3. Illegitimacy among Hindustāni castes
There is no caste corresponding to the Vidurs in the Hindi Districts and the offspring of unions which transgress the caste marriage rules are variously treated. Many castes both in the north and south say that they have 12½ subdivisions and that the half subcaste comprises the descendants of illicit unions. Of course the twelve subdivisions are as a rule mythical, the number of subcastes being always liable to fluctuate as fresh endogamous groups are formed by migration or slight changes in the caste calling. Other castes have a Lohri Sen or degraded group which corresponds to the half caste. In other cases the illegitimate branch has a special name; thus the Nīche Pāt Bundelas of Saugor and Chhoti Tar Rājpūts of Nimār are the offspring of fathers of the Bundela and other Rājpūt tribes with women of lower castes; both these terms have the same meaning as Lohri Sen, that is a low-caste or bastard group. Similarly the Dauwa (wet-nurse) Ahīrs are the offspring of Bundela fathers and the Ahīr women who act as nurses in their households. In Saugor is found a class of persons called Kunwar[4] who are descended from the offspring of the Marātha Brāhman rulers of Saugor and their kept women. They now form a separate caste and Hindustāni Brāhmans will take water from them. They refuse to accept katcha food (cooked with water) from Marātha Brāhmans, which all other castes will do. Another class of bastard children of Brāhmans are called Dogle, and such people commonly act as servants of Marātha Brāhmans; as these Brāhmans do not take water to drink from the hands of any caste except their own, they have much difficulty in procuring household servants and readily accept a Dogle in this capacity without too close a scrutiny of his antecedents. There is also a class of Dogle Kāyasths of similar, origin, who are admitted as members of the caste on an inferior status and marry among themselves. After several generations such groups tend to become legitimised; thus the origin of the distinction between the Khare and Dūsre Srivāstab Kāyasths and the Dasa and Bīsa Agarwāla Banias was probably of this character, but now both groups are reckoned as full members of the caste, one only ranking somewhat below the other so that they do not take food together. The Pārwār Banias have four divisions of different social status known as the Bare, Manjhile, Sanjhile and Lohri Seg or Sen, or first, second, third and fourth class. A man and woman detected in a serious social offence descend into the class next below their own, unless they can pay the severe penalties prescribed for it. If either marries or forms a connection with a man or woman of a lower class they descend into that class. Similarly, one who marries a widow goes into the Lohri Seg or lowest class. Other castes have a similar system of divisions. Among the great body of Hindus cases of men living with women of different caste are now very common, and the children of such unions sometimes inherit their father’s property. Though in such cases the man is out of caste this does not mean that he is quite cut off from social intercourse. He will be invited to the caste dinners, but must sit in a different row from the orthodox members so as not to touch them. As an instance of these mixed marriages the case of a private servant, a Māli or gardener, may be quoted. He always called himself a Brāhman, and though thinking it somewhat curious that a Brāhman should be a gardener, I took no notice of it until he asked leave to attend the funeral of his niece, whose father was a Government menial, an Agarwāla Bania. It was then discovered that he was the son of a Brāhman landowner by a mistress of the Kāchhi caste of sugarcane and vegetable growers, so that the profession of a private or ornamental gardener, for which a special degree of intelligence is requisite, was very suitable to him. His sister by the same parents was married to this Agarwāla Bania, who said his own family was legitimate and he had been deceived about the girl. The marriage of one of this latter couple’s daughters was being arranged with the son of a Brāhman, father and Bania mother in Jubbulpore; while the gardener himself had never been married, but was living with a girl of the Gadaria (shepherd) caste who had been married in her caste but had never lived with her husband. Inquiries made in a small town as to the status of seventy families showed that ten were out of caste on account of irregular matrimonial or sexual relations; and it may therefore be concluded that a substantial proportion of Hindus have no real caste at present.
4. Legend of origin
The Vidurs say that they are the descendants of a son who was born to a slave girl by the sage Vyās, the celebrated compiler of the Mahābhārata, to whom the girl was sent to provide an heir to the kingdom of Hastināpur. This son was named Vidur and was remarkable for his great wisdom, being one of the leading characters in the Mahābhārata and giving advice both to the Pāndavas and the Kauravas.
