A glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province By H.A. Rose Vol II/D

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A glossary of the Punjab Tribes and Castes
Tribes and Castes starting with - D

Da...

[Page-215]
Dabb - Dadupanthi
  • Dabgar (डबगर), a low caste who make kuppis for oil and ghi. They prepare the raw hides themselves. The term is, at least in these Provinces, a purely occupational one, but the dabgars are principally recruited from the Chamar caste, and, in Sialkot, from the Khojas and Chuhras also. By metathesis the term becomes badgar.
  • Dabkaya (दबकया), Dahaya (दहया), cf. Katayā, a gilder, a beater of wire.
  • Dadd (दद्द), an agricultural clan found in Shahpur.
  • Dadi (दादी), a sept of Rajputs, descended from Chhatar Chand, 3rd son of Para Chand, 31st Raja of Kahlur or Bilaspur State.
  • Dadupanthi (दादूपंथी), — Founded by Dadu,* a Gaur Brahman, who died in 1703. The Dadupanthi sect is usually divided into three orders : —
(i) Nagas,† found in the villages about Jaipur : they wear the choti or scalp-lock, and ornaments, and are wrestlers, fencers and on occasion warriors ;
(ii) Viraktas,†† who wear ochre-coloured garments and do not live in houses ;
* Dadu was born at Ahmadabad in Guzerit, whence he migrated to Naraina 50 miles south-west of Jaipur and now the head-qnarters of the sect. At the gurudwara here the Dadupanthis assemble in Phagan and thence go to Sambhar where a fair is held on the anniversary of Dadu's death. Regarding his birth, tradition avers that an aged Brahman had no son, but one day God, in the guise of an old man, told him in response to his prayers, that he would find floating on the river a box containing a male child, sucking its toe. He did so, and his wife's breasts miraculously filled with milk, so that she was able to suckle the child. When the boy was 10 years old, the aged man again appeared to the boy and gave him some betel from his own mouth, whereby all secrets were revealed to him, and the old man then named him Dadu Jiv, bidding him remain celibate and found an order of his own. Dadu then exclaimed ; Dādu gaib mahin gur dev milā, pāyā ham parshād, Mastak meri kar dharyā dekhā agam agād. " By chance I found a guru ; he gave me parshād and laid his hands upon my head, whereby all secrets were revealed to me." Didu'a death is assigned to Sbt. 1760 (1703 A.D.), but he is also said to have been 6th in descent from Ramanand. If so he flourished in 1600 A D. Other accounts make him contemporary with Darā Shikoh, others with Govind Singh. According to Macanliffe, Sikh Religion, VI, p. 140, the Dadupanthis place Dadu's death at the same time and place as Kabir's.
† Naga is said to be derived from Sanskrit nāgvaka, naked, but there is the usual play on the words nanga (naked) and nag, snake. The Nagas are mercenary soldiers in Jaipur and other States of Rajasthan but are not known in the Punjab. See below also.
†† Virakta simply means ascetic. Mr. Maclagan says the celibates of to-day wear white, shave the beard and moustache, and wear necklaces, with white round caps to which is attached a piece of cloth which hangs down the back-clearly the kapali.

[Page-216]
The Dadupanthis

(iii) the Uttrādhas, who shave the head with the beard and moustache,* wear white clothes, and generally practise as physicians; besides

(iv) the secular Dadupanthis, who are called Bistardhāris.

Dadu is said to have had 52 disciples who established as many deras or resting places.† The head of each dera, the deradār, presents contributions to the gaddi-nashin or incumbent of the gurudwdra at Narain, who is elected by a conclave of the deradārs. The sect is recruited from the Brahman, Kshatriya, Rajput, Jat and Gujar castes, but never from those of menial rank†† As a rule children are initiated.

Dadu composed a book called the Dadu Bani, of 5,000 verses, some of which are recited by his followers, after their ablutions every morning. In the evening ārti is performed to it by lighting lamps and reciting passages from it.§ Dādu forbade idolatry, built no temples,‖ and taught the unity of God. In salutation his votaries use the word Sat Ram, the " True God." But, in spite of Dadu's denunciation of idolatry, his hair, his tumba (cup), chola (gown) and kharsun (sandals) are religiously preserved in his cave (guphā) at Sambhar.

Before a guru admits a disciple the privations and difficulties of jog are impressed upon him, and he is warned that he will have to remain celibate, live on alms, abstain from flesh and stimulants, and uphold the character of his order. In the presence of all the sādhus the guru shaves off the disciple's choti (scalp-lock) and covers his head with the kapāli (skull-cap), which Dadu wore. He is also given a kurta of bhagwā (ochre) colour, and taught the guru-mantra which he must not reveal. The rite concludes with the distribution of sweets.

On a guru's death the usual Hindu rites are observed, and on the I7th day a feast is given to the sādhus. A fine tomb is sometimes erected outside the dera, in memory of the deceased, if he was wealthy.

Although the Dādupanthis proper are celibate, both men and women are admitted into the community, and a great many have taken to marriage without ceasing to be Dadupanthis. These form the bistardhāri or secular group, which should probably be regarded as a separate caste. Many of them are merchants, especially in grain, and wealthy.

* The Uttāradhi have a guru at Rathia in Hissar. See below.
† Of these 52 disciples, Raijab, Gharib Das and Sundar Das were the chief. Raijab was a Muhammadan ; it is said that Muhammadans, who follow Dadu are called Uttradhi in contradistinction to the Hindu Dadupanthis who are called Nagi. But the Nagi is clearly the Naga already described, and Uttradhi can only mean " northern."
The second, Gharib Das, composed many hymns, still popular among Hindus, but his followers are said to be mostly Chamars, who cut the hair short and wear cotton quilting. Sundar Dig composed the Sahya, a work resembling the Sikh Granth.
†† But see the foregoing foot-note. The followers of Gharib Das, at any rate, elude Chamars, and Mr. Maclagan adds that many adherents of the sect are found among the lower castes.
§According to Wilson the worship is addressed to Kama, the deity negatively described inn the Vedanta theology.
‖ Now temples are built by his followers who say that they worship " the book in them.
Mr. Maclagan adds : " In fact, the doctrine of Dadu is sometimes described as pantheistic. It is contained in several works in the Bhasha tongue which are said to include many of the sayings of Kabir. Accounts of the guru and his followers are given in the Janm-lila.

"

[Page-217]
Dadwal — Dāgi
  • Dadwal (डडवाल). — The Rajput clan to which belongs the ancient ruling family of Datarpur, but said to take its name from Dada in Kangra on the Hoshiarpur border. The Ranas of Bit Manaswal, or tableland of the Hoshiarpur Siwaliks were Dadwal Rajputs, and the clan still holds the tract.
The Dadwals are found in the neighbourhood of Datarpur, the seat of their former sovereignty, and on the south-west face of the Siwaliks in Hoshiarpur tahsil near Dholbaha and Jatiauri or Jankapuri, its ancient name, which is still used. Janak was an ancient Surajbansi ruler. The Dadwals are a branch of the Katoch and do not intermarry with them, or with the Golerias or Sibāyas on the ground of a common descent. They have an interesting local history which describes how they wrested the tract round Datarpur from a Chahng rāni.
The Dadwals have several als or families, whose names are derived from their settlements, such as Janaurach, Dholbahia, Datarpuria, Fatehpuria, Bhāmnowālia, Khangwarach, Naruria, Rampuria, etc. Datarpur is their chief village, but they have no system of chhatsand makans. (For their history and the septs which intermarry with them see the Hoshidrpur Gazetteer, 1904, pp. 48-9.)
  • Dagi (दागी), Daghi, (from dagh*, a blemish ; the word dāghi is a term of abuse in Kullu), a generic term for an impure caste in Kullu. Koli is hardly a synonym, though, according to Ibbetson, these two words, together with a third, Chanel, are used almost indifferently to describe the lower class of menials of the highest hills. The Koli of the plains is easily distinguishable, by his locality, from the Koli of the hills. The former is probably nothing more than a Chamar tribe immigrant from Hindustan ; the latter, of Kolian origin. The two would appear to meet in the Siwaliks. Cunningham believed that the hills of the Punjab were once occupied by a true Kolian race belonging to the same group as the Kols of Central India and Behar, and that the present Kolis are very probably their representatives. He points out that dā, the Kolian for water, is still used for many of the smaller streams of the Simla hills, and that there is a line of tribes of Kolian origin extending from Jabalpur at least as far as Allahabad, all of which use many identical words in their vocabularies and have a common tradition of an hereditary connection with working in iron. The name of Kullu, however, he identifies with Kulinda,
  • But according to the late Mr. A. Anderson : — " The popular explanation of the word Dāgi is that it is derived from (dāg cattle, because they drag away the carcasses of dead cattle and also eat the flesh. If a man says he is a Koli, then a Kanet turns round on him and asks him whether he does not drag carcasses ; and on his saying he does, the Kanet alleges he is a Dagi, and the would-be Koli consents. There are very few in Kullu proper that abstain from touching, the dead. There are more in Saraj, but they admit they are called either Dagis or Kolis, and that whether they abstain from touching carcasses or not, all eat, drink and intermarry on equal terms. It is a mere piece of affectation for a man who does not touch the dead to say he will not intermarry with the family of a man who is not so fastidious. This is a social distinction, and probably also indicates more or less the wealth of the individual who will not touch the dead."

[Page-218]
Dāgis

and thinks that it has nothing in common with Kol. Kola, the ordinary name for any inhabitant of Kullu, is a distinct word from Koli and with a distinct meaning.

The names Koli, Dāgi, and Chanal seem to be used to denote almost all the low castes in the hills. In the median ranges, such as those of Kangra proper, the Koli and Chanāl are of higher status than the Dāgi, and not very much lower than the Kanet and Ghirth or lowest cultivating castes ; and perhaps the Koli may be said to occupy a somewhat superior position to, and the Chanā1 very much the same position as, the Chamar in the plains, while the Dāgi corresponds more nearly with the Chuhra. In Kullu the three words seem to be used almost indifferently, and to include not only the lowest castes, but also members of those castes who have adopted the pursuits of respectable artisans. The interesting quotations from Sir James Lyall give full details on the subject. Even in Kangra the distinction appears doubtful. Sir James Lyall quotes a tradition which assigns a common origin, from the marriage of a demi-god to the daughter of a Kullu demon, to the Kanets and Dāgis of Kullu, the latter having become separate owing to their ancestor who married a Tibetan woman, having taken to eating the flesh of the yak, which, as a sort of ox, is sacred to Hindus ; and he thinks that the story may point to a mixed Mughal and Hindu descent for both castes. Again he writes : " The Koli class is " pretty numerous in Rājgiri on the north-east side of pargana " Hamirpur ; like the Kanet it belongs to the country to the east of " Kangra proper. I believe this class is treated as outcast by other " Hindus in Rājgiri, though not so in Bilaspur and other countries " to the east. The class has several times attempted to get the Katoch " Rājā to remove the ban, but the negotiations have fallen through "because the bribe offered was not sufficient. Among outcasts the Chamars are, as usual, the most numerous." Of pargana Kangra he writes : " The Dagis have been entered as second-class Gaddis, but " they properly belong to a different nationality, and bear the same "relation to the Kanets of Bangdhal that the Sepis, Badis, and Hālis " (also classed as second-class Gaddis) do to the first-class Gaddis." So that it would appear that Dagis are more common in Kangra proper, and Kolis to the east of the valley ; and that the latter are outcast while the former claim kinship with the Kanet. (Kangra Settlement Eeport, § 67 , -pp. 65 and 62 ; 113 shows that in Kullu at least the Dagi is not a caste). Hali is the name given in Chamba to Dagi or Chanal; and the Halis are a low caste, much above the Dumna and perhaps a little above the Chamar, who do all sorts of menial work and are very largely employed in tlie fields. They will not intermarry with the Chamar. See also Koli.

