The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, Volume 3
Tekst14. The solar nakshatras
The periods during which the sun passes through each nakshatra are also recorded, and they are of course constant in date like the solar months. As there are twenty-seven nakshatras, the average time spent by the sun in each is about 13½ days. These periods are well known to the people as they have the advantage of not varying in date like the lunar months, while over most of India the solar months are not used. The commencement of the various agricultural operations is dated by the solar nakshatras, and there are several proverbs about them in connection with the crops. The following are some examples: “If it does not rain in Pushya and Punarvasu Nakshatras the children of Nimār will go without food.” ‘Rain in Magha Nakshatra (end of August) is like food given by a mother,’ because it is so beneficial. “If there is no wind in Mrigasiras (beginning of June), and no heat in Rohini (end of May), sell your plough-cattle and go and look for work.” ‘If it rains during Uttara (end of September) dogs will turn up their noses at grain,’ because the harvest will be so abundant. “If it rains during Aslesha (first half of August) the wheat-stalks will be as stout as drum-sticks” (because the land will be well ploughed). ‘If rain falls in Chitra or Swāti Nakshatras (October) there won’t be enough cotton for lamp-wicks.’
15. Lunar fortnights and days
The lunar month was divided into two fortnights called paksha or wing. The period of the waxing moon was known as sukla or sudi paksha, that is the light fortnight, and that of the waning moon as krishna or budi paksha, that is the dark fortnight.
Each lunar month was also divided into thirty equal periods, called tithis or lunar days. Since there are less than thirty days in the lunar month, a tithi does not correspond to an ordinary day, but begins and ends at odd hours of the day. Nevertheless the tithis are printed in all almanacs, and are used for the calculation of auspicious moments.224
16. Divisions of the day
The day is divided for ordinary purposes of measuring time into eight pahars or watches, four of the day and four of the night; and into sixty gharis or periods of twenty-four minutes each. The pahars, however, are not of equal length. At the equinox the first and fourth pahar of the day and night each contain eight gharis, and the two middle ones seven gharis. In summer the first and fourth pahars of the day contain nine gharis each, and the two middle ones eight each, while the first and fourth pahars of the night contain seven and the two middle ones six each. Thus in summer the four day pahars contain 13 hours 36 minutes and the night ones 10 hours 24 minutes. And in winter the exact opposite is the case, the night pahars being lengthened and the day ones shortened in precisely the same manner. No more unsatisfactory measure of time could well be devised. The termination of the second watch or do pahar always corresponds with midday and midnight respectively.
The apparatus with which the hours were measured and announced consisted of a shallow metal pan, named from its office, ghariāl, and suspended so as to be easily struck with a wooden mallet by the ghariāli. He measured the passing of a ghari by an empty thin brass cup or katori, perforated at the bottom, and placed on the surface of a large vessel filled with water, where nothing could disturb it; the water came through the small hole in the bottom of the cup and filled it, causing it to sink in the period of one ghari. At the expiration of each ghari the ghariāl struck its number from one to nine with a mallet on a brass plate, and at the end of each pahar he struck a gujar or eight strokes to announce the fact, followed by one to four hollow-sounding strokes to indicate the number of the pahar. This custom is still preserved in the method by which the police-guards of the public offices announce the hours on a gong and subsequently strike four, eight and twelve strokes to proclaim these hours of the day and night by our clock. Only rich men could afford to maintain a ghariāl, as four persons were required to attend to it during the day and four at night.225
17. The Joshi’s calculations
The Joshi calculates auspicious226 seasons by a consideration of the sun’s zodiacal sign, the moon’s nakshatra or daily mansion, and other rules. From the monthly zodiacal signs and daily nakshatras in which children are born, as recorded in their horoscopes, he calculates whether their marriage will be auspicious. Thus the zodiacal signs are supposed to be divided among the four castes, Pisces, Cancer and Scorpio belonging to the Brāhman; Aries, Leo and Sagittarius to the Kshatriya; Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn to the Vaishya; and Gemini, Libra and Aquarius to the Sūdra. If the boy and girl were born under any of the three signs of the same caste it is a happy conjunction. If the boy’s sign was of a caste superior to the girl’s, it is suitable, but if the girl’s sign is of a superior caste to the boy’s it is an omen that she will rule the household; and though the marriage may take