Mr. Greeven gives seven main subdivisions, of which the Lalbegis or
the followers of Lalbeg, the patron saint of sweepers, are the most
important. The Rawats appear to be an aristocratic subdivision of the
Lalbegis, their name being a corruption of the Sanskrit Rajputra,
a prince. The Shaikh Mehtars are the only real Muhammadan branch,
for though the Lalbegis worship a Musalman saint they remain
Hindus. The Haris or bone-gatherers, as already stated, are the
sweepers of Bengal. The Helas may either be those who carry baskets
of sweepings, or may derive their name from _hela_, a cry; and in
that case they are so called as performing the office of town-criers,
a function which the Bhangi usually still discharges in northern India
[230]. The other subcastes in his list are the Dhanuks or bowmen and
the Bansphors or cleavers of bamboos. In the Central Provinces the
Shaikh Mehtars belong principally to Nagpur, and another subcaste,
the Makhia, is also found in the Maratha Districts and in Berar; those
branches of the Ghasia and Dom castes who consent to do scavengers'
work now form separate subcastes of Mehtars in the same locality,
and another group are called Narnolia, being said to take their name
from a place called Narnol in the Punjab. The Lalbegis are often
considered here as Muhammadans rather than Hindus, and bury their
dead. In Saugor the sweepers are said to be divided into Lalbegis or
Muhammadans and Doms or Hindus. The Lalbegi, Dom or Dumar and the
Hela are the principal subcastes of the north of the Province, and
Chuhra Mehtars are found in Chhattisgarh. Each subcaste is divided
into a number of exogamous sections named after plants and animals.