But they declared they never shortened lives to provide such feasts and shrank with horror from the idea of any bodies but those of their own blood-relatives being served up to them." It would appear that this custom may be partly ceremonial, and have some object, such as ensuring that the dead person should be born again in the family or that the survivors should not be haunted by his ghost.

It has been recorded of the Bhunjias that they ate a small part of the flesh of their dead parents.

[432] Colonel Dalton considered the Birhors to be a branch of the Kharia tribe, and this is borne out by Dr.Grierson's statement that the specimen of the Birhor dialect returned from the Jashpur State was really Kharia.

[433] Elsewhere the Birhor dialect resembles Mundari.
_Birjhia, Birjia._ (One who practises _bewar_ or shifting cultivation in a forest.) Subcaste of Binjhwar, Baiga and Korwa.
_Birkhandia._--From Birkhand (Sand of heroes), a name for Rajputana.

A section of Teli.
_Birtiya._ Title of Nai or barber.
_Bisen, Bisan._--A clan of Rajput.