Chapter XXI: Part 21

_Rajput, Solankhi, Solanki, Chalukya._--This clan was one of the Agnikula or fire-born, and are hence considered to have probably been Gurjaras or Gujars. Their original name is said to have been Chaluka, because they were formed in the palm (_chalu_) of the hand. They were not much known in Rajputana, but were very prominent in the Deccan. Here they were generally called Chalukya, though in northern India the name Solankhi is more common. As early as A.D. 350 Pulakesin I. made himself master of the town of Vatapi, the modern Badami In the Bijapur District, and founded a dynasty, which developed into the most powerful kingdom south of the Nerbudda, and lasted for two centuries, when it was overthrown by the Rashtrakutas [573]. Pulakesin II. of this Chalukya dynasty successfully resisted an inroad of the great emperor Harsha Vardhana of Kanauj, who aspired to the conquest of the whole of India. The Rashtrakuta kings governed for two centuries, and in A.D. 973 Taila or Tailapa II., a scion of the old Chalukya stock, restored the family of his ancestors to its former glory, and founded the dynasty known as that of the Chalukyas of Kalyan, which lasted like that which it superseded for nearly two centuries and a quarter, up to about A.D. 1190. In the tenth century apparently another branch of the clan migrated from Rajputana into Gujarat and established a new dynasty there, owing to which Gujarat, which had formerly been known as Lata, obtained its present name [574]. The principal king of this line was Sidh Raj Solankhi, who is well known to tradition. From these Chalukya or Solankhi rulers the Baghel clan arose, which afterwards migrated to Rewah. The Solankhis are found in the United Provinces, and a small number are returned from the Central Provinces, belonging mainly to Hoshangabad and Nimar.

Rajput, Somvansi

_Rajput, Somvansi, Chandravansi._--These two are returned as separate septs, though both names mean 'Descendants of the moon.' Colonel Tod considers Surajvansi and Somvansi, or the descendants of the sun and moon as the first two of the thirty-six royal clans, from which all the others were evolved. But he gives no account of them, nor does it appear that they were regularly recognised clans in Rajputana. It is probable that both Somvansi and Chandravansi, as well as Surajvansi and perhaps Nagvansi (Descendants of the snake) have served as convenient designations for Rajputs of illegitimate birth, or for landholding sections of the cultivating castes and indigenous tribes when they aspired to become Rajputs. Thus the Surajvansis, and Somvansis of different parts of the country might be quite different sets of people. There seems some reason for supposing that the Somvansis of the United Provinces as described by Mr. Crooke are derived from the Bhar tribe; [575] in the Central Provinces a number of Somvansis and Chandravansis are returned from the Feudatory States, and are probably landholders who originally belonged to one of the forest tribes residing in them. I have heard the name Somvansi applied to a boy who belonged to the Baghel clan of Rajputs, but he was of inferior status on account of his mother being a remarried widow, or something of the kind.

Rajput, Surajvansi

_Rajput, Surajvansi._--The Surajvansi (Descendants of the Sun) is recorded as the first of the thirty-six royal clans, but Colonel Tod gives no account of it, and it does not seem to be known to history as a separate clan. Mr. Crooke mentions an early tradition that the Surajvansis migrated from Ajodhia to Gujarat in A.D. 224, but this is scarcely likely to be authentic in view, of the late dates now assigned for the origin of the important Rajput clans. Surajvansi should properly be a generic term denoting any Rajput belonging to a clan of the solar race, and it seems likely that it may at different times have been adopted by Rajputs who were no longer recognised in their own clan, or by families of the cultivating castes or indigenous tribes who aspired to become Rajputs. Thus Mr. Crooke notes that a large section of the Soiris (Savaras or Saonrs) have entirely abandoned their own tribal name and call themselves Surajvansi Rajputs; [576] and the same thing has probably happened in other cases. In the Central Provinces the Surajvansis belong mainly to Hoshangabad, and here they form a separate caste, marrying among themselves and not with other Rajput clans. Hence they would not be recognised as proper Rajputs, and are probably a promoted group of some cultivating caste.

Rajput, Tomara

_Rajput, Tomara, Tuar, Turtwar_.--This clan is an ancient one, supposed by Colonel Tod to be derived from the Yadavas or lunar race. The name is said to come from _tomar_ a club. [577] The Tomara clan was considered to be a very ancient one, and the great king Vikramaditya, whose reign was the Hindu Golden Age, was held to have been sprung from it. These traditions are, however, now discredited, as well as that of Delhi having been built by a Tomara king, Anang Pal I., in A.D. 733. Mr. V.A. Smith states that Delhi was founded in 993-994, and Anangapala, a Tomara king, built the Red Fort about 1050. In 1052 he removed the celebrated iron pillar, on which the eulogy of Chandragupta Vikramaditya is incised, from its original position, probably at Mathura, and set it up in Delhi as an adjunct to a group of temples from which the Muhammadans afterwards constructed the great mosque. [578] This act apparently led to the tradition that Vikramaditya had been a Tomara, and also to a much longer historical antiquity being ascribed to the clan than it really possessed. The Tomara rule at Delhi only lasted about 150 years, and in the middle of the twelfth century the town was taken by Bisal Deo, the Chauhan chieftain of Ajmer, whose successor, Prithwi Raj, reigned at Delhi, but was defeated and killed by the Muhammadans in A.D. 1192. Subsequently, perhaps in the reign of Ala-ud-Din Khilji, a Tomara dynasty established itself at Gwalior, and one of their kings, Dungara Singh (1425-1454), had executed the celebrated rock-sculptures of Gwalior. [579] In 1518 Gwalior was taken by the Muhammadans, and the last Tomara king reduced to the status of an ordinary jagirdar. The Tomara clan is numerous in the Punjab country near Delhi, where it still possesses high rank, but in the United Provinces it is not so much esteemed. [580] No ruling chief now belongs to this clan. In the Central Provinces the Tomaras or Tunwars belong principally to the Hoshangabad District The zamindars of Bilaspur, who were originally of the Tawar subcaste of the Kawar tribe, now also claim to be Tomara Rajputs on the strength of the similarity of the name.