The late Mr. A. Anderson, however, wrote as to the identity of Dagi and Chanal : — " In Kullu proper there are no Chanals, that is, there are none who on being asked to what caste they belong will answer that they are Chanals ; but they will describe themselves as Dagi-Chanals or Koli-Chanals, and men of the same families as these Dāgi-Chanals or Koli-Chanals will as often merely describe themselves as Dāgis or Kolis. In Kullu Dagi, Koli, and Chanal mean very nearly the same thing, but the word Koli is more common in Saraj and Chanal is

[Page-219]
Dahā - Dahba

scarcely used at all in Kullu ; but Chandals are, I believe, numerous in Mandi, and in the Kangra valley. A Dagi who had been out of the Kullu valley, told me he would call himself a Dāgi in Kullu, a Chandal in Kangra, and a Koli in Plach or Saraj, otherwise these local castes would not admit him or eat with him. Again and again the same man has called himself a Dagi and also a Koli. If a Kanet wishes to be respectful to one of this low caste he will call him a Koli if angry with him a Dāgi. A Chanal of Mandi State will not intermarry with a Kullu Dagi. In some places as in Manali kothi, Kanets smoke with Dagis, but this is not common in Kullu, though the exclusiveness has arisen only within the last few years, as casts distinctions became gradually more defined .... A Chamar in Saraj will call himself a Dagi, and men calling themselves Kolis said they would eat and drink with him. They said he was a Chamar merely because he made shoes, or worked in leather. Most Dagis in Kullu proper will not eat with Chamars, but in some places they will. It depends on what has been the custom of the families."

  • Daha (डहा), a Rajput clan (agricultural) found in Multan, Kabirwala tahsil,
  • Daha (डहा) (Dāhā) (डाहा), also a Jat sept, found in Dera Ghazi Khan. Like the Parhar(s) Jats, and their Mirasis the Mongla and Sidhar, they are said to eschew the use of black clothes or green bangles.
  • Dahar (डाहर), an agricultural clan found in Shahpur.
  • Daahar (दाहर), a Jat clan (agricultural) found in Multan. In Bahawalpur they hold an important position. Their descent is traced from Raja Rawan, ruler of Mirpur Mathila, near Ghot-ki, who was converted to Islam by Sayyid Jalal and was by him named Amir-nd-Dāhr, or " Ruler of the Age." Once rulers of part of Sindh, the Dāhr power decreased in the time of the Langah supremacy, and in Akbar's time they were addressed merely as Zamindārs, but the Nahars conceded many privileges to them and these were maintained by the Daudpotras on their rise to power. The Dahrs are closely connected with the Gilani-Makhdums of Uch, to whom they have, it is said, given eighteen daughters in marriage from time to time. (For further details see the Bahawalpur Gazetteer.)
  • Dahba (दह्बा), a Muhammadan Jat tribe found in Gujrat. It claims Janjua Rajput origin and descent from one Khoga, a servant of Akbar who gave him a robe of honour and a gray (dahb) horse — whence its name.
[Page-220]
Dahima — Dahiya

Dahima (दाहिमा) a group of Brahmans, found in Hissar.

Dahiya

Dahiya (दहिया) — (1) A Jat tribe found on the north-eastern border of the Sampla and the adjoining portion of the Sonepat tahsils of Rohtak and Delhi.

(i) They claim to be descended from Dahla, the only son of a Chauhan Rajput named Manik Rai, by a Dhankar Jat woman. This is probably the Manik Rai Chauhan who founded Hansi.
(ii) Another account makes their ancestor Dhadhij, son of Haria Harpal, son of Prithi Raja.*
(ii) Another tradition derives the name Dahiya from Dadhrera, a village in Hissar, which it thus makes the starting place (nikās) of the tribe.

The Dahiya, is one of the 36 royal tribes of Rajputs, whose original home was about the confluence of the Sutlej with the Indus. They are possibly the Dahiae of Alexander.

(2) A faction, opposed to the Ahulana, said to be named after the Dahiya Jats. These two factions are found in Karnal, as well as in Delhi and Rohtak. The Ahulana faction is headed by the Ghatwal or Malak Jats, whose headquarters are Dher-ka-Ahulana in Gohana, and who were, owing to their successful opposition to the Rajputs, the accepted heads of the Jats in these parts. Some one of the emperors called them in to assist him in coercing the Mandahar Rajputs, and thus the old enmity was strengthened. The Dahiya Jats, growing powerful, became jealous of the supremacy of the Ghatwals and joined the Mandahars against them. Thus the country side was divided into two factions; the Gujars and Tagas of the tract, the Jaglan Jats of thapa Naultha, and the Latmar Jats of Rohtak joining the Dahiyas, and the Huda Jats of Rohtak, and most of the Jats of the tract except the Jaglans, joining the Ahulanas. In the Mutiny, disturbances took place in the Rohtak District between these two factions, and the Mandahars of the Nardak ravaged the Ahulanas in the south of the tract. The Dahiya is also called the Jat, and occasionally the Mandahar faction. The Jats and Rajputs seem, independently of these divisions, to consider each other, tribally speaking, as natural enemies. This division runs right through Sonepat and more faintly through Delhi tahsil, and is so firmly rooted in the popular mind that Muhammadans even class themselves with one or the other party. Thus the Muhammadan Gujars of Panohi Gujran call themselves Dahiyas and so do all the neighbouring villages.

* In Delhi the legend is that Haria Harpal, being defeated in battle by the king of Delhi took refuge in a lonely forest which from the number of its trees he called Ban auta — now corrupted into Barauta in Rohtak. There he ruled and his son Dhadhij after him. Dhadhij one day in hunting chanced upon a certain pond or tank near Pogithala in the same district where the Jat women had come together to get their drinking-water Just then a man came out of the village leading buffalo-calf with a rope to the pond to give it water. The animal either from fright or frolic bounded away from the hand of its owner, and he gave chase but, in vain. Neighbours joined in the pursuit, which was nevertheless unsuccessful, till the animal in its headlong flight came across the path of a Jatni going along with two gharras of water on her head. She quietly put out her foot on the rope which was trailing along the ground and stood firm under the strain which the impetus of the fugitive gave. The calf was caught, and Dhadhij looking on with admiration, became enamouled of the stalwart comeliness of its captor. Such a wife, he said must needs bear a strong race of sons to her husband, and that husband, notwithstanding the fact of her already being married he forthwith determined to be himself. By a mixture of cajolery, threats and gift-making he obtained his desire and the Jatni married the Kshatri prince. By her he had three sons — Teja, Sahja, and Jaisa. Dhadhij gave his name to the Dahiyas and his children spread over the neighbouring tracts, dividing the country between them— Teja's descendants live in Rohtak ; Sahja's partly in Rohtak and partly in 13 villages of Delhi ; while Jaisa's descendants live in Rohtak and in 16 villages in Delhi.

[Page-221]
Dahko-Dalo

The Ahulana tradition traces their origin to Rajasthan. Their ancestor was coming Delhi-wards with his brothers, Mom and Som, in search of a livelihood. They quarrelled on the road and had a deadly fight on the banks of the Ghātā, naddi. Mom and Som, who were on one side, killed their kinsman and came over to Delhi to the king there who received them with favour and gave them lands : to Som the tract across the Ganges where his descendants now live as Rajputs. Mom was sent to Rohtak, and he is now represented by the Jats there as well as in Hansi and Jind. The Rohtak party had their head-quarters at Ahulana in that district, and thence on account of internal quarrels they spread themselves in different directions, some coming into the Delhi district.

  • Dahon (डहोन), a Jat clan (agricultural) found in Amritsar,
  • Dak (डाक), Dakaut (डाकौत), Dakotra (डाकौतड़ा) : see under Brahman.
  • Daleo (दलेव), a small Jat clan, found in Ludhiana. They say that Jagdeo had five sons: Daleo, Dewal, Ulak (Aulak), Malangh†† and Pamar. Now Raja, Jail Pangal promised a Bhatni, Kangali by name, 10 times as much largesse as Jagdeo gave her. But Jagdeo cut off his head. The Bhatni, however, stuck it on again. Still, ever since this clan has had small necks !
  • Dallawalia (दल्लावालिया), the eighth of the Sikh misls or confederacies which was recruited from Jats.
* Or Dalla, Desu, Man and Sewa were the sons of Khokhar, a Chauhan Rajput who married a Jat wife, according to the Jind account.
† Or Sawal in Jind.
††? Bailang.

[Page-222]
Damai— Darugar
  • Damai (दमई), a Gurkha clan in the Simla Hill States, who do tailor's work, and are thought a very low caste.
  • Dammar (डम्मर), (m.) a tribe of Jats, originally called Lar (लार), immigrants from Sind. They affect the Sindhi title of Jam and claim to be superior to other Jats in that they do not marry daughters outside the tribe ; but the rule is often broken.
  • Dandan (दंदन), a Rajput clan (agricultural) found in Amritsar.
  • Dandi (डंडी)/(दण्डी), (i) a Jat clan (agricultural) found in Multan, (ii) also a Sanyasi sub-order.
  • Dandial (दंदियाल), an agricultural clan found in Shahpur.
  • Dandiwal (दंदिवाल), a Jat clan, claiming Chauhan descent, which emigrated from Delhi via Jaisalmer to Sirsa : found in Hissar, and also in Jind State. In the latter it affects the jathera and jandiān worship, and has as its sidh a Pir whose shrine is at Beluwala, in British territory. At the birth of a son, they offer to his samadh a piece of gur, a rupee and some cloth which are taken by a Brahman.
  • Dangarik (डंगरिक), lit. ' cow-people' :(i) a small tribe, confined to four villages in Chitral and said to speak a language cognate with Shina. Though long since converted to Islam, the name Dangarik would seem to show that they were Hindus originally ; (ii) a term applied to all the Shina-speaking people of Chitral and the Indus Kohistan generally, because of the peculiar aversion of the Shins, which is only shared by the Dangariks and Kalash Kafirs, for the cow and domestic fowls. — Biddulph's Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh, pp. 64 and 113.
  • Daoli (दावली), a hill caste of Dumna status who work for gold in streams in the low hills (e.g., about Una) ; in the high hills {e.g., Kangra) called Sansoi, and corresponding to the Khirs who are the goldworkers of the plains. Cf. daula, ḍaula, a washer for gold.
  • Dard (दर्द), a term applied by the Mair to the tribes of the Indus Kohistan who live on the left bank of that river : Biddulph's Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh, p. 12.
  • Darol (दरोल), Daroli (दरोली), a sept of Rajputs descended from Mian Kela, a son of Sangar Chand, 16th Raja, of Kahlar.
  • Darugar (दारूगर), a maker of gunpowder. This term and its synonyms include various castes ; always Muhammadans.
[Page-223]
Darvesh — Dātye
  • Darvesh (दरवेश). — Darveah means one who begs from door to door (dar "door"). But the Darvesh of our Census returns are a peculiar class found mainly in Batala and Pathankot and in Amritsar and Kapurthala. They cultivate a little land, play musical instruments, beg, make ropes, go to a house where there has been a death and chant the praises of the deceased, hang about mosques, and so forth. They are hardly ascetics, yet the small number of women seem to show that they have not yet formed into a Separate caste, and are still recruited from outside. Elsewhere, e. g. in Gujrat, they are poor scholars who seek instruction in mosques and live on alms or by bogging from door to door, resembling the tālib-ul-ilm of the frontier. Sometimes they are employed as bāngis at mosques, or in other minor posts.
  • Darzi (दर्जी). — Hindi syn. suji, a purely occupational term, there being no Darzi caste in the proper acceptation of the word, though there is a Darzi guild in every town. The greater number of Darzis belong perhaps to the Dhobi and Chhimba castes, more especially to the latter; but men of all castes follow the trade, which is that of a tailor or sempster. The Darzis are generally returned as Hindu in the east and Musalman in the west.
  • Das(ā) (दास) — (a) Sanskrit dāsā, a mariner ; according to the Purān, begotten by a Sudra on a Kshatriya. The Sāstra and Tantra give a different origin (Colebrooke's Essays, p. 274) ; (6) Dās, the appellation common to Sudras. cf. Karan.
  • Dasa (दस), fr. das, 'ten', as opposed to Bisa, fr. bis, ' twenty ' : half-caste, as opposed to one of pure descent — see under Bānia. In Gurgaon the term is applied to a group, which is practically a distinct caste, of Tagas who have adopted the custom of widow remarriage, and so lost status, though they are of pure Taga blood : Punjab Customary Law, II, p. 132.
  • Dashal (दशाल), fr. Dashwal (दशवाल), 'of the plains' is a group of Rajputs found in the Simla Hills. To it belong the chiefs of Ghund, Theog, Madhān and Darkoti, four baronies feudatory to Keonthal State. It is asserted that; the Dashals once ranked as Kanets, wearing no sacred thread and performing no orthodox funeral rites ; and a fifth Dasha sept is still only of Kanet status. This latter sept gives its name to Dashauli, a village in Punar pargana of Keonthal.
  • Dashti (दश्ती), once a servile tribe of the Baloch, now found scattered in small numbers through Deras Ghazi and Ismail Khan and Muzaffargarh. Possibly, as Dames suggests, from one of the numerous dashts or tablelands, found throughout the country.
  • Dasti (दस्ती), Dashti (from dasht, 'wilderness '). — A Baloch tribe of impure descent. See under Baloch.
[Page-224]
The Dāudpotras

Daudpotra (दाऊदपोत्रा).— The sept to which belongs the ruling family of Bahawalpur. It claims to be Abbassi* and is practically confined to Baadwalpur and the neighbouring portions of Multan, part of which was once included in that State.

