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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9. Occupation and social customs

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

Pasi

List of Paragraphs

1. _The nature and origin of the caste_.
2. _Brahmanical legends_.
3. _Its mixed composition_.
4. _Marriage and other customs_.
5. _Religion, superstitions and social customs_.
6. _Occupation_.
7. _Criminal tendencies_.

1. The nature and origin of the caste

_Pasi, Passi._ [426]--A Dravidian occupational caste of northern
India, whose hereditary employment is the tapping of the palmyra,
date and other palm trees for their sap. The name is derived from the
Sanskrit _pashika_, 'One who uses a noose,' and the Hindi, _pas_ or
_pasa_, a noose. It is a curious fact that when the first immigrant
Parsis from Persia landed in Gujarat they took to the occupation
of tapping palm trees, and the poorer of them still follow it. The
resemblance in the name, however, can presumably be nothing more than
a coincidence. The total strength of the Pasis in India is about a
million and a half persons, nearly all of whom belong to the United
Provinces and Bihar. In the Central Provinces they number 3500, and
reside principally in the Jubbulpore and Hoshangabad Districts. The
caste is now largely occupational, and is connected with the Bhars,
Arakhs, Khatiks and other Dravidian groups of low status. But in the
past they seem to have been of some importance in Oudh. "All through
Oudh," Mr. Crooke states, "they have traditions that they were lords of
the country, and that their kings reigned in the Districts of Kheri,
Hardoi and Unao. Ramkot, where the town of Bangarmau in Unao now
stands, is said to have been one of their chief strongholds. The last
of the Pasi lords of Ramkot, Raja Santhar, threw off his allegiance
to Kanauj and refused to pay tribute. On this Raja Jaichand gave his
country to the Banaphar heroes Alha and Udal, and they attacked and
destroyed Ramkot, leaving it the shapeless mass of ruins which it now
is." Similar traditions prevail in other parts of Oudh. It is also
recorded that the Rajpasis, the highest division of the caste, claim
descent from Tilokchand, the eponymous hero of the Bais Rajputs. It
would appear then that the Pasis were a Dravidian tribe who held a part
of Oudh before it was conquered by the Rajputs. As the designation
of Pasi is an occupational term and is derived from the Sanskrit,
it would seem that the tribe must formerly have had some other name,
or they may be an occupational offshoot of the Bhars. In favour of this
suggestion it may be noted that the Bhars also have strong traditions
of their former dominance in Oudh. Thus Sir C. Elliott states in his
_Chronicles of Unao_ [427] that after the close of the heroic age,
when Ajodhya was held by the Surajvansi Rajputs under the great Rama,
we find after an interval of historic darkness that Ajodhya has been
destroyed, the Surajvansis utterly banished, and a large extent of
country is being ruled over by aborigines called Cheros in the far
east, Bhars in the centre and Rajpasis in the west. Again, in Kheri
the Pasis always claim kindred with the Bhars, [428] and in Mirzapur
[429] the local Pasis represent the Bhars as merely a subcaste of
their own tribe, though this is denied by the Bhars themselves. It
seems therefore a not improbable hypothesis that the Pasis and perhaps
also the kindred tribe of Arakhs are functional groups formed from the
Bhar tribe. For a discussion of the early history of this important
tribe the reader must be referred to Mr. Crooke's excellent article.

2. Brahmanical legends

The following tradition is related by the Pasis themselves in Mirzapur
and the Central Provinces: One day a man was going to kill a number
of cows. Parasurama was at that time practising austerities in the
jungles. Hearing the cries of the sacred animals he rushed to their
assistance, but the cow-killer was aided by his friends. So Parasurama
made five men out of _kusha_ grass and brought them to life by letting
drops of his perspiration fall upon them. Hence arose the name Pasi,
from the Hindi _pasina_, sweat. The men thus created rescued the
cows. Then they returned to Parasurama and asked him to provide
them with a wife. Just at that moment a Kayasth girl was passing
by, and her Parasurama seized and made over to the Pasis. From them
sprang the Kaithwas subcaste. Another legend related by Mr. Crooke
tells that during the time Parasurama was incarnate there was an
austere devotee called Kuphal who was asked by Brahma to demand of
him a boon, whereupon he requested that he might be perfected in the
art of thieving. His request was granted, and there is a well-known
verse regarding the devotions of Kuphal, the pith of which is that
the mention of the name of Kuphal, who received a boon from Brahma,
removes all fear of thieves; and the mention of his three wives--Maya
(illusion), Nidra (sleep), and Mohani (enchantment)--deprives thieves
of success in their attempts against the property of those who repeat
these names. Kuphal is apparently the progenitor of the caste, and
the legend is intended to show how the position of the Pasis in the
Hindu cosmos or order of society according to the caste system has
been divinely ordained and sanctioned, even to the recognition of
theft as their hereditary pursuit.

