The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume I (of IV)

R >> R.V. Russell >> The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume I (of IV)

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_Betala_.--(Goblin.) One of the 1444 sections of Oswal Bania.

_Bhadauria_.--(From Bhadawar in Gwalior State.) A clan of Rajputs. A
clan of Dangi in Saugor from whom Rajputs take daughters in marriage,
but do not give daughters to them. A surname of Sanadhia Brahman.

_Bhadonia_.--Subcaste of Dangi.

_Bhadoria_.--(A drum-beater.) Subcaste of Chamar.

_Bhadri_, _Bhaddari_.--A synonym for Joshi, having a derogatory sense,
as of one who begs with deceit or fraud.

_Bhadune_.--(From the month Bhadon.) A section of Kalar.

_Bhagat_.--(Devotee.) A section of Ahir or Gaoli, Barai and Panwar
Rajput.

_Bhains-Mara_.--(Killer of the buffalo.) A section of Kanjar.

_Bhainsa_.--(Buffalo.) A section of Chamar, Dhanwar, Ganda, Kawar,
Kanjar, Mali, Panka and Rawat (Ahir).

_Bhairon_.--(The god Bhairon.) A section of Panwar Rajput.

_Bhaiya_.--(Brother.) One of the 72 1/2 sections of Maheshri Bania.

_Bhala_.--(Spear.) One of the 72 1/2 sections of Maheshri Bania.

_Bhaldar_.--(A spear-man.) A class of Dahaits, who have commonly been
employed as village watchmen.

_Bhale Sultan_.--(Lords of the spear.) A clan of Rajputs.

_Bhamti_, _Bhamtia_.--Synonyms of Bhamta.

_Bhanare_.--Named after the town of Bhandara in the Central
Provinces. Subcaste of Dhimar.

_Bhand_, _Bhanr_. [423]--A small caste of story-tellers and
buffoons. The name is derived from the Sanskrit Bhanda, a jester,
and the caste are also known as Naqqal or actor. Only a trifling
number of Bhands are shown by the census as belonging to the Central
Provinces. Mr. Crooke remarks: "The Bhand is sometimes employed in
the courts of Rajas and native gentlemen of rank, where he amuses
the company at entertainments with buffoonery and a burlesque
of European and native manners, much of which is of a very coarse
nature. The Bhand is quite separate from and of a lower professional
rank than the Bahrupia. The bulk of the caste are Muhammadans, but
they have exogamous sections, some of which, as Kaithela (Kayasth),
Bamhaniya (Brahman), Gujartha (Gujar), Nonela (Lunia), and so on, are
derived from those of Hindu castes, and indicate that the caste is a
heterogeneous community recruited from different sources. There are
two recognised endogamous subcastes--the Chenr, which seems to mean
little (Hindi, _Chenra_), and the Kashmiri. The former trace their
origin to the time of Tamarlane, who, on the death of his son, gave
himself over to mourning for twelve years. Then one Sayyid Hasan,
a courtier of the Emperor, composed a humorous poem in Arabic,
which gained him the title of Bhanr. Sayyid Hasan is regarded as
the founder of the caste. Though he was a Sayyid the present Bhanrs
are either Shaikhs or Mughals; and the difference of faith, Sunni
and Shiah, is a bar to intermarriage. The Kashmiri Bhanrs are said
to be of quite recent origin, having been invited from Kashmir by
Nasir-ud-Din Haidar, king of Oudh." The Bhands perform their marriages
by the Nikah form, in which a Kazi officiates. In virtue of being
Muhammadans they abstain from pork and liquor. Dr. Buchanan [424]
quaintly described them as "Impudent fellows, who make long faces,
squeak like pigs, bark like dogs, and perform many other ludicrous
feats. They also dance and sing, mimicking and turning into ridicule
the dancing boys and girls, on whom they likewise pass many jokes,
and are employed on great occasions." The Bhand, in fact, seems to
correspond very nearly to the court jester of the Middle Ages.

_Bhandari_.--(A barber, also a cook in the Uriya country.) A synonym
for Nai. A subcaste of Gondhali. A section of Oswal Bania and
Halba. Title of the deputies of the chief _guru_ of the Satnami sect.

_Bhangi_.--(Hemp-smoker.) Synonym of Mehtar.

_Bhanr_.--Synonym of Bhand, a story-teller.

_Bhanwar_.--(A bee, also honey.) A section of Gadaria and Kawar.

_Bhaosar_.--Synonym of Chhipa.

