Chapter IX: Part 9

This story endeavours to explain a superstition still observed by the caste. This is that when a Manbhao is proceeding along a road, if any one draws a line across the road with a stick in front of him the Manbhao will wait without passing the line until some one else comes up and crosses it before him. In reality this is probably a primitive superstition similar to that which makes a man stop when a snake has crossed the road in front of him and efface its track before proceeding. It is said that the members of the order also carry their sticks upside down, and a saying is repeated about them:

Manbhao hokar kale kapre darhi muchi mundhata hai,
Ulti lakri hath men pakri woh kya Sahib milta hai;

or, "The Manbhao wears black clothes, shaves his face and holds his stick upside down, and thinks he will find God that way."

This saying is attributed to Kabir.

Mang

List of Paragraphs

1. _Origin and traditions_.
2. _Subdivisions_.
3. _Marriage_.
4. _Widow-marriage._
5. _Burial_.
6. _Occupation_.
7. _Religion and social status_.

1. Origin and traditions

_Mang._ [181]--A low impure caste of the Maratha Districts, who act as village musicians and castrate bullocks, while their women serve as midwives. The Mangs are also sometimes known as Vajantri or musician. They numbered more than 90,000 persons in 1911, of whom 30,000 belonged to the Nagpur and Nerbudda Divisions of the Central Provinces, and 60,000 to Berar. The real origin of the Mangs is obscure, but they probably originated from the subject tribes and became a caste through the adoption of the menial services which constitute their profession. In a Maratha book called the Shudra Kamlakar [182], it is stated that the Mang was the offspring of the union of a Vaideh man and an Ambashtha woman. A Vaideh was the illegitimate child of a Vaishya father and a Brahman mother, and an Ambashtha of a Brahman father and a Vaishya mother. The business of the Mang was to play on the flute and to make known the wishes of the Raja to his subjects by beat of drum. He was to live in the forest or outside the village, and was not to enter it except with the Raja's permission. He was to remove the dead bodies of strangers, to hang criminals, and to take away and appropriate the clothes and bedding of the dead. The Mangs themselves relate the following legend of their origin as given by Mr. Sathe: Long ago before cattle were used for ploughing, there was so terrible a famine upon the earth that all the grain was eaten up, and there was none left for seed. Mahadeo took pity on the few men who were left alive, and gave them some grain for sowing. In those days men used to drag the plough through the earth themselves. But when a Kunbi, to whom Mahadeo had given some seed, went to try and sow it, he and his family were so emaciated by hunger that they were unable, in spite of their united efforts, to get the plough through the ground. In this pitiable case the Kunbi besought Mahadeo to give him some further assistance, and Mahadeo then appeared, and, bringing with him the bull Nandi, upon which he rode, told the Kunbi to yoke it to the plough. This was done, and so long as Mahadeo remained present, Nandi dragged the plough peaceably and successfully. But as soon as the god disappeared, the bull became restive and refused to work any longer. The Kunbi being helpless, again complained to Mahadeo, when the god appeared, and in his wrath at the conduct of the bull, great drops of perspiration stood upon his brow. One of these fell to the ground, and immediately a coal-black man sprang up and stood ready to do Mahadeo's bidding. He was ordered to bring the bull to reason, and he went and castrated it, after which it worked well and quietly; and since then the Kunbis have always used bullocks for ploughing, and the descendants of the man, who was the first Mang, are employed in the office for which he was created. It is further related that Nandi, the bull, cursed the Mang in his pain, saying that he and his descendants should never derive any profit from ploughing with cattle. And the Mangs say that to this day none of them prosper by taking to cultivation, and quote the following proverb: '_Keli kheti, Zhali mati_,' or, 'If a Mang sows grain he will only reap dust.'

2. Subdivisions

The caste is divided into the following subcastes: Dakhne, Khandeshe and Berarya, or those belonging to the Deccan, Khandesh and Berar; Ghodke, those who tend horses; Dafle, tom-tom players; Uchle, pickpockets; Pindari, descendants of the old freebooters; Kakarkadhe, stone-diggers; Holer, hide-curers; and Garori. The Garoris [183] are a sept of vagrant snake-charmers and jugglers. Many are professional criminals.

3. Marriage

The caste is divided into exogamous family groups named after animals or other objects, or of a titular nature. One or two have the names of other castes. Members of the same group may not intermarry. Those who are well-to-do marry their daughters very young for the sake of social estimation, but there is no compulsion in this matter. In families which are particularly friendly, Mr. Sathe remarks, children may be betrothed before birth if the two mothers are with child together. Betel is distributed, and a definite contract is made, on the supposition that a boy and girl will be born. Sometimes the abdomen of each woman is marked with red vermilion. A grown-up girl should not be allowed to see her husband's face before marriage. The wedding is held at the bride's house, but if it is more convenient that it should be in the bridegroom's village, a temporary house is found for the bride's party, and the marriage-shed is built in front of it. The bride must wear a yellow bodice and cloth, yellow and red being generally considered among Hindus as the auspicious colours for weddings. When she leaves for her husband's house she puts on another or going-away dress, which should be as fine as the family can afford, and thereafter she may wear any colour except white. The distinguishing marks of a married woman are the _mangal-sutram_ or holy thread, which her husband ties on her neck at marriage; the _garsoli_ or string of black beads round the neck; the silver toe-rings and glass bangles. If any one of these is lost, it must be replaced at once, or she is likely soon to be a widow. The food served at the wedding-feast consists of rice and pulse, but more essential than these is an ample provision of liquor. It is a necessary feature of a Mang wedding that the bridegroom should go to it riding on a horse. The Mahars, another low caste of the Maratha Districts, worship the horse, and between them and the Mangs there exists a long-standing feud, so that they do not, if they can help it, drink of the same well. The sight of a Mang riding on a horse is thus gall and wormwood to the Mahars, who consider it a terrible degradation to the noble animal, and this fact inflaming their natural enmity, formerly led to riots between the castes. Under native rule the Mangs were public executioners, and it was said to be the proudest moment of Mang's life when he could perform his office on a Mahar.

