The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume I (of IV)

R >> R.V. Russell >> The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume I (of IV)

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"They worship the sun as Bhagwan, and like the Kharias offer sacrifices
to that luminary in an open place with an ant-hill for an altar. The
Mainpat is their Marang Buru, and as it is 16 miles long, 12 miles
broad, and rises 3850 feet above the sea-level, it is not unworthy
of the name, but they do not use that or any other Kol term. The
great Mainpat is their fatherland and their god. They have it all to
themselves except during the summer months, when it becomes a vast
grazing field for the cattle of Mirzapur and Bihar.

"The Saonts are armed like the Korwas with bows and arrows, and the
peculiar battle-axe of the country, but it is against the beasts of
the forest that these weapons are used. Formerly the Mainpat was a
magnificent hunting field, especially noted for its herds of antelope
and gaur. The late Maharaja of Sarguja strictly preserved it, but on
his death it fell into the hands of his widow, a very money-loving
old lady, who allowed it to become one of the great grazing tracts,
and the pasturage alone gives her an income of L250 a year; but the
wild animals have in consequence withdrawn from it.

"The position of the Saonts is altogether very curious, and though
they now speak no language but a rude Hindi, the evidence is, on
the whole, favourable to their being a remnant of the ancient Kol
aborigines of Sarguja, cut off from connection with those people by
successive inroads of other races or tribes. Their substitution of
a Hindi dialect for their own language seems to indicate that they
were first subjugated by Aryans. The Gond chiefs only count about
twenty-four generations in Sarguja, and they have all adopted the
Hindi language."

_Sanyasi_.--(A religious recluse.) Synonym for Gosain.

_Sao_.--(For _sahu_, a banker, a rich man.) A subcaste of Kalar and
Teli. An honorific title of Chhipa or Rangari. A sept of Gond.

_Saojin_.--(From _sao_, a banker.) Subcaste of Banjara.

_Saonr_.--Synonym of Savar.

_Saonta_.--Name by which the Santal tribe is known in Bilaspur. A
subcaste of Dhanwar.

_Sapera_.--(A snake-charmer.) Name of a clan of Nats, who exhibit
snakes. A section of Basor and Khatik.

_Saraf_.--(A money-changer and tester.) A synonym of Sunar.

_Saraia_ (Angler.) From _sarai_, a bamboo fishing-rod. Subcaste
of Dhimar.

_Sarangarhia_.--(From Sarangarh.) A subtribe of Gonds in Khairagarh. A
subcaste of Dewar.

_Saraogi_.--A name by which Jain laymen are known. Subcaste of Bania.

_Saras_.--(A large crane.) A section of Chamar.

_Saraswat_.--One of the five orders of Panch Gaur Brahmans inhabiting
the country of the river Saraswati. One of the ten orders of Gosains.

_Sarati_.--A sept of Gond and Pardhan.

_Sariyam_.--A subsept of the Dhurwa clan of Gonds in Betul, said to
be so called because the road to the place of the gods was swept by
their priests.

_Sarolia_ or _Sarwaria_.--(Inferior or mixed.) Subcaste of Agharia.

_Saroti_.--A sept of Pardhans said to be named after _sarra_, a whip,
because their priest once struck a man with a whip.

_Sarsatia_.--(From the Saraswati river.) Subcaste of Bahna.

