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Language
Every one in Bihar talks a dialect. Each region has its own brand of
vernacular. The different dialects are spoken by both the common people and rich
educated classes. Hindi is only spoken as a common language by the people
through out the state. Santhali is spoken by the Santhals. Bengali is used by the Bengalis, engaged
in various professional occupations throughout the state. The Urdu is confined
mostly to the towns. Magahi is the language of the country of Magadha, the
districts of Patna, Nalanda and Gaya. It is also spoken in the district of
Hazaribagh, on the west it extends to a portion of Palamu, and on the east to
proportions of the districts of Munger and Bhagalpur. Of the Munda languages,
Kberwari is the most important, it includes Ho or tribal language of Hos,
Mundari, the language of the Mundas in the north and Singhbhum and Bhumij or the
language of the Bhumij tribe. The Munda languages are spoken by many tribes in
Chotanagpur and Santhal Paragans. Dravidian languages which are akin to Tamil and Telugu of south India are
spoken by the aboriginal tribes in the same area.
Profession
The profession whose members stand highest for respectability
and skill is medicine. Bihari medical men are among the best in India. The
typical businessman in Bihar is generally a Bania, a Marwari or a Punjabi. In
some cases, a person educated in a commercial college embarks his career as his
father's assistant in the shop. He earns a far larger income than the majority of professional men. Bihari businessmen are
very practical and utilitarian to a fault.
Another important profession in Bihar is the
bar. The purely
professional lawyers and advocates are as a rule honest, hard working and
respectable men, leading quiet uneventful lives and are loyal to their clients.
There is a little distinction between the upper middle class and the lower
class. This in its turn lapses imperceptibly into the lowest strata society -
the peasant and the artisan.
Dress and Ornaments
Older fashions in dress and ornaments are still in vogue in
rural Bihar and among Bihari women. The educated higher classes prefer native ornaments that are of western type.
Hindus and Muslims
wear dhotis or pyjamas,
kurtas or shirts, their women wear saris and heavy ornaments especially on joyous occasions. Educated people working in towns and cities wear trousers,
shirts and bush-shirts. On special ceremonial occasions, Kurtas, Chudidar,
Pyjamas and Sherwanis are put on. Most of the Hindus, rich and poor perform
their ablutions everyday. The Muslims, Sikhs and Christians use 'attar' and
other perfumes. Perfumed oils are also widely used. As ornaments men usually
wear bala or
bali in Shahabads, Kanausi in Patna and Gaya, the Gowalas wore
Kundals. These
ornaments are now fast disappearing except malas or bead necklaces. Women in
every part of Bihar prefer aromatic oils. They wear profuse jewellery on special
occasions and take particular care to wash their hair and arrange it in
different styles. Tattooing is a prevalent practice. Married women paint the
parting of the hair with vermilion. Tikli, a silver spot and bindi, a round one
are placed on the forehead between the eyebrows. Many women pencil their eye
with kajal or antimony preparations called surma. Poor women wear necklaces of
silver. Chandrahar, tilri, panchlari, satlari, sikri are different types of
necklaces which women in Bihar wear. They have various ornaments for arms,
wrists and fingers. Rings are in vogue even among men. Bangles have always been
popular among all classes of women.
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