8. Another legend tells the origin of the Bhurtiyas in this way:—“Once upon a time Sri Krishna blew his flute in the forest and all [[55]]the girls of Brindâban rushed to meet him. They were so excited at the prospect of meeting him that they did not wait to adjust their dress or jewelry. One of them appeared with brass rings (mâthi) on one wrist and lac bangles (chûri) on the other; so she was called by way of a joke Bhurtiya or ‘careless,’ and the name has clung to her descendants ever since.” In memory of this the women of this sub-caste wear both kinds of ornaments.
9. Bargâhi is said, again, in Persian to mean “one who attends a royal court,” and the name is derived from the fact that the women of this sub-caste used to serve as wet-nurses in the families of noblemen. Among these the Churiya and Maharwa intermarry; all the others are endogamous.
10. The detailed Census returns enumerate no less than 1,767 varieties of Ahîrs. Of these, those most largely represented are—in Bulandshahr, the Bhatti, Nirban and Ahar; in Aligarh, the Chakiya, Garoriya; in Mainpuri, the Girdharpuriya and Tulasi; in Etah, the Barwa, Bharosiya, Deswâr, Dholri, Kanchhariya, and Siyarê; in Bareilly, the Chaunsathiya or “sixty-fours;” in Morâdâbâd, the Deswâr; in Shâhjahânpur, the Bâchhar, which is the name of a well-known Râjput sept, Bakaiya, Birhariya, Chanwar, Darswâr, Dohar, Kharê, Katha, Katheriya, Manhpachchar, Râna, Rohendi and Sisariya; in Cawnpur, the Darswâr and Sakarwâr, the latter of which is the title of a Râjput sept; in Fatehpur, the Raghubansi; in Bânda, the Bharauniya; in Hamîrpur, the Rautela; in Jhânsi, the Gondiya, Mewâr and Rautela; in Mirzapur, the Kishnaut; in Ballia, the Kanaujiya, Kishnaut, Majraut; in Gorakhpur, the Bargâh, Kanaujiya, Kishnaut, and Majnûn; in Basti, the Kanaujiya; in Lucknow, the Raghubansi; in Unâo, the Gel, Gokuliya, and Guâlbansi; in Sîtapur, the Râjbansi; in Hardoi, the Kauriya; in Sultânpur, the Dhuriya; in Partâbgarh, the Sohar; in Bârabanki, the Bâchhar, Dharbansi, Muriyâna and Râjbansi.
The Lorik legend. 11. No account of the Ahîrs would be complete without some reference to the famous tribal legend of Lorik, which is most popular among them and is sung at all their ceremonies. There are various recensions of it, and it is most voluminous and embodies a number of different episodes. In what is, perhaps, the most common form of the legend, Siudhar, an Ahîr of the East country, marries Chandain, and is cursed with the loss of all passion by Pârvati. His wife forms an attachment for a neighbour named Lorik and elopes with him. The husband pursues, fails to induce her to return, and fights Lorik, by whom he [[56]]is defeated. The pair then go on and finally meet Mahâpatiya, a Dusâdh, the chief of the gamblers. He and Lorik play till the latter loses everything, including his mistress. She urges that her jewels did not form part of the stake, and induces them to try another throw of the dice. She stands opposite Mahâpatiya and distracts his attention by exposing her person to him. Finally Lorik wins everything back. The girl then tells Lorik how she had been insulted by the low-caste man, who saw her exposed, and Lorik with his two-maund sword cuts off the gambler’s head, when it and his body were turned into stone, and are to be seen to this day. Lorik and Chandain then continued their wanderings, and he attacks and defeats the King of Hardui near Mongir. The Râja is afterwards assisted by the King of Kalinga, defeats Lorik, and imprisons him in a dungeon, whence he is released by the intercession of the goddess Durga, recovers the kingdom and his mistress Chandain, and after some years of happiness returns to his native land.
12. Meanwhile the brother of Lorik, Semru, had been attacked and killed by the Kols and all his cattle plundered. Lorik takes a bloody revenge from the enemy. Before he left home with Chandain, Lorik had been betrothed to an Ahîr girl named Satmanain, who by this time had become a handsome woman, who lived in the hope that Lorik would some day return and claim her. Lorik was anxious to test her fidelity, and when he came near home, concealed his identity. When she and the other woman came to sell milk in his camp he laid down a loin cloth at the entrance. All the other women stepped over it, but such was the delicacy of Satmanain that she refused. Lorik was pleased, and, without her knowledge, filled her basket with jewels, and covered them over with rice. When she returned, her sister found the jewels, and taxed her with receiving them as the price of her honour. She indignantly denied the accusation, and the son of Semru, the dead brother of Lorik, set out to avenge on him the insult to his aunt. Finally, the matter was cleared up, and Lorik reigned for many years in happiness with his wives Chandain and Satmanain. But the god Indra determined to destroy his virtue, and he induced Durga to take the form of his mistress and tempt him. When he gave way to the temptation and touched her she struck him so that his face turned completely round. Overcome by grief and shame he went to Kâsi (Benares), and there they were all turned into stone, and sleep the sleep of magic at the Manikarnika Ghât.[50] [[57]]
Marriage rules. 13. As has been already said, the sub-castes are endogamous. To the west the gotra system is in full force and marriage is barred in the four gotras of father, mother, grand-father, and grand-mother. To the east few of the rural Ahîrs seem to know anything about their gotras. They will not marry in a family to which a sister has been given in marriage until three generations have passed. In Behâr, according to Mr. Risley, “the Brâhmanical gotras are unknown, and marriage among the Guâlas is regulated by a very large number of exogamous groups (mûl) of the territorial type. In some places where the existing mûls have been found inconveniently large, and marriage has been rendered unduly difficult, certain mûls have broken up into purukhs or sub-sections. Where this has taken place a man may marry within the mûl, but not within the purukh, the smaller and more convenient group.” He goes on to explain at length how this rule of exogamy works in practice, and how it is necessary to supplement it by the standard formula of exogamy common to many of the lower tribes. Of this elaborate system no trace has been found as yet among the western Ahîrs, but it is quite possible that further local enquiry may supply examples of this, or some analogous rule of exogamy prevailing in these Provinces.
