Dhamonia.—(From Dhamoni, a town in Saugor.) A subcaste of Sonkar. A territorial sept of Darzi and Dhobi.

Dhanak Sammani.—(One who reverences the bow.) A section of Barai.

Dhandere.—(Probably from Dhundhar, an old name of Jaipur or Amber State.) A sept of Rajputs.

Dhangar.—(A farmservant.) Synonym of Oraon.

Dhanka.—Perhaps a variant for Dhangar. Subcaste of Oraon.

Dhanoj, Dhanoje.—(From dhangar, a shepherd.) Subcaste of Are and Kunbi.

Dhanpagar.—(One serving for a pittance of paddy.) A section of Teli.

Dhanuhar.—(A corrupt form of Dhanusdhar or a holder of a bow.) Synonym of Dhanwar.

Dhanuk.—(A bowman.) A caste. A subcaste of Mehtar.

Dhanushban.—(Bow and arrow.) A sept of Kawar.

Dharampuria.—(Resident of Dharampur.) Subcaste of Dhobi.

Dhare.—Title of Gowari.

Dhari.—A subcaste of Banjara. They are the bards of the caste.

Dharkar.—Subcaste of Basor.

Dharmik.—(Religious or virtuous.) A subcaste of Mahar and Maratha.

Dhed.—Synonym for Mahar.

Dhengar.—A subcaste of Bharewa (Kasar) and Gadaria.

Dhera. [440]—A small Telugu caste of weavers, the bulk of whom reside in the Sonpur State, transferred to Bengal in 1905. The Dheras were brought from Orissa by the Raja of Sonpur to make clothes for the images of the gods, which they also claim to be their privilege in Puri. Their exogamous groups are named after animals, plants or other objects, and they practise totemism. The members of the Surya or sun group will not eat during an eclipse. Those of the Nalla (black) sept will not wear black clothes. Those of the Bansethi and Bhanala septs will not use the bandi, a kind of cart from which they consider their name to be derived. The Otals take their name from utti, a net, from which pots are hung, and they will not use this net. Those of the Gunda sept, who take their name from gunda, a bullet, will not eat any game shot with a gun. Marriage within the sept is prohibited, but the Dheras always, where practicable, arrange the marriage of a boy with his maternal uncle's daughter. Even in childhood the members of such families address each other as brother-in-law and sister-in-law. When the bridegroom and bride go home after the marriage ceremony, the bridegroom's sister bars the door of the house and will not let them in until they have severally promised to give her their daughter for her son. A girl must be married before arriving at adolescence on pain of permanent exclusion from the caste. If a suitable husband has not therefore been found when the period approaches, the parents marry the girl to her elder sister's husband or any other married man. She is not bound to enter into conjugal relations with the man to whom she is thus united, and with his consent she may be consequently married to any other man in the guise of a widow. If a bachelor takes such a girl to wife, he must first be married to a sahara tree (Streblus asper). When a betrothal is arranged, an elderly member of the bridegroom's family proceeds to the bride's house and asks her people three times in succession whether the betrothal is arranged, and at each reply in the affirmative ties a knot in his cloth. He then goes home and in the bridegroom's house solemnly unties the knots over another cloth which is spread on the ground. This cloth is then considered to contain the promises and it is wrapped up and carefully put away to keep them as if they were material objects.

Dherha.—(Brother-in-law or paternal aunt's husband.) Title of Kharia.

Dhimar.—A caste. Subcaste of Kori.

Dhimra.—Synonym for Dhimar.

Dhobi.—The caste of washermen. A sept of Bharia and Bhaina.

Dhokhede.—One of doubtful parentage. A sept of Teli.

Dholewar.—(From dhola, a drum.) A subcaste of Bhoyar and Gaoli. A section of Basor.

Dholi.—(A minstrel.) Subcaste of Bhat.

Dhubela.—Origin perhaps from the Dhobi caste. Subcaste of Basor.

Dhulbajia.—(From dhol, a drum.) A subcaste of Chamar, also known as Daijania.

Dhulia, Dholin, Dholi.—(A player on a dhol or drum.) Synonym for the Basor caste. A subcaste of Gond in Chanda and Betul. A subcaste of Mahar.

Dhunak Pathan.—Synonym for Bahna.

Dhunia.—(From dhunna, to card cotton.) Synonym for Bahna.

Dhunka.—(A cotton-cleaner.) Subcaste of Kadera.

Dhur Gond.—(From dhur, dust.) A subcaste of Gonds. They are also known as Rawanvansi or descendants of Rawan.

Dhuri.—A caste of grain-parchers. A subcaste of Dhimar.

Dhuria.—Subcaste of Nagasia and Dhimar. They are so called because they mark the forehead of the bride with dust (dhur) taken from the sole of the bridegroom's foot.

Dhurwa.—The word may be derived from dhur, dust. Dhur is a name given to the body of Gonds as opposed to the Raj-Gonds. One of the commonest septs of Gonds. A sept of Baiga, Kolta, Kalar and Nat. A title of Parja.

Dhusar.—Subcaste of Bania.

Dhusia.—Subcaste of Murha.

Digambari.—A sect of Jain Banias who do not clothe their idols and apply saffron to their feet. Also a class of Bairagis or religious mendicants.

Diharia or Kisan.—(One who lives in a village or a cultivator.). Subcaste of Korwa.

Dikhit, Dikshit, Dixit.—(The Initiator.) A subcaste of Brahman. A clan of Rajputs of the solar race formerly dominant in the United Provinces.

Dila.—(A pointed stick tied to a calf's mouth to prevent him from sucking.) A totemistic sept of Kawar. They do not use a stick in this manner. A section of Ahir.

Dillawal.—A subcaste of Kasar. Those belonging to or coming from Delhi.

Dingkuchia.—(One who castrates cattle and ponies.) Subcaste of Ghasia.

Dipawalia.—(One who supplies oil for the lamps at Diwali.) A sept of Teli.

Dipbans.—(Son of the lamp.) Title of Teli.

Diwan.—Title of the members of the Dahait caste committee.

Dixit.—See Dikhit.

Dobaile.—(One who yokes two bullocks to the oil-press.) Subcaste of Telis in the Nagpur country.

Dobisya.—(Two score.) Subcaste of Halwai.

Doda or Dor.—One of the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs.

Dogle.—Name applied to Kayasths of illegitimate descent.

Dohor. [441]—A small caste of Berar, who are really Chamars; in the Central Provinces the Dohors are a well-known subcaste of Chamars, but in Berar they appear to have obtained a separate name, under which about 6000 persons were returned in 1911. They work in leather like the Chamars or Mochis. With the ambition of bettering their social status among the Hindus the caste strictly observe the sanctity of animal life. No Dohor may molest an animal or even pelt it with stones. A man who sells a cow or bullock to butchers is put out of caste, but if he repents and gets the animal back before it is slaughtered, a fine of Rs. 5 only is imposed. If, on the other hand, the animal is killed, the culprit must give his daughter in marriage without taking any price from the bridegroom, and must feed the whole caste and pay a fine of Rs. 50, which is expended on liquor. Failing this he is expelled from the community. Similarly the Pardeshi Dohors rigidly enforce infant-marriage. If a girl is not married before she is ten her family are fined and put out of caste until the fine is paid. And if the girl has leprosy or any other disease, which prevents her from getting married, a similar penalty is imposed on the family. Nevertheless the Dohors are considered to be impure and are not allowed to enter Hindu temples; the village barber does not shave them nor the washerman wash their clothes. A bachelor desiring to marry a widow must first perform the ceremony with a rui or cotton-tree. But such a union is considered disgraceful; the man himself must pay a heavy fine to get back into caste, and his children are considered as partly illegitimate and must marry with the progeny of similar unions. Either husband or wife can obtain a divorce by a simple application to the caste panchayat, and a divorced woman can marry again as a widow. The caste offer sheep and goats to their deities and worship the animals before killing them. At Dasahra they also pay reverence to the skinning-knife, and the needle with which shoes are sewn. The caste burn the bodies of those who die married and bury the unmarried. Before setting out for a funeral they drink liquor and again on their return, and a little liquor is sprinkled over the grave. When a man has been cremated his ashes are taken and thrown into a river on the third day. The chief mourner, after being shaved by his brother-in-law, takes the hair with some copper coins in his hand and, diving into the river, leaves them there as an offering to the dead man's spirit.

Dolia.—(Palanquin-bearer.) A section of Dhimar.

Dom.—An important caste in Bengal. See article Kanjar. Used as a synonym for Ganda in the Uriya country.

Domra.—Subcaste of Turi.

Dongaria, Dongarwar.—(From dongar, a hill.) A sept of Bhil, Dhobi, Mali, Mang and Sonkar. A surname of Maratha Brahmans.

Dora.—(Sahib or Lord.) Title of the Mutrasi caste.

Dosar.—Subcaste of Bania.

Dravida.—(Southern.) See Panch-Dravida.

Dube.—(A teacher and a man learned in two Vedas.) A common surname of Hindustani Brahmans. A subcaste of Banjara.

Dudh.—(Milk.) Dudh-Barai, a subcaste of Barai; Dudh-Gowari, a subcaste of Ahir or Gowari; Dudh-Kawar, a subcaste of Kawar.

Dudh Bhai.—(Milk-brothers.) A fraternity of Gonds in Betul, who are apparently foster-brothers. They do not marry, though they have different septs.

Dukar.—A subcaste of Kolhati. From dukar, hog, because they are accustomed to hunt the wild pig with dogs and spears when these animals become too numerous and damage the crops of the villagers.

Dukaria.—Title of the officer of the Andh caste who constitutes the caste committee.

Dulha.—(Bridegroom.) A section of Chadar.

Dumar or Dom.—A low caste of sweepers in Bengal. See Kanjar. Subcaste of Basor, Ganda, Panka and Turi. Synonym and subcaste of Mehtar. A section of Kawar.

Durgbansi.—A clan of Rajputs in Ragnandgaon.

Dusre.—(Second.) A subdivision of Shrivastab, Gaur and Saksena Kayasths, meaning those of inferior or mixed origin as opposed to Khare or those of pure origin.

Dwarka.—One of the most holy places in India, situated on or near the sea in Gujarat. It is supposed to have been founded by Krishna. Site of one of the monasteries (Ashram) of Sankaracharya, the founder of the non-dualistic or Vedanta philosophy.

Dwija.—(Twice-born.) A title applied to the three higher classical castes, Brahman, Kshatriya and Vaishya, and now especially to Brahmans.

Ekbahia.—(One-armed.) Subcaste of Teli, so called because their women wear glass bangles only on one arm.

Ekbaile.—One who yokes one bullock only to the oil-press. Subcaste of Teli.

Elama, Elma.—Synonym for Velama. A subcaste of Kapewar or Kapu.

Erenga.—Subcaste of Kharia in Bengal.

Erna.—(From Eran, in Saugor district.) A section of Teli.

Fakir.—A Muhammadan mendicant. Synonym Sain. See article.

Farid.—Sheikh Farid was a well-known Muhammadan saint. A section of Panwar Rajput.

Farsi.—Persian. From the Province of Fars. The term Farsi is also used by the Hindus to signify foreign or non-Aryan languages like Gondi.

Fidawi.—(A disciple.) An order of devotees of the Khojah sect known to the Crusaders as Assassins. Title of Khojah.

Gadaba.—Synonym of Gadba.

Gadaria.—A caste. Subcaste of Ahir.

Gadha.—(An ass.) A sept of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betul, so named because their priest rode on an ass in crossing a river.

Gadhao.—(From gadha, an ass.) Subcaste of Kunbi.

