Mali
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From The Tribes And Castes Of The Central Provinces Of India
By R. V. Russell
Of The Indian Civil Service
Superintendent Of Ethnography, Central Provinces
Assisted By Rai Bahadur Hira Lal, Extra Assistant Commissioner
Macmillan And Co., Limited, London, 1916.
NOTE 1: The 'Central Provinces' have since been renamed Madhya Pradesh.
NOTE 2: While reading please keep in mind that all articles in this series have been scanned from the original book. Therefore, footnotes have got inserted into the main text of the article, interrupting the flow. Readers who spot these footnotes gone astray might like to shift them to their correct place.
Contents |
Mali
Mali, Marar, Maral
The functional caste of vegetable i. General and flower-rardeners. The terms Mali and Marar appear to """^"^ °^ ^ ^ ^ the caste, be used indifferently for the same caste, the former being and its more common in the west of the Province and the latter in !°':':?!_ the eastern Satpura Districts and the Chhattlsgarh plain. In the Nerbudda valley and on the Vindhyan plateau the place of both Mali and Marar is taken by the Kachhi of Upper India." Marar appears to be a Marathi name, the original term, as pointed out by Mr. Hira Lai, being Malal, or one who grows garden-crops in a field ; but the caste is often called Mali in the Maratha country and Marar in the Hindi Districts.
The word Mali is derived from the Sanskrit iiidla, a garland. In 191 i the Malis numbered nearly 360,000 persons in the present area of the Central Provinces, and 200,000 in Berar.
A German writer remarks of the caste ^ that : " It cannot be considered to be a very ancient one. Generally speaking, it may be said that flowers have scarcely a place in the Veda. Wreaths of flowers, of ^ This article is based principally on - C.P. Census Report (1891), paia. Mr. Low's description of the Marars 180. in the Balaghat District Gazetteer and 3 Schroder, Prehistoric Atitiquities, on a paper by Major Sutherland, 121, quoted in Crooke's Tribes and LM.S. Castes, art. Mali.
course, are used as decorations, but the separate flowers and
their beauty are not yet appreciated. That lesson was first
learned later by the Hindus when surrounded by another
flora. Amongst the Homeric Greeks, too, in spite of their
extensive gardening and different flowers, not a trace of
horticulture is yet to be found." It seems probable that the
first Malis were not included among the regular cultivators
of the village but were a lower group permitted to take up
the small waste plots of land adjoining the inhabited area and
fertilised by its drainage, and the sandy stretches in the beds
of rivers, on which they were able to raise the flowers required
for offerings and such vegetables as were known.
They still hold a lower rank than the ordinary cultivator. Sir D. Ibbetson writes ^ of the gardening castes : " The group now to be discussed very generally hold an inferior position among the agricultural community and seldom if ever occupy the position of the dominant tribe in any considerable tract of country. The cultivation of vegetables is looked upon as degrading by the agricultural classes, why I know not, unless it be that night-soil is generally used for their fertilisation ; and a Rajput would say : ' What ! Do you take me for an Arain ?
' if anything was proposed which he considered derogatory." But since most Malis in the Central Provinces strenuously object to using night-soil as a manure the explanation that this practice has caused them to rank below the agricultural castes does not seem sufficient. And if the use of night-soil were the real circumstance which determined their social position, it seems certain that Brahmans would not take water from their hands as they do. Elsewhere Sir D. Ibbetson remarks :
^ " The Malis and Sainis, like all vegetable growers, occupy a very inferior position among the agricultural castes ; but of the two the Sainis are probably the higher, as they more often own land or even whole villages, and are less generally mere market-gardeners than are the Malis." Here is given what may perhaps be the true reason for the status of the Mali caste as a whole.
Again Sir C. Elliot wrote in the Hoshangdbdd Settlement Report
" Garden crops are considered as a kind of fancy agriculture and the true cultivator, the Kisan, looks on them with 1 J^unjab Census Report (iSSi), para. 483. - Ibidem, para. 484.
contempt as little peddling matters ; what stirs his ambition is a fine large wheat-field eighty or a hundred acres in extent, as flat as a billiard-table and as black as a Gond." Similarly Mr. Low ^ states that in Balaghat the Panwars, the principal agricultural caste, look down on the Marars as growers of petty crops like sama and kutki. In Wardha the Dangris, a small caste of melon and vegetable growers, are an offshoot of the Kunbis ; and they will take food from the Kunbis, though these will not accept it from them, their social status being thus distinctly lower than that of the parent caste.
