The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume IV of IV

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

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14. Their position improving

From the painful state of degradation described above the Mahars are
gradually being rescued by the levelling and liberalising tendency
of British rule, which must be to these depressed classes an untold
blessing. With the right of acquiring property they have begun to
assert themselves, and the extension of railways more especially
has a great effect in abolishing caste distinctions. The Brahman who
cannot afford a second-class fare must either not travel or take the
risk of rubbing shoulders with a Mahar in a third-class carriage,
and if he chooses to consider himself defiled will have to go hungry
and thirsty until he gets the opportunity of bathing at his journey's
end. The observance of the rules of impurity thus becomes so irksome
that they are gradually falling into abeyance.

15. Occupation

The principal occupations of the Mahars are the weaving of coarse
country cloth and general labour. They formerly spun their own
yarn, and their fabrics were preferred by the cultivators for their
durability. But practically all thread is now bought from the mills;
and the weaving industry is also in a depressed condition. Many
Mahars have now taken to working in the mills, and earn better wages
than they could at home. In Bombay a number of them are employed
as police-constables. [136] They are usually the village watchmen
of the Maratha Districts, and in this capacity were remunerated
by contributions of grain from the tenants, the hides and flesh of
animals dying in the village, and plots of rent-free land. For these
have now been substituted in the Central Provinces a cash payment
fixed by Government. In Berar the corresponding official is known as
the Kamdar Mahar. Mr. Kitts writes of him: [137] As fourth _balutedar_
on the village establishment the Mahar holds a post of great importance
to himself and convenience to the village. To the patel (headman),
patwari and big men of the village, he acts often as a personal
servant and errand-runner; for a smaller cultivator he will also at
times carry a torch or act as escort. He had formerly to clean the
horses of travellers, and was also obliged, if required, to carry their
baggage. [138] For the services which he thus renders as _pandhewar_
the Mahar receives from the cultivators certain grain-dues. When
the cut juari is lying in the field the Mahars go round and beg for
a measure of the ears (_bhik payali_). But the regular payment is
made when the grain has been threshed. Another duty performed by
the Mahar is the removal of the carcases of dead animals. The flesh
is eaten and the skin retained as wage for the work. The patel and
his relatives, however, usually claim to have the skins of their own
animals returned; and in some places where half the agriculturists of
the village claim kinship with the patel, the Mahars feel and resent
the loss. A third duty is the opening of grain-pits, the noxious gas
from which sometimes produces asphyxia. For this the Mahars receive the
tainted grain. They also get the clothes from a corpse which is laid
on the pyre, and the pieces of the burnt wood which remain when the
body has been consumed. Recent observations in the Nagpur country show
that the position of the Mahars is improving. In Nagpur it is stated:
[139] "Looked down upon as outcastes by the Hindus they are hampered
by no sense of dignity or family prejudice. They are fond of drink,
but are also hard workers. They turn their hands to anything and
everything, but the great majority are agricultural labourers. At
present the rural Mahar is in the background. If there is only one
well in the village he may not use it, but has to get his water where
he can. His sons are consigned to a corner in the village school, and
the schoolmaster, if not superior to caste prejudices, discourages
their attendance. Nevertheless, Mahars will not remain for years
downtrodden in this fashion, and are already pushing themselves up
from this state of degradation. In some places they have combined to
dig wells, and in Nagpur have opened a school for members of their
own community. Occasionally a Mahar is the most prosperous man in the
village. Several of them are moneylenders in a small way, and a few
are malguzars." Similarly in Bhandara Mr. Napier writes that a new
class of small creditors has arisen from the Mahar caste. These people
have given up drinking, and lead an abstemious life, wishing to raise
themselves in social estimation. Twenty or more village kotwars were
found to be carrying on moneylending transactions on a small scale,
and in addition many of the Mahars in towns were exceedingly well off.

