The Religious Life of India - The Chamars Book

Text extracted from opening pages of book: THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF INDIA THE CHAMARS BY GEO. W. BRIGGS, M. Sc. ASSOCIATION PRESS ( Y. M. C. A.) 5 RUSSELL STREET, CALCUTTA HUMPHREY MILFORD OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON. NEW YORK, TORONTO. MELBOURNE, BOMBAY AND MADRAS 1920 w o AUTHOR'S PREFACE THE aim in writing the following pages has been to present an accurate and fairly complete account of the Chamars. To do so a considerable amount of material has been included which, with variations, is the common possession of many castes. No attempt, however, has been made at a comparative study. The basis of this work has been the Chamars of the United Provinces, but the Chamars and the leather-workers of other parts of India as well have been noted. The writings of Ibbetson, Crooke, Rose, Russell and others have been made use of, and Census Reports, both Imperial and Provincial, have been examined. But apart from facts which could be found only in the Census Tables, nearly all the materials from these sources, which have been incorporated in this book, have been tested in two or more important sections of the Chamars and some matters in other sub-castes as well, and have been verified or modified to fit this particular caste. Similarly, materials from works on anthropology, ethnology, animism, and magic have been made the basis of investigation. In every instance the questions have been, Is the belief or the practice current among the Chamars ? and Is this the way the Chamars themselves believe and act? Men of many sub-castes and of all sorts have been questioned, farmers, tanners, shoemakers, wizards, gurus, and servants. Both the men of the villages and the residents of the towns and cities have been interrogated. The single aim has been in all cases to 8 AUTHOR'S PREFACE record the Chamar point of view. The Chamars of the north-west have been influenced by the superstitions of the Punjab, while those to the east reflect the peculiar beliefs of the Vindhyas. On this account uniformity of details in names and in beliefs will not be found. But the fact that certain practices and some names are not traceable in a certain sub-caste or in some locality does not invalidate such matters as Chamar facts. The main outlines of thought and life are, however, fairly uniform throughout the caste. It has been decided to use diacritical marks in Indian words and to print them in italics only on their first occurrence. In the Chamar sub-caste names, however, diacritical marks have not been used, except in the case of the Chamar, because it has been impossible to obtain sufficient accuracy of spelling in many instances. Thanks are due to friends in civil and in missionary circles for help in collecting data and in criticizing the results of investigation. ALLAHABAD, G. W. B. January 31, 1920. CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE AUTHOR'S PREFACE .. .. .. .. 7 I. THE CASTE . . . . . . . . . . 11 II. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LIFE .. .. .. 35 III. DOMESTIC CUSTOMS: BIRTH .. .. .. 60 IV. DOMESTIC CUSTOMS: MARRIAGE .. . .. 72 V. DOMESTIC CUSTOMS: DEATH: MISCELLANEOUS .. 99 VI. THE SPIRIT WORLD .. .. .. .. 121 VII. THE MYSTERIOUS .. .. .. .. 158 VIII. HIGHER RELIGION .. .. .. .. 198 IX. THE OUTLOOK .. . .. .. .. 224 APPENDIX A. TABLES .. .. .. .. 248 APPENDIX B. TANNING, SHOEMAKIXG AND LEATHER ARTICLES . . . . 256 APPENDIX C. BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . 261 GLOSSARY . . . . . . . . . 263 INDEX .. .. .. .. .. .. 266 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Village Temple in Chamar Mahalla ., ., Frontispiece 2. Jatiya Chamar Dhariya Chamar.. .. Facing page 22 3. Chamar Chamar Nalchina Chamar .. .. ,, 23 4. Pencil Drawings of Shasti and Salona.. .. ,, 66 5. Pencil Drawings of Abdominal Brand Marks.. ,, 67 6. Marriage Pole ( Suga) Kohbar 78 7. Pots set in Roof Blackened Pot with White Spots Pots around a Bamboo Chamunda's Platform .. ,, 79 8. Pot showing Place of Worship Place of Wor ship, with Offerings .. .. .. .. ,, 146 9. Shrine of Nat Baba Kalki and her Court-Shrine of Hem Raj ,, 147 10. Pots useRead More