d Koshtis, while one
subcaste of Koshtis, the Salewars, are distinguished as silk-weavers,
and a separate caste of Patwas embroider silk and braid on cloth;
other castes, as the Mahars, Gandas and Koris, weave coarse cloth,
and a distinct caste of Katias existed for the spinning of thread,
and the Muhammadan caste of Bahnas for cleaning cotton. The workers
in each kind of metal have formed a separate caste, as the Lohars or
blacksmiths, the Kasars or brass-workers, the Tameras or coppersmiths,
and the Sunars or gold- and silversmiths, while the Audhia subcaste of
Sunars [83] and the Bharewas, an inferior branch of the Kasars, work
in bell-metal. Each of these castes makes ornaments of its own metal,
while the Kachera caste [84] make glass bangles, and the Lakheras make
bangles from lac and clay. In the case of agriculture, as has been
seen, there is usually a functional cultivating caste for each main
tract of country, as the Jats in the Punjab, the Kurmis in Hindustan,
the Kunbis in the Deccan, the Chasas in Orissa, the Kapus in the Telugu
country and the Vellalas in the Tamil country. Except the Jats, who
were perhaps originally a racial caste, the above castes appear to
include a number of heterogeneous groups which have been welded into
a single body through the acquisition of land and the status which it
confers. Various other cultivating castes also exist, whose origin
can be traced to different sources; on obtaining possession of the
land they have acquired the cultivating status, but retained their
separate caste organisation and name. Other agricultural castes have
been formed for the growing of special products. Thus the Malis are
gardeners, and within the caste there exist such separate groups as
the Phulmalis who grow flowers, the Jire Malis cumin and the Halde
Malis turmeric. [85] Hindus generally object to cultivate _san_-hemp,
[86] and some special castes have been formed from those who grew
it and thus underwent some loss of status; such are the Lorhas and
Kumrawats and Pathinas, and the Santora subcaste of Kurmis. The _al_
[87] or Indian madder-dye is another plant to which objection is
felt, and the Alia subcastes of Kachhis and Banias consist of those
who grow and sell it. The Dangris and Kachhis are growers of melons
and other vegetables on the sandy stretches in the beds of rivers and
the alluvial land on their borders which is submerged in the monsoon
floods. The Barais are the growers and sellers o