Chapter XXV: Part II: of the work. The synonyms, subcastes and titles have been (5)

_Redka_.--A small labouring caste of Sambalpur. They are apparently the result of intermarriages between some members of the Reddi or Kapu cultivating caste of Telingana, who came to Sambalpur during the Orissa famine of 1866, with low-class Uriya women. They still speak Telugu among themselves, using Uriya to outsiders. Only one curious feature of the marriage ceremony of the Redkas need be noticed here. This is that the officiating Brahman actually places a red-hot copper seal on the arms of the bride and bridegroom as a symbol of sealing the marriage bond. In other respects their customs resemble those of low-caste Uriyas.

_Rekwar_.--Subcaste of Dhimar.

_Rig-Vedi_.--Sectarian division of Brahmans.

_Rikhiasan Mahatwar_.--Subcaste of Bhuiya.

_Ritha Biknath_.--One who prepares and sells soap-nuts for washing clothes. Subcaste of Jogi.

_Rohidasi_.--Honorific term for a Chamar. It signifies a follower of the sect of Rohidas in Northern India. The Chamars often describe themselves by this name instead of their caste name.

_Rohilla_.--A Pathan tribe who have settled in Rohilkhand or the Bareilly tract of the United Provinces. They derive their name from Roh, the designation given to the country where the Pushto language is spoken by residents of Hindustan. The word Roh, like Koh, means a mountain, and Rohilla therefore signifies a highlander. [484] The Rohilla Pathans occupied Rohilkhand in the eighteenth century. Their name first attracted attention when Warren Hastings was charged with hiring out British troops for their suppression. The Rohillas say that they are of Coptic origin, and that driven out of Egypt by one of the Pharaohs they wandered westward till they arrived under that part of the mountains of Afghanistan known as Sulaimani Koh. [485] Parties of Rohillas visit the Central Provinces bringing woollen cloths and dried fruits for sale. Here they formerly bore a bad character, being accustomed to press the sale of their merchandise on the villagers on credit at exorbitant interest; and when the time for realisation came, to extort their money by threats of violence, or actual assault, or, if this was not practicable, by defiling the graves of their debtors' ancestors. These practices have now, however, been largely suppressed.

_Romya_ or _Haralya._--Subcaste of Chamar.

_Ror_.--Subcaste of Khatri.

_Rora_.--Synonym of Arora.

_Ruma_.--A resident of Basim and Gangra in Amraoti District. Subcaste of Korku.

_Ruthia_.--A name formed from the noise _rut, rut_ made by the oil-mill in turning. Subcaste of Teli.

_Sabara_.--Synonym for the Savar tribe. A section of Kawar and Teli.

_Sabat_.--(From _saot_, co-wife.) An honorific title of Uriya Brahmans.

_Sadaphal_.--(A fruit.) A section of Chandnahu Kurmi and Sonkar.

_Sada-Sohagal_.--A class of Fakirs or Muhammadan beggars.

_Sadhu_.--(A religious mendicant.) Synonym for Bairagis or Gosains.

_Sagar_.--Name of one of the ten orders of Gosains.

_Sagunsale_.--A group of illegitimate descent. Subcaste of Koshti.

_Sahadeve_.--A clan of Gonds worshipping six gods and paying special reverence to the tiger.

_Sahani_.--(From _siahi_, ink.) An honorific title of Karan or Mahanti. A subcaste of Paik.

_Sahara_.--Synonym for the Savar tribe.

_Sahasra Audichya_.--(A thousand men of the north.) A subdivision of Gujarati Brahmans who are said to have accepted presents from Raja Mulraj of Anhalwara Patan at a sacrifice, and hence to have suffered some degradation in rank. Audichya probably signifies coming from Oudh.

_Sahra_.--Synonym of Savar.

_Sahu_.--(A trader.) An honorific title of Bania. A synonym for Sunar in Sambalpur. A subdivision of Uriya Brahmans. A section of Khadra, Kolta, Sundi and Teli.

_Sahukar_.--Title of Bania. See Sahu.

_Sain_.--Synonym for Fakir.

_Saiqalgar_.--From Arabic _saiqal_, a polisher. Synonym for Sikligar.

