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social rules.

12. Occu- tional occupation, but the bulk of them are now cultivators pation and and labourers. Many of them are farmers of villages in the zamīndāris. Rautias weave ropes and make sleeping-cots, but the other Kawars consider such work to be degrading. They have the ordinary Hindu rules of inheritance, but a son claiming partition in his father's lifetime is entitled to two bullocks and nothing more. When the property is divided on the death of the father, the eldest son receives an allowance known as jithai over and above his share, this being a common custom in the Chhattisgarh country where the Kawars reside. The tribe do not admit outsiders with the exception of Kaurai Rāwat girls married to Kawars. They have a tribal panchayat or committee, the head of which is known as Pardhān. Its proceedings are generally very deliberate, and this has led to the saying: "The Ganda's panchayat always ends in a quarrel; the Gond's panchayat cares only for the feast; and the Kawar's panchayat takes a year to make up its mind." But when the Kawars have decided, they act with vigour. numerous goats as fines for the caste feast, and these, with fried urad, form the regular provision. Liquor, however, is only sparingly consumed. Temporary exclusion from caste is imposed for the usual offences, which include going to jail, getting the ears split, or getting maggots in a wound. The last is the most serious offence, and when the culprit is readmitted to social intercourse the Dhobi (washerman) is employed to eat with him first from five different plates, thus taking upon himself any risk of contagion from the impurity which may still remain. The Kawar eats flesh, fowls and pork, but abjures beef, crocodiles, monkeys and reptiles. From birds he selects the parrot, dove, pigeon, quail and partridge as fit for food. He will not eat meat sold in

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market because he considers it halali or killed in the Muhammadan fashion, and therefore impure. He also refuses a particular species of fish called rechha, which is black and fleshy and has been nicknamed 'The Teli's bullock.' The higher subtribes have now given up eating pork and the Tanwars abstain from fowls also. The Kawars will take food only from a Gond or a Kaurai Rāwat, and Gonds will also take food from them. In appearance and

II

OCCUPATION AND SOCIAL RULES

403

manners they greatly resemble the Gonds, from whom they are hardly distinguished by the Hindus. Dalton1 described them as "A dark, coarse-featured, broad-nosed, wide-mouthed and thick-lipped race, decidedly ugly, but taller and better set up than most of the other tribes. I have also found them a clean, well-to-do, industrious people, living in comfortable, carefully-constructed and healthily-kept houses and well dressed."

Of their method of dancing Ball 2 writes as follows: "In the evening some of the villagers-Kaurs they were I believe entertained us with a dance, which was very different from anything seen among the Santāls or Kols. A number of men performed a kind of ladies' chain, striking together as they passed one another's pronged sticks which they carried in their hands. By foot, hand and voice the time given by a tom-tom is most admirably kept."

1 Ethnology, pp. 136, 137.

2 Jungle Life in India, pp. 315, 316.

1. General notice and legend of origin.

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Kayasth,1 Kaith, Lāla.—The caste of writers and village accountants. The Kayasths numbered 34,000 persons in 1911 and were found over the whole Province, but they are most numerous in the Saugor, Damoh, Jubbulpore and Narsinghpur Districts. In the Maratha country their place is to some extent taken by the Prabhus, the Maratha writer caste, and also by the Vidūrs. No probable derivation of the name Kayasth appears to have been suggested. The earliest reference to Kayasths appears in an inscription in Malwa dated A.D. 738-739. The inscription is of a Maurya king, and the term Kayasth is used there as a proper noun to mean a writer. Another dated A.D. 987 is written by a Kayasth named Kanchana. An inscription on the Delhi Siwālik pillar dated A.D. 1164 is stated to have been written by a Kayasth named Sispati, the son of Mahava, by the king's command. The inscription adds that the Kayasth was of Gauda (Bengal) descent, and the term Kayasth is

1 This article is based partly on papers by Munshi Kanhya Lāl of the Gazetteer office, Mr. Sundar Lāl, Extra

Assistant Commissioner, Saugor, and
Mr. J. N. Sil, Pleader, Seoni.