Gadhewal, Gadhere, Gadhwe, Gadhilla.—(One who keeps donkeys. From gadha, an ass.) A subcaste of Dhimar, Katia, Koshti, Kumhar and Sonkar. A sept of Gond and Pardhan.

Gadhwana.—(From Garha, near Jubbulpore.) Subcaste of Nai.

Gadiwan.—(A cart-driver.) Subcaste of Dangri.

Gadri.—(From gadar, a sheep.) A synonym of Gadaria. A subcaste of Dhangar.

Gaharwar, Gaharval, Gherwal.—One of the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs chiefly found in Bilaspur and Khairagarh. A section of Patwas.

Gahbainya or Gahboniya.—(Those who hid in a village when called by a king to his presence.) A subcaste of Kurmi. A section of Kurmi.

Gahlot or Sesodia.—A famous clan of Rajputs. A section of Daraiha and Joshi.

Gahoi.—Subcaste of Bania. See article Bania-Gahoi.

Gahra.—Synonym for Ahir or herdsman in the Uriya country.

Gai-Gowari.—Subcaste of Gowari.

Gaiki.—A cowherd. (A subcaste of Gond in Betul.) A section of Chamar.

Gaikwar or Gaika.—(A cowherd.) A clan of Maratha. A section of Ahir, Bhil, Kunbi and Mahar.

Gaita.—Subcaste of Gond.

Gaiwale.—(Cow-keeper.) A subcaste of Moghia.

Gajarha.—(Gajar, a carrot.) A section of Teli in Mandla.

Gajjam.—A sept of the Dhurwa clan of Gonds in Betul named after Gajjami. (Bow and arrows in Gondi.)

Ganda.—(A messenger.) A low caste of village watchmen. In the Uriya country the Gandas are known as Dom. A subcaste of Pardhan. Title of Kharia.

Gandhi.—A scent-seller. (From gandh, a Sanskrit word for scent.) Synonym of Atari. A section of Maheshir Bania.

Gandli.—The Telugu caste of oil-pressers, numbering about 3000 persons in the Central Provinces, in the Chanda, Nagpur and Bhandara Districts. They are immigrants from the Godavari District of Madras and have been settled in the Central Provinces for some generations. Here many of them have prospered so that they have abandoned the hereditary calling and become landowners, traders and moneylenders. Like the well-to-do Telis they are keenly desirous of bettering their social position and now repudiate any connection with what may be known as 'the shop,' or the profession of oil-pressing. As this ranks very low, among the more despised village handicrafts, the progress of the Gandlis and Telis to the social standing of Banias, to which they generally aspire, is beset with difficulties; but the Gandlis, in virtue of having migrated to what is practically a foreign country so far as they are concerned, have achieved a considerable measure of success, and may be said to enjoy a better position than any Telis. A few of them wear the sacred thread, and though they eat flesh, they have abjured liquor except in Chanda, where they are most numerous and the proportion of wealthy members is smallest. Here also they are said to eat pork. Others eat flesh and fowls.

The Gandlis are divided into the Reddi, Chetti and Telkala subcastes, and the last are generally oil-pressers. It is probable that the Reddis are the same as the Redu-eddu or Rendu-eddu subcaste of Madras, who derive their name from the custom of using two bullocks to turn the oil-press, like the Do-baile Telis of the Central Provinces. But it has been changed to Reddi, a more respectable name, as being a synonym for the Kapu cultivating caste. Chetti really means a trader, and is, Mr. Francis says, [442] "One of those occupational or titular terms, which are largely employed as caste names. The weavers, oil-pressers and others use it as a title, and many more tack it on to their names to denote that trade is their occupation." Marriage is regulated by exogamous groups, the names of which are said to be derived from those of villages. Girls are generally married during childhood. A noticeable point is that the ceremony is celebrated at the bridegroom's house, to which the bride goes, accompanied by her party, including the women of her family. The ceremony follows the Maratha form of throwing fried rice over the bridal couple, and Brahman priests are employed to officiate. Widow-marriage is permitted. The dead are both buried and burnt, and during mourning the Gandlis refrain from eating khichri or mixed rice and pulse, and do not take their food off plantain leaves, in addition to the other usual observances. They have the shantik ceremony or the seclusion of a girl on the first appearance of the signs of adolescence, which is in vogue among the higher Maratha castes, and is followed by a feast and the consummation of her marriage. They now speak Marathi fluently, but still use Telugu in their houses and wear their head-cloths tied after the Tulugu fashion. [443]

Gangabalu.—(Sand of the Ganges.) A family name of Ganda.

Gangabasia.—(Living on the banks of the Ganges.) A section of Ahir.

Gangapari.—(One coming from the further side of the Ganges.) Subcaste of Barai, Barhai, Chamar, Dhobi, Gondhali, Kumhar and Umre Bania.

Gangasagar.—(Sea of the Ganges.) A section of Chitari and Kawar.

Gangavansi.—(Descended from the Ganges.) A clan of Rajputs. The chief of Bamra State is a Gangavansi.

Gangthade.—Dwellers on the banks of the Godavari and Wainganga. These rivers are sometimes called Ganga or Ganges, which is used as a general term for a great river. A subcaste of Maratha.

Gannore.—Name of a minor Rajput clan. Subcaste of Balahi.

Ganth-chor.—(A bundle-thief.) Title of Bhamta.

Gaolan.—A synonym of Ahir or Gaoli, applied to an inferior section of the caste.

Gaoli, Gauli.—(A milkman.) Synonym for Ahir. Subcaste of Hatkar.

Gaontia.—(A village headman.) Title of the head of the Kol caste committee. Title of Kol.

Garde.—(Dusty.) A surname of Karhara Brahmans in Saugor.

Garg or Gargya.—The name of a famous Rishi or saint. An eponymous section of Brahmans. A section of Agarwala Banias. Gargabansi is a clan of Rajputs.

Garhawala, Garhewala, Garhewar.—A resident of Garha, an old town near Jubbulpore which gave its name to the Garha-Mandla dynasty, and is a centre of weaving. A subcaste of Katia, Koshti and Mahar, all weaving castes. A subcaste of Binjhal.

Garkata.—(Cut-throat.) A section of Koshti.

Garpagari.—A body of Jogis or Naths who avert hailstorms and are considered a separate caste. See article. From gar, hail. A subcaste of Koshta and Kumhar. A section of Ghasia.

Gate.—(A bastard.) Subcaste of Naoda.

Gaur.—The ancient name of part of Bengal and perhaps applied also to the tract in the United Provinces round about the modern Gonda District. A subcaste of Brahman and Kayasth. A clan of Rajputs. See articles.

Gauria, Gauriya.—A caste. A subcaste of Dhimar, Khond, Kumhar and Uriya Sansia.

Gauriputra.—A son of Gauri, the wife of Mahadeo. Title of Balija.

Gautam.—A name of a famous Rishi or saint. A common eponymous section of Brahmans. A clan of Rajputs. A section of Agharia, Ahir, Maratha, Panwar Rajput, Rangari and Jangam.

Gayake.—Subcaste of Pardhi, meaning a man who stalks deer behind a bullock.

Gayawal.—(From the town of Gaya on the Ganges, a favourite place for performing the obsequies of the dead.) A subcaste of Brahmans who act as emissaries for the owners of the shrines at Gaya and wander about the country inducing villagers to undertake the pilgrimage and personally conducting their constituents.

Gazulu.—(A bangle-seller.) Subcaste of Balija.

Gedam.—A sept of Gonds. A sept of Baigas.

Ghadyachi Tong.—(The rim of the pitcher.) A section of Kirar.

Ghanta.—(Bell.) A section of Kumhar.

Ghantra.—Name of a caste of Lohars or blacksmiths in the Uriya country.

Gharbari.—One who while leading a mendicant life is permitted to marry with the permission of his guru. A householder, synonym Grihastha. The married groups of the Gosain, Bairagi and Manbhao orders as distinguished from the Nihang or celibate section.

Ghasi Mali.—Subcaste of Mali.

Ghatole, Ghatode.—Those who dwell on the ghats or passes of the Sainhyadri Hills to the south of the Berar plain. Subcaste of Bahna, Gondhali and Kunbi.

Ghatmathe.—(Residents of the Mahadeo plateau in Berar.) Subcaste of Maratha.

Gherwal.—A clan of Rajputs. Synonym for Gaharwar.

Ghidoda.—(Giver of ghi.) A section of Telis so named because their first ancestors presented ghi to the king Bhoramdeo.

Ghisadi, Ghisari.—A group of wandering Lohars or blacksmiths. Synonym for Lohar.

Ghoderao.—(Ghoda, a horse.) Subcaste of Chitrakathi. They have the duty of looking after the horses and bullock-carts of the castemen who assemble for marriage or other ceremonies.

Ghodke.—Those who tend horses. Subcaste of Mang.

Ghodmaria.—(Horse-killer.) A sept of Binjhwar.

Ghopi.—(Wild jamun tree.) A sept of Gonds.

Ghosi.—A caste. A subcaste of Ahir. A section of Chamar.

Ghudchoda.—A subcaste of Pasi, who have become grooms. (From ghora, a horse.)

Ghughu, Ghughwa.—(Owl.) A section of Ganda, Kawar, Kewat and Panka. Pankas of the Ghughu sept are said to have eaten the leavings of their caste-fellows.

Ghunnere.—(Worm-eater.) A section of Teli in Betul and Rathor Teli.

Ghura or Gura.—(Dunghill.) A section of Chadar and Sunar.

Ghuttin.—A sept of Bhils. They reverence the gular, or fig tree.

Gingra.—A subcaste of Tiyar.

Girgira.—A small caste found in Sonpur State and Sambalpur district. They are fishermen, and also parch rice. They are perhaps an offshoot of the Kewat caste.

Giri or Gir.—(Gir, mountain.) An order of Gosains.

Girnara.—A subcaste of Brahmans in Jubbulpore. They are said to take their name from Girnar in Kathiawar, where they were settled by Krishna after he rose from the Damodar reservoir in the bed of the Sonrekha river at Junagarh. They have the monopoly of the office of priests to pilgrims visiting Girnar. (Bombay Gazetteer, ix.)

Goal or Gowala, Guala.—(Sanskrit Gopal, a cowherd.) Synonym of Ahir, also subcaste of Ahir.

Gaoli.—(A cowherd.) Synonym for Ahir. Subcaste of Maratha.

Gobardhua.—(From gobar, cowdung.) Subcaste of Chamar.

Gohia, Gohi.—(From goh or gohi, a large lizard.) A section of Jain Bania or Khatik. A sept of Bhatra and Parja.

Gohil.—A well-known clan of Rajputs in the United Provinces.

Goia.—(From gohi, a mango-stone.) A section of Chadar. They draw a picture of the mango-stone at the Maihar or distribution of sacrificial cakes.

Gola.—Synonym of Golar.

Golak.—Synonym Govardhan or Gaomukh. An illegitimate group of Maratha Brahmans.

Golalare.—A subcaste of Bania.

Golandaz.—(An artilleryman.) Synonym of Kadera.

Golapurab.—A subcaste of Bania, Darzi and Kalar.

Golkar.—Synonym of Golar and Ahir.

Golia.—One who dyes cloth with goli ka rang, the fugitive aniline dyes. Subcaste of Chhipa.

Golla.—Synonym of Golar.

Gollam.—Synonym of Golar.

Gondadya.—(Gond.) Subcaste of Otari.

Gondi.—(From the Gonds.) A subcaste of Ahir, Binjhwar and Lohar.

Gondia.—Subcaste of Dhimar.

