The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India - Volume IV | Page 9

while the Deshpandia was a head patwari or accountant. The
Deshmukhs were usually the leading Kunbis, and the titles are still
borne by many families in Wardha and Nagpur. These offices [16]
belong to the Maratha country, and it seems necessary to suppose that
their introduction into Wardha and Berar dates from a period at least as
early as the fourteenth century, when these territories were included in
the dominions of the Bahmani kings of Bijapur. A subsequent large
influx of Kunbis into Wardha and Nagpur took place in the eighteenth
century with the conquest of Raghuji Bhonsla and the establishment of
the Maratha kingdom of Nagpur. Traces of these separate immigrations
survive in the subdivisions of the caste, which will now be mentioned.

3. Subcastes
The internal structure of the Kunbi caste in the Central Provinces
shows that it is a mixed occupational body recruited from different
classes of the population. The Jhare or jungly [17] Kunbis are the
oldest immigrants and have no doubt an admixture of Gond blood.
They do not break their earthen vessels after a death in the house. With
them may be classed the Manwa Kunbis of the Nagpur District; these
appear to be a group recruited from the Manas, a primitive tribe who
were dominant in Chanda perhaps even before the advent of the Gonds.
The Manwa Kunbi women wear their cloths drawn up so as to expose
the thigh like the Gonds, and have some other primitive practices. They
do not employ Brahmans at their marriages, but consult a Mahar
Mohturia or soothsayer to fix the date of the ceremony. Other Kunbis
will not eat with the Manwas, and the latter retaliate in the usual
manner by refusing to accept food from them; and say that they are
superior to other Kunbis because they always use brass vessels for

cooking and not earthen ones. Among the other subcastes in the Central
Provinces are the Khaire, who take their name from the khair [18] or
catechu tree, presumably because they formerly prepared catechu; this
is a regular occupation of the forest tribes, with whom it may be
supposed that the Khaire have some affinity. The Dhanoje are those
who took to the occupation of tending dhan [19] or small stock, and
they are probably an offshoot of the Dhangar or shepherd caste whose
name is similarly derived. Like the Dhangar women they wear
cocoanut-shell bangles, and the Manwa Kunbis also do this; these
bangles are not broken when a child is born, and hence the Dhanojes
and Manwas are looked down on by the other subcastes, who refuse to
remove their leaf-plates after a feast. The name of the Khedule subcaste
may be derived from kheda a village, while another version given by
Mr. Kitts [20] is that it signifies 'A beardless youth.' The highest
subcaste in the Central Provinces are the Tirole or Tilole, who now
claim to be Rajputs. They say that their ancestors came from Therol in
Rajputana, and, taking to agriculture, gradually became merged with
the Kunbis. Another more probable derivation of the name is from the
til or sesamum plant. The families who held the hereditary office of
Deshmukh, which conferred a considerable local position, were usually
members of the Tirole subcaste, and they have now developed into a
sort of aristocratic branch of the caste, and marry among themselves
when matches can be arranged. They do not allow the remarriage of
widows nor permit their women to accompany the wedding procession.
The Wandhekars are another group which also includes some
Deshmukh families, and ranks next to the Tiroles in position. Mr. Kitts
records a large number of subcastes in Berar. [21] Among them are
some groups from northern India, as the Hindustani, Pardesi, Dholewar,
Jaiswar and Singrore; these are probably Kurmis who have settled in
Berar and become amalgamated with the Kunbis. Similarly the
Tailanges and Munurwars appear to be an offshoot of the great Kapu
caste of cultivators in the Telugu country. The Wanjari subcaste is a
fairly large one and almost certainly represents a branch of the Banjara
caste of carriers, who have taken to agriculture and been promoted into
the Kunbi community. The Lonhare take their name from Lonar
Mehkar, the well-known bitter lake of the Buldana District, whose salt
they may formerly have refined. The Ghatole are those who dwelt

above the ghats or passes of the Saihadri range to the south of the Berar
plain. The Baone are an important subcaste both in Berar and the
Central Provinces, and take their name from the phrase Bawan Berar,
[22] a term applied to the province by the Mughals because it paid
fifty-two lakhs of revenue, as against only eight lakhs realised from the
adjoining Jhadi or hill country in the Central Provinces. In Chhindwara