e of them have taken to agriculture. Their women
act as maids to high-caste Hindu ladies, and as they are always about
the zenana, are liable to lose their virtue. A curious custom prevails
in Marwar on the birth of an heir to the throne. An impression of the
child's foot is taken by a Bari on cloth covered with saffron, and
is exhibited to the native chiefs, who make him rich presents. [245]
The Baris have the reputation of great fidelity to their employers, and
a saying about them is, 'The Bari will die fighting for his master.'

Basdewa

_Basdewa, [246] Wasudeo, Harbola, Kaparia, Jaga, Kapdi._--A wandering
beggar caste of mixed origin, who also call themselves Sanadhya or
Sanaurhia Brahmans. The Basdewas trace their origin to Wasudeo,
the father of Krishna, and the term Basdewa is a corruption of
Wasudeo or Wasudeva. Kaparia is the name they bear in the Anterved
or country between the Ganges and Jumna, whence they claim to have
come. Kaparia has been derived from _kapra_, cloth, owing to the custom
of the Basdewas of having several dresses, which they change rapidly
like the Bahrupia, making themselves up in different characters as a
show. Harbola is an occupational term, applied to a class of Basdewas
who climb trees in the early morning and thence vociferate praises
of the deity in a loud voice. The name is derived from _Har_, God,
and _bolna_, to speak. As the Harbolas wake people up in the morning
they are also called Jaga or Awakener. The number of Basdewas in
the Central Provinces and Berar in 1911 was 2500, and they are found
principally in the northern Districts and in Chhattisgarh. They have
several territorial subcastes, as Gangaputri or those who dwell on
the banks of the Ganges; Khaltia or Deswari, those who belong to
the Central Provinces; Parauha, from _para_, a male buffalo calf,
being the dealers in buffaloes; Harbola or those who climb trees and
sing the praises of God; and Wasudeo, the dwellers in the Maratha
Districts who marry only among themselves. The names of the exogamous
divisions are very varied, some being taken from Brahman _gotras_ and
Rajput septs, while others are the names of villages, or nicknames,
or derived from animals and plants. It may be concluded from these
names that the Basdewas are a mixed occupational group recruited
from high and low castes, though they themselves say that they do
not admit any outsiders except Brahmans into the community. In Bombay
[247] the Wasud