The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India
Chapter 307 : 27. Badgujar.28. Sengar.29. Sikarwal.30. Bais.31. Dahia.32. Johia.33. Mohil.34. Nik.u.

27. Badgujar.

28. Sengar.

29. Sikarwal.

30. Bais.

31. Dahia.

32. Johia.

33. Mohil.

34. Nik.u.mbh.

35. Rajpali.

36. Dahima.

And two extra, Hul and Daharia.

Several of the above races are extinct or nearly so, and on the other hand some very important modern clans, as the Gautam, Dikhit and Bisen, and such historically important ones as the Chandel and Haihaya, are not included in the thirty-six royal races at all. Practically all the clans should belong either to the solar and lunar branch, that is, should be descended from the sun or moon, but the division, if it ever existed, is not fully given by Colonel Tod. Two special clans, the Surajvansi and Chandra or Somvansi, are named after the sun and moon respectively; and a few others, as the Sesodia, Kachhwaha, Gohil, Bais and Badgujar, are recorded as being of the solar race, descended from Vishnu through his incarnation as Rama. The Rathors also claimed solar lineage, but this was not wholly conceded by the Bhats, and the Dikhits are a.s.signed to the solar branch by their legends. The great clan of the Yadavas, of whom the present Jadon or Jadum and Bhatti Rajputs are representatives, was of the lunar race, tracing their descent from Krishna, though, as a matter of fact, Krishna was also an incarnation of Vishnu or the sun; and the Tuar or Tomara, as well as the Jit or Gete, the Rajput section of the modern Jats, who were considered to be branches of the Yadavas, would also be of the moon division, The Gautam and Bisen clans, who are not included in the thirty-six royal races, now claim lunar descent. Four clans, the Panwar, Chauhan, Chalukya or Solankhi, and Parihar, had a different origin, being held to have been born through the agency of the G.o.ds from a firepit on the summit of Mount Abu. They are hence known as Agnikula or the fire races. Several clans, such as the Tak or Takshac, the Huna and the Chaura, were considered by Colonel Tod to be the representatives of the Huns or Scythians, that is, the nomad invading tribes from Central Asia, whose princ.i.p.al incursions took place during the first five centuries of the Christian era.

At least six of the thirty-six royal races, the Sarweya, Silar, Doda or Dor, Dahia, Johia and Mohil, were extinct in Colonel Tod's time, and others were represented only by small settlements in Rajputana and Surat. On the other hand, there are now a large number of new clans, whose connection with the thirty-six is doubtful, though in many cases they are probably branches of the old clans who have obtained a new name on settling in a different locality.

3. The origin of the Rajputs

It was for long the custom to regard the Rajputs as the direct descendants and representatives of the old Kshatriya or warrior cla.s.s of the Indian Aryans, as described in the Vedas and the great epics. Even Colonel Tod by no means held this view in its entirety, and modern epigraphic research has caused its partial or complete abandonment Mr. V.A. Smith indeed says: [460] "The main points to remember are that the Kshatriya or Rajput caste is essentially an occupational caste, composed of all clans following the Hindu ritual who actually undertook the act of government; that consequently people of most diverse races were and are lumped together as Rajputs, and that most of the great clans now in existence are descended either from foreign immigrants of the fifth or sixth century A.D. or from indigenous races such as the Gonds and Bhars." Colonel Tod held three clans, the Tak or Takshac, the Huna and the Chaura, to be descended from Scythian or nomad Central Asian immigrants, and the same origin has been given for the Haihaya. The Huna clan actually retains the name of the White Huns, from whose conquests in the fifth century it probably dates its existence. The princ.i.p.al clan of the lunar race, the Yadavas, are said to have first settled in Delhi and at Dwarka in Gujarat. But on the death of Krishna, who was their prince, they were expelled from these places, and retired across the Indus, settling in Afghanistan. Again, for some reason which the account does not clearly explain, they came at a later period to India and settled first in the Punjab and afterwards in Rajputana. The Jit or Jat and the Tomara clans were branches of the Yadavas, and it is supposed that the Jits or Jats were also descended from the nomad invading tribes, possibly from the Yueh-chi tribe who conquered and occupied the Punjab during the first and second centuries. [461] The legend of the Yadavas, who lived in Gujarat with their chief Krishna, but after his defeat and death retired to Central Asia, and at a later date returned to India, would appear to correspond fairly well with the Saka invasion of the second century B.C. which penetrated to Kathiawar and founded a dynasty there. In A.D. 124 the second Saka king was defeated by the Andhra king Vilivayakura II. and his kingdom destroyed. [462] But at about the same period, the close of the first century, a fresh horde of the Sakas came to Gujarat from Central Asia and founded another kingdom, which lasted until it was subverted by Chandragupta Vikramaditya about A.D. 390. [463] The historical facts about the Sakas, as given on the authority of Mr. V.A. Smith, thus correspond fairly closely with the Yadava legend. And the later Yueh-chi immigrants might well be connected by the Bhats with the Saka hordes who had come at an earlier date from the same direction, and so the Jats [464]

