Beldâr.121—(One who works with the bel or mattock.)—A general term for the aggregate of low Hindu tribes who make their living by earth-work. But, besides these, there appears to be a real endogamous group of this name found chiefly in Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Basti, and Pilibhît. Mr. Risley122 describes under the same name a wandering Dravidian caste of earth-workers and navvies in Bihâr and Western Bengal, many of whom are employed in the coal mines of Râniganj and Barâkar. “Both men and women labour, the former digging the earth and the latter removing it in baskets carried on the head. The Beldârs regard this mode of carrying earth as distinctive of themselves, and will on no account carry earth in baskets slung from the shoulders.” Whatever may be the [238]case in Bengal, in these provinces at least, the practice of carrying earth and other burdens on the head and not on the back or shoulders is habitual among all the castes who do this kind of labour.

Internal organization. 2. The Beldârs of these provinces classified themselves at the last Census under three sub-castes—Bâchhal, Chauhân, and Kharot. The two former are, of course, well known Râjput tribes. The Kharot appear to take their name from khar (Sanskrit, khata), “grass.” They are described as a tribe of mat-makers in Basti, and a number have entered themselves separately at the last enumeration. Besides these, among the most important local sub-castes, we find the Mahul and Orh of Bareilly; the Desi, Kharêbind, and Sarwariya, or “dwellers beyond the Sarju,” of Gorakhpur; and the Kharêbind and Maskhauwa, or “flesh-eaters,” of Basti. The Census returns give 186 sub-castes of the usual type. Some taken from the names of existing well known tribes, such as Bachgoti, Bâchhal, Baheliya, Bindwâr, Chauhân, Dikhit, Gaharwâr, Gaura, Gautam, Ghosi, Kurmi, Luniya, Orh, Râjput, Thâkur; others, local terms of the usual type, like Agarwâl, Agrabansi, Ajudhyabâsi, Bhadauriya, Dehliwâl, Gangapâri, Gorakhpuri, Kanaujiya, Kashiwâla, Purabiya, Sarwariya, and Uttarâha. The Beldârs have no definite traditions of their origin, save that they were once Râjputs who were compelled by some Râja to work as navvies, and were in consequence degraded. There can, however, be little doubt that they are an occupational offshoot from the great Luniya, Orh, or Bind tribe, who are certainly to a large extent of non-Aryan origin.

Occupation and status. 3. Besides their trade of doing earth-work, they also make their living by fishing. They are very fond of field rats, which they dig out of the rice fields after the harvest is over, and boil down with the grain which they have collected in their granaries. They also eat pork, but in spite of this it is reported from Gorakhpur that Brâhmans and Kshatriyas drink water from their hands. Their widows marry by the sagâi form, and a man may discard his wife for adultery; but if she marries her paramour, the council compels him to repay the original cost of her marriage to her first husband.

Religion. 4. To the east of the province they worship the Pânchonpîr, to whom they offer a turban (patuka) and a sheet (patau) made of coarse country cloth, and occasionally a fowl. The sheets before being offered are marked [239]by a streak of red. Another form of offering is what is known as kâra, which is made of flour and urad pulse. Some worship Mahâdeva once a year in the month of Phâlgun or at the Sivarâtri.

Belwâr, Bilwâr.—A tribe in Oudh of whom no satisfactory account has been received. According to Mr. Nesfield, they take their name from bela, “a purse”; but this is very uncertain. They are said to deal in grain and cultivate.

2. According to the last Census their chief sub-caste is the Sanâdh. In Kheri the chief sub-castes are Baghel, Bhonda, and Gaur.

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Benawa.—(“Without provisions,” “destitute.”)—A class of Muhammadan faqîrs, the chief of the Beshara or unorthodox orders. They are said to be followers of Khwâja Hasan Basri. Mr. Maclagan123 says:—“The term is sometimes apparently applied in a loose manner to Qâdiri and Chishti faqîrs, but is properly applicable only to a very inferior set of beggars, men who wear patched garments and live apart. They will beg for anything except food, and in begging they will use the strongest language, and the stronger the language the more pleased are the persons from whom they beg. Many of the offensive names borne by villages in the Gujrânwâla District are attributed to mendicants of this order, who have been denied an alms. The proper course is to meet a Benawa beggar with gibes and put him on his mettle, for he prides himself on his powers of repartee, and every Benawa wears a thong of leather, which he has to unloose when beaten in reply, and it is a great source of shame for him to unloose this thong” (tasma khol dena).

