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.
3. Subcastes continued.
Certain subcastes are of an occupational nature, and among these may be mentioned the Budalgirs of Chhindwāra, who derive their name from the budla, or leather bag made for the transport and storage of oil and ghī. The budla, Mr. Trench remarks,[10] has been ousted by the kerosene oil tin, and the industry of the Budalgirs has consequently almost disappeared; but the budlas are still used by barbers to hold oil for the torches which they carry in wedding processions. The Daijanya subcaste are so named because their women act as midwives (dai), but this business is by no means confined to one particular group, being undertaken generally by Chamār women. The Kataua or Katwa are leather-cutters, the name being derived from kātna, to cut. And the Gobardhua (from gobar, cowdung) collect the droppings of cattle on the threshing-floors and wash out and eat the undigested grain. The Mochis or shoemakers and Jīngars[11] or saddlemakers and bookbinders have obtained a better position than the ordinary Chamārs, and have now practically become separate castes; while, on the other hand, the Dohar subcaste of Narsinghpur have sunk to the very lowest stage of casual labour, grass-cutting and the like, and are looked down on by the rest of the caste.[12] The Korchamārs are said to be the descendants of alliances between Chamārs and Koris or weavers, and the Turkanyas probably have Turk or Musalmān blood in their veins. In Berār the Romya or Haralya subcaste claim the highest rank and say that their ancestor Harlya was the primeval Chamār who stripped off a piece of his own skin to make a pair of shoes for Mahādeo.[13] The Māngya[14] Chamārs of Chānda and the Nona Chamārs of Damoh are groups of beggars, who are the lowest of the caste and will take food from the hands of any other Chamār. The Nona group take their name from Nona or Lona Chamārin, a well-known witch about whom Mr. Crooke relates the following story:[15] “Her legend tells how Dhanwantari, the physician of the gods, was bitten by Takshaka, the king of the snakes, and knowing that death approached he ordered his sons to cook and eat his body after his death, so that they might thereby inherit his skill in medicine. They accordingly cooked his body in a cauldron, and were about to eat it when Takshaka appeared to them in the form of a Brāhman and warned them against this act of cannibalism. So they let the cauldron float down the Ganges, and as it floated down, Lona the Chamārin, who was washing on the bank of the river, took the vessel out in ignorance of its contents, and partook of the ghastly food. She at once obtained power to cure diseases, and especially snake-bite. One day all the women were transplanting rice, and it was found that Lona could do as much work as all her companions put together. So they watched her, and when she thought she was alone she stripped off her clothes (nudity being an essential element in magic), muttered some spells, and threw the plants into the air, when they all settled down in their proper places. Finding she was observed, she tried to escape, and as she ran the earth opened, and all the water of the rice-fields followed her and thus was formed the channel of the Loni River in the Unao District.” This Lona or Nona has obtained the position of a nursery bogey, and throughout Hindustān, Sir H. Risley states, parents frighten naughty children by telling them that Nona Chamārin will carry them off. The Chamārs say that she was the mother or grandmother of the prophet Ravi Dās, or Rai Dās already referred to.
4. Exogamous divisions.
The caste is also divided into a large number of exogamous groups or sections, whose names, as might be expected, present a great diversity of character. Some are borrowed from Rājpūt clans, as Sūrajvansi, Gaharwār and Rāthor; while others, as Marai, are taken from the Gonds. Instances of sections named after other castes are Banjar (Banjāra), Jogi, Chhipia (Chhipi, a tailor) and Khairwār (a forest tribe). The Chhipia section preserve the memory of their comparatively illustrious descent by refusing to eat pork. Instances of sections called after a title or nickname of the reputed founder are Mālādhāri, one who wears a garland; Māchhi-Mundia or fly-headed, perhaps the equivalent of feather-brained; Hathīla, obstinate; Bāghmār, a tiger-killer; Māngaya, a beggar; Dhuliya, a drummer; Jadkodiha, one who digs for roots, and so on. There are numerous territorial groups named after the town or village where the ancestor of the clan may be supposed to have lived; and many names also are of a totemistic nature, being taken from plants, animals or natural objects. Among these are Khunti, a peg; Chandaniha, sandalwood; Tarwāria, a sword; Borbans, plums; Miri, chillies; Chauria, a whisk; Baraiya, a wasp; Khalaria, a hide or skin; Kosni, kosa or tasar silk; and Purain, the lotus plant. Totemistic observances survive only in one or two isolated instances.
5. Marriage.
A man must not take a wife from his own section, nor in some localities from that of his mother or either of his grandmothers. Generally the union of first cousins is prohibited. Adult marriage is the rule, but those who wish to improve their social position have taken to disposing of their daughters at an early age. Matches are always arranged by the parents, and it is the business of the boy’s father to find a bride for his son. A bride-price is paid which may vary from two pice (farthings) to a hundred rupees, but usually averages about twenty rupees. In Chānda the amount is fixed at Rs. 13 and it is known as hunda, but if the bride’s grandmother is alive it is increased to Rs. 15–8, and the extra money is given to her. The marriage ceremony follows the standard type prevalent in the locality. On his journey to the girl’s house the boy rides on a bullock and is wrapped up in a blanket. In Bilāspur a kind of sham fight takes place between the parties, which is a reminiscence of the former practice of marriage by capture and is thus described as an eye-witness by the Rev. E. M. Gordon of Mungeli:[16]
“As the bridegroom’s party approached the home of the bride the boy’s friends lifted him up on their shoulders, and, surrounding him on every side, they made their way to the bride’s house, swinging round their sticks in a threatening manner. On coming near the house they crossed sticks with the bride’s friends, who gradually fell back and allowed the bridegroom’s friends to advance in their direction. The women of the house gathered with baskets and fans and some threw about rice in pretence of self-defence. When the sticks of the bridegroom’s party struck the roof of the bride’s house or of the marriage-shed her friends considered themselves defeated and the sham fight was at an end.” Among the Marātha Chamārs of Betūl two earthen pots full of water are half buried in the ground and worship is paid to them. The bride and bridegroom then stand together and their relatives take out water from the pots and pour it on to their heads from above. The idea is that the pouring of the sacred water on to them will make them grow, and if the bride is much smaller than the bridegroom more water is poured on to her in order that she may grow faster. The practice may symbolise the fertilising influence of rain. Among the Dohar Chamārs of Narsinghpur the bride and bridegroom are seated on a plough-yoke while the marriage ceremony is performed. Before the wedding the bride’s party take a goat’s leg in a basket with other articles to the janwāsa or bridegroom’s lodging and present it to his father. The bride and bridegroom take the goat’s leg and beat each other with it alternately. Another ceremony, known as Pendpūja, consists in placing pieces of stick with cotton stuck to the ends in an oven and burning them in the name of the deceased ancestors; but the significance, if there be any, of this rite is obscure. Some time after the wedding the bride is taken to her husband’s house to live with him, and on this occasion a simple ceremony known as Chauk or Pathoni is performed.