Page:A Statistical Account of Bengal Vol 1 GoogleBooksID 9WEOAAAAQAAJ.pdf/84

Rh (9), spirit-sellers.—Said to be the issue of a Gop father and a Súdra mother. Number in the 24 Parganás in 1872, 13,272; mostly well off, and many of them rich men.

.—The following forty-four are the very low castes and utterly despised:—(1) Dhanuk, labourers; numbering 181 in the 24 Parganás in 1872. (2) Dhobá, washermen; said to be the issue of a Karan father and a Vaisya mother; number in the 24 Parganás in 1872, 39,591; mostly poor. (3) Kalu, oil-pressers; said to be the offspring of a Sadgop father and a Vaisya mother; 13,732 in number in the 24 Parganás in 1872; mostly poor. (4) Jogí and Patuá, weavers; said to be the offspring of a Nat father and a Bráhman mother; numbering 82,903 in the 24 Parganás in 1872, and very poor. (5) Chandál, cultivators and fishermen. This caste is divided into four classes—Kotál, who occupy the first rank, and who are employed as cultivators; Nune, cultivators and sawyers; Soro, date-tappers; and Mech, fishermen. The Chandáls are said to be the offspring of a Súdra father and a Bráhman mother; 46,056 in number in the 24 Parganás in 1872, and poor. (6) Kapálí, cultivators; said to have been the offspring of a Tior father and a Báití mother; number in the 24 Parganás in 1872, 28,061; poor. (7) Beldár, labourers and camp-followers; 53 in number in the 24 Parganás in 1872. (8) Chunárí, manufacturers of lime from shells; said to be the offspring of a Nat (the issue of a Málákar man and Súdra woman) father and a Báití mother; number in the 24 Parganás in 1872, 643; poor. (9) Korá, diggers and labourers; 11 in number. (10) Náik, military service, policemen, guards, etc.; 2 in number. (11) Pod. This caste is of two kinds—Chása Pod, who are cultivators, and Mechi Pod, who are fishermen and boatmen. They are said to be the offspring of a Sunrí father and a Nápit mother; 249,709 in number in 1872. (12) Tior, fishermen and boatmen; said to be the offspring of a Pod father and Chunárí mother; number in the 24 Parganás in 1872, 49,709; poor. (13) Jáliá, fishermen and boatmen; said to be the offspring of a Gop father and Súdra mother. The principal distinction between this and the foregoing caste is that the Jáliás as a rule fish in deep water, while the Tiors generally fish in small watercourses, streams, and other shallows; 23,679 in number in the 24 Parganás in 1872; poor. (14) Málá, fishermen and boatmen. This appears to have been originally a mere title for a branch of the Kaibartta caste, which has separated and formed into a separate caste. Their avocation is