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District. | Number.
~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~
Bulandshahr | 1
Benares | 21,272
Mirzapur | 9,385
Jaunpur | 4,292
Ghâzipur | 54,606
Ballia | 25,777
Gorakhpur | 31,202
Basti | 12,744
Azamgarh | 61,425
Lucknow | 86
Faizâbâd | 124
Gonda | 1
Partâbgarh | 112
+~~~~~~~~~~
Total | 221,027
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Bhuiya.—A Dravidian tribe found in the hill country of South Mirzapur
[77] to the number of 839.
[Legend of origin.] 2. Their legend in Mirzapur runs that two ancient
sages, Moma Rishi and Kumbha Rishi, had each a son known respectively
as Bhad or Bhadra and Mahesh. Bhad practised austerities in the forests
of Magadha or Bihâr, and his cousin Mahesh attended on him. Bhad once
sat between two nîm (melia azadirachta) trees, and when he felt hungry
ate the bark. The Bhuiyas hence know him as the Nîm Rishi. Mahesh went
into the forest every morning to collect roots and fruits. Half he used
to eat himself, and half he kept for his cousin. When Bhad had spent
twelve years in these austerities, the Lord tempted him by sending to
him one of the nymphs of heaven. She used to make some halwa out of
flour, butter and sugar and stick it on the bark of the tree beneath
which Bhad sat. Bhad knowing nothing of this used to eat it with the
bark which formed his daily food. Finally his eyes were opened and he
saw the lady. He fell in love with her and took her to wife, and had
seven sons, from whom are descended the Magahiya, Tirvak, Dandwâr,
Dhelwâr, Musahar, and Bhuînhâr or Bhuiyâr septs. From their descent
from the Rishi the Bhuiyas often call themselves Rishâsan Bhuiyas. The
fruits and roots which Mahesh collected he sowed in the Mirzapur
jungles, and since then they have begun to grow there. This legend is
very different from that recorded by Colonel Tickell, which would make
the Bhuiyas descended from shell fish, and of kindred origin to Kols,
Santâls, and Ghasiyas. [78] The Mirzapur legend asserts their kinship
with the Musahar and Bhuînhâr, who claim to be distinct tribes, and
disclaim any connection with the Bhuiyas.
Mr. Risley, remarking on the wide area over which the name Bhuiya has
spread, thinks we should “hesitate and demand some independent evidence
of affinity before we pronounce it to be an original tribal
designation, and accept the conclusion that all tribes which bear the
name at the present day are sprung from a common stock.” He adds that
“the advanced guard of the Aryan immigrants, pressing forward in quest
of land, and seeking a name for the alien races whom they found in
possession of scanty clearings in the forest-clad tract of Central
India, whither they had themselves been driven, would naturally ignore
the tribal names of the groups with which they came in contact, and
would call the strangers Bhuiyas or children of the soil” [79] (bhûmi).
[Physical characteristics.] 3. Colonel Dalton describes the Bhuiyas of
Gangpur and Bonai as “a dark brown, well proportioned race, with black,
straight hair plentiful on the head but scant on the face; of middle
height, figures well knit, and capable of enduring great fatigue, but
light framed like the Hindu, rather than presenting the usual muscular
development of the hillman. The features are very much of the same cast
throughout. The cheek and jaw-bones are projecting, so as to give a
breadth and squareness to the face. The nose is but slightly elevated,
still neither so depressed nor so broad at the root as the generality
of Turanian noses, and rather of a retroussé type: mouth and teeth well
formed, and the facial angle generally good. The eyes well shaped and
straight, but never very large or deep set.” [80] On the other hand he
describes the Keonjhar Hill Bhuiyas “as rather of an exaggerated
Turanian type: very large mouths, thick and somewhat projecting lips,
foreheads narrow and low, but not receding; eyes dark but well shaped,
hair plentiful on the head, though rather frizzly and generally scanty
on the face; but to this there are notable exceptions. Short of
stature, averaging about five feet two inches, round shouldered, and
many of them with a lump that is produced by the displacement of the
muscles in carrying loads bhangy fashion. The colour of the skin varies
from a deep chocolate, the predominating tint, to tawny.” [81] This
last description seems to answer more closely than the former to the
tribe as found in Mirzapur. They are distinguished with very great
difficulty from the Bhuiyâr, with whom they are doubtless very closely
connected, but are much less robust and active than the Korwas or
Parahiyas.
[Internal structure.] 4. The Mirzapur Bhuiyas have not the intricate
and confusing internal structure characteristic of the Bengal tribe.
They describe themselves as divided into eight septs—Tirvâh, Magahiya,
Dandwâr, Mahatwâr, Mahthek, Musahar, and Bhuînhâr or Bhuiyâr. Of these
the Dandwâr, Magahiya, Mahatwâr, Tirvâh, appear in the Bengal lists
from Lohardaga and the Musahar in Manbhûm. [82] Some of these
sub-divisions are totemistic, some local, and some occupational. Thus
the Tirvâh say they take their name from the fact that their original
ancestor was thrown when a baby into a river. One of the Dandwâr sept
rescued and brought him to the bank (tîr). Another version of the story
is that the ancestor of the sept was born on the river bank, fell in
accidentally, and was rescued by a Dandwâr. The Magahiya is a local
sept derived from Magadha or Bihâr, their place of origin. The Dandwâr,
again, is apparently an occupational sept. They take their name from
dand, athletic exercises, in which like Nats they are said to be
proficient. The Mahatwâr derive their name from the fact that they were
formerly leaders (mahto) of the tribe. The Musahar are so called
because they eat mice and rats (mûs). They say that they were
originally natives of Magadha or Bihâr, and emigrated into Mirzapur
only some three or four generations ago. They have now no connection
with their original seat in the way of marriages, pilgrimages, or
deriving their priests, barbers, or tribal officers from there. The
septs of the Tirvâh, Dandwâr, and Mahatwâr intermarry, and the
Magahiya, Mahthek, Bhuiyâr or Bhuînhâr, and Musahar intermarry. But
these rules appear to be in a very uncertain state, because there seems
no doubt that they also marry within their own sept, but not with a
family with whom an alliance has been contracted within two or three
generations, which is as far as memory runs. The internal structure of
the tribe is, in fact, in a state of transition. The Musahar and
Bhuînhâr or Bhuiyâr septs have practically completely separated, and
this process will doubtless continue until still more endogamous groups
are formed.
[Tribal council.] 5. They have a tribal council which is known as
Bhayyâri, or “the assemblage of the brethren.” The meetings for tribal
business take place when the members collect for marriages or funerals.
They have a permanent hereditary president called Mahto. The principal
cases which come before the council are charges of not feeding the
brotherhood at marriages and deaths, eating or drinking with outsiders,
and fornication or adultery. The usual punishment when an offence is
proved is that the offender is condemned to feed the brotherhood for
one or two days on goat’s flesh, rice, and liquor. If the hereditary
president happens to be a minor, his duties are undertaken, till he
grows up, by some other person appointed by the council.
