[227] Similarly, Guru Govind Singh instituted a _prasad_ or communion among the Sikhs, in which cakes of flour, butter and sugar are made and consecrated with certain ceremonies while the communicants sit round in prayer, and are then distributed equally to all the faithful present, to whatever caste they may belong.

At a Guru-Mata or great council of the Sikhs, which was held at any great crisis in the affairs of the state, these cakes were laid before the Sikh scriptures and then eaten by all present, who swore on the scriptures to forget their internal dissensions and be united.

Among the Rajputs the test of legitimacy of a member of the chief's family was held to depend on whether he had eaten of the chief's food.

The rice cooked at the temple of Jagannath in Orissa may be eaten there by all castes together, and, when partaken of by two men together, is held to establish a bond of indissoluble friendship between them.
Members of several low castes of mixed origin will only take food with their relatives, and not with other families of the caste with whom they intermarry.

[228] The Chaukhutia Bhunjias will not eat food cooked by other members of the same community, and will not take it from their own daughters after the latter are married.