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English Pages [354] Year 1989
A Glossary of NORTH INDIAN PEASANT LIFE
W IL L IA M C R O O K E
Edited, with an Introduction, Notes and Appendices by SH A H ID A M IN
D ELH I
O X F O R D U N IV E R S IT Y PR E SS O X F O R D NEW YORK
Oxford University Press, Walton Street, Oxford 0 X 2 6DP N e w Y ork T o ro n to D elhi B om bay C alcutta M adras Karachi Petaling Jay a Singapore H o n g K ong T o k y o N airo b i D ar es Salaam M elbourne A uckland and associates in Berlin Ibadan
© O x fo rd U niversity Press 1989
S B N 0 19 562209 X
T ypeset at Taj Services L td., N oida. U .P . 201301 Printed at R ckha P rinters Pvt. L td., N e w D elhi 110020 and published b y S. K. M ookeijee, O x fo rd U n iv ersity Press Y M C A Library B uilding, Jai Singh R oad, N e w D elhi 110001
Contents Editor’s Preface Title page o f the Materials (1879) Editor’s Introduction Author’s Preface List o f Illustrations (between pp. 90 and 91) Notes on the Illustrations I: IMPLEMENTS AND APPLIANCES USED IN AGRICULTURE AND RURAL M ANUFACTURE
xiv xvii xviii xliii xliv xlv
1
I.I.* IMPLEMENTS USED IN PREPARING LAND FOR CULTIVATION
1
Section 1: 2: 3: 4: 5:
1 3 4 5 5
The plough Spades and hoes Harrows Rakes used in field work Pickaxes and pitchforks, etc.
1.2: IMPLEMENTS USED IN SOWING, WEEDING AND IRRIGATION
Section 1: 2: 3: 4:
Baskets Brooms Implements used in weeding, etc. Implements used in connection with irrigation
1 . 3 : APPLIANCES USED IN HELD WATCHING
Section 1: The sling 2: The scarecrow 3: The watchman’s platform 1 . 4 : IMPLEMENTS USED IN HARVESTING
Section 1: 2: 3: 4:
The sickle or reaping hook The winnowing sheet Rakes used on the threshing floor Granaries
5 5 6
7 7 8
8 8 8 8
8
9 9 9
vi I .5:
CONTENTS IMPLEMENTS AND APPLIANCES USED IN CONNECTION
10
WITH FEEDING AND WATCHING CATTLE
Section 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7: 8: 9:
The fodder cutter The block on which the fodder is cut The feeding trough The muzzle and blinkers The whip and goad Hobbles for cattle Ropes Pads for cattle Grain bags and paniers for loaded cattle 10: Canvas or tarpaulin covers 11: The grain bag from which animals are fed 12: Dairy utensils
10 10 10 11 11 11 11 13 13 13 13 13
1.6: APPLIANCES USED IN THE CONVEYANCE OFGOODS OR PASSENGERS
Section 1: 2: 3: 4:
The The The The
country cart bullock carriage pony carriage country boat
1. 7 : APPLIANCES USED IN RURAL MANUFACTURE
Section 1: Appliances used in sugar manufacture 2: Appliances used in the manufacture o f indigo 3: The spinning wheel 4: The weaver’s loom 1. 8: TOOLS AND APPLIANCES USED BY COUNTRY ARTISANS
Section 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7: 8: 9:
The The The The The The The The The
carpenter blacksmith tinman mason or bricklayer grain parcher fireworks-maker tobacco manufacturer pipe-maker baker
14 14 17 18 20 21 21 27 28 28 29 29 30 31 31 32 32 33 33 34
CONTENTS
10: 11: 12: 13: 14: 15: 16: 17: 18: 19: 20: 21: 22: 23: 24: 25: 26: 27:
v ii
The pipestem-maker The fancy-silk or fringe-maker The dyer The confectioner The cotton carder The felt-maker The shoe-maker The jeweller The embroiderer The brazier The brass-founder The blanket weaver The gold-washer The book-binder The lapidary The rope twister The potter The glass-bangle maker
34 34 34 35 35 35 36 36 37 37 37 37 38 38 38 38 39 39
II: D O M ESTIC APPLIANCES AND UTENSILS
40
II. I :
APPLIANCES USED IN THE PREPARATION OF FOOD
Section 1: Sieves 2: The pedal for husking grain 3: The pestle and mortar used for husking grain 4: The hand-grind mill 5: The grindstone for spices 6: The roller used in making paste II. 2 :
DOMESTIC FURNITURE
Section 1: 2: 3: 4: 5:
Stools The bed and cot The weighing scales Nets The pad used for supporting waterpots etc. on a woman’s head 6: The stick 7: Boxes 8: Metal vessels used in cooking and for ordinary domestic purposes
40 40 40 40 41 41 41 41 41 42 42 42 43 43 43 44
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CONTENTS
9: 10: 11: 12: 13: 14: 15: 16: 17:
Utensils used in worship Leaf platters Earthen vessels Wooden vessels Leather vessels Stands for vessels Clothes Carpets and mats Jewelry
III: SOILS
47 48 48 49 50 50 50 53 53 55
Section 1: Classification o f soils 2: Soils classified according to their distance from the village site 3: Soils classified according to their constituent elements 4: Soils and water action 5: Muddy and water-logged soils 6: Highlands and lowlands 7: Ravines, mounds, etc. 8 : Stony soils 9: Cultivated and waste 10: Fallow 11: Richness and poorness o f soil 12: Irrigated and dry lands 13: Lands bearing a single and a double crop 14: Terms used in connection with different crops 15: Land impregnated with salts, etc.
55 55 56 57 58 58 59 59 59 60 61 61 61 61 63
IV: GENERAL AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS
64
IV. I : PLOUGHING
64 64 65
Section 1: 2: 3: 4: 5:
Ploughing Fields Boundaries Furrows Miscellaneous terms used in connection with ploughing 6 : Ploughmen 7: Reciprocal assistance in cultivation
66 66 66
67 67
CONTENTS
68
IV. 2 : MANURING
Section 1: Kinds o f manure 2: Modes o f manuring 3: Manure used as fuel iv. 3 :
s o w in g
Section 1: 2: 3: 4:
ix
Sowing Modes o f sowing Seed-beds and nurseries Sowing time
IV . 4 : DIGGING, HOEING AND WEEDING
68 68
69 69 69 70 71 71
Section 1: Digging 2: Hoeing 3: Weeding
71 71 71 72
IV. 5 : WATCHING OF CROPS
72
IV. 6: REAPING AND GLEANING
72 72 73 73
Section 1: Reaping 2: Cutting o f unripe crops 3: Gleaning IV. 7 : THRESHING AND WINNOWING
Section 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: iv. 8 :
The threshing floor Sheaves and bundles Treading out grain Crops on the threshing floor Winnowing Miscellaneous
DIVISION o f c r o p s
Section 1: Division and Valuation 2: The shares into which the crop is divided 3: Deductions and remissions 4: Mode o f division V. CATTLE A N D OTH ER DOM ESTIC ANIMALS Section 1: Cattle generally 2: Bulls
74 74 74 75 75 77 77 78 78 78 79 80 81 81 81
X
CONTENTS
3: 4: 5: 6: 7: 8: 9: 10: 11: 12: 13: 14: 15: 16: 17: 18: 19: 20: 21: 22: 23: 24:
Bullocks Cows and breeding Calves Buffaloes Goats Sheep Pigs Horses, mules and asses Camels Straying o f cattle Colours o f cattle Hides Cattle slaughter Feeding o f cattle Pasturage Fences Grazing fees Cowhouses and enclosuresfor cattle Cattle dealers Milk and its preparations Cattle diseases Grasses and plants used forcattle fodder
81 82 83 83 84 84 84 84 84 84 85 85 85 85 86 86 86
87 87 87 88
89
VI: IRRIGATION
91
Section 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7: 8: 9: 10: 11: 12: 13: 14:
91 91 91 92 93 94 95 95 % 96 97 97 97 98
Irrigation generally Kinds o f irrigation Irrigation from canals Irrigation from wells Construction o f wells The lever used in raising water The skin bag used for drawing water Other well appliances The pathways for the bullocks, etc. The workmen employed at the well The persian wheel The swing bag and swing basket Water channels Water-lifts
CONTENTS
VII: AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS Section 1: Wheat 2: Mixed crops 3: Barley 4: Rice 5: Indian corn or maize 6 : Large millet 7: The small bulrush millets 8: The small millets 9: Pulses 10: Peas 11: Gram 12: Sugarcane 13: Cotton 14: Tobacco 15: Opium poppy 16: Hemp 17: Indigo 18: O ther dyes 19: Oilseeds 20: Fibres 21: Betel 22: Garden crops VIII: INSECTS A N D CAUSES OF INJURY TO CROPS Section 1: Destructive inseas and diseases 2: Noxious weeds 3: Miscellaneous IX: LABOUR ADVANCES, WAGES AND PERQUISITES Section 1: 2: 3: 4:
Pay and advances to labourers Advances to tenants Dues paid by tenants Miscellaneous cesses
X: LAND TENURES
Section 1: Tenures
xi
99 99 100 100 100 102 103 103 103 104 105 105 106 110 111 111 113 113 114 114 115 115 116 118 118 123 124
125 125 127 127 130 132
132
x ii
CONTENTS
2: 3: 4: 5: 6:
Proprietary tenures Intermediate tenures Shares and sharers Cultivating tenures Rents
XI: THE NATIVE HOUSE Section 1: The native house 2: Parts o f the house 3: Materials used in the construction o f the house XII: FOOD
132 135 136 137 138 140 140 140 143 146
Section 1: Meals 2: Preparation o f food
146 146
XIII: CEREMONIES OF RURAL LIFE
152
Section 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7: 8:
Marriage Wedding ceremonics Births Disposal o f the dead Ceremonies at ploughing and sowing Harvest ceremonies Miscellaneous ceremonies Arbitration, oaths [deified persons, evil spirits, disease, etc.]
XIV: TRADE AND M ONEY-LENDING Section 1: 2: 3: 4: 5:
Trade and accounts Interest, discount, commission Rates o f interest Mortgages Miscellaneous
XV: WEIGHTS AND MEASURES Scctionl: M e a s u re s o f length 2: Superficial measures 3: Measures o f weight
152 153 156 157 158 159 161 162 165 165 166 166 167 168 169 169 170 170
CONTENTS
A PPENDIX A: O n the Construction o f Masonry Wells and Ceremonies Associated with it in Kanpur and Gorakhpur
x iii
174
APPENDIX B: O n Cloth and the Clothes o f the Natives o f Eastern United Provinces
179
APPENDIX C: Durations o f Time and the Agricultural Year
189
APPENDIX D: A Calendar o f Agricultural Sayings
195
APPENDIX E: The Harvest Calendar in the Gorakhpur Region
202
APPENDIX F: Agricultural Ceremonies in Eastern U.P.
204
APPENDIX G: A Rural Glossary for Gorakhpur District, 1839
207
Bibliography Index
218 221
Editor’s Preface
T his is an enlarged edition o f an im p o rtan t late-nineteenthcentury com pendium o n the n o rth Indian countryside. It is a w o rk w hich is n o t really in the public dom ain— I have been able to locate only one extant copy in a library in Lucknow . B ut this is not the only reason for bringing William C rooke s w ork out in print: his Glossary o f 1879 demands attention irrespective o f its rarity. T h e im portance o f this text was underlined by the celebrated auth o r o f an analogous w o rk on Bihar Peasant Life six year’s later in 1885. In the Introduction to th at classic ‘discursive catalogue’, G eorge G rierson ack now ledged that he had follow ed C ro o k e ‘very closely . . . and in m any cases had n o t scrupled to use his very w ords . . . \ It is hoped that this edition o f C ro o k e ’s Glossary will aid a fuller understanding o f rural north India, past and present. T h e text o f C ro o k e ’s 1879 G lossary is here printed in its entirety, with a few modifications. I have retained the origi nal spellings o f place names but simplified the transcription o f Indian w ords. T he chapter headings and the subdivisions are C ro o k e ’s, b u t I have arranged the book into num bered paragraphs. T h e Index lists all the Indian w ords found in the book, indicating the paragraphs w here these can be located. I have also added several appendices to the original G lossary along w ith a dozen illustrations. Finally, the sources cited by C ro o k e in the m argin o f his original tex t have been collated in the B ibliography. As regards the transcription o f Indian w o rd s, the long vow els a, i, u have been indicated w here these occur at the beginning o r in the m iddle o f a w ord. I have, how ever, dropped this diacritical m ark for the last letter o f a w o rd , as such vow el-endings tend invariably to be elongated. T h u s hal
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(plough) and hal (the iron rim o f the wheel) are distinguished, b u t ju a (the yoke) appears w ith o u t an accented a. I have also refrained from burdening the vow els V and ‘o’ w ith diacritical m arks, as in the m ajority o f the H industani w ords used in the book these represent elongated vow el sounds. I have n o t attem pted to distinguish betw een hard and soft consonants— this w o u ld have resulted in the tex t being pockm arked w ith dots and o ther such excrescences. T hus the w o rd for both ‘presents from the b rid g eg ro o m ’s house’ and ‘pulses in general’ is represented by the sam e three letters (dal). O f course the ‘J ’ o f the form er is m uch harder (as in the E nglish ‘d o ’), b u t no diacritical allow ance is m ade for such phonetic differences. A b o o k such as this could n o t have been p u t together w ith o u t the help o f several individuals. I w ish to record m y gratitu d e to Shri Jagannath, w ith o u t w hose typ in g expertise C ro o k e ’s text w ould have rem ained unpublished. I also wish to acknow ledge the help I received from the follow ing: N . C . Saxena, R ajendra B ahadur and Jagjivan R upainw ar introduced me to the records and printed m aterials at the Board o f Revenue, the U P State Archives and the Secretariat Library in Lucknow. In Delhi I have to thank the librarians and the staff o f the N ehru M em orial M useum , the National Archives, the Central Secretariat Library, the Ratan Tata Library and the St Stephen’s College Library. A nd specially Richard Bingle and Shabana M ahm ud o f the India Office Library, London. T he British Library and the M useum o f M ankind, London, allowed me easy access to their collec tions. Rajiv K um ar and jatiab V idya Prakash Sahab in L ucknow , H abib A hm ad in G o rak h p u r, and H eather Joshi, D avid Page, D avid H ardim an and D inesh B hugra in L ondon very kindly provided hospitality. In D eoria B egam Q am ar Jah an C hishti agreed to play the p art o f m y ‘native in fo rm a n t’. M y parents helped m e w ith ethnographic m ate rials; Jaw ahara lightened the dreary w o rk o f proof-reading. K han M asood has saved m e fro m n um erous errors. For those w h ich rem ain the O U P and I w ill have to share the blam e.
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M y thanks go to G autam B hadra, D ipesh C h ak rab arty , B ernard C o h n , Veena Das, D eepak M ehta, Sanjay N ig am and Savyasaachi for com m en tin g on earlier drafts o f th e Introduction. I also w ish to th an k M oonis Raza for arranging for the com puterized com pilation o f the Index. I am grateful to the Indian C ouncil o f Social Science Research fo r supporting research on this project in E ngland. T o M u zafftr A lam I am deeply indebted for several rounds o f discussion and for his translations fro m Persian. Ranajit G uha has been a constant source o f ideas an d criticism for the past fifteen years: I say shukriya to him once again. I w ish to thank Ravi D ayal and the O x fo rd U niversity Press, Delhi, for m aking this book possible. A nd, finally, B ano for p ro d d in g m e all along: jhulani ke dhakka bariyaar baate na . . . D elhi 3 February 1989
Shahid A m in
Materials for a R ural and Agricultural Glossary o f the N orth-W estern Provinces and O udh by W IL L IA M C R O O K E , b . a . B engal C iv il Service
Published by authority o f Government for circulation to officers of the Revenue and Agricultural Departments.
(Seal)
A llahabad N o rth -W estern Province and O u d h G o v ern m en t Press 1879
Editor’s Introduction
T his G lossary was com piled by a relatively young colonial civil servant in the late 1870s. W illiam C rooke, Assistant M agistrate at the east U P district to w n o f G orakhpur, was n o t quite th irty w hen the Materials fo r a Rural and Agricultural Glossary o f the North-western Provinces and Oudh he had put to g eth er was officially circulated w ith in the provincial bureaucracy. T his G lossary was intended to be a draft docu m ent. T he idea was to enlarge the quantity o f ‘accessible in fo rm atio n ’ w ith in it by ‘local enquiries’, correct its entries and ascertain the areas in w hich ‘special w ords are used’. The procedure suggested was to ‘m ark . . . w ith red in k ’ in the copies circulated ‘the w ords used in each d istrict’. T h e final p ro d u c t was to be a ‘fairly com plete R ural and A gricultural G lossary’ w ith the assistance o f the ‘m any officers’ to w hom the p rototype, o r rather the p ro to -te x t, was being circulated . 1 T here is evidence that the provincial officialdom in the Re venue and E ducational departm ents responded to these direc tions. T heir replies, how ever, are n o t available w here one m ig h t m ost expect to find them . In the W illiam C ro o k e Pap ers, now preserved in brittle condition in the M useum o f M ankind, London, there is a packet entitled ‘N o tes for a G lossary o f Indian T e rm s’ w hich contains n o t the corrections ‘m arked in red in k ’ b u t titbits o f a very general n a tu re .2 In the event, the revised and enlarged G lossary was never pub lished, and even o f the 1879 Materialsy to m y know ledge, 1 See C ro o k e ’s Preface, reprinted herein, p. xliii; Journal o f the Asiatic Society, 1924, pp. 147—8, O b itu a ry N otice by G. A. G [rierson]. C ro o k e’s Materials is referred to herein as the G lossary. 2 W illiam C ro o k e Papers, M S. 127, M useum o f M ankind, London.
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o n ly one copy rem ains in the provincial capital o f U P . In a sense, therefore, the present volu m e is the revised and en larg ed edition o f this lost te x t.3 C ro o k e ’s G lossary, w hich form s the core o f the present v o lu m e, contains a w ealth o f very useful inform ation about th e n o rth Indian countryside. W hat w e have here is n o t ju s t a w elter o f facts, obeying no o th er logic than the rule o f the E nglish alphabet; the tex t is organized to a plan and follow s a detailed system o f classification. A pioneering systematization o f colonial know ledge about the everyday life o f the H indus tan i peasant, it neatly divides the rural w o rld into the realm s o f field, household and w orkshop. I In his 1879 Materials C ro o k e incorporated the inform ation th a t the colonial state— in the process o f ruling, policing and , taxing—had gathered till then on the north Indian artisans and peasants. T he scholarship involved ferreting out indigenous w o rd s from readily available gazetteers, settlem ent reports, extant glossaries and Hindustani dictionaries. C rooke sup plem ented these sources (listed in the B ibliography) w ith his o w n adm inistrative experience as a district officer in G orak h pur, and classified the 5000-odd w ords and phrases in term s o f an elaborate schem a w hich has been retained in the present edition. C ro o k e’s role as au th o r w as m ore im p o rtan t in arranging the w ords, n o t in discovering them . H is co n trib u tion as a greenhorn junt-sahib (the A ssistant o r Jo in t M agis trate o f local parlance) lay in im po sin g an authoritative ord er on a large n u m b er o f rustic w o rd s and phrases. O n ce the en tries w ere assem bled in colum ns, big and sm all, the task o f the local functionaries was confined to checking and correct ing th e m . T h e analogy w ith census operations is deliberate: 3 C ro o k e did, h ow ever, publish a dictionary— A Rural and Agricultural Glossaryfo r the N . W. Provinces and Oudh (1888). D espite th e sim ilarity o f its tide to th e present volum e, th e tw o book s are quite different ;fro m each ocher.
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the system atic counting o f heads and the arrangem ent o f agricultural term s w ere b o th part o f the sam e late-nineteenthcentury m o vem ent from a descriptive to a classificatory representation o f colonial India.4 C ro o k e ’s tex t is an im p o rtan t link in a long chain that stretches from the new ly-discovered Persian Glossary o f 1781, through Elliot and W ilson’s arrangem ents o f Revenue and A dm inistrative T erm s (1845; 1855), to C am eg y ’s Kachahri Technicalities (1877), culm inating in G rierson’s Bihar Peasant L ife.5 T h e earliest revenue glossary o f the colonial period, for w hose discovery and translation w e are indebted to an un published w o rk by Syed H asan M ah m u d o f Baroda U ni versity, was com piled in Bengal by one K hw aja Yasin ‘Ajiz’, erstw hile mutaiyana o f the muhtasib o f D elhi. K hw aja Yasin was a learned m an o f the old regim e and there w as a certain piquancy in his choice o f a nom de plum e (d jiz= helpless) which reflected the harassed and unsettled conditions o f his times. ‘A jiz’, a mansab holder o f 500 and o f a jagir w o rth 4 lakh dams annually, needed protectio n from b o th dfat-i-samavi and afati-arzi (heavenly and earthly calamities), w hich he poetically 4 T h e best general discussion o f the construction o f O fficial' know ledge o f colonial India is to be found in th e w ritin g s o f B ernard S. C ohn. See specially, ‘N o tes on the H isto ry o f the Study o f Indian Society and C u ltu re ’, and ‘T h e C ensus, Social S tructure and O bjectification in South A sia’, in C o h n , A n Anthropologist among the Historians and Other Essays (D elhi, 1987). See also C o h n , ‘T h e Past in the Present: India as a M useum o f M ankind’, paper presented to th e conference o n ‘P oetry and Politics o f R epresentations’, T h e Sm ithsonian, W ashington, Sept. 1988. 5 H . M . Elliot, Supplement to the Glossary o f Indian Terms, A - J (Agra, 1845); John Beam es, ed., Memoirs on the History, Folk-lore, and Distribution o f the Races o f the North Western Provinces o f India: being an amplified edition o f the original Supplemental Glossary o f Indian Terms by the late Sir Henry M. Elliot (London, 1869; reprinted O sn ab riik , 1976; D elhi, 1985); H. H. W ilson, A Glossary o f Judicial and Revenue Terms (L ondon, 1855; reprinted, D elhi, 1966); Patrick C arnegy, Kachahari Technicalities (Allahabad, 1877); G eorge A. G rierson, Bihar Peasant Life (C alcutta, 1885; reprinted Delhi, 1975).
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in v o k e d in an arresting Preface to his w o rk .6 Such a glossary, containing an alphabetical arrangem ent o f ‘m a n y o f such A rabic, Persian, and H indi w ords th at have fo u n d vogue in the languages spoken in D elhi, C alcutta, D h ak a, Patna and others [w ritten] at the behest o f M r. Jam es G ran t, m ay G od perpetuate his g lo ry ...’,7 m ay n o t have m aterially aided the C o m p an y as revenue collector. Jam es G ra n t fulm inated against the ‘collusive chicanery o f native agents, in w ithholding official intelligence from their new m asters, and fraudulently converting th e use o f such k n o w ledge, to their o w n private em o lu m en t at the public expense’, an d this required o th er than purely adm inistrative so lu tio n s.8 T h e w ritin g o f historical narratives on the landed w ealth and ‘finances o f B engal’ w as one such strategy for gaining access to th at im m ediate past w hich was being denied the English 6 Syed H asan M ahm ud. ‘Y asin’s G lossary o f R evenue T erm s: E dition, E nglish T ranslation, A n notation and A nalysis', P h .D . thesis, Jam ia M illia Islam ia, N e w D elhi, 1984. T h e Preface to this m anuscript reads in part: ‘Panegyrics to the Am il, the p lough o f w hose ten d er love has rendered the raqbds (areas) o f the people the nu rsery o fjins-i-kamil, and the cultivation o f th e land (ardzi) o f faith and conviction, by the belcha (spade) o f H is guidance w eeded out the grass o f d o u b t and u n b e lie f. . pp. 1 1 3 -1 4 o f H asan M a h m u d ’s translation. Y asin’s ‘flo w ery ’ Preface is here articulating th e code o f m edieval Persian and A rabic scholarship w herein the A lm ig h ty ’s attributes arc invoked in term s o f the subject and te n o r o f the w o rk concerned. T hus, in a ‘D ictionary fo r the W anderers’, Allah and M o h am m ad are praised in term s o f their lexicographic co n tro l, w hile a collection o f the letters o f A urangzeb invokes th e blessings o f G o d b y using th e m etap h o rs o f irnla (dictation) and insha (its representation in w riting), tw o central term s associated w ith such literature. I am m o st grateful to M uzaffar A lam for discussing m edieval prefaces w ith m e, and for locating and translating th e m aterial discussed in this note. See B adruddin Ibrahim , Farhang-i-Zafan-goya wa jahan-poya, ed. S. A. B ayevsky (M os co w , 1974); Ruqqat-i-Alamgiri (K anpur, 1273 ah ); Z iauddin Barani, Tarikh-i-Ferozshahi, ed. Sheikh A b d u r R ashid (A ligarh, 1957). 7 H asan M ah m ud, ‘Y asin’s G lossary’, p. 114. 8 C ite d in Ranajit G uha. A n Indian Historiography o f India: a nineteenthcentury agenda and its implications, D euskar Lectures, C en tre fo r the Study o f Social Sciences, C alcutta (C alcutta, 1988), p. 5.
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by Bengal revenue specialists.9 Ranajit G uha regards this w ith h o ld in g o f official intelli gence b y w ily Indians, and the resultant anger and fear o f th e Company bahadur, as ju s t one aspect o f that ‘ethnological en counter* w hich m arks the setting up o f a colonial state. T h e English attem pt ‘to historicize the Indian past in order to have access to it’ w as situated w ith in this early resistance, p u t up by mutassadis, amils and qanungos, to the erection o f the basic edifice o f colonial rule in late-eighteenth-century B engal.10 A nother strategy for apprehending the im m ediate past and the present was fo r a Jam es G ran t to coax a Yasin ‘A jiz’ into displaying his specialist know ledge o f the revenue w orld o f n o rth India. As the colonial state d u g deeper in to Indian soil, the access o f English officials to the Indian countryside also increased. N atives m ight still have p ro v id ed the expert inform ation, b u t it was the sahibs w h o w ro te it up. E arly-nineteenth-century descriptive accounts o f the C o m p a n y 's territories w ere very often the creation o f individual authors. T h e m o st notable o f these was b y B uchanan-H am ilton, w ho has left behind fat accounts o f the parts o f so u th and n o rth India w hich he toured betw een 1802 and 1813.11 B y the 1830s, enthusiastic adm inistrators w ere com piling district lists o f local term s. H ow ever, it w as in the 1840s th at the idea o f an Imperial Glossary w as m o o ted at the highest level in L ondon. T he C o u rt o f D irectors resolved in A ugust 1842 ‘to ad o p t mea sures for form ing a G lossary o f w o rd s in cu rren t use in va 9 G uha, D cuskar Lectures, Lecture I, passim. 10 Ibid., p. 12. 11 See Francis B uchanan, A Journey from Madras through the Countries o f Mysore, Canara and Malabar (L ondon, 1807), 3 vols; B uchanan's w ritings on several districts o f Bengal, B ihar and parts o f eastern U P are b ro u g h t together in R obert M o n tg o m e ry M artin , ed., The History, Antiquities, Topography, and Statistics o f Eastern India (L ondon, 1838), 3 vols. A n Indian reprint o f the above is available; B uchanan’s volum es o n the so u th Bihar districts have also been recently reissued b y M anohar Publications, D elhi. See also C ohn, A n Anthropologist among the Historians, pp. 152-3.
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rio u s parts o f India, relating to the adm inistration o f public b u sin ess in every d e p a rtm e n t...’. 12 In the exercise o f p ow er, E n g lish m en could n o t afford to do aw ay w ith Indian w ords. O n the contrary, ‘docum ents relating to the adm inistration o f the g o v ern m en t’ w ere ‘thickly studded w ith term s a d o p te d fro m the vernacular languages o f the c o u n try ... ’. 13 A H a n d b o o k o f all the relevant Indian w ords was an adm inis trativ e necessity for everybody, fro m provincial bureaucrats to M em bers o f Parliam ent— so argued H . H . W ilson, B oden P rofessor o f Sanskrit at O x fo rd and the C o m p a n y ’s librarian in L ondon. W ilson’s plan o f first producing a p ro to ty p e glos sary in the India H ouse, and then having it corrected and aug m e n ted in the colony, was a failure: M any o f the lists came back blank; o f several the leaves had not been cut; in the far greater number, a mere pretence o f doing some thing was displayed by the insertion o f a few terms neither novel nor important; . . . Several o f the native officers . . . misap prehended the object o f the collection, and admitted a copious col lection o f words which had no peculiarly official significance.t4 W ith the ‘one honourable exception’ o f a m ajor new con trib u tio n from U P (E lliot’s Supplemental Glossary ), W ilson 12 Preface, p. iii, in H . H . W ilson, A Glossary o f Judicial and Revenue Terms and o f Useful Words Occurring in Official Documents relating to the Administration o f the Government o f British India from the Arabic, Persian, Hindustani, Sanskrit, Hindi, Bengali, Uriya, Marathi, Guzarathi, Telugu, Kamata, Tam il, Malayalem and other languages. C o m p iled and Published u n d er th e A u th o rity o f th e H o nourab le T h e C o u rt o f D irectors o f the East-India C o m p a n y by H . H . W ilson, Librarian to the E ast-India C o m p a n y and B oden Professor o f Sanskrit in the U n iv ersity o f O x fo rd (L ondon, 1855; reprinted, D elhi, 1966). 13 Ib id ., p. i. 14 Ib id ., p. iii (em phasis added). See Glossary o f Indian Terms fo r the Use o f the Various Departments o f the Government o f the East India Company (J. & H . C o x B ro s., P rinters to the H o n . East India C o ., n .d .). T h e copy in the C entral Secretariat Library in N e w D elhi has the year 1885 w ro n g ly em bossed o n th e spine. T h e fo rm at, 4 - 5 entries o n the left-hand side o f the page, w ith a space left blank 'fo r suggestion and ad d itio n s’, and the eccentric o rth o g rap h y , suggest th a t this is one o f the copies o f th e draft glossary circulated by W ilson in the 1840s.
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had to rely perforce o n existing m aterials for his m am m o th project. His Glossary ofJudicial and Revenue Terms and o f useful words occurring in official documents, published in 1855, was offered as an Im perial H an d b o o k for civil servants. Its design was pan-Indian, its concerns official. T h e adm inistrative focus o f this Glossary is evident in W ilson’s exclusion o f ‘ordinary D ictionary term s’, and the w ay in w hich he con stantly refers his readers back to colonial legal codes w here ‘useful w o rd s’ are either recognized o r derecognized . 15 H. M . Elliot’s Supplemental Glossary for the N orth-W estern Provinces w as also m eant for official use, b u t his list o f ‘the tribes, the custom s, the fiscal and technical term s’ encom pas ses facets o f the rural w orld w hich an exhaustive com pilation o f ‘useful w o rd s’, such as W ilson’s, was b o u n d to pass o v e r . 16 A nother agricultural glossary, com piled in 1839 by E. A. Reade, the C ollector o f G o rak h p u r, attem pted to list term s in vogue at the district level (see A ppendix G ) . 17 This archaic list is n o t w ith o u t its interest: Elliot relied on it for m any o f his term s, and W illiam C ro o k e, A ssistant M agis trate o f G orakhpur, copied in tu rn fro m Elliot w ith o u t being aw are o f Reade’s G lossary— w hich, incidentally, still lies in a corner o f the D istrict R ecords R oom o f that tow n. E lliot’s w o rk is im p o rtan t in that it w as the first attem pt at cataloguing castes in an official glossary . 18 Jo h n Beames, edi 15 See, for instance, th e en try u n d er Chauki: ‘Station o f police or o f custom s, a guard, a w atch, o r a place w here they are placed.— Beng. Reg. iv. 1795. ix, x. 1810. xvii. 1816 etc.*. For a derecognized term (vide, ‘Reg. xiv. 1807, cl. 14’), s.v. Bharai. For W ilson’s defence o f a general exclusion o f all non-technical term s, see his Preface, p. xviii. 16 T h e first edition o f Elliot’s Glossary is n o t easily available. It w as a bit o f a rarity even in C ro o k e ’s tim e; C ro o k e used the am plified edition prepared by Jo h n Beames.- R eprints o f this ‘bestseller’ are available in India u n d er three different titles! 17 T h e entries u n d er atigwar, angwara, btsar and m any o th ers are com m on to Reade, Elliot and C ro o k e , indicating the influence o f the G orakhpur G lo ssa ry o f 1839. In his 1844 P reface, E llio t a c k n o w le d g e d th is influence. 18 Richard Saum erez S m ith, ‘R u le-b y -reco rd and ru le-b y -rep o rt: com plem entary aspects o f the B ritish Im perial rule o f law ’, Contributions to
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to r o f a revised edition o f the Supplemental Glossary , carried th e trend further. By the late nineteenth century— the tim e o f Risley and Ibbetson— the adm inistrative know ledge o f castes had becom e a specialized colonial art: a w hole new set o f tribes-and-castes series was projected and published. C ro o k e was to produce his ow n four volum es on the castes o f U P in 1896. T h e significance o f E lliot’s effort also lies in another direc tion: it created a field, encouraging others to rep o rt rustic term s. T he raw materials for C rooke’s Glossary were, in o th e r w ords, being assem bled. T h e Gazetteer o f M uzaffam agar District (1875), for instance, devotes a separate section to ru ral vocabulary. T h e m odel was H . M . Elliot: ‘Sacks o r bas kets called akaia in the glossary is here manchi. A pair o f grain bags used as a pannier term ed akha in the glossary are here khurji. T h e w ord aray w ith the m eaning o f cross-ploughing, is in this district the second p lo u g h in g ... . A pair o f plough oxen, called in the glossary goin, are here called a J u s t as E llio t’s Glossary only covered the letters A to J, so did the M u zaffam agar notice confine itself to the first tw elve letters o f the E nglish alphabet! Incom plete as som e o f the inform ation in individual re p o rts was, there is no denying th at the 1870s and 1880s w it nessed a noticeable sp u rt in the collation and codification o f colonial know ledge on Indian society .20 T his was the tim e o f the D ivisional G azetteers, the Final Settlem ent R eports, Indian Sociology (xix: 1, J a n .-J u n e 1985), special issue: ‘T h e W ord and the W orld; Fantasy, Sym bol and R ecord, ed. Veena Das, p. 171. 19 Statistical, Descriptive and Historical Account o f the North-Western Provinces o f India, iii, pp. 4 7 3 -4 ; cf. pp. 2 7 -3 1 ; 513-21. See also the ‘G lossary o f the Principal V ernacular T e rm s ’, appended to vols. I, III and IV o f the series. 2(1 C f. the essays o f B ernard C o h n cited above. For a detailed study o f the codification and enforcem ent o f one such piece o f specialized know ledge about ‘criminals by hirth and caste’, see Sanjay N igam , 4A Social H istory o f a C o lo n ia l Stereotype: the C rim inal T ribes and C astes o f U tta r Pradesh, 1 8 71-1930’ (U niversity o f London, P h .D . thesis, 1987).
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th e regular decennial Censuses. T h e exhaustive district-w ise Settlement Reports, also o f this period, w ere n o t ju st revenue handbooks. T hey w ere m eant to d o cum ent the progressive integration o f Indian agriculture into the national and w o rld econom ies, ‘assess* the increase in revenue th at the district could now bear, and evaluate the generally beneficial effects o f British rule on the countryside. These Settlem ent R eports operated w ithin the dom ain o f rent and revenue; in his 1879 G lossary C ro o k e endeavoured to create a distinct rural and agricultural sphere.21 F rom the view point o f ‘discursive catalogues’ o f rural life, the significance o f C ro o k e ’s tex t lies in its prototypical char acter and in its subsequent appropriation by G eorge G rierson for his classic w o rk o n the B ihar peasantry.22 N o t only the ‘general system and arran g em en t’, b u t also hundreds o f w ords and entire sentences, are co m m o n to the Materials and Bihar Peasant Life: G rierson seems to have incorporated C ro o k e ’s w o rk so com pletely as to have alm ost consum ed it. It w as n o t ju s t their respective glossaries th at w ere so simi lar; betw een them selves the tw o civil servants had annexed large portions o f the intellectual and spiritual w orlds o f the peasants o f n o rth ern India as their field o f specialization. 21 It needs to be b o rn e in m ind th at a glossary o f this kind w as n o t merely a linguistic exercise. It w as an in stru m en t for establishing co n tro l over a regional agrarian econom y, ju s t as it d re w fo r its in fo rm atio n o n official rep o rts w hich docu m en ted this historical m ovem ent. A n a rg u m en t could be m ade w hich seeks to d em onstrate th e co n tex t o f agricultural glossaries in far greater detail than attem p ted in this in tro d u cto ry note. I am here m o re concerned w ith the organizing principles o f C ro o k e ’s G lossary rather than establishing its functionality. T h e best general discussion o f the c o n tex t o f colonial U P agriculture still rem ains Elizabeth W hitcom be, Agrarian Conditions in Northern India: vol. I: the United Provimes under British Rule, 1860-1900 (U niversity o f C alifornia Press, 1971). 22 G eorge A . G rierson, Bihar Peasant Life. Being a Discursive Catalogue of the Surroundings o f the People o f that Province, with many illustrations from photographs taken by the author (prepared un d er the o rd ers o f the G o v ern m en t o f Bengal) (C alcutta, 1885; reprinted D elhi, 1975), esp. pp. 1 - 2 and footnote o n p. 2.
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B o th w ere graduates o f T rin ity C ollege, D ublin, and had jo in e d the Indian C ivil Service in 1871, along w ith V incent A. Sm ith and four o th er students o f the sam e institution. Sm ith, w h o served for a term as C ollector o f Basti district, w ent o n to becom e a prolific w riter o f Indian history— specimens o f his Victorian prose processed into bazaar notes are still assiduously com m itted to m em ory by students in U P and B ihar. C rooke and G rierson w ere n o t expressly con cerned w ith our history, being m ore interested in India’s tim eless past. G rierson concentrated on the popular literature and languages o f eastern U P and B ihar, and w en t o n to con d u c t the m onum ental Linguistic Survey o f India. C rooke, on the o th er hand, concentrated on ethnographic them es and produced valuable w o rk o n the tribes and castes and popular religion o f n o rth India .23 These different orientations in their research interests corresponded to a difference in the tw o scholar-collectors’ style o f gathering and processing native inform ation. A ccording to an official notice, G rierson’s de lig h t ‘w as to hear o f som e orally cu rren t song o r poem , to get it w ritten, to find i f possible, an existing m anuscript, to trace its tradition o r authorship and date, and w ith any available help o f local pandits o r experts to establish o r translate its text. ’24 C rooke, for his part, after eighteen years o f unevent ful career— he was to retire as a D istrict O fficer— found his an th ro p o lo g ist s bench in M irzapur district. H ere, to quote fro m an obituary notice by a kindred spirit, C ro o k e could ‘even better than in o th er districts th at he adm inistered, find m eans to search into the m inds o f a prim itive population and
23 A n Ethnological Hand-book fo r the N . W. Provinces and Oudh (Allahabad, 1890); The Popular Religion and Folk-lore o f Northern India (London, 1 8% ), 2 vols; Tribes and Castes o f the North-Western Provinces and Oudh (A llahabad, 18% ), 4 vols. M o st o f C ro o k e ’s w ritings are n o w available in In d ian reprints. 24 ‘G eorge A braham G rierson, 1851-1941’, by R. W. T h o m as and R . L. T u rn e r (O bituary N o n ce), fro m the Proceedings o f the British Academy, vol. xxviii, p. 11.