3. Its mixed composition

Whatever their origin may have been the composition of the caste is
now of a very mixed nature. Several names of other castes, as Gujar,
Gual or Ahir, Arakh, Khatik, Bahelia, Bhil and Bania, are returned
as divisions of the Pasis in the United Provinces. Like all migratory
castes they are split into a number of small groups, whose constitution
is probably not very definite. The principal subcastes in the Central
Provinces are the Rajpasis or highest class, who probably were at one
time landowners; the Kaithwas or Kaithmas, supposed to be descended
from a Kayasth, as already related; the Tirsulia, who take their name
from the _trisula_ or three-bladed knife used to pierce the stem of
the palm tree; the Bahelia or hunters, and Chiriyamar or fowlers;
the Ghudchadha or those who ride on ponies, these being probably
saises or horse-keepers; the Khatik or butchers and Gujar or graziers;
and the Mangta or beggars, these being the bards and genealogists of
the caste, who beg from their clients and take food from their hands;
they are looked down on by the other Pasis.

4. Marriage and other customs

In the Central Provinces the tribe have now no exogamous groups; they
avoid marriage with blood relations as far back as their memory carries
them. At their weddings the couple walk round the _srawan_ or heavy
log of wood, which is dragged over the fields before sowing to break up
the larger clods of earth. In the absence of this an ordinary plough or
harrow will serve as a substitute, though why the Pasis should impart
a distinctively agricultural implement into their marriage ceremony
is not clear. Like the Gonds, the Pasis celebrate their weddings at
the bridegroom's house and not at the bride's. Before the wedding the
bridegroom's mother goes and sits over a well, taking with her seven
_urad_ cakes [430] and stalks of the plant. The bridegroom walks
seven times round the well, and at each turn the parapet is marked
with red and white clay and his mother throws one of the cakes and
stalks into the well. Finally, the mother threatens to throw herself
into the well, and the bridegroom begs her not to do so, promising
that he will serve and support her. Divorce and the remarriage of
widows are freely permitted. Conjugal morality is somewhat lax, and
Mr. Crooke quotes a report from Pertabgarh to the effect that if a
woman of a tribe become pregnant by a stranger and the child be born
in the house of her father or husband, it will be accepted as a Pasi
of pure blood and admitted to all tribal privileges. The bodies of
adults may be buried or burnt as convenient, but those of children
or of persons dying from smallpox, cholera or snake-bite are always
buried. Mourning is observed during ten days for a man and nine days
for a woman, while children who die unmarried are not mourned at all.

5. Religion, superstitions and social customs

The Pasis worship all the ordinary Hindu deities. All classes of
Brahmans will officiate at their marriages and other ceremonies,
and do anything for them which does not involve touching them or
any article in their houses. In Bengal, Sir H. Risley writes, the
employment of Brahmans for the performance of ceremonies appears to
be a very recent reform for, as a rule, in sacrifices and funeral
ceremonies, the worshipper's sister's son performs the functions of a
priest. "Among the Pasis of Monghyr this ancient custom, which admits
of being plausibly interpreted as a survival of female kinship, still
prevails generally." The social status of the Pasis is low, but they
are not regarded as impure. At their marriage festivals, Mr. Gayer
notes, boys are dressed up as girls and made to dance in public, but
they do not use drums or other musical instruments. They breed pigs and
cure the bacon obtained from them. Marriage questions are decided by
the tribal council, which is presided over by a chairman (_Chaudhri_)
selected at each meeting from among the most influential adult males
present. The council deals especially with cases of immorality and
pollution caused by journeys across the black water (_kala pani_)
which the criminal pursuits of the tribe occasionally necessitate.

