6. Of the tribe in the Dûn Mr. Baillie writes [61]:—“The Mahras are the aboriginal inhabitants and occupy all the unhealthy villages in the Eastern Dûn, where no one else can live. These are also Râjputs, and are closely allied to the Bhoksas of the Rohilkhand Tarâi, and Thârus of the Oudh Tarâi. They are clearly all one and the same race. The Mahras have few traditions, except that their ancestors were Râjputs. They present many points of resemblance to the Bhoksas, though neither will acknowledge any connection with the other. They are of settled habits, dwellers in swamps and cultivators of rice, and are proof against malaria. They do not admit outsiders into the caste. They are timid and averse to intercourse with strangers. They generally marry on attaining puberty. They are in their habits and customs Hindus of the ordinary low caste type, and Gaur Brâhmans are employed by them as priests for marriage and funeral ceremonies. Remarriage of the widows is permitted. The widow is not obliged to marry her husband’s elder or younger brother. They eat pork and fowls, and drink spirits like most of the dwellers in the Tarâi swamps. Some of them are hunters, and catch game, and others are good fishermen.” The traditions which point to a Râjput origin are, of course, as baseless as those of the Thârus and the allied races. [Mahra Bhoksas—Birth ceremonies.] 7. There is no ceremony during pregnancy. The caste supplies midwives to the higher castes; so they attend each other at their confinements. On the sixth day is the worship of Bihâi, who causes children to laugh or cry in their sleep. A ball of cowdung is made and wrapped up in a cloth. The midwife brings this ball to the mother and she worships it. On that day the entire house is plastered, and a dish of curry and rice is made and distributed among the clansmen and friends. The next day the mother gets some Ganges water from a Brâhman, and, mixing it with ordinary water, takes a bath. This is the only purification. After a month the shaving (mûndan) is performed, and on this occasion the clansmen are fed. There is no adoption ceremony. When a man marries a widow and has no issue it is very common for him to adopt one of his stepsons. [Mahra Bhoksas—Marriage.] 8. The betrothal is done in the usual way. At the marriage a shed (mânro) is erected in the courtyard, and beneath it the nine planets are worshipped. After this the sacred fire is lighted, and the pair walk five times round it.