ETHNOGRAPffiC STUDY No. 19

CENSUS OF INDIA 1961

VOLUME I

. MONOGRAPH SERIES Part V-B(iv)

CHIDMBE

A Scheduled Caste in Himachal Pradesh

InvesfigatwlI R. P. NAULA and draft M: Sc.

Supervision, N. G. NAG Guidance and Editing Dr. B. K. ROY Consultant BURMAN,

M. Sc. j D. Phil. omCE OF THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS NEW DELHI

CONTENTS PAGE Foreword (vii) Preface ix-xi

1. Name, Identity and Origin 1

2. Distribution and population trend (i) Sex ratio 4

(ii) Rural-urban distribution " 4 (iii) Population trend 4

3. Physical characteristics :' '. 5

4. Famiiy and inheritance of property 5

5. Clan and other analogous divisions 8

6. Settlement and dwellings 8

7, Dress, ornaments and tattooing .' 9 8, Food and drink 11

9, Hygienic habits, diseases and their treatment 12

10, Language, literacy and education 12

11. Occupation and economic life (i) Working force and industrial classification of workers 15 eii) O~cupational mobility 16 (iii) Occupational details -. 16 (iv) Agriculture ' 16 (v) Washing and dry cleaning 18 (vi) Tailoring 19 / (vii) Hand printing and textile dyeing 19

12. Life cycle (i) Birth 20 (ii) The first eating of grains 21 (iii) Tonsure 21 (iv) Marriage and sex life 22 (v) Modes of acquiring a mate 22 (vi) Consummation of marriage 25 (vii) Widow re-marriage 2S (viii) Divorce and separation 26 (ix) Pre-marital and extra-marital relations .-- . v 26 (x) Death rites 27 (iv)

13. Religion PAGB

(i) Omens and superstitions 31 .~ (ii) Concept of soul o' .3'! 14. Leisure and recreation 31

15. Intra-community and Inter-community relations 33 16. Structure of social control 35

17. Social welfare and social reform 36 18. References cited . 39

ANNLXUll.B : Frame work for ethnographic stl1dy .. ~l ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING PAGB PHOTOGRAPHS

1. Front view of a Chhimbe male 2. Profile of a Chh1mbe male 3. Front view of a Chhimbe female 4. Profile of a Chhimbe female •

5. The front view of a Chhimbe house showing the roof made of slates and the floor of the open} courtyard of stones· in front of the house ...... 8-9 ' 6. Interior view of a kitchen in a Chhimbe house . . . . • . • . .

7. A Chhimbe family in their day-to-day dress 8. Chhimbe women in their day-to-day dress 10-11 9. A group of Chhimbe children in their day-to-day dress 10. Feeding time for the cattle

11. A Chhimbe male pressing the clothes with an iron press . ~ 18-19 12. Chhimbe are also tkilors. A group of Chhimbe at wotk in a tailoring shop in Mandi town' .j 13. A portrait of "Baba Nam deo Ji" -the patron saint of the Chhimbe '1 14. Baghar doo-one of the Kuldevtas or family deities . .J 28-2~

• DIAGRAMS

1. Literacy among the Chhimbe :} 12-13 2. Levels of literacy among the Chhimbe

3. Workers and non-workers among the Chhim~e 4. Industrial classification of Chhimbe workers . :} 16--17

(v)

FOREWORD

The Constitution lays down that "the State shall promote with spedal care the educational and economic interest of the weaker sections of the people and in particular of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of ex- ploitation" . .

To assist States in fulfilling their responsibility inthis regan~, the 1961 Census provided a series of special tabulations of the Social and Economic data on Scheduled Castes and Sche­ duled Tribes.

The Lists of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are notified by the President under the Constitution and the Parliament is empowered to include in or exclude from the 1ists, any caste or tribe. During the Census Operations, the enumerators frequently face the pro hlem of identifying the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In the President's notification, though in some cases, the names of the Sub-castes and sub-tribes and synonyms are given, there are many cases where such names have not been provided in the list. The Census enumerators, therefore, require guidance about the acceptance or rejection of claims that they come across during the operations of some communities to be treated as sub-castes or sub-tribes of the notified Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes. For this purpose, the Census Organisation has thought it wise to undertake detailed ethnographic studies in respect of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes of India. This is also in conformity with the past Census tradition of presenting authentic ethnographic account of Indian communities.

For conducting the ethnographic studies, a number of ancillary operations are undertaken by the Social Studies Unit of the Office of the Registrar General, India, as well as the staff of the Directors of Census Operations in the various States. These ancillary operations include: (i) compilation of available information on each Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe and preparation of bibliography in respect of them; (ii) preparation and interpretation of maps showing distribution of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes over time and space and (iii) special studies on cultural, technological and economic changes taking place among the various tribal communities.

Dr. B. K. Roy Burman, Deputy Registrar General, India, Social Studies Divi~ioi1, assisted by Shri N. G. Nag, Officer on Special Duty, is co-ordinating all these studies at the Central level. I avail of this opportunity to extend my warm thanks to all my colleagues who have undertaken various studies on different aspects of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes of India. -

Sh~i R. P. Naula, Senior Technical Assistant, of the Registrar General's Office, conducted the field investigation on the Chhimbe (Dhobi) of Himachal Pradesh under the guidance of Shri N. G. Nag who also visited the field, and prepared the .draft. Shri N. G. Nag edited the report and Dr. B. K. Roy Burman acted as consultant.

NEW DELHI A. CHANDRA SEKHAR December, 1971. Regisirar General, India.

(vii)

PREFACE

As an adjunct of 1961 Census, preparation of ethnographic monographs on a number of selected Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and ethnic groups with special status and ethno­ graphic glossaries on all Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have been taken up by the Census Organisation. In India the Census Organisation has a long tradition of undertaking ethnographic stu­ dies. Besides, there are certain reasons why, for its own operational purposes, it is necessary for the Census organisation to take up sQch studies. During census operation, the Census Organisation is required to make a complete enumeration of all the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the country. ,The ethnographic studies are required to establish the identity of the various communities including their segments. The social boundaries of various commu­ nities are not always rigid, they are in a state- of flux. Ethnographic studies are required to keep track of these changes as well, otherwise comparison of c;onsecutive census figures would give altogether wrong picture in respect of them. There is another aspect of study in respect of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled :Tribes in which the Census Organisation, as well as the welfare and planning agencies are interested-it is ethno-demography. In 1961 Census, separate tables were prepared in respect of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes on the following items: (i) industrial classification of persons at work and nOIl'-workers by sex, (ii) age and marital status, (iii) education, (iv) religion, (v) persons not at work classified by sex and type of activity for Scheduled Castes, (vi) persons not at work classified by sex and type of activity for Scheduled Tribes, (vii) mother tongue and bilingualism for Scheduled Tribes.

The data available in these tables are to be analysed in respect of each Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe, so that the historical and cultural factors responsible- for th~ de~ogra­ phic pattern can be identified and the impact of the emergent demographic pattern on the social structure can ~be- determined. -

The insight gained by the Census Organisation, through ethnographic studies of the Sche­ duled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will be useful for interpretation of the demo~raphic pattern for the country as a whole. Recent studies show. that in India even now, it is difficult to correctly appreciate the various social and economic processes without reference to caste. On the other hand, in the interest of ultimate national goal, caste is not being recorded in Census, except in case of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The insight gained thro~gh ethno-demographic studies of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is, therefore, of inva­ luable help for census.

At the same time, such study is very much useful for planning of development activities among the castes or tribes concerned .. For instance, if the census shows that great deal. of diversification of occupation has taken place among the Parayans of Kerala--, 4t is important for the planners to know whether the community consists of a number of disconnected segments or whether it means that a great deal of individual mobility is taking place where the main focus of community is other than traditional occupation. Again, when among the Bauris of

(ix) 2-3 RGI/NDt71 (x) Orissa, it is found that a very high proportion of the popUlation is engaged in agricultural labour and next to them a high proportion is found in cultivation and also that there is considerable ~ diyersification of occupation, the following questions of sociological and practical importance aJ'lse: (a) What is the historical relation between the agricultural labourers and the cultivators among the Bauris of Orissa? The census data suggests one of the two possible deve­ lopments, namely, (1) bulk of the Baruis were cultivators and by process of degenera! tion of their economy have become agricultural labourers, (2) on the other hand, it is also possible that the bulk of them were agricultural labourers and through a process of improvement of their economic condition, many of them have become cultivators (b) The fad that a considerable diversification of occupation has taken place, suggests that the economy has not remained in a stagnant condition. Here, it is to be examined whether the diversification is the result of upward mobility, or downward mobility, or even horiiontal mobility, and what is the actual process by which the diversifi­ cation has taken place. (c) The social dimensions corresponding to the diversification in economic life have to be examined. It is also to be examined whether in spite of diversification of occu­ pation, the ethos of particular occupation, for instance agriculture, continues to be dominent. In that case, diversification might have created problems of adjustment of va~ues and attitudes.

Instances can be multiplied, but it is not necessary. What have been stated above, are enough to bring out the significance of ethno-demographic studies for planner. The above dimensions of ethno-demographic studies have evolved through stages. In 1960, at the instance of Shri Mitra, Registrar General of India, a questionnaire for collection of ethnographic data was circulated among the Census Superintendents. In October, 1961, the Handicrafts and Social Studies Unit was set up in the Office of the Registrar General of India, to c~ordinate the ethnographic studies and a few other ancillary studies, like village surveys, handicraft surveys, etc. In December, 1961, a Study Camp was organised in Delhi, where the personnel engaged in ethnographic studies, handicraft studies and other social investigations in the office of the Census Superintendents, participated. In the study camp, it was considered that the ethnographic notes would mainly aim at making an 'Objective assessment of the state of development of the different Scheduled Castes and. Scheduled Tribes, in the context of the changes taking place in technology, economic organisation and total culture pattern of the country. It was further suggested that the prim;try focus of the study should not be on the exotic elements of the cultures of the different castes and tribes. It should be on the efforts of the communities concerned, to adjust to the modern conditions of life. In the light of the above decisions. of the Study Camp, rapid ethnographic studies have been carried on by the staff of the Superintendents of Census Operations as well as by the Handicrafts and Social Studies UnH of the Office of the Registrar General of India, in different parts of the country. These rapid surveys have brought out a number of methodological and operational problems. In May and June, 1966, two Ethnographic. Study Camps were held at Kurseong and Hyderabad, where personnel from the Office of the Registrar General of India as well as from the offices of the Census Superintendents participated. In the Study Camp held at Kurseong, the Secretary, Tribal Welfare, West' Bengal,- al).d Director, Tribal Welfare, West Bengal, also participated. In this Study Camp, an integrated frame for preparation of ethnographic notes was discussed and adopted. A copy of the same may be seen at 'Annexure'. In addition to the studies in respect' of each scheduled caste and scheduled tribe separately, a number of subsidiary studies were undertaken by the Handicrafts and Social Studies Unit of the Office of the Registrar General of India, for gaining insight into a number of problems of general nature, which have (xi) bearing on the different aspects of the lives of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes of the country. These subsidiary studies are as follows: 1. Shifting cultivation in Santal PargaI1as of Bihar and Garo Hills of Assam. 2. Pattern of rehabilitation of displaced tribals of Rourkela. 3. Socio-economic survey of the Scheduled areas of Rajasthan .. 4. Socio-economic developments among the hillmen of North-East India. 5. Social structure and cultural orientation of Christians converted from Scheduled Castes. 6. Traditional rights of scavenging as claimed by scavengers in urban areas. 7. Grouping of castes and tribes with reference to occupation and inter-group and intra­ group comparative study on the basis of the data available in earlier censuses. 8. Social mobility movements among the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. 'On the basis of each of the subsidiary studies indicated above, a separate monograph is under prepamtion. It is also proposed to prepare separate monograph on a few Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and ethnic groups with special status in each State. Besides, ethnographic glossaries are proposed to be prepared in respect of all Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. For this purpose about one lakh references -have been indexed. The present report on Chhimbe of Himachal Pradesh is one of the monographs included in the series of ethnographic studies. The ·field investigation was carried out in two stages. At the first stage data were collected by Shri R. P. Naula under the guidance <)f Shri N. O. Nag, Officer on Special Duty. The data when consolidated brought into focus some problems which required further investigations. At the second stage Shri Nag accompanied by Shri Nau1a visited the field and carried out further studies. The draft report prepared by Shri Naula was revised by Shri Nag. Though the study was conducted under my general guidance, the credit of editing of this particular report .pertains to Shri Nag . I take this opportunity to express my thanks to all the colleagues who collaborated in this ~~ .

Shri H. 1. Harit, Investigator (now Research Officer), who is looking after the compilation of information from published sourc~s in respect of all Scheduled Castes and Scheduled- Tribes and 9ther special ethnic groups of India deserves mention.

I Shri A. Mitra, Registrar General of India, for 1961 Census, Whose farsighted initiative is responsible for social investigations in a large number of fields including ethnography, des­ erves thanks of all students of Indology. I have been benefited not only by his inspiration, but also by his valuable suggestions in connection with the ethnograhphic studies as well as the other studies, conducted by the Handicrafts and Social Studies Unit.

The tradition built by Shri Mitra, has been continued by Shri A. Chandra Sekhar, the present Registrar General of India. Under his guidance, the scope of the Social Studies by the Census Organisation has been further expanded. In spite of his other pre-occupations, he has gone through the final drafts of the ethnographic notes and given a number of valuable suggestions. I avail of this opportunity to express my gratefulness to him.

B. K. Roy BURMAN

CHHIMBE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

Name, Identity and Origin often combined this craft with washing and dyeing and also commonly working as Darzi, in so much so that According to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Chhimba is not unfrequently translated as tailor. But Tribes Lists (Modification) Order, 1956, 'Chhimbe unlike the other Dhobi, the Chhimba is purely a caste (Dhobi), is notified as a Sched~led Caste. in Himachal of artisans, never being a village menial except as a Pradesh in those areas only which compnsed the erst­ washerman (Ibbetson, op cit). while Union Territory of Himachal Pradesh before its reorganisation in 1966 when some areas of the From the account given by the Chhimbe of Himachal erstwhile Punjab were merged with it. Pradesh about their community it [lppears that nor­ matively by tradition they were expected to be ca1ico­ The bracketing of Dhabi with Chhimbe in Himachal printers; agricultural labour, tailoring and washing of Pradesh has raised certain interesting problems. Chhimbe clothes were also associated with them. It also appears with Dhabi as a synonym is notified as a Scheduled that the name Lilari was associated with Muslim Caste only in Himachal Pradesh, while Dhobi or Dhupi Chhimbe who especialized as Rangrez or dyers. or Dhoba is treated as a Scheduled Caste in Assam, But at present most of the Hindu Chhimbe work as Bihar, Delhi, Manipur, Orissa, Tripura, U.P. and West cultivators, tailors and washermen as their traditional Bengal. Dhobi is not separately' treated as a Sche­ occupation of calico-printing by hand has become al­ duled Caste in Himachal Pradesh. It is true 'that some most obsolete. They do not like to work as washer­ of the Chhimbe inter alia follow the occupation of men as this makes the other communities confuse them washermen but the ethnic group Chhimbe is not always with Dhobi recruited from other ethnic groups of lowd­ synonymous with Dhobi. All the Dhobi or washer­ social status. It appears that as a result of the loss of men in Himachal Pradesh do not belong to the same the traditional occupation of calico-printing-from ethnic group as the Chhimbe. In fact, during the which the community derives its name-the Chhimbe field investigation for the pl'esent monograph it came . have faced a crisis regarding their social identity. to light that in Chamba town the Dhabi or washermen Though they have been to a certain extent carrying on are recruited from Rali, Khatik, Mochi, Dumna and the occupation of washing clothes, it is not considered other castes. The present monograph is based on the as a very respectable or ideal occupation by them. With Chhimbe which is a distinct ethnic group with well the loss of their traditional occupation they have to defined social boundaries. In the subsequent account, perforce depend more on tailoring and washing clothes the community is referred tD as Chhimbe without in addition to following other miscellaneous occupa­ Dhobi being bracketed with it. tions. Thus, they are sometimes confused with Dhobi and Darzi belonging to other ethnic groups of low According to the Chhimbe of Himachal Pradesh the social status. As discussed elsewhere, the caste asso­ word 'Ch.himbe' is actually a corruption or deri­ ciation of Chhimbe tried to get round this dilemma by vation of 'Chippa', which literally means stamping from propagating that the community men should. desist patterns on cotton fabrics. There are many phonetic from following the occupation o(,washing clothes. variations of Chhimbe. Rose (Vol. II, 1911: 166) recorded Chhimba, Chippi, Chhimpi. fbbetson in According to Rose, the Chhimbe are found among the addition to the above mentioned namet has added Muslims, Hindus as well as Sikhs. He has further Chhaimpa (Ibbets9n; Vol. I; 1881: 333) Maclagan has mentioned that the Hindu Chhimbe are divided into further added Chhimba, Chipi, Chhibi and Chhibu two sub-castes, viz. Tank and RhilIa, who do not (Maclagan, 1891, part I: 297). According to Ibbetson inter-marry. He has given the following two legends (op cit) Chappegar and Chappera-=-literally one' who regarding the origin of the Tank and Rhilla Chhimbe. stamps patterns on cloth-are synonyms of Chhimbe. The Cbhimbe of Himachal Pradesh agree that Cbap­ pegar and Chappera are synonyms of Cbhimbe. In 1. "At Pindurpur in the Deccan lived one Bamdeo, fact, these three names have the same etymological who one night entertained Krishna and Ddhoji, but, as significance. But Chappegar or Chappera is not in the latter was a leper, the villagers ejected them. They vogue. They, further clarified that while 'Chhimba' were in mayavi form and at midnight both of them is used as singular 'Chhimbe' is used as plural for the vanished, leaving Bamdeo and her wife asleep. Udhoji name of their community. hid in a shell (Sipi) and when Bamdeo went to wash clothes he found the shell sipi and placed it in the sun. It produced the child Namdeo who-was.. fostered by Bam­ Rose (op cit) has mentioned that the Chhimba is deo's wife. Namdeo taught his son, Tank, and Rhilla, properly a calico-printer who stamps colQured patterns his daughter's son, the arts of dyeing, printing and on the cotton fabric of the country and occasionally washing clothes". (Ibid) stamps similar patterns on paper as well. The Chhimba also takes to tailoring and washing and hence includes the Darzi or tailor, the Lilari or dyer and Dhobi or 2. According to another version popular in Maler­ washermau. Ibbetson (op cit) agrees with the obser­ kotla (Punjab) it is said that, originally the Chhimbe vation of Rose and recorded them as calico-printers who' were a homogenous caste until Namdeo, (himself a Chhimbe and also the patron-saint of the caste) married Kshatriya but at the same time they do realize that by two wives, one a Chhimba woman the other of another doing so, they may not get the status of a Scheduled - caste. From the former sprang the Tank and from the Caste and lose the benefits available to them on account latter the Rhilla. This led to the Tank asserting their sup­ of being treated as such. They, therefore, seem to have eriority over the Rhilla as the former considered them­ developed an ambivalent attitude about the nomen­ selves as pure and the latter impure (Rose; Ibid). clature of their caste name.