The bride proceeds to her husband's house for a short visit immediately after the marriage, and then goes home again. Thereafter, till such time as she finally goes to live with him, she makes brief visits for festivals or on other social occasions, or to help her mother-in-law, if her assistance is required. If the mother-in-law is ill and requires somebody to wait on her, or if she is a shrew and wants some one to bully, or if she has strict ideas of discipline and wishes personally to conduct the bride's training for married life, she makes the girl come more frequently and stay longer.

4. Widow marriage

The remarriage of widows is permitted, and a widow may marry any one except persons of her own family group or her husband's elder brother, who stands to her in the light of a father. She is permitted, but not obliged, to marry her husband's younger brother, but if he has performed the dead man's obsequies, she may not marry him, as this act has placed him in the relation of a son to her deceased husband. More usually the widow marries some one in another village, because the remarriage is always held in some slight disrepute, and she prefers to be at a distance from her first husband's family. Divorce is said to be permitted only for persistent misconduct on the part of the wife.

5. Burial

The caste always bury the dead and observe mourning only for three days. On returning from a burial they all get drunk, and then go to the house of the deceased and chew the bitter leaves of the _nim_ tree (_Melia indica_). These they then spit out of their mouths to indicate their complete severance from the dead man.

6. Occupation

The caste beat drums at village festivals, and castrate cattle, and they also make brooms and mats of date-palm and keep leeches for blood-letting. Some of them are village watchmen and their women act as midwives. As soon as a baby is born, the midwife blows into its mouth, ears and nose in order to clear them of any impediments. When a man is initiated by a _guru_ or spiritual preceptor, the latter blows into his ear, and the Mangs therefore say that on account of this act of the midwife they are the _gurus_ of all Hindus. During an eclipse the Mangs beg, because the demons Rahu and Ketu, who are believed to swallow the sun and moon on such occasions, were both Mangs, and devout Hindus give alms to their fellow-castemen in order to appease them. Those of them who are thieves are said not to steal from the persons of a woman, a bangle-seller, a Lingayat Mali or another Mang. [184] In Maratha villages they sometimes take the place of Chamars, and work in leather, and one writer says of them: "The Mang is a village menial in the Maratha villages, making all leather ropes, thongs and whips, which are used by the cultivators; he frequently acts as watchman; he is by profession a thief and executioner; he readily hires himself as an assassin, and when he commits a robbery he also frequently murders." In his menial capacity he receives presents at seed-time and harvest, and it is said that the Kunbi will never send the Mang empty away, because he represents the wrath of Mahadeo, being made from the god's sweat when he was angry.

7. Religion and social status

The caste especially venerate the goddess Devi. They apparently identify Devi with Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom, and they have a story to the effect that once Brahma wished to ravish his daughter Saraswati. She fled from him and went to all the gods, but none of them would protect her for fear of Brahma. At last in despair she came to a Mang's house, and the Mang stood in the door and kept off Brahma with a wooden club. In return for this Saraswati blessed him and said that he and his descendants should never lack for food. They also revere Mahadeo, and on every Monday they worship the cow, placing vermilion on her forehead and washing her feet. The cat is regarded as a sacred animal, and a Mang's most solemn oath is sworn on a cat. A house is defiled if a cat or a dog dies or a cat has kittens in it, and all the earthen pots must be broken. If a man accidentally kills a cat or a dog a heavy penance is exacted, and two feasts must be given to the caste. To kill an ass or a monkey is a sin only less heinous. A man is also put out of caste if kicked or beaten with a shoe by any one of another caste, even a Brahman, or if he is struck with the _kathri_ or mattress made of rags which the villagers put on their sleeping-cots. Mr. Gayer remarks [185] that "The Mangs show great respect for the bamboo; and at a marriage the bridal couple are made to stand in a bamboo basket. They also reverence the _nim_ tree, and the Mangs of Sholapur spread _hariali_ [186] grass and _nim_ leaves on the spot where one of their caste dies." The social status of the Mangs is of the lowest. They usually live in a separate quarter of the village and have a well for their own use. They may not enter temples. It is recorded that under native rule the Mahars and Mangs were not allowed within the gates of Poona between 3 P.M. and 9 A.M., because before nine and after three their bodies cast too long a shadow; and whenever their shadow fell upon a Brahman it polluted him, so that he dare not taste food or water until he had bathed and washed the impurity away. So also no low-caste man was allowed to live in a walled town; cattle and dogs could freely enter and remain but not the Mahar or Mang. [187] The caste will eat the flesh of pigs, rats, crocodiles and jackals and the leavings of others, and some of them will eat beef. Men may be distinguished by the _senai_ flute which they carry and by a large ring of gold or brass worn in the lobe of the ear. A Mang's sign-manual is a representation of his _bhall-singara_ or castration-knife. Women are tattooed before marriage, with dots on the forehead, nose, cheeks and chin, and with figures of a date-palm on the forearm, a scorpion on the palm of the hand, and flies on the fingers. The caste do not bear a good character, and it is said of a cruel man, '_Mang-Nirdayi_,' or 'Hardhearted as a Mang.'

