British documents identified Rautias as ‘outsiders’, invited to settle in the Porahat area by the local Rajahs. A warrior caste, they were granted land in exchange for their services as headmen to extract tax payments. The Rautias I met claimed their ancestors had been invited to settle locally by the Hos themselves to act on their behalf with the Rajahs, as they could not speak Hindi. Rautias’ familiarity with local government officers and traders was apparent during market days. British documents show petitions filed by the Hos to claim the headmanship of their villages back from the Rautias (link).