The Chhimbe of Himachal Pradesh stated that while In this connection it may be clarified here that while Hindu and a few Sikh Chhimbe are residing in the the Chhimbe refer to themselves as Tank-Kshatriya area the Muslim Chhimbe. have migr~ted to other areas their neighbours refer to them as 'Chhimbe' and the and no longer reside in the State. According to them outsiders, who are not closely acquainted with them the name Tank has the same etymological significance as Dhobi or Darji, according to the occupation followed as the Chhimba, viz. stamping patterns on fabrics with by ,them. Even Tank-Kshatriya is not given as their wooden blocks known as Thappa in vernacular. Ac­ caste name by all the Chhimbe of Himachal Pradesh. cording to them all belong to the Tank group and that This word is given by mostly Chhimbe elites or a few they have no idea about Rhilla sub-division mentioned by educated persons among them, specially when the Rose. It was, however, found that some other members question of their association with Dhobi is posed to of their community also refer to themselves as 'JaI them. Kshatriya'. In vernacular the word 'Jal' means water and those Chhimbe who are primarily engaged in the occupation of washing clothes refer to themselves as According to the Chhimbe of Bilaspur and Mandi 'Jal Kshatriya' rather than Dhobi. The members of their ancestors migrated to the hiIIs of Himachal Pra­ the community who refer to themselves as 'Jal Ksha­ desh from the plains of Punjab many generations ago triya' and those as Tank Kshatriya do inter-.dine and but they could not state as to why and when these migrations took place. They also could not give any inter-marry. In fact, these words are used III occu­ definite idea about the place from where they immigrated pational sense and while some members of t~e s~me family may refer to themselves as 'Jal Kshatnya, the to their present habitats in Himachal Pradesh. They others call themselves as Tank Kshatriya. It may, how­ could only state that they immigrated to mostly Bilas­ ever be clarified here thai the name 'Jal Kshatriya' was pur and Mandi districts of Himachal Pradesh at least repdrted by the Chhimbe residing in Mandi district only. last 300 years ago. It may be mentioned here that ac­ In Chamba and Bilaspur districts as well as Solan town cording to 1961 Census more than fifty per cent of their all the Chhimbe referred to themselves as Tank-Ksha­ population returned from the above two districts. They infOTmed that they first specialised in dyeing, triya, irrespective o.f the fact w~eth~r t~ey followed the profession of washmg clothes or tallormg. It appears calico-printing and stamping on cotton fabrics and later that the term 'Jal Kshatriya' is a new innovation. on they also took to washing clothes, a profession that was at one time restricted to Muslims and ethnic groups of low social status. It is stated in the 1931 Census Report of Punjab that -certain associations of Hindu and Sikh members of the occupational castes of Chipi (Chhimbe) made re­ Distribution and Population Trend presentations that their caste should be recorded as As mentioned elsewhere, the Chhimbe is treated as Tank-Kshatriya. Their argument is contained in the a Scheduled Caste in Himachal Pradesh only and ac­ following abstract from their representation reproduced cordingly the community was enumerated during the in the Census Report: 1961 Census in that State only. But from the earlier census reports it appears that they are also found in "The word Chipi, Chippa, Chapegar or Chhimba some other neighbouring States such as Jammu and takes its origin from '-'Shilip", Which is but another Kashmir Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh «(i) Cen­ name for handicraft, an art highly spoken of by the learn­ sus oflndia, 1911, Vol. XX Kashmir, Part I, 1912,220; ed men of the past, and constituting a compulsory (ii) Census of India, 1931, Vol. XXVII, Punjab, Part course of training for the Kshatriyas of the olden days. II 1933' (iii) Census of India, 1911, Vol. XXII, Raj­ Hence, it was that Shri Ram Chandra Ji's sons Lahu p~tqna, 'Ajmer, Marwar, Part II, 1915; (iv) Census and Kushu, Dhrit Raashtriya's sons Duryodhan, etc. of India 1911, Vol. XV, U.P. Part II, 1915). In fact, and Pandu's sons (Pandavas) were all expert in "Shi­ from th~ earlier census enumerations it aJ'pears that lip" or handicraft", (Census ofIndia, 1931, Punjab, Vol. they have their largest concentration in the erstwhile XVIII, Part I, 1933: P. 356). Punjab-.

1t is not known whether the claim to the status of The Chhimbe is a minor Scheduled Caste of Himachal Kshatriya has been forwarded in the wake of the threat Pradesh. According to the 1961 Census, the community of the loss of social identity due to attrition or loss of returned a population of 2,194 only in the State. While traditional occupation of stamping patterns on fabrics the Scheduled Castes comprise 27· 38 per cent of the total which led to their depending more and more on the population of Himachal Pradesh, the Chhimbe form occupations of tailQrjng and washing clothes and as a only 0·59 per cent of the total Scheduled Caste popu­ result getting mixed up with the Dhobi assigned a low lation of the State and ony 0.16 per cent of the total social status. In any case, they are faced with a dilemma. population of Himachal Pradesh. As Dhobi is brac­ No doubt, they could propagate themselves as Tank- keted with Chhimbe, it is not unlikely that some Dhobi 3 of other ethnic groups have also been returned along returned themselves by the name Chhimbe as they claim with Chhimbe. In fact, as stated in the preceding ac­ themselves to be Tank-Kshatriya which, at least in erst­ count, it was found during the field investigations that while Punjab, was accepted as a caste name' on a repre­ in Chamba some Dhobi belonging to other ethnic sentation being made by' their caste association during groups returned themselves as Chhimbe during 1961 the 1931 Census. The following table gives the district­ census enumerations. On the other hand, it is also wise and tehsil-wise population of the Chhimbe in possible that some members of the community have not Himachal Pradesh.

Table showing the district-wise and tehsil-wise population of Chhimbe of Himachal Pradesh as per 1961 Census (Census of India, 1961, Vol. XX, Part V, 1965)

S. No. District/Tehsil Urban/Rural Males Females Total 2 3 4 5 6

T. Chamba District 64 70 134 Chamba Tehsil U 35 40 75 R Churah Tehsil U .. R J Bhattiyat TehsiI • U R 29 29 58 II. Mandi District 269 282 551 Mandi Tehsil U 59 57 116 R 42 30 72 Joginder Nagar Tehsil U 2 2 R 8 9 17 Sundar Nagar Tehsil U 6 6 R 6 4 10 Sarka Ghat Tehsil U R 148 173 321 Karsog Tehsil U .. R 6 1 7 III. BUaspur District 353 333 686 Bilaspur Tehsil U 44 31 75 R 155 151 306 Ghamarwin Tehsil U R 154 151 305 IV. Mahasu District 233 214 447 Arki Tehsil U .. 7 7 R m 118 256 Solon Tehsil U 42 35 77 R 36 46 82 Theog Tehsil U 7 4 II R

Rampur Tehsil U .. " R 1 1 Seoni Sub-Tehsil U ,. R ) 2 Kasumpti Tehsil U .. R 8 3 11 V. Simlur District 204 171 375 Nahan Tehsil U 40 33 73 R 15 8 23 Paonta Tehsil U 24 19 43 R 42 29 71 Pachhad Tehsil U R 45 44 89 Rainuka Tehsil U ...... R 38 38 76 VI. Ki,maur District 1 1 Kalpa Sub-division .. l' 4

It is seen from the preceding table that they have their females, thus having a sex ratio of 952 which compafes largest concentration in the Bilaspu\' and Mandi Dis­ favourably well with the overall sex ratio of 941 for ~ tricts which cover more than }:lalf the population of the community, while only one person has been returned the general popUlation and 957 sex ratio for the Sche­ from Kinnaur District. But in the light of the earlier duled Caste population of the country as a whole. In discussion it may be mentioned here that perhaps the fact, they betray a slightly higher sex ratio than that above figures do not represent the actual population among the average Scheduled Caste population of of the ethnic' group Chhimbe. Himachal Pradesh viz. 932.. The following table gives the sex-wise dist~ibution of Chhimbe by broad age Sex ratio: Out of 2,194 Chhimbe enumerated during the 1961 Census, 1,124 are males while 1,070 groups as per 1961 Census (ibid).

Table shOWing the sex-wise distribution of Chhimbe by broad age groups (as per 1961 Census)

Age Group Males Females Total Sex Ratio 2 3 4 5

0-14 459 441 900 961 (40.84%) (41.22 %) (41.02%)

15-44 444 475 919 1070 (39.50%) (44.39%) (41.89%)

45 and above 221 154 375 697 (19.66%) (14.39%) (17.09%)

Total 1124 1070 2194 952 (100%) (100%) (100%)

It is seen from the above table that the Chhimbe have of those areas of the State wherein the com~unlty is a higher sex ratio of 1,070 in the reproductive age group. notified as a Scheduled Caste. -The same is given below: On the other hand, they have lowest sex ratio in the -age group 45 and above. This would indicate that Year Population perhaps there is a higher mortality rate among the fe­ males in above 45 age group. Their sex ratio also 1911 659 • appears to be well disposed towal'ds a higher growth rate. But as the overall population figure of Chhimbe 1921 1023 is small, nothing conclusive can be drawn from it. 1931 953 1961 2194 Rural-urban distribution: From the 1961 Census data it is seen that out of their total population of 2,194, It is seen from the above table that during the decade 1,708 Chhim be are residing in the rural areas, while only 1911-21 the population of Chhimbe increased by 364, 486 in the urban areas. In other words, as may as 77·85 from 659 to 1023 or in other words their popUlation per cent of their population reside in villages and 22 .15 increased by nearly 55.24 per cent. During the nextdecade, . per cent in towns. Though the population is obviously however, there was a slight decline in their population, predominantly rural, the number of residents in urban i.e., their population came down by 70 from 1~23 in areas are by no means negligible: If the rural-urban 1921 to 953 in 1931. Many reasons can be attnbuted distribution is considered in terms of sex ratio, it is for this shortfall. One could be that during 1921 some found that as against the 952 sex ratio of the Chhimbe of the Dhabi belonging from other ethnic groups also for the State as a whole their sex ratio is 963 in the returned themselves as Chhimbe. On the other hand, rural areas, while it is only 913 in the urban areas. as pointed out earlier, it would also appear that during This would suggest that there has been no la~ge scale 1931 some Chhimbe might have returned themselves as .­ migrations of the male Chhimbe population to urban Tank-Kshatriya since there was a move by their caste areas and only a few of the males have migrated to urban association that they should be recorded as the above­ areas apparently in search of jobs or employment. named caste. It may be worthwhile to mention here that in the undivided Punjab as many as 16331 persons Population trend: The population figures of the returned themselves as Tank-Kshatriya in addition to Chhimbe of Himachal Pradesh are not available for all 124585 persons who recorded their caste as Chhimbe. the earlier decades of tbe century in the earlier census (C.1. 1931: Vol. XXVIII, Punjab,PartII, 193~). Though reports. However, ati attempt has been made to com­ the ~eparate figures for Tank-Kshatriyas is not available pute whatever population figures are available in respect in respect of the areas covered by Himachal Pradesh, 5 it is likely that as in the case of Punjab at least some being 167 emS'. Their skin celour varies from light of the Chhimbe in the latter area returned themselves as brown to brown. The form of the hair on the head Tank-Kshatriya in 1931, thereby showing a decline in is wavy with predominance of low waves. The de­ population when compared to 1921 Census. It is of pressiC!n at the root of the nose is mostly shallow and some interest to mention here that in conformity with the noses are fairly sharp with normal alae. The face the above decline during the 1921-31 decade in Himachal is predominantly oval with medium chin and medium Pradesh there was a decline in the population ofChhimbe thick lips. Prognathism is more or less absent. The during 1931 Census as compared to 1921 in the un­ 'eye slits are straight without any epicanthic fold. divided Punjab. The figures for 1941 and 1951 are not available but the community have more than doubled Family and Inheritance of Property its population in the last three decades as in 1961 Census their population was registered at 2194, tlius As in the case of other local communities of Hima­ showing an increase of1241 as compared to 1931 figure. chal Pradesh, the Chhimbe trace their descent along the male line. They are patronymic and patripotestal. Residence after marriage is oriented towards patri­ Physical Characteristics locality but in a few cases it is neolocal though generally The limited published literature on the community patri-vicinal. The extended families, linear, colla­ do not provide any information or clue to their physical teral as well as linear-cum-collateral, are quite common characteristics or racial affinity. However, in order to among them, as is indicated by the particulars of the get some idea about their physical features, height vertex family compositions collected in respect of 21 house­ and somatoscopic observations were recorded in respect holds. These provide a good deal of insight in the of 30 adult male members of the community during the matter and are indicated below: survey conducted for the present study. Care was taken not to include persons in the sample who S.No. Composition of the Household No. of stood in consanguneous relationship with each other. house­ balds Their height vertex ranged from 152·00 ems. to 179-00 ems., the mean being 167·00 cms., which falls in the category of 'above medium' stature. The skin colour 1. Self, wife and unmarried children 4 on the exposed parts, such as the face, varied from light 2. Self and wife only 2 brown to brown col6ur. Out of 30 persons, 4 or 13· 33 per 3. Single male cent were having light brown skin colour, 11 or 36·67 per 4. Widow with unmarried son cent medium brown, 10 or 33)3 per cent yellow brown and the remaining 5 or 16· 67 per cent brown colour. 5. Widower, his widower son and unmarried The form of the hair on their head was predominantly­ children low-waved as 19 or 63.33 per cent, had hair of this form. 6. Self, wife with unmarried children and There were only 6 persons or 20· 00 per cent who were wife's widowed mother 1 having medium. waved hair and the remaining 5 or 7. Self and wife with unmarried children, 16.67 per cent had hair with deep waves. Their noses widowed brother of the former and the were fairly sharp with normal alae or wings. Only latter's adopted son . 2 persons or 6. 67 per cent were having somewhat flared alae or nostrils. The depression at the root of the 8. Self and wife with their children includ­ nose was found tQ be shallow in majority of the cases. ing one married son and his wife Only 3 persons or 10·00 per cent were having medium 9. Self and wife with their children includ­ depression. Their eye slits were straight without the ing one married son with his wife and presence of any epicanthic fold. Their face was pre­ ~~~ 2 dominantly oval in shape as 22 persons or 73.33 per cent 10. Self, his wife and children including one were having oval face and the remaining 8 or 26·67 married son, latter's wife and children; per cent round face. The chin showed moderate deve­ and brother's widow lopment in all the cases. As regards t-hickness of lips, 1I. Four brothers, their wives and unmarried 22 persons or 73·33 per cent were having medium thick lips while 6 or 20·00 per cent were having somewhat thin children; and their widowed father . lips. Only 2 persons or 6·67 per cent showed a tendency 12. Self and wife with their children includ­ towards thickness of the lips. Prognathism-the pro­ ing two married sons and their wives . jection of the face or jaws-was absent in 28 or 93.33 13. Self and wife with their children includ­ per cent cases. But 2 persons or 6· 67 per cent ing at least two married sons, their wives betrayed a tendency for slight alveolar prognathism. and grand sons . 2 Their cheek bones were moderately developed as out 14. Self, his wife and children including at of the 30 persons covered in the sample, 25 or 83·33 per least two married sons and their wives cent were having medium developed cheeks. Only 5 per­ and brother's widow . sons or 16.67 per cent wc

Ir is seen from the' Above table that only half the The Chimmbe informants in vilh.ges and Mandi town households covered do not have extended f~milies of mentio,ned that in their community the incidence of one sort or the other. These include four nuclea.r, three extended type of families is quite high. They attributed incomplete and' one broken nuclear household. The this practice to -certain historic?J factors rather than three cases of incomplete nuclear households include only the traditional norms pre~cribed by the com­ two cases where only husband and wife were forming munity elders. According to th~m during the Raja's the household and one case where a single man was time (Mandi being a princely_ State before its merger living alone. The broken nuclear household compris-' with the Union of India), the sons of a family were ed an unmarried male and his widowed mother. One debarred to press for the division of the property of the two remaining cases can be termed as broken during the life time of their father.' This encouraged nuclear with adhesion as in this case a widow was the families to have an extended type of orientation residing with his widowed son .and the latter's un­ and often they continued to be so even after the father's married children. until recently this was an extended demise. A..::cording to the community's norm it is type of household which has been 'reduced to the pre­ not considered a deviant behaviour on the part of the sent status due to the recent demise of the wife and married son to set up his separate household. But the son's wife of thc head of the household.. The generally, if there is only one son, he continues to stay other case can be termed as nuclear with 'adhesion as with his parents after his marriage. It is incumbent in that houschold a. widow was staying with her married upon the married son to maintain his aged or disabled daughter, her husband and their unmarried children. widowed father or mother. Failure to do so may not There is another household which has an interesting result in ex-communication but there is certainly loss composition. Tn this case a man. along with his Wife of face and prestige. Separation usually takes place and their unmarried children share the household when there are more than two married sons and their with his widowed brother and the latter's adopted son. wives are not able to pull on with each other. I n such cases separation may now be affected even during the life time Of the father, as is illustrated by the case of The extended type of households include linear, the forty years old G.R. He is one of the three sons collateral, as- well as linear-cum-collateral types.- Of of his father. He continued to stay with his father and these, three are typical cases of linear extended house­ brothers for tcn years after his marriage. It is alleg­ holds. The only distinction ampng {hcf!! being that ed that his aggressive temperament and use of offensive while one of these households sparts two generations, language led to his being involved in a quarrel with the other two span three. In .another household of his father and brothers. Eventually, his separation linear extension the widow of the brother of the head from the others followed. He has now established his of the household also stays along with other' members. own household and got his share of property while his father continues to share the household with his other In a household of collateral type !)f orientation four two sons- ~H.R. and D.R., their wives and children. married brothers along with their wives' and unmarr.ied The latter have a common hearth .and purse and have children are staying with their widower father. The not divided the property among them. But separation remaining households show different configura1ions of is more common 'after the death of the father. One linear-cum-collatersl tynes. In one of the cases the such case is given below: head of the household Qud his wife sh:..re the household with their children including two married sons and their wives. In another two caSt;;~ the households span three RS., G.R., S.L. and N.R., the four brothers were generations as apart from the. relations mentioned in once staying together along with their father. the above case the head of the household was having After the demise of their father ::!bout 12 years ago grand children as well. In yet another case the widow there was a dispute over the ancestral property. of the brother oi the head of the household was staying The youngest of the four brothers, S. L. is now aged 50 with the latter, his wife and their children which also he was 38 years old when s~paration took place. included two "married sons and thcir wives and un­ R.S. and G,R. got separated from S.L. and N R. married children. Now the four brothers have split up into two house­ holds. Two each are sharing a household with their It is observed that in some cases somewhat distant wives and ,children. It is interesting to observe relations share the household. This finds illustration here that de~nite separation the two emergent house­ iQ the remaining one of the 21 cases investigated where­ holds continue to have an orientation towards extend­ in a widower was sharing the household with his married ed type. sons and their wives and children as well as the dead widowed' daughter's son, his wife and children. Whenever the married brothers or son separate, they usually build their houses in the vicinity of the parental Though the above data are not adequate enough to house. hazard any generalisation abol,lt tne family orienta­ tion of the Chhimbe for the State as a whole, it do sug­ It may be mentioned here that the property is equally gest that the incidence of joint or extended family is distributed among the sons. But in case there happens quite significant in the areas where field investigations to be an unmarried son he is given some extra money ..yel'e carried 'on for the present study. But there is by his elder brotlier or brothers in addition to his share some other indirect evidence which indicates that the of the property. In case of dispute, the amount to be joint family has some stronghold in the community. given to hill). is decided upon by the caste panchayat. 1. Front view of a Chhimbe male

3 RGI/ND/71 . · 2. Profile of a Chhimbe male • 3. Front view of a Chhimbe fe-male 4. Profile of a Chhimhe female 7

It is said that the additional amount is proviJt:d to him If a man has no son or daughter and possesses,pro­ ·for incurring the nec~ssary expenses on his marriage, perty, he may designate some close relative to be his by way of bride price, etc. It may 110t be out of place heir but more often than not he adopts a son, usually to mention here the case of one L.D. of Bilaspur. from amongst the cogllates. A female child is rarely His father, C.R., died leaving behind his two sons­ adopted and the adopted male child is a J.:elative who L.D. and K.R. The elder SOI1, K.R. was married stands to gain by way of acquisition of property on during the life time of his father. After the father's adoption. Though cognates are preferred, a daughter's death the property was equally divided between the son also gets a chance if he happens to be one of the two sons. But the caste panchayflt asked the elder many sons of a poor father. Adoption is publicly brother, who was married, to pay an additional amount made with legal formalities but without any formal of Rs. 650 to his brother so that it enables the latter to ceremony and the adopted child one day simply comes contribute to his marriage expe!ises. Tbis was con­ to stay with his foster parents. In order to avoid sidered rather obligatory on his part by the caste pan­ sufferings, or longing for parents, usually a child is chayat as it was realised that the elder son had already adopted when he is just above the age of breast suckling, got the benefit from the father who incurred expendi­ less than two years of age. But G,R. of Bilaspur ture on his marriage. adopted the son of his brother- S.R.""- when the child was only two months old. But he came to stay with A widow acquires a life interest in the property so him after si~ months. No ceremony was performed long as she does not remarry. III case of. division of nor any feast given to the community men or property she 'is also accorded a share equiv~lent to neighbours on this occasion. Adoption is considered that of one of the sons. After her death, the property as a private matter though carried out with the consent passes on to her sons. If she is earning, she can spend of the community. In some rare cases when a couple her earnings according to her own sweet will. If does not beget a child, they may adopt an adult per­ she has minor sons she holds their share of property son. The adoption is arranged with an advanced as a trustee till they come to age. Often this ~talls understanding that the adopted person is to surrender the division of property as she tries to bind the sons in his claim to the property of his natal parents. Some­ one hcusehold and as a result, they 'become co-parce­ times, adoption leads to tensions and evokes ill-will as ners in the ancestral pr-operty unless one or more is indicated by the following anecdote. brothers, after marriage, insist on e"stablishing separate household which is accompanied by the division of property. ft will not be out of place to mention here It is said that in February 1965, N.R., a Chhimbe, a case of division of property. L.R. of Rewalsar was adopted a boy belonging to an Achraj community. the eldest of the four married brothers. After his It is said that the" Achraj's daughter was already preg­ death there was a split in the family and the other nant before she was married. She gave birth to a son brothers decided to divide properJy and the famil¥ five months after her marriage. At the time of the assets. The ancestral property was diyided into equal birth of her child she was staying with her parents. shares. The house was partitioned and the cl:!ltivable The Achraj had alr~ady promised N.R. that he would lal)d divided among the four brothers and S.D., the wife hand over him the c.hild as he was anxious to get rid of L.R., S.D. is now living separately with her son, of the illegitimate child of his daughter while, on the S.R., who is a minor, being 15 years old. A share of other hand, N.R. who could not beget a child from his the property is held by S.D. as a trustee for her son wife was very keen to adopt one without bothering and she will transfer the same to her son when he for' the credential of the child or his parents. The attains adulthood. Caste Panchayat raised some objections, namely. that the child was, firstly, illegitimate, secondly, did not belong to their own community and thirdly that a Due to the enactment o( the Hindu Succession Act child should have been adopted from amongst the the daughters inherit the ancestral property equally cognates or other close kins, so as not to allow the with the sons. But the community men are not happy property to go out from the community. N.R. did with this development as they feel that this interferes not pay any heed to the objections of the Panch-aynt and remained adamant in his resolve to rear the ,chilti for with their traditional customary laws which entitle himself. As a result, he has been ex-communicated only the sons to have share in the landed property. "from the community. But N.R. himself does not care They believe that the Hindu Succession Act which con­ much about it as he believes that he has committed no fers equal property rights on the sons and the daughters sin in ,adopting a child for himself and delivering a breeds ill-will between the brothers and sisters. They woman from th.e embarrassing position of rearing an illegitimate child. As for himself the illegitimacy Qf are particularly reluctant to provide property to the the child is of no consequence to him as he believes married daughters or sisters. As regards an unmarried that this child too is a gift of the God and has an equal girl, they believe that it is the duty of, the brothers to right to eke out a decent li¥ing. maintain her and get her married. rn fact, the Chhimbe stated that according to their customary Jaw it is pre­ Although an adoption is made only when there is no ferred that the property goes to brother's son rather other issue in the family, but it is said that, if a child is than the OWl) daughter whose marriage will result in born to the foster parents after. adoption, the adopted the property going out of the hand of the siblings. son and the own child inherit equally. 8

