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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Mali

List of Paragraphs

1. _General notice of the caste, and its social position_.
2. _Caste legend_.
3. _Flowers offered to the gods_.
4. _Custom of wearing garlands_.
5. _Subcastes_.
6. _Marriage_.
7. _Widow-marriage, divorce and polygamy_.
8. _Disposal of the dead_.
9. _Religion_.
10. _Occupation_.
11. _Traits and characters_.
12. _Other functions of the Mali_.
13. _Physical appearance_.

1. General notice of the caste, and its social position

_Mali, Marar, Maral_. [155]--The functional caste of vegetable
and flower-gardeners. The terms Mali and Marar appear to be used
indifferently for the same caste, the former being more common in the
west of the Province and the latter in the eastern Satpura Districts
and the Chhattisgarh plain. In the Nerbudda valley and on the Vindhyan
plateau the place of both Mali and Marar is taken by the Kachhi of
Upper India. [156] Marar appears to be a Marathi name, the original
term, as pointed out by Mr. Hira Lal, being Malal, or one who grows
garden-crops in a field; but the caste is often called Mali in the
Maratha country and Marar in the Hindi Districts. The word Mali is
derived from the Sanskrit _mala_, a garland. In 1911 the Malis numbered
nearly 360,000 persons in the present area of the Central Provinces,
and 200,000 in Berar. A German writer remarks of the caste [157]
that: "It cannot be considered to be a very ancient one. Generally
speaking, it may be said that flowers have scarcely a place in the
Veda. Wreaths of flowers, of course, are used as decorations, but
the separate flowers and their beauty are not yet appreciated. That
lesson was first learned later by the Hindus when surrounded by
another flora. Amongst the Homeric Greeks, too, in spite of their
extensive gardening and different flowers, not a trace of horticulture
is yet to be found." It seems probable that the first Malis were not
included among the regular cultivators of the village but were a lower
group permitted to take up the small waste plots of land adjoining the
inhabited area and fertilised by its drainage, and the sandy stretches
in the beds of rivers, on which they were able to raise the flowers
required for offerings and such vegetables as were known. They still
hold a lower rank than the ordinary cultivator. Sir D. Ibbetson writes
[158] of the gardening castes: "The group now to be discussed very
generally hold an inferior position among the agricultural community
and seldom if ever occupy the position of the dominant tribe in any
considerable tract of country. The cultivation of vegetables is looked
upon as degrading by the agricultural classes, why I know not, unless
it be that night-soil is generally used for their fertilisation; and
a Rajput would say: 'What! Do you take me for an Arain?' if anything
was proposed which he considered derogatory." But since most Malis
in the Central Provinces strenuously object to using night-soil as
a manure the explanation that this practice has caused them to rank
below the agricultural castes does not seem sufficient. And if the
use of night-soil were the real circumstance which determined their
social position, it seems certain that Brahmans would not take water
from their hands as they do. Elsewhere Sir D. Ibbetson remarks: [159]
"The Malis and Sainis, like all vegetable growers, occupy a very
inferior position among the agricultural castes; but of the two the
Sainis are probably the higher, as they more often own land or even
whole villages, and are less generally mere market-gardeners than
are the Malis." Here is given what may perhaps be the true reason
for the status of the Mali caste as a whole. Again Sir C. Elliot
wrote in the _Hoshangabad Settlement Report_: "Garden crops are
considered as a kind of fancy agriculture and the true cultivator,
the Kisan, looks on them with contempt as little peddling matters;
what stirs his ambition is a fine large wheat-field eighty or a
hundred acres in extent, as flat as a billiard-table and as black as
a Gond." Similarly Mr. Low [160] states that in Balaghat the Panwars,
the principal agricultural caste, look down on the Marars as growers
of petty crops like _sama_ and kutki. In Wardha the Dangris, a small
caste of melon and vegetable growers, are an offshoot of the Kunbis;
and they will take food from the Kunbis, though these will not accept
it from them, their social status being thus distinctly lower than that
of the parent caste. Again the Kohlis of Bhandara, who grow sugarcane
with irrigation, are probably derived from an aboriginal tribe, the
Kols, and, though they possess a number of villages, rank lower than
the regular cultivating castes. It is also worth noting that they do
not admit tenant-right in their villages among their own caste, and
allot the sugarcane plots among the cultivators at pleasure. [161] In
Nimar the Malis rank below the Kunbis and Gujars, the good agricultural
castes, and it is said that they grow the crops which the cultivators
proper do not care to grow. The Kachhis, the gardening caste of the
northern Districts, have a very low status, markedly inferior to that
of the Lodhis and Kurmis and little if any better than the menial
Dhimars. Similarly, as will be seen later, the Marars themselves
have customs pointing clearly to a non-Aryan origin. The Bhoyars of
Betul, who grow sugarcane, are probably of mixed origin from Rajput
fathers and mothers of the indigenous tribes; they eat fowls and are
much addicted to liquor and rank below the cultivating castes. The
explanation seems to be that the gardening castes are not considered
as landholders, and have not therefore the position which attaches
to the holding of land among all early agricultural peoples, and
which in India consisted in the status of a constituent member of
the village community. So far as ceremonial purity goes there is no
difference between the Malis and the cultivating castes, as Brahmans
will take water from both. It may be surmised that this privilege
has been given to the Malis because they grow the flowers required
for offerings to the gods, and sometimes officiate as village priests
and temple servants; and their occupation, though not on a level with
regular agriculture, is still respectable. But the fact that Brahmans
will take water from them does not place the Malis on an equality with
the cultivating castes, any more than it does the Nais (barbers) and
Dhimars (watermen), the condemned menial servants of the cultivators,
from whom Brahmans will also take water from motives of convenience.