Gondi-Lohar.—A Gond who works as a blacksmith. Subcaste of Lohar.

Gondvansi.—(Descendants of Gonds.) A section of Ghasia.

Gondwaina.—Subcaste of Baiga.

Gopal.—A caste. Synonym of Ahir in Rajputana.

Goranda.—Synonym of Goyanda.

Gorakhnath.—A sect of Jogis. From Guru Gorakhnath, a great Jogi.

Gorasia.—(From goras, milk.) A section of Lonare Mali.

Gorigawar, Gaigowal.—(A cowherd.) A section of Otari and Panka.

Gosain, Goswami.—A caste. A surname of Sanadhya Brahmans in Saugor.

Gotte.—A subcaste of Gond. They are also called Made in Chanda.

Goundia.—A class of Bairagi. Synonym Madhavachari. A section of Bharia-Bhumia.

Gowalvansi.—Subcaste of Ahir.

Goyanda, Goranda.—A name applied to a small class of persons in Jubbulpore, who are descendants of Thug approvers, formerly confined there. The name is said to mean, 'One who speaks,' and to have been applied to those Thugs who escaped capital punishment by giving information against their confederates. Goranda is said to be a corruption of Goyanda. The Goyandas are both Hindus and Muhammadans. The latter commonly call themselves Deccani Musalmans as a more respectable designation. They are said to be a gipsy class of Muhammadans resembling the Kanjars. The Hindus are of different castes, but are also believed to include some Beria gipsies. The Goyandas are employed in making gloves, socks and strings for pyjamas, having probably taken to this kind of work because the Thug approvers were employed in the manufacture of tents. Their women are quarrelsome, and wrangle over payment when selling their wares. This calling resembles that of the Kanjar women, who also make articles of net and string, and sell them in villages. Some of the Goyandas are employed in Government and railway service, and Mr. Gayer notes that the latter are given to opium smuggling, and carry opium on their railway engines. [444]

Grihastha, Gharbari.—(A householder.) A name given to those divisions of the religious mendicant orders who marry and have families.

Guar.—(From guara or gwala, a milkman.) Subcaste of Banjara.

Gudarh or Gudar.—(From gudra, a rag.) A sect of the Bairagi, Gosain and Jogi orders of mendicants.

Gudha or Gurha.—(From gudh, a pigsty.) Subcaste of Basor.

Gugaria.—One who trades in gugar, a kind of gum. Subcaste of Banjara.

Gujar.—A caste. A subcaste of Ahir, Darzi, Koshti and Pasi. A clan of Maratha. A section of Khatik.

Gujarati.—(From Gujarat.) A territorial subcaste of Bahelia, Bania, Barhai, Chhipa, Darzi, Gopal, Nai, Sunar and Teli.

Gurasthulu.—A synonym for the Balija caste.

Gurbhelia.—(A ball of molasses.) A section of Gohira Ahirs in Chanda.

Guria.—(A preparer of gur or unrefined sugar.) Synonym of Halwai in the Uriya country.

Gurujwale.—A class of Fakirs or Muhammadan beggars.

Guru-Mata.—Title of the great council of the Sikhs and their religious meal.

Guru.—(A preacher or teacher or spiritual guide.) Brahmans and members of the religious orders, Bairagis and Gosains, are the Gurus of ordinary Hindus. Most Hindu men and also women of the higher and middle castes have a Guru, whose functions are, however, generally confined to whispering a sacred verse into the ear of the disciple on initiation, and paying him a visit about once a year; it is not clear what happens on these occasions, but the Guru is entertained by this disciple, and a little moral exhortation may be given.

Gurusthulu.—Synonym of Balija.

Guthau.—Title of Gadba.

Gwalbansi, Gokulbansi, Goalbansi.—(Descended from a cowherd.) A subcaste of Ahir or Gaoli, A subcaste of Khairwar.

Gwalhare.—(Cowherd.) A subcaste of Lodhi.

Habshi.—Synonym of Siddi. An Abyssinian.

Hadi.—(Sweeper or scavenger.) One of the 72 1/2 gotras of Meheshri Bania. A synonym for Mangan.

Hadia.—(From hadi, bone.) A section of Raghuvansi.

Haihaya, Haihaivansi.—(Race of the horse.) A clan of Rajputs of the lunar race.

Hajjam.—Muhammadan name for Nai or barber.

Hakkya.—Title of Hatkar.

Halai.—Subcaste of Cutchi.

Halbi.—Synonym of Halba. Subcaste of Koshti.

Haldia, Hardiya, Hardiha, Halde.—(A grower of haldi, or turmeric.) Subcaste of Kachhi, Lodhi, Mali, Rajjhar and Teli. A section of Rajjhar.

Halia.—(Ploughman.) A subcaste of Teli in Nandgaon State.

Halua.—A subcaste of Uriya Brahmans, so called because they use the plough (hal).

Hans, Hansi, Hansa,—(The swan.) A section of Agharia, Ahir, Mali and Savar.

Hansele.—(Hansna, to laugh.) A section of Ahir.

Hanuman, Hanumanta.—(The monkey-god Hanuman.) A section of Bhatra, Mahar and Mowar.

Hara.—A clan of Rajputs, a branch of the Chauhans.

Harbola.—Derived from Hari, a name of Vishnu or Krishna, and bolna to speak. Synonym of Basdewa and also subcaste of Basdewa.

Hardas.—A religious mendicant who travels about and tells stories about heroes and gods accompanied with music. Synonym of Chitrakathi.

Hari.—(A bone-gatherer.) Synonym of Mehtar and subcaste of Mehtar.

Haria.—(Hal, plough.) A subcaste of Mahar.

Harial.—(Green pigeon.) A section of Ahir.

Harshe.—(Glad.) Surname of Karhara Brahmans in Saugor.

Hatgar.—Synonym of Hatkar.

Hatghar.—Subcaste of Koshti.

Hathgarhia.—Subcaste of Kumhar, meaning one who moulds vessels with his hands only, without using the wheel as an implement.

Hathia, Hasti.—(From hathi, elephant.) A section of Ahir, Chasa, Mehra and Mowar.

Hatkar, Hatgar.—A caste. A subcaste of Koshta and Maratha.

Hatwa.—A small caste of pedlars and hawkers in the Uriya country, who perambulate the village bazars or hats, from which word their name is derived. They sell tobacco, turmeric, salt, and other commodities. The caste are in reality a branch of the Kewats, and are also called Semli Kewat, because their ancestors travelled on the Mahanadi and other rivers in canoes made from the bark of the semal tree (Bombax Malabaricum). They were thus Kewats or boatmen who adopted the practice of carrying small articles up and down the river for sale in their canoes, and then beginning to travel on land as well as on water, became regular pedlars, and were differentiated into a separate caste. The caste originated in Orissa where river travelling has until lately been much in vogue, and in Sambalpur they are also known as Uriyas, because of their recent immigration into this part of the country. The Hatwas consider themselves to be descended from the Nag or cobra, and say that they all belong to the Nag gotra. They will not kill a cobra, and will save it from death at the hands of others if they have the opportunity, and they sometimes pay the snake-charmers to set free captive snakes. The oath on the snake is their most solemn form of affirmation. For the purposes of marriage they have a number of exogamous sections or vargas, the names of which in some cases indicate a military calling, as Dalai, from Dalpati, commander of an army, and Senapati, commander-in-chief; while others are occupational, as Maharana (painter), Dwari (gatekeeper) and Mangual (steersman of a boat). The latter names show, as might be expected, that the caste is partly of functional origin, while as regards the military names, the Hatwas say that they formerly fought against the Bhonslas, under one of the Uriya chiefs. They say that they have the perpetual privilege of contributing sixteen poles, called Naikas, for the car of Jagannath, and that in lieu of this they hold seven villages in Orissa revenue-free. Those of them who use pack-bullocks for carrying their wares worship Banjari Devi, a deity who is held to reside in the sacks used for loading the bullocks; to her they offer sweetmeats and grain boiled with sugar.

Havelia.—(Resident of a Haveli or fertile wheat tract.) Subcaste of Ghosi and Kurmi.

Hawaidar.—(A maker of fireworks.) Synonym of Kadera.

Hela.—(From hela, a cry.) Subcaste of Mehtar.

Hichami.—(A comb.) A sept of Maria Gonds.

Hijra.—(A eunuch.) See article. A subcaste of Gondhali.

Hindustani.—Subcaste of Kunbi.

Hira, Hirani.—(Diamond.) A section of Bhulia and of Uriya Sansia.

Hirangotri.—(Hiran, deer.) A section of Agarwal Bania.

Ho.—Synonym of Kol.

Holer.—(A hide-curer.) Subcaste of Mang.

Holia, Holer.—A caste. A subcaste of Golar. Holer, perhaps from Holia, a subcaste of Mang.

Hudila.—(Wolf.) A totemistic sept of Kawar.

Hulhulia Sahu.—A section of Chasa so named, because as a mark of respect they make the noise 'Hulhuli,' when a king passes through the village.

Huna, Hoon or Hun.—One of the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs. Probably descendants of the Hun invaders of the fifth century. See articles Rajput and Panwar Rajput.

Husaini.—Subcaste of Brahman.

Ikbainha.—A subcaste of Kurmi, so called because their women put bangles on one arm only.

Iksha Kul or Ikshawap Kul.—A section of Komti. They abstain from using the sugarcane and the sendia flower.

Ilakeband.—(From ilaqa or alaqa, meaning connection, and bandhna, to bind.) Synonym of Patwa.

Inga.—Subcaste of Gowari.

Irpachi.—(Mahua flowers.) A sept of Dhurwa Gonds in Betul.

Ivna Inde.—(Inde, chicken.) A sept of Dhurwa Gonds in Betul. They offer chickens to their gods.

Ivna Jagleya.—(Jagna, to be awake.) A sept of the Dhurwa clan of Gonds in Betul. They are so named because they kept awake to worship their gods at night.

Jadam, Jaduvansi, Yadava.—An important clan of Rajputs now become a caste. Name derived from Yadu or Yadava. A subcaste of Gujar. A subcaste and section of Ahir; a section of Rathor Rajputs in Betul.

Jadia, Jaria.—(An enameller.) A subcaste of Sunar. They practise hypergamy by taking wives from the Pitariye and Sudihe subdivisions, and giving daughters to the Sri Nagariye and Banjar Mahuwe subdivisions. Also an occupational term meaning one who sets precious stones in rings.

Jadubansi, Yadubansi.—See Jadum. A subcaste of Ahir.

Jaga.—(Awakener.) Synonym of Basdewa.

Jagat.—(An awakener or sorcerer.) A sept of Gond in many localities. A section of Nat and Kasar.

Jaharia.—(From jahar, an essence.) Subcaste of Satnami.

Jain.—Name of a religion. See article. A subcaste of Kalar, Kumbar and Simpi (Darzi).

Jaina.—(One who follows the Jain faith.) Subcaste of Komti, Gurao.

Jain Koshti.—Subcaste of Koshti.

Jaipuria.—(A resident of Jaipur.) Subcaste of Mali.

Jaiswar.—(From the old town of Jais in Rai Bareli District.) A subcaste of Chamars, who usually call themselves Jaiswara in preference to their caste name. A subcaste of Barai, Kunbi and Kalar.

Jalalia.—A class of Fakirs or Muhammadan beggars.

Jaitwa or Kamari.—A clan of Rajputs; one of the thirty-six royal races mentioned by Colonel Tod.

Jallad.—(An executioner.) Subcaste of Kanjar.

Jamadagni.—An eponymous section of Karhare Brahman and Agharia.

