturesque, if somewhat antiquated, robe, rode in a gorgeously upholstered palanquin, with diamonds, was becomingly attired in a superb kincob bodice.

"In a note on the Paravans of Travancore, Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar writes that "they are found in most tâluks of the State. The title sometimes used by them is Kuruppu. The Paravans of Chengannîr and Tiruvella call themselves Chakka, a word supposed by the castemen to be derived from slagnya or praiseworthy, but perhaps more correctly from Chakku, the basket carried by them in their hands.

The Paravans are divided into numerous sections. In the south, the Tamil-speaking division follows the makkathâyam, while all the Malayâlam speaking sections follow the maru-makathâyam law of inheritance.

There is also a difference in the dress and ornaments of the two sections, the former adopting the fashion of the east coast, and the latter that of the west. The Travancore Paravas are really one with the Tamil-speaking Paravas of the east coast. While most of them became converts to Christianity, in Travancore they have tried to preserve their separate existence, as they had already spread into the interior of the country before the proselytism of St. Xavier had made its enduring mark on the sea-coast village.

There is a curious legednd about the settlement of the Chakkas in Central Travancore. Formerly, it would appear, they were Sîdras, but, for some social offence committed by them, they were out-casted by the Edappalli chieftain. They were once great devotees of Srí Krishna, the lord of Tiruvaranmulai in the Tiruvella tâluk. The Paravas say further that they are descended from a high-caste woman married to an Izhava. The word Parava is accordingly derived from para, which in Sanskrit means foreign, The Paravas engage in various occupations, of which the most impotent in Central Travancore are climbing palm trees, catching fish, and washing clothes for Christians, Muhammadans, and depressed classes of Hindus. In South Travancore they make wicker baskets, rattan chairs, and sofas. Women, in all parts of the State, are lime and shell burners. They worship at the Aranmula temple, and pay special worship to Bhadrakâli. Their priest is known as Parakuruppu, who, having to perform four different functions, is also entitled Nâlinnukâran. It is his duty to preside at marriage and other rites, to be caste barber, to carry the news of death to the relations, and to perform the priestly functions at funerals. The Paravas perform both the tâli-kettu and sambandham ceremonies."

[1] Madras Mail, 1907.

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Pardhân.: -Pathâri, Panâl.[1] - An inferior branch of the minstrels of the Gonds tribes whose occupation is to act as the priests and minstrels of the Gonds. In 1911 the Pardhâns numbered nearly 120,000 persons in the Central Provinces and Berâr. The only other locality where they are found is Hyderâbâd, which returned 8000. The name Pardhân is of Sanskrit origin and signifies a minister or agent. It is the regular designation of the principal minister of a Râjpît State, who often fulfils the functions of a Mayor of the Palace. That it was applied to the tribe in this sense is shown by the fact that they are also known as Diwân, which has the same meaning. There is a tradition that the Gond kings employed Pardhâns as their ministers, and as the Pardhâns acted as genealogists they may have been more intelligent than the Gonds, though they are in no degree less illiterate. To themselves and their Gond relations the Pardhâns are frequently not known by that name, which has been given to them by the Hindus, but as Panâl. Other names for the tribe are Parganiha, Desai and Pathâri. Parganiha is a title signifying the head a pargana, and is now applied by courtesy to some families in Chhattísgarh. Desai has the same signification, being a variant of Deshmukh or the Marâtha revenue officer in charge of a circle of villages. Pathâri means a bard or genealogist, or according to another derivation a hillman. On the Satpîra plateau and in Chhattísgarh the tribe is known as Pardhân Pathâria. In Bâlâghât they are also called Mokâsi. The Gonds themselves look down on the Pardhâns and say that the word Pathâria means inferior, and they relate that Bura Deo, their god, had seven sons. These were talking together one day as they dined and they said that every caste had an inferior branch to do it homage, but they had none; and they therefore agreed that the youngest brother and his descendants should be inferior to the others and make obeisance to them, while the others promised to treat him almost as their equal and give him a share in all the offerings to the dead. The Pardhâns or Pathârias are the descendants of the youngest brother and they accost the Gonds with the greeting 'Bâbu Johâr,' or 'Good luck, sir.' The Gonds return the greeting by saying 'Pathâri Johâr,' or 'How do you do, Pathâri.' Curiously enough Johâr is also the salutation sent by Râjpît chief to an inferior landholder, [2] and the custom must apparently have been imitated by the Gonds. A variant of the story is that one day the seven Gond brothers were worshipping their god, but he did not make his appearance; so the youngest of them made a musical instrument out of a string and a piece of wood and played on it. The god was pleased with the music and came down to be worshipped, and hence the Pardhâns as the descendants of the youngest brother continue to play on the kingri or lyre, which is their distinctive instrument. The above stories have been invented to account for the social inferiority of the Pardhâns to the Gonds, but their position merely accords with the general rule that the bards and genealogists of any caste are a degraded section. The fact is somewhat contrary to preconceived ideas, but the explanation given of it is that such persons make their living pursuit of their calling they wander about to attend at wedding feasts all over the country, and consequently take food with many people of doubtful social position. This seems a reasonable interpretation of the rule of the inferiority of the bard, which at any rate obtains generally among the Hindu castes.

Tribal Subdivisions.

The tribe has several endogamous divisions, of which the principal are the Râj Pardhâns, the Gânda Pardhâns and the Thothia Pardhâns. The Râj Pardhâns appear to be the descendants of alliances between Râj Gonds and Pardhân women. They say that formerly the priests of Buru Deo lived a celibate life, and both men and women attended to worship the god; but on one occasion the priests ran away with some women and after this the Gonds did not know who should be appointed to serve the deity. While they were thus perplexed, a kingri (or rude wooden lyre) fell from heaven on to the lap of one of them, and, in accordance with this plain indication of the divine will, he became the priest, and was the ancestor of the Râj Pardhâns; and since this contretemps the priests are permitted to marry, while women are no longer allowed to attend the worship of Buru Deo.

[1] See Russell.

[2] Tod's Râjasthân, i. p. 165. But Johâr is a common term of salutation among the Hindus.

