The tribes and castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, Volume 2 (of 4)

Chapter D (2)

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DISTRIBUTION OF DASNÂMI GUSÂÎNS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

Dhâkara; Dhâkra.—A sept of Râjputs who have been identified with the Takoraioi of Ptolemy. [282] To the west of the Province they claim Sûrajbansi origin; but this is not generally admitted. Some are said to be emigrants from the banks of the Narbada; but the main body of the sept in these Provinces say that they came from Ajmer in the beginning of the sixteenth century and occupied the country now traversed by the East Indian Railway from Etâwah to Barhan. In Hardoi [283] some say that they came from Dharwâr; others from Mainpuri, of which place their ancestor was Râja, and expelled the Thatheras. They were notorious in the eighteenth century for their lawlessness, and we learn from the letters of Ezâd Bakhsh [284] that in the neighbourhood of Agra they gave the Imperial officers much trouble and rendered the communications between that city and Etâwah insecure. “Their chief stronghold was then Balampur, in the Chandwâr pargana, whence they issued in bands and harassed the country far and wide up to the very walls of Agra. Their lawless conduct brought about its own punishment, for before the close of the century we find that they had greatly diminished in numbers, and that their possessions had dwindled down to a few scattered villages.” They seem to have gained their power by a close alliance with the Bhadauriyas. In the Mutiny they broke out again and endeavoured to seize their old fort at Barhan from the Râja of Awa; but they were defeated by a combined force of Jâdons and Mewâtis. Since then they have sunk into insignificance; but they are a turbulent, ill-conducted sept, always ready for petty acts of violence and cattle-stealing.

2. In Unâo the Dhâkara give girls to the Gaur, Panwâr, Chandel, Gaharwâr, Bâchhal, Janwâr, Nikumbh, Ahban, and Kachhwâha: they take girls of the Gaur, Chandel, Ahban, Janwâr, Chauhân and Bais, and claim to belong to the Bhâradvâja gotra. In Aligarh they receive brides from the Gahlot, Pundîr, Chauhân and Bargûjar septs; and give girls to the Chauhân, Gahlot, Sakarwâr, Panwâr, and Râthaur.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE DHÂKARA RÂJPUTS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

Dhâlgar—(Sans: dhâlakâra).—A small occupational caste who make leather shields, a profession now almost extinct. They are allied to the Dabgar (q.v.). The Census Returns show their sections as Bankar, Benbansi, Daras, Dhaba, Koliwâla, Sribâstav, and Phâdu.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE DHÂLGARS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

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Districts. | Number.
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Faizâbâd | 40
Gonda | 5
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Total | 45
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Dhângar.—A Dravidian tribe found in some of the eastern districts of the Province. [285] They are only shown in Gorakhpur, but there are certainly a few in the south of Mirzapur, who are, however, possibly not regular residents. According to Colonel Dalton “the Khurnkh or Orâons of Chutia Nâgpur are the people best known in many parts of India as Dhângar, a word that from its apparent derivation (dâng or dhâng, “a hill”) may mean any hill-man, but amongst several tribes of the southern tributary Mahâls the terms Dhângar and Dhângarin mean the youth of the two sexes both in highland and lowland villages, and it cannot be considered the national designation of any peculiar tribe.” [286] According to Mr. Risley, Mr. Oldham says in a note on some historical and ethnical aspects of the Bardwân district that the Mâlê Pahariyas call their men of fighting age Dhângar or Dhângariya. The Mâlê are cognates of the Orâons, the typical Dhângar labourers of Chota Nâgpur, so that on this showing the word may well be nothing more than the Orâon for an adult. According to another interpretation the name has reference to the fact that persons working as Dhângars receive the bulk of their wages in unhusked rice (dhân). [287] In Bilâspur, in the Central Provinces, they are regarded as a sub-division of the Kanwar, who are the largest sections of the aboriginal population next to the Gonds, and have there taken to wearing the Brâhmanical thread. [288] In Sambalpur they are said to be emigrants from Chota Nâgpur, [289] and in Sâranggarh they act as weavers and village watchmen. [290] M. St. Martin very doubtfully connects them with the Tânk Râjputs, the Tangana of the Mahâbhârata, and the Tanganoi or Ganganoi of Ptolemy. [291] The people known as Dhângar, in the Dakkhin, [292] whose name is derived by Dr. J. Wilson from the Sanskrit dhenukâra, “dealer in cows,” are described as a quiet and innocent race of people who wander about with their flocks and herds. Their religion, manners, and language are to a great extent like those of the Kunbi, but the temples at which they worship are mere piles of large unhewn stones. The founder of the Holkar family of Mâlwa sprang from this race. [293]

[Tribal organisation.] 2. The Mirzapur Dhângars say that the Munda Kols, the Khariyas [294] of Chota Nâgpur, the Guriyas, Dhângars and Urâin or Orâon are all endogamous divisions of the same race. They name eight exogamous septs, most or all of which are certainly of totemistic origin. Thus Ilha is said to mean a kind of fish which this sept does not eat: Kajur is the name of a jungle herb which members of this sub-division do not use: Tirik, which is possibly the same as the Tirki or bull sept of the Orâons. In Chota Nâgpur members of this sept cannot touch any cattle after their eyes open. [295] On the other hand, Colonel Dalton describes the Tirki sub-division as prohibited from eating young mice (tirki). [296]

