51. For four days the bride remains with the women of her husband’s family. On the fourth day the womenfolk are collected, and the couple in their wedding garments are seated facing one another on a blanket, with a basket of fruit and flowers between [[284]]them. To overcome their modesty the women incite them to pelt one another with flowers. The bridegroom removes his ring from his finger and places it once on the parting of his wife’s hair, thereby sealing the moment when the bride (dulhin) becomes a matron (suhâgan). The bridegroom’s gown and the bride’s mantle are knotted together by the women, who tearing down the marriage pole, consign the materials with the marriage head-dress (maur) to the nearest water. On their return the newly-married couple assume their usual dress, and the wedding is ended.
Divorce. 52. Among the Lâl Begis impotency, leprosy, or lunacy in the husband warrants the wife in claiming a separation. Among the Shaikhs and Helas only impotency is a recognised ground. But the woman claiming a separation has to pay a fine of five or ten rupees, and give a dinner to the council. Among the Lâl Begis no marriage can be annulled without the sanction of the council, and among the Shaikhs without the joint consent of husband and wife. Among the Ghâzipuri Râwats no physical defect, however serious, is recognised as valid cause for a separation. Unfaithfulness or loss of caste in the wife is a ground for her husband to repudiate her. Among the Lâl Begis when a man wishes to get rid of his wife he assembles the brethren, and in their presence says to her—“You are as my sister”; she answers—“You are as my father and brother.” When the divorce is sanctioned, the husband has to pay one-and-a-quarter rupees to the council and two-and-a-half rupees to the Sardâr. Among Shaikh Mehtars the Qâzi is called in, and in his presence the husband says the word talâq three times. If the wife be found in fault she cannot claim dowry. Among the Ghâzipuri Râwats intertribal infidelity is not regarded as a ground for divorce; but it will be so if her paramour be an outsider. The Lâl Begis do not recognise any distinction between children the result of illicit connections and those of regular marriage, provided they are Lâl Begis. The same rule applies among the Shaikh Mehtars; the Ghâzipuri Râwats call such children dogla or dunasla, and though they have full tribal rights as regards marriage and social intercourse, they receive a smaller share of the inheritance than legitimate children. Naturally illegitimate children find it less easy to marry than those of legitimate birth. If a woman of the Ghâzipuri sub-caste intrigues with a stranger to the sub-caste she is permanently expelled; if her paramour be a fellow caste-man she can be restored on payment of [[285]]the penalty imposed by order of the council. Among the Lâl Begis of Benares it is not necessary that the widow of the elder should marry the younger brother; but among the Shaikhs and Ghâzipuri Râwats the widow must marry her younger brother-in-law if he be of suitable age and willing to take her. Among the Helas the matter is optional. If a Lâl Begi widow marry an outsider she continues to maintain her right over the property of her first husband, provided her second marriage was contracted with the consent of the council. Among the Shaikhs and Ghâzipuri Râwats the rule is different, and if the widow marry an outsider she loses all right to her first husband’s estate.
Birth ceremonies. 53. During pregnancy the woman wears a thread round her neck and a rupee tied round her head to scare evil spirits. In Lucknow the pregnant Lâl Begi woman counts seven stars as a spell to procure an easy delivery. She also has her lap filled with sweetmeats and fresh vegetables as an omen of fertility. This is known as godbhari. In the Western Districts the expectant mother worships Sati in the fifth or seventh month of her pregnancy. When delivery is tedious, it is a common practice to give her some water to drink over which a Faqîr has blown. When the delivery takes place the Chamârin is called in, who cuts the cord, buries it in the delivery room, and lights a fire over it. The phrase used is kheri jalâi jâti hai—“the after-birth is being burnt.” At the head of the bedstead she places some iron article, usually a penknife, and hands over to the mother an iron ring, which she reclaims on her dismissal, six days after. During that period a fire is kept smouldering at the door to repel the demon Jamhua, who takes his name apparently from Yama, the god of death. The most fatal disease from which Indian infants suffer is infantile lock-jaw, which is the result of the cutting of the umbilical cord with a blunt and perhaps foul instrument, like the common sickle used for this purpose. This disease, as is well known, generally appears on the sixth or twelfth day after birth, and this is the reason why these days have been, among most of the Indian castes, selected as the time for the rites of purification. This demon, like all his kin, detests foul smells, so they burn bran, leather, horns, and anything else which gives a fetid smoke in the neighbourhood of the mother, and all the foul clothes, etc., are carefully taken away by the midwife and buried in the ground, as, like all the lower tribes, the Bhangis have an intense dread of menstrual and parturition blood. [[286]]Among the Lâl Begis the rite of purification is complete on the sixth day, and after the mother has been bathed and dressed in clean clothes, she is taken outside at night to see the stars, while her husband stands close to her with a bludgeon to ward evil spirits from her. Then a tray full of food is brought, and all her women friends join in eating with the mother. In return, the friends send a coat and cap for the child. Among the Helas the rite of purification ends on the twelfth day. After the Chamârin is dismissed Bhangis do not, as other low castes do, call in the wife of the barber to attend the mother. A Brâhman is usually called in to select a name for the child, and then the birth hair is shaven. Some of the more advanced Bhangis are more careful in performing the rites of purification common to the superior castes. At the age of five or six many of them have their children’s ears bored at shrines like that of Kâlika Mâi and the Vindhyabâsini Devi of Bindhâchal. On this occasion they offer a goat or ram, or cakes, and pour some spirits on the ground. Among the Helas of Mirzapur, when the mother first leaves her room, she offers a burnt sacrifice (hom), and makes an offering to Ganga Mâi.
