History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v5.c79.3

v5.c79.3

The country extending east of Bijapur city, and enclosed by the Bhima and the Krishna rivers, is the home of the Berads, a race of aboriginal Kanarese, also called Dheds, and regarded as one of the lowest in the scale of Hindu castes. They are a virile and hardy people, not much advanced from savagery, but at the same time not toned down like the over-refined upper castes of Hindu society. They eat mutton, beef, pork, domestic fowls, etc., and drink to excess. Dark, muscular, and of middle height, with round faces, flat cheeks, thin lips and lank or frizzled hair, the Berads can bear fatigue and hardship, but have no taste for settled industry or peaceful arts. Their race name in Kanarese means "hunter", and while devoted to field sports of all kinds, they are also adepts in lawless pursuits, and often engage in organized crimes, such as dacoity and cattle-lifting, etc., in which they take a pride. Their religion still consists of primitive superstitions and spirit-worship, though outwardly most of them profess to be Lingayet and some Vaishnav Hindus. Their tribal organization under the heads of families and the judicial authority of their hereditary headmen ensured discipline and solidarity among them, and they supplied the most steady and accurate musketeers of South India in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; Tipu Sultan's famous infantry was mostly composed of these people. According to their own story, the founder of their tribe pleased the god Shiva by his devotion and gained from him the two blessings that his descendants would be sure shots and their lands would grow corn without much labour or water. Hence, the Berads have been good marksmen and they grow only the spring crops which require little water or care.