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:
Maithil Brahmans are the highest ranking caste and also, in
political terms, the dominant caste. Because the Maharaja of
Darbhanga was a Maithil Brahman, other Brahmans came to control much
of the land; thousands of villages were in 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:
Bhumihars are small landlords who claim to be Brahmans but
are considered lower because they have taken up agricultural
pursuits and given up priestcraft. Maithil Brahmans serve as their
priests for domestic rites.
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.
All these castes perform essential services, practical and ritual,
for the superior castes, especially the Maithil Brahmans.
Three Grades of Brahmans
The Maithil Brahmans are stratified in three levels. If you ask why,
you will be told The Myth of the King’s Feast . It is impossible to
verify the historical accuracy of this myth of origin, but the three
categories are real enough, and they are spatially distributed in
the Mithila region:
Jaibar, being the vast majority, are found everywhere
throughout the region.
Yogya are mostly consolidated in villages around Madhubani.
Srotriyas are mostly consolidated in 36 villages slightly
northeast of Darbhanga.