The Lakara sub-division, which is apparently identical with that called Lakrar among the Orâons, who must not eat tiger’s flesh, [297] derive their name in Mirzapur from the hyæna (lakar bagha), which they will not hunt or kill. The Bara sept, who are evidently the same as the Barar of the Orâons, who will not eat from the leaves of the Bar tree (Ficus Indica), in Mirzapur will not cut this tree. The Ekka sept in Mirzapur say that the name means “leopard,” which they will not kill. In Chota Nâgpur the same word is said to mean “tortoise,” and to be a totemistic sept of Orâons. This is the Ekhar sept in Colonel Dalton’s list. [298] The Tiga sept, in Mirzapur, say they take their name from a jungle root of that name which they will not eat: but the Orâon Dhângars of Bhâgalpur have a Tig sept which they say means “monkey.” [299] The last of the Mirzapur septs is Khâha, which they say means “crow,” a bird which they respect and will not injure. This is evidently the same as the Khakhar sept of Orâons, who will not eat the crow. [300] From all this the identity of the Mirzapur Dhângars with the Bengal Orâons is conclusively established. At the same time the diverging significance of these totemistic titles within a limited area is interesting. The Census lists supply a much more Hinduised set of sections including the Beldâr, Belwâr, Benbansi, Janwâr, Jhuar, Panwâr, and Sribâstam.

[Appearance.] 3. Colonel Dalton’s description of the Orâons applies very closely to their cognates the Mirzapur Dhângars. “Although the Orâons when young are pleasant to look upon from their good humoured and guileless expression, they are on the whole to be regarded as a dark complexioned and by no means well-favoured race. When we see numbers of them massed together in a market, the features we find to predominate are excess of jaws and mouth, thick lips pushed out by the projection of the jaws, a defect which age increases, the teeth becoming more and more porrect till they appear to radiate outwards from the upper jaw. The forehead is low and narrow, but not as a rule receding; and the eyes have nothing very peculiar about them, often bright and full, with long lashes and straight set, sometimes small and dim, but not oblique. These upper features give them a human and intelligent expression notwithstanding the Simian characteristic of the lower. There is the indentation usual in the Turanian races between the frontal and nasal bones, but the latter are more pronounced than we find them in the Lohitic tribes. The colour of the majority is darkest brown approaching to black. [301]” Mr. Risley adds that no signs of Mongolian affinities can be detected in the relative positions of the nasal and malar bones; the average naso-malar index for a hundred Orâons, measured on the system recommended by Mr. Oldfield Thomas, comes to 113·6. [302]

[Traditions.] 4. The Mirzapur Dhângars say they emigrated from a place named Barwai somewhere to the south about nine or ten generations ago. They say that they occupied a narrow valley called Sathorwa, where they used to beset and rob travellers. At last a General of the Emperor made terms with their leaders, Jura Mahto and Buddhu Bhagat, and on promise of giving them a rent-free estate (jâgîr) induced the tribe to lay down their arms, and then ordered a general massacre. The few survivors escaped to Mirzapur. These two leaders, Jura and Buddhu, are the deified heroes of the tribe. It is said that their heads spoke seven days after they were decapitated, and advised them to emigrate.

[Tribal council.] 5. They have a tribal council (panchâyat) presided over by a hereditary president, the Chaudhari, which meets for caste business on occasions of marriages and deaths. For caste offences the punishment is usually the providing of a feast including rice, one or two goats and ten bottles of liquor. If a girl intrigues with a clansman, her father has to provide two dinners to the clansmen, and she is then restored to caste. Her lover has to provide the same feast if he seduces an unmarried girl in the tribe. The pair are then married. If a girl is detected in an intrigue with an outsider she is permanently expelled, and so with a man who intrigues with a strange woman.

[Marriage rules.] 6. The totemistic septs are exogamous, and in addition the children of the mother’s brother, the sister and father’s sister are barred. Polygamy is permitted only when the first wife is barren, and then the consent of the Chaudhari and clansmen is required. The marriage age is ten or twelve for boys and girls. The bride-price is two rupees, and is invariably fixed by caste custom. No physical defect subsequently ascertained can annul a marriage; but both parties are carefully examined by the relatives before the engagement is made. A man may divorce his wife if he discovers that she is a witch, and habitual adultery on the part of husband and wife justifies divorce with the leave of the council. Women who have been divorced can marry again, but the general feeling is against the practice, and it is not allowed in respectable families. The institution of the Bachelor Hall, described by Colonel Dalton among the Orâons, [303] does not prevail among the Mirzapur Dhângars.

[Widow-marriage and the levirate.] 7. The levirate prevails, and a widow can marry an outsider by sagâi only when her younger brother-in-law gives up his claim to her. The only ceremony is that the lover comes with a yellow sheet to the widow’s house. She puts it on and comes home with him, when he gives a feast to his clansmen, and it is essential that the cooking should be done by the new-made wife. By remarriage a widow loses all right to the property of her first husband.

In the case of the levirate the property of the first husband passes to the levir, and when they grow up, the sons by the first marriage are entitled to a share in all the property of their step-father on the same scale as his sons. There is no fiction of attributing the sons of the levir to his deceased elder brother.

[Succession.] 8. Adoption is unknown. The heirs of a man are his sons: but the eldest son gets something more than the others. When the father and sons live jointly and distribution takes place after the father’s death, all the sons share equally, no matter whether any part of the property may have been acquired by any particular son.

Grandsons get their proportion of the share that would have fallen to their fathers. The widow has a sort of life interest in her husband’s estate, but is liable to expulsion for unchastity. Daughters have no right of succession. But a girl who is ill-treated by her husband is entitled to return to her own home and be maintained by her brothers.

