The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India (Volume I)

R. V. Russell

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India (Volume I)

R. V. Russell

Alpha Editions    

Copyright © 2018

ISBN : 9789352979899

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher. The views and characters expressed in the book are of the author and his/her imagination and do not represent the views of the Publisher.  

 

Contents PREFACE

-1-

Part I Introductory Essay on Caste

-5-

1. The Central Provinces.

-5-

2. Constitution of the population.

-7-

3. The word ‘Caste.’

-8-

4. The meaning of the term ‘Caste.’

-9-

5. The subcaste.

- 10 -

6. Confusion of nomenclature.

- 11 -

7. Tests of what a caste is.

- 13 -

8. The four traditional castes.

- 13 -

9. Occupational theory of caste.

- 14 -

10. Racial Theory.

- 16 -

11. Entry of the Aryans into India. The Aryas and Dasyus. - 17 12. The Sūdra.

- 19 -

13. The Vaishya.

- 24 -

14. Mistaken modern idea of the Vaishyas.

- 26 -

 

15. Mixed unions of the four classes.

- 27 -

16. Hypergamy.

- 28 -

17. The mixed castes. The village menials.

- 29 -

18. Social gradation of castes.

- 30 -

19. Castes ranking above the cultivators.

- 32 -

20. Castes from whom a Brāhman can take water. Higher agriculturists.

- 34 -

21. Status of the cultivator.

- 40 -

22. The clan and the village.

- 41 -

23. The ownership of land.

- 43 -

24. The cultivating status that of the Vaishya.

- 48 -

25. Higher professional and artisan castes.

- 48 -

26. Castes from whom a Brāhman cannot take water; the village menials.

- 51 -

27. The village watchmen.

- 54 -

28. The village priests. The gardening castes.

- 55 -

29. Other village traders and menials.

- 58 -

30. Household servants.

- 59 -

31. Status of the village menials.

- 61 -

32. Origin of their status

- 62 -

 

33. Other castes who rank with the village menials. - 64 34. The non-Aryan tribes.

- 65 -

35. The Kolarians and Dravidians.

- 67 -

36. Kolarian tribes.

- 67 -

37. Dravidian tribes.

- 70 -

38. Origin of the Kolarian tribes

- 70 -

39. Of the Dravidian tribes.

- 73 -

40. Origin of the impure castes.

- 74 -

41. Derivation of the impure castes from the indigenous tribes.

- 78 -

42. Occupation the basis of the caste system.

- 79 -

43. Other agents in the formation of castes.

- 81 -

44. Caste occupations divinely ordained.

- 82 -

45. Subcastes. local type.

- 83 -

46. Occupational subcastes.

- 85 -

47. Subcastes formed from social or religious differences, or from mixed descent.

- 86 -

48. Exogamous groups.

- 88 -

49. Totemistic clans.

- 90 -

50. Terms of relationship.

- 93 -

 

51. Clan kinship and totemism.

- 95 -

52. Animate Creation.

- 97 -

53. The distribution of life over the body.

- 100 -

54. Qualities associated with animals.

- 102 -

55. Primitive language.

- 103 -

56. Concrete nature of primitive ideas.

- 105 -

57. Words and names concrete.

- 108 -

58. The soul or spirit.

- 111 -

59. The tranmission of qualities.

- 113 -

60. The faculty of counting. Confusion of the individual and the species.

- 117 -

61. Similarity and identity.

- 120 -

62. The recurrence of events.

- 122 -

63. Controlling the future.

- 125 -

64. The common life.

- 128 -

65. The common life of the clan.

- 131 -

66. Living and eating together.

- 134 -

67. The origin of exogamy.

- 135 -

68. Promiscuity and female descent.

- 136 -

 

69. Exogamy with female descent.

- 138 -

70. Marriage.

- 143 -

71. Marriage by capture.

- 144 -

72. Transfer of the bride to her husband’s clan.

- 146 -

73. The exogamous clan with male descent and the village. - 149 74. The large exogamous clans of the Brāhmans and Rājpūts. The Sapindas, the gens and the γένος.

