CASTES

Source: http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/BULDHANA/people_castes.html

[My addition: The qualities of a Brahmin are given in the Bhagavad-gita:

samo damas tapah saucam
ksantir arjavam eva ca
jnanam vijnanam astikyam
brahma-karma svabhava-jam

“Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness–these are the natural qualities by which the brahmanas work.” (Bhagavad-gita 18.42)]

The Hindu Society is replete with sociological groups with varying degrees of respectability and circles of social intercourse. In recent decades, however, the rigidity of caste barriers has abated considerably, and caste as an institution perpetuating social exclusiveness has lost its former significance. With a view to discourage caste consciousness there has been no castewise enumeration since the Census of 1951. However, the hold of caste on Indian life is still found to be so deep that a working knowledge of the important caste groups in the district may be considered useful.

The Buldhana District Gazetteer published in 1910 has given a very vivid account of the various castes in the district. This account may not reflect the current picture of the caste groups. But it is of considerable interest from the functional, sociological and cultural point of view. Hence, a few passages from the old edition are reproduced below.

As in the other Berar Districts the great cultivating caste of the Kunbis preponderates. Next in numerical importance are the Mahars, and the Malis. The Malis are an important cultivating caste while the Mahars are chiefly employed as agricultural labourers or on menial posts and as village watchmen; the weaving of coarse cotton cloth is also a speciality of the caste. Other castes strongly represented in the District are Brahmans, Dhangars, Wanis, Wanjaris, Rajputs, Telis and Mangs. The Brahmans occupy the highest social position; they hold high Government appointments and are also largely represented among the village accountants. The Dhangars follow their traditional occupation of tending sheep and are also engaged in agriculture. The Wanis are in a small way the chief traders and money-lenders, and in their latter capacity they have obtained a hold over much valuable land. The Wanjaris, whatever their origin may have been, have now settled down to agriculture, and it is probable that the bulk of the Rajputs and Telis are likewise engaged. The Mangs are the well-known menial caste. The Kolis (9,000), have also taken to agriculture. The village servant and artisan castes are represented by the Malis, Chambhars, Sonars, Sutars, Shimpis, Lohars and Dohors.

The Baris are the pan cultivators, and the Marathas follow a variety of occupations. The Banjaras are the remnants of the old caste of carriers whom the advent of the railway has gradually driven to other pursuits.

Social Position of the Various Castes.— The following table was drawn up by Mr. Kitts in 1880 to show the relative social position, good or inferior of the chief castes [The castes marked with an asterisk are of mentioned in Mr. Kitts' table.]: —

Castes of good social standing	Castes of inferior social standing
Brahman	Sutar, Lohar, Jirayat*
Rajput	Hatgar, Koshti, Rangari
Kayastha and Prabhu	Beldar, Kumbhar, Panchal
Wani	Kalal
Vidur, Golak*	Teli, Dhangar
Gurav, Jangam	Mhali
Gosavi, Bairagi, Jogi, Joshi	Gondhali
Bhat, Thakur	Koli, Andh*, Gond*
Sonar, Kasar	Bhoi
Manbhav	Dhobi
Shimpi	Pathrats*, Takaris*
Kunbi	Banjara
Gavli, Wanjari, Mali	Kolhati, Pardhi
Bari, Lodhi	Burud, Khatik, Waddar
	Borekar
	Chambhar, Dohor
	Mahar, Bedar
	Mang, Bhangi*

Castes of good social standing.— In social position the Brahman stands first. ' He is ', says Manu, ' by right the Chief of this whole creation. He is born above the world, the chief of all creatures' The Kayastha and Prabhu are regarded, probably by reason of their hereditary occupation, as superior to the Wanis or trading castes. Among the latter the traders from Gujarat take the highest social rank; and those from Marwad are placed above the Komtis, Lads, and Lingayat Wanis. After the Wanis come the half-castes, Vidur and Golak, who get this position by reason of the Brahman blood in their veins. According to some authorities, the Kunbi ranks next after those already mentioned: according to others, his place is lower. Kunbis, however, in many parts of Bcrar, have a higher social status than they possess in parts of the adjoining Presidency. Jangams and Udasis rank with Wanis. Guravs, the attendants in the temples of Shiva and Maruti, are slightly inferior to them, and below the Guravs come the religious mendicants. Bairagis, the smaller and more fanatical sect, are ranked below Gosavis. After the Bhats and Thakurs, or village bards and genealogists, come the highest artisan castes, those of the Sonar, Kasar, and Tambat castes, or workers in gold, brass and copper, respectively. Other artisans rank below the Kunbi. The position assigned to the Manbhavs is questionable. The Shimpi, or tailor caste, is also ranked above the Kunbi: it owes its position in some measure to the general intelligence and education diffused among its members. The castes of weavers and dyers resemble it in this respect. Although the Kunbi is ranked below the castes already mentioned, his position is certainly much lower than would be claimed by, or conceded to, many divisions of the caste. The Gujar, for example, takes rank above other agriculturists; but a Kunbi who claims Rajput descent and probably also a Kunbi who calls himself a Maratha, would object to yield him this precedence. The precedence among the different divisions of a caste is certainly as intricate a question and as difficult to determine as the social position of the caste as a whole. A ' Maratha' deshmukh often rejects the name of Kunbi altogether: he would scorn to be classed with the base-born Akaramase, and would probably claim a position immediately succeeding that of the Rajput. The Kunbi of Berar corresponds with the Kapu, or cultivator caste of Tel'angana, and the Vellalar of the Tamil country. Almost on a par with the Kunbis in social estimation, although generally less prosperous, are the Gavlis. With them are ranked the Wanjaris, a well-to-do and respected caste engaged in agriculture; they claim to be, and locally are distinct from the Banjara-carrying castes, in rites, customs, dress and features. They are slightly superior to the Malis. Inferior to the latter caste are the Baris and Lodhis. All these castes are of good social position, although the precise place at which the dividing line should be drawn must necessarily be a matter of somewhat arbitrary choice.