Again the Kohlis of Bhandara, who grow sugarcane with irrigation, are probably derived from an aboriginal tribe, the Kols, and, though they possess a number of villages, rank lower than the regular cultivating castes. It is also worth noting that they do not admit tenant-right in their villages among their own caste, and allot the sugarcane plots among the cultivators at pleasure.^ In Nimar the Malis rank below the Kunbis and Gujars, the good agricultural castes, and it is said that they grow the crops which the cultivators proper do not care to grow.
The Kachhis, the gardening caste of the northern Districts, have a very low status, markedly inferior to that of the Lodhis and Kurmis and little if any better than the menial Dhimars. Similarly, as will be seen later, the Alarars themselves have customs pointing clearly to a non-Aryan origin. The Bhoyars of Betul, who grow sugarcane, are probably of mixed origin from Rajput fathers and mothers of the indigenous tribes ; they eat fowls and are much addicted to liquor and rank below the cultivating castes.
The explanation seems to be that the gardening castes are not considered as landholders, and have not therefore the position which attaches to the holding of land among all early agricultural peoples, and which in India consisted in the status of a constituent member of the village community. So far as ceremonial purity goes there is no difference between the Malis and the cultivating castes, as Ikahmans will take water from both. It may be surmised that this privilege has been given to the Malis because they grow the flowers required for offerings to the gods, and ^ Balaghat District Gazetteer, para. - Mr. '^tv^xcx'?, Bha7idara Settlement 59. Report, quoted in article on Kohli.
sometimes officiate as village priests and temple servants ;
and their occupation, though not on a level with regular
agriculture, is still respectable. But the fact that Brahmans
will take water from them does not place the Malis on an
equality with the cultivating castes, any more than it does the
Nais (barbers) and Dhimars (watermen), the contemned
menial servants of the cultivators, from whom Brahmans
will also take water from motives of convenience.
2. Caste The Malis have a Brahmanical legend of the usual type legend. indicating that their hereditary calling was conferred and ratified by divine authority/ This is to the effect that the first Mali was a garland-maker attached to the household of Raja Kansa of Mathura. One day he met with Krishna, and, on being asked by him for a chaplet of flowers, at once gave it. On being told to fasten it with string, he, for want of any other, took off his sacred thread and tied it, on which Krishna most ungenerously rebuked him for his simplicity in parting with his patia, and announced that for the future his caste would be ranked among the Sudras.
The above story, combined with the derivation of Mali from 7ndla, a garland, makes it a plausible hypothesis that the calling of the first Malis was to grow flowers for the adornment of the gods, and especially for making the garlands with which their images were and still are decorated. Thus the Malis were intimately connected with the gods and naturally became priests of the village temples, in which capacity they are often employed. Mr. Nesfield remarks of the Mali :
^ " To Hindus of all ranks, including even the Brahmans, he acts as a priest of Mahadeo in places where no Gosain is to be found, and lays the flower offerings on the lingam by which the deity is symbolised. As the Mali is believed to have some influence with the god to whose temple he is attached, none objects to his appropriating the fee which is nominally presented to the god himself In the worship of those village godlings whom the Brahmans disdain to recognise and whom the Gosain is not permitted to honour the Mali is sometimes employed to present the offering. He ' Tribes and Casks of Bengal, art. ^ Brief View of the Caste System, Mali. p. 15.
is thus the recognised hereditary priest of the lower and
more ignorant classes of the population." In the Central
Provinces Malis are commonly employed in the temples of
Devi because goats are offered to the goddess and hence the
worship cannot be conducted by Brahmans. They also work
as servants in Jain temples under the priest. They sweep
the temple, clean the utensils, and do other menial business.
This service, however, does not affect their religion and they
continue to be Hindus.
His services in providing flowers for the gods would be remunerated by contributions of grain from the cultivators, the acceptance of which would place the Mali below them in the rank of a village menial, though higher than most of the class owing to the purity of his occupation. His status was probably much the same as that of the Guraos or village priests of Mahadeo in the Maratha country.
And though he has now become a cultivator, his position has not improved to the level of other cultivating castes for the reasons already given. It was probably the necessity of regularly watering his plants in order to obtain a longer and more constant supply of blooms which first taught the. Mali the uses of irrigation.
