Patni, Patuni, Patauni, Dom-Patni,
Contents |
Patni, Patuni, Patauni, Dom-Patni,
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 basket-making, trading, and cultivating caste of Eastern Bengal, whose
dark complexion, short and muscular frame, snub nose, and expanded
nostrils stamp them as of Dravidian descent. They are, says
Dr. Wise, very reserved and uncommunicative, but there can be little
doubt they were originally Doms. In Rangpur, and throughout
the valley of the Brahmaputra, they are still designated Dom-Patni,
and in Bengal this is applied to them as a term of abuse. Their other
titles are Gangaputra, Gbat-manjhl, or simply Manjhl.
Origin
According to some authorities they are descended from a Rajaka, or wash erman, and a woman of the Vaisya caste. Patnis, however, claim to be the off¬spring of Madhava, who ferried Rama across a river on his way from Ayodhya to Mithila, and relate how Madhava, having witnessed the resuscitation of Ahalya, was afraid to transport the god to the other bank until he had extracted the promise that Bama would sit on the gunwale with his feet in the water. The simplicity of this ferryman was remarkahle. When Rama landed, Madhava com-plained that the colour of the boat had been changed to a hideous yellow, and that he was ruined. The l'eply was that the ferry¬boat had been converted into pure gold, and as a punishment for the Patni's stupidity Bama announced that his descendants would always be ferrymen, and that he himself would after death become the ferryman of the Vaitarani, or Hindu Styx. Another fiction in the history of the Patois pertains to the reign of Ballal Sen. The monarch became enamoured of a ferryman's daughter named Padma-vatl, and married her. At the feast Pakas¬pm'sa, when the bride cooks and the bridpgroom for the first time eats from her hands, the Patnis, with inborn obtuseness, and to the great grief of the queen, presented themselves at the elld of the festival. For this misconduct they were degraded and enrolled among the Niclta or low castes.
Internal structure
The Patnis are divided into five sub-castes-Jat-Patn i, who are agriculturists and small traders, usually keeping shop as mudis or grocers; Ghat-Patn i, Salami or Ghatwal, who work as boatmen and take charge of ferries; Dom-Patni, Machhwa, or Nagarchi, who fish, keep pigs, and get casual employment as musicians at weddings aud festivals of various kinds; Sansphor and Dagara, who huot, manufactUl'e sieves and baskets of cane, and tie the framework of kancha houses. The last two, from the nature of their pursuits, are more or less nomadic, making only temporary settlements in neat round huts of Si1'lci, which they build on the outskirts of villages near rivers. All the sub-castes are endogamous. The Dom-Patnis are said to admit outsiders into their sub-caste on condition of undergoing a degrading ceremony, one feature of which is that the proselyte must drink water in which the others have washed their feet. The exogamous sections of the Patnis shown in Appendix I appear to be for the most part of the tenitorial type, and do throw no light upon the tribal affinities of the caste. It deserves notice that one of the sections bears the name Tentulia, which also denotes one of the Bagdi sub-castes. The prohibited degrees are much the same as with other low-caste Hindus.
Marriage
Patnis marry their daughters as infants by the standard ceremony. A bride-price (pan) is pai~ by the parents of the bridegroom to those of the bride. Polygamy is recognized in theory, but rarely resorted to in practice. Widows are not allowed to many again, and divorce is not permitted. Traces of widow-maniage still survive among the Patnis of Noakhali, but even there the custom is looked upon as disreputable, and seems likely soon to die out.
Religion
In religious and ceremonial observances Patnis conform on the whole to the practice of orthodox low-caste Hindus. They employ Patita or Varna Brah¬mans, who generally assume pompous titles, such as Chakravartti and the like, by way of covering the degradation incurred by serving the Patni as priests. The Gosains, on the other hand, who act as the gurus of the caste, are received on equal terms by other Brahmans. Most Patnis belong to the Saiva sect, whose tenets involve little interference with their flesh-eating and spirit. drinking propensities. Only a few Vaishnavas are to be found among them, except in N oakhali, where Vaishnavism is the prevalent faith, and the Patnis give to it a nominal adherence, which does not, however, prevent them {Tom indulging their tastes in matters of food and drink.
Disposal of the dead
The dead are burned, and sraddh is performed on the thirty-first day a ter deat. Like most Hindu boatmen, they invoke the Panch Pir on embarking or when overtaken by a storm. The chief religious festival is the Ganga Puji, and Patnis never enter upon the work of a ferry without first sacrificing a white kid to the river goddess. They also propitiate Pavan, the Hindu ruler of the winds, with offerings of salt, sugar, milk, and ganja.
