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''DESCRIPTIVE ETHNOLOGY

BENGAL.

BY

EDWARD TUITE DALTON, C.S.L.,

COLONEL, BENGAL STAFF CORPS; COMMISSIONER OF CHUTIA NAGPUR; MEMBER OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL, ETC.
Ellustrated by Lithograph Vortraits copied from Photographs.

PRINTED FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF BENGAL, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE
ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL.

CALCUTTA:
OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING.

1872.
'' 

 

 

 
''PREFACE.

 

Earty in the year 1866, Dr. J. Fayrer, c. s.1, submitted to the Asiatic
Society of Bengal a proposal for a great Ethnological Congress in Calcutta, which
was to bring together in one exhibition typical examples of the races of the Old
World, to be made the subject of scientific study when so collected.*

The Council of the Society were unanimous in regarding the proposition as one
highly calculated to advance the science of ethnology, and in submitting it to the
Government of India warmly advocated its adoption, suggesting that it would form
an appropriate adjunct to the general industrial exhibition which it was then in-
tended to hold in 1869-70.

The scheme was a grand one, and there is no capital in the world possessing
greater facilities for its successful accomplishment than Calcutta.

But difficulties presented themselves. It was of importance that the wild tribes
of India should be fully represented. Yet it is sometimes no easy matter to induce
those strange shy creatures to visit even the stations nearest to them, and to induce
them to proceed to a remote and unknown country for a purpose they could not be
made to comprehend, would in many cases have been utterly impracticable. It was
also pointed out that such people were liable to suffer in health from change of
climate. The Commissioner of Asam stated his conviction that twenty typical
specimens of the hill tribes of his province could not be conveyed to Calcutta and
back at any time of the year without casualties that the greatest enthusiast for
anthropological research would shrink from encountering; and he added—‘if speci-
mens of the more independent tribes fell sick and died in Calcutta or on the journey,
it might lead to inconvenient political complications.”

For these and other reasons the scheme was allowed to drop. But in the mean-
time the Government of Bengal and the Supreme Government had, in compliance
with the request of the Society, called on all local authorities to furnish complete
and accurate lists of various races found within their respective jurisdictions; and

 

* Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for April, 1866.
''il

under the impulse thus given, some valuable papers from different parts of India
were received.

Before the design of a Congress was abandoned, I had been asked to edit the
ethnological information submitted in compliance with this requisition by the
Commissioners of Divisions and Provinces under the Bengal Government; and in
undertaking the duty, my intention was to draw up a descriptive catalogue which
might prove a useful guide to the ethnological exhibition; for had the scheme been
carried out, the compilation of a more elaborate descriptive work on the subject
would have been best left to the scientific visitors of the Congress. However, on
examining the papers made over to me, I found no material sufficient even for a
catalogue: in truth, there was nothing to edit.

It was then suggested that I should draw up an account of the tribes in Bengal
from all available sources of information, and this proposition I have endeavoured to
carry out. It is right, however, to state in apology for the selection made of a
compiler, and for my acceptance of such a duty, that I am conscious I was applied to
solely because it was known that I had spent the greater portion of a long service in
Asim and Chitia Nagptir, the most interesting fields of ethnological research in all
Bengal; and though without any pretension to scientific knowledge of the subject,
without practice as an author, or experience as a compiler, I have probably had more
opportunities of observing various races and tribes, especially those usually called
Aborigines, than have been conceded to any other officer now in the service.

The Asiatic Society of Bengal did me the honor to approve of the proposal,
and kindly offered to give me all the assistance in their power. On the 3rd October,
1866, the Council tendered their services to Government to superintend the printing
of the work, and the Government in reply thankfully accepted the offer.

The first step was to bring together all the materials available; and in this I was
cordially aided by Dr. J. Anderson, then Honorary Secretary of the Asiatic
Society, and subsequently by Dr. F. Stoliczka, who succeeded him in that
office. Any publications on the subject in the library of the Bengal Secretariat
were also placed at my disposal by the Honorable Ashley Eden, who was the first
to propose my being employed on the work, and who interested himself generally
in the undertaking.

When the project of a collection of the tribes in Calcutta had been reluctantly
abandoned, it occurred to all who were interested in the matter that any descriptive
work of the kind proposed should be abundantly illustrated.

For this purpose a few of a series of photographs taken for the London Exhi-
bition of 1862 were available; and Dr. B. Simpson, who had contributed them,
received a commission to the valley of the Brihmaputra to add to the collec-
tion from that most prolific of ethnological fields. The majority of the illus-
trations which are now given have been copied from the beautiful photographs taken
by Dr. Simpson, one of the most successful of Indian photographers, and he has kindly
''iil

added much to their value by contributing also the measurement of the individuals
photographed, all of which were carefully taken by himself. The photographic skill
of Dr. Brown, Political Agent at Maniptr, was also utilized for illustrations of the
Maniptiris and neighbouring tribes; others were sought elsewhere, and quite recently,
after the work had approached completion, the Chiitié Nagpur collection was enriched
by the artistic labors of Messrs. T. F. and Tosco Peppé. The latter gentleman, at
my request, proceeded into wild parts of Singbhtim and Keonjhur, and brought his
camera to bear on some of the most primitive of human beings, the Juangs, never
previously subjected to the process.

It will be observed that the plates are not referred to in the body of the work ;
this was unavoidable, as, while putting together my notes, I did not know what illus-
trations I could have, and the manuscripts of the different chapters or sometimes of
sections, were sent to Calcutta as completed. lJixplanatory notes and references
to the pages of the work in which the tribes illustrated are described have, therefore,
been given with the plates.

The cost of publication of a work which had thus advanced from the modest
project of a catalogue to a copiously-illustrated quarto volume of considerable dimen-
sions, became matter for serious consideration ; but on application to the Government
of Bengal a grant of Rs. 10,000 was accorded. Steps were now taken for an
immediate commencement, and in May, 1870, I received the gratifying intelligence
that Dr. Thomas Oldham, Superintendent of the Geological Survey of India, and
Mr. H. Blochmann, of the Madrasah College and Secretary of the Asiatic Society,
had kindly undertaken to superintend the printing of the Ethnology on the part
of the Council of that Society; and to those gentlemen, both so well-known to the
scientific world, I am deeply indebted for most valuable advice, and for the unremit-
ting care and attention they have been so good as to devote to the work in the midst
of other arduous and important duties. Dr. Oldham specially took charge of the
illustrations, and I am informed by him that the success of the plates is due to the
artistic skill of Dr. George Wallich, London, who, as a gifted artist and one of the
first photographers of the day, was specially qualified to undertake the duty of seeing
to their execution, and without whose guiding hand a result so satisfactory could not
have been attained. At considerable inconvenience, he at once, on being applied to,
undertook the revision of the lithographs. Messrs. Hanhart have also ably carried
out his suggestions.

It will be found that I am myself responsible for the accuracy of a large pro-
portion of the descriptions given. During my Asdém career, [ was employed in various
expeditions amongst the hill tribes, and always kept journals of such trips. Some
of these had appeared in print in different publications, and I knew where to look
for them, but the manuscripts of the remainder were lost to me during the mutinies ;
and from this circumstance, and the want of other material, my notices of some of
the Asam tribes are not so full as I should like to have made them. But I did not
confine myself to my own reminiscences. I availed myself of various other sources
of information, gleaning from all published works that I could find bearing on the
''iv
subject, and freely using valuable original notes drawn up at my solicitation by
friends in different parts of the country, for nee contributions I now wish to make
my grateful acknowledgments.

I am especially indebted to Mr. T. E. Ravenshaw, c. s., Commissioner of the
Province of Orissa; to Captain W. L. Samuells, Boundary Commissioner, Bengal
and Rewa; to Babis Rakhaldas Haldar and Kalidas Palit, and Mr. L. R. Forbes,
all Assistants to the Commissioner of Chiitid Nagpur ; to. Mr. J. F.. K. Hewitt,
Settlement Officer, Central Provinces; Captain J. Johnstone, Assistant to Superin-
tendent, Katak Tributary Mahals; Dr. W. H. Hayes, Deputy Commissioner of
Singbhim; Mr. W. Atkinson, of Rajmahél; Mr. W. Ritchie, District Superin-
tendent of Police, Smgbham; Mr. V. Ball, of the Geological Survey of India;
and Dr. J. M. Coates, Superintendent of Jails, Hazaribégh. All the above
gentlemen I have to thank for supplying information which they will find embodied
in the following pages.
''TABLE OF CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION—
GROUP I—HILL TRIBES OF THE NORTHERN FRONTIER.

Section 1.—THe Kuamtis
2.—THE SINGHPHOS
3.—THE MisHMis : : :
4.—THxE CHULIKATA (CROP-HAIRED) MIsHMIs.
5.—THE ABor GRovP—
(1). The Padam and other Abors
(2). The Miris and Hill Miris
(3). The Dophlas ‘ ‘
(4). The Akas or Hrusso
6.—Tue Nacas or Upper Ask
7.—THE LowER Naca Group—
(1). The Nagas west of the Doyang River
(2). The Kukis ee. i
(3). The Manipuris and their Neighbours
(4). The Koupotis
8.—TuHE Mrxirs : i
9.—THE JYNTIAS AND Kastas .
10.—THE GaRos
VocaBULARkiIEs To Grour I

GROUP II.—POPULATION OF THE ASAM VALLEY

SEcTION 1.—GENERAL VIEW 3 : : :
2.—THeE Kacuart or Bopo, Mecu, anp Duimat TRIBES
3.—THE MrcH
4.—Tue Kocu or Koccnu

VocaBULARIES TO Group IT

GROUP III.—THE NORTHERN BORDERS

Section 1.—Tue Butras
2.—TuHE LEPcHAS ‘
3.—TueE Limsus anp KIRanrTIs
4.—Tur Murmis ; i ;
5.—TueE Hatoos (CAMPBELL), oR Hayas, oR VAYAS .
VocaBuLaRigs To Group III .

GROUP IV.—TIPERAH AND CHITTAGONG TRIBES .

VocaBULARIES TO Group IV

GROUP V.—HINDUISED ABORIGINES AND BROKEN TRIBES

SEcTION 1.—PRELIMINARY REMARKS
2.—Tur CHEROS AND KHarwAnrs
3.—THE PaRrHEYAS : ;
4.—Tuet Kishns on NAGESAR TRIBE .
5.—Tae BuvtineErs
6.—THE Boydrs
7.—TuHE NA@BANGSIS ;
8.—THe Kaurs op Kauravas.
9.—THE MArs .

PAGE.

13
18

21
28
35
37
38

42
AA.
48
61
53
54
58
69

77

77
82
88
89
93
95
95
100
102
105
105
107

109
120

123

123
125
131
138
133
134
135
136
138
''V1

GROUP VI.—BHUNIYA OR BHUTYA

Section 1.—Tuer Batryas : ; :
2.—Tue Butryas or Batniyas or Keonsuar
3.—THE BENDKARS OF KEONJHAR, OR SavaRas

GROUP VII.—THE KOLARIANS

PRELIMINARY REMARKS
SEcTION 1.—THE Juanes
2.—THE Kyarrids ‘
3.—Tur Munpas, Hos, Buumis
4.—Tue Ho or Larxa Kors
5.—TxHE Munpas, Hos, Baumis
6.—THE SantAts ‘ ‘ ‘
7.—THE Brruors
8.—THE Korwas : : :
9.—TuE Kurs, Kurxvs, or MvAsis.
VOCABULARIES To Group VII

GROUP VIII.—THE DRAVIDIANS .

Intropuctory Remarks

Section 1.—THE OrAons : : : :
2.—TueE Maters, PanArths on HILLMEN or RAJMAHAL
3.—-THE Gonps
4,--THE KaNDHs

VocABULARIES TO Group VIII

GROUP IX.—THE ARYANS

Intropuctory REMARKS
Section 1.—BrAHMANS
2.—RAsptts, on KsHatryas
3.—THE KAYAsTHS ‘ A
4,—PasTORAL TRIBES, THE GOPAS
AGICULTURAL TRIBES—
Tur Kurmis
THe Kouiras : :
THe AGAREAHS . : ‘ ;
TrapineG Crasses, Artizans, Mixed anp Impure TRIBES

PaGeE.
139
139
144,
149
150
151
152
158
161
ag,
185
207
218
221
231
235
243
243
245
263
275
285
303

305

305
309
311
312
314

317
317
317
323

 
''TN TRODUGCTTET:

I commeENcE with the North-Eastern Frontier, the basin of the mighty Brahmaputra,
where the population, like the conglomerate-boulders shining as mosaics in the beds of
the great river and its upper affluents, is formed. of materials found in si¢w in the hills
to the north and south. There is doubtless an intimate connection between the Indo-
Chinese population of Asam, and some of the people that formed nations in the Gan-
getic provinces before the Aryans appeared in them. We can trace the path of many
hordes from the North-Eastern Irontier to remote regions of India and Burma; and we
find in Asam colonies formed as it were of the stragglers of the parties that had passed
through. With the northern regions, from whence these hordes came, I have now no
concern, but I take these tribes up first as the most archaic form we possess of the
materials out of which the ancient population was formed.

I do not introduce the Asam hill and border tribes as the aborigines of that pro-
vince, but have rather endeavoured to show that its colonization, as a branch of the Aryan
family, dates from a very remote period. It is probable that the hill people of Lower
Asam, now known as Garos and Kasias, were earlier settlers, for we find them holding an
isolated position, as if the Aryan invasion pushing in like a wedge had cut them off from
communication with the parent northern nations,* but otherwise the plains of Asam
appear to have been unoccupied, and to the Aryans may be ascribed the honor of first
peopling them.

Their colonies gradually expanded into what was eventually known as the kingdom
of Kamartpa or Kamrup; they occupied all the country that is now embraced within
the confines of the British Empire in that direction, and they had fortified cities in advance
of the existing British outposts, but their dynasty was overthrown by barbarians from
the north, the hordes that gave birth to the Kacharies or Bodos, the Chutia, Lahong, and
Mech whose chiefs became rulers of the country, but adopted the language and civiliza-
tion which they found there. After seven hundred years of their rule, the country was
invaded by a dark-skinned people, from the west and south-west, who overthrew the
Kachari or Chutia dynasty in Lower Kamrip and established there the authority of
their own chiefs. This dark-skinned people are the Ko’ech, who have hitherto, errone-
ously I think, been classed as belonging to the Lohitic or Indo-Chinese race. I believe
the Ko’cch to bea branch of the great Bhuiya or Bhuniya family, whom I class as

Dravidian.

* And it is very remarkable that it is through them, especially through the Kasias, that the connection between the Lohitic

 

tribes and the aborigines of the Gangetic provinces is most clearly traced.
''bo

INTRODUCTION.

The Chutia or Kachari dynasty continued to hold southern Upper Asam and Sadiva
and part of Naugéon (Nowgong), where they built a fortified city called Dimapur; but
about the middle of the thirteenth century of the Christian era they were subjugated
by hordes of Shans from the south, who, after establishing themselves in Upper Asam,
pursued their career of conquest in a westerly direction, and forced the eastern portion
of the Ko’ech-Hindu kingdom to submit, whilst the lower or south-west part of Kam-
rup fell under the sway of the Muhammadan rulers of Bengal.

Ihave noticed the Asam tribes in order corresponding with their geographical
position. Massed and connected as they are, this appeared the most convenient arrange-
ment, but in treating of the aboriginal or non-Aryan tribes of Bengal proper, Bihar, and
Orissa, I have endeavoured to group them according to their most obvious affinities. I
believe they might all be comprised in two great divisions, the Dravidian, or those who
speak a language allied to the Tamil or Telugu, and the Kolarian, or those whose lin-
guistic affinities are with the Santal, Munda, and their cognates. Of the remote north-
eastern origin of the latter people, there cannot, I think, be a doubt, but there is a most
important section of the population, comprising several millions of people, who are
certainly non-Aryan, but whom (from their having lost their own language, mystified
their early history, and adopted much that is Hindu in their customs and religion) it is
not at first sight easy to class. I have described all these under a third denomination as
Hinduised Aborigines.

The remainder of the fixed population I treat as Aryan, or mixed. In the former
class I include the masses of Kurmis and Goalas or Gwallas and other Sudras whom
many are inclined to regard as mixed, or as a distinct people subjugated by the Brahmans :
but in this subjugation I do not believe; and consider there would be far more reason in
treating the upper ten thousand in England as a distinct race from the remainder of the
population than in so regarding among the Hindus the “twice born” and the Sudras.

I have not deemed it necessary to describe the ceremonial law, the doctrines and
rules of life promulgated for the guidance of Brahmans, but I have been at some pains
to collate accounts of rules and ceremonies practised by Hindus that are not enjoined
by the sacred writings. And symbolical as they generally are, they cannot, I think, fail
to be of interest to the historian and ethnologist.

The population of Bengal includes a vast multitude who profess the Muhammadan
religion ; but this multitude, if analyzed, would be found for the most part to be composed
of elements that are separately treated of in the following pages; masses of the abori-
gines as well as of the Hindus having under Muhammadan rulers been forced or induced
to embrace Islam. It would no doubt be interesting to note the effect, morally and
locially, of the conversion ;—to ascertain if the different races operated upon come down
tous most amiable as Muhammadans or as Pagans, but for this I have at present no
material, and there is nothing else that I can think of entitling them to separate notices.

I have endeavoured in my chapter on the Hinduised Aborigines, when I found any
basis for doing so, to indicate the great division, Dravidian or Kolarian, to which each
belongs; thus I have given reasons for affiliating the Chéros and Kharwars on the
Kolarian family, and the Ko’ ech, Bhuniya and others on the Dravidian; but it is quite

possible that further research may show that I am not always correct in my classification,
and the subject is far from exhausted.
'' 

INTRODUCTION. | 3

In treating of the Chota Nagpur tribes, I have gone more fully into their past
history and described their progress and present condition more in detail than in other
cases, because I have been so long among them, and there is so little in print about
them. The brief historical narratives given may not be very attractive, but it cannot
but be of moment to Indian statesmen and administrators to have, when dealing with
such people, a clear understanding of the nature of our relations with them, since they
and the officers of the British Government first met; to possess an account sufficiently
in detail of the circumstances under which they have been found so frequently in an
attitude of hostility to a Government that certainly has no prejudices against them,
but on the contrary is inclined to treat them with favor bordering on partiality. Yet
it often happens that we fail to conciliate them, and that sometimes, when lulled into
the belief that we have quite succeeded in doing so, we are rudely awakened from our
dream by some unmistakable demonstration of hostility.

It has certainly sometimes happened, owing perhaps to the difficulties of applying
the complicated machinery of civilized laws to a wild and rough people, that real griev-
ances have remained unredressed till they were resented. And instances have occurred
of insurrection having been traced to official acts or omissions that were subsequently
considered impolitic and were atoned for; and it is surely of importance that all such
features in the exciting causes of disturbances should be kept well in sight. The same
law for all is a very high-sounding and popular ery, and it is one that has been much
favored in the legislature of recent years; but I think in this craving for homogeneity,
the heterogeneous character of the component parts of the population of India should
always be borne in mind.

 

Jucngs dancing.
'' 
'' 

ERRATA.

1, line 14, Sor as a branch,

1, line 25, » Lahong,

18, line 13, », Maintze,

18, line 15, et passim, » Chalikata,
18, line 31, ,, the prowling,
i, line -b, 5, Villanous,
21, last line, », Miaoutes,
29, line 12, 5» ornament,
37; line 9; ;, Arkas,

39, line 37, » Paidwarias,
45, line 11, ak

62, line 5, from below, mala,

79, line 6, dele and.

81, line 9, uy Jor Bhara Bhuya,
85, second foot note, » Khunds,

9. Wee s , then,

91, line 16, from below, » regimé,

92, foot note, a Sd,
E13, line 14; » lamgam,
117, in three places, » -Sgan,
119, line 4, from below, » Tonguin,
139, line 26, » Mahals,
188, line 16, » ohar,
209, line 27, » Mann,
228, line A, » accompanies,
249, line 17, 2
317, in the heading, et passim, ,, Agareah,

read by a branch.

39

Lalong.
Miautze.
Chilikata.
their prowling.
villainous.
Miautze.
ornamental.
Ankas.
Panidwarias.
Hoos.

wild.

Barah Bhuiya.
Kands.

_ there.

regime.
1857.
Lhungum.
Sgau.
Tonquin.
Mahils.
Jahir.
Man.
accompanied.
5 ft. 2 in,
Aghareah.
'' 
'' 

DESCRIPTIVE ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL.

 

Section 1.—Tue KuHamris.

Tr Shan or Tai or Thai race have exercised a powerful influence over the fortunes of
Asam. The Siamese are now the most important branch of this family. They are
called by the Burmese Shangyai, or eldest branch of the Shans; but there was once a
great nation of this people occupying a tract known to the historians of Manipur as the
kingdom of Pong, which touched Tipperah, Yunan and Siam, and of which the city
called Mogong by the Burmese, and Mongmarong by the Shans, was the capital.

In the reign of Sukempha,* the thirteenth sovereign of the empire of Pong (who
succeeded his father A. D. 777), his brother Samlonpha, who was the general of his
forces, having subjugated Cachar, Tipperah and Manipur, pushed across the hills to the
valley of the Brahmaputra, and commenced there a series of conquests by which these
Shans gradually reduced the whole country, from Sadiya to Kamrup, to subjection. It
is probable that this was effected by several inroads extending over several centuries,
as the Asam annals: give the year, corresponding with A. D. 1228, as that of the
commencement of the reign of Chukupha,t who is said to have been the first to
assume for himself and people the name Ahom the ‘peerless,’ and to have given
this name, now softened to Asam, to the country. His successor Chatamla in
A. D. 1554 adopted the Hindu religion and changed his name to Jaiyadhaja Singh, and
from his time the Asam Kings always took Hindu names and favored Brahmins, and
the Ahom Shans, adopting the language and customs as well as the religion of the con-
quered people, grew to be regarded as a new division or caste of the Hindu Asamese
population, rather than as intruders of an alien race.

The kingdom of Pong was finally broken up by the Burmese King Alompra about
the middle of the last century, and on its dismemberment other branches of the Shan
race migrated to and settled in Asam.

The Phakis or Phakials on the Dihing river, the Kamjangs of Sadiya, and the
numerous settlements of Khamtis are all colonies of this race, retaining the costume,
customs, and religion they brought with them into the valley. It will be sufficient to _
describe the latter, who are the most numerous and important.

 

 

* Pemberton, R. B., Report on the Eastern Frontier of British India, 1835.
+ Robinson,—Assam, Descriptive Account of, 1841.
''6 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grovp I.

Whatever may have been the original seat of this people, they emigrated to
Asam, within the last hundred years, from the country known
to us as Bor-Khamti near the sources of the Irrawaddy, which
was visited by Wilcox in 1826, and according to their own annals they had occu-
pied that country for many centuries. Captain Wilcox found them a divided people.
Two great clans had been at feud for fifty years, and it was partly owing to these
dissensions that horde after horde continued to flow into Asam.

Their first settlements in the valley were, by permission of the Asam Rajahs,
on the river called the Tenga-pani, but during the civil wars
in Rajah Gaurinath Singh’s time (A. D 1780 to 1790) they
pushed on to Sadiya, ousted the Asam Governor of the Province, called the ‘Sadiya
Kowa Gohain,’ and gave that title to their leader; and the people of the country
acquieseing in the arrangement, the Asam Government was too weak to disturb it.
The Khamti chief was acknowledged by the Asam, and subsequently by the British,
Government as Sadiya Kowa Gohain. But in A. D. 1839 the Khamtis rebelled against
the latter Government, and, having been expelled from Sadiya in consequence, they for
some years lived the life of the hunted, scattered on the frontier, but were oy
allowed to settle somewhere in the vicinage of their old villages.

The Khamtis are very far in advance of all the north-eastern frontier tribes in
knowledge, arts, and civilization. They are Buddhists and have
regular establishments of priests well versed in the recondite
mysteries of their religion, and a large proportion of the laity can read and write in
their own language. —

The houses built by the leading Khamtis in Asam are precisely similar to those

that Wilcox saw in Bor-Khamti.* For the residence of a chief

The Khamtis.

Early settlement.

Religion.

Houses, &e.

timber with raised floors and thatched roofs, contiguous to each other, a trough of
wood being fixed under the junction of the two roofs to carry off the water. As each
roof covers a breadth of 18 to 20 feet, and is 80 or 100 feet in length, great space for the
family and retainers is thus obtained. The interior is divided into chambers, private and
for reception, and the whole terminates in a railed open balcony, a prolongation of the
raised floor beyond the eaves affording a convenient airy place for the family to sit and
work or lounge in. The roof of the houses comes down so low that externally there is no
appearance of wall. The people of the common order have similar houses, but single
instead of double.

The temple and priests’ quarters are also of timber and thatched, but the temples are
elaborately carved, and great neatness and taste are evinced in the arrangement of the
internal fittings. The priests have shaven heads and amber-colored garments and rosaries.
The office is not hereditary : any person may enter upon it after the necessary novitiate and
instruction in the bapuchang, as the priests’ quarters are called, but they must, so
long as they wear the sacerdotal habit, renounce the world and devote themselves to a life
_ of celibacy.

 

* Asiatic Researches, Vol. XVII, page 436.
Pemberton, R. B.—Report on the Eastern Frontier of British India, 1835.
Robinson—A Descriptive Account of Assam, &c., 2 vols., 1841.
Hannay, Col, S. F.—Note on the Shans, published by Government in 1846,

and his family two large houses are built, framed of strong —
''Szctrow 1.] THE KHAMTIS. 2

Every morning the priests move quickly through the villages preceded by a boy with
a little bell, each holding a lacquered box in which he receives the offerings of the
people, generally presented by the women, who stand waiting at the door with a portion
of their ready cooked food.*

The priests in their hours of relaxation amuse themselves by carving in wood, bone
or ivory, at which they are very expert. In making ivory handles of weapons they evince
great skill, taste, and fecundity of invention, carving in high relief
twisted snakes, dragons, and other monsters with a creditable
unity and gracefulness of design.

It is customary for the chiefs also to employ themselves in useful and ornamental
arts. They work in gold, silver, and iron, forge their own weapons and make their wives’
Jewels. They also manufacture embossed shields of buffalo or rhinoceros hide, gilding
and lacquering them with skill and taste. —

The women are skilled in embroidery ; they make elaborately worked bags for their
husbands and for sale, embroidered bands for the hair and other pretty things, and are not
the less capable of bearing a very severe share of the out-door farm work.

The Khamtis are not a handsome race. They are of rather darker complexion than
the other Shans, and of coarser feature; the Mongolian pecu-
liarities being more strongly developed in them than in their
reputed brethren.+ It may be on this account that Mr. Klaproth supposes them to be of
Tartar origin; but, as observed by Wilcox, if it be so, the period of their migration to the
Shan provinces must be very remote, since all traces of their original language have been lost.
He (Captain Wilcox) nevertheless found them in Bor-Khamti as an isolated people, a very
extensive district inhabited by Singpho tribes intervening between them and the other
place where the Shan language is spoken. Moreover, the country they occupied was not
peopled solely by Khamtis, but also by Muluks, Khalongs, Kumongs and others, cognates
of the Singpho, and the mass of the laboring population were Khapoks, whose dialect is
closely allied to the Singpho. These lower tribes were apparently the remains of the
earlier population who had been subjugated by the Khamtis.

After settling in Asam the Khamti chiefs frequently took to themselves Asamese
wives, and in some families the effect of this mingling is very marked in softening and
improving the features of the generations that follow it.

In 1850 a large colony of fresh settlers from Bor-Khamti—between three and
four hundred individuals—under a chief, a scion of one of
: their best families, migrated to Asam in a body. He was a
young man of remarkably good address and unusually fair and good looking. He
had two wives, one a pure Khamti, the other half Asamese, both good looking girls.
They settled a few miles above the old outpost of Saikwah on the left bank of the
Brahmaputra not far from the Nao Dihing, and when TI first visited them about six
months after their arrival, I was surprised to see how rapidly and admirably they had after
their own fashion established themselves.

Arts, &e.

Features; origin, &c.

New settlement.

 

* Asiatic Researches, Vol. XVII.

+ A recent visitor, Sir R. H. Schomburgh, talks in raptures of the long glossy hair of intense black, and the exqui-
sitely formed mouth of the Laos Shan girls, See Journal Asiatic Society Kengal, No. 4, 1863.
''§ DALTON.— ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group I.

The chief's first wife had frequently visited me at Dibrughar, and transacted business
with me on behalf of her husband and his people, for which she showed great aptitude.
As I entered the village I saw her at the head of the women returning from their farm
labor; each woman bore an axe and a faggot of wood, but that borne by the chief’s wife
was a tiny little ornamented implement, and her faggot a miniature bundle of little sticks
neatly cut and tied together, evidently emblematic rather than useful. She received me
smilingly, and leading the way to her house did the honors with grace and dignity.

I was lodged in a part of the newly raised priests’ quarters, and in the evening was
entertained by a very creditable display of fireworks and fire balloons, all of their own
making.

The Khamtis have two great religious festivals in the year,—one to celebrate the
birth, the other to mourn the death, of Gautama. At these cere-
monies boys dressed up as girls go through posture dances, for
which, I believe, Burmese women are celebrated, and at the anniversary of the saint’s
death the postures are supposed to be expressive of frantic grief; but as a more distinct
commemoration of the birth, a lively representation of an accouchement is acted. One
of the boy girls is put to bed and waited on by the others. Presently something
like infantile cries are heard, and from beneath the dress of the invalid a young puppy
dog is produced squeaking, and carried away and bathed, and treated as a new-born babe.

It will be seen by what I have stated above that Khamtis are not restricted to
one wife. I do not, however, recollect having met with more
than two to one husband, and though the second wife may be
the favorite companion of her lord, the supremacy of the first wife is always main-
tained. ‘The Shan tribes have no idea of a ‘ purdah,’ é. e. of secluding their females; they _
all go to market and pay visits in a very independent manner, and the Khamti women
have not suffered in character from the freedom allowed to them. The ladies of the
Ahom families in Asam are equally unrestricted; indeed, till the occupation of the
country by aliens of our introduction, the seclusion of even well-born Hindu maidens
was not enforced, and to the present day, I believe, the ladies of the ex-royal family are
in the habit of visiting the officials when they have an opportunity of doing so.

The dress of the Khamti is simple and neat: the men commonly wear tight-
fitting jackets of cotton cloth, dyed blue, a white muslin turban
so twisted as to leave exposed the top knot into which their
long hair is twisted, projecting somewhat over the forehead. The nether garment is of
colored cotton of a checquered pattern or of silk, more or less ample according to the
rank of the wearer. The upper classes wear the Burmese ‘patso,’ a piece of parti-
colored silk.

They are seldom seen without the useful weapon the ‘dao’ hanging in its sheath,
plain or ornamented according to the condition of the wearer,
by a sling made of split rattan. It is worn somewhat in front,
so that the hilt is readily grasped in the right hand; this and the defensive round
shield of buffalo hide are sufficient for a Khamti to take the field with, but many of
them now carry muskets or fowling-pieces.

When they rebelled in 1889, their combinations for attacks were well planned, ie
they lacked the courage to carry them out. They are, however, wonderfully useful

Religious festivals.

Treatment of wives.

Costume.

Weapons.

 
''SEcTIon 2. ] THE SINGPHOS. 9g

auxiliaries in mountain warfare, capable of enduring great fatigue, of subsisting on
any kind of food, and full of resources. They will start on an expedition, each man
carrying his own provisions for ten days and all necessaries. These generally
include a small cooking vessel; but a Khamti can cook his rice in a_ fresh-cut
joint of a bamboo. If it be a dash at a particular point, and they are to return by
the same road, they lighten their burden by making a ‘cache’ of food for one day at
each halting place. If they come to an unfordable river, they construct rafts in a very
short space of time, solely of bamboo. They will navigate. rock-broken rivers on these
rafts, skilfully shooting the rapids, and often thus pleasantly breaking a journey.

The costume of the women is like that of the men, plain but neat. They wear
their hair drawn up from the back and sides in one massive
roll, which rises four or five inches, so much in front as to
form a continuation of the frontal bone. This gives an appearance of height to figures
that require an artificial addition. The roll is encircled by an embroidered band, the
fringed and tasseled ends of which hang down behind; the lower garment, generally
of dark-colored cotton cloth, is folded over the breasts under the arms, and reaches to
the feet. This style of wearing the principal garment, common to the Shans and
Manipuris, appears to have been introduced into Asam by the former, as the Asamese
women of the lower classes have all adopted it; but the Khamti women wear in
addition a colored silk scarf round the waist, and along sleeved jacket. The chief
ornaments are cylindrically shaped pieces of bright amber inserted in the lobes of the

Women’s costume.

ears, and coral and other bead necklaces.
The burial ground of the Khamtis is generally a tidily kept spot apart from
a the village. The graves are surmounted by conically shaped
tumuli which, when first constructed (to the best of my recollec-
tion) diminish from the base to the apex in a series of steps; the earth being kept in
position by bamboo matting round each step. The Ahoms, notwithstanding their con-
version to the Hindu faith, retained this method of sepulture to a recent date. The
tumuli constructed over the graves of the Asam (Ahom) sovereigns are very extensive,
and when opened the remains of the dead have been found in coffins of massive timber
with gold and silver ornaments, and outside the coffin various utensils, arms, and

implements of agriculture.

SEcTION 2.—THE SINGPHOS.

The Singphos, like the Khamtis, have settled in Asam within the memory of
The Simgphos or Kakhens, "222- They are said to have first made their appearance in the
the Cacobee of the ancient valley during the rebellion of the Muttuck or Mahamaria sect
ia against the Rajah Gaurinath Singh, about A. D. 1798.

Their first settlements were on the Tenga-pani, east of Sadiya,* and on the Bori-
Dihing river in the tract called Namrup, and they not only met
with no opposition from the scattered and harassed Asaimese
population of that tract, but were well received as an element of strength to assist the

inhabitants to hold their own. By degrees the Singphos formed large villages under

Early settlements.

 

 

* Sketch of the Singphos, by Colonel 8. F. Hannay, published by Government in 1847.
Cc
''10 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. | Grove I.

their chiefs, the Dapha, the Bisa, the Latora, and other GAms (the head of a family is
so called, the second branch assuming the affix ‘ La,’ and the third ‘Thu’ or ‘ Du’),
and not only maintained themselves in a state almost independent of the Asam govern-
ment, but absorbed into their own communities the few Asamese left in that part of
the country.

The Singphos are of the race called by the Burmese Ka-Khyen or Kaku, whose
original settlements were on the great eastern branches of the Irrawaddy river; they
are there in contact with the Kunungs, with whom they are closely allied in language
and origin. They extended-east to the confines of Yunan, and west to the valley of the
Kyendwyen; but it was only on spreading into the valley of Asam that they assumed
the name of Singpho, which in their own language means ‘ man.’

When Upper Asam came under the rule of the British Government, it was not till
after several engagements with our troops that the Singpho settlements were brought
into some sort of subjection. It was then found that their villages contained great
numbers of Asamese slaves, who, whenever they got the opportunity, left their masters
no more to return, and the action of the authorities in refusing to restore them and
giving them every possible facility of escaping was a constant grievance to the Singphos,—
a wound to their pride which more than once rankled into open insurrection.* No
fewer than 5,000 are reported to have been released by one officer, the late Captain
Neufville.

From the intercourse of the Singphos with their Asamese female slaves, a mongrel
race has sprung up, well known in Upper Asam under the
denomination Dudniahs. They have been found very useful
auxiliaries in frontier wars from their knowledge of the Singpho language and tactics,
and from their fidelity to the Government that relieved them from the Singpho yoke.

The Singphos on the frontiers of Asam occupy large villages often in some-
what unassailable positions, consisting of sixty or more large
houses, each from eighty to a hundred feet long and about
twenty in breadth, with raised floors throughout and open balcony at one end, where
the ladies of the family sit and spin, weave and embroider. The house is divided into
different apartments on both sides of a long passage open from end to end.t There are
generally several hearths round which the family sleep, and over the fireplace are
large bamboo racks hanging from the roof, on which are placed meat or fish requiring
to be smoked.

They are generally a fine athletic race, above the ordinary standard in height,
and capable of enduring great fatigue; but their energies are
greatly impaired by the use of opium and spirits, in which
they freely indulge. The men tie the hair in a large knot on the crown of the head,
and wear a jacket of colored cotton and checquered under-garment of the same material
or of silk, or the Burmese ‘patso.’ The respectable chiefs assume the Shan or Burmese
style of dress, and oceasionally short smart jackets of China velvet, with gilt or amber
buttons. They also wrap themselves in plaids of thick cotton much in the fashion of
Scotch Highlanders.

Dudniahs.

Villages.

Size; costume.

 

* Robinson’s Assam. + Hannay, loc. cit.

 
''Srcrton 2. ] - THE SINGPHOS. 1t

The features are of the Mongolian type, very oblique eyes and eyebrows,
mouths wide, cheek bones high, and heavy square jawbones.
Their complexion, never ruddy, varies from a tawny yellow
or olive to a dark brown, JHard labor tells on the personal appearance of the
females,* rendering them coarse in feature and awkward in gait, but in the families
of the chiefs light complexions and pleasing features are sometimes seen. Their
dress consists of one piece of colored cotton cloth, often in large broad horizontal
bands of red and blue fastened round the waist, a jacket and a scarf. The married
women wear their hair, which is abundant, in a large broad knot on the crown of the
head, fastened with silver bodkins with chains and tassels. Maidens wear their hair
gathered in a roll resting on the back of the neck and similarly secured. They are
fond of a particular enamelled bead called deo-mani, and all wear as ornaments bright
pieces of amber inserted in the holes in the lobe of the ear. The men tattoo their
limbs slightly, and all married women are tattooed on both legs from the ankle to the
knee in broad parallel bands.

The national weapons of .this tribe are the heavy short sword called Dao or Dha,
so well known in Asam, admirably adapted for close quarters
in war, and for clearing jungle and preparing the ground in
peace,—the frontier tribes can dispense with the trouble of converting their swords into
plough-shares, they use them as they are :—a spear with a short shaft used for thrusting,
and a strong cross-bow with bamboo arrows: but they affect the use of the musket
whenever they can get one, and are sometimes seen with China matchlocks.

They use shields of buffalo hide, four feet long, and helmets sometimes of that
material, sometimes of thick plaited rattan work, varnished black, decorated with boars’
tusks, &e.

In warfare their attacks are confined to night surprises, which are speedily aban-
doned if they meet with steady opposition. They are skilled in fortifying naturally
difficult positions, using freely the ‘pan ja, a bamboo stake of different lengths sharpened
at both ends and stuck in the ground, with which the sides of the hills and all approaches

to their position are rendered difficult and dangerous. If they use muskets on these
occasions, the weapons are generally fixed in loopholes of breast-works, ready loaded,
and the trigger is pulled when the enemy reaches the point of the road (previously
ascertained) covered by them. If they fail by such means to beat off the attacks at once,
they abandon the position for another behind it.

In travelling the Singphos carry a haversac, of very neat appearance, cleverly
adapted to the head and shoulders. It is made of very finely plaited fibre on a frame
of wood covered with the skin of the large grey monkey. ‘They are also provided with
handsome bags, woven and embroidered by their wives, in which they carry their pipes
and tobacco, opium, &e.

The Singphos understand the smelting of iron, and their blacksmiths with no
implements but a lump of stone as an anvil, and a rude hammer,
forge weapons,—especially daos,—which are highly prized all
over the frontier for their temper and durability.

Physiognomy.

Arms ; warfare.

Arts, &e.

 

* Hannay, loc. cit.
''12 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group I.

The Singphos manufacture their own wearing apparel.* The thread is dyed previ-
ous to being woven, and thus are produced the checks and colored garments of which
they are so fond. They use as dyes a kind of indigo called ‘Rom,’ ‘Seing Lung,’ or
‘Asso Khat,’ and the bright yellow root of a creeper called ‘Khai Khiew.’

The Singphos repudiate all affinity with the Shans, and are not considered by
ethnologists to be connected with them except very remotely. Their language is entirely
different, approximating more to the Karen, Manipuri, Burmese, Kuki, Naga and Abor
dialects, and their religion is a rude paganism, whilst the Shans are most of them
Buddhists.

The Singphos have a confused notion of a Supreme Being, but they propitiate only
malignant spirits called Nhats, of which there are three,—the
Mu Nhat or spirit above, the Ga Nhat or spirit below, and
the household Nhat or penate. They sacrifice fowls, pigs, and dogs to the Nhats, and
when about to proceed on important expeditions a buffalo is offered, and acceptance of
the flesh of the animal, when cut up and distributed amongst the friends of the chief,
is considered as a pledge that binds them to his service on this particular occasion.
There is no regular priesthood amongst the Singphos, but they pay great deference to
the Pungyes or priests of the Buddhist Shans. Some of them are, however, supposed
to possess powers of divination, and Colonel Hannay mentions having witnessed the pro-
cess. The diviner was seated by himself at some distance from the crowd, and had beside
him a small fire and a bundle of common ‘2 wi’ grass, which grows to a large size in
swamps. Taking a piece of ‘nul’ containing several joints he held it over the flame,
until by the heat one of the joints burst with a sharp report, the fracture on each side
threw out a number of minute hair-like fibres which were carefully examined and put
aside. Another piece was then put in the fire and similarly treated. This continued
for at least an hour, when the result was disclosed, namely, that a certain chief, “whose
arrival was awaited, would make his appearance in three or four days, and so it
happened.

