The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India
Chapter 76 : 4. The rosaries are of wood, the G.o.ds are of stone, the Ganges and Jumna are water. R

4. The rosaries are of wood, the G.o.ds are of stone, the Ganges and Jumna are water. Rama and Krishna are dead. The four Vedas are fict.i.tious stories.

5. If by wors.h.i.+pping stones one can find G.o.d, I shall wors.h.i.+p a mountain; better than these stones (idols) are the stones of the flour-mill with which men grind their corn.

6. If by immersion in the water salvation be obtained, the frogs bathe continually. As the frogs so are these men, again and again they fall into the womb.

7. As long as the sun does not rise the stars sparkle; so long as perfect knowledge of G.o.d is not obtained, men practise rites and ceremonies.

8. Brahma is dead with Siva who lived in Kas.h.i.+; the immortals are dead. In Mathura, Krishna, the cowherd, died. The ten incarnations (of Vishnu) are dead. Machhandranath, Gorakhnath, Dattatreya and Vyas are no longer living. Kabir cries with a loud voice, All these have fallen into the slip-knot of death.

9. While dwelling in the womb there is no clan nor caste; from the seed of Brahm the whole of creation is made.

Whose art thou the Brahman? Whose am I the Sudra? Whose blood am I? Whose milk art thou?

Kabir says, 'Who reflects on Brahm, he by me is made a Brahman.'

10. To be truthful is best of all if the heart be truthful. A man may speak as much as he likes; but there is no pleasure apart from truthfulness.

11. If by wandering about naked union with Hari be obtained; then every deer of the forest will attain to G.o.d. If by shaving the head perfection is achieved, the sheep is saved, no one is lost.

If salvation is got by celibacy, a eunuch should be the first saved. Kabir says, 'Hear, O Man and Brother; without the name of Rama no one has obtained salvation.'

The resemblance of some of the above ideas to the teaching of the Gospels is striking, and, as has been seen, the story of Kabir's birth might have been borrowed from the Bible, while the Kabirpanthi Chauka or religious service has one or two features in common with Christianity. These facts raise a probability, at any rate, that Kabir or his disciples had some acquaintance with the Bible or with the teaching of Christian missionaries. If such a supposition were correct, it would follow that Christianity had influenced the religious thought of India to a greater extent than is generally supposed. Because, as has been seen, the Nanakpanthi and Sikh sects are mainly based on the teaching of Kabir. Another interesting though accidental resemblance is that the religion of Kabir was handed down in the form of isolated texts and sayings like the Logia of Jesus, and was first reduced to writing in a connected form by his disciples. The fact that Kabir called the deity by the name of Rama apparently does not imply that he ascribed a unique and sole divinity to the hero king of Ajodhia. He had to have some name which might convey a definite image or conception to his uneducated followers, and may have simply adopted that which was best known and most revered by them.

4. The Kabirpanthi Sect in the Central Provinces.

The two princ.i.p.al headquarters of the Kabirpanthi sect are at Benaires and at Kawardha, the capital of the State of that name, or Damakheda in the Raipur District. These appear to be practically independent of each other, the head Mahants exercising separate jurisdiction over members of the sect who acknowledge their authority. The Benares branch of the sect is known as Bap (father) and the Kawardha branch as Mai (mother). In 1901 out of 850,000 Kabirpanthis in India 500,000 belonged to the Central Provinces. The following account of the practices of the sect in the Province is partly compiled from local information, and it differs in some minor, though not in essential, points from that given by Bishop Westcott. The Benares church is called the Kabirchaura Math and the Kawardha one the Dharam Das Math.