_Sais_.--The title by which grooms or horse-keepers are usually known. The word Sais, Colonel Temple states, [486] is Arabic and signifies a nobleman; it is applied to grooms as an honorific title, in accordance with the common method of address among the lower castes. Other honorific designations for grooms, as given by Colonel Temple, are Bhagat or 'Saint,' and Panch, 'Arbitrator,' but neither of these is generally used in the Central Provinces. Another name for Saises is Thanwar, which means a person in charge of a stable or place where a horse is kept. Grooms from Northern India are usually of the Jaiswara division of Chamars, who take their name from the old town of Jais in Oudh; but they drop the Chamar and give Jaiswara as their caste. These men are thin and wiry and can run behind their horses for long distances. The grooms indigenous to the Central Provinces are as a rule promoted grass-cutters and are either of the Ghasia (grass-cutter) or the Kori and Mahar (weaver) castes. They cannot usually run at all well. It is believed that both the Jaiswaras and Mahars who work as grooms have taken to marrying among themselves and tend to form separate endogamous groups, because they consider themselves superior to the remainder of the caste. A Sais will frequently refuse to tie up a dog with a rope or lead him with one because he uses a rope for leading his horses. This taboo is noticed by Sir B. Fuller as follows: "Horses in India are led not by the bridle but by a thick cotton leading-rope which is passed over the headstall, and such a rope is carried by every Indian groom. I asked my groom one day to tie up with his leading rope a dog that would not follow. He absolutely refused, and I discovered that the rope was the fetish of his caste and was formerly adored and propitiated in the course of an annual caste festival. To touch a dog with it would have been sacrilege." [487]

_Saitwal_.--A subcaste of Jain Banias.

_Saiyad_.--One of the four Muhammadan tribes, which is supposed to comprise the descendants of the Prophet.

_Sakadwipi_.--A tribe of Brahmans taking their name from Sakadwipa, the country of the Sakas. The Sakas were a Central Asian tribe who invaded India before the commencement of the Christian era, and Sakadwipa is said to be the valley of the Kabul river.

_Sakarwal, Sikarwar_.--A clan of Rajputs whose name is said to be derived from Fatehpur Sikri.

_Saksena_.--A subcaste of Kayasth, also called Sukhsena. A subcaste of Bharbhunja and Kachhi.

_Saktaha_.--A synonym for Shakta, a worshipper of Devi in Chhattisgarh. Saktaha practically means a person who eats flesh, as opposed to a Kabirpanthi who abstains from it. A subcaste of Panka, who are not Kabirpanthis.

_Sakum_.--A sept of Korku. (One who hides behind a teak tree.)

_Salam_.--(Worshipper of six gods.) A clan of Gond. A section of Dewar.

_Salewar_.--A name for Telugu Koshtis. A subcaste of Koshti.

_Samaiya_.--A sect of Jains.

_San_.--A subcaste of Bhatra.

_Sanadhya_.--A subcaste of Brahmans belonging to the Gaur division.

_Sanak-kul._--A section of Komti. They do not use _jaiphal_ or nutmeg.

_Sanaurhia_.--Subcaste of Brahman. Synonym for Sanadhya.

_Sanbagh_.--(A little tiger.) A section of Bhulia.

_Sand_.--(The bull.) A totemistic sept of Kawar. They do not use bullocks for ploughing, or are supposed not to. A section of Khangar. They do not give a present of a bull at weddings. A section of Mali.

_Sania_.--(A grower of _san_-hemp.) Subcaste of Kachhi.

_Saniasi_.--Name for a religious mendicant. Synonym for Gosain.

_Sanjogi_.--A class of Bairagis or mendicants who marry, also called Grihastha.

_Sankrita_.--An eponymous section of Kanaujia Brahmans.

_Sanp_.--(Snake.) A sept of Gond and Kawar.

