Glossary (continued 1)
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Russell, R. V. (Robert Vane)
Palshe.—A subcaste of Marātha Brāhmans. They derive their name from Palsaoli village in Kalyān (Bombay Presidency).
Pampatra.—(Those who use their hands as pots.) A section of Khandwāl.
Pān.—(Name of a forest tribe.) Synonym for Gānda.
Panch, Panchāyat.—(A caste committee, so called because it is supposed to consist of five (pānch) persons.) A section of Marār.
Panchāl.—An indeterminate group of artisans engaged in any of the following five trades: Workers in iron, known as Manu; workers in copper or brass called Twashtik; workers in stone or Shilpik; workers in wood or Maya; and workers in gold and silver designated as Daivagnya.71 The caste appear to be of Telugu origin, and in Madras they are also known as Kammala. In the Central Provinces they were amalgamated with the Sunars in 1901, but in 1891 a total of 7000 were returned, belonging to the southern Districts; while 2700 members of the caste are shown in Berār. The name is variously derived, but the principal root is no doubt pānch or five. Captain Glasfurd writes it Panchyānun.72 In the Central Provinces the Panchāls appear generally to work in gold or brass, while in Berār they are blacksmiths. The gold-workers are an intelligent and fairly prosperous class, and devote themselves to engraving, inlaying, and making gold beads. They are usually hired by Sunārs and paid by the piece.73 They are intent on improving their social position and now claim to be Vishwa Brāhmans, presumably in virtue of their descent from Viswa Karma, the celestial architect. At the census they submitted a petition begging to be classified as Brāhmans, and to support their claim they employ members of their own caste to serve them as priests. But the majority of them permit the remarriage of widows, and do not wear the sacred thread. In other respects their customs resemble those of the Sunārs. The Berār Panchāls, on the other hand, appear to be a much lower group. Mr.
Kitts describes74 them as a “wandering caste of smiths living in grass-mat huts and using as fuel the roots of thorn bushes, which they batter out of the ground with the back of a short-handled axe peculiar to themselves. The Berāri Panchals,” he continues, “who differ from the Dakhani division in the custom of shaving their heads and beards on the death of a parent, have been in the Provinces for some generations. They live in small pāls or tents, and move from place to place with buffaloes, donkeys, and occasionally ponies to carry their kit. The women of the Berāri division may be distinguished from those of the Dakhani Panchāls by their wearing their lugras or body-cloths tucked in at the back, in the fashion known as kasote.” It is no doubt from the desire to dissociate themselves from the wandering blacksmiths of Berār that the Panchāls of the Central Provinces desire to drop their caste name.
Pancham.—A subcaste of Bania. A subcaste of Barai, the same as Berāria.
Pānchbhai.—(Five brothers.) A surname of Bhanāra Dhīmars, a section of Ghasia.
Pānchdeve.—A subdivision of Gonds, worshipping five gods and paying special reverence to the sāras crane.
Pānch Dravid.—One of the two primary divisions of Brāhmans, inhabiting the country south of the Vindhya hills and Nerbudda river, and including the following five orders: viz., Karnata (Carnatic), Dravid (Madras), Tailanga (Telugu country), Mahārāshtra (Bombay) and Gurjara (Gujarāt).
Panch Gaur.—One of the two primary divisions of Brāhmans inhabiting the country north of the Vindhya hills and Nerbudda river; it includes the following five orders: Sāraswat (Punjab), Kanaujia (Hindustān), Gaur (Bengal), Utkal (Orissa) and Maithil (Bihār or Tirhūt).
Panchghar.—One of the three subdivisions of Kanaujia Brāhmans in Hoshangābād.
Panda.—(A priest of Devi, a wise man.) A subcaste or title of Māli. A subcaste and surname of Uriya Brāhmans. A subcaste of Jasondhi Bhāts.
Pandarām.—A class of Brāhman priests.
Pānde.—(A wise man.) A surname of Kanaujia and Gaur Brāhmans. A section of Agharia, Barhai, Kewat and Marār. A title of Joshi and Kumhār.
Pāndhare.—(White.) Subcaste of Sunār.
Pandit.—(A learned man.) A title of Brāhmans.