[Marriage.] 6. Marriages are strictly local, and, as a rule, a Bhuiya
never goes to a distance to find a wife for his son. Difference of
occupation, provided other conditions are fulfilled, is not a bar to
marriage. All the sub-divisions are equal as far as marriage is
concerned, and the custom of hypergamy is unknown. They may have as
many wives as they can buy and support. There is no rule of precedence
among the wives, and all, if possible, live in different rooms in the
same house. Concubinage is not permitted. Women are allowed
considerable freedom both before and after marriage. If an unmarried
girl is detected in an intrigue with a man of her own caste her father
has to give a feast to the brethren, and the girl is married to her
lover. But apparently nothing short of actual detection in the act or
the pregnancy of the girl is sufficient to compel the council to take
action against her. If she is detected in an intrigue with a person not
of her own caste she is permanently expelled. The usual marriage age
for both boys and girls is twelve. The consent of the parents is
essential, except in the case of prenuptial immorality, and by this
means couples very often make up their own matches. The permanent
bride-price prescribed for the whole tribe, whether rich or poor, is
five rupees in cash, a cloth for the bride, four sers of rice, two sers
of sugar, and one ser of turmeric. If after marriage either bride or
bridegroom becomes idiotical, mad, leprous, impotent, or mutilated, the
marriage is annulled. But this is conditional on the other party being
ignorant before the marriage was carried out of such a defect.
[Divorce.] 7. Habitual infidelity on the part of either husband or wife
is a ground for divorce, but the fact must be proved to the
satisfaction of the tribal council, which scrutinizes the evidence very
closely. Divorced women can remarry, but the feeling is against it, and
only widowers or men who cannot afford the recognised bride-price for a
virgin will take such women.
[Widow marriage and the levirate.] 8. Widows are remarried in the sagâi
form. When a man marries a widow he has to repay the bride-price to the
relations of her late husband. There is no ceremony. All the man does
is to give the woman a sheet (sâri), and then takes her home, where he
has to give a feast to the brethren. The levirate is strictly enforced.
It is only when the younger brother of her late husband abandons his
claim on the widow that she can marry an outsider. The elder brother
can, under no circumstances, marry the widow of his younger brother. If
she marries an outsider her brother-in-law has a right to the custody
of all her children by the first marriage. If she marries an outsider
she loses all right to the goods of her first husband. Her sons by her
first husband are his heirs. In the case of the levirate the levir
takes over the goods and children of his late brother: if, when they
come of age, they wish to separate, they are considered entitled to an
equal share in the joint property with their step brothers. There is no
fiction that the children of the levir are affiliated to his late
brother.
[Adoption.] 9. They assert that a sonless man can adopt and pretend to
have some elaborate rules on the subject which are in imitation of
their Hindu neighbours. At any rate it is clear that there is no
religious motive for adoption, and if a man does adopt an heir it is
one of his brother’s sons. A man may not adopt his sister’s son, but he
may adopt his daughter’s son. A bachelor, a blind, impotent, or lame
man may adopt, but not an ascetic. The rule that the person adopted
should be unmarried is not enforced. Girls are never adopted.
[Succession.] 10. The rules of succession do not differ from those of
the cognate Dravidian tribes. Genealogies are not carefully kept. They
remember generally the names of four or five ancestors both in the male
and female line.
[Birth ceremonies.] 11. There is no ceremony at pregnancy. The Chamâin
midwife officiates. She cuts the cord (nâr) and buries it in the exact
place where the child was born, and lights a fire there. On the day of
her confinement the mother gets a decoction of flour, ginger, coarse
sugar, and turmeric, mixed up and boiled in water. She then gets
nothing to eat for three days, when she is fed on rice and pulse. She
remains secluded in the delivery room (saur) for six days, during which
time the Chamâin attends. On the sixth day is the chhathi ceremony. All
the men and women of the family have their dirty clothes washed by the
Dhobi. The men have their heads shaved, the women get the barber’s wife
to cut their finger and toe nails, and dye their feet with lac dye
(mahâwar). The house is replastered, and the old earthen vessels
replaced. The Chamâin bathes mother and infant. The delivery room is
first plastered by the Chamâin and then by the sister of the child’s
father (nanad), for which she gets a present in money, clothes or
cattle. If a son is born the Chamâin receive four annas and her food,
and two annas for a daughter. The washerman and the barber’s wife get
the same. The husband does not cohabit with his wife for two and-a-half
months after her delivery.
[Adoption ceremony.] 12. Adoption is made in presence of the brethren,
who are entertained. He acknowledges the boy as his son, and the boy
acknowledges him as his father. If this is not done the adoption is not
recognised.
[Puberty ceremony.] 13. There is no special ceremony when boys or girls
attain puberty, but at the age of five or six their ears are bored
(kanchhedana). The boring is done by a goldsmith, who gets one pice and
a ration of uncooked grain (sîdha). No tribal feast is given, but the
members of the household wear their best clothes and eat specially good
food that day. Up to that time it does not matter what the child eats,
but after the ear-boring he must conform to the rules of the caste.
[Marriage ceremonies. The betrothal.] 14. The selection of the bride is
the business of the boy’s father. When he has made his choice he comes
home and sends his brother-in-law, the tribal president (Mahto), and
four or five other male friends to the father of the girl. If the
proposal is accepted, the envoys are entertained for the night. Next
morning the bride’s father summons his clansmen. A square is made with
flour in the court-yard. Her father brings out the bride, who is made
to stand in the square, and her father then calls on the friends of the
bridegroom and the Mahto to examine her carefully and satisfy
themselves that she has no physical defect. When they are satisfied the
Mahto or brother-in-law of the bridegroom’s father fills the bride’s
hand with dry rice and sprinkles some grains (achhat) over her for good
luck. The bride then retires. Next the boy’s father sends for four
annas worth of liquor, and the girl’s father for two annas worth. This
is mixed, and the two fathers sit down with leaf platters (dauna) in
their hands. These they exchange five times and drink the liquor. [83]
The bride-price is then paid over to the girl’s father, and the
betrothal is considered complete.
[The preliminary marriage ceremonies.] 15. After the betrothal the
wedding day is fixed by the father of the bridegroom. Notice is sent
through his brother-in-law to the bride’s father. Three days before the
wedding the matmangara or “lucky earth” ceremony is performed in both
families. The women of the village go in procession to the village
clay-pit. At the head of them goes a Chamâr playing on his drum. This
drum is first worshipped by the women, and a mark (tîka) made on it
with red lead. The village Baiga then digs three spadesful of earth,
which the mother of the bride or bridegroom, as the case may be, takes
in her loin cloth, she standing behind him with her face veiled in her
sheet, while he passes the earth to her over his left shoulder. This
earth is placed in the marriage shed (mânro) which is erected in the
courtyard of the house, and on it is placed an earthen jar (kalsa) full
of water, into which some mango leaves and rice stalks are thrown. Next
comes the anointing (tel hardi) of the pair, which is done at their
respective houses by five women of the family (the number five is
selected as it is lucky) who rub them with oil and turmeric. A day
before the wedding day the brethren are entertained at a feast
(Bhatwân). They are also fed on the morning when the procession starts.