_Bharadwaj_.--(A skylark. Name of a great Brahman Rishi or saint.) One
of the common eponymous sections of Brahmans. Also a section of Joshi,
Lohar, Prabhu, Sunar, and of several clans of Rajputs.

_Bharewa_.--(From _bharat_, a mixture of copper and lead.) A group
of brass or bell-metal workers classed with the Kasar caste, but of
lower social standing than the Kasars. A subcaste of Sunar in Raipur.

_Bhargava_.--(Born of Bhrigu Rishi.) A subcaste of Kanaujia Brahmans. A
section of Maratha Brahmans. Bhargava Dhusar is a subcaste of
Bania. See Bania-Dhusar.

_Bharia_.--(From the Bhar tribe.) A tribe. A subcaste of Baiga in
Mandla, and of Kol.

_Bharia-Bhumia_.--Synonym of Bharia.

_Bharotia_ or _Mudia_.--(Shaven.) Subcaste of Baiga, also of Ahir.

_Bharthi_.--Name of one of the ten orders of Gosains.

_Bhatia_.--A commercial caste of Sind and Gujarat, a few of whom
settle temporarily in the Central Provinces. Sir D. Ibbetson writes
of them: [425] "The Bhatias are a class of Rajputs, originally
coming from Bhatner, Jaisalmer and the Rajputana desert, who have
taken to domestic pursuits. The name would seem to show that they
were Bhatis (called Bhatti in the Punjab); but be that as it may,
their Rajput origin seems to be unquestioned. They stand distinctly
below the Khatri, and perhaps below the Arora, and are for the most
part engaged in petty shopkeeping, though the Bhatias of Dera Ismail
Khan are described as belonging to a widely-spread and enterprising
mercantile community. They are very strict Hindus, far more so than
the other trading classes of the western Punjab; and eschew meat and
liquor. They do not practise widow-marriage."

Mr. Crooke's account [426] leaves little doubt that the Bhatias are a
branch of the Bhatti or Yaduvansi Rajputs of Jaisalmer who have gone
into trade; and Colonel Tod expresses the same view: "The Bhattiah is
also one of the equestrian order converted into the commercial, and
the exchange has been to his advantage. His habits are like those of
the Arora, next to whom he ranks as to activity and wealth." [427] "The
chief occupation of the Bhatias," Mr. Crooke states, "is moneylending,
and to this they add trade of all kinds, agriculture, landholding and
Government service. Many of them go on expeditions to Arabia, Kabul,
Bokhara and other distant places of business. Many in Bombay carry
on trade with Zanzibar, Java and the Malay Peninsula."

_Bhatnagar_.--A subcaste of Kayasth.

_Bhatpagar_.--(Wage of rice.) A section of Katia.

_Bhikshakunti_.--(_Bhiksha_, begging; _kunti_, lame.) A subcaste of
Kapewar who are the Bhats or bards of the caste.

_Bhil_.--A tribe. A subcaste of Pardhi.

_Bhilaophod_.--(Those who extract oil from the _bhilawa_ nut,
_Semecarpus anacardium_.) Subcaste of Kol.

_Bhilsaiyan_, _Bhilsia_, _Bhilasia_.--(From Bhilsa, a town in Gwalior
State.) A section and surname of Jijhotia Brahmans. A section of
Purania Sunar and of Rathor Teli and Teli.

_Bhima_.--A small caste belonging to the Mandla and Seoni
Districts. They are musicians of the Gond tribe and dance and beg
at their weddings. The caste are an offshoot of the Gonds, their
exogamous septs having Gond names, as Marabi, Markam, Dhurwa, Parteti,
Tekam and so on; but they now marry among themselves. They worship
the Gond god, Bura Deo, their own elders serving as priests. At
their performances the men play and dance, wearing hollow anklets
of metal with little balls of iron inside to make them tinkle. The
women are dressed like Hindu women and dance without ornaments. Their
instrument is called Tuma or gourd. It consists of a hollow piece of
bamboo fixed horizontally over a gourd. Over the bamboo a string is
stretched secured to a peg at one end and passing over a bridge at the
other. Little knobs of wax are made on the bamboo so that the string
touches them during its vibrations. The gourd acts as a sounding-board.

_Bhogta_.--Subcaste of Khairwar.

_Bhoi_.--(One who carries litters or palanquins.) Synonym of Dhimar
and Kahar. A title or honorific name for Gonds and one by which they
are often known. See article Kahar. A section of Binjhal.

_Bhoir_.--Synonym for Bhoyar.