Mang-Garori

_Mang-Garori._--This is a criminal subdivision of the Mang caste, residing principally in Berar. They were not separately recorded at the census. The name Garori appears to be a corruption of Garudi, and signifies a snake-charmer. [188] Garuda, the Brahminy kite, the bird on which Vishnu rides, was the great subduer of snakes, and hence probably snake-charmers are called Garudi. Some of the Mang-Garoris are snake-charmers, and this may have been the original occupation of the caste, though the bulk of them now appear to live by dealing in cattle and thieving. The following notice of them is abstracted from Major Gunthorpe's _Notes on Criminal Tribes_. [189] They usually travel about with small _pals_ or tents, taking their wives, children, buffaloes and dogs with them. The men are well set up and tall. Their costume is something like that worn by professional gymnasts, consisting of light and short reddish-brown drawers (_chaddi_), a waistband with fringe at either end (_katchhe_), and a sheet thrown over the shoulders. The Naik or headman of the camp may be recognised by his wearing some red woollen cloth about his person or a red shawl over his shoulders. The women have short _saris_ (body-cloths), usually of blue, and tied in the Telugu fashion. They are generally very violent when any attempt is made to search an encampment, especially if there is stolen property concealed in it. Instances have been known of their seizing their infants by the ankles and swinging them round their heads, declaring they would continue doing so till the children died, if the police did not leave the camp. Sometimes also the women of a gang have been known to throw off all their clothing and appear in a perfect state of nudity, declaring they would charge the police with violating their modesty. Men of this tribe are expert cattle-lifters, but confine themselves chiefly to buffaloes, which they steal while out grazing and very dexterously disguise by trimming the horns and firing, so as to avoid recognition by their rightful owners. To steal goats and sheep is also one of their favourite occupations, and they will either carry the animals off from their pens at night or kill them while out grazing, in the following manner: having marked a sheep or goat which is feeding farthest away from the flock, the thief awaits his opportunity till the shepherd's back is turned, when the animal is quickly captured. Placing his foot on the back of the neck near the head, and seizing it under the chin with his right hand, the thief breaks the animal's neck by a sudden jerk; he then throws the body into a bush or in some dip in the ground to hide it, and walks away, watching from a distance. The shepherd, ignorant of the loss of one of his animals, goes on leisurely driving his flock before him, and when he is well out of sight the Mang-Garori removes the captured carcase to his encampment. Great care is taken that the skin, horns and hoofs should be immediately burnt so as to avoid detection. Their ostensible occupation is to trade in barren half-starved buffaloes and buffalo calves, or in country ponies. They also purchase from Gaoli herdsmen barren buffaloes, which they profess to be able to make fertile; if successful they return them for double the purchase-money, but if not, having obtained if possible some earnest-money, they abscond and sell the animals at a distance. [190] Like the Bhamtas, the Mang-Garoris, Major Gunthorpe states, make it a rule not to give a girl in marriage until the intended husband has proved himself an efficient thief. Mr. Gayer [191] writes as follows of the caste: "I do not think Major Gunthorpe lays sufficient emphasis on the part taken by the women in crimes, for they apparently do by far the major part of the thieving, Sherring says the men never commit house-breaking and very seldom rob on the highway: he calls them 'wanderers, showmen, jugglers and conjurors,' and describes them as robbers who get their information by performing before the houses of rich bankers and others. Mang-Garori [192] women steal in markets and other places of public resort. They wait to see somebody put down his clothes or bag of rupees and watch till his attention is attracted elsewhere, when, walking up quietly between the article and its owner, they drop their petticoat either over or by it, and manage to transfer the stolen property into their basket while picking up the petticoat. If an unfavourable omen occurs on the way when the women set out to pilfer they place a stone on the ground and dash another on to it saying, 'If the obstacle is removed, break'; if the stone struck is broken, they consider that the obstacle portended by the unfavourable omen is removed from their path, and proceed on their way; but if not, they return. Stolen articles are often bartered at liquor-shops for drink, and the Kalars act as receivers of stolen property for the Mang-Garoris."

