amum plant. The families who held
the hereditary office of Deshmukh, which conferred a considerable
local position, were usually members of the Tirole subcaste, and they
have now developed into a sort of aristocratic branch of the caste,
and marry among themselves when matches can be arranged. They do not
allow the remarriage of widows nor permit their women to accompany
the wedding procession. The Wandhekars are another group which also
includes some Deshmukh families, and ranks next to the Tiroles in
position. Mr. Kitts records a large number of subcastes in Berar. [21]
Among them are some groups from northern India, as the Hindustani,
Pardesi, Dholewar, Jaiswar and Singrore; these are probably Kurmis who
have settled in Berar and become amalgamated with the Kunbis. Similarly
the Tailanges and Munurwars appear to be an offshoot of the great Kapu
caste of cultivators in the Telugu country. The Wanjari subcaste is
a fairly large one and almost certainly represents a branch of the
Banjara caste of carriers, who have taken to agriculture and been
promoted into the Kunbi community. The Lonhare take their name from
Lonar Mehkar, the well-known bitter lake of the Buldana District,
whose salt they may formerly have refined. The Ghatole are those who
dwelt above the _ghats_ or passes of the Saihadri range to the south
of the Berar plain. The Baone are an important subcaste both in Berar
and the Central Provinces, and take their name from the phrase Bawan
Berar, [22] a term applied to the province by the Mughals because it
paid fifty-two lakhs of revenue, as against only eight lakhs realised
from the adjoining Jhadi or hill country in the Central Provinces. In
Chhindwara is found a small local subcaste called Gadhao because they
formerly kept donkeys, though they no longer do so; they are looked
down on by the others who will not even take water from their hands. In
Nimar is a group of Gujarati Kunbis who are considered to have been
originally Gujars. [23] Their local subdivisions are Leve and Karwa and
many of them are also known as Dalia, because they made the _dal_ or
pulse of Burhanpur, which had a great reputation under native rule. It
is said that it was formerly despatched daily to Sindhia's kitchen.

4. The cultivating status

It appears then that a Kunbi has in the past been synonymous with
a cultivator, and that large groups from other castes have taken to
agriculture, have been admitted into the community and