might be held to be an offshoot of the Yadavas. This connection of the Yadava and Jat legends with the facts of the immigration of the Sakas and Yueh-chi appears a plausible one, but may be contradicted by historical arguments of which the writer is ignorant. If it were correct we should be justified in identifying the lunar clans of Rajputs with the early Scythian immigrants of the first and second centuries. Another point is that Buddha is said to be the progenitor of the whole Indu or lunar race. [465] It is obvious that Buddha had no real connection with these Central Asian tribes, as he died some centuries before their appearance in India. But the Yueh-chi or Kushan kings of the Punjab in the first and second centuries A.D. were fervent Buddhists and established that religion in the Punjab. Hence we can easily understand how, if the Yadus or Jats and other lunar clans were descended from the Saka and Yueh-chi immigrants, the legend of their descent from Buddha, who was himself a Kshatriya, might be devised for them by their bards when they were subsequently converted from Buddhism to Hinduism. The Sakas of western India, on the other hand, who it is suggested may be represented by the Yadavas, were not Buddhists in the beginning, whether or not they became so afterwards. But as has been seen, though Buddha was their first progenitor, Krishna was also their king while they were in Gujarat, so that at this time they must have been supposed to be Hindus. The legend of descent from Buddha arising with the Yueh-chi or Kushans might have been extended to them. Again, the four Agnikula or fire-born clans, the Parihar, Chalukya or Solankhi, Panwar and Chauhan, are considered to be the descendants of the White Hun and Gujar invaders of the fifth and sixth centuries. These clans were said to have been created by the G.o.ds from a firepit on the summit of Mount Abu for the re-birth of the Kshatriya caste after it had been exterminated by the slaughter of Parasurama the Brahman. And it has been suggested that this legend refers to the cruel ma.s.sacres of the Huns, by which the bulk of the old aristocracy, then mainly Buddhist, was wiped out; while the Huns and Gujars, one at least of whose leaders was a fervent adherent of Brahmanism and slaughtered the Buddhists of the Punjab, became the new fire-born clans on being absorbed into Hinduism. [466]

The name of the Huns is still retained in the Huna clan, now almost extinct. There remain the clans descended from the sun through Rama, and it would be tempting to suppose that these are the representatives of the old Aryan Kshatriyas. But Mr. Bhandarkar has shown [467] that the Sesodias, the premier clan of the solar race and of all Rajputs, are probably sprung from Nagar Brahmans of Gujarat, and hence from the Gujar tribes; and it must therefore be supposed that the story of solar origin and divine ancestry was devised because they were once Brahmans, and hence, in the view of the bards, of more honourable origin than the other clans. Similarly the Badgujar clan, also of solar descent, is shown by its name of _bara_ or great Gujar to have been simply an aristocratic section of the Gujars; while the pedigree of the Rathors, another solar clan, and one of those who have shed most l.u.s.tre on the Rajput name, was held to be somewhat doubtful by the Bhats, and their solar origin was not fully admitted. Mr. Smith gives two great clans as very probably of aboriginal or Dravidian origin, the Gaharwar or Gherwal, from whom the Bundelas are derived, and the Chandel, who ruled Bundelkhand from the ninth to the twelfth centuries, and built the fine temples at Mahoba, Kalanjar and Khajaraho as well as making many great tanks. This corresponds with Colonel Tod's account, which gives no place to the Chandels among the thirty-six royal races, and states that the Gherwal Rajput is scarcely known to his brethren in Rajasthan, who will not admit his contaminated blood to mix with theirs, though as a brave warrior he is ent.i.tled to their fellows.h.i.+p. [468] Similarly the Kathi clan may be derived from the indigenous Kathi tribe who gave their name to Kathiawar. And the Surajvansi, Somvansi and Nagvansi clans, or descendants of the sun, moon and snake, which are scarcely known in Rajputana, may represent landholding sections of lower castes or non-Aryan tribes who have been admitted to Rajput rank. But even though it be found that the majority of the Rajput clans cannot boast a pedigree dating farther back than the first five centuries of our era, this is at any rate an antiquity to which few if any of the greatest European houses can lay claim.

