The tribes and castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, Volume 1 (of 4)

Chapter VI: Forms of Hindu Marriage (6)

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Bachgoti.—A sept of Râjputs. Their story is thus told:—“After the defeat of Prithivi Râj by Shahâbuddîn Ghori, some Chauhâns, under Baryâr Sinh and Kâns Râê, descendants of Chahir Deo, brother of Prithivi Râj, fled from Sambhalgarh, and wandering eastward, about 1248 A.D., settled at Jamwâwan, in the Sultânpur District. Even here, however, they felt themselves unsafe while they continued to bear the name of their proscribed race, so they deemed it prudent to adopt another, to which they were equally entitled, and which they might own with equal pride. If they belonged to the stock of their four-handed predecessor, they also belonged to the gotra of their creative saint. They accordingly adopted the device of concealing their lineal beneath their spiritual descent.” There has been some dispute as to whether they took their new name from Vatsa, who was the author of one of the hymns of the Rig Veda, and who was perhaps the same as the sage Vatsa, who, according to Manu, [169] “when attacked, as the son of a servile mother, by the fire which pervades the world, burned not a hair by reason of his perfect veracity,” or from the more celebrated Vasistha, who is the centre of a large cycle of Vedic and post-Vedic legend. The first theory is, however, the more probable of the two. A second version of this story is that Râna Sangat Deo, great-grandson of Chahir Deo, had twenty-one sons. Of these the youngest succeeded his father, when he married a bride of the Tomar sept, and of the house of Jila Patan. The other sons sought their fortunes in other parts. Baryâr Sinh and Kâns Râê went to Mainpuri, and there joined the army of Ala-ud-dîn Ghori then starting from that place on an expedition against the Bhars, and thus found their way into Oudh. Both these accounts concur in attributing the advent of the Bachgotis into Oudh to Muhammadan influence; but the one declares that they were driven before the invaders, and the other that they were led by them. It is in favour of the first that it leaves a space of fifty-five years between Prithivi Râja and Baryâr Sinh, and thus accords with the common belief that the latter was a descendant of a brother of the former; it also affords a possible explanation of the assumption of the name Bachgoti.

2. On the other hand there are grounds for casting doubt on the tale of Baryâr Sinh’s flight from Musalmân persecution. In the first place, there is a suspicious silence about the doings of Baryâr Sinh’s ancestors during the fifty-five years interval. Again, the independent legend of the Palwârs asserts that they settled in the Faizâbâd District in 1248 A.D., the very year that Baryâr Sinh is said to have come to Oudh, and yet there is no pretence that they rendered themselves particularly obnoxious to the Musalmâns. Nor were the Palwârs the only settlers contemporary with the Bachgoti; the twelfth century, if clan traditions be believed, witnessed numerous Kshatriya emigrations into Oudh, and it is impossible to conceive that they sought refuge from Muhammadan tyranny, for governors of that creed had been established in the Province since very soon after Prithivi Râja’s overthrow. Least of all, moreover, was the spot selected by Baryâr Sinh calculated to secure that end, for Jamwâwan lay within a mile or two of Kathot, which is said to have been made the head-quarters of a Musalmân officer simultaneously with the reduction of Sultânpur. On the whole it seems more probable that Baryâr Sinh was the friend of the Musalmâns rather than their foe. Shortly after his arrival at Jamwâwan he chanced one day to be leaving the village accompanied by his servant, a Kahâr, when the latter perceived a serpent on the ground with a wag-tail (Khanjarît) perched upon its hood, and, unfortunately for himself, drew his master’s attention to the fact. For the learned in such matters have pronounced this to be an infallible omen that the beholder will sooner or later wear a crown. And Baryâr Sinh, indignant that a menial should be thus exalted, killed the Kahâr, and informed his brother, Kâns Râê, who left him in disgust, and then Baryâr Sinh entered the service of Râm Deo, chief of the Bilkhariya Dikhits of Kot Bilkhâr, near Partâbgarh, and marrying his daughter, and killing his son, Dalpat Sâh, gained his dominions. [170]

3. According to Sir C. Elliott, [171] the Bachgotis were, up to the time of Tilok Chand, the premier Râjas of Oudh, and had been vested with the right of affirming the title of each new Râja by affixing the sacred mark (tilak) to his brow. The two most conspicuous chiefs of the tribe are the Râja of Kûrwar and the Dîwân of Hasanpur Bandhua. “The latter, notwithstanding his being a Musalmân, and hence called Khân-Zada, invests all the Râjas of Banaudha with the tilak. The Somabansi chief of Araur, the Bisen of Râmpur, the Kânhpuriya of Tiloi, and Bandhalgoti of Amethi, would not be considered entitled to the privileges exercised by their ancestors without receiving it from his hands.” [172]

4. In Sultânpur they are said to take brides from the Bilkhariya, Tashaiya, Chandauriya, Kath Bais, Bhâlê Sultân, Raghubansi, Gargbansi; and to give girls to the Tilokchandi Bais, Mainpuri Chauhâns, Sûrajbansis of Mahul, Gautams of Nagar, Bisens of Majhauli and Bandhalgoti. Their gotra is said to be Vatsa. In Jaunpur they take girls from the Raghubansi, Bais, Chaupat Khambh, Nikhumb, Dhanmast, Gautam, Gaharwâr, Panwâr, Chandel, Saunak, Drigbansi; and give them to the Kalhans, Sirnet, Gautam, Sûrajbansi, Rajwâr, Bisen, Kânhpuriya, Gaharwâr, Baghel, and Bais. In Azamgarh they take girls from the Chandel, Karmwâr, Kâkan, Birwâr, Râthaur, and Udmatiya, and give them to the Bais, Kausik, and Gautam.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE BACHGOTI RÂJPUTS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

