Note 82 — Chapter III · DISEASE DEITIES.
Reading edition
The bhuvā generally belongs to some low caste and may be a Koli, Bharvād, Rabāri, Vāghri or even a Chamār. The bhuvās are also known as pothiās. One good qualification for becoming a bhuvā is to possess the habit of throwing one’s self into convulsive fits followed by a state of trance, especially on hearing the beating of a dānklān (drum). At such a time the mātā or devi is supposed to possess the person of the bhuvā and to speak out her wishes on being questioned. Some bhuvās are regularly possessed by some devi or mātā on every Sunday or Tuesday.82