Ahirs

The principal festival of the Ahirs is the Diwali, falling about the beginning of November, which is also the time when the autumn crops ripen.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell

Nevertheless the Ahirs enjoy a good social status, owing to their relations with the sacred cow.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell

In former times the Ahirs had the exclusive right of milking the cow, so that on all occasions an Ahir must be hired for this purpose even by the lowest castes.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell

Rawats and Gonds take food from their hands in some places, and their social status in Chhattisgarh is about equivalent to that of the Rawats or Ahirs.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell

This bird might be venerated by the Ahirs as one of the prominent denizens of the jungle.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell

The principal subcastes of the Ahirs in northern India are the

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell

The Ahirs are also hot-tempered, and their propensity for drinking often results in affrays, when they break each other's head with their cattle-staffs.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell

The reason why the early Mathura legends of Krishna make no mention of the Ahirs may be that the deity Krishna is probably compounded of at least two if not more distinct personalities.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell

In Damoh on this day the Ahirs go to the standing-place for village cattle, and after worshipping the god, frighten the cattle by waving leaves of the basil-plant at them, and then put on fantastic dresses, decorating themselves with cowries, and go round the village, singing and dancing.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell

Many Ahirs in Mandla are scarcely considered to be Hindus, living as they do in Gond villages in sole company with the Gonds.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell