15. Lālbeg
Lālbeg, who is still more widely venerated, is considered to have been Ghāzi Miyān, the nephew of Sultān Muhammad of Ghazni, and a saint much worshipped in the Punjab. Many legends are told of Lālbeg, and his worship is described by Mr. Greeven as follows:[14] “The ritual of Lālbeg is conducted in the presence of the whole brotherhood, as a rule at the festival of the Diwāli and on other occasions when special business arises. The time for worship is after sunset and if possible at midnight. His shrine consists of a mud platform surrounded by steps, with four little turrets at the corners and a spire in the centre, in which is placed a lamp filled with clarified butter and containing a wick of twisted tow. Incense is thrown into the flame and offerings of cakes and sweetmeats are made. A lighted huqqa is placed before the altar and as soon as the smoke rises it is understood that a whiff has been drawn by the hero.” A cock is offered to Lālbeg at the Dasahra festival. When a man is believed to have been affected by the evil eye they wave a broom in front of the sufferer muttering the name of the saint. In the Damoh District the guru or priest who is the successor of Lālbeg comes from the Punjab every year or two. He is richly clad and is followed by a sweeper carrying an umbrella. Other Hindus say that his teaching is that no one who is not a Lālbegi can go to heaven, but those on whom the dust raised by a Lālbegi sweeping settles acquire some modicum of virtue. Similarly Mr. Greeven remarks:[15] “Sweepers by no means endorse the humble opinion entertained with respect to them; for they allude to castes such as Kunbis and Chamārs as petty (chhota), while a common anecdote is related to the effect that a Lālbegi, when asked whether Muhammadans could obtain salvation, replied: ‘I never heard of it, but perhaps they might slip in behind Lālbeg.’”
16. Adoption of foreign religions
On the whole the religion of the Lālbegis appears to be monotheistic and of a sufficiently elevated character, resembling that of the Kabīrpanthis and other reforming sects. Its claim to the exclusive possession of the way of salvation is a method of revolt against the menial and debased position of the caste. Similarly many sweepers have become Muhammadans and Sikhs with the same end in view, as stated by Mr. Greeven:[16] “As may be readily imagined, the scavengers are merely in name the disciples of Nānak Shāh, professing in fact to be his followers just as they are prepared at a moment’s notice to become Christians or Muhammadans. Their object is, of course, merely to acquire a status which may elevate them above the utter degradation of their caste. The acquaintance of most of them with the doctrines of Nānak Shāh is at zero. They know little and care less about his rules of life, habitually disregarding, for instance, the prohibitions against smoking and hair-cutting. In fact, a scavenger at Benāres no more becomes a Sikh by taking Nānak Shāh’s motto than he becomes a Christian by wearing a round hat and a pair of trousers.” It was probably with a similar leaning towards the more liberal religion that the Lālbegis, though themselves Hindus, adopted a Muhammadan for their tutelary saint. In the Punjab Muhammadan sweepers who have given up eating carrion and refuse to remove night-soil rank higher than the others, and are known as Musalli.[17] And in Saugor the Muhammadans allow the sweepers to come into a mosque and to stand at the back, whereas, of course, they cannot approach a Hindu temple. Again in Bengal it is stated, “The Dom is regarded with both disgust and fear by all classes of Hindus, not only on account of his habits being abhorrent and abominable, but also because he is believed to have no humane or kindly feelings”; and further, “It is universally believed that Doms do not bury or burn their dead, but dismember the corpse at night like the inhabitants of Thibet, placing the fragments in a pot and sinking them in the nearest river or reservoir. This horrid idea probably originated from the old Hindu law, which compelled the Doms to bury their dead at night.”[18] It is not astonishing that the sweepers prefer a religion whose followers will treat them somewhat more kindly. Another Muhammadan saint revered by the sweepers of Saugor is one Zāhir Pīr. At the fasts in Chait and Kunwār (March and September) they tie cocoanuts wrapped in cloth to the top of a long bamboo, and marching to the tomb of Zāhir Pīr make offerings of cakes and sweetmeats. Before starting for his day’s work the sweeper does obeisance to his basket and broom.