Flowers are par excellence suited for the offerings and 3. Flowers adornment of the gods, and many Hindus have rose or other offered to plants m their houses whose flowers are destmed to the household god. There is little reason to doubt that this was the purpose for which cultivated flowers were first grown. The marigold, lotus and champak are favourite religious flowers, while the tulsi or basil is itself worshipped as the consort of Vishnu ; in this case, however, the scent is perhaps the more valued feature. In many Hindu households all flowers brought into the house are offered to the household god before being put to any other use.
A Brahman schoolboy to whom I had given some flowers to copy in drawing said that his mother had offered them to the god Krishna before he used them. When faded or done with they should be consigned to the sacred element, water, in any stream or river. The statues of the gods are adorned with sculptured garlands or hold them in their hands. A similar state of things prevailed in classical antiquity :
Who are these coming to the sacrifice ? To what green altar, O mysterious priest, Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies. And all her silken flanks with garlands drest ? And, Fairer than these, though temple thou hast none, Nor altar decked with flowers. Nor virgin choir to make delicious moan Upon the midnight hours.
M. Fustel de Coulanges describes the custom of wearing crowns or garlands of flowers in ancient Rome and Greece as follows : " It is clear that the communal feasts were religious ceremonies. Each guest had a crown on the head ; it was an ancient custom to crown oneself with leaves or flowers for any solemn religious act." " The more a man is adorned with flowers," they said, " the more pleasing he is to the gods ; but they turn away from him who wears no crown at his sacrifice." And again, ' A crown is the auspicious herald which announces a prayer to the gods.' ^ Among the Persians the flowers themselves are worshipped
^ " When a pure Iranian sauntered through (the Victoria Gardens in Bombay) ... he would stand awhile and meditate over every flower in his path, and always as in a vision ; and when at last the vision was fulfilled, and the ideal flower found, he would spread his mat or carpet before it, and sit before it to the going down of the sun, when he would arise and pray before it, and then refold his mat or carpet and go home ; and the next night, and night after night, until that bright particular flower faded away, he would return to it, bringing his friends with him in everincreasing numbers, and sit and sing and play the guitar or lute before it—and anon they all would arise together and pray before it ; and after prayers, still sit on, sipping sherbet and talking the most hilarious and shocking scandal, late into the moonlight."
4. Custom From the custom of placing garlands on the gods as a of wearing mark of houour has no doubt arisen that of garlanding guests. This is not confined to India but obtained in 1 La CM antique, 'z\'?,\. Q.(\., p. 181. Sir G. Birdwood (Society of Arts, '^ The Antiquity of Oriental Carpets, 6th November 1908).
Rome and probably in other countries.
The word ' chaplet ' ^ originally meant a garland or wreath to be worn on the head ; and a garland of leaves with four flowers at equal distances. Dryden says, ' With chaplcts green upon their foreheads placed.' The word vidla originally meant a garland, and subsequently a rosary or string of beads. From this it seems a legitimate deduction that rosaries or strings of beads of a sacred wood were substituted for flower-garlands as ornaments for the gods in view of their more permanent nature.
Having been thus sanctified they may have come to be worn as a mark of holiness by saints or priests in imitation of the divine images, this being a common or universal fashion of Hindu ascetics. Subsequently they were found to serve as a useful means of counting the continuous repetition of prayers, whence arose the phrase * telling one's beads.' Like the Sanskrit iiidlay the English word rosary at first meant a garland of roses and subsequently a string of beads, probably made from rose-wood, on which prayers were counted. From this it may perhaps be concluded that the images of the deities were decorated with garlands of roses in Europe, and the development of the rosary was the same as the Indian mala.
If the rose was a sacred flower we can more easily understand its importance as a badge in the Wars of the Roses. The caste has numerous endogamous groups, varying in 5. Subdififerent localities. The Phiilmalis,who derive their name from '^^^^^^• their occupation of growing and selling flowers {phill), usually rank as the highest. The Ghase Malis are the only subcaste which will grow and prepare turmeric in Wardha; but they will not sell milk or curds, an occupation to which the Phulmalis, though the highest subcaste, have no objection.
In Chanda the Kosaria Malis, who take their name from Kosala, the classical designation of the Chhattisgarh country, are the sole growers of turmeric, while in Berar the Halde subcaste, named after the plant, occupy the same position. The Kosaria or Kosre subcaste abstain from liquor, and their women wear glass bangles only on one hand and silver ones on the other.
