Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume III - South Asia - S doc

... of thePathanstoIslamwerealsocalled"Sayyids"iftheycamefromthewest,and'Sheikhs"iftheycamefromtheeast;hence,doubtless,manyPathansfalselyclaimSayyidorigin.InAfghanistantheSayyidscontrolmuch of thecommerce,astheirholycharac-ETHNONYMS:Adivasis,BackwardClassesTheIndianconstitution(1949)createdbroadcategories of underprivilegedgroupsintheRepublic of Indiathatweretobetheobject of specialadministrativeandwelfareefforts.Threecategorieswerenamed,thoughnotclearlydefined:ScheduledCastes,ScheduledTribes,andotherBackwardClasses.Veryroughly,thesewerecomprisedrespectively of (1)UntouchablesorHarijans;(2)virtuallyallAdivasisortribes;and(3)othereconomicallydisadvantagedgroupsnotincludedin(1)or(2).In1981Indiahadanestimated105millionScheduledCastemembersand52millionpeopleinScheduledTribes.Thecategory of otherBackwardClasses,alwaysnebulousandfluctuating,isdifficulttoenumerate.Butwhichcastesandtribesweretobesingledoutforthisspecialattention,attheexpense(literallyandfiguratively) of theremainder of thepopulation?Thisburningandeconomi-callyimportantquestionwassolvedformillions of concernedpeoplebythepublication of listsorschedules(whichhavebeenrevisedseveraltimes)thatlistedbynamethosecastesandtribesthatweretobeeligible.TheselistswerecreatedatthenationallevelforScheduledTribesandCastes,andattheprovinciallevelforotherBackwardClasses.TribalandHarijanwelfaredepartmentsweresetupineachstatetoad-ministerthebenefitsthatweremadeavailable.Overthefirstfortyyears of operationtheyhavenodoubtdonemuchtooutlawthepractice of Untouchability,raiseeducationalstan-dards,andprovidepublichealthfacilities.Theframers of theIndianconstitutionthoughtthatthesebenefitsshouldbeprovidedfortwentyyears;but,asitturnedout,thoseeligiblehavefoughttenaciouslytoretaintheirspecialbenefits-andhencetheir"backwardstatus"-rightuptothepresent.Thegreatweaknessinthewholeconcept of specialprivilegesforselectcategories of thepopulation,especiallytoday,isthatnomeanstestisrequired of anindividualbeneficiary.Thus,aScheduledCasteyouth,forexample,whosefatherisaverywealthytimbermerchant,willstillbeeligibleforfreeuniver-.Sadhu251SadhuSYNONYMS:Baba,Jogi,Mahatma,Muni,Sant,Sanyasi,Swami,Tapasi,Tapsawi,Yati,YogiOrientationIdentification.Thetermsadhuisappliedindividuallytoanyone of themillions of mendicantasceticsinformallyaffil-iatedwiththedisparateHindureligiousorders of India.Most of thesewanderingholypersonsaremale,butwomen(calledsadhvin,feminine of sadhu)arealsorepresentedintheirranks.AtonetimeonlyBrahmanswereabletobeadmittedtotheseasceticorders.Later,admissionwasgrantedtomem-bers of anycaste.Sadhusareexpectedtoadoptasceticprac-tices,observecertainreligiousregulations,andteachorren-derservicetothoseinneed.Theirasceticpracticesincludethedeparturefromfamilyandhome,theapplication of bod-ilymarkingsoftenassociatedwithaparticularsect,thewear-ing of attireassociatedwithaparticularsect(orbeingpar-tiallyortotallynaked),thegrowth of haironlyonfiveimportantbodilyparts(thehead,upperjaw,chin,armpits,andpubicregion)orthecompleteshaving of thebody,theadoption of amendicantorsedentarylife-style,andthede-pendenceonthegoodness of othersfordailysurvival.Theirreligiousdutiesincludeacts of self-purification,worship,par-ticipationinreligiousdiscourses,thestudy of sacredlitera-ture,andthemaking of pilgrimages.Theconsolation of thoseindistress,preachingandteaching of religioustenets,thegranting of assistancetothepoor,andtheopening of schoolsandhospitalsareexamples of theservicesthatsadhusareex-pectedtorendertothelargersociety.SadhusarefoundthroughoutIndiaandNepalandarenotconfinedtoanypar-ticulargeographicallocale.Itisbelievedthattherearesome5millionormoreasceticsaffiliatedwithseveralthousand"schools"orsects of sadhuslivinginvariousparts of South Asia. Asmendicants,theydonotformdistinctcommunities.HistoryandCulturalRelationsTherearethreemajorHindureligiousorders:theVaishnava,theShaiva,andtheShakta. Of these,theShaivasectseemstohavethelargestnumber of devotees.Thesehavespawnednumeroussubdivisions.ItisbelievedbysomethatShaivismrepresentstheoriginalreligiousfaith of India,alreadyinplacebeforethearrival of theAryans.Theordersaremuchsplin-tered,theresultbeingthecurrentexistence of numerous.sects."Someareorthodoxwhileothersarereformistorradi-cal.Theroots of Hinduasceticismmaybetracedtothefour-folddivision of lifeoutlinedinVedicliterature.Thesestagesare:brahmacarin(thelife of thepupil);grhastha(thelife of thehouseholder,whichincludesmarriage,procreation,andthepractice of acraft);vanaprastha(thelife of theforesther-mit,resortedtowhenthetransitorynature of worldlypleas-uresisrealized);andsannyasin(thelife of thewanderingbeg-garwhohasrenouncedallworldlyties).Onemayclaimtobeanasceticwithouthavingpassedthroughall of theaforemen-tionedstages of life.Inmoderntimessomeasceticshavecho-sentocontinueinthemaritalstate.Thisrepresentsadepar-turefromearlierpractice.SettlementsSadhusliveeitherinmonasteries(calledasrama,matha,ormandira),iftheyhaveelectedtoleadasedentarylife-style,oratpilgrimageshrinesastemporaryresidents.Eachsectusu-allymaintainsatleastone of thesereligiouscenters.Themo-nasticlife-styleisaustere,emphasisbeingplacedontheculti-vation of self-controlanddiscipline.Thedailyroutineincludesexercisesintendedtopurifythephysicalbody,ele-vatementalcapacity(e.g.,throughthereading of sacredliter-ature),andenhanceecstaticexperiences(e.g.,throughcor-porateprayer).Provisionisalsomadesothatthelaypatrons of themonastery(whoprovideitschiefmeans of supportthroughbhetapuja,"honorificofferings")mayreceivethebenefit of thespiritualcounsel of theresidentascetics(bymeans of preachingandteaching).Monasterieshaveastheirorganizingconceptthetradition(sampradaya)associatedwithaparticularteacher(acarya)whofirstcodifiedthebeliefsystem of theorder.Monasticaffiliationisusuallyindicatedbythesymbolsappliedtospecificbodilyparts,clothingcolor,andadditionalitemsintheascetic&apos ;s possession(e.g.,rosary,waterpot,andstaff).EconomySadhusarealmosttotallydependentonthealms of othersforsubsistence.Inaddition,theymayalsosupportthemselvesbyengaginginany of thefollowingactivities:begging,servingasspiritualmentorstopersonaldisciples,interpretingdreams,tellingfortunes,readingpalms,astrology,manufacturingam-ulets,performingexorcisms,castingspells,singing,conjuring,juggling,tattooing,orsellingmedicinalherbsandpotions.Sadhusareparticularlywellknownforthemanufacture of thekavacha(talismanoramulet),whichprovidesthebearerwithprotectionfromevilforcesorguaranteesthepresence of ben-eficentones.MarriageandFamilyTherenunciation of familylifeandthemarriedstatearechar-acteristic of theasceticlife.Ithasbeensuggestedthatmaritalbreakdownis,infact,one of themotivatingfactorsintheadoption of mendicantlifebysomesadhus.Somemayneverhavebeenmarried.Anindividualasceticmay,athisdiscre-tion,choosediscipleswhoserveapprenticeshipsunderhim.Alternately,youngchildren(orphans,runaways,andothers)maybededicatedtotheservice of anorder.Afteraperiod of training(whichmaylastweeks,months,oryears),theyaresentouttofulfilltheirsocioreligiousdutieswithinthecon-text of thelargersociety.YetathirdroutetosocializationasasadhuinvolvesfollowingtheVedicprogression of lifestages.Animportantpart of theinitiationprocessisthechanging of thenatalname.Thismayinvolvetheaddition of suffixestoitorthecompletealteration of thename.Ingeneral,thenewnameidentifiestheplace of theinitiatewithintheorderandasavotary of aparticulargod.ReligionandExpressiveCultureGeneralizationswithregardtothereligiousbeliefs of sadhusarenoteasilymadeduetotheheterogeneouscharacter of Hinduasceticism.Theirworshipisdirectedtodiversegods of primaryandsecondaryimportanceintheHindupantheon. Of thevarioussadhureligiousrituals,that of thedhuni(sa-262SikhBibliographyBarrier,N.Gerald(1970).TheSikhsandTheirLiterature.NewDelhi:Manohar.Barrier,N.Gerald,andVanDusenbery,eds.(1990).TheSikhDiaspora.NewDelhi:Chanakya.McLeod,W.H.(1990).TheSikhs.NewYork:ColumbiaUni-versityPress.McLeod,W.H.(1990).WhoIsaSikh.Oxford:OxfordUni-versityPress.O'Connell,Joseph,etal.,eds.(1988).SikhHistoryandReli-gionintheTwentiethCentury. South Asia Series.Toronto:University of TorontoPress.N.GERALDBARRIERmasses of snowandicemovedownwardslowlyintheform of glaciersandgreatavalanches.Theavalanchesareanever-presentsource of dangerinnorthernSikkim.Thecontinuouscreakingandgroaning of themovingiceandtheroar of ava-lanchescombinetocreateasense of instabilityandappre-hension.TheSikkimesetribesregardKanchenjungaastheseat of anall-powerfulgod.Theoutstandingfeature of thephysicallandscapeintheSikkimHimalayasisthevariety of temperaturezonesandvegetation.Onthelowestlevel,lessthan300metersabovesealevel,tropicalgrowthflourishes.Fromthebottomvalleys,onemovesnorthtothesubtropicalzonethatfinallyleadstothealpineregion.TheofficiallanguageisEnglish,thoughcomparativelyfewspeakit;SikkimeseandGurkhaliaretheprimarylan-guages.Existinglanguagedivisionsdonotaffecttheoverallpoliticalstability of Sikkimbecausethepeoplearebondedto-getherbywhattheycall"afeeling of kinship."SettlementsNearly50,000peopleareconcentratednearthekingdom&apos ;s principalurbancenterandcapital,Gangtok.Thecapitalisimportantcommerciallyaswellasadministratively.Gangtokisthecenterpoint of thestate&apos ;s politicalandeconomiccore.SikkimeseETHNONYMS:noneOrientationTheSikkimeseliveintheHimalayankingdom of Sikkim,withapopulation of 316,385in1981.Tibet,Nepal,India,andBhutanalltouchtheborders of thiskingdom.TheSikki-meseliveinvillages of woodenbuildingsthathugtheHima-layanslopes.TheSikkimeseeasilytraversepassesthatgiveac-cesstotheTibetanChumbiValley.ThecountryoccupiesacommandingpositionoverthehistoricKalimpong-Lhasatraderoute.IndiaandTibethavefrequentlyintervenedinSikkim&apos ;s internalaffairs.TheBritishIndiangovernmentpar-ticularlyputpressureupontheSikkimeseforaccesstocentral Asia. Sikkimisthepoliticalcore of thelargerformerking-dom,andmorerecentlytheSikkimesefeelverystronglyaboutkeepingtheLhasaroutebetweenIndiaandChinaundertheircontrol.Sikkim&apos ;s locationfavorsadynamicroleininternationalrelationsbetweenthetwogreatpowers of Asia, IndiaandChina.Themountainousenvironment of Sikkimisgenerallyin-hospitable.Thereareadversesurfacefeaturesthatseriouslyimpedehumandevelopmentoverlargeareas;cultivatedlandamountstoonlyasmallproportion of thetotalarea of thekingdom.Theharshclimatedamageseconomicdevelop-ment.TheSikkimeseliveinanenclosedbasinnearly65ki-lometerswide,placedbetweentwodeeplydissectednorth- south transverseridgesstretchingfor125kilometers.Ahugemountainmasssome19kilometers south of themainchain of theHimalayascalledtheKanchenjungarangeconstitutesadistinctivephysicalunit of Sikkim.Therangereceivesheavydischargesfromthemonsoon,anditiscoveredwithsnowandiceasmuchasahundredormoremetersthick.TheseEconomyAgriculturehastraditionallybeenthemajorfeature of Sik-kim&apos ;s economy.Farminghasbeeninfluencedbythenature of theterrainandbythediversity of climaticconditions.InSikkimeseagricultureattentionisdividedamongstaplecerealcrops,commercialspecialtycrops,animals,andanimalprod-ucts.Riceandcornleadinhectaresplanted,butcardamom,citrusfruits,apples,andpineapplesentertradechannelsandsoarebetterknown.Potatoesarethemajorcashcrop.Sheep,goats,cattle,yaks,andmulesareabundant.Theanimalssupportthepopulationinthehighmountainvalleys.Thepastoralindustriesfurnishwool,skins,hides,andsurpluscommodities.Aboutone-third of Sikkim&apos ;s 7,096squarekilometers of mountainousterritoryisforested.Forestsareconsideredone of thekingdom&apos ;s greatestassets.Therearevaluableplanta-tions of sal(Shorearobusta,acommontimbertreethatisasource of inexpensivebuildingmaterials),sisal(asource of cordage),andbamboo.Sincethe196 0s Sikkim&apos ;s miningcor-porationhasbeeninstrumentalinsponsoringsystematicmineraldevelopment.Copper,lead,andzincareminedinlargequantities.InSikkim&apos ;s foreststherearerawmaterialsformanufacture of paperpulp,matches,furniture,packingboxes,andteachests.Sikkim&apos ;s developmenthasbeense-verelysloweddownbythelack of powersupplies.AmajorstrategicroadwasbuiltbytheIndianarmyengi-neersandIndia&apos ;s BorderRoadDevelopmentBoard.Thisroadis240kilometerslongandiscalledtheNorthSikkimHighway.ThehighwaythatconnectsGangtokwiththenorthernborderareaswascompletedin1962byIndia.Con-structionworkontheroadstartedin1958,butseveralfactorsslowedtheproject.Besidestheengineeringproblems,one of themaindifficultieswassupplyingfoodforsuchalargelaborforce:therewereabout6,000workersduringpeakperiods.Sora269bringsSoraintoconflictwiththeForestryDepartrm.ent,inwhomownership of nonirrigatedlandisvested.Sora-atmostkinds of animals,eitherdomesticanimalssacrificedforritesorhuntedwildanimals.TheSoradietisbasedonawaterygruelorporridge,withagarnish of vegetablesormeatwhenavailable.Theyusefewspicesandnooil,sincecookingisdoneonlybyboiling.Theydrinkpalmwineandnevermilk.TeaisusedbyChristians,whohavegivenupalcohol.IndustrialArts.Soramanufacturemosteverydayarticlesthemselvesout of trees,leaves,stones,andearth.Housesarebuiltentirelybyworkparties of friendsandrelatives.Peoplemaketheirowntools,bowsandarrows,andotherobjects.Al.thoughSorausestore-boughtaluminumdishesinthehouse,theystitchtogetherlargeleaveswithsplinters of bambootoformbowlsforuseoutdoors.Trade.Othernecessitiesareboughtinneighboringtownsorinweeklymarkets(hat)heldatsiteswheretheplainsmeetthehills.Here,merchantsfromtheplainssellclothing,ironaxeheadsandplowtips,salt,chilies,andjewelry.RecentlytheSorahavegivenupmakingtheirownpotteryandmatsandsonowtheybuythesetoo.ThelocalPanopopulationalsotravelsaroundSoravillagessellingsoap,tobacco,andothersmallarticles.Individualtradersbuilduplong-termre-lationswithparticularSoravillagesandcustomers.Themostimportantcommoditiessoldinthiswayarebuffaloforsacri-fice,sincethesecansupposedlynotbebredintheSorahills.Inreturn,theSorasellvariousmilletsandforestproduceliketamarind,whichisingreatdemandamongcasteHindusforcurries.Thequantitiessoldareenormousandthepricesre-ceivedarelow.Theneedtokeepsellingcontributestotheec-ologicaldegradation of theSorahills,sincecultivationisnotsimplyforsubsistence.Division of Labor.Poorerpeopleworkforhireinthefields,buttheegalitarianethos of reciprocalworkparties(onsir)isstrong.Themostimportantspecializedoccupationisthat of theshaman.Therearealsohereditarylineages of vil-lageheads,deputyheads,pyrelighters,andpriests of thevil-lagedeity(kidtung).All of thesearemaleexceptfortheocca-sionalvillagehead.Thespecialistlineages of potters,basketweavers,andblacksmithshavelargelyabandonedtheircraftandtheircustomersnowbuyinthemarket.Buttherelationsbetweentheselineagesandtherest of thepopulationarestillstronglyexpressedduringrites.Althoughtheyperformcon-ventionaltasks,men&apos ;s andwomen&apos ;s rolesarenotasstrictlydividedasinmanyIndiansocietiesandthereisnotask ... astradeandlightmining.Marginalemploymentisavailableformanyintea,rubber,andcoconutprocessing.IndustrialArts.TheclassicalSinhaleseachievedremark-ablefeatsinirrigationengineering,butthetechnologywaslostinthecollapse of thedryzonecivilizationsandSinhalesetodayshowlittleinterestinengineering,mathematics,orsci-ence,preferringliberalartssubjects."Hands-on"technicalworkisstigmatizedbylinkagestolow-casteoccupations,serve.ingtoinhibitchildren&apos ;s hobbies,vocationaleducation,andtechnologicalliteracy,whileWesternimportshaveallbutwipedouttraditionalartsandcrafts.EffortstoindustrializeSriLankahavemetwithlittlesuccess,andthecountryshowsone of thelowestrates of industrialgrowth of any South Asiancountrysinceitsindependence.Severeandgrowingunemploymentandlandlessness,particularlyamongruralyouth,hascontributedtotheJVPyouthmilitancy.Trade.Apartfromtheprevalence of subsistenceagricul-ture,theSriLankanruraleconomyisalmostcompletelycash-based,withbarterandreciprocityrestrictedtokin-grouptransactions.Villageboutiquesinvolvevillagersindebtthatfrequentlyresultsinanimpecuniousfarmerbecominglittlemorethanatenantonhisownland;villageshopownersarethusabletoamasslargelandholdings.Shopsintownselladditionalconsumeritems,andweeklyvillagemarketspro-videmarginaleconomicnichesforitineranttradersandvil-lagecash-cropagriculturalists.Transportisprovidedbybull-ockcarts,tractorspullingflatbedtrailers,oldautomobiles,andlighttrucks.Internaltrade,foreigninvestment,tourism,andeconomicgrowthareallcasualties of theTamilrebellionandtheJVPinsurgency.Division of Labor.TraditionalSinhalesesocietyismale-dominatedandpatriarchal,withastrongdivision of laborbysexandatendencytostigmatizefemaleroles(womenareconsideredtoberituallyimpureattimesowingtothe"pollu-tion" of puberty,childbirth,andmenstruation).Menarere-sponsiblefortheprovision of food,clothing,shelter,andothernecessities,whilewomenpreparefoodandcareforchil-dren.Traditionally,afamilyloststatusifitpermitteditswomentoengageinextradomesticeconomicroles,suchasmenialagriculturallabororcash-cropmarketing.Menandwomenledseparatelivesasidefromtheconvergencebroughtaboutbytheirmutualobligations.Theentry of womenintohighereducationandtheprofessionsisbeginningtoalterthispattern.LandTenure.Traditionallythedescendants of thevillagefounderownedinheritable(butnotmarketable)shares(panku) of thevillagepaddylands.Theactualholdingsweresensitivelyadjustedtosuitwateravailabilityandtoreducein-equitiesinwaterdistribution;whenholdingswerereducedbelowtheeconomiclevel,agroup of villagershivedoffintothewilderness,constructedanewtank,andfoundedanewvillage.BritishreformsthatdefinedallwildernessasCrownlandandeliminatedmultipleclaimstoexistingplots of landseriouslyerodedthissystemand,aslandcameonthemarket,anewclass of ricelandinvestors(calledmudalalis)acquiredsubstantialholdingsbutleftthefarmingtoclientsholdingthelandsbyaform of traditionalsharecroppingtenancy(andetenure).Populationincreasehasledtosevereandstillgrowinglandlessness.KinshipKinGroupsandDescent.Thelargestkingroupisthe"microcaste"(pavula),anendogamousandcorporatebilat-eralkingroupthatrepresentstheconvergence of severalfam-ilies'bilateralkindreds.Pavulamemberssharepaddylands,oftendwelltogetherinahamlet,andcooperateinagricul-ture,trade,andpolitics.Apavula&apos ;s membersshareauniquestatuswithinthecaste;thegroup&apos ;s internalequalityissym-bolizedthroughlife-cycleritesandcommunalfeasts.Descentisfullybilateralinpractice,butnoncorporateagnaticdescentlineslinkingfamilieswitharistocrats of theBuddhistking.domsmaybemaintainedforstatuspurposes.KinshipTerminology.TheSinhalese,includingMoors,useDravidianterms,whichareassociatedwithsymmetricalcross-cousinmarriage.260SherpaLiturgicalchantingisanartmasteredbymanylaypeopleaswellasby-monksandlamas.Medicine.Indigenouscuresincludeherbalmedicines,shamanicexorcism,thereading of exorcismtextsbylamas,andtheuse of amuletsandmedicinesmadeorblessedbyhighreligiousfigures.Morerecently,Westernmedicinehasbeenwidelysought.DeathandAfterlife.Funeralsarethelongestandmostelaboratelife-cycleceremonies;thebodyiscremated,andthesoul of thedeceasedisencouraged,throughritualactionandinstruction,toseekanadvantageousrebirth.Rebirthisbe-lievedtooccurforty-ninedaysafterdeath;ideallytheentireseven-weekperiodisoccupiedwitharichcycle of ceremoniesandthechanting of funerarytextsfromtheBuddhisttradi-tion.Althoughrelativesandlamasdothebesttheycantoin-fluencefuturerebirthinafavorablebody,itisgenerallyagreedthatthemaindeterminingfactoristheworking of karma,theprinciplebywhichmeritoriousandnonmerito-riousbehaviorsareappropriatelyrewardedorpunishedincountlessfuturelives.SeealsoNepaliBibliographyFirer-Haimendorf,Christophvon(1964).TheSherpas of Nepal:BuddhistHighlanders.Berkeley:University of Califor-niaPress.Jerstad,LutherG.(1969).Mani-Rimdu,SherpaDanceDrama.Seattle:University of WashingtonPress.Oppitz,Michael(1968).GeschichteundSozialordnungderSherpa.InnsbruickandMunich:UniversititVerlagWagner.Ortner,SherryB.(1978).SherpasthroughtheirRituals.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.Paul,RobertA.(1982).TheTibetanSymbolic World: Psycho-analyticExplorations.Chicago:University of ChicagoPress.ROBERTA.PAULSidiETHNONYM:HabshiTheSidi,whoarealsoknownasHabshi,aredescendants of Africansoriginallycomingfromthehinterlands of theEastAfricancoast.Theterm'Sidi"issupposedtoderivefromSayyid,'Habshi"fromtheArabictermforAbyssinia,"Habash."Inthepast,BlackslavesstemmingfromthecoastalstripfromEthiopiatoMozambiquewerecarriedbyArabslavetraderstodifferentparts of theMuslim world, in-cludingIndia.Here,theirpresenceisrecordedsincetheearlyestablishment of MuslimruleduringtheSultanate of Delhi(thirteenth-sixteenthcenturies).Africanslavescontinuedtobeimportedtothewesternstates of Indiauntilthelatenine.teenthcentury,thoughneverinlargenumbers.Theyweremainlyemployedbylocalrulersassoldiers,bodyguards,anddomesticservants.Todaysmallgroups of SidiliveinthewestIndiancoastalstates of Karnataka,Maharashtra,andGujarataswellasinSindhinPakistan.InKarnatakatheybelongtoreligiousgroups(Hindu,Muslim,andChristian).InGujarattheypresentlyformone of thelowerMuslimcastes of domes-ticservantsandreligiousmendicantsorfakirs.Thesociallife of theSidicasteinGujaratiscloselyre-latedtothecult of Muslimsaints.Atthecenter of acluster of relatedSidisaintsisthepatronsaint of theSidi,BavaGor,alongwithhisyoungerbrother,BavaHabash,andhissister,MaiMishra.Accordingtomyth,thesaintwasoriginallyanAbyssinianmilitarycommanderwhowassentbyorder of theProphettofightagainstafemaledemoninHindustan;butitwashissisterwhoeventuallydestroyedthefemaledemon.TheSidibelievethemselvestobedescendedfromtheSidisoldiersandtheirwiveswhoaccompaniedBavaGorduringhismissionandwhohadbecomesaintsinthecourse of time.Theshrines of theseSidisaintsformahorizontalnetworkconnectingthegeographicallydiffusedSidicasteinGujarat.Atthesametime,thesaintsrelatetheSiditohigher-rankingsaints of theSayyidandtheirrepresentativesatthetop of theregionalhierarchy of Muslimcastes.Thisritualrelationisfur-theremphasizedbyone of ... because of expeditions,tradeventures,orwage-laborshifts.Thetreatment of childrencouldbedescribedasbeingontheindulgent-to-negligentside,thoughitvariesbyindi-vidualtemperament.Girlsareincorporatedintothehouse-holdeconomyearlierthanboys,aschild-carehelpersandkitchenworkers,whileboysplayinmultiagegroups.SociopoliticalOrganizationTheSherpashaveneverbeenorganizedintoanycoherentpo-liticalunitassuch.ThroughouttheirhistoryinNepal,localheadmenhaveestablishedthemselvesasauthoritiesonthebasis of wealth,personality,religiousstatus,andalliancewithnon-Sherpacenters of powerincludingtheNepalistate.Morerecently,theSherparegionhasbeenincorporatedwithintheadministrativesystem of thecontemporaryNepaligovernment.SocialOrganization.Sherpasocietyisnotableforitsstressonegalitarianvaluesandonindividualautonomy.Hierarchi-calrelationsexistwithinSherpasocietybetween"big"peoplewithwealthordescentfromanoutstandingfamilyandordi-nary"small"people,buttherearenorealclassdistinctions.Descendants of theoriginalsettlingancestors of Solu-Khumbuareaccordedhigherstatus,whilenewimmigrantsandmoredistantlyrelatedpeoplearerelegatedtomarginalroles.Thosethreatenedwithpovertyanddebthavetheop-tion of goingtoDarjeelingorKathmanduforwagelabor.Patron-clientrelationshipsareestablishedbetweenSherpasandtheNepaliservicecasteswhoperformvitalcraftfunc-tionsforthem,buttheNepaliareregardedasrituallyimpureandareviewedasoccupyinganinferiorsocialposition.PoliticalOrganization.Therearefewformalmechanismsfortheexercise of powerinSherpasociety.Withtheflow of surpluscapitalintotheregionthroughtheexploitation of themonopolyontheNangpaLatraderoute,sometradersestab-lishedthemselvesintheposition of pembu,usuallytranslatedas"governor."Withvaryingdegrees of autonomyfromorsub-ordinationtotheoverarchingNepalistate,dependingondif-ferenthistoricalcircumstances,thesefigures,byvirtue of in-fluenceandwealth,becametaxcollectors,usingsome of theproceedsasinvestmentsintrade.Thepower of thepembusdependedlargelyonpersonalauthorityandenterprise,anditwasnotreadilytransmissiblefromfathertoson.Inmorere-centtimes,theNepaligovernmentalsystemhasestablishedmoreadministrativecontrolovertheregion,andthepancha-yatsystem of localdemocraticvillagecouncilshasbeenintroduced.SocialControl.Religiousauthorityandvalues,thepower of localheadmen,tradition,andpublicopinionconstrainac-tion,buttherearefewindigenousmechanismsforenforcingsocialcontroloradjudicatingcomplaints.Mediationorarbi-trationbyneighbors,relatives,headmen,orlamassettlesmostdisputes.OtherscannowbetakentoNepalilawcourts,thoughthisisinfrequentlydone.NonviolentBuddhistvalueshavehelpedkeepSherpasocietyalmostentirelyfree of warandhomicide.FewSherpasjointheGurkhamilitaryforces.Highmobilitymakesflightoravoidanceaviablesolutiontoconflict.ReligionandExpressiveCultureReligiousBeliefs.TheTibetanform of MahayanaBud-dhism,sometimescalledVajrayana,"TheThunderboltVehi-cle,"isuniversallyobservedamongtheSherpas.Inpastcen-turies,religionwasorganizedonavillageandclanlevel;sincetheturn of thepresentcentury,celibatemonasticism,im-portedfromTibet,hasflourishedintheSherparegion.TheSherpapantheonisvast,rangingfromthegreatBuddhistdi-vinitiesconnectedwiththequestforenlightenmentandsal-vationtolocalgods,spirits,anddemonsinfluencinghealth,luck,andday-to-dayconcerns.Theformeraretheobject of templeandmonasticworship,thelatter of exorcisms,com-mensalfeasts,purificationrites,andcuringritesperformedbymarriedlamasandshamans.ReligiousPractitioners.Onthevillagelevel,marriedlamaswhoarealsohouseholderspresideovercommunityandlife-cycleceremonies.Monksandnunstakelifetimevows of celibacyandliveininstitutionsisolatedfromdailylife.Theirinteractionwiththecommunityismainlylimitedtotheread-ing of sacredtextsatfuneralsandannualmonasticritualstowhichthepublicisinvited.Themonks'andnuns'pursuit of meritinturnbringsmerittotheentirecommunity.Sherpamonksandnunsarenotsupportedbythestate,asinTibet,nordotheybegwidely,asinSoutheastAsiantraditions,butrathersupportthemselvesfromtheirowninheritance,throughtrade,orthroughdonationsbysponsorsfromwealthyhouseholds.Outstandingreligiousfiguresmaybere-incarnated,andthehighestecclesiasticalofficesatthepres-enttimeareheldbyreincarnations of earlierreligiousfigures.Inaddition,shamansperformexorcismsandcures,thoughthisisnowlessprevalentthanpreviously.Ceremonies.Aspringfirst-fruitsfestivalcalledDumjeandthegreatmonasticmaskeddancingrituals,genericallycalledCham(inTibetan,champ;thespecificSherpaversion,ManiRimdu)andoftenheldinfallorwinter,arethemajorfesti-vals.Individualhouseholdsandvillagessponsorexorcism,curing,andcleansingrites,ofteninconnectionwithlife-cycleevents,especiallyfunerals.Arts.Anindigenousstyle of choralsingingandlinedanc-ingisfavored;aselsewhereinthehills,dancingpartieswithbeerareapreferredsocialactivityfortheyoungpeople.ManySherpashavebecomemasters of theBuddhistecclesiasticalarts,includingreligiouspaintingoriconography.Themonas-ticdancedramasfeatureelaboratecostumeryandchoreogra-phy.Thetraditionalreligiousorchestraincludesthedrum,cymbals,telescopichorns,oboelikeflageolets,conchshells,trumpetsmadefromhumanthighbones,andhanddrumsmadefromthetops of twohumanskullsplacedbacktoback.252Sadhucredfire)seemsmoreorlesscommontoallsects.Thisfireislitinahollowpitwherevertheasceticcamps.Thesesacredfiresarealsofoundinmonasticcentersandinthehomes of householdasceticsassociatedwithcertainsects.Thelitur-gies,literature,andbodilyadornment of thesadhumaybecitedasmanifestations of theartisticimpulsewithinthevari-ousasceticcommunities of India.Withregardtooptionsformedicaltreatment,thefollowingareavailabletosadhus:Ayurvedic,allopathic,indigenous,homeopathic,Tantric,andnaturopathic.AtleastoneanthropologisthasnotedadecidedpreferenceforAyurvedicmedicines,therebeingsomebeliefthatthesedecreasethechance of medicalrelapse.BibliographyGhurye,G. S. (1964).IndianSadhus.Bombay:PopularPrakashan.MacMunn,GeorgeFletcher(1932).TheReligionsandHid-denCults of India.NewYork:Macmillan.Reprint.1982.Delhi:NeerajPublishingHouse.Miller,DavidM.,andDorothyC.Wertz(1976).HinduMo-nasticLife.MontrealandLondon:McGill-Queen&apos ;s Univer-sityPress.Tripathi,B.D.(1978).Sadhus of India.Bombay:PopularPrakashan.Walker,Benjamin(1986).TheHindu World: AnEncyclope-dicSurvey of Hinduism.Vol.2.NewYork:FrederickPraegerPublishers.HUGHRPAGE,JRSantalETHNONYMS:Santhal,Saonta,Saonthal,SauntaOrientationIdentification.TheSantalarethelargest of thetribalpop-ulationsin South Asia. Santalsarefoundinthethreeadjoin-ingIndianstates of Bihar,WestBengal,andOrissa.Migrantsworkintheteaplantations of Assam,withsmallergroupselsewhereinIndia.TherearealsoSantalcommunitiesinnortheasternBangladeshandintheNepalTerai.Tradition-allymixedfarmerswitharecentpast of huntingandgather-ing,Santalshavefoundtheirwaytoemploymentinagricul-tureandindustryallovereastern South Asia. "Santal"istheonlytermcurrentlyusedbyoutsidersforthetribe.ItisalsorecognizedasanethnictermbytheSantalsthemselves.Horhoponko(humanchildren)andHorko(men)areusedbytheminamoretraditionalorritualcontext.Location.TheSantalheartlandistheareaknownastheChotaNagpurPlateau,ahillyarea of crystallineCambrianrocks,strewnwithlateriteandcoveredbydeciduousforest.ThearealiesinnortheasternIndiaapproximatelybetween220and24°30'Nandstretchesfrom84°to870E.Elevationrangesfrom200to500meterswithmountainsover1,000meters.Rainfall,concentratedintheJulymonsoon,totalsabout100to130centimeters.Meantemperaturesrangefrom150to210CinJanuaryto260to290CinJuly.Demography.TheIndiancensuscounted3,640,946Santalsin1971(butdidnotcountteaworkersinAssam),andtodaythetotalnumber of Santalsmustbesomewhatmorethanfourmillion.Itisdifficulttosaymuchabouttheirpopulationhistory,exceptthattheyarethelargesttribalgroupin South Asia. Theregions of thecoreSantalareaseemtohavebeensettledbydifferentclans.Furthermigrationledtoasubdivision of landamongsubclans,stillunevenlydis-tributedoverthearea.Inpractice,however,eachregiontodaycontainsanumber of clans,possiblytheresult of anongoingprocess of migration.LinguisticAffiliation.TheSantallanguage,Santali,be-longstotheNorthMundariGroup of languages,itselfpart of theAustroasiaticLanguageFamily.WritingwasintroducedbyNorwegianmissionariesinthelatenineteenthcentury,andsoSantaliliteratureusesRomancharacters.Morere-cently,SantalihasbeenwritteninDevanAgari.HistoryandCulturalRelationsTheoriginalhome of theSantalsisbelievedtohavebeentheChampaKingdom of northernCambodia,whichexplainstheiraffinitieswiththeMon-Khmergroups.Physical...