The Daudpotra septa trace their descent from Muhammad Khan II, Abbasi, 10th in descent from Daud Khan I. Muhammad Khan II had three sons : —

(1) Firoz or Piruj Khan, (2) A'rib (or Arab) Khan, ancestor of the Arbani sept, and (3) I'sab Khan, ancestor of the I'sbani or Hisbani sept.

The descendants of Piruj Khan are known as Pirjanis, Firozānis or Pir Pirjānis and to this sept belongs the family of the Nawabs of Bahawalpur. A sub-sept of the Pirjānis is called Shamani, from Shah Muhammad Khan.

The Arbanis have five sub-septs : Musāni, Ruknāni or Rukrāni, Rahmāni, Jarabrāni and Bhinbrāni, all descended from eponyms (Musa]]. Khan, etc.). The Musāni have an offshoot called Kandāni. The Isbānis have no sub-septs.

A large number of sub-septs also claim to be Dāudpotra though they are not descended from Muhammad Khān II. Thus the Achranis claim descent from Achar, a son of Kehr. Kehr was brother to the wife of Channi Khan, father of Daud Khan I, and founded the Kehrāni sept, which has seven main branches : —

Achrāni. Halāni. Bakhshāni. Jamāni. Mundhāni. Marufāni. Tayyibani.

These last five are known† collectively as Panj-pare.

A number of other septs also claim to be Dāudpotra, but their claims are often obscure, disputed or clearly untenable. Such are the Nohani, Zoraia, Karāni (who claim to be Kehrānis), Ronjha or Ranuhja (a sept of the Sammas), and Chandrāni (who intermarry with the Arbānis and therefore are presumed to be Arbānis). The Wisrāni,†† Mulāni, Thumra,§ Widani, Kālra, Jhunri, Bhanbhani, Hakrā and Kat-bāl‖ are spurious Ddudpotras.

* For the origin of this title see the Bahawalpur Gazetteer.
† -pare, is said to mean ' -fold,' but cf. the Panj-pare among the Pathans, also the Panj-pao of Multan.
†† The Arbani and Isbani Daudpotras do not recognise the Wisranis. The former declare that four families of the Abra (q. v.) tribe migrated from Wisarwah in Sindh in the time of Nawab Muhammad Bahawal Khan II. The Abras gave one daughter in marriage to Balawal Khan, Pirjani, a second to an Arbani family, and a third to an Isbāni, and asked their sons-in-law to admit them among the Daudpotras, so that they might be entitled to all the privileges which the Daudpotras enjoyed. This was granted and they were called Wisrani Daudpotras (from Wiaharwah).
§ The story goes that once Muhammad Bahawal Khan III happened to see one Nuru Kharola with his head shaved. A shaven head being generally looked down upon, the Nawab remarked in Sindhi (which he always spoke), ho disso thora, 'look at that bald head,' and so they were nick-named Thumra. They are really Kharolas (converted sweepers) by caste.
‖ Originally Jats of low status (there is still a sept of Mohanas which is known by this name). They give their daughters in marriage to any tribe while the daudpotras are particularly strict in forming alliances.
[Page-225]
Daudzai — Dāwari
For a full account of the Daudpotra septs, whose modern developments illustrate the formation of a tribe by descent, affiliation and fiction, reference must be made to the Bahawalpur Gazetteer.
  • Daudzai (दौद्जई).— The Pathan tribe which occupies the left bank of the Kabul river as far down as its junction with the Bāra. Like the Mohmand, the Daudzai are descended from Daulatyār, son of Ghorai, the progenitor of the Ghoria Khel. Daud had three sons, Mandkai, Māmur, and Yusuf, from whom are descended the main sections of the tribe. Mandkai had three sons. Husain, Nekai, and Balo, of whom only the first is represented in Peshdwar. Nekai fled into Hindustan, while Balo's few descendants live in parts of Tirah. Kalid-i-Afghani, pp. 167, 168. 179. 182. A. N., p. i., iii. ff i , i
  • Daulat Khel (दौलत-खेल). — One of the four great tribes of the Lohani Pathans* which about the beginning of the 17th century drove the Marwats and Mian Khel out of Tank. Their principal clan was the Katti Khel ; and under their chief, Katal Khan, the Daulat Khel ruled Tank in Dera Ismail Khan, and were numerous and powerful about the middle of the 18th century. They accompanied the Durrani into Hindustan, and brought back much wealth. But since that time the Bhitanni and other tribes have encroached, and they are now small and feeble. The Nawab of Tank, the principal jagirdar of the District, is a Katti Khel. Raverty described them as ilāts nomads dwelling to the north of the Sulaiman Range from Daraban town on the east to the borders of Ghazni on the west, along the banks of the Gomal, each clan under the nominal rule of its own malik. Though their principal wealth consisted in flocks and herds they were engaged in trade, importing horses from Persia and majitha into Hindustan, and taking back with them piece-goods and other merchandise for sale in Kabul and Kandahar. They used to pay ushr or tithe to the dynasty at Kabul, but were not liable to furnish troops.
  • Dautanni (दौतन्नी), Dotanni, a Pathan clan, numbering some 700 fighting men, which inhabits the Wano valley and the country between the Waziri hills and the Gumal. Their lands are comparatively fertile, growing rice and cereals. They are on good terms with the Wazirs, and are well-to-do, carrying on a profitable trade with Bokhara. They bring-down postins, chakmas, and charras. They have three kirris in British territory, near Katmalana and in the Kahiri ilaqa. About a third of them are kafila folk and have no kirris. They own about 3,500 camels. They leave their flocks behind in the hills. They come and go along with the Mian Khels, though forming separate caravans.

Dawari

  • Dawari (दावरी). — Living on the fertile alluvium of the Tochi valley in Northern Waziristan, the Dawaris or Dauris have no necessity to culti-
* Really only a clan of the Mamu Khel, the Daulat Khel practically absorbed that tribe and gave its own name to it.

[Page-226]
Dāwari septs

vate very strenuously or to migrate. Hence they are lacking in military spirit,* unenterprising and home-staying, and a Dawari, even when outlawed, will not remain away from the valley for more than a couple of years.

Their descent is thus given : —

Dawari ancestry

There are also two disconnected sections, Malakh and Amzoni. The Idak sub-section also does not claim descent from either of the main branches. The Malakh are a mixed division, including the Muhammad Khel, Idak Khel, Pai Khel, Dihgans, Land Boya and Ghazlamai. The latter sept includes three or four Sayyid houses which claim descent from Dangar Sahib. The Dihgans are quite a distinct sept, coming from Afghanistan. The origin of the Malakh is the common Afghan story of a foundling. Some Durranis abandoned a boy in a box, and as Dangar Pir found him he brought him up, calling him Malakh because he was good-looking.

The Amzoni comprise the following septs : — Chiton, Umarzai, Kurvi Kalla, Raghzi Kalla, Urmur Kail a, Ahmad Khel, Ali Khel, Fath Khel, Bai Khel, Khatti Kalla, Kharri Kalla and Aghzan Kalla.

Amzon, the ancestor of these septs, is said to have been a Shammai Khostwal who mixed with the Dawaris. But the Fath Khel and Bal Khel are known to be Wazirs, and the Urmur Kalla are by origin Urmurs of Kaniguram.

The Darpa Khel consist of Darpa Khels, Panakzai and Khozi, and of these the Panakzais are Momit Khel Dawaris while the Khozis are Akhunds. As regards Darpa Khel himself it is said that he was a Khostwal, but others say that he was a Dum of Tanis.

The Idak sub-section is composed of three different septs, Taritas, Madira, and Malle Khels, who agreed to settle in one village on the Id day, whence the village was named Idak. The Malli Khel are Turis, the Taritas are Kharotis, while the Madiras are Katti Khels.

The Isori are stated to be Khattaks. Of the Hassu Khel, the Shinki Khel are the offspring of a baby found near the Shinki Kotal or pass. The Mosakkis are said to be Bangash Haidar Khels. Urmuz and

* But to this rule the Malakh form an exception, being much like the Wazirs, pastoral, migratory and not keeping their women secluded.
[Page-227]
Dawari customs

Shammal are descendants of Tir who was an Isakhel, but another story is that he came from the Wurdak country. All the rest of tho septs are Dawaris proper.

Personal appearance. — The use of the spade in cultivating the stiff soil of the valley has made the Dawari a very broad-shouldered, muscular man, not very tall, with thick legs and arms, heavy in gait and slow in his movements.

Personal habits. — The vices of the Dawaris are sodomy and charas-smoking. The latter habit is said to be on the increase. The Dawaris are by repute the laziest and dirtiest of all the Waziristan tribes. Cut off from the outside world, they had no inducement to cultivate more land than would ensure a supply of grain till the next harvest and their habit of greasing their clothes with ghi makes them filthy to a degree. There are no professional washermen in the valley.

The Dawaris used to be famous for their hospitality, which took the form of washing a guest's hands, spattering his clothes with ghi, and scattering the blood of a goat or sheep ostentatiously on the outer walls of the house as a sign that guests were being entertained. They were also steadfast supporters of their clients' or hamsāyas' rights and true to their engagements. They are now said to be losing these qualities.

Ornaments. — Dawari men used to dye the right eye with black antimony and the left with red, colouring half their cheeks also in the same way.* The men (but not the women) used also to wear coins sewn on the breast of their cloaks as is commonly done by Ghilzai women.

Medicine.— The only treatment in vogue is the common Pathan one of killing a sheep, the flesh of which is given to the poor, and wrapping the patient in the skin. This is the remedy for every disease and even for a wound. Its efficcy is enhanced by the prayers recited by a mullah, who also used sometimes to give amulets to, or sometimes merely breathe on, the sick man.

Cultivation. — Owing to the heavy nature of the soil the plough is not used, all cultivation being done by the im, a spade with a long handle. Wheat, barley, maize and inferior rice with, in a few villages, millet and mung are sown. Fruit-trees are grown only near the villages and trees and cultivation used to be confined to the area commanded by the firearms possessed by each village.

Crafts-— The Dawaris practise the weaving of coarse cloth, rude carpentry and blacksmith's work, carpenters being the only artizans known. These are employed to make doors for the houses, which are mere huts, built by the people hemselves.

Social organization. —The Dawaris, as is usual among the southern Pathan tribes, are intensely democratic. The maliks or headmen have little influence unless they have a strong following among their own relations. The Dawaris are fanatical and bigoted, and much under the influence of mullas who exercise a powerful weapon in tho right to exclude a man from the religious congregation and other ceremonies.

