m Betul it is reported that the
Mehtars there will not accept food, water or tobacco from a Kayasth,
and will not allow one to enter their houses.

18. Occupation

Sweeping and scavenging in the streets and in private houses are the
traditional occupations of the caste, but they have others. In Bombay
they serve as night watchmen, town-criers, drummers, trumpeters and
hangmen. Formerly the office of hangman was confined to sweepers,
but now many low-caste prisoners are willing to undertake it for the
sake of the privilege of smoking tobacco in jail which it confers. In
Mirzapur when a Dom hangman is tying a rope round the neck of a
criminal he shouts out, '_Dohai Maharani, Dohai Sarkar, Dohai Judge
Sahib_,' or 'Hail Great Queen! Hail Government! Hail Judge Sahib!' in
order to shelter himself under their authority and escape any guilt
attaching to the death. [247] In the Central Provinces the hangman was
accompanied by four or five other sweepers of the caste _panchayat_
the idea being perhaps that his act should be condoned by their
presence and approval and he should escape guilt. In order to free the
executioner from blame the prisoner would also say: "_Dohai Sarkar ke,
Dohai Kampani ke; jaisa maine khun kiya waisa apne khun ko pahunchha_"
or "Hail to the Government and the Company; since I caused the death of
another, now I am come to my own death"; and all the _Panches_ said,
'_Ram, Ram_.' The hangman received ten rupees as his fee, and of this
five rupees were given to the caste for a feast and an offering to
Lalbeg to expiate his sin. In Bundelkhand sweepers are employed as
grooms by the Lodhis, and may put everything on to the horse except a
saddle-cloth. They are also the village musicians, and some of them
play on the rustic flute called _shahnai_ at weddings, and receive
their food all the time that the ceremony lasts. Sweepers are, as
a rule, to be found only in large villages, as in small ones there
is no work for them. The caste is none too numerous in the Central
Provinces, and in villages the sweeper is often not available when
wanted for cleaning the streets. The Chamars of Bundelkhand will not
remove the corpses of a cat or a dog or a squirrel, and a sweeper must
be obtained for the purpose. These three animals are in a manner holy,
and it is considered a sin to kill any one of them. But their corpses
are unclean. A Chamar also refuses to touch the corpse of a donkey,
but a Kumhar (potter) will