Castes of inferior social position.—The Sutar, or carpenter, is sometimes considered superior to the worker in brass or copper: the Lohar, with whom the Jirayat is on a par, is the lowest of the large artisan castes. The weavers and dyers rank next, Hatgars, or Bangi Dhangars, being however a higher caste than other Dhan-gars. Then follow the remaining artisan castes, the Beldar, Kum-bhar and Panchal. The Beldars are a mixed race; their name means the mattock workers: their position is therefore questionable, and varies from part to part. Some Beldars are said to be remnants of Pendharis. The Kumbhars, or potters, are a caste of long standing in the land, who have probably sunk lower at each invasion. The worship of the potter's wheel, and the invocation of a potter as a layer of ghosts, indicate a feeling which can scarcely be of recent origin. Shalivahan, the legendary founder of the Maratha nation, was according to some accounts, a Kumbhar. ' His mother,' says a legend quoted by Grand Duff, was ' the virgin daughter of a Brahman,' who becoming pregnant by a snake of a sacred kind ' (? by a man of the Nagvanshi race) was in consequence ' supposed to be disgraced, and was driven from her father's threshold; but she was received into the house of a potter, by whom she was protected. The Panchals and Ghisadis are rough ironsmiths; they owe their low social rank to their poverty and vagrant habits. The Pathrats also belong to the same social stratum: they are a poor people: their lowly position shows that stone-dressing is not so honourable an occupation as metal-working or carpentry. The Kalal owes his low rank to his reprehensible calling: a priest may not eat the food of one who sells fermented liquors: drinking is one of the six faults which bring infamy on married women; and even eating what has been brought in the same basket with spirituous liquor is an offence which causes defilement. The Telis, on a par with whom are the Tambolis, are decidedly inferior to the large agricultural castes. The distinction between Tili and Teli, observed in Bengal, is unknown in Berar: although there are divisions, of which the Rathod Teli is the higher, within the caste itself. The Dhangars or tenders of sheep and goats, naturally rank below the Gavlis or cow-herds. The Halbis, who in Berar are a weaving rather than an agricultural caste, are socially on a par with Dhangars. Mhalis, or Hajams, probably owe their low position to their being village servants, obliged not only to shave the community, but also they act occasionally as torch-bearers or as personal attendants. The low position assigned to the Gondhalis, the sect devoted to nocturnal song and vigil in honour of the local goddess Hinglaj Bhavani, marks the contempt inspired by neo-Brahmanism for the older local cult. The Kolis would scarcely take precedence of the Bhois, but that part of their number were reclaimed from a wild life at an earlier period than the rest; they ' have among them several substantial' patels, and they have fairly reached the agricultural ' stage of society here'. The Bhoi, or fishermen caste, ranks below the Koli. The Warthi or Dhobi, or village washerman, comes low down on the social scale, probably because of his calling. The castes which remain belong to a much lower level than any of the preceding. They are not so much socially inferior, as beyond social notice altogether. The Banjaras come first and if the Wanjaris were originally the same people as the Banjaras, they have certainly achieved a wonderful rise in social rank, amid a population very conservative of social distinctions and differences. Decidedly inferior to the Banjaras, in the esteem of their neighbours, are the Kolhatis and Kaikadis; the Chitrakathis, who are vagrant mendicants; the Pardhis, or Baurias of Upper India; and the Takankars, or Bagris. Below these again, or rather of equal inferiority in a different sphere, are various castes of settled habits. The Jin-gars, who make native saddles, and the Buruds, who work in bamboo, are socially on a par with the Khatik or Hindu butcher. The professional slaughterer of animals, notwithstanding the number of his customers and notwithstanding that he never lifts his hand against the sacred kine, is placed near the foot of the social ladder. The Waddars, are, in the villages of their own country, relegated to a separate quarter, which in appearance is not less poverty-stricken and squalid than that of the Mahars: in Berar they live in little pals; they rank below Khatiks. The leather-working castes are superior to the Mahars; the lowest position of all is assigned to the Mangs and Mang Garodis.

Variety of opinion.—The arrangement, which has been indicated, although as accurate as information will allow, must be partly conjectural. The distinctive and segregative nature of the caste system, rendering each caste in social matters a world apart, renders at the same time any system of precedence between different castes to some extent unnecessary and impossible. With castes which never mix in social intercourse, their relative social rank, if nearly the same, must remain undetermined. The feeling on such matters may vary from tahsil to tahsil; probably it also varies from generation to generation. The wealth and rank attained by its prominent members may, even among so conservative a people, raise the social estimate in which a caste is held: the Wanjaris and Kolis are examples in point. The numbers of a caste produce a similar effect: and local opinion is, therefore, safest in its estimate of the local precedence of the largest castes. A brief description of the castes is given below.

Andh.— The Andhs are probably an aboriginal tribe, but nothing can be ascertained as to their origin, and they are not found in any other Province. They have now adopted nearly all the practices of Kunbis and are hardly distinguishable from them in dress or personal appearance. In social status they are generally considered to be only a little lower than the Kunbis, and cultivate in the ordinary manner like them. They employ Brahmans as their priests, and profess to be Vaishnavas by religion, wearing sect-marks on their foreheads. In religion, says Mr. Kitts, the Andhs are more Hinduised than other aborigines. They worship Khandoba, Kanhoba, Maruti, Bairam, and the goddess Elamma or Bhavani. Some worship Dayal Malik and others reverence Haji Saiyad Sarvar. Widow-marriage is practised, but a widow is not permitted to marry the younger brother of her deceased husband. Divorce is not allowed by the caste on any ground. At the time of birth of a child the elderly females of the caste act as midwives. The mother remains impure only for seven davs after the birth of a child. The caste buries its dead and performs the mourning ceremony on the tenth day, but they observe no shraddha.

Bairagi.—The Bairagis, lit., a person disgusted with the world, are wandering ascetics or beggars.

Banjara.—The Banjaras of Berar are the same people as the Lambadis of the Madras Presidency and the Manaris mentioned by Tavernier. They are supposed to be the people mentioned by Arrian in the fourth century B. C. as leading a wandering life, dwelling in tents, and letting out for hire their beasts of burden. Their home seems originally to have been the long tract of country under the northern hills from Gorakhpur to Hardvar. In Berar as in the Punjab the Banjaras are often, if not generally, known as Labhanas. Although the Charan if asked his caste will answer Labhana, and, if asked what Labhana, will answer Charan Labhana. There are in all six divisions, four Hindu and two Musalman. The highest in rank of the Hindu Banjaras are the Mathurias, who claim to be Brahmans and wear the sacred thread. The Labhanas or salt-carriers evidently came from fup ther north than other Hindu Banjaras. Their claim to be descended from Gaud Brahmans, when coupled with the details of their serpent worship as described by Tavernier, suggests that they are possibly connected with the Gaud Taga tribe. They are considered socially superior to the Charans. Like the Mathurias their women wear sadis,while Charan women wear lahengas. They wear the sacred thread. The Charans are said to be of Rajput origin. The story of their creation by Mahadev to replace the feeble Bhats is well-known. Under their leaders Bhangi and Jhangi Naiks, they came first to this Province with the army of Asaf Khan in the campaign which closed with the annexation by Shah Jahan of Ahmadnagar and Berar. The two Banjara leaders had with them 190,000 bullocks, and in order to keep these well up with his force Asaf Khan was induced to issue an order engraved on copper and in gold letters, as follows: —

Ranjan ka pani, Chappar ka ghas,

Din ka tin khun muaf,

Aar jahan Asaf Jan ke ghore,

Wahan Bhangi Jhangi ke bail,

which being freely translated runs: ' If you can find no water elsewhere, you may even take it from ranjans (pots) of my followers; grass you may take from the roof of their huts; and if you commit three murders a day I will even pardon this, provided that where I find my cavalry I can always find Bhangi Jhangi's bullocks'. The Duke of Wellington subsequently in his Indian campaigns regularly employed Banjaras as part of the commissariat staff of his army. On one occasion he said of them: ' The Banjaras I look upon in the light of servants of the public, the price, of whose grain I have a right to regulate'. The Charans do not allow infant marriage; they worship Mariai, the cholera goddess, and the famous bandit Mitu Bhukia, to whom in nearly every tanda a hut is set apart surmounted by a white flag. The original occupation of the Banjaras was to convey for sale articles for trade such as wheat, salt, rice, red ochre, etc., from one place to another on pack bullocks. When there were no railways, trade was monopolised by them. They have now settled down to ordinary labour and private service.

