Chapter VII: Part 7

In Mandla the mother is secluded at childbirth in a separate house if one is available, and if not they fence in a part of the veranda for her use with bamboo screens. After the birth the mother must remain impure until the barber comes and colours her toe-nails and draws a line round her feet with red _mahur_ powder. This is indispensable, and if the barber is not immediately available she must wait until his services can be obtained. When the navel-string drops it is buried in the place on which the mother sat while giving birth, and when this has been done the purification may be effected. The Dhobi is then called to wash the clothes of the household, and their earthen pots are thrown away. The head of the newborn child is shaved clean, as the birth-hair is considered to be impure, and the hair is wrapped up in dough and thrown into a river.

8. Names

A child is named on the seventh or twelfth day after its birth, the name being chosen by the Mohturia or caste headman. The ordinary Hindu names of deities for men and sacred rivers or pious and faithful wives for women are employed; instances of the latter being Ganga, Godavari, Jamuna, Sita, Laxmi and Radha. Opprobrious names are sometimes given to avert ill-luck, as Damdya (purchased for eight cowries), Kauria (a cowrie), Bhikaria (a beggar), Ghusia (from _ghus_, a mallet for stamping earth), Harchatt (refuse), Akali (born in famine-time), Langra (lame), Lula (having an arm useless); or the name of another low caste is given, as Bhangi (sweeper), Domari (Dom sweeper), Chamra (tanner), Basori (basket-maker). Not infrequently children are named after the month or day when they were born, as Pusau, born in Pus (December), Chaitu, born in Chait (March), Manglu (born on Tuesday), Buddhi (born on Wednesday), Sukka (born on Friday), Sanichra (born on Saturday). One boy was called Mulua or 'Sold' (_mol-dena_). His mother had no other children, so sold him for one pice (farthing) to a Gond woman. After five or six months, as he did not get fat, his name was changed to Jhuma or 'lean,' probably as an additional means of averting ill-luck. Another boy was named Ghurka, from the noise he made when being suckled. A child born in the absence of its father is called Sonwa, or one born in an empty house.

9. Religion

The great body of the caste worship the ordinary deities Devi, Hanuman, Dulha Deo, and others, though of course they are not allowed to enter Hindu temples. They principally observe the Holi and Dasahra festivals and the days of the new and full moon. On the festival of Nag-Panchmi they make an image of a snake with flour and sugar and eat it. At the sacred Ambala tank at Ramtek the Mahars have a special bathing-ghat set apart for them, and they may enter the citadel and go as far as the lowest step leading up to the temples; here they worship the god and think that he accepts their offerings. They are thus permitted to traverse the outer enclosures of the citadel, which are also sacred. In Wardha the Mahars may not touch the shrines of Mahadeo, but must stand before them with their hands joined. They may sometimes deposit offerings with their own hands on those of Bhimsen, originally a Gond god, and Mata Devi, the goddess of smallpox.

10. Adoption of foreign religions

In Berar and Bombay the Mahars have some curious forms of belief. "Of the confusion which obtains in the Mahar theogony the names of six of their gods will afford a striking example. While some Mahars worship Vithoba, the god of Pandharpur, others revere Varuna's twin sons, Meghoni and Deghoni, and his four messengers, Gabriel, Azrael, Michael and Anadin, all of whom they say hail from Pandharpur." [124] The names of archangels thus mixed up with Hindu deities may most probably have been obtained from the Muhammadans, as they include Azrael; but in Gujarat their religion appears to have been borrowed from Christianity. "The Karia Dhedas have some rather remarkable beliefs. In the Satya Yug the Dhedas say they were called Satyas; in the Dvapar Yug they were called Meghas; in the Treta Yug, Elias; and in the Kali Yug, Dhedas. The name Elias came, they say, from a prophet Elia, and of him their religious men have vague stories; some of them especially about a famine that lasted for three years and a half, easily fitting into the accounts of Elijah in the Jewish Scriptures. They have also prophecies of a high future in store for their tribe. The king or leader of the new era, Kuyam Rai by name, will marry a Dheda woman and will raise the caste to the position of Brahmans. They hold religious meetings or _ochhavas_, and at these with great excitement sing songs full of hope of the good things in store for them. When a man wishes to hold an _ochhava_ he invites the whole caste, and beginning about eight in the evening they often spend the night in singing. Except perhaps for a few sweetmeats there is no eating or drinking, and the excitement is altogether religious and musical. The singers are chiefly religious Dhedas or Bhagats, and the people join in a refrain '_Avore Kuyam Rai Raja_', 'Oh! come Kuyam Rai, our king.'" [125] It seems that the attraction which outside faiths exercise on the Mahars is the hope held out of ameliorating the social degradation under which they labour, itself an outcome of the Hindu theory of caste. Hence they turn to Islam, or to what is possibly a degraded version of the Christian story, because these religions do not recognise caste, and hold out a promise to the Mahar of equality with his co-religionists, and in the case of Christianity of a recompense in the world to come for the sufferings which he has to endure in this one. Similarly, the Mahars are the warmest adherents of the Muhammadan saint Sheikh Farid, and flock to the fairs held in his honour at Girar in Wardha and Partapgarh in Bhandara, where he is supposed to have slain a couple of giants. [126] In Berar [127] also they revere Muhammadan tombs. The remains of the Muhammadan fort and tank on Pimpardol hill in Jalgaon taluk are now one of the sacred places of the Mahars, though to the Muhammadans they have no religious associations. Even at present Mahars are inclined to adopt Islam, and a case was recently reported when a body of twenty of them set out to do so, but turned back on being told that they would not be admitted to the mosque. [128] A large proportion of the Mahars are also adherents of the Kabirpanthi sect, one of the main tenets of whose founder was the abolition of caste. And it is from the same point of view that Christianity appeals to them, enabling European missionaries to draw a large number of converts from this caste. But even the Hindu attitude towards the Mahars is not one of unmixed intolerance. Once in three or four years in the southern Districts, the Panwars, Mahars, Pankas and other castes celebrate the worship of Narayan Deo or Vishnu, the officiating priest being a Mahar. Members of all castes come to the Panwar's house at night for the ceremony, and a vessel of water is placed at the door in which they wash their feet and hands as they enter; and when inside they are all considered to be equal, and they sit in a line and eat the same food, and bind wreaths of flowers round their heads. After the cock crows the equality of status is ended, and no one who goes out of the house can enter again. At present also many educated Brahmans recognise fully the social evils resulting from the degraded position of the Mahars, and are doing their best to remove the caste prejudices against them.

