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''Dhor (Kakkayya)", is a Scheduled Caste in India, also known as Dhor (Kakkayya) / Dhor (Kankayya).Being traditionally tanner caste, considered outside the Hindu ritual ranking system of castes known as varna. They are found mainly in the Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan states of India. The Name Dhor Means 'Horned Cattle' And is Doubtless Bestowed Upon this Caste with reference to their occupation of tanning and dressing cattle skins. Some People also believe that the word originated from ‘Doh’ (in Devanagari, which means ‘water pool’), as the tanners need a lot of water for processing leather. They are in one of The Bara Balutedar System.'' ==References== (Scheduled Caste Welfare - List of Scheduled Castes ) (- The Castes and Tribes of H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions, Volume 1 ) Dhor (Kakayya) the tanner caste of the Maratha Districts, numerous also in all parts of the Cyanotic and, in a smaller number, in some parts of Telingana. The name ' Dhor ' means ' horned cattle ' and is doubt- less bestowed upon this caste with reference to their occupation of tanning and dressing cattle skins. Very little is known regarding their origin. This view derives support from the fact that, in whatever country they are found settled, they speak Marathi as their home tongue. They are robust and fair, with well-developed chests and wide faces, and in all their features they gave evidence of a Maratha origin. The Maratah title of ' jhi ' is also affixed to their names. Internal Structure — The Dhors Are Divided into Two Endo - Gamous Groups : (1) Dhor (Kakayya) (2) Budhale Dhor. The Range Dhors claim the highest rank and appear to be the original stock from which the other sub-castes have branched. They derive their name from the Marathi ' rangvine ' meaning 'to dye,' which refers to their occupation of ' staining hides. The Budhale Dhors, probably an offshoot from the Range Dhors, are so called because they make hudhales, or leather jars, for clarified butter and oil. The mode of making a budhale is as follows : — A piece of leather is closely set over an earthen mould of the size and shape of the jar required and the joints are cemented with a paste made from tamarind seeds. After the leather has taken the form of the mould and solidified, the earth is removed from inside. These leather jars were extensively used as convenient receptacles for carrying clarified butter and oil on bullocks ; but since the opening of railways, they have been replaced by tins, and the budhale industry has almost died out. The Budhale Dhors have now taken to tanning and curing skins, making dholaks (drums), water bags, water buckets and other leather articles. The Kakayya Dhors trace their descent from one Kakayya, a disciple of Basava, the founder of the Lingayit sect. Kakayya was originally a Range Dhor, but having embraced Lingayitism he was cut off from his community and became the founder of a new sub-caste. In addition to their own work of staining hides, the Kakayyas cobble old shoes and sometimes make new ones. as the name indicates, is a mixed sub-caste, probably evolved by marriages between the Dhor castes. It occupies a degraded position to both of them. Dhors tan and jfain hides, make shoes and water buckets and water-bags. are the illegitimate offspring of the Dhors, by Dhor women who have been degraded for some social offence. Within these sub-castes, there are again 360 exogamous sections, which appear to be entirely of Maratha origin. The section names are mostly of a territorial or titular type; but a few of them are totemistic, the totem being revered by the members of the, section bearing its name. For instance, the members of the Kavale section may not kill or injure a crow ; so also a Kavade is enjoined to pay devotion to cowrie shells. The rule of exogamy observed by the caste is, that a man cannot marry outside the sub-caste nor inside the section to which he belongs. Two sisters may be married to the same husband and two brothers to two sisters. Marriage with a sister's or maternal uncle's daughter is permitted. Adoption is practiced, provided the boy be of the same section as the adopter. Both infant and adult marriages are recognized for girls. Sexual license before puberty is tolerated. If an unmarried girl goes wrong with a man of her caste and becomes pregnant, her seducer is compelled to marry her and the pair, as well is the parents of the bride, are admitted to pangat, or communion of food, ftn payment of a small fine to the caste Panchayat. The Dhors do not devote their young women to gods. A girl taken in adultery with a man of an inferior caste, is expelled from her own caste. Polygamy is permitted and no limit is set to the number of wives a man may have. Marriage — The father of the boy seeks out a bride for his son and arranges the match with her parents in the presence of the caste Panchayat and of a Brahman or a Jangam officiating as priest. This having been agreed to, the girl is seated on a low stool, her forehead is smeared with vermilion and clothes and ornaments are presented to her by the parents of the boy. Patron saints and tutelary deities are invoked to bless the couple. The ceremony takes place, on an auspicious day fixed