A glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province By H.A. Rose Vol II/A

From Jatland Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The full text of this book has been converted into Wiki format by Laxman Burdak
Go to Index of the book

A glossary of the Punjab Tribes and Castes
Tribes and Castes starting with - A

Ab...

[Page-1]
  • Abdāl (अब्दाल), a small caste of Muhammadans found in Kangra and the Jaswan Dun of Hoshiarpur. The Abdals are divided into 12 ṭolis or septs. The Abduls of Kangra do not associate with those of Sukhar and Nurpur. The Abdals are beggars and wandering- singers, performing especially at Rajput funerals, at which they precede the body singing and playing dirges, ben or birlap. In the time of the Rajas when any Rajput was killed in battle and the news reached his home, they got his clothes and used to wear them while singing his dirge. Thus they sang dirges for Ram Singh, wazir of Nurpur, and Sham Singh, Atariwala, who had fought against the British, and for Raja, Rai Singh of Chamba. The Abdals now sing various songs and attend Rajput weddings. They are endogamous. Abdal means 'lieutenant' (see Platts' Hind, Dicty, s. v.) and is the name of a class of wandering Muhammadan saints.1 Whether there is any connection between the name and the Chihil Abdal of Islamic mythology does not appear. For the Abdals in Bengal see Risley, People of India, pp. 76 and 119.
  • Abdāli (अब्दाली), (1) a term once applied generally to all Afghans (q. v.), but now apparently obsolete : (2) the name of a famous family of tho Saddozai Paṭhāns which gave Afghanistan its first Afghan dynasty: Now known as Durrani, this family belonged to the Sarbani branch of the Afghans, and is believed by them to derive its name from Abdāl or Avdāl bin Tarīn bin Sharkhabūn b. Sarban b. Qais, who received this name from Kwhaja Abū Ahmad, an abdāl2 or saint of the Chishtia
1. It is the plur. of badal, 'substitute,' and the Abdāl, 40 in number, take the fifth place in the Sufi hierarchical order of saints issuing from the great Qutb, Also called 'Rukabā,' 'guardians,' they reside in Syria, bring rain and victory and avert calamity ; Encyclopaedia of Islam, s. V, p. 69.
2. See Abdāl supra.

[Page-2]
Abdali — Adam Khel
order. Driven from their lands near Qandahar by the Ghalzai, the Abdāili had long been settled near Herat, but were restored by Nadir Shah to their old home, and when Ahmad Shah became king at Qandahar his tribe served as a nucleus for the new empire. Influenced by a faqir named Sabar Shah he took the title of Durr-i-durran, 'pearl of pearls.' The two principal Abdali clans are the Popalzai, (to which belonged the royal section, the Sadozai) and the Barakzai : M. Longworth Dames in Encycl. of Islam, p. 67.
  • Abdhūt (अबधूत) (avadhuta)1 a degree or class of the celibate Gosains who live by begging. They are wanderers, as opposed to the matdāri or āsandāri class. Sec Gosaia.
  • Abhapanthi (अभपंथी), one of the 12 orders or schools of the Jogis (5. v.).
  • Abkal (अब्कल ), a sept of Rajputs, descended from Wahgal, a son of Sangar Chand, 16th Raja of Kahlur.
  • Abra (अबरा), an ancient tribe of Jat status found in Sindh and the Bahawalpur State. It is credited with having introduced the arts of agriculture into the south-west Punjab and Sindh in the proverb : —
Karn bakhshe kiror.
Abra bakhshe hal di or.
Meaning- 'Let Raja Karn give away crore of rupees, the Abra will give what he earns by the plough.'
The tribe is also said to be an offshoot of the Sammas and is numerous in Bahawalpur.
  • Abui (अबूई), a Jat clan (agricultural), found in Multan,
  • Abwani (अब्वानी), a Pathau clan (agricultural), found in Amritsar.

Ac...

  • Achi-Lamo (आची-लामो) (Tibetan), a group of actors, singers and dancers, found in Kanawar. They wear masks of skin with conch shells for eyes and a dress to which woolen cords are so attached that in dancing they spread out. The women play a large tambourine, and the men a small drum shaped like an hour-glass. Parties of five, — two men, two women and a boy — perform their dance.
  • Achran (अचरान), an agricultural clan, found in Shahpur.
  • Acharj(a) (अचार्ज), see under Brahman : syn. Mahabrahman.

Ad...

1. Avadhuta is also the name of a Vaishnava sect. Ramanand founded the Ramawat sect whom he called Avadhuta, because his followers had 'shaken off' the bounds of narrow-mindedness. To this sect belonged Tulsi Das, one of whose works was the Vairagya-Sandi-pani or 'kindling of continence.' (Notes on Tulsi Das, by Dr. G. A. Grierson. Indian Antiquary, 1893, p. 227),

[Page-3]
Adan Shahi-Ahangar
  • Adan Shahi (अदन-शाही), a Sikh sect or, more correctly, order, founded by Adan Shah, a disciple of Kanhya Lal, the founder of the Sewapanthis (q.v.).
  • Adh-nath (अध-नाथ), one of the 12 orders or schools of the Jogis (q. v.),
  • Adpanthi (आद्पन्थी), possibly a title of those Sikhs who adhere to the original (ādi) faith (or to the ādi-granth): cf. Census Report, 1891, § 88, but see Adh-nath.
  • Advait (अद्वैत), a Hindu sect which maintains the unity of the soul with God after death.

Af...

  • Afghan (अफ़गान), pl. Afaghina: syn. Rohilla or Rohela and Pathan (q. v-). The earliest historical mention of the Afghans occurs under the year 1024 A.D. (414-15 Hijri) when Mahmud of Ghazni made a raid into the mountains inhabited by the Afghanian— after his return from India to Ghazni — plundered them and carried off much booty.1 Afghan tradition makes Kashighar or Shawal their earliest scat, and the term Afghanistan or land of the Afghans is said to be, strictly speaking, applicable to the mountainous country between Qandahar and the Derajat, end between Jalalabad and the Khaibar valley on the north and Siwi and Dadar (डडर) on the south, but it is now generally used to denote the kingdom of Afghanistan. The Afghans used to be termed Abdalis or Awdalis from Malik Abdal under whom they first emerged from the Sulaiman Range and drove the Kafirs or infidels out of the Kabul valley. (See also s. v. Pathan, Bangash, Dilazak). By religion the Afghans are wholly Muhammadan and claim as their peculiar saint the 'Afghan Qutb' Khwajah Qutb-ud-din, Bakhtiar, Kaki of Ush (near Baghdad) who probably gave his name to the Qutb Minar at Delhi.

Ag...

  • Agari (अगरी), Agri (अग्री), Agaria (अगरिया) "a worker in salt," from āgara, salt-pan. The Agaris are the salt-makers of Rajasthan and of the east and south-cast Punjab, and would appear to be a true caste2. In Gurgaon they are said to claim descent from the Rajputs of Chittaur. All are Hindus, and found especially in the Sultanpur tract on the common borders of Delhi, Rohtak and Gurgaon, where they make salt by evaporating the brackish water of the wells. Socially they rank below the Jats, but above Lohars. A proverb says : " The ak, the jawāsa, the Agari and the cartman — when the lightning flashes these give up the ghost" apparently because the rain which is likely to follow would dissolve their salt. Cf. Nungar.
  • Aggarwal (अगरवाल), a sub-caste of the Banias (q. v.).
  • Agir (अगीर), a doubtful synonym of Agari (q.v.).

Ah...

  • Ahangar (अहंगर), a blacksmith.
1. For fuller details see the admirable articles by Mr. Longworth Dames on Afghanistan and Afridi in the Encyclopaedia of Islam (London: Luzac & Co.) now in course of publication.
2. But the Agaris are also said to be a mere sub-caste of the Kumhars. In Kumaon āgari means an " iron-smelter " : N. I. N. Q. I., §§ 214, 217. It is doubtful whether Agra derives its name from the Agaris, as there is an Agra in the Peshawar valley. For an account of the salt-industry in Gurgaon, see Gurgaon Gazettecr, 1884, page 57.
[Page-4]
Ahari - Ahir
  • Ahari (अहारी), a doubtful synonym of Aheri (q. v.).
  • Aheri (अहेरी) (a), Heri, Ahari (?), an out-caste and often vagrant tribe, found in the south-east Punjab, and originally immigrant from Rajasthan, especially Jodhpur and Bikaner. The name is said to be derived from Her, a herd of cattle, but the Aheri, who appears to be usually called Heri in the Punjab, is by heredity a hunter and fowler. He is however ordinarily a labourer, especially a reaper, and even cultivates land in Hissar, while in Karnal he makes saltpetre.1 In appearance and physique Aheris resemble Baurias, but they have no dialect of their own, and are not, as a body, addicted to crime.

Of their numerous gots the following are found in the Bawal nizamat of Nabha : —

Bhata. Chandalia. Charan. Chahurwal. Dahinwal. Dahmiwal, Dekhta. Dharuheria. Dharoria. Gahchand. Ghaman. Gogal. Gotala. Hajipuria. Jhindia. Junbal. Mahta. Mewal. Panwal. Rathor. Sagaria. Sailingia. Samelwal. Sandlas. Sarsut. Sendhi.


The Aheris are almost all Hindus, but in the Phulkian States a few are Sikhs. Besides the other village deities they worship the goddess Masani and specially affect Babaji of Kohmand in Jodhpur and Khetrpal. In marriage four gots are avoided, and widow re-marriage is permitted. All their rites resemble those of the Dhanaks,2 and Chamarwa. Brahmans officiate at their weddings and like occasions. The Naiks, who form a superior class among the Heris, resemble them in all respects, having the same gots and following the same pursuits, but the two groups do not intermarry or even take water from each other's hands. On the other hand the Aheri is said to be dubbed Thori as a term of contempt, and possibly the two tribes are really the same.

For accounts of the Aheris in the United Provinces, see Elliot's Glossary.