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in to the civilisation o f the rem o ter parts o f India . . . Z25 It was during his career at M irzapur th at C ro o k e stepped in as Richard T em p le’s successor to edit Punjab Notes & Queries. T his ‘m onthly periodical, devoted to the system atic collec tion o f authentic notes and scraps o f inform ation regarding the country and its people’, w as renam ed North Indian Notes & Queries and published by C ro o k e from Allahabad from 1890 till his retirem ent six years later. By th ro w in g open its colum ns beyond the m issionary, the planter and the collector to the local in form ant low er d o w n the sarkari ladder, the edi tors encouraged a distinct type o f ethnographic description o f colonial India. T h e ethnological inform ation supplied by bilingual Indian subordinates had certain set obsequious m otifs w oven into it, b u t there w as no d o u b tin g the belief in a com m on anthropological m ission. T h e jo in t endeavour w as to capture a particular aspect o f the indigenous society before it was sw ept aw ay by the w inds o f colonial change .26 T h u s, w hile conveying the belief, prevalent am ong east U P w o m en ‘that all infant girls represent the seven sisters o f the godess B havani ’,27 an im p o rtan t native inform ant was to pause and invoke the blessings o f the new Bhavani, Q ueen Victoria! ‘T hese nam es differ in different p arts’, G rierson’s inform ant cautiously notes, and goes on to add:
25 ‘W illiam C ro o k e, C IE , Litt. D ., FBA, 1848-1923’, O b itu a ry N otice by R ichard C . T em ple, The British Academy (L ondon, 1924), T h e British L ibrary, London. 26 C f. Denzil Ib b etso n ’s m em o ran d u m for guidance in collecting E thnological N o tes, 1882: ‘I w ould rem ind you that n o notes can possibly be to o fragm entary or to o trivial to be w o rth sending m e . . . We in India have an inexhaustible store-house o f facts at o u r very doors, and unequal facilities for ascertaining and recording them . Every year sees som e o f the existing m aterial disappear u n d er the pow erful solvent o f contact w ith w estern th o u g h t and appliances o f civilisation. . . \ C ited in H. H. Risley, The Tribes and Castes o f Bengal: Ethnographic Glossary, ii (C alcutta, 1891; rp t. 1981), appendix 3, pp. 187-8. 27 T hese are ‘1. D urga, 2. Kali, 3. C handi, 4. Phulm ati, 5. C ham ariya, 6. Shitla, 7. B hanm ati’.
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I have given the names I heard from my grand-mother who is, as it were, a living dictionary o f all popular beliefs and superstitions. M y former master’s [i.e. Crooke’s] Introduction to the Popular Re ligion and Folklore o f Northern India owes a good deal to that old mother. With her perhaps will die away in my family all the super stitions; for the younger women have become so intelligent through the grace o f learning imparted to us in the schools and col leges set up all over the country by the beneficent English rule that even the women who come in our contact [sic] do not escape en lightenment we have received through the blessings placed in our reach by Queen Victoria.2* O n ly after this flattering declam ation on the beneficial effects o f E nglish rule on Indian superstition could the interrupted description o f the Chohri-khildna rite continue. T h e invocation to Q ueen V ictoria occurs d uring the course o f a long m anuscript titled T h e D om estic C erem onies o f the E astern D istricts o f N .W .P . and O u d h ’, n o w preserved at the India O ffice L ibrary, L ondon. Full o f ethnographic m in u tiae, the text is m arked by the absence o f the nam e o f its w ri ter; for som e reason the native in fo rm an t refrained from identifying him self as the author. H aving conventionally absented him self, the in form ant chose to insert his nam e in the m argins o f the text, w ithin parentheses. In the passage cited above he draw s attention to him self via the nam e o f his ‘fo rm er m aster’, W illiam C rooke. A different stratagem is em p lo y ed in another section— ‘T h e C hristening, o r the C ere m onies o f giving a nam e to an in fan t’— o f the sam e m anu script. H ere the inform ation proffered is th at the child is nam ed on the eleventh day, and the title ‘Sarm a’ o r ‘V arm a’ o r ‘Gupta* o r ‘D as’ is ‘affixed to his real nam e’, depending on w h eth er the infant is b o rn into a B rahm an, K shatriya, V aishya o r Shudra household. A fter this, w e read in the m ar gin: 28 (E m phasis in original): ‘T h e D om estic C erem onies o f the Eastern D istric ts o f N .W .P . and O u d h ’, en try u n d er ‘C h o h ri K hilâna’, G rierson Papers, M S E ur. E 223, India O ffice L ibrary, London.
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Examples of this be met with in every page [sic] o f the ancient Sans krit works but in the present day you will hardly find instances o f this old Hindu custom being practised in Northern India. We, the Brahmans now-a-days add to our names, the distinguishing titles o f our clans, as Ram Gharib Chaube. The Kshatriyas seldom assume the title of Varma. The Vaisyas in N.W .P. and the Punjab have totally forgotten their title. The Sudras . . .,.29 Pandit Ram G harib C haube, a prolific ethnographer from eastern U P, is here both identifying him self as inform antau th o r and offering his nam e as an illustration o f the disjunc tio n betw een prescriptive ‘ancient Sanskrit’ texts and ‘present-day practices’, a fracture b ro u g h t about by the rule o f Q u een V ictoria and a long line o f Europeans stretching all the w ay back to Vasco da Gama! Functioning as invocations to the pow er o f B ritish rule in India, such statem ents seem to im pede the flow o f ethnographic description; on a second reading they m ake sense as tell-tale signs: w e are looking at chips o f colonial ethnolog y gathered by a R am G harib C haube for a C ro o k e o r a G rierson. A destitute C haube (‘I pray . . . to m y C ro o k e fam ily . . . to send a m orsel o f bread from their table’), describes a finely-em broidered cloth (chikan) to W illiam C rooke, n o w in retirem ent: The cloth by needlework becomes the reverse o f Chilean (i.e., soft), yet the name is given to it possibly according to the custom o f the country [of calling things by the wrong name], which finds vent in the following couplet o f Baba Kabir Das, the weaver philosopher who flourished during the reign o f Sikandar Lody, the Emperor, whose reign is famous for the fact that the first European ships came to In dia during his reign.30 T h e ‘late Pandit to W illiam C ro o k e ’ and ‘A ssistant, Linguis29 Ibid. E n try u n d er ‘C hristenin g , o r the cerem ony o f giving a nam e to an in fan t’. 30 A ppendix B: ‘O n C lo th and th e C lo th es o f th e N atives o f Eastern U n ited Provinces’, para 749 (em phasis added). C haube cites the wellk n o w n couplet: Chalti ho gdri hahai, bane dudh ho khoya; Sahi ko bahi kahai, yeh sum Kabira toy a.
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tic S urvey o f India’— as C haube styled him self—31 is here strain in g to find the precursors o f English rule in sixteenthc e n tu ry India. Again, in a perceptive discussion o f ek-rangasaris (see para 739, A ppendix B), he m anages, b y recalling one o f C rooke’s pronouncem ents, to denounce the appear ance o f low -caste w o m en as ‘really exciting laughter [rather] th an pity in the hearts o f all thinking m en ’. C h aube had, according to one account, becom e a w o rk aholic b y 1899 and w as ‘driven to insanity b y the lack o f adequate recognition’.32 B ut personal quirks aside, Indian in form ants never missed the opportunity to harp on the them e o f ‘p ro g ress’. Evidence o f ‘change’ was so u g h t by them in the ev eryday life o f their countrym en. It therefore com es as so m eth in g o f a surprise that b o th C ro o k e and G rierson ap pear to have w ilfully ignored m any signs o f change* in the n o rth Indian countryside. G rierson toured parts o f the province w ith a cam era for his Bihar Peasant Lifei H e published som e o f his photo g rap h s and u n derlined the difficulty in taking th em . C learly, the task o f p h o to g rap h in g natives and their appliances was n o t an easy o n e in the 1880s.33 His illustrations o f the bullock-cart, the c o u n try boat, flour and oil m ills, and a contrived ‘fashion 31 C h au b e w ro te to C ro o k e on 14 D ecem ber 1900 (C ro o k e Papers, M S. 139): i value y o u r w o rsh ip ’s nam e so m uch th at w henever I w rite an article fo r an y periodical like Jo u rn al o f th e Asiatic Society o f Bengal, Journal o f th e A nthropological Society o f B om b ay etc., I alw ays subscribe [jit] m y se lf as late Pandit to W illiam C ro o k e Esq. ICS (retired) and th u s k e e p ' y o u r w o rsh ip ’s nam e alw ays before th e learned public o f India*. See, for exam ple, C h au b e's article in the Journal o f the Anthropological Society o f Bombay, iv: 6 (1897). See also, Bhasha Vigyanankur, wa kuch bayan apne desk hi juban ka jise Pandit Ram Gharib Chaube, Assistant, Linguistic Survey, India ne nij desh ke balakon ke labh ke liye likha (Patna: K hadagvilas Press, B an k ip u r, 1899). 32 C handrashekhar Shukl, Ramchandra Shukl: jeevan aur krititva (Varanasi, sam vat, 2019), pp. 9 5 -6 . I am extrem ely grateful to D r R am chandra T iw a ri o f G orakhpur for d raw in g m y atten tio n to this source, and for once again placing his library at m y disposal. 33 G rierson, Preface, p. 4.
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plate’ show ing eleven Biharis in various states o f dress, w ere all m eant to be novelties. H ere was native life as it really was. H ow ever, w hen G rierson stum bled upon im proved canecrushers in village after village in the Sadr tahsil o f Patna dis trict, he did n o t bother to use his cam era. H e lam ented the fact that n o t one o f the traditional co u n try m ills ‘was in a fit state for a p h otograph to be taken o f it’. An indigenous appliance— the m o rtar and pestle kolhu — could n o t be pho to graphically reproduced. G rierson also ‘apprehended’ that his ‘description . . . will be o f little else than antiquarian in terest’, yet devoted the next six pages to identifying the parts o f the kolhu and the operatives w h o w orked it. O n a rough count, he listed over one hundred and fifty term s associated w ith the w ooden mill, and proffered, by contrast, only one term (kal) for the ‘E nglish-m ade iro n crushing m ill ’.34 Be sides kal— a generic H indi term for ‘m achine’— n o t a w ord w as said about the tw in-roller cane-crusher w hich w as being supplied by the sugar planters o f Bihia. It is equally n o tew o rth y th at C ro o k e ’s G lossary gives no indication o f the adoption o f English w ords by peasant speech. Ju st as they had adopted Persian term s, local dialects m ust have been peppered w ith peasantized E nglish w ords. Several exam ples com e to m ind, for instance, from Bhojpuri: tisan= station; bum pulis= ( from ) bam boo place, an enclosed privy; gang (from ) gang, a side (in a gam e), a faction in a dis pute. All these-w ords w ere a part o f the B hojpuri dialect by the 1870s.35 B ut there is n o indication o f this so rt o f natur alization in the G lossary. It w o u ld have been perfectly feasi ble for a C ro o k e o r a G rierson to have catalogued several 34 Bihar Peasant Life, pp. 5 0 -6 and passim. For a discussion o f the im proved iron-crusher sold by th e E uropean sugar planters o f Shahabad district in Bihar, see Shahid A m in, Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur: A n Inquiry into Peasant Production fo r Capitalist Enterprise in Colonial India (D elhi, 1984), A ppendix A. 35 M y ow n favourite, lotiyar\ an adaptation o f the nationalist ‘volun teers’, is o f later date. For gang, sec J. R. Reid, Azamgarh Glossary (Allahabad, 1881).
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such term s connected w ith, say, the railw ays. B ut n o t even passing m ention is m ade; in fact the railw ays do n o t figure inthe section titled ‘Appliances used in the conveyance o f goods and passengers*. Predictably, th at portion concerns itself w ith the country cart, the bullock and pony carriages, and the c o u n try boat. Perhaps the reason w h y English-based term s w ere ex cluded was that these w ere n o t illustrative o f indigenous rural life. B u t this is a questionable assum ption. T h e native o r the rustic m ay have nam es for objects th at he does n o t possess. T ro u sers, b y all accounts, w ere n o t co m m o n w ear, yet in the east U P countryside the A zam garh peasants had slang w o rd s for them , according to one o f C ro o k e ’s inform ants. O n e such w ord, padgaunj was obviously adapted from pad= fo o t and patloon—pantaloons. A nother, goranw , had a m o re interesting etym ology, for this particular fem inine noun (from gor= fo o t) had ‘the rope by w hich cattle are tied up b y the fo o t’ as its prim ary m eaning.36 If rel and than could find n o place in provincial glossaries, padgaunj and goranw could hardly be expected to qualify. B u t w h y did C ro o k e and G rierson neglect changes in the m aterial and m ental w orld o f the peasant? Personal predilec tio ns apart, was n o t the zeal o f late-V ictorian colonial e th n o g ra p h y itself predicated u p o n a notion o f ‘p ro g ress’? S tability w ithin the w o rld o f its objects is no d o u b t essential for any H andbook: ‘W hen change reaches a certain pace, re ference w o rk becom es im possible’. T his insight by W illiam R eddy, offered apropos a discussion o f com m ercial dic tionaries com piled before and after the French R evolution, also suggests w hy such w orks, even w hen o u t o f date, keep getting reproduced. T hey go unchallenged because o n ly the em ergence o f another discourse can enable a w holesale rear rangem ent o f all the details.37 36 S.v. padgaunj and goranw in Azamgarh Glossary. 37 W illiam M . R eddy, ‘T h e S tructure o f a C ultural C risis: T h in k in g about cloth in France before and after the French R ev o lu tio n ’, in A iju n
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A slightly different perspective m ay be offered o n C ro o k e ’s Glossary: the presentation o f the m aterial culture o f the peasantry is here inform ed by a p rio r notio n o f the changelessness o f the physical w o rld o f the Indian peasant. T h e G lossary has a lot to say about im plem ents, crops, anim als, and even insects—objects w hich are fashioned o r w hich g ro w but w hich d o n o t essentially change. W ith C ro o k e the em phasis o n the production process has the effect o f putting exchange relations in parenthesis. T h ere is m uch m o re here o n dhany less o n chawal; the cane crop receives detailed considera tio n (pp. 106-8), w hereas gur and rdby the co m m o d ity form o f this valuable crop, are noticed only in passing (paras 150, 505).38 W ithin such an arrangem ent the m oneylender o r the m anufacturer has no assigned place. T his leads to paradoxical results. T o take an exam ple, the im plem ents used in the sugar m anufactory get listed b u t the sugar refiner (khandsdri) goes unnam ed. T h e rab-producin g peasants, especially in central U P , were closely tied to the khandsdris. F rom the m id nineteenth century refiners intervened m uch m ore directly in the production o f raw sugar by dem anding ras o r cane juice fro m peasants. T h ey converted fresh cane ju ice into rab in their tem porary boiling sheds (bels) .39 C ro o k e refers to th ebel as the ‘boiling house’ and then proceeds to nam e the imple m ents and operatives (paras 139-46). H ow ever, there is no m entio n o f the khandsdri, the o w n e r o f the bely either here or anyw here else in the G lossary. It isn’t as th o u g h the extant sources do n o t m ention the sugar refiner, it is sim ply that w ith in the fram ew ork o f C ro o k e ’s G lossary the lan d lo rd m oneylender-sugar refiner (the khandsdri in short) som ehow slips through. A ppadurai, ed ., The Social Life o f Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspectives (C am bridge, 1986), p. 273. 38 T h e Index to the present vo lu m e contains o v er h alf a dozen references to gur, but a m ajority o f these are by w ay o f additions to C ro o k e’s Materials. 39 F or details see A m in, Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur, pp. 5 6 -6 1 .
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II In his G lossary C ro o k e is m ore concerned w ith things agri cultural. Social organization and econom ic arrangem ents are n oted only in passing. H is purpose is to describe the im m edi ate physical w orld o f U P peasants. H e sees this w o rld as p rin cipally inhabited by im plem ents and gadgets, utensils and appliances. T h ere are fifteen m ajor divisions in the G lossary. T h e con spectus opens w ith details about im plem ents, appliances and utensils used in field, w o rk sh o p and hom e, and term inates w ith lists o f business accounts, rates o f interest and m easures o f length, w eight and volum e. In betw een, ‘general agri cultural operations’, agricultural products and insects are itemized, the local nam es for ‘wages’, ‘advances’ and ‘per quisites’ established, and the varieties o f land tenure hurriedly gone over. T he nam ing operation is then perform ed on ‘the native h o use’ and ‘food and its prep aratio n ’, w ith a sequence o f dom estic and agricultural cerem onies roun d in g o ff the sphere o f ‘Rural Life’. A w kw ard ly squashed betw een w eights and m easures and the rituals o f rural life, ‘trade and m o n ey len d in g ’ are alm ost pushed o u t o f reckoning. In the first section, o n agricultural im plem ents, the auzdrs are retailed in tem poral sequence— preparation o f land, so w in g , interculture, protecting the ripening crops, and har vesting. H ow ever, this arrangem ent is n o t w ith o u t its diffi culties. T h e discussion o f bro o m s used ‘for various agricultu ral and dom estic purposes’, for instance, appears rather inex plicably u n d er the broad category ‘Im plem ents used in so w ing, w eeding and irrig atio n ’. T h e ‘ordinary sw eeper’s b ro o m ’ (jharu ) is distinguished fro m the house b ro o m , buharni (para 35). N either o f these has m uch to d o w ith the agri cultural operations m entioned above. Such occasional incongruities apart, the overall form at o f the G lossary— the divisions, the subsections, the flurry o f local nam es and term s— all convey the im pression th at peasant life is being dissected and its parts laid o u t and
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arranged after a legitim ate and natural fashion. It is this arrangem ent w hich makes the U P countryside know able to officials in G o rak h p u r and elsew here; it is w ith the aid o f con stant fragm entation that ‘useful’ inform ation gets catalogued and kept handy for reference. Ill C ro o k e ’s w ork scores over all previous glossaries in its pre ference o f a classificatory rather than an alphabetical arrangem ent . 40 It is therefore instructive to exam ine the lim itations o f this m ode o f presentation. A discussion o f n o rth Indian food lends itself fairly well to several classifica tions according to the indigenous m ode. D istinctions could be d raw n betw een w heat and rice-based item s, meals and snacks, namkeen and m ttha . Food could be characterized by w h eth er it is boiled, steam ed o r fried, o r considered ‘h o t’ and ‘cold’ in term s o f its essence (tasir). T h ere is the food o f the up p er and the lo w er orders, food o f the period o f plenty, and surrogate preparations for periodic tim es o f scarcity. And finally, there is the obvious distinction betw een ‘vegetables’ and ‘m eat and fish’. W hat the G lossary gives us instead is five and a h alf pages o f alphabetically arranged ‘preparations o f fo o d ’ (pp. 146-51). Precisely w here native system s o f classi fication w ould have appeared appropriate, C ro o k e turned to the English alphabet for o rdering his material. It w as not as if he was unaw are o f these distinctions. As a ju n io r officer he had w ritten a detailed note on the ‘average a m o u n t o f food consum ed by the labouring and cultivating classes’ o f G o ra k h p u r .41 C ro o k e discovered that these classes consum ed m ore salt than those better off, adding that ‘prob ably . . . they require m ore [salt] to m ake their vegetables palatable ’.42 M r Speeding, C ro o k e ’s superior at G orakhpur, 40 See p. xix above. 41 Report of the Indian Famine Commission, 1874- 75, A ppendix iii, C m d. 3086 (1881), p. 288 42 Ib id ., p. 288.
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m ad e a distinction du rin g the course o f the sam e inquiry be tw ee n the sw eets consum ed by the p o o r and the w ell-to-do. In th e gatta, lai and lim a eaten by the fo rm er class, observed the C ollector, ‘g u r is used instead o f chini and oil for g h i’. T h e food available to the p o o r also changed w ith the seasons. In h o t w eather ‘they m ake food o u t o f the bark o f semhal (sic) tree’, and during rains the p o o r o f G o rak h p u r ate a ‘coarse bread m ade o f m ango kernels (am-ki-gutli) . . . k n o w n as Koeli-ki-roti \ 43 All this inform atio n is left o u t o f C ro o k e ’s list. W e learn about Koeli-ki-roti (p. 149), b u t m inus the social and seasonal inform ation. As there is very little room for the play o f indigenous class ifications, native term s, tools and im plem ents are processed th ro u g h translation. Paradoxically for a glossary o f Indian w o rd s, hoes and h arro w s and rakes and pickaxes loom larger than pharua, kudari, henga, biltia, gaita and dantdoli. T he pow er o f the master language is never brought into doubt. Even north Indian regional dishes get translated as ‘a mess o f pounded vegetables’, ‘a thin sweet pastry’ or ‘a thick cake o f bread’. IV A glossary that C ro o k e fashioned and w hich G rierson de veloped w as n o t ju s t an ordered stringing to g eth er o f w ords and phrases. It also underscored difference and sam eness. T h e m utiplicity o f term s in the subsections resulted, in effect, from differences across space, social g ro u p and tim e. In C ro o k e, as in G rierson, tim e poses n o problem s. T h e identi fication o f item s listed is in the ethnographic present, and this present stretches well back in tim e. Little w o n d er th at M ax M uller expected to find in Bihar Peasant Life ‘the houses and carts and utensils o f the people very m uch as they are de scribed in the Vedas . . .*.44 43 R eply by M r Speeding, C o llecto r o f G o rak h p u r to question no. 9, ib id ., pp. 2 8 0 -1 . 44 M ax M uller to G .A . G rierson, 5 Jan u ary 18% , G rierson Papers, M S. E ur. E. 226/xi, no. 77(b), India O ffice L ibrary, London.
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W hile the spatial spread it encom passes is the underlying cause for the proliferation o f term s and gives the G lossary its sense o f com pleteness, regional variations are noticed only in term s o f linguistic dissim ilarities. O n the very first page we read: ‘T h e o rdinary co u n try plough is generally k n o w n as hal in th e w est and har in the east’ (para 1). W hat this dialectal shift fro m la to ra does n o t tell us is th at the east U P har was quite dissim ilar to the w est U P p lo u g h in fa ct , and n o t m erely phonetically. It was very m uch lighter, had less iron content, and its ploughing edge was ju s t a sh o rt spike and n o t the long iron bar o f the pacchua-hal w hich projected backw ards and w as th ru st forw ard as its point blunted. T h e w eight o f ‘the co u n try plough* decreased fro m w est to east as the size and stren g th o f the cattle dim inished in the sam e direction. C on sequently, tillage for identical crops required a greater num ^ ber o f ploughings in G o rak h p u r than in M eeru t.45 C ro o k e d opening section o n ‘the p lo u g h ’ does indeed tell us about several such specim ens, including bdkhar , ‘a bullock h o e’, but th e full range o f the difference betw een these various hals never quite com es .through. B etw een the n u m b er o f term s and the levels o f m eanings, C ro o k e opted for the form er. T h e form o f the com prehensive G lossary w as here dictating its content, in this respect at least to its detrim ent. Speech also differs across class and caste w ith in the same village: sociolinguists have identified this as the one-w ay traf fic betw een sd f and moti boli. A landlord m ay have his ow n ‘language* (the high style) and yet stoop to. a low ly dialect to com m unicate w ith the low castes o f the village, such linguis tic freedom n o t being p erm itted in the reverse direction.46 C ro o k e and the linguist G rierson m u st have been aw are o f these distinctions, b u t their im plications for nam ing largely go unnoticed. 45 A m in. Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur, pp. 4 6 -7 . 46 Jo h n G um perz, Language in Social Groups (Stanford, 1971), pp. 170-1, 194. See also R anajit G uha, Elementary Aspects o f Peasant Insurgency in Colonial India (D elhi, 1983), pp. 40fF.
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In sum , the general system o f the G lossary is a positivist o n e aim ed at describing native reality in its detailed, tangible fo rm . In C ro o k e this description adopts a classificatory proc edure w hose features are division and fragm entation. A nd yet the effect is to produce a hom ogenized representation o f native life. T he influence o f caste, class and sect is largely ab sent fro m his com pendium o f agricultural and rural term s. V T here is one exception to this hom ogenized representation. T h e creation o f unidim ensional categories goes hand in hand w ith distinctions attributed to the tw o faiths o f H induism and Islam. T hus, m etal vessels are item ized in term s o f th e re ligion o f th e persons using them : ch. II.2, section vni, subdi vides pots and pans in to ‘vessels ordinarily used by H in d u s’ and in ‘general M u h a m m a d a n u se’. A s it tu rn s o u t, th e re are quite a few item s in co m m o n betw een the tw o lists, b u t the initial distinction is still m ade to stand. I am n o t suggesting th at there were, and are, n o H in d u and M uslim signs; to m aintain this for a highly sem iotized society like ours w ould be absurd .47 It is the use o f the division H in d u /M u slim for purposes o f categorization th at appears untenable at tim es. C onsider the w ay lungi and angochha are pigeonholed in C ro o k e and G rierson. In para 264 o f the G lossary w e read: 47 For badhna (a special k ind o f lota) as a M u slim sign, see p. 46, n o te 12, below . It w as n o t ju s t in U P th at the badhna sto o d for ‘M u salm an ’. N azrul Islam, cautiously celebrating the D as Pact o f 1923, used the badhna and the gam as expressive signs to refer to the M uslim s and the H indus o f B engal. H is caustic p o em ‘Pact’ begins w ith the lines: Badhna garu te galagali kare, naba pacter ashnai; Musalmaner hathe nai churi, Hindur halhtr bash nai. ‘Badna and G aru are em bracing each o th e r in the rom ance o f the n ew Pact; the M usalm ans have given up the dagger, th e H indus have th ro w n aw ay the bam boo-sdeks.’ (Nazrul Islam, Sanchita (Calcutta, b s 1364), p. 249.) Badna w as distinguished fro m garu by its lon g er spout; garu was a lota o f the ‘p o t-belly’ type. For th e U P garua, see para 211 below . 1 am grateful to D ipesh C hakrabarty and G autam B hadra for the reference and for the translation o f N azrul’s poem .
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‘T h e cloth tied ro und the loins w hile bathing, and used for d ry in g the body afterw ards, is angochha am ong H indus and lungi am ong M u h am m adan s’. W hat w e have here is the be ginnings o f ‘H in d u ’ and ‘M u slim ’ loincloths. In G rierson this sectarian classification is carried a step further. Para 733 o f Bihar Peasant L ife announces a new kind o f cloth, bathing cloth, in bold italics: a descriptive phrase here becom es a category. ‘T h e bathing cloth , w o rn ro u n d the loins w hile bath ing and used for drying the b ody afterw ards, is nam ed dif ferently by H indus and M usalm ans’. T h e first sentence underlines the sectarian difference in the names given to this special cloth. T h e next four sentences provide the linguistic proof: angauchha, gamchha, angochha (H indus); lungi, lungi (M usalm ans), and to press the p o in t further, hajuriya , a ‘bath ing cloth’ sim ilar to the lungi b u t ‘w o rn by H indu m endicants ’.48 T ru e, the lungi is associated w ith M uslim s o f the G angetic plains; in fact it is a sartorial sign o f the M uslim w eavers o f east U P .49 B u t w e k n o w fro m G rierson th at the w o rd was also used for the cloth w hich the hajam/nau/naua ‘spreads in fro n t o f the person he is shaving, and on w hich the hairs fall ’.50 T he lungi , by G rierso n ’s o w n account, was a m ulti purpose piece o f cloth; in Patna, Shahabad and Gaya it was the regional name for the m ore general dhoti.51 T o expound its m eaning in term s o f a restrictive category, ‘bathing clo th ,’ is to divest this fabric o f its significance. T he sectarian nom enc lature m erely com pounds the m istake .52 48 G rierson, Bihar Peasant Life, pp. 1 4 5 -6 . 49 A bdul B ism illah in his recent novel repeatedly uses the lungi as an all-purpose dress to em phasize the m arkedness o f the M uslim w eavers o f Banaras. See A bdul B ism illah, Jhini Jhini Bini Chadariya (Rajkamal Paperbacks, N ai D illi, 1987). 50 Bihar Peasant Life, para 383, p. 81. 51 Ibid., para 726, p. 143. 52 Sim ilarly, angochha, ‘the bathing cloth o f the H in d u s’, is used in east U P for tying in fo o d stu ff like sattu, as well as protective headgear. It is also utilized fo r straining tari (if the need arises), and o f course for w iping the body and the face.
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VI C ro o k e ’s G lossary is a m ine o f inform ation for the n o rth In dian countryside, b u t its full im p o rt em erges only w hen we begin to inquire closely into its foundations o f faith and prac tice. Its range is w ide b u t it also splinters rural econom ic and social relations. In fact that is the price o f its success. Its sys tem o f classification is elaborate b u t it still falls short o f in dicating the com plexities o f peasant conditions at a glance. M o re than tw o h u n d red and fifty paragraphs intervene be tw een the listing o f loans in kind and the identification o f the grains and crops in w hich they w ere advanced and recouped; the m oneylender, w h o is noticed o n ly briefly in para 679 (eight pages before the end o f the m ain text), is alm ost m ar ginal to the G lossary’s considerations .53 W e are told about ‘agricultural operations’ b u t n o t h o w peasant p roverbs dic tate the tasks to be perform ed in the different lunar asterism s .54 VII A final question m ay be asked abo u t the usefulness o f a draft tex t such as this. T h e question m u st have been answ ered in the affirm ative in 1879 for the Materials to have been p u b lished at gov ern m en t expense. H ow ev er, a code, a m anual o r a glossary derives its sustenance fro m the know ledge system o f w hich it form s a part and w hich it furthers in practice. T he value o f the G lossary, it w o u ld appear, lay in a region-w ise codification o f existing know ledge o f rural and agricultural term s w ithin a given province. T h e revised G lossary, w ith the m issing term s for each district m arked in red , 55 could then 53 C f. pp. xxxiv and xxx v above. M See A ppendix D: ‘A C alendar o f A gricultural Sayings’, below . See also V. K. O h ri, ‘H o w C u sto m -b o u n d is the Indian F arm er’, Indian Economic and Social History Review , xviii: 3 (1981), for an a tte m p t at statistically testing th e effectiveness o f so m e o f these sayings. 55 Sec C ro o k e ’s Preface, and p. xviii, above.
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have functioned as a ready reckoner for the U P bureaucrat w h en transferred from a B hojpuri to a B raj-speaking area, o r in adm inistrative term s fro m , say, G o rak h p u r district to M athu ra district. C ro o k e ’s Materials w as m eant— if one m ay b o rro w the expressive title o f another such tract— to be A Glossary o f Terms Rural, Official and General in daily use in the Courts o f L a w and in illustration o f the Tenures, Customs, Arts and Manufacture o f H industan .56 T h e choice o f the entire province o f U P (then N W P and O u d h ) suggests th at the territorial scope o f the w o rk m ight have reflected the official w ill to unify the entire region by a single provincial adm inistration. Such an all-U P coverage appears peculiar because linguistic and dialectal areas did not coincide w ith adm inistrative units. H o w artificial th e provin cial bou n d ary was is evident fro m the ease w ith w hich G rier son could incorporate east U P term s into his Bihar Peasant Life.
56 T his is th e full explanatory subtitle o f Patrick C am eg y , Kachahari Technicalities (A llahabad, 1877).
Author’s Preface
T h e se n o tes are published m erely as an attem p t at a D igest o f th e in fo rm atio n im m ediately accessible regarding w o rd s and phrases used in these provinces in connection w ith agricultu ral and rural life. It is believed th at m any officers w ill be read y to assist in the com pilation o f a fairly com plete Rural a n d A gricultural G lossary. W hat is required is— (1)— T o correct the w o rd s given in these notes, particular ly in spelling and transliteration. (2)— It w ill be im p o rtan t to ascertain, as far as possible, the p o rtio n o f the provinces in w hich special w o rd s are used. This can be done by m arking w ith red ink the w o rd s used in each district. (3)— T h e lists o f local w ords are particularly incom plete for the D oab and R ohilkhand. It is hoped th at the inform ation given in the notes can b ^ greatly in creased by local enquiries. M r G riffith has prom ised to recom m end the w o rk to the D ep u ty Inspectors o f Schools. It is believed th at they, N ativ e D eputy C ollectors and the K anungo staff, w ill be able to give valuable assistance. It is requested, in o rd er to secure u n ifo rm ity o f translitera tio n , th at new w o rd s and corrections m ay be given in D evanagari and Persian characters, w ith an English transli teration; and that the copies n o w circulated be returned, w ith th e corrections, at as early a date as m ay be possible, to the office o f the D irector o f A griculture and C om m erce, N o rth W estern Provinces and O u d h .
List of Illustrations
(betw een pp. 90 and 91) I II III IV V VI VII VIII DC X XI XII
Ploughs and seed-drills A group o f agricultural im plem ents A w ooden roller kolhu A w o o d en m ortar-an d -p estle kolhu A barber A m utton butcher A cotton w eaver com bing a w arp A dyer A carpenter Blacksmiths Potters A grain m erchant
Notes on the Illustrations
T h e present w ork, unlike G rierson’s Bihar Peasant L ife , h ad no illustrations accom panying it. C ro o k e ’s 1888 alphabetically-arranged Glossary contains som e excellent line d raw ings, b u t I have been unable to tear them aw ay from th eir context. D raw ings o f agricultural im plem ents in gazetteers and settlem ent reports, m ost notably in the A zam garh report o f 1881, posed reproduction problem s. I have therefore chosen to include herein a set o f tw elve illustrations from three quite different sources. All these illustrations are reproduced courtesy the India O ffice Lib rary , London. Illustrations i-in are from the M eerut Settlement Book o f H . M . Elliot, the au th o r o f the Supplemental Glossary. These d raw in g s o f agricultural im plem ents, M ildred A rcher tells us, w ere m o st probably m ade for Elliot by an Indian d raftsm an w hile he was Superintendent o f R evenue Surveys, an d are dated c. 1838. N o . iv, a detailed draw ing o f the typical north-Indian w ooden cane mill, is taken from B u ch an an -H am ilto n ’s D inajpur R eport, c. 1808, and is also rep ro d u ced in East India Sugar: Papers respecting Sugar etc. (1822). T h e third set o f eight draw ings (nos. v-xn) is taken fro m the IO L , A dd. O r. 1660-1745, c. 1850-60. T h e inclusion o f this last set from a Book containing] illustrations o f the various traders in Kashmir with their respective implements and the corresponding accounts o f the process o f manufacture perhaps requires som e justification. In her C om p a n y Drawings M ildred A rcher rem arks that these K ashm ir p aintings are ‘very different from those o f Patna o r B anaras’, b eing m o re indigenous in ‘the type o f paper, technique and general style. . .’. (p. 232). I am n o t com petent to com m ent o n h o w prevalent this m ode o f detailed representation o f
x lv i
NOTES ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS
craftsm en and agriculturalists was in pre-colonial, M ughal India. It is the em ploym en t o f w h at could be called th e ‘glossary mode* o f representation th at is particularly note w o rth y in these draw ings from distant K ashm ir. T h e tashbih (representation) here m oves from to p to b o tto m , fro m th e general to the particular, in three distinct steps. T h e to p section nam es the craftsm an; the m iddle section show s him at w o rk w ith his im plem ents; the low est arranges and displays the tools o f the trade. T h e eye thus m oves along three layers o f description: the textual, the contextual and, finally, the decontextualized. L ooking from the b o tto m up, the basic tools are com bined in the operation o f the craftsm an (and his assistant/housew ife), and the w o rk o f the craftsm an is then described to give m eaning to the picture as a w hole. D escription is here predicated on subdivision, cataloguing and nam ing— the hallm arks o f a glossary such as the present w ork.
Illustration I: ‘T hree A gricultural Im plem ents. Nagpur w ith Surta behind the share; Nagur— Surta behind; Mogara w ith tw o Surtas attached’ Nagar is a ‘heavy plough w ith a perpendicular fram e’. In B undelkhand it is a ‘four-o x p lo u g h ’. N o te th at the mogara has tw o shares, *and ropes rather than pegs are used to tie the various parts o f the plough in all the three draw ings. The seed tubes are also tied to the ploughs rather than handled separately.
Illustration II: ‘G ro u p o f A gricultural Im plem ents’
1. Kirlee (large rake). 2. Toplee (basket). 3. Jham ee (broom ).
KOTES ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS
x lv ii
4. D atar (small rake). 5. Phoura (m attock). 6 . Soop (w innow ing sieve; q.v. sup). Kirlee— the biggest and the m o st intriguing o f the im plem ents— is n o t described in any o f o u r standard sources. T he draw in g approxim ates m ost closely to btdar. ‘a so rt o f rake o r harrow , w orked by oxen to loosen the soil and extricate w eeds from a crop o f young rice* (para 29; s.v. khakhom i and kanta in Bihar Peasant Life). It is uncertain as to w h eth er there w ould have been a specialized w eeding in stru m en t for rice in a w heat belt like the U p p er D oab in the early 1830s. C ould the kirlee o f M eerut be the pachpariya o f n o rth B ihar, ‘a kind o f plough w ith five shares used in indigo factories’? (cf. G rierson, para 37). T h e jk a m e e (broom ) is called barhtii in eastern U P . T he datar (datara in R ohilkhand) is *a rake used for collecting cut grass’.
