es round the sacred pole, the whole ceremony taking less
than an hour. The bride-price is under these circumstances reduced to
Rs. 15. Widow-marriage is permitted, and while in some localities the
new husband need give nothing, in others he must pay as much as Rs. 50
to the relatives of the deceased husband. If a woman runs away from
her husband to another man, the latter must pay to the husband double
the ordinary amount payable for a widow. If he cannot afford this, he
must return the woman with Rs. 10 as compensation for the wrong he has
done. The Dewars are also reported to have the practice of mortgaging
their wives or making them over temporarily to a creditor in return
for a loan. Divorce is allowed for the usual causes and by mutual
consent. The husband must give a feast to the caste, which is looked
on as the funeral ceremony of the woman so far as he is concerned;
thereafter she is dead to him and he cannot marry her again on pain
of the permanent exclusion of both from the caste. But a divorced
woman can marry any other Dewar. Polygamy is freely allowed.

4. Religion and social practices.

The Dewars especially worship Devi Maha Mai and Dulha Deo. To the
former they offer a she-goat and to the latter a he-goat which must be
of a dark colour. They worship their _dhungru_ or musical instrument
on the day of Dasahra. They consider the sun and the moon to be brother
and sister, and both to be manifestations of the deity. They bury their
dead, but those who are in good circumstances dig up the bones after a
year or two and burn them, taking the ashes to a sacred river. Mourning
lasts for seven or ten days according as the deceased is unmarried or
married, and during this time they abjure flesh and oil. Their social
rules are peculiar. Though considered impure by the higher castes,
they will not take cooked food from a Brahman, whom they call a
Kumhati Kida, or an insect which effects the metamorphosis of others
into his own form, and who will therefore change them into his own
caste. Nor will they take cooked food from members of their own caste,
but they accept it from several of the lower castes including Gonds,
whose leavings they will eat. This is probably because they beg from
Gonds and attend their weddings. They keep pigs and pork is their
favourite food, but they do not eat beef. They have a tribal council
with a headman called Gaontia or Jemadar, who always belongs either
to the Sonwani or Telasi s