11. Superstitions

They have various spells to cure a man possessed of an evil spirit, or stung by a snake or scorpion, or likely to be in danger from tigers or wild bears; and in the Morsi taluk of Berar it is stated that they so greatly fear the effect of an enemy writing their name on a piece of paper and tying it to a sweeper's broom that the threat to do this can be used with great effect by their creditors. [129] To drive out the evil eye they make a small human image of powdered turmeric and throw it into boiled water, mentioning as they do so the names of any persons whom they suspect of having cast the evil eye upon them. Then the pot of water is taken out at midnight of a Wednesday or a Sunday and placed upside down on some cross-roads with a shoe over it, and the sufferer should be cured. Their belief about the sun and moon is that an old woman had two sons who were invited by the gods to dinner. Before they left she said to them that as they were going out there would be no one to cook, so they must remember to bring back something for her. The elder brother forgot what his mother had said and took nothing away with him; but the younger remembered her and brought back something from the feast. So when they came back the old woman cursed the elder brother and said that as he had forgotten her he should be the sun and scorch and dry up all vegetation with his beams; but the younger brother should be the moon and make the world cool and pleasant at night. The story is so puerile that it is only worth reproduction as a specimen of the level of a Mahar's intelligence. The belief in evil spirits appears to be on the decline, as a result of education and accumulated experience. Mr. C. Brown states that in Malkapur of Berar the Mahars say that there are no wandering spirits in the hills by night of such a nature that people need fear them. There are only tiny _pari_ or fairies, small creatures in human form, but with the power of changing their appearance, who do no harm to any one.

12. Social rules

When an outsider is to be received into the community all the hair on his face is shaved, being wetted with the urine of a boy belonging to the group to which he seeks admission. Mahars will eat all kinds of food including the flesh of crocodiles and rats, but some of them abstain from beef. There is nothing peculiar in their dress except that the men wear a black woollen thread round their necks. [130] The women may be recognised by their bold carriage, the absence of nose-rings and the large irregular dabs of vermilion on the forehead. Mahar women do not, as a rule, wear the _choli_ or breast-cloth. An unmarried girl does not put on vermilion nor draw her cloth over her head. Women must be tattooed with dots on the face, representations of scorpions, flowers and snakes on the arms and legs, and some dots to represent flies on the hands. It is the custom for a girl's father or mother or father-in-law to have her tattooed in one place on the hand or arm immediately on her marriage. Then when girls are sitting together they will show this mark and say, 'My mother or father-in-law had this done,' as the case may be. Afterwards if a woman so desires she gets herself tattooed on her other limbs. If an unmarried girl or widow becomes with child by a man of the Mahar caste or any higher one she is subjected after delivery to a semblance of the purification by fire known as Agnikasht. She is taken to the bank of a river and there five stalks of juari are placed round her and burnt. Having fasted all day, at night she gives a feast to the caste-men and eats with them. If she offends with a man of lower caste she is finally expelled. Temporary exclusion from caste is imposed for taking food or drink from the hands of a Mang or Chamar or for being imprisoned in jail, or on a Mahar man if he lives with a woman of any higher caste; the penalty being the shaving of a man's face or cutting off a lock of a woman's hair, together with a feast to the caste. In the last case it is said that the man is not readmitted until he has put the woman away. If a man touches a dead dog, cat, pony or donkey, he has to be shaved and give a feast to the caste. And if a dog or cat dies in his house, or a litter of puppies or kittens is born, the house is considered to be defiled; all the earthen pots must be thrown away, the whole house washed and cleaned and a caste feast given. The most solemn oath of a Mahar is by a cat or dog and in Yeotmal by a black dog. [131] In Berar, the same paper states, the pig is the only animal regarded as unclean, and they must on no account touch it. This is probably owing to Muhammadan influence. The worst social sin which a Mahar can commit is to get vermin in a wound, which is known as Deogan or being smitten by God. While the affliction continues he is quite ostracised, no one going to his house or giving him food or water; and when it is cured the Mahars of ten or twelve surrounding villages assemble and he must give a feast to the whole community. The reason for this calamity being looked upon with such peculiar abhorrence is obscure, but the feeling about it is general among Hindus.