Mahli

1. Origin of the caste

_Mahli, Mahili_. [140]--A small caste of labourers, palanquin-bearers
and workers in bamboo belonging to Chota Nagpur. In 1911 about 300
Mahlis were returned from the Feudatory States in this tract. They
are divided into five subcastes: the Bansphor-Mahli, who make baskets
and do all kinds of bamboo-work; the Pahar-Mahli, basket-makers and
cultivators; the Sulunkhi, cultivators and labourers; the Tanti who
carry litters; and the Mahli-Munda, who belong to Lohardaga. Sir
H. Risley states that a comparison of the totemistic sections of the
Mahlis given in the Appendix to his _Tribes and Castes_ with those
of the Santals seems to warrant the conjecture that the main body of
the caste are merely a branch of the Santals. Four or five septs,
Hansda a wild goose, Hemron, Murmu the nilgai, Saren or Sarihin,
and perhaps Tudu or Turu are common to the two tribes. The Mahlis are
also closely connected with the Mundas. Seven septs of the main body
of the Mahlis, Dumriar the wild fig, Gundli a kind of grain, Kerketa
a bird, Mahukal a bird (long-tail), Tirki, Tunduar and Turu are also
Munda septs; and the three septs given of the Mahli-Munda subcaste,
Bhuktuar, Lang Chenre, and Sanga are all found among the Mundas;
while four septs, Hansda a wild goose, Induar a kind of eel, as well
as Kerketa and Tirki, already mentioned, are common to the Mahlis
and Turis who are also recognised by Sir H. Risley as an offshoot of
the Munda tribe with the same occupation as the Mahlis, of making
baskets. [141] The Santals and Mundas were no doubt originally one
tribe, and it seems that the Mahlis are derived from both of them,
and have become a separate caste owing to their having settled in
villages more or less of the open country, and worked as labourers,
palanquin-bearers and bamboo-workers much in the same manner as the
Turis. Probably they work for hire for Hindus, and hence their status
may have fallen lower than that of the parent tribe, who remained
in their own villages in the jungles. Colonel Dalton notes [142]
that the gipsy Berias use Manjhi and Mahali as titles, and it is
possible that some of the Mahlis may have joined the Beria community.

2. Social customs

Only a very few points from Sir H. Risley's account of the caste need
be recorded here, and for further details the reader may be referred
to his article in the _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_. A bride-price
of Rs. 5 is customary, but it varies according to the means of the
parties. On the wedding day, before the usual procession starts to
escort the bridegroom to the bride's house, he is formally married to
a mango tree, while the bride goes through the same ceremony with a
mahua. At the entrance to the bride's house the bridegroom, riding on
the shoulders of some male relation and bearing on his head a vessel
of water, is received by the bride's brother, equipped in similar
fashion, and the two cavaliers sprinkle one another with water. At
the wedding the bridegroom touches the bride's forehead five times
with vermilion and presents her with an iron armlet. The remarriage
of widows and divorce are permitted. When a man divorces his wife he
gives her a rupee and takes away the iron armlet which was given her
at her wedding. The Mahlis will admit members of any higher caste into
the community. The candidate for admission must pay a small sum to the
caste headman, and give a feast to the Mahlis of the neighbourhood, at
which he must eat a little of the leavings of food left by each guest
on his leaf-plate. After this humiliating rite he could not, of course,
be taken back into his own caste, and is bound to remain a Mahli.

Majhwar

List of Paragraphs

1. _Origin of the tribe_.
2. _The Mirzapur Majhwars derived from the Gonds_.
3. _Connection with the Kawars_.
4. _Exogamy and totemism_.
5. _Marriage customs_.
6. _Birth and funeral rites_.
7. _Religious dance_.

1. Origin of the tribe

_Majhwar, Manjhi, Majhia_. [143]--A small mixed tribe who have
apparently originated from the Gonds, Mundas and Kawars. About 14,000
Majhwars were returned in 1911 from the Raigarh, Sarguja and Udaipur
States. The word Manjhi means the headman of a tribal subdivision,
being derived from the Sanskrit _madhya_, or he who is in the
centre. [144] In Bengal Manjhi has the meaning of the steersman of a
boat or a ferryman, and this may have been its original application,
as the steersman might well be he who sat in the centre. [145]
When a tribal party makes an expedition by boat, the leader would
naturally occupy the position of steersman, and hence it is easy to
see how the term Manjhi came to be applied to the leader or head of
the clan and to be retained as a title for general use. Sir H. Risley
gives it as a title of the Kewats or fishermen and many other castes
and tribes in Bengal. But it is also the name for a village headman
among the Santals, and whether this meaning is derived from the
prior signification of steersman or is of independent origin is,
uncertain. In Raigarh Mr. Hira Lal states that the Manjhis or Majhias
are fishermen and are sometimes classed, with the Kewats. They appear
to be Kols who have taken to fishing and, being looked down on by
the other Kols on this account, took the name of Majhia or Manjhi,
which they now derive from Machh, a fish. "The appearance of the
Majhias whom I saw and examined was typically aboriginal and their
language was a curious mixture of Mundari, Santal and Korwa, though
they stoutly repudiated connection with any of these tribes. They
could count only up to three in their own language, using the Santal
words _mit, baria, pia_. Most of their terms for parts of the body
were derived from Mundari, but they also used some Santali and Korwa
words. In their own language they called themselves Hor, which means
a man, and is the tribal name of the Mundas."

