RAJWAR
The rajwar are distributed in bihar, Orissa and west Bengal. In
west Bengal their concentration is in purulia, bankura, birbhum and midnapur
districts. Hunters (1875) termed them as a semi hindunized aborigine. Some
trace their origin to an episode in mahabharat. Their mother tongue is magahi,
an indo Aryan language. But they also know Bengali which is used for inter
group communication. They use the Bengali script. Their total population in
west Bengal is 85,374 with a concentration in rural area. They are
non-vegetarians but do not eat beef or pork. During festival occasion they
drink rice bear.
The four territorial divisions among them are bhumihar, angar,
jhuintinar and khorriar. each division comprises of number of clans. the
important clans are nagbangsi, dhamara, singtoar, sangatkoira, mukhia or dumra,
bura, manja, sagarchita, supad, gobasanti, madhurekha, sabdarekha, and
sandilya. Inter marriage between four division is discouraged. Girls are married
between eight to fifteen years of age. Marriage by negotiation is accepted
practice. Traditionally a sum of Rs 2 is paid as bride price but nowadays
custom of giving dowry is becoming common. Residence after marriage is
patrilocal. In some cases the couple set up a new residence. Divorce and
remarriage are allowed. Property is shared equally amongst all sons, but the
eldest son, who succeeds the father, may get a slightly larger share. The type
of family is usually nuclear, though a few extended families are also found.
Women assist men in their traditional occupation of preparing and selling
flattened rice, besides performing other household jobs. After delivery, mother
is given special diet for five days. On the sixth day ceremony (naran) is held to mark the end of the pollution
period. The family members, the mother and the baby are given an oil bath. On
the twenty first day, the mother is presented by her father, with four new
clothes and rice. The service of barber and hari are requisitioned in connection
with the ritual of marriage, which is solemnized in a separate hall. In the
main rituals, vermilion is put on the forehead of the bride four time, and the
fifth vermilion mark is placed on the floor of the sacred arena. When the bride
comes to her husband's house to live, she wears an iron bangle on her left
wrist. The dead body is anointed with mustard oil and the turmeric paste and
then cremated. A pollution period of ten days is observed.
The traditional occupation of preparing and selling flattened rice
has ceased to be a remunerative occupation. Presently agriculture and
agricultural labour are the principle source of livelihood. According to 1981
census, 34.98% of rajwar are workers (53.91% male and 12.96% female). Of them
24.48% are cultivators; 45.16% are agricultural laborer, 4.99% are mining and
quarrying; 14.13% are in other than household industry; and the remaining
11.24% are engaged in other services.
Previously, they were ruled by a territorial organization. The
village head was called manjhi and a group of nine villages constituted a
pargana headed by a parganait. But such a system no more exists. The rajwar
take part in cho dance and sing songs like Tushu and bhadu. They are hindu by
religion. The village chief (laya) who belongs to their own community performs
certain ritual called barhula puja. They observe regional festivals like Bandhana,
Bhadu, Tushu, Ganjan and jita. a rajwar sudhar samiti has been formed by
educated members of the community to look after social, cultural and economic
interest of the community.
Though the kurmi mahato and other dominant communities in the
villages donot accept food or water from them, discrimination had lessened to a
great extent.
The literacy rate among the rajwar, according to the 1981cencus, is
16.63%. The male literacy is 26.83% while the female literacy rate is 4.76%.
Modern medical care is not freely available and they often resort to their own
traditional experts for curing disease. In many villages the supply of drinking
water is very poor, as are the communication facilities.
The rajwar of bihar are traditionally an agricultural community.
Their total population in bihar, according to 1981 cencus is 237,370. They are
returned largely from rural areas. They speak in the magahi language at the
home and with the neighboring communities, but are also conversant with hindi.
The script used for writing is Devnagari. They are non-vegetarian who relish
pork, mutton, chicken, egg and fish. Their staple food comprises of rice, wheat
and maize and pulses like arhar, masur and moong. Both men and women drink
fermented date palm juice (tadi or nira).