The objection entertained to the cultivation of turmeric by Hindus generally is said to be based on the fact that when the roots are boiled numbers of small insects are necessarily ' Tlie derivations of chcxplct and rosary are taken from Ogilv}s Dictionary.
destroyed ; but the other Malis relate that one of the ancestors of the caste had a calf called Hardulia, and one day he said to his daughter, Haldi pakd, or ' Cook turmeric' But the daughter thought that he said ' cook Hardulia,' so she killed and roasted the calf, and in consequence of this her father was expelled from the caste, and his descendants are the Ghase or Halde subcaste. Ever since this happened the shape of a calf may be seen in the flower of turmeric.
This legend has, however, no real value and the meaning of the superstition attaching to the plant is obscure. Though the growing of turmeric is tabooed yet it is a sacred plant, and no Hindu girl, at least in the Central Provinces, can be married without having turmeric powder rubbed on her body. Mr. Gordon remarks in Indian Folk-Tales: "I was once speaking to a Hindu gardener of the possibility of turmeric and garlic being stolen from his garden. These two vegetables are never stolen,' he replied, ' for we Hindus believe that he who steals turmeric and garlic will appear with six fingers in the next birth, and this deformity is always considered the birth - mark of a thief.' " The Jire Malis are so named because they were formerly the only subcaste who would grow cumin {j'ira), but this distinction no longer exists as other Malis, except perhaps the Phulmalis, now grow it.
Other subcastes have territorial names, as Baone from
Berar, Jaipuria, Kanaujia, and so on. The caste have also
exogamous septs or bargas, with designations taken from
villages, titles or nicknames or inanimate objects.
6. Mar- Marriage is forbidden between members of the same sept
and between first and second cousins. Girls are generally
betrothed in childhood and should be married before maturity.
In the Uriya country if no suitable husband can be found for
a girl she is sometimes made to go through the marriage
ceremony with a peg of mahuawood driven into the ground and
covered over with a cloth. She is then tied to a tree in the
forest and any member of the caste may go and release her,
when she becomes his wife. The Marars of Balaghat and
Bhandara have the lamjJmna form of marriage, in which the
prospective husband serves for his wife ; this is a Dravidian
custom and shows their connection with the forest tribes. The
marriage ceremony follows the standard form prevalent in
riage.
\\
II WIDOW-MARRIAGE, DIVORCE AND POLYGAMY 167
the locality. In Betul the couple go seven times round a
slab on which a stone roller is placed, with their clothes
knotted together and holding in their hands a lighted lamp.
The slab and roller may be the implements used in powdering
turmeric. " Among the Marars of Balaghat ^ the maternal
uncle of the bridegroom goes to the village of the bride and
brings back with him the bridal party. The bride's party do
not at once cross the boundary of the bridegroom's village,
but will stay outside it for a few hours. Word is sent and
the bridegroom's party will bring out cooked food, which they
eat with the bride's party.
This done, they go to the house of the bridegroom and the bride forthwith walks five times round a pounding-stone. Next day turmeric is applied to the couple, and the caste people are given a feast. The essential portion of the ceremony consists in the rubbing of vermilion on the foreheads of the couple under the cover of a cloth. The caste permit the practice of i-alla-palla or exchanging sisters in marriage. They are said to have a custom at weddings known as kondia, according to which a young man of the bridegroom's party, called the Sand or bull, is shut up in a house at night with all the women of the bride's party ; he is at liberty to seize and have intercourse with any of them he can catch, while they are allowed to beat him as much as they like.
It is said that he seldom has much cause to congratulate himself" But the caste have now become ashamed of this custom and it is being abandoned. In Chhattlsgarh the Marars, like other castes, have the forms of marriage known as the Badi Shddi and Chhoti Shddi or great and small weddings. The former is an elaborate form of marriage, taking place at the house of the bride. Those who cannot afford the expense of this have a ' Small Wedding ' at the house of the bridegroom, at which the rites are curtailed and the expenditure considerably reduced. Widow - marriage is permitted. The widower, accom- 7. widowpanied by his relatives and a horn-blower, goes to the house IJI^Q^ce^^' of the widow, and here a space is plastered with cowdung and and poiythe couple sit on two wooden boards while their clothes are ^^™^' knotted together. In Balaghat- the bridegroom and bride ^ Balaghat District Gazetteer (C. E. Low), para. 59. ^ Ibidem, loc. cit.
bathe in a tank and on emerging the widow throws away her
old cloth and puts on a new one. After this they walk five
times round a spear planted in the ground. Divorce is
permitted and can be effected by mutual consent of the
parties. Like other castes practising intensive cultivation
the Malis marry several wives when they can afford it, in
order to obtain the benefit of their labour in the vegetable
garden ; a wife being more industrious and honest than a
hired labourer. But this practice results in large families
and household dissensions, leading to excessive subdivision
of property, and wealthy members of the caste are rare.