Polygamy prevails amongst the Singphos, and chiefs especially rejoice in a plurality
of wives. The girl is bought with a price, and a feast com-
pletes the ceremony. Asa maiden she is allowed considerable
liberty. I have been informed by Dudniahs+ that the girls of some villages occupy a
house appropriated to their use in which, under charge of an old woman, they receive visits
from young men, but I have never seen such an institution, and if it exists it is not shown
to strangers.

They bury their dead, but in the case of a man of note the body is kept for two or
more years in order that the scattered relations of the de-
ceased may have time to attend his funeral: } the body being
removed to some distance during the process of decomposition, after which it is
placed in a coffin and brought back to the house, where it remains in state, decked out
with all the insignia of rank used during life. The body of the Gaim of Gakhind was
thus found by Captain Neufville in a Singpho stockade.

Deities.

Marriages, &c.

Burial.

 

* Colonel Hannay’s sketch of the Singphos, published by Government, 1847.
+ Duaniahs, mongrels previously referred to, children of Singphos and Asamese slave girls,
ft Selections, Bengal Government, No. XXIII, page 10.
''Section 3. ] THE MISHMIS. ; 13

If deceased met his death by violence, they sacrifice a buffalo, the head of which is
fastened as a memorial in the centre of a cross of wood of the St. Andrew’s form. This
ceremony is omitted if the deceased dies a natural death. The gods took him at their
own good time and do not need propitiation. When finally committed to the earth a
mound is raised to mark the spot, sometimes of considerable dimensions. This custom
they appear to have taken from their neighbours the Khamtis.

According to Bisa, one of the most influential and intelligent of the Singpho
Gams that settled in Asam, the Singphos believe* ‘they were
originally created and established on a plateau called Majai-
Singra-Bhum, situated at a distance of two months’ journey from Sadiya, washed
by a river flowing in a southerly direction to the Irrawaddy. During their sojourn
there they were immortal and held celestial intercourse with the planets and all
heavenly intelligences, following the pure worship of one Supreme Being.’ Why they
left this Eden is not stated in connection with this tradition; but they have another, in
which the fall is assigned to an act of disobedience on their part in bathing in interdicted
water. On descending to the plains they became mortal, and having imbrued their
hands in the blood of men and animals in self-defence and for subsistence, they soon
adopted the idolatries and superstitions of the nations around them.

Tradition of origin.

In succession to patrimonial property the Singphos have a peculiar custom. The
eldest takes the landed estate with the titles, the youngest the
personalties, the intermediate brethren, when any exist, are
excluded from all participation, and remain in attendance on the chief or head of the
family as during the lifetime of their father.

Right of property.

SECTION 3.—THE MISHMIS.

Mishmi settlements have been found by Wilcox as far south as_ the Nemlang river,
an affluent of the Irrawaddy ; their colonies sweep round to the east of the great moun-
tain called the Dapha Bhum, and then up the valley of the Brahmaputra proper to the
confines of Tibet. They extend west to the Digaru river (96°—97° 30’ east longitude,
27° 40’—28° 40’ north latitude).

The Mishmis situated to the west of the Du river, an affluent of the Brahmaputra
above the Brahmakund, trade with the British possessions, and are in habit of constant
intercourse with us; the tribes to the north-east of that river trade only with Tibet.

 

The people of the tribes that we have intercourse with are quiet and inoffensive,
but very keen traders.t Those beyond them have shown themselves at all times hostile
to the visits of British officers. Wilcox was permitted to enter their country and
to proceed as far as the village of a chief called Jingsha situated at the point where the
Brahmaputra in its hill course, after flowing nearly due south from Tibet, suddenly
changes its direction and continues its course in a western direction, but from that
_ point he was forced to return.

 

 

* Selections, Bengal Government, pages 7 and 14. Notes by Captain Neufville.
+ Selections, Bengal Government, No. 23, page 77; also Asiatic Researches, Vol. XVII. Ibid. page 14. Compare with
Karen traditions.
D
''14 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group I.

Captain Wilcox’s expedition was in the year 1827. In 1836 the friendly villages
as far as the Dilli were visited by Dr. Griffiths.* Lieutenant, now Colonel, E. A. Rowlatt
in 1845 penetrated to the Du, and up that river in a northerly direction to the village
of Tuppang, where he met some Lamas, as all Tibetans in this locality are called.
Jn 1851 the French Missionary Monsr. Krick accompanied by a Khamti chief from the
neighbourhood of Sadiya, the well known Chokeng Gohain, started on his mission to
Tibet. After passing through the friendly villages he appears to have been so guided
as to avoid the hostile clans, including that of the formidable
Jingsha, but in passing near that chief’s residence, a young
girl significantly pointed out to him the spot where two pilgrims from India had not
long before been massacred, and intimated that a like fate awaited him if he were caught.
However he reached in safety the Tibetan village of Oualong, where he was well
received. Proceeding onward from that village he found himself in a country presenting
a strong contrast to the rugged, grand, but uncultured tracts he had recently been strug-
gling through. The valley of the Brahmaputra expanded, presenting a succession of
well cultivated fields. The inhabitants, their houses, and the general appearance of the
country assumed a more cheerful aspect. Pine forests covered the hills most luxuriant
on their crests. The alluvial soil below, watered by numerous small streams, is described
as producing groves of bamboos, orange trees, citron, peach trees, and laurel.
marches through such scenery brought him to Sommeu.

Mr. Krick’s visits.

Two

This village is composed of about a dozen houses irregularly enous ona hill in
the midst of evergreen trees, half a mile from the banks of the Brahmaputra. As far as
the eye could see, the view up the valley gave a succession of cultivated fields, herds of
oxen, horses, asses and mules, and three miles to the north Rima Castle, the residence of
a governor, was discovered. Unfortunately, Monsr. Krick’s resources were exhausted
in making his way through the Mishmi country, and finding the people, when the novelty
was over, disinclined to support him gratuitously, he was under, the necessity of
returning. On his way back he stopped at Jingsha’s village and was very roughly
received, but having medically treated a sick member of the family, who fortunately for
the Abbé recovered, he was allowed to depart in peace and pursue his journey to the plains
unmolested, and he reached the frontier post of Saikwahy on the 28th March, 1852.

In 1854, the Reverend Monsr. Krick with a colleague, the Reverend Monsr. Bourri,
escorted by the friendly Mishmi chief Krosha, again proceeded to Tibet, and by a
different route marched in safety to the Tibetan villages he had visited in 1852, but
unfortunately in his journey across the mountains he gave dire offence to an independent
Mishmi chief, called Kaisa, refusing to submit to his extortionate demands and making
a circuit to avoid passing through his territory. The incensed sav age armed, followed
the party to Sommeu, and in utter disregard of the authority at Rima attacked and
murdered the two priests, carried off all their property as plunder, and their servant
Singpho as a slave.

The next expedition to the Mishmi hills was by order of the late Marquis Dalhousie
to avenge their fate. In 1855, Lieutenant Frederick Grey Eden

Yden’s expedition. Bee
oo at the head of a small party of picked men of the 1st Asam

 

* Griffiths’ Journal, pages 26, 59. Rowlatt’s Notes of an Expedition, Journal Asiatic Society Bengal, 1846.
f Saikwah, south bank of Brahmaputra, three miles below Sadiya.

 

 

 
''Section 3.] THE MISHMIS. 15

Light Infantry, a band of carefully selected Khamtis, and a few hill men as carriers,
after a series of foreed marches, suddenly crossed the Du, surprised Kaisa’s stronghold
on the other side, captured that chief and many members of his family and followers,
recovered the greater portion of the plundered property and released the servant
Singpho.

The Mishmi villages to the south of the Brahmaputra are scattered and mixed up
with Khamti and Singpho settlements. The north bank as far as the Digaru river and
both banks of the river from Jingsha’s country to the Tibetan
frontier, they have all to themselves. A more rugged, a more
difficult, but a more beautiful country it would be difficult to find, and the exertion
necessary to travel in it is powerfully illustrated in the fine development of calves
and muscles of the thighs by which the Mishmi lads and lasses are invariably distin-
guished. Steady nerves are as necessary as strong limbs, or unhappy is the traveller
who has to cross a swollen torrent roaring hundreds of feet beneath him by a Mishmi
suspension bridge, thus described by Monsr. Krick:—The point selected for the con-
struction of these aérial bridges is where the river is most narrowly confined by
rocks ; across this a rope made of three or four rattans is flung, the extremity fastened
to rocks or trees, and the rope tightened as much as possible. On this chain or rope a
moveable ring of the same material is bound. The person who has to cross places his body
in the ring, and, if necessary, his head in a small loop formed for the purpose, and
then, with his face turned upwards, he allows the ring to move. It slides down rapidly
to the middle, and the remaining portion of the distance the passenger accomplishes
by grasping the suspender and working his way up with hands and feet.

Villages.

The Mishmi settlements consist of few houses, sometimes of only one, but each
house is capable of holding all the members of a family and
numerous slaves and retainers. Dr. Griffiths describes the house
of Gallom Gdm, one of the chiefs he visited, as of great length (Wilcox gives the
dimensions 130 feet by 11), built of bamboos raised high from the ground, divided
into twelve compartments and containing one hundred men, women and children.
The house of Krosha, another chief, is described as considerably larger. It is divided
into twenty compartments. On the right hand side of the passage were ranged the skulls
of the cattle the chief had killed, including mithuns (Bos fronéalis), deer and pigs.
On the other side are the domestic utensils. It is considered shabby for a chief to
retain in his show-room the skulls of animals killed by his predecessors. Hach
compartment contains a fireplace, over which hangs a tray for the meat that they wish to

Settlements.

smoke. ‘This one manor house is the head quarters of the settlement. The store-houses
for grain are at some distance and out of sight.
The Mishmis are constantly on the move in their trading expeditions, and attend
Sones ob uae less to cultivation than their neighbours, but they are rich
in flocks and herds. They purchase cattle every year in
Asam, and have besides large herds of the fine hill ox, the mithun; they call it ‘cha.’
The possession of these animals is, next to the number of their wives, the chief indication
of their wealth. They do not use them for agricultural purposes or for their milk, but
on great occasions one is slaughtered and eaten, and they are given in exchange for
brides. They are allowed to remain almost in a wild state, roving through the forests as
''16 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group I

they please, but they are fed with salt by their master, and when he calls they know his
voice and respond. &-

The chief sources of wealth to the Mishmis are the poisonous root ‘ Aconitum ferox,’
which grows in their hills at high elevations, the valuable
medicinal plant ‘ Coptis teeta’ or Mishmi teeta, and the
musk bags of the musk deer, also a native of these hills in the higher ranges. With
these and a few articles of hardware and woollen goods obtained from Tibet, they carry
on extensive trade with the people of Asam and the neighbouring hill tribes. Every-
thing that a Mishmi trader carries about him, to his last garment, is purchasable.

They are extensive polygamists. Each man may have as many wives as he can afford
to purchase, the price ranging from a pig to a bonus of twenty
oxen. One chief well known in Upper Asam, Matchisong,
made his appearance in the plains almost every year with a new, young, and generally
pretty wife. On his death all that survived him became the property of his heir with the
exception of the mother of the heir,—should she be amongst them,—who would go to the
next of kin amongst the males. This custom obtains also amongst the Subanshiri Abors.

Resources.

Marriages.

When a woman’s confinement is near at hand, a small shed is erected for her in the
jungle near the house, and there she must remain till delivered,* and till the days of her
purification—ten days for a boy, and eight for a girl—are completed.

The religion of the Mishmis is confined to the propitiation of demons whenever
illness or misfortune visits them. On these occasions the sprig of
a plant is placed at the door to intimate to strangers that the
house is for the time under tabu. They appear to have no notion of a supreme and
benevolent deity. ‘They worship ‘ Mujidagrah’ as the god of destruction, ‘Damipaon’ as
the god of the chase and of knowledge, and ‘Tabla’ asthe god of wealth and disease,
and a great many others without name. It appears both from Lieutenant Rowlatt and
the Abbé Krick’s notes that the Mishmis have priests, but they are few in number and
have to be brought from a distance when required. Monsr. Krick describes one that he
saw at a funeral ceremony.

This took place over the remains of the wife of a chief who had been dead and
buried three months. The tomb was near the house covered with
a roof, under which were suspended the deceased’s clothes and her
drinking cup. For several days previous to the arrival of the priest, an attendant was
employed singing a mournful devotional chant to the accompaniment of a small bell.
There was also a preliminary sacrifice of a red cock and hen, the blood of which was
received in a vessel containing some other fluid, and the mixture carefully examined, as it
is supposed to indicate if the result will be fortunate or otherwise. At last the priest
arrived, dressed like an ordinary chief, but he wore a rosary of shells and, attached to the
front of his head-dress, two appendages like horns.

For two days, at intervals, the priest and his son employed themselves in singing
chants, marking the time by waving a fan and ringing a bell; on the third day he put
off his chief’s Tibetan robe and assumed what may be regarded as his pontifical dress,—
a tight-fitting coat of colored cotton, a small apron, a deer skin as a mantle; from his

Religion.

Burials.

 

 

* Rowlatt’s Notes of an Expedition, Asiatic Society’s Journal, 1845, page 46, ,

-
''Section 3. ] THE MISHMIS. . Li

right shoulder descended a fringe of long goat’s hair dyed bright red, and over his left
shoulder he wore a broad belt embossed with four rows of tiger’s teeth and having attached
to it fourteen small bells. On his head he placed a bandeau ornamented with shells and,
round the knob of hair at the top of his head, a moveable plume which turned like a
weathercock.

This was followed by a wild demoniacal dance, but whether a pas seul by the
priest, or one in which the people generally joined, we are not informed. The object was,
however, to make as much noise as possible to frighten the devils.* After this, lights
were all extinguished, and the party remained in darkness, till a man suspended from
the roof obtained a fresh light from a flint. He was to be careful not to touch the
ground as he produced it, as the light thus obtained was supposed to be fresh from
heaven. 3

When the burial is of a person of note, animals are slain, and the skulls arranged
round the tomb; and under the shed built over the grave, raw and cooked flesh with grain
and spirits are placed (the share of the dead), and all the arms, clothes and implements he
was in the habit of using when living. The poor, it is said, burn the dead without much
ceremony, or throw the bodies into the river.

The dress of a Mishmi is, first a strip of cloth bound round the loins and passing
between the legs and fastened in front; a coat without
_ sleeves, like a herald’s tabard, reaching from the neck to the
knee,—this is made of one piece of blue and red or brown striped cloth doubled in
the middle, the two sides sewn together like a sack, leaving space for the exit of the arms,
and a slit in the middle, formed in the weaving, for the passage of the head ;—two pouches
covered with fur attached to leather shoulder-belts, with large brass plates before and
behind, like cymbals; a knapsack ingeniously contrived to fit the back, covered with
the long black fibres of the great sago palm of these hills, and further decorated
with the tail of a Tibetan cow; a long straight Tibetan sword; several knives and
daggers, and a very neat light spear,—head of well-tempered, finely wrought iron
attached to a long thin polished shaft.

The head-dress is sometimes a fur cap, sometimes a wicker helmet.

The women wear a colored cloth fastened loosely round the waist, which reaches to
the knees, and a very scanty bodice which supports without entirely covering the
breasts. They wear a profusion of beads, not only of common glass but of cornelian
agate and some of porcelain. On their heads they wear a bandeau of a very thin silver
plate, broad over the forehead and tapering to about half an inch in breadth over the ears,
thence continued round the back of the head by a chain of small shells. Both men and —
women wear the hair long, turned up all round and gathered in a knot on the brow
secured by a bodkin. They are thus distinguished from their neighbours, the Chalikatas
or crop-haired Mishmis.

Small girls go naked about the villages, but wear a little billet of wood suspended
from a string round the loins, which hangs in front and serves as a sort of covering,
especially when they are seated in their favorite position in the porch on the edge of
the raised floor of the house. They look as if they were ticketted for sale.

Costume.

 

* Compare with the ceremonies of the Kukis.
''18 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grovr I.

The Mishmi men and women are inveterate smokers. They commence at the ear-
liest possible age, and when they are not sleeping or eating they are certain to be smoking ;
they use brass pipes, many of them of Chinese manufacture.

The Mishmis are a short sturdy race of fair complexion for Asiatics, well-knit figures
and active as monkeys; they vary much in feature, generally
exhibiting a rather softened phase of the Mongolian type,
but sometimes with regular, almost Aryan, features, the nose higher and nostrils longer
than is usually seen in the Indo-Chinese races. They have themselves a legend to _
account for this. I forget the particulars, but I know it connects them in some way
with Hindu pilgrims to the Brahmakand.

The Mishmis I am describing are divided into many clans, those best known in the
plains are the Zain; the Maro are to the south of the Brahmaputra. The most eastern
that we know are the Mizha; perhaps they are connected with the Mainize, the
aborigines of Yunan and other provinces of China. .

Physical appearance.

 

Section 4.—THE CHALIKATA (CROP-HAIRED) MISHMIS.

The hill country bordering on Asam, between the Digaru and Dibong, and on both
banks of the hill course of the latter river, is occupied by a tribe nearly allied to the
people last described as Mishmis, called Chalikata Mishmis by the Asamese in conse-
quence of their habit of cropping the front hair on the forehead.
Their country lies to the north of Sadiya, and their villages
extend across the Sub-Himalayan range to the borders of Tibet. The hills being loftier,
it is more rugged and difficult. of access even than the country of the Tain Mishmis.
So difficult indeed, that though we have had aggravation enough, an expedition into
the interior of their country has never been attempted. I have been informed by
the Khamtis that one route to the plains traversed by the Chalikatas is along the
cliffs of the Dibong river. The path is generally a narrow ledge winding round a
precipice, but in one place there is no ledge! only holes in the face of the rock for —
the hands and feet. The proper name for the Chalikata clan is, if I recollect
right, Midhi. They are greatly detested and mistrusted by their neighbours, the
Abors and Tain, and they are much dreaded by the Sadiya population in consequence
of the prowling expeditions to kidnap women and children. They are full of deceit.
They come down in innocent looking parties of men and women to the plains, apparently
groaning under the weight of the baskets of merchandise they are importing for barter.
They proceed thus till they find an unprotected village, then throwing aside their
fictitious loads, they pounce on the women and children, and carry them off to the hills-
They thus attack villages of Tains and Digdru Mishmis, as well as Asamese villages,
but they are afraid of the Abors, who are always on the alert.

The Midhi have some villages situated in low hills, about 16 miles to the west of the
Dibong gorge, which are accessible, and which I have visited. I much regret that I have lost
my journal of this expedition undertaken in company with Captain Comber in 1856, as we
have no published account of the Midhi, and I have now nothing but my memory to trust to.

The inhabitants of the villages I visited were, in those days, in habits of intercourse
with the plains, and frequented the Saikwah market. Wilcox tells us that they opposed

Geographical position.

 
''Section 4. | THE CHALIKATA (CROP-HAIRED) MISHMIS. 19

Captain Bedford in his attempt to ascend the Dibong river in 1826. The attempt to visit
their villages had been made by that officer, but the people came down in large num-
bers to the river, and showed themselves so unfriendly, that Captain Bedford deemed it
expedient to retire.

The. villages belonging to the people then so hostile are those we visited, and we
found them very friendly. I recollect being much struck with a considerate act of
delicate attention on the part of the women of the first village we came to, Anan-
dia I think. The march from the river to this village was a long one, and there was
no source of water on the road. When we got rather more than half way, and our
people were suffering greatly from thirst, we came upon a group of girls with delicious
spring water in new vessels made of the great hollow bamboo, called the ‘kaéku_ bans,’
who had come thus far to meet, welcome, and refresh us.

The villages contained from 10 to 30 houses, each very lightly framed; they were
long and narrow, about 60 feet by 12. One side was a narrow
passage from end to end, the remainder was divided into small
apartments in some of which were seats,—a sign of civilization not often met with in
Indian huts.

Houses.

The Gams rejoice in very sonorous names as Alundi, Alunga. They are hereditary
chiefs, and have considerable influence over their clansmen, but no power over their
persons or property, and no authority to punish crime or even to take notiee of it. The
notions of the Midhi on this subject are truly savage. If an injury is inflicted on one of
them by a member of another tribe, it is incumbent on the tribe of the injured party to
avenge it; if one of his own tribe offend, it is the business of the person offended only.
He has no law except that which he can take in his own hands, and between people in
the same village feuds are thus perpetuated for ages.

I was told of some very large villages in the interior, and I have heard from released.
captives of chiefs of great wealth in cattle and slaves. One or two of these great men
occasionally visited us, but generally there was cause of quarrel between us that kept
them in their hills. The number of wives a man possesses is with them, as with the
Tain, an indication of wealth, some chiefs having as many as sixteen. Marriage ceremony
there is, I believe, none; it is simply an affair of purchase, and the women thus obtained,
if they can be called wives, are not much bound by the tie.
The husbands do not expect them to be chaste; they take no
cognizance of their temporary liaisons so long as they are not deprived of their services.
If a man is dispossessed of one of his wives, he has a private injury to avenge, and
takes the earliest opportunity of retaliating, but he cannot see that the woman is a bit the
worse for a little incontinency.

* The Midhi, like the Mishmis previously described, are a trading people. Large

parties are continually on the move trading with Tibet. On such occasions, men send
their wives if they cannot go themselves, and to any one who has seen how the men
and women promiscuously bivouae at night, the exceeding complaisance of the husband
will not appear wonderful.

The color of the Midhi varies from dark brown to the fairness equalling that of a
European brunette. Some amongst them have rich red lips and ruddy complexions, and
I have seen Midhi girls that were decidedly good looking, but their beauty is terribly

Marriage tie.
''20 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove I.

marred by their peculiar method of cropping the hair. The front hair iscumbed down on
the brow, then cut straight across from ear to ear, giving them fore-
heads ‘ villanous low,’ and they are generally begrimed with dirt.
The back hair is collected in a knot behind, and secured with long bodkins of bone or
porcupine quills. The men wear wicker helmets that come down in front right to the eye-
brow, and unlike modern bonnets are large enough to cover the chignon behind. This
gives them the appearance of having very large heads (they have not got small ones) and
very scowling countenances. Their features are in fact of a coarse Mongolian type. The.
faces flat and broad, the nostrils wide and round, and the eyes small and oblique, but these
characteristics, though stronger in the Midhi than in the Tain Mishmi, are less marked
in the former than they are in the faces of their neighbours—the Abors. It has always
struck me that the Midhi women are comparatively taller and finer creatures than
the men.

Notwithstanding the bad character that I have given them (and I would not ven-
ture to have done so on any authority but their own), they are the most ingenious of the
family; they have learnt to utilize for clothing many of the fibrous plants that grow
wild in their hills, as well as cotton and wool.

They were probably the first people on this side of the Himalayas to discover the
valuable properties of the Rhea nivea, and many others of the nettle tribe; with the
fibre of one of these nettles they weave a cloth so strong and stiff that, made into jackets,
it is used by themselves and by the Abors asa sort of armour.
They supply themselves and the Abors with clothing, and their
textile fabrics of all kinds always sold well at the Saikwah market. It was very
interesting to watch the barter that took place there between these suspicious, excitable
savages and the cool, wily traders of the plains. The former took salt chiefly in exchange
for the commodities they brought down, and they would not submit to its being
measured or weighed to them by any known process. Seated in front of the trader’s
stall, they cautiously take from a well-guarded basket one of the articles they wish
to exchange. Of this they still retain a hold with their toe or their knee as they
plunge two dirty paws into the bright white salt. They make an attempt to transfer
all they can grasp to their own basket, but the trader, with a sweep of his hand, knocks
off half the quantity, and then there is a fiery altercation, which is generally terminated
by a concession on the part of the trader of a few additional pinches. In addition to the
cloths, the Chalikatas bring to market large quantities of bees-wax, ginger, and chillies.

The costume, with the exception of the head-dress, is very similar to that of the
Tains, but the jackets worn by the women are larger and are
sometimes tastefully embroidered. This garment is generally
worn open, exposing an ample bust heaving under a ponderous weight of agate
and glass beads. -Their favorite weapons are straight Tibetan swords, daggers,
bows and cross-bows, and they are the only tribe who always carry poisoned arrows.
They have neatly-made oblong shields of buffalo hide, attached to which, inside, is
a quiver full of finely-made poisoned ‘ pangis ;’ with these they invariably garnish the
path by which they retreat with their prey.

By an exchange of weapons, warriors become sworn comrades, and if one falls, it is
the duty of the other to avenge his fate and recover his skull.

Physical appearance.

Arts, &c.

Costume.
''SEcTION 5.] THE ABOR GROUP: (1)—THE PADAM AND OTHER ABORS. 91

For the entertainment of their guests, the people of one village that we visited got
up a very characteristic dramatical entertainment. The first
scene represented a peaceful villager with his children hoeing
the ground, and singing and conversing with them as if utterly unconscious of danger.
A villanous-looking crop-head glides in like a snake scarce seen in the long grass,
takes note of the group, and glides away again. Presently armed savages are seen
in the distance. They come gradually and stealthily on, till within a convenient
distance they stop and watch their prey like so many cats, then there is a rush in,
the man is supposed to be killed, and the children carried screeching away.

This was followed by a dance. The GAm dressed himself in robes similar to those
worn by the Mishmi priests, described by Monsr. Krick, and danced a stately measure with
a young woman also similarly robed. TI recollect being much struck with the imposing
appearance of the dresses worn on this oceasion, but Iam unable to describe them accurately.

The robe of the female was ampler than usual, and had a fringe of more than a foot
in breadth. She bore aloft, as she moved, a small drum which gave forth its sound at
every motion. The male performer had a head-dress with horns, a broad belt round his
waist with an enormous brass buckle, according with the popular notion of a bandit’s
girdle, and across the body was worn the singular embroidered shoulder-belt with its peal
of smali bells. This was a religious dance, used at funerals and other ceremonies. They
bury their dead in the wood away from the village: a place is
cleared in the forest in which the grave is made, and the remains
of the deceased and his arms and clothes are deposited in it. They then dance over it.

I have met with no people so entirely devoid of religious feeling as are the Chalikatas.
I had long conversations on the subject with several of the
chiefs, and they utterly rejected all notions of a future state,
or of immortality of any kind. The spirits they propitiated were, they declared, mortal
like themselves, and though they admitted there must have been a creator, they flatly
denied that the being who called into existence their hills, rocks, rivers, forests, and
ancestors could still be alive. Men die and worms eat them, is their creed, but when I
suggested that their custom of placing in the grave, with the dead, weapons, food, and
clothes must have originated in some idea that the spirit would regain such things,
they said, it was nothing of the kind; it was done as a mark of affection to their departed

relative,—a feeling that indisposed them from using what he had used, and thus benefit-
ing by his death.

Amusements.

Burials.

Religion.

Section 5.—Tux Azor Group: (1)—Tur PApAm ayp ornEer ABORS.

The next tribe in geographical order are the Abors, or as they call themselves the
Padam. It has been said that the Abors, Mishmi, and Midhi are of common origin,
but there appears to be very little, if any, affinity in their languages, and in custom,
habits, religion, and notions of government, no two people could be more dissimilar.
Now as the Midhi and Padam cultivation is only separated by a small river, it is in-
conceivable that kindred people should for ages be thus contiguous and yet show no
trace of the common origin assigned to them. I think it will be found that the Mishmi,
including the Midhi, are of nearer kin to the Miaoutes, the supposed aborigines of Yunan

F
''99 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grovr I.

&e., than to the tribes south and west of them, whilst the Padam and their cognates
are of nearer affinity to the Tibetan. .

Commencing with the Paédam on the banks of the Dibong river, we have, in the
northern barrier of the valley of the Brahmaputra, a chain of
tribes occupying the whole of the hill country between Asam
and Tibet (between the 95° 40’ and 92° parallels of east longitude), to the north of the
Luckimpur and Durrung districts, which all evidence, physical, psychical, and philologi-
cal, prove to be one people, though they are known to us under the different names
Abors, Hill Miris, Daplas or Dophlas and Akas. The Nagas occupy a somewhat similar
area of the hill country between Asam and Burmah on the opposite side of the valley.

Proceeding, as I am now taking my narrative, down the valley, the first Abor or
Pidam village that we come to is Bomjir on the Dibong. This must have been estab-
lished within the last 40 years, as it was not there when Captains Bedford and Wilcox
explored the river. It is a compact village of some twenty or thirty houses on a high
bank overlooking a western branch of the river, strongly stockaded, and was evidently
placed here as an outpost of the confederate Padam states to resist the encroachments
and prevent the marauding expeditions of the Chalikatas.

The term ‘ Abor,’ signifying barbarous and independent, is, by the Asamese, applied
very indefinitely to all the independent hill tribes on both sides of the valley, but it
is more especially the appellation of the great section we are about to treat of. The
word in Asamese is opposed to Bori, which means dependent. It has the same signiti-
cation as Malwa and Be-malwa applied to the Garos.

The Abors on or near the Dibong river and between that river and the Dirjmo,
due north of the station of Dibrugarh, call themselves Pidam. It has been assumed
that they are in some measure dependent on the kindred clans occupying the loftier
ranges behind them, but I believe that the villages of the Padam, bordering on Asam,
are larger, and in all respects more flourishing than those in the interior, and I am
inclined to think that they consider themselves as independent of their northern as
of their southern neighbours. Sometimes great councils of the different settlements
are convened, and then, if they agree, they act together as confederate states, but each
community in its internal affairs is governed by its own laws devised and administered
on purely democratical principles.

Membu is the largest of these neighbouring PAidam settlements, and is reported to
be the most influential in the confederate councils. It was visited by Wilcox in
1825, and by the late Lieutenant Frederick Grey Eden, Doctor R. Moir, and myself in
1855, and I cannot better describe the people and the Padam generally than by giving
extracts from the journal in which my impressions on seeing them were at the time

reographical position.

recorded.

The village is built on a range of hills rising from a small stream called the Shiku,
about four miles from the confluence of that stream with the Dibong. It occupies some
20 acres of rocky, craggy ground at different elevations, varying about 290 feet. It is
‘sheltered by lofty peaked hills that, as you look towards the north, embrace it on three
sides. To the south from the elevated sites, a fine view of the plains of Asam is
obtained. The course of the Dibong river from the hills to its junction with the
Brahmaputra and many miles of the combined river are discernible.
''Section 5.] THE ABOR GROUP: (1)—THE PADAM AND OTHER ABORS. 2S

The houses are nearly all of the same size, about 50 feet in length by 20 in
breadth, with a verandah or porch, one hearth and no inner
enclosure. They are apparently not intended for the accom-
_ modation of more than one married couple. Girls till they are married occupy at
night the same house as their fathers and mothers; boys and young men are not
permitted to do so, and when a man marries, he and his bride leave the paternal
roof and set up a house for themselves. In building this they are assisted by the
community, and all the component parts having been previously collected, prepared,
and arranged, the house is framed, floored, thatched and ready for their reception in four
and twenty hours.

Houses.

I had an opportunity of seeing a house thus commenced, and of watching its progress.
Next day it was completed and occupied by the young couple.

In trimming and fitting the frame-work of timber, some art is displayed ; the flooring
of bamboos is four feet from the ground; the walls and the doors are of planks, and the
thatching, which comes down on all sides as low as the flooring to keep off the high
winds, is of grass, or more commonly of dried leaves of the wild plantain.

As we could only see a portion of the village at one view, it was difficult to estimate
the number of houses, and from the inhabitants, whose notions
of arithmetic are limited to the enumeration of their fingers
and toes, I could get no information. From one crag I counted one hundred and
fifty, the lower and most compact part of the town. There are probably as many more
on the outskirts. All round, bamboos and jack trees are planted and carefully fenced ;
one of the most influential men has near his house a grove of beautiful palms surrounded
by a loose stone wall.

Village.

The inhabitants are well supplied with water; there are several elevated springs, and
the discharges from these are collected and carried to different
parts of the villages in aqueducts or pipes of bamboos, from
which a bright, pure stream continually flows. Notwithstanding these privileges, water
is seldom used for ablutionary purposes. The Abors consider dirt an antidote to cold,
and positively cherish it.

In a conspicuous part of the village is the Morang or town-hall. This is in the
same style of architecture as the private houses, but it is 200 feet
in length and has 16 or 17 fireplaces. The assemblage that met
me there consisted of about 300 adult males, and an infinite number of small boys, who
took up observing positions on-the rafters.

The head-men, elders or Gams, congregated round the central fireplace. No one is
permitted to arrogate the position of the chief, but here sat
Bokpang, a short, stout, jolly looking individual, who, from the
influence he exercised generally in the assembly, especially when a call to order was
necessary, and from his manner of opening the debate, I was inclined to consider as the

Water-supplies.

The Town-hall.

The Council.

chairman or president, and in charge of the foreign relations of the state. Then came
Loitem, the Nestor of the republiz, the first of their orators, the great repository of
traditional lore, who expatiated with spirit and strong enthusiasm on the renown, virtue
and valour of the Paidam race. Next came Julong, the war minister, a young man of
stalwart frame, tall and well built, with a fine open countenance, the most trusty friend or
''24, DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove I.

dangerous foe of all the Membu notables. Then there was a factious demagogue called
Jaluk, who appeared to be the leader of the opposition.

The notables meet daily in the Morang for the discussion of affairs of state, and are
kept amply supplied with liquor all the time they are so employed at the public expense.
The most important and the most trivial matters are there discussed. Apparently nothing
is done without a consultation, and an order of the citizens in Morang assembled is issued
daily regulating the day’s work. The result is rapidly promulgated by the shrill voices
of boys who run through the village giving out the order in a clear monotone like a street
ery. I heard it thus proclaimed, that in honor of our arrival the next day was to be a holi-
day, and that the women and children might all go and see the queer-looking strangers.

I found that no presents were openly received by the Gams or notables for
themselves. Everything given on public grounds is lodged in the
common treasury for the benefit of the whole body corporate.
Belonging to the Morang are public pigs, poultry and other possessions to be used as
occasion requires. Fines, forfeitures, and escheats are similarly appropriated. In regard to
persons accused of crime, the system is just the reverse of that described as in force
amongst the Chalikatas. The crime of an individual is treated as a public disgrace to
be expiated by a public sacrifice. The culprit has eventually to bear the expense of this ;
it may therefore be regarded as a fine, but the process of realization is most singular.
Suppose it to be decreed that a pig is to be sacrificed. The ‘ Raj,’ that is the community,
appropriate the first animal of the kind in good condition and private property that comes
to hand. The owner is at liberty then to fix his own value upon it and recover it as best
he can from the culprit. It may be said it would have been simpler to have proceeded
in the first instance against the property of the offender; but when all are judges who
will condescend to act as sheriff’s officer? The system adopted provides an executive
without any trouble to the Raj or expense to the estate.

There is no power vested in the community to take life or inflict corporal punish-
ment on a free-born citizen, but slaves may be put to death, and I heard of one that had
been so condemned by the Raj for having seduced a free-born girl.

The Morang is occupied every night by all the bachelors in the village, both
freemen and slaves, and with them a certain proportion of the married men are nightly
on duty, so as to constitute together a sufficient available force for any contingency of
attack, fire or other public emergency.

I witnessed an instance that forcibly impressed me with the practical utility of this
institution, and of the ready alacrity and good feeling and discipline of the body that
constituted it.

A woman, a widow with two children, one an infant at the breast, the other a
boy of three or four years old, had gone to the farm early in the morning, and on reaching
it. she tied the small child on the back of the boy, and set to work at her field. When
she gave over work for the day and was preparing to return, the children were missing ;
she searched till evening without success, but was not much alarmed as she hoped they
had gone home, but when at night she reached her home and found no children, then she
made her cries heard through the village, and soon they reached the Morang.

There sat the village youth and men on duty round the blazing hearths carousing,
but at this poor widow’s sorrowing cry at once they rise and go forth prepared to pass

Criminal Code.

 
''Suction 5.] THE ABOR GROUP: (1)—THE PADAM AND OTHER ABORS. 25

the night in searching for the lost children. There was no discussion; no mandate was
sent forth, no apathy was shown, no excuses were made. The widow’s appeal was at once
responded to by benevolent action. There was no delay except to prepare torches, and in
a very few minutes a band of not less than 100 young men, armed and equipped, followed
the woman to the scene of the disaster. They had not returned when we left the village
in the morning, and I never heard the result of the expedition.

Losses of children in the manner described are said to be of frequent occurrence.
They are most probably kidnapped by the Chalikatas, but this the Pddam will not
admit. They assert that the spirits of the woods hide them, and they retaliate on the
spirits by cutting down trees till they find them.

This causes a great commotion amongst the spirits : ‘ What’s the row now ?” says one ;
‘Oh,’ replies another, ‘the Padam have lost a child.’ ‘Then whoever has got: it give it
up quick, or the rascals wont leave us a tree.’ Then the child is found in the fork of a
tree or some other out-of-the-way place.

The religion of the Abors consists in a belief in these sylvan deities, to each of whom
some particular department in the destiny of man is assigned.
They have no medicine for the sick: for every disease there is a
spirit, and a sacrifice to that spirit is the only treatment attempted. A mountain called
Rigam is the favorite abode of the spirits, and is held in great awe. No one can return
from its summit, consequently its mysteries are undisclosed.

They acknowledge and adore one supreme being as the great father of all and believe
in a future state, the condition of which will in some measure depend on the life led here
below ; but on this question their ideas are undefined, and it is probable that some of them
are derived from the Hindu. I have heard them speak of a judge of the dead; but as
they gave his name as ‘Jam,’ they were no doubt thinking of the * Yama’ of Hindus.

They have no hereditary priesthood, but there are persons called Deodars who acquire
the position of augurs or soothsayers from their superior knowledge of omens and how
to observe them. The examination of the entrails of birds and of a pig’s liver appears
to be the most usual method of divination. On visiting Bomjir, a pig’s liver was brought
to me on a tray, and I was asked what I thought of it. I said it was good, healthy looking
liver ; they replied, ‘But what does it reveal in regard to your intentions in visiting us ?’
I suggested they should find that out from my words and looks. They rejoined that the
words and faces of men were ever fallacious, but that pig’s liver never deceived them !

In regard to their sacrifices one trait is particularly worth noticing. In cases of
sickness or death, when a mithun or a pig is offered no one is allowed to share the feast
with the gods but the old and infirm, who, as poor and superannuated, may be regarded
as on the parish, and who live in the Morang at the public expense.

‘They are said to hold as inviolate any engagement cemented by an interchange of
meat as food; this is called sengmung. Each party to the engagement must give to the
other some animal to be killed and eaten ; it is not necessary that they should eat together,
or that the feast be held at the same time. 'They presented me with a fine bull mithun,
and I purchased and gave them a similar animal.*

Religion.

 

* I was informed not long ago that, although since my visit to Membu we have had several brushes with the Abors,
the confederacy of which the above is the head-quarters have remained perfectly friendly and loyal to their engagement
with me.

G
''26 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. . [ Group I.

The Deodar gave me the following legend of the origin of the race :—

The human family are all descended from one common mother. She had two sons,
the eldest was a bold hunter, the younger was a cunning crafts-
man; the latter was the mother’s favorite. With him she
migrated to the west, taking with her all the household utensils, arms, implements of
agriculture and instruments of all sorts, so that the art of making most of them was
lost in the land she deserted; but before quitting the old country she taught her
first-born how to forge daos, to make musical instruments from the gourd, and she left
him in possession of a great store of blue and white beads.* These beads and the simple
arts known to him he transmitted to his posterity the Pidam, and from him they
received the injunction to mark themselves on the forehead with a cross.

The western nations, including the English, are descended from the younger brother,
and inherited from him and the continued instructions of the mother their knowledge of
science and art.

Absolutely the Padam have no knowledge of arts, except what they thus account for.
Their implements of husbandry are their long straight swords, or
daos, crooked bamboos to scrape the earth, and pointed sticks
to make holes, into which they dexterously shoot the seed. Nevertheless they have a wide
area and great variety of cultivation and get good crops. Industry and the richness
of the soil make up for all deficiencies, and seasons of scarcity are rare with them.
They cultivate rice, cotton, tobacco, maize, ginger, red pepper, sugarcane, a great variety
of esculent roots and pumpkins, and opium. Their cultivation is almost all in the plains,
and they have gradually extended it to a distance of about seven miles from their village.
Against unnecessarily breaking up new lands they have a wholesome prejudice ; when the
land they cultivate appears exhausted they revert to that which has been longest fallow.
Under this system the whole space from their villages to the most distant point of their

oeincuae cultivation has been cleared and appropriated, and the forests

beyond it are spared. The boundaries of each man’s clearing are
denoted by upright stones, and property in cultivated and fallow land is recognised.

The cultivation commences from the Shiku river, and along the banks of that stream
there is strong palisading to keep. the village cattle from trespassing. The importance
of having at all times the means of crossing the river to their cultivation, has led to the
construction over it of a suspension bridge of cane. The canes forming the main support
are thrown across beams supported partly on triangles of strong timbers and partly on
erowing trees. These trees have stays: to counteract their flexibility, and these and all
the suspending canes are made fast to the stumps of other large trees, or to piers of loose
stones. The roadway is also made of cane interlaced, supported by elliptical eirders of
the same material passing round the main suspenders. This bridge is carefully repaired
every year, and I am informed that in about four years every part of it is renewed.

