The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Part 38

_Jagat_.--(An awakener or sorcerer.) A sept of Gond in many localities. A section of Nat and Kasar.

_Jaharia_.--(From _jahar_, an essence.) Subcaste of Satnami.

_Jain_.--Name of a religion. See article. A subcaste of Kalar, k.u.mbar and Simpi (Darzi).

_Jaina_.--(One who follows the Jain faith.) Subcaste of Komti, Gurao.

_Jain Koshti_.--Subcaste of Koshti.

_Jaipuria_.--(A resident of Jaipur.) Subcaste of Mali.

_Jaiswar_.--(From the old town of Jais in Rai Bareli District.) A subcaste of Chamars, who usually call themselves Jaiswara in preference to their caste name. A subcaste of Barai, Kunbi and Kalar.

_Jalalia_.--A cla.s.s of Fakirs or Muhammadan beggars.

_Jaitwa_ or _Kamari_.--A clan of Rajputs; one of the thirty-six royal races mentioned by Colonel Tod.

_Jallad_.--(An executioner.) Subcaste of Kanjar.

_Jamadagni_.--An eponymous section of Karhare Brahman and Agharia.

_Jambu_.--(From the _jaman_ tree.) A subcaste of Brahman and Marar. A sept of Korku.

_Jambu Dalia_.--(Born in a shed made of _jaman_ branches.) A section of Ghasia.

_Jamnabasi_.--(Residing on the banks of the Jumna.) A subcaste of Dhobi.

_Jangam_.--A caste of Saiva mendicants, who call themselves Vir Shaiva, and are priests of the Lingayat sect; a subcaste of Jogi.

_Jangra_.--(Perhaps the same as Jharia or jungly.) A subcaste of Lodhi. A section of Dhimar, Mali and Sunar.

_Jani_.--A wise man; an exorciser.

_Janta_.--(Flour grinding-mill.) A section of Panka, a sept of Kawar.

_Janughanta_.--Mendicants who tie bells to their thighs; a kind of Jogis.

_Jaria_.--A totemistic section of Basor, who wors.h.i.+p the _ber_ or wild plum tree.

_Jasondhi, Dasaundhi_.--A caste. A subcaste of Bhat.

_Jasondhi, Karohla_.--A small caste of the Narsinghpur District, who were employed at the Gond and Maratha courts to sing the _jas_ or hymns in praise of the chiefs. They may be considered as a branch of the Bhat caste, and some of them are said to be addicted to petty theft. Some Jasondhis, who are also known as Karohla, now wander about as religious mendicants, singing the praises of Devi. They carry an image of the G.o.ddess suspended by a chain round the neck and ask for gifts of _tilli_ (sesamum) or other vegetable oil, which they pour over their heads and over the image. Their clothes and bodies are consequently always saturated with this oil. They also have a little cup of vermilion which they smear on the G.o.ddess and on their own bodies after receiving an offering. They call on Devi, saying, '_Maiji, Maiji Mata meri, kahe ko janam diya_' or 'Mother, mother, why did you bring me into the world?' Women who have no children sometimes vow to dedicate their first-born son as a Karohla, and it is said that such children were bound to sacrifice themselves to the G.o.ddess on attaining manhood in one of three ways. Either they went to Benares and were cut in two by a sword, or else to Badrinarayan, a shrine on the summit of the Himalayas, where they were frozen to death, or to Dhaolagiri, where they threw themselves down from a rock, and one might occasionally escape death. Their melancholy refrain may thus be explained by the fate in store for them. The headquaters of the order is the shrine of the Bindhyachal Devi in the Vindhyan Hills.

_Jat_.--A caste. One of the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs. A subcaste of Barhai, Bishnoi and k.u.mhar.

_Jatadhari_.--(With matted hair.) A sect of celibate Manbhaos.

_Jati_.--Name of Jain mendicant ascetics.

_Jaunpuri_.--(From Jaunpur.) A subcaste of Halwai and Lohar.

_Jemadar_.--Honorific t.i.tle of Khangar and Mehtar.

_Jemadarin_.--t.i.tle of the female leaders of the Yerukala communities of thieves.

