("a large vessel")
The name of a degraded brahmin tribe whose members make their living solely on
accepting gifts, especially those given after a death, in areas of northern
India.
Although they are considered as symbolically representing
the deceased individual, such brahmins do not really execute the ceremonies for
the dead.
Their poor position originates from their association with
the deceased; the presents they take convey the family's bad luck to the
Mahapatra.
This second premise is reflected in the group's name: they
are "vessels" into which inauspiciousness might be deposited and
thereby cleansed.
Despite being brahmins by birth, such continual association
with death and its inauspicious attributes is considered as a very undesirable
way to earn a livelihood, giving this people extremely poor social standing.
Despite their degraded position, they are an important
aspect of traditional culture since they serve as a way of removing such
inauspiciousness.
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