ep, Dhangar from _dhan_ or small-stock, the word signifying a
flock of sheep or goats and also wealth; and Kuramwar from _kurri_,
the Telugu word for sheep. Others belonging to this group are the
digging and earth-working castes, the Beldars, Murhas, Nunias and so
on, practically all derived from the indigenous tribes, who wander
about seeking employment from the cultivators in the construction
and repair of field embankments and excavation of wells and tanks;
and various fishing and boating castes, as the Injhwars, Naodas,
Murhas and Kewats, who rank as equal to the Dhimars, though they may
not be employed in household or village service. Such castes, almost
entirely derived from the non-Aryan tribes, may have come gradually
into existence as the wants of society developed and new functions
were specialised; they would naturally be given the social status
already attaching to the village menial castes.

34. The non-Aryan tribes.

The fourth group in the scheme of precedence comprises the non-Aryan
or indigenous tribes, who are really outside the caste system when
this is considered as the social organisation of the Hindus, so
long at least as they continue to worship their own tribal deities,
and show no respect for Brahmans nor for the cow. These tribes have,
however, entered the Hindu polity in various positions. The leaders
of some of them who were dominant in the early period were admitted
to the Kshatriya or Rajput caste, and the origin of a few of the
Rajput clans can be traced to the old Bhar and other tribes. Again,
the aristocratic or landholding sections of several existing tribes
are at present, as has been seen, permitted to rank with the good
Hindu cultivating castes. In a few cases, as the Andhs, Halbas and
Manas, the tribe as a whole has become a Hindu caste, when it retained
possession of the land in the centre of a Hindu population. These have
now the same or a slightly higher position than the village menial
castes. On the other hand, those tribes which were subjugated and
permitted to live with a servile status in the Hindu villages have
developed into the existing impure castes of labourers, weavers,
tanners and others, who form the lowest social group. The tribes
which still retain their distinctive existence were not enslaved
in this manner, but lived apart in their own villages in the forest
tracts and kept possession of the land. This seems to be the reason
why they rank somewhat higher