The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India
Chapter 301 : 4. Religion As the priests of the Gonds, the Pardhans are employed to conduct the cere

4. Religion

As the priests of the Gonds, the Pardhans are employed to conduct the ceremonial wors.h.i.+p of their great G.o.d Bura Deo, which takes place on the third day of the bright fortnight of Baisakh (April). Many goats or pigs are then offered to him with liquor, cocoanuts, betel-leaves, flowers, lemons and rice. Bura Deo is always enshrined under a tree outside the village, either of the mahua or _saj_ (_Terminalia tomentosa_) varieties. In Chhattisgarh the Gonds say that the origin of Bura Deo was from a child born of an illicit union between a Gond and a Rawat woman. The father murdered the child by strangling it, and its spirit then began to haunt and annoy the man and all his relations, and gradually extended its attentions to all the Gonds of the surrounding country. It finally consented to be appeased by a promise of adoration from the whole tribe, and since then has been installed as the princ.i.p.al deity of the Gonds. The story is interesting as showing how completely devoid of any supernatural majesty or power is the Gond conception of their princ.i.p.al deity.

5. Social Customs

Like the Gonds, the Pardhans will eat almost any kind of food, including beef, pork and the flesh of rats and mice, but they will not eat the leavings of others. They will take food from the hands of Gonds, but the Gonds do not return the compliment. Among the Hindus generally the Pardhans are much despised, and their touch conveys impurity while that of a Gond does not. Every Pardhan has tattooed on his left arm near the inside of the elbow a dotted figure which represents his totem or the animal, plant or other natural object after which his sept is named. Many of them have a better type of countenance than the Gonds, which is perhaps due to an infusion of Hindu blood. They are also generally more intelligent and cunning. They have criminal propensities, and the Patharias of Chhattisgarh are especially noted for cattle-lifting and thieving. Writing forty years ago Captain Thomson [401] described the Pardhans of Seoni as bearing the very worst of characters, many of them being regular cattle-lifters and gang robbers. In some parts of Seoni they had become the terror of the village proprietors, whose houses and granaries they fired if they were in any way reported on or molested. Since that time the Pardhans have become quite peaceable, but they still have a bad reputation for petty thieving.

6. Methods of cheating among Patharis

In Chhattisgarh one subdivision is said to be known as Sonthaga (_sona_, gold, and _thag_, a cheat), because they cheat people by pa.s.sing counterfeit gold. Their methods were described as follows in 1872 by Captain McNeill, District Superintendent of Police: [402]

"They procure a quant.i.ty of the dry bark of the pipal, [403] mahua, [404] tamarind or _gular_ [405] trees and set it on fire; when it has become red-hot it is raked into a small hole and a piece of well-polished bra.s.s is deposited among the glowing embers. It is constantly moved and turned about and in ten or fifteen minutes has taken a deep orange colour resembling gold. It is then placed in a small heap of wood-ashes and after a few minutes taken out again and carefully wrapped in cotton-wool. The peculiar orange colour results from the sulphur and resin in the bark being rendered volatile. They then proceed to dispose of the gold, sometimes going to a fair and buying cattle. On concluding a bargain they suddenly find they have no money, and after some hesitation reluctantly produce the gold, and say they are willing to part with it at a disadvantage, thereby usually inducing the belief that it has been stolen. The cupidity of the owner of the cattle is aroused, and he accepts the gold at a rate which would be very advantageous if it were genuine. At other times they join a party of pilgrims, to which some of their confederates have already obtained admission in disguise, and offer to sell their gold as being in great want of money. A piece is first sold to the confederates on very cheap terms and the other pilgrims eagerly partic.i.p.ate." It would appear that the Patharis have not much to learn from the owners of buried treasure or the confidence or three-card trick performers of London, and their methods are in striking contrast to the guileless simplicity usually supposed to be a characteristic of the primitive tribes. Mr. White states that "All the property acquired is taken back to the village and there distributed by a _panchayat_ or committee, whose head is known as Mokasi. The Mokasi is elected by the community and may also be deposed by it, though he usually holds office for life; to be a successful candidate for the position of Mokasi one should have wealth and experience and it is not a disadvantage to have been in jail. The Mokasi superintends the internal affairs of the community and maintains good relations with the proprietor and village watchman by means of gifts."

