Indische Palaographie von circa 350 a. Chr. – circa 1300 p. Chr. c48.s2.25.5

c48.s2.25.5

In the case of the Julāhā, the sectional affix is falling into disuse, and with it the customs with which it is associated. The Kōrī adhere more closely to their ancestral practices, possibly because the chances of rising in position in the Brāhmanic world are not to be compared with those offered by Islam, as embodied in the popular saying — “Last year I was a Julāhā (or Nadāf); this year, a Shaikh, and next year, if the harvest be good, I shall be a Saiad”. Both castes work chiefly in the coarser fabrics, as they have been hard hit by foreign competition in the finer class of weaving. Some of the Kōrī sections are of the Kabīrpanthī sect, but others pay their respects to both the orthodox Brāhmanic deities and to the popular Muslim saints of the locality, a practice reciprocated by the Julāhā, who worship Mātā Bhavānī, where she holds the popular favour. The Julāhā of the cities have the reputation of being a specially factious and quarrelsome body — “Eight Julāhā fighting over nine hukkahs” — say their neighbours. The place of the Kōrī is taken by the Balāhī in Rājputāna and Central India, a caste allied, like the rest, to the Camār, or leather-worker. In southern India the weaver castes, though varying in rank, seem to have long acquired a higher position than in the north.