place, certain ceremonies should be performed to obviate this effect. There is also a division of the zodiacal signs according to their nature. Thus Virgo, Libra, Gemini, Aquarius and half of Sagittarius are considered to be of the nature of man, or formed by him; Aries, Taurus, half of Sagittarius and half of Capricorn are of the nature of animals; Cancer, Pisces and half of Capricorn are of a watery nature; Leo is of the desert or wild nature; and Scorpio is of the nature of insects. If the boy and girl were both born under signs of the same nature their marriage will be auspicious, but if they were born under signs of different natures, they will share only half the blessings and comforts of the marriage state, and may be visited by strife, enmity, misery or distress. As Leo and Scorpio are looked upon as being enemies, evil consequences are much dreaded from the marriage of a couple born under these signs. There are also numerous rules regarding the nakshatras or mansions of the moon and days of the week under which the boy and girl were born, but these need not be reproduced. If on the day of the wedding the sun or any of the planets passes from one zodiacal sign to another, the wedding must be delayed for a certain number of gharis or periods of twenty-four minutes, the number varying for each planet. The hours of the day are severally appointed to the seven planets and the twelve zodiacal signs, and the period of ascendancy of a sign is known as lagan; this name is also given to the paper specifying the day and hour which have been calculated as auspicious for the wedding. It is stated that no weddings should be celebrated during the period of occultation of the planets Jupiter and Venus, nor on the day before new moon, nor the Sankrānt or day on which the sun passes from one zodiacal sign to another, nor in the Singhast year, when the planet Jupiter is in the constellation Leo. This takes place once in twelve years. Marriages are usually prohibited during the four months of the rainy season, and sometimes also in Pūs, Jeth or other months.
18. Personal names
The Joshi names children according to the moon’s daily nakshatra under which they were born, each nakshatra having a letter or certain syllables allotted to it with which the name must begin. Thus Magha has the syllables Ma, Mi, Mu and Me, with which the name should begin, as Mansāram, Mithu Lāl, Mukund Singh, Meghnāth; Purwa Phālguni has Mo and Te, as Moji Lāl and Tegi Lāl; Punarvasu has Ke, Ko, Ha and Hi, as Kesho Rao, Koshal Prasād, Hardyāl and Hīra Lāl, and so on. The primitive idea connecting a name with the thing or person to which it belongs is that the name is actually a concrete part of the person or object, containing part of his life, just as the hair, nails and all the body are believed to contain part of the life, which is not at first localised in any part of the body nor conceived of as separate from it. The primitive mind could conceive no abstract idea, that is nothing that could not be seen or heard, and it could not think of a name as an abstract appellation. The name was thought of as part of that to which it was applied. Thus, if one knew a man’s name, it was thought that one could use it to injure him, just as if one had a piece of his hair or nails he could be injured through them because they all contained part of his life; and if a part of the life was injured or destroyed the remainder would also suffer injury, just as the whole body might perish if a limb was cut off. For this reason savages often conceal their real names, so as to prevent an enemy from obtaining power to injure them through its knowledge. By a development of the same belief it was thought that the names of gods and saints contained part of the divine life and potency of the god or saint to whom they were applied. And even separated from the original owner the name retained that virtue which it had acquired in association; hence the power assigned to the names of gods and superhuman beings when used in spells and incantations. Similarly, if the name of a god or saint was given to a child it was thought that some part of the nature and virtue of the god might be conferred on the child. Thus Hindu children are most commonly named after gods and goddesses under the influence of this idea; and though the belief may now have decayed the practice continues. Similarly the common Muhammadan names are epithets of Allah or god or of the Prophet and his relations. Jewish children are named after the Jewish patriarchs. In European countries the most common male names are those of the Apostles, as John, Peter, James, Paul, Simon, Andrew and Thomas; and the names of the Evangelists were, until recently, also given. The most common girl’s name in several European countries is Mary, and a generation or two ago other Biblical names, as Sarah, Hannah, Ruth, Rachel, and so on, were very usually given to girls. In England the names next in favour for boys and girls are those of kings and queens, and the same idea perhaps originally underlay the application of these names. The following are some of the best-known Hindu names, taken from those of gods:—
Names of Vishnu.