Clan and other Analogous Divisions Settlement and Dwellings It a1>pears that though the Chhimbe are divided into The settlement pattern and 'dwellings of Chhimbe many exogamous units they do not always appear to were studied in Deoli and Mandi Manvai villages in be very clear about its sociological import. Many Bilaspur district as well as Rewalsar village itt Mandi members of the community tend to confuse the gotra district. To have an idea about their settlements in with Al and even jati. However, on a deeper probe it the urban areas, some of the localities in Mandi and became clear that those who are not clear in the matter Bilaspur towns were also visted for the purpose. There use the word Jati, which is generally used fdr a caste are no villages which can be termed as exclusively of or community, as synonymous with AI. The follow­ Chhimbe community. ing 15,names were given as the names of their exoga­ mous units by Chhimbe of Himachal Pradesh: Settlement pattern: They live in multi-ethnic villages and generally do not form even separate hamlets of their own. Usually, they do not have more than 5-6 1. Chauh~n houses in a village, while in many villages there is not 2. Chandel a single household of the community, Chhimbe being numerically a minor community of Himachal Pra­ 3. Powar desh. 4. Kaundal 5. Kaith Their settlem~nt pattern does not show any distinctive feature. In many cases their houses are located amidst 6. Tiare the houses of caste Hindus and other communities and 7. Prashar their settlement pattern is in keeping with the general 8. Saunkhle pattern of the area where they reside. The village settlements are not well-planned and do not have a 9. Salehriya regular shape. In -some cases the houses are isolated 10. Satraviye from each other by open space or homestead land while 11. Rathore in others they are in close proximity of each other and sometimes may have common adjoining side walls. 12. Sakralia 13. Panjare In Rewalsar village in Mandi district there are only 14. Bulah four houses of the Chhimbe. These two are inter­ mingled with the houses of caste Hindus. But all of 15. Braiha them are not located together. Two houses are adja­ cent to each other while the other two are scattered amidst the houses of other communities I and located Most of the above names were mentioned as Als, at some distance from the other two houses occupied (lineage groups) by some Chhimbe while a few, such as by the members of the community. One of their. houses Rathore, Chauhan, Chandel, Prashar and Powar were has walls adjacent to the walls of a house in which given as the names of their gotras by some other mem­ a Brahmin household is residing. bers of their community. The names. Saunkhle and Salehriya are derived from certain territories in Hima­ The Deoli village is a somewhat large village located chal Pradesh and, therefore their etymological signi­ at Simla-Bilaspur-Mandi Road. The village is form­ ficance is territorial. According to some of the infor­ ed by three distinct hamlets, viz. Bakhail, Deoli and mants the names of their A Is are derived from the names Saryali. There is a small stream, known as Ali Khad, ' of their ancestors or the localities whcre the head of which traverses the village. Two of the three hamlets, the' Al resided. It is interesting that those who indi­ viz. Bakhail and Saryali are situated on one side of cated the exogamous unit as Al could not name any the stream, while the third one-Deoli-is bifurcated by gotra found in their community and denied having the stream. The Bakhail hamlet is occupied by Lohar any such unit while those who gave out four or five and Chamar communities, while, Saryali hamlet is names as that of their gotras could not mention the exclusively inhabited by the Chamars. The Deoli names of the Al(s) amo1'lg them.. It is interesting to ham1et, named after the village, is the largest hamlet observe that a few regarded Tiare as their A 1. While and is occupied by a number of communities including the others considered it as their gotra. It may be Rajput, Brahmin, Vohra (Khatri), Sunar, Jullaha, clarified here that the above five mentioned names given Bhanjre, Kohli, Lahar, Daole and Chhimbe. A school as gotras are also found among the Rajputs. It is building and seven houses of Rajput, Koli ·and Vohra not unlikely that as a measure of social climbing or social communities are located on the one side of the stream mobility the Chhimbe started naming their exogamous whereas the bulk of the population live 011 the other units after the names of a few clans or gotras found side. Here, the houses of Bhanjre form a sort of a among'the Rajputs in the wake of~their claim to the separate sub·hamlet, while those of Dumne and Chamar status of Kshatriya. Anyhow, the Al 'performs the are located at the periphery of the hamlet. The houses same' functions as gotra and marriages in the com­ of the other communities mentioned above, including munity are regulated on the principle of Al or gotra the Chhimbe, are intermingled and built in proximity exogamy. But there is no hierarchy of status among to each other. They are, however, set apart from each the above exogamous units and no particular unit other by small open space and it is only rarely that is preferred or avoided in regulating marriages. any two houses are having a common wall. 3 RGI/ND/71 6. Interior view of a kitchen in a Chhimbe house 9

The other village covered in the district, viz., Mandi • hold, who intends building a house, to bring a handful Manva, has come' up only recently when the Bilaspur of grains and few blades of drub grass and flowers. town was submerged ip the Gobind Sagar which came The priest puts them in a thali or brass plate full of up in the wake of the Bhakra Dam. Here, . the com­ water kept at the centre of the proposed site and stirs munities displaced as a result of the constructIOn of the them with dry blades of kusha, a local variety of grass. dam were provided house sites by the Government. If the above items assemble or stick together in a This neo-village provides an opportunity to study the bunch the site is approved, otherwise the ritual is repeat­ attitude of different communities in the matter of their ed at some other available site to get the desired results. settlement with. respect to their caste affiliations and \ status. The communities which have settled in the The foundations of the houses are dug at least 2-3 new village are the Brahmin, Rajput, Koli, J u!laha, feet-deep and the walls are raised from the foundation Dumne (Bhanjre), Dhewar, Chamar and Chhlmbe. bed and generally made of masonry dressed stones set But there are, only two houses of Chhimbe. One of in mortar. The walls of the ground floor are raised them is located in the centre of the village and flanked from either the same material as in the foundations, by the houses of Brahmin and Rajput families. The viz. stones dressed in mortar or brick and mortar. The other house belonging to a Chhimbe is loc~ted at s0tTle dressing of stones cost more and, therefore, poorer distance from .the other houses. It was notIced that the people build walls of ground floor with bricks. The houses of different communities do not fotm clusters walls of the upper storey are, however, almost invaria- of their own and all of _them, including the castes of • bly built from bricks and mortar. The floors are low social status which are actually treated as Sche,duled made with a mixture of cowdung and clay or cement; Castes su~h as Chhimbe, Dumne, etc., are found inter­ the latter material is now progressively replacing the , mingl;d. It is true. that the house sites were provided former. As far as possible, only the locally available by the Government to the displaced persons, irrespective materials are used in the construction of the houses. of their caste affiliations, but the allottees, who were Slates for roofing are, however, usually brought from interviewed, were not averse to the different com1l1unities Suket near Mandi. Iron handles for doors, bolts, of different social status living in proximity of each nuts and screws are purchased from the hardware other. No inter-community teI1sions appeared to have shops in the nearby towns. The approach to the first come into force. floor is provided by.a staircase either kept in the front verandah in the ground :floor or in the courtyard, In the Bilaspur· and Mandi towns the Chhimbe do not i.e., the approach to the first floor is from inside the live in separate Mohal~as or localities. They resi~e. in house and not outside. The main entrance to house is houses il:1.termingled wIth those of other commUnIties. always from the' east or west. It is particularly con­ The size and construction of the houses is primarily sidered inauspicious if the entrance of the house is determined by the economic I status of the household. from the south. The Chhimbe live in their own houses or rented from others. In Mandi, (lne of tfiem had sublet his house Generally, the windows are barred with iron rods for to a Brahmin .immigrant from Kangra town who is' safety. The well-to-qo families provide window, employed in a Weaving-cum-Training Centre in Mandi shutters while those who cannot provide wooden town. shutters to the windows hang gunny bags or bamboo stripes over them to protect themselves from )Vind and Dwelling: The houses of Chhimbe also do. not betray cold in the winter. In the villages they usually build any distinctive feature and not marked off 111 any way a square platform, ~bout one foot to 1~ feet high and from those of the other communities of the area. The 2 feet in width along the front wall of the house, to size and the construction of a house mainly depends on serve as a verandah open from thr~e sides where the the economic considerations. A well-to-do Chhimbe "inmates and visitors git in the winter to bask under the family may have a good and spacious house, as good as sun. Some well-to-do families also build separate that of an average Brahmin or Rajput household. cattle sheds near the houses. During the day time the In towns the houses are mostly pucca, while in villages cattle are tethered in the angan (courtyard) in front they are pucca or semi-pucca. In the villages covered of the hOJlse. during the survey for the present study they are mostly double-storeyed, with or without gabled ro.of. The A white indigenous clay, locally known as makol or roof is either made of slates or thatched WIth grass goloo, is used for white washing. A mixture of cow­ reeds, bamboo or locally available timber. ,Sometimes dung and cla)' dissolved in water is applied on the walls galvanised iron sheets are also used for roofing. The and floor for giving a smooth finish to the plaster. houses are well-ventilated and have windows: The Occasionally, say once or twice a week, the floors are doors are usually made of the wood of Shisham (Daber­ also coated with a mi¥.ture of cowdung and clay. But gia sisu) or man~o (Magnifera Indica) tr.ees. The this is not done wherever the cemented floors are pro­ walls are either raIsed from stones dressed III mortar vided. 'or sun-dried bricks. Dress, Ornllments and Tattooing .According to the Chhimbe, before construction of a house they consult their Purohit or family priest for Dress: The traditional dress of the men consists determining whether the house site is auspicious or of pyjama and kurta which are put above the under_ n6The Brahmin priest asks the head of the house- wears, the kachha and baniyan respectively. The " 10

elderly males also put on either a pagri (turban) or ... they could afford it. They, therefore, used to put on topi (cap). Th~y sp~cially p.ut on co!ourful tu~bans ornaments made of silver, brass and alloys. They on festive occaSlOns, Ilke marnages or faIrS and festIVals. were also debarred to put on ornaments of certain The turban is a must for the bridegroom. In day-to­ designs even if they were made of other materials day use, however, cap is given prefe.rence to the turb~n than gold. Now-a-days, though they no longer suffer wllich is considered more appropnate for ceremomal from this social disability only women· from a few occasions. The Pyjama and other garments are affluent families can afford to have gold ornaments. generally made of cotton but homespun and ~and­ There is no ornament which can be considered as woven pyjama of wool, locally known 'as pattt, are distinctive of their community and they put on the also used in winter. By and large this dress holds ornaments in voglle in the areas where they reside. good for elderly persons. The. youngmen, especially in the towns, put on modern shirt and trousers though The more popular ornaments used by which the much care is not taken to maintain the creeze. The Chhimbe women adorned themselves are the Chak, male children wear nicker or half pants and kamiz Saggi, JllOomer, Tikka and Sai which are put on the or shir~. head, on the partiitg of the hair. For the ears, Bali (ear-rings), Lurka and Topazes are popular. Til/i, The traditional dress of the females is a ghaghra Laung and Nath are put on the nose. Varieties of (a plaited skirt with folds) ~nd choN (bodice). A necklaces, chains, beads and thick silver shings are dupatta is also used for covenng the breasts as well also worn by them round their neck, the more common as for serving the purpose of a headgear. The ghaghra being Kanthi, H(/r, Has/i and Chanderhar. Bracelets, is a sort of a skirt with many folds and made from a like Kangan, Chhalbala, Bajuband and Gharichuri cloth of a minimum length of six yards. Its border are worn by them on the wrist. Various types of has usually colourful designs. The choli is generally anklets are also in vogue which include Pajeb, Shakuntala­ made of cotton textile but in winter it is mpstly fashioned chqin and Haradana. Chhap, Chhale and Arsi are from patti, the locally handspun and woven woollen popular varieties of rings put on the fingers. Most material. The dupatta, which is generally used by of the above mentioned ornaments are generally put young married women or girls, is generally of fine Oil by married women. But it may be clarified that muslin material of bright colours. But widows and only a few well-to-do women possess all the above elderly women instead use a chadra, which is of white mentioned ornaments. Even, otherwise they put on colour and made of coarse cotton material. In th.e only a few ornaments at a time. 6enerally, the full past elderly wome~ sometimes used ~urti and Suthen galaxy of ornaments find an occasion ef display when (light trousers) which reach up to ankles only. But they attend a marriage function in the family or in the now its use has become almost obsolete.. In recent community, Except on certain special occasions years, sa/war (baggy trousers} and Kqmiz (colla:less they generally put on only the Tilli, Kangall and Chhap, shirt) is increasingly becommg popUlar, espeCIally ChhaJe and a necklace or, two. The unmarried girls among the younger generation. In fact, in the towns generally put on only a few coloured glass bangles it is more likely as not that women of the community and a pair of Kangan and Chhap. Traditionally, are ~attired in the above dres~ rather than the trad i­ a widow is not permitted to put on any ornament. tional ghagra, choli and dupatta. But in case her sons, are married, she may put on a few bangles and a ring. The women keep long hair which are parted in the centre and are gathered in many small plaits which It is said that in the past the Chhimbe males also are then joined to a braid it the back of the head. used t,o put on ear-rings of silver or alloy, locally known, The end of tae braid is secured by a net of silken as Murki (ear-ring). The use of tabeej (an amulet) cotton threads, called pranda.~ Young women, of silver was quite common among tllem. But now especially in the towns, use modern hair nets and hair only those males who participate in the wrestling pins to keep the hair in place. The males get their .bouts, called Chhinj put on amulets. Usually, the hair cropped in western style, and generally do not youngmen do not use any ornament as its use by men keep unkempt hair or beard, though many keep is considered old fashioned and oufdated. Now, moustaches. - occasionally, an old man is seen wearing a Murki made of silver or gold. However, a few 'of them do The males generally put on Cham ba cfrappals (made put on a ring on the index finger. of leather) or modern shoes as footwear. But elderly males still cling to the indigenous julio In day-to-day Tattooing: A few Chhimbe males carry tattoo use they put on a pair of chappa/s made of rubber as marks of different shapes on various parts of the body. they are cheaper. The women wear ordinary chappals But tattooing does not appear to be very popular of leather or rubber. The fashionable ones use high­ among them. Though it is claimed by them that this heeled sandals, especially on ceremonial or festive practice has no special significance yet those who occasions. participate in the wrestling boats invariably get them­ selves tattooed. Even some young male boys between Ornaments: According to the Chhimbe, as in the the ages of ~-IO, who'are reported to have participated case of some other Schoouled Castes their women­ in the wrestling bouts, were also observed to have folk were not permitted the use of gold orna:ments these tattoo marks on different parts of their body. by the Caste Hindus in Himachal Pradesh, even if The most common design was that of th~ im.ag~of -..:.::-1--

..... _,. <).: .-::wt

, ~ 1"-Ii" ~::- ,~. . J,l

7. A Chhimbefamily in their day-to-day dress 8. Chhimbe women in their day-to-day dress •

• 3 RGI/ND/11 10. Feeding time for the Cattle 11 Hanuman, the GO_d of strength. It would thus appear th.at there seems to be some mystic belief associated Kheer, as per the usual practice, is prepared by boiling rice and milk together to which some sugar is also with tattooing, such as that it gives strength to the added. body, otherwise this 1)ractice should not have been u~iversal among the' wrestlers. Some persons who were not having tattoo marks were also interviewed. Milk is not generally used in large quantities and They reported that t:ley never participated in the now-a-days the emphasis is more on tea which is pre­ wrestling bouts and as they also did not like to have pared by boiling water to which the necessary quantity such marks, they never got themselves tattooed. of tea leaves and sugar are already added along with a few drops of milk, according to taste. Some females were also seen carrying tattoo marks on their chin and hands in the form of dots and stars. Generally, the unmarried girls do not get themselves Drinking of liqu'or is not so widespread but as in tattooed. It is denied by the members of the com­ the case of non-vegetariul} food they have no CO~l­ munity that there is any restriction for the unmarried punctiQn for taking liquor, especi.ally on ~erem?mal girls to have these marks and generally some women occasions or by those who are addicted. ,It IS clalln~d g?t themselves tattooed after marriage. But they by them that their womenfolk do not drmk alcohohc did not acknowledge that this practice was having beaverages. But smoking of biJi, cigarettes and some special significance. fn the rapid survey for the hukka (hubbIe bubble) is quite popular.. Eve~ te~n­ present study. this aspect could not be gone into more agers smoke without the fear of any senous objectIOn ?etails but the very fact that the married women carry. from their parents and the elders. In fact, some 109 tattoo marks do not aesthetically like them and elderly women aIse smoke for which t~ey gi~e the yet get themselves tattooed at marriage suggests that explanation that smoking checks abdommal dlsea.ses ~t might be having some social significance which which ane common in the area due to the consumptIOn IS lost to the people, as in case of the wrestlers be­ of contaminated or heavy water from khuds, bnwlis, longing to the community baving these marks. streams or springs. It was obs~rve~ that almost every Chhimbe hQuse,hold was havl11g Its own hukka Food and nrink whose stem they shared with the respectable members of their community. Smoking hukka by the memb:rs A}though the Chhimbe are non-vegetarians and of a community from the same stem has a SOCial have no compunction for taking mutton, pork and significance implying <;ommcn social status and those fish as well as eggs they take these dishes only oeca­ who have been ostracised are al\\ays referred to as si~nal!y as. they cannot afford them regularly. But they are those whose 'hukka pani band hai'. (Those who ~re Slid to abjure beef. Their dietary ha1?its do not appear .debarred from sharing food, water and hukka With to va.~y from other communities living in the areas ,the members.of the community). inhabited by them. Their menu vary according to the taste and economic status of the househQld. How­ Utensils: A few necessary items of utensils are ever, their staple food comprises maize wheat and possessed by every Chhimbe house~old ..These c~n rice and pUlses. Usually, they take pul~es with rice be divided into two broad categones, VIZ. utenSils or chapati (bread prepared from the unleavened flour) used in kitchen for cooking and serving dishes ~nd which along with a seasonal vegetable or two com­ those for carrying and storing water and foodgrams. prises. their daily menu. On' special ceremonial The former are generally made" of brass, br?nze or occasions they partake feast which are locally called copper and in a few case steel. The followmg are dham. This consists ofsuch special dishes, as madrah, some of the common kitchen utensils: pa/dah, . muhani, karhld, rale. halwa, puri, babroos, mandar and kheer. Madrah is prepared with beans Parat: a trough of brass which is used for kneading or white grams, locally known as kahli channa. ' These the flour ; ~re soaked in water and kept overnight and then fried m ghee the next day. Spices and curd in appreciable Lola: made of brass; quantity are added with some water and the whole Karchlri: a laddIe of brass'; mixture is kept on a slow fire till it simmers. This ~ish is considered as quite tasty and particu)arly re­ Patila: a. vessel for cooking vegetables and pulses lIshed :vhen taken with rice. Paldah is prepared and is either made of brass or copper ; by addmg curd to vegetable karhhi. Muhani is a sour dish prepare~ wit? amchur (pieces of unripe mango) Glass: a tumbler made of copper or brass; and taken With flee: Karhhi is preplred by dissolv­ Kauli: a brass or copper cup-shaped utensil for ing gram flour in whey and then cooking the same serving vegetables and pulses; and after adding spices. It is also taken with rice. Rale is prepared by adding mustard into the preparation Karahi: a cauldron, made of steel. of karhhi. Halwa or kadha is prepared by frying wheat floyr or suj; in ghce or hydrogenated oil, The vessels u~ed for fetcfoing and "'toring water are after addIng sugar or jaggery syrup to it Purts are the gharCi8 (earthen or made of bra')~ or copper); p~epared as all over the country and generally served handis and ku;as (earthen wares) and haIti (bucket) With halwa. Babroos are small thick chapalis pre­ made of steel.' Some well-to-rlo families also possess pared from the flour which has been soaked in water a few large brass or copper or stet!J vessels called and kept thrOUghout the night for fermentation. baltois and gagars for fetching water. 12

The food grains are stored in an earthen-w'lre vessel of onions. Tejsak or Dalchini and Chho(i Illayach known. as Kuthe/a. The Kuthela is a rectangular (cardamom) are given for common cough. Fot' or a circular box of varying dimensions made of clav dysentery, Gulukand--a conserve prepared from rose and sometimes brass. It has got a small hole at the petals, and hubbalas sharbat (a syrup) is prescribed. top where from the grains are poured and thereafter For minor boils 011 the body a paste of the reetha ~l is ~overed with a lid. Foodgrains are also stored (grounded soap-nut) is applied. An indigenous pre­ 111 pmchu, a vessel made of bamboo sticks which are paration known as Ghutti, consisting of an extract plastered from outside as well as inside with a mixture of Ajawain and Banafsha, petals of rose flower, Sanai of mud and cowdung. and sugar is given to the new born babies .