The Abors are a much taller race than the Mishmis, but clumsy-looking and
sluggish ; they have strongly marked Mongolian features, and
are of rather a uniform olive complexion. They have very
deep voices and speak with a peculiar sonorous cadence, never hurriedly. The dress

* Tho blue beads above referred to are very handsome. They are an exact imitation of turquoise, and vary in size

fyom the dimensions of a pea to that of a large cherry. I believe they are made in China.

Tradition of origin.

Art; agriculture.

Physical appearance.

 

 

 
'' 

SECTION 5.] THE ABOR GROUP: (1)—THE PADAM AND OTHER ABORS. 27

of the men consists primarily of a loin cloth made of the bark of the Udal* tree. It
answers the double purpose of a carpet to sit upon and of a
covering. It is tied round the loins, and hangs down behind
in loose strips about fifteen inches long, like a white bushy tail. It serves also
as a pillow by night. The garment thus described by Wilcox is seldom now seen in
the plains, but is still worn by the Abors of the interior. When full dressed the modern
Abor is an imposing figure. Colored coats without sleeves, of their own manufacture,
or of the manufacture of their neighbours, the Chalikatas, are commonly worn. Some
wear long Tibetan cloaks, and they weave a cloth from their own cotton with a long
fleecy nap like that of a carpet, which they make into warm jackets. On state occasions
they wear helmets of a very striking appearance. The foundation is a strong skull-cap
of cane; itis adorned with pieces of bear skin, yak tails dyed red, boars’ tusks, and,
above all, the huge beak of the buceros.

For arms they have cross-bows and common bows with arrows, the latter used with
and without poison, very long spears, daggers, and long straight-
cutting swords. By their own account it is on the latter weapon
they chiefly rely in warfare, and they are fond of exhibiting their skill in using it.

The hair of both males and females is close cropped; this is done by lifting it on
the blade of a knife and chopping it with a stick all round. ‘The practice of tattooing is
resorted to by both sexes. The men all wear a cross on the forehead between the
eyebrows. The women have a small cross in the hollow of the upper lip immediately
under the nose, and on both sides of it above and below the mouth are stripes,
generally, but not always, seven in number.

The dress of the females as ordinarily seen consists of two cloths, blue and red in
broad stripes. One round the loins forms a petticoat just reach-
ing to the knees; it is retained in its position by a girdle of
cane-work: the other is folded round the bosom, but this is often dispensed with, and
the exposure of the person above the waist is evidently considered no indelicacy. Their
necks are profusely decorated with strings of beads reaching to the waist, and the
lobes of the ears are, as usual with the hill races, enormously distended for decorative
purposes. Round the ankles, so as to set off to the best advantage the fine swell of the
bare leg, broad bands of very finely plaited cane-work are tightly laced, and some of
the belles, most particular about their personal appearance, wear these anklets of
alight blue tinge. But the most singular article of their attire remains to be described.
All females with pretensions to youth wear suspended in front from a string round
the loins a row of from three to a dozen shell-shaped embossed plates of bell-metal from
about six to three inches in diameter, the largest in the middle, the others gradually
diminishing in size as they approach the hips. These plates rattle and chink as they move,
like prisoners’ chains. Very young girls, except for warmth, wear
nothing but these appendages, but the smallest of the sex is never
seen without them, and even adult females are often seen with no other covering. At
Bomjir I witnessed a dance in which they divested themselves of everything else, and
behaved in a very indecorous manner.

Costume.

Arms.

Female costume.

Brass petticoats.

 

* Wilcox, Asiatic Researches, Vol. VII. .
''28 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove I

In feature and complexion the Abor women are a coarse type of the Chinese. They
are not so ruddy nor so good looking as the Mishmis. Many of them are disfigured
with goitre, and their antipathy to the use of water and their very unbecoming coiffure
take greatly away from their personal appearance.

They are hard worked, but the whole burden of field labor is not thrown upon them,
as is the custom amongst most of the hill tribes. Wives are treated by their husbands
with a consideration that strikes one as singular in so rude a race; but I have seen other
races as rude who in this respect are an example to more civilized people. It is because
with these rude people the inclination of the persons most interested in the marriage is
consulted, and polygamy is not practised; I do not say it is the rule, but it is certainly the
prevailing practice of the Padam to have only one wife. They spoke with contempt of
those who had a plurality, and I was assured both by the Membu and Siluk Abors that
the Padam generally repudiated the custom, as leading to jars and dissensions. I was in-
formed that in the Membu village there was only one individual with more than one wife.

Marriages are sometimes settled by the parents, but generally the young people
arrange these affairs for themselves, and from all I could learn
a feast isthe only ceremony required to ratify and declare the
happy event ; but it is customary for a lover to show his inclinations whilst courting by
presenting his sweetheart and her parents with such delicacies as field mice and squirrels.
In a society where all, except slaves, are equal in rank, and where the productive in-
dustry of a man and his wife is sufficient to maintain them in all the necessaries and
luxuries enjoyed by their neighbours, where moreover the community assist the young
couple at starting by building a house for them, fathers and mothers have little occasion
to “manceuvre”’ matches. It isa fact that amongst the Padam they seldom interfere :
and to barter their child’s happiness for money would be regarded as an indelible disgrace.

The Abors, however, view with abhorrence the idea of their girls marrying out of their
own clan, and I was gravely assured that when one of the daughters of Padam so demeans
herself, the sun and the moon refuse to shine, and there is such a strife in the elements
that all labor is necessarily suspended, till by sacrifice and oblation the stain is washed away.

We are certain that the settlements of the Midhi and Mishmis extend right across
the hills from Asam to Tibet, and that even those living nearest to the British territories
are in habits of constant intercourse with the Tibetans. We can see that the Padam
have, directly or indirectly, trade with Tibet, as they wear coats, and possess pipes of metal,
vessels, swords, and beads, of Tibetan or of Chinese manufacture: but for some reason
they throw a veil of mystery over their intercourse, and always repudiating direct trade
with Tibetans, tell you of the existence of barbarous tribes on the high snowy ranges
behind them: and you meet with no one of the clan who will acknowledge to have passed.
this barrier of savages.

Marriages.

Section 5, (2)—Tue Miris anp Hitt Miris.

Proceeding still down the valley, after crossing the hill course of the Dirjmo,
we come on tribes nearly allied to the Padam or Abors who are known in Asam as the
Parbatia or Hill Miris; but before we enter their domains it may be as well to explain
who the Miris of the plains are.
''Sxotron 5.] THE ABOR GROUP: (2)—THE MIRIS AND HILL MIRIS. 29

The Miris of the plains are off-shoots from the Abors and claimed by that people as
A runaway slaves, but there are various clans of them differing in
Miris of the valley. : .

external appearance, and some of these clans have been settled in
Asam for ages. They, however, keep much to themselves, leading rather a nomadic life,
living in houses on stilts built on the precarious banks of the Brahmaputra and its
estuaries or affluents, and cultivating, the alluvial flats of that river. With exception
to the clan called Chutia Miris, the traditions of all of them take them back to the valley
of the Dihong. It is probable they had advanced from the north, made settlements in
the country now occupied by the Abors, and the latter people, of the same race but more
powerful, following on their footsteps pushed them on into the plains. There are clans,
the Saiengya and Aiengya, who crop their hair like the Abors, and having done so the
young women attach to the cropped ends an ornament fringe of cowries and brass, which
gives them the appearance of being wigged in a very fantastic manner. Other clans
clothe themselves and dress their hair more after the fashion of the Asamese, but they
keep their blood pure and have lost none of the physical characteristics of the tribe.
They are of the yellow Mongolian type, tall, and powerfully framed, but with a slouching
gait and sluggish habits. They have the deep-toned voice and slow method of speaking
that I have noticed as characteristics of the Abors.

For a long period under the Asam Government, the Miris managed to keep to them-
selves the entire trade between Asam and the Abors; and’as being thus the only
medium of communication between the two peoples, they obtained this name Miri, which
means mediator or go-between, and is the same word as ‘ miria’ or ‘ milija’ used with the
same signification in Orissa. Perhaps the meriah applied to the sacrifice of the Khunds is
a cognate word, the meriah being the messenger or mediator between man and the deity.

The Miris in the plains have generally abandoned the vague religious notions of their
ancestors, and adopted ideas put into their heads by the Asamese Gosains or Brahminical
priests, that each of them chose to adopt as their Guru or spiritual instructor: but all
efforts on the part of the Hindus to wean them from their impure mode of living have
utterly failed. ‘They eat pig, fowl and beef, and drink spirits and beer, and have no caste
notions about the preparation of food.

They keep the Asam feasts, and during the great Bihu festival groups of Miris are
to be found amongst the gayest of the revellers. The Miri girls
dance the somewhat sensual Bihu dance with great spirit, and
they have a dance of their own which is quite free from this sensuality somewhat resem-
bling the Naga movement. They have also a festival that few of the uninitiated ever
hear of. At one season of the year the adult unmarried males and females of a village
spend several days and nights together in one large building, and if couples manage thus
to suit each- other, they pair off and marry.

The Miri houses are what are called in Asam chang-garh, 7. e., houses with raised
floors, and space underneath for the pigs, poultry, &c. The houses
are generally in a line on the banks of the river, and they have
no gardens or enclosures. The cultivation is with them, as with their brethren in the
hills, apart from the village, and their granaries are in their cultivated fields, often left
quite unprotected. They trust to the isolated position for protection from alien thieves,
and have perfect confidence in the honesty of their fellow villagers.

Dances, &e.

Houses.

H
''30 DALTON.— ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group I,

Returning to the hills we find, west of the Dirjmo and to the north of the Sisi and
Damaji mauzas of the Luckimpur district, the Ghy-ghasi Miris ;
the Sarak north of Bordoloni, and on both banks of the hill
course of the Stibanshiri river. Then the Panibotia Miris, so called because in their
journeys to the plains they travel part of the way in canoes on that river, and Tarbatia
whose journey is wholly by land, whence Tar. These tribes having, under the Asam
Government, obtained a sort of prescriptive right to levy black-mail on the Luckimpur
villages skirting their hills, now receive annually from our Government an equivalent
in the form of a money payment.

They tell a singular story in detailing the circumstances under which black-mail
was formerly guaranteed to them by the Asam Government. They had plundered some
Asamese villages, and that Government sent an army against them which was ignomi-
niously defeated by the hill people and fled, leaving in the hands of the victors their
camp equipage and magazine. The Hill Miris not knowing to what use to apply the
muskets, matchlocks, guns, and powder, determined to make a grand bonfire of their
spoils, and their astonishment and dread may be conceived when they found that the
guns left loaded went off of themselves and killed several of their number, and when the
grand explosion of the magazine took place which killed many more. They thought
that a Raja whose weapons, unhandled, had the power of inflicting such injury on his
enemies must be worth knowing, and they sent a deputation to him, offering to abstain
in future from plundering if they were allowed certain privileges of collecting from the
ryots. All they asked was readily accorded, and thus originated the black-mail.

Though in language and in many of their customs they resemble and are no doubt
of common stock with the Abors, they differ from them greatly in form of government,
and in many social observances and customs.

They live in small communities under hereditary chiefs, and in some instances one
family has obtained sufficient influence to be acknowledged as
chief over clusters of communities. They have no Morang, or
town-hall, in which the elders meet and consult during the day, nor do the youths, armed
for the protection of the village, keep watch by night. They have no regulation for the
safety of the commonwealth like the Abors, nor does each settlement consist of only one
family as amongst the Tain Mishmis. The villages consist of ten or a dozen houses of
as many families, built pretty closely together, in some position rather difficult of access,
and it is left to the chief to look after its safety as best he can.

The Ghy-ghasis. are a poor, meanly clad, badly fed, ill-looking clan of stunted
growth compared with the Abors; their villages extend back as far as the eastern branch
of the Stbanshiri.

The women of this clan, in lieu of the brass plates of the Abor lasses, wear a small
petticoat made of filaments of cane woven together. It is about
a foot in breadth, and fastened so tight round the loins that it
restrains the free use of the thighs, and causes the women to move with a short mincing
motion chiefly from the knee. The women are often seen with nothing on but this
singular garment. They wear their hair long, but the appearance of this tribe is
altogether unprepossessing, and I will pass to those on the opposite side of the Sibanshiri,
with whom I am better acquainted. I believe I am the only officer that ever penetrated

Hill Miris.

Policy.

Female costume.

 
'' 

Srcrion 5.] THE ABOR GROUP: (2)—THE MIRIS AND HILL MIRIS. OE

into their country. Wilcox made the attempt, but meeting with no encouragement from
the chiefs, he returned from the first rapids of the Stbanshiri above the Asamese gold-
washers’ village of Patalipam. He describes the river as scarcely inferior to the Ganges |
at Allahabad, with a discharge in the month of November of 16,000 cubic feet per second.
Its course through the plains is not interesting, as the banks are low, liable to inundation,
and covered with jungle, but nothing can possibly exceed the loveliness of its hill course.

For eight or ten miles the river flows without a ripple in graceful sweeps round the
bases of rocks that rise precipitously hundreds of feet from the clear mirror which re-
flects them, and blend into lofty forest-clad hills. Throughout this glen the average depth
of water cannot be less than sixty feet. Above it the stream is broken by boulders into
roaring rapids, presenting a wild contrast to its peaceful current through the glen,

The chief who befriended me in my excursion to the Hill Miri villages was Tema, the
head of the Panibotia Miris. After a journey of three days and a half from Patalipam
in canoes up the river, I met him and his people at the point called Siplumukh, and
thence proceeded by land. Two long marches over a most difficult road, impracticable
for any quadruped except a goat, and infeasible by a biped who had not the free use of
his hands as well as his feet, brought us to the settlement. My baggage was nearly all
carried on the heads of sturdy-limbed hill lasses who merrily bounded like roes from one
slippery rock to another, laughing at my slow progress.

I found the villages situated on hills to the north of the great range seen from the
Luckimpur station, which I had crossed. They were small, consisting each of not more
than ten or a dozen houses two or three miles apart. Every village had its Gam or
chief, but my friend Tema was looked upon as head of the clan.

On the arrival of the first British officer ever seen in the hills, fowls were killed in
every village by augurs with the view of ascertaining, from the appearance of the en-
trails, if the visit boded them good or ill. Fortunately the omens were all pronounced
favorable, and the people vied with each other in treating me and my party with kind-
ness and hospitality.

A description of Tema’s house will suffice for all, and show how they live. It is
70 feet long; the flooring is of split bamboos on a very
substantial framework of timber raised several feet from the
ground; the roof has gable ends, and is thatched with leaves; under the gable a cross
sloping roof covers an open balcony, one at each end. The interior consists of one long
apartment 60 feet by 16, from which a passage at one side, extending the entire length,
is partitioned off in the large apartment down the centre; four fires burn on hearths of
earth. On one side neatly ranged were the arms, pouches, marching equipments, and
another portion of the hall was decorated with trophies of the chase; in the centre,
between the fires, frames of bamboo suspended from the roof served as tables on which
various domestic utensils were deposited.

In the passage partitioned off there was nothing but a row of conical baskets lined
with plantain leaves, in which the grain was undergoing its process of fermentation for
the production of their favorite beverage. The liquor slowly percolated into earthen
vessels placed underneath, and was removed for use as they filled.

In the large apartment the whole family eat, drink, and sleep; Tema and his two
wives at the upper end or first fire, his sons and daughters round the next, and servants

Chief’s house.
''32, DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grovp If.

and retainers round the third and fourth. Fearful of being pillaged by the <Abors
they do not venture to display much property in their houses. Their stores of grain are
kept in houses apart from the village, and their valuables buried. The latter consist
chiefly of large dishes and cooking vessels of metal, and of great collections of Tibetan
metal bells called deogantas, which appear to be prized as holy things, and are
sometimes used as money. Miris pretend that they cannot now obtain these bells, and
that those they possess are heirlooms. They are valued at from four annas to twelve rupees
each, according to shape, size and ornaments. Those with inscriptions inside and out are
most highly prized. Those without inscriptions are little valued, and as these inscriptions
are nothing more than repetitions of the Shibboleth, “Om Mani pedmi Om” of the
Tibetans, it is easy to see that the Miris must have been inspired by that people to treat
them with such veneration. The superstition regarding them should be compared with
the veneration of the Garos for the vessels called Diokoras; also, it is believed, of
Tibetan manufacture. '

The costume of the ladies of this clan is elaborate and peculiar. A short petticoat
extending from the loins to the knees is secured to a broad.
belt of leather, which is ornamented with brass bosses. Outside
this they wear the singular crinoline of cane-work, which I have described as often
the sole garment of the neighbouring clan. The upper garment consists of a band of
plaited cane-work girding the body close under the arms, and from this in front a
fragment of cloth depends and covers the breasts. This is their travelling and working
dress, but at other times they wrap themselves in a large cloth of éri silk of Asamese
manufacture, doubled over the shoulders and pinned in front like a shawl.

They have bracelets of silver or copper, and anklets of finely plaited cane or bamboo.
Their hair is adjusted with neatness, parted in the centre and hanging down their backs in
two carefully plaited tails. In their ears they wear most fantastic ornaments of silver,
which it would be difficult to describe. A simple spiral screw of this metal, winding
snake-like round the extended lobe of the ear, is not uncommon amongst unmarried girls,
but this is only an adjunct of the complicated ear ornaments worn by married ladies.
They wear round their necks an enormous quantity of large turquoise-like beads made
apparently of fine porcelain, and beads of agate, cornelian, and onyx, as well as ordinary
glass beads of all colors.

The men of this clan have fine muscular figures, many of them tall, at least over five
feet eight inches, and in feature generally resembling the Abor,
but they have admitted Asamese into their fraternity, and the
expression of some is softened by this admixture of race. They gather the hair to
the front, where it protrudes out from the forehead in a large knob secured by a
bodkin. Round the head a band of small brass or copper knobs linked together is
tightly bound. Chiefs wear ornaments in their ears of silver, shaped like a wine-
glass, and quite as large. A cap of cane or bamboo-work with a peak behind is worn
when travelling, and over this a piece cut out of a tiger or leopard skin, including
the tail, which has a droll appearance, hanging down the backs. Their nether garment is
a scarf between their legs fastened to a girdle of cane-work, and their upper robe, a cloth
wrapped round the body and pinned so as to resemble the Abors’ sleeveless coat. As
a cloak and covering for their knapsack, they wear over the shoulders a half cape, made of

Costume.

Physical aspect.

 
''SECTION 5. ] THE ABOR GROUP: (2)—THE MIRIS AND HILL MIRIS. 33

the black hairy fibres of a palm-tree, which at a distance looks like a bear skin. Their
arms are the bow and arrow and long straight sword, and the arrows are generally
poisoned. They also make shafts from a bamboo, which is said to be poisonous without
any addition to render it so.

The time of the men is chiefly occupied in journeys to the plains with loads of
(munjista) munjit or other produce, or in hunting. They have
various methods for entrapping animals of all kinds, from an
elephant to a mouse, and all is fish that comes to their net. The flesh of a tiger is prized
as food for men; it gives them strength and courage. It is not suited for women; it
would make them too strong-minded.

Polygamy is practised to a great extent by the chiefs; there is no limit, but his means
of purchase, to the number of wives a man may possess, and (as
. amongst the Mishmis) when he dies, his son or heir will become
the husband of all the women, excepting his mother. As amongst the Hos of Singbhum,
a woman is valued more on account of her family than her good looks, but the chiefs’
daughters are generally the belles of the clan, and there is great competition for a pretty
girl. The belle of Tema’s village, when I was there, was a niece of his, named Yaday,
and I was assured that several chiefs had made proposals for her. The price put on this
beauty amounted to two or three mithuns, twenty or thirty pigs, and a quantity of fowls.

With the poorer classes a man has to work hard to earn the means of buying a wife,
and from this results in a few instances the practice of polyandry.
I never heard of any cases of this practice amongst Tema’s tribe ;

but occasional instances of it are met in the tribes to the east and west of them. Two
brothers will unite, and from the proceeds of their joint labor buy a wife between them.
When the stipulated price is paid, the parents of the bride invite the suitor and his
friends to a feast, and at the close of it he carries off his bride, who is accompanied by all
her relations and friends, and a return feast is given by the bridegroom or his father.

The Miri women make faithful and obedient wives. I have often heard them express
their astonishment at the unbridled license of an Asamese woman’s tongue, even in
addressing her husband. They are trained never to complain or give an angry answer, and

cheerfully do they appear to bear the hard burden imposed on them, which includes nearly
the whole of the field labor, and an equal share of the carrying work of their journeys to
the plains. They seldom possess any implement solely adapted for cultivation, have never
taken to the plough, or even toa hoe. They use their long straight daos, or swords, to
clear, cut, and dig with.

Hach village has a certain extent of ground to which their cultivation is limited, but
not more than one-fifth of this is under cultivation each season.
They cultivate each patch two successive years, then suffer it to
lie fallow for four or five, taking up again the ground that has been longest fallow in lieu.
They have, like the Abors, a superstition which deters them from breaking up fresh
ground so long as their available fallow is sufficient,—a dread of offending the spirits of
woods by unnecessarily cutting down trees. Their crops are the aoos rice, millets, Indian
corn, yams, sweet potatoes, tobacco, and red pepper; but they barely rear sufficient for
their own consumption, and would often be very hard pressed for food, if it were not for
the large stock of dried meat they take care to have always on hand.

Occupation.

Marriages.

Occasional polyandry.

Cultivation.
''34 DALTON. ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. _ [Grovr T.

Not less than two-thirds of the population spend several months of the year in the
plains, and their main occupation whilst there is to procure meat and fish, dry it, and
carry it back to their hills. A Miri encampment, whilst this process is going on, may be
sniffed from afar, and the unpleasant odour clings most disagreeably to the people,
rendering it desirable to keep to the windward of all you meet.

The only cattle of the ox kind kept by the Hill Miri are the mithun, and they are
only useful as food, as their masters never touch milk. They
have pigs and poultry in plenty, and a few goats.

[ suppose there are no people on the face of the earth more ignorant of arts and
manufactures than the tribe I am treating of. They are decently
clad, because they can exchange the wild produce of their hills for
clothes, and they purchase cloths with the money received from Government as black mail
commutation ; but they cannot make for themselves any article of clothing, unless the
cane bands and bamboo crinolines can be so called. The most distant tribes, their cognates,
manufacture coarse cotton cloths ; but though the Miris are in constant communication
with them as well as with the people of the plains, they have not the remotest idea of
weaving. ‘They cannot journey two or three days from their village without having to
cross a considerable river. If it be not fordable, a rough raft of kAku bamboos (Bambusa
gigantea) is hastily constructed, butthough constantly requiring them and annually using
them in their journeys to the plains, they have never yet attempted to construct a canoe.
This is the more strange as the Abors of the Dihong river make them for use and for sale.

The religious observances of the Miris are confined to the slaughter of animals in
the name of the sylvan spirits, and vaticination by the examina-:
tion of the entrails of birds when the deities have been invoked
after such sacrifices. They profess a belief in a future state, and have an indefinite idea
of a God who presides in the region of departed souls; but, as they call this god
Jam Raja, I believe it to be the Hindu Yama. They, however, bury their dead as

Cattle.

Arts.

Religion.

if they were sending them on a long journey, fully clothed and equipped with arms,
travelling-pouch and caps, in a deep grave surrounded by strong
Disposal of the dead. i :
timbers to prevent the earth from pressing on them; nor do
they omit to supply the departed with food for his journey, cooking utensils, and
ornaments, according to the position he enjoyed in life, in order that Jam Raja may
know whom he has to deal with. They attach great importance to their dead being
thus disposed of and buried near the graves of their ancestors. If a maf, of rank and
influence die in the plains, his body is immediately conveyed to the hills to be so interred,
should the disease of which he died not be deemed contagious.

Of migrations or their own origin the Hill Miri can only say that they were made
for the hills and appointed to dwell there, and that they were
originally much further north, but discovered Asam by following
the flights of birds, and found it to their advantage to settle on its borders.

There can be no doubt that the Hill Miris do their utmost to deter the people of the
wild clans to their north from visiting the plains, but the north-
men occasionally creep down bearing heavy loads of munjista,*

Traditions.

Tribes to their north.

 

* The Indian Madder. They chiefly depend on this export to provide them the means of purchasing all they import

from the plains.

 
'' 

SECTION 5. | THE ABOR GROUP: (3)—THE DOPHLAS. 35

and, beyond looking more savage and unkempt, they are undistinguishable from the
_ poorer class of Miris. They are described, however, as living in detached houses, as,
whenever they have attempted to form into a society, fierce feuds and summary vengeance,
or the dread of it, soon break up the community. Thrown on their own resources,
they have acquired the art of forging their own daos, which the Miris know not, and
their women weave coarse narrow cloths.

To the north-west of the Hill Miri country we hear of a tribe called ‘ Anka Miris’
by the Asamese, who never visit, the plains, but who, from the
accounts we have received of them, must be very superior to the
tribes of this family that we are acquainted with, resembling the Padam in their polity
and customs. Surrounded by lofty hills, the country which
they inhabit is an extensive valley, represented as being quite
level and watered by a branch, or perhaps the principal stream, of the Sundri river,
and richly cultivated.

They have fifteen large villages in this valley, and broad sheets of cultivation. ‘They
irrigate the land from the river, and it gives them in return rich corps, chiefly of rice.
The women wear blue or black petticoats and white cotton
jackets, all of theirown making. Their faces are tattooed, whence
the name ‘Anka’, given to them by the Asamese. They call themselves ‘'Tenae.’

The males have an article of dress made of cane hanging down behind in a bushy
tail, apparently like the under-garment worn by the Padam, made of the bark of the Udal
tree. There are other points in which, differing from the Hill Miris, they resemble the
_ Abors of the Dihong. The Miris, however extensive the family and the number of
married couples it includes, all occupy one house. The young men of the Tenae tribes,
when they marry, have to leave their father’s house and set up for themselves.

The Tenae are peaceably disposed, but they occasionally have to take up arms to punish
marauders, and they are said to do the business at once effectually
and honourably. Whilst the Abors and the Miris confine
their warfare to nocturnal and secret attacks, and if successful in effecting a surprise,
indiscriminately massacre men, women, and children, the Tenae declare hostilities, march
openly to attack their enemy, and make war only on men, inflicting no injury whatever
on non-combatants. If this be true, the Tenae may claim a hearing as the most humane
of belligerents at the next International Congress.

Anka Miris.

Their position.

Costume.

Mode of war,

Secrion 5. (3)—-Iur Dopuuas.

We next come to the country of the Dophlas, of which we know very little, but the
people socalled are so nearly allied to the Hill Miris we have been describing, that it will
not be necessary to give a very detailed notice of them. I am ignorant of the signification
of the name ‘Dophla’,* but Robinson tells us it is not recognised by the people to whom
it is applied except in their intercourse with the inhabitants of the plains. ‘Bangni’, the
term in their own language to signify a man, is the only designation they give themselves.
Two hundred and thirty-eight Gams of this clan are in receipt of compensation
for black mail from Government, dividing amongst them a sum of Rs. 2,543.

* Journal Aéiatic Soviety, Bengal, No. I, for 1851.
''36 DALTON.— ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grovr I.

The number of G&ms does not necessarily indicate the number of villages. The
Dophlas affect an oligarchicalform of Government, and acknowledge the authority of
from two or three to as many as thirty or forty chiefs in each clan. Their villages are
larger than those of the Hill Miris. They are richer in flocks and herds, but they are
inferior physically, being I think the shortest in stature of this division of the hill tribes.

They have normally the same Mongolian type of physiognomy, but from their -
7 intercourse with the people of the plains and the number of
Asamese slaves, which they have by fair means or foul acquired,
it is much modified and softened, and I have sometimes seen Dophla girls with pleasing
and regular features. Their complexion varies mtich from olive with a ruddy tinge to
dark brown.

I never heard of Dophla priests, but Robinson says they have priests who pretend
to a knowledge of divination, and by inspection of chickens’
entrails and eggs, declare the nature of the sacrifice that is to be
offered by the sufferer and the spirit to whom it is to be offered. The office, however, is
not hereditary, and is taken up and laid aside at pleasure, so it resolves itself into this,
that every man can, when occasion requires it, become a priest. Their religion con-
sists of invocations to the spirits for protection of themselves, their cattle, and their
crops, and sacrifice and thank-offerings of hogs and fowls. They acknowledge, but do
not worship, one Supreme Being which, I conceive, means that they have been told of
such a being, but know nothing about him.

Marriages and marital rights are the same with Dophlas as with the Hill Miris.
Those who can afford it are polygamists, but polyandry is far more
common amongst the Dophlas than amongst the eastern tribes

A very pretty Dophla girl once came into the station of Luckimpur, threw herself at
my feet and in most poetical language asked me to give her protection. She was .the
daughter of a chief and was sought in marriage and promised to a peer of her father
who had many other wives. She would not submit to be one of many, and besides she
loved and she eloped with her beloved. This was interesting and romantic. She was at
the time in a very coarse travelling dress, but assured of protection she took fresh apparel
and ornaments from her basket and proceeded to array herself, and very pretty she looked
as she combed and plaited her long hair and completed her toilette. In the meantime
I had sent for ‘the beloved’ who had kept in in the background, and alas! how
the romance was dispelled when a dwal appeared! She had eloped with two young
men !!

The costume of the Dophlas is very similar to that of the Hill Miris last described,
except that I do not think the Dophla women wear the crinoline
of cane work.

I have no particulars as to their mode of burial, butit is probably the same as that
of the Hill Miris.

The Dophla country extends from the hill course of the Sundri river to the
Bhoroli river, comprising the hills to the north of Chedwar in
the Luckimpur and of Naodwar in the Tezpur District. They
are in communication with the Tibetans as they possess many articles of Tibetan or
Chinese manufacture, but like the Dihong Abors and Hill Miris, they tell wild stories of

Physiognomy.

Religion.

Polyandry.

Costume.

Extent of country.
''SrcTIon 5.] THE ABOR GROUP: (4.)—THE AKAS, OR HRUSSO. 37

the savages between them and Tibet. It is said of these savages that they go absolutely
naked, and have, or assert that they have, an abhorrence of the smell of clothes.

The Dophlas-are a trifle more ingenious than the Hill Miris. The women spin and
weave and are spared much of the labour of the fields that
the Miri women are subjected to; but they are still very backward -
in the commonest arts. I do not think they have any pottery; and they import from
Tibet or Asam nearly all their weapons and implements.

Arts.

SECTION 5. (4) —Tie AKAS, oR Hrvsso.

The Akas or Arkas are the only occupants of the remaining segment of the hill-
country lying between the Dophla territory and Butan.* They are divided into two clans—
the Hazarikowas, ‘ Eaters of a thousand hearths,’ and the ‘ Kupa-chor,’ ‘ the thieves
that lurk in the cotton fields.’ These are all Asamese nicknames. We are informed
by the Revd. C. H. Heselmeyer that they call themselves Hrusso. +

The direct road to their settlement is reported to be exceedingly difficult, up water-
courses including the bed of the Bhoroli river which divides the Aka from the Dophla
country, or clambering with the aid of cane ropes the almost perpendicular faces of
_vocks; but there is a more circuitous, but easier, approach through a part of the Butan
territory by which the journey may be made in six days.

To the north of the Akas are the Migi with whom the Akas intermarry. So they

eee may be regarded as kindred clans. The former are the more

Me powerful, numbering from three to four hundred households, but

they rarely visit the plains unless it be to support the Akas in mischief. The trade of

these tribes with Asam is thus monopolized by the Akas, who have no wish to forego the
- advantages that this gives them.

The Akas only number about 230 families, but they were nev ae for many years
the terror of the inhabitants of Chardwar, in the district of Durrung, and were notorious
as the most daring marauders of the frontier.

The Hazarikowas had obtained fromthe Asam Government a right to levy black mail —
which they rigidly enforced. Hence probably their name of
the ‘Eaters of a thousand hearths.’ The Kupa-chors exercised
the right without having so obtained it, and under a chief, called the Tagi Raja,
insatiably plundered the people that it pleased them to prey upon; but in 1829, this
formidable free-booter was captured, and for four years kept close in the Gowhatty
jail. Whilst there he attached himself to a Hindu spiritual guide, who perhaps
had something to say to his obtaining his freedom, as the Guru offered to be
surety for the good behaviour of his proselyte, and in 1832 the Governor General's Agent
released him; but when he once more set foot on his native earth, he forgot the Guru,
and his first action was to put to death all that had been in any way concerned in his
capture. He then attacked and cut up a British outpost established at the head of the
pass leading to his country, massacring men, women, and children; and for seven years
after this, though He ate hunted, he not ne evaded capture, but continued to make

Relations to the Government.

 

* Memorandum on the North-Eastern Frontier Tribes, by A, Mackenzie, Esq., c. s., 1869.
+ Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, Vol. XX XVII, page 194.

K
''88 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove I.

raids on the plains. At length weary of this life, he with all his subordinate chiefs
surrendered, and on their taking a solemn oath to maintain the peace on their frontier
in future they were amnestied. Small pensions were granted to them, amounting in the
aggregate to Rs. 360 per annum, and they have since kept inviolate their engagements-
In administering the oath, the chiefs were made to kill a fowl, to take in their hands a
tiger, and then a bear, skin and finally some elephant’s dung.

The Tagi Raja after his return from his first forced visit to Asam, became some-
what reformed, and introduced his people to the worship of Hari. Mr. Heselmeyer
thus describes the previous religious notions of the Akas:—

“The Aka though uncivilized is not devoid of religious ideas; he has no written
shastras or religious books of any kind it is true, but the Aka
fears the high mountains which tower aloft over his dwelling and
form the snow-clad sides, off which leaps the thundering avalanche, he fears the roaring
torrents of the deep glen which interposes between him and his friends beyond, and he
fears the dark and dense jungle in which his cattle lose their way.” :

“These dark and threatening powers of nature he invests with supernatural attri-
butes. They are his gods, and he names them, Fiixo the god of jungle and water,
Firan and Siman the gods of war, and Satu the god of house and field.”

The Akas have a priest, called Deori, for every hamlet, who performs daily worship
at the shrines of these gods, small huts in which are images, their representatives.
The Deoris also attend at marriages to tie the nuptial knot. This, the only ceremony of
marriage, was probably introduced from the plains by the reformed Tégi.

Offerings to the gods are made at the different cultivating seasons, and also in token
of gratitude when children are born. If a Hrusso falls sick, fowls or other animals are
offered to Fiixo, and the patient is mesmerised.

The houses of the Akasare like those of the Hill Miris, but more carefully and
substantially built. The flooring is of well smoothed and close
fitting planks. All the household utensils are of metal. Large
copper vases for water vessels are obtained from Tibet or Butan, and brass pots and brass
plates for cooking in and eating off, obtained from Asam.

They eat the flesh of mithuns and common cows, and have large herds, but they
do not touch the milk. They breed pigs and rear fowls and pigeons in great numbers,
but ducks and geese are forbidden to them by their gods. Their new god Hari has
not been very severe on them. He oaly objects to and curbs their predilection for the
flesh of dogs and other animals not ordinarily eaten by civilized beings.

The burial arrangements are the same as those of the Hill Miris.

Religion.

Houses.

SECTION 6.—TuHE NaGas oF Upper ASAM.

Having now reached the Butan boundary, let us cross the valley of the Brahmaputra
and glance at the tribes occupying positions vis-d-vis to the Abor-Miri-Dophla-people in
the opposite hills.

The learned leave us to take our choice as to whether the term Naga, the name
applied by the Hindus to the inhabitants of the hills we are about to explore, is from
the Sanskrit root, meaning ‘naked,’ or the Sanscrit ‘nag,’ snake. Whichever derivation

 
''SEction 6.] THE NAGAS OF UPPER ASAM. 39

we take, it must be admitted that the word is aptly applied, as the Nagas love to decorate,
rather than to clothe, their persons, and are decidely snake-like in their habits.

We ascend the valley again and go back to the Singphos on the Bori Dihing river
and valley of the Kyendwen, where the Nagas appear so much
mixed up with the Singphos that the Burmese have the same name
for both—‘ Kakhyens*.’. In the basin of the Brahmaputra they are found only on the left
bank of the Bori Dihing river, and the people called Nagas extend from that river to the
Kopili of the Nowgong District and to the great southern bend of the Barak river and the
eastern frontier of Tipperah, between the 83rd and 97th degrees of east longitude; but we
cannot, simply from their having this common appellation, predicate that all the tribes in
that great area are one people. There seems to be a very broad distinction between the
Nagas to the east, and the Nagas to the west, of the Dhunsiri river. From the Dihing to
that river the dialects spoken, though greatly differing, have indubitable indication of a
common origin, but there appears to be no such obvious affinity between those dialects
and the language of the Angami bordering on North Kachar, and there appears to be
likewise very wide divergence in their polity, religion, and customs.

The Nagas east of the Doyang rivert are divided into great clans under hereditary
chiefs, who appear to exercise great influence over their people.
They live in large villages, some of not less than 300 houses. The
villages occupy commanding and secure positions on the peaks or ridges of hills, the spurs
or approaches to which are fortified, and the steep places made as inaccessible as possible.

The houses of the chiefs are of great size; that of the Sangnoi Chief was found to
be 250 to 300 feet in length, a well constructed building occupy-
ing the centre and highest position in the village as the manor
house. The houses of the common people are very much smaller, but still consider-
able and substantial buildings. I find no written description of any of these houses, and
so many years have elapsed since I saw one, that I cannot altogether trust to my memory.

In front of the Chief’s house, as well as inside it, are numerous trophies of the chase
and memorials of feasts, and in a separate house, dedicated to the collection, memorials
of ferocity and vengeance,—human skulls arranged in shelves like books, the records of
recent achievements, and baskets full of fragments of skulls, the memorials of the bloody
deeds of their forefathers.

On our assuming the government of Upper Asam, attention was soon directed to
the cold blooded murders committed by the Nagas on British subjects, and several ex-
peditions to their hills were undertaken with the view of putting a stop to the practice.
We thus became acquainted with various tribes of Abor Nagas{t as the Mithun, Tablong,
Changnoi, Mulong, and Joboka. The Namsangyas, Bordwarias and Paidwarias, Soto, and
others, had been previously in habits of peaceful intercourse with the people of the plains.

It was the custom of these clans to allow matrimony to those only who made themselves
as hideous as possible by having their faces elaborately tattooed.
The process of disfiguration is carried to such a length, that it
gives them an unnatural darkness of complexion and that fearful look which results. when
a white man blackens his face.

Extent of country.

Villages.

Houses.

Tattooting.

 

* On the authority of Mr. Robinson in his book on “ Assam,” but I am not sure of it.
+ The eastern affluent of the Dhunsiri (Long. 94° E., Lat. 26° N.)
{ Abor, in Asamese, means ‘ independent’.

 
''40 : DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grover I.

To this rite of disfiguration they are not admitted till they have taken a human scalp
or a skull, or shared in some expedition in which scalps or skulls were taken. It is by no
means essential that the skulls or scalps should be trophies of honorable warfare, or that
they should even be taken from the bodies of declared enemies. A skull may be acquired
by the blackest treachery, but so long as the victim was not a member of the clan, it
is accepted as a chivalrous offering of a true knight to his lady.

The various tribes were gradually induced to enter into engagements to give
up the horrible custom; but how, in refraining from it, they satisfied the cravings of the
young women for this singular marriage present I know not.

The communications between friendly villages in the interior of the Naga Hills are

Communication and Cul. @dmirably kept up. The paths are of course steep and difficult,
vation. but considerable engineering skill is sometimes shown in zig-zagging
and bridging them. Much of the cultivation in the villages is of a permanent character,
terraced and irrigated, but the glorious forests are very wantonly destroyed for the dry
crops. ‘They appear to have no superstitious dread of the sylvan deities like the Abors
to restrain them. The trees are not cut down, but they are tortured by the ringing
process till they are leafless and dry, then set fire to, and the cleared ground, scraped
and sown, yields sufficient crops for a year or two.

The approaches to the village are often carefully planted with mangoe and jack trees
and bamboos, and under the shade of these groves are miniature
houses which contain or cover the bones of their dead. At least
it was the custom of the Nagas of the interior between the Deko and Dihing rivers,
thus finally to dispose of them. |

The bodies are first placed in wooden coffins like boats, and exposed suspended to
trees outside the village till complely desiccated; then the obsequies take place. If the
deceased was a person of consideration, two buffaloes, several pigs, and a great number
of fowls are killed. The friends from ali the neighbouring villages, equipped in their
war dress, arrive, and bearing gongs and drums proceed to the place where the remains
are laid. Each man carries a shield, a spear, and a dao or battle axe.

They then sing and dance, the burden of the song is a defiance of the demon
of death that has taken their friend; they address him as if he were an enemy who,

Burials.

in their own fashion, had treacherously made away with their clansman, the chorus
brandishing their weapons and repeating yes! yes! at the end of each denunciation.
Music, dancing, and feasting, are continued all night and all next day. Then a large
company of young women come and completely cover the remains with leaves and
flowers, after which they are disposed of according to the custom of the tribe.

The above is taken from a description by an American Missionary of a funeral he
witnessed in Namsang*, or some other of the eastern border villages : and at the close of
the ceremony the bones were burnt. In the more remote villages the bones are preserved
in the little houses I have alluded to above, or buried.

I have no knowledge of the religious ceremonies of the Nagas east of the Dhunsiri.
They have no temples and no priests, and I never heard of any
form of worsip amongst them, but I do not doubt that they
sacrifice and observe omens like other tribes.

Religion.

* See Lobinson’s Assz:m, quoting Baptist Missionary Meg zine.