_Satani_. [494]--A Telugu caste of priests and mendicants of which
900 persons were returned, principally from the Chanda District,
in 1911. In the Central Provinces, Ayawar, Satani and Dasari have
been taken as one caste, but elsewhere they are considered as
distinct. Ayawar is a term of respect analogous to the Hindustani
Maharaj, and is applied to the Satanis and other religious orders. The
Satanis and Dasaris are distinguished in Madras; Satani is stated [495]
to be a corruption of Sattadavan, which means 'One who does not wear'
(_e.g._ the sacred thread and scalp-lock). It is a mixed religious
order recruited from any caste except the Pariahs, leather-workers and
Muhammadans. The Dasaris [496] are said to be the reputed descendants
of a wealthy Sudra of one of the northern Districts, who, being
childless, vowed that if offspring should be granted to him he would
devote a son to the service of the god. After this he had several
children, one of whom he consecrated to the deity, calling him Dasan
(the obedient servant). Dasan and his offspring made their livelihood
by begging. This order, like that of the Satanis, is reinforced by idle
members of the lower Sudra castes, who become Dasaris by being branded
by the Guru of Tirupatti and other shrines. In the Central Provinces
the Dasaris are stated to be recruited from the impure Mala caste
of the Telugu country, and hence to rank below the Satanis. Many
of the Madrasi servants in European households call themselves
Dasaris. Members of the agricultural castes are usually admitted into
the Satani order and its status is almost equal to theirs. The caste,
in spite of its small numbers, has several subdivisions, as the Sale
Satanis, who are weavers, the Bukkas, who are sellers of _kunku_ or
red powder, and five other subdivisions who are all beggars. Some of
these eat together but do not intermarry. They have exogamous family
groups, usually named after sacred places in Madras or celebrated
Gurus (spiritual preceptors) or deities, as Tirupatti, Ramanujamwar,
Shaligramwar and so on. The caste marry in the ordinary way and do
not observe celibacy. Widow-marriage is allowed, but a widow must
marry a widower, and the officiating priest at the ceremony must
also be a widower. The Satanis principally revere Vishnu, whom they
worship on Fridays. Their priests are taken from their own order and
form a separate subcaste under the name of Parmastwar. A novice,
on being initiated to the order, is branded with the figures of a
Sankha (conch-shell) and Chakra (discus). They both burn and bury
the dead, and the spirits of female as well as of male ancestors are
propitiated. This is done by calling a married woman by the name of
the dead female, putting red powder on her forehead and worshipping
her. Among the Satanis a widow accompanies the corpse of her husband
to the grave. They officiate at funerals, and a Satani priest applies
the caste-mark to the body of the corpse and also to that of the four
persons who are to carry it. He receives presents in the name of the
dead man, and takes the red cloth with which the corpse is covered. At
the funeral feast the Satani offers cooked food, including flesh
and also liquor, to the god, and the assembled guests then partake
of them. The Satani drinks liquor only and does not eat the food,
and since he must stay to the end of the feast he sometimes becomes
intoxicated. The Satanis are priests and mendicants. Though they
do not wear the sacred thread themselves, the manufacture of it is
one of their hereditary occupations. They collect alms in a _lota_
or brass vessel, on which representations of the conch and discus
are drawn. The Dasaris wander about, singing hymns to a monotonous
accompaniment upon a leather instrument called _tappai_ (perhaps a
tabor). They are engaged by some Sudra castes to sing their chants
in front of the corpse at funerals. Others exhibit what is called
the _Panda sewai_, that is, they become possessed by the deity and
beat themselves over the body with a flaming torch. A few train young
bulls to perform tricks and travel about exhibiting them. Some have
become masons and goldsmiths. Men have the mark of the trident on
the forehead, the two outer lines being white and the middle one
red or yellow. They shave the head and face clean, not retaining the
scalp-lock. Women have a vertical streak on the forehead and do not
wear glass bangles nor the necklace of black beads. Neither men nor
women are tattooed. The Satanis have a fairly good social position
and the lower castes will take food from them.

_Satbhuiyan_ or _Utar_.--Subcaste of Khond.

_Satdeve_.--A clan of Gonds worshipping seven gods and paying special
reverence to the porcupine.

_Satghare_.--(Seven houses.) A division of the Maratha caste,
consisting of seven of the highest clans who marry among themselves
and sometimes take daughters from the other ninety-six clans.

_Satnami_.--A religious sect, which now practically forms a subcaste
of Chamar.

_Satputia_.--(Having seven sons.) A section of Lonare Mali.

_Satyanath_. A subcaste of Jogi or Nath.

_Savar_, _Savara_.--A tribe.

_Sawalakh_.--(1 1/4 lakhs.) A section of Dhobi.

_Sawara_.--Synonym for Savar. Subcaste of Kol.