Ahir

  • Ahir (अहीर). The name Ahir is doubtless derived from the Sanskrit abhira, a milkman, but various other folk etymologies are current.3
The Ahirs' own tradition as to their origin is, that a Brahman once took a Vaisya girl to wife and her offspring were pronounced amat sangya or outcast ; that again a daughter of the amat-sangyas married a Brahman, and that her offsprings were called ahhirs (i.e., Gopas or herdsmen), a word corrupted into Ahir.
They are chiefly found in the south of Delhi, Gurgaon, and Rohtak and the Phulkian States bordering upon these districts, and in this
1. Aheri's also work in reeds and grass, especially at making winnowing-baskets and stools of reed.
2. The Aheris claim that they will not take water from a Dhanak, as the Chuhras do. Yet they rank no higher than the latter, since they eat dead animals, although they will not remove filth.
3. One of these is ahi-ār, " snake-killer," due to the fact that Sri Krishna had once killed a snake. But according to the Mad-Bhagwat, Askand 10, Addhiyae 17, Sri Krishna did not kill the snake, but brought it out of the Jumna.

[Page-5]
Ahir groups

limited tract they form a considerable proportion of the whole population.

The first historical mention of the Abhiras occurs in the confused statements of the Vishnu Parana concerning them and the Sakas, Yavanas, Bahlikas and other outlandish dynasties which succeeded the Andhras in the 3rd century A. D.

In the 4th century the Abhiras, Arjundyanas and Malavas are described as republican tribes settled in eastern Rajasthan and Malwa.1 They are divided into three khanps or sub-castes : —

(1) the Nandbansi, who call themselves the offspring of Nanda, the foster-father of Sri Krishna.2

(2) the Jadubansis who claim to be descendants of the Yadu, a nomadic race.

(3) the Gualbansi, who say that they are descended from the Guala or 'herdsman' dynasty and the Gopis, who danced with the god Krishna in the woods of Bindraban and Gokal.

The Jadubansi Ahirs are mostly found in the Ahirwati3 and Hariana, while the Nandbansis and Gualbansis are found in Mathura and Bindraban.

All three sub-castes are endogamous and avoid four gots in marriage.

The gots of the Jadubansis are:

1 . Abhirya.

2. Bachhwalya.

3. Balwan.

4. Bhankary,

5. Bhogwarya.

6. Bhunkalan.

7. Bhusarya.

8. Bhusla.

9. Chatasya.

10. Chura.

11. Dabar.

12. Dahiya.

1 3. Datarli.

14. Dholiwal.

15. Dhundala.

16. Dumdolya.

17. Harbala.

18. Jadam.

19. Janjarya.

20. Jarwal.

21. Jharudhya.

22. Kakralya.

23. Kakudhya.

24. Kalalya.

25. Kalgan.

26. Kankas.

27. Karera.

28. Khalod.

29. Kharotya.

30. Kharpara.

31. Khatodhya from Khatode in Patiala.

32. Khiswa.

33. Khola.

34. Khorrya.

35. Khosa

36. Khurmya.

37. Kinwal.

38. Kosalya from Kosli in Rohtak.

39. Lanba.

40. Lodiya.

41. Mahla.

42. Mandhar.

43. Mitha.

44. Mohal.

45. Nagarya.

46. Narban.

47. Notiwal.

48. Pacharya.

49. Sanp.

50. Sonarya.

51. Sultanya.

52. Thokaran.

53. Tohania.

54. Tundak.

55. Solangia, originally Solanki Rajputs.

1. V. A. Smith, Ancient History of India, pp. 240 and 250,
2.Sri Krishna, through fear of Raja, Kans, was changed for Nand's daughter and so brought up by him. Nand was an Ahir ; Krishna, a Kshatrya. Jadu was the son of Jagat from whom Krishna was descended, and the Jadubansi also claim descent from him.
3.Another account says that the Ahirwati is held by the Jadubansi and Nandbansi who smoke together, whereas the Gualbansi will not smoke with them (in spite of the latters' inferiority). It is not easy to define the boundaries of Ahirwati. It includes Rewari and the country to the west of it ; Rath or Bighauta lying to the south-west of that town and apparently overlapping it since Narnaul appears to lie in the Rath as well as in the Ahirwati.

[Page-6]
Ahir origins.

56. Bhanotra, originally Nathawat Rajputs, from Amla Bhanera in Jaipur: their ancestor committed murder and fled, finding a refuge with the Ahirs : and

57. Dayar, originally Tunwar Rajputs till 995 Sambat : the legend is that Anangpal had given his daughter in marriage to Kalu Raja of Dharanagar, but her husband gave her vessels for her separate use, and she complained to her father. Anangpal would have attacked his son-in-law but his nobles dissuaded him, and so he treacherously invited Kalu to his second daughter's wedding. Kalu came with his four brothers, Parmar, Nil, Bhawan and Jagpal, but they learnt of the plot and fled to the Ahirs, from whom Kdlu took a bride and thus founded the Dāyar got.

Some of the Nandbansi gots are : —

1. Bachhwal.

2. Harbanwal.

3. Kaholi.

4. Khatban.

5. Pacharya.

6. Rabar.

7. Sanwarya.

The Ahirs again give their name to the Ahirwati dialect, which is spoken in the tract round Narnaul, Kanaudh and Rewari. It differs little, if at all, from the ordinary Hindi of the south-east Punjab ; 1 for a full account of it and its local varieties the reader must be referred to the Linguistic Survey of India, Vol. IX, pp. 49 — 51 and 233 — 241.

The Ahirs are all Hindus, but in spite of their traditional connection with Sri Krishna 2 they affect Shivaji, Devi and Thakarji. They also worship Bandeo, whose shrine is at Raipur in the Bawal nizamat of Nabha and who is said to be a black snake : hence no Ahir will kill a black snake. In Saharanpur their marriage deities are Brahn and Bar deotas, but no traces of these cults are noted in the Punjab.

Ahir women dress differently to those of the Jat tribes, wearing red and yellow striped gowns, with a shawl of red muslin. But in Jind they are said to wear a gown (lengha) of blue cloth.

The Ahirs were probably by origin a pastoral caste, but in the Punjab they are now almost exclusively agricultural, and stand in quite the first rank as husbandmen, being as good as the Kamboh and somewhat superior to the Jat. They are of the same social standing as the Jat and Gujar, who will eat and smoke with them ; but they have not been, at any rate within recent times, the dominant race in any considerable tract. Perhaps their nearest approach to such a position was in the State of Rampur near Rewari, whose last chief, Rao Tula Ram, mutinied in 1857 and lost his state. His family still holds a jagir and its members are addressed as Rao, a title which is indeed grateful to every Ahir.

They are industrious, patient, and orderly ; and though they are ill spoken of in the proverbs of the country side, yet that is probably only because the Jat is jealous of them as being even better cultivators than himself. Thus they say in Rohtak : " Kosli (the head

1. C. R. 1891, p. 263.
2. Still, according to Mr. Maclagan, Krishna is their patron, C. R. 1891, p. 120. Moreover, they adopt Brahman or Bairagi gurus, receiving from them a kanthi (necklace) and the Krishna-mantra in return for a bhet or puja of Rs. 2 or 3.
3. N. I. N. Q. IV § 460.
[Page-7]
Ahir-Ahlawat

village of the Ahirs) has fifty brick houses and several thousand swaggerers." So in Delhi : " Rather be kicked by a Rajput or stumble uphill, than hope anything from a jackal, spear grass, or an Ahir" ; and again: "All castes are God's creatures, but three castes are ruthless, when they get a chance they have no shame : the whore, the Banya, and the Ahir." The phrase Ahir be-pir refers to their supposed faithlessness. But these stigmas are, now-a-days at least, wholly undeserved.

Their birth, death and marriage ceremonies are like those of the Malis, Gujars and Jats. Karewa is permissible, but in Jind, it is said, a widow may not marry her husband's elder brother and this is also the case in Gurgaon, where some of the higher Ahir families disallow widow re-marriage in toto1 and hold aloof from other Ahirs. Like the Rajputs the Ahirs recognise concubinage, and a father has a right to the guardianship of a concubine's son (suretwal) , bat he does not inherit. The Ahirs who disallow widow re-marriage also follow the rule of chundavand2.

They eat kachchi and pakki with all Brahmans and Vaisyas, but the latter do not eat kachchi from them. They will eat kachchi with Rajputs, Jats, Hindu Gujars, Rors, Sunars and Tarkhans, while the latter eat also with the former. They do not eat flesh3.

In and around Delhi city the Ahir is also known as Ghosi and claims descent from Nandji, adopted father of Krishna (Kanhyaii). Anciently called Gwalas the Ahirs were called Ghosi after their conversion to Islam4, but any cowman or milkseller is also called ghosi.

The principal Ahir or Ghosi gots are :—

  • Mukhia5 which ranks highest of all the gots.

Tho Hindu Ghosi customs resemble those of tho Hindu Rajputs. A Gaur Brahman officiates at the phera rite in marriage. The Ghosi have a system of punches and hereditary chaudhris. If one of the latter's line fail, his widow may adopt a son to succeed him, or, failing such adoption, the panch elects a fit person.

A very full description of the Ahirs will be found in Elliott's Races of the North-West Provinces, and also in Sherring, I, 332 ff.

Ah...