_Santal, Saonta, Sonthal._--An important tribe of Bengal, belonging to the Munda family. The transfer of five of the Chota Nagpur States has brought more than 10,000 Santals into the Central Provinces. They belong principally to the Sarguja State and a few are returned from Udaipur State and from the Bilaspur District, but in all those tracts they are known as Saonta and appear to have been cut off from the main tribe for a considerable period. According to Mr. Skrefsrud the name Santal is a corruption of Saontar and was given to the tribe by the Bengalis because they lived in the country about Saont in Midnapur. Sir H. Risley held that the tribe might equally well have given its name to the locality, and there was no means of ascertaining which theory was correct. The forms Santal and Sonthal are only used by natives who have come into contact with Europeans. Santals call themselves '_harko_,' men, or '_harhapan_,' man-child. [488] At the present day when a Santal is asked to what caste he belongs he will almost invariably reply Manjhi, which means a village headman, and is the common title of the tribe; if further explanation is demanded, he will add Santal Manjhi. Whether the term Santal was derived from the Saont pargana or not, it is therefore at any rate a name conferred by the Hindus and affords no evidence in favour of a separate origin of the tribe.

There seems good reason to hold that the Santals are only a branch of the Kols or Mundas, who have been given a distinct designation by their Hindu neighbours, while their customs and traditions have been modified either by long separation from the Mundas of Chota Nagpur or by contact with Hindu influences. Sir G. Grierson's account of the two dialects Santali and Mundari shows that they closely resemble each other and differ only in minor particulars. The difference is mainly to be found in the vocabulary borrowed from Aryan neighbours, and in the grammatical modifications occasioned by the neighbouring Aryan forms of speech. [489] Of Mundari he says: "Aspirated letters are used as in Santali, the semi-consonants are apparently pronounced in the same way as in Santali; genders and numbers are the same, the personal pronouns are the same, the inflexion of verbs is mainly the same." [490] Some points of difference are mentioned by Sir G. Grierson, but they appear to be of minor importance. The Mundas, like the Santals, call themselves _hara-ko_ or men. In the vocabulary of common words of Mundari and Santali given by Colonel Dalton [491] a large proportion of the words are the same. Similarly in the list of sept-names of the tribes given by Sir H. Risley [492] several coincide. Among the 15 names of main septs of the Santals, Besra, a hawk, Murmu nilgai, or stag, and Aind, eel, are also the names of Munda septs. The Santal sept Hansda, a wild goose, is nearly identical with the Munda sept Hansa, a swan; the Santal septs Kisku and Tudu are sept-names of the Hos, a branch of the Mundas; and in one or two other names there is a great resemblance. The principal deity of the Santals, Marang Buru, is a Munda god. In the inheritance of property both tribes have the same rule of the exclusion of daughters. In his article on Ho, Sir H. Risley indeed states that the Santals, Hos and Mundas are local branches of the same tribe.

The Saontas of Sarguja and Bilaspur appear to have been separated from the parent tribe for some generations and to have assimilated some of the customs of the Gonds. They have some Gond sept-names, as Markam and Dhurwa. Those of Pendra zamindari have no traditions of their origin beyond saying that the adjoining Kenda zamindari was their original home. They profess to revere only the sun, fire and water. In order to worship the Jal-deota or water-god they pour water round the fire and then throw a little butter on the fire in his name. Mr. C.U. Wills, Settlement Officer, records of them the following curious custom: When a man is at the point of death or actually dead, they sometimes set fire to the hut in which his body is lying and run away, no doubt to save themselves from being haunted and troubled by his spirit, to the attainment of which end so large a part of funeral ritual is everywhere directed.

The following short account of them by Colonel Dalton may be reproduced for reference: [493]

"The name Saont or Saonta directs us to the Santal branch of the Kols, and, as I have already noticed, there is in Sarguja a small tribe so called. They are the sole inhabitants of the magnificent tableland forming the southern barrier of Sarguja, called the Mainpat or more correctly perhaps the Manipat. They are a small tribe living scattered over the vast area of the plateau in about a dozen hamlets, and they are strong in the belief that they were especially created to dwell there, or that they and the plateau somehow sprang into existence together, and cannot be separated. I saw a number of them when I was last in Sarguja, and from their features I should be inclined to class them as Kols, but they have some customs and notions which they must have derived from the Dravidian Gonds. They acknowledge Dulha Deo as a household god, and follow the customs of the Gonds and other southerners in their marriage ceremonies.

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

"The Saonts are armed like the Korwas with bows and arrows, and the peculiar battle-axe of the country, but it is against the beasts of the forest that these weapons are used. Formerly the Mainpat was a magnificent hunting field, especially noted for its herds of antelope and gaur. The late Maharaja of Sarguja strictly preserved it, but on his death it fell into the hands of his widow, a very money-loving old lady, who allowed it to become one of the great grazing tracts, and the pasturage alone gives her an income of £250 a year; but the wild animals have in consequence withdrawn from it.

