The Gazetteers Department

Among the unsettled tribes of Khandesh, the largest in number are the Bhils, who are regarded as the aboriginals originally spread all over Rajputana, Malva, and Gujarat and Central India but now found mostly in Khandesh, parts of Gujarat, and the Vindhya hills. Some have settled down in the plains and there they are not distinguishable from the Kunbis. How far the modern Bhil has changed from the original Bhil, it is difficult to say. Early Khandesh records contain no mention of Bhils except as a Satpuda hill tribe, but they were probably forced within Khandesh limits by the pressure of Rajput and Mussalman conquests in Gujarat and Malva.

Appearance.

There is considerable resemblance in appearance, character, language and customs between the Bhils of the plains and some classes of villagers. The typical Khandesh Bhil, the wild woodsman of the Satpudas, is dark, well-built, active and hardy with high cheek bones, wide nostrils and in some cases coarse features. They are no doubt stunted and degraded by want and ill-health.

Language.

Except among the wilder hill tribes, who are perhaps improperly ranked among Bhils, they have no trace of a language different from that of the country in which they have settled. According to geographical position the Bhils speak the . cognate dialects of Marathi, Gujarati, Rangdi, Mewadi, Narmadi and Rajputana, but in Khandesh their dialect is a mixture of Hindustani and Marathi with Gujarati endings. It varies considerably in parts of both Jalgaon and Dhulia and among different tribes.

Dwellings and equipment.

Formerly, most Bhils lived in hive-like huts, cresting the tops of isolated hills, put together to he crept into for a few weeks or months and then left. Most of them still live in thatched huts, leaving them at once if disease breaks out or if the hamlet is found to be inauspicious, unlucky or haunted. A few have one-storied buildings, having walls of unburnt bricks and a roof of mud with a small verandah in front and divided inside into two or more rooms. As regards equipment, each household has several glasses (of metal or earthware) to drink water from, one or more earthen, wooden or metal platters, a large earthen or metal water jug and cooking utensils and a wooden or metal ladle a stone slab with a roller and a handmill and a large knife for cutting vegetables; a cot or two with a bedding, a blanket and a quilt made of pieces of clothes stitched one upon another; a cow or a buffalo, a few fowls, a small fishing net; a bow and a good stock of arrows and sometimes a sword. Bhils living in the hills have seldom any clothing except a piece of loincloth and their women wear coarse tattered saris. The peasant Bhil wears a turban, a waist cloth and a coat and their women have saris with or without a bodice.

Food.

Peasant Bhils cat jowar bread, curry, curds, vegetables, fish and when they can afford it, goat's flesh or mutton. Mountain Bhils are not so particular about their food. They eat carrion, flesh of animals that have died a natural death. One animal Bhils never eat is the monkey. They feed on wild roots and fruits. Thriftless (before prohibition, excessively addicted to drinking) and disliking steady work, the Bhil is yet simple, honest and faithful; so are their women. The Community Development Project and social welfare work among them are taking slow, steady effect and their nomadic and tribal ways are slowly changing. They are fond of music and dance and have their own instruments and technique.

Religion.

Bhils are animists and are particularly devoted to god Khandoba. They also pray to Muslim saints and Pirs. They often make small mud houses and promise to give them to the shrine if their prayer is heard. They admire horses and dogs. They have no temples of their own. Over some of their most sacred images they raise open sheds; but in general for a place of worship they choose a few large stones consecrated and set on a mud terrace. They hold Banaras sacred and visit other shrines in places like Nasik and Jejuri. Their chief festivals are Holi and Dasara, when goddess Durga is appeased by them by sacrificing goats. They are strong believers in witch-craft. They have hereditary sorcerers called Badvas whom they consult on all occasions. Great attention is paid to omens. If a man lets fall his bread by accident, if a bird screams on the left, if a snake crosses the path and escapes or if any one meets them and asks them where they are going, there will be no luck. On the other hand, a bird screaming on the right, a dead snake or a stranger passing without speaking, indicate a successful day. If bad luck is persistent, Bhils say 'Nat laga' and make in the sand or dust of the road an image of a man or sometimes two images, one of a man and the other of a woman and throwing grass or straw over them, set fire to the heap. They beat the images with sticks amidst much abuse and uproar. They call this killing bad luck.

