A History of the Mahrattas v1.c7.154

v1.c7.154

Besides the cultivators and the regular establishment, there are other casts and trades in proportion to the size of each village. The complete establishment consists of a Patell, Koolkurnee, and Chougula, with twenty-four persons, called the Baruh Balowtay,¹ and Baruh Alowtay.¹ These twenty-four persons are of various quotes Grant Duff’s list and gives another: 1. Jangam; 2. Kolī; 3. Bhāt; 4. Rāmosī; 5. Mālī, or Bāghban; 6. Tarāl, Yeskar, or Mahār; 7. Gondhalī; 8. Daurī Gosāin; 9. Ghadshī; 10. Shimpī, Darji, Sutī or Suī; 11. Telī; 12. Tāmbūlī. The whole twelve are seldom found, and occasional additions are: Vājantrī, musician; Kalāvantin, prostitute or dancing-girl; Vaidya, physician; Ghotakor, diver; Gārpagārī, conjurer and fortune-teller. Wilson has a long article on Balūta, and gives lists of the Balūtē from Kanara and Gujarāt, as well as the Deccan. Balūta he describes as a ‘portion of crop assigned to the village servants for their maintenance, also their fees, perquisites and other rights.’