2. Subdivisions.
The Dumāls have no subcastes, but they have a complicated system of exogamy. This includes three kinds of divisions or sections, the got or sept, the barga or family title and the mitti or earth from which they sprang, that is, the name of the original village of the clan. Marriage is prohibited only between persons who have the same got, barga and mitti; if any one of these is different it is allowed. Thus a man of the Nāg got, Padhān barga and Hindolsai mitti may marry a girl of the Nāg got, Padhān barga and Kandhpadā mitti; or one of the Nāg got, Karmi barga and Hindolsai mitti; or one of the Bud got, Padhān barga and Hindolsai mitti. The bargas are very numerous, but the gots and mittis are few and common to many bargas; and many people have forgotten the name of their mitti altogether. Marriage therefore usually depends on the bargas being different. The following table shows the got, barga and mitti of a few families:
| Got. | Barga. | Mitti. |
| Nāg (cobra) | Padhān (chief) | Hindolsai |
| Nāg | Karmi (manager) | Unda (a village in Athmalik) |
| Nāg | Behra (Palki-bearer) | Kandhpada (a village in Athmalik) |
| Nāg | Mahākul (great family) | Do. do. |
| Nāg | Mesua (shepherd) | Dalpur (a village in Baud) |
| Nāg | Karan (writer) | Kandhpada (a village in Athmalik) |
| Nāg or Nāgesh | Mahākul (great family) | Bāmanda (a village in Baud) |
| Bud (a fish) | Kolta (caste) | Kandhpada (a village in Athmalik) |
| Bud (a fish) | Baghār (buffalo) | Do. do. |
| Bichhū (scorpion) | Mahākul (great family) | Bāmada (a village in Baud) |
The only other gots besides those given above are Kachhap (tortoise), Ulūk (owl) and Limb (nim-tree). The gots are thus totemistic, and the animal or plant giving its name to the got is venerated and worshipped. The names of bargas are diverse. Some are titles indicating the position of the founder of the family in life, as Nāik (leader), Padhān (chief), Karmi (manager), Mahākul (great family) and so on. Others are derived from functions performed in sacrifices, as Amāyat (one who kills the animal in the sacrifice), Gurandi (one who makes a preparation of sugar for it), Dehri (priest), Bārik (one who carries the god’s umbrella), Kamp (one who is in charge of the baskets containing the sacred articles of the temple). Another set of bargas are names signifying the performance of menial functions in household service, as Gejo (kitchen-cleaner), Chaulia (rice-cleaner), Gadua (lotā-bearer), Dāng (spoon-bearer), Ghusri (cleaner of the dining-place with cowdung). Other names of bargas are derived from the caste’s traditional occupation of grazing cattle, as Mesua or Mendli (shepherd), Gaigariya (milkman), Chhānd (one who ties a rope to the legs of a cow when milking her). These names are interesting as showing that the Dumāls before taking to their present occupation of agriculture were temple servants, household menials and cattle-herds, thus fulfilling the functions now performed by the Rāwat or Gaur caste of graziers in Sambalpur. The names of the mittis or villages show that their original home was in the Orissa Tributary Mahāls, while the totemistic names of gots indicate their Dravidian origin. The marriage of first cousins is prohibited.