Bari: The Baris, that is, those who direct water, are found in the Jalgaon tahsil. They are a caste whose speciality is to keep pan-gardens, but they are also engaged in agriculture. They have a legend that at some former time at the Diwali festival the daughter of a Bari affixed a mark of vermilion to the forehead of a Kumbhar's son who presented her with a creeper which she should cultivate and thereby earn her livelihood. In token of their gratitude the Baris still take water from the hands of a Kumbhar. A Bari will never give betel-leaves folded in a bundle to a Kumbhar as he will do to people of other castes. Infant marriage is also allowed. They both bury and cremate their dead. The corpse is laid in the grave on one side with feet to the north, head to the south, and face to the east. They place some food and an earthen pot filled with water for the use of the disembodied soul. A pan-garden can be cultivated successively for five years. In the sixth year they must change its site. The Baris eat fowls and eggs and take the flesh of a goat or sheep. They can take food from the hands of a Kunbi, a Phulmali and a Brahman.

Bedar.—The Bedars are immigrants from the Karnatak. They are a labouring caste.

Beldar.—The Beldars are earth-workers who get their name from the use of the Bel, or mattock in digging, and are principally found in the plain tahsils.

Bhangi.—The Bhangis are the Hindu scavenger caste and are employed almost exclusively as sweepers.

Bhoi.—The Bhois are fishermen. They still cleave to their hereditary caste occupations much more closely than is the case with many castes, and are consequently to be found where rivers or tanks supply them with fishing. They belong to the Dravidian family of aboriginal races. Like the Pardhis the Bhois have forsworn beef. Like the Dhangars they wear tanwad ear-rings. Their women wear the toe-rings but not the nose-rings of Hindu women: like Gond women they wear brass bangles, which they do not remove, although they discard the black bead necklace during widowhood. Their funeral ceremony resembles that of Gonds. Cremation is rare. After a burial each mourner repairs to the deceased's house and then fetches his own dinner and dines with the chief mourner. On the third day after the birth of a child the Bhois distribute to other children food made of juari flour and butter-milk. On the fifth day the slab and mortar, used for grinding the household corn, are washed, anointed and worshipped. On the 12th day the child is named and shortly after this its head is shaved.

Borekar.—The Borekars are a comparatively new caste. They are practically confined to the Jalgaon tahsil, and are mat-makers. At the time of marriage the bride and bridegroom are seated on mats prepared by the elderly persons of the caste.

Brahman.—Almost all the Brahmans are Maharashtra Brah-mans of the Deshasth, Konkanasth and Karhada Sub-divisions. The foreign Brahmans are mostly to be found amongst pleaders, munims and traders, whilst Berar Brahmans are chiefly to be met with in Government service, as patwaris and karkuns. The following note on Brahmans made by a former Deputy Commissioner of Akola is worthy of reproduction: —" Brahman women are regarded by them as but a little lower than men. Their presence is required at many religious ceremonies. The husband publicly eats with his wife on the occasion of his marriage. Their funeral ceremonies are the same. In the ' worship of fire ' the wife may perform the ceremony alone should her husband be absent from home for a time, whereas the reverse is not the case. The tuition of girls is not general, certain hymns taught to boys may not be imparted to girls; although others, which it is considered derogatory for a boy to learn, are taught. Brahman widows may be known by their not having a red mark on their forehead; by their sadis being white, red or yellow, and composed of either cotton or silk; by their not wearing a choli, glass bangles, or a mangal sutra; and by their heads being clean shaven. Although allowed to pray at the temples they are not allowed to take part in any religious ceremony of a festive nature. If their relatives are too poor to maintain them, Brahman widows are frequently employed by their caste people as cooks; and sometimes they will secretly wash clothes for certain families, or gain a livelihood by grinding grain. The intellect of a Brahman is incisive rather than powerful; his peculiar characteristic is self-complacency. He considers no position too high or difficult; he knows that no act, however mean and bad, can prevent his re-admission into his own, the foremost caste. He is envious of those in power, even if placed there by himself. To his exclusiveness much of his influence is due; this, however, is gradually giving way to the requirements of the public service. Brahman schoolmasters, patwaris and others are obliged to reside in small villages where, if they are to have any society at all, they must forget their exclusiveness and mingle with Kunbis on a footing approaching equality. "

Burud.—The Buruds are practically confined to the Khamgaon tahsil. They are makers of baskets and matting.

Chambhar.—The Chambhars are leather workers. The Harale or (Marathe) Chambhars claim the highest rank. In religion they are devoted to Mahadev, whom they worship on a Sunday in the month of Shravan. The Sadhu, who acts as guru to his flock, makes a visitation once every four or five years. They will eat pork but not beef. They dye leather, make shoes, mots and pakhals. They will not use untanned leather, nor will they work for Mahars, Mangs, Jingars, Buruds, Kolis or Halalkhors. If one of these buys a pair of shoes, they will ask no indiscreet questions, but they will not mend the pair as they would for a man of higher caste. Their womenkind work the silk pattern which adorns the native shoes.

Dhangar.—The Dhangar caste, to which the Holkar family belongs, are hereditary tenders of sheep and goats, corresponding to the Gadarias elsewhere. They arc also weavers of woollen blankets, and a large number have settled down to agriculture. The Hatgars or Bangi Dhangars, that is shepherds with spears, were originally a division of Dhangars, but having adopted military service they became a separate caste. They also have settled down to agriculture.

Dhobi.—The Dhobis otherwise known as Warthi and Parit arc village balutedars.Besides the grain at harvest time they also receive presents when a child is born to any of their employers.

Dohor.— The Dohors are principally found in the Chikhli and Mehkar tahsils. They are one of the most important divisions among the leather-working castes, and probahly immigrated into this District from Khandesh. They worship chiefly Mari Mata and sometimes Bhavani. Their spiritual interests are in the care of Bhats or Thakurs. They will work for all castes except Mangs. They dye leather and make shoes, but not motsand pakhals. The men do not wear dhotis as do the Harales; the Harale women again wear lugdas which they bind round the waist, whereas the Dohor women wear lahengas,which they tie round like a petticoat. The dead are usually buried and mourned for three days. Those who die married, if well-to-do, are burned.