Bâchhil; Bâchhal.—A sept of Râjputs who are by one account said to derive their name from the Hindi bâchhna, “to distribute.” According to General Cunningham [173] they claim descent from Râja Vena, whose son was Virât, the reputed founder of Baribhâr or Virâtkhera, and whom he believes to be the same as Vîra Varma of the inscriptions. By another extraordinary feat of folk etymology they are said to have been a branch of the Pâsis, and to have derived their name from taking refuge in a garden (bâgh). According to a writer in the Oudh Gazetteer [174] “they are a possible link from the hoariest traditions of Indian antiquity to a middle-age period, which has been fairly chronicled, and, lastly, to the complete annals of modern times. It is the more desirable to follow out the annals of this clan, first, because it is one of the very few in Oudh which does rightfully claim an antiquity equal to that of English noble families which came in with the Conqueror; and, second, because its surviving members, though respectable, are too poor to purchase false genealogies, and so humble in the social scale as to render a fictitious pedigree of no value. Consequently they now relate only the real traditions of their ancestors.” ... “In 992 A.D. a local chief, named Lâla, governed at Garh Gajana, or Ilahabâs, near Dewal. This place is 16 miles south-east of Pilibhît, on the banks of the Katni rivulet. In fact, all the capitals of the Bâchhil clan—Barkhar, Nigohi, Garh Gajana, Kâmp, on the Sârda—are within a few miles of each other: two in Shâhjahânpur, west of the Gûmti, and two in Kheri, east of the old river. We know nothing of Lâla or his race, except from the inscription which he caused to be cut, and the coins which are still to be found. The Bâchhils were an enterprising race in those days; they were Hindus in faith; they worshipped Vishnu under the boar avatâra; they had a coinage, both in silver and gold, many specimens of which have been found near their old capitals on the Katni. It seems, too, that their dynasty was of sufficient intelligence and energy to construct no less than two canals, about a hundred miles in length: one of them is still navigable, the other has somewhat silted up.”

2. General Cunningham says:—“It is admitted by every one that the Katehriyas succeeded the Bâchhils; but the Katehriyas themselves state that they did not settle in Katehar till A.D. 1174. Up to this date, therefore, the Bâchhil Râjas may be supposed to have possessed the dominant power in Eastern Rohilkhand, beyond the Râmganga; while Western Rohilkhand was held by the Bhidar, Guâla, and other tribes, from whom the Katehriyas profess to have wrested it. Gradually the Bâchhils must have retired before the Katehriyas, until they had lost all their territory west of the Deoha or Pilibhît river. Here they made a successful stand, and though frequently afterwards harried by the Muhammadans, they still managed to hold their small territory between the Deoha river and the primeval forests of Pilibhît. When hard pressed they escaped to the jungle, which still skirts their ancient possessions of Garh Ganjana, and Garh Khera. But their resistance was not always successful, as their descendants confess that some 300 or 400 years ago, when their capital, Nigohi, was taken by the King of Delhi, the twelve sons of Râja Udarana, or Aorana, were all put to death. The twelve cenotaphs of these princes are still shown at Nigohi. Shortly after this catastrophe, Chhavi Râna, the grandson of one of the murdered princes, fled to the Lakhi jungle, where he supported himself by plundering. But when orders were given to exterminate his band, he presented himself before the King of Delhi, and obtained the district of Nigohi as jâgîr. The gotrâchârya of the Bâchhil Râjputs declares them to be Chandravansis, and their high social position is attested by their daughters being taken in marriage by Chauhâns, Râthaurs, and Kachhwâhas. The race is even more widely spread than the Gangetic Bâchhils are aware of, as Abul Fazl records that the port of Arâmrâj, in the peninsula of Gujarât, is a very strong place, inhabited by the tribe of Bâchhil. Of the origin of the name nothing is known, but it is probably connected with bâchhna ‘to select or choose.’ The title of Chhindu, which is given in the inscription, is also utterly unknown to the people, and I can only guess that it may be the name of one of the early ancestors of the race.”

3. At the same time the traditions of some members of the sept do not bear out their claim to noble lineage. Thus, in Azamgarh, [175] they assert that they are the descendants of a Râjbhar. In Shâhjahânpur [176] they fix their emigration at the time of Jaychand, of Kanauj, and they possibly settled prior to all other Thâkur clans, except the Kâsib. In Bijnor they claim to be of Sombansi origin, and to have replaced the Gûjars. In Mathura, the Sisodiyas of impure origin, who are called Gaurua, are designated Bâchhal from the Bachhban at Sehi, where their Guru always resides. They say that they emigrated from Chithor 700 or 800 years ago, but more probably after Alâuddin’s famous siege in 1303 A.D. [177]

4. In Sîtapur the Bâchhals give brides to the Gaur and Tomar septs, and take girls from the Janwârs. In Kheri they marry their sons to girls of the Gaur, Nikumbh, Janwâr, Ahban, Pramâr, and Kâsib septs: and their daughters marry with the Râthaur, Bhadauriya, and Kachhwâha.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE BÂCHHAL RÂJPUTS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