_Bhojni_.--Subcaste of Chitrakathi. They serve the food at marriage
and other ceremonies.

_Bholia_.--(From _bhulna_, to forget.) Synonym of Bhulia.

_Bhona_.--A small caste of labourers in the Mandla District. They are
practically all employed by the local Pansaris (Barai) or _pan_-growers
in tending their _barejas_ or betel-vine gardens. There is some
ground for supposing that the Bhonas are an offshoot of the Bharia or
Bharia-Bhumia tribe of Jubbulpore, which is itself derived from the
Bhars. One of the sections of the Bhonas is named after the vulture,
and at their weddings a man of this section catches a young chicken
and bites off the head in imitation of a vulture.

_Bhondih_.--(From _bhond_, dung-beetle.) A section of Ahir.

_Bhonsla_.--A clan of Marathas to which the Rajas of Nagpur belong.

_Bhope_ or _Bhoall_.--Subcaste of Manbhao.

_Bhoriya_.--Synonym of Bhulia.

_Bhoyar_.--A caste. A subcaste of Koshti and Marar.

_Bhudes_.--(The gods on earth.) Title of Brahmans.

_Bhuinhar_.--Name of a landholding caste in Benares and Bengal who
claim to be Brahmans or Rajputs. They are also known as Babhan. A title
of the Bhuiya tribe. See article Bhuiya. A title of the Bhaina tribe.

_Bhumia_.--(Born from the land, or aboriginal.) A title of the Bharia
tribe in Jubbulpore, also a title of Baiga and Korku. A synonym of
Bhuiya. A subdivision of Gond. A section of Kurmi.

_Bhura_.--(Grey.) One of the sections of Oswal Bania. A proper name.

_Bhusar_.--(Lord of the earth.) A title of Brahman.

_Bhusarjin_.--(From _bhusa_, the chaff of wheat.) Subcaste of Banjara.

_Bhuskate_.--(From _bhusa_, fodder, one who supplies fodder.) A
family name.

_Bhuta_.--A subtribe of Gond in Betul, the same as Koilabhuta. They
are said to be of immoral character.

_Biar_.--Synonym of Bayar.

_Bichhuwa_, _Bichhi_.--(From _bichhu_, scorpion.) A section of Dhobi
and Kawar.

_Bidur_.--Synonym of the Vidur caste.

_Biloria_.--(From _bilori_, marble stone.) A section of Chhipa.

_Bilwar_.--Synonym of Belwar, a carrier and cattle-dealer.

_Bind_.--A large non-Aryan caste of Bihar and the United Provinces, of
which 380 persons were returned in 1911. Sir H. Risley says of them:
[428] "They are a tribe employed in agriculture, earthwork, fishing,
hunting, making saltpetre and collecting indigenous drugs. Traditions
current among the caste profess to trace their origin to the Vindhya
hills, and one of these legends tells how a traveller, passing
by the foot of the hills, heard a strange flute-like sound coming
out of a clump of bamboos. He cut a shoot and took from it a fleshy
substance which afterwards grew into a man, the supposed ancestor of
the Binds. Another story says that the Binds and Nunias were formerly
all Binds and that the present Nunias are the descendants of a Bind
who consented to dig a grave for a Muhammadan king and was outcasted
for doing so." A third legend tells how in the beginning of all things
Mahadeo made a lump of earth and endowed it with life. The creature
thus produced asked Mahadeo what he should eat. The god pointed to
a tank and told him to eat the fish in it and the wild rice which
grew near the banks. Mr. Crooke [429] says that they use fish largely
except in the fortnight (Pitripaksh) sacred to the dead in the month of
Kunwar, and Sir H. Risley notes that after the rice harvest the Binds
wander about the country digging up the stores of rice accumulated
by field rats in their burrows. From four to six pounds of grain
are usually found, but even this quantity is sometimes exceeded. The
Binds also feast on the rats, but they deny this, saying that to do
so would be to their own injury, as a reduction of the next year's
find of grain would thus be caused.

_Binjhal_.--Synonym of Binjhwar.

_Binjhwar_.--A caste derived from the Baiga tribe. A subtribe of
Baiga and Gond. A subcaste of Gowari.

_Birchheya_.--(A dweller in the forest.) Subcaste of Ghosi.

_Birchkia_.--(From _birchka_, a tree.) A subcaste of Ghosi.