[Domestic ceremonies. Birth.] 9. The birth ceremonies resemble those among Bhuiyârs (q.v.). On the sixth day the chhathi ceremony is performed, and after this the mother is pure. The husband does not cohabit with his wife for two months after her confinement.

[Marriage.] 10. The betrothal is solemnized as among the Bhuiyas by the exchange of platters of liquor between the parents of the parties. After this both salute in the form known as Râmrahâi. [304] Notice is given of the day of the ceremony. This is called din dharna. The pair revolve round a branch of the siddh tree (Hardwickia binata), and a water jar (kalsa) fixed in the marriage shed (mânro). Before the procession starts, the bridegroom’s mother sprinkles some water over him with a branch of rice stalks, and waves the water jar over his head to keep off evil spirits. The binding part of the ceremony is the rubbing of red lead by the bridegroom on the head of the bride. After marriage the bridegroom has to eat rice and pulse (khichari) with the bride, and refuses to do so until he gets a calf or eight annas from his father-in-law. The bride walks behind the bridegroom on her way to his house, and is supposed to weep bitterly all the time. When she and her husband reach the door, they have to walk in over a series of baskets arranged in a double line, while the women sing the song of rejoicing (sohar). Then the bridegroom salutes his male relations outside the house. Inside, the bride, shading her breast with the corner of her sheet, touches the feet of the senior women, and they reply with the blessing tuhâr ahibât barhê—“May your husband live long.”

[Death ceremonies.] 11. The dead are cremated exactly as is done by the Bhuiyas; after the mourners return from the cremation they come to the house of the deceased and there some butter is thrown on a fire lighted in the courtyard, and the mourners pass their hands through the smoke and rub their bodies. The ashes of the dead are thrown into a neighbouring stream. They have no idea of the careful preservation of the bones as described by Colonel Dalton among the Orâons. [305] On the day of the cremation all the women walk in a line to the river or tank close by. They are very careful not to touch each other with their toes, as they walk one after the other. The woman thus struck is believed to lose her son or husband during the year. When they arrive at the water the red powder is washed off the parting of the widow’s hair. The chief mourner is impure for ten days, during which he places a leaf platter (dauna) full of food daily on the road by which the deceased was removed for cremation. On the tenth day the male relatives shave and return to the house of the deceased, where the chief mourner sacrifices a pig in the name of the deceased, and cutting off its feet and snout buries them in the courtyard and covers them with a stone. Then striking this stone with another stone he says,—“I have buried you here, never to come out; you are to rest here no matter how hard an exorciser (Ojha) or anyone else tries to wake you.” Then he pours some liquor over the stone. There is no priest employed in the funeral ceremony, and no formulæ of any kind are recited.

[Religion.] 12. The Dhângars in Mirzapur are nominally Hindus, but worship none of the regular Hindu deities. Their deities are Barna Bhawâni, a female, who may be the same as Barhona, a deity of the Kurs, identified with Varuna, the spirit of the waters, [306] and Goraiya Deva. Barna Bhawâni is worshipped by some once a year, by others four times a year with the sacrifice of a he-goat, a she-goat, and a pig. Goraiya is the god of cattle, and is worshipped every year on 15th Kârttik. A pig and a white and black cock are sacrificed to him in the cattle pen, and some liquor is poured on the ground. They carry on the usual worship of the village gods (dih) through the Baiga. When small-pox prevails the women worship Sîtala Bhawâni. Her offering, which is conditional on the recovery of the child from the disease, consists of bread and a sort of sweetmeat (halwa). If the child recovers he wears all his life a silver image (sirjana) of the goddess, with her figure gilt, round his neck. All the worship, except that of the village gods, is done by the head of the household, and the worshippers consume the flesh of the victim.

[Festivals.] 13. In Bhâdon they observe the Nâgpanchami by eating better food than usual, but they do not make any special worship of the snake as Hindus do. In Mâgh they have the Khichari, when they eat pulse, parched grain, and sesamum. They do not light the Holi fire, but they celebrate the Phagua by drunken revelry and foul abuse of women, particularly of the brother’s wife (bhaujâi).

[Demonology and ancestor worship.] 14. Old wells and tanks are the special abode of malevolent ghosts. These are propitiated through the Ojha, who is believed to have special control over them. They have no special ancestor worship, because they consider the spirits finally disposed of by the pig-sacrifice already described.

[Social customs.] 15. The women tattoo themselves only on the arms. In this they differ from the Orâons, who are tattooed in childhood with the three marks on the brow and two on each temple that distinguish the majority of the Munda women. [307] There is no special pattern and nothing resembling a tribal tattoo. The women wear bracelets (mathiya), pewter anklets (pairi), necklets (hansli), ear ornaments (utarna), bead necklaces (guriya). They eat beef and pork, and almost any meat except that of the lizard, jackal, alligator, and monkey. They use liquor and smoking and chewing tobacco. The use of liquor they believe keeps off malaria. They will not touch or name the wife of the elder brother. They treat their women fairly well, consult them in family affairs, and follow their advice. Their business is generally to work as ploughmen. Their wages are four sers of grain for each working day, a rupee and-a-half at the end of the agricultural year, one blanket and half a bîgha of rent-free land. They also get food on the Panchaiyân, Khichari, and Phagua festivals. They have no regular communal organization, but they are very clannish and afraid of strangers. In Mirzapur they are little better than a miserable, depressed tribe of field serfs.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE DHÂNGARS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