There are six endogamous subgroup, namely Rajbanshi, Rajbhar, Bhogta,
Lathaur, nagbansi and nakchedia. Of them the rajbanshi claim the highest
status. the rajwar are not aware of any gotras among them. They have adopted Rajbanshi as their surname.
Child marriage followed by gaona is practiced.
Boy is married at around fourteen to sixteen years of age. Non-sororal
polygyny is permissible. Junior sororate and levirate are allowed. The
vermilion mark is the main symbol of married women. Women contribute to family
income through wage labor and look after household chores. Besides, women
participate in socio-religious and ritual spheres. Childbirth takes place normally
at home and is attended to by a midwife categasin of the charmar community. A
predelivery ritual (sadhor) is observed. The major ceremony connected with
childbirth is chhatthi. Tonsure (mundan) is observed for the male child wherein
the barber is summoned to render his ritual service. Marriage may perform at
the bride's house or at the bridegroom's house (Kadhuwa or Kadhui). The
post-marriage ritual are chauthari, ahorbahor and rosgadi. The dead are
cremated. The important rituals connected with death are lohapani, doodhumuchi,
thinratri, daswan and sradhi. On the sradh day, a feast (bhoi) is given to the
community and kin members (latgotia).
The rajwar of bihar are traditionally cultivators. Some of them
are engaged in wage labor, rickshaw-pulling, government and private services
and in self-employment. Some of them practice agriculture on a ghewari basis,
i.e. agricultural land given in lieu of labor on yearly basis. The Rajwar are
considered expert bricks layers. It is observed from census returns that out of
their total population, 39.25%are workers (53.91% males and 24.14% Females). Of
them 71.78% are reported as agricultural laborers, 17.06% as cultivators, 4.52%
work in mining and quarrying and the remaining 6.64% as engaged in other services.
Along with cash transaction, barter is also practiced in their villages.
The rajwar have a traditional caste panchayat whose head is known
is mahto. They also have regional organization with its headquarters in nawada
district. The rajwar profess hinduism. The brahaman and nai are their sacred
specialists. Devaisthan, pind of sultanpir, shiv mandir, mahabir mandir, and
siraghar are important sacred centers for them. they worship a number of
deities like Manas, Bageswari, Siyar Bhokwa, Phulmala, Loharadak, Birbaital and
Gorraya Dihwal, Vighnu pad, Kahesari Devi, Mangala Gauri and Dukharnimia. Holi,
Deepawali, Ramnavami, Chhath and Dussehra are among major festivals observed.
Folk songs namely sohar, sohana and bhanri are sung by rajwar women to the
accompaniment of drum. Songs like chaita, holi and bayasi are sung by men.
The rajwara are interlinked with rest of the society in a number
of ways. Patron-client (Pounia or jaimani) relationships exist with the Brahman,
Nai, Lohar and Kumhar. Friendship across communities is common. Water resource
is shared, but their cremation ground is separate. Among them are businessmen, teachers,
employees, members in defense services and political leaders at the regional
level.
Poverty and apathy are main reason for their low level of
literacy. It is observed from the census return that the literacy rate is
9.15%. The female literacy is almost negligible, i.e. 1.50%, whereas the male
literacy rate is 16.58%. Modern Medicare is more popular but traditional
Medicare is also in used. Their attitude towards family planning is not
favorable. Drinking water and transport facilities are available to them. A few
of them have benefitted from IRDP and occasionally they get labour work under
the NREP. They mainly use organic manure, but in recent years, they have
started to use chemical fertilizers and insecticides.
Reference:
Risley, H.H., the tribes and castes of Bengal (Calcutta: Bengal
secretariat press, 1891; rpt. 1981, Calcutta: firma mukhopadhyat), vol. II.
K. S. Singh, the schedule castes, people of India, national series
volume II, anthropological survey of India, oxford university press.
