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

Chapter D (10)

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[The Gujarâti Brâhmans in the Panjâb.] 5. “The Gujarâti or Byâs Brâhmans who come from Gujarât in Sindh are in some respects the highest of all Brâhmans; they are always fed first; and they bless a Gaur when they meet him, while they will not eat ordinary food from his hands. They are fed on the twelfth day after death, and the Gaurs will not eat on the thirteenth day if this has not been done. But they take inauspicious offerings. To them appertain especially the Râhu offerings made at an eclipse. They will not take oil, sesame, goats, or green or dirty clothes; but will take old clothes, if washed, buffaloes, and the seven varieties of grain (satnaja). They also take a special offering to Râhu made by a sick person, who puts gold in ghi, looks at his face in it, and gives it to a Gujarâti, or who weighs himself against satnaja and makes an offering of the grain. A buffalo which has been possessed by a devil to that degree that he has got on the top of a house (no difficult feat in a village) or a foal dropped in the month of Sâwan, or buffalo calf in Mâgh, are given to the Gujarâti as being unlucky. No Gaur would take them. At every harvest the Gujarâti takes a small allowance (seori) of grain from the threshing floor, just as does the Gaur.” [485]

[The Central India Gujarâti Brâhmans.] 6. Of the Gujarâti Brâhmans of Central India Sir J. Malcolm writes [486]:—“Some are employed in the offices of religion, while others trade and gain a respectable livelihood as writers and accountants. Many of the Mârwâr and Jodhpur Brâhmans are also traders; but the great mass from that country as well as from Udaypur are labourers and cultivators, forming indeed a very considerable proportion of the most industrious husbandmen of Central India.”

[The Gujarâti Brâhmans of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh.] 7. The Gujarâti Brâhmans of these Provinces are most numerous according to the last Census in the Upper and Central Ganges-Jumna Duâb. They trace their origin to a sacrifice said to have been performed by Râja Mûla Deva or Mûl Râj Solankhi, who reigned early in the 10th century A.D. For this rite he is said to have collected one thousand Brâhmans, of whom two hundred were Kanaujiya, one hundred from Benares, one hundred and five from the Duâb, one hundred from Mathura, one hundred Sarwariya, sixty-nine from Kurukshetra, one hundred from Ajudhya, and one hundred and thirty-two from Pushkar. He worshipped their feet and settled them in his kingdom. To some he gave Sihor, and their descendants form the Sihoriya branch; a few rejected his gifts for a time; but he persuaded them at last and gave them Cambay and twelve dependent villages. They were called Tolakiya and form a separate division. Some others he settled at Sidhpur, and they are hence called Sidhpuriya. The following is a list of the gotras of the Sidhpuriya Gujarâtis as far as it has been possible to ascertain them in these Provinces—Bhrigu, with the title Dûbê; Bhârgava, Dûbê; Kausika, Pânrê; Daribhya, Tivâri; Gautam, Dûbê; Vatsa, Thâkur; Parâsara, Dûbê; Bharadwâja, Dûbê; Sândilya, Thâkur; Saunaka, Pânrê; Vasishtha, Tivâri; Maunas, Thâkur; Jani, Garggotra; Katasas, Dûbê; Udvah, Dûbê; Krishnâtri, Dûbê; Kaudinya, Dûbê; Mandavya, Pânrê or Pandit; Upamanyu, Pânrê; Svetatreya, Dûbê. This, it will be seen, differs considerably from Mr. Sherring’s Benares lists, and illustrates the difficulty of obtaining precise information on such points.

8. The Sihoriya Gujarâtis are again divided into the following gotras:—Krishnâtri, Garga, Bharadwâja, Svetatri.

9. It is also said that after their emigration into these provinces they fell into two groups, the Bara Samudaya, or superior group, and the Chhota Samudaya, or inferior group. One colony of them, settled at Anupshahr, in the Bulandshahr District, are said to use arms like Kshatriyas, and to devote most of their time to athletic exercises, which is not the case with the ordinary Gujarâtis.

[The Nâgar Brâhmans.] 10. The Nâgar Brâhmans, again, are usually classed as a sub-tribe of the Gujarâtis. “Nâgara,” writes Dr. Wilson, [487] “is the adjective form of nagar, “a city.” It is applied to several principal castes of Brâhmans in Gujarât, getting their designations respectively from certain towns in the north-east portion of that province.” Thus there are the Vadanagara, who take their name from the city of Vadanagar, lying to the east of Anhilvâda Pattana; the Visalnagar, from the town of Visal; the Satodra, from the town of Satod, on the Narmada; the Prashnora of Prashnora; the Krishnora of Krishnapura; the Chitroda of Chitrod; the Barada, the result of a split between the Visalnagar and the Vadanagara.