1.P. C. L. II, p. 132.
2. Ibid. p. 137.
3. Ibid. p. 138.
4. The meaning appears to be that any Muhammadan who became a cowman by trade was called Ghosi, and that this name then became applied to any Ahir or Gwala, so that we now find the Hindu Ahir as well as his Muhammadan competitor commonly called Ghosi.
5. Mukhia, 'spokesman,' is also a title given to a leading member of the caste, but it does not appear to be equivalent to chaudhri.
[Page-8]
Ahl-i-Hadis - Ahmadzai.
  • Ahl-i-Hadis (अहल-आई-हदीस), or "People of the Tradition," formerly styled Wahabis from the name of their founder. The Ahl-i-Hadis are Musalman purists. They accept the six books of traditions as collected by the Sunnis, but reject the subsequent glosses of the fathers and the voice of the church, and claim liberty of conscience and the right of private interpretation. They insist strongly upon the unity of God, which doctrine they say has been endangered by the reverence paid by the ordinary Musalman to Muhammad, to the Imams and to saints ; and forbid the offering of prayer to any prophet, priest or saint, even as a mediator with the Almighty. They condemn the sepulchral honours paid to holy men, and illumination of, visits to, and prostration before, their shrines, and even go so far as to destroy the domes erected over their remains. They call the rest of the Muhammadana "Mushrik," or those who associate another with God, and strenuously proclaim that Muhammad was a mere mortal man. They disallow the smoking of tobacco as unlawful, and discountenance the use of rosaries or beads. Apparently they insist much upon the approaching appearance of the last Imam Mahdi preparatory to the dissolution of the world. Politically their most important and obnoxious opinion is that they are bound to wage war against all infidels. The orthodox deny them the title of Musalmans."
A full history of the " Ahl-i-Hadis " is beyond the scope of this article. Its founder, Abdul-Wahhab, was born in Nejd in 1691 A.D., and his successors reduced the whole of Nejd and then overran the Hijaz. In 1809 their piracies compelled the Government of Bombay to capture their stronghold on the coast of Kirman, and in 1811-18 the Sultan of Turkey beheaded their chief and reduced them to political insignificance. Their doctrines were introduced into India by Sayyid Ahmad Shah of Rai Bareli, originally a free-booter who, after a visit to Arabia, proceeded to the North-West Frontier, and there, in 1826, proclaimed a jihad, or religious war against the Sikhs. His extraordinary ascendancy over the tribes of the Peshawar Border and his four years' struggle, not wholly unsuccessful, with the Durranis on the one hand and on the other with the Sikhs, and his ultimate defeat and death are described in James' Settlement Report of Peshawar (pp.43-44) and more fully in Bellew's History of Yusufzai (pp. 83—102). Patna is the head-quarters of the sect in India, but it has also colonies at Polosi on the Indus and at Sittana and Malka in Yusufzai beyond Buner. [For a general history of 'The Wahabis in India' see three articles in Selections from the Calcutta Review, by E.J. O'Kinealy].
  • Ahl-i-Hunud (अहल-आई-हुनूद) , [i) Indians: lit. 'people of the Indians' (Hunud,pl, of Hindi, Catafago's Arabic Dicty. s.v, Hunud) ; (ii) Hindus, as opposed to Muhammadans.
  • Ahluwalia (अहलूवालिया), one of the Sikh misls founded by Jassa Singh of Ahlu, a village in Lahore, and now represented by the ruling family of Kapurthala.
  • Ahmadzai (अह्मदजई), one of the two main divisions of the Darwesh Khel Wazirs.
[Page-9]
Ahmadzai-Akali
  • Ahulana (आहूलाना), one of the two great dharras or factions of the Jats found in Rohtak, etc. See Dahiya.

Ai...

  • Aibak (ऐबक), a small sept found at Wahind Sarmana near Kahror in Multan District which, despite its Turkish name, claims to belong to tho Joiya tribe.
  • Aipanthi (ऐपंथी), a follower of tho Aipanth, one of tho Jogi orders. It is found in Hissar and Mast Nath, founder of tho Bohar monastery in tho Rohtak District, originally belonged to it.

Aj...

  • Aitle (एटले), a sept or clan of Kanets found in the Kaljun pargana (Paliala State territory), Simla Hills.
  • Ajudhia-panthi (अजुधिया-पंथी), (i) a Hindu Vaishnava sect, so called because Ram Chandar lived in Ajudhia (Oudh); [ii) a Vaishnava. The latter is probably the only correct meaning.

Ak...

  • Aka Khel (अक-खेल), one of the eight principal clans of the Afridis.
  • Akali (अकाली). The sect of the Akalis differs essentially from all the other Sikh orders in being a militant organization, corresponding to the Nagas or Gosains among the Hindus. Their foundation is ascribed to (Guru Govind1 himself, and they steadfastly opposed Banda's attempted innovations. The term2 is sometimes said to be derived from akali-purusha 'worshipper of tho Eternal.' But akali means 'deathless,' i.e., 'God,' and Akali is simply 'God's worshipper.' The Akalis wear blue chequered dresses,3 and bangles or bracelets of steel round their wrists, and quoits of steel in their lofty conical blue turbans, together with miniature daggers, knives, and an iron chain.4 In their military capacity the Akalis were called Nihang5, or reckless, and played a considerable part in the Sikh history, forming the Shahids
1. Govind Singh, the tenth and last Guru of the Sikhs, 1675—1708.
2. Murray's Hist, of the Panjab, i., p. 130 ; Cunningham's Hist, cf the Sikhs, p. 117.
3. Malcolm points out that Krishna's elder brother, Bal Ram, wore blue clothes, whence he is called Nilambari, or 'clad in dark blue,' and Sitivas, or 'the blue clad ' (Asiatick researches xi, p. 221).
4. Strict Akalis do not wear the jaṭā or top-knot, but some do. Those who do not only use 'dur and lota' water and also smoke, which the jaṭā wearers may not do. Others, again, wear a yellow turban beneath the blue one, so as to show a yellow band across the forehead. The story goes that a Khatri of Delhi (Nand Lal, author of the Zindaginama) desired to see the Guru in yellow, and Govind Singh gratified his wish. Many Sikhs wear the yellow turban at tho Basant Panchmi. A couplet erroneously ascribed to Bhai Gurdas says : Siah, sufed, jo pahne, surkh, zardai, soi Gurbhai. Means : 'They who wear dark blue (the Akalis), white (the Nirmalas), red (the Udasi's), or yellow are all brothers in the Guru.'
5. Ibbetson.§ 522. Cuningham (p. 379) says nihang.'naked ' or 'pure ' and it has that meaning literally (cf. Platts s. v.), but in Sikh parlance the word undoubtedly means 'free from care,' 'careless,' and so 'reckless.' In Hinduism it bears its original meaning.
[Page-10]
Akali - Akezai

or first of the four dehras. At the siege o£ Multan in 1818 a few Akali fanatics1 carried the faussebraye by surprise, and precipitated the fall of that fortress. The career of Phula Singh illustrates both their defects and their qualities. This great Akali first came into notice as the leader of the attack on Metcalfe's escort at Amritsar in 1809. He was then employed by Ranjit Singh, who stood in considerable awe of him, as a leader in the Indus valley, where he was guilty of atrocious cruelty towards the Muhammadan population, and in Kashmir. Finally, Phula Singh and his Akalis contributed to, or rather virtually won for Ranjit Singh, the great Sikh victory over the Yusafzais at Teri in 1823. In this battle Phula Singh met with a heroic death, and his tomb at Naushahra is now an object of pilgrimage to Hindus and Muhammadans alike.

Under Phula Singh's earlier leadership, and perhaps before his rise, the Akalis had become a terror to friends and foes alike, and they were dreaded by the Sikh chiefs, from whom they often levied contributions by force.2 Ranjit Singh, after 1823, did much to reduce their power, and the order lost its importance.

The Akali headquarters were the Akal Bunga3 at Amritsar, where they assumed the direction of religious ceremonies and the duty of convoking the Gurumata; indeed, they laid claim to exercise a general leadership of the Khalsa. Since Ranjit Singh's time Anandpur has been their real headquarters, but their influence has to a large extent passed away, and some of them have degenerated into mere buffoons.

As an order the Akalis are celibate. They have, says Trumpp, no regular chief or disciple, yet one hears of their Gurus, whose leavings are eaten by their disciples (seivak or chela). They do not eat meat or drink spirits, as other Sikhs do, but consume inordinate quantities of bhang.

Literature.— The general histories of the Sikhs, see art. 'Sikh'; J.C.Oman, Mystics, Ascetics and Saints of India, London, 1903, pp. 153, 198 — 201 ; A. Barth, Religions of India

  • Akazai (अकजई)., (i) one of the principal branches of the Utmanzai Pathans, (ii) a Black Mountain tribe, a section of the Isazai clan of the Yusufzai Pathans, whose modern history is described in the Hazara Gazetteer, 1907, pp. 164—182.
  • Akere (अकेरे), an agricultural clan, found in Shahpur.
  • Akezai (अकेजई), a Pathan clan (agricultural), found in Montgomery.
1. They were headed by one Jassa Singh, called Mala ('rosary ') Singh, from his piety. 'He denied himself the use of bhang, the only intoxicating drug in use among the Akalis. See Carmichael Smyth's Reigning Family of Lahore, p. 188, Prinsep, On the Sikh Power in the Punjab, p. 1ll, and Phoola Singh, the Akali, iu Carmichael Smyth, op. cit., pp. 185—192.
2. Contemporary writers had a low opinion of their character, e, g., Osbsrne describes their insolence and violence (Court and Camp of Ranjit Singh, pp. 143—146, 181
3. One of the takhts or thrones, of the Sikhs, M'Gregor, Hist. of the Sikhs, i. 238, says that on visiting the temple (sic) of the Akalis at Amritsar, the stranger presents a few rupees and in return receives some sugar, while a small mirror is held before his face so as to reflect his image. This practice, if it ever existed, is now obsolete.