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

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

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

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

_Saonr_.--Synonym of Savar.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_Sarati_.--A sept of Gond and Pardhan.

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

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

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

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

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

_Satbhuiyan_ or _Utar_.--Subcaste of Khond.

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

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

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

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

_Satyanath_. A subcaste of Jogi or Nath.

_Savar_, _Savara_.--A tribe.

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

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

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

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

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

_Sendur_.--A section of Ahir or Rawat.

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

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

_Sesodia_.--A famous clan of Rajputs.

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

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

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

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

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

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

_Shegudi_.--See Segidi.

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

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

_Sheohare_ or _Sivahare_.--Subcaste of Kalar.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_Sidi_.--Synonym of Siddi.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_Singrore_.--Subcaste of Kunbi and Lodhi.

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

_Sirdar_.--Title of the Kawar caste.

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

_Sirnet_.--A clan of Rajputs.

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

_Sita Padri_.--Title of Vaishnava mendicants.

_Sithira_.--Synonym of _Sidhira_.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_Sondhi_.--Synonym for Sundi.

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

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

_Soni_.--Synonym for Sunar.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_Sonthal_.--Synonym for Santal.

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

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

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

_Sravaka_.--A Jain layman.

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

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

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

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

_Suda_.--Synonym of Sudh.

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

_Sudha_.--Synonym of Sudh.

_Sudho_.--Synonym of Sudh.

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

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

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

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

_Sulankhi_.--Subcaste of Mahli.

_Sunar_.--A caste of goldsmiths. Subcaste of Bishnoi.

_Sundhi_.--Synonym of Sundi.

_Sungaria_.--(One who keeps pigs.) Subcaste of Kumhar.

_Sunni_.--One of the two principal sects of Muhammadans who follow the orthodox traditions, Sunni meaning traditionist.

_Sunri_.--Synonym of Sundi.

_Surait_.--A name signifying persons of impure or mixed descent. A subcaste of Dhakar and Halba. A subcaste of Jharia Rawat (Ahir) in Bastar, being the offspring of Jharia Rawat fathers by women of other Rawat subcastes. A subcaste of Sonkar in Kanker, consisting of the offspring of illegitimate unions. A subcaste of Jhadi Telenga, Kumhar and Marar (Mali).

_Suraj, Surya_.--(The sun.) A section of Binjhwar, Gond, Khangar, Marar, Mowar, Rawat (Ahir) and Sansia (in Sambalpur).

_Surajdhwaja_.--A subcaste of Kayasth.

_Surajvansi_.--(Descendants of the Sun.) Name of one of the two great divisions of Rajputs. A clan of Rajputs. A subcaste of Barai, Khairwar and Kalar. A section of Chamar, Dhanwar, Gond and Koli.

_Suratha_.--A subdivision of Valmiki Kayasth.

_Sureyam_.--A Gond sept named after the _sui_ or porcupine, because, it is said, a porcupine passed by when they were worshipping their god.

_Surkhi_.--(Red.) A clan of Surajvansi Rajputs.

_Sutar_.--The name of a carpenter in the Maratha Districts. Synonym of Barhai.

_Suthra Shahi_.--Synonym for Nanakpanthi.

_Sutsale_.--(A thread-weaver.) Subcaste of Koshti.

_Suvarha_.--Named after the _suar_ or pig. Subcaste of Dhimar.

_Swami_ or _Aiya (Iyer)_.--(Master.) A title given to leaders of the religious orders. A title of Sanadhya Brahmans in Saugor. A subcaste of Jangam.

_Swetambari_.--A sect of Jains who put clothes on their images.

_Tadvi_.--A name for Muhammadan Bhils.

_Tak, Takshac_.--A clan of Rajputs, now extinct.

_Takankar, Takari_.--(From _takna_, to tap, to roughen the face of a mill-stone.) A synonym or subcaste of Pardbi. A synonym for the Pathrot or Pathrawat stone-workers in Berar, who are classed with Beldars.

_Takle_.--(Fallen.) A subcaste of Kasar, said to consist of the descendants of persons excommunicated for sexual offences.

