The Bharbhunja derive their name from the Hindi word bhunja, which means gram, and the community was involved with roasting gram. The majority of the Bharbhunja are Hindu, except a section in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, who form a separate community of Muslim Bharbhunja. A small number in Punjab and Haryana . Those in Haryana and Punjab speak Punjabi.[1]
In Maharashtra, there are three distinct communities of the Bharbhunja, the Bhad Bhunjari, the Pardeshi Bhunjari and the Bhoi Bhunjari. All the three groups claim their origin from different regions, with Bhad Bhunjari claiming their origin from Gujarat, the Pardeshi from Madhya Pradesh, and the Bhoi from Rajasthan. Each of these groups is endogamous, and do not intermarry. They are also separated by language, with the Bhad Bhunjari still speaking Gujarati, while the other groups speak Marathi. The Bhad Bhunjari are now found mainly in the districts of Nasik, Pune, Thane, Ahmednagar and the city of Mumbai.[2]
In Uttar Pradesh, the Bhabhunja are referred to as the Bhurji. They are still involved in their traditional occupation of grain parching. Wages of the parcher is fixed in terms of the proportion of grain that is parched. They purchase the grain from agrarian castes such as the Kurmi. The Bhurji live in multi-caste villages, often occupying their own quarters. [4]
The Bhurji are strictly endogamous, and practice clan exogamy. The Bhurji are Hindu, and their tribal deities include Panchon Pir and Baram Baba. They are found throughout Uttar Pradesh, but their place is taken by the Kandu in eastern Uttar Pradesh, another caste traditionally associated with grain parching. The community speak the Khari boli dialect in the west, and Bhojpuri in the east.