[Page-11]

Akhund Khel - Ali Sher Khel
  • Akhund Khel (अखंड-खेल), tho section of the Painda Khel sept of the Malizai Yusufzai Pathans to which tho Khan of Dir belongs. It occupies the lower part of the Kashkar (Dir) valley, in which lies the village of Dir. It owes; its name to the fact that it was founded by Mulla Ilias or Akhund Baba who acquired a saintly reputation. [This Akhuud Baba is not to be confused with tho Akhund of Swat, who was born in 1784 of Gujar parents in Buner or Upper Swat and as Abd-ul-Ghafar began life as a herd boy, but acquired the titles of Akhund and Buzurg (saint) by his sanctity. He married a woman of the Nikbi Khel.]
  • Akhundzada (अखंड-जादा), or Pirzada, a descendant of a saint of merely local or tribal reputation (as opposed to a Mian) among the Pathans of Swat and Dir. The descendants of Mulla Mushki Alam rank as Akhundzadas because he held that rank, otherwise they would only be Sahibzadas (q. v.).
  • Akkuke (अक्कुके), a Kharral clan (agricultural), found in Montgomery. Cf, Akuk.
  • Akora (अकोरा), the branch of the Khattaks descended from Malik Akor, who founded Akora on the Kabul river in the Peshawar District in the time of Akbar. The Akora or eastern faction of the Khattaks is opposed to the western or Teri party.
  • Akra (अकरा), a tribe (agricultural) found in Jhelum [Gr., p. 126].
  • Akozai Yusufzai (अकोजई-युसुफजई), the tribe of Yusafzai Pathans which now holds Upper and Lower Swat. Their septs hold this territory as follows, working- upwards along the left bank of the Swat river : the Ranizai and Khan Khel hold Lower Swat : while the Kuz-Sulizai (or lower Sulizai) comprising the Ala Khel, Musa, Khel and Babuzai ; and the Bar-Sulizai, com- prising the Matorizai, Azzi and Jinki Khels hold Upper Swat : Baizai is a generic term for all these septs except the Ranizai. Working down-wards on the right bank of the Swat are the Shamizai, Sebujni, Nikbi Khel and Shamozai in Upper, and the Adinzai, Abazai and Khadakzai, all, except the two last-named, known collectively as Khwazozai, in Lower Swat. Tho Akozai also hold most of Dir, tho Painda Khel holding the left bank and tho Sultan Khel the right below Chutiatanr, while lower down the Sultan Khel holds both banks ; and below them again lie the Nasrudin Khel and the Ausa Khel.

Al...

  • Aldang (अल्डंग), a sept of Kanets found in tho village of Labrang in Kanawar (in the Bashahr State).
  • Aliani (अलिआनी), one of the four clans of the Laghari tribe of tho Baloch. The chief of the Lagharis belongs to it.
  • Ali Khanana (अली-खाणान), a clan of the Sials : Chenab Colony Gazetteer, p. 54.
  • Ali Khel (अली-खेल), an affiliated hamsaya or client clan of the Orakzai Pathans.
  • Ali Sher Khel (अली शेर खेल), one of the four main clans of the Shinwari Pathan, when eastern sections are the Khuja or Khwaja, Shekhmal, Asha, Pirwal and Pisat. Other sections are the Aotar or Watar and the Pakhel.
[Page-12]
Alizai-Ansari
  • Alizai (अलिजई), Allezai, (1) one of the five great clans of the Orakzai Pathdns. The name is now practically obsolete and the clansmen are known by the names of their septs, e.g., Sturi, And and Tazi. The two last-named are Shias, (2) a distinguished family in Multan (see Gazetteer 1902, p. 103).
  • Allazai (अल्लाजई), one of the principal branches of the Utmanzai Pathans. Of the three Utmanzai branches (Akazai, Allazai and Kanazai)the Allazai are most numerous in Hazara and comprise three clans, Khushhal-khani, Said-khani and Tarkheli. The leading families are by clan Said-khani, the most important being that of Khalabat, of which Mirzaman Khan, Sir James Abbott's bravest and most loyal follower, was a member.
  • Allahdadi (अल्लाह्ददी), a Baloch clan (agricultural), found in Montgomery.
  • Alpial (अल्पिआल), a tribe of Muhammadan Rajputs found in Rawalpindi where they hold the southern corner of the Fatah Jang tahsil. Their marriage ceremonies still bear traces of their Hindu origin, and they seem to have wandered through the Khushab and Talagang country before settling in their present abodes. They are "a bold lawless set of men of fine physique and much given to violent crime."
  • Aluajia (अलूअजिया), a synonym for Kalal [q. v.).
  • Alwer (अल्वेर), a Kharral clan (agricultural), found in Montgomery.

Am...

  • Amazai (अमजई), a section of the Utmanzai Yusufzai Pathans, lying north of the Utmanzais. Their territory marches with the trans-Indus territory of the Tanawali Khan of Amb.
  • Amlawat (अम्लावत), a tribe of Jats claiming descent from Amla, a Rajput : found in Jind.
  • Amritsaria (अमृतसरिया), a Sikh, especially one who worships at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

An...

  • Anandi (अनंदी), a title found among Sanniasis.
  • Andar (अन्दर), a Pathan sept, which occupies most of the district south of Ghazni in Afghanistan and is associated with the Musa Khel Kakar who are descended from an Andar woman. Probably Ghilzais.
  • Ansari (अंसारी) (pl. of nisar, a helper),1 lit. auxiliaries, was the title given to the believers of Madina who welcomed Muhammad after his flight from
1. Ansari appears to be really an adjectival form from ansar, pi. of nasir.
A typed separate note- On the 3rd. September 1903 one Hemraj son of Pokhar of Multan who had turned faqir some 10 years ago and inuuguarated a religion which he termed Appa-panthi. His relatives and followers some 3000 in number dressed his "body in silk clothes, placed some tiki on his forehead, a garland round his neck and a tiladar (gold laced) cap on his head. They then placed his "body in a sitting position in a coffin and after carrying it round the city, had it photographed. They then took it to the river arriving about 11 p.m., put it in the water, proceeded to cook and eat some halwa and finally returned with the grave clothes and coffin. Besides these proceedings which were against the principles of Hinduism, they permitted to perform that portion of the funeral ceremony called the kirya karm . The Hindus were disgusted at these obsequies and with the relatives and followers for transgressing all the regular Hindu funeral rites.
[Page-13]
Ansari-Arain
Mecca,1 and those who claim descent from those men style themselves Ansari. One of the most interesting Ansari families in the Punjab is that of the Ansari Shaikhs of Jullundur. It claims descent from Khalid 'Ansar' (Abu Ayub), who received Muhammad in his house at Madina, through Shaikhs Yusuf and Siraj-ud-din (Shaikh Darwesh). From the latter was descended the Pir Roshan, founder of the Roshanias. These Ansaris are said by Raverty to be of Tajik extraction. They intermarry with the Barkis or Barikkis of Jullundur who are Pathans.

Ao...

  • Aor-Mar (ओर-माड), a tribe of Afghana : see Urmur.

Ap...

  • Apa-panthi (आपा-पंथी), possibly a follower of Padmakar Bhat of Banda, a courtier of the Mahratta chief, the Apa Sahib, and a worshipper of the Ganges. The sect is mainly found in Rohtak and Hissar.

Ar...

  • Arab (अरब), a Jat clan (agricultural), found in Multan. [It is very doubtful if the Arabs of the Census returns are true Arabs, though there may be a few Arab merchants, etc., found occasionally at such centres as Peshawar and Multan. It is possible that a certain number of Qureshis, Shaikhs and others return themselves as Arabs.]
  • Arain (अरेन), Rain (रेन) (the latter form prevails in the Jumna valley), is a term which has at least two distinct meanings : in the Sutlej valley and throughout the eastern plains the Arains form a true caste, but in all the rest of the two Provinces the term is applied to any market-gardener and is synonymous with Baghban, Mali, Maliar, and oven Jat in the South-West Punjab. We are now concerned with the Arains as a caste.
Almost to a man Muhammadans and strongly inclined to orthodoxy,2 the Arains claim to be immigrants from Uch and have some affinities with the Kambohs. On the other hand some of the Arain and Hindu Saini clan names are identical, and those not always merely names of other and dominant tribes. From Uch they migrated to Sirsa and thence into the Punjab.
In Sirsa the Sutlej Arains meet those of the Ghaggar. The two do not intermarry, but the Arains of the Ghaggar valley say they were Rajputs living on the Panjnad near Multan who were ejected some four centuries ago by Saiyad Jalal-ul-din of Uch. They claim some sort of connection with Jaisalmer. Till the great famines of 1759 and 1783 A. D. they are said to have held all the lower valleys of the Choya and Ghaggar, but after the latter date the Bhattis harassed the Sumnis, the country became disturbed, and many of the Arains emigrated across the Ganges and settled near Bareli and Rampur. They marry only with the Ghaggar and Bareli Arains. The Sutlej Arains
1 See Muir's Life of Muhammad, p. 188-89 (abridged edition). The muhdjarin were the refugees who accompanied Muhammad, but the two names are sometimes confused. For further details see Temple'a Legends of the Punjab, III. The Saints of Jalandhar and D. G. Barkley, in P. N. Q. II.
2. So much so that in Ambala the Shaikhs, though really often identical with the Rains, arrogate to themselves a much higher place in the social scale.

[Page-14]
Arain groups

in Siraa say that they are, like the Arains of Lahore and Montgomery, connected by origin with the Hindu Kambohs. Mr. Wilson thinks it probable that both classes are really Kambohs who have become Musalmans, and that the Ghaggar Arains emigrated in a body from Multan, while the others moved gradually up the Sutlej into their present place. He describes the Arains of the Ghaggar as the most advanced and civilised tribe in the Sirsa district, even surpassing the Sikh Jats from Patiala ; and he considers them at least equal in social status with the Jats, over whom they themselves claim superiority. The Arains of Ferozepore, Ludhiana, Ambala and Hissar also trace their origin from Uch1 or its neighbourhood, though the Hissar Arains are said to be merely Muhammadan Malis.

On the whole it would appear probable that the Arains originally came from the lower Indus and spread up the five rivers of the Punjab; and that at an early stage in their history a section of them moved up the Ghaggar, perhaps then a permanent river flowing into the Indus, and there gained for themselves a position of some importance. As the Ghaggar dried up and the neighbouring country became more arid, they moved on into the Jumna districts and cis-Sutlej tract generally, and perhaps spread along the foot of the hills across the line of movement of their brethren who where moving up the valleys of the larger rivers. Their alleged connection with the Malis is probably based only upon common occupation ; but there does seem some reason to think that they may perhaps be akin to the Kambohs, though the difference must be more than one of religion only, as many of the Kambohs are Musalman.

In Ambala the Rains are divided into two territorial groups, Multani and Sirsawala. The former regard themselves as Shaikhs and will not intermarry with the latter.

The sections of the Rains in Jullundur, in which District they form more than 19 per cent of the population, and in Kapurthala are : —

Adan, Shahpur.

Arki, Sialkot.

Bagga, Gujrat.

Baghban, Bahawalpur.

Barar.

Bet or Bhat.