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ProvincesandBerarin1911,rankingasthesixth-largestcasteinterms of numbers.Inmanycastesthereisaseparatedivision of Ahirs,suchastheAhirSunars,Sutars,Lohars,Shimpis,Salic,Guraos,andKolis.Thename"Ahir"isderivedfrom"Abhira,"atribementionedseveraltimesininscriptionsandtheHindusacredbooks."Goala,"meaningacowherdor'aprotector of cows,"istheBengalinameforthecaste,andtheterm"Gaoli"isnowusedinMadhyaPradeshStatetosignifyadairyworker.SomedialectsnamedaftertheAbhiraorAhirsarestillspoken.One,knownasAhirwati,isspokenintheRohtalsandGurgaondistricts,thePunjab,andnearDelhi.TheMalwi.dialect of RajasthaniisalsoknownasAhiri;thereisadialect of GujaraticalledKhandeshi,alsoknownasAhirani.TheselinguisticsurvivalsareanindicationthattheAhirswereearlysettlersintheDelhicountry of thePunjab,andinMalwaandKhandesh.TheAhirwereapparentlyone of theimmigranttribesfromcentral Asia whoenteredIndiaduringtheearlyChris-tianera.TheAhirhavebeenforcenturiesapurelyoccupa-tionalcaste,mainlyrecruitedfromtheindigenoustribes.Ascattlemustgrazeintheforestduringhotweather,thereisacloserelationshipbetweenAhirsandmany of theforesttribes.ManyAhirinMandla,forexample,arebarelyconsid-eredHindus,becausetheyliveinGondvillages(aforesttribe).Onlyabout30percent of theAhirsarestilloccupiedinbreedingcattleanddealinginmilkandbutter.About4per-centaredomesticservants,andnearlyalltheremainderwerecultivatorsandlaborersin1931.FormerlytheAhirshadtheexclusiverighttomilkcows,sothatonalloccasionsanAhirhadtobehiredforthispurposeevenbythelowestcaste.Thecastehasexogamoussections,whichare of theusuallow-castetype,withtitularortotemnisticnames.Themarriage of personsbelongingtothesamesectionand of firstcousinsisprohibited.Amanmaymarryhiswife&apos ;s youngersisterwhilehiswifeisliving.Thepractice of exchanginggirlsbetweenfamiliesispermissible.TheAhirhaveaspecialrelationtotheHindureligion,owingtotheirassociationwiththesacredcow,whichisitselfreveredasagoddess.Amongthespecialdeities of theAhirsisKharskDeo,whoisalwayslocatedattheplace of assembly of thecattle.MaterDeoisthegod of thepen.AfavoritesaintisHaridasBaba.ThemainfestivalistheDiwali,fallingaboutthebeginning of November.Allpeopleobservethisfeastbyilluminatingtheirhouseswithmanysmallsaucer-lampsandwithfireworks.BibliographyBlunt,E.A.H.(1931).TheCasteSystem of NorthernIndia.London:OxfordUniversityPress.Reprint.1969.Delhi: S. Chand.Darling,Malcolm(1947).ThePunjabPeasantinProsperityandDebt.4thEd.Bombay:OxfordUniversityPress.Reprint.1977.NewDelhi:Manohar.Rose,H.A.(1911).AGlossary of theTribesandCastes of thePunjabandNorth-WestFrontierProvinces.Vol.1.Lahore:Su-perintendent,GovernmentPrinting.Reprint.1970.Patiala:LanguagesDepartment,Punjab.Russell,R.V.,andHimLal(1916)."Ahir."InTheTribesandCastes of theCentralProvinces of India,byR.V.RussellandHimLal.Vol.2,1 8-3 8.Nagpur.GovernmentPrintingPress.Reprint.1969.Oosterhout:AnthropologicalPublications.SirajulHassan,Syed(1920)."Ahir."CastesandTribes of H.E.H.theNizam&apos ;s Dominions.Vol.1, 1-7 .Bombay:Reprint.1990.NewDelhi:VintageBooks.JAYDiMAGGIOAnavilBrahimanETHNONYM:GrhasthaBrahmanAnavilBrahmansaregrhasthaor"homeowner"Brah-mans,whichmeanstheycannotperformpriestlyfunctions.Theyaretraditionallylandowners.TherearealsobhikshukaormendicantpriestsamongAnavilBrahmans.Thereseemstobeacleardistinctionbetweenthesetwokinds of AnavilBrahmans,alongwithacertainamount of ambivalencethatresultsfromthecontrastbetweentheindependence of theAnavilBrahmansasself-supportinglandownersandthevil-lagepriest&apos ;s "obligation"tobeg.TheAnavilBrahmanshavebeenlargelandownersforatleastthreecenturies.ItisnotclearfromhistoricalsourceswhentheAnavilBrahmanssettledinGujarat.Inthenine-teenthcenturysomeAnavilBrahmansleftthecentralpart of thestateandmovedtothesparselypopulatedhillsintheeast(Mahuva,Vyara)wheretheyemployedtheaboriginal,tribalpopulation of theareaaslaborers.Therearetwotypes of agriculturalland:irrigatedandnonirrigated.Inthesouthernpart of theSuratDistrictinGu-jarat,thelandiswellirrigated,andhencethisisthetradi-tionalrice-growingregion.Anothercultivatedcashcropfromthedistrictisginger,aswellasvariousotherspices.Inthenorthcottonisthemaincashcrop.Withintheendogamousunit,thejati,aretwodistin-guishablegroups of unequalsocialstatus:theDesaidescen-dants of taxfarmers,andthenon-Desai.Non-Desaifarmers12AndamaneseBibliographyCipriani,Lidio(1966).TheAndamanIslanders.NewYork:Praeger.Man,E.H.(1885).OntheAboriginalInhabitants of theAn-damanIslands.London:AnthropologicalInstitute.Pandya,Vishvajit(1897)."AbovetheForest:AStudy of An-damaneseEthnoanemology,Cosmology,andthePower of Ritual."Ph.D.dissertation,University of Chicago.Portman,M.V.(1859).History of OurRelationswiththeAn-damanese.Calcutta:GovernmentPrintingPress.Radcliffe-Brown,A.R(1922).TheAndamanIslanders.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.VISHVAJITPANDYAAnglo-IndianETHNONYMS:Castee,EastIndian,Eurasian,Goan,Goanese,MusteeFromthenuntilnow,theseAnglo-Indianshavebeencharacterizedby(1)Christianreligion,(2)Englishmothertongue,(3)Europeanlife-styleathome,(4)Westerndress,and(5)employmentinparticularadministrativeandserviceprofessionsthattypicallyrequirefluencyinEnglishandahigh-schooleducation(e.g.,thepostoffice,railways,teach-ing,police,andnursingprofessions).ThepopularsingerEn-gelbertHumperdinckisanAnglo-Indian.InGoaandotherPortugueseenclaveswithintheIndiansubcontinent,therewasfromthesixteenthuntilthetwenti-ethcenturyfreeandregularintermarriage of settlerswithlocalKonkani-speakingwomen.Thehistory of theirdescen-dantsparalleledthat of otherEurasiansinIndia.PortuguesebornonIndiansoilwerecalled"Castees"(fromthePortu-guesecastico,atermnolongerused);whereasCreoleswerecalled"Mustees"or"Mestiz"(fromthePortuguesemistices).InrecentdecadestheseGoanese of partialEuropeanancestryhavebeenassimilatedintotheAnglo-Indiancommunity,thoughnotwithoutsomeresentmentonthepart of color-consciousAnglo-Indians.GoanesespeakEnglish,liveincit-ies,andareRomanCatholics.ItisoftennotrecalledthattheGoanesehadanotherkind of linkwithAnglo-Indians:untiltheearlynineteenthcenturyonecouldbuyslavegirlsinGoa,andsomeBritishresidents of Indiadidjustthat.BibliographyGaikwad,VijaySinghRameshwarRao(1967).TheAnglo-Indians:AStudyintheProblemsandProcessesInvolvedinEmotionalandCulturalIntegration.Bombay: Asia PublishingHouse.Thistermhasbeenusedintwodistinctsenses.Uptoabout1900itmeantaBritishperson(whether of English,Scottish,IrishorWelshancestry)whohadbeenborninIndia('countrybom")andresidedthere.Butsince1900theterm"Anglo-Indian"hasbeenappliedtothosepreviouslyknownasEurasianswhowere of mixedEuropeanandIndiandescent(theyhadbeenknowninearliertimesas"EastIndians").Anglo-Indiansinthislattersensearefoundtodayinallcities of India,aswellasinBritain,Canada,andAustralia.Thelastcensuscount of them,in1951,identified11,637intheRe-public of India.TheEnglishhavebeengoingtoIndiafor1,000years.PossiblythefirstEnglishvisitorwasSwithelmorSigelinus,anenvoysentbyKingAlfredtovisitthetomb of St.ThomasinA.D.884.Heissaidtohavereturnedhomesafely.Anequallydramaticjourneywasthat of ThomasCoryate,whosecele-bratedwalkfromSomersettoAjmeretookthreeyears.Butby1615,whenhereachedIndia,EnglishvisitorswerebecomingcommonplaceduetoexpandingtradewiththeMogulEm-pire.WhilethereisnoevidencethatSwithelmleftanyprog-enyinIndia,manylaterEuropeanvisitorsdid.Itwascustom-aryinIndianinnsintheMiddleAgestoprovideafemalecompanionforthepleasure of distinguishedtravelers.Bythenineteenthcentury,thenumber of Britishresidentswasintothethousands,andmostweremale.Until ... Tomeanethnologistwhospeaks of theAryanrace,Aryanblood,Aryaneyesandhair,isasgreatasinnerasalinguistwhospeaks of adolichocephalicdictionary,orabrachyce-phalicgrammar."FormanycenturiesaftertheirarrivalintheIndo-GangeticPlain,theAryanslivedashorsemenandcattleherders,clearingpatchesintheforestsandinhabitingsmallvillages,ratherthanlivingintheancienttownsthattheiran-cestorshadprobablyhelpedbringtoruin.Onlywiththestart of theIndianIronAge(about700B.C.)didAryantownsbegintoemerge;thisdevelopmentpresumesabackground of settledfarmingintheplainsbythatera.Therehasbeenmuchspeculationaboutthesubsequentdevelopment of northernIndiansocietyandtheAryans'fur-thercolonization of thesubcontinent;aboutrelationsbe-tweenthemandtheconquered"Dasas"or"Dasyu"(namesmeaning"slaves"andprobablyreferringtoremnants of theearlierIndusValleypopulation);andabouttherise of thecastesystem.DuringtheVedicperiod(about1500to800B.C.)theAryansdevelopedtheenormouslyelaboraterituals of Brahmanism,theforerunner of Hinduism;andtheyformedastratifiedsocietyinwhichtherudiments of thecastesystemwerealreadyapparent.Thustherewasapriestlycaste(Brahmana),arulingnoblecaste(Rajanya),awarriorcaste(Kshatriya),andthemenialcaste(Sudra).PriortotheMauryanEmpire(321to185B.C.)therewasnoorganizedAr-yangovernmentwithaclass of bureaucratstoadministerthelandthroughoutIndia.Instead,therewerenumerousrulingchieftains(rajan)whocommandedtheirarmiesandwereas-sistedbypurohitas,menwhocounseledandprotectedtherul-erswiththeirmagicalskills.Aslargerkingdomsemergedthepurohitabecamelikeacombinedarchbishopandprimemin-ister,consecratingtheking,givinghimpoliticalcounsel,andperformingmajorsacrificesforhim.Theintroduction of irontechnologyledtourbanization,andby500B.C.many of thesekingdomshadanimportantmerchantclassinthetownswhowerealreadyusingcopperandsilvercoins.SiddharthaGautama,theBuddha,camefromtherulingfamily of onesuchkingdom(Kosala,nowinBiharState).SeealsoCastes,HinduBibliographyBurrow,Thomas(1975)."TheEarlyAryans."InACulturalHistory of India,editedbyA.L.Basham,2 0-2 9.Oxford:ClarendonPress.Childe,VereGordon(1926).TheAryans:AStudy of Indo-EuropeanOrigins.London:KeganPaul,Trench,Triibner&Co.,Ltd.Reprint.1987.NewYork:DorsetPress.Thapar,Romila(1980)."IndiabeforeandaftertheMauryanEmpire."InTheCambridge Encyclopedia of Archaeology,ed-itedbyAndrewSherratt,25 7-2 61.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.PAULHOCKINGSAssameseETHNONYMS:noneTheterm"Assamese"isoftenusedtorefertothosewhoarecitizens of Assam:Mymensinghysettlers(fromBangladesh)andtea-gardenlaborersarethusincludedinitscoverage.Thetermcanalsobeusedtodescribetheindigenousorlong-settledinhabitants of thisnortheastIndianstate.TheBrahmaputraValleypopulationreached12.5mil-lionin1971;atthetime of the1961censustherewere16,307inhabitedvillagesinAssamwithanaveragepopulation of alittlemorethan500.About12millionpeoplespokeAssa-mesein1981.Thepeople of Assamhavebeendescribedassmallinstaturewithdarkyellowcomplexion,anindication of theirMongoloidorigin.Theirlanguagewasinpremoderntimestheeasternmostmember of theIndo-EuropeanFamily.TheAssameseforcenturieshaveoccupiedaperipheralposition,bothgeographicallyandpolitically,inrelationtotherest of India.ThecountrywasoriginallyruledbytheAhoms,aShanpeoplewhomigratedfromupperMyanmar(Burma),atthebeginning of thethirteenthcentury.Thesepeoplevariouslyappliedtheterms"Assam,""Asam,"or"Aham"totheircountry.TheAhomsmaintainedchronicles of themainevents of theirreign.Assamoriginallyconsisted of sixdistricts of thelowerBrahmaputraorAssamValley.Butwhenin1822achiefcommissionership of AssamwascreatedbytheBritishitwasextendedtoincludetwodistrictsintheSurmaValley,sixhillareas,andtwofrontiertracts.Villagersassociateonthebasis of membership of alocalcenter of de-votionalworshipcalleda"namehouse"(namghar),whosemembersdescribethemselvesas"onepeople"(raij).Thereareusuallyseveralnamehousesinavillage.Assamesehouse-holdscanbegradedintofiveeconomiccategories,chieflyonthebasis of income.Villagesarealsomadeup of familiesfromanumber of distinctcastes.RiceisthestapleinAssam.Ifaharvestisgoodthepeo-plemayrelaxandenjoytheirabundanceforthemonths8AnavilBrahmanstrivetomarrytheirdaughterstoDesaimenbutatthecost of largedowries.Hypergamyisalsopracticed.Thissystemper-mitsawomantomarryaman of ahigherbutnotalowerso-cialstatusthanherown.AnavilBrahmanshaveapreferenceforpatrilocality,patrilinealsystems of inheritance,andresi-denceinjointfamilygroups.Brahmanicidealsleadtoapreferencefordowrymarriage.Thelaws of Manudistinguisheightdifferentforms of marriage, of whichfourareactuallyvariations of thedowrymarriage;anditisthesefourthataretheoreticallyrecommendedtoBrahmans.BibliographyMarriot,McKim(1968).'CasteRankingandFoodTransac-tions:AMatrixAnalysis."InStructureandChangeinIndianSociety,editedbyMiltonSingerandBernard S. Cohn,13 3- 171.Chicago:University of ChicagoPress.VanderVeen,KlaasW.(1972).1GiveTheeMyDaughter.Assen:VanGorcum&Comp.N.V.LeSHONKIMBLEAndamaneseETHNONYM:MincopieOrientationIdentification.TheAndamanesearetheindigenoustribes of Negritohuntersandgatherers of theAndamanIslands.In1908,theterm"Andamanese"referredtothirteendistincttribalgroups,eachdistinguishedbyadifferentdialectandgeographicallocation.Todayonlyfourtribesremainandarereferredtocollectivelyas"Andamanese."ThefourextanttribesaretheOngees of LittleAndamanIsland,theSentine-lese of NorthSentinelIsland,theJarwas of theMiddleAndamans,andtheGreatAndamanese of StraitIsland.Location.TheAndamanIslands,whichcompriseanar-chipelago of 348islands,arelocatedintheBay of Bengalbe-tween10°30'and13°30'Nand92°20'and93°0'E.Thetotallandareais8,293squarekilometers, of whichabout7,464squarekilometersarecoveredwithtropicalrainforests.Thenorthernandcentralislandsarehilly,whilethesouthernislandsaresurroundedbyoffshorecoralreefsandarecriss-crossedwithtidalcreeks.Thesouthwesternandnorthwesternmonsoonscreatearainyseasonthatlastsapproximatelyninetotenmonthseachyear;annualprecipitationis275to455centimeters.TheonlydryseasonontheislandsbeginsinFebruaryandendsinMarch.Demography.In1800,thetotaltribalpopulationontheislandswasestimatedatapproximately3,575.In1901,theestimatedroppedto1,895,andin1983,thetotaltribalpopu-lationwas269. Of the1983estimateonlythecount of 9GreatAndamaneseand98Ongeeswasaccurate.TheJarwasandtheSentineleseareisolatedbytopographyandbyeachtribe&apos ;s hostilitytowardoutsiders.Since1789,thepopulation of nontribalpeoplesontheislandshassteadilyincreased.Thetotalnumber of outsidersontheislandswas157,552in1983comparedtothe269tribals.Theintrusion of outsidersanddiseasesintroducedbythem,suchasmeasles,ophthal-mia,andvenerealdisease,hascontributeddirectlytotheoveralldeclineintribalpopulationanditsdisproportionatemale/femaleratio.Theislands'expandingtimberindustryandthesettlement of increasingnumbers of nontribals,pri-marilyfrommainlandIndia,alsohavereducedthetotalareaavailableforusebythetribal.LinguisticAffiliation.Areallinguisticconnection of An-damanesewith South andSoutheastAsianlanguageareashasnotbeensystematicallyestablished.Andamaneseasalanguagefamilyiscomposed of twomaingroups:Proto-LittleAndamanese,whichincludesOngee,Jarwa,andSentinelese;andProto-GreatAndamanese.Proto-GreatAndamaneseisfurthersubdividedintothreegroups:BeaandBaie of South Andamans;Puchikwar,Kede,Juwoi,Koi,andJko of MiddleAndamans;andBo,Chari,Jeru,andKora of NorthAnda-mans.Earlyethnographicaccountssuggestthateach of thetribalgroupsontheislandsspokemutuallyunintelligiblelan-guages.Yetlinguisticrecords,compiledbytheisland&apos ;s ad-ministratorsandmorerecentresearch,suggestagreatdegree of overlapintermsusedbyeachgroup.HistoryandCulturalRelationsTheAndamanesearebelievedtoshareaculturalaffinitywithsome of theOrangAslis of insularSoutheast Asia. IthasbeenarguedthattheAndamanesearrivedfromtheMalayandBurmesecoastsbylandinlatequaternarytimesor,atalatertime,bysea.ThereisalsospeculationthattheAnda-manesecamefromSumatraviatheNicobarIslands.How-ever,thepreciseorigins of theAndamaneseremainscholarlyspeculationsthathavenotbeenthoroughlyinvestigatedandresearched.Theearlyrecordedhistory of theislandsbeganinearnestwiththeBritishin1788.Rapidchangesintradewindsinthearea,monsoons,andcoralreefssurroundingtheislandscausedmanyshipwrecks;thosefewwhosurvivedship-wreckswerekilledbytheAndamanese.Inaneffortto ... Tomeanethnologistwhospeaks of theAryanrace,Aryanblood,Aryaneyesandhair,isasgreatasinnerasalinguistwhospeaks of adolichocephalicdictionary,orabrachyce-phalicgrammar."FormanycenturiesaftertheirarrivalintheIndo-GangeticPlain,theAryanslivedashorsemenandcattleherders,clearingpatchesintheforestsandinhabitingsmallvillages,ratherthanlivingintheancienttownsthattheiran-cestorshadprobablyhelpedbringtoruin.Onlywiththestart of theIndianIronAge(about700B.C.)didAryantownsbegintoemerge;thisdevelopmentpresumesabackground of settledfarmingintheplainsbythatera.Therehasbeenmuchspeculationaboutthesubsequentdevelopment of northernIndiansocietyandtheAryans'fur-thercolonization of thesubcontinent;aboutrelationsbe-tweenthemandtheconquered"Dasas"or"Dasyu"(namesmeaning"slaves"andprobablyreferringtoremnants of theearlierIndusValleypopulation);andabouttherise of thecastesystem.DuringtheVedicperiod(about1500to800B.C.)theAryansdevelopedtheenormouslyelaboraterituals of Brahmanism,theforerunner of Hinduism;andtheyformedastratifiedsocietyinwhichtherudiments of thecastesystemwerealreadyapparent.Thustherewasapriestlycaste(Brahmana),arulingnoblecaste(Rajanya),awarriorcaste(Kshatriya),andthemenialcaste(Sudra).PriortotheMauryanEmpire(321to185B.C.)therewasnoorganizedAr-yangovernmentwithaclass of bureaucratstoadministerthelandthroughoutIndia.Instead,therewerenumerousrulingchieftains(rajan)whocommandedtheirarmiesandwereas-sistedbypurohitas,menwhocounseledandprotectedtherul-erswiththeirmagicalskills.Aslargerkingdomsemergedthepurohitabecamelikeacombinedarchbishopandprimemin-ister,consecratingtheking,givinghimpoliticalcounsel,andperformingmajorsacrificesforhim.Theintroduction of irontechnologyledtourbanization,andby500B.C.many of thesekingdomshadanimportantmerchantclassinthetownswhowerealreadyusingcopperandsilvercoins.SiddharthaGautama,theBuddha,camefromtherulingfamily of onesuchkingdom(Kosala,nowinBiharState).SeealsoCastes,HinduBibliographyBurrow,Thomas(1975)."TheEarlyAryans."InACulturalHistory of India,editedbyA.L.Basham,2 0-2 9.Oxford:ClarendonPress.Childe,VereGordon(1926).TheAryans:AStudy of Indo-EuropeanOrigins.London:KeganPaul,Trench,Triibner&Co.,Ltd.Reprint.1987.NewYork:DorsetPress.Thapar,Romila(1980)."IndiabeforeandaftertheMauryanEmpire."InTheCambridge Encyclopedia of Archaeology,ed-itedbyAndrewSherratt,25 7-2 61.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.PAULHOCKINGSAssameseETHNONYMS:noneTheterm"Assamese"isoftenusedtorefertothosewhoarecitizens of Assam:Mymensinghysettlers(fromBangladesh)andtea-gardenlaborersarethusincludedinitscoverage.Thetermcanalsobeusedtodescribetheindigenousorlong-settledinhabitants of thisnortheastIndianstate.TheBrahmaputraValleypopulationreached12.5mil-lionin1971;atthetime of the1961censustherewere16,307inhabitedvillagesinAssamwithanaveragepopulation of alittlemorethan500.About12millionpeoplespokeAssa-mesein1981.Thepeople of Assamhavebeendescribedassmallinstaturewithdarkyellowcomplexion,anindication of theirMongoloidorigin.Theirlanguagewasinpremoderntimestheeasternmostmember of theIndo-EuropeanFamily.TheAssameseforcenturieshaveoccupiedaperipheralposition,bothgeographicallyandpolitically,inrelationtotherest of India.ThecountrywasoriginallyruledbytheAhoms,aShanpeoplewhomigratedfromupperMyanmar(Burma),atthebeginning of thethirteenthcentury.Thesepeoplevariouslyappliedtheterms"Assam,""Asam,"or"Aham"totheircountry.TheAhomsmaintainedchronicles of themainevents of theirreign.Assamoriginallyconsisted of sixdistricts of thelowerBrahmaputraorAssamValley.Butwhenin1822achiefcommissionership of AssamwascreatedbytheBritishitwasextendedtoincludetwodistrictsintheSurmaValley,sixhillareas,andtwofrontiertracts.Villagersassociateonthebasis of membership of alocalcenter of de-votionalworshipcalleda"namehouse"(namghar),whosemembersdescribethemselvesas"onepeople"(raij).Thereareusuallyseveralnamehousesinavillage.Assamesehouse-holdscanbegradedintofiveeconomiccategories,chieflyonthebasis of income.Villagesarealsomadeup of familiesfromanumber of distinctcastes.RiceisthestapleinAssam.Ifaharvestisgoodthepeo-plemayrelaxandenjoytheirabundanceforthemonths8AnavilBrahmanstrivetomarrytheirdaughterstoDesaimenbutatthecost of largedowries.Hypergamyisalsopracticed.Thissystemper-mitsawomantomarryaman of ahigherbutnotalowerso-cialstatusthanherown.AnavilBrahmanshaveapreferenceforpatrilocality,patrilinealsystems of inheritance,andresi-denceinjointfamilygroups.Brahmanicidealsleadtoapreferencefordowrymarriage.Thelaws of Manudistinguisheightdifferentforms of marriage, of whichfourareactuallyvariations of thedowrymarriage;anditisthesefourthataretheoreticallyrecommendedtoBrahmans.BibliographyMarriot,McKim(1968).'CasteRankingandFoodTransac-tions:AMatrixAnalysis."InStructureandChangeinIndianSociety,editedbyMiltonSingerandBernard S. Cohn,13 3- 171.Chicago:University of ChicagoPress.VanderVeen,KlaasW.(1972).1GiveTheeMyDaughter.Assen:VanGorcum&Comp.N.V.LeSHONKIMBLEAndamaneseETHNONYM:MincopieOrientationIdentification.TheAndamanesearetheindigenoustribes of Negritohuntersandgatherers of theAndamanIslands.In1908,theterm"Andamanese"referredtothirteendistincttribalgroups,eachdistinguishedbyadifferentdialectandgeographicallocation.Todayonlyfourtribesremainandarereferredtocollectivelyas"Andamanese."ThefourextanttribesaretheOngees of LittleAndamanIsland,theSentine-lese of NorthSentinelIsland,theJarwas of theMiddleAndamans,andtheGreatAndamanese of StraitIsland.Location.TheAndamanIslands,whichcompriseanar-chipelago of 348islands,arelocatedintheBay of Bengalbe-tween10°30'and13°30'Nand92°20'and93°0'E.Thetotallandareais8,293squarekilometers, of whichabout7,464squarekilometersarecoveredwithtropicalrainforests.Thenorthernandcentralislandsarehilly,whilethesouthernislandsaresurroundedbyoffshorecoralreefsandarecriss-crossedwithtidalcreeks.Thesouthwesternandnorthwesternmonsoonscreatearainyseasonthatlastsapproximatelyninetotenmonthseachyear;annualprecipitationis275to455centimeters.TheonlydryseasonontheislandsbeginsinFebruaryandendsinMarch.Demography.In1800,thetotaltribalpopulationontheislandswasestimatedatapproximately3,575.In1901,theestimatedroppedto1,895,andin1983,thetotaltribalpopu-lationwas269. Of the1983estimateonlythecount of 9GreatAndamaneseand98Ongeeswasaccurate.TheJarwasandtheSentineleseareisolatedbytopographyandbyeachtribe&apos ;s hostilitytowardoutsiders.Since1789,thepopulation of nontribalpeoplesontheislandshassteadilyincreased.Thetotalnumber of outsidersontheislandswas157,552in1983comparedtothe269tribals.Theintrusion of outsidersanddiseasesintroducedbythem,suchasmeasles,ophthal-mia,andvenerealdisease,hascontributeddirectlytotheoveralldeclineintribalpopulationanditsdisproportionatemale/femaleratio.Theislands'expandingtimberindustryandthesettlement of increasingnumbers of nontribals,pri-marilyfrommainlandIndia,alsohavereducedthetotalareaavailableforusebythetribal.LinguisticAffiliation.Areallinguisticconnection of An-damanesewith South andSoutheastAsianlanguageareashasnotbeensystematicallyestablished.Andamaneseasalanguagefamilyiscomposed of twomaingroups:Proto-LittleAndamanese,whichincludesOngee,Jarwa,andSentinelese;andProto-GreatAndamanese.Proto-GreatAndamaneseisfurthersubdividedintothreegroups:BeaandBaie of South Andamans;Puchikwar,Kede,Juwoi,Koi,andJko of MiddleAndamans;andBo,Chari,Jeru,andKora of NorthAnda-mans.Earlyethnographicaccountssuggestthateach of thetribalgroupsontheislandsspokemutuallyunintelligiblelan-guages.Yetlinguisticrecords,compiledbytheisland&apos ;s ad-ministratorsandmorerecentresearch,suggestagreatdegree of overlapintermsusedbyeachgroup.HistoryandCulturalRelationsTheAndamanesearebelievedtoshareaculturalaffinitywithsome of theOrangAslis of insularSoutheast Asia. IthasbeenarguedthattheAndamanesearrivedfromtheMalayandBurmesecoastsbylandinlatequaternarytimesor,atalatertime,bysea.ThereisalsospeculationthattheAnda-manesecamefromSumatraviatheNicobarIslands.How-ever,thepreciseorigins of theAndamaneseremainscholarlyspeculationsthathavenotbeenthoroughlyinvestigatedandresearched.Theearlyrecordedhistory of theislandsbeganinearnestwiththeBritishin1788.Rapidchangesintradewindsinthearea,monsoons,andcoralreefssurroundingtheislandscausedmanyshipwrecks;thosefewwhosurvivedship-wreckswerekilledbytheAndamanese.Inaneffortto...