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The Thothia subtribe are said to be the descendants of illicit unions, the word Thothia meaning 'maimed'; while the Gândas are the offspring of intermarriages between the Pardhâns and members of that degraded caste. Other groups are the Mâdes or those of the Mâd country in Chânda and Bastar, the Khalotias or those of the Chhattísgarh plain, and the Deogarhias of Deogarh in Chhindwâra; and there are also some occupational division, as the Kandres or bamboo-workers, the Gaitas who act as priests in Chhattísgarh, and the Arakhs who engage in service and sell and clothes. A curious grouping is found in Chânda, where the tribe are divided into the Gond Pathâris and Chor or 'thief' Pathâris. The latter have obtained their name from their criminal propensities, but they are said to be proud of it and to refuse to intermarry with any families not having the designation of Chor Pathâri. In Raipur the Pathâris are said to be the offspring of Gonds by women of other castes, and the descendants of such unions. The exogamous divisions of the Pardhâns are the same as those of the Gonds, and like them they are split up into groups worshipping different members of gods whose members may not marry with one another.

Marriage.

A Pardhân wedding is usually held in the bridegroom's village in some public place, such as the market or cross-roads. The boy wears a blanket and carries a dagger in his hand. The couple walk five times round in a circle, after which the boy catches hold of the girl's hand. He tries to open her fist which she keeps closed, and when he succeeds in this he places an iron ring on her little finger and puts his right toe over that of the girl's. The officiating priest them ties the ends of their clothes together and five chickens are killed. The customary bride-price is Rs. 12, but it varies in different localities. A widower taking a girl bride has, as a rule, to pay a double price. A widow is usually taken in marriage by her deceased husband's younger brother.

Religion.

As the priests of the Gonds, the Pardhâns are employed to conduct the ceremonial worship of their great god Buru Deo, which takes place on the third day of the bright fort-night of Baisâkh (April). Many goats or pigs are then offered to him with liquor, cocoanuts, betel-leaves, flowers, lemons and rice. Buru Deo is always enshrined under a tree outside the village, either of the mahua or sâj (Terminalia tomentosa) varieties. In Chhattísgarh the Gonds say that the origin of Buru Deo was from a child born of an illicit union between a Gond and a Râwat woman. The father murdered the child by strangling it, and its spirit then began to haunt the man and all his relations, and gradually extended its attentions to all the Gonds of the surrounding country. It finally consented to be appeased by a promise of adoration from the whole tribe, and since then has been installed as the principal deity of the Gonds. They story is interesting as showing how completely devoid of any supernatural majesty or power is the Gond conception of their principal deity.

Social customs.

Like the Gonds, the Pardhâns will eat almost any kind of food, including beef, pork and the flesh of rats and mice, but they will not eat the leavings of others. They will take food from the hands of Gonds, but the Gonds do not return the compliment. Among the Hindus generally the Pardhâns are much despised, and their touch conveys impurity while that of a Gond does not. Every Pardhân has tattooed on his left arm near the inside of the elbow a dotted figure which represents his totem or the animal, plant or other natural object after which his sept is named. Many of them have a better type of countenance than the Gonds, which is perhaps due to an infusion of Hindu blood. They are also generally more intelligent and cunning. They have criminal propensities, and the Pathârias of Chhattísgarh are especially noted for cattle-lifting and thieving. Writing forty years ago Captain Thomson [1] described the Pardhâns of Seoni as bearing the very worst of characters, many of them being regular cattle-lifters and gang robbers.

[1] Seoni Settlement Report (1867), p. 43

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In some parts of Seoni they had become the terror of the village proprietors, whose houses and granaries they fired if they were in any way reported on or molested. Since that time the Pardhâns have become quite peaceable, but they still have a bad reputation for petty thieving.

Methods Of Cheating Among Pathâris.

In Chhattísgarh one subdivision is said to be known as Sonthaga (sona, gold, and thag, a cheat), because they cheat people by passing counterfeit gold. Their methods were described as follows in 1872 by Captain Mc Neill, District Superintendent of Police:[1] "They procure a quantity of the dry bark of the pípal, [2] mahua, [3] tamarind or gular [4] trees and set it on fire; when it has become red-hot it is raked into a small hole and a piece of well-polished brass is deposited among the glowing embers. It is constantly moved and turned about and in ten or fifteen minutes taken a deep orange colour resembling gold. It is then placed in a small heap of wood-ashes and after a few minutes taken out again and carefully wrapped in cotton-wool. The peculiar orange colour results from the sulphur and resin in the bark being rendered volatile. They then proceed to buy cattle. On concluding a bargain they suddenly find they have no money, and after some hesitation reluctantly produce the gold, and say they are willing to part with it at a disadvantage, thereby usually inducing the belief that it has been stolen. The cupidity of the owner of the cattle is aroused, and he accepts the gold at a rate which would be very advantageous if it were genuine. At other times they join a party of pilgrims, to which some of their confederates have already obtained admission in disguise, and offer to sell their gold as being in great want of money. A piece is first sold to the confederates on very cheap terms and the other pilgrims eagerly participate." It would appear that the Pathâris have not much to learn from the owners of buried treasure or the confidence or three-card trick performers of London, and their methods are is striking contrast to the guileless simplicity usually supposed to be a characteristic of the primitive tribes. Mr. White states that "All the property acquired is taken back to the village and there distributed by a panchâyat or committee, whose head is known as Mokâsi. The Mokâsi is elected by the community and may also be deposed by it, though he usually holds office for life; to be a successful candidate for the position of Mokâsi one should have wealth and experience and it is not a disadvantage to have been in jail. The Mokâsi superintends the internal affairs of the community and maintains good relations with the proprietor and village watchman by means of gifts."

Musicians And Priests.

The Pardhâns and Pathâris are also, as already stated, village musicians, and their distinctive instrument the kingri or kingadi is described by Mr. White as consisting of a stick passed through a gourd. A string or wire is stretched over this and the instrument is played with the fingers. Another kind possesses three strings of woven horse-hair and is played with the help of a bow. The women of the Gânda Pardhân subtribe act as midwives. Mr. Tawney wrote of the Pardhâns of Chhidwâra: [5] "The Râj-Pardhâns are the bards of the Gonds and they can also officiate as priests, but the Bhumka generally acts in the latter capacity and the Pardhâns confine themselves to singing the praises of the god. At every public worship in the Deo-khalla or dwelling-place of the gods, there should, if possible, be a Pardhân, and great men use them on less important occasions. They cannot even worship their household gods or be married without the Pardhâns. The Râj-Pardhâns are looked down on by the Gonds, and considered as somewhat inferior, seeing that they take the offerings at religious ceremonies and the clothes of the dear departed at funerals. This has never been the business of a true Gond, who seems never happier than when wandering in the jungle, and who above all things loves his axe, and next to that a tree to chop at. There is nothing in the ceremonies or religion of the Pardhâns to distinguish them from the Gonds."

