mithila our sweet land

The Castes of Mithila

The various hereditary,endogamous castes, called jati, are ranked on a scale of superior to inferior, marked by traditional rules of interaction and sanctions against certain kinds of interactions, especially intermarriage and interdining. The principal castes of Mithila are as follows:

Bhumihars
अग्रतश्चतुरो वेदाः पृष्ठतः सशरं धनुः।
इदं ब्राह्ममिदं क्षात्रं शापादपि शरादपि॥

Literal English Translation:

Four vedas in front, bow with arrows on the back.Here is the knowledge of supreme spirit, here is the knowlege of warcraft. From curse also from arrow also.

Bhumihar Brahmin & Orthodox Brahmin
1. Bhumihar Brahmins are addicted to agriculture, a pursuit considered to be beneath the diginity of pure or orthodox Brahmins.
2. They have accepted and adopted in their cheif families the secular title of Raja, Maharaja and so forth distinctions which high brahmins eschew.
3. The Bhumihar Brahmin only perform one half of the prescribed Brahmanical duties. They give alms, but do not receive them; they offer sacrifices to their idols, but do not perform the duties and offices of the priesthood; they read the scared writings, but do not teach them.

Maithil Brahmans are the second ranking caste and also, in political terms, the dominant caste is BHUMIHAR BRAHMAN.But the bhumihar bramans give respect to Maithil Brahmins as the follow the rules of A brahman(chanting mantras) thousands of villages were in BHUMIHAR Brahman control, and they are still the largest landowners in Mithila. The other castes are described in rank order according to their traditional occupations as expressed by Brahman informants:


Kayasthas are record-keepers for landowners and village surveyors and accountants.

Rajputs The 100,000 Rajputs in Mithila are not native to the area, but came during the Mughal era and became zamindars. This is why Brahmans count them as lower than Kayasthas, even though Kayasthas are technically a superior type of Shudra.The next few castes are the middle agricltural castes, "clean castes" in ritual terms, upwardly mobile in political and economic terms, now pushing against Brahman dominance and getting power in local and state government.

Yadavas are by far the largest caste in the region at one-eighth of the total population. They are herdsmen and cultivators and consider themselves kinsmen to the god Krishna, who was also a cowherd. The Chief Minister of Bihar, Laloo Prasad, is a Yadava.

Dhanuk is another large agricultural caste, though originally they were archers; they are considered a "clean" caste from whom Brahmans can take water, and therefore they often are employed as servants by Brahmans.

Koiri are considered industrious cultivators and among the best tenants in the area, but Brahmans will not take water from them, and therefore their status is lower than the Dhanuk.

Mallah are boatmen and fishermen, and thus are considered lower than the chief agricultural castes, although there is a slight anomaly here, for Brahmans will take water from them, but not from Koiri.

Dusadhs are among the most stigmatized of the large castes, but are also economically very important as agricultural laborers and are gaining real political power in North Bihar because they form a large voting bloc with increasingly powerful leaders. The British knew them as a "caste of thieves" and in some of the larger villages posted special police stations to keep a curfew over them at night.

Chamars carry away the carcasses of dead animals and make sandals, drums, soccer balls, and bicycle seats out of the leather. Musahars are negatively stereotyped by upper castes as "eaters of rats, snakes, and lizards," who are "expert at getting hidden crops from rat holes." Mali make garlands for temple worship, and have a special relationship to the smallpox goddess, Sitala.

Dom are basket-makers and assistants at cremation grounds. There are also many other important but smaller castes, such as:

* Nai, barbers whose wives function as midwives;
* Dhobi, washermen;
* Kumhar, potters.