Diwān.—Title of the members of the Dahāit caste committee.
Dixit.—See Dikhit.
Dobaile.—(One who yokes two bullocks to the oil-press.) Subcaste of Telis in the Nāgpur country.
Dobīsya.—(Two score.) Subcaste of Halwai.
Doda or Dor.—One of the thirty-six royal races of Rājpūts.
Dogle.—Name applied to Kāyasths of illegitimate descent.
Dohor.[34]—A small caste of Berār, who are really Chamārs; in the Central Provinces the Dohors are a well-known subcaste of Chamārs, but in Berār they appear to have obtained a separate name, under which about 6000 persons were returned in 1911. They work in leather like the Chamārs 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 panchāyat, 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 Dhīmar.
Dom.—An important caste in Bengal. See article Kanjar. Used as a synonym for Gānda in the Uriya country.
Domra.—Subcaste of Turi.