Laheri, Lahera
Contents |
Laheri, Lahera
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 and internal structure
A Behar caste engaged in the manufacture and sale of lac bangles (lah ka churi). The group is probably a functional one consisting of members of several different castes who happened to adopt that particular profession. In Behar it is divided into two sub-castes-Dakhinha and Tirhutia-residing respectively north and north of the Ganges. '1'here are two sections,-Kasi and Mahuria. Prohibited degrees are reckoned by the standard formula calculated to seven generations in the descending line.
Marriage
Laheris admit both infant and adult-marriage, but regard the former practioe as the more respectable. The ceremony is of the standard type, but no tilak is paid to the parents of the bridegroom. Polygamy is resorted to only in the event of the first wife proving barren. Widows are allowed to marry again by the sagai form. In such cases it is deemed right and proper for a woman to marry her late husband's younger brother if one has survived him, but she is under no positive obligation to do so. A. faithless wife can be divorced by establishing her guilt before a panchayt. If, however, the offence . has been committed with a member of the caste, it is usually condoned on payment of a fine in the form of a feast given to the heads of the caste. Adultery with an outsider involves instant expulsion from the community.
Inheritance
In deciding questions of inheritance and succession the caste profess to be guided by the Mitakshara, which is the personal law of most Hindus in Behar. Disputes, however, rarely go beyond the panchayat, a highly primitive tribunal, which cannot be credited with very precise knowledge of the written law. To this circumstance, no doubt, we owe the preservation among their scanty customs of the usage known in the Panjab as chundavand, by which the sons, however few, of one wife take a share equal to that of the sons, however many, of another. I n applying this rule no distinction is drawn between the status of the wives, and the sons of a wife married by the sagai form get the same share as the sons of a woman who was married as a virgin by the regular ceremony.
Religion
Laheris consider themselves to be orthodox Hindus, and regard Bhagavati as the deity whom they are more especially bound to worship. Tirhutia Brahmans serve them as priests, and do not suffer in social esteem by so doing. Their' functions, however, extend only to attendance at maniages and watching over the observances due to the greater gods of the Hindu Pantheon. The minor deities, Bandi and Goraiya, are worshipped by the heads or families themselves without the assistance of Brahmans. Goats, wheaten cakes, milk, and sweet¬meats form the usual offerings, which are afterwards eaten by the mem bel's of the household.
Social status and occupation
In point of social standing the Laheris rank with Koiris aud Kurmis, and Brahmans will take water from their hands. Besides their original occupation of making lac bracelets, many of them are engaged in cultivation as occupancy raiyats. As a rule, however, they will not guidfl the plough with their own hands, and none of them are found in the lower grad'es of the agricultural system. The following statement shows the number and distribution of the Laheri caste in 1872 and 1881 :¬