One of the converts to Kabir's teaching was Dharam Das, a Kasaundhan Bania, who distributed the whole of his wealth, eighteen lakhs of rupees, in charity at his master's bidding and became a mendicant. In reward for this Kabir promised him that his family should endure for forty-two generations. The Mahants of Kawardha claim to be the direct descendants of Dharam Das. They marry among Kasaundhan Banias, and their sons are initiated and succeed them. The present Mahants Dayaram and Ugranam are twelfth and thirteenth in descent from Dharam Das. Kabir not only promised that there should be forty-two Mahants, but gave the names of each of them, so that the names of all future Mahants are known. [291] Ugranam was born of a Marar woman, and, though acclaimed as the successor of his father, was challenged by Dhirajnam, whose parentage was legitimate. Their dispute led to a case in the Bombay High Court, which was decided in favour of Dhirajnam, and he accordingly occupied the seat at Kawardha. Dayaram is his successor. But Dhirajnam was unpopular, and little attention was paid to him. Ugranam lives at Damakheda, near Simga, [292] and enjoys the real homage of the followers of the sect, who say that Dhiraj was the official Mahant but Ugra the people's Mahant. Of the previous Mahants, four are buried at Kawardha, two at Kudarmal in Bilaspur, the site of a Kabirpanthi fair, and two at Mandla. Under the head Mahant are a number of subordinate Mahants or Gurus, each of whom has jurisdiction over the members of the sect in a certain area. The Guru pays so much a year to the head Mahant for his letter of jurisdiction and takes all the offerings himself. These subordinate Mahants may be celibate or married, and about two-thirds of them are married. A dissenting branch called Nadiapanthi has now arisen in Raipur, all of whom are celibate. The Mahants have a high peaked cap somewhat of the shape of a mitre, a long sleeveless white robe, a _chauri_ or whisk, _chauba_ or silver stick, and a staff called _kuari_ or _aska_. It is said that on one occasion there was a very high flood at Puri and the sea threatened to submerge Jagannath's temple, but Kabir planted a stick in the sand and said, 'Come thus far and no further,' and the flood was stayed. In memory of this the Mahants carry the crutched staff, which also serves as a means of support. When officiating they wear a small embroidered cap. Each Mahant has a Diwan or a.s.sistant, and he travels about his charge during the open season, visiting the members of the sect. A Mahant should not annoy any one by begging, but rather than do so should remain hungry. He must not touch any flesh, fish or liquor. And if any living thing is hungry he should give it of his own food.

5. The religious service.

A Kabirpanthi religious service is called Chauka, the name given to the s.p.a.ce marked out for it with lines of wheat-flour, 5 or 7 1/2 yards square. [293] In the centre is made a pattern of nine lotus flowers to represent the sun, moon and seven planets, and over this a bunch of real flowers is laid. At one corner is a small hollow pillar of dough serving as a candle-stick, in which a stick covered with cotton-wool burns as a lamp, being fed with b.u.t.ter. The Mahant sits at one end and the wors.h.i.+ppers sit round. _Bhajans_ or religious songs are sung to the music of cymbals by one or two, and the others repeat the name of Kabir counting on their _kanthi_ or necklace of beads. The Mahant lights a piece of camphor and waves it backwards and forwards in a dish. This is called Arti, a Hindu rite. He then breaks a cocoanut on a stone, a thing which only a Mahant may do. The flesh of the cocoanut is cut up and distributed to the wors.h.i.+ppers with betel-leaf and sugar. Each receives it on his knees, taking the greatest care that none fall on the ground. If any of the cocoanut remain, it is kept by the Mahant for another service. The Hindus think that the cocoanut is a subst.i.tute for a human head. It is supposed to have been created by Viswamitra and the _buch_ or tuft of fibre at the end represents the hair. The Kabirpanthis will not eat any part of a cocoanut from other Hindus from which this tuft has been removed, as they fear that it may have been broken off in the name of some G.o.d or spirit. Once the _buch_ is removed the cocoanut is not an acceptable offering, as its likeness to a human head is considered to be destroyed. After this the Mahant gives an address and an interval occurs. Some little time afterwards the wors.h.i.+ppers rea.s.semble. Meanwhile, a servant has taken the dough candle-stick and broken it up, mixing it with fragments of the cocoanut, b.u.t.ter and more flour. It is then brought to the Mahant, who makes it into little _puris_ or wafers. The Mahant has also a number of betel-leaves known as _parwana_ or message, which have been blessed by the head _guru_ at Kawardha or Damakheda. These are cut up into small pieces for delivery to each disciple and are supposed to represent the body of Kabir. He has also brought _Charan Amrita_ or Nectar of the Feet, consisting of water in which the feet of the head _guru_ have been washed. This is mixed with fine earth and made up into pills. The wors.h.i.+ppers rea.s.semble, any who may feel unworthy absenting themselves, and each receives from the Mahant, with one hand folded beneath the other, a wafer of the dough, a piece of the _parwana_ or betel-leaf, and a pill of the foot-nectar. After partaking of the sacred food they cleanse their hands, and the proceedings conclude with a substantial meal defrayed either by subscription or by a well-to-do member. Bishop Westcott states that the _parwana_ or betel-leaf is held to represent Kabir's body, and the Kabirpanthis say that the flame of the candle is the life or spirit of Kabir, so that the dough of the candle-stick might also be taken to symbolise his body. The cocoanut eaten at the preliminary service is undoubtedly offered by Hindus as a subst.i.tute for a human body, though the Kabirpanthis may now disclaim this idea. And the foot-nectar of the _guru_ might be looked upon as a subst.i.tute for the blood of Kabir.