The following are some particulars taken from an old account of the criminal Mangs; [193] Their leader or headman was called the _naik_ and was elected by a majority of votes, though considerable regard was paid to heredity. The _naik's_ person and property were alike inviolable; after a successful foray each of the gang contributed a quarter of his share to the _naik_, and from the fund thus made up were defrayed the expenses of preparation, religious offerings and the triumphal feast. A pair of shoes were usually given to a Brahman and alms to the poor. To each band was attached an informer, who was also receiver of the stolen goods. These persons were usually bangle- or perfume-sellers or jewellers. In this capacity they were admitted into the women's apartments and so enabled to form a correct notion of the topography of a house and a shrewd guess as to the wealth of its inmates. Like all barbarous tribes and all persons addicted to criminal practices the Mangs were extremely superstitious. They never set out on an expedition on a Friday. After the birth of a child the mother and another woman stood on opposite sides of the cradle, and the former tossed her child to the other, commending it to the mercy of Jai Gopal, and waited to receive it back in like manner in the name of Jai Govind. Both Gopal and Govind are names of Krishna, The Mangs usually married young in life. If a girl happened to hang heavy on hand she was married at the age of puberty to the deity. In other words, she was attached as a prostitute to the temple of the god Khandoba or the goddess Yellama. Those belonging to the service of the latter were wont in the month of February to parade the streets in a state of utter nudity. When a bachelor wished to marry a widow he was first united to a swallow-wort plant, and this was immediately dug up and transplanted, and withering away left him at liberty to marry the widow. If a lady survived the sorrow caused by the death of two or three husbands she could not again enter the holy state unless she consented to be married with a fowl under her armpit; the unfortunate bird being afterwards killed to appease the manes of her former consorts.

Manihar

_Manihar._ [194]--A small caste of pedlars and hawkers. In northern India the Manihars are makers of glass bangles, and correspond to the Kachera caste of the Central Provinces. Mr. Nesfield remarks [195] that the special industry of the Manihars of the United Provinces is the making of glass bangles or bracelets. These are an indispensable adjunct to the domestic life of the Hindu woman; for the glass bangle is not worn for personal ornament, but as the badge of the matrimonial state, like the wedding-ring in Europe. But in the Central Provinces glass bangles are made by the Kacheras and the Muhammadan Turkaris or Sisgars, and the Manihars are petty hawkers of stationery and articles for the toilet, such as miniature looking-glasses, boxes, stockings, needles and thread, spangles, and imitation jewellery; and Hindu Jogis and others who take to this occupation are accustomed to give their caste as Manihar. In 1911 nearly 700 persons belonging to the caste were returned from the northern Districts of the Central Provinces. The Manihars are nominally Muhammadans, but they retain many Hindu customs. At their weddings they erect a marriage-tent, anoint the couple with oil and turmeric and make them wear a _kankan_ or wrist-band, to which is attached a small purse containing a little mustard-seed and a silver ring. The mustard is intended to scare away the evil spirits. When the marriage procession reaches the bride's village it is met by her people, one of whom holds a bamboo in his hands and bars the advance of the procession. The bridegroom's father thereupon makes a present of a rupee to the village _panchayat_, and his people are allowed to proceed. When the bridegroom reaches the bride's house he finds her younger sister carrying a _kalas_ or pot of water on her head; he drops a rupee into it and enters the house. The bride's sister then comes holding above her head a small frame like a _tazia_ [196] with a cocoanut core hanging inside. She raises the frame as high as she can to prevent the bridegroom from plucking out the cocoanut core, which, however, he succeeds in doing in the end. The girl applies powdered _mehndi_ or henna to the little finger of the boy's right hand, in return for which she receives a rupee and a piece of cloth. The Kazi then recites verses from the Koran which the bridegroom repeats after him, and the bride does the same in her turn. This is the Nikah or marriage proper, and before it takes place the bridegroom's father must present a nose-ring to the bride. The parents also fix the Meher or dowry, which, however, is not a dowry proper, but a stipulation that if the bridegroom should put away his wife after marriage he will pay her a certain agreed sum. After the Nikah the bridegroom is given some spices, which he grinds on a slab with a roller. He must do the grinding very slowly and gently so as to make no noise, or it is believed that the married life of the couple will be broken by quarrels. A widow is permitted to marry the younger brother of her deceased husband, but not his elder brother. The caste bury their dead with the head to the north. The corpse is first bathed and wrapped in a new white sheet, with another sheet over it, and is then laid on a cot or in a _janaza_ or coffin. While it is being carried to the cemetery the bearers are changed every few steps, so that every man who accompanies the funeral may carry the corpse for a short distance. When it is lowered into the grave the sheet is taken off and given to a Fakir or beggar. When the body is covered with earth the priest reads the funeral verses at a distance of forty steps from the grave. Feasts are given to the caste-fellows on the third, tenth, twentieth and fortieth days after the death. The Manihars observe the Shabrat festival by distributing to the caste-fellows _halua_ or a mixture of melted butter and flour. The Shabrat is the middle night of the month Shaban, and Muhammad declared that on this night God registers the actions which every man will perform during the following year, and all those who are fated to die and the children who are to be born. Like Hindu widows the Manihar women break their bangles when their husband's corpse is removed to the burial-ground. The Manihars eat flesh, but not beef or pork; and they also abstain from alcoholic liquor. If a girl is seduced and made pregnant before marriage either by a man of the caste or an outsider, she remains in her father's house until her child has been born, and may then be married either to her paramour or any other man of the caste by the simple repetition of the Nikah or marriage verses, omitting all other ceremonies. The Manihars will admit into their community converted Hindus belonging even to the lowest castes.

