Besides the above four main divisions, there are a number of others,
the caste being now of a very mixed character. Two principal Muhammadan
groups are given by Sir H. Elliot, the Turkia and Mukeri. The Turkia
have thirty-six septs, some with Rajput names and others territorial or
titular. They seem to be a mixed group of Hindus who may have embraced
Islam as the religion of their employers. The Mukeri Banjaras assert
that they derive their name from Mecca (Makka), which one of their
Naiks, who had his camp in the vicinity, assisted Father Abraham in
building. [196] Mr. Crooke thinks that the name may be a corruption
of Makkeri and mean a seller of maize. Mr. Cumberlege says of them:
"Multanis and Mukeris have been called Banjaras also, but have nothing
in common with the caste; the Multanis are carriers of grain and the
Mukeris of wood and timber, and hence the confusion may have arisen
between them." But they are now held to be Banjaras by common usage;
in Saugor the Mukeris also deal in cattle. From Chanda a different set
of subcastes is reported called Bhusarjin, Ladjin, Saojin and Kanhejin;
the first may take their name from _bhusa_, the chaff of wheat, while
Lad is the term used for people coming from Gujarat, and Sao means
a banker. In Sambalpur again a class of Thuria Banjaras is found,
divided into the Bandesia, Atharadesia, Navadesia and Chhadesia, or
the men of the 52 districts, the 18 districts, the 9 districts and
the 6 districts respectively. The first and last two of these take
food and marry with each other. Other groups are the Guar Banjaras,
apparently from Guara or Gwala, a milkman, the Guguria Banjaras, who
may, Mr. Hira Lal suggests, take their name from trading in _gugar_,
a kind of gum, and the Bahrup Banjaras, who are Nats or acrobats. In
Berar also a number of the caste have become respectable cultivators
and now call themselves Wanjari, disclaiming any connection with
the Banjaras, probably on account of the bad reputation for crime
attached to these latter. Many of the Wanjaris have been allowed
to rank with the Kunbi caste, and call themselves Wanjari Kunbis in
order the better to dissociate themselves from their parent caste. The
existing caste is therefore of a very mixed nature, and the original
Brahman and Charan strains, though still perfectly recognisable,
cannot have maintained their purity.