[1] From a collection of notes on Pathâris by various officers. The passage is somewhat abridged in reproduction.

[2] Ficus R.

[3] Bassia latifolia.

[4] Ficus glomerata.

[5] Note already quoted.

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Pardhi.: -Bahelia, Mirshikar, Moghia, Shikari, Takankar. [1] A low caste of wandering fowlers and hunters. They numbered about 15,000 persons in the Central Provinces and Berar in 1911, and are found scattered over several Districts. These figures include about 2000 Bahelias. The word Pardhi is derived from the Marathi paradh, hunting. Shikari, the common term for a native hunter, is an alternative name for the caste but particularly applied to those who use firearms, which most Pardhis refuse to do. Moghia is the Hindustani word for fowler, and Takankar is the name of a small occupational offshoot of the Pardhis in Berar, who travel from village to village and roughen the household grinding-mills when they have worn smooth. The word is derived from takna, to tap or chisel. The caste appears to be a mixed group made up of Bawarias or other Rajput outcastes. Gonds and social derelicts from all sources. The Pardhis perhaps belong more especially to the Maratha country, as they are numerous in Khandesh, and many of them talk a dialect of Gujarati. In the northern Districts their speech is a mixture of Marwari and Hindu, while they often know Marathi or Urdu as well. The name for the similar class of people in northern India is Bahelia, and in the Central Provinces the Bahelias and Pardhis merge into one another and are not recognisable as distinct groups. The caste is recruited from the most diverse elements and women of any except the impure castes can be admitted into the community; and on this account their customs differ greatly in different localities. According to their own legends the first ancestor of the Pardhis was a Gond, to whom Mahadeo taught the art of snaring game so that he might avoid the sin of shooting it; and hence the ordinary Pardhis never use a gun.

Subdivisions.

Like other wandering castes the Pardhis have a large number of endogamous groups, varying lists being often given in different areas. The principal subcastes appear to be the Shikari or Bhil Pardhis, who use firearms; the Phanse Pardhis, who hunt with traps and snares; the Langoti Pardhis, so called because they wear only a narrow strip of cloth round the loins; and the Takankars. Both the Takankars and Langotis have strong criminal tendencies. Several other groups are recorded in different Districts, as the Chitewale, who hunt with a tame leopard; the Gayake, who stalk their prey behind a bullock; the Gosain Pardhis, who dress like religious mendicants in ochre-coloured clothes and do not kill deer, but only hares, jackals and foxes; the Shishi ke Telwale, who sell crocodile's oil; and the Bandarwale who go about with perfoming monkeys. The Bahelias have a subcaste known as Karijat, the members of which only kill birds of a black colour. Their exogamous groups are nearly all those of Rajput tribes, as Sesodia, Panwar, Solanki, Chauhan, Rathor, and so on; it is probable that these have been adopted through imitation by vagrant Bawarias and others sojourning in Rajputana. There are also a few groups with titular or other names, and it is stated that members of clans bearing Rajput names will take daughters from the others in marriage, but will not give their daughters to them.

Marriage And Funeral Customs.

Girls appear to be somewhat scarce in the caste and a bride-price usually paid, which is given as Rs. 9 in Chanda, Rs. 35 in Bilaspur, and Rs. 60 or more in Hoshangabad and Saugor. If a girl should be seduced by a man of the caste she would be united to him by the ceremony of a widow's marriage: but her family will require a bride from her husband's family in exchange for the girl whose value he has destroyed. Even if led astray by an outsider, or if a girl is debauched by her brother, she may still be married to one of the community, but no one will take food from her hands during her lifetime, though her children will be recognised as proper Pardhis.

[1] See Russell. This article is partly compiled from papers by Mr. Aduram Chaudhri and Pandit Pyare Lal Misra of the Gazetteer Office, and extracts from Mr. Kitts' Berar Census Report (1881), and Mr. Sewell's note on the caste quoted in Mr. Gayer's Lectures on the Criminal Tribes of the Central Provinces.

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A special fine of Rs. 100 is imposed on a brother who commits this crime. The ceremony of marriage varies according to the locality in which they reside; usually the couple walk seven times round a tanda or collection of their small mat tents. In Berar a cloth is held up by four poles as a canopy over them and they are preceded by a married woman carrying five pitchers of water. Divorce and the marriage of widows are freely permitted. The caste commonly bury their dead, placing the head to the north. They do not shave their heads in token of mourning.

Religion.