Nārāyan. Probably ‘The abode of mortals,’ or else ‘He who dwelt on the waters (before creation)’; now applied to the sun.
Wāman. The dwarf, one of Vishnu’s incarnations.
Janārdan. Said to mean protector of the people.
Narsingh. The man-lion, one of Vishnu’s incarnations.
Hari. Yellow or gold-colour or green. Perhaps applied to the sun.
Parashrām. From Parasurāma or Rāma with the axe, one of the incarnations of Vishnu.
Gadadhar. Wielder of the club or gada.
Jagannāth. Lord of the world.
Dīnkar. The sun, or he who makes the days (dīn karna).
Bhagwān. The fortunate or illustrious.
Anant. The infinite or eternal.
Madhosūdan. Destroyer of the demon Madho (Madho means honey or wine).
Pāndurang. Yellow-coloured.
Names of Rāma, or Vishnu’s Great Incarnation as King Rāma of Ayodhia.
Rāmchandra, the moon of Rāma, and Rāmbaksh, the gift of Rāma, are the commonest Hindu male names.
Atmārām. Soul of Rāma.
Sitārām. Rāma and Sita his wife.
Rāmcharan. The footprint of Rāma.
Sakhārām. The friend of Rāma.
Sewārām. Servant of Rāma.
Names of Krishna.
Krishna and its diminutive Kishen are very common names.
Kanhaiya. A synonym for Krishna.
Dāmodar. Because his mother tied him with a rope to a large tree to keep him quiet and he pulled up the tree, roots and all.
Bālkishen. The boy Krishna.
Ghansiām. The dark-coloured or black one (like dark clouds); probably referring to the belief that Krishna belonged to the non-Aryan races.
Madan Mohan. The enchanter of love.
Manohar. The heart-stealer.
Yeshwant. The glorious.
Kesho. Having long, fine hair. A name of Krishna. Also the destroyer of the demon Keshi, who was covered with hair. It would appear that the epithet was first applied to Krishna himself and afterwards to a demon whom he was supposed to have destroyed.
Balwant. Strong. An epithet of Krishna, used in conjunction with other names.
Mādhava. Honey-sweet or belonging to the spring, vernal.
Girdhāri. He who held up the mountain. Krishna held up the mountain Govardhan, balancing the peak on his finger to protect the people from the destructive rains sent by Indra.
Shiāmsundar. The dark and beautiful one.
Nandkishore, Nandkumār. Child of Nand the cowherd, Krishna’s foster-father.
Names of Siva.
Sadāsheo. Siva the everlasting.
Mahādeo. The great god.
Trimbak. The three-eyed one (?).
Gangādhar. The holder of the Ganges, because it flows from Siva’s hair.
Kāshināth. The lord of Benāres.
Kedārnāth. The lord of cedars (referring to the pine-forests of the Himālayas).
Nīlkanth. The blue-jay sacred to Siva. Name of Siva because his throat is bluish-black either from swallowing poison at the time of the churning of the ocean or from drinking large quantities of bhāng.
Shankar. He who gives happiness.
Vishwanāth. Lord of the universe.
Sheo Prasād. Gift of Siva.
Names of Ganpati or Ganesh.
Ganpati is itself a very common name.
Vidhyādhar. The lord of learning.
Vināyak. The remover of difficulties.
Ganesh Prasād. Gift of Ganesh. A child born on the fourth day of any month will often be given this name, as Ganesh was born on the 4th Bhādon (August).
Names of Hanumān.
Hanumān itself is a very common name.
