Latest revision as of 16:08, 14 December 2015

[edit] Jingar

Jingar, Karajkar, . Lohar, Chitrakar, Chitari, Dalsingar, Fambatkar, Darji, Nakash Maistri, etc. — a widely diffused caste, regarding whose origin very little is known at the present day.

Origin.^-No light is thrown upon the origin of the Jingars by the synonyms given above, which obviously refer to different occupations which they have taken up as the vicissitudes of fortune demanded. The members of the caste themselves claim to be Arya Kshatriyas, or Somavanshi Kshatriyas, i.e., Kshatriyas sprung from the moon, and give the following legend from the Brahmand Puran in support of their claim : "The gods and sages were once engaged in performing a sacrifice in Brihadaranya, when Janumandal, a giant, the grandson of Vritrasur, endowed with Brahmadev's blessing and made invincible, appeared with the object of obstructing the sacrifice. The gods and sages fled to Shiva. In Shiva's rage, a drop of his sweat fell from his brow into his mouth, assumed human form and was called Mauktik or Muktadev. Muktadev fought with Janumandal and defeated him. The gods and sages, pleased with his powers, enthroned him as their king and retired to the forests. Muktadev married Prabhavati, the daughter of the sage Durvas, by whom he had eight sons who married the daughters of eight other Rishis. He left the charge of his kingdom to his sons and withdrew with his wife to the forest to do penance. In the height of their power, the sons one day slighted the sage Lomaharshen, who cursed them, saying that they would lose their royal power and their right to perform Vedic ceremonies, and would wander in misery. Muktadev, on coming to know of the curse, implored Shiva to have mercy on his sons. Shiva could not recall the sage's curse, but, to lessen its severity, added that Mukta- dev's sons might perform the Vedic rights stealthily, that they \vould be known from that day forward as Aryakshtris and would follow eight callings : — chitrakars or painters, suoamakars or goldsmiths, shilpkars or artists, patakars or weavers, patoehars or silk workers, lohars or blacksmiths, mritikakafs or potters and dhatu-mriti\a\ars or metal and earth workers", ("PoOna Gazetteer.").

This theory of their Kshatriya origin derives some support from the personal appearance of the members of the caste. They have light complexions and delicate regular feati/res, while some of the men and many of the women are remarkably handsome. This type is singularly uniform and persistent throughout the Dominions, whether in the heart of Telingana or on the outfkirts of the Marathwada districts. It is a plausible conjecture that the Jingars are an offshoot of the Aryan race, and the degraded position they now occupy in Hindu society is due to their having adopted the occupation of saddlers, which is condemned by all Hindu castes.

[edit] Internal Structure

It is certainly remarkable that a caste so widely diffused should have no endogamous divisions based upon differences of locality. The character of their exogamous divisions differs in different parts of the country. In some districts, the cafete recognises 8 gotras : Angira, Bharadwaj, Goutama, Kanva, Kaun- danya, Vasishta, Shandilya and Kausik, ail of which belong to the Brahmanical system. In other districts these Brahmanical golras are neglected and marriages are regulated by sections of the Maratha type, the names of some of which are : —

Nidhankar. More.

Borkar. Ingale.

Wankher. Pimpale.

Sumase. Darule.

Chavan. Kapse.

Khangle. Chormare.

Dhade. Dorle.

Yendhe. Durgkar.

Dharpawar. Nagare.

Kalbande.

In either case, marriage between persons belonging to the same section is forbidden. No other section is a bar to marriage, pro- vided at a man does, not marry any of his first cousins, except 'the .daughters of his paternal aunt or maternal uncle. A man may marry twp sisters, provided he marries the elder of the two first but not otherwise.

[edit] Marriage

The Jingars marry their daughters as infants between the ages of 5 and 12 and social stigma attaches to a girl's parents if she is not provided with a husband before she rfeacheS'the age. of puberty. Polygamy is recognised so far, that if a man's first wife is barren he inay take a second. )■■

The marriage ceremony is of the standard type. A few days before the wedding, the Mangani takes place ; the boy's father mates a spot of red aniline powder (kunkum) on the girl's forehead and pte- i!sents her with a new sari and Rs. 2, and her mother with two saris and five pieces of bodice cloth. On this occasion a feast is given by the bride's father, at which liquor is provided by the father of the 'bridegroom. The match being thus ratified, a date is fixed for' the celebration of the marriage by consulting a Brahhnan, exfiert in the* science of astrology. After the usual ceremony of Tel Haldi ! has been gone through, and a marriage booth has been erected' at the house of the bride as well as at that of the bridegroom, offerings are made to family gods, and the deoak (marriage guardian), consist- ing of five earthen pots and leaves of the mango and saundad {Prosbpis spicigera) is ceremonially deposited tmdet the wedding canopy. 'This ceremony is performed at the houses of the bride and bride- groom separately. ' On the wedding morning, an earthen platform is biiilt at the house of the bride.