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Benbans.—(“Of the stock of Râja Vena.”)—A small sept of Râjputs in Mirzapur and Rîwa. The sept is interesting as an example of the development in quite recent times of a new Râjput sept. There seems to be little doubt that only a couple of generations ago they were Kharwârs, a purely Dravidian tribe, and have developed into Râjputs since they obtained the chiefship of that part of the country. The present Râja has now married into a respectable Chandel family, and his claim to be a pure bred Râjput will doubtless soon cease to be disputed.

Beriya,124 Bediya.—A caste of vagrants found in various parts of the Province. They are very closely allied if not identical with the Sânsi, Kanjar, Hâbûra, Bhântu, etc. In Bengal the term is applied to a number of vagrant, gypsy-like groups, of whom it is difficult to say whether they can properly be described as castes. Of these Bengal Beriyas a very full account has been given by Bâbu Rajendra Lâla Mitra.125 According to him, they show no tendency to obesity, and are noted for “a light, elastic, wiry make, very uncommon in the people of this country. In agility and hardiness they stand unrivalled. The men are of a brownish colour like the bulk of Bengâlis, but never black. The women are of lighter complexion, and generally well formed; some of them have considerable claims to beauty, and for a race so rude and primitive in their habits as the Bediyas, there is a sharpness in the features of their women which we see in no other aboriginal race in India. Like the gypsies of Europe, they are noted for the symmetry of their limbs; but their offensive habits, dirty clothing, and filthy professions, give them a repulsive appearance, which is heightened by the reputation they have of kidnapping children and frequenting burial grounds and places of cremation. Their eyes and hair are always black, but their stature varies much in different individuals. They are a mixed race, and many outcastes join them. Some of them call themselves Mâl, and live by snake-catching and sale of herbs. Though known as Bediyas, they keep distinct, and do not intermarry or mix with the pure Bediyas, who, unlike European gypsies, keep themselves distinct. They seldom build houses, and take to [243]agriculture, but wander about with a few miserable wigwams. Like all gypsies, they dress like the people of the country. They cook in a pipkin in common. Their women and children eat promiscuously, except when placed among Bengâlis, when the women eat separately. They eat whatever they can get, and nothing comes amiss to them, whether it be a rotten jackal or a piece of beef or mutton.

2. “Familiar with the use of bows and arrows, and great adepts in laying snares and traps, they are seldom without large supplies of game and flesh of wild animals of all kinds. A variety of birds they keep dried for medical purposes; mungooses, squirrels, and flying foxes they eat with avidity as articles of luxury. Spirituous liquors and intoxicating drugs are indulged in to a large extent, and chiefs of clans assume the title of Bhangi or drinkers of hemp (bhang) as a mark of honour.” They practise all the usual gypsy trades. “In lying, thieving, and knavery he is not a whit inferior to his brother of Europe, and he practises everything that enables him to pass an easy life without submitting to any law of civilized Government or the amenities of social life. The women deal in charms for exorcising the devil, love phylters, palmistry, cupping with buffalo horns, administering moxas and drugs for spleen and rheumatism. She has a charm for extracting worms from carious teeth by repeating indecent verses. They are the only tattooers. At home she makes mats of palm leaves, while her lord alone cooks. Bediyas have no talent for music; Nats and Banjâras have. Firdausi says this was the reason they were exiled to Persia. Bediya women are even more circumspect than European gypsies. If she does not return before the jackal’s cry is heard in the evening, she is subject to severe punishment. It is said that a faux pas among her own kindred is not considered reprehensible. Certain it is that no Bediyâni has ever been known to be at fault with any one not of her own caste. They are fond husbands, kind parents, affectionate children, and unswerving friends. Attachment to their nationality is extreme, and no Bediya has ever been known to denounce his race. Whenever a Bediya is apprehended by a police officer, his clansmen do their best to release him, and if condemned to imprisonment or death, they invariably support his family. He is a Hindu or Musalmân according to the population he lives in. Some are Deists, some Kabîrpanthis, or Sikhs; some take the disguise of Jogis, Faqîrs, Darveshes, Santons, etc. [244]Hence he is called Panchpîri. His dead are usually buried, and his marriage contract is solemnized over country arrack without the intervention of priests, the only essential being the consent of the elders of the clan. Marriage is restricted to his own clan; but kidnapped children brought up in camp are not prohibited. He is very sparing of ceremony; in reply to the exhortations of the bride’s relatives to treat her kindly, he simply declares,—‘This woman is my wedded wife,’ marking her head at the same time with red lead. The bride replies,—‘This man is my husband.’ Incestuous marriages are believed to be common among them. It is said that all Bediyas, whether professing Hinduism or Muhammadanism, worship Kâli. Like the gypsies, they never go to court. Their chiefs (sardârs) have supreme power, and manage their affairs with the help of tribal councils (panchâyat). The punishments are fine, stripes with a shoe, expulsion from caste. The fines are spent in liquor. The chief is generally hereditary, and he is invested with authority over his clansmen, wherever they may be located. This is possible, as the Bediya, though a vagrant, is much attached to his birthplace, and often returns there.”

