Gonrhi
Contents |
Gonrhi
This section has been extracted from THE TRIBES and CASTES of BENGAL. Ethnographic Glossary. Printed at the Bengal Secretariat Press. 1891. . |
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Origin
Mallah, Machuna , a fishing and cultivating caste of Behar, who claim descent from Nikbad Or Nishad, a mythical boatman, who is said to have ferried Ram Chandra across the Ganges at Allahabad. The fact that the word Nishad, which is used in the Rig Veda as a general name for the non-Aryan races, should appeal' in the traditions of the Gonrhi as :t personal eponym, suggests the conjecture that the caste IDay be descended from one of tho aboriginal tribes whom the Aryans found in possession of the Ganges Valley. This view derives some support from the physioal appearance of the caste, which approaches to the non-Aryan type.
Internal Structure
The internal struoture of the group throws no light on its origin, unless we may attaoh weight to the fact that one of the sub-castes bears the name of Kolh. the other sub•castes are Banpar, Chab or Chabi, Dhoar, Kurin, Parbatti-Kurin, Khunaut or Khulaut, and Semari. All of these are strictly endogamous, except the Kolh and Kurin sub-castes, which admit of intermarriage with eaoh other, though not with members of other sub-castes. Some members of the CMb sub-caste deny that they have any conneotion with the Gonrhi. 'rhe section-names, which are shown in the Appendix, are in common use as titl~s among many other castes in Behar. Their precise bearing on marriage is not easy to ascertain. Gonrhis are not as a class intelligent enough to be able to explain their own oustoms very clearly, nor have they a sufficiently strong organization to secure uniformity of practice in different parts of the country.
'I'hus according to soml3 accounts the CMb, Dhoar, and Kolh regulate their marriages solely by the standard formula for reckoning prohibited degrees, and the Khunaut sub-caste have no exogamous sections, while within the Parbatti¬Kurin sub-caste only a special group, known as J athot, observes the rule of exogamy in respect of its section-names. The rest of the sub-castes regard these names as titleR having no special significance. The Kurin have no section-names, and affect to know nothing about the regular custom of exogamy, but they do not allow a man to marry a woman who lives in the same village as himself. The Banpar and Semari sub-castes, on the other hand, appear to have distinct sections, and also count prohibited degrees down to six, or as some say seven, generations in the descending line. In determining whom a man may marry regard is paid not merely to his own sectiou, but to the section to which his mother and his paternal and maternal grandmothers belonged.
Marriage
Gonrbia marry their daughters as infants or as adults according 11 . to their means. Infant-marriage is deemed arnago. the more respectable, but no special disgrace attaches to a family because one of the daughters attains the age cf puberty before being married. the marriage ceremony is of the standard type. Polygamy is permitted only to the extent that a man may take a second wife if his first wife is barren or suffers from an incura.ble disease. A widow may marry again by the sagai form, of which sindlll'dan constitutes the binding portion. She may marry her late husband's younger brother, but is not compelled to do so. Divorce is permitted with the consent of the pancMyat, on the ground of misconduct or incompatibility of temper. Divorced wives can marry again. Some hold, however, that a woman taken i~ adultery is debarred from this privilege, and I gather that dIvorce is generally regarded with disfavour by the respectable members of the caste.
Religion
Most Gonrhis are Vaishnava Hindus, but a few members of the Saurapatya sect of sun-worshippers are found IgIOD. among them. They employ Maithil Brahmans for the worship of the greater gods, but these priests are not usually recognised as equals by other members of the sacred order. They have a large number of minor gods, and many of them belong to the Panch Piriya creed-an obscure but widely-spread cult, wmr.h appears to have arisen from the contact of Islam with the animistic beliefs of its aboriginal converts. Some, again, worship a water-god, called Koila-BflM, described as an old grey-bearded person who, as GanyaJi ka Beldar, 'the navvy or our lady the Ganges,' saps and .swallows up whatever opposes the sacred stream. Before casting a new net or starting on a commercial venture, offerings or molasses and :seven kinds of grain, kneaded into balls, are offered to him, and at the end of the ceremony one of the balls is placed on the edge of the water, another on the bow of the boat. Another rite common to many, if not to all, fisher castes is the Barwaria or Barahl Plija, when a subscription is made, and in the absence of a Brahman a pig is sacrificed in a garden or on a patch or waste land outside the village.