Marriage.

The more civilised Bhils of the plains have complete birth, marriage and death ceremonies differing little in detail from those practised by the higher classes of Hindus. A marriage proposal has to be made from the bridegroom's side through some intermediary. When it is ascertained that a favourable reply will be given, a formal proposal is made by the boy's father or his nearest relation. When so much progress is made, the nearest relations both men and women go to the bride's house and demand that the girl shall be given in marriage to their boy. If the father agrees, the girl is brought out and seated among the guests and the boy's father or a near relation on his behalf offers a packet of sweetmeat to her. This done, they dine together and with the help of an astrologer a betrothal day is fixed. On the betrothal day, the astrologer, the boy, his father and other relations take a sadi, a bodice-piece and sweetmeats and go to the girl's house. A final announcement is made in the presence of pancas. The presents are given to the girl. The guests are entertained by the girl's father. There is no fixed interval between betrothal and marriage. It may be a month or years. When in a position to meet marriage expenses, the boy's father sends word to the girl's father that he would shortly bring dowry or dahej called ghun in Bhil language. The dowry is settled in a meeting of all and placed in a plate. An unmarried girl of the bride's family puts red powder on it and on the brows of the bride and the groom. The bride is asked to sit in the boy's father's lap and he gives the dahej to her. After a feast, the evening is spent in music and dance. Next day the boy's father fixes the marriage day in consultation with a family priest. What follows is very much akin to what obtains among other Hindus.

Widow marriage and Divorce.

Bhils have hitherto allowed and practised polygamy but now there are only monogamous marriages. Widow marriage is also allowed. When a man wishes to marry a widow, he sends some friend to urge his suit with the woman or her parents and relatives. If his proposal is accepted, the suitor takes to the woman's house a sadi and a piece of bodice cloth, a bead necklace and some boiled gram and sugar. The match is then settled. The man takes with him a few friends and materials for a feast and they share the food with a party of the woman's relations. The woman dresses herself in the clothes brought to her and, after the guests leave, she and her husband pass the night together. Next day, they start before daybreak for some distant place and spend the whole day in the field, in some lonely place where friends send them food. These widow marriages are often preceded by an elopement which, after the payment of a fee to the head of the community, is condoned by the parents and relations. A married woman can get a divorce and remarry the man of her choice provided the proposed husband is ready to pay to the first the money which he had spent at the time of the first marriage of the woman. This divorce system is called jhagda. No particular disgrace seems "to attach to a woman who has divorced more than one husband.

Funeral.

Obsequies.

When a Bhil is on the point of death, his relations distribute money among the poor in his name. When he dies his body is laid on a blanket or on a piece of cloth spread over a blanket. An earthen pot full of cold water is placed near the door of the house and the body is brought out, held in a sitting position outside the door and water is poured on it. The old clothes are taken off and a new piece of cloth is tied round the loins. The body is laid on a bier and covered with a new sheet of white cloth. The face is left bare and the head is covered with a turban. Gulal is sprinkled over the face and some bread and cooked rice are tied together in a piece of cloth and laid on the bier. The dead body is neatly tied and taken to the burial place over the shoulders of four nearest relatives. In front of them, the sons of the deceased walk, the chief mourner carrying fire in an earthen jar and one of the others carrying an earthen jug full of water. Half way to the grave the bier is lowered and some of the cooked food is laid near a bush. The bearers change places and without any further halt, the body is carried to the burying ground. The bier is lowered and all the mourners help in digging a grave long enough for the body and to prevent it being opened by wild animals five or six feet deep. The body is laid in the grave, the head to south and the arms stretched along either side. Cooked rice and bread are placed in the mouth and the body is sprinkled with water. Then the whole party sit round the grave so far off that they cannot see the body and the chief mourner throws a handful of earth on the corpse and then all joining cover the corpse with earth. When the body is covered, they fill the grave with earth. A small trench is cut round the grave and water is poured in it. The bier is broken into pieces and burnt. The funeral party then goes to the nearest water place, bathes and accompanies the chief mourner to his house. In front of his house a fire is lit and into it some woman's hair is burnt and each of the mourners takes some neem leaves, throws them on the fire and passing his open palms through the smokes rubs them over his face. The mourners are now pure and return to their homes. On the third day one of the women of the mourning household rubs the right shoulders of the bier bearers with oil, milk and cowdung and washes them with neem twigs steeped in cow's urine. Then the four men bathe and are treated to a dinner. On the eleventh day, the chief mourner goes to a river and gets his head, beard and face shaved. After taking a bath, he makes a dough cow, sprinkles red powder on it and setting it in a banana leaf, bows to it and throws it into water. After one more bath he goes home. Either on the twelfth or the forty-fifth day, a Kumbar (potter) is called and a seven step hemp ladder called Chodhvan is set against the wall of the house, the belief being that the soul of the dead person may climb by the ladder to heaven. The family priest sits at the foot of the ladder and chants some verses from the Puranas and the string by which the ladder is fastened to the ground is burnt, the ladder is pulled down and thrown away. The spot where the ladder was tied is then spread over with Hour and a small plate with a piece of bread and cooked rice is laid over it. In the plate is placed a small water pot and by its side a lighted lamp covered by an empty bamboo basket with a cloth drawn over it. On this day a big feast is given to relatives and friends, but before beginning it, five mouthfuls are burnt near the basket. The burial rites for a woman are the same as those for a man. In the case of a child, its father carries the body in his arms and buries it. The seventh day is celebrated by a feast. In some cases Bhils are known to burn their dead bodies.