Death rites. 54. The Bhangis appear to be in the intermediate stage between burial and cremation. In Benares, according to Mr. Greeven, most of them are buried. The Lâl Begis and Shaikh Mehtars burn nothing; while the others scorch the face or hand and then bury. The funeral rites are the same for men and women. The body is bathed, according to sex, by the barber or his wife, but in perhaps most cases this is done by one of the relations. The two thumbs and the two great toes are fastened together with strips of cloth. It is then deposited, attired in a loin cloth, on a new mat, and sprinkled with camphor and water, or rose water. The Shaikh Mehtars use the ordinary Muhammadan cerecloths. The clansmen carry the body to the grave-yard on a bedstead, which each takes a turn in raising. With Musalmâns every member of the procession repeats the creed (Kalima), while with Nânakshâhis the Bâba advances in front reading the sacred volume (granth). Each sub-caste has its separate grave-yard; but the custodian is always a Musalmân. The Takyadâr or custodian receives four annas for reading the funeral prayers (janâza ki namâz); the grave-digger (beldâr) six annas for digging the grave; and the carpenter four annas for supplying a plank for the grave. Two clansmen descend into the grave to receive the [[287]]corpse as it is lowered. Either method of interment, lateral (baghli), or vertical (sandûqchi), is adopted. The sheet is withdrawn for a moment from the face of the corpse to allow it one last glimpse of the heavens, while with Musalmâns the face is turned towards Mecca. The sheet is replaced and the plank deposited, on which each clansman flings a handful of dust. A sheet is extended over the grave, and a viaticum, consisting of bread, sweetmeats, and some water, is laid upon it; each clansman sprinkles a little water and crumbles a little sweetmeats and bread on the mound. An earthen vessel is reversed over the grave; but sweepers do not observe the ceremony of withdrawing ten paces, nor, of course, is the Fâtiha recited, except for Musalmâns. At the moment of leaving the grave-yard it is not unusual for each mourner to fling a pebble over his shoulder to bar the ghost. The custodian pounces on the sheet as his perquisite, except in the case of sweepers who come from the Nawâbi Mulk (Delhi, Râmpur, and Lucknow), in which case he retains it, shut up in the pot which was reversed over the mound, until forty days after the funeral.
55. The more respectable Hindu sweepers sometimes burn the dead, and, if possible, induce some of the meaner class of Brâhmans to mutter a few spells while they burn the corpse themselves.
56. The subsequent ceremonies are more or less elaborate according to the means of the family. Thus, among the Shaikh Mehtars of Benares, according to Mr. Greeven, in the morning of the third day after the funeral, the clansmen, male and female, are collected at the house of the deceased, and a vessel is handed round containing sweetmeats, rose-water, and betel. In Musalmân households the children recite the Kalima, and count grains of the chick pea, like the beads of a rosary, to the name of the Almighty. On the same evening the clansmen with their women are feasted on boiled rice. No ceremonies are observed on the tenth (daswîn) or twentieth (bîswîn) day after death. On the fortieth day (chehlam, châliswân) the spirit of the departed, which has hitherto haunted the death chamber, is expelled in the following way:—The relatives, male and female, are feasted till about 11 P.M. An earthen vessel, half filled with water, is deposited, with bread, a few sweetmeats, and some boiled pulse, under a bedstead. Over this bedstead the sweepers from the Nawâb’s territory, as defined above, require the custodian of the grave to extend the sheet, which he has retained as described already. Over this, with Musalmâns, some low-class [[288]]mendicant, usually the custodian of the cemetery, repeats the Kalima or creed, while with Nânakpanthis the Bâbaji recites from the sacred volume (granth). At 4 A.M., as the mendicant ceases, the male relations should proceed to the cemetery, fling the earthen vessel upon the grave, and depart, leaving the provisions with the sheet, in the case of Nawâbi sweepers, to the custodian as his perquisite. The terror of ghosts usually prevents this rite being duly performed, and in most cases they content themselves with breaking the vessel at the cross roads, and when it has once been broken the ghost is released.
