"Baro" denotes the number twelve, but in general there were more than twelve chiefs or landlords, and the word "baro" meant many. Thus, "Bhuyan-raj" denoted individual Bhuyanship, whereas "Baro-Bhuyan" denoted temporary confederacies that they formed. In times of aggression by external powers, they generally cooperated in defending and expelling the aggressor. In times of peace, they maintained their respective sovereignty. In the presence of a strong king, they offered their allegiance. In general each of them were in control of a group of villages, called "", and the more powerful among them called themselves "raja". The rulers of the Bhuyanships belonged to different ethnic, religious or social backgrounds.