JOURNAL 



OF THE 



Asiatic society of bengal 



New Series. 



Vol. XIII.— 1917. 



♦ 



i. Folklore in Caste Proverbs (Bombay Presidency). 



By B. A. Gupte. 



Caste proverbs in the Bombay Presidency have been so 

 arranged here as to show the territorial peculiarities of the 

 long strip of land extending along the West Coast from Karachi 

 to Goa, containing Sind, Gujerat, Kathiawar, Maharashtra and 

 Kanara. Each has its own language with several dialects, one 

 merging itself into another of an adjoining tract and form- 

 ing a chain co-existing with the several tribes and castes 

 naturalized. It would not be convenient to sort them strictly 

 according to the linguistic areas of the Presidency. There are 

 proverbs with one half in one language and the other in 

 another. They have therefore been grouped under caste- 

 names. For instance among proverbs applicable to Brahmans, 

 readers will find those used in Sind, Kathiawar, Maharashtra 

 and Kanara, showing side by side their local peculiarities and 

 shades of evolution. For instance, the Brahman is respected 

 more in the Kanarese District than in the Maratha country, he 

 is less honoured in Gujerat and loses his influence in Sind. 

 The Baniya on the contrary receives more encomiums in the 

 North than in the South. The Rajput is not met with in 

 Kanara, In Gujerat and Kathiawar he is much in evidence, 

 but is evidently not liked. ^n the Maratha country, he 

 receives nothing but praise. Compared with the emigrant 

 history of the Indian castes these likes and dislikes supply 

 valuable data. Proverbs record accumulated wisdom or ex- 

 perience of ages. For example, Sind says ' ' Love makes no dis- 



