HARIJANS OF MEHESANA
By GAJANAN M. PATIL
Untouchability
has been described as a curse to Hindu society and, as such, Harijans occupy a
special position in Hindu social organisation. There is
a large number of castes, about 49 in all, which have been enlisted as the
Scheduled Castes or the Harijans. Some of these are found only in some places,
while some others exist at more than one place but are known by different names
in different places. In Mehesana District, in
From
amongst these castes of Harijans, Garodas are the
Brahmins or the priest-class who perform all the religious and other social
rites of the rest of the higher classes, and earn their bread by the fees received
from the performance of the acts of their office. The Vankars,
who are next in rank, are the weavers, and maintain themselves by weaving the
cloth on handlooms (hath-sal). The Chamars mostly live by the cobbler’s profession. The main
occupation of the Turis is presentation of some
drama-like performances and participating in the Bhavais
and such other programmes. It is the Actor Caste. The Shenmas
act as barbers in some villages while in some other places they live by the
cottage industries, such as broom-making and basket-weaving. They alone amongst
the Harijans possess arms such as the sword, spear, dhariyu,
etc., like the Thakard caste of
Most
of the social problems of the caste are decided by the social organisations of
different castes. A group of some villages, the number of which may vary from
11 to 15 or more, is called Godh; certain rules of a
social nature for the Godh (Gol)
are formulated. These rules decide the Takka to be
charged for the settlement of the marriage, the Dapu
or the dowry to be paid by the bride-groom’s side to the bride’s father, the
meals to be served to the bride-groom’s marriage party, the number of persons
to accompany a marriage party, and such other important problems. As could seen
be from this list of matters, these are the most elementary and essential
problems touching each individual and his family. A rational consideration is
given in fixing rules for the smooth working of the social order by attempts to
remove the economic disparity so far as the more important events of social
life are concerned, and by attempts to conform to the convenience of every one.
These rules are confirmed or changed and decided otherwise by a larger body of
the caste, called Nat or the Caste-Conference. The rules once accepted are to
be obeyed by all, and the breach of these rules results in fines imposed by the
Nat, and sometimes persons or families are declared as out-caste for not
carrying out the orders.
For
about 500 villages in Mehesana District, there are eleven Godhs
of the Vankar caste, each Godh
having a certain fixed number of villages. For instance, the one in Jaswa village relates to twelve villages. There are
different Godhs for different castes.
1. Birth of the
Child:
The
birth of the child, especially of a son, and more so of the first one, is
celebrated almost universally. The Harijans are not an exception to this. On Patan side the birth of a son is announced by beating a
metal dish (thali), and that of a daughter by beating a winnowing basket.
There are different traditions in different castes in different parts. The Patasa, coconut dhana, and
sweet-meats are distributed by some. Some celebrate the same by distributing churmu in the Mehlla only. The
delivery generally takes place at the woman’s father’s house, and is in the
charge of illiterate elderly women. Medical aid was hardly available in former
days. The birth of a son is reported to the woman’s husband’s household through
a special messenger, while that of a daughter is conveyed by a mere message.
After
a week, a black or blue string is tied round the waist of the child (kandoro) with the idea to protect it from evil spirits or
from the evil sight (najar) of some suspected
individuals. Among the Vankars, after a month and a
quarter, the new mother, together with other married and elderly women, goes to
a well. On a leaf of the pipal tree kumkum is spread, and it is worshipped. The juwar (jar) is spread on the earth for the birds and
insects, and jaggery is distributed to those present. The mother can thereafter
carry out her routine work in the household and outside.
2. JIYARU or the
Farewell:
After about two or three months, the woman’s father sends a message to the father-in-law of his daughter to take away the child with the mother. The husband of the woman, her father-in-law and some other people come to the woman’s father’s house. The son-in-law is presented with a golden ring on this occasion; the father-in-law gets a turban. The new mother wears all her ornaments, and the young one is entitled to the lion’s share of attention. It receives a golden necklace, silver anklets (sanzar), a bed, a bed-sheet, a cradle, one small basket, a few utensils and a lota.
3. ZEM or the
Christening:
This
takes place at the age of about seven or eight months for the child; or
according to tradition. The child is weighed with jaggery, which is then
distributed in the locality. The child is placed in the lap of the aunt (Fai) or the grand-mother. The Garoda
recites some mantras and performs solemn religious rites. The womenfolk enjoy
the occasion by singing various songs. In some villages, the child is taken to
the temple of Hanumanji. The ladies sing songs, and
put the child in front of the deity. The Dhokda or
the fried cakes of Adad are offered to the god, and
distributed to those present and to the nearer relatives.