13. Social subjection

The social position of the Mahars is one of distressing degradation. Their touch is considered to defile and they live in a quarter by themselves outside the village. They usually have a separate well assigned to them from which to draw water, and if the village has only one well the Mahars and Hindus take water from different sides of it. Mahar boys were not until recently allowed to attend school with Hindu boys, and when they could not be refused admission to Government schools, they were allotted a small corner of the veranda and separately taught. When Dher boys were first received into the Chanda High School a mutiny took place and the school was boycotted for some time. The people say, '_Mahar sarva jaticha bahar_' or 'The Mahar is outside all castes.' Having a bad name, they are also given unwarrantably a bad character; and '_Mahar jaticha_' is a phrase used for a man with no moral or kindly feelings. But in theory at least, as conforming to Hinduism, they were supposed to be better than Muhammadans and other unbelievers, as shown by the following story from the Rasmala: [132] A Muhammadan sovereign asked his Hindu minister which was the lowest caste. The minister begged for leisure to consider his reply and, having obtained it, went to where the Dhedas lived and said to them: "You have given offence to the Padishah. It is his intention to deprive you of caste and make you Muhammadans." The Dhedas, in the greatest terror, pushed off in a body to the sovereign's palace, and standing at a respectful distance shouted at the top of their lungs: "If we've offended your majesty, punish us in some other way than that. Beat us, fine us, hang us if you like, but don't make us Muhammadans." The Padishah smiled, and turning to his minister who sat by him affecting to hear nothing, said, 'So the lowest caste is that to which I belong.' But of course this cannot be said to represent the general view of the position of Muhammadans in Hindu eyes; they, like the English, are regarded as distinguished foreigners, who, if they consented to be proselytised, would probably in time become Brahmans or at least Rajputs. A repartee of a Mahar to a Brahman abusing him is: The Brahman, '_Jare Maharya_' or 'Avaunt, ye Mahar'; the Mahar, '_Kona diushi nein tumchi goburya_' or 'Some day I shall carry cowdung cakes for you (at his funeral)'; as in the Maratha Districts the Mahar is commonly engaged for carrying fuel to the funeral pyre. Under native rule the Mahar was subjected to painful degradations. He might not spit on the ground lest a Hindu should be polluted by touching it with his foot, but had to hang an earthen pot round his neck to hold his spittle. [133] He was made to drag a thorny branch with him to brush out his footsteps, and when a Brahman came by had to lie at a distance on his face lest his shadow might fall on the Brahman. In Gujarat [134] they were not allowed to tuck up the loin-cloth but had to trail it along the ground. Even quite recently in Bombay a Mahar was not allowed to talk loudly in the street while a well-to-do Brahman or his wife was dining in one of the houses. In the reign of Sidhraj, the great Solanki Raja of Gujarat, the Dheras were for a time at any rate freed from such disabilities by the sacrifice of one of their number. [135] The great tank at Anhilvada Patan in Gujarat had been built by the Ods (navvies), but Sidhraj desired Jusma Odni, one of their wives, and sought to possess her. But the Ods fled with her and when he pursued her she plunged a dagger into her stomach, cursing Sidhraj and saying that his tank should never hold water. The Raja, returning to Anhilvada, found the tank dry, and asked his minister what should be done that water might remain in the tank. The Pardhan, after consulting the astrologers, said that if a man's life were sacrificed the curse might be removed. At that time the Dhers or outcastes were compelled to live at a distance from the towns; they wore untwisted cotton round their heads and a stag's horn as a mark hanging from their waists so that people might be able to avoid touching them. The Raja commanded that a Dher named Mayo should be beheaded in the tank that water might remain. Mayo died, singing the praises of Vishnu, and the water after that began to remain in the tank. At the time of his death Mayo had begged as a reward for his sacrifice that the Dhers should not in future be compelled to live at a distance from the towns nor wear a distinctive dress. The Raja assented and these privileges were afterwards permitted to the Dhers for the sake of Mayo.