Illustration I I I : ‘Sugar-cane press, boiling pans and spoons’
T h is illustration o f a triple w o o d en roller cane-press from the M eerut region, l 1840, is somewhat puzzling. All our sources are agreed that it was the m ortar-and-pestle kolhu , as detailed in Illustration iv, w hich was characteristic o f the G angetic plains in the first three-quarters o f the nineteenth century (see also Irfan H abib, Indian H ist. R e v .y v: i-ii, 1979, pp. 156-8). In Punjab geared w o o d en horizontal rollers w ere observed in th e 1830s. Illustration ni, show in g three vertical rollers, is th erefo re o f considerable interest for an understanding o f the g eographical distribution o f this im p o rtan t agricultural m achinery. T he puzzle o f this illustration still rem ains, for w e have n o other description o f vertical w ooden rollers from w e stern U P for this period. U nlik e in the m ortar-and-pestle c o n tra p tio n , sugarcane in this press could be crushed w ith o u t h a v in g to be chopped into sm all bits, a laborious and
x lv iii
NOTES ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS
‘expensive o p eratio n 1, as B uchanan noted in his c o m m e n ta ry on Illustration iv.
Illustration IV : T h e w o o d en m ortar-an d -p estle cane mill, a n d gro u n d plan o f the ‘boiling apparatus’
B uchanan’s tex t accom panying this draw ing needs to be quoted in full: The m ill . . . is on the principle o f a mortar and pestle. The pestle however does not beat the cane, but is rubbed against them, as happens in many chemical operations, and the moving force is tw o oxen. The mortar is generally a tamarind tree, one end o f which is sunk deep in the ground to give it firmness. The part projecting (a a) may be about two feet high, and a foot and a half in diameter. In the upper end o f this is cut a hollow in form o f the small segment of a sphere (b b). In the centre o f this a canal (c) descends a little way perpendicularly, and then obliquely to one side o f the mortar, so that the juice as squeezed from the cane, runs through the canal, and by means o f a spout (d) is thrown upon a staincr (e), through which it runs into an earthen pot that stands in a hole (/) under the spout. The pestle (g g) is a tree o f about eighteen feet in length, and one foot in diameter, rounded into a foot (h) which rubs against the mortar, and which is secured in its place by a button (i) that goes into the canal o f the mortar. The moving force is applied to a horizontal beam (k k) about sixteen feet in length, which turns round the mortar, and is fastened to it by a bent bamboo (/ I). It is suspended from the upper end of the pestle by a bamboo (m) which has been cut with part of the root, in which is formed a pivot that hangs on the upper point of the pestle. The cattle are yoked to the horizontal beam at about ten feet from the mortar, move round it in a circle, and are driven by a man, who sits on the beam to increase the weight of the rubbing power. Scarcely any machine can bq more miserable, and it would be totally ineffectual, were not the cane cut into thin slices. This is an expensive part o f the operation. A man sits on the ground, and has before him a bamboo stake («), which is driven into the ground, and has a deep notch formed in its upper end. He passes the cane
NOTES ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS
x lix
gradually through this notch, and at the same time cuts off the slices with a kind o f rude chopper (a). The boiling apparatus is better contrived. The mill is without shelter, but the boilers are placed under a shed. The fireplace is a considerable cavity dug into the ground, and covered by an iron boiler (p). At one side o f this is an opening (q) for throwing in fuel, and opposite to this is an opening which communicates with a horizontal chimney. This is formed by two parallel mud walls (rr 55), about twenty feet long, two feet high, and eighteen inches distant from each other. A row o f eleven earthen boilers (t) is placed on these walls, and the interstices (u) are filled with clay, which completes the chimney, an opening (v) being left out at the end for allowing the smoke to escape. The juice as it comes from the mill, is first put into the earthen boiler that is the most distant from the fire, and is gradually moved from one boiler to another, until it reaches the iron one where the process is completed. Cited in East India Sugar (London, 1822), appx. iii, p. 25; and M ontgomery Martin, History, Antiquities, etc. o f ¿astern India (London, 1838), ii, pp. 878-80. ‘T he mill and the boiler used in preparing the extract o f sugarcane’, B uchanan noted in 1808 for D inajpur, w ere ‘usually let by the day*. In U P , in the late nineteenth century, the kolhu was often jo in tly o w n ed b y three to six peasant households, b u t th e boiling pans, m u ch few er in n u m b e r and usually o f iron, w ere hired for the season. C ro o k e relies heavily o n an advanced copy o f the Azam garh Settlement Report o f 1881 for his account o f the ‘C ane M ill’ and the ‘B oiling H o u se ’ (paras 114-32 below ). T h e re p o rt on A zam garh district contains separate draw ings for the m o rtar, th e pestle and the m o ving gear. T hese sh o w only m in o r variations on B uchanan’s 1808 kolhu fro m D inajpur. T h e one o b v io u s difference is that, unlike in m o st o th er parts o f n o rth e rn India, kolhus in A zam garh, and the cis-G haghra districts generally, w ere fabricated from blocks o f C h u n ar stone. N o te th at the ‘boiling apparatus’ described by B uchanan is m o re elaborate th an the one depicted fro m M eerut in Illu stration ni. T h e M eeru t draw in g , c. 1838, also show s the
1
NOTES ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS
pan and the sp o o n /m allet (gyranda and gurdam respectively in east U P ) used for thickening and kneading the boiled ju ic e into a solid state (gur).
Illustration V: ‘R epresentation o f the Barber; his tools fo r cutting and shaving o ff hair are given below . T h e B arber, razor in hand, is shaving [the client’s head.]’* Bottom half\ right to left: 1st row: T he turban o f the client w hose head is being shaved. T o o th — extractor (jamura in U P ). Scissors. M irror. Iln d row: C u p for holding w ater. N ail-cu tter (nahami in U P ). H orn for cupping (?). T w eezers (mochna in U P ). C o m b . Illr d row: Im plem ent for shearing sheep. Earthen pot. T ools for perform ing circum cision (khatna, sunnat, kanuri in U P). IV th row: Razor. Big razor. Small razor ( Ustara here and in U P). Vth row: Lancet and cup. A strip o f leather for cleaning the b arb er’s kit-bag (kisbat in U P).
N o te that here, as in the plains, the functions o f the nai, nau, hajjdm (barber) and the jarrdh (the co u n try surgeon) are com bined. T h e inclusion o f the shears is o f course atypical. N o tice that the n o rth Indian term s qainchi, kanghi and nahami are n o t m entioned in the illustration. T h e term used for scissors is the A rabic m iqraz rather than the h u m d ru m qainchi. T h e term m iqraz was n o t in co m m o n use in n o rth India except in the p ithy com m ercial phrase: ‘Q a rz miqraz-ulmuhabbat\ n o w literally rendered in to H indi as 'U dhar prem ki qainchi h a d T h e naham i (nail-cutter) figures in another proverb: 'naya nai bans ki naham i ’ (an inexperienced barber has a nail-cutter m ade o f bam boo). By an ov ersig h t C rooke m issed o u t the barber altogether in his Glossary! * I am m o st grateful to M uzaffar A lam for his invaluable help in deciphering and translating the text in this and subsequent illustrations.
NOTES ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS
li
Illustration VI: ‘R epresentation o f the M u tto n B utcher, sitting in his shop and selling m eat. His tools and im plem ents are described below*
T h e picture in the to p h a lf has the self-evident caption: ‘T h e b u tch e r is holding the knife in his hand, and having cut the m eat is putting it in to the w eighing scales’. Pieces o f m eat d angling from hanging hooks, the (w ooden) b oard on w hich cu t m eat is p u t (show ing those bits o f the goat w hich are sold separately and cheaper than m u tto n proper), w eights, and a stick to chase o ff dogs are also depicted. T h e b o tto m half, w ith the beam functioning as a natural divide, show s (from rig h t to left): 1st row: H anging m eat hooks (attached to ropes). A second w eighing balance, w ith w eights and m eat. Iln d row: Pitcher o f w ater. Knife. T h e butch er’s block, w ith the large knife (bugda in U P ) stuck in a characteristic resting position. I llr d row: A pot to w ash m eat in. E arthen pot (o f the badhana variety). Stick. D ecapitated goat, unskinned.
N o tic e th e spouted earthen pot, like the badhana o f n o rth ern India, in b o th Illustrations v and vi. T h e only difference is th a t the badhana o f U P and B ihar is w ith o u t a handle.
Illustration VII: ‘R epresentation o f the C o tto n -w eav er; his to ols are described. ’ T h e w eaver has stretched the w arp o n a w o o d en fram e betw een tw o posts. H e is applying starch (mäya) w ith a com b o f soft tw igs and separating the threads. B elo w the fram e are trays for starch
In U P the thread is stretched o u t o n pieces o f b am b o o (pat) and brushed clean w ith the künch , a co m m o n w o rd for brush. M äya and kalaf are tw o co m m o n w ords used for starch.
Ui
NOTES ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS
The bottom h a lf shows , from right to left: Kangriy a portable heater, a pitcher and mdya placed o n a board. Below this, a w o m an reels cotton, using reels w ith iron and w ooden pins. T h e w o o d en reel w ith iro n pins, and the starched thread stretched o u t on w o o d en pins, are also show n. In U P the thread is w o u n d o ff after leaving the spinning wheel on a charkhi; and it is again w o u n d o ff the charkhi on a sim ilar drum called paretha. T h e hank o f thread after cleaning is luttdi, and w hen arranged for the w arp hhdnj.
Illustration V III: ‘R epresentation o f the D y er w ith his tools. T he D yer is taking o u t a dyed than fro m the cauldron
In the bottom half, dyed w oollen thread, scales w ith w eights, w ater containers o f various sizes, a reel w ith w oollen thread w rapped on it, and tw o sticks for m ixing up the dyes and taking the dyed cloth o u t are depicted. T he pot sunk in the g ro u n d for dyes is called math in U P; athra is a sim ilar half-roun d pot. T h e stirring stick (the generic Persian w o rd chob is used in the illustration) is called chalni in U P. Than is a piece o f uncut w o v en cloth.
Illustration IX : ‘R epresentation o f the C arp en ter w ith his tools’
T he carpenter is show n fabricating a w ooden fram e, adze in hand. Kulhdri and basiila rath er than the Persian tesha are the com m on term s for the adze in U P and Bihar. T he bottom h alf show s the entire range o f the carpenter’s tools: saws, planes, chisels and m easuring and draw ing instrum ents like the yard and the com pass. T he pair o f pincers for draw in g nails (first row ) is jam ura in U P (the sam e w o rd is used for the b arb er-su rg eo n ’s
NOTES ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS
lüi
to o th -ex tracto r). T h e o th er instrum ents in this row — the different sized planers and the com pass— are called randa and parkdr in the picture, and in U P and B ihar as well. T h e chisels (torakh) are o f m any sorts (C rooke lists at least six different kinds o f chisels in para 156). T h e term s dri and dra for the sm all and the big saw are co m m o n to the illustration and to the n o rth Indian countryside. W hat is m issing is the barma, a revolving aw l w o rk ed w ith a b o w and string, used for piercing holes for fixing iron screw s o r w oo d en pins.
Illustration X : ‘R epresentation o f B lacksm iths, w ith tools*
T h e blacksm ith, aided by his assistant (note the difference in headgear) is w o rk in g on the anvil. H e is holding the ham m er in one hand, w hile w ith the o th er he tackles the heated iron in the furnace. T h e lo w er h alf show s the black sm ith ’s tools and accessor ies, along w ith a sam ple o f the finished products. Som e o f the to ols listed are: th e file (.sohdn), ham m ers, pliers and piercing in stru m en ts. T he anvil is prom in en tly displayed. A longside are sh o w n a basketful o f charcoal, a sm all tu b w ith w ater, and a m u d platform for fixing in iron pieces. A m o n g the p ro d u cts (m iddle o f the picture) are a sm all piece o f chain, a horse shoe and tw o nails.
Illustration X I: ‘R epresentation o f the P o tter and his to o ls’
T h e p o tter, having th ro w n the clay o n the w heel, turns it and shapes a cup. T he string to rem ove the earthenw are (called cheuni in U P) is in his left hand. His w ife kneads the clay. A w ater cup and the p o tte r’s tu rn in g stick are also show n in the to p po rtio n . In th e low er h a lf the p o tte r’s kiln (dwa in U P) is p ro m in en tly displayed. A longside are show n dried leaves, used b o th by p o tter and grainparcher for firing the dwa and
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NOTES ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS
the bhdr, respectively. N e x t to it are the p o tte r’s w heel and the tu rn in g stick (chak and chakdit, respectively, in U P ). A pitcher o f w ater and the po ttery ram m er ( kuba-i-ehubi in the d raw in g , peta, pxnr o r thdpi in co m m o n parlance in U P) are placed alongside. T hree lum ps o f freshly-kneaded clay placed o n a w ooden board, a strainer and a big p o t in w hich the clay is prepared by m ixing it w ith w ater are the o th er im p o rtan t item s show n in this part o f the illustration.
Illustration X II : ‘R epresentation o f the G rain m erchant and the accessories used in selling g rain ’
T h e grain m erchant is sitting in his shop. H e has kept a variety o f grains in different baskets. H e w eighs the grain, holding the scales in his hand. A m ong the grains show n in the to p h alf are: rice and w heat flour, w hite rice, red rice, peeled singharas (?), lobia and mung dal. T h e bo tto m h alf show s large earthen ja rs and pots (w ith lids) in w hich grains are stored. An earthen pot, w eighing scales and w eights, and a ladle and stick (show n stuck in the basket containing red rice in the u pper h alf o f the picture) are also depicted separately.
I
Implements and Appliances Used In Agriculture and Rural Manufactures
I. I
IM P L E M E N T S U S E D IN P R E P A R IN G L A N D F O R C U L T IV A T IO N Section I— The Plough
1. T h e ordinary co u ntry plough is generally k n o w n as hal in the w est and har in the eastern districts . 1 T he bakhar is a bullock hoe. The dubehri is a light plough used in W est O u d h and R ohilkhand. T here are tw o kinds o f plough in use in O u d h — that w ith a perpendicular body o r fram e is called tariah o r nayra\ and that w hich has a horizontal body lotan or dabihar. A plough w ith only one pair o f bullocks is k n ow n as adha hal. A four-ox plough is in B undelkhand chaukath, pakka hal, nagar, o r nagari. T he khapariya is a heavy plough for stiff soils. Its Parts 2. T h e various parts o f the com m on plough are as fol low s: 3. T h e beam— In the eastern districts haras o r haris, to the w est halasy and in East O u d h har. 4. T h e body— In the C entral D oab and G orakhpur kur, in the D oab and N o rth-W estern Provinces, generally, hal, nangal o r nagra, in G orakhpur jangha , and in A zam garh har, in East O u d h agwasi, in o ther parts o f O u d h pato. 5. T h e handle o r stilt— Hathali, hathu, chirya, muthia (Fast O u d h and G orakhpur). In G orakhpur, how ever, muthia 1 See Introduction, p. xxxviii.
2
IMPLEMENTS AND APPLIANCES USED IN AGRICULTURE
properly m eans a k n o b at the end o f the body. In Benares chandauti, in the U p p er D o u b tindi, in o th er places chandava , in A zam garh parihat , in C a w n p u r kur o r kurdi is the step, and paretha is the stilt. 6 . The notches on the beam by w hich the share is raised o r low ered— In G o rak h p u r arbattd%and in o th er places khura, bamel, tiarhel or battel. 7. T he sole in w hich the share is fixed— Patthari, parautha , in the U pper D oab patha, in C aw n p u r parhari, in the D oab parihari or parari, in Bareli parhai , in O u d h khod, and in G orakhpur dabi. 8 . T he share— In the east districts phar , in C aw n p u r phdra , in the C entral D oab phdro ; in the D oab, generally, phaly chdu, or kusa. In the U pper D oab the circular piece o f iron fixed on the share to prevent it going too deep is katha, and the kharua is a peg to prevent the share slipping o ff the sole. 9. T he pegs used to fasten the different parts to g eth er are as follows: T h e w edge fixing the beam into the b ody— O g, pachar (G orakhpur and A zam garh as well as C aw npur); in the U p per D oab battel, in the C entral D oab and in Benares path; in O u d h biroli, o r mardchar. A second w edge is som etim es added, w hich is k n o w n zsgattdheli , in C entral D oab parel, kilri, o r killiy and in East O u d h ropi. T h e w edge o f peg connect ing the beam and body is in G o rak h p u r dant, in A zam garh tareiliy in C aw n p u r pachmdsi. T h e w edge w hich holds the share and sole in the body— In G orak h p u r agwasiy in A zam garh pdta\ in o th er parts o f the p ro v in c e pachela, pachhila, phattna, agtttasi (C aw npur); in C en tral D oab pachhtndnsa o r pachhra, and in Benares nareli. 10. T he yoke— In the w estern districts ju a and to the east juath. T he upper bar o f the yoke is ju a in the w estern districts, and to the east, generally, ju a th y and in A zam garh palla. The lo w er bar is a tarmdchi, tarwdnsi (G orakhpur); and in the C en tral D oab taroncha or macheri. T h e o u ter pin w hich jo in s the tw o bars is k n o w n th ro u g h o u t the province as sail, w hich, in G orakhpur, likew ise m eans the inner pin, w hich in other
SPADES AND HOES
3
places is usually called gdta. These inner pegs are also k n o w n as gal tar, samhal, o r pachdi. 11. T h e leather thongs w hich attach the yoke to the beam o f the plough, are, in G orakhpu r duali, and in o th er places nadha, ndri, ndra, o r jogra, nareili, nurka (U pper D oab). 12. T h e ropes w hich go ro u n d the bullocks’ necks, are, in G o rak h p u r jenw ar , and in o ther parts jota. 13. T h e projecting knob in the m iddle o f the u pper part o f the yoke round w hich the thongs w hich fasten it to the beam are fixed are, in G orakh p u r dilla, and in Benares mahddeva. 14. T h e notches near each end o f the yoke to w hich the ropes w hich go ro u n d the bullocks’ necks are pitched are khari in the eastern districts. 15. T h e m ould boards are roh if m ade o f one piece o f w ood, p akhi if o f tw o. 16. A drill plough is haltaddi o r bdnsa. T h e b am b o o pipe is bdnsa, kur (Eta), samai, oma (Delhi), chonga (Caw npur), also nal o r sain. T he cup at the to p into w hich the grain is poured is daura o r nala in the east, and waira in the w est; also in the U p p e r D oab waima. 17. T h e sharpening o f the ploughshare is kaskut (M athura). 18. W hen a m an wishes to plough deep he harnesses the y o ke higher up on the beam . T his is called in the U p p er D oab lagu. Light ploughing is done in the converse w ay and is k n o w n as askulsiya. This is called, respectively, awdi and seo in G orakhpu r. Section I I — Spades and Hoes
19. T he pharwa or phdora is a large hoe or spade. In A zam g arh the pharusa is a broad hoe. T he kudar, kudra, kudari, o r kudali has a narro w er blade. T he kasi is a sm aller m attock. T h e kilwa is an im plem ent like the pharwa. T he bel is a kind o f spade, and the belchak, belcha, o r belak, is a sm all m attock. 20. T h e handle o f these im plem ents is called bent, w hich
4
IMPLEMENTS AND APPLIANCES USED IN AGRICULTURE
becom es in R ohilkhand bita and in D elhi binta. T h e end o f the handle is hura in the eastern districts. T o the w est the ring in the blade in w hich the handle is fixed is pari, and to the east pdsa. T h e curved part o f the blade is in A zam garh labh. Section III — Harrows
21. H arrow s m ay be divided as follows: T h e flat plank dragged along the gro u n d to break the clods after ploughing, w hile a m an stands o n it to give it weight. T his im plem ent is k n o w n as henga, sohdga, mai, mainra (U p per D oab), sirdwan, patoi, pahtan (D oab and B undelkhand), patela (D oab and R ohilkhand), patri o r dandela. 22. T he part to w hich the hauling ropes o r thongs are attached is marwah. T h e pegs to w hich the ropes are fastened are in C aw npur keora and in the eastern districts khiinti. 23. T he hauling ropes are in the east districts barha (G orakhpur), o r barahi (A zam garh), in C aw n p u r baghan, and in the U pper D oab guriya. 24. T he cylindrical roller is called ran (R ohilkhand), bilna (Low er D oab and Benares), belan (Low er D oab and Benares), gheri (Delhi and U p p e r D oab), girari (Delhi and U pper D oab), kolhu (Delhi and U p p er D oab), lakar (U p p er D oab), dhaldphor o r dhelaphor (U pp er D oab), ud o r or (U p p er Doab), tor (U pper D oab). 25. T he block itself is called lakar (U p p er D oab). The pivots on w hich it w orks chul (U p p er D oab), the traces fastended to the y o k e guriya (U pper Doab). 26. T he h arro w m ade o f tw o parallel planks joined together— In D elhi and the D oab it is called mainra, sohdga, and in R ohilkhand sohal. 27. The harro w w ith teeth, for eradicating grass and w eeds— In the U p p e r D oab gahan o r dahan. T h e teeth are khiinti (U pper D oab). 28. A bundle o f thorns dragged over a field for the same purpose is in D elhi and U p p er D oab dhinkhar o r phalsa.
BASKETS
5
Section I V — Rakes Used in Field Work
29. T he khilwai in Rohilkhand is a heavy w ooden rake used to collect weeds. It is som etim es also em ployed to rake and soften the surface o f a field w hich has been baked hard by the sun after rain o r irrigation. The bxdar is a sort o f rake or h arro w , w orked by oxen to loosen the soil and extricate w eeds from a crop o f young rice. T h e dantdoli is a h arro w or rake w ith teeth. T h e teeth are called dant. T h e datara in R ohil k h an d is a rake used for collecting cut grass. T h e pachguriya is a sm all rake used in the C entral D oab for scattering indigo seed after sow ing. Section V — Pickaxes and Pitchforks, etc.
30. A pickaxe is gaita o r awdi (eastern districts); sumbha in A zam garh is a pickaxe used for digging the calcareous n o d u lar lim estone (kankar) em ployed in m etalling roads. 31. T h e dredger used in well sinking is jhdm and the p o in ted iron spear used in tapping the spring in a well is sang (C aw n p u r). 32. A pitchfork for rem oving grass, etc., is jandra o r laggi (C en tral Doab); phaori is a sort o f rake for collecting m anure. T h e ankri is a forked stick for pulling d o w n fruit from trees.
1 .2
IM P L E M E N T S U S E D I N S O W IN G , W E E D IN G A N D IR R IG A T IO N Section I— Baskets
33. T h e bhogiya and in G o rak h p u r the oriya and binauthi are used specially by the sow er; there are likew ise several o th e r kinds o f baskets used indiscrim inately for this and other d o m estic and agricultural purposes. T he changel and the m auni are small straw grain baskets. T h e dhaka (A zam garh) is a larg e open basket; in the sam e district the jhanpa is a w icker
6
IMPLEMENTS USED IN SOWING, WEEDING AND IRRIGATION
basket for carrying w ild fow l o r clothes. T h e khdncha o r tokra is a large coarse basket m ade o f tw igs o f Cytisus cajan (arhar) o r tam arisk (jhau ) .2 A sm aller basket o f the sam e kind is k n o w n as khanchi, khachiya, khancholi o r khacholi. T h e dagra o r dagri in A zam garh is a large shallow basket. T h e kurui (A zam garh) is a little basket m ade o f the stalks o f th e tnurtj grass. T he daliah is a basket generally m ade o f bam boo used in sow ing and w innow ing . T h e chhitri is a broken basket. T h e jhanpia is a little basket w ith a lid. T h e jhaw w a is a large open basket m ade o f tw igs o f tam arisk (jhau); deli is a basket in w hich w ild fow l, fish, o r y o u n g pigs are kept; chhdj is a w inno w ing basket. Ganja (A zam garh) is a basket in w hich fish are a u g h t. Bondhi in the U pper Doab is a basket for carry ing molasses. In A zam garh hhauka o r bhauki is a sm all bas ket w ith a w ide m outh. Tarauna is a basket m ade o f tam arisk for carrying refuse. T h e tdpa is a basket u nder w hich chickens are kept. B atti are in A zam garh tw igs o f tam arisk for w eav ing baskets. T h e se are also called sal. Section II— Brooms
T hese are used for various agricultural and dom estic pur poses. 34. T he ordinary sw eeper’s b ro o m is jhdru. T h e b room used by w om en in sw eeping o u t the house is barhni, so called because the fam ily is supposed to prosper (barhna). T h e buhdri o r buhdmi are also house broom s. T h e b ro o m used for 2 Jhau: jhao o r jhdukar ( Tamarix dioca) is a co m m o n shrub w hich grow s o n m arshy, and inundated g ro u n d , and is used in thatching, hedging and as fuel in desi chini karkhanas. See Jo h n Beam es, ed., Memoirs on the History, Folk-lore and Distribution o f the Races o f the North Western Provinces o f India, being an amplified edition o f the original supplemental Glossary o f Indian Terms by the late Sir Henry M . Elliot (L ondon, 1869), ii, p. 353. H ereafter Beames, Supplemental Glossary. In alluvial tracts near m ajo r indigenous sugarrefining centres, peasants often neglected rice and raised jhau on a com m er cial basis. For details, see, Shahid A m in. Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur: A n Inquiry into Peasant Production fo r Capitalist Enterprise in Colonial India (D elhi, 1984), p. 82.
IMPLEMENTS USED IN CONNECTION W ITH IRRIGATION
7
sw eep in g up the grain o n the threshing floor is in R ohilkhand surhet , and in G orakhpur kuncha o r sehithan. 35. T h e long tw ig b ro o m used for sw eeping up leaves an d rubbish is in the east districts kharhara o r kuchara (A zam garh). T h e palwat (A zam garh) is a b ro o m m ade o f palm leaves. In the C entral D oab the khanera is a b ro o m m ade o f tw ig s o f the cotton plant w ith w hich the sow er distributes tobacco seed in the beds. Section III— Implements Used In Weeding, etc.
36. T h e khurpa is a sort o f hoe used for loosening the earth ro u n d young plants o r in w eeding. O f this the iron blade is khurpa , the handle bent, the iron ring fastening in the blade samy the spike o f the blade w hich goes into the handle ndr, o r ddnri. 37. T h e khurpi is a sm aller instru m en t used for scraping grass o r w eeding. T h e khatpadari (C entral D oab) is a sort o f sp u d used in transplanting tobacco. Section I V — Implements Used In Connection With Irrigation
38. For m aking the beds in a field for irrigation (kiydri) an im p lem en t w ith a handle and board fixed at the b o tto m , like a rake w ith o u t teeth, is used. O n e m an holds the handle w h ile a second pulls it to w ard s h im self w ith a rope. T his im p lem ent is kn o w n in C a w n p u r as pdchhi, kdrha o r kiydri , in th e w estern districts as jandra or manjho , in the C entral D oab as pakhi o r phardhi, and in G orak h p u r as pharuhi. 39. In the eastern districts a w ooden shovel is used in dis trib u tin g the w ater in the field, and is called hatha o r hatha. T h e o th er appliances used in connection w ith irrigation fro m w ells, tanks, o r stream s w ill be found in the chapter on irrig ation.
8
IMPLEMENTS USED IN HARVESTING
1 .3
A P P L IA N C E S U S E D IN FIE L D W A T C H IN G Section I— The Sling
40. This is called in G o rak h p u r dhelwans , and in other places gophana, gophani, gophia. Section II— T he Scarecrow
41. This is kn o w n as dhokha, ujka (R ohilkhand). In the C entral D oab ojhak o r ojpo , in D elhi dardwa; in A zam garh tainay in other places bijgdh dharalla, dhuha , in G orak h p u r gora and kura\ o ther term s are darakka and bachoka. 42. A scarecrow pulled by a string and hung on a tree is in G orakhpur khatka o r khatkhata , and in the U p p e r D oab dhai o r karkara. 43. C ultivators also usually put an old black earthen pot in a field to keep o ff the evil eye, w hich is called in A zam garh dithauna , 3 and in G o rak h p u r karkhai hanria from karakh (soot). Section III— T he Watchman's Platform
44. This is k n o w n as machan generally; in the east districts mancha or macha o r marhala\ in D elhi as ddmcha o r jaunda , in D elhi and R ohilkhand tand ; in the D oab as mattula, menra, o r mainra. 45. The shed over the platform is thaicha in Azam garh.
1 .4
IM P L E M E N T S U S E D I N H A R V E S T IN G Section I— T he Sickle or Reaping Hook
46. This in stru m e n t is k n o w n as haswva, hansiya, hasuli (A zam garh), ddnti, dardnti, ddsa, o r ddnsa. 3 C f. Dithauna in Azamgarh Glossary, 1881: ‘(i) A black m ark m ade o n
GRANARIES
9
47. T h e curved part o f the blade in the east districts hasuwa o r hasuli— the straight part ndr, and the handle bent. Section I I — T he Winnowing Sheet
48. T his is in D elhi jh ü li, in B undelkhand sarua, in A zam garh serwa , in R ohilkhand and the U p p er D oab partwa , in Be nares parauta , in the L ow er and C entral D oab parti , in G o rak h p u r bhaunra, in o ther places pdthi , o r partowa. Section III — jRafces Used on the Threshing Floor
49. T h e je li is a kind o f pitchfork o r rake. In the eastern districts the pdnchay o r panchangura , has five prongs. T he dhinka , o r dhinka , is sm aller than the je li , and has curved pro ngs, and is used by a m an sitting dow n. T h e sikdu, or bali, is sim ilar to the je li. T h e ¿JfeaiYi (G orakhpur) is a curved stick used for pushing the sheaves under the bullocks’ feet, w hile the grain is being trodden out. In Bareli the parchdi is a sm all w oo d en five-pronged rake used for raking up the grain and chaff. Section I V — Granaries
50. T hese are o f three kinds— 1st— A structure o f straw o r bru sh w o o d in the open air— T h is is generally k n o w n as bakhdr, o r bakhdri, in R ohilkhand chaursiy and in the U p p er D oab kothi. 2 nd— U n d erg ro u n d pits for storing grain are called chaunra , o r khdd, in the D oab khdti o r khdta, in Partabgarh garh or khaun\ and in G orakhpur bhaunra or chahbacha. In Azam garh gar is a grain pit in the open over w hich a shed is erected. 3rd— Granaries inside the house— T he dehri in the eastern districts is a granary m ade o f straw and m ud. T he ja bra or jabri is o f larger size and is generally made o f sun-dried bricks.
th e forehead to keep o ff the eviJ eye, (2) A n old black pot put o u t upside d o w n in a field to keep the evil eye o ff the c ro p s.’
10
IMPLEMENTS USED IN FEEDING AND W ATCHING CATTLE
T he koth (Partabgarh), the kothwar, o r kothila,4 o f Azamgarh and the kothi o f the D oab, are closets o f sun-baked m u d for grain. T he dhunki in G o rak h p u r is a w attle receptacle sm aller th an the dehri, in G o rak h p u r gora is the su p p o rt o f the gran ary; pihdn o r dhapna the cover, pendi the b o tto m , and an the hole th ro u g h w hich the grain is rem oved. Upta in A zam garh is the ro o f o f the granary. 51. An enclosed space for grain is thek. 52. In the east districts various vessels are used for grain— the kunra , m atki , etc. T h e m o u th s o f these are covered w ith earth called mator.
1 .5
IM P L E M E N T S A N D A P P L IA N C E S
U S E D IN C O N N E C T I O N W I T H F E E D IN G A N D W A T C H IN G C A T T L E Section I — The Fodder Cutter
53. This is called ganddsi, ganddsa, ganrasi, gardo (C entral and L ow er D oab) o r gadasi (R ohilkhand). 54. In A zam garh the broad w oo d en part over the blade is called ja li , the blade ganras, the handle muthiay the knob at the end o f the handle gdnth , and the spiked part o f the blade w hich goes in to the handle khura. Section I I — The Block O n Which The Fodder Is C ut
55.
This is in the eastern districts nisuha. Section III— T he Feeding Trough
56. This is k n o w n as nand o r nadh o r kurh (U p p er Doab); chami is an earthen feeding tro u g h . 4 T h e Azamgarh Glossary defines kothwar as ‘(i) A large closet made o f sun-baked m ud for storing grain. (2) T h e earth o f the sam e— said to be goo d for prickly heat w hen g ro u n d and plastered on the b o d y ’.
ROPES
11
Section I V — T he M u z z le and Blinkers
57. T h e cattle m uzzle is k n o w n as chhinka (U pper D oab), m ukha, mushka, ja li (R ohilkhand and D oab), khonta (Be nares), muska (B undelkhand), jab o r jabi (G orakhpur), munhchhtnka o r muncha. 58. Blinkers for cattle o r horses are andhiya o r andhwat (A zam garh). T hose used for cattle in an oil-press or sugar m ill are dhoka in the eastern districts. In A zam garh parchha is a piece o f cloth tied over the blinkers. 59. In A zam garh dhatha o r dhdthi is a piece o f w o o d tied ro u n d a bullock’s m o u th to prevent it from eating .5 Section V — The Whip and Goad
60. T h e w hip used in driving bullocks is paina o r pain (G orakhpur). T he lash is santa o r patdki (G orakhpur). Phundna in G orakhpur is the thong at the end o f the lash. T h e spike at the end o f the handle is dr o r ardi. 61. A n elephant goad is ankus , and the stick used for beat ing an elephant is gajbak. In A zam garh dhokana, sataha or jhantaha is a short stick for driving cattle. 62. A horsew hip is kora o r chdbuk and a spur kdnta. Section V I— Hobbles fo r Cattle
63. T hese are called chhdn o r chhand in the eastern dis tricts. A piece o f w ood tied to the neck o f a vicious o r ru n aw ay anim al is in A zam garh tharak , thekur o r dharak. A cattle chain is za n jtr or beil (eastern districts). Section V II— Ropes
64. A. T hose used for cattle— Pagha in the eastern dis tricts is a rope used in tethering cattle. Pandha is used elses Dhatha m o re generally is ‘a cloth w o rn over the beard under the chin and tied o n to p o f the head’, s.v. Dhatha in Azamgarh Glossary. E .g. Daku sati dhdta bandhle rahlati. See also para 255 below .
12
IMPLEMENTS USED IN FEEDING AND WATCHING CATTLE
w h ere in the sam e sense. In A zam garh khurdnw, khurwdns, gurdnw is a tethering rope b y w hich cattle are tied by one foot to a peg; chhirkhi in A zam garh is a double tether for w ild cat tle held by tw o m en ro u n d the anim al’s neck. 65. B. O rd in ary ropes— A n o rdinary rope is rassi, rasari (G orakhpur) dor o r jewara. In G o rak h p u r the string used in draw in g w ater from a well w ith a brass vessel (lota, etc.) is called dori; while that used w ith an earthen pot (ghara, etc.) is ubhatt o r bhareth. T h e k n o t ro u n d the neck o f the vessel is ubka (eastern districts) o r phdnsa to the w est, and in A zam garh ariwatt. In A zam garh the rope used in draw ing w ater from a well is chhor, and panchhor is a sm all piece o f rope attached to the vessel, and then tied o n to the regular w ell-rope. Lenjur o r lenjuri in A zam garh is a thick w ell-rope. 66 . T he rope w hich is used in w o rk in g the irrigation lever (dhenkli, etc.) is bardri (C entral D oab), bart, lao, rassa (G orakhpur), bareri (C aw npur), barha (G orakhpur). In A zam g arh barha o r ndr is th e th ick rope, and th e sh o rt ro p e jo in in g it and the bucket by a slip-knot is chhor. 67. T he strings used in w o rk in g the irrigation sw ing bas ket are k n o w n as daur, ju ta o r jo tiy and in G o rak h p u r daun; gora is a sm aller rope used for the sam e purpose. T h e ropes used for dragging a h arro w are barha o r barahi in G orakhpur and eastern districts, guriya in the U p p e r D oab, and in C aw n p u r baghatt. 68 . In A zam garh gatdr o r gata is a rope for tying up bun dles o f sugarcane; gurhi is an im perfectly tw isted hem p rope o r one m ade o f straw for tying up bundles o f crop; and murha o r murra is a rope o f stem s o f the Cytisus cajatt (arhar) for tying up bundles. Jenua is a sim ilar rope m ade o f kusa grass, sut is thread for sew ing o r w eaving and sutli is tw ine. Ban is rope m ade o f the stem s o f the munj grass. Tara is tw isted string. Bakel in the eastern districts is tw ine m ade o f the ro o t o f the dhdk tree. Jenta is a rope p u t ro u n d the roots o f young trees to hold u p the earth as they are being transplanted. Barahi is a thick hem p rope. Juna, ju n , o r ju n a r ,ju \n a ,ju in , is a grass rope for cleaning vessels o r tying up bundles.
DAIRY UTENSILS
13
69. Agdri or galkhor o r garkhor is a headrope for horses a n d pachhdri is the heelrope; bdgdor is a rope for tying up a h orse. Painkra is a heelrope for a cam el and nath is a headrope fo r cattle, passed th ro u g h the anim al’s nose. M uzam m a is the th in rope tied round a ho rse’s hocks. Section V III— Pads fo r Cattle
70. T hese are k n o w n as gdchhi, gaddi, gathi, bakhra, palan (G o rakhpur), Uwa, padad, o r chhdi. These w ords change in use. For instance, w here the pad for an ass is Uwa, th at o f a b ullock is chhai-bakhra , and so on. A n elephant’s pad is gaddi o r gadela. Section I X — Grain Bags and Panniers fo r Loaded Cattle
71. T hese are gathiya, akha, khurji (U p p er D oab), palan (U p p e r D oab), pakhal, and in A zam garh jora , o r chhdnti. O n e o f the panniers is called in the U p p er D oab mdnchi. I f m ade o f h e m p fibres such bags are called bhangela o r ganjeli; bora is a rice sack. Section X — Canvas or Tarpaulin Covers
72. T hese are pakhar , o r tdrpal; kandhela, is a b o d y cloth p u t o v er bullocks in the cold w eather. Section X I — T he Grain Bag fro m which A nim als are Fed
73.
T his is gaun for cattle and tobrah for horses. Section X I I — D airy Utensils
74. T h e m ilk pail—jhdkari, dohni, o r gorasi, and in G o ra k h p u r goncha o r gonchi. 75. Vessels used in the m anufacture o f clarified b u tter (ght) — Kadhauni, Jam auni, biloni bharuka (G orakhpur) kahathori (G orakhpur) o r dahenri. T he chum — Kamori (G orakhpur) chati, kahathari (G orakhpur). T o ch u m is bilona,
14
APPLIANCES USED IN CONVEYANCE
o r mahna (G orakhpur). T h e stirrer o r stick m oved in the ch u m is rai, badhawah, and in G o rak h p u r mahni, mathana, o r khailar. T h e rope w ith w hich it is tw isted is khichna in G orakhpur. T h e vessel for holding the clarified b u tter is in G orakhpur gora, and the leather vessel in w hich it is exported is kuppi.
