Indische Palaographie von circa 350 a. Chr. – circa 1300 p. Chr. c48.s2.25.3

c48.s2.25.3

There are other cases of weaver castes of superior position, such as the Khatrī or Paṭve of Gujarāt and Central India, who, from the beginning dealt with no fabric but silk, and the probably kindred caste of Paṭṭunūrkāran, in the Tamil country, which found its way by devious routes and with many halts, from Mālva to the south. But the mere restriction of their operations to the more valuable products is not, of itself, enough to raise the caste above its fellows in the eyes of the world, for the Tantvā of Bihār, who are silk-workers, but also breed the worm, rank far below the Tāntī, who use cotton. On the other hand, the handling of jute or hemp seems of itself to keep a caste to the bottom of the craft, as in the case of the Perike and Janappan of the Dravidian country, the Kapālī of Bengal, and the Dhōr of the Dekkan. In regard to the evolution of the weaver from the servile castes, a good instance is found in the east of the Central Provinces and the adjoining Orissa hills, where the process is still going on. The Pānkā, a tribe of Kōl or Dravidian origin, with its exogamous totemistic structure, does the coarse weaving of the tract, and also cultivates, either as an occupant or a field labourer; but in many villages it is not admitted within the site, and has to dwell, like other impure menials, in a detached hamlet.