Abadhutani
This article is an extract from
THE TRIBES and CASTES of BENGAL. Ethnographic Glossary. Printed at the Bengal Secretariat Press. 1891. . |
NOTE 1: Indpaedia neither agrees nor disagrees with the contents of this article. Readers who wish to add fresh information can create a Part II of this article. The general rule is that if we have nothing nice to say about communities other than our own it is best to say nothing at all.
NOTE 2: While reading please keep in mind that all articles in this series have been scanned from a very old book. Therefore, footnotes have got inserted into the main text of the article, interrupting the flow. Readers who spot scanning errors are requested to report the correct spelling to the Facebook page, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be duly acknowledged.
Abadhutani
A.badhuti, a mem¬ber of a sect of female ascetics said to have been founded by a woman named Gangagiri: hence in Upper India the term A badhuti is commonly applied to all female religious mendicants. Abadhu¬tanis smear themselves with the ashes of burnt cowdung and wander about begging their way on the great pilgrim routes. With few exceptions, they lead an im¬moral life. It should be observed, however, that they are excluded from the pangats or societies of the male Abadhuts, and that an Abadhutani can only be initiated by a woman.
