1 MINOR LAND-OWNING AND AGRICULTURAL CASTES. 199
2 equality with the pure Brahman, though they are commonly known as
3 Brahmans. The fathers will not eat imm the hands of sous begotten in this
4 manner, but will smoke with them.
5 General Cunningham says that the Kanets have three principal clans —
6 Mangal, Chauhan, and Rao. The Chauhan will almost certainly be Kbasia.
7 With respect to the Mangal I have no information, nor do I hnd it in my
8 papers, unless Pangalana be a
9 misreading for ]\Iangalana
10 or Mangal. The principal
11 Kanet divisions returned in
12 OUT papers are shown in the
13 margin. More than half the
14 Kasib are in Bashahr. The
15 name belongs to a Brahmini-
16 cal gotra, and is probably
17 returned because the heading of the schedule was
18 161-
19 Kanet tribes.
20 1.
21 2.
22 3.
23 4.
24 Kasil)
25 Cliaiihan .
26 Rao
27 Kliasia
28 . 67,233
29 . 38,585
30 . 32,218
31 . 29,285
32 5.
33 6.
34 7.
35 8.
36 Pangalana, . .
37 Thakar ...
38 Punwar
39 Lasturi
40 12,067
41 7,356
42 7,129
43 3,859
44 no tribe at all and only
45 misunderstood. The Chauhan are principally returned from Mandi, Suket,
46 Nahan, Keonthal, and Jubbal ; the Khasia from Bashahr and Kiingra ; the
47 Pangalana from Suket ; and the Punwar from Nahan. General Cunning-
48 ham assigns the upper \'alley of the Pabar to the Chauhan, the lower Pabar,
49 the Rupin, and the Tons valleys to the Rao and the tract west of the Pabar
50 basin to the Mangal. Mr. Anderson notes that the Khasia are more common
51 in Kulu proper, and the Rao in Seoraj.
52 489. The Ghirath, Bahtl, ana Chang (Caste No. 29) .—The Ghiraths fill
53 much the same position in Kangra proper and the hills below it as do the
54 Kanets in the part to the east. With them I have included the Bahti and
55 the Chang, as it appears that one and the same people are known as Ghirath
56 in Kangra, and as Bahti in the eastern and Chang in the western portion of
57 the lower ranges. All three intermarry freely, and are considered by Mr. Lyall
58 as identical. In the Amritsar division all the Ghiratlis except 128 were
59 returned as Chang. The Jalandhar divisional office took the three names
60 together. The Ghiraths of Kangra and Hushyarpur are thus described by
61 Mr. Barnes : —
62 " My previous remarks (quoted on page 251* under the head Ratlii) will have introduced the
63 " reader to the Girths. They form a considerable item in the population of these hills, and in
64 " actual numbers exceed any other individual caste. With the Girths I have associated the few
65 " Jats that reside in this district, and the Changs, which is only another name for Girths, prevalent
66 " about Haripur and Nurp\u-. They amount altogether to 111,507 souls. The Girths are sub-
67 " divided into numerous soots. There is a common saying that there are 360 varietio- of rice, and
68 " that the sub-divisions of the Girths are equally e.ictensive, the analogy arising from the Girths
69 " being the usual cultivators of rice. The Girths predominate in the valleys of Palum, Kangra, and
70 " Rihlo. They are bound again in the ' Hul Doon,' or Haripur valley. These localities are the
71 " strongholds of the caste, although they are scattered elsewhere in every portion of the district, and
72 " generally possess the richest lands and the most open spots in the hills. The Girths belong to the
73 " Sudra division of Hindus, and this fact apparently accounts for the localities wherein they are
74 " found. The open valleys, although containing the finest lands, are also the only accessible
75 " portions of the hills. The more refined castes preferred the advantages of privacy and seclusion,
76 " although accompanied by a sterner soil and diminished returns. They abandoned the fertile
77 " valleys to less fastidious classes, whose women were not ashamed to be seen nor to work in the
78 " fields, and the men were not degraded by being pressed as porters.
79 " The Girths are a most indefatigable and hard-working race. Their fertile lauds yield
80 " double crops, and they are incessantly employed during the whole year in the various processes
81 " of agriculture. In addition to the cultivation of their fields, the Girth women cai'ry wood,
82 " vegetables, mangoes, milk and otiier products to the markets for sale ; many sit halt the day
83 " wrangling with customers until their store is disposed of . The men are constantly seized for
84 ar, or forced labour, to carry travellers' loads, or to assist in the various public buildings in