Brahman-Golak: Deccan

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Brahman-Golak

This article is an extract from THE CASTES AND TRIBES OF H. E. H. THE NIZAM'S DOMINIONS BY SYED SIRAJ UL HASSAN Of Merton College, Oxford, Trinity College, Dublin, and Middle Temple, London. One of the Judges of H. E. H. the Nizam's High Court of Judicature : Lately Director of Public Instruction. BOMBAY THE TlMES PRESS 1920 Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees with the contents of this article. Secondly, this has been scanned from a book. You can help by sending the corrected version/ additional information to the Facebook page, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be duly acknowledged.

History

Golaks, Govardhans — found in the districts of Parbhani, Bir and Usmanabad and in the northern Talukas of the District of Aurangabad. They are supposed to be the illegitimate offspring of a Brahman by a Brahman woman who was not his wife. They are divided into two main classes : (I) ' Deeraj,' or bom of a woman who, with the consent of her husband, is intimate with his elder brother, and (2) ' Jaraja," born of an adulteress. The latter are further sub-divided into (1) Kunda Golaks, or the adulterous progeny of a woman who has a husband, (2) Randa Golaks, who are descended from the illegitimate son of a widow who has not shaved her head, and (3) Munda Golaks, descended from a widow with her head shaved. These classes have now passed into rigid castes and do not admit newly sprung bastards into their community. Members of these different groups neither interdine nor intermarry. The Deeraja claim the highest social rank among the Golaks and are believed to include among them the descendants of child-widows who were re-married. It is said that Golaks have only four gotras, or exoga- mous sections — Washistha, Bharadwaja, Sankhyana and Vishwamitra. They have surnames also, such as (1) Dange, (2) Nachane, (3) Oute, (4) Badave, (5) Bhale, (6) Mahajana, (7) Samartha, (8) Undawale, (9) Kakade, (10) Nimbalker, (11) Dhanwantari, (12) Chariker and (13) Chandi. In their religious and ceremonial obser- vances they entirely conform to the customs and usages of the Deshastha Brahmans.

Occupation

The Golaks are Rigvedis of both the Shakala and the Bashkala Shakhas, belonging to the Ashwalayan sutra. They are hereditary village accountants, astrologers, money-lenders, money-changers and cultivators. They also occasionally officiate as priests to the Kunbis. A few have entered Government service.