In Berar their principal deity is the goddess Devi, who is known by different names. Every 1 family of Langoti Pardhis has, Mr. Gayer states, . its image in silver of the goddess, and because of this no Langoti Pardhi woman will wear silver below the waist or hang sari on a peg, as it must never be put on the same level as the goddess. They also sometimes refuse to wear red or coloured clothes, one explanation for this being that the image of the goddess is placed on a bed of red cloth. In Hoshangabad their principal deity is called Guraiya Deo, and his image, consisting of a human figure embossed in silver, is kept in a leather bag on the west side of their tents; and for this reason women going out of the encampment for a necessary purpose always proceed to the east. They also sleep with their feet to the east. Goats are offered to Guraiya Deo and their horns are placed in his leather bag. In Hoshangabad they sacrifice a fowl to the ropes of their tents at the Dasahra and Diwali festivals, and on the former occasion clean their hunting implements and make offerings to them of turmeric and rice. They are reported to believe that the sun and moon die and are reborn daily. The hunter's calling is one largely dependent on luck or chance, and, as might be expected, the Pardhis are firm believers in omens, and observe various rules by which they think their fortune will be affected. A favourite omen is the simple device of taking some rice or juari in the hand and counting the grains. Contrary to the usual rule, even numbers are considered lucky and odd ones unlucky. If the first result is unsatisfactory a second or third trial may be made. If a winnowing basket or millstone be left to fall and drop to the right hand it is lucky omen, and similarly if a flower from Devi's garland should fall to the right side. The bellowing of cows, the mewing of a cat, the howling of jackal and sneezing are other unlucky omens. If a snake passes from left to right it is a bad omen and if from right to left a good one. A man must not sleep with his head on the threshold of a house or in the doorway of a tent under penalty of a fine of Rs. 2-8; the only explanation given of this rule is that such a position is unlucky because a corpse is carried out across the threshold. A similar penalty is imposed if he falls down before his wife even by accident. A Pardhi, with the exception of members of the Sesodia clan, must never sleep on a cot, a fine of five rupees being imposed for a breach of this rule. A man who has once caught a deer must not again have hair of his head touched by a razor, and thus the Pardhis may be recognised by their long and unkempt locks. A breach of this rule is punished with a fine of fifteen rupees, but is not observed everywhere. A woman must never step across the rope or peg of a tent, nor upon the place where the blood of a deer has flowed on to the ground. During her monthly period of impurity a woman must not cross a river nor sit in a boat. A Pardhi will never kill or sell a dog and they will not hunt wild dogs even if money is offered to them. This is probably because they look upon the wild dog as a fellow-hunter, and consider that to do him injury would bring ill-lick upon themselves. A Pardhi has also theoretically a care for the preservation of game. When has caught a number of birds in his trap, he will let a pair of them loose so that they may go on breeding. Women are not permitted to take any part in the work of hunting, but are confined strictly to their household duties. A woman who kicks her husband's stick is fined vegetables and other purposes, but the meaning of the rule is not clear unless one of its uses is for the enforcement of conjugal discipline. A Pardhi may not swear by a dog, a car or a squirrel. Their most solemn oath is in the name of their deity Guraiya Deo, and it is believed that any one who falsely takes this oath will become a leper.

[1] Lectures on Criminal Tribes of the C. P., p. 19.

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The Phans Pardhis may not travel in a railway train, and some of them are forbidden even to use a cart or other conveyance.

Dress, Food And Social Customs.

In dress and appearance the Pardhis are disreputable and dirty. Their features are dark and their hair matted and unkempt. They never wear shoes and say that they are protected by a special promise of the goddess Devi to their first ancestor that no insect or reptile in the forest should injure them. The truth is no doubt, that shoes would make it impossible for them to approach their game without disturbing it, and from long practice the soles of their feet become impervious to thorns and minor injuries. Similarly the Langoti Pardhis are so called because they wear only a narrow strip of cloth round the loins. The explanation which they themselves give, [1] a somewhat curious one in view of their appearance, is that an ordinary dhoti or loin-cloth if worn might become soiled and therefore unlucky. Their woman do not have their noses pierced and never wear spangles or other marks on the forehead. The Pardhis still obtain fire by igniting a piece of cotton with flint and iron. Mr. Sewell notes that their women eat at the same time as the men, instead of after them as among most Hindus. They explain this custom by saying that on one occasion a woman tried to poison her husband and it was therefore adopted as a precaution against similar attempts; but no doubt it had always prevailed, as the more orthodox practice would be almost incompatible with their gypsy life. Similar reasons of convenience account for their custom of celebrating marriages all the year round and neglecting the Hindu season of the four month of the rains. They travel about with little huts made of matting, which can be rolled up and carried off in few minutes. If rain comes on they seek shelter in the nearest village.[2] In some localities the caste eat no food cooked with butter or oil. They are usually considered as an impure caste, whose touch is a defilement to Hindus. Brahmans do not officiate at their ceremonies, though the Pardhis resort to the village Joshi or astrologer to have a propitious date indicated for marriages. They have to pay for such services money as Brahmans usually refuse to accept even uncooked grain from them. After childbirth women are held to be impure and forbidden to cook for their families for a period varying from six weeks to six months. During their periodical impurity they are secluded for four, six or eight days, the Pardhis observing very strict rules in these matters, as is not infrequently the case with the lowest castes. Their caste meetings, Mr. Sewell states, are known as Deokaria or "An act performed in honour of God"; at these meetings arrangements for expeditions are discussed and caste disputes decided. The penalty for social offencess is a fine of a specified quantity of liquor, the liquor provided by male and female delinquents being drunk by the men and women respectively. The punishment for adultery in either sex consists in cutting off a piece if the left ear with a razor, and a man guilty or intercourse with a prostitute is punished as if he had committed adultery. The Pardhi women are said to be virtuous.

Ordeals.

The Pardhis still preserve the primitive method of trial by ordeal. If a woman is suspected of misconduct she is made to pick a piece coin out of boiling oil; or a pipal leaf is placed on her hand and a red-hot axe laid over it, and if her hand is burnt or she refuses to stand the test she is pronounced guilty. Or, in the case if a man, the accused is made to dive into water; and as he dives as arrow is shot from a bow. A swift runner fetches and brings back the arrow, and if the diver can remain under water until the runner had returned he is held to be innocent. In Nimar, if an unmarried girl becomes pregnant, two cakes of dough are prepared, a piece of silver being placed in one and a lump of coal in the other. The girl takes one of the cakes, and if is found to contain the coal she is expelled from the community, while if she chooses the piece of silver, she is pardoned and made over to one of the caste. The idea of the ordeal is apparently to decide the question whether her condition was caused by a Pardhi or an outsider.

[1] Berar Census Report (1881), p. 135

[2] Bombay Ethnographic Survey, art. Pardhi.

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Methods of catching birds.

