nts than the
Gond and Kawar tribes and the Hindus. Sir G. Grierson also states
that the language of the Baigas of Mandla and Balaghat is a form of
Chhattisgarhi, and this is fairly conclusive evidence of their first
having belonged to Chhattisgarh. [365] It seems not unlikely that the
Baigas retreated into the hills round Chhattisgarh after the Hindu
invasion and establishment of the Haihaya Rajput dynasty of Ratanpur,
which is now assigned to the ninth century of the Christian era; just
as the Gonds retired from the Nerbudda valley and the Nagpur plain
before the Hindus several centuries later. Sir H. Risley states that
the Binjhias or Binjhwars of Chota Nagpur say that their ancestors
came from Ratanpur twenty generations ago. [366]

6. The Baigas a branch of the Bhuiyas.

But the Chhattisgarh plain and the hills north and east of it are
adjacent to and belong to the same tract of country as the Chota
Nagpur States, which are the home of the Bhuiyas. Sir H. Risley
gives Baiga as a name for a sorcerer, and as a synonym or title of
the Khairwar tribe in Chota Nagpur, possibly having reference to the
idea that they, being among the original inhabitants of the country,
are best qualified to play the part of sorcerer and propitiate the
local gods. It has been suggested in the article on Khairwar that that
tribe are a mongrel offshoot of the Santals and Cheros, but the point
to be noticed here is the use of the term Baiga in Chota Nagpur for a
sorcerer; and a sorcerer may be taken as practically equivalent for a
priest of the indigenous deities, all tribes who act in this capacity
being considered as sorcerers by the Hindus. If the Bhuiyas of Chota
Nagpur had the title of Baiga, it is possible that it may have been
substituted for the proper tribal name on their migration to the
Central Provinces. Mr. Crooke distinguishes two tribes in Mirzapur
whom he calls the Bhuiyas and Bhuiyars. The Bhuiyas of Mirzapur seem
to be clearly a branch of the Bhuiya tribe of Chota Nagpur, with whom
their section-names establish their identity. [367] Mr. Crooke states
that the Bhuiyas are distinguished with very great difficulty from the
Bhuiyars with whom they are doubtless very closely connected. [368]
Of the Bhuiyars [369] he writes that the tribe is also known as Baiga,
because large numbers of the aboriginal local priests are derived
from this caste. He also states that "Most Bhuiyars are Baigas and
officiate in their own as well