himself the son of a Kaibartta woman, and in order to favour a Kaibartta Rájá, he made several individuals of that caste into Bráhmans, and appointed them as priests to the rest. These are still known as the Kaibartta Bráhmans, and are numerous in the Húglí District. It is conjectured that the aboriginal tribes of Western Bengal, on settling in the plains, took upon themselves the name of Kaibartta, and adopted the Hindu religion, manners, and customs. Some of the Kaibarttas still bear the sept name of an aboriginal tribe, the Bhuiyás. The Rájá of Tamluk, in the Midnapur District, is a Kaibartta, and it is probable that all the members of the caste in the 24 Parganás have migrated from Districts on the west of the Húglí. The caste is divided into the five following classes:—Uttarrárhi or Chásá Kaibarttas, who are cultivators and occupy the first rank; Púrba-desí Kaibarttas, cultivators; Tunte or Dakshín-rárhi Kaibarttas, rearers of silk-worms and cultivators; Siuli, date-tappers; and Málá or Jele, fishermen and boatmen. The two first divisions rank among those castes from whose hands a Bráhaman can take water, and they are esteemed accordingly. The other three hold a lower position, and the Málás, or fishermen, have now formed themselves into a separate caste, and will be alluded to in their proper place, further down in this list. Regarding the origin of the Kaibarttas, it is said that they are the offspring of a Sudra father and a Kshattriya mother, but, as already stated, there seems to be greater reason to class them among the aboriginal population of India. Their number in the 24 Parganás in 1872 is returned at 182,486, mostly in middling circumstances.
(14) Madak or Mayrá, confectioners.—These are said at one time to have been a branch of the Kaibarttas, but at the present day they have formed themselves into a separate and distinct class, and deny any such connection. Number in the 24 Parganás in 1872, 6864; in middling circumstances.
(15) Gánrár, parched rice sellers, said to be the offspring of a Khandikar father and a Nat mother. Number in the 24 Parganas in 1872, 1847 , aU poor.
(16) Agurí, a high class of cultivators, held in fair esteem, and said to be the issue of a Kshattriya father and a Súdra mother. Number in the 24 Parganás in 1872, 1848; generally poor.
(17) Kurmí, an up-country cultivating caste, also employed as day labourers in Calcutta. Number in the 24 Parganás in 1872, 4275.