14. Their position improving

From the painful state of degradation described above the Mahars are gradually being rescued by the levelling and liberalising tendency of British rule, which must be to these depressed classes an untold blessing. With the right of acquiring property they have begun to assert themselves, and the extension of railways more especially has a great effect in abolishing caste distinctions. The Brahman who cannot afford a second-class fare must either not travel or take the risk of rubbing shoulders with a Mahar in a third-class carriage, and if he chooses to consider himself defiled will have to go hungry and thirsty until he gets the opportunity of bathing at his journey's end. The observance of the rules of impurity thus becomes so irksome that they are gradually falling into abeyance.

15. Occupation

The principal occupations of the Mahars are the weaving of coarse country cloth and general labour. They formerly spun their own yarn, and their fabrics were preferred by the cultivators for their durability. But practically all thread is now bought from the mills; and the weaving industry is also in a depressed condition. Many Mahars have now taken to working in the mills, and earn better wages than they could at home. In Bombay a number of them are employed as police-constables. [136] They are usually the village watchmen of the Maratha Districts, and in this capacity were remunerated by contributions of grain from the tenants, the hides and flesh of animals dying in the village, and plots of rent-free land. For these have now been substituted in the Central Provinces a cash payment fixed by Government. In Berar the corresponding official is known as the Kamdar Mahar. Mr. Kitts writes of him: [137] As fourth _balutedar_ on the village establishment the Mahar holds a post of great importance to himself and convenience to the village. To the patel (headman), patwari and big men of the village, he acts often as a personal servant and errand-runner; for a smaller cultivator he will also at times carry a torch or act as escort. He had formerly to clean the horses of travellers, and was also obliged, if required, to carry their baggage. [138] For the services which he thus renders as _pandhewar_ the Mahar receives from the cultivators certain grain-dues. When the cut juari is lying in the field the Mahars go round and beg for a measure of the ears (_bhik payali_). But the regular payment is made when the grain has been threshed. Another duty performed by the Mahar is the removal of the carcases of dead animals. The flesh is eaten and the skin retained as wage for the work. The patel and his relatives, however, usually claim to have the skins of their own animals returned; and in some places where half the agriculturists of the village claim kinship with the patel, the Mahars feel and resent the loss. A third duty is the opening of grain-pits, the noxious gas from which sometimes produces asphyxia. For this the Mahars receive the tainted grain. They also get the clothes from a corpse which is laid on the pyre, and the pieces of the burnt wood which remain when the body has been consumed. Recent observations in the Nagpur country show that the position of the Mahars is improving. In Nagpur it is stated: [139] "Looked down upon as outcastes by the Hindus they are hampered by no sense of dignity or family prejudice. They are fond of drink, but are also hard workers. They turn their hands to anything and everything, but the great majority are agricultural labourers. At present the rural Mahar is in the background. If there is only one well in the village he may not use it, but has to get his water where he can. His sons are consigned to a corner in the village school, and the schoolmaster, if not superior to caste prejudices, discourages their attendance. Nevertheless, Mahars will not remain for years downtrodden in this fashion, and are already pushing themselves up from this state of degradation. In some places they have combined to dig wells, and in Nagpur have opened a school for members of their own community. Occasionally a Mahar is the most prosperous man in the village. Several of them are moneylenders in a small way, and a few are malguzars." Similarly in Bhandara Mr. Napier writes that a new class of small creditors has arisen from the Mahar caste. These people have given up drinking, and lead an abstemious life, wishing to raise themselves in social estimation. Twenty or more village kotwars were found to be carrying on moneylending transactions on a small scale, and in addition many of the Mahars in towns were exceedingly well off.

Mahli

1. Origin of the caste

_Mahli, Mahili_. [140]--A small caste of labourers, palanquin-bearers and workers in bamboo belonging to Chota Nagpur. In 1911 about 300 Mahlis were returned from the Feudatory States in this tract. They are divided into five subcastes: the Bansphor-Mahli, who make baskets and do all kinds of bamboo-work; the Pahar-Mahli, basket-makers and cultivators; the Sulunkhi, cultivators and labourers; the Tanti who carry litters; and the Mahli-Munda, who belong to Lohardaga. Sir H. Risley states that a comparison of the totemistic sections of the Mahlis given in the Appendix to his _Tribes and Castes_ with those of the Santals seems to warrant the conjecture that the main body of the caste are merely a branch of the Santals. Four or five septs, Hansda a wild goose, Hemron, Murmu the nilgai, Saren or Sarihin, and perhaps Tudu or Turu are common to the two tribes. The Mahlis are also closely connected with the Mundas. Seven septs of the main body of the Mahlis, Dumriar the wild fig, Gundli a kind of grain, Kerketa a bird, Mahukal a bird (long-tail), Tirki, Tunduar and Turu are also Munda septs; and the three septs given of the Mahli-Munda subcaste, Bhuktuar, Lang Chenre, and Sanga are all found among the Mundas; while four septs, Hansda a wild goose, Induar a kind of eel, as well as Kerketa and Tirki, already mentioned, are common to the Mahlis and Turis who are also recognised by Sir H. Risley as an offshoot of the Munda tribe with the same occupation as the Mahlis, of making baskets. [141] The Santals and Mundas were no doubt originally one tribe, and it seems that the Mahlis are derived from both of them, and have become a separate caste owing to their having settled in villages more or less of the open country, and worked as labourers, palanquin-bearers and bamboo-workers much in the same manner as the Turis. Probably they work for hire for Hindus, and hence their status may have fallen lower than that of the parent tribe, who remained in their own villages in the jungles. Colonel Dalton notes [142] that the gipsy Berias use Manjhi and Mahali as titles, and it is possible that some of the Mahlis may have joined the Beria community.

