Occupation and status. 3. Besides their trade of doing earth-work, they also make their living by fishing. They are very fond of field rats, which they dig out of the rice fields after the harvest is over, and boil down with the grain which they have collected in their granaries. They also eat pork, but in spite of this it is reported from Gorakhpur that Brâhmans and Kshatriyas drink water from their hands. Their widows marry by the sagâi form, and a man may discard his wife for adultery; but if she marries her paramour, the council compels him to repay the original cost of her marriage to her first husband.

Religion. 4. To the east of the province they worship the Pânchonpîr, to whom they offer a turban (patuka) and a sheet (patau) made of coarse country cloth, and occasionally a fowl. The sheets before being offered are marked [[239]]by a streak of red. Another form of offering is what is known as kâra, which is made of flour and urad pulse. Some worship Mahâdeva once a year in the month of Phâlgun or at the Sivarâtri.

Distribution of Beldârs according to the Census of 1891.

District. Bâchhal. Chauhân. Kharot. Others. Musalmâns. Total.
Sahâranpur … … … 32 5 37
Muzaffarnagar … … … … 29 29
Mathura … … … 2 … 2
Etâwah … … … 222 … 222
Bareilly 5,688 … … 748 … 6,436
Budâun … … … 17 … 17
Morâdâbâd … … … 160 … 160
Shâhjahânpur 62 350 … 369 … 781
Pilibhît 627 149 … 1,579 … 2,355
Cawnpur … … … 56 … 56
Fatehpur … … … 96 … 96
Bânda … … … 148 3 151
Hamîrpur … … … 212 … 212
Allahâbâd … … … 1 2 3
Jhânsi … … … 246 … 246
Jâlaun … … … 586 … 586
Lalitpur … … … 248 … 248
Ghâzipur … … … 2 … 2
Ballia … … … 35 … 35
Gorakhpur … … 9,782 5,463 3 15,248
Basti … … 3,623 3,162 … 6,785
Azamgarh … … … 31 1 32
Tarâi 973 … … 42 … 1,015
Lucknow … … … 69 … 69[[240]]
Unâo … … … 79 5 84
Râê Bareli … … … 122 2 124
Sîtapur … 59 … 115 … 174
Hardoi … … … 216 … 216
Kheri … … … 336 … 336
Faizâbâd … … … 110 … 110
Gonda … … … 170 … 170
Bahrâich … … … 226 … 226
Sultânpur … … … 148 1 149
Partâbgarh … 16 … 92 10 118
Bârabanki … 520 … 249 … 769
Total 7,350 1,094 13,405 15,389 61 37,299

Belwâr, Bilwâr.—A tribe in Oudh of whom no satisfactory account has been received. According to Mr. Nesfield, they take their name from bela, “a purse”; but this is very uncertain. They are said to deal in grain and cultivate.

2. According to the last Census their chief sub-caste is the Sanâdh. In Kheri the chief sub-castes are Baghel, Bhonda, and Gaur.

Distribution of the Belwâr according to the Census of 1891.

District. Sanâdh. Others. Total.
Dehra Dûn … 42 42
Etâwah 7 35 42
Lucknow … 22 22
Sîtapur 1,255 793 2,048
Hardoi 605 146 751
Kheri 1,269 1,412 2,681
Bahrâich … 608 608
Total 3,136 3,058 6,194

[[241]]

Benawa.—(“Without provisions,” “destitute.”)—A class of Muhammadan faqîrs, the chief of the Beshara or unorthodox orders. They are said to be followers of Khwâja Hasan Basri. Mr. Maclagan[123] says:—“The term is sometimes apparently applied in a loose manner to Qâdiri and Chishti faqîrs, but is properly applicable only to a very inferior set of beggars, men who wear patched garments and live apart. They will beg for anything except food, and in begging they will use the strongest language, and the stronger the language the more pleased are the persons from whom they beg. Many of the offensive names borne by villages in the Gujrânwâla District are attributed to mendicants of this order, who have been denied an alms. The proper course is to meet a Benawa beggar with gibes and put him on his mettle, for he prides himself on his powers of repartee, and every Benawa wears a thong of leather, which he has to unloose when beaten in reply, and it is a great source of shame for him to unloose this thong” (tasma khol dena).