199/364 Subcaste of Mahar. The members of this sept lick salt on the death of their relatives. Another account from Betul says that they spread salt on a platform raised in honour of the dead and make cattle lick it up. They appear to be immigrants from northern India, as their women wear the Hindustani dress and they speak Hindi at home. At their weddings the bridal couple walk round the sacred post according to the northern custom. |