- 152 -

75. Comparison of Hindu society with that of Greece and Rome. The gens.

- 154 -

76. The clients.

- 156 -

77. The plebeians.

- 157 -

78. The binding social tie in the city-states.

- 157 -

79. The Suovetaurilia.

- 159 -

80. The sacrifice of the domestic animal.

- 160 -

81. Sacrifices of the gens and phratry.

- 162 -

82. The Hindu caste-feasts.

- 163 -

83. Taking food at initiation.

- 165 -

84. Penalty feasts.

- 166 -

85. Sanctity of grain-food.

- 167 -

 

86. The corn-sprit.

- 168 -

87. The king.

- 171 -

88. Other instances of the common meal as a sacrificial rite.

- 174 -

89. Funeral feasts.

- 175 -

90. The Hindu deities and the sacrificial meal.

- 176 -

91. Development of the occupational caste from the tribe. - 178 92. Veneration of the caste implements.

- 181 -

93. The caste panchāyat and its code of offences.

- 183 -

94. The status of impurity.

- 186 -

95. Caste and Hinduism.

- 187 -

96. The Hindu reformers.

- 189 -

97. Decline of the caste system.

- 191 -

Articles on Religions and Sects Arya Samāj

- 204 -

1. The founder of the sect, Dayānand Sāraswati.

- 204 -

2. His methods and the scientific interpretation of the Vedas.

- 205 -

3. Tenets of the Samāj.

- 206 -

4. Modernising tendencies.

- 208 -

 

5. Aims and educational institutions.

- 208 -

6. Prospects of the sect.

- 210 -

Brahmo Samāj

- 211 -

1. Ram Mohan Roy, founder of the sect.

- 211 -

2. Much esteemed by the English.

- 212 -

3. Foundation of the Brahmo Samāj.

- 212 -

4. Debendra Nāth Tagore.

- 213 -

5. Keshub Chandar Sen.

- 213 -

6. The Civil Marriage Act.

- 214 -

7. Keshub Chandar’s relapse into mysticism.

- 215 -

8. Recent history of the Samāj.

- 217 -

9. Character of the movement.

- 217 -

Dādupanthi Sect.1

- 219 -

Dhāmi, Prannāthi Sect.

- 221 -

Jain Religion

- 223 -

1. Numbers and distribution.

- 223 -

2. The Jain religion. Its connection with Buddhism. - 223 3. The Jain tenets. The Tirthakars.

- 225 -

4. The transmigration of souls.

- 226 -

 

5. Strict rules against taking life.

- 226 -

6. Jain sects.

- 227 -

7. Jain ascetics.

- 228 -

8. Jain subcastes of Banias.

- 230 -

9. Rules and customs of the laity.

- 230 -

10. Connection with Hinduism.

- 231 -

11. Temple and car festival.

- 232 -

12. Images of the Tirthakārs.

- 233 -

13. Religious observances.

- 235 -

14. Tenderness for animal life.

- 236 -

15. Social condition of the Jains.

- 237 -

Kabīrpanthi

- 239 -

1. Life of Kabīr.

- 239 -

2. Kabīr’s teachings.

- 242 -

3. His sayings

- 243 -

4. The Kabīrpanthi Sect in the Central Provinces. - 245 5. The religious service.

- 246 -

6. Initiation.

- 248 -

7. Funeral rites.

- 248 -

 

8. Idol worship.

- 249 -

9. Statistics of the sect.

- 250 -

Lingāyat Sect

- 252 -

Muhammadan Religion

- 255 -

1. Statistics and distribution.

- 255 -

2. Occupations.

- 256 -

3. Muhammadan castes.

- 257 -

4. The four tribal divisions.

- 258 -

5. Marriage.

- 259 -

6. Polygamy, divorce and widow-remarriage.

- 261 -

7. Devices for procuring children, and beliefs about them. - 261 8. Pregnancy rites.

- 262 -

9. Childbirth and naming children.

- 262 -

10. The Ukīka sacrifice.

- 263 -

11. Shaving the hair and ear-piercing.

- 263 -

12. Birthdays.

- 265 -

13. Circumcision, and maturity of girls.

- 265 -

14. Funeral rites.

- 265 -

 