Mannewar

_Mannewar._ [197]--A small tribe belonging to the south or Telugu-speaking portion of the Chanda District, where they mustered about 1600 persons in 1911. The home of the tribe is the Hyderabad State, where it numbers 22,000 persons, and the Mannewars are said to have once been dominant over a part of that territory. The name is derived from a Telugu word _mannem_, meaning forest, while _war_ is the plural termination in Telugu, Mannewar thus signifying 'the people of the forest.' The tribe appear to be the inferior branch of the Koya Gonds, and they are commonly called Mannewar Koyas as opposed to the Koya Doras or the superior branch, Dora meaning 'lord' or master. The Koya Doras thus correspond to the Raj-Gonds of the north of the Province and the Mannewar Koyas to the Dhur or 'dust' Gonds. [198] The tribe is divided into three exogamous groups: the Nalugu Velpulu worshipping four gods, the Ayidu Velpulu worshipping five, and the Anu Velpulu six. A man must marry a woman of one of the divisions worshipping a different number of gods from his own, but the Mannewars do not appear to know the names of these gods, and consequently no veneration can be paid to them at present, and they survive solely for the purpose of regulating marriage. When a betrothal is made a day is fixed for taking an omen. In the early morning the boy who is to be married has his face washed and turmeric smeared on his feet, and is seated on a wooden seat inside the house. The elders of the village then proceed outside it towards the rising sun and watch for any omen given by an animal or bird crossing their path. If this is good the marriage is celebrated, and if bad the match is broken off. In the former case five of the elders take their food on returning from the search for the omen and immediately proceed to the bride's village. Here they are met by the Pesamuda or village priest, and stay for three days, when the amount of the dowry is settled and a date fixed for the wedding. The marriage ceremony resembles that of the low Telugu castes. The couple are seated on a plough-yoke, and coloured rice is thrown on to their heads, and the bridegroom ties the _mangalya_ or bead necklace, which is the sign of marriage, round the neck of the bride. If a girl is deformed, or has some other drawback which prevents her from being sought in marriage, she is given away with her sister to a first cousin [199] or some other near relative, the two sisters being married to him together. A widow may marry any man of the tribe except her first husband's brothers. If a man takes a widow to his house without marrying her he is fined three rupees, while for adultery with a married woman the penalty is twenty rupees. A divorce can always be obtained, but if the husband demands it he is mulcted of twenty rupees by the caste committee, while a wife who seeks a divorce must pay ten rupees. The Mannewars make an offering of a fowl and some liquor to the ploughshare on the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. After the picking of the flowers of the mahua [200] they worship that tree, offering to it some of the liquor distilled from the new flowers, with a fowl and a goat. This is known as the Burri festival. At the Holi feast the Mannewars make two human figures to represent Kami and Rati, or the god of love and his wife. The male figure is then thrown on to the Holi fire with a live chicken or an egg. This may be a reminiscence of a former human sacrifice, which was a common custom in many parts of the world at the spring festival. The caste usually bury the dead, but are beginning to adopt cremation. They do not employ Brahmans for their ceremonies and eat all kinds of food, including the flesh of pigs, fowls and crocodiles, but in view of their having nominally adopted Hinduism, they abstain from beef.

Maratha

List of Paragraphs

1. _Numerical statistics_.
2. _Double meaning of the term Maratha_.
3. _Origin and position of the caste_.
4. _Exogamous clans_.
5. _Other subdivisions_.
6. _Social customs_.
7. _Religion_.
8. _Present position of the caste_.
9. _Nature of the Maratha insurrection_.
10. _Maratha women in past times_.
11. _The Maratha horseman_.
12. _Cavalry in the field_.
13. _Military administration_.
14. _Sitting Dharna_.
15. _The infantry_.
16. _Character of the Maratha armies_.

1. Numerical statistics

_Maratha, Mahratta._--The military caste of southern India which manned the armies of Sivaji, and of the Peshwa and other princes of the Maratha confederacy. In the Central Provinces the Marathas numbered 34,000 persons in 1911, of whom Nagpur contained 9000 and Wardha 8000, while the remainder were distributed over Raipur, Hoshangabad and Nimar. In Berar their strength was 60,000 persons, the total for the combined province being thus 94,000. The caste is found in large numbers in Bombay and Hyderabad, and in 1901 the India Census tables show a total of not less than five million persons belonging to it.

2. Double meaning of the term Maratha

It is difficult to avoid confusion in the use of the term Maratha, which signifies both an inhabitant of the area in which the Marathi language is spoken, and a member of the caste to which the general name has in view of their historical importance been specifically applied. The native name for the Marathi-speaking country is Maharashtra, which has been variously interpreted as 'The great country' or 'The country of the Mahars.' [201] A third explanation of the name is from the Rashtrakuta dynasty which was dominant in this area for some centuries after A.D. 750. The name Rashtrakuta was contracted into Rattha, and with the prefix of Maha or Great might evolve into the term Maratha. The Rashtrakutas have been conjecturally identified with the Rathor Rajputs. The _Nasik Gazetteer_ [202] states that in 246 B.C. Maharatta is mentioned as one of the places to which Asoka sent an embassy, and Maharashtraka is recorded in a Chalukyan inscription of A.D. 580 as including three provinces and 99,000 villages. Several other references are given in Sir J. Campbell's erudite note, and the name is therefore without doubt ancient. But the Marathas as a people do not seem to be mentioned before the thirteenth or fourteenth century. [203] The antiquity of the name would appear to militate against the derivation from the Rashtrakuta dynasty, which did not become prominent till much later, and the most probable meaning of Maharashtra would therefore seem to be 'The country of the Mahars.' Maharatta and Maratha are presumably derivatives from Maharashtra.

