The Bharbhunjas occupy a fairly high social position, analogous to
that of the Barais, Kahars and other serving castes, the explanation
being that all Hindus require the grain parched by them; this, as it
is not cooked with water, may be eaten abroad, on a journey or in the
market-place. This is known as _pakki_ food, and even Brahmans will
take it from their hands. But Mr. Crooke notes [275] that the work
they do, and particularly the sweeping up of dry leaves for fuel,
tends to lower them in the popular estimation, and it is a favourite
curse to wish of an enemy that he may some day come to stoke the kiln
of a grain-parcher. Of their occupation Sir H. Risley states that
"Throughout the caste the actual work of parching grain is usually
left to the women. The process is a simple one. A clay oven is built,
somewhat in the shape of a bee-hive, with ten or twelve round holes at
the top. A fire is lighted under it and broken earthen pots containing
sand are put on the holes. The grain to be parched is thrown in with
the sand and stirred with a flat piece of wood or a broom until it is
ready. The sand and parched grain are then placed in a sieve, through
which the former escapes. The wages of the parcher are a proportion
of the grain, varying from one-eighth to one-fourth. In Bengal the
caste was spoken of by early English travellers under the quaint name
of the frymen." [276] In the Central Provinces also grain-parching
is distinctly a woman's industry, only twenty-two per cent of those
shown as working at it being men. There are two classes of tradesmen,
those who simply keep ovens and parch grain which is brought to them,
and those who keep the grain and sell it ready parched. The rates for
parching are a pice a seer or an eighth part of the grain. Gram and
rice, husked or unhusked, are the grains usually parched. When parched,
gram is called _phutana_ (broken) and rice _lahi_. The Bharbhunjas also
prepare _sathu_, a flour made by grinding parched gram or wheat, which
is a favourite food for a light morning meal, or for travellers. It
can be taken without preparation, being simply mixed with water and
a little salt or sugar. The following story is told about _sathu_
to emphasise its convenience in this respect. Once two travellers
were about to take some food before starting in the morning, of
whom one had _sathu_ and the other _dhan_ (unhusked rice). The one
with the _dhan_ knew that it would take him a long time to pound,
and then cook and eat it, so he said to the other, "My poor friend,
I perceive that you only have _sathu_, which will delay you because
you must find water, and then mix it, and find salt, and put it in,
before your _sathu_ can be ready, while rice--pound, eat and go. But
if you like, as you are in a greater hurry than I am, I will change my
rice for your _sathu_." The other traveller unsuspectingly consented,
thinking he was getting the best of the bargain, and while he was still
looking for a mortar in which to pound his rice, the first traveller
had mixed and eaten the _sathu_ and proceeded on his journey. In the
vernacular the point is brought out by the onomatopoeic character
of the lines, which cannot be rendered in English. The caste are now
also engaged in selling tobacco and sweetmeats and the manufacture of
fireworks. They stoke their ovens with any refuse they can collect
from the roads, and hence comes the saying, '_Bhar men dalna_',
'To throw into the oven,' meaning to throw away something or to make
ducks and drakes with it; while _Bhar-jhokna_ signifies to light
or heat the oven, and, figuratively, to take up a mean occupation
(Platts). Another proverb quoted by Mr. Crooke is, '_Bharbhunja ka
larki kesar ka tika_,' or 'The Bharbhunja's slut with saffron on her
forehead,' meaning one dressed in borrowed plumes. Another saying is,
'_To tum kya abhi tak bhar bhunjte rahe_,' or 'Have you been stoking
the oven all this time?'--meaning to imply that the person addressed
has been wasting his time, because the profits from grain-parching
are so small. The oven of the Psalmist into which the grass was cast
no doubt closely resembled that of the Bharbhunjas.