6. Occupation

The traditional occupation of the Pasis, as already stated, is the
extraction of the sap of palm trees. But some of them are hunters
and fowlers like the Pardhis, and like them also they make and mend
grindstones, while others are agriculturists; and the caste has also
strong criminal propensities, and includes a number of professional
thieves. Some are employed in the Nagpur mills and others have taken
small building contracts. Pasis are generally illiterate and in poor
circumstances, and are much addicted to drink. In climbing [431]
palm trees to tap them for their juice the worker uses a heel-rope,
by which his feet are tied closely together. At the same time he has a
stout rope passing round the tree and his body. He leans back against
this rope and presses the soles of his feet, thus tied together,
against the tree. He then climbs up the tree by a series of hitches or
jerks of his back and feet alternately. The juice of the palmyra palm
(_tar_) and the date palm (_khajur_) is extracted by the Pasi. The
_tar_ trees, Sir H. Risley states, [432] are tapped from March to
May, and the date palm in the cold season. The juice of the former,
known as _tari_ or toddy, is used in the manufacture of bread, and an
intoxicating liquor is obtained from it by adding sugar and grains
of rice. Hindustani drunkards often mix _dhatura_ with the toddy to
increase its intoxicating properties. The quantity of juice extracted
from one tree varies from five to ten pounds. Date palm _tari_ is
less commonly drunk, being popularly believed to cause rheumatism,
but is extensively used in preparing sugar.

7. Criminal tendencies

Eighty years ago, when General Sleeman wrote, the Pasis were noted
thieves. In his _Journey through Oudh_ [433] he states that in Oudh
there were then supposed to be one hundred thousand families of Pasis,
who were skilful thieves and robbers by profession, and were formerly
Thugs and poisoners as well. They generally formed the worst part of
the gangs maintained by refractory landowners, "who keep Pasis to
fight for them, as they pay themselves out of the plunder and cost
little to their employers. They are all armed with bows and are
very formidable at night. They and their refractory employes keep
the country in a perpetual state of disorder." Mr. Gayer notes [434]
that the criminally disposed members of the caste take contracts for
the watch and sale of mangoes in groves distant from habitations,
so that their movements will not be seen by prying eyes. They also
seek employment as roof-thatchers, in which capacity they are enabled
to ascertain which houses contain articles worth stealing. They show
considerable cunning in disposing of their stolen property. The men
will go openly in the daytime to the receiver and acquaint him with
the fact that they have property to dispose of; the receiver goes to
the bazar, and the women come to him with grass for sale. They sell
the grass to the receiver, and then accompany him home with it and
the stolen property, which is artfully concealed in it.

Patwa

_Patwa, Patwi, Patra, Ilakelband._--The occupational caste of weavers
of fancy silk braid and thread. In 1911 the Patwas numbered nearly
6000 persons in the Central Provinces, being returned principally
from the Narsinghpur, Raipur, Saugor, Jubbulpore and Hoshangabad
Districts. About 800 were resident in Berar. The name is derived from
the Sanskrit _pata_, woven cloth, or Hindi _pat_, silk. The principal
subcastes of the Patwas are the Naraina; the Kanaujia, also known as
Chhipi, because they sew marriage robes; the Deobansi or 'descendants
of a god,' who sell lac and glass bangles; the Lakhera, who prepare
lac bangles; the Kachera, who make glass bangles; and others. Three
of the above groups are thus functional in character. They have also
Rajput and Kayastha subcastes, who may consist of refugees from those
castes received into the Patwa community. In the Central Provinces
the Patwas and Lakheras are in many localities considered to be the
same caste, as they both deal in lac and sell articles made of it;
and the account of the occupations of the Lakhera caste also applies
largely to the Patwas. The exogamous groups of the caste are named
after villages, or titles or nicknames borne by the reputed founder
of the group. They indicate that the Patwas of the Central Provinces
are generally descended from immigrants from northern India. The Patwa
usually purchases silk and colours it himself. He makes silk strings
for pyjamas and coats, armlets and other articles. Among these are
the silk threads called _rakhis_, used on the Rakshabandhan festival,
[435] when the Brahmans go round in the morning tying them on to
the wrists of all Hindus as a protection against evil spirits. For
this the Brahman receives a present of one or two pice. The _rakhi_
is made of pieces of raw silk fibre twisted together, with a knot at
one end and a loop at the other. It goes round the wrist, and the knot
is passed through the loop. Sisters also tie it round their brothers'
wrists and are given a present. The Patwas make the _phundri_ threads
for tying up the hair of women, whether of silk or cotton, and various
threads used as amulets, such as the _janjira_, worn by men round the
neck, and the _ganda_ or wizard's thread, which is tied round the
arm after incantations have been said over it; and the necklets of
silk or cotton thread bound with thin silver wire which the Hindus
wear at Anant Chaudas, a sort of All Saints' Day, when all the gods
are worshipped. In this various knots are made by the Brahmans, and
in each a number of deities are tied up to exert their beneficent
influence for the wearer of the thread. These are the bands which
Hindus commonly wear on their necks. The Patwas thread necklaces of
gold and jewels on silk thread, and also make the strings of cowries,
slung on pack-thread, which are tied round the necks of bullocks when
they race on the Pola day, and on ponies, probably as a charm. After a
child is born in the family of one of their clients, the Patwas make
tassels of cotton and hemp thread coloured red, green and yellow,
and hang them to the centre-beam of the house and the top of the
child's cradle, and for this they get a present, which from a rich
man may be as much as ten rupees. The sacred thread proper is usually
made by Brahmans in the Central Provinces. Some of the Patwas wander
about hawking their wares from village to village. Besides the silk
threads they sell the _tiklis_ or large spangles which women wear
on their foreheads, lac bangles and balls of henna, and the large
necklaces of lac beads covered with tinsel of various colours which
are worn in Chhattisgarh. A Patwa must not rear the tasar silkworm
nor boil the cocoons on pain of expulsion from caste.