3. Origin and position of the caste

The Marathas are a caste formed from military service, and it seems probable that they sprang mainly from the peasant population of Kunbis, though at what period they were formed into a separate caste has not yet been determined. Grant-Duff mentions several of their leading families as holding offices under the Muhammadan rulers of Bijapur and Ahmadnagar in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, as the Nimbhalkar, Gharpure and Bhonsla; [204] and presumably their clansmen served in the armies of those states. But whether or no the designation of Maratha had been previously used by them, it first became prominent during the period of Sivaji's guerilla warfare against Aurangzeb. The Marathas claim a Rajput origin, and several of their clans have the names of Rajput tribes, as Chauhan, Panwar, Solanki and Suryavansi. In 1836 Mr. Enthoven states, [205] the Sesodia Rana of Udaipur, the head of the purest Rajput house, was satisfied from inquiries conducted by an agent that the Bhonslas and certain other families had a right to be recognised as Rajputs. Colonel Tod states that Sivaji was descended from a Rajput prince Sujunsi, who was expelled from Mewar to avoid a dispute about the succession about A.D. 1300. Sivaji is shown as 13th in descent from Sujunsi. Similarly the Bhonslas of Nagpur were said to derive their origin from one Bunbir, who was expelled from Udaipur about 1541, having attempted to usurp the kingdom. [206] As Rajput dynasties ruled in the Deccan for some centuries before the Muhammadan conquest, it seems reasonable to suppose that a Rajput aristocracy may have taken root there. This was Colonel Tod's opinion, who wrote: "These kingdoms of the south as well as the north were held by Rajput sovereigns, whose offspring, blending with the original population, produced that mixed race of Marathas inheriting with the names the warlike propensities of their ancestors, but who assume the names of their abodes as titles, as the Nimalkars, the Phalkias, the Patunkars, instead of their tribes of Jadon, Tüar, Püar, etc." [207] This statement would, however, apply only to the leading houses and not to the bulk of the Maratha caste, who appear to be mainly derived from the Kunbis. In Sholapur the Marathas and Kunbis eat together, and the Kunbis are said to be bastard Marathas. [208] In Satara the Kunbis have the same division into 96 clans as the Marathas have, and many of the same surnames. [209] The writer of the _Satara Gazetteer_ says: [210] "The census of 1851 included the Marathas with the Kunbis, from whom they do not form a separate caste. Some Maratha families may have a larger strain of northern or Rajput blood than the Kunbis, but this is not always the case. The distinction between Kunbis and Marathas is almost entirely social, the Marathas as a rule being better off, and preferring even service as a constable or messenger to husbandry." Exactly the same state of affairs prevails in the Central Provinces and Berar, where the body of the caste are commonly known as Maratha Kunbis. In Bombay the Marathas will take daughters from the Kunbis in marriage for their sons, though they will not give their daughters in return. But a Kunbi who has got on in the world and become wealthy may by sufficient payment get his sons married into Maratha families, and even be adopted as a member of the caste. [211] In 1798 Colonel Tone, who commanded a regiment of the Peshwa's army, wrote [212] of the Marathas: "The three great tribes which compose the Maratha caste are the Kunbi or farmer, the Dhangar or shepherd, and the Goala or cowherd; to this original cause may perhaps be ascribed that great simplicity of manner which distinguishes the Maratha people."

It seems then most probable that, as already stated, the Maratha caste was of purely military origin, constituted from the various castes of Maharashtra who adopted military service, though some of the leading families may have had Rajputs for their ancestors. Sir D. Ibbetson thought that a similar relation existed in past times between the Rajputs and Jats, the landed aristocracy of the Jat caste being gradually admitted to Rajput rank. The Khandaits or swordsmen of Orissa are a caste formed in the same manner from military service. In the _Imperial Gazetteer_ Sir H. Risley suggests that the Maratha people were of Scythian origin:

"The physical type of the people of this region accords fairly well with this theory, while the arguments derived from language and religion do not seem to conflict with it.... On this view the wide-ranging forays of the Marathas, their guerilla methods of warfare, their unscrupulous dealings with friend and foe, their genius for intrigue and their consequent failure to build up an enduring dominion, might well be regarded as inherited from their Scythian ancestors."