2. The Mirzapur Majhwars derived from the Gonds

On the other hand the Majhwars of Mirzapur, of whom Mr. Crooke gives a
detailed and interesting account, clearly appear to be derived from the
Gonds. They have five subdivisions, which they say are descended from
the five sons of their first Gond ancestor. These are Poiya, Tekam,
Marai, Chika and Oiku. Four of these names are those of Gond clans,
and each of the five subtribes is further divided into a number of
exogamous septs, of which a large proportion bear typical Gond names,
as Markam, Netam, Tekam, Masham, Sindram and so on. The Majhwars
of Mirzapur also, like the Gonds, employ Patharis or Pardhans as
their priests, and there can thus be no doubt that they are mainly
derived from the Gonds. They would appear to have come to Mirzapur
from Sarguja and the Vindhyan and Satpura hills, as they say that
their ancestors ruled from the forts of Mandla, Garha in Jubbulpore,
Sarangarh, Raigarh and other places in the Central Provinces. [146]
They worship a deified Ahir, whose legs were cut off in a fight with
some Raja, since when he has become a troublesome ghost. "He now lives
on the Ahlor hill in Sarguja, where his petrified body may still be
seen, and the Manjhis go there to worship him. His wife lives on
the Jhoba hill in Sarguja. Nobody but a Baiga dares to ascend the
hill, and even the Raja of Sarguja when he visits the neighbourhood
sacrifices a black goat. Manjhis believe that if these two deities are
duly propitiated they can give anything they need." The story makes
it probable that the ancestors of these Manjhis dwelt in Sarguja. The
Manjhis of Mirzapur are not boatmen or fishermen and have no traditions
of having ever been so. They are a backward tribe and practise shifting
cultivation on burnt-out patches of forest. It is possible that they
may have abandoned their former aquatic profession on leaving the
neighbourhood of the rivers, or they may have simply adopted the name,
especially since it has the meaning of a village headman and is used
as a title by the Santals and other castes and tribes. Similarly
the term Munda, which at first meant the headman of a Kol village,
is now the common name for the Kol tribe in Chota Nagpur.

3. Connection with the Kawars

Again the Manjhis appear to be connected with the Kawar tribe. Mr. Hira
Lal states that in Raigarh they will take food with Kewats, Gonds,
Kawars and Rawats or Ahirs, but they will not eat rice and pulse,
the most important and sacred food, with any outsiders except Kawars;
and this they explain by the statement that their ancestors and those
of the Kawars were connected. In Mirzapur the Kaurai Ahirs will take
food and water from the Majhwars, and these Ahirs are not improbably
derived from the Kawars. [147] Here the Majhwars also hold an oath
taken when touching a broadsword as most binding, and the Kawars
of the Central Provinces worship a sword as one of their principal
deities. [148] Not improbably the Manjhis may include some Kewats,
as this caste also use Manjhi for a title; and Manjhi is both a
subcaste and title of the Khairwars. The general conclusion from the
above evidence appears to be that the caste is a very heterogeneous
group whose most important constituents come from the Gond, Munda,
Santal and Kawar tribes. Whether the original bond of connection
among the various people who call themselves Manjhi was the common
occupation of boating and fishing is a doubtful point.