_Birhor._--A small Kolarian tribe of whom about 150 persons were
returned in 1911 from the Chota Nagpur States. The name means a dweller
in the forest. Sir H. Risley states that the Birhors live in tiny
huts made of branches of trees and leaves, and eke out a miserable
living by snaring hares and monkeys, and collecting jungle products,
especially the bark of the _chob_ creeper, [430] from which a coarse
kind of rope is made. They are great adepts at ensnaring monkeys and
other small animals, and sell them alive or eat them. Colonel Dalton
described them as, [431] "A small, dirty, miserable-looking race,
who have the credit of devouring their parents, and when I taxed them
with it they did not deny that such a custom had once obtained among
them. But they declared they never shortened lives to provide such
feasts and shrank with horror from the idea of any bodies but those of
their own blood-relatives being served up to them." It would appear
that this custom may be partly ceremonial, and have some object,
such as ensuring that the dead person should be born again in the
family or that the survivors should not be haunted by his ghost. It
has been recorded of the Bhunjias that they ate a small part of the
flesh of their dead parents. [432] Colonel Dalton considered the
Birhors to be a branch of the Kharia tribe, and this is borne out
by Dr. Grierson's statement that the specimen of the Birhor dialect
returned from the Jashpur State was really Kharia. [433] Elsewhere
the Birhor dialect resembles Mundari.

_Birjhia, Birjia._ (One who practises _bewar_ or shifting cultivation
in a forest.) Subcaste of Binjhwar, Baiga and Korwa.

_Birkhandia._--From Birkhand (Sand of heroes), a name for Rajputana. A
section of Teli.

_Birtiya._ Title of Nai or barber.

_Bisen, Bisan._--A clan of Rajput. A section of Daharia and of Panwar
Rajput. A section of Marar.

_Bobaiaya._--(From Bobbili, a town in Madras.) A section of Teli
in Chanda.

_Bogam._--A name for Madrasi prostitutes, perhaps a separate
caste. Their honorific title is Sani.

_Bohra._--A Muhammadan caste. A section of Oswal Bania.

_Bombay._--A subdivision of Valmiki Kayasth.

_Bondoya_--A resident of Jitgarh and the Pachmarhi tract of the
Central Provinces. Subcaste of Korku.

_Bopchi._--A section of Panwar Rajput.

_Bopchi_--A small caste in the Wardha District numbering a few hundred
persons. They are in reality Korkus, the name being a corruption of
that of the Bendoya subtribe, but they have discarded their proper
tribal name and formed a separate caste. They retain some of the Korku
sept names, while others are derived from the Marathi words or from
the names of other castes, and these facts indicate that the Bopchis
are of mixed descent from Korkus and other low Maratha castes with
which unions have taken place. As might be expected, they are very
tolerant of sexual and social offences, and do not expel a woman who
has a _liaison_ with a man of another caste or takes food from him. She
is readmitted to caste intercourse, but has to undergo the penalty
of washing her body with cowdung and having a lock of her hair cut
off. A man committing a similar offence has his upper lip shaved. They
employ Gosains for their _gurus_ and their social position is very low.

_Borakar._(A mat-maker.) Synonym of Gopal.

_Borjharia._--(_Bor_-plum.) A sept of Halba.

_Brahmachare._--(A celibate.) Subcaste of Manbhao.

_Brahman Gaur_, or _Bamhan Gaur_.--A branch of the Gaur clan of
Rajputs. A subcaste of Bhat.

_Brid-dhari_.--Begging Bhats. Subcaste of Bhat.

_Brihaspati, Brahaspati_.--An eponymous section of Brahmans.

_Buchar_.--A corruption of the English word 'butcher.' Subcaste of
Khatik in Agra.

_Budalgir_.--(From _budla_, a leathern bag made for the transport
and storage of oil and _ghi_ (butter).) Subcaste of Chamar.

_Bukekari_.--(A seller of scented powder _(bukka)_.) Synonym of Atari.

_Bundela_.--A clan of Rajputs of mixed descent. Name probably from
the Vindhya hills. A subcaste of Basor. A sept of Manihar and Rawat.

_Bundelkhandi_.--A resident of Bundelkhand. Subcaste of Basdewa,
Barai, Basor, Chamar, Darzi, Dhobi, Kumhar, Lohar, Nai and Sunar.

_Bundhrajia_.--Subcaste of Kamar.

_Bunkar_.--(A weaver.) Title of Balahi.

_Burad_.--A synonym for the Basor caste of bamboo-workers. A section
of Koshti and Oswal Bania.

_Burthia_.--Subcaste of Charan Banjara.

_Burud_.--(A bamboo-worker.) Synonym for Basor in the Maratha country.

