Binjhia
This article is an extract from
THE TRIBES and CASTES of BENGAL. Ethnographic Glossary. Printed at the Bengal Secretariat Press. 1891. . |
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Binjhia
Bir,jia,. Brijia, Binjwar, an agricultural and land¬holdiug tnbe found m thE> south of the Lohardao-cJ. distriot, in ~aiamau, and in the Tributary States of GangpurO and Sarguja m Bengal and Patna in the Central Provinces. 'l'he Binjhias of the south are peculiar in that within their own households they speak
Internal structure
Uriya, their language for ordinary purposes being the jru:gon of Hindi current in Chota Nagpur. Mr. W. H . P. Driver describes them as a quiet, unwarlike people, flat-faced and black, but of good physique, and wearing their hair in matted locks. -e considers t em near y a led to the Asuras or Agarias. Like many similar tribes, they are divided into two sub-tribes-the Pahariya Binjhias and Oand¬Binj hias, so called from living respectively in the hills and in the plains. Their traditions, like those of the Binds, associate them with the Vindhya Hills, where the god Mahadeo is supposed to have created them by breathing life into a scare-crow, and the present representatives of the caste in Chcta Nagpur say that Hatanpur, in the Central Provinces, was their original habitat. From Hatanpur they moved eastward to Borasomar, thence to Keonjhar, and thence to Nagra in Gangpur. From this place a branch of them found their way, some twenty generations ago, to the plateau of Chota Nagpur, where they are now settled, the bulk of them as occupancy raiyats, and the chief men of the caste as tenure-holders of the second or third degree claiming kltu1tt kitti rights under the Maharaja of Chota Nagpur.
Marriages
The Rand-Binjhias have four exogamous septs :-Nag, the sllakej Oadul ; Bhair, supposed to be short for Bhairava; and Kasi. The first two are clearly totemistic, and the members of these septs reverence the animals whose names they bear. The sept name goes by the male side. The prohibited degrees are the same as in the case of the Hautias. The hill Binjhias have no septs, or rather the village takes the place of the sept; the rule being that a man must get his wife from a strange village. A man may marry two sisters, provided he marries the elder of the two first, but not otherwise ; a wife's elder sister (jetlt sas) being regarded by the husband in the light of a mother. Among the Dand-Binjhias, girls are marrien. either as infants or after they have attained the age of puberty, the mani.age being arranged between the parents by a male broker or bisut; but the Pahariya¬Binjhias still adhere to adult-marriage.
The usual bride-price is Rs. 4. Polygamy is permitted without any theoretical limit on the number of wives. It is unusual, however, to find a man with more than two wives, and the largest number ever heard of is six. Mr. Driver says three is the outside limit, but I suspect this statement represents little more than the improvised reply of his informants to a queiltion which they had never con¬sidered. At all events one would be curious to know on what principle this particular number was fixed. With the Binjhias, as with all polygamous castes, the standard of living sets impassable bounds to the indulgence of caprice in the matter of wives. Widows are allowed to marry again by the sagai form. It is considered the right thing for a widow to marry her husband's younger brother (dewar) if there is one; but she may marry anyone outside of her father's section and her Oli.ginal circle of prohibited degrees. Divorce is permitted on the ground of adultery by the wife or the inability of the parties to get on together. Either husband or wifo may take the initiative, and the bride-price and marriage expenses ru:e supposed to be repaid.
The marriage ceremony of the Dand-Binjhias differs little from that in vogue among the Hautias. Sindll1'dcin, or the smearing of vermilion on the bride's forehead, and knotting the clothes of the bride and bridegroom together, aI'e the essential portions of the rite. Sometimes the parties are married first to a mango-tree, but this practice is not universal or necessary. The hill Binjhias use oil instead of vermilion.
Religion
In matters of religion the more civilised Dand-Binjhias of the south profess to be orthodox Hindus, and worship Devi under the name Vindhu-basini, 'the dweller in the Vindhyas,' as the ishtadevatti or patron goddess of the caste. They also reverence J agannath. Their minor deities are Chadri Devi and Gram-sri, the goddesses who preside over villages. To both goats are sacrificed, but those offered to the former must be black. The gods of tne PaMriya¬Binjhias are Debi, Sing-Bonga or the Sun, Nind-Bonga or the Moon, and Mahadeo, who are worshipped by a Binjhia priest called the Baiga-Pahan and his assistant the Dewar, who oiler the sacrifices, while the Pujari or consulting priest determines what the sacrifice should be. Brahmans are employed in the worship of the greater gods and in the propitiation of dead ancestors, whom they call mua.
