Population. any other article on the road, and make the bhagat presently state where it was buried, and what the article was. On arriving at the bhagat's residence, he tells each man his name, class, "gote," and denomination; that he knows that they have come to inquire what has caused the illness of the person (mentioning his name and caste) who is suffering. This he must do directly after the salaams are exchanged, and before the others speak again. A relative of the sick man now places a rupee before a lighted wick, the bhagat takes it up, looks steadily at it, and begins to sway about, make contortions of the face and body, &c., whilst the goddess Mariái (Máhá Káli) is supposed to have entered his body. He now puts down the rupee, and, being inspired, commences to state the date and hour on which the sick man got ill, the nature of the complaints, &c., and in an indignant tone asks them why they buried a certain article (mentioning it) on the road. Sometimes they acknowledge he is a true bhagat now, but generally the men call for further proofs of his abilities. A goat in kid is then brought, the bhagat mentions the sex of, and any distinguishing marks on, the kid; the goat is then killed, and if he has guessed right the deputation becomes clamorous, and requires the name of the sorceress. But the bhagat keeps them waiting now, and goes on to mention the names of other people residing in their tánda, their children, and sometimes the names of any prized cows or bullocks; he also tells the representative of the sufferer what family he has married into, &c. On this the latter presents his nazar-this was fixed at Rs. 25 formerly, but greed dictates the sum now, which is often as much as Rs. 40. The bhagat now begins chanting some song, which he composes as he goes on, and introduces into it the names of the different families in the tánda, having a word or two to say about each. The better portion get vile abuse, are called a bad lot, and disposed of quickly; but now he assumes an ironical appearance, begins to extol the virtues of a certain family, becomes facetious, and praises the representative of that family who is before him. All know now that the sorceress is a member of this family; and its representative then puts numberless questions to the bhagat relative to his family and connections, his worldly goods, and what gods he worships; the name of the sorceress he calls for; inquires who taught her jádú; and how and why it was practised in this particular instance. The business is now closed by a goat being killed and offered up to Birolia, and then all return to their tanda. Even now the man may refuse to acknowledge this bhagat, and will if the sorceress be a wife or daughter to whom he is attached, should he have money to take the business on to another tribunal. But as he has to pay the expenses of all the men who accompany him, all cannot afford to question a bhagat's decision. Sometimes the man will tell his wife, if he is certain she will obey him, to commit suicide; and as she knows full well the punishment is death, and that she must meet it in some form almost at once, when thus enjoined she will obey generally. Otherwise, the husband, with a witness or two, taking advantage of the first opportunity when she has left the tánda, kills and buries her, with all her clothing and ornaments. They then return to the tánda. A "panch" forms, the witnesses declare the business has been completed satisfactorily, and the husband may or may not agree to the judgment of the "panch" with regard to his pecuniary liabilities. He has to pay all the expenses of the deputation; by the bhagat is fined Rs. 100 or 150; and if he has refused to do the deed himself, and others have had to do The Chárans are all Deists. There are Hindú gods they worship Religion. Nának as the propagandist of their religion. Gúru Nának is supreme; but they worship Báláji, Mariái (Máhá Káli), Tulja Devi, Siva Bhaia, Mittú Bhúkia, and Satti. There are smaller gods worshipped also, but the above are the only ones generally worshipped by the Chárans of Berár. They have heard of Sivadás, but do not worship him as the men of the Telinga country and Central Provinces do. The reason is seen at a glance. Ours is the Ráthor country, those parts belong mostly to the Burthia class; in fact, the Telinga country is entirely theirs, and Sivadás was a Burthia, not a Ráthor, I believe. The oath most sacred to them is taken in the name of Siva Bhaia, a holy man who resided at Pohora,* where there are still temples, I believe, to Siva Bhaia and Mariái, and