Bhaddu, claiming to be Hindu Rajputs from the Deccan.

Bhohar.

Bhambhani, Dera Ghazi Khan.

Bhatti, Dera Ghdzi Khan and Bahawalpur.

Bhutta, Bahawalpur.

Bot.2

Brahmin.

Burji.

Chachar.

Chabe, Sialkot.

Chandor, Sialkot and Maler Kotla.

Chanial, Sialkot.

Chandpal, Maler Kotla.

Chhanni.

Chaughatta, Shahpur and Bahawalpur.

Dabri.

Dhanjun, Bahawalpur.

Dhenga, Maler Kotla.

Dhinga,3 Sialkot.

1. Possibly the persistence of the Uch tradition points rather to religious influence than to the place of origin.
2.The Bot or But claim descent from Maluk (tutor of Jahangir !), who received a grant of land when Nurmahal was founded.
3. The Dhinga claim to be descendants of Fattu, son of Mitha, a Dhariwal Jat of Dhola Kangar. Fattu was converted to Islam in Akbar's reign.

[Page-15]
Arain origins

Dhot, Bahawalpur.

Dole.

Gailana, claiming Hindu-Rajput origin.

Garhi, Gadhi

Gandar.

Ghabar, Bahawalpur.

Gher, Sialkot.

Ghilu, Sialkot.

Gilan, Maler Kotla.

Gilin, Darbah.

Hadwani, in Dera Ghazi Khan.

Hasi.

Indrai.

Janala.

Ja(n)jua,1 Gujrat.

Jhanjhuna, in Shahpur.

Jindran, Bahawalpur.

Jiya, Bahawalpur.2

Jutala, Sialkot.

Kamboh, Bahawalpur.

Khatura, (Katuri in Bahawalpur),

Khuhara, Gujrat.

Khokhar, Gujrat, Shahpur and Bahawalpur.

Kir, Sialkot.

Mahmania, Sialkot.

Maqsudpuria.

Mandu.

Metla, in Dera Ghazi Khan.

Mirok, Bahaiwalpur.

Nadhi, Bahawalpur.

Nain, Maler Kotla.

Nani (Gujrat).

Padu.

Parji.

Pathan, also a Kamboh section, Bahawalpur.

Quraishi.

Rahla.

Rai or Rami.

Ranbi.

Sonkal, in Dera Ghuzi Khan.

Sahja, Bahawalpur.

Saki.

Salota.

Sapal, in Sialkot.

Sindhi, Bahawalpur.

Sindhu.

Sohad.

Sohana.

Tarar, in Gujrat.

Thinda, Bahawalpur.

Tind.

Thanow, in Sialkot.

Thekri, Bahawalpur.

Waband in Gujrat and Rawalpindi.

In Gujrat the Wahand, Khokhar, Bagga and Nain do not intermarry with tho Kamboh and Khohara sections — whom they regard as inferior.

The nucleus of this caste was probably a body of Hindu Saini or Kamboh cultivators who were converted to Islam at an early period. Thus in Jullundur the Arains say they came from Sirsa, Rania and Delhi and claim descent from Rai Jaj (grandson of Lau, founder of Lahore), who ruled Sirsa: that they were converted in tho 12th century and migrated to the Jullundur Doab about 300 years ago. But the Bhuttas claim descent from Raja, Bhuta, fifth in descent from Raja Karn and say they were forcibly converted even earlier— by Mahmud of Ghazni — and driven from Uch : —

Uchh na dite Bhutiān chatā Basanti nār,
Dana, pani, chukgyā, chahan moti hār.

'The Bhutas neither surrendered Uch, nor the lady Basanti, Food and water failed, and they had to eat pearls.'

1. Janjua claims to be descended from a Hindu Rajput of Pindi Bhattian. Mihr Uardana one of its ancestors, is said to have laid out the Shalimar Garden near Lahore.
2.Said to be really Kambohs, not Arains.
[Page-16]
Arain—Arora

The Arains, apart from their orthodoxy, differ little in their customs and dress from the Muhammadans generally. In Multan they prefer the blue majhla or waistcloth to the white and those of one village (Jalla in Lodhran tahsil) are in consequence known as the nili paltan or ' blue regiment.'

  • Arar (अरड़) . Arr, a tribe of Muhammadans of Jat status found in Dipalpur tahsil, Montgomery District, where they are settled along the Lahore border on the upper course of the Khanwah canal. They claim Mughal descent, yet say they came from Arabia, and are fairly good cultivators. Their ancestor came from Delhi, where he was in service 500 years ago, and settled in their present seat. By contracting marriages with Jats they have sunk to Jat status. In the Minchinabad nizdmat of Bahawalpur they are to be found intermarrying with, or giving daughters to, the Wattus. Also found in Shahpur, and classed as agricultural in both districts.
  • Arbi (अरबी) a Muhammadan clan, said to be of Arabian origin, which was, in Mughal times, given several villages round Multan, but it has now to a large extent lost its hold of them. It is classed as Jat (agricultural) both in Multan and Montgomery and is also found in the Ahmadpur East tahsil of Bahawalpur.
  • Ark (अर्क) a tribe of Muhammadan Jats, found in Jind, whose members are said to still revere their jathera Sain Das' shrine, and to give the dhianis Re. 1 at weddings in his name.
  • Arke (अड़के) an Arain clan (agricultural), found in Amritsar.
  • Arora (अरोड़ा), or Rora (रोड़ा) as it is often pronounced, is the leading caste par excellence of the Jatki-speaking, or south-western part of the Punjab, i.e. of the lower reaches of the five rivers and, below their junction, of the Panjnad, extending through Bahawalpur into Sind. Higher up the courses of the five rivers the Arora shares that position with the Khattri. The caste is wider spread and far more numerous than the Bhatia, but fully half the Aroras of the Punjab dwell in the Multan division and the Derajat ; though the caste is found, like the Khattri, throughout Afghanistan and even Turkestan. Like the Khattri again, but unlike the Bania, the Arord is no mere trader, but will turn his hand to anything. He is an admirable cultivator, and a large proportion of the Aroras on the lower Chenab are purely agricultural, while in the Western Punjab he will sew clothes, weave matting and baskets, make vessels of brass and copper, and do goldsmith's work. Despite his inferior physique, he is active and enterprising, industrious and thrifty. "When an Arora girds up his loins (says a Jhang proverb), he makes it only two miles to Lahore."1
In Bahawalpur the Aroras are very numerous and have the whole of its trade in their hands, dealing in every commodity, and even selling shoes and vegetables. Some are contractors, hankers or money-lenders, and in the latter capacity they have now acquired a considerable amount of land by mortgage or purchase from Muhammadan owners.
1. A variant of this proverb current in Gujranwala is Lak badha Arorian, te munna koh Lahor— 'if the Aroras gird up their loins, they make it only three-fouiths of a kos to Lahore.'
[Page-17]
Arora groups

though 40 or 50 years ago they did not own an acre of cultivated land. In the service of the State more Aroras than Muhummadans are employed, though the latter are nearly six times as numerous as the former. As several land-owning families have been ruined in their dealings with Aroras such sayings1 as Kirār howi yār, dushman dhār na dhār, "he who has a Kirar for a friend, needs not an enemy," are current in the State.2

By religion the great majority of the Aroras are Hindus, but a good many are Sikhs.

As a body the Aroras claim to be Khattris and say that like them they were dispersed by Paras Ram. Folk etymology indeed avers that when so persecuted they denied their caste and described it as aur or 'other,' whence 'Arora'; but another tradition, current in Gujrat, says they were driven by Paras Ram towards Multan near which they founded Arorkot. Cursed by a faqir the town became desolate and the Aroras fled by its three gates, on the North, South and "West, whence the three main groups into which they are now divided. But certain sections claim a different origin. The ruins of Arorkot are said to be near Rohri in Sindh.3

The Arora caste is organised in a very similar way to the Khattris. Its primary divisions are the genealogical sections, as in all Hindu castes, but it has three or four territorial groups : —

1. Uttaradhi, Northern.

2. Dakhana or Dakhanadhain, Southern.

3. Dahra, Western.

4. Sindhi, of Sindh.

Numbers 2 and 3 (Sometimes classed as one group) intermarry in some parts, but not in others. In Jhang they do not, but in Fazilka they are said to have begun to do so. The probability is that the Dakhand still take wives from the Dahra group, as they used to do.4

The Uttaradhi sub-caste appears to be absolutely endogamous east of the Indus, except in Bahawalpur where it takes wives from the other three groups : in Hazara whore it occasionally takes them from

1. Kirar, a term applied by Muhammadans to any Hindu shop-keeper or trader, is by no means equivalent to Arora, see s. v. Kirar.
2. The justice of the above quotation from the draft Gazetteer of the Bahawalpur State is disputed, and it is pointed out that the earlier Daudpotra rulers of Bahawalpur employed Aroras in positions of trust, and even appointed them to semi-military office as Bakhshis or paymasters. At present the Aroras are losing ground, specially in the higher grades of the State service.
3. A correspondent, referring to the Arorbash Aoli, an Urdu pamphlet published by the Khatri Samachar Press, Lahore, adds some interesting details. The pamphlet appears to be based in a History of the Arorbans in Nagri and the Bhu Sutr (Origin of the World) Puran. In the latter is given a dialogue between Parasu Rama and Art, a Khatri, in which the latter stoutly refuses to oppose the Brahmans and wins Parasu Rama's respect, being advised by him to settle in Sindh. The pamphlet also ascribes a sectarian origin to the Arora groups and declares that in 195 Vikrami social dissensions arose at Arorkot among the Aroras, so their purohit Gosain Sidh Bhoj convened a meeting at which the upholders of the old customs sat to the north, the reformers to the south and the moderates or neutrals to the west. Accordingly the North of Arorkot was assigned to the conservatives and the South to both the other parties, a fact which explains why the Dakhanis and Dahras are sometimes regarded as one and the same.
4. Punjab Census Report, 1883, § 514.
[Page-18]
Arora traditions

the Dahras or Dakhanas on payment but not by exchange ; and in Ferozepure where it takes from the Dahras.1

The Uttaradhi alone seem, as a rule, to have the Bari-Bunjahi divisions. The Bari group consists of 12 sections, thus—

Sub-group (i)

1. Ghumai.

2. Narule.

3. Monge.

4. Bazaz.

5. Shikri.
Suh-group (ii).

6. Manohande.

7. Pasriche.
Sub-group (iii)

8. Kantor.

9. Manak Tahle.

10. Guruware.

11. Wadhwe.


And of these numbers 1-7 intermarry, but will only take wives from numbers 8-12, and there is a further tendency on the part of numbers 1-5 to discontinue giving daughters to numbers 6 and 7. In the south-east of the Punjab the Bari and Bunjahi groups exist both among the Northern and Southern Aroras.2

A list of the Arora gots or sections will be found in Appendix I to this Volume.