2. Caste legend

The Malis have a Brahmanical legend of the usual type indicating
that their hereditary calling was conferred and ratified by divine
authority. [162] This is to the effect that the first Mali was a
garland-maker attached to the household of Raja Kansa of Mathura. One
day he met with Krishna, and, on being asked by him for a chaplet of
flowers, at once gave it. On being told to fasten it with string,
he, for want of any other, took off his sacred thread and tied it,
on which Krishna most ungenerously rebuked him for his simplicity
in parting with his _paita_, and announced that for the future his
caste would be ranked among the Sudras.

The above story, combined with the derivation of Mali from _mala_,
a garland, makes it a plausible hypothesis that the calling of the
first Malis was to grow flowers for the adornment of the gods, and
especially for making the garlands with which their images were and
still are decorated. Thus the Malis were intimately connected with the
gods and naturally became priests of the village temples, in which
capacity they are often employed. Mr. Nesfield remarks of the Mali:
[163] "To Hindus of all ranks, including even the Brahmans, he acts
as a priest of Mahadeo in places where no Gosain is to be found,
and lays the flower offerings on the _lingam_ by which the deity is
symbolised. As the Mali is believed to have some influence with the god
to whose temple he is attached, none objects to his appropriating the
fee which is nominally presented to the god himself. In the worship
of those village godlings whom the Brahmans disdain to recognise
and whom the Gosain is not permitted to honour the Mali is sometimes
employed to present the offering. He is thus the recognised hereditary
priest of the lower and more ignorant classes of the population." In
the Central Provinces Malis are commonly employed in the temples of
Devi because goats are offered to the goddess and hence the worship
cannot be conducted by Brahmans. They also work as servants in Jain
temples under the priest. They sweep the temple, clean the utensils,
and do other menial business. This service, however, does not affect
their religion and they continue to be Hindus.

His services in providing flowers for the gods would be remunerated
by contributions of grain from the cultivators, the acceptance
of which would place the Mali below them in the rank of a village
menial, though higher than most of the class owing to the purity of
his occupation. His status was probably much the same as that of the
Guraos or village priests of Mahadeo in the Maratha country. And though
he has now become a cultivator, his position has not improved to the
level of other cultivating castes for the reasons already given. It
was probably the necessity of regularly watering his plants in order
to obtain a longer and more constant supply of blooms which first
taught the Mali the uses of irrigation.

3. Flowers offered to the gods

Flowers are _par excellence_ suited for the offerings and adornment
of the gods, and many Hindus have rose or other plants in their houses
whose flowers are destined to the household god. There is little reason
to doubt that this was the purpose for which cultivated flowers were
first grown. The marigold, lotus and champak are favourite religious
flowers, while the _tulsi_ or basil is itself worshipped as the
consort of Vishnu; in this case, however, the scent is perhaps the more
valued feature. In many Hindu households all flowers brought into the
house are offered to the household god before being put to any other
use. A Brahman school-boy to whom I had given some flowers to copy
in drawing said that his mother had offered them to the god Krishna
before he used them. When faded or done with they should be consigned
to the sacred element, water, in any stream or river. The statues of
the gods are adorned with sculptured garlands or hold them in their
hands. A similar state of things prevailed in classical antiquity:

Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,
And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?