2. Social customs

Only a very few points from Sir H. Risley's account of the caste need be recorded here, and for further details the reader may be referred to his article in the _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_. A bride-price of Rs. 5 is customary, but it varies according to the means of the parties. On the wedding day, before the usual procession starts to escort the bridegroom to the bride's house, he is formally married to a mango tree, while the bride goes through the same ceremony with a mahua. At the entrance to the bride's house the bridegroom, riding on the shoulders of some male relation and bearing on his head a vessel of water, is received by the bride's brother, equipped in similar fashion, and the two cavaliers sprinkle one another with water. At the wedding the bridegroom touches the bride's forehead five times with vermilion and presents her with an iron armlet. The remarriage of widows and divorce are permitted. When a man divorces his wife he gives her a rupee and takes away the iron armlet which was given her at her wedding. The Mahlis will admit members of any higher caste into the community. The candidate for admission must pay a small sum to the caste headman, and give a feast to the Mahlis of the neighbourhood, at which he must eat a little of the leavings of food left by each guest on his leaf-plate. After this humiliating rite he could not, of course, be taken back into his own caste, and is bound to remain a Mahli.

Majhwar

List of Paragraphs

1. _Origin of the tribe_.
2. _The Mirzapur Majhwars derived from the Gonds_.
3. _Connection with the Kawars_.
4. _Exogamy and totemism_.
5. _Marriage customs_.
6. _Birth and funeral rites_.
7. _Religious dance_.

1. Origin of the tribe

_Majhwar, Manjhi, Majhia_. [143]--A small mixed tribe who have apparently originated from the Gonds, Mundas and Kawars. About 14,000 Majhwars were returned in 1911 from the Raigarh, Sarguja and Udaipur States. The word Manjhi means the headman of a tribal subdivision, being derived from the Sanskrit _madhya_, or he who is in the centre. [144] In Bengal Manjhi has the meaning of the steersman of a boat or a ferryman, and this may have been its original application, as the steersman might well be he who sat in the centre. [145] When a tribal party makes an expedition by boat, the leader would naturally occupy the position of steersman, and hence it is easy to see how the term Manjhi came to be applied to the leader or head of the clan and to be retained as a title for general use. Sir H. Risley gives it as a title of the Kewats or fishermen and many other castes and tribes in Bengal. But it is also the name for a village headman among the Santals, and whether this meaning is derived from the prior signification of steersman or is of independent origin is, uncertain. In Raigarh Mr. Hira Lal states that the Manjhis or Majhias are fishermen and are sometimes classed, with the Kewats. They appear to be Kols who have taken to fishing and, being looked down on by the other Kols on this account, took the name of Majhia or Manjhi, which they now derive from Machh, a fish. "The appearance of the Majhias whom I saw and examined was typically aboriginal and their language was a curious mixture of Mundari, Santal and Korwa, though they stoutly repudiated connection with any of these tribes. They could count only up to three in their own language, using the Santal words _mit, baria, pia_. Most of their terms for parts of the body were derived from Mundari, but they also used some Santali and Korwa words. In their own language they called themselves Hor, which means a man, and is the tribal name of the Mundas."

