Indische Palaographie von circa 350 a. Chr. – circa 1300 p. Chr. c48.s5.t1.2

c48.s5.t1.2

§ 75. **Mimes etc.** (48,000). Owing to the subdivisions of these castes and the uncertainty as to their origin the figures obtained from the Census are probably far from accurate. The Bahurūpiyā, for instance, or the caste of many faces, is merely a functional body in the Panjab, and the caste going by that title is a division of the Mahtam, a hunting caste, which is said to have got the name from the variety of the ways in which it picks up its living. In the Ganges valley, on the other hand, the Bahurūpiyā is a sub-caste of the Banjārā, and takes brides from the Naṭ, another gipsy tribe, but gives none in return. The Mahtam too, are connected with the Labāṇā of the Panjāb, so it is not unlikely that the Bahurūpiyā are really of the latter blood. This caste stands much higher than the Bhāṇḍ, or Buffoon, who plies his trade about the mansions of the great, like the jesters of old, and with even greater freedom of speech. Indeed, the ill-temper of the Bhāṇḍ is proverbial, mainly because of the peculiarly offensive manner in which he gives vent to it. In the Panjāb the caste is recruited largely from the Mīrāsī, whose name is sometimes retained as well as that of the trade. The Bhavaīō of Gujarāt, is an acting caste, and performs comedies at weddings or other festivals before any village audience subscribing for it. The company is often attached to the village, as part of the establishment. They have the tradition of having once held a higher position in the north, but are now a purely local institution, and owing to confusion of nomenclature, perhaps, their full strength has not been recorded. The Gōndhaḷī of the Marāṭhā country is an itinerant ballad-singer, and dances a special set of figures in honour of a goddess at weddings and private entertainments.