And,

Fairer than these, though temple thou hast none,
Nor altar decked with flowers,
Nor virgin choir to make delicious moan
Upon the midnight hours.

M. Fustel de Coulanges describes the custom of wearing crowns
or garlands of flowers in ancient Rome and Greece as follows: "It
is clear that the communal feasts were religious ceremonies. Each
guest had a crown on the head; it was an ancient custom to crown
oneself with leaves or flowers for any solemn religious act." "The
more a man is adorned with flowers," they said, "the more pleasing
he is to the gods; but they turn away from him who wears no crown at
his sacrifice." And again, 'A crown is the auspicious herald which
announces a prayer to the gods.' [164]

Among the Persians the flowers themselves are worshipped: [165] "When
a pure Iranian sauntered through (the Victoria Gardens in Bombay)
... he would stand awhile and meditate over every flower in his path,
and always as in a vision; and when at last the vision was fulfilled,
and the ideal flower found, he would spread his mat or carpet before
it, and sit before it to the going down of the sun, when he would arise
and pray before it, and then refold his mat or carpet and go home; and
the next night, and night after night, until that bright particular
flower faded away, he would return to it, bringing his friends with
him in ever-increasing numbers, and sit and sing and play the guitar or
lute before it--and anon they all would arise together and pray before
it; and after prayers, still sit on, sipping sherbet and talking the
most hilarious and shocking scandal, late into the moonlight."

4. Custom of wearing garlands

From the custom of placing garlands on the gods as a mark of honour
has no doubt arisen that of garlanding guests. This is not confined
to India but obtained in Rome and probably in other countries. The
word 'chaplet' [166] originally meant a garland or wreath to be worn
on the head; and a garland of leaves with four flowers at equal
distances. Dryden says, 'With chaplets green upon their foreheads
placed.' The word _mala_ originally meant a garland, and subsequently
a rosary or string of beads. From this it seems a legitimate deduction
that rosaries or strings of beads of a sacred wood were substituted
for flower-garlands as ornaments for the gods in view of their more
permanent nature. Having been thus sanctified they may have come to
be worn as a mark of holiness by saints or priests in imitation of
the divine images, this being a common or universal fashion of Hindu
ascetics. Subsequently they were found to serve as a useful means
of counting the continuous repetition of prayers, whence arose the
phrase 'telling one's beads.' Like the Sanskrit _mala_, the English
word rosary at first meant a garland of roses and subsequently a
string of beads, probably made from rose-wood, on which prayers were
counted. From this it may perhaps be concluded that the images of
the deities were decorated with garlands of roses in Europe, and the
development of the rosary was the same as the Indian _mala_. If the
rose was a sacred flower we can more easily understand its importance
as a badge in the Wars of the Roses.

5. Sub-castes

The caste has numerous endogamous groups, varying in different
localities. The Phulmalis, who derive their name from their
occupation of growing and selling flowers (_phul_), usually rank as
the highest. The Ghase Malis are the only subcaste which will grow
and prepare turmeric in Wardha; but they will not sell milk or curds,
an occupation to which the Phulmalis, though the highest subcaste,
have no objection. In Chanda the Kosaria Malis, who take their name
from Kosala, the classical designation of the Chhattisgarh country,
are the sole growers of turmeric, while in Berar the Halde subcaste,
named after the plant, occupy the same position. The Kosaria or Kosre
subcaste abstain from liquor, and their women wear glass bangles only
on one hand and silver ones on the other. The objection entertained to
the cultivation of turmeric by Hindus generally is said to be based
on the fact that when the roots are boiled numbers of small insects
are necessarily destroyed; but the other Malis relate that one of the
ancestors of the caste had a calf called Hardulia, and one day he said
to his daughter, _Haldi paka_, or 'Cook turmeric.' But the daughter
thought that he said 'cook Hardulia,' so she killed and roasted the
calf, and in consequence of this her father was expelled from the
caste, and his descendants are the Ghase or Halde subcaste. Ever
since this happened the shape of a calf may be seen in the flower of
turmeric. This legend has, however, no real value and the meaning of
the superstition attaching to the plant is obscure. Though the growing
of turmeric is tabooed yet it is a sacred plant, and no Hindu girl, at
least in the Central Provinces, can be married without having turmeric
powder rubbed on her body. Mr. Gordon remarks in _Indian Folk-Tales_:
"I was once speaking to a Hindu gardener of the possibility of turmeric
and garlic being stolen from his garden. 'These two vegetables
are never stolen,' he replied, 'for we Hindus believe that he who
steals turmeric and garlic will appear with six fingers in the next
birth, and this deformity is always considered the birth-mark of a
thief.'" The Jire Malis are so named because they were formerly the
only subcaste who would grow cumin (_jira_), but this distinction
no longer exists as other Malis, except perhaps the Phulmalis, now
grow it. Other subcastes have territorial names, as Baone from Berar,
Jaipuria, Kanaujia, and so on. The caste have also exogamous septs or
_bargas_, with designations taken from villages, titles or nicknames
or inanimate objects.