11. In Gujarât [488] the “Nâgar Brâhmans will not take food from any other Brâhman, and are very strict in their observances. Of these the most strict is what is called the naven or purity in respect of food. Having bathed he dresses himself in silk or woollen clothes, or, if he is required to use cotton garments, they must be dipped in water, wrung out and dried in some place where nothing impure can touch them. Thus habited he sits down to dinner; but he must preserve himself from numerous accidents which would render him impure and compel him to desist from his meal. If he touch an earthen vessel he is impure, unless the vessel have never contained water. The touch of a piece of cotton cloth, or of a piece of leather or paper, which he may have accidentally sat down upon, renders him impure. But if Hindu letters have been written on the paper, they preserve him from defilement, because they represent Sâraswati. If, however, letters be written on cloth or leather, they remain impure. Thus, if the Gîta or any portion of Scripture be required for use at the time, it must be bound with silk and not with cotton; leather must be avoided, and instead of a common paste of flour and water the binder must employ paste of pounded tamarind seed. A printed book will not answer his purpose, because printing ink contains impure matter. Some think that the touch of a deer or tiger skin does not defile. Raw cotton does not render him impure; but if it has been twisted for the wick of a lamp by a person not in a state of ceremonial purity, it does; and, again, if it have been dipped in oil or clarified butter, it does not. Bones defile, but women’s ivory armlets do not, except in those parts of the country where they are not usually worn. The touch of a child of the same caste, who has not learned to eat grain, does not defile, but if the child have eaten grain, it does. The touch of donkey, a pig, or a dog defiles; some say that the touch of a cat also defiles; others are inclined to think it does not, because, in truth, it is not easy to keep the cat out. If a Brâhman who is pure be eating or if he has risen from eating, the touch of his person defiles another Brâhman who is pure, but has not begun his dinner.”

12. The Benares Nâgar Brâhmans are said to be divided into two distinct classes, the Bhikhshu or “mendicants,” and the Mahta. The latter opposed Mahmûd of Ghazni when he attacked Vadanagara, and thus lost the peaceful habits of life which still characterise the Bhikhshu class.

[Domestic ceremonies of the Gujarâti Brâhmans. Birth.] 13. The following account of the domestic rites of the Gujarâti Brâhmans was given by a member of the tribe resident at Mirzapur:—“When a bride after joining her husband menstruates, she becomes pure by bathing on the fourth day. At the same time she worships Ganesa and the patron goddesses of the tribe. Ganesa is worshipped with an offering of water, washed rice, sandalwood, flowers, incense, and lamps. The worship of the goddesses is more intricate. A red cloth is spread over a wooden seat (pîrha), and on it sixteen compartments are marked out with powdered rice. In each compartment is placed some rice dyed with red (rori), and on the top of each pile of rice a betel-nut. The seat is placed beside the wall of the room. On the wall a set of spots of red are made in the form of a triangle, of which the base has seven marks, diminishing by one at a time up to the apex. On these marks the woman pours an oblation of ghi. This is known as basodhara. Next the betel-nuts on the seat are worshipped with an offering of incense, lights, sandalwood, curds, sugar, and rice. This done the woman is pure and is allowed to return to her house work.

14. “When a woman becomes pregnant for the first time, and when the eighth month of pregnancy arrives, the srimant rite is performed. This is accompanied by the nandi mukh srâddha and the graha sânti—rites intended to guard the embryo from injury. Some fruit of the Dhâk and Anwla trees, millet, curd, washed rice and saffron are pounded and mixed in a ball. Then twelve betel-nuts are placed on twelve betel-leaves, and a portion of the mixture is offered to each. These twelve betel-nuts are supposed to represent the twelve relations of the unborn child, that is, six generations on the side of the father and six on that of the mother. After this a fire sacrifice (homa) is performed, and two Brâhmans are fed in the name of each of the twelve ancestors. This constitutes the nandimukh srâddha.

15. “Next the expectant father and mother make nine compartments on a board, and each of the nine planets [489] is represented by a piece of cloth of a different colour. Each of these receives an appropriate offering. Then Sâraswati is worshipped in the form of a water jar with a spout, and to her the same offerings are made as to Ganesa. Then the officiating Brâhman repeats texts and sprinkles washed rice over the father and mother, and the jar (kalasa) is worshipped with an offering of a cocoanut, the emblem of fertility, and some red cloth.

16. “A small raised platform is next made in the courtyard, and on it three lines are drawn. From each line they take a pinch of dust and throw it on the ground. Some mango wood is then lighted on the platform. On the north side is placed a sacrificial vessel made of wood and known as pranîta parokshoni. With this a mixture of five different kinds of fruits, ghi, sugar, and incense are poured upon the fire. An offering is made in this way to all the deities, and the rite concludes with the feeding of Brâhmans.

17. “When the child is born the parents are instructed by the officiating priest to worship Ganesa and the tribal goddesses in the manner already described. They then worship the knife with which the umbilical cord was cut by the midwife, and to it is made the usual offering of incense, flowers, sandalwood, as in other cases. The mother during the period of seclusion after child-birth bathes three times—on the sixth, ninth, and twelfth day. At the sixth-day bath she offers an oblation of water (argha) to the Sun-god, Sûrya. She also does this at the subsequent bathings. On the twelfth day after bathing and making the oblation, four women of the tribe move over the head of the child the family pestle in order to scare evil spirits. The Chamâr midwife attends for three days, and after that her place is taken by the wife of the barber. If the child be a boy the midwife’s fee is one rupee; for a girl four annas. On the twelfth day the Purohit or family priest produces the horoscope (janam-pattri) of the child, and is suitably rewarded.

[The grain-feeding.] 18. “When the child, if a boy, is six months’ old, the rite of “grain-feeding” (annaprâsana) is performed. Ganesa and the goddesses are worshipped in the way already described, by the parents, and then the father marks the baby’s forehead with red powder. Then the mother, or some other lady of the house, takes the child in her lap and makes it lick some rice milk from a mango leaf.