PART II

THE ORIGIN OF THE CASTE

405

here used in the sense of a member of the Kayasth caste
and not simply meaning a writer as in the Malwa inscrip-
tion.1 From the above account it seems possible that the caste
was of comparatively late origin. According to their own
legend the first progenitor of the Kayasths was Chitragupta,
who was created by Brahma from his own body and given
to Yama the king of the dead, to record the good and
evil actions of all beings, and produce the result when they
arrived in the kingdom of the dead. Chitragupta was called
Kayastha, from kaya stha, existing in or incorporate in the
body, because he was in the body of Brahma. Chitragupta
was born of a dark complexion, and having a pen and
ink-pot in his hand. He married two wives, the elder being
the granddaughter of the sun, who bore him four sons, while
the younger was the daughter of a Brahman Rishi, and
by her he had eight sons.
princesses of the Naga or snake race; the Nāgas are
supposed to have been the early nomad invaders from
Central Asia, or Scythians. The twelve sons were entrusted
with the government of different parts of India and the
twelve subcastes of Kayasths are named after these localities.

These sons were married to

origin of

There has been much discussion on the origin of the 2. The Kayasth caste, which now occupies a high social position the caste. owing to the ability and industry of its members and their attainment of good positions in the public services. All indications, however, point to the fact that the caste has obtained within a comparatively recent period a great rise in social status, and formerly ranked much lower than it does now. Dr. Bhattacharya states: 2 "The Kayasths of Bengal are described in some of the Hindu sacred books as Kshatriyas, but the majority of the Kayasth clans do not wear the sacred thread, and admit their status as Sūdra also by the observance of mourning for thirty days. But whether Kshatriya or Sūdra, they belong to the upper layer of Hindu society, and though the higher classes of Brahmans neither perform their religious ceremonies nor enlist them among their disciples, yet the gifts of the Kayasths are usually accepted by the great Pandits of the

1 Hindus of Gujarāt, p. 59, quoting from Ind. Ant. vi. 192-193.
2 Hindu Castes and Sects, p. 175.

"2

country without hesitation." There is no doubt that a hundred years ago the Kayasths of Bengal and Bihār were commonly looked upon as Sūdras. Dr. Buchanan, an excellent observer, states this several times. In Bihār he says that the Kayasths are the chief caste who are looked upon by all as pure Sūdras and do not reject the appellation.1 And again that “Pandits in Gorakhpur insist that Kayasths are mere Sūdras, but on account of their influence included among gentry (Ashraf). All who have been long settled in the district live pure and endeavour to elevate themselves; but this has failed of success as kindred from other countries who still drink liquor and eat meat come and sit on the same mat with them." Again he calls the Kayasths the highest Sūdras next to Vaidyas.3 And "In Bihār the penmen (Kāyasthas) are placed next to the Kshatris and by the Brahmans are considered as illegitimate, to whom the rank of Sūdras has been given, and in general they do not presume to be angry at this decision, which in Bengal would be highly offensive.1 Colebrooke remarks of the caste: "Karana, from a Vaishya by a woman of the Sudra class, is an attendant on princes or secretary. The appellation of Kayastha is in general considered as synonymous with Karana; and accordingly the Karana tribe commonly assumes the name of Kāyastha ; but the Kayasthas of Bengal have pretensions to be considered as true Sūdras, which the Jātimāla seems to authorise, for the origin of the Kayastha is there mentioned before the subject of mixed castes is introduced, immediately after describing the Gopa as a true Sudra."5 Similarly Colonel Dalton says: "I believe that in the present day the Kayasths arrogate to themselves the position of first among commoners, or first of the Sūdras, but their origin is involved in some mystery. Intelligent Kāyasths make no pretension to be other than Sūdras." 6 In his Census Report of the United Provinces Mr. R. Burn discusses the subject as follows: "On the authority of these Puranic accounts, and in view of the fact that the Kāyasths observe certain of the

1 Eastern India, i. p. 162.

2 Ibidem, ii. p. 466.

3 Ibidem, ii. p. 736.

4 Ibidem, ii. p. 122.

5 Essays, vol. ii. p. 182.

6 Ethnology of Bengal, pp. 312, 313. 7 United Provinces Census Report (1901), pp. 222-223.

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