_Sansia, Uria_. [622]--A caste of masons and navvies of the Uriya
country. The Sansias are really a branch of the great migratory Ud or
Odde caste of earth-workers, whose name has been corrupted into various
forms. [623] Thus in Chanda they are known as Wadewar or Waddar. The
term Uria is here a corruption of Odde, and it is the one by which
the caste prefer to be known, but they are generally called Sansia
by outsiders. The caste sometimes class the Sansias as a subcaste of
Urias, the others being Benatia Urias and Khandait Urias. Since the
Uriya tract has been transferred to Bengal, and subsequently to Bihar
and Orissa, there remain only about 1000 Sansias in the Chhattisgarh
Districts and States. Although it is possible that the name of the
caste may have been derived from some past connection, the Sansias
of the Uriya country have at present no affinities with the outcaste
and criminal tribe of Sansis or Sansias of northern India. They enjoy
a fairly high position in Sarnbalpur, and Brahmans will take water
from them.
They are divided into two subcastes, the Benetia and Khandait. The
Benetia are the higher and look down on the Khandaits, because, it
is said, these latter have accepted service as foot-soldiers, and
this is considered a menial occupation. Perhaps in the households
of the Uriya Rajas the tribal militia had also to perform personal
services, and this may have been considered derogatory., In Orissa,
on the other hand, the Khandaits have become landholders and occupy a
high position next to Rajputs. The Benetia Sansias practise hypergamy
with the Khandait Sansias, taking their daughters in marriage, but
not giving daughters to them. When a Benetia is marrying a Khandait
girl his party will not take food with the bride's relatives, but only
partake of some sugar and curds and depart with the bride. The Sansias
have totemistic exogamous septs, usually derived from the names of
sacred objects, as Kachhap, tortoise, Sankh, the conch-shell, Tulsi,
basil, and so on.