2. Endogamous divisions.
The Chamārs are broken up into a number of endogamous subcastes. Of these the largest now consists of the members of the Satnāmi sect in Chhattīsgarh, who do not intermarry with other Chamārs. They are described in the article on that sect. The other Chamārs call the Satnāmis Jharia or ‘jungly’, which implies that they are the oldest residents in Chhattīsgarh. The Satnāmis are all cultivators, and have given up working in leather. The Chungias (from chungi, a leaf-pipe) are a branch of the Satnāmis who have taken to smoking, a practice which is forbidden by the rules of the sect. In Chhattīsgarh those Chamārs who still cure hides and work in leather belong either to the Kanaujia or Ahirwār subcastes, the former of whom take their name from the well-known classical town of Kanauj in northern India, while the latter are said to be the descendants of unions between Chamār fathers and Ahīr mothers. The Kanaujias are much addicted to drink, and though they eat pork they do not rear pigs. The Ahirwārs, or Erwārs as they are called outside Chhattīsgarh, occupy a somewhat higher position than the Kanaujias. They consider themselves to be the direct descendants of the prophet Raidās or Rohidās, who, they say, had seven wives of different castes; one of them was an Ahīr woman, and her offspring were the ancestors of the Ahirwār subcaste. Both the Kanaujias and Ahirwārs of Chhattīsgarh are generally known to outsiders as Paikaha, a term which indicates that they still follow their ancestral calling of curing hides, as opposed to the Satnāmis, who have generally eschewed it. Those Chamārs who are curriers have, as a rule, the right to receive the hides of the village cattle in return for removing the carcases, each family of Chamārs having allotted to them a certain number of tenants whose dead cattle they take, while their women are the hereditary midwives of the village. Such Chamārs have the designation of Meher. The Kanaujias make shoes out of a single piece of leather, while the Ahirwārs cut the front separately. The latter also ornament their shoes with fancy work consisting of patterns of silver thread on red cloth. No Ahirwār girl is married until she has shown herself proficient in this kind of needlework.[8] Another well-known group, found both in Chhattīsgarh and elsewhere, are the Jaiswāras, who take their name from the old town of Jais in the United Provinces. Many of them serve as grooms, and are accustomed to state their caste as Jaiswāra, considering it a more respectable designation than Chamār. The Jaiswāras must carry burdens on their heads only and not on their shoulders, and they must not tie up a dog with a halter or neck-rope, this article being venerated by them as an implement of their calling. A breach of either of these rules entails temporary excommunication from caste and a fine for readmission. Among a number of territorial groups may be mentioned the Bundelkhandi or immigrants from Bundelkhand; the Bhadoria from the Bhadāwar State; the Antarvedi from Antarved or the Doāb, the country lying between the Ganges and Jumna; the Gangāpāri or those from the north of the Ganges; and the Pardeshi (foreigners) and Desha or Deswār (belonging to the country), both of which groups come from Hindustān. The Deswār Chamārs of Narsinghpur[9] are now all agriculturists and have totally abjured the business of working in leather. The Mahobia and Khaijrāha take their names from the towns of Mahoba and Khaijra in Central India. The Lādse or Lādvi come from south Gujarāt, which in classical times was known as Lāt; while the Marātha, Berāria and Dakhini subdivisions belong to southern India. There are a number of other territorial groups of less importance.