1.6
A P P L IA N C E S U S E D I N T H E
C O N V E Y A N C E O F G O O D S O R P A SSE N G E R S Section I— T he Country Cart
76. T he o rdinary cart is called gari o r gdrhi, larhiya o r chhakra. Rath is a lighter cart used by rich people and w om en. T h e bahli is a sim ilar cart o f a sm aller kind. T h e ekka is a tw o w heeled light trap, generally d raw n by a pony. In B undelkhand the sadaha is a light rude cart used for conveying coun try produce. T h e dahmarda is a large cart calculated to hold ten m en. A cart d raw n by one pair o f bullocks is dobarda o r dobalda, w ith tw o pairs chaubarda o r chaubalda. In a team o f three bullocks the w heeler bullocks are in A zam garh dharia, and the leader binriha o r binraha, and in a team o f four the leading bullocks are called judr. T7. T he parts o f the co u n try cart are as follows: 78. T he wheel— Pahiya th ro u g h o u t the province, in C aw n p u r pair, and in G o rak h p u r chakka. T he spokes are in the U pper D oab ari, in C a w n p u r dra and in G o rak h p u r drdgaj. T he quadrant o f the w heel is putthi th ro u g h o u t the pro vince. T he spikes w hich ru n from one felloe into the o th er are in G orakhpur jo h a n i , and the holes in w hich they are in serted chheda. 79. The iron hoop ro u n d the nave is in the U p p e r D oab andhi, and in the L ow er D oab and eastern districts ban. T h e iron axle box in the nave is th ro u g h o u t the province dwan. 80. W hen the edge o f the w heel is bevelled to prevent
THE COUNTRY CART
15
w earing, it is called nagar in C aw n p u r; and in G orakhpur mangar , o r chathar, and in G o rak h p u r w hen it is flat it is said to be pdthar. 81. T h e linch-pin is in the U p p er D oab chaket, in C aw n p u r chakoly and in G o rak h p u r dhurkilli ; and in G orak h p u r the peg inside the wheel is pharkilli. 82. In G orakhpur and C a w n p u r the fend o r w asher o f h em p inside the wheel is khandan and that outside chendi. 83. T h e axle— T his is usually called dhura o r dhuri. 84. In som e carts w hich are m ade particularly strong, the o u te r end o f the axle passes th ro u g h a piece o f curved w ood, w h ich is fixed to the body o f the cart outside the wheel. T his piece o f w o o d is called th ro u g h o u t the province paittjani, and in som e o f the w estern districts bank. 85. T h e bars w hich run transversely across the cart to w hich this piece is attached on b o th sides are k n o w n as tikani, takdni, o r suja. A ccording to Elliot, the siija are the pegs w hich fasten these bars to the pieces running outside the w heels. In G o rak h p u r they are fastened together w ith ropes w hich are called ja n t. 86 . T he shafts w hich su p p o rt the body o f the cart— T hese are know n in the D oab as phdr, in G o rak h p u r as phari; and in o th er places as harsa. T hey are som etim es strengthened by a band o f iron w hich is called in C aw n p u r patti, and in G o rak h p u r jor. 87. T h e thinner poles w hich ru n along the b o tto m o f the cart parallel to the thick shafts are in C aw n p u r majhia , and in G o rak h p u r phari. T hey are fastened to the body o f the cart by pegs o r iron nails w hich are called in C aw n p u r kathkilli , and in G o rak h p u r khunti o r pharkilli. 88 . T he short transverse bars in front o f the d riv e r’s seat w hich keep the shafts in their places are in the U p p er D oab patri, o r patti , and in G o rak h p u r phari. 89. T h e flat board form ing the driv er’s seat is in the U p per D oab patijala , in C aw n p u r pateliy and in G orak h p u r ntohra. 90. T he cross bars behind the driv er’s seat in w hich the
16
APPLIANCES USED IN CONVEYANCE
posts form ing the siding o f the cart are fixed are in the U pper D oab patri, o r patti, in C aw n p u r murhia patela , and in G orakhpur makhara. 91. T he bam boos w hich run along the sides from end to end and form the b o tto m o f the siding are in the U p p er D oab m ungi , and in the L ow er D oab and eastern districts hangar. T hese are fastened to the body o f the cart by ties k n ow n in C aw n p u r as sontha , and in G orak h p u r rasara. T h e upright posts form ing the siding are in the U p p er D oab khalewa , o r kharua , and in G o rak h p u r khuntari. T h e long pole o r bam boo form ing the to p o f the siding is in the U p p er D oab chandoi, in C aw n p u r bdnsa, and in G orak h p u r halli\ w hen a high pole is fixed in to su p p o rt a lofty load o f sheaves o r grass it is called in O u d h panjuri. T he ropes form ing the siding are in the U p per D oab phurka , in C aw n p u r gurau , and in G o rak h p u r hathwasa. T he posts to strengthen the siding fixed in the curved bars w hich run outside the w heels are in the U p p er D oab dege, and in G orak h p u r khuntari. In C aw n p u r there are extra cross bars w hich run above the b o tto m o f the cart behind and below it in front. These are called sali. T he w ooden block o r fend w hich separates these from the cross bars su p p o rtin g the curved pieces o f w ood w hich go outside the wheels is called mathakha. 92. T he block in w hich the axle pin is fixed is in C aw n p u r and G orakhpur nasauri. T h e cross bar below w hich sup ports this is generally ankh> and in som e places bdnkara o r gaj. T h e axle pin is dhuri, and this is fastened to the last m entioned cross bars by the ghinni. 93. The fastening o f the curved beam outside the wheels to the transverse bars is in C aw n p u r jantra o r kharkharia. 94. The yoke is ju a o r ju d th , the latter used in the eastern districts. Its parts are the sam e as already described in 1.1 in connection w ith the plough. 95. The pointed piece o f w o o d in fro n t w hich jo in s the tw o ends o f the shafts is in C a w n p u r shaguni, and in G orakh p u r sdguni. T h e centre piece o f this is in the U p p e r and L ow er D oab mdthdpdra , and in G o rak h p u r munthapara. T h e prop in
THE BULLOCK CARRIAGE
17
fro n t is generally untara , o r utara , also in C a w n p u r utharpa. T h e pole form ing the tail o f the cart is in the U p p e r D oab udhiydr , and in G o rak h p u r pachhlakara. T he drag is dandeli. In G o ra k h p u r the pole form ing the fro n t o f the side is tichy and th e p ro p w hich supports it khuntari. T he p rop w hich sup p o rts the cart behind is in the U p p e r D oab ddhiy and in o th er places sidhwdi. 96. T h e hooks o n the yoke to w hich the ropes w hich go ro u n d the bullocks’ necks are tied are in C aw n p u r chireya . 97. W hen three bullocks are yoked, the rope w hich goes o v e r the leader’s neck is in G o rak h p u r binr. T he ropes w hich g o ro u n d the bullocks’ necks are in C aw n p u r khiinth , and in th e eastern districts bittriya o r gdta. T h e rope by w hich the y o k e is fastened to the body o f the cart is in the U p p e r D oab ndry in C aw n p u r ndri, and in G o rak h p u r jhatka. T h e rope binding the yoke to the head o f the cart is in the U p p e r D oab joga, and in G orakhpur pdncha. This is kept in its place by hooks w hich are in C a w n p u r called bichhua. 98. T h e m at p u t in the b o tto m o f a cart to prevent grain from falling out is in G o rak h p u r dhdla. 99. In G orakhpur the p ro p to prevent the cart falling back is ularway and the iron chain for tying up the bullocks at n ig h t sikar o r beil. Section I I — The Bullock Carriage
100. T his is in the eastern districts bahaly and to the w est bahli o r baili. 101. In the eastern districts its parts are as follow s: 102. T h e wheel— T his is pahiya. T h e thin spokes are gajy and the thick spokes ara. T h e tuldwa are strengthening spokes o utside the wheel. T h e painjani are curved pieces o f w ood w hich ru n outside the w heel, and in w hich th ro u g h a hole the o u te r end o f the axle w orks. T h e dnkh are cross pieces w hich ru n fro m side to side at the back and to these the tuldwa are fixed. T h e takdni are sim ilar cross pieces in fro n t to w hich the painjani are attached. T h e patra are curved pieces o f w o o d
18
APPLIANCES USED IN CONVEYANCE
outside the w heel fastened to the dnkh. T he ban are chains and ropes fixing the tulawa to the body. T h e hdl is the iron rim o f the wheel. T h e putthi is the quadrant o f the w heel. These are fixed one to the o th er by spikes called johnia w hich ru n into m ortice holes in the next q uadrant k n o w n as chheda. The nave is ndha. T his is surroun d ed by an iron ring called ban to prevent splitting. T h e axle box is dwan. T he leather w asher o f the w heel is chendi. 103. T he axle is dhuri. 104. T he body o f the vehicle— T h e fram e o f the seat is patti, o f w hich the supports are khunta. O n these there are ornam ental brass knobs called phuliya. Danda are the posts supporting the aw ning, o f w hich chhattri is the to p and gadda the stuffed cover to keep o ff the sun. T h e net form ing the b o tto m o f the seat is sdngi. T h e dhamdka is the leather guard o f the body inside the wheels. 105. T he tw o long shafts w hich run from end to end are tdnga. Betw een them are placed narro w planks, manjha. T he darua are supports o f the body behind. Sim ilar sm aller sup p orts are bdwali. T he ddntua is the back seat used for carrying luggage. T he dori are the strings form ing the side o f the aw ning, and parda is the side aw ning. T h e balli are rails on each side o f the d riv er’s seat. 106. T he yoke is ju a . 107. T he parts in front— T h e tw o low er shafts are phar. T h e yoke is fastened to the body by a rope, jhatka. T he mohra is the rope w hich fastens the yoke to the end o f the shafts. T his is tied to iron hooks in the yoke called kara. T h e pointed end o f the bo d y under the yoke is shaguni, and this is sup p o rted by props, untara. T h e iron spikes on the yoke are samhal. Section III — T he Pony Carriage
108. This is called ekka. T h e w heel is pahiya , o f w hich the spokes are drdgaz. T h e nave o f the w heel is ndha, w hich is surrounded w ith an iron band (ban) to prevent splitting. T he
THF. PONY CARRIAGE
19
axle b o x is dwan, the leather w asher chendi and the hem p w ash er inside the axle box khdngar. D huri is the axle, and is su p p o rte d by ropes, ja n t , w hich fasten the o u ter supports, saldi. T h e outer pieces w hich connect the axle w ith the body are tuldwa. These are fastened to cross pieces w hich ru n be h in d called dnkh, by iron bands called akuri. T he fro n t trans verse pieces corresponding to the dnkh behind are takdni. T he q uadrants o f the w heel are p u tth i , w hich are fastened one to th e o th er by pegs called johnia , w hich run into m ortice holes, chheda; hdl is the iron rim o f the w heel. T h e leather dashboard o v e r the w heel is patra. T h e four bars form ing the b o d y are p a tti . Sdngi is the tw ine net under the seat. T h e props o f the b o d y are danda. Bileya are small pieces o f w o o d connecting these w ith the body. T h e to p o f the aw ning is chhatri, and the r o o f o f it is chhat; gadhela is a cushion at the to p to keep o ff the sun. T h e aw ning at the sides is parday w hich is fastened by iro n rings, kari. T h e ropes w hich su p p o rt the aw ning poles are hathwdnsa. 109. T h e axle is dhuray w hich is strengthened inside b y a brass ring, sdrna. T h e khunta are posts w hich su p p o rt the b o d y in fro n t on the axle. Puchia are the pointed ends o f the lo w e r shafts, and ddrua are posts w hich su p p o rt the b ody on th e axle behind the khünta. Bdwali are sm aller sim ilar sup p o rts behind. Than are iron bars w hich su p p o rt the b ody on th e axle. T h e mdnjha are sim ilar w oo d en supports. T h e sdngi k i ndri are straps w hich keep up the net under the seat. T he guriya are side ropes w hich fasten the dashboard to the axle. T h e dhamdka is the leather siding inside the wheels. T h e four carved b am boo shafts are tdnga. T h e chathi ki ndri is a strap in side fastening the body to the axle in fro n t o f the sdngi ki ndri. T h e laddu are cross pieces o f bam boo from shaft to shaft fo rm ing the body o f the cart. T he net at the b o tto m is jd la . T h e jhatka is a stro n g rope behind and below fastening the cross pieces o f the body. 110. T h e driver’s seat is karthali. T h e lather are pieces o f b am b o o w hich run underneath it fro m shaft to shaft. T he guriya are pieces o f w o o d w hich jo in the u pper and low er
20
APPLIANCES USED IN CONVEYANCE
shafts. Pankhi arc pieces o f leather jo in in g the u pper and lo w er shafts near the yoke. T hese shafts are also fastened to g eth er by a leather rope, mohra. 111. T he pointed p art o f the saddle is khogir. T h e pad is gaddi. T he w o o d en block inside is kdtra, the rings th ro u g h w hich the reins pass rdskari. T h e leather surcingle going over the saddle is pushttang. Tang is the bellyband, rds the reins, tdwa th e leather cover o f the saddle, jo t the trace rope, ndgla the straps w hich fasten the shafts to the saddle, and qainchi the w o o d en side supports o f the saddle. Section I V — T he Country Boat
112. T he follow ing are the parts o f an o rdinary country boat in the eastern districts: T h e thw arts gurha\ the ribs hatha; the o u ter planking hdr\ the flooring inside the boat sohar ; the planks at the b o tto m ru n n in g athw art the boat marhia ; the grating in the b o tto m o f the boat chdli; the planks at the b o tto m w hich ru n fro m end to end lewa\ the platform o n w hich the ro w er sits paltha ; the deck planks in the m iddle patti; the rudder is patwdr , w hich is p ro p erly the low er piece, the rudder post is gol , the handle o f the rudder thamua o r saila, and the socket in w hich it w orks baura. Kunwara are the posts w hich su p p o rt the thw arts. Jhonka are iron rings to w hich the ro o f o f the boat is fastened by ropes. Raswat is the calking. 113. Seota is the w o o d en vessel used for baling o u t the w ater. An oar is dam , a paddle karuar, and the pole used to propel the boat laggi; kachar is b ru sh w o o d p u t in the b o tto m to stand on. O m la are sm all transverse ribs at the b o tto m . T h e m ast is gonrakh o r gunarkha\ darsudha is a splice on the m ast and morni is the cross-piece o n the m ast. Suthaunia is the socket for the m ast in the b o tto m o f the boat. T h e mast is also tied to one o f the thw arts, gurha. T h e stem p o st is galahi o r sikka. D aur are the long side-ribs near the b o tto m ; gon is the hauling rope, w hich is tied to pieces o f bam boo called birua , w hich the boatm en press against their shoulders w hen hauling the b o at upstream . Lahdsi is the thick rope, and langer
APPLIANCES USED IN SUGAR MANUFACTURE
21
is the anchor; a large iron anchor is lohlangar. T h e pulleys are gim iy the sail pal , the bulw arks mdng o r bar.
1. 7
A P P L IA N C E S U S E D I N R U R A L M ANUFACTURES
Section I— Appliances Used in Sugar Manufacture
A— T h e C ane M ill 114. T h e cane m ill is k n o w n as kolhu th ro u g h o u t the p ro vince. T h e parts o f the mill are as follows: 115. T h e hollow ed w ooden block form ing the bed o f the mill: T his is generally called kolhu. In this the h o llo w cavity in w hich the pieces o f cane to be crushed are placed is k n o w n in A zam garh as kundi , in G o rak h p u r kothi; and in the U p p e r D oab mohdn. R ound the edge at the to p o f this a rim o f m ud is placed to prevent the pieces o f cane falling off. T his is cal led in the eastern districts pinr. In C aw n p u r bunna is a fram e o f acacia w ood b ound ro u n d the to p to prevent it fro m split ting. In the U p p er D oab mandal is an iron ring fixed ro u n d the block for the sam e purpose. 116. In G orakhpur an iron ring is in som e places fixed u n d er the block to prevent it being w o rn aw ay by the crushing pestle. T his is called morwar. T h e bevelled side o f th e socket is in A zam garh sirway and in th at district and G o ra k h p u r pdwat. In A zam garh the saucer shaped cavity for the cane slips is chhiti. In G o rak h p u r the u pper rim o f the block is pachar. In the U p p e r D oab rora are small pieces o f w o o d p u t in to the cavity to help in crushing the cane. These are in A zam garh pachar. 117. T h e drain for the juice cut in the b o tto m o f the block is in G o rak h p u r nerua; in C aw n p u r patokha; in A zam garh naroh. 118. In G orakhpur and A zam garh the w ooden spout th ro u g h w hich the ju ice drops is patndla o r patndri.
22
APPLIANCES USED IN RURAL MANUFACTURES
119. In the base o f the block a channel is cut in w hich the shaft o f the driving gear w orks. T his is in G o rak h p u r and A zam garh rah , and in the latter district ghagra. 120. T he horizontal beam to w hich the bullocks are attached: T his is in R ohilkhand and the U p p e r D oab pat ; in Benares katri, in C aw n p u r kdntar , and in G o rak h p u r and A zam garh kdtar. 121. T he u p rig h t beam o r pestle w hich m oves in the hol lo w o f the mill, and crushes the cane— In R ohilkhand and the U p p e r D oab lath , in parts o f the U p p e r D oab gala, churati, o r nali; in R ohilkhand and generally in the eastern districts ja th , in Benares p at , and in parts o f G o rak h p u r mohan. 122. In A zam garh the ball at the end o f this beam w hich fits into the h ollow in the block is muttgar, and in th at district and G orakhpur munri. T h e notch above this is in b o th dis tricts kdn , the upper end rounded o ff is kauri, in A zam garh the upper end cut to a point is chur (A zam garh), and the tw isted piece o f w ood jo in e d to this is in A zam garh tdran, in G orakh pur dhenka , in the U p p e r D oab makri o r dhabka , in R ohilkhand chirya. T his tw isted piece o f w o o d connects the pestle w ith the u p rig h t post w hich is fixed in the horizontal driving beam. 123. T he u p rig h t post is in the U p p e r D oab mdnakmal, in the U pper D oab and R ohilkhand malkham , in C a w n p u r sena, in Benares khunta and in A zam garh and G orak h p u r markham. T h e piece o f w o o d w hich keeps the beam o f the driving gear in the channel at the base o f the block is in G o rak h p u r jib a , and in A zam garh jibeita ; in G orak h p u r a second sim ilar piece o f w o o d is called kanail o r kanetha. 124. A rope o f straw sup p o rtin g the pestle b y fastening it to the u p rig h t beam is in A zam garh and G orak h p u r kanmenra, and in the U p p e r D oab khainchi. 125. In A zam garh a bam boo called kdrha is attached to the horizontal driving beam by a piece o f rope w hich is called duali pachaudhi, and the o th er end is fastened by a rope called duali agaundi o r nddha to the yoke. T h e part o f the horizontal beam on w hich the driver sits is in G orak h p u r harsa. T he
APPLIANCES USED IN SUGAR MANUFACTURE
23
leather th o n g by w hich this horizontal beam is connected w ith the yoke is ndr o r ndri. 126. T h e circle in w hich the bullocks m ove is in the U p per D oab pair , in R ohilkhand paith, in Benares ghagra , and in G o rak h p u r paudar. 127. T h e receptacle for the cane before it is cut is in the U p p e r D oab gandrala, gandrdra, gandwdla, gandra, in R ohil khand gandarwala, and in Benares gareran. 128. In G orakhpur a w ooden m allet is used for pressing th e cane under the crusher. T his is called thdpi; in the U p p er D o ab the cane as it is being crushed is stirred w ith a piece o f iro n called khel o r phdl , and the m an w ho does this w o rk w ears a so rt o f leather gauntlet called thapki. 129. T h e p o t into w hich the ju ice drops is called in G o rak h p u r tiha, in Eta bojha; in O u d h math o r mathor , in the D o ab pahaura ; in A zam garh ndnd o r haudi, and in parts o f G o rak h p u r hdndi. In G orakhpu r and A zam garh a sieve to strain the juicc as it falls into the p o t is chhita. 130. From this vessel the juice is rem oved to the boiler in a p o t called in the U p p er D oab sahya; in R ohilkhand sdya and in the eastern districts saika. 131. T h e blocks on w hich the cane is cut are in the U p p er D oab nihj in R ohilkhand ota , in Benares nesur and in G orakh p u r and A zam garh nisuha. 132. T h e apparatus for lifting o u t the crusher in ord er to clean the hollow in the mill is in G orakhpur lamesa and in A zam garh dhonka.6 6 C f. Azamgarh Settlement Report, 1881, para 444: ‘As little tim e as possible should elapse betw een the pressing and the boiling o f the juicc, for th e latter soon turns so u r and ferm ents, especially in dam p w eather w ith east w ind. E ven in d ry clear w eather the press is w ashed o u t daily to rem o v e the fragm ents o f fibre and coagulated m atter that sticks ab o u t the crevices o f th e kundi, pdchars and mungar. If n o t rem oved, these acidify the ju ic e th at passes th ro u g h the press. T o clean the press, the driving gear is rem oved, and the upper part o f the jdth being turned betw een tw o long b am boos placed so as to form a fork, the lo w er end is lifted o u t o f the kundi. T h e bam boo apparatus is called lamesa o r dhonka'. In Bihar, h o w ev er, ‘the hollow in the mill is. . . cleared by hand w hile the crusher is
24
APPLIANCES USED IN RURAL MANUFACTURES
133. T he basket from w hich the m ill is fed is in the U p per D oab jhdla o r jh d l, in R ohilkhand and Benares on, and in G orakhpur ortya o r khachiya. 134. T he pieces o f cane cut up ready for the m ill are in the D o ab ganderi o r gareri, in Eta gadli , in A zam garh angdri, and generally in the eastern districts gettri. As m uch chopped cane as can go into the press at one tim e is in G o rak h p u r and A zam garh ghdni , and as m uch ju ice as can be boiled at one tim e is tdo. 135. T he cane after the ju ice is expressed is in the D oab khoiy in G orakhpur khoiyd , in A zam garh khoiya , and in Eta pdta o r pdti. In the eastern districts it is som etim es soaked in a tro u g h called khdta, and a ju ice called kakai w hich is used in tobacco m aking is extracted. 136. T o w o rk the m ill is phem a , and w hen several culti vators take it in turns it is called in G o rak h p u r pheri-pheri or bari-hdri. 137. In the U p p e r D oab the w o rk m en sing a song called the p a la w a g it.7 138. T he m en em ployed in the m ill and sugar boiling house are as follows: turning: hencc there is no apparatus in existence for raising the latter, as there is in G orakhpur and A zam garh’. See G rierson, Bihar Peasant Life, para 287. 7 O n palau/a git o r malhor, sec ‘M alhor: T y p e o f W ork Song in W estern U tta r Pradesh, India,’ in V ed Prakash V atuk, Studies in Indian Folk Traditions (Delhi, 1979), pp. 111-36. V atuk describes this song o f the kolhu as follows: ‘In o rd e r to rem ain alert th ro u g h the nights the m en sing a particular type o f song, called malhor, palhdva o r gdha. T h is kind o f song is a sh o rt couplet, com plete and independent w ith in itself. A nyone m ay sing; the songs are sung solo, b u t generally all present take a tu rn som etim e d u rin g th e night. . . Each evening the singing begins w ith one o r m ore invocational songs. F ollow ing these, malhors o f m any o th er types are sung. W hile in the b ackgrou nd the m an p ro d d in g the oxen m akes a loud “ b u rr-b u rr” , and the m an near the kolhu shouts for : n o th e r bundle o f sugarcane, w hile another farm er shouts for a change o f bullocks and th e D hivar is urged to em pty the full pot, a singer raises his voice stro n g and high . . .* T h e malhor songs, according to V atuk, have b o th philosophic and ro m an tic content.
APPLIANCES USED IN SUGAR MANUFACTURE
25
(1) T h e m an w h o cuts the standing cane is generally in the province chhola and in G orak h p u r chholwdh. (2) T h e m an w h o cuts it in to lengths for the m ill is in the U p p e r D oab gandkat o r gankata, in the D oab and R ohilkhand muthia , and in G o rak h p u r genrwah. (3) T he driver o f the m ill is in the U p p e r D oab patiha , in O u d h patha , and in A zam garh and G orak h p u r katarwdh. (4) T h e m an w h o feeds the m ill is in R ohilkhand piraha , in the U p p er D oab periya o f muthia ; in O u d h mutaha , and in A zam garh and G o rak h p u r ghaniwah orperw ah. (5) T h e m an w h o rem oves the crushed cane (khoi) is in O u d h and R ohilkhand khauha. (6 ) T h e m an w h o stokes the fire in the boiling house is in the D oab jh o n k iy a ,jh u k w a ,jh o k y a , o r jh o n ka , in A zam g arh jhunkaiw a , and in G o rak h p u r jhokw ah. B— T h e B oiling H ouse 139. T h e m anufactory including the cane m ill and boil in g house is in the eastern districts kolhwar , o r in A zam garh kolhara. T h e boiling house is in the w estern districts bely and to the east gulaur. T h e house in w hich the cane is cut into slips fo r the m ill is in A zam garh garinna , and in th at district and G o ra k h p u r genriar. 140. T he fireplace in the boiling house is in the U p p er D o ab jh o k a t ; in R ohilkhand and Benares jhokand , in A zam g arh chulha , and in G orak h p u r bhatta. 141. T h e hole th ro u g h w hich the fuel is p u t in is in A zam garh mohdn o r jh u k w a , and in G orak h p u r m ukhwa. T he h ole th ro u g h w hich the fire is raked is in A zam garh ponchhia , and in G orakhpur puchhwa. T h e outlet for the sm oke is in the U p p e r D oab dhundla o r dhundhala\ in R ohilkhand dhundra ; and in Benares dhundka. In A zam garh the stick used as a po k e r is jh u n ka n i o r karera. 142. In G orakhpur the vessel in w hich the ju ice is col lected before boiling is rasahwa hdnda. 143. T h e spoon for taking the ju ice o u t o f the boiler is in R ohilkhand dhor; in Benares dohray and in G o rak h p u r tdmbi.
26
APPLIANCES USED IN RURAL MANUFACTURES
T h e scrape to prevent the sugar resting o n the b o tto m o f th e boiler is in R ohilkhand chandwa , in Benares gurda , and in G o rak h p u r and A zam garh gurdam. T he skim m er is in B areli hatta. In A zam garh an iron ladle called pauna is used for th e sam e purpose. In the eastern districts a flat piece o f w o o d is also used for collecting the scum , and is k n o w n in A zam garh as patriy and in G o rak h p u r and A zam garh as chatani. 144. In G o rak h p u r the pagaura is an earthen vessel used for rem oving the cooked ju ice fro m the boiler. In the U p p e r D oab a cloth called gujhi is used for straining this cooked juice. 145. T h e boiling pans are usually three in n u m b er, th e karah, chashni, and the phulha. In D elhi the bojh som etim es takes the place o f the karah, and the kardhi o f the chdshnt. In R ohilkhand there are five pans— the h a u z, w hich is th e largest; then the nikdry the phulha , the phatka , and the chashni. In A zam garh the agla karah and the pachhla karah are respec tively the low er and upper pan. 146. T h e p o t in w hich the boiled syrup is placed is in Bareli karsiy and in the U p p e r D oab mutki. In A zam garh khapra are little earthenw are reservoirs in w hich the juice is allow ed to settle. T h e receptacle for the boiled syrup is in G orakhpur and A zam garh gurdanda o r guranda , and the large jars in w hich it is finally coagulated are kunra o r chhonr. C— T h e Sugar Refinery 147. T h e refinery is k n o w n in the eastern districts as karkhdna ckini. T h e house in w hich the sugar is refined is in G orakhpur bhatti. 148. In A zam garh, in m aking coarse sugar o r kacchi chini, a vat called pharia , w ith an o u tlet called nali , a reservoir called dobhay and a treading floor called pdta are used. In making regular sugar o r shakkar the drain called naliy and the reservoir called dcbhay are used as before. T h e bundles (motarf) o f sugar are tied up in cloth called lothay placed o n a bam boo fram ew ork called dhdry and pressed w ith w eights o f sundried clay called bhtra.
APPLIANCES USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF INDIGO
27
149. In G orakhpur the follow ing utensils are used in the bhatti o r boiling house: an iron boiler o r karah , an iron ladle fo r rem o v in g the scum o r channa, an earthen p o t w ith holes in the b o tto m used as a filter o r nand> a filter o f a river grass k n o w n as siu/dr, a scraper for rem oving the layer o f clean sugar, situa; a filtering basket for cleaning the scum , khdttcha; a w o o d en ladle for cooling the boiling syrup, tdmbi; an iron stirring ladle, tdmba; an earthenw are ju g for pouring the sy rup in to the boiler w hich in A zam garh is called ju m a n i ; a larger ju g o f the sam e kind, nibara; w oo d en supports for the filter, sirhi; a shovel for stoking the fire, parua ; a kind o f sp oon for stirring the h o t syrup in the cooling pan, gurdami; a piece o f m atting on w hich the sugar is dried in the sun, p al ; a sk im m in g spoon, chanauta o r chattana; a scraper for collecting the clean sugar, sikum a o r situa ; flat w oo d en pans for cooling the sy rup, kathwat ; rags p u t inside the bags to prevent w as tage o f the sugar, lotha. 150. In O u d h the factory is ganj; the earthen vessels in w hich the undrained raw sugar (rdb)8 is b ro u g h t to the fac to ry is kulsiy the refining cham ber bojha, drah o r kuria ; the drain is kutidyer , the lo w er vat is nand ; the treading floor is pdta , the sw eating vat is khdnchi. Section I I — Appliances Used in the Manufacture o f Indigo
151. T h e indigo vat is math o r chahbacha; the w ater reser v o ir khazana , taldo o r kund. T h e deepest vat, hauz bojhai; the rake for agitating the ferm ented liquor, pharuhi ; the beam s o f w o o d for pressing the plant, dabauta o r chapeta, w hich are su p p o rted on projections in the walls o f the vat called killi; o v er these are placed o th er beam s, kari. T h e strainer is chhanna; th e cakes o f indigo, goti o r bari, w hich are dried in a d ry in g house, ban khanat o n shelves o f w ick er-w o rk , chdli. 8 C ro o k e discusses the various types o f raw and refined sugars as ‘ag ricultural products’ (and that to o very briefly) in the section un d er sugarcane. See para 505 below and the accom panying table w h ich has been added to clarify m atters.
28
APPLIANCES USED IN RURAL MANUFACTURES
T h e furnace ro o m is bhatta. T h e m achine for cutting the cakes is mis tar, and the wires w ith w hich they are cut baria. Section I I I — T he Spinning Wheel
152. This is called charkha o r charkhi. Its parts are in the eastern districts— the w heel itself, charkha ; the strings draw n across betw een the tw o rim s are awal\ seli are hair strings on the circum ference. T h e d ru m o f the w heel is muri, the axle belna, the spokes khunti , the band w hich turns the w heel mdlh\ the handle is hatheli in G orakhpur, in A zam garh bhaunti or chalauna ; the pivots in w hich the axle w o rk s, chamrak. T he second axle is tekua , and the pegs on w hich it w orks khunti ; the lo w er supports o f the m achine are pirdi and these are jo in e d b y a piece o f w ood called majethi. 153. T he reel on w hich the thread is w o u n d o ff is ateran; dti is a hank o f thread, and pani a circular shaped roll o f cotton ready for spinning. Section I V — The Weaver's Loom
154. This is called kargah and in the eastern districts con sists o f the follow ing parts: T h e shuttle, dharki, inside w hich the thread is w o u n d on a needle, nari. T h e hatha is a w ooden fram e suspended from the roof; as the shuttle passes, the hatha is pulled forw ard b y the w eaver and drives the thread hom e. T he bai is a com b o f reeds o r b am b o o w hich keeps the thread o f the w arp apart. T h e rachh are the heddles w hich alternately raise o r depress the threads o f the w arp. Sarai are the reeds w hich are placed in fro n t o f the rachh to keep the tw o sets o f thread o f the w arp apart. T h e panik is an elastic b o w w hich keeps the w oven cloth stretched in fro n t o f the w eaver. T he tur in A zam garh, and the lapetan , are the w o o d en roller behind w hich the w eaver sits, and o n w hich the cloth is w o u n d up as fast as it is m ade. T his is supported b y posts called khunta. T h e w o o f is supported at the end opposite the w eaver b y a piece o f w o o d called karkaut, w hich is held up by khunta o r pillars. T h e panwsar , belan, o r gad is
THE CARPENTER
29
the treadle w hich the w eaver m oves w ith his foot. T h e nachatti are u p p e r levers to w hich the rdchh and bdi are attached by cords o r dori. This is fastened to an u p p er beam called abera. 155. W hen the thread is being prepared for w eaving, it is stretched o u t on pieces o f b am b o o called pax and brushed clean w ith a brush called kunch. T h e hank o f thread after b eing cleaned is lundi, and w hen arranged for the w arp bhdrtj. T h e thread o f the w o o f is bham i , o r in A zam garh geba; charkhi is th e w o o d en drum o n w hich the thread is w o u n d o ff after leaving the spinning w heel; and it is again w o u n d o ff th e charkhi o n a sim ilar drum called paretha.
I. 8
T O O L S A N D A P P L IA N C E S U S E D B Y C O U N T R Y A R T IS A N S Section I — T he Carpenter
156. T h e carpenter (barhai) uses the follow ing tools: the basula o r adze; the kulhariy a larger adze used chiefly by saw yers (dra kdsh) in squaring logs, and by carpenters for ro u g h w o rk ; th e dra o r large saw ; the driy a sm aller saw; the hathaura , a large and the hathouri a small, ham m er. T h e mdrtol is a h am m er like the hathouri. T h e barma is a revolving aw l w o rk e d w ith b o w and string used as a gim let and centre-bit. T h e b o w used w ith it is kamani, the handle dastah, the aw l it s e lf barma , and the string tasmah. T h e baldu is a tool sim ilar to this, except th at the handle is tw isted in the E nglish shape. A m o n g chisels there are the majhola , w hich is broad at the base and n a rro w at the point; the golaky w hich has a curved p o in t fo r cu tting grooves; the ramma , a long chisel for m ak in g m o rtice holes; the chaurdsi, w hich is b road and straight; th e rukhdni, w hich is like the majhola b u t larger and thicker, an d used for coarse w ork; the girda, a sm all chisel w ith a ro u n d e d edge used for m aking lines o n w o o d ; the co m m o n p lane is randay o f w hich the blade is teghy the b o d y o f th e plane
30
TOOLS USED BY COUNTRY ARTISANS
kunda , the w edge for holding in the blade tenti; w hen the blade has a coarse edge for rough w o rk it is jh a m a randay and a plane w ith a fine blade is safi randa; the drdz is a narro w plane for squaring boards and levelling the edges; the gurich kab is a plane for cutting square grooves, and the galtha for cutting ro u n d grooves; the jhari ka randa is a plane for m aking grooves for panelling. A m ong files are the reti, a com m on file; the kandsi for sharpening saws; the sohan a coarse rasp; the chosa a broad file, and the nxmgird, a half-round polishing file. H e also uses the guniyat a square o r gnom on; the parkar , compasses, the rangmdl [or regmdl], sandpaper; the jamura, a pair o f pincers for draw ing nails; the pathal , a grind-stone, and the thiha , a block. Section II— The Blacksmith
157. T h e blacksm ith (lohdr) uses the ordinary anvil, ahran o r ttihdi, w hich is fixed in a block, thiha.9 T he bin is a perfo rated anvil over w hich the piece o f iron is placed w hen being pierced w ith holes. T he chaprauna is an anvil on w hich the heads o f nails are made. The ghan or rachh is a large ham m er for w elding; sm aller than this is the hathaura , and sm aller still the hathauri. T h e jamura is a pair o f pincers round at the tips, and sangsi is a pincer used for taking a h o t piece o f iron o u t o f the fire, tightening nuts, etc. T he akuri is an iron poker for stir ring the fire. T he chheni is a cold chisel, and the sumbhi a chisel used for m aking holes in iron. T he fixed bellow s is a bhdthi and the hand bellow s sipdwa bhdthi. T he end o f the bellow s pipe which goes into the fire is muri, the pipe itself is ph u n kh y the w ooden sides o f the bellow s takhtay the leather sides cham9 T h e lokar’s anvil called nihdi in eastern U .P . was referred to as lihai in south-east T irh u t (see G rierson, Bihar Peasant Life, para 408). T his is one indication am ong m any o f the co m m o n sw itching around o f 7a’ and W . H a v en ’t we all heard L ucknow pronounced as ‘N u k h la u ’. Pace G rierson, Bihar Peasant Life, para 1038: ‘Indigo . . . is lit. T h e w o rd nil used b y E uropeans is a W esternism b o rro w ed from U rd u -k n o w in g subordinates.* T h is is a su rp risin g c o n fu sio n in th e g re a t lin g u ist o f B h o jp u ri b e tw ee n language and dialect.