The Beriyas of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh. 3. The Beriyas of these Provinces are in a much more degraded condition than their brethren in Bengal. At the last Census they recorded themselves under three main sub-castes—Chauhân and Raghubansi, the titles of well known Râjput sub-divisions, and Kâmchor or “loafers.” But in the Central Duâb, like so many of the tribes of the same social rank, they pretend to have seven sub-castes. By one enumeration these are given as Khâlkhur, Chhâhari, Bhains, Gunnar, Nâritor, Rattu, and Kachhâr. Another list adds Mahish. The complete returns show 250 sections of the Hindu, and 12 of the Muhammadan branch. These are of the usual type, many taken from the names of existing castes, such as Bais, Banya, Bangâli, Chauhân, Chhatri, Gaur, Ghosiya, Janwâr, Kachhwâha, Kânhpuriya, Raghubansi, Râwat, Teli, and Thâkur; others of local origin like Amrapuriya, Baiswâri, Bhadauriya, Deswâl, Jaiswâr, Mainpuriya, Multânwâri; others again common to them and similar vagrant and prostitute tribes, such as Brijbâsi, Dhânuk, Gandharb, Gidhmâr (“kite-killers”), Jangali, Kuchbandhiya, Kapariya, Karnâtaki, Nat, Paturiya, Râjnat, and Tawâif. They believe themselves indigenous in the Central Duâb, and profess to have some unexplained connection, like their kinsmen the [245]Hâbûras, with the old ruined city of Nohkhera, in the north of Pargana Jalesar, in the Etah District. All the camps (gol) which frequent that part of the country meet there during the rainy season, and hold tribal councils at which marriages and all matters affecting the caste are settled. Regular marriages seldom occur among them, because nearly all the girls are reserved for prostitution, and the men keep concubines drawn from any fairly respectable caste. So far is this the rule, that in Farrukhâbâd, it is alleged that if a man marry a girl of the tribe, he is put out of caste; and in Etâwah, if a man marry a girl who has been prostituted, he is obliged to pay a fine to the tribal council. This is a good example of what Sir John Lubbock126 calls “Communal marriage.” “In many cases,” he says, “the exclusive possession of a wife could only be legally acquired by a temporary recognition of the pre-existing communal rights.” While, however, concubinage is a tribal institution, connections with a woman of the menial tribes, such as Chamâr, Bhangi, Kori, or Dhânuk, are prohibited; and a man offending in this way is expelled from the caste. The only ceremony in selecting a concubine is the presenting to her a suit of clothes, and eating with her and the clansmen. There seems, however, to be an increasing tendency towards the more respectable form of marriage, and some of them not only profess to have a law of exogamy to this extent that they will not give their boys to, or take a bride from, a family with which within memory they have been allied by marriage, but they also pretend to allow the levirate under the usual restrictions, and permit widow marriage. When they do marry in the caste continence is compulsory on the wife, and her husband can put her away for infidelity proved to the satisfaction of the tribal council.