where a nephew of Siva Bhaia, by name Súka Bhaia, still officiates. There are a number of bhagats, of varied celebrity, to whom they go on any serious difficulties; otherwise their own náiks, or the naik to whom the former is subordinate, adjudicates. There is a hut set apart in nearly every tánda, and devoted to Mittú Bhúkia, an old freebooter. No Ceremonies gone through prior to a Charan perpetrating crime. one may eat, drink, or sleep in this hut; and it is simply used for devotional purposes. In front of this hut is a flag-staff, to which a piece of white cloth is attached. I mention this here because of the worship and preparation always gone through before the commission of crime; that is by those who worship, and nearly all do, Mittú Bhúkia. By all criminals Mittú Bhúkia is worshipped as a clever freebooter; but he is more thought of on the other side of the Wardha than here. However, where the white flag is seen in front of a hut it is a sign that the tánda worships Mittú Bhúkia, and should therefore be watched carefully for days when they are suspected of having committed crime. The men who have agreed to and arranged the particulars regarding the carrying out of their scheme meet at night at this hut, where the image of Satti is produced. Ghee is put into a saucer and into this a wick is placed, very broad at the bottom, and tapering upwards, * Four miles from Digras, in Wún district. Population. Banjáras. Class of internal traders, keepers of bullocks Population. thus A. This wick standing erect is lit, an appeal is made to Satti for an omen, those worshipping mentioning in a low tone to the god where they are going, and what they purpose. The wick is then carefully watched, and should it drop at all the omen is propitious. All immediately get up and make an obeisance to the flag, and start then and there for the business they have agreed on. They are able to return to their homes before they start, because they must not speak to any one till their business has been carried through. And here we have a reason why Banjáras are rarely known to speak when engaged in a robbery; for if challenged these men who have gone through this ceremony may not reply. Should they have reached their destination, whether a village, hamlet, or unprotected cart, and are challenged, if any one of them reply the charm is broken, and all return home. They must again take the omens now, and worship again, or give up the attempt altogether. But I am told they generally prefer to make certain of the man who is venturesome enough to challenge them, by knocking him down, and either killing or injuring him so severely that he cannot interfere, and would not wish to meddle with their other arrangements. If one of the gang sneezes on the road it is also fatal; they must return to their tánda at once. The whole twelve tribes of Dháris worship Saraswati, besides which the seven tribes which entered Southern India worship also the Deos Gajú and Gandha. The Dháris were classed among Hindús, but Shára, having accompanied Bába Nának to Mecca, ate the flesh of the buffalo, and being put out of caste got circumcised and became a Moslem, since which they are classed among Mahomedans, and styled Mahomedan Dháris. The Mahomedan Dháris not only observe the Mohharram festival, but also worship. Saraswati Deo. The burial rites are also the same as observed by Moslems, except that, instead of a kázi, a fakir is called to read the prayers over the corpse. The Dháris are not only mendicants but musicians, and sing songs in praise of their own ancestors, the Chárans, and the old kings of Dehli. Hatkars. APPENDIX B. Account of the Hatkars of Berúr.* The Dhangars in Hindustán are in some places called Hatkars. They declare that they emigrated from the north to this part of India many years ago, supposed to be some time prior to the Nizám becoming subahlár of the Dakhan, on behalf of the kings of Delhi. But the Aín-iAkbari seems to suppose that the Hatkars were driven westward across the Wardha by the Gonds. They were then (1600 A.D.) holding in armed force the country round Básim, and are described as a "refractory and perfidious" race, a character which they preserved until the British took them in hand. * By Captain James Fitz Gerald, Assistant Commissioner. The Hatkars of Berár are all Bargi Dhangars, or the shepherds with the spears. This tribe is quiet separate in customs, enterprize, &c., from the Kota Pullia Dhangars, who keep sheep, and with whom they do not now intermarry. The general idea is that originally there were twelve tribes of