offspring of unions which transgress the caste marriage
rules are variously treated. Many castes both in the north and south
say that they have 12 1/2 subdivisions and that the half subcaste
comprises the descendants of illicit unions. Of course the twelve
subdivisions are as a rule mythical, the number of subcastes being
always liable to fluctuate as fresh endogamous groups are formed
by migration or slight changes in the caste calling. Other castes
have a Lohri Sen or degraded group which corresponds to the half
caste. In other cases the illegitimate branch has a special name;
thus the Niche Pat Bundelas of Saugor and Chhoti Tar Rajputs of Nimar
are the offspring of fathers of the Bundela and other Rajput tribes
with women of lower castes; both these terms have the same meaning as
Lohri Sen, that is a low-caste or bastard group. Similarly the Dauwa
(wet-nurse) Ahirs are the offspring of Bundela fathers and the Ahir
women who act as nurses in their households. In Saugor is found a class
of persons called Kunwar [719] who are descended from the offspring
of the Maratha Brahman rulers of Saugor and their kept women. They
now form a separate caste and Hindustani Brahmans will take water
from them. They refuse to accept _katcha_ food (cooked with water)
from Maratha Brahmans, which all other castes will do. Another class
of bastard children of Brahmans are called Dogle, and such people
commonly act as servants of Maratha Brahmans; as these Brahmans do
not take water to drink from the hands of any caste except their own,
they have much difficulty in procuring household servants and readily
accept a Dogle in this capacity without too close a scrutiny of his
antecedents. There is also a class of Dogle Kayasths of similar,
origin, who are admitted as members of the caste on an inferior
status and marry among themselves. After several generations such
groups tend to become legitimised; thus the origin of the distinction
between the Khare and Dusre Srivastab Kayasths and the Dasa and Bisa
Agarwala Banias was probably of this character, but now both groups
are reckoned as full members of the caste, one only ranking somewhat
below the other so that they do not take food together. The Parwar
Banias have four divisions of different social status known as the
Bare, Manjhile, Sanjhile and Lohri Seg or Sen, or first, second,
third and fourth class. A man and woman detected in a serious social
offence descend into the class next below th