Domestic ceremonies. 4. During pregnancy the mother generally vows that if she gets over her confinement in safety, she will have the head of the child shaved at some shrine. She is attended at delivery by the Chamârin midwife, and after that by the women of her family. All Beriyas do the chhathi or sixth day ceremony after delivery; some do the barahi or twelfth day rite as well, and if the child be a boy, feed the tribesmen. Adoption is common among them; usually a sister’s son [246]is adopted. There is no ceremony except the distribution of sweets to the kinsmen, and the formal announcement that the adoption has taken place. There is no initiation rite for males; but when a girl reaches puberty, and is prostituted for the first time, the money she earns is spent in drinking and in feeding the other unmarried girls of the tribe, while Satya Nârâyana is worshipped, and verses in honour of him are recited. In a marriage of a virgin girl of the caste, which is very unusual, they follow the orthodox form; when they get hold of some other woman or of a widow there is no ceremony except feeding the clansmen, and until this is done the husband cannot eat the food cooked by her.

5. The caste is in the intermediate stage between burial and cremation. In Farrukhâbâd they touch the left foot of the corpse with fire and then bury it. In Etâwah they cremate the dead and collect the ashes, which they put into an earthen pot, and then bury this in the ground, raising over it a small earthen platform. When they can afford it, they offer at this place some cakes in honour of the dead, which they subsequently consume themselves. They do not employ the Mahâbrâhman; all the death ceremonies are done by the sister’s son or son-in-law of the deceased. They have no regular srâddha; but once a year, on any convenient date, they offer up cakes in the name of their dead ancestors in general, and invite a few of the brethren to a feast.

Religion. 6. Their tribal deities are Devi, Kâliji, and Jwâlamukhi. Many of them also worship a deity called Sayyid, which they understand to represent Muhammad, the prophet. Others visit the shrine of Madâr Sâhib. They seem to depend more on ancestor worship than on any other form of belief. They hardly employ Brâhmans at all except for giving omens at marriages, and it is, of course, only the very lowest Brâhmans who serve them.

Occupation and social status. 7. The Beriya, as we have seen, supports himself to a large extent by prostituting his women. His women loaf about villages and procure information about valuable property for their male relations. He is a pilferer and petty thief, and will steal crops from fields and any uncared-for property which he can find lying about. He makes almost a speciality of stealing the clothes and brass vessels of men who labour in the fields, and a camp of these people is such a pest in a neighbourhood that they would meet with short shrift from [247]the villagers if they were not protected by some landowners, who intrigue with their women, and by goldsmiths and others, who receive stolen property from them. They have also been known to commit more serious crime and attack camel carts and wedding parties at night. They usually begin the attack on a travelling party with a shower of stones, and if this fail to compel them to abandon their goods, they assail them with their bludgeons. In Farrukhâbâd the Gunnar sub-caste carry the regular Kanjar spud (khanti,) with which they dig out young jackals and pass them off as wolf cubs for the sake of the Government reward. They have a vague tradition that they were once Râjputs, and were forced to take to their present means of living by the Muhammadans after the siege of Chithor. But their appearance and physique certainly indicate that they are a branch of the Indian gypsy race, and closely allied to the Sânsiya and his kinsfolk. The women who are prostitutes salute with the word salâm; those who are married use Râm! Râm! When they take an oath they turn to the river and swear by mother Ganges. They are steady believers in the demoniacal theory of disease. When a person falls sick they call in a wizard (syâna), who smokes a huqqa, and with a few incoherent words waves a broom over the patient, and thus scares the ghost. When a patient is attacked by the Evil-eye, they put some thorns of the babûl (acacia arabica) in an earthen pot face downwards; then a shoe is waved over it, and they call out—“Evil glance! leave the sick man!” They eat mutton, goat’s flesh, and pork; not beef, fowls, fish, vermin, or the leavings of other people. But there is reason to believe that when in camps by themselves they are much more catholic in their diet. No respectable caste will eat from their hands, they will eat both kachchi and pakki from the hands of all but the very lowest menials.