4. PATLE BESADWU or
the Initiation:
Social barriers and religious impediments have been the main causes of a remarkable practice among the Harijans. In spite of the unfailing promise of Lord Shri Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita that, “even women, vaishyas and shudras, they also reach the summum bonum,” (Glta: IX, 32) the upper classes debarred the Harijans from following the usual course of religious practice. But the thirst for spiritual attainments recognises neither untouchability nor any other type of limitation. It cannot be suppressed by external restrictions banished by imperial orders. Having been prohibited from all sides, the Harijans took to the choice of a spiritual preceptor or Guru to satisfy their spiritual needs. In fact, to remain without a Guru is not allowed among the Harijans. Every child is initiated sometime between the age of five and eleven. On a day fixed for the ceremony, the child takes a bath and wears new clothes. It is made to sit on a wooden seat, and the Gor (family priest) or Waiwancho (reader of records) performs certain religious rites. He reads the genealogical table to the child, informing him about his fore-fathers, family, caste, lineage and such other details, and also enters in his records the name of the child. The record-keeper generally visits the villages, makes new entries and collects his annual fees.
There is still another custom prevalent in some areas. Over and above this religious teacher, there is a family preceptor, different from the Gor or the Waiwancho. He may not belong to the same caste, or even be a Garoda. He is a Bawa or some other person recognised as an authority in spiritual training. Whenever he arives in the family, the new child or children are initiated. There is no age-limit for this. In honour of the arrival of the Guru, the Pat or the Satyanarayana Katha is performed. The Guru makes the child sit on the Patla and performs certain religious rites, and the child is initiated into the sect. The members of the family, the relatives and the Garodas are given a feast, and an offering of gifts is made to the Guru. The Guru is supposed to be the incarnation of Brahma, the Creator. But, of late, these Gurus are losing their prestige and position, due to their exorbitant demands by way of the preceptorial fees.
KANTHI
BANDHAWAWI or Group Initiation is still another practice in some areas. There
is a spiritual preceptor of the whole locality in a village (Was or Mehlla) as distinguished from the Guru of the individual.
He comes after about twenty-five years to each village. It is a very big festival
in the Harijan society. The women given in marriage to other villages, and the
men serving in other places, are specially invited for the occasion. All the
daughters-in-law in the locality must remain present. Funds are raised by
contributions from all the houses in the Was; and the expenses of gifts,
dinners, etc., are met from this fund. The individual who offers half a maund of ghee and other necessary things, and can make
other arrangements satisfactorily, becomes the host of the Guru It is his duty
to offer to the Guru whatever he demands by way of fees (Dakshina).
After the arrival of the Guru, a day is fixed by the leader for the initiation.
All the leading members, accompanied by the Guru go to fetch the essentials for
the ceremony. The whole procession returns, singing songs and reciting the
Bhajans. A big pandal is erected at the host’s house.
All the members of the locality take their meals here only. Cooking in
individual houses is prohibited on this day. After the meals, the Guruji tells various stories, and delivers sermons on
different topics. New members of the locality, including young children, sons
and daughters-in-law, are introduced to him. In the evening; all get ready with
new gorgeous clothes, and a procession starts, with the males in front, the Guruji in the middle and the females in the rear. Males
recite Bhajans, and females sing the songs meant for the arrival and the
reception of the Guruji. The procession goes round
the locality, and then halts at a place where a small reception ceremony takes
place. The host and the hostess worship the Guruji,
present him with new clothes and gifts, and fall at his feet, to win his
blessings. The procession returns to the host’s place where the Bhajan-Kirtana continues throughout night. At about three
o’clock in the morning, all persons to be initiated return home to take their
bath, and return wearing new clothes, with fresh minds to receive the new
sacrament. They bring with them money to be paid to the Guruji
as Dakshina. The Guruji
makes each one sit on a Patla, himself recites, and
makes them recite, certain mantras, performs rites, and recites very slowly a
certain secret mantra in the ear of each one so that others do not hear the
same. He gives the Prasad. They pay the fees. He offers the sacred water of his
feet (charanamrita). They fall at his feet. He ties
the sacred thread (Kanthi) to all. The daughters of
the Was who are married outside it, and the visitors not belonging to the Was
do not participate in the sacred ceremony, as they belong to the other Was, and
hence to the other Guruji. All the same, at the
farewell function, these ‘outsiders’ pay their homage to the Guruji, together with Dakshina,
and he in return gives them Kanthi. The Guruji gets his fees from the fund, and also gifts from
others. At the farewell function, all go in procession to a certain distance,
singing songs and reciting Bhajans, and, after the departure of the Guruji, the festival and the great rejoicing and enthusiasm
come to an end.