There are a few sections, e.g., Sachdeo, Lund, Bazaz and others, which are found in more than one of the territorial groups. The Rassewat or rope-makers are clearly by origin an occupational section like the Bazaz or clothiers.

The names ending in ja are beyond all question patronymics. Others such as Budhraja or Bodhraji suggest a religious origin.

The Gosain Mule-santie claim to be descendants of a Gaur Brahman who came to the Jhang District and assumed the name of the Guruwara section, but became a devotee or gosain who made converts.

Other sections have various traditions as to their origins : Thus the Narangs say they were originally Raghbansis who denied their race when Paras Ram destroyed the Khattris, with the words na rag, ' No Raghbansi. Narag became Narang. The Chikur, a sub-section of the Sachdeos are so called because on a marriage in that section sweet-meats were as plentiful as mud (chikur). Narula is derived from nirala, 'unique,' because once a snake got into the churn when a woman was making butter, so the men of this section never churn, though its women may.

The Gogias or Gogas have a saying :

Khat khuh, bhar pāni, Tān tani parsing Gogiani.

i.e., they say to a would-be son-in-law: 'Dig a well and fill it with water. Then marry a Gogiani'.

1. Trans-Indus Captain O'Brien notes a solitary case of a girl of the Jam section (Uttaridhi) being given to a Kumbhar (Dakhana).
2. Sirsa Settlement Report, 1884, p. 114.

[Page-19]
Arora totem sections.

As in other castes some sections of the Aroras are credited with inherited curative powers. Thus the Dalewanis of Jampur can cure hydrophobia by spitting on a little earth and applying it to the bite. This power was conferred on their forbears by the blessings of their pir, the saint of Daira Din Panah. The Duas1 have an inherited power of curing a sprain in the back or loins by touching the part affected. The pain called chuk may also be cured by this section which uses the following charm: — Duā, sith bāri, phulon bhāri dari, hhanne chil (waist) karendi sari. The charm is read over a cloth and this is then applied thrice to the part, a push being finally given to it to expel the pain. The power was conferred on Seth Hari, the ancestor of the section, by faqirs. It is also said to be essential that the patient should go straight home without looking back. The power is exercised gratis.

A man of tho Chugh got can cure chuk or pain in tho loins2 by pushing the sufferer from behind. If a Chugh is not on band, it in sufficient to go to his house and rub one's back against the wall. Chugh may be derived from chuk, because the tribe has this power, but perhaps the idea is simply that a Chugh has power over chuk. It can also be cured by a family of Dhingra Aroras of Rajanpur who apply a part of their clothing to the part affected and push the patient thrice, or if none of them are present their house- wall is as efficacious as a Chugh.

Several Arora sections are named after animals such as : —

Babbar (? 1) in Montgomery.

Chutani, 3 bat.

Gaba, calf.

Ghira, dove, Montgomery and Multan.

Giddar, jackal.

Ghora, horse, Dera Ismail Khan.

Hans, goose, Montgomery.

Kukar,4 Kukkar, cock, Montgomery, Multan and Hissar.

Kukreja, cockerell, Dera Ismail Khan.

Lumar, fox, Montgomery.

Machhar, mosquito, Gujrat.

Makkar, locust, Gujrat.

Menda (?) ram or Mindha, long-haired, Montgomery.

Nangial, snake, Dera Ismail Khan.

Nag-pal, Nang-pal.5

Nangru.

(?) Sipra, a serpent.

Other sections are named from plants, etc., and are perhaps more likely to be totemistic. Such are :—

Chawala, rice.

Gera, said to avoid the use of ochre, geru, in Dera Ismail Khan.

Gheia, fr. ghi, clarified butter.

Jandwani, named after the jand tree in Dera Ismail Khan.

Kasturia, said to avoid tho use of musk, kasturi, (Dera Ismail Khan).

1. In Hissar this section of the Aroras may not wear blue lengha (trousers).
2. A child born feet foremost can cure pain in the loins by kicking the part affected:
3. Chutani, bat : a child was once attacked by bats, which, however, left him uninjured. The section worships bats' nests (charuchitti) at marriages.
4. The Kukar will not eat fowls, but most Hindus have a prejudice against them as food and in this very caste the Mehndiratta have for the last 12 or 14 years refused to eat them too.
5. Nangpal does not appear to mean 'snake,' but protector or raiser of snakes.

[Page-20]
Arora customs.

Kathpal, wood or timber (Montgomery) .

Kataria1 dagger (Multan).

Khani-jau, barley-eater.

Loṭa, a vessel.2

Manak-tahlia : said, in Hissar, to reverence the tahli or shisham tree.

Mehndiratta,3 henna : (Montgomery and Multan).

Mungi, a kind of tree (Hissar).

Pabreja, a kind of plant (Multan)

Rihani,4 basil.

Sawi-buti, green-herb.

Selani (?), pipal tree, Dera Ismail Khan.

Taneja,5 a kind of grass, tiran (Multan and Montgomery).

Tareja, tarri, 'a gourd ' : their ancestor once had to conceal himself among gourds, and they do not eat gourds.

Veh-khani, Viu-khani poison-eater : fr. veh or viu, 'poison ', in the Sindhi dialect as spoken in Bahawalpur. Possibly arsenic is meant. With regard to the sections mentioned as existing in Dera Ismail Khan, it is distinctly said that each shows reverence to the animal or plant after which it is named, thinking it sacred. The animal is fed, and the plant not cut or injured. The Chawalas, however, do not abstain from using rice, or show it any respect.

The women of the Uttaradhi group wear red ivory bracelets (and affect red petticoats with a red border, in Ferozepore), whence this group is styled Lalchuriwala.

The Dakhana women wear white ivory bracelets (and also affect red petticoats, the lower part 'laced ' with black.6

By gotra the Aroras, in Gujrat at least, are said to be Kushal, but their real gotra appears to be Kasib, ? Kishab or Keshav.

At weddings the Uttaradhis in Ferozepore are said to have a distinctive custom in the do rate phere, i.e., the boy's party must reach the bride's house on the afternoon of the 5th if the date fixed be the 6th or night of the 7th and the milni must be on the 5th-6th. Dakhnas and Dahras must on the other hand arrive before or on the afternoon of the 6th and if the lagan be fixed for an early hour on the 6th the bridegroom and a Brahman go in advance for that ceremony, the wedding-party following so as to arrive in the afternoon.

Widow marriage7 is in theory reprobated, but in practice tolerated among the Aroras, and in the south-west of the Punjab it is often

1. This section has a legend that a dagger fell from a wall amongst a number of children who were playing beneath it, but did not hurt them. Hence the section became known as Kataria, and worships the dagger, putting flowers before it at marriages.
2. Declare they milked a cow into a loṭā and presented it to their guru.
3. The Mehndiratta in Multan abstain from the use of henna, but so do other Hindus.
4. Because one of its members once received a faqir cordially, and the faqir blessed him saying he should prosper like basil (rihani).
5. In Multan the Tanejas abstain from eating tarli (gourd) : or at least their women do, in Montgomery. The Tanejas of Jhang say they are Khattris and that their ancestor instead of employing his own purohit called in some other Brahman and seated him on a kind of grass called tiran, whence came the name Taneja.
6. Dahra women are said to have red petticoats with a green border. These refined distinctions may possibly be observed in Ferozepore, but they are not general. It is also said that in some places Dahra women alone wear white, and Dakhanas spotted bracelets of both colours.
7. In Muzaffargarh widow re-marriage is not approved, and a couple who marry in defiance of the prejudice against it are called kachchra, i, e., mulish or wicked.
[Page-21]
Arora — Arya Samaj

solemnized by tho couple going out and circumambulating burning reeds. The Brahmans recognise widow marriage and assist at it, in fact if it is solemnised without a Brahman, people refrain from eating or drinking with the couple for a short time.

The customary law of the Aroras differs both from Hindu Law and the ordinary Punjab Custom. In its main features it resembles that of the Hindus generally in the south-west Punjab, and one of its distinctive features is tho sawāi, an extra quarter share which goes to the eldest son. Many Arora sections allow sons by the wife of another caste provided she was married as a virgin, not as a widow one-third of their father's property, two-thirds going to the sons by the other (Arora) wife. The position of daughters and sisters is more favourable than it usually is among Hindus under the Punjab Custom.1

Arya Samaj. — By far the most important modern Hindu sect in the Punjab, the Arya Samaj was founded about 1847 by Pandit Dayanand Saraswati, a Brahman of Kathiawar. Born in 1824, Dayanand had an equal aversion to idolatry and marriage, and after- profound researches in Sanskritic lore he founded a samaj or union at Lahore soon after 1847 — and subsequently in the rest of the Punjab. The latter part of his life was spent in travels in the United Provinces and Rajasthan. His attacks on existing Hinduism roused great antagonism. He insisted on a special interpretation of the Vedas and left behind him several works such as the Vede Bhashya, or translation of the Vedas, the Satyarth Prakash in which tho Arya religion is contrasted with others, and the Bhumka, an introduction to the study of the Vedas.