Gavli.—The Gavlis include the Ahirs, Gavlans and Gavaris which are synonymous names. They are a pastoral caste, but have taken to agriculture and other pursuits. They are supposed to be an old Indian or half Indian race, who were driven south and east before the Scythian invaders. Like the Jats and Gujars they retain the Scythian custom whereby the younger brother takes the widow of the elder brother as his wife. Before the Christian era they were near the north-west frontier of India: they passed down through Upper to Lower Sindh, and thence to Gujarat; ' when the Kattis arrived in Gujarat in the eighth century they found the greater part of the country in the possession of the Ahirs ': meanwhile part of the tribe bad journeyed east. They are spoken of as settled in Khandesh. And an inscription in one of the Nasik Buddhist caves shows that early in the third century the country was under an Ahir king; and ' in thepuranic geography the country from the Tapi to Devagiri is called Abhira, or the region of cowherds. It seems probable that they were connected with the Yadavas, who were in power in the eighth, and again appear as the rulers of Devagiri or Daulatabad in the twelfth and the thirteenth century. ' The Ahirs or cowherd kings', says Meadows Taylor. ' ruled over the wild tracts of Gondvana, and parts of Khandesh and Berar, and had possession of fortresses like Ashirgad, Gavilgad and Narnala, and other mountain positions, where they remained secure and independent, tributary however to the Yadavas of Devagiri, or to the Hindu dynasties of Malva as long as they existed, and afterwards acting independently.' Berar was in those days a troublesome border country, and the Ahirs seem to have fallen into a secondary position before the influx of Kunbis.

Ghisadi: The Ghisadis are practically confined to the Chikhli and Mehkar tahsils. They sometimes claim a Rajput origin. They are inferior blacksmiths and do rough work only. Among them large bride prices varying from Rs. 300 to Rs. 500 are paid in cash to the parents of the girl before the performing of the betrothal ceremony. The marriage is performed after the Maratha ritual, and widow-marriage is also practised, but divorce is not allowed on any ground. An unmarried girl puts a round patch of vermilion on her forehead, but after her marriage this is replaced by lines. The caste generally buries its dead and some ghee (clarified butter) is put in the mouth of a corpse before it is buried. The Ghisadis are worshippers of Khandoba, Ambamai and Mhasoba. They eat the flesh of a goat, fowl, and deer, but abstain from pork.

Golak.- The Golaks are almost all found in the Chikhli tahsil. They are a class of inferior Brahmans; the offspring of a Brahman father and a Brahman widow. Pure Brahmans neither eat nor marry with them.

Gond.—The Gonds are practically all found in the Jalgaon tahsil. They mostly belong to the labouring class.

Gondhali.—The Gondhalis are a sect of wandering beggars recruited from all castes. They are especially attached to the temples of the goddess Tukai at Tuljapur and the Goddess Renukai at Mahur. Hence arise the two great divisions of the caste, tbe Renukai and the Kadamrai, who do not intermarry. Other divisions are known as Maratha, Kunbi, and Mali Gondhalis: these are the descendants of children of the castes named, offered in fulfilment of vows at the shrine of the goddess. The Gondhalis perform what is known as the Gondhal ceremony. The chief occasions are the worship of Bhavani at the Dasara, and the worship of Tukai and Renukai on Hanuman's birthday. The ceremony is held at night. The Gondhalis are previously feasted: they eat flesh. The image of the goddess is placed on a stool and a sacred torch is lit. By the side of the idol a pot filled with water is placed, betel-leaves are put around its mouth, and a coconut is placed on them. The rest of the stool is covered with offerings of fruits and spices. The Gondhalis now worship the goddess, wave the lighted torch around their bodies and chant monotonous hymns in honour of the deity all through the night. At other times of the year the Gondhalis subsist upon alms by reciting ballads called povade. They wear a string of cowries round their necks: this string is put on at the time of marriage, and marks the wearer's right to perform the gondhal, a right forbidden to the unmarried.

Gosavi.—The Gosavis (Gosains) are mostly religious mendicants, but a few are engaged in agricukure, trade and money-lending.

Gurav.—The Guravs are attendants in the temples of Maruti and Shiva, are sellers of bel leaves for offerings to the idol. They receive the food offered to the idol. As trumpeters they were formerly employed in the Maratha armies. They are to some extent mendicants but they do not wander.

Jangam.—The Jangams are mostly found in the Mehkar tahsil. They are priests of the Lingayats.

Jat.—The Jats are mostly found in the Mehkar tahsil. Most of them are agriculturists but a few are weavers. They claim a Rajput origin.

Jirayat.—The Jirayats chiefly occur in Malkapur and Jalgaon tahsils. They are said to be immigrants from the south. The majority of them are ironsmiths whose speciality is fine work, but here and there one is found following some other handicraft than that peculiar to the caste. Infant marriage prevails in the caste, and the parents of a girl attaining puberty before marriage are excommunicated temporarily from the caste. Flesh of sheep or goat is permitted. Persons eating fowls or pork are outcasted, but can be readmitted into the caste after providing a feast. The caste can eat food cooked by a Brahman, Kunbi, Rajput and Phulmali.

Jogi.—The Jogis or Yogis (lit., contemplative saints) are Shaivite beggars.

Joshi.—The Toshis are beggars and astrologers.

Kalal.—The Kalals are mostly agriculturists.

Kasar.—The Kasars take their name from the bell-metal (kansa) in which they work, and rank high among artisans.

Kayasth and Prabhu.— The Kayasths and Prabhus are the well-known writer class. The former trace their descent from Chitra-gupta. the recorder of Yama, and the latter from King Chandrasen.

Khatik.—The Khatiks are Hindu butchers, and by reason of the impurity of their calling rank very low in the social scale.

Kolhati.—The Kolhatis are most numerous in the Malkapur tahsil. They are a wandering tribe of acrobats.

Koli.—The Kolis are principally found in the Malkapur tahsil. Little is known regarding their origin. They are said once to have been soldiers and guardians of the Berar hill passes, and their hereditary occupation is said to be that of fishing. There are a large number of Ahir Kolis in the Malkapur tahsil, immigrants from Khandesh. They are said to be frequently employed as watchmen, and to work ferries and grow melons in the beds of rivers. They eat pork but not beef.

Koshti.—The Koshtis are the well-known weaving castes. Their speciality is white cotton clothes wdth coloured borders.

Kumhhar.—The Kumbhars are potters and brick and tile-makers. They have no competition from outsiders to contend with in their caste occupation, and there are few instances in which Kumbhars have adopted handicrafts entirely foreign to the caste occupation.

Kunbi.—The Kunbis are the most numerous in the district population. Thedeshmukh was originally the manager or headman of a circle of villages, and was responsible for apportioning and collecting the land revenue. The office was hereditary and was usually held by members of the Tirole sub-caste of Kunbis, though other castes such as Brahmans, Rajputs, Marathas, Malis and Muhammedans also shared the privilege. The Kunbi deshmukhs have now developed into a sort of aristocratic branch of the caste and marry among themselves when matches can be arranged. They do not allow the marriage of widows nor permit their women to, accompany the wedding procession. A deshmukh sabha has been formed for Berar, one of its aims being to check intermarriage with ordinary Kunbis. Deshmukhs have also lately begun to wear the sacred thread, and in three generations of the family the latest member may be seen wearing it, while the two older members are without it. Some deshmukhs now repudiate their Kunbi origin and prefer to be called Marathas, thus claiming through that name to belong to the Kshatriya clan.

