Hajam
Contents |
Hajam
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 synonym for Bhan¬dari.
Hajam
Origin
Nai, NfLu, NaufL, the barber caste of Behar, larly supposed to have been specially created by Viswakarma for the convenience of Mahadeva. There are seven sub-castes-Awadhia, Kanaujia or Biahut, Tirhutia, Sribastab or Bastar, Magahiya, Bangali, and Turk¬Na uwa. Of these, the Awadhia claim to have come From Oudh; the Kanaujia From Kanauj ;theTirhutia are located on the north, and the Magahiya on the south of the Ganges; the Bangali are immigrants From Bengal into the border districts of Behar; and the Turk-Nauwa are Muhammadans.
Internal structure
The sections
Of the awadhia and kanaujia subcaste are . shown in Appendix I. Most of them are of the territorial type. The former observe a highly complex system of exogamy, which forbids marriage into the sections to which the following relatives belong :-(1) :Father, (2) paternal grand-mother, (3) paternal great¬grand-mothers, (4) paternal great-great-grand-mothers; (5) mother, . . maternal grand-mother, (7) maternal great-grand-mq,thers. In applying these rules to a particular case, the double method of reokoning explained in the article on Bais is resorted to; so that if one of the bridegroom's paternal great-great-grand-mothers should have belonged to the same section as one of the bride's great-grand¬mothers, the marriage will be disallowed, although the bride and bridegroom themselves belong to different sections. The other sub¬castes appear either to have no sections or to have borrowed a few • Mr. N esfield calls the Hindu barber Napit, and says that the name H ajam is confined to the Muhammadan barber. This, however, is not the case in Behar. . of the Brahmanical gotras. AU observe the standard formula for determining prohibited degrees, calculated to seven, or, in the case of the Awadhia, to four generations in the descending line.
Marriage
With rare exceptions, Hajams marry their daughters as infants, and ordinarily pay a smail bridegroom-price (tiletl,,), varying with the means and relative status of the families. The ceremony is of the standard type, sindzw¬dan being considered the essential and binding portion. Polygamy is permitted if the first wife be barren, but even in this case a man may not have more than two wives. He may marry his wife's younger sister dming the former's life-time, but not an elder sister. In all the sub-castes, except the Biahut and Sribastab, widows may marry again, and are restricted by no positive conditions in their selection of a second husband, though it is considered right and proper for a widow to marry her deceased husband's younger brother if there is one. Divorce is not generally recognised by the Hajams of Behar; a faithless wife is tmned adrift and ceases to be a member of the caste. In Palamau, the Santal Parganas, and parts of Darbhanga adultery by the wife and incompatibility of temper are admitted as grounds of divorce. A panchayat is summoned to deci.de the question, and if cause is shown for a divorce a stick is solemnly snapped in two, a leaf torn, or an earthen vessel broken in pieces to symbolise the ruptme of the marriage bond. Divorced wives may marry again by the sagai form.
Religion
The Religion of the caste does not differ materially from the average Hinduism of the middle classes in Behar. Kanaujia or Srotri Brahmans serve them as priests, and are received on equal terms by other members of the sacred order. In addition to the minor gods recognised throughout Behar, the head of a Hajam household worships Baniram or Gaiyan with offerings of castrated goats, molasses, sweetmeats, betel leaves, and ganja. Dharm Das, said to have been a Hajam himself, is also worshipped in similar fashion. The dead are burned, and the ceremony of 81'(iddh is performed on the thirteenth day after death. Periodical libations (ta1'jJan) are offered in the month of Asin for the benefit of deceased ancestors.
Social status
The social standing of the caste is respectable, and Brah¬ mans will take water from their hands. They themselves will eat kachchi food prepared by Brahmans, Raj puts, Babhans, and high-caste Banias, and will take pakki articles from members of those castes from whom Brahmans will receive water. Their own rules regarding diet are the same as are followed by most orthodox Hindus, but they are believed not to be very particular as to the use of spirituous liquors.
