Distribution of Barwâr Râjputs according to the Census of 1891.
| District. | Number. |
| Aligarh | 5 |
| Allahâbâd | 80 |
| Jâlaun | 34 |
| Benares | 50 |
| Jaunpur | 46 |
| Ballia | 7,603 |
| Gorakhpur | 300 |
| Basti | 1,716 |
| Azamgarh | 5,249 |
| Faizâbâd | 3,402 |
| Gonda | 54 |
| Sultânpur | 23 |
| Total | 18,562 |
[[222]]
Basor.[111]—A tribe found only in the Bundelkhand Division, and usually regarded as a sub-caste of Doms. Some of them are occasional visitors to Mirzapur and other towns, where the men work as musicians and basket-makers, and the women as midwives. The name of the tribe seems to mean “worker in the bamboo,” and to be the same as Bânsphor (q.v.). The Basors have a large number of exogamous sections, of which locally the most important are: in Hamîrpur, the Bâhmangot, Dhuneb, Gotela, Katahriya, Parauniya, Sakarwâr, Samangot, Sarmoriya, Sonach, and Sûpa or Supach Bhagat, the Dom hero; in Jhânsi the Barâr, Basgarh, Basobiya, and Dhânuk; in Jâlaun, the Baghela, Balâhar, Khangrela, and in Lalitpur, the Barâr, Morel, and Purabiya. In Mirzapur they name four exogamous sections,—Kulpariya, Katariya (named from the katâri or curved knife used in splitting the bamboo); Neoriya, which is also a section of Dharkârs (q.v.), and takes its name from newar, a young, soft bamboo; and Bamhila, who say that they are so called because they had once some connection with Brâhmans. In Jhânsi the Basors are also known as Barâr and Dhânuk. Barâr is apparently derived from the Sanskrit varataka kâra, “a maker of string.” Dhânuk is from the Sanskrit dhanushka, “a bow.” When a Basor abandons his regular occupation of working in bamboo and takes service with a land-owner as messenger or drum-beater, he becomes known in Jhânsi by the name of Barâr, and the Dhânuks seem to have been an offshoot from the original Basor stock, who took to the profession of bow-making. They now, however, work as much in bamboo as the regular Basors do; and all three—Basors, Dhânuks, and Barârs—intermarry and eat and drink together. In Jhânsi they have no traditions of their origin, but believe themselves indigenous to that part of the country. They name in Jhânsi, like so many of these menial castes, seven exogamous sections, Jhitiya, Loleri, Rasmel, Saina, Astiya, Bhardela, and Gursariya: of the origin, and explanation of these names they can give no explanation. A man must marry in Jhânsi in a section different from his own; he will not give his daughter in marriage into a section from which his own wife has come; but he can take wives for his sons, brothers, and brothers’ sons, etc., from that section. The prohibition against intermarriage lasts only for three generations. In Mirzapur the stray visitors who [[223]]occasionally come are said to be governed by the same rule of exogamy as in the case of the Dharkârs (q.v.). As far as religion goes the only bar to intermarriage is conversion to another creed, such as Islâm or Christianity. A man may have as many wives as he can afford to keep, and some in Jhânsi have as many as three or four. The first wife, known as Biyâhta or Jethi, manages the house, and the others are subordinate to her. Further than this the Basors admit the introduction of a woman of another tribe; but it is asserted that she is not allowed, at any rate at first, complete caste privileges, and if she comes of a caste lower than the Basor, such as the Bhangi, she is never so admitted. If she be of any superior caste, she is admitted to full tribal privileges if her husband give a feast (roti) to the clansmen.
