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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2. Tribal Subdivisions

The tribe have several endogamous divisions, of which the principal are
the Raj Pardhans, the Ganda Pardhans and the Thothia Pardhans. The
Raj Pardhans appear to be the descendants of alliances between
Raj Gonds and Pardhan women. They say that formerly the priests of
Bura 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 Raj Pardhans; and
since this _contretemps_ the priests are permitted to marry, while
women are no longer allowed to attend the worship of Bura Deo. The
Thothia subtribe are said to be the descendants of illicit unions,
the word Thothia meaning 'maimed'; while the Gandas are the offspring
of intermarriages between the Pardhans and members of that degraded
caste. Other groups are the Mades or those of the Mad country in
Chanda and Bastar, the Khalotias or those of the Chhattisgarh plain,
and the Deogarhias of Deogarh in Chhindwara; and there are also some
occupational divisions, as the Kandres or bamboo-workers, the Gaitas
who act as priests in Chhattisgarh, and the Arakhs who engage in
service and sell old clothes. A curious grouping is found in Chanda,
where the tribe are divided into the Gond Patharis and Chor or
'Thief' Patharis. 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 Pathari. In Raipur the Patharis are said to be the offspring of
Gonds by women of other castes, and the descendants of such unions. The
exogamous divisions of the Pardhans are the same as those of the Gonds,
and like them they are split up into groups worshipping different
numbers of gods whose members may not marry with one another.

3. Marriage

A Pardhan 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 then 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.

4. Religion

As the priests of the Gonds, the Pardhans are employed to conduct the
ceremonial worship of their great god Bura Deo, which takes place on
the third day of the bright fortnight of Baisakh (April). Many goats
or pigs are then offered to him with liquor, cocoanuts, betel-leaves,
flowers, lemons and rice. Bura Deo is always enshrined under a
tree outside the village, either of the mahua or _saj_ (_Terminalia
tomentosa_) varieties. In Chhattisgarh the Gonds say that the origin
of Bura Deo was from a child born of an illicit union between a Gond
and a Rawat woman. The father murdered the child by strangling it,
and its spirit then began to haunt and annoy 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. The story is interesting
as showing how completely devoid of any supernatural majesty or power
is the Gond conception of their principal deity.

5. Social Customs

Like the Gonds, the Pardhans 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 Pardhans are much despised, and their touch conveys
impurity while that of a Gond does not. Every Pardhan 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 Patharias of Chhattisgarh are
especially noted for cattle-lifting and thieving. Writing forty years
ago Captain Thomson [401] described the Pardhans of Seoni as bearing
the very worst of characters, many of them being regular cattle-lifters
and gang robbers. 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 Pardhans have become quite peaceable, but they still have a bad
reputation for petty thieving.

6. Methods of cheating among Patharis

In Chhattisgarh 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 McNeill, District Superintendent of Police: [402]
"They procure a quantity of the dry bark of the pipal, [403] mahua,
[404] tamarind or _gular_ [405] 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 has
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 dispose of the gold, sometimes going to a fair and
buying 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 Patharis 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 in 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 _panchayat_ or committee,
whose head is known as Mokasi. The Mokasi 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 Mokasi one
should have wealth and experience and it is not a disadvantage to
have been in jail. The Mokasi superintends the internal affairs of
the community and maintains good relations with the proprietor and
village watchman by means of gifts."

7. Musicians and priests

The Pardhans and Patharis 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 Ganda
Pardhan subtribe act as midwives. Mr. Tawney wrote of the Pardhans
of Chhindwara: [406] "The Raj-Pardhans are the bards of the Gonds and
they can also officiate as priests, but the Bhumka generally acts in
the latter capacity and the Pardhans 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 Pardhan,
and great men use them on less important occasions. They cannot even
worship their household gods or be married without the Pardhans. The
Raj-Pardhans 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 Pardhans to distinguish them from the Gonds."

Pardhi

List of Paragraphs

1. _General notice of the caste_.
2. _Subdivisions_.
3. _Marriage and funeral customs_.
4. _Religion_.
5. _Dress, food and social customs_.
6. _Ordeals_.
7. _Methods of catching birds_.
8. _Hunting with leopards_.
9. _Decoy stags_.
10. _Hawks_.
11. _Crocodile fishing_.
12. _Other occupations and criminal practices_.

1. General notice of the caste

_Pardhi, [407] Bahelia, Mirshikar, Moghia, Shikari, Takankar._--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
Hindi, 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.

2. 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 performing 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 soon; 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.

3. Marriage and funeral customs

Girls appear to be somewhat scarce in the caste and a bride-price is
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 a girl may be readmitted
into the caste; and in the extreme case of her being 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. 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.

4. Religion

In Berar their principal deity is the goddess Devi, who is known
by different names. Every family of Langoti Pardhis has, Mr. Gayer
states, [408] its image in silver of the goddess, and because of this
no Langoti Pardhi woman will wear silver below the waist or hang her
_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 let
fall and drop to the right hand it is a 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 a 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 the 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 it 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-luck upon themselves. A Pardhi has also
theoretically a care for the preservation of game. When he 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 Rs. 2-8. The
butt end of the stick is employed for mixing 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 cat 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. The Phans Pardhis may
not travel in a railway train, and some of them are forbidden even
to use a cart or other conveyance.

5. 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 forests 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 reason probably being that a long one would impede
them by flapping and catching in the brushwood. But the explanation
which they themselves give, [409] 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 women 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 has always prevailed, and
the more orthodox practice would be almost incompatible with their
gipsy life. Similar reasons of convenience account for their custom
of celebrating marriages all the year round and neglecting the Hindu
close season of the four months of the rains. They travel about with
little huts made of matting, which can be rolled up and carried off
in a few minutes. If rain comes on they seek shelter in the nearest
village. [410] 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 in 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 offences 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 of the left ear with a razor,
and a man guilty of intercourse with a prostitute is punished as if
he had committed adultery. The Pardhi women are said to be virtuous.

6. 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 pice 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 of a man, the
accused is made to dive into water; and as he dives an 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 has 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 it 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.

7. 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:
[411] "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 forms 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 them under cover of the
screen and the bullock, which he guides by a nose-string. The birds
feed on 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 of 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. [412]
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 bird-lime.