Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Benia

by Edgar Thurston

Benia.— A small caste of Oriya cultivators and palanquin-bearers in Ganjam. It is on record*^[1] that in Ganjam honey and wax are collected by the Konds and Benias, who are expert climbers of precipitous rocks and lofty trees. The name is said to be derived from bena, grass, as the occupation of the caste was formerly to remove grass, and clear land for cultivation.

1. * Agricultural Ledger Series, Calcutta, No. 7, 1904.