_Segidi_, [497] _Shegadi_.--The Telugu caste of toddy-drawers
and distillers, of which a few representatives were returned from
the Nagpur District in 1901. They will draw _tari_ or palm-juice
only from the _sindi_ palm (_Phoenix sylvestris_) and not from the
palmyra palm (_Borassics flabelliformis_). This is the occupation
of a separate caste, the Yatas, from whom the Segidis will not even
take water. At a Segidi marriage the bride is shown the polar star,
which is believed to be the wife of Rishi Vasishtha, the model of
conjugal excellence. She is then made to step on to a stone slab to
remind her how Ahalya, the beautiful wife of Rishi Gautama, was turned
to a stone for committing adultery. Widow-marriage is permitted, and,
by a very curious exception to the ordinary rule, a widow may marry
her deceased husband's elder brother but not his younger one. The
usual prohibition on a widow marrying her husband's elder brother is
based on the ground that he is looked on as her father; the Segidis
say, on the other hand, that his younger brother is as her son. If
an unmarried adult male dies, the ceremony of marriage is performed
between the corpse and a plantain tree; and if an unmarried woman dies
she is married to a sword. A corpse is always buried with the head to
the east and the feet to the west. This peculiar practice may be a
reminiscence of Vedic times, when the west was considered to be the
abode of the departed, the sun being the first mortal who died and
went to the west as recorded in the Rig-Veda. The Segidis are also
cultivators, traders or soldiers. They have a method of divining a
boy's proper calling in his infancy. When his mouth is touched with
grain as food for the first time, they put a sword, a pen, a book,
food and other articles, being the symbols of different professions,
on the ground and place the child in front of them. And his vocation
in life is held to be determined by the article which he touches first.

_Senapati_.--(General.) Honorific title of Sundi.

_Sendia_.--Title of caste headman of Panwar Rajput.

_Sendur_.--A section of Ahir or Rawat.

_Senduria_.--Subcaste of Nagasia. They mark the forehead of the bride
with vermilion (_sendur_).

_Sengar._--A clan of Rajputs belonging to Saugor and Jubbulpore.

_Sesodia_.--A famous clan of Rajputs.

_Seth_.--(Banker or moneylender.) A title of Bania.

_Setti_.--A corruption of the Sanskrit Shreshta, good. Title of
Komti caste.

_Sewak_.--(Servant.) The name given to an inferior class of Brahmans
who serve in Vaishnava temples.

_Shaikh, Sheikh_.--One of the four tribes of Muhammadans. A subcaste
of Mehtar.

_Shaiva, Saiva_.--(A worshipper of Siva.) The term Shaiva Brahman is
applied to Guraos.

_Shandilya, Sandilya_.--An eponymous _gotra_ or section of Brahmans. A
section of Darzi, Raj-Gond, Rawat (Ahir) and Sunar.

_Shegudi_.--See Segidi.

_Shendia_.--A section of Teli and Otari (Kasar).

_Shenvi_.--A subcaste of Maratha Brahmans in Hoshangabad.

_Sheohare_ or _Sivahare_.--Subcaste of Kalar.

_Shiah_.--One of the two great sects of Muhammadans.

_Shikari_.--(A hunter.) A synonym for Pardhi or Bahelia.

_Shimpi_.--(A tailor.) Synonym for Darzi in the Maratha country.

_Shishi ke Telwale_.--Subcaste of Pardhi. They sell oil obtained from
the bodies of crocodiles.

_Siddi, Sidi, Habshi._--The name given to Africans, whether Abyssinians
or Negroes. Habshi means one coming from El Habish, the Arabic name for
North-East Africa. Siddi is a corruption of Saiyad, the designation
of a descendant of the Prophet, and is commonly used as a term of
respectful address in North Africa, like Sahib in India. The _Bombay
Gazetteer_ states [498] that about the middle of the fifteenth century,
when the Bahmani dynasty became independent of Delhi and intercourse
with Northern India ceased, the fashion arose of bringing to Western
India large numbers of Abyssinians and other East Africans. Though
most of the Habshis came to India as slaves, their faithfulness,
courage and energy often raised them to positions of high trust in
the Bahmani court. According to Orme, the successful Abyssinians
gathered round them all of their countrymen whom they could procure
either by purchase or invitation, including negroes from other parts
of Africa, as well as Abyssinians. From their marriages, first with
natives of India and afterwards among their own families, there arose
a separate community, distinct from other Muhammadans in figure,
colour and character. As soon as they were strong enough they formed
themselves into an aristocratic republic and produced some of the
most skilful and daring soldiers and sailors of Western India. The
rulers of Janjira and Sachin States in Bombay are Siddis by descent.