6. Marriage

Marriage is forbidden between members of the same sept and between
first and second cousins. Girls are generally betrothed in childhood
and should be married before maturity. In the Uriya country if no
suitable husband can be found for a girl she is sometimes made to go
through the marriage ceremony with a peg of mahua wood driven into
the ground and covered over with a cloth. She is then tied to a tree
in the forest and any member of the caste may go and release her,
when she becomes his wife. The Marars of Balaghat and Bhandara have
the _lamjhana_ form of marriage, in which the prospective husband
serves for his wife; this is a Dravidian custom and shows their
connection with the forest tribes. The marriage ceremony follows
the standard form prevalent in the locality. In Betul the couple
go seven times round a slab on which a stone roller is placed, with
their clothes knotted together and holding in their hands a lighted
lamp. The slab and roller may be the implements used in powdering
turmeric. "Among the Marars of Balaghat [167] the maternal uncle
of the bridegroom goes to the village of the bride and brings back
with him the bridal party. The bride's party do not at once cross
the boundary of the bridegroom's village, but will stay outside it
for a few hours. Word is sent and the bridegroom's party will bring
out cooked food, which they eat with the bride's party. This done,
they go to the house of the bridegroom and the bride forthwith walks
five times round a pounding-stone. Next day turmeric is applied to
the couple, and the caste people are given a feast. The essential
portion of the ceremony consists in the rubbing of vermilion on the
foreheads of the couple under the cover of a cloth. The caste permit
the practice of _ralla-palla_ or exchanging sisters in marriage. They
are said to have a custom at weddings known as _kondia_, according
to which a young man of the bridegroom's party, called the _Sand_
or bull, is shut up in a house at night with all the women of the
bride's party; he is at liberty to seize and have intercourse with
any of them he can catch, while they are allowed to beat him as much
as they like. It is said that he seldom has much cause to congratulate
himself." But the caste have now become ashamed of this custom and it
is being abandoned. In Chhattisgarh the Marars, like other castes,
have the forms of marriage known as the _Badi Shadi_ and _Chhoti
Shadi_ or great and small weddings. The former is an elaborate form
of marriage, taking place at the house of the bride. Those who cannot
afford the expense of this have a 'Small Wedding' at the house of
the bridegroom, at which the rites are curtailed and the expenditure
considerably reduced.

7. Widow-marriage, divorce and polygamy

Widow-marriage is permitted. The widower, accompanied by his relatives
and a horn-blower, goes to the house of the widow, and here a space
is plastered with cowdung and the couple sit on two wooden boards
while their clothes are knotted together. In Balaghat [168] the
bridegroom and bride bathe in a tank and on emerging the widow throws
away her old cloth and puts on a new one. After this they walk five
times round a spear planted in the ground. Divorce is permitted and
can be effected by mutual consent of the parties. Like other castes
practising intensive cultivation the Malis marry several wives when
they can afford it, in order to obtain the benefit of their labour
in the vegetable garden; a wife being more industrious and honest
than a hired labourer. But this practice results in large families
and household dissensions, leading to excessive subdivision of
property, and wealthy members of the caste are rare. The standard
of sexual morality is low, and if an unmarried girl goes wrong her
family conceal the fact and sometimes try to procure an abortion. If
these efforts are unsuccessful a feast must be given to the caste and
a lock of the woman's hair is cut off by way of punishment. A young
hard-working wife is never divorced, however bad her character may be,
but an old woman is sometimes abandoned for very little cause.