" The Arya or ' Vedic' religion", writes Mr. Maclagan," is primarily the outcome of the solvent action of natural science on modern Hinduism. The members of the Arya Samaj find the fantastical representations of the world and of man which are put forward in the eighteen Puranas to be inconsistent with natural science, and so reject their authority, looking on them as the outcome of the ignorance and craft of comparatively recent generations of Brahmans. The original and only authoritative scriptures in the eyes of the Arya Samaj are the four Vedas, and its professed aim is to restore the paramount authority of the Vedas by purging away subsequent accretions. Scriptures more recent than the Vedas and anterior to the Puranas (such as the Brahmanas, the six philosophic Darshanas, the ten Upanishads, etc.), are regarded as explanatory of the Vedas and authoritative only where they are not contradictory thereto. The Vedas themselves constitute the only infallible revelation. — 'The Vedas', wrote Dayanand, 'are revealed by God. I regard them as self-evident truth, admitting of no doubt and depending on the authority of no other book, being

1. Punjab Customary Law, XVIII, pp. vii, ix, xvii, cf. also Introd., p. 8.
[Page-22]
Arya Samdj doctrines

represented in nature, the kingdom of God. The bases of the Aryan faith are the revelation of God in the Vedas and in Nature, and the first pructicul element in this belief is the interpretation of the Vedas in conformity with the proved results of natural science.

In the interpretation of the Vedas the Arya Samaj finds itself at issue with the Sanskritists of Europe, whose translations represent the Vedas as the religious literature of a primitive people and, like the literature of other primitive peoples, quite regardless of, and inconsistent with, scientific accuracy. The Aryas contend that such a view arises from a mistaken literal translation of their scriptures, and that the earlier, and consequently more trustworthy, commentators having always refused to construe the Vedas in their literal sense, it is a mistaken view to suppose that they were originally composed with any meaning other than a metaphorical or derived one. Following these principles, the Samaj not only defends the Vedic rishis from all imputations of pantheism and polytheism, but finds in their writings numerous indications of an accurate acquaintance with the facts of science. It holds that cremation, vegetarianism, and abstinence from spirituous liquors are inculcated by the Vedas, and inculcated to a large extent on purely scientific grounds. It holds that the great religious rite of Vedic times, the agnihotra or homa sacrifice, is instituted with a view to rendering air and water wholesome and subservient to health, and because 'it plays a prominent part in putting a atop to the prevalence of epidemics and the scarcity of rainfall.' It is convinced that the latest discoveries of science, such as those of electricity and evolution, were perfectly well known to the seers who were inspired to write the Vedas.

While conceding this much to modern natural science, the Aryas refuse to see in it anything tending to materialism or atheism. Retaining their confidence in the Vedas, they have avoided the radical materialism of some of the earlier opponents of popular Hinduism. The Arya philosophy is orthodox, and based mainly on the Upanishads. The tenets of Dayanand, though leaning rather to the Shankya doctrine, do not fit in precisely with any one of the six orthodox systems ; but these systems are all regarded by the Aryas as true and as different aspects of the same principles. The three entities of Dayanand's philosophy are God, the Soul and prakriti or Matter. Soul he regarded as physically distinct from God, but related to Him as the contained to the container, the contemplated to the contemplator, the son to the father. Soul enters into all animals and there are indications of soul in the vegetable kingdom also. In most of its details the Aryan system retains the terminology of the traditional philosophy of Hinduism. It maintains above all things the law of metempsychosis and places the aim of virtue in escape from the law ; but this moksh or beatitude is for an era (kalp) only, after the termination of which the soul resumes its wanderings. The localization of the Hindu paradises, Parlok and Swarg, is rejected : heaven and hell lie in the pleasures and sorrows of the soul, whether these be in this life or in the life to come.

As a consequence of this doctrine it holds the futility of rites on behalf of the dead, and by this cuts at the root of that great Hindu in institution, the sraddh. Like other Hindus the Arya burn the dead,

[Page-23]

Arya Samaj aims

but for alleged sanitary reasons they employ spices for the hurning. At first they took the phul to the Ganges, but now they cast it into the nearest stream : they do not call in the Achiraj, and they omit all the ceremonies of the kiryakarm. At marriage they go round the sacred fire and walk the seven steps like the Hindus, but omit the worship of Ganesha. They generally employ Brahmans at weddings, but in several known instances these have been dispensed with. The Samaj finds an efficacy in prayer (prarthana) and worship (upasana) ; but it greatly limits the number of ceremonies to which it accedes any meritorious powers. It discourages entirely the practice of bathing in sacred streams, pilgrimages, the use of beads, and sandal-wood marks, gifts to worthless mendicants, and all the thousand rites of popular Hinduism. Only those rites (sanskaras) are to be observed which find authority in the Vedas, and those are 16 in number only. Idolatry and all its attendant ceremonies have, according to tho Aryas, no basis in the Vedas and no place in true religion. Rama, Krishna and other objects of popular adoration are treated euhemeristically as pious or powerful princes of the olden time; and in their salutation to each other the Aryas substitute the word 'Namaste' for the 'Ram Ram' of the vulgar.

Social and political aims of the Samaj. — The Aryas are careful to defend their religion from a charge of novelty : they regard it as a revival of an old and forgotten faith, the decay of which was due mainly to the Brahmans. The Arya theory of to-day is that the real Brahman is one who is a Brahman in the heart ; that the Vedas are not confined to one class ; and that all castes are equal before God. It is careful, however, to accept the existence of the four castes of ancient Hinduism : it retains the sacred thread for the three superior castes, and by implication debars the Sudras from some of tho privileges of the twice-born. In practice no Arya will marry with another caste or eat with men of another caste. The sect being almost entirely composed of educated men and being based on theories unfitted to the understanding of the lower castes, the right of Chuhras and tho like to join its ranks has not, I understand, been put to the test. But the Samaj is said to have been successful in receiving back into Hinduism persons converted to Christianity or Muhammadanism and in reinstating such persons in caste. The Aryas do not regard the cow as a sacred animal, but follow Hindu prejudice in considering the slaughter of a cow more heinous than that of other animals : and in the anti-cow-killing movement the Samaj was to some extent identified with the movement, though less so in the Punjab than in the United Provinces. In other respects the social programme of the Samaj is liberal and anti-popular in the extreme. It sets its face against child-marriage and it encourages the remarriage of widows. It busies itself with female education, with orphanages and schools, dispensaries and public libraries, and philanthropic institutions of all sorts.

The Arya doctrines have been formulated in a series of ten somewhat wide propositions, and any person professing belief in tho fundamental principles of the Samaj is eligible for membership, and may, after probation, be admitted as a full member and obtain a vote in the affairs of the society. Weekly meetings are held — generally on Sundays, so as to admit of the presence of Government servants and

[Page-24]
Arya Samaj - Aujla

ploaclers— with prayers, lectures on the Vedas and other subjects, hymns sung on the Sama Veda system, and other miscellaneous proceedings. At an annual meeting, a report is read and an Executive Committee with office-bearers appointed. Each local Samaj is independent of the others : but a considerable number of the local Samajes have voluntarily submitted to the Paropakarini Sabha of Provincial Committee, which in a general way supervises the local centres and arranges for the duo provision of Upadeshaks or missionaries. The Arya Samaj, though paying extreme reverence to the memory of Swami Dayanand, refuses to look on him or any one else as an infallible Guru ; and in the absence of any central control exercised by an individual, the organization above described has been very instrumental in keeping the society together and preventing so far any serious schism in its ranks. A still more marked influence is undoubtedly exercised by the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic College, which was founded in Lahore some time ago and has been conducted entirely on Aryan lines. The College, while preparing students in the ordinary subjects with considerable success for the university examinations, pays special attention to instruction in Sanskrit and Hindi, and imparts a certain amount of religious training by the institutions of morning and evening prayer in the boarding houses, and by the reading of extracts from the Satyarth Prakash."

The above quotations show how inadequately the Arya Samaj is described as a sect. Since they were penned, in 1891, the Samaj has been divided on the question of the lawfulness or otherwise of animal foods and two parties have been formed, one the vegetarian or Mahatma, the other the flesh-eating or 'cultured.' The former is, however, by no means narrow in its views, for it favours female education. The latter holds possession of the Dayanand College and is thence also called the Anarkalli or College party as opposed to the vegetarian or City party.

As...

  • Asandari (आसनदारी), syn. matdari, a degree or order of the Gosains- The term is applied to those settled in mats, as opposed to ahdhut.
  • Asial (असिआल), a clan of the Manj Bajputs.
  • Asram (असरम), a title found among Sanniasis.
  • Astawar (अस्तावर), a title found among Sanniasis.

At...

  • Athangal (अथंगल), a Jat clan (agricultural) found in the south of Multan tahsil, where it settled from Jammu in Mughal times.
  • Attar (अत्तार), a dispensing druggist. "You get the drugs from the pansari, and take them to the attar to make up. He also makes arak and sherbets. He no longer makes itr (otto) which is only made by the gandi or perfumer." [D. C. J. I].

Au...

  • Aujla (औजला), a tribe of Jats descended from their eponym a Hajual Rajput and found in Sialkot : also found in Montgomery where they are Muhammadans and classed as agricultural.
[Page-25]
Aulakh — Awan
  • Aulakh (ओळख), Aurak (औरक), a Jat tribe, whose head-quarters would appear to be in the Amritsar district, where they own a barah of, originally, 12 villages, but they are found in the northern Malwa, as well as in the Manjha. They are said to be of Solar descent, and their ancestor Aulakh lived in the Manjha. But another story makes their ancestor one Raja Lui Lak (राजा लूई लाक ), a Lunar Rajput. They are related to the Sekhu and Deo tribes with whom they will not intermarry.

In Amritsar they give the following pedigree :-—

Ram Chandar → Kasab → Dhaul → Raghupat → Ude Rup → Pura → Majang → Markhanb → Goe → Mandal → Dhanich → Aulakh.

This would make them akin to the Punnun. They are also found as a Jat (agricultural) tribe west of the Ravi as far as Leiah. In Montgomery they are both Hindu and Muhammadan. The Muhammadan Aulakh of Leiah have a curious tale. Complaint was made to Humayun that Pir Muhammad Rajan drank bhang, in defiance of the Quranic prohibition. So the emperor summoned the saint to Delhi and made him walk along a narrow path beset with poisoned swords, while a ferocious elephant pursued him. But as he walked the steel turned to water and one of his disciples killed the elephant with a single blow of his staff. Among the courtiers was Raja Aulakh, a Punwar Rajput, who at once embraced Islam. The saint returned to Rajanpur, and Aulakh followed him, conquered the country from the Balun tribe and gave it to the Pirs, on whom the emperor also conferred it in jagir, though the Aulakh continued to administer it until about 175 years ago, when their power declined.

