t half the total
number reside in the Saugor, Damoh and Jubbulpore Districts. The word
Basor is a corruption of Bansphor, 'a breaker of bamboos.' Dhulia,
from _dholi_, a drum, means a musician.

2. Caste traditions.

The caste trace their origin from Raja Benu or Venu who ruled at
Singorgarh in Damoh. It is related of him that he was so pious that
he raised no taxes from his subjects, but earned his livelihood by
making and selling bamboo fans. He could of course keep no army,
but he knew magic, and when he broke his fan the army of the enemy
broke up in unison. Venu is a Sanskrit word meaning bamboo. But a
mythological Sanskrit king called Vena is mentioned in the Puranas,
from whom for his sins was born the first Nishada, the lowest of human
beings, and Manu [250] states that the bamboo-worker is the issue of
a Nishada or Chandal father and a Vaideha [251] mother. So that the
local story may be a corruption of the Brahmanical tradition. Another
legend relates that in the beginning there were no bamboos, and
the first Basor took the serpent which Siva wore round his neck and
going to a hill planted it with its head in the ground. A bamboo at
once sprang up on the spot, and from this the Basor made the first
winnowing fan. And the snake-like root of the bamboo, which no doubt
suggested the story to its composer, is now adduced in proof of it.

3. Subdivisions.

The Basors of the northern Districts are divided into a number of
subcastes, the principal of which are: the Purania or Juthia, who
perhaps represent the oldest section, Purania being from _purana_ old;
they are called Juthia because they eat the leavings of others; the
Barmaiya or Malaiya, apparently a territorial group; the Deshwari or
Bundelkhandi who reside in the _desh_ or native place of Bundelkhand;
the Gudha or Gurha, the name being derived by some from _guda_
a pigsty; the Dumar or Dom Basors; the Dhubela, perhaps from the
Dhobi caste; and the Dharkar. Two or three of the above names appear
to be those of other low castes from which the Basor caste may have
been recruited, perhaps at times when a strong demand existed for
bamboo-workers. The Buruds do not appear to be sufficiently numerous
to have subcastes. But they include a few Telenga Buruds who are
really Medaras, and the caste proper are therefore sometimes known as
Maratha Buruds to distinguish them from these. The caste has numerous
_bainks_ or exogamous groups or septs, the name