[The shaving.] 19. “In the third year the mûnran or hair shaving is done. The barber is sent for on an auspicious day and the parents do worship to his razor. After the shaving is over the child is bathed and the usual worship of Ganesa and the tribal goddesses is performed. A fire sacrifice is done by the Brâhmans.

[The ear-piercing.] 20. “In the fifth year comes the rite of ear-piercing (karnabedha). The usual worship is performed; the child’s ears are bored by a Sunâr; Brâhmans are fed, and the Sunâr gets a present.

[Investiture with the sacred cord.] 21. “In the eighth year of the boy’s life comes the upanayana or investiture with the sacred cord. The usual worship of Ganesa and the tribal goddesses is performed as already described. Then the women of the household go to the house of the potter and worship his wheel (châk), which is regarded as an emblem of fertility. From there they bring two earthen jars, which are placed in a holy square (chauk) in the courtyard. This is done some twelve days or more before the actual initiation. On the day of the rite these jars are worshipped with the same offerings as those given to Ganesa. On the day of the rite the officiating priest makes two platforms of sand and clay facing north and south. The candidate for initiation with three other Brâhman boys is seated on the platform, and is fed on milk and boiled rice. The candidate is then shaved by the barber and bathes. He takes his seat on the platform and worships Ganesa and the nine planets. Then the officiating priest invests the boy with a sacred cord made of mûnj fibre (Saccharum munja) and a deer skin, thereby implying that he has entered the stage of the Brahmachâri. He again worships Ganesa and puts off the mûnj cord and the deer skin and receives a cotton cord. Next a stick of the wood of the palâsa (Butea frondosa), to the end of which a coloured thread (raksha) is tied, is placed on his shoulder, the inference being that he has reached the Sannyâsi stage. Then the priest whispers the gâyatri mantra into his ear at the first platform known as the upanayana and at the second (rambha vedi); he again worships Ganesa, and the priest putting some rice in a dish with his finger writes on it the gâyatri mantra. He is then made to do the fire sacrifice with the recital of the appropriate texts. Next the priest sprinkles the boy from the sacred jars with a bunch of kusa grass. In this water he bathes and cleans his teeth. He dresses, takes a bamboo stick (dand), and pretends to go to Benares to learn. He is dissuaded from doing this by his maternal uncle, who promises to get him married. With the final worship of the tribal goddesses the rite concludes.

[Marriage rites.] 22. “The age for marriage is fourteen or sixteen for a boy and nine or ten for a girl. After the preliminary comparison of the horoscopes a day is fixed for the betrothal (sagâi). This is done by the girl’s father sending to the father of the boy through his priest or some relative a sum in money, a cocoanut, and some sweetmeats. A piece of ground is plastered in the boy’s courtyard, and upon that he sits and worships Ganesa. The girl’s representative marks his forehead with red (rori) and puts the presents in the corner of his robe (dopatta), while the friends who have been admitted to the ceremony chant songs. The boy eats the sweetmeats and the friends are entertained. This completes the betrothal.

23. “After this the boy’s father sends invitations to the persons who are asked to attend the procession (bârât). Distant friends usually come four days before the date fixed for this event. Then the boy’s father informs the father of the bride of the date fixed for the rite of “setting up the little and the great Ganesa,” presently to be described, and for the marriage.

24. “The bridegroom, his father and other friends go to the house of the bride four days before the wedding day. They are lodged in a garden or empty house close by. On their arrival some sharbat is sent for their refreshment from the house of the bride. Then the two fathers meet and embrace. Contrary to usual custom the ladies of the bridegroom’s family also go on this occasion. They are also treated to sharbat by the ladies of the bride’s household, and the mothers of the pair meet and embrace. Then the bride’s father sets up in his courtyard a pole of bamboo fixed in the direction of the sun as pointed out by the family astrologer. On this pole wooden images of birds, parrots, etc., are fixed. The pole is stained with turmeric and near it is placed a water jar (kalsa) and a cocoanut. The technical name of the pole is stambha. In the room of the house reserved for the worship of the tribal goddesses two water jars are placed; one represents the great Ganesa, Bara Ganesa; the other the little Ganesa, Chhota Ganesa. Near them is a wooden seat (pîrha), on which is laid a cocoanut covered with a piece of red cloth. This represents some woman of the family who in former times has committed Sati. The father and mother of the bride offer to this Sati washed rice, sandalwood, water, flowers, and a burnt offering (homa). Then the Navagraha or the nine planets are worshipped in the courtyard, and the father and mother of the bride, after bathing and putting on new clothes, do the fire sacrifice before them. Next all the ladies of the family and their female friends go to the potter’s house and worship his wheel (châk) with water, washed rice, sandal, incense, flowers, and a lamp, and smear it with red powder (rori). Then they take twenty-eight jars from the potter, and on each of them a representation of Ganesa is made. The potter receives a suitable present. In each of these pitchers betel-nut and washed rice is placed, and on the mouth of each a small earthen saucer (matuki) is laid. The pitchers are then arranged in a square, seven on each side, and each row is bound together with a piece of bamboo. This is known as chauri. Inside this square the pair are made to sit. Before she takes her seat her mother and four other women of the tribe sprinkle her with a mixture of oil and turmeric from a wisp of kusa grass. The other women sing songs while this is being done. Then her body is rubbed with barley-flour, turmeric, and oil. The same rite is gone through for the boy in the place (janwânsa) where he is staying with his friends.