Jambu.—(From the jaman tree.) A subcaste of Brahman and Marar. A sept of Korku.

Jambu Dalia.—(Born in a shed made of jaman branches.) A section of Ghasia.

Jamnabasi.—(Residing on the banks of the Jumna.) A subcaste of Dhobi.

Jangam.—A caste of Saiva mendicants, who call themselves Vir Shaiva, and are priests of the Lingayat sect; a subcaste of Jogi.

Jangra.—(Perhaps the same as Jharia or jungly.) A subcaste of Lodhi. A section of Dhimar, Mali and Sunar.

Jani.—A wise man; an exorciser.

Janta.—(Flour grinding-mill.) A section of Panka, a sept of Kawar.

Janughanta.—Mendicants who tie bells to their thighs; a kind of Jogis.

Jaria.—A totemistic section of Basor, who worship the ber or wild plum tree.

Jasondhi, Dasaundhi.—A caste. A subcaste of Bhat.

Jasondhi, Karohla.—A small caste of the Narsinghpur District, who were employed at the Gond and Maratha courts to sing the jas or hymns in praise of the chiefs. They may be considered as a branch of the Bhat caste, and some of them are said to be addicted to petty theft. Some Jasondhis, who are also known as Karohla, now wander about as religious mendicants, singing the praises of Devi. They carry an image of the goddess suspended by a chain round the neck and ask for gifts of tilli (sesamum) or other vegetable oil, which they pour over their heads and over the image. Their clothes and bodies are consequently always saturated with this oil. They also have a little cup of vermilion which they smear on the goddess and on their own bodies after receiving an offering. They call on Devi, saying, 'Maiji, Maiji Mata meri, kahe ko janam diya' or 'Mother, mother, why did you bring me into the world?' Women who have no children sometimes vow to dedicate their first-born son as a Karohla, and it is said that such children were bound to sacrifice themselves to the goddess on attaining manhood in one of three ways. Either they went to Benares and were cut in two by a sword, or else to Badrinarayan, a shrine on the summit of the Himalayas, where they were frozen to death, or to Dhaolagiri, where they threw themselves down from a rock, and one might occasionally escape death. Their melancholy refrain may thus be explained by the fate in store for them. The headquaters of the order is the shrine of the Bindhyachal Devi in the Vindhyan Hills.

Jat.—A caste. One of the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs. A subcaste of Barhai, Bishnoi and Kumhar.

Jatadhari.—(With matted hair.) A sect of celibate Manbhaos.

Jati.—Name of Jain mendicant ascetics.

Jaunpuri.—(From Jaunpur.) A subcaste of Halwai and Lohar.

Jemadar.—Honorific title of Khangar and Mehtar.

Jemadarin.—Title of the female leaders of the Yerukala communities of thieves.

Jera.—(A forked stick for collecting thorny wood.) A section of Dangi.

Jhadi, Jhade, Jharia, Jharkua. (Jungly.)—A name often applied to the oldest residents of a caste in any locality of the Central Provinces. In Berar it is used to designate the Wainganga Valley and adjacent hill ranges. A subcaste of Ahir, Barai, Barhai, Chamar, Dhangar, Dhanwar, Dhobi, Gadaria, Gurao, Kapewar, Kasar, Katia, Kewat, Khatik, Khond, Kirar, Kumhar, Kunbi, Kurmi, Mahar, Mali, Nai, Sunar, Teli and Turi.

Jhadukar.—(From jhadu, a broom.) A synonym of Mehtar.

Jhal or Jhala.—One of the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs. A subcaste of Raj-Gond.

Jhankar.—Name of a village priest in the Uriya country. The Jhankar is usually a Binjhwar or member of another primitive tribe.

Jhara, Jhira, Jhora.—Synonym of Sonjhara.

Jharha.—subcaste of Lodhi. Jharia.—(Jungly.) See Jhadi. Jharola.—(Perhaps from the town of Jhalor in Marwar.) A subcaste of Brahmans in Jubbulpore.

Jhinga.—(A prawn-catcher.) Subcaste of Dhimar.

Jijhotia or Jujhotia.—(From Jajhoti, the old name of the country of Lalitpur and Saugor.) A subcaste of Brahmans of the Kanaujia division. A subcaste of Ahir; a section of Joshi and Kumhar.

Jildgar.—(A bookbinder.) A class of Mochi.

Jingar.—(A saddlemaker.) A class of Mochi. A subcaste of Chamar and of Simpi (Darzi).

Jirayat.—Synonym for Mochis in Berar who have taken up the finer kinds of ironwork, such as mending guns, etc.

Jire-Mali.—Formerly was the only subcaste of Mali who would grow cumin or jira.

Jiria.—(From jira, or cumin.) Subcaste of Kachhi.

Jogi, Jugi. A caste. A subcaste of Dewar. A section of Chamar, Chhipa and Lohar.

Joharia.—(From johar, a form of salutation.) Subcaste of Dahaits in Bilaspur.

Johri.—A subcaste of Rajput.

Jokhara.—A small class of Muhammadans who breed leeches and apply them to patients, the name being derived from jonk, a leech. They were not separately classified at the census, but a few families of them are found in Burhanpur, and they marry among themselves, because no other Muhammadans will marry with them. In other parts of India leeches are kept and applied by sweepers and sometimes by their women. [445] People suffering from boils, toothache, swellings of the face, piles and other diseases have leeches applied to them. For toothache the leeches are placed inside the mouth on the gum for two days in succession. There are two kinds of leeches known as Bhainsa-jonk, the large or buffalo-leech, and Rai-jonk, the small leech. They are found in the mud of stagnant tanks and in broken-down wells, and are kept in earthen vessels in a mixture of black soil and water; and in this condition they will go without food for months and also breed. Some patients object to having their blood taken out of the house, and in such cases powdered turmeric is given to the leeches to make them disgorge, and the blood of the patient is buried inside the house. The same means is adopted to prevent the leeches from dying of repletion. In Gujarat the Jokharas are a branch of the Hajjam or Muhammadan barber caste, [446] and this recalls the fact that the barber chirurgeon or surgeon in mediaeval England was also known as the leech. It would be natural to suppose that he was named after the insect which he applied, but Murray's Dictionary holds that the two words were derived from separate early English roots, and were subsequently identified by popular etymology.

Jondhara.—(Indian millet.) A totemistic sept of Korku and Halba.

Joshi.—(An astrologer.) A caste. A surname of Karhara Brahmans.

Juthia.—(One who eats the leavings of others.) Subcaste of Basor.

Jyotishi.—A synonym for Joshi; an astrologer.

Kabiraya.—(Followers of Kabir.) A subcaste of Kori. A section of Koshti.

Kabirpanthi.—A member of the Kabirpanthi sect. A subcaste of Panka and Agharia. A class of Bairagis or religious mendicants.

Kabra.—(Spotted.) One of the 72 1/2 sections of Maheshri Bania.

Kabutari.—(Pigeon.) A synonym for Kolhati. A name given to female dancers of the Nat caste.

Kabutkunia.—(Those who find place at the corner of the door.) A subcaste of Sudh in Sambalpur, being the illegitimate issues of the Baro Sudh subcaste.

Kachara.—Synonym of Kachera.

Kachchhi.—(From Cutch in Gujarat.) A subdivision of Balmiki Kayasths and Mathur Kayasths.

Kachhap.—(Tortoise.) A totemistic sept of Agharia, Sudh, Bhulia, Chasa, Kamar and Khandait.

Kachhotia.—Subcaste of Jadam.

Kachhutva.—(The tortoise.) A totemistic sept of several groups of Gonds, also of Darzi, Halba, Kol, Rawat, Munda, Jat, Kachhi and Lohar.

Kachhwaha.—(The tortoise.) One of the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs, the princes of Jaipur or Amber being of this clan. They derive the name from Cutch, or from Kush, an eponymous ancestor. A section of Nandbansi Ahir, Gadaria, Kachhi and Nat. The Kachhwaha section of Gadarias worship the tortoise.

Kada-kalle-bhallavi.—One who uses donkeys for pack-carriage (bhallavi), but stole a horse (kalle-kada). A sept of the Dhurwa clan of Satdeve Gonds in Betul.

Kagar.—Synonym of Dhimar.

Kagwaria.—From kagwar, an offering made to the ancestors in the month of Kunwar. Subcaste of Kol.

Kaibartta.—Synonym of Kewat.

Kaikadi.—Synonym of Kaikari.

Kainthwans.—A subcaste of Pasi in Saugor and Betul, said to have originated in a cross between a Badhak or Baori, and a Kayasth woman.

Kaith.—Synonym for Kayasth.

Kaitha, Kaithia.—Subcaste of Bharbhunja and Darzi.

Kakra.—One who arranges for the lighting at the marriage and other ceremonies. Subcaste of Chitrakathi.

Kala.—(Black.) A subcaste of Golkar (Ahir.

Kalachuri.—Synonym for the Haihaya clan of Rajputs.

Kalanga.—A caste. A subcaste of Gond.

Kalanki.—A subdivision of Maharashtra Brahmans found in Nagpur. They are considered degraded, as their name indicates. They are said to have cut up a cow made of flour to please a Muhammadan governor, and to follow some other Muhammadan practices.

Kalapithia,—(Having black backs.) A subcaste of Savars in Puri of Orissa. They have the right of dragging the car of Jagannath.

Kalawant.—Title of Mirasi.

Kalbelia.—(Catcher of snakes.) A subcaste of Nat.

Kalibelia.—(Bel, an ox.) A section of Chadar. They draw a picture of an ox at their weddings.

Kalihari.—(Bridle.) A section of Teli in Nandgaon, so named because they presented a bridle to their king.

Kalkhor.—(Castor-oil plant.) A totemistic sept of the Audhalia caste.

Kalutia, Kalota.—A subtribe of Gonds in Chanda and Betul.

Kalwar.—Synonym of Kalar.

Kamad. [447]—A small caste of jugglers, who come from Rajputana and travel about in the Hoshangabad and Nimar Districts. They were not returned at the census, and appear to belong to Rajputana. Their special entertainment consists in playing with cymbals, and women are the chief performers. The woman has eight or nine cymbals secured to her legs before and behind, and she strikes these rapidly in turn with another held in her hand, twisting her body skilfully so as to reach all of them, and keeping time with the music played on guitar-like instruments by the men who accompany her. If the woman is especially skilful, she will also hold a naked sword in her mouth, so as to increase the difficulty of the performance.

The Kamads dress after the Rajputana fashion, and wear yellow ochre-coloured clothes. Their exogamous sections have Rajput names, as Chauhan, Panwar, Gudesar, Jogpal and so on, and like the Rajputs they send a cocoanut-core to signify a proposal for marriage. But the fact that they have a special aversion to Dhobis and will not touch them makes it possible that they originated from the Dom caste, who share this prejudice. [448] Reason has been found to suppose that the Kanjars, Kolhatis and other migrant groups of entertainers are sprung from the Doms, and the Kamads may be connected with these. No caste, not even the sweepers, will accept food from the Kamads. They employ a Brahman, however, to officiate at their marriage and death ceremonies. Like the Gosains the Kamads bury their dead in a sitting posture, a niche being hollowed out at the side of the grave in which the corpse is placed. Crushed bread (malida) and a gourd full of water are laid beside the corpse. The caste worship the footprints of Ramdeo, a saint of Marwar, and pay special reverence to the goddess Hinglaj, who is a deity of several castes in Rajputana.

Kamalbansi.—(Stock of the lotus.) Subcaste of Kawar.

Kamal Kul.—(Lotus.) A section of Komti. They do not use lotus roots nor yams.

