Boda Dasari (bald-headed mendicant).--An exogamous sept of Jogi.
Boddu (navel).--An exogamous sept, or sub-division of Idigas and Asilis. It is recorded in the Gazetteer of the Bellary district, that "in the middle of the threshold of nearly all the gateways of the ruined fortifications round the Bellary villages will be noticed a roughly cylindrical or conical stone, something like a lingam. This is the Boddu-rayi, literally the navel stone, and so the middle stone. Once a year, in May, just before the sowing season begins, a ceremony takes place in connection with it." (See Bariki.)
Bodo (big).--A sub-division of Bottada, Mali, Omanaito, Pentia, and other castes. Bodo Nayak is a title among the Gadabas, and Bodo Odiya occurs as a sub-division of Sondi.
Bogara.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "Canarese brass and copper-smiths: a sub-division of Panchala." From a note on the Jains of the Bellary district [148] I gather that "there is a class of people called Bogaras in the Harpanahalli taluk, and in the town of Harpanahalli itself, side by side with the Jains. They are a thriving class, and trade in brass and copper wares. The Bogaras practice the Jaina religion, have the same gotras, freely worship in Jain temples, and are accepted into Jaina society. Evidently they are a sub-division of the Jains, though now excluded from inter-marriage." It is said that "arrangements are now being made (through the Jaina Bhattacharya at Kolhapur) to enable Bogaras to intermarry with the Jains."
Bogarlu.--Occurs as the name of a class of agricultural labourers in the Vizagapatam Agency, who are probably workers in metal who have taken to agriculture.
Boggula (charcoal).--An exogamous sept of Boya and Devanga.
Bohora.--The Bohoras or Boras are "Musalman converts from the Bombay side. They are traders. In Madras they have their own high priest and their own mosque (in Georgetown). It is said that, when one of them dies, the high priest writes a note to the archangels Michael, Israel and Gabriel, asking them to take care of him in Paradise, and that the note is placed in the coffin." [149] They consider themselves as a superior class, and, if a member of another section enters their mosque, they clean the spot occupied by him during his prayers. They take part in certain Hindu festivals, e.g., Dipavali, or feast of lights, at which crackers are let off.