5. Marriage:
Early
marriages prevail among Harijans, and they are settled by the parents. There
are certain limitations in this regard. Amongst the Bhangis,
the bride and the bride-groom cannot be from the same village, and yet they
cannot be from outside the Godh. The immediate
relations of the parents, like aunts and uncles, should not settle the
marriage.
Every
caste has in every Godh a fixed Takka
and Dapu. One Takka is
three pice and one Rupee. This varies from one Takka to five Takkas. The Dapu or dowry is to be paid by the bride-groom to the
bride’s father. This varies from Rs. 200/- to Rs. 450/- or as decided by the Godh or the Nat. For settling the marriage (Wewishal or Sagai) elderly
persons from the bride’s side go to the bride-groom’s house. They get the meals
mostly of Kansar, a sweet dish of wheat flour, and
the marriage is settled after payment of the Takka;
as prescribed in the caste.
On
a day fixed for the marriage, the relatives are invited by both the sides. The
general invitation is circulated by the Gor, but Mama
is to be invited by the parents themselves. The maternal uncles go to their
respective parties (Moshal) and distribute the
clothes, ornaments and gifts (Mameru) to those
concerned. The Gor announces these presents, and
songs are sung in praise of the Mama.
The
females from the respective Mehllas gather together
to sing songs, as the nearer female relatives prepare the auspicious and
fragrant aromatic powder (Pithi). This pithi is anointed on the body by the bride and the
bride-groom, and the sacred bath is taken. On the eastern or northern wall of
the house a representation of Ganeshji is drawn and
is coloured with Kumkuma. But, now-a-days, a picture
of Ganapati is drawn or a picture-frame is put up for
worship. The maternal uncle takes him (or her) in front of the deity. Songs in
praise of the god are sung, a dish full of Modakas
and five and a quarter annas are offered to Ganapati. The blessings are received . The Gor takes the offerings to his place.
Then,
as prescribed by the Nat, twenty or more or less members from the bride-groom’s
side, including family members and relatives form into a marriage-party (Jaan). Among the Bhangis, females
are included who sing the songs. The Jaan gets the
prescribed meals at the bride’s place when it comes and then it goes to take
rest at a house in the village fixed for them which is called Jaani-Waas. A group of men (Warghadiya)
from the bride’s side must go to invite the Jaan for
the marriage; otherwise there is a fine. Before the Jaan
comes to the bride’s place, the Shenma, who receives
a rupee and a quarter, ghee and jaggery from the bride’s mother, ties the Torana made of leaves of the mango or ashoka
tree to every house in the Mehlla. When the Jaan comes near the Torana, the
bride’s mother comes first to receive the son-in-law. She brings a lota full of water, with a
mango-leaf in it and a coconut on it, all covered with a piece of cloth.
The Gor performs some rite, the mother of the bride
puts a kumkuma-tilak (Chanlio)
on the forehead of the bride-groom and makes him take a mouthful of water (Koglo). This rite is called War-Pokhnu.
The
Jaan then returns to the Jaani-waas,
and in the evening the bride-groom is brought to the bride’s house. The Gor takes the bride and the bride-groom to the quadrangle called
the Chori. If any gifts are to be made from the
bride’s side, they are finished by this time. The union of hands (Hasta-melap) takes place in the presence of the sacred
fire, kindled along with mantras by the Gor, and the Gor recites four Mangalas (auspicious
verses). There are some offerings to the fire, and then seven or four rounds (Saat Phera or Chaar
Phera) around the sacred fire are made by the couple.
This sacramental rite takes place late in the course of the night, at about 4
or 5 a.m. The son-in-law gets a silver girdle (Kandoro)
and a golden ring from his father-in-law, and the daughter receives a pair of
clothes, anklets (Kadla), necklace (Handi), nose-ring (Kati), copper vessels (Bedu), a lamp and a vessel of ghee from her father. After a
few minor rites the marriage ceremony is over. The Jaan
stays for two or three days only and is entitled to get the prescribed meals,
the failure of which is fined. The Garodas do not
perform the marriages of Bhangis, and therefore these
are carried out by a bawa, a sadhu,
a guru, a son-in-law or a gor.