Kamari, Kailwa.—One of the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs.

Kamaria.—(From kambal, blanket.) A subcaste of Ahir. A section of Dhimar and Sonkar.

Kamathi, Kamati.—A term applied in the Maratha Districts to immigrants from Madras. It is doubtful whether the Kamathis have become a caste, but about 150 persons returned this name as their caste in the Central Provinces and Berar in 1911, and there are about 7000 in India, none, however, being recorded from the Madras Presidency. It is stated that the word Kamathi means 'fool' in Tamil, and that in Bombay all Telugus are called Kamathis, to whatever caste they may belong. Similarly, Maratha immigrants into Madras are known by the generic name of Arya, [449] and those coming from Hindustan into the Nerbudda valley as Pardeshi, while in the same locality the Brahmans and Rajputs of Central India are designated by the Marathas as Rangra. This term has the signification of rustic or boorish, and is therefore a fairly close parallel to Kamathi, if the latter word has the meaning given above. In the Thana District of Bombay [450] people of many classes are included under the name of Kamathi. Though they do not marry or even eat together, the different classes of Kamathis have a strong feeling of fellowship, and generally live in the same quarter of the town. In the Central Provinces the Kamathis are usually masons and house-builders or labourers. They speak Telugu in their houses and Marathi to outsiders. In Sholapur [451] the Kamathis dress like Kunbis. They are bound together by a strong caste feeling, and appear to have become a regular caste. Their priests are Telugu Brahmans, and their ceremonies resemble those of Kunbis. On the third day after a child is born the midwife lifts it up for the first time, and it is given a few light blows on the back. For three days the child sucks one end of a rag the other end of which rests in a saucer of honey, and the mother is fed on rice and clarified butter. On the fourth day the mother begins to suckle the child. Until the mother is pregnant a second time, no choti or scalp-lock is allowed to grow on the child's head. When she becomes pregnant, she is taken with the child before the village god, and a tuft of hair is thereafter left to grow on the crown of its head.

Kamma.—A large cultivating caste of the Madras Presidency, of which a few representatives were returned from the Chanda District in 1911. They are derived from the same Dravidian stock as the other great cultivating castes of Madras, and, originally soldiers by profession, have now settled down to agriculture. No description of the caste need be given here, but the following interesting particulars may be recorded. The word Kamma means an ear ornament, and according to tradition a valuable jewel of this kind belonging to a Raja of Warangal fell into the hands of his enemies. One section of the great Kapu caste, boldly attacking the foe and recovering the jewel, were hence called Kamma, while another section, which ran away, received the derogatory title of Velama (veli, away). Another story says that the Kammas and Velamas were originally one caste, and had adopted the Muhammadan system of gosha or purda. But finding that they were thus handicapped in competition with the other cultivating castes, it was proposed that the new custom should be abandoned. Those who agreed to this signed a bond, which was written on a palm-leaf (kamma), and hence received their new name. In the Central Provinces the Kammas are divided into three subcastes, the Illuvellani or those who do not go out of the house, the Tadakchatu or those who live within tadaks or mat screens, and the Polumtir or those who go into the fields. These names are derived from the degrees in which the different subdivisions seclude their women, the Illuvellani observing strict purda and the Polumtir none whatever, while the Tadakchatu follow a middle course. On this account some social difference exists between the three subcastes, and when the Illuvellani dine with either of the other two they will not eat from the plates of their hosts, but take their food separately on a leaf. And the Tadakchatu practise a similar distinction with the Polumtir, but the two latter divisions do not decline to eat from plates or vessels belonging to an Illuvellani. The Kammas forbid a man to marry in the gotra or family group to which he belongs, but a wife from the same gotra as his mother's is considered a most desirable match, and if his maternal uncle has a daughter he should always take her in marriage. A man is even permitted to marry his own sister's daughter, but he may not wed his mother's sister's daughter, who is regarded as his own sister. Among the Kammas of the Tamil country Mr. (Sir H.) Stuart [452] states that a bride is often much older than her husband, and a case is cited in which a wife of twenty-two years of age used to carry her boy-husband on her hip as a mother carries her child. One other curious custom recorded of the caste may be noticed. A woman dying within the lifetime of her husband is worshipped by her daughters, granddaughters or daughters-in-law, and in their absence by her husband's second wife if he has one. The ceremony is performed on some festival such as Dasahra or Til-Sankrant, when a Brahman lady, who must not be a widow, is invited and considered to represent the deceased ancestor. She is anointed and washed with turmeric and saffron, and decorated with sandal-paste and flowers; a new cloth and breast-cloth are then presented to her which she puts on; sweets, fruit and betel-leaf are offered to her, and the women of the family bow down before her and receive her benediction, believing that it comes from their dead relative.

Kammala.—A small Telugu caste in the Chanda District. The name Kammala is really a generic term applied to the five artisan castes of Kamsala or goldsmith, Kanchara or brazier, Kammara or blacksmith, Vadra or carpenter, and Silpi or stone-mason. These are in reality distinct castes, but they are all known as Kammalas. The Kammalas assert that they are descended from Visva Karma, the architect of the gods, and in the Telugu country they claim equality with Brahmans, calling themselves Visva Brahmans. But inscriptions show that as late as the year A.D. 1033 they were considered a very inferior caste and confined to the village site. [453] Mr. (Sir H.) Stuart writes in the Madras Census Report that it is not difficult to account for the low position formerly held by the Kammalas, for it must be remembered that in early times the military castes in India as elsewhere looked down upon all engaged in labour, whether skilled or otherwise. With the decline of military power, however, it was natural that a useful caste like the Kammalas should gradually improve its position, and the reaction from this long oppression has led them to make the exaggerated claims described above, which are ridiculed by every other caste, high or low. The five main subdivisions of the caste do not intermarry. They have priests of their own and do not allow even Brahmans to officiate for them, but they invite Brahmans to their ceremonies. Girls must be married before puberty. The binding ceremony of the marriage consists in the tying of a circular piece of gold on a thread of black beads round the bride's neck by the bridegroom. Widow-marriage is prohibited.

Kammari.—Telugu Lohars or blacksmiths.

Kamsala.—(A goldsmith.) Subcaste of Kammala.

Kanalsia.—(Kanelu, a tile.) A section of Ahir in Nimar who do not live in tiled huts.

Kanare.—(A resident of Canara.) A subcaste of Dhangar.

Kanaujia, Kankubja.—A very common subcaste name, indicating persons whose ancestors are supposed to have come from the town of Kanauj in northern India, into the Central Provinces. A subcaste of Ahir, Bahna, Bharbhunja, Bhat, Brahman, Dahait, Darzi, Dhobi, Halwai, Lohar, Mali, Nai, Patwa, Sunar and Teli.

Kanbajia or Ahirwar.—Same as Kanaujia. Subcaste of Chamar.

Kanchara.—(A brassworker.) Subcaste of Kammala.

Kand.—(Roots or tubers of wild plants.) A section of Raghuvansi Rajputs in Hoshangabad.

Kanda Potel.—(One who grows roots.) A section of Mali.

Kande.—Subcaste of Bedar.

Kandera.—Synonym for Kadera. Subcaste of Bahna.

Kandh.—Synonym of Khond. A subcaste of Taonla in Sambalpur.

Kandhana.—Subcaste of Khond.

Kandhia.—(A big-beaked vulture.) A sept of Dhanwar.

Kandia.—(Kandi, a shell, also a snake.) A section of Teli in Betul.

Kandol.—A subcaste of Brahmans, who take their name from the village Kandol, in Kathiawar.

Kandra.—A small caste of bamboo-workers in the Uriya country, akin to the Basors elsewhere. Members of the caste are found in small numbers in the Raipur and Balaghat Districts. The word Kandra may be derived from kand, an arrow, just as Dhanuk, often a synonym for Basor, has the meaning of an archer. It is not improbable that among the first articles made of bamboo were the bow and arrow of the forest tribes, and that the bow-maker was the parent of the modern Basor or basket-maker, bows being a requisite of an earlier stage of civilisation than baskets. In Bhandara the Kandras are an offshoot of Gonds. Their women do not wear their cloths over the head, and knot their hair behind without plaiting it. They talk a Gondi dialect and are considered an impure caste.

Kandu.—(A grain-parcher.) A synonym and subcaste of Bharbhunja. A subcaste of Halwai.

Kandua.—(From kand, onion, as they eat onions.) A subcaste of Bharbhunja.

Kanera.—(From the kaner tree.) A totemistic section of Ganda and Khangar.

Kangali.—(Poor.) A common sept of Gonds.

Kanhejin.—Subcaste of Banjara.

Kanhpuria.—(From Cawnpore, which was founded by their eponymous hero Kanh.) A clan of Rajputs.

Kanjar.—A caste of gipsies. A subcaste of Banjara.

Kankubja.—See Kanaujia.

Kannow.—A sectarian division of Brahmans.

Kanphata.—(One who has his ears bored or pierced.) A class of Jogi mendicants.

Kansari.—Synonym of Kasar.

Kanwar.—Synonym of Kawar.

Kanwarbansi.—A subtribe of Khairwar.

Kaonra or Kora.—A caste. A subcaste of Ahir.

Kaore.—A sept of Gonds. A surname of Maratha Brahmans.

Kapalia.—(Covered with skulls.) A section of Telis in Betul.

Kaparia.—(From kapra cloth, owing to their wearing several dresses, which they change rapidly like the Bahrupia.) Synonym of Basdewa.

Kapasia.—(From kapas, cotton.) A section of Mahar.

Kapdi.—Synonym of Basdewa.

Kapur.—(Camphor.) A section of Khatri.

Kapuria.—A subdivision of Arhaighar Saraswat Brahmans in Hoshangabad, probably deriving their title from being the priests of the Kapur section of Khatris.

Karai Nor.—A section of Basor. They perform the Meher ceremony of eating the marriage cakes near a well and not in the house.

Karait.—(A poisonous snake.) A section of Ahir, Halba and Panka.

Karan (Mahanti).—A caste. A subcaste of Kayasth. An eponymous section of Binjhwar and Tanti.

Karaola.—(One who pours sesamum oil on his clothes and begs.) Synonym for Jasondhi and Bhat.

Karbal.—Subcaste of Khangar.

Karchuli.—A clan of Rajputs, formerly a ruling race in the Jubbulpore country. See Rajput-Haihaya. A section of Joshi and Mochi.

Kare, Karia.—(Black.) A subcaste of Marar. A section of Binjhwar, Ahir, Chhipa and Lodhi.

Karela.—(Bitter gourd.) A section of Sonkar.

Karhada.—A subcaste of Maharashtra Brahmans deriving their name from Karhad, near the junction of the Krishna and Koyana rivers, about fifteen miles from Satara.

Karhaiya.—(Frying-pan.) A section of Raghuvansi.

Karigar.—(A workman.) An honorific title of Barhai and Lohar. A subcaste and synonym of Beldar.

Karijat.—Subcaste of Pardhi. The members of this subcaste only kill birds of a black colour.

Karkarkadhe.—(Stone-diggers.) Subcaste of Mang.

Karnam.—Synonym of Karan, a palm-leaf writer.

Karnata, Karnataka.—One of the five orders of Panch Dravida or southern Brahmans, inhabiting the Canarese country.

Karnati.—(From the Carnatic.) Synonym for a class of Nats or acrobats.

Karohla.—A religious mendicant who wanders about singing praises of Devi. See Jasondhi.

Karpachor.—(Stealer of straw.) A sept of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betul.

Karsayal.—(A deer.) A sept of the Kawar tribe. Also a sept of Ahir, Bhaina, Dhobi in Chhattisgarh, Kewat, Lohar and Turi.