THE MASON OR BRICKLAYER
31
ra, th e valve pankhi , the pivots on w hich it w orks dhuri, the pillars w hich support it khuttta, the upper iron b ar barera, and the lever w hich w o rk s the bellow chhip. T h e barma is an awl w o rk ed by a bow , kamani , w ith a leather string, tasmah. T he iro n spike o f the aw l is ddnri; w hen sockets are cut for screws an octangular blade called parakha is used. T h e fixed vice is bank , and the hand vice hathkal. T he tw o sides o f the vice w hich grasp the iron are kalla, the screw is musara, the socket fo r the screw to w o rk in is chuchhi, the handle for tu rn in g the screw bothiy and the spring kamani. 158. T h e bddhiya is an instru m en t for m aking screw s, o f w hich the female screw is kutkay the tightening screw chutki , and the nu t-m ak er pechkas. Dhebri is the n u t o f a screw . T he co m m o n files are reti, the golak is a ro u n d file, the nimgird , a half-round file, the tmpahal, a triangular file. H e also uses the parkdr o r com passes, the sdncha, a m ould, and the jilairi, or jalahri a vessel for cooling h o t iron. Section I I I — T he Tinman
159. T h e tinm an (qalaigar) uses a bellow s called in the eastern districts bhdthi and to the w est dhaunki. T he tw o sticks used as handles are danday and the bam boo pipe chonga. T h e solder (ranga) is spread w ith an iro n in stru m en t called kaiyya. T h e tin cu tter is qainchi to the east and sohani to the w est. H e also uses the small ham m er, hathauri, and the com passes, parkdr. Section I V — T he Mason or Bricklayer
160. T h e m ason (raj) uses the basula, a pointed ham m er for cu ttin g bricks; the kam i, a large trow el for m ixing the m o rta r ( masdla)\ the manjhola , a sm all flat ham m er; the nahla, a sm all trow el for polishing the surface o f the m ortar; the thdpiy a w oo d en beater for consolidating and sm oo th in g the plaster. T h e plum b is sahawdl o r sahul, o f w hich the string is doriy and patti are sm all pieces o f w o o d fixed o n the string; guniya is the square and mistar a m aul-stick; zerband is a long
32
TOOLS USED BY COUNTRY ARTISANS
stick for sm oothing the plaster; qalam is a so rt o f knife fo r sm o othing the m o rtar betw een the bricks; dalah is a scoop fo r m aking m oulding; kunchi o r pota is a w hitew ashing brush; the ladder is sirhi; chdli o r par is the scaffolding; taghdr is th e pit in w hich the m o rtar is m ixed; the bricks are g ro u n d in to a p o w d er ( surkhi), used as sand by a crusher, dhenka , o f w hich the pesde is musal, and the piece o f w o o d o n w hich the bricks are crushed okhli\ it is supported by pillars, khambha , and w orks on an axle, qainchi\ the m o rta r p o t is ndnd\ the m o rta r tro u g h m ade o f clay athra, and a sim ilar w o o d en pan is kathra . H e uses a large earthen p o t for w ater, the ghara; and a sm aller p o t, hdnria. T h e badharti is a p o t w ith a spout used for p o u rin g w ater o n the plaster; mugari is a m allet for consolidating th e plaster. Section V — T he Grain Parcher
161. T h e grain parcher’s (bharbunja) parching house is ghonsdr orghonsari in the eastern districts. T he fireplace is bhdr and the pit in front o f the stove into w hich th e grain falls is parui. T h e earthen p o t in w hich the grain is parched is in th e eastern districts khapra , and to the w est karial; the spoon fo r taking o u t the h o t sand is in the eastern districts karchhula , and dabila is a sort o f ladle o r stirrer. T he sieve is jh a m a . T h e poker is chalauni; mauni is a basket for grain, and kathra a w ooden pan. T h e grindstone is jd n ta , w hich w orks o n an axle, kilni, and is m ade to revolve by a handle, khunti o r hathenda. Section V I— The Fireworks-Maker
162. T he firew orks-m aker or dtishbdz uses a grindstone, chakki o r jdnta ; an iron rod, sdncha, for ram m in g the pow der; a saw , dri; a knife, banki; an aw l, barma; files, reti; a w oo d en platter, kathra ; and various earthen pots, kurua , ndnd, etc. A m o n g the firew orks he m akes are the C atherine w heel, charkhi o r chakkar, the pipes o f this, in w hich the p o w d er is placed, are nal\ the pipe in w hich the axle w o rk s dhebri, and
THE PIPE-MAKER
33
the spokes and rim o f the w heel dhdncha. T h e bhunchampa andr, pardkha , chakaiya , ndshpdl and bamgola are various kinds o f bom bs. T h e gubdra is a balloon, the hawdi a rocket, the dasti a R om an candle; besides these there are the mahtdb , the fe/wju r , the gi'fa (a m iniature fort o f w hich the bastions are buiji), th e ganj sitdra, gadamgdchh, chadarpardkha, tisi-ka-chadar, chadar sansani, chdnd charkhi, pJie friz, fcirm ¿¿ 2 , ghanchakhar , murdila , puffi, pancharkha and dantua. Section V II — T/ie Tobacco Manufacturer
163.
T h e tobacco m anufacturer (tambdku-gar) uses a crushing lever, dhenki , w ith a peg, musar, fixed in it; it is sup p o rted o n pillars, khunta , and falls on a hollow bed, fedwri, on w hich the tobacco is placed. W hen the crushed tobacco is being rem oved, the beam is supported b y a forked stick cal led tekni. T h e fragm ents o f tobacco are collected by a bro o m , kuchara , and the tobacco is sprinkled from a w ater p o t, hdnria. T h e balls o f m anufactured tobacco are pinda . 164. In a tobacco shop the broad, flat m etal plates are seniy the tobacco pots degchi, the cloth covered stan d for the vessels thaila , and the board o n w hich the tobacco is m ixed patri. Section V III— The Pipe-M aker
165.
T h e pipe-m aker (gargara-saz) uses a kind o f lathe, o f w hich adda is a plank form ing the bed o f the lathe, batta a spike fixed in this plank w hich holds the pipe stem as it is being turned; khunta is the spike w hich holds the o th e r end o f the stem : in this khunta is fixed an iron spike called kili; addi is a piece o f iro n w hich keeps the stem in its place as it is being tu rned, bagle is a piece o f w o o d th ro u g h a hole in w hich the stem is passed du rin g the operation. T h e w o rk m an uses the revolving aw l, barma , m oved by a b ow , kamdni, o f w h ich the string is tasmah ; a broad chisel, chaurasa; a n a rro w gouge, ndkhuna ; an adze, basula; a small saw , dri; a knife, chhuri; a saw file, chaprds; and various files, reti.
34
TOOLS USED BY COUNTRY ARTISANS
166. In the huqqah , o r pipe, the coconut b o w l is ndrial; the pipe stem w ith horizontal grooves for holding the w ater to cool the sm oke gargara ; the m etal pipe outside kali; the plain stem used w ith the com m on coconut bow l datta; the sm oking stem nigali; and the pipe-stand farshi. In the eastern districts gauria o r gauraia , and parihath , is the stem o f a M uham m adan pipe. Section I X — T he Baker
167. T h e baker o r ndnbdi uses an oven, tanur , a roasting spit, sikh, w hich is fixed on supports, kdnta, a cushion by w hich he places the cake on the side o f the oven, rafida; an iron im plem ent for taking o u t the cake w hen it is baked, jori\ a boiling pot, degchi; saucers, rakdbi o r katora ; a cup, piydla ; a w ooden spoon, doi; a large w ooden stirrer, kafcha ; and an in stru m en t for m aking ornam ental m arks on pastry, kochna. Section X — The Pipestem-Maker
168. T h e pipestem -m aker, naichdband, uses a revolving aw l, barma , a polishing knife, chhuri, a pair o f scissors, chi, and a pair o f tw eezers, muchna. Section X I — The Fancy-Silk or Fringe-Maker
169. T h e patehra uses the kathra , a piece o f leather w ith four holes in w hich four threads are fixed for w inding; the batani, a w ooden reel w ith a handle; the anti, a sm all w ooden reel; the tffi, a w inding stick; the qainchi, scissors; the saldi, a coarse needle for sm oothing roughnesses in thread; sua , a large darning needle; ¿ m i , a sm all needle; ankura , an iron hook w ith a ring w hich goes ro u n d the toe; and parthi , a bam boo fram e o r d ru m o ff w hich the thread is w ound. Section X I I — The D yer
170. T h e dyer o r rangrez uses the math , a p o t sunk in the g ro u n d for dyes; the athra, a sim ilar half-round p ot; the ghera,
THE FELT-MAKER
35
a w o o d en fram e o n w hich the cloth is hung like a bag w ith th e dye inside; and the chalni o r chhalni, a stick for m ixing up th e dyes. Section X I I I — The Confectioner
171. T h e confectioner o r halwdi has a fireplace, bhatti, o f w h ich the stoke hole is bhatti ka m unh ; an open cauldron, kard/»', o f w hich the handles are kara\ skim m ers, jh a m a , pona o r chhanna ; a large stirrer, koncha; and a sm all stirrer, chhalni; a w ooden roller for m aking dough, belan or fee/mj; w hich is w orked on a board, chauka; a pestle for m ixing the dough, daba; a spoon, karchhul; a brass ladle w ith a w ooden handle for rem oving the sugar from one vessel to another, dabbu; a w ooden platter for sw eetm eats, ¿irvfa; a brass salver, dw/i, and a deep brass pan, parif. T he sw eetm eats are exposed on stands m ade o f the sarkanda reed called in G orak h p u r tarauni, and in A zam garh tanni, tama o r tam i. H e also has a w o o d en basin, kathra ; a large ladle, doriy and a pair o f scales, tardzu. Section X I V — The Cotton Carder
172. T h e cotton carder, dhunia , uses a b ow , dhanus , d/wjjm/m o r dhanuhi , o f w hich the flexible piece is danriy th e bridge o v e r w hich the string is passed mdng , the string fan/, the b road piece o f w o o d at the end parha , the pegs for tigh ten in g the string kil , the piece o f cloth w hich the carder holds in his hand as he tw angs the b o w hathkara , the m allet for tw an g in g the b o w dastah, the leather sounding-board on w hich the string rebounds puchet. T h e phatka is an instrum ent fo r teas ing cotton; kathni is a box for keeping carded co tto n . T he carded co tto n is m ade up in spindle-shaped lum ps o r balls called p u n iy and is then ready for the spinning-w heel or charkha. Section X V — The Felt-Maker
173. T h e felt-m aker, ndmasdz , uses a housew ife, tiladdni, a sew ing aw l, suthdli, a pair o f scissors, qainchi, a fine sew ing
36
TOOLS USED BY COUNTRY ARTISANS
aw l, m akin suthdli, and a b o w for carding and arranging th e w ool, kamtha. Section X V I — The Shoe-M aker
174. T h e shoe-m aker, mochi, uses the koba , a thick iro n pounder for jo in in g the edges o f tw o pieces o f leather w h ich have been previously sm eared w ith a paste called lei; rdmpi, a knife for scraping the surface o f the leather; the suthdli , a large awl; the katam i , an aw l w ith a h o o k at the end fo r sew ing; th e majhola , a m edium -sized awl; the singauti, a h o rn for grease; the kalbut o r pharma , lasts; the khurpi , a so rt o f chisel for par ing the edges o f the sole; the beungi, like a w o o d en chisel fo r sm o othing the surface o f the leather; the partaha , w edges o f w o o d o r leather fastened to the last to m ake it fit; a ham m er, martol; and a cutter for m aking lace holes, guishan o r *holey kani. Section X V I I — T he Jeweller
175. T he jeweller, sonar, uses the sanrsa or fire tongs; the bakndly a blow pipe; the pargahni , an iron in g o t m ould; the samdan , a small pointed anvil; the gharia , a sm all clay crucible; the chimta and chimti, pincers; the tikuri, an iron needle-shaped tool for m aking the links o f chains; the katni, a chisel w ith a ro u n d knob for em bossing circular ornam entation; the kansala , a bell-m etal anvil sunk w ith several depressions for m ak ing repousse w ork; chheni, a cold chisel; hathaura , a large ham m er, maria, a m edium sized ham m er, and golmunha , a round-headed ham m er; qainchi, cutters; gahwa , large pincers; and gahw i , nippers; the kdgmunhi are nippers tw isted at the head for holding the crucible in the fire; the gahw i jam uri , w ire-draw ing pincers; jandri , the perforated w ire plate; m/wi, a square-headed anvil; kitkira , m oulds o f various sizes into w hich the m etal is beaten; parkar , compasses; p h u n k i , a hol low cane for blow ing up the fire; tarsi o r angethi, the fire place; chhah , blocks sunk in the gro u n d in w hich the anvils are sunk; pankhi , a fan for blow ing up the fire; katali, a vessel
THE BLANKET WEAVER
37
fo r holding scraps o f silver, the chhinunki, a polishing brush. 176. K am i is an ingot n o t beaten out, and chaurasa a block o f silver beaten o u t flat. Section X V I I I — T he Embroiderer
177. T h e em broiderer, kdrchob, uses the chob o r w ooden fram e o n w hich the w o rk is stretched; the s k i , a sm all needle, and the suthdli , a sew ing awl. Section X I X — The Brazier
178. T h e brazier, thathera , uses the nihdi, a square anvil; samddn , a pointed anvil; the sabra, an anvil ro u n d at the top; qainchi, cutters; salai , a solder stirrer; sangsi, pincers; reti , files; hathaura , a ham m er; katori, a vessel for holding the flux (pam, o r sohaga); bhdthi, bellow s; gharia , an earthen crucible; dastpandh, tongs; o/iar, a perforated cover for the crucible; kharua , a circular anvil for shaping the m o u th o f a vessel; nFf/w, a sort o f w o o d en anvil o r block; mungari, a w ooden m allet; painkaret a w ooden stirrer for m ixing up the flux; and tardzu , scales. Section X X — T he Brass-Founder
179. T h e brass-founder (kasera) uses sdncha, m oulds o f various kinds; khardt, a kind o f lathe; sanrsa, large pincers; gharia , a clay crucible, o f w hich the m o u th is fowfi; and chaura sa, a broad chisel. Section X X I — The Blanket Weaver
180. T h e blanket w eaver o r gararia uses a sim ple loom ; the lapetan is the stick on w hich the blanket is w o u n d as it is w oven; khunta , supports for this beam ; ahdri, a beam to w hich the w eb is fastened at the opposite end from th e w eav er; beun is a w ooden im plem ent w hich is passed betw een the thread o f the w eb to drive tight each thread o f the w oof; baiy m ovable sticks placed at intervals to separate the threads o f the w eb; chapni or sasath , an im plem ent for alternately raising
38
TOOLS USED BY COUNTRY ARTISANS
and depressing the threads o f the w eb; khilum a, a w oo d en scraper for rem oving knots o r excrescences fro m the thread; sua , a thick iron needle; and siringa , a shuttle. Section X X I I — The Gold-Washer
,
181. T h e gold-w asher o r niydria uses th e kathara a w ooden pan for w ashing the ashes (rdk ) o r sw eepings o f jew ellers’ shops; the chaithan a sifting pan; bhdthi bellow s; suswa the earthen pipe o f the vessel w hich rem ains in the fire; dastpanahy pincers; saldi, an iron stirrer; znd gharia, an earthen crucible.
,
,
,
Section X X I I I — The Book-Binder
182. T h e book-binder (jildsdz)y uses the shikanja o r screw press; katni, a paper cutter; qainchi, scissors; koba , an iron m al let; suthdliy an awl; sui , a needle; phirkiy an in stru m en t w ith a sm all revolving wheel for em bossing the binding; p h u ly dyes for em bossing; saiphay a cutter for paring edges; gulliy a w ooden tool for sm oothin g the binding; rampi, a leather scrape; ancfr takhti o r patray w ooden boards fo r putting be tw een the books in the screw press. Section X X I V — T he Lapidary
183. T h e lapidary (hakkak) uses the sdn o r sdpa\y the re volving grindstone m ade o f corundum p o w d er and lac; kamanay the bow for turning it; janthary the p ro p s o f the grindstone; sdkat the w ooden axle o f the grindstone; ghonta , agate burnishers; chimtiy pincers; qalamy iron engraver; qain chi y cutters; sohant iron chisel; hathauriy small h am m er, nihdiy anvil; sanrsiy pincers; patiay round agate burnishers; barmat a revolving awl w ith a bow called kamdni. Section X X V — The Rope-Tw ister
184. T h e rope-tw ister ( rassibat) uses a bhaunrkali, a flat stone w ith a hook to w hich the rope is fastened as it is being
THE GLASS-BANGLE MAKER
39
tw isted; petich , a board perforated w ith holes by w hich the strands (lar) are tw isted w ith rough pieces o f w o o d ( lakri); kalbut , a gro o v ed block in the grooves o f w hich th e strands are fixed to secure uniform ity in the tw isting; dhera is an im plem ent form ed o f tw o cross sticks w ith w hich tw in e is m ade. Section X X V I — The Potter
185. T h e p o tter (kumhdr o r kohdr) uses the w heel, chdk , w hich is turned by a stick called chakdit, on a peg o r killa. T he lehsur is an im plem ent for m ixing up the clay. T h e peta o r pinr is a p o ttery ram m er for consolidating the clay, w hich is sm oothed w ith a tool called chapra. T h e athari are m oulds for shaping vessels; the pots w hen ready are severed w ith a string called cheuni. T h e kiln is dwa and the clay pit khadana. Section X X V I I — T he Glass-Bangle M aker
186. T h e glass-bangle m aker, the churihdr o r manihar, uses a fireplace, bhatti (o f w hich the opening th ro u g h w hich the m elted glass is rem oved is nidra). T he opening is closed by an earthenw are cover, dhapna o r dhapari. T h e earthen crucible is koha; the stone on w hich the ring is shaped patthari; th e spoon for p u ttin g the glass into the crucible karchhul\ the iron hook for taking o u t the glass akuri\ the in stru m en t for tu rn in g the glass in the crucible badarwari; the m o u ld w ith a handle for shaping the bangle kalbut ; the long iron p o k er on the to p o f w hich the glass is m elted salag; the flat iro n instru m ent for shaping the ring pdta\ the in stru m en t for w idening the ring to the required size badhana; and the stam p fo r m ak ing em bossed ornam ents on the bangle thappa.
II
II.
Domestic Appliances and Utensils
I
A P P L IA N C E S U S E D I N T H E P R E P A R A T IO N O F F O O D Section I— Sieves
187. T h e hdngi (U pper D oab) and sup are w in n o w in g sieves. T h e chhalni is used for sifting the b ran from the flour. T h e chilwan is a b am b o o o r reed sieve fo r straining sugarcane ju ice o r catching fish. T h e jh a m a o r jh a m i is a sieve for cleaning grain. T h e anghia o r angia is a cloth sieve for sift ing fine flour, and the anghi is a leather sieve w ith fine holes. Section I I — T he Pedal fo r H usking Grain
188. T his is k n o w n as dhenka, dhenki , o r dhenkul. In the eastern districts the m oveable beam is dhenki , th e pillars on w hich it rests are in A zam garh khambha , and in G orakhpur khunta. In the eastern districts the peg in the beam w hich crushes the rice is ntusar, and the axle gulli. In G o rak h p u r the h ollow w o o d en bed in w hich the rice is crushed is kanri, and the hand-rail w hich the w o rk m an grasps otgani. T h e place w here the grinder rests his feet is paudar. Section I I I — The Pestle and Mortar Used For H usking Grain
189. T h e m o rtar is to the w est okhli, and to the east okhari. T h e pestle used w ith it is in the east districts musar o r paharua , and to the w est musal. T h e iro n ring at th e b o tto m to prevent splitting is Sam.
STOOLS
41
Section I V — The Hand-Grind Mill 190. This is kn o w n to the w est as ch fkki , and to th e east as jd n t o r jdnta. T he chakki is sm aller and generally tu rn ed by o n e w om an. T he jd n t requires tw o w om en to w ork it. T he u p p e r stone is in G orakhpur uparauta , and in A zam garh uparka-pdt\ the lo w er stone is in G orakhpur tarauta and in A zam garh niche-ka-pdt. T he handle is in the east districts ju a % th e axle killa, and the feeding channel gali; jh tn k in th e east districts is a handful o f grain poured into the mill. In G orakh p u r the m u d seat on w hich the w om an sits is baithani. T o ro u g h e n the stone w ith a chisel is rdhna o r chhinna. Section V — T he Grindstone fo r Spices
191. T his is to the east silf and to the w est silwat. T he sto n e roller used w ith it is in G orakhpur lohra, in C a w n p u r lurhw a , and in o ther places batta.i0 Section V I— T he Roller Used in M aking Paste
192. T his is called belan o r belna. T he flat board on w hich th e paste in rolled is chauki. Parthan in the east districts, and to th e w est paletha is the dry flour sprinkled on the board to pre v e n t the paste sticking to it.
H. 2
D O M E S T IC F U R N IT U R E Section I— Stools
193.
T h e O rd in ary stool is morha o r rnachia. W hen it has
10 T h e w o rd lohra figures in an interesting B hojpuri proverb: M üs motaihen lohra hoinhett Ghora tta tut hoirthen. (If a m ouse fattens, he’ll becqm e lohra he’ll never becom e a horse.) I t m ay n o t be to o ingenious to suggest th at this pro v erb o f eastern U P su g g ests b o th th e differences in individual en d o w m en ts as well as th e lim its t o u p w a rd m obility in a hierarchical society.
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DOMESTIC FURNITURE
three legs it is tipdi, a small stool is pxrha o r pirhai. T h e w ooden platform for sitting, sleeping o r bath in g is, w hen large, takht o r takhta , and w hen small chauki. Section II— The Bed and Cot
194. A n ordinary bed is chdrpai, and a cot khatola o r khatiya. T h e pillow is takiay and the bed-clothes toshak o r bichona. T h e legs are gora o r pdya. T he side pieces are bai, and in the east districts patti o r pdti. T h e end pieces are sirai. T he head o f the bed is sirhane, o r to the east munrwari. In G o rak h p u r gorwdri is the foot o f the bed. T he n etw o rk at th e b o tto m is sdnka , o r in G o rak h p u r bindwat; w hen this n ettin g is m ade o f one string the bed is said in G orak h p u r to be ekbaddhi, if o f tw o dobaddhi, and so on. T he strings at the b o tto m by w hich the netting can be tightened at pleasure are adwdny in G orakh p u r orddwany and in A zam garh onchan. T he thick rope at the foot to w hich the netting is tied is in G o rak h p u r main o r kardhan. Barua in G o rak h p u r are strings tied on to the side as the netting is being made. Section I I I — The Weighing Scales
195. T he large fixed scales are ratuly and to the east thak o r dhak. T h e small scales are kdnta o r tardzu. Tura o r tora to the east is a w eaver’s scale for w eighing cotton o r thread. T h e plates o f the scale ar epalra o r palla. T h e strings o f the scale are dasy o r in G orakhpur jo tiy and in A zam garh tanni. Pasang, pasangha, dhdra is a w eight put into one scale to balance it. Jhukna is a false balance, and in A zam garh bankauri is a sm all pair o f scales. T h e top bar o f the scales is dandi. Section I V — Nets
196. J d l is the fisherm an’s sm all net, mahajdl is one o f a larger size. T he jh o li in the east districts is a net used by cartm en for feeding bullocks. Jd li in the U p p er D oab is a net for carrying grass. Ganja m eans the sam e in the east districts.
BOXES
43
T h e chhika (east districts) o r chhinka is a net for h anging u p p o ts, etc. in a house. Sikhar in the east districts, and sinko in F arukhabad is used for the sam e purpose. T he argani o f the east districts o r the algani to the w est is a stick o r ro p e for h an g in g u p clothes, chhatri is a fram e used for the sam e p u r pose. Jhora (G orakhpur) is a cord net for carrying go o d s on th e head, and jh o n k is the net used by bearers w ith th e sling pole bahangi. Section V — T he Pad used fo r Supporting Waterpots etc. on a Woman's Head
197. T his is in the east districts binra or genruli, in th e U p p e r D oab judhua , and in o th er places indhua, o r indua juna, ju ra , chakwa, gurari, genruri, gorari o r induri. A pile o f w aterp o ts one above the o th er is jehar o r jeghar. Section V I— The Stick
198. T h e o rdinary long stick is lathi, in G o rak h p u r laur or lauria. T h e b u tt end is hura in the east districts. Sonta is a thick club, and chhari, o r in G orakhpur labdi, is a thin stick. D eng in A zam g arh is a thick w alking stick; pahdri a thick club; theghutti a sm all w alking stick; patkan is a w alking stick, and phattha o r phalta a piece o f split bam boo used as a stick; subarani is a lig h t w alking stick, and bajar bong a heavy stick. Section V II— Boxes
199. Sanduq is an ordinary box o f w hich the dim in u tiv e is sanduqcha. Sendura o r sindhaura is a box used b y w o m en for carrying red lead. T h e pitdra is a travelling bo x for clothes, etc., carried by a m an on a slung bam boo, bahangi. T h e dibi, dabbi o r dibia are small boxes for jew ellery or other valuables. T h e chunauta is a box for carrying the lim e (chuna) used w ith betel. T h e doki in the eastern districts is a bo x in w hich the ubtan o r uptan , a condim ent com posed o f turm eric an d other ingredients, w hich is rubbed on the bride at a w edding, is k ep t. T h e ingrauti is a box in w hich w o m en carry the v erm i
44
DOMESTIC FURNITURE
lion w hich they p u t on the parting o f the hair. T he gelha o r gelhi in the eastern districts is a litde bo x m ade o f bam boo chips in tw o parts for holding betel, etc. Chapuri in the east districts is a little straw box. Section V III— M etal Vessels Used in Cooking and fo r Ordinary Domestic Purposes
200. T h e vessels ordinarily used by H indus are as follow s :11 201. Tasla m ade o f brass (pital) is a ro u n d vessel used fo r boiling rice. A bout tw o seers o f rice can be cooked in it. 202. Tasli is a sim ilar vessel o f a sm aller size. 203. Batula is vessel m ade o f alloy {phul o r kaskut). T his is used fo r cooking rice, and about a seer o f rice can be cooked in it. It is com paratively higher and n arro w er th an the tasla. 204. Batuli is a sm aller sim ilar vessel used for cooking pulse o r m eat. 205. Patiti is m ade o f alloy (phul). It has a n arro w flat m o u th , and is used for boiling meat. 206. Handa is a very large copper vessel w ith handles fo r boiling rice. 207. Tdm let is a large brass vessel, broad at the b o tto m , used for cooking pulse at m arriages, etc. 208. Katora is used for eating from , w ith a projection a t the b o tto m o n w hich it rests. 209. Tashtari is like the katora, only it has n o stand, b u t is flat bo tto m ed . 210. Lota is used for draw ing w ater and drinking. 11 T h e separate catalogue o f H in d u and M o h am m ad an cooking a n d dom estic vessels appears a bit spurious. Tashtari, dbkhora, chilamchi, ugaldan, panddn figure in b oth the lists. C learly, the list o f ‘H indu vessels’ includes m any dishes w ith supposedly ‘M u slim ’ nam es! Follow ing G rierson, w h o has copied all the utensils m entioned in para 245 (see Bihar Peasant Life para 711), I have provided separate paragraphs to th e ‘H in d u vessels’ and clubhed the ‘m in o rity vessels’ to g eth er in one single paragraph.
METAL VESSELS USED FOR DOMESTIC PURPOSES
45
211. Gerua o r garua is m ade o f alloy (phül) w ith a spout (tontf). 212. Tamha is sim ilar to the last except that it is m ade o f kaskut , n o t phül. B o th are used for drinking. 213. Ábkhora is a drinking vessel, the sides o f w hich broaden to w ard s the m outh, and it is provided w ith a stand (gord) at the b o tto m . 214. Glass o r gilds is sim ilar to the last, except th at the sides are straight o r only slightly curved. It has no stand, and is flat bo tto m ed . 215. Surdhi is used for keeping drinking w ater. 216. Chilamchi is used for w ashing. 217. Áftdba, áftdwa is a w ater ew er used for w ashing. 218. Kalchhi, karchhi is a brass spoon. 219. Kalchhul, karchhul is an iron spoon. 220. Jh a m a , jh a m i is an iron sieve w ith a handle. 221. Dabbü is a brass spoon o f w hich the cup is deep and broad, principally used in m arriages. 222. Thdli is a flat pan from w hich food is eaten. T h e desi thdli is m ade o f brass (pital). T he N epali thdli m ade o f alloy (phül ), and has the edges curved to the outside, w hile the desi thdli has straight sides. 223. Pardt is a large flat pan like the thdli , except th at its sides curve gradually up to the top. 224. Bhagauna is an iron cooking p o t w ith a handle. 225. Chimta, chimcha, dastpandh is a pair o f sm all tongs used for arranging the fire, o r turning over cakes on the griddle. 226. Sanrsi are to n g s used for rem oving the p o t (batuli) from the fire. 227. Kardhi is an iron o r brass broad pot w ith handles (kara), generally used for cooking vegetables. 228. Tdw a is an iron griddle plate. 229. Ugdld&n is a spittoon. 230. Pandan is for keeping betel and other ingredients o f pan. 231. Gagara is a copper o r brass vessel used fo r draw ing w ater fro m a well.
46
DOMESTIC FURNITURE
232. D ol is an iron vessel for draw ing w ater fro m a well. 233. Kurtra is a copper or brass vessel used for storing w ater in the house. 234. Sarposh is a cover for o th er vessels. 235. Chiragdan is a stand for a lam p. 236. Khureddni is an iron poker. 237. K otw al, jhokana, jhokani is a w ooden poker. 238. Pautta is an iron collander o r straining ladle. 239. Hawandasta is a pestle and m o rtar fo r grinding spices, etc. 240. Lonhra is a sm all iron pan. 241. Tathi o r tathia o r tdthi is the sam e as the thdli. 242. Tamchara, tamchari is a round copper vessel. 243. Khora, khori is a corru p tio n o f abkhora. 244. Lewa in G o rak h p u r o r anwatt in A zam garh is ashes plastered o n a cooking p o t to save it fro m the fire. In the east districts ubsan is a handful o f straw , etc., used for cleaning m etal vessels. 245. M oham m adans generally use the follow ing vessels: (1) Patxla is a large copper vessel for cooking rice. (2) Patili, degchi is a sim ilar vessel sm aller in size. (3) Deg, degcha is a som ew hat larger p o t for boiling. (4) Lota, badhana differs from the vessel used b y H indus in having a sp o u t . 12 (5) L utia, badhani is a sim ilar vessel o f sm aller size. (6 ) Katora is sim ilar to the H indu vessel, b u t m ade o f cop per. (7) Piyali is a cup. 12 C ro o k e at another place derives badhana fro m the Saaskric vardhanika, the B uddhist sacred w ater vessel, and defines it as ‘a w a te r-p o t usually m ade o f copper o r earthenw are, w ith a sp o u t’. W hatever its ety m o lo g y , it is the sp o u t o f the ‘M uslim ’ badhana w hich distinguishes it from the u n m arked ‘H in d u ’ lota. O n e w o u ld invariably find the sp o u ted badhana in ru ral m osques for w azu, the ritual w ashing-up before prayers. H o w ev er the utensil has its quotidian and m ore h u m b le usage as well. W hat is significant is th at the cultural difference betw een badhana and lota prefigures, in eastern U P , even today, as a m arker o f religious difference. In the co u n try sid e and th e sm aller to w n s it is an unm istakable ‘M u slim ’ sign.
UTENSILS USED IN WORSHIP
(8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (21) (22) (23) (24) (25) (26) (27) (28) (29) (30) (31)
47
Piydla is sim ilar to the last b u t larger. Rikdbi is a saucer. Tabdq is a broad flat w ashing vessel. C him ta, chimti, chimchi is the same as used by H in dus. Sarposh is a cover for o th er vessels. Chilamchi is a w ashing basin. Aftaba, dftdwa is a w ater ew er. Tasht is a broad flat dish. S fni o r seni is a broad shallow tray. Gagara is used for draw ing w ater. Lagan is a large vessel for storing w ater. Kardhi is an iron cooking pot. C hhanna, jharna is an iron strainer w ith a handle. Panddn is for holding betel. Khdsddn is for keeping pan o r betel, w ith a cover. Ugdlddn o r pikdan is a spittoon. Surahi is for keeping w ater. Fatilsoz, chiragddn o r dtwat is a lam p-stand. Tdw a is an iron griddle plate. Karchhula, karchhuli are spoons. Chim ta, dastpandh are tongs. Sikhcha is a spit. Panchhanna is a m etal strainer for w ater. Dabbu is a large deep spoon. Section I X — Utensils Used in Worship
246. T h e appliances o f a H indu tem ple are as follow s: T he dsini is a sort o f m at m ade o f kus grass, w ool, etc. for sit ting on. T h e jh d ri is a sort o f spoon for thro w in g w ater on the lingam; achmani13 is a m uch sm aller spoon used fo r the same purpose. Panchpatr is a small vessel for keeping w ater. T he jalpdtr is larger. T he argha, jalehri o r jalthari is the saucer m ade o f stone o r m etal in w hich the stone representing th e lingam is placed. Pinri is the platform on w hich the lingam is placed. 13 In Saran this is called anchauni.
48
DOMESTIC FURNITURE
T h e ghari o r ghanta is the large, and th e ghariya th e small, bell. Jhdttjh are the cym bals, sankh the conch-sell, singhdsatt the id o l’s throne, murat the idol, horsa the im plem ent fo r grinding the sandal w ood (chandan), dhupdan the censer, dipddn o r dipaleddn the lam p-stand, katori the vessel in w hich th e gro u n d sandalw ood is placed, sum im i the string o f beads held in the hand; the japm dli is a sort o f bag in w hich the w orshipper keeps the beads, and puts his hand inside and tu rn s them . T he tunba, tuma o r tomri is the hollow gourd carried b y religious m endicants (faqirs). T h e kamandal is a brass vessel o f the sam e kind used for drawing water in a temple. Section X — L e a f Platters
247. T h e dona is a small ro u n d leaf platter. T h e pattal o f the w est districts o r pathari to the east is broader and flatter. T h e gadaura is a small leaf basket w ith high sides used for holding cooked provisions, the pataura is sim ilar to this, the panwdr is a large leaf basket used in H indu m arriages w hen a n u m b e r o f guests have to be fed. Section X I — Earthen Vessels
248. T h e n u m ber o f these is very large and varies in each district. T h e follow ing list does n o t profess to be exhaustive: 249. Abkhora is a drinking vessel; achdri a pickle ja r; arhia a little platter; athra a pan for m aking dough. 250. Bhabka is a vessel used in distilling; badhana a w ater vessel w ith a spout; bharuka a drinking vessel; chapta a large flat jar; cherui an earthen cooking dish; chhdgal an earthen w ater-p o t w ith a spout; chhonr a large earthen ja r; chukkar a drinking cup; chirdg a lam p-saucer; dahar a vessel for storing grain; diari very sm all lam p-saucer; dubkena a d rin k in g vessel; dudhaur o r dudhaura an earthen vessel in w hich m ilk is boiled; gagari is used for drawing, w ater; gamla a flow er p o t; ghaila o r ghaili a vessel for holding w ater; ghara a vessel fo r draw ing w ater; ghilahri an earthen dish in w hich clarified b u tte r (ghi) is cooked; ghuchchi a little dish w ith a n arro w neck; ghuliya a lit-
49
W OODEN VESSELS
tie earthen dish; ghuncha o r ghunchi a sm all vessel fo r m ilk; ghurli a little dish; hdndi a vessel for cooking o r h olding m ilk curds, etc; jd la , a large w ater-jar; jhajhar a w ater-jar w ith a lo ng n arro w neck; jhari a pitcher w ith a long neck; jikara an earthen saucer; kachhui an oblong vessel for d rin k in g spirits; kamora o r kamori a vessel used in m aking clarified b u tte r (ghi ); kamsena a dish used for the sam e purpose; kardhi a vessel for boiling vegetables; karua vessel w ith a spout for d rin k in g and v otive offerings; kanhatari a vessel for m ilk and curds; khon dha a vessel used in boiling and distilling; koha a sm all vessel for cooking pulse and vegetables; kosa a lamp-saucer; koncha an earthen dish; kullhar a little earthen cup for serving o u t spirits in; kulsi a w ater jar; kiinra a flat platter for kneading flour in: it also m eans in the east districts a large vessel for grain, holding three o r four m aunds. T he kunri o r kunli is a sm aller grain vessel holding ab o u t tw o m aunds; labani the o b long vessel in w hich palm ju ice (tari) is collected on the trees; malaria a small earthen pan; malsi a cooking dish used b y M oham m adans; martbdn an earthen vessel w ith an open m o u th ; matka a vessel for holding w ater o r pickles. 251. M itia is a vessel for w ater; mitka a large vessel for sto rin g grain; ndtid o r nadh a vessel used as a feeding trough; pana an earthen vessel used as a m ilk m easure; parai a saucer generally used to cover o ther vessels; patuki a sm all vessel used for cooking pulse; piydla an earthen cup; purw a a small earthen pot; rikdbi a saucer; sanahki a broad flat dish o u t o f w hich boiled rice is eaten; surdhi w ater vessel w ith a lo n g nar ro w neck; taula a large earthen dish fo r cooking; tdura an ear then plate used as a griddle; tathua a flat earthen dish; tathahra a vessel for heating w ater for bathing; telahanri telauns, telwans, o r talaunchhi a vessel for holding oil; tuthahi a small platter, tomri a vessel used for holding blood b y barber physicians.
,
Section X I I — Wooden Vessels
252. T h e kathoti o f the D oab and the kathwat o f the east e rn districts is a large deep w ooden dish for kneading flour.
50
DOMESTIC FURNITURE
T h e katheli in the D oab is a sm all w ooden dish fo r scraps. In A zam garh the arhia is a little w ooden platter; and the doki a sm all w ooden dish. T h e kajkol is a w ooden cup carried by m endicants, and the tomri is the m endicant’s g ourd. T h e tdmi is a w ooden ladle; and the doi a w ooden ladle used by M oham m adans in cooking pulse (dal) .14 Section X I I I — Leather Vessels
253. T h e jhdha o r jhabra is used for holding all kinds o f liquids. T h e dabba, kupa, kuppa, o r gora is used for holding clarified b u tte r (ghi) o r oil (tel). T h e gelha o r gelhi is a sm aller vessel used for the sam e purposes. T he jori is a leather packbag for molasses. Section X I V — Stands fo r Vessels
254. These are kn o w n as painda o r palainda, gharaunchi o r gharthari. T h e latkan is a stand on w hich one pot is hung over another to act as a filter. Section X V — Clothes
255. T h e general term s are kapra, parcha, libds, poshdk ; in the east districts pahrdwa , and in G orakhpur luga o r lugga o r bastar. C lothes w o rn by m en are as follows: T h e turban, pagri , is a piece o f cloth w oven for th e purpose; muretha a piece o f ordinary cloth w o und ro u n d the head. 14 T h a t doi, a com m on, deep w o oden ladle for stirring arhar dal— an im plem ent w hich in the pair doi-handi signifies the entire range o f cooking utensils in B hojpuri nursery rhym es— was a ‘M uslim ladle” seem s o d d to som eone o f m y generation. Enquiries m ade in eastern G o rak h p u r suggest that the use o f the doi m ay well have been confined to the kitchens o f the M uslim s. As to w hy this should have been so I have n o answ er. A n o th er co m m o n w ooden im plem ent, mathni, used for churning an d thinning the dais, especially arhar, is n o t m entioned by C rooke. All dais w ere cooked well into the tw entieth century in earthen vessels; q.v. patuki.
