d a half _gotras_ or
exogamous sections, which are supposed to be descended from the
seventeen sons of Raja Agar Sen. The extra half _gotra_ is accounted
for by a legend, but it probably has in reality also something to
do with illegitimate descent. Some of the _gotras_, as given by
Mr. Crooke, are as a matter of fact named after Brahmanical saints
like those of the Brahmans; instances of these are Garga, Gautama,
Kaushika, Kasyapa and Vasishtha; the others appear to be territorial
or titular names. The prohibitions on marriage between relations are
far-reaching among the Agarwalas. The detailed rules are given in
the article on Bania, and the effect is that persons descended from
a common ancestor cannot intermarry for five generations. When the
wedding procession is about to start the Kumhar brings his donkey
and the bridegroom has to touch it with his foot, or, according to
one version, ride upon it. The origin of this custom is obscure, but
the people now say that it is meant to emphasise the fact that the
bridegroom is going to do a foolish thing. The remarriage of widows
is prohibited, and divorce is not recognised. Most of the Agarwalas
are Vaishnava by religion, but a few are Jains. Intermarriage between
members of the two religions is permitted in some localities, and
the wife adopts that of her husband. The Jain Agarwalas observe the
Hindu festivals and employ Brahmans for their ceremonies. In Nimar
the caste have some curious taboos. It is said that a married woman
may not eat wheat until a child has been born to her, but only juari;
and if she has no child she may not eat wheat all her life. If a son
is born to her she must go to Mahaur, a village near Delhi where the
tutelary goddess of the caste has her shrine. This goddess is called
Mohna Devi, and she is the deified spirit of a woman who burnt herself
with her husband. After this the woman may eat wheat; but if a second
son is born she must stop eating wheat until she has been to the shrine
again. But if she has a daughter she may at once and always eat wheat
without visiting the shrine. These rules, as well as the veneration
of a snake, from which they believe themselves to be descended on the
mother's side, may perhaps, as suggested by Sir H. Risley, be a relic
of the system of matriarchal descent. It is said that when Raja Agar
Sen or his sons married the Naga princesses, he obtained permission
as a special favour from the goddess Lakshmi that the chil