DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.16243#0174
140
PEOPLE OF INDIA
arrow flies straight. He is always ready for a fight, but he is
also a man of his word, and with a Bhll for escort your life
is safe. If you manage to please him he is a Bhll; if you rub
him the wrong way up he is the son of a dog. He has a large
number of children, and in his household there is no dawdling
as the family is always on the move.
From the wilds of Assam comes the quaint saying, "The
Naga's wife gets a baby ; the Naga himself takes the medicine."
This sounds rather like a reminiscence of the couvade, but it
may be nothing more than a reflexion on the intelligence of the
Nagas.
Of the proverbs discussed in the foregoing paragraphs each
has for its subject a particular caste and con-
FrOTrartas.Te tains no reference to any other. I now turn to
a class of proverbs which it will be convenient
to group separately, since each of them deals with several
castes and seizes upon their points of difference or resemblance.
These comparative proverbs are curious in themselves, and
throw a good deal of light on the relative estimation accorded
to different castes by popular opinion. Here again the Brahman
bulks large and figures in queer company. A black Brahman,
a fair Sudra, an under-sized Musalman, a ghar-jamai (a son-in-
law who lives with and on his father-in-law), an adopted son
are all birds of a feather. Trust not a black Brahman or a fair
Pariah. A dark Brahman, a fair Chuhra, a woman with a beard
—these three are contrary to nature. The Kunbi died from
seeing a ghost ; the Brahman from wind in the stomach ; the
goldsmith from bile. The first is superstitious; the second
over-eats himself; the third sits too long over his fire. A
Brahman met a barber; "God be with you" said the one,
but the other held up his looking-glass, thus countering the
Brahman's demand for a fee for his professional blessing by
asserting his own claim to be paid for shaving people.
Brahmans are made to eat, Bhavaiyas to play and sing, Kolis to
commit robbery, and widows to mourn. The Mulla, the Bhat,
the Brahman, and the Dom, these four were not born on giving
day. A Brahman for a minister, a Bhat for favourite, and the
Raja's fate is sealed. A Dom, a Brahman, and a goat are of no
use in time of need. If you cannot ruin yourself by keeping a
Brahman servant, taking money from a Kasai, or begetting too
many daughters, you will do it by going to law with bigger
men. The Brahman is lord of the water; the Rajput lord of the
land; the Kayasth lord of the pen ; and the Khatri lord of the
PEOPLE OF INDIA
arrow flies straight. He is always ready for a fight, but he is
also a man of his word, and with a Bhll for escort your life
is safe. If you manage to please him he is a Bhll; if you rub
him the wrong way up he is the son of a dog. He has a large
number of children, and in his household there is no dawdling
as the family is always on the move.
From the wilds of Assam comes the quaint saying, "The
Naga's wife gets a baby ; the Naga himself takes the medicine."
This sounds rather like a reminiscence of the couvade, but it
may be nothing more than a reflexion on the intelligence of the
Nagas.
Of the proverbs discussed in the foregoing paragraphs each
has for its subject a particular caste and con-
FrOTrartas.Te tains no reference to any other. I now turn to
a class of proverbs which it will be convenient
to group separately, since each of them deals with several
castes and seizes upon their points of difference or resemblance.
These comparative proverbs are curious in themselves, and
throw a good deal of light on the relative estimation accorded
to different castes by popular opinion. Here again the Brahman
bulks large and figures in queer company. A black Brahman,
a fair Sudra, an under-sized Musalman, a ghar-jamai (a son-in-
law who lives with and on his father-in-law), an adopted son
are all birds of a feather. Trust not a black Brahman or a fair
Pariah. A dark Brahman, a fair Chuhra, a woman with a beard
—these three are contrary to nature. The Kunbi died from
seeing a ghost ; the Brahman from wind in the stomach ; the
goldsmith from bile. The first is superstitious; the second
over-eats himself; the third sits too long over his fire. A
Brahman met a barber; "God be with you" said the one,
but the other held up his looking-glass, thus countering the
Brahman's demand for a fee for his professional blessing by
asserting his own claim to be paid for shaving people.
Brahmans are made to eat, Bhavaiyas to play and sing, Kolis to
commit robbery, and widows to mourn. The Mulla, the Bhat,
the Brahman, and the Dom, these four were not born on giving
day. A Brahman for a minister, a Bhat for favourite, and the
Raja's fate is sealed. A Dom, a Brahman, and a goat are of no
use in time of need. If you cannot ruin yourself by keeping a
Brahman servant, taking money from a Kasai, or begetting too
many daughters, you will do it by going to law with bigger
men. The Brahman is lord of the water; the Rajput lord of the
land; the Kayasth lord of the pen ; and the Khatri lord of the