Pdewan at 19:09, 20 October 2021

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This article is an extract from
THE CASTES AND TRIBES
OF
H. E. H. THE NIZAM'S DO..."

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Created page with "=Otari= {| class="wikitable" |- |colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:100%"> This article is an extract from THE CASTES AND TRIBES OF H. E. H. THE NIZAM'S DO..."

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This article is an extract from 

THE CASTES AND TRIBES 

OF 

H. E. H. THE NIZAM'S DOMINIONS 

BY 

SYED SIRAJ UL HASSAN 

Of Merton College, Oxford, Trinity College, Dublin, and 

Middle Temple, London. 

One of the Judges of H. E. H. the Nizam's High Court 

of Judicature : Lately Director of Public Instruction. 

BOMBAY 

THE TlMES PRESS 

1920 
***** 
''Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees '' 
''with the contents of this article.'' 
''Secondly, this has been scanned from a book. You can help by '' 
''sending the corrected version/ additional information to '' 
the Facebook page, [http://www.facebook.com/Indpaedia Indpaedia.com]. ''All information used will be duly acknowledged.''
</div>
|}
[[Category:India|O]]
[[Category:Communities|0]]
Otari, Watari — a very small caste of. smelters, found scattered all
over the Dominions. They take their name 'from the .Marathi verb
otane which means to pour or to smelt. They are a functional group,
probably recruited from the respectable middle classes, but 'now
hardened into a rigid caste. The caste was known, under the name
'Uttarak,' to the ancient Hindu Legislators, by whom they are des-
cribed to be the offspring of a Karmar father and a Chitrakar mother.
According to this account, the Otaris are Pratilomaja (born against the
heir) the father being of a lov>'er caste than the mother. They look
like Maratha Kunbis and speak the Marathi language.

==Internal Structure==
Six sub-castes of Otaris we found in these
Dominions :— They are (1) Bedari, (2) Ghatoli, (3) Nilamsi, (4)
Yadali, (5) Kanchali and (6) Kolwana. These are tAostly territorial
groups, based upon the names of the countries they occupy. As, for
example, Bedaris are found in the District of Bidar, Ghatolis dwell on
the Ghats, or in the District of Aurangabad, Nizamsis are to be found in
the Districts of Bir and Parbhani, and Kanchalas in the Gulbarga Dis-
trict, Kolwans are said to be Akarmasis, or illegitimate descendants
of the abovementioned sub-castes, and are to be met with in the Deglur
Taluka of the Nander District. Neither interdining nor intermarriage
is allowed among members of these different groups. Their exoga-
mous sections bear witness to their Maratha origin. Some of them
are as follows : —
[[File: otro.PNG ||frame|500px]]
bidden to marry within his section or outside his sub-caste. He may
marry the daughter of his sister or of his maternal uncle, but he cannot
marry the daughter of his mother's sister. Two sisters may have
the same husband, provided the elder is married first. Adoptive
brotherhood is practised by the caste.

Daughters are married before they have attained the age of
puberty. Polygamy is permitted without any limit being imposed
upon the number of wives?

==Marriagie==
The marriage ceremony closely resembles that in
vogue among the other Maratha castes. An earthen platform is built
under a booth made of five posts. To the Muhurta Medha (wedding
post, usually of the Umbar or Ficus glomerata) is tied a piece of tur-
meric with raw cotton thread. After the bride and the bridegroom have
been smeared with turmeric paste and oil and bathed, each separately in
their houses, 'warlis,' or earthen vessels are ceremonially brought
from a potter's house by married females whose husbands are living,
and deposited under the wedding pandal. One of the pots is placed
close to the MuTiurta Medha and covered witJi a lamp, which con-
tinues to burn throughout the ceremony. As the auspicious moment
for the wedding draws near, the boy is taken, on a bullock, to the
Maruti's temple where he is formally welcomed by the bride's party.
A grand procession, formed of the members of both parties, conducts
the bridegroom to the bride's house. Under the marriage booth the
bride and the bridegroom are made to stand facing each other, a
clotJi is held between, and the family priest chants mantras and
sprinkles rice over their heads. The curtain is withdrawn and the
couple exchange garlands of flowers and become husband and wife.
Kanyadan, Kankan-bandhanam, Horn and Sade follow and on the
performance of the last rite the ceremony is brought to a close.