They are now employed as stokers and firemen on steamers and as
fitters and mechanics in the dockyards of Bombay, and are described
[499] as "A hardy race with muscular frames, thick lips and crisp
black hair--the very last men whom you would wish to meet in a
rough-and-tumble, and yet withal a jovial people, well-disposed
and hospitable to any one whom they regard as a friend." In other
parts of India the Siddis are usually beggars and are described as
'Fond of intoxicating drinks, quarrelsome, dirty, unthrifty and
pleasure-loving, obstinacy being their leading trait.' They worship
Baba Ghor, an Abyssinian saint. [500]

It is recorded that the medicine called Silajit, a nervine tonic for
the generative power, was formerly believed to be prepared from the
flesh of Abyssinian boys. Mr. Hooper writes: "Silajit is allied to
another ancient drug named Momiayi which has long been employed in
the East. The original drug is said to have been made from Egyptian
mummies, and subsequently to have been prepared by boiling down and
extracting the essence of Abyssinian boys. Since the last source of
supply has become scarce, several bituminous exudations are reported
to have been substituted." [501] The drug is now said to be made from
the gum of some stone in Hardwar, and this must be the bitumen referred
to by Mr. Hooper. The virtue ascribed to the flesh of Abyssinian boys
was no doubt based on their superior bodily strength and perhaps
partly on the prolificacy of the negroes. In the case of mummies,
as the body of the mummy was believed to have retained life or the
capacity of life for many ages, its material would naturally possess
extraordinary vitality and should be capable of imparting this quality
to others when assimilated into their bodies.

_Sidhira_, _Sithira_.--A small occupational caste of Sambalpur and
the Uriya States. The caste is not found elsewhere in India. They
are braziers by trade, and in spite of their small numbers say they
have three subcastes, one of which, the Luhura, works in iron. They
are an impure caste, whose touch conveys pollution in Sambalpur. They
accept alms from a Munda or Oraon on the occasion of a death in the
latter's family, and have totemistic septs. They eat fowls and rats
and consume much liquor. They also admit outsiders into the caste. It
may be concluded, therefore, that they are an occupational caste
formed from the tribes above mentioned or others, through adopting the
calling of brass-workers. The adultery of a Sidhira woman with a man
of any higher caste is looked upon as an absolutely trifling offence,
and this is a common feature of low castes of mixed origin. As among
many primitive tribes, one particular sept performs the ceremony of
readmitting offenders to caste intercourse by sprinkling a little
Ganges water over them. The man fulfilling this office is known as the
Baikar, and after a wedding the bridal pair go to the Baikar's house
and he pours two jars full of water over their heads and bodies. They
go inside the house, and the bridegroom then comes out and gives the
wet clothes to the Baikar with a small present. This appears to be
a sort of purificatory ceremony at marriage.

_Sidi_.--Synonym of Siddi.

_Silpi_.--(A stone-mason.) Subcaste of Kammala.

_Sindhi_.--(Performers of dramas.) Subcaste of Madgi.

_Sindhupushkar_.--A subcaste of Brahmans in Khairagarh State, perhaps
the same as the Marwari Pushkama Brahmans. It is said that Sindhu
has the meaning of a lake.

_Singade_.--(From _singh_, horn, and _gadna_, to bury.) Subcaste of
Koli. The members of this group, when their buffaloes die, bury the
horns in their compound.

_Singar_.--(A fish.) A totemistic sept of Kawar. A section of Agharia.

_Singaria_.--Those who cultivate the _Singara_ nut. Subcaste of Dhimar.

_Singh_.--(A lion.) The usual suffix to the names of Rajputs, Sikhs
and castes which claim Rajput rank, such as Lodhis.

_Singh, Singhi_.--(Horn.) A totemistic sept of Dhanwar. A section of
Kurmi, and of Oswal and Maheshri Bania.

_Singhal_.--(Ceylon.) A section of Brahmans in Damoh.

_Singrore_.--Subcaste of Kunbi and Lodhi.

