y Mahadeo to perpetual poverty
because their first ancestor stole a little gold from Parvatis crown
when it fell into the river Jamuna (in Chota Nagpur) and he was sent
to fetch it out. The metal which is found in the river sands they
hold to be the remains of a shower of gold which fell for two and
a half days while the Banaphar heroes Alha and Udal were fighting
their great battle with Prithvi Raj, king of Delhi. The caste is
partly occupational, and recruited from different sources. This is
shown by the fact that in Chanda members of different septs will not
eat together, though they are obliged to intermarry. In Sambalpur the
Behra, Patar, Naik and Padhan septs eat together and intermarry. Two
other septs, the Kanar and Peltrai who eat fowls and drink liquor,
occupy a lower position, and members of the first four will not take
food from them nor give daughters to them in marriage, though they
will take daughters from these lower groups for their sons. Here
they have three subcastes, the Laria or residents of Chhattisgarh,
the Uriya belonging to the Uriya country, and the Bhuinhar, who may
be an offshoot from the Bhuiya tribe.

2. Totemism

They have one recorded instance of totemism, which is of some
interest. Members of the sept named after a tree called _kausa_ revere
the tree and explain it by saying that their ancestor, when flying
from some danger, sought protection from this tree, which thereupon
opened and enfolded him in its trunk. No member of the sept will
touch the tree without first bathing, and on auspicious occasions,
such as births and weddings, they will dig up a little earth from the
roots of the tree and taking this home worship it in the house. If
any member of the sept finds that he has cut off a branch or other
part of this tree unwittingly he will take and consign it to a stream,
observing ceremonies of mourning. Women of the Nag or cobra sept will
not mention the name of this snake aloud, just as they refrain from
speaking the names of male relatives.

3. Marriage

Marriage within the sept is forbidden, and they permit the
intermarriage of the children of a brother and sister, but not of
those of two sisters, though their husbands may be of different
septs. Marriage is usually adult except in Sambalpur, where a girl
must be provided with a husband before reaching maturity in accordance
with the general rule among the Uriya castes. In Chhindwara it is
said that the Sonjharas r