Māroti, son of Mārut the god of the wind.
Mahāvīra or Mahābīr. The strong one.
Other common sacred names are: Amrit, the divine nectar, and Moreshwar, lord of the peacock, perhaps an epithet of the god Kartikeya. Men are also often named after jewels, as: Hīra Lāl, diamond; Panna Lāl, emerald; Ratan Lāl, a jewel; Kundan Lāl, fine gold. A child born on the day of full moon may be called Pūran Chand, which means full moon. There are of course many other male names, but those here given are the commonest. Children are also frequently named after the day or month in which they were born.
19. Terminations of names
Common terminations of male names are: Charan, footprint; Dās, slave; Prasād, food offered to a god; Lāl, dear; Datta, gift, commonly used by Maithil Brāhmans; Dīn or Baksh, which also means gift; Nāth, lord of; and Dulāre, dear to. These are combined with the names of gods, as: Kālicharan, footprint of Kāli; Rām Prasād or Kishen Prasād, an offering to Rāma or Krishna; Bishen Lāl, dear to Vishnu; Ganesh Datta, a gift from Ganesh; Ganga Dīn, a gift from the Ganges; Sheo Dulāre, dear to Siva; Vishwanāth, lord of the universe. Boys are sometimes given the names of goddesses with such terminations, as Lachmi or Jānki Prasād, an offering to these goddesses. A child born on the 8th of light Chait (April) will be called Durga Prasād, as this day is sacred to the goddess Durga or Devi.
20. Women’s names
Women are also frequently named after goddesses, as: Pārvati, the consort of Siva; Sīta, the wife of Rāma; Jānki, apparently another name for Sīta; Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu, and the goddess of wealth; Sāraswati, the goddess of wisdom; Rādha, the beloved of Krishna; Dasoda, the foster-mother of Krishna; Dewāki, who is supposed to have been the real mother of Krishna; Durga, another name for Siva’s consort; Devi, the same as Durga and the earth-goddess; Rukhmini, the bright or shining one, a consort of Vishnu; and Tulsi, the basil-plant, sacred to Vishnu.
Women are also named after the sacred rivers, as: Ganga, Jamni or Yamuni (Jumna); Gomti, the river on which Lucknow stands; Godha or Gautam, after the Godāvari river; and Bhāgirathi, another name for the Ganges. The river Nerbudda is commonly found as a man’s name, especially in places situated on its banks. Other names of women are: Sona, gold; Puna, born at the full moon; Manohra, enchanting; Kamala, the lotus; Indumati, a moonlight night; Sumati, well-minded; Sushila, well-intentioned; Srimati, wealthy; Amrita, nectar; Phulwa, a flower; Imlia, the tamarind; Malta, jasmine; and so on.
If a girl is born after four sons she will be called Pancho or fifth, and one born in the unlucky Mul Nakshatra is called Mulia. When a girl is married and goes to her husband’s house her name is always changed there. If two girls have been married into the household, they may be called Bari Bohu and Choti Bohu, or the elder and younger daughters-in-law; or a girl may be called after the place from which she comes, as Jabalpurwāli, Raipurwāli, and so on.
21. Special names and bad names
The higher castes have two names, one given by the Joshi, which is called rāshi-ka-nām or the ceremonial name, rāshi meaning the Nakshatra or moon’s daily mansion under which the child was born. This is kept secret and only used in marriage and other ceremonies, though the practice is now tending to decay. The other is the chaltu or current name, and may either be a second ordinary name, such as those already given, or it may be taken from some peculiarity of the child. Names of the latter class are: Bhūra, brown; Putro, a doll, given to a pretty child; Dukāli, born in famine-time; Mahinga, dear or expensive; Chhota, little; Bābu, equivalent to little prince or noble; Pāpa, father; Kakku, born in the cucumber season; Lada, pet; Pattu, a somersault; Judāwan, cooling, and so on. Bad names are also given to avert ill-luck and remove the enmity of the spirits hostile to children, if the mother’s previous babies have been lost. Instances of these are Raisa, short in stature; Lūla, having a maimed arm; Ghasīta, dragged along on a board; Damru, bought for a farthing; Khairāti, alms; Dukhi, pain; Kubra, hunch-back; Gudri, rag; Kāna, one-eyed; Birla, thin or lean; Bisāhu, bought or purchased; and Bulāki and Chedi, having a pierced nostril; these names are given to a boy whose nostril has been pierced to make him resemble a girl and thus decrease his value.227 Further instances of such names have been given in other articles.