The sect of Kunbis known as the Leva Patidars is only found in Berar in the Malkapur tahsil of this District, and deserves a separate notice. The Leva Patidars (Pajne) are found in about 80 villages near Khandesh. Another local name for them is Revas, which is apparently a variant of Levas who form the largest subcaste of Kunbis in Gujarat. They seem to have broken off from the parental stock so long ago that they have forgotten all connection with it, and account for their names by somewhat curious folk-etymologies. The word Pajne is traced to Pavakhand which they say formerly formed a part of Gujarat, and Reva is supposed to be derived from the river Reva in Gujarat. In Gujarat, however, Leva is said to mean mild as opposed to Kadva (bitter), another subcaste of Kunbirs. The men of the Leva subcaste wear a head dress like that of Gujarati Wanis and they themselves claim to be Wani immigrants from Gujarat afterwards repudiated by their caste fellows owing to their having mingled with the local Kunbis. The Leva Kunbis of Gujarat are really of Gujar origin, and the recollection of the Levas is so far correct that they originally belonged to a different caste, but their claim to be Wanis is merely presumptuous. In religion they worship all Hindu gods, but there is a special sect called Malkari or Bhagvat panthi which confines its worship to Vithoba, Rama and Mahadev. The gurus of Muktabai at Edalabad, Dnyaneshwar at Alandi, Tukaram at Dehu, Vithoba at Pandharpur, Nivrittinath at Trimbakeshvar, Eknath at Paithan, and Sopandev at Sachole initiate disciples into the sect by bestowing upon them wreaths of beads of tulsi plant, at the same time advising them to observe ekadashi(fasting), to worship daily the tidsi plant in the angam, to offer daily prayers to god, and to attend without fail the Ashadhi and Kartiki fairs at Pandharpur with Pandharpur patkas(flags). In their social customs and ceremonies the Leva Patidars follow generally the Marathas, slight differences being that Leva females on the bridegroom's side attend marriages, and before the marriage ceremony takes place the bride and bridegroom are made to worship a dunghill. Leva Patidars cannot marry with other Kunbis, but inter-dining is not prohibited. Widow-remarriage is permitted. The marriageable age is for a girl seventeen years and for a boy 25 years. After marriage the women wear in one ear an ear ornament called pachatur, a ring of gold with five corals and five beads of gold; the poorer women wear rings of corals only. The wearing of this ornament is a certain means of identifying a Leva Patidar. Leva Patidars are exclusively moneylenders or cultivators. Now-a-days They have made immense progress in education. They have a reputation for economy; borrowing for marriage ceremonies is strictly prohibited, the expenditure being limited to a sum fixed alike for rich and poor by the community. They are very industrious and assist each other in need. They abstain from the use of alcohol and both socially and mentally they rank above the other Kunbis. Some of them arewatandar patels.

An excellent account of the Kunbis as a class given by an anonymous writer [Notes on the Agriculturists of Aurans;abad quoted in Mr. Kitts' Berar Census Report of 1881, p. 111foot-note.] is deserving of reproduction.

'The Kunbi is a harmless, inoffensive creature, simple in his habits, kindly by disposition, and unambitious by nature. He is honest, and altogether ignorant of the ways of the world. He knows little of the value of money, and when he happens to earn any, he does not know how to keep it. He is satisfied with very little, and is contented with Ms lot, however humble. His passions are not strong, he is apathetic, and takes things easily, is never elated with success, nor is he readily prostrated by misfortune. He is patient to a fault, and shows great fortitude under severe trials. He is a thorough conservative, and has a sincere hatred of innovations. He cherishes a strong love for hiswatan (hereditary holdings and rights), and whenever any trivial dispute arises in connection with these he will fight it out to the very last. He will often suffer great wrongs with patience and resignation, but his indignation is aroused if the least encroachment be made upon his personal watandari rights, though they may yield him no profit, but happen on the contrary to be a tax upon his purse. If the regulated place be not assigned to his bullocks when they walk in procession at the Pola feast, or if he has been wrongfully preceded by another party in offering libations to the pile of fuel, that is to be fired at the Holi, the Kunbi at once imagines that a cruel wrong has been done him, and his peace of mind is disturbed. He will haunt the courts of the tahsil and District officials for redress, and neglecting his fields, will pursue his object with a perseverance worthy of a better cause. The Kunbi's domestic life is happy and cheerful; he is an affectionate husband and a loving father. He is a stranger to the vice of drunkenness, and in every respect his habits are strictly temperate. He is kind and hospitable towards the stranger, and the beggar never pleads in vain at his door. In short, the Kunbi, within the scale of his capacities, is endowed with most of the virtues of mankind, and exhibits but few vices. We cannot, however, accord to the Kunbi the merit of energy. Industrious he is, he rises early, and retires late: in the hottest time of the year he works in the field under the burning rays of the sun; at other seasons he has often to work in the rain, drenched to the skin: he is to be seen in the fields on a bitter winter morning, defying the cold, clad only in his simple coarse kambli (blanket). Thus his life is one of continued toil and exposure. But, while admitting all this, it cannot be denied that he works apathetically and without intelligent energy of any kind. The Kunbi women are very industrious, and are perhaps more energetic than the men. Upon them devolves the performance of all the domestic duties. They have to carry water from the river or well, grind corn, prepare the meals, sweep the house and plaster it with liquid clay or cowdung, clean the cooking vessels, wash the linen, and attend to their children. For a part of the day they are also employed on light field work. Besides getting through these multifarious duties, the women of the poorer classes generally manage to find time to gather a headload of either fuel or grass, which they carry to their own or any other adjoining village for sale. From these hardly acquired earnings they purchase salt, oil, and other necessaries for household use. If all the women in the family have not enough work on their holdings, some of them go out to labour in the fields of other holders, and their earnings form no mean addition to the income of the Kunbi cultivator. The women work as hard as the men, and fortunate is the cultivator who is blessed with a number of female relatives in his family, for, instead of being a burden, their industry is a steady source of income to him. With a heavy load on her head, an infant wrapped up and slung to her back, the Kunbi woman of the poorer classes will sturdily tramp some six or seven miles to market, sell the produce of her field there, and from the proceeds buy articles for household consumption; she will then trudge back home in time to prepare the evening meal for the family'. Regarding their treatment of children the Deputy Commissioner, Akola, writes: ' For the first day or two after birth a child is given milk; and then it is allowed to take the mother's milk; if this is insufficient a wet-nurse is called in. Until the child is six months' old, its head and body are oiled every second or third day, and the body is well hand-rubbed and bathed. The rubbing is to make the limbs supple, and the oil to render it less susceptible to cold. They are very kind to their children, never harsh or quick-tempered. This may in part be due to constitutional lethargy. They seldom refuse a child anything; but, taking advantage of its innocence, will by dissimulation make it forget it. The time arrives when this course of conduct is useless, and then the child learns to mistrust the word of its parents. This evil effect is intensified by the dissimulation and reticence necessary among members of large families who wish to live together peaceably. Children thus learn not to repeat what they have seen or heard, and hence arises a tendency to dissimulation'.

Lad.—The Lads who claim to be a subdivision of the Wani or Bania caste are most numerous in the Malkapur tahsil. They are immigrants from Gujarat and take their name from Lat, the classic name of the southern portion of Gujarat.

Lohar.—The Lobars or Khatis when balutedars of their villages do the iron work of the agricultural implements and perform the necessary repairs.

