Family Deities and Religion-

They worship all Brahminic gods,of the regular Hindu fasts they keep only Gokulashtami in Augest.. Their priest is a village Joshi, who conducts their marriages.

They make piligrimage to Jejuri in Pune Pandharpur in Solapur District  and Tuljapur in Nizams country. Their religious and social customs are as those of Maratha kundies in Maharashtra.
The caste has indeed two Musalman sections, the Turkia and the Mukeri, but both these cases or it seems they might have embraced Islam under the proselytsing influence of Auragjeb or  simply owing to their having employed wirh the Muhamedam troops.

Accounting to their own story their ancestor was a member of Bhat caste who became a disciple of  Nanak, the Sikh a postle, and with him attended a feast given by Mughal Emperor Humayen Here he ate flesh of cow or bufellow and in consequence became Muhmmedam and was circumscribed.

Mr. Bailfour also mentions in his paper that the Banjaras call them selves Sikh and it is noticeable that the charan sub cast says that their ancestors were the Rajput boys who followed the Guru Nanak the protest of Sikh.

A few Banjaras who have settled in Telugu part of the state have been brought under the influence of shri Vaishnav and Aradhi Brahmanas . They haro in other words devided in Tirmansidharis and Vibhutidharis like the oter Telugu castes.
They worship even non -Brahmanic gods  like Mariai and Mhasoba.

Back