Pindari

List of Paragraphs

1. _Origin of the name_.
2. _Rise of the Pindaris_.
3. _Their strength and sphere of operations_.
4. _Pindari expeditions and methods_.
5. _Return from an expedition_.
6. _Suppression of the Pindaris_. _Death of Chitu_.
7. _Character of the Pindaris_.
8. _The existing Pindaris_.
9. _Attractions of a Pindari's life_.

1. Origin of the name

_Pindari, Pindara, Pendhari._ [436]--The well-known professional
class of freebooters, whose descendants now form a small cultivating
caste. In the Central Provinces they numbered about 150 persons
in 1911, while there are about 10,000 in India. They are mainly
Muhammadans but include some Hindus. The Pindaris of the Central
Provinces are for the most part the descendants of Gonds, Korkus
and Bhils whose children were carried off in the course of raids,
circumcised, and brought up to follow the profession of a Pindari. When
the bands were dispersed many of them returned to their native
villages and settled down. Malcolm considered that the name Pindari
was derived from _pinda_, an intoxicating drink, and was given to
them on account of their dissolute habits. He adds that Karim Khan,
a famous Pindari leader, had never heard of any other reason for
the name, and Major Henley had the etymology confirmed by the most
intelligent of the Pindaris of whom he inquired. [437] In support of
this may be adduced the name of Bhangi, given to the sweeper caste on
account of their drinking _bhang_ or hemp. Wilson again held the most
probable derivation to be from the Marathi _pendha_, in the sense of
a bundle of rice-straw, and _hara_ one who takes, because the name
was originally applied to horsemen who hung on to an army and were
employed in collecting forage. The fact that the existing Pindaris
are herdsmen and tenders of buffaloes and thus might well have been
employed for the collection of forage may be considered somewhat to
favour the above view; but the authors of _Hobson-Jobson_, after citing
these derivations, continue: "We cannot think any of the etymologies
very satisfactory. We venture another as a plausible suggestion
merely. Both _pind-parna_ in Hindi and _pindas-basnen_ in Marathi
signify 'to follow,' the latter being defined as 'to stick closely;
to follow to the death; used of the adherence of a disagreeable
fellow.' Such phrases could apply to these hangers-on of an army in
the field looking out for prey." Mr. W. Irvine [438] has suggested
that the word comes from a place or region called Pandhar, which
is referred to by native historians and seems to have been situated
between Burhanpur and Handia on the Nerbudda; and states that there is
good evidence to prove that a large number of Pindaris were settled
in this part of the country. Mr. D. Chisholm reports from Nimar that
"Pandhar or Pandhar is the name given to a stream which rises in the
Gularghat hills of the Asir range and flows after a very circuitous
course into the Masak river by Mandeva. The name signifies five,
as it is joined by four other small streams. The Asir hills were the
haunts of the Pindaris, and the country about these, especially by
the banks of the Pandhar, is very wild; but it is not commonly known
that the Pindaris derived their name from this stream." And as the
Pindaris are first heard of as hangers-on of the Maratha armies in
the Deccan prior to A.D. 1700, it seems unlikely also that their
name can be taken from a place in the Nimar District, where it is
not recorded that they were settled before 1794. Nor does the Pandhar
itself seem sufficiently important to have given a name to the whole
body of freebooters. Malcolm's or Wilson's derivations are perhaps on
the whole the most probable. Prinsep writes: "Pindara seems to have
the same reference to Pandour that Kuzak has to Cossack. The latter
word is of Turkish origin but is commonly used to express a mounted
robber in Hindustan." Though the Pandours were the predatory light
cavalry of the Austrian army, and had considerable resemblance to
the Pindaris, it does not seem possible to suppose that there is any
connection between the two words. The Pendra zamindari in Bilaspur is
named after the Pindaris, the dense forests of the Rewah plateau which
includes Pendra having been one of their favourite asylums of refuge.