The standard of sexual morality is low, and if an unmarried girl goes wrong her family conceal the fact and sometimes try to procure an abortion. If these efforts are unsuccessful a feast must be given to the caste and a lock of the woman's hair is cut off by way of punishment. A young hard-working wife is never divorced, however bad her character may be, but an old woman is sometimes abandoned for very little cause.
8. Disposal The dead may be either buried or burnt ; in the former dead^ case the corpse is laid with the feet to the north. Mourning is observed only for three days and propitiatory offerings are made to the spirits of the dead. If a man is killed by a tiger his family make a wooden image of a tiger and worship it.
9. Reii- Devi is the principal deity of the Malis. Weddings are ^'°°' celebrated before her temple and large numbers of goats are sacrificed to the favourite goddess at her festival in the month of Magh (January). Many of the Marars of Balaghat are Kablrpanthis and wear the necklace of that sect ; but they appear none the less to intermarry freely with their Hindu caste-fellows.^ After the birth of a child it is stated that all the members of the sept to which the parents belong remain impure for five days, and no one will take food or water from them.
10. Occu- The Mali combines the callings of a gardener and pation. nurseryman. " In laying out a flower-garden and in arranging beds," Mr. Sherring remarks," "the Mali is exceedingly ^ Balaghat District Gazetteer, para. 59.
xpert. His powers in this respect are hardly surpassed by
gardeners in England. He lacks of course the excellent botanical knowledge of many English gardeners, and also the peculiar skill displayed by them in grafting and crossing, and in watching the habits of plants. Yet in manipulative labour, especially when superintended by a European, he is, though much slower in execution, almost if not quite equal to gardeners at home." They are excellent and very laborious cultivators, and show much skill in intensive cultivation and the use of water.
Malis are the best sugarcane growers of Betul and their holdings usually pay a higher rental than those of other castes. " In Balaghat," Mr. Low remarks,^ " they are great growers of tobacco and sugarcane, favouring the alluvial land on the banks of rivers. They mostly irrigate by a dhekli or dipping lift, from temporary wells or from water-holes in rivers. The pole of the lift has a weight at one end and a kerosene tin suspended from the other. Another form of lift is a hollowed tree trunk worked on a fulcrum, but this only raises the water a foot or two. The Marars do general cultivation as well ; but as a class are not considered skilled agriculturists. The proverb about their cultivating status is :
Mardr, Malijote tali Tali ina7-gayi, dhare ktidali, or, * The Marar yokes cows ; if the cow dies he takes to the pickaxe ' ; implying that he is not usually rich enough to keep bullocks." The saying has also a derogatory sense, as no good Hindu would yoke a cow to the plough. Another form of lift used by the Kachhis is the Persian wheel. In this two wheels arc fixed above the well or tank and long looped ropes pass over them and down into the well, between which a line of earthen pots is secured.
As the ropes move on the wheels the pots descend into the well, are filled with water, brought up, and just after they reach the apex of the wheel and turn to descend again, the water pours out to a hollow open tree-trunk, from which a channel conveys it to the field. The wheel which turns the rope is worked by a man pedalling, but he cannot do more than about three hours ' Bdlaphdt District Gazetteer, loc. cil. and
a day. The common lift for gardens is the mot or bag made
of the hide of a bullock or buffalo. This is usually worked
by a pair of bullocks moving forwards down a slope to raise
the mot from the well and backwards up the slope to let it
down when empty.