25. “When the lucky time for the marriage comes the pair are dressed in new clothes and a crown (maur, mukut) is placed on their heads. The boy goes to the house of the bride mounted on a mare. At the bride’s door is placed a pole on which are hung some wooden images of birds. This the bridegroom knocks down with a stick—possibly a survival of marriage by capture. This pole is known as toran. When the bridegroom alights his mother-in-law comes to the door, holds him by his nose, and leading him in marks his forehead with red powder. Then he takes his seat in the square of vessels and does the fire sacrifice. The bride also comes into the square and sits on his left side. She also does a fire sacrifice. Then some henna (menhdi) is powdered and rubbed on her hands, and the hands of the bridegroom are laid on her hands, while the priest recites the appropriate verses. Their robes are knotted together and they walk four times round the fire and do the fire sacrifice. Then they go into the family oratory and worship the household deities, and the bride goes with the bridegroom to the place where his party are staying, and there worships his family gods.

26. “Next morning the bridegroom bathes, and puts on a silk (pitambar) loin-cloth. The bride puts on a similar dress, and her husband comes to her house and sits in the square (chauri) already described. The bride sits on his left, and her mother lays before them a dish of boiled rice and milk. Each of the pair feeds the other with this. This is known as the “rite of the fourth” (chaturthi karma). The dowry is next paid over; and if the bride is nubile, which is usually the case, she returns to his house with her husband. Next day he worships the Ganges or some other river, and the marriage rites come to an end.”

[Death ceremonies.] 27. The dead are cremated in the ordinary way. When the burning is over the chief mourner offers to the spirit of the deceased a jar of water and a lamp for his use during the period of mourning. This pitcher he breaks with a stone. The stone is placed at the ghât where the chief mourner usually bathes. For ten days he pours water and sesamum (tilanjuli) on the stone, and on the tenth day, after offering a holy ball (pinda), he throws the stone into the river or tank near which it has been placed. On the eleventh day he offers eleven pindas, and the tribesmen are fed. On the twelfth day is the pitra nirauni, when four pindas are offered; three in the name of deceased ancestors and one in the name of the deceased. After offering them the chief mourner says:—“The deceased has now joined his sainted ancestors.” Brâhmans are then fed. On the thirteenth day the chief mourner worships Ganesa, the nine planets, and the water jar (kalasa). The oldest man in the family marks his forehead, and he is invested with a turban, showing that he has taken the place of the dead man. Then he pours the water out of the sacred jar at the root of a nîm tree. Verses are repeated, and the rites are concluded with the worship of the tribal deity and the feeding of Brâhmans.

DISTRIBUTION OF GUJARÂTI BRÂHMANS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

Gurchha; Gurchhiya; Gorchha. [490]—A small tribe numbering only 963 persons and confined to the Kheri District. It is said that they were formerly known as Kules or Kalhans Chhatris, and having emigrated to Kheri from Gorakhpur they were known as Gorakhiya, which was subsequently corrupted into Gorchha. They say they came originally from Chithor and emigrated thence to Gorakhpur. They were once six brothers. When some enemy attacked them only two of the brothers assailed him and when they returned successful, they ejected their four cowardly brothers from their possessions, and the latter were obliged to leave their original home. Those in Kheri have severed all connections with their brethren elsewhere. They also say that they had once a set of annals of their race which was destroyed by fire when in charge of one Jaddan Gorchha.

[Marriage rules.] 2. Few of them can name any of their sub-castes or gotras. The Census lists give Kalhans, Kanaujiya, and Subhân. Their rule of exogamy is that they cannot marry the children of their maternal uncle, and cannot marry their sons in a family to which they have already given a daughter as a bride. There is no restriction as to the number of wives a man may have; but they seldom have more than two. Immorality on the part of a girl before marriage is reprobated; if she intrigue with a clansman, her parents are obliged to pay a fine and give a feast; if her lover be a man of another caste, she is permanently expelled from the tribe. Marriage takes place at the age of ten or twelve, and is arranged by the parents of the couple. The bride is generally given some presents at marriage, which remain her own property. The offspring of connections with an outsider are not received in the tribe; and they do not admit strangers to caste rights. The levirate seems to be practically compulsory on the widow, who always lives with a relative of her late husband.

[Birth ceremonies.] 3. There is no ceremony during pregnancy. When a child is born a barber is sent to the house of the mother of the bride to announce the fact; this is known as lochana bhejna, and he receives a present and takes back with him some clothes, food, etc., for the mother. The mother is isolated for twelve days after delivery, and they have the usual sixth (chhathi) and twelfth day (barahi) ceremonies. In the third or sixth month the paternal aunt of the child is expected to make it a present of clothes, etc., and a sheet for the mother. In the third year the ceremonial shaving (mûndan) of the child takes place; and in the third, fifth, or seventh year, its ears are bored (kanchhedan). They have no special adoption or initiation ceremony.

[Marriage customs.] 4. The marriage customs are of the usual respectable form.

