Social rules. 61. Among the Hindu Bhangis of Lucknow, the women cannot wear the boddice (angiya), chemisette (kurti), or gold ornaments, and do not bore the nose for a ring. Muhammadan Bhangi women do not wear gold ornaments or sky-blue (asmâni) or lac bangles (chûri). The use of brass ornaments is considered unlucky, but those of alloy are allowed. They prefer earthen to metal cooking vessels, and no Bhangi will plant the ber tree (zizyphus jujuba) or the bamboo before his door. The elder brother cannot touch the wife of his younger brother, and he can eat with no woman but his own sister. If he touch a Dom he must purify himself before doing any other work. He will not eat food touched by a Dom or Dhobi, and the husband and wife will not mention each other by their names. Of all tribes the Dom, though he is admitted to be akin to the Bhangi, is held in particular abhorrence. Their rules of food vary with the religion they profess. Thus, Shaikh Mehtars will not eat pork, and some of the Hindu Bhangis will not eat beef. The Helas profess to eat the leavings of only high caste Hindus. No Bhangi, it appears, will eat monkeys, uncloven footed animals, scaleless fish, crocodiles, lizards, snakes, jackals, rats, or other vermin. The Lâl Begis salute in the form Râm! Râm! Yâdallâh! and Hardam Allâh! To elders, they say Salâm! or Satnâmko! Brâhmans they salute with Mahârâj! or Pâlagan! The Ghâzipuri Râwats and Helas salute everybody with Râm! Râm! with the exception of Musalmâns, to whom they say salâm or bandagi; and pâlagan to Brâhmans. Shaikhs use the word salâm only.
Occupation. 62. The occupations of the Bhangi are manifold. Speaking of the scavenger tribes of the Panjâb, Mr. Ibbetson says:—“Socially they are the lowest of the [[291]]low, even lower perhaps than the vagrant Sânsi, and the gypsy Nat, and, as a rule, they can hardly be said to stand even at the foot of the social ladder, though some sections of the tribe have mounted the first one or two steps. Their hereditary profession is scavengering, sweeping the houses and streets, working up, carrying to the fields and distributing manure, and in cities and village houses, where the women are strictly secluded, removing night soil. They keep those impure animals, pigs, and fowls; they and the leather-workers alone eat the flesh of animals who have died of disease or by a natural death. Together with the vagrants and gypsies they are the hereditary workers in grass and reeds, from which they make winnowing fans and other articles used in agriculture.” In these Provinces their occupation is to remove filth, to sweep the houses and roads, to play on the flute or tambourine (shahnai daf) at marriages and other social occasions. They also conduct what is called the roshanchauki at marriages, or when solemn vows (mannat) are made. Some of them are noted for their musical ability. The Hela makes winnowing fans and sieves (sûp, chhalni), and some of the Shaikhs are collectors and appliers of leeches. The Bânsphor makes baskets, mats, etc. The Dhânuks are fowlers and watchmen. They serve in the bands of native princes, and their women are midwives. To the west of the Province the Dhês, a class of Lâl Begis, act as hangmen and killers of pariah dogs. The Dhânuks and Bânsphors will not remove night-soil, and the Shaikhs will not do this work at public latrines. Their implements are the broom (jhâru) and the rib bone of an ox (panja), with which they scrape up filth. Many of them are the hereditary priests of Sîtala, and arrange the offerings of pigs released at her shrine; others serve Bhûmiya and similar local godlings. As a rule Bhangi women bear an indifferent character.
63. In some places Bhangis are true village menials and receive a patch of rent-free land or some allowances at harvest in return for their services. In our cities, particularly in places like Mirzapur, where they are not numerous, they are much given to combination among themselves. They resent the settlement of new members of the tribe and allot the houses of the residents into certain beats (halqa, ilâqa) each of which is served by a Bhangi and his wife. They call the occupants of such houses their “parishioners” (jajmân), and fiercely resent the intrusion of any strange Bhangi within the beat; in fact most of the cases which come before the council relate [[292]]to disputes of this kind. There is also a distinct local organisation among them. Thus in the Districts about Benares the Ghâzipuri Râwats are divided into four great local sections, each of which has its own subordinate council. These four are the jurisdiction of the Chaudhari of the city of Benares; the Ghâzipur Chaudhari of the Kaswâr mat or chatâi, which is the technical term for the jurisdiction; the Karsara Chaudhari of the Kariyâr chatâi, who lives at Karsara near Chunâr in the Mirzapur District; and fourthly, the Sanapur Chaudhari of the Chauâlîs chatâi in Azamgarh. The last is by far the most influential of the four. It appears that the chatâi never meets as a body except to discuss some very important question affecting the sub-caste as a whole.