4. Subdivisions of the clans

Many of the great clans are now split up into a number of branches. The most important of these were according to locality, the different _sachae_ or branches being groups settled in separate areas. Thus the Chalukya or Solankhi had sixteen branches, of which the Baghels of Rewah or Baghelkhand were the most important. The Panwars had thirty-five branches, of which the Mori and the Dhunda, now perhaps the Dhundele of Saugor, are the best known. The Gahlot had twenty-four branches, of which one, the Sesodia, became so important that it has given its name to the whole clan. The Chamar-Gaur section of the Gaur clan now claim a higher rank than the other Gaurs, though the name would apparently indicate the appearance of a Chamar in their family tree; while the Tilokchandi Bais form an aristocratic section of the Bais clan, named after a well-known king, Tilokchand, who reigned in upper India about the twelfth century and is presumably claimed by them as an ancestor. Besides this the Rajputs have _gotras_, named after eponymous saints exactly like the Brahman _gotras_, and probably adopted in imitation of the Brahmans. Since, theoretically, marriage is prohibited in the whole clan, the _gotra_ divisions would appear to be useless, but Sir H. Risley states that persons of the same clan but with different _gotras_ have begun to intermarry. Similarly it would appear that the different branches of the great clans mentioned above must intermarry in some cases; while in the Central Provinces, as already stated, several clans have become regular castes and form endogamous and not exogamous groups. In northern India, however, Mr. Crooke's accounts of the different clans indicate that marriage within the clan is as a rule not permitted. The clans themselves and their branches have different degrees of rank for purposes of marriage, according to the purity of their descent, while in each clan or subclan there is an inferior section formed of the descendants of remarried widows, or even the offspring of women of another caste, who have probably in the course of generations not infrequently got back into their father's clan. Thus many groups of varying status arise, and one of the princ.i.p.al rules of a Rajput's life was that he must marry his daughter, sometimes into a clan of equal, or sometimes into one of higher rank than his own. Hence arose great difficulty in arranging the marriages of girls and sometimes the payment of a price to the bridegroom; while in order to retain the favour of the Bhats and avoid their sarcasm, lavish expenditure had to be incurred by the bride's father on presents to these rapacious mendicants. [469]

Thus a daughter became in a Rajput's eyes a long step on the road to ruin, and female infanticide was extensively practised. This crime has never been at all common in the Central Provinces, where the rule of marrying a daughter into an equal or higher clan has not been enforced with the same strictness as in northern India. But occasional instances formerly occurred in which the child's neck was placed under one leg of its mother's cot, or it was poisoned with opium or by placing the juice of the _akra_ or swallow-wort plant on the mother's nipple.