. The metalli~ utensils are cleaned by rubbing them Language, Literacy and Education With ash obtamed from hearth and soil which gives Language: The Chhimbe speak the dialect of the ~ goad. shine to the utensils. -A brass or copper vessel area where they reside and do not have a patois or a IS considered unclean when it has been used once and dialect of their own. Since they reside in Chamba, it is not restored to the shelf where other vessels are Mandi, Bilaspur, Mahasu and Sirmaur district in kept unless it is rubbed with soil or ash. Similar Himachal Pradesh, they speak the respective dialects is the case with steel vessels, like iron-pan, bucket, of the regions which belong to Western Pahari group. et~. But earthen vessels, .cups and plates made of To the outsiders they speak in Hindi with a slight chma clay are not subjected to this treatment. accent of local Pahari.· According to Grierson, Western Pahari is the name of the large number of Hygienic Habits, Diseases and tbeir Treatment connected dialects spoken in Western Spadalaksha, i.e., in the hill country, of which Simla is the centre. The se~tlements o~ the Chhimbe do not portray The dialects spoken have no standard form and beyond any special feature III the matter of environmental sanitation. By and large they keep their houses a few folk epics no literature. The area over which clean by sweeping them daily. They also seem to they are spoken extent from the hill ranges of Sirmaur district, the Simla Hills, Kulu, Mandi and Chamba ob~erve the rules of personal hygiene. The adults claim that they take a regular bath, though it was district. It would appear that Western Pahari language has numerous dialects_ but nevertheless possessing co~fe~sed by a few that in extreme cold in winter they many common features. The most common of these skip It _for a ~ay or ,two. They generally brush their dialects are Sirmauri, Baghati, Kiuthali, Mandi group, ~eeth With a stick of neem (¥argosa species) tree. But Chamba group, Satlej group and Jaunsari. (Grierson, 10 towns. they use com,?ercIaI brands of tooth pastes. The Chhlmbe wash their clothes themselves regularly. Vol. 1, Part J, Pages 182-183). Many of them are actually engaged as washermen. Literacy and Education: According to the 1961 According to the Chhimbe not many virulent and Census returns, the literacy among the Chhimbe is epidemic diseases are' widespread in their community 23·93% Cc.I. 1961, Volume XX, Part V-A: Pp. or the areas where they reside. The minor ailments 168-169). When compared to 8.46 % literacy among are not much cared for and other common diseases the Scheduled Castes of the State as a whole, it appears are treated according to the available medical facili­ that the Chhimbe have shown good progress in the ties which could be ayurvedic or allopathic. The field of literacy. In fact, tJ1ey have shown a higher members of the communities are quite rational about rate of literacy than that for the general population the attitude towards modern medicine and in case of Himachal Pradesh, viz 17.15%. They rank second in of necessity avail such medical facility in the towns terms of literacy among all the Scheduled Castes of Himachal Pradesh which have a viable number of a or villages. Wherever there happens to be :j. Govern­ ment dispensary or clinic they utilise it. However, thousa.nd or more. As per the general trend the literacy is largely shared by the male Chhimbe, there thou.g~ they have no prejudice against allopathic medlcme, they appear to be more inclined towards being 35·85% male literates against 11-40% female literates. But although literacy among the females ayurvedic. medic~nes-may be because they have been more easlly aVaJlable to them in the past. It is in­ is only one third than that among the males yet it teresting that in Bilaspur town 'one R.D. a Chhimbe is still ahead of the average literacy of 8.46% for both is practising as a Vaidya. He described some indi~ the sexes among the- Scheduled Castes for the State genous or ayurvedic medicines for certain common as a whole. ailments of the area. According to him for various types of local fevers, known as Sanyapati, Marka, As regards the bre8k up of the rural-urban literacy, Sirasham, Santati, Antishish and Jatetam a mixture as i~ to be expected, the literacy 11as made more head­ of certain species and herbs known as Dushanda is way in the towns as compared to villages, there being generally prescribed. The Dushanda consists of a 37·86 % literatI's in the former area~ ag'linst 19·96 % concoction of Lallng (cloves), Ban.afsha (violet flowers), in the latter. In other words, the literacy in towns Dalchini (cinnamon" Kali Mirch (black pepper) and is double tha,n that in villages. If the literacy in rural Ajwain (thymo!). These are taken in the prescribed and urban area~ is examined sex-wise, it is seen that quantity and boiled with Somnath Ras a kind of in the rural areas there are 32· 18 % literates 'among syrup, before being given to the' patie~t. I n case the males and 7.28 % among the females, while there of acute cholera the balls of Sanjeevni, a herb found are 48.43 % male literates a~ajnst 26· 29 % females in the hills, is given to the patient along with the juice in the urban areas. It needs to be highlighted her LITERACY AMONG THE CHHtMBE

·. • • • ·· · • · · · ·· · · ·· · · ·· · · ·• · · · · ·· ·· ·· ·• · ·• · ·· · · ·· • ·• • · ·· · ·· · • • · ...... · ·• ·· · · • · · · · · · • · .. ·. ·· · · . · • · · · : ·: j~~L:Ei ::..... : : •• . • • ·• .•••••••·...... ! ••••••• . . · ... " ...... ·...... ·.. · ...... "",...... " .. · ...... ')-...... · .. ·. . " · ...... ''''-,...... · .. ·. · .. , ...... ~ ...... ·... · ...... · ...... , ...... ·.· .. · .. • • • • • ,,",,,,.c..' ••• ·... ·.. · ...... ·...... ,. .. ·. · .. . • • • ·.. . · · ·· ·.• ·· · ·· · · · · · ·· · •· ·.. . ·· · ·· • • ·· · ·· · • ·· · ·· ·· · .. ·· •· •· • · · ··• · •· · · ·• · · ·· ...... ·...... • · · · · · · · · . ··......

LITERATE ~ I~:IILLITERATE LEVELS OF LITERACY AMONG THE CHHIMBE

MALE[l]] ~ FEMALE

z <'J'w I- 0:>- OW:::» ZW O~ 1-...1 Zo -...I OZ_0 f:. -=1 LITERATES (~ITHOUT ANY-EDUCATIONAL LEVEL) ~« '-'Z !:tU111 1110w_ :::>\1)...1 E3 PRIMARY OR JUNIOR BASIC ua: ~1cc -Ul a:u a: 1: w:::> ttl:) M ATRfCULATION OR HIGHER $ECONDARY co §I§ ..JW ~:I: 13

that nearly half the population of the Chhimbe in the measure of success in shedding illiteracy. The follow­ urban areas comprise~ literates. ing table throws'some light on the different educational standards achieved by the Chhimbe literates as per To sum up, the Chhimbe have achieved good pro­ data compiled on the basis of 1961 Census. (The gress in spread of literacy in urban as well as rural areas. figures in brackets rela~e to the percentage of each .and except for their somewhat poor performance in educational level of the literaces to the total number the rural areas, the women too have achieved ~ome of literates.) Literacy and Education Educational Standard Total Rural Urban """\ Persons Males Females Persons MaJes Females Persons MaJes Females 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1. Total Population 2194 1124 1070 1708 870 838 486 254 232 2. Illiterates 1669 721 948 1367 590 777 302 131 171 3. l,iterates 525 403 122 341 280' 61 184 123 61 (100.00). (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) (100.00) 4. Literates (without any educa. tional level) 296 226 70 196 161 35 100 65 35 (56.38) (56.U8) (57.38) (57.48) (57.50) (57.38) (54.35) (52.85) (57.38) 5. Primary or Junior Basic 207 157 50 131 107 24 76 50 26 (39.21) (39.43) (38.96) (40.98)- (38.42) (39.34) (41.30) (40.65) (42.62) 6. Matriculation or Higher Secon- dary 2? 20 2 14 12 2 8 8 (4.19) (4.96) (1.64) (4.10) (4.29) (3.28) (4.35) (6.50) It is seen from the above table that while the largest In support of their claim for the tradition of education proportion (56 38 %) of the Chhimbe literates relates from earlier times they cited the case of the family of to those who have not achieved any educational seventy five years old L.R. of Bilaspur, who . himself level-as is to be expected-the literates who have passed middle school examination as early as in 1908. achieved some educational level are ,fairly significant Two of his cousins achieved this distinction two years in number, there ~eing 43.62 % who belong to the later in 1910. One of them has retired as an A.S.l. latter category. However, the bulk of them (39.43 %) in the Police. L.R.'s two son.s also passed middle have achieved primary or junior basic level only. school examination-one in 1940 and the other in Against this rather wider' base of primary education, 1942. the number of persons who have gone for higher edu­ cation is limited. There are only '4.19 % persons who An enquiry was made in seven households of the have achieved matriculation or higher secondary level. Chhimbe having children in the school-going age None, according to above .data, has achieved graduate about the latter's attendance,1n. schools and certain or post-graduate degree or diploma-technical or non­ other aspects of their ~ducatfon. Out of the 26 child­ technical. ren-13 males and 13 females-covered in the above sample, 16, or in other words 61.54%, were attending It would, however, appear that during the last de­ school q_t the time of the ethnographic survey. These cade the Chhimbe have made some progress in achiev­ included 10 male and 6 female children. In other ing higher levels of education. Some are now gra­ words, 77 % of the male and 46 % of the female child­ duates or post-graduates and a few have secured admis­ ren were studying in schools. More01er, four more sion in technical and other professional courses. To children had attended sehools but had discontinued quote a few instances, it is understood that one S.R.C. their study by the time the survey was conducted. of Bilaspur is studying Medicine in the final year of the This would imply that 22 or 84.6 % of the children M.B.B.S. Course of the All India Institute of Medical attended school at one time or the other. This would Sciences, Chandigarh. Another boy, G.R., son of clearly demonstrate that in'most of the cases the parents C.R. of the same town, is studying for diploma in Civil send their children- to schools. Engineering at Allahabad. These examples can be mul- tiplied. - Six of -the above seven households were having children of both the sexes, while the remaining one According to the Chhimbe they have always con­ had femaJe children only.- The latter included three sidered education as an important vehicle for progress girls, two of which were attending school while the and encouraged their children to study in schools and third one, the 14 years old daughter-in-law, attended colleges. They further claimed that but for the lack of household chores. She discontinued her studies six. facilities, raw deal and discouragement they 'received months' after her marriage, when she passed the 7th in the past as one of the "low castes" they would have class. The other six households were having children achieved noteworthy progress in the field of education. of both the sexes but three of them were sending only 4-3 RGI(ND/71 male children to the schools. The female children Out of the fourteen boys, four were admitted to who did not attend schools included two girls aged 7 school when aged 5. Two each were first and second in order of birth among their siblings. Seven were an~ 8 from one household and one girl each from two admitted to school at the age of 6. Three of them other households. There was, however, one house­ were first and two each second and fourth in order of hold which was sending only a female child, aged 7, birth among the siblings in their respective families. to school though htving male children as well. The Only one boy was admitted to the school when he was household was having two boys and two girls in the 7 years old and he was second in order of birth among his siblings. As regards the 8 girls who were admitted school-going age. The eldest was a girl, aged 1S. to school, six joined w~en aged 5. Of these two were She joined a school at the age of 5 but after studying the first born in. their families, two occupy second place up to 4th class discontinued her studies, when aged and on,e each third and fourth in order of birth among 11. The next child, a boy of 13 years, joined school at their respective siblings. Out of the remaining two the age of 5. He discontinued studies after passing girls one each were admitted at the age of 6 and 7. The one who was six years old at the time of admis­ sixth class at the age- of 12. The next one, a male sion was the eldest and the other one the second eldest child, aged 8, was not sent to school although the young­ child in their respective families. It is seen that the est child, a 7 years old girl, joined a school when she children are admitted to school at an early age of five was only 5 years old and was studying in third class. or six and no discrimination is made in this matter between the boys and girls. Age of Admission: Data relating to age at admis­ sion in the school colkcted in respect of the 20 child­ The classes up to which the above children had studied ren who were either attending the school or who had at the time of survey was also recorded. The follow­ attended school ih the past but at the time of enquiry discontinued their studies for one reason or the other. ing table gives their birth order among the siblings The same brings forth the following features: and sex-wise distribution in different classes. Birth order and education of Chhimbe children

Boys Girls

Birth Order Numbers studying in class Number studying in class _-A______~ '----__..., r- rr lIT-IV V-VI VII-VIII IX-X I II TIl-IV V-VI VII-VIlI IX-X

1st 2 2 2nd' 2 2 3rd 4th

From the above table it is seen that only one male From the' above data it is noticed that the largest child, (ourth in order of birth among the siblings, was number of children attending school are either first or studying in Class I, while two children-one boy and' second in order of birth among the siblings. especially girl each-were studying in class II. The boy happen­ the female children. However, the above data are ed to be the fourth in order of birth among' the siblings not adequate enough to draw any firm conclusion in whereas the girl happened to be the eldest child of the the matter. family. Further, seven children, including four boys and three girls, were studyiDg in Class ITT or IV. Of Reasons/or the absence of the children from the school: these, two boys each were- first and second in order As mentioned in the preceding account, out of the of birth among their siblings, while one girl each was thirteen boys covered in the seven households, three first, third and fourth in order of birth among the sib­ were not attending school at the time of the survey. lings. The number of children in V and VI class was These included two boys who had earlier joined the four, an boys. Two each of these were first and second school but left after studying for a few years. In one in order of birth among their siblings. Five children­ such case, a fifteen years old boy had joined the school two males and three females-were studying in VI to at the age of five but after studying up to 5th class VIII class, one each of the two males were' first and discontinued his studies at the age of 14. According second in order of birth among the siblings. As re­ to his father he could not afford to continue his sons gards the females one each was first, secol1d- and third education due to poverty. In the other case a 13 years in order of birth among the siblings. No boy was old boy discontinued his studies after passing the sixth studying in IX or X class but one girl, who happened class as he was not interested in studies and often used to be the first born child of her parents, was studying to play truant from the school. After dropping from in IX class. the school he went to his uncle at Mandi town to learn 15 the craft of tailoring. As regards the t'hird boy, who ~l ms sons 'Were.a.nenamg S41nOOl, ne was not In a POSI­ was 8 years old, he was never sent to school owing to tIOn to send her .to schobl on financial considerations. keeping indifferent health. It was said that he was The remaining fhree girls were in the age group 8-10. In their case it was explained that their parents felt that suffering from a chronic disease. as they were to get married after four or five years there was not muCh point in sending them to scifbol. Though at the time of survey 7 of the 13 female children from the seven households were not attending As regards the other activities undertaken by the school, as stated in the preceding account, two of them children it :was stated that those below the age of 8 had joined the school earlier but dropped for one rea­ years generally do not undertake any economic acti­ son or the other. In one of the above two cases the vity. The boys above the age of 9, it is understood, girl was studying in VII class when she got married. sometimes help their parents in the agricultural opera­ After marriage she continued to study in the 7th class tion or in washing or stitching clothes in their spare and after six months when she passed the 7th class hours. The girls from the age of 7 or 8 onwards examination, she did not pursue her studies further. help their mothers in household -chores and looking Being a housewife she was requited to look after the after their younger brothers and sisters. household chores. In the other case a girl after'study­ ing for two or three years in a school left the same and Occupation and Economic life joined a craft centre at the age of 12. and completed its course of two years. As regards the remaining five Working force and Industrial Classifiqation of work­ girls who did not join the school at all two of them ers: The following table gives the number of the were in the age 'group 5-7. In one case it was stated Chhimbe workers and their distribution in different that the girl was too young to join the school and in industrial categories, along with percentages, as per another it was explained by her father that since both the 1961 Census. (C.L, 1961, Vol. XX, Part V-A:l.) Table showing working force and Industrial classific_{J.!ion of workers among the Chhimbe of Himachal Pradesh (based on 1961 census data)

Percentage of workers to total population/percentage of the Sr. No. Workers and their industrial classification workers in industrial category Number to total workers ,- ,------"------. Males Females Total Males Females Total

1. Total population. 1124 1070 2194

.2. Total workers 6~7 437 1064 55.78 40.84 48.50 3. As Cultivators 324 359 683 51.67 82.15 64.19 4. As Agricultural labourers 2 5 7 0.32 1.14 0.66 5. In Mining, Quarrying, Forestry, Livestock, Fishing, Orchards and allied activities 1 0.16 0.09 6. At Household Industry 123 41 164 1Qt62 9.38 15.41 7. In Manufacturing other than Household Industry 18 2 20 2.87 0.46 1.88 8. In Construction . 8' 8 1.28 0.75 9. In Trade and Commerce 9 10 1.43 0.23 6.94 10. Tn Transport. Storage and Communication 4 4 0.64 0.38 J]. In Other Services . 138 :19 167. 22.01, 6.64 15.70 12. Scavenging/Sweeping 5 5 0.80 0.47

It is seen from the .above table that out of their total country as a whole. Prima facie it reflects slightly population of 2,194 as many as 1,064 Chhimbe are less despondency ratio among the Chhimbe of Hima­ workers. Thus, workers constitute 43.50 % of the chal Pradesh. But if the number of the workers is total population of the community. As regards the examined in respect of the Scheduled Caste popula­ sex-wise break up of the working force, 627 of the tion of the state as a whole it is seen that as many as I 124 males and 437 of the 1,070 females are workers. 61.76 % are workers. Therefore, the aforesaid posi­ I~ other words, 55.78 % of the male and 40.84 % of tion holds good of the entire Scheduled Caste popula­ the female population comprise workers. tion of Himachal Pradesh. It is to be further noted that a significant number of the workers is contributed It is observed that the 48.50 % working force among by the females who have returned a fairly high per­ the Chhimbe compares favourably well with 47 % centage of workers, viz., 40.84 %. It would, there­ workers among the. Scheduled Caste population of the fore, appear that unlike some other rural communities 16 in northern India, such as the Mallah of Delhi (C.L, occupation, has become almost obsolete alld how 1961, Vol. I, Part V-B (iv) , No.2, 1969), the Chhi.m~e they have to depend more on other occupations. of Himachal Pradesh do not appear to have any mhl­ bition in returning their women folk, participating or contributing to economic activity. as workers. But As is refiected from the figures quoted in the pre­ this'" is in keeping with the general trend among the ceding paras the occupational mobility. has been pri­ scheduled Castes of Himachal Pradesh, who, in fact, marily directed towards agricultural sector in the rural have returned a larger percentage (57.66 %) of female areas where they were first drawn to agriculture labour workets. but became cultivators as a result of land reforms in the post independence era by having the proprietary rights of the land cultivfl.ted by them conferred upon them. As regards the distribution of the working force In the urban areas they have been more and more among the Chhimbe in different industrial categories, drawn to tailoring and washing clothes. As mention­ it is seen that most of the workers are distributed in ed earlier they claimed that they have no liking for the three categories, viz. cultivation, 'other services' and latter occupation as it is associated with communities bousehold industry. The bulk (690) of the workers of low social status. But in the wake of the loss of are agriculturists as they account for 64.85 % of the their main traditional occupation of calico printing total working force. They are almost entirely cu)ti­ by hand, which could no longer provide them a liveli­ vators as out of 690 persons engaged in agricultural hood in face of competition from machine textile print­ activity, 683 are cultivators while a negligible number ing and absence of any other remunerative occupation, of 7 persons (0.66 % of the workers) are employed as they had to fall back upon more and more on the agricultural labourers. It is also to be noted that the occupation of washing clothes. In order to improve female workers are mostly engaged as cultivators. In their employment prospects the community has also fact, the 359 female workers in this category outnumber gone in for education in fairly a big way ip urban the male workers (324). If the position is examined in areas, and a few educated ones find employment as terms of percentage it is seen tliat while 5l.67% of teachers and government servants-peons and clerks the male workers are engaged as cultivators as many etc., as is evidenced from the significant number of as 82.15% female worKers are employed in the same workers returned in the'category of "other services". category.

