A caste of gipsies and thieves who are closely connected with the
Sansias. In 1891 they numbered 906 persons in the Central Provinces,
distributed over the northern Districts; in 1901 they were not
separately classified but were identified with the Nats. "They say that
some generations ago two brothers resided in the Bhartpur territory, of
whom one was named Sains Mul and the other Mullanur. The descendants
of Sains Mul are the Sansias and those of Mullanur the Berias or
Kolhatis, who are vagrants and robbers by hereditary profession,
living in tents or huts of matting, like Nats or other vagrant tribes,
and having their women in common without any marriage ceremonies
or ties whatsoever. Among themselves or their relatives the Sansias
or descendants of Sains Mul, they are called Dholi or Kolhati. The
descendants of the brothers eat, drink and smoke together, and join in
robberies, but never intermarry." So Colonel Sleeman wrote in 1849,
and other authorities agree on the close connection or identity of
the Berias and Sansias of Central India. The Kolhatis belong mainly
to the Deccan and are apparently a branch of the Berias, named
after the _Kolhan_ or long pole with which they perform acrobatic
feats. The Berias of Central India differ in many respects from those
of Bengal. Here Sir H. Risley considers Beria to be 'the generic name
of a number of vagrant, gipsy-like groups'; and a full description of
them has been given by Babu Rajendra Lal Mitra, who considers them to
resemble the gipsies of Europe. "They are noted for a light, elastic,
wiry make, very uncommon in the people of this country. In agility
and hardness they stand unrivalled. The men are of a brownish colour,
like the bulk of Bengalis, but never black. The women are of lighter
complexion and generally well-formed; some of them have considerable
claims to beauty, and for a race so rude and primitive in their habits
as the Berias, there is a sharpness in the features of their women
which we see in no other aboriginal race in India. Like the gipsies
of Europe they are noted for the symmetry of their limbs; but their
offensive habits, dirty clothing and filthy professions give them a
repulsive appearance, which is heightened by the reputation they have
of kidnapping children and frequenting burial-grounds and places of
cremation.... Familiar with the use of bows and arrows and great adepts
in laying snares and traps, they are seldom without large supplies of
game and flesh of wild animals of all kinds. They keep the dried bodies
of a variety of birds for medical purposes; mongoose, squirrels and
flying-foxes they eat with avidity as articles of luxury. Spirituous
liquors and intoxicating drugs are indulged in to a large extent,
and chiefs of clans assume the title of Bhangi or drinkers of hemp
(_bhang_) as a mark of honour.... In lying, thieving and knavery
the Beria is not a whit inferior to his brother gipsy of Europe. The
Beria woman deals in charms for exorcising the devil and palmistry
is her special vocation. She also carries with her a bundle of herbs
and other real or pretended charms against sickness of body or mind;
and she is much sought after by village maidens for the sake of
the philtre with which she restores to them their estranged lovers;
while she foretells the date when absent friends will return and the
sex of unborn children. They practise cupping with buffalo horns,
pretend to extract worms from decayed teeth and are commonly employed
as tattooers. At home the Beria woman makes mats of palm-leaves,
while her lord alone cooks.... Beria women are even more circumspect
than European gipsies. If a wife does not return before the jackal's
cry is heard in the evening, she is subject to severe punishment. It
is said that a _faux pas_ among her own kindred is not considered
reprehensible; but it is certain that no Berini has ever been known to
be at fault with any one not of her own caste." This last statement
is not a little astonishing, inasmuch as in Central India and in
Bundelkhand Berni is an equivalent term for a prostitute. A similar
diversity of conjugal morality has been noticed between the Bagris
of northern India and the Vaghris of Gujarat. [259]