aonrs of Bundelkhand have
the following tradition. In the beginning of creation Mahadeo wished
to teach the people how to cultivate the ground, and so he made a
plough and took out his bull Nandi to yoke to it But there was dense
forest on the earth, so he created a being whom he called Savar and
gave him an axe to clear the forest. In the meantime Mahadeo went
away to get another bullock. The Savar after clearing the forest felt
very hungry, and finding nothing else to eat killed Nandi and ate
his flesh on a teak leaf. And for this reason the young teak leaves
when rubbed give out sap which is the colour of blood to the present
day. After some time Mahadeo returned, and finding the forest well
cleared was pleased with the Savar, and as a reward endowed him with
the knowledge of all edible and medicinal roots and fruits of the
forest. But on looking round for Nandi he found him lying dead with
some of his flesh cut off. The Savar pleaded ignorance, but Mahadeo
sprinkled a little nectar on Nandi, who came to life again and told
what had happened. Then Mahadeo was enraged with the Savar and said,
'You shall remain a barbarian and dwell for ever in poverty in the
jungles without enough to eat.' And accordingly this has always been
the condition of the Savar's descendants.

Other old authors speak of the Parna or leaf-clad Savars; and a Savar
messenger is described as carrying a bow in his hand "with his hair
tied up in a knot behind with a creeper, black himself, and wearing
a loin-cloth of _bhilawan_ leaves"; [632] an excellent example of
'a leaf-fringed legend.'

3. Tribal subdivisions

The Bundelkhand Savars have been so long separated from the others that
they have sometimes forgotten their identity and consider themselves as
a subtribe of Gonds, though the better informed repudiate this. They
may be regarded as a separate endogamous group. The eastern branch
have two main divisions called Laria and Uriya, or those belonging to
Chhattisgarh and Sambalpur respectively. A third division known as the
Kalapithia or 'Black Backs' are found in Orissa, and are employed
to drag the car of Jagannath. These on account of their sacred
occupation consider themselves superior to the others, abstain from
fowls and liquor, and sometimes wear the sacred thread. The Larias are
the lowest subdivision. Marriage is regulated by exogamous septs or
_bargas_. The northern Savars say that they have 52 of these, 52 being
a number fre