Marriage rules. 2. Women are allowed full freedom before marriage, and fornication, if it do not become a public scandal, and particularly if the woman’s paramour be a fellow caste-man, is lightly regarded. They usually marry their girls at puberty at the age of ten or twelve; if they are orphans, they settle the marriage themselves, and in any case a considerable freedom of choice seems to be allowed. This choice, curiously enough, is always notified through a female relation, sister, mother, or aunt of the boy or girl, and she notifies it to the tribal council, who, if they agree, permit the marriage to proceed. Widows and widowers living by themselves have full freedom of choice. Some small sum of money, or some vessels, clothes, etc., are usually given by the parents of the bride as dowry, and these become the property of the husband. There is no regular divorce, but if a pair do not agree, or if the husband is dissatisfied with the conduct of his wife, they can separate at any time, and re-marry or take a partner by the sagâi form, within the caste. If the parties agree to separate, the case need not necessarily come before the tribal council unless there is some dispute about the property, or the woman protests against the charge brought against her and challenges her husband to prove it in the presence of the assembled brethren. In such case it appears to be the rule that no circumstantial evidence of adultery is accepted; if there are no actual eye-witnesses, the charge will be dismissed. Any child born by any woman or by any form of connection recognised by tribal usage is admitted as legitimate, and ranks as an heir to any property, which is seldom much, that may be left by his [[224]]father. If a Basor woman have a child by a man of a higher caste, such children will not be allowed to intermarry with a Basor of pure blood, but must find a husband or wife from among families which suffer from the same bar sinister. On the contrary, if a Basor keep a woman of a higher caste than his own, he has seldom any difficulty, particularly if he be a man of standing and substance in the tribe, in marrying his children in a family of pure blood.
Widow marriage. 3. As a rule all widows of marriageable age find a new partner. Such connection is fully recognised, and is known in Mirzapur as sagâi, and in Bundelkhand as dharauna or baithâna, “making her sit in the house.” There is no particular ceremony in widow marriage, except the announcement of the connection and the giving of a feast to the brethren. The levirate is recognised, but is not compulsory on the widow. In a recent case at Jhânsi the tribe excommunicated a man who formed a connection with the widow of his younger brother, and expressed extreme horror at such an act. If the children of a widow are very young she generally takes them with her to the house of her new husband, who adopts them as his own, and is held responsible for getting them married and starting them in the world. In this case they lose all rights to the property of their own father. But if the children are grown up they usually stay with the family of their late father, and are heirs to his estate. If the widow is old and does not form a new connection, she is entitled to a life maintenance in the house of her late husband. If a widow forms a connection with the younger brother of her late husband, he takes all the property and adopts his nephew or nieces as his own. In Mirzapur there is a regular bride-price fixed by tribal custom: this is nine and a half rupees in cash, liquor to the value of three rupees, two sheets, three sers of coarse sugar, and two sers of sweetmeats. More or less than this cannot be given without leave of the council. An outsider marrying a virgin widow has to pay twenty-two rupees, and it is a peculiarity among them that the man, as in other castes, does not go to fetch his wife, but her relatives bring her, realise the marriage fee, and then make her over to her new partner.
Birth customs. 4. A woman during delivery is attended by a woman of the tribe. With the umbilical cord a few pice are buried, and at the door of the delivery room a broken shoe or the horn of some animal is burnt to ward off evil from [[225]]mother and child; the foul smelling smoke thus produced is supposed to be particularly offensive to evil spirits. They have the usual sixth (chhathi) and twelfth day (barahi) ceremony, and on the latter a young pig is sacrificed in the name of some godling, about whom they are most reluctant to give any information or even to mention him by name. After her purification the mother worships the family well by rubbing red lead on the platform and pouring some water and a few grains of rice near it. Children have their ears bored and are ceremonially shaved at the age of five or six.