... asmanywaysaspossible.Thelaitysupportthewanderingascetics,providingthemwithfoodandshelter,theasceticsinturnprovidereligiousandmoralguidance.LayJainsincludesome of India&apos ;s leadingindustrialists,jewelers,andbankers,concentratedparticularlyinthecities of Bombay,Ahme-dabad,andDelhi.Becausesomanyarebusinesspeople,theJainsareone of thefewreligiousgroups(alongwiththeParsisandJews)whoaremorenumerousincitiesthaninruralareas.ThroughoutwesternIndiaJainsaretobefoundineveryurbancenter,howeversmall,workingasmerchants,traders,wholesalers,andmoneylenders.Assooftenhappensinreligioussects,theJainsarenostrangerstoschism.Themostbasicandwidelyknownsplitwithintheircommunity of believers,datingbacktothefourthcenturyB.C.,separatesthe'sky-clad"(Digambaras)fromthe"white-clad"(Svetambaras);thenamesrefertothefactthatthehighestorder of Digambaramonksgonakedtoannouncetheircompleteindifferencetotheirbodies,whileSvetambaramonksandnunsalwayswearsimplewhiteclothing.Thesetwosectsdifferintheirattitudestowardscripture,theirviews of theuniverse,andtheirattitudestowardwomen(theDig-ambarasbelievethatnowomanhaseverachievedliberation).Anothermajorsectariandivision,foundparticularlyamongtheSvetambarasanddatingbacktofifteenth-centuryGu-jarat,rejectsallforms of idolatry.Whilemurti-pujaka(idol-worshiping)layandasceticSvetambarasbuildandvisittem-plesinwhichidols of thetirthankarasareinstalled,theSvetambaraSthanakavasisect-likecertainProtestantChristiansects-holdsthatsuchforms of worshipmaymis-leadthebelieverintothinkingthatidols,famoustemples,andthelikearesources of somemysteriouspower.InsteadlayandasceticSthanakavasisprefertomeditateinbarehalls.Today,layJains-mostly of Gujaratiorigin-aretobefoundineastAfrica,GreatBritain,andNorthAmerica,wheretheyhavemigratedoverthelastcenturyinsearch of businessandtradingopportunities.Templeshavebeenestab-lishedinseveral of thesecountriesandtheJains ... aremakingthemselvesfeltasadistinctivepresencewithinthewider South Asianmigrantcommunityoverseas.SeealsoBaniaBibliographyBanks,Marcus(1992).OrganizingJainisminIndiaandEng-land.London:OxfordUniversityPress.Carrithers,Michael,andCarolineHumphrey,eds.(1991).TheAssembly of Listeners:JainsinSociety.Cambridge:Cam-bridgeUniversityPress.Dundas,Paul(1992).TheJains.London:Routledge.Fischer,Eberhard,andJyotindrajain(1977).ArtandRituals:2,500Years of JainisminIndia.Delhi:SterlingPublishersPri-vateLtd.Jaini,Padmanabh S. (1979).TheJainaPath of Purification.Berkeley:University of CaliforniaPress.Mathias,Marie-Claude(1985).DIlivranceetconviviality:LesystemeculinairedesJaina.Paris:EditionsdelaMaisondesSciencesdel'Homme.Pande,G.C.,ed.(1978).SramanaTradition:ItsContributiontoIndianCulture.Ahmedabad:L.D.Institute of Indology.Sangave,VilasA.(1959).JainaCommunity:ASocialSurvey.Reprint.1980.Bombay:PopularBookDepotVinayasagar,Mahopadhyaya,andMukundLath,eds.andtrans.(1977).KalpaSutra.Jaipur:D.R.Mehta,PrakritBharati.MARCUSBANKSJatETHNONYMS:Jt,JatOrientationIdentificationandLocation.Primarilyendogamouscom-munitiescallingthemselvesandknownasJatlivepredomi-nantlyinlargeparts of northernandnorthwesternIndiaandinsouthernandeasternPakistan,assedentaryfarmersand/ormobilepastoralists.Incertainareastheytendtocallthem-selvesBaluch,Pathan,orRajput,ratherthanJat.Most of thesecommunitiesareintegratedasacasteintothelocallyprevalentcastesystem.Inthepastthreedecadesincreasingpopulationpressureonlandhasledtolarge-scaleemigration of thepeasantJat,especiallyfromIndia,toNorthAmerica,theUnitedKingdom,Malaysia,andmorerecentlytheMid-dleEast.SomemaintainthatthesedentaryfarmingJatandthenomadicpastoralJatare of entirelydifferentorigins;oth-ersbelievethatthetwogroupsare of thesamestockbutthattheydevelopeddifferentlife-stylesoverthecenturies.Neitherthefarmersnorthepastoralistsare,however,tobeconfusedwithotherdistinctcommunities of peripateticpeddlers,arti-sans,andentertainersdesignatedinAfghanistanbytheblan-ketterms"Jat"orJat;thelattertermsareconsideredpejora-tive,andtheyarerejectedasethnonymsbytheseperipateticcommunities.InPakistanalso,amongtheBaluchi-andPashto-speakingpopulations,thetermswere,andtoacertainextentstillare,usedtoindicatecontemptandlowersocialstatus.Demography.Noreliablefiguresareavailableforrecentyears.In1931thepopulation of allsedentaryandfarmingJatwasestimatedat8,377,819;intheearly196 0s 8,000,000wastheestimateforPakistanalone.TodaytheentireJatpopula-tionconsists of severalmillionmorethanthat.linguisticAffiliation.AllJatspeaklanguagesanddialectsthatarecloselyconnectedwithotherlocallyspokenlan-guages of theIndo-IranianGroup.Threealphabetsareused,dependingprimarilyonreligionbutpartlyonlocality:theArabic-derivedUrduoneisusedbyMuslims,whileSikhsandHindususetheGurmukhi(Punjabi)andtheDevanagari(Hindi)scripts,respectively.Jatav115ciallytobedependentuponthemother,whomayinturnbe-comedependentupontheminoldage.SociopoliticalOrganizationSocialOrganization.InIndia&apos ;s villagesthecastesystemisanorganicdivision of labor,eachcastehavingatraditionallyassignedanddistinctoccupationandduty.BecauseJatavs,asChamars,dothepollutingandpollutedtasks of removingdeadcattlefromthevillageand of workingwithleather,theyarerankedasUntouchablesatthebottom of thesystem.Tra-ditionally,theirmajoroccupationinthevillagewasagricul-turalandothermeniallaborforlandowners.Incities,wherethetraditionalinterdependencies of thecastesystemarevir-tuallynonexistent,Jatavsaremorelikeadistinctandde-spisedethnicgroup.PoliticalOrganization.InpreindependentIndiaJatavsgainedconsiderablepoliticalexpertisebyformingassocia-tionsandbydevelopingaliteratecadre of leaders.Theytriedtochangetheirpositioninthecastesystemthrough'Sanskri-tization,"theemulation of upper-castebehavior.JatavsclaimedKshatriyaorwarrior-classoriginandrank,andtheyorganizedcasteassociationstoreformcastebehaviorandlobbyfortheirclaims.AfterindependenceIndialegallyabol-ishedthepractice of untouchability,establishedtheuniversalfranchise,anddevelopedthepolicy of "protectivediscrimina-tion."ThatpolicyreserveselectoralconstituenciesforSched-uledCastecandidatesaccordingtotheirpercentages of pop-ulationinthenationandthestates;itdoeslikewiseforjobsinthenationalandstatecivilservices;anditofferseducationalbenefitstothem.Jatavshavetakenadvantage of thatpolicyandturnedtoactiveparticipationinIndia&apos ;s parliamentarysystem of government.Attimestheyhaveelectedmembers of theircastetovariousstateandnationallegislatures.Invil-lagestheyhavebeenlesssuccessfulatinfluencinglocalpoliti-calinstitutionsandcapturingfundsmeantfordevelopmentalprojects.AmajorinfluenceuponJatavswastheUntouchableleaderDr.B.RAmbedkar(d.1956)whoencouragedUn-touchablestofightfortheirrights,and,asfirstministerforlawinIndia,providedapowerfulrolemodel.Throughtheirpoliticaleffortshisstatueandpicturemaybefoundinpublicparksandbusstations,symbolicallyassertingtheirquestforequalcitizenshipinthenation.SocialControl.Everydaycontrolandleadership of localcommunitieswastraditionallyinthehands of hereditaryheadmen(chaudhari).Seriouscases of conflict,breaches of casterules,andothercaste-relatedproblemsweredecidedbycouncils of adultmen(panchayat)ineachlocality.Inthepast,higher-levelcouncilsexistedformoreseriouscasesorforappeals.Thecouncilsystemandthepowers of hereditaryheadmenhavegraduallyeroded,especiallyincitieswherethecourtsandthemoreeducatedandpoliticallyinvolvedleadersandbusinessmenhavebecomemoreprominentandin-fluential.Conflict.Conflictsarisewithinandbetweenfamiliesandindividualsovermoney,children,inheritanceclaims,drink-ing,insults,andthelike.Inrecentyearsconflicts,bothincit-iesandvillages,havetakenapoliticalturnasJatavs,andotherUntouchables,havetriedtoasserttheirrights.Non-Untouchablecasteshavereactednegatively.Seriousriotsbe-tweenJatavsanduppercasteshaveoccurredincities,suchasAgra,anddangerousconflictshavealsooccurredinvillages.Jatavsfeelthatthepace of changeismuchtooslow,whileuppercasteshaverejecteditastoofast,unjustified,andcon-trarytoorthodoxHinduteaching.ReligionandExpressiveCultureReligiousBeliefs.Ingeneral,JatavsandotherChamarsareHindus.Theyreject,however,theHinduteachingthatmakesthemUntouchables,aswellastheBrahmanpriestswhowrotethesacredtextssodefiningthem.MostmajorHindufestivals,particularlyHoli,areobserved,asaremajorlife-cycleceremonies.InpostindependentIndiaJatavsmayentermajorHindutemplesandvisitpilgrimagespots.SomeChamarsaredevotees of theChamarsaintRaviDas.Anum-ber of JatavshavefollowedDr.AmbedkarandconvertedtoBuddhismasarejection of thecastesystemandasanasser-tion of theequality of allindividuals.Buddhismforthemisapoliticalideologyinreligiousform.Ambedkarhimselfhasbeenapotheosizedasabodhisattva;hisbirthdayisthemajorpublicJatavfestival.Beliefisinthemajordeities of Hindu-ism,especiallyintheirlocalizedforms.TheBuddhaandDr.Ambedkarhavebecomepart of thepantheon.Ghosts of thosewhodiedbeforetheirtime(bhut)andotherspiritsarebelievedtobeabletopossessorharmlivingpeople;fear of theevileyeisalsowidespread.ReligiousPractitioners.BrahmanprieststraditionallyhavenotservedJatavsandotherUntouchables.Insteadlocalheadmenhaveofficiatedatrituals.Shamans(bhagat),whoaresometimesJatavs,havebeenknowntobeconsultedincases of spiritpossessionandotherillnesses.Ceremonies.Life-cycleceremoniesatbirth,firsthaircut-ting,marriage,anddeatharethemajorpublicceremonies.Marriageisthemostimportantritualasitinvolvespublicfeasts,thehonor of thegirl&apos ;s family,cooperation of neighborsandspecifickin,andgiftgivingoveryearstothefamilies of marrieddaughters.Deathritualsalsorequireparticipation of agnatesandmaleneighborstocrematethecorpseimmedi-atelyand of womentokeenritually.Verysmallchildrenareburied.Memorialfeastsormealsforthedeadaregivenoveraperiod of ayear.Arts.Theverbalarts,particularlythecomposition of vari-ousforms of poetry,arecultivated,asistheskillinsingingvariousforms of song.Medicine.Folkremediesareusedandpractitioners of Ayurvedic,Unani,andhomeopathicmedicinesarecon-sulted.Modemmedicinesandphysiciansareusedwhenaffordable.DeathandAfterlife.Beliefintransmigration of soulsiswidespread,andsomebelieveinanafterlifeinHeaven(Svarg)orHell(Narak).Asontoperformthefuneralobse-quiesisessential.Thedeadsoullingersafterdeathbutpassesonafteranumber of days.SeealsoNeo-Buddhist;UntouchablesBibliographyBriggs,GeorgeW.(1920).TheChamars.Calcutta:Associa-tionPress.Cohn,Bernard(1954)."TheCamars of Senapur:AStudy of Jat111HistoryandCulturalRelationsLittleisknownabouttheearlyhistory of theJat,althoughseveraltheorieswereadvancedbyvariousscholarsoverthelast100years.Whilesomeauthorsarguethattheyarede-scendants of thefirstIndo-Aryans,otherssuggestthattheyare of Indo-ScythianstockandenteredIndiatowardthebe-ginning of theChristianera.TheseauthorsalsopointtosomeculturalsimilaritiesbetweentheJatandcertainothermajorcommunities of thearea,suchastheGujar,theAhir,andtheRajput,aboutwhoseoriginssimilartheorieshavebeensuggested.Infact,amongbothMuslimsandSikhstheJatandtheRajputcastesenjoyalmostequalstatus-partlybecause of thebasicegalitarianideologyenjoinedbybothre-ligions,butmainlybecause of thesimilarpoliticalandeco-nomicpowerheldbybothcommunities.AlsoHinduJatcon-sidertheGujarandAhirasalliedcastes;exceptfortherule of casteendogamy,therearenocasterestrictionsbetweenthesethreecommunities.Inotherscholarlydebatesabouttheori-gins of theJat,attemptshavebeenmadetoidentifythemwiththeJarttika,referredtointheHinduepictheMahabharata.SomestillmaintainthatthepeopleArabhisto-riansreferredtoastheZutt,andwhoweretakenasprisonersintheeighthcenturyfromSindhinpresent-daysouthernPa-kistantosouthernIraq,wereactuallybuffalo-herdingJat,orwereatleastknownassuchintheirplace of origin.Inthesev-enteenthcenturya(Hindu)kingdomwasestablishedinthearea of BharatpurandDholpur(Rajasthan)innorthernIndia;itwastheoutcome of manycenturies of rebellionagainsttheMogulEmpire,anditlastedtill1826,whenitwasdefeatedbytheforces of theBritishEastIndiaCompany.Farthernorth,inthePunjab,intheearlyyears of theeight-eenthcentury,Jat(mainlySikh)organizedpeasantuprisingsagainstthepredominantlyMuslimlandedgentry;subse-quently,withtheinvasion of thearea-firstbythePersianKingNadirShahandthenbytheAfghanAhmadShahAbdali-theycontrolledamajorpart of theareathroughclose-knitbands of armedmaraudersoperatingundertheleadership of thelandowningchiefs of well-definedterritor-ies.Because of theirmartialtraditions,theJat,togetherwithcertainothercommunities,wereclassifiedbyBritishadminis-trators of imperialIndiaasa'martialrace,"andthistermhadcertainlong-lastingeffects.Onewastheirlarge-scalerecruit-mentintotheBritish-Indianarmy,andtothisdayaverylargenumber of JataresoldiersintheIndianarmy.ManySikhJatintheIndianpart of Punjabareinvolvedinthecurrentmove-mentforthecreation of anautonomousKhalistan.SettlementsTheJatasawholearepredominantlyrural.Dependingonwhethertheyaresedentaryornomadic,theJat of variousre-gionsliveinpermanentvillagesortemporarycamps.Overthelast200yearstherehasbeenincreasingsedentarization of no-madicJat;thistrendbeganinthelastdecades of theeight-eenthcenturywhenmanypastoralistssettledinthecentralPunjabundertheauspices of Sikhrulethere,anditcontin-uedoveraverylargeareawiththeexpansion of irrigationinBritishimperialtimes.Withtheconsequentexpansion of cul-tivationallthesepastoralistsarefacingincreasingdifficultiesinfindinggrazinglandsfortheirherds.Thebuffalobreedersfacethemaximumdifficultiesinthisrespect,sincetheirani-malsneedtobegrazedin ... averylargeproportion of thepopulation.IndustrialArtsandDivision of Labor.Amongtheagri-culturalJat,traditionallyonlythemenworkinthefields,Jain109primeresponsibilityfordiggingthegrave,buttheKurumbapresentalsoassists.Whenallisready,thebodyisplacedinthegravesothatitfacestowardthenorth.ThelocalIrulapriest(pujari)thengazesatalampandgoesintoatrance.Amember of thebereavedfamilyaskshimifthedeathwasnat-uralortheresult of sorcery.Ifnatural,thegraveisfilledinrightaway.Ifsorcerywasthecause of death,elaborateritualusedtobeperformed;today,however,thepriestsaysasimpleandhastyprayertoeaseanytorment of thespiritandtoen-ableittodepartpeaceably.Allthemournersthenleave.Ahighlightintheending of thesevendays of ritualpollutionamongthecloserelatives of thedeceasedisthedistribution of newclothingbytheKurumbatotheserelatives.Assoonaspossibleafterthefuneral,preferablywithinamonth,astone(oftenwaterwornandfromastreambed,butsometimessculptedbynon-Irulas)isplacedintheancestraltempletogivethedeceasedaplacetostay.Because of thebeliefthat,withoutastone,thespirit of thedeceasedwandersaroundandmaybecometroublesomeifitdoessofortoolong,thetimeissueisunderstandable.Afterpouringalittleoilonthestoneaspart of aprayerritualandleavingfoodanddrinkforthespirit of thedeparted,therelativesleave.Onceayear,allthosewhohadarelativewhodiedwithintheyearparticipateinafinalceremony.Eachfamilypurchasesanewclothandricegruelisprepared.Atthenearbyriverorstream,thegruelispouredoverthecloths,whicharethensetadrift.Inaddi-tiontohonoringthespirits of thosewhodiedwithintheyear,theIrulatherebyhonoralltheancestralspirits of therelatedpatricians.Aftergroupfeasting,dancingcontinuesintothenight.SeealsoBadaga;Kota;KurumbasBibliographyBuchanan,Francis(later,Buchanan-Hamilton)(1807).AJourneyfromMadrasthroughtheCountries of Mysore,Canara,andMalabar.Vol.2.London:W.Bulmer&Co.Jebadhas,A.William,andWilliamA.Noble(1989).'TheIrulas."InBlueMountains:TheEthnographyandBiogeography of a South IndianRegion,editedbyPaulEdwardHockings,28 1-3 03.NewDelhi:OxfordUniversityPress.Nambiar,P.K.,andT.B.Bharathi(1965).Census of India,1961.Vol.9,Madras,pt.6.VillageSurveyMonographs,no.20,Hallimoyar.Delhi:Manager of Publications,Government of India.Nambiar,P.K.,andT.B.Bharathi(1966).Census of India,1961.Vol.9,Madras,pt.6.VillageSurveyMonographs,no.23,Nellithorai.Delhi:Manager of Publications.Zvelebil,KamilV.(197 3-1 982).TheIrulaLanguage.3vols.Wiesbaden:OttoHarrassowitz.Zvelebil,KamilV.(1988).TheIrulas of theBlueMountains.ForeignandComparativeStudies /South AsianSeries,no.13.Syracuse,N.Y.:MaxwellSchool of CitizenshipandPublicAffairs,SyracuseUniversity.WILLIAMA.NOBLEANDA.WILLIAMJEBADHASJainETHNONYMS:nonePossiblytheoldestasceticreligioustraditiononEarth,Jainismisfollowedtodaybyabout3.5millionpeople,especiallyinRajasthan,MadhyaPradesh,Gujarat,Maharashtra,andKarnataka.AlongwithBuddhism,Jainismwasone of severalre-nunciatorymovements-theSramanaschools-thatgrewupinmodem-dayBiharandsouthernNepalinthesixthcenturyB.C.TheotherSrarnanamovements(includingBuddhism)gradu-allydiedoutinIndia,leavingJainismastheonlyonewithanunbrokensuccession of Indianfollowersdowntothepresentday.TheSramanaschools,indudingJainism,reactedagainstthecontemporaryform of Hinduism(knownasBrahmanism)andpositedthatworldlylifeisinherentlyunhappy-anendlesscycle of deathandrebirth-andthatliberationfromitisachievednotthroughsacrificesorpropitiatingthegodsbutthroughinnermeditationanddiscipline.ThuswhileJamsinIndiatodaysharemanysocialpracticeswiththeirHinduneigh-bors(indeed,severalcasteshavebothHinduandJainmem-bers),theirreligioustraditionisinmanywaysphilosophicallyclosertoBuddhism,thoughdistinctlymorerigidinitsasceti-cismthanBuddhismhasbeen.The"founder" of JainismistakenbymodernscholarstobeMahavira("greathero"),otherwiseknownasVardhamana(c.59 9-5 27B.C.);butthereisevidencethatJainpracticeswereinexistenceforsometimebeforehim.TheJaintextsspeak of asuccession of prophets(tirthankaras)stretchingbackintomythologicaltime, of whomMahavirawasthetwenty-fourthandlast.Thetirthankarasaredistinguishedbythefactthattheyarethoughttohaveachievedliberation of theirsoulsthroughmeditationandausteritiesandthenpreachedthemessage of salvationbeforefinallyleavingtheirmortalbodies.Jainstodayworshipalltwenty-fourtirthan-karas,notinthesense of askingthemforboonsorfavors,butinmemory of thepaththeytaught.One of themostpopular of theJaintextsistheKalpaSutra,atleastpart of whichisca-nonicalandmaydatebacktothefourthcenturyB.C.,andwhichdescribes,amongotherthings,thelives of alltwenty-fourtirthankaras.Theessentialprinciple of Jainphilosophyisthatallliv-ingthings,eventhetiniestinsects,haveanimmortalsoul(iva),whichcontinuestobereincarnatedasitisboundandconstrainedbykarma-aform of matterthatisattractedtothesoulthroughgoodandbaddesiresinthisandinpastlives.Thustofreethesoulonemustperformausteritiestostripawaythekarma-matterandcultivateinoneselfadetach-mentordesirelessnessthatwillnotattractfurtherkarma.Theprinciplemeanstothisendisthepractice of ahimsa,thelack of desiretocauseharmtoanylivingthing.Fromthisprinci-plearisesthemostcharacteristicfeatures of Jainlife:insis-tenceonastrictvegetariandiet,filteringdrinkingwater,run-ninganimalsheltersandhospitals,neverlyingorcausinghurttoothers,temporarilyorpermanentlywearingagauzemasktopreventinsectsfromenteringthebody,andsweepingthegroundinfront of one&apos ;s everystep.ForsomeJains,theirdevotiontoahimsaleadsthemtobeordainedasmonksandnunswholivethelife of wanderingascetics.MostJainstoday,however,arelaity,livingworldlyJatav113stillobserveHindumarriageritesandtillrecentlyfollowedHindufuneralcustoms;themajorityalsoemployedBrah-mansasfamilypriests.InmostvillagesinhabitedbySikhJatthereistheshrine of aSikhmartyr of oldthatactsasanan-cestralfocusfortheminimallineage.VarioussupernaturalbeingsplayaroleinJatlifeandarecommontomostjatirre-spective of creed;beliefinmany of themiswidespreadintheregionasawhole.Arts.Thewomen of thenomadicJatareveryskilledinneedleworkandembroidervarioustextilesusingthreads of manycolorsinthedeltaregionbutmainlyblackandredinthenorth;tinypieces of mirrorarealsousedtodecoratethesetextiles.DeathandAfterlife.Jatholdconflictingviewsonlifeafterdeath.SomebelieveinthetraditionalHinduconcept of rebirth,othersbelieveingoingtoHellorHeaven,butmanybelievethatthereisnoexistenceafterdeathandthatthereisnoform of lifebesidesthepresentoneonEarth.SeealsoAhir;Baluchi;Gujar,Pathan;Punjabi;Rajput;SikhBibliographyHershman,Paul(1981).PunjabiKinshipandMarriage.Delhi:Hindustan.Kessinger,TomG.(1974).Vilayatpur,184 8-1 968:SocialandEconomicChangeinaNorthIndianVillage.Berkeley:University of CaliforniaPress.Lewis,Oscar(1958).VillageLifeinNorthernIndia.NewYork:RandomHouse.Pettigrew,Joyce(1975).RobberNoblemen:AStudy of thePo-liticalSystem of theSikhJats.London:Routledge&KeganPaul.Pradhan,M.C.(1966).ThePoliticalSystem of theJats of NorthernIndia.Delhi:OxfordUniversityPress.Rao,Aparna(1986)."PeripateticMinoritiesinAfghanis-tan-ImageandIdentity."InDieethnischenGruppenAfghanistans,editedbyE.Orywal.Wiesbaden:L.Reichert.Westphal-Hellbusch,Sigrid,andHeinzWestphal(1968).ZurGeschichteundKulturderJat.Berlin:Duncker&Humblot.APARNARAOJatavETHNONYMS:Jadav,Jatava,Jatua;alsoknownasChamar,Harijan,ScheduledCaste,UntouchableOrientationIdentification.TheJatavsareanendogamouscaste of theChamar,orleatherworker,category of castesinIndia.Be-cause of thepollutingoccupation of leatherworkertheyrankamongtheUntouchablecastesclosetothebottom of India&apos ;s castehierarchy.Somesaythename"Jatav"isderivedfromthewordjat(cameldriver),whileotherssayitisderivedfrom"Jat,"thename of anon-Untouchablefarmingcaste.Manyjatavsthemselvessayitisderivedfromtheterm"Yadav,"thelineage of LordKrishna.TheyarealsoknownasaScheduledCastebecause,asUntouchables,theyareincludedonaschedule of casteseligibleforgovernmentaid.MahatmaGandhigavetoUntouchablesthename"Harijans"or"chil-dren of god,"butJatavsrejectthetermanditsconnotations of Untouchablechildlikenessandupper-castepaternalism.Location.Jatavslivemostlyinthestates of UttarPradesh,Rajasthan,Haryana,andPunjab,aswellasintheUnionTer-ritory of DelhiinnorthwestIndia.Thisisasemiaridareawithrainfallmostlyinthemonsoonseason of JunetoAugustandlesserrainsinJanuary-February.Temperaturesrangefrom5.9°CinJanuary-Februaryto41.5°CinMay-June.Demography.Jatavsarenotlistedseparatelyinthecensus of IndiabutalongwithotherChamars.InthefourstatesmentionedaboveChamarsnumbered27,868,146,about9.9percent of thethosestates'population(1981).linguisticAffiliation.Jatavsspeakrelatedlanguages of theIndo-AryanFamily of languagesincludingHindi,Rajas-thani,andBrajBhasha,allusingtheDevanagariscript,aswellasPunjabiusingtheGurmukhiscript.Chamarsinotherparts of Indiaspeakotherlanguages of theIndo-AryanFam-ilyandlanguages of theunrelatedDravidianFamily,suchasTamilandTelugu.HistoryandCulturalRelationsOrigins of theJatavs,aswellasmostotherChamarandUn-touchablecastes,aremythical.SomesaytheJatavsaretheproduct of marriage of upper-casteJatswithChamarwomen.Jatavsthemselvesdenysuchorigins.InpreindependentIndiatheyclaimedupper-casteKshatriyaorwarriororigin.Inpost-independentIndiamanyhaveclaimedtobedescendants of India&apos ;s ancientBuddhists.Thisclaimisinpartarejection of Untouchablestatusandinpartanassertion of apoliticalidentity of equalityrejectingthecastesystem.SettlementsInvillages,where90percent of India&apos ;s Untouchableslive,Jatavsliveinhamletsseparatefromnon-Untouchablecastes,whileincitiestheyliveinsegregatedneighborhoods.Inlargersettlementsincitiesthesemaybebrokendownintosubsec-tionswithseparateleadership.Housesaredenselygroupedinanucleatedpattern.Housingstyleis of twotypes:kaccaandpakka.Kaccahomesaregenerallyoneroommade of mud,...