These Brahmans incur no social degradation by serving Binjhias. The dead are burned or buried. In the latter case the grave is dug deep and a cairn of large stones set with thorn bushes made up to keep 0:fI jackals and hyenas. Wealthy men make a merit of taking some of the ashes from the funeral pyre and casting them into the Ganges at Benares; but in fact this is rarely done, and the pretence of doing it is a mere imitation of the customs of the higher castes. Sl'tiddh is performed by those who wish to make a parade of their orthodoxy; but even in these cases I am informed that some of the essential portions of the standard ceremony are omitted. The iestivals of the tribe are the Phagua. in February, the Sarhul in April, the China-parab 01' sowing¬feast in June or July, the Karma. in October, and the Arwa or Kharway (harvest-home) in November, when a sacrifice is o:fIered to Mahadeo.
Succession
Biojhias do not follow the Mitakshara., which is the personal law of most Hindus residing in Lohardaga. Inheritance among them is governed by a. tribal oustom of their own, which gives the bulk of a man's estate to his eldest son, subject to the obligation to make life-grants from the property for the maintenance of his younger brothers. Daughters do not share in the inheritance; but the eldest son is expected to maintain them in the paternal houso and to get them married. In the order of succession a younger son by a wife who was married by the full marriage ceremony (byah) exoludes an elder son by a sagai wife, but theiIatter is entitled to maintenance-a right which is denied to the son of a concubine. These customs are recognised by the courts.
Social status
For the decision of questions of caste usage, the Binjhias have a representative assembly consisting of delegates from every house-hold in the community. The president, whose office is hereditary, is called ka1'tdlui. The rules of debate are, as might be supposed, highly primitive. After enough talking has been done to enable the president to gAther the sense of the assembly, he states his own view, and the decision, as in Homeric times, goes by acclamation.
Notwithstanding that they eat fowls and wild pig, both abomin¬ able in the eyes of the orthodox, the Dand¬Binjhias of the south are deemed to be Hindus, and enjoy much the same social rank as the Rautias. They will take cooked food only nom the hands of known Brah¬mans; sweetmeats, eto., nom Rajputs; and water from Rautias, Orhs, Kumha,rs, Ahirs, Khandaits, and Zamindar-Jhoras, but not Kharwars or Bhogtas. the hill Binjhias, aooording to Mr. Driver, eat buffaloes, OOWS, and the dluiman snake, but monkeys, nogs, and ordinary snakes are forbdden food .
The following statement shows the number and distribution of Binjhias in 1872 and 1881 :¬
Binjhia
(From People of India/ National Series Volume VIII. Readers who wish to share additional information/ photographs may please send them as messages to the Facebook community, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be gratefully acknowledged in your name.) Synonyms: Bindhya Bashini, Khatriya [Orissa] , Groups/subgroups: Dand Binjhia, Pahariya Binjhia [H.H. Risley] Titles: Majhi, Naik, Pradhan, Raut [Bihar and/or Jharkhand] Gunjwar, Majhi, Pradhan [Orissa] Baraik, Dandia, Gaunjhu, Karji, Manjhi, Naik, Parja [H.H. Risley] Surnames: Binjhia, Majhi, Naik, Pradhan, Raut, Singh [Bihar and/or Jharkhand] Gunjwar, Majhi, Pradhan [Orissa] Exogamous units/clans: Kareite Bimaria, Nag (snake), Ulamaria [Bihar and/or Jharkhand] Amrut, Bair, Bhairab, Dadual, Kaensa, Kaensaba, Kunjuwar, Kusha, Lele [Orissa] Bair, Bansetti, Bhair, Cheruka, Chidra, Choktra, Dadul, Hum [H.H. Risley] Gotra: Kasi [Bihar and/or Jharkhand] Bharadwaj, Kapila [Orissa]
