The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Part 47

_Mair_.--A subcaste of Sunar named after Mair, their original ancestor, who melted down a golden demon.

_Maithil_.--One of the five divisions of Panch Gaur Brahmans inhabiting the province of Maithil or Bihar and Tirhut.

_Majarewar_.--A territorial section of Binjhwar (from Majare in Balaghat).

_Majhi_.--(A village headman.) t.i.tle of Bhatra.

_Majhia_.--Synonym of Majhwar.

_Majhli_.--(Middle.) Subcaste of Rautia.

_Makaria_.--(From _makad_, monkey.) A subcaste of Kamar, so called because they eat monkeys.

_Makhia_.--Subcaste of Mehtar.

_Malaiya_.--An immigrant from Malwa. Subcaste of Chhipa.

_Male_, _Maler_.--Synonyms of Mal.

_Malha_.--A boatman. Synonym of Mallah.

_Malhar_.--Subcaste of Koli.

_Mali_.--(A caste.) A section of Kalar.

_Mal-Paharia_.--Synonym of Mal.

_Malvi_, _Malwi_.--(From _Malwa_.) A subdivision of Brahmans in Hoshangabad and Betul. A subcaste of Ahir, Barhai, Darzi, Dhobi, Gadaria, Kalar, Koshti, k.u.mhar, Nai and Sunar.

_Malyar._ [465]--A small and curious caste of workers in gold and silver in Bastar State. They are known alternatively as Marhatia Sunar or Panchal, and outsiders call them Adhali. The name Malyar is said to be derived from _mal_, dirt, and _jar_ or _jalna_, to burn, the Malyars having originally been employed by Sunars or goldsmiths to clean and polish their ornaments. No doubt can be entertained that the Malyars are in reality Gonds, as they have a set of exogamous septs all of which belong to the Gonds, and have Gondi names. So far as possible, however, they try to disguise this fact and perform their marriages by walking round the sacred post like the Hindustani castes. They will take food cooked without water from Brahmans, Rajputs and Banias, but will not eat _katcha_ (or food cooked with water) from anybody, and not even from members of their own caste unless they are relatives. This custom is common to some other castes of mixed descent, and indicates that illicit connections are frequent among the Malyars, as indeed would necessarily be the case owing to the paucity of their numbers. But their memories are short, and the offspring of such irregular unions are recognised as belonging to the caste after one or two generations. An outsider belonging to any higher caste may be admitted to the community. The caste wors.h.i.+p Mata Devi or the G.o.ddess of smallpox, and revere the spirit of a Malyar woman who became a Sati. They have learned as servants of the Sunars the rudiments of their art, and manufacture rough ornaments for the primitive people of Bastar.

_Mana Ojha_.--Subcaste of Ojha.

_Mandal_.--(A name for a prosperous cultivator in Chhattisgarh.) A section of Chamar and Panka. See article Kurmi.

_Mandilwar_.--Name derived from Mandla. Subcaste of Katia.

_Mandkul_.--A section of Komti who do not eat mangoes.

_Mandlaha_.--(From Mandla town.) Subtribe of Gond.

_Mane Kunbi_.--Subcaste of Gondhali.

_Mang_ or _Mangia_.--A caste. Subcaste of Ganda, Gondhali, Bahrupia.

_Mangan_.--(From _Manghunia_, beggar.) A caste.

_Mangan_. [466]--A small caste found in Chhattisgarh and Sambalpur who are the musicians and genealogists of the Ghasias. The term is considered opprobrious, as it means 'beggar,' and many Mangans probably return themselves as Ghasias. They are despised by the Ghasias, who will not take food or water from them. At the marriages of the former the Mangans play on a drum called _ghunghru_, which they consider as the badge of the caste, their cattle being branded with a representation of it. The only point worth notice about the caste is that they are admittedly of mixed descent from the unions of members of other castes with Ghasia prost.i.tutes. They have five totemistic exogamous sections, about each of which a song is sung relating its origin. The Sunani sept, which wors.h.i.+ps gold as its totem and occupies the highest position, is said to be descended from a Brahman father and a Ghasia mother; the Sendaria sept, wors.h.i.+pping vermilion, from a Kewat ancestor and a Ghasia woman; the Bhainsa sept, wors.h.i.+pping a buffalo, from a Gaur or Ahir and a Ghasia; the Mahanadia sept, having the Mahanadi for their totem, from a Gond and a Ghasia woman; while the Bagh sept, who revere the tiger, say that a cow once gave birth to two young, one in the form of a tiger and the other of a human being; the latter on growing up took a Ghasia woman to himself and became the ancestor of the sept. As might be expected from their ancestry, the Mangan women are generally of loose character. The Mangans sometimes act as sweepers.

_Mangta._--(A beggar.) A subcaste of Pasi in Sangor, who beg from their caste-fellows.

_Maniara._--(A Pedlar.) Subcaste of Jogi.

_Manihar._--A caste. The Manihars are also known as Bisati. An occupational name of Jogis.

_Manikpuria._--(A resident Manikpur.) Subcaste of Panka.

_Manjhi._--(Headman.) A synonym of Santal and Kewat. A section of Chasa, Dhanuhar and Kolta. A t.i.tle of Chasa.

