Volume II. (continued 3)
Reading edition
28. After this the lad is bathed with water from eight jars, and he puts on another sacred thread. He is dressed in yellow garments and golden ornaments and wears wooden sandals (kharaun) stained with turmeric. He next begs from all present.
29. He then runs out in the guise of a Brahmachâri with the object of attaining religious knowledge, and is dissuaded by his parents from adopting the life of a recluse. When he consents to return the women of the house put treacle and washed rice in his hands, and kiss the eight parts of his body. The deities and sainted ancestors who have graced the rite with their presence are humbly requested to return to their own abodes, and the rite is complete.
Other domestic ceremonies. 31. Some account of the other domestic ceremonies of Brâhmans has been given in connection with the Brâhmanical tribes, and need not be repeated here.
33. Besides these sacerdotal Brâhmans there are, it is needless to say, numbers who have no religious functions whatever, who serve as soldiers or messengers, clerks in our offices, and the like. There is also a large body of Brâhman agriculturists, though most of them will not themselves touch the plough.
Distribution of Brâhmans according to the Census of 1891.
District. Number.
Dehra Dûn 15,027
Sahâranpur 44,250
Muzaffarnagar 41,427
Meerut 108,071
Bulandshahr 92,000
Aligarh 131,798
Mathura 113,936
Agra 122,636
Farrukhâbâd 78,220
Mainpuri 56,301
Etâwah 91,019
Etah 53,313
Bareilly 47,085
Bijnor 27,118
Budâun 57,002
Morâdâbâd 43,578
Shâhjahânpur 60,453
Pilibhît 25,147
Cawnpur 178,399
Fatehpur 68,180
Bânda 99,041
Hamîrpur 49,570
Allahâbâd 196,349
Jhânsi 34,633
Jâlaun 48,269
Lalitpur 21,745
Benares 102,978
Mirzapur 165,885
Jaunpur 150,908
Ghâzipur 68,379
Ballia 103,547
Gorakhpur 265,550
Basti 196,412
Azamgarh 110,103
Kumâun 134,841
Garhwâl 97,581
Tarâi 6,705
Lucknow 44,414
Unâo 122,056
Sîtapur 103,850
Hardoi 113,190
Kheri 69,654
Faizâbâd 159,637
Gonda 230,507
Bahrâich 87,481
Sultânpur 162,509
Partâbgarh 124,424
Bârabanki 86,091
Total 4,719,882 Males 2,455,791
Females 2,264,091
Distribution of the Brindabani Gusâîns according to the Census of 1891.
District. Number.
Muzaffarnagar 2
Cawnpur 1
Mirzapur 24
Kheri 11
Total 38
Marriage. 2. The stages in the marriage ceremony are—
1st.—Phaldân, the betrothal, when the family priest of the bride’s family gives the bridegroom a sacred thread (janeû), some rupees, cloth, and a betel-nut, in the presence of the elders of his family. The money is distributed as alms among the Brâhmans.
2nd.—Lagan patrika, or the fixing of the date for the marriage.
3rd.—Paurparsatkâr, the reception of the party (bârât) of the bridegroom at the door of the bride’s house.
4th.—Charhau, offering of ornaments by the relatives of the bride to the bridegroom.
5th.—Suhâg, the rubbing of red lead by the bridegroom on the parting of the bride’s hair.
6th.—Kanyâdân, the giving away of the bride to her husband by her father.
7th.—Panigrahana, the holding of the bride’s right hand by the bridegroom as an indication that he promises to support her as long as she lives.
8th.—Ahuti karna, the making of the fire sacrifice.
9th.—Parikrama, the revolutions of the pair round the sacred fire.
10th.—Dhruva sakshi karna, the promise of the bridegroom, in the presence of fire, water, the sun, and other natural objects, that he will be faithful to her and she to him.
11th.—Sayyadân, the presenting of a bed to the married pair.
12th.—Daija, dahej, or jahez dena, the giving of the dowry. Women can be divorced for adultery, impurity, violation of tribal rules, and neither divorced women nor widows are allowed to remarry.
Religion. 3. They belong to the Vaishnava sect, and are either Râmâwats or worshippers of Râdha Krishna. In all respects they follow the ceremonial usages of high class Hindus.
Social rules. 4. They believe their original profession to have been soldiering, and some of them serve in our Native regiments. They hold land as landlords and tenants. They will eat the flesh of goats, deer, wild pig, and fish; but those who abstain from meat are considered more respectable. Spirits are forbidden. They eat kachchi and pakki from the hands of Brâhmans, and can eat pakki with Banyas and Khatris, by which is meant that they will eat with them on the same floor, but not from the same dish. They can drink water from the hands of Kahârs and Nâis. They smoke only out of a pipe used by their clansmen. The Bundelas, on the whole, are a fairly respectable Râjput sept, but they are occasionally given to lawlessness, dacoity, and similar crimes of violence.
5. In Jâlaun they give brides to the Dhandhera and Panwâr septs, from whom also they take wives. They profess to belong to the Kasyapa gotra. These Panwârs with whom they intermarry are the Râj Panwârs of inferior grade in Bundelkhand.
Distribution of Bundela Râjputs according to the Census of 1891.
District. Number.
Bulandshahr 25
Mathura 1
Agra 15
Farrukhâbâd 58
Etâwah 6
Etah 4
Shâhjahânpur 29
Cawnpur 2
Fatehpur 43
Hamîrpur 618
Allahâbâd 114
Jhânsi 1,942
Jâlaun 189
Lalitpur 6,152
Gorakhpur 2
Basti 96
Lucknow 2
Faizâbâd 2
Partâbgarh 7
Total 9,307