_Butka_.--(One who brings leaves.) Subcaste of Chasa.

_Byahut_.--(Married.) Subcaste of Kalar.

_Chadar_.--A caste. A subcaste of Kori.

_Chakere_.--(One who uses the potter's wheel in localities where
other Kumhars do not use it.) Subcaste of Kumhar.

_Chakla_.--(A professional washerman.) Synonym for Dhobi.

_Chalukya_.--A synonym for Solanki Rajputs. (Perhaps from _chhullu_
or _challu_, hollow of the hand.) A subcaste of Panwar Rajput.

_Chamar, Chamara_.--(From _chamra_, a hide.) The well-known caste of
tanners. A subcaste of Banjara, Barhai and Darzi.

_Chamar Gaur_.--(Chamar and Gaur.) A well-known clan of Rajputs. See
Rajput-Gaur.

_Chambhar_.--Name of the Chamar caste in Berar.

_Chamra_.--A contemptuous diminutive for the Chamar caste in
Chhattisgarh.

_Chandan, Chandania_.--(Sandalwood.) A section of Chamar, Kawar,
Khangar and Kurmi.

_Chandel_.--A famous clan of Rajputs. See Rajput-Chandel.

_Chandewar_.--(Belonging to Chanda.) Subcaste of Injhwar.

_Chandi_.--(One who hides behind a fishing-net.) A sept of Korku.

_Chandra, Chandraha_. (From _chanda_, the moon.) A section of Gujar
and Teli.

_Chandravansi_ or _Somvansi_.--(Descended from the moon.) A clan
of Rajputs.

_Chandravedi_.--Synonym of Sanaurhia, meaning 'One who observes
the moon.'

_Chankhatia_.--A subcaste of Bhuiya and Chamar.

_Channagri_.--A small Jain sect. A subcaste of Bania.

_Chanti_.--Name derived from _chiti_, an ant. Subcaste of Kawar. A
section of Kumhar.

_Chanwar_.--(Whisk.) A totemistic sept of Kawar and Pabia.

_Charak_.--A subdivision of Maratha Brahman; a section of Brahman.

_Charan_.--Subcaste of Banjara and Bhat. Title of Bhat in Rajputana.

_Chardeve_.--A clan of Gonds worshiping four gods and paying special
reverence to the tortoise.

_Charghar_.--(Four houses.) A subdivision of Saraswat Brahmans.

_Charnagri_.--A Jain sect or subcaste of Bania.

_Chatrapati_.--(Lord of the umbrella.) Title of the ancient Indian
kings.

_Chatri, Chhatri_.--A common synonym for a Rajput. A subcaste of
Bhamta.

_Chaturbhuji_.--(Four-armed.) An epithet of Vishnu. A title of the
Chauhan clan of Rajputs. A class of Bairagis or religious mendicants.

_Chaube, Chaturvedi_.--(From Chaturvedi, or one learned in the
four Vedas.) A surname for Kanaujia, Jijhotia and other Hindustani
Brahmans. Subcaste of Banjara.

_Chaubhaiya_.--(Four brothers.) A subdivision of Saraswat
Brahmans. They take wives from the Athbhaiya subdivision, but do not
give girls to them in marriage.

_Chaudhri_, _Chaudhari_, _Choudhri_.--(A headman, the first
person.) Title of Kalar Panwar, Rajput and other castes; title of
Dhobi, vice-president of the caste committee. A section of Ahir,
Maheshri Bania, Gadaria, Gujar, Halba and Marar (Mali). A subdivision
of Kapewar.

_Chauhan_.--A famous clan of Rajputs. Name of a low caste of village
watchmen in Chhattisgarh, perhaps the illegitimate descendants of
Panwar Rajputs.

_Chauka_.--Title of the Kabirpanthi religious service. The _chauk_
is a sanctified place on the floor of the house or yard, plastered
with cowdung and marked out with lines of wheat-flour or quartz-dust
within which ceremonies are performed.

_Chaukhutia_.--A term which signifies a bastard in
Chhattisgarh. Subcaste of Bhunjia.

_Chauske_.--Subcaste of Kalar. They are so called because they
prohibit the marriage of persons having a common ancestor up to
four generations.

_Chaurasia_.--Resident of a Chaurasi or estate of eighty-four
villages. Subcaste of Barai and Bhoyar. A section of Dhimar and
Kumhar. Many estates are called by this name, grants of eighty-four
villages having been commonly made under native rule.

_Chawara_, _Chaura_.--One of the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs.