... of theforeheadboneissavedifthevillage of thedeceasedperformsthean-nual"dry"funeral,orvaralda-v.Eachstep of boththe"green"funeralandthe"dry"funeralishighlyarticulatedbymeans of specialmusicaltunesplayedonthedouble-reedinstrument,kol,andrhythmsonthebarreldrums,do-parandkinvar,andtheframedrum,tabatk.Thetunesthemselvesarecalleddu.kdkol(sadtunes),ke-rkol(badnesstunes),ordavkol(funeralordeathtunes).Thesetunesshouldnotbeplayedexceptatfunerals.The"dry"funeralisanevent of uptotendays,whichisseentoremovekarmandram,inauspiciousnessorevilcausedbydeath.Onlyafterperformingthisfestivalcantheyearlycycle of festivalsbegin.Duetotheexpensein.volved,and,possibly,anunwillingnesstoemphasizedeath-relatedritualsinfront of Hinduneighbors,villagesarebegin-ningtodiscontinuetheceremonyortocelebrateitonlyinextremecases,suchasafterapriesthasdied.Beforegoingtothedavnarorvaraldavnar(deathregion),theceremoniesarecarriedoutintheke-rinwhichthedeceasedlived.SeealsoBadaga;TodaBibliographyEmeneau,MurrayB.(194 4-1 946).KotaTexts.University of CaliforniaPublicationsinLinguistics,nos. 2-3 (in4pts.).Berkeley:University of CaliforniaPress.Hockings,Paul(1980)."TraditionalInterchange(1)."InAncientHinduRefugees:BadagaSocialHistory,155 0-1 975,9 9-1 10.TheHague:MoutonPublishers;NewDelhi:VikasPublishingHouse.Mandelbaum,DavidG.(1941)."CultureChangeamongtheNilgiriTribes."AmericanAnthropologist43:1 9-2 6.Mandelbaum,DavidG.(1941)."SocialTrendsandPersonalPressures:TheGrowth of aCulturePattern."InLanguage,Culture,andPersonality:EssaysinMemory of EdwardSapir,editedbyLeslieSpier,A.IrvingHallowell,andStanley S. Newman,21 9-2 38.Menasha:SapirMemorialPublicationFund.Mandelbaum,DavidG.(1954)."Form,Variation,andMeaning of aCeremony."InMethodandPerspectiveinAn-thropology:PapersinHonor of WilsonD.Wallis,editedbyRobertF.Spencer,6 0-1 02.Minneapolis:University of Min-nesotaPress.Mandelbaum,DavidG.(1958)."SocialUses of FuneralRites."EasternAnthropologist:AQuarterlyRecord of Ethnog-raphyandFolkCulture12: 5-2 4.Mandelbaum,DavidG.(1989)."TheKotasinTheirSocialSetting."InBlueMountains:TheEthnographyandBiogeog-raphy of a South IndianRegion,editedbyPaulHockings,14 4- 185.NewDelhi:OxfordUniversityPress.Verghese,Isaac(1965)."PriesthoodamongtheKota of Nil-giriHills."Vanyajati13:6 4-7 1.Verghese,Isaac(1969)."TheKota."Bulletin of theAnthropo-logicalSurvey of India18:10 3-1 82.IPublishedin19741.RICHARTKENTWOLFKo-ia141triesaresubdividedintonumerousnamedexogamouspatri-lineages.Thereisnoagreementfromareatoareaorevenfromvillagetovillageaboutthephratryaffiliation of differentlineages.Many of thelineagesarenamedforplantsandani-mals,andthereisavaguekind of totemisminsomecases.Aniconassociatedwithalineagegodiskeptinavillagehavingapreponderantpopulationbelongingtoitslineage.Suchiconstaketheform of metalspearpoints.Theyarekepthiddeninsecretplacesnearthe"godshed,"whichhousesotherpara-phernaliausedinthelineagerituals.Godshedsareusuallylo-catedonthevillageoutskirts.Lineagesareneitherpoliticalnorterritorialunits.EachissubdividedintomanylocalbranchesscatteredthroughouttheKoyaarea.Theyconveneataritualcenteronceayeartoperformthelineagesacrifice,butapartfromthathavelittleintheway of corporatecharac-ter.Thelocallineageconsists of members of alineageresi-dentinthesamevillageandtracingdescenttoacommonnamedancestor.Theyaresometimesmultifamilyland-holdinggroups,butthesearemoreoftendividedintoseparate-familyresidentialgroups.KinshipTerminology.KinshipterminologyisDravidian,distinguishingbetweencrossandparallelrelativesinEgo&apos ;s generationandinthetwogenerationsaboveandbelowEgo&apos ;s. MarriageandFamilyMarriage.Phratriesandlineagesareexogamousbuthavenopreferredpattern of spouseexchange.Bilateralcross-cousinmarriageispreferredandoccursamongactualgenea-logicalfirstcrosscousinsinapproximately18percent of re-cordedmarriages.Polygynyispermitted,butitisinfrequentbecause of thehighcost of bride-price.Widowremarriageisnotstigmatized.Thejuniorlevirateisencouraged,butwidowsarejustaslikelytomarryamanfromanotherfamily.Koyashaveconsiderablefreedom of choiceinmateselectionandpayonlyatokencompensationtothemother&apos ;s brotherintheeventthattheydonotmarryacrosscousin.Mostfirstmar-riagesarepostadolescent.Postmaritalresidenceispreferen-tiallypatrilocal,butbride-serviceiscommonandfamilieswithoutmaleheirswilloftenadoptaresidentson-in-law.Di-vorceandremarriagearerelativelyeasyandfairlyfrequent.Thedefectingspousemustpaycompensationtothedesertedspouse&apos ;s familyandpayafinetothevillagecouncilifitadju-dicatesthedivorce.DomesticUnit.Theextendedfamilyisthemainunit of cooperation,reproduction,andsocialization.Manycompro-misefamilyunitsarisefromcontingencies of thelifecycle.Extendedfamiliessplitupafterthedeath of thefatherorsoonafterthemarriage of theyoungestson.Inheritance.Theestateissubdividedequallyamongthemaleheirsandaportionissetasideforthedowryandmar-riageexpenses of anyunmarriedfemalechildren.One of thebrotherscontinuestoliveinthefamilyhomewiththesurviv-ingmotherandherunmarriedchildren.Othermarriedmalechildrenconstructnewdwellingswithinthecompoundorinanewnearbylocation.Socialization.Authoritywithinthefamilyisdeterminedbygender,age,andcompetence.Theeldestmale,aslongasheremainscompetent,hasauthorityoveralltheothersinmostfamilymatters,buthiswifeorwidowedmothersuperviseallworkdonebyfemalesandyoungerchildren.Whenthefatherdiesorbecomesincompetent,theeldestsonassumesauthor-ityunlessheisimmature,inwhichcasethefather&apos ;s eldestsurvivingbrotherwilltakecontroluntilthesonisoldenough.Childrenareseldomdirectlyinstructedinproperbehaviororinhowtoperformtasks.Theylearnbydirectobservationandimitation.Whatlittleinstructiontheygetcomesalmosten-tirelyfromoldersiblingsandgrandparents.Disciplineforin-fractionsisswiftandcertainand,inthatcomingfromoldersiblings,oftenphysical.SociopoliticalOrganizationSocialOrganization.Theelements of Koyasocialorgani-zationarethefamily,thevillage,thephratry,andthelineage.Koyasocietyisbasicallyegalitarian,especiallyinthehillvil-lageswheretherearefewdifferences of rankandstatusotherthanthose of ageandpersonalreputation.PoliticalOrganization.AlthoughKoyasspeak of them-selvesasadistinctgroup,nooverallpoliticalorganizationholdsthemtogether.Traditionallytheyhavehadregionalgoverningbodiesconsisting of thecouncil of twenty-fivevil-lagesundertheauthority of aheadmanandhisassistant.Thecouncil&apos ;s mainfunctionsweretooverseerevenuecollectionandtotryintervillagedisputes.SocialControl.Socialcontroliseffectedthroughthefam-ily,thelineageelders,andthevillagecouncil.Thecounciltriesallcasesinvolvingvillagerswiththeexception of murderorcrimesagainstthestate.Disputesoverlandinheritance,di-vorce,wifestealing,andpayment of bride-pricecomprisethemajority of cases.Thecouncilhearsevidence,questionswit-nesses,andimposesfinesonthosewhomitfindsguilty.Conflict.Apartfromthevillagedisputesnotedabove,mostconflicttodayinvolvesHinduswhoencroachonKoyalandsoruseunfairpracticesintheirdealingswithKoyas.ThesecasesarereferredtotheIndianjudiciaryandarealmostalwaysdecidedagainstKoyas.ReligionandExpressiveCultureReligiousBeliefs.Koyasbelievethatnumeroussupernatu-ralsinfluenceallthingsandeventsandcanbesummonedtoaidhumansiftheyarepropitiatedbysacrificialofferings of animals,grain,andliquor.ManyKoyadeitiesarefemale,themostimportantbeingtheearthmother,thesmallpoxgod-dess,andthegoddesses of thelineagesandphratries.Maledeities,suchastheLord of thejungleandtheLord of Ani-mals,areconsorts of thesegoddesses.Ancestorsarealsodei-ties,asaremanynaturalobjects.ReligiousPractitioners.Sacrificesarecarriedoutbythevillagepriestandthelineagepriests.Shamansdivinethesource of uninvitedsupernaturalinterferenceandprescriberemedialsacrificesforit.Sorcerersareillicitpractitionerswhocompelsupernaturalstoattackone&apos ;s enemies.Ceremonies.Atthecenter of everyceremonyisasacrificeinwhichthedeityconsumestheessenceandleavesthecon-secratedsubstanceforhumanstofeaston.Arts.Apartfromsinginganddancingandthedrawing of decorativedesignsonthefloorwithricepowder,Koyashavelittleintheway of artisticexpression.Medicine.Koyasthinkmostdiseaseiscausedbymalevo-lentdeities,andwhenanillnesscannotbecuredbyhomeKota137otherIndiancities.Inthese ... cotintheke-rinwhichheorshelived.Al-thoughthereisastrongconnectionbetweenexogamousdivi-sionsandoccupation of spaceinthevillage,someexceptionsarepossible.Ifspaceisaproblem,sometimesahouseisbuiltinake-rotherthanaman&apos ;s own;inthiscasethemanstillbe-longstohisnataldivision.Thechangeinspacedoesnotalterhiskinaffiliations.Anothersystem of kingroupsrevolvesaroundthenotion of familyorkuyt.Thisclassificationseemstobelargelydefunctasasystem of ritualdifferentiationexceptinafewvillages-asituationfurthercomplicatedbythefactthatakuytsizecanrangefromafamily of threeorfourmemberstothemembers of anentireke-r.Theheadpriests(mundikanon)andheadmen(gotgamrn)usuallybe-longtoparticularkuyts.Otherprinciples of successionarelessrigid.Menbelongtotheirfather&apos ;s ke-r,kuyt,andvillage;women,aftermarriage,belongtothose of theirhusband.KinshipTerminology.Kotakinshipterminology,likemostDravidiansystems,classifiesrelativesintothosewhoaremarriageableandthosewhoarenot.Becauseafather&apos ;s broth-ersareclassificatoryfathers,thechildren of brotherscannotmarry.Likewisethechildren of sisterscannotmarry.Cross-cousinmarriages,however,arecommonandindeedpre-ferred.ThefollowingareafewKotakinshipterms of refer-ence(sometimeskinareaddressedbydifferentterms):pe-ri-n-father&apos ;s father,mother&apos ;s father;pe-rav-father&apos ;s mother,mother&apos ;s mother,ayn-father,mother&apos ;s sister&apos ;s hus-band;av-mother,father&apos ;s brother&apos ;s wife;an-elderbrother;kara-l-youngerbrother.MarriageandFamilyMarriage.Onecannotmarryparallelcousins-thatis,mother&apos ;s sister&apos ;s childrenorfather&apos ;s brother&apos ;s children-becausetheyareclassificatorybrothersandsisters.Andbe-causeke-rsarepatrilinealandpatrilocalunits, ... Crooke.1920.London:OxfordUniversityPress.Numerousreprints.PAULHOCKINGSTyler,StephenA.(1972)."FieldsAreforPlanting:NotesonKoyaAgriculture."InProceedings of theSeminaronTribalStudies,editedbyD.P.Sinha.NewDelhi:Government of IndiaPress.STEPHENA.TYLERKurumbasKshatriyaETHNONYMS:Alu-Kurumbas,Betta-Kurumbas,Jenu-Ku-rumbas,Kurubas,Mudugas,Mulla-Kurumbas,Palu-Kurum-bas,Urali-KurumbasETHNONYMS:noneTheKshatriyasarealargeblock of Hinducastes,mainlylocatedinthenorthernhalf of India.TheSanskrittermKshatrimeans"warrior,ruler,"andidentifiesthesecondvarna,rankingimmediatelybelowtheBrahmans.Nodoubt,most of themanycastesthatclaimtobeKshatriyaaresome-howdescendedfromwarriorswhowereintheservice of princesandrulersorwhowere of royalfamilies.Conversely,numerousrulershavelegitimizedtheirstatus,especiallyifusurpers,byclaimingthattheirlineagewasindeedKshatriya.Mosttypicalandbestknown of thesegroupsaretheRajputs,whoonceformedthemanyprincelyhouses of Rajasthan(for-merRajputana)andneighboringareas. Of course,todaymostKshatriyasarelandownersorfollowurbanprofessions.Althoughtheyrankhighinthevarnasystem,Kshatriyasmayandcommonlydoeatmeat(thoughneverbeef),andmanyalsotakealcoholicdrinks;both of thesecharacteristicssetthemapartfromtheBrahmans.PeopleidentifiedasKurumbashavebeenreportedacrossawideareain south India.Majorsettlements,however,arefoundintheNilgiriarealocatedbetween11010'and11°30'Nandbetween76°25'and77°00'E,atthejunction of theEasternGhatsandtheWesternGhats.TheretheKurumbasoccupythethicklyforestedslopes,glens,andfoothills of theNilgiriPlateau.TheNilgirigroupsareseveninnumber:theAlu-(milk),Palu-(milk),Betta-(hill),Jenu,(honey),Mulla-(net),andUrali-(village)Kurumbas,aswellastheMudugas(noetymology).Eachisadistinctethnicgroupdif-feringfromtheothersindialect,religiousbeliefs,andotherculturalattributes.The1971Indiancensuscounted12,930Kurumbas.In1981theNilgiriDistrictcensusreported4,874Kurumbas,most of whomareMuduga.TogethertheKurumbagroupscomposethesmallestproportion of thepla-teaupopulationthere,andthepoorest. Of thefourtribesthatoccupytheNilgiriPlateau,legendsaysthattheToda,Kurumba,andKotatribeswerebroughtintobeingsimultaneouslybyaparentcreator.Therewerethreebrotherswhoeithertransgressedagainsttheparentsorquarreledamongthemselves.Asaresulttheirfather,asuper-Kanjar121throughreceipt of bride-priceand/orthroughachievement of amoredesirablealliancewithotherfamilies.Divorcemaybeinstigatedbyeitherspouse;however,reconciliationisalwayssoughtbecauseotherwisebride-pricemustbereturned.Dis-putesaboutmaritaltensionsandbride-pricearecommonsources of conflict.DomesticUnit.Thesameterm(puki)isusedfortentandforthebasicsocialunit of Kanjarsociety.Pukiconnotesthecommensalgroup of afemale,herspouse,andtheirunmar-riedchildren.Marriagecreatesanewtentandresidenceisei-therneolocalorwithsiblingsorparentalsiblingstravelinginothergroups.Eachtentiseconomicallyindependent.Inheritance.Allmaterialandanimalresourcesareownedcorporatelybythetentorfamilyunit.Whenamemberdies,hisorherportion of thetent&apos ;s resourcesisequallydividedamongsurvivingmembers.Individualdebtsalsobecometheresponsibility of thebereavedtentifnotsettledbeforedeath.Socialization.Thereisnoseparate world forchildrenandadultsandKanjarbelievethatchildrenlearnbestthroughacombination of exampleandspecifictraining.Broadlyspeak-ing,malesareenculturatedtobecooperativeandsupportive,whereasfemalesareencouragedtobemoreaggressive,self-reliant,andindependent.Exceptionallyattractiveandtal-entedgirlsareraisedwithexpectationthattheywillbesoldintoprofessionalentertainmentestablishments.Musicallytalentedboysmaybeencouragedtoleavetheirtentsandworkindependentlyasprofessionalmusicians.SociopoliticalOrganizationSocialOrganization.Whereeachtentisanindependenteconomicunit,familiesusuallyformtemporaryallianceswithothertentsformingad&ra.DEratypicallyconsist of twotofourtentswithabalanceamongskilledperformersandjhula(carnivalrides).Whileeconomicconsiderationsarealwaysamediatingfactor,mostd&raincludetentsinvolvedinengage-mentormarriagenegotiations.PoliticalOrganization.Whilefemalestendtodominate,bothtentsanddEraareacephalous.Decisionsaffectingthegrouparereachedthroughconsensus,deferencewiselybeingpaidtoolderand/ormoreexperiencedindividuals.SocialControl.Kanjarrecognizethattheindependence of tentsandfreedom(azadi)tomovearethemostimportantforms of socialcontrol.Tentsunwillingtoabidewithd&raconsensusareencouragedtoorsimplymoveawayinordertoavoidseriousconflictorviolence.AmongKanjar,loss of mo-bilityisloss of socialcontrol.Conflict.Tensionanddisputesarisefrombickeringbe-tweenspousesorentertainersworkingtogetheraboutshareanddistribution of earnings,adulteryorexcessivesexualjok-ing,disagreementsabouttravelroutesandtenureinanarea,andbride-pricenegotiations,aswellasindividualtransgres-sionssuchasdrunkenness,excessiveabuse,theft,physicalat-tacks,seriousinjury,andmurder.Whengrouppressureandnegotiatedcompromisesfail,Kanjarhaveaformallegalsys-temforhearingandresolvingseriousdisputes.Sincetheylackinstitutionsorformalrolesforenforcinggroupsanc-tions,settlement of disputesultimatelydevolvesonthecon-flictingparties,theirfamilies,andtheirallies.ReligionandExpressiveCultureReligiousBeliefs.AsnomadsKanjararefamiliarwithabroadspectrum of religiousbeliefsandpracticesamongthecommunitiestheyservice,andtheydonanysacredmantlethatmomentarilymeetstheirpracticalneeds.Whiletheyareessentiallyagnostic,theydoprotectthemselvesfromspirits(jinn)bywearingamulets(tabiz)purchasedfromholymen(fakirs).Arts.Asprofessionalartisansandhighlyskilledentertain-ers,theireverydaysubsistenceactivitiesareaform of expres-siveandcreativeart.Medicine.Kanjarseektreatmentfromhomeopathicprac-titioners,druggistsorpharmacists,andfakirs(holymen)forseriousillness.Chronicmalariaisendemicandmostsufferfromseasonalboutswithtyphoidandcholera.Greaterenergyandresourcesarespentonsickfemalesthanonsickmales,especiallyasinfantsandyoungchildren.Malesareconstantlyremindedthat'roti(bread)foryourstomach"comeslargelyfromthefemalesintheirlives.DeathandAfterlife.Kanjararestoicaboutdeathandac-ceptitasfateandanormalaspect of life.Individualsprefertodieinthecompany of familyandsiblings;however,theyreal-izethattheirperipateticlife-styleoftenprohibitsdispersedkinfrombeingpresent.Ideally,parentsand/orsiblingswashthebody,wrapitinanewwhitecloth,sprinkleitwithscentedwater,andburyitonitssidefacingeasttowardwarmthandtherisingsun.Burialtakesplaceassoonaspossible-thenextdayduringthehotseason,andaftertwoorthreedaysinwinter,thusincoolerweatherallowinganysiblingswhomightbeinthesameareatimetotravelandbeinvolvedintheburialprocess.Thebodyisconsideredpollutingtofe-malesandthereforemalesprepareitforburial.Kanjargener-allyfearincapacitatingdiseasesorlongfinalillnessesmorethantheactualdeathitself.Whileafamilywillcarryasickin-dividualontheircartsand/orstoptravelingwhenanindivid-ualbecomesextremelyillorcrippled,Kanjarfearloss of mo-bilitymorethandeath.AmongKanjar,freedomandmobilityrepresentlife.SeealsoPeripatetics;QalandarBibliographyBerland,JosephC.(1982).NoFiveFingersAreAlike:Cogni-tiveAmplifiersinSocialContext.Cambridge,Mass.:HarvardUniversityPress.Berland,JosephC.(1987)."KanjarSocialOrganization."InTheOtherNomads:PeripateticMinoritiesinCrossCulturalPerspective,editedbyAparnaRao,24 7-2 65.Cologne:BohlauVerlag.Berland,JosephC.,andMatt.T.Salo,eds.(1986).'Peripa-teticPeoples."NomadicPeoples(Toronto)21/22(specialissue).Hayden,Robert(1979)."TheCulturalEcology of ServiceNomads."EasternAnthropologist32:29 7-3 09.Misra,P.K,andRajalakshmiMisra(1982)."NomadismintheLand of theTamilsbetween1A.D.and600A.D."InNo-Khasi125theinheritance of theirmother,butthelargestsharegoestotheyoungestdaughter.Whenthemotherhasnodaughters,theinheritancegoestohersister&apos ;s youngestdaughter.Ifthesisterhasnodaughters,thenthemother&apos ;s sistersandtheirfe-malekinreceivetheinheritance.Menareprohibitedfromin-heritingrealproperty.Allpropertyacquiredbyamanbeforemarriagebelongstohismother.Propertyacquiredbyhimaftermarriagebelongstohiswifeandchildren. Of thesechil-dren,theyoungestdaughterwillreceivethelargestshare of theinheritanceuponthedeath of theman&apos ;s wife.Ifthemanhasnodaughters,thenhissonsreceivehispropertyuponthedeath of theirmother.Christianconversion...

... Oriya215Boysandgirlsmarryafterpuberty,boysusuallyat1 6-2 0years.Thisfollowsaperiodinwhichbothsexessleepinayouthdormitory(dhumkuria).Boysarebrandedonthearmbeforebeingadmittedtothisinstitution.Thedormitorypro-videsapool of agriculturallaborthatcanbehiredwhennec-essary.MostOraonsarefarmers,andinthepasttheyprac-ticedshiftingcultivation.Hunting,formerly of majorimportance,hasbeenreducedduringthepresentcenturytothestatus of aceremonialevent;thereisevenawomen&apos ;s huntingceremony,heldeverytwelveyears.Althoughasmallminority of thetribeareChristians,thegreatmajorityfollowaHinduform of worship.Theirmainde-itiesarelocal,non-Sanskriticones,suchasChandi,Chau-thia,DadgoBurhia,GaonDeoti,andJairBudhi,namesonedoesnotencounterelsewhereinIndia.Aremarkablefeature of Oraonsocietyisthatitisone of theveryfewonearth(alongwiththeneighboringMundasandMarias)thatpracticeshumansacrifice(calledotangaororkabyOraons).Althoughextremelyrare,evidencesuggeststhephenomenonismostprevalentinRanchiDistrict,Bihar.Duringthenineteenthcentury,Britishofficialsreportedamuchbroaderincidence,occurringamongtheMunda,Oraon,Gond,Kond,andSantaltribes.Policerecordsshowthatevenaslateasthe198 0s therewereacouple of sacrificesayearamongtheMunda,Maria,andOraontribes,andperhapsslightlymoreifoneassumesthatnotallcasesreachedpoliceattention.Thesesacrificesare of courseillegalandaretreatedashomicideunderSection302 of theIndianPenalCode.Detection of culpritsismadeverydifficultbythefactthatsomevillagersbelievethesacri-ficesareessentialforthefertility of theirfields,andhencetheyarenotforthcomingwithanyinformation.Thehumansacrificesusuallyoccurinremoteplacesaroundthebegin-ning of thesowingseasonandtheassociatedfestival of Sar-hul.Thereasonspolicecandistinguishthesesacrificesfromotherforms of murderareseveral:(1)thetiming,tocoincidewiththesowingceremony;(2)thevictimisoftenanorphanorahomelessperson,someonewhowillnotbemissed;(3)usuallynopersonalanimositiescanaccountforthekill-ing;(4)thevictim&apos ;s throatiscutwithaknife;(5)signs of puja(worship)arenormallyfoundnearthecorpse;and(6)part of onelittlefingerhasbeencutoffandismissing.Thislastitemispresumablyapart of thehumanofferingthatthesacrificer(otanga)willburyinhisfield.Sometimesblood of thesacrificialvictimismixedwithseedgrainbeforeitissown.Inearliercenturiestheentirebodywasprobablycutupandparceledouttothevariousfieldsaroundavillage.Thedanger of detectionnowmakesthistoodifficult.Thesacrificeisnor-mallyofferedtoavindictivegoddessthoughttocontrolthefertility of thesoil.Ifahumanvictimcannotbecaughtintimeforthesowingceremony,itissaidthathair,sputum,orsomeotherhumanbodilyleavingsaremixedwithhen&apos ;s bloodasatokenofferingtothisgoddess.SeealsoMundaBibliographyHermanns,Matthias(1973).DieOraon.Diereligios-magischeWeltanschanungderPrimitivstammeIndiens,no.3.Wiesbaden:FranzSteinerVerlag.Roy,SaratChandra(1915).TheOraon of ChotaNagpur.Calcutta:BrahmoMissionPress.Roy,SaratChandra(1928).OraonReligionandCustom.Ranchi:ManinIndiaOffice.Russell,R.V.,andHiraLal(1916).'Oraon."InTheTribesandCastes of theCentralProvinces of India,editedbyRV.RussellandHiraLal.Vol.4,29 9-3 21.London:Macmillan.Reprint.1969.Oosterhout:AnthropologicalPublications.Sachchidananda(1963)."SomeRecentEvidence of HumanSacrifice."InAnthropologyontheMarch:RecentStudies of In-dianBeliefs,Attitudes,andSocialInstitutions,editedbyL.K.BalaRatnam,34 4-3 51.Madras:TheBookCentre.Sachchidananda(1964).CultureChangeinTribalBihar:MundaandOraon.Calcutta:BooklandPrivateLimited.PAULHOCKINGSOriyaETHNONYMS:Odia,Odiya;adjective:Odissi,Orissi(OrissaninEnglish)OrientationIdentification.InOrissaStateinIndia,theOriyaconsti-tutetheregionalethnicgroup,speakingtheOriyalanguageandprofessingtheHindureligion,tobedistinguishedfromanOriya-speakingagriculturalcastecalledOdiafoundincentralcoastalOrissa.SomeOriyaliveintheadjoiningstates.TheOriyalanguageandethnicgrouparepresumablyderivedfromthegreatUdraorOdrapeopleknownsinceBuddhistandpre-BuddhistMahabharataepictimes.Location.Thestate of Orissaislocatedbetween17°49'and22034'Nand81029'and87029'E,covering155,707squarekilometersalongthenortheasternseaboard of India.Thelargemajority of theOriyaliveinthecoastaldistrictsandalongtheMahanadiandBrahmanirivers.OrissafallsinthetropicalzonewithmonsoonrainsfromJune-JulytoSeptember-October.WesternOrissaisafflictedwithrecur-ringdrought.Demography.Thelastnationalcensusin1981recordsthepopulation of Orissaas26,370,271persons,withapopu-lationdensity of 169personspersquarekilometerascom-paredto216forIndiaasawhole. Of thetotalpopulation of Orissa,84.11percentspeakOriya.Althoughrural,Orissa&apos ;s urbancenterswith5,000ormorepersonsrosefromcontain-ing8.4percent of thepopulationin1971(81towns)to11.79percentin1981(108towns).Most of theninety-threeScheduledCastes,whichconstitute15.1percent of Orissa&apos ;s population,speakOriya. Of the23.1percent of Orissa&apos ;s pop-ulationcategorizedasScheduledTribes,manyspeakOriyaasOriya217Trade.Invillages,peddlingandweeklymarketsweretheusualcommercialchannels.Since World War11rationshopshavesoldscarceessentialcommodities.Division of Labor.Menplow,sow,andcarrygoodswithapolebalancedontheshoulder,whereaswomencarrythingsontheirhead,weed,andtransplantthefields.Harvestingisdonebybothsexes.Whilemenfishandhunt,womenper-formhouseholdchoresandtendbabies.Traditionally,amonghigher-casteandhigher-classfamilies,womendidnotworkoutsidehome.Nowadaysmenandsomewomenareen-gagedinsalariedservice,butonlylower-casteandlower-classwomenundertakewagelabor.LandTenure.BeforeIndependencelandunderagricul-turehadincreasedsubstantially.However,because of thehighrate of populationgrowthandsubdivision of landhold-ings,thenumber of marginalfarmersandthelandlessin,creasedsharplythereafter.FollowingIndependencesomelandabovethestatutoryceilingorfromthecommonpropertyresourceswasdistributedamongthelandless,weakersections of society.Large-scaleindustrialandirrigation-cum-powerprojectsdisplacedpeopleandaddedtotheranks of thelandless.All of thishasresultedinvariouscategories of ten-ancyandcontractualleaseoflandforsubsistencecultivation.KinshipKinGroupsandDescent.Traditionallyandcurrently,threepatterns of familyorganizationhaveobtained:(1)themultihouseholdcompoundswheretheseparatefamilies of thesons of