11. Traits " It is ncccssary," the account continues, " for the Marar's business for one member at least of his family to go to market with his vegetables ; and the Mararin is a noteworthy feature in all bazars, sitting with her basket or garment spread on the ground, full of white onions and garlic, purple brinjals and scarlet chillies, with a few handfuls of strongly flavoured green stuff. Whether from the publicity which it entails on their women or from whatever cause, the Mararin does not bear the best of reputations for chastity ; and is usually considered rather a bold, coarse creature. The distinctive feature of her attire is the way in which she ties up her body-cloth so as to leave a tail sticking up behind ; whence the proverb shouted after her by rude little boys : ' Jump from roof to roof, Monkey. Pull the tail of the Mararin, Monkey.' She also rejoices in a very large tikli or spangle on her forehead and in a peculiar kind of angia (waistcoat). The caste are usually considered rather clannish and morose. They live in communities by themselves, and nearly always inhabit a separate hamlet of the village.
The Marars of a certain place are said to have boycotted a village carpenter who lost an axe belonging to one of their number, so that he had to leave the neighbourhood for lack of custom." 12. Other Many Malis live in the towns and keep vegetable- or the'^M™f° flower-gardens just outside. They sell flowers, and the Mali girls are very good flower-sellers, Major Sutherland says, being famous for their coquetry.
A saying about them is : " The crow among birds, the jackal among beasts, the barber among men and the Malin among women ; all these are much too clever." The Mali also prepares the manr or marriage-crown, made from the leaves of the datepalm, both for the bride and bridegroom at marriages. In return he gets a present of a rupee, a piece of cloth and a day's food. He also makes the garlands which are used for presentation at entertainments, and supplies the daily bunches of flowers which are required as offerings for
Mahadeo. The Mali keeps garlands for sale in the bazar,
and when a well-to-do person passes he goes up and puts
a garland round his neck and expects a present of" a pice
or two.
" Physically," Mr. Low states, " the Marar is rather a 13. Physipoor-
looking creature, dark and undersized ; but the women ^^ce^'^'^^'^'
are often not bad looking, and dressed up in their best at
a wedding, rattling their castanets and waving light-coloured
silk handkerchiefs, give a very graceful dance. The caste
are not as a rule celebrated for their cleanliness. A polite
way of addressing a Marar is to call him Patel."
Mali
(From People of India/ National Series Volume VIII. Readers who wish to share additional information/ photographs may please send them as messages to the Facebook community, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be gratefully acknowledged in your name.)
Synonyms: Malakar [Bihar and/or Jharkhand] Gujarathi Mali, Maratha Mali [Madhya Pradesh and/or Chhattisgarh] Gandha, Maliskorchia, Paido, Phulia, Rathor, Sagbar ia [Orissa] Phulmali [West Bengal]
- Endogamous sub-divisions: Bodo (big), Dongrudiya,
Kosalya, Pannara, Pondra, Sonkuva [E. Thurston] Gujarati, Kanarese, Maratha [R.E. Enthoven] Baheniya, Bahliyan, Barhauliya, Bhagirathi, Bhanole, Bhawani, Bhomiyan, Deswali, Dilliwal, Diiwari, Go le, Hardiya, Kachhi, Kachhmali, Kanaujiya, Kapri, Khatiya, Khatri, Kota, Mathur Meghiyan, Mewati, Mohur, Mulana, Panwar, Pemaniyan, Phulmali, Rajpuriya, Saini, Samri, Surab, Tholiya [W. Crooke] Groups/subgroups: Kalitor (Phul Mali), Karauhilia, Malu, Phul Mali, Turk Mali [Bihar and/or Jharkhand] Adasethi, Adhaprabhu, Bankar, Bavane, Gujarathi Mali, Haldi (turmeric), Jire, Kocha, Lingayat, Maratha Mali, Phul (flower) [Madhya