_Tamashawala_.--(Showman.) A name given to Nats.

_Tambatkar_.--(A coppersmith.) Synonym for Tamera.

_Tamboli, Tamoli_.--(A seller of the prepared betel-leaves.) Synonym for Barai.

_Tandan_.--A subdivision of Saraswat Brahmans in Hoshangabad, perhaps so called from their being priests of the Tandan Khatris.

_Tankiwala_.--(A sharpener of grindstones.) Subcaste of Dhimar.

_Tanti_.--(_Tanta_, weaver's loom.) A caste. A subcaste of Bhulia and Mahli.

_Tanti, Tatwa_ (from Sanskrit _tantu_, a fibre).--The great weaver caste of Bengal and Bihar. A few Tantis were enumerated in Raipur District in 1911. Sir H. Risley is of opinion that the Tantis are probably a functional group developed under the pressure of the natural demand for fine woven cloth. [507] One tradition of their origin is that the first ancestor of the caste was begotten by the celestial architect Viswakarma on a low Sudra woman. Viswakarma is regarded as the tutelary deity of the caste, and is worshipped twice a year with offerings of flowers, rice and sugar. Images are sometimes made of him, but more commonly the weaver's loom or some of the tools of the craft are regarded as the dwelling-place or symbol of the god. In past times the Tantis made the famous fine cotton cloth, known as _abrawan_ or 'running water,' which was supplied only to the imperial zenana at Delhi. Sir H. Risley relates the following stories illustrating its gossamer texture. On one occasion a daughter of Aurangzeb was reproached on entering the room for her immodest attire, through which her limbs could be seen, and excused herself by the plea that she had on seven folds of cloth over her body. Again in the reign of Alivardi Khan (1742-56), a Dacca Tanti was flogged and banished from the city for not preventing his cow from eating up a piece of _abrawan_ cloth which had been laid out to bleach on the grass. The famous female spinners who used to wind the fine native thread were still to be found in 1873, but their art has now died out. In illustration of their delicate touch it is told that one of them wound 88 yards of thread on a reel, and the whole weight of the thread was only one _rati_ or two grains. Nowadays the finest thread spun weighs 70 yards to the _rati_. The best cloths were woven by the Dacca Tantis, to whom the Koshtis of Burhanpur in the Central Provinces stood second. The Bamanmara tank in the old village of Dhanpur in Pendra zamindari of Bilaspur is so named from the fact that about a century ago some Brahman traders were murdered on its bank for the sake of the fine cloths they were carrying rolled up in hollow bamboo sticks. In Bengal the Tantis are included among the castes from whom a Brahman can take water. Sir H. Risley is of opinion that they have to some extent raised themselves to this position by their own influence, their trade being prosperous and lucrative, and having long ago attained to the development of an urban industry. The ordinary status of the weaving castes being at the bottom of the social scale, the superior position of the Bengal Tantis is an interesting exception. It is analogous to that of the Koshtis in the Central Provinces, also a class of urban weavers, who rank above the impure castes, though they have not attained to the position of the Tantis, as Brahmans will not take water from them.

_Tanwar_.--A subcaste of Kawar, to which zamindars belong.

_Tanwat, Tanwatkari_.--A synonym for Panchal Sunar.

_Tarane_.--Synonym of Dobaile Teli.

_Tasa_.--Synonym of Chasa.

_Tatwa_.--Synonym for Tanti. (From Sanskrit _tantu_, a fibre.)

_Tawaif_.--(A prostitute.) Synonym for Kasbi.

_Tekam_.--(The teak tree.) One of the commonest clans of Gonds. A sept of Baiga, Bharewa, Binjhwar and Pardhan. A subdivision of Majhwar.

_Telenga Dora_.--(Telugu Lord.) A designation used by the Velama caste.

_Telenge_.--A Telugu name used by Balijas and other Telugu castes. Subcaste of Nai.

_Telha_.--Subcaste of Nagasia. The members of this subcaste mark the forehead of the bride with _tel_ or oil at the marriage ceremony.

_Teli_.--A caste of oil-pressers. Subcaste of Barhai, Dangri and Gondhali.

_Teli-Bania._--A group of the Teli caste who have taken to shopkeeping. Subcaste of Teli.

