Religion of the Dakkhin Banjâras. 8. According to Mr. Cumberlege, “the Chârans are all deists. There are Hindu gods they worship as having been holy men; but they only acknowledge one God, and look on Guru Nânak as the propagandist of their religion; Guru Nânak is supreme; but they worship Bâlaji, Mariyâi (Mahâ Kâli), Tulja Devi, Siva Bhaiya, Mitthu Bhûkiya, and Sati. There are smaller gods worshipped also, but the above [[155]]are the only gods worshipped by the Chârans of Berâr. They have heard of Siva Dâs, but do not worship him as the men of the Telinga country and Central Provinces do. The reason is seen at a glance. Ours is the Râthaur country, those parts belong mostly to the Burthiya class; in fact the Telinga country is entirely theirs, and Siva Dâs was a Burthiya, not a Râthaur, I believe. The oath most sacred to them is taken in the name of Siva Bhaiya, a holy man who resided at Pohora, in the Wûn District, where there are still temples, I believe, to Siva Bhaiya and Mariyâi, and where a nephew of Siva Bhaiya, by name Sûka Bhaiya, still officiates. There are numbers of Bhagats, of varied celebrity, to whom they go on any serious difficulty; otherwise their own Nâiks, or the Nâik to whom the former is subordinate, adjudicates.”
Ceremonies prior to crime. 9. “There is a hut set apart in every camp and devoted to Mitthu Bhûkiya, an old free-booter. No one may eat, drink, or sleep in this hut; and it is simply used for devotional purposes. In front of this hut is a flag-staff, to which a piece of white cloth is attached. By all criminals Mitthu Bhûkiya is worshipped as a clever free-booter; but he is more thought of on the other side of the Wârdha than here. However, where the white flag is seen in front of the hut, it is a sign that the camp worships Mitthu Bhûkiya, and should, therefore, be watched carefully when they are suspected of having committed crime. The men who have agreed and arranged the particulars regarding the carrying out of their scheme meet at night at this hut, where an image of Sati is produced; clarified butter (ghi) is put into a saucer, and into this a wick is placed, very broad at the bottom and tapering upwards: this wick, standing erect, is lit, an appeal is made to Sati for an omen, those worshipping mentioning in a low tone to the god where they are going and what the purpose. The wick is then carefully watched, and should it drop at all the omen is propitious. All immediately get up and make an obeisance to the flag, and start then and there for the business they have agreed on. They are unable to return to their homes before they start, because they must not speak to any one till their business has been carried through. And here we have a reason why Banjâras are rarely known to speak when engaged in a robbery, for, if challenged, these men, who have gone through the ceremony, may not reply. Should they have reached their destination, whether a village, hamlet, or unprotected cart, and are challenged, [[156]]if any one of them reply, the charm is broken and all return home. They must again take the omens now and worship again or give up the attempt altogether. But, I am told, they generally prefer to make certain of the man who is venturesome enough to challenge them by knocking him down and either killing him or injuring him so severely that he cannot interfere, and would not wish to meddle with their other arrangements. If one of the gang sneezes on the road it is also fatal; they must return to their camp at once.” For further details regarding the methods of criminality of these Dakkhin Banjâras a reference may be made to Major E. J. Gunthorpe’s “Notes on the Criminal Tribes residing in or frequenting the Bombay Presidency, Berâr and the Central Provinces.”
Central Indian Banjâras. Worship of the ox. 10. The Banjâras of Central India have a curious form of ox worship.[60] “When sickness occurs they lead the sick man to the feet of the bullock called Hatâdiya (Sans. Hatya-âdhya, ‘which it is an extra sin to slay’), for though they say that they pay reverence to images and that their religion is that of the Sikhs, the object of their worship is the Hatâdiya, a bullock devoted to the god Bâlaji. On this animal no burden is ever laid, but he is decorated with streamers of red-dyed silk and tinkling bells with many brass chains and rings on neck and feet, and strings of kauri shells, and silken tassels hanging in all directions; he moves steadily at the head of the convoy, and the place where he lies down on when he is tired, that they make their halting place for the day; at his feet they make their vows when difficulties overtake them, and, in illness, whether of themselves or cattle, they trust to his worship for a cure.”