The Phans Pardhis hunt all kinds of birds and the smaller animals with the Phanda or snare. Mr. Ball describes their procedure as follows: [1] "For peacock, saras crane and bustard they have a long series of nooses, each provided with a wooden peg and all connected with a long string. The tension necessary to keep the nooses open is afforded by a slender slip of antelope's horn (very much resembling whalebone), which firms the core of the loop. Provided with several sets of these nooses, a trained bullock and a shield-like cloth screen dyed buff and pierced with eye-holes, the bird-catcher sets out for the jungle, and on seeing a flock of pea-fowl circles round then under cover of the screen and the bullock, while he guides by a nose-string. The birds feed in undisturbed, and the man rapidly pegs out his long strings of nooses, and when all are properly disposed, moves round to the opposite side of the birds and shows himself; when they of course run off, and one or more getting their feet in the nooses fall forwards and flap on the ground; the man immediately captures them, knowing that if the strain is relaxed the nooses will open and permit the bird's escape. Very cruel practices are in vogue with these people with reference to the captured birds, in order to keep them alive until a purchaser is found. The peacocks have a feather passed through the eyelids, by which means they are effectually blinded, while in the case of smaller birds both the legs and wings are broken." Deer, hares and even pig are also caught by a strong rope with running nooses. For smaller birds the appliance is a little rack about four inches high with uprights a few inches apart, between each of which is hung a noose. Another appliance mentioned by Mr. Ball is a set of long conical bag nets, which are kept open by hooks and provided with a pair of folding doors. The Pardhi has also a whistle made of deer-horn, with which he can imitate the call of the birds. Tree birds are caught with bird-lime as described by Sir G. Grierson. [2] The Bahelia has several long shafts of bamboos called nal or nar, which are tied together like a fishing rod, the endmost one being covered with bird-lime. Concealing himself behind his bamboo screen the Bahelia approaches the bird and when near enough strikes and secures it with his rod; or he may spread some grain out at a short distance, and as the birds are hopping about over it he introduces the pole, giving it a zig-zag movement and imitating as far as possible the progress of a snake. Having brought the point near one of the birds, which is fascinated by its stealthy approach, he suddenly jerks it into its breast and then drawing it to him, releases the poor palpitating creature, putting it away in his bag, and recommences the same operation. This method does not require the use of birdlime.

Hunting with leopards.

The manner in which the Chita Pardhis use the hunting leopard (felis jubata) for catching deer has often been described. [3] The leopard is caught full-grown by a noose in the manner related above. Its neck is first clasped in a wooden vice until it is half-strangled, and its feet are then bound with ropes and a can slipped over its head. It is partially starved for a time, and being always fed by the same man, after a month or so it becomes tame and learns to known its master. It is then led through villages held by ropes in each side to accustom it to the presence of human beings. On a hunting party the leopard is carried in a cart, hooded, and being approached from down wind, the deer allow the cart to get fairly close to them. The Indian antelope or black-buck are the usual quarry, and as these frequent cultivated land, they regard country carts without suspicion. The hood is then taken off and the leopard springs forward at the game with extreme velocity, perhaps exceeding that which any say that for the moment its speed is greater than that of a race-horse. It cannot maintain this for more than three or four hundred yards, however, and if in that distance the animal has not seized its prey, it relinquishes the pursuit and stalks about in a towering passion.

[1] Jungle Life in India, pp. 586-587.

[2] Peasant Life in Bihar, p.80.

[3] See Jerdon's Mammals of India, p. 97. The account there given is quoted in the Chhindwara District Gazetter, pp. 16-17.

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The Pardhis say that when it misses the game the leopard is as sulky as a human being and sometimes refuses food for a couple of days. If successful in the pursuit, it seizes the antelope by the throat; the keeper then comes up, and cutting the animal's throat collects some of the blood in the wooden ladle with which the leopard is always fed; this is offered to him, and dropping his hold he laps it up eagerly, when the hood is cleverly slipped on again. The conducting of the cheetah from its cage to the Chase is by no means an easy matter. The keeper leads him along, as he would a large dog, with a chain; and for a time as they scamper over the country the leopard goes willingly enough; but if anything arrests his attention, some noise from the forest, some scented trail upon the ground, he moves more slowly, throws his head aloft and peers savagely round. A few more minutes perhaps and he would be unmanageable. The keeper, however, is prepared for the emergency. He holds in his left hand a cocoanut shell, sprinkled on the inside with salt; and by means of a handle affixed to the shell he puts it at once over the nose of the cheetah. The animal licks the salt, loses the scent, forgets the object which arrested his attention, and is led quietly along again. [1]

Decoy Stags.

For hunting stags, tame stags were formerly used as decoy according to the method described as follows: "We had about a dozen trained stage, all males, with us. These, well acquainted with the object for which they were sent forward, advanced at a gentle trot over the open ground towards the skirt of the wood. They were observed at once by the watchers of the herd, and the boldest of the wild animals advanced to meet them. Whether the intention was to welcome them peacefully or to do battle for their pasturage they cannot tell; but in a few minutes the two parties were engaged in a furious contest. Head to head, antlers to antlers, the tame deer and the wild fought with great fury. Each of the tame animals, every one of them large and for midable, was closely engaged in contest with a wild adversary, standing chiefly on the defensive, not in any feigned battle or mimicry of war but in a hard-fought combat. We now made our appearance in the open ground on horseback. advancing towards the scene of conflict. The deer on the skirts of the wood, seeing us, took to flight; but those actually engaged maintained a party of native huntsmen, sent for the purpose, gradually drew near to the wild stag, getting in between them and the forest. What their object was we were not at the time aware; in truth it was not one that we could have approved or encouraged. They made their way too fiercely to mind them; they approached the animals, and with a skilful cut of their long knives the poor warriors fell hamstrung. We left pity for the noble animals as we saw them fall helplessly on the ground, unable longer to continue the contest and pushed down of course by the decoy-stags. Once down, they were unable to rise again.[2]

Hawks.

Hawks were also used in a very ingenious fashion to prevent duck from flying away when put upon water: " The trained hawks were now brought into requisition and marvellous it was to see the instinct with they seconded the efforts of their trainers. The ordinary hawking of the heron we had at a later period of this expedition; but the use now made of the animal was altogether different, and displayed infinitely more sagacity than one would suppose likely to be possessed by such an animal. These were trained especially for the purpose for which they were now employed. A flight of ducks-- thousands of birds-- were enticed upon the water as before by scattering corn over it. The hawks were then let fly, four or five of them. We made our appearance openly upon the bank, guns in hand, and the living swarm of birds rose at once into the air. The hawks circled above them, however, in a rapid revolving flight and they dared not ascend high. Thus was our prey retained fluttering in mid-air, until hundreds had paid the penalty with their lives.

[1] Private Life of an Eastern King, p.75.

[2] Private Life of an Eastern King pp. 69, 71.

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Only picture is your mind's eye the circling hawks above gyrating monotonously, the fluttering captives in mid-air, darting now here, now there to escape, and still coward-like huddling together; and the motley group of sportsmen on the bank and you have the whole scene before you at once." [1]

Crocodile Fishing.