_Sikligar_, _Bardhia_, _Saiqalgar_. [502]--A small caste of armourers
and knife-grinders. The name Saiqalgar comes from the Arabic _saiqal_,
a polisher, and Bardhia is from _bardh_, the term for the edge of a
weapon. They number only about 450 persons in the Central Provinces
and Berar, and reside mainly in the large towns, as Jubbulpore
and Nagpur. The caste is partly Hindu and partly Muhammadan, but
very few members of it in the Central Provinces profess the latter
religion. In Bombay [503] the Muhammadan Sikligars are said to be
Ghisaris or tinkers who were forcibly converted by Aurangzeb. The
writer of the Belgaum Gazetteer [504] says that they are scarcely more
than Muhammadans in name, as they practically never go to the mosque,
keep Hindu gods in their houses, eschew beef, and observe no special
Muhammadan rites other than circumcision. The Hindu Sikligars claim
to be Rajputs and have Rajput sept names, and it is not unlikely
that in old times the armourer's calling should have been adopted
by the lower classes of Rajputs. The headquarters of the caste is in
Gwalior, where there is probably still some scope for their ancient
trade. But in British territory the Sikligar has degenerated into a
needy knife-grinder. Mr. Crooke [505] describes him as "A trader of
no worth. His whole stock-in-trade is a circular whetstone worked by
a strap between two posts fixed in the ground. He sharpens knives,
razors, scissors and sometimes swords."

_Sirdar_.--Title of the Kawar caste.

_Siriswar_.--(From _siris_, a tree.) A section of Gadaria.

_Sirnet_.--A clan of Rajputs.

_Sirwa_.--(A resident of the ancient city of Sravasti in Gonda
district.) Subcaste of Teli.

_Sita Padri_.--Title of Vaishnava mendicants.

_Sithira_.--Synonym of _Sidhira_.

_Solaha_. [506]--A very small caste numbering less than a hundred
persons in the Raipur District. The caste only deserves mention as
affording an instance of an attempt to rise in the social scale. The
Solahas are certainly of Gond origin. Their name appears to be a
corruption of Tolaha, from _tol_, which means leather in Gondi or
Telugu. Their exogamous sections, as Markam, Warai, Wika, Sori, Kunjam,
are also Gond names, and like the Agarias they are an occupational
offshoot of that great tribe, who have taken to the special profession
of leather-curing and primitive carpentry. But they claim to belong to
the Barhai caste and say that their ancestors immigrated from Benares
at the time of a great famine there. In pursuance of the claim some
of them employ inferior Brahmans as their priests. They also say
that they accept food only from Brahmans and Rajputs, though they eat
fowls, pork and even rats. Women of any other caste can be admitted
into the community, but not men. The fact that they are not Barhais
is sufficiently shown by their ignorance of carpentering tools. They
do not even know the use of a rope for turning the drill and do it by
hand with a pointed nail. They have no planes, and smooth wood with a
chisel. Their business is to make musical instruments for the Gonds,
which consist of hollow pieces of wood covered with skin to act as
single or double drums. They use sheep and goat-skins, and after
letting them dry scrape off the hair and rub them with a paste of
boiled rice and powdered iron filings and glass.

_Solanki, Solankhi_.--A well-known clan of Rajputs, also called
Chalukya. The name is perhaps derived from _Sulakshana_, one bearing
an auspicious mark. A section of Pardhi and Gujar.

_Sompura_.--A subdivision of Gujarati Brahmans in Jubbulpore. They
take their name from Somnath in Kathiawar.

_Somvansi_.--(Children of the Moon.) Subcaste of Mahar. A clan
of Rajputs.

_Sonar_.--Synonym for Sunar in the Maratha country.

_Sonbarha_.--(Gold pig.) A section of Teli in Khairagarh, so named
as they presented a golden pig to their king Bharam Deo.

_Sonboyir_.--(Gold plum.) A section of Teli in Nandgaon, so called
because their ancestor presented a gold plum to their Raja.

_Sonbukra_.--(Yellow goat.) A totemistic sept of Kawar.

_Sondi_.--(_Sondi_, tiger.) A sept of Gonds in Raipur. It is said to be
of mixed descent from all the septs, and can intermarry with any other.

