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NOVEMBER, 1880.]
Jangams. They celebrate a festival in honour of the dead, but do not mourn or perform funeral rites. Their women also wear a linga, and apply ashes to their foreheads. They deem their food polluted if seen by a stranger. They blow a shell and beg, singing in praise of Siva. The Jangam dresses in ochre-coloured clothes. On his shoulder rests a conch shell, and in his hands he carries metal cups. He begs singing hymns, and when paid blows the shell for a few minutes. The Jangams also carry a bell in their hands, which begins to strike when the beggar turns a short stick round its edge He holds the bell in a slanting position. He is satisfied with a handful of rice. GOPICHANDAS.
BOMBAY BEGGARS AND CRIERS.
Gopichandas carry fiddles and sing in praise of Gopichand. They dress in ochrecoloured clothes, and sing both in Hindustâni and Marathi.
CHITRAKATHIS.
Chitrak Athis are Hindus, Marâthis by caste. They carry with them a few coloured plates or pictures of their gods, rolled up and slung on their backs. The companion carries a drum, and goes about beating it now and then, and enquiring if people would like to hear of the exploits of the gods. If consent is given, the Chitrakathi opens his book, and shows to the spectators each plate, sings and preaches. This beggar frequents only the Sûdra quarters, as no high caste Hindu would think of hearing a sermon preached by a Sûdra.
VAIDUS.
The Vaidu is both a beggar and a hawker. He dresses in ochre-coloured clothes, and carries a bambu provided either with one or two bags of like coloured cloth, containing medicinal roots, herbs, hides, porcupine quills, tigers' claws, bears' hair, and deadly poisons. They pretend to heal any and every disease, from simple cough to severe maladies, giving some article from their bag as a sure cure for the malady. These are jungle people inhabiting forests and hills. They generally go once a year to the principal stations, and after disposing of their goods disappear.
BLIND BEGGARS.
These are both Hindus and Musalmans, men and women. The former frequent Hindu localities, especially on Mondays and holidays, in gangs of two, four and six. With their hands
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on each other's shoulders, they are led by one or more guides who receive the alms. Some of them take musical instruments with them on which they play and sing. In localities occupied by Pârsis, they do not use their instruments, and the Marathi singing is exchanged for Gujarati and Hindustani. The beggars stop at every house, and will not move until they either receive alms or are driven away. The money they collect is divided equally amongst them at the end of their performances for the day. If however they are not successful, they break their gangs, and such as have their wives or children with them take a different route from their other partners, and others by the help of their sticks steer on by the side of the road. Some of these beggars have bells attached to their legs, and they jump and dance for the amusement of those from whom they exact charity. Others, again, beat their stomachs with their hands, and cry out in a peculiar way so as to excite the compassion of those who are looking at them. Some of these beggars are placed by the sides of much-frequented thoroughfares by their guides, but not before furnishing them with pieces of bread, betelnut, and leaves and tobacco and a match-box. Some go about leading a cow behind them, and asking Hindus and Pârsis to give them a trifle to buy grass for the gái, which is held to be sacred. Some go about in the evening pretending to be blind, with either a stick in their hand, or led by others, whilst others go about asking for firewood only, and which they afterwards convert into money. Among all the beggars excepting the shawl-wearing Sâstribâvâ and a few others, the blind beggars are the best off. ARADHIS.
Aradhis are a class of beggars who cover the upper portion of their bodies with sea shells (kavḍis), all strung together, and go about with a thick torch well soaked in oil, and lighted. This they do in honour of the goddess Ambâbâi. They wear a long coat all besmeared with oil, and on their heads they wear a cap covered over with kavḍis. The Arâdhis are sometimes accompanied by a man who carries a musical instrument (samel) and another called tuntune. These are all men. They sing both in praise of the goddess, and obscene songs, lávnis, for the entertainment of the people who wish to hear them.