57. In Benares the Helas and the Shaikhs do the tîja and barsi rites, for the propitiation of the dead, like Musalmâns. The Lâl Begis and Ghâzipuri Râwats offer water for ten days. The vessel (hânri) containing water with a hole in the bottom is hung on a pîpal tree. They observe the pitrapaksha or fortnight of the dead. The worshipper stands in running water and offers some to his deceased ancestors. Some offer a kind of pinda or sacred ball of rice. No Brâhman takes part in this kind of srâddha. In fact, though Bhangis assert the fact, it does not appear certain that Brâhmans superintend any of their ceremonies. In the absence of a Brâhman, the son, grandson, or brother of the deceased officiates. Though it is said not to be so among the Benares Bhangis, it seems to be usual to give the preference to the son-in-law or sister’s son in performing the death ceremonies.
Religion. 58. The religion of the sweepers is a curious mixture of various faiths. Some, as we have seen, profess to be Hindus, others Musalmâns, and others Sikhs. But though these two latter religions avowedly preach the equality of all men, they refuse to recognise sweepers as brethren in the faith. In Benares the Râwats are said to be as bad Hindus as the Shaikhs are indifferent Muhammadans, and the Chaudhari of Helas could say only that he professed the Hela religion. But the experience of the last Panjâb Census has shown the impossibility of classing their beliefs under any one definite creed. Some ninety-five per cent of the Chûhras of the Province did, it is true, record themselves as professing some religion which might be assumed to be peculiar to them, such as Lâl Begi, Bâlmîki, or Bâlashâhi; but, as Mr. Maclagan observes[150]:—“While there is no doubt that we should be complying with Hindu feeling in excluding the Chûhra from the list of Hindus, should we also exclude the [[289]]Chamâr? And, if the Chamâr, why not the Sânsi? And should the Gâgra, the Megh, and the Khatîk follow? And, in fact, where is the line to be drawn? In the absence of any clear decision on this point, it will be best to adhere to the present system and include all as Hindus.” At the last Census of these provinces 2,65,967 persons recorded themselves as votaries of Lâl Beg. To the east of the province many are worshippers of the Pânchonpîr. To the west Shaikh Saddu and Guru Nânak are worshipped. We have already given some of the legends connected with the tribal saint Lâl Beg. Gûga or Zâhir Pîr is again held in high respect by the sweepers of the Western Districts. They consider that he cures the blind, lunatics, and lepers, and has the power of bestowing offspring on barren wives. His shrine is a small, round building, with a courtyard and flags hung from a neighbouring tree. On the shrine is laid a leaf platter containing a chip of the wood of the pîlu tree (Careya arborea), a flower of the karîl or caper bush, and some bâjra millet. The tomb is then rubbed with sandalwood, and this substance is considered a cure for various diseases. A goat is sometimes offered at a neighbouring shrine known as Gorakhnâth kâ qila; and every Lâlbegi erects in his house a standard (nishân) in the form of a trident (trisûl) in honor of Zâhir Pîr. In the eastern parts of these provinces, where distance overcomes the zeal for pilgrimage, it is usual for the Bhangis to carry round the sacred symbol of the Pîr in the month of Bhâdon, and raise contributions.
59. Ghâzi Miyân, again, is a favourite object of worship by Bhangis. They have corrupted the standard legend of the saint into a mass of extraordinary hagiology. According to one version Mâmal and her father Sarsa fled from Delhi to Ghazni on account of the tyranny of Prithivi Râja. There Salâr Sâhu married Mâmal, and Sarsa managed to persuade Sultân Mahmûd to attack Prithivi Râja. His tomb at Bahrâich is a favourite place of Bhangi pilgrimage. The Dafâli priests of the tomb perform all the rites. One of them wears the figure of a horse on his waist; others follow him in a wild dance, singing the praises of Shâh Madâr. All this is in commemoration of the marriage of Ghâzi Miyân, which is said to have taken place the day before his martyrdom.
60. Bhangis, again, have an army of local deities, such as in Lucknow, Kâle Gora, Baram Gusâîn, Narsinha, and Buddhi Prasâdi. They believe largely in various evil spirits, the Bhût, the Deo, the Bîr, the Râkshasa, and the Churel. They observe, if [[290]]Hindus, the festivals of the faith, such as the Diwâli, Ghâzi Miyân kâ byâh, the Basant, ’Id, and Muharram, which are all observed by the Lâl Begis of Benares; while the Ghâzipuri Râwats celebrate the Pachainyân, the Diwâli, the Dithwan, the Khichari, the Holi, and Ghâzi Miyân kâ byâh. The Helas observe the Holi, the Muharram, and the marriage of Ghâzi Miyân, and the Shaikh Mehtars, the last, with the ordinary feasts of Islâm. The common oaths in use are Parameswar qasm and Khuda qasm. The Lâl Begis also swear by their patron saint. They plaster a place with cow-dung, place a vessel of water inside it with a copy of the genealogy (kursi), and the person swearing faces the Ka’ba and swears with the book in his hand.