Before the procession starts the mother of the bridegroom seats herself
on the rice mortar (okhari). The bridegroom walks towards her and turns
back four times. The fifth time he comes close to her, when she seizes
him by the handkerchief which he wears over his shoulders, and will not
let him go until he promises a present. Next comes the imlighotna or
“mixing of the tamarind.” The bridegroom’s mother sits on the ground
with him in her lap. Her brother gives him a sip of tamarind mixed with
sugar and water. He spits it out on the palm of his mother, who licks
it up, and receives a present for doing so from her brother. Then comes
the parachhan ceremony as described among Majhwârs (para. 16). The
bridegroom then starts in procession for the bride’s house accompanied
by his relatives and clansmen.
[Ceremonies at the house of the bride.] 16. At the bride’s house a
marriage shed (mânro) has been erected. The posts, nine in number, are
formed of the wood of the siddh tree (Hardwickia binata), and roofed
with bamboos. The first post is erected by the village Baiga, and the
work finished by the male relations of the bride. Mango leaves are hung
on the pillars. At the same time a post of siddh wood is planted in the
ground at the door of the cook-house and covered with a cloth. This
post is decorated with red lead and turmeric, and is known as “the
auspicious one” (Kalyâni). When the procession approaches the bride’s
house, her relatives and friends go in a body (paghar) to receive the
bridegroom. The bridegroom is led in and seated in the square (chauk)
in the court-yards opposite his father-in-law, who makes a mark (tîka)
of rice and curd on his forehead. The bridegroom then with his friends
retires to the place arranged for them under a shady tree near the
village. This is the janwânsa. The relatives of the bride follow them
there and wash their feet. After this the bridegroom’s father sends the
bride a piece of stamped cloth (chunari), which she wears at the
wedding. Her father then invites the bridegroom to his house, where he
enters, and, seizing the bride roughly by the hand (an obvious survival
of marriage by capture [84]) brings her out into the marriage shed, and
seats her on his left near a branch of the siddh tree, which is fixed
in the ground in the centre of the shed. He then goes through the form
of marrying himself to the tree by marking it with red lead, and after
this rubs red lead on the parting of the bride’s hair. This done, the
bride’s father, or in some instances a Brâhman, who gets a fee of one
rupee, ties the garments of the pair in a knot and they walk round the
siddh branch five times. Each time as they go round when they approach
the water jar (kalsa [85]) the bride’s brother pours a little rice into
the bride’s bosom. The bridegroom then with his party retires. Next
morning is the ceremony of eating khichari or boiled rice and pulse.
The bridegroom goes to the bride’s house accompanied by five unmarried
boys of the same sept as himself. It is the etiquette that he refuses
to eat until he gets a present. After this the clansmen on both sides
are entertained.
[Ceremonies on the return of the bride.] 17. That same day the
bridegroom brings his bride home in procession. When they reach his
house two baskets are placed on the ground near the door, and they both
step in these as they enter. That day the relatives and clansmen are
entertained; and next morning disperse. A week after, the water jars
(kalsa) which have been brought in the return procession are taken by
the bride and bridegroom to an adjoining stream. The bridegroom first,
not letting the bride see him, plunges his jar into the stream. She
searches for it and fishes it out, and the bride plunges her jar in,
which the bridegroom recovers. Both bathe and return to the house
bearing the jars full of water, doing worship as they pass it to the
shrine of the village gods (deohâr). When the bride brings her jar into
the house she pours the contents of her jar over her mother-in-law and
asks if she is satisfied with the match. The old woman gives her some
trifling present.
[Binding portion of marriage ceremony.] 18. The binding portion of the
ceremony is the rubbing of red lead on the parting of the bride’s hair
by the bridegroom. If a betrothal is annulled the bride-price is
returned: but after the marking with red lead the marriage is final
until the parties are regularly divorced.
[Varieties of marriage.] 19. The forms thus described are known as the
charhauwa or “offering” for virgin brides and sagâi for widows. Another
recognised form is known as gurâwat, in which two men exchange their
sisters in marriage. [86]
[Disposal of the dead.] 20. No one is allowed to die in the house. The
bodies of the dead are carried on a bier to a neighbouring stream,
where they are placed on a pyre, the head north and the feet south. The
nearest relative of the dead person walks five times round the pyre,
and first scorching the mouth of the corpse with a grass torch sets
light to the pyre. Leaving it burning, the man who fired the pyre with
his friends goes and bathes. When they return to the house they sit in
the courtyard, and one man with a wisp of grass sprinkles water on
their feet out of an earthen pot. Then they sit in silence for an hour
round the chief mourner, and as they go away wash their hands in a
mixture of sugar and water. The next morning the chief mourner collects
the bones and ashes and consigns them to a neighbouring stream. From
that time until the tenth day he keeps aloof from every one, cooks for
himself, and does not sleep on a bed. He eats only once a day. Each
time before he eats he lays out food for the spirit of the dead along
the road by which the corpse was carried to cremation. [87] On the
tenth day the clansmen assemble at a tank and shave their heads. Thence
they go to the house of the deceased, where a goat is sacrificed in the
name of the deceased, some liquor is poured on the ground, and the meat
is boiled with rice and eaten. They have no srâddha ceremony, and no
Brâhman or Mahâbrâhman officiates at the funeral ceremony, nor are any
spells (mantra) or verses recited.
[Religion.] 21. The Bhuiyas call themselves Hindus, and, indeed, have
advanced considerably in the direction of Hinduism, as compared with
their brethren in Bengal, whose beliefs are almost altogether of the
animistic or fetishistic type. [88] Their chief deity is the Hindu
Kâli, who has doubtless succeeded some aboriginal goddess, such as the
Pauri or Pahâri Devi of the Bhuiyas in Singhbhûm. [89] Kâli and
Paramesar are worshipped in Aghan with an offering of sweet cakes and a
burnt sacrifice (hom). Kâli’s shrine consists of a rude thatched hut,
outside the village, with a flag in each of the four corners. A round
mound of earth on a raised platform in the centre of the shrine
represents the divinity. They worship through the Baiga the village
gods (dih) and the earth goddess Dharti Mâta in association in the
month of Chait. In fact a Bhuiya usually describes his faith, as the
worship of Dih Dharti. [90] Goats, young pigs, and fowls, are offered
to these deities. The Baiga receives as his perquisite the head of the
victim, and the worshippers consume the rest of the flesh. Women do not
join in this worship.
[Nâdu Bîr.] 22. They have a special tribal hero named Nâdu Bîr, of whom
the following legend is told:—“Once upon a time there lived in Magadha
or Vihâra a Bhuiya woman of exquisite loveliness. She had a son named
Nâdu, who surpassed his mother in beauty. He was accustomed to roam in
the forest and hunt any animal that fell in his way. One day he went
out a-hunting equipped with a bow and arrows. When he got into the
forest he happened to see a deer, which he pursued. He chased it till
nightfall with no success. As he had gone far into the forest he lost
his way, and was quite at a loss to know what to do and where to go.