7. Musicians and priests

The Pardhans and Patharis are also, as already stated, village musicians, and their distinctive instrument the _kingri_ or _kingadi_ is described by Mr. White as consisting of a stick pa.s.sed through a gourd. A string or wire is stretched over this and the instrument is played with the fingers. Another kind possesses three strings of woven horse-hair and is played with the help of a bow. The women of the Ganda Pardhan subtribe act as midwives. Mr. Tawney wrote of the Pardhans of Chhindwara: [406] "The Raj-Pardhans are the bards of the Gonds and they can also officiate as priests, but the Bhumka generally acts in the latter capacity and the Pardhans confine themselves to singing the praises of the G.o.d. At every public wors.h.i.+p in the Deo-khalla or dwelling-place of the G.o.ds, there should, if possible, be a Pardhan, and great men use them on less important occasions. They cannot even wors.h.i.+p their household G.o.ds or be married without the Pardhans. The Raj-Pardhans are looked down on by the Gonds, and considered as somewhat inferior, seeing that they take the offerings at religious ceremonies and the clothes of the dear departed at funerals. This has never been the business of a true Gond, who seems never happier than when wandering in the jungle, and who above all things loves his axe, and next to that a tree to chop at. There is nothing in the ceremonies or religion of the Pardhans to distinguish them from the Gonds."

Pardhi

List of Paragraphs

1. _General notice of the caste_.

2. _Subdivisions_.

3. _Marriage and funeral customs_.

4. _Religion_.

5. _Dress, food and social customs_.

6. _Ordeals_.

7. _Methods of catching birds_.

8. _Hunting with leopards_.

9. _Decoy stags_.

10. _Hawks_.

11. _Crocodile fis.h.i.+ng_.

12. _Other occupations and criminal practices_.

1. General notice of the caste

_Pardhi, [407] Bahelia, Mirs.h.i.+kar, Moghia, s.h.i.+kari, Takankar._--A low caste of wandering fowlers and hunters. They numbered about 15,000 persons in the Central Provinces and Berar in 1911, and are found scattered over several Districts. These figures include about 2000 Bahelias. The word Pardhi is derived from the Marathi _paradh_, hunting. s.h.i.+kari, the common term for a native hunter, is an alternative name for the caste, but particularly applied to those who use firearms, which most Pardhis refuse to do. Moghia is the Hindustani word for fowler, and Takankar is the name of a small occupational offshoot of the Pardhis in Berar, who travel from village to village and roughen the household grinding-mills when they have worn smooth. The word is derived from _takna_, to tap or chisel. The caste appears to be a mixed group made up of Bawarias or other Rajput outcastes, Gonds and social derelicts from all sources. The Pardhis perhaps belong more especially to the Maratha country, as they are numerous in Khandesh, and many of them talk a dialect of Gujarati. In the northern Districts their speech is a mixture of Marwari and Hindi, while they often know Marathi or Urdu as well. The name for the similar cla.s.s of people in northern India is Bahelia, and in the Central Provinces the Bahelias and Pardhis merge into one another and are not recognisable as distinct groups. The caste is recruited from the most diverse elements, and women of any except the impure castes can be admitted into the community; and on this account their customs differ greatly in different localities. According to their own legends the first ancestor of the Pardhis was a Gond, to whom Mahadeo taught the art of snaring game so that he might avoid the sin of shooting it; and hence the ordinary Pardhis never use a gun.

