Note 116 — B (continued 2)

Present condition in the Upper Duâb. 7. The Census returns give the sections as Badniyâr, Banwâr, Bardhia, Barmâr, Chauhân, Dalê, Dhandin, Dyâs, Garali, Gaur, Gûjar, Kori, Madniyâriya, Pahari, Panwâr, Râjput, Solankhi, Saurangi, and Topiwâl. Those best known in the Upper Duâb are, Turai, Pachhâda or “Western,” Gola Kori, and Khâgi. These gotras, as they are called, are exogamous, but the Turai marry only with the Pachhâda and the Gola with the Khâgi. This rule of exogamy they reinforce with the rather vague formula that marriage with relatives by blood (dûdh kê nâtêdâr) is prohibited. They can marry two sisters in succession. They have now settled down and abandoned their wandering habit of life. They admit strangers into the caste. The only ceremony is that the convert has to eat and drink with his new clansmen. Some say that candidates for admission must be of high caste themselves; but they do not appear to be very particular, and these new admissions are treated at the outset with some contempt, and are not all at once admitted into full tribal privileges. Marriage usually takes place in infancy. The standard of morality is very low, because in Muzaffarnagar116 it is extremely rare for a Bâwariya woman to live with her husband. Almost invariably she lives with another man; but whoever he may be, the official husband is responsible for the children. Divorced wives and widows can marry in the clan by the karâo form, and a man can have two or three wives at a time. The marriage ceremony is carried out by the brother-in-law (dhiyâna) of the bride, and he makes them walk round the marriage shed, and promise to be faithful to each other. The relative, in fact, does all their religious and quasi-religious ceremonies. Infidelity, contraction of a fatal disease, and loss of religion and caste warrant either husband or wife giving up cohabitation, and if the separation is approved of by the clansmen, the woman can re-marry by the karâo form. It is also said that a wife can be discarded when she loses her good looks.