Thirsty and tired, he wandered about till he reached fortunately the
Kuti or hermitage of an inspired ascetic, Koela Rishi by name. Seeing
the ascetic he bowed down to the earth before him and begged for water,
of which he stood badly in want. Koela Rishi took pity on him, and
calling his wife and daughter told them to give him what he wanted. The
daughter, in obedience to her father’s bidding, brought out a gourd
full of water, and her mother gave him fruits and roots, the only food
of the ascetic. The Bhuiya fed on the fruits and roots, and quenched
his thirst with water. He passed the night there. But since he saw the
daughter of the ascetic he was so much enamoured of her beauty that he
became beside himself. In the morning he got up and went to take leave
of the ascetic to go home. The ascetic saw through his mental eyes that
the Bhuiya was enamoured of his daughter’s beauty, and also that his
daughter was in love with him. He consulted his wife on the subject,
and with her permission he married his daughter to the Bhuiya. Nâdu
with his sweetheart returned to his mother, who was named Kamala.
Kamala was exceedingly glad to see the wife of her son so beautiful and
good. Nâdu loved his wife so much that he could never bear to leave
her. For a long time they lived together, but the union was unhappily
not blessed with a child. Discouraged and disheartened, Nâdu ran away
from home without giving any notice to his wife or mother. After many
days’ journey he reached Kamaru Kamachcha. One day as he was taking a
walk in the streets of the city the eyes of the daughter of the King of
that city fell on him. She invited Nâdu to dinner, and made love to
him. Her name was Naina Jogini. After some time she began to dread that
some other King’s daughter would appropriate her lover. To avoid this
she turned Nâdu during the day into an ox through her magical powers,
and at night changed him into a man, and lived with him. In this way
some days were passed. After some time Nâdu remembered his wife and
home, and begged Naina to allow him to visit his native land. Naina at
first refused permission, but at last finding that Nâdu could not live
long unless he was given leave, she granted him leave for a fortnight,
and caused him through her magical powers to reach home within a couple
of hours. He met his wife, stayed with her, and she became in child.
Nâdu, true to his promise, left home and reached Kamaru Kamachcha on
the fixed day. But when he left home he wrote his address on the gate
of the door. He also told his wife that the child, when born, would
search him out. In nine months Kausalya was delivered of a child most
beautiful, and he was named Tulasi Bîr. Tulasi Bîr was so powerful,
even on the day of his birth, that when he saw the light he at once
proceeded to the fields and brought to the house a very heavy log that
was lying there to be burnt in the saur, or room in which his mother
was secluded. At the age of five he made a gulli of lead, 25 maunds in
weight, and a danda, 52 maunds in weight, of iron. With these he used
to play tipcat. When he attained his seventh year he read the writing
on the gate, and having come to know that his father was a prisoner in
Kamaru Kamachcha, in the hands of Naina Jogini, he flew into a passion,
and started immediately for Kamaru Kamachcha. Reaching there, he
commenced fighting with the forces of Naina Jogini. He set fire to the
fort, and it was in a moment turned into a heap of ashes. The whole
army was killed, driven back, or burnt by Tulasi Bîr. Naina used all
her magical powers to defeat Tulasi, but in vain. Tulasi rescued his
father and brought him home.”
23. Another bold adventure of a Bhuiya hero is thus described:—In the
city of Marang there lived two brothers, Ganga Râm and Gajâdhar. They
had a sister, Bârij Somati by name, who was very beautiful, and for
whose love many men from distant quarters fought with her brothers,
were defeated, and returned home heart-broken. When Tulasi was informed
of it he fell in love with her without seeing her. He started for
Marang, taking leave of his mother and father. He first sent word to
Ganga Râm and Gajâdhar to give their sister to him in marriage. But
they paid no attention to the message. Tulasi then fought a duel with
the two brothers, defeated them, and took their sister by force, and
brought her home and married her. Lahang Bîr was born of Bârij Somati.
He was a very powerful man. Bhuiyas still speak of his boldness and
bravery in very high terms, and worship him with prayers and sacrifices
after every two years outside the village or in the family kitchen.
They worship him in this way:—
24. They dig a hole in the ground five or six cubits deep and one or
two cubits long. They burn fire in it, and walk on it bare foot. They
say that the man who is possessed of the Bîr does not feel any
sensation of burning by walking on fire. They also scatter thorny
branches of ber and kankor on the ground, and roll on them. They say
that the thorns become blunt when a man possessed of Lahang Bîr rolls
on them. Those who are possessed of the Bîr pronounce blessings on the
Bhuiyas, and they believe that these blessings turn out true. Bhuiyas
offer him sacrifices of goats, fowls, and hogs.
[Festivals.] 25. The only Hindu festival which they observe is the
Anant Chandas (14th light half of Bhâdon). They fast on that day and
wear a thread on the right arm, over which some rude spells (mantra)
are recited. Then they go into the forest and cut a branch of the karam
tree (anthocephalus cadamba) which they fix up in the court-yard. The
men bow to it, and the women decorate it with red lead. Then they get
drunk, dance round it, and sing the karama songs. The festival is an
occasion of rude license and debauchery. It is understood that if any
girl takes a fancy to a man she has only to kick him on the ankle
during the dance, and the parents get the pair married forthwith. They
believe firmly that persons killed by tigers become dangerous ghosts.
They are worshipped periodically by the Baiga with offerings of fowls
and liquor at a mud shrine erected at the place the person was killed.
[91] This is called the Baghaut. They also believe in the appearance of
ghostly fires in the jungle at night. One of these blazes on the Juriya
hill in Pargana Dudhi. It is said to be the fire of some holy faqîr,
but when any one goes near the place it disappears. If any one goes
into the forest wearing a red cloth the ghosts (bhût) which inhabit old
mahua (bassia latifolia) and pîpal trees (ficus Indica) enter into him.
A person in such a state has to go into the forest and bow down before
every tree of these species until the ghost leaves him. The field deity
is Hariyâri Devi (“the goddess of greenness”). She is worshipped in the
field by the Baiga with a sacrifice of fowls and liquor when the
harvest is completed.
[Ancestor worship.] 26. They dread the ghosts of the dead and offer
sacrifices and lay out food for them through the head of the house. If
they are not fed they remain hungry in the next world, appear in
dreams, and show their displeasure by besetting their living friends in
the form of the nightmare, which grips their throats, sits on their
breasts, and vampire-like drinks their blood at night. They appear to
have no knowledge of the remarkable mock human sacrifice described by
Colonel Dalton. [92]
[Various superstitions, omens, oaths, exorcisms.] 27. Friday is their
lucky day, and Saturday is unlucky. The numbers three and five are
lucky. The note of the Suiya bird singing on the left is a favourable
meeting omen. The East is the lucky direction. They swear on the head
of their sons, and by holding the tail of a cow. These oaths are used
for the decision of private disputes concerning tribal discipline. They
believe in magic and witchcraft. Only special sorcerers (ojha) and
witches (tonahi) have this power. They attack their victims by throwing
dust on them, and making them eat some special food, which brings the
victim under their influence. The Ojha prescribes in cases of witch or
ghost possession. He names the particular bhût which is at the root of
the mischief, and directs an offering of a fowl or a young pig, which
he sacrifices and eats himself. Ojhas also pretend to be able to
foretell the future. They do not believe much in dreams, except as an
indication that the deceased ancestors are displeased with them. They
believe in the Evil Eye, which is a power residing principally in
persons born on Saturday. There are special spells (mantra) to obviate
it. Any member of the tribe can learn and use these.