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District. |Benbansi.| Janwâr.| Panwâr.| Others.| Total.
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| | | | |
Gorakhpur | 218 | 292 | 200 | 73 | 783
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Dhânuk [308] (Sans. dhanuska, “an archer”), a low tribe who work as watchmen, musicians at weddings, and their women as midwives. They are most numerous in the Agra division, but are found all over the Province except in the Benares, Gorakhpur, and Faizâbâd divisions, and in the hills. Their origin is very uncertain. According to Dr. Buchanan [309] they are a “pure agricultural tribe, who from their name, implying archers, were probably in former times the militia of the country, and are perhaps not essentially different from the Kurmis; for any Jaiswâr Kurmi, who from poverty sells himself or his children is admitted among the Dhânuks. All the Dhânuks were at one time probably slaves, and many have been recruited to fill up the military ranks—a method of recruiting that has been long prevalent in Asia, the armies of Parthians having been composed almost entirely of slaves, and the custom is, I believe, still pretty general among the Turks. A great many of the Dhânuks are still slaves; but some annually procure their liberty by the inability of their masters to maintain them, and by their unwillingness to sell their fellow-creatures. I have already mentioned that the Dhanushkas or Dhamin Brâhmans are probably the original priests of the tribe.” Mr. Risley [310] admits that the only evidence from Bihâr in support of Dr. Buchanan’s theory of the connection between the Dhânuks and the Kurmis is that, according to some authorities, the Chhilatiya sub-caste is also known by the name of Jaiswâr. Considering, however, how wide-spread the term Jaiswâr is for the sub-castes and sections of the minor castes, this piece of evidence is of little value.

[Internal structure.] 2. At the last Census the Dhânuks were recorded in the following important sub-castes:—Dhâkara, Dusâdh, Kaithiya, Kathariya, Kori, and Râwat. The complete lists show three hundred and twenty sections of the usual, mixed type, some the names of well known tribes, others of local derivation. A full list received from Etâwah names twenty sub-divisions—Laungbarsa (the name means “raining cloves,” and is said to arise from the custom prevailing in this sub-division of tying a string of cloves round the necks of the bride and bridegroom during marriage. They do not, however, appear to treat the clove otherwise, with any particular respect, and do not forbear from naming, eating, burning, or otherwise destroying it), Hazâri, Kathariha, Lakariha, Bhuseli, Garuhaiya, Hâthichighar, Garpetha, Atariha, Pichhauriha, Jashar, Jalâliya, Kachhwâha, Jugeli, Ruriha, Kharaiha, Tahelê, Dunhân, Bagheli. Sir H. M. Elliot gives the seven sub-divisions as follows:—Laungbasta (probably the same as the Laungbarsa of the Etâwah list), Mathuriya, Kathariya, Jaiswâr, Magahi, Dojwâr, Chhilatiya. In the east of the Province another list [311] gives Jaiswâr, Dhânuk, Magahi, Dojwâr and Chhilatiya. The Dhânuks have no tradition of the origin of these names, and it is dangerous to speculate on such a subject. But there seems no doubt that the Kathariya or Kathariha are so-called because they make a sort of mat called kathri, which is one of the special handicrafts of this sub-division to the present day. The Lakariha and Bhuseli have obviously something to do with wood and chaff. The Hâthichighar are elephant keepers; the Kachhwâha and Baghelê must have taken their names from the similar Râjput tribes; while the Jaiswâr and Magahi are clearly local names derived from the town of Jais and the country of Magadha, respectively. There is little or no resemblance between these lists and the Bihâr list given by Mr. Risley, a sufficient proof, if proof were needed, of the astonishing facility by which tribes of this social status modify their internal structure.

[Marriage rules.] 3. The rule of exogamy as stated by the Dhânuks of Etâwah is that (a) no man or woman can marry in their own sub-division; (b) no child can be married in a family in which the father or mother have been married. The age of marriage is usually between seven and eleven. No one can have more than two wives at the same time. Unchastity on the part of an unmarried girl is punished by a fine imposed on the parents by the tribal council. A man can get rid of his wife for adultery, but a wife cannot abandon her husband for this cause. Divorced women and widows can be remarried by the form known as dharauna or dharukh. The levirate under the usual restrictions is permitted. If a widow marry an outsider she loses all right to the goods of her first husband. If he leave children they are his heirs; if he dies childless his elder brother, or if he himself be the eldest, then the brother next to him in age succeeds. If she marry the levir he takes the goods of his deceased elder brother unless he has left children. There is no fiction that children by the levir are attributed to his late brother.

[Birth.] 4. There are no ceremonies during pregnancy. The mother is attended by some old woman of the tribe. The only purificatory ceremony is the chhathi on the sixth day after delivery. There is no trace of the couvade. The only observance at adoption is the feeding of the clansmen.

[Marriage.] 5. The marriage ceremonies are of the common low caste type. In the respectable form (shâdi, biwâh) the ceremony, the binding part of which is the revolutions (bhanwar), is done at the house of the bride; in dola it is done at that of the bridegroom.