thecommonfatherarehousedasanextendedfamily;(2)jointfamilieswithallthebrotherslivingtogether,withacommonkitchen,withorwithouttheparentsliving(morecommoninvillagesthantowns);(3)severalfamiliesbelongingtoapatrilineageamongwhomkinobligationscon-tinue,residinginneighboringvillages.Descentispatrilineal.KinshipTerminology.Thesocialemphasisonseniorityinageanddifferentiationbysexandgenerationareobserved.KinshipterminologyfollowstheHawaiiansystem.Fictiveorritualkintermsareusedwidelyandareexpressedinrespectandaffectionandalsoinmeetingappropriatekinobligations.MarriageandFamilyMarriage.Althoughpolygynywaspracticedearlier,mostmarriagestodayaremonogamous.Mostmarriagesevennowarealsoarrangedbyparents,thoughsomearebasedonthemutualchoice of themarriagepartners.OnlyinwesternOrissaandsouthernOrissaiscousinmarriagepracticed.Marriagepartnersmustnotbelongtothesamegotra(mythi-calpatrilinealdescentgroup).Bride-priceamongthelowerandmiddlecasteshasbeenreplacedbyamorecostlydowryforthebridegroomamongallclassesandcastes.Aftermar-riage,residenceispatrilocal,withthebrideassumingthegotra of thehusband.Nowadaysresidencetendstobeneo-localneartheplace of work.TheHindumarriagewasideallyforthislifeandbeyond,butsince1956divorcehasbeenper-mittedunderlegalprocedures.DomesticUnit.Livinginafamilyisconsiderednormalandproper.Mostfamiliestodayinbothvillagesandtownsarenuclear,thoughsomearejointfamilies.Membersworkingandlivingoutsideusuallyvisittheresidualfamilyandshrinesoccasionally.Oftenlandiscultivatedjointlybysharingthefarmexpenses.Recentlytherehasbeenatendencytoreducethesize of theruralhouseholdthroughfamilyplanning.Inheritance.Traditionallyonlysonsinheritedlandandotherimmovableproperties.Theeldestsonwasgivenanad-ditionalshare(jyesthansha).Since1956thewidowanddaughtershavebeenlegalcosharersinallproperty.Socialization.Parents,grandparents,andsiblingscareforinfantsandchildrenandprovideinformal-and,recently,formal-educationbeforeschool.Education of girlsisstillnotcommonbeyondprimaryschool.Physicalpunishmenttodisciplineachildiscommon,thoughinfantsareusuallysparedandcuddled.Respectforseniorsinallsituationsandthevalue of educationareemphasized,especiallyamongthehigherclasses.SociopoliticalOrganizationOrissaisastateintheRepublic of India,whichhasanelectedpresident.Thegovernoristhehead of OrissaState,andthechiefministeristheelectedhead of thegovernment of Orissa.SocialOrganization.TraditionalOriyasocietyishierarchi-callyorganizedprimarilyonthebasis of caste(andsubcaste)andoccupationsandsecondarilyonthebasis of socialclass.Thehighestcastes,Brahman,arepriestsandteachers of theGreatTradition.Belowthemindescendingorder of statusare:theKshatriya,warriorsandrulers;theVaisya,ortraders;andtheSudra,orskilledandunskilledworkersandserviceholders.Theoccupationsinvolvingmanualandmenialworkarelowinstatus,andpollutingoccupationslikeskinningdeadanimalsormakingshoesareassociatedwiththelowestcastes,theUn-touchables.Ascriptivestatusinthecastesystemissometimescheckednowbyacquiredstatusintheclasssystem.InruralOrissapatron-clientrelationshipsarecommonandsocialmo-bilityisdifficultPoliticalOrganization.Orissaisdividedintothirteendis-tricts(tilla),andeachdistrictisdividedintosubdivisions(tahsils)foradministrativepurposes,intopolicestations(thana)forlaw-and-orderpurposes,andintocommunitydevelopmentblocs(blok)fordevelopmentpurposes.Therearevillage-clustercommittees(panchayatjwithelectedmem-bersandahead(sarpanch)forthelowestlevel of self.administrationanddevelopment.Thecommunitydevelop-mentblochasapanchayatsamitiorcouncil of panchayatsheadedbythechairman,withallthesarpanchasmembers.Eachcasteorpopuloussubcasteinagroup of adjacentvil-lagesalsohadajatipanchayatforenforcingvaluesandinsti-tutionaldiscipline.Thetraditionalgrampanchayat,consist-ing of theleaders of severalimportantcastesinavillage,wasformaintainingharmonyandtheritualcycle.SocialControlandConflict.WarfarebetweenadjacentprincedomsandvillagescametoastopunderBritishrule.Thepolicestations(thana)maintainlawandorderintheruralareas.ReligionandExpressiveCultureHinduism of varioussectsisacentralandunifyingforceinOriyasociety.TheoverwhelminglyimportantVaishnavasecthavetheirsupremedeity,Jagannatha,wholordsitoverthere-216ut ... PuriandGanjamdistricts,withhousesalmostinacontinuouschainonbothsides of theinterveningvillagepathandwithkitchengardensattheback of thehouses.Cultivatedfieldssurroundthesettlement.Intheclusterpatterneachhousehasacompoundwithfruittreesandakitchengarden.TheScheduledCastesliveinlin.earorclusterhamletsslightlyawayfromthemain-settlement,withtheirownwatertanksor,today,theirownwells.Inthefloodedcoastalareasonefindssomedispersedhouses,eachsurroundedbyfieldsforcultivation.IntraditionalOrissa,twostyles of houses(ghara)werecommon.Theagriculturistsandhighercasteshadhouses of arectangulargroundplanwithroomsalongallthesides(khanja-ghara),leavinganopenspace(agana)inthecenter.Mudwallswithagabledroof of thatchmade of paddystalksorjunglegrass(moredurable)werecommon.Themoreaffluenthaddouble-ceilinghouses(atughara)withtheinnerceiling of mudplastersupportedbywoodenorbambooplanks.Thisconstructionmadeitfire-proofandinsulatedagainstthesummerheatandwinterchill.Theentranceroomwasusuallyacowshed,ascattlewerethewealth of thepeople.Menmetvillagersandguestsonthewidefrontveranda.Poorerpeoplehadhouseswithmudwallsandstraw-thatchedgableroofs,withoutenclosedcourtyardsordoubleceilings.Thesmokefromthekitchenescapedunderthegabledroof.TheOriyahad,incommonwitheast-ernIndia,awoodenhuskinglever(dhenki)inthecourtyardfordehuskingpaddyriceormakingriceflour.Nowadayshouseswithlargewindowsanddoors,roofs of concrete(tiledorwithcorrugatedironorasbestossheets),walls of brickandmortar,andcementfloorsarebecomingcommoneveninre-motevillages.Inthetraditionalhouse,thenortheasterncor-ner of thekitchenformedthesacredsite of theancestralspir-its(ishana)forfamilyworship.EconomySubsistenceandCommercialActivities.Subsistencecul-tivation of paddyisubiquitousasriceisthestaplefood.Double-cropping,sometimeseventriple-croppinginirrigatedfields,andsingle-croppingindrought-affectedorrain-fedareasareallcommon.Large-scalefarmingwithheavyagricul-turalmachineryisstilluncommon.Plowingwithtwobullocksortwobuffaloisusual,withawoodenplow.Onlyrecentlyhaveironplowsbeencomingintouse.Cashcropslikesugar-cane,jute,betelleavesonraisedmounds,coconutsandarecanuts(betelnuts)aregrownincoastalOrissa,andpulsesandoilseedsindrought-proneareas.Recentlycoffee,cocoa,car-damom,pineapples,andbananashavealsobeenraisedonacommercialscale.Fisharecaughtintrapsandnetsfromvil-lagetanks,streams,rivers,coastalswamps,andalsointhefloodedpaddyfields.Fishingboatswithoutboardmotorsandtrawlersarenowadaysusedatsea.Thedomesticanimalsin-cludecows,goats,cats,chickens,ducks,andwaterbuffaloamongthelowestcastes,aswellaspigsanddogsamongtheurbanmiddleclass.IndustrialArts.Mostlargevillageshadcastes of artisanswhoservedtheagriculturaleconomyinformertimes.Car-penters,wheelwrights,andblacksmithswereabsolutelynec-essary.Somevillageshadpotterswithpotterywheelsandweaverswithcottagelooms(cottonwasformerlygrownandyamspun).Today,industrialproductsaredisplacingthevil-lageproductsexceptforthewoodenplowandcartwheels.Somecottageindustries,especiallythehandloomedtextiles(includingtheweaving of ikat,cottontextilesthataretiedanddyed),areproducingforexport.Brassandbell-metalutensilsandstatuesandsilverandgoldfiligreeornamentshaveawideclientele.214OkkaligaOkkaligaETHNONYMS:GangadikiraOkkalu,thepeasantcaste,Vokkaliga,WokkaligaTheOkkaligasarethedominantlandowningandculti-vatingcasteinthemulticastepopulation of southernKarnatakaStateinsouthwesternpeninsularIndia.Amongthehundreds of villagesinwhichOkkaligasliveisRampura(population1,523,735 of whomareOkkaligas,ca.1955),whichisthefocus of thisentryandwhichdisplaysmany of thefeaturestypical of OkkaligavillagesinIndia.Thevillage of RampuraislocatedontheMysore-Hogurbusroadabout32kilometersfromMysore.Thevillageisacluster of housesandhutswiththatchedortiledroofs;nar-row,unevenwindingstreetsrunningbetweentherows of houses.Surroundingthevillagearenumerousplotsownedbyindividuallandowners.Rampuraisaninterdependentunit,largelyself-sufficient,havingitsownvillageassembly(panchayat),watch,ward,officials,andservants.Inthemulticastevillage of Rampuratherelationship of castesap-pearstobedeterminedmorebytheeconomicpositions of thevariousmembersthanbytradition.Asagricultureisthepri-maryway of lifethepeasantsarethedominantcaste.Thehe-reditaryheadman(patel)andhereditaryaccountant(shan-borg)arebothpeasants.Theheadman&apos ;s responsibilityistorepresentthevillagetothegovernmentandviceversa.Theaccountantkeepsaregister of howmuchlandeachhead of afamilyorjointfamilyhasandtheamount of taxontheland.Theelders of thedominantcastearespokespersonsforthevillageandowetheirpowernottolegalrightsderivedfromthestatebuttothedominantlocalposition of theircaste.Theelders of thedominantpeasantcasteinRampuraadmin-isterjusticenotonlytomembers of theirowncastegroupbutalsotoallpersons of othercasteswhoseektheirintervention.Agriculturedominatesvillagelife.Thecultivation of riceisthemainactivityinthevillage.Meticulousattentiontoandirrigation of thericeisnecessarythroughouttheperiod of cul-tivation,therainyseasonfromJunetoJanuary.Theconclu-sion of theharvestismarkedbythefestival of Sankranti.Dur-ingthedryseasonothersocialactivitiessuchasweddingsoccur.Each of theseventeencasteslivinginRampurahasadis-tinctivetraditionwithstrongtieswiththesamecasteinvil-lagesnearby.Thevillagehasaverticalunity of manycasteswhereaseachcastehasahorizontalunitythroughalliancesbeyondthevillage.OthermajorcastesandtheirtraditionaloccupationsincludetheKuruba(shepherd),theMusalman(artisanandtrader),Holeya(servantandlaborer),andtheMadiga(Harijans).Althoughpaddyandmilletgrainwereprincipallyusedintrade,moneyisusedmorefrequentlytoday.Maintenance of casteseparationwasachievedthroughideas of purityandpollution.Beliefsandbehaviorsincludingdiet,occupation,andritualdistinguishhigherfromlowercastes.Twoexamples of thisaretherulesgoverningtheac-ceptance of waterorcookedfoodbetweencastesandtherule of casteendogamy.Atonetimeitwascustomaryfortwofamilies,onebe-longingtoanuppercasteandtheothertoanUntouchablecaste,tobelinkedinamaster-servantrelationship(jajmani).Independencehasbegunaprocess of socialchangeinwhichmany of thetraditionalformsandordershavebeenreplaced.TheregionallanguageisKannadaandtheprincipalreli-gionisHindu.TheprincipaltemplesinRampuraarethetem-ples of Rama,Basava,HattiMad,andKabbalaDurgadaMan.Theseareendowedwithagriculturalland.Thekingroupisagnaticwithpreferenceforcross-cousinmarriage.TraditionallytheOkkaligasliveinjointfamilieswiththewifejoiningthehome of herhusband&apos ;s family.SinceIndependencethejointfamilieshavetendedtobecomesmaller.Thereisafairlystrictsexualdivision of laborwithfewwomenworkingoutsidethehome.Boysworkonthelandearly,whilegirlsworkinandaroundthehouse.AnOkkaligaisburiedonhisorherancestralland;andthelandisanim-portantpart of one&apos ;s lifefromanearlyage.BibliographyBanerjee,Bhavani(1966).MarriageandKinship of theGan-gadikaraVokkaligas of Mysore.DeccanCollegeDissertationSeries,no.27.Poona:DeccanCollege.Nanjundayya,H.V.,andL.K.AnanthakrishnaIyer(1930).'GangadikiraOkkalu."TheMysoreTribesandCastes3:17 5- 185.Mysore:MysoreUniversity.Srinivas,M.N.(1963)."TheSocialStructure of aMysoreVillage."InIndia&apos ;s Villages,editedbyM.N.Srinivas,2 1-3 5.Bombay: Asia PublishingHouse.Srinivas,M.N.(1976).TheRememberedVillage.Berkeley:University of CaliforniaPress.SARAJ.DICKOraonETHNONYMS:Dhangad,Dhangar,Dhanka("farmworker"),Kisan,Kuda,Kurukh,Kurunkh,Orao,UraonTheOraonsareone of thelargesttribesin South Asia, numbering1,702,663personsatthe1971census.Abouthalf of themliveinBihar,mainlyontheChotaNagpurPlateau;theremainderareinMadhyaPradesh,Orissa,andWestBengal.TheyspeakaDravidianlanguageknownasKurukh.OraonsarecloselyrelatedtotheneighboringMundatribe,andtheheadman of anOraonvillageiscalledmunda.AlthoughtherearenosubcastesamongtheOraons,theKudas('navvies")andKisans("cultivators"),havingtheirdistinctoccupations,tendtomarryamongthemselves.Be-yondthis,Oraonsobservevillageandclanexogamy.Thepat-rilinealextendedfamilyistheidealresidentialunit,butnu-clearfamiliesarenearlyascommon.Ontheaverageafamilycontainsfivetosevencoresidentmembers. ... PuriandGanjamdistricts,withhousesalmostinacontinuouschainonbothsides of theinterveningvillagepathandwithkitchengardensattheback of thehouses.Cultivatedfieldssurroundthesettlement.Intheclusterpatterneachhousehasacompoundwithfruittreesandakitchengarden.TheScheduledCastesliveinlin.earorclusterhamletsslightlyawayfromthemain-settlement,withtheirownwatertanksor,today,theirownwells.Inthefloodedcoastalareasonefindssomedispersedhouses,eachsurroundedbyfieldsforcultivation.IntraditionalOrissa,twostyles of houses(ghara)werecommon.Theagriculturistsandhighercasteshadhouses of arectangulargroundplanwithroomsalongallthesides(khanja-ghara),leavinganopenspace(agana)inthecenter.Mudwallswithagabledroof of thatchmade of paddystalksorjunglegrass(moredurable)werecommon.Themoreaffluenthaddouble-ceilinghouses(atughara)withtheinnerceiling of mudplastersupportedbywoodenorbambooplanks.Thisconstructionmadeitfire-proofandinsulatedagainstthesummerheatandwinterchill.Theentranceroomwasusuallyacowshed,ascattlewerethewealth of thepeople.Menmetvillagersandguestsonthewidefrontveranda.Poorerpeoplehadhouseswithmudwallsandstraw-thatchedgableroofs,withoutenclosedcourtyardsordoubleceilings.Thesmokefromthekitchenescapedunderthegabledroof.TheOriyahad,incommonwitheast-ernIndia,awoodenhuskinglever(dhenki)inthecourtyardfordehuskingpaddyriceormakingriceflour.Nowadayshouseswithlargewindowsanddoors,roofs of concrete(tiledorwithcorrugatedironorasbestossheets),walls of brickandmortar,andcementfloorsarebecomingcommoneveninre-motevillages.Inthetraditionalhouse,thenortheasterncor-ner of thekitchenformedthesacredsite of theancestralspir-its(ishana)forfamilyworship.EconomySubsistenceandCommercialActivities.Subsistencecul-tivation of paddyisubiquitousasriceisthestaplefood.Double-cropping,sometimeseventriple-croppinginirrigatedfields,andsingle-croppingindrought-affectedorrain-fedareasareallcommon.Large-scalefarmingwithheavyagricul-turalmachineryisstilluncommon.Plowingwithtwobullocksortwobuffaloisusual,withawoodenplow.Onlyrecentlyhaveironplowsbeencomingintouse.Cashcropslikesugar-cane,jute,betelleavesonraisedmounds,coconutsandarecanuts(betelnuts)aregrownincoastalOrissa,andpulsesandoilseedsindrought-proneareas.Recentlycoffee,cocoa,car-damom,pineapples,andbananashavealsobeenraisedonacommercialscale.Fisharecaughtintrapsandnetsfromvil-lagetanks,streams,rivers,coastalswamps,andalsointhefloodedpaddyfields.Fishingboatswithoutboardmotorsandtrawlersarenowadaysusedatsea.Thedomesticanimalsin-cludecows,goats,cats,chickens,ducks,andwaterbuffaloamongthelowestcastes,aswellaspigsanddogsamongtheurbanmiddleclass.IndustrialArts.Mostlargevillageshadcastes of artisanswhoservedtheagriculturaleconomyinformertimes.Car-penters,wheelwrights,andblacksmithswereabsolutelynec-essary.Somevillageshadpotterswithpotterywheelsandweaverswithcottagelooms(cottonwasformerlygrownandyamspun).Today,industrialproductsaredisplacingthevil-lageproductsexceptforthewoodenplowandcartwheels.Somecottageindustries,especiallythehandloomedtextiles(includingtheweaving of ikat,cottontextilesthataretiedanddyed),areproducingforexport.Brassandbell-metalutensilsandstatuesandsilverandgoldfiligreeornamentshaveawideclientele.214OkkaligaOkkaligaETHNONYMS:GangadikiraOkkalu,thepeasantcaste,Vokkaliga,WokkaligaTheOkkaligasarethedominantlandowningandculti-vatingcasteinthemulticastepopulation of southernKarnatakaStateinsouthwesternpeninsularIndia.Amongthehundreds of villagesinwhichOkkaligasliveisRampura(population1,523,735 of whomareOkkaligas,ca.1955),whichisthefocus of thisentryandwhichdisplaysmany of thefeaturestypical of OkkaligavillagesinIndia.Thevillage of RampuraislocatedontheMysore-Hogurbusroadabout32kilometersfromMysore.Thevillageisacluster of housesandhutswiththatchedortiledroofs;nar-row,unevenwindingstreetsrunningbetweentherows of houses.Surroundingthevillagearenumerousplotsownedbyindividuallandowners.Rampuraisaninterdependentunit,largelyself-sufficient,havingitsownvillageassembly(panchayat),watch,ward,officials,andservants.Inthemulticastevillage of Rampuratherelationship of castesap-pearstobedeterminedmorebytheeconomicpositions of thevariousmembersthanbytradition.Asagricultureisthepri-maryway of lifethepeasantsarethedominantcaste.Thehe-reditaryheadman(patel)andhereditaryaccountant(shan-borg)arebothpeasants.Theheadman&apos ;s responsibilityistorepresentthevillagetothegovernmentandviceversa.Theaccountantkeepsaregister of howmuchlandeachhead of afamilyorjointfamilyhasandtheamount of taxontheland.Theelders of thedominantcastearespokespersonsforthevillageandowetheirpowernottolegalrightsderivedfromthestatebuttothedominantlocalposition of theircaste.Theelders of thedominantpeasantcasteinRampuraadmin-isterjusticenotonlytomembers of theirowncastegroupbutalsotoallpersons of othercasteswhoseektheirintervention.Agriculturedominatesvillagelife.Thecultivation of riceisthemainactivityinthevillage.Meticulousattentiontoandirrigation of thericeisnecessarythroughouttheperiod of cul-tivation,therainyseasonfromJunetoJanuary.Theconclu-sion of theharvestismarkedbythefestival of Sankranti.Dur-ingthedryseasonothersocialactivitiessuchasweddingsoccur.Each of theseventeencasteslivinginRampurahasadis-tinctivetraditionwithstrongtieswiththesamecasteinvil-lagesnearby.Thevillagehasaverticalunity of manycasteswhereaseachcastehasahorizontalunitythroughalliancesbeyondthevillage.OthermajorcastesandtheirtraditionaloccupationsincludetheKuruba(shepherd),theMusalman(artisanandtrader),Holeya(servantandlaborer),andtheMadiga(Harijans).Althoughpaddyandmilletgrainwereprincipallyusedintrade,moneyisusedmorefrequentlytoday.Maintenance of casteseparationwasachievedthroughideas of purityandpollution.Beliefsandbehaviorsincludingdiet,occupation,andritualdistinguishhigherfromlowercastes.Twoexamples of thisaretherulesgoverningtheac-ceptance of waterorcookedfoodbetweencastesandtherule of casteendogamy.Atonetimeitwascustomaryfortwofamilies,onebe-longingtoanuppercasteandtheothertoanUntouchablecaste,tobelinkedinamaster-servantrelationship(jajmani).Independencehasbegunaprocess of socialchangeinwhichmany of thetraditionalformsandordershavebeenreplaced.TheregionallanguageisKannadaandtheprincipalreli-gionisHindu.TheprincipaltemplesinRampuraarethetem-ples of Rama,Basava,HattiMad,andKabbalaDurgadaMan.Theseareendowedwithagriculturalland.Thekingroupisagnaticwithpreferenceforcross-cousinmarriage.TraditionallytheOkkaligasliveinjointfamilieswiththewifejoiningthehome of herhusband&apos ;s family.SinceIndependencethejointfamilieshavetendedtobecomesmaller.Thereisafairlystrictsexualdivision of laborwithfewwomenworkingoutsidethehome.Boysworkonthelandearly,whilegirlsworkinandaroundthehouse.AnOkkaligaisburiedonhisorherancestralland;andthelandisanim-portantpart of one&apos ;s lifefromanearlyage.BibliographyBanerjee,Bhavani(1966).MarriageandKinship of theGan-gadikaraVokkaligas of Mysore.DeccanCollegeDissertationSeries,no.27.Poona:DeccanCollege.Nanjundayya,H.V.,andL.K.AnanthakrishnaIyer(1930).'GangadikiraOkkalu."TheMysoreTribesandCastes3:17 5- 185.Mysore:MysoreUniversity.Srinivas,M.N.(1963)."TheSocialStructure of aMysoreVillage."InIndia&apos ;s Villages,editedbyM.N.Srinivas,2 1-3 5.Bombay: Asia PublishingHouse.Srinivas,M.N.(1976).TheRememberedVillage.Berkeley:University of CaliforniaPress.SARAJ.DICKOraonETHNONYMS:Dhangad,Dhangar,Dhanka("farmworker"),Kisan,Kuda,Kurukh,Kurunkh,Orao,UraonTheOraonsareone of thelargesttribesin South Asia, numbering1,702,663personsatthe1971census.Abouthalf of themliveinBihar,mainlyontheChotaNagpurPlateau;theremainderareinMadhyaPradesh,Orissa,andWestBengal.TheyspeakaDravidianlanguageknownasKurukh.OraonsarecloselyrelatedtotheneighboringMundatribe,andtheheadman of anOraonvillageiscalledmunda.AlthoughtherearenosubcastesamongtheOraons,theKudas('navvies")andKisans("cultivators"),havingtheirdistinctoccupations,tendtomarryamongthemselves.Be-yondthis,Oraonsobservevillageandclanexogamy.Thepat-rilinealextendedfamilyistheidealresidentialunit,butnu-clearfamiliesarenearlyascommon.Ontheaverageafamilycontainsfivetosevencoresidentmembers....

... ContentsProjectStaffviContributorsviiPrefacexiiiIntroductionxixMaps1. South Asia xxviii2.CulturalRegions of South Asia xxix3.MajorLanguages of South Asia xxx4.DominantReligiousGroups of South Asia xxxi5.CulturalGroups of South Asia xxxii Cultures of South Asia 1Appendix:AdditionalCastes,CasteClusters,andTribes309Bibliography342EthnonymIndextoAppendix349Glossary363Filmography367Index372Bibliography373Directory of Distributors373EthnonymIndex375Introductionxxipopulationin1990 ... seentwoprimeministersandan"heirapparent'killed;Pakistanhashangedonepresidentandseenanotherdieinaplanecrash;Bangladeshhaslosttwopresi-dentstoassassination;andinSriLankaaswellasBhutanoneprimeministerhasbeenassassinated.Thegrimmodelforall of theseacts of desperationwasnodoubttheshockingassas-sination of MahatmaGandhiin1948,aneventthatshowedextremists of allsortsthatifapersonwerewillingtodie,heorshecouldprobablytakeamajornationalleaderalongwithhim.Thiswasstilljustastruein1991.TheNations of South Asia Althoughthefocus of this volume isthedistinctculturalgroups of South Asia, itisnecessarytoprovidesomebasicin-formationaboutthenationsinwhichthesepeoplelive.Thesenationsareshownonmap1,withcapitalcitiesalsoindicated.Bangladesh(People&apos ;s Republic of Bangladesh),formerlytheEasternProvince of Pakistan,becameanindependentna-tionin1971.Itoccupiesaterritory of some144,000squarekilometersandisborderedonthewest,north,andeastbyIndiaandbyMyanmar(formerlyBurma)onthesoutheast.In1990thepopulationwasestimatedat118,000,000.Dhaka(formerlyDacca)isthecapitalcity,withChittagong,Khulna,Rajshahi,andBarisalbeingothermajorurbancenters.TheofficiallanguageisBangla(Bengali),with98percent of thepopulationbeingethnicBengalisand87percentMuslims.Bangladeshisamongthepoorestnationsinthe world withanannualpercapitaincome of U .S. $113in1986.In1988,1989,1991,andonmanyotheroccasionsBangladeshhassufferedtheeffects of monsoonsandcyclonesthathavekilledtens of thousandsandleftmillionshomeless.Bhutan(Kingdom of Bhutan)islocatedintheeasternHimalayanMountainsandisborderedbyIndiaonthe south andwest,Sikkimonthewest,andChina(Tibet)onthenorth.Itoccupies47,000squarekilometers,inthreedistinctregions of ... peoplefrom cultures differentfromourown."We"isusedhereinthebroadestsense,toincludenotjustscholarswhostudythecul-tures of the world andbusinesspeopleandgovernmentoffi-cialswhoworkinthe world communitybutalsotheaveragecitizenwhoreadsorhearsaboutmulticulturaleventsinthenewseverydayandyoungpeoplewhoaregrowingupinthiscomplexcultural world. Forall of thesepeople-whichmeansall of us-thereisapressingneedforinformationonthe cultures of the world. This encyclopedia providesthisin-formationintwoways.First,itsdescriptions of thetraditionalways of life of the world& apos ;s cultures canserveasabaselineagainstwhichculturalchangecanbemeasuredandunder-stood.Second,itacquaintsthereaderwiththecontemporaryways of lifethroughoutthe world. Weareabletoprovidethisinformationlargelythroughtheefforts of the volume editorsandthenearlyonethousandcontributorswhowrotetheculturalsummariesthataretheheart of thebook.Thecontributorsaresocialscientists(an-thropologists,sociologists,historians,andgeographers)aswellaseducators,governmentofficials,andmissionarieswhousuallyhavefirsthandresearch-basedknowledge of thecul-turestheywriteabout.Inmanycasestheyarethemajorex-pertorone of theleadingexpertsontheculture,andsomearethemselvesmembers of the cultures. Asexperts,theyareabletoprovideaccurate,up-to-dateinformation.Thisiscrucialformanyparts of the world whereindigenous cultures maybeoverlookedbyofficialinformationseekerssuchasgovern-mentcensustakers.Theseexpertshaveoftenlivedamongthepeopletheywriteabout,conductingparticipant-observationswiththemandspeakingtheirlanguage.Thustheyareabletoprovideintegrated,holisticdescriptions of the cultures, notjustalist of facts.Theirportraits of the cultures leavethereaderwitharealsense of whatitmeanstobea"Taos"ora"Rom"ora"Sicilian."ThosesummariesnotwrittenbyanexpertontheculturehaveusuallybeenwrittenbyaresearcherattheHumanRela-tionsAreaFiles,Inc.,workingfromprimarysourcematerials.TheHumanRelationsAreaFiles,aninternationaleduca-xiii...

