Bharia

The proper name of the tribe is Bharia, but they are often called Bharia-Bhumia, because many of them hold the office of Bhumia or priest of the village gods and of the lower castes in Jubbulpore, and the Bharias prefer the designation of Bhumia as being the more respectable.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell

In Mandla there is also found a group called Bharia-Baigas.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell

Bharia, who places two pots with their mouths joined over a fire.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell

The Bharia is considered very ugly, and a saying about him is: 'The Bharia came down from the hills and got burnt by a cinder, so that his face is black.'

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell

For this snake they profess great reverence, and say that he was actually born in a Bharia family.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell

Bharia tribe of Jubbulpore, originally derived from the Bhars, who have obtained the designation of Baiga, owing to their employment as village priests.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell

But there is no reason to doubt that Bharia is the contemptuous form of Bhar, as

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell

'_Bharia bhwaka, pwanda langwata_', or 'The Bharia is verily a devil, who only covers his loins with a strip of cloth.'

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell

The Rajjhars, who appear to have formed a separate caste as the landowning subdivision of the Bhars, like the Raj-Gonds among Gonds, are said to be the descendants of a Raja and a Bharia woman.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell

Occasionally the Bharia in his character of a Hindu will make a vow to pay for a recitation of the Satya Narayan Katha or some other holy work.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II R. V. Russell