CLOTHES
51
Chtra is a checked turban; dhdtha is a piece o f cloth w ound under the chin and over the head. 256- T h e cap, topi , if shaped so as to cover the ears is kantop o r kandhapni; kanchhahi is a piece o f cloth w o rn loose over the head. 257. T h e loincloth, dhoti, mardani o r pardarti; langota or langoti is a small loincloth. Bhagwa o r bishti is a sm all scrap o f cloth w o rn by boys, kdchh o r kachhdr is the sm all tig h t cloth w o rn by w restlers. Phaldng o r pachhauta is the tag end tucked in behind, and phanna is the loose end w hich hangs d o w n in front. Parkhara is a sm all loincloth. T he knots in the loincloth used for holding m oney o r valuables is in the east districts attchal, tent o r phanr.ts 258. T h e draw ers, paejdma. T hose m ade tig h t are chiiriddr, if loose at the ankles mohridar , and if loose w ith pieces let in along the thigh kalidar. 259. T h e jack et is mirzai. 260. T h e coat is anga o r angarkha and chapkan. T hose w o rn b y H indus open on the right breast and by M uh am m a dans o n the left. It is tied at the neck b y a string, ghundi , w hich m oves in a hem , tukma. T h e qaba is an o u ter coat open at the chest and sleeves. T h e mmdstin is a jacket, the sleeves o f w hich reach only to the elbow s; w hile the shaluka and sadari leave the arm s bare. 261. T h e sheet— T his is dohar, galef, dopatta o r khol. The pichhaura is a sheet w o rn over o th er clothes. 262. T h e stuffed quilt is lihaf, razai, saub, o r in the east districts dulai. A sim ilar quilt m ade o f rags patched to g eth er is gudara o r gudari o r kathri. T h e stuffing o f the quilt is bharti. Anga are bits o f old cotton padding in a quilt. 263. T h e long coat w o rn by w ell-to-do people is aba. 264. T h e cloth tied ro und the loins w hile bathing, and 15 Tent: In keeping w ith the H in d u /M u slim divide, J. R. R eid in his Azam garh Glossary defines tent as ‘the up p er m argin o f the d h o ti that is tu cked in at the w aist in w hich H indus carry m o n ey ’. O n phanr, see A ppendix F, para 798.
52
DOMESTIC FURNITURE
used for dry in g the body afterw ards, is angochha am ong H in dus and lungi am ong M oham m adans. 265. T h e purse is thaili, batua, tora, o r potli; tildddni o r khaliti is a tailor’s housew ife. Kisbat is the case in w hich a barber carries his razors, etc. 266. T h e shoes are ju ta o r ju ti\ in the east districts patia paina, o r panahi ; the w ooden bathing shoe is paula, kharaun pair a (Farrukhabad), o r in A zam garh kothauhi. 267. T h e B rahm anical cord is janeo. T h e k n o ts in the cord are parwar. Its length is m easured by hand-breadths (chaua). A B rahm an’s cord is % hand-breadths long, w hile a R ajput’s is 80. 268. T h e blanket is kammal , and to the east kamara. T us is a kind o f thick blanket m ade in G orakhpur. Ral is a large kind o f blanket. H erdsm en tie the blanket over th e ir heads in a peculiar w ay to save them selves from rain. T h is is k n o w n as ghonghi, ghoghi, ghogha o r chot. 269. A patch on clothes is pewand o r paiwand. W hen the cloth is doubled the o u ter piece is abra, and the lining astar. 270. W ashing o f clothes— T h e w asherm an’s plank is pat ra, and in the east districts pat o r pdta\ the sm o o th in g iron istiri; the ironing cloth bethan\ the m allet w ith w hich he beats the clothes katka o r mungar , the clothes line o r d ry in g fram e tanao. Pachhdrab is to beat clothes on a plank o r stone. 271. A m ong w o m en ’s clothes are — T h e sheet, sari, chddar, dopatta, khol, lugra, and in A zam garh khilua. Pharia is a sm all sheet w o rn b y little girls. T h e hem o f th e sheet is achra. T h e w rapper tied tig h t is ganthi; phupti, is the end o f the sheet gathered and tucked in front. Khoinchha is the pocket in fro n t form ed by loosening the part tied ro u n d the w aist; and gojhnaut o r gojndwal is the loose fold on the left side. T he single sheet w o rn by w om en is som etim es called in the east districts dhoti zanani. 272. T h e petticoat is lahanga; if loose it is dhable; kachhdur is a m ode o f tying it under the leg. T he w aistband th ro u g h w hich the string is run is toi. 273. T h e bodice is kurta zattatta, angia, jh u la o r sindband.
JEWELRY
53
274. T h e veil o r cloth w o rn over the head is orhna or orhni. 275. T h e draw ers are paejama. 276. Surma is the antim ony p u t on the edges o f the eyelids; sendur the red lead p u t in the parting o f the hair; kangi the com b, and thakri the hair brush. Section X V I — Carpets and Mats
277. A carpet is dari, a floor-cloth qdltn o r farsh. Shatranji a n d galaicha are thread m ats .Jam kura is a m at w o rn ro u n d the shoulders in w et w eather. Chatdi is m ade o f the stem s o f the narkat (Arundo tibialis, Roxb); gondari is m ade o f th eg o n d reed; saj a long gond m at used w hen a n u m b er o f people are assem bled at a m arriage, etc., sxtalpdti is a fine m at for sleeping on; tardi is a reed m at. Section X V I I —Jewelry
278. T h e follow ing are som e o f the varieties o f je w e lry co m m o n ly w orn: A— W orn by M en and Boys 279. O n the ears. T he bdli is a plain ring. T h e lurki is a sto n e set in wire. 280. O n the arm s. T h e bijdyath is an ornam ent fastened ro u n d the upper arm . T h e jaushan is a sim ilar orn am en t. T he ta 'a w tz is a so rt o f am ulet. T h e tainti is a sim ilar am ulet. 281. T h e neck. T h e mala is a bead necklace. T h e jugauli is a neck am ulet in the eastern districts. T he kanthi gcp and jauh ar are kinds o f necklaces.' 282. T he fingers. T h e anguthi and dihalla are finger-rings. 283. O rn am en ts for the w rist. Kharua and gunjahra or gunjha. T hese are chiefly w o rn by boys. 284. T h e w aist. Kardhan is a chain hung round the waist. 285. T h e ankles. Gorahra is a b o y ’s anklet. B— W orn by W om en 286.
O rnam ents for the forehead. T h e bandi is a so rt o f
54
DOMESTIC FURNITURE
spangle o r w afer. T h e bendi is an ornam ent o f th e sam e kind. T h e tika, bunna, o r bunda are sim ilar to this. T h e dr, chand, satia, patia, chdndla, dhanuh, choti, chandwa, dank and chandarbijw a are o th er ornam ents w o rn on the head o r forehead. 287. N ose ornam ents. N ath, nathia, nathuni, kil, jhulani, buldq, besar, chuchhi and phuruhuri. 288. E ar ornam ents. Karanphul, jh u m ka (a pendant), bdli, pat o r patta bijli, bdla, sabza, daria, tarki and dhdr. 289. N eck ornam ents. Kdntha, pachlari, tilari, chandarhar, champdkali, ta'aw iz, jugnu, hasuli, motimala, kdntha, zanjir, baddhi, sitala, humel and nadali. T he konchhi o r ganthi is w o rn on the fold in the sari o r sheet and the tikuri o r torwa o n the veil. 290. A rm ornam ents. Bahunta, bazu, taria, jaushan, bijdyath, chuhadanti, salunia, naugraha, pachhela, chania, kangana, hathsikhar, kathari, kara, birua, bahun, barekhi, tora, barthana, anant, naunaga,jahdngm , tosha, darkwa, bera, mathia o r mdthi (a pew ter bracelet w o rn by A hir w om en), rdkhi (an am ulet) and churi. 291. O n the fingers. Chhalla, puria, batasha, anguthi, pherua. 292. O n the waist. Kardhani, kamarkash, kdnchi, thagri. 293. O n the feet. Paezeb, anwat, angutha, bichhua o r bichhiya, chhalla, paldni, kara, chhara, gorahra, ghungru, pairi, newara o r newari, churla, chhalla, ghungrudar and phulua.
Ill
Soils
Section I— Classification o f Soils
294. Soils m ay be classified— A ccording to their distance frorti the village site. A ccording to their constituent elem ents. A ccording to the crops for w hich they are prepared, or w hich they usually produce. Section I I — Soils Classified According to Their Distance from the Village Site
295. T h e concentric circles (hdr) are generally three in nu m b er. (a) T h e belt near the hom estead (abddi, dih, basgit, etc.), w hich is better m anured, m ore carefully cultivated, and adapted for the superior kinds o f crops. T his belt is k n o w n as banjin, dahiya, goenr (eastern districts), gorha, jam ai (Eastern O udh), gauhdni (West O udh and Central Doab), khirwa (Bundelkhand), bara (C entral and U pp er D oab), per (A zam garh). (b) T h e next furthest belt from the village site is kauli (East O u d h ), majhar (East O udh), munda (U pper D oab), majhola (U p p er D oab), agla (U pper D oab), miana (G orakhpur), manjh a (Farukhabad). (c) T he belt furthest from the village site is called barha (C entral and U p p er D oab), barheta (Farukhabad), jangal (U p p er D oab), hdr o r uparhar (Central D oab and R ohilkhand), pdlo o r palai (Benares Division). 2 % . In parts o f O u d h there are only tw o divisions; in U n ao and Rai Bareli goenr and hdr and in W est O u d h gauhani and ujur.
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SOILS
Section I I I — Soils Classified according to Their Constituent Elements
A— Sandy Soils 297. Classifying soils according to their constituent ele m ents w e have first, sandy soils. A m o n g these m ay be m en tioned the bhür o r bhud o r bhuda o f R ohilkhand, w hich in Bareli is applied to soil containing m ore than 75 per cent o f sand over clay. T here are sub-divisions o f th e soil such as bhür khdki, bhürpardni, bhür milduni, and bhürürdni. A sim ilar soil is k n o w n to the east o f the province as balua, barua o r balui; and as belh (R ohilkhand), bhatia o r bhatti o r bhatua (B undelkhand), retla, retili barda o r bardi. In G o rak h p u r dhüsi is an arid and sterile soil consisting o f an adm ixture o f reddish sand w ith loose clay. A loose sandy subsoil in w hich a clay w ell w ill n o t w o rk is k n o w n as dohur, and in Bareli as lelwa. Kabsa in M ainpuri is a red sand underlying the w atershed. B— C layey Soils 298. Secondly, clayey soils. A m o n g these th e chief is th e matidr o r matiära o r matera , a bluish o r blackish clay soil, w ell adapted for rice; the chikkan o r chiknot o f R ohilkhand, because it feels greasy w hen rubbed in the hand. A w h itish heavy clay w ith traces o f iron is called khapat in Bareli. Katm dti is a clay soil w hich soon dries on the surface. Ddkra in the U p p e r D oab is a stiff dark clay prevailing in natural dips and hol low s w here w ater collects and lies during the rains. T h e mär o f B undelkhand is the black cotton soil peculiar for its p o w er o f retaining m oisture, and the rifts and cracks w hich its con traction th ro u g h d ro u g h t causes. T he kdbar o f B undelkhand is very sim ilar to the m ir, b u t lighter b o th in character and colour. In M ainpuri this soil is also k n o w n as maiyar o r mahiart and is described as the w o rst kind o f clay o r matidr soil found in low -lying situations. T h e gapsa is h ard w hitish clay; the geru is red and ochreous; the ghdr is fo u n d in lo w -ly in g situations w here w ater rem ains for a long tim e; the narmat is a soft clay. T h e jhäbar o f E taw a is an inferior clay soil found in
SOILS AND WATER ACTION
57
low g ro u n d . T h e khaldr o r kapsa matiar o f W est O u d h is a d a y soil in the bed o f tanks. 2>9. T h e bijar is a clay soil as hard as matiar, and inter m ixed w ith very fine gravel. In A zam garh the karail is a black soil w hich contains m ore organic m atter than the matiar, and the kabsa is a w hitish o r yellow ish grey soil. C — Loam y Soils 500. T hirdly, loamy soils. T h e chahal, rausti and dakara are three classes o f loam s in the direction o f D elhi, o f w hich the chahal is the strongest. T h e domat o r durnat is a sar>dy loam , and the doras clayey loam . T his soil prevails in G o rak h p u r on the highlands, and is hence som etim es k n o w n as bdngar. T he kapsa doras o f W est O u d h has an excess o f sticky clay. In the piliya o f the C entral D oab the sand is som ew hat in excess o f the clay. In the C entral D oab and R ohilkhand a m ix tu re o f domat and sand is k n o w n as milona. T he setwdri o f B anda is a greenish sandy loam , and the garauti is a light loam easily pulverized. 301. T h e bdlsundar o r balsundara o f A zam garh, like the barua o f B anda, is a sandy loam . T h e bamhni o f East O u d h is a light red soil; and the doansa a light clay m ixed w ith sand. Section I V — Soils and Water Action
302. Lands th ro w n u p b y fluvial action are gangbardr, and those cut aw ay in the sam e w ay gangshikast; chharan is land left b y the retrocession o f a river. Patpar is n ew ly -fo rm ed land so situated as to receive an annual accretion o f alluvial deposit. T he high alluvial lands in the Jam una valley are called bhagnar. In G o rak h p u r the bhdt o r bhant lands are a chalky alluvium in the valley o f the Gandak. They require litde or no irrigation. In Rohilkhand buk is applied to lands recovered by the recession o f a river. Nihal is alluvial land recovered from w ater courses. Dxra [didra] is fresh land throw n up b y the shift ing o f the course o f a river. Bar an is alluvial soil o r fresh earth th ro w n into hofloVvs by w ater. Katri is land recovered from large rivers. In O u d h such alluvial soils are called in the first
58
SOILS
year they becom e available for cultivation bijar, in the second dosdl, and in the th ird peh. In A zam garh nikharab means, in the case o f such lands, to becom e dry and fit fo r cultivation. 303. T h e alluvial deposit left by rivers is called naulewa in B undelkhand, khadar in R ohilkhand, and in th e D oab pang; and kdmp in R ohilkhand. 304. Land rendered useless by deposits o f sand is called in R ohilkhand bukara. Section V — M uddy and Water-Logged Soils
305. Land in the bed o f a tank is in Jhansi tan o r kachhdr, and in the eastern districts karoh. Bds (east districts), chik, labdar, lahli, pachpach, chihel, chabhdr, chilbil, dahal, daldal, dhasdn, dhasdo and hila are term s for m arshy o r m u d d y soils and quagm ires. T h e choil is a kind o f sw am py soil in M uzaffam agar. In G o rak h p u r the low m arshy lands in th e N epal T arai are called the dhdb. Lands usually saturated w ith w ater are pangdcha, panmar, lia,jhdda, dahar, dhada (R ohilkhand), dehri, jhaw ar, kachhwa, hdlgarajohar (C entral D oab), ugdla o r dla. In R ohilkhand akorhai is land w ith retentive subsoil, liable to flooding from canals, and w hich has to be continually w a tered to produce a crop. Banga in the C entral D oab is land saturated w ith oily o r brackish well w ater. In the U p p er D oab gar ah are low lands on w hich w ater does n o t lie long. Dubsi m eans land liable to be subm erged. D ahr in the U p p er D oab m eans low m arsh lands, the sam e as bajha o r gajjar. T he low lands in a river valley are khadar o r diwdra. Lana in M athura are lands w hich have a chance o f being left d ry by the subsidence o f the w aters in tim e to be so w n w ith hot w eather crops. A n old d ry bed o f a river is dohar,johar o r jhor. Section V I— Highlands and Lowlands
306. H ighlands, as contrasted w ith the riv er valleys, are hangar, uparwar o r uparhdr. In E taw a the highlands o n the rig h t bank o f the Jam una are k n o w n as banoh. Bulandi gener ally is highland. In B undelkhand patha are the uplands o f the
CULTIVATED AND WASTE
59
V indhya plateau. In A zam garh usar khdbhar is uneven barren ground; tikur o r tikura is high d ry gro u n d o r hard g ro u n d in the shallow s o f a river; dibba is a high spot o f g ro u n d . T he low lands in the river valleys are khadar, diwdra , an d in the eastern districts kachhar o r kheldr o r khaldr. Section V II — Ravines, Mounds, etc.
307. Land cut up by ravines and broken g ro u n d is bihar o r bihand. In B undelkhand the soil found near ravines is called dandi. Parua is sim ilar to this and o f a light colour. D huh in the C entral D oab is elevated soil in the m idst o f ravines. T h e segott o f B undelkhand is a variety o f parua o f a dirty red col our. A belt o f fertile, alluvial soil w hich w inds th ro u g h the ravines in M ainpuri is k n o w n as bhagna. In A zam garh kharhi is a ravine, kharoh is a ravine o r land near ravines, and khdbhar khubhar uneven ground. A high river b lu ff is dand or karara. 308. Sand hills are dhiis in the eastern districts an d puth in the U p p e r D oab. T h e soil near them is dhusi in the eastern districts and piilaj to the w est. Dhxha, diha o r txla are m ou n d s generally. D am ka in East O u d h is a hillock. Deola (East O u d h ) m eans the same. T h e sites o f ruined villages are dih o r khera. Thikraur in the eastern districts is the site o f an old vil lage covered w ith potsherds (thikra ). An ant-hill is bambha, bambhi (w est districts), bamitha (Low er D oab), bithak (East O u d h and Benares), and bimaut (G orakhpur). Section V III— Stony Soils
309. T h e rdkar o f B undelkhand is a gravelly soil. T here are tw o kinds, moil, coarse, and patli, fine. T he pathari patharo , o r patharila o f Lalitpur is a p o o r red gravel. T h e chatdn o r chdpar is a hard rocky soil. Soil m ixed w ith n o d u lar cal careous lim estone (kankar ) is kn o w n as kankarila. Section I X — Cultivated and Waste
310. Classifying soils according to cultivation, w e have cultivated land k n o w n as abdd, harghasu (Low er D oab), bdsat
SOILS
60
o r basat, chain , jatar (U pper D oab), chalti (D elhi), and chaltu. A n inhabited village is chhapparband; a deserted village ujdr , bechirdg o r bila chapparband. W aste land is banjar, parti (eastern districts), uftadah, ujdr, atarpdl, antarpdl (C entral and Low er D oab), bejot, patpar (Eta). In A zam garh khil is w aste land broken up for the first tim e, and khilpah land th e second year after it was broken up. Section X — Fallow
311.
Pandür in A zam garh is land left fallow fo r sugarcane from the previous spring harvest (rabi) till the season for sow ing the cane. Palihar in the eastern districts is land left uncrop ped in the autum n harvest and ploughed during the rains for the cereals o f the spring harvest follow ing; choumds is another term for the same. Abga ukhao in A zam garh is land kept fal low for sugarcane to the exclusion o f the early a u tu m n crops. Ukhao (A zam garh) is land kept fallow for sugarcane after the early au tu m n crops. T h e jari o r juthahand lands in A zam garh and the eastern districts are those o n w hich a spring crop is so w n w ith o u t any interval after the au tu m n cro p is cut. In G orak h p u r the kurhil are w aste lands w hich are plo u g h ed up du ring the rains and cold w eather, and so w n in rice at the com m encem ent o f the next rainy season. In Eta the narua are lands left fallow after the spring crop is cut, and the karel are lands left fallow after the cutting o f the a u tu m n crops. In O u d h parauti are lands left w aste for a tim e to recover their strength . In th ep u ra l o r parua lands o f Bareli, a sp rin g crop is sow n after a previous autum n fallow . Chanchar are lands left untilled for a year o r m ore. T he jaundl o f the D o ab and R ohilkhand are cultivated alternatively in the spring and au tu m n harvests. In the U p p e r D oab polach o r polcha is fallow land w hich was cultivated in the preceding au tu m n . In other places it m eans land constantly in cultivation w hich never re quires rest. Boyar is land w hich never lies fallow ; rulla o r rull requires to be left fallow for a year o r tw o ; phanph is sim ilar to this and khankh means the same. Nimar is land which has
TERMS USED IN DIFFERENT CROPS
61
lost its fertility, and dokhal o r ukhal is land reclaim ed from w aste and b ro u g h t under the plough. Section X I — Richness and Poorness o f Soil
312. M oti and poras o r gambhir are term s for rich soils. Poorness o f soil is patri o r patli . Section X I I — Irrigated and D ry Lands
313. Land artificially irrigated is bhariya , if irrigated from tanks o r ponds dbi, and from wells chahi. Land w hich de pends only o n the rain is bardni, unirrigated land is asicha ; if w atered after ploughing it is pareha o r panola . Spring crops, if u nirrigated, are in the C entral D oab sahiriyay and if irrigated bharai. In the U p p er D oab the term muhita chahi is applied to land usually irrigated, b u t th ro w n o u t o f cultivation during the year. Lands sow n only on the chance o f rain are tukhm sokht. Section X I I I — Lands Bearing A Single and A Double Crop
314. Lands w hich produce only one crop in the year are ekfarda, ekfasli,fard o r farddi. Lands bearing tw o crops in the year are dosdhi (Rohilkhand), jutian (Benares), juthdli, jhunthar, jhiithan, juthiyail, dosdre (Central Doab), dohar (Central Doab). Section X I V — Terms Used In Connection With Different Crops
T h e follow ing are som e o f the term s used in connection w ith different crops: 315. Sugarcane— Land prepared for this crop is bhadwar. In N o rth Bareli the land is left fallow in the spring harvest, rice and the m illets being sow n in the previous au tu m n . C ane g ro w n in this w ay is called kharik. Lands constantly ploughed fo r cane from A sarh to M agh are athmds. Land u n d er cane is in R ohilkhand ikhbdri za m in , and in the eastern districts ukhw dr o r ukhwdri. Land sow n w ith sugarcane afteT a rice crop is in R ohilkhand bartush. Land cropped in the previous
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SOILS
year w ith cane is in R ohilkhand münda , and in the east districts peri. 316. Cereals— Lands prepared for cereals are in the L ow er D oab bijar. In the eastern districts harjinsa lands are those w hich g ro w all crops except poppy, cane and transplanted rice. D el (B undelkhand) is land ploughed and ready for the spring cereals. Jaundl (Delhi and O udh), jaundr (A zam garh), binär (U pper D oab) and narua are lands w hich have been cropped in the past season w ith w heat and barley. 317. G arden crops— Land g row ing garden crops is in
Rohilkhand birhdna, in the eastern districts koirdr, and in the w estern parts o f the province kdchhidna o r kachhwdra. 318. C o tto n — Land o n w hich cotton has g ro w n in the previous season is bankhara, baraundha (R ohilkhand and U p per D oab), müdi (Delhi). 319. Pulses— Land under gram is in R ohilkhand chaniydda , in D elhi chanial o r untri, in the L ow er D o ab onry and in o ther places chanara. In A zam garh kirwat is land after a crop o f peas and khutahan after arhar (Cytisus cajan). Land lately under m aize o r m illets is datoi in the U p p er D oab. 320. Rice— Bids in R ohilkhand and kidr in the eastern dis tricts is land under cultivation for rice. K urhil is land ploughed up for rice after being w aste o r fallow (G orakh pur). Kira is the term in B undelkhand. Lands after the early au tu m n crop o r early rice are in A zam garh juthahand. Dhanthiya in R ohilkhand m eans land from w hich rice has been cut. 321. Land under trees, b rushw ood, etc.— Forests are ban o r jangal ; groves bag, bdri o r binvdhi. A kauch bdg is an orchard enclosed, irrigated and stocked w ith fruit trees. Buildings are n o t usually attached to such a grove. A sehan bdg (East O udh) is one attached to a shrine o r o th er building, and g row ing flow ers as w ell as fruit. A m ango grove is dm ka bdg o r amwdri. A clum p o f bam boos is basür, baswdri, o r in the east ern districts kot bans o r ghdri. A young grove o f fruit trees is naurangu in the eastern districts. A belt o f trees ro u n d a village is khandi, ghdna, jhari, rakhiya o r ban. B ru sh w o o d is jhünsi o r jhamra (A zam garh), jhängi (East O u d h ), jhdr, jhari, jhaldr,
LAND IMPREGNATED W ITH SALTS, ETC.
63
khandar (Central Doab), kunriya (east districts), jhur, jarita. In A zam garh chhinla is small stunted brushw ood. Jhdd in the U p p e r D oab is land o n w hich bru sh w o o d grow s. Lands p ro ducing reeds are katri in Eta. Section X V — Land Impregnated with Salts, etc.
322. Rehar o r usar is land im pregnated w ith reh o r im pure carbonate o f soda; khdri w ith sulphate o f soda, noncka o r kaU lar w ith com m on salt. Chand btjar in A zam garh is usar land in w h ich spots o f good g ro u n d are scattered.
IV General Agricultural Operations
IV . I
P L O U G H IN G
Section I — Ploughing
323. T o plough is hai jotna o r hai chaldna to the w est; to the east the phrase hai nddhna is used . 16 O th e r expressions are harauri par ja n a , and bdhna. O n e ploughing is in A zam garh bdnh , and in o th er eastern districts chds. 324. T h e first ploughing is in R ohilkhand eksiri jo t lena, and in the eastern districts ek chds kam a. Lands so w n after a single ploughing are called in D elhi chhdnta and in the U p p e r D oab pdr. In G orakhpur maghdma is applied to th e ploughing in the m o n th o f M agh (January-February) o f lands intended to be so w n w ith rice at the next rainy season. 325. T h e second ploughing is in R ohilkhand dobdr, in the U p p e r D o ab dùsar, o r ara, dosdri o r dor, in the eastern districts somara. Land tw ice ploughed is jd il in w estern R ohilkhand, o r chail in R ohilkhand. 326. T h e th ird ploughing is in R ohilkhand tibdr, in the eastern d is tria s tikhar o r tikhara. Land ploughed thrice is tdse. 327. T h e fourth ploughing is in R ohilkhand chauhar o r chonwar, and in the eastern districts chaukara. L and ploughed four tim es is chaus. 328. T h e fifth ploughing is in R ohilkhand pachwdr, in the eastern districts pachdwar. Land ploughed five tim es is pachbdsi. In G o rak h p u r the phrase used for successive ploughings is ek chds, do chds, etc. A fter the fifth ploughing th ey say chha bàri, sat bdri, etc. 16 Nddhna, from nadha, the rope b y w hich the beam o f the p lo u g h is fastened to the yoke, s.v. in Azamgarh Glossary.
FIELDS
65
329. T h e ploughing o f the m illets (joar, bdjra, etc.) w hen they are about a foot high is in the U p p e r D oab and R ohilk hand gurab, and in the eastern districts dhxir dahani. T o the east o f the province it is the custom to flood a rice field and then p lough it to kill w eeds. T his is k n o w n as pandahani. T he process o f w eeding the m illets in this w ay is also k n o w n in D elhi and the C entral D oab as biddhna , and chhanta detta , and in the L ow er D oab dadahma. In A zam garh ploughing w ith a plough o f w hich th e block is new and full-sized (nauhara) is k n o w n as awdi , plou g h in g w ith a sm all w o rn block (khunta hara) is seo. 330. In rice cultivation after sow ing, th e field is lightly reploughed to clear the w eeds and cover the seed. T his is k n o w n as uthdwan o r bidahni in the eastern districts, and in R ohilkhand dohrdna. In A zam garh chauki m eans th e small pieces o f the field w hich the p lou g h has n o t touched. 331. C ross ploughing is arah o r ara, ploughing fro m cor ner to c o m e r is nok ndka , and in G orak h p u r kona koni. T h e straight fu rro w is khara. W hen a rectangular field is ploughed along its length it is in G o rak h p u r chds, and in th e U p p er D oab antara ; ploughing breadthw ays is in G o rak h p u r somara and in the U p p e r D oab pdnsa. P loughing from a c o m e r is kon. Section I I — Fields
332. A field is khet. T h e beds m ade in a field to facilitate irrigation are kiydri , and in A zam garh barahi. T h e sim ilar di visions in a sugarcane field are koha in A zam garh. In G orakh pur bdndhi are the raised banks betw een the irrigation beds w hich in the U pper D oab are mendi, o r menri. In the U pper D oab sm all fields in the decreasing ord er o f size * ic gata, dabra and kirayiya. Genra is a plot m arked o ff by a bou n d ary . In G o rak h p u r kola o r kolwa is a sm all patch o f g ro u n d generally adjoining a house. W hen th e fields o f one p ro p rie to r’s share are scattered o v er the village it is khetbat. W hen th ey are di vided like the squares in a chequered cloth it is chundaribat.
66
PLOUGHING
Section III— Boundaries
333. T he boundary o f a field is mend o r merh. A dyke used as a boundary is khai, khandaq, khanwdn or khawa. Dunruha or dunruhi in A zam garh is a line o r m o u n d separating fields. Genra is a low field-boundary m ark. A n o rd in ary b o undary m ark is damcha, daul o r daula, dhuha o r dhuhi, dokhi (Delhi), dandt gad (Delhi). A place w here three boundaries m eet is sihadda , and w here four m eet it is chaugadda, chaukha, chaurdha, chompta o r chaumukha. Section I V — Furrows
334. A fu rro w is gund o r kunr; khud o r khur is a fu rro w in stiff soil. M urh in A zam garh is a fu rro w in w hich sugar cane o r betel is g ro w n .17 Harai in G orakhpur are th e deep fur ro w s in a field at distances o f 25 o r 30 feet in w hich extra crops are grow n. T h e deep fu rro w used as an irrigation chan nel is baraha. Section V — Miscellaneous Terms used in Connection with Ploughing
335. Ghumao in D elhi, jawdra o r jaw dri in the C entral D oab, and sdnjlo , m ean as m uch land as can be ploughed in a day; jawdra in D elhi means the area ploughed in h a lf a day w hich is in the D oab chhakwdr. T he portion o f land included in the circle o f one plough is harai. T o com m ence another cir cuit is harai phdndna. T h e place w here plou g h in g is going o n is hardtar o r harauri. 336. T h e first ploughing o f the season is halaita, hanta (R ohilkhand), harsotea (Delhi), haraini, haraity harauta, harwat o r hari. T h e first ploughing o f a fallow field after the first fall 17 It is sym ptom atic o f the specialized cultivation o f sugarcane and betel th at there are separate term s for the sam e operations w hen applied to either o f these high-valued crops. T h u s divisions m ade in the field to facilitate irrigation w ith th e w ooden shovel {hatha) is barahi generally, and koha w hen applied to cane fields (para 332). T h e sam e holds for miirh.
PLOUGHMEN
67
o f rain is chinvai. B ringing hom e the plough across the back o f a bullock o r w ith the share inverted is harsot, and in G o rak h p u r har chhutdn. T he w orship o f the plough w hen the ploughing and sow ing w o rk are ended is harpuja. T h is day is called nibauni. Section V I— Ploughmen
337. A ploughm an is halwdha to the w est, harwdha to the east, halt (Rohilkhand) o r hariya (Rohilkhand). In G o rak h p u r ploughm en are distinguished as (a) darmahddar, w h o w o rk h a lf the day for one m aster and h alf for another; (b) tihdra , one w h o w o rk s tw o days for his m aster and receives in return the loan o f a plough and cattle for one day to till his o w n field; (c) sanwakddr o r chhatiyan , w h o w orks on advances. He receives as his pay one-sixth o f the produce and a b lan k et . 18 W hen a ploughm an receives the use o f a plough instead o f w ages in cash o r kind he is called angauriya in Benares, and in G orak h p u r angwdr. This practice is k n o w n as jitra in B undelkhand and R ohilkhand. A n agricultural labourer paid in kind is called bajtdar, in contradistinction to mihddr, o n e w h o re ceives m oney. A m an paid solely in cash is in the eastern dis tricts koranja. In Benares baninhdr is a labourer paid in kind. A hired labourer attached to an estate b u t free to rem o v e is kamera. Paym ents in kind to agricultural labourers are bhanta (Rohilkhand)* bhatta (Delhi and D oab), banni (Benares), bhalia, haliydk (Delhi and D oab), harwahi (G orakhpur), manni, mend ka andj or Idi (U p p er D oab). Advances to a ploughm an w hen first em ployed are harauri (Benares), o r harwal (East O u d h and Benares). Section V II— Reciprocal Assistance in Cultivation
338. In A zam garh paith o r painch is exchange o f labour for labour by agriculturists. A m an w ho cultivates w ith a 18 T he G o rak h p u r term s have been picked up by C ro o k e from present-day Basti district. See R eport o n P ergunnah Basti and M ahul, c. 1860, in Goruckpore-Bustee Settlement Report (1871), n, p. 161.
MANURING
68
b o rro w ed plough is bhundia in the C entral D oab, and in G o rak h p u r bhanja haria. A cultivator w h o for th e loan o f a plough for eight days w orks the rest o f the m o n th for the len der is athwdra , and w hen he w orks for tw o days and gets the use o f a plough o n the th ird it is tijaria (eastern districts ) .19 Angwdra (eastern districts), jitera (R ohilkhand and B undelkhand), jitta , dangwara (Delhi and U p p er D oab), hari, harsot, harsajja, bhanja and hutidh are term s used for reciprocal assist ance in tilling.
IV . 2
M A N U R IN G
Section I— Kinds o f Manure
339. M anure is khdt, khdd, khdo, pans o r sär. Küra is ru b bish o r road sw eepings. C o w d u n g is gobar. L id is the d ung o f horses, elephants, etc. O th e r filth o f various k inds is maila. T h e refuse o f indigo after m aceration used as m an u re is sith o r ju tth i. A m anure pit near a house is in G o rak h p u r ghür , and in A zam garh ghürkatw dr o r ghurkatwdri; ashes are räkh. Section I I — Modes o f Manuring
340. In A zam garh khadgor is heavily m anured land. It is the custom to allow cattle to stand in a field fo r the purpose 19 T h e context o f tijaria is spelt o u t thus b y J. R. Reid: ‘In parganas in w hich there is little rice land, fro m four to five acres can be cultivated w ith a fair pair o f bullocks. Rice land requires litde ploughing, and the average is greater in those parts w here it prevails. T h e size o f m any tenants’ hold ings is considerably less than the area ju s t nam ed. Som e o f those tenants w ho have not land enough to employ tw o bullocks keep only one, and d u b w ith o th er cultivators on th e plan k n o w n as harsaj. M an y o f those w h o have only an acre o r less o f land keep n o bullocks at all. T h e y cultivate on the plan k n o w n as tijaria. W orking tw o days for an o th er cu ltiv ato r, they get th e use o f his bullocks in exchange o n the th ird ’. Azamgarh Settlement Report, para 350.
SOWING
69
o f m anuring it. T his is k n o w n in East O u d h and G o rak h p u r as hirdna ; in R ohilkhand khatdna , in O u d h pdnsa, in A zam garh bhenrwdns, hirdwal o r hirdwar. Section I I I — Manure used as Fuel
341. M anure is collected in the forests and grazing grounds and dried for fuel. T his is k n o w n as bankandaf bangauntha , o r bangointha o r amikanda , in D elhi rana gosa , and in the eastern districts binua gointha.20 W hen m ade u p into blocks like bricks m ixed w ith chaff and other refuse it is cal led chapre, gobar, upra o r upla, gosa , doja, thepri and chhot. T he very large cakes are goha o r kande and in the eastern districts gohara , o r danda . In G orak h p u r gointha o r goitha are th e rough pieces dried and stored. T he chipari o f G orakhpur and the upli o f the U p p e r D oab are the small pieces stuck on a w all to dry. T he dohothi are larger than the chipari. T he kankatiya o f A zam garh and the madhukari are sm all pieces o f co w d u n g fuel. 342. T he pile o f cow dung fuel is k n o w n as bhitaura ; in R ohilkhand this is called battaiya o r bathiya , in E ast O u d h gurhaur , in G orakhpur gohraul o r gohraura , and in A zam garh goharwara. T h e house in w hich the fuel is stored is in the U p per D oab gohariy and in the eastern districts gothaila o r goithaula. T h e operation o f m aking the cakes is pathnay and the place w here they are m ade pathwdri o r pathaura.
IV . 3
S O W IN G
Section I— Sowing
343. Sow ing is boai, boara, boani, boni; and in th e U p p er D oab bora. T o sow is bona. T o scatter the seed is chhxntna, and 20 It seem s th at kanda is the usual fo rm in the w est and gointha to th e east o f the province.
70
SOWING
in R ohilkhand bakhema. Seed is bij to the w est, and in the eastern districts bia\ a grain o f seed is ddna. Section II— Modes o f Sowing
T h e follow ing are the m odes o f sow ing: 344. (a) F urrow sow ing— SF} burri, gurri, or gulli. In this case a p lough goes in advance o f the sow er w h o carries the seed in a basket. H e drops it into the fu rro w as soon as it be com es visible. B y this m eth o d the seed is so w n deep, the stalk is stronger, and n o t so liable to be laid by high w inds. T his m ode o f sow ing is know n in A zam garh as khutahar boab. Bhathidrab is to fill u p w ith soil the furrow in w hich the seed has been sow n, by ploughing a second fu rro w beside it. T his is chiefly done in the case o f sugarcane. W hen the seed is sow n in long lines in the field it is k n o w n in G o rak h p u r as pant o r pdnti , and w hen it is sow n along the sides o f the field it is in the U p p e r D oab kunr , and in G orakhpur m u m . 345. (b) Sow ing by drill— T his is k n ow n in B undelkhand as bob o r naru; in D elhi ja iy a , and in the D oab and R ohilkhand wair o r waima. 346. (c) B roadcast sow ing— T his is in R ohilkhand pabera bona; in Benares chhitua\ in the D oab, R ohilkhand and D elhi paberi, pabar phenkdena o r jelkarna ; in B undelkhand parbeda o r chhirka , o r chhintab ; and in the eastern districts pair o r paira. 347. If the seed is sow n on lands w hich have n o t been ploughed, the phrase in R ohilkhand is baithe per bona, o r chhintua. T h e sam e w o rd chhinta is used in the eastern districts to signify lands in w hich the seed has been scattered after a single ploughing, m ore particularly at the extrem ities o f vil lages w ith a view to secure possession. T his w o rd is also spe cially used for sow ing the spring (rabi) crop on the jari lands, o r those from w hich the au tu m n crop has ju s t been cut as contrasted w ith the palihar o r carefully prepared fallow fields. In the eastern districts the dhuria bawag o r boan is the sow ing o f the early rice in dry lands. T h ro w in g m ore seed am ong a g ro w in g crop o f rice is in D elhi chhdnta, sow ing w ide apart is in R ohilkhand chhida, and in the eastern districts bhira. Sow
HOEING
71
ing thick is ghatt, ghana o r ghittka. Grain th at fails to germ in ate is abtj, nirbij o r bijmar. W hen from excess o f rain follow ed b y heat a crust is form ed o n the surface w hich prevents the y oung plant from com ing up, it is called in G o rak h p u r seota, and in the w estern districts rapara. Section I I I — Seed-Beds and Nurseries
348. A nursery generally for rice is bidry in the eastern dis tricts behnaur o r behan; in the w estern districts pantr, in B undelkhand ja y i ; in D elhi piad. T h e young plants w hich are transplanted from the nursery are paudh, behan o r bichra. Hdpar is a sugarcane nursery. Section I V — Sowing Tim e
349. T h e sow ing season is bon i, bora, bera, bodi o r boara in the w estern districts, and to the east baug o r bdwag. T h e end o f the sow ing season is daliya jh d r (literally the b ru sh in g o u t o f the sow ing basket), kunrm undla, hariar, baibhari, kunrbojhi, and in the eastern districts kurmundan.