Marriage Customs.— As among the Wazirs, the Dawari wedding customs are much the same as among other Pathan tribes. When the

  • For a somewhat similar custom see the Indian Antiquary, 1906 . 213,

[Page-228]
Dawari marriage

parents are agreed that their son and daughter, respectively, are suited and shall be married, a day is fixed and the bridegroom's kinsmen go to the bride's guardian's house taking with them sheep, rice and Rs. 80 Kabuli with which to feast the bride's relatives and friends. The marriage contract is then ratified, the two young people are formally betrothed, and the price to be paid by the bridegroom for the bride is fixed. The bride's guardians may ask any price they like, as there is no fixed scale of prices in Dawar, and unless the guardians are amenable and remit a portion of the money demanded, the sum demanded by them for the girl must be paid. The price thus paid is taken by the girl's guardian, who is of course her father, if alive — if not her brother, and if she has no brother, then by the relation who is by custom her wāris.* The guardian, however, sometimes gives a portion of the price to the girl to fit herself out with ornaments, etc. Some few years ago a determined effort was made by the maliks and mullahs of Lower Dawar to have the price of girls in Dawar fixed at Rs. 200 for a virgin and Rs. 100 for a widow. This they did because they thought that many Dawaris were prevented from marrying owing to the high prices demanded by guardians, which sometimes ran up to Rs. 1,000 and more, and showed a tendency to increase rather than decrease. The majority of the maliks were in favour of the proposal, and as a test case the mullahs attempted last year to enforce the new custom on the occasion of the marriage of the sister of the chief malik of Tappi. Public opinion, however, was too strong for the reformers and a serious riot was only prevented by the intervention of the authorities. The usual reference to the Political Officer on the subject was, of course, met with the reply that, although he was glad to hear of the proposal, yet he could not and would not interfere m what was a purely domestic question for the Dawaris themselves to settle. The subject was then allowed to drop and now, as before, everyone can put what fancy prices they like on their girls. The husband has no claim on the girl until this ceremony (known locally as lasniwai or clasping of hands) has been performed.

The next ceremony is that of nikah which is the consummation of the marriage.

In Dawar and Waziristan boys and girls are betrothed at the ages of 8 and 6 respectively, and the marriage is consummated at their majority. Should the husband die after the lasuiwai and before the nikah, the girl becomes the property of his heirs, and one of them can either marry her or they can give her in marriage elsewhere, provided that she is given to a member of the same tribe and village and that the parents consent. If the parents do not consent, then they can buy the girl back again by returning all the money received for her, and are then free to marry her to whom they please. Similarly a widow is married by one of the deceased's heirs, or they may arrange a marriage for her elsewhere. She must, however, be supported by them until she marries again, otherwise she is free to marry as she chooses, and they are not entitled to exact money

* No money is given to the mother of the girl, except when she is a widow and has been turned out by her late husband's heirs, and has alone borne the cost of the girl's upbringing.
[Page-229]
Custom in Dawar

for her. As a rule the bride and bridegroom are much of an age, but occasionally here as elsewhere some aged David takes his Abishag to his bosom. These are not as a rule happy marriages. The expenses of a wedding in Waziristan are fairly heavy. A wealthy man will spend Rs. much as Ks. 1,500 or even Rs. 2,000 Kabuli. An ordinary well-to-do man spends some Rs. 500 and a poor one Rs. 200 Kabuli. There are no restrictions on intermarriage between Dawaris and Wazirs. They intermarry freely, and the majority of the bigger Dawar maliks have a Wazir wife, and the Wazir maliks living in Dawar have generally at least one Dawari wife. As a rule Dawaris do not give their daughters to those living far away, which is probably due mostly to the fact that those living far off do not come and ask for them, but content themselves with something nearer home. The Mullah Powindah who lives at Kamjuram bas a Dawari wife of the village of Idak, but this is an exception, and probably due to the fact that before our occupation and his rise to power, be used to live during the six months of the cold season in Idak. There is no law or custom regarding marriage.

Inheritance. — The ordinary Muhammadan laws hold good in Dawar with regard to inheritance.

Customary Law in Da war.

General. — With regard lo offences against the human body, the general principle of the customary penal law in Dawar may be said lo be that of " an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." For murder the penalty is death; for bodily injury, bodily injury of a similar nature. Nevertheless the Dawari, though like every other Pathan, has his price, whereby his wounded body or side may be salved ; and for most offences a fixed sum is laid down by paying which the offender may satisfy the wrath of the party offended. The amount actually paid, however, depends largely on the strength and influence of the opposing parties, the weaker usually having to go to the wall, being mercilessly fleeced if the offending party, and having to be content with little or nothing if offended. As a general rule, for purposes of calculating Compensation a woman is considered as equal to half a man, and a Hindu is equal to a woman. Children over two years old are considered men or women, according to sex, for purposes of assessing compensation. Customary law in Dawar only takes cognisance of the actual deed accomplished and not the intention of the offender; for instance, there -is no such thing in Dawar, as attempted murder. If the man is merely wounded in the attempt compensation is only paid for the hurt actually caused. Again there is no such thing as letting a man off because he killed , another man accidentally. Accident or no accident, the man is dead and the penalty must be paid either in cash or kind. The right of self-defence is recognised, but in no case does it extend to the killing or permanent maiming of the person against whom it is exercised, not even if he be attempting to commit murder. Should he be killed compensation must be paid to his kins, and if permanently maimed to himself. Revenge is, if possible, taken on the actual offender (badidār) while he lives. But after his death his brother inherits the feud and after him the murderer's other heirs. If he leave no such relatives, his section is

[Page:230-233]
To be added
[Page-233]
Dāya-Deswāli
  • Daya (दाया), a synonym for Machhi in Multan, fem. dāi (so called because women of the Machhi caste act as wet-nurses). Cf. Vaideha.

De...

  • Dehgan (देहगान), Dihgan ( दिहगान), Dihqan (दिह्कान), an Iranian (Tajik) tribe (or rather class, as the word means husbandman) which is represented by the Shalmanis of the Peshawar valley. Raverty says that the Chaghān-Sarai valley on the west side of the Chitral river also contains several large Dihgan villages which owe allegiance to the Sayyids of Kunar.
  • Dehia (देहिया), one of the principal clans of the Jats in Karnal. It has its head-quarters at Ludhiana and originally came from Rohtak. Probably the same as Dahia.
  • Deo (देव), — (1). A title of several ancient ruling families, used as an affix, like Chand or Singh. It was thus used by the old dynasty of Jammu.
(2). A tribe of Jats which is practically confined to the Sialkot district where they regard Sankatra as one of their ancestors and have a highly revered spot dedicated to him, in tho town of that name, in tahsil Zafarwal. They claim a very ancient origin, but not Rajput. Their ancestor is said to be Mahāj, who came from " the Saki jungle " in Hindustan. Of his five sons, Sohal, Kom, Dewal, Aulakh and Deo, the two latter gave their names to two Jat tribes, while the other branches dispersed over Gujranwala, and Jhang. But another story refers them to Raja Jagdeo, a Surajbansi Rajput. They have the same marriage ceremony as the Sahi, and also use the goat's blood in a similar manner in honour of their ancestors, and have several very peculiar customs. They will not intermarry with the Man Jats, with whom they have some ancestral connection. Also found in Amritsar.
  • Deora (देवड़ा), a sept of Kanets descended from a son of Tegh Chand, third son of Raja Kahn Chand of Kahlur.
  • Deowana (देववाना), an agricultural clan found in Shahpur.
  • Desi ( देसी), (i) of the country, fr. des, country ; (ii) of the plains, as opposed to pahari, of the hills : cf. P. Dicty., p. 287 ; (iii) a Jat clan (agricultural) found in Multan. Cf. Deswali.
  • Deswal (देसवाल), 'men of the country,' a Jat tribe, sprung from the same stock as the Dalal. They are most numerous in Rohtak, Gurgaon,and Karnal. In Mewar and Ajmer, Musalman Raputs are called Deswal, and are hardly recognised as Rajputs.
[Page-234]
Dewa — Dhamān
  • Dewa (देवा), a title given in Sirmur to Kanet families which perform priestly duties in the deotas temples. A Dewā, will generally marry in a Dewā, family and a Negi in a Negi family. The Dewās rank below the Bhats and above the Dethis, and are intimately connected with the deotas, whom they serve : e.g., the temple of Mahasu must be closed for 20 days if there is a birth or death in the Dewa's family — see the Sirmur Gazetteer, pp. 42—44. Cf. Karan. The form of this designation in the Simla Hills appears to be dinwāṇ.

Dh...

  • Dhadhi (ढाढी), Dhadi (ढाडी), a musician, singer or panegyrist ; fr. ḍhāḍ, a kind of tabor. In the Derajat, however, the Dhadi only chants and never, it is said, plays on any instrument : he is also said not to intermarry with the Dum. In Multan he is a panegyrist, if given alms ; if not, he curses.
  • Dhakku (धक्कू), an agricultural clan found in Shahpur and Montgomery. Classed both as Rajput and Jat in the latter district.
  • Dhakochi (धकोची), a sub-caste of Brahmans in the hills of Hazara, which allows widow remarriage. It does not intermarry or eat with the Pahāṛia, the other sub-caste of Brahmans in these hills.
  • Dhala (ढाला), a caster of metals.
  • Dhali (धाली), a tribe of Muhammadan Jats, found in Gujrat, where its founder, a Bhatti Rajput, obtained a grant of land from Akbar in exchange for a fine shield, dhāl, which he possessed.
  • Dhamali (धमाली), a class of Muhammadan faqirs (= Jalāli). fr. dhamāl, leaping and whirling.
  • Dhaman (धमान), an endogamous occupational sub-caste of the Lohār-Tarkhān castes, fr. dhauṇā 'to blow' the bellows. The Dhaman are black-smiths, as opposed to the Khatti or ' carpenter ' sub-caste. The Dhamān is by far the largest group among the Tarkhans and forms a true sub-caste in Sirsa, in Hoshiarpur (in which district the Dhamāns and Khattis will not eat or smoke together) and probably throughout the eastern districts, as far north as Gujranwala. The Dhamdāns include the Hindu Suthars, q.v.
[Page-235]
Dhamra — Dhari
  • Dhanak (धानक), a caste, essentially of Hindustan and not of the Punjab proper, and confined to the south-east of the Province. Wilson derives the names from the Sanskrit dhanashka, bowman, but the Dhanaks of the Punjab are not hunters and only differ from the Chuhras in that they will not remove nightsoil, though they will do general scavenging. In villages they do a great deal of weaving also. The Chuhras are said to look down on them, but they are apparently on an equality, as nether will eat the leavings of the other though each will eat the leavings of all other tribes except Sansis, not excluding even Khatiks. There are, practically speaking, no Sikh or Mussalman Dhānaks, and their creed would appear to be that of the Chuhras. The only considerable tribe the Dhanaks have returned is Lal Guru, another name for Lāl Beg, the sweeper Guru. But they are said to burn their dead. They marry by phera and no Brahman will officiate. They also appear to be closely allied to the Pasis.* See Lalbegi.
  • Dhanda (धान्दा), a small clan of Jats, found in Jind., Their jathera is Swami Sundar Das, at whose samadh milk is offered on the 12th sudi every month: beestings also are offered, and, at weddings, a lamp is lighted there.
  • Dhanial (धनियाल), a tribe of Rajput status which belongs to the group of hill tribes of the Salt-range Tract. It is from them that the Dhani country in the Chakwal tahsil of Jhelum takes its name ; and there appears still to be a colony of them in those parts, though they are now chiefly found in the lower western hills of the Murree range, being separated from the Satti by the Ketwal. They claim to be descended from Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet. They are a fine martial sot of men and furnish many recruits for the army, but were always a turbulent set, and most of the serious crime of the surrounding country used to be ascribed to them. Many of them are of Jat status.
  • Dhari (धारी), a bard (Monckton's S. R. Gujrat, 53), doubtless= Ḍhaṛi, q.v.
* In Karnal they are regularly employed in weaving. But they also collect cow-dung and take it to the fields, and get a chapati a day from each client's house and a little at harvest.
[Page-236]
Dhariwal - Dhaunchak
  • Dhariwal (धारीवाल). — The Dhāriwāl, Dhaniwāl or Dhāliwāl, (or, in Karnal, Phor) Jats, for the name is spelt in all three ways, are said to be Bhatti Rajputs, and to take their name from their place of origin Dharanagar. They say that Akbar married the daughter* of their chief, Mihr Mitha.† They are found chiefly on the Upper Sutlej and in the fertile district to the west, their head-quarters being the north-western corner of the Malwa, or Ludhiana, Ferozepur, and the adjoining parts of Patiala. Mr. Brandreth describes them as splendid cultivators, and the most peaceful and con- tented portion of the population of the tract. Akbar conferred the title of Mian on Mihr Mitha and gave him 120 villages round Dhaula Kangar†† in jāgir. The Dhariwal have undoubtedly been settled in that part from an early period, and the south-east angle of the Moga tahsil is still called the Dhaliwal tappa. Mitha's descendants are still called Mian, but they are said not to have been converted to Islam though for several generations their leaders bore distinctly Muhammadan names. However this may be Mihr Mitha is now their sidh with a shrine at Lallawala in Patiala, and on the 2nd sudi of each month sweetened- bread and milk are offered to it. In Sialkot, however, their sidh is called Bhoi and his seat is said to be at Janer§ Fatta.
The Dhariwal are divided into two groups, Udhi or Odi and Moni or Muni (who alone are said to be followers of Mihr Mitha in Gujranwala) .
  • Dharkhan (धरखान), a synonym of Tarkhan (q.v) throughout the South-West Punjab. In Jhang they are all Muhammadans and have Awan, Bharmi, Bhatti, Dhadhi, Gilotar, Janjuhan, Kari, Khokhar, Sahārar, Sāhte and Sial septs. The latter when the first tonsure of a child is performed, cook 2-1/2 bhasaris or cakes, each containing 1-1/4 sers of wheat-flour, and of these the eldest of the family eats one, the second is given in alms and the third (1/2) is eaten by the girls of the family.
  • Dharukra (धरुकरा), a group, practically a sub-caste, of Brahmans found in Gurgaon, who have become out-castes because they adopted the custom of widow remarriage.‖ The name may be derived from dharel, a concubine, or dharewa, marriage of a widow. They are Gauṛs.
* As her dower 100 ghumaos of land were given her at Kangar and this land was transferred to Delhi and kept as the burial ground of the Mughal emperors !
† Mihr or Mahr, 'chief,' and Mitha, a name unknown to Akbar's historians
†† Dhaula, the ' white ' house or palace. Kangar is in Patiala territory to the south-east of Moga.
§ Janer is described by Cunningham, Arch. Survey Reports XIV, 67—69.
‖II Punjab Customary Law, II, p. 132.

