This sweeping ethnographic and historical survey moves from ancient origins to the intimate details of family life, tracing communities whose identities are shaped by memory, custom, and contested status. It opens with the Bhars of eastern Uttar Pradesh, a people of uncertain, probably non-Aryan origin, surrounded by legends of lost kingship, ruined forts, and place-names that preserve their presence in the landscape. Careful scholarship tempers folklore, suggesting they were likely a Dravidian group gradually displaced by Rajput and other ruling clans. The account then turns to Bhar social organization, marriage, birth, death rites, tribal religion, occupations, and local customs, revealing a fragmented caste bound by strict rules and powerful ritual life. The book also profiles the Bharbhûnja grain-parchers, the Muslim Dafâli beggar-musicians, and the Dâdupanthi sect, each shown through internal divisions, beliefs, and census-style notes. Across these portraits, the emphasis falls on caste hierarchy, regional variation, devotional practice, and the ways work, faith, and kinship create distinct but changing communities. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.