Gayawal

Endogamous group of pilgrimage
priests (pandas) who live in Gaya, a pilgrimage place (tirtha) famous as a site
for rites for the dead. Each Gayawal family
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Gayawal
has exclusive hereditary rights to serve
all the pilgrims whose ancestral homes
lie in a particular region or regions,
regardless of where those pilgrims may
be living at the time. As at all pilgrimage
sites, pilgrims are supposed to be served
only by their hereditary family priest.
This monopoly gives the Gayawals
greater leverage in negotiating fees
with their pilgrim clients, who are in a
vulnerable position since most of them
have come to perform rites for dead relatives. The Gayawals are notorious for
their rapaciousness, greed, and general
lack of learning. These qualities render
them somewhat debased by brahmin
standards, as does the fact that they
make much of their income from the
dead, which is considered inauspicious. In fairness to the Gayawals, the
relative power derived from this
monopoly is also balanced by a sense of
hereditary obligation to their clients—
the perennial issue is never whether the
clients will be served, but how much
they will have to pay.