5. Marriage
As already stated, the Vidurs who are sprung from fathers of different castes form subcastes marrying among themselves. Among the Brāhman Vidurs also, a social difference exists between the older members of the caste who are descended from Vidurs for several generations, and the new ones who are admitted into it as being the offspring of Brāhman fathers from recent illicit unions, the former considering themselves to be superior and avoiding intermarriage with the latter as far as possible. The Brāhman Vidurs, to whom this article chiefly relates, have exogamous sections of different kinds, the names being eponymous, territorial, titular and totemistic. Among the names of their sections are Indurkar from Indore; Chaurikār, a whisk-maker; Achārya and Pānde, a priest; Menjokhe, a measurer of wax; Mīne, a fish; Dūdhmānde, one who makes wheaten cakes with milk; Goihe, a lizard; Wadābhāt, a ball of pulse and cooked rice; Diwāle, bankrupt; and Joshi, an astrologer. The Brāhman Vidurs have the same sect groups as the Marātha Brāhmans, according to the Veda which they especially revere. Marriage is forbidden within the section and in that of the paternal and maternal uncles and aunts. In Chānda, when a boy of one section marries a girl of another, all subsequent alliances between members of the two sections must follow the same course, and a girl of the first section must not marry a boy of the second. This rule is probably in imitation of that by which their caste is formed, that is from the union of a man of higher with a woman of lower caste. As already stated, the reverse form of connection is considered most disgraceful by the Hindus, and children born of it could not be Vidurs. On the same analogy they probably object to taking both husbands and wives from the same section. Marriage is usually infant, and a second wife is taken only if the first be barren or if she is sickly or quarrelsome. As a rule, no price is paid either for the bride or bridegroom. Vidurs have the same marriage ceremony as Marātha Brāhmans, except that Purānic instead of Vedic mantras or texts are repeated at the service. As among the lower castes the father of a boy seeks for a bride for his son, while with Brāhmans it is the girl’s father who makes the proposal. When the bridegroom arrives he is conducted to the inner room of the bride’s house; Mr. Tucker states that this is known as the Gaurighar because it contains the shrine of Gauri or Pārvati, wife of Mahādeo; and here he is received by the bride who has been occupied in worshipping the goddess. A curtain is held between them and coloured rice is thrown over them and distributed, and they then proceed to the marriage-shed, where an earthen mound or platform, known as Bohala, has been erected. They first sit on this on two stools and then fire is kindled on the platform and they walk five times round it. The Bohala is thus a fire altar. The expenses of marriage amount for the bridegroom’s family to Rs. 300 on an average, and for the bride’s to a little more. Widows are allowed to remarry, but the second union must not take place with any member of the family of the late husband, whose property remains with his children or, failing them, with his family. In the marriage of a widow the common pāt ceremony of the Marātha Districts is used. A price is commonly paid to the parents of a widow by her second husband. Divorce is allowed on the instance of the husband by a written agreement, and divorced women may marry again by the pāt ceremony. In Chānda it is stated that when a widower marries again a silver or golden image is made of the first wife and being placed with the household gods is daily worshipped by the second wife.
6. Social rules and occupation
The Vidurs employ Marātha Brāhmans for religious and ceremonial purposes, while their gurus are either Brāhmans or Bairāgis. They have two names, one for ceremonial and the other for ordinary use. When a child is to be named it is placed in a cradle and parties of women sit on opposite sides of it. One of the women takes the child in her arms and passes it across the cradle to another saying, ‘Take the child named Rāmchandra’ or whatever it may be. The other woman passes the child back using the same phrase, and it is then placed in the cradle and rocked, and boiled wheat and gram are distributed to the party. The Vidurs burn the dead, and during the period of mourning the well-to-do employ a Brāhman to read the Garud Purān to them, which tells how a sinner is punished in the next world and a virtuous man is rewarded. This, it is said, occupies their minds and prevents them from feeling their bereavement. They will take food only from Marātha Brāhmans and water from Rājpūts and Kunbis. Brāhmans will, as a rule, not take anything from a Vidur’s hand, but some of them have begun to accept water and sweetmeats, especially in the case of educated Vidurs. The Vidurs will not eat flesh of any kind nor drink liquor. The Brāhman Vidurs did not eat in kitchens in the famine. Their dress resembles that of Marātha Brāhmans. The men do not usually wear the sacred thread, but some have adopted it. In Bombay, however, boys are regularly invested with the sacred thread before the age of ten.[5] In Nāgpur it is stated that the Vidurs like to be regarded as Brāhmans.[6] They are now quite respectable and hold land. Many of them are in Government service, some being officers of the subordinate grades and others clerks, and they are also agents to landowners, patwāris and shopkeepers. The Vidurs are the best educated caste with the exception of Brāhmans, Kāyasths and Banias, and this fact has enabled them to obtain a considerable rise in social status. Their aptitude for learning may be attributed to their Brāhman parentage, while in some cases Vidurs have probably been given an education by their Brāhman relatives. Their correct position should be a low one, distinctly beneath that of the good cultivating castes. A saying has it, ‘As the amarbel creeper has no roots, so the Vidur has no ancestry.’ But owing to their education and official position the higher classes of Vidurs have obtained a social status not much below that of Kāyasths. This rise in position is assisted by their adherence in matters of dress, food and social practice to the customs of Marātha Brāhmans, so that many of them are scarcely distinguishable from a Brāhman. A story is told of a Vidur Tahsīldār or Naib-Tahsīldār who was transferred to a District at some distance from his home, and on his arrival there pretended to be a Marātha Brāhman. He was duly accepted by the other Brāhmans, who took food with him in his house and invited him to their own. After an interval of some months the imposture was discovered, and it is stated that this official was at a short subsequent period dismissed from Government service on a charge of bribery. The Vidurs are also considered to be clever at personation, and one or two stories are told of frauds being carried out through a Vidur returning to some family in the character of a long-lost relative.
[1] This article is compiled from papers by Mr. W.A. Tucker, Extra Assistant Commissioner, Bhandāra, and Mr. B.M. Deshmukh, Pleader, Chānda.