1836.] 



An account of the Maun BJiows. 



25 



female Maun Bhow, and it may be stated that Toolsy Baie., 

 the favorite of the late notorious Jesswunt Row Holkur who 

 was beheaded by the chief of Holkur's army on the evening 

 preceding the battle of Mahidpoor, was of the Maun Bhow 

 tribe. It is said that Jesswunt Row, was smitten by her 

 beauty and took her forcibly away from her friends; she was 

 a woman of dissolute habits, and led a most abandoned life 

 after the death of Jesswunt Row Holkur : but as a full ac- 

 count of this very extraordinary female has been given by 

 the late Sir John Malcolm, in the seventh chapter, of the 1st 

 volume of his very interesting History of Central India, there 

 is no occasion for saying more about her in this paper. 



The Maun Bhows bury their dead but at some distance 

 beyond the limits of the village cemetry. The body is put 

 into the grave with the head to the north, and the feet to 

 the south, and reclining on the left side with the face to the 

 east. A quantity of salt is put into the grave, and heaped 

 round the body, it is said, to prevent it becoming too offen- 

 sive during the state of decomposition, by which means the 

 wild beasts might discover the grave and be induced to 

 scratch it open. 



The Maun Bhows have divested themselves of several 

 of the Hindoo prejudices ; they do not consider that any 

 defilement (sootuk) arises from the death of one of their 

 community : nor do they attend to the ceremonies of the 

 Shraadh (offerings to the manes), like the other Hindoos. 

 In the event of one of the fraternity dying and he leaves 

 any money, it is invariably expended in entertaining a cer- 

 tain number for a period of ten days : should the deceased 

 have died in a state of poverty, the Mhunth or superior ex- 

 pends a few rupees to admit of a certain number of the 

 brethren being entertained for the usual number of days : 

 and should a Maun Bhow expire where none of his tribe are 

 residing, the Bhoalls or Koonbies of the village will bury 

 him, and any money he may have left is carried to the near- 

 est Mhutt ; it is all disbursed in entertaining a few Alteeths 

 during the number of the days that may happen to remain of 

 the first ten days that they celebrate in remembrance of the 

 deceased. 



