— BHAGALPUR.
347
The Muham-
Musahar, 79,584; Sonar, 16,914; Sunn', 12,107,
—
madans are classified according to sect into Sunnis, 141,151; Shias, 3318 and unspecified, 41,064. Of the 578 Christians, 323 are natives, 154 Europeans, 46 Eurasians, and 55 unspecified. The Division of the People into Town and Cou 7itry ; Occupations, etc. population of the District is entirely rural, and there are only two municipal towns containing more than five thousand inhabitants namely, Bhagalpur (population, 68,238) and Colgong (population,
—
—
SoNBARSA, which, however, is not a municipality, has a popuThe villages and towns are classified as follows 3210 contain less than two hundred inhabitants; 1868, from two to five hundred; 797, from five hundred to a thousand; 258, from one to two thousand; 35, from two to three thousand; 6, from three to five thousand; 2, from five thousand to ten thousand; and i, upwards 5672).
lation of 5237.
of
fifty
The male
thousand inhabitants.
population
classified
is
—
main divisions (i) Professional class, including Government officials and the learned professions, 6319; (2) domestic servants, etc., 42,602; (3) commeraccording to occupation into
cial class,
and
agricultural
(5)
manufacturing,
(6)
indefinite
The
six
including merchants, general dealers, carriers,
(4)
labourers,
the following
including
including
unspecified,
of the District, as a
etc.,
gardeners,
and other industrial non-productive (comprising
357,152
inhabitants
class,
artisan,
and
and
pastoral
classes,
fairly
51,829
123,453
children),
whole, are
35,404 362,360
general
480,605.
happy and
contented, and the smaller cultivators are said to be better off than their brethren of the lower delta.
A
peasant, with a small holding of
he would not be so well off as an ordinary retail shopkeeper, would be able to live quite as well as a man with a monthy income of Rs. 8 or i6s. The cultivators of Bhagalpur generally are much less in debt to the mahdjans or grain merchants than is the 5 acres of land, although
same
class in Bengal.
debt.
Demon - worship. valence of
In the south of the District there
—A
peculiar feature of the District
demon-worship,
especially
of a
is
is
very
little
the pre-
Brahman-demon, Dube
Bhairan by name. In Bhagalpur District every village has its own demon, who is propitiated by offerings made at the foot of a tree where he is supposed to reside. A belief in demons or ghosts is almost as prevalent in Bengal proper as in Bhagalpur ; but in Bengal if demons cause annoyance, the gods are invoked or exorcisms are
the
them ; while in Bhagalpur they are propitiated by and their blessings asked in cases of difficulty or danger. Demon-worship is not prevalent throughout Behar; and the few Districts in which it exists are those bordering on tracts inhabited by aboriginal tribes, such as Kols and Santals. practised to expel
presents,