[Death.] 6. They burn their adult and bury the unmarried dead. The ashes are thrown into any river or stream. They perform srâddha for the repose of the souls of the dead. The malevolent dead are propitiated in the months of Mâgh and Bhâdon. The service is done in the daytime but secretly with all the doors closed. A fire is lighted and to it cakes (pûri) are offered, and then eaten by the worshippers. On this occasion if the house-holder be a rich man, he entertains the brotherhood; if he is poor, he feeds only his sister’s or daughter’s husband—a custom which may be a survival of descent in the female line. The ashes of the fire made on this occasion are carefully preserved, and if any sickness come upon the household during the year, they are rubbed on the part affected, and a vow is made to repeat the service when the next anniversary comes round. During the first fifteen days of the month of Kuâr water is thrown daily on the ground, in honour of the dead, and flour, butter, etc., are given to Brâhmans that they by consuming them may convey them to the hungry dead in the other world. A fire is lighted and cakes offered to it, and a piece of a cake is attached to the wall in the place where marks have been made representing the deceased ancestors of the family.

[Religion.] 7. The Dhânuks are Hindu by religion and are classed as Sâktas because they are worshippers of Devi. But none of them are ever regularly initiated. They make pilgrimages to the tomb of Madâr Sâhib at Makhanpur, in the Cawnpur District, and in the month of Mâgh offer a sort of pudding (malîda) and money which are taken by the Khâdims in charge of the shrine. They also worship the two Miyâns: the great or Bara Miyân has his tomb at Jalesar, in the Etah District, and the little or Chhota at Amroha, in Morâdâbâd. These saints are worshipped after child-birth; if the child happened to be a son they offer a he-goat; for a daughter the offering is a kind of cake (gulgula). These are consumed by the worshippers, and so is the goat, which is the right of Devi. They are firm believers in the demoniacal theory of disease. In such cases a sorcerer is sent for; he sits down with a broom in his hand, which he waves while he smokes a huqqa, and thus drives off the evil spirit which is the cause of the mischief. In cases of disease caused by the Evil Eye the procedure is similar with this addition that some chillies are waved seven times round the head of the patient and then thrown on the fire, when the evil influence incontinently disappears in the stench. Another plan is for the magician to summon one of his domesticated spirits, which puts him under its influence, and he is then able to announce with certainty the evil spirit which has affected the patient. Another approved plan is to burn a hair from the patient’s head, and this invariably gives relief.

[Agricultural customs.] 8. When they sink a well they erect an image of Hanumân near the spot, and on the completion of the work feed Brâhmans and distribute charity. Before sowing a little grain is sifted through a sieve, and when the work is done the oxen are washed and the plough worshipped. Before the grain is garnered a little is given to the poor and to Brâhmans.

[Social rules.] 9. Dhânuks will eat mutton, pork, the flesh of the cloven-footed animals, and fish. They drink freely. They will not eat the flesh of monkeys, beef, flesh of uncloven-footed animals, fowls, crocodiles, snakes, lizards, jackals, rats, vermin, or the leavings of other people. Their salutation is Râm! Râm! They have the usual ceremonial taboos. Elder relatives are addressed not by their names but by their title of relationship. Younger persons and all male strangers are addressed by name. All female strangers are addressed by name when spoken to by women; but when men address them they call them “so-and-so’s wife” or “so and-so’s mother.” If they are unmarried they are addressed by name. So a husband calls his wife “so-and-so’s mother.”

[Occupation.] 10. Their occupation is playing on trumpets at weddings and other occasions of festivity. They act as servants, day-labourers, village watchmen, and their women do midwifery. Some hold land as tenants and work as field labourers. Many receive a patch of land rent-free in lieu of wages.

DISTRIBUTION OF DHÂNUKS AND THEIR SUB-CASTES BY THE CENSUS OF 1891.

===============+=======+=======+=========+==========+======+======+=======+========= Districts. |Dhâkrê.|Dusâdh.|Kaithiya.|Kathariya.|Kori. |Râwat.|Others.| Total. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~ Dehra Dûn | ... | ... | ... | 169 | ... | ... | 45| 214 Sahâranpur | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 50| 50 Muzaffarnagar | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... Meerut | ... | ... | ... | ... |13,758| ... | 11,263| 25,021 Bulandshahr | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 1| 1 Aligarh | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 286 | 354| 640 Mathura | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 20| 20 Agra | 216 | ... | ... | 222 | ... | 156 | 1,150| 1,744 Farrukhâbâd | ... | ... | ... | 3,094 | ... | 227 | 12,524| 15,845 Mainpuri | 273 | ... | 28 | 13,946 | ... | ... | 1,293| 15,540 Etâwah | 554 | ... | ... | 8,829 | ... | 423 | 6,897| 16,703 Etah | 99 | 86 | 1,070 | 965 | 113 | 506 | 973| 3,812 Bareilly | ... |1,832 | ... | ... | ... | 372 | 399| 2,603 Bijnor | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 5| 5 Shâhjahânpur | ... | 379 | ... | 8,925 | ... |2,503 | 1,140| 12,947 Pilibhît | ... | 180 | 5 | 2,133 | ... |1,925 | 331| 4,574 Cawnpur | ... | ... | ... | 439 | 3 | ... | 19,452| 19,894 Hamîrpur | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 1 | 1 Allahâbâd | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 4 | ... | 4 Jhânsi | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 5 | 5 | 10 Jâlaun | 10 | ... | ... | 45 | ... | ... | 2,439 | 2,494 Lalitpur | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... Benares | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 5 | 5 Ghâzipur | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 1 | 1 Ballia | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 1 | 1 Tarâi | ... | ... | ... | 2 | ... | 92 | 5 | 99 Lucknow | ... | 1 | ... | ... | ... | ... | 788 | 789 Unâo | 296 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 5,213 | 5,509 Sîtapur | ... | ... | ... | 467 | ... | ... | 2,235 | 2,702 Hardoi | ... | ... | ... | 8,088 | ... | ... | 3,314 | 11,402 Kheri | ... | ... | ... | 1,121 | ... |1,005 | 1,405 | 3,531 Faizâbâd | ... | ... | ... | 1 | ... | ... | 14 | 15 Bahrâich | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 10 | 10 Sultânpur | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 3 | 3 +~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~+~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~ Total | 1,448 | 2,478 | 1,103 | 48,446 |13,874| 7,504|71,336 | 146,188 ===============+=======+=======+=========+==========+======+======+=======+=========