For catching crocodile, a method by which as already stated one group of the Pardhis earn their livelihood, a large double hook is used, baited with a piece of putrid deer's flesh and attached to a hempen rope 70 or 80 feet long. When the crocodile has swallowed the hook, twenty or thirty persons drag the animal out of the water and it is despatched with axes. Crocodiles are hunted only in the months of Pus (December), Magh (January) and Chait (March), when they are generally fat and yield plenty of oil. The flesh is cut into pieces and stewed over a slow fire, when it exudes a watery oil. This is strained and sold in bottles at a rupee a seer (2 lbs). It is used as an embrocation for rheumatism and for neck galls of cattle. The Pardhis do not eat crocodile's flesh.

Other Occupations And Criminal Practices.

A body of Pardhis are sometimes employed by all the cultivators of a village jointly for the purpose of watching the spring crops during the day and keeping black-buck out of them. The Takankars are regularly employed as village servants in Berar and travel about roughening the stones of the household grinding-mills when their surfaces have worn smooth. For this they receive an annual contribution of grain from each household. The caste generally have criminal tendencies, and Mr. Sewell states that "The Langoti Pardhis and Takankars are the worst offenders. Ordinarily when committing dacoity they are armed with sticks and stones only. In digging through a wall they generally leave a thin strip at which the leader carefully listens before finally entering. Then when the hole had been made large enough, he strikes a match and holding it in front of him so that his features are shielded, has a good survey of the room before entering. As a rule, they do not divide the property on or near the scene of the crime, but take it home. Generally it is carried by one of the gang well behind the rest so as to enable it to be hidden if the party is challenged." In Bombay they openly rob the standing crops, and the landlords stand in such awe of them that they secure their goodwill by submitting to a regular system of blackmail. [2]

Parja.: -A small tribe, [3] originally an offshoot of the Gonds, who reside in the centre and east of the Bastar State and the adjoining Jaipur Zamíndâri of Madras. They number about 13,000 persons in the Central Provinces and 92,000 in Madras, where they are also known as Poroja. The name Parja appears to be derived from the Sanskrit Parja, a subject. The following notice of it is taken from the Madras Census Report [4] of 1871: "The term Parja is; as Mr. Carmichael has pointed out, merely a corruption of a Sanskrit term signifying a subject; and it is understood as such by the people themselves, who use it in contradistinction to a free hillman. Formerly, says a tradition that runs through the whole tribe, Râjas and Parjas were brothers, but the Râjas took to riding horses or, as the Barenja Parjas put it, sitting still, and we became carriers of burdens and Parjas. It is quite certain in fact that the term Parja is not a tribal denomination, but a class denomination; and it may be fitly rendered by the familiar epithat of ryot. There is no doubt, however, that by far the greater number of these Parjas are akin to the Khonds of the Ganjam Maliâhs. They are thrifty, hardworking cultivators, undisturbed by the intestinal broils which their cousins in the north engage in, and they bear in their breasts and inalienable reverence for their soil, the value of which they are rapidly becoming acquainted with. Their ancient rights to these lands are acknowledged by colonists from among the Aryans, and when a dispute arises about the boundaries of a field possessed by recent arrivals a Parja is usually called into point out the ancient landmarks.

[1] private Life of an Eastern King, pp. 39-40.

[2] Bombay Ethnographic Survey, ibidem.

[ 3] See Russell. This article is base on papers by Mr. Baijnâth and other officers of the Bastar State.

[ 4] By Dr. Cornish.

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Gadbas are also represented as indigenous from the long lapse of years that they have been in the country, but they are by no means of the patriarchal type that characterises the Parjas." In Bastar the caste are also known as Dhurwa, which may be derived from Dhur, the name applied to the body of Gonds as opposed to the Râj-Gonds. In Bastar. Dhurwa now conveys the sense of a headman of a village. The tribe have three divisions, Thakara or Tagara, Peng and Mudara, of which only the first is found in Bastar. Thakara appears to be a corruption of Thâkur, a lord, and the two names point to the conclusion that the Parjas were formerly dominant in this tract. They themselves have a story, somewhat resembling the one quoted above from Madras, to the effect that their ancestor was the elder brother of the first Râja of Bastar when he lived in Madras, to the south of Warangal. From there he had to flee on account of an invasion of the Muhammadans, and was accompanied by the goddess Dânteshwari, the tutelary deity of the Râjas of Bastar. In accordance with the command of the goddess the younger brother was considered the Râja and rode on a horse, while the elder went before him carrying their baggage. At Bhadrachallam they met the Bhatras, and further on the Halbas. The goddess followed them, guiding their steps, but she strictly enjoined on the Râja not to look behind him so as to see her. But when they came to the sands of the rivers Sankani and Dankani, the tinkle of the anklets of the goddess could not be heard for the sand. The Râja therefore looked behind him to see if she was following, on which she said that she could go no more with him, but he was to march as far as he could and then settle down. The two brothers settled in Bastar, where the descendants of the younger became the ruling clan, and those of the elder were their servants, the Parjas. The story indicates, perhaps, that the Parjas were the original Gond inhabitants and rulers of the country, and were supplanted by a later immigration of the same tribe, who reduced them to subjection, and became Râj-Gonds. Possibly the first transfer of power was effected by the marriage of an immigrant into a Parja Râja's family, as so often happened with these old dynasties. The Parjas still talk about the Râni or Bastar as their Bohu or 'younger brother's wife,' and the custom is probably based on some such legend. The Madras account of them as the arbiters of boundary disputes points to the same conclusion, as this function is invariably assigned to the oldest residents in any locality. The Parjas appear to be Gonds and not Khonds. Their sept names are Gondi words, and their language is a form of Gondi, called after them Parji. Parji has hitherto been considered a form of Bhatri, but Sir G. Grierson [1] has now classified the latter as a dialect of the Uriya language, while Parji remains 'A local and very corrupt variation of Gondi, considerably mixed with Hindi forms.'. While then the Parjas, in Bastar at any rate, must be held to be a branch of the Gonds, they may have a considerable admixture of the Khonds, or other tribes in different localities, as the rules of marriage are very loose in this part of the country. [2]

Exogamous Septs.

The tribe has exogamous totemistic septs, as Bâgh a tiger, Kachhim a tortoise, Bokda a goat, Netâm a dog, Gohi a big lizard, Pandki a dove, and so on. If a man kills accidentally the animal after which his sept is named, the earthen cooking-pots of his household are thrown away, the clothes are washed, and the house is purified with water in which the bark of the 3 mango or Jâmun [3] tree has been steeped. This is in sign of mourning, as it is thought that such an act will bring misfortune. If a man of the snake sept kills a snake accidentally, he places a piece of new yarn on his head, praying for forgiveness, and deposits the body on an anthill, where snakes are supposed to live. If a man of the goat sept eats goat's flesh, it is thought that he will become blind at once. A Parja will not touch the body of his totem-animal when dead, and if he sees any one killing or teasing it when alive, he will go away out of sight.