The next largest number of the workers-167 or Occupational details: Some data were collected in 15.70%-is engaged in "other services". This in­ the field regarding the various aspects of the major cludes those who are employed as teachers in schools economic activities undertaken by the community so as well as clerks and peons in government offices, as to gain some insight in the matter. The same is especially in urban areas. As is to be expected a very discussed below: • large proportion of them are males. This is followed by the indusfrial category of ,"household industry" Agriculture: Previously, most of the agriculturists which accounts for almost an equal.number viz. 164 were engaged either as agricultural labourers or culti­ or 15.41 % of the working force. The household vated land on batai, (share cropping), in the capacity industry in which the Chhimbe are mainly engaged of tenants and used to pay one third of the total pro­ includes washing and tailoring of clothes and hand duce to the lands, who happened to be mostly Brah­ printing of textiles. The category of 'manufacture mins or Rajputs. With the introduction of Himachal other than household industry' employs 20 or 1.88 % Pradesh Abolition of Zamindari and Big Landed Chhimbe workers. These inchlde a few labourers in Estates Act, the position has considerably improved in a resin factory. The number of workers in other favour of the tenants. The terms of batai of share industrial categories is almost negligible.' Only 10 cropping have been modified to suit the tenants and the persons or 0.94 % workers are engaged in transport, share of the landlord has been reduced fr.om one third storage and communication. These include those to one fourth of the total produce. The land revenue who are employed in Himachal Roadways, etc. It is also paid by the landlord. Further, from the kharif is interesting to note that 5 Jl1ales were returned under season of 1962 the tenants have stopped paying batai a category of unclean o.ccupation, viz. sweeping or to the landlords' as they have acquired proprietary scavenging. But during the field investigations no rights over the land cultivated by them. This is why one acknowledged as being engaged in this occupa­ during the field investigation it was found that almost tion; In the group discussions with the Chhimbe it. all the Chhimbe engaged in agriCUltural activity were was gathered that the members of their community having land holdings of their own. would not accept this occupation as the same is under­ taken by the communities of very low social status, mainly the Chuhra or Mehtar. They claimed to be efficient agriculturists from the earlier times. In this connection one of the Chhimbe remarked, "true, we were the calico printers in the past Occupational mobility: As mentioned towards the but we practised agriculture too, and shall be practis­ beginning of the account on the community calico ipg it as long as we have got lands of our own." printing and textile dyeing has been the main traditional occupation of the community, and waShing clothes, tailoring· and agricultural labour served as associate Generally, two crops the Rabi and the Kharif are traditional occupations. But their mil-in traditional raised in a year in Himachal Pradesh. WORKERS AND NON-WORKERS AMONG THE CHHIMBE

..vORKERS ~ § NON- WORKERS

3 RGlfND/71 'INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION OF CHHIMBE WORKERS

INMANUFAC OTHER THAN ~"::_n'-"L"" I----....-a.l INDUSTRY

IN MINING, QUARRYING, FORESTRY) LIVESTOCK, FISH lNG, ORCHARDS AND ALLI£'D ACTIVITIES 17

Rabi Crops: The more important rabi Cf(?PS grown Corriander: Generally, the plots which have been in the area are as follows: utilised for maize cultivation and are lying fallow in ea!"ly October are put under this crop. The plots are -ploughed once and the seed is sown by broadcast Wheat: It is the principal rab; crop. After reaping method. After some days it is again ploughed and maize in October or November the field is ploughed levelled. The hoeing-cum-weeding operation is under­ twice. But if happellS to be unirrigated as well as taken once each in the months of November, December h~ving a hard textured soil it is plo~ghed thrice. The and January. The plots are watered once a month if seed is then broadcast. The sowmg by broadcast there are no timely rains. method is locally known all chhitta. Soon after ~owing the fields are again ploughed and a leveller IS also used to ensure a smooth surface. If a cultivator has Kharif Crops: Paddy and maize are the major kharif enough time and additional hands to help the hoeing crops. The former is sown in irrigated land, while the is carried on in the mid-December, otherwIse the weeds latter is unirrigated one. are removed from time to time and given to the cattle as folder. The harvesting is started from the month Paddy: The plot is first manured and ploughed in of April and is completed by the last week of May. April. It is again ploughed after a week or so and then levelled. The seed is sown in Mayor June and the Barley: Like the wheat crop, it is also sown in Octo­ crop reaped in October or November. Before sowing, ber or November, but in unirrigated land. The field the seeds are first soaked for a day or two in water, is ploughed twice before the. seed is broad~ast. . After whi~h is later drained out. Next, they are put in a going through other operatIOns, as descnbed III the basket which is covered with a khind (a kind. of covering) case of wheat crop, it is fully reaped by April. How­ for nearly four days. During this period germination ever, it may be plentioned here that barley is sparsjngly takes place and the seeds are ready for planting. The cultivated. Only a limited quantity is grown for utilis­ hoeing is done after a fortnight when the sapplings are ing as gr~en fQdder for the cattle or for preparati~n of abo\lt 10 centimetres high. The weeding-cum-hoeing satloo (a cold drink) from barley flour. SometImes, operation, locally called halode, is carried on in the barely is also given to milch cattle as bran. month of July when the monsoon breaks out. In case there are no. timely rains, the fileds are watered Gram: It is also sown in October or Ndvember and ~gian. Arrangen:ent is made to keep water standing the fields are ploughed twice before sowing. The other III the fields dunng July and August. The crop is operations are the same as in the case of wheat and harvested in October or November. barley crops, it is harvested in March or April. Maize: The maize is also sown in the month of Lentiles: It is a minor ~rop..and raised on the fringes June or July. For the cultivation of maize it...js not of the fields wherein wheat has been sown. necessary to have plots of good quality. Therefore, for raising tbis crop plots of poor quality which may Onion and garlic: These are planted in small quanti­ not be suitable for other crops are utilized. Before ty for domestic consumption. First, a nursary is pre­ sowing the field is ploughed twice. When the plants pared in the month of November. The beds are are one foot high the fields are again ploughed The watered on aiternate days during the first fortnight. crop ripens in September or OCiober. Before har­ In case of untimely rains the beds are watered once a vesting.the crop, the grass which has grown in the fields fortnight. The howing is done once a month. The is plucked. crop is ready for harvest by April. It may, however, be clarified that all above mention­ Mustard: Irrigated land is preferred for its cultiva'­ ed crops are raised by those who have suffiCient land tion. The seed is sown in late November and the crop holdings, otherwise, only wheat and maize or rice are is ready for harvest by the end of February. Before raised as the rabi and kharif crops respectively. the harvest is reaped the green leaves of the mustard plants are plucked and cooked and taken as a leafy During the agricultural operations land is ploughed- vegetable. No. hoeing or. weeding operations a;e by the men only as women are tabooed from touching required for/ thiS crop. It IS completely harvested 111 the plough. But hoeing and weeding operations are the last week of March. mostly carried on by them. Apart from using them in ploughing operations the bullocks are also used for Potatoes: This is one of the most important cash thrashing wheat, paddy and other harvested crops. crops. The potato seeds are planted in. the irrigated Whenever there is sunshine the harvested wheat or fields which are ploughed and watered tWIce before the paddy crop is spread on the ground for drying. After seed is sown. The seeds are planted in October or some two hours or so, the bullocks are moved over it. November, some five inches deep in the soil. The The stalks .bearing gr~in are ~lso poupded with large surface is levelled with a plank~r. First hawing is bamboo stlcks from time to time. By the evening the done in early December. The earthing-cum-weeding husk is separated froni the grains by the process of operation is undertaken in January. The crop is winnowing. Similarly, after the maize and barley watered once a fortnight after one month of sowing. crops are reaped they are kept in the fields for three The beds are hoed thrice after an interval of about 15 or four days in bundles which are stored in khoara days. The crop is reaped in May. (store house). After the interval of three or four 18

days the ears of the corns are separated and spread kept in a large pitcher and dissolved in hot water. The in the Khoara in the sun. After having been dried mouth o~' the pictcher was covered with green leaves~ these are beaten with bamboo sticks to separate the of any SUItable plant to perform the function of a sieve. grains. This operation is mostly performed by the T~en the pitcher was inverted and kept over an empty females. p;tcher to collect the filtered solut(on. Thereafter, the dlrty clothes used to be immersed in the solution. Next, these were boiled in Dhabi ki Bhatti (Washer­ Rotation of crops: In the literal seilse no fixed rota­ man's oven) for twelve hours. Finally they were tion of crops is followed but a plot which has been washed in clean water. ' under cultivation for four or five years is left fallow for a year to replenish the fertility of the soil. Sometimes a few minor crops, like, onion, mustard, til and corrian­ The white clothes were also soaked in water to which der are niised there as these are supposed to restore a small quantity of neel (indigo) was added to remove the fertility. the yellowish tinge and giving lusture to the whiteness of the cloth. After drying the washed clothes in sun shine they were pressed. For pressing the usual iron Agricultural implements: The common agricultural .press was not used but the cloth to be pressed was spread implements used are as follows: Hal (plough including over a wooden plank and pounded with a wooden plough blade); Junglya (yoke); Maira (Planker or stick having a broad and fiat lower surface. leveller); Chona (a Jight planker); Dandali (rake); Chamb (spade); Khilri (hoe); Kudali (a big hoe); Dati (sickle or scythe); Tokroo (basket); Gall (a large Now-a-days, like the other washermen, the Chhimbe basket); Tangaly (spike tooth); Moosa (mortar); Ok/Ia! engaged in this occupation use one of the different (Pestle); Bharota (cod-breaker); Salanghar (fork-stick) brand~ of comme~cial washing soaps, caustic soda and and Chanana (sieve). sometImes bleachmg powder, for washing. The other processes are the saI?e as described in the preceding para. ~ut for pressmg the clothes they now use iron But it was noted that all the households practising presses mstead of the method described above. Though agriculture do not possess all the above mentioned a few of them having tailoring shops in the towns use implements. It was understood that whenever they elect?c press, the iron presses which are heated with require any implement, which they do not possess, they bu~mng charcoal ~re more commonly used as it is borrow it from their neighbours. believed that notWIthstanding the stray incidences of cinders or hot ash falling on the clothes, they give Superstitions associated with agricultural acitivities: better results. The important agricultural operation, such as plough­ ing, sowing, harvesting and thrashing are not started in Saturdays and Wednesdays, which are considered l~ was notic~d du~jng the field investigation conduct­ inauspicious for the purpose. It is also believed that ed I~ connection with the ethnographic study on the if two ears of corns grow on a wheat plant or three corns Chhlm~e th~t a few of them were running laundry on a wheat or maize plant, it is a bad omen. The shops In Bllaspur. and Mandi towns; dry cleaning Chhimbe claimed that they refrain from taking meals plants were also mstall~d in two or three shops. cooked from the newly harvested crop or the first fruit of the season unless a little of the same has been offered . A few case ~tudies of th.e Chhimbe who are engaged to the family Purohit or some deity in a temple. All 1ll the occupatIOo of washmg or dry cleaning are given agricultural activities come -to a standstill whenever aqove below: . there is a solar eclipse. They always do ploughing 1. D.C., a resident of Mandi town, is running a bare footed. It is considered harmful to carryon this 1~undr~ shop for the last 20 years. He also cultivates operation with shoes on. hIS agncultural land in a village near Rewalsar about 20 kilometre~ from Mandi town. Most of the time he Washing and Dry Cleaning: JIhe Chhimbe are engag­ atte~ds to his sho~. But he. personally supervises the ed as washermell mostly in or around the towns. In s?wmg and harvestmg operations. During his absence I the rural areas of Himachal Pradesh clothes are' mostly his daughter looks after the shop. On an average washed by people themselves at home and a professional D.~. nets an income of Rs. 150 per month from his washerman ,is not engaged for this purpose though busmess. he might be required to provide the traditional service on ceremonial occasions to his jajrnans. The Chhimbe, .2. C;:.R. is .runni~g a .laundry. shop in Bilaspur town. however, do not render any such service to the other ~IS WIfe a~slsts hIm 1ll runnmg the business. His castes. The same is performed by the washermen mcome vanes from Rs. 200 to Rs. 250 per month. belonging to other ethnic groups, such as the Hali or He does not fol.low any other occupation and has no ot~er source of lUcome. Dumna. 3. D.R: is a cultivator at Mandi Manva village but It is said that in the past when soap was not very he also bnngs clothes from some households in Bilas­ popular and not readily available, the clothes were pur town, at ~ dis.tance ?f sev.en l?lometres, for washing washed with indigenous ash which used to be obtain­ at home. Hls .wife as.slsts hIm m washing the clothes ed from the dried leaves of banana plant or a tree, brought by him. HIS younger brother, H.R. has locally known as Garuna. The ash so procured was opened a modest grocery shop in the village but he too 11. A Chhimbe male pressing the clothes with 'an iron press.

3 RGI/ND/7l 12. Chhimbe are also ta·i/ors. A group of Chhimbe at work in a tailoring shop in Mandi town. 19 supplements his income by washing clothes 'which he According to R.D. of Bilaspur, many Chhimbe were brings periodically frolO his clients' in Bilaspur town. engaged in this occupation till the end of the last cen­ tury. His father too was engaged in this profession for many years. R.D. himself learnt this craft from It would thus appear that in many cases the occupa­ his father and carried on ·the business for some time; tion of washing clothes is combined with other occu­ but when it lost its value and did not provide him pations, either as the. main occupation or as subsidiary sufficient income, he switched over to tailoring. one.

The textile printing was done manually by hand­ When asked about the occupational aspirations for stamping engraved wCloden blocks, called thappas, their children most of the Chhimbe engaged as washer­ on cloth. The thappas were manufactured by Ram­ men were of the view that they would like their children gharia Sikh Tarkhans (carpenters) in places like Hoshiar-\ ~o receive proper education so that the latter are able to pur in Punjab and were purchased by the Chhimbe. secure respectable jobs in government departments. The latter themselves did not use to sell any printed or In fact, in some households it was found that while the dyed cloth but printed or dyed' it on order for' which head of the household was engaged as washerman his they charged according to the/rates prevalent at that sons, who had received some education, were employ­ 'time. Payment was often made in kind, generally ed as teacher, clerk or peon. with food-grains, which they received at the time of harvest. For printing one bed sheet they used to Tailoring: The Chhimbe who are engaged in the receive 20-25 seers of food-grains. Sometimes, they occupation of tailoring are referred to as Darzi by other received payment in cash. One bed sheet could be .communities. The tailoring shops are mostly run in -printed by one person in 2-3 days. Their women-folk towns. But some Chbimbe in the rural areas who are were equally proficient in the craft and assisted their primarily engaged as cultivators also carryon the pro­ menfolk in running the business. But they were not fession of tailoring as a subsidiary occupation. But allowed to touch the adda (wooden board) used in there they do not have regular shops. They bring fixing the cloth for hand stamping during their menstr­ clothes from their clients for stitching at home. uation peri<;ld. . The 'art of calico printing by hand passed on from the father to son in the family and on attaining the age of six or so, the latter started receiving A few case studies: 1. Eighty years old R.D. has training from his father. Thus, the art was handed Jeen carrying on the profession of tailoring for the over from one generation to another. ast six decades. .He dis1cosed that his fath~r was :ngaged in han

5-7 kanyas (unmarried girls of tender age) are also of February, March or April, either at home before the feasted. The dai receives a remuneration of a set of family deity or at a shrine or temple, such as at Nar cloth and Rs. 1.25 to Rs. 5 according to the financial Singh Temple at Bilaspur town, Naina Devi Temple at standing of the household. The family priest is also Rewalsar and Naina Devi Temple at Shri Naina Devi given one kilo each of maize and rice, one shirt or a township. Of the fifteen cases referred to above, dhoti, in addition to, Rs. 1.25 in cash. except in two cases in all other cases the ceremony was performed at home before the Kulja or Kuldevi, (house­ hold deity) such as Deo Sidh or Kolang etc., in nine On the fourth day, the fsmily priest is requested to cases in February, in five in March and in one in April. prepare a horoscope for the child. In case the stars are not favQurable to the child, the priet suggests that some alms be given to the poor. The first letter of the It also came to light that in order to economise ex­ child's name is also indicated by the priest, after con­ penditure sometimes Jatoola ceremony is performed for sulting the horoscope, for giving him the rashi ka nam. two or more children of the household together, By But this name is relevant for the child for arranging his way of illustration it may be inentioned here that D.R marriage and for astrological reckonings only. The of Mandi performed Jatoola of two his sons together name of a child by which he is called by family member at the shrine of Baba Balakrupi, who is considered as is given by the parents themselves according to their the Kuldevta of his household. own choice and it need not, necessarily be the name according to the rashi or horoscope. No special name­ In all the fifteen cases recorded above the family givng ceremony is performed. priest was asked to suggest an auspicious day for the ceremony but in only six cases he actually performed The first-eating of grains: The ceremony of anaj religious rites during the ceremony which inter alia chatana (first tasting of food grains), is known as Khirpu included performance of a havan'. He was generally or Lugru. It is performed only by well-to-do Chhimbe paid Rs. I· 25., one kilo of rice and two kilograms of families and that too in the case of the first male child maize, a dhoti and a parna (piece of cloth) as his re­ only. When the child is 8 to 10 months' old, a pre­ muneration with slight variations. A barber (Nai by para,tion of rice or other food-grains like wheat, is give caste) was engaged to crop the hair of the child and paid to him on an auspicious day as suggested by the family Rs. 1·25 to Rs. 2· 50. In case the ceremony was per­ priest. On that day the child is placed in the lap of the formed for two or more children in the household to­ father or mother and given a small quantity of a gether he was paid Rs, 5. preparation of rice or wheat. Kheer, mitthi roti (Sweet­ ened bread) and some fruits are also placed before him. It was stated by the Chhimbe informants that the He is coaxed to touch the above items. The one which mother's brother plays a significant role in the per­ he touches first is supposed t9 be his favourite dish. formance of the latoola ceremony. On this occasion he Similarly, certain other articles, like books, fountain ties five leaves of bel-patd with a mauli (sacred red pen, inkpot, sword and scales are also placed before thread) around the wrist of the child and actually cuts him and the one which he catches hold of first, is a lock of his hair first, the rest of the hair being supposed to suggest the profession which he is likely cropped by the Nai. He is also expected to bring to follow when he comes of age. On this occasion, a presents of new clothes, toys and a kangan (silver ban­ modest feast is also given to the children of the neigh­ gle) for the child and a new set of clothes for the mother bourhood as well. But out of fifteen cases recorded in the field the mother's brother brought complete set of new clothes for the child and his mother in five cases only. Tonsure: The mundan or tonsure ceremony is local­ In one of the above cases he also brought one silver ly known a latoola or lattu, and is generally performed bangle for the child. In the remaining ten cases, he before the child attains the age of seven. While this made only a symbolic gesture by bringing a pink ceremony is obligatory in the case of the male children, handkerchief for the child. it is optional in the case of females and may be performed along with the tonsure of a male child. The odd number's of years such as I, 3, 5 and 7, are considered The hair cropped at the 'Jatoola' ceremony are called auspicious for performance of this ceremoriy. lattu-ki-Choti and are-kept in a piece of cloth along with five paise coin in front of the family deity until they are immersed in a river or taken to a temple during Navra­ During the field investi'gations among the Chhimbe tras in April-May. Out of the aforesaid fifteen cases, paticulars of the tonsure ceremony were collected from in five cases the cropped hair were offered in a temple four households in respect of often children, thirteen and in the remaining ten immersed in a nearby rivulet males and two females. Of these, in case of three­ or stream. two males and one female-Jatoola was performed at the age of one year, while in the case of ten-nine males Only in three cases a fe~st, called Mittha Bhat, was and one female-at the age of three. Tn the remaining given to the near kith and kins. In five cases, 7 kanyas two cases of male children it was performed at the age (unmarried female childen) were given a feast and in of five. another five cases only jaggery was distributed in the neighbourhood. The expenditure on the performance The tonsorial ceremony is performed on an auspi­ of this ce~emony was about Rs. 100 in two cases each, cious day suggested by a priest, generally in the month Rs. 50 each in five cases and Rs. 15 to Rs. 25 each in 5-3 RGI/ND/71 22