4. Exogamy and totemism

The Manjhis of Sarguja, like those of Raigarh, appear to be of Munda
and Santal rather than of Gond origin. They have no subdivisions,
but a number of totemistic septs. Those of the Bhainsa or buffalo sept
are split into the Lotan and Singhan subsepts, _lotan_ meaning a place
where buffaloes wallow and _singh_ a horn. The Lotan Bhainsa sept say
that their ancestor was born in a place where a buffalo had wallowed,
and the Singhan Bhainsa that their ancestor was born while his mother
was holding the horn of a buffalo. These septs consider the buffalo
sacred and will not yoke it to a plough or cart, though they will drink
its milk. They think that if one of them killed a buffalo their clan
would become extinct. The Baghani Majhwars, named after the _bagh_
or tiger, think that a tiger will not attack any member of their sept
unless he has committed an offence entailing temporary excommunication
from caste. Until this offence has been expiated his relationship with
the tiger as head of his sept is in abeyance and the tiger will eat
him as he would any other stranger. If a tiger meets a member of the
sept who is free from sin, he will run away. When the Baghani sept
hear that any Majhwar has killed a tiger they purify their houses by
washing them with cowdung and water. Members of the Khoba or peg sept
will not make a peg or drive one into the ground. Those of the Dumar
[149] or fig-tree sept say that their first ancestor was born under
this tree. They consider the tree to be sacred and never eat its
fruit, and worship it once a year. Members of the sept named after
the _shiroti_ tree worship the tree every Sunday.

5. Marriage customs.

Marriage within the sept is prohibited and for three generations
between persons related through females. Marriage is adult, but matches
are arranged by the parents of the parties. At betrothal the elders of
the caste must be regaled with _cheora_ or parched rice and liquor. A
bride-price of Rs. 10 is paid, but a suitor who cannot afford this may
do service to his father-in-law for one or two years in lieu of it. At
the wedding the bridegroom puts a copper ring on the bride's finger and
marks her forehead with vermilion. The couple walk seven times round
the sacred post, and seven little heaps of rice and pieces of turmeric
are arranged so that they may touch one of them with their big toes at
each round. The bride's mother and seven other women place some rice
in the skirts of their cloths and the bridegroom throws this over his
shoulder. After this he picks up the rice and distributes it to all
the women present, and the bride goes through the same ceremony. The
rice is no doubt an emblem of fertility, and its presentation to the
women may perhaps be expected to render them fertile.

6. Birth and funeral rites

On the birth of a child the navel-string is buried in front of the
house. When a man is at the point of death they place a little
cooked rice and curds in his mouth so that he may not go hungry
to the other world, in view of the fact that he has probably eaten
very little during his illness. Some cotton and rice are also placed
near the head of the corpse in the grave so that he may have food
and clothing in the next world. Mourning is observed for five days,
and at the end of this period the mourners should have their hair cut,
but if they cannot get it done on this day, the rite may be performed
on the same day in the following year.

7. Religious dance

The tribe worship Dulha Deo, the bridegroom god, and also make
offerings to their ploughs at the time of eating the new rice and
at the Holi and Dasahra festivals. They dance the _karma_ dance in
the months of Asarh and Kunwar or at the beginning and end of the
rains. When the time has come the Gaontia headman or the Baiga priest
fetches a branch of the _karma_ tree from the forest and sets it up in
his yard as a notice and invitation to the village. After sunset all
the people, men, women and children, assemble and dance round the tree,
to the accompaniment of a drum known as Mandar. The dancing continues
all night, and in the morning the host plucks up the branch of the
_karma_ tree and consigns it to a stream, at the same time regaling
the dancers with rice, pulse and a goat. This dance is a religious
rite in honour of Karam Raja, and is believed to keep sickness from
the village and bring it prosperity. The tribe eat flesh, but abstain
from beef and pork. Girls are tattooed on arrival at puberty with
representations of the _tulsi_ or basil, four arrow-heads in the form
of a cross, and the foot-ornament known as _pairi_.

Mal

_Mal, Male, Maler, Mal Paharia._ [150]--A tribe of the Rajmahal
hills, who may be an isolated branch of the Savars. In 1911 about
1700 Mals were returned from the Chota Nagpur Feudatory States
recently transferred to the Central Provinces. The customs of the
Mals resemble those of the other hill tribes of Chota Nagpur. Sir
H. Risley states that the average stature is low, the complexion
dark and the figure short and sturdy. The following particulars are
reproduced from Colonel Dalton's account of the tribe:

"The hill lads and lasses are represented as forming very romantic
attachments, exhibiting the spectacle of real lovers 'sighing
like furnaces,' and the cockney expression of 'keeping company'
is peculiarly applicable to their courtship. If separated only for
an hour they are miserable, but there are apparently few obstacles
to the enjoyment of each other's society, as they work together, go
to market together, eat together, and sleep together! But if it be
found that they have overstepped the prescribed limits of billing and
cooing, the elders declare them to be out of the pale, and the blood
of animals must be shed at their expense to wash away the indiscretion
and obtain their readmission into society.