_Jera_.--(A forked stick for collecting th.o.r.n.y wood.) A section of Dangi.

_Jhadi, Jhade, Jharia, Jharkua_. (Jungly.)--A name often applied to the oldest residents of a caste in any locality of the Central Provinces. In Berar it is used to designate the Wainganga Valley and adjacent hill ranges. A subcaste of Ahir, Barai, Barhai, Chamar, Dhangar, Dhanwar, Dhobi, Gadaria, Gurao, Kapewar, Kasar, Katia, Kewat, Khatik, Khond, Kirar, k.u.mhar, Kunbi, Kurmi, Mahar, Mali, Nai, Sunar, Teli and Turi.

_Jhadukar_.--(From _jhadu_, a broom.) A synonym of Mehtar.

_Jhal_ or _Jhala_.--One of the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs. A subcaste of Raj-Gond.

_Jhankar_.--Name of a village priest in the Uriya country. The Jhankar is usually a Binjhwar or member of another primitive tribe.

_Jhara, Jhira, Jhora_.--Synonym of Sonjhara.

_Jharha_.--subcaste of Lodhi. _Jharia_.--(Jungly.) See Jhadi. _Jharola_.--(Perhaps from the town of Jhalor in Marwar.) A subcaste of Brahmans in Jubbulpore.

_Jhinga_.--(A prawn-catcher.) Subcaste of Dhimar.

_Jijhotia_ or _Jujhotia_.--(From Jajhoti, the old name of the country of Lalitpur and Saugor.) A subcaste of Brahmans of the Kanaujia division. A subcaste of Ahir; a section of Jos.h.i.+ and k.u.mhar.

_Jildgar_.--(A bookbinder.) A cla.s.s of _Mochi._

_Jingar._--(A saddlemaker.) A cla.s.s of Mochi. A subcaste of Chamar and of Simpi (Darzi).

_Jirayat_.--Synonym for Mochis in Berar who have taken up the finer kinds of ironwork, such as mending guns, etc.

_Jire-Mali._--Formerly was the only subcaste of Mali who would grow c.u.min or _jira_.

_Jiria_.--(From _jira_, or c.u.min.) Subcaste of Kachhi.

_Jogi, Jugi_. A caste. A subcaste of Dewar. A section of Chamar, Chhipa and Lohar.

_Joharia_.--(From _johar_, a form of salutation.) Subcaste of Dahaits in Bilaspur.

_Johri_.--A subcaste of Rajput.

_Jokhara_.--A small cla.s.s of Muhammadans who breed leeches and apply them to patients, the name being derived from _jonk_, a leech. They were not separately cla.s.sified at the census, but a few families of them are found in Burhanpur, and they marry among themselves, because no other Muhammadans will marry with them. In other parts of India leeches are kept and applied by sweepers and sometimes by their women. [445] People suffering from boils, toothache, swellings of the face, piles and other diseases have leeches applied to them. For toothache the leeches are placed inside the mouth on the gum for two days in succession. There are two kinds of leeches known as Bhainsa-jonk, the large or buffalo-leech, and Rai-jonk, the small leech. They are found in the mud of stagnant tanks and in broken-down wells, and are kept in earthen vessels in a mixture of black soil and water; and in this condition they will go without food for months and also breed. Some patients object to having their blood taken out of the house, and in such cases powdered turmeric is given to the leeches to make them disgorge, and the blood of the patient is buried inside the house. The same means is adopted to prevent the leeches from dying of repletion. In Gujarat the Jokharas are a branch of the Hajjam or Muhammadan barber caste, [446] and this recalls the fact that the barber chirurgeon or surgeon in mediaeval England was also known as the leech. It would be natural to suppose that he was named after the insect which he applied, but Murray's Dictionary holds that the two words were derived from separate early English roots, and were subsequently identified by popular etymology.

_Jondhara_.--(Indian millet.) A totemistic sept of Korku and Halba.

_Jos.h.i.+_.--(An astrologer.) A caste. A surname of Karhara Brahmans.

_Juthia_.--(One who eats the leavings of others.) Subcaste of Basor.

_Jyotis.h.i.+_.--A synonym for Jos.h.i.+; an astrologer.