[Page-237]
Dhaugri-Dhillon
  • Dhaugri (धौगरी), see Dhogri.
  • Dhawna (धवना) a Rajput clan (agricultural) found in Montgomery.
  • Dhed (धेड़), a tribe of Jats found in Multan, where they settled in Akbar's time.
  • Dhed (ढेड), lit. a crow ; a leather- worker.
  • Dhedh (ढेढ़), Dherh, Dhed, (see above). A synonym for Chamar. The term is, however, used for any 'low fellow' though especially applied to a Chamar. In the Punjab the Dhedh is not a separate caste, as it is in Bombay and the Central Provinces.
  • Dhendye(ढेण्डये), a Gujar clan (agricultural) found in Amritsar,
  • Dher (धेर ), a tribe of Jats claiming Solar Rajput origin through its eponym and his descendant Harpiil who settled near Kalanaur and thence it migrated into Sialkot.
  • Dhesi (धेसी), a Jat clan (agricultural) found in Amritsar.
  • Dhidha (धिधा), an Arain clan (agricultural) found in Montgomery.
  • Dhiduana (धिदुआना), a clan of the Sials.
  • Dhila (धीला), an agricultural clan found in Shahpur.
  • Dhillon (ढिल्लों), Dhillhon. — The Dhillon* is one of the largest and most widely distributed Jat tribes in the Punjab, especially in the Sikh Districts. Their head-quarters would appear to be Gujranwala and Amritsar ; but they are found in largo numbers along the whole course of the Sutlej from Ferozepur upwards, and under the hills to the east of those two Districts. The numbers returned for the Delhi District are curiously large, and it is doubtful whether they really refer to the same tribe. Like the Goraya they claim to be Saroha Rajputs by origin, and to have come from Sirsa. If this be true they have probably moved up the Sutlej, and then spread along westwards under the hills. But another story makes them descendants of a Surajbansi Rajput named Lu who lived at Kharmor in the Malwa, and held some office at the Delhi court. They are said to be divided into three great sections, the Bāj, Sāj and Sānda.

Another pedigree is assigned them in Amritsar. It makes Iju (Loh Sain) son of Raja Karn, thus :—

SURAJ (Sun).
↓
Karn, born at Karn Bas in Bulandshahr.
↓
1.Loh Sain. 2.Chatar Sain. 3.Brikh Sain, 4.Chaudar Sain.
1.Loh Sain
↓
Dhillon.

Karn's birth is described in the legend that Raja Kauntal had a daughter Kunti by name, who was married to Raja Pandav. War-bhāshā rikhi taught her a mantra by which she could bring the sun under her influence and by its power she bore Karn who became Raja of Hastinapur. When Pandav renounced his kingdom after the battle at Kuruchhetar and Raja Karn had been killed in the battle, Dhillon

* Folk-etymology connects the name with dhilla, 'lazy.' It is also said to be derived from a word meaning 'gentle.'
[Page-238]
Dhindsa—Dhiruke
left Hastinapur and settled in Wangar near Bhatinda, where his descendants lived for 10 generations. Karn is said to have a temple at Amb on the Ganges, where he is worshipped on the Chet chaudas. In Sialkot the Dhillu jathera is Dāud Shāh, and he is revered at weddings. The Bhangi misl of the Sikhs was founded by a Dhillon, Sirdar Ganda Singh. In Amritsar the Dhillon do not marry with the Bal because once a mirāsi of the Dhillons was in difficulties in a Bal village, and they refused to help him, go the Dhillons of the Manjha do not even drink water from a Bal's hands; nor will the mirāsis of the Dhillon intermarry with those of the Bal. In Ludhiana at Dhillon village there is a shrine of the tribal jathera, who is called Bābāji. Gur is offered to him at weddings and he is worshipped at the Diwali, Brahmans taking the offerings.
  • Dhindsa (धिंडसा), a Jat tribe, which would appear to be confined to Ambala, Ludhiana and the adjoining portion of Patiala. They claim to be descended from Saroha Rajputs. In Jind their Sidh is Baba Harnam Das, a Bairagi of the 17th century, whose shrine is at Kharial in Karnal. Offerings are made to it at weddings. In Sialkot the Dhindsa also revere a sati's tomb.
  • Dhing (धींग), an agricultural clan found in Shahpur.
  • Dhinwar (धींवर), Dhimar (धीमर). — The wordDhinwar is undoubtedly a variant of Jhinwar,* while the term Dhimar is a corruption of it, with possibly, in the Punjab, a punning allusion to the custom described below. The Dhinwar is confined in the Punjab to the tracts round Delhi, where the word is also applied to any person of dark complexion. The Dhinwars are divided into two groups, one of which makes baskets and carries pālkis, works ferries and is in fact a Kahar. Many of this group are fishermen or boatmen, and call themselves Mallahs, while some are Bharbhunjas. The other group is so criminal in its tendencies that it was once proposed to proclaim the Dhinwars a criminal tribe, but violent crime is rare among them and though they wander all over the Punjab, disguised as musicians, begging, pilfering and even committing burglary or theft on a large scale, many of them are cultivators and some even own land. The Dhinwars of Gurgaon once used to marry a girl to Bhaironji, and she was expected to die within the year. The Dhimars do not own the Dhinwars as the latter are notorious thieves. No Hindu of good caste will take water from a Dhinwar's hands, though he will accept it from a Dhimar. (The latter caste appears to be the equivalent of the Jhinwar in the United and Central Provinces). See also under Jhinwar.
  • Dhirmalia (धीरमलिया), the second oldest sect of Sikhs. The Dhirmalia owe their origin to Dhirmal,† who refused to acknowledge Guru Har Rai, his younger brother , as the Guru. The sect has an important station at Chak Ram Das in Shahpur, where the Bhais descended from Dhirmal own the village lands. They have a considerable following, chiefly of Khatris and Aroras. Baba Bar Bhag Singh, another member of the family, has a shrine at Mairi, near Amb in Hoshiarpur. The sect has no special tenents differentiating it from the Nanakpanthis.
* For jh, = dh, cf. rijha, cooked, for ridhi: bajha hua, for bandha hua, tied: rujjha, for ruddha, busy, and other examples.
* Not the second son of Ramdas, the 4th Guru, as sometimes stated, but of Gurditta, the Udasi who never became Guru.

[Page-239]
Dhobi-Dhotar
  • Dhobi (धोबी), perhaps the most clearly defined and the one most nearly approaching a true caste of all the Menial and Artisan castes. He is found under that name throughout the Punjab, but in the Derajat and the Multan Division he is indistinguishable from the Chaṛhoa. He is the washerman of the country, but with washing he generally combines, especially in the centre and west of the Province, the craft of calico-printing, and undoubtedly in these parts the Dhobi and Chhimba castes overlap. The Dhobi is a true village menial in the sense that he receives a fixed share of the produce in return for washing the clothes of the villages where he performs that office. But he occupies this position only among the higher castes of landowners, as among the Jats and castes of similar standing the women generally wash the clothes of the family. The Dhobi is, therefore, to be found in largest number in the towns. His social position is very low, for his occupation is considered impure ; and he alone of the tribes which are not outcast will imitate the Kumhar in keeping and using a donkey. He stands below the Nāi, but perhaps above the Kumhar. He often takes to working as a Darzi or tailor, and in Peshawar dhobi simply means a dyer (rangrez). He is most often a Musalman. His title is barita or khalifa, the latter being the title of the heads of his guild.
The Dhobi sections appear to be few. They include : —
1. Agrai.
2. Akthra.
3. Bhalam.
4. Bhatti.
5. Kamboh.
6. Khokhar.
7. Kohans.
8. Mahmal.
9. Rikhari.
10 Larki.
11.Lippal.
(Those italicised are also Chhimb and Charhoa gots, Nos 1, 3 and 9 being also Charhoa gots). The Hindu Dhobis in Kapurthala say they are immigrants from the United Provinces and preserve four of their original seven gots, viz., Magia, Mārwāir, Balwar and Kanaujia, while the Muhammadan sections are said to be Galanjar, Mohar, Role, Sangāri, Saukhar and Satal.
  • Dhoda (धोड़ा), an agricultural clan found in Shahpur.
  • Dhodi Bhandah (ढोडी भंडाह), Khaṭar, Namonāna and Wair, four Rajput septs (agricultural) found in Multan.
  • Dhogri (धोगरी), the ironsmiths, miners and charcoal-burners of the Barmaur wizārat of Chamba State, where, when holding land as tenants, they are, like other low-castes, termed jhumriālu, lit. ' family servants'. In Kullu territory all say the term dhogri is applied to any Dāghi or Koli who takes to iron-smelting : cf. Chhazanq for the Dhongru Kāru in Spiti. The name is probably connected with dhaukni, etc., 'bellows,' and dhauna, ' to blow the bellows. '
  • Dhotar (धोतर), a Jat tribe, almost entirely confined to Gujranwala. They are mostly Hindus, and claim to be descended from a Solar Rajput who emigrated from Hindustan or, according to another story, from Ghazni, some 20 generations back.
[Page-240]
Dhuḍhi — Dhūnd
  • Dhudhi (धुधि), a small clan of Panwar Rajputs found with their kinsmen the Rathor scattered along the Sutlej and Chenab. Their original seat is said to have been in the Mailsi tahsil of Multan, where they are mentioned as early as the first half of the 14th century. When the Delhi empire was breaking up they spread along the rivers. One of them, Haji Sher Muhammad, was a saint whose shrine in Multan is still renowned. They are said to be " fair agriculturists and respectable members of society."
  • Dhudi (धूदी), a Jat tribe found in tahsil Mailsi, district Multan, and formerly, in the 13th century, established in the extreme east of it.
  • Dhul (ढुल), one of the principal clans of the Jats in Karnal, with its head- quarters at Pai.
  • Dhund (धूंद), the Dhund with the Satti, and Ketwal, occupy nearly the whole of the Murree and Hazara Hills on the right bank of the Jhelum in the Hazara and Rawalpindi districts. Of the three the Dhund are the most northern, being found in the Abbottabad tahsil of Hazara and in the northern tracts of Rawalpindi, while below them come the Satti Andwal appears to be one of the Dhund clans. They claim to be descendants of Abbas, the paternal uncle of the Prophet ; but another tradition is that their ancestor Takht Khan came with Taimur to Delhi where he settled ; and that his descendant Zorab Khan went to Kahuta in the time of Shah Jahan, and begat the ancestors of the Jadwal, Dhund, Sarrara, and Tanaoli tribes. His son Khalra or Kulu Rai was sent to Kashmir, and married a Kashmiri woman from whom the Dhund are sprung, and also a Ketwal woman. From another illegitimate son of his the Satti, who are the bitter enemies of the Dhund, are said to have sprung ; but this the Satti deny and claim descent from no less a person than Nausherwan. These traditions are of course absurd. Kulu Rai is a Hindu name, and one tradition makes him brought up by a Brahman. Colonel Wace wrote of the Dhund and Karral : "Thirty years ago their acquaintance with the Muhammadan faith was still slight, and though they now know more of it, and are more careful to observe it, relics of their Hindu faith are still observable in their social habits." This much appears certain that the Dhund, Satti, Bib, Chibh, and many others, are all of Hindu origin, all originally occupants of the hills on this part of the Jhelum, and all probably more or less connected. Among the Punwar clans mentioned by Tod, and supposed by him to be extinct, are the Dhoonda, Soruteah, Bheeba, Dhund, Jeebra, and Dhoonta ; and it is not impossible that these tribes may be Punwar clans. The history of these tribes is given at pages 592 ff of Sir Lepel Griffin's Punjab Chiefs. They were almost exterminated by the Sikhs in 1837. Colonel Cracroft considered the Dhund and Satti of Rawalpindi to be a ' treacherous, feeble, and dangerous population,' and rendered especially dangerous by their close connection with the Karral and Dhund of Hazara. He says
[Page-241]
Dhunia — Dilazak

