The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Part 43

_Kirnakha_.--A sept of Gonds in Chanda.

_Kirvant_ or _Kilvant_.--A subdivision of Maharashtra Brahmans in Khairagarh. The name is said to be derived from _kira_, an insect, because they kill insects in working their betel-vine gardens. Another explanation is that the name is really Kriyavant, and that they are so called because they conducted _kriya_ or funeral services, an occupation which degraded them. A third form of the name is _Kramwant_ or reciters of the Veda.

_Kisan_.--(A cultivator.) Oraons are commonly known by this name in Chota Nagpur and Gonds in Mandla and other Districts. A section of Marar, Rawat or Ahir, and Savar.

_Koathia_.--A section of Bais Rajputs.

_Kochia_.--Perhaps a name for Bahnas or cotton cleaners.

_Kodjet_.--(A conqueror of crores of people.) A section of Bhulia.

_Kohistani_.--(A dweller on mountains.) A section of Pathan.

_Kohkatta_.--A sept of Gonds in Khairagarh.

_Kohri_.--A synonym for the Kohli caste.

_Koi_.--A cla.s.s of Gonds.

_Koikopal_.--A subcaste of Gond.

_Koilabhut_ or _Koilabhuti_.--A subtribe of Gonds. Their women are prost.i.tutes.

_Koiri_.--A synonym of the Murao caste.

_Koitur_.--A synonym for Gond. The name by which the Gonds call themselves in many Districts.

_Kokonasth_ or _Chitpavan_.--A subcaste of Maharashtra Brahmans inhabiting the Konkan country. Chitpavan means the pure in heart.

_Koksinghia_.--_(Koka,_ the Brahmani duck.) A subsection of the Pardhan section of Koltas.

_Kol_.--A tribe. Subcaste of Dahait.

_Kolabhut_.--A name for Gonds.

_Kolam_.--A tribe. A subtribe of Gonds in Chanda.

_Kolchar_.--A clan of Maratha.

_Kolia_.--(From _kolu_, oil-press.) A section of Teli in Betul.

_Koliha_.--(Jackal.) A section of Panwar Rajput, Chamar and Kawar.

_Kolita_, _Kulta_.--Synonyms of Kolta.

_Kolta_.--A caste. A subcaste of Chasa.

_Kolya_.--(One who hides behind a jackal-hole.) A sept of Korku.

_Komalwar_.--(_Komal_, soft.) A section of Kurumwar.

_Komati_.--Synonym of Komti.

_Kommu_.--(A story-teller.) Subcaste of Madgi.

_Kondawar_.--(_Konda_, a mountain.) A section of Palewar Dhimar and Koshti in Chanda.

_Kondwan_ or _Kundi_.--A name of a tract south of the Mahanadi which is called after the Khond tribe, and was formerly owned by them. Subcaste of Baiga.

_Korai_.--A subcaste of Ahir or Rawat in Bilaspur.

_Koraku_.--(Young men.) Subcaste of Korwa.

_Koratkul_.--A section of Komti; they do not eat the _k.u.mhra_ or pumpkin.

_Korava_.--Synonym of Yerukala.

_Korchamar_.--A descendant of alliances between Chamars and Koris or weavers. Subcaste of Chamar.

_Kori_.--A caste. A subcaste of Balahi, Jaiswara Chamar and Katia.

_Korku_.--A tribe. A subtribe of Nahal.

_Korre_.--(Residents of the Korai hill-tract in Seoni.) Subcaste of Injhwar.

_Kosaria_.--A subcaste of Rawat or Ahir, Barai, Dhobi, Kalar, Mali, Panka and Teli; a section of Chamar and Gond.

_Koshti_, _Koshta_.--A caste of weavers. See article. A subcaste of Katia and Bhulia.

_Koskati_.--A subcaste of Koshti.

_Kothari_--(A store-keeper, from _kotha_, a store-room.) A section of Oswal and Maheshri Banias.

_Kotharya_.--(A store-keeper.) Subcaste of Chitrakathi.

_Kotwal_.--(Keeper of a castle, or a village watchman.) Honorific t.i.tle of the Khangar caste. A surname of Yajurvedi Brahmans in Saugor. A section of Halba.

_Kotwar_.--A person holding the office of village watchman. This post is usually a.s.signed to members of the lowest or impure castes derived from the aboriginal tribes, such as the Mahars, Ramosis, Gandas, Pankas, Minas and Khangars. Some of these were or still are much addicted to crime. The name _kotwar_ appears to be a corruption of _kotwal_, the keeper or guardian of a _kot_ or castle. Under native rule the kotwal was the chief of police in important towns, and the central police office in some towns is still called the kotwali after him. In some villages there are still to be found both a kotwal and a kotwar; in this case the former performs the duties of watch and ward of the village, and the latter has the menial work of carrying messages, collecting supplies and so on. Both are paid by fixed annual contributions of grain from the cultivators. In Hoshangabad the kotwar is allowed to glean for a day in the fields of each tenant after the crop has been removed. It would appear that the kotwar was chosen from the criminal castes as a method of insurance. The kotwar was held responsible for the good behaviour of his caste-fellows, and was often under the obligation of making good any property stolen by them. And if a theft occurred in another village and the thief was traced into the borders of the kotwar's village he was bound to take up the pursuit and show that the thief had pa.s.sed beyond his village, or to pay for the stolen property. Thieves were sometimes tracked by the kotwar, and sometimes in Gujarat and Central India by a special official called Paggal, [459] who measured their footprints with a string, and in this way often followed them successfully from village to village. [460] The rule that the kotwar had to make good all thefts occurring in his village or perpetrated by criminals belonging to it, can only have been enforced to a very partial extent, as unless he could trace the property he would be unable to pay any substantial sum out of his own means. Still, it apparently had a considerable effect in the protection of property in the rural area, for which the regular police probably did very little. It was similarly the custom to employ a _chaukidar_ or night-watchman to guard private houses when the owners could afford it, and this man was taken from a criminal caste on the same principle.

The kotwar was also the guardian of the village boundaries, and his opinion was often taken as authoritative in all cases of disputes about land. This position he perhaps occupied as a representative of the pre-Aryan tribes, the oldest residents of the country, and his appointment may have also been partly based on the idea that it was proper to employ one of them as the guardian of the village lands, just as the priest of the village G.o.ds of the earth and fields was usually taken from these tribes.

In some localities those members of an impure caste such as the Mahars, who hold the office of village watchman, obtain a certain rise in status on account of the office, and show a tendency to marry among themselves. Similarly persons of the impure Ganda caste, who joined the Kabirpanthi sect and now form a separate and somewhat higher caste under the name of Panka, usually work as village watchmen in preference to the Gandas. Under British rule the kotwar has been retained as a village policeman, and his pay increased and generally fixed in cash. Besides patrolling the village, he has to report all cognisable crime at the nearest police post as well as births and deaths occurring in the village, and must give general a.s.sistance to the regular police in the detection of crime. Kotwar is used in Saugor as a synonym for the Chadar caste. It is also a subcaste of the Kori caste.

_Kowa_.--(A crow.) A section of Tamera and of Gond in Chanda.

_Koya_ A subtribe of Gond in Bastar.

_Koyudu_.--A synonym of Gond in Chanda used by Telugus.