_Manjur._--(Peac.o.c.k.) A totemistic sept of Munda.

_Manjmar._--Term for a boatman. Included in Kewat.

_Mankar._--Name of a superior cla.s.s of village watchmen in Nimar District. See article Bhil. A subcaste of Mana and Halba.

_Mannepuwar._--A subcaste of Mala. Synonym, Teluga Bhoi.

_Manwa._--Subcaste of Kunbi.

_Marabi._--A common sept of Gond. A section of Nat.

_Marai._--(A name for the G.o.ddess of cholera, who is called Marai Mata.) A common sept of Gond. Also a sept of Baiga, Pasor and Bhunjia. A subcaste of Majhwar.

_Maral._--Synonym of Mali.

_Marapa._--A sept of Gonds in Betul, who abstain from killing or eating a goat or sheep and throw away any article smelt by them.

_Marar._--Synonym for Mali, a gardener. Also a subcaste of Kachhi.

_Maratha, Marathe._--A caste. A subcaste of Barhai, Bedar, Chamar, Dhimar, Gadaria, k.u.mhar, Mahar, Mali, Mang, Nai and Teli.

_Marathi, Maratha, Marthe, Marathe._--(A resident of the Maratha country.) Subcaste of Bahrupia, Chamar, Dhargar, Gundhali, Gopal, Injhwar, Kaikari, Kasar, Koshti, Nahal, Otari.

_Marathia._--Resident of Bhandara or another Maratha District. Subcaste of Halba.

_Maria._--A well-known tribe of Gonds in Bastar and Chanda. See article Gond. A subcaste of Gowari. A section of Ahir, Chamar and k.u.mhar.

_Markam._--(_Marka,_ mango.) One of the princ.i.p.al septs of Gonds. Also a sept of Baiga, Basor, Bhumjia, Pardhan and Solaha.

_Marori._ [467]--A small caste of degraded Rajputs from Marwar found in the Bhandara and Chhindwara Districts and also in Berar. The name is a local corruption of Marwari, and is applied to them by their neighbours, though many of the caste do not accept it and call themselves Rajputs. In Chhindwara they go by the name of Chhatri, and in the Tirora Tahsil they are known as Alkari, because they formerly grew the _al_ or Indian madder for a dye, though it has now been driven out of the market. They have been in the Central Provinces for some generations, and though retaining certain peculiarities of dress, which show their northern origin, have abandoned in many respects the caste usages of Rajputs. Their women wear the Hindustani _angia_ tied with string behind in place of the Maratha _choli_ or breast-cloth, and drape their _saris_ after the northern fas.h.i.+on. They wear ornaments of the Rajputans shape on their arms, and at their weddings they sing Marwari songs. They have Rajput sept names, as Parihar, Rathor, Solanki, Sesodia and others, which const.i.tute exogamous groups and are called _kulis._ Some of these have split up into two or three subdivisions, as, for instance, the Pathar (stone) Panwars, the Pandhre or white Panwars and the Dhatura or thorn-apple Panwars; and members of these different groups may intermarry. The reason seems to be that it was recognised that people belonged to the same Panwar sept who were not blood kin to each other, and the prohibition of marriage between them was a serious inconvenience in a small community. They also have eponymous _gotras_, as Vasishtha, Batsa and others of the Brahmanical type, but these do not influence exogamy. The paucity of their numbers and the influence of local usage have caused them to relax the marriage rules adhered to by Rajputs. Women are very scarce, and a price varying from forty to a hundred rupees is commonly paid for a bride, though they feel keenly the degradation attaching to the acceptance of a bride-price. Widow-marriage is permitted, no doubt for the same reasons, and a girl going wrong with a man of another caste may be readmitted to the community. Divorce is not permitted, and an unfaithful wife may be abandoned; she cannot then marry again in the caste. Formerly, on the arrival of the marriage procession, the bride's and bridegroom's parties let off fireworks, aiming them against each other, but this practice is now discontinued. When the bridegroom approaches the marriage-shed the bride comes out and strikes him on the breast or forehead with a ball of dough, a sheet being held between them; the bridegroom throws a handful of rice over her and strikes the festoons of the shed with a naked sword. A bachelor espousing a widow must first be married to a ring, which he thereafter carries in his ear, and if it is lost funeral ceremonies must be performed as for a real wife. Women are tattooed on the arms only. Children have as many as five names, one for ordinary use, and the others for ceremonial purposes and the arrangement of marriages. If a man kills a cow or a cat he must have a miniature figure of the animal made of gold and give it to a Brahman in expiation of his sin.

_Marskola_.--(From _markets_, an axe.) A common sept of Gonds and Pardhans.

_Maru_.--Subcaste of Charan Bhats.

_Marwari_.--A resident of Marwar or the desert tract of Rajputana; Marwar is also used as a name for Jodhpur State. See subordinate article Rajput-Rathor. The name Marwari is commonly applied to Banias coming from Marwar. See article Bania. A subcaste of Bahna, Gurao, k.u.mhar, Nai, Sunar and Teli.

_Masania_.--(From _masin_, straw or gra.s.s mats, or _masina_, thatched roof.) A section of Lohar. A synonym for San Bhatras in Bastar.