Banjâras of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh. 11. The Banjâras of these Provinces have been classified at the last Census under the heads of Chauhân, Bahrûp, Guâr, Jâdon, Panwâr, Râthaur, and Tunwar. Of these, all, except the Bahrûp and Guâr, are well-known Râjput septs, and, as we have seen in the case of the Dakkhin Banjâras, the tribal tradition points to a Râjput origin. There is also a general tradition that they at one time held considerable territories in Oudh and the other submontane districts. Thus they are said to have been very early settlers in Bareilly, whence [[157]]they were expelled by the Janghâra Râjputs.[61] In Kheri[62] the Jângrê Râjputs acquired Khairagarh from their allies the Banjâras. In Bahrâich[63] they were finally expelled from the Sijauli Pargana by the Chakladâr Hakîm Mehndi about 1821 A.D. In the Nânpâra Pargana of the same district they were finally coerced by Rasûl Khân, the Afghân, in 1632 A.D.[64] In the Dûn[65] they have a story that they attended to the commissariat of the Pândavas after their exile from Hastinapur, and were the founders of the town of Deoband, in the Sahâranpur District. In the Banjâra Tola of the town of Gopamau, in the Hardoi District, there are some Banjâras who call themselves Sayyid Salâri, and say that they are descended from the followers of the Saint.[66] On the other hand, those in Madras describe themselves as the descendants of Sugriva, the monkey chieftain who was the ally of Râma.[67] There can be no reasonable doubt that they are a very mixed race, composed of various elements, as is the case in Central India, where Sir Alfred Lyall speaks of them as “made up of contingents from various other castes and tribes, which may have at different times joined the profession.”[68] The Census report gives the most important local sub-castes as—in Muzaffarnagar the Dhankûta, or “rice pounders,” and the Labâna; in Aligarh, the Nandbansi; in Etâwah, the Jât; in Pilibhît, the Labâna; in the Tarâi, the Bhukiya (who take their name from their leader Mitthu Bhukiya), Guâl, Kotwâr, Labâna, and Râjput; in Kheri, the Guâr, Kora, and Mujhar; and in Bahrâich, the Mujhar.
Tribal organisation of the North-Western Provinces Banjâras. 12. The best account of the Banjâra tribes of these provinces is that given by Sir H. M. Elliot. He divides them into five great tribes as follows:—
(1) The Turkiya, “Turkish” or Muhammadan, with thirty-six sub-tribes or gotras, viz., Tomar or Tunwar, Chauhân, Gahlot, Dilwâri, Alwi, Kanothi, Burki, Durki, Shaikh, Nathamîr, Aghwân, Badan, Chakirâha, Bahrâri, Padar, Kanîkê, Gharê, Chandaul, Teli, Charkha, Dhangya, Dhankikya, Gaddi, Tîtar, Hindiya, Râha, Marauthiya, Khakhara, Kareya, Bahlîm, Bhatti, Bandwâri, [[158]]Bargadda, Aliya, Khilji. “These assert that they came originally from Multân, and left their newly-chosen country of the Dakkhin under a leader called Rustam Khân, and first of all took up their abode at Badli Tânda, near Morâdâbâd, from which they have gradually spread to Bilâspur, Richho, and the neighbouring tracts. They are for the most part occupied as carriers.”
(2) “The Baid Banjâras came from Bhatner under a leader called Dualha. Of them are eleven gotras—Jhaloi, Tandar, Hatâr, Kapâhi, Danderi, Kachni, Tarîn, Dharpâhi, Kîri, and Bahlîm. Their occupations are more various than those of the Turkiyas, as they are occasionally employed as doctors and weavers. They are found in Pilibhît, Kant, and in the neighbourhood of those places.”