-the rern1tining eight C8ses. During the group dis­ and her parents are willing, otherwise the marital alliance cussion with the Chhimbe it was gathered that in a few is sought elsewhere as in aforesaid case of C. R.'s marriage cases when the ceremony is performed in a temple and with G.D., who is not the sister of his first wife. a feast is also given to the members of the community or to the neighbours the total expenses for the,ceremony M.odes ofacquiring a mqte: The marriages among tHe cQmes to about Rs. 200 to Rs. 300. Chhlmbe usually, take place a& a result of negotiations 'Marriage and sex life: between the parents of the boys and the girls. Accord-­ ing to the Chhimbe informants, as the girls in their . Age at marriage: According to the Chhimbe in the community are generally married at an early' age there past they married their children at an early age. is not much possibility of intimacy being developed In fact, in many cases the girls used to be married between boys and girls leading to love marriages. But as infants, in any case before they attained pub­ a few cases of love marriage or marriage by elopement eity.. The age at marriage for {joys -was usually do occur in such cases when a married woman elopes .fourteen or fifteen years, generally, the husband being lwith another man with whom she might have deve­ 5-7 years senior in age to his wife. By way of illus­ loped intimacy or illegitimate relationship. Their Caste tration it may be mentioned here that forty years old, Panchayat intervenes in such matters for punishing D.W., the sister of S.C. of Bilaspur was married when the guilty persons or for payment of compensation to she was ony four years old. At the time of her marriage the aggrieved husband. her husband was eleven years old. It is said that the age at marriage has gone up in the recent years. Now, Mostly there ar'e three types of marriages, viz., the girls are mostly married at the age of fourteen or (i) Barina or Mul (marriage with payment of bride fifteen, while the boys at the age of eighteen or" so. price), (ii) Batta Satta (marriage by exchange) and This seems to be substantiated by the 1961 Census data (iii) Dharm-putt (without bride price or exchange). on age and marital" status of th'e Chhimbe of Himachal Pradesh as a whole according to which only two males (i) Barina or Mul marriage: Literally, Barina or and ten females we!e married in the 0-14 age group. Mul means j:myfnent. In this type of marriage the On the other hand, as many as 121 of the 444 males and father of the prospective groom pays an agreed amount only 35 of the 475 females were unmarried in the age of of bride price to tne father or, in his absence, the brother 0-4~ age group. This would suggest that while many of the bride-to-be, before the betrothal ceremony takes males do not marry early only a few female remain place. tt was gathered in a group discussion that the unmarried on attaining the' age of fifteen. bride price has ccmsiderably increased during the last six or seven decades. It used to be under rupees fifty The Chhimbe tlaimed to be strictly endogamous, in .during the first decade of the 20th century, went upto So-much-so that tlfey do not marry with any other two hundred to four hundred rupees by the World War ethnic group on hvpergamous principle. They also II-in the forties-and at present varies between rupees claimed that they observe clan exogamy but it would nve hundred to fifteen hundred, with an average of orie appear that they regulate their marriages on the basis thousand rupees. -of the ptbhibited degree of relationship. Wltile eIt­ tering into a marital alliance four .generations are avqid­ (ii) Batta Satta marriage: This is marriage by ed 011 the father's side and three on mother's. This exchange. In this ~ase two households exchange ptactice finds a justificaticm in a common saying amol1g women of marriageable age; the father of the husband­ the communitymen, 'Parh paya got gaya' (After four to-be agrees to give the hand to one of his daughters to generations, the f,ot is of hardly l1I1J signific;ance). Like one of the brothelS (of suitable age) of his sons' pros­ .the other ethnic groups of the area, they do not insist pectiv~ wife in ~xchange. In other words, two persons on 'village exogamy and marriage may take place bet­ exchange their sisters in marriage. Say, A marties B's w~en a boy and a girl belonging to the same village, pro­ sister and in exchange gives the hand of his sister to B. vided they do not fall within the prohibited degree of In some cases as many as three or four brothers exchange relationship. die same number of sisters with the brothers of their wives. To quote such an instance, it cam~ to light Generally, they observe-monogamy but a few cases in BilM'pUf town that three brothers, G.R., fLR., of polygyny do occur; a man may marry a second time, and S.R ...:,\ere . married to three sisters. Their own on such grounds as barrenness of his first wife, without sisters, B.D., H. b., and R.b., were married to necessarily divorcing her as ilIustrat~d by the following thre~, brothers of their wives .. caSe:- C.R. of 'Bilaspur married his elder brother's widow, If is said that in case a person does not have a sister P.D., on the principle of junior levirate, after the of suitable age to be given in exchange to the ttrother demise of his first wife who died without any issue. of the woman he intends td marry and still do not wish But when P.D. could not beget him a child after four to perform or can ill-afford Em'ina or payment of bride 'Years ot married life, C.R. married another 'Woman, piice he can marry her on Battd Satta basis if he has two sisters of mit10r age wHich could be later on married G.D., by paying a brid~ price of four hundred rupees the latter's fl1ther. Nbw both'his Wives stay with him to the brothers of his wife when they attain the age of to matrimony. This idea of 'two sisters in exchange for and ·G.D., 1;ecdnd wife, has gi~ell birth fo a child. the one wife finds a justification in providing compensation " The second marriage may be performed on sororal to the wife's side for the time gap between the marriages .basis provided the :fi~st 'wife has a sister of su~table ~ge b¥ exchange. According to the Chhimbe informants marriages the latter is not considered very respectful. But this is performed on the basis of /3alta Satta have many not always substantiated or borne out Dy facts and other advantages. Firstly, reciprocal rights and obligations evidence. It rather appears that in this matter an indi­ are conferred upon the two families entering into such vidual's choice, attitude, circumstances and financial marital alliance, and none of the party is in a sub­ standing are t~le important .considerations as borne ordinate position and beholden to the other. This finds a out by the followmg case studies: justification in a common saying "sheep exchanged for sheep, where lies the favour?". Another advantage H.P. of Mandi Manva is a protogonist of Dharam­ of this marriage is said to be that it binds the two families pun marriage and accordingly performed his daughter's much more closely and the members of the two house­ marriage on the above basis. But he is said to be a holds look after the interest of each other which makes well-to-do person who can do wit40ut bride price. O~ them stronger. In any dispute with others the families the other hand, in thii: household of B.R. of Mandl tied to each other in Batra Satta throw about their weight aU the living couples have been married by Barina together. system. These .include two co:.rples whose marriages were performed during the last three years. a.s. of Finally, in Batra Satta marriages less expenditur~ i, Rewalsar village has two daughters~ -one seven years old incurred as payment of bride price is avoided, affecting and the other eight years. They heip hi~ wife in house­ on an average a saving of one thousand rup~es in each hold chores and do not attend school. When asked such marriage. No bride price is necessary as the about his reluctance in sending them to. school, he money that would be required to be paid to girl's father startlingly replied that he does not wish to incur any is adjusted against the one to be paid in lieu of daughter unnecessary expenditure on his daughter's and only given in exchange. It may, however, be clarified that waiting for the day when they ::.tlain the marriageable the Batta Satta. marriages are by no means peculiar to age enabling him to marry them off and securnig a fair the Chhimbe community. ]n fact, this is a fairly bride price of rupees two to three thousands in the common practic~ among some other ethnic groups of bargain. ijimachar Pradesh. Though Batta Satta is acknowledged as a convenient (iii) Dharam-pun marriages: This is considered to type it is not possible to perform marriage by this She most respectable form of marriage among the three sy~tem in such cases where a man is net having any sister types mentioned above. Here, there is no exchange of to give in exchange for his Wife. B(.;si, f.S, it would women between the two hOl~seholds, as in th'c case of appear lhat in widow m:.rriage nd marriage of divor· Balta Sat/a, nor any bri

No. of marriages where muklawa was performed at the lapse of .ge at first marriage ,------No. time lapse 3 days One month 3 months One year

'. 12

13 2

14

15

16

17 4

18

It is seen from the above table that in two cases the No formal ceremony, religious or social, is observed marriage ceremony was performed when the girl was at the time of muklawa. On the third day, or when 12 years old. In three cases when she was 13 years muklawa is performed after a lapse of three months or old and in one case each when she Was 14' or 15 years more on any suitable day, the groom accompanied by old. In four cases tlie age at marriage was 17 and in at least two persons, which may be his friends or rela· the remaining one case'the age at marriage was 18. tives, visits his wife's house and stays there for one It is found that in seven cases out of twelve, the muklawa night. But no ceremony is performed there and no was performed only three days after marriage. In present is given to him. One of the informants remarked two cases after three months, in another two cases after "why should we give _presents or incur expenditure one year and in one case there was no time lapse in feasting, etc., on the occasion of muklawa when we between the marriage ceremony and the muklawa. spend so much dring the marriage ceremony?" Thus, the time gap b~etween marriage ceremony and consummation of marriage varied from three days to one The expenditure on marriage varies according to the year, Barring one exception where there was no time gap. economic status. But usually, the expenditure varies It is also noticed that in majority of cases the muklawa, from Rs. 2000 to Rs. 4000. Obviously, the expenditure was performed after three days. In these cases the is less in Batta Satta marriages as an amount of Rs. 500 girls generally married at a late age in comparison to to Rs. 1500 is saved on bride price given in Barina type those in whose case the muklawa was performed after of marriages. a gap of three months to one year. Widow re-marriage: The· Chhimbe allow the widows It would appear from the large number of cases having and divorcee to re-marry. The -widow marriage is a time gap of only three days that muklawa is more or locally known as Jhanjharara or Kareva. Junior less symbolic. Usually, after the marriage the levirate or marriage of the widow with the younger girl return, to her parental house next day. She comes brother of the deceased is preferred but it is 110t obli­ back after two days when marriage is finally consummat­ gatory. It is said that in the past in Barina marriages it ed. was incumbent upon the widow to marry her deceased husband's younger brohter on the ground that since Tlie divorceI', ?s stated elscwllere has the freedom to their father had paid a bride price the younger brother re-marry, such mprriag~ being knwon as Reel or Lag acquired a right to marry his brohter's widow who co~ld and perforl11~d more or less on the same basis as in not be marri«.d in another family on account of the bnde the case of Jhanjharara or Kart; va. In some cases price already received. Now this is no longer insisted a married woman r.l"y nlarry allother man qfter eloping upon strictly and a widow can marry any person of her with him. In that case the divorce or separation is choice of the Chhimbe community. automatically affeckl. but tile tmt I usband is com­ pel1~ated by the seCLlld husband if. lie belongs to the commllllity and his where abouts are known. In Kareva marriage the ceremonies are reduced to the minimum and comprise worship of Ganesh and Pre-marital ami extra-mcrital relations: Accord­ Ka/ash (pitcher) and a feast being given to the relatives. ing to the Chhimbe they regard pre-marital sex rcla­ Generally, no priest is required to officiate in widow tiom with horror and an extremely sinful act. They re-marriage. In c~se the widow marries the younger stated that they conSider an unm:uried young girl brother of the deceased, no ceremony is performed at as J,. anya or incarnation of Goddess Durga and, there~ ali. It is said that P.D. married C.R., the younger "ore, forcing intercourse upon an unmarriec1 -girl as brother of her deceased husband. They both simply al1 act of debauchery. They clarified that in the started living together as husband and wife without any past when a girl used La be married before she attained formal ceremony but with the full knowledge of tlfeir puberty left little scope for any person to contract community. pre-marital relatioJ1~ with her. But whenever there is a case of an unmarried girl havio:; pre-marital rela­ However, in case an issueless widower marries a tions the community takes a very serious view of it. virgin the regular marriage ceremo~ies . are performed, as in the case of D. R. whose first Wife died when he was The Chhimbe also decry extra-marital relations 20 years old. He had no issue from the first wife. He but appear to have a somewhat liberal attitude towards married KJ). after two years of demise of his first wife. such sexual lapses as the folloWing popular prl)verb In his second matriage !ill the vedic rites and other among the communitymell indicates: "four legged prescribed ceremonies were performed. (animals) <;an be tied but two legged (human beings) cannot be checked." Divorce and separation. The Cbhimbr. allow divorce on the ground of incompatibility of temperament of One of the main reasons for the -existence of extra­ the couple, c:dultery on the parl of the wife anci ill treat­ marital relatIOns is attributed to the disparity in the age of husband and wife as is illustrated by the follow­ menl (Jf the wife on the part of the i'} l .lsbanci. The ing case study :- l'alaq, or divorce, is supe~vis~d by ~he Caste Panchayat and a written agreement IS Signed oy the father of the It was djsc!o~ed that C.~ married G.D. when he husband and wife and in ttleir absence by the hmhancl was forty yt:"rs old alia the latter just an or wife themselves. The agreement stipulates the adolescem girl of thirteen. He could succeed in amount- of je·.vellery or 'cash to be retlirned to the marrying her as he pi id her fllther, who was husband. poor, four hundred rupees as Be. ·in.I. It was alleged that C.R., an alcoholic to ~t il :rcated hi~ wife due During the field investigati.on on the community to frustr tion 011 failure to satisfy the sexual urges of a recent case of divorce came to light which IS' rlis­ his youthful \\ife. -\5 a re'.u.t it 'Iv IS but l1?turCll for cussed below:- G.D. to develop L "it rebtlOns wlth a youngmap in the neighbourhood. It 1<; ::lId th<1t she continues to It was reported Lh:lt S.R.'s wife, who is now 'Stay with her hu~b, 1 and as sts him in running employed as a teacher in a school at Mancli, .asked his laundry shop. Tt \VJS also claimed that S.R. is for divorce from her hllsbal~d, who is running aware thc\.t his Wife s 1- IV '1j! illicit relatinns with a tailoring shop at Bilaspur on "ihe ground that he ~nolher man but he d0es not obJ"~l to it, knowing fr~quently quarrelled and ill-t.l.!atcq her. The matcer that he has no remedy. . The communitymen art: W?S referred to the Caste Pancha:'at Red the grievances ulso not very much exercis~d over this particular issue and the opimon of both the parties were (lsctrtftined. of a married woman h~ving extra-marital reli)tions It is said that S.R. was keen on arriving at a com· with another man as they ft:cl tha this is one of those plomise and ofiered to fulfil all the wishes of his wife things whIch cannll be helped. 'An old man cannot so as to avoid divorC'e ; but the former was bent upon tJOld 011 to a young WOI11Rn', as Llley put it. How­ separatiDn. Eventually, an· agreement for divorce ever, they claim~d to be ILss injnlgent to sexual liberties was signed on a paper and the ornaments anq cash taken by marned perscns when there are no such which were to be returned to S.R. in lieu of the bride extranuating circumstances. price paid by him were recorded 0n the paper. It was stat..:d that there is hardly any possibiiity ]t is said that in the past only men I;ould seck divorce­ of extra-marital relations being developed in the case but now women are also allowed to sep,k divorce froll) of persons married by Balta Satta system as the weir husband as is fulJy illustra~ed by the abov.e casc. husband and wife ai·e tied to "ach othenuore securely In fact, in a group disclls~ion tlte- Chhimbe remarked and are inh~bited in a number of ways and dare not that many times the lmlbands are put to .disco.mfiture be tempted in seekll1g any extra-marital adventure. as their wives threaten .divorce proceedings DP slightest They fear that such a step will have serious repurcus­ provocation. sions on other close relations. One wrong step on 27 a11 individual's part rna\' result in a chain reaction to be a sll'asini, (it married woman whose husband which might spoil the marriages of her/his brothers I is living) her b(ldy i~ wrapped in a red cloth. N:xt, sisters. A woman married bv Balta Satta knows some red. ochre ami a few flowers are sprinkled over f\llly well that if she misb('ilaves she will do it at the the dead body before it is placed on a bier, made of risk of splliling her brother's rna -riage. baml)oo sticks and tied with ropes, to he carried to the cr.~matjon ground. The b:er i~ carried out of O~ the other hand, the Barilla type of marriages hOllse on the shoulders of four persons known as provIde more scope for extra-m;,r" Lal relations as kcJnclhi)'a~ (close relations of the deceased illcluding tlie couole I not inh bited so, mL: ·1, and a s "m3 lapse th{' chief moufl-:er) follewed by other mourners. The does not have surh >\r-reac!-' ng (. )n' ~qu 1::CS which latter charge pla,~es with kandhiyas turn by turn to would affect the other mf'mbcrs of the ramilv so vitally. give the former some relief. All along the way the I? fact, it was chlJmeu hy ~ome pers:)n~ 'that some­ mct:rr.~rs keep up a chant, 'Ram Nam sat hai' (Truth tImes the lure of money giv'n on Cl\.,l Junt of bride is God). At regular intefYf1ls a conch is als0 blown. price results in, the father 0" a marri~c woman en­ The ichar rj (a Bwhmin who performs only death couraging her to. dewlop extr~-ll1ari t I rehtiolls as rites) wl.iks aheacl of the :-,roeession carr:'in? an earthen illustrated by the folio\!' ng c~;e:- pot tied to a bamboo sticl< h<;!ving bumin!! charcoal in it. A few balls of barley or rice flour, caPed Pinds, It is said tbat C. D. \\ IS marrit J to D.R. when she are also offered to the dead anees~ors 11alf way between was only twelve years old and th? l;,ttrr aged fifteen. the how;e and the crematie 11 ground and also at the D.R's. fa· her had paid a br:-1, PI': f' of R<;. 400 cremcttion gwuncl. to her father. After two years of their marriage, it was alleged, C.D. develored illil:t r-:I:ltions with S.R. 0'1 reaching the crematIOn ground, the dead body of the same town. It i, said hM (.D's. f',ther en­ is laid on the pyre on vvhieh oil af1ci c1arifiecl butter 1 couraged her dauQhter to dr-velc 1) ilkglLilTI2t relqtions is sprin :led. ')('mc slra,,, is also stuffed in the with S.R. as he hoped to m, ke s 'me m. ,ncy by m~rry­ ryre ~o tl1:" t it ignite, quickly. The chief J11011rner ing her daugbter to hin after she ohtalJ1ed cl vorce ignites the pyre near the spot "ihere heacl of the dead from h~r first husbnnd, D.R. W1en I).R. eventJally body is kept. 'Next, he performs "I rite known as divorced C. D.. he was giv n a COll1pl'nsation of two Ktlpa/ r;/ iya which entails tapping the skull of the hundrl'd n'IJees. But C. f)'s. rather made a 'nront' deacl bony with a long bamh00 pole thrice. \\

Chhimbe participate in the same. It is not known with the Pir also refer tb Gorakh 'Nath, the lord of how wrestling got associated with the cul~ of Lakhdata. snakes. In many places, his shrines locally known During the field investigation no one could explain as Gugga ka Sthan, have been erected in rus hono~r. the association of the -cult of Lakhdata witli wrestling, Classifying the cult of Gugga under serpent worshIp, LiteraUy, Lakh data means the gjver of lakhs of rupees, for no- better reason than that Gugga has a special the bountiful or patron of prosperity, According power of curing snake-bite, Rose' (ibid) mentions as to Maclagan, Lakhdata or Sakhi Sarwar Sultan was many as eleven legends that have Ei:lustered round a historical personage, and the cult of Sakhi Sarwar Gugga. He is also called Zahir Pir and the Saint is thus described by him. "First and foremost is Apparent. Some refer to him as Bagarwala, "He the following of the great saint Sultan Sakhi Sarwar. of the Eagar" because of his grave near Dadrewa No one knows exactly when Sultan lived. Sir J?enzil in Ganga Nagar district of Rajasthan, covered by Ibbetson places him in the 12th century and Major the Bagar tract, which he is said to have ruled over. Temple in the 13th while there are accounts in the It is stated that he flourished around the middle of Sakhis of the Sikhs which represent him as a con­ the 12th century. temporary of Guru Nanak ; and as having presented .. water-melon to him, Whatever the exact time of his Rose (ibid) has recorded a number of legends birth and death, Sultan was practically one of- the connected with ,Gugga Pair. These narrate almost the class of Musalman saints, such as Baha-ud-Din 'and same events which vary in details but are basically Shams Tabriz who settled down and practised austeri­ of the same substance. It is said that he flourished ties in the country around Multan. Sakhi Sarwar in the middle of the 12th Century. There is, however, Sultan, also known as Lakhadata or the giver of a marked difference of oninion about the location lakhs, Lalan-wala or of the Rubies, and Rohianwala of the place of his birth a~d the name of his father. or He of the Hills was the son of one Zainulabidin, One of the legends name the place of his birth as and his real name was Sayyed Ahmed (Rose, 1919, Gard Darera, the second as Dadree in Bikaner dis­ Vol. I, P. 566). trict, about eighty Kms. from Sirsa, the third as Daruhera in Hissar and the fourth as Garh Dandera Though the Chhimbe of Himachal Pradesh do not near Brindavan in Uttar Pradesh. Likewise, the appear to be aware of the above mentioned legend different legends give out different names of his father. associated with Lakhadata they are of the firm belief He is named as Jewar or Jhewar, or Jiwar, in different that sukhnas or manntas (vows) taken in his name versions. Another legend gives out his name as -are fulfilled by his kind grace. Whenever a vow is Vachha Chauhan, the Raja of Jangal Desh, which fulfilled, a Chhinj or wrestling match is arranged in stretched from the Sutlej to Haryana. Still another the honour of the saint. During the field investiga­ names his father as Devi Chand. Unlike the different tions on the community the particulars of a Chhinj names associated with his father and place of birth, arranged were collected and the same is given below: there is a marked unanimity about the name of his mother. She is named as Bachhal, while her sister It is said that K.R.'s son was suffering from Paralysis. Kachhal or Achhal. The Tatter is said to be the wife Two years prior to the field investigation, K.R ... took of Jewar's brother, Newar. But in one of the versions a vow in the name of Lakhadata that he-would arrange she is said to be the second wife of Jewar, the father a Chhinj if his son recovered from his illness. By the of Gugga. grace of Lakhadata his son showed improvement. Accordingly, he arranged a Chhinj at Raura in Bilaspur The legend goes that both Bachhal and Kachhal town. He had taken a vow in the name of the saint were without a son. Once Go~akh Nath, the lord of that he would spend an amount of five hundred rupees snakes, visited Jewar's capital and camped in a in arranging the Chhinj. On that occasion he dis­ garden,. which did not have a single blade of green tributed Churma (sweet bread) worth one hundred grass due to continuous droughts. By a miracle it rupees to the contestants in the wrestling matches as so happened that on the arrival of Gorakh Nath, well as the spectators. The rest of the amount was 'the trees put forth green leaves and started blossoming distributed among the wrestlers and- the referee who 'and green gras_s sprang up everywhere. Impressed participated in the wrestling bouts. Twenty wr:estling by this happening BaGhhal went to Gorakh Nath bouts were ·held and both the winner and the loser and begged of him to grant her the boon of a son. got an equal amount, ranging from two to ten rupees, Thereupon, Gorakh Nath asked her to meet him on depending upon the popularity of the wrestling bout. an appointed 110ur and day. But Bacchal's sister Many Chhimbe also contested in the tournament. Kachhal came to know of this. She disguised her­ D.R., a Chhimbe of Mandi Manva village, acted as self in lier sister's attire and met Gorakh Nath just ,'the referee in the Chhinj. He was paid fifty rupees before the appointed hour before her sister could for his services. After each wrestling bout was com­ meet him. Gorakh N~th gave her two barley corns pleted the wrestling partners-the loser as well as to be eaten. Accordingly, she ate them up and in the winner-presented themselves to KR., who due course of time gave birth to twins, who were arranged the wrestling tournament, for receiving the named Arjan and Surjan. In the meanwhile, Bachhal gift of Churma and the cash 'award. went to Gorakh Nath at the appointed hour and the saint having discovered the deceit played by Kachhal Gugga Pir: The cult of Gugga Pir or Bir is very gave Bachhal a piece of guggal (name of a herb) out popular among the Chhimbe. The Pir is said to cure of his wallet, saying she would attain her desire by the snake bites and some of the legends associated eating the same. Eventually, she gave birth to a son, 6-3 RGI/ND/71 named, Guga. It is said that he derived his name the accompaniment of musical instruments. ~n Bilaspur from guggal, the herb taken by his mother. District the Gugga fairs are held at MalhotJ, Dhanar, Gehrwin and Bhatehr parii where the local Hindu populace, especially the Scheduled Castes including According to another version, Gorakh. Nath h~d the Chhimbe, participate with enthusiasm. given her ashes and not guggal. Accordmg to stIll another version Gorakh Nath havmg known that Bachhal was destined not to bear a child, took her Dewa/ Sidh or Balak Nath: This twin deity is repre­ to Bhagwan (God). The latter took out some p~'Yder sented by stones kept on the side wall in front of. t.he from his head and gave it to Bachhal, who dIvIded houses of the Chhimbe or the other local commumtles the same into four parts. She gave one part to a havingf:tith in Dewat Sidh or Balak Nat~. These stopes Brahmin, another to a sweeper, the third one to a carry impressions of two feet. Many :tIIll~US, Musl~ms grey mare, and the fourth she kept for herself.. Accord­ as well as Sikhs revere and have (alth In the deIty. ing to one version, the pregnant Bachhal havmg been Among the Hindus, the Scheduled Castes are reported charged with infidelity was turned out of her husband's to have more faith in Balak Nath. home set out for her maternal grand father's home. On the way the cart, in which Bachhal was travelling The Chhimbe recounted the following legend as­ was halted for the mid-day rest, and the bullocks taken sociated with Dewat Sidh or Balak Nath: out. Thereupon, a snake bit them and they. died. Bachhal distraught and exhausted after weepmg at It is stated that Balak Nath was a sanyasi (hermit) the loss of the bullocks fell asleep. But Gugga in his who was endowed with miraculous powers from his mother's womb now 11)

