Pardhi: Deccan
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Pardhi
This article is an extract from THE CASTES AND TRIBES OF H. E. H. THE NIZAM'S DOMINIONS BY SYED SIRAJ UL HASSAN Of Merton College, Oxford, Trinity College, Dublin, and Middle Temple, London. One of the Judges of H. E. H. the Nizam's High Court of Judicature : Lately Director of Public Instruction. BOMBAY THE TlMES PRESS 1920 Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees |
Pardhi — game snarers and fowlers'to be- found in the Districts of Aurangabad, Bir, Parbhani, Nander, Raichur, Usmanabad and Gulbarga. They are also frequently met with in Hyderabac^ city, where they are engaged chiefly as fruit-sellers and bird-snarers. They belong to the great predatory Bawari tribe of Gujerath, scattered under different appellations all over India.
The Pardhis are a fine race of men with a physiognomy peculiar to themselves and very similar to that of the Northern India people. They cut the hair of their head only once when quite young and never again touch it with razor or scissors. About their necks they wear necklaces of onyx beads. The dress of the men is very scanty, consisting of a piece of cloth round the loins and a ^turban on their heads. Occasionally a white sheet is thrown over their shoulders. The females used to wear 'laingas' (skirts), but time and intercourse with Marathi speaking people have brought about a gradual change in their dress, and they now wear the sari and choli of the Maratha type. They have their bodies tattooed in different designs.
The Pardhis of the Hyderabad Dominions are divided into two classes, (1) Pal or Langota Pardhis and (2) Chitewale or Phansi Pardhis, the former regarding themselves superior to the latter and never intermarrying or interdining with them. The Pal or Langoti Pardhis are a wandering people, so called as they wear a 'langoti or loin cloth sufficient only to cover their nakedness, and put up under pels or huts made of coarse cloth. They snare birds, deer, jackals, peacocks and other small game, but to snare 'chitas' or leopards is regarded by them as derogatory. To catch animals and birds they use horse hair nooses and bird-lime.
Chittawale Pardhis, or snarers of ' chetas ' (hunting leopards), are also a wild-looking vagrant group with extremely untidy appear- ance and live under trees, they catch ' chetas ' with nooses and sell them to Rajas and chiefs, by whom they are often engaged for the purpose of supplying them with these animals.
Internal Structure
Pardhis are broken up into exogamous sections based upon the pattern of Maratha family names. Some of them are — Pawar, Dongle, Jadhava, Chavana, Kare. Marriages witliin the same section are forbidden. A man may marry the daugh- ter of his maternal uncle. Two sisters may be married to the same man, provided that the elder is married first.
Marriage
Pardhi girls' are married after they are fully grown up. Sexual intercourse before marriage is tacitly recognised and if a girl becomes pregnant, arrangements are made to marry her to the father of her child. A bride is purchased for a price which sometimes amounts to Rs. 80. Polygamy is recognised and, in theory, no limi- tation is imposed upon the number of wives a man may have. The wedding takes place at midnight at the bride's house in a booth made of Jambui (Eugenia jambalanum) posts, covered with mango (Magni- jera indica) leaves, underneath which an earthen platform is built. The initiative is taken by the bridegroom's father and, after preliminary negotiations have been completed to the satisfaction of both parties, a cup of spirits is given to each of the company present as a symbol of confirmation of the match. The ceremony begins with the sacrifice of a sheep to their patron goddess Mari Ai (the deity presiding over cho- lera), a portion of the blood is sprinkled over the stone representing the goddess and the remainder is drunk by the persons present. On the wedding day the bride and bridegroom are bathed in their own houses, their hands, feet and faces are daubed with turmeric and their fore- heads are adorned with 'Bashingams' which are made of 'pipal' leaves (Ficus religiose) and decked with '\eta}(i and cotton blossoms. In the shades of night the bridegroom proceeds on foot to the bride s house under a moving canopy of cloth held aloft by four men on bamboo sticks. He is accompanied by his friends and relations and immediately behind him march his sisters bearing, in their hands, earthen jars covered with lighted lamps. On their arrival at the bride's house, a sort of resistance is offered to them by the bride's Darty, who hold a long pole transversely to bar their progress. After a mock fight of a few minutes tfie bridegroom is allowed to slip in and get hold of the bride by the hand. Immediately after this. a barber ties the garments of the bridal pair in a knot, which constitutes the essential portion of the ceremony. This highly primitive usage is followed by rituals of an ordinary character. A Brahmin is called in for their cele- bration and lies thread bracelets on the wrists of the couple and 'mangalsutra (auspicious string of black beads) round the bride's neck. Last of all the bridegroom maiches five times round the bride and smears vermilion on the parting of her hair. Bpth the bracelets and the knot are then solemnly untied by the barber and the wedded pair return in procession to the bridegroom's house.
Widow-Marriage
Widow marriage is permitted and it is in- cumbent on a widow to marry her late husband's younger brother or failing him, the nearest younger agnatic relative of her husband. The ceremony is simple and consists in tying the clothes of the pair in a knot by a barber.
Divorce
Divorce is allowed and, in the case of a divorced woman marrying a second time, her first husband 'is entitled to recover from her second husband the amount he paid to her parents as bride-- price.
Inheritance
In matters of inheritance and succession the Pardhis aifect to follow the Hindu Law of Inheritance and the pro- perty is divided into equal shares among the sons.
Religion
Pardhis are still animistic in their creed and worship Mari Ai, the cholera goddess, as their favourite and characteristic deity. On the 1 0th of the light half of Aswin (October) the goddess is worshipped with offerings of goats and the offerings are subsequently divided among the worshippers. They also worship the forms of their departed ancestors engraven on silver or copper plates. The tiger is held in special reverence by the members of the tribe.
Disposal of the Dead
The dead sre buried in a lying pos- ture with the head to the south. After life is extinct, the body is washed and borne, on hands, to the burial ground. The grave is filled in after the corpse has been laid into it. Along with the corpse are buried a quantity of sugar, rice and tobacco with a view to the dis- embodied soul feeding on them and not returning to earth. Two flat stones, daubed with red lead, are laid on the grave, one at the feet of the corpse and the other at its head. Two days later, the relations move to another Ivxality and then perform a sort of ceremony resembl- ing the Hindu sradha. Five earthen pots, each filled with water, and covered with* a concave earthen lid, are smeared with ^U77^um and connected by a cotton thread. On each of these vessels is placed a ball of wheaten flour and the whole is worshipped in the name of the deceased and subsequently thrown away. Some time within two years 'from the^ date of^ death, as suits his convenience, the chief mourner is required to .visit the grave and offer a goat as a sacrifice 'to the spirit of the deceased. After this the form of the departed person is engraved on a silver plate, added to others of a like nature and worshipped on every festive occasion.
Social Status
Being a wandering tribe of foreign origin, the rank of Pardhis in the local social system cannot be definitely placed. Their touch, however, is not regarded as unclean by the higher castes and they ate allowed to draw water from the wells used by high caste people and t0;«get their heads shaved by the village barber.. They eat the leavings ol> Brahmins.
Occupation
Since the game laws came into force, the Pardhis have been compelled to abandon their original profession and follow other pursuits. They never cultivate lands but work as day-labourers.
