And how flexibility was normal at the lowest level has just been shown. The prohibition of inter-division marriage was much more important than the rules of purity and pollution in the maintenance of boundaries between the lower-order divisions. There was apparently a close relation between a castes internal organization and the size and spatial distribution of its population. The significant point, however, is that there were small endogamous units which were not, like ekdas and tads, part of any higher-order division. Leva Kanbis, numbering 400,000 to 500,000 m 1931, were the traditional agricultural caste of central Gujarat. Although it has been experiencing stresses and strains and has had ups and downs on account of the enormous diversity between the royal and the tribal ends, it has shown remarkable solidarity in recent years. Many of them became the norm-setting elite for Gujaratis in the homeland. Since Vankars were involved in production and business they were known as Nana Mahajans or small merchants. They were found in almost every village in plains Gujarat and in many villages in Saurashtra and Kachchh. I am dealing here only with certain typical situations. Hypergamy was accompanied by sanskritization of at least a section of the tribal population, their claim to the Kshatriya Varna and their economic and political symbiosis with the caste population. All this trade encouraged development of trading and commercial towns in the rest of Gujarat, even in the highland area. Significantly, a large number of social thinkers and workers who propagated against the hierarchical features of caste came from urban centres. ), as contrasted with the horizontal unity of the caste. Frequently, marriages were arranged in contravention of a particular rule after obtaining the permission of the council of leaders and paying a penalty in advance. While the Rajputs, Leva Patidars, Anavils and Khedawals have been notorious for high dowries, and the Kolis have been looked down upon for their practice of bride price, the Vanias have been paying neither. Further, during this lengthy process of slow amalgamation those who will marry in defiance of the barriers of sub-caste, will still be imbued with caste mentality (1932: 184). There was a continuous process of formation and disintegration of such units. They are described by the ruling elite as robbers, dacoits, marauders, predators and the like. Each unit was ranked in relation to others, and many members of the lower units married their daughters into the higher units, so that almost every unit became loose in the course of time.
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