 
''Section 6.] THE NAGAS OF UPPER ASAM. AA

According to Robinson they have ‘confused and faint ideas’ of a divine power,
which I understand to mean none at all, and they believe in a future state which, ~
however, they consider must be just such an existence as the present one, showing great
want of imagination on their part.

Marriages are contracted comparatively late in life. This was the necessary con-
sequence of the condition that it must not take place till the
candidate for a bride could present her with a gory token of his
love; but there is also a price on the young lady, and the youth unable to pay often
serves like Jacob for his wife, and at the end of his servitude is in like manner provided
and set up by his father-in-law. The Nagas confine themselves to one wife, who has to
work hard, but is otherwise well treated. They participate with their husbands in all
festivities and social amusements.

Marriages.

The Naga war dances commence with a review or sham fight. I witnessed one at
Sangnoi, in which vast numbers were engaged. The warriors are
armed with a spear used as a javelin, a battle axe or dao, and a
shield of buffaloe hide or of bamboo work covered with tiger or other skin, large enough
to cover the whole person.

War dance.

They advance in extended order, making admirable light infantry practice, for nothing
can be seen but the black shields creeping along the ground. They are thus impervious
to arrows, but their cover is no protection against a bullet. When sufficiently near to their
imaginary enemy, they spring up and fling the spear ; this is supposed to take effect ; a tuft
of grass represents the head of the dead foe; they seize it with the left hand, cut it out with
the battle axe, and retreat with the clod hanging by the grass over their shoulder as the
skull or scalp. A sort of triumphant song and dance in which the women join follows this.

Many of the Naga chiefs, as the Namsangya Raja or Kimbo, dress respectably
as Hindus when they visit the plains, like highlanders putting
on the trews, but at home they wear the national dress of a
Naga chief or warrior, which is very fantastic but very picturesque.

Costume.

They wear singular coronals made of pieces cut out of large shells, and on the crown
of the head a little periwinkle-shaped basket-work cap, black with a scarlet border with
peacocks’ feathers and goats’ hair dyed scarlet. Necklaces, bracelets, armlets of beads,
shells, brass, and of cane-work, are worn in profusion, but no drapery to speak of. The
girdle is of polished plates of brass with a kind of double stomacher above and below.
A very small apron of black cloth decorated with small shells is seen below this in most
of the tribes, but I have seen tribes who wore nothing of the kind. The legs are also
ornamented with bands of cane colored red. The arms are a gleaming pole-axe with
a short black handle, decorated with a tuft of red goats’ hair; a broad headed barbed
spear, the shaft of which is covered with colored hair like a brush, and a shield of
buffaloe hide from four to five feet long.

The women’s costume is simpler, consisting of necklaces and an apron, or sometimes
without the apron.

The great chiefs have chairs or rather stools of state on which they and their sons
sit; the ruler’s stool being the highest, that of the heir apparent a step lower, and the other
members of the family lower still. On one occasion we had been for some time waiting
for the attendance in camp of the Chief of Sangnoi, and the officers had left the camp

I
''42 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group I.

to view some part of the adjoining country. On our return, we found within the beat
of our sentries, a scaffolding of bamboos twenty or thirty feet high, on the top of which was
seated the Sangnoi Chief’s son prepared to receive our homage! He was made to descend
very rapidly and accommodated with a stool.

In all these Naga villages of the interior there is, at each of the fortified entrances, a
large building well raised as a look-out or watch-house in which
a band of young men keep guard at night. They have huge
drums composed of trees hollowed out, which are sounded to give the alarm, and they
have also fire signals.

The young chiefs are sometimes fine looking men, and it is not an uncommon occur-
rence to find the chief himself a very portly personage; but the
physique of the Nagas generally is very inferior to that of the
northern tribes. They are smaller boned and have much less muscular yep and.
are of darker complexion.

Their faces are very lozenge-shaped, features flat and eyes small. They have
amongst them many Asamese who have taken to the Naga costume. They are at once
recognizable by the difference of feature: nothing can make them look like Nagas. Of
the Naga females my recollections are, they are short, ugly, and waistless; too hard
worked perhaps to be beautiful.

Guard houses.

Physical traits.

SEcTION 7.—TuE Lower Naca Group: (1)—Tur Nacas West or tut Doyane River.

Of the Naga tribes beween the Doyang and Kopili Rivers, we have a comprehensive
account in Major Steward’s very interesting Notes on Kachar, published in the Journal
Asiatic Society, Bengal, No. VII, for 1855. It appears from it that their polity is very
different from that of the Naga tribes East of the Doyang. West of that river they
acknowledge no chiefs. They appoint, as spokesman of the village, some elder who
has the reputation of superior wisdom, or, perhaps, more frequently, the influence of wealth,
but they give him no real power, and are not bound by anything he says. The office is not
hereditary, nor always held for life. A council of elders some-
times sits to decide disputes, but no one is bound to attend to their
award. Disputes between people of the same clan become feuds and lead to intestine
wars, but the very great misery that this entails on the community acts as a deterrent.
Passions are repressed by fear of the consequences of giving them vent, and order is thus
generally maintained from the very absence of any rule or legitimate power to enforce
it. It is, however, found necessary to give the fighting propensities of the people full vent
once or twice in the year. A meeting is appointed at a convenient time and place, and
a general melée takes place, every one fighting but using no weapons, except those with
which nature has provided him.

These Nagas sacrifice to several spirits to whom different attributes are ascribed, but
these are creatures, and they do not profess to have any know-
ledge of a Creator. They appear in their polity and psychology
very much to resemble the Chilikata Mishmis, but they have names for the gods or
spirits they adore. The first is ‘Semes,’ the god of riches, to whom large animals,
buffaloes, mithuns, and cows, are offered, and ‘ Kuchimpai,’ the god of harvests, who has
to put up with goats, fowls, and eggs.

Government.

Gods ; sacrifices.

 
''SECTION 7.] THE LOWER NAGA GROUP: (1)—THE NAGAS WEST OF THE DOYANG RIVER. 43

Among the malignant deities ‘ Rapiaba’ is first. He is appeased by sacrifices of dogs
and pigs. His assistant is the spirit ‘ Kangniba,’ very fierce but blind, and as he cannot
distinguish between costly and trifling offerings, the poorest things are given to him.

When omens have to be consulted in behalf of the community, the village is placed in
a condition of tabu, called Genna. No one is permitted to enter or to leave it, and all
labor is suspended for two days. If the Genna is established in consequence of the
villagers being about to cultivate new ground, all the fires in the village are extinguished,

and fresh fire for the purpose having been obtained by the friction of sticks, a buffaloe
is roasted, and after the offering and feast, they proceed with torches ignited from the
fresh fire to burn the felled jungle*.

The houses are built with one of the gables elevated, whilst the other, that to the
rear, slants down almost to the earth. The floors are not raised
on platforms. The houses contain two rooms, one reserved as a
sleeping apartment, the other appropriated to pigs, fowls, and general purposes. Each
family has a separate house, but the bachelors have a house to themselves, where are

hung up the trophies of the chase and the implements of war, and which forms at the
same time the Caravanserai or inn.

Houses.

These Nagas are fond of dancing. The men havea war dance, in which, as previously
described, a representation of a battle is enacted, a dance in which
Dances. : : : : deokce

the men and women unite, and one in which the women dance

alone; the latter is the most lively.

They are very fond of ornaments: one peculiar to this tribe is a coil of brass wire
twisted round the arm above the elbow. They greatly affect
cylindrical beads of a yellowish, almost greenish looking opaque
substance, but few are rich enough to have a complete necklace of these valuable jewels :
as clothes, a fragment of cloth is all that is worn by the males; the women are covered
from the navel to the knees. The married women wear their hair long and plaited behind.
The unmarried cut the front hair square across the forehead, and wear it brushed down
nearly to the eyebrows. This is also the custom of the Manipuri virgins.

The marriages are arranged by payment to the parents of the bride of her estimated
value in cows, pigs, fowls, or drink. <A feast is given, and those
who are invited to it help to build a house for the young couple.
The maidens are prized for their physical strength more than for their beauty or family.
The women have to work incessantly, whilst the men bask in the sun.

These Nagas bury their dead close to their houses in a coffin formed of the hollow
of a tree. A large stone marks the spot, and the antiquity of
the village may be estimated by the number and appearance of
the cenotaphs found in them. They evince great tenacity to their village sites, and
Major Steward attributes this mainly to their reverence for the dead.

In regard to food they are truly omnivorous—frogs, lizards, snakes, rats, dogs
monkeys, cats, &c., are all delicacies, and an animal that has died
a natural death is as acceptable to them as the best butcher’s meat

They drink daily quantities of rice beer, which is made of such consistency
that it serves them for breakfast. Their use of tobacco is unique. They collect

Ornaments and Dress.

Marriages.

Burial.

Food, &c.

 

 

z eae this with the Mishmi custom, page 15.
''AA: DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Groop I.

the tobacco oil that is precipitated in the bowl of the pipe, and drink it mixed with
water.

The Angami and Kachu Nagas occupying the tract of land immediately to the east
of northern Kachar are computed at about 125,000 individuals.
The several clans are frequently at war with each other, and it is
noticeable that in these intestine wars the women of the contending parties visit each
other at their different villages without fear of molestation. But when at war with other
tribes, their attacks are treacherous, and they spare neither sex nor age.

The Angamis have of late years taken to fire-arms, and have succeeded in supplying
themselves with a considerable number. Their national weapons
are the spear and the dao. They use panjies to protect their
villages and the positions they take up and to cover their retreat, and they carry shield
five or six feet in length, made of mat work covered with tiger or bear skins, and
decorated at the sides and top with dyed goats’ hair and feathers.

The other Nagas described by Major Steward are the Arting tribe, numbering about
7,500 souls.

On the whole the Nagas to the west of the Doyang appear to have affinity with
the Manipuri or the Cathay Shans ; and the Kukis and the Nagas to the east of the same
river are of distinct race allied to the Singpho and other pagan tribes further east.

If there be any virtue in philological similitude, the comparatively refined Mani-
puri and the dog-eating, dirty, Kuki savage, are very nearly allied. Moreover they can be
traced by their own written history to a Kuki origin (Steward, page 618). A more detail-
ed notice of the connection thus traced would be interesting.

The Angami or Kachu Nagas.

Weapons

Section 7. (2)—Tur Kuxts.

Steward gives us accounts of two clans of Kukis now settled in Kachar, the old
and the new; but they are obviously the same race, and the points of divergence arising
from their having settled at different periods in that district are not so great as to neces-
sitate here a separate notice. 'The Kukis are now found as neighbours of the Nagas in
Asam and in contiguity with the Mugs of Arracan. The hill country occupied by them
, extends from the valley of the Koladyne, where they touch on the Khumis, to Northern
Kachar and Manipur, a distance of about 300 miles.

The first notice of this tribe appeared in the ‘“‘ Asiatic Researches,” Volume VII, ina
paper from the pen of Surgeon McCrea, dated 24th January
1799. They are described as a nation of hunters and warriors,
ruled as a nation by their principal hereditary chiefs or rajahs, but divided into clans,
each under its own chief, whose office was not hereditary but elective, with a preference
for particular families. They are said to be traditionally of the same origin as the
Mugs, to live in villages called khuahs, having from 500 to 2,000 inhabitants, built
on most inaccessible hills, and in houses with floors raised 6 feet, underneath which
are kept the domestic animals. When engaged in hostile expeditions, they sleep at
night in hammocks swung in trees, which gave rise to the fiction revived, if I
mistake not, in a notice by Doctor McCosh, that they lived in trees. They were
constantly at war with the Banjugis, a neighbouring tribe, and when successful in their
attack, spared none except children, of whom they made captives and afterwards adopted.

Early notices.
''SECTION 7.] THE LOWER NAGA GROUP: (2)—THE KUKIS. A

The accomplishment most esteemed amongst them was dexterity in thieving. The
most contemptible person is a thief caught in the act.

Polygamy was not practised amongst them, but a man might have concubines in
addition to his own wife.

They have an idea of a future state, and he who in this life commits most murders
obtains the greatest happiness in the next. ‘The term for the Supreme Being is “ Khogem
Putiang,’* and they also worship Shem Sank, represented by a wooden figure of human
form, before whom the heads of the slain are presented. —

There appears to be considerable variety in the Kukis of the Chittagong jungles.
Some are represented as very dark, but a recent visitor to
some of the tribes called Tipperahs, Mr. H. 8. Reynolds,t+ was
struck with the fair complexion of those he saw, who were not darker than a swarthy

Physiognomy.

European. He says they were like the Manipuris in physiognomy, but the greater
part bore more resemblance to the Kasias, having strongly marked Mongolian features
with flat faces and thick lips.

The Kukis first made their appearance in the hill country south of Kachar, 50 or

Ga dk 60 years agot. They came in a state of nudity, but were
induced by the rulers of the country to adopt clothing, and
they grew to be considered together with the Mikirs the best subjects in Northern Kachar.

More recently four large tribes of Kukis (Thadan, Shingson, Changsen, and Lhungum)
defeated in a war with the Lushais, fled into Kachar, were allowed to settle there by the
British Government, and from amongst the fugitives a body of two hundred men were
selected and equipped and disciplined under their own chiefs as a border force.

Each of the tribes has a raja, whose dignity they consider themselves bound in
honor and duty to maintain. The rajas are all supposed to be
descended from one divine stock. Their persons are therefore
sacred, and they are regarded by their people with almost superstitious veneration. They
are entitled to receive annually from each subject one basket of rice, containing about
two maunds; one out of each brood of pigs and fowls reared; one quarter of every
animal killed in the chase, and four days’ labor. The raja is assisted by a council called
Thuspois or Mantris (Hindi) and sits with them to administer justice. Under their own
criminal law, treason alone was punishable with death. The ordinary murderer and all his
family became slaves of the raja. In cases of theft, the criminal only loses his freedom.
In cases of adultery or seduction, the punishment is left to the aggrieved husband or
father, but all the women of the village, married or single, are at the pleasure of the raja.

The Kukis recognise a Supreme God and Creator whom they call .Puthen. He is
regarded as a benevolent deity, but he is the omniscient judge
of man’s actions, and awards punishments both in this world and
in the world to come to those who deserve it. His wife Nongjar is adored in conse-
quence of her own power to remove or inflict disease, and is also appealed to as an
intercessor. They havea son 7hila, a harsh and vindictive god with a vixen of a wife,
called Ghummoo. But the spirit of evil is Ghumoishee, who is represented as an
illegitimate son of Puthen’s! He has a wife Khwchoan, as malignant as himself;

Government.

Deities.

* Asiatic Researches, Vol. VII. No doubt the modern Puthen,.
+ Journal Asiatic, Cachar.
{Steward’s Note on Cachar.
''46 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group I.

prayers are never offered to them, but sacrifices are made to appease their wrath. Their
daughter Jilo possesses the mischievous power of making food unwholesome when
eaten by those who offend her. The household god is called Khomoungno. ‘Then there
are forest gods and river gods, and gods of the mountains and rocks, and a god for
each kind of metal.

As with nearly all the aboriginal tribes, diseases are attributed to the malevolence
of some deity, and the only cure thought of is a sacrifice to pro-
pitiate him. Some diseases from their nature indicate the deity
who gives them; a pain in the stomach for instance at once suggests ‘Hilo,’ but in
other cases it is necessary to consult one of a class of priests called Thimpu, who
take the place of Sokhas and Ojhas of other tribes. Steward says the office is not much
coveted, and the rajas have found it necesary occasionally to coerce some of their
people to become Thimpu, and so keep up the order; but the duties do not appear to be
difficult or onerous.

The Thimpu, however, goes to work scientifically ; he feels his patient’s pulse, looks
sapient, asks a few questions, and determines from the replies who has to be appeased,
and how. Ifa fowl is deemed sufficient, the Thimpu kills, roasts, and ea/s it on the spot
pointed out by the invalid as the place where he was first taken ill, throws what he cannot
eat as an offering to the jungle, and goes home. If the animal selected is a pig or a dog
as he cannot eat all himself, he invites some friends to assist him, and if it be a buffalce,

Diseases and cures.

he gives a grand dinner party.

The paradise of a IXukiisa place situated in some northern region, exclusively devoted
to Kuki shades, where rice grows spontaneously and game
abounds—the happy hunting fields. All the enemies he has killed
will be in attendance on him as slaves, and the animals of all kinds that he has eaten with
his friends will live again as his farm stock. ‘his system has the peculiar merit of
encouraging unbounded hospitality.

he Kukis are very nomadic but gregarious, seldom occupying a _ village site more
than three years, but migrating and re-settling in large bodies,
sometimes sufficient for 1,000 houses. On a change of site
becoming necessary, a new one is selected ny the raja, and the first work executed is
a dwelling-house for himself.

Idea of future state.

Nomadic habits.

The village generally takes the form of a street with several rows of houses on each
side. The houses have raised floors, and their size is regulated
by the number of inmates. The Raja’s house is, however, of
exceptionable size, sometimes 150 feet Jong by 50 in breadth. When the dwelling places
are all completed, they first stockade the Raja’s house, then fortify the village, barri-
cading allthe approaches. Guard-houses are built at the barricades, where the young men
watch and sleep at night. In their own country, as above mentioned, they love to build
on the tops of hills as an additional defence; since their migration to Kachar they
prefer to be nearer to their cultivation. In Upper Asam it is found that new settlers
from the hills form large villages on first arriving, but afterwards take up, as permanent
dwellings, detached farm-houses constructed in their cultivation.

Villages.

The Kukis are great tobacco smokers, and have the same eccentric fancy for the
oil of tobacco, that is a distinguishing feature of the Angami Nagas.

 
''Suction 7.] - THE LOWER NAGA GROUP: (2)—THE KUKIS. AT

They have a peculiar custom after parturition. Three days after the birth of a
girl, and five after the birth of a boy, a feast is given, of which
the child partakes. The mother gives rice to the child from
her own mouth as birds feed their young, and this is occasionally continued till the child
is weaned. At 12 or 13,a boy is excluded from the family mansion at night and com-
pelled to take rest or share of the vigil with the young men in the watch-houses.

A bride must be bought with a price which may be Rs. 80, or served for by a
bondage of two years. This settled, there is a meeting of mutual friends and a feast
at the house of the bride’s father. Next morning the young couple are led before the
Thimpu, who presents them with a stoup of liquor which they both drink, and then
two threads of cotton are tied round the neck of the man. These strings are not
taken off, but when they rot away are not renewed. Lastly, the Thimpu presents each
with a small comb and his blessing.

Combs, perhaps these particular combs are very sacred things. It is very unlucky
to lose them, and man and wife only may use the same comb.
When aman dies, his comb is buried with him, and his near
relations break their combs and must roam with dishevelled hair for a few days before
they renew them.

The national dress cf the Kuki appears to be about as light and airy as that of the
Naga. They wear a turban, which the more wealthy decorate
with the ‘red downy feathers of the hattee pakee bird, and red
ribbons of dyed goat’s hair.’ The rajas for a distinction wear plumes of the long tail
feather of the king-crow. ‘The shoulder pouch and dao belts are of leather ornamented
with (cowrie) shells in rows. The dao is described as a triangular weapon. Garters of
a singular kind are worn, a goat’s beard with band cut from the skin of the neck. The
only other weapons used are javelins; but they trust chiefly to their daos and defensive
armour of rhinoceros hide, a piece of which, suspended from the shoulders, is worn
round the body. They also carry shields of buffaloe hide of peculiar shape described as
trapezoid, and they use the panji very freely in all warlike operations.

The Kukis wear pebble beads, and calling them heirlooms, attach to them an
extravagant value. Toa stone called toino, which is not described, a value equal to
Rs. 3,000 in cash has been ascribed.

Birthday feasts.

Combs.

Costume.

The Kukis have songs in an old dialect of their language now obsolete, which,
from the specimen given by Major Steward, are not without a
trace of poetic imagery. They have an instrument called the
‘ghosen,’ consisting of bamboo pipes with stops inserted into a gourd, which produces
different tones at the will of the performer when the gourd is blown into by a mouth-
piece. They use chimes of gongs when they want more noise.

The Kukis bury their dead; but even amongst the poor the bodies are first allowed
to lie in state for several days. The bodies of great men are
placed before slow fires till the flesh is effectually smoke dried,
and then laid out dressed and equipped for a month or two, during which time open
house is kept amidst great feasting. Eventually the body is buried with food and drink,
and with the skulls of the animals slaughtered for the funeral feast a fence is made
round the grave. It was at one time considered essential that a fresh skull of a human

Songs.

Disposal of the dead.
''48 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL‘ [Grovr I.

vietim killed for the occasion, should adorn the grave of a raja, but the Kukis settled
in British territory have found it convenient to abandon this observance.

It is not uninteresting to observe that the exhaustive notice of the Kukis in
Kachar by Major Steward, of which the details I have given are an imperfect abstract,
Shows that notwithstanding their repeated emigrations they have not in their most
salient characteristics swerved from the customs of their forefathers, as depicted by the
author in the Researches quoted above, who wrote about them sixty years ago.

SECTION 7. (3)—THE MANIPURIS AND THEIR NEIGHBOURS.

I have alluded to the Manipuris as a comparatively refined race, my personal
knowledge of them having been confined to settlers in Asam and men belonging to the
Asam Light Infantry, who certainly, when compared with the hill savages, their cognates,
might be classed as a civilized and polite people. The Manipuri native officers were
remarkable for their courteous manners and good address. They were people of some
education and well versed in such portions of the Hindu mythology as they professed
to believe.

The Manipur soldiers, living with their families in the lines, formed there a little
colony, the members of which were distinguished for cleanliness and neatness in their
persons, habiliments, and dwellings. They, as Hindus, affected the necessary amount
of abstinence in food, and conformed to the Hindu ritual of daily life, but then they
were all living under the observing eyes of brother soldiers, Hindus of caste, recruited
in the Gangetic provinces.

In their own country they appear to oscillate between the wild paganism, unsophisti-
cated manners, and savage customs of their hill cousins, and
a desire to be esteemed worthy of the beautiful visionary history
which the Indian epics have been so kind as to assign to them. Manipur was one of
the most favored of the regions visited by the Pandava Arjun during his self-imposed
punishment of twelve years wandering in exile. Te remained some time in the beauti-
ful valley, and espoused the daughter of the king and another maiden; and again in
the wake of the sacrificial horse, he re-entered Manipur and found it flourishing wonder-
fully under the dominion of his son by the Manipuri princess. It is described as a
country abounding in gold and silver, precious stones, lovely women, valorous men,
beautiful flowers, luscious fruits, and exquisite perfumes. The only traceable resemblance
between this valley of romance and the valley of our time is, that both adjoin the coun-
try of the Nagas, but the Nagas of the romance were fascinating creatures of the
serpent race, gorgeously apparelled and abounding in wealth, and the Nagas of our day
are very unamiable and unsavoury naked savages.

The linguistic affinities and physical characteristics of the Manipuris clearly connect
the present race with the Nagas and the Kukis. The valley* was
at first occupied by several tribes, the principal of which were
named Kumul, Luang, Moirang, and Meithei. By degrees the Meithie became
dominant, and that name was applied to the entire colony, and now that they have

Mythical age.

Affinities,

 

* Account of the Valley of Munipore, by Major McCulloch, Political Agent, in Selections from Records of the Govern-
ment of India, No. XX VII.

 
''Srction 7.] THE LOWER NAGA GROUP: (3)—THE MANIPURIS AND THEIR NEIGHBOURS. 49

adopted the Hindu faith, they claim to be of Hindu descent. It is highly probable that
these hordes overran a country that had been previously occupied by people of Aryan
blood known in Western India and to the bards. The present population of Manipur
includes a tribe called Meiung* who speak a language of Sanskrit derivation. They
are now in a servile condition performing the duties of grass-cutters to their conquerors.

It is traditionally asserted that the Moirang tribe came from the south, the direction
of the Kukis ; the Kumul from the east, the direction of the
Murrings, and the Meithei and Luang from the north-west, the
direction of the Koupttis. The languages of all these tribes and the Meithei or Manipuri
bear a strong resemblance to each other, and each tribe has the tradition that the Mani-
puris are off-shoots from them. The Manipuris though more refined in feature still
resemble the Nagas, and on ceremonial occasions, when it appears that civilized and
uncivilized nations love to revive the customs of their progenitors, the rulers proclaim
their origin by appearing as Nagas. Colonel McCulloch tells us that the ceremony
called ‘phumbankaba,’ or ascending the throne, is performed by the king and queen
in fu'l Naga costume (so that the cost of the coronation robes is not a heavy item in
the civil list), and the ‘ yinchan’ or great house, the official residence of the Meithei
chief, is always constructed on the most approved principles of Naga architecture.

The historical annals of the Court commence with the 30th year of the Christian era,
and they record the achievements of 47 rulerst who appear to
have been little known beyond the precincts of the valley till the
country was visited by Samlong, the general and brother of the sovereign of the Shan
State of Pong, about the year A. D. 777, who, it is said, first induced the people to wear
clothes. In A. D. 1475, the King of Pong sought a Meithei or Manipuri princess
in marriage. This led to his visiting the country and to his giving his father-in-law
_lessons in house building, and it is a fact that the Manipuri houses, as described by
Colonel McCulloch, are precisely similar to those now constructed by the Khamtis, a Shan
people in Upper Asam.

At the commencement of the present century, the royal family of Manipur
appear to have aspired toa more costly style of building, as the erection of a gilded
palace, by Raja Marjet Singh, was one of the causes that brought upon them the
_wrath and the armies of the Burmese, and they were only saved from annihilation by
the Burmese war and the protection of the British Government.

Colonel McCulloch fixes the date of the adoption of Hinduism by the Mani-
puris as somewhat anterior to the accession of Gharib Nawaz, alias Sambeiba, who,
it is said, was a Naga boy adopted by Baja Churai Rombu, who shot his adopted
father and seized on the throne in the year of Christ 1714.

It was apparently about this time that Brahmins were introduced. They appear
to have brought with them no females of their caste, and they were provided with
Manipur wives from the Kei class. The modern Manipuri Brahmins are of this
mixed race, and they show it in their physiognomies. The oldest family of Brahmins
is called Hungoibun, from ‘hungoi’ a frog, assigned as a nickname to the first Brahmin,

>?
because he astonished the Manipuris by the frequency of his ablutions.

Origin.

History.

 

* See Vocabulary.
+ McCulloch.—Pemberton’s Eastern Frontier.
''50 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove I.

The principal Hindu festival kept up is the “ Dussera,” in Manipuri ‘Kwaktalba.’
The custom of old Hindu families is adopted. The vassals attend, make offerings, and
do homage to their chiefs, receiving honorary dresses or trifling presents in return.

There is another order of priesthood of more ancient standing than the Brahmins.
The Maibees are priestesses of an order said to have been instituted many hundreds ©
of years ago by one of the royal princesses.. Any woman who
chooses to declare herself inspired, and can give evidence of the
afflatus by going into fits, may enter upon her noviciate as a priestess, and on her ad-
mission may practise on the credulity of the people by divination. They dress in white,
and some making a good thing of their trade, have lands and slaves.

Ancient priesthood.

For their enthusiastic love of horses and skill in equitation the Manipuris are
distinguished amongst all the neighbouring tribes. Their breed
of small horses is celebrated ; but it is said they are fast dying
out. The great national game of the Manipuri, hockey on pony back, has been adopted
as one of the manly amusements of the English in India.

The principal national festivals are the Hiyang, the Lumchail, and the
Hanchong, at which the national games of hockey, with boat
racing and foot racing, are the chief attractions. It is not stated
that these festivals are of a religious character; but as it is said the sports conclude
with a feast at which the hill people are regaled with the flesh cured of all the cows,
buffaloes, dogs, and cats, that had died in the valley during the year preceding the festival,
they could never have been founded by the propagators of the Hindu doctrines, and must
belong to the old faith.

The Manipuri women are no purdah (screened) ladies. They have the entire manage-
ment of the household in their hands, and do most of the outdoor as weil as the indoor
work, including all the marketing. Colonel McCulloch notices a game called ‘ Kangsa-
naba,’ which is played indoors by young women and girls with a sprinkling of men on
both sides. ‘The Kei women must have exercised considerable influence over their
priestly husbands to have reconciled them to such Frankish indiscretion: thongh the
game appears innocent enough, throwing with an ivory disc at the seed of a creeper
called kong, stuck up in the floor of the house.

The Manipuri women are pretty when young, but hard work svon dissipates the
bloom of youth and makes havoc with their beauty. They are generally of a tawny
complexion (29 to 30 of Brosac), with a very softened and pleasing modification of the
Mongolian type of feature.

The dress of the women is somewhat peculiar. The chief garment of an adult
female is folded over the bosom and under the arms, so as to
press somewhat injuriously on the contour of the bust, whence it:
flows to the feet, and is generally of gay colours with a neat border. Young girls are
more becomingly clad in spencers or bodices, and the lower garment is folded round the
waist. Whilst in a condition to wear these spencers, that is, so long as they are growing
maidens, the girl’s front hair is worn cut straight across the forehead level with the
eyebrows to the temple, thence, on each side, it is left for a space somewhat longer so as
to cover the ear; behind the ear the hair is allowed to grow and flow loose over the
shoulders; when the girl is full grown, it is all tied up ina knot. There is nothing

Love of horses.

Festivals.

Costume.

 
''\

Section 7.] THE LOWER NAGA GROUP: (4)—THE KOUPUIS. 51

peculiar in the costume of the males. They wear the hair long, tied up in a knot behind,
and have plenty of it on the head, black and straight, very little on the face.

The Manipuris are said to be without written law, but they possess many customs
having the force of law, some of which appear to have been
wisely and kindly conceived. Thus, slavery is an institution
amongst them; but if a slave flies from one master and selects for himself another, it is
presumed that he has been badly treated by the first, who cannot therefore reclaim the
fugitive. Ordinarily the slaves are treated as members of the family with kindness and.
consideration. A man may put away his wife, but if he does so without fault on her
part, she takes all his personal property, except one drinking cup and the cloth round
his loins. The severest punishment which can be inflicted on a woman is her exposure
with shaved head; on a Brahmin, banishment. The reigning prince is an autocrat, and
treason against him is the most heinous of crimes.

Laws and custom.

Section 7. (4)—Tue Kovrtts.

The hills surrounding the valley are sparsely inhabited by tribes more or less
the cognates of the Manipuris and subject to them ; all are either Kukis or Nagas, and,
therefore, as classes previously described. I cannot, however, resist the temptation of
transcribing from Colonel McCulloch’s very interesting account of the Kouputis,
who occupy the country between Kachar and Manipur. They live in permanent
villages to which they are much attached, not liking to leave sites sacred and endeared
to them as containing the graves of their ancestors.

The villages are perched on the summits of hills, and are difficult of approach.
The houses are substantially built. They are gable-ended, the
ridge pole is not in a horizontal position, but declining to the
year, where the house is very much lower than in front, and the thatch on both sides
-eomes down to the ground. The granaries, where all the valuable property as well as
the grain is stowed, are grouped together at some distance from the village in sheltered
positions. They are left quite unprotected, but even in times of scarcity a theft from a
granary is an unknown crime. These granaries are replenished by the cultivation called
jhum. The jungle on the land selected is cut, and when perfectly dry, burned ; and the
earth, hoed up with an inch or two of the ashes, is fit for the reception of the seed.
The crop harvested, that land is left unmolested for ten years.

“In the grey of the morning the females of the family are astir, and the village

Colonel MeCulloch’s account, Tesounds with the blows of the long pestle in the wooden mortar

&e. beating out the rice from the husk; this finished, the breakfast
is cooked, both for the family and the pigs: for the latter the husk mixed with other
refuse serves the purpose. Breakfast over, which it usually is about sunrise, the women
proceed for water, which they fill into bamboo tubes and bring on their backs in baskets.
Then they go for fire-wood, and this brought, they set about the internal economy of the
house, that is, to see that there is sufficient of the good home-brew ready for the master,
to their spinning or weaving, to everything but cleaning up. They have unfortunately
no great taste for that necessary labor. They rather glory in a dirty house, in having

the front room half covered with rice husk, in which pigs are lying fast asleep or

Villages.
''52 DALTON.— ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grourl.

grunting about, and fowls are busy seeking for food. The family, except the boys, from
the time they begin to wear a cloth round their waist, sleep in the rear room of the
house, and in it they also cook their meals. In the front part, there is a fire-place, and
along the two sides are boards or platforms of bamboos, which may be used as seats
or beds by any one that comes. Some of these boards are as much as 24 feet long
by 4 feet broad. They are made with daos and little axes, a whole tree being used to
make one. If not employed in the labours of the field or in the chase, the men do
little more than -loll about the houses during the day, drinking their peculiar drink,
a harmless one, consisting of pounded rice mixed with boiling-water, brought into
fermentation by the addition of germinated paddy. In the morning and evening
they will generally be found sitting in groups in front of their houses* on large flat
stones which cover the graves of their deceased relatives. They then appear to be
enjoying themselves greatly, they are exceedingly loquacious, and speak always in a
loud tone. Pipes containing green tobacco are then smoked; at such a rate do they
pull, that they appear to be smoking for a wager.”

‘IT believe the pleasure of smoking is nothing to them compared to that of hold-
ing in the mouth a sip of the water of the bowl of. the
pipe whichhas been well impregnated with the fumes of smoke
passing through it, and it is only for the purpose of obtaining this that they so
laboriously pull at their pipes morning and evening.”

It has been observed that the young men do not sleep in the family houses.
“ According as the village is large or small they assemble in one or several houses
which for the time become their homes. These clubs are ruled over despotically by
the seniors amongst them, who exact from their juniors, with unsparing hand, service
of all kinds. The young women also have their separate places of resort, and between
them and the young men intercourse is quite unrestricted, without leading to
immorality.” The resemblance between the Kouptis and Oraons of Chota Nagpur
in this distribution of the youths and maidens is most striking.

Throughout the year the Kouptis have various festivals which they are very

particular in observing. “These are first the Enghan, which

oor happens in December. During the five days of its continuance

all the inhabitants of the village, dressed in their best attire, keep up the dance and
song, interrupted only by short intervals of repose and breaks dedicated to feasting.
Next is the Reingnai in or about January, which lasts for three days. In one day
during this festival the men and women fetch separately the water that each may require.
The men having killed pigs take a portion for themselves and give a portion to the

women; they cook and eat separately, the men in the house of the head of the family,
An effigy of a man made of a plantain is hung on

Peculiar smokers.

the women each in her own house. )
a tree, and at it they throw pointed bamboos or sticks. At this festival the -graves of

the ancestors are sprinkled with the national drink, and on its termination omens are
sought for the selection of land for cultivation and general welfare in the ensuing year.
In February there is a festival of three days’ continuance, at which all the children born
since the last festival of the kind have their ears bored. ‘This is followed by the clearing
of the jungle on the land they intend to sow, and when that is done, they drink the

 

 

 

* See Account of the Mundas of Chota Nagpur.

 
''Sxction 8.] THE MIKIRS. 53

_ juice of ginger at a festival called from that circumstance Udoe yung. In July there

is a festival which is followed by the clearing of all the village paths. Their dancing
is described as very lively. Drums are the only instruments, but there is always the
accompaniment of songs.”

There are so many customs common to these Kouptiis and the Nagas previously
described, living west of the Doyang River, that it would probably be found that all
the traits above described as characteristics of the Kouptis are also common to
the Nagas to their north. There is one more mentioned by Colonel McCulloch which
T have not met with in other accounts of Naga tribes.

On the death of a man’s wife the singular practice exists of recovering from the be-
reaved husband the price of her bones by her father or next of kin.
This is called mindt; no mtindt is demandable when the death
is by the hand of an enemy, by wild beasts, by cholera or small-pox, or from any swelling.

The strange custom of placing villages or people under ¢adoo, noticed as obtaining
amongst the Kukis, is practised by the Kouputis, they call it ‘neina.’

Adjoining the Kouptis are the Songbu and Poirons who resemble them in manners,
in customs and appearance, and next to these are the Quoireings with a language differ-
ing, but having a great similarity in other respects to the tribe last described.

Peculiar custom.

The tribes to the south and south-east of Manipur are varieties of Khongjais or
Kukis, a race already noticed.

In the east the tribes are rather Naga than Kuki, and of these the most important
are the Luhupa, a very powerful and pugnacious clan who are always fighting with each
other if they are not fighting with their neighbours. Their weapons for close quarters
are very long spears and shields, but they also use bows and
poisoned arrows. As ornaments to their head-dress they wear
the tresses, not alas! of the women they have loved, but of the women they have
slaughtered! When the eldest son of a Luhupa marries, the parents and the rest of
the family move out of the house to make way for him. They have again to remove
on the marriage of the second son. The working dress of a Luhupa consists of an
ivory ring, through which the preputium is lightly drawn ! :

West of the Luhupas are the Mow and Muram tribes, who,
though of common stock and closely allied by intermarriages,
are at deadly feud,

For the security of the community the Muram married men sleep in the bachelors’
hall, probably by batches, as amongst the Abors north of Asam. The Mow occupy
twelve villages ; the Muram live in one large village of 900 houses under two chiefs.
To the north of the Mow tribe are the Angami or Guami Nagas, already noticed amongst
the Asam tribes.

The Luhupas.

The Mow and Muram tribes.

SrecTION 8.—-THE MIktRs.

Adjoining the Kukis on the Kopili River, and occupying all the hilly portion of
the Nowgong District almost to the Brahmaputra,* we next meet with the Mikir tribe,
who hold etymologically a very isolated position. According to their own legend, they

 

* Steward’s North Cachar. Robinson’s Assam.
''5A DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group I.

were driven by the Kacharis from what is called Tolaram’s country between Nowgong
and Kachar, and sought refuge in Jyntia, but not being satisfied with their reception,
they placed themselves under the Rajas of Asam, and have ever since peaceably
occupied the hill country in which they are now settled. It is said they were dis-
armed or made to forswear the use of arms by the Asam Government, and this is
assigned as the cause of their unwarlike disposition, which makes them good subjects,
but exposes them to the attacks of their more warlike neighbours.

The Mikirs dress like the Kasias and are in other respects very like them. The
dress is peculiar, consisting of two pieces of cotton cloth, made
with red stripes, fringed at both ends, sewn together like a bag
and worn like a shirt, apertures being left for the head and arms. They are very like
the Kasias in countenance, but inferior to them in physique. They live like the Miris
all huddled together in one large house with raised floor, a notched stick serving as
ladder or stair-case; sometimes as many as thirty married couples with their children
occupy one house, which is not divided into rooms. They will eat of almost any animal
food except the cow, which they affect to reverence, though they have a dislike to milk.
Marriages are not contracted till the parties are adult. There is no ceremony, but a
feast is given in honor of the event; also when a child is born. Polygamy is discount-
enanced, and widows are allowed to re-marry.

They appear to have very few original notions on the subject of religion, but worship
a Supreme Being whom they call Hempatim.

The tribe is supposed to number about 25,000 souls.

Dress, Houses, &c.

SECTION 9.—JYNTIAS AND KASIAS.

Crossing the Kopili brings us to Jyntia and the Kasia tribes. The inhabitants of
the hill tracts in the former district are always called Kasia by the people of the plains,
and are no doubt the same as the people of the Kasia Hills, but they call themselves
Khyi.* ‘They are a handsome, muscular race of men, of an active disposition, and
fond of martial exercises. They always go armed, in general with bows and arrows and
a long naked sword and shield, which latter is very large, and occasionally serves them
as a defence against rain.”

The Raja of Jyntia, deposed for his misdeeds by our Government, was not alto-
gether an uncivilized potentate, and had amassed considerable wealth, as his
personalties were found to be worth a lac of rupees, which was made over to him on his
retiring into exile. The immediate and remote descendants of the Raja conformed
tu the customs of the Hindus, and were treated by the Brahmins as orthodox Sudras; but
under the peculiar laws of succession that characterize the people
of this race, the purity of the Kasia blood in the person of the
chief was inviolably maintained. The sceptre descended not in his line, but went on his
demise to the son of his sister, who was called the Kunwari (princess), and her husband
was selected from certain noble Hill Kasia families by a general assembly of the chief
people. Thus the line of Rajas was constantly renovated by fresh dips into the best
Kasia blood, and under this system there could be no alienation from the original

Law of succession.

 

* Report by David Scott, quoted in Pemberton’s Eastern Frontier, page 219.

 
''SECTION 9.] THE JYNTIAS AND KASIAS. 5D

stock by the mixture of the foreign element. The Kasias have maintained their
physical characteristics better than any other race that I know of.

The attempt to open direct communication between Asam and Silhet in 1826, first
brought our officers into contact with the Kasias.* The Kasia Raja of Nanklao,
Tirut Singh, having expressed a wish to recover some lands that had been held by
his ancestors in Asam, his request was granted, on condition of his using his influence
with other Kasia chiefs to obtain for all British subjects an unrestricted passage through
the Kasia territory. This was agreed to, and most cordial relations were established,
which lasted about two years. Then, without any apparent reason for the change, came
the treacherous murder of Lieutenant Bedingfield, and the sudden attack on, and
ruthless slaughter of, Lieutenant Burton and his native followers and attendants,
between 50 and 60 native British subjects, on the 4th April 1829. The result was the
complete subjugation of the Kasia Hills after a tedious war, brought to a close on the
surrender of Tiret Singh in January 1833.