_Chenchuwar_, _Chenchuwad_ or _Chenchu_--A forest tribe of the Telugu
country of whom a few persons were returned from the Chanda District
in 1911. In Madras the tribe is known as Chenchu, and the affix _wad_
or _wadu_ merely signifies person or man. [434] The marriage ceremony
of the Chenchus may be mentioned on account of its simplicity. The
couple sometimes simply run away together at night and return next day
as husband and wife, or, if they perform a rite, walk round and round a
bow and arrow stuck into the ground, while their relations bless them
and throw rice on their heads. Each party to a marriage can terminate
it at will without assigning any reason or observing any formality. The
bodies of the dead are washed and then buried with their weapons.

_Chenr_.--(Little.) Subcaste of Bhand.

_Cheorakuta_.--(One who prepares _cheora_ or pounded rice.) Subcaste
of Dhuri.

_Chero_. [435]--A well-known tribe of the Munda or Kolarian family,
found in small numbers in the Chota Nagpur Feudatory States. They
are believed to have been at one time the rulers of Bihar, where
numerous monuments are attributed, according to the inquiries of
Buchanan and Dalton, to the Kols and Cheros. "In Shahabad [436]
also most of the ancient monuments are ascribed to the Cheros, and it
is traditionally asserted that the whole country belonged to them in
sovereignty. An inscription at Budh Gaya mentions one Phudi Chandra who
is traditionally said to have been a Chero. The Cheros were expelled
from Shahabad, some say by the Sawaras (Saonrs), some say by a tribe
called Hariha; and the date of their expulsion is conjectured to be
between the fifth and sixth centuries of the Christian era. Both
Cheros and Sawaras were considered by the Brahmans of Shahabad as
impure or Mlechchas, but the Harihas are reported good Kshatriyas.

"The overthrow of the Cheros in Mithila and Magadha seems to have
been complete. Once lords of the Gangetic provinces, they are now
found in Shahabad and other Bihar Districts only holding the meanest
offices or concealing themselves in the woods skirting the hills
occupied by their cousins, the Kharwars; but in Palamau they retained
till a recent period the position they had lost elsewhere. A Chero
family maintained almost an independent rule in that pargana till
the accession of the British Government; they even attempted to hold
their castles and strong places against that power, but were speedily
subjugated, forced to pay revenue and submit to the laws. They were,
however, allowed to retain their estates; and though the rights
of the last Raja of the race were purchased by Government in 1813,
in consequence of his falling into arrears, the collateral branches
of the family have extensive estates there still. According to their
own traditions (they have no trustworthy annals) they have not been
many generations in Palamau. They invaded that country from Rohtas,
and with the aid of Rajput chiefs, the ancestors of the Thakurais of
Ranka and Chainpur drove out and supplanted a Rajput Raja of the Raksel
family, who retreated into Sarguja and established himself there.

"All the Cheros of note who assisted in the expedition obtained
military service grants of land, which they still retain. The Kharwars
were then the people of most consideration in Palamau, and they
allowed the Cheros to remain in peaceful possession of the hill tracts
bordering on Sarguja. It is popularly asserted that at the commencement
of the Chero rule in Palamau they numbered twelve thousand families,
and the Kharwars eighteen thousand; and if an individual of one or
the other is asked to what tribe he belongs, he will say, not that he
is a Chero or a Kharwar, but that he belongs to the twelve thousand
or to the eighteen thousand, as the case may be. The Palamau Cheros
now live strictly as Rajputs and wear the _paita_ or caste thread."

It has been suggested in the article on Khairwar that the close
connection between the two tribes may arise from the Kharwars or
Khairwars having been an occupational offshoot of the Cheros and
Santals.

In Palamau [437] the Cheros are now divided into two subcastes,
the Bara-hazar or twelve thousand, and the Terah-hazar or thirteen
thousand, who are also known as Birbandhi. The former are the higher
in rank and include most of the descendants of former ruling families,
who assume the title Babuan. The Terah-hazar are supposed to be the
illegitimate offspring of the Bara-hazar.

"The distinctive physical traits of the Cheros," Colonel Dalton states,
"have been considerably softened by the alliances with pure Hindu
families, which their ancient power and large possessions enabled
them to secure; but they appear to me still to exhibit an unmistakable
Mongolian physiognomy. They vary in colour, but are usually of a light
brown. They have, as a rule, high cheek-bones, small eyes obliquely
set, and eyebrows to correspond, low broad noses, and large mouths
with protuberant lips."