Kirar1 or Kirad.—A cultivating caste found in the Narsinghpur, Hoshangabad, Betul, Seoni, Chhindwara and Nagpur Districts. They numbered 48,000 persons in 1911. The Kirars claim to be Dhakar or bastard Rajputs, and in 1891 more than half of them returned themselves under this designation. About a thousand persons who were returned as Dhakar Rajputs from Hoshangabad in 1901 are probably Kirars. The caste say that they immigrated from Gwalior, and this statement seems to be correct, as about 66,000 of them are found in that State. They claim to have left Gwalior as early as Samvat 1525 or A.D. 1468, when Alru and Dalru, the leaders of the migration into the Central Provinces, abandoned their native village, Doderi Kheda in Gwalior, and settled in Chandon, a village in the Sohagpur tahsil of Hoshangabad. But according to the story related to Mr. (Sir Charles) Elliott, the migration took place in A.D. 1650 or at the beginning of Aurangzeb’s reign.2 He quotes the names of the leaders as Alrawat and Dalrawat, and says that the migration took place from the Dholpur country, but this is probably a mistake, as none of the caste are now found in Dholpur. Elliott stated that he could find no traces of any cultivating caste having settled in Hoshangabad as far back as Akbar’s time, though Sir W. Sleeman was of opinion that the first great migration into the Nerbudda valley took place in that reign. The truth is probably that the valley began to be regularly colonised by Hindus during the years that Aurangzeb spent at Burhanpur and in the Deccan, and the immigration of the Kirars may most reasonably be attributed to this period. The Kirars, Gujars, and Raghuvansis apparently entered the Central Provinces together, and the fact that they still smoke from the same huqqa and take water from each other’s drinking vessels may be a reminiscence of this bond of fellowship. All these castes claim, and probably with truth, to be degraded Rajputs. The Kirars’ version is that they took to widow-marriage and were consequently degraded. According to another story they were driven from their native place by a Muhammadan invasion. Mr. J. D. Cunningham says that the word Kirar in Central India literally means dalesmen or foresters, but during the lapse of centuries has become the name of a caste.3 Another derivation is from Kirar, a corn-chandler, an occupation which they may originally have followed in combination with agriculture. In the Punjab the name Kirar appears to be given to all the western or Punjabi traders as distinct from a Bania of Hindustan, and is so used even in the Kangra hills, but the Arora, who is the trader par excellence of the south-west of the Punjab, is the person to whom the term is most commonly applied.4 As a curiosity of folk-etymology it may be stated that some derive the caste-name from the fact that a holy sage’s wife, who was about to be delivered of a child, was being pursued by a Rakshas or demon, and fell over the steep bank (karar) of a river and was thereupon delivered. The child was consequently called Karar and became the ancestor of the Kirar caste. The name may in fact be derived from the habit which the Kirars have in some localities of cultivating on the banks of rivers, like the Kirs, who are probably a branch of the same caste.

In the Central Provinces the Kirars have no regular subcastes. In Chhindwara a subdivision is in course of formation from the illegitimate offspring of male Kirars, who are known as Vidur or Saoneria. The Dhakar Kirars do not marry or eat with Saonerias. The section-names of the Kirars are not eponymous, as might be anticipated from their claim to Rajput descent, but they are generally territorial. Instances are Bankhedi, from Bankhedi, a village in Hoshangabad; Garhya, from Garha, near Jubbulpore; and Teharia, from Tehri, a State in Bundelkhand. Other section-names are Chaudharia, from Chaudhari, headman; Khandait or swordsman, and Banda, or tailless. Some gotras are derived from the names of other castes or subcastes, or of Rajput septs, as Loharia, from Lohar (blacksmith); Chauria, a subcaste of Kurmis; Lilorhia, a subcaste of Gujars; and Solanki and Chauhan, the names of Rajput septs. These names may probably be taken to indicate the mixed origin of the caste, and record the admission of families from other castes. A man cannot marry in his own gotra nor in the families of his grandmother, paternal uncle or maternal aunt to three degrees of consanguinity. Boys and girls are usually married between the ages of five and twelve. Marriages take place so long as the planet Venus or Shukra is visible at nights, i.e. between the months of Aghan (November) and Asarh (June). The proposal for marriage proceeds from the boy’s father, who ascertains the wishes of the girl’s father through a barber. If the latter is willing, the Sagai or betrothal ceremony is performed at the girl’s house. The boy’s father proceeds there with a rupee, two pice and a cocoanut-core, which he presents to the girl, taking her into his lap. The fathers of the boy and girl embrace, and this seals the compact of betrothal. The date of the marriage is usually fixed in consultation with a Brahman, who computes an auspicious day from the ceremonial names of the couple. But if it is desired to perform the marriage at once, it may take place on Akhatij, or the third day of the bright fortnight of Baisakh (April–May), which is always auspicious. The lagan or paper containing the date of the marriage is drawn up ceremonially by a Brahman of the girl’s house, and he also