The Kasia Hills were found to be divided into several states under hereditary
chiefs forming a confederacy. Nanklao, Kyrim, Cherra, Nartang, Naspang and
others having each from 20 to 70 villages. The nation (says Mr. Robertson), or horde,
presents the appearance of a congregation of little oligarchical republics, subject to no
common superior, yet of which each member is amenable in some degree to the control
of his confederates. It was this that led to the Nanklao massacre. One of the chiefs,
Tirut Singh, had taken too much on himself.t The whole tract of the hill country occu-
pied by these confederates embraces an area of about 3,500 squure miles, between
Kasia, Silhet, Asam and the country of the Garos. Some of the hills attain a height
of 6,000 feet, but the country includes belts of arable soil about 2,000 feet above the
plains, on which grow, in great luxuriance, oranges, limes, pine-apples, the jack fruit and
mangoes, betel nut and plantains, with the wild raspberry and strawberry.

To the peculiar aspect of the Kasia Hills from physical conformation and natural

Remarkable monolithje mo. features must be added the various remarkable monumental
puments. stones that give a marked character to the scenery.{ These are of
several kinds, but most of them, says Colonel Yule, recall strongly those mysterious
solitary or clustered monuments of unknown origin, so long the puzzle and delight of
antiquaries, which abound in our native country, and are seen here and there in all parts
of Europe and Western Asia.

It is probable that the stones, compared to Stonehenge found in the Nilghiries,
were set up by a people who honored their dead as do the Kasias, and that the similitude
of custom in this respect points to some connection between the Kasias and the Hos of
Singhbhim, and the Munda race, generally, of the Chota Nagpur Province. The sketch
given by Colonel Yule shows that the monuments consist of large, flat, circular slabs, sup-
ported on very short pillars, as if they were intended for stools to sit on, and long, upright,
rough pillars of irregular shape; the same forms are found in and about every Ho village.
The collections of large flat slabs in the village, supported on little stones are often

used as seats when the old people meet to gossip over the graves in which the ashes of

 

* Pemberton’s Eastern Frontier.
+ He made arrangements with the British Government without consulting the other chiefs of the confederacy.
{ Colonel Yule’s Nite on Kasia Hills and People, Asiatic Society’s Journal, No. 152, for 1844.
''56 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group

the dead have been reverentially deposited, whilst fantastically formed oblong stones |
are set up on the way side outside the village as an additional commemoration of the
deceased.

The details given of the ceremonies observed at a Kasia funeral, and those I have
noticed at a Ho funeral, have just that coincidence with diver-
gence in the order of the events, which one might expect to find
in the practice of two peoples long separated, deriving their ceremonies from a common
source, but having only tradition to guide them in their observance.

Yule says, the round flat stones resting on the heads of so many flat pillars are
sarcophagi or cineraries, sometimes in clusters so close together, that you can step from
one to the other. This is precisely as they are found in an old Ho village and on desert-
ed sites of Mundari villages. The upright pillars are merely, he says, cenotaphs, and
if you ask a Kasia why their ancestors went to the trouble of erecting them, the answer
is ‘to preserve their names.’ The Ho gives precisely the same answer when asked the
object of the pillars set up by the village way-side.

I will give at once an account of the Kasia funeral ceremonies taken from

Kasia funeral.

Robinson’s Assam.

«The corpse is kept in the house four or five days, and in some cases for as many —
months; in such instances the body is put into the hollow trunk of a tree and fumigated.
When all preparations are completed, the remains are burnt. The body is borne on
a bier by four men, with great solemnity, to the place where the cremation is to
take place. During the procession, a funeral dirge is played on bamboo flutes, accom-
panied by the groans and shrieks of the bereaved friends. Arrived at the appointed
place, the body is taken from the bier, carefully concealed from view, and placed in
a wooden box standing on four legs, under which the fuel is placed. Sometimes the
body is conveyed from the house in this box. While the body is being burnt, sacrifices
are offered, and offerings of betel nut (areca nut), fruit, &c., are made to the spirit of the
deceased. Arrows are occasionally discharged towards the four points of the compass.
When the body is burnt, the ashes are carefully collected, put into an earthen vessel,
carried home, and kept until, by divination, a favorable day is fixed for finally disposing
of them. There is then great feasting and dancing, in the midst of. which the ashes
are removed to the burial place, and finally deposited in a grave and covered by one
of the circular slabs above mentioned. On these occasions the people are dressed
in their best richly embroidered outer shirts of broadcloth, silk turbans and dhotis,
large bangles, heavy silver chains, gold necklaces, plumes of down or peacock feathers,
and ornamented quivers. Inthe dances the maidens in the centre of the group, in
lines of two or three, set to each other with eyes demurely cast on the earth. They
too, are in their best afray, having on their heads circlets of silver, with a tall
spearhead-like ornament rising behind. They are swaddled in long petticoats, with an
upper aie passing lightly under the right arm and tied in a knot on the right
shoulder.”

The ashes of a tribe are deposited under one vault or in one bees ground. The
remains of man and wife are never mingled, because they belong to different tribes.
A husband is therefore in death separated from his wife and children, as the latter belong
to the tribe of the mother, and their ashes are deposited with hers.

 

 
''Section 9.] THE JYNTIAS AND KASIAS. BZ

As it is through the mother that children inherit, and that the transmission of
the pure blood of a tribe is secured, it is not surprising to find that this connection
between the mother and her offspring is maintained after death.

This system is also the cause of disunion between the living. Marriages are made
without ceremony. If the proposal of a youth is accepted by the young lady and her
parents, he enters the household of the latter, or sometimes only visits his wife there
occasionally, and the union thus loosely made is easily broken. Separations are frequent,
and when they mutually agree to part, they publicly intimate their wish by throwing
away a few shells taken from each other, the children remain with the mother.

The Kasias are remarkable for great muscular development, especially of leg, both
men and women rejoicing in limbs that would vex the shade of
a chairman, and make ‘Jeames’ bilious with envy. They have
rather fair, often ruddy complexions, and the good humoured expression of the young
people is always very pleasing; but with such flat round faces and oblique eyes beauty
must be rare, and they greatly disfigure their countenances by the constant and untidy
chewing of the pan leaf, the stains from which they care not to remove. Their ordinary
attire, though originally of gay colors, is generally dingy with dirt, and their persons are

Muscular development.

equally innocent of ablution.

Colonel Yule gives them a very good character for honesty and fidelity as servants.
They are, however, rather lazy, and have made very small pro-
gress inthe arts. They are unacquainted with weaving, and
although affecting a peculiar style of dress, it is all made for them by other tribes.

Rice, millet, maize and the kachw and other roots are the commonest articles of food,
but they partake of nearly all kinds of flesh and dried fish. Yule
says, some individuals have a superstitious objection to particular
kinds of food, and will not allow such to be brought to their houses. Is not this super-
stition connected with their tribal divisions as amongst the Oraons of Chota Nagpur and
the Béchudnas of Africa, who must not eat the animal after which their tribe is called ?

The Kasias do not appear to be strong in theology. Yule says, they have a name

for the Supreme Being, which he does not give, but they pay
aepcien aseie more devotion to inferior spirits who reside on hills, or in rocky
dales, or in groves. They have no temples or idols connected with their ancient faith.
Like all the tribes we have yet touched on, they are much addicted to consulting
auspices, especially from the appearance of eggs on being broken. As they go on
breaking eggs, till they find the signs they want, fate must generally appear in their
favor. They offer a libation to the deity before they drink spirits, by dipping the finger
three times into the vessel and filliping a drop successively over each shoulder and down
by their right and left sides.
In the courts of the Raja, fining was the general punishment ; but occasionally, as with
the Kukis, the entire property and personal liberty were confiscated,
Punishments, Onlealss and the convict and his family become slaves of the Raja. The
water ordeal was sometimes used. The opponents had to plunge their heads under
water on opposite sides of a holy pool, and the decree was given to him who longest
kept submerged. Yule says that the parties could undergo this ordeal by attorney, so
that long-winded lawyers were as much in request in the Kasia Hills as elsewhere.
: P

Character, Arts.

Food.
''58 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grovr f¥.

The English might be characterized by Asiatics as a people that whistle, so little is
that expression of a satisfied mind an Eastern accomplishment,
but the Kasias are also great whistlers,* and the boys have
amongst their amusements peg tops and greased poles.

Major Fisher, in his Memoir of Silhet, Kachdr and adjacent countries, tells us that
the Kasias or Khyee are called Miki by the Kacharis, and he supposes they may be
connected with the Mech, though he does not consider them connected with the
Kacharis.

Amusements.

SECTION 10.—THE GAROs.

The Garo tribes are generally supposed to commence with the Nunyas, who are
the clan immediately to the west of the Kasias; but the Nunyas are more Kasia than
Garo. Their position, occupying the extreme north-western portion of the mountainous
tract that extends from Cape Negrais to the Brahmaputra, is well known. By the writers
of the days of Buchanan Hamilton, the Garos, Kasias, and Jyntias are spoken of as one
people. Buchanan says, ‘“‘the Raja of Jyntia is by birth a Garo.” Several of the
petty Rajas of Kamrup, whose estates skirt the Kasia and Garo Hills, are Hinduized
Garos, who have maintained their footing in the valley during several changes of
dynasty. It is supposed that during the Koch and Mughul government the Garos of
Mechpara, Habra-ghat, and other places had equally valuable possessions in the plains
from which they were subsequently dispossessed by Mech and Koch zemindars. It is,
however, the uncivilized, unconverted, Garo that I wish to describe, not the Hinduized
animal of the name, and they merit a careful notice, as they are, I believe, the primitive
type of the great Mech Kachari, or Bodo, nation, and have a variety of customs that are
singular and interesting. :

The observant Buchanan has a short article on the Garos, from which we learn
| that about two-fifths of the whole population of the Garo Hills
are slaves. This is a feature that at once strikes the visitor to a
large Garo village. They are called “ Nokol” in contradistinction to ‘‘ Nokoba,”’ the
freemen, and the distinction is jealously preserved: a freeman must not marry a slave
girl or even keep her asa concubine. The slaves are well fed and cared for, they are
generally the best looking people in the village. It is from the possession of a large
number of them that a man obtains influence amongst his tribe. Each great chief can
go to war each with a body-guard of 60 such followers entirely devoted to him.

The following account of the Garos is taken from notes of a tour made amongst
them by me in 1846 :—

Their territory lies between the 25th and 26th degrees of northern latitude. To the
north and west, they have the perganahs of Habra-ghat, Mechpérad Kalumalupéra, and
Karibari, all of the district of Gowalpara lying between them and the Brahmaputra, to
the south, Sherpur and Susung of the Midnapore District, and to the east, the Kasia Hills.

A great portion of the interior is quite unexplored. It is said to contain lofty
mountains with great masses of naked rock and large spaces destitute of vegetation.
My own observations lead me to suppose that these mountains have few inhabitants, the

Slaves.

 

* Yule’s Notes loc. cit.

 

 
''Section 10.] THE GAROS. 59

-Garos generally preferring, as sites for their villages, hills of the second order, which
rise from 100 to 300 feet above the adjacent valleys. Thus, the highest of these moun-
tains that was ever visited by a European, that called Tura, estimated at 4,000 feet,
the skirts and valleys of which are cultivated by the Garos of Witurgiri, has no vestige
of human habitations on its south-western slopes, and its other faces are said to be
equally destitute of inhabitants. The Garos are divided by the Bengali into Malawa
and Bemalawa, which, like the ‘ Bori’ and ‘Abor’ of Upper
Asam, means dependent and independent Garo: ‘Garo’ like
‘Naga’ is a term applied to this people by the Hindus. They consider themselves as
forming three or four nationalities with different names. Of those subject to the
Gowalpara jurisdiction, or having communications with it, the most eastern bordering
on the Kasias, are called the Nunya; the central tribe are the Lyntea,* and the remainder
are the Abengya. Buchanan says that the independent Garos of the interior rejoice
in the grand sounding name of Kochna-sindeya, but it appears that each tribe has its
dependent and independent branches. The Nunyas are the fairest of these tribes
resembling the Kasias in feature and complexion and in language. The language of
the Western Garos is unintelligible to the Nunyas.

The Garos have no tradition regarding migration; they imagine themselves to
be autocthonous, and the only people with whom they claim alliance are the Bats and
the English !

Robinson is of opinion, from the construction of their language, that they are allied
with the Bats. Hodgson doubts this, and truly the connection, if it ever had any
existence, must be very remote, for the specimens of the language that we possess give
no analogues, and they have not a custom in common. Their linguistic affinities are
decidedly with the Bodo, the Mech, and the Chutia.

As they have no written language, nothing but memory to trust to for the preser-
vation of their traditional myths, it is probable that these have been altered according to
circumstances so materially as to afford us but little clue to their early history. We see
this in their having assigned a place in their system to the mother of all the ‘ Feringis’,
a race with whom they have not been acquainted a century.

The most salient points in their religious belief I find thus noticed :—

Rishi Salgong is supreme amongst the gods; he livesin heaven (Rang). Apongma,
his wife (or Manim according to Buchanan, which appears to be
the same as Mainon, the wife of the supreme deity Batho of
the Kacharis) left her heavenly parent to elope with him. They became residents of this
world and lived for a time on Tura, where they had two children, a son named Kengra
Barsa, who is the father of fire and of all the heavenly luminaries, and a daughter
named Mining Mija, who married the son of Donjongma, the mother of mankind.
Mining Mija and her daughter Ret Rebong lost their husbands, and resided as widows
on the summit of Tura; but Rishi Salgong and Apongma have returned to heaven.

Nustoo sprang from a self-begotten egg and created the world; previous to that time
she had existed on a padam, water-lily (Garo—monglal), but finding her position
uncomfortable she sent to Hiraman, the king of the lower regions, for earth, with
which she formed a seat for herself and progeny, and commenced filling it with the

Malawa, Bemalawa.

Deities, mythology.

 

* Lyntea is from langta, naked, a name given by the Bengalis.
''60 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grovr I.

animal and vegetable creation. First streams of water issued from her womb, and
were the origin of all the rivers, then a reptile Magar* was produced from a similar
source. ‘The first of the vegetable world that appeared were the grasses and reeds (kosi
chai rikal bolan). The first animal was the matchidobo, an elk, the “deochagal” of the
Asamese, which is seldom seen, and the man who beholds it dies. Then came fish of
all kinds, frogs (cwmna), snakes (mempo), trees, buffaloes, geese, a priest (!), and the
catalogue ends with a daughter, who perhaps married the priest. At all events she had
children, a son married to Rishi Salgong’s grand-daughter as before stated, and three
daughters for,whom it may be presumed husbands of divine origin were provided, as
those daughters are the mothers of three races of mankind. The eldest Mishali is the
mother of the Butias, who are the first of mankind, the second daughter is the mother
of the Garos, who consequently rank second. Midili, the third daughter, is the mother
of the ‘ Feringis.’ The Bengalis are of unknown origin !!

Donjongma founded Rangsiram, which is situated in the heart of the Garo
country. She still lives there, and is exceedingly hospitable. The inhabitants of
Rangsiram are to all appearance Garos, but have not been heard to speak. It is
believed that the Garos who die may occasionally be re-born there, but the place
usually assigned for their re-appearance is Naphak, said to be situated in the interior
amongst the higher ranges.

It must not be supposed that the mythology of the Garos is all comprised in the
above. They have marvellous legends of wonderful animals, and the feats of the
immortals who fought and destroyed them, of unnatural alliances between goddesses and
beasts, and the equally unnatural offspring of such amours, which are recited and sung
by the priests at funerals and on other solemn occasions.

Buchanan says that salgong or saljang is the firmament or visible heaven. The
heavenly bodies, moon and stars, and spirits who preside over hills, woods, and
rivers, are the agents employed to manage the affairs of the world. White cocks are
offered to the heavenly bodies, and fermented liquors, rice and flowers to superior deities.
There are no temples or images, but before each house a dry bamboo with its branches
adhering is fixed in the ground, to this the Garos tie tufts of cotton threads
and flowers, and before it make their offerings.

The priests in their own language are called kamal. ‘‘+They marry, cultivate the
ground, go to war like their neighbours, and the office is not
hereditary, any man who has committed to memory the requisite
forms of prayer” (myths?) “may assume the office.”

Like the priests or elders of all the other pagan tribes we have been considering,
they pretend to foretell events by the examination of the entrails of animals, especially
of the liver. They are therefore called ‘ojhas’ by the Bengalis. Hodgson says, the
priests of the Bodo are also called ‘ojha,’ so are the priests of the Kols; but itis a Hindi
word, and means an examiner of entrails, from the root ‘ ojh,’ entrails.

Having witnessed a sacrifice I may state that the full canonicals of a priest are
peacock’s feathers stuck in his hair, and wooden sandals on his feet. He is
consulted in sicknesses, names the deity to whom the illness is to be ascribed or who

Priests.

 

* Hindi for a crocodile or alligator, a saurian.
+ Buchanan Hamilton, loc. cit.

 

 
''Secrion 10.] THE GAROS. 61

has the power to remove it. He seats himself below the bamboo altar, and addresses it
ina long monotonous chant. Another person meantime leads the kid, or whatever
the sacrifice is to be, round and round the shrine. It is occasionally taken away and
washed, and on being brought back again petted and fed with salt by the priest, and after
several repetitions of this ceremony, the animal’s head is chopped off with one cut, and
the altar is smeared with the blood. All the time the sick person for whom the offering
is made lies beside the priest.

On approaching a Garo village, the first objects that strike the stranger are the
picturesque spectre-like edifices they construct as watch-houses
for their crops. These airy structures consist of a low hut 20 or
30 feet long, about two-thirds of which is enclosed, and the remainder open at the
sides and front, built entirely of bamboos on a platform of the same material. Of this
one end is supported by the stem and branches of a tree lopped 30 or 40 feet from
the ground, and the remainder rests on uprights of bamboos of the same length.

The ordinary villages nearest the plains contain about 20 houses, often built on the
slope of a hill. The length of the houses runs out from the
hill, the inner supports of the flooring near the hill being short
and the outer supports long to preserve its level. The houses average about 80 feet
in length. The interior is very cleanly kept; rather more than half the house is
open from end to end forming one long apartment for general use, in which are the
earthen hearths for cooking; on the right side are enclosures, little chambers screened
off in which the married members of the family and females sleep. The young men
of the village are obliged to follow the custom I have so often noticed, and are not
allowed to occupy any portion of the family residence. They club together in a separate
house, called very generally in the Asam Valley the dekachang. This is an Asamese
term. This building is lofty and most substantially built: one-half of it forms an
open hall in which the village conferences are held, and the chief “Laskar” holds
his court. The remainder is enclosed as the dormitory forthe young men. The posts
and beams are fantastically carved.

In the interior are villages of a hundred and fifty and more houses. Such is
Rupagiri, an Abengya settlement. The houses are spread over a considerable tract
of undulating ground, a plateau in a circular valley sheltered by hills, the streams
from which are artificially brought into the village by aqueducts of bamboos. Each
considerable householder has his own aqueduct spouting out a liberal supply of water
clear as crystal close to his door: vessels are instantly filled, and you have only to squat
under the pipes to obtain a delightfully refreshing shower bath—-both males and females
may be frequently seen so enjoying themselves in a state of nature. As they squat,
they remove the sole garment and cleverly resume it as they rise from the bath.

The family residence of the Chief, Sambal, successor to the illustrious Tokal Laskar of
Dulungiri, the most noted chief in Mr. D. Scott’s* days, may be taken as a good
specimen of their best style of house. It is a large gloomy
mansion about 260 feet in length by 40 in breadth, raised
on piles varying in height according to the inequalities of the ground, and supported by
substantial posts of sdl timbers rudely carved with grotesque figures and placed with

Watch.

Villages.

Houses.

 

 

 

* The first Commissioner of Asam.

Q
''62 - DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove I.

the broad ends uppermost as more convenient to support the beams. There is an open
balcony at one end of the house, and a portion of the opposite end is reserved unfloored
for stalling the bulls kept for fighting and for carousals. The more private portion of
the residence forms a wing at right angles with the main building, raised on piles like the
rest, and with a separate balcony in which the ladies of the family sit.

The interior of the great house chiefly consisted of one large apartment, only a
small portion of it at the end opposite the entrance being partitioned off into sleeping
chambers. All down the side, however, were benches of bamboo used as beds by attend-
ants or guests. The porch in front was ornamented by quite a chevaux-de-frise of
wooden images intended as representations of deceased friends and relations. Conspi-
cuous amongst them was the monument to Tokul, which was evidently regarded as a
triumph of art. It was a full length wooden figure of a male, decorated with all kinds
of finery, and had an old silk umbrella supported over it. In front of the house, there
was an open space for games, dances, village conferences, and the like, round which the
houses of the slaves were circled ; and very numerous they appeared to be. All the finest
looking young men and women of the village were amongst the slaves of this family,
but they do not appear to repine at their lot in life.

In the open space before the Laskar’s house I witnessed a very curious spectacle. A
great feast was given in honor of the investiture of the Chief with a dress of honor
which I had brought for him, and of which he was so proud that, to my knowledge, he
kept it on for a whole week day and night.

The food prepared was a savoury mess of minced pork, rice, and vegetables. The
guests, about 200 in number, were seated in a huge ring round
the flesh pots. The cooks took from the pots as much of the
mess as they could conveniently carry on a platter of large leaves, and went round
one after the other thrusting into the open mouths of the sitters great handfuls of the
greasy food. Other attendants followed with gourd bottles full of the favourite home-
_ brew, which in the same way was poured down the throats of the guests who had nothing
to do but to sit still and open their mouths when the cooks came round, as young birds
in a nest open their mouths when the old birds return from foraging for them. This
was followed by a bull fight, a spectacle of which they appear to be as fond as are the
Spaniards.

The Garos are not much restricted in regard to food. They rear for the pur-
pose, kine, goats, swine, dogs, cats, fowls, and ducks. They eat
dried fish and tortoises which they buy in the plains, and _ their
hills supply them with deer, wild-hogs, frogs, and snakes, all of which they eat. In
fact they have no aversion to any food, except milk, which they abominate, and they
have no objection to eat in company, nor to eat what has been prepared by aliens.

Some Garo chiefs appeared to me to live entirely on beer. I believe when they
take it to this extent it is thickened with flour of millet, which makes it more nourish-
ing, and though it keeps them ina perpetual state of ‘mild but sweet ebriety,’ they
get Tat On its.

In settling political differences the mode of feasting described above must be re-
sorted to as a final ratification of the arrangement. The tribes at variance must be
brought together by a third party on neutral ground, and if the arbitrators be success-

Festivals.

Food.

 

 
'' 

Section 10. | THE GAROS. 63

ful in effecting peace, the parties swear to observe it by biting their swords, and, as a
sign that friendly relations are restored, the representatives of both clans must put
food into each other’s mouth and pour beer down each other’s throats, which seals the
compact. ,

The Garo laws of inheritance and intermarriage are singular and intricate, and
it was after many enquiries in different quarters and testing the
information, received in various ways that I recorded the follow-
ing note on the subject :—

The clans are divided into different houses called mahdris (Buchanan calls them
chatsibak), which may be translated motherhoods. A. man cannot take to wife a girl of
his own mahdri, but must select from one of the mahdris with whom his family have
from time immemorial exclusively allied themselves. In some of the now noblest
families there is but one mahdri with which, as a rule, they can intermarry. This how-
ever is not irrefragable, and should maidens of that particular house be wanting, the
young men may choose, or more correctly speaking, be chosen by a daughter of some
other. If it be not on this account necessary to look elsewhere, a man’s sister should
marry a son of the house of which his wife is daughter, his son may marry a daughter
of that sister, and his daughter may marry his sister’s son who, in such case, comes to
reside with his father-in-law and succeeds to the property in right of his wife and her
mother. Inherent in males there is no right to succeed to property of any description,
and this is all to secure a transmission of pure blood; but though a son cannot inherit
his father’s property, his mother cannot be ejected from the position she enjoyed conjoint-
ly with her husband. The successor must recognize in her the mistress of the house
not only as his mother-in-law, should she stand in that relation to him, but also as_ his
wife, though the marital rights be shared with her own daughter. It is consequently
not uncommon to see a young Garo introducing as his wife a woman who, as regards

Inheritance, marriage, Xe.

age, might be his mother, and in fact is his mother-in-law and his aunt.

Indications exist of this custom having once obtained amongst the aboriginal tribes
of Central India. At the ceremonies of some of the lowest agricultural tribes of Bihar
supposed to be descended from aborigines, probably Kols, the sister’s son (bhanja) of the
person who is married or mourns performs the ceremony.

It appears, the custom is not unknown to the African tribes. Messrs. D. & C. Living-
ston tell us, speaking of the Kebrabasa people on the Zambési, a sister’s son has much
more chance of succeeding to a chieftainship than the chief’s own offspring, it being
unquestionable that the sister’s child has the family blood.*

Children, as with,the Kasias, belong to the mahdri of the mother. From the
paternal parent they derive nothing, and it would certainly appear from the social
customs of the Garos that their great lawgiver must have been a female. The men
do much of the heavy work and all the fighting, and are so far not deprived of their
natural obligations as the stronger animal, but in other respects they are dependent on
the females.

When there is an object to serve by it, such as the acquisition of, or the disposal of,
a reversionary interest in property, marriages are sometimes made when the parties
are infants, and sometimes for similar reasons very young girls are united to very much

 

 

* Tuivingston, The Zambési, &c., page 162.
''64. DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. _ {Grour 1,

older men, in such cases the inclination of the infant is not of course consulted. The
preliminaries of the marriage are settled by the two mahdris concerned in it, and when
all is arranged it takes place with the usual feastings and rejoicings.

As, however, all young ladies are not heiresses, many of them attain a ripe age in
single blessedness and continue in that state till inclination, which is not in any way
coerced or interfered with so long as there is no infringement of the mahdri system,

Hibsae ee induces them to select a partner from amongst the spruce lads of
wives. the dekachang, or bachelors’ hall. As there is no restriction on
innocent intercourse, the boys and girls freely mixing together in the labors of the field
and other pursuits, an amorous young lady has ample opportunity of declaring her
partiality, and it is her privilege and duty to speak first. I do not know if, in such a
state of society, the party proposing is ever rejected, but I should think the proposal
comes in too tempting a shape to be so received.

The maiden coyly tells the youth to whom she is about to surrender herself that
she has prepared a spot in some quiet and secluded valley to which she invites him;
she gives him sufficient clue to discover the retreat, and goes there herself, taking with
her supplies for two or three days. The favoured youth, after communicating his good
fortune to the most intimate of his associates in the bachelors’ hall, quickly joins his
mistress in her retreat, into which it would be impertinent to follow them. In two or
three days they return to the village and their union is then publicly proclaimed and
solemnized.

Any infringement of the rule which declares that the initiative shall in such
cases rest with the girl is summarily and severely punished. If a male makes advances
to a girl, and the latter rejecting them, chooses also to tell her friends that such
tenders of affection have been made to her, it is looked on as an insult to the whole
mahdri to which the girl belongs, a stain only to be obliterated by the blood of pigs
and liberal libations of beer at the expense of the mahdri to which the man belongs.

The marriage ceremony chiefly consists of dancing, singing, and feasting. The
bride is taken down to the nearest stream and bathed, and the party next proceed to
the house of the bridegroom, who pretends to be unwilling and runs away, but is caught
and subjected to a similar ablution, and then taken in spite of
the resistance, and the counterfeited grief and lamentation of his
parents, to the bride’s house.

The presence of a priest is now necessary to invoke the gods to bless the union and
consult the omens regarding it. For this purpose the heads and necks of a couple of
fowls, cock and hen, are fairly laid together, and simultaneously struck by the priest a
sharp blow with a stick. If they fall dead side by side it is symbolical of the faithful
attachment and long continued happiness of the young couple. If only one be killed
and the other flies off, or if they separate before dying, the union is not expected to be
a happy one.

A Laskar amongst the Garos is generally chief over a group of villages. Buchanan
considers this a Bengali expression, and says that their own word for chief is nokma,
but we now find that lokma (which I suppose is the same word) is the head of the
village, subordinate to the Laskar.*

Marriage ceremonies.

 

* See Account of Expedition by Captain Reynolds in the Asiatic Society’s Journal for January 1849, page 57.

 

 
'' 

Section 10.] THE GAROS. 65

The Garo implements of husbandry are a hoe, a dao, and a battle-axe called
lumbiri, with which they make a tooth-pick, or fell a tree, skin a mouse, or decapitate a
human being. No male Garo is ever seen in his hills without
this weapon carried naked in his hand, or a spear.

With such rude implements the Garo and his wife manage to cultivate every year
from three to four bighas of land.* This must include about one-third of newly cleared
land, as they take but three crops in rotation—one of aous dhan (autumn rice), one of
cotton, with which millet is sown, then aous dhan again. After this, the land must
remain fallow, until it is completely overgrown with bush and tree jungle, which takes
seven to eight years. }

The chief productions of the hills are cotton, Indian-corn, aous or asu dhan, millet,
chillies, and yams. It is on cotton that they chiefly depend for
the necessaries of life their hills do not produce. Buchanan
estimated the quantity they could export at 60,000 maunds. 3

The Garo hats, or markets, at which the cotton is sold or bartered are very interesting
scenes. That at Putimari, frequented by the Abengya Garos, is the largest. It is held
in a grove of pipal trees on the banks of a small river, the Kali. On the evening
' preceding the market day, the channel of the Kali, in which
scarce a boat is at other times seen, becomes crowded with all
kinds of small craft; at the same time long lines of Garos are seen winding their way
to the grove from various directions, bending under their bulky loads of cotton packed
in baskets seven or eight feet high. The man is altogether lost in the vastness of his
burden, and you behold hundreds of these elongated baskets apparently furnished with
legs and walking on them briskly to market. The market is supplied with everything
that can possibly be required either by the Garos or by the lowlanders. Provisions of
all kinds, pigs, poultry, sheep, oxen, goats, rice, millet, pulses, vegetables, clothing of
every description worn by the people, ornaments, agricultural implements, spinning
wheels, salt, tobacco, and a great deal more; all of which articles and thousands of
maunds of cotton brought in by the Garos change owners in a primitive way without
any employment of the current coin of the realm !

The Garos arriving on the preceding day bivouac in groups sheltered by the long
cotton baskets. In the morning a still greater influx takes place. About noon the
market drum beats, and the scene, which till then had been a quiet one, changes into one
of the utmost bustle, confusion, and noise. The Garos are all in motion, rushing about
with bundles of cotton weighing two pounds, the small change with which they provide
their wants; but it is difficult to follow their evolutions in such a crowd, and in a short
time a great part of the cotton appears to have changed hands without your knowing
why or how. By degrees as the commerce becomes slacker, you may note an isolated
transaction.. A Garo has fixed his eye on that fine white chanticleer. He wildly
rushes up to the owner, into whose hands he thrusts a bundle of cotton and seizes the
bird; but the poulterer turns coldly away as if he and his cock had only come as
spectators, and were not inclined to do business at all. The poor Garo, as excited
asa gambler, doubles his bid; at last the bargain is effected, the hiilman joins his com-

Husbandry.

Products of the hills.

Markets.

* Reynolds. Asiatic Society’s Journal, January, 1849.
''66 ; DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group I.

panions exulting in the possession of the cock, and the Bengali methodically proceeds
to weigh the cotton and calculate how much he has made by the transaction.

Buchanan says, “the Garos are short, stout-limbed, active people, with strongly
marked Chinese countenances, as is the case with all the
aboriginal tribes from the Brahmaputra to Cape Negrais. In
general, the features of the Garos are harsh, but their chiefs are rather handsome.” The
beauty of the aristocracy did not strike me. I consider on the contrary they had, in
comparison with the lower classes and the slaves, degenerated in physique, a result
perhaps of close inter-breeding ; but Buchanan may not have seen much of the Garos of the

Physical traits.

interior, who are generally fairer and better looking than those who live in villages bordering
on the plains. The women are, on the whole, the most unlovely of the sex, but I was struck
with the pretty, plump, nude figures, the merry musical voices and good humoured
countenances, of the Garo girls. Their sole garment is a piece of cloth less than a foot
in breadth that just meets round the loins, and in order that it may not restrain the
limbs, it is only fastened where it meets under the hip at the
upper corners. The girls are thus greatly restricted in the
positions they may modestly assume, but decorum is, in their opinion, sufficiently
preserved if they only keep their legs well together when they sit or kneel. They wear

Costume.

brass rings in their ears, and a few strings of beads of cornelian round their necks, as
well as occasionally brass chains; amongst the Lyntea Garos many may be seen
unadorned, and that clan never carry their decoration to such an extravagant length-
as do the Abengya Garo females. The latter wear huge curtain rings in their ears.
The head gear is arbitrary ; some.appear with turbans, some without, and some wear
round their heads a simple band of colored cotton.

The Garo males, on the whole, become their nudity better than the females.
Their sole garment is a long and narrow strip of cloth which is worn as a girdle round
the waist, and passing from behind between the legs is brought up again to the waist,
‘from which the end, as a flap, about six inches in breadth and often highly ornamented,
hangs down in front. Their faces are round and short. The forehead is not receding,
but projects very little beyond the eye, which is small, on a level
with the face, very dark and obliquely set. The want of promi-
nence in the nose is remarkable. The whole face has the appearance of being flattened,
the mouth sharing in the compressed appearance and not at all prognathous. Amongst
the youthful there are intelligent, mirth-loving faces not devoid of interest; but the
beauty of both sexes is ephemeral. ‘The women soon grow into hags: and the features
and countenance of the males become after maturity, from hard work, constant exposure,
free indulgence of passions, and the use of intoxicating drinks to which all are devoted,
bloated, coarse, fierce, and sensual.

From the life scene of the markets we must come at last to the grave. Buchanan
says, the funeral of the Achhiks (the name he gives to the Lynteas) are inconvenient
and expensive. When a person dies, the relations are summoned
to attend, and ten or twelve days are allowed for their conve-
nience; as they assemble they are feasted till the number is complete. In the mean
time the body falls into a dreadful state of corruption, but no attention is paid to that.
The head of a stake is then formed into an image supposed to resemble the deceased,

Features.

Funeral ceremonies.

 
''Srctron 10.] THE GAROS. 67

and the point of the stake is driven into the ground. The body is then burnt, the
bones are collected in an earthen pot, and the relations retire. After some months,
when the family has recovered from the former expense, and has laid in a stock of
food and liquor, the relations are again assembled and feasted for three days. The bones
are then thrown into a river.

The several clans may have different customs, or customs may change. Dr. Latham,
quoting Mr. Elliot,* says,—‘‘The dead are kept for four days, then burnt: the ashes
are buried in a hole on the place where the fire was. A small thatched building is next
raised over them, which is afterwards railed in. Fora month, or more, a lamp is lit
every night in this building. The clothes of the deceased hang on poles one at each
corner of the railing. When the pile is set fire to, there is great feasting and
drunkenness.”

The following is an account of what took place under my own observation in an
Abengya village :—

The daughter of the Sirdar had died previous to my arrival; the body had been
burnt the preceding night, and the people were about to dispose of the ashes when I
entered the village. This portion of the ceremony I had consequently an opportunity
of observing. The funeral pile had been ignited within three or four paces of the
house. This is the orthodox practice, and notwithstanding the proximity of the fire, no
accident ever occurs, the house being at such times under the special protection of the
gods. The village carpenter was preparing one of the posts that are on such occasions
always erected under the porch, or just outside it. He had completed the carving and
was painting it with the blood of the bullocks that had been slaughtered for the feast.
It had further to be decorated with the beads and earrings of the departed and the
skulls of the bulls that had been killed in her honor. In front of the house, an oblong
frame of bamboo work was constructed, about two feet high, three feet broad, and six feet
long, four carved poles diagonally placed protruded from the four corners, and a lid of
open lattice work was lying ready prepared to be put over it. Inside the frame a small
round hole was made, in which the remains of the young girl, collected from amongst the
ashes of the funeral pile, were reverentially deposited by her nearest female relatives—
her mother and her aunts. When this was done and the hole filled up with earth, the
same individuals proceeded to fill the frame above it with various offerings, of which
I noted the following :—Three baskets of raw cotton, four baskets of unthrashed rice in
husk, two grilled fowls, a few dozen shrimps, boiled rice, eggs, red pepper, turmeric,
pulses, salt, gourds full of rice-beer, and, lastly, earthen vessels, all of which were broken
as they were thrown in. They said, the spirit of the girl would not benefit by them if
they were given unbroken, but for her the fragments would unite again. The lid was
then put on, and over it, as a canopy, a silk cloth supported on hoops was extended.

Whilst this was going on, the lads of the village were beating drums, striking gongs,
and blowing horns. <A bull fight was exhibited which attracted crowds of spectators,
and but for the solemn demeanour and sad face of the old mother, as she slowly and
quietly put one offering after another into the tomb of her child, all bore the appearance
of a merry meeting, an occasion rather of re} oicing and carousal than one the cause of

‘which was death. The deceased had only numbered ten years. The veneration paid

 

* Asiatic Researches, Vol. TET,
''68 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. . [Group I.

to their dead is irrespective of sex or age. The frame I have been describing with its
contents is allowed to remain a twelve month, after which it is burned, and the event is
made the occasion of fresh rejoicings and feastings. The carved posts of the Garos
take the place of the stones set up as cenotaphs by their neighbours, the Kasias, by the
remote Hos and other tribes.

It was formerly the practice amongst the Garos, whenever the death of a great
man amongst them occurred, to send out a party of assassins to murder and bring back
the head of the first Bengali they met. The victims so immolated would, it was
supposed, be acceptable to their gods, and the clans preserved the skulls as the proudest
trophies they could adorn their halls with. Such bloody and inhuman trophies have, it is
believed, disappeared from all the Garo villages in connection with the British
Government, and amongst them the immolation of human victims in honor of the dead
has been discontinued, and they even profess a proud horror of the practice.

Turning from this dark spot in their character, we find in it many good points.
They are lively, good natured, hospitable, frank and honest
in their dealings, till contaminated by their intercourse with
Bengalis, and they possess that pearl of great price so rare amongst Eastern nations—a
love of truth. They will not hastily make engagements, because when they do make
them, they intend to keep them. They are affectionate fathers and kind husbands, and
their conduct generally towards the weaker sex is marked by consideration and respect.
Notwithstanding the lavish exposure of their persons, the women are chaste and make _
good steady wives.

National temperament.

VOCABULARIES

 
''VocaABULARIES. |

69

VOCABULARIES OF THE TRIBES DESCRIBED IN GROUP I.

1.—Tae Suan Grovr. *

 

 

 

ENGLISH. AHOM. KHAMTI. Laos. SIAMESE.

One ling -- | hung e.« | Dung nung.

Two e-. | Sang song we. | Song «+» | Song.

‘Three sam sam. sen | ORD ons | SAID,

Four wee | Sf si sf si.

Five ha ha ha ha.

Six ruk hok hok hok.

Seven chit tset tset chet.

Eight pet pet pet pet.

Nine | kau kau kau kau.

Ten sip sip sip sip.

Twenty sau sau san nung eee | ye Sip.

Fifty e- | ha sip h& sip ha sip .» | ha sip,
Hundred pak pik oss | BOR is | BOK

I eo | kau so. | kau ku, ong co | ene.

We rau hau hau rau.

Thou mo maii toa .. | tua, mung.
You khau ++ | mau su es ass su.

He heu eos | man «se | Man, tan khon, man.
They khreu man khau =. 4. khau ar ai.

Of me eee digi OR a
OG US ee cette cccvee, as
Ofte ee eee a i
“Of you gee a ee '

Of him wo ee
Of them a a ee
Mine au, kau keane khonkha.
Our rau hau on khonkha-tsoung.
Thine mo mau ase aes khoung-aeng.
Your khau mau-su “ khrong-tsoung-aen,
His heu eee MNAN he khoung-troung.
Their ... | khreu waackioag << 4h khonkha-tsoung-aen.
Hand ve kha mu mu mu.

Foot tin tin tin tin,

Nose sites £0 Oe a
Eye ta th ta ta.

Mouth - | sup sop pak pak.

Tooth ee | chia ae khiau fan, khiau.
Ear pik ht 2 ihe hu.

Hair phrum phom phom ... | Phom

Head ra ho ho hoa.

Tongue eh ee a te ie ee
Wey ee i er
Back porn a ae
Tron oo | lik oe | lek lek lek.

Gold seniee acu? dana
Silver a wean FF 7 eheces
Go ka ka .-» | pai, men pai.

Eat kin kin ae ten kin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, No.

IV, of 1850, page 313.
'' 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

70 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grovr I.
ENGLISH. AHOM. K#AMTI. Laos. SIAMESE,

Sit ... | nang nang ... | nang .. | nang.

Father po po pa po.

Mother is. (me: me e+e | me me,

PSROUM OI a ae co ahy oh eee Oke rs Oe bee oa

SSISGOI ye norte etnere en cel Oh en) Ce

Man ves | KUN, vk BALD: «» | khon khon.

VV eee a Ge eee

Wile a a. De ee ee

ee etwas ere ke ly neu eves

Son ree re a ass en aa Rea ce REM oa lek

Beye a a ee

eee ot Ca ea Gee soe ea

MORTAR CONS le dese eT a amma cr nbs cM at ee ae i

eee a eg hep eagnas

RO eee alee es UU cole ie te pas ‘

MOO Va ee a ae ba ‘ seven

Come ma ma ma poo as

Beat Ber hoe: aeeee Lae aes

Stand ti .. | Sau ee | song .. | yun.

Sun .. | ban wan kangwan e+. | tawan.