[Social observances.] 28. The women tattoo themselves in the way common
to all the allied tribes. They will not touch a Dom, Dharkâr, Dhobi, or
Chamâr; nor the wife of the wife’s elder brother, the wife of the
younger brother, or the mother of the wife or husband of their son or
daughter. In the morning they will not mention a monkey or a tiger.
They do not eat the flesh of the cow, buffalo, monkey, crocodile,
snake, lizard, or jackal. They eat pork, fowl, fish, and rats. Women do
not eat with men; the men eat first and women afterwards. They use
tobacco and liquor freely, and the latter is considered to ward off
malaria. But habitual drunkenness is discreditable. Younger people
salute their elders in the pâêlagi form, and the elders give the
blessing, nîkê raho, “may you be happy.” Old men are cared for, and
women, who are much used in outdoor and domestic work, appear to be
treated with a tolerable amount of consideration. But if they are
disobedient, wives are beaten by their husbands. Doms and Dharkârs will
eat their leavings. They will eat food cooked by Brâhmans, Râjputs, or
Banyas, and Ahîrs. Among the aboriginal tribes the only ones from whose
hands they will eat food are the Kharwârs.
[Occupation.] 29. Most of them are hereditary serf ploughmen (harwâha).
The usual wages are three sers of coarse grain per diem and ten annas
in cash per mensem. In winter they get a blanket, and in the rains a
palm leaf umbrella hat (khumari): at the beginning and ending of the
sowing season they get a special dinner from their masters. Some have
risen in the social scale, cultivate on their own account, and keep
cattle and sheep. Some of the Mirzapur Bhuiyas are makers of catechu
(khair), and are hence known as Khairaha. They are quiet, industrious,
simple, confiding people.
[Local organization.] 30. They have a local organization called “the
unity” (eka) embracing a group of villages. When any one encroaches on
their rights they meet and discuss the matter.
[Clothes and jewelry.] 31. The women are tolerably decently dressed.
The men’s dress is sometimes terribly scanty. Women wear no ornament in
the nose: in the ears they wear palm leaf ornaments (tarki); on the
neck beads (guriya), and necklaces; on the hands mattiya, and rings on
the fingers. The men wear brass earrings and bead necklaces.
Bhuiyâr: Bhuînhâr.—A Dravidian tribe in the hill country of South
Mirzapur. They are also known as Beonriha from beonra, which is a local
term for the dahya system of cultivation by which patches of jungle are
periodically burnt down and brought under the plough. Mr. Jonathan
Duncan in one of his reports speaks of them under the name of
Bewariyas, and describes them as being in such an exceedingly wild and
uncivilised state as not to have attended him to make their settlement.
[93] It is needless to say that they have no connection with the
semi-gipsy Bâwariyas. The tribe is also known as Baiga, because large
numbers of the aboriginal local priests are derived from this caste.
The word Bhuînhâr (Sanskrit, bhûmi-kâra) means “land-holder,” and is a
title of some of the allied tribes, e.g., the Mundas. [94] They are
probably identical with the Bhuryas described by Dr. Ball. [95] It is
hardly necessary to say that they have no connection with the regular
half Brâhman half Kshatriya Bhuînhârs of the Gangetic valley.
[Tribal constitution.] 2. The Mirzapur Bhuiyârs can name fifteen
exogamous septs (kuri). Five of these, the Khagoriha, Suidaha,
Khatkariha, Deohariya, Chargoriha, are admittedly local septs, deriving
their names from the villages in which they originated. They have
branched off in comparatively recent times. The original ten septs are
probably in a large degree of totemistic origin. These are Bhuînhâr or
“land-holder;” Nâpan, “the measurer;” Bhûsar, “the chaff men;” Bhall,
“arrow men;” Sisi; Bunbun, the bumble bee; Karwa, “bitter;” Râê,
“leader;” Daspût, son of a slave; Bhaniha, “he that has the rays of the
sun,” many of which are possibly nicknames. If any of these titles were
originally totemistic their significance has now been lost.
[Rule of exogamy.] 3. These septs (kuri) are all exogamous, and
marriage within the septs is absolutely forbidden. This rule, which
obviously permits very close intermarriage, is not supplemented by the
complete formula mamera, chachera, phuphera and mausera, which bars the
line of the paternal and maternal uncle and aunt. Here only the line of
the paternal and maternal uncle within one generation is excluded; and
after this intermarriage between their descendants is allowed.
[Traditions of origin.] 4. Their traditions of origin are very vague.
They speak of a place called Bhaunradah as their original
head-quarters, but of this they know nothing more than that it is
somewhere to the south.
[Tribal council.] 5. They have a tribal council (panchâyat) which meets
occasionally. There is no permanent president (mahto), but the oldest
or most competent person is appointed at each meeting. If a man is
convicted of adultery or fornication he is generally put out of caste
for a year or two. He is then restored on providing a feast for the
clansmen. The penalty is particularly high in the cases of incestuous
connection with women within the prohibited degrees. If proved guilty
of such conduct he has to provide five goats and as much liquor as can
be made in one distillation from a single still (bhatti). If the woman
with whom he is detected in an intrigue belongs to another caste, the
fine is one still of liquor and two goats. He must obey the order of
the council. If he is contumacious the fine is increased: if he submits
and pleads poverty, it is often reduced.
[Marriage.] 6. A man may marry in any of the ten septs (the five last
being regarded as only offshoots from the others), provided both
parties are in possession of full caste rights. Among these people we
have a distinct survival of marriage by capture in the sort of
wrestling or struggle which takes place between the bride and
bridegroom, before the latter during the marriage ceremony applies red
lead to the parting of the hair of the former. This custom of applying
red lead is an obvious survival of the original blood covenant when the
bride was marked with blood drawn from the body of the bridegroom, and
thus formally united to him. A man may have as many wives as he can
afford to purchase with the bride-price and support. The senior wife is
held in special respect and gets more jewelry and better clothes than
her juniors. She alone represents the women of the family at social
celebrations. This appears, as Dr. Westermarck remarks, to indicate a
transition from monogamous to polygynous habits, and not vice versâ, as
has often been suggested. [96] If the family house is large the wives
all live together; if not, in separate rooms grouped round the common
courtyard. [97] Another peculiarity among this tribe is the intense
fear of the menstrual pollution. [98] There are always two doors to the
dwelling house, one of which is used only by women in this condition.
While impure the woman is fed by her husband apart from the rest of the
family, and whenever she has to go out she is obliged to creep out on
her hands and knees so as to avoid polluting the house thatch by her
touch. Concubinage and polyandry are both prohibited, and the latter is
looked upon with such horror by them that it seems impossible to
believe that it could ever have been a tribal institution. [99] Women
enjoy a considerable amount of liberty both before and after marriage.
If an unmarried girl is detected in an intrigue with a clansman, the
tribal council imposes a fine on her paramour and marries her to him.