Mahar.- Customs and ceremonies : The old local religion, as might be expected, survives more markedly among Mahar and Mang castes than among those higher in the social scale, although the Brahmans have impressed the mark of their creed upon the more important occasions of life. The auspicious day for a marriage is ascertained from the village Joshi, a Brahman, who receives a fee for his information. And although some peculiar custom may here and there be kept up, as when a Mahar bridegroom drops a ring into a bowl of water, which the bride picks out and wears, or as when a Chambhar bride twice or thrice opens a small box which her future spouse each time smartly shuts again, still the ceremony is conducted, as far as possible, according to the ordinary Hindu rites. Furthermore, as the Joshi will not come to the marriage, it can only take place on the same day as a marriage among some higher caste, so that the Mahars may watch for the priest's signal, and may know the exact moment at which the dividing cloth (antarpat) should be withdrawn, and the garments of the bride and bridegroom knotted, while the bystanders clap their hands and pelt the couple with coloured grain. The identity of time and the proximity of position multiply the opportunities and the temptation to copy the marriage rites of the higher castes. So, too, after a death, the chief mourner mourns for ten days and observes the general rule of abstinence from all sweet or dainty food during the days of mourning. If a Mahar's child has died he will, on the third day, place bread on the grave; if an infant, milk; if an adult, on the tenth day, with five pice in one hand and five pan leaves in the other, he goes into the river, dips five times, and throws them away; he then places five lighted lamps on the tomb, and after these simple ceremonies gets himself shaved as though he were an orthodox Hindu.

Somas Mahars and other divisions : One division of the Mahars is called Somas or Somavanshi, and claims to have taken part with the Pandavas against the Kauravas in the war of the Mahabharat, and subsequently to have settled in the Maharashtra.

After the Somas Mahars the three most important divisions are the Ladvan or Ladsi, the Andhvan and the Bavane or Baonya. The latter sometimes become Manbhavs: they have the same scruple as the Balahi has to grooming a stranger's horse; they will not eat with any other division of Mahars. The total number of subdivisions is 12½, the half caste being sometimes given as the base-born and sometimes as the religious mendicants. Illegitimate children are more often than others consecrated to divine service, and hence the confusion. The Gopals are sometimes looked upon as the half caste of Mahars. The Bankar, Goski, Holar and Lotval castes are also Mahars. Other divisions of the caste are given as Kachore, Kharse, Nimari, Malvi, Kathalya, Dharkia, Pendaria and Ghatole.

Social life and village duties of the Mahars: The men among the Mahars wear a black woollen thread around their necks: their women share the common aversion to shoes with pointed tops. As fourth balutedar on the village establishment the Mahar holds a post of great importance to himself and convenience to the village. The knowledge gained in his official position renders him a referee on matters affecting the village boundaries and customs. To the patel, patwari and the ' big men' of the village, he acts often as a personal servant and errand-runner; for a smaller cultivator, he will also at times carry a torch or act as escort. To the latter class, however, the Mahar is an indirect rather than a direct boon, in as much as his presence saves them from the liability of being called upon to render the patel or the village personal service. For the services which he thus renders as pandhevar, the Mahar receives from the cultivators certain grain-dues. The regular payment is made when the grain has been threshed. The amount of the due and the mode of calculation vary greatly, almost from village to village. The calculation is sometimes made upon the total area of land cultivated (e.g.,one seer per acre cultivated), but in other parts land cultivated with edible grain is alone liable to the payment (e.g., 1½ or 2 seers per acre of edible grain).

Mali.—The Malis are found in strength in the Malkapur, Jalgaon and Khamgaon tahsils but are less numerous in the Mehkar and Chikhli tahsils. The word Mali is derived from Sanskrit mala (a garland). The caste cannot be said to be a very old one. Generally speaking, it may be said that flowers have scarcely a place in the Vedas.Wreaths of flowers are used as decorations, but the separate flowers and their beauty are not yet appreciated. That lesson was first learned later by the Hindus when surrounded by another flora. Similarly among the Homeric Greeks in spite of their extensive gardening, and their different names for different flowers, not a trace of horticulture is yet to be found [Schrader. Prehistoric Antiquities, 121, quoted by Crooke on page 453 of Vol. III of his Castes and Tribes of N.W.P.]. The caste is chiefly engaged in raising vegetable and garden crops. The chief subdivisions of the caste are Phulmali. Jire, Ghase, Kosaria, Baone and Lonare. The Phulmalis who take their name from phul(flower) are considered the highest. The Jire are the cumin-seed growers; the Kosarias derive their name from Kosala, the classic name of Chhattisgad; the Baones are named after Berar, ' the revenue of which was fifty-two (bavan) lakhs as against six lakhs only obtained from the Jhadi or hill country '; and the Lonare are the residents of the country round about Lonar lake which is about 12 miles south of Mehkar. The Phulmalis will neither cultivate nor boil turmeric. The reason alleged is that in the turmeric flower is the outline of a small cow tied with a rope, to which in boiling turmeric damage might ensue. The Jire Malis will both grow and boil turmeric for which they are despised, but they will not grow onions. From his dealings in flowers which are used in worship and on all ceremonial occasions the sight of a Mali is considered lucky. In social characteristics the Malis resemble the Kunbis. The Phulmalis take the flesh of a goat, but abstain from liquor and the flesh of fowls; the Ghase Malis have no objection to eating eggs and fowls. The caste performs the marriage ceremony according to the Maratha ritual. Widow marriage is also practised and divorce allowed. The Malis are the votaries of Devi and Kal Bhairava and also worship all the gods of the Hindu pantheon. They stop their ordinary work on the day of Nag Panchami festival and offer worship to their trade implements on Dasara.

Manbhav.— The Manbhavs are a local Vaishnav sect and some of them are religious mendicants. The caste is steadily decreasing

Mang.—The Mangs are a menial caste ranking only above Bhan-gis. There are many customs and legends connected with the Mang caste which prove them to be of very long standing in the country. The first Mang, Maghya, was created by Mahadev to protect Brahmadev from the winged horses which troubled him in his work of creating the world. The devotion of the Mangs to Mahadev is noticeable: it shows the kind of religious conceptions once current in the country, which that name has been made to The Mangs still worship Mari Mata, Asura and Vetal or Brahma. Like the Mahars they worship no graven image: the visible representations of their deities are round stones daubed with vermilion. Occasionally they worship Dawal Malik, and Khandoba, but no god belonging strictly to the higher Hindu pantheon. Maghya Mang waxed proud and was humbled by being ordered by Mahadev to castrate oxen for the Kunbis, an office still performed by the village Mang who receives six or eight annas or four or eight seers of grain per job. At the Nav-ratra a Mang woman is still sometimes worshipped, a custom, the origin of which dates according to the legend, from the time of Parashuram.

Status in village: The Mang is a balutedar: formerly he acted as hangman when necessary, and occasionally as watchman: his wife acts as midwife. At marriages he beats the drum and plays the crooked horn. His salutation is ' Farman' as that of the Mahar is ' Namastu'. He uses a slang language, some of the words in which are of Dravidian origin. The Mangs are men of strong passions.

