ection. Among offences for which a man is
temporarily put out of caste is that of naming his younger brother's
wife. He must also abstain from going into her room or touching her
clothes. This rule does not apply to an elder brother's wife.

5. Occupation.

The Dewars are professional beggars, and play on the musical
instruments called _dhungru_ and _sarangi_ which have already been
described. The Ratanpurias usually celebrate in an exaggerated style
the praises of Gopal Rai, their mythical ancestor. One of his exploits
was to sever with a single sword-stroke the stalk of a plantain
inside which the Emperor of Delhi had caused a solid bar of iron to be
placed. The Raipurias prefer a song, called Gujrigit, about curds and
milk. They also sing various songs relating how a woman is beloved by
a Raja who tries to seduce her, but her chastity is miraculously saved
by some curious combination of circumstances. They exorcise ghosts,
train monkeys, bears and tigers for exhibition, and sell ornaments
of base metal. In Raipur the men take about performing monkeys and
the women do tattooing, for which they usually receive payment in the
shape of an old or new cloth. A few have settled down to cultivation,
but as a rule they are wanderers, carrying from place to place their
scanty outfit of a small tent and mattress, both made of old rags,
and a few vessels. They meet at central villages during the Holi
festival. The family is restricted to the parents and unmarried
children, separation usually taking place on marriage.

Dhakar

1. Origin and subdivisions.

_Dhakar._ [522]--A small caste belonging solely to the Bastar State. In
1911 they numbered 5500 persons in Bastar, and it is noticeable
that there were nearly twice as many women as men. The term Dhakar
connotes a man of illegitimate descent and is applied to the Kirars
of the Central Provinces and perhaps to other castes of mixed Rajput
origin. But in Bastar it is the special designation of a considerable
class of persons who are the descendants of alliances between Brahman
and Rajput immigrants and women of the indigenous tribes. They are
divided, like the Halbas, into two groups--Purait or pure, and Surait
or mixed. The son of a Brahman or Rajput father by a Rawat (herdsman)
or Halba mother is a Purait, but one born from a woman of the Muria,
Marar, Nai or Kalar castes is a Surait. But these latter can become
Puraits after two or three generations,