6. Initiation.

The initiation of a proselyte is conducted at a similar service, and he is given cocoanut and betel-leaf. He solemnly vows to observe the rules of the sect, and the Mahant whispers a text into his ear and hangs a necklace of wooden beads of the wood of the _tulsi_ or basil round his neck. This _kanthi_ or necklace is the mark of the Kabirpanthi, but if lost, it can be replaced by any other necklace, not necessarily of _tulsi_. One man was observed with a necklace of pink beads bought at Allahabad. Sometimes only a single _tulsi_ bead is worn on a string. The convert is also warned against eating the fruit of the _gular_ [294] fig-tree, as these small figs are always full of insects. Kabir condemned sect-marks, but many Kabirpanthis now have them, the mark usually being a single broad streak of white sandalwood from the top of the forehead to the nose.

7. Funeral rites.

The Kabirpanthis are usually buried. Formerly, the bodies of married people both male and female were buried inside the compound of the house, but this is now prohibited on sanitary grounds. A cloth is placed in the grave and the corpse laid on it and another cloth placed over it covering the face. Over the grave a little platform is made on which the Mahant and two or three other persons can sit. On the twenty-first day after the death, if possible, the Mahant should hold a service for the dead. The form of the service is that already described, the Mahant sitting on the grave and the _chauka_ being made in front of it. He lays a cocoanut and flowers on the grave and lights the lamp, afterwards distributing the cocoanut. The Kabirpanthis think that the soul of the dead person remains in the grave up to this time, but when the lamp is burnt the soul mingles with the flame, which is the soul of Kabir, and is absorbed into the deity. When breaking a cocoanut over the grave of the dead the Kabirpanthis say, 'I am breaking the skull of Yama,' because they think that the soul of a Kabirpanthi is absorbed into the deity and therefore is not liable to be taken down to h.e.l.l and judged by Chitragupta and punished by Yama. From this it would appear that some of them do not believe in the transmigration of souls.

8. Idol wors.h.i.+p.

Ordinarily the Kabirpanthis have no regular wors.h.i.+p except on the occasion of a visit of the _guru_. But sometimes in the morning they fold their hands and say '_Sat Sahib_,' or the 'True G.o.d,' two or three times. They also clean a s.p.a.ce with cowdung and place a lighted lamp on it and say '_Jai Kabir Ki_,' or 'Victory to Kabir.' They conceive of the deity as consisting of light, and therefore it seems probable that, like the other Vaishnava sects, they really take him to be the Sun. Kabir prohibited the wors.h.i.+p of all idols and visible symbols, but as might be expected the illiterate Kabirpanthis cannot adhere strictly to this. Some of them wors.h.i.+p the Bijak, the princ.i.p.al sacred book of their sect. At Rudri near Dhamtari on the Mahanadi one of the Gurus is buried, and a religious fair is held there. Recently a platform has been made with a footprint of Kabir marked on it, and this is venerated by the pilgrims. Similarly, Kudarmal is held to contain the grave of Churaman, the first _guru_ after Dharam Das, and a religious fair is held here at which the Kabirpanthis attend and venerate the grave. Dharam Das himself is said to be buried at Puri, the site of Jagannath's temple, but it seems doubtful whether this story may not have been devised in order to give the Kabirpanthis a valid reason for going on pilgrimage to Puri. Similarly, an arch and platform in the court of the temple of Rama at Ramtek is considered to belong to the Kabirpanthis, though the Brahmans of the temple say that the arch was really made by the daughter of a Surajvansi king of the locality in order to fasten her swing to it. Once in three years the Mahar Kabirpanthis of Mandla make a sacrificial offering of a goat to Dulha Deo, the bridegroom G.o.d, and eat the flesh, burying the remains beneath the floor. On this occasion they also drink liquor. Other Kabirpanthis venerate Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, and light a lamp and burn camphor in their names, but do not make idols of them. They will accept the cooked food offered to Vishnu as Satnarayan and a piece of the cocoanut kernel offered to Devi, but not the offerings to any other deities. And a number even of illiterate Kabirpanthis appear to abstain from any kind of idol-wors.h.i.+p.