[ 1] Linguistic Survey , Vol. ix. p. 554 ; Vol. ii. part ii. pp. 434 ff.

[ 2] In the article on Gond it is suggested that the Gonds and Khonds were originally one tribe, and the fact that the

Parjas have affinities with both of them appears to support this view

[ 3] Eugenia jambolana .

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It is said that a man of the Kachhim set once found a tortoise while on a journey, and leaving it undisturbed, passed on. When the tortoise died it was reborn in the man's belly and troubled him greatly, and since then every Parja is liable to be afflicted in the same why in the side of the abdomen, the disease which is produced being in fact enlarged spleen. The tortoise told the man that as he had left it lying by the road, and had not devoted it to any useful purpose, he was afflicted in this way. Consequently, when a man of the Kachhim sept finds a tortoise nowadays, he gives it to somebody else who can cut it up. The story is interesting as a legend of the origin of spleen, but apparently been invented as an excuse for killing the sacred animal.

Kinship And Marriage.

Marriage is prohibited in theory between members of the same sept. But as the number of septs is rather small, the rule is not adhered to, and members of the same sept are permitted to marry so long as they do not come from the same village; the original rule of exogamy being perhaps thus exemplified. The proposal for a match is made by the boy's father, who first offers a cup of liquor to the girl's father in the bazâr, and subsequently explains his errand. If the girl's father, after consulting with his family, disapproves of the match, he returns an equal quantity of liquor to the boy's father in token of his decision. The girl is usually consulted, and asked if she would like to marry her suitor, but not much regard is had of her opinion. If she dislikes him, however, she usually runs away from him after a short interlude of married life. If a girl becomes pregnant with a caste-fellow before marriage, he is required to take her, and give to the family the presents which he would make to them on a regular marriage. The man can subsequently be properly married to some other woman, but the girl cannot be married at all. If a girl is seduced by a man outside the caste, she is made over to him. It is essential for a man to be properly married at least once, and an old bachelor will sometimes go through the form of being wedded to his maternal uncle's daughter, even though she may be an infant. If no proposal for marriage is made for a girl, she is sometimes handed over informally to any man who likes to take her, and who is willing to give as much for her as the parents would receive for a regular marriage. A short time before the wedding, the boy's father sends a considerable quantity of rice to the girl's father, and on the day before he sends a calf, a pot of liquor, fifteen annas worth of copper coin, and a new cloth. The bridegroom's expenses are about Rs. 50, and the bride's about Rs. 10.

Marriage Dance.

At weddings the tribe have a dance called Surcha, for which the men wear a particular dress consisting of a long coat, a turban, and two or three scarves thrown loosely over the shoulders. Strings of little bells are tied about the feet, and garlands of beads round the neck; sometimes men and women dance separately, and sometimes both sexes together in a long line or a circle. Music is provided by bamboo flutes, drums and an iron instrument something like a flute. As they dance, songs are sung in the form of question and answer between the lines of men and women, usually of a somewhat indecent character. The following short specimen may be given: Man. If you are willing to go with me we will both follow the officer's elephant. If I go without you my heart can have no rest. Women. Who dares take me away from my husband while the Company is reigning. My husband will beat me and who will pay him the compensation ? Man. You had better make up your mind to go with me. I will ask the Treasurer for some money and pay it to your husband as compensation. Woman. Very well, make ready some food, and I will run away with you in the next bright fortnight. These dialogues often, it is said, lead to quarrels between husband and wife, as the husband cannot rebuke his wife in the assembly. Sometimes the women fall in love with men in the dance, and afterwards run away with them.

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Nuptial Ceremony.

The marriage takes place at the boy's house, where two marriage-sheds are made. It is noticeable that the bride on going to the bridegroom's house is accompanied only by her female relatives, no man of her family being allowed to be with her. This is probably a reminiscence of the old custom of marriage by capture, as in former times she was carried off by force, the opposition of her male relatives having been quelled. In memory of this the men still do not countenance the wedding procession by their presence. The bridal couple are made to sit down together on a mat, and from three to seven pots of cold water are poured over them. About a week after the wedding the couple go to a market with their friends, and after walking round it they all sit down and drink liquor.

Widow-Marriage And Divorce.

The remarriage of widows is permitted, and a widow is practically compelled to marry her late husband's younger brother, if he has one. If she persistently refuses to do so, in spite of the strongest pressure, her parents turn her out of their house. In order to be married the woman goes to the man's house with some friends; they sit together on the ground, and the friends apply the tiíka or sign by touching their foreheads with dry rice. A man can divorce his wife if she is of bad character, or if she is supposed to be under an unfavourable star, or if her children die in infancy. A divorced women can marry again as if she is a widow.

Religion And Festivals.

The Parjas worship the class of divinities of the hills and forests usually revered among primitive tribes, as well as Dânteshwari, the tutelary goddess of Bastar. On the day that sowing begins they offer a fowl to the field first placing some grains of rice before it. If the fowl eats the rice they prognosticate a good harvest, and if not the reverse. A few members of the tribe belong to the Râmânandi sect, and on this account a little extra attention is paid to them. If one is invited to a feast he is given a wooden seat, while others sit on the ground. It is said that a few years ago a man became a Kabírpanthi, but he subsequently went blind and his son died, and since this event the sect is absolutely without adherents. Most villages have a Sirha or man who is possessed by the deity, and his advice is taken in religious matters, such as the detection of witches. Another official is called Medha Gantia or 'The Counter of posts.' He appoints the days for weddings, calculating them by counting on his fingers, and also fixes auspicious days for the construction of a house or for the commencement of sowing. It is probable that in former times he kept count of the days by numbering posts or trees. When rain is wanted the people fix a piece of wood into the ground, calling it Bhímsen Deo or Kung of the Clouds. they pour water over it and pray to it, asking for rain. Every year, after the crops are harvested, they worship the rivers or streams in the village. A snake, a jackal, a hare and a dog wagging its ears are unlucky objects to see when starting on a journey, and also a dust devil blowing along in front. They do not kill wild dogs, because they say that tigers avoid the forests where these reside, and some of them hold that a tiger on meeting a wild dog climbs a tree to get out of his way. Wednesday and Thursday are lucky days for starting on a journey, and the operations of sowing, reaping and threshing should be commenced and completed on one of these days. When a man intends to build a house he places a number of sets of three grains of rice, one resting on the other two, on the ground in different places. Each set is covered by a leaf-cup with some earth holding it down. Next morning the grains are inspected, and if the top one has fallen down the site is considered to be lucky, as indicating that the earth is unwishful to bear the burden of a house in this place. A house should face to the east or west, and not to the north or south. Similarly, the roads leading out of the village should run east or west from the starting-point. The principal festivals of the Parjas are the Hareli [1] or feast of the new vegetation in July, the Nawâkhâni [2] or feast of the new rice crop in August or September, and Am Nawâkhâni or that of the new mango crop in April or May.

