was the _al_ or Indian mulberry (_Morinda
citrifolia_), from which a rich red dye is obtained. But this
indigenous product has been ousted by alizarin, a colouring agent
made from coal-tar, which is imported from Germany, and is about
thirty per cent cheaper than the native dye. Chhipas prepare _saris_
or women's wearing-cloths, and floor and bed cloths. The dye stamps
are made of teakwood by an ordinary carpenter, the flat surface of
the wood being hollowed out so as to leave ridges which form either
a design in curved lines or the outlines of the figures of men,
elephants and tigers. There is a great variety of patterns, as many
as three hundred stamps having been found in one Chhipa's shop. The
stamps are usually covered with a black ink made of sulphate of iron,
and this is fixed by myrobalans; the Nilgars usually dye a plain blue
with indigotin. No great variety or brilliancy of colours is obtained
by the Hindu dyers, who are much excelled in this branch of the art
by the Muhammadan Rangrez. In Gujarat dyeing is strictly forbidden
by the caste rules of the Chhipas or Bhaosars during the four rainy
months, because the slaughter of insects in the dyeing vat adds to
the evil and ill-luck of that sunless time. [472]

Chitari

List of Paragraphs

1. _Origin and traditions._
2. _Social customs._
3. _Birth and childhood._
4. _The evil eye._
5. _Cradle-songs._
6. _Occupation._

1. Origin and traditions.

_Chitari, Chiter, Chitrakar, Maharana._--A caste of painters on
wood and plaster. Chiter is the Hindustani, and Chitari the Marathi
name, both being corruptions of the Sanskrit Chitrakar. Maharana
is the term used in the Uriya country, where the caste are also
known as Phal-Barhai, or a carpenter who only works on one side of
the wood. Chitari is further an occupational term applied to Mochis
and Jingars, or leather-workers, who have adopted the occupation of
wall-painting, and there is no reason to doubt that the Chitaris were
originally derived from the Mochis, though they have now a somewhat
higher position. In Mandla the Chitrakars and Jingars are separate
castes, and do not eat or intermarry with one another. Neither branch
will take water from the Mochis, who make shoes, and some Chitrakars
even refuse to touch them. They say that the founder of their caste
was Biskarma, [473] the first painter, and that their ancestors
were Rajputs, whose country was tak