17. Social status
The sweeper stands at the very bottom of the social ladder of Hinduism. He is considered to be the representative of the Chandāla of Manu,[19] who was said to be descended of a Sūdra father and a Brāhman woman. “It was ordained that the Chandāla should live without the town; his sole wealth should be dogs and asses; his clothes should consist of the cerecloths of the dead; his dishes should be broken pots and his ornaments rusty iron. No one who regarded his duties should hold intercourse with the Chandālas and they should marry only among themselves. By day they might roam about for the purposes of work, but should be distinguished by the badges of the Rāja, and should carry out the corpse of any one who died without kindred. They should always be employed to slay those who by the law were sentenced to be put to death, and they might take the clothes of the slain, their beds and their ornaments.” Elsewhere the Chandāla is said to rank in impurity with the town boar, the dog, a woman during her monthly illness and a eunuch, none of whom must a Brāhman allow to see him when eating.[20] Like the Chandāla, the sweeper cannot be touched, and he himself acquiesces in this and walks apart. In large towns he sometimes carries a kite’s wing in his turban to show his caste, or goes aloof saying pois, which is equivalent to a warning. When the sweeper is in company he will efface himself as far as possible behind other people. He is known by his basket and broom, and men of other castes will not carry these articles lest they should be mistaken for a sweeper. The sweeper’s broom is made of bamboo, whereas the ordinary house-broom is made of date-palm leaves. The house-broom is considered sacred as the implement of Lakshmi used in cleaning the house. No one should tread upon or touch it with his foot. The sweeper’s broom is a powerful agent for curing the evil eye, and mothers get him to come and wave it up and down in front of a sick child for this purpose. Nevertheless it is lucky to see a sweeper in the morning, especially if he has his basket with him. In Gujarāt Mr. Bhīmbhai Kirpārām writes of him: “Though he is held to be lower and more unclean, the Bhangia is viewed with kindlier feelings than the Dhed (Mahār). To meet the basket-bearing Bhangia is lucky, and the Bhangia’s blessing is valued. Even now if a Government officer goes into a Bhangia hamlet the men with hands raised in blessing say: ‘May your rule last for ever.’” A sweeper will eat the leavings of other people, but he will not eat in their houses; he will take the food away to his own house. It is related that on one occasion a sweeper accompanied a marriage party of Lodhis (cultivators), and the Lodhi who was the host was anxious that all should share his hospitality and asked the sweeper to eat in his house;[21] but he repeatedly refused, until finally the Lodhi gave him a she-buffalo to induce him to eat, so that it might not be said that any one had declined to share in his feast. No other caste, of course, will accept food or water from a sweeper, and only a Chamār (tanner) will take a chilam or clay pipe-bowl from his hand. The sweeper will eat carrion and the flesh of almost all animals, including snakes, lizards, crocodiles and tigers, and also the leavings of food of almost any caste. Mr. Greeven remarks:[22] “Only Lālbegis and Rāwats eat food left by Europeans, but all eat food left either by Hindus or Muhammadans; the Sheikh Mehtars as Muhammadans alone are circumcised and reject pig’s flesh. Each subcaste eats uncooked food with all the others, but cooked food alone.” From Betūl it is reported that the Mehtars there will not accept food, water or tobacco from a Kāyasth, and will not allow one to enter their houses.
18. Occupation
Sweeping and scavenging in the streets and in private houses are the traditional occupations of the caste, but they have others. In Bombay they serve as night watchmen, town-criers, drummers, trumpeters and hangmen. Formerly the office of hangman was confined to sweepers, but now many low-caste prisoners are willing to undertake it for the sake of the privilege of smoking tobacco in jail which it confers. In Mīrzāpur when a Dom hangman is tying a rope round the neck of a criminal he shouts out, ‘Dohai Mahārāni, Dohai Sarkār, Dohai Judge Sāhib,’ or ‘Hail Great Queen! Hail Government! Hail Judge Sahib!’ in order to shelter himself under their authority and escape any guilt attaching to the death.[23] In the Central Provinces the hangman was accompanied by four or five other sweepers of the caste panchāyat the idea being perhaps that his act should be condoned by their presence and approval and he should escape guilt. In order to free the executioner from blame the prisoner would also say: “Dohai Sarkar ke, Dohai Kampani ke; jaisa maine khūn kiya waisa apne khūn ko pahunchha” or “Hail to the Government and the Company; since I caused the death of another, now I am come to my own death”; and all the Panches said, ‘Rām, Rām.’ The hangman received ten rupees as his fee, and of this five rupees were given to the caste for a feast and an offering to Lālbeg to expiate his sin. In Bundelkhand sweepers are employed as grooms by the Lodhis, and may put everything on to the horse except a saddle-cloth. They are also the village musicians, and some of them play on the rustic flute called shahnai at weddings, and receive their food all the time that the ceremony lasts. Sweepers are, as a rule, to be found only in large villages, as in small ones there is no work for them. The caste is none too numerous in the Central Provinces, and in villages the sweeper is often not available when wanted for cleaning the streets. The Chamārs of Bundelkhand will not remove the corpses of a cat or a dog or a squirrel, and a sweeper must be obtained for the purpose. These three animals are in a manner holy, and it is considered a sin to kill any one of them. But their corpses are unclean. A Chamār also refuses to touch the corpse of a donkey, but a Kumhār (potter) will sometimes do this; if he declines a sweeper must be fetched. When a sweeper has to enter a house in order to take out the body of an animal, it is cleaned and whitewashed after he has been in. In Hoshangābād an objection appears to be felt to the entry of a sweeper by the door, as it is stated that a ladder is placed for him, so that he presumably climbs through a window. Or where there are no windows it is possible that the ladder may protect the sacred threshold from contact with his feet. The sweeper also attends at funerals and assists to prepare the pyre; he receives the winding-sheet when this is not burnt or buried with the corpse, and the copper coins which are left on the ground as purchase-money for the site of the grave. In Bombay in rich families the winding-sheet is often a worked shawl costing from fifty to a hundred rupees.[24] When a Hindu widow breaks her bangles after her husband’s death, she gives them, including one or two whole ones, to a Bhangia woman.[25] A letter announcing a death is always carried by a sweeper.[26] In Bengal a funeral could not be held without the presence of a Dom, whose functions are described by Mr. Sherring[27] as follows: “On the arrival of the dead body at the place of cremation, which in Benāres is at the basis of one of the steep stairs or ghāts, called the Burning-Ghāt, leading down from the streets above to the bed of the river Ganges, the Dom supplies five logs of wood, which he lays in order upon the ground, the rest of the wood being given by the family of the deceased. When the pile is ready for burning a handful of lighted straw is brought by the Dom, and is taken from him and applied by one of the chief members of the family to the wood. The Dom is the only person who can furnish the light for the purpose; and if for any reason no Dom is available, great delay and inconvenience are apt to arise. The Dom exacts his fee for three things, namely, first for the five logs, secondly for the bunch of straw, and thirdly for the light.”
19. Occupation (continued)
During an eclipse the sweepers reap a good harvest; for it is believed that Rāhu, the demon who devours the sun and moon and thus causes an eclipse, was either a sweeper or the deity of the sweepers, and alms given to them at this time will appease him and cause him to let the luminaries go. Or, according to another account, the sun and moon are in Rāhu’s debt, and he comes and duns them, and this is the eclipse; and the alms given to sweepers are a means of paying the debt. In Gujarāt as soon as the darkening sets in the Bhangis go about shouting, ‘Garhandān, Vastradān, Rupādān,’ or ‘Gifts for the eclipse, gifts of clothes, gifts of silver.’[28] The sweepers are no doubt derived from the primitive or Dravidian tribes, and, as has been seen, they also practise the art of making bamboo mats and baskets, being known as Bānsphor in Bombay on this account. In the Punjab the Chuhras are a very numerous caste, being exceeded only by the Jāts, Rājpūts and Brāhmans. Only a small proportion of them naturally find employment as scavengers, and the remainder are agricultural labourers, and together with the vagrants and gipsies are the hereditary workers in grass and reeds.[29] They are closely connected with the Dhānuks, a caste of hunters, fowlers and village watchmen, being of nearly the same status.[30] And Dhānuk, again, is in some localities a complimentary term for a Basor or bamboo-worker. It has been seen that Vālmīki, the patron saint of the sweepers, was a low-caste hunter, and this gives some reason for the supposition that the primary occupations of the Chūhras and Bhangis were hunting and working in grass and bamboo. In one of the legends of the sweeper saint Bālmīk or Vālmīki given by Mr. Greeven,[31] Bālmīk was the youngest of the five Pāndava brothers, and was persuaded by the others to remove the body of a calf which had died in their courtyard. But after he had done so they refused to touch him, so he went into the wilderness with the body; and when he did not know how to feed himself the carcase started into life and gave him milk until he was full grown, when it died again of its own accord. Bālmīk burst into tears, not knowing how he was to live henceforward, but a voice cried from heaven saying, “Of the sinews (of the calf’s body) do thou tie winnows (sūp), and of the caul do thou plait sieves (chalni).” Bālmīk obeyed, and by his handiwork gained the name of Sūpaj or the maker of winnowing-fans. These are natural occupations of the non-Aryan forest tribes, and are now practised by the Gonds.