5. Marriage customs

Properly the proposal for a Rajput marriage should emanate from the bride's side, and the customary method of making it was to send a cocoanut to the bridegroom. 'The cocoanut came,' was the phrase used to intimate that a proposal of marriage had been made. [470] It is possible that the bride's initiative was a relic of the Swayamwara or maiden's choice, when a king's daughter placed a garland on the neck of the youth she preferred among the compet.i.tors in a tournament, and among some Rajputs the Jayamala or garland of victory is still hung round the bridegroom's neck in memory of this custom; but it may also have been due to the fact that the bride had to pay the dowry. One tenth of this was paid as earnest when the match had been arranged, and the boy's party could not then recede from it. At the entrance of the marriage-shed was hung the _toran_, a triangle of three wooden bars, having the apex crowned with the effigy of a peac.o.c.k. The bridegroom on horseback, lance in hand, proceeded to break the _toran_, which was defended by the damsels of the bride. They a.s.sailed him with missiles of various kinds, and especially with red powder made from the flowers of the _palas_ [471] tree, at the same time singing songs full of immoral allusions. At length the _toran_ was broken amid the shouts of the retainers, and the fair defenders retired. If the bridegroom could not attend in person his sword was sent to represent him, and was carried round the marriage-post, with the bride, this being considered a proper and valid marriage. At the rite of _hatleva_ or joining the hands of the couple it was customary that any request made by the bridegroom to the bride's father should meet with compliance, and this usage has led to many fatal results in history. Another now obsolete custom was that the bride's father should present an elephant to his son-in-law as part of the dowry, but when a man could not afford a real elephant a small golden image of the animal might be subst.i.tuted. In n.o.ble families the bride was often accompanied to her husband's house by a number of maidens belonging to the servant and menial castes. These were called Devadhari or lamp-bearers, and became inmates of the harem, their offspring being _golas_ or slaves. In time of famine many of the poor had also perforce to sell themselves as slaves in order to obtain subsistence, and a chiefs household would thus contain a large number of them. They were still adorned in Mewar, Colonel Tod states, like the Saxon slaves of old, with a silver ring round the left ankle instead of the neck. They were well treated, and were often among the best of the military retainers; they took rank among themselves according to the quality of the mothers, and often held confidential places about the ruler's person. A former chief of Deogarh would appear at court with three hundred _golas_ or slaves on horseback in his train, men whose lives were his own. [472]

These special customs have now generally been abandoned by the Rajputs of the Central Provinces, and their weddings conform to the usual Hindu type as described in the article on Kurmi. The remarriage of widows is now recognised in the southern Districts, though not in the north; but even here widows frequently do marry and their offspring are received into the caste, though with a lower status than those who do not permit this custom. Among the Baghels a full Rajput will allow a relative born of a remarried widow to cook his food for him, but not to add the salt nor to eat it with him. Those who permit the second marriage of widows also allow a divorced woman to remain in the caste and to marry again. But among proper Rajputs, as with Brahmans, a wife who goes wrong is simply put away and expelled from the society. Polygamy is permitted and was formerly common among the chiefs. Each wife was maintained in a separate suite of rooms, and the chief dined and spent the evening alternately with each of them in her own quarters. The lady with her attendants would prepare dinner for him and wait upon him while he ate it, waving the punkah or fan behind him and entertaining him with her remarks, which, according to report, frequently const.i.tuted a pretty severe curtain lecture.

6. Funeral rites

The dead are burnt, except infants, whose bodies are buried. Mourning is observed for thirteen days for a man, nine days for a woman, and three days for a child. The _shraddh_ ceremony or offering of sacrificial cakes to the spirit is performed either during the usual period in the month of Kunwar (September), or on the anniversary day of the death. It was formerly held that if a Kshatriya died on the battlefield it was unnecessary to perform his funeral rites because his spirit went straight to heaven, and thus the end to which the ceremonies were directed was already attained without them. It was also said that the wife of a man dying such a death should not regard herself as a widow nor undergo the privations imposed on widowhood. But this did not apply so far as self-immolation was concerned, since the wives of warriors dying in battle very frequently became _sati_. In the case of chiefs also it was sometimes the custom, probably for political reasons, that the heir should not observe mourning; because if he did so he would be incapable of appearing in an a.s.sembly for thirteen days, or of taking the public action which might be requisite to safeguard his succession. The body of the late chief would be carried out by the back door of the house, and as soon as it left his successor would take his seat on the _gaddi_ or cus.h.i.+on and begin to discharge the public business of government.

