c of the
Bania. The Dhusars are rigid in the maintenance of the purity of
their order and in the performance of Hindu ceremonies and duties,
and neither eat meat nor drink any kind of spirit. In Delhi they
were distinguished for their talent as singers, and cultivated a
peculiar strain or measure, in which they were unsurpassed. [144]
In the Central Provinces the Dhusars are a flourishing body, their
leaders being Rai Bahadur Bihari Lal Khizanchi of Jubbulpore and Rai
Sahib Seth Sundar Lal of Betul. They have founded the Bhargava bank
of Jubbulpore, and shown considerable public spirit; to the latter
gentleman's generosity a large part of the success of the recent
debt-conciliation proceedings in the Betul District must be attributed.
Bania, Dosar
_Bania, Dosar, Dusra._ [145]--This subcaste numbers about 600
persons. The original name is Dusra or second, and the Dosar or Dusra
are a section of the Ummar Banias, who were so called because they
permit widows to make a second marriage. Their home is the Ganges-Jumna
Doab and Oudh, and in the United Provinces they are classed as an
inferior subcaste of the Ummars. Here they say that the Ummars are
their elder brothers. In the Central Provinces they are said to be
forming three local endogamous groups according as their homes were in
the Doab, Oudh or the Allahabad country; and members of each of these
marry among themselves. The Dosars say that they all belong to the
Kashyap [146] _gotra_ or clan, but for the purpose of marriage they
have territorial or titular exogamous sections; instances of these are
Gangapari, a native of Oudh; Sagarah, a resident of Saugor; Makraha,
a seller of _makka_ or maize, and Tamakhuha, a tobacco-seller. They
pay a bridegroom-price, the full recognised amount of which is Rs. 211,
either in cash or brass cooking-vessels. Those who cannot afford this
sum give half of it or Rs. 105, and the poorest classes pay anything
they can afford. The Dosars are Vaishnava Hindus and employ Sanadhya
Brahmans as their priests. These Brahmans will take food without
water from their clients, but they are an inferior class and are
looked down upon by other Brahmans. The caste are mainly shopkeepers,
and they deal in gold and silver ornaments, as well as grain, tobacco
and all kinds of groceries.
Bania, Gahoi
_Bania, Gahoi._ [147]--This Hindu subcaste numbered nearly 7000
persons in 1911, belonging principally to the Saugor, Jubbulpore and
Nars
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