[ 1] Hareli, lit . 'The season of greenness.'

[ 2] Nawâkhâni, lit . 'the new eating.'

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At the feasts the new season's crop should be eaten, but if no fresh rice has ripened, they touch some of the old grain with a blade of a growing rice-plant, and consider that it has become the new crop. On these occasions ancestors are worshipped by members of the family only inside the house, and offerings of the new crops are made to them.

Disposal Of The Dead.

The dead are invariably buried, the corpse being laid in the ground with head to the east and feet to the west. This is probably the most primitive burial, it being supposed that the region of the dead is towards the west, as the setting sun disappears in that direction. The corpse is therefore laid in the grave with the feet to the west ready to start on its journey. Members of the tribe who have adopted Hindu ideas now occasionally lay the corpse with the head to the north in the direction of the Ganges. Rice-gruel. water and a tooth-stick are placed on the grave nightly for some days after death. As an interesting parallel instance, near home, of the belief that the soul starts on along journey after death, the following passage may be quoted from Mr. Gomme's Folklore: "Among the superstitions of Lancashire is one which tells us of a lingering belief in a long journey after death, when food is necessary to support the soul. A man having died of apoplexy at a public dinner near Manchester, one of the company was heard to remark, 'Well, poor Joe, God rest his soul ! He has at least gone to his long rest wi' a belly full o' good meat, and that's some consolation!' And perhaps a still more remarkable instance is that of the woman buried in Curton Church, near Rochester, who directed by her will that the coffin was to have a lock and key, the key being placed in her dead hand, so that she might be able to release herself at pleasure." [1] After the burial a dead fish is brought on a leaf-plate to the mourners, who touch it, and are partly purified. The meaning of this rite, if there be any, is not known. After the period of mourning, which varies from three to nine days, is over, the mourners and their relatives must attend the next weekly bazâr, and there offer liquor and sweets in the name of the dead man, who upon this becomes ranked among the ancestors.

Occupation And Social Customs.

The Parjas are cultivators, and grow rice and other crops in the ordinary manner. Many of them are village headmen, and to these the term Dhurwa is more particularly applied. The tribe will eat fowls, pig, monkeys, the large lizard, field-rats, and bison and wild buffalo, but they do not eat carnivorous animals, crocodiles, snakes or jackals. Some of them eat beef while others have abjured it, and they will not accept the leavings of others. They are not considered to be an impure caste. If any man or woman belonging to a higher caste has a liaison with a Parja, and is on that account expelled from their own caste, he or she can be admitted as a Parja. In their other customs and dress and ornaments the tribe resemble the Gonds of Bastar. Women are tattooed on the chest and arms with patterns of dots. The young men sometimes wear their hair long, and tie it in a bunch behind, secured by a strip of cloth.

Pathrot.: -See Od. and Beldar.

Patras.: -See Patwas

Patwas.: -They live in Central India. They produce silk, cotton and glass bangles.1 Folklore as a Historical Science (G. L. Gomme ), pp. 191, 192.

[1] Folklore as a Historical Science (G. L. Gomme ), pp. 191, 192.

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Pena.: -They are singers of the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Pendhârís.: -Under the name of 'Pindarees' the Pendhârís [1] are well known in Indian history. They were plundering bands of freebooters who first came to notice after the fall of Tippoo Sultan of Mysore. Of no common race, and of no common religion, they welcomed to their ranks the outlaws and broken men of all India-Afghâns, Marâthâs, or Jâts. They represented the debris of the Mughul empire, which had not been incorporated by any of the local Muhammadan or Hindî powers that sprang up out of its ruins. Their headquarters were in Malwa, but their depredations were not confined to Central India. In bands, sometimes of a few hundreds, sometimes of many thousands, they rode out on their forays as far as the opposite coasts of Madras and of Bombay. The most powerful of the Pendhârí captains, Amír Khân, had an organised army of many regiments, and several batteries of cannon. Their power was finally broken by the Marquis of Hastings in 1817. Their name is said to be derived from péndhâ, a sheaf, and probably meant originally 'grasscutters.'

At the Census of 1911 the number of Pendhârís was returned as 6,413, 100 of whom were Hindîs and 6,313 Musalmâns.

They were distributed as follows:

Central India Agency 4,014

Elsewhere 2,399

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TOTAL 6,413

The only district which returned Pendhârí as a separate language for this Survey was Dharwar of Bombay, which gave a total of 1,250 speakers. Specimens have, however, also been received from Belgaum (Bombay). In other districts Pendhârí has probably been included under the head of Hindóstâní. It is used only as a home language by the tribe which speaks it. In their intercourse with other people, its speakers employ ordinary Hindóstâní. To judge from the specimens Pendhârí is a mixture of rough Dakhiní Hindóstâní with Marâthí and Râjasthâní. The particular dialect of the last mentioned language with which their Hindóstâní is mixed, seems to be Jaipurí. Compare pîtâ, sons; bâpâ, father; chhé, is; chhâ, was. It is not necessary to discuss this jargon at length. I give two short specimens, one from each district. They both agree in all essential points. Note the use of né as a postposition of the locative, present forms such as uttarînu, I descend; mârînu, I beat, where the final nu reminds us of the Dravidian termination of verbs, and the way in which kar-ké, having done, is used at the end of a quotation, like the Sanskrit iti and the Dravidian andu, having said.

[1] Linguistic Survey of India.