Bargi Dhangars, who came down from Hindústhan, and that from them the country about Hingoli was called Bár Hatti, which the Hatkars say is a corruption of the words Bára Hatkar, or country of twelve Hatkars. At present there are only three families. To one or other of these three families all the Hatkars about Berár, Hingoli, &c., belong. The names of these three families or clans are: (1) Poli, (2) Gurdi, (3) Muski. The Hatkars say that they formerly, when going on any expedition, took only a blanket seven hands long and a bear-spear. That from this they were called Bargir, or Barga, Dhangars. They would appear to have been all footmen. To this day the temper of the Hatkar is said to be obstinate and quarrelsome. They will eat with a Kunbí, but not with a Labáni or Banjára. The Hatkars bury the male dead, if they did not die of a wound received in the chase or in battle. They bury the dead body sitting cross-legged, with a small piece of gold placed in the mouth of the corpse. If a male Hatkar die of a wound received in battle over the chase they burn his corpse, his feet being placed toward the east. Obsequies by fire are clearly an honourable distinction. All women who die in childbirth are burned, others are buried.* Widows can, on the death of their first husband, marry again by a pát marriage. A man can at one and the same time have only one "Lagan" wife alive; but he can have several pát marriage wives. The Hatkars eat any kind of meat that any Hindú will eat, except the flesh of the cow and the pig. They eat eggs. Their god is Khandoba. The náiks of this district were principally Hatkars. The duty of a náik was to keep the peace, stop robbery, &c. ; but in time they became the breakers of the law, and their men the dacoits of the country. Some of them, about the year 1818, were very powerful. Nowsáji Náik Muski's army gave battle to the Nizám's regular troops under Major Pitman, before Umarkher. The Náik was beaten, and he was besieged in his stronghold of Nowa, with a garrison of 500 Arabs. The place was carried by assault after a very stout resistance in 1819. Nowsáji Náik was sent to Haidarábád, where he died. * Some aboriginal tribes of Central India burn men, but bury women and children. The Hatkars seem to be in a transition between interment and cremation; the latter gradually prevails as a tribe or caste rises in the social scale.-[EDITOR.] Population. Hatkars. Population. The power of the náiks was broken by Brigadier Sutherland. He hanged so many that the náiks pronounce his name to this day with awe. To some of the náiks he gave money, and told them to settle down in certain villages. Others who also came, expecting money, were at once hanged. Brigadier Sutherland would appear to have hung only the leaders that would not come in before a certain date. In this way died Luchman Náik, gárdi of Hatah, who was next to, if not equal in power to, Nowsáji Naik; also the náik of Jamb, whose clan name is Poli. Most of the Hatkars never allow the hair on their face to be cut. They are fine able-bodied men, and have a most wonderful resemblance to each other, which may be accounted for by the constant and exclusive intermarriage of their three great families. They are most independent in bearing, pretentious in character, and are the stuff of which good soldiery is made. They inhabit, speaking generally, the hills on the northern bank of the Painganga. No such irruptions from the Nizám's dominions as was last made in 1861, which gave the Haidarábád Contingent so much trouble at Risod and Chichamba, would be made if we had these men on our side. Their villages are placed like a line of outposts along our frontier with the Haidarábád territory. DISTRICT SELECTIONS. Melgha't. District Selections. Melghat. In the whole taluk there are 324 inhabited villages; the average number of inhabitants, therefore, to each Towns and villages. is 124-70. If a place having over 1,000 inhabitants constitutes a town, there are none such in Melghát. The total number of houses is returned at 7,411, hence the average to each village is 22.8, and the average number of souls that each house con tains is 5.4. Proportion of the sexes. The total males, both adult and infants, are to the females as 20,950 to 19,455, or 100 to 92.8; that is, in every 100 of the population there are 518 males to 48-2 females. The male adults are to the female as 12,550 to 11,467, or 100 to 92.8; that is, out of every 100 of the adults there are 51.8 males to 48.2 females. * From the report of the Census taken in 1867, by Captain K. L. Mackenzie. |