[Religion.] 5. Gurchhas are orthodox Hindus and worship Devi, Mahâdeva and Parameswar. Devi receives a sacrifice of goats, rams, and a burnt offering (hom) of butter, rice, barley, and sugar. To Mahâdeva are offered leaves of the bel tree and milk. To Parameswar they present cocoanuts, butter, betel leaves, milk, and sweetmeats. Devi is served by a Panda, Mahâdeva by a Gusâîn, Parameswar by a Brâhman. Those who are Bhagats offer only the ear of the victim. They do not kill the cow or eat beef, and will not cut down the pîpal or bel tree.

[Social rules.] 6. They drink spirits and eat goats, sheep, hares, fish, etc., but not fowls, jackals, or other vermin. When eating they offer a little to Bhagwân by throwing a morsel on the ground. They will not eat kachchi or pakki from any one but a clansman. They say they were once landholders; now they are only tenants, and some work as labourers and makers of mats.

Gurkha, Gorkha (gâu-raksha, “keepers of cows”).—The name for an aggregate of various races who inhabit the numerous valleys interspersed through the mountains of Nepâl. “The aboriginal inhabitants appear from their physiognomy to be of Tartar or Chinese origin, bearing no resemblance to the Hindu either in features, religion, or manners. The period when the mountainous regions were first invaded by the Hindus is uncertain; but according to the most authentic traditions, the date is supposed to have been about the 14th century. In the eastern part of the country the aboriginal tribes still remain; and, until the predominance of the Gurkhas, they enjoyed unmolested their customs and religion. But west of the Kâli river the case is different, almost all the inhabitants claiming a descent from Hindu colonists. They accordingly consist chiefly of the two superior classes of Hindus, Brâhmans, and Kshatriyas, with their various sub-divisions. East of the Kâli the tribes which possessed the country were chiefly (1) Magars, who occupied the lower hills in the western parts, and are at present enlisted by the Gurkha sovereigns, composing a great majority of their troops; (2) the Gurungs, a pastoral tribe; (3) the Newârs, an industrious people, following agriculture and commerce, and more advanced in the mechanical arts than the other mountain tribes; (4) the Dhenwârs and Mânjhis, the husbandmen and fishers of the western districts; (5) the Bhotiyas; (6) the Bhanras, a sept which branched off from the Newârs; (7) the Jariyas.” [491]

DISTRIBUTION OF THE GURKHAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

Gusâîn; Gosâîn [492]—(Sanskrit gosvâmin, “lord of cows,” or “one who is master of his senses or organs”).—A term which is often used in an uncertain sense. Thus in the Panjâb Mr. Maclagan [493] writes:—

“The term may, roughly speaking, be said to denote an ascetic of any order, but with a slight implication that the ascetic is a man of some standing and influence. This, however, is by no means the universal meaning of the term; it is often used for a Sannyâsi and as often for a Bairâgi; not unfrequently it seems to denote a separate order different from either; and often the Brâhmans alone are considered entitled to be called Gosâins. On the whole, the commonest use of the word appears to be that which refers to the Bairâgis, who are of high caste, such as the Brâhmans.”

2. It would seem that in this part of India the term Gusâîn is generally restricted to the spiritual descendants of the famous Sankar Achârya. The common account is that Sankar Achârya had four disciples, Sarûpa Achârya, Padma Achârya, Naratroka Achârya, and Prithi Udra Achârya. The first, Sarûpa, was sent by the master towards Dwârika, and he had two disciples, Tîrtha and Asrama. Nanda Brahmachâri was their teacher. These Gosâîns do not wear sewed clothes, and have garments dyed in ochre. They will not eat kachchi cooked by any caste except Brâhmans, but will accept pakki from Banyas, Kâyasths, and the like. They do not pass more than one night in ordinary villages, but may stay three nights at regular places of pilgrimage. Their chief sacred places are Benares, Ajudhya, and Mathura. They do not touch with their hands any kind of metal, nor do they cook their own food, because they are prohibited from touching fire. They do not use intoxicating liquors or tobacco, and do not eat fish or meat of any kind. They carry a begging bowl (kamandal), wear a rosary of rudrâksha seeds, and smear their faces with ashes (bhabhût). They specially worship Nârâyana, and admit none but Brâhman initiates. They bury their dead. A grave is dug with a niche towards the south, in which an alms bowl is placed. The face of the corpse is turned towards the niche, and the body is covered with an ochre-coloured cloth. The grave is filled up with salt and a pot (nâd) placed at the top, which is covered with an earthen mound (samâdh). There are no further death ceremonies, except that after a year or two a feast (bhandâr) is given to the brethren.

3. The second disciple, Padma Achârya, had two disciples, Vana and Aranya, and Chetan Brahmachâri was their teacher. Their mode of life is like that of the Tîrtha and Asrama, but some of them have some property in Gonda and Bahrâich, which was granted to them by one of the Mughal Emperors.

4. Naratroka had three disciples, Parvata, Giri, and Sâgara, and their teacher was Sarûpa Brahmachâri. The Barua, who are found in the Rohilkhand Districts, are said to be connected with these.

5. Prithi Udra Achârya is said to have had three disciples, Ahoni, Bhârati, and Giri.

6. These ten sections, which are generally given as Tîratha, Asrama, Vana, Aranya, Sârasvati, Puri, Bhârati, Giri, Parvata, and Sâgara, constitute what is known as the Dasnâmi Gusâîns. The last Census classes under the head Gusâîn the Brindabani, Dasnâmi, Gauriya, Gokulastha, Niranjani, Râdhavallabhi, which have been separately discussed.