9. Statistics of the sect.

About 600,000 Kabirpanthis were returned in the Central Provinces in 1911, this being equivalent to an increase of 19 per cent since the previous census. As this was less than the increase in the total population the sect appears to be stationary or declining in numbers. The weaving castes are usually Kabirpanthis, because Kabir was a weaver. The Brahmans call it 'The weaver's religion.' Of the Panka caste 84 per cent were returned as members of the sect, and this caste appears to be of sectarian formation, consisting of Pans or Gandas who have become Kabirpanthis. Other weaving castes such as Balahis, Koris, Koshtis and Mahars belong to the sect in considerable numbers, and it is also largely professed by other low castes as the Telis or oilmen, of whom 16 per cent adhere to it, and by Dhobis and Chamars; and by some castes from whom a Brahman will take water, as the Ahirs, Kurmis, Lodhis and Kachhis. Though there seems little doubt that one of the princ.i.p.al aims of Kabir's preaching was the abolition of the social tyranny of the caste system, which is the most real and to the lower cla.s.ses the most hateful and burdensome feature of Hinduism, yet as in the case of so many other reformers his crusade has failed, and a man who becomes a Kabirpanthi does not cease to be a member of his caste or to conform to its observances. And a few Brahmans who have been converted, though renounced by their own caste, have, it is said, been compensated by receiving high posts in the hierarchy of the sect. Formerly all members of the sect took food together at the conclusion of each Chauka or service conducted by a Mahant. But this is no longer the case, and presumably different Chaukas are now held for communities of different castes. Only on the 13th day of Bhadon (August), which was the birthday of Kabir, as many Kabirpanthis as can meet at the headquarters of the Guru take food together without distinction of caste in memory of their Founder's doctrine. Otherwise the Kabirpanthis of each caste make a separate group within it, but among the lower castes they take food and marry with members of the caste who are not Kabirpanthis. These latter are commonly known as Saktaha, a term which in Chhattisgarh signifies an eater of meat as opposed to a Kabirpanthi who refrains from it. The Mahars and Pankas permit intermarriage between Kabirpanthi and Saktaha families, the wife in each case adopting the customs and beliefs of her husband. Kabirpanthis also wear the _choti_ or scalp-lock and shave the head for the death of a relative, in spite of Kabir's contempt of the custom. Still, the sect has in the past afforded to the uneducated cla.s.ses a somewhat higher ideal of spiritual life than the chaotic medley of primitive superst.i.tions and beliefs in witchcraft and devil wors.h.i.+p, from which the Brahmans, caring only for the recognition of their social supremacy, made no attempt to raise them.

Lingayat Sect

_Lingayat Sect_.--A sect devoted to the wors.h.i.+p of Siva which has developed into a caste. The Lingayat sect is supposed [295] to have been founded in the twelfth century by one Basava, a Brahman minister of the king of the Carnatic. He preached the equality of all men and of women also by birth, and the equal treatment of all. Women were to be treated with the same respect as men, and any neglect or incivility to a woman would be an insult to the G.o.d whose image she wore and with whom she was one. Caste distinctions were the invention of Brahmans and consequently unworthy of acceptance. The _Madras Census Report_ [296] of 1871 further states that Basava preached the immortality of the soul, and mentions a theory that some of the traditions concerning him might have been borrowed from the legends of the Syrian Christians, who had obtained a settlement in Madras at a period not later than the seventh century. The founder of the sect thus took as his fundamental tenet the abolition of caste, but, as is usual in the history of similar movements, the ultimate result has been that the Lingayats have themselves become a caste. In Bombay they have two main divisions, Mr. Enthoven states: [297] the Panchamsalis or descendants of the original converts from Brahmanism and the non-Panchamsalis or later converts. The latter are further subdivided into a number of groups, apparently endogamous. Converts of each caste becoming Lingayats form a separate group of their own, as Ahir Lingayats, Bania Lingayats and so on, severing their connection with the parent caste. A third division consists of members of unclean castes attached to the Lingayat community by reason of performing to it menial service. A marked tendency has recently been displayed by the community in Bombay to revert to the original Brahmanic configuration of society, from which its founder sought to free it. On the occasion of the census a complete scheme was supplied to the authorities professing to show the division of the Lingayats into the four groups of Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra.