4. Exogamous clans

In the Central Provinces the Marathas are divided into 96 exogamous clans, known as the Chhanava Kule, which marry with one another. During the period when the Bhonsla family were rulers of Nagpur they constituted a sort of inner circle, consisting of seven of the leading clans, with whom alone they intermarried; these are known as the Satghare or Seven Houses, and consist of the Bhonsla, Gujar, Ahirrao, Mahadik, Sirke, Palke and Mohte clans. These houses at one time formed an endogamous group, marrying only among themselves, but recently the restriction has been relaxed, and they have arranged marriages with other Maratha families. It may be noted that the present representatives of the Bhonsla family are of the Gujar clan to which the last Raja of Nagpur, Raghuji III., belonged prior to his adoption. Several of the clans, as already noted, have Rajput sept names; and some are considered to be derived from those of former ruling dynasties; as Chalke, from the Chalukya Rajput kings of the Deccan and Carnatic; More, who may represent a branch of the great Maurya dynasty of northern India; Salunke, perhaps derived from the Solanki kings of Gujarat; and Yadav, the name of the kings of Deogiri or Daulatabad. [213] Others appear to be named after animals or natural objects, as Sinde from _sindi_ the date-palm tree, Ghorpade from _ghorpad_ the iguana; or to be of a titular nature, as Kale black, Pandhre white, Bhagore a renegade, Jagthap renowned, and so on. The More, Nimbhalkar, Ghatge, Mane, Ghorpade, Dafle, Jadav and Bhonsla clans are the oldest, and held prominent positions in the old Muhammadan kingdoms of Bijapur and Ahmadnagar. The Nimbhalkar family were formerly Panwar Rajputs, and took the name of Nimbhalkar from their ancestral village Nimbalik. The Ghorpade family are an offshoot of the Bhonslas, and obtained their present name from the exploit of one of their ancestors, who scaled a fort in the Konkan, previously deemed impregnable, by passing a cord round the body of a _ghorpad_ or iguana. [214] A noticeable trait of these Maratha houses is the fondness with which they clung to the small estates or villages in the Deccan in which they had originally held the office of a patel or village headman as a _watan_ or hereditary right, even after they had carved out for themselves principalities and states in other parts of India. The present Bhonsla Raja takes his title from the village of Deor in the Poona country. In former times we read of the Raja of Satara clinging to the _watans_ he had inherited from Sivaji after he had lost his crown in all but the name; Sindhia was always termed patel or village headman in the revenue accounts of the villages he acquired in Nimar; while it is said that Holkar and the Panwar of Dhar fought desperately after the British conquest to recover the _pateli_ rights of Deccan villages which had belonged to their ancestors. [215]

5. Other subdivisions

Besides the 96 clans there are now in the Central Provinces some local subcastes who occupy a lower position and do not intermarry with the Marathas proper. Among these are the Deshkar or 'Residents of the country'; the Waindesha or those of Berar and Khandesh; the Gangthade or those dwelling on the banks of the Godavari and Wainganga; and the Ghatmathe or residents of the Mahadeo plateau in Berar. It is also stated that the Marathas are divided into the _Khasi_ or 'pure' and the _Kharchi_ or the descendants of handmaids. In Bombay the latter are known as the Akarmashes or 11 _mashas_, meaning that as twelve _mashas_ make a tola, a twelfth part of them is alloy.

6. Social customs

A man must not marry in his own clan or that of his mother. A sister's son may be married to a brother's daughter, but not vice versa. Girls are commonly married between five and twelve years of age, and the ceremony resembles that of the Kunbis. The bridegroom goes to the bride's house riding on horseback and covered with a black blanket When a girl first becomes mature, usually after marriage, the Marathas perform the Shantik ceremony. The girl is secluded for four days, after which she is bathed and puts on new clothes and dresses her hair and a feast is given to the caste-fellows. Sometimes the bridegroom comes and is asked whether he has visited his wife before she became mature, and if he confesses that he has done so a small fine is imposed on him. Such cases are, however, believed to be rare. The Marathas proper forbid widow-marriage, but the lower groups allow it. If a maiden is seduced by one of the caste she may be married to him as if she were a widow, a fine being imposed on her family; but if she goes wrong with an outsider she is finally expelled. Divorce is not ostensibly allowed but may be concluded by agreement between the parties. A wife who commits adultery is cast off and expelled from the caste. The caste burn their dead when they can afford it and perform the _shraddh_ ceremony in the month of _Kunwar_ (September), when oblations are offered to the dead and a feast is given to the caste-fellows. Sometimes a tomb is erected as a memorial to the dead, but without his name, and is surmounted usually by an image of Mahadeo. The caste eat the flesh of clean animals and of fowls and wild pig, and drink liquor. Their rules about food are liberal like those of the Rajputs, a too great stringency being no doubt in both cases incompatible with the exigencies of military service. They make no difference between food cooked with or without water, and will accept either from a Brahman, Rajput, Tirole Kunbi, Lingayat Bania or Phulmali.

The Marathas proper observe the _parda_ system with regard to their women, and will go to the well and draw water themselves rather than permit their wives to do so. The women wear ornaments only of gold or glass and not of silver or any baser metal. They are not permitted to spin cotton as being an occupation of the lower classes. The women are tattooed in the centre of the forehead with a device resembling a trident. The men commonly wear a turban made of many folds of cloth twisted into a narrow rope and large gold rings with pearls in the upper part of the ear. Like the Rajputs they often have their hair long and wear beards and whiskers. They assume the sacred thread and invest a boy with it when he is seven or eight years old or on his marriage. Till then they let the hair grow on the front of his head, and when the thread ceremony is performed they cut this off and let the _choti_ or scalp-lock grow at the back. In appearance the men are often tall and well-built and of a light wheat-coloured complexion.