Karsi.—(From kalas, a pitcher.) A totemistic sept of Kawar. They do not drink water from a red jar on the Akti festival.

Karwa.—Subcaste of Kunbi.

Karwar.—(An oar.) A section of Dangi in Damoh. A section of Kawar.

Kasai.—A caste of butchers. Name applied to Banjaras.

Kasar.—A caste. A subdivision of Audhia Sunar. A section of Kewat.

Kasarwani.—A subcaste of Bania.

Kasaundhan.—A subcaste of Bania.

Kasda.—(One who hides himself in the bed of the river.) A sept of Korku; a man of this sept has the privilege of directing the ceremony for the readmission of an outcaste.

Kasdhonia.—A subcaste of Dhimar. They wash the sand in the sacred rivers for coins thrown there by pilgrims, and dive into water to find lost ornaments or gold.

Kasera.—Synonym of Kasar.

Kashi.—(Benares.) A section of Agharia, Ahir, Dhuri, Kewat, Kurmi and Mali.

Kashyap.—Name of a famous Rishi or saint. The name may perhaps be really derived from kachhap, a tortoise. One of the common eponymous sections of Brahmans. Also a section of Barai, Bari, Beldar, Bharbhunja, Bhulia, Binjhwar, Chandnahu Kurmi, Gond, Jangam, Joshi, Kalar, Kasar, Kasarwani Bania, Khangar, Nai, Rajput, Sunar. Some castes say that they are all of the Kashyap gotra or section, the tortoise being considered a common ancestor of mankind, because it supports the world.

Kasia.—(Kansa, or bell-metal.) A section of Chamar. They draw a picture of a bell-metal dish at their weddings.

Kasondhi.—A subcaste of Bania.

Kassab, Kassia.—(A butcher.) Synonym of Kasai.

Kast.—A small caste found in the Maratha Districts and Bombay, who appear to be a separate or inferior group of the Kayasths. In Chanda they work as patwaris and clerks to moneylenders, while some are merchants and landholders. Like the Kayasths, they wash their pens and inkstands on the Dasahra festival and worship them. Their principal deity is the god Venkatesh, a Maratha incarnation of Vishnu. In Bombay the Kasts claim to be Yajur-Vedi Brahmans, dress like them and keep the regular Brahman ceremonies. [454] But they are considered to be half Marathas and half Brahmans, and strict Deshasth and Kokanasth Brahmans hold their touch unclean. [455]

Katare.—(Katar, dagger.) A surname of Sanadhya Brahmans in Saugor. A section of Agarwal and Oswal Bania, Chhattisgarhi Ahir or Rawat, Chadar and Basor. The Katare sept of Basors worship a dagger.

Katharia.—(From Kathibar, the old name of eastern Rohilkhand.) A section of Gadaria and Kasar.

Kathbhaina;—Subcaste of Baiga in Bilaspur.

Kathi.—A Rajput clan included in the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs. Originally an indigenous tribe of Gujarat, who gave their name to Kathiawar.

Kathia.—Name of an Akhara or school of Bairagi religious mendicants. See Bairagi.

Kathotia.—(Kathotia, a wooden bowl.) A section of Darzi.

Kati or Khatti.—Subcaste of Bhuiya.

Katia.—A cast of spinners. A subcaste of Balahi and Mahar.

Kattri.—Subcaste of Are.

Katwa.—(From Katna, to cut.) Synonym of Katia and Chamar.

Kaur.—Synonym of Kawar.

Kaushalya.—(From Koshal, the name of a famous Rishi or saint.) A section of Agarwal Bania, Darzi, Lodhi and Khatri Sunar.

Kaushik.—The name of a Rishi or saint. An eponymous section of Brahmans. A section of Ahir, Dhobi, Rajput, Sunar and other castes.

Kaviraj.—Title of a Bhat who has the qualification of literacy, and can therefore read the old Sanskrit medical works. A physician.

Kayasth Patwa.—A subcaste of Patwa in Hoshangabad and Saugor.

Kekre.—Subcaste of Gujar.

Kesaria.—(From kesar, saffron.) A section of Ahir and Gadaria.

Kewat.—A caste. A subcaste of Dhimar and Mallah.

Khad.—Subcaste of Mana.

Khadal.—A caste of palanquin-carriers.

Khadal [456] (honorific titles Nayak and Behera).—A small Dravidian caste of labourers in the Uriya country. In 1901 they numbered 1200 persons and resided principally in the Patna and Sonpur States now transferred to Bengal. The Khadals are probably an offshoot of the great Bauri caste of Bengal, with which the members of the caste in Patna admitted their identity, though elsewhere they deny it. Their traditional occupations of palanquin-bearing and field labour are identical with those of the Bauris, as stated by Sir H. Risley. [457] The name Khadal is a functional one, denoting persons who work with a hoe. The Khadals have totemistic exogamous groups, the Kilasi sept worshipping a tree, the Julsi and Kandualsi sept a snake-hole, and Balunasi a stone and others the sun. Each sept salutes the revered object or totem on seeing it, and those who worship trees will not burn them or stand in their shade. When a marriage takes place they worship the totem and offer to it flowers, sandalwood, vermilion, uncooked rice, and the new clothes and ornaments intended for the bride, which she may not wear until this ceremony has been performed. Another curious custom adopted by the Khadals in imitation of the Hindus is that of marrying adult boys and girls, for whom a partner has not been found, to a tree. But this does not occur when they arrive at puberty as among Hindu castes, but when a boy still unmarried becomes thirty years old and a girl twenty. In such a case he or she is married to a mango, cotton or jamun tree, and after this no second ceremony need be performed on subsequent union with a wife or husband. A widower must pay Rs. 10, or double the usual price, for a second wife, owing to the risk of her death being caused by the machinations of the first wife's spirit. When a corpse has been buried or burnt the mourners each take a twig of mango and beat about in the grass to start a grasshopper. Having captured one they wrap it in a piece of new cloth, and coming home place it beside the family god. This they call bringing back the life of the soul, and consider that the ceremony procures salvation for the dead. The Khadals are usually considered as impure, but those of Sonpur have attained a somewhat higher status.

Khadia.—(A kind of snake.) A section of Ahir and Raghuvansi. A sept of Nahal.

Khadra, [458] Khadura or Kharura.—A small Uriya caste whose occupation is to make brass ornaments. They are immigrants from Cuttack and say that they are called there Sankhari, so that the Khadras may not improbably be an offshoot of the Sankhari caste of shell-cutters of Bengal. According to their traditions their original ancestor was created by Viswakarma, the celestial architect, for the business of making a pinnacle for the temple of Jagannath at Puri, in which eight metals had to be combined. He left two sons, one of whom became the ancestor of the Khadras, and the other of the Kasars, with whom the Khadras thus claim affinity. They have no subcastes but four gotras or clans called after the Nag or cobra, the Singh or lion, and Kasyap and Kachchap, both derived from the tortoise. They also have four bargas or family names, which are Patra (a term of respect), Das (slave), Sao (banker) and Maharana (artificer). The groups are supposed to be descended from four families who migrated from Curtack. Neither bargas nor gotras are now considered in the arrangement of marriages, which are prohibited between blood relatives for three generations. Marriage is infant, and a girl arriving at puberty while still unwed is permanently expelled from the caste. The Khadras still follow the old rule of writing the lagun or date of the marriage on a palm-leaf, with which they send Rs. 10-4 as a bride-price to the girl's father, the acceptance of this constituting a confirmation of the betrothal. The marriage ceremony resembles that of the other Uriya castes, and the Khadras have the rite called badapani or breaking the bachelorhood. A little water brought from seven houses is sprinkled over the bridegroom and his loin-cloth is then snatched away, leaving him naked. In this state he runs towards his own house, but some boys are posted at a little distance who give him a new cloth. Widow-marriage and divorce are permitted, but the hand of a widow must not be sought so long as she remains in her late husband's house, and does not return to her father. When a bachelor marries a widow he must first perform the regular ceremony with a leaf-cup filled with flowers, after which he can take the widow as his second wife. All important agreements are confirmed by a peculiar custom called heskani. A deer-skin is spread on the ground before the caste committee, and the person making the agreement bows before it a number of times. To break an agreement made by the heskani rite is believed to involve terrible calamities. The Khadras eat the flesh of animals and fish but not that of birds, and they do not drink country liquor. When an estate is to be partitioned the eldest son first takes a tenth of the whole in right of primogeniture and the remainder is then divided equally. The Khadras rank as an artisan caste of somewhat low status.

Khadura.—Synonym of Khadra.

Khaijraha.—(A resident of Khaira, a town in Central India.) Subcaste of Chamar.

Khair, Khaira.—(From khair, catechu or the catechu tree. A maker of catechu.) Synonym for Khairwar.

Khairchura.—(Carechu preparer.) A subcaste of Khairwar.

Khaire.—A subcaste of Are (Gondhali), Kanbi and Oraon.

Khairwar.—A catechu-making caste. A section of Chamar.

Khaiyaware.—(Khai, ditch; owing to their houses having been originally built on the ditch of Hatta fort.) A section of Beldar Sonkars in Damoh.

Khaki.—(From khak, ashes.) A class of Bairagi, or religious mendicants.

Khalifa.—(Lord.) An honorific title for Darzis or tailors, and Muhammadan barbers.

Khaltaha.—Subcaste of Ghasia.

Khaltati.—(Illegitimate.) Subcaste of Andh.

Khaltia.—Subcaste of Basdewa.

Khamari.—(Farmservant.) A section of Kolta.

Khambi.—(One who hides behind the graveyard.) A sept of Korku.

Khanda.—(A sword.) A section of Panka and Mahar.

Khandait.—(A swordsman.) An Uriya caste. A subcaste of Sansia, Taonla and Chasa. Also a name of Koltas in Cuttack.

Khandapatra.—(One who cleans swords.) A section of Khandwal.

Khandapi.—(Khanda, a sword.) A sept of the Dhurwa clan of Sahdeve or six-god Gonds in Betul, named after the sword of Raja Durga Shah by which a victory was gained over the Muhammadans.

Khandele.—(From khanda, sword.) A section of Raghuvansi Rajputs in Hoshangabad.

Khandelwal.—A subcaste of Bania.

Khandeshi.—(A resident of Khandesh.) A territorial subcaste of Darzi, Joshi, Mahar and Mang.

Khanne, Khanna.—A subdivision of Chargarh Saraswat Brahmans in Hoshangabad, probably deriving their name from being priests of the Khanna section of Khatris. A section of Khatri.

Khanonkha.—(A kind of basket to catch birds with.) A totemistic sept of Rautia Kawars in Bilaspur.

Kharadi.—(A turner, one who turns woodwork on a lathe.) A synonym of Kundera and Barhai.

Kharchi.—Bastard Marathas forming a separate division as distinguished from the Khasi or pure Marathas.

Khare.—A subdivision of Srivastab, Gaur and Saksena Kayasths, meaning those of pure descent.

Khari Bind Kewat.—Title of the Murha caste.

Kharodia.—(A resident of Kharod in Bilaspur.) A subcaste of Nunia.

Kharsisjha.—(Maker of cowdung cakes.) A section of Mali.

Kharwade.—(Refuse.) A subcaste of Simpi or Maratha Darzi (tailor) originally formed of excommunicated members of the caste, but now occupying a position equal to other subcastes in Nagpur.

Kharwar.—Synonym of the Khairwar tribe. Subcaste of Chero and Kol.

Khasi.—A subdivision of Marathas, meaning those born in wedlock.

