Question

who were koshtis? describe their role in history

Answer 1

Koshti, Koshta, Salewar

The Maratha and Telugu 1. General caste of weavers of silk and fine cotton cloth. They belong notice- principally to the Nagpur and Chhattlsgarh Divisions of the Central Provinces, where they totalled 1 5 7,000 persons in 1901, while 1300 were returned from Berar. Koshti is the Marathi and Salewar the Telugu name. Koshti may perhaps have something to do with kosa or tasar silk ; Salewar is said to be from the Sanskrit Salika, a weaver," and to be connected with the common word sari, the name for a woman's cloth ; while the English ' shawl ' may be a derivative from the same root.

The caste suppose them- selves to be descended from the famous Saint Markandi Rishi, who, they say, first wove cloth from the fibres of the lotus flower to clothe the nakedness of the gods. In reward for this he was married to the daughter of Surya, the sun, and received with her as dowry a giant named Bhavani and a tiger. But the giant was disobedient, and so Markandi killed him, and from his bones fashioned the first weaver's loom.3 The tiger remained obedient to Markandi, and the 1 This article is based on a good 2 V. Nanjundayya, Monograph paper by Mr. Raghunath Waman the Sale Caste (Mysore Ethnographical Vaidya, schoolmaster, Hinganghat, and Survey). others by Mr. M. E. Hardas, Tahsildar, ;i Willi this may be compared the Umrer, and Messrs. Aduram Chaudhri tradition of the sweeper caste thai and Pyare Lai Misra of the Gazetteer winnowing fans and sieves were first Office. made out of bones and sinews.

Koshtis think that he still respects them as his descendants ; so that if a Koshti should meet a tiger in the forest and say the name of Markandi, the tiger will pass by and not molest him ; and they say that no Koshti has ever been killed by a tiger. On their side they will not kill or injure a tiger, and at their weddings the Bhat or genealogist brings a picture of a tiger attached to his sacred scroll, known as Padgia, and the Koshtis worship the picture. A Koshti will not join in a beat for tiger for the same reason ; and other Hindus say that if he did the tiger would single him out and kill him, presumably in revenge for his breaking the pact of peace between them.

They also worship the Singhwahini Devi, or Devi riding on a tiger, from which it may probably be deduced that the tiger itself was formerly the deity, and has now developed into an anthropomorphic goddess. 2. Sub- The caste have several subdivisions of different types. The Halbis appear to be an offshoot of the primitive Halba tribe, who have taken to weaving ; the Lad Koshtis come from Gujarat, the Gadhewal from Garha or Jubbulpore, the Deshkar and Martha from the Maratha country, while the Dewangan probably take their name from the old town of that name on the Wardha river.

The Patwis are dyers, and colour the silk thread which the weavers use to border their cotton cloth. It is usually dyed red with lac. They also make braid and sew silk thread on ornaments like the separate Patwa caste. And the Onkule are the offspring of illegiti- mate unions. In Berar there is a separate subcaste named Hatghar, which may be a branch of the Dhangar or shepherd caste. Berar also has a group known as Jain Koshtis, who may formerly have professed the Jain religion, but are now strict Sivites. 1 The Salewars are said to be divided into the Sutsale or thread-weavers, the Padmasale or those who originally wove the lotus flower and the Sagunsale, a group of illegitimate descent. The above names show that the caste is of mixed origin, containing a large Telugu element, while a body of the primitive Halbas has been incorporated into it. Many of the Maratha Koshtis are probably Kunbis (cultivators) who have taken up weaving. The caste has