2. Subdivisions

Like other wandering castes the Pardhis have a large number of endogamous groups, varying lists being often given in different areas. The princ.i.p.al subcastes appear to be the s.h.i.+kari or Bhil Pardhis, who use firearms; the Phanse Pardhis, who hunt with traps and snares; the Langoti Pardhis, so called because they wear only a narrow strip of cloth round the loins; and the Takankars. Both the Takankars and Langotis have strong criminal tendencies. Several other groups are recorded in different Districts, as the Chitewale, who hunt with a tame leopard; the Gayake, who stalk their prey behind a bullock; the Gosain Pardhis, who dress like religious mendicants in ochre-coloured clothes and do not kill deer, but only hares, jackals and foxes; the s.h.i.+s.h.i.+ ke Telwale, who sell crocodile's oil; and the Bandarwale who go about with performing monkeys. The Bahelias have a subcaste known as Karijat, the members of which only kill birds of a black colour. Their exogamous groups are nearly all those of Rajput tribes, as Sesodia, Panwar, Solanki, Chauhan, Rathor, and soon; it is probable that these have been adopted through imitation by vagrant Bawarias and others sojourning in Rajputana. There are also a few groups with t.i.tular or other names, and it is stated that members of clans bearing Rajput names will take daughters from the others in marriage, but will not give their daughters to them.

3. Marriage and funeral customs

Girls appear to be somewhat scarce in the caste and a bride-price is usually paid, which is given as Rs. 9 in Chanda, Rs. 35 in Bilaspur, and Rs. 60 or more in Hoshangabad and Saugor. If a girl should be seduced by a man of the caste she would be united to him by the ceremony of a widow's marriage: but her family will require a bride from her husband's family in exchange for the girl whose value he has destroyed. Even if led astray by an outsider a girl may be readmitted into the caste; and in the extreme case of her being debauched by her brother, she may still be married to one of the community, but no one will take food from her hands during her lifetime, though her children will be recognised as proper Pardhis. A special fine of Rs. 100 is imposed on a brother who commits this crime. The ceremony of marriage varies according to the locality in which they reside; usually the couple walk seven times round a _tanda_ or collection of their small mat tents. In Berar a cloth is held up by four poles as a canopy over them and they are preceded by a married woman carrying five pitchers of water. Divorce and the marriage of widows are freely permitted. The caste commonly bury their dead, placing the head to the north. They do not shave their heads in token of mourning.

