View source for Bhoi-Gunlodu: Deccan

=Bhoi-Gunlodu=
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This article is an extract from <br/>

THE CASTES AND TRIBES <br/>

OF <br/>

H. E. H. THE NIZAM'S DOMINIONS <br/>

BY <br/>

SYED SIRAJ UL HASSAN <br/>

Of Merton College, Oxford, Trinity College, Dublin, and <br/>

Middle Temple, London. <br/>

One of the Judges of H. E. H. the Nizam's High Court <br/>

of Judicature : Lately Director of Public Instruction. <br/>

BOMBAY <br/>

THE TlMES PRESS <br/>

1920<br/>
*****<br/>
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the Facebook page, [http://www.facebook.com/Indpaedia Indpaedia.com]. <br/> ''All information used will be duly acknowledged.'' 
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[[Category:India|B]]
[[Category:Communities|B]]
The Gunlodu, also called Nilbandhu, or the dwellers on the 
river bank, are mostly found in parts of the country where great 
rivers abound. Thus, they are found in the Nizamabad, Adilabad 
and Karimnagar Districts. They eat with the Bestas but do not 
intermarry with them. Their exogamous sections are as follows : — 
[[File: bhoi1.PNG ||frame|500px]]
==Origin==

The Nilbandhus give a singular account of their origin. 
The story runs thus : — There was one Narumani, who had a son by 
his mistress. Immediately on his birth the boy was exposed, by 
his mother, on the seashore and when full grown was disowned 
by his father, but commanded to subsist by fishing in the 
sea : since his profession bound him to the sea-shore, his descendants 
have been designated ' Nil-bandhus ' (neel, water, and bhandu, bank), 
or those who live on river banks. The legend suggests that the 
Nilbandhus may be illegitimate descendants of the Bestas, the great 
Telugu fishing caste. Their customs and usages are the same as 
those of the Bestas and need no separate description. 
=Maratha Bhois= 

==Origin==

The Maratha Bhois, as their name denotes, constitute 
the numerous members of the fishing* caste of the Marathawada country, 
which includes all the Districts of the Aurangabad Subah and the 

Bidar and Usmanabad Districts of the Gulbarga Subah. In physical 
features and customs they differ markedly from the Telugu Bhois. 
They are divided into two endogamous groups — the Maratha proper 
and the Machinde — who eat together but do not intermarry. The 
Mciratha proper may be an off-shoot from the Maratha Kunbis, whom 
they closely resemble and from whom they are probably separated by 
having taken to the degraded occupation of fishing and litter bearing. 
Tiie Machinde Bhois claim to be descended from Machindranath, the 
chief disciple of Gorakhnath, the famous founder of the sect of Kan- 
phate Jogis. This, however, gives no clue to the real origin of the 
sub-caste. • 

==Internal , Structure==

The Maratha Bhois have a number of 
exogamous sections, consisting of family surnames, many of which 
are common to this caste and the Maratha Kunbis. The following 
are some of the commonest of them : — 
[[File: maharata.PNG ||frame|500px]]
==Marriage==

Marriages within the surname are prohibited. A 
man cannot marry the daughter of his maternal aunt or of his sister, 
though he may marry that of his maternal uncle. He rarely marries 
his paternal aunt's daughter, although such marriages are not pro- 
hibited by any tribal usage. Two sisters may be married to the same 
husband, or to two brothers, provided the elder sister is married 
to the elder brother and the younger sister to the younger. 

The Maratha Bhois marry their daughters Doth as infants, and 
as adults between the ages of' eight and twenty, and their sons 
between twelve and twenty-five. Sexual intercourse before marriage 
is tolerated, but a girl taken in adultery is punished with a small fine. 
If she becomes pregnant before marriage her paramour is called upon 
to marry her, but in case he declines, she loses caste. Polygamy is 
permitted. In theory, there is no limit to the number of wives a man 
may have and it is not uncommon to find a man having more than 
one wife 

The father of the boy, as a rule, takes the initiative towards the 
settlement of a marriage. At the betrothal, or kunku lavane, the 
girl is presented with a sari and the caste panch receiye, by right, 
Rs2 from the boy's father for khusali or drinking. The Devak, 
or marriage deity, is represented by twigs of the mango, saundad 
(Prosopis spicigera) and apta (Bauhinia racemosa), which are tied, 
with an axe and a wooden pestle, to the milk post 
(muhurta medha) of the marriage booth. Previous to the 
marriage, Virs (ancestral spirits) and the goddess Bhavani of Tulja- 
pur are propitiated by the sacrifice of a goat. The marriage procession 
is usually made on horseback, but occasionally on a bullock. Pam- 
grahana, or the gift of the bride to the bridegroom, forms the essen- 
tial portion of the ceremony. In other respects it resembles that of 
the Maratha caste. A widow may marry again. Divorce is per- 
mitted on the ground of the wife's adultery, or if the couple cannot 
live in harmony. 

==Religion==

Ancestral worship is in full force and the souls of 
the departed are propitiated every Saturday by the elderly member of 
the family ; the souls of adults are called Virs, those of children 
Munjas and of females Manvi. On the wedding day goats 
are sacrificed in honour of these spirits. The members of the caste 
are very scrupulous in the worship of these spirits, for it is firmly 
believed that if they neglect this worship they will never live in 
peace and happiness. Muhammadan pirs are also duly honoured 
with animal sacrifices. Brahmans are employed for religious and 
ceremonial purposes. The dead are burned, but occasionally buried. 
Mourning is observed for 9 days, and on the 10th day Sradha is 
performed and the caste people are feasted. Sradha is 
also celebrated on the Pitra Amawasya)a day and on the 
Akshatritiya)a day.