Occupation
The importance of the place taken by the barber in the consti¬ tution of the Hindu village community and the religious sanctions on which many of his functions depend are well brought out by Mr. N esfield in the follow¬ing remarks ;¬ "Every child after the age of six months or a year undergoes the ceremony of having its head for the fhst time touched with the u 2 razor. This is a ceremony of no little importance in the eyes of a Hindu, and is called chum karan. It is performed in the presenoe of some deity, or rather in that of his image, who is beli.eved hence¬forth to take the child under his speoial patronage. The cutting off of the birth-hair is believed to remove the last traoe of the congenital taint inherited from the maternal womb, and henoe the ceremony has the same significanoe as that of a baptismal or lustral I•ite. The oustom of cutting off the birth• hair has been widely practised among baokward races elsewhere, and is not at all confined to the natives of India. The germs of the barber caste may therefore have existed in times before the Aryan had appeared.
"In funeral ceremonies the Na.pit plays an important part. He shaves the head and pares the nails of the dead preparatory to cremation. He shaves the head of the man who puts the first light to the pyre. Ten days afterwards he shaves the head of every member of the household. By this time, after taking a final bath, they are purified of the contagion of death.
"In the celebration of marriage oeremonies he acts as the Brahman's assistant, and to the lowest castes or tribes, who oannot employ a Brahman, he is himself the matrimonial priest. The important part he plays in marriage ceremonies has led to his becom¬ing the match-maker among all the respeotable castes. It is he who hunts out the boy, finds out whether his clan or caste is marriageable with that of the girl, settles the prioe to be paid on both sides, takes the horosoopes to the Brahman to be oompared, so as to see if the stars are favourable, ca.rries the presents from one house to the other, and so forth. His funotion as match-maker is not an . unimportant on..e in a state of society in which the rules of caste have imposed endless restrictions on the freedom of ma.rriage.
" Hhaving is not the only service that he is expected to render to his constituents. He is the ear-cleaner, nail• cutter, oupper, and bleeder, etc. In sbort, he performs any kind of operation on the body of man that requires a sharp knife, from shaving a beard to lancing a boiL He might therefore be fitly styled a barber-surgoon. In this double capacity he is the exact counterpart of the barber-surgeons of mediawal Europe, out of whom the modern medical profession has sprung. His wife acts as nurse to the mother and child for the last six days of the confinement. During the first six days they are in charge of the midwife-some woman of the less respected castes of ChamaI', Dhanuk, or others. She also pares the nails of the new¬born cbild, and receives a fee for doing so." In Behar the Hajam is sent round with invitations to weddings and funerals, and announces the birth of a cbild to the relations in the neigh¬bOUl'hood. For this he gets a small fee, which is higher. in the case of a first-born child, especially if it be a son.
The ordinary charge for shaving is one pice, but the regular village barber gets a variety of periodical perquisites, and does not oharge by the job. Among these perquisites Mr. Grierson mentions I kha1'~oan, an armful of the crop given at harvest-time; kel'a, a smaller bundle; and pU1'i, three handfuls. Many Hajams, besides practising their hereditary functions, are also cultivators themselves, but none of them appear to have risen above the status of ~ooupancy raiyats. In some parts of the country they hold tenures granted to them rent-free or at a quit-rent by the local zamindars as remuneration for their professional services. In the Chota Nagpur estate such tenures go by the name of bhiUana, a term which includes the holdings bestowed upon table-servants, gold and silversmiths, grooms, clwbdars or mace-bearers, palanquin-bearers, kluiMs or men¬dioants, and prostitutes. While actually in attendance on the Raja, all these people usually received a small daily allowance in addition to the proceeds of their tenures. These lands are not alienable by the holders, and are believed to be liable to resumption when service is no longer required. In the Pachet estate in Manbhum, these petty cluikaran are usually rent•free, but in a few they are subject to a very small quit-rent or muglwti.jama. .
Social status of Turknauwas
The turk-nauwa or Muhammadan barber is not so intimately associated with religious offices as his Hindu Social status of Turk-namesake, and holds a far lower social position.
His services are not indispensable, and he is therefore less independent and wayward than the Hindu barber is popularly supposed to be. Musicians (Sajunia) used formerly to be selected from among Muhammadan barbers, but of late the two classes have been gradually separating.. Like barbers in other cuuntries, they dabble in medicine and surgery; consequently they are often styled Shed i, from their skill in extracting worms from decayed teeth, and Mas-Kata, from circumcising boys. In many parts of the country they are also the Abdal, who geld bulls; but any Mussulman peasant will castrate kids. When not otherwise employed, they cultivate the soil. Their women sell mant7•{(s, or magical formuloo, against toothache, earache, and neuralgic pains; and prepare liniments to cure colic and other internal disorders.
The following statement shows the number and distribution of
Hajams in 1872 and 1881:¬