Berwâr, Birwâr.—A Râjput sept found in the Districts of Ghâzipur, Azamgarh, and Faizâbâd. In Ghâzipur they say that they are emigrants from the neighbourhood of Delhi, and take their name from Bernagar, their leading village. They are supposed to have come under the auspices of the Narauliyas, whom they assisted to expel the Cheros.127 In Azamgarh they are said to be both Râjputs and Bhuînhârs, and not to rank high among either. Each set ignores the origin of, or any connection with, the other. The Bhuînhârs can only say that they came from the westward. They Chhatris say they are Tomars, and were led from Bernagar, near Delhi, to Azamgarh, by a chief named Garak Deo, who lived between 1393 and 1512 of the Sambat era (1536–1455 A.D.). In Faizâbâd they call themselves Bais of Dundiyakhera. The Chhatri and Bhuînhâr branches are of the same origin, as at marriages and other feasts they refuse to take from their hosts or offer to their guests broken cakes of pulse (bara). The origin of the custom is said to be that at a feast where a number of the Berwars had been invited by another clan, their treacherous hosts, on the pass-word bara khanda chalâo (khanda means “a sword” as well as “broken”), slaughtered the Birwârs. Their name is possibly connected with this custom.128 The Brâhman ancestor of the sept is said to have come from Kanauj; but its different [250]branches are not unanimous as to his name or pedigree, or how they came to Azamgarh.129

Bhadauriya.—An important sept of Râjputs who take their name from the village of Bhadâwar, near Ater, south of the Jumna. The eastern branch have some traditions which point to a Meo origin;130 but according to Sir H. M. Elliot131 they are a branch of the Chauhâns; but the Chauhâns are disposed to deny this relationship, now that for motives of convenience the two tribes have begun to intermarry. They are divided into the six clans of Athbhaiya, Kulhiya, Mainu, Taseli, Chandraseniya, and Râwat. He further remarks:—“The high claims which have been put forward in favour of the family are somewhat unreasonable, and were indeed entirely needless, as its respectability for many years past has been unquestionable. Bhatûla, or bread made from the grain of arhar, chana, and mûng, is notorious for its hardness, and is, therefore, seldom eaten by those who can afford to grow or purchase the better grains. It is said to have been the cause of the elevation of the Bhadauriyas, and the story, absurd as it may appear, is commonly believed in the neighbourhood of Bhadâwar, and is not denied by the Bhadauriyas themselves. One of the Bhadauriya chiefs, Gopâl Sinh, went to pay his respects to the King, Muhammad Shâh. The chief had very large eyes, so much so, as to attract the attention of the King, who asked him how he obtained them. The chief, who was a wit, replied that in his district nothing but arhar was grown, and that from the constant practice of straining at swallowing bhatûla, his eyes had nearly started out of his head. The King was pleased at his readiness, and bestowed upon him other Parganas in which he could grow the finer grains. The immediate cause of their aggrandisement is obscure, but it is as likely to have been a pair of large eyes as the capture of a fort. It is clear that their political importance lasted no longer than for a few years at the beginning of the last century; that their illustrious lineage even now invests them with consideration in the eyes of the surrounding Râjas, who allow the Bhadauriya to sit higher than themselves; who receive from him the investiture, or rather impress of the tilak, who confess that he alone can cover with grain the lingam at Batesar (the Râna of Gohag having tried twenty-one [251]maunds in vain); and that, though influential, they are not of that high importance which they would arrogate to themselves. It is to be feared also that they are much addicted to infanticide; so that when we take all these circumstances into consideration, there seems some reason to acknowledge that the indiscriminate bounty of the British Government might perhaps have been more worthily bestowed.” The last Census Returns give some colour to the supposition that infanticide prevails among them. There are 16,312 males to 12,715 females.

2. Of the clans above enumerated the Chandraseniya, Kulhiya, Athbhaiya, and Râwat marry girls of the Chauhân, Kachhwâha, Râthaur, Chandel, Sirnet, Panwâr, Gautam, Raghubansi, Gaharwâr, Tomar, and Gahlot septs. The Taseli intermarry with Râjputs of rank inferior to these. The high class Bhadauriyas give their daughters to the Chauhân, Kachhwâha, and Râthaur septs.