Rajput; Yadu

_Rajput; Yadu, Yadava, Yadu-Bhatti, Jadon._ [581]--The Yadus are a well-known historical clan. Colonel Tod says that the Yadu was the most illustrious of all the tribes of Ind, and became the patronymic of the descendants of Buddha, progenitor of the lunar (Indu) race. It is not clear, even according to legendary tradition, what, if any, connection the Yadus had with Buddha, but Krishna is held to have been a prince of this tribe and founded Dwarka in Gujarat with them, in which locality he is afterwards supposed to have been killed. Colonel Tod states that the Yadu after the death of Krishna, and their expulsion from Dwarka and Delhi, the last stronghold of their power, retired by Multan across the Indus, founded Ghazni in Afghanistan, and peopled these countries even to Samarcand. Again driven back on the Indus they obtained possession of the Punjab and founded Salbhanpur. Thence expelled they retired across the Sutlej and Gara into the Indian deserts, where they founded Tannote, Derawal and Jaisalmer, the last in A.D. 1157. It has been suggested in the main article on Rajput that the Yadus might have been the Sakas, who invaded India in the second century A.D. This is only a speculation. At a later date a Yadava kingdom existed in the Deccan, with its capital at Deogiri or Daulatabad and its territory lying between that place and Nasik. [582] Mr. Smith states that these Yadava kings were descendants of feudatory nobles of the Chalukya kingdom, which embraced parts of western India and also Gujarat. The Yadu clan can scarcely, however, be a more recent one than the Chalukya, as in that case it would not probably have been credited with having had Krishna as its member. The Yadava dynasty only lasted from A.D. 1150 to 1318, when the last prince of the line, Harapala, stirred up a revolt against the Muhammadans to whom the king, his father-in-law, had submitted, and being defeated, was flayed alive and decapitated. It is noticeable that the Yadu-Bhatti Rajputs of Jaisalmer claim descent from Salivahana, who founded the Saka era in A.D. 78, and it is believed that this era belonged to the Saka dynasty of Gujarat, where, according to the tradition given above, the Yadus also settled. This point is not important, but so far as it goes would favour the identification of the Sakas with the Yadavas.

The Bhatti branch of the Yadus claim descent from Bhati, the grandson of Salivahana. They have no legend of having come from Gujarat, but they had the title of Rawal, which is used in Gujarat, and also by the Sesodia clan who came from there. The Bhattis are said to have arrived in Jaisalmer about the middle of the eighth century, Jaisalmer city being founded much later in A.D. 1183. Jaisalmer State, the third in Rajputana, has an area of 16,000 square miles, most of which is desert, and a population of about 100,000 persons. The chief has the title of Maharawal and receives a salute of fifteen guns. The Jareja Rajputs of Sind and Cutch are another branch of the Yadus who have largely intermarried with Muhammadans. They now claim descent from Jamshid, the Persian hero, and on this account, Colonel Tod states, the title of their rulers is Jam. They were formerly much addicted to female infanticide. The name Yadu has in other parts of India been corrupted into Jadon, and the class of Jadon Rajputs is fairly numerous in the United Provinces, and in some places is said to have become a caste, its members marrying among themselves. This is also the case in the Central Provinces, where they are known as Jadum, and have been treated under that name in a separate article. The small State of Karauli in Rajputana is held by a Jadon chief.