==============+========+============+========
District. |Hindus. |Muhammadans.| Total.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~
Sahâranpur | ... | 10 | 10
Muzaffarnagar | 13 | ... | 13
Meerut | 125 | ... | 125
Bulandshahr | 1,680 | 102 | 1,782
Aligarh | 402 | ... | 402
Mathura | 1,701 | 215 | 1,916
Agra | 197 | 1 | 198
Farrukhâbâd | 643 | ... | 643
Mainpuri | 904 | ... | 904
Etâwah | 111 | ... | 111
Etah | 252 | ... | 252
Bareilly | 431 | ... | 431
Bijnor | 74 | ... | 74
Budâun | 2,341 | ... | 2,341
Morâdâbâd | 185 | ... | 185
Shâhjahânpur | 7,794 | 119 | 7,913
Pilibhît | 298 | ... | 298
Cawnpur | 28 | ... | 28
Fatehpur | 31 | ... | 31
Allahâbâd | 5 | 1 | 6
Jâlaun | 8 | ... | 8
Benares | 1 | ... | 1
Jaunpur | ... | 90 | 90
Tarâi | 6 | ... | 6
Gorakhpur | ... | 70 | 70
Lucknow | 205 | ... | 205
Unâo | 390 | ... | 390
Râê Bareli | 749 | 109 | 858
Sîtapur | 2,285 | 267 | 2,552
Hardoi | 1,287 | 30 | 1,317
Kheri | 1,496 | ... | 1,496
Faizâbâd | ... | 264 | 264
Gonda | 1 | ... | 1
Bahrâich | 382 | 22 | 404
Sultânpur | 129 | 1 | 130
Partâbgarh | 657 | 1 | 658
Bârabanki | 611 | 62 | 673
+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~
Total | 25,422 | 1,364 | 26,786
==============+========+============+========

Badhak; Badhik.—(Sans. Vadhaka, a murderer.)—A vagrant criminal tribe of whom the last census shows only a small number in Mathura and Pilibhît. But there can be little doubt that these returns are incorrect, or the present Badhiks have been classed in some other way. They appear to be closely allied to the Bâwariyas and Baheliyas. According to the earliest account of them by Mr. Shakespeare [178] they were originally outcastes of Musalmân as well as Hindu tribes, the majority, however, being Râjputs.

[The Gorakhpur Colony.] 2. Of the Gorakhpur colony Mr. D. T. Roberts writes in a note prepared for the recent Police Commission:—“The notorious dakaits known as Badhiks were suppressed like the Thags by the capture and imprisonment of all their leaders. This done, a colony of them was settled on waste land belonging to Government in the Gorakhpur District in 1844. They evinced for a long time the greatest repugnance to honest work, and even now a good portion of the lands held by them are sublet at higher rates to other castes. The larger proportion of their holdings are let at very low rates, but some land is taken up by them at the current rates of the neighbourhood. The net profits of the estate on which they are located are paid over to the family of the original dakait leader. Surveillance, which at one time may have been very strict, has been much relaxed of late years, but there is a constable or two posted over them; a register is kept, and they require permission from the Magistrate before they can leave the District. Dakaiti has long been given up by them, or rather was never resumed at the colony. In 1871 the Deputy Inspector-General of Police visited them, and found the colony in a very backward state. In consequence of his representations the District authorities began to take more interest in them, and they have been fairly well looked after since. The number then was 209, and the Deputy Inspector-General remarked:—“There is little doubt the tribe carries on thieving, but no cases for some time past have been brought home to them.” Twenty years later, it may be said, that they are not even suspected of thieving. Though not a very advanced or industrious community, they may now be instanced as a case of successful repression and reformation. Their number has not increased since 1871, and was, in 1890, 203 in all. One of their chief offences in the Gorakhpur colony used to be illicit manufacture of spirits.”

[Methods of crime.] 3. One of their specialities used to be disguising themselves as Brâhmans and Bairâgis and associating with pilgrims returning from the Ganges, for whom they used to perform mock religious ceremonies, and then stupefy with datûra or thorn apple, and rob. [179] Their special deity is Kâli, to whom they offer goats as the Bâwariyas do. They eat game and vermin, such as foxes, jackals, and lizards. They believe that the use of jackal meat fortifies them against the inclemencies of winter. [180] They were in the habit of making plundering expeditions, and before starting, shares in the expected booty were allotted, a special share being given to the widow and children of any person killed or dying during the expedition. A writer in the Asiatic Journal [181] states that after the sacrifice they used to pray, “If it be Thy will, O, God! and thine, O Kâli! to prosper our undertaking for the sake of the blind and the lame, the widow and the orphan, who depend on our exertions, vouchsafe, we pray thee, the cry of the female jackal on our right.” One of the most famous exploits of Badhik dakaits was the murder of Mr. Ravenscroft, the Collector of Cawnpur, of which Colonel Sleeman gives an account. [182]

4. There can be very little doubt that the tribe is of mixed origin, and is on the same grade as the Kanjars, Sânsiyas, and similar vagrants. It constitutes, in fact, a sort of Cave of Adullam for the reception of vagrants and bad characters of different tribes.

DISTRIBUTION OF BADHIKS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

Bâghbân.—(Persian, a gardener.)—A class of cultivators in the Kheri District who grow vegetables. They are practically the same caste as the Kâchhi (q.v.) and the Murâo. They claim to have three endogamous sub-castes—Kâchhi, Murâo, and Sâni, the last being derived from the Hindi sânna, to mix up, used in connection with their careful preparation of the soil. Their manners, customs, religion, etc., correspond in every way with those of the Kâchhis.