by a Brahman, in a wedding booth made of branches of guler (Ficus glomerata) and other varieties of trees in the courtyard of the bride's house, in the Marathawada, and of the bridegroom's house in the Carnatic. After the bridegroom has arrived in pro-cession at the bride's house, the young couple are made to sit side by side, surrounded by five pots encircled with cotton thread, their bodies are smeared with turmeric and oil, and they are bathed with warm water. Kankanas (thread bracelets) are tied on their wrists, their clothes are knotted together and they walk, the bride following the bridegroom, to the earthen platform, where they are wedded by the officiating Brahman, who holds a curtain between them, recites mantras and throws rice over their heads. The curtain being withdrawn, the wedded pair exchange garlands and rice, and make obeisance to the family deities and elderly relatives. A grand feast is given to the assembled guests and relatives, and the ceremony is completed. Widow Marriage — A Dhor widow is allowed to marry again by a very simple rite, at which no Brahman officiates. A price varying in amount from Rs. 25 to Rs. 50 is paid for the widow to her parents. On a dark night, the bridegroom proceeds to the bride's house, makes her a present of a complete dress and ties mangahutra, or a string of beads, around her neck. Early the next morning, the couple repair to Hanuman's temple and, after worship- ping the god, they go to the bridegroom's house. The proceedings are concluded by a feast to the caste brethren of the village. A widow is not allowed to marry her late husband's brother. Divorce. — Divorce is granted on the ground of the wife's unchastely or barrenness, or the husband's inability to support her. Divorced women may marry again, by the ritual in use at the remarriage of widows. Inheritance — The Dhors follow the Hindu law of inheritance. In making a division of property, the eldest son gets an extra share (jethang) to enable him to support his unmarried sisters. Religion — The Dhors profess to be Saivaits, or the devotees of the god Mahadeva, whom they worship every week. No image is set up to represent the god ; but a small piece of ground is smeared with cow-dung on which the devotees burn incense and offer flowers and wheaten cakes covered with rice. They then bow down and are at liberty to parteike of the offerings. Basava and his disciple Kakayya are held in the highest reverence and invoked every Monday. Tolja Bhavani is worshipped on the Dassera holiday with offerings of goats, sheep and liquor. Khandoba and the other gods of the Hindu pantheon are also worshipped. The animistic deities, Pochamma, Elamma, Mari Amma, and a host of others, are appeased with animal sacrifices, a Bhoi or a Dhobi officiating as sacrificial priest at the worship of the deities and claiming the heads of the slaughtered animals for his services. The Dhors believe strongly in ghosts and departed spirits and in cases of sickness or disease an Erkala woman, is consulted to divine the cause. Should a ghost or malevolent spiritbe suspected, it is immediately propitiated with the offerings the Erkala has enjoined. Ancestral worship prevails and images of departed ancestors, embossed or impressed on silver plates, are hung round their necks. At the Dioali festival, the Dhors worship the chief implements of their trade, which are the tan-knife, and the tan-pit in which the hides are steeped. In the Marathawada, Brahmans, and in the Carnatic, Jangams, serve the caste as priests. Disposal of the Dead — The dead are buried in a sitting posture, with the face turned towards the east. After death, the corpse is washed and carried in a sitting posture to the burial ground. The corpse is seated in a niche CMved out on one side of the grave, the forehead is smeared with Oibhuti, a lingam is placed in the left hand, bilawa leaves (Semecarpus Anacardium) and vibhuti are placed at the side, and the grave is then filled in. A Jangam stands on the grave, shouts out the name of the deceased and announces that he has gone to kailas, or heaven. The Marathawada Dhors observe mourning for 10 days, and perform Sradha for the benefit of the departed ; but in the Carnatic, where Lingayitism prevails, no mourning is observed, nor is any memorial ceremony performed after death. Persons dying of smallpox or cholera, and women dying in pregnancy. Occupation — The hereditary, calling of the Dhor is tanning, currying hides, and making leather bottles, leather buckets, water sacks, budhales, pakhals and other leather articles. They buy raw hides of goats, sheep, bullocks, buffaloes and deer from butchers and Dhers, and soJik them for fifteen days in a strong solution of lime. The hide is then deprived of its hair and steeped in a solution of pounded babul (Acacia arabica) bark, amla or aonla (Ph^Uanthus emblica) and tarvad (Cassia auriculata) leaves. The hide, thus dressed, is bought by Maratha Chambhars, or Mochis, for making shoes and other curtictes. The Dhors are not known to skin the carcasses of dead animals. Some of them make new shoes and cobble old ones. A few of them work as aay-labourers. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dhor」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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