Nunia, Noniyan
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Nunia, Noniycm
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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A Dravidian caste of Behar and Upper . . India engaged in cultivation, saltpetre-making, Orlgm. and various kinds of earthwork. The caste Beem to have no traditions except of a silly story that the Awadhia are descended from an ascetic named Bidur Bhakat, who broke his fast on salt earth, and being thereby disqualified for the higher life of meditation, was condemned by Ham Chandra to betake himself to the manufacture of saltpetre. This throws small light on the origin of the Nunias. It seems, however, to be generally believed that they are closely connected with the Binds and the Beldars, and I venture the conjecture that the Binds may be the modern representatives of an aboriginal tribe from which the Nunias have branched off as saltpetre-makers and the Beldars as earth-workers. All three groups are now endogamous. The hunting and fishing proclivities of the Binds seem to suggest that they are the oldest of the three, while the totemistic sections of the Nunias stamp them as Dravidian.
The Beldars are probably a more recent offshoot, but the fact that the name Beldar (mattock-bearer) is assumed by members of any caste when employed on earthwork renders it difficult to determine their precise affinities.
Internal structure
The Nunias of Behar are divided iuto seven sub-castes :-Awadhia or Ayodhiabasi,Bhojpuria, Kharaont, Maghaya, Orh, Pachainya or Chauhan, and Semarwar. Their sections, which are given in Appendix I, appear to be for the most part totemistic. A man may not marry a woman belonging to his own section, but no other sections are barred to him; and the rule of simple exogamy is supplemented by the standard formula mameni, chachera, etc., already quoted. It deserves notice that intermalTiage in the cltachera line is forbidden as long as any relationship can be traced, while in the other three lines the prohibition only extends to three or, as some say, to five generations. All Nunias who can afford to do so marry their daughters as infants, adult-marriages being considered unfashionable, if not dis-reputable. Polygamy is permitted, but it is unusual to find a man with more than two wives; and I gather, although there is no distinct rule on the subject, that practice is held to be j usti6.ed only by the necessity of procuring offspring. Widows are allowed to marry again by the sagai form, and are subject to no restrictions in their choice of a second husband except those arising from consanguinity. It is considered, however, right for a widow to marry her deceased husband's younger brother. Divorce is effected on grounds of adultery or incompatibility of temper by the order of the caste council (panchayat). A divorced woman may marry again by the sagai form unless she has gone wrong with a man of another caste-an offence which entails summary expulsion.
Marriage
Tirhutia Brahmans serve the Nunias as priests, and officiate at their marriages. The marriage ceremony is of the standard type. The bridegroom-price (tilak) is fixed by custom at a sum varying from He. 1 to Hs. 5 and a pail' of dhotis. After the marriage the bl'idA does not go with the bartit to her husband's house, but sttlys with her parents until she attains puberty, when her hu band goes to fetoh her with a few of his friends and brings her home in prooession (dim gawau) . Consummation is not effeoted until after this oeremony. Kwadhiya Nunias have a curious custom called tismtiui shtidi, which requires that tbe bride and bridegroom shall be held off the ground during the marriage ceremony.
Religion
In matters of religion the Nunilis follow the ordinary forms of Hinduism current in Behar. Most of them are Saktas, and there are said to be comparatively few Vaishnavas in the caste. Bhagavatiji is their favourite goddess. Bandi, Goraiya, and Sitala are worshipped on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. There are no deities specially worshipped by women and children, but women take part in the worship of Sitala. Sannyasi fakirs are the gurus of the caste. 'The dead are burned, and srtiddh performed on the thirteenth day after death. The asbes are thrown into any river that may be handy. The bodies of children dying under five years of age are buried¬a point wherein Nunias depart from the usual custom, which is to bury after eighteen months.
Occupation
The caste believe the extraction of salt and saltpetre from saline earth to be their original occupation, and it is possible, as has been suggested above, that they may have broken off from the Binds by reason of their adopting this profession. At the present day we find them also employed in road-making, tank-digging, well sinking, building and thatching houses, and all kinds of agricultural field labour. Many of them also hold lands of their own, and a few have gained a more secure position as occupancy raiyats. Nuni:is who have no land often wander about during the dry season in search of work, and build small grass huts for temporary shelter. None of them are artisans. In Bengal, according to Dr. Wise, Nunili.s readily obtain service with Gotilas or other clean Sudras, but refuse to work as labourers 01' domestic servants with low-caste families.
Social status
The social standing of Nnuilis seems to vary in different parts, and does not admit of very precise definition. In Patna, Mozufferpur, and parts of Monghvr they rank with Kurmis, Koiris, Kumhars etc., and Brahmans will take water and certain kinds of sweetmeats from their hands. In Bhagalpur, Purniah, Champarun, Shahabad, and Gya they are placed on the same level as Tantis, and none of tbe higher castes will take water from them. In addition to the various kinds of food that are lawful for Hindus of the middle class, Nunias eat field-rats and pork, and drink fermented and spiritnous liquors. It is significant of the Nunias' point of view in such matters that they think little of Bhakats, who practise small forms of asceticism by abstaining from certain kinds of food and drink; and I am informed that very few Bhakats are found among them. The following statement shows the number and distribution of Nunias in 1872 and 1881 :¬
