Indische Palaographie von circa 350 a. Chr. – circa 1300 p. Chr. c48.s4.7

c48.s4.7

§ 65. b) **Dyers and Calenderers** (495,000). The calico-printers, calenderers and dyers appear to be connected remotely with the Darjī castes, except in the Panjāb, where the Chīpā is an offshoot of the Dhōbā or washerman, who occasionally does the work of dyeing in madder, though he leaves indigo to the Muslim Rangrēj. Elsewhere, the Chīpā stands higher, and in upper India claims to be descended from some Rājput or kindred tribe in Mālva. The Bhausār of Gujarāt, too, admits his connection with Rājputāna; but, though not disowning the Chīpā of Agra, asserts his origin to have been through a Vāniā caste of the west, and will not acknowledge relationship with the Chīpī of his present province. The Bhausār, like the Vāniā, has a Jain as well as a Mahēśrī, or Brāhmanic, sub-caste, and lives much on a par with the trading classes. In the Ganges valley a good many of the Chīpā are followers of Nāmdēv, the Dekkan S'impī, a fact which indicates something more than merely sectarian sympathies, considering the restricted social field of the acceptance of these doctrines. The Rangrēj, Rangārī, or Nīlārī, workers in indigo, are chiefly Muslim in the north. In the Panjāb this is due, as above indicated, to the abhorrence of the Brahmanist of those parts for the unlucky colour, blue. In Bihār there is not this prejudice, and the Liluā works in the local material. In the Marāṭhā country, too, the women wear blue in preference to any other colour, but here, again, the dyer is usually a Muslim. In Gujarāt, the taste is in favour of more varied colours, and the Bhausār works impartially in all, except indigo, which is the monopoly of the Gaḷiāra sub-caste. The Muslim engaged in the occupation began, no doubt, as a functional body, but are now, it is said, closing their caste to outsiders, and keeping to their own sectional divisions. In the Dravidian country there seem to be no special dyeing castes, the work being done in the Telugu country by Marāṭhā Rangārī. Plain white with a simple coloured border is the usual colour worn by the women in both the Tamil districts and in lower Bengal.