Along
with the new bride, her brother goes to her husband’s house in the returning Jaan to fetch her back (Anu). He
is then called Ansar. This going to the husband’s
house and coming back to father’s house (Anu ) takes
place three or four times, till the bride reaches the age of puberty. At that
time the message is sent to the daughter’s father-in-law. Either the
brother-in-law or the father-in-law arrives to take away the bride. They have
to pay a small sum, similar to Dapu, to the bride’s
father. Anu stops after the woman is pregnant.
6. KHOLO BHARAWU or
Rites after pregnancy:
When
the woman is pregnant, the message is sent to her father. In a fixed month of
her pregnancy, the father or the brother goes to her house with one and a
quarter seer of rice, one coconut, five betel-nuts, KumKuma
and one Takka. He stays overnight; the next morning
these things are tied to the end of the saree of the
woman. She falls at the feet of the deities and the elderly persons, and
receives their blessings. The sister-in-law gets a saree
from her, and the former makes the Chanllo to her Bhabhi. Then the woman goes to her father’s house for the
delivery.
7. Remarriage and
Divorce:
The
custom of widow-remarriage prevails among the Harijans. The young widowed
daughter stays with her father. The prospective husband fixes the terms of Dapu, etc., with the widow’s father, and a day is fixed.
Either on Tuesday or on Wednesday, at night, he arrives, pays the amount, puts
the Chudi on the hands of the widow, presents to her
a saree which she puts on, and gives to her a
necklace (Hahdi). This is remarriage. No rite is
prescribed.
Chhuta-Chheda or Divorce is allowed
among Harijans. No specific reasons are required for divorce. If the wife does
not desire to stay with the husband, she has to pay Rs. 313 or the sum decided
by the rules; and if the husband wants to break the marriage tie, he has to pay
Rs. 51 or Rs. 101, or as decided by the rules, to the other party. In the presence
of the Nat-Panch, the Gor
prepares two copies of the document of divorce, one for each, and they are
given to both of them. This brings about divorce among, the Harijan castes.
8. SARAD HAKHWU or
Funeral Rites:
The
funeral rite is the most expensive custom among these castes. After the death
of a person, the body is burnt, and the ashes are collected for immersion in
the Saraswati river. In the case of a child’s death the body is buried, but the
nails and the bones are preserved for immersion. Among Bhangis,
on the twelfth day, the relatives and other people come to weep over the death
of the person. They eat Kansar and Khichdi, and go home. This is called Barmu
Karwu Among Vankars, there
are three different forms of this rite. In the first, on the twelfth day, all
the people from the Mehlla take food at the house of
the dead person. In the second, called Nat, all males from the Godh come and stay in the village for two days and take the
caste dinners at the house of the dead. In the third, called Kalshiyo Bharwu, all males,
females and children from all the villages in the Godh
assemble for one day, and dine at a caste-dinner. This last form is more a
matter of prestige and position than a rite. Sometimes, the dinners go on for
two or three days, the dishes being Khichdi, Shiro and Mag, Presents are
offered to the nearer relatives. This rite must be performed even after 20 or
25 years. If it is not celebrated, the family is declared as out-caste, and the
soul of the dead does not go to heaven. Thus, the mourning for the dead turns
to a festival. These dinners are given only at the death of elderly persons.
The
remains of the dead are taken to Sidhpur on the banks
of the Saraswati river. There is a big fair on Kartika
Purnima day. The fuel is collected, the Gor performs some rites, offerings are made to the fire,
the remains are cremated in the fire, and the Sarad
is complete. The relatives weep for the dead. They stay for three days and
finish other minor rites, give gifts to the poor in honour
of the dead, and return home.
There
are many other customs and beliefs among the Harijan
people. Tulashi-Puja, Gokul-Atham,
Ganesh-Pujan, the great Satnarayan
Katha on Bhadrapad Sud 11, the worship of Matas in
Nora days, the festivities of Dashera and Dhureti and the like need a more detailed study; Their
belief in ghosts and spirits requires special analysis. Their various
occupations can be the subject of a scientific economic study. Their dresses,
their stories of deities, their marriage songs and several other topics
relating to them require research by experienced scholars of anthropology and
of the social sciences.
The
more one lives among them and studies their ways, the more one realises that all human society is one, and that no group
is so advanced or so removed from another as not to realise that
“Their
gods are as their fates assign:
Their
prayer is all the world’s–and mine.”