Moon den lun deun «.. | tawan,

Star dau nau lau dau. :

Fire ene | Dk fai Seg peal cee | He,

Water nam ».- | Dam ees | aT nam

House ren nun. heun eve | reuan,

Horse | ma ma m& cos | Way

Cow «| hu ngo ngoa woa, ngoa

Dog ma w.. | ma wos 06 ao | tak

Cat ee. | Men vee | Miau meau meau

Cock Ae Phe eR rr Ste mee et ler a ei Ny ee saa ae alton ee Mo Meir ;

NC ec er a ee a

Ass eee ee UC eee : ges ee uel eC rer es ei scuiee

MO ee aaa Se eo US Cn eis ae

Bird .-. | nuktu nok nok ess | NOK,

Die Ree eeesiee Oat CeCe wauaue eu a ai ely GRR ia a

Give we | BOW ooo | haiti sue | ED hai.

Run e.. | paikhan oer len pai ..- | Wing pi.

Up fe OC aM Oe a il Pe ee cece ue ce CU anT ee ae ;

Near gee | lad kau dca coe | lat

‘Who . | phreu phau khai, phai ..» | khrai, sung.

And aoe Pe eh als ; le le, kap, tak.

Yes ... | khewo tsau tsal, men kha,

Down Ue eee eee, ‘ een conan e eer ue ol See ey eoesee

Far jau, sai ee kai kli.

What re sang ... | Sang arai.

aah eae . Rit) bes awe or

No bukhewo ma tsau bo-tsai michi,

Before eer ee aa rue es mane ecu aca. a ie OL, Rela

ee on a

Why MRE NOR NE AA URRS Score aay | keeva phr4, aurai.

If SRC ene ees ious sede ecey et Ucn tea MN aia

Alas Se ae ee ee PEE lide Ae HE ae a Ee :

 

 

 

 

 

 
''VocaBULARIES. |

2.--SINGPHO, AND EASTERN AND ANGAMI

NAGAS, AND KAREN.

71

 

 

 

ENGLISH.

One ate
Two ee
Three ...
Four

Five

Six

Seven
Eight

Nine

Ten es
Twenty ...
Fifty
Hundred...

He Gas
They” ..
Of me

Of us

Of thee ...
Of you ...
Of him: <;-
Of them...
Mine
Our
Thine
Your
His
Their
Hand
Foot
Nose |
Eye
Mouth
Tooth: =...
Ear

Hair
Head
Tongue ...
Belly
Back
Iron
Gold
Silver
Go
Eat
Sit

eee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SinepHo.* be i ree fa + Kuan Naga.t | Wars Karen‘t| Rep Karzn.f Micke
aima wee | BttS cha akhet ta a «oe | PO.
nkhong.... | anyt th anne khie ne kana.
masim ézam_ ... | lem e.. | asam theu ee | theu se.
melf ali pilf ... | phalf lwie «+» | lwie oss | Ga.
manga aga one | A phanga yay nya pengoo.
kri érok vok tarok khu theutho shdroo,
sinit ee | Anath nith tani nwie .». | theuthota ... | thena.
matsat =... |Adchet ...| thath sachet kho lwietho theta.
tsekha eve | aku thu ... | teku khwie lwiethota the koo.
si ban pan tarah vs» | tahsie tashe cow | ROUT,
khan CNR et weet makhi .«- | khiehsie neshe mekoo.
mangasi 0. | ereeee ‘ tanam yay hsie ... | nya shie lhi pengoo.
latsa puga oes rukra ... | takaya tayay kra.
ngai ku tau ase te ya, yeu we | Va a.

Pe Le sige Oo wee akau peu, pa = «.. | pay tiko,
nang, ni... | nang nang ... | nang na, neu ...| na no.
nitheng «. bake ee i nikhala thu thie neko,
khi . | mih taupa pau .. | aor way a loo,
khini +00 vs tungkhala .,., | a or way a liko.
BTS ee a ee eee ya, yeu va eee
be OE eee OU ea Oe peu, pa pay “
eee PAR wae ONE eRe ee ee nha, neu -|/ na
Se NO oe ee ee thu + | thie co tee
see cce “ soccce senece a a eee
eeeee ° seee cones oe a a . aes, $49
ngend kukuhe tesei ne a ‘ue ave.
saree ve vegies sane seeees ukove,
nané a ete oe ae HANG 80 ay ae a nove.
pemebe  E e  e e nekove,
khina deo] oe OL neem Ee live.
Gg aka one os sone re a“ lukove,
letté ... | chak yak ... | takhet su su wu bij.
lagong tchyé ...|yah-lan ... | tachang khau kha uphi ju.
a een OP Oey Mantas OO A aan onda unheu,
mi mik mik tenik may vos | May «» | umbi,
ninggup tun chusim tabaun ‘ oaeaas ume,
wa va ve | pha +++ | taphaé may kho-khe ... | uhoo
na na na tenhaun “| na kha-lay uneu.
karé .. | kho min su. | kw a oo kho-lya _,.. | uchitha.
bong ..| khang ... | sang telim hoo-krau_ ... | icht.
a aan a nie ihe ava,
epee Ue NG cag he pe OPI Se tre a ae uche.
mpri jian yan ayin os ... | hto-htay .., | thejirr.
Ct eee boners eeenes Aide rakahurr.
win tong angsi wa Ley oe | BYeU ... | phiche.
shéu sa ha hachi -. | tsaung au avi .. | chiche,
déingu ngo dau um chi ... | manio hse-nau » | o-nya ba le.

 

 

 

* Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, bl 1849, p. 969.
t Ditt of 1850, p. 313.

t
§

0;
Ditto,
Ditto,

No. VIL of 1856.

No. IV of 1865, Pt. IL, p. 239.

p. 658.

 

 

Norz.—The Red Karen is placed here because Red Karen and Singpho languages have been compared. But the examples ew do not substantiate the
supposed connection.
The Angami Naga has been introduced to show how distinct it is from the language of the Bastern Nagas,
'' 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

72 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. C Groep £ 1
ENGLISH SINGPHO MiTHan TaBiune K ANGAMI
: ; Rigs Nios. HARI Naq@a. | WuivTe Karen. | Rep KAREN. Nign
Father ...| wa apa opah taba | pa phay oe. | DU.
Mother ... | nt Annu onu tu bon fat) meu - ee. | AZO;
Brother ... obey ee Saiesn Ne ere shajou.
RiBDOr (a es, ee ee ae ee lap.
Man singpho __... | mf - | sauniak ... | ami pgha-knyau | pray-ka-ya ... | ma.
a, fo eee de ae ee |e eee thentima.
ee Fe a a ces | ke ae
eee as oa sila ‘cee
Son ee ieee lL ee ee ey, no,
hi ake A ees ae ponoiye.
Mi sees 2 heels eee 2 appa So ee
ee ee ee
a a | ee oes Hiei eee
God er ce | A ee rey durhoma.
Devil bee IN a ee le ce
Come | sau rahai ongkoi hinnerang hay ray,ha _... | wng lao.
Beat a Di eee auetae
Stand ... | tsapu rotu... | ajong ... | yong chi hun ligili hseu-hteu ... | se-htau se le.
Sun jan rang han . | wang hi suhih sae | U. lamoo naki.
Moon _.. | sité letnu . ... | le leta ela Vay. thirr.
Star - | sigan lethi chaha peti hsa | Shay themu,
Fire wan van ee ah matsu me-oo me jo, (mate
Water ntsin ti riang atsu a | litle htye zu.
House nta ham nok aki hie hie ki.
Horse gumrang man... | kowai kungri ka-the ta-the kirr.
Cow kanst méhu mahu masu «| klau, po po, pu mithoo.
Dog gui hi kui ai htwie we | htwie thafa.
Cat ningyau ...|miéh_... | ami mochi tha-mie-yeu . htoo leno. -
Cock Se ee ea Me ne ae
MOGe a | ee ee,
PN ae oe, ee eetcee
otal ee, .. 20 ee
Bird wu 0 ouhda ozah so | hto htu ve+ | pura.
Die Mls. eas Dee ee es ee eee eee. satale.
Give yéu . |lhai... | yakhu khiugo _.., | he w. | dye cht le,
Run ___... | gagftu .|rikle  ... | phal chi semekwa_ ... | sie kywa ta-le,
Ra ies eens a Cael ey ‘cae
Near - il hole otike --. | anhagu boo ... | Phoo jeu.
Who gadaimé /oveh owai w+. | Sui matataghalay | +++. sopo gh
PAI ee cece ae Oa gales dau +. | Vau di.
Yes raia val alya hau coe | CU, Me yeu,,, | CU, ma hau... | awe.
Down A pate tes ee ea eee
Far tsin wv. | atal katike oo. | UrAgU ar vie ye cha cha.
What phakaima ... | tem toi nan oes ane eee kajibo.
BG ey ee ee ee see ees co geet sa.
No galai --. | mantai mang cha nongo ta-me-bé .. | to mowe.
Apel ek eee cress a ce eer eT ce, is ce looki.
elimi tl eeetee Ui eee Oe aeaes ponies sooeae bce ussa.
Mig. i.) fart vee kite chibatsawi... | bamanulay... | baytiete «.- | kele.
If een Nl aseve ae eee Se oie. ee ee : nole.
Alas Re a el es ee ar ee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#
''VOCABULARIES. |

3.—ABor, Minr, Dopoua, AND ANGKA VOCABULARY.

73

 

 

 

 

 

 

ENGLISH. AxBor.* Miri.* Dorxta.t ANnGxKA or Hrusso.f
One ako . | ako .»» | dken ney | Oia a.
Two ani wee | dniko ani . sis kse.
Three | angom ++ | dumko_ d-im ne sas tse.
Four api w | dpiko apli eee cai pferi.
Five pilango angoko cat (MM as Lg wae pfaimu.
Six dkye akengko we | dkple : she Th’
Seven konange kinit ko kénag ene Seaver *"mue.
Eight pini piniko plag-nag eee khi or ksi.
Nine «+ | kinide konéngk kayo seveee stho.
Ten -- | linge uyingko ose ee a he erh.
Twenty “ hale i-ling-ko ves | MOM CHA ete 8 faces b’sh4.
Fifty ese senna FR ee serre.
Hundred on “4 ovseee ee puarrad,
iE ngo eee | NYO + | ngo ee "nyo.
WS ae ee ngoluke or ngolu .., ngo-lu rer ni.
Thou ee eee no 6b Oe a ee ba.
You a no-lu «| no-lu «awl =e jo, joe
He bu bu ma vee pho.
They Be bu-lu eee | mé-lu hes b’gotina.
Oleme ee ptr see ngog ngog ry deasse nathi or
nad ki,
Of us ‘ ngolug ++ | ngo-lug “a nithi.
Of thee soniae nog. + | nog a bathi.
Of you he os no-lug no-lug i bathi.
OR pe | a ieee ene bug még ae aoe thi.
Of them oe ose bu-lug mé-lug .. b’géunathi.
Mine see
Our tee eee. soewes fs
TI eer ee ee ee eee eesss oes
Your . seeee A ae . “
Wee i ice Vapinase Soecae - ote
Their aes passe e beoses *
Hand elag elig we | 18k os ae oe | SSI
Foot ale leppa «| lagd w. | ag "ssi,
Nose ees nobung + | hye wung nyopom eee veneee nusu,
Eye i dming ow | Amida nytk «| nyek ni.
Mouth nepang .. | ndppang gam gam vee | Te
Tooth aye o» | Aye ww | fig phi as [toe
Ear we. narung .. | jerung niorong nyarung .., | pha.
Hair dumid «| dumid «| dumuk demuk ... | Kechu.
Head dumpong, tupko ... | tupko, mito-oko ... | dompo dumpa ... | khfe.
Tongue aiyo eos | joper eee | TO baal jabla.
Belly ios | Ol aki kopo — negtiju,
Back lamku .. | l4mku garpo ies lene subie.
Tron eee | yOoir yogir rokdor kakdhar ... | ’ssa.
Gold Angin dina aen i bali shu.
Silver amel dmel, rup tangku saeees lumma.
Go «| gikangku gikanka, gitoka .. | angne ee khabée.
Eat dola dola do daa . tsinfe or
chate.
Sit . ane | GLA eee | du toké ... | dong-to ‘ yeuins roueorritie.

* Journal, Asiatic Societ;

+ Ditto, No. 2, 1851, p. 13

{ The first column of Angka or Hrusso words is taken from Robinson’s Asam, p. 309, A, 1), 1841; the
paper in Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, Vol. XXXVI, Pt, I1, 1868, p. 202,

 

 

y, Bengal, March, 1849, p. 226.

 

 

 

second column from Revd. C, H. Hesselimeyor's
'' 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7A DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL [Group I-
ENGLISH. ABOR. Miri. Doputa. ANGKa or Hrvsso.
Father baba baba abo abba du.
Mother nane nina ane ane ani.
Brother ani, dbing ani, payd (a) tetee {b) boro... | a, "nyu
Sister barne dtunga (a) 4mé (b) burma ... | 6... numi
Man Amie Amie bangni bangne nund,
Woman ++ | menge mimmo Te. | Oe, pfumi
' Wife meng miyeng ... | mige, nioféng - gsi.
Child ko ko pe I Pa eke, angasa,
Son Oo due Ge Oe ek, sat.
Daughter ome .. | ammah eM aa, . sami,
Slave Oe ee, khla.
Oe a ae eer ca. Ce re ads viddéu.
Shepherd a fudsistien.
ee a ka doinitalenge ? OR ah acs shemizu.
Devil v ae Rr hee ae Ee nee
Come Apola kape angkubo agekhaue.
Beat didéing demtoké Pole aa Was, guga.
Stand «| dig dag toké is 8 aaa gudzultie.
Sun drung dainyé, arung _,,, | dani ... | dahani dsa.
Moon polo .-. | polo ss | polo pala khdbie,
Star tekar takar takar takar e«. | litsie.
Fire e.- | eme ummaé ame ummah mi.
Water asi ..» | Achye esi issi khé.
House ... | ekum ekum ou Al nie.
Horse e+ | gure .. | gore gora ... | ghurd fugra.
Cow sou goru (Asam) su . | shye falakhi,
Dog ekki ekkye ... | ek-ki eet sulo,
Cat kedari mendari ache asd ashasa,
ee ee ee démrou.
Duck pezak pezab hans ee ae ossa.
ee he a eh es ee fubaba.
Camel Bt as iis a ee ee: ‘
Bird | petting petting patta putah duo.
Die sikkai si-kang Seto ee budzibi.
Give gas | bi bi-toké VCO ee jiba.
Run --» | dup to ka ... | duptoké .. | f4r-to godzue.
Up Sores Cee le ers: rafa.
Near mong-yo anindag pe OGRR 4 sot ol ae re enfsa.
Who aw aaeden he aninashe.
a ee) Bee, hamso.
Yes arwe .. | hu, awe, eggidd u 0.
Down hy ee ee OR ramge.
Far +» | mordo mordo om | Pe aniera.
‘What eee bere cer cane co) aL ee eee hogo PER oe ae hando.
UG ee oe Pe ee, ope ER ei hamso.
No ma ma Ma a ma,
Before bags es res dvva.
ON ap ee ee es fami.
Why a Wie hogo-ardng hando,
Be an PO ete ae ee soio.
Alas penens oe iienca ey se ah! kinfa !
dunia.

 

 

 

(a) elder.
(b) younger,

 
''VocaBULARIES. |

4.—KuUKI GRovup.*

 

75

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Journal Asiatic Society, Bengal, No. VII uf 1856, p. 658.

ENGLISH. MANIPURI. | KUKI. Arune NaGa. ANGAMI NaGa. Oxp KvkEI. MIKIR.
: ; al

One .. | ama .. | khut kut i BO khat hisi,

Two ee, | ADE see (ene .. | kana kana ool nk ee abieat:
Three ahoom thim .« | kachim se .. | thim kithom.
Four mari li .». | madai da ari phi li.
Five manga oe | nga eee | Mingou ess | pengoo ranga w» | phanga.
Six tarik goop . | Sherik shtiroo irook .«, | bherok.
Seven see | taret wa | SUggI sind thena surri theroksi.
Eight nipal get tisat theta see | riet ... | nit kep.
Nine mapal oss | KO sikooi the koo ikok ... | Sir kep.
Ten tara oon SOT! kerou ... | kerr som kep.
Twenty kool «| Som ni ng kai mekoo aon nk ee
Fifty ... | yang khai ... | som nga +++ | rengeo lhi pengoo ... | som rang ... | phongo kep.
Hundred chama +». | 2a khut hai kra riz4 . | pharo si.

[ el kei { kei wos | UGE.

We ei khoi keiho anui tiko kei ma ni nge tim.
Thou nung nung ee. | nung no +. | nung nung.
You nung khoi -.- | nung ho nung nui neko ... | nung mani... | nung tim.
He ma hi kh wi loo kha ... | nang.
They ma khoi hi ho wi nui liko khi mani nang tum
Ome er
Of us ee ee
Of thee : Deena (eae eee A ey a Oeeres
Of you pee lS tse LL a ee a ee
Of him ee ee eg eo a ee
(Cee ta ceases 8 do omen pec
Mine ei gi --- | kei ma ees | AGOO ave keimarhung | nge li.
Our ei khoi gi kei ho a +. | anui goo ukove keimanirhung | nge tim li.
Thine nunggi nung ma nung goo nove nungmarhung | nung li.
Your ese | BODE khoi gi.. | nung ho a nung mugoo ... | nekove nungmanir-
: hung nung tim li.
His magi hima wi goo live ... | khimarhung | nang li.
Their ma khoi gi, << | hiho a winiu goo... | lukove khémanirhung) nang tum li.
Hand khit pik «| hut pang miba u bijtt khit ja «0 | TL pa
Foot khiing pa keng pang mi pi pa «-» | uphi ja phei ja keng pak.
Nose na tol ns es | mi neo Gnheu nar ino kan.
Eye joni Patt oe} | mit mi mik ... | umht ca | sea | Mok,
Mouth _ | chil faa .. | mi mooi ume bai ... | ingho.
Tooth we | yS hé ... | mi geo uhoo ha isso.

Ear na bil mi kon uneu kir + | Ino.

Hair shum shum mi tim uchitha shum <.4 | C00.
Head moko ss<:| loo mi pei tichit oa Re iphoo.
Tongue Pi as ots ee i ee Oye :
Belly pak e+ | of mi bing iva phoom wee | Ipok.
Back nungul tong tum mi ching +. | uche bik inoong.
Tron .. | you eee | thik hegei thejirr cheng chi inchin.
Gold .., | Suna langkecha Truchake ou esl raugke chuk | hon er.
Silver loopa danka gofoo rakahurr shim cheng... | hon lok.
Go pag | naga EE ee ;
Eat v+. | chdo nen ... | jeo lao s+ | Chiche neng cholo.

Sit phumo ‘+ | touvin intao lao ba le wo» |i thing rou... | kang ni

 
'' 

a

 

 

 

 

76 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group I.
ENGLIsH. MANIPURI. KUKI. | Aruna Naga. | ANGAMI NaAGa. Orp KvkK1. MIEIR.
Father eas pe we | PS ess | apeo apt pa etl DO
Mother ac ena e+. | N00 apui aes | AZO noo ipei.
Brother —..- | nao ese) | DAO asi ».. | Shajou en al oscil flee
Sister «ee | ichem, ichul | naonoo asi pti -.- | hipa .e | oonai ingyirpi.
Man vs) | OMIA +... | MA jai mana ma e+» | mf ar leng.
Woman... | nupi ee | nUmei ees | Ini pai thenuma ... | nipung ar loso.
Wife a Reue ss Bes sae saan ea pie ns eeecet ule oy eck wae
Child sos uh ese Uris ee os
Son ses (Che -» | pashul S| ame no rothur ses | NESO po,
Daughter ichénipi_ ... | pashulnoo ... | ana puf ponoiye dongma ... niso pi.
Slave aa cease si edna eres aeses Chloe:
Cultivator ... Re che eum aes| eank ene Has potas eee
Shepherd ... essere Seeaae acces Sevees es cee
God aay) ed puthen i. | Ue «ss | durhoma puthin ... | arnam,
Devil oe. | Shuroi hilo ..» | ghumpeo medovi khori | at
Come sce) TAO hing in phir che wang loa ‘ ... | hGingro .. | Wang.
Beat nes Mabeee Lee deugen ee es Bare:
Stand lebo -- | ding in ... | Sab lao se le . | iding ... | Kurjap.
Sun ... | numit oe | ni tingnaimek ... | naki 4 aad ara
Moon ... | tha lha hekeu thirr ithlha _. | cheklo.
Star «.. | tho mucha «.. | ashi .. | higgi themt arshi ... (cheklo longsho
Fire mei - e+ | mei seat mat mi mei 4. | Me.
‘Water ... | Ishing ee | tui doi ee LAL Aas Pinval lang.
House e+. | yim in st ki in ... | hem.
Horse we. | Sagol sakol hokon kirr sakor ... | losai,
Cow esi sal ew | silat katom mithoo sirat ... | chainong.
Dog hwi wicha settei thaft .. | wite mathan,
Cat ... | houdong ... | mengcha miyou na leno imeng meng.
Cock Pe i ebe see ay omnis aes Aer wage geese sel
Duck ce Means eetee peeie seo aa
Ass aes is ees eases aecues secces ae
Camel Rs Re Cea yay Oe eas wise fees coe
Bird achek - | vacha ... | hin-rooi ‘a | pure iva an VO.
Die shiro w. | tht in .. | chei lao » satale thiro ... | thi not.
Give | pio .. | pen +++ | pe lao «y.| cha le pero a} PLnOt,
Run che lo wo. | tajin pagh lao ts | tale «es» | Herai ice | kikat,
Near nugle nai cha na da «+. | jeu kho nai « | ti bo kher.
Who --- | kunéno zz. | koi chow lo ce | sopo ghia | ot ti pei --. | mad lo.
And +++ | sang »» | chile ... | chaine cad .. | Khun chu ... | kdlapoo.
Yes eet | OL .. | henge e00 tiwe anit .. | hoi tema.
Down Bg ae eis suuwes ee eesisee eee cee
Far ... | arapa «+» | ghum cheng deoda ... | cha cha rum mohl ,.. | hi lo ving.
What ee | kuri a indai kajibo | a oa) De
But -.- | adoga ses! | Chucin chaine sd tenses polo.
No --. | nate a need eh mowe ni muk kali,
Before ... | TMaangda_.... | amusa, «+ | rei lou | Looks .. | amasa ako.
Behind ..»|tungda _..., | ntinga -- | na lou e+. | Ussa ning ita ... | aphi.
Why karigi tumuk | { dinga e-» | dai lou «- | kele irhungime ... | kopi lo.
ot baeli ma indamei s+. | pole .. | ait néga ... | molo.

Alas or

 

ecevee

 

 

woese*

 

eee ror

 

 

 
''GHROU LD 11.

POPULATION OF THE ASAM VALLEY.

SECTION 1.—GENERAL VIEW.

We have been hitherto surveying the people occupying the upper tiers of the
amphitheatre of Asam. As we must now take up a new group, tribes who are rather
in the plains than in the hills, it may be convenient, before we go further, to descend
into the arena and to take note of the performers we find there.

I have already stated that the Shan people, calling themselves Ahoms, who effected
the conquest of all the tribes in the valley and founded the kingdom of Asam, became
proselytes to Hinduism at an early period, and, adopting the language and customs of
Hindus, have now nothing but feature to mark them as of different origin. From
the very softened type of Indo-Chinese features which they exhibit, it is probable that
the blending of the races was not confined to an adoption of religion, language, and
custom. Indeed, it is stated that the Shans brought no women with them into the
country, and found the daughters of the land so fair, that they deemed it quite unneces-
sury to send for the girls they had left behind them. This sufficiently accounts for
their improvement in looks and deterioration in other respects. I have seen very
handsome faces amongst the Ahom nobility. The ladies of the ex-royal family were
noted for their beauty, with oval faces, features not very prominent but sufficiently
raised and regular, large eyes, and long, silky, hair.

The Hindu population of Asam, including mongrels and proselytes, now consists
of Brahmans, Ganaks,* Kaists, all of comparatively modern importation, Kolitas, who
appear to be the only remnant we have of the early Aryan colonists, Keots, who are
partly of Hindu extraction and partly proselytes raised to that position, Doms, who
form the class of boatmen and fishermen, and Haris, low caste immigrants, and converted
Ahoms, Chutias, Lalongs, Kocchis, Mechis, and Kacharis.

The Chutias were the dominant race in Upper Asam when the Ahoms swarmed
into the valley. Their kingdom was overturned by the Ahom chief Chutupha about
A. D, 1350, and great numbers of the nation were deported and forced to settle in other
parts of Asam, as in Chutia of the Durrung District; but still a great many of the
Sadya and Upper Asam population are Chutias. The tribe called Bihiya are of the

 

* Who also have pretensions to be Brahmans. Several of this class obtained high appointments under the Asam Covyern-
ment, and their superior intelligence has secured to them the same positions under our Government. They are employed at
funeral obsequies.

U
''48 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group II.

same family, and as a tribe of Lalongs in Upper Asam claim to be of Chutia descent,
it is not unlikely that all the Lalongs are Chutias.

The Chutias, long before the appearance of the Ahoms, had adopted Hindu customs,
and placed themselves under the tutelage of Brabmanical priests ; they are now therefore
less distinguishable from the Hindus of pure extraction than are the Ahoms, and I find
from a note to an article on the antiquities of Upper Asam, by the late Colonel Hannay,
that he classed them with the Kolitas as a remnant of the old Kshettrya race of
Kamrup.

The Chutias are of a light olive complexion, with rather regular features; but
there is generally amongst them a flatness of face and a want of sharpness in the
features, which militates against the theory of their Aryan origin; moreover, they rank
low as a Hindu caste in Asam, and they call themselves ‘Hindu Chutia,’ to show
that they are no longer ‘Mlechchas.’ It was long before anything was discovered of
their language; but an isolated colony on the river Dikrung in Luckimpur, calling
themselves ‘Deori Chutia,’ were found, who had a peculiar language which they called
Chutia, and they were styled Deoris, because they had been attached as priests to a
certain temple, formerly of great celebrity, above Sadya, called the Tamasuri Mai, where
human sacrifices were yearly offered. Another colony of the same tribe was found by
Colonel Hannay occupying a very remote position in Upper Asam, and still performing
the priestly duties of a certain shrine dedicated to Kali. If the dialect spoken by these
Deoris be truly the language of the Chutias, it proves the linguistic affinities of the
tribe to be with the Garo and Bodo. In the number of the Asiatic Society’s Journal
for May 1849 will be found the Deori Chutia vocabulary, which does not appear at all
at home amongst the Naga and Shan languages with which it is placed; but if it be
compared with the Garo and Bodo vocabularies in the Journal No. 4 for 1850, its
relationship with those languages will be very apparent. I tind more than 20 analogues
in 64 words, and when it is added that the Deori Chutias were found hundreds of
miles from the Garos, or people speaking the Bodo tongue, such a proportion, of nearly
a third, must be sufficient to establish a pretty close connection.

J once met with an old Asamese ‘ Burinji’ (chronicle), purporting to be a history
of the Chutias. According to this they entered Upper Asam from the northern hills;
it is noticed that they crossed the Subanshiri, (though no mention is made of the
Dihong), and proceeding east established themselves at Sadya, and, in conjunction with
a Brahmanical race already settled there, founded a kingdom of sufficient importance to
receive an embassy and to interchange presents with the kine of Gaur. The legend
has it that the Hindu ruler of Sadya, who was a descendant of the father of Rukmuni,
offered his daughter to be competed for at a great archery meeting, and she was won by
a Chutia youth, who married her and was adopted by her father, and afterwards on
succeeding to the gaddi took the name of Sisopal. This story was in all probability
invented by Brahmans to disguise the fact that the ancient Hindu Pal dynasty, who had
for many generations ruled over Kamarupa and Namarup, 7. e., Lower Asam, with part
of Eastern Bengal and Upper Asam, were overthrown by a barbarian horde. Captain
Rowlatt found the remains of a fort ascribed to this monarch, Sisopal, and other relics
of Chutia rajahs, on the banks of the Dholla river to the east of Sadya, not far from
the copper temple or Tamasuri Mai above mentioned. That temple was visited by

.

 
''Suction 1.] GENERAL VIEW. 79

Colonel Hannay in 1848 and found dismantled and deserted.* The Burmese have the
credit of having put a stop to the human sacrifices annually offered there. The victims
were provided by a particular tribe who, in consideration of this unpleasant duty,
were exempted from other service and taxes, and called ‘sar,’ free.

The Kolitas are to be found in every district of Asam, and as no one appears to
know how they got there or where they came from, we may infer that they are the
remnant of the earliest colonists of the valley. Hodgson, in his paper on the Bodos,
speaks of the Kolitas as Bodo priests. It is true that many of the Bodos adopted their
religion and priesthood. But no one who has studied their physical characteristics can for
a moment suppose them to be relations of the Bodo, or doubt their distinct Aryan origin.

They are not only themselves a good-looking race, but they are the people to whom
the Asamese population generally owe the softening of feature which has so improved
those of Mongolian descent. The Kolitas exhibit a greater variety of complexion, and, on
the whole, are not so fair as the Ahoms and Chutias or as the people of the hills, but they
have oval faces, well-shaped heads, high noses, large eyes, well-developed eye-lids and
eye-lashes, and the light, supple frame of the pure Hindu. Colonel Hannay observes
in the note above alluded to, that many Kolitas have the grey eye so frequently found
amongst the Rajputs of Western India. The Kolitas are in great request in Asam as
servants in respectable Hindu families. ‘They are, I think, the only Sudra caste in the
valley from whose hands the higher castes will take water.t I do not know of any
castes corresponding to them in the western districts; but I find Buchanan-Hamilton
says that the Kolitas once had great sway in Rungpur, and many of those remaining
there have assumed the title of Kaists. As Rungpur was once part of the kingdom of
Kamrup, we might expect to find Kolitas there, but a Hindu tribe in every way re-
sembling them and bearing the same name, Kolita, is to be found in the Sambalpur
districts and some of the Cuttack and Chota Nagpur Tributary Mehals.¢

These Southern Kolitas are noted for their industry as an agricultural class like
the Kurmis, and are a cleanly, well clothed, and good-looking race. ‘There are other
circumstances connected with the ethnology of these southern tracts that lead me to
infer a very near affinity between their inhabitants and the Hindus of Asam.

I believe we have good grounds for supposing that Asam or Kamarupa was
amongst the earliest established of the Eastern Aryan settlements,—Bhagadatta, king
of Kamrup, is mentioned as a warrior in the Mahabharata and in the antiquities and
traditions of the country,§ and we have proof of its having passed through several phases
of faith,—Budhism, Adi Budhism, Sivism, and Vishnuism,—and indications of many
fierce struggles for ascendancy by the different sects.

Sivite shrines. built on the ruins of a different type of temples, || apparently Budhist,
abound in Kamrup, and to many of them the test of antiquity by which the age of the
deposits in Egypt were calculated might be applied, as they are found in places far below
the. surface.

* See Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, June, 1848.
+ In the days of slavery, a Kolita was valued at double the price of a Kocch.—See Buchanan on Asam, M. Martin’s
edition, vol. III, page 681.

t See Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, No. 1, for 1855, page 5.
§ See article on Chronicles of Tripura, by the Reverend J. Long in Journal, Asiatie Society, Bengal, No. 7, for 1850.

|| See note on Temple Ruins in Asam, Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, No. 1, for 1855.
'' 

80 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group IT.

The Kalika Purana gives long descriptions of rivers and mountains in Kamrup,—
the country rendered holy by the celebrated temple of Durga called Kamakhya, (or as
some have it ‘ Kamichcha’)—the region of love according to the Hindus, near the
ancient city of Pragjyotisha, the modern Gowhatty.

Wilson observes in the preface to his Vishnu Purana :—“ It is a singular and as yet
uninvestigated circumstance that Asam or at least the north-east of Bengal (7. e.,
Kamrup) seems to have been in a great degree the source from which the Tantrica
and Sakta corruptions of the religion of the Vedas and Purans proceeded.”

These remarks on a topic, the following out of which would lead me away from
my subject, are given to shew the great antiquity of the Hindu race in Asam. It is
by no means improbable that they occupied the fairest portion of it, “the lovely Paphian
region” from Dubri to Bishnath, before it was discovered by the Mongolian or Turanian
tribes. It is very difficult indeed to account for, and time, the various dynasties that
have at different epochs obtained historical importance in the valley of the Brahma-
putra, but they fall best into place by supposing, not that the Bodo and such tribes
were the aborigines, but that branches of the Lunar and Solar races were the first to
appreciate its beauty and resources. We find no tradition or other indication of their
having had to struggle with savage tribes on their first discovery of the valley, but we
have, in the places of refuge constructed by them in the hills on both sides, ample proof
that they were foreed to defend themselves against attacks from the plains. An ex-
amination of the hill forts shews them to have been constructed for this purpose and not
to repel irruptions of the hill tribes, and thus it is that we find the hordes of Chutias,
Kacharis, Kocchis and Ahoms, who successively invaded the country, though prevailing
by their rude arms and brute force, succumbing to the influence of the civilization which
they found, and sinking into the effeminacy and luxury, that rendered them in their turn
an easy prey to the next spoiler.

It appears from the earliest notices of Kamrup that the Aryans who first occupied
it were subsequently regarded as infidels by their western brethren, that is, in all pro-
bability they were Budhists, and some of the oldest temples are of Budhist. origin.
The great temple of Haju on the north banks of the river contains still a large image
of ‘Budha’ or ‘ Mahamuni,’ as the principal object. of worship, attracting yearly to its
shrine thousands of worshippers from Butan and Tibet, but it is now also a place of
pilgrimage for Hindus from all parts of India, the object of worship being styled by
them ‘ Madhob.’

Notwithstanding the apostacy of the early settlers, there was a sacred halo about
the holy river and its lofty banks that endeared it to the Hindus of all sects, and it is
stated in the Jogini Tantro that King Norok, though an ‘ Astr’ infidel, was neverthe-
less in such favor with the gods, that they made him guardian of the temple* of
Kamikhya.

«The Magh and Baisakh Bihus are the two national festivals of the Asamese.
The observances connected with these festivals have nothing to do with the Hindu
religion, and their origin is involved in some obscurity. They belong not to the present but
to the ancient religion of the country, and what this was may be inferred from the fact

 

 

* Situated on a hill rising about 700 feet from the river Brahmaputra just below Pragjyotisha or Gowhatty. It is
said that the number of young girls attached to this temple was in early times 5,000. There are still some hundreds,

 
''Section 1.] GENERAL VIEW. SL

that the Budhist, Shans, and Burmese on the borders of Asam, at the same time of the
year or nearly so, have their two great festivals (Pocham and Pochi) in honor of
Budha.”’*

The Baisakh Bihu festival is a very peculiar one, unlike anything of the kind prac-
tised by Hindus elsewhere. It is as gay asa carnival, and whilst it lasts, the women,
especially the maidens, enjoy unusual liberty. For many days before the actual festival,
the young people in the villages may be seen moving about in groups gaily dressed or
forming circles, in the midst of which the prettiest girls dance with their long hair loose
on their shoulders. The first day of the festival is devoted to interchanges of visits,
the next to the bathing and worshipping of all the cattle, and on the third day the
inhabitants of several groups of villages, old and young, meet at some appointed place
and give themselves up to thorough enjoyment. The girls on these occasions do not
like to dance before the men of their own village.

The existing religious establishments in Asam are monasteries on a large scale.
The votaries are now Vishnavis, but they resemble more the Budhist monasteries than
any Hindu institutions elsewhere. We learn from Hwan Thsung, the Chinese traveller in
India in the seventh century, that they existed in Asam in his day and were then con-
sidered Budhistical, though unorthodox. The existing heads of these monastic establish-
ments are Brahmans, bat this has not been always the case; in some the Brahmans
have supplanted Sudra head priests within the memory of man. The older head
priests were probably Kolitas, who called themselves Kédists. It appears certain that
there were no Brahmans with the earlier Aryan colonists.

Thus, the glimpses of history that we possess tell us that the valley of the Brahma-
putra was first colonized by Aryans, that at a very early period the religion of the country
was Budhist, and it was probably what was called Adi Budhist when the old type of
temples were overthrown, and in their place rose structures dedicated to the worship of
Siva and Kali; but great struggles took place between the various Hindu sects for
ascendancy, and eventually Vishnuism became the religion of a majority of the people.
About the eighth century of our era the Hindu dynasty was overthrown by the Chutia
or Kachari hordes; but though the old settlers suecumbed to the physical strength of their
invaders, they maintained their mental superiority and imparted their religion and civiliza-
tion to their conquerors, and so Hinduized had the Kacharis become, that itis said that the
Kocchis about the twelfth century availed themselves of their religious prejudices to effect
their conquest, advancing to the attack preceded by Brahmans riding cows whom the
Kacharis would not assault. The Kocchis then gave a line of princes to Kamrup; at this
time a part of Upper Asam was under a mysterious dynasty called the Bhara Bhuya, of
which no one has ever been able to make anything, but it is in all probability connected
with the following tradition which Buchanan gives in his account of Dinajpur :—‘ On a
certain occasion twelve persons of very high distinction and mostly of the Pal family came
from the west country to perform a religious ceremony on the Korotya river (the boundary
between the ancient divisions Matsya and Kamrup), but arrived too late, and as the next
season for performing the ceremony was twelve years distant, they in the interval took up
their abode there, built palaces and temples, dug tanks, and performed many other great
works. They are said to have belonged to the tribe called Bhungyas to which the Rajah

 

 

 

* See Journal, As. Soc., Beng., No. 1, for 1855, page 17 , article, Temple Ruins in Asam, by the author.
V
''RY, DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove IT.

of Kasi (Benares) and Bhettiah also belong.” According to Wilford, Bhupal of
the Pal dynasty was alive in 1017 A. D., when his country was disturbed by the
invasion of Sultan Muhammad, and he retired into a remote part of the country with
his family and chief officers. All the works still existing in the deserted forests on the
northern bank of the Brahmaputra are attributed by the people to the Bhara Bhungyas
or Bhuyas. They were probably connected with the great Bhuya tribe, who will come
under notice when we enter the Chota Nagpur and Orissa provinces.

When the Ahoms entered the country, the Chutias defeated by the Kocchis in Lower
Asam still held out in Sadya, and Southern, Upper, and Central Asam; they submitted
to the Ahoms about the middle of the thirteenth century; the Bhara Bhuyas were next
subjugated by that power which two hundred years later overthrew the remnant of the
_ Kocchi kingdom of Kamarupa, the Muhammadans having about the same time extended
their sway over the part of that kingdom nearest to Bengal: the Ahoms then ruled from
the Brahmakundh to Gowalparah, having foiled an invasion of the Muhammadans under
Mir Jumlah and maintained their sway till A. D. 1810, when, weakened and maddened
by intestine wars, the leader of one of the parties appealed for assistance to the Burmese,
and the usual result followed. Within ten years, the Burmese were in possession of the
country ; but it brought them into collision with the British: the Burmese war followed,
and Asam became a British Province.

Section 2.—Tue Kacuartis or Bopo, MEcu, AND DuIMAL TRIBES.

The Kacharis are one of the most numerous and widely spread of the tribes on the
Eastern Frontier. They are seldom found at high elevations,
preferring to live amongst low hills on the skirts of the higher
ranges or on alluvial flats. Though many of them are completely fused into the mass
forming the Hindu-Asamese population living like the Hindus under the shade of
~ ancestral fruit trees and pursuing the same system of permanent cultivation, the
majority cling to their nomadic habits, dwelling always amidst new clearings and
supporting themselves chiefly by the hoe and hand cultivation of virgin soil. They are,
in comparison with the average run of the people of the plains, their neighbours, a fine
athletic race, industrious and thriving, of light olive complexion and rather strongly
marked Mongolian features. The hair of the head, black and plentiful, is always worn
long by both sexes. They have very little hair on other parts of their bodies ; no beards

Locality.

or whiskers to speak of.
The Kacharis are found in small distinct settlements all over Upper Asam. The
majority call themselves ‘ Soronia,’ that is, purified Kacharis, to
a their conversion indicate that they have adopted the customs of the Hindus and
abstain from forbidden food. The Soronias keep fowls, but not
pigs, and will not eat beef; they are cleanly in their habits. They listen to the occasional
exhortations of their ‘Guru,’ and pay him his dues, and this is all that is required
of them, and as they are exempted from the necessity of sacrificing to the malignant
spirits, and released from the spells of witchcraft, they do not make a bad bargain.
They are of cheerful disposition, fond of merry village meetings and dancing, and
with these amusements their Hindu Gurus do not interfere, nor do they attempt to

 

 
''Sxctron 2.] THE KACHARIS OR BODO, MECH, AND DHIMAL TRIBES. 83

alter their customs, such as that of marriage not taking place till both parties are of
ripe years. I consider this to be one cause of the superior physique of the Kacharis as
compared with the Hindu-Asamese.

The work of proselytism is carried on by the Hindu-Asamese priests amongst the
Kacharis and cognate tribe by one simple but very powerful adjuration. You are
unclean, be ye clean! It is the outward and visible sign of cleansing alone that is
demanded, but it must be admitted that when the terms are accepted, the improvement
in their appearance is great. They do not renounce the devil and all his works, but
they promise to abstain from pig and live cleanly.