Khasua.—(A eunuch.) Synonym of Hijra.

Khati.—(From the Sanskrit kskatri, one who cuts.) A subcaste of Barhai and Lohar.

Khatik.—A caste. Synonym of Chikwa. A subcaste of Pasi in Saugor, said to have originated in a cross between a Bauri and a Khatik woman.

Khatkudia.—(Illegitimate.) A section of Teli in Betul.

Khatri.—A caste. A subcaste of Chhipa and of Sunar in Narsinghpur.

Khatua.—(Having a cot.) A section of the Hatwa caste.

Khatulha or Khatola.—A subtribe of Gond.

Khatulwar.—A subtribe of Gonds in Chanda, the same as the Khatulha of the northern Districts.

Khawas.—A title of Nai or barber. A subcaste of Dhuri. A section of Halba.

Khedawal.—A subcaste of Gujarati Brahmans. They take their name from Kheda or Kaira, a town in Gujarat.

Khedule.—From kheda, a village. Subcaste of Kunbi.

Khendro.—Subcaste of Oraon.

Kheralawala.—An immigrant from Kherala in Malwa. Subcaste of Rangrez.

Kherawal.—See Khedawal.

Kheti.—(Cultivation.) A section of Dumal.

Khewat.—Synonym of Kewat.

Khichi.—A clan of Rajputs, a branch of the Sesodia clan.

Khoba.—(Sticks for fencing the grain-store.) A sept of Kawar; they abstain from using these sticks.

Khoksa.—(A kind of fish.) A totemistic sept of Rautia Kawar in Bilaspur.

Khuntia.—A subcaste of Agaria. One who uses a khunti or peg to fix the bellows in the ground for smelting iron. A sept of Savars. (Those who bury their dead on a high place.)

Khursam.—A sept of Pardhan and Dhur Gond.

Khutha.—(Impure.) A section of Tamera in Mandla.

Khyaurokar.—(One who shaves, from kshaur, to shave.) A synonym of Nai or Bhandari.

Kilanaya.—(Kilna, a dog-house.) A nickname section of Ahir.

Kilkila.—(The kingfisher.) A sept of Khairwar.

Killibusum.—(One who eats dead animals.) A sept of Korku.

Kindra.—(One who hides behind a tree.) A sept of Korku.

Kirachi or Karachi.—A sept of Gonds of Raipur and Betul.

Kirad.—Synonym of Kirar.

Kirahiboijir.—(A kind of fruit.) A section of Teli in Nandgaon.

Kirar.—A caste. Synonym Dhakar. A subcaste of Kachhi. A section of Khatik.

Kirnakha.—A sept of Gonds in Chanda.

Kirvant or Kilvant.—A subdivision of Maharashtra Brahmans in Khairagarh. The name is said to be derived from kira, an insect, because they kill insects in working their betel-vine gardens. Another explanation is that the name is really Kriyavant, and that they are so called because they conducted kriya or funeral services, an occupation which degraded them. A third form of the name is Kramwant or reciters of the Veda.

Kisan.—(A cultivator.) Oraons are commonly known by this name in Chota Nagpur and Gonds in Mandla and other Districts. A section of Marar, Rawat or Ahir, and Savar.

Koathia.—A section of Bais Rajputs.

Kochia.—Perhaps a name for Bahnas or cotton cleaners.

Kodjet.—(A conqueror of crores of people.) A section of Bhulia.

Kohistani.—(A dweller on mountains.) A section of Pathan.

Kohkatta.—A sept of Gonds in Khairagarh.

Kohri.—A synonym for the Kohli caste.

Koi.—A class of Gonds.

Koikopal.—A subcaste of Gond.

Koilabhut or Koilabhuti.—A subtribe of Gonds. Their women are prostitutes.

Koiri.—A synonym of the Murao caste.

Koitur.—A synonym for Gond. The name by which the Gonds call themselves in many Districts.

Kokonasth or Chitpavan.—A subcaste of Maharashtra Brahmans inhabiting the Konkan country. Chitpavan means the pure in heart.

Koksinghia.—(Koka, the Brahmani duck.) A subsection of the Pardhan section of Koltas.

Kol.—A tribe. Subcaste of Dahait.

Kolabhut.—A name for Gonds.

Kolam.—A tribe. A subtribe of Gonds in Chanda.

Kolchar.—A clan of Maratha.

Kolia.—(From kolu, oil-press.) A section of Teli in Betul.

Koliha.—(Jackal.) A section of Panwar Rajput, Chamar and Kawar.

Kolita, Kulta.—Synonyms of Kolta.

Kolta.—A caste. A subcaste of Chasa.

Kolya.—(One who hides behind a jackal-hole.) A sept of Korku.

Komalwar.—(Komal, soft.) A section of Kurumwar.

Komati.—Synonym of Komti.

Kommu.—(A story-teller.) Subcaste of Madgi.

Kondawar.—(Konda, a mountain.) A section of Palewar Dhimar and Koshti in Chanda.

Kondwan or Kundi.—A name of a tract south of the Mahanadi which is called after the Khond tribe, and was formerly owned by them. Subcaste of Baiga.

Korai.—A subcaste of Ahir or Rawat in Bilaspur.

Koraku.—(Young men.) Subcaste of Korwa.

Koratkul.—A section of Komti; they do not eat the kumhra or pumpkin.

Korava.—Synonym of Yerukala.

Korchamar.—A descendant of alliances between Chamars and Koris or weavers. Subcaste of Chamar.

Kori.—A caste. A subcaste of Balahi, Jaiswara Chamar and Katia.

Korku.—A tribe. A subtribe of Nahal.

Korre.—(Residents of the Korai hill-tract in Seoni.) Subcaste of Injhwar.

Kosaria.—A subcaste of Rawat or Ahir, Barai, Dhobi, Kalar, Mali, Panka and Teli; a section of Chamar and Gond.

Koshti, Koshta.—A caste of weavers. See article. A subcaste of Katia and Bhulia.

Koskati.—A subcaste of Koshti.

Kothari—(A store-keeper, from kotha, a store-room.) A section of Oswal and Maheshri Banias.

Kotharya.—(A store-keeper.) Subcaste of Chitrakathi.

Kotwal.—(Keeper of a castle, or a village watchman.) Honorific title of the Khangar caste. A surname of Yajurvedi Brahmans in Saugor. A section of Halba.

Kotwar.—A person holding the office of village watchman. This post is usually assigned to members of the lowest or impure castes derived from the aboriginal tribes, such as the Mahars, Ramosis, Gandas, Pankas, Minas and Khangars. Some of these were or still are much addicted to crime. The name kotwar appears to be a corruption of kotwal, the keeper or guardian of a kot or castle. Under native rule the kotwal was the chief of police in important towns, and the central police office in some towns is still called the kotwali after him. In some villages there are still to be found both a kotwal and a kotwar; in this case the former performs the duties of watch and ward of the village, and the latter has the menial work of carrying messages, collecting supplies and so on. Both are paid by fixed annual contributions of grain from the cultivators. In Hoshangabad the kotwar is allowed to glean for a day in the fields of each tenant after the crop has been removed. It would appear that the kotwar was chosen from the criminal castes as a method of insurance. The kotwar was held responsible for the good behaviour of his caste-fellows, and was often under the obligation of making good any property stolen by them. And if a theft occurred in another village and the thief was traced into the borders of the kotwar's village he was bound to take up the pursuit and show that the thief had passed beyond his village, or to pay for the stolen property. Thieves were sometimes tracked by the kotwar, and sometimes in Gujarat and Central India by a special official called Paggal, [459] who measured their footprints with a string, and in this way often followed them successfully from village to village. [460] The rule that the kotwar had to make good all thefts occurring in his village or perpetrated by criminals belonging to it, can only have been enforced to a very partial extent, as unless he could trace the property he would be unable to pay any substantial sum out of his own means. Still, it apparently had a considerable effect in the protection of property in the rural area, for which the regular police probably did very little. It was similarly the custom to employ a chaukidar or night-watchman to guard private houses when the owners could afford it, and this man was taken from a criminal caste on the same principle.

The kotwar was also the guardian of the village boundaries, and his opinion was often taken as authoritative in all cases of disputes about land. This position he perhaps occupied as a representative of the pre-Aryan tribes, the oldest residents of the country, and his appointment may have also been partly based on the idea that it was proper to employ one of them as the guardian of the village lands, just as the priest of the village gods of the earth and fields was usually taken from these tribes.

In some localities those members of an impure caste such as the Mahars, who hold the office of village watchman, obtain a certain rise in status on account of the office, and show a tendency to marry among themselves. Similarly persons of the impure Ganda caste, who joined the Kabirpanthi sect and now form a separate and somewhat higher caste under the name of Panka, usually work as village watchmen in preference to the Gandas. Under British rule the kotwar has been retained as a village policeman, and his pay increased and generally fixed in cash. Besides patrolling the village, he has to report all cognisable crime at the nearest police post as well as births and deaths occurring in the village, and must give general assistance to the regular police in the detection of crime. Kotwar is used in Saugor as a synonym for the Chadar caste. It is also a subcaste of the Kori caste.

Kowa.—(A crow.) A section of Tamera and of Gond in Chanda.

Koya A subtribe of Gond in Bastar.

Koyudu.—A synonym of Gond in Chanda used by Telugus.

Kramikul.—A section of Komti. They do not use the black radish.

Kshatriya.—Name of the second Hindu classical caste or the warrior caste. Synonym for Rajput.

Kshirsagar.—(Ocean of Milk.) A section of Panwar Rajput, and a proper name of Maratha Brahmans.

Kuch.—(A weaver's brush.) A section of Raghuvansi Rajputs in Hoshangabad.

Kuchbandhia, Kunchbandhia.—(A maker of weavers' brushes.) Synonym and subcaste of Beldar in Chhattisgarh.

Kudaiya.—(Kodon, a small millet.) A section of Ahir.

Kudappa.—A sept of Gonds in Raipur and Khairagarh.

Kudarbohna.—A Hindu Bhana.

Kudaria.—(Kudali, a pickaxe.) A section of the Bharia tribe.

Kukra.—(A dog.) A totemistic sept of Bhatra Gonds. A section of Kumhar.

Kukuta.—(Cock.) A sept of Gonds in Raipur.

Kulatia.—A section of Basor. From kulara, a somersault, because they perform somersaults at the time of the maihir ceremony, or eating the marriage cakes.

Kuldip.—(The lamp of the family.) A section of Panka in Raipur.

Kuldiya.—(Those who stop eating if the lamp goes out at supper.) A section of Ghasia.

Kulin.—(Of high caste.) A well-known class of Bengali Brahmans. A subdivision of Uriya Mahantis. A section of Panka.

Kulshreshta.—(Of good family.) A subcaste of Kayasth.

Kuman.—Subcaste of Barai.

Kumarrha or Kumarra.—(A bird.) A sept of Sahdeve or six-god Gonds. In Betul the members of this sept do not eat or kill a goat or sheep, and throw away any article smelt by one.

Kumarshishta.—A section of Komti. They do not use mehndi or henna leaves.

Kumbhar.—(Potter.) Marathi synonym for Kumhar. A section of Ganda and Bhulia.

Kumbhoj.—(Born of a pitcher, a Rishi or saint.) An eponymous section of Agharia.

Kumbhira.—(Crocodile.) A totemistic sept of Bhulia.

Kumbhwar.—(Kumbh, a pot.) A surname of Gandli in Chanda.

Kumharbans.—(Descended from a potter.) A section of Ghasia.

