ot in
northern India. Mr. Crooke remarks that the Bishnois of Bijnor appear
to differ from those of the Punjab in using the Muhammadan form of
salutation, _Salam alaikum_, and the title of Shaikhji. They account
for this by saying they murdered a Muhammadan Kazi, who prevented
them from burning a widow, and were glad to compound the offence
by pretending to adopt Islam. But it seems possible that on their
first rupture with Hinduism they were to some extent drawn towards
the Muhammadans, and adopted practices of which, on tending again to
conform to their old religion, they have subsequently become ashamed.

6. Bishnois in the Central Provinces.

In northern India the members of different castes who have become
Bishnois have formed separate endogamous groups, of which Mr. Crooke
gives nine; among these are the Brahman, Bania, Jat, Sunar, Ahir and
Nai Bishnois. Only members of comparatively good castes appear to have
been admitted into the community, and in the Punjab they are nearly
all Jats and Banias. In the Central Provinces the caste forms only
one endogamous group. They have _gotras_ or exogamous sections, the
names of which appear to be of the titular or territorial type. Some
of the _gotras_, Jhuria, Ajna, Sain and Ahir, [385] are considered
to be lower than the others, and though they are not debarred from
intermarriage, a connection with them is looked upon as something of
a _mesalliance_. They are not consulted in the settlement of tribal
disputes. No explanation of the comparatively degraded position of
these septs is forthcoming, but it may probably be attributed to
some blot in their ancestral escutcheon. The Bishnois celebrate
their marriages at any period of the year, and place no reliance
on astrology. According to their saying, "Every day is as good as
Sankrant, [386] every day is as good as Amawas. [387] The Ganges flows
every day, and he whose preceptor has taught him the most truth will
get the most good from bathing in it."

7. Marriage.

Before a wedding the bride's father sends, by the barber, a cocoanut
and a silver ring tied round it with a yellow thread. On the thread
are seven, nine, eleven or thirteen knots, signifying the number of
days to elapse before the ceremony. The barber on his arrival stands
outside the door of the house, and the bridegroom's father sends
round to all the families of his caste. The men go to the house and
the women come singing to the barber, and rub