5. Occupation.
“It has been mentioned,” says Sir H. Risley,[5] “that the garden is regarded as almost sacred, and the superstitious practices in vogue resemble those of the silk-worm breeder. The Bārui will not enter it until he has bathed and washed his clothes. Animals found inside are driven out, while women ceremonially unclean dare not enter within the gate. A Brāhman never sets foot inside, and old men have a prejudice against entering it. It has, however, been known to be used for assignations.” The betel-vine is the leaf of Piper betel L., the word being derived from the Malayalam vettila, ‘a plain leaf,’ and coming to us through the Portuguese betre and betle. The leaf is called pān, and is eaten with the nut of Areca catechu, called in Hindi supāri. The vine needs careful cultivation, the gardens having to be covered to keep off the heat of the sun, while liberal treatment with manure and irrigation is needed. The joints of the creepers are planted in February, and begin to supply leaves in about five months’ time. When the first creepers are stripped after a period of nearly a year, they are cut off and fresh ones appear, the plants being exhausted within a period of about two years after the first sowing. A garden may cover from half an acre to an acre of land, and belongs to a number of growers, who act in partnership, each owning so many lines of vines. The plain leaves are sold at from 2 annas to 4 annas a hundred, or a higher rate when they are out of season. Damoh, Rāmtek and Bilahri are three of the best-known centres of cultivation in the Central Provinces. The Bilahri leaf is described in the Ain-i-Akbari as follows: “The leaf called Bilahri is white and shining, and does not make the tongue harsh and hard. It tastes best of all kinds. After it has been taken away from the creeper, it turns white with some care after a month, or even after twenty days, when greater efforts are made.”[6] For retail sale bīdas are prepared, consisting of a rolled betel-leaf containing areca-nut, catechu and lime, and fastened with a clove. Musk and cardamoms are sometimes added. Tobacco should be smoked after eating a bīda according to the saying, ‘Service without a patron, a young man without a shield, and betel without tobacco are alike savourless.’ Bīdas are sold at from two to four for a pice (farthing). Women of the caste often retail them, and as many are good-looking they secure more custom; they are also said to have an indifferent reputation. Early in the morning, when they open their shops, they burn some incense before the bamboo basket in which the leaves are kept, to propitiate Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.
[1] This notice is compiled principally from a good paper by Mr. M. C. Chatterji, retired Extra Assistant Commissioner, Jubbulpore, and from papers by Professor Sada Shiva Jai Rām, M.A., Government College, Jubbulpore, and Mr. Bhāskar Bāji Rao Deshmukh, Deputy Inspector of Schools, Nāgpur.
[2] Sherring, Hindu Tribes and Castes, i. p. 330. Nesfield, Brief View, p. 15. N.W.P. Census Report (1891), p 317.
[3] The name of a superior revenue office; under the Marāthas, now borne as a courtesy title by certain families.
[4] Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. Agarwāl.
[5] Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. Bārui.
[6] Blochmann, Ain-i-Akbari, i. p. 72, quoted in Crooke’s Tribes and Castes, art. Tamboli.