7. Gusâîns are both ascetics and family men; the former are generally known as Kutichâr, Asandhâri, or Mathdhâri, and the latter Grihastha. The head of the ascetic branch is called a Mahant, and he is generally appointed by the votes of his disciples (Chela). [494]

Mr. Sherring [495] describes the mode of initiation as follows:—

“The candidate is generally a boy, but may be an adult. At the Sivarâtri festival water brought from a tank in which an image has been deposited is applied to the head of the novitiate, which is thereupon shaved.

“The Guru or spiritual guide whispers to the disciple a sacred text (mantra). In honour of the event all the Gusâîns in the neighbourhood assemble together, and give their new member their blessing; and a sweetmeat called laddu, made very large, is distributed among them. The novitiate is now regarded as a Gusâîn, but he does not become a perfect one until the Vijaya Homa has been performed, at which a Gusâîn famous for religion and learning gives him the original mantra of Siva. The ceremony generally occupies three days at Benares. On the first day, the Gusâîn is again shaved, leaving a tuft on the head (Chundi sikha). For that day he is considered a Brâhman, and is obliged to beg at a few houses. On the second day he is held to be a Brahmachâri, and wears coloured garments and also the sacred cord (janeû). On the third day the janeû is taken from him and the headlock cut off. The mantra of Siva is made known to him, and also the Rudri Gâyatri (not the usual one daily pronounced by Brâhmans). He is now a full Gusâîn or Vanaprasta, is removed from other persons, and abandons the secular world. Henceforth he is bound to observe all the tenets of the Gusâîns. The complete Gusâîns who have performed the ceremony of the Vijaya Homa are celibates. It is customary, therefore, for men not to perform it until they are forty or fifty years of age, as it involves the abandonment of their wives and families.”

Among the trading Gusâîns the Mahant of Mirzapur, who belongs to the Giri section, was for a long time notorious among the merchants of Northern India. Such Gusâîns have practically abandoned all claim to living a religious life, and exercise no priestly functions. When a Mahant dies his corpse is taken in a sitting posture to the Ganges, where it is bathed and barley is sprinkled over it. It is then inclosed in a stone coffin, which is taken on a barge to the middle of the river, and consigned to the sacred water.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE DASNÂMI GUSÂÎNS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

Habashi; Habshi—(Arabic habash, “to collect or congregate”).—A general term for all persons of Abyssinian, Kâfir, or negro blood. They are Muhammadans. Their sections, according to the complete Census lists, show a curious mixture. Beside the Chauhân section we have purely Muhammadan names, such as Abbâsi, Hanafi, Sayyid, and Shaikh.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE HABASHIS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

Hâbûra. [496]—A vagrant thieving tribe found chiefly in the Central Ganges-Jumna Duâb. The derivation of the name is very uncertain. It possibly means a “bugaboo” (hawwa, which is probably through the Prakrit the representative of the Sanskrit bhûta “an evil spirit”), expressive of the fear in which they are held by their neighbours. Ethnologically the Hâbûras are no doubt very closely connected with the regular gypsy tribes of Sânsiya and Bhâtu; in fact there seems reason to believe that these have only become quite recently endogamous groups, and even now it is asserted that they occasionally marry. Though the Hâbûras are now in much a superior grade to the Beriyas, who live by prostituting their women, both the tribes have the same traditional connection with the old ruined city of Noh-khera to the north of Pargana Jalesar, in the Etah District, and many of the gangs who traverse that part of the country make their way to Noh-khera during the rainy season and there arrange marriages and other caste matters in a series of general tribal councils.

[Legends of origin.] 2. According to one story their ancestor was a certain Rig who one day went out hunting and pursued a hare into the forest retreat then occupied by Sîta in her exile. She was so offended at the intrusion, that she cursed him that all his descendants were to be wanderers and live by the chase. By another account they were once Chauhân Râjputs who lived at Jartauli in the Aligarh District. They rebelled against the Emperor, and Alâ-ud-dîn sent a force to coerce them. They were defeated, and most of them had to take refuge in the jungle, where they lived on the game they killed. Meanwhile some of their brethren compromised with the Emperor and returned to their homes. They ascertained that one of their wild kinsmen had died, so they went to see his widow become sati. When she was brought out she saw a hare and immediately started after it with cries of hau! hau! whence the tribe was called Hâbûra. The respectable Chauhâns were so disgusted with her impiety that they excommunicated all the savage branch of the tribe, and they have remained outcastes to the present day.

[Tribal organization.] 3. They usually name four exogamous septs which are all named after well-known Râjput tribes—Solanki Chauhân, Punwâr, and Bhatti, also called Râthaur. The Census Returns give a list of sections which illustrate the mixed elements out of which the caste has been formed,—Ajudhyabâsi, Baddhik, Bahâdsiya, Bahâli, Bahâniya, Bâhas, Banjâra, Banohra, Banwâr or Banwariya, Barchandi, Chauhân, Chiryamâr or “bird-killers,” Dâli, Dom, Gauriya, Hindubalana, Jadwâr, Kalkanaur, Kârgar or Kârigar, Khauna, Khaurkhâl, Lodh, Mardârbatti, Mârwâr, Nahâli, Nandak, Phârli, and Tahali. These septs are exogamous. In Bijnor they are said to have two endogamous sub-divisions: those who wear a bead necklace (kanthi) and those who do not. According to another account their only rule of exogamy is that they do not marry blood relations, and it is very doubtful how far the sept system really prevails. There is some reason to believe that all or at least some of them practise a sort of group exogamy, not marrying in their own camp or horde. They have a strong tribal council (panchâyat) under a president (sardâr), who manages all caste business.