15. Muhammadan sects. Shiah and Sunni.

- 267 -

16. Leading religious observances. Prayer.

- 269 -

17. The fast of Ramazān.

- 270 -

18. The pilgrimage to Mecca.

- 271 -

19. Festivals. The Muharram.

- 272 -

20. Id-ul-Fitr.

- 273 -

21. Id-ul-Zoha

- 273 -

22. Mosques.

- 274 -

23. The Friday service.

- 275 -

24. Priests, Mulla and Maulvi.

- 275 -

25. The Kāzi.

- 276 -

26. General features of Islām.

- 276 -

27. The Korān.

- 278 -

28. The Traditions.

- 278 -

29. The schools of law.

- 279 -

30. Food.

- 280 -

31. Dress.

- 280 -

32. Social rules. Salutations.

- 282 -

33. Customs.

- 283 -

 

34. Position of women.

- 284 -

35. Interest on money.

- 285 -

36. Muhammadan education.

- 286 -

Nānakpanthi

- 289 -

1. Account of the sect.

- 289 -

2. Nānakpanthis in the Central Provinces.

- 291 -

3. Udasis.

- 291 -

4. Suthra Shāhis.

- 292 -

Parmārthi Sect

- 294 -

Pārsi or Zoroastrian Religion

- 296 -

1. Introductory.

- 296 -

2. The Zoroastrian religion.

- 296 -

3. The Zend-Avesta.

- 297 -

4. The Zend Avesta and the Vedas.

- 298 -

5. Reasons for the schism between the Persian and Indian Aryans.

- 299 -

6. The dual principles and the conflict between good and evil.

- 300 -

7. The dual principle derived from the antagonism of light and darkness.

 

- 302 -

8. The Zoroastrians in Persia.

- 303 -

9. Their migration to India and settlement there.

- 304 -

10. Their wealth and prosperity.

- 305 -

11. Marriage customs.

- 306 -

12. Religion. Worship of fire.

- 307 -

13. The Homa liquor.

- 308 -

14. Pārsi priests.

- 308 -

15. The sacred shirt and cord.

- 309 -

16. Disposal of the dead.

- 309 -

17. Previous exposure of the dead, and migration of souls. - 311 18. Clothes, food and ceremonial observances.

- 312 -

Saiva, Shaiva, Sivite Sect

- 315 -

Sākta, Shakta Sect

- 319 -

Satnāmi

- 322 -

1. Origin of the sect.

- 322 -

2. Ghāsi Dās, founder of the Satnāmi sect.

- 322 -

3. The message of Ghāsi Dās.

- 324 -

4. Subsequent history of the Satnāmis.

- 324 -

 

5. Social profligacy.

- 326 -

6. Divisions of the Satnāmis.

- 327 -

7. Customs of the Satnāmis.

- 327 -

8. Character of the Satnāmi movement.

- 328 -

Sikh Religion

- 332 -

1. Foundation of Sikhism—Bāba Nānak.

- 332 -

2. The earlier Gurus.

- 333 -

3. Guru Govind Singh.

- 334 -

4. Sikh initiation and rules.

- 335 -

5. Character of the Nānakpanthis and Sikh sects.

- 337 -

6. The Akālis.

- 338 -

7. The Sikh Council or Guru-Māta. Their communal meal. - 339 Smārta Sect

- 341 -

Swāmi-Nārāyan Sect

- 342 -

1. The founder.

- 342 -

2. Tenets of the sect.

- 342 -

3. Meeting with Bishop Heber.

- 343 -

4. Meeting with Governor of Bombay.

- 344 -

 

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