Marriage ceremonies. 5. In Mirzapur the betrothal is arranged by the husband of the father’s sister of the boy, possibly a survival of the matriarchate. The betrothal (mangni) is concluded by sending a skirt (ghaghri) and a sheet (orhni) with some liquor and treacle for the bride, after which the clansmen are feasted on pork and liquor. Some time after is a second ceremony in which the two fathers exchange leaf-platters filled with water or spirits, into one of which the boy’s father drops a rupee or two. In Jhânsi the marriage is first arranged by the women, and then a day is fixed on which the friends of the bride send a turban and a rupee for the bridegroom. This is received in the presence of the brethren, who are entertained with tobacco and spirits, which last in the case of poor people is replaced by sharbat. When the present has once been accepted, the engagement is held final, and either party repudiating it is suitably dealt with by the tribal council. Then follows the matmangara ceremony common to all low castes in the Eastern Districts. Among the Basors the earth, on this occasion, is dug by the brother-in-law of the boy’s father and the father of the bride, in which, again, we seem to find a survival of the matriarchate. In the centre of the marriage shed is a bamboo, and some wooden images of parrots are fixed up, with a jar full of water covered with a saucer filled with rice. Then one of the senior men of the tribe makes a fire offering (hom) in honour of the deceased ancestors, and the clothes of the pair are knotted together, and they are made to walk seven times round the sacred fire. In Jhânsi an old man says this prayer: “Ye godlings (deota), stand witness that this pair are joined by the knot. Keep them as closely joined in love as the knot which ties their raiment.” On the fourth day is the chauthi chhorna, when the marriage pitchers (kalsa) are thrown into water by the mother of the bridegroom. The binding part of [[226]]the ceremony is the giving away of the bride (kanyâdân) by the bridegroom.
Death ceremonies. 6. When they can afford it, they burn the dead in the usual way; poor people simply fling the corpse into running water; if no river be convenient, it is buried. Some sacrifice a hog in the name of the dead man; some do not. After six months the brethren are feasted. Some kill a pig, cut off its legs, and bury the trunk (thûnth, thûthan) in the court-yard, in the belief that this prevents the ghost of the dead from giving annoyance to the survivors. In Mirzapur it appears that, as among the Doms, the sister’s son of the dead man acts as priest at his obsequies; but this is denied at Jhânsi. At any rate it is quite certain that no Brâhman officiates, and that all the ceremonies are performed by some old man of the tribe. The death impurity lasts only three days, and is then removed by bathing.
Religion. 7. The tribal deities are Kâli-Bhawâni and Ganga Mâi, or Mother Ganges. To the east of the Province they offer sacrifices of pigs to Vindhyabâsini Devi, at Bindhâchal. In Jhânsi they offer to Kâli or Jagadamba Devi, during the Naurâtra of Chait and Kuâr, or in other months, on a Monday or Friday, cocoanuts, sweets, spirits, betel leaves, and sometimes a goat. In Jhânsi they also worship various deified persons who are called Bâba. Thus there is Gusâîn Bâba, who has a platform under a pîpal tree near Moth Tahsîl, in the Jhânsi District. He is said to roam about in his ascetic costume in the neighbourhood, and sometimes speaks to people. Nat Bâba has no special shrine; but his platform is to be seen in many villages with a little niche for holding a light, which is occasionally lighted in his honour. Many curious tales of this worthy are told, one being that after his death he attended the marriage of his grand-daughter, and made all the arrangements for the reception of the guests. Mahton Bâba is the ghost of some celebrated village headman of the olden time, of whom little is known except that he is now a guardian of villages, and wards off famine and pestilence from men and cattle if he be duly propitiated with some sweets and cocoanuts. The Sayyid, or Shahîd Mard, is some Muhammadan martyr, whom they greatly reverence, and another worthy of the same class, Jîwan Shâh Bâba, is also much respected. In no part of this worship are the services of Brâhmans required; but the Joshi or village astrologer is occasionally consulted to [[227]]select lucky days for weddings and the like. Their holidays are the Phagua or Holi, the Kajari, the Panchaiyân, Naumi, and Dasmi, at all of which they get drunk, if they can afford to do so. They are much afraid of the ghosts of those who die a violent death by drowning or some other accident. Such ghosts haunt the scene of the accident, and need careful propitiation. They have a very vague idea of the other world. They believe in a sort of hell into which evil-doers are flung and fall into a pit full of human ordure and urine.[112] This place they call Narak, of which Manu enumerates twenty-one varieties. Some of them who are becoming more enlightened have now begun to perform some rude kind of srâddha. Women who are tattooed on the arms, wrists, breast, and below the knee, become holy, and the door-keepers of Bhagwân admit them into his paradise.