[Marriage.] 4. It is quite certain that up to modern times they were in the habit of recruiting the clan by kidnapping girls of other castes; since they have been placed under more careful supervision this has, it is believed, in a great measure ceased, but there seems good reason to believe, though the Hâbûras themselves are very reticent on the subject, that they still introduce and marry in the tribe outcast women of other castes. In Bijnor it is reported that people of other castes introduced into the tribe in this way hold a lower social position than the Hâbûras of legitimate descent. For a virgin bride the price fixed by the tribal custom and payable by the father of the bridegroom is twenty-five rupees, and he has also to pay the expenses of the marriage feasting. The feeling against inter-tribal immorality appears to be strong, and it is said that a man who seduces a married woman has to pay as much as one hundred and twenty rupees before he will be readmitted to caste. On the other hand the girls have considerable liberty before marriage, and a faux pas is not very seriously dealt with. Their women from their vagrant, mendicant life naturally bear an indifferent character; but though not particularly virtuous, they are not habitually prostituted by their male relatives as the Beriya women are. Widows and divorced women are married in the tribe according to the karâo or dharîcha form, and their children are regarded as legitimate.

[Marriage ceremonies.] 5. The marriage is arranged by a go-between, who is a member of the tribe and is called bichauliya. He takes two rupees from the boy’s father to the father of the girl, and acceptance of this constitutes the betrothal. If the relations of the bride break the engagement they are fined from ten to twenty rupees by the tribal council, and return the earnest money to the relations of the boy. The marriage ritual is entirely carried out by the father of the girl and the man who acted as marriage broker. No Brâhman is employed, and all that is done is that the pair acknowledge in the presence of the tribesmen that they are man and wife, and they then make five or seven revolutions together round the marriage shed. In Etah a curious form of marriage is reported. When the friends on both sides assemble, one of the men mounts a horse and rides some distance on the plain close to the camp. All the others, men and women, pursue him, and meanwhile the bridegroom being left alone with the bride carries her into a grass hut prepared for the purpose and immediately consummates the marriage. When the friends return the event is celebrated with singing and dancing. The ceremony at widow-marriage is the same as that prevailing among other low castes.

[Birth.] 6. The mother during her confinement is attended by a midwife of the Bhangi caste, and after that by the women of her own family. They perform the usual sixth day ceremony (chhathi), and on the tenth day the mother is taken to worship the well from which the family supply of water is obtained. This is known as kuân pûja.

[Death ceremonies.] 7. Like the Beriyas, the Hâbûras are in the intermediate stage between burial and cremation. In Mathura they either cremate or throw the corpse into the Jumna. In Bijnor they either bury or expose the corpse in the jungle. In no case is the Mahâbrâhman called in. In Mathura when they cremate the dead they leave the ashes where the corpse was burnt. They cover the corpse with cloth, tie it to the bier, and fasten a number of wheaten cakes to it before they set fire to the pyre. Then, on the next Monday or Thursday, whichever comes first, the mourners are shaved and a dinner is given to those members of the caste who joined in the funeral. On the twelfth day some uncooked grain is given to Brâhmans and the brethren are feasted. Then, in the month of Kuâr which next follows, on the date corresponding to that of the death of the deceased, they do themselves a sort of srâddha and pour water on the ground in the name of the dead. On this occasion, too, uncooked grain is given to Brâhmans and the relatives are entertained. In Aligarh, when they are well off and cremate the dead, the relatives make an earthen platform on the site of the pyre, and there they make periodical oblations in the name of the dead. From Etah it is reported that when a man dies at home he is cremated, the bones are buried on the spot, and a masonry platform erected over them. If a man dies at a distance from home his bones are brought to one of the regular camping places of the tribe, and are there buried as above described. From the date of the burial of the bones the days of mourning, including the Tîja or third day and the Terahwîn or thirteenth, are fixed. The tombs of old men of the tribe are specially venerated, and they are recognised as tribal godlings. When the bones of an old and respected member of the tribe are being buried, the senior man of the tribe who is present makes a sort of funeral oration in which he dwells on the fact that the Hâbûras are the only really free people in the country, as they are subject to none; and he thus shows in detail how much superior they are even to Brâhmans and Râjputs. Part of the speech is devoted to explaining one by one in what respect other castes are inferior to them, and he ends by imploring Parameswar that if it is fated that the soul of the dead man is to be born again, he may be reborn as a Hâbûra.

