Mahar: Deccan
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Mahar
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 |
Mahar, Mhar, Dher, Bhumia (guide), Yesker (gate-keeper), Taral (watchman), ' Dharni che put ' (sons of the soil) — form, like the'Malas of Telingana, the great labouring caste of the Marathawada country and are found in every village of the province.
History
They are without doubt the oldest inhabitants of the country and are a distinctly aboriginal race with dark skins and rough features. They are generally tall, strong and muscular. They have probably given their name to Maharashtra, which is derived by some as ' Maha Rashtra ' or the country of the Mahars.
The Mahar. is, as he claims to be, an indispensible factor of village life. " He is the very first man appealed to, whether it be about a murder or a robbery, a burglary or a boundary dispute. He is the incarnation of the traditions and history of his village and, though he is despised and condemned to live outside the village, fearful of letting his defiling shadow fall on the Brahman, the latter well knows he can do nothing without him. He holds lands — the worst in the village — on hereditary tenure and is entitled by prescrip- tion to certain grain allov.'ances. A stranger or a traveller comes — ' Maharala bolawa ' (call the Mahar). A robbery occurs — ' Maharas vichara ' (ask the Mahar). Who owns this field ? What are the boundaries? 'Maharas mahit ahe' (the Mahar knows) — and so on." "In all Maharashtra there is no class on the whole so reliable, so trusty, so honest, so hard-working as the Mahar. Ask any British officer of any service, who makes the best ghorawalla, or horse- keeper, or who was his most reliable servant. The answer will be, "the Mahar.' "
The derivation of the name ' Mahar ' is uncertain, but it may have been the tribal name of one of the aboriginal races. Several legends are current regarding their origin. According to one, they are one of the four cow-bom castes, and when the cow asked her sons how they would treat her when she died, the first threef answered that they would worship her, but the fourth said he would bear her inside of him. The honor struck brothers called him ' Mahahar ' (great eater) which was abbreviated into Mahar. Another story states that while Parvati was bathing, her touch turned some drops of blood on a bel leaf [/Egle Marmelos) into a handsome babe. The child was named Mahamuni by Mahadeva. One day, it crawled out of the house and seeing a dead cow began to eat it. Mahadeva was horrified, cursed him and condemned him to live on the outskirts of villages and to eat carcasses, and called him Mahahar, or great eater. Internal Structure — The Mahars are divided into several sub- castes, the members of which neither interdine nor intermarry. In the Aurangabad Subah the chief sub-castes are : Somas, Andhwans and Tilwans. The Somas, or Somawanshas, claim to be of the highest dignity, professing to derive their name from ' Soma ' or the moon. The members of the sub-caste regard the pig with traditional reverence, neither killing the animal nor eating its flesh. The oath of the pig is also deemed very sacred by them. The Andhwans say they came from Berar and their name suggests a connection with Andhs, the Hinduised brand of Gonds. They are said to have been descended from a widow. The members of the sub-caste hold the tiger in extreme reverence, regarding an oath on it as binding. The affinities of the Tilwans cannot be traced. In the Adilabad District two sub-castes appear to exist ' Mahar Winker,' also called Bamaniya Mahars,' who are weavers by profession, and ' Ladwan Mahars.' who are supposed to be immigrants from ' Lat,' a name by which the tract of country round Broach (Gujerat) was known in ancient times. The Mahar Jangams, also found in Adilabad, are an offshoot from the Mahar Winkers. The members of this sub-caste profess to be Lingayits in creed and act as money-lenders and bankers to the Raj Gond and Kolam tribes of the hilly tracts. Besides these sub-castes, there are others, such as Anant Kule (descended from a Mahar Murli), Bavne, Bavise, Dharmik and Pans, all of whom are found in very small numbers in these dominions. The section names of the caste are not totemistic, but are either territorial or refer to some act on the part of their founders.
Among all the sub-castes the law of exogamy is strictly observed and a man cannot marry a woman belonging to his own section. A man may marry the daughter of his mother's brother or father's sister, but he cannot marry the daughter of his mother's sister. Two brothers may marry two sisters.