"On the day fixed for a marriage the bridegroom with his relations
proceeds to the bride's father's house, where they are seated on cots
and mats, and after a repast the bride's father takes his daughter's
hand and places it in that of the bridegroom, and exhorts him to be
loving and kind to the girl that he thus makes over to him. The groom
then with the little finger of his right hand marks the girl on the
forehead with vermilion, and then, linking the same finger with the
little finger of her right hand, he leads her away to his own house.

"The god of hunting is called Autga, and at the close of every
successful expedition a thank-offering is made to him. This is the
favourite pastime, and one of the chief occupations of the Malers,
and they have their game laws, which are strictly enforced. If a man,
losing an animal which he has killed or wounded, seeks for assistance
to find it, those who aid are entitled to one-half of the animal when
found. Another person accidentally coming on dead or wounded game and
appropriating it, is subjected to a severe fine. The Manjhi or headman
of the village is entitled to a share of all game killed by any of his
people. Any one who kills a hunting dog is fined twelve rupees. Certain
parts of an animal are tabooed to females as food, and if they infringe
this law Autga is offended and game becomes scarce. When the hunters
are unsuccessful it is often assumed that this is the cause, and the
augur never fails to point out the transgressing female, who must
provide a propitiatory offering. The Malers use poisoned arrows,
and when they kill game the flesh round the wound is cut off and
thrown away as unfit for food. Cats are under the protection of the
game laws, and a person found guilty of killing one is made to give
a small quantity of salt to every child in the village.

"I nowhere find any description of the dances and songs of the
Paharias. Mr. Atkinson found the Malers extremely reticent on the
subject, and with difficulty elicited that they had a dancing-place
in every village, but it is only when under the influence of God
Bacchus that they indulge in the amusement. All accounts agree in
ascribing to the Paharias an immoderate devotion to strong drink, and
Buchanan tells us that when they are dancing a person goes round with
a pitcher of the home-brew and, without disarranging the performers,
who are probably linked together by circling or entwining arms, pours
into the mouth of each, male and female, a refreshing and invigorating
draught. The beverage is the universal _pachwai_, that is, fermented
grain. The grain, either maize, rice or _janera_ (_Holcus sorghum_),
is boiled and spread out on a mat to cool. It is then mixed with a
ferment of vegetables called _takar_, and kept in a large earthen
vessel for some days; warm water may at any time be mixed with it,
and in a few hours it ferments and is ready for use."

When the attention of English officers was first drawn to them in 1770
the Males of the Rajmahal hills were a tribe of predatory freebooters,
raiding and terrorising the plain country from the foot of the hills to
the Ganges. It was Mr. Augustus Cleveland, Collector of Bhagalpur, who
reduced them to order by entering into engagements with the chiefs for
the prevention and punishment of offences among their own tribesmen,
confirming them in their estates and jurisdiction, and enrolling a
corps of Males, which became the Bhagalpur Hill Rangers, and was not
disbanded till the Mutiny. Mr. Cleveland died at the age of 29, having
successfully demonstrated the correct method of dealing with the wild
forest tribes, and the Governor-General in Council erected a tomb and
inscription to his memory, which was the original of that described
by Mr. Kipling in _The Tomb of his Ancestors_, though the character
of the first John Chinn in the story was copied from Outram. [151]