2. The Mirzapur Majhwars derived from the Gonds

On the other hand the Majhwars of Mirzapur, of whom Mr. Crooke gives a detailed and interesting account, clearly appear to be derived from the Gonds. They have five subdivisions, which they say are descended from the five sons of their first Gond ancestor. These are Poiya, Tekam, Marai, Chika and Oiku. Four of these names are those of Gond clans, and each of the five subtribes is further divided into a number of exogamous septs, of which a large proportion bear typical Gond names, as Markam, Netam, Tekam, Masham, Sindram and so on. The Majhwars of Mirzapur also, like the Gonds, employ Patharis or Pardhans as their priests, and there can thus be no doubt that they are mainly derived from the Gonds. They would appear to have come to Mirzapur from Sarguja and the Vindhyan and Satpura hills, as they say that their ancestors ruled from the forts of Mandla, Garha in Jubbulpore, Sarangarh, Raigarh and other places in the Central Provinces. [146] They worship a deified Ahir, whose legs were cut off in a fight with some Raja, since when he has become a troublesome ghost. "He now lives on the Ahlor hill in Sarguja, where his petrified body may still be seen, and the Manjhis go there to worship him. His wife lives on the Jhoba hill in Sarguja. Nobody but a Baiga dares to ascend the hill, and even the Raja of Sarguja when he visits the neighbourhood sacrifices a black goat. Manjhis believe that if these two deities are duly propitiated they can give anything they need." The story makes it probable that the ancestors of these Manjhis dwelt in Sarguja. The Manjhis of Mirzapur are not boatmen or fishermen and have no traditions of having ever been so. They are a backward tribe and practise shifting cultivation on burnt-out patches of forest. It is possible that they may have abandoned their former aquatic profession on leaving the neighbourhood of the rivers, or they may have simply adopted the name, especially since it has the meaning of a village headman and is used as a title by the Santals and other castes and tribes. Similarly the term Munda, which at first meant the headman of a Kol village, is now the common name for the Kol tribe in Chota Nagpur.

3. Connection with the Kawars

Again the Manjhis appear to be connected with the Kawar tribe. Mr. Hira Lal states that in Raigarh they will take food with Kewats, Gonds, Kawars and Rawats or Ahirs, but they will not eat rice and pulse, the most important and sacred food, with any outsiders except Kawars; and this they explain by the statement that their ancestors and those of the Kawars were connected. In Mirzapur the Kaurai Ahirs will take food and water from the Majhwars, and these Ahirs are not improbably derived from the Kawars. [147] Here the Majhwars also hold an oath taken when touching a broadsword as most binding, and the Kawars of the Central Provinces worship a sword as one of their principal deities. [148] Not improbably the Manjhis may include some Kewats, as this caste also use Manjhi for a title; and Manjhi is both a subcaste and title of the Khairwars. The general conclusion from the above evidence appears to be that the caste is a very heterogeneous group whose most important constituents come from the Gond, Munda, Santal and Kawar tribes. Whether the original bond of connection among the various people who call themselves Manjhi was the common occupation of boating and fishing is a doubtful point.

4. Exogamy and totemism

The Manjhis of Sarguja, like those of Raigarh, appear to be of Munda and Santal rather than of Gond origin. They have no subdivisions, but a number of totemistic septs. Those of the Bhainsa or buffalo sept are split into the Lotan and Singhan subsepts, _lotan_ meaning a place where buffaloes wallow and _singh_ a horn. The Lotan Bhainsa sept say that their ancestor was born in a place where a buffalo had wallowed, and the Singhan Bhainsa that their ancestor was born while his mother was holding the horn of a buffalo. These septs consider the buffalo sacred and will not yoke it to a plough or cart, though they will drink its milk. They think that if one of them killed a buffalo their clan would become extinct. The Baghani Majhwars, named after the _bagh_ or tiger, think that a tiger will not attack any member of their sept unless he has committed an offence entailing temporary excommunication from caste. Until this offence has been expiated his relationship with the tiger as head of his sept is in abeyance and the tiger will eat him as he would any other stranger. If a tiger meets a member of the sept who is free from sin, he will run away. When the Baghani sept hear that any Majhwar has killed a tiger they purify their houses by washing them with cowdung and water. Members of the Khoba or peg sept will not make a peg or drive one into the ground. Those of the Dumar [149] or fig-tree sept say that their first ancestor was born under this tree. They consider the tree to be sacred and never eat its fruit, and worship it once a year. Members of the sept named after the _shiroti_ tree worship the tree every Sunday.

5. Marriage customs.

Marriage within the sept is prohibited and for three generations between persons related through females. Marriage is adult, but matches are arranged by the parents of the parties. At betrothal the elders of the caste must be regaled with _cheora_ or parched rice and liquor. A bride-price of Rs. 10 is paid, but a suitor who cannot afford this may do service to his father-in-law for one or two years in lieu of it. At the wedding the bridegroom puts a copper ring on the bride's finger and marks her forehead with vermilion. The couple walk seven times round the sacred post, and seven little heaps of rice and pieces of turmeric are arranged so that they may touch one of them with their big toes at each round. The bride's mother and seven other women place some rice in the skirts of their cloths and the bridegroom throws this over his shoulder. After this he picks up the rice and distributes it to all the women present, and the bride goes through the same ceremony. The rice is no doubt an emblem of fertility, and its presentation to the women may perhaps be expected to render them fertile.

6. Birth and funeral rites

On the birth of a child the navel-string is buried in front of the house. When a man is at the point of death they place a little cooked rice and curds in his mouth so that he may not go hungry to the other world, in view of the fact that he has probably eaten very little during his illness. Some cotton and rice are also placed near the head of the corpse in the grave so that he may have food and clothing in the next world. Mourning is observed for five days, and at the end of this period the mourners should have their hair cut, but if they cannot get it done on this day, the rite may be performed on the same day in the following year.

