Bedipa
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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Bedipa
The generic name of a number of vagrant gipsy-like groups, of whom it is difficult to say whether they can properly be described as castes. 'The following groups are included under the name (1) Babajiya, Lava, or Patwa, pedlars and mountebanks professing to be Mahomedans, but singing songs in praise of Ramo. and Lakshmana, and exhibiting painted scrolls representing the exploits of Hanuman. Their women have the reputation of being skilful in the treatment of children's diseases and the removal of nervous and theumatio pains. They also tattoo, but are not so expert in this art as the Nat women. (2) Bazigar, Kabutari, Bhanu¬mati, Dorabaz, acrobats and conjurors, probably closely akin to the Nats and Kanjars of Hindustai. As acrobats the women and girls are the chief performers: the men play tricks with balls and knives. The women also dabble in medicine, prescribe for children suffering from fever or indigestion, practise massage for rheumatism and affect to cure toothache. (3) Mal, also called Ponkwah from their dexterity in extracting worms from the teeth. They appear to be a vagrant group of the Mals of Western Bengal, who in their turn are possibly a Hinduised offshoot of the Male. It seems at any rate more reasonable to suppose that the tribal name Mal may be a variant of Male, a man, than to derive it from Mala, a hillman, or Malia, a wrestler. Mals do not now intermarry with other Bediyas, and repudiate any connexion with them : for further particulars, see the article Mal. (4) Mir-shikar or Chirimar, hunters and fowlers, takes birds with bird-lime or horse-hair nooses and the Sittnali or light lance divided into sections like a fishing rod. Some of the animals which the Mir-shikar catches are highly prized for medicinal purposes or for charms. The flesh of the scaly ant-eater, Banrahu or Bajrakit (Manis pentadaclyla), is believed to restore virile energy, its scales bound on the arm cure palpitations of the heart, and worn on the finger in the form of a ring are a sovereign prophylactic against venereal diseases. The flesh of the crow pheas¬ ant (malwkha or pan-kori) , if killed on a Tuesday or Saturday, cures enlargement of the spleen an,d puerperal disorders. The claws and droppings of the spotted owlet (penclui) if pounded up with betel-nut are a powerful and certain love-philtre, and the dried flesh of the dauk (Galtinula phmnicu1"Cl) is very beneficial in rheumatism. (5) Samperia, snake-charmers, hawkers of miscel¬ laneous goods, and makers of fish-hooks and such like articles. According to Dr. Wise, the snakes usually exhibited are the cobra; the light and dark varieties of' the Ophiophagus Elaps, named by them Dudhraj and Mani-raj; the python; a whip-snake. with red, black, and yellow spots, called Udaya Samp; and a large brown snake with black stripes on its neck, known as Ghar-Banka, from the singular way it bends before striking.
The Samperia catches a snake by pinning it to the ground with a forked stick, and seizing it by the neck, the thumb being held over the first vertebra. If the snake be a poisonous one, the fangs are torn out, but the poison bag is carefully preserved. Snake poison is highly valued by Hindu physicians for the treatment of diseases, and fetches in the market from fifteen to sixteen rupees per bhari or 179 grains. Another valuable prize is the tick ,kilni), occasionally found on the hood of the black cobra, about which many fabulous stories are told. One of these parasites is worth a large sum, as it is popularly believed to be a certain preservative against snake-bites and poisons in general.
the Samperia feeds his snakes on fish, frogs, and mice. Sam-perias have no specific for snake-bite, but each man carries, as a charm, the root of the Bhatraj, a forest creeper. The popular idea is that the bud (malati) of the Bhatraj is a specific, but the Samperias deny this. When anyone is bitten by a poisonous animal, the Samperia ties a string round the limb, suoks the wound, bathes the extremity in hot water, and covers the bit.e with the leaves of the Bhatnij. One of the company then recites Hindustani matras or incantations, which are usually utter gibberish.
Members of this caste are in great request at the festival of Manasa Devi, their patron deity in the month of Sravan (July-August), being engaged by Brahmans to exhibit their collection and make the snakes crawl in front of the idol. On such occasions the Samperia plays on a pipe, while his wife or child chants a monotonous Hindustani song, and irritates the reptile to strike. the Samperia also tames jungle cocks to entrap wild ones, and the Rom (Gall£crex cristatus), a bird famous for its pugnacity. When he is in want of food he tethers the decoy near a marsh, arranging a low soreen with three movable leaves from which horse¬hair nooses hang. The wild bird advancing to test the courage of the captive, gets entangled and falls an easy prey to the Samperia, who is lying concealed close by. Like other bediyas, the Samperias keop tame cormorants to drive fish into the net, but they do not sell what they catch. They al'e keen sportsmen, and when an opportunity offors they stalk deer, and shoot pal'tridges, paddy-birds, and egrets.
(6) The SMndars have the reputation of being the most orderly and industrious of the Bediya divisions. Theil' name is derived from the Persian SMnah, a oomb. This oomb, or more oorrectly reed. through which the warp threads pass, is in great demand by Tantls and J ulahas for their looms, and no one oan make them so oheaply and neatly as the SMndar. 1'he frame-work of the oomb (dhangi) is made of split bamboo, and the teeth (gaibi) of well-seasoned wood. The latter al'e fixed at equal distances apart by strong cotton thread. The Shadar is also a Manihar, or pedlar, retailing in the villages beads and trinkets; waist-strings (Kardhani) bought from the Patwa; and needles, thread, and tape, procured from Mnghuliya shops. Shandths are expert divers; and, when anchored in suitable localities, gather the common bivalve shells (sipl), and sell them to the chunari, or lime-burner. They also use the sat-naZi, or bamboo rod of seven joints, tipped with bird-lime, oatohing bulbuls and other small birds. Like the Samperia, they keep tame karas, jungle cocks, and cormorants, and, if they can afford to do so, take out a gun license to shoot game. Of late years they have all become converts to Islam, but Mahomedans do not admit them into their society, and refuse to intermarry, to eat, and to pray with them.
(7) Rasia Bediyas use boats of ourious oonstruotion, only half oovered over, while the tilt is ooooon, or bottle-shaped, tapering gradually towards the stern, where there is a small round opening, through whioh a man oan with diffioulty orawl. These Bediyas work with zinc, whioh is bought in pigs, melted, and run into moulds. From the similarity in oolour of zino and meroury (rasa), the division has derived its distinotive name from the latter metal. The Rasias make anklets, bracelets, and oollars for the neck (hansli) , which are worn by all Hindu and Mahomedan females of the lower orders. At their homes they are oultivators, and being striot Farazls are accepted as members of the Mahomedan community. Their' social standing, however, is so precarious that prolonged absence From home, or a manifest partiality for boat life, is punished by expulsion From society.