At sunset, the marriage procession is formed at the house of 'the bridegroom and makes noisy progress to the house of the bride. There, under the wedding canopy {mandap), the bride and bride- groom are made to stand opposite each other, the bridegroom facing the east, and' after the holding of the ajttarpat between the bridal pair and the recital of appropriate mantras (wedding texts) the family priest ties kankanatn (cotton thread bracelets with woollen strings) on the wrist of each. The ceremony of Kan^adan follows and the ■ bridegroom receives a present of' money and clothes from his fdther- in-law. Finally horn (the sacred fire): is ignited and the bridegnoom taking the bride in his arms, walks five times round the fire, after which the family priest invests him with the sacred thread. The married couple then leave the mandap and go to the part of the house where the family deities have been placed. They worship and make offerings to these and bow before the elders ; this concludes the marriage. Antarpat is deemed to be the binding and essential portion of the ceremony.

When a girl is sent to her husband's house for the first time, a ceremony known as Mursada takes place. A relative of the bridegroom is sent to the bride's house with a present of a new sari, five pieces of bodice cloth (khana) and a quantity of uncooked articles of food (shidori). The bride's father takes the uncooked food, mixes with the articles some of his own and has the mixture cooked. With this food he entertains his relatives and other members of the caste, including the Panchayat, after which the girl leaves for her husband's village, accompanied by all the guests present at the feast. On the boundary of the girl's village the party stops, and is treated to liquor at the expense of the bridegroom. Pan-supari is therf distri- buted and the party returns home, bidding the girl farewell and leaving her to pursue the journey with her escort.

Among the Jingars, consummation does not take place until after the girl has attained puberty and the Garbhadan ceremony (purification of the womb) has been performed.

[edit] Widow-Marriage and Divorce

The Jingars allow their widows to marry again by the same form and in the same manner as the Maratha Kunbis. A widow is not restricted in her choice of a second husband, nor is .she required to marry her late husband s younger brother or any other relative. Divorce is permitted, with the sanction of the caste Panchayai, if the wife is adulterous or if the couple do not agree.

[edit] Religion

The Jingars are orthodox Hindus and worship the local Hindu divinities with offerings and sacrifices common among the people. Special reverence is paid to the god Mahadev ana the goddess Ingala, whom they regard as their patron deities. Among the gods are Khandoba, Bahiroba, Hanuman and other local minor deities. On the 8th day of the light half of Aswin, the goddess Bhavani is worshipped by the members of the caste, with offerings of ripe plantains, which are afterwards eaten by the votaries. Goats are also sacrificed on this occasion. Brahmans are employed for religious and ceremonial purposes and incur no disgrace on that account.

Ancestors in general are propitiated in the latter half of the month of Bhadrapad (September) and also on the third day of the light half of Vaishakh (May).

[edit] Disposal of the Dead

The dead are burnt in a lying posture, with the head pointing to the south. The ashes are collected on the third day after death and thrown into a river or stream near by. The bodies qf children and of those that die of smallpox are generally buried, bradha is performed on the 1 0th day after death, when they offer pmdas (rice balls) for the benefit of the departed soul. Mourning is observed for ten days for all agnates.

[edit] Social Status

The social status of the caste does not admit of precise definition. Though their appearance, customs, and habits seem to entitle them to a place among the higher classes of Hindu society, the latter refuse to give them such a position. They are isolate'd and disliked, and considered impure even by the lowest castes, who will not eat food cooked by a Jingar. The reason alleged for this degradation of the caste in social estimation is, that working in leather is condemned by all respectable people and the Jingars, as saddlers, have to touch leather. The members of the caste, however, will eat cooked food only from the hands of Brahmans. They eat fish, fowl, and mutton and indulge in strong drink. They wear the sacred thread.

[edit] Occupation

The characteristic occupation of the caste is saddlery ; but as the demand for saddles has declined, they have taken to other pursuits and crafts that pay better. They are, at the present day, goldsmiths, carpenters, tailors, painters, wood- carvers, farriers, carvers in metal, and stone and silk workers. They are also engaged in casting metals, in making figures of clay and cloth, and in repairing boxes, padlocks and watches. The Jingars have a caste council and their social disputes are settled by the meetings of the caste people.