7. Religious dance

The tribe worship Dulha Deo, the bridegroom god, and also make offerings to their ploughs at the time of eating the new rice and at the Holi and Dasahra festivals. They dance the _karma_ dance in the months of Asarh and Kunwar or at the beginning and end of the rains. When the time has come the Gaontia headman or the Baiga priest fetches a branch of the _karma_ tree from the forest and sets it up in his yard as a notice and invitation to the village. After sunset all the people, men, women and children, assemble and dance round the tree, to the accompaniment of a drum known as Mandar. The dancing continues all night, and in the morning the host plucks up the branch of the _karma_ tree and consigns it to a stream, at the same time regaling the dancers with rice, pulse and a goat. This dance is a religious rite in honour of Karam Raja, and is believed to keep sickness from the village and bring it prosperity. The tribe eat flesh, but abstain from beef and pork. Girls are tattooed on arrival at puberty with representations of the _tulsi_ or basil, four arrow-heads in the form of a cross, and the foot-ornament known as _pairi_.

Mal

_Mal, Male, Maler, Mal Paharia._ [150]--A tribe of the Rajmahal hills, who may be an isolated branch of the Savars. In 1911 about 1700 Mals were returned from the Chota Nagpur Feudatory States recently transferred to the Central Provinces. The customs of the Mals resemble those of the other hill tribes of Chota Nagpur. Sir H. Risley states that the average stature is low, the complexion dark and the figure short and sturdy. The following particulars are reproduced from Colonel Dalton's account of the tribe:

"The hill lads and lasses are represented as forming very romantic attachments, exhibiting the spectacle of real lovers 'sighing like furnaces,' and the cockney expression of 'keeping company' is peculiarly applicable to their courtship. If separated only for an hour they are miserable, but there are apparently few obstacles to the enjoyment of each other's society, as they work together, go to market together, eat together, and sleep together! But if it be found that they have overstepped the prescribed limits of billing and cooing, the elders declare them to be out of the pale, and the blood of animals must be shed at their expense to wash away the indiscretion and obtain their readmission into society.

"On the day fixed for a marriage the bridegroom with his relations proceeds to the bride's father's house, where they are seated on cots and mats, and after a repast the bride's father takes his daughter's hand and places it in that of the bridegroom, and exhorts him to be loving and kind to the girl that he thus makes over to him. The groom then with the little finger of his right hand marks the girl on the forehead with vermilion, and then, linking the same finger with the little finger of her right hand, he leads her away to his own house.

"The god of hunting is called Autga, and at the close of every successful expedition a thank-offering is made to him. This is the favourite pastime, and one of the chief occupations of the Malers, and they have their game laws, which are strictly enforced. If a man, losing an animal which he has killed or wounded, seeks for assistance to find it, those who aid are entitled to one-half of the animal when found. Another person accidentally coming on dead or wounded game and appropriating it, is subjected to a severe fine. The Manjhi or headman of the village is entitled to a share of all game killed by any of his people. Any one who kills a hunting dog is fined twelve rupees. Certain parts of an animal are tabooed to females as food, and if they infringe this law Autga is offended and game becomes scarce. When the hunters are unsuccessful it is often assumed that this is the cause, and the augur never fails to point out the transgressing female, who must provide a propitiatory offering. The Malers use poisoned arrows, and when they kill game the flesh round the wound is cut off and thrown away as unfit for food. Cats are under the protection of the game laws, and a person found guilty of killing one is made to give a small quantity of salt to every child in the village.

"I nowhere find any description of the dances and songs of the Paharias. Mr. Atkinson found the Malers extremely reticent on the subject, and with difficulty elicited that they had a dancing-place in every village, but it is only when under the influence of God Bacchus that they indulge in the amusement. All accounts agree in ascribing to the Paharias an immoderate devotion to strong drink, and Buchanan tells us that when they are dancing a person goes round with a pitcher of the home-brew and, without disarranging the performers, who are probably linked together by circling or entwining arms, pours into the mouth of each, male and female, a refreshing and invigorating draught. The beverage is the universal _pachwai_, that is, fermented grain. The grain, either maize, rice or _janera_ (_Holcus sorghum_), is boiled and spread out on a mat to cool. It is then mixed with a ferment of vegetables called _takar_, and kept in a large earthen vessel for some days; warm water may at any time be mixed with it, and in a few hours it ferments and is ready for use."