Mala

_Mala._--A low Telugu caste of labourers and cotton-weavers. They
numbered nearly 14,000 persons in the Central Provinces in 1911,
belonging mainly to the Chanda, Nagpur, Jubbulpore, and Yeotmal
Districts, and the Bastar State. The Marathas commonly call them Telugu
Dhers, but they themselves prefer to be known as 'Telangi Sadar Bhoi,'
which sounds a more respectable designation. They are also known as
Mannepuwar and Netkani. They are the Pariahs of the Telugu country,
and are regarded as impure and degraded. They may be distinguished
by their manner of tying the head-cloth more or less in a square
shape, and by their loin-cloths, which are worn very loose and not
knotted. Those who worship Narsinghswami, the man-lion incarnation
of Vishnu, are called Namaddar, while the followers of Mahadeo are
known as Lingadars. The former paint their foreheads with vertical
lines of sandal-paste, and the latter with horizontal ones. The Malas
were formerly zealous partisans of the right-handed sect in Madras,
and the description of this curious system of faction given by the
Abbe Dubois more than a century ago may be reproduced: [152]

"Most castes belong either to the left-hand or right-hand faction. The
former comprises the Vaishyas or trading classes, the Panchalas or
artisan classes and some of the low Sudra castes. It also contains
the lowest caste, viz. the Chaklas or leather-workers, who are looked
upon as its chief support. To the right-hand faction belong most of
the higher castes of Sudras. The Pariahs (Malas) are also its great
support, as a proof of which they glory in the title of _Valangai
Maugattar_ or Friends of the Right Hand. In the disputes and conflicts
which so often take place between the two factions it is always the
Pariahs who make the most disturbance and do the most damage. The
Brahmans, Rajas and several classes of Sudras are content to remain
neutral and take no part in these quarrels. The opposition between the
two factions arises from certain exclusive privileges to which both
lay claim. But as these alleged privileges are nowhere clearly defined
and recognised, they result in confusion and uncertainty, and are with
difficulty capable of settlement. When one faction trespasses on the
so-called right of the other, tumults arise which spread gradually
over large tracts of territory, afford opportunity for excesses of all
kinds, and generally end in bloody conflicts. The Hindu, ordinarily so
timid and gentle in all other circumstances of life, seems to change
his nature completely on occasions like these. There is no danger that
he will not brave in maintaining what he calls his rights, and rather
than sacrifice a little of them he will expose himself without fear
to the risk of losing his life. The rights and privileges for which
the Hindus are ready to fight such sanguinary battles appear highly
ridiculous, especially to a European. Perhaps the sole cause of the
contest is the right to wear slippers or to ride through the streets
in a palanquin or on horseback during marriage festivals. Sometimes
it is the privilege of being escorted on certain occasions by armed
retainers, sometimes that of having a trumpet sounded in front of
a procession, or of being accompanied by native musicians at public
ceremonies." The writer of the _Madras Census Report_ of 1871 states:
[153] "It is curious that the females of two of the inferior castes
should take different sides to their husbands in these disputes. The
wives of the agricultural labourers side with the left hand, while
their husbands help in fighting the battles of the right, and the
shoemakers' wives also take the side opposed to their husbands. During
these festival disturbances, the ladies who hold political views
opposed to those of their husbands deny to the latter all the
privileges of the connubial state." The same writer states that the
right-hand castes claimed the prerogative of riding on horseback in
processions, of appearing with standards bearing certain devices,
and of erecting twelve pillars to sustain their marriage booths;
while the left-hand castes might not have more than eleven pillars,
nor use the same standards as the right. The quarrels arising out of
these small differences of opinion were so frequent and serious in the
seventeenth century that in the town of Madras it was found necessary
to mark the respective boundaries of the right- and left-hand castes,
and to forbid the right-hand castes in their processions from occupying
the streets of the left hand and vice versa. These disturbances have
gradually tended to disappear under the influence of education and
good government, and no instance of them is known to have occurred
in the Central Provinces. The division appears to have originated
among the members of the Sakta sect or the worshippers of Sakti as
the female principle of life in nature. Dr. L. D. Barnett writes:
[154]--"The followers of the sect are of two schools. The 'Walkers
in the Right Way' (_Dakshinachari_) pay a service of devotion to
the deity in both male and female aspects, and except in their more
pronounced tendency to dwell upon the horrific aspects of the deity
(as Kali, Durga, etc.), they differ little from ordinary Saivas
and Vaishnavas. The 'Walkers in the Left Way' (_Vamachari_), on the
other hand, concentrate their thought upon the godhead in its sexually
maternal aspect, and follow rites of senseless magic and--theoretically
at least--promiscuous debauchery." As has been seen, the religious
differences subsequently gave rise to political factions.