Chhapar-Band
This article is an extract from
THE TRIBES and CASTES of BENGAL. Ethnographic Glossary. Printed at the Bengal Secretariat Press. 1891. . |
NOTE 1: Indpaedia neither agrees nor disagrees with the contents of this article. Readers who wish to add fresh information can create a Part II of this article. The general rule is that if we have nothing nice to say about communities other than our own it is best to say nothing at all.
NOTE 2: While reading please keep in mind that all articles in this series have been scanned from a very old book. Therefore, footnotes have got inserted into the main text of the article, interrupting the flow. Readers who spot scanning errors are requested to report the correct spelling to the Facebook page, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be duly acknowledged.
Chhapar-Band
In Dacca the trade of making bamboo frameworks for thatched roofs is carried on by Muhammadans of the most advanced Farazi persuasion; but in villages Chandals, or any person skilled in the work, follow it.
Bamboos before being used are always steeped in water to harden them against the attacks of white ants, and several varieties are selected according to the particular requirement. "Tulda" bamboo (Bambusa tulda) is good for Ja'fari, or latticework ; "Ora" for the framework of the roof; and "Barak" for uprights. Houses in Bengal of the ordinary curvilinear form are covered with two chhapars, and the hut is called an "Alang." A four-sided pointed roof is known as "Chau-chala," in Bihar "Chautarka;" one with four verandahs in addition an "Ath-chala;" while two chhapars with an extension in front, covering a verandah, a "tai-chala."
1 Vana-gava, Bos Gavaeus, or wild ox.
The chhapar-band is often, though not necessarily, a thatcher, or "gharami." Thatching grass is bought from Chandals, and in May, when it is in season, the annual fires occur, causing much loss to the citizens, but improving the sanitary state of the bazars and villages, which are usually referred to thatchers discontented with the dull trade, and, if correct, verifying the description given of them fifty-eight years ago.
Mr. Walter Hamilton, writing in 1820 of the Dacca workmen, says: "The thatched houses being of very combustible materials are generally burned down once, if not twice, per annum, and are viewed while burning by their owners with an apathy truly Asiatic. Into large earthen pots, sunk in the ground, they throw the few valuables they possess, and mats, thatch, and bamboos being plenty, the expenditure of a few rupees restores their edifice to all its original splendour.
These fires generally originate with the owners of house-building materials (chhapar-bands and gharamis), and when a fleet of boats loaded with them arrives, a conflagration may be expected to ensure a ready sale."1