Dhârhi (possibly from Sans. dhrista, “impudent”), a tribe of dancers and singers of whom there is a Hindu and a Muhammadan branch. They have been described under one of their many names, Kingariya or Kingriya, in another place. Another name for them is Pâwariya or Pâwanriya (from the foot (pânw) carpet (pânwara) they use). In the hills, though socially ranked with Doms, they do not belong to them, for they properly include only those Khasiyas who have been put out of caste for some offence or other and their offspring form a new caste with the special avocation of singing and dancing.

[Internal structure.] 2. The Census lists show forty sections. Many of these are local as Audhiya, Balrâmpuri, Chaurasiya, Desi, Gujarâti, Jaunpuri, Haripuriya, Kanaujiya, Madhesiya, Pachhwâhan, and Sarwariya. Others connect them with well-known castes or tribes, as Bânsphor, Boriya, Dhelphor, Dusâdh, Ghosi, Kewat.

[Occupation.] 3. The Dhârhi has two distinct functions. In the first place he is a musician and singer, and appears at houses on occasions of festivity, such as a marriage or when a woman is purified after the birth pollution and rejoins the household. He and the women who accompany him, who are usually of equivocal reputation, sing and play the double drum (mridang) or the guitar (tambûra), for which he gets presents of grain, money or clothes. Secondly, the Hindu Dhârhi keeps swine and acts in many villages as the priest of the local god (Gânwdeota, deohâr) cleans and plasters his platform, and takes anything in the way of an offering which is not consumed by the worshippers themselves.

[Social rules.] 4. The Dhârhi from his habits of begging and going about with women of bad character has rather an unsavoury reputation, and socially ranks very little above the Chamâr. They permit widow-marriage, divorce and remarriage of divorced women, but if a woman separate from her husband without cause she must repay through her second husband any charges which may have been incurred in her first marriage. Muhammadan Dhârhis have their marriages done, if they are well-off, by the Qâzi; if they are poor, by the village Dafâli.

The Hindu Dhârhis seldom or never employ a Brâhman except to take the auspices and fix a lucky day for the wedding. Two common proverbs show the opinion generally held of the Dhârhi—Dena lena kâm Dom Dhârhiyon ka, muhabbat dusri chîs hai.—“Taking presents is the way of pimps and buffoons; true love is quite a different thing.” Randi ki kamâi, ya khâe Dhârhi, ya khâe gâri. “The prostitute’s earnings go to the pimp or cabman.”

DISTRIBUTION OF DHÂRHIS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

================+===============================+==============+======== Districts. | Hindus. | Muhammadans. | Total. +~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+ | | Dusâdh. | Madhesya. | Others. | | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~ Bulandshahr | ... | ... | ... | 3 | 3 Mathura | ... | ... | ... | 5 | 5 Agra | ... | ... | ... | 86 | 86 Farrukhâbâd | ... | ... | 12 | 67 | 79 Mainpuri | ... | ... | ... | 16 | 16 Etah | ... | ... | ... | 32 | 32 Budâun | ... | ... | 1 | ... | 1 Shâhjahânpur | ... | ... | ... | 180 | 180 Cawnpur | ... | ... | ... | 38 | 38 Bânda | ... | ... | ... | 31 | 31 Hamîrpur | ... | ... | 3 | 3 | 6 Allahâbâd | ... | ... | 1 | 48 | 49 Jhânsi | ... | ... | ... | 2 | 2 Jâlaun | ... | ... | ... | 4 | 4 Benares | ... | ... | 8 | ... | 8 Ghâzipur | ... | ... | ... | 34 | 34 Gorakhpur | 1,490 | 943 | 1,502 | 2 | 3,937 Basti | ... | ... | 2,294 | ... | 2,294 Azamgarh | ... | 17 | 54 | ... | 71 Lucknow | ... | ... | ... | 107 | 107 Unâo | ... | ... | ... | 35 | 35 Râê Bareli | ... | ... | ... | 115 | 115 Sîtapur | ... | ... | ... | 80 | 80 Hardoi | ... | ... | ... | 91 | 91 Kheri | ... | ... | ... | 128 | 128 Faizâbâd | ... | ... | ... | 36 | 36 Gonda | 988 | 4,273 | 1,384 | 93 | 6,738 Bahrâich | ... | ... | 2 | 5 | 7 Sultânpur | ... | ... | ... | 74 | 74 Partâbgarh | ... | ... | ... | 7 | 7 +~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~ Total | 2,478 | 5,233 | 5,261 | 1,322 | 14,294 ================+=========+===========+=========+==============+========