Kumrayete.—(Yete, a goat.) A sept of the Uika clan of Sahdeve or six-god Gonds in Betul. They do not eat goats, and are said to have offered human sacrifices in ancient times.

Kunbi.—A caste. Subcaste of Dangri, Gondhali and Maratha.

Kumrawat, [461] Patbina, Dangur.—A small caste of san-hemp growers and weavers of sacking. They are called Kumrawat in the northern Districts and Patbina (pat patti, sacking, and binna, to weave) in Chhattisgarh. A small colony of hemp-growers in the Betul District are known as Dangur, probably from the dang or wooden steelyard which they use for weighing hemp. Both the Kumrawats and Dangurs claim Rajput origin, and may be classed together. The caste of Barais or betel-vine growers have a subcaste called Kumrawat, and the Kumrawats may be an offshoot of the Barais, who split off from the parent body on taking to the cultivation of hemp. As most Hindu castes have until recently refused to grow hemp, the Kumrawats are often found concentrated in single villages. Thus a number of Patbinas reside in Darri, a village in the Khujji zamindari of Raipur, while the Dangurs are almost all found in the village of Masod in Betul; in Jubbulpore Khapa is their principal centre, and in Seoni the village of Deori. The three divisions of the caste known by the names given above marry, as a rule, among themselves. For their exogamous groups the Dangurs have usually the names of different Rajput septs, the Kumrawats have territorial names, and those of the Patbinas are derived from inanimate objects, though they have no totemistic practices.

The number of girls in the caste is usually insufficient, and hence they are married at a very early age. The boy's father, accompanied by a few friends, goes to the girl's father and addresses a proposal for marriage to him in the following terms: "You have planted a tamarind tree which has borne fruit. I don't know whether you will catch the fruit before it falls to the ground if I strike it with my stick." The girl's father, if he approves of the match, says in reply, 'Why should I not catch it?' and the proposal for the marriage is then made. The ceremony follows the customary ritual in the northern Districts. When the family gods are worshipped, the women sit round a grinding-stone and invite the ancestors of the family by name to attend the wedding, at the same time placing a little cowdung in one of the interstices of the stone. When they have invited all the names they can remember they plaster up the remaining holes, saying, 'We can't recollect any more names.' This appears to be a precaution intended to imprison any spirits which may have been forgotten, and to prevent them from exercising an evil influence on the marriage in revenge for not having been invited. Among the Dangurs the bride and bridegroom go to worship at Hanuman's shrine after the ceremony, and all along the way the bride beats the bridegroom with a tamarind twig. The dead are both buried and burnt, and mourning is observed during a period of ten days for adults and of three days for children. But if another child has been born to the mother after the one who has died, the full period of mourning must be observed for the latter; because it is said that in this case the mother does not tear off her sari or body-cloth to make a winding-sheet for the child as she does when her latest baby dies. The Kumrawats both grow and weave hemp, though they have no longer anything like a monopoly of its cultivation. They make the gons or double bags used for carrying grain on bullocks. In Chhattisgarh the status of the Patbinas is low, and no castes except the most debased will take food or water from them. The Kumrawats of Jubbulpore occupy a somewhat more respectable position and take rank with Kachhis, though below the good cultivating castes. The Dangurs of Betul will take food from the hands of the Kunbis.

Kumrayete.—(Yete, a goat.) A sept of the Uika clan of Sahdeve or six-god Gonds in Betul. They do not eat goats, and are said to have offered human sacrifices in ancient times.

Kunbi.—A caste. Subcaste of Dangri, Gondhali and Maratha.

Kundera.—A caste. A subcaste of the Larhia Beldars.

Kundera, Kharadi.—A small caste of wood-turners akin to the Barhais or carpenters. In 1911 the caste numbered 120 persons, principally in Saugor. When asked for the name of their caste they not infrequently say that they are Rajputs; but they allow widows to remarry, and their social customs and position are generally the same as those of the Barhais. Both names of the caste are functional, being derived from the Hindi kund, and the Arabic kharat, a lathe. Some of them abstain from flesh and liquor, and wear the sacred thread, merely with a view to improve their social position. The Kunderas make toys from the dudhi (Holarrhena antidysenterica) and huqqa stems from the wood of the khair or catechu tree. The toys are commonly lacquered, and the surface is smoothed with a dried leaf of the kevara tree. [462] They also make chessmen, wooden flutes and other articles.

Kundgolakar.—A subdivision of degraded Maratha Brahmans, the offspring of adulterous connections.

Kunjam.—A sept of Solaha in Raipur. A section of Basor and Bhunjia. A sept of Gond and Pardhan.

Kunnatya—(Rope-dancer.) A name applied to Nats.

Kunti or Kunte.—(Kunti, lame.) A subcaste of Kapewar, synonym Bhiksha Kunti or lame beggars.

Kunwar.—(Prince.) A title of Rajput ruling families. A section of Rajput and Kawar.

Kura Sasura.—Husband's elder brother. Title of Kharia.

Kurathiya, Kuratia.—(From kur, a fowl, which they have given up eating.) A subtribe of Gonds in Khairagarh.

Kurha or Sethia.—Title of the Sonkar caste headman.

Kurkere.—One who moulds his vessels on a stone slab revolving on a stick and not on a wheel. Subcaste of Kumhar.

Kurmeta.—A sept of Gonds in Chanda.

Kurmgutia.—(From kurm, tortoise.) A section of Mahar.

Kurmi.—A caste. A subcaste of Agharia in the Uriya country. A subcaste of Barai. A sept of Pardhan. A section of Mahar.

Kurochi.—(Kur, hen.) A sept of the Uika clan of Sahdeve or six-god Gonds in Betul, so named because their priest once stole a hen.

Kurpachi.—(Kur, hen.) A sept of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betul, so named because their priest offered the contents of a hen's intestines to the gods.

Kurru or Kura.—Title of Yerukala.

Kusangia.—(Of bad company.) A section of Lohar.

Kushbansi.—A subcaste of Ahir. (Descendants of Kush, one of the two sons of Rama.)

Kush Ranjan.—A section of Brahman, Barai, Chamar, Chandnahu Kurmi, Rawat (Ahir), Marar and Rajbhar.

Kushta, Koshta.—Subcaste of Kori.

Kuslia.—(Kusli, boat.) A subcaste of Mali.

Kusram.—(Kusri, pulse.) A sept of the Uika Gonds in Betul and Chanda.

Labhana.—Synonym and subcaste of Banjara.

Lad.—The old name for the territory of Gujarat. A subcaste of Bania, Kalar, Koshti and Sunar.

Ladaimar.—One who hunts jackals and sells and eats their flesh. Subcaste of Jogi.

Ladele.—(Quarrelsome.) A section of Shribathri Teli.

Ladjin.—Subcaste of Banjara.

Ladse or Ladvi.—Subcaste of Chamar and Dhangar.

Ladwan, Ladvan.—A subcaste of Mahar. Perhaps from Lad, the old name of Gujarat.

Laheri.—Synonym of Lakhera.

Laheria.—Subcaste of Brahman.

Lahgera or Lahugera.—(Lahanga, weaver.) A subcaste of Kori.

Lahuri Sen.—A subcaste of Barai in the northern Districts who are formed of excommunicated members of the caste.

Lahuria.—(From Lahore.) A section of Rathor and Chauhan Banjaras.

Lajjhar.—Synonym of Rajjhar.

Lakariha.—A subdivision of Pardhan in Kawardha. While begging they play a musical instrument, hence the name from lakri, a stick.

Lala.—(A term of endearment.) Synonym for Kayasth. A subcaste of Chamar.

Lalbegi.—A follower of Lalbeg, patron saint of the sweepers. Synonym of Mehtar.

Lal Padri.—Red priests, because they rub geru or red ochre on their bodies. Title of Jogi.

Lamechu.—A subcaste of Bania.

Langoti.—Subcaste of Pardhi. They wear only a narrow strip of cloth called langoti round the loins.

Lanjia.—A subcaste of Lohar and Nai, from Lanji in Balaghat. A subtribe of Gonds in Khairagarh.

Lanjiwar.—(One living round Lanji in Balaghat.) Subcaste of Injhwar.

Laphangia.—(Upstart.) A section of Kolta.

Laria, Larhia.—(Belonging to Chhattisgarh.) A synonym of Beldar. A subcaste of Bhaina, Binjhwar, Chamar, Ganda, Ghasia, Gond, Gosain, Kalar, Kewat, Koshti, Mahar, Marar, Mowar, Panka, Savar, Sunar and Teli.

Lasgaria.—A class of Bairagi mendicants.

Lasukar.—A subcaste of Gondhalis who sell books and calendars.

Lat.—Subcaste of Chamar.

Lave.—Subcaste of Kunbi.

Laya.—(Bird.) A section of Binjhwar, Mahar, and Panka.

Lekha.—Subcaste of Gujar.

Lemuan, Limuan.—(Tortoise.) A totemistic sept of Audhelia, Munda and Oraon.

Lidha.—(Excrement of swine.) Subcaste of Khatik in Jubbulpore.

Lilia.—(From lil or nil, the indigo plant.) Subcaste of Kachhi.

Lilorhia.—Subcaste of Gujar.

Limba.—(Nim tree.) A totemistic section of Dumals.

Lingayat.—A religious order which has become a caste. See article and subordinate article to Bania. A subcaste of Bania and Kumhar.

Lodha.—Synonym of Lodhi. Subcaste of Lodhi.

Lohar.—A caste of blacksmiths, synonym Luhura. A section of Binjhwar and Ganda.

Lohar Barhai.—A subcaste of Barhai in Bundelkhand.

Loharia.—A subcaste of Ahir.

Lonaria.—A salt-maker. Subcaste of Mahar.

Lonchatia.—(Salt-licker.) A sept of the Uika clan of Gonds. The members of this sept lick salt on the death of their relatives. Another account from Betul says that they spread salt on a platform raised in honour of the dead and make cattle lick it up.

Londhari.—A small caste of cultivators found in the Bhandara District. They appear to be immigrants from northern India, as their women wear the Hindustani dress and they speak Hindi at home. At their weddings the bridal couple walk round the sacred post according to the northern custom. When a widow marries again the couple worship a sword before the ceremony. If a man is convicted of an intrigue with a low-caste woman, he has to submit to a symbolical purification by fire. A heap of juari-stalks is piled all round him and set alight, but as soon as the fire begins to burn he is permitted to escape from it. This rite is known as Agnikasht. The Londharis appear to be distinct from the Lonhare Kunbis of Betul, with whom I was formerly inclined to connect them. These latter derive their name from the Lonar Mehkar salt lake in the Buldana District, and are probably so called because they once collected the salt evaporated from the lake. They thus belong to the Maratha country, whereas the Londharis probably came from northern India. The name Lonhare is also found as a subdivision of one or two other castes living in the neighbourhood of the Lonar Mehkar lake.

Londhe, Londe.—(One who hides himself behind cloth.) A section of Kohli. A sept of Korku.

Londibacha.—A subcaste of Kasar, including persons of illegitimate descent.

Lonhare, Lonare.—(From Lonar-Mehkar, the well-known salt lake of the Buldana District.) A subcaste of Kunbi. A section of Arakh and Ahir.

Ludhela.—A section of Basor who worship the ludhia, a round stone for pounding food, at the Maihar ceremony.

Luhura.—(One who works in iron.) Synonym of Lohar. Subcaste of Sidhira.

Lunia.—Synonym of Murha, Nunia.

Machhandar.—(One who catches fish.) Synonym of Dhimar.

Machhandra Nath.—A subdivision of Jogi.

Machhia.—(From machhi, fish.) A section of Dhimar and Lodhi.