2. Rise of the Pindaris

The Pindari bands appear to have come into existence during the wars
of the late Muhammadan dynasties in the Deccan, and in the latter part
of the seventeenth century they attached themselves to the Marathas in
their revolt against Aurangzeb. The first mention of the name occurs
at this time. During and after the Maratha wars many of the Pindari
leaders obtained grants in Central India from Sindhia and Holkar,
and were divided into two parties owing a nominal allegiance to these
princes and designated as the Sindhia Shahi and Holkar Shahi. In the
period of chaos which reigned at this time outside British territories
their raids in all directions attended by the most savage atrocities
became more and more intolerable. These outrages extended from
Bundelkhand to Cuddapah south of Madras and from Orissa to Gujarat.

When attached to the Maratha armies, Malcolm states, the Pindaris
always camped separately and were not permitted to plunder in the
Maratha territories; they were given an allowance averaging four
annas each a day, and further supported themselves by employing
their small horses and bullocks in carrying grain, forage and wood,
for which articles the Pindari bazar was the great mart. When let
loose to pillage, which was always the case some days before the
army entered an enemy's country, all allowances stopped; no restraint
whatever was put upon these freebooters till the campaign was over,
when the Maratha commander, if he had the power, generally seized
the Pindari chiefs or surrounded their camps and forced them to yield
up the greater part of their booty. A knowledge of this practice led
the Pindaris to redouble their excesses, that they might be able to
satisfy without ruin the expected rapacity of their employers.

In 1794, Grant-Duff writes, Sindhia assigned some lands to the
Pindaris near the banks of the Nerbudda, which they soon extended
by conquests from the Grassias or original independent landholders
in their neighbourhood. Their principal leaders at that time were
two brothers named Hiru and Burun, who are said to have been put
to death for their aggressions on the territory of Sindhia and
of Raghuji Bhonsla. The sons of Hiru and Burun became Pindari
chiefs; but Karim Khan, a Pindara who had acquired great booty
at the plunder of the Nizam's troops after the battle of Hurdla,
and was distinguished by superior cunning and enterprise, was the
principal leader of this refuse of the Maratha armies. Karim got the
district of Shujahalpur from Umar Khan which, with some additions,
was afterwards confirmed to him by Sindhia. During the war of 1803
and the subsequent disturbed state of the country Karim contrived to
obtain possession of several districts in Malwa belonging to Sindhia's
jagirdars; and his land revenue at one time is said to have amounted
to fifteen lakhs of rupees a year. He also wrested some territory from
the Nawab of Bhopal on which he built a fort as a place of security
for his family and of deposit for his plunder. Karim was originally a
Sindhia Shahi, but like most of the Pindaris, except about 5000 of the
Holkar Shahis who remained faithful, he changed sides or plundered
his master whenever it suited his convenience, which was as often
as he found an opportunity. Sindhia, jealous of his encroachments,
on pretence of lending him some gems inveigled him to an interview,
made him prisoner, plundered his camp, recovered the usurped districts
and lodged Karim in the fort of Gwalior.