8. Disposal of the dead

The dead may be either buried or burnt; in the former case the corpse
is laid with the feet to the north. Mourning is observed only for
three days and propitiatory offerings are made to the spirits of the
dead. If a man is killed by a tiger his family make a wooden image
of a tiger and worship it.

9. Religion

Devi is the principal deity of the Malis. Weddings are celebrated
before her temple and large numbers of goats are sacrificed to the
favourite goddess at her festival in the month of Magh (January). Many
of the Marars of Balaghat are Kabirpanthis and wear the necklace of
that sect; but they appear none the less to intermarry freely with
their Hindu caste-fellows. [169] After the birth of a child it is
stated that all the members of the sept to which the parents belong
remain impure for five days, and no one will take food or water
from them.

10. Occupation

The Mali combines the callings of a gardener and nurseryman. "In laying
out a flower-garden and in arranging beds," Mr. Shearing remarks, [170]
"the Mali is exceedingly expert. His powers in this respect are hardly
surpassed by gardeners in England. He lacks of course the excellent
botanical knowledge of many English gardeners, and also the peculiar
skill displayed by them in grafting and crossing, and in watching
the habits of plants. Yet in manipulative labour, especially when
superintended by a European, he is, though much slower in execution,
almost if not quite equal to gardeners at home." They are excellent
and very laborious cultivators, and show much skill in intensive
cultivation and the use of water. Malis are the best sugarcane growers
of Betul and their holdings usually pay a higher rental than those of
other castes. "In Balaghat," Mr. Low remarks, [171] "they are great
growers of tobacco and sugarcane, favouring the alluvial land on the
banks of rivers. They mostly irrigate by a _dhekli_ or dipping lift,
from temporary wells or from water-holes in rivers. The pole of the
lift has a weight at one end and a kerosene tin suspended from the
other. Another form of lift is a hollowed tree trunk worked on a
fulcrum, but this only raises the water a foot or two. The Marars
do general cultivation as well; but as a class are not considered
skilled agriculturists. The proverb about their cultivating status is:

Marar, Mali jote tali
Tali margayi, dhare kudali

or, 'The Marar yokes cows; if the cow dies he takes to the pickaxe';
implying that he is not usually rich enough to keep bullocks." The
saying has also a derogatory sense, as no good Hindu would yoke
a cow to the plough. Another form of lift used by the Kachhis is
the Persian wheel. In this two wheels are fixed above the well or
tank and long looped ropes pass over them and down into the well,
between which a line of earthen pots is secured. As the ropes move
on the wheels the pots descend into the well, are filled with water,
brought up, and just after they reach the apex of the wheel and turn
to descend again, the water pours out to a hollow open tree-trunk,
from which a channel conveys it to the field. The wheel which turns
the rope is worked by a man pedalling, but he cannot do more than
about three hours a day. The common lift for gardens is the _mot_ or
bag made of the hide of a bullock or buffalo. This is usually worked
by a pair of bullocks moving forwards down a slope to raise the _mot_
from the well and backwards up the slope to let it down when empty.

11. Traits and character

"It is necessary," the account continues, "for the Marar's business for
one member at least of his family to go to market with his vegetables;
and the Mararin is a noteworthy feature in all bazars, sitting with
her basket or garment spread on the ground, full of white onions and
garlic, purple brinjals and scarlet chillies, with a few handfuls of
strongly flavoured green stuff. Whether from the publicity which it
entails on their women or from whatever cause, the Mararin does not
bear the best of reputations for chastity; and is usually considered
rather a bold, coarse creature. The distinctive feature of her attire
is the way in which she ties up her body-cloth so as to leave a tail
sticking up behind; whence the proverb shouted after her by rude little
boys: 'Jump from roof to roof, Monkey. Pull the tail of the Mararin,
Monkey,' She also rejoices in a very large _tikli_ or spangle on her
forehead and in a peculiar kind of _angia_ (waistcoat). The caste are
usually considered rather clannish and morose. They live in communities
by themselves, and nearly always inhabit a separate hamlet of the
village. The Marars of a certain place are said to have boycotted a
village carpenter who lost an axe belonging to one of their number,
so that he had to leave the neighbourhood for lack of custom."