Pandki.—(Dove.) A totemistic sept of Bhatra, Kawar and Parja.
Pandra.—A small caste of cultivators in the Uriya country. It is said that one of the Rājas of Patna had an illegitimate son to whom he gave the village of Pandri. His descendants were the Pandras.
Pandwar or Padwar.—A section of Panka in Raipur. They are said to be so named because they washed the feet of others.
Pāngal.—Subcaste of Gopāl. They make mats, but in addition to this they are mendicants begging from trees.
Panhāra.—An occupational term meaning a seller of pān or betel-leaf.
Pānibhar.—(A waterman.) Subcaste of Dāngri.
Pānigrahi.—(Husband.) An honorific title of Uriya Brāhmans.
Panjha.—(Paw of an animal.) A sept of Gond.
Panka.—A weaver caste derived from the Gāndas, being Gāndas who follow the Kabīrpanthi sect. See article. In Chhattīsgarh Pankas sometimes call themselves Dās, as servants of Kabīr. Panka is also a subcaste of Gānda.
Pansāri.—(A druggist.) Synonym for Barai.
Panwār.—A clan of Rājpūt. See article Panwār Rājpūt. A subcaste of Banjāra and Bhoyar. A section of Ahīr, Bhilāla, Koshti, Marātha and Marori.
Parasār, Parashār.—(Name of a Brāhmanical saint.) An eponymous section of Brāhmans. A surname of Sanādhya and Gaur Brāhmans. A section of Basdeva, Rangāri, Sunār and Vidur.
Parauha.—(From para, a male buffalo calf.) A subcaste of Basdewa who deal in buffaloes.
Parbat.—Name of one of the ten orders of Gosain.
Parbhu.—Synonym of Prabhu.
Pardeshi.—(A foreigner.) The name is sometimes applied to immigrants from Mālwa, and also to those coming from northern India. A subcaste of the Bahna, Barai, Barhai, Chamār, Dhīmar, Dhobi, Garpagāri, Kīmbi, Kasār, Kumhār, Lohār, Nai, Rangāri, Sunār and Teli castes.
Pardhān.—(A chief.) A caste who are priests of the Gonds. See article. A section of Chhattīsgarhi Ahīr or Rāwat, Halba and Pābia. Title of caste headman of the Kharia tribe.
Pārdhi.—(A hunter.) A caste. See article. A subcaste of Khatīk. A section of Kunbi and Panwār Rājpūt.
Parewa.—(A pigeon.) A section of Chhattīsgarhi Ahīr or Rāwat, and Panka.
Parganiha.—A synonym of Pardhān (Gond priests) in Kawardha.
Parihār.—An important clan of Rājpūts. See Rājpūt Parihār. A section of Daharia and Daraiha, of Panwār Rājpūt and Pārdhi.
Parit.—Synonym for Dhobi in the Marātha districts.
Parka.75—A small caste of labourers belonging to the Jubbulpore District and adjoining tracts, whose strength was something over 2000 persons in 1901. Sir B. Robertson wrote76 in 1891 that the Parkas of the three northern Districts had been kept separate from the Panka caste in the census tables, but that they were in all probability the same. Mr. Hīra Lāl points out that several of the names of septs as Padwār, Sanwāni, Gullia and Dharwa are the same in the two castes, and that in the Districts where Parkas are found there are no Pankas. The Panka caste was probably formed in Chhattīsgarh by the separation of those Gāndas or Pāns who had embraced the doctrines of Kabīr from their parent caste, and the name is a variant of Pān. In Jubbulpore the name Panka has no understood meaning, and it may have been corrupted into Pandka (a dove) and thence to Parka. Like the Pankas the Parkas often act as village watchmen. Many of the Parkas are also Kabīrpanthis and, as with the Pankas, those who are not Kabīrpanthis and do not abstain from flesh and liquor are called Saktāhas. Intermarriage is not prohibited between the Parka Kabīrpanthis and Saktāhas. Some of the Parkas play on drums and act as village musicians, which is a regular occupation of the Pankas and Gāndas. It may also be noted that the Parkas will take food cooked with water from a Gond and that they worship Bura Deo, the great god of the Gonds. Perhaps the most probable surmise as to their origin is that they are a small mixed group made up of Pankas and Gonds.