Distribution of the Bhangis according to the Census of 1891.
| District. | Bâlmîki. | Dhânuk. | Hela. | Lâl Begi. | Pattharphor. | Others. | Muhammadans. | Total. |
| Dehra Dûn | 59 | … | … | 746 | … | 2,662 | … | 3,467 |
| Sahâranpur | 95 | … | 72 | 6,057 | … | 23,890 | 5 | 30,119 |
| Muzaffarnagar | 378 | 258 | … | 16,128 | … | 13,093 | … | 29,857 |
| Meerut | 4,770 | … | … | 30,297 | … | 23,402 | 91 | 58,560 |
| Bulandshahr | … | … | … | 2,859 | … | 27,939 | … | 30,798 |
| Aligarh | … | … | 64 | 8,228 | 766 | 20,186 | … | 29,244 |
| Mathura | … | 14 | 57 | 1,231 | … | 11,953 | 31 | 13,286 |
| Agra | … | … | … | 10,707 | 47 | 5,031 | 663 | 16,430 |
| Farrukhâbâd | … | … | … | 5,840 | 53 | 1,259 | 3 | 7,155 |
| Mainpuri | … | … | … | 8,870 | 484 | 682 | … | 10,036 |
| Etâwah | … | … | 1,069 | 4,042 | 127 | 913 | 45 | 6,196 |
| Etah | 27 | … | 8 | 4,612 | 4,662 | 4,042 | … | 13,351 |
| Bareilly | … | … | … | 8,925 | … | 5,807 | … | 14,732 |
| Bijnor | 43 | … | 11,399 | … | 1,286 | … | 13,148 | |
| Budâun | … | … | … | … | … | 17,337 | … | 17,337 |
| Morâdâbâd | 32 | 210 | … | 11,199 | … | 13,187 | 14 | 24,642 |
| Shâhjahânpur | … | … | … | 5,146 | 53 | 2,409 | 225 | 7,833 |
| Pilibhît | … | 1 | … | 3,200 | … | 1,170 | 8 | 4,379 |
| Cawnpur | … | 65 | 392 | 3,698 | … | 2,356 | 63 | 6,574[[293]] |
| Fatehpur | … | 222 | 556 | 33 | 2 | 3,016 | 46 | 3,875 |
| Bânda | … | … | … | … | … | … | 11 | 11 |
| Hamîrpur | … | … | 139 | … | … | 183 | 41 | 363 |
| Allahâbâd | … | … | 1,790 | 556 | … | 6,359 | 644 | 9,349 |
| Jhânsi | … | … | 36 | 1,444 | 72 | 826 | 180 | 2,558 |
| Jâlaun | … | … | … | 951 | … | 1,326 | 531 | 2,808 |
| Lalitpur | … | … | … | 123 | … | 455 | 133 | 711 |
| Benares | … | … | … | 144 | … | 1,126 | 812 | 2,082 |
| Mirzapur | … | … | 144 | 13 | … | 378 | 930 | 1,465 |
| Jaunpur | … | … | … | … | … | 15 | 1,751 | 1,766 |
| Ghâzipur | … | … | … | … | … | 1,360 | 477 | 1,837 |
| Ballia | … | … | … | … | … | 1,348 | 120 | 1,468 |
| Gorakhpur | … | … | 300 | 38 | … | 1,466 | 2,025 | 3,829 |
| Basti | … | … | … | … | … | 2,315 | 1,095 | 3,410 |
| Azamgarh | … | … | … | … | … | 13 | 1,772 | 1,785 |
| Kumâun | … | … | … | … | … | 692 | … | 692 |
| Garhwâl | … | … | … | … | … | 126 | … | 126 |
| Tarâi | 275 | … | … | 2,116 | … | 390 | … | 2,781 |
| Lucknow | … | 675 | 313 | 766 | … | 2,867 | 1,424 | 6,045 |
| Unâo | … | 798 | 457 | 8 | … | 390 | 20 | 1,673 |
| Râê Bareli | … | … | 480 | … | … | 693 | 14 | 1,187 |
| Sîtapur | 6 | 39 | … | 2,747 | … | 1,186 | 305 | 4,283 |
| Hardoi | … | … | … | 4,496 | … | 1,027 | … | 5,523 |
| Kheri | … | … | … | 3,522 | 18 | 557 | 84 | 4,181 |
| Faizâbâd | … | 5 | 654 | 417 | … | 426 | 1,212 | 2,714 |
| Gonda | … | … | 685 | 932 | … | 246 | 130 | 1,993 |
| Bahrâich | … | 1 | … | 809 | … | 687 | 586 | 2,083 |
| Sultânpur | … | … | 761 | … | … | 1,145 | 593 | 2,499 |
| Partâbgarh | … | … | … | 4 | … | 1,553 | 433 | 1,990 |
| Bârabanki | … | … | … | 1,446 | … | 35 | 818 | 2,301 |
| Total | 6,105 | 2,288 | 7,977 | 1,63,751 | 6,284 | 210,792 | 17,335 | 4,14,532 |
[[294]]
Bhântu, Bhâtu.—A criminal tribe found chiefly in Rohilkhand and Oudh. They are merely one branch of the Sânsiya tribe, known elsewhere as Beriya, Hâbûra, or Kanjar. The derivation of the word is uncertain. Some connect it with Bhât, as some Sânsiyas act as bards or genealogists to some Râjputs and Jâts: others say it comes from bhânti (Sanskrit, bhinna, “broken”), with reference to the miscellaneous elements of which they are composed. There is a tribe of the same name in Central India who are also known as Dumar or Kolhâti, who are wandering athletes and worship Nârâyan and the bamboo, with which all their feats are accomplished. When they bury their dead they place rice and oil at the head of the grave, and draw the happiest omens of the state of the departed from crows visiting the spot.[151]
2. The Bhântus of these Provinces follow exactly the customs of the kindred tribes of Beriya, Hâbûra and Sânsiya.
Distribution of the Bhântus according to the Census of 1891.
| District. | Number. |
| Agra | 3 |
| Bareilly | 17 |
| Budâun | 98 |
| Morâdâbâd | 2 |
| Ghâzipur | 12 |
| Kheri | 9 |
| Sultânpur | 231 |
| Total | 372 |