Julāha
Julāha, Momin.—A low Muhammadan caste of weavers resident mainly in Saugor and Burhānpur. They numbered about 4000 persons in 1911. In Nāgpur District the Muhammadan weavers generally call themselves Momin, a word meaning ‘orthodox.’ In northern India and Bengal Julāhas are very numerous and the bulk of them are probably converted Hindus. Mr. (Sir Denzil) Ibbetson remarks: “We find Koli-Julāhas, Chamār-Julāhas, Morhi-Julāhas, Ramdāsi-Julāhas, and so forth; and it is probable that after a few generations these men will drop the prefix which denotes their low origin and become Julāhas pure and simple.”228 The Julāhas claim Adam as the founder of their craft, inasmuch as when Satan made him realise his nakedness he taught the art of weaving to his sons. And they say that their ancestors came from Arabia. In Nimār the Julāhas or Momins assert that they do not permit outsiders to be admitted as members of the caste, but the accuracy of this is doubtful, while in Saugor any Muhammadan who wishes to do so may become a Julāha. They follow the Muhammadan laws of marriage and inheritance. Unions between relatives are favoured, but a man may not marry his sister, niece, aunt or foster-sister. The Julāha or Momin women observe no purda, and are said to be almost unique among Muhammadans in this respect.
“The Musalmān229 weaver or Julāha,” Sir G. Grierson writes, “is the proverbial fool of Hindu stories and proverbs. He swims in the moonlight across fields of flowering linseed, thinking the blue colour to be caused by water. He hears his family priest reading the Korān, and bursts into tears to the gratification of the reader. When pressed to tell what part affected him most, he says it was not that, but that the wagging beard of the old gentleman so much reminded him of a favourite goat of his which had died. When forming one of a company of twelve he tries to count them and finding himself missing wants to perform his own funeral obsequies. He finds the rear peg of a plough and wants to set up farming on the strength of it. He gets into a boat at night and forgets to pull up the anchor. After rowing till dawn he finds himself where he started, and concludes that the only explanation is that his native village could not bear to lose him and has followed him. If there are eight weavers and nine huqqas, they fight for the odd one. Once on a time a crow carried off to the roof of the house some bread which a weaver had given his child. Before giving the child any more he took the precaution of removing the ladder. Like the English fool he always gets unmerited blows. For instance, he once went to see a ram-fight and got butted himself, as the saying runs:
Karigah chhor tamāsa jay
Nahak chot Julāha khay.
‘He left his loom to see the fun and for no reason got a bruising.’ Another story (told by Fallon) is that being told by a soothsayer that it was written in his fate that his nose would be cut off with an axe, the weaver was incredulous and taking up an axe, kept flourishing it, saying—
Yon karba ta gor kātbon
Yon karba ta hāth kātbon
Aur yon karba tab nā–
‘If I do so I cut off my leg, if I do so I cut off my hand, but unless I do so my no–,’ and his nose was off. Another proverb Julāha jānathi jo katai, ‘Does a weaver know how to cut barley,’ refers to a story (in Fallon) that a weaver unable to pay his debt was set to cut barley by his creditor, who thought to repay himself in this way. But instead of reaping, the stupid fellow kept trying to untwist the tangled barley stems. Other proverbs at his expense are; ‘The Julāha went out to cut the grass at sunset, when even the crows were going home.’ ‘The Julāha’s brains are in his backside.’ His wife bears an equally bad character, as in the proverb: ‘A wilful Julāhin will pull her own father’s beard.’”