Baghel.—(Sans. Vyâghra, a tiger.)—A sept of Râjputs. Colonel Tod [183] calls them “the most conspicuous branch of the original Solankhi stock.” The traditional history of the sept has been written by Mahârâja Raghu Râj Sinh, of Rîwa, the most famous modern representative of them, in a book known as the Bhakt Mâla. From this it would appear that their original Guru was the famous Kabîr Dâs. He once went to Gujarât to make a pilgrimage to the Western Ocean. At that time Solankha Deva was the Râja there. He was a member of the Solankhi clan. As he was childless, he prayed to Kabîr to grant him offspring. The saint heard his prayer, and promised him two sons, one of whom would have the appearance of a tiger. This was Vyâghra Deva. The priests advised the Râja to throw his son into the ocean, as he was unlucky. He followed their advice; but when Kabîr heard of this he ordered the Râja to bring him back. He did so, and Kabîr announced that the sept would be called after his name. Vyâghra Deva was also childless; but he, too, was blessed with a son through the intercession of Kabîr. His name was Jay Sinh, and he, with the permission of his grandfather, Solankha Deva, collected an army and commenced a career of conquest. He marched to the banks of the Narbada, and occupied what was known as Gorha Desa, and married his son in the Bais family of Dundhiya Khera. His successors, Karan Sinh and Kesari Sinh, carried on his conquests, and the last overcame a Musalmân Nawâb, and occupied Gorakhpur. Then followed Malâr Sinh, Sârang Deva, and Bhîmal Deva. His son, Brahm Deva, came in contact with the Gaharwârs. His most powerful successor was Bîr Sinh, who is said to have had a hundred thousand horsemen. When he conquered Prayâg or Allahâbâd, the people called in the Musalmâns. The Emperor marched to Chitrakût, where the Râja met him. The Emperor asked him why he interfered with his people. He answered,—“The Kshatriya needs a place to live in. He troubles those who trouble him.” The Emperor was pleased with his bravery, and recognised his son, Bîr Bhân, as Râja. He gave him the blessing:—“Subdue twelve Râjas and live in Bandhugarh.” Bîr Sinh extended his conquests towards the south, and reached the Tons. He gained Ratanpur as dowry for his son from the Kachwâha Râja of that place. Bîr Sinh made over his kingdom to his son, Bîr Bhân, and retired to Prayâg, where he died. Thus the kingdom of Rîwa came into the hands of the present ruling family. General Cunningham [184] fixes the emigration of the Baghels to the upper valleys of the Son and Tons between 580 and 683 Sambat (523, 626 A.D.), where they succeeded the Chandels, Kalachûris, Chauhâns, Sengars, and Gonds. In Farrukhâbâd [185] they trace their origin to Mâdhogarh, and fix their settlement in the time of Jaya Chandra, of Kanauj, which is also the story as told by Abul Fazl. Their original head-quarters was at Anogi, in Pargana Kanauj, under Harhar Deva, and his son, Harbans. Their property was acquired during the conflict between the Nawâbs of Farrukhâbâd and Oudh, and the Marhattas, and their estates fell into two divisions, Tirwa and Thatiya. The latter Râj was confiscated early in the century owing to the opposition of Chhatar Sâl to the British.

2. They give their name to Baghel-khand or Rîwa. The name of their eponymous hero, Vyâghra Deva, is probably a comparatively recent tradition, and the title is possibly totemistic, as, according to Captain Forsyth, [186] they claim descent from a tiger, and protect it whenever they can.

3. Mr. Ricketts [187] gives a bad account of the tribe in Allahâbâd:—“The most notorious gang of dacoits, which for generations has infested the south of Allahâbâd, is of this clan; and this claim of consanguinity with the Mahârâja of Rîwa has ensured their constant protection in his territories; and certainly the savage nature of the prototype of their race has pervaded the acts of these noted robbers. Each of their feats has shown the extremes of craft, treachery, and the meanest cowardice. When armed and in numbers they have murdered the single and unarmed; they have beaten women and killed children.”

4. The Baghels, south of the Jumna, usually give brides to the Parihâr and Gaharwâr septs; and take wives from the Bais, Gautam, and Gaharwâr.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE BAGHEL RÂJPUTS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

Baheliya [188].—(Sans. Vyâdha, “one who pierces or wounds,” “a hunter.” Root, Vyâdh, “to pierce”).—A class of hunters and fowlers. The Purânik tradition is that the father of the tribe was a barber, and the mother an Ahîr of bad character. In Bengal, according to Mr. Risley, [189] “they insist on their title to be considered Dusâdhs, and in Bengal, at any rate, the Baheliya and Dusâdh eat and smoke together, and though they do not intermarry, behave generally as if they were branches of the same stock.” This does not seem to be the case in these Provinces, where they usually call themselves a sub-caste of Pâsis. Some Baheliyas in the western districts have a tradition that they are of Bhîl descent. They say that they came from Chitrakût, in Banda, under their ancestor, the famous Vâlmîki, and were named Baheliyas by Krishna at Mathura. The Aheriyas, as will be seen by their account of themselves given in the article on that caste, profess to be identical with the Baheliyas. They are probably a relic of some non-Aryan tribe, which still adheres in a great measure to the primitive occupation of hunting, bird trapping, and collecting jungle produce. The Mirzapur legend of their origin tells that Râm Chandra in his wanderings once came across a stag of golden colour which was really Marîcha, the Râkshasa, the minister of Râvana. Râm Chandra pursued the animal, which escaped. In his anger the hero rubbed his hands together, and out of the dirt (mail) thus produced created a man, whom he appointed his chief hunter. From him the tribe of Baheliyas are descended.

[Internal structure.] 2. The Census returns give as the main sub-castes the Pâsi, in Mirzapur; the Chandel and Sribâstab, in Gorakhpur; the Lagiya and Rukmaiya, of Gonda; the Chhatri and Sribâstab, of Bahrâich, and the Bhongiya, of Partâbgarh. The Baheliyas of the eastern districts name seven or really eight endogamous sub-castes—Baheliya; Chiryamâr or “bird-killers” (chirya = “a bird,” mârna = “to kill”); Karaul, whose speciality is said to be stalking animals under cover of a tame ox used as a decoy. Mr. Sherring [190] treats them as a separate caste and describes them as possessing five sub-castes:—Purabiya, or Eastern; Hazâri or Hajâri, “commanders of a thousand men;” [191] Uttariya, or “Northern;” Koireriya, who are connected with the Koeri tribe, and Turkiya, or the Muhammadan branch. All these sub-castes are endogamous. Next, among the Baheliya proper, come the Kotiha, who are said to derive their name from being attendants at some king’s palace (kot): the Bâjdhar or falconers (bâz = “a falcon,” dharna = “to hold”); the Turkiya, or Muhammadan branch, and the Sûrajbans or “descendants of the sun,” who say they take their name from their original settlement, a village called Sûrajpur Bahlela. To these are sometimes added the Maskâr or providers of meat (Mânskâra) or, as the word is sometimes pronounced, Miskâr, a corruption of Mîr Shikâr, “a chief huntsman.” All the Mirzapur Baheliyas speak of Oudh as their original habitat. The Oudh Baheliyas give three sub-castes which are endogamous—Raghubansi, Pasiya, and Karaul.

