Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924024153987).pdf/586

 —



GON

508

have earned by means of ploughing. Flushed with this success, he spent the whole of the remainder of his life in predatory occupations, and laid the foundation of the Barwar clan. He proselytised one hundred men of his class, who after his death made further improvements in their art of freebooting. But the rest of the clan who still adhered to their peaceful occupation of agriculture, excommunicated, and even turned them out of their villages. The party was then small in number, and began to live a nomadic life in the groves of Patna, and subsisted on no other occupation than freebooting."

They follows

are next compared with the Sunorias, another predatory tribe as

" In the month of November or December of every year, the Barw^rs, having consulted the astrologers as to some propitious time about the day of the Dasahra festival, and Sunorias, after the Dewali, go out of their village and hold a meeting, and their females serve them with their meals Thenceforth they proceed on their thieving expeditions ,on the occasion. These ceremonies are identical among both tribes to distant countries. but the modes of their thieving are different. "

The

arts of thieving of

though the movement of

one tribe do not agree with those of the other, and sitting on knees of a Barwar resemble

fingers

The Barw4rs of Gonda are more expert in their prothose of a Sunoria. Among the latter, if any one renounces the fession than the Sunorias. profession of thieving, he is debarred from marrying among his brethren but a Barwar by doing so is only excluded from a share in the booty, provided he is found capable physically of carrying on thieving. The Sunorias hire children of any class, and join even Cham^rs to assist them in thieving; but the Barwars exclude children and people of other classes from their profession with jealousy. "

Both tribes are very dexterous in committing robberies in a railway Each gang of the Sunoria tribe does not amount to less than forty or fifty men, while those of the Barwars vary from twenty to fifty men per body. As the Sunorias sell their stolen articles at half-price to the mah^jans, so do the Barwars dispose of their booty to their leaders at a similar train.

price. When they are in a foreign country the people of both tribes change their proper names. If a Sunoria boy happen to miss the sleight of hand which he was taught to practise, he is punished but the Barwdrs do not teach their children the art, and leave them to their own discretion. The Sunorias have an umpire among them called Nuhri,' who collects the dues and settles their disputes but the Barwars never had any.

'



" Some disguise themselves as mendicants, soldiers, tradesmen, shopkeepers, &c. In short, they assume such different forms and appearances as none but those acquainted with them could recognise them to be thieves. They paint their foreheads, wear Brahmanical threads, dhotis, &c., like learned Brahmans keep a bag of beads on their shoulders, shave their beards and mustachios, and apparently go about and behave decently.