A History of the Mahrattas v1.c5.s3.39

v1.c5.s3.39

The second deduction that the Marāthās represent, or are mainly descended from, the aborigines of Mahārāshtra, seems to draw some indirect support from certain features of their history and customs. In 1798 Colonel Tone, who commanded a regiment of the Pēshwā’s army (see note on p. 275, vol. ii, post), wrote that the three great tribes which compose the Marāthā caste are the Kunbī or farmer, the Dhangar or shepherd, and the Gaulī or cowherd, and that this accounted for the great simplicity of manners and rusticity which in his day distinguished both the rich and poor Marāthās.¹ ‘In the Central Provinces,’ writes Russell, ‘the names of the exogamous septs among the Kunbī sub-castes confirm the hypothesis that the Kunbīs are largely recruited from the pre-Aryan or aboriginal tribes.’²