[3] In the Ethnographic Appendices to the India Census Report of 1901 a slightly different version of the story is given by Captain Luard. The Dāngis, it must be remembered, are a high caste ranking just below Rājpūts.
KHARIA
List of Paragraphs
- [1. General notice.] [445]
- [2. Legend of origin.] [445]
- [3. Subcastes.] [447]
- [4. Exogamy and totemism.] [447]
- [5. Marriage.] [447]
- [6. Taboos as to food.] [449]
- [7. Widow-marriage and divorce.] [449]
- [8. Religion.] [449]
- [9. Funeral rites.] [450]
- [10. Bringing back the souls of the dead.] [450]
- [11. Social customs.] [451]
- [12. Caste rules and organisation.] [451]
- [13. Occupation and character.] [452]
- [14. Language.] [453]
1. General notice.
Kharia.[1]—A primitive Kolarian tribe, of which about 900 persons were returned from the Central Provinces in 1911. They belong to the Bilāspur District and the Jashpur and Raigarh States. The Kharias are one of the most backward of the Kolarian tribes, and appear to be allied to the Mundas and Savars. Colonel Dalton says of them: “In the Chota Nāgpur estate they are found in large communities, and the Kharias belonging to these communities are far more civilised than those who live apart. Their best settlements lie near the southern Koel river, which stream they venerate as the Santāls do the Dāmudar, and into it they throw the ashes of their dead.” Chota Nāgpur is the home of the Kharias, and their total strength is over a lakh. They are found elsewhere only in Assam, where they have probably migrated to the tea-gardens.