at in an earthen pot containing a lighted wick, the pot being
supported on a toy chariot made of sticks. A thread is coiled round
the neck of the jar, and the Bhoyars then place it in the middle of
the house, confident that the god has entered it, and will ward off
all calamities during the marriage. This is performed by the _bhanwar_
ceremony, seven earthen pots being placed in a row, while the bride and
bridegroom walk round in a circle holding a basket with a lighted lamp
in it. As each circle is completed, one pot is removed. This always
takes place at night. The Dholewars do not perform the _bhanwar_
ceremony, and simply throw sacred rice on the couple, and this is
also done in Wardha. Sometimes the Bhoyars dispense with the presence
of the Brahman and merely get some rice and juari consecrated by
him beforehand, which they throw on the heads of the couple, and
thereupon consider the marriage complete. Weddings are generally
held in the bright fortnight of Baisakh (April-May), and sometimes
can be completed in a single day. Widow-marriage is allowed, but it
is considered that the widow should marry a widower and not a bachelor.

4. Occupation.

The regular occupation of the Bhoyars is agriculture, and they are
good cultivators, growing much sugar-cane with well-irrigation. They
are industrious, and their holdings on the rocky soils of the plateau
Districts are often cleared of stones at the cost of much labour. Their
women work in the fields. In Betul they have the reputation of being
much addicted to drink.

5. Social status.

They do not now admit outsiders, but their family names show that at
one time they probably did so, and this laxity of feeling survives in
the toleration with which they readmit into caste a woman who has gone
wrong with an outsider. They eat flesh and fowls, and the Dholewars eat
pork, while as already stated they are fond of liquor. To have a shoe
thrown on his house by a caste-fellow is a serious degradation for a
Bhoyar, and he must break his earthen pots, clean his house and give
a feast. To be beaten with a shoe by a low caste like Mahar entails
shaving the moustaches and paying a heavy fine, which is spent on a
feast. The Bhoyars do not take food from any caste but Brahmans, but
no caste higher than Kunbis and Malis will take water from them. In
social status they rank somewhat below Kunbis. In appearance they are
well built, and often of a fair complexion. Unmarried g