_Sondhi_.--Synonym for Sundi.

_Songainda_.--(Gold unicorn.) A section of Teli in Khairagarh, so
named because they presented a golden unicorn to their king Bharam Deo.

_Sonha_; _Sonkutta_.--(Wild dog.) A sept of Dhanwar, Kawar, Saonta
or Santal, and Chero.

_Soni_.--Synonym for Sunar.

_Sonjhara, Sonjharia_.--(One who washes for gold in the beds of
streams.) A caste. Subcaste of Binjhwar, Injhwar and Dhimar.

_Sonkar_.--A small caste found in the Chhattisgarh country, and also
in Saugor and Damoh. The name Sonkar is said to be a corruption of
Chunkar or lime-dealer, and the Sonkars of Saugor make their living
by carrying clay and lime on donkeys for building and whitewashing
walls. In Saugor they are also known as Beldar (navvy) and Gadhera
(donkey-driver), and occupy a despised position. Possibly on this
account a few of them in the northern Districts and the whole
community in Chhattisgarh have abandoned their traditional calling,
and have taken to growing vegetables like the Malis and Marars. Here
their status is better, and they rank as a gardening caste. Their
customs resemble those of the lower castes of Chhattisgarh. They
obtain auspicious dates for their marriages and different ceremonies
from Brahmans, but otherwise these are not employed, and the caste
headman, known as Kurha or Sethia, officiates as priest. At their
weddings the sacred post round which the couple walk must consist
of a forked bough of the mahua tree divided in a V shape, and they
take much trouble to find and cut a suitable bough. They will not
take cooked food from the hands of any other caste, even from Brahmans.

_Sonkarasaria_.--(Impure gold.) A section of Bhona or Bhulia.

_Sonkutri_.--(Bitch of the wild dog.) A totemistic sept of Kawar.

_Sonpakar_.--(A tree.) A totemistic sept of Kawar and Chero.

_Sonratan_.--(Gold jewel.) A section of Chandnahu Kurmi.

_Sonthaga_.--(Gold-cheat.) A subdivision of Pardhans in Kawardha. They
cheated people by passing false gold, and hence were so named.

_Sonthal_.--Synonym for Santal.

_Sonwani_.--(_Sona-pani_, gold-water.) This is a common sept among the
primitive tribes and castes derived from them. The members of this sept
occupy a quasi-priestly position, and readmit offenders into caste by
giving them water to drink in which gold has been dipped. They also
purify those who have got vermin in a wound by sprinkling this water
over them. A section of Ahir and of Rawat or Chhattisgarhi Ahir;
a sept of Dhoba, Dhanwar, Gond and Kawar; a section of Kalanga,
Kumhar, Panka and Teli.

_Sori_.--A sept of Gond and Pardhan. Sori and Khusro are the two
subsepts of the Markam sept.

_Soyam_.--(Worshipper of seven gods.) A division of Gond in Chanda.

_Sravaka_.--A Jain layman.

_Sri Gaur Mala_.--(A resident of Malwa.) Subcaste of Barhai.

_Srimali_.--(From the old city of Srimal in Rajputana.) A subcaste
of Gujarati Brahman and Bania.

_Srivastab, Sriwastab_.--(From the old city of Sravasti in the north
of Oudh.) A well-known subcaste of Kayasth. A subcaste of Bharbhunja,
Darzi and Teli.

_Sua_.--(Parrot.) A section of Chadar, Khangar and Kasar. A sept of
Bhatra and Kawar.

_Suda_.--Synonym of Sudh.

_Sudh_.--A caste. A subcaste of Kolta and Lohar.

_Sudha_.--Synonym of Sudh.

_Sudho_.--Synonym of Sudh.

_Sudra_.--The lowest of the four traditional castes. See
Introduction. There is no Sudra caste at present in the Central
Provinces. A subcaste of Barai.

_Suibadiwa_.--(_Sui_, porcupine.) A totemistic sept of the Dhurwa
Gonds in Betul.

_Suji_.--(From _sui_, a needle.) Synonym for Darzi.

_Sukul, Shukul_.--(White.) A surname of Kanaujia Brahmans.

_Sulankhi_.--Subcaste of Mahli.