BHAT, s. H. &c. bhāṭ (Skt. bhàṭṭa, a title of respect, probably connected with bhàrtṛi, 'a supporter or master'), a man of a tribe of mixed descent, whose members are professed genealogists and poets; a bard. These men in Rājputāna and Guzerat had also extraordinary privileges as the guarantors of travellers, whom they accompanied, against attack and robbery. See an account of them in Forbes's Rās Mālā, I. ix. &c., reprint 558 seqq.; [for Bengal, Risley, Tribes & Castes, i. 101 seqq.; for the N.W.P., Crooke, Tribes & Castes, ii. 20 seqq.
[1554.—"Bats," see quotation under [RAJPUT].]
c. 1555.—"Among the infidel Bānyāns in this country (Guzerat) there is a class of literati known as Bāts. These undertake to be guides to traders and other travellers ... when the caravans are waylaid on the road by Rāshbūts, i.e. Indian horsemen, coming to pillage them, the Bāt takes out his dagger, points it at his own breast, and says: 'I have become surety! If aught befals the caravan I must kill myself!' On these words the Rāshbūts let the caravan pass unharmed."—Sidi 'Ali, 95.
[1623.—"Those who perform the office of Priests, whom they call Boti."—P. della Valle, Hak. Soc. i. 80.]
1775.—"The Hindoo rajahs and Mahratta chieftains have generally a Bhaut in the family, who attends them on public occasions ... sounds their praise, and proclaims their titles in hyperbolical and figurative language ... many of them have another mode of living; they offer themselves as security to the different governments for payment of their revenue, and the good behaviour of the Zemindars, patels, and public farmers; they also become guarantees for treaties between native princes, and the performance of bonds by individuals."—Forbes, Or. Mem. ii. 89; [2nd ed. i. 377; also see ii. 258]. See [TRAGA].
1810.—"India, like the nations of Europe, had its minstrels and poets, concerning whom there is the following tradition: At the marriage of Siva and Parvatty, the immortals having exhausted all the amusements then known, wished for something new, when Siva, wiping the drops of sweat from his brow, shook them to earth, upon which the Bawts, or Bards, immediately sprang up."—Maria Graham, 169.
1828.—"A 'Bhat' or Bard came to ask a gratuity."—Heber, ed. 1844, ii. 53.
BHEEL, n.p. Skt. Bhilla; H. Bhīl. The name of a race inhabiting the hills and forests of the Vindhya, Malwa, and of the N.-Western Deccan, and believed to have been the aborigines of Rājputāna; some have supposed them to be the Φυλλῖται of Ptolemy. They are closely allied to the [Coolies] (q.v.) of Guzerat, and are believed to belong to the Kolarian division of Indian aborigines. But no distinct Bhīl language survives.
1785.—"A most infernal yell suddenly issued from the deep ravines. Our guides informed us that this was the noise always made by the Bheels previous to an attack."—Forbes, Or. Mem. iii. 480.
1825.—"All the Bheels whom we saw to-day were small, slender men, less broad-shouldered ... and with faces less Celtic than the Puharees of the Rajmahal.... Two of them had rude swords and shields, the remainder had all bows and arrows."—Heber, ed. 1844, ii. 75.