438 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. (July, 1911. 
made a feint in front. Mdnd dashed forward at Mdlda and in 
the effort had his chdti torn off and left in Dand’s hands; Mand 
eventually threw them both, ‘‘dsmdén dakhdia '—but the loss 
of his chéti deprived him for ever after of his virtue as a 4 | 
Hindu,’ and in no small degree of his renown as an ancestor! 
A fable of this sort affords an irresistible opportunity to a 
tribe for explaining away their present or recently past non- 
Hindu state, and an excuse to hark back to an imaginary 4 | 
Hindu origin. In fact we here have Mdnd’s claim to pos- s 
thumous fame being denied him by his own people;  striv- 
ing as they are with the rest of the casteless millions of 
India to obtain a footing, even though it be on the lowest 
rung of the Hindu social ladder.* And so it comes about 
that Mdnd is at the present day looked upon by the Kanjar 
community, certainly the Gehd4rds, rather in the light of a 
necessary evil—so much so, if I have been able to correctly 
gauge their sloneAt that he is disreputabie enough to require 
propitiation, that his name may not to be mentioned except as 
e see it in use—as an invocation. One of my informants, a 
well-known Gehara shikari, was highly amused at my expecting 
him to pronounce the name in ordinary tones. He had no 
objection to repeating the name ‘ Mana, > but only in a sort 
of drone or chant—‘‘ Oh! Ma- d-d-nd\” 
sears <= 
Se ae 
= lsu 
Ep =.) 
converts to Christianity has recently been the subject of some discussion 
in ants circles in India. 
Ashman or WV aataan dakhdiyé’’= * d him the sky.”’ 
referred this expression to Mr. ©. A. W. sane ot the U.P. peli 
indly given me the following interesting note :—‘‘ There is a cu tom 
iefly 
: 1 a ort: 
‘fall is the ‘donon shanén ke kushti’—that of both shoulder blades 
Aho op nem the ground. This is the ‘chit’ siidvadly recognized through- 
‘ou 
2 This is interesting, as Crooke in ‘« Tribes ge bem an infant ¢ a 
says: ‘‘The Kunchbands sometimes offer the 
ards a 
8’ As Sir Herbert Risley puts it, ‘‘ that course of elope t by 
whic ha non-Aryan tribe transforms itself ag a full-blown caste 
fis 
«Mari is 
worshipped Waaitihies oon: te village.’ “The Kolhates. of 
Bouts ities ek aie eullage. ) 
Gazette 188 9. among others the cholera goddess Mar: ia— Bombay 
ue ek ae zs 
Journ. As, hee is vol. vii, iowa 6, a eon of Kunchband Kanja 