[Tribal council.] 3. Their tribal council (panchâyat) is presided over by a hereditary chairman known as Sakhi, “the person who gives testimony.” They, as usual, decide on cases of adultery, seduction, and breaches of caste rules regarding food, etc. Offences, when proved, are punished by a fine ranging from five rupees down to paying for the tobacco consumed by the clansmen at the meeting. Now-a-days the refreshment served round at the meetings of the council is what is called mirchwân, a mixture of bhang, chillies, sugar, and water. This has been recently substituted for liquor, either through some idea of teetotalism, or, as others say, on account of the poverty of the caste.

[Marriages rules.] 4. The sub-castes already named are endogamous, and they observe, in the eastern districts, the ordinary formula of exogamy, which prohibits marriage in one’s own family, or that of the maternal uncle or father’s sister, as long as relationship is remembered. In Oudh they will not give a bride to a family in which, within the memory of man, a son has been married. A man cannot have two sisters to wife at the same time, but he may marry one sister on the death of another. Sameness of occupation and the use of, or abstinence from, wine are carefully regarded in forming marriage connections. A man can take a second wife in the lifetime of the first wife provided the council give permission; but this is not usually granted unless she is barren or incapacitated by some disease from cohabitation. If an unmarried girl is detected in an intrigue, her parents are fined five rupees, and have to feast the clansmen. Girls are usually married at the age of seven or eight. The negotiations are conducted by a Brâhman and barber. Once concluded, no physical defect is a sufficient cause for the annulment of a marriage. Wives can be put away by order of the council for adultery; but if the paramour be a member of the tribe, the offence is usually condoned by a money fine. Widows can marry by sagâi, but such marriages are generally made with widowers. The only ceremony is eating with the relations of the woman and making her put on new clothes and jewelry provided by her future partner. On his return home with his bride he is obliged to feast his clansmen.

[Birth ceremonies.] 5. During pregnancy an old woman of the family waves a pice or a handful of grain round the head of the patient and vows to present an offering to a deified ghost called Kâlu Bîr, and Niman Parihâr, who is one of the quintette of the Pânchonpîr, and is supposed to have some special connection with the use of spirituous liquors. The woman is attended by the Chamâin midwife, who cuts the cord and buries it outside the house. At the entrance of the delivery room a fishing net, a branch of the thorny bel tree (Aegle marmelos) and the family pestle are placed to keep off malignant spirits; and a fire is kept lighting there during the period of impurity with the same object. They have the usual dread of menstrual impurity common to all these races. On the day her child is born the mother gets no food, except a mixture of ginger and coarse sugar mixed up in water. From the next day she receives her usual food. Those who have lost their children get the baby’s ears bored before it leaves the delivery room. On the sixth day is the Chhathi, when mother and child are bathed. From this time the place of the midwife is taken by the barber’s wife, who attends till the twelfth day, when the barahi ceremony is performed. The house is plastered and the earthen vessels replaced. The nails of the mother and all the family are cut, mother and child are bathed, and the clansmen are feasted on wine and cakes (pûri). When the mother first visits the well after her confinement she bows down to it and offers fried gram (ghughuri) on the platform, which she also marks with a little red lead, a practice which may be a survival of some form of sacrifice, human or animal. If the child is a boy the midwife receives four annas and two sers of grain: for a girl, two annas and the same amount of grain. They so far practise the couvade that the husband does not work on the day his child is born. The original motive has been forgotten, and the explanation given is that he does so to express his joy at his wife’s safe delivery. At the age of five or seven the child’s ears are bored, and this is considered an initiation into caste: after this the child must observe the caste regulations regarding food.

[Marriage ceremonies.] 6. The marriage ceremonies are of the ordinary low-caste type. A Brâhman is consulted as to whether the union is likely to be propitious (garna ganna). The betrothal is concluded by giving the bride’s father a rupee or less to clench the bargain. Baheliyas appear invariably to marry their brides by the dola form, in which the ceremonies are performed at the house of the bridegroom. Some eight days before the wedding the bride is brought over to the bridegroom’s house. Two or three days before the wedding day a pavilion (mânro) is erected, in the centre of which a ploughshare (haris), the stalk of a plantain tree and a bamboo are fixed. Under these are placed the family pestle and mortar and grindstone for spices. Besides these are placed a water jar (kalsa) covered with a saucer (parai) filled with barley and decorated with lumps of cowdung and splashes of red lead. The same evening the matmangar ceremony is performed in the usual way. The day before the wedding is the bhatwân, when the clansmen are feasted. On the wedding day the bridegroom is bathed, his nails are pared, and he is dressed in a red coat with a yellow loin cloth. He then parades on horseback through the village, and on his return sits down with his clansmen. At night he is called into the house, and he and the bride are seated in a square in a courtyard, when the bride’s father washes their feet with water (pânw-pûja). The Brâhman then recites the verses (mantra), and the pair worship Gauri and Ganesa. The bride’s father, then taking some kusa grass and water, gives his daughter to the bridegroom (kanyâdân). He next applies red lead to the parting of her hair: their clothes are knotted together, and they move five times round the centre pole of the pavilion, while parched maize is thrown over them (lawa parachhan). The pair go into the retiring room (kohabar), where his brother-in law’s wife (sarhaj) plays jokes on the bridegroom by sitting on his back and refusing to release him until she receives a present. A lighted lamp with two wicks is placed there, and the bridegroom joins the two wicks together as an emblem of union with the bride. Next follows a feast to the clansmen, who return next day. After the marriage is concluded Kâlu Bîr and Parihâr are worshipped. On the fourth day after the wedding, the bride and bridegroom, accompanied by the barber’s wife, go to a neighbouring tank or stream and then drown the sacred water jar (kalsa) and the marriage festoons (bandanwâr). On their way home they worship the old fig trees of the village, which are supposed to be the abode of evil spirits, with an offering of water and washed rice (achchhat). Some offer also sweetmeats and grain. The binding part of the marriage ceremony is the washing of the bridegroom’s feet by the bride’s father, and the rubbing of red lead by the bridegroom on the parting of the bride’s hair.

