Caste and Race in India c9.93

c9.93

Among the Sollokhondia section of the Gaudo caste if a girl fails to secure a husband before puberty she has to go through a nominal marriage with an old man, " preferably the girl's grandfather."¹ A similar practice prevails amongst the Kurumo of Ganjam.² The custom of marriage between the granddaughter and the grandfather must have formed part of the Munda culture. A neolithic artefact known as the " shouldered celt " is peculiar to the highlands of Bengal and Assam. Identical tools are found in the Malayan region.³ The limited distribution of this implement in India lends support to the conclusion that the people who brought it to India must have come from the Malayan region. Further as the tool is not found west of the area characterized by the Munda culture it is reasonable to suppose that the Munda people were responsible for the introduction of this artefact. The conclusion about the origin of the Munda type is that the people of this type came into India from the Malayan region when they were in the Neolithic Age.