DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.16243#0160
126
PEOPLE OF INDIA
attested by the numerous legends of Rajas, who, having sworn
a rash oath to feed a stated number of Brahmans, usually a
lakh and a quarter, found the supply run out and were obliged
to make them up for the occasion out of any materials that
were at hand. A similar conclusion ma}' perhaps be drawn
from the well-known distich—
Karid Brahman, gora Chamar,
Inke sath na utariye par.
If the Brahman be black,
Or the Chamar be fair ;
At the ford of the river
Let the wise man beware !
As with the Brahmans so in the chief functional groups the
tendency is towards wide diffusion, and their racial composition
probably varies materially in different provinces. Owing to
differences of language the maps fail to bring out the complete
facts in relation to the whole of .India. Thus the leather
workers (Chamar and Muchi) of Upper India, numbering over
eleven millions and forming twelve per cent, of the population
of the United Provinces, correspond with the Chakkiliyan
(486,884) and Madiga (755,316) of Madras, but the map does not
include these. The large pastoral group (Ahlr and Goala)
numbering nearly ten millions in Upper India and forming eight
per cent, of the population of the United Provinces appears in
the South of India under the names Gola (855,221) and Idaiyan
(694,829), neither of which are taken account of in the map.
The same may be said of the potters (Kumhar) and the oilmen
(Teli, and Tili) both widely diffused functional groups whose
distribution is imperfectly exhibited in the maps. In each
province such groups form, of course, distinct castes which
have probably been evolved independently.
Of the localized groups a large number are admittedly tribes.
,. , The Bhll, Gond, Koli, and Santal come
Localized groups. , .,,
within this category and are still outside
the Hindu social system. The Doms, Dosadhs, Gujars, Jats,
Kaibarttas, Namasudras (Chandals) Pods, Nayars, Pallis,
Paraiyans (Pariahs), and Rajbansi-Koch represent tribes which
have been transformed into castes at a comparatively recent
date and retain some traces of the tribal stage of development.
The three Muhammadan maps—Jolaha, Pathan and Saiyad—
are of interest for the light that they throw
Muhammadan upon the spread of Islam. The Jolaha
groups. , , . .... .
weavers number nearly three millions in all,
and the solid blocks which they form in the Punjab (695,216), in
PEOPLE OF INDIA
attested by the numerous legends of Rajas, who, having sworn
a rash oath to feed a stated number of Brahmans, usually a
lakh and a quarter, found the supply run out and were obliged
to make them up for the occasion out of any materials that
were at hand. A similar conclusion ma}' perhaps be drawn
from the well-known distich—
Karid Brahman, gora Chamar,
Inke sath na utariye par.
If the Brahman be black,
Or the Chamar be fair ;
At the ford of the river
Let the wise man beware !
As with the Brahmans so in the chief functional groups the
tendency is towards wide diffusion, and their racial composition
probably varies materially in different provinces. Owing to
differences of language the maps fail to bring out the complete
facts in relation to the whole of .India. Thus the leather
workers (Chamar and Muchi) of Upper India, numbering over
eleven millions and forming twelve per cent, of the population
of the United Provinces, correspond with the Chakkiliyan
(486,884) and Madiga (755,316) of Madras, but the map does not
include these. The large pastoral group (Ahlr and Goala)
numbering nearly ten millions in Upper India and forming eight
per cent, of the population of the United Provinces appears in
the South of India under the names Gola (855,221) and Idaiyan
(694,829), neither of which are taken account of in the map.
The same may be said of the potters (Kumhar) and the oilmen
(Teli, and Tili) both widely diffused functional groups whose
distribution is imperfectly exhibited in the maps. In each
province such groups form, of course, distinct castes which
have probably been evolved independently.
Of the localized groups a large number are admittedly tribes.
,. , The Bhll, Gond, Koli, and Santal come
Localized groups. , .,,
within this category and are still outside
the Hindu social system. The Doms, Dosadhs, Gujars, Jats,
Kaibarttas, Namasudras (Chandals) Pods, Nayars, Pallis,
Paraiyans (Pariahs), and Rajbansi-Koch represent tribes which
have been transformed into castes at a comparatively recent
date and retain some traces of the tribal stage of development.
The three Muhammadan maps—Jolaha, Pathan and Saiyad—
are of interest for the light that they throw
Muhammadan upon the spread of Islam. The Jolaha
groups. , , . .... .
weavers number nearly three millions in all,
and the solid blocks which they form in the Punjab (695,216), in