Reasoning from all analogy, the country called Kachar takes its name from this
tribe. I recollect meeting an old Asam Brahmanical Burinji in
which an account was given of their first settlement there, and
some old Brahmanical fables about Jaintia, (and ‘Jyunthi,’ the goddess, from whom the
name was taken). I have lost my notes of this book, and can call to mind no more than
that it was an attempt to connect some portion of the race with the Hindu celestials.
Pemberton telis* us that the population of Central Kachar in the days of one of its last
Rajahs, Kishn Chandra, amounted to about 14,000 souls, of whom 6,000 were Kacharis,
7,500 Koechis, and the remainder Lalongs.

The proportion of Kacharis in the population of Southern Kachar we are not told,
but they are spoken of as the dominant race.t In Northern Kachar they are divided
into Hazai and Parbatia, low land and high land Kacharis. The former are said
to have been forced north from Lower Kachar by propulsion from the south. They are
more Hinduized, civilised, and sophisticated than their brethren of the hills, the educated
amongst them emulating, it is said, the Bengali in chicanery, and rivalling him in
intrigue. They are physically much the inferior of the Parbatia Kachari, who are
described in the same paper as a hardy and courageous race, very industrious, though
rather inclined to be quarrelsome and turbulent.

North of Kachar we have the tract long known as Tularam Sinapati’s territory, a
Kachari country with a Kachari chief, and, on the western verge
of this tract in latitude 30°N. on the banks of the river Dhunsiri,
the remains of an ancient city, called Dhimapur,{ said to have been for many gener-
ations the capital of the Kachari Rajahs, but after the conquest of the place by the
Ahoms, it was abandoned, and from having been one of the best cultivated became one
of the wildest parts of Asam.

The chief, Tularam, isdescended from one of the Dhimapur Rajahs. Grange tells
us, they have a tradition that they founded Dhimapur after having been driven from
Girgaon by the Ahoms.

Girgaon is in the part of Upper Asam said to have been under the rule of the
Chutias when the Ahoms invaded that country. I have already
pointed out the remarkable linguistic affinities between the Chutia
and Bodo or Kachari, and this tradition of their having been driven from Upper Asam
by the Ahoms is confirmatory of the common origin of the two races, and the expulsion
alluded to must mean the conquest of the Chutia.

Kachar.

Tularam’s country.

Affinity with the Chutia.

 

 

 

ig Pemberton’s Bastern Fronties . pp. 197- 199.
: Stewart’s notes on Northern Kachar, Journal, As. Soc., Bengal. No. 7, of 1855.
£ See Accvunt of Grange’s Expedition, in the Journal, As. Soe., Bengal, No. 106, for November, 1840,
'' 

84 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove II,

The Kacharis of the newly annexed Eastern Duars describe themselves as coming
ee from a district which they call Rung-Shar, on the south side of

the Upper Asam valley.* They call themselves ‘Shargiah’
after that country.

Whilst the Kacharis in Asam are becoming Hinduized, those under Tibetan or
But influence are said to be adopting Lamaism, and on conversion call themselves
Shargiah Butias. We shall thus soon lose all trace of the customs of the old Kacharis.
Major Fisher in his Memoir of Sylhet, Kachar, §c., says :—“ According to records pre-
served among the family of the last princes of Kachar (which, however, are but traditions
reduced to writing) the Kacharis conquered the kingdom of Kamrup, and gave to ita
succession of Rajahs from whom the late royal family of Kachar of the line of Ha
Tsungtsa derive their descent. The term ‘ Kachari’ is of modern date; the proper name
by which that people call themselves, viz., Rangtsa,t and the country from which they
trace their origin, is situated in the north-east of Asam.”

The people of Tiparah are, he says, of the same origin as the Kacharis, and the

similarity of their religion, customs, and appearance makes this
pe nn Tiparah of the »robable. Their tradition is, that they conquered Kamrup more

than 1,000 years ago, and they were turned out of it by the Koech
princes, who were in possession till dispossessed by the Muhammadans on one side and
by the Ahoms on the other.

There is a certain mystery over the origin of the successors of the last truly Aryan
dynasty that reigned in Kamarupa, which in connection with these traditions of the
Kachari conquest of that kingdom renders it very probable that those successors were
Mlechchas and Kacharis. The Brahmans who first appeared in Kamarupa after the
destruction of the Pal dynasty, will not tell us how that dynasty was overthrown, but
the next sovereign was admittedly a person of obscure origin, declared by the Brahmans
from the traces on his feet to be of noble birth.

Thus we find the Kacharis in scattered communities more or less Hinduized all
over the valley of Asam, and massed in Kachar, Durrung, the Asam Northern Duars,
and the Duars newly annexed from Butan. As placed by Hodgson, they extend
from Tiparah in the south-east to Morang and the country of the Kichaks in the
north-west direction. He gives them from 25° to 27° of north latitude, and from 85° to 934°
east longitude, (and no doubt the longitudinal parallels might be put much farther apart,)
and estimates their numbers at 200,000, which I believe they greatly exceed.

Having, when at the zenith of their power, adopted the religion and, to a creat
extent, the habits of the people they supplanted, we do not now find amongst this scat-
tered tribe any very salient peculiarities to distinguish them from, or affiliate them with,
other races. Hodgson only tells us of the desultory nature of their cultivation and
their generally nomadic habits. Thus, they nowhere acquire any property in, or have
much affection for, the soil they cultivate, but are content to take the land on the terms
that the Government or proprietors may be pleased to demand from them.

 

* Letter from J. C. Geddes, Esq., to Commissioner, Butan Duars, dated 24th April, 1866.
+ This in the Garo language, and I suppose in the Boro or Kachari language, means heavenly. The Asamese called their
royal race ‘Swargia,’ heavenly. The other name, Shargiah, is probably a corruption of this, and a translation into Asamese of

their old name Rungtsa or Rungshar.

 

 

 
''Section 2.] THE KACHARIS OR BODO, MECH, AND DHIMAL TRIBES. 85

The Kacharis, who still cling to their ancient religion, appear to have much the
same notions on the subject as the Garos, under different names.
They worship the ‘starry host’ and the most striking of the
*terrene elements,’* but the simplicity of their ideas on religion may be inferred from
their having in their own language no words for sin, for piety, for prayer, for
repentance. Hodgson adds heaven and hell, but I think words indicating a belief in
both may be found in the language of the Kachari or some of their cognates. | Hodgson
gives a long list of their gods; the chief god Batho is singularly enough represented by
the Sij plant (Luphorbia) which may be found greatly cared for, much in the fashion of
the Tulsi by Hindus, in the enclosure before the house of every Kachari. Why they
should so venerate this plant I do not know, but a veneration for particular plants is a
very ancient and universal superstition, The worship of the Sij is not confined to the
Kacharis; we shall meet with it again amongst some of the tribes in Orissa and Chota
Nagpur. Its milky juice is used by natives medicinally, but the tribes of the family
have in their pristine state such a horror of milk, that we can hardly fancy their
predilection for the plant to proceed from the appearance of what it exudes.

The priesthood amongst the Bodo is not an hereditary office; any person possessing
the necessary knowledge of the ritual and divinities, may take on
himself the functions, and the elders of the people may perform
all sacred offices without troubling the priests, who are called Deoshis. This is not unlike
the name of the primitive priests of the Chutias, the ‘ Deoris,’ and, I think, I have
heard the Kachari priests called Deoris. ‘The priests or the elders superintend the
administration of oaths and ordeals; the priests alone direct and conduct those high
festivals which thrice a year are celebrated in honor of the elemental gods, and once a
year in honor of the household divinities, as likewise those occasional acts of worship

Religion.

Priesthood.

which originate with more or less diffused, or individual, calamity.”

** Diseases are considered to arise entirely from preternatural agency, and hence
there are no medical men, but a regular class of exorcists, who
are a branch of the priesthood. They are called ‘Ojhas,’ and
are the sole physicians.” 'The above is as applicable to the Kols of Chota Nagpur as to
the Kacharis, even to the number of festivals, and the name given to the exorcist; but
Ojha is a Hindi word meaning an examiner of ‘ojh,’ entrails.

The modus operandi is thus described by Hodgson. Thirteen leaves, each with
a few grains of rice on it, are placed by the exorcist in the segment of a circle before him,
and represent the deities.+ The Ojha squatting on his hams before the leaves, causes a
pendulum attached to his thumb by a string to vibrate before them, repeating invoca-
tions the while. The god who has possessed the sick man is indicated by the exclusive
vibration of the pendulum to his particular leaf, which is then taken apart, and the god
in question is asked what sacrifice he requires. How the reply is given is uot stated;
but the Ojha declares it, and the animal named is then promised, but only paid when
the sick man recovers! This is a great improvement on the system adopted by the Chota
Nagpur tribes. With them the animal is sacrificed immediately, and if the sickness still

Exorcism.

* Hodgson, Journal, Asiatic Society, July, 1849.
+ Compare this with the custom of the Khunds.

W
'' 

S6 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove If.

continue, vaticination is again resorted to, and slaughter goes on till the patient dies
or there is nothing left to kill.

The three great festivals to the elemental gods are celebrated on some spot out of
the village, generally on the banks of the river, and the attend-
ance on them is therefore called ‘ going forth to worship.’ The
worship of the household gods is celebrated at home, One festival, called the Bamboo
festival, recalls the bamboo shrines before every Garo’s door. On this occasion. thirteen
men carry as many lofty bamboo poles decorated with clothing, and having a yak’s tail
at the head. It is very strange that the low Musalmans of Chota N agpur called
Jholahs, &¢., have a festival which they celebrate in Chaith, the most singular part
of which is the exhibition of long bamboo poles decorated in a precisely similar
manner.

The priest ‘Deoshi,’ and the person who is to become inspired, and to reply to
the priest, the ‘ Deoda,’ are with the party, and the latter is occasionally sprinkled with
water by an attendant. The Deoda dances with the rest, striking the bedizened poles
til! he goes off in a fit. ,

At the yearly domestic festival, the ‘Deoshi’ sacrifices a cock, and offers prayers
to the ‘Sij,’ as representative of Batho, whose emblem is outside the house ; but his wife,
the goddess Mainon, is more especially tlhe household divinity, and she is represented in
the interior of each house by a bamboo post, three feet high, fixed in the ground, and
surmounted by a small earthen-cup full of rice. At this shrine a hog is sacrificed yearly,
but before it monthly offerings of eggs are made by the females of the family.

It often happens that sickness or other misfortune is ascribed to the spells of
witchcraft rather than to the wrath of the deity, and then three
Ojhas are summoned, “ with whose aid, and that of a vane freely
applied, the elders endeavour to extort from the witch a confession of the fact and her
motives,” and if condemned, she is expelled the district. A natural desire to get rid of
troublesome and ugly old women was perhaps the origin of this custom.

The marriage ceremony is said to consist of an interchange of the pan-leaf; at least
this ceremony is performed by the Dhimals, who appear to be
of the same family and are located with the Bodo. Now, this
interchange of the pan-leaf is either borrowed from the Hindus, as another part of
the ceremony, the anointing the bride and bridegroom with oil and turmeric undoubted-
ly is, or else the Kacharis, on ceasing to bea dominant race in Upper Asam, bequeathed
it to the population there, as it is, amongst all the agricultural classes who do not care
to follow strictly the Brahmanical ritual, the symbol of marriage, and the tearing of
a pan-leaf by husband and wife a dissolution of the tie. ,

Mr. Geddes, the Assistant Commissioner of the Eastern Duars, in the letter
previously quoted, says, the marriage ceremony of the Mech and Kacharis still preserves
the most primitive form, forcible abduction. “The bridegroom proceeds with a posse
of his friends to the residence of his intended. Her friends are assembled and en-
deavour to retain her; a mock combat ensues between the two parties in which the
bridegroom is successful. Afterwards he gives a feast to the bride’s friends, conciliates
with a money present, usually about Rs. 60, the father who is supposed to be incensed,
and the rite is completed.”

Festivals.”

Witchcraft.

Marriage.

 
''SEcTION 2.] THE KACHARIS OR BODO, MECH, AND DHIMAL TRIBES. 87

This fiction of a pretence to win a bride by force of arms is common to many
of the Turanian races. Perhaps the Hindu Barat has a similar origin. There is another
curious custom which seems to point to days gone by practised by some tribes. The
bride and bridegroom are carried home on a platform which is called a ship.

The Bodo bury the dead immediately after decease, and erect no monuments to
their memories. In this they act differently from most of their
cognates, but with such erratic propensities a reverence for the
spot where the remains of their ancestors repose would be inconvenient.

The following animals are interdicted as food to the Bodo,—oxen, dogs, cats,

monkeys, bears, and tigers. [imagine this is under Brahmanical
influence, and that their ancestors were as free in this respect as

Burials.

Interdicted food.

are the Garos.

From the list of Bodo or Kachari divinities given by Hodgson,* it would appear that
they are not very faithful to their ancestral faith, but go gallivant-
ing after strange gods wherever they can find them. Thus,
we find included Hindu deities, names of rivers and hills, and in some, perhaps as
** Hajo,” the names of deified heroes of their own.

It was probably the Kachari dynasty that gave names to many of the rivers in
Upper Asam. ‘The affix Di to so many of them is the Kachari word for water or
river. We have the Di-hong, Di-bong, Di-hing, Di-garo, &c. The Brahmaputrais called
Doima, the River mother.

Hodgson describes the Bodo and Dhimal tribes as of the same race, and there
appears no reason for separating them in a work of this nature, as their customs, religion,
&c., appear nearly identical. It must be observed, however, that the comparison of
language does not support so close a connection, and the names of deities are different.
“The Dhimals,+ whose numbers do not now exceed 15,000 souls, are at present confined
to that portion of the Saul forest lying between the Konki and the Dhorla or Torsha,
mixed with the Bodo, but in separate villages and without intermarriage.”

The Rabhas and Hajongs of the Gowalparah District are also branches of the
Kachari race, and connected with the Garos. Buchanan estimated the former at 2,000
families. They were then as now divided into two tribes, the Rongdaniya and the Pati.
The former have shown themselves more conservative of race, purity, and ancient customs
than the latter, who have adopted the language, and many of the customs, of Bengalis.

The true Rabha eustoms, with the exception of their laws of inheritance and
marriage, resemble those of the Garos already described, or those of the Pani Kocch
to whom we are coming. Rishi is their chief or most powerful deity.t Have they
and their cognates taken this title from the Aryans, or is it one of their own
importation ?

Deities.

The Saints called Rishis (the constellation of the Great Bear) occupy a conspicuous
place in the Hindu books, and the word is applied as an affix to
the name of the Garo deity Saljong. The Rishi of the Rabhas
is considered very old (rish, a beard), and has a wife called Charipak. Every Rabha

Religion.

 

 

* See Journal for July, 1849, page 723.
+ Hodgson’s Aborigines of India, page 151.
~ Buchanan.
'' 

 

Ss DALTON. -ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group IL.

who has the means should once a year offer a hog to Rishi and a goat to his wife. This
Rishi and his wife are the gods that are worshipped throughout Asam as the ‘Bura Buri,’
though, under Brahmanical influence, in most places the ‘Bura Buri’ are now wor-
shipped as if they were Siva ard Durga. Rishi and his wife live in heaven (Rongkorong).
One of the terrestrial deities, Dhormong, who presides over Chorihachu, a very lofty
mountain terminating the Garo Hills, is a deity common to Garos and Rabhas. In
times of drought the people offer a black goat on the rocky top of this hill for rain.

The costume of the Rongdaniya Rabha females is peculiar; they are at once distin-
guished in the markets by their dress, and by the fact of their carrying their loads hill
fashion in a little square basket resting on their back and slung from the forehead. The
dress is a turban of dark brown cloth worn very much off the head, and as a scarf
a cloth of the same color and material folded round the bosom. The petticoat, like that
of the Garo woman, encircles the body below the hips, instead of round the waist, but it
flows decently to the feet, whilst the Garo apology for a robe
does not reach half down the thigh. The males of the race are
not in costume distinguished from the Bengalis, but they are more powerfully framed and
very unlike them in face; nevertheless the anti-Aryan characteristics are less strongly
marked in the Rabha than in the Garo, and less in the Pati than in the Rongdaniya,
showing how the races become mixed as they approach the plains.

The Hajong appear to be identical with the Hazai Kacharis of North Kachar

noticed above (page 83).

Costume.

Section 38.—THE MeEcH.

All the authorities agree in considering the Mech and Kachari as the same people,
or at least of common origin. Buchanan calls them a tribe of
Kamrup, who appeared to have been at one time more numerous
than he found them to be, and to have undergone great changes. The large tract of
country called Mechpéara in the Gowalparah District no doubt took its name from.
them, and the proprietor is a Mech; but he and most of his people repudiute this origin
and call themselves Iajbangsis. The Mech are to be found in the recently annexed
Butan Duars.* They extend from thence in a westerly direction into the Nepal Terai
as far as the Konki river, subject, respectively, to the Nepalese, Sikim, Butan, and
British Governments, and their habits and customs are found much modified by the
people with whom they come in contact, viz., the Pani Kocchis, Rajbangsis, Dhimals,
Thawas, and Garos on one side, and the Limbus, Kerantis, Lepchas, Murmis, and
Butias on the other. They are fairer than the Kocchis, and have more markedly the
Mongolian characteristics, but accompanied by a softness of outline which distinguishes
them readily from the more marked features of the same order, as exhibited in the
Lepchas, Limbus, and Butias. They are said also to resemble the Mugs and Burmese,
and to be like them, and like the Kasias (with whom Fisher compares them) greatly
addicted to drinking spirits, smoking, and pan chewing.

It is said that when living beyond the pale of Hindu influence, they are as
omnivorous a race as any in the world, but they will not eat the flesh of the elephant. ,

Locality.

 

 

* Campbell, Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, August, 1839.
> a oD °

 
''SEcTion 4.] THE KOCH OR KOCCH. 89

They are very nomadic in their habits, seldom settling down in permanent villages,
but continually shifting their cultivation and abodes, that they
may have the full benefit of the virgin forests to which they cling.
It is their love for such forests that retains them under Nepalese or Butan rule. Their
constitutions have become so much accustomed to the malarious influences of the Terai,
that apparently they cannot live without the poisonous gases they imbibe there,
and in the purer atmosphere of the plains, or in breathing the more invigorating air of
the higher ranges, they pine and die.

I find no further information regarding the Mechs that assigns to them noteworthy
peculiarities. They worship the 8ij (Zuphorbia) as the emblem of the supreme deity like
the Kacharis, and they call themselves, and no doubt are, Bodo or Boro, which means a
great people, and Rangta, a heavenly, and all other designations in which the Kacharis

Habits.

rejoice.
Section 4.—TuHE Kocnu or Koccnu.

There can be no doubt that the Kocch is one of the most ancient of the peoples
in India. Of their origin we know nothing; their linguistic
affinities were supposed to be with the Mech Kachari, but this rests
on an uncertainty, and they are distinguished from those tribes by the darkness of their
complexion. Kocch Behar must be regarded as the present nucleus of the race, but they
are still numerous in the old Kamarupa and the ancient Matsiya-desh, that is, in
Rungpur and Lower Asam and Purniah, extending west as far as the 87°45’ of E. longi-
tude, or to the boundary of ancient Mithila, and east to 93° E. longitude. Hodgson has
estimated their numbers at upwards of a million.

They were a recognized power to the north of Eastern Bengal, coeval with the
Hindu kingdom of Kamarupa, and spread east till their chiefs
became lords of the marches between Kamarupa and Butan. It
was, I think, from the opposite direction that Kamarupa was invaded, and the eastern
part of it subjugated by the Kacharis some centuries previous to this extension. It
appears to be about the year 1550 A. D. that the two powers came into collision, when
the Kocch under their great leader Haju expelled the Kacharis and established a dynasty
which lasted two hundred years. These Kocch princes were driven from power in
Western Kamrup, Rungpur, and Gowalparah by the Muhammadans, and from Eastern
Kamrup by the Ahoms; but “the descendants of Haju still exercise jura regalia in
that portion of the ancient possession of his family which is called Kocech Behar.”

The grandson of Haju, Vishu Sinh, with all the people of condition, apostatized
to Hinduism, and took the name of Rajbangsis ;* those who declined, finding they were
treated as vile, adopted Islam. Thus the mass of the Kocch people became Muhammadans
and the higher grades Hindus’; the latter now reject and contemn the very name of
Kocch, and it is bad manners at the court of the descendant of Haju to speak of the
country as Kocch Behar ;+ strange that rather than declare himself the representative
of a line of heroes, who so long maintained their position against the haughty invaders,
claiming to be of the Solar or Lunar race, he should accept the myth which, by a

Locality.

Conquests.

 

* Buchanan—Rungpur, Vol III, page 419. Hodgson, Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, XXXI, July, 1849,
+ It is then called Nij Vihar.
x
'' 

90 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grovr II.

reflection on the chastity of the daughters of Haju, gives him for ancestor the god
Siva.

A large vaulted vestibule, measuring 40 feet by 20 feet, in front of the old temple
of Haju in Kamrup,* was built by Noro Narain, Haju’s great
grandson, in 1550 A.D. He found the temple entirely deserted
and almost lost in impenetrable jungle. He not only repaired it, but endowed it with lands,
priests, musicians, and dancing girls; but the vaulted brick addition of Noro Narain
replaced a dismantled edifice of stone, which he had not the skill to restore. The

Kamrup temples.

temple is situated on a hill about 800 feet high, whence probably it takes its name,

as haju means ‘hill’ in the Bodo and cognate languages, and from the fragments of the
old vestibule a rude flight of steps have been constructed from the tank below to the
ancient fane on the hill, in which, as I have stated before, the object of worship is in
fact an image of Budha. Noro Narain also rebuilt the temple of Kamakhya, which
had been destroyed by Kaldpahar, the great renegade and iconoclast.

A few more words anent the upper ten thousand of the Kocchis. The Rajbangsi
are all very dark; and as their cognates, the Kacharis, Mechs, Garos, are yellow or light-
brown, and their northern, eastern, and western neighbours are as fair or fairer, it must
be from contact with the people of the south that they got their black skins. |

Here is a description of the Kocch in sitw by a medical officer now on the spot.t

“Face flat, giving rather an appearance of squareness; eyes black and oblique; hair
black and straight, in some curling; nose flat and short; cheek
bones prominent; beard and whisker xather deficient’? (mark the
rather; in the Kachari, &c., these adjuncts are very deficient) ; “color of skin in mosé¢
instances black ; side of head rather flattened ; forehead retreating.”

Dr. Campbell, in writing of the Mechs, says, they are fairer than the Kocch, and
have more markedly the Mongolian features. Yet inthe Mechs those features are, he
says, much modified and softened. He speaks of the Kocch in another place as having
more Of a Hindu physiognomy.

On referring to notes of my own, written in 1847, I find the following :—“Itis
remarkable that whilst the facial line of the Garos is nearly vertical, in some of the
Kocch tribes I have observed it exceedingly angular, though with as little prominence of
nose as in the Garo tribes. The upper line along the forehead continuing in the Kocch
tribes in one direction to the extremity of the upper lip, then suddenly receding to the
bottom of the jawbone in the most unintellectual form imaginable.”

T remarked of the Garos that their mouths, like their noses, were compressed,
whilst the Kocch displayed the thick protuberant lips and maxillaries of the negro.

Of the Muhammadan Kocch of Purhiah, the Magistrate, Mr. Beames, gives the
following description :—‘‘ The peculiar dialect, the stunted figure, sharp wizened features,
high cheek-hones, tufted beard, &c., mark them as a peculiar race.”

Mr. G. Campbell would decidedly place the Kocch amongst his negritos, and I
think we must allow that color and physical characteristics clearly separate them from
the Bodo group, though the people called Pani-Kocch doubtless belong to that family.

Physical traits.

 

* Notes on Asam Temple Ruins, Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, for 1855, page 9.
~ Ina letter from H. Beveridge, Esq., Deputy Commissioner of Kocch Behar, to Colonel Agnew.

 

-
4
4
4
Ss
''Szction 4.] THE KOCH OR KOCCH. 91

The villages of the Pani-Kocch lie along the skirts of the Garo Hills. They are

BS esesi: much mixed up with that people and with the RKabhas,* and in

their religion, language, and customs appear to lean sometimes

to one, sometimes to the other. The dress of the women is put on like that of the

Rabha women, but is scantier and of different color. Their clothes are of cotton, blue
with red borders, made by themselves.

They greatly reverence the Garos for having retained their freedom in regard to food
which they, the Pani-Kocch, in a weak moment, were induced to resign. It is strange
that they should have adhered to an abstinence for which they had no respect, but they
must not eat beef, and they reject dogs, cats, frogs, and snakes, which the Garos eat.
They use tobacco and strong liquors, but refuse opium and hemp. They eat no tame
animal without having first given one of their gods the refusal of it.

In regard to marriage and inheritance, they show a leaning to the gallantry of the
Garos, but do not follow strictly the rules of the female Solon
who must have been the law-giver to that people. The Pini-
Kocch leave to the women the cares of property, ‘‘ who in return are exceedingly indus-
trious, spin, weave, plant, sow, brew, in short, do every work which is not above their
strength, such as felling trees and the like.t When a woman dies, the family property is
divided amongst her daughters; and when a man marries, he goes to live with his wife’s
mother, and obeys her orders and those of his wife. Marriages are usually settled by
the mothers when the parties are young, but not without consult-
ing their inclinations. <A girl not thus disposed of, when she
grows up, selects a husband for herself, and, if he die, may take another. The husband
or father appears to have nothing whatever to do with the arrangement. The expense
of marriage is heaviest on the mother of the girl, who pays Rs. 10, while the boy’s
mother only gives Rs. 5. Girls who are frail can always, procure their lover for a
husband.” Under such a regimé, a man is not of course permitted to have more than
one wife, nor are concubines tolerated. Ifaman is known to commit adultery, he is
fined about Rs. 60, and if his mother does not pay this, he is sold as a slave! Widows
left with property generally manage to select young men as second husbands.

“The dead are kept two days, during which time the family laments, and the
kindred and neighbours assemble, eat, drink, dance, sing, and
make merry. The body is then carried to the side of a river and
buried.”

Like the Rabhas they call their supreme deity Rishi, but his wife is Jago. Every
year at the end of the rainy season, a grand sacrifice is made to these deities by the
whole tribe, and occasional sacrifices are offered in cases of distress. They also
sacrifice to the sun, moon, and stars, and to the gods of the woods, hills, and rivers, and
every year when they collect their first crops, they offer some of the first fruits to their
ancestors, calling to them by name and clapping their hands, as
they have no artificial method of making such a noise, as most
Pagan nations, and even Hindus, consider necessary to rouse or please their gods.

Marriage and inheritance.

Marriage customs.

Burials.

Sacrifices.

 

* Buchanan.

¥ Buchanaun’s Rungpur, Vol. III.
''92 DALTON.— ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grovp II.

The priests who officiate on these occasions are called ‘Deoshis,’ or Brahmans,
or Lamas, from which we may assume that they have no national name for such a
functionary.

What are these Paini-Kocch? They have been hitherto treated as the primitive
type of the Kocch nation; but we have no evidence of the fact except the name.
Buchanan says, they asswmed the name of Péni-Kocch to distinguish themselves from
their hill neighbours, the Garos, with whom they were often confounded in consequence
of the similarity of their manners and customs ; but their religion and language resemble
rather those of the Rabha than the Garo. Hodgson gives a copious vocabulary* of
the language spoken by the Kocch; it is all Bengali or Hindi or Asamese, not a word or
grammatical construction that would affiliate them with any of the North-Eastern tribes.
In religion and customs they have long been Hindu, and their princes all now claim
to be the offspring of the amours of Hindu divinities. Latham in his descriptive
Ethnology gives 15 words as Kocch. Three of these are Asamese, two Bengali, and
the others are words used in all those three languages. The first word on Latham’s
list is remarkable. For man he gives ‘beta-choa.’ I never heard this expression in
Asam or Bengal, but it is very common in Chota Nagpur; ‘beta-choa,’ a boy; ‘ beti-
choa,’ a girl; and it is used by the Uriya and by the Gonds.

Hodgson says that the Rabha is but a branch of the great Mech family. The
Pani-Koech are undoubtedly of the same lineage, and also closely
connected with the Garo; but it is, I think, a mistake to regard
them as the primitive type of the people called Kocch. They probably took the name
of Pani-Koech, when the real Kocch were dominant to conciliate the ruling power,
without having any claim to be members of the family.

Affinities of the P&ani-Kocch.

Physical characteristics are after all the most indelible indications of race. Even
where blood is mixed, the source of the different streams may be often traced, one or other
fitfully predominating in different generations. I have seen the descendants of Hindu-
Asamese who had been for several generations in the Naga or Abor Hills, tricked out as
Nagas or Abors, but nevertheless distinguishable at a glance from the people they
imitated, and looking quite out of their element. The Kocch appear to me equally out
of their element amongst the Lohitic tribes, and from all I have been able to clean
regarding them, it seems more likely that they originally belonged
to the dark people whom they resemble, who were driven out of
_ the Gangetic provinces when the kingdoms of Mithila and Magadha were established
by the lunar and solar races, rather than to the northern Turanian or Indo-Chinese
family, to whom they are so unlike; in short, I consider they belong to the Dravidian
stock, and are probably a branch of the great Bhuiya family, and we thus obtain a clue
to the tradition of the Bhara Bhuiyas, to whose period of rule so many great works in
Asam are ascribed.

Affinities of the Kocch.

But before taking up the thread put into our hands by this hypothesis, we must
go back to the eastward, and notice briefly the tribes immediately to the north of those
that we have been recently describing.

 

* Aborigines of India, Essay Ist, 1847.

 
''‘

Srction 4.]

VOCABULARY TO

GROUP I.

93

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ENGLISH. Cuvutia* a ee Garo. DurMa.t MECH. ace a
One dugsha _... | man-ché of [88 ... | 6-long «. | mtinché  ... | gasak.
Two dukum ~~. | man-gné ose | ini «. | gne-long ... | munye wos | Olthe ”
Three .-. | dugda -|mantham ... | githam ... |Sam-long ... |muntum _.., | tin.
Four ...| duguchi_ ... | man-bré ec. | Onl ... | dia-long munbre ~. | char.
Five ... {| dugumna .. | man-ba wee | batid ... | n&long ...| munbha_... | panch.
Six duguchu ...} man-dd dok ... | ta-long mundho... | choy.
Seven duguchi ... | man-sini eee | Chhinni ... | nhii-long ... | munchini .,. | sat.
Hight «| duguché ons oe chet . | yé-long ... | munjokum.., | 4t. LZ
Nine ... | duguchuba.... ai ak siki . | ktha-long ... 180 80 sel oa a
Ten duguchibé ... eee chikiti | télong ws sve | CUB.
chokai-ba ...
Twenty see eeeees thai-khon ... >) khol ... | e-long bisha srvaee kort,
bisha-ché ... f
Fifty we Te ee kolchan gnnichhi | gné-long bisha vesees panchas,
Hundred _... ee bisha-ba « | richesd ... | nd-long bisha * eksau. J
j eae | TY *- | ang ane ka eee O98 cee an.
We .. | jarurau = «ee | jong (chur)... | chifid ... | kyél
Thou ... | nodni “+ | naug ine «! o. | 18
You _ «| jakuroni «+ | naugchur ne ene de nyé
He +e. | bareni eee | bi a, | bi wa fer son cee ua,
They «| bario bichur «.. | bisdfi wos | Ubal i ie ujaraii.
Of me Bees ang ni 2 Saeed anil «7 +kangko <5 eee ani.
Of us ss serene jong ni w+ | chiiini . ge see aee nudni,
Of thee oe oosere nangni os Lapal ... | nangko ie eeeeee nini.
Of you ee torees nang churni ... | nashani «. |ningke = 4; tose nirunis
Chim 4. sarees | bial | bini w+ | Oko i woe | Cnt.
Of them ..- aah en bichur ni «-- | bishofini ... | ubalko serene djuriini, .
Mine oe | aNgO oe angni see ANI a kang pep eee anni.
Our oa coves jongni chinni Ne king See wes ee nuni.
Thine --- | nigo ++ | nangni ia nafini wee | DANG a weenie nini.
Your see cee nangshirni-... | naofini ...| hing oss soe cee niruiiui.
Be: s+» | bigo ev | bini bini . | Oko, wang ... tee eee uani.
Their ase das ae bichurni se» | bishonni ... | ubalko ee oor wee uarufini.
Hand otun «» | akhai or nakhai | jak «. | khur oe teeeee chak.
Foot s++| yapasu. ss... | yapha ... | jachok ... | khokoi ... | yappa ese | jaten.
Nose eee eee gunthing .. | gingthing, gifi | nhapa «| Koontoong ... | nakun.
Eye «++ | mukuti mogon ... | mukrun say | .. | mikin miktn.
Mouth .-- | dunga .+» | khongé inact baa . [nai «.. | koogha — «+. | kakham.
Tooth + | hati sas | bathar ey ... | Sitong +. | hattye « | pha,
Ear «| yoku khoma w+ | ndchil .. |néhathong... | kumun «ee | naka.
Hair e+ | kin .»» | khomon .-- | khinni .. |poshom ...|kummé  ... | khan.
Head «| guliong ... | khdrd -. | skhi os: | DUeee ... | koroh .» | dhakara,
Tongue o pao oes chalai ee | gri ... | détong +» | chulai «ve | theldi,
Belly aoe seu udoi .-. | bukmaé .. | hémaéng «+ | udihi oes OM,
Back oe owes bikhung janil gandi “ Conese kaiiju.
Tron ... | sung ove | SHORE av | Bil ws | Chix --» | shor ove (LOE
Gold oo sieads gona jae SONG yl BOLE eis vik sona,.
Silver os. eoeses rupa rupa vee VAD | tais vee | rapa.
Go «- | tupa . | thangno soe | Tiafl | hadéli oes yee lei.
Eat «- | akena woe | (GIO o» | chha ver | CD AlL elas sa.
Sit es | harini chééno asun .- | yongli «+ | Jhoptt + | mosuil.

 

 

 

 

* Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, 1850, page 311.

 

 

+ Hodgson’s Aborigines of India, Essay 1st.
} Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, March, 1849, and Vol. XXXVIII, page 14 (Vocabulary by Lieutenant Williamson.)

Y
'' 

94:

DALTON.--ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grovp IT.
ENGLISH. Cuvrta. oe Gano. DHIMAL. Mrcu. Pant-Koo0H On
Kacwart. KOCCH.
Father tsipa apha eee | HA aba appa awa.
Mother --- | tsima we) OYA ama, ai - | amma ese | die e+e | Ame.
Brother ses abs bida ada oie. VOUS, bee) OL bhai.
Sister ee bina, now .- | ano rima oe jann,
Man «e- | mosi hiwa, manshi ... | mandi «. | waval manchi «.» | marok.
Woman _.,. | mishigo hinjou .-. | mechiksa beval eo | hinjan magju.
Wife ae bihi jik ss | De bihi - | jugju.
Child ee bisha pisd chéu katan gasa.
Son a as bisha .. | dephanthe chau .. | beesha
Daughter ... tue bishu denichikpisé ... | chamdi ... | beeshu hindow} magju sasa.
Slave ies cr ieee MOO sel ee ghulam.
Cultivator ... Dae porja ganinimande x ee grihastimurg.
Shepherd... Be als menda rakwAl ... | berang ee eae bhera rakwal.
God a bedi batho(thesij-plant) s4ljoti wirang-bérang| modaie ees | iswar.
Devil iui abe ds mutti letang isis why.
Come +e | nang kwa_ ... | phoino ow | riba dhidhi puki . | phay.
Best ae ses | ndmbatta ... | danghali shibiknul .. | sabse penim.
Stand «| takrini ...| gochongno-... | chadenlo * wipust jhickat do ... | kharattin,
Sun es | Sanh shan sal eee | DES krandoong ... | raéghan.
Moon vee | Wee nokhabir » | jéjtin oo) tau «+ | nokabur |... | narék.
Star wos | Yetti hathotki «| jashki actions hatoorki
Fire .. | nye wat wil matt wad wit.
Water ji ddi chhi be olat »-- | diee Saaenh
House Se ee 1 sees nak ore ( SA nan «| nok.
Horse gori ... | gorai thangan ... | ghora ényha +++ | chorye ghora.
Cow his | OASIL mushojo machu -.. | mahanipia ... | mashujuh .- | machu.
Dog shi choima | achak khia cheema two
Cat midige mouji jéla | metint . dankhamenkon ee meyan.
Cock Laas dou jola dho woe | Hao aL RI by: ce thak.
Duck pa Oo kee hangs ... | dhoraja --- | hangs vee re hansak.
Ass Se cobee gadha a eee gadha
Camel ceispee - * Kee aay
Bird eee die doucheu Ano eve | jihad tansee
To die oak on thoino sind sili wes thina.
To give  ... | sarini ane ‘roné el eee lakham,
Run . |jouanini ,..| khonto »» | thétri eee dhapli He thalak.
Up aeclies ABE Pe a i sa kara.
Near PGE ss sans shéfat, chengso «. . dakan.
Who -»» | basani ws chur eae AGU BCL ites | wee oi : chan.
And a ne | bi, ré bd in es ws | 6dong Ue ara.
Yes ao | bet e. | ongo s | Oe ree | hé : eoseee han.
Down “ sae | | kKhemay foe as , ae cee kama.
Far ees | again 7 chela aah jafian,
What $1 dam. ma ee i avalotel hai or Atawa.
But ani ine kinti ie coun kintu na
No oe hoya ; onga ails dthija er» | ahé Bias era.
BELONG Aor ee ee skuit so fos Ae HA age.
Behind oe we ja .-. | Jaman Badia eee pasé.
Why ,.. | dainno .., | mand ... | Mauna eo | haipali eee oon eee Atani.
if : jéla vi, 1 Be oe abet “ jadi.
Alas ! ha bap . | achai Dt Wet see hai.
|

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
''Gin Ore iat.

THE NORTHERN BORDERERS.

SECTION 1.—TaHE BUTIAS.:

In describing the tribes occupying the northern barrier of Asam, I left off with
the Akas on the borders of Butan. Crossing that boundary we find ourselves amongst
the Butias or Bhots; and this name opens to us a very extensive field comprising the
Little Tibetans, the natives of Ladak, the Tibetans of Tibet Proper, and the people
of Butan.

The learned tell us that the latter word is properly Buitant, the end of But,* and that
But is the Bult in Bultistan, the Bet in Tibet, as well as the Bat in Bitan; but to trace
out all that are included in this appellation would take me quite out of my jurisdiction.
My concern is only with the fringe of this nation on the skirts of the Himalayas.
Recent wars and blue books have made us familiar with the Buts, and I need only refer
to the compilation and full report on the country by our late envoy the Honorable
A. Eden for the best account of the people that we have got.

Their history, though they have written annals, is involved in some mystery. Mr.
Eden says, the Butias have apparently not possessed Butan for
more than two centuries; but how can we reconcile this with
the passage quoted by Pemberton from the account of the voyage of Ralph Fitch
in A. D. 1588, from which it would appear that the Government of Butan and the
intercourse between Butan, Tibet, and Bengal, was very much in that day what it is
now. The story, that 200 years ago some Kampa (that is, Tibetan) troops entered the
country, and drove into the plains the old inhabitants called Téphé, supposed to be the
inhabitants of Kocch Behar, cannot be sustained, as we must have had in Asam the
history of the clearing out of the Téphé had it occurred within that time, and the Koech
are the least likely of all the tribes to come from that quarter. It is probable enough that
an event of the kind did take place; we might believe, for instance, that the Garos or
the Kacharis had been driven out of Butan by an invasion of Tibetans ; but to make
this agree with other well authenticated events, we must add at least 1,000 years to the
200 of the Butan myth.

Pemberton says, there is a tradition current in Butan that the country was once
ruled by Tibetan Officers resident in it, and that all the palaces and castles now
occupied by the Deb, the Dhurma, Pillos, and Zumpens, were originally constructed for

Their history.

 

* Latham’s Descriptive Ethnology, Volume I, page 5.
''96 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grovp III.

the accommodation of the provincial Governors, but after holding the country for some
time and finding it unprofitable, the officers were withdrawn and the colonists left to
form a Government of their own. This is likely enough, and it is also probable that
under the circumstances they would at once set about the establishment of a Government
on the model of that of the parent state.

There were, no doubt, conflicts between the Kocch and the Butias about three
hundred or four hundred years ago; but these were struggles for supremacy in the Duars,
which ended in many of the Kocch leaders, as the Sidli, Bijni, and other chiefs, submitting
to the Butias.

The Government finally established by the Butias included the Dhurma or

Dhurm Rajah, (a perpetual ‘avatar’, or incarnation of an eternal

ue spiritual ruler, disappearing at intervals, but immediately appear-

ing again as an infant, who proves his identity by recognising and claiming all the per-

sonalities of the last “avatar’;) and the Deva, or Deb Rajah, who is in theory elected
by Council.

The Council has seven ordinary members, the Chief Ministers of the Deb and Dhurm,
and the Governors of the royal eastles, and three extraordinary members, the Lieutenant-
Governors of the provinces, called Penlos or Pillos. Under the latter are numerous
district officers.

Theoretically the Government is well organized, but its constitution is violated at
every succession to office. Captain Pemberton and Mr. Eden* agree in ascribing to the
upper classes, especially the highest officers of state, the very worst of characters,
‘shameless beggars,’ ‘ bullies,’ ‘sycophants ;’ but the lower classes are described as very
superior to them, “intelligent, tolerably honest, and, all things considered, not very
untruthful.”

