1 VAGRANT, MENIAL, AND ARTISAN CASTES. 317
2 Soclari, it may be that the Nyaria is generally or always a Snniiv by caste.
3 The books are silent on the subiect ; and I have no other information.
4 The Nyaria however is, unlike the Sauar, generally a Musalm^n ; tliough curi-
5 ously enough he is shown as Hindu only in Peshawar.
6 636. The Daoli (Caste No. 134.).— Under this head I have included 87
7 men who have returned themselves as Sansoi, as this appears to be the usual
8 name in the higher ranges for the Daoli of tlie low hills. The Daolis ai-e
9 men who wash gold from the beds of mountain streams, and arc naturally
10 found only in the hills, those rctitrned from Patiala being inhabit ants of the
11 hill ten'itory which belongs to that State. They also work the water-mills
12 which are so common on the mountain torrents. Most of them are Hindu,
13 a few Silih, and none Musalmau. These men are outcasts of about the same
14 status as the Dumna ; indeed they are said by many to belong to the Diimna
15 caste, and it appears that they also make matting and the like.
16 637. The Thathera (Caste No. 115).— The Thathera is the man who
17 sells, as the Kasera is the man who makes vessels of copper, brass, and other
18 mixed metals. He is generally a Hindu. The word seems to be merely the
19 name of an occupation, and it is probable that most of the Thatheras have
20 returned themselves as belonging to some mercantile caste. Those shown in
21 the tallies are for the most part Hindus. The Thathera is also known as
22 Thathy^r. He is said to wear the sacred thread.
23 638. The Agari (Caste No. 109).— The Agari is the salt-maker of Raj-
24 putana and the east and south-east of the Panjal), and takes his name from
25 the agar or shallow pan in which he evaporates the saline water of the wells
26 or lakes at which he works. The city of Agra derives its name from the same
27 word. The Agaris would appear to be a true caste, and are said in Gurgaon to
28 claim descent from the Rajputs of Chitor. There is a proverb : " The Ak,
29 " the Jawasa, the Agari, and the cartman ; when the lightning flashes these four
30 " give up the ghost," because, I suppose, the rain which is likely to follow
31 would dissolve their salt. The Agaris are all Hindus, and are found in the
32 Sultanpur tract on the common borders of the Dehli, Gurgaon, and Rohtak
33 districts, where the well water is exceedingly brackish, and where they manu-
34 facture salt by evaporation. Their social position is fairly good, being above
35 that of Lobars, birt of course below that of Jats.
36 639. The Nungar and Shoragar (Caste Nos. 76 and 154).— Nungar, or
37 as it is often called Nunia or Lunia or Niinari, is derived from nun " salt,"
38 and denotes an occupation rather than a true caste. This is true also of the
39 Shoragar or saltpetre-maker, who is sometimes called Rehgar from reJi or
40 saline efflorescence. But the two terms arc commonly applied to the same
41 class of men,' who indeed, now that the making of salt is prohibited in most
42 parts of the Panjab, mamifaeture either saltpetre from the debris of old
43 village sites, or crude soda {sajji) from the barilla plant which is found in the
44 arid grazing grounds of the Western Plains. Many of them have settled
45 down to agricultural pursuits, and this is especially true in the Multan and
46 Derajat divisions. They also appear to carry goods from place to place on
47 donkeys, which would seem to indicate a very low social status, though
48 these men are said to consider themselves superior to the Nungars who still
49 work at their hereditary calling, and to refuse to intermarry with them. They
50 are generally Hindus in the east and Musalmans in the west of the Province.
51 •Nfinia is said to signify a maker of saltpetre in Ondh and its neighbourhood.