Rajwar

_Rajwar._ [583]--A low cultivating caste of Bihar and Chota Nagpur, who are probably an offshoot of the Bhuiyas. In 1911 a total of 25,000 Rajwars were returned in the Central Provinces, of whom 22,000 belong to the Sarguja State recently transferred from Bengal. Another 2000 persons are shown in Bilaspur, but these are Mowars, an offshoot of the Rajwars, who have taken to the profession of gardening and have changed their name. They probably rank a little higher than the bulk of the Rajwars. "Traditionally," Colonel Dalton states, "the Rajwars appear to connect themselves with the Bhuiyas; but this is only in Bihar. The Rajwars in Sarguja and the adjoining States are peaceably disposed cultivators, who declare themselves to be fallen Kshatriyas; they do not, however, conform to Hindu customs, and they are skilled in a dance called Chailo, which I believe to be of Dravidian origin. The Rajwars of Bengal admit that they are the descendants of mixed unions between Kurmis and Kols. They are looked upon as very impure by the Hindus, who will not take water from their hands." The Rajwars of Bihar told Buchanan that their ancestor was a certain Rishi, who had two sons. From the elder were descended the Rajwars, who became soldiers and obtained their noble title; and from the younger the Musahars, who were so called from their practice of eating rats, which the Rajwars rejected. The Musahars, as shown by Sir H. Risley, are probably Bhuiyas degraded to servitude in Hindu villages, and this story confirms the Bhuiya origin of the Rajwars. In the Central Provinces the Bhuiyas have a subcaste called Rajwar, which further supports this hypothesis, and in the absence of evidence to the contrary it is reasonable to suppose that the Rajwars are an offshoot of the Bhuiyas, as they themselves say, in Bihar. The substitution of Kols for Bhuiyas in Bengal need not cause much concern in view of the great admixture of blood and confused nomenclature of all the Chota Nagpur tribes. In Bengal, where the Bhuiyas have settled in Hindu villages, and according to the usual lot of the forest tribes who entered the Hindu system have been degraded into the servile and impure caste of Musahars, the Rajwars have shared their fate, and are also looked upon as impure. But in Chota Nagpur the Bhuiyas have their own villages and live apart from the Hindus, and here the Rajwars, like the landholding branches of other forest tribes, claim to be an inferior class of Rajputs.

In Sarguja the caste have largely adopted Hindu customs. They abstain from liquor, employ low-class Brahmans as priests, and worship the Hindu deities. When a man wishes to arrange a match for his son he takes a basket of wheat-cakes and proceeding to the house of the girl's father sets them down outside. If the match is acceptable the girl's mother comes and takes the cakes into the house and the betrothal is then considered to be ratified. At the wedding the bridegroom smears vermilion seven times on the parting of the bride's hair, and the bride's younger sister then wipes a little of it off with the end of the cloth. For this service she is paid a rupee by the bridegroom. Divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted. After the birth of a child the mother is given neither food nor water for two whole days; on the third day she gets only boiled water to drink and on the fourth day receives some food. The period of impurity after a birth extends to twelve days. When the navel-string drops it is carefully put away until the next Dasahra, together with the child's hair, which is cut on the sixth day. On the Dasahra festival all the women of the village take them to a tank, where a lotus plant is worshipped and anointed with oil and vermilion, and the hair and navel-string are then buried at its roots. The dead are burned, and the more pious keep the bones with a view to carrying them to the Ganges or some other sacred river. Pending this, the bones are deposited in the cow-house, and a lamp is kept burning in it every night so long as they are there. The Rajwars believe that every man has a soul or Pran, and they think that the soul leaves the body, not only at death, but whenever he is asleep or becomes unconscious owing to injury or illness. Dreams are the adventures of the soul while wandering over the world apart from the body. They think it very unlucky for a man to see his own reflection in water and carefully avoid doing so.

Ramosi

1. General notice

_Ramosi, Ramoshi._--A criminal tribe of the Bombay Presidency, of which about 150 persons were returned from the Central Provinces and Berar in 1911. They belong to the western tract of the Satpuras adjoining Khandesh. The name is supposed to be a corruption of Ramvansi, meaning 'The descendants of Rama.' They say [584] that when Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, was driven from his kingdom by his step-mother Kaikeyi, he went to the forest land south of the Nerbudda. His brother Bharat, who had been raised to the throne, could not bear to part with Rama, so he followed him to the forest, began to do penance, and made friends with a rough but kindly forest tribe. After Rama's restoration Bharat took two foresters with him to Ajodhia (Oudh) and brought them to the notice of Rama, who appointed them village watchmen and allowed them to take his name. If this is the correct derivation it may be compared with the name of Rawanvansi or Children of Rawan, the opponent of Rama, which is applied to the Gonds of the Central Provinces. The Ramosis appear to be a Hinduised caste derived from the Bhils or Kolis or a mixture of the two tribes. They were formerly a well-known class of robbers and dacoits. The principal scenes of their depredations were the western Ghats, and an interesting description of their methods is given by Captain Mackintosh in his account of the tribe. [585] Some extracts from this are here reproduced.