_Teli-Kalar._--A mixed group of the Kalar and Teli castes. Subcaste of Teli.

_Teli-Marar._--A subcaste of Marar.

_Telkala_.--Subcaste of Gandli.

_Terah-hazar_ or _Birbandhi_.--(Thirteen thousand.) Subcaste of Chero.

_Thakur_.--(Lord.) The common title of Rajputs. This title is also used by Lodhis, Raj-Gonds and other landowning castes. A surname of Karhara Brahmans in Saugor. A section of Ahir, Marar (Mali), Panwar Rajput and Sudh.

_Thakuria_.--(Lordling.) A subcaste of Murao. A subcaste of Kol and Parja. A section of Darzi and Katia.

_Thanapati_.--(Master of the sacred place.) Synonym for Gandhmali.

_Thapak_.--A surname of Sanadhia Brahmans in Saugor. (From Sthapak, the consecrator of idols.)

_Thapatkari_.--Synonym of Beldar.

_Thathari_.--A caste of coppersmiths in Sambalpur.

_Thatia_.--A subtribe of Gonds, also called Gaiki or Mahato in Betul.

_Thethwar_.--(One who follows the straight path.) A subcaste of Rawat (Ahir) in Chhattisgarh.

_Thotia, Thothia_.--(Maimed.) A subdivision of Gonds and Pardhans, who live by begging from the Gonds.

_Thuria_.--Subcaste of Banjara in Sambalpur.

_Tilokchandi_.--(Bais.) A subdivision of the Bais clan of Rajputs.

_Tirelle_.--(Tirole.) Subcaste of Are.

_Tirgam_.--A subsept of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betul. A sept of Pardhan.

_Tirmale, Tirmalle_.--A small caste of wandering Telugu beggars. Nearly 400 were returned in the Central Provinces and Berar in 1911. Tirmales take about performing bulls. The animal is decorated with brass ornaments and bells, and his back is covered with a patched quilt of different colours. The Tirmale has a red turban with a scarf round his neck, and a follower carries a drum. The bull is cleverly trained and performs various tricks. The caste do this in the mornings, but in the afternoon they appear as Bairagis or ordinary beggars, and in the evening as sellers of various sacred articles, such as sandalwood, Ganges water and rudraksha beads. They take water from the Ganges in small phials and go down to the south of India selling it. On this account they are known in Poona as Kashi Kawadi or those who carry banghys from Kashi (Benares). In Telugu they are called Gangeddulu and in Tamil Endandi, both words meaning people who beg with bulls. They may properly be considered as a subcaste of Dasaris. [508] The Tirmales travel with their families like the Banjaras, and live in tents or sheds outside the village. Their marriages are generally celebrated in the month of Shrawan in the rains, when they return from their wanderings. They speak a corrupt Telugu among themselves, but Marathi to outsiders. They eat flesh and drink liquor. The dead are buried.

_Tirmalle_.--Synonym of Tirmale.

_Tirtha_.--Name of one of the ten orders of Gosains.

_Titha_.--(From _titahri_, a sandpiper.) A section of Basor.

_Tiwari_.--(Learned in three Vedas.) A family name of Kanaujia and Gaur Brahmans.

_Tiyar_.--A boating and fishing caste of Sambalpur and Bengal. In the Central Provinces they numbered 700 in 1911. The caste is a numerous one in Bengal and has been fully described by Sir H. Risley, [509] so that no detailed notice of it is necessary here. The name is derived from the Sanskrit _tivara_, a hunter, the Tiyars styling themselves the hunters of the sea. They came to the Central Provinces from Angul in Orissa, and they offer to the goddess Durga in Angul an oblation of 60 to 100 _jian_ fish and a headload of lotus flowers on her special festival. In honour of Durga they observe a fast on the four Tuesdays of the months of Chait and Kunwar (March and September). In Chait they also worship their hooks and nets. At their marriages when a father has selected a bride for his son he consults an astrologer to compare their horoscopes. If the conjunction is unsatisfactory he will change the boy's name to suit the astrological calculations. The wedding is celebrated in the common fashion of the Uriya castes. If a bachelor marries a widow he first goes through the form of wedlock with a bunch of flowers. Among their caste penalties, that imposed for the killing of a cow may be mentioned. It is called the Gocharan Brit, and the offender is required to consort with cows for twenty-one days. He must mix and take his meals in the cowshed, and must copy the behaviour of the cows, lying down when they lie down, standing up when they stand up, following them when they walk about, and so on. At the expiration of this period he makes a pilgrimage to a certain village, and on his return partakes of the five products of the sacred cow and gives a feast to the caste. The Tiyars are a low caste, and eat fowls and drink liquor. They will admit a member of any higher caste on his giving a feast to the community. In the Central Provinces they have exogamous sections within which marriage is prohibited; these generally have titular names, as Padhan chief, Das slave, Guru preceptor, and so on. They catch fish with the _ghani benda_, a large bamboo basket covered with palm-tree bark, which is sunk under water and secured in the bed of the stream.

_Todasai_.--(Worshipper of six gods.) A section of Raj-Gond.

_Tomara, Tuar, Tawar_.--(_Tomar_, a club.) A well-known clan of Rajputs. A sept of Gond.

_Toriya_.--A name given to Gonds who worship twelve gods in Chanda.

_Tumram_.--(_Tumria_, a pumpkin.) A clan of Gond, said to be those who worship six gods.

_Turi_.--A caste. A synonym for Basors or bamboo-workers. A section of Kalanga.

_Turk_.--(Muhammadan.) A section of Panwa Rajput in Balaghat.

_Turkan_.--A subcaste of Bahna, so called because their forefathers are said to have been soldiers in the army of the king of Delhi.

_Turkia, Kurkanya_.--A Muhammadan group. Subcaste of Banjara, Chamar.

_Uchla_.--(A lifter.) Title for Bharota.

_Uchle_.--(Pickpocket.) Subcaste of Mang.

_Uchodia_.--A subcaste of Bhand.

_Ud_.--Subcaste of Chasa. See Odde.

_Udainath_.--A subdivision of Jogi.

_Udaiputria_.--(One belonging to Udaipur.) Subcaste of Dhobi.

_Udasi_.--A class of religious mendicants. See Nanakpanthi.

_Uika, Oika_.--A very common clan of Gonds, who are said to be worshippers of six gods.

_Ukas_.--A subcaste of Barhai.

_Ulluka_.--(An owl.) A totemistic sept of Sudh and Dumal.

_Umre_.--A subcaste of Bania. See subordinate article to Bania. A subcaste of Kalar, Nai and Teli.

_Unayo, Unnaya_.--(From Unan in Oudh.) A subdivision of Nigam Kayasth. It is also sometimes considered as a half subcaste, in addition to the twelve proper subcastes.

_Unewal_.--A subdivision of Rhedawal Brahmans found in Jubbulpore. They take their name from Una, a village in Kathiawar.

_Upadhya_.--(A teacher.) A surname of Kananjia and Sanadhya Brahmans. A title of Manbhao.

_Upmanyu_.--An eponymous section of Brahmans.

_Uraon_.--Synonym of Oraon.

_Uriya_,--(A native of Orissa.) A synonym for the Sansia caste of masons in Sambalpur. A subcaste of Ganda, Ghasia, Gond, Karan, Kewat, Koshti, Savar, Sundi and Sunar.

_Urkara, Urkare_.--(From Warkora, a wild cat in Gondi.) A section of Sunar and Gond.

_Usrete_.--A subcaste of Kurmi and Nai.

_Uthaigira_.--(A picker-up of that which has fallen.) Synonym of Sanaurhia.

_Utkala_.--(A resident of Orissa.) One of the five orders of Panch Gaur Brahmans inhabiting Orissa.

_Vadar or Wadewar_.--(A stone-cutter.) Synonym of Beldar.

_Vade, Wade_.--(A carpenter.) A sept of Maria Gonds.

_Vadra_.--(A carpenter.) Subcaste of Kammala.

_Vaghe_.--(From _vagh_, a tiger.) See Waghya.

_Vaidika_.--(Reciter of the Vedas.) A title of Brahmans.

_Vaishnava_.--(A worshipper of Vishnu.) A name for the mendicant orders of Vishnuite devotees and Bairagis.

_Vaishnava Sunar_.--A group of Sunars who claim to be Brahmans. See Panchal.

