Bais-Baniya
This article is an extract from
THE TRIBES and CASTES of BENGAL. Ethnographic Glossary. Printed at the Bengal Secretariat Press. 1891. . |
NOTE 1: Indpaedia neither agrees nor disagrees with the contents of this article. Readers who wish to add fresh information can create a Part II of this article. The general rule is that if we have nothing nice to say about communities other than our own it is best to say nothing at all.
NOTE 2: While reading please keep in mind that all articles in this series have been scanned from a very old book. Therefore, footnotes have got inserted into the main text of the article, interrupting the flow. Readers who spot scanning errors are requested to report the correct spelling to the Facebook page, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be duly acknowledged.
Bais-Baniya
A sub-caste of Baniyas in Behar, some of whom claim to be the modern representatives of the ancient Vaisyas. It is, however, equally likely that .they may be an offshoot from the Bais sub-tribe of Rajputs, whICh was separated from the parent group by reason of its members taking to trade. They have three sections-Morwait, Karnait, and Gothman, supplemented by the usual rules regarding prohibited degrees. Marriage is either infant or adult, the former custom being deemed the more respectable. The standard ceremony is followed, and tilak is paid to the parents of the bridegroom. Widow-marriage and divorce are prohibited, and polygamy is permitted only in the event of the first wife being barren. They burn tbmr dead and perform the sraddh on the thirty-first day after death. Trade and agriculture are their regular occupations.