Social status
In point of social status Patnis rank with Jeliyas, Malos, and the fisbing Kaibarttas. Brahmans will not take water from their hands. and they have barbers and washermen of their own caste, as the regular Napit and Dhoba will not work for them. They consider, however, that they have raised themselves in the social scale by prohibiting the remaniage of widows, and in various small matters they ape the prejudices of the higher castes. For example, they will caulk a boat, but deem it derogatory to paint it, and though they indulge freely in intoxicating drinks, they will never own to doing so.
Notes
This is one of the utterly vile castes of Bengal, living in the outskirts of villages near rivers, where their neat and tidy hovels always attract attention. They are very reserved and uncommunicative, but there can be little donbt they were originally Doms. In Rangpur, and throughout the valley of the Brahmaputra, they are still designated Dom-Patni, and in Bengal this is applied to them as a term of abuse. Their other titles are Gangaputra, Ghat-manjhi, or simply Manjhi.
According to some authorities they are descended from a Rajaka, or washerman, and a woman of the Vaisya caste. Patnis, however, claim to be the offspring of Madhava, who ferried Rama across a river on his way from Ayodhya to Mithila, and relate how Madhava, having witnessed the resuscitation of Ahalya, was afraid to transport the god to the other bank until he had extracted the promise that Rama would sit on the gunwale with his feet in the water. The simplicity of this ferryman was extraordinary. When Rama landed, Madhava complained that the colour of the boat had been changed to a hideous yellow, and that he was ruined.
The reply was that the ferry-boat had been converted into pure gold, and as a punishment for his stupidity Rama announced that his sons would always be ferrymen, and that he should, after death, become the ferryman of the Vaitarani, or Hindu Styx.
Another fiction in the history of the Patnis pertains to the reign of Ballal Sen. The monarch became enamoured of a ferryman's daughter, named Padma-vati, and married her. At the feast "Pakasparsa," when the bride cooks, and the bridegroom for the first time eats from her hands, the Patnis, with inborn obtuseness, and to the great grief of the queen, presented themselves at the end of the festival. For this misconduct they were degraded, and enrolled among the Nicha, or low castes.
The Patnis are chiefly massed in Eastern Bengal, there being as many as 41,855 in Silhet, 21,726 in Mymensingh, 19,691 in Kachar, 6,305 in Tipperah, and 4,695 in Dacca. Their aggregate number in Bengal is 127,636, of whom 102,728, or 80 per cent, are returned as residents of the nine eastern districts.
The Patni is peculiar to Bengal, the Ghatwal, ferryman, of Hindustan, being usually one of the Mallah caste. Besides acting as a ferryman the Patni often trades, or keeps a grocer's shop, but he neither fishes nor cultivates the soil in the Bikrampur part of Dacca, although in the north he is generally a peasant. Many still breed swine, but never admit doing so. The Patni caulks boats, and is very expert at manufacturing sieves and baskets of ratan.
In Silhet the Patni caste has four subdivisions, having no fellowship with each other:�
1. Jat Patni, who are cultivators, and "Modis," or grocers.
2. Balami, or Ghat Patni, are ferrymen.
3. Naqarchi are musicians.
4. Machhwa are fishermen.
The caste Brahman is a Patit, who generally assumes a pompous title, such as Chakravarti. The barber and washerman are always members of their own caste, as the Sudra workmen refuse to act for them. The Sraddha is celebrated after thirty days, and wives are impure for one month after childbirth.
The chief festival is the Ganga Pujah, and Patnis never enter upon the work of a ferry without first of all sacrificing a white kid to the river goddess. They also propitiate Pavana, the Hindu Aeolus, with offerings of salt, sugar, milk, and Ganjha. The majority worship Siv, eating flesh and drinking spirits, but a few Vaishnavas are to be met with.
Like most Hindu boatmen, on embarking, or when overtaken by a storm, they utter the following invocation:�
"Sar Ganga, darya, Panch Pir, Badr, rakhya Karo."
A Muhammadan boatman, under similar circumstances, shouts�
"Allah, Nabi, Ghazi Sahib, Panch Pir, Badr, rakhya Karo."
Patnis generally combine and farm a ferry for one of their number, exhibiting the same remarkable reliance on each other's honesty as is displayed by other natives when lending money.
All Patnis belong to an Aliman gotra, and the headman is styled Pradhan, or Paramanik. Widow marriage is not observed nowadays; and in many other social matters they affect the manners of the Sudras. For example, they will caulk a boat, but it would be derogatory to paint it, and they freely indulge in intoxicating liquors, although it is sinful to own to it.
The Patni is usually a short, squat, and very muscular man. His nose is snub, with the nostrils expanded, and being, like other non-Aryan tribes, very fond of coloured turbans and ornamented jackets, his appearance is striking and peculiar.