2. Methods of robbery

They armed themselves chiefly with swords, taking one, two or three matchlocks, or more should they judge it necessary. Several also carried their shields and a few had merely sticks, which were in general shod with small bars of iron from eight to twelve inches in length, strongly secured by means of rings and somewhat resembling the ancient mace. One of the party carried a small copper or earthen pot or a cocoanut-shell with a supply of _ghi_ or clarified butter in it, to moisten their torches with before they commenced their operations. The Ramosis endeavoured as much as possible to avoid being seen by anybody either when they were proceeding to the object of their attack or returning afterwards to their houses. They therefore travelled during the night-time; and before daylight in the morning they concealed themselves in a jungle or ravine near some water, and slept all day, proceeding in this way for a long distance till they reached the vicinity of the village to be attacked. When they were pursued and much pressed, at times they would throw themselves into a bush or under a prickly pear plant, coiling themselves up so carefully that the chances were their pursuers would pass them unnoticed. If they intended to attack a treasure party they would wait at some convenient spot on the road and sally out when it came abreast of them, first girding up their loins and twisting a cloth tightly round their faces, to prevent the features from being recognised. Before entering the village where their dacoity or _durrowa_ was to be perpetrated, torches were made from the turban of one of the party, which was torn into three, five or seven pieces, but never into more, the pieces being then soaked with butter. The same man always supplied the turban and received in exchange the best one taken in the robbery. Those who were unarmed collected bags of stones, and these were thrown at any people who tried to interfere with them during the dacoity. They carried firearms, but avoided using them if possible, as their discharge might summon defenders from a distance. They seldom killed or mutilated their victims, except in a fight, but occasionally travellers were killed after being robbed as a measure of precaution. They retreated with their spoils as rapidly as possible to the nearest forest or hill, and from there, after distributing the booty into bags to make it portable, they marched off in a different direction from that in which they had come. Before reaching their homes one of the party was deputed with an offering of one, two or five rupees to be presented as an offering to their god Khandoba or the goddess Bhawani in fulfilment of a vow. All the spoil was then deposited before their Naik or headman, who divided it into equal shares for members of the gang, keeping a double share for himself.

3. Ramosis employed as village watchmen

In order to protect themselves from the depredations of these gangs the villagers adopted a system of hiring a Ramosi as a surety to be responsible for their property, and this man gradually became a Rakhwaldar or village watchman. He received a grant of land rent-free and other perquisites, and also a fee from all travellers and gangs of traders who halted in the village in return for his protection during the night. If a theft or house-breaking occurred in a village, the Ramosi was held responsible to the owner for the value of the property, unless a large gang had been engaged. If he failed to discover the thief he engaged to make the lost property good to the owner within fifteen days or a month unless its value was considerable. If a gang had been engaged, the Ramosi, accompanied by the patel and other village officials and cultivators, proceeded to track them by their footprints. Obtaining a stick he cut it to the exact length of the footprint, or several such if a number of prints could be discovered, and followed the tracks, measuring the footprints, to the boundary of the village. The inhabitants of the adjoining village were then called and were responsible for carrying on the trail through their village. The measures of footprints were handed over to them, and after satisfying themselves that the marks came from outside and extended into their land they took up the trail accompanied by the Ramosi. In this way the gang was tracked from village to village, and if it was run to earth the residents of the villages to which it belonged had to make good the loss. If the tracks were lost owing to the robbers having waded along a stream or got on to rocky ground or into a public road, then the residents of the village in whose borders the line failed were considered responsible for the stolen property. Usually, however, a compromise was made, and they paid half, while the other half was raised from the village in which the theft occurred. If the Ramosi failed to track the thieves out of the village he had to make good the value of the theft, but he was usually assisted by the village officer. Often, too, the owner had to be contented with half or a quarter of the amount lost as compensation. In the early part of the century the Ramosis of Poona became very troublesome and constantly committed robberies in the houses of Europeans. As a consequence a custom grew up of employing a Ramosi as chaukidar or watchman for guarding the bungalow at night on a salary of seven rupees a month, and soon became general. It was the business of the Ramosi watchman to prevent other Ramosis from robbing the house. Apparently this was the common motive for the custom, prevalent up to recent years, of paying a man solely for the purpose of watching the house at night, and it originated, as in Poona, as a form of insurance and an application of the proverb of setting a thief to catch a thief. The selection of village watchmen from among the low, criminal castes appears to have been made on the same principle.

4. Social customs

The principal deity of the Ramosis is Khandoba, the Maratha god of war. [586] He is the deified sword, the name being _khanda-aba_ or sword-father. An oath taken on the Bhandar or little bag of turmeric dedicated to Khandoba is held by them most sacred and no Ramosi will break this oath. Every Ramosi has a family god known as Devak, and persons having the same Devak cannot intermarry. The Devak is usually a tree or a bunch of the leaves of several trees. No one may eat the fruit of or otherwise use the tree which is his Devak. At their weddings the branches of several trees are consecrated as Devaks or guardians of the wedding. A Gurao cuts the leafy branches of the mango, _umar_, [587] _jamun_ [588] and of the _rui_ [589] and _shami_ [590] shrubs and a few stalks of grass and sets them in Hanuman's temple. From here the bridegroom's parents, after worshipping Hanuman with a betel-leaf and five areca-nuts, take them home and fasten them to the front post of the marriage-shed. When the bridegroom is taken before the family gods of the bride, he steals one of them in token of his profession, but afterwards restores it in return for a payment of money. In social position the Ramosis rank a little above the Mahars and Mangs, not being impure. They speak Marathi but have also a separate thieves' jargon of their own, of which a vocabulary is given in the account of Captain Mackintosh. When a Ramosi child is seven or eight years old he must steal something. If he is caught and goes to prison the people are delighted, fall at his feet when he comes out and try to obtain him as a husband for their daughters. [591] It is doubtful whether these practices obtain in the Central Provinces, and as the Ramosis are not usually reckoned here among the notorious criminal tribes they may probably have taken to more honest pursuits.

