The Bhils of the Central Provinces have now only two subdivisions, the
Muhammadan Bhils, who were forcibly converted to Islam during the time
of Aurangzeb, and the remainder, who though retaining many animistic
beliefs and superstitions, have practically become Hindus. The
Muhammadan Bhils only number about 3000 out of 28,000. They are
known as Tadvi, a name which was formerly applied to a Bhil headman,
and is said to be derived from _tad_, meaning a separate branch or
section. These Bhils marry among themselves and not with any other
Muhammadans. They retain many Hindu and animistic usages, and are
scarcely Muhammadan in more than name. Both classes are divided into
groups or septs, generally named after plants or animals to which
they still show reverence. Thus the Jamania sept, named after the
_jaman_ tree, [330] will not cut or burn any part of this tree, and
at their weddings the dresses of the bride and bridegroom are taken
and rubbed against the tree before being worn. Similarly the Rohini
sept worship the _rohan_ [331] tree, the Avalia sept the _aonla_
[332] tree, the Meheda sept the _bahera_ [333] tree, and so on. The
Mori sept worship the peacock. They go into the jungle and look for
the tracks of a peacock, and spreading a piece of red cloth before the
footprint, lay their offerings of grain upon it. Members of this sept
may not be tattooed, because they think the splashes of colour on the
peacock's feathers are tattoo-marks. Their women must veil themselves
if they see a peacock, and they think that if any member of the sept
irreverently treads on a peacock's footprints he will fall ill. The
Ghodmarya (Horse-killer) sept may not tame a horse nor ride one. The
Masrya sept will not kill or eat fish. The Sanyan or cat sept have a
tradition that one of their ancestors was once chasing a cat, which
ran for protection under a cover which had been put over the stone
figure of their goddess. The goddess turned the cat into stone and
sat on it, and since then members of the sept will not touch a cat
except to save it from harm, and they will not eat anything which has
been touched by a cat. The Ghattaya sept worship the grinding mill at
their weddings and also on festival days. The Solia sept, whose name
is apparently derived from the sun, are split up into four subsepts:
the Ada Solia, who hold their weddings at sunrise; the Japa Solia,
who hold them at sunset; the Taria Solia, who hold them when stars have
become visible after sunset; and the Tar Solia, who believe their name
is connected with cotton thread and wrap several skeins of raw thread
round the bride and bridegroom at the wedding ceremony. The Moharia
sept worship the local goddess at the village of Moharia in Indore
State, who is known as the Moharia Mata; at their weddings they apply
turmeric and oil to the fingers of the goddess before rubbing them on
the bride and bridegroom. The Maoli sept worship a goddess of that
name in Barwani town. Her shrine is considered to be in the shape
of a kind of grain-basket known as _kilia_, and members of the sept
may never make or use baskets of this shape, nor may they be tattooed
with representations of it. Women of the sept are not allowed to visit
the shrine of the goddess, but may worship her at home. Several septs
have the names of Rajput clans, as Sesodia, Panwar, Mori, and appear
to have originated in mixed unions between Rajputs and Bhils.