Subdivisions: There are nominally 12½ divisions in the caste, but the names given differ in different parts, and are often merely descriptive of their residence or occupation. Thus the Ghatole Mangs are Mangs from the Satmala Ghats: the Madhige division are probably Telgu Madigas: the Uchles are pickpockets, and the Pendhari Mangs are highway robbers; Pungivalas play on the pipe, and Daphlevalas on the tom-tom. The different divisions sometimes contract prejudices which tend to perpetuate the distinction. The Berar Mangs and the Buruds (who are reckoned as the half caste in the enumeration) make baskets of bamboo and use a knife known as the bhal, while the Dakhani Mangs will not touch this knife, and work with date-palm leaves.

Customs and religious observances: The ordinary trade of a Mang is to prepare brooms or date-palm matting. On the Akshya-tritiya, when offerings to the dead are made, the Mang supplies a new broom to each of the more important houses in his villages.

Like the Mahars, the Mangs always bury their dead. They do not use a bier, and make no distinction of persons further than that the deceased, if. married, is dressed in new clothes and mourned for ten instead of three days. On each of the three days succeeding the death, the mourners hold a feast, on the first two days generally at their own expense, but on the third day always at the expense of the chief mourner, who on the tenth day gets himself shaved and gives a caste dinner.

Their marriages take place usually in the month of Ashadh, the 15 th of which month is sacred to their worship of the deity Mari Mata. Those of the girls who are not married before they reach the age of puberty become Muralis or Joginis.

Maratha.—It is difficult to avoid confusion in the use of the word Maratha, which signifies both an inhabitant of the area in which the Marathi language is spoken and a member of the caste to which the general name has, in view of their historical importance, been specifically applied. The native name for the Marathi-speaking country is Maharashtra, which has been variously interpreted as ' the great country' or ' the country of the Mahars '. Another, and perhaps the most probable, derivation is that it is named from the Rashtrakuta dynasty, which was dominant in the area for some centuries after 750 A. D. The name Rashtrakuta was contracted into Ratta; and with the prefix Maha, ' great' might evolve into the term Maratha. The Marathas are a caste formed from military service, and it seems probable that they sprang mainly from the peasant population of Kunbis, though in what period they were formed into a caste has not yet been determined. The designation of Maratha first became prominent during the period of Shivaji's guerilla warfare against Aurangzeb. Several of the Maratha clans have the names of Rajput tribes, as Chauhan, Ponvar, Jadhav, Solanki and Surya-vanshi, and in 1836 Mr. Enthoven states that the Rana of Udai-pur was satisfied from enquiries conducted by an agent that the Bhosle and certain other families had a right to be recognised as Rajputs. But the general feeling does not admit this claim. The caste is of a decidedly mixed nature, as is apparent from its internal structure. In Buldhana they are commonly spoken of as Maratha Kunbis. Indeed in the Berar Census of 1881 they were amalgamated with Kunbis, and have only been recorded separately in the last two generations. They are not mentioned as a separate caste by Sir A. Lyall in the Berar Gazetteer. In Buldhana the Marathas will take daughters from the Kunbis in marriage for their sons, though they will not give their daughters in return. But a Kunbi who has got on in the world and become wealthy may, by a sufficient payment, get his sons married into Maratha families and even be adopted as a member of the caste, just as a successful soap boiler in England occasionally becomes a peer and sets himself up with a complete portrait gallery of Norman ancestors. It seems a necessary conclusion that the bulk of the caste are of much the same origin as the Kunbis, though some of the leading families may have had Rajputs among their ancestors. The family of the Jadhav Rajas of Sindkhed, from a daughter of which the renowned Shivaji sprang, is the leading Maratha family of Buldhana and Berar, and claims to be of the purest Rajput blood. In 1870 Sir A. Lyall notes that this family had recently made a show of great reluctance to permit a poor kinsman to espouse the Gaikvad of Baroda's daughter. A notable trait of this and similar families is the fondness with which they cling to their hereditary watans.In Buldhana the Marathas are principally engaged in cultivation and moncylending, though many of them have taken up personal service and are also employed in Government service as clerks, peons, and constables. The caste, eat the flesh of clean animals and of fowls and wild pig. Their rules about food are liberal like those of the Rajput, a too great stringency being no doubt in both cases incompatible with the exigencies of military service. They observe the parda system with regard to their women, and will go to the well and draw water themselves rather than permit their wives to do so; but the poorer Marathas cannot maintain the system, and they and their wives and children work in the fields. The men often in imitation of the Rajputs have their hair long and wear beards and whiskers. They commonly wear a turban made of many folds of cloth twisted into a narrow rope and large gold rings with pearls in the lower part of the ear. They assume the sacred thread and invest a boy with it when he is seven or eight years old or on his marriage though this is not strictly observed. Some Marathas do not wear the sacred thread at all, saying their forefathers never wore it. In appearance the men are often tall and well-built and of a light wheat-coloured complexion. The principal deity of the Marathas is Khandoba, a warrior incarnation of Mahadev. He is supposed to have been born in a field of millet near Pune; and to have led the people against the Muhammedans in early times. He had a watch dog who warned him of the approach of his enemies, and he is named after the khanda or sword which he always carried. The Marathas are generally kind to dogs, and will not injure them.

Mhali.—The Mhalis are barbers and balutedars. The Mhali shaves the heads, chins, and armpits of his clients and pares their nails. When the first son is born to any of his clients, the barber carries the good news to the relatives. He takes a bamboo stick in his hand, adorns it with cloth, and crowns it with an earthen pot. For this, and in return for the presents of sugar and pan leaves which he then distributes, he expects to receive from each man a rupee, a turban or a shoulder cloth, or at least a few handfuls of grain as a reward. In the case of a marriage among Shudras, it is the village barber who takes out the invitations and who subsequently superintends the bathing of the bridegroom. The barbers also light the lamps and hold the torches during the ceremony, and at its close two of them take the bride and bridegroom in their arms and distribute the sugar sweetmeats (van) which have been provided for the Brahmans.

Panchal.—The Panchals are vagrant blacksmiths. They have been in Berar tor some generations. They live in small pals or tents, and move from place to place with buffaloes, donkeys, and occasionally ponies to carry their kit.

Pardhi.—The Pardhis from the Marathi word for a huntsman are a wandering people ostensibly occupied in snaring game. Malkapur seems to be favourite tahsil with them, as a large proportion of their number was enumerated there both in 1881 and in 1891. There are three well-known divisions of Pardhis, the Shikari, Phans and Langoti Pardhis. The Pardhis of Berar admit that they are Baurias, who originated from Rajputana and are held to be aborigines of that part of India. The Pardhis have the custom whereby on the death of an elder brother the younger takes his widow to wife. They pay for their wives. At the time of marriage a mock resistance is sometimes made generally, however, the couple walk round the encampment under a cloth borne on four poles. In front of them walks a married woman carrying five pitchers of water. The couple eat grain from the same dish or throw it on each other's head. The bridegroom gives the bride a dress, a bodice, and a fold of the paper helmet which he himself wears. A Brahman is asked to name an auspicious day for the event, and among the Phanse Pardhi division he is also asked to officiate. In religion, besides worshipping their ancestors, they worship goddesses who are now identified with the Hindu goddess Devi, but who are known in the caste by many different names. Sometimes they carry small silver images of these deities; at other times they fashion one of clay.

