d. The other members of the Panch he is at liberty
to choose from any _got_ or sept he likes. When a man has been put
out of caste for a serious offence he has to give three feasts for
readmission. The first meal consists of a goat with rice and pulse,
and is eaten on the bank of a stream; on this occasion the head of the
offender is shaved clean and all the hair thrown into the stream. The
second meal is eaten in the yard of his house, and consists of cakes
fried in butter with rice and pulse. The offender is not allowed
to partake of either the first or second meal. On the third day the
Raja gives the offender gold-water, and he is then considered to be
purified and cooks food himself, which the caste-people eat with him
in his house. A man is not put out of caste when he is sent to jail,
as this is considered to be an order of the Government. A man keeping
a woman of another caste is expelled and not reinstated until he has
put her away, and even then it is said that they will consider his
character before taking him back. A man who gets maggots in a wound
may be readmitted to caste only during the months of Chait and Pus.

6. Occupation and social customs.

The Dhobas act as priests of the Gonds and are also cultivators. Their
social position is distinctly higher than that of the Gonds and some
of them have begun to employ Brahmans for their ceremonies. They
will eat the flesh of most animals, except those of the cow-tribe,
and also field-mice, and most of them drink liquor, though the more
prominent members have begun to abstain. The origin of the caste is
very obscure, but it would appear that they must be an offshoot of
one of the Dravidian tribes. In this connection it is interesting
to note that Chhattisgarh contains a large number of Dhobis, though
the people of this tract have until recently worn little in the way
of clothing, and usually wash it themselves when this operation is
judged necessary. Many of the Dhobis of Chhattisgarh are cultivators,
and it seems possible that a proportion of them may also really belong
to this Dhoba caste.

Dhobi

List of Paragraphs

1. _Character and structure of the caste._
2. _Marriage customs._
3. _Other social customs._
4. _Religion._
5. _Occupation: washing clothes._
6. _Social position._
7. _Proverbs about the Dhobi._
8. _Wearing and lending the clothes of customers._

1. Character and structure of the