Religious beliefs.

Bhils differ much in their religious beliefs and practices from place to place. Some of the wildest tribes worship only the tiger god or Vaghdev. Most are devotees of the Mata and Mahadev. Others worship local deities like Khandoba, Khanoba and Bahiroba and Shitalamata, the small-pox goddess. Almost all worship the spirits of their ancestors and believe in sorcery, witch-craft and omens.

Vanjaris.

What is true of the Bhils is generally true of other unsettled tribes like Nahals, Kolis, Pavras, Varlis, Gabits, Dangehis and Tadvis, some of whom have become converts to Islam. Vanjaris who once wandered about with their flocks of oxen have now settled down as agricultural workers and have built houses in villages. Their business was to bring bullocks from Malva, to load them with wheat and go from place to place to sell it. They went down the ghat even in the Konkan districts but the growth of transport facilities by rail and road has nearly killed their trade and that is why they have become agriculturists. Now one rarely sees a tanda, i.e., caravan of Vanjari families camping from place to place in their coarse tents with bullocks and the dirty clothes they used to wear. There are ten sub-divisions among the Vanjaris; Caran or Govar, Mathure, Labhane or Lamane, Lad, Khudane, Lamghe, Mehurune, Bhusare, Asatkar and Ravgin.

Divisions.

These names are derived from the vocation they engaged themselves in. Vanjari is a corrupt form of Vanacara, i.e., moving about in the forest. Caran comes from the same root, Govar means a cowkeeper. Bhusare means a grain carrier because bhusa means chaff. Lamane means salt carries from lavana which means salt. Those who have settled down as husbandmen live in the ordinary mud-walled, flat-roofed houses. The poor live outside the villages in grass huts which they take with themselves wherever they move. The staple articles of food are wheat, jowar and bajri. Most of them, except those who come from Mathura in north India, are meat-eaters. The Lad women dress in the Maratha women's style while the Caran women wear a tight pyjama and a robe or odhni or phadki to cover the upper part of the body. They wear ivory bracelets from the wrist to nearly the armpit and gingaling brass anklets.

Organisation.

