Bhamta: Deccan
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Bhamta
This article is an extract from THE CASTES AND TRIBES OF H. E. H. THE NIZAM'S DOMINIONS BY SYED SIRAJ UL HASSAN Of Merton College, Oxford, Trinity College, Dublin, and Middle Temple, London. One of the Judges of H. E. H. the Nizam's High Court of Judicature : Lately Director of Public Instruction. BOMBAY THE TlMES PRESS 1920 Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees |
Origin and Occupation
Bhamta — a caste of pick-pockets, found mostly in the districts of Bir and Aurangabad, extending south- ward to Latur in the Usmanabad and to Kalyani and Humnabad in the Gulbarga Districts. In their manners and language they resemble the poorer Kunbis of these places. They are popularly known as Pathrods, or Patharkers (mill-stone pointers), as their ostensible means of liveli- hood is the pointing and repairing of mill-stones. For purposes of crime, they assume various disguises and visit great fairs and festivals, where large crowds of men, dressed in their gayest clothes, and of women decked in jewels, assemble. With their peculiar knives, or with pieces of broken glass, they rip open bags and pockets and cut the strings of jewels worn by women and children and readily pass the pilfered articles to their accomplices, so that if a Bhamta is caught, nothing is found on his person and he has to be released. Sometimes, respectably dressed, they gain admission to the best of the community, and while the unsuspecting victims are reposing full confidence in them they are robbed of their valuables. On their predatory excursions they travel in parties of four or five and are often accompanied by their women and children.
The Bhamtas are early trained in the art of picking pockets and snatching jewels from unsuspecting travellers. When a boy is ten years old, he is taken to a fair, and if he succeeds in his first attempt at pilfering a goat is sacrificed to Mari Ai, their tutelary goddess. If he fails, or subsequently shows inaptitude in the profession, no one gives him his daughter in marriage and he is degraded.
The Bhamtas hold the arandi, castor plant (Ricinus communis), m great awe. It is said that while no torture will extract from them, a moan or a tear, they will, if threatened with a stick of arandi, at once confess their guilt.
Internal Structure
The Bhamtas have no endogamous divi- sions. A few of their exogamous sections are : —
Marriage
The rule of exogamy is carefully observed and a man may not marry a woman belonging to the same section as himself. Bhamtas practice both infant and adult marriages. Polygamy is per- mitted and- in theory there is no limit to the number of wives. The marriage ceremony is of the standard form. After the bride has been selected and the bride-price settled and paid, a lucky day is fixed for the celebration of the wedding. Previous to the wedding, goats and fowls are killed as a sacrifice to the deities Mari Ai and Tuljapur Bhavani. A procession is formed conducting the bridegroom, on a bullock, to the bride's house, where, on arrival, he goes straight to the wedding canopy. Here he is joined by the bride, and the bridal pair are made to stand opposite each other while the Brahman, who officiates as priest, holds an antarpat between them, recites mantras and throws jawari (millet) grains over their heads. A feast to the caste brethren concludes the ceremony.
A widow may marry again, by an inferior rite, at which the clothes of the bridal couple are knotted together and jaggery (molasses) is distributed among the assembly. The ceremony takes place at night and, after the wedding, the bridal pair have to pass the remainder of the night, outside the village, in some temple or grove. Only widows attend the ceremony, married women, whose husbands are living, deeming it unlucky to be present.
Divorce is permitted with the sanction of the Pancha^at of the caste and divorced women may marry again by the same rite as widows.
Religion
Bhamtas are Hindus by religion, and look upon Mari Ai (the goddess who presides over cholera) as their special deity, whom they worship with offerings of goats and fowls. Reverence is also paid to Bhavani of Tuljapur. Brahmans are employed for religion' and ceremonial purposes. After a successful foray, goats are sacrificed to Mari Ai and the booty is shared equally by the band engaged in the pilfering expedition.
Disposal of the Dead
The dead are usually burnt, but are occasionally buried in a lying posture. The Sradha is performed on the 13th day. Ancestors in general are propitiated in the month of Bhadrapad (September-October), and on the third day of the light half of Vaishakha (May).
Social Status
Bhamtas, socially, rank immediately below the Maratha Kunbis : barbers, oilmen and washermen eat kachi (cooked food) from their hands. They eat mutton, fowl and fish and indulge in strong drinks.
