Note 47 — Volume II.

Bhîl—(Sanskrit, Bhilla).—We have in these Provinces only a few fragments of the great Bhîl race of Central India. Professor Lassen identifies them with the Phyllitæ of Ptolemy, whom Colonel Yule classes with the Pulinda, a general term for various aboriginal races. According to Dr. Caldwell the name Bhilla (vil, bil) means “a bow.”47 There is a curious early Hindu legend, which, however, is not found in the Mahâbhârata, which tells how Drona, the preceptor of the Pândavas, was jealous of the skill of the Bhîl Râja in archery, and directed him and his subjects to cut off the forefinger of the right hand.48 Another story tells that Mahâdeva was one day reclining sick in the forest, when a beautiful damsel appeared, the first sight of whom effected a cure for all his pain. The result of their meeting was the birth of many children, one of whom, distinguished for his ugliness, slew the favourite bull of Mahâdeva, for which crime he was expelled to the woods and mountains, and his descendants have been the outcast Bhîls. They still call themselves “thieves of Mahâdeva.”49 There can be little doubt that they are a branch of the great Dravidian race which is found along the mountains of Central India, and are akin to the Gonds, Kharwârs, Mânjhis, Cheros, and Santâls, who live further to the eastward. Sir J. Malcolm50 thinks that they have emigrated from Jodhpur and Udaypur to their present territory, and as a proof that they were originally lords of the land, he points to the fact of their giving the tîka to some of the existing Râjput princes. The most solemn form of oath among them is mixing cowdung, salt, and the jawâri millet, and lifting the mixture over their heads.51 They have, like many of the indigenous tribes, some relations with the local gods, and are priests to one of the most ancient temples in Omkâr. According to Sir A. Lyall52 they are divided into a variety of distinct groups, a few based on a reputed common descent, but most of them apparently muddled together by simple contiguity of habitation, or the natural banding together of the number necessary for maintaining and defending themselves. Sir J. Malcolm says that the Bhîl women are invariably the advocates of the cause of good order. They have much influence, and the principal hope of an enemy’s escape lies in the known humanity of the women. They worship peculiarly Sîtala, the small-pox goddess, and Mahâdeva, from whom they claim descent.53 The chief historical tradition regarding them in these Provinces is that they were formerly rulers in Rohilkhand, whence they were expelled by the Janghâra Râjputs.54 The clans recorded at the last Census in these Provinces were the Guranawa, Jaiswâr, Karâwai, Majhûraya, Munaharbhâl, Râma, and Râwat.