Dharkâr [312] (Hindi dhar, Sanskrit dhara, “a rope,” kâra, “maker”) a sub-caste of the Eastern Doms. They are also known as Bentbansi, because they work in cane (bent), which some corrupt into Benbansi or of the race of Râja Vena. Their sections in Mirzapur are quite distinct from those recorded by Mr. Risley in Bihâr. [313] South of the Son there are four sections (kuri) which are exogamous: Aril, which is said to be the name of a fine kind of bamboo used in making winnowing fans, baskets, sieves, etc.: Neoriya, said to be derived from newar, a young soft bamboo: Dauriha, said to take its name from dauriwa, a strong hard bamboo used for baskets (dauri) which is not attacked by weevils: Nagarha, from nagar, a very high thick bamboo. These sections intermarry on equal terms, except the Aril, which is the highest, and with it the others practise hypergamy. This rule of exogamy is reinforced by the restriction against intermarrying in the family of the maternal uncle (mâmu) and father’s sister’s husband (phûpha) for at least three generations. In Oudh the rule of exogamy is said to be that a man cannot marry the daughter of his sister and a son cannot be married in a family to which a bride has been given until three or four generations have passed. Two sisters cannot be married at the same time; but a man may marry the sister of his deceased wife. They also very often marry by exchanging sisters in the form known as Gurâwat, the simplest form of marriage by purchase. [314] North of the Son they name three sections which are endogamous—Benbans, Barua and Dom; but the Benbans have developed under the influence of Hinduism regular exogamous gotras, of which they know only two,—Bilkhariya and Matâr. To the whole tribe, as is shown more particularly in the sections south of the Son, the bamboo is a sort of totem and is treated with great respect. [315]

The Mirzapur Dharkârs say that when Parameswar created their ancestor he seated him under a bamboo and gave him the curved knife (bânka) with which he was to make his living by basket making, etc.

[Tribal council.] 2. The tribal council (panchâyat) with a permanent president (mahto) and an assistant (dîwân) is very powerful. The council hears the evidence and gives its opinion, which may or not be accepted by the Mahto, who gives the final order. The usual punishment is an order to feed the clansmen for two days on goat’s flesh and rice. For a second offence excommunication for twelve years is the sentence, and during this time, unless he make humble submission and receive pardon from the council, all marriages in his family are stopped, he is not allowed to eat or smoke with his clansmen, and cannot sit on the tribal mat (tât) at meetings of the council. In Oudh, however, it would appear that they have no regularly constituted council. Whenever a case affecting caste discipline occurs, a meeting of the adult householders of the neighbourhood is convened: they appoint a Chairman for the meeting and decide the case. They have a sort of local organization (eka) for marriages, which generally take place within an assigned local area. They seldom go any considerable distance to find wives. [316]

[Marriage rules.] 3. A man may have as many wives as he can afford: but monogamy is the rule. In Oudh they say that no man can have more than seven wives at one time; but it is needless to say that very few Dharkârs can afford more than one. If a man marries more than one wife, the senior wife (jethi mehrâru) rules the household. Concubinage and polyandry are prohibited. Women have considerable freedom, and intertribal fornication is visited by a fine of a two days’ feast to the clansmen. The lover has to pay the girl’s father in such cases eight rupees in cash and to give her mother a cloth—an arrangement so common apparently that there is a special name for it,—mâi kâpar, or “the mother’s cloth.” He then feeds the council on goat’s flesh and rice, and after this the young couple are recognized as man and wife. Dharkârs practise adult marriage, the age being seventeen or eighteen. The marriage is arranged by the father’s sister’s husband (phûpha) of the bridegroom. The bride-price paid by the boy’s father is fixed—eight rupees in cash, one loin cloth (dhoti), and one hundred cakes (pûri). This is used in the marriage feast, and the cloth goes to the girl. The parties are so carefully examined before marriage that no physical defect subsequently ascertained is a bar to marriage. If the wife without reason shown to the satisfaction of the council refuse to live with her husband, her father has to refund the cash bride-price. If the husband refuses to keep his wife, the council will punish him and compel him to bring her home. If either husband or wife habitually commit adultery, the injured party may divorce the other, but before they can do so the case must be heard by the council and the Mahto must give his permission, which will not be granted unless the fact is proved by the evidence of eye-witnesses. If a woman is divorced, she may be remarried in the tribe by the form known as sagâi or dharauna. The children of a regular wife and a widow taken in sagâi rank equally as heirs. If a man keep a concubine or even eat from her hand, he is put out of caste and not restored till he gives a tribal feast. Illegitimate children follow the father, but such a child cannot eat or marry in the tribe. Only a widower can marry a woman by the sagâi form. He goes to the widow’s house and proposes for her in a regular form—hamâr ghar basâdê, “make my home inhabited.” Her father receives the same bride-price as in a regular marriage. Her father gives a feast and assembles the council. If at this meeting any person entitled to claim the right of the levirate comes forward and says,—“Why are you giving my woman to a stranger?” the council order her father to pay him the bride-price. Then her lover takes her home, puts red lead on her forehead and palm leaf ornaments (tarki) in her ears, and after feeding the clansmen on goat’s flesh and rice the connection is legalised. The levirate is recognised under the usual restrictions, and there is no fiction of the affiliation of the children to the former husband. A childless man can adopt his brother’s son. The sons are heirs, but the eldest son gets something in excess as determined by the council. Daughters have no rights, and after marriage even the claim to maintenance is not recognized. The mother has a life interest if there are no brothers of the deceased. The heirs of a sonless man are his associated brothers and they are supposed to give the widow something unless she is remarried, which is usually the case, unless she is disabled by age or infirmity.

[Relationship.] 4. The father is called dauwa: the grandfather bâba: the mother dâi: the grandmother barki dâi: the father’s elder brother bara or barka (“great”). The wife is always called “the mother of so-and-so,” her son. They call a daughter bahin or sister, which perhaps points to loose ideas of family life. The wife’s father is mahto, “leader.”