Rangrez

_Rangrez._--The Muhammadan caste of dyers. The caste is found generally in the northern Districts, and in 1901 its members were included with the Chhipas, from whom, however, they should be distinguished as having a different religion and also because they practise a separate branch of the dyeing industry. The strength of the caste in the Central Provinces does not exceed a few hundred persons. The Rangrez is nominally a Muhammadan of the Sunni sect, but the community forms an endogamous group after the Hindu fashion, marrying only among themselves. Good-class Muhammadans will neither intermarry with nor even take food from members of the Rangrez community. In Sohagpur town of Hoshangabad this is divided into two branches, the Kheralawalas or immigrants from Kherala in Malwa and the local Rangrezes. These two groups will take food together but will not intermarry. Kheralawala women commonly wear a skirt like Hindu women and not Muhammadan pyjamas. In Jubbulpore the Rangrez community employ Brahmans to conduct their marriage and other ceremonies. Long association with Hindus has as usual caused the Rangrez to conform to their religious practices and the caste might almost be described as a Hindu community with Muhammadan customs. The bulk of them no doubt were originally converted Hindus, but as their ancestors probably immigrated from northern India their present leaning to that religion would perhaps be not so much an obstinate retention of pre-Islamic ritual as a subsequent lapse following on another change of environment. In northern India Mr. Crooke records them as being governed mainly by Muhammadan rules. There [592] they hold themselves to be the descendants of one Khwaja Bali, a very pious man, about whom the following verse is current:

Khwaja Bali Rangrez
Range Khuda ki sez:

'Khwaja Bali dyes the bed of God.' The name is derived from _rang_, colour, and _rez, rekhtan_, to pour. In Bihar, Sir G. Grierson states [593] the word Rangrez is often confounded with 'Angrezi' or 'English'; and the English are sometimes nicknamed facetiously Rangrez or 'dyers,' The saying, 'Were I a dyer I would dye my own beard first,' in reference to the Muhammadan custom of dyeing the beard, has the meaning of 'Charity begins at home,' [594]

The art of the Rangrez differs considerably from that of the Chhipa or Rangari, the Hindu dyer, and he produces a much greater variety of colours. His principal agents were formerly the safflower (_Carthamus tinctorius_), turmeric and myrobalans. The fact that the brilliant red dye of safflower was as a rule only used by Muhammadan dyers, gives some ground for the supposition that it may have been introduced by them to India. This would account for the existence of a separate caste of Muhammadan dyers, and in support of it may be adduced the fact that the variety of colours is much greater in the dress of the residents of northern India and Rajputana than in those of the Maratha Districts. The former patronise many different shades, more especially for head-cloths, while the latter as a rule do not travel beyond red, black or blue. The Rangrez obtains his red shades from safflower, yellow from _haldi_ or turmeric, green from a mixture of indigo and turmeric, purple from indigo and safflower, _khaki_ or dust-colour from myrobalans and iron filings, orange from turmeric and safflower, and _badami_ or almond-colour from turmeric and two wild plants _kachora_ and _nagarmothi_, the former of which gives a scent. Cloths dyed in the _badami_ shades are affected, when they can afford it, by Gosains and other religious mendicants, who thus dwell literally in the odour of sanctity. Muhammadans generally patronise the shades of green or purple, the latter being often used as a lining for white coats. Fakirs or Muhammadan beggars wear light green. Marwari Banias and others from Rajputana like the light yellow, pink or orange shades. A green or black head-cloth is with them a sign of mourning. Cloths dyed in yellow or scarlet are bought by Brahmans and other castes of Hindus for their marriages. Blue is not a lucky colour among the Hindus and is considered as on a level with black. It may be worn on ordinary occasions, but not at festivals or at auspicious periods. Muhammadans rather affect black and do not consider it an unlucky colour. I have seen a Rangrez dye a piece of cloth in about twenty colours in the course of two or three hours, but several of these dyes are fugitive and will not stand washing. The trade of the Rangrez is being undermined by the competition of cheap chemical dyes imported from Germany and sold in the form of powders; the process of dyeing with these is absolutely simple and can be carried out by any one. They are far cheaper than safflower, and this agent has consequently been almost driven from the market. People buy a little dyeing powder from the bazar and dye their own cloths. But men will only wear cloths dyed in this manner, and known as _katcha kapra_, on their heads and not on their bodies; women sometimes wear them also on their bodies. The decay in the indigenous art of dyeing must be a matter for regret.

Rautia

1. Origin of the tribe

_Rautia._ [595]--A cultivating caste of the Chota Nagpur plateau. In 1911 about 12,000 Rautias were enumerated in the Province, nearly all of whom belong to the Jashpur State with a few in Sarguja. These states lie outside the scope of the Ethnographic Survey and hence no regular inquiry has been made on the Rautias. The following brief notice is mainly taken from the account of the caste in Sir H. Risley's _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_. He describes the caste as, "refined in features and complexion by a large infusion of Aryan blood. Their chief men hold estates on quit-rent from the Maharaja of Chota Nagpur, and the bulk of the remainder are tenants with occupancy right and often paying only a low quit-rent or half the normal assessment." These favourable tenures may probably be explained by the fact that they were held in former times on condition of military service, and were analogous to the feudal fiefs of Europe. The Rautias themselves say that this was their original occupation in Chota Nagpur. The name Rautia is a form of Rawat, and this latter word signifies a prince and is a title borne by relatives of a Raja. It may be noticed that Rawat is the ordinary name by which the Ahir caste is known in Chhattisgarh, the neighbouring country to Chota Nagpur in the Central Provinces; and further that the Rautias will take food from a Chhattisgarhi Rawat. This fact, coupled with the identity of the name, appears to demonstrate a relationship of the two castes. The Rautias will not take food from any other Hindu caste, but they will eat with the Kawar and Gond tribes, at least in Raigarh. The Kawars have a subtribe called Rautia as also have the Kols. In Sir H. Risley's list of the sept-names of the Rautias [596] we find two names, Aind the eel, and Rukhi a squirrel, which are also the names of Munda septs, and one, Karsayal or deer, which is the name of a Kawar sept. They have also a name Sanwani, which is probably Sonwani or 'gold-water,' and is common to many of the primitive tribes. The most plausible hypothesis of the origin of the Rautias on the above facts seems to be that they were a tribal militia in Chota Nagpur, the leaders being Ahirs or Rawats with possibly a sprinkling of the local Rajputs, while the main body were recruited from the Kawar and Kol tribes. The Khandaits or swordsmen of Orissa furnish an exact parallel to the Rautias, being a tribal militia, who have now become a caste, and are constituted mainly from the Bhuiya tribe with a proportion of Chasas or cultivators and Rajputs. They also have obtained possession of the land, and in Orissa the Sresta or good Khandaits rank next to the Rajputs. The history and position of the Rautias appears to be similar to that of the Khandaits. The Halbas of Bastar are probably another nearly analogous instance. They were Gonds, who apparently formed the tribal militia of the Rajas of Bastar and got grants of land and consequently a certain rise in status though not to the same level as the Khandaits and Rautias. It does not seem that the Rautias have any special connection with the Gonds, and their acceptance of food from Gonds may perhaps, as suggested by Mr. Hira Lal, be due to the fact that they served a Gond Raja.

2. Subdivisions

The Rautias had formerly three subdivisions, the Barki, Majhli and Chhotki Bhir or Gorhi, or the high, middle and low class Rautias. But it is related that the Barki group found that they could not obtain girls in marriage for their sons, so they extended the privileges of the _connubium_ to the Majhli group after taking a caste feast. Possibly the Barki Rautias formerly practised hypergamy with the Majhli, taking daughters in marriage but not giving daughters, and in course of time this has led to the obliteration of the distinction between them. The different status of the three groups was based on their purity of descent. The Majhli and Chhotki were the descendants of Rautia fathers and mothers of other castes; the offspring going to the Majhli group if the mother was a Gond or Kawar or of respectable caste, while the children of impure Ganda and Ghasia women by Rautia fathers were admitted into the Chhotki group. These divisions confirm the hypothesis previously given of the genesis of the Rautia caste; and it is further worth noting that the Khandaits have also Bar and Chhot Gohir divisions or those of pure and mixed blood, and the Halbas of Bastar are similarly divided into the Purait or pure Halbas, and the Surait or descendants of Halba fathers by women of other castes. In a military society, where the men were frequently on the move or stationed in outlying forts and posts, temporary unions and illegitimate children would naturally be of common occurrence. And the mixed nature of the three castes affords some support to the hypothesis of their common origin from military service.

The tribe have totemistic septs, and retain some veneration for their totems. Those of the Bagh or tiger sept throw away their earthen pots on hearing of the death of a tiger. Those of the Sand or bull sept will not castrate bullocks themselves, and must have this operation performed on their plough-bullocks by others. Those of the Kansi sept formerly, according to their own account, would not root up the _kans_ grass [597] growing in their fields, but now they no longer object to do so. Other septs are Tithi a bird, Bira a hawk, Barwan a wild dog, and so on.

3. Marriage

Marriage is forbidden within the sept, but is permitted between the children of a brother and a sister or of two sisters. Matches are arranged at the caste feasts and the usual bride-price is four rupees with six or seven pieces of cloth and some grain. When the procession arrives at the bride's village her party go out to meet it, and the Gandas or musicians on each side try to break each other's drums, but are stopped by their employers. At the wedding two wooden images of the bridegroom and bride are made and placed in the centre of the marriage-shed. A goat is led round these and killed, and the bride and bridegroom walk round them seven times. They rub vermilion on the wooden images and then on each other's foreheads. It is probable that the wooden images are made and set up in the centre of the shed to attract the evil eye and divert it from the real bride and bridegroom, and the goat may be a substituted sacrifice on their behalf. Divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted.

4. Funeral rites

In the forest tracts the tribe bury the dead, placing the corpse with the feet to the south. Before being placed in the grave the corpse is rubbed with oil and turmeric and carried seven times round the grave according to the ritual of a wedding. This is called the _Chhed vivah_ or marriage to the grave. The Kabirpanthi Rautias are placed standing in the grave with the face turned to the north. Well-to-do members of the caste burn their dead and employ Brahmans to perform the _shraddh_ ceremony.

5. Inheritance

The tribe have some special rules of inheritance. In Bengal [598] the eldest son of the legitimate wife inherits the whole of the father's property, subject to the obligation of making grants for the maintenance of his younger brothers. These grants decrease according to the standing of the brothers, the elder ones getting more and the younger less. Sons of a wife married by the ceremony used for widows receive smaller grants. But the widow of an elder brother counts as the regular wife of a younger brother and her sons have full rights of succession. In the Central Provinces the eldest son does not succeed to the whole property but obtains a share half as large again as the other sons. And if the father divides the property in his lifetime and participates in it he himself takes only the share of a younger son.

Sanaurhia

1. A band of criminals

_Sanaurhia, Chandravedi._ [599]--A small but well-known community of criminals in Bundelkhand. They claim to be derived from the Sanadhya Brahmans, and it seems possible that this may in fact have been their origin; but at present they are a confraternity recruited by the initiation of promising boys from all castes except sweepers and Chamars; [600] and a census taken of them in northern India in 1872 showed that they included members of the following castes: Brahman, Rajput, Teli, Kurmi, Ahir, Kanjar, Nai, Dhobi, Dhimar, Sunar and Lodhi. It is said, however, that they do not form a caste or intermarry, members of each caste continuing their relations with their own community. Their regular method of stealing is through the agency of a boy, and no doubt they pick up a likely urchin whenever they get the chance, as only selected boys would be clever enough for the work. Their trade is said to possess much fascination, and Mr. Crooke quotes a saying, 'Once a Sanaurhia always a Sanaurhia'; so that unless the increased efficiency of the police has caused the dangers of their calling to outweigh its pleasures they should have no difficulty in obtaining recruits.

2. Traditions of origin

Mr. Seagrim [601] states that their home is in the Datia State of Bundelkhand, and some of them live in the adjoining Alamgarh tract of Indore State. Formerly they also resided in the Orchha and Chanderi States of Bundelkhand, having six or eight villages in each state [602] in their sole occupation, with colonies in other villages. In 1857 it was estimated that the Tehri State contained 4000 Sanaurhias, Banpur 300 and Datia 300. They occupied twelve villages in Tehri, and an officer of the state presided over the community and acted as umpire in the division of the spoils. The office of Mukhia or leader was hereditary in the caste, and in default of male issue descended to females. If among the booty there happened to be any object of peculiar elegance or value, it was ceremoniously presented to the chief of the state. They say that their ancestors were two Sanadhya Brahmans of the village of Ramra in Datia State. They were both highly accomplished men, and one had the gift of prophecy, while the other could understand the language of birds. One day they met at a river a rich merchant and his wife, who were on a pilgrimage to Jagannath. As they were drinking water a crow sitting on a tree commenced cawing, and the Sanadhya heard him say that whoever got hold of the merchant's walking-stick would be rich. The two Brahmans then accompanied the merchant until they obtained an opportunity of making off with his stick; and they found it to be full of gold mohurs, the traveller having adopted this device as a precaution against being robbed. The Brahmans were so pleased at their success that they took up stealing as a profession, and opened a school where they taught small boys of all castes the art of stealing property in the daytime. Prior to admission the boys were made to swear by the moon that they would never commit theft at night, and on this account they are known as Chandravedi or 'Those who observe the moon.' In Bombay and Central India this name is more commonly used than Sanaurhia. Another name for them is Uthaigira or 'A picker-up of that which has fallen,' corresponding to the nickname of Uchla or 'Lifter' applied to the Bhamtas. Mr. Seagrim described them as going about in small gangs of ten to twenty persons without women, under a leader who has the title of Mukhia or Nalband. The other men are called Upardar, and each of these has with him one or two boys of between eight and twelve years old, who are known as _Chauwa_ (chicks) and do the actual stealing. The Nalband or leader trains these boys to their work, and also teaches them a code vocabulary (_Parsi_) and a set of signals (_teni_) by which the Upardar can convey to them his instructions while business is proceeding. The whole gang set out at the end of the rains and, arriving at some distant place, break up into small parties; the Nalband remains at a temporary headquarters, where he receives and disposes of the spoil, and arranges for the defence of any member of the gang who is arrested, and for the support of his wife and children if he is condemned to imprisonment.

3. Methods of stealing

The methods of the Sanaurhias as described by Mr. Seagrim show considerable ingenuity. When they desire to steal something from a stall in a crowded market two of the gang pretend to have a violent quarrel, on which all the people in the vicinity collect to watch, including probably the owner of the stall. In this case the _Chauwa_ or boy, who has posted himself in a position of vantage, will quickly abstract the article agreed upon and make off. Or if there are several purchasers at a shop, the man will wait until one of them lays down his bundle while he makes payment, and then pushing up against him signal to the _Chauwa_, who snatches up the bundle and bolts. If he is caught, the Sanaurhia will come up as an innocent member of the crowd and plead for mercy on the score of his youth; and the boy will often be let off with a few slaps. Sometimes three or four Sanaurhias will proceed to some place of resort for pilgrims to bathe, and two or three of them entering the water will divert the attention of the bather by pointing out some strange object or starting a discussion. In the meantime the _Chauwas_ or chicks, under the direction of another on the bank, will steal any valuable article left by the bather. The attention of any one left on shore to watch the property is diverted by a similar device. If they see a man with expensive clothes the _Chauwa_ will accidentally brush against him and smear him with dirt or something that causes pollution; the victim will proceed to bathe, and one of the usual stratagems is adopted. Or the Sanaurhia will engage the man in conversation and the _Chauwa_ will come running along and collide with them; on being abused by the Sanaurhia for his clumsiness he asks to be pardoned, explaining that he is only a poor sweeper and meant no harm; and on hearing this the victim, being polluted, must go off and bathe. [603] Colonel Sleeman relates the following case of such a theft: [604] "While at Saugor I got a note one morning from an officer in command of a treasure escort just arrived from Narsinghpur stating that the old Subahdar of his company had that morning been robbed of his gold necklace valued at Rs. 150, and requesting that I would assist him in recovering it. The old Subahdar brought the note, and stated that he had undressed at the brook near the cantonments, and placed the necklace with his clothes, about twenty yards from the place where he bathed; that on returning to his clothes he could not find the necklace, and the only person he saw near the place was a young lad who was sauntering in the mango grove close by. This lad he had taken and brought with him, and I found after a few questions that he belonged to the Sanaurhia Brahmans of Bundelkhand. As the old Subahdar had not seen the boy take the necklace or even approach the clothes, I told him that we could do nothing, and he must take the boy back to camp and question him in his own way. The boy, as I expected, became alarmed, and told me that if I would not send him back with the angry old Subahdar he would do anything I pleased. I bade him tell me how he had managed to secure the necklace; and he told me that while the Subahdar turned his back upon his clothes in prayer, he had taken it up and made it over to one of the men of his party; and that it must have been taken to their bivouac, which was in a grove about three miles from the cantonments. I sent off a few policemen, who secured the whole party, but could not find anything upon them. Seeing some signs of a hole having been freshly made under one of the trees they dug up the fresh earth and discovered the necklace, which the old man was delighted to recover so easily." Another device which they have is to beat the _Chauwa_ severely in the sight of a rich stranger. The boy runs crying and clings to the stranger asking him for help, and in the meantime picks his pocket. When the Sanaurhias are convicted in Native States and put into jail they refuse to eat, pleading that they are poor Brahmans, and pretend to starve themselves to death, and thus often get out of jail. In reply to a letter inquiring about these people from the Superintendent of Chanderi about 1851, the Raja of Banpur wrote:

"I have to state that from former times these people following their profession have resided in my territory and in the states of other native princes; and they have always followed this calling, but no former kings or princes or authority have ever forbidden the practice. In consequence of these people stealing by day only, and that they do not take life or distress any person by personal ill-usage, and that they do not break into houses by digging walls or breaking door-locks, but simply by their smartness manage to abstract property; owing to such trifling thefts I looked upon their proceedings as a petty matter and have not interfered with them." [605] This recalls another famous excuse.

Sansia

List of Paragraphs

1. _Historical notice of the caste_.
2. _Social customs_.
3. _Taboos of relationship_.
4. _Organisation for dacoity_.
5. _Description of a dacoity_.
6. _Omens_.
7. _Ordeals_.
8. _Sansias at the present time_.

1. Historical notice of the caste

_Sansia_. [606]--A small caste of wandering criminals of northern India, who live by begging and dealing in cattle. They also steal and commit dacoities, house-breaking and thefts on railway trains. The name Sansia is borne as well by the Uriya or Od masons of the Uriya country, but these are believed to be quite a distinct group from the criminal Sansias of Central India and are noticed in another short article. Separate statistics of the two groups were not obtained at the census. The Sansias are closely connected with the Berias, and say that their ancestors were two brothers Sains Mul and Sansi, and that the Berias are descended from the former and the Sansias from the latter. They were the bards of the Jat caste, and it was their custom to chronicle the names of the Jats and their ancestors, and when they begged from Jat families to recite their praises. The Sansias, Colonel Sleeman states, had particular families (of the Jats) allotted to them, from whom they had not only the privilege of begging, but received certain dues; some had fifty, some a hundred houses appointed to them, and they received yearly from the head of each house one rupee and a quarter and one day's food. When the Jats celebrated their marriages they were accustomed to invite the Sansias, who as their minstrels recited the praises of the ancestors of the Jats, tracing them up to the time of Punya Jat; and for this they received presents, according to the means of the parties, of cows, ponies or buffaloes. Should any Jat demur to paying the customary dues the Sansias would dress up a cloth figure of his father and parade with it before the house, when the sum demanded was generally given; for if the figure were fastened on a bamboo and placed over the house the family would lose caste and no one would smoke or drink water with them. [607]

The Sansias say that their ancestors have always resided in Marwar and Ajmer. About twenty-four miles distant from Ajmer are two towns, Pisangan and Sagun; on their eastern side is a large tank, and the bones of all persons of the Sansia tribe who died in any part of the country were formerly buried there, being covered by a wooden platform with four pillars. [608] On one occasion a quarrel had arisen over a Sansia woman, and a large number of the caste were killed in this place. So they left Marwar, and some of them came to the Deccan, where they took to house-breaking and dacoity; and so successful were they that the other Sansias followed them and gave up all their former customs, even those of reciting the praises of and begging from the Jats.

2. Social customs