[Religion.] 8. All the Hâbûras in these Provinces call themselves Hindus; but, as we have seen, they accept little or no service from Brâhmans. In Aligarh it is said that when a boy reaches the age of twelve they initiate him before a Jogi and then begin to train him in thieving. In Bijnor they usually worship Kâli Bhawâni. In Mathura they have a local goddess, Kela Devi, to whom they make offerings in the months of Kûar and Chait. These offerings are consumed by the worshippers. But it is only on special occasions that they sacrifice a buffalo or goat in her honour. This sacrifice is done at the house of the person making the offerings; the goddess has no regular temple. The victim is killed in her name, and the flesh distributed among the relatives and friends. They celebrate the usual holidays—Salono, Holi, Diwâli, and Dasahra. They never go to Gaya to propitiate the sacred dead, but they bathe in the Ganges in their honour, and in Mathura visit for the same purpose the temple of Dâûji.

[Social status and occupation.] 9. Like the Beriyas they appear to be in a transitional stage as regards food. In Aligarh, it is reported that they will eat almost any kind of food—the goh or iguana, the sânda or lizard found in ûsar plains, the hedgehog, jackal, wild cat, tortoise, buffalo, and deer; and that there are only four castes from whose hands they will not take food—the Chamâr, Bhangi, Dhobi, and Kalâr. They will not eat the cow or the donkey, and they have this much respect for the cow that they will not geld an ox with their own hands. It is also asserted that they do not drink spirits, which is almost certainly incorrect. In Bijnor they drink spirits and eat pork, fowls, the flesh of deer and goats, fish, the crocodile, jackal, and other vermin, as well as the leavings of all respectable Hindus. They will drink from the hands of all Hindus except Chamârs, Bhangis, Kanjars, Sânsiyas, and the like. In Mathura they assert that they have given up the use of vermin and eat the flesh of all cloven-footed animals, except the cow, and fowls, and fish. As in other places, they will eat the leavings of all high caste Hindus. The fact is that there are two classes of Hâbûras: those who have settled down to agriculture and become fairly respectable members of society, and those who still preserve their vagrant mode of life. The former are gradually shedding off the filthy habits and customs of their vagrant brethren under the example of the Hindu castes by whom they are surrounded. By and by as they become more civilised they will assert a descent from Râjputs, and will, as they rise in the world, be accepted as such. From Etah it is reported that if a member of the tribe commits an offence such as theft or immorality, he is excommunicated for a certain time and is not admitted until he draws blood from some part of his body, usually the nose. Women are not allowed to eat goat’s flesh or rice, or to partake in the funeral feasts. If any woman touches this food of the dead she is expelled from the caste.

10. They do not use any medicine in disease but pray to Devi and Zâhir Pîr. They attribute disease to the displeasure of their deceased ancestors who have not been suitably propitiated. They have much fear of the Evil Eye, and their remedy for it is to get a Faqîr or a Jogi to blow on a vessel of water, which is then waved over the head of the patient. In Aligarh if a woman is caught committing adultery with a stranger to the tribe she is branded three times on the left arm with a hot iron and has then to bathe in the Ganges, while her husband is obliged to feast the brethren. Her paramour is not punished. When a boy is born he is named on the tenth day by a Brâhman, who receives five sers of grain. Then some wheat porridge is cooked with coarse sugar and eaten only by the women. As a rule they are truthful among themselves, but lie to others to procure the release of a clansman. Their oaths are as follows:—The most binding is to light a lamp (chirâgh) and then blow it out. By this he means,—“If I lie may my family be destroyed as I blow out the light.” If a Hâbûra can be induced to take this oath, he will never lie. Another is to cut the root of a pîpal tree. The third is swearing by Devi.

[Criminal habits.] 11. The vagrant branch of the tribes supplies some of the most audacious criminals in the Province. A recent report says:—“They are the pest of the neighbourhoods which they frequent, are continually pilfering, robbing standing crops, attacking carts and passengers along the roads, committing robberies and even dakaities.” It is preposterous to connect them, as has been done in this report, with the Thârus, a particularly harmless, inoffensive race inhabiting the Himalayan Tarâi. The boys are trained at first on field robbery, and are then taken out on excursions for the purpose of burglary. When they go to rob fields the gang consists of not less than twenty men. When out for the purpose of burglary eight or nine go together. Unlike the Sânsiyas the Hâbûras very seldom use violence except to save themselves from arrest, and they never carry any weapons but bludgeons. Mr. A. O. Hume [497] writes of them:—“They never worship Thâkurji except in sickness or great misfortune, such as the visit of the Police or of a Magistrate to their camp. At no time is their ritual a complicated one; it consists of an extraordinary manipulation with grains of wheat, the petitioners making at the same time a vow of sacrificing a goat or a fowl, which is subsequently performed by half roasting the offering in a flame of ghi in which salt and frankincense are thrown, and then feasting upon it. If a crime has been committed and traced to any horde, the chief immediately determines who are to be given up. Usually a compromise is made with the Police; two out of six or three out of eight are made over to justice, the rest escaping. All the chief does is to repeat a form of words, and then taking two of the grains of wheat offered to the god, he places them on the head of the scapegoat. The oath of the brotherhood is upon him, and whether he be guilty or not, he confesses to the Magistrate or Judge and goes to the gallows or to a lifelong exile confident that his chief and brethren will, as they are bound, feed and protect his wife and children that he leaves behind even before their own. Marriage seems scarcely to be with them a religious ceremony; it consists in placing four small coins in a figure of diamond shape outside which a circle is drawn, and round this the bride and bridegroom walk seven times.”

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The tribes and castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, Volume 2 (of 4)Chapter D (10)

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