The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India

By
R.V. Russell
Of the Indian Civil Service Superintendent of Ethnography, Central Provinces
Assisted by
Rai Bahadur Hira Lāl
Extra Assistant Commissioner

Published Under the Orders of the Central Provinces Administration
In Four Volumes
Vol. II.
Macmillan and Co., Limited St. Martin’s Street, London.
1916

Contents of Volume II

Articles on Castes and Tribes of the Central Provinces in Alphabetical Order

The articles which are considered to be of most general interest are shown in capitals

Agaria (Iron-worker) 3
Agharia (Cultivator) 8
Aghori (Religious mendicant) 13
Ahīr (Herdsman and milkman) 18
Andh (Tribe, now cultivators) 38
Arakh (Hunter) 40
Atāri (Scent-seller) 42
Audhelia (Labourer) 45
Badhak (Robber) 49
Bahna (Cotton-cleaner) 69
Baiga (Forest tribe) 77
Bairāgi (Religious mendicants) 93
Balāhi (Labourer and village watchman) 105
Balija (Cultivator) 108
Bania (Merchant and moneylender) 111

Subcastes of Bania

Banjāra (Pack-carrier) 162
Barai (Betel-vine grower and seller) 192
Barhai (Carpenter) 199
Bāri (Maker of leaf-plates) 202
Basdewa (Cattle-dealer and religious mendicant) 204
Basor (Bamboo-worker) 208
Bedar (Soldier and public service) 212
Beldār (Digger and navvy) 215
Beria (Vagabond gipsy) 220
Bhaina (Forest tribe) 225
Bhāmta (Criminal tribe and labourers) 234
Bharbhūnja (Grain-parcher) 238
Bharia (Forest tribe) 242
Bhat (Bard and genealogist) 251
Bhatra (Forest tribe) 271
Bhil (Forest tribe) 278
Bhilāla (Landowner and cultivator) 293
Bhishti (Water-man) 298
Bhoyar (Cultivator) 301
Bhuiya (Forest tribe) 305
Bhulia (Weaver) 319
Bhunjia (Forest tribe) 322
Binjhwār (Cultivator) 329
Bishnoi (Cultivator) 337
Bohra (Trader) 345
Brāhman (Priest) 351
Subcastes of Brāhman
Ahivāsi.

Jijhotia.

Kanaujia, Kanyakubja.

Khedāwāl.

Mahārāshtra.

Maithil.
Mālwi.

Nāgar.

Naramdeo.

Sanādhya.

Sarwaria.

Utkal.
Chadār (Village watchman and labourer) 400
Chamār (Tanner and labourer) 403
Chasa (Cultivator) 424
Chauhān (Village watchman and labourer) 427
Chhīpa (Dyer and calico-printer) 429
Chitāri (Painter) 432
Chitrakathi (Picture showman) 438
Cutchi (Trader and shopkeeper) 440
Dahāit (Village watchman and labourer) 444
Daharia (Cultivator) 453
Dāngi (Landowner and cultivator) 457
Dāngri (Vegetable-grower) 463
Darzi (Tailor) 466
Dewār (Beggar and musician) 472
Dhākar (Illegitimate, cultivator) 477
Dhangar (Shepherd) 480
Dhānuk (Bowman, labourer) 484
Dhanwār (Forest tribe) 488
Dhīmar (Fisherman, water-carrier, and household servant) 502
Dhoba (Forest tribe, cultivator) 515
Dhobi (Washerman) 519
Dhuri (Grain-parcher) 527
Dumāl (Cultivator) 530
Fakīr (Religious mendicant) 537

Illustrations in Volume II

31. Aghori mendicant 14
32. Ahīrs decorated with cowries for the Stick Dance at Diwāli 18
33. Image of Krishna as Murlidhar or the flute-player, with attendant deities 28
34. Ahīr dancers in Diwāli costume 32
35. Pinjāra cleaning cotton 72
36. Baiga village, Bālāghāt District 88
37. Hindu mendicants with sect-marks 94
38. Anchorite sitting on iron nails 98
39. Pilgrims carrying water of the river Nerbudda 100
40. Coloured Plate: Examples of Tilaks or sect-marks worn on the forehead 102
41. Group of Mārwāri Bania women 112
42. Image of the god Ganpati carried in procession 116
43. The elephant-headed god Ganpati. His conveyance is a rat, which can be seen as a little blob between his feet 120
44. Mud images made and worshipped at the Holi festival 126
45. Bania’s shop 128
46. Banjāra women with the singh or horn 184
47. Group of Banjāra women 188
48. Basors making baskets of bamboo 210
49. Bhāt with his putla or doll 256
50. Group of Bhīls 278
51. Tantia Bhīl, a famous dacoit 282
52. Group of Bohras at Burhānpur (Nimār) 346
53. Brāhman worshipping his household gods 380
54. Brāhman bathing party 384
55. Brāhman Pujāris or priests 390
56. Group of Marātha Brāhman men 392
57. Group of Nāramdeo Brāhman women 396
58. Group of Nāramdeo Brāhman men 398
59. Chamārs tanning and working in leather 416
60. Chamārs cutting leather and making shoes 418
61. Chhīpa or calico-printer at work 430
62. Dhīmar or fisherman’s hut 502
63. Fishermen in dug-outs or hollowed tree trunks 506
64. Group of Gurujwāle Fakīrs 538

Pronunciation

a, has the sound of	u in but or murmur.
ā has the sound of	a in bath or tar.
e has the sound of	é in écarté or ai in maid.
i has the sound of	i in bit, or (as a final letter) of y in sulky.
ī has the sound of	ee in beet.
o has the sound of	o in bore or bowl.
u has the sound of	u in put or bull.
ū has the sound of	oo in poor or boot

The plural of caste names and a few common Hindustāni words is formed by adding s in the English manner according to ordinary usage, though this is not, of course, the Hindustāni plural.

Note.—The rupee contains 16 annas, and an anna is of the same value as a penny. A pice is a quarter of an anna, or a farthing. Rs. 1–8 signifies one rupee and eight annas. A lakh is a hundred thousand, and a krore ten million.

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