7. Religion

The principal deity of the Marathas is Khandoba, a warrior incarnation of Mahadeo. He is supposed to have been born in a field of millet near Poona and to have led the people against the Muhammadans in early times. He had a watch-dog who warned him of the approach of his enemies, and he is named after the _khanda_ or sword which he always carried. In Bombay [216] he is represented on horseback with two women, one of the Bania caste, his wedded wife, in front of him, and another, a Dhangarin, his kept mistress, behind. He is considered the tutelary deity of the Maratha country, and his symbol is a bag of turmeric powder known as _bhandar_. The caste worship Khandoba on Sundays with rice, flowers and incense, and also on the 21st day of Magh (January), which is called _Champa Sashthi_ and is his special festival. On this day they will catch hold of any dog, and after adorning him with flowers and turmeric give him a good feed and let him go again. The Marathas are generally kind to dogs and will not injure them. At the Dasahra festival the caste worship their horses and swords and go out into the field to see a blue-jay in memory of the fact that the Maratha marauding expeditions started on Dasahra. On coming back they distribute to each other leaves of the _shami_ tree (_Bauhinia racemosa_) as a substitute for gold. It was formerly held to be fitting among the Hindus that the warrior should ride a horse (geldings being unknown) and the zamindar or landowner a mare, as more suitable to a man of peace. The warriors celebrated their Dasahra, and worshipped their horses on the tenth day of the light fortnight of _Kunwar_ (September), while the cultivators held their festival and worshipped their mares on the ninth day. It is recorded that the great Raghuji Bhonsla, the first Raja of Nagpur, held his Dasahra on the ninth day, in order to proclaim the fact that he was by family an agriculturist and only incidentally a man of arms. [217]

8. Present position of the caste

The Marathas present the somewhat melancholy spectacle of an impoverished aristocratic class attempting to maintain some semblance of their former position, though they no longer have the means to do so. They flourished during two or three centuries of almost continuous war, and became a wealthy and powerful caste, but they find a difficulty in turning their hands to the arts of peace. Sir R. Craddock writes of them in Nagpur:

"Among the Marathas a large number represent connections of the Bhonsla family, related by marriage or by illegitimate descent to that house. A considerable proportion of the Government political pensioners are Marathas. Many of them own villages or hold tenant land, but as a rule they are extravagant in their living; and several of the old Maratha nobility have fallen very much in the world. Pensions diminish with each generation, but the expenditure shows no corresponding decrease. The sons are brought up to no employment and the daughters are married with lavish pomp and show. The native army does not much attract them, and but few are educated well enough for the dignified posts in the civil employ of Government. It is a question whether their pride of race will give way before the necessity of earning their livelihood soon enough for them to maintain or regain some of their former position. Otherwise those with the largest landed estates may be saved by the intervention of Government, but the rest must gradually deteriorate till the dignities of their class have become a mere memory. The humbler members of the caste find their employment as petty contractors or traders, private servants, Government peons, _sowars_ and hangers-on in the retinue of the more important families.

"What [218] little display his means afford a Maratha still tries to maintain. Though he may be clad in rags at home, he has a spare dress which he himself washes and keeps with great care and puts on when he goes to pay a visit. He will hire a boy to attend him with a lantern at night, or to take care of his shoes when he goes to a friend's house and hold them before him when he comes out. Well-to-do Marathas have usually in their service a Brahman clerk known as _divanji_ or minister, who often takes advantage of his master's want of education to defraud him. A Maratha seldom rises early or goes out in the morning. He will get up at seven or eight o'clock, a late hour for a Hindu, and attend to business if he has any or simply idle about chewing or smoking tobacco and talking till ten o'clock. He will then bathe and dress in a freshly-washed cloth and bow before the family gods which the priest has already worshipped. He will dine, chew betel and smoke tobacco and enjoy a short midday rest. Rising at three, he will play cards, dice or chess, and in the evening will go out walking or riding or pay a visit to a friend. He will come back at eight or nine and go to bed at ten or eleven. But Marathas who have estates to manage lead regular, fairly busy lives."

9. Nature of the Maratha insurrection

Sir D. Ibbetson drew attention to the fact that the rising of the Marathas against the Muhammadans was almost the only instance in Indian history of what might correctly be called a really national movement. In other cases, as that of the Sikhs, though the essential motive was perhaps of the same nature, it was obscured by the fact that its ostensible tendency was religious. The _gurus_ of the Sikhs did not call on their followers to fight for their country but for a new religion. This was only in accordance with the Hindu intellect, to which the idea of nationality has hitherto been foreign, while its protests against both alien and domestic tyrannies tend to take the shape of a religious revolt. A similar tendency is observable even in the case of the Marathas, for the rising was from its inception largely engineered by the Maratha Brahmans, who on its success hastened to annex for themselves a leading position in the new Poona state. And it has been recorded that in calling his countrymen to arms, Sivaji did not ask them to defend their hearths and homes or wives and children, but to rally for the protection of the sacred persons of Brahmans and cows.

10. Maratha women in past times

Although the Marathas have now in imitation of the Rajputs and Muhammadans adopted the _parda_ system, this is not a native custom, and women have played quite an important part in their history. The women of the household have also exercised a considerable influence and their opinions are treated with respect by the men. Several instances occur in which women of high rank have successfully acted as governors and administrators. In the Bhonsla family the Princess Baka Bai, widow of Raghuji II., is a conspicuous instance, while the famous or notorious Rani of Jhansi is another case of a Maratha lady who led her troops in person, and was called the best man on the native side in the Mutiny.

11. The Maratha horseman

This article may conclude with one or two extracts to give an idea of the way in which the Maratha soldiery took the field. Grant Duff describes the troopers as follows: