13. Physical appearance

“Physically,” Mr. Low states, “the Marār is rather a poor-looking creature, dark and undersized; but the women are often not bad looking, and dressed up in their best at a wedding, rattling their castanets and waving light-coloured silk handkerchiefs, give a very graceful dance. The caste are not as a rule celebrated for their cleanliness. A polite way of addressing a Marār is to call him Patel.”


[1] This article is based principally on Mr. Low’s description of the Marārs in the Bālāghāt District Gazetteer and on a paper by Major Sutherland, I.M.S.

[2] C.P. Census Report (1891), para. 180.

[3] Schröder, Prehistoric Antiquities, 121, quoted in Crooke’s Tribes and Castes, art. Māli.

[4] Punjab Census Report (1881), para. 483.

[5] Ibidem, para. 484.

[6] Bālāghāt District Gazetteer, para. 59.

[7] Mr. Napier’s Bhandara Settlement Report, quoted in article on Kohli.