1 ;?30 PANJAB CASTES.
2 clescnbed as ai-e to be found in the hill tracts, such as the Chamar, Tarkhan,
3 Lohar, and the like. I have divided the class into two groups. The first in-
4 cludes those castes which are found ainon>; the lower hills and in the tract at
5 their foot. Even here it will he founil that occupations tend to merge one into
6 another in the most confusing mannerj and that, even more than in the plains
7 proper, it is difficult to distinii'uish between one outcast class and another.
8 The second group is more strictly conHiu'd to tlie actual mountains ; and here
9 all seems to be confusion.
10 The Chamar, the Jhinwar, and the artisans appear to be tolerably
11 distinct, and have already been described with the groups under which
12 they fall. But even this is not the case everywhere ; while throughout
13 the hills wc find a mixed class known as Koli, Dagi, or C'hanal, who not only
14 perform the usual services demanded of outcasts, but also follow the occupa-
15 tions of very many of the artisan and higher menial castes. It is impossible
16 to say how many of the people who have returned themselves as Barhai or some
17 other caste which is sufficieutl}' distinct in the plains, are really Koli by caste
18 and have adopted the occupation merely of the caste under whose name they
19 are shown. And even the inferior castes which bear the same name in the
20 hills as in the plains, often adopt very different habits and occujjy very differ-
21 ent jjositions in the two tracts, as will be seen from the extracts I shall pre-
22 sently give from the reports of Messrs. Barnes and Anderson. One difference
23 is probably almost universal, and tliat is that in the hills almost all menial
24 castes occupy themselves very largely in fiekl-labour; and it will be seen that
25 in some parts the Kolis are generally known as II alls or Sepis, words in com-
26 mon use in the plains for two classes of agricultural laboui'ers. At the same
27 time it would appear that the services performed and dues received by village
28 menials are less commonly regulated by custom in the hills than in the plains.
29 The social position of the menial classes in the hills is thus described by
30 Mr. Barnes in his Kaugra Report : — •
31 " Those classes who arj too proud or too affluent to plougli aud yet hold lands, generally euter-
32 " t.iin Kdmit, or labourers from these outcast races, whose condition is almost analogous to that of
33 " slavery. He gets bread to eat, aud a few clotbea a year, and U hound to a life of thankless cx-
34 " crtion. 'I hese castes are always first impressed for begar, or forced labour, and, in addition to
35 " carrying loads, have to provide grass for the camp. In the hills the depression of these castes
36 " is more marked than I have observed elsewhere ; — their manner is subdued and deprecatory ;
37 " they are careful to announce theii' caste ; aud an accidental touch of their persons carries dcHIe-
38 " ment, obliging the toucher to bathe before he can regain his purity. If any person of this caste
39 " has a letter to deliver, he will throw or deposit his charge on the ground, but not transmit it direct
40 " from hand to hand. lie is not allowed to approach near, and in Court when summoned, he will
41 " stand oxitside, not venturing unless bid to intrude within the presence. If encouraged lo ad-
42 " vance he does so with hesitation ; wliile all the neiglibours fall back to avoid the contamination
43 " of his touch. Under the rule of the Rajas they were subjected to endless restrictions. The
44 " women were not allowed to wear flounces deeper than four inches to their dress, nor to rp asgl
45 " use the liner metal of gold for ornaments. Their houses were never to exceed a certain '
46 " size, nor to be raised above one floor ; the men were interdicted from wearing long hair ;
47 " and in their marriages the bride was forced to go on foot, insead of riding in a jampdn or chair,
48 " as allowed to every other class. Certain musical instruments, such as the Dufnl or drum, and the
49 '■ Nikdra, or trumpet, were positively prohibited. Many of these restrictions are still maintained,
50 " although, of course, there has been no sanction given or implied by the officer^' of Gov-
51 " crnmeut."
52 650. As for the confusion 1 have mentioned, it is so clearly brought out
53 in a report by Mr. Anderson, and that report gives such a valuable and in-
54 teresting picture of the curious condition of the lower stratum of society in
55 Kulu aud the higher hills, that I need not apologize for quoting it at some
56 length. I should explain that the paragraphs I am about to quote were not