Vaisya
This article is an extract from
THE TRIBES and CASTES of BENGAL. Ethnographic Glossary. Printed at the Bengal Secretariat Press. 1891. . |
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Vaisya
It has been the opinion of most writers on the castes of Eastern India, that the Vaisya no longer exists. Ward2 says that they have become blended with the Sudras; Buchanan3 identifies them with the Bania caste; Mr. Beames4 regards the caste as extinct with the exception of a small body of Bais Banias in Oudh, whose claim, however, is disputed by some; and Mr. Beverley5 in the census report, expresses the opinion that the claims of any trading class to be considered pure Vaisyas are "absolutely worthless."
In the Bhowal Parganah of Dacca, and at Jahangirpur in the Mymensingh portion of Bhowal, a considerable colony of persons calling themselves Vaisyas, and recognised as such by the higher castes, has been settled from time immemorial. A few families are also to be met with at Chat Mohur in the Raj-shahi district.
The duties devolving on the Vaisya caste, according to Menu, were agriculture, trade, and attendance on cattle; but its members were likewise expected to understand the proper seasons for sowing seed, the qualities of different soils, the prices of gems, cloth, iron, coral, and perfumes, and the ordinary weighs and measures.
The progenitor of the caste is said to have sprung from the thigh of Brahma, hence the synonyms of "Uravya" and "Uruja." The other names of the caste are "Arya," Bhumisprik, Vit, Dvija, Vanik, Bhumijivi, Vyanaharta, Vartika, and Panik.
The Vaisyas of Eastern Bengal can give no account of themselves, nor do they possess any traditions of their original home.
They deny that Ballal Sen ruled over, or reorganised them, and boast that no honorary titles inherited from ancestors serving the Muhammadan government survive. For these reasons they regard themselves as exceptionally pure, having lived uncontaminatd amid the changes of the country.
The Vaisyas are generally short and squat, some having fine aquiline noses and prominent superciliary ridges, while others have broad cheek bones, badly formed chins and lower jaws. Their physignomy suggests cunning combined with intelligence, but many exhibit the inanimate vacant expression so common among Bengali low castes.
The Vaisyas have relinquished many of the peculiar duties enjoined by Menu, though still wearing the sacred cord, composed of three strands knotted together, and another disconnected one of three threads, called "Utari." The ceremony of tonsure, "Chuda-Karman," is observed before the thirteenth year, not postponed to the twenty-fourth after conception, as laid down by Menu, and on this occasion the youth is invested with the Brahmanical cord. Vaisyas repeat the whole of the Gayatri, but the Brahmans assert, that at the present day few know more than three-fourths of it, and not having full permission to bestow a blessing on the Sudras they twist the "Poita" round the right thumb, and holding the right hand on a level with the navel confer the usual benediction. Vaisyas are permitted to read one of the four Vedas, and that always followed is the Yajur-veda. Each household celebrates by itself the Saligram, Chakra, and Vishnu Pujahs, although Brahmans dispute their right to do so, without requiring the services of the Guru, or Purohit, who are Srotriya Brahmans. In creed the caste is a Vaishnava one, yet a few Sakra worshippers are met with. The Vaisyas formerly committed the heinous sin, in Hindu eyes, of marrying in their own "gotra," but of late years, in order to stay the scandal, new "gotras" have been formed. The most common are�
Aliman, Madhu Kuliya,
Kasyapa, Katyayana.
Sandilya,
1 Annual Report on the Administration of the Bengal Presidency for 1865-6, p. 27.
2 Vol. i, 65, 91.
3 "Eastern India," vol. i, 161; ii, 735.
4 Elliot's "Supplemental Glossary," vol. i, 166.
5 Census Report for 1872, p.171.
They have no peculiar titles, but Gupta is often added to their names, while individuals employed as assistants to merchants frequently assume the surname of Biswas,1 literally a
1 In Puraniya Biswas means a storekeeper, while in Dacca Bhandari is used in the same sense.holder of one-fourth share. Menu affirms that the first part of a Vaisya name should indicate wealth, the second prosperity; but the Bengali Vaisyas have ceased conforming to this rule, and the names ordinarily met with are Ram, Kamar, Dev Narayana, Sitala Chandra, or Ram Gopala, to which the surname Vaisya is always appended.
A Vaisya was of old allowed to marry a Sudra woman as his second wife, but this custom, owing to the hard times of modern life, has died out.
Baidyas and Kayasths residing within the Ballali country refuse to touch food prepared by the Vaisyas, but those living beyond the limits readily do so.
The Vaisya is generally a tolerable Bengali scholar, but few learn English, as it entails expense, and delays the young from starting in life. In Mymensingh a few enter government employ, but the majority are Wakils, Mukhtars (attorneys), Tahsildars, and Amins, or land surveyors. Formerly the cultivation of the soil was general, but nowadays holding a plough is considered dishonourable, while managing a harrow is admissible.
When a Vaisya meets a Brahman he does not, like other Hindus, make the salutation "Pranama," as the Brahman bestows his benediction without it. Among Vaisyas the period of impurity after a death is fifteen days. All the Hindu festivals are observed by them, but the favourite one is that in honour of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.