Pathrat.—The Pathrats whose name is a contraction of Patharvat or stone dresser, are stone workers.

Rajput.—The Rajputs may be divided into two classes, (1) those who were originally of foreign origin and (2) those who have assumed the name of Rajputs but who are really of humbler birth. The Rana Rajputs chiefly found in the Malkapur and Jalgaon tahsils are believed to be of Maratha origin. Agriculture is the ordinary occupation of the Rajput caste.

Rangari.—The Ratigaris, the caste of dyers, arc mostly found in the Malkapur tahsil. They worship Hinglaj Bhavani, Daval Malik and Khandoba; and beginning on theGudhi Padva or Hindu New Year's Day they observe a fortnight's holiday, during which all business is suspended, and a subscription is raised in order that a caste dinner may be held. They use as dyes morinda, indigo and safflower but aniline dyes are also in considerable vogue. They are governed in caste matters by a panch or council, and an elective headman or chaudhari. The caste is said to have come originally from Gujarat.

Shimpi.— The Shimpis are tailors. They are divided into the Jain. Marathi and Telugu Shimpis. The Jains belong usually to the Setval caste; the Marathi Shimpis are often Lingayats; and the Telugu division are generally Vaishnavas. The Jain Shimpis claim the hero Neminath as a caste-fellow; the Marathis claim the noted saint Namdev as such.

Sonar.— The Sonars, workers in precious metals, are the most important of the artisan castes. Among the Sonars there are several divisions, the most important being the Vaishya, Malvi, and Pan-chal. The Vaishya and Panchal Sonars invest their children with the sacred thread when they are seven years old, the ceremony sometimes being performed by a Brahman, and sometimes by one of their own castemen. The Vaishya and Panchal Sonars have religious teachers of their own caste and they are said to have claimed and vindicated their right against the Brahmans to perform their own marriage ceremonies. The Sonars discountenance the remarriage of widows. In his business life a Sonar is noted for his astuteness.

Sutar.—The Sutars are carpenters. They probably take their name which means literally a ' maker of string on a ' worker by string ' either from their sometimes joining planks by string or from their skill in planning or measuring. Some Sutars wear the sacred thread: the well-to-do assuming it in childhood, and the poorer from the time of their marriage. The Sutar heads the list of village balutedars. The highest division of the caste are the Kharatis or turners who come from Northern India.

Takari.—The Takaris mend the handmills (chakkis) used for grinding corn. They are practically confined to the plain tahsils.

Teli.—The Telis are oil pressers by origin. Their hereditary trade has suffered from the introduction of cheap bulk oil and also from the oil mills worked by steam power. They have largely taken to agriculture.

Thakur.—The Thakurs are almost identical with the Bhats. They are the hereditary village bards, members of the village community. Many of them have taken to labour and cultivation.

Vidur.—The Vidurs are almost, if not quite, synonymous with Krishnapakshis. In dress the Vidurs copy the Brahmans.

Waddar.—The Waddars have decreased considerably. They are immigrants from Southern India and are earth-workers, and are constantly moving about in search of work. Their movements depend upon the demand for labour for roads and other public works.

Wani.—The Wanis or Banias are chiefly of foreign origin, being immigrants from Marvad, Gujarat and Rajputana. Most of them are traders, money-lenders, shroffs and grocers, but a large number have also taken to agriculture. Being strangers in the land, Wanis are generally distinguished among Beraris by the name of their country or their sect. Lingayat Wanis affix the term appa to their names, as Kunbis and others affix ji.

Wanjari.—The Wanjaris are said to have come into this District from the Nizam's Dominions where they are still found in large numbers. The caste claims to be of Maratha origin and yet they aver that they were originally Paundrakas, a tribe inhabiting the old Paundra country, that is, Bengal and Bihar. They allege that they with seven other castes were allies of Parashuram when he ravaged the Haihayas of the Vindhya mountains, and that after this the task of guarding the passes was entrusted to them. From their prowess in keeping down the beasts of prey which infested the gorges and ravines under their charge, they became known as the Vanya Shatru, subsequently contracted into Wanjari. In course of time their services were rewarded with grants of land similar to the Metkari Inams and one division of the caste is now known as the Metkari Wanjaris. Though some Wanjaris connect their name with wanja or trading by pack bullocks yet to confound them with the Banjara carrier castes gives them great offence. They, however, are unable to reconcile their claim of Maratha origin with the Bengali one which they also claim and of which no traces in their manners, customs, orgotras now remain. Other subdivisions of the Wanjari castes are Raojin, Bhusarjin, Ladjin and Kanarjin. These subdivisions neither intermarry nor eat with each other. Each subdivision has twelve-and-a-half minor divisions; each minor subdivision has also 50hulas, and each kula has 4 gotras. Among the 4 gotras of a particular kula no intermarriage can take place as they are considered to be descendants from the same parental stock. Infant marriage prevails in the caste. The betrothal ceremony is performed by presenting the girl with new clothing (phadki and parkar), washing her feet with water, and affixing a patch of kunku to her forehead. A piece of sugarcandy is put in her mouth and packets containing coriander, sugar, kunku and five small pieces of cocoanut are put in her dhoti. The father of the boy then distributes pan-supari to the men assembled, while the father of the girl applies red gandh to the forehead of each man. This ceremony is called Sakharpuda. Women do not accompany men to the village of the girl. A few days before marriage there takes place the ceremony of Waghinseo orHobas, apparently a corruption of Wag-Nischaya, or settling the marriage contract by word of mouth. The boy's father visits the girls village and presents her with ornaments and clothing. In addition to the above the following things are given, gur (unrefined sugar), cocoanuts, khurma, cardamom godambi, kunku, coriander and sugarcandy. The ceremonies known as Shalmundi and Gondhal, also take place before the marriage is performed. In the first the father of the girl visits the village of the boy and presents him with a gold ring, an uparna and a turban. At the second from one to five goats are sacrificed though sweet-meats are sometimes substituted. The Wanjaris follow the Maratha ritual of marriage in which bride and the bridegroom stand facing each other with a curtain drawn between them, and the assembled guests throw juari dyed yellow on the contracting couple. The marriage ceremony is performed on the mutha (a sort of country saddle used for the bullock). Widow marriage is allowed by the caste, but a bachelor is not allowed to marry a widow. The dead are both burnt and buried, the corpse is laid in the grave, flat on the back, with feet to the north and the head to the south. By religion Wanjaris are Shivites or worshippers of Shiva; some of them are the followers of the Daval Malik sect. Drinking is prohibited amongst them. No parda system is observed by them. They are now mainly engaged in agriculture and in nearly every point they resemble the Kunbis. They eat from the hands of Kunbis and Marathas. The Bhusarjin and Kanarjin subdivisions are scarcely found, but the Ladjin and Raojin subdivisions are common. Men and women of the Raojin subdivision are allowed to eat flesh, whereas the women of the Ladjin subdivision do not touch it, but the prohibition is not extended to males. The Dhola ceremony is performed when the woman is in the seventh month of pregnancy. On this occasion green lugdas are given to her and new clothes are presented to her husband as well.