  • Aure (औरे), an agricultural clan found in Shahpur.

Aw...

  • Awan (अवान). — The Awans are an important tribe, exclusively Muhammadan, chiefly found in the Salt Range, where they possess an Awankari,1 but also widely spread to the east, south and west of that tract. Extend-
1. There is also an Awankari in Jullundur : Purser's S. R , § 42. And in Hoshiarpur the Awans hold a bara in the Dasuya pargana on the high level plain near Mukerian P. N. Q. I., § 465.
[Page-26]
Awan origins

ing along the whole length of the Range from Jhelum to the Indus, they are found in great numbers throughout the whole country beyond it up to tho foot, of the Sulemans and the Safed Koh1 ; though in trans-Indus Bannu they partly, and in Dera Ismail Khan wholly, merge in the Jats, a term which in those parts means little more than a nondescript peasant. In Peshawar the Awans are included in the hamsaya or faqir class. In Kohat towards Khushalgarh they resemble the Awans of the Salt Range, but elsewhere in that District are hardly distinguishable from the Bangash and Niazais among whom they live.

The independent possessions of the Awans in the Salt Range were once very considerable, and in its western and central portion they are still the dominant race. As a dominant tribe the eastern limits of their position coincide approximately with the western border of the Chakwal and Pind Dadan Khan tahsils, but they have also spread eastwards along the foot of the hills as far as the Sutlej, and southwards down that river valley into Multan and Jhang. They formerly held all the plain country at the foot of the western Salt Range, but have been gradually driven up into the hills by Pathans advancing from the Indus, and Tiwanas from the Jhelum.

The word Awan is not unplausibly derived from Ahwan, 'helper,'2 but various explanations of its origin are given. According to one tradition the Awans, who claim Arab origin, are descendants of Qutb Shah, himself descended from Ali, and were attached to the Muhammadan armies which invaded India as 'auxiliaries,'3 whence their name. In Kapurthala a more precise version of their legend makes them Alwi Sayyids, who oppressed by the Abba sides, sought refuge in Sindh ; and eventually allied themselves with Sabuktagin, who bestowed on them the title of Awan. But in the best available account of the tribe4 the Awans are indeed said to be of Arabian origin and descendants of Qutb Shah, but he is said to have ruled Herat and to have joined Mahmud of Ghazni when he invaded India. With him came six of his many sons : Gauhar Shah or Gorrara, who settled near Sakesar; Kalan Shah or Kalgan who settled at Dhankot (Kalabagh) : Chauhan who colonised the hills near the Indus5 : Khokhar or Muhammad Shah who settled on the Chenab: Tori6 and Jhajh whose descendants are said to be still found in Tirah and elsewhere.

1. Raverty says 'Awan-kars' held the Karwan darra in Kurram, but none appear to be found now in the Kurram Valley : Notes, p. 82.
2. Another tradition is that when Zuhair went forth to fight with Hasan, he left his wife, then pregnant, with Zain-ul-abidaia in aman or 'trust,' whence her son's descendants are called Awan. A curious variant of this appears in Talagang where it is said that Qutb Shah's descendant having lost all his sons was bidden by a saint to place his next born son in a potter's kiln 'on trust'. He did so, and after the kiln had been burnt the child was taken out alive.
3. For Awan as equivalent to Auxiliary we may compare euergetai : McCrindle's Ancient India, p. 38
4. By Mr. W. S. Talbot in the Jhelum Gazetteer, 1905, pp. 102— 104. He disposes of Cunningham's theory that Janjuas and Awans were within historical times one race : (Arch. Survey Reports. II 17 ff) : and of Brandreth's theory that the Awans, though recent immigrants into the Punjab, are descended from Bactrian Greeks. Mr. Talbot also mentions the Gangs and Munds who are generally reckoned as Awans, but who are probably only affiliated indigenous clans.
5. One of his descendants was Khattar, founder of the Khattars of Attock.
6. Possibly Turi is meant, and the Kurram Valley is referred to as their locality.

[Page-27]
Awan groups

The originally Hindu character of these names is patent, and not explained away by the tradition that Chauhan and Khokhar took their mother's name.

In Gujrat tradition gives Qutb Shah three wives, from whom sprang the Khokhars and the four muhins or clans of the Awans. By Barth, his first wife, he had a son named Khokhar : by Sahd, he had Khurara (खुराड़ा) or Gurara (गुराड़ा): and by Fateh Khatun, three sous — Kalgan, Chauhan and Kundan.

These four clans are again divided into numerous septs, often bearing eponymous names, hut sometimes the names of Gujar, Jat and other tribal septs appear. Thus in Sialkot1, the Awans are said to be divided into 24 muhins. But in Gujrat the Khurara clan comprises 21 sub-divisions, including such names as Jalap and Bhakri : the Kalgan comprise 43 sub-divisions, including Dudial, Andar, Papin and others : the Chauhans have three septs, Ludain, Bhusin and Ghuttar : and the Kundan Chechi, Mahr, Malka, Mayan, Puchal and Saroia. Few of these look like Muhammadan patronymics.

Note. — The Awans in Kapurthala are said to have the following gots : — Kalgan (really a muhin), Rai Dul, Ghalli, Jand, Bagewali, Jaspal, Khokhar, Gobu or Gulistan, Harpal and Khor Joti.

The Awan septs give their names to several places-names, such as Golera in Rawalpindi, Khiora (Khewra) in Jhelum, Bajara in Sialkot, Jand, etc.

As claiming descent from Qutb Shah the Awans are often called Qutb-shahi, and sometimes style themselves Ulami. In Gujrat they only marry inter se, refusing to give daughters even to the Chibbs, and not inter- marrying with the Khokhars. In Jhelum too Awans give their daughters in marriage to Awans only as a rule, though there seems to be some instances of marriages with leading men of the Chakwal tribes : it is said, however, that the Kalabagh Mallik refused to betroth his daughter to Sardar Muhammd Ali, chief of the Rawalpindi Ghebas. In some families at least, prominent Awans not infrequently take to wife women of low tribes (usually having an Awan wife also), and this practice does not seem to meet with as much disapproval as in most other tribes of equal social standing : but ordinarily Awan wives alone are taken.2 Certain families marry with certain other families only : and in all cases marriage is generally but not necessarily within the muhi."

1. The Customary Law of this District (Voliune XIV) p, 3, gives the following list of Awan sub-clans :— 1 Bagwal, 2 Bajra,3 Biddar, 4 Chandhar, 5 Chhaila, 6 Dhinqle, 7 Ghulle, 8 Gorare, 9 Harpal, 10 Jalkhuh, 11 Jand, 12 Jhan, 13 Khambre, 14 Kharana,15 Malka, 16 Mandu, 17 Mangar, 18 Mirza, 19 Pappan, 20 Ropar, 21 Salhi,22 Sangwal, 23 Saroya,24 Wadhal,
Those in italics are returned as Khurara in Gujrat. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 9, 11, 14, 22 and 24 are classed as Kalgan.
2. In Rawalpindi the children of a low-caste woman by an Awan are not considered true Awans
[Page-28]
Awan-Azad

This passage is entirely consistent with the popular classification of the Awans as zamindar or yeomen, in contradistinction to the Sahu or gentry (Janjuas and Ghakkars), but on a level with the Mairs and other leading tribes of Chakwal.

The loading family among the Awans is that of the Malik of Kalabagh, and throughout the Jhelum Salt Range they have numerous maliks1 notably Lal Khan of Nurpur in Pind Dadan Khan, head of the Shial (descendants of Shihan, a great malik in the latter part of the eighteenth century).

Like the Kassars, Janjuas and Khokhars, but unlike the Ghakkars, the Awans have the institution of sirdari, whereby the eldest son of a chief gets an extra share. In other respects their customs of inheritance are closely alike those of the other Muhammadan tribes among whom they live. In Shahpur and Jhelum, however, the Awans recognize a daughter's right to succeed.

In the Awan villages of Talagang tahsil all the graves have a vertical slab at either end, while a woman's grave can be at once distinguished by a smaller slab in the centre.2

An Awan girl plaits her hair on the forehead and wears only ear-drops, this style being given up after marriage.3 Betrothal is effected by the girl's father sending a bard or barber to the boy's home with a few rupees and some sweets : or no ceremony at all is observed.

Ay...

  • Ayeshe (अयेशे), (heavenly), the name of the ruling family of Hunzad : for the legend of it; origin see Biddulph, Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh, p. 27.

Az...

  • Azad (आजाद), "free", a term applied to the be-shara or irregular orders of Islam also called majzub ; opposed to sālik. Also used as a synonym for Qalandar. Azads hold that the shard or ritual law is only for the masses, not for those who have attained marifat or full comprehension of the Godhead.
1. But Brandreth says the chief is called ' Rai,' and his younger brothers and sons ' Malik.' Settlement Report, § 49, p. 23.
2 P. N. Q. I., § 594.
3 Ibid, n, § 352. There is a history of the Awans in Urdu, published by Dr. Ghulam Nabi of Lahore.

[Page-29]
Appendix

M. Amin Chand's History of Sialkot gives a curious pedigree of the Awans which is pictured here : —

RARosep29.jpg
* Another account makes Ausl Shah descended from Muhammad Khaifa, the Prophet's son, by a woman of Janir.
† See article Jun.
In Sialkot the Awans are known under these 4 branches :— Gohera [there is a tract in the Rawalpindi District still called Guhera, (or Gohera) after this tribe], Kahambara, Dengla and Mandu.
End of A
Go to Index of the book

Retrieved from "http://www.jatland.com/w/index.php?title=A_glossary_of_the_Tribes_and_Castes_of_the_Punjab_and_North-West_Frontier_Province_By_H.A._Rose_Vol_II/A&oldid=349664"