When the attention of English officers was first drawn to them in 1770 the Males of the Rajmahal hills were a tribe of predatory freebooters, raiding and terrorising the plain country from the foot of the hills to the Ganges. It was Mr. Augustus Cleveland, Collector of Bhagalpur, who reduced them to order by entering into engagements with the chiefs for the prevention and punishment of offences among their own tribesmen, confirming them in their estates and jurisdiction, and enrolling a corps of Males, which became the Bhagalpur Hill Rangers, and was not disbanded till the Mutiny. Mr. Cleveland died at the age of 29, having successfully demonstrated the correct method of dealing with the wild forest tribes, and the Governor-General in Council erected a tomb and inscription to his memory, which was the original of that described by Mr. Kipling in _The Tomb of his Ancestors_, though the character of the first John Chinn in the story was copied from Outram. [151]

Mala

_Mala._--A low Telugu caste of labourers and cotton-weavers. They numbered nearly 14,000 persons in the Central Provinces in 1911, belonging mainly to the Chanda, Nagpur, Jubbulpore, and Yeotmal Districts, and the Bastar State. The Marathas commonly call them Telugu Dhers, but they themselves prefer to be known as 'Telangi Sadar Bhoi,' which sounds a more respectable designation. They are also known as Mannepuwar and Netkani. They are the Pariahs of the Telugu country, and are regarded as impure and degraded. They may be distinguished by their manner of tying the head-cloth more or less in a square shape, and by their loin-cloths, which are worn very loose and not knotted. Those who worship Narsinghswami, the man-lion incarnation of Vishnu, are called Namaddar, while the followers of Mahadeo are known as Lingadars. The former paint their foreheads with vertical lines of sandal-paste, and the latter with horizontal ones. The Malas were formerly zealous partisans of the right-handed sect in Madras, and the description of this curious system of faction given by the Abbé Dubois more than a century ago may be reproduced: [152]

"Most castes belong either to the left-hand or right-hand faction. The former comprises the Vaishyas or trading classes, the Panchalas or artisan classes and some of the low Sudra castes. It also contains the lowest caste, viz. the Chaklas or leather-workers, who are looked upon as its chief support. To the right-hand faction belong most of the higher castes of Sudras. The Pariahs (Malas) are also its great support, as a proof of which they glory in the title of _Valangai Maugattar_ or Friends of the Right Hand. In the disputes and conflicts which so often take place between the two factions it is always the Pariahs who make the most disturbance and do the most damage. The Brahmans, Rajas and several classes of Sudras are content to remain neutral and take no part in these quarrels. The opposition between the two factions arises from certain exclusive privileges to which both lay claim. But as these alleged privileges are nowhere clearly defined and recognised, they result in confusion and uncertainty, and are with difficulty capable of settlement. When one faction trespasses on the so-called right of the other, tumults arise which spread gradually over large tracts of territory, afford opportunity for excesses of all kinds, and generally end in bloody conflicts. The Hindu, ordinarily so timid and gentle in all other circumstances of life, seems to change his nature completely on occasions like these. There is no danger that he will not brave in maintaining what he calls his rights, and rather than sacrifice a little of them he will expose himself without fear to the risk of losing his life. The rights and privileges for which the Hindus are ready to fight such sanguinary battles appear highly ridiculous, especially to a European. Perhaps the sole cause of the contest is the right to wear slippers or to ride through the streets in a palanquin or on horseback during marriage festivals. Sometimes it is the privilege of being escorted on certain occasions by armed retainers, sometimes that of having a trumpet sounded in front of a procession, or of being accompanied by native musicians at public ceremonies." The writer of the _Madras Census Report_ of 1871 states: [153] "It is curious that the females of two of the inferior castes should take different sides to their husbands in these disputes. The wives of the agricultural labourers side with the left hand, while their husbands help in fighting the battles of the right, and the shoemakers' wives also take the side opposed to their husbands. During these festival disturbances, the ladies who hold political views opposed to those of their husbands deny to the latter all the privileges of the connubial state." The same writer states that the right-hand castes claimed the prerogative of riding on horseback in processions, of appearing with standards bearing certain devices, and of erecting twelve pillars to sustain their marriage booths; while the left-hand castes might not have more than eleven pillars, nor use the same standards as the right. The quarrels arising out of these small differences of opinion were so frequent and serious in the seventeenth century that in the town of Madras it was found necessary to mark the respective boundaries of the right- and left-hand castes, and to forbid the right-hand castes in their processions from occupying the streets of the left hand and vice versa. These disturbances have gradually tended to disappear under the influence of education and good government, and no instance of them is known to have occurred in the Central Provinces. The division appears to have originated among the members of the Sakta sect or the worshippers of Sakti as the female principle of life in nature. Dr. L. D. Barnett writes: [154]--"The followers of the sect are of two schools. The 'Walkers in the Right Way' (_Dakshinachari_) pay a service of devotion to the deity in both male and female aspects, and except in their more pronounced tendency to dwell upon the horrific aspects of the deity (as Kali, Durga, etc.), they differ little from ordinary Saivas and Vaishnavas. The 'Walkers in the Left Way' (_Vamachari_), on the other hand, concentrate their thought upon the godhead in its sexually maternal aspect, and follow rites of senseless magic and--theoretically at least--promiscuous debauchery." As has been seen, the religious differences subsequently gave rise to political factions.

Mali

List of Paragraphs

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

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