==Religion==
Otaris allow their widows to marry again, recognise
divorce and follow the Hindu Law of inheritance. Their favourite god-
dess is Kalika-devi, to whom goats and sheep are offered at the Dasera
festival. The image of the goddess is kept in the house and worshipped
daily by each member of the house-hold. Their other gods are
Bhairoba, Bhavanai, Danai, Janai, Khandoba, Maruti and Nagoba.
The animistic deities Mari Ai and Sitala are appeased when sn
epidemic of cholera or small-pox breaks out. They observe all
Hindu fasts and festivals and make pilgrimages to Alandi, Jejuri and
Pandharpur. Deshastha Brahmans are engaged for religious and
ceremonial purposes.

==Child-Birth==

When a child is born, its navel cord is cut, laid
in an earthen pot and buried somewhere in the house. For the first
two days after birth the child is fed on honey and castor oil and th^
mother on rice and butter. On the fifth, day the knife with which
the navel cord was cut is placed on a 'Pata" (stone-skab) and wor-
shipped with offerings of rice, pulse and .cakes. On the 1 2th day
the mother becomes free from child-impurity and the child is named
after being presented to Satwai, represented by seven pebbles arranged
in a row. The mother worships the pebbles and invokes their bless-
ing upon the child.

==Disposal of the Dead==
Otaris burn their adult dead in a lying
posture and if burial is resorted to, poverty is the cause. On the third
day after death the ashes of the burnt are collected and thrown into a
stream or pond, while the bones are enclosed in arf earthen jar and
buried. Mourning is observed for ten days and the chief 'mourners
shave tTie head and moustaches. On the 12th day relatives are
feasted. 'Sradha' is performed in the latter half of the month of
Bhadrapad. Children under five years old are buried.

==Social Status==

Otaris claim for themselves a higher social
standing than the IViaratha Kunbis. They eat only from the hands
of Brahmans, Komatis, Jangams and Rajputs, while Maratha Kunbis
eat Kachi' from the hands of these people. They eat fish and the
flesh of sheep, goats, hare, deer and fowl and drink spirituous and
fermented liquors.

==Occupation==
The principal occupation of the caste has been
the making of toe rings or 'jodavis,' from bell metal, which they
cany for sale on an iron ring or leather band. A few make molten
images of Hindu Gods. The men and women hawk the jodavis
(toe-rings) from door to door and village to village or they squat
along the road-side and find customers generally in women of low
castes. The implements of their craft are ' Hatodi ' (hammer),
'Sandsi' (pincers), 'Kanas' (file) and 'Danda' (rod). Both men and
women are very hard-working, the women preparmg earthen moulds
and blowing the bellows. ,

Otaris have a caste Panchayat presided over by a headman
called Chaudhari, or Naik, who settles social disputes in consultation
with the members of the caste council.

@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
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-[[Category:India|O]]
-[[Category:Communities|0]]
 Otari, Watari — a very small caste of. smelters, found scattered all
 over the Dominions. They take their name 'from the .Marathi verb
@@ Line 157: / Line 157: @@
 called Chaudhari, or Naik, who settles social disputes in consultation
 with the members of the caste council.

Otari: Deccan - Revision history

Pdewan at 19:09, 20 October 2021

Pdewan: Created page with "=Otari= {| class="wikitable" |- |colspan="0"| This article is an extract from THE CASTES AND TRIBES OF H. E. H. THE NIZAM'S DO..."

Pdewan: Created page with "=Otari= {| class="wikitable" |- |colspan="0"|
This article is an extract from
THE CASTES AND TRIBES
OF
H. E. H. THE NIZAM'S DO..."