Bahurupia
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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Bahurupia
A mimic, an actor, a person assuming various characters and disguises. Bahurupias are believed to have been origin-ally low-caste Hindus, who on their conversion to Islam affected to trace their descent from Umari-yar, the court jester of Naushirwan. They often appear in the guise of a decrepit old woman, her face puckered with gab juice, who calls herself Akbar's nurse. Another popular role is that of Siv-Gauri, in which the Bahurupia. gets up one side of his person as Riva and the other as Gauri, and conducts a humorous dialogue between tho two.