Relations generally are mit or yâr (“friends”). In particular they call mit all persons who have the same name as themselves, and with such they are particularly friendly. People resident in the same village are gaunwa pariwâr.

[Birth ceremonies.] 5. When the birth pains begin they worship the ancestors with the sacrifice of a he-goat and a cock, and bathe the woman’s hands and feet or, in bad cases, her whole body with a decoction of the bark of the Rohina or fig tree. The child is born on the ground and the cord is cut by a Chamârin midwife, who buries it in the place the child was born, placing a bit of iron and a copper pice in the earthen fire pot. On the sixth day (chhathi) the Chamârin retires and the mother is bathed by her husband’s sister (nanad), who cleans the delivery-room (saur). The house earthen vessels are replaced, and one or two of the clansmen fed. On the twelfth day (barahi) the woman is again bathed and the house cleaned. On that day she cooks for the family and is pure. Her husband does not cohabit with her for six months after her confinement. They have the usual horror of touching menstrual blood or clothes defiled at child-birth. The only puberty ceremony is the ear-boring [317] (kanchhedan), which is done at the age of eight or ten, after which the child must conform to caste rules about food.

[Marriage.] 6. The betrothal is sealed by the exchange between the two fathers of platters of liquor, one containing two rupees placed there by the boy’s father, which the girl’s father takes. They have the usual matmangar ceremony. [318] The usual anointing of bride and bridegroom follows, which is begun by the fathers on each side taking up a little oil in a wisp of dûb grass and sprinkling it on the bride or bridegroom, as the case may be. During this time he calls out,—“If my son or daughter is happily married we will worship the ancestors (pitra) with a fire offering of butter and a goat or fowl.” Here follows a curious emblematical ceremony. The boy’s mother sits on a grain mortar (okhari) in the centre of the marriage shed, and her son is seated in her lap. Then the boy, his mother, and the wedding water-pot (kalsa) are all tied together with a string and a fire sacrifice (hom) is done with sugar and butter. The boy’s sister holds her hand over the blaze and collects some lampblack on her fingers, which she rubs on her brother’s eyes. Then the mother comes under the influence of the goddess Amina Bhawâni and begins to tremble, on which her friends throw some rice over her and take her into the house, whence she soon emerges again to do the wave ceremony (parachhan). She holds a vessel (lota) full of water, a grain pounder (mûsal), and a tray (thâli), on which is placed a lighted lamp. First she waves a lump of dough five times over her son’s head; she does the same with the lota, and pours the water on the ground. Then she moves the rice-pounder five times over him, and with it touches the spot on the ground where the water was poured out. He finally salutes her with the pâêlagi form, and she says,—“Go son! Go son!” When he arrives at the bride’s door her father meets him with a new basket, the emblem of his craft, in which is a new loin-cloth dyed with turmeric. This is put on the bridegroom, and the basket is handed to one of his friends. All the friends on both sides stand at the bride’s door, beat drums and dance. In this dance the men fasten rattling bangles (ghungru) on their ankles and play on the tambourine (dafla), flute (bânsuli), and large drum (mândar), while they leap high in the air and shout. Then they retire to rest under a tree outside the village. One of the bride’s friends then comes and washes their feet, after which the boy’s father sends a loin cloth (dhoti) and one hundred cakes (pûri) to the bride. These, when they arrive, are carefully counted, and twenty-five are sent back to the bridegroom, who gives a piece to each of his friends.

7. At night the bride and bridegroom are seated in a square (chauk) in the bride’s courtyard. The father’s sister’s husbands (apparently a survival of the matriarchate) who manage the business, sit on each side of the pair. They join the hands of the boy and girl, and putting a ring of grass on her finger pour water over their hands while they cry Bar kanya chiranji rahen—“Long life to bride and bridegroom.” This is said five times, and water is poured over their hands five times. Then the pair walk five times round a branch of the cotton tree (semal) which is fixed up in the marriage shed. [319] Next a curry stone is placed before the pair and on it is laid a piece of betel-nut. The bridegroom holds the bride’s foot and knocks this off with her toe. This is known as kuri metna—“to obliterate the pile,” and is said to imply that the rule of the prohibited degrees has been observed in the marriage. [320] Next the bridegroom takes some red lead and rubs the girl with it from the tip of her nose up to the crown of her head, while her sister comes forward and collects (sendur bahorna) any loose grains in the corner of her sheet. For this she gets a fee of two annas. Next the pair go into the kohabar or retiring room, where a good deal of coarse merriment goes on at the expense of the bridegroom. [321] The ceremony winds up with a feast and the escort of the bride to her husband’s house. A day or two after bride and bridegroom take the two wedding jars (kalsa) to a neighbouring tank. The bride stands with her back to her husband and with an affectation of secrecy throws her jar into the water (kalsa dulâna). He then stands with his back to her and throws in his jar. Both proceed to search for them, and when they find them fill them with water and bring them home. On the way they rest them on the ground and pour a little of the bundiya sweetmeat made of gram flour and butter on the ground. Then they proceed to the tree under which is the shrine of Deonâth, the tribal god, and there make a fire offering (hom) with sugar and butter. This closes the marriage ritual, the binding portion of which is the application of red lead (sendurdân) to the parting of the bride’s hair. [322]

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The tribes and castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, Volume 2 (of 4)Chapter D (2)

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