Pradesh and/or Chhattisgarh] Gandha, Phulia, Rathor, Sagbaria [Orissa] Athgharer, Barendra, Rarhi [West Bengal] Subcastes/subgroups: Atgharia, Barendra, Dokani Mali, Phulkata Mali, Rarhi [H.H. Risley] Baone, Ghase Malis, Halde, Hardulia, Jaipuria, Jire Malis, Kannaujia, Kosaria Malis, Phulmalis [Russel l & Hiralal] Subgroups: Adiprabhu, Adshete, Bawane, Bhandare, Gh as Mali, Halde Male, Kosale, Lingayit, Malgand, Mit hagare, Phul Mali, Trigala [S.S. Hassan] Titles: Bhagat, Kishor, Malakar, Sainik [Bihar and/ or Jharkhand] Surnames: Bhagat, Choudhry, Kishore, Mahto, Malakar, Mali, Mandal, Sainik, Sharma [Bihar and/or Jharkh and] Alibar, Barajadav, Chouhan, Gundi Galore, Jadav, Lo arda, Nichalia, Pounwar, Rathod, Gaurphar, Rathor, Sasunr, Solanki, Sunar [Madhya Pradesh and/or Chhattisgarh] Das, Rana, Sahu [Orissa] Biswas, Das, Malakar, Mali, Phul Mali [West Bengal] Exogamous units/clans: Adhaprabhu, Adhashsti, Bavane, Halde Bankar, Jire, Kacha, Lingayat, Phul [Madhya Pradesh and/or Chhattisgarh] Nageswar [Orissa] Bagh (tiger), Bansh, Bhara, Kachhap (tortoise), Kar (crow), Maudgalya, Nag (snake) [West Bengal] Abang, Adhaprabhu (Maratha Mali), Adhasheti, Adhav, Aher, Anarse, Bankar, Bavane, Bhagvat, Bhopale, Bh ujhal, Borade, Borband, Bulkunde, Chaphekar, Chaudhari, Ch ipade, Dake, Dalve Dhadge, Doke, Gaikvad, Garde, Gh adge, Gharat, Gholap, Gite, Gore, Halde, Hirve, Jadhav, J agtap, Jamdale, Jire, Kacha, Kadu, Kajle, Kathe, Kh aire, Koke, Korde, Kore, Kshirsagar, Kudale Lag, Lokhande, Lond he, Malange, Mandlik, Mehre, Mule, Navase, Nikam, P achure, Pade, Pandhre, Pansare, Parkhe, Parvat, Phul, Phule,Povar, Rant, Rasal, Raut, Sangle, Sasane, Shevkar Shinde, Suryavanshi, Tajne, Thorat, Unde, Vagh [R.E. Enthoven] Anjodiya, Ave, Bavne Madi, Bedare, Bhange, Bhure, B ororiya, Chahiriya, Chinchane, Chowdhari, Dake, Dase Madi, Dhavale, Gadve Madi, Gaikawad, Gantriya, Ghase, Gir am, Gore, Gunjekar Gurnolia, Hagre, Halde Madi, Ing ale, Irkar, Jambudker, Jhagade, Jire Madi, Kavadya, Kora de, Kosre Marar (Marar of Adilaba), Kotarangya, Koc hamirye, Langote, Lendgore, Lukte, Madi Mandadiya, Mase Madi, Mire Madi, Mogre, More, Nagoriya, Nikoriya, Pahad Mandi, Pariskar, Phul Madi, Pidcoliya, Rasya, Rawat, Satade, Sattaldhar, Satwe, Shingare, Sinde (Marar) Sola Madi, Sonatakle, Sonulya, Thakare, Udgire, Vadhai, W asakya, Watgoriya, Yadava [S.S. Hassan] Gotra: Kashyap, Nageswar [Orissa] Alambayana, Kashyap, Moudgalya, Sandilya [West Beng al] Alamyan, Kasyapa, Mandgalya, Sandilya [H.H. Risley] Exogamous units/lineages (khandan/vansh): [Bihar an d/or Jharkhand] Exogamous units/lineages (vansa): [Orissa]
Notes
Muhammadan gardeners are numerous in Dacca, being engaged in cultivating flowering plants and selling them in the markets. They look down on kitchen gardeners, and would fall in social estimation if they adopted that occupation. These
1 "History of India," Sir H. Elliot, vol. ii, 143.
2 "Mrs Mir Hasan 'Ali," vol. ii, 30.
florists confine their attention to growing various kinds of Jas. mine (juhi, chambeli and bela); cockscombs (jata-dhari); marigolds (genda), and roses. The Hibiscus, regarded by Hindus as an unlucky flower, is, according to Muhammadans, enchanted, and if placed in a room, or offered to any one, the offence is resented as an attempt to bewitch and injure the individual.
The Mali prepare the different kinds of garlands (sihra) and chaplets worn by Mussulman ladies, who may be seen in the recesses of the Zananah with their arms, necks, bodies, and even ankles bedecked with wreaths of fragrant flowers; while gentlemen usually have a nosegay of Jasmine encircling the mouthpiece and stem of their pipes.
Like the Hindu Malakars, the Mali manufactures pith pendants (jara), with which, at certain seasons, houses, shops, boats, and the tombs of holy men are adorned.