Deo Sur: Deo Sur is universally accepted as the (7) It is lucky to see a child sucking his thumb. deity of the women in the lower hills. A large fair is held in its honour in the month of Mayor June (8) If before undertaking "a journey, a little gur in which women participate from far and wide with Uaggery) is taken, it ensures a happy journey and enthusiasm. On this occasion Jagara is performed fulfilment of one's missiol!. by devout women who sit in rows and go in a trance to the accompaniment of beating of the drums, sway­ (9) If a crow caws a great deal near the house, a ing about their heads from side to side in unison. guest is expected. The spell is broken and they resume their natural (lO) If the heel of the foot aches, a journey is expected. postures when Ole drumming stops suddenly after reaching the crescendo. It is supposed that the tremors 'Concept of soul: The Chhimbe appear to entertain are caused by the ingress of the spirit of the' deity in a vague and confused idea about life after death and the body of the devotees. reincarnation. Many of them do not have any clear cut conception of atman or sOill, dharam and moksha. At the faIhily level, Deo Sur is worshipped on the B'ut they appear to be fairJy clear about the concept of first Sunday of every month. Deo Sur is not only karma. They agreed that the acts in the life of' an popular among the Chhimbe but among many of the . individual determine his destiny. As one elderly other ethnic groups in the area, especially in Bilaspur Chhimbe remarked, "As you sow, so will you reap". district. One who performs good deeds goes to heaven and the evil doer to hell. After death the soul takes rebirth in various forms. Nar Singh: Nar Singh is endowed with the same qualities as Deo Sur and always spoken along with It is believed that the present deeds have no influence the latter. In fact, Deo Sur is regarded as the master on the present life and the reward or punishment is of Nar Singh. meted out in the next birth. Punishment for - misdeeds in the present life may include a long period after death in which "the soul wanders in torment and Omens anti superstitions: The Chhimbe stated that in suffering as a ghost or spirit before finding a body they do not entertain any omens or superstitions for rebirth. Then, it may be reborn as a crawling which can be termed as peculiar to their community worm or insect, or in an undesirable human condition. alone, and the superstitious persons in their com­ Good deeds are rewarded by rapid transit of the soul to munity believe in all the omens and superstitions another body so that the cycle of 84 million yonis 'prevalent among the other neighbouring communities. (reincarnation) through which it must pass is quickly It also appears that the elderly person§ have more accomplished and the ultimate goal of attaining Swarg faith in the superstitious beliefs whereas the younger. or heaven reached in a short span of Time. generation is not so superstitious and scolis at them. However, it would appear that like the other com­ It is believed that the atmah as such never dies. munities most of them have an ambivalent attitude -It rather only changes the yoni (form). If one meets in the matter and they hover between the worlds of his destined death, the atman may take anyone of the 'belief' and 'non-belief'. Some of the more popular 84 million yonis a~cording to one's past deeds, (trans­ omens and superstitions mentioned by them are in­ migration of soul). The soul of holy personalities, dicated below: . it is said, do not undergo the transmigration to the different yanis, rather it rests in heaven by achieving (1) While proceeding on 'a journey it is considered moksha. In case one meets untimely death in young inauspicious to meet a bare-headed person or some­ age due to suicide, murder or accident, the soul may not one coming with an empty pitcher. find a yoni and keeps on wandering about, sometimes (2) A journey should be postponed if some one haunting the human beings. sneezes just before leaving the threshold. Leisure and recreation (3) It is cOITSidered a great sin and a forewarning of an impending disaster if a cat is killed by someone As in the case of many other hill folks of Himachal :wiIfully or accidentally. Pradesh, the local fairs and festivals provide the main source of entertainment or recreation to the Chhimbe. (4) If the children clatter Chimtta (pair of tongs) The seasonal and other festivals give them an oppor­ in the kitchen it would result in a quarrel ensuring tunity for diversion from the daily mundane life. Beo! between the parents. sides, this is one source of recreation in which men and women-old and young-a~l get an opportunity to (5) Shaving and hair cutting on Sunday, Saturday participate in the festivities together. These festivals or Tuesday, in the month in which a child has been are particularly, and eagerly, awaite4 by women-folk born il,1 the household as well as in the period of Sharadh who unlike their men--folk have hardly any other source is inauspicious. of amusement or diversion. On these occasions they bedeck themselves in their finest dress and ornaments (6) To mention the name of the previous month is and visit the site of the fair or festival to observe the unlucky. . festivities there and purchase fancy goods. The more 32

important fairs and festivals in which the Chhimbe I must go tomorrow night, of Bilaspur and Mandi districts participate are Basant o Chancha!o, I must go for I have pressing work Panchmi, Kali Devi, Naina Devi, Gugga Naumi, which I cannot ignore. Jawalamukhi, Nag Deota, Chauntra, Shitla Devi, Bala Krupi and Lohri. The children play a number of local games. They play these games along with the children of other com­ The men-folk generally spend their . leisure hours in munities, including the caste Hindus. But it appears gossipping, smoking bidi or hukka. During the leisure that their parents generally discouraged them to play hours in the afternoon a few Chhimbe are often seen with tbose belonging to Dumna, Chura and Chamar playing cards or chopper (chess) with their friends. communIties, etc. Some of the more important games played by them are described below: Another past time and source of recreation or sport for the Chhimbe is the Chhinj or the wrestling bouts, - Chowa: It is a common game played by the children discussed in the preceding section, which draw large of both the sexes. It is played with a disc which is crowds. The Chhimbe actively take part in the thrown in a diagram drawn on the ground. Generally Chhinj, and some of them actually participate in the a rectangular diagram of the dimension of 10' X 5' is wrestling bouts. In any' case most of them do not drawn and divided into 10 compartments as reproduced like to miss the opportunity of witnessing wrestling below: , bouts or tournaments. I 6 I Vishram I The women-folk in their leisure hours prefer to gossip 7 1 4 or sing folk songs. They generally sing the popular I songs commonly sung by other communities as well 1 8 I 3 in the area. They do not sing any songs which can be I considered as characteristic of their own. However, 9 I 2 the folk song of Kunjua and Chanchalo is very much J popular among them. The English version of this Samunoar ,I I song is reproduced below: - Starting point I weep profusely while washing clothes, 0 Kunjua, Starting from the bottom (right side), the compart. come and speak to'me, please ments are numbered in an anti-clock-wise direction. come and talk with me. The fifth compartment on the right side, on the top, In your hand is a silk handkerchief, is called vishram, while the one ofthe left, at the bottom, samundar or sea. o Chanchalo, and my ring is on your finger as a token of your undying love. One of the players start the game by standing at the starting point which is marked by drawing a line on the My lustrous black eyes, 0 Kunjua, often admired by you, ground at a distance of five to six feet from the compart­ are now filled with tears and sorrow, ment No. I as shown in the diagram reproduced above. symbols of our helpless love. One of the players throws by hand a disc of stone, or On your fair arms some other suitable material, in the compartments, one the red bangles quiver, by one, in the serial order. If the disc falls in a wrong and among them. 0 Chanchalo, compartment, say in compartment number 4 after is the bracelet I gave you compartment number 2, the player is declared out and in token of my adoration. another player takes his turn. Otherwise, the player Do not come to me at midnight, hops on one foot and throws out the disc with his toe o Kunjua, outside the diagram in the direction of the starting there are five loaded rifles In my house itching to fire at your heart. point and returns to the same point jumping from one compartment to the other on one foot. The player I will surely come at midnight, can keep both the feet in Vishram but has to jump the o ChanchaJo, What harm can five rifles do samundar, from compartment number eight outside to my immortal love for you? the diagram, towards the starting point. Th~ follow· ~ng conditions have to be observed by the player: You'are going far away. 0 Kunjua give me a ring as a token of your love 1. His other foot should not touch the ground Do not bother about such rifles, while jumping or taking out the disc by his o Chanchalo, toe. In Chamba there is gold ih plenty and I will deck you with ornaments. 2. He ,should not step on any line marking the Do not leave tomorrow night, boundaries of the different compartments. o Kunjua, Do not leave me, 3. The disc should not fall on any line while throw­ I would sacrifice my very life ing it with hand in a compartment or taking it to keep you here. with the toe. 33

4. The di~c should be thrown in different compart­ his place. On the other hand, in case the striking ments tn sequence. player succeeds in dismantling the stones he and his team makes try to reassemble them in the original form. !n the mean while ~he members of the opposing If a player violates any of the above conditions, he is or fieldmg team try to hit the players trying to re­ declared out and the next player takes his chance. assemble the stones. If one of them is hit before all th~ stones are re~ssembled, t~e fielding team wins one If the first round is successfully completed and the phzndoo or a. pomt. OtherwIse, if the stones are re­ disc has been thrown in each of the eight compartments, assembled WIthout any member of the team being the 1?layer takes a full roun~ of the compartments, stn:ck with the ball their team secures one phindoo. hoppmg on one leg and returmng to the starting point. This causes a good deal of fun and excitement to the Next, the ~Iayer tak,es another round of the compart­ players; the, plaY,ers of one side !unning here and there ~ents keepmg the dIsc on the toe and hopping on the to dodge bemg hIt by the ball whIle trying to reassemble other leg, He is out if the disc falls to the ground while the stones, whereas the players on.the other side passing jumping from one compartment to another, Yet the ball fr?m ~ne t.o another to hit one of the players of another round of the compartments is completed. the OppOSIte SIde and preventing them from assembling This time the player keeps the disc on his head and th~ stone~. The team securing larger number of jumps from 0!le c0!llpartment to the other, using both phtndoo WIllS the game. feet but keepIng hIS eyes closed and uttering a word 'mainduk'. The other players would say '/wan' (yes), if he jumps to the correct compartment. If he [(orara: This game is played by somewhat younger ) breaks a rule, viz. he steps in the wrong compartment c~lldren of both the sexes, in the age group 4-7, with a or one of the lines, or if the disc falls to the ground, the ple~e of clot~ -pr~ferably a dupatta (headgear) or mufflar others would shout 'Naan' (no) and the game is lost :vhlCh. IS tWIsted mto a round bundle. The players sit to the player and the other takes his turn. But if he III a CIrcle and one, of thel!l, usually a witty oIle, starts succeeds in completing the round he would stand t~e, game by runmng behind the players in the circle on the opposite side of the diagram, i.e., towards the h!d!ng . the ko~ara at his back. The other players Vishram at a distance of 5-6 feet. He, next throws the slttmg III the CIrcle are not supposed to look back all disc in one of the compartments, facing the other direc­ th,e time. After taking one or two rounds, he stealthily tion. If the disc does not fall over a line, vishram or ~nes to _put the kora.ra behind one of the players sitting Samundar, but in a compartment, the same is won by m the CIrcle. If vlgtlant enough the player would come him and crossed by him in his name. When the first t~ k~ow that the Koram is at his back. He would player is out, the other players repeat the entire pro­ pl~k It up and run ~ehind the first player beating him cess by turns; but- they cannot throw the disc in the WIth the Ko~ara untIl he 'takes the place in the circle compal'tment won by the first player. They have also vacated by hIm. The latter would then play in a simi­ !o jump over that compartment as they cannot step lar way. On the other hand, if a player does not notice mto the same. On the other hand, the player winning the karara behind him, the first player after completing a compartment while taking another round has the !he round o~ the circle will pick up the karara and witlL freedom to use that compartment as Vishram and rest­ It start beatmg the player behind whom he had kept it. ing both the feet in it. In this fashion all the eight The other would run as fast as possible to avoid the numbered compartments are crossed. The player hav­ beating and after completing one round sit at the origi­ ing the largest crosses in his name wins the game. nal place. Thus, the game goes on.

The Chowa is also played with slight variations. Gh~ra: This game is played by boys, usually three Sometimes, a small stick is used for removing the disc at a tIme: O~e of them standS' erect while another one from the compartments. But the rules and other con­ holds his waI~t and bends himself forward in such a . ditions are almost the same as described above; manner that his back serves the purpose of the horse back. The third boy sits on the back of the second boy and pats him .. ~hen the first and the second boy Phindoo: The game is played with an old tennis ball move forward to ImItate the movements of a horse. or a ball fashioned from old rags and 5-7 fiat stones. The three boys change places with each other by turn The game in essence comprises the stones arranged so that e~ch of them gets a chance to become the 'horse' in a vertical row being hit by the ball so as to dismantle or the nder. Of course, the latter position is pre­ them. The players divide themselves in two teams. ferred. They toss a coin to decide which team will get the first opportunity to have a go with the ball at the stones. The team winning the toss takes vantage positions Intra-community and Inter-community relations around the row of stones; so do the players of the field­ ing team. Next, each player of the first team tries his Despite different occupations followed by the Chhimbe hand at hitting the stones with the ball so as to dis­ they form a homogeneous community and although mantle them from a fixed distance of 10-15 feet. A cultivation is considered more respectable there is no player from the fielding side takes position opposite hierarchy of status among those who at;, engaged in different occupations. the striker, all t~e other side of the stones, to catch the ball. If he, or any other player from his side, catches the ball after only one bounce on the ground, the striker Though the Chhimbe are treated as a Scheduled Caste is declared out and the next player of his team takes in Himachal Pradesh, a fact known to most of them, it would appear that they do uot occupy a very low in accepting kuccha food from the former. The position in the local caste hierarchy, and as a conse­ Chhimbe accept kuccha as well. as pucca food from the quence, do not appear to suffer from significant above cOl:nmunities, but they do not accept pucca food social disabilities. They rather hold a fairly high posi­ from Nal, Jullaha and Koli communities on a reci­ tion among the 'Harijan' or Scheduled Castes of the pr?cal basis. They claimed that they would accept area as they rank above Churha or Bhangi, Chanal, neIther pllcca food nor kuccha food from Bhangi, Dagi, Hali, Jogi, Sapera, Bangali, Daule, Bhanjre or Dumne 'and Chamar communities. They further claim­ Dumne, Koli and Chamar communities. ed that their Caste Panchayat severely dealt with those who broke commensal norms of the community. In As discussed in an earlier section of the monograph support of their contention they referred to an interest­ the communities living in their neighbourhood generaUy ing case dealt with by their Caste Panchayat. comprise Brahmin, Rajput, Nai, Lohar, Jullaha, Koli, Bhanjre and Chamar. In many cases the Chhimbe It is said that a few years ago a Chhimbe resident of live inter-mingled with them, sometimes in proximity Sarka ghat, who was employed in the army and saw of Rajput and Brahmin and generally not segregate action in the World War II, came back to settle in his in settlements or hamlets of their own. village after discharge from the army. Once he was seen dining with a person belonging to Chamar caste. They have never been consiaered as 'untouchables' Though the touch of a Chamar does not carry pollution in the sense that their touch would carry pollution to for a Chhimbe and an unsmoked bidi could be accept­ the swarnas (caste Hindus)._ 11 is said that even ed from the former the Chhimb'e Biradari objected in the past there was no restriction on them in the to his indulgence to the extent of dining with a Chamar. matter of their participation in the village fairs and He was warned not to associate himself with a Chamar festivals. As indicated in the preceding para they sq closely as to share his meals with him. The man in had the freedom to build their houses in any part of the question however, claimed that the. Chamar was his village. It is even claimed by them that they did not close friend and he personally did not care much about encounter any serious difficulty in the matter of access such social norms which imposed such restrictions to temples and other places of worship. .But in the on personal relations between two friends. Accord­ past the members of the Chhimbe community were not ing to him there was not much scope of- being so ortho­ allowed to draw water from the same water source dox and rigid in the matter of caste norms in the army. used by caste Hindus. They also could not use the He did not pay any heed to the repeated warnings same bathing ghat or tank simultaneously with the caste given to him. Eventually, the matter was referred to Hindus. It was stated by L.R. of Mandi, who has the the Caste Panchayat who decided that his 'hukka­ distinction of passing middle school examination as pani' s!lOuld be stopped forthwitIl and that he be ex­ early as in 1905, that during the erstwhile princely communicated from the community. He made a regime in the classes in the school he was made to sit persona.l appeal in the court of the then ruler of Mandi separately from other students who mostly belonged against the high handedness of the Biradari Panchayat to Brahmin and Rajput castes. He clarified that but the Raja did not intervene in the matter. though these restrictions were confined to the Scheduled Caste students, yet except Rajputs and Brahmins, the The Chhimbe are in receipt of the traditional services other communities were also discouraged from reseiv­ from the Brahmiri priest and the Nai (barber) and the ing education. It is understood that in tlie past in same Brahmin priest or the Nai who serves the caste Himachal Pradesh the castes of low status were subject­ Hindus also attend to them. These two functionaries ed to a number of severe and rigid social disabilities. do not attend to the Bhangi, Bhanjre, Chamar and They were debarred from riding on horse or using other castes of every low social status. According to Sukhpal (palanquin) in marriage processions. R.K. who serves as the priest of the caste Hindus in They were also prevented to engage musicians or play Bilaspur, he freely provides the traditional service to on musical instruments during their marriages or other the Chhimbe and presides over their marriage ceremo­ ceremonies. They were also restricted from putting nies and other social and religious functions. But he on gold ornaments; and about two centuries ago clarified that he does not enter their kitchen or living­ they were not permitted to keep long hair. These room. He receives remuneration in cash or kind but social disabilities were largely attributed to the atti­ would not accept pucca food from' them. B.N. who is tude of the erstwhile princely regime towards artisan a Nai (barber) by caste· and provides traditional service castes. But they hastened to add that as compared to to the Chhimbe in Mandi, stated that he has no inhibi­ other Scheduled Castes. These social disabilities were tion in entering their kitchen or their living-room but not so rigid or severe in their case. would avoid- accepting pucca food from them. They further stated that the position in respect of the social disabilities had considerably eased in their ca'Se­ The Chihm be explained that though they themselves by the dawn of 20th century. Whatever constraints inter alia follow the occupation of washing clothes, remained also disappeared after independence. yet 'they do not accept food or water from Dhobi be· longing to other ethnic groups. In fact, they claimed The Chhim be claimed that although the caste absolutely no social intercourse with the latter as they Hindus, such as the Brahmin, Rajput or Bania do not mostly belonged to communities of very low status, accept pucca food from them, they have no hesitancy such as the Dumna or Mahashay. In fact, during the 35 field investigation for the present study it came to light away the functions of the traditional council there are that in Chamba most of the washermen belonged to other ways in which the Statutory Panchayats have Dumna Caste. eroded the influence of the traditional institution. According to him some persons are lured by the Statu­ Thus, it would appear that at present the Chhimbe tory Panchayat as they are tempted to seek power and do not suffer from any tangible social disability. influence by occupying offices in the new institution of "grass root democracy", and actually a few Chhimbe ~014 the offices of Pradhan, Up-Pradhan or Secretary According to a few Chhimbe the attitude of the m the Gram or Naya Panchayats in some villages. Swarnas has now considerably improved towards Their involvement with the Statutory Panchayat is not them as well as the other Scheduled Caste's and the hea~thy . for the traditional Panchayat as they work latter have improved their status to a certain extent. agamst It. On the other hand, the relations between different Scheduled Castes have deteriorated. There is always some tension or bickerings going on among them. Though the Sarpanch of the Biradari Panchayat has One of them added, "there is no unity among the Sche­ sin~led out the new Statutory Panchayat as the agency d~led Cast~s~ Each of them tries to jockey itself into a whlch has worked against the traditional institution hlgher posltlon and shows his superiority over the it is obvious that there are certain other factors which other. The recent trend of social climbing motivates hav~ .contributed. more to the gradual decay of the their claim to higher social status over each other. This tradltlOnal councils. Rather, it would appear that the has developed frictions among the different Scheduled statutory panchayats have only provided a channel for Castes. As a result the social distance between them is . the release of certain forces which have been gaining increasing although the same in respect of Scheduled ~omentum in the wake of the process of moderniza­ Castes on the one hand and caste Hindus on the other tIOn. Among these a mention may be made of the is decreasing." There appears to be some truth in the emergent elites who have often posed challenge to the above statement. But obviously the Chhimbe them­ traaitionalleadership, growing individualism and libera­ selves appear to be guilty of the same behaviour towards lism which has undermined the role of the traditional 6f the . othe~ Sche.duJed Castes as is illustrated by the pre­ institution, and a consciousness of being a part the co~munity cedmg d~scusslOn of the .case of a Chhimbe being ex­ national· and thus taking recourse to the law courts on the caste becoming less and less primary commum~ated on the grounds of inter-dining with a. Chamar. referrent in these matters.