** Physically the Butias are a very fine people: there are some really tall men
amongst them, but though very robust as compared with the
people of the plains, they are not nearly such a stalwart race as
the Sikhimese and Tibetans, which is possibly to be attributed to their immorality and
drunken habits.” Their dress is a loose woollen eoat reaching to the knees, bound
round the waist by a thick fold of cotton cloth. The full front of the coat is used
as a pocket, and into this opossum-like pouch, food cooked and unccoked is often thrust,
including putrid fish and meat, and as one side of it is the naked skin of the owner, the
nastiness of the arrangement may be conceived. The pouch always contains a store of
betel-nut and prepared lime for the manufacture of the ‘ pan’, which they are everlastingly
chewing. ‘The women’s dress is a long cloak with loose sleeves.

They have all broad flat faces of the true Mongolian type, small oblique eyes, large
mouths, noses short and low, not, on the whole, the most attractive combination of features ;
but many of the young women have fine plump rosy cheeks, healthy and pleasant to
look upon, though their complexions, a light olive, have nothing in common with the
lily. They appear rather careless about their personal appearance. Their tresses are
generally left to float as nature pleases, though some of the more tidy and respectable
bind theirs with a handsome bandeau of flat silver chains having a large jewelled orna-
ment in front. Many women appear with shorn heads. These are the nuns who are

Physical traits and dress.

* Hden’s Report, page 129.

 
''Section 1.] THE BUTIAS. 97

said to have taken vows of celibacy, but they look as if they had pretty well exhausted
their powers of enjoyment before they did so. As arule, all are dirty in their persons,
wearing their clothes till they rot off, and seldom indulge in ablutions.

On one occasion, several Butias, men, women, and children, who had settled in
Kamrup, came to me for some kind of written certificate that they were British subjects.
I said they were far too dirty, and unless they agreed to adopt habits of general cleanli-
ness, ineluding daily ablutions, I could not think of acknowledging them. They looked
very grave at this, and requested time to deliberate over these hard conditions, which
was granted. After several meetings and consultations with their friends, they all
came washed with clean clothes, looking wonderfully the better for the process, and declar-
ing their readiness to accept even such conditions.

The Ghylongs, Lamas, or priests, form a very large proportion of the population.
Admission to the priesthood is obtained by permission of the Deb,
on payment of a fee. In addition to their religious duties, the
Lamas are charged with the medical care of the people; but as exorcism is the only
system of treatment attempted, assurance in the practitioner, and faith in the patient,
are all that is needed. The Lamas have been estimated at 1,500 to 2,000. They
live in monasteries, the chief of which is at the head quarters of the Government. In
knowledge of the mysteries of the Budhist religion, and in the literature of their
country, they are very inferior to the Khamti Bapus or Phungis.

The village Lamas, and the people generally, confine their religious exercises
to telling their beads with the constant dreary repetition of the six-syllablic sen-
tence ‘Om-Mani-Padmi-Om.’ Their preparation for a future state seems to consist
in the personal or vicarious performance of this rite; hence the praying machines,
by which countless repetitions of the sentence are produced. The priests all wear
dresses of a garnet color, a woollen garment thrown loosely over the left shoulder,
leaving the right arm bare. These priests will all tell you that the soul of reli-
gion is mental abstraction, the withdrawal of the mind from all mundane consider-
ations, in order that the thoughts may be absolutely concentrated on the attributes and
perfection of Budha ; but the most devout of them may be seen listening to and smiling
at the conversation of others whilst they pass the beads through their hand and mutter
the everlasting ‘Om-Mani-Padmi-Om.’

The conversion of the Butias to Budhism has not altogether eradicated their
Paganism.* The common people believe in an innumerable host of — and make
offerings to them of flowers and bits of rags.

It is very singular that of the many intelligent observers who have visited and
written on Butan, not one has been able to tell us that they have such an institution as a
marriage ceremony. It is known that the tie of connubial union is a very loose one, and
that chastity is not a virtue that is practised or appreciated. .
From my own observation, I believe the Butias to be utterly
indifferent on the subject of the honor of their women, and the women themselves devoid
of delicacy and modesty. They cover their persons most carefully, but it is to keep out
the cold; of covering from feelings of modesty, they have no notions. A Butia Eve
w would have eaten a a bushel of forbidden fruit without thinking of fig leaves.

Priesthood.

Marriage.

 

 

 

 

* Griffiths.
'' 

 

98 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group III.

Polyandry is a recognized institution amongst them, but it prevails far more exten-
sively in the northern and central portions of Butan than in the
southern. Its origin is clearly traceable to Tibet, and Pemberton
adds, that “ political ambition is the main cause of so revolting a practice, as all aspirants
for office are compelled to renounce the happiness of domestic life.’ Mr. Eden says,
that even the restriction implied in the term polyandry, which once existed in northern
Butan, is not adhered to in the present day, as the intercourse between the sexes is practi-
cally promiscuous. The law of inheritance is what we might expect it to be under such
circumstances. Captain Pemberton tells us that on the death of any head of a family,
however numerous his children, and whether male or female, the whole of the property
becomes escheated to the Deb or Dhurma !

In the construction of their houses, the Butias are rather in advance of their neigh-
bours of the plains.* They are compared to small farm houses in
England and to Swiss cottages, built generally of rubble stone and
clay, of two, three, and sometimes of four, stories; all the floors are neatly boarded
with deal, and on two sides are well constructed verandahs ornamented with carved and —
painted woodwork. One of these is sometimes enclosed for the women, the front
opening by sliding panels when they wish to peep. The workmanship displays considerable
skill in joinery, the panelling being very good of its kind. The interiors are preserved
ina better state of cleanliness than from the general habits of the Butias we should
have been led to expect.

The roofs are made of shingles of pine, five or six feet in length, laid over a frame-
work of wood, and kept in their places with stone. Immediately under the roof is a
store room for dried turnips, grain, &c., and the floor of this apartment, which is made of
concrete clay, forms a second roof to the remainder of the house. The great desideratum
isa chimney. The smoke has to find its way out as it can, and the consequence is,
that the inmates emerging in the winter look as if they had come out of a coal mine.

Tt is not in houses alone that the Butias display their architectural and constructive
skill.t Theirembankments of rivers are represented as creditable
works. Some of the stone embankments of the river at Paro, espe.
cially the revetments of the bridge, are described as admirably executed. “The bridge
itself is a handsome structure made of large pine beams built into either bank, and
projecting one over the other till a sufficiently narrow space is obtained for a platform.”
The approaches to the bridge are paved with large slabs of stone; ‘“‘at each end is a large,
strongly built tower of stone in which a guard remains at night under the warder of
the bridge. The bridge is very neatly boarded with deal planks and the roadway is
protected by a roof supported on arches at intervals of fifteen yards. The gates are
lined with iron plates and studded with nails.”

The following is a description of a temple near Dewangiri, which the writer visited
in 1849 :—

“Tt is a square stone building with gable ends and a thatched projecting roof under
the gable facing the north; there is a projecting balcony in front
of a large bay window which lights a recess at the opposite

Polyandry.

Houses.

Bridges.

Temple of Dewangizi.

 

* Honorable A. Eden’s Report of Mission, page 121.
+ Mr. Eden’s Report, pages 89-91.

 
''Section 1.] THE BUTIAS. 99

end of the temple containing three large Budhist images, all seated in the usual
crosslegged attitude of absorbed contemplation. They appeared to be formed of clay,
and were exceedingly well executed and resplendent with gilding. The apartment,
about 20 feet square, is boarded, and the walls are entirely covered with paintings
of figures in similar penitential and devotional attitudes, but differently dressed. It was
said, they were all the work of a native artist, the colors were particularly brilliant
and well chosen and the drawing tolerably correct; gilding was introduced to heighten
the effect. A priest’s house also of stone stands near the temple; it is two storied, and
with its projecting roof and balconies has a picturesque effect.” This temple has, I fear,
ceased to exist.

It is only the coarser description of cloths worn by the Butias that are woven in the
country ; their silken dresses and finer woollen fabrics are obtained
from Tibet and China. The women weave seated on the ground ;
the web passes round three rollers of wood forming a triangle, one of these being attached
by a leather belt to the woman, another supported on the posts in front of her,
and the third pinned to the ground further off. The woman by her position keeps
the web stretched to the necessary tightness. The shuttle is a small hollow bamboo
containing a roller for the thread; this she passes through the inclined web before her,
working upwards and passing the woven part round below until the whole piece
completed thus comes round ; when done she shuts up her work and the loom disappears.
The Tibetan, or _Kampa, women on their journey to the plains all carry looms of this
kind, and very shortly after their arrival on the encamping ground they may all be seen
at work.

Another art that the Butias have acquired is paper-making from the bark of a tree
called ‘diah,’ and in addition to the fermented liquor that they make from wheat, rice,
and millet, like all the hill tribes, they have acquired a knowledge of distillation, and
indulge very freely in alcoholic drinks.

The following description of the races seen by Mr. Eden at Paro is well worth ex-
tracting :—

“These had very little in common with horse-racing according to the English notion.
A. long string of ponies was brought out, each being ornamented
with ribbons and colored streamers, mounted by men with very
little clothing on except a long colored scarf hanging from the head. In front of the
riders was the ‘Tahpen,’ master of the horse. It is eurious that this functionary
who is a high officer of the Court, should have a title so precisely similar to one of our
own court officials, but ‘Master of the horse’ is a literal translation of his title (Tah, a
horse, and pen, Master).”’

‘On arriving at the starting post all the riders dismounted. Sepoys armed with long
whips rushed amongst the crowd and cleared a road with great brutality and insolence.
Ata given signal, the ponies were all one by one flogged by a number of men with whips
into a gallop. The riders had to run holding on by the mane until the pony was well
off, and then had to vault into their seats. Many shewed considerable dexterity in
vaulting backwards and forwards over the ponies’ backs. No saddles or pads of any kind
were used. ‘The ponies were started one after the other, and there was no attempt at
testing their speed. The skill of the riders alone was on trial. After going a certain

Manufactures.

Horse-racing.
'' 

 

 

 

 

100 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove Te,

distance they all halted and were started again in the same manner. Some six different
starts must have been made before the course was completed. At the end of the
course the riders were all entertained at the expense of the Penlo, and they then went
back to the palace in the same manner.”

“The Tahpen was lifted on and off his horse with a great parade; for it is contrary
to Butia notions of dignity for a man to mount or dismount from his horse himself.”

In the disposal of the dead the Butias follow the practice of the Hindus. They burn

Disposal of the dead. the body and throw the ashes into the nearest stream.

SEcTION 2.—TuHE LEPCHAS.

I have no personal acquaintance with the Lepchas, or the country they inhabit.
The information I have to give regarding them is derived from Dr. A. Campbell’s note
in the Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, for 1840.

The Lepchas are found in Western Butan, Eastern Nepal, and in the small territory
between both called Sikhim. I find no estimate of their numbers.
They are well known to the frequenters of the favorite Hill
Station Darjiling, and are supposed to be the aborigines of the mountain forests
surrounding that pleasant retreat of Bengal officials, and it is probable that they regard
Sikhim as their father land.

They divide themselves into two tribes, Rong, the true Lepcha, and Khamba.
The latter comprises the family of the ruler and his clansmen.

It is narrated that two centuries ago the people of Sikhim, consisting of Lepchas
and Butias, tired of the intestine commotions that had long disturbed the little state,
consulted their Lamas from beyond the snow as to the best means of obtaining good
government and repose, and were advised to seek in that region for a ruler who
would suit them.

Accordingly a deputation of their Lamas was sent to the North, and proceeding to
the province of Kham in the Celestial Empire, they there found a youth whose horoscope
presented the necessary indication of his fitness for the throne, which was offered to him
and accepted, and accompanied by a body of his clansmen he returned with the Lamas,
and was proclaimed Rajah of Dingong, as the Lepchas call Sikhim.

All the Tibetans who penetrate through Butan into Asam are called Khampas, or
Kampas, and the name is, T suppose, of the same origin as that assumed by the Sikhim

Geographical position.

rulers.
The Lepchas are described by all who have written about them as physically of the
true Mongolian type. They are short of stature, averaging about
La eh five feet. Five feet six is considered tall, and four feet eight is
a common stature amongst the men. The women bear towards them the usual
proportion. [he face is broad and flat, nose depressed, eye oblique, no beard, but
a very little moustache, complexion olive, and boys and girls in health have generally
a ruddy tinge which adds greatly to their good looks, The total absence of beard,
and the fashion of parting the hair along the crown of the head, gives to the males
a somewhat effeminate appearance, and the robes of the sexes being cut somewhat
alike, it is not always easy to distinguish them. They are proud of their hair and

 
''Section 2.] THE LEPCHAS. 101

careful in its arrangement, the women wearing theirs behind braided in two tails
tied with silken cords and tassels. Their garments are ample, often of the coarse,
flossy cloth of the silk that is spun by the castor-oil plant worm, the ‘Eri’ of Asam,
and they wear over all a small, sleeveless, woollen cloak, covered with crosses, fastened
by a girdle of silver chains.

Dr. Campbell says, they are amiable and cheerful in disposition, and of an in-
: telligent and inquiring turn of mind, which renders them
attractive to a European. Colonel Walter Sherwill calls them
“the free, happy, laughing, and playful, no-caste, Lepchas, the children of the mountain,
modest, social, and joyous in disposition.” They are fond of racing, playing at hop-step
and jump, quoits, wrestling, and jumping, and are great practical* jokers, but they
are indolent and deficient in energy and particularly averse to serving for hire.

They are poor agriculturists. Nomadic in their habits, they form no permanent
villages, and cultivate barely sufficient for their subsistence. When their stock of grain
and pulse falls short, they subsist themselves on wild roots, mountain spinach, fern-tops,
fungi, and other natural products, and the produce of the chase. They seldom remain
more than three years in one spot. This is indeed the usual time in which all similar
nomads consider the freshness of the virgin forest soil on which
they rely to wear out. They have no ploughs, and the imple-
ments they employ do no more than scrape and soften for the reception of seed the
upper layer of vegetable mould.

The Lepchas are nota warlike race. They carry weapons, a long knife, bow and
arrows, but are fonder of using them against the wild beasts than against their fellow
creatures,

They eat all kinds of animal food.+ Pork is their favorite dish, next to that beef,
goat, and mutton. Those who live in Nepal are obliged to
conform to Hindu practices and abstain from forbidden meats.
It is the great delight of these unwilling abstinents to cross into Sikhim, Darjiling, and
have a thoroughly good feed on beef.

They are fond of fermented and spirituous liquors, but are not much given to excess.
They make themselves a beer from a fermented infusion of Indian corn and Murwa,
which is acidulous and refreshing. The art of distillation they have not yet acquired.

Dr. Campbell says, the Lepchas are Budhists and have priests, some of their
own tribe educated at home, a few of the same race who go for
their education to the great monastic establishments beyond
the snow, and some Tibetan priests. The latter two classes adhere to the monastic
discipline, and are supposed to be devoted to celibacy. The country-born and country-
educated priest is permitted to marry.

Dr. Latham? tells us that the Lepcha is no Budhist, and that the priests, though
they carry about the Budhist prayer machines, wear Budhist rosaries, and profess
monkish mendicancy, are also the medicine men, the exorcists, and the directors of
the feasts, ceremonies, and sacrifices in honor of evil spirits; but notwithstanding all

Character.

Agriculture.

Food.

Priesthood.

 

 

* Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, 1853, page 638.

+ Major Sherwill found that they wouid not feed from the carcases of sheep killed because diseased, though they ate snakes,
frogs, and other extraordinary food.

+ Latham’s Descriptive Ethnology, Vol. II, page 88.

zo
b>
''102 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL [Grovr IIL.

this they may be just as good Budhists as the Butias, who whilst flirting with the
mysteries of that religion retain much of their original Paganism or Shamanism.

In morality the Lepchas appear much superior to the Butias. Polyandry is not
mentioned as one of their institutions, and a marriage ceremony is acknowledged.

They do not marry young, as they often find it difficult to make up the necessary
sum demanded by the parents of the girl; but the marriage is
sometimes allowed to take place on credit, the girl remaining
in her father’s house and her husband living with her there till he can pay or has earned
the money which entitles him to take her home.

Chastity in adult girls previous to marriage is not very rigidly insisted on.

The Lepchas bury their dead as is the custom generally of the Budhists.

Marriages.

SECTION 3.—I'HE Limpus AND KIRANTIS.

The next tribe in geographical order, proceeding west from the confines of Butan,
are the Limbus. They are a branch of the people called ‘ Kiranti’ or ‘ Kirati,’ and for
the earliest notice of them we must refer to the Purans.

The Kiratis, it is said, occupied the country to the east of ‘ Bharata,’* and in the list
of peoples further on we find them alongside the ‘Barbaras,’ and are told in the
note that these latter are considered by all the authorities as borderers and foreigners and
nations not Hindu. The Kirantis are still numerous in Dinajpur, which was part of the
ancient Matsyadesh, all the inhabitants of which were considered as foreigners and
borderers. They are as Limbus an important segment of the population of Sikhim, and as
Kirantis of Nepal, but the people indicated do not themselves affect either of these
designations, preferring, according to Mr. Hodgsont, the names Khwombo, or Khombo,
and Kirawa. Dr. Campbell{ says that the correct denomination of the people is
‘ekthimba’; but the term Limbu is generally used to indicate the whole population
of the country between the Dudkusi and the Mechi. Mr. Hodgson defines the Kirant
country thus :—

1. Sunkosi to Likhu :
2. Likhu to Arun Khwombuan.
3.

Arun to Mechi, Singilela)

: > Limbuan.
ridge j Limbuan

In regard to the affinity of the tribes thus conjoined, he observes that they are, at all
events, closely allied races, having essential community of customs
and manners, and they all intermarry. Dr. Campbell also says
that in the generic term Limbu are included the Kiratis, the Eakas (Hodgson, Yakhas,)
and Rais, and that in appearance and habits they are all very much alike, and they
intermarry, which amongst the Hill Tribes, as well as the people of the plains in India,
is the great test of national connection.

The Kirantis are divided into Wallo Kirant, or Hither Kirant, Mangh or Middle
Kirant, and Pallo or Further Kirant. The Wallo include the Limbus and Yakhas.
Their numbers, Mr. Hodgson thinks, do not now exceed a quarter of a million, but they

Tribal affinities.

 

 

* Wilson’s Translation of the Vishnu Purana.
+ Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, 1858, page 448.
} Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, 1840, page 595.

 
''SEcTION 3.] THE LIMBUS AND KIRANTIS. 1038

have a tradition that they once numbered twoand a half millions. The above appear to
be geographical divisions; they are also divided into several tribes. Dr. Campbell
says, they are ranged under two great divisions, called Hung and Rai; these are sub-
divided into various tribes, each bearing the family name of Hung or Rai, according
to which of the great divisions they belong, as Phedahung and Kembang Rai.

In describing the physical character of the Limbus, Dr. Campbell* starts by an
opinion that they belong to the great Mongolian family, but
though they are much mixed up with the Lepchas, he evidently
considers them as less Mongolian than that tribe. ‘The Limbu is a little taller than
the Lepcha, somewhat less fleshy, and more wiry in the limbs, as fair in complexion, and
as beardless. He is scarcely ever ruddy as the Lepchas are, his eyes are if any thing
smaller, and placed more to the front than those of the Lepchas, and his nose, though
somewhat smaller, is somewhat higher in the bridge than that of the Lepchas. He wears
his hair long, but does not plait it into a tail, has no fancy for bead necklaces, wears
a ‘kukri’t instead of the ‘ban’, and wide trowsers and a jacket instead of the robe
and long jacket of the Lepchas.

Mr. Hodgson has given a very minute description of three individuals of the tribe
selected by him as typical; the traits as described are not Mongolian, and he sums up
thus:—‘ All these men have a depth of color and defect of bone and muscle assimilating
them to the low land Turanians generally, and differencing them from the Highlanders,
but especially from the Palasen, the Gurung, the Sunwar, the Murmi, the Magar, and
the Lepcha; and Bontawa” (one of them) “has a head and a face carrying on the
resemblance with the low land Turanians, which I believe to be so frequent amongst the
Kirantis as to deserve to be called the rule, not the exception.”

In regard to their language which he has carefully analyzed and described he says— _
“The complex pronominalization of the Kiranti verb points to a
special connection with the Munda (7. e., Kolarian) sub-division.”
He also notes analogies of formation between the Kiranti and Dravirian languages.

The Kirantis have a tradition that they had rulers five centuries ago, who were called
Ifang or Hwang. They have none now but village headmen, who
are called ‘ Pasung’, who collect the taxes and settle disputes.
The Kirantis, like the Mundas of Chota Nagpur, tenaciously cling to the lands
reclaimed by their ancestors. They appear to have in Nepal full
proprietary rights in these tenures, called Walikha. Each
proprietor ‘ Thang-pung-hangpa’ pays 4 Rupees per annum as land tax, and 1 Rupee
in commutation for the corvée.

They have ploughs, but from the nature of their cultivation on the slopes of hills
seldom use them. ‘“ Their geneval, almost exclusive}, status is,
however, agriculturists, their produce maize, buckwheat, millet,
dry rice, and cotton. They have no craftsmen.” In this, too, they resemble the Kols,
who, even when most civilized, are dependent on other races for the commonest articles
of domestic use for raiment and utensils. The Kirantis, however, spin, weave, and dye
cloths for their own use, and make fermented and distilled liquors.

Physical traits.

Linguistic affinities.

Traditions.

Proprietary rights.

Arts and agriculture.

 

 

* Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, 1840, page | 596.
+ Curved knife, Ban ? probably the long straight sword of Tibet, Butan, &c.
{ Hodgson,
'' 

104 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group III.

The Limbus or Kirantis, though subjected to the sneers and frowns of a Brahmani-
cal priesthood on one side and the more indulgent exhortations
of Budhist monks on the other, have, like the Kols, obstinately
adhered to their primitive paganism. Mr. Hodgson found the Kirantis had no name for
God, and no recognised order of priests. The Limbus, says Dr. Campbell, believe in
the existence of a Supreme God, who is called Sham Mungh, the God of the universe,
and worship other deities named Mhang Mo, Takpaka, Hem-sung-mung, the destroyer,
Teba-sum, the God of wisdom, Mungol Mo, the preserver, and Hem-sung, the household
God. They do not build temples or make images of their gods, but propitiate them by
sacrifices of animals, ¢. e., killing an animal in the name of the God they wish to propitiate
and eating it themselves, giving, as they observe, “ the life to the God and the flesh to them-
selves.” ‘The places set apart for sacrifices are marked by the erection of bamboo poles
with rags attached. On these occasions, the persons employed as yriests are either
Bijowas, or Phedangkos; the former are mendicant friars, apparently of no particular race,
who wander about in the garb of Budhist priests, who by cunning and charlatanism
inspire their votaries with considerable awe, but who are ready for a consideration to sing
or dance for those in health, prescribe for those who are sick, and cast the devil out of
those who are vexed. One doctrine most important to themselves they have succeeded in
propagating, ¢. ¢., that ill betides the man who sends a Bijowa dissatisfied from his door.

The Phedangko is more exclusively the Limbu priest, and the office is sometimes
hereditary, but in a large family one of the sons is generally told off for it, and he is
declared to be specially called to the work of propitiation. The Kiranti priest is called
Nakchong. It is his duty to propitiate the penate and the manes of the ancestors of
each family in his care by an annual worship constituting two festivals in the year, the
first celebrated after the harvest; and he attends at marriages and deaths.

‘They believe in all kinds of sorcery and witch craft, and have exorcists.

Amongst the Kirantis* births are not attended by any religious observances, but
the Limbus? call in the Phedangko, who examines the infant care-
fully, sacrifices a fowl or kid, and invokes for the young stranger
the blessings of the Gods. The parents name the infant on the third day.

The Limbus and Kirantis have to buy their wives; those who are too poor to pay
in cash serve like Jacob in the father’s house till they have given
an equivalent in labor. The men select for themselves. They
employ friends to arrange price and preliminaries, sending by them an offering to the
parents of two or three rupees to gain their consent. On the day fixed for the ceremony,
the bride and bridegroom are seated side by side and the priest admonishes them, then
he gives a hen into the hands of the bride and a cock to the man, and cuts off the
cock’s head: first and next the hen’s; their blood is allowed to mingle together and
auguries as to the prospects of the happy pair drawn from the form it assumes as it flows.

The funeral ceremonies of the Kirantis are like those of the Mundas and Kasias.
They burn their dead, selecting the summits of mountains for
the purpose, and afterwards collect and bury the ashes, over

which they raise a square tomb of stone, about four feet high, placing an upright stone
on its summit.

Religion.

Births.

Marriages.

Burials.

 

* Hodgson. + Campbell.

 
''Srctron 5.] THE HAIOOS (CAMPBELL), OR HAYAS, OR VAYAS. 105

On the upright stone is engraved a record of the quantity of largess distributed
at the funeral of the deceased. This inscription is either in the Devanagari or Lepcha
character, according to the comparative facility of procuring an engraver in either of
these characters.

They have no written character of theirown. Their language is described generally
as pleasing to the ear, being labial and palatal rather than nasal

Language,
ee and guttural.

SECTION 4.—TuHE Murmtis.

The Murmis appear to be a nomadic and pastoral branch of the Butias. They
are Mongolian in appearance, Budhist in religion, and speak a language which appears
to me to be a dialect of Butia. They live in houses built of stone on mountain tops at
an elevation of from 4 to 6,000 feet. They are found in all parts of Nepal from the
Gunduk river to the Mechi, and in smaller numbers in the Sikhim country. They are
divided into several families or clans, The Murmis like the Butias burn their dead.

Srotion 5.—TuEe Hatoos (CAMPBELL), OR HAYAS, oR VAYAS.

I do not know that any members of this tribe are at present located in any part
of Bengal, but as there appear to be good grounds for affiliating them with one or
other of the families of the aborigines of the Gangetic provinces, I will close with
them my account of the northern races,

The Hayas* appear in Nepal as the fragment of a tribe of great antiquity with
peculiar traditions, language, and appearance, all tending to isolate
them from the people amongst whom they dwell, and to direct our
attention to swarthy southerners for their affinities.

They are now found ‘‘tenanting the basin of the river Kosi between the confines
of the great valley of Nepal Proper, and that point where the Kosi turns southwards
to issue to the plains’—a single people distinct from all their neighbours, they appear
to be rapidly diminishing in numbers. As they are represented as only forming a
population of a few thousands, they will probably ere many years elapse cease to exist
as a separate tribe.

Mr. Hodgson tells us that they have a tradition of a very remote time when they
were a numerous and powerful people. Doctor Campbell} gives as
their tradition that they originally came from Lanka (Ceylon),
having left that country after the defeat of their king Rawan by Ram Chandra, but the
Raksha king Rawan is still their hero and God, they have no other; they remained a long
time in the Dakhin, “ whence they journeyed on to Semrounghur in the days of its glory,
and that, lastly, but a long time ago, they reached the hills, their present abode.”

I have suggested that the ancestors of the Bhuyas were the people who formed the
army of the ape general Hanuman, the ally of Ram Chandra, in his famous operations
against Rawan.{ It is interesting to find a remnant of the host that opposed him, and

Geographical position,

Traditions.

 

* There is a tribe in Ceylon called Vaidas.
+ Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, 1858, pages 443-456,
£ Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, Vol. IX, for 1840.
''106 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group If.

however far-fetched this tradition may appear, there is much to support the theory of
their southern origin.

I have no Haya vocabulary to refer to, but Mr. Hodgson in analyzing the construc-
tion of the language, has noted many peculiarities common
to it and the Sonthal, or Kol language, and this connection takes
them as far south as Ceylon, if not to Ceylon.

In regard to their physical characteristics, he deduces from the specimens he
examined, that they are darker and of a less Mongolic caste of
countenance than the Lepchas. The sample that he considered
most typical of the race was 5 feet 44 inches in height, moderately fleshy, and dark
brown; vertical view of the head oblate, wider, and flat behind; greatest breadth
between the ears, rising pyramidically from the zygomata to the crown of the head;
facial angle not bad, the forehead retiring, and narrowing only slightly; the mouth not
being porrect, nor the chin retiring but pointed; eyes remote but small, and the upper
lids flaccid and somewhat down, curved at the inner canthus; nose pyramidal, not
levelled between the eyes, nor the extremity much thickened, but the nares large and
round; mouth large but well formed, with neatly shaped lips and vertical fine teeth.

The above, as L understand it, would answer well for a description of an ordinary
Singhbum Ho, but on the whole the Ho would probably be handsomer.

We have very little information regarding the customs of the Hayas, but Doctor
Campbell made good use of an opportunity he met with to witness their national dance,
and thus he describes it—

“The nautch was indeed a singular one and novel. About 80 males and as many
females were drawn up in line as closely packed as possible, the |
first a man, the next a woman, and so on alternately, not standing
side by side, but back to belly, and all holding on to each other by throwing forward
the hands and grasping the arms of the persons in front. The column thus formed,
and preceded by half-a-dozen men beating drums and cymbals, and shouting in a
barbarous dialect what was said to be a metrical lament, moved slowly in a circle
nodding and keeping time to the music. In this pastime and so closely packed that
the circle of sixty individuals had the appearance of a machine with a row of heads
and feet set in motion, did they revolve and mourn for an hour.” The mourning being
for the death of their hero Rawan.

I should like very much to have seen this dance. It may possess features peculiarly
its own, but judging from the description given, I am confident
that wherever these Hayas came from, they were taught dancing
at the same school as the Hos, and there may be something in the similarity of the
names. I do not indeed think that the Ho youths and maidens mourn as they dance,
and they know nothing of Rawan or Lanka; but many an hour have I seen them
revolve just as described by Doctor Campbell locking up as no soldiers ever locked
up, keeping admirable time both in the movements of the feet and undulations of
the head to the monotonous beat of the drums. It is the dance of Hos and Sonthals,
not of the Mundas, though they too have something resembling it, and it can be made
to assume a mournful cadence, as the same step and drum-beat is used at their funeral
dances.

Language.

Physical traits.

Peculiar dance.

Resemblances with the Hos.

 
''VOCABULARIES. |

107

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘ VOCABULARY TO GROUP III.*

ENe@.isH. Burra. LepcHa. Liusv. KIRANTI. | Moremi.
One chi kat cic baae oe. | ektai i | ghrik.
Two oss | DE nyet nyetsh hasat oni.
Three sum soe | SAM ... | 8yam sh ... | samyd es. | BODAa
Four 4 ahi pha li li sh laya bli.
Five au) ae pha gnon gn4 sh gnayd oss | BOG
Six «| dha tarok tuk sh takya dha.
Seven ose | COO ka kyok .., | nu sh bhagya nis.
Eight ayé «| kakeu yet sh réya pré.
Nine | «| ka kyot phang sh phangya kth.
Ten . | cha tham kati thi bong kip chiwai.
Twenty khéchik nyi sho, | khakat ni pone: 45k:  soanee nhi sha.
Fifty khéphédangsim | kha-nyet sa ka tf gna gip sae bokal-ni-shé-cha,
Hundred .. | khé gna kha pha gnon ... thi bong gip ... ose bokal gna,
I en Re go ean anka ... | gna.
We -- | gna cha | kay@ ka anigé ankan ess | gnani,
Thou ee» | chhu hau khené khana ai.
You eee khaé cha hayt khenih’ ... | khananin es | aini.
He khé heu ... | khiné ... | moko ous | the.
They khong - | hoyé khinchi ... | moko chi théni.
Of me ee es trees ose
Of thee os ede wee a ee as
a ieee a a ee a ee
Of him = ee ee Serees
Ore gk lane ses weer
Mine e- | gné gi kaseusa ingé in ang ko .. | gné 14,
Our ena chégi e+ | kaya pongsa .,, | @igen in ain ko in na.
Thine chhé gi «»> | hadosa _| khene in ... | 2m ko san Be lee
Your -» | kheu chégi hayé pongsa ..,| khenih’ in... amno an na.
His -.- | kheu gi --- | heusa khune in més6 thé 14.
Their khong gi hoyt pongsa ... | khinchi in .., myaucho, moyo so | thenna.
Hand lappa kaliok _ | haktaphé chiktiphéma ... | ya.
Foot kanglep didngliok ... | Langdapphé akhtro e. | balé,
Nose coy : oe hioy Roe Nee a eee ese eee
Eye -.1 | mido amik mik mak oo | mal
Mouth ees | kG abong mura doh .». | Sing
Tooth soh aphé hébo kang o | SWA.
Ear navo eee | anyor | nekho ... | naba oo. | naps
Hair kya achom thagt moa of ee
Head gutoh athiak ... | thagék tang ». | thobd
Tongue Ay beseks hes peeias @o0cee
Belly ee eas belescee oe ee eee
Lo ee a ae ll ee aoe
Tron chyé panjing ... | phenjé .. | phalaém ev | DAR
Gold weet way ik cheese) OS Sak oe (een
Silver pale ee Paes sevens Sop lee ies
Go séng non bégé khara .-. | nyd, syé go.
Eat sah z6, tha ché cho «+. | chou,
Sit deu gnan ying ne yanga asic Ate
Father : appa abé amba wee | ba apa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

* From Hodgson’s and Campbell’s Vocabularies, Journal, Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. XVI, and Vol. XXXV, part II, special No. pp.
'' 

108

DALTON.— ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL.

 

(Grove IIT.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ENGLISH. Burra. LEpcna, Limsv. KIRANTI. Murmt.
Mother cas | HO amo amma ma amma.
Pectoral. Nee a ee fs
Sister ss ee ee ae neeret
Man mi maro, tagri yapmi, yembecha| mand mi,

Woman sy, ee A oe
Wife
Ol a a
a ieee Pe ee
Daughter i. ae
Slave eee ee a eee
ee a ee
Shepherd ie ee ee
ee OS Oe
Devil Ret eres ee Fe er ie Bay eee
Come wee | SYO di phéré bana khou, jyangou.
Beat (es Se ee ee ee ee
Stand long + | lak, ding pogé yéwa lanta rab.
Sun nyim sachak nam nam dini.
Moon dau lavé lava 3.. | 18 dima 1ha ni.
Star kam sahor khéséva sangyen 72 -kerebin,
Fire mi mi mé mi mé.
Water ON a Long chtté chaw4 kwi.
House «++ | khyim lf him khim dhim.
Horse tah <r | On 6n ghora ta.
Cow gné (pr. cattle)... | bik bit pit mhé.
Dog «| khi kazen khié kocht nangi.
Cat pilli aleu ... | myéng myong tawar.
ee eR a Oe, es
ee a ae ea
ee er ee,
Camel Petes ae ee
Bird bhy4 pho bi ... | chongw4 namy
eT a CP a ee a are
Give nang b6 piréng-né pai pin
Run pin kyap deung 1l6kté loya Sever
Up ee er. a a ee
Near tha ni ws. | athol> .. | neng dang nekta jyat na
MO eee ‘ee Teles Ore ule CSR er erecta
And da 1a ang ning yen, den.
Yes tip, in ak, euk 1) Ok .-. | angd ... | ninnd, ya.
Ue nee nee ee ao “
Far tha ring . | maram mankhé mangsa tharing.
What kang chi, kan... | shé thé ese | di, 'dé tigi.
But rice els
No me tip, men ... | ma né men, na mang ... | anin,
PRIOO Pe Ok seuss ee | a ew es ee
Behind pee as Ph A a. a aes
ee f a Oe

{ thé ang
Why kam bé shi mat oo |~ thé jokma_... | khdinsé cow | BES,

thé yambékle

Alas

 

 

 

waceee

 

 

 

 

 

 
'' 

ohrOT EP -T7.

TIPPERAH AND CHITTAGONG TRIBES.

When I commenced writing this paper, I did so with the intention of confining
myself to facts, leaving to others to deduce from them such evidence regarding the origin
and affiliation of races as they might assist in establishing. I am doing my best, however,
to throw my tribes into groups when relationship appears obvious, and I cannot refrain
from recording the conjectures in regard to more distant connections that occur to me, or
that I meet in the writings of others as I go on.

I have described the Garos as occupying the most western portion of the long
range of hills which extend from Cape Negrais to the Brahmaputra. In connecting
them with the Bodo or Kachari, I link them with all the tribes who form a chain of
settlements in that range of hills, and I think it will be best to take up those links as
well as we can and so finish with the Eastern Frontier.

Major Fisher in his ‘Memoir of Sylhet, Kachar, &c.,’ tells us that the people of
Tipperah, or Tripura, are said to have the same origin as the Kacharis, and the simi-
larity of religion, customs, and appearance, makes this probable. It may be added that
the Rajas of both countries, Tipperah and Kachar, have formally acknowledged the
connection. The Tipperah family are described as a younger branch of the ancient
royal family, who, on the expulsion of the latter from Kamrtp, established themselves
independently in the country which they formerly held as a province.

The Kacharis of the Brahmaputra valley had emerged from barbarism when they
gave way in Kamrip, and had in a great measure dropped their paganism; but doubtless
the outlying members of the family retained most of their primitive customs.

Fisher observes that among the superstitions common to both is the practice of
performing sacrifice before a bamboo planted in the ground. We have noticed some-
thing like this as a Kachari practice, and it has been prominently brought forward as a
solemn observance of the Garos.

The Brahmans have of course favored the family with a different origin. The Réj-
Mala, an analysis of which is given by the Revd. J. Long in the Journal of the Asiatic
Society of Bengal for 1850, tells us that the ancient name of Tripura was Kirat,
from a person of that name, meaning ‘the hunter’ of the lunar race, the brother:
of Puru. He was succeeded by his son Tripura, who so worried his subjects, that they fled
in a body to Hirumba (Kachar) ; they returned votaries of Shiva who promised them

2 C
'' 

 

 

 

110 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group IV.

a ruler by the widow of Trilochun. The promised prince was born in due course. He
married the daughter of the Hirumba Raéjé, who is also called ‘Hirumba’, Raja of
Kamrtip. Thus even the Brahmans support the theory of the connection between the
Kacharis and Tipperahs. '

In a Survey Report by Mr. H. J. Reynolds, the following description is given of the
‘Tripuras. He had previously, following a common practice, spoken of them as Kiukis;
but he found them to be different in many respects from the Kikis of the Chittagong
jungles, and says that the name by which they are commonly known is Tipperahs. In
physiognomy some of them are like the Munipiris, but the greater part bear more resem-
blance to the Kasias, having strongly marked Mongolian features with flat faces and thick
lips. They are not shorter in stature than Bengalis and are far more muscular and strongly
made. Many of them have fair complexions “ scarcely darker than a swarthy European.”

The following note on Tripura is extracted from the General Report of the Tipperah
District, by J. F. Browne, Esquire, Civil Service, recently printed :—

“The Tipperahs, or inhabitants of the Tipperah hill ranges, are said by some
to be colonists from Muniptr, from which place they were driven by a Burmese
invasion. But there can be little doubt that the opinion of those who assert them to
have inhabited this part of the country from time immemorial, is equally well founded.
Nothing is known about the ancient history of these people, but tradition names as their
first king Asango, who is said to be the ancestor of Trilochun mentioned in the Méha-
bharat as king of Tripura.

“The religion now prevailing is a form of Hindu idolatry, but it is said that before
the accession of Trilochun, they worshipped no idols but objects of nature, e. g., trees,
stones, animals. A trace of their old faith is to be found in their present practice of
sticking a bamboo in the ground during one of their religious festivals and worship-
ping ie

It is probable that the worship of the bamboo by the Tipperahs, Kacharis, Géros,
has its origin in a feeling or sentiment kindred to that which induces the Kols to worship
the Sal tree. The Sal tree had to be dispossessed in the one case, and the bamboo in
the other, before the new settlers could derive any benefit from the soil.

“The tribes of the Tipperahs are four in number,—the Rajbangsis, Nowatyahs,
Jomalias, and Reyangas. ‘The first is looked upon as highly respectable, whilst the last
is held in very low estimation.” (? by Hindus and proselytes).

“The priests of the first three tribes are called Tojaees, but the Reyangas have
priests of their own; celibacy is not practised by them.

“No religious ceremony is necessary for a marriage, but only the consent of the
parents. If the bridegroom can give a dower, the marriage takes place at once ; but if
he cannot, he must serve one year in his father-in-law’s house. LHarly marriages are not
prevalent, and polygamy, though not objected to, is very rare.”

“Tipperahs eat flesh of every description except beef, and, after the decease of a rela-
tion, abstain from flesh for a week. Both men and women are very fond of dancing.
‘They are, as a rule, truthful and simple-minded. No man is looked on as a person of
any importance till he is married.

“Their mode of cultivation is of the same desultory kind as we find practised by
the Kacharis, &c.”

 
''TIPPERAH KUKIS, MUGS, &C. TLE

This is a very brief account of the Tipperahs, but considering their proximity to the
Kiikis, and the fact that the Kikis who migrated into Kachér came from the Tipperah
hills, we may infer that a more detailed account of the customs of the primitive Tipperahs
would be a repetition of the information which Major Stewart has given us regarding
the Kukis. |

That the Kikis were known of old in Tripura is apparent from the Raj Mala, as
it represents Shiva falling in love with a Kuki girl who was in consequence put to death
by his shrew of a wife. In another place the Kukis are represented as allies of the
Raji of Udaipur who invaded Tripura, but was defeated, and Udaipur became the capital
of Tripura. Again, the Kukis are brought forward as accusing the Tripura general
Raja Chachag of a design to make Tamul which he had subjugated in the name of
his master, an independent state. This general flourished in A, D. 1512.

The Tipperahs as worshippers of Shiva appear to have practised human