that the Satti are a finer and more vigorous race and less inconstant and volatile than the Dhund, whose traditional enemies they are. Sir Lepel Griffin wrote that the Dhund " have ever been a lawless untractable race, but their courage is not equal to their disposition to do evil." On the other hand, Major Wace described both the Dhund and Karral as "attached to their homes and fields, which they cultivate simply and industriously. For the rest their character is crafty and cowardly." Both tribes broke into open rebellion in 1857, and the Dhund were severely chastised in Rawalpindi, but left unpunished in Hazara. Mr. E. B. Steedman said : " The hillmen of Rawalpindi are not of very fine physique. They have a good deal of pride of race, but, are rather squalid in appearance. The rank and file are poor, holding but little land and depending chiefly on their cattle for a livelihood. They have a great dislike to leaving the hills, especially in the hot weather, when they go up as high as they can, and descend into the valleys during the cold weather. They stand high in the social scale." In Hazara the local tradition makes two of the two main Dhund clans, Chandial and Ratnial, descendants of two Rajput chiefs who were descended from Gahi, ruler of a tract round Delhi. To this day they refuse to eat with other Muhammadans or even to allow them to touch their cooking vessels. At weddings they retain the Hindu custom, whereby the barāt or procession spends 2 or 3 days at the house of the bride's father, and various other Hindu social observances. They rarely marry outside the tribe, but polygamy is fairly common among them.* Mr. H. D. Watson describes them as physically rather a fine race, and intelligent, but factious and unscrupulous.

  • Dhunsar (धूंसर), Dhusar (धूसर), see under Bhargava Dhusar.
  • Dhussa (धुस्सा). — A daughter of Guru Har Rai married a Gend Khatri of Pasrur, named Amar Singh, whose descendants are called dhussas or intruders, but no sect of this name appears in our Census tables.

Di...

  • Dilazak (दिलज़ाक), an important Pathan tribe. The Dilazak were the first Afghan tribe to enter the Peshawar valley, and the Akhund, Darweza, avers that they came first into Nangrahar†
* E. Molloy, in P. N. Q. II, § 281.
† The Dilazaks first entered Nangrahar from the west or south-west and, prior to Timur's invasion, settled in the Peshawar valley, allying themselves with the Shalman's. In Babar's time and under Akbar they held Walasau and the eastern part of Bajaur. They assigned the Doaba to the Yusufzais and Mandars and they in turn to the Gagyanis, but the latter were defeated by the Ujbzaks Upon this the Khashis, headed by Malik Ahmad, the Mandar chief, attacked the Dilazaks and drove them out of all their territories north of the Kabul river. The Khalils and Mohmands then induced Kamran to attack the Dilazaks and he expelled them from Peshawar and all their possessions west of the Indus (c. 1533-4). Subsequently (c. 1549-50) Khan Kaju, Malik Ahmad's successor, formed a great confederation of Khashi tribes and defeated the Ghwaria Khel, headed by the Khalils, at Shaikh Tapur in 1549-50. Khan Kaju's power may be gauged from the fact that he had at one time a force of 150,000 men under his command and his authority was acknowledged from Nangrahar to the Marigalla pass, and from Upper Swat to Pindi and Kalabagh. Adam Khan Gakhar is said to have been his feudatory. Three or four years later in 1552 Humayun reached Peshawar, which fortress he found in ruins, and appointed Sikandar Khan the Cossack (Qzak) its governor. Soon after 1552 Khan Kaju marched on Bagram and there invested Sikandar, but having; no artillery or other firearms was compelled to raise the siege. Khan Kaju's Mulla or chief priest and minister was Shaikh Mali who divided the conquered lands among the Khashis.

[Page-242]
Dindār - Dirmān

from the west and passed on eastward before the time of Timur. Entering the vale of Peshawar they formed an alliance with the Shalmanis, who were then subject to the Sultan of Swat, and subdued or expelled, exterminated or absorbed the other tribes which held the valley. Thus they occupied the eastern part of Bajaur, and their territory extended from the Jinde river to the Kalapani and the hills of Swat. The Shalmanis held the Hashtnagar tract, but all the lands from Bajaur to the Indus north of the Kabul and south of it as far as the Afridi hills, were Dilazak territory when the Khashi Pathans appeared on the scene. That branch of the Afghan nation had been expelled from their seats near Kabul by Mirza Ulugh Beg, Babar's uncle, they applied for aid to the Dilazāks and were by them assigned the Shabkadr Doābah or tract between the two rivers.

Accordingly the Yusufzai ard Mandaṛ tribes of the Khashis settled in the Doābah, and some under the Mandar chief, Mir Jamāl Amanzai, spread towards Ambar and Dānishkol, while many Mandars and some of the Yusufzais pushed on into Bajaur. Then they came into collision with the Umr Khel Dilazāks, who held the Chanḍawal valley, and defeated them with the loss of their chief, Malik Haibu. The Yusufzai, Mandar and Khalil* then divided Bajaur among themselves, but soon fell out and in the end the Khalils were crushed in a battle fought in the Hinduraj valley. The Khalils never again obtained a footing in Bajaur.

Meanwhile the Gagiānis had attempted to set a footing in Bajaur but failed and besought Malik Ahmad Mandar for aid. He assigned the Doabah to them, but they soon found cause of quarrel with the Dilazaks, and even with the Yusufzais and Mandars also. In 1519 the Gagiānis brought Bābar into the Hashtnagar tract, ostensibly against the Dilazāks, with whom the Yusufzai and Mandars left them to fight it out. In the result the Dilazak completely overthrew the Gagiānis. The former were elated at their victory, and thus aroused the jealousy of Malik Ahmad, who formed a great Khashi confederacy, including various vassals of the Yusufzai and Mandar. In a great battle fought in the Guzar Rud, between Katlang and Shahbāzgarhi, the Dilazaks were defeated with great loss, but in the pursuit Ahmad's son Khan Kaju chivalrously allowed the Dilazdk women to escape across the Indus. He subsequently received the hand of the daughter of the Dilazāk chief, and the political downfall of the Dilazak was thereby sealed. As good subjects of Babar they were obnoxious to Mirza Kamrān, and this doubtless accounts for the failure of all their attempts to retrieve their position, since they were only finally overcome after much severe fighting. In alliance with Kamrān the Khalils sought to despoil the Dilazaks of their remaining lands, and by 1534 they had obtained possession of the country from Dhāka to Attock, together with the Khyber and Karappa passes.

Dindar (दीनदार), 'possessed of the Faith': a term applied to a Chuhra, Chamar or any other low-caste convert to Islam. Better class converts are called Naumuslim, Sheikh or somewhat contemptuously, Sheikhra. Gf. Khojah.

Dirman (दिरमान), (a corruption of Abdur-rahman) an Afghan sept of the Khagiani tribe.

* The Khalils had quarreled with the other tribes of the Ghwaria Khel and quitted the northern Qandahar territory to occupy the Lashura valley in Bajaur, some time previously.
[Page-243]
Diwāna - Dod

Diwana (दीवाना). — The third oldest sect of the Sikhs. To Guru Har Rai, or perhaps to Guru Rām Dās, must he ascribed the origin of the Diwāna Sādhs or " Mad Saints," a name they owe chiefly to their addiction to excessive consumption of hemp drugs. Founded by Bālā and Haria with the Guru's permission the order is but loosely organised, and is recruited mainly from the Jats and Chamars. Its members are for the most part non-celibate. Outwardly those Sādhs keep the hair uncut and wear a necklace of shells, with a peacock's feather in the pagri. They fellow the Adi Granth and repeat the true name.* Sikh history relates that one of the sect who attempted forcible access to Guru Govind Singh was cut down by a sentry, whereupon Ghudda, their spiritual guide, sent 50 men of the sect to assassinate him. But of these 48 turned back, and only two proceeded to the Guru, without weapons, and playing on a sarangi ; and instead of killing him they sang to him. He gave them a square rupee as a memorial. (Macauliffe : Sikh Re- ligion, V, p. 218). They are mainly returned from Kangra district.

Diwar (दीवार), a family of Gadhioks, settled at Dalwal in Jhelum.

Do...

Dod (दोद), a Rajput tribe found in Hoshiarpur. The Dods are almost entirely confined to the Bit tract in the Siwaliks, their head being the Rdna of Manaswal†. The Dods are Jadav or Chandrbansi by origin. Tradition avers that they once fought an enemy 1-1/2 times as numerous as themselves, and so became called Deorha, whence Dod. The clan once ruled in Orissa, whence Deo Chand fought his "way to Delhi, defeated its rulers, the Turs (Tunwars), and then conquered Jaijon : —

Orisa se charhiya Raja Deo Chand Baryāhan Tika ae.
Tur Raja auliyān jo thake fauj rachae,
Tur chhadde nathke jo mil baithe hai,
Dod Garh Muktesar men jo mile chāre thāon, —

Meaning: 'Raja Deo Chand marched from Orissa. The Tur Raja collected a large army in order to meet him, but fled before him. The Dods occupied Garh Muktesar and the places round it.'

Thus Deo Chand came to Jaijon and ruled the Dodba, His descendant Jai Chand gave his name to Jaijon. The Dod Rdjā was, however, defeated by a Raja of Jaswān, and his four sons separated, one taking Jaijon, the second Kungrat, the third Manaswal Garhi and the fourth Saroa. Jaijon and Saroa were subsequently lost to the Dods, and after their defeat by Jaswān they sank to the status of rānas, losing that of Rajas. Of the 22 villages dependent on Kungrat, none pay talukdāri to the rāna who is a mere co-proprietor in Kungrat, as the family lost its position during the Sikh rule. The Rana of Manaswāl, however, maintained his position under the Sikhs and holds most of the 22 Mdnaswal villages (Bit = 22) in jāgir, his brothers holding the rest.