The fine consists of a goat, rice, and liquor. The marriage age for
girls is from ten to twelve, and to delay the marriage of girls to a
later period is considered unseemly. As the people put it, “the
brotherhood jeer” (birâdari hansat). The marriage of a boy is arranged
by his sister’s husband (bahnoi). It usually takes place by arrangement
between the pair, but love matches are allowed and are not unusual. The
bride-price consists of a sheet (orhna) valued at three rupees, five
rupees in cash, and fifteen sers of liquor. The bride receives the
sheet, and the money and the liquor are used in the marriage feast.
This is the invariable rate and does not vary with the means of the
parties. If after marriage it turns out that the bridegroom becomes
mad, blind, leprous, or impotent, her relations will withhold the
bride. In this case, if the husband have a younger brother, the
marriage is annulled by the council, and the bride is again married to
her brother-in-law by the less regular form used in the case of widows,
i.e., by sagâi. On the other hand if after marriage any defects
manifest themselves in the bride her husband is bound to accept her,
and if before marriage the relations of the bride were aware of any
defect in the bridegroom the marriage cannot be broken.
[Divorce.] 7. Adultery in the wife when proved to the satisfaction of
the council is a ground for putting her away, but no evidence short of
the testimony of eye-witnesses to the act of adultery is accepted.
Adultery in the husband is not a ground for divorce, but if his
misconduct is brought to the notice of the council they will reprimand
him. Ill-treatment, again, on the part of the husband is not a ground
for divorce, but the wife generally takes matters into her own hands
and escapes to the house of her parents, who will not restore her until
the husband gives security that the ill-usage will not be repeated. The
cost of brides acts, it is needless to say, as a check on ill-usage or
desertion. [100] A divorced wife is allowed to marry again by the sagâi
form with the permission of the council.
[Widow marriage and the levirate.] 8. Widows can many again by the form
known as sagâi, and women are so valuable that every young widow if not
taken over by her brother-in-law is married to some one else. If a man
wishes to marry a widow he must secure her consent and that of her
relations. When this is granted he takes for her a set of palm-leaf
earrings (tarki), brass arm rings (churla), and glass bangles (chûri).
These he puts on the widow, takes her home, and gives a feast to the
clansmen of goat’s flesh and rice. This feast is called after the
earrings tarki bhât. The levirate prevails under the usual restriction
that it is only the younger brother of the husband who can claim the
widow of his elder brother. If he resigns his claim she can marry an
outsider: she takes with her to her new home only infant children of
her first husband. The others are taken care of by the brother of their
father. The widow has no right to succeed her late husband: his heirs
are his sons, or, in default of sons, his brother. In the case of the
levirate there is no fiction that the children of the second marriage
are affiliated to the first husband. As a rule all marriageable widows
are taken either in the levirate or remarried by sagâi.
[Adoption.] 9. The tribe profess to have elaborate rules of adoption,
which are, however, clearly derived from an imitation of the practice
of their Hindu neighbours. There is no religious idea about adoption.
All that is certain is that only a sonless man can adopt, that he must
adopt in his own sept, and that almost as a matter of course he adopts
his brother’s son. The uncertainty of the conception of adoption is
shown in the fact that the adopted son is allowed to retain his right
of succession in the property of his natural father.
[Beena marriage.] 10. Beena marriages by the custom known as gharjaiyân
or ghardamâda, when the bridegroom serves a period of probation for his
bride are usual. In such a case the son-in-law has no right of
inheriting from his father-in-law, but retains the right of inheritance
from the estate of his father.
[Succession.] 11. The sons are the sole heirs to the estate of their
father. Primogeniture is so far observed that while the children of all
wives share equally, the eldest son of the senior wife gets what is
called tikaiti, or one in excess of each thing—cattle, cooking vessels,
etc.; but if the father die in debt, this right ceases, and all the
sons have to contribute equally to discharge the debt. The father
during his lifetime cannot nominate one of his sons to get a share
superior to that of the others.
[Birth.] 12. There is no pregnancy ceremony. The mother is attended by
her husband’s sister (nanad), the Chamâr midwife not being employed.
The woman lies on the ground during parturition. A fire is lit in the
room in which she is secluded as soon as the labour pains commence. The
umbilical cord is merely severed and allowed to dry, when it is taken
out and buried in the jungle by the sister-in-law in attendance. The
cord retains some mystic significance. Thus a common phrase in quarrels
about land is kya tuhâr nâr e men gâral gayal—“was your cord buried
here that you claim this land?” The cord usually falls off; and is
buried on the third day after delivery. The day it falls off her
sister-in-law bathes the mother and child, who are again bathed on the
expiry of a month from the date of delivery. On that day the
sister-in-law cleans and replasters the delivery room (saur), and
receives from the child’s father a sheet (orhna), as her remuneration,
as well as a piece of cheap jewelry. On that day the mother is pure,
and cooks for the family and neighbours of the clan. The husband does
not again cohabit with his wife for two or three months after her
confinement. [101]
[Marriage ceremonies.] 13. Until children are married it does not
matter from whose hand they take food: after marriage they are obliged
to conform to caste regulations. The marriage negotiations commence by
some old man of the tribe or the boy’s father going to inspect the
girl. Then the husband of the bridegroom’s sister goes to her with five
sers of liquor and two rupees, thus concluding the betrothal, which is
known among them as puchhâwat or “the asking.” If the bride’s father
accepts the proposal, he summons his clansmen and distributes the
liquor among them. At the same time they are given a dinner of goat’s
flesh and rice, which is provided by the boy’s father. After this, on a
day fixed by the girl’s father, the boy’s paternal uncle goes again
with two vessels, each containing five sers of liquor, and takes with
him three rupees in cash. This finally concludes the betrothal, which
is known as bajarâwat or “strengthening,” and barrekhi, or “the marking
down of the bridegroom.” This liquor and money are used in entertaining
the clansmen of the bride and the envoy of the bridegroom. Next the
bride’s father presses some oil with his own hands and sends it to the
boy’s house. This is mixed with turmeric, and the bridegroom is daily
anointed with it by his female relations. In the same way the boy’s
father presses some oil and sends it for the use of the bride. After
this a suitable date is fixed by mutual arrangement, and the bridegroom
comes with his procession to the door of the bride. Outside the door
the bride’s mother stands with her feet in a basket, and holds in one
hand a rice pestle (mûsal), and in the other a brass tray (thâli),
containing some cotton with the seed and a lighted lamp. She moves the
pestle five times round the boy’s head from left to right and five
times again from right to left, and pours the cotton over his head.