IV. 4
D IG G IN G , H O E IN G A N D W E E D IN G Section I— Digging
350. T o dig is gom a, koma o r khodna. D ig g in g is gordi, kordi o r khodai; armdrab is digging o r hoeing the edges o f fields in A zam garh. Section I I — Hoeing
351. H oeing is kordi o r khurpidi. In R ohilkhand the asdrh kor is a special hoeing o f sugarcane in the m o n th o f Asarh (June-July). H oeing in A zam garh is patdnr o r baithdwan , and dhuridwan o r dhurdwan is the first hoeing o f the sugarcane.
REAPING AND GLEANING
72
Section I I I — Weeding
352. D eep w eeding is gorab , superficial w eeding is nikdi, nirdi, o r nirwdi. T h e w eeding o f the rice crop is in G orakhpur sohani. In G o rak h p u r and other eastern districts tdmna is to clean a field o f w eeds before ploughing. T h e o p eratio n is tamdi; kirkhi nirdb is w eeding in A zam garh. W eeds and gras ses collected o u t o f a ploughed field b y the w eed harro w (idhinkhar) are called godhar in D elhi; and in the eastern dis tricts khedhi, gurhal, akan o r ghur. W eeding b y h an d is chutki se in the L ow er D oab. W eeds collected and b u rn t as m anure are aldo, o r kaura in the eastern districts. 353. W ages for w eeding are chikarwdi (E astern O u d h ), nirdi, naulai, nikdi, nirwdna, and in G orakhpur io/wm.
IV . $
W A T C H IN G O F C R O PS
354. W atching o f crops is in the w estern districts rakhwdli ; in the eastern districts the term s rakhwai an d khetwdi are used. It is also k n o w n as bdlrakhi o r shahnagi, Karkardb in A zam garh is driving crow s o ff a field. A field w atchm an is to the w est rakhwdla o r shahna , and to the east rakhwdr, agor o r agoraiya. Ahxta is a m an appointed to w atch on b eh alf o f the landlord to see that none o f the crop is carried aw ay before the dem and is paid. W hen cultivators club to g eth er to w atch their crop in tu rn it is called bdri bdri o r pari pari . Fields cut by stealth are burida (Rohilkhand).
IV . 6
R E A P IN G A N D G L E A N IN G Section I— Reaping
355. Reaping is in the west districts lai o r launi, in the east katia. T o reap is kdtna. T o cut cane is chholna. T h e m an w ho
GLEANING
73
cuts the cane is chhola. A reaper is lahdra (R ohilkhand), o r in East O u d h launhdr .21 Section II— Cutting o f Unripe Crops
356. U n rip e crops are som etim es cut for food. T his is k n o w n as dadri, alo, arwan , awdsi, kawal, kawari , bhadahar (R ohilkhand), bhadbhaddna (D oab), hureha (D oab), gadar, dhesar, gaddar, gadra , harkat (R ohilkhand). In G o rak h p u r anwala is a little grain cut first, and umbi, unbi o r iimi is u n rip e w heat o r barley cut for parching. Holha o r horha is unripe g ram cut and parched. T o shake the fruit o ff a tree is bhadbhaddna. H ar vest tim e is katni, katdi o r katia. Launi are w ages for harvest ing. T o cut the ears w ith o u t the stalks is bajhwat (eastern dis tricts), balkat (Low er D oab, B undelkhand), and katdi (Be nares). Section I I I — Gleaning
357. A gleaner is sildharf gleanings left on the field for the low er orders are bisar (eastern districts), sila o r salla (generally 21 T he regional variation launi (west) and katia (east), w as n o t as rigid as m ade o u t by C ro o k e. W e read in Azamgarh Settlement Report, para 389 (note): ‘R eapers are called launahar, the reaping being called katia o r launi, T h e reapers carry the crop to the threshing place, as well as c u t it. T h e cu sto m o f paying th em varies in different parts o f the district. In som e places each reaper receives four sers o f barley o r rice o r tw o and a h a lf sers o f w heat, besides a handful o f th e cut crop. In som e th e reapers m ake a bundle o f crop for them selves, w hich, after inspection by th e em p lo y er, th ey are allow ed to take aw ay. In others, one load (puri) o u t o f every tw en ty -fiv e cu t by th e labourer is his w^ge. If labour is em p lo y ed in th reshing, tw o sers a day per m an is given o u t o f the grain*. In th e case o f sugarcane, the cutters stripped the cane o f d ry leaves o n its side w ith a hansia (an unserrated sickle) and also cut o ff th e green tops w hich, w hen chopped w ith a gandasi, served as fodder d u rin g J a n u a ry M arch. T h ro u g h o u t th e province in th e nineteenth century th e cane cutters received their rem uneration at a given rate o f five canes per h ead to g eth er w ith all th e green tops w hich had been chopped off. T hese la tte r w ere seldom sold and their value as fodder m u st have been considerable, fo r on th e face o f it this rem uneration seem s to have been less th an th a t received b y th e A zam garh launahars.
THRESHING AND WINNOWING
74
th ro u g h o u t the province), medh o r maindh ; in G o rak h p u r binna, and in A zam garh pachhua or phùta.
IV. 7
T H R ESH IN G A N D W IN N O W I N G Section I — The Threshing Floor
358. T h e threshing floor is khalihdn (w hich is also used in the form s khaliydn, khariydn and kharihdn ), pair (U p p er D oab and R ohilkhand), khirmangàh, pharwdr (eastern districts), dphar (O udh). T h e shed erected on the threshing floor is in the eastern districts marai o r paldni. Section II — Sheaves and Bundles
359. L d k o r lank in the w estern districts is th e cut grain. Pula, gaddi, puria (G orakhpur), gaira and gara are sheaves. In G orakhpur muttha is a handful o f cut crop. A dabbiya is about ten handfuls o f the autum n (kharif) crop. Lehna is used in the sam e sense for the w inter (rabt) crop. A bout 4 muttha = 1 lehna 4 lehna = 1 dabbiya 5 dabbiya = 1 bojh 100 bojh = 1 pahi 360. Five dabbiya o f the autum n crop m ake o n e dhoka , ab ou t ten dhoka m ake one bojh o r load, and an aggregation o f several bojh m ake a kUndar. These term s are generally taken from the eastern districts. In G orakhpur lehni is a sm all sheaf and bojha a large sheaf, sixteen bojha m ake one sorahi, w hich is a co m m o n unit for m easuring produce. A G o rak h p u r culti vator says his field gives so m any sorahi to th e bigha. In G o rak h p u r atia o r aunsa are large bundles o f rice and tema is a sm aller-sized bundle, and akwdr is as m uch as can be carried u n d er the arm . 361. In A zam garh kera is a small bundle o f grass o r cut grain; gointh a head load o f straw ; jaukta a bundle o f cut
CROPS ON THE THRESHING FLOOR
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pulse; bhiri o r bhir a bundle o f the stalks o f the arhar (Cytisus cajan) o r sim ilar b rushw ood. In the D oab bharota is a bundle o f fodder. Section III — Treading O ut Grain
362. T h e treading o u t o f grain is dden, daona, dawan, danwdna (A zam garh), gahai o r gohai (Rohilkhand); dhinkhar is a bundle o f thorns dragged over the co m to beat o u t the grain; khamsdh (A zam garh) is to thresh co m thoroughly. T h e beat ing o u t o f the heads against the gro u n d o r a bed to disengage any grains that rem ain is satkanu (A zam garh), o r satakna. T he second treading o u t o f the grain is in R ohilkhand and the D oab khurd dden o r khur dden. T he stake to w hich the bullocks are tied in treading o u t the grain is menh o r menhia. T h e inner bullock, w hich is the slow est and w eakest, is menhia or menihdn. T h e o u ter bullock, w hich is the sm artest o f the team , is called in Benares pat , in G orakhpur pati or dahinwdr, in Rohil khand paghariya and in D elhi pankarari. T he y o k in g o f the bullocks is gdta in D elhi, and the rope w hich ties th em is dauri o r ddnwari in the east districts; and in o th er places gandawar, ddmri, garawar, pakkar , jo r o r ber. Section I V — Crops on the Threshing Floor
363. T h e piles o f sheaves— W hen the crop is roughly piled for threshing on the threshing floor it is k n o w n as ganj o r pahi in the eastern districts. W hen the cut crop is piled like a stack in E ngland w ith the grain heads inside to save it from rain it is called to the east tilganj; arhar ( Cytisus cajan), w hen piled on end to ripen before threshing, is in G o rak h p u r bhiri o r bhir. T h e platform on w hich a stack is raised is gh a i; chulli are the su p p o rts o n w hich the stack is raised. Garri in D elhi and the U p p e r D oab is a large stack o f w heat o r barley con taining tw o o r m ore senka , w hich generally com prises several thraves o f co m , the produce o f one field. In R ohilkhand it m eans a large stack o f the produce o f the autum n harvest. 364. W hen th e crop is spread o u t flat o n the threshing
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THRESHING AND WINNOWING
floor ready to be tro dden o u t b y the bullocks it is in G orakh p u r pair. 365. A fter the crop is tro d d en o u t the pile o f chaff and grain ready for w in n o w in g is in D elhi silli o r dhar, in R ohilkhand gurhdo o r silli; in the U p p e r D oab silli, neora, dhar or siliya; in the C entral D oab dehi o r m am i ; in the L ow er D oab kalha o r guranw ; in East O u d h and G o rak h p u r kunao or ukdnw ; in B undelkhand thua; in Benares and A zam garh guranw and ukdnw ; and in C aw n p u r sairh o r kunai. 366. T h e heaped grain is in D elhi rds o r tar, and in o th er parts o f the province rds; over this a cake o f cow dung is placed to avert the evil eye. T his is called in the eastern dis tricts barhdwan , to the w est chdnk and chhattur o r chhdpa, and in G o rak h p u r gobardana. A piece o f m oist earth stam ped is som etim es used in the sam e w ay, and is called barkat ki mitti. 367. T h e heaped straw and chaff—Straw is pula w hen in a bundle; w hen loose pudr, pudl, payal, pora o r poara. Bhusa o r bhus is husks o f cereals. T h e husk o f the pulses are k n o w n in the eastern districts as chhimaur. B ran is bhusi o r chokar. T h e heaped straw on the threshing floor is bhus in Delhi; osa in R ohilkhand; osa o r bhus in the U p p er D oab; silli in the C en tral D oab; silli o r bhusour in the L ow er D oab, E ast O u d h and G orakhpur; silli in Benares; and bhusaul in B undelkhand. A stack o f hay o r straw is garri, bunga o r bonga. A heap o f straw is in the eastern districts porwat, porauta o r porauti. A n enclo sure for stacking straw o r fuel is in M athura got ; syi o r sua in the U p p e r D oab is a sm all stack o f the fodder o f the m illets jodr and bajra, and chhaur is a larger stack. A house for holding chaff is in the eastern districts bhusauri o r bhusaura o r bhusehra , and in D elhi obra; khonpi in the eastern districts is a sm all shed for chaff. A stack o f chaff covered w ith a thatch to save it from w eather is in G o rak h p u r mandil, and in the U p p e r D oab kup o r bonga. A bundle o f chaff is khdra o r pdnsi. Pdnk o r p dnki in the eastern districts is the fme chaff w hich is b lo w n aw ay b y the w in d in w innow ing. 368. T h e refuse straw o r fodder— T his is in D elhi dondli, gantha o r bhulari; in R ohilkhand gdnth , gdnta o r sdnta; in th e
MISCELLANEOUS
77
U p p e r D oab gdrttha o r ganteh; in the C entral D oab gathuri o r sathuri; in the L ow er D oab ganta, guthri o r jangra ; in East O u d h and G o rak h p u r khunti o r gethara ; in Benares gdnth o r ganteh ; and in B undelkhand guthri o r suthri. T h e refuse o f har vest floors especially applied to the au tu m n crop is ddnth, jhora, datua, danthla, khunthi, khuntla, dund, danthal, thunth, khutel and khobari. T h e k n ots in the stalks are katri o r katli. T h e d ry stalks o f m ustard (sarson) are in the eastern districts tiskhut o r tiskhur and tiltha , o r to the w est turi. T he d ry moth plant cut and given as fodder to cattle is gharar o r kurar. T h e stalks o f cereals w ith o u t the ear are in East O u d h and G o rak h p u r bajhwat, and jangra in the L ow er D o ab is the h aulm o f the au tu m n crop. Section V — Winnowing
369. T o w in n o w grain is saildna (Rohilkhand); dhariydna (eastern districts); dhardhama (Delhi); surhetna (R ohilkhand); osdna (B undelkhand), osauna o r barsana (eastern districts); in A zam grah ddli dena, phatkarab , o r phatkorab. T h e grain w hich is only w in n o w ed once is in R ohilkhand khajura , in the U p per D oab gajaura, and in the C entral D oab sili. Section V I— Miscellaneous
370. T h e gathering o r the collecting o f grain at o n e place in the tim e o f harvest is batoran o r batolan. W hen th e grain is being w eighed an extra handful is th ro w n in to m ake up for dust, etc. T his is called khakina, bharti o r mutthia. T h e grain left on the threshing floor after rem oving the bulk o f the crop is mer o r thdpa, and in the east districts pachhua. T h e gleanings and refuse grain on the threshing floor are k n o w n as gharwa , ghundar o r gatharwa; in the eastern districts agwdr , agela, buhdran, jharan, o r batoran. T h e small heaps p u t aside fo r the god an d penates (bhumiganesh) are ujari o r sydwarh.22. 22 C f. Bcam es, Supplemental Glossary, ii, p. 311: ‘Kali Rai says; “ T h e sm all heaps p u t aside for bhumi ganesh (as th e offerings to g o d an d penates)
DIVISION OF CROPS
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IV . 8
D IV IS IO N O F C R O P S
Section I— Division and Valuation
371. T h e division o f crops betw een landlord and tenant is batai, pair batai (Rohilkhand); agor batai, bhaoli, kan (U p p er D oab). T h e valuation o f the crop for the purposes o f division is kut o r kankut. T h e valuation o f the crop, as fixed by the appraiser, is bakdry a rough estim ate o f the produce is bdk in the w est districts, and in B undelkhand dekha bhdli. W hen the produce o f a bigha is estim ated from that o f a biswah , the pro cess is doli in East O u d h , or ddna bandi. Section II— T he Shares into which the Crop is Divided
T h e shares are as follows: 372. H a lf to landlord and h alf to tenant. A d h i, nisft, adh batai, adh-i-adha in the w est and to the east adhia. 373. Seven-sixteenths to landlord and nine-sixteenths to tenants. T his is naudna (R ohilkhand), batai nawdsiya (Be nares), hariydnw and nausat. 374. N ine-sixteenths to the landlord and sevensixteenths to the tenants. T his is nausatti in A zam garh. 375. W hen the landlord gets 16 sers 5 chhatanks to the m aund. T his is tihdra siwaia in Bareli. W hen th e landlord re ceives 14 sers 15 chhatanks to the m aund = 23%40. T his is tihdra panseri (Bareli). 376. T w o -fifth s to the landlord and three-fifths to the tenants. T his is pachdo in Bareli; also bakand and pachdoli. 377. W hen the landlord receives o ne-third and the tenant tw o -th ird s, it is tihdra (Bareli) o r tihdi, and to th e east tikur or tikura. are called ujari and sydwarh; grain left o n the threshing flo o r after rem oving th e bulk o f the crop is called mettr and thdpa, and the grain w h ich falls to the g ro u n d w ith th e ch aff in w innow in g is called ghundar and is the perquisite o f the C ham ars. It is also called gatharwa. G leanings o f field w hich any one m ay carry o ff are called sila” \ See Khet Kam t (1870 edn), p. 29.
DEDUCTIONS AND REMISSIONS
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378. W hen the cultivator gets tw o-fifths and the landlord three-fifths, it is in the U p p er D oab tihdra or siwana. 379. W hen the landlord gets five-sixteenths and the tenant eleven-sixteenths it is sarhe chauhara (Bareli). 380. W hen the landlord gets one-fourth and the tenant three-fourths this is chauhara (Bareli and U pper D oab) o r chahdrum. 381. W hen the landlord receives one-fifth and the tenant four-fifths it is pachara (Bareli). Section III — Deductions and Remissions
382. A deduction o f one-sixth on the am ount received by the tenant is in G orak h p u r batta harwahi. T he allow ance to the tenant on account o f deficient produce is in R ohilkhand nabud; w hen a fixed deduction o f 10 per cent is m ade it is know n as nawadasi; a rem ission to a high-class tenant is in Fyzabad charwa o r fcwr,23 khaktna in Bareli is an allow ance 23 T h e phrase ‘rem ission to a high-class tenant’ is slightly confusing, for in actual fact fewr was ‘a rem ission in rent in favour o f high-caste cultivators to enable them to employ a ploughman . P. K am egy, Kachahri Technicalities (Allahabad, 1871), p. 178. ‘K ur, usually consists o f an allow ance o f one and a half kaccha pansens; i.e. o f seven and a h alf kaccha sers in the kaccha man o f forty sers\ as a rule it entitles the recipient to pay as rent, the equivalent o f tw o-fifths instead o f half the gross produce. It is granted in the first place to a large class k now n under the general term s amnek. T hese arc generally high-caste m en such as B rahm ans o r Rajputs, etc., and it is a point o f honour w ith them to cultivate on these term s o r none. Large n u m b ers o f them w ere at no distant period actual liege-m en o r retainers. All had a talwdr ready at their landlord’s call . . . T he privilege was [not] generally granted as a m ere acknow ledgem ent to the claims o f caste. It seem s to have been granted rather as an equivalent for advantages, real o r expected, in return. T h e amnek was n o t only m aster o f a sto u t sw o rd and a ready arm . His oxen w ere m ore, and stronger; his supply o f m anure larger, and his means o f cultivation better, than those o f the ordinary raiyat. H e w as to o , a better payer. T h e real origin o f the privilege is this:— It is p ro p erly the allowance, if n o t the only w ages, o f the halwdha o r p lo u g h m an , w ith w hom every am nek is supplied. T o plough w ith his o w n hands w ould be to the amnek an indelible disgrace. All menial w ork m ust be perfo rm ed by the halwdha. T he latter is a predial slave, if n o t an actual slave.
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DIVISION OF CROPS
m ade by the tenant for dust in the landlord’s share o f the grain. In K heri the agdwar is an allow ance o f 1 Va sets to the m aund; biswi is w hen the cultivator gets the w hole produce o f one biswah in his holding; anjuri is from 2 to 10 sers per plough, khaliyani o r khatri is an allowance occasionally taken by the tenant. In A zam garh there are certain cesses w hich com e o u t o f the ten an t’s share and vary from Vfeoth to 4/sths— these are k n o w n as serahi, pachhua o r neg. Section I V — Mode o f Division
383. W hen the crop is divided by sheaves before the grain is trodden o u t it is k n o w n as barbatai, bojhbatdi (R ohilkhand), gardbatai (R ohilkhand). W hen it is divided at the threshing floor it is batia khaliyani. T he m an w ho w eighs the grain is taula, baya (Low er D oab and R ohilkhand), kaydl, dharwdi, kaniah,jokhaif o r dandia; the w eig h m an ’s fees are tauldi, baydi, o r jo k h .
T here exists in full force in these parts [i.e. in D ariyabad] the w retched system k n o w n as sattwak by w hich, on a petty loan o f Rs 10 o r Rs 20, the halwdha will bind h im self and his heirs as serfs to his security (mal-zamin) until principal and interest at 24 to 37V£ per cent per annum have, to the last farthing, been repaid. Again: kur is often the inducem ent held o u t to K u rm is, and [other] skilful cultivators, w h o m it is an object to settle in a d eserted spot. It is the usual perquisite o f the mukaddam: o f the m an w h o undertakes estim ation o f th e crops (kankut) or w h o , in any oth er w ay, does extra w o rk (kar o bar) for the landlord. It is n o t given to an asami, m erely because he is kadJm: and is n o t necessarily an hereditary privilege. T h e above principles are n o t confined to paym ents in kind. T o a great extent they regulate m oney paym ents also’. Kachahri Technicalities, pp. 1 7 8 -9 . See also para 595 below .
V
Cattle and Other Domestic Animals « Section I — Cattle Generally
384. C attle generally are k n o w n as maweshi, poha, chaupa, chaupdya, and in the east districts goru o r chawwa changar. A head o f cattle is rds o r hanja. In the U p p e r D oab h o m e d cattle exclusive o f buffaloes are called ddngar, w hich also m eans cat tle w o rn o u t from old age; this is also expressed b y the term s baisak o r khangar. Thdnth in the east districts is a w o rn o u t o r useless cow o r buffalo. Section I I — Bulls
385. ndlkol.
T h e usual term s are bijdr o r sdnry and in E taw ah
Section I I I — Bullocks
386. T hese are called bail generally; also bald o r baladh; and in the east districts bard o r baradh. A pair o f p lo u g h oxen is goin, goi 24 o r dogdwa , and in the U p p er D oab gora o r jo t. In the east districts in a team o f three bullocks the w heelers are dhuria and the leader binriha ; in a team o f four bullocks the leading bullocks are judr. A yoke o f w ell-bullocks is jawdra. Bullocks are distinguished by various peculiarities, such as the follow ing: 387. A bullock w ith only one h o rn is dunda, in the U p p e r D oab tunda , in G o rak h p u r bunda\ and in other places sing tuta. 388. A bullock w hose horn s project in front is jhunga, jh u n g i, jhingaur, jhingli, jhindi, ghoncha o r ghonchdh in A zam garh; and in G o rak h p u r kothia. 24 Readers o f P rem chand’s Godatt will recall that it w as H o ri’s desire to purchase a lgoi th at led to his hopeless indebtedness.
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389. A bullock unbroken to w o rk is adahdri, harha , and in A zam garh ochhar kandhi. O n e that sits d o w n at w o rk is galiya , o r in G orakhpur parua . A vicious bullock is markaha o r chotar. A bullock that shies is bharkan o r pharkan. T o b u tt is jhaukna. T o break-in cattle is generally nikdlna , and in A zam garh karhdb. 390. A bullock one o f w hose horns is erect and the other hangs d o w n is kaincha o r sarg patdli (that is, one pointing to heaven, and the o ther to hell). 391. A bullock w hose horns jo in in the centre is maina and in G o rak h p u r chaur. 392. A bullock w hose horn s g ro w backw ards is mora. 393. A stunted bullock is natway and in A zam garh ndnta. 394. W hen the horns are stunted a bullock is called muttdray and w hen it has no horns it is bhunra o r bhunda in G orakhpur. W hen one o f the horns is broken it is munday and w hen one h o rn turns to the right and the o th er to th e left, it is phulsapel (literally one w ho shoves against a doorw ay), and in G orak h p u r chdtar. 395. W hen a bullock has n o hair on its tail, o r a sm all tail, it is called in the east districts bdnriy the opposite o f w hich is ponchhigar o r punchhgar. A nd w hen the ears are covered w ith long hair it is kn o w n as jhabra o r jhabbua. 3 % . A bullock n o t used for agriculture because it has ex crescences on its body, but purchased by religious m endi cants, is k n o w n in the eastern districts as ja td k o r anandi; chharua is a best [let loose in the nam e o f a deity]. T h e tri dent m ark o f Shiva branded on it is tirsul, trisul o r tirsula. Section I V — Cows and Breeding
397. A cow is gde o r gau. A cow or buffalo w ithin six m onths after calving is dhen. A fter this she is called baken. Purebha o r kurebha is a cow that gives tw o calves w ith in a year. A barren cow o r o ther anim al is bahlay corresponding to banjh in w om en. In A zam garh, to be covered by a bull is bardab; the copulation o f anim als is bdhab; used in regard to buf
BUFFALOES
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faloes it is buna o r bujdna ; and in A zam garh o f a goat, chhagardb. 398. T h e act o f calving is bed, bent o r bet o r bydn o r byant. In A zam garh chherab is to give b irth to a n u m b er o f y oung. 399. A cow that gives little m ilk is chochar. 400. A cow o r buffalo gone five m onths in calf o r that w hich has given m ilk for five m onths is bakhri. Section V — Calves
401. T hese are k n o w n in the U p p e r D oab as labdra, in A zam garh lain*. In the east districts bdchha o r bachhru is a m ale calf, and bdchhi o r bachhiya a female calf. Dohdn in G o rak h p u r is a calf w hen it has tw o teeth; jaingra, jingra or jingar is a calf in the D oab. Uddnt in A zam garh are cattle w hich have n o t yet g o t their tru e teeth. Kalor in G orak h p u r is a young heifer. In A zam garh the phrase birkan kani is applied to oxen nearly full g ro w n , w hile full-grow n cattle are sojhhob ; chhadar in A zam garh is a full-grow n bullock w hich has only six teeth. T h is is considered unlucky. C oaxing a cow that has lost its calf to eat grain is in the w estern districts akor , in Benares toria, in G o rak h p u r bhdra. Som etim es the skin o f the calf stuffed w ith hay is p u t before the cow . T his is called in A zam garh laini. T o reconcile a cow o r buffalo to its new ly -b o rn calf by sm earing the latter w ith sugar is in A zam garh sanghardb . Pakheo in A zam garh is a kind o f food given to cow s w hen they calve. Chaneth are drugs for cattle. Mutiela is a m ash o f the moth grain, sugar and clarified b u tter given to sick cattle. Section V I— Buffaloes
402. A m ale buffalo is bhainsa, and in the w estern districts sunda ; a fem ale buffalo is bhains o r bhainsi, and in the w estern districts majjh. Bdkri o r jh o ti is a sm all buffalo. A m ale calf is in the eastern districts para , w hich in o th er places becom es parva, padda, paro, o r parba. T h e w o rd katra is also som etim es used. A female calf is in the eastern districts parya , and to the w est katya.
CATTLE AND OTHER DOMESTIC ANIMALS
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Section V II— Goats
403. A he-goat is bakra, bokt and in the eastern districts chher. A she-goat is bakri o r chheri. A castrated g o at is khasi. A young goat is path o r pathya. Section V III— Sheep
404. A ram is bhera o r mendha ; a sheep is bheri o r gadar, a lam b bher ka bachha, o r in A zam garh ^Zienfa. Revar is a flock o f sheep o r goats. Section I X — Pigs
405. T h e general term is suar. In G orakhpur M uham m a dan villagers call them euphem istically bad qaum (the ‘lo w caste’). A young pig is called in the eastern districts chhauna ; in A zam garh laina. T o the east ghenta is also used for the m ale and ghenti for the female. A pig-sty is khobdr. In parts o f A zam garh there is b y custom a kind o f licensed robbery o f pigs. T h e people o f one village tu rn o u t and d riv e o ff b y force the pigs o f another. T h e ow ners resist as w ell as th e y can, b u t never prosecute the offenders. T his is locally k n o w n as suar khedwa. Section X — Horses, Mules and Asses
406. A horse is ghora , a m are ghori , a pony tattu , a pony m are tatudni, tderi, and in Farukhabad tatunya ; a foal is bachhera and a filly bachheri; an ass is gadha%and an ass foal rengta o r renta. Section X I — Camels
407.
A camel is unt o r shutur. A y o u n g cam el is bota. Section X I I — Straying o f Cattle
408. T h e usual phrase is dwdrah , in A zam garh baunridb, in G o rak h p u r aniria o r haraha. T h ey also use th e phrase hira
FEEDING OF CATTLE
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ja n a .25 Tharidib in A zam garh is to fold cattle in an enclosure, and hai is injury done to a field by stray cattle. Section X I I I — Colours o f Cattle
409. . W hite is dhaul o r dhaur. Sokhan, kair and chanwar are in the east districts various shades o f grey. Loha and lohwa in G o rak h p u r and gora to the w est are red. Pxara to the east is red and w hite, and kankandha is an anim al black on the shoulders. Section X I V — Hides
410. These are generally chamra. In A zam garh goita is raw co w ’s leather, and bhainsauta th at o f buffaloes. In the D oab and eastern districts chant is tanned cow hide. In th e U p p er D oab a buffalo hide is adhaura , a bullock hide charsa, and goat and sheep skins nari; a b u ll’s hide cut into tw o pieces is dhauri. T h e hides o f cattle w hich have died a natural d eath are murdari,26 and those o f killed cattle haldli. Sdbar is tanned deer skins; a depot for hides is in G orak h p u r chaoni.27 Section X V — Cattle Slaughter
411. A slaughter-house is zabah khdna , and a place w here cattle are flayed bhagdr. A butcher is qassdb o r qasdi; a goat butcher is bakarqassab. T h e large knife used b y them is bugda. Section X V I — Feeding o f Cattle
412. T o chew the cud is jugalna, pagur kama o r pagurdna. C attle fodder consisting o f the stem s o f the ju d r (Holcus sor ghum) is cut up w ith a chopper (see para 53 above), and is k n o w n in G o rak h p u r as chhdnti, in the U p p er D o ab as niyar , 25 Hira-jana: from hirana: to get lost; to lose. 26 K olhapuri chappals available at the M aharashtra em p o riu m in N ew D elhi bear the equivalent th ough som ew hat intriguing legend: 4ahinsak chdmya’. 27 Chaoni o f course refers to any built o u t-stru ctu re and n o t ju s t a depot for hides.
86
CATTLE AND OTHER DOMESTIC ANIMALS
and in o ther parts as chara o r sdtti. In A zam garh th e fodder for stall-fed cattle is called lehna, kdnta o r koiry in G o rak h p u r koer o r koyar. Gajraute are stalks and leaves o f the carrot (gajar) given to cattle; angdri o r genri are the chopped-up tops (angori) o f the sugarcane; and the stalks o f m illets given in the same w ay are dantha. Kurrdchdra is dry fodder, and bdlab is to chop up fodder. In G orakhpur the phrase chhanti pdni karab means to feed cattle; a load o f fodder is in the D oab bharota o r gola , and in G o rak h p u r bojha. A net full o f chaff (bhusa) is to the w est phdnsiy and to the east khdra. A khor is the refuse grass, etc. w hich cattle leave behind; nikhurah in A zam garh is a beast that eats little. Section X V I I — Pasturage
413. Lands set apart for pasture are called in G orakhpur rakhdty in Banda rakhel, in Jalaun rukh, rukhiya o r rand, and in o ther places gauchar o r gauchara. Pasture g ro u n d is charagdh, charai, charan, o r chugai; tow ards D elhi bir,; in R ohilkhand bakha ; in eastern O u d h bathdn\ and in B undelkhand bagdr. A field in w hich cow s are fed is barha; and tow ards D elhi a place in the forest to w hich cattle are sent o u t to graze is baisak. Section X V I I I — Fences
414. A fence to keep cattle o u t o f fields is bar, berha, gher, ghera, rindhna (Benares); langa is a hedge o f bram bles n o t fixed in the ground. Section X I X — G razing Fees
415. T hese are o f tw o kinds: (1) T hose paid to the o w n er o f the land. (2) T hose paid to the cow herd (w ho is k n o w n w hen he herds cattle as gw dl , gwala, gop, gorahh , in the east dis tricts as charwah, and in Rohilkhand as narha). W hen he tends sheep he is called gareriyay and w hen he tends goats in the east districts chherwdh.
MILK AND ITS PREPARATIONS
87
416. T h e fees paid to the o w n er o f the land are k n o w n as dng tow ards Delhi; in R ohilkhand baldihai; and in th e east dis tricts bardaihi. 417. T hose paid to the herdsm an are to the east charwdhi; in R ohilkhand narhai, and in the U p p er D oab punchhi , o r tail m oney. Section X X — Cowhouses and Enclosures fo r Cattle
418. A cow house is in the eastern districts ghdri, tow ards D elhi gauwdri , in the D oab sdr, in the U p p e r D oab bdkhar , in o th er places gausdla. In A zam garh bardaur are stalls fo r cattle. In O u d h ghaura is a shed for breeding cattle. T his in W est O u d h is called langhar. A place w here buffaloes are collected is in G orak h p u r ghottha , and in A zam garh ghotil. 419. A n enclosure for cattle is nohra in the C entral D oab, and in Benares darkhal. A n enclosure for cattle in th e forest is in east districts ardr, in East O u d h ghurat ; in N o rth O u d h ghauri ; in o th er places aiwdra and bathdn ; and in G o rak h p u r gaser. Section X X I — Cattle Dealers
420. T hese are called in the eastern districts bardaha and in o th er places paikdr o r belki; in G orak h p u r daharia is a w ander ing cattle seller. Section X X I I — M ilk and its Preparations
421. M ilk is dudh o r goras. T o m ilk an anim al is in the east districts lagdna. W hen the m ilk o f a cow or buffalo dries up the phrase used in A zam garh is bisukab. T he m ilk o f a cow for six m onths after calving is dhen ka dudh ; after that it is bakena dudh. 422. C larified b u tter is ghi. Fresh clarified b u tte r is k n o w n in the eastern districts as ahxrdna ghi ; that stored for a tim e in leather vessels is kuppi ka ghi. T h e sedim ent w hich settles in m aking clarified b u tter is matidr in the eastern dis tricts, and phdran is the refuse left in boiling it d o w n .
88
CATTLE AND OTHER DOMESTIC ANIMALS
423. C u rd s are dahi. T h e old curds put in to curdle the m ilk are jdw an o r jorart. 424. C hakka dahi is thick curds. W hen the m ilk is curdled it is called sajjâo dahi. W hen the cream which is know n as sdrhi is taken o ff it is called chhinui dahi, and this m ixed w ith w ater fo r sale is dagari dahi. K atui dahi is the curdled m ilk w ith the cream taken off. T h e thick m ilk given by a c o w ju s t after calving is peusi in the east and in the upp er districts kïs. W hen a cow drops her m ilk the phrase in A zam garh is peunhdb. Skim m ilk in A zam garh is pasdwan o r pasaua. T h e b u tter be fore clarification is makhan o r nainu , and the b u tterm ilk is chhdch o r chhdchh o r matha. Section X X I I I — Cattle Diseases
425. Farcy. T his is agiya. 426. G ripes in the stom ach are aincha o r ankur. Jo n ki is in flam m ation o f the stom ach caused b y leeches (jonk). Petchalna is diarrhoea, and pokna purging. 427. F oot and m outh disease. Aishu, bdtdn, bekra (B undelkhand). In the U p p er D oab khür pakka aur munh pakka, rora, akrdo, tephora, khdng in the eastern districts; in Sultanpur khangwa; in Benares, Banda and Fatehpur khora\ in Saharanp u r sir ; in H am irp u r khür phata\ in Farukhabad pakka\ in C a w n p u r ganthon sitala\ in A zam garh cattle w ith diseased hoofs are called khdngab. 428. Diseases o f the m ou th . T hese are called chabla o r Idl. G hantiydr is a disease o f the th ro at w hen the anim al is unable to swallow; kurka are tum ours form ing in the throat; palia is th ro at inflam m ation w ith cough. In A zam garh jibha o r beruki is a disease in the tongue. 429. F ootrot. T his is in Jalaun khürsita , in Jhansi gushelay khurent. Tausdh in A zam garh is a bullock lam e fro m contrac tion o f the sinew s. Naharua in A zam garh is a guinea w o rm w hich attacks the feet and legs o f cattle. 430. R inderpest. T his is k n o w n as andar ka mdta, chechak, badah, bhaunra, (B undelkhand), barddukh (D ehra D un), bhawdni (generally th ro u g h the province), basanta, bedan, mahdmi
GRASSES AND PLANTS USED FOR CATTLE FODDER
89
o r chera (M uzaffam agar), debi (generally th ro u g h the pro vince), debi ka rora, debi ka niksdr (G orakhpur), mata, rogi, sitala, matt (K um aun), chapraha (O udh), gabauna, mari. 431. W indy colic or surfeit— Aphara (U pper D oab) or bairukh. 432. H oven— badi, bhagi, pet bhagi, bdo band (Jaunpur). H oven attended w ith purging is bareli. 433. P leuro-pneum onia— Garara (Jalaun), ponka (Jalaun), gurkhai (Jalaun), gurkha (M athura). Bhakla is tracheal in flam m ation attended w ith difficult deglutition. 434. Staggers — Tapka (M athura), chakki, mirgi, jhapdh (A zam garh). 435. T u m o u rs on the eyelid supposed to be unlucky— A m a (A zam garh). Section X X I V — Grasses and Plants used fo r Cattle Fodder
436. T h e follow ing grasses and other plants are used for cattle fodder; the akra ( V ida sativa ), the anjan, the bekas, a grass like the dub , the bhada, a grass w hich grow s on poor soil, the bhadal, the binauriya , w hich grow s in fields sow n w ith the autum n crop, the bandri, w hich grow s in rice, and kodon (Paspalum frumentaceum)\ the bansa grow s in rice and pulse fields, the bhor o r bhura (Rizophora mangle), the bathui (Chenopodium album) grow s in w heat fields, the bondi, the chaupatta , a plant like clover w hich grow s in w heat fields, the dub (Agrestis linearis o r Cynodon dactylon) o f w hich there are three kinds— the paunda w ith a creeper-like stem , the khutya, w hich is sm aller and grow s on hard ground, and thirdly the w hite dub , w hich is called in Delhi dhauri. W here th e division in to three kinds is not know n there are tw o classes, the ghor dub and the ban dubie.28 T h e dubiyara or upright panic grass, the dal o r the Panicum stagninium , the gadichat, w hich is the dub b u t larger, th e gargawa, w hich grow s in the rains and is eaten by buffaloes, the ghundi , w hich is eaten by camels and grow s 28 Ghor-dub and ban-dubiya: the first is derived from ghora: horse, as it is excellent pasture grass; the second from ban: forest, as it is o f a coarser kind.
90
CATTLE AND OTHER DOMESTIC ANIMALS
in the rice fields after the crop is cut, the gobi (Hieraceum?); the gandely a grass w hich is cut in groves, the gaurer, the jhojh u ru , also called the jangali nil o r w ild indigo— it is eaten by camels, and cattle are partial to it; the jharua, w hich is also called the sawan or sawain because it ripens in the m o n th o f Sawan— the stalks are given to cattle to im p ro v e the m ilk; the jarga, w hich grow s on high gro u n d and is given to cattle and especially to horses. 437. T h e jaukari is preserved and cut tw ice a year for fod der. T h e jauka is a com m o n grass in Shahjahanpur. T h e matmur is a co m m o n fodder grass in Shahjahanpur. T h e musel, cut for hay, the sarwdla, a co m m on fodder grass in Shah jah a n p u r (saccharum sara). T h e Tigra (Boerhavia diffusa) is a fodder grass in H am irpur.
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VI
Irrigation
Section I— Irrigation Generally
438. T o irrigate is abpashi kam a, pdni dena, o r sinchna. Pdni patdna generally m eans the m oistening o f a field w ith w ater b efo re ploughing. Irrigation is abpashi, patwa, seka, or sinchdi. Paniwat in A zam garh is the place w here irrigation is g oing on; and leo is the flooding o f a field preparatory to planting rice. A w ater d raw er is in the east districts panihdra. A m an irrigating is pdni denewdla in the w estern districts, and to the east pandiwaiya o r panchalwaiya. T h e m an w h o distri butes the w ater in the field is in G o rak h p u r hathwaiya , from th e hatha o r w ooden shovel w hich he uses, and in th e U p p er D oab panbala. T he w ages for irrigation are in G o rak h p u r panchalwai, and in A zam garh paniwat is a fee for leave to irrig ate .29 Som etim es cultivators com bine to assist one an o th er in irrigating. T his is k n o w n in G orak h p u r as janna , w hich literally means giving a p roportional n u m b e r o f labourers. Section I I — Kinds o f Irrigation
439. T here are three m ain kinds o f irrigation: (1) F rom canals (nahr)t o r canal distributaries (rdjbaha). (2) F rom wells (chdh, kuan). (3) F rom tanks o r ponds (pokhar, pokhari, taldo, etc.) Section I I I — Irrigation From Canals
440.
Irrigation from canals: Irrigation b y tor o r katwa is
29 In A zam garh the fem inine n o u n paniwat had three m eanings: *(i) A place w here irrigation is going on, (2) Fees fo r leave to irrigate, (3) T h e cu sto m ary course for w ater fo r irrigation to go,’, as in the phrase: sab din se ihai paniwat hau, s. v. in Azamgarh Glossary.
92
IRRIGATION
flush irrigation w hen the w ater is at a higher level than the field, and the cultivator has only to cut the bank o f the w ater channel and allow the w ater to flow into the field. Irrigation b y dal o r lift is w hen the w ater has to be raised fro m a lo w er level. A dam o r bandh is som etim es built across th e stream to raise the w ater. In A zam garh a lat is a long straig h t o r curved em bankm ent th ro w n across a plain in w hich rice land is culti vated and there is a flow o f surface w ater. Section I V — Irrigation From Wells
441. Irrigation from wells: A w ell is generally chdh o r kiian. T hey m ay be divided into three classes: (a) T hose lined w ith m asonry. (b) Wells w ith o u t a m asonry lining. (c) M ere surface depressions containing w ater. 442. A m asonry w ell is generally called pakka. Bdoli o r baori is a large well som etim es w ith a ghat o r flight o f steps running d o w n to the w ater. Inddra o r ndra (in the eastern dis tricts) is a large m asonry w ell, usually fo r drinking purposes .30 A well w ith houses and flights o f steps round it is bain kuan. 443. A well w ith o u t a m asonry lining is generally called kachcha; in O u d h barkuydn , in G o rak h p u r m atkuyan , and in som e places mattia. 444. M ere surface depressions containing w ater are bihar in R ohilkhand, choya, choha, chonra in the east districts, and in the U p p e r D oab ogal o r kacchi kuydn. A clay w ell w hich has fallen in is jhera in the D oab; in o th er places manrdr, and in A zam garh pal is the space form ed inside a w ell by the col lapse o f the sides.
30 Irtar, o r inara, rather than inddra seems to be the c o m m o n form in G o rak h p u r and A zam garh. In Bara B anki, inddras are still to be found, usually in a grove.
CONSTRUCTION OF WELLS
93
Section V — Construction o f Wells
445. T he large circular excavation made before a m asonry well is built is dahal, the spring is sot o r sota; in the east dis tricts musara ; in Rae Bareli musla. Jham a o r jh a m i in A zam g a rh is the side spring in a well. W hen the w ater level is reached the phrase is jigari pdni dgya. T he hole th ro u g h w hich the w ater rises w hen the spring is reached is bam o r sum. Bambh hona is a phrase m eaning th at the w ater is inexhausti ble. Wells are called barhdi w hen the spring is n o t reached, and they depend for their supply on the drainage o f th e sub soil. Such wells are also som etim es k n o w n as choiya o r garoa (C entral D oab). Wells supplied from a spring are sotihai. T he place w here the earth begins to becom e m oist as a well is being sunk is chua (C entral D oab). In som e cases there is a stratu m o f sand so fine that it falls in at once and chokes the w ell. T his is k n o w n in Bareli as lelwa. T h e m asonry cylinder o f a w ell is girgaz. In A zam garh the circular hoops o f kilnburnt earthenware used to support the sides o f a well are called kothi. Som etim es a coil o f tw igs etc. is used for the sam e p u r pose. T his is k n o w n as bxnra o r btnr. Wells protected in this w ay are badjhar and ajar in the D oab. 446. W ells are som etim es lined w ith a w ooden cylinder called kothi. Such wells are called in the D oab gardwari o r kdthudn. 447. W hen the cylinder o f a w ell fails to sink, a second sm aller cylinder is som etim es sunk inside. T he w ell is then called doband. 448. T o enable the well sinker to reach the spring a w o o d en fram e is gradually sunk b y underm ining. T his is k n o w n in the D oab as rdkh. A bove this, as a foundation for the m asonry, is placed a w ooden cylinder called in th e D oab jd k a n o r ja kh a n ; in the east districts jam uw at , 31 in th e U p p er D o ab mmchak o r nichak , and in o th er places niwar. A well so large th at tw o buckets can w o rk at the sam e tim e is doldwa or 31 Jamuwat. so called because ordinarily m ade o f jdm un w o o d . Sec also Bihar Peasant Life, para 925.
94
IRRIGATION
dopairwa ; one for three backets is tilawa ; one for four chaulaw a , an d so on. 449. A w ell sinker is senhan, o r chdhkan. A w ell is cleaned w ith a dredge called jh d m .32 (Paras 450 to 452 appear in A ppendix A ). Section V I— The Lever used in Raising Water
453. T his is k n o w n as dhenkli, dhukli, dhikli, and in the eastern districts dhenkul. T h e earthen p o t in w hich the w ater is raised is in the D oab and R ohilkhand karwdla , o r karwdra , in C a w n p u r thilya , and in the eastern districts kunr. A n iro n bucket sim ilarly used is dol. 33 T h e stick placed across the m o u th o f the bucket to w hich th e rope is fastened is kiliya in the D oab; in G o rak h p u r muthar and in A zam garh makri, o r danda, w here the string w hich fastens it to the p o t is gurhan. T h e rope o f the lift is barari o r bareri o r bart o r lao; in the east ern districts rassa, barha, o r ndr are used for the thick rope, and chhor is the sh o rt rope jo in in g it to the b u ck et b y a slip knot. 454. T h e beam o f the lift is in the w estern districts dhenk li ; in G o rak h p u r dhenkul o r chhip; in A zam garh balla, barha, o r pendar. Som etim es a thin piece o f w o o d is spliced to the end o f the beam . T his is in the east districts agar o r agari. 455. T h e lever is w eighed d o w n by clods o f earth, etc. fixed to the end. These are called chakka, chdk, thua, o r thamba in the w estern districts, and to the east lad, lada o r ladi. T h e peg w ith w hich these are fastened to the beam is to the w est khiinta , and to the east killa. T he post o r fulcrum is in the D oab and R ohilkhand ja r a, Jtlpaya, thuni, khambh, jangha; 32 I have provided additional m aterial o n the co n stru ctio n o f m aso n ry wells in A ppendix A, and num bered the paragraphs 450 to 452. 33 It w ould be w o rth w h ile to investigate w hen the shift fro m the earthen p o t to the conical iron bucket w idely prevalent in eastern U P today to o k place. T h e Azamgarh Settlement Report o f 1881 m akes n o m e n tio n o f iro n buckets, b u t refers in a m atter-of-fact w ay to the earthenw are p o t (kuttd) w ith a capacity o f so m ew h at less than tw o gallons. G rierson m entions b o th th e earthen and the iron dol in passing (see paras 369 and 929 respectively).
OTHER WELL APPLIANCES
95
and in the eastern districts khambha o r thamba. In A zam garh kanna m eans the tw o forks at the end for holding the axle. T h e cross-axle is to the w est paretha , in G o rak h p u r killi, and in A zam garh gulla. T h e p oint w here the lever w o rk s o n the pillar is maja. Section V II— The S kin Bag used fo r Drawing Water
456. T his is called charas, o r charsa, pu r o r mot. T h e iron ring ro u n d the neck is in the U p p e r D oab mandat; in o th er parts o f the D oab kiindar, kur, kurra, kondra, and in A zam garh merara. T h e rope o r cord w hich jo in s the bucket to this iron ring is in the D oab kas o r kasan. T h e sem i-circular pieces o f b en t w o o d fastened to the ring to keep the m o u th o f the bucket open are k n o w n in the D oab as bain o r bdun. T o these are fastened tw o rings w hich, if m ade o f w ood, are called kauli o r kuiliy and if o f iron kariya o r pakunchi. T h e w oo d en handle w hich attaches the rope to the bucket is called in the C entral D oab khutti o r bildri o r bahora. T h e ropes attaching the rings to the handle are k n o w n in the D oab as bandania o r bandaniy and the ropes w hich fasten the ring ro u n d the m o u th o f the bag to the hauling rope are in A zam garh ghorei. Section V III— Other Well Appliances
457. T h e straw o r rushes p u t at the m o u th o f th e w ell to prevent splashing are called chtkt chilwai o r parchha. A w ell yoke w ith the tw o bars (jua) parallel is called ju r in the U p p e r D oab. W hen the rope is hauled up by m en the centre part o f the crossbar is in A zam garh murha o r murray and the ends tunguna. In A zam garh the yoke is ju d th , the u pper b a r ballay the k n o b to w hich the rope is fastened mahadeva , th e tw o bars w hich g o outside the bullocks’ necks saila o r gullay the sim ilar bars inside pachdr, and the low er bar trail. T h e w ooden fram ew ork at the m o u th o f a w ell to prevent people from falling in is chaukhata, dahana, kdthghara, jangala. T h e w ooden beam laid over the w ell o n w hich the b u ck et is land ed is in the D oab patdr , in G orak h p u r dharan, and in A zam -
IRRIGATION
96
garh sardar. T h e fram ew ork at the m o u th o f the well o n w hich the pulley w orks is k n o w n in the U p p er D o ab as adana and in the C entral D oab as mair. T h e m asonry w o rk at th e m o u th o f the well is man o r jagat. T he u p rig h t posts to sup p o rt the pulley are k n o w n as marwa (C entral D oab), dhurahi o r dhorahi (C aw npur), ftlpdya, thuni, jangha, gahlat (U p p er D oab), kohar , and in A zam garh khambha, dhuhi o r chhuhi. T he cross beam is patiliya in the C entral D oab; in the U p p e r D oab m aiyalt in A zam garh balla o r manjha , and in o th e r places bharsaha, patdo o r bhareth. T h e bars to w hich the pulley axle is attached are kn o w n in the D oab as guriya o r suja , an d in A zam garh as dhurei. T he axle on w hich the pulley w o rk s is in the D oab gandla, gandra o r garandu. In A zam garh it is gurra, in G o rak h p u r kulli, and in som e o f the eastern districts akauta. T h e pulley itself is called charkhi o r charkh, gardri (Be nares, B undelkhand, and L ow er D oab), garili, garri, girra, g irri, chahli, chdk, bhon (Delhi). W hen the tru n k o f a tree w ith tw o branches lopped short is used to su p p o rt th e pulley it is called in the D oab kaur o r kuhar. Section I X — The Pathway fo r the Bullocks etc.
458. T he place w here the bullocks tu rn fro m the w ell is in the D oab bahoro (w hich generally m eans the sloping p ath w ay), and in the U p p er D oab and R ohilkhand gohan o r gaun. T h e sloping is naichi (C entral D oab), pairi, bahoro, dhalwdn, gaun, paudar (A zam garh). In C a w n p u r the run above g ro u n d is lildriy the run below ground khuriya, and the fodder-through in the centre paindha, w hich in the eastern districts is nddh, nand o r kunry a yoke o f w ell-bullocks is jaw dra.M D raw in g w ater by cattle p ow er is purwat o r paira. Section X — The Workmen Employed at the Well
459.
T h e follow ing labourers are em ployed at the well:
34 T h e w o rd jawdra is derived from jua, a yoke. T h erefo re the term also signifies ‘as m uch land as can be ploughed b y a pair o f bullocks*. See Beam es, Supplemental Glossary, ii, p. 367.
WATER CHANNELS
97
T h e bullock driver— K iliya o r pairha. 460. T h e m an w h o em pties the w ater-log— Charsiya, p utha, archha o r parchhdwdla in th e D oab, and in D elhi bdhara. T h e place w here he stands is dang, and the place w here he de posits the w ater pdrchha. 461. T h e m an w h o distributes th e w ater in the field— Panmela, panlaga o r pankata in the D oab. 462. T h e m an w h o distributes the w ater in th e field w ith th e w ooden shovel (hatha) is called in the eastern districts hathwaiya. Section X I — T he Persian Wheel
463. T h e Persian w heel is k n o w n as arhat o r rahat. T he up rig h t posts are khambh, sipdya, marwao, and jera. T h e pole connecting the u p rig h t posts is patdli o r mdnjhi. T h e buckets used w ith the w heel are je t, karwdla, dTnd o r tind dabua. Section X I I — T he Sw ing Bag and Sw ing Basket
464. Irrigation from tanks and stream s— W ater is raised from tanks o r stream s by the leather sw ing-bag o r sw ingbasket. T h e leather sw ing-bag is paroha o r dol. W hen a hol low tru n k o f tim b er is sw ung in the sam e w ay by a lever it is called don. 465. T h e sw ing-basket is in the D oab lenri o r lehari, o r boka (D oab and R ohilkhand), beri o r benri (eastern districts), lihri, chhapa, dal (Delhi), dalea o r dugla. T h e dauri is sm aller and lighter than the dugla. Section X I I I — Water Channels
466. T h e channel w hich conveys the w ater in to the field is pain in G orakhpur, and in the w estern districts barha. In the eastern districts the ascending scale is barha, nalki, nali, narua a n d gul. In D elhi w a te rco u rse s are k n o w n as bdha, kahdl and khdla. In A zam garh the term s used are bdha, bah, pain o r gol. In A zam garh ekwdi is the irrigation rill along th e sides o f a
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IRRIGATION
field from w hich strips o f only h alf the b read th o f those w atered fro m the central rill are irrigated. Section X I V — Water-Lifts
467. T h e height up to w hich the w ater is lifted is in the east districts bodar, thauka o r rife. T he place w here the m en stand w ho w o rk the basket is bodar, paira (D elhi), pandar (east districts), anua, dang (C entral D oab), chaunrha (A zam garh), paunrha (A zam garh). 468. T h e first reservoir is k n o w n as nanda (C aw npur), gonra (C entral and L ow er D oab), nyani, nandhu, nadhào, theoki (G orakhpur), anua (A zam garh). In A zam garh the to p o f the lift is tutha o r chaunrha. T he catch-basin fro m w hich th e w ater flow s into the field is jhular (C aw npur), parcha, odh o r ulaha. 469. W hen there are m ore than tw o lifts the second fro m the b o tto m is pachu, docha o r dohcha (w est districts). T he th ird is the thauka, tehcha o r thaicha (A zam garh). T h e fo u rth is chauncha (w est districts). T h e raised bank betw een the tw o reservoirs is odi. U sing the sw ing-basket is baindi, chopna, ulchab dena, lihaindi. In A zam garh chhopab som etim es m eans to irrigate sugarcane w ith the w oo d en shovel. T h e m an w h o w orks the sw ing-basket is birwa (East O udh).
VII
Agricultural Products
Section I — Wheat (Triticum sativum)
470. This is gehun in the w est districts and gohun to the east. T h e chief varieties are mundia , a beardless first-class w heat (R ohilkhand and the Doab); hansa, a very w h ite firstclass beardless w heat (Rohilkhand); samalia o r samaria , a w hite bearded w heat (Rohilkhand); rattua o r rattiya , a fair sm all-grained bearded w heat (Rohilkhand); kachera, a sm allgrained red w heat (Rohilkhand); kathiya a red bearded w heat w ith a reddish grain (Doab); pisiya a small plant w ith few grains (D oab, R ohilkhand, and Bundelkhand); lai o r laliya, bansiya, and jalaliya are varieties o f red wheats; ujjar, situa, dhaula , pxliy and D dud khani are w hite wheats. 471. A grain o f w heat is in the U p p er D oab gaddi. W hen it germ inates first it is called in B undelkhand kura; in the U p per D oab the phrases used are sui nazar dne lagti, n il , dikhdi deta, and jinsp a sa r ay a. W hen the blade th ro w s o u t shoots the phrases are tikra dne lagtay and jin s tatar dya. A l l . W hen about six inches high it is poi in B undelkhand. W hen it is ready to cut for fodder it is in the U p p er D oab khavid o r khud. W hen it is cut unripe it is know n in th e eastern districts as umin o r umi. W hen the ear begins to fo rm the phrase is in the U p p er D oab kdbha o r koth dne lagta. T h e hair on the ear is pu r in the U p p er D oab. T he ear itself is to the w est bdl o r bdli, and to the east bar. W hen the ear is being form ed, b u t is still unripe, the phrases dudh par jdta o r jin s gadar dya are used in the U p p er D oab. W hen the grain har dens they say in the U p p er D oab gola ho jd ta .35 35 T o the ‘native ear’ the phrases *tikra dne l a g t a ‘koth dne lagta\ *gola ho jd ta’ sound jarrin g . H ow ever, I have retained these specim ens o f the sahib's vernacular. Cf. N .W .P . Gazetteer (Etah), vol. vi, p. 29: ‘N early all the crops have different nam es at different stages o f their g ro w th : th u s, w hen
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473. T h e ear o f w heat and barley dry are respectively in the U p p e r D oab gandam and ja u . C ollected o n the threshing floor it is lanky and the chaff is bhusa. Section II— M ixed Crops
474. W heat and barley g ro w n together are gojai, gojra, gojari, goji o r adhgawdny o r adhgehunwa. A m ix tu re o f peas, gram , barley, o r w heat, o r any tw o o r three o f them is called bejhar, bejhra, gojara, o r jauchani, gauchani, o r birra. Barley g ro w n w ith the small pea (kirdo) is in the eastern districts jaukirdi. Section I I I — Barley (Bordeum vulgare)
475. Barley is ja u w hich som etim es m eans the larger kind, w hile ja i is the sm aller. O ats are wilayati ja i o r rdmjau. Ja y i o r ja w are are shoots o f barley artificially g ro w n and given to friends at the festival o f the D asahrah. T he prickly hairs on the ear is in the U p p er D oab tus. 476. T h e varieties are badshdhi— the best k in d — and tikuriha o r tikurdri— bearded— from tikur , the beard on the ear. Section I V — Rice (O ryza sativum) ATI. T he crop is know n as dhdn. W hen unhusked it is call ed dhdn ; w hen husked chdwal; w hen boiled plain bhdt o r khushka ; w hen boiled w ith spices khichri. T h e straw is pora or poara in the eastern districts o r lirua. T h e varieties o f rice g ro w n in the province are very num erous and n o t im p o rtan t. In the east districts there is a proverb-—dhdn aur chhattrion ka ekhi hisab haiy i.e. there are as m any kinds o f rice as Rajputs. y o ung, th e blades o f w heat are called kulha, poi, sui; w h en older khund, and w hen the pod o f the ear appears, kdnthi\ w hen the ear begins to appear it is described as kutihana o r galetha, and w hen the ear is h alf in po d and h alf out as kandhela. W hen the ear is all o u t it is said to chhatna, and w hen the grain becom es developed, mbauriyat w hen h a lf ripe bhadera, an d w hen fully ripe jhura*
RICE (ORYZA SATIVUM)
101
T h e chief distinction depends o n the tim e o f the so w in g and cutting. 478. In East O u d h there are four m ain classes. (a) Küari , so w n w ith the first fall o f rain and cu t in Küar (S eptem ber-O ctober). (b) Jethiy sow n in A pril, and cut in Jeth (M ay-June). (c) Säwatti, cut in Säwati (July-A ugust). T his is also called säthi, because it ripens in sixty (sdth) days. (d) Jarhan o r lain , sow n in small seed beds and trans planted. T his is the w inter rice crop and is c u t in Aghan (N ovem ber-D ecem ber), w hence it is also k n o w n as aghani. 479. In N o rth O u d h the distinction is— (a) D hdny the au tu m n rice crop. (b) Jarhan , the w inter crop. In G orakhpur the autum n crop is also k n o w n as bhadai, as it is cut in Bhddon (A ugustSeptem ber), and the w in ter crop as jarhan o r aghani. 480. In Bareli the sow ings are as follows: (a) Gaja: T h e first sow ings m ade in Baisdkh (A pril-M ay), and cut in Sawan (July-A ugust). (b) Bijua: Sow n in Baisdkh o r Jeth (M ay-June), a n d cut in Bhddon (A ugust-Septem ber). (c) Kundher. Sow n in Phdgun (February-M arch), and cut in Asdrh (June-July). (d) R utiha , o r rusota: T h e regular sow ings at the usual sea son (rut). T hese sow ings are either khundhar , w here the w ater is banked up in the fields; o r sukhauna , w here the g ro u n d is ploughed and sow n broadcast in the usual m anner. 481. Boro in the eastern districts is a p oor rice trans planted, in D ecem ber and January, in the m ud on the banks o f stream s and lakes. 482. Chanau in G o rak h p u r is rice sow n broadcast in the beds o f tanks. V arious kinds o f w ild rice are g ro w n in low dam p situations such as pasai in Bareli and the tekna, sengar, usahan, dhünsi and sokan in the eastern districts. 483. Land w hich has been under a rice crop is k n o w n as
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AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
ghoti in B undelkhand, the L ow er D oab and Benares; and dhankar in the w estern districts. A field under preparation fo r rice cultivation is bids in R ohilkhand. 484. Fresh w aste lands ploughed up for rice sow ings are kurhil in the east districts. T he preparation o f a rice field is gilli in A zam garh. A nursery for rice is in the east o f the province behnaur o r behan; in the w estern districts pantr, in B undel khand jd y i , and in D elhi piad. T h e w o rd her is sim ilarly used in C aw n p u r. T h e seed, after being soaked and germ inating before being sow n in the nursery, is in A zam garh Jarui. Rice seedlings are btchra, and the clum ps o f transplanted seedlings are ban in the eastern districts. T o transplant rice is ropna o r baithdna. T h e fresh shoots th ro w n up after the cro p is cut a re gaunji , and the first shoots w hen it springs up are jarui. Section V — Indian C om or M a ize (Z ea mays)
485. M aize is makka o r makai. In the east districts junhari o r jundari o r junhdr , w hich is properly applied to ju d r (Holcus sorghum ), is used. In the U p p er D oab the stalk is pharra o r phatera , and in the east districts laktha. T h e b ro k en stalk is in G o rak h p u r tiltha. T he unripe ear is in the U p p e r D oab gul. W hen ripe it is generally called bhutta ; in the w est districts kukri; in Eta bhutiya o r andiya ; and in B undelkhand junhari. T h e ear roasted is in B undelkhand gada o r gadgade. T h e em p ty cob after the grain is beaten o u t o f it is in th e D oab guli o r guliya ; and the grain beaten o u t o f it is called nanha naj. T h e hair on the ear is bdl, the male ear chanwar in the U p p er D oab; the sheath o f the cob is in the eastern districts khuha. Section V I— Large M illet (Holcus sorghum)
486. T his is generally judr, in the C entral D oab jundi o r junhari. T h e produce in the spring harvest (irabi) is umra (?) and in the autum n harvest (kharij) sarheti (?) T he ch ief varieties are joginiay a large red kind; baunia , w h ite and dw arf; piria o r saer, the head bends d o w n and it ripens late; bdsmati, a fragrant variety; jhalara , a grey inferior variety w ith spread
THE SMALL MILLETS
103
ears; chahcha, the grain lies concealed in the husk w hich is hard; latphikra o r latughar, like the piria b u t inferior; jethi, so w n for fodder; singhia , w ith a long thin softish stalk and very w hite grain; suar m unkki , the head bends d o w n . It is so called from its supposed likeness to a p ig ’s head; dogadda o r daleria , has tw o grains in one husk. 487. T h e stalks cut up for fodder are chari o r karbi , and in B undelkhand karwi. In B undelkhand, w hen the p lant first germ inates it is called kura, and the young plants are poiya. T h e ears are in B undelkhand bhutiya , in the C en tral D oab bhutta; in the U p p e r D oab gupha or guphi. 488. A large stack o f the stalks collected for fo d d er is chhaur in Delhi. T his com prises several sm aller stacks called syi. In som e districts, as in R ohilkhand, this is called garrx and elsew here kundar and kharai. Section V II— The Sm all Bulrush M illet (Holcus spicatus o r Pencillarian spicata)
489. This is generally bajra, also in parts o f O u d h and the D o ab lahra, in east G o rak h p u r masuria janer. Bajri is a sm aller species and ripens a m o n th earlier; and also som etim es m eans th e stalk used as fodder. T h e stalk in the U p p e r D oab phatera, and in B undelkhand patiya. W hen the plant begins to th ro w o u t shoots the phrase is in the U p p er D oab kainas phut ati hai and in the C entral D oab ikuya. W hen the ear begins to sh ow itself the phrases are in the U p p er D oab kahiba nazar dta; and in the C entral D oab gulhat hoti hai, khetguliha raha, o r khet kuthiya raha hai. T h e heads w hen blighted and grainless are in C a w n p u r kandwa. T h e fluffy flow ers are in th e U p p er D oab bur o r bura. Section V III— T he Sm all Millets
490. T hese are— (1) Kdun, kakuni, o r kangri (Panicum italicum). (2) Sdnwdn o r shdmdkh (Panicum mileaceum). (3) Manruat minrua, makra . In the eastern districts the
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AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
em pty dry ears after the grain has been taken o u t are khuha; the stalks are narai, and bhdka the green ears roasted for food. (4) Chenwa, china, chena, or chen (Panicum frumentosum ).36 (5) Kodon, kodo (Paspalum frumentaceum). Section I X — Pulses
491. A m ong the pulses are the follow ing: Arhar generally; in the eastern districts rahar?1 in the U p per D oab tudr (Cytisus cajan). T he d ry stalks are generally in the eastern districts rahtha o r in A zam garh rahretha. T he pod is in B undelkhand konsy and in o th er places chhimi. T he chaff is in G o rak h p u r chhimaur. This and the other pulses w hen 36 ‘T h e garden crop chena is sow n in Phagun (February-M arch) and reaped in Chait (M arch-A pril), usually. T h is being the h o t w eather, exten sive irrigation is required and it is a precarious cro p ’. Hence: Chena j i ka lena Chaudah pdni dena,. B y dr chale to na lena na dena. (Y ou m ay irrigate yo u r C hena as m uch as you like, b u t a b last will destroy it, and you get noth in g for y our pains.) See R egister no. 7, Settlem ent Shelf, c. 1888, G o rak h p u r C ollectorate Records; and B eam es, Supplemental Glossary, s.v. chena. 37 Arhar dal, o r rahari in local parlance, is considered a delicacy in eastern U .P . R am G harib C haube, the G orak h p u r ethnographer, cites the follow ing stanza fro m the legendary rural p o et G h ag h in praise, inter alia, o f arhar: Rahari kai dal, silhati bhat; kagji nibua hoe jo tat; bhainsi kai dahi sakh as hoya; banika nain parose joya; unch atariya madhur batas; kahen Ghagh tahdn bhog vilds. (The pulse o f arhar and the rice o f Silhat; the small lim e o f good flavour. T h e curd o f buffalo’s m ilk as w hite as a conchshell; If a w o m an w ith bright eyes serves the dinner. A high storeyed [multi-storeyed] house and a pleasant breeze— G hagh says this is real enjoym ent). C haube also provides a variant w ith urad dal and piping h o t tarka o f ghee as the additional ingredients co n stitutin g 'bhog vilas’. See North Indian Notes and Queries, vol. iv, no. 11 (Feb. 1895)..no. 441.
GRAM (CICER ARIETINUM)
105
sp ro u tin g are k n o w n as dula o r dewala in the D oab. Bread m ade from this, gram (chana) and mung is bhatula, gankar , gakar, angakar, girdi, bhaura, and batti. 492. M ung (Phaseolus mungo)— T he plants are in B undel k h and baula , and the pods kons. T he stalks used for fo dder are jhora. 493. Urad o r mash (Phaseolus radiatus)— T here are several varieties such as kachchia, sidh, khujua and chikra. T he pods are kons in B undelkhand. Uradi is a sm aller sim ilar grain. 494. M oth o r mothi (Phaseolus aconitifolius)— T h e stalks used for fodder are jhora and in D elhi ghara o r kurar. 495. Masur (Ervum hirsutum). 4 % . M iscellaneous— A m ong these are gawar (Cyamopsis psoraloides), darahri, bhaimdns, barhia (eastern districts); baijila is a black pulse in the eastern districts. Section X — Peas (Pisum sativum)
497. T h e larger variety is matar. Kirdo in the eastern dis tricts is a sm aller variety often so w n w ith barley w h en the crop is called ja u kird i . T h e varieties in the eastern districts are the large w hite (ujla o r barka) and the small black k in d (kala o r chhota o r chhutka ). T here is a variety k n o w n as batra in Jhansi. In Eta the varieties are tora, kora, bara, and safed. W hen the plant first appears above grou n d it is in Eta akhua o r ankhua\ w h en the pod appears the phrase is choiya ho rahi hai ; and w hen the pod is fully form ed it is called phali. T he unrip e pod is ghenti. In A zam garh phonka are the young shoots used for pottage. Section X I — Gram (Cicer arietinum)
498. G ram is generally chana, and to the east o f the pro vince rahila o r Iona, the latter o f w hich is m ore p ro p erly the oxalic and acetic acid w hich form s on the leaves. In B undel khand chhola m eans gram , b u t this is usually the y o u n g pod o f the plant. T h e varieties are ptla, w ith a yellow poin ted grain (also k n o w n in the eastern districts as raksway chaptdi
10 6
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
and kasdri); kassa, the superior kind; and pachmel, a m ixture o f pila and kassa. T here is also the sm aller variety k n o w n as chani and batiiriy and the kdbuli. T h e young plant as it appears above g ro u n d is called in Eta iksua ; in B undelkhand kura\ and in G o rak h p u r dopattiya. T he young leaves used as p o t herbs are sag o r bhaji. T he pod is ghegra or gheghra o r ghenti ; in Benares dhundi (or m ore properly dhenda, dhendha or dhinrha); ghitri in Rohilkhand; tat in Delhi; in Bundelkhand dhauri; and in other places ghenti. Patpar, chatka, gheghra and satpar are properly the pod w hen som ew hat unripe. But in Bundelkhand is used for the ripe pod. W hen the flower appears the phrase is patpari ho rahi hai in Eta; and when the grain appears it is nimona or gheghra ho rahi hai. T he husk o f gram is chhikar, and to the east bhusi. G ram injured by rain is in Delhi birra. Land under a crop o f gram is in Rohilkhand chaniyada; in D elhi chanidl and umri\ in the L ow er D oab o«r, and in o th er places chanara. Section X I I — Sugarcane (Saccharum offtcinarum)38
499. Sugarcane is k n o w n to the w est o f the province as ikh and ganna ; and to the east iikh. A m ong the varieties are agaul (Eta); agkoli (Bareli), a soft large w hitish cane good for eating; baraukha (Rohilkhand, C entral D oab and Benares), thin, w ith a reddish hard bark— the ju ice is sw eet and thick; bejhar (Delhi); bhura surtha (Doab); chin (R ohilkhand and D oab); chitura (C aw npur); o r in O u d h katara, a thick edible cane w ith a light-green coloured bark; chuti (Bareli), a sm all hard red cane; dantur (Bareli), a very soft cane, g o o d for eat ing and m akes first-class molasses; dhaur, dhaul (th ro u g h o u t the province), a hard thin w hitish cane w hich stands w ater well; dhumar (D oab); digilchin (Eta); gogla (Eta); gharari (D e lhi); kdghazi (Bareli), sim ilar to the agkoli, kalaganda o r 38 T h e best late-nineteenth-century source on the crop and its products is S .M . H adi, The Sugar Industry o f the United Provinces o f Agra and Oudh (A llahabad, 1902). For a recent discussion o f the culture o f sugarcane and the m anufacture o f indigenous sugars, see Shahid A m in , Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur, chapter hi.
SUGARCANE (SACCHARUM OFFICINARUM)
107
kdldgenra (D oab and O udh); kdldsurtha (Delhi); karba (D oab); katdra (R ohilkhand and Benares); kathori (D oab); khiw dhi (Be nares); kindra (D oab); kitharwa (G orakhpur), an edible cane; lakri (Rohilkhand); lalri (Delhi); manga, mango, a biennial very luxuriant cane; matna (D oab), a thick cane w ith close knots g iving thick juice; mittan (Bareli), sim ilar to agkoli; neuli, neula, a soft sw eet edible cane (Rohilkhand); padara (West O u d h and R ohilkhand), a non-edible cane g ro w n m erely for the juice; pandia (Bareli), a first-class cane m uch g ro w n ; pansai, pansdhi, a thin cane, g ro w n m erely for the ju ice (G orakh pur); paunda, the best edible cane, g ro w n th ro u g h o u t the p ro vince; rakhra, rakhri, sim ilar to the ddntur (q.v.) b u t rather harder; reora (Benares); sarauti (Benares); saretha (D oab); subia (C aw npur), sam e as matna (q.v.); surtha (Delhi); tanka (C aw npur); thun, a very thick heavy cane (W est O u d h an d R ohilkhand). 500. A cane field is in the east o f the province ikhari or ikhw dri , and to the east ukhdri o r ukhwari. Land prepared for sugarcane is bhadwar, in parts o f R ohilkhand, and th e D oab bhadwdr pardl; and~in Shahjahanpur pandri. W hen th e land is left fallow the autum n preceding the planting, the cane is said to be g ro w n paloch. Som etim es an au tu m n crop is taken th e season before planting the cane; this system is k n o w n as khdrog. W hen cane is cultivated w ith o u t irrigation a layer o f leaves, grass, etc. is th ro w n o ver the seed, and acts as a so rt o f h o t bed. T his system is called palwdr in B undelkhand and in C a w n p u r paleo. In A zam garh the plough w hich leads the w ay in cane planting is called (hhinua , the m iddle plough paheia, and the last bhatua; each ro w o f seed is mur , and the tw o first ploughs have a bundle o f grass called ledi bound ro u n d them to w iden the fu rro w (hardt). T he first w atering o f cane is in the U p p er D oab palewa , the second is kora, and the th ird dkhiri. C ane sprouting from the roots left since the pre vious season is k n o w n in M eerut as moda (w hich is p ro p erly the roots them selves), niundha peri (D oab and R ohilkhand), o r ratun. W hen fresh seed is sow n it is in Bareli naulaf. Sugar cane g ro w n from cuttings is bhatmai. Dusdhi, bastwa o r karakh
108
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
is sugarcane sow n after the au tu m n crop is cut. A nursery for cane is hdpar. T h e com pletion o f the sugarcane harvest is pur vdi. T h e earth is hoed once after the cane has sprouted. This is called in Bareli andheria kam a. T h e chief hoeing is done in the m o n th o f Asdrh, and is called in Bareli the Asdrhi kor. W hen ju s t sprouted the cane is called in Eta kulha, and in the eastern districts poi. T h e ro o t is than in A zam garh; and gohan in the eastern districts are the sprouts w hen tw o o r three feet high. A t this stage it is in Eta ikh o r ikhdri; w hen th e knots becom e visible it is ganna, and w hen ready for cutting gdnda. Kothar in the U p p er D oab and kdna in G orak h p u r are applied to a plant attacked by the sundi insect. T he to p o f the cane cut up for seed is agaund , and in Bareli phunkabij. In the U p p e r D oab th e piece betw een tw o knots cut for eating is gandka ganna, and that cut for sow ing kanchi; and in G o rak h p u r pataur. T h e w hole cane cut up for seed is bel ka btj, bij bardi, painra (C en tral D oab), in G orakhpur genri, and in A zam garh painr o r gdnr. T h e sp routing eyes in the cane are dnkh. Gulla is a p iece o f cane chew ed at one tim e and chenph is the refuse th ro w n o u t o f the m o u th . T h e hole w here the cane slips are kept be fore planting is bigadha in R ohilkhand; in the D o ab bijara, and in the eastern districts khdta. 501. T he leaves at the to p and the u pper p a rt o f the cane are k n o w n as pat, dg, agdo, agaura, agin, gaundi. 502. In the eastern districts the green top cut for fodder is genra o r genr. In A zam garh masganda is the to p o f the cane. T h e d ry leaves at the to p are in G orak h p u r patai, and in the U p p er D oab pdti. 503. A sprout o f cane is ak. A branch springing fro m the b o tto m and injuring the plant is in the U p p er D oab karanjwa, and at the latter stage kanas. T h e knots in the cane are in the D oab poi o r gdnth, and in o th er places por o r pora. 504. A bundle o f five canes is painja in the D oab. T w e n ty -o n e painja m ake one phandv, a sm all b undle is ju ri. 505. A m o n g the preparations o f sugar m ay be m entioned rdb, the undrained raw sugar; gur, mithdi, bheli o r dhosa w hich
Diagram I: Sugarcane and Its Products 100 maunds o f sugarcane Cane juice 50
Pressed in bags w ith feet
Unclarified (Gur) 18.5
I----------
Semi-refined (Putri) 13.0
Molasses (Shira) 6.5
Strained in crates with Siwar Shira 6.5
Kneaded in the sun by trampling: Kacchi chini, kacchi khand, Shakkar 6.5
I-------------
Boiled in milk, strained &' evaporated (Safed bura or Pakki chini)
Boiled in milk and allowed to crystallize (Misri or Candy)
Boiled with milk and poured into moulds (Qand or Loaf)
'---------------------n ----------------Residue re-boiled and evaporated (Lai bura) Source: Based on H . Z. Darrah, ‘N ote on Sugar Cultivation in NW P and O udh’, GOI: Rev. & Agr., Agr. A, May 1884, no. 35, NAI. The numerals below Cane juice, Rab, etc. refer to the yield per 100 maunds o f sugarcane The work o f the sugar refiner ends with converting gur or rab into chini, khand or shakkar. Safed bura, mini and qand—the still more refined forms o f sugar—are manufactured by confectioners (halu/ais).
OFFICINARUM)
Pachdni
(SACCHARUM
Clarified b y alkalis (Shakkar) 17.5
Boiled to a semi liquid consistency (Rab) l