Another account runs thus : —

Four leaders of the tribe migrated from Udaipur to Garh Mandāl,1100 years ago, and thence to Garh Muktasar. Thence Jodh Chand seized Manaswal, expelling Hira, the Mahton leader, whose tribe held the tract, 40 generations ago. Rana Chacho Chand, the 19th Rana, was attacked by the Katoch ruler, but his brother Tilok Singh (Tillo) defeated him at Mahudpur in Una, and Tillo's shrine at Bhawani is reverenced to this day. In Sambat 1741 Rana Jog Chand repelled a Jaswal invasion. Rana Bakht Chand annexed Bhalan, with 12 dependent villages, in Una. His successor, Ratn Chand, repelled a Jaswal army under

* Maclagan, § 101. The Diwana Sadhs appear to be a sect of the Malwa with head-quarters at Pi'r-pind in (?)
† But the Manj Rajputs have a baiya in Bit Manaswal, according to Mr. Coldstream in Punjab Notes and Queries I, § 465.
[Page-244]
Dodai — Ḍogar

Bhagwan Singh Sonkhla who was killed, and in his memory a shrine at Kharali was erected. A treaty now defined the Jaswal and Dod territories. Under Mian Gulab Singh regent during Achal Chand's minority, Nadir Shah is said to have visited the tract and ordered a massacre of the Rasali people, but the Rana obtained from him a grant of Bathri, then a Jaswal village. Rana Jhagar Chand, however, espoused the Jaswals' cause, when they were attacked by Sansar Chand of Kangra in 1804 A.D., and repulsed him. On Ranjit Singh's invasion of the Manaswal plateau, the Rana was confirmed in his possessions, subject to a contingent of 15 horse. The rule of inheritance was primogeniture, mitigated by a system of lopping off villages as fiefs for younger sons, many of whose descendants still hold villages, thus reducing the size of the estate.

The Dods (दोद) are also found as a Muhammadan Jat clan (agricultural) in Montgomery.

Dodai (दोदई) once an important Baloch tribe, but not now found under that name. Its most important representatives are the Mirrani of Deras Ghazi and Ismail Khan, and Jhang, and the most important clans of the Gurchani.

Dodhi (दोधी), a Gaddi milkman, in Gujrat.

Dodi (दोदी) , a Jat clan (agricultural) found in Multan.

Dogar (डोगर), fem. Dogarni. — The Dogars of the Punjab are found in the upper valley of the Sutle] and Beas above the lower border of the Lahore district, and have also spread westwards along the foot of the hills into Sialkot. There are also considerable colonies of them in Hissar and Karnal. The Dogars of Ferozepur-, where they hold the riverside almost exclusively from 20 miles below to 20 miles above the head-quarters of that District, were thus described by Mr. Brandreth : —

"In my account of the Ferozepur ilāqa I have already alluded to the Dogars, who are supposed to be converted Chauhan* Rajputs from the neighbourhood of Delhi. They migrated first to the neighbourhood of Pak Pattan, whence they spread gradually along the banks of the Sutlej, and entered the Ferozepur district about 100 years ago. The Ferozepur Dogars are all descended from a common ancestor named Bahlol, but they are called Mahu Dogars, from Mahu the grandfather of Bahlol. Bahlol had three sons† Bambu, Langar and Sammu. The Dogars of Ferozepur and Mullanwala]] are the descendants of Bambu ; those of Khai the descendants of Langar ; the descendants of Sammu live in the Kasur territory. There are many other sub-castes of the Dogars in other districts along the banks of the Sutlej, as the Parchats, the Topuras, the Chopuras, etc. The Chopura Dogars occupy Mamdot.†† Ferozepur Dogars consider themselves superior in rank and descent to

* Francis (Ferozepur Gazetteer, 1888-9, pp. 15-16) gives a full account of the Dogar history in that District and on p. 56 he says that the Dogar claim to be Punwar, as well as Chauhan, and are probably a section of the great Bhatti trite and closely allied to the Naipal. The Manj traditions say that the Dogars are descended from Lumra (? fox) who, like Naipal, was one of Rana Bhuti's 24 sons. They thrust aside the Wattus to the west and the Naipals to the east, and probably subdued the Machhis, Mallahs and other inferior tribes, assuming the position of social superiors rather than that of actual cultivators, and affecting the title of Sirdar.
† Francis (Ferozepur Gazetteer, p. 56) gives a different account. He says that Mahu had two sons Sahlol (whose descendants live on the Kasur side of the Sutlej) and Bahlol. From Bahlol sprang four branches, Khamki, Phaimaki, Ullaki and Kandarki. The Phaimaki hold Khai and will not give daughters to other branches which they consider inferior. Infanticide was formerly common amongst them.
†† Francis says the sections mostly located in Mamdot are the Mattar, Chhini, Rupal, Dhandi and Khamma, as well as the Chopra.
[Page-245]
The Dogars

tho other sub-castes. They are very particular to whom they give their daughters in marriage though they take wives from all the other families. At one time infanticide is said to have prevailed among them, but I do not think there is much trace of it at the present day.

" Sir Henry Lawrence, who knew the Dogars well, writes of them ,that 'they are tall, handsome, and sinewy, and are remarkable for having, almost without exception, large acquiline noses; they are fanciful and violent, and tenacious of what they consider their rights, though susceptible to kindness, and not wanting in courage ; they appear to have been always troublesome subjects, and too fond of their own free mode of life to willingly take service as soldiers. The Jewish face which is found among the Dogars, and in which they resemble the Afghans, is very remarkable, and makes it probable that there is very little Chauhan blood in their veins, notwithstanding the fondness with which they attempt to trace their connection with that ancient family of Rajputs. Like the Gujars and Naipals they are great thieves, and prefer pasturing cattle to cultivating. Their favourite crime is cattle-stealing. There are, however, some respectable persons among them, especially in the Ferozepur ilāqa. It is only within the last few years that the principal Dogars have begun to wear any covering for the head ; formerly the whole population, as is the case with the poorer classes still, wore their long hair over their shoulders without any covering either of sheet or turban. Notwithstanding tho difference of physiognomy, however, the Dogars preserve evident traces of some connection with the Hindus in most of their family customs, in which they resemble the Hindus much more than the orthodox Muhammadans."

Mr. Purser wrote that they are divided into two tribes, one of which claims to be Chauhan and the other Punwar Rajputs, and he noted their alleged advent from Pak Pattan, but not their previous migration from Delhi. If they ever did move from Delhi to the Montgomery district, it can hardly have been since the Ghaggar ceased to fertilize the intervening country, and the date of the migration must have been at least some centuries back ; and the Dogars of Hissar came to those parts from the Punjab, probably from the Sutlej across the Sirsa district. The Dogars of Lahore and Ferozepur are essentially a riverside tribe, being found only on the river banks : they bear the very worst reputation, and appear from the passage quoted above to have retained till lately some at least of the habits of a wild tribe. Their origin was probably in the Sutlej valley. They appear to have entered the Ferozepur district about 1700 A.D., and during the next forty years to have possessed themselves of a very considerable portion of the district, while their turbulence rendered them almost independent of the Sikh Government. In 1808 we recognised the Dogar State of Ferozepur, and took it under our protection against Ranjit Singh ; but it lapsed in 1835.

The Rajput origin of the Dogars is probably very doubtful, and is strenuously denied by their Rajput neighbours, though Sir Deuzil Ibbetson believed that Dogar, or perhaps Doghaṛ,* is used in some

* Doghar means two waterpots, one carried on top of the other. The d is soft. In Dogar it is hard.
[Page-246]
Dogli—Dohli

parts of the Province to denote one of mixed blood. Another derivation of the name is doghgar or milkman.* The Dogars seem to be originally a pastoral rather than an agricultural tribe, and still to retain a strong liking for cattle, whether their own or other people's. They are often classed with Gujars, whom they much resemble in their habits. In Karnal, Lahore and Ferozepur they are notorious cattle-thieves, but further north they seem to have settled down and become peaceful husbandmen. They are not good cultivators. Their social standing seems to be about that of a low-class Rajput, but in Sirsa they rank as a good agricultural caste, of equal standing with the Wattus. They are practically all Musalmans, but in Karnal their women still wear the Hindu petticoat; and in marriage the mother's got is excluded. In Jullundhar they marry late, and are said to have marriage songs unintelligible to other tribes. Some of the largest Dogar clans are the Mattar, China, Tagra, Mahu and Chokra.

According to an account obtained from Kapurthala the Dogars were originally settled at Lakhiwal, near which was fought a battle between the Manj and Bhatti Rajputs, the Dogars siding with the latter. The Manj were, however, victorious and expelled the Dogars from Lakhiwal, but for generations no Dogar would drink from the hands of a Manj.

The Dogar septs in Kapurthala are: — Dasal, from Lakhiwal, founded Dasal which was destroyed by the Sikhs, who had been plundered by the Dogars in their flight from Ahmad Shah Abdali ; Bajwa, or Ratra., from Sunaru; Ripal, Nainah, Mattar, Asar all from Lakhiwal.

Other gots are the Sidhi, Banch, Dare, Chhane, Khame, Mabhi, Mahu, Dadud, Dhandi, Gug, Dher, Tote, Kohli, Pade, Sanapi, Jakhra, Katwal, Chhohar, Chopri, Ghangi, Wali, Wisar, Khari, Sombar, Ilsar, Johde, Kotordal, Gosaal, Saurai, Dhaurai and Gamload.

In Montgomery the Dogar -Khiwa, -Mahu and -Mittar rank as three agricultural Rajput clans.

Dogli (दोगली). — A term applied to the offspring of a Rajput man by a Gaddi woman in Kangra. Cf. Dogala, a mongrel. (The d is soft).

Dogra (डोगरा), a term applied to any inhabitant of the Dugar des,† whatever his caste, but more especially to the Hindu Rajputs of that region. Brahmans also are included in the term, as are Rathis and Thakkurs (as Rajputs), but not Ghirths or Kanets.††

According to Drew (Jammu and Kashmir Territories, pp. 43 et seq.). there are two lakes near Jammu, the Saroin Sar and Mān Sar, and the country between them was called in Sanskrit Drigarhdesh or the country between the two hollows. This was corrupted into Dugar. Drew divides the Dogras of the Jammu hills into Brahmans, Rajputs (including the Miāns and workiug Rajputs), Khatris, Thakars, Jats, Banyas and Kirars (petty shopkeepers), Nais, Jiurs (carriers), Dhiyārs (iron-smelters), Meghs and Dums.

Dohli (डोहली), a drummer (player on dol) in Gujrat.

* In Hissar the Dogars have a vague tradition that they came from the hill called Dogar in Jammu.
† Des here does not appear to mean ' plain,' but simply tract.
†See Bingley's Dogras (Class Hand-books for the Indian Army, 1899).

[Page-247]
Dolat—Drigs
  • Dolat (दोलत), Dulhat (दुल्हत), a clan of Jats found in Nabha, Patiala and Ferozepore.* Rai Khanda, their ancestor, is said to have held a jagir near Delhi. His brothers Ragbir and Jagobir were killed in Nadir Shah's invasion, but he escaped and fled to Siuna Gujariwala, a village, now in ruins, close to Sunam, and then the capital of a petty state. He sank to Jat status by marrying his brother's widows. The origin of the name Dolat is thus accounted for. Their ancestor's children did not live, so his wife made a vow at Naina Devi to visit the shrine twice for the tonsure ceremony of her son, if she had one. Her son was accordingly called Do-lat (from lat hair).
  • Dom (डोम), Domb, fem, dombāni, Bal., a bard, minstrel ; see Dum. In Dera Ghazi Khan the doms or mirāsis are a low class of Muhammadans who used to keep horse-stallions and still do so in the Bozdar hills.
  • Dombki (दोम्बकी), Domki (दोमकी). — Described in ballads as 'the greatest house among the Baloch and of admittedly high rank, the Domki are still called the Daptar (Pers:daftar) or recorders of Baloch genealogy. But owing to this fact and the similarity of name some accuse them of being Doms, and a satirist pays : 'The Dombkis are little brothers of the Doms.' The name is however probably derived from Dumbak, a river in Persia. Their present head-quarters are at Lahri in Kachhi.
  • Domra (दोमडा), a young bard : a term of contempt, but see Dumra.
  • Dosali (दोसाली), a small caste found in Hoshiarpur, but not east of the Sutlej.† Its members make dishes of leaves, often of tawar leaves for Hindus to eat of. At weddings their services are in great request to make leaf platters, and that appears to be their principal occupation. They sew the leaves together with minute pieces of dried grass straw, as is done in the Simla Hills by Dumnas. The Dosali is deemed an impure caste, and Rajputs, etc., cannot drink from their hands. But it is deemed higher than the Sarera, or the Bhanjra, but below the Bahti or Ghirth, and near the Chhimba. The Dosali rarely or never marries outside his own caste.
  • Dotanni (दोतान्नी), see Dautanni.
  • Dotoen (दोतोएं), see Thakur.