J ai Singh, Amar Singh, Chand Singh, Diyal Singh, Kewal, Marang, Bandi, Goraiya, and a river named Kamalaji, are also regularly worshipped. Jai Singb, who is also a favourite deity of the Tiyar caste, is said to have been a Gomhi of Ujjain, who had a large timber trade in the Sunderbuns. On one occasion the Raja of the Sunderbuns imprisoned 70U Gonrhis in consequence of a dispute about the price of wood. J ai Singh slew the Haja and released the prisoners, and has ever since been honoured with daily worship. Goa.ts, sweetmeats, wheaten cakes, prim 8upa1'i, and flowers are offered to him at regular intervals, and no Gomhi will light a pipe or embark on a fishing excursion without first invoking the name of Jai Singh. Once a year, in the month or Srawan, a flag is set up in honour or Hanuman on a bamboo pole in the courtyaJ.'d, and offerings of sweetmeats and fruits are presented to the god. These offerings are received by the Brahmans who officiate as priests, while the articles of food given to the minor gods are eaten by the members or the caste. The dead are burned, usually on the brink of a river, and the ashes thrown into the stream. In Supul the practice is to burn in a mango grove. Snlddh is performed on the thllteenth day after death.
Social status
The social status or the Gonrhi caste appears to vary in different parts of the country, and does not admit or very precise definition. All that can be said is that they rank below Barhis, KumMrs, and Laheris, and that although Brahmans do not ordinarily take water from their hands, this rule is not observed everywhere. Their own practice in the matter of diet inclines towards laxity, as they eat scaleless as well as scaly fish, pork, water tortoises, and field-rats, and indulge freely in strong drink. There are, however, many Bhakats among them who abstain from liquor and from all kinds or animal food, and are held in respect by reason or their abstinence. The caste will take water and sweetmeats from Kewats, Dhanuks, and Gangotas, but will not eat cooked food prepared by members of those castes. o f They believe boating and fishing to be their occupation. original and characteristic occupation, but many of them are engaged in agriculture as tenure-holders, occupancy or non-occupancy raiyats, and landless day-labourers.
The following statement Elhows the number and distribution of Gonrms in 1872 and 1881 :¬
Gonrhi
(From People of India/ National Series Volume VIII. Readers who wish to share additional information/ photographs may please send them as messages to the Facebook community, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be gratefully acknowledged in your name.)
Synonyms: Bherihar, Machua. Pal [Bihar and/or Jharkhand] Ganerui, Gunrhi, Gurshi, Machhuar, Mollah [West Bengal] I3I0 Communities, Segments, Synonyms, Surnames and Titles Groups/subgroups: Banpar, Chabi, Dhengar, Dohar, Gangajali, Khunaut, Kolh, Nikhar, Parbattikurin, Phrukbadi [Bihar and/or Jharkhand] Chabi, Chotaha, Dhangar, Kurvin, Manjhi, Nikhar [West Bengal] Dhengar, Farakhabadi, Gangajali, Nikhar [H.H. Risley]
- Subcastes: Banpar, Chabi, Chaudhuria, Dhoar, Khulaut, Kolh, Kurin, Nankar, Parbatli Kurin, Semari Chandel
(Dhangar subcaste) [H.H. Risley] Titles: Chandhhri, Jethman, Kamblia, Mandar, Marar, Mukhiar, Raut [H.H. Risley] Surnames: Bhagat, Choudhury, Mahaldar, Mandal, Pal, Singh [Bihar and/or Jharkhand] Bhagat, Chowdhury, Ghosh, Pal, Saha, Sarkar [West Bengal] Exogamous units/clans: Ahir, Basdharia, Bilar, Chandel, Chaudhuria, Nakwar [Bihar and/or Jharkhand] Gotra: Kashyap [Bihar and/or Jharkhand] Kashyapa [West Bengal]
- Sections: Bant, Gorait, Jathot, Kasyapa, Mandar, Marar, Mukhiya, Pandit, Panre, Parihar, Raut [H.H. Risley]