writes another, giving the names of the relatives who are selected to officiate at the ceremony. The first ceremony at the marriage is that of Mangar Mati, or bringing earth for ovens, the earth being worshipped by a burnt offering of butter and sugar, and then dug up by the Sawasin or girl’s attendant for the marriage, and carried home by several women in baskets. This is done in the morning, and in the evening the boy and girl in their respective houses are anointed with oil and turmeric, a little being first thrown on the ground for the family gods. This ceremony is repeated every evening for some three to fifteen days. The mandwa or marriage-shed is then erected at both houses, under which the ceremony of tel or touching the feet, knees, shoulders and forehead of the boy and the girl with oil is performed. Next day the kham or marriage-post is placed in the mandwa, a little rice, turmeric and two pice being put in the hole in which it is fixed, and the shed is covered with leaves. The bridegroom, clad in a blanket and with date-leaves tied on his head, is taken out for the binaiki or the marriage procession on horseback. Before mounting, he bows to Mata or Devi, Mahabir, Hardaul Lala, and Patel Deo, the spirit of the deceased malguzar of the village. He is taken round to the houses of friends and relatives, who present him with a few pice. On his return he bathes and puts on the marriage dress, which consists of a red or yellow jama or gown, a pair of trousers, a pagri, a maur or marriage crown and a cloth about his waist. A few women’s ornaments are put on his neck, and he is furnished with a katar or dagger, and in its absence a nutcracker or knife. He then comes out of the house and the parchhan ceremony is performed, the boy’s mother putting her nipple in his mouth and giving him a little ghi and sugar to eat as a symbol of the termination of his infancy. The Barat or marriage procession then sets out for the girl’s village, being met on its outskirts by the bride’s father, and the forehead of the bridegroom is marked with sandalwood paste. The bridegroom touches the Mandwa with his hand or throws a bamboo fan over it and returns with his followers to the Janwasa or lodging given to the Barat. Next morning the ceremony of Chadhao or decorating the bride is performed, and the bridegroom’s party give her the clothes and ornaments which they have brought for her, these being first offered to an image of Ganesh made of cowdung. The bride is then mounted on a horse provided by the bridegroom’s party and goes round to the houses of the friends of the family, accompanied by music and the women of her party, and receives small presents. The Bhanwar ceremony is performed during the night, the couple being seated near the marriage-post with their backs to the house. A ball of kneaded flour is put in the girl’s right hand, which is then placed on the right hand of the bridegroom, and the bride’s brother pours water over their hands. The bride’s maternal uncle and aunt, with the skirts of their clothes tied together, step forward and wash the feet of the couple and give them presents. The other relatives follow suit, and this completes the ceremony of Paon Pakhurai or Daija, that is giving the dowry. The couple then go round the marriage-post seven times, the girl leading for the first four rounds and the boy for the last three. This is the Bhanwar ceremony or binding portion of the marriage, and the polar star is called on to make it inviolable. The bridegroom’s party are then feasted, the women meantime singing obscene songs. The bride goes back to the bridegroom’s house and stays there for a few days, after which she returns to her parents’ house and does not leave it again until the gauna ceremony is performed. On this occasion the bridegroom’s party go to the girl’s house with a present of sweets and clothes which they present to her parents, and they then take away the girl. Even after this she is again sent back to her parents’ house, and the bridegroom comes a second time to fetch her, on which occasion the parents of the bride have to make a present in return for the sweets and clothes previously given to them. The marriage expenses are said to average between Rs. 50 and Rs. 100, but the extravagance of Kirars is notorious. Sir R. Craddock says5 that they are much given to display, the richer members of the caste being heavily weighted with jewellery, while a well-to-do Kirar will think nothing of spending Rs. 1000 on his house, or if he is a landowner Rs. 5000. Extravagance ruins a great many of the Kirar community. This statement, however, perhaps applies to those of the Nagpur District rather than to their comrades of the Nerbudda valley and Satpura highlands. The remarriage of widows is permitted, and the widow may marry either her husband’s younger brother or any other member of the caste at her choice. The ceremony takes place at night, the woman being brought to her husband’s house by the back door and given a new cloth and bangles. Turmeric is then applied to her body, and the clothes of the couple are tied together. When a bachelor marries a widow, he must first be married to an akau plant (swallow-wort). Divorce may be effected for infidelity on the part of the wife or for serious disagreement. A divorced woman may marry again. Polygamy is allowed, and in Chhindwara is said to be restricted to three wives, all living within the District, but elsewhere no such limitation is enforced. A man seldom, however, takes more than one wife, except for the sake of children.