Vanjaris differ widely in their habits though they are said to be alike in temper, brave, proud, spiteful and touchy. Lamanes and Carans do not bathe for months together. Though generally peaceful and well-behaved, the wandering Vanjaras used to be under police surveillance. Once they used to carry their wares on pack bullocks, moving sometimes in bands or armies of 100,000 strong to Surat, Navsari and Kalyan in the west and Nimar, Nagpur and Jabalpur in the north and the east. They mostly worship Balaji or Khandoba. Their priests are Brahmans. They observe all Hindu holidays, but Gukul Astami is their particular favourite. Though some sub-divisions eat with each other, intermarriage is not practised. Every settlement of Vanjaras has its hereditary headman who is called Naik. He is bound to help the rest in time of need and to be their representative and arbitrator in caste disputes. He also used to direct the movements of the caravan while travelling. If an old family has no suitable representative for being elected Naik, a fresh man of some rich and good family is chosen. On election he is presented a turban and clothes in token of allegiance. At every council meeting the Naik is the president, with ten or twelve adult males as its members. Witnesses come in regular order and give their evidence one after another. The council does not adjourn, but rises only after a decision is taken even if it be at the sacrifice of their regular work.

Birth.

Marriage.

Among wandering Vanjaras children are often born away from their villages and in the absence of midwives, women attend to the delivery and no ceremonies are performed. Afterwards when the caravan meets a Brahman, a council is called. The time of the child's birth is explained to him and he fixes the name of the child. Among settled families when a child is born, they beat drums, fire guns and distribute sugar among relatives, friends and priests. On the fifth day, women worship the Sati. Marriageable age differs widely among the various divisions of the Vanjaras. Among Mathures, Carans and Lamanes from upper India, girls remain Unmarried even up to the age of 30 while among the Deccan Vanjaras it was customary to marry them even at the age. of 12 But now girls are fairly grown up before marriage among all the divisions. Marriages are gone through in a simple way. On marriage occasions, two days before the ceremony, the boy and girl are rubbed with turmeric. On the marriage day, they are seated side by side on low wooden stools, the girl on the boy's left, and the hems of their garments are tied to the accompaniment of music. Priests repeat auspicious verses and women on both sides sing songs and sprinkle handfuls of jowar on the couple's heads. The ceremony closes with an interchange of clothes. On the second day the couple is bathed together, the women standing round them sing songs while the boy and girl splash water on each other. After this the fathers interchange presents of turbans and waist clothes. On the third day there is great feasting and if the priest is present, he is pelted with onions and shells, i.e., cowdies. Another feast brings the ceremony to a close. The bride goes to live with her husband and his people. Except the Mathures and the Lamanes, others allow widow marriage.

Charans

Appearance.

When a Vanjari dies, most of the funeral rites and obsequies are like those of the Bhils except that the dead bodies of Vanjaras are burnt on the banks of the nearest stream. In the case of a woman, kumkum instead of gulal is used to anoint the crops. Children are, however, buried.

Caran Vanjaris are strong and good-looking. The men take a special pride in their looks and generally carry a small comb and looking-glass in the folds of their white turbans. They wear their hair long and are fairer-skinned than the Bhil or the ordinary Kunbi. They have generally regular and white teeth, full lips, large eyes, hair having brownish and yellowish tinge, straight noses and a bright, wide-awake look. Their women are pretty enough but by no means cleanly. They do not bathe more than once a week and their oiled and plaited hair is constantly filled with dirt and dust while the tiers of bracelets and anklets keep them from cleaning their limbs. Their petticoats are seldom washed and look like a well-worn quilt. The women's tight-fitting bodices and the full petticoats, their silver ornaments, plaited into their hair and falling over the cheeks, their huge silver anklets with gingaling bells and the tiers of ivory bracelets lend them a strangely picturesque appearance.

Condition.

Since they have taken to agriculture, they have made good cultivators. Many have become prosperous and they till large tracts of land notably in Raver, Jamner, Shirpur and Copda. They have found out that tillage pays better than cattle-dealing and grain carrying. Some of the villages in Raver, Savda and Shirpur arc entirely peopled by them. Sarvodaya centres in Khandesh have done a great deal to help the rural Vanjaris to improve their condition. Yet education among them is not yet popular.

Customs.

Widow marriage is allowed and practised, the rule being that as far as possible a woman should not leave a family into which she has been married. When a woman becomes a widow, her husband's younger brother has a claim over her for wifehood. The caste council meets and the fact is duly noted but no ceremonies are considered necessary. If there is no younger brother or one refuses to take her, the next male relative is called on to marry her. They acknowledge all Hindu gods. Though they have no regular priests they respect Brahmans and employ them to conduct their religious ceremonies.

TOP