[Tribal council.] 6. Chamârs have a particularly well organised and influential tribal council or panchâyat. The head of every family is supposed to be a member of the panchâyat, and nearly every village has a headman (pradhân, jamadâr). In large towns there is often more than one headman. In small matters the village council is competent to decide; but for the settlement of weightier questions the councils of several villages assemble under their own headman, and then a general meeting is formed. Custom varies as to whether the headman is a permanent official or not. The most usual rule is that, if the son of the late headman is competent, he is generally appointed; if he be found guilty of misconduct, the headman is as liable as any of the members to fine and excommunication. The cases which come before the council may be classified as (a) cases of illicit sexual relations or violation of tribal rules concerning food, etc.; (b) matrimonial disputes; (c) petty quarrels, which would not come under the cognizance of a Court; (d) disputes about small money transactions; (e) cases in connection with Jajmâni: this last is very common. Every Chamâr family has assigned to it a certain number of families of higher caste, which are known as its Jajmân (Sans. Yajamâna): for which its members perform the duties of cutting the cord at births, playing the drum at marriages and other festive occasions, removing and disposing of the carcasses of dead cattle, and in return for these services they receive money fees, cooked food, and sometimes grain, flour, etc. In return they sometimes supply shoes at marriages, a certain number of shoes annually in proportion to the hides they receive, and also do repairs to leather articles, such as well buckets used in cultivation. These rights are very jealously watched, and any interference with the recognised constituents of a family is strongly resented and brought before the tribal council. These orders of the council in the way of fine or entertainment of the clansmen are enforced under penalty of excommunication, of which the most serious result is that, until the ban is removed, all marriage alliances with the family of the offender are barred, and if any one marries a member of such a family, he at once becomes liable to the same punishment as that which they are undergoing. Every council has a mace-bearer (chharidâr), who goes round and calls the members to the meetings, and he is allowed a small money fee for this service. The amount of fine varies from one to five rupees, and it is very seldom that the process of excommunication has to be used to enforce payment. If a person think fit to lay a charge before the council he has to pay a fee of one and-a-quarter rupees to the chairman, who will not take up the case until the fee is paid. This money, which to the east of the Province is known as nâlbandi or lehri, is spent in purchasing spirits for the refreshment of the members.