They worship the ordinary Hindu gods and especially Devi, to whom they offer female kids. During the months of Baisakh and Jeth (April–June) those living in Betul and Chhindwara make a pilgrimage to the Nag Deo or cobra god, who is supposed to have his seat somewhere on the border of the two Districts. Every third year they also take their cattle outside the village, and turning their faces in the direction of the Nag Deo sprinkle a little water and kill goats and fowls. They worship the Patel Deo or spirit of the deceased malguzar of the village only on the occasion of marriages. They consider the service of the village headman to be their traditional occupation besides agriculture, and they therefore probably pay this special compliment to the spirit of their employer. They worship their implements of husbandry on some convenient day, which must be a Wednesday or a Sunday, after they have sown the spring crops. Those who grow sugarcane offer a goat or a cocoanut to the crop before it is cut, and a similar offering is made to the stock of grain after harvest, so that its bulk may not decrease. They observe the ordinary festivals, and like other Hindus cease to observe one on which a death has occurred in the family, until some happy event such as the birth of a child, or even of a calf, supervenes on the same day. Unmarried children under seven and persons dying of smallpox, snake-bite or cholera are buried, and others are either buried or burnt according to the convenience of the family. Males are placed on the pyre or in the grave on their faces and females on their backs, with their feet pointing to the south in each case. In some places the corpse is buried stark naked, and in others with a piece of cloth wrapped round it, and two pice are usually placed in the grave to buy the site. When a corpse is burnt the head is touched with a bamboo before it is laid on the funeral pyre, by way of breaking it in and allowing the soul to escape if it has not already done so. For three days the mourners place food, water and tobacco in cups for the disembodied soul. Mourning is observed for children for three days and for adults from seven to ten days. During this period the mourners refrain from luxurious food such as flesh, turmeric, vegetables, milk and sweets; they do not wear shoes, nor change their clothes, and males are not shaved until the last day of mourning. Balls of rice are then offered to the dead, and the caste people are feasted. Oblations of water are offered to ancestors in the month of Kunwar (September-October).

The caste do not admit outsiders. In the matter of food they eat flesh and fish, but abstain from liquor and from eating fowls, except in the Maratha country. They will take pakka food or that cooked without water from Gujars, Raghuvansis and Lodhis. In the Nagpur country, where the difference between katcha and pakka food is not usually observed, they will not take it from any but Maratha Brahmans. Abirs and Dhimars are said to eat with them, and the northern Brahmans will take water from them. They have a caste panchayat or committee with a hereditary president called Sethia, whose business it is to eat first when admitting a person who has been put out of caste. Killing a cat or a squirrel, selling a cow to a butcher, growing hemp or selling shoes are offences which entail temporary excommunication from caste. A woman who commits adultery with a man of another caste is permanently excluded. The Kirars are tall in stature and well and stoutly built. They have regular features and are generally of a fair colour. They are regarded as quarrelsome and untruthful, and as tyrannical landlords. As agriculturists they are supposed to be of encroaching tendencies, and the proverbial prayer attributed to them is, “O God, give me two bullocks, and I shall plough up the common way.” Another proverb quoted in Mr. Standen’s Betul Settlement Report, in illustration of their avarice, is “If you put a rupee between two Kirars, they become like mast buffaloes in Kunwar.” The men always wear turbans, while the women may be distinguished in the Maratha country by their adherence to the dress of the northern Districts. Girls are tattooed on the back of their hands before they begin to live with their husbands. A woman may not name her husband’s elder brother or even touch his clothes or the vessels in which he has eaten food. They are not distinguished for cleanliness.

Agriculture and the service of the village headman are the traditional occupations of Kirars. In Nagpur they are considered to be very good cultivators, but they have no special reputation in the northern Districts. About a thousand of them are landowners, and the large majority are tenants. They grow garden crops and sugarcane, but abstain from the cultivation of hemp.