Marriage
Generally, Mahar girls are married as infants and adult marriage is resorted to only in cases where the girl's parents are too poor to get her married before she has reached the age ol puberty. It is customary to dedicate girls to Khandoba and such are subsequently called Murlis. Among the Aurangabad Mahars, the marriage ceremony is of the orthodox type and conforms to the rites common among the Maratha Kunbis. A Mahar Gosavi officiates as priest. During the ceremony, the bridegroom is wrapped in a black blanket. The Mahar Winkers follow the usage current among the Khaira Kunbis of Adilabad. The Ladwan Mahars tacitly tolerate sexual intercourse between unmarried people, but if the girl becomes pregnant her lover is compelled to marry her. Their marriage ceremony comprises several usages of special interest.' After the preliminary negotiations have been completed and a bride-price of Rs. 11 has been paid to the parents of the girl, an auspicious day for the marriage is fixed by consulting a Brahman. Previous to the wedding, and before the marriage booth is erected, a small shed of mango twigs is constructed in the innef courtyard of the house. Beneath this shed d square of jaWari flour is drawn and sprinkled over with k'l^kp'^ and gulal powders. Before this square are placed five dough lamps, five dry dates, a like number of areca nuts and betel- leaves. A sheep, smeared over with turmeric and decked with flower wreaths, is sacrificed over the shed, so that its blood trickles down through the mango twigs over the square of jaWari flour beneath. The whole is subsequently removed and thrown outside the house and the spot is smeared clean with cowdung. This singular cere- mony is known as Anganadevi. On the wedding day, five married couples are made to observe a fast and to take their meals at evening, out of the same plate. This is called Ohorpitar. The wedding takes place at night, at the bridegroom's house, and, as the auspicious hour for the ceremony arrives, some sesamum oil is poured into ihe noses of the bride and of the bridegroom and they are made to stand facing each other, the bride on a low wooden stool and the bride- groom on a yoke, and a Mahar Joshi unites them in wedlock by sprinkling jaWari grains over their heads.
Widow-Marriage
In point of polygamy, the Mahars profes.s that a man is allowed to take as many wives as he can afford to maintain. A widow is allowed to marry again and, except among the Ladwan Mahars and the Mahar Winkers, she is not required to marry her late husband's younger or elder brother. But, in such cases, she forfeits all claims to the custody of her children by her late husband. The ceremony in use at the marriage of a widow is simple, consisting of the smearing of the couple with turmeric powder and the tying of their garments into a knot. The bridegroom then puts a string of glass beads round the bride's neck and the ceremony is concluded.
Divorce
Divorce is permitted on the ground of the wife's unchaslity, or if the couple cannot get on together. A divorced woman may niarry again, but not before her first husband has recovered the amount he spent on her as a virgin.
Inheritance
In matters of inheritance, the Mahars follow the Hindu law.
Religion
The religion of the Mahars is in a transitory state, passing from primitive animjsm into popular Hinduism. Their prin- cipal deity is Mari Ai (the goddess of cholera) to whom fowls, sheep, and buffaloes are offered in the month of Ashadha and on festive occasbns. On full and new moon days, the spirits of deceased ancestors are propitiated in the form of taks, or embossed images on silver or copper plates. Among their other gods may be mentioned Masoba, Khandoba, Bhairoba, Chokhoba, Chedoba, Bhavani and Mesai. Votaries of all sects are found among them and, as Saivaits, they worship Mahadeva, under the presidency of Mahar Jangams, and, as Warkaris, they worship Vithoba of Pandharpur (the incarna- tion of Vishnu) and his consort Rakhamai. Some of them belong to the Manbhao sect and a few are the followers of Kabir. The disciples of Chokhamela wear round their necks garlands of the tuhi plant (Ocimxim sanctum) and beads and dance and sing songs in honour of the saint. These make pilgrimages to Alandi in the Poona and Pandharpur in the Sholapur Districts. The Saivait Mahars visit the temple of Mahadeva at Shinganapur in the Satara District. The Mahars have spiritual advisors, or gurus, belonging to their own caste, whose advice they are required to take. Both boys and girls, before they are a year old, are taken to the guru with a cocoanut, some grains of rice, flowers and frankincense. The child's father marks the teacher's brow with sandal paste, worships him and presents him with the articles. The guru then takes the child on his knee and whispers into his right ear some mantras or mystic words. At this time, the priest either covers himself and the child with a cloth, or a curtain is held between them and the rest of the people. The Mahars have a strong belief in witch-craft and sorcery and ascribe all diseases and calamities to the working of ghosts and evil spirits. When a person is believed to be possessed by a spirit, exorcists are engaged to lay the possessing spirit. Usually, Brahmans take n« part in the religious and ceremonial observances of the caste and either the head of the household officiates as priest or a professional Mahar mendicant, a Jangam, or a Joshi, is called in. Occasionally, how- ever, Deshastha Brahmans are employed at the marriage ceremony.