Dr...

  • Drakhan (दरखान), Bal., a carpenter- contrast drashk, a tree.
  • Dren (दरेन), see Mallah.
  • Drigs (दरिग), a tribe of Jats found along the Chenab in Multan. They attribute their origin to Kech Makran and were probably driven out of Sind late in the 15th century settling in Bet Kech in Akbar's time. They are entitled Jam.
* But their Sidh and Pir is Didar Singh, whose shrine is at Mard Khera in Jind.
† Ibbetson indeed describes the Dosali as a hill caste, somewhat above the Chamar, or rather as an occupational group, deriving its name from dusa, the small piece of straw used to pin leaves together. But the Dosalis are also found in Amritsar where they have a tradition that their forebear used to carry a lantern before the emperor, whence he was called Missāli. This menial task led to his excommunication, and the name was corrupted into Dosali.
[Page-248]
Drishak — Drugpa

Drishak (द्रीशक), are the most scattered of all the Baloch tumans of Dera Ghazi Khan, many of their villages lying among a Jat population on the bank of the Indus ; and this fact renders the tuman less powerful than it should be from its numbers. They hold no portion of the hills, and are practically confined to the Ghazi district, lying scattered about between the Pitok Pass on the north and Sori Pass on the south. The tribe belongs to the Rind section ; but claims descent from Hot, son of Jalal Khan. Its sections are the Kirmami, Mingwani, Gulpadh, Sargani, Arbani, Jistkani and Isanani, the chief belonging to the first of these. Their head-quarters are at Asni close to Rajanpur. They are said to have descended into the plains after the Mazari, or towards the end of the 17th century.

Drugpa (द्रुगपा), 'red-cap' (but see below). — A Buddhist order. Like its sister order the Ningmapa, from whom they appear to be distinct, the Drugpa was founded about 750 A.D. by Padamsambhava, who is known in Lahul as 'Guru' or Guru Rinpoche. Padamsambhava visited Mandi, Ganotara, Lahul, Kashmir and both the Bangāhals, but died in Great Tibet.* One of his great doctrines was called Spiti Yoga, and he may have developed it in Spiti. A sorcerer and exorcist, he helped to degrade the faith by the most debased Tantraism, but he merits admiration as a great traveller.

The name Drugpa possibly means, according to Mr. Francke, the Bhutia order, the Tibetan for Bhutan being Drukyul or Drugyul and for a Bhutia 'Drugpa.' The Bhutan church is governed by a very great Lama, who is almost a Pope in himself.† In Spiti his title is given as Dorji Chang, but in Ladakh he is known as N(g)a(k)wang Namgial. The Bhutan Lama appears to rule the following religious houses in Western Tibet :—

  • (i) Dariphug and
  • (ii) Zatulphug in the holy circuit of Kailas,
  • (iii) Jakhyeb in Take Mana-sarowar.
  • (iv) Khojarnath,
  • (V) Rungkhung and
  • (vi) Do. in the Upper Karnali river,
  • (vii) Garrdzong, near Gartok,
  • (viii) Iti.
  • (ix) Ganphug,
  • (X) Gesar and Sumor in the Daba dzong. According to a Spiti manepa (preacher) his lieutenant in Tibet is known as the Gangri Durindzin,or Gyalshokpa†† and his influence is widely spread. He is or should be appointed for a term of three years.

In Lahul there are two distinct sects of the Drugpas : — 1. The Zhung Drugpas (Middle Bhuteas) or Kargiutpa (Tantraists). This sect has 3 Lahula communities all connected with the parent community at Hemis : only one Lahula house boasts an abbot (khripa), [pronounced thripa] and he is appointed by the abbot of Hemis. The head monastery is at Dechen Choskor near Lhassa.

* Padamsambhava was an Indian monk who became a great friend of the Tibetan emperor Khrising bte btsau (pron. Treshing detsam), who extended his empire from the Chinese frontier to Gilgit.
† Sherring describes the curious Bhutia administration which rules one of the most sacred regions of Tibet independently , and sometimes in defiance of the Lhassa authorities ; Western Tibet, p. 278.
†† Dashok, according to Sherring, op. cit, and the Kangr Donjan of the Gazetteer of the Kangra District, Fart II.

[Page-249]
Dubir-Dum

But the Zhun Drugpas acknowledge the suzerainty of the pope or Dalai Lama of Bhutan, and in December 1909 the abbot of Hernia Skoshok Stag Tsang Ras Chen passed through Kullu to attend the Bhutan Dalai Lama's court.

2. Hlondrugpa, pronounced Lodrugpa (the Southern Bhuteas). There are no less than twelve houses of this order. All are subordinate to Stagna (pron, Takna) in Ladakh and that house again is subordinate to Bhutan. The abbot of Stagna appoints the abbot of the ancient house of Guru Ghuntāl or Gandhola which was founded by Guru Rinpoche himself, and the Gandhola abbot appoints the other Lahula abbots of the order. He sends an annual tribute of Rs. 30 to Gangri Durindzin through the abbot of Stagna. The Drugpas of Lahul thus keep up their connection with Bhutan. Orders appointing or relieving an abbot are supposed to be signed in Bhutan, and when the ritual dancing at Krashis (Tashi) Dongltse (at Kyelong) was revised a brother was bent to Bhutan to learn the proper steps, instead of to the much less distant Drugpa monastery at Hemis in Ladakh.*

Like the Ningmapas the Drugpas are distinguished for their low moral standard and degraded superstitions which are little bettor than devil-worship. The brethren are allowed to marry and their children (buzhan or 'naked boys') let their hair grow till they enter the community.

Dubir (दुबीर), a weigh man, in Muzaffargarh.

Duhlar (दुह्लर), an agricultural clan found in Shahpur.

Dukpa (दुकपा), Lo-Dupka, the Buddhist sect to which all the monks in Lahul and the monks of the Pin monastery in Spiti belong. Its peculiarity is that no vow of celibacy is required of, or observed by, its members, who marry and have their wives living with them in the monasteries. The sect wears red garments and is subject to the Dharma Raja, of Bhutan, in which country it is most numerously represented. The Nyingma is the sub-division of the Dukpa sect to which the monks of Pin and the families from which they are drawn belong. The word merely means * 'ancient,' and they appear to have no distinguishing doctrines. (Apparently the same as the Nyimapa sect of § 252 of Census Report, 1881). But see Drugpa and Ningmapa from Mr. Francke's accounts of those orders.

Dum (डूम), or less correctly Dom : fem. Dumni, dim. Dūmṛā. According to Ibbetson the Dum is to be carefully distinguished from the Dom or Domrā, the executioner and corpse-burner of Hindustan, who is called Dumna in the hills of Hoshiarpur and Kangra. But in Chamba the Dumnā is called Dum and in the Hill States about Simla he is a worker in bamboo.† Aocording to Ibbetson the Dum of the plains is identical with the Mirasi, the latter being the Muhammadan, Arabic name for the Hindu and Indian Dum. But though the Dums may overlap the Mirāsis

* It is not, however, certain that all Drugpas are subject to Bhutan. Ramsay gives a separate sect called Hlondukpa (Hlo meaning Bhutān) which includes the Stagna house. It was founded, he says, in the 15th century by N(g')a(k)wang Namgial : Dicty. of Western Tibet, Lahore, 1890, p. 83. Possibly there was a reformation from Bhutān in the 15th century.
† In Maya Singh's Punjabi Didy.
§ Dumna is said to — 'a species of bee'.

[Page-250]
Dum-Dumnā

and be in common parlance confused with them, they appear to be, in some parts of the Punjab at least, distinct from them, and the Mirāsis are beyond all question inextricably fused with the Bhats. In Gurgaon the Dum is said to be identical with the Kanchan, and to be a Mirasi who plays the tabla or sarangi for prostitutes, who are often Mirasi girls. Such Dums are also called bhaṛwa (pimp) or sufardai. Dum women as well as men ply this trade. But another account from the same District says that the Dum is the mirasi of the Mirasis ; and that he gets his alms from the menial castes, such as the Jhiwar, Dakaut, Koli, Chamar, Bhangi, Julāhā, and Dhānak. In Lahore too they are described as quite beyond the Mirasi pale, as the true Mirasis will not intermarry with them nor will prostitutes associate with them, though, like the Bhands,* they sing and play for them when they dance or sing professionally. In fact they rank below the Chuhrā. So too in Ludhiana they are distinct from and lower than the Mirasi.

In Dera Ghazi Khan the Dum or Langa, are said to be an occupational group of the Mirasis, and to be the mirasi of the Baloch tribes. In other words they are identical with the Dom or Domb, whose name means minstrel in Balochi.

Dumna (डूमना).— The Dumnd., called also Domra, and even Dum in Chamba, is the Chuhra. of the hills proper, and is also found in large numbers in the sub-montane tracts of Kangra, Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur. Like the Chuhra of the plains he is something more than a scavenger ; but whereas the Chuhra works chiefly in grass, the Dumna adds to this occupation the trade of working in bamboo, a material not available to the Chuhra. He makes sieves, winnowing pans, fans, matting, grass rope and string, and generally all the vessels, baskets, screens, furniture and other articles which are ordinarily made of bamboo. When he confines himself to this sort of work and gives up scavengering, he appears to be called Bhanjra, at any rate in the lower hills, and occasionally Sariāl. The Dumna appears hardly ever to become Musalmān or Sikh, and is classed as Hindu, though being an outcast he is not allowed to draw water from wells used by the ordinary Hindu population.

The Dumnā, is often called Dum in other parts of India, as in Chamba; and is regarded by Hindus as the type of uncleanness. Yet he seems once to have enjoyed as a separate aboriginal race some power and importance. Further information regarding him will be found in Sherring (I, 400) and Elliott (I, 84). He is, Sir Deuzil Ibbetson considered, quite distinct from the Dum-Mirdsi.

Dumna (डूमना), a low sweeper caste, a 'so called Bhanjrā, in the hills and in Gurdaspur, Jallundhar and Hoshiarpur. They make chiks, baskets, etc., of bamboo and do menial service. Apparently the term is a generic one, including Barwalas, Batwdals, Daolis and Sansois. But in Lahore, where the Dumna is also found, he is described as distinct from the Batwal, and as a Hindu who is yet not allowed to draw water from Hindu wells. Some of the Dumnās will eat from a Muhammadan's hands. Their clans are Kalotra, Manglu, Pargat, Drahe and Lalotra. The word is probably only a variant of Dum.

* The Dum ranks below the Bhand also. The latter are skilled in bhandār a practise of which the Dum is ignorant. It consists in absorbing all the water in a large bath and ejecting it through the ears, nostrils or mouth.
[Page-251]
Dumrā — Dutanni
  • Dumra (डूमड़ा), Domra (डोमड़ा), dim. of Dum, q. v. In the hills the term is applied to any low caste which works as tailors, masons or carpenters, or in bamboo.
  • Dun (दून), a tribe of Jats, found in Jind, and so called from duhna, to milk, be cause they used to milk she-buffaloes.
  • Dund Rai (डूंड-राय), a tribe of Jats which claims Solar Rajput origin through its eponym who settled in the Manjha and his descendant Hari who migrated to Sialkot.
  • Durrani (दुर्रानी), see Abdali.
  • Dusadh (दुसाध), Dosad (दोसाद), a Purbia tribe of Chamars. They are the thieves and burglars of Behār where also the chaikidarshave been drawn from this class from time immemorial.
End of D
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