(3) “The Labâna Banjâras have also eleven gotras. They state that they are descended from Gaur Brâhmans, and came in Aurangzeb’s time from Rintambûr. They engage almost entirely in agricultural pursuits alone.” Of these people Mr. Ibbetson[69] writes:—“These men are generally associated with the Banjâras. With the exception of Muzaffargarh and Bahâwalpur, they are almost wholly confined to the hill and submontane districts. They are the carriers and hawkers of the hills, and are merely the Panjâbi representatives of that class of Banjâras, already mentioned, who inhabit the submontane tracts east of the Ganges.” The Labânas of Gujarât are thus described by Captain Mackenzie:—“The Labânas are also a peculiar people. Their status among Sikhs is much the same as that of the Mahtams. They correspond to the Banjâras of Hindustân, carrying on an extensive trade by means of large herds of laden bullocks. Latterly they have taken to agriculture, but as an additional means of livelihood, not as a substitute for trade. As a section of the community they deserve every encouragement and consideration. They are generally fine, substantially built people. They also possess much spirit. In anarchical times, when the freaks and feuds of petty Governors would drive the Jâts or Gûjars to seek temporary abiding places away from their ancestral village, the Labânas would stand their ground, and perhaps improve the opportunity by extending their grasp over the best lands of the village, in which their shorter sighted and less provident lords of the manor had, in former periods, permitted them to take up their abode for purposes of commerce. Several cases of this kind came to light [[159]]during settlement, and in most of them the strength and spirit of progress were as apparent in the Labânas as were the opposite qualities conspicuous in their Gûjar opponents. Their principal village is Tânda (which means “a large caravan of laden bullocks”) and is an instance of what I have above alluded to. Allowed by the Gûjar proprietors of Mota, they have got possession of the soil, built a town, and in every point of importance swamped the original proprietors. They have been recognised as proprietors, but feudatory to their former landlords, the Gûjars of Mota, paying them annually in recognition thereof a sum equal to one-tenth of the Government demand.” This tribe of Banjâras take their name from their business of carrying salt (lavana). Sir J. Malcolm[70] says that the Banjâras and Labânas are Râjputs of various tribes, Râthaur, Jalaur, Panwâr, etc. “The Labânas who live in villages sometimes mix with other cultivators and sometimes have a village exclusively to themselves, are Sûdras, originally from Gujarât, a quiet inoffensive race differing widely from the Banjâras, though engaged in the same trade. The Labânas are also cultivators, but follow no other occupation. The Banjâras preserve both in dresses and usages a marked separation and independence. They often engage in great speculations on their own account, and are deemed honest in their dealings, though very ignorant and barbarous. They trust much to the bankers and merchants with whom they are concerned, and few keep accounts; but habit has made them very acute, and their memory is, from continual exercise, extremely retentive of the minutest particulars of their extended transactions.”
The Mukeris. (4) Of them Sir H. M. Elliot says:—“The Mukeri Banjâras in the northern parganas of Bareilly assert that they derive their name from Mecca (Makka), which one of their Nâiks, who had his camp (Tânda) in the vicinity, assisted Father Abraham in building. Leaving Mecca, they came and resided in Jhajjar, where their illustrious name became corrupted from Makkai to Mukeri. Their fabulous history is not worth recording, but their names also betray a strange compound of tribes, Musalmân and Hindu—Aghwân, Mughal, Khokhara, Chauhân, Simli Chauhân, Chotya Chauhân, Panjtakya Chauhân, Tanhar, Katheriya, Pathân, Tarîn Pathân, Ghori, Ghoriwâl, Bangaroa, Kanthya, Bahlîm.” These are apparently the same people who [[160]]are called Mukris, in Sholapur.[71] There another explanation of the word is current. It is said to be derived from a word Mukerna, “to deny,” which does not appear in the Hindustâni dictionaries. The story goes that a servant of Tipu Sultân bought a quarter of corn from a Mukri, and found it, when he weighed it at home, ten pounds short. He brought the fact to the notice of the Sultân, who sent for the corn dealer and demanded for explanation. The Mukri denied the fact and made the full weight in the presence of the king, who had twice weighed the corn before and found it short. The king was embarrassed, and had nothing to say against the man, and gave him the name of the “Denier.” A third, and perhaps, more probable explanation is, that it is a corruption of Makkeri, and means nothing more than a seller of maize (makka). Something more will be said of the Mukris later on.
Bahrûp Banjâras. (5) Of whom Sir H. M. Elliot says:—“They are, for the most part, Hindus, and lead a more wandering life than the Musalmâns. They are divided into the tribes of Râthaur, Chauhân or Kuri, Panwâr, Tomar, and Bhurtiya. The origin of the first four is sufficiently apparent from their names. The fifth is said to be derived from a Gaur Brâhman. Of these tribes again there are several ramifications. Of the Râthaur there are four—Muchhâri, Bâhuki, Murhâwat, and Panot: of the Muchhâri there are fifty-two divisions; of the Bâhuki there are twenty-seven; of the Murhâwat there are fifty-six; and of the Panot there are twenty-three. The Chauhâns, who have forty-two gotras, are unanimous in saying that they came from Mainpuri. The Panwârs have twenty gotras, and state that they came from Delhi. The Bhurtiya have fifty-two gotras. They claim Chithor as their original seat. The Bahrûp Banjâras, like all the other clans, intermarry, but do not allow of any connection between members of the same gotra. They receive the daughters of Nats in marriage, but do not allow their own daughters to marry into Nat families; and they have some curious customs at their marriages which need not be detailed in this place.”