The Chhimbe also appear to have congenial and good The traditional council of the Chhimbe did not have relations with other castes, scheduled castes as well as a very elaborate institutional set up. There was a single ~aste ~indus .. No case of any.infer-community strife Panchayat for the Chhimbe residing in Bilaspur, Mandi l~volvmg Chhlmbe and other ethnic groups came to and- Kangra districts. The fewer number of Chhimbe 11ght though searching enquiries were made in this households in the villages did not encourage the Pan­ regard fr~m the other castes. It would appear that chayat to operate at village level. The head of the to a certam extent such a congenial situation has been traditional Panchayat was designated as Sarpanch or brought about by their intermediate position in the Sayana. His office was, however, not hereditary and ~ocal c~ste h~erarchy which, perahps, lead to healthy any elderly person endowed with knowledge, wisdom mteractlOn wlth other ethnic groups. and honesty or influence could aspire- for the office whic~ he. could hold by concensus among the com­ mumtymen. Thus, the present Sarpanch is not related Structure of Social Control to the person who previously held this office. B.R., the present Sarpanch, took this office from K.S. of . Acc~rdi~g ~o the Chhimbe in the past their tradi­ Kangra about fifteen years ago. In addition to tIie tIonal mstltutlon of Caste Panchayat or Biradari Pan­ Sarpanch ~ve Panch were also seley ted to constitute chayat, as it is referred to by them, was very powerful the Council. Two persons were nominated to the and effective for regulating the affairs of the com­ office of Sarpanch and Panch from each district to give munity and exercising social control over the individuals. equal representation to all the areas covered by the It wo~ld, however, appear that the traditional agency Panchayats. The traditional council generally met to of SOCIal. control has lost much ground and is no longer consider the outstanding cases a day or two· or so after an effectIVe agency as it was in the past. This finds an a l1!arriage o.r Kriya (death rites) in the community endorsement in the statement of B.R., the Sarpanch which occaSIOned the communitymen to get together. of the Chhimbe Biradari Panchayat. According to In case of emergency, however, the Panchayat could be him, "Our Panchayat has lost much onts significance convened with due notice to the persons concerned. and effectiveness after the introduction of Statutory ~anchayats, about 15 years ago. You can get some idea about the decline in its power and influence from All the adult male members could ta1\e-part in the the fact that during the last ten years only two or three deliberations of the Biradari Panchayat in which at cases were decided by it against at least 4-5 cases dealt least one person from each household, usually the every year in the past." Thus, he attributes the loss head of the household, was expected to represent it. of the influence or effectiveness of the traditional ynless they.happened to be a party to a dispute, or council 10 the recently. introduced statutory pancha­ Important WItnesses, women were not allowed to take yat. He further .amphfied that apart from taking part in the proceedings of the Panchayat which dealt 36 with such matters as breach of trust violation of social But as stated earlier, now the Biradari Panchayat norms in respect of marital and c~mmensal relations does not carry enough power or authority to bring the disputes arising out of divorces, bride price and case~ guilty to book, Now, very few cases are referred to it of elopement and adultery. The issue used to be dis­ and in many cases it attempts to affect compromise cussed ill a democratic manner before the council and with the offending persons as a face saving device to every person was free to express his view or opinion in keep up the semblance of authority. This was un­ the matter. If necessary, witnesses were also called thinkable in the past. The lack of effectiveness of the and their testimony heard. The Sarpanch and Panch panchayat is evident from the two case studies of adop­ would then retire and deliberate the issue amongst them­ tion and divorce discussed in the relevant sections of selves and after arriving at a concensus the Sarpanch the preceding account. The same are briefly recapi­ would deliver the judgment. The Panchayat generally tulated here, evoked the penalty of imposing fines on the guilty persons.. But, as is illustrated in the following cases In one case a Chhimba adopted the illegitimate son dealt WIth by the Panchayat in the past, in case of born out of wedlock of a Brahmin woman, who later defiance of community norms, the most effective and married a Chhimba, despite opposition of the Bira­ d,readed. weapon for punishment was ex-communica­ dari Panchayat. He does not appear to care for the tion whIch acted as a strong deterrent for any temptation punishment of ex-communication awarded to him. to commit such offences: It seems that he is not unduly P..J.lt to hardships perhaps on account of somewhat liberal attitude of the com­ It is said that about three decades ago, J.e., a resident munitymen. of Sarka ghat, eloped with a woman belonging to lulaha caste. For some time he settled in Kangra town but In another recent case a woman succeeded in divor­ after a few years came back to his own village. ]n cing her husband without any serious provocation the me~nwhile the Biradari Panchayat had ex-communi­ from her husband. The Panchayat was unwilling to cated hIm on the offence of keeping 11 woman of a lower -grant her divorce as it found no justification for the caste. As a result he had to face many hardships. same but finally acquiesced to her wishes, as she was All ~he ot?er members of the community severed adamant, on the condition that her father would return ~elatlOn~ WIth him. He was not allowed to participate the bride price to her husband. Still her father returned In marnages and other social functions in the commu­ .only half the bride price amounting to four hundred nity or share hukka with others. He is now sixty rupees only. But in order to save its face the Panchayat years old, but still carries the scars of the punishment asked the girl's father to arrange for a suitable bride meted out to him. for his divorced son-in-law. According to the Sar~ panch, B.R., in the past such sort of things could have never happened. A girl could never ask for a In another case which occurred about sixty years divorce and least without any provocation. In any ~go a Chhimba of Mandi town married a girl belong­ case her father could not have withheld half of the mg to Dumna Caste, which is considered of low status amount received by him as bride price with impunity by the Chhim be. The Biradari Panchayat took excep­ -although later on he obtained the agreement' of the Caste tion to this and ostracized him. In the course 'of time Panchayat for his request for reducing the money to be his wife gave birth to three daughters and one son.' returned to half. The Sarpanch observed that the When his eldest daughter attained the marriageabfe half amount returned by the girl's father was not so age, the question of her marriage posed a serious pro­ much due to the fear of the Biradari Panchayat but due blem as no one within the caste was willing to marry to the likely expenditure and harassment that was her. But eventually he succeeded in marrying her to involved if he was to take the case to a court of law for B.L., who was an orphan and brought up by his father's grant of divorce. The Panchayat could effectively br.other. The marriage took place in 1953. But it is intervene only in forcing the girl's father to get a suita­ SaId that only 6 persons could dare to participate in ble bride for his daughter's divorced husband. the marriage. When the Biradari Panchayat came to .know of this, it promptly punished them by ex-com­ -Social Welfare and Social Reform municating them. Later on, after the tempers had cooled down, the six persons placated the 'Caste Pan­ The Chhimbe are aware that their community is chayat by pleading that they were simply observer, and treated as a Scheduled Caste but they complained did not play any role in the marriage nor partook meals that they 'have not been able to drive any significant there. The Panchayat decided to condone them after ben~fit as they bave not received any facility or help in they paid a fine of Rs. 20. But B.L. and the other the matter of subsidy or loan for carrying business member of his household remained ostracized for having activity, or construction or repair of houses etc. But marital relations with the family of an out-casted per­ it is acknowledged by them that they have tried to make son. B.L., who was interviewed during the field investi­ the most of the educational facilities available to them gation, admitted that he had to face many hardships as - as one of the Scheduled Castes. As a result their a result of the social boycott by his communitymen. children have made a good progress in the field of edu­ But he is optimistic of the future of his children as he cation. feels that the dictates of the times are such that his children are not likely to bear the hardships that he As regards social reforms, according to most of the and his forefathers had to. communitymen there has never been any occasion or 37 an imp0rtant issue,which would warrant initiatiol) of task that the Association took on itself was to propa­ any social reform in the community. However, it gate that the Chhimbe should not engage themselves came to light that recently 'some enterprising perf:;ons in the occupation of washing clothes as they feared decided to form a Caste Association. They named the loss of status on account of the occupation being prac­ Association as Guru Namdeo Sabha, after the name of tised largely by community is of low social status, such their patron saint. The Association was set up in as Dumne and Hali. 1967 by the initiative of a few Chhimbe of Mandi Town. They elected M.L., aged 72, as its President, L.e, as But it seems that no one paid any heed to its re~ Vice President and S.R. as the Secretary. They commendation of giving up the occupation of washing collected about fifty to sixty rupees by way of annual clothes. In fact, the community men did not take the contribution of' rupee one from each member. Association seriously and, as one Chhimba remarked, 'it was a case of still born for the Association'. The aim of the Association was to effectively

7-3 RC

REFERENCES CITED

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2. KALA SINGH' "Nam dev Janam Sakhi" (in Gurmukhi), Amritsar, 1943.

3. Rose, H.A . . (i) A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province, Vol. I, Lahore, 1919.

4. ROSE, H.A. (ii) A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province, Vo1. II, p. 306, Lahore, 1911.

5. BLUNT, E.A.H. Census of India, 1911, Vol. XV.D.P., Part II, 1915.

6. IBBETSON, D.C. Census of Punjab, 1881, Vol. I, Report, p. 333, Calcutta, 1883.

7. KEALY, B.R. · Census of India, 1911, Vol. XXII-Rajputana, Ajmer & Marwar, Part II, 1~15.

8. KHAN, A.H.K. • Census ef/lndia 1931, Vol. XVIII-Punajb, Part I, Report, pp. 334-336, 356, Lahore, 193J:

9. Khan, M.M. Census of India, 1911, Vol. XX-Kashmir, Par(I, Report, p. 220, Lucknow, 1912.

10. MACLAGAN, E.D. • Census of India 1891, Vol. XIX-Punjab and its Feudatories' Report, p. 291, Calcutta, 1892.

11. SINGH, R.C. PAL . Census of India, 1961, Vol. XX-Himachal Pradesh, Part V-A, Delhi, 1961.

39

ANNEXURE FRAMEWORK FOR ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY

1. Name, Identity, Origin and History 1. Name; synonym; sub-caste/sub-tr'ibe as in President's Order and in other published sources such as census reports, monographs, etc., grouping with other castes and tribes during various censuses. Affinity with othe~ castes and tribes according to recognised authorities.

2. Etymological significance of the name; names by which the community is referred to by (a) others and (b) itself.

3. Identification of the community by occupation or any other way of life.

4. Myths and legends connected with the origin and histQry of the community and its segments; historical reference and popular beliefs about history and migration of the community.

II. Distribution and Population Trend 1. Area where found; population and concentration in the State and outside; physical aspects of the area of concentration.

2. Numerical strength in 1961- and population variations during 1901-1961; sex- ratio; age-groups and rural- urban distribution in 1961. m. Physical Characteristics 1. Racial stock; appearance and affinity with other known communities.

IV. Family, Clan, Kinship and other Analogus Divisions ' 1. Family; size (observed and published), Types, residence after marriage, descent, lineage and its economic and religious function and inheritance.

2. Clan/gotra and sub-clans; names, etymological meaning, clustering of clans, belief and mythology about origin, status among clans, clan and regulation of marriage (preference and prohibition), occupation and clan, clan and rituals, clan and food (restrictions, prescriptions etc.). , - 3. Others; Phratry, Duel Organization, like moieties, etc., as in 2 above.

V. Dwelling, Dress, Food, Ornaments and Otber Material Objects Distinctive of the Community Settlement; village site, location, settlement pattern (agglomerated, nucleated, dispersed, sprinkled, isolated amorphous, star-shaped, horseshoe-shaped, linear, rectangular, circular or ring-shaped, etc.,) and varia: tions; regional pattern vis-a-vis pattern of the community.

2. Neighbourhood pattern on the basis of religion, castes (Caste Hindus, untouchables) and tribes, etc., with segregations, if any, and the basis thereof.

3. Dwelling unit: compound, entrance, source of water, the use of different parts of the house (latrine, cattle shed, isolation huts, etc.); shape (square, round, irregular, etc.)' storeys; nature offIoor: plinth ;'walI; roofing' thatching; ventilations and doors; materials used; decoratio ns and embellishments; temnorary structures: ..... 4. Dress, including head gear and foot wear used ordinarily, on ceremonial occasions and special occasions sex-wise and according to majority or minority; dress of priests and office bearers; variations.' '

5. Ornaments; use; material used; from whom obtained; variations according to sex and age. 41 41

6. Personal decoration; Tattooing; mutilation (chipping of teeth, etc.); haircutting; how done, purpose, atti­ tude and variations according to sex and age.

7. Food and drink~ Materials (staple and other), prescriptions and prohibitions, fuel, utensil, and mode of preparation; practices connected with serving and taking of food; preservation offood and rituals, if any.

8. Equipments connected with economic pursuits, religion and ritual how procured; material used, construc­ tion, manipulation and purpose.

9. Other household equipments. As above.

10. Equipments connected with recording of time, space and weight and their methods of use. As above.

VI. Environmental Sanitation, Hygienic Habits, Disease and Treatment. 1. Environmental sanitation, settlement, disposal of night soil, garbage, etc.

2. Hygienic habits; cleanliness of body, teeth, dress, houses, utensils, etc.

3. Diseases: Incidence; local names; interpretation of the causes; symptoms; diagnoses and cure-persons and methods involved.

4. Modern systems of medicine and attitude of the community towards it.

VII. Language and Education 1. Ancestral Language: Classification according to Grierson, persistence of ancestral language and literature.

2. Mother Tongue: classification according to Grierson; bilingualism and multi-lingualisnt, regional language.

3_ Information co11ected during 1961 on lauguage and literature.

4. Education and literacy: Traditional and modern attitude, information collected during 1961-literacy and levels of education.

VIII. Economic- life 1. Economic resources: land, communitv land: individual ownership and types of land possessed and land utilised.

2. Forest wealth: Flora and fauna; llature and extent pf right in the forest, forest utiliz~tion.

3. Fishery, Livestock and others.

4. Working force: Sex-wise, urban and rural variations and comparison of the same with the region.

5. Non-workers.

6. Industrial classifications: Details as collected in the field and comparison with that of the 1961 Census figures; traditional occupation and changes in the pattern; main and subsidiary occupations.

7. Forced labour, bonded labour, patron-client relationship (Jajmani), mode of payment.

8. Seasonal migration connected with occupation: recruitment, formation of working groups.

9. Nomadic movement: Cycle and occupational pattern.

10. Shifting cultivation: method, implements and equipments, produce,. participation, cycle of rotation, measure to regulate shifting cultivation and iti impact. 43

II. Terrace cultivation: As above.

12. Income and expenditure: Sources of income, extent, expenditure on food, clothing, house, education. social functions and others.

13. Other aspects of economic life.

IX. Life Cycle A. Birth 1. Beliefs and practices connected with conception, barrenness, still birth, miscarriage, abortion, child death, regulation of sex, etc.

2. Pre-natal and natal practices: Residence, diet, work, taboos, etc. delivery place, assistance, equipme~ts used in delivery, position during delivery, severance of umbilical cord (who does and how done), dlS­ posal of placenta.

3. Post-natal practices; Confinement al}d segregation, ceremonial pollution, diet for mother and child rituals.

4. Protection and care of child and training.

5. Attitude towards birth of child preference about sex, preference about number, segregation of sex, etc.

B. Initiation 1. Initiation ceremony: descriptions.

2. Pre-marital sex relations within the community, outside the community, sanctions and taboos.

• C. Marriage 1. Age at marriage for both sex: prohibited degrees of relationship, preferences, widow remarriage (pre­ ferences and taboos).

2. Civil status and social status.

3. Types or-marriage: Monogamy, polygamy (Polyandry and Polygyny),

4. Selection of spouse: qualities valued (for bride and groom) mode of selection, procedure.

5. Modes of acquiring mate: by negotiation, force, intrusion, elopement, etc.

6: Terms of settlement: Payment of bride price, dowry, service, exchange, adoption, etc.

7. Ceremonies connected with marriage: details including who presides over the marriage and services of functional castes. .

8. Statistical data as per 1961 Census.

9. Divorce: Reasons and procedure.

D. Death

~ l. C~~cept about death, measures to ensure future well being of the soul, measures to avert harm by the spmts.

2. Methods of disposal: Burial, cremation, exposure, floating on water, etc. 44

3. Preparations for disposal of dead, informing friends and relatives, treatment of the dead body, digging of pit, etc. for disposal; how carried, who carry, who accompany, place of disposal, methods o( disposal, norms and taboos.

4. Ceremonies connected with disposal.

5. Death rites: Details.

6. Monuments: Tombs, megalths, etc.

7. Pollution: duration, restrictions in work, food, dress, shaving, hair cropping sex life, etc. removal of pollution.

8. Mourning: Mourners and duration.

X. Religion 1. Deities: supreme deity, benevolent deities, melevolcnt spirits, presiding deities of village and other aspects of life including occupation, clans, gotras, etc.

2. Place of the deiiies in the regional pattern and Brahmanical and other traditions.

3. Rituals and concepts associated with the pantheon.

4. Spots associated with the deities, pilgrim centres and methods of w@rship.

5. Religious functionaries.

6. Calendar of festivals and their observance.

7. Concept of soul; hell, heaven, rebirth, transmigration of soul, etc.

8. Sects and denominations: Name, distribution, beliefs and practices, etc.

9. Statistical information.

XI. Leisure, Recreation and Child Play 1. Use of leisure time: For male, female, children and adult; seasonal variation in leisure time.

2. Recreations-their mode and extent, for males, females and children.

3. Leisure and recreation with reference to work.

XII. Relation among different Segments of the Community Recognised segments-name, basis (territorial, ceremonial, social, prestige, religion, sect, education age, etc.). Inter-relationship among various segments; status of the segments, status of women.

XIII. Inter-community Relationship 1. Ceremonial relationship: service by Brahmins, traditional service by castes like barbers, washermen, etc.

2. Pollution by touch or proximity to high caste Hindus, use of well, admission to temple.

3. Secular relationship: Model for other communities; dominance due"" to economic resources, political status, social status, etc.

4. Bridge role, buffer role, alliance and antagonism of the community. 45

XIV. Structure of Social Control, Prestige and Leadership 1. Social control: Levels of social control-community level, regional level, hereditary, special functionaries, etc., social control by other agencies.

2. Mode of acquiring offices.

3. Control exercised by traditionally recognised leaders, functionaries of statutory bodies of the region, power­ ful individuals belonging to the community, etc. at the regional level and local1evel.

4. Relationship between spheres of social control and agencies of social control.

5., Leadership: For social change, for technologicai change for political action and for other organised acti· vities at the community level, regional level and local level

6. Social prestige: Method of gaining social prestige (by performing ritual, merit of feast, associating with historical association, etc.); symbol of social prestige.

XV. Social Reform and Welfare 1. Social reform movements: intensity; reasons (for raising social status, establishing traditional norms, for westernisation, etc.); history and import of the movements.

2. Social welfare: Agency, religious organisation, community as a whole, Govt., official and non-official role of the social welfare measures and impact.

XVI. References cited and other bibliography.

MGIPCBE-Sl-3 RGI/ND/71-12-7-13-300.