[Death ceremonies.] 7. When a man is dying he is taken into the open air and gold, Ganges water, and leaves of the tulasi (ocymum sanctum) put into his mouth. If these things are not procurable, curds and coarse sugar are used. Four men carry the corpse to the cremation ground, where the body is washed, shrouded in new cloth, and the hair shaved. It is then laid on the pyre, with the legs turned towards the south. The next-of-kin walks round five times and burns the mouth with a torch of straw, and then fires the pyre. On their return home the mourners chew the leaves of the bitter Nîm tree, and pass their feet through the smoke of burning oil. Next day the Pandit gets the barber to hang a water jar from the branch of a pîpal tree. That day the clansmen are fed. The feast is known as “the boiled rice of milk” (dûdh ka bhât). The period of mourning is ten days, during which the chief mourner keeps apart, and always carries a water vessel (lota) and a knife to protect him from evil spirits. He cooks for himself, and, before eating, lays a little food outside the house for the use of the dead. He bathes daily and renews the water in the pot (ghant) hung up for the dead man. On the tenth day the clansmen assemble at a tank, shave, bathe, and throw the rice balls (pinda) in the water. The Mahâbrâhman receives the clothes and personal effects of the dead man, which he is supposed to pass on for his use in the next world. A feast to the clansmen concludes the period of mourning. They make the usual offerings to the dead (srâddha) in the first fortnight of Kuâr.

[Religion.] 8. Baheliyas are seldom regularly initiated into any Hindu sect. Their clan deities, in the Eastern Districts, are Kâlu Bîr and Parihâr, who are worshipped at the Kajari festival, in the month of Sâwan. To Kâlu Bîr a young pig is offered, and wine poured on the ground. Parihâr receives a sacrifice of fowls and cakes. In Oudh they worship Hardeo or Hardaur Lâla, the cholera godling. His offering consists of cakes, fruit, etc. To Kâlê Deo a goat is sacrificed, and a pig to Miyân. Men alone join in this worship. Parched grain and milk are offered to the household snake at the Nâgpanchami festival. They respect the Sun and Moon, bow to them, but do not give them any special worship. The ordinary low village Brâhmans act as their priests at domestic ceremonies. They consume the animals they sacrifice, except pigs, from which most abstain. They have the usual Hindu festivals—the Phagua, Kajari and Dasami.

[Social habits and customs.] 9. The women wear nose rings (nathiya), ear ornaments (karanphûl), necklaces, wristlets (dharkaua), arm ornaments (bâju), and anklets (pairi, kara). Like other Hindus they give two names to their children. They swear by the Ganges, on their own heads, and on those of their sons. They believe in magic and witchcraft, but do not practise these arts themselves. They will not kill a cow, monkey, or squirrel; they will not touch a Bhangi, Dom, Dhobi, or the wife of their younger brother or nephew. They drink liquor freely, and eat the flesh of fowls, goats, deer, and sheep, but not pork or beef. Men eat first, and women after them. They salute by the form pailagi or the ordinary salâm; Brâhmans and Râjputs drink water from their hands; Banyas eat pakki cooked by them; Chamârs and other menials eat kachchi.

[Occupation.] 10. Their occupation is hunting and trapping birds. Those who live by bird-catching are often known as Miskâr, said to be a corruption of mîr shikâr, “head huntsman,” or mâskâr, “eater of meat.” They have a most ingenious mode of trapping birds with a series of thin bamboos, like a fishing rod, on which bird-lime (lâsa) is smeared. This they push with great adroitness through the branches and leaves where a bird is sitting, and entangle his wings and feathers. They make excellent shikâris, and are noted for their skill in tracking game. Some work in the Mirzapur lac factories, and a few cultivate as non-occupancy tenants. They are a fine, active, manly race, but notoriously untrustworthy.

