8. Tribal subdivisions.
The subcastes of the Kols in the Central Provinces differ entirely from those in Chota Nāgpur. Of the important subcastes here the Rautia and Rautele take their name from Rāwat, a prince, and appear to be a military or landholding group. In Chota Nāgpur the Rautias are a separate caste, holding land. The Rautia Kols practise hypergamy with the Rauteles, taking their daughters in marriage but not giving daughters. They will eat with Rauteles at wedding feasts only and not on any other occasion. The Thākuria, from thākur, a lord, are said to be the progeny of Rājpūt fathers and Kol mothers; and the Kagwaria to be named from kagwār, an offering made to ancestors in the month of Kunwār. The Desāha, from desh, native country, belong principally to Rewah. In some localities Bharias, Savars and Khairwārs are found who call themselves Kols and appear to be included in the tribe. The Bharias may be an offshoot of the Bhar tribe of northern India. It has already been seen that several groups of other tribes have been amalgamated with the Mundas of Chota Nāgpur, probably in a great measure from intermarriage, and a similar fusion seems to have occurred in the Central Provinces. Intermarriage between the different subtribes, though nominally prohibited, not infrequently takes place, and a girl forming a liaison with a man of another division may be married to him and received into it. The Rautias, however, say that they forbid this practice.