Next she warms her hands twice over the lamp and presses them on the
boy’s cheeks, and kisses his lips. After this the boy does salutation
(pâêlagi) to her. She then leads the bridegroom into the inner room,
where the girl sits in a corner. He sits there silent for some time. At
last some women friends who are also sitting there say,—“Give the boy
what he has come for.” Then her mother makes the bride stand up and
seats her to the left of the bridegroom. This done, the boy returns to
his friends, and the bride again retires into her corner. A couple of
hours after the pair are seated on two leaf-mats in the courtyard,
facing east. Both are stripped by the women, well rubbed with a mixture
of oil and turmeric, and dressed in new clothes. After this the boy’s
party are fed, and liquor is distributed. That night they spend in
singing and dancing the karama or national dance. Next day they meet
again, the friends of bride and bridegroom sitting in a line opposite
each other. The boy’s father produces the bridegroom before the bride’s
people; and says,—“Look! has he any physical defect?” The bride’s
father replies,—“No! there is nothing wrong with him.” In the same way
the bride’s father produces the bride for examination, and the
bridegroom’s father admits that she has no physical defect. All this is
done in the courtyard outside the nuptial pavilion (mânro). Then a mock
struggle commences between the bride and bridegroom. He tries to put a
bracelet on her wrist, and she clenches her hand, so that he is unable
to get it on. Her friends shout out,—“Her hand can never be opened
until you swear that you will take care of her and never give her
trouble.” Finally, when the bridegroom makes the necessary promise, the
girl opens her hand, and allows the bracelet to be put on her wrist.
Then the boy pours a little liquor on her feet, and after another mock
struggle marks the parting of her hair with red lead. There are no
revolutions in the pavilion, and this constitutes the marriage. The
bridegroom then brings the bride home. When they reach his house his
mother receives the bride in the same way in which the bridegroom was
received by the bride’s mother, and takes her inside the house, where,
after feeding the clansmen, the clothes of the pair are fastened in a
knot, and they dance together in the courtyard. The binding part of the
ceremony is putting on the marriage bracelet, and applying red lead to
the parting of the bride’s hair. Even after the ceremonies already
described of puchhâwat, bajarâwat, or barrekhi, the marriage can be
stopped. If the bride’s people break off the marriage they are
compelled to return the bride-price. The form of marriage already
described is known as charhauwa or “the offering,” as the bride is
offered to the bridegroom. This is the respectable form; but besides
this, the form known as sagâi is in force. In this case the lover sends
a friend to procure the consent of the bride’s father. When this is
granted, he goes to her house with ten rupees in cash, and five sers of
liquor. The girl’s friends drink the liquor, and the money is given to
her father, or if her father be dead, to her elder brother. Then the
man spreads out his hands over that of the woman, and her brother pours
some water over the hands of both. This constitutes the marriage
ceremony, and the bridegroom goes home at once, followed by the bride.
When they reach his house his mother comes out with a vessel (lota) of
water, washes the bridegroom’s feet, and blesses him with long life.
Then she washes the feet of the bride, who puts her forehead on the
feet of her mother-in-law. The old woman tries to raise her up, but she
will not get up until she receives a present known as “the sacrifice”
(baldân). Then the old woman says,—“I make over the house and all it
contains to you.” On this the bride releases her feet, and her
mother-in-law takes her into the house, and makes everything over to
her. That day the young wife cooks for the family and friends. This
sagâi form is something like the dola of low class Hindus, and is
practised by people who cannot afford a regular marriage.
[Death ceremonies.] 14. No one is allowed to die in the house. [102]
People who die of cholera and small-pox and unmarried persons are
buried; all others are cremated. They have regular cemeteries in the
neighbourhood of their villages. The corpse is cremated on the edge of
an adjoining stream. Very often, however, cremation is very carelessly
performed, and in epidemics corpses are exposed in the jungle to be
eaten by wild animals. Next day the ashes are collected and floated
away (serwâna) by throwing them into the water. On the third day the
relation who fired the pyre goes with the clansmen to the river, and
they shave one another. That day a date is fixed for the funeral feast,
when they assemble at the house of the deceased, and a little oil and
turmeric are given them, which they rub into their bodies. From the day
of the funeral the women of the family place some food on the road by
which the corpse was removed. [103] This is discontinued from the night
preceding the date of the funeral feast. On that day a cupful of food
and a cup of oil are taken by the oldest woman of the family to the
cremation place and thrown into the water. When she comes home a goat
is sacrificed in the house in the name of the deceased, and in the
evening the clansmen are fed on the flesh of the victim boiled with
rice.
[Ancestor worship.] 15. The souls of the dead, that is to say those of
a dead father and mother, for more distant progenitors are hardly ever
recognized, are feared and require propitiation. If not duly worshipped
they appear in dreams, frighten the sleeper, and sit on his chest and
throat like the nightmare. Most diseases and misfortunes are due to
their displeasure. The annual sacrifice of a goat and fowl is made to
them by the house master in the month of Aghan (November—December).
Poor people who cannot afford a victim wash some rice and pulse and
scatter it in the courtyard in the name of the dead.
[Religion.] 16. They call themselves Hindus. Their tribal god is called
Sewanriya and appears originally to be a deity of boundaries (sewâna).
Some worship Dharti or Mother-earth, and some Mahâdeva. They have a
vague idea of a place of torment after death, a pit full of snakes and
scorpions known as kîragarh or the “worm pit;” but it is doubtful how
far this may not be some vague reminiscence of missionary teaching.
[104] In the month of Aghan, when they worship the sainted dead, they
offer to these deities liquor, fowls, and goats. They believe that this
worship protects children and cattle from disease, and prevents the
latter from straying. This worship is not shared in by the women and
children, and is done by the headman of the family, if a Baiga. They
have nothing to say to Brâhmans, for whom they entertain contempt.
[105] The Brâhmans, they say, were the drummers of Râma’s army in his
campaign against Râwana. As they were crossing the sea their drums
(mândar) which, like the aboriginal drums of the present time, were
made of baked earth, melted away in the water, and the strings which
supported them became the Brâhmans’ sacred cord (janeû). They do not
keep priests of any other tribe; and have no regular temple. As already
stated, the ancestor worship is done by the head of the family, who if,
as is usually the case, he is a Baiga, does the worship to Sewanriya,
Dharti, and Mahâdeva. Most Bhuiyârs are Baigas, and officiate in their
own as well as allied tribes; in fact, as already stated, one general
name for the tribe is Baiga. The tribal gods are usually worshipped
under a pîpal tree, where a piece of stone represents all the deities
collectively. The flesh of the offerings is eaten by the worshippers,
except the head, which is the perquisite of the Baiga.
[Festivals.] 17. They have two special holidays on the tenth of the
light half of Kuâr, and the Phagua or Holi at the full moon of Phâlgun,
but they do not burn the Holi fire, although they will attend if Hindus
in the neighbourhood celebrate the festival. On both these festivals
they offer a fire sacrifice (hom), and worship the sainted dead with an
offering of fowls and liquor, which they drink freely on these
occasions. In order to provide for the dead in the next world they
throw on the pyre with the corpse some iron implement, usually an axe,
and when they bury the dead, they throw it into the grave. It is not
broken; with women they place a sickle (hansua) and when they collect
the ashes they throw some kodo and sâwân millet over the place as food
for the dead. They so far follow Hindu practice as to have a ceremony
(barsi) on the anniversary of a death. In the house worship a mud
platform or stone is the dwelling place of the ghosts of the dead.
Sewanriya is regarded as a jungle deity, and abides in any tree which
is selected for the purpose. They never go on pilgrimages to Gaya, and
have nothing analogous to the Hindu srâddha.
[Superstitions.] 18. They have a great respect for iron above all other
metals. They hold the bhânja or sister’s son in great honour, and make
periodical presents to him as Hindus do to a Brâhman. [106] These
presents always include some iron article.
