Note 115 — B (continued 2)

The Bâwariyas of the North-Western Provinces. 6. A body of Bauriyas or Bâwariyas who were, many years ago, interrogated as to their customs and kindred, gave the following account of themselves115:—“The Mugîns and Baguras who reside in Mâlwa and on the Chambal river commit dacoity, burglary, and theft; they stick at nothing. They go in large parties (kâfila), sometimes as carriers of Ganges water, sometimes as Brâhmans, with the sacred string round their necks. The Hâbûras commit theft. The Gûjars call us Gidiyas, and the Jâts call us Bauris. Gidiya is merely a local name of our tribe; there is no distinct class of people of that name. The Sânsiyas are not of our tribe; they are a distinct class; they are thieves, but seldom ascend to dacoity—(this is certainly incorrect). The Kanjars are all thieves; they cut grass and make thatches, and bivouac in suburbs under huts of long grass (sirki), but always thieve. Our caste was originally Râjput, and our ancestors came from Mârwâr. We have seven clans (got)—Punwâr, Soharki, Dabas, alias Dâbi, Chauhân, Tunwar, Dhandara, alias Dhandal or Koli, and Gordhi, with the Châmi, making eight in all. Two or three centuries ago, when the Emperor of Delhi attacked the fortress of Chithor and besieged it for twelve years for the sake of the Princess Padmani, the country became desolate, and we were obliged to emigrate in search of employment, and disperse. Those that came into the Delhi territory were called Bauris; those that went into the Gwâlior territory were called Mugîns and Bagûras. To the eastward they were called Baddhiks, and in Mâlwa Hâbûras. We are not people of yesterday; we are of ancient and illustrious descent. When Râvana took away the wife of the god Râma, and Râma wanted to recover her, men of all castes went to fight for him in the holy cause. Among the rest was a leader of the Bauris called Pardhi. When Râma vanquished his enemy and recovered Sîta he asked Pardhi what he could do for him. ‘Grant,’ said Pardhi, ‘that I may attend your Majesty, mount guard, and hunt in the intervals of leisure, and I shall have all that my heart wishes.’ The god granted him his request, and his occupation has come down to us. If any Prince happens to have an enemy that he wishes to have made away with, he sends for some of our tribe and says,—‘Go and bring so and so’s head.’ We go, steal into his sleeping apartments, and take off the person’s head without any other person knowing anything about it. If a Prince wanted, not the head of his enemy, but the gold tassels of the bed on which he lay asleep, we brought them to him. In consequence of our skill in those matters we were held everywhere in high esteem, and we served Princes and had never occasion to labour at tillage. This was before the emigration and dispersion of the tribe. We, who have come to the Delhi territory and are called Bauris, took to the trade of thieving. Princes still employed us to take off the heads of their enemies and rob them of their valuables. At present the Bauris confine themselves almost exclusively to robbing tents; they do not steal cattle or break into houses, but they will rob a cart on the highway occasionally; any other trade than robbery they never take to. They reside in or near villages under the protection of landlords, and while out for a long period at their vocation, they leave their wives and children under their care. They give them the means of subsistence, and for these advances we are often indebted to them three hundred or four hundred rupees by the time we return. When we are about to set out on our expeditions we get a loan of twenty or thirty rupees from the landholders or merchants of the place, and two days before starting we sacrifice a goat and make burnt offerings to the goddess Devi, sometimes to her of the fiery furnace of Jawâla, in the Himâlaya, and sometimes to our old tutelary god of Chithor. We present sweetmeats and vow unwearied devotions if we are successful. After this we take our auspices thus:—We go in the evening into the jungle, and there in silence expect the call. If the partridge or jackal call on the left we set out without further ceremony; the bark of a fox even will do. If any of them call on the right, we return home and try again the day following. As soon as we get a good omen we set out. If we take it in the morning it must be before sunrise, and the fox, partridge, or jackal, must cry on the right to be good. If a deer cross from the left to the right it is a good omen. We have a couplet on this subject signifying that if the crow and the deer cross from the left to the right and the blue jay from left to right, even the wealth that has gone from us will come back.”