... considera-tionintheselection of mates,andtherearesomelow-rankedMuslimoccupationalgroupsthatareperforcehighlyendogamous.AmongHindusalsolineageexogamyistheBengaliShakta35Ostor,Akos(1980).ThePlay of theGods:Locality,Ideology,Structure,andTimeintheFestivals of aBengaliTown.Chi-cago:University of ChicagoPress.Raychaudhuri,TarakC.,andBikashRaychaudhuri(1981).TheBrahmins of Bengal.Calcutta:AnthropologicalSurvey of India.Roy,Manisha(1972).BengaliWomen.Chicago:University of ChicagoPress.Reprint.1975.PETERJ.BERTOCCIBengaliShaktaETHNONYMS:noneShaktasaretheworshipers of thegoddess,calledShaktiorDevi,inIndia.PopularShaktisminBengalisprimarilyanoraltradition,organizedaroundlivingteachers(gurus)andsacredplaces(shaktapithas).Shaktasasagroupincludebothlaypeopleandreligiousascetics.Laypeopleusuallyworshipimages of thegoddessinthehouseholdwithdailyrituals(pu-jas).Asceticsmayliveintemplesorashrams,outinthewoods,oratsacredsites.Theyfrequentlydressinredcloth-ing,wearlongandmattedhair(ata),andhaverosaries(malas)made of boneorrudrakshaberries.ShaktisminIndiaisprimarily of twotypes-theShrikula(thelineageorfamily of thegoddessShri)andtheKalikula(thelineage of thegoddessKali).Thefirsttype,locatedpri-marilyinsouthernIndia,seesthegoddessastheembodiment of goodfortune,fertility,andwealth,anditrespectstheBrahmanictradition(themainstreamHindutradition,whichemphasizescasteandpurity).Themainform of thegoddesshereiscalledShriorLakshmi.ThesecondtypeisseenmostlyinnorthernIndia,especiallyinWestBengal,Assam,Bihar,andOrissa.Thefocus of theKalilineageisuponthegoddessasthesource of wisdomandliberation,anditstandsinoppo-sitiontotheBrahmanictradition,whichitviewsasoverlyconservativeanddenyingtheexperientialpart of religion.KaliandTaraarethemainforms of thegoddess,thoughtherearetendifferentformsthatareworshiped(thetenma-havidyasor"greatwisdom"figures).Thereisalsoworship of localgoddesses,suchasManasha,thesnakegoddess,andSitala,thesmallpoxgoddess,aswellasritualstomorewell-knownpan-Indiangoddesses(suchasSarasvati,Durga,Radha,Parvati,andGayatriDevi).Thesegoddessesarede-scribedinstoriesinBengaliandSanskritsacredtexts.All of themmaybeunderstoodasaspects of shakti,thefemininepower of creationandtransformation.Two of themajorcenters of goddessworshipinWestBengalareKalighatinCalcuttaandTarapithinBirbhumDistrict,withdifferentstyles of Shaktapracticeineach.InCalcutta,theemphasisisondevotiontothegoddessasKali,thelovingmotherwhoprotectsherchildrenandwhosefiercenessguardsthem.Sheisoutwardlyfrightening(withdarkskin,pointedteeth,andanecklace of skulls)butin-wardlybeautiful.Shecanguaranteeagoodrebirthorgreatre-ligiousinsight,andherworshipisoftencommunal(especiallyatfestivals,suchasKaliPujaandDurgaPuja).Worshipmayinvolvecontemplation of thedevotee&apos ;s unionwithorlove of thegoddess,visualization of herform,chantingmantras(sa-credwords),prayerbeforeanimageorsymbol(yantra) of thegoddess,andgivingofferings.AtTarapith,whosemajorreligiousfocusisacremationground,thegoddessiscalledTara,'theonewhosaves,"andUgratara,'thefierceone."Sheisthegoddesswhogivesliber-ation(kaivalyadayini).Theforms of ritualpractice(sadhana)performedherearemoreyogicandtantric(esoteric)thande-votional,andtheyofteninvolvesittingaloneattheburningground,surroundedbyashandbone.Thereareshamanicele-mentsassociatedwiththeTarapithtradition,includingcon-quest of thegoddess,exorcism,trance,andcontrol of spirits.BothKalighatandTarapithareconsideredbyBengaliShaktastobepithas,seatsordwellingplaces of thegoddess.Theidea of thepithasisbaseduponthestory of Sati,whichisfoundindifferentvariantsinseveralmedievaltextsknownasPuranas.Satiwasthewife of thegodShiva,andherfatherheldasacrificialceremonytowhichShivawasnotinvited.Shewentthereanddied of theinsulttoherhusband.Shivacametofindher,wentmadwithgriefatherdeath,anddancedadance of destructionwithSati&apos ;s corpseinhisarms.Thegodsfearedthathewoulddestroythe world, sotheycutherbodyintopieces,whichfelltoearth.Shivastoppedhisde-structivedance,andthe world wassaved.Theplaceswherepieces of thebodyfellcametobeknownaspithas,placeswherethegoddesswoulddwellforever.BengaliShaktismasareligionisstronglyconnectedwithShaivism,orworship of Shiva,thehusband of thegoddess.Whilemosttextsspeak of themasequal(or of Shivaassupe-rior),inpracticetheShaktasfocustheirworshiponthegod-dess,andShivaisoftenseenasinferiorordependent,theser-vantorgatekeeper of thegoddess.Thetermshaktimeanscreativepower,thepowertobringintobeing,andShivawouldotherwisebeacorpse(shava)withoutthepower of thegoddesstoenlivenhim.One of themostfrequentlyseenstat-ues of KaliinCalcuttaistheimage of thegoddesssteppingonherhusband,whoislyingdownlikeacorpse.Oneform of ritualfrequentlypracticedbyShaktasisKundaliniyoga.Thisinvolvesmeditationtoawakenthegod-dessKundalini,whosleepsinthelowestchakra(energycen-ter) of thebody,atthecoccyx,andleadingherupthespineintothechakraatthetop of thehead,wheresheuniteswiththegodShiva(andthemeditatorattainsliberation).Thispracticemakesuse of breathcontrolandthevisualization of spiritualchannelsanddeitieswithinthebody.AlthoughgoddessesarementionedinsuchancienttextsastheVedasandPuranas,Shaktismwasanesotericreligionpracticedmainlybyyogisandtantricasceticsuntiltheeight-eenthcentury.Atthattimetherewasarise of Shaktadevo-tion(bhakti),encouragedbythesongs of suchpoetsasRam-prasadSenandKamalakantaBhattacarya.Theymadethereligionaccessibletolaypeoplewhowerenotinitiatedintothecomplexmeditativepractices of thetantriclineagesandwhowishedtoworshiptheDivineMotherwithloveand of- ... considera-tionintheselection of mates,andtherearesomelow-rankedMuslimoccupationalgroupsthatareperforcehighlyendogamous.AmongHindusalsolineageexogamyistheBengaliShakta35Ostor,Akos(1980).ThePlay of theGods:Locality,Ideology,Structure,andTimeintheFestivals of aBengaliTown.Chi-cago:University of ChicagoPress.Raychaudhuri,TarakC.,andBikashRaychaudhuri(1981).TheBrahmins of Bengal.Calcutta:AnthropologicalSurvey of India.Roy,Manisha(1972).BengaliWomen.Chicago:University of ChicagoPress.Reprint.1975.PETERJ.BERTOCCIBengaliShaktaETHNONYMS:noneShaktasaretheworshipers of thegoddess,calledShaktiorDevi,inIndia.PopularShaktisminBengalisprimarilyanoraltradition,organizedaroundlivingteachers(gurus)andsacredplaces(shaktapithas).Shaktasasagroupincludebothlaypeopleandreligiousascetics.Laypeopleusuallyworshipimages of thegoddessinthehouseholdwithdailyrituals(pu-jas).Asceticsmayliveintemplesorashrams,outinthewoods,oratsacredsites.Theyfrequentlydressinredcloth-ing,wearlongandmattedhair(ata),andhaverosaries(malas)made of boneorrudrakshaberries.ShaktisminIndiaisprimarily of twotypes-theShrikula(thelineageorfamily of thegoddessShri)andtheKalikula(thelineage of thegoddessKali).Thefirsttype,locatedpri-marilyinsouthernIndia,seesthegoddessastheembodiment of goodfortune,fertility,andwealth,anditrespectstheBrahmanictradition(themainstreamHindutradition,whichemphasizescasteandpurity).Themainform of thegoddesshereiscalledShriorLakshmi.ThesecondtypeisseenmostlyinnorthernIndia,especiallyinWestBengal,Assam,Bihar,andOrissa.Thefocus of theKalilineageisuponthegoddessasthesource of wisdomandliberation,anditstandsinoppo-sitiontotheBrahmanictradition,whichitviewsasoverlyconservativeanddenyingtheexperientialpart of religion.KaliandTaraarethemainforms of thegoddess,thoughtherearetendifferentformsthatareworshiped(thetenma-havidyasor"greatwisdom"figures).Thereisalsoworship of localgoddesses,suchasManasha,thesnakegoddess,andSitala,thesmallpoxgoddess,aswellasritualstomorewell-knownpan-Indiangoddesses(suchasSarasvati,Durga,Radha,Parvati,andGayatriDevi).Thesegoddessesarede-scribedinstoriesinBengaliandSanskritsacredtexts.All of themmaybeunderstoodasaspects of shakti,thefemininepower of creationandtransformation.Two of themajorcenters of goddessworshipinWestBengalareKalighatinCalcuttaandTarapithinBirbhumDistrict,withdifferentstyles of Shaktapracticeineach.InCalcutta,theemphasisisondevotiontothegoddessasKali,thelovingmotherwhoprotectsherchildrenandwhosefiercenessguardsthem.Sheisoutwardlyfrightening(withdarkskin,pointedteeth,andanecklace of skulls)butin-wardlybeautiful.Shecanguaranteeagoodrebirthorgreatre-ligiousinsight,andherworshipisoftencommunal(especiallyatfestivals,suchasKaliPujaandDurgaPuja).Worshipmayinvolvecontemplation of thedevotee&apos ;s unionwithorlove of thegoddess,visualization of herform,chantingmantras(sa-credwords),prayerbeforeanimageorsymbol(yantra) of thegoddess,andgivingofferings.AtTarapith,whosemajorreligiousfocusisacremationground,thegoddessiscalledTara,'theonewhosaves,"andUgratara,'thefierceone."Sheisthegoddesswhogivesliber-ation(kaivalyadayini).Theforms of ritualpractice(sadhana)performedherearemoreyogicandtantric(esoteric)thande-votional,andtheyofteninvolvesittingaloneattheburningground,surroundedbyashandbone.Thereareshamanicele-mentsassociatedwiththeTarapithtradition,includingcon-quest of thegoddess,exorcism,trance,andcontrol of spirits.BothKalighatandTarapithareconsideredbyBengaliShaktastobepithas,seatsordwellingplaces of thegoddess.Theidea of thepithasisbaseduponthestory of Sati,whichisfoundindifferentvariantsinseveralmedievaltextsknownasPuranas.Satiwasthewife of thegodShiva,andherfatherheldasacrificialceremonytowhichShivawasnotinvited.Shewentthereanddied of theinsulttoherhusband.Shivacametofindher,wentmadwithgriefatherdeath,anddancedadance of destructionwithSati&apos ;s corpseinhisarms.Thegodsfearedthathewoulddestroythe world, sotheycutherbodyintopieces,whichfelltoearth.Shivastoppedhisde-structivedance,andthe world wassaved.Theplaceswherepieces of thebodyfellcametobeknownaspithas,placeswherethegoddesswoulddwellforever.BengaliShaktismasareligionisstronglyconnectedwithShaivism,orworship of Shiva,thehusband of thegoddess.Whilemosttextsspeak of themasequal(or of Shivaassupe-rior),inpracticetheShaktasfocustheirworshiponthegod-dess,andShivaisoftenseenasinferiorordependent,theser-vantorgatekeeper of thegoddess.Thetermshaktimeanscreativepower,thepowertobringintobeing,andShivawouldotherwisebeacorpse(shava)withoutthepower of thegoddesstoenlivenhim.One of themostfrequentlyseenstat-ues of KaliinCalcuttaistheimage of thegoddesssteppingonherhusband,whoislyingdownlikeacorpse.Oneform of ritualfrequentlypracticedbyShaktasisKundaliniyoga.Thisinvolvesmeditationtoawakenthegod-dessKundalini,whosleepsinthelowestchakra(energycen-ter) of thebody,atthecoccyx,andleadingherupthespineintothechakraatthetop of thehead,wheresheuniteswiththegodShiva(andthemeditatorattainsliberation).Thispracticemakesuse of breathcontrolandthevisualization of spiritualchannelsanddeitieswithinthebody.AlthoughgoddessesarementionedinsuchancienttextsastheVedasandPuranas,Shaktismwasanesotericreligionpracticedmainlybyyogisandtantricasceticsuntiltheeight-eenthcentury.Atthattimetherewasarise of Shaktadevo-tion(bhakti),encouragedbythesongs of suchpoetsasRam-prasadSenandKamalakantaBhattacarya.Theymadethereligionaccessibletolaypeoplewhowerenotinitiatedintothecomplexmeditativepractices of thetantriclineagesandwhowishedtoworshiptheDivineMotherwithloveand of- ... areprominentingovernmentservice,financialserv-ices,andpolitics.IndustrialArts.AnyneedsthatBrahmansandChhetrisexperienceforcraftandindustrialproductsaremetbylower-rankedartisancastes,suchasblacksmiths,tailors,andleatherworkers.Trade.InruralareasBrahmansandChhetristypicallyrelyonothers,suchasNewarshopkeepers,fortheircommercialrequirements.Division of Labor.OnlyBrahmanmalesmayactaspriests,butmuch of thedailyhouseholdpuja(worship)isdonebywomen.Theday-to-dayagropastoralactivities of BrahmanandChhetrifamiliesaresharedbetweenmenandwomen.Bothsexesworkinthefields,butoverallwomenspendmorehoursperdayinagriculturalanddomesticlaborthanmen.Theyperformmost of thechildcare,preparationandcooking of food,andweedingandtending of crops.Mendotheplowingandmaintaintheterracewalls.Bothareactiveatharvesttime.LandTenure.BrahmansandChhetrisareoftenlandown.ers.Fieldsareoftenterracedandmostlyhavebeenfraction-atedintosmallplotsthroughinheritanceovergenerations.Large-scaleabsenteelandlordismisnotcommoninthehills of Nepal.KinshipKinGroupsandDescent.BrahmansandChhetrisaremembers of twokinds of clans,thethaT(indicatedasasur-name)andthegotra;theformerisexogamousifarelationcanbetraced,butthelatterisstrictlyexogamous.Descentandinheritancefollowthemalelineexclusively.KinshipTerminology.Allfirstcousinsareaddressedbysiblingterms.Siblingsaredesignatedaseitherolderoryoungerbrothersorsisters:thereisnogenerictermforbrotherorsister.Unrelatedpersons,includingstrangers,arealsooftenaddressedbykinshipterms.MarriageandFamilyMarriage.Mostmarriagesaremonogamous,butpoly-gynousunionsweretraditionallyfrequentandarestillocca-sionallyfound.Secondandsubsequentwivesareoftenmem-bers of otherethnicgroups,suchastheGurungs,Magars,Tamangs,Sherpas,andNewars,butnotlow-casteartisangroups.Withtheexception of Thakuris,theself-proclaimedaristocratsamongtheChhetriswhopracticematrilateralcross-cousinmarriage,cousinmarriageisnotpracticed.Brah-mangirlstraditionallymarriedbytheage of 11,andChhetrigirlsafewyearslater,buteducatedurbandwellersnowmarryintheirlateteensorearlytwenties.Groomsarenormallyafewyearsolderthantheirbrides.Villageexogamyisusuallyobserved,andparentsarrangetheirchildren&apos ;s marriageswiththehelp of anintermediary.Anastrologeralsoisconsultedtoensurethatthecouplemakeagoodmatch.Theboy&apos ;s familypriest,inconsultationwiththebride&apos ;s family,setsanauspi-ciousdateandtime,basedonthelunarcalendar(severalmonths of theyearareinauspiciousformarriage).Theentireweddingceremonylastsafullday,fromthetimethemembers of thegroom&apos ;s partyarriveatthebride&apos ;s hometilltheyleavethenextdaywiththebride.Themostimportantpart of the34BengaliCeremonies.TheBengaliHindureligiouscalendarisre-pletewithworshipceremonies(puja)devotedtothedeities of boththeGreatandLittleTraditions.Especiallyimportantistheannualfestival(orgajan) of theLordShiva,asarethose of hiscounterpartgoddesses,KaliandDurga.ThegoddessesLakshmi (of wealthandgoodfortune)andSaraswati (of learningandculture)alsohaveannualceremonies.Impor-tantfolkdeitiespropitiatedbyHindusandMuslimsalikein-cludethe"goddesses of thecalamities"-Sitala,goddess of smallpox;Olabibi,goddess of cholera;andManasa,goddess of snakes-all of whomhavetheirannualfestivals.BengaliMuslimscelebratethemajorfestivals of Islam:theIdal-Fitr,whichmarkstheend of theMuslimmonth of fasting(Rama-dan);theIdal-Adha,or"feast of thesacrifice,"coterminouswiththeannualpilgrimage(haj)toMeccaandcommemorat-ingthestory of theprophetIbrahim&apos ;s willingnesstosacrificehissonatGod&apos ;s command.EventhoughBengaliMuslimsareSunnis,theyalsoobservethefestival of Muharram,usu-allyassociatedmoreprominentlywiththeShiadivision of Islam,inwhichthedeath of Hussain,grandson of theProphetMohammedandmartyr of thefaith,ismourned.Bengalisalsocelebratethewell-knownHindurite of springcalledHoli;formembers of allreligiousfaiths,theannualnewyearceremonyonthefirstday of theHindu(andBen-gali)month of Baisakh,comingbetweenAprilandMayandmarkingtheonset of spring,isajoyousoccasion.Arts.UrbanBengalieliteculturehasproducedone of South Asia& apos ;s finestliterarytraditions,includingnotonlythenovel,shortstory,andpoetrybutdramaandfilmaswell.Some of India&apos ;s bestclassicalmusiciansandgreatestexpo-nents of thedancehavebeenBengalis.BengalishavealsomademajorcontributionstoIndianand world cinema.RuralBengalhasanoldandwell-developedfolkliterature,includ-ingnarrativepoetry(puthi),drawnfromhistory,myth,andlegend,aswellasaverypopularitineranttheater(calledjatra).Thereisalsoastrongtradition of religiousfolkmusic,particularlyassociatedwiththemoredevotionalandmysticalpractices of popularHinduism(e.g.,worship of thegoddessKaliandtheLordKrishna)and of popularIslam(e.g.,thede-votionalgatherings of thevariousSufiorders).Terra-cottatempleandmosquearchitecturethroughoutBengalismuchadmired,andthereisafolktradition of painting,seeninHindureligiousscrollsandintheflowery,andoftenobscure,religioussymbols(alipana)commonlydaubedinwhitericepasteonthewallsandfloors of homesteadsbyHinduvillagewomen.Finally,despiteindustrializationandthespread of commerciallymanufacturedproductsthroughouttheregion,theBengaliruraleconomystilldependsontheservices of tra-ditionalcraftspeople-weavers,potters,carpenters,black-smiths,metalworkers,andthelike-whosewaresoftenrepre-sentahighquality of bothtechniqueandaestheticdesign.Medicine.AlthoughmodemscientificmedicinehaslongbeenknownandacceptedinBengal,thehomeopathic,allo-pathic,andtheHinduAyurvedicandMuslimUnanimedicaltraditionscontinuetoexistasalternatives.Therealsore-mainsahost of folkbeliefsandcuringpracticesamongboththeurbanimmigrantpoorandthepeasantryasawhole.Folkhealers(ojhaorfakir)arecommonlycalledupontotreateverythingfromtemporaryillnessesandchronicdiseasestobonefracturesandsnakebite,aswellastocounteractethno-psychiatricafflictionsresultingfromsorceryandghostpos-session.Folkcuringpracticesstresstheuse of magicalverses(mantras),oftencombinedwithindigenousmedicinalcon-coctions.Traditionalhealersalsoprovideamuletsforprotec-tionagainstdevilryandsorcery,thewearing of whichisubiq-uitousnotonlyamongthepeasantryandtheurbanpoorbutalsoamongtheBengalimiddleclassesaswell.DeathandAfterlife.BengaliHindus, of course,acceptthedoctrine of samsara,orthetransmigration of soulsfromoneearthlylifetoanother.Funerarycremations,practicedbynearlyallHinducastes,arethoughttoreleasetheindividual&apos ;s spiritualessenceorsoulfromitstransitoryphysicalbody.Bearingtheinfluence(karma) of alltheactions of itsjustter-minatedearthlyembodiment,thesoulthenisreincarnatedintoanewworldlyformandway of lifeshapedbythosepastactions.Normallyaman&apos ;s eldestsoncarriesoutthefuneraryrites,lightingthefuneralpyreafterfirstplacingaburningstickinthemouth of thedeceased.Muslimbeliefsrequirethatatdeaththepersonberituallybathed,shrouded,andburiedinacoffinwiththeheadfacingtheholycity of Mecca,afterwhichtherefollowsafuneraryprayerceremonyideallyledbyeitherarelativeorarecognizedleader of thelocalMus-limcommunity.Thedeadarethoughttoenteranindefinitetransitionalstate-duringwhichthewickedbegintoexperi-encepunishmentandthevirtuousto...

... adivinerhasidentifiedwhatistobedone.Thereareallmanner of privatecuringrituals,andtheseareheldbywhomeverknowshow,notbyprofessionals;theytendtoinvolvesacrificestointrudingspirits,soulrecall-ing,andtheleaving of miniatureimages of wealthoutsidethevillageforthespirits.Therearefewdefiniteseasonalcalen-dricalceremonies,butvillageritesmustbeheldbeforeclear-ing,planting,andharvesting.Allsorts of means(suchasob-servingcracksinheatedeggshells,thebileductsinpiglivers,orhowadyingfowlcrossesitslegs)areusedfordiviningthesource of troublesandtheauspiciousness of plans.Arts.Withminorexceptions,allChinartisnonrepresen-tative,andmanyChinusedtofindithardeventorecognizeadrawnorpaintedhumanfigure,thoughphotographswereclearenoughtothem.Floral-geometricdecorationisfoundintheweavingandinthememorialpostsmentionedearlier.Some of thedesignfiguresconventionallystandforthings-forexample,forvariouskinds of possessionsbelongingtoapersonbeingcommemorated-butnoneisiconic.DiseaseandCuring.Thefirstrecourseinthetreatment of diseasesandeven of woundsistheuse of mediumswhoar-rangefortheplacation of thespiritsresponsible,whomightotherwisepreventrecovery.Alongsidethisthereisawideva-riety of quiteidiosyncratictreatment,chiefly of anherbalna-ture,whichismainlypassedonfrommotherstodaughtersanddaughters-in-law.DeathandAfterlife.Thedeadareburied,andintheSouthernChinhillsthereissecondaryreburial of thebonesinasmalljar.Ingeneraltheblanket-wrappedcorpseisin-terredinastone-linedchamberinoneside of averticalpit.Thosewhohavediedaviolentdeathandwhothereforearelikelytohavebecomedangerousghostsareburiedinasepa-rategravesite,remotefromthevillageandsurroundingtrails.Therange of memorialconstructionsisconsiderable,butamongthemshouldbementioned-inadditiontothecom-memorativeposts-thestoneplatformsinandaroundthevillage,onwhichpeoplecanrestandonwhich,somesay,thespirit of thedeceasedmaysometimescomeandrest;andtheclusters of miniaturehousesontallstilts,inwhichperi-odicofferings of foodandminiaturefurnishingsareplacedforthespirit of thedeceased.Aninterestingfeature of thestoneplatforms(inthecase of deceasedmales),behindwhichthememorialpostsareraised,istheline of smallstonesthatmayalsobepresent,eachrepresentingeitherahumanvictim of thedeceasedor,equivalently,anotherman&apos ;s wifeseducedbythedeceased.Modemmemorialstoneshavewrittenonthemlists of thedeceased&apos ;s possessionsinlife,ofteninastonishingdetail,downtotheoddenameledtincuporpair of woolensocks.SeealsoMizoBibliographyCarey,B. S. ,andH.P.Tuck(1896).TheChinHills.2vols.Rangoon:GovernmentPress.Lehman,F.K.(1963).TheStructure of ChinSociety.Urbana:University of IllinoisPress.Lehman,F.K.(1970)."OnChinandKachinMarriageCy-cles."Man,n .s. 5:11 8-1 25.Lehman,F.K.(1989)."InternalInflationaryPressuresinthePrestigeEconomy of theFeast -of- MeritComplex."InUpland-LowlandContrastsinMainlandSoutheast Asia, ed-itedbySusanB.Russell,8 9-1 02.NorthernIllinoisUniver-sityCenterforSoutheast Asia StudiesOccasionalPaper.DeKalb.Parry,N.E.(1932).TheLakhers.London:Macmillan.Shakespear,John(1912).TheLusheiKukiClans.London:Macmillan.CochinJew71dianSociety,editedbyMiltonB.SingerandBernard S. Cohn,39 7-4 11.Chicago:Aldine.Patterson,MaureenL.P.(1970)."ChangingPatterns of Oc-cupationamongChitpavanBrahmans."IndianEconomicandSocialHistoryReview7:37 5-3 96.Patterson,MaureenL. ... kinds of goods)insurroundingvillages.Thereweresmithswhomadethetraditionalsilver-amalgam(lateralumi-num)jewelry-suchasthebracelets,belts,earrings,rings,andnecklaceshungwithimportedbeadsandsilverrupeecoins-aswellasbrasshairpinsandotheritems,butthosear-tisanswereevenfewerinnumberthantheonesmentionedabove.indeed,thetradeinthelatteritemswasakintothelong-distancetradeinheirloomgoods,suchasthegreatgongsfromMyanmar(Burma),brassvesselsfromIndia,andothersorts of itemsthatsignifiedatleastanominalclaimuponthegoods of thevaaiplainscountry.Trade.All of thesemoreexpensiveitemsconstitutedthebasis of theprestigeeconomy of thesehillsandpassednotonlybysalebutbycirculation of myriadceremonialpaymentsandfines(especiallymarriage-prices,blood-moneypayments,andcompensationpaymentsfordefamation of status).Pres-tigegoodsandgayals-especiallyimportantfortheiruseinsacrificesassociatedwiththe"meritfeasts"bywhichsocialrankwasattainedorvalidated-werethetraditionalwealth of thesepeople.Furthermore,thedisplayorannouncement of theentirearray of whatonecurrentlyownedorhadownedinlife-symbolicallyindicatedoncarvedmemorialpostserectedforprestigiousdead-wasthedefinitivesign of one&apos ;s socialandceremonialrank.Morespecifically,thepossession of asupposedlyuniqueobjectfromtheoutside world, likelytopossessaunique"personal"name of itsown,wasespeciallyimportant.Theideabehindtheprestigeeconomyisthatprosperityinthis world dependsuponthesacrificialexchange of goodswithinhabitants of theLand of theDead,andonlyifonehadconductedfeasts of meritwouldoneandone&apos ;s descendantshavewealthandwell-being.Thus,too,thecon-tinuity of lineagebetweenthedeadandtbelivingwasimpor-tant;itwasespeciallyimportantforanyonetobememorial-izedafterhisorherdeath.Memorialservicewasdonenotonlybythedisplay of wealthandbyitsfigurationonmemor-ialpostsandstonesbutalsointhecomposition of songs(vahia)commemoratingaman&apos ;s greatnessontheoccasion of one of hisfeasts.Sogreatlywerewealthandpossessionstiedupwithaperson&apos ;s socialpositionthatamongthemosthei-noustraditionaloffencesinthissocietyweretheft,bastardy,andthesupposedpossession of "evileye"(hnam,theuncon-sciousandheritableabilitytocauseharmbylookingenvi-ouslyuponanother&apos ;s prosperity,orevensomeone&apos ;s consump-tion of agoodmeal).Allthesesituationsmeantthatpropertyhadfailedtopassbymeans of expectedformalexchanges:ithadpassedinsteadbyarbitraryexpropriation,orthroughachildbornout of wedlockwithoutbenefit of marriage-price,orbymisfortunecausedbymurderousenvy of possessionstowhichonehadnolegitimateclaim.Division of Labor.Thefewclasses of part-timecraftspe-cialistarementionedabove.Womendomore of thedomestictasksandallthetraditionalweaving.Theyarealsoalmostex-clusivelythespiritmediumsbecausemalespiritfamiliarschoosethem.Menalonecutdowntheforestsandworkassmiths.Thereappeartobenofemalehuntersorwarriorsex-ceptinlegends,probablybecausenowomancanholdinherownnameafeast of celebrationforthekilling of amajorani-mal,orafeast of celebration of ahumantrophyheadorthat of atiger.(Inall of thesecasesthepointistotametheangryspirit of thedeceasedanimalorpersonandsendittoserveoneandone&apos ;s forebearsintheLand of theDead.)Awomancan,however,holdadomesticfeast of meritinthename of herdeceasedhusband,inwhichdomesticanimalsaresimi-larlysacrificedonbehalf of theLand of theDead.Neverthe-less,onlymencanbevillagepriests,whoaremostlyap-pointedbychiefsandheadmenbecausetheyhavememorizedtherequiredchantsandformulasandknowtheritualse-quences.Priestsserveasmasters of ceremonyatthefeasts of meritandcelebrationandatthevariouskinds of rite of placation-bothcyclicalandsporadic-addressedtothevar-iousspiritowners of theface of theland,greatandsmall.Al-mostallothertasksandactivitiescanbeundertakenbyeithersex;therehaveevenbeenhistoricalinstances of importantfemalechiefs,whoattainedofficethroughbeingwidowed.Therearefewifanyexploitablenaturalresourcesinthesehillsandvirtuallynomodernindustry,atleastnothingmadeforexport.Asidefromthesalaries of teachersandgovern-mentservants of allsortsandtheincomes of merchantsandshopkeepers,themainsource of moneyisthewages of Chinwhoworkontheoutside-preeminentlyinMyanmar,inthearmedforces.LandTenure.Thisaspect of Chincultureishighlyvaria-ble.Avillagehascompleteownership of itstract,andeventherighttohuntinitmustberequestedfromthevillage;however,itispossibletorentlandsinanothervillage&apos ;s tractonanindividualoracommunalbasis.Villagetractbound-ariesarepreciselyindicatedbylandmarks.Frequentlyagivenhillsidetract,oreventhewholevillagetract,willbeownedbyachieforotherhereditaryaristocrat.Theright of achieftotheduesandservices of hisvillagersinfactderivesfromhisownership of theland,whiletheultimateownershipbyavil-lage of itslandasawholederivesfromtheheritablepactmadebytheancestralfounders of thevillagewiththespiritowners of theland.Theparamountrightisownership,sinceCoorg73tegratedintoKeralasociety,theywereinfluencedbymanyHindupracticesandbeliefs(e.g.,theemphasisuponpurity of descent,theweddingcustomsandcanopy,andthe"asceti-cism"associatedwithPassoverpreparations).Reportedly,theCochinJewshaveneversufferedfromanti-Semitismatthehands of theirHinduneighbors.ReligiousPractitioners.TheCochinJewsneverhadanyrabbis,butseveralmenservedasshochetim(ritualslaugh-terers)andhazanim(cantors)bothfortheirowncommuni-tiesandforanothercommunity of IndianJews,theBeneIs-raelinBombay.Ceremonies.Boththe'White"andthe"Black"Jewsper-formtheirceremoniesseparatelyintheirownsynagoguesandhomes.However,theceremoniesaresimilaranddistinctlyCochini,reflectingbothlocalHinduandChristianinflu-ences.Bothgroupsbuildamanara,oraperion,forthewed-ding,usuallyatthegroom&apos ;s house.Afteraritualbaththebridereceivesatali,anIndianpendant,inimitation of localNayarpractice.Thegroomandbridedressintraditionalwed-dingdress.Thegroomentersthesynagogueonawhitecarpet-acustomapparentlyobservedby'Black"andnot'White"Jews-andsitsnearthepodiumuntilthebride&apos ;s pro-cessionarrives.Thegroomhimself-andnotarabbi,asinotherJewishcommunities-actuallyannounceshisbetrothalandmarriagetohisbride.Arts.Dailyprayerswerechantedaccordingtotheshinglicustom,auniqueversion of thestandardJewishprayers.Inaddition,theCochinJewshavealargenumber of folksongsthattheysingregularly.Somearesungatweddings,somearelullabies,andsomespecificallyrecallthereturntoZion.In1984theCochinJewsinIsraelstagedahugepageantrelatinginsonganddancethestory of theiremigrationfromIndiaandtheirintegrationintoIsraelisociety.DeathandAfterlife.TheCochinJewsbelieveinanafter-life,influencedbothbyJewishandHindubeliefs.TheirdeadareburiedinJewishcemeteries.SeealsoBeneIsraelBibliographyKatz,Nathan,andEllenGoldberg(1989).'AsceticismandCasteinthePassoverObservances of theCochinJews."Jour-nal of theAmericanAcademy of Religion62:5 3-8 2.Mandelbaum,DavidG.(1975).'SocialStratificationamongtheJews of CochininIndiaandinIsrael."JewishJournal of Sociology17:16 5-2 10.Velayudhan,P.A.,etal.(1971).Commemorative Volume: CochinSynagogue,QuatercentenaryCelebration.Cochin:KeralaHistoricalAssociation.Weil,ShalvaJ.(1982).'SymmetrybetweenChristianandJewsinIndia:theCnaniteChristianandtheCochinJews of Kerala."ContributionstoIndianSociology16:17 5-1 96.Weil,ShalvaJ.(1984).FromCochintoEretzIsrael(inHe-brew).Jerusalem:KumuBerina.SHALVAJ.WEILCoorgETHNONYMS:Coorgi,KodaraCoorgisatiny,isolated,mountainousdistrictin south- westIndia,boundedontheeastbythehighMysorePlateau,averaginganelevation of 1,000meters,andonthewestbyamountainousfrontier3 0-5 0kilometersfromthewesterncoast.Itsgreatestlength,northto south, isabout100kilome-ters,anditsgreatestbreadth,easttowest,is65kilometers.TheWesternGhatmountainrangerunsfromnorthto south anditsmanyspursstrikeoutinalldirectionsthroughthesmallprovince,nowadistrict of KarnatakaState.Themainrivers,theKveriandLaksmanatirtha,areshallowandunnavigable.TheCoorgyearisdividedintothreeseasons-cold,hot,andrainy-withamarkedvariationinrainfallinthevariousregions.Theaverageyearlytemperaturerangesfrom10'to27'C.Coorgisprimarilyanagriculturalcountrywithcoffeeandricebeingthemainproducts.Coorgcontainsdensefor-ests of bamboo,sandalwood,andcardamom.Faunaincludeselephants,tigers,panthers,boars,anddeer.Theearlyhistory of CoorgcanbetracedbacktotheninthcenturyA.D.andconsists of asuccession of feudalrulersleadinguptothedynasty of theLingayatrajasbeginninginthe160 0s. Thelastsurvivors of thedynastywerethebrothers,Doddavirarajendra(died1809)andLingarajendra(died1820).Theheirtothethrone,adaughter,Devammaji,was10atthetime of herfather&apos ;s deathandthethronewasthere-foreusurpedbyanuncle.Theuncle,Lingarajendra,wassuc-ceededbyhissonChikkavirarajendra(ViraRajaII)whowaspoorlyacceptedbyhissubjects.Thisledtotheeventualan-nexation of CoorgbytheBritishin1834.Theannexationledtoanumber of economic,political,andsocialreforms,one of themostprominentbeingtheabolition of slavery.Therearethreelevels of territorialgroup;thevillageisthesmallestandthemostimportant.Villages,whicharemul-ticaste,containanumber of ancestralestates,eachcomprised of amainhouse of stoneandwoodandnearbyservants'huts of mudandbamboo.Thenad,consisting of severalvillages,isthenextlargergroup.Inthe1931census94percent of thepopulation of Coorglivedinsuchvillages.TraditionallyCoorgwasdividedintothirty-fivenadsandtwelvekombus,whichservejudicialpurposes.Everyvillagehasacouncil of eldersthatispresidedoverbyaheadmanwhosepositionishereditary.TherearetwotownsinCoorg:Mercara,(orMadikeri)withapopulation of 7,112;andVirarajpet,with4,106per-sons(as of 1931).Mercaraliesinthenorth-centralportion of theregion.Virarajpetisthemostimportantcommercialcentertoday. Of thetotal1931population of 163,327,89percentwereHindus,8percentMuslims,and2percentChristians.Thenumber of Kodaguspeakerswaslistedas72,085inthe1971census.TheprimarylanguagesspokeninCoorgareKodagu,Kannada(Dravidianlanguage),Hindi,andEnglish.CoorgsconsiderthemselvestobeKshatriyas,whocon-stitutethecaste of rulersandsoldiersinthetraditionalhier-archyandrankbelowonlyBrahmans.TodayCoorgsaresome of theprominentmilitaryleadersinIndia.Therearemore60Chakmadren.TheyaretaughtBuddhistideologyatanearlyage.Re-spectfor ... isnotthoughtmanageabletohavetowalkmorethan12kilometersorsotoone&apos ;s fields,sothatavillage&apos ;s territoryextendsnotmuchabove10kilometersfromthesettlementperiphery.Anaveragehouseholdcanandmustcultivateafield of 2hectaresorso.Traditionally,whenthepopulation of avillageoutgrewitseffectiveabilitytogetaccesstofarmtractsitwouldmoveasawhole,orsomesmallergroupswouldbreakoffandmoveawayfromtheparentsettlement.Villagesmightalsomovebecause of vulnerabilitytoraidsfrompowerfulneighbors,be-cause of suchinauspiciouseventsasepidemics,orsimplybecauseabettersitewasfoundelsewhere.Sincetheimperialperiodvillageshavebeenforcedtoremainstationary,andtheincreasingpressure of populationonthelandhasresultedindeforestation,erosion,anddepletedfertility,asfieldshavehadtobeusedmoreyearsinarowandthefallowperiodshavebeenreducedsubstantially.Fertilityalsodependsupontheashresultingfromthefellingandburning of forestonanewhillslope.Thus,thelengthening of theperiods of useandtheshortening of thefallowperiodshavecombinedtolessentheability of foresttoregenerate.Overuseandreducedforestrecoveryalsohaveledtoheavygrowth of toughgrassesreplacingforestgrowthduringfallowperiods,andthistoohassetaseverelimitonthesystem of shiftingcultivationasthepopulationhasgrown.EconomySubsistenceandCommnerciaActivities.TheChinarenonpioneershiftingcultivators.Wheresoilandclimateper-mit,theygrowdryhillriceastheirchiefstaple,andelsewhere,chieflyatthehigherelevationsinChinState,thegrainstapleisoneoranotherkind of millet,maize,orevengrainsorghum,thoughthelattergrainismainlyusedonlyforthebrewing of thecoarservariety of countrybeer(zu).Cultivationisentirelybyhand,andthetoolsinvolvedaremainlytheall-purposebushknife,theaxe,thehoe(anessentiallyadze-haftedimple-mentabout45centimeterslong),and,inplaceswherericeisgrown,asmallharvestingknife.Grownamidstthestapleareavariety of vegetablecrops,mainlymelons,pumpkins,and,mostimportant,variouskinds of peasandbeans,onwhosenitrogen-fixingpropertiesthelonger-termshifting-cultiva-tioncycles of centralChinStatedependcrucially.Cottonisalsowidelygrown,thoughnowadayslesssobecausecommer-cialclothhasrapidlydisplacedthetraditionalblanketsandclotheslocallywovenontheback-straptensionloom.Thetraditionalnativedyeswerewildvegetabledyessuchasin-digo.Inthesouthernareasakind of flaxwasalsogrownforweavingcloth(chieflyforwomen&apos ;s skirts).Variousvegetablecondimentsarealsocommonlygrown,suchaschilipeppers,ginger,turmeric(alsousedtomakedye)androzelle(Hibiscussabdariffa);theMizoinparticulargrowandeatagreatdeal of mustardgreens,andnowadaysallsorts of Europeanvegeta-blesaregrown,especiallycabbagesandpotatoes.Fruits,suchasshaddocks,citrons,andguavas,andsuchsweetcropsassugarcaneweretraditionallyunimportant.Todaythereissomecommercialgrowing of apples,oranges,tea,andcoffee;othercommercialcropsarealsogrownexperimentally,butthechiefhindrancetosuchdevelopmentsisthefactthattheplainsmarketsinwhichtheymightbesoldarestilldifficult of access.Tobaccohaslongbeengrowninallvillages:itwastra-ditionallysmokedgreen(curedbybeingburiedinhotsand),inclaypipes(laterinhand-madecigarettes)bymen,andinsmallbamboowaterpipeswithclaybowlsbywomen.Thenicotine-chargedwaterproducedbythelatterisdecantedintosmallgourdcontainersorothervesselskept,aboutthepersonandiswidelyusedasastimulant,beingheldinthemouthandthenspatout.Livestocksuchaspigsandfowl(lesscommonlygoats,cows,andtheoccasionalwaterbuffaloandhorses)maybepennedwithinorbeneaththehouse;mostnotableisthegayal(Bosfrontalis),asemidomesticatedboyidforestbrowser...