4. Religion

In Berar their princ.i.p.al deity is the G.o.ddess Devi, who is known by different names. Every family of Langoti Pardhis has, Mr. Gayer states, [408] its image in silver of the G.o.ddess, and because of this no Langoti Pardhi woman will wear silver below the waist or hang her _sari_ on a peg, as it must never be put on the same level as the G.o.ddess. They also sometimes refuse to wear red or coloured clothes, one explanation for this being that the image of the G.o.ddess is placed on a bed of red cloth. In Hoshangabad their princ.i.p.al deity is called Guraiya Deo, and his image, consisting of a human figure embossed in silver, is kept in a leather bag on the west side of their tents; and for this reason women going out of the encampment for a necessary purpose always proceed to the east. They also sleep with their feet to the east. Goats are offered to Guraiya Deo and their horns are placed in his leather bag. In Hoshangabad they sacrifice a fowl to the ropes of their tents at the Dasahra and Diwali festivals, and on the former occasion clean their hunting implements and make offerings to them of turmeric and rice. They are reported to believe that the sun and moon die and are reborn daily. The hunter's calling is one largely dependent on luck or chance, and, as might be expected, the Pardhis are firm believers in omens, and observe various rules by which they think their fortune will be affected. A favourite omen is the simple device of taking some rice or juari in the hand and counting the grains. Contrary to the usual rule, even numbers are considered lucky and odd ones unlucky. If the first result is unsatisfactory a second or third trial may be made. If a winnowing basket or millstone be let fall and drop to the right hand it is a lucky omen, and similarly if a flower from Devi's garland should fall to the right side. The bellowing of cows, the mewing of a cat, the howling of a jackal and sneezing are other unlucky omens. If a snake pa.s.ses from left to right it is a bad omen and if from right to left a good one. A man must not sleep with his head on the threshold of a house or in the doorway of a tent under penalty of a fine of Rs. 2-8; the only explanation given of this rule is that such a position is unlucky because a corpse is carried out across the threshold. A similar penalty is imposed if he falls down before his wife even by accident. A Pardhi, with the exception of members of the Sesodia clan, must never sleep on a cot, a fine of five rupees being imposed for a breach of this rule. A man who has once caught a deer must not again have the hair of his head touched by a razor, and thus the Pardhis may be recognised by their long and unkempt locks. A breach of this rule is punished with a fine of fifteen rupees, but it is not observed everywhere. A woman must never step across the rope or peg of a tent, nor upon the place where the blood of a deer has flowed on to the ground. During her monthly period of impurity a woman must not cross a river nor sit in a boat. A Pardhi will never kill or sell a dog and they will not hunt wild dogs even if money is offered to them. This is probably because they look upon the wild dog as a fellow-hunter, and consider that to do him injury would bring ill-luck upon themselves. A Pardhi has also theoretically a care for the preservation of game. When he has caught a number of birds in his trap, he will let a pair of them loose so that they may go on breeding. Women are not permitted to take any part in the work of hunting, but are confined strictly to their household duties. A woman who kicks her husband's stick is fined Rs. 2-8. The b.u.t.t end of the stick is employed for mixing vegetables and other purposes, but the meaning of the rule is not clear unless one of its uses is for the enforcement of conjugal discipline. A Pardhi may not swear by a dog, a cat or a squirrel. Their most solemn oath is in the name of their deity Guraiya Deo, and it is believed that any one who falsely takes this oath will become a leper. The Phans Pardhis may not travel in a railway train, and some of them are forbidden even to use a cart or other conveyance.

5. Dress, food and social customs

In dress and appearance the Pardhis are disreputable and dirty. Their features are dark and their hair matted and unkempt. They never wear shoes and say that they are protected by a special promise of the G.o.ddess Devi to their first ancestor that no insect or reptile in the forests should injure them. The truth is, no doubt, that shoes would make it impossible for them to approach their game without disturbing it, and from long practice the soles of their feet become impervious to thorns and minor injuries. Similarly the Langoti Pardhis are so called because they wear only a narrow strip of cloth round the loins, the reason probably being that a long one would impede them by flapping and catching in the brushwood. But the explanation which they themselves give, [409] a somewhat curious one in view of their appearance, is that an ordinary _dhoti_ or loin-cloth if worn might become soiled and therefore unlucky. Their women do not have their noses pierced and never wear spangles or other marks on the forehead. The Pardhis still obtain fire by igniting a piece of cotton with flint and iron. Mr. Sewell notes that their women eat at the same time as the men, instead of after them as among most Hindus. They explain this custom by saying that on one occasion a woman tried to poison her husband and it was therefore adopted as a precaution against similar attempts; but no doubt it has always prevailed, and the more orthodox practice would be almost incompatible with their gipsy life. Similar reasons of convenience account for their custom of celebrating marriages all the year round and neglecting the Hindu close season of the four months of the rains. They travel about with little huts made of matting, which can be rolled up and carried off in a few minutes. If rain comes on they seek shelter in the nearest village. [410] In some localities the caste eat no food cooked with b.u.t.ter or oil. They are usually considered as an impure caste, whose touch is a defilement to Hindus. Brahmans do not officiate at their ceremonies, though the Pardhis resort to the village Jos.h.i.+ or astrologer to have a propitious date indicated for marriages. They have to pay for such services in money, as Brahmans usually refuse to accept even uncooked grain from them. After childbirth women are held to be impure and forbidden to cook for their families for a period varying from six weeks to six months. During their periodical impurity they are secluded for four, six or eight days, the Pardhis observing very strict rules in these matters, as is not infrequently the case with the lowest castes. Their caste meetings, Mr. Sewell states, are known as Deokaria or 'An act performed in honour of G.o.d'; at these meetings arrangements for expeditions are discussed and caste disputes decided. The penalty for social offences is a fine of a specified quant.i.ty of liquor, the liquor provided by male and female delinquents being drunk by the men and women respectively. The punishment for adultery in either s.e.x consists in cutting off a piece of the left ear with a razor, and a man guilty of intercourse with a prost.i.tute is punished as if he had committed adultery. The Pardhi women are said to be virtuous.