DISTRIBUTION OF BAHELIYAS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

===============+===========================================+============+====== | Hindus. |Muhammadans.|Total. District. +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+ | | Karaul. | Raghubansi.|Sûrajbansi.| Others.| | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~ Sahâranpur | ... | ... | ... | 2 | ... | 2 Muzaffarnagar | ... | ... | ... | ... | 229 | 229 Meerut | ... | ... | ... | 20 | 4 | 62 Bulandshahr | ... | ... | ... | 38 | 12 | 50 Mathura | ... | ... | ... | 199 | 12 | 211 Agra | 354 | 80 | ... | 131 | ... | 565 Farrukhâbâd | 1,279 | 1,149 | ... | 655 | 21 | 3,104 Mainpuri | 753 | 414 | ... | 403 | 10 | 1,580 Etâwah | 325 | 630 | ... | 332 | 1 | 1,288 Etah | ... | 247 | ... | 47 | ... | 294 Bareilly | ... | ... | ... | 41 | 232 | 273 Bijnor | ... | ... | ... | 31 | ... | 31 Morâdâbâd | ... | ... | ... | 53 | 7 | 60 Shâhjahânpur | 251 | 2,108 | ... | 712 | ... | 3,071 Pilibhît | ... | 870 | ... | 132 | 116 | 1,118 Cawnpur | 2,482 | 33 | 5 | 456 | ... | 2,976 Fatehpur | 1 | ... | 132 | 162 | ... | 295 Bânda | ... | ... | 24 | 86 | ... | 110 Allahâbâd | 25 | 1 | 355 | 912 | 33 | 1,326 Jhânsi | ... | ... | 4 | 40 | ... | 44 Jâlaun | ... | ... | ... | 36 | ... | 36 Lalitpur | ... | ... | ... | 17 | ... | 17 Benares | 16 | ... | ... | 541 | 20 | 577 Mirzâpur | ... | ... | ... | 1,152 | 4 | 1,156 Jaunpur | ... | ... | ... | 322 | ... | 322 Ghâzipur | 11 | ... | ... | 80 | ... | 91 Ballia | ... | ... | ... | 1 | ... | 1 Gorakhpur | 2 | ... | 223 | 1,222 | 2 | 1,449 Basti | ... | 56 | 422 | ... | 205 | 683 Azamgarh | ... | ... | 30 | 256 | ... | 286 Tarâi | ... | ... | ... | 11 | 100 | 111 Lucknow | 19 | ... | 226 | 501 | 176 | 922 Unâo | ... | ... | ... | 151 | 143 | 294 Râê Bareli | ... | ... | ... | 524 | ... | 524 Sîtapur | ... | ... | 31 | 866 | 18 | 915 Hardoi | ... | ... | 203 | 136 | ... | 339 Kheri | ... | ... | ... | 617 | ... | 617 Faizâbâd | ... | ... | 923 | 408 | ... | 1,331 Gonda | 4 | ... | 86 | 956 | 171 | 1,217 Bahrâich | 44 | ... | 615 | 1,310 | 106 | 2,075 Sultânpur | ... | ... | 571 | 582 | ... | 1,153 Partâbgarh | ... | ... | 1,186 | 1,264 | ... | 2,450 Bârabanki | ... | ... | 262 | 237 | ... | 499 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~~~~~~~+~~~~~~ Total | 5,566 | 5,588 | 5,298 | 15,642 | 1,660 |33,754 ===============+=========+============+===========+========+============+======

Baidguâr.—A small Muhammadan caste shown at the last Census only in Morâdâbâd (173) and Pilibhît (247). The information obtained about them is not very precise; but there can be little doubt that they are an off-shoot of the Baid Banjâras. It is said that formerly the Baid followed the occupation of carrying grain on pack animals: while the Guâr used to make hemp matting (tât), and tend cattle. Since their conversion to Islâm they are known collectively as Baidguâr, but the two divisions do not intermarry. The Census returns give their sections as Baghâri, Chauhân, Mahrora, Nahar, Sadîqi, Shaikh, and Tomar.

Bairâgi.—(Sans. Vairâgya, “freedom from passion.”)—A term applied to a sect of Hindu ascetics, which is often used in rather a vague sense. On this sect Mr. Maclagan writes [192]:—“The worship of Râma and Krishna is said to be of comparatively recent date; and Professor Wilson points out that in the Sankara Vijaya, published by a pupil of Sankara Achârya, the religious leader who is supposed to have lived in the ninth or tenth century, no mention whatever is made of Râma or Krishna, or Lakshmana or Hanumân. The popularity of this particular form of worship is supposed to date from the time of the spread of the Râjput power, which followed the overthrow of the Buddhist dynasties. The various orders who attach themselves to the worship of Râma and Krishna are generally known as Bairâgis. The appearance of these orders dates from the period at which the worship of Râma and Krishna appears to have been in the ascendant, and though primarily they have their origin in the Dakkhin, their strength is, and has been, mainly in the North-West Provinces, where the worship of Râma and Krishna has always been strongest.

“The history of the Bairâgis commences with Ramânuja, who taught in the south of India, and who is supposed to have lived in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. But it is not till the time of Râmanand, that is until the end of the fourteenth century, that the sect was in any way powerful or important in Northern India; and, indeed, it is only to the followers of Râmanand or his contemporaries that the term Bairâgi is properly applied. The split occasioned by the secession of Râmanand was, like most of the movements in modern Hinduism, a revulsion of the more liberal Northern thinkers against the stricter doctrines of Southern Hindustân. The sect founded by Râmanand was, nominally at least, open to all castes, whereas previous to his time Brâhmans and Kshatriyas alone were admitted, and many of his followers, who founded important schools of doctrine, were men of the humbler classes. The movement started by Râmanand was essentially popular, and the books published by his adherents were written in the tongue of the people, no longer in Sanskrit, but in Hindi—a departure which has been very far-reaching in its results, and which has led in the Panjâb to a new scripture, and a new national religion of a very clear and vigorous type.”

[Divisions of the Bairâgis.] 2. At the last Census in these Provinces the Bairâgis were classed in three great sub-divisions—Mâdhavachârya, Nimâwat, and Râmanandi. On this Mr. Maclagan writes:—“The Bairâgis have, however, been so far outdone by the newer sects which have sprung from the original stock, that they may be now looked upon as representing orthodox Hinduism, in contrast to the more independent schools of thought. As a rule they venerate both Krishna and Râma, but there are sections of them which pay more reverence to the one, and others that pay more reverence to the other. There are always supposed to have been four sections of Bairâgis, but it appears a little uncertain what the four sections are. There are at least four enumerations:—

“(a) Râmanandi; Nîmanandi; Vishnuswâmi; Mâdhavachârya.
“(b) Ramânuja; Mâdhavachârya; Vishnuswâmi; Nimikharakswâmi.
“(c) Râmanandi; Nimânuja; Mâdhavachârya; Vallabhachârya.
“(d) Râmanandi; Biganandi; Mâdhavachârya; Vishnuswâmi.

