Dāngri
Dāngri.[1]—A small caste of melon and vegetable growers, whose name is derived from dāngar or dāngra, a water-melon. They reside in the Wardha and Bhandāra Districts, and numbered about 1800 persons in 1911. The caste is a mixed one of functional origin, and appears to be an offshoot from the Kunbis with additions from other sources. In Wardha they say that their ancestor was one of two brothers to whom Mahādeo gave the seeds of a juāri plant and a water-melon respectively for sowing. The former became the ancestor of the Kunbis and the latter of the Dāngris. On one occasion when Mahādeo, assuming the guise of a beggar, asked the Dāngri brother for a water-melon, he refused to give it, and on this account his descendants were condemned to perpetual poverty. In fact, the Dāngris, like the other market-gardening castes, are badly off, possibly on account of their common habit of marrying a number of wives, whom they utilise as labourers in their vegetable gardens; for though a wife is better than a hired labourer for their particular method of cultivation, where supervision is difficult and the master may be put to serious loss from bad work and petty pilfering, while there is also much scope for women workers; yet on the other hand polygamy tends to the breeding of family quarrels and to excessive subdivision of property. The close personal supervision which is requisite perhaps also renders it especially difficult to carry on the business of market-gardening on a large scale. In any case the agricultural holdings of the Mālis and Dāngris are as a rule very small. The conclusion indicated by the above story that the Dāngris are an offshoot from the Kunbi caste of cultivators appears to be correct; and it is supported by the fact that they will accept food cooked with water from the Baone Kunbis. But their subcastes show that even this small body is of very heterogeneous composition; for they are divided into the Teli, the Kalār, the Kunbi and the Gādiwān Dāngris, thus showing that the caste has received recruits from the Telis or oilmen and the Kalārs or liquor-sellers. The Gādiwān, as their name denotes, are a separate section who have adopted the comparatively novel occupation of cart-driving for a livelihood. In Wardha there is also a small class of Pānibhar or waterman Dāngris who are employed as water-bearers, this occupation arising not unnaturally from that of growing melons and other crops in river-beds. And a few members of the caste have taken to working in iron. The bulk of the Dāngris, however, grow melons, chillies and brinjals on the banks or in the beds of rivers; but as the melon crop is raised in a period of six weeks during the hot season, they can also undertake some ordinary cultivation. When the melons ripen the first fruits are offered to Mahādeo and given to a Brāhman to ensure the success of the crop. When the melon plants are in flower, a woman must not enter the field during the period of her monthly impurity, as it is believed that she would cause the crop to wither. While it may safely be assumed that the Dāngris originated from the great Kunbi caste, it may be noted that some of them tell a story to the effect that their original home was Benāres, and that they came from there into the Central Provinces; hence they call themselves Kāshi Dāngri, Kāshi being the classical name for Benāres. This legend appears to be entirely without foundation, as their family names, speech and customs are alike of purely Marāthi origin. But it is found among other castes also that they like to pretend that they came from Benāres, the most sacred centre of Hinduism. The social customs of the Dāngris resemble those of the Kunbis, and it is unnecessary to describe them in detail. Before their weddings they have a curious ceremony known as Dewat Pūja. The father of the bridegroom, with an axe over his shoulder and accompanied by his wife, goes to a well or a stream. Here they clean a small space with cow-dung and make an offering of rice, flowers, turmeric and incense, after which the man, breaking his bangle from off his wrist, throws it into the water, apparently as a propitiatory offering for the success of the marriage. It is not stated what the bangle is made of, but it may be assumed that a valuable one would not thus be thrown away. As among some of the other Marātha castes, the bridegroom must be wrapped in a blanket on his journey to the bride’s village. If a bachelor desires to espouse a widow he must first go through the ceremony of marriage with a swallow-wort plant. Polygamy is freely permitted, and some Dāngris are known to have as many as five wives. As already stated, wives are of great assistance in gardening work, which demands much hand-labour. Divorce and the remarriage of widows are allowed. The Dāngris commonly bury the dead, and they place cotton leaves over the eyes and ears of the corpse. In Bhandāra they say that this is done when it is believed the dead person was possessed by an evil spirit, and there is possibly some idea of preventing the escape of the spirit from the body. In Wardha the Dāngris have rather a bad reputation, and a saying current about them is ‘Dāngri beta puha chor,’ or ‘A Dāngri will steal even a shred of cotton’; but this may be a libel.
[1] This article is based on notes taken by Pandit Pyāre Lāl Misra in Wardha, and Mr. Hirā Lāl in Bhandāra.