Note 124 — B (continued 3)

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 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.