Note 58 — Glossary (continued 2)

Malyār.58—A small and curious caste of workers in gold and silver in Bastar State. They are known alternatively as Marhātia Sunār or Panchāl, and outsiders call them Adhāli. The name Malyār is said to be derived from mal, dirt, and jār or jālna, to burn, the Malyārs having originally been employed by Sunārs or goldsmiths to clean and polish their ornaments. No doubt can be entertained that the Malyārs are in reality Gonds, as they have a set of exogamous septs all of which belong to the Gonds, and have Gondi names. So far as possible, however, they try to disguise this fact and perform their marriages by walking round the sacred post like the Hindustāni castes. They will take food cooked without water from Brāhmans, Rājpūts and Banias, but will not eat katcha (or food cooked with water) from anybody, and not even from members of their own caste unless they are relatives. This custom is common to some other castes of mixed descent, and indicates that illicit connections are frequent among the Malyārs, as indeed would necessarily be the case owing to the paucity of their numbers. But their memories are short, and the offspring of such irregular unions are recognised as belonging to the caste after one or two generations. An outsider belonging to any higher caste may be admitted to the community. The caste worship Māta Devi or the goddess of smallpox, and revere the spirit of a Malyār woman who became a Sati. They have learned as servants of the Sunārs the rudiments of their art, and manufacture rough ornaments for the primitive people of Bastar.