. The name Kausi
is given to any one who cannot remember his sept, as in the saying,
'_Bhule bisare kausi got_,' or 'A man who has got no _got_ belongs
to the Kausi _got_.' Kausi is said to mean a stranger. Bad names
are commonly given to avert ill-luck or premature death, as Boya, a
liar; Labdu, one smeared with ashes; Marha, a corpse; or after some
physical defect as Lati, one with clotted hair; Petwa, a stammerer;
Lendra, shy; Ghundu, one who cannot walk; Ghunari, stunted; or from
the place of birth, as Dongariha or Paharu, born on a hill; Banjariha,
born in brushwood, and so on. A man will not mention the names of his
wife, his son's wife or his sister's son's wife, and a woman will not
name her husband or his elder brother or parents. As already stated,
a woman saying her husband's name aloud is temporarily put out of
caste, the Hindu custom being thus carried to extremes, as is often
the case among the lower castes.

14. Occupation.

The tribe consider hunting to have been their proper calling, but
many of them are now cultivators and labourers. They also make bamboo
matting and large baskets for storing grain, but they will not make
small bamboo baskets or fans, because this is the calling of the Turis,
on whom the Dhanwar looks down. The women collect the leaves of _sal_
[535] trees and sell them at the rate of about ten bundles for a pice
(farthing) for use as _chongis_ or leaf-pipes. As already stated,
the tribe have no language of their own, but speak a corrupt form
of Chhattisgarhi.

Dhimar [536]

List of Paragraphs

1. _General notice._
2. _Subcastes._
3. _Exogamous groups._
4. _Marriage._
5. _Childbirth._
6. _Disposal of the dead._
7. _Religion._
8. _Occupation: fisherman._
9. _Water-carrier._
10. _Palanquin-bearer and personal servant._
11. _Other occupations._
12. _Social status._
13. _Legend of the caste._

1. General notice.

_Dhimar, Kahar, Bhoi, Palewar, Baraua, Machhandar._--The caste of
fishermen and palanquin-bearers. In 1911 the Dhimars numbered 284,000
persons in the Central Provinces and Berar, being most numerous in the
Maratha Districts. In the north of the Province we find in place of
the Dhimars the Kahars and Mullahs, and in the east or Chhattisgarh
country the Kewats. But the distinction between these castes is no
more than nominal, for in some localities both Kahar and Kewat are
returned as