... 78Divehidress,haveclaimedthatunliketheotherDivehistheyhadnodivorceorwidowremarriage,andhavesaidtheirancestorswereTamils,thoughtheyhavenoknowledge of suchpeopleandhavenevertraveledoutsidetheiratoll.Theyhavealsoclaimedtobestrictlyendogamous.OtherDivehistradition-allyhavethought of theGirivaruasdirty,whiletheyhavethought of otherDivehisasmorallycorrupt.PoliticalOrganization.Theoldaristocraticfamiliesfromthetime of thesultanatearestilldominantinMale.Sincein-dependencein1965thecountryhasbeencalledarepublic.Itisgovernedbyapresident,whomaintainstightauthoritythroughtheministries of religionandlaw,thesystem of ap-pointedatollandislandchiefs,andfinancesfromthetouristandshippingindustries.Intheory,hegovernsatthewill of thenationalassembly,theMajlis,whichisjustnowbegin-ningtoassumeamodernlegislativerole.SocialControl.Controlisthroughtheislandofficesandatolloffices,inwhichreligiouslawispart of thetightstateap-paratus.Alllargerislandsandatollofficeshaveaqizi,whoperformsmarriages,adjudicatesdisputesandinheritance,ex-aminestheaccused,andenforcesSharialawasinterpretedbytheattorney-general.Theatollcourthasseparatesectionstodealwithreligious,criminal,andpoliticalviolations.Thecourtmaypunishanaccusedbygivinganorderforsocialboy-cottorbybanishmenttosomeislandforayearorforlife.AtollandislandheadmenstudyIslamicreligiouslaw,andthereareafewexpertstrainedinEgypt.Conflict.Divehisareextremelyreticenttoshowaggressionortomakethreats,andthereishardlyanymurder.Butthereareseriousconteststoseizenationalpoliticalpower,andalosermaybebanishedtoanislandformanyyears.Thereisahistorictendencyforthesouthernatollstoclaimautonomy,butthistendencyisnotovertnow,andthereisnootheror-ganizedoropenconflictinthesociety.Divehisonsmallis-landsmayhavehardlyanyknowledge of theoutside world, andtheyoftenfearstrangers.ReligionandExpressiveCultureReligiousBeliefs.AllDivehisareSunniMuslims, of theShafitradition,andwillremainsobecauseanon-Muslimcannotmarryorsettlethere.Everyislandhasitsmosquewiththekatibuincharge,whoispaidbythegovernment.MostmenattendFridayprayersandgivetocharity.Womenper-hapsmorethanmenprayfivetimesadayandreadscripture.Theethos of Islamappearstobeverystrong,butsomefeelittendstoconsistonly of perfunctoryfastingandprayers.Is-lamicmysticismandSufiideasareofficiallydisapproved of asleadingtoemotionalismratherthantoSunnilegalobser-vance.Islamoverliesanearlierreligioussystemhavingmanydeitiesandspirits-originallyHindu,Buddhist,orJaindei-tiesandlocalghosts-butpeoplenowthink ... of themasjinnisanddealwiththembyIslamicstrategies.Theoutside world isunknownandfearsome,andpeopleareconcernedaboutstrangelightsontheocean.Thereisasystem of religiouspracticecalledfandita,whichisusedtochaseawayjinnisandfearsomelights,catchfish,healdisease,increasefertility,fa-cilitatedivination,makeapersongiveuphisorherspouse,castoutaspirit,orsolveanyprobleminlife.WhenanewboatislaunchedthereisafanditaritualcombinedwithArabicprayersforitsgoodperformance.Fanditaisperformedatsev-eralstagesingrowingataroormilletcrop.Blackmagicisalsoknown,butitisprohibitedbylaw.Fanditahasmanyelementssimilartovillagereligionin south IndiaandSriLanka.Pre-Muslimconcepts of theevileyeandpollutionhavebeenab-sorbedintoIslamicvalues.Menstrualpollutionisstronglyobserved.ReligiousPractitioners.Thekatibu of anislandpreachesFridaysermons,settlesdisputes,reportsbehaviordeviationstotheatolloffice,andalsorunstheislandoffice.Heisas-sistedbyafunctionaryto careforthemosque,makecallstoprayer,andburythedead.Fanditapractitionerswereatonetimelicensedbythestate.Fanditamenandwomenseldomgointotrance,whichtheythinkIslamdisapproves of; theirpurposeistohelpothersindifficultlifesituations.Largeris-landsalsohaveastrologers.Ceremonies.Divehisknowfivecalendricalsystems:anaksatraorzodiacalsystemfromIndia;anIndiansolarcalen-dar;anArabicsolarcalendar;theArabicreligiouscalendar;whichistendaysshorterthanthesolaryear;andnowthe"English"calendar.Weatheriskeenlyobserved,alongwithfishingseasonsandagriculturalfestivals,accordingtothenaksatra(nakai)system.Otherfestivalsareobservedaccord-ingtotheirrespectivecalendricalsystems,butthenew-moonfestivalthatcamefromSriLankahasnowalmostdisap-peared.DivehisareassiduousaboutobservingtheRamzanholiday,enforcedbythestate.ButatnightinRamzanthefoodisabundant.Thetwoidfestivalsareimportant,andtheProphet&apos ;s birthdayiscelebratedbyspecialfoods.Personalceremoniesincludegivinganameaboutaweekafterbirth,circumcision of boysatage6or8,symboliccircumcision of babygirls(whichmaybedeclining),andgirls'pubertycere-monyasacarryoverfromSriLankaand south India.Marriageislessimportantasalifeceremony.Arts.Theartsareverypoorlydevelopedbecause of theiso-latedandscatteredpopulation.Divehimusicismono-rhythmicandinfrequentlyheard;RadioMaldivestendstoplayHindicinemasongs.DancinghasbeendisfavoredbyIslam.Thereissomeartistryinlivingcraftssuchas ... oldcultureiscomprised of threemainlayers:theTamil-Malayalamsubstratumwithitsmanysubtleroots;oldSinhalacultureandlanguage,whichisthedominantelement;andthephase of Arabicin-fluence.ButtheMaldivesweretouchedbyeveryculturalwindthatpassedovertheIndianOcean.SinceindependencetherehasagainbeeninfluencefromSriLanka,throughitsteachersbroughtovertosetupmodemeducationwithteach-ing of English.UnusuallyrapidchangehasoccurredinDivehicultureinthepasttwenty-fiveyears.SettlementsThe201inhabitedislandsarethelargerorbestfishingis-lands.Housesaremade of localvegetationandthatchorcoralstones,sometimeswithimportedironortileroofs.Peo-pledesirepleasanthouses,andtheyoftenarrangethemonstreetswiththeplotsmarkedbystickfences.Theislandisthesocialandadministrativeunit.Everybodyhasofficialregistra-tiononhisorherislandandcannotchangeittoanotheris-landwithouttwelveyears'residence.Eachislandcomprisesaninsularsocialcommunity,inwhichitsland,people,andproductsarepreferredtothose of otherislands.Theislandsaregroupedintonineteenadministrativeatolls.Maleistheonlycity,withsomemultistoriedbuildings of coralstoneneatlywhitewashedandmostlybuiltalongthestraightsandystreets.Ithasapiousair,withthirty-fivemosquesandmanytombs.Nearbyistheairportisland of Hulule,witharunwayextendingonthereef.Some60"uninhabited"islandsarenowbuiltupasprofitabletouristresorts,whichespeciallyat-tractEuropeansinwinter,butthegovernmenttriestomini-mizetheirculturalinfluence.EconomySubsistenceandCommercialActivities.Themaintradi-tionaleconomicactivitiesaretradingandfishing.Bonitosandlargertunaareamainstay of theeconomy,caughtbypole-and-lineortrolling-linefromsailboatsormotorizedwoodenboats.ThefamousMaldivesfishispreparedbyboil-ing,drying,andsmoking.Amanmaximizeswealthbyacquir-ingfishingboatsbecausetheownergetsalargershare of fishthanthefishingcrew.Aboatownermightalsoobtaintherightfromthestatetoleaseuninhabitedislands,mainlyforcollectingcoconuts.Therearethreekinds of milletsgrownandtarointhe south. Somehomeshavebreadfruit,mango,papaya,andbananatrees,butfewvegetablesareeaten.Seatradehasalwaysbeenavitalsource of income,andnowthereisamodemshippingindustry;profitsfromitandtourismac-cruemostlytoafewprominentfamiliesinMale.Incomepercapitafromforeignaidisrelativelyhigh.IndustrialArts.Themoststrikingtraditionalcraftisbuildingwoodenboats,bothsmallandlargeoneswithlateensails,whichcanfishinthedeepseaandcarrygoodstothecontinents.Sailinglongdistanceswithoutbenefit of mapsandchartsisaremarkabletraditionalskill.Maldivesropetwistedfromcoconutcoirwasalwaysindemandbyforeignnavies.Theislandersalsomakefineproductssuchasmatswovenfromlocalreedsandlacquerworkonturnedwood.Cottonweaving,silverwork,stonecutting,andbrassworkhavemostlydiedout.Trade.FormanycenturiestheMaldiveswerefamousasthemainsource of cowrieshells,usedasmoneyinBengalandAfrica.Divehisareskilledinrapidcounting,necessaryforhandlingcowries,coconuts,orfish.Thetraditionalmethodwastocountbytwosto96andmarkeachunit of 192bylaying2coconutsontheside;theytherebycouldcountrap-idlytomanythousands.Thebasenumberwas12,whichClarenceMaloneyfindssignificantinMaldiveshistory.WhatismorepeculiaristhatIndo-Aryanwordsfor25,50,75,100,and1,000areappliedrespectivelyto24,48,72,96,and960,asthedecimalsystemhasbeenreplacingtheduodecimal.Weightsandmeasuresarebasedonmultiples of 4and12.Themainimportshavebeenrice,wheatflour,cottontextiles,kerosene,metalproducts,tobacco,salt,andcondiments.Nowthewholecountryisaduty-freeentrepot,contrastingwiththecontrolledeconomies of other South Asiancoun-tries,andthereismodembanking.Division of Labor.Menfish,whilewomenprepareanddrythefish.Mengrowmillets,whilewomencultivaterootcrops.Menconductinterislandandoverseastrade,climbcoconuttrees,andaretheartisansincotton,silver,lacquer,andstonework,whilewomenweavematsanddoembroidery.Womendothetediousjob of twistingcoirintosmallropes,whichmenthentwistintothickropesfortheirboats.How-ever,thesesexrolesarenotabsolutelyfixed;therearecases of theseactivitiesbeingdonebytheothersex.Womendomost of thehouseworkandchildcare,butmenmayalsodoit.Boatcrewsandleaders of Islamicritualandlaw,however,areallmales.LandTenure.Alllandbelongstothestate,whichleasesuninhabitedislandsorparts of islandstoprominentpeopleforcollection of produce,aspart of itssystem of control.AllhouseholdsintheMaldives,exceptonMale,canclaimtherighttoaplot of landforahouseandgardenintheirisland of registration.InFueMulakuinthe south, residentshavetherighttocultivateasmuchtarolandastheywish.KinshipKinGroupsandDescent.TheDivehikinshipsysteminoriginisacombination of DravidianandArabwithelements of NorthIndiankinshipderivedfromSriLanka.Althoughthesethreesystemsaresharplyatvariance,theyareresolvedinDivehiculture.TheDravidiansystemisbasedonpreferredcross-cousinmarriage,andamaleclassifiesallfemalesasei-thersister(unmarriageable)orfemalecrosscousin(marriage-able).Thematrilinealvariant of theDravidiansystemoccursEuropeansin South Asia 79Maloney,Clarence(1984).-Divehi."InMuslimPeoples:A World EthnographicSurvey,Vol.1,23 2-2 36.Rev.ed.,editedbyRichardWeekes.Westport,Conn.:GreenwoodPress.Maloney,Clarence(1980).People of theMaldiveIslands.Ma-dras:OrientLongman.Ottovar,Annagrethe,andNilsFinnMunch-Petersen(1980).Maldiverneoet0samfundidetIndiskeOcean(TheMaldivianIslandcommunityintheIndianOcean).Copen-hagen:Kunstindustrimuseet.CLARENCEMALONEYANDNILSFINNMUNCH-PETERSENMunch-Petersen,NilsFinn(1982).'Maldives:History,DailyLife,andArtHandicraft."BulletinduC.E.M.O.I.(Brussels).1:7 4-1 03.Europeansin South Asia ETHNONYMS:Ferangi(fromMemsahib;child:ChhotaSahib"Franks"),Sahib(fem.:Whiletheimpact of Europeonthe South Asiansubcon-tinenthasbeenimmeasurableanddatesbacklongbeforeVascodaGama&apos ;s exploratoryvisitin1498,thenumber of Eu-ropeansresidentintheareanowismerelyafewtens of thou-sands.(Theymoveaboutsomuchthatacloseestimateisdif-ficult.)Butevenintheheyday of Britishimperialismtherewereonlyabout167,000Europeansinall of South Asia (1931census).LeavingasidefromthisdiscussiontheAnglo-IndiansandLuso-Indians of the South Asianmainland,andtheBurghers of SriLanka,whoareallinfactlocalpeople of part-Europeanancestry,wecanidentifythefollowingcategories of Europeansasbeingresidentin South Asia today.(1)Diplomatsandjournalists.Foundonlyinthecapitalcitiesandotherconsularposts.(2)Developmentworkers,etc.Technicalspecialistsfromthe World HealthOrganization,otherUnitedNationsagen-cies,theU .S. PeaceCorps,etc.areregularlyencounteredinmost South Asiancountries.Students of anthropology,lin-guistics,andsomeothersubjectsmaybefoundalmostany-where,thoughneveringreatnumbers.SometeaandcoffeeplantationsinIndiastillhaveEuropeanmanagersandindeedareownedbyBritishcompanies.(3)RetiredBritishresidents.Asmallnumber of veryeld-erlypeoplewhoretiredinIndiaorSriLankaataboutthetime of independencearestillthere.(Most,however,leftthesub-continenttoretireinBritain,theChannelIslands,Cyprus,orAustralia.)(4)Christianmissionaries.Whilethe South Asianchurchesareessentiallyself-governing,severalhundredEuro-peanandAmericanmissionariesandCatholicpriestsandnunsmaystillbeencounteredintheregion.Theyarestill of someimportanceineducation,aswellasinfunnelingWest-emaidtotheirparishioners.(5)Religiousseekers.Atanygiventimetherearesomethousands of Australian,European,orAmericanpeople,usu-allyfairlyyoung,whoarewanderingaroundIndia,Nepal,andelsewhereinsearch of religiousenlightenmentwithinthebroadtradition of Hinduspirituality.Some of thesepeoplehavebeenlooselyclassedas"hippies."Frenchpeoplearepar-ticularlyattractedtoPondicherryandthenearbyreligiouscenter of Auroville,whileothershavebeenespeciallyat-tractedtospecificashrams,toRishikeshandotherHima-layansites,ortotheTheosophicalCenterinMadrasCity.(6)Tourists.Theregionhasanenormoustouristpoten-tial,whichhasbeenslowlydevelopedsinceindependence,andin1991India,SriLanka,Nepal,andtheMaldiveshaveathrivingtouristindustry.Unlikethereligiousseekersmen-tionedabove,whomaystayformanymonths,ordinaryWest-erntouristsusuallyvisitforjusttwoorthreeweeks.Thegreatmajority of thesetouristsarefromwesternEuropeandAustralasia.(Many of India&apos ;s tourists,ontheotherhand,arenon-Europeansfromother South Asiancountries.)80Europeansin South Asia TheBritishImpactTheculturalandpoliticalimpact of theBritishoverthepasttwocenturiesin South Asia hasbeenvastandextremelyper-vasive.Numeroushistories of the"Britishperiod"testifytothis,anditisaninfluencereferredtointheIntroductiontothis volume. Spacedoesnotpermitevenabriefreview of theadministrative,legal,religious,educational,publichealth,military,agricultural,industrial,sporting,andcommunica-tionaldevelopmentsthatoccurredduringtheperiod of Brit-ishadministration of most of thesubcontinent.Wemayinsteadhighlightthecontribution of EuropeansfromIndiatothearts.Bestknown of courseistheliterarycontribution of RudyardKipling(186 5-1 936),one of twoIndian-bomwriterstoreceivetheNobelPrizeforLiterature(theotherwasRabindranathTagore). Of numerousprofes-sionalartiststoworkinIndia,themostoutstandingwastheAnglo-GermanpainterJohnZoffany,whoworkedtherefrom1783to1790.Theartisticimpact of theBritishonIndianar-chitecturewasvast,andwelldocumented:witnessonlytheofficialbuildings of NewDelhi.Lessrecognizedduringthepresentcenturyhasbeentheimpact of thisrelativelysmallethnicgroupontheBritishfilmindustry.JulieChristie,VivienLeigh,MargaretLockwood,MerleOberon,andsev-eralotheractors,aswellasthedirectorLindsayAnderson,wereallbornandatleastpartlybroughtupinBritishIndia.Onemightwonderwhethertheubiquity of schoolplaysandamateurdramaticsocietiesinthaterahadsomethingtodowiththesecareers.SeealsoAnglo-Indian;French of India;IndianChristianBibliographyBallhatchet,Kenneth(1980).Race,SexandClassundertheRaj:ImperialAttitudesandPoliciesandTheirCritics,179 3- 1905.NewYork:St.Martin&apos ;s Press.Barr,Pat(1976).TheMemsahibs:TheWomen of VictorianIndia.London:Secker&Warburg.Hervey,H.J.A.(1913).TheEuropeaninIndia.London:StanleyPaul&Co.Hockings,Paul(1989).'BritishSocietyintheCompany,Crown,andCongressEras."BlueMountains:TheEthnogra-phyandBiogeography of a South IndianRegion,editedbyPaulEdwardHockings,33 4-3 59.NewDelhi:OxfordUniversityPress.Kincaid,Dennis(1938).BritishSocialLifeinIndia,160 8- 1937.London:GeorgeRoutledge&Sons.Moorhouse,Geoffrey(1983).IndiaBritannica.NewYork:Harper&Row.French of IndiaETHNONYMS:FrenchTamils,Pondicheriens,Pondicherry(name of townandterritory)Therewere12,864FrenchnationalsresidinginIndiain1988.NearlyallareintheUnionTerritory of PondicherryinsoutheasternIndia(11,726in1988),withmuchsmallernumbersinKaraikal(695individuals),Mahe(50),Yanam(46),and342elsewhereinIndia.(Thesewerecoastalpock-etsbelongingtotheformerFrenchEmpire.)Whilelegallystillcitizens of FranceandresidentaliensinIndia,theyareethnicallyIndian,about90percentbeingethnicTamils.Al-mostunaccountably,theyvoteintheFrenchconstituency of Nice.Theyformasmallminority,accountingforlessthan3percent of thepresentpopulation of Pondicherry.TheFrenchinIndiaareanartifact of theFrenchpres-encethere,whichbeganin1673withtheestablishment of FrenchIndiaandcontinueduntil1962whentheFrenchter-ritorywasformallytransferredtoIndia.TheFrenchpresencewasalwayssmallandminorcomparedwiththeBritishpres-enceandtheFrenchinIndiaweregenerallyignored.Today,themajority of theseFrenchareHindusorChristians of localormixedfamilyorigin,andlessthan50percent of themspeakFrench.Atthesametime,however,FrenchistaughtinschoolsattendedbyFrenchIndianchildrenandadultFrenchclassesarewellattended,reflectinganinterestinmaintainingtiesandanallegiancetoFranceorinfindingjobswithFrenchcompanies.TheFrenchIndiansarethewealthiestgroupinPondicherry(asidefromthoserunningtheAurobindoAshram),derivingmuch of theirincomefrompension(some20percentareretirees),socialsecurity,welfare,andotherprogramsoftheFrenchgovernment.TheyarealsoentitledtoemigratetoFrance,althoughfewdosoandtheFrenchgov-ernmentdoesnotencouragethepractice.SeealsoEuropeansin South Asia; TamilBibliographyGlachant,Roger(1965).Histoiredel'IndedesFranqais.Paris:LibrairiePlon.Miles,WilliamF. S. (1990)."CitizenswithoutSoil:TheFrench of India(Pondicherry)."EthnicandRacialStudies13:25 2-2 73.Ramasamy,A.(1987).History of Pondicherry.NewDelhi:SterlingPublishers.Scholberg,Henry,andEmmanuelDivien(1973).Biblio-graphiedesFrangaisdansl'Inde.Pondicherry:HistoricalSoci-ety of Pondicherry.Nilsson,Sten(1968).EuropeanArchitectureinIndia,175 0- 1850.London:FaberandFaber.Trevelyan,Raleigh(1987).TheGoldenOriole.NewYork:Vi-kingPenguin.PAULHOCKINGSDivehi75DardETHNONYMS:noneAlthoughthisnameappearsintheanthropologicalliter-ature,itseemsthatthereisnodiscreteculturalgroupidentifi-ableasDards.ItistruethatPlinyandPtolemyinancienttimesbothreferredtosuchapeopleinhabitingatract of theupperIndusValleyinwhatistodayPakistan,andinthatareapeoplelivingontheleftbank of theInduswerecalledDards.TheDards,basedondescriptions of theGilgitareaaround1870,aredescribedasahunting,herding,andfarmingpeoplewith:large,extendedfamiliesandsomepolygyny;sometrans-humance;noextensivecerealagriculture;villages of from400to1,000inhabitants;patrilocalpostmaritalresidence;andnolocalizedclansbutlineagesorsibsspreadingbeyondasinglecommunity.Whileall of thismayhavebeentrueforthein-habitants of Gilgit,thereisstillsomequestionastowhetherthoselabeledDardsare,infact,adistinctculturalentity.Itismoreappropriatetospeak of the'Dardicbranch,"atermusedbylinguiststodesignateasmallgroup of languages of theIndo-AryanSubfamilyspokeninandnearthenorth of Pakistan. Of these,Kashmiriisthemostimportant.ThereisalsoaterritorythereknownasDardistan,whichincludesGilgitValley,Hunza,Chitral,Yasin,Nagar,Panyal,Kohis-tan,theAstoreValley,andpart of theupperIndusValleybe-tweenBunjiandBatera.SeealsoKashmiri;KohistaniBibliographyBiddulph,John(1880).Tribes of theHindooKoosh.Calcutta:Superintendent of GovernmentPrinting.Leitner,GotliebWilliam(1877).TheLanguagesandRaces of Dardistan.Lahore:GovernmentCentralBookDepot.PAULHOCKINGSDivehiETHNONYMS:Divehin,Dives,MaldiviansOrientationIdentification.DivehisarethosewhospeakDivehi,thelanguage of theRepublic of theMaldives.TheyoccupyalltheMaldivesandalsotheisland of Maliku(Minicoyonthemaps)tothenorth,whichbelongstoIndia.ThepeoplecallthemselvesDivehi(fromdive-si,meaning"island-er"),andtheircountryisDivehiRAjje(kingdom).Thename'Mal-dives"isprobablyfrommdild-dfv("garland-islands"inIndianlanguages),referringtothedoublechain of atollsthatap-pearslikeagarlandornecklace.ThewordatolisDivehi,origi-nallyspelledwithone1.Thecountrywasanexus of IndianOceanshipping,andithasremainedmostlyindependentsinceancienttimes.Location.TheMaldivesstretchfrom002' S to7°0'N,withMinicoyat8°2'.Longitudeisabout730E.Thereareabout1,200islands, of which201arepermanentlyinhabited.Theislandsarelowandflat,mostlylessthanakilometerlongwithonly9aslongas2kilometers,ringingcoralatolls.Totallandareaisonlyabout280squarekilometers,andnowhereisthelandmorethan2metersabovesealevel.TheMaldivesextendfor867kilometersnorthto south andclaimthesur-roundingoceanasnationalterritory.Malikuisthelargestis-land,16.5kilometerslongandlying140kilometersnorth of theMaldivesproper,butitispoliticallycutofffromotherparts of thearchipelago.Demography.As of 1991therewere228,000Divehis-220,000Maldiviansandroughly8,000onMaliku.Thefirstcensuswasin1911aspart of theCeyloncensus,anditshowed72,237Divehison217inhabitedislands.Populationwaspreviouslykeptincheckbyepidemics,faminebecause of stormsthatinterruptedimports of food,andcerebralmalaria,butduringrecentdecadesthepopulationhasbeenshootinguprapidly.The1990censusshowedacrudebirthrate of 43per1,000andagrowthrate of 3.5percentayear.Thegovern-menthastakenlittleinitiativeonfamilyplanningbecause of themomentum of Islamictradition.Malehas57,000people,aquarter of allDivehis,thoughitisonly1.6kilometerslongandthethingroundwaterlenshasbecomepolluted,sothegovernmenttriestocurbmigrationthere.Lifeexpectancyisabout62yearsformalesand60forfemales.LinguisticAffiliation.DivehiisderivedfromtheoldSinhala of SriLanka,andsoitisclassifiableasanIndo-Aryanlanguage,althoughattheveryendof...