_Vaishya_.--Name of the third of the four classical castes. See Introduction. There is no Vaishya caste at present, but the Bania caste are considered, perhaps incorrectly, to be descended from the Vaishyas.

_Vajantri, Wajantri_.--(Musician.) A subcaste of Gurao. A synonym and section of Mang.

_Vallabkacharya_.--A Vishnuite sect and order of religious mendicants. See article Bairagi.

_Valmika, Valmiki_.--A subdivision of Khedawal Brahmans who take their name from the sage Valmika. A subcaste of Kayasths.

_Vamachari Sect_.--Synonym for Vam-Margi.

_Vani_.--Synonym for Bania.

_Varade, Warade_.--(A resident of Berar, a variant of Berari, _q.v._) A subcaste of Simpi or Maratha Darzi. A subcaste of Dhangar and Nai.

_Varendra or Barendra_.--A subcaste of Bengali Brahmans.

_Vartati_.--(Pure.) Subcaste of Andh.

_Vasishta or Vashishta_.--Name of a famous saint in classical literature. An eponymous section of Brahmans.

_Vellala_.--The great cultivating caste of the Tamil country, to whom by general consent the first place in social esteem among the Tamil Sudra castes is awarded. They have a strength of more than 2 1/2 millions in India; in the Central Provinces there were in 1911 about 700 in Chanda, Nagpur and other Districts. In the _Madras Census Report_ of 1901, Mr. Francis gives an interesting description of the structure of the caste and its numerous territorial, occupational and other subdivisions. He shows also how groups from lower castes continually succeed in obtaining admission into the Vellala community in the following passage: "Instances of members of other castes who have assumed the name and position of Vellalas are the Vettuva Vellalas, who are really Vettuvans; the Puluva Vellalas, who are only Puluvans; the Illam Vellalas, who are Panikkans; the Karaiturai (lord of the shore) Vellalas, who are Karaiyans; the Karukamattai (palmyra leaf stem) Vellalas, who are Balijas; the Guha (Rama's boatman) Vellalas, who are Sembadavans; and the Irkuli Vellalas, who are Vannans. The children of dancing girls also often call themselves Mudali, and claim in time to be Vellalas, and even Paraiyans assume the title of Pillai, and trust to its eventually enabling them to pass themselves off as members of the caste." The Vellalas will not touch the plough with their own hands. Some of them abstain from flesh and liquor, and prohibit the remarriage of widows with a view to raising their social status.

_Vidur_.--A caste. A subcaste of Gondhali, Kasar, Komti, Kunbi, and Lohar, comprising persons of illegitimate descent.

_Vir_.--Subcaste of Gopal.

_Virmushti_.--A class of Bairagis or religious mendicants.

_Vishnu Swami_.--A class of Bairagis or religious mendicants.

_Vishwamitra_.--Name of a famous saint in classical literature. An eponymous section of Brahmans.

_Vyas_.--A section of Brahmans and of Agharia.

_Waddar_.--A name for Telugu Oddes or navvies in Chanda. A subcaste of Beldar.

_Wadewar_.--Synonym of Odde or Beldar in Chanda.

_Waghe_.--(_Wagh_ or _bagh_, a tiger.) A section of Koshti and Mana, a clan of Maratha.

_Waghmare_.--(Tiger-killer.) A clan of Arakh, Gopal and Mahar.

_Wakkaliga, Okkiliyan_.--A Canarese caste of cultivators, of which a few representatives were returned from Nagpur. They reside mainly in the Madura and Coimbatore Districts. The name is derived from the Canarese _okkalu_, [510] which means cultivation or agriculture.

_Wakmar_.--(One who left the _pangat_ or caste feast while his fellows were eating.) Title of Hatkar.

_Wandhekar_.--Subcaste of Kunbi.

_Wanjari_.--Synonym for Banjara. Subcaste of Kunbi.

_Warade_.--(A resident of Berar.) Subcaste of Gurao.

_Wartki_.--(A washerman.) Synonym for Dhobi in the Maratha country.

_Wasudeo, Wasdeo_.--The name of the father of Krishna, the Hindu god. Synonym of Basdewa. A subcaste of Joshi.

_Watkari_. See Otari.

_Wika_.--Synonym for Uika, a well-known clan of Gonds.