[Appearance, clothes, tattooing.] 19. Of the tribe whom he calls
Bhuînhârs Colonel Dalton says:—“They are about the lowest type of human
beings I have ever come across in my wanderings, and I have had more
opportunities than most people of seeing varieties of race. They are
very dark, (41, about the average), faces, or rather heads, altogether
round as bullets, projecting jaws and lips, scarcely any prominence of
nose, pig’s eyes, large bodies, and small limbs, no muscular
development, very short of stature, not one of them more than five
feet, very filthy in their persons, with diseased skins and sore eyes.
One creature, an adult male of a group which appeared before me at
Moheri, in Sarguja, looked to me like a disgustingly superannuated
black baby. Baby-like, his round head rolled about his shoulders on a
very short and unnaturally weak neck. You could imagine his proper
place to be bundled up in a cloth slung from the shoulders of his black
mother, his head helplessly rolling about after the manner of native
infants thus supported. They speak Hindi plainly enough, but appear as
devoid of ideas as they are of beauty. They adore the sun and their
ancestors, but they have no notion that the latter are now spirits, or
that there are spirits or ghosts or anything. They have no veneration
for a tiger, but regard him as a dangerous enemy, whom it is their
interest to slay whenever they have the opportunity. They were asked to
dance, and did so; but it was a singularly feeble, motiveless
performance. Men and women were scantily clothed, and appeared to take
no thought for their personal appearance. The hair, uncared-for, was
matted and rusty coloured. The Bhuînhârs in Palamau are said to be good
cultivators; but I believe this means they are very docile farm
labourers and beasts of burden. They appear to have no independence of
character, and are for the most part in servitude or bondage, and
content so to remain. If we have now in existence the descendants of
human beings of the stone age, here I would say are specimens. They
remind me much of the specimens I have seen of the Andamanese.” [107]
These are certainly in every way a more degraded race than the Bhuiyârs
of Mirzapur who in appearance do not seem to differ much from the other
Dravidian tribes by whom they are surrounded. They rather resemble the
people whom Colonel Dalton calls Boyars. “In complexion,” he says, “I
found the Boyars generally of a dark brown colour, fairly proportioned,
and averaging upwards of five feet in height. The features were
characterised by great breadth across the cheek bones, very narrow
forehead, nose broad, nostrils wide apart, but the nasal bone more
prominent than in the types previously described; the mouth so wide as
nearly to equal the space occupied by both eyes, lips protuberant, chin
receding, but not so the brow. There was more appearance of hair on the
face than is generally found amongst the tribes of this class.” [108]
The Mirzapur people are also much better dressed than their Bengal
kinsmen. The men wear a small loin cloth, generally have an upper sheet
and a cloth wrapped round the head, the hair of which is allowed to
hang down uncut and unkempt behind. The women wear the single white
cotton cloth (dhoti) wrapped round the waist and brought over the
shoulders. A few wear a small boddice. The women tattoo themselves in
the manner common to all these aboriginal tribes. [109] There is no
tribal tattoo, and the pattern employed is according to the taste of
the wearer. Tattooing is invested with some religious significance; if
a woman is not tattooed Paramesar pitches her down from heaven when she
dies. The women wear on their arms brass rings (mâthi, bahunta),
anklets (pairi), in the ears palm leaf ornaments (tarki), with beads
made of clay round the neck. The men have small brass earrings.
[Omens, oaths, witchcraft, Evil Eye.] 20. Their lucky omens are the
tiger and the elephant. They have not the Hindu prejudice against the
south as an unlucky quarter. They swear on their sons’ heads, and if
they forswear themselves their sons die. These oaths are used in
enquiries into tribal matters. They are much witch-ridden. The Baigas
hate people with a reputation for witchcraft (tonaya), and expel them,
if possible, from their villages. Disease is usually caused by the
attacks of ghosts (bhût): these are identified by the Ojha, who places
some rice (achhat) before him. Then he and the patient get into an
ecstacy, and the Ojha asks the bhût:—“What worship (pûja) do you
require to let this man go?” Whatever he announces must be done. Dreams
never mean anything except that one of the sainted dead needs
propitiation. The meaning is interpreted by some old woman in the
family. They believe in the Evil Eye. Anyone born on a Saturday has the
power of casting it. Cases of this kind are made over to the Baiga, who
sacrifices a victim and secures relief.
[Social customs.] 21. They will not touch a Dhobi, a Chamâr, Dharkâr,
Dom, or Ghasiya: nor the wife of the younger brother, the wife’s elder
sister, paternal uncle’s wife, and a female connection through the
marriage of children (samdhin). They eat beef, but in secret they will
in fact eat any meat except that of the ass, the horse, the camel,
snake, lizard, rat, and jackal. Women do not eat pork, [110] and they
will not cook it in the cook-house where the sainted dead are
worshipped. Men and women eat apart; first the children eat, then the
men, of whom the head of the family eats last, and last of all the
women. They always eat in leaf vessels. They all chew tobacco: even
children five and six years old may be seen chewing. All drink liquor,
but drunkenness is considered discreditable. They do not use opium or
the drugs bhang and gânja.
[Salutation and social status.] 22. Among themselves they salute in the
form known as pâêlagi. If the husband is any time absent, on his return
his wife touches his feet with her hands. Chamârs are the highest caste
who will eat food touched by them. They carry their contempt for
Brâhmans so far that they will not eat food touched by them, and if a
Brâhman handle one of their water vessels they will pitch it out of the
house. Their usual business is cutting wood and bamboos, and collecting
silk cocoons, lac, dyes, and other jungle produce. It is only quite
recently that they have taken to eating anything but jungle fruits. Now
some of them cultivate, and as their name shows they are fond of the
dahya form of cultivation, cutting and burning the jungle. They have a
field goddess, Khetiyâr Devi, whom they propitiate with the offering of
goat or a fowl. The women are reputed chaste in married life as far as
intercourse with strangers to the caste is concerned, but there is
certainly a very considerable amount of intertribal immorality. They
have a fairly strong local organization which embraces some three or
four villages, and is known as “the unity” (eka). The members meet
occasionally to discuss matters of general interest. Its influence is
said now to be decreasing. They are notorious for their laziness in
field work, and for their readiness to abscond and leave their village
on the first signs of scarcity.
23. The Bhuiyârs do not appear to have been separately recorded at the
last Census. They have apparently been confused with the Brâhman Râjput
Bhuînhârs of the Gangetic valley.
Bhurtiya.—A small tribe found, according to the last Census, only in
Allahâbâd, but there are some certainly in the hill country of
Mirzapur. The origin of the name is very uncertain. Mr. Nesfield
without much probability derives it from bharti karna, “to lend money
for short periods.” They say themselves that it comes from bhurti,
which is the same as phurti, “quickness,” because one of their
ancestors was once in such a hurry to go to an entertainment that she
put her ornaments on all awry, and her descendants have been called
Bhurtiya ever since. They claim to be an offshoot of the Ahîrs, whom
they closely resemble in appearance and customs. They are very
respectable, industrious people, and make their livelihood by
cultivation and rearing cattle.