6. Ordeals

The Pardhis still preserve the primitive method of trial by ordeal. If a woman is suspected of misconduct she is made to pick a pice coin out of boiling oil; or a pipal leaf is placed on her hand and a red-hot axe laid over it, and if her hand is burnt or she refuses to stand the test she is p.r.o.nounced guilty. Or, in the case of a man, the accused is made to dive into water; and as he dives an arrow is shot from a bow. A swift runner fetches and brings back the arrow, and if the diver can remain under water until the runner has returned he is held to be innocent. In Nimar, if an unmarried girl becomes pregnant, two cakes of dough are prepared, a piece of silver being placed in one and a lump of coal in the other. The girl takes one of the cakes, and if it is found to contain the coal she is expelled from the community, while if she chooses the piece of silver, she is pardoned and made over to one of the caste. The idea of the ordeal is apparently to decide the question whether her condition was caused by a Pardhi or an outsider.

7. Methods of catching birds

The Phans Pardhis hunt all kinds of birds and the smaller animals with the _phanda_ or snare. Mr. Ball describes their procedure as follows: [411] "For peac.o.c.k, saras crane and bustard they have a long series of nooses, each provided with a wooden peg and all connected with a long string. The tension necessary to keep the nooses open is afforded by a slender slip of antelope's horn (very much resembling whalebone), which forms the core of the loop. Provided with several sets of these nooses, a trained bullock and a s.h.i.+eld-like cloth screen dyed buff and pierced with eye-holes, the bird-catcher sets out for the jungle, and on seeing a flock of pea-fowl circles round them under cover of the screen and the bullock, which he guides by a nose-string. The birds feed on undisturbed, and the man rapidly pegs out his long strings of nooses, and when all are properly disposed, moves round to the opposite side of the birds and shows himself; when they of course run off, and one or more getting their feet in the nooses fall forwards and flap on the ground; the man immediately captures them, knowing that if the strain is relaxed the nooses will open and permit of the bird's escape. Very cruel practices are in vogue with these people with reference to the captured birds, in order to keep them alive until a purchaser is found. The peac.o.c.ks have a feather pa.s.sed through the eyelids, by which means they are effectually blinded, while in the case of smaller birds both the legs and wings are broken." Deer, hares and even pig are also caught by a strong rope with running nooses. For smaller birds the appliance is a little rack about four inches high with uprights a few inches apart, between each of which is hung a noose. Another appliance mentioned by Mr. Ball is a set of long conical bag nets, which are kept open by hooks and provided with a pair of folding doors. The Pardhi has also a whistle made of deer-horn, with which he can imitate the call of the birds. Tree birds are caught with bird-lime as described by Sir G. Grierson. [412]

The Bahelia has several long shafts of bamboos called _nal_ or _nar_, which are tied together like a fis.h.i.+ng rod, the endmost one being covered with bird-lime. Concealing himself behind his bamboo screen the Bahelia approaches the bird and when near enough strikes and secures it with his rod; or he may spread some grain out at a short distance, and as the birds are hopping about over it he introduces the pole, giving it a zig-zag movement and imitating as far as possible the progress of a snake. Having brought the point near one of the birds, which is fascinated by its stealthy approach, he suddenly jerks it into its breast and then drawing it to him, releases the poor palpitating creature, putting it away in his bag, and recommences the same operation. This method does not require the use of bird-lime.