Child-Birth
A Mahar woman, after child-birth, is unclean for eleven days. On the fifth day after birth, a silver image repre- senting the goddess Satwai is set up on<a stone slab and worshipped with offerings of flowers and sweet food, and a feast is provided in her honour for five married women whose husbands are living. On the 12th day the mother and the child are bathed and the mother places, in the name of Satvvai, five stones under a tree, daubs them with red lead and burns frankincense before them. She smears the child's forehead with frankincense and ashes invoking the goddess to protect the child, walks three times round the stones and returns home. For the first three days after birth the mother is given a mixture of ' katbol ' (gum mynh) and leaves of nim {Melia mdica) and is fed on a diet of strained millet mixed with oil and molasses ; from the fifth she takes her ordinary food. On the fourth day the mother begins to suckle the child.
Disposal of the Dead
The dead are usually buried, but occasionally burnt. Persons dying of cholera and small pox and those dying unmarried are buried. In the case of cremation, the ashes and bones are collected on the 3rd day after death and thrown into a river. Mourning is observed ten days for adults and three days for children or distant relatives. No Smdha is performed in honour of the deceased person.
Social Status
The Maha stands at the bottom of the Hindu caste system. He lives on the outskirts of the village and his touch is deemed unclean by ail the respectable classes. The regular village servants decline to serve him, as they consider themselves defiled by his touch ; the caste is required to provide itself with barbers and washermen from among its own members. Although the Mahar occupies the lowest position in the Hindu community, he claims to be superior to Bhangis and Mangs and does not eat from the hands of Buruds, Mangs, Mochis and Bhangis. His ideas on food are in keeping with his degraded position. He eats beef, mutton, fowl, fish and the flesh of the buffalo, horse, deer, field rat, crocodile and of animals wh'ich have died a natural death ; but he abstains from pork and the flesh of the dog, the ass and the crow ; he also eats the leavings of all respectable classes and indulges freely in strong drinks.
Occupations
Mahars are the predial slaves of villages and either hold grants of rent-frae lands or receive grain allowances, or Bakta, for the services tbey render. Their public duties as Yeskers, or Veskers, are to watch the boundaries and the village office, to carry iaovernment letters, to repair the village office and village gate (gaon-kosa), to sweep the village roads, and to serve as guides to Government officers passing through the village. The Mahars of a village either divide these duties among them, or serve at the village office in turn for one year, distributing the produce of the land amongst themselves. Their private services consist in cutting fire- wood, carrying letters and sweeping and cleaning court-y£u:ds in front of houses, and for these duties they are paid in cash or in cooked food. They have a monopoly of the village dead animals, of the shrouds used in covering the village dead and of the copper coins cast as largess in the name of the dead. Many Mahars have entered the native army and have risen to the rank of Jamadars and Subedars. Others are engaged by Europeans as domestic servants and grooms. They are also labourers, carriers of dead animals, culti- vators, scavengers, sellers of firewood, messengers and beggars. Mahar women, besides attending to their home duties, help the men in the field, but not in carrying or skinning dead animals. Many are engaged as day labourers.