7. Religion

The princ.i.p.al deity of the Rajputs is the G.o.ddess Devi or Durga in her more terrible form as the G.o.ddess of war. Their swords were sacred to her, and at the Dasahra festival they wors.h.i.+pped their swords and other weapons of war and their horses. The dreadful G.o.ddess also protected the virtue of the Rajput women and caused to be enacted the terrible holocausts, not infrequent in Rajput history, when some stronghold was besieged and could hold out no longer. A great furnace was then kindled in the citadel and into this the women, young and old, threw themselves, or else died by their husbands' swords, while the men, drunk with _bhang_ and wearing saffron-coloured robes, sallied out to sell their lives to the enemy as dearly as possible. It is related that on one occasion Akbar desired to attempt the virtue of a queen of the Sesodia clan, and for that purpose caused her to lose herself in one of the mazes of his palace. The emperor appeared before her suddenly as she was alone, but the lady, drawing a dagger, threatened to plunge it into her breast if he did not respect her, and at the same time the G.o.ddess of her house appeared riding on a tiger. The baffled emperor gave way and retired, and her life and virtue were saved.

The Rajputs also wors.h.i.+p the sun, whom many of them look upon as their first ancestor. They revere the animals and trees sacred to the Hindus, and some clans show special veneration to a particular tree, never cutting or breaking the branches or leaves. In this manner the Bundelas revere the _kadamb_ tree, the Panwars the _nim_ [473] tree, the Rathors the pipal [474] tree, and so on. This seems to be a relic of totemistic usage. In former times each clan had also a tribal G.o.d, who was its protector and leader and watched over the destinies of the clan. Sometimes it accompanied the clan into battle. "Every royal house has its palladium, which is frequently borne to battle at the saddle-bow of the prince. Rao Bhima Hara of Kotah lost his life and protecting deity together. The celebrated Khichi (Chauhan) leader Jai Singh never took the field without the G.o.d before him. 'Victory to Bujrung' was his signal for the charge so dreaded by the Maratha, and often has the deity been sprinkled with his blood and that of the foe." [475] It is said that a Rajput should always kill a snake if he sees one, because the snake, though a prince among Rajputs, is an enemy, and he should not let it live. If he does not kill it, the snake will curse him and bring ill-luck upon him. The same rule applies, though with less binding force, to a tiger.

8. Food

The Rajputs eat the flesh of clean animals, but not pigs or fowls. They are, however, fond of the sport of pig-sticking, and many clans, as the Bundelas and others, will eat the flesh of the wild pig. This custom was perhaps formerly universal. Some of them eat of male animals only and not of females, either because they fear that the latter would render them effeminate or that they consider the sin to be less. Some only eat animals killed by the method of _jatka_ or severing the head with one stroke of the sword or knife. They will not eat animals killed in the Muhammadan fas.h.i.+on by cutting the throat. They abstain from the flesh of the _nilgai_ or blue bull as being an animal of the cow tribe. Among the Brahmans and Rajputs food cooked with water must not be placed in bamboo baskets, nor must anything made of bamboo be brought into the _rasoya_ or cooking-place, or the _chauka_, the s.p.a.ce cleaned and marked out for meals. A special brush of date-palm fibre is kept solely for sweeping these parts of the house. At a Rajput banquet it was the custom for the prince to send a little food from his own plate or from the dish before him to any guest whom he especially wished to honour, and to receive this was considered a very high distinction. In Mewar the test of legitimacy in a prince of the royal house was the permission to eat from the chief's plate. The grant of this privilege conferred a recognised position, while its denial excluded the member in question from the right to the succession. [476] This custom indicates the importance attached to the taking of food together as a covenant or sacrament.