Tribal council. 14. The internal affairs of the caste are managed by a panchâyat or tribal council. As an instance of its working, in Mirzapur it is presided over by a permanent chairman (chaudhari) and, as a rule, meets only on the occasion of weddings and funeral ceremonies, when current business is brought before it. The cases usually heard are connected with immorality, eating with a prohibited caste, and family disputes about inheritance and property. The accused person during the hearing of the case is not allowed to sit on the tribal mat with his brethren. The president uses the members only as assessors, and after enquiry announces the decision. A person found guilty of immorality is usually fined eight rupees, and has to supply two feasts for the brethren. Out of the fine the chairman receives one rupee, and the rest is spent in purchasing vessels and other furniture for use at the meetings. If a man is convicted of an intrigue with a woman of the tribe, he is fined only one rupee and has to give two dinners to the brotherhood. Any one who disobeys the orders of the chairman is beaten with shoes in the presence of the council and is excluded from all caste privileges [[58]]until he submits. Instances of the contempt of the orders of the council are seldom heard of.
Marriage. 15. To the west of the Province polygamy is allowed, but it is discouraged. In Mirzapur it is said to be prohibited without the express sanction of the council, which is given only in exceptional cases, such as the hopeless illness or barrenness of the first wife, and if a man ventures to take a second wife without sanction, he is very severely dealt with. There seems to be very little doubt that along the banks of the Jumna polyandry prevails in the fraternal form. That it does exist among some of these tribes is shown by the common saying, Do khasam ki joru chausar ki got (“The wife of two husbands is no better than a draught in backgammon”). Among the Ahîrs of this part of the country it has doubtless originated in the custom of one member of the family remaining away grazing cattle often for a long time. It is very difficult to obtain information about it, as, wherever it exists, the custom is strongly reprobated. The eastern Ahîrs agree in denying its existence, and express the utmost horror at the very idea of such a family arrangement.
16. Marriage, except among the very poorest members of the caste, takes place in infancy. As an example of the arrangements the customs in the Mirzapur District may be described. The match is generally settled by the brother-in-law of the boy’s father or by the brother-in-law of the latter. In all cases the assent of the parents on both sides is essential. The father of the boy pays as the bride price two rupees in cash, two garments, and five sers of treacle and salt. No physical defect, which was disclosed at the time of the betrothal, is sufficient to invalidate the marriage. A husband may put away his wife for habitual infidelity; but a single lapse from virtue, provided the paramour be a member of the caste, is not seriously regarded. Widow marriage is permitted as well as the levirate; but if the widow does not take up with the younger brother of her late husband, she usually marries a widower. Children of virgin brides and widows married a second time rank equally for purposes of inheritance; but it has been judicially decided[51] that an Ahîr, the offspring of an adulterous connection, is incapable of inheriting from his father. At widow marriage there is no regular ceremonial; the bridegroom merely [[59]]goes to the woman’s guardian with two rupees and a sheet on a day fixed by the village Pandit. He pays the bride price and the woman is dressed in the sheet. He eats that night with her family, and next morning takes his wife home, and she is recognized as a duly married woman after the brotherhood have been feasted. If she marry outside the family of her late husband, his estate devolves on his sons by her first marriage; if there be no sons, to the brothers of her late husband. If she marry her husband’s younger brother, he acts as guardian of his nephews and makes over to them the property of their father when they arrive at the age of discretion. There is no fiction of attributing the children of the second to the first husband.
Adoption. 17. Adoption prevails; and, as long as there is a sister’s son available for adoption, no other relative can be selected. A man may adopt, if his only son is disqualified from succession by being permanently excluded from caste, or if he have lost his faith (dharm). Adoption, while a son is alive, is forbidden. A widower may adopt, but it is forbidden in the case of a woman, a bachelor, or a man who is blind, impotent, or crippled. A widow can adopt only with the express permission of her late husband, and not if her husband have adopted a son during his lifetime. A man may adopt his nephew at any age; but in the case of an outsider the child adopted must not be more than twelve years of age. The boy adopted must, in any case, be of the same gotra as his adoptive father. The adoption of a sister’s son is prohibited; as a rule a man adopts the son of his brother or daughter. Adoption is performed in the presence of and with the advice and approval of, the assembled brethren. The man and his wife take their seats in the assembly, and the wife takes the boy into her lap and acknowledges him as her own child. A distribution of food or sweetmeats follows and concludes the ceremony. There is no custom analogous to Beena marriage recognised where the bridegroom is taken into the household of his father-in-law and serves for his bride. They follow, as a rule, the Hindu law of succession.