... asamoregeneralizedorganizingprincipleinGurungsociety.Descentinterms of rightstolineagere-sourcesandclanaffiliationispatrilineal,butdescentthroughthemother&apos ;s lineinfluencesmarriagepossibilitiesandpro-hibitions.KinshipTerminology.TheGurungshaveawidearray of kinterms,whicharehighlydifferentiatedandprecise.Birthorderandrelativeageareimportantmatricesinthestructure of Gurungkinship.KintermsareusedfornearlyeveryonewithwhomGurungsinteract;unrelatedpersonsareassignedafictiveterm.MarriageandFamilyMarriage.Marriageandchildbearingareimportanttotheassumption of fulladultstatusforGurungs.Marriagesarear-rangedwhendaughtersareintheirmid-tolateteensandsonsintheirlateteenstotwenties.Inpreviousgenerationstheageatmarriageforgirlswasearlier,fromabout9to13.AmongGurungs,cross-cousinmarriageispreferred.Thecat-egory of crosscousinisbroad,includingalargenumber of classificatoryrelatives.Residenceispatrilocal,withaprefer-enceforvillageexogamy.Divorcecanbeinitiatedbyeitherthemanorthewoman.Bride-wealthintheform of goldjew-elryisgiventothebrideatmarriage.Ifthehusbandinitiatesadivorcewithoutduecomplaint,suchasadultery,thewifehastherighttokeepthebride-wealth.However,ifthewifecausesorinitiatesthedivorcesheisrequiredtoreturnthebride-wealthtoherhusband.DomesticUnit.AmongGurungs,thedomesticunitchangesovertime.Ahouseholdwillbeginasanuclearfamily,and,assonsreachadulthoodandmarry,theirbridescomeintotheparentalhomeandremaintherewhiletheirfirstoneortwochildrenaresmall.Thedomesticunitisthenanextendedfamilyforaperiod of fivetotenyears.Astheson&apos ;s childrengrow,hewillbuildaseparateresidence,usuallynexttothat of hisparents.Inheritance.ResourcesaredistributedequallyamongsonsinGurungsociety.Ifthereisnoson,adaughtercanin-herit,andtheson-in-lawwillcometoresideinthehousehold of hisparents-in-law.Thepatrimonymaybedividedpriortothedeath of thefather.Inthatcase,thefathercanreserveasmallportion.AlthoughitrunscontrarytoGurungcustom,Nepaleselawspecifiesthatunmarriedadultdaughtersshouldinheritashare of familyproperty.Socialization.Childrenaretaughttobeobedientandre-spectful of elders.Theylearnbyimitationandtheactiveen-couragement of theolderchildren,whooftencareforsmallerones.Corporalpunishmentisoccasionallyused,andunrulychildrenmaybeisolatedbriefly.Moreoftenchildrenarecoaxedtowardgoodbehaviorandinstructedthroughstoriesaboutpossiblesocialandsupernaturalconsequences of badbehavior.SociopoliticalOrganizationSocialOrganization.Gurungsocietyisorganizedintotwotiersorsubgroupscalledthe"CharJat"or"fourclans"andthe"SoraJat"or"sixteenclans."Thesubgroupsareendoga-mousandwithinsubgroupseachclanisexogamous.TheCharJatgrouphastraditionallyclaimedsuperiorstatustotheSoraJatgroup.Clanswithineachsubgroupintermarryandotherwisetreatoneanotherasequals.Grasia87causedbyblackmagic.Gondsalsobelieveintheevileyeandinwitchcraft.Awitchisusuallyawomanwhobyherevilpowerbringssicknessanddeathtopeopleintheneighbor-hood.Whendiscovered,sheispubliclydisgracedandex-pelledfromthevillageorevenkilled.Ceremonies.TheGondscelebratemanyfeastsconnectedmainlywiththeagriculturalseasonsandwithlife-cycleevents(birth,marriage,sickness,anddeath).Onallfestiveocca-sionssacrificesandofferingsareperformedeitherbytheoffi-cialvillagepriest,bythesoothsayersandmagicians,orbythehead of thefamilythatiscelebratinganevent.Allthesesacri-ficesareaccompaniedbyappropriateceremonies of symbolicsignificance.Theofferingsandsacrificescanbeeitheranimalorvegetable;itdependsonthetype of deitybeingaddressed.Femaledeitiesgenerallydemandthatbloodbespilled;thevictimsareusuallychickensorgoats,sometimesmalebuffalo,and,occasionallyinthepast,humanbeings.Vegetableoffer-ingsincludefruits(especiallycoconuts),flowers,coloredpowder,andstrings.Arts.Likemosttribals,theGondsareaccomplishedarti-sansandcanmanufacturealmostalltheimplementstheyre-quirefortheirworkonthefarmandintheforest,allfurnitureinhouseandkitchen,andall of theirornamentsanddecora-tions.Theyareartisticallygifted:theypainttheirhousewallswithartisticdesigns,andtheycarvememorialpillarsinwoodandstonefortheirdead.Theyhaveinventedvariousoriginaldancesandarepassionatedancers.Theyaregoodmusiciansonthedrum,theflute,andotherinstruments.Theyaregoodsingers,thoughthemelodies of theirsongssometimessoundmonotonousandmaynotbe of theirowninvention.Theyareinventiveincomposingnewsongs,folktales,legends,andmythsandinretellingthemdramatically.Theyhavecom-posedagreatepiccelebratingtheoriginsandexploits of acul-tureheronamedLingo.Medicine.TheGondsarefullyawarethatcertaindiseaseshaveanaturalcause,andtheyknowmanyjunglemedicinestocuresuchdiseases.Butwhentheseremediesremaininef-fective,theyresorttomagicaldevices.DeathandAfterlife.AfterdeathanadultGondmanorwomaniscremated;childrenareburiedwithoutmuchcere-mony.Ceremoniesareperformedatthefuneraltopreventthesoul of thedeceasedfromfindingitswaybacktoitshouseandvillage.TheGondsbelieveinanafterlife.Theybelieveeachhumanbeinghastwosouls,thelifespiritandtheshadow.Theshadowmustbepreventedfromreturningtoitshome,oritwillharmthesurvivingrelatives.ThelifespiritgoestoBhagwantobejudgedandrewardedbyreincarnationintoahigherformorpunishedinapool of bitingworms;afterawhilethesoulisrebornandbeginsanewlife.Othersbelievethatthesouljoinstheotherancestors of theclan,especiallyafterastonememorialhasbeenerected.StillothersbelievethatthesoulisabsorbedinBhagwanorBaraDeo.Thebeliefinthesurvival of theancestralspiritsis,however,quitestrong.Theseancestorspiritswatchoverthemoralbehavior of thelivingGondandpunishoffenders of triballaw.Thustheyactasstrictguardians of theGondcommunity.SeealsoAgaria;Ahir;Baiga;Kond;KoyaBibliographyElwin,Verrier(1943).MariaMurderandSuicide.London:OxfordUniversityPress.2nded.1950.Elwin,Verrier(1944).TheMuriaandTheirGhotul.London:OxfordUniversityPress.Fuchs,Stephen(1960).TheGondandBhumia of EasternMandla.Bombay: Asia PublishingHouse.2nded.1968.Bombay:NewLiteraturePublishingCo.Fiirer-Haimendorf,Christophvon(1948).TheAboriginalTribes of Hyderabad.Vol.3,TheRajGonds of Adilabad.Lon-don:Macmillan.Fiirer-Haimendorf,Christophvon,andElizabethvonFilrer-Haimendorf(1979).TheGonds of AndhraPradesh:TraditionandChangeinanIndianTribe.NewDelhi:VikasPublishingHouse.Grigson,William(1938).TheHillMarias of Bastar.London:OxfordUniversityPress.Russell,RV.,andHiraLal(1916).'Gond."InTheTribesandCastes of theCentralProvinces of India.Vol.3,3 8-1 43.London:OxfordUniversityPress.Reprint.1969.Ooster-hout:AnthropologicalPublications.Singh,Indrajit(1944).TheGondwanaandtheGond.Luck-now:UniversityPublishers.STEPHENFUCHSGrasiaETHNONYMS:Bhil-GrasiaBhomia,Dungri-Grasia,Gara,Garasia,GirisiaOrientationTheterm"Grasia"referstotheRajputandotherlandholdersinsections of GujaratandRajasth,wheretheyholdlandsgiventothemasgaras(landlords)bythechieftainsformain-tenance.Itissaidthattheterm'Grasia"isderivedfromthenativetermfor"landlords."TheGrasiasaretheprincipalin-habitants of theBhakkarsection of PakistaniPunjab,andalso of parts of KachchhDistrict,inGujarat.SirJohnMalcolmnotedthattheterm"Girasias"denotes"chiefswhoweredrivenfromtheirpossessionsbyinvadersandestab-lishedandmaintainedtheirclaimtoashare of therevenueupontheground of theirpowertodisturborpreventitscol-lection."ThewordcanbederivedfromtheSanskritgiras,whichsignifies"mouthful,"andinthepastitwasusedmeta-phoricallytodesignatethesmallshare of theproduce of thecountrythattheseplunderersclaimed.TheGrasiasaresaid92Gujaratiheadedbythevillageheadman(patel)andcontainsleadingrepresentatives of each of thecastegroups.Itsfunctionispartlytoconductformalcommunityaffairs,suchasseason-alfestivals,andpartlytoresolveintercastedisputesandoffenses.Conflict.Becausetherehasbeenlittlelaborunrestinre-centtimes,Gujarathasbecomearelativelyprosperousstate.Publiclifehashoweverbeenmarredbyseveralriotsledbyupper-castestudents,inprotestagainstthegovernmentpol-icy of reservingplacesinthecollegesforScheduledCastesandScheduledTribes.ReligionandExpressiveCultureGujaratiHindusaredividedintoalargenumber of religioussects.Therearetwobroadcategories:thosewhoworshiponeoracombination of some of thegreatVedicdeitiesor of thePuranicaccretionstotheorthodoxpantheon;andthosewhodenytheregulardeitiesandprohibitidolworship.TheformeraretheShaivites,ShaktasorDeviBhaktas,Vaishnavites,andthefollowers of minordeities.ThelatterbelongtotheAryaSamaj,KabirPanthi,andothersuchfairlymodernsects.Thesesectsarenotmutuallyexclusive.ReligiousBeliefs.AGujaratiHinduattachesthegreatestimportancetobathing.Heorsheobservesfastsonceaweekandeveryeleventhdayinafortnight.AGujaratiHindube-lievesinHeaven,Hell,andthetransmigration of thesoul.Onehopestobetterone&apos ;s positioninthisandthelifetocomebyone&apos ;s devotiontoGod,bydan(charity),andbydaya(mercytowardfellowhumanbeingsandcows,etc.).GujaratiJains,thoughfewinnumber,occupyanimportantplaceinGujaratisocietyandtheeconomy.Jainismrejectstheauthor-ity of theVedasandthespiritualsupremacy of theBrahmans.Thehighestgoal of Jainismisnirvanaormoksha,thesettingfree of theindividualfromthesanskara,thecycle of birthanddeath.TheJainsaredividedintotwosects,DigambarisandSvetambaris.ThecowisworshipedandconsideredsacredbyHindus.Besidesworshipingvariousidols,anaverageHinduworshipsanimals,trees,fire,etc.andbelievesinbhuts(pos-sessingspirits).Beliefinomensisalsocommon.Hindusbe-lievethattheresult of everyundertakingisforeshadowedbycertainsignsandhints.ReligiousPractitioners.Thelife-cycleceremoniesareper-formedbyBrahmans.Wanderingholymen,however,arere.veredirrespective of theircaste,religion,ororigin.Gujaratisalsopatronizemenwhohaveareputationforbeingabletoridtheindividual of bhuts.Ceremonies.Ceremoniesareperformedatbirth,mar-riage,anddeathwhenrelativesareinvitedforfeasts.Amongtheimportantfestivalsare:Diwali,thefestival of lamps;Hindunewyear&apos ;s day,whichisthenextdayafterDiwali;UtranorSankrant,afestival of theharvest;andNavratra,afestival of the"ninenights"involvingafolkdancecalledGarba.Arts.RasandGarbaareimportantfolkdancesperformedbybothmalesandfemales.Melas,fairseitheratpilgrimageplacesoronthebank of ariverduringcertainfestivals,attractalargecrowdwherepeopledance,sing,andwatchbullfightsorcockfights.Bhavaiisapopularfolkdrama,generallyper-formedinopenspacesinvillagesandtowns.Woodandstonesculpturesdecoratingtemples,palaces,andprivatebuildingsarewellknown.Paintingscalledsathiaandrangoli,donebyusingpowderedchalk,aremadebywomenatthethreshold of theirhousesforfestivalsandotherceremonies.Thecalicoprinting of Gujaratisfamous.TattooingiscommonamongcertaincastesinSaurashtraandnorthGujarat.Medicine.Traditionally,diseasewasbelievedtobecausedbyanimbalance of elementsinthebody,aswell asbyseveralsupernaturalcausessuchasthedispleasure of agodorgod-dessorspiritpossession.Althoughhomeremediesandcon-coctions of localherbsarestillused,modemmedicinehasbeenincreasinglyacceptedandused.DeathandAfterlife.Normallyacorpseisnotkeptmorethantwelvehours.Itistakeninaprocessionmainly of malestothecremationground.Therethebodyislaiduponthepyrewithitsheadtothenorth.Thechiefmournerlightsthepyre.Theperiod of mourningvariesfromafortnighttoayearac-cordingtotheage of thedeceasedandthecloseness of there-lationship.Acastedinnerisgivenonthetwelfthandthir-teenthdaysafterwardasapart of thedeathrites.CertainreligiousritualsareperformedandBrahmansaregivengiftsaccordingtowhatthemournerscanafford.SeealsoBhil;Bohra;Grasia;Jain;Kanbi;Khoja;Koli;ParsiBibliographyDesai,R.B.Govindbhai(1932).HinduFamiliesinGujarat.Baroda:BarodaStatePress.Gujarat,Government of. Bureau of EconomicsandStatistics(1982).StatisticalAtlas of Gujarat.Vols. 1-2 .Gandhinagar:Government of Gujarat.Majumdar,M.R(1965).CulturalHistory of Gujarat.Bom-bay:PopularPrakashan.Shah,ArvindM.(1973).TheHousehold ... asamoregeneralizedorganizingprincipleinGurungsociety.Descentinterms of rightstolineagere-sourcesandclanaffiliationispatrilineal,butdescentthroughthemother&apos ;s lineinfluencesmarriagepossibilitiesandpro-hibitions.KinshipTerminology.TheGurungshaveawidearray of kinterms,whicharehighlydifferentiatedandprecise.Birthorderandrelativeageareimportantmatricesinthestructure of Gurungkinship.KintermsareusedfornearlyeveryonewithwhomGurungsinteract;unrelatedpersonsareassignedafictiveterm.MarriageandFamilyMarriage.Marriageandchildbearingareimportanttotheassumption of fulladultstatusforGurungs.Marriagesarear-rangedwhendaughtersareintheirmid-tolateteensandsonsintheirlateteenstotwenties.Inpreviousgenerationstheageatmarriageforgirlswasearlier,fromabout9to13.AmongGurungs,cross-cousinmarriageispreferred.Thecat-egory of crosscousinisbroad,includingalargenumber of classificatoryrelatives.Residenceispatrilocal,withaprefer-enceforvillageexogamy.Divorcecanbeinitiatedbyeitherthemanorthewoman.Bride-wealthintheform of goldjew-elryisgiventothebrideatmarriage.Ifthehusbandinitiatesadivorcewithoutduecomplaint,suchasadultery,thewifehastherighttokeepthebride-wealth.However,ifthewifecausesorinitiatesthedivorcesheisrequiredtoreturnthebride-wealthtoherhusband.DomesticUnit.AmongGurungs,thedomesticunitchangesovertime.Ahouseholdwillbeginasanuclearfamily,and,assonsreachadulthoodandmarry,theirbridescomeintotheparentalhomeandremaintherewhiletheirfirstoneortwochildrenaresmall.Thedomesticunitisthenanextendedfamilyforaperiod of fivetotenyears.Astheson&apos ;s childrengrow,hewillbuildaseparateresidence,usuallynexttothat of hisparents.Inheritance.ResourcesaredistributedequallyamongsonsinGurungsociety.Ifthereisnoson,adaughtercanin-herit,andtheson-in-lawwillcometoresideinthehousehold of hisparents-in-law.Thepatrimonymaybedividedpriortothedeath of thefather.Inthatcase,thefathercanreserveasmallportion.AlthoughitrunscontrarytoGurungcustom,Nepaleselawspecifiesthatunmarriedadultdaughtersshouldinheritashare of familyproperty.Socialization.Childrenaretaughttobeobedientandre-spectful of elders.Theylearnbyimitationandtheactiveen-couragement of theolderchildren,whooftencareforsmallerones.Corporalpunishmentisoccasionallyused,andunrulychildrenmaybeisolatedbriefly.Moreoftenchildrenarecoaxedtowardgoodbehaviorandinstructedthroughstoriesaboutpossiblesocialandsupernaturalconsequences of badbehavior.SociopoliticalOrganizationSocialOrganization.Gurungsocietyisorganizedintotwotiersorsubgroupscalledthe"CharJat"or"fourclans"andthe"SoraJat"or"sixteenclans."Thesubgroupsareendoga-mousandwithinsubgroupseachclanisexogamous.TheCharJatgrouphastraditionallyclaimedsuperiorstatustotheSoraJatgroup.Clanswithineachsubgroupintermarryandotherwisetreatoneanotherasequals.Grasia87causedbyblackmagic.Gondsalsobelieveintheevileyeandinwitchcraft.Awitchisusuallyawomanwhobyherevilpowerbringssicknessanddeathtopeopleintheneighbor-hood.Whendiscovered,sheispubliclydisgracedandex-pelledfromthevillageorevenkilled.Ceremonies.TheGondscelebratemanyfeastsconnectedmainlywiththeagriculturalseasonsandwithlife-cycleevents(birth,marriage,sickness,anddeath).Onallfestiveocca-sionssacrificesandofferingsareperformedeitherbytheoffi-cialvillagepriest,bythesoothsayersandmagicians,orbythehead of thefamilythatiscelebratinganevent.Allthesesacri-ficesareaccompaniedbyappropriateceremonies of symbolicsignificance.Theofferingsandsacrificescanbeeitheranimalorvegetable;itdependsonthetype of deitybeingaddressed.Femaledeitiesgenerallydemandthatbloodbespilled;thevictimsareusuallychickensorgoats,sometimesmalebuffalo,and,occasionallyinthepast,humanbeings.Vegetableoffer-ingsincludefruits(especiallycoconuts),flowers,coloredpowder,andstrings.Arts.Likemosttribals,theGondsareaccomplishedarti-sansandcanmanufacturealmostalltheimplementstheyre-quirefortheirworkonthefarmandintheforest,allfurnitureinhouseandkitchen,andall of theirornamentsanddecora-tions.Theyareartisticallygifted:theypainttheirhousewallswithartisticdesigns,andtheycarvememorialpillarsinwoodandstonefortheirdead.Theyhaveinventedvariousoriginaldancesandarepassionatedancers.Theyaregoodmusiciansonthedrum,theflute,andotherinstruments.Theyaregoodsingers,thoughthemelodies of theirsongssometimessoundmonotonousandmaynotbe of theirowninvention.Theyareinventiveincomposingnewsongs,folktales,legends,andmythsandinretellingthemdramatically.Theyhavecom-posedagreatepiccelebratingtheoriginsandexploits of acul-tureheronamedLingo.Medicine.TheGondsarefullyawarethatcertaindiseaseshaveanaturalcause,andtheyknowmanyjunglemedicinestocuresuchdiseases.Butwhentheseremediesremaininef-fective,theyresorttomagicaldevices.DeathandAfterlife.AfterdeathanadultGondmanorwomaniscremated;childrenareburiedwithoutmuchcere-mony.Ceremoniesareperformedatthefuneraltopreventthesoul of thedeceasedfromfindingitswaybacktoitshouseandvillage.TheGondsbelieveinanafterlife.Theybelieveeachhumanbeinghastwosouls,thelifespiritandtheshadow.Theshadowmustbepreventedfromreturningtoitshome,oritwillharmthesurvivingrelatives.ThelifespiritgoestoBhagwantobejudgedandrewardedbyreincarnationintoahigherformorpunishedinapool of bitingworms;afterawhilethesoulisrebornandbeginsanewlife.Othersbelievethatthesouljoinstheotherancestors of theclan,especiallyafterastonememorialhasbeenerected.StillothersbelievethatthesoulisabsorbedinBhagwanorBaraDeo.Thebeliefinthesurvival of theancestralspiritsis,however,quitestrong.Theseancestorspiritswatchoverthemoralbehavior of thelivingGondandpunishoffenders of triballaw.Thustheyactasstrictguardians of theGondcommunity.SeealsoAgaria;Ahir;Baiga;Kond;KoyaBibliographyElwin,Verrier(1943).MariaMurderandSuicide.London:OxfordUniversityPress.2nded.1950.Elwin,Verrier(1944).TheMuriaandTheirGhotul.London:OxfordUniversityPress.Fuchs,Stephen(1960).TheGondandBhumia of EasternMandla.Bombay: Asia PublishingHouse.2nded.1968.Bombay:NewLiteraturePublishingCo.Fiirer-Haimendorf,Christophvon(1948).TheAboriginalTribes of Hyderabad.Vol.3,TheRajGonds of Adilabad.Lon-don:Macmillan.Fiirer-Haimendorf,Christophvon,andElizabethvonFilrer-Haimendorf(1979).TheGonds of AndhraPradesh:TraditionandChangeinanIndianTribe.NewDelhi:VikasPublishingHouse.Grigson,William(1938).TheHillMarias of Bastar.London:OxfordUniversityPress.Russell,RV.,andHiraLal(1916).'Gond."InTheTribesandCastes of theCentralProvinces of India.Vol.3,3 8-1 43.London:OxfordUniversityPress.Reprint.1969.Ooster-hout:AnthropologicalPublications.Singh,Indrajit(1944).TheGondwanaandtheGond.Luck-now:UniversityPublishers.STEPHENFUCHSGrasiaETHNONYMS:Bhil-GrasiaBhomia,Dungri-Grasia,Gara,Garasia,GirisiaOrientationTheterm"Grasia"referstotheRajputandotherlandholdersinsections of GujaratandRajasth,wheretheyholdlandsgiventothemasgaras(landlords)bythechieftainsformain-tenance.Itissaidthattheterm'Grasia"isderivedfromthenativetermfor"landlords."TheGrasiasaretheprincipalin-habitants of theBhakkarsection of PakistaniPunjab,andalso of parts of KachchhDistrict,inGujarat.SirJohnMalcolmnotedthattheterm"Girasias"denotes"chiefswhoweredrivenfromtheirpossessionsbyinvadersandestab-lishedandmaintainedtheirclaimtoashare of therevenueupontheground of theirpowertodisturborpreventitscol-lection."ThewordcanbederivedfromtheSanskritgiras,whichsignifies"mouthful,"andinthepastitwasusedmeta-phoricallytodesignatethesmallshare of theproduce of thecountrythattheseplunderersclaimed.TheGrasiasaresaid92Gujaratiheadedbythevillageheadman(patel)andcontainsleadingrepresentatives of each of thecastegroups.Itsfunctionispartlytoconductformalcommunityaffairs,suchasseason-alfestivals,andpartlytoresolveintercastedisputesandoffenses.Conflict.Becausetherehasbeenlittlelaborunrestinre-centtimes,Gujarathasbecomearelativelyprosperousstate.Publiclifehashoweverbeenmarredbyseveralriotsledbyupper-castestudents,inprotestagainstthegovernmentpol-icy of reservingplacesinthecollegesforScheduledCastesandScheduledTribes.ReligionandExpressiveCultureGujaratiHindusaredividedintoalargenumber of religioussects.Therearetwobroadcategories:thosewhoworshiponeoracombination of some of thegreatVedicdeitiesor of thePuranicaccretionstotheorthodoxpantheon;andthosewhodenytheregulardeitiesandprohibitidolworship.TheformeraretheShaivites,ShaktasorDeviBhaktas,Vaishnavites,andthefollowers of minordeities.ThelatterbelongtotheAryaSamaj,KabirPanthi,andothersuchfairlymodernsects.Thesesectsarenotmutuallyexclusive.ReligiousBeliefs.AGujaratiHinduattachesthegreatestimportancetobathing.Heorsheobservesfastsonceaweekandeveryeleventhdayinafortnight.AGujaratiHindube-lievesinHeaven,Hell,andthetransmigration of thesoul.Onehopestobetterone&apos ;s positioninthisandthelifetocomebyone&apos ;s devotiontoGod,bydan(charity),andbydaya(mercytowardfellowhumanbeingsandcows,etc.).GujaratiJains,thoughfewinnumber,occupyanimportantplaceinGujaratisocietyandtheeconomy.Jainismrejectstheauthor-ity of theVedasandthespiritualsupremacy of theBrahmans.Thehighestgoal of Jainismisnirvanaormoksha,thesettingfree of theindividualfromthesanskara,thecycle of birthanddeath.TheJainsaredividedintotwosects,DigambarisandSvetambaris.ThecowisworshipedandconsideredsacredbyHindus.Besidesworshipingvariousidols,anaverageHinduworshipsanimals,trees,fire,etc.andbelievesinbhuts(pos-sessingspirits).Beliefinomensisalsocommon.Hindusbe-lievethattheresult of everyundertakingisforeshadowedbycertainsignsandhints.ReligiousPractitioners.Thelife-cycleceremoniesareper-formedbyBrahmans.Wanderingholymen,however,arere.veredirrespective of theircaste,religion,ororigin.Gujaratisalsopatronizemenwhohaveareputationforbeingabletoridtheindividual of bhuts.Ceremonies.Ceremoniesareperformedatbirth,mar-riage,anddeathwhenrelativesareinvitedforfeasts.Amongtheimportantfestivalsare:Diwali,thefestival of lamps;Hindunewyear&apos ;s day,whichisthenextdayafterDiwali;UtranorSankrant,afestival of theharvest;andNavratra,afestival of the"ninenights"involvingafolkdancecalledGarba.Arts.RasandGarbaareimportantfolkdancesperformedbybothmalesandfemales.Melas,fairseitheratpilgrimageplacesoronthebank of ariverduringcertainfestivals,attractalargecrowdwherepeopledance,sing,andwatchbullfightsorcockfights.Bhavaiisapopularfolkdrama,generallyper-formedinopenspacesinvillagesandtowns.Woodandstonesculpturesdecoratingtemples,palaces,andprivatebuildingsarewellknown.Paintingscalledsathiaandrangoli,donebyusingpowderedchalk,aremadebywomenatthethreshold of theirhousesforfestivalsandotherceremonies.Thecalicoprinting of Gujaratisfamous.TattooingiscommonamongcertaincastesinSaurashtraandnorthGujarat.Medicine.Traditionally,diseasewasbelievedtobecausedbyanimbalance of elementsinthebody,aswell ... isgovernedbyrepre-sentativeselectedbyuniversaladultfranchisewhoconstituteavidhansabha(legislativeassembly).Amajoritypartyformsthegovernment.Thehead of thestateisthegovernor,ap-pointedbythepresident of India.Thestategovernmenthasverywidepowersformaintaininglawandorder,levyingtaxes,andcarryingoutdevelopmentwork.Italsosharesresourceswiththeuniongovernment.Gandhinagaristhecapitalcity of thestate.Thestateisdividedinto19districts,whicharefurthersubdividedinto184talukas.Localself-governmentbyelectedrepresentativesfunctionsatvillage,taluka,anddis-trictlevelandalsointownsandcities.Thelocalgovernmentperformsfunctionsrelatedtopublicamenities,education,anddevelopment.Itraisesresourcesbylevyingtaxesandin.comefrompropertyandalsoreceivesaidgrantsfromthestategovernment.Industrialinvestmentisstronglyencouraged.SocialControl.Gujarattodayhastheusualinstitutions of astatepoliceforceandahierarchy of lawcourts,rangingfromthesubmagistrate&apos ;s courttothestatesupremecourt.InallcourtsthecentralwritistheIndianPenalCode.Butinaddi-tiontotheseinstitutions,whichwerefirstdevelopedundertheBritishadministration of theoldBombayPresidency,thereisalsoanindigenoussystem of casteandvillagecoun-cils.Thecastecouncilisfoundinanyvillageorsmalltownwherethenumbers of anyonecasteorcasteblocaresuffi-cienttowarrantit.Thiscouncilconsists of themaleheads of themostprominentfamiliesinthecaste,anditsfunctionistomaintainequanimitywithothercastesbyseeingthattradi-tionalpatterns of behavior(thecaste&apos ;s dharma)arefollowed.Finesandminorphysicalpunishmentmaybehandeddowntothosewhooffendagainstthesepatterns.Publichumilia-tion,suchasabeatingwithsandals,isausualpunishment.Thereisalsoavillagecouncil(grampanchayat)whichisGurung93greatestpercentage of theirpopulation of allthegroups),Magar,Tamang,Sunwar,Limbu,andRai.Gurkhasclaimde-scentfromthewarlikeRajputs of Chittaur,inRajasthan,say-ingtheyweredriventhencetotheNepalesehillsbytheMus-liminvasions.TheGurkhamilitarytraditioncanbetracedbacktothesixteenthcenturywhenthekingdom of Gorkhawasconqueredbythefirstkings of theShahThakuridynasty.Bytheend of theeighteenthcenturytheGurkhaKingdom,asitwasthenknown,hadexpandedcontrolovermuch of whatisnowNepalandhadbegunpushingnorthintoChinaandTibet.Expansion south intoIndiawasresistedbytheBrit-ish(whowereexpandingnorthward),butin1815theNepa-leseweredefeated.TheBritishwereimpressedbytheGurkhasandobtainedpermissiontorecruitthemfortheBritish-IndianArmy.Therecruitswereorganizedintoethnicregimentsandparticipatedwithdistinction(onthegovernmentside)intheIndianMutiny of 185 7-5 8,theSecondAfghanWar(187 8- 1880),andtheBoxerRebellion(1900).By1908the12,000GurkhaswereorganizedintotenregimentsastheGurkhaBrigade.During World WarIand World WarIIthenumber of Nepalesemilitaryvolunteersincreasedtomorethan200,000andadditionalunitswereformed.In1947theGurkhaBrigadewasdisbandedandsincethenvariousGurkhaunitshaveservedwiththeBritisharmy,theIndianarmy,theNepalarmy,andtheUnitedNationspeacekeepingforces.Today,theyaremainlyusedintheCrownColony of HongKong(whichwillreverttoChinain1997).WithBrit-ain&apos ;s integrationintoEurope,Gurkhasarebeingphasedout of theBritisharmy.GurkhaveteransplayasignificantsocialandeconomicroleinNepalesesociety.Theyenjoyhighstatusandareoftenelectedcommunityleaders,andtheincomefromtheirpen-sionsprovidesasteadysource of cashfortheirfamiliesandcommunities.NepaleseworkinginIndiaaswatchmenarealsosometimesreferredtoasGurkha.SeealsoGurung;Limbu;Magar,Nepali;Rai;Sunwar;TamangBibliographyVansittart,Eden,andB.V.Nicolay(1915).Gurkhds.Calcutta:Superintendent of GovernmentPrinting.Reprint.1985.NewDelhi:B.R.PublishingCorp.GurungETHNONYMS:noneOrientationIdentification.TheGurungsareapeopleinhabitingthefoothills of theHimalayasincentralNepal.Theiroriginsareuncertain,thoughlinguisticevidencesuggeststhattheiran-cestorsmayhavemigratedfromTibetabout2,000yearsago.Location.Themajority of Gurungvillagesarelocatedonmountainslopesatelevationsbetween1,050and2,100me-tersinthefoothills of theAnnapurnaandLamjungHimalayaandHimalchuliinNepalat28°0'to28°30'Nand83°30'to84°30'E.TowardtheHimalayanrange,therearewidegorgeswithtallcraggyridgesrisingabovethem.Thesearedottedwithvillages,sethighonthemountainsides.Oftentherewillbejungleaboveavillageandbelowitacascade of terracedfields.Wintersarecoldanddry,thoughitseldomfreezes.Monsoonrainscomefromthe south insummer.Tempera-turesrangefromabout0°to32°C."Gurungcountry"issitu-atedbetweentwodistinctecologicalzones,thealpinemoun-tainhighlandsandthelowsubtropicalvalleys.Likewiseitexistsbetweentwogreatculturalandsocialtraditions,Ti.betanBuddhismtothenorthandIndianHinduismtothe south. Demography.The1981Nepalcensusreported174,464GurungspeakersinNepal,makingup1.2percent of thecountry&apos ;s totalpopulation.Thesefiguresreflectasmallernumber of Gurungsthanactuallyexist,sincetheyindicateonlythosewhonamedGurungastheirmothertongueandnotallGurungsspeakthelanguage.ThecensusshowsGurungstobemostnumerousinthedistricts of Lamjung,Syangja,Kaski,Gorkha,Tanahu,Parbat,andMananginGandakiZone,centralNepal.LinguisticAffiliation.GurungbelongstotheTibeto-BurmanLanguageFamilyandresemblesotherlanguages of peoples of themiddlehills of Nepal,suchasThakaliandTamang.Ithasatonalstructureandnowrittenform.MostGurungsarebilingualandtendtobefluentfromchildhoodinNepali,theSanskriticlanguagethatisthelinguafranca of thenation.HistoryandCulturalRelationsGurunglegendsdescribea"GhaleRaja,"akingwhoruledtheGurungsinancienttimes.HewasoverthrownbytheNepaliraja of aneighboringprincipalityaboutthefifteenthcenturyAD.Bythesixteenthcentury,Khasakings of theShahfamilyhadconqueredmost of theprincipalitiesthatmakeuppres-ent-dayNepal.GurungsactedasmercenariesinKhasaar-mies,includingthose of PrithviNarayanShah,theancestor of thepresentking of Nepal,whocompletedunification of thekingdom of NepalwhenheconqueredtheKathmanduValleyin1769.Because of theirservice,Gurungsenjoyedrel-ativelyhighstatusinthenewkingdom.Theycontinuedtoactasmercenaries,andinthenineteenthcenturytheNepalesegovernmentsignedatreatyallowingtheBritisharmytore-cruitthemandotherhillpeoplesintotheGurkharegiments,inwhichtheycontinuetoserve.Beyondancientlegendanddocumentedrelationswiththenation-state(suchasmilitaryservice),littleisknownaboutthehistory of Gurungs.TheGurungsareneithergeographicallyisolatedfromothergroupsnorunaware of thesocialconventionsandcul-turalvalues of thepeoplesaroundthem.Theyareinvolvedintradingrelationswithmembers of neighboringethnicgroups,includingThakalisandTibetans,andhigh-casteHindumer-chantswhotravelthroughthevillagessellinghouseholdgoods.Gurungsalsohaveongoingpatron-clientrelationshipswithmembers of blacksmithandtailorservicecasteswholiveinhamletsattachedtoGurungvillages.Althoughinterethnic88GrasiatohavecomefromMewarmanycenturiesago,"andastheystillhavetheirinternal'Gots'orcircles of affinity(suchasParmars,Chouhan,Rathoi,etc.)uponthemodel of aregularclan,wemayperhapsassumethattheyarethedescendants of RajputsbyBhilwomen,"accordingtoP.C.Dave.InMaharashtraStatetheGrasiasareonthelist of ScheduledTribesas"Dungri-Grasias."TheGrasiasspeakadialect of theirownthatisclosetoBhili,withBhilibeingcloselyrelatedtoGujarati.SettlementsGrasiahousesarefoundontheslopes of hillswiththeirfieldsextendingoutinfront.Thehousesusuallyeachhaveoneroomandanopenverandawithwalls of mudorsplitbambooplasteredwithmud.TheroofsarecoveredwithhandmadeflattilesmadebytheGrasiasthemselves.Sometimes,though,thehouses of thepoormayhavegrassthatchingcoveringtheroofs.Aspecialshedforthecattleisoftenconstructedontheside of oroppositetothehouse,andoftenfodderisstoredontheroofs of thesesheds.Toshelterguests,aspecialshedwithatiledroofisbuiltoppositethehouse of theheadman.EconomyGrasiasaregenerallyvegetarianbuthavebeenknownocca-sionallytoenjoynonvegetarianfoods.Maizeisthefoodsta-ple,whichisgrownbyeveryGrasiawhohaslandforcultiva-tion.Itispreparedbycookingthecoarsemaizeflourwithbuttermilkandaddingsomesalttoit.Sometimesbreads of maizeflourarealsoprepared.WhenlittlewheatandmaizeareavailabletheGrasiasuseinferiorgrainlikekuro(Italianmil-let?)asasubstitute,andwhennecessaryjunglerootsandtu-bersareused.Menprimarilydotheworkthatrequiresthemostphysi-calstrength,suchasplowingandotheragriculturalwork,pre-paringfencesforthefields,construction of houses,felling of trees,andsomehouseholdworksuchaschurning of thecurdsforbutter.Womendothecooking,tendtothecattleandmilkthecows,buffalo,andgoats,bringdrinkingwater,grindgrain,etc.,andlookafterthechildren.Therearenoso-cialstigmasattachedtoeithermen&apos ;s orwomen&apos ;s work.Womenveiltheirfacesinthepresence of eldermalerelations of theirhusbands,buttheyaregenerallyfreetomoveaboutinsocietylikemenandarenotconsideredinferiortomen.Girlsshareasimilarfreedomwithboys.Oncetheyaregrownuptheyhavethefreedomtochoosetheirownhusbands.Thelargestsign of femalesocialoppressionisthatwomenaren'tallowedtoownpropertyontheirown,notevenifitwaslefttothembytheirfather.Kinship,MarriageandFamilyOnlyextremecircumstancessuchasabjectpoverty,debilitat-ingdisease,etc.keepGrasiamenandwomenfrommarrying,astheGrasiasbelievemarriageisanecessityforall.Boysmarrybetweentheages of 18and24,andgirlsbetween14and18.Theselection of amateusuallyiswithoutritualandinvolvesselectingaspouseandthenlivingtogetherwithoutanymarriageceremony.Thisarrangementmayvaryinsomeareasbecause of Hinduinfluence.Theonlyrestrictionsarethatthebride-pricemustbepaidandthatthemarriagecan-notbebetweencousins.Divorceoftenoccursiftheboydoesnotlikethegirl.Itiseasyandfreelypermitted.Thetermsnatra,ornata,refertowidowremarriage,whichisquitecommonandwhichinvolvesthehandingout of breadandjaggerytorelatives,andthemanmakingapay-ment of moneytothewidow&apos ;s fatherandprovidingtheneces-sarymarriageclothestothewidow.Polygynyoccursbutpolyandryisunknown,althoughmostGrasiamenmarryonlyonce.Because of thesocialstructurethatexistsit...