9. Opium

The Rajputs abstain from alcoholic liquor, though some of the lower cla.s.s, as the Bundelas, drink it. In cla.s.sical times there is no doubt that they drank freely, but have had to conform to the prohibition of liquor imposed by the Brahmans on high-caste Hindus. In lieu of liquor they became much addicted to the noxious drugs, opium and ganja or Indian hemp, drinking the latter in the form of the intoxicating liquid known as _bhangs_, which is prepared from its leaves. _Bhang_ was as a rule drunk by the Rajputs before battle, and especially as a preparation for those last sallies from a besieged fortress in which the defenders threw away their lives. There is little reason to doubt that they considered the frenzy and carelessness of death produced by the liquor as a form of divine possession. Opium has contributed much to the degeneration of the Rajputs, and their relapse to an idle, sensuous life when their energies were no longer maintained by the need of continuous fighting for the protection of their country. The following account by Forbes of a Rajput's daily life well ill.u.s.trates the slothful effeminacy caused by the drug: [477] "In times of peace and ease the Rajput leads an indolent and monotonous life. It is usually some time after sunrise before he bestirs himself and begins to call for his hookah; after smoking he enjoys the luxury of tea or coffee, and commences his toilet and ablutions, which dispose of a considerable part of the morning. It is soon breakfast-time, and after breakfast the hookah is again in requisition, with but few intervals of conversation until noon. The time has now arrived for a siesta, which lasts till about three in the afternoon. At this hour the chief gets up again, washes his hands and face, and prepares for the great business of the day, the distribution of the red cup, _kusumba_ or opium. He calls together his friends into the public hall, or perhaps retires with them to a garden-house. Opium is produced, which is pounded in a bra.s.s vessel and mixed with water; it is then strained into a dish with a spout, from which it is poured into the chief's hand. One after the other the guests now come up, each protesting that _kusumba_ is wholly repugnant to his taste and very injurious to his health, but after a little pressing first one and then another touches the chief's hand in two or three places, muttering the names of Deos (G.o.ds), friends or others, and drains the draught. Each after drinking washes the chief's hand in a dish of water which a servant offers, and after wiping it dry with his own scarf makes way for his neighbour. After this refreshment the chief and his guests sit down in the public hall, and amuse themselves with chess, draughts or games of chance, or perhaps dancing-girls are called in to exhibit their monotonous measures, or musicians and singers, or the never-failing favourites, the Bhats and Charans. At sunset the torch-bearers appear and supply the chamber with light, upon which all those who are seated therein rise and make obeisance towards the chief's cus.h.i.+on. They resume their seats, and playing, singing, dancing, story-telling go on as before. At about eight the chief rises to retire to his dinner and his hookah, and the party is broken up." There is little reason to doubt that the Rajputs ascribed a divine character to opium and the mental exaltation produced by it, as suggested in the article on Kalar in reference to the Hindus generally. Opium was commonly offered at the shrines of deified Rajput heroes. Colonel Tod states: "_Umul lar khana_, to eat opium together, is the most inviolable, pledge, and an agreement ratified by this ceremony is stronger than any adjuration." [478] The account given by Forbes of the manner in which the drug was distributed by the chief from his own hand to all his clansmen indicates that the drinking of it was the renewal of a kind of pledge or covenant between them, a.n.a.logous to the custom of pledging one another with wine, and a subst.i.tute for the covenant made by taking food together, which originated from the sacrificial meal. It has already been seen that the Rajputs attached the most solemn meaning and virtue to the act of partaking of the chief's food, and it is legitimate to infer that they regarded the drinking of a sacred drug like opium from his hand in the same light. The following account [479] of the drinking of healths in a Highland clan had, it may be suggested, originally the same significance as the distribution of opium by the Rajput chief: "Lord Lovat was wont in the hall before dinner to have a kind of herald proclaiming his pedigree, which reached almost up to Noah, and showed each man present to be a cadet of his family, whilst after dinner he drank to every one of his cousins by name, each of them in return pledging him--the better sort in French claret, the lower cla.s.s in husky (whisky)." Here also the drinking of wine together perhaps implied the renewal of a pledge of fealty and protection between the chief and his clansmen, all of whom were held to be of his kin. The belief in the kins.h.i.+p of the whole clan existed among the Rajputs exactly as in the Scotch clans. In speaking of the Rathors Colonel Tod states that they brought into the field fifty thousand men, _Ek bap ka beta_, the sons of one father, to combat with the emperor of Delhi; and remarks: "What a sensation does it not excite when we know that a sentiment of kindred pervades every individual of this immense affiliated body, who can point out in the great tree the branch of his origin, of which not one is too remote from the main stem to forget his pristine connection with it." [480]

The taking of opium and wine together, as already described, thus appear to be ceremonies of the same character, both symbolising the renewal of a covenant between kinsmen.

10. Improved training of Rajput chiefs

The temptations to a life of idleness and debauchery to which Rajput gentlemen were exposed by the cessation of war have happily been largely met and overcome by the careful education and training which their sons now receive in the different chiefs' colleges and schools, and by the fostering of their taste for polo and other games. There is every reason to hope that a Rajput prince's life will now be much like that of an English country gentleman, spent largely in public business and the service of his country, with sport and games as relaxation. Nor are the Rajputs slow to avail themselves of the opportunities for the harder calling of arms afforded by the wars of the British Empire, in which they are usually the first to proffer their single-hearted and unselfish a.s.sistance.