“In the Panjâb there are practically two main sections only, namely, the Râmanandi and Nîmanandi, of whom the former are more specially addicted to the worship of Râma, and the latter to that of Krishna. They both hold a great feast on the death of a fellow devotee, and also on the Râmnaumi, the day of the incarnation of Râmchandra, and on the eighth day of Bhâdon, the incarnation day of Krishna. But the Râmanandis study the Râmâyana, and look on Ajudhya and Râmnâth as places of pilgrimage, while the Nîmanandis study the books relating to Krishna, and consider Mathura, Brindâban and Dwârikanâth to be sacred places. The forehead marks of the Râmanandis are in the form of a trident, of which the two outer prongs are white, and the central one white or red; while those of the Nîmanandis are two-forked only, and entirely in white. The shape of the latter emblem is said to be derived from the figures of the Narasinha Avatâra, and the Nîmanandis are stated to be special worshippers of this incarnation.”

3. In these Provinces, according to one authority, [193] the four primary orders of the Bairâgis are Ramânuji or Sri Vaishnava, Nîmâvat, or Nimbârak, Vishnuswâmi and Mâdhavachârya; each of these orders is called a samprâdaya or sect, and all four mesh together. Of the Sri Vaishnava Mr. Growse [194] writes:—“The most ancient and respectable of the four reformed Vaishnava communities is based on the teaching of Ramânuja, who flourished in the eleventh or twelfth century A.D. Their sectarial mark is two white perpendicular streaks down the forehead, joined by a cross line at the root of the nose, with a streak of red between. Their chief dogma, called Vasisthadwaita, is the assertion that Vishnu, the one Supreme God, though invisible as cause, is as effect visible in a secondary form in material creation. They differ in one marked respect from the mass of the people at Brindâban,—in that they refuse to recognise Râdhâ as an object of religious adoration. In this they are in complete accord with all the older authorities, which either totally ignore her existence, or regard her simply as Krishna’s mistress, and Rukminî as his wife. Their formula of initiation (mantra) is said to be Om Râmâya namah, i.e., “Om! Reverence to Râma!” This sect (sampradâya) is divided into two sects, the Tenkalai and the Vadakalai. [195] They differ in two points of doctrine, which, however, are considered of much less importance than what seems to outsiders a very trivial matter, viz., a slight variation in the way of making the sectarial mark on the forehead. The followers of the Tenkalai extend its middle line a little down the nose itself, while the Vadakalai terminate it exactly at the bridge. The doctrinal points of difference are as follows:—The Tenkalai maintain that the female energy of the godhead, though divine, is still a finite creature that serves only as a mediator or minister (parushakâra) to introduce the soul into the presence of the Deity; while the Vadakalai regard it as infinite and uncreated, and in itself a means (upâya) by which salvation can be assured. The second point of difference is parallel to the controversy between the Calvinists and Armenians in the Christian Church. The Vadakalai, with the latter, insist on the concomitance of the human will in the work of salvation, and represent that the soul lays hold of God as a young monkey which grasps its mother in order to be conveyed to a place of safety. The Tenkalai, on the contrary, maintain the irresistibility of divine grace and the utter helplessness of the soul till it is seized and carried off by its mother like a kitten to be conveyed to a place of safety. From these two curious but apt illustrations the one doctrine is known as markata kishora nyâya, the other, as marjala kishora nyâya, the “young monkey theory,” or the “kitten theory.”

[The Nimbârak sect.] 4. Of the Nimbârak Mr. Growse [196] writes:—“The word means ‘the sun in a nîm tree,’ a curious designation which is explained as follows:—The founder of the sect, an ascetic, by name Bhaskarachârya, had invited a Bairâgi to dine with him, but unfortunately delayed to fetch his guest until after sunset. Now the holy man was forbidden by the rules of his order to eat except in the daytime, and was greatly afraid that he would be compelled to practise an unwilling abstinence; but at the solicitation of his host the Sun God, Sûraj Nârâyan, descended from the Nîm tree, under which the repast was spread, and continued beaming upon them until the claims of hunger were fully satisfied. Thenceforth the saint was known by the name of Nîmbarka or Nimaditya. Their doctrines, so far as they are known, are of a very enlightened character. Thus their doctrine of salvation by faith is thought by many scholars to have been directly derived from the Gospel; while another article in their creed, which is less known but is equally striking in its divergence from ordinary Hindu sentiment, is the continuance of conscious individual existence in a future world, when the highest reward of the good will be not extinction, but in the enjoyment of the visible presence of the divinity whom they have served while on earth: a state, therefore, absolutely identical with heaven, as our theologists define it. The one infinite and invisible God, who is the only real existence, is, they affirm, the only proper object of man’s devout contemplation. But as the incomprehensible is utterly beyond the reach of human faculties, He is partially manifested for our behoof in the book of Creation, in which natural objects are the letters of the universal alphabet, and express the sentiments of the Divine Author. A printed page, however, conveys no meaning to any one but a scholar, and is liable to be misunderstood even by him; so, too, with the book of the world. And thus it matters little whether Râdhâ and Krishna were ever real personages, the mysteries of divine love which they symbolise remain though the symbols disappear.”

DISTRIBUTION OF THE BAIRÂGIS ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS OF 1891.

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The tribes and castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, Volume 1 (of 4)Chapter VI: Forms of Hindu Marriage (6)

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