In the Central Provinces Lingayats were not shown as a separate caste, and the only return of members of the sect is from the Bania caste, whose subcastes were abstracted. Lingayat was recorded as a subcaste by 8000 Banias, and these form a separate endogamous group. But members of other castes as Gaolis, Malis, Patwas and the Telugu Balijas are also Lingayats and marry among themselves. A child becomes a Lingayat by being invested with the _lingam_ or phallic sign of Siva, seven days after its birth, by the Jangam priest. This is afterwards carried round the neck in a small casket of silver, bra.s.s or wood throughout life, and is buried with the corpse at death. The corpse of a Lingayat cannot be burnt because it must not be separated from the _lingam_, as this is considered to be the incarnation of Siva and must not be destroyed in the fire. If it is lost the owner must be invested with a fresh one by the Jangam in the presence of the caste. It is wors.h.i.+pped three times a day, being washed in the morning with the ashes of cowdung cakes, while in the afternoon leaves of the _bel_ tree and food are offered to it. When a man is initiated as a Lingayat in after-life, the Jangam invests him with the _lingam_, pours holy water on to his head and mutters in his ear the sacred text, '_Aham so aham_,' or 'I and you are now one and the same.' The Lingayats are strict vegetarians, and will not expose their drinking water to the sun, as they think that by doing this insects would be bred in it and that by subsequently swallowing them they would be guilty of the destruction of life. They are careful to leave no remains of a meal uneaten. Their own priests, the Jangams, officiate at their weddings, and after the conclusion of the ceremony the bride and bridegroom break raw cakes of pulse placed on the other's back, the bride with her foot and the bridegroom with his fist. Widow-marriage is allowed. The dead are buried in a sitting posture with their faces turned towards the east. Water sanctified by the Jangam having dipped his toe into it is placed in the mouth of the corpse. The Jangam presses down the earth over the grave and then stands on it and refuses to come off until he is paid a sum of money varying with the means of the man, the minimum payment being Rs. 1-4. In some cases a platform with an image of Mahadeo is made over the grave. When meeting each other the Lingayats give the salutation _Sharnat_, or, 'I prostrate myself before you.' They address the Jangam as Maharaj and touch his feet with their head. The Lingayat Banias of the Central Provinces usually belong to Madras and speak Telugu in their houses. As they deny the authority of Brahmans, the latter have naturally a great antipathy for them, and make various statements to their discredit. One of these is that after a death the Lingayats have a feast, and, setting up the corpse in the centre, arrange themselves round it and eat their food. But this is not authenticated. Similarly the Abbe Dubois stated: [298]

"They do not recognise the laws relating to defilement which are generally accepted by other castes, such, for instance, as those occasioned by a woman's periodical ailments, and by the death and funeral of relations. Their indifference to all such prescriptive customs relating to defilement and cleanliness has given rise to a Hindu proverb which says, 'There is no river for a Lingayat,' meaning that the members of the sect do not recognise, at all events on many occasions, the virtues and merits of ablutions." The same author also states that they entirely reject the doctrine of migration of souls, and that, in consequence of their peculiar views on this point, they have no _t.i.this_ or anniversary festivals to commemorate the dead. A Lingayat is no sooner buried than he is forgotten. In view of these remarks it must be held to be doubtful whether the Lingayats have the doctrine of the immortality of the soul.

Muhammadan Religion

[_Bibliography_: Rev. T.P. Hughes, _Notes on Muhammadanism_, and _Dictionary of Islam_, London, W.H. Allen, 1895; _Bombay Gazetteer_, vol. ix. Part II. _Muhammadans of Gujarat_, by Khan Bahadur Fazalullah Lutfullah Faridi; _Qaun-i-Islam,_ G.A. Herklots, Madras, Higginbotham, reprint 1895; _Muhammadanism and Early Developments of Muhammadanism_, by Professor D.S. Margoliouth; _Life of Mahomet_, by Sir. W. Muir; Mr. J.T. Marten's _Central Provinces Census Report_, 1911. This article is mainly compiled from the excellent accounts in the _Bombay Gazetteer_ and the _Dictionary of Islam_.]

List of Paragraphs

1. _Statistics and distribution_.

2. _Occupations_.

3. _Muhammadan castes_.

4. _The four tribal divisions_.

5. _Marriage_.