11. Dress

The most distinctive feature of a Rajput's dress was formerly his turban; the more voluminous and heavy this was, the greater distinction attached to the bearer. The cloth was wound in many folds above the head, or c.o.c.ked over one ear as a special mark of pride. An English gentleman once remarked to the minister of the Rao of Cutch on the size and weight of his turban, when the latter replied, 'Oh, this is nothing, it only weighs fifteen pounds.' [481] A considerable reverence attached to the turban, probably because it was the covering of the head, the seat of life, and the exchanging of turbans was the mark of the closest friends.h.i.+p. On one occasion Shah Jahan, before he came to the throne of Delhi, changed turbans with the Rana of Mewar as a mark of amity. Shah Jahan's turban was still preserved at Udaipur, and seen there by Colonel Tod in 1820. They also wore the beard and moustaches very long and full, the moustache either drooping far below the chin, or being twisted out stiffly on each side to impart an aspect of fierceness. Many Rajputs considered it a disgrace to have grey beards or moustaches, and these were accustomed to dye them with a preparation of indigo. Thus dyed, however, after a few days the beard and moustache a.s.sumed a purple tint, and finally faded to a pale plum colour, far from being either deceptive or ornamental. The process of dyeing was said to be tedious, and the artist compelled his patient to sit many hours under the indigo treatment with his head wrapped up in plantain leaves. [482] During the Muhammadan wars, however, the Rajputs gave up their custom of wearing beards in order to be distinguished from Moslems, and now, as a rule, do not retain them, while most of them have also discarded the long moustaches and large turbans. In battle, especially when they expected to die, the Rajputs wore saffron-coloured robes as at a wedding. At the same time their wives frequently performed _sati_, and the idea was perhaps that they looked on their deaths as the occasion of a fresh bridal in the warrior's Valhalla. Women wear skirts and shoulder-cloths, and in Rajputana they have bangles of ivory or bone instead of the ordinary gla.s.s, sometimes covering the arm from the shoulders to the wrist. Their other ornaments should be of gold if possible, but the rule is not strictly observed, and silver and baser metals are worn.

12. Social customs

The Rajputs wear the sacred thread, but many of them have abandoned the proper _upanayana_ or thread ceremony, and simply invest boys with it at their marriage. In former times, when a boy became fit to bear arms, the ceremony of _kharg bandai_, or binding on of the sword, was performed, and considered to mark his attainment of manhood. The king himself had his sword thus bound on by the first of his va.s.sals. The Rajputs take food cooked with water (_katchi_) only from Brahmans, and that cooked without water (_pakki_) from Banias, and sometimes from Lodhis and Dhimars. Brahmans will take _pakki_ food from Rajputs, and Nais and Dhimars _katchi_ food. When a man is ill, however, he may take food from members of such castes as Kurmi and Lodhi as a matter of convenience without incurring caste penalties. The large turbans and long moustaches and beards no longer characterise their appearance, and the only point which distinguishes a Rajput is that his name ends with Singh (lion). But this suffix has also been adopted by others, especially the Sikhs, and by such castes as the Lodhis and Raj-Gonds who aspire to rank as Rajputs. A Rajput is usually addressed as Thakur or lord, a t.i.tle which properly applies only to a Rajput landholder, but has now come into general use. The head of a state has the designation of Raja or Rana, and those of the leading states of Maharaja or Maharana, that is, great king. Maharana, which appears to be a Gujarati form, is used by the Sesodia family of Udaipur. The sons of a Raja are called Kunwar or prince. The t.i.tle Rao appears to be a Marathi form of Raj or Raja; it is retained by one or two chiefs, but has now been generally adopted as an honorific suffix by Maratha Brahmans. Rawat appears to have been originally equivalent to Rajput, being simply a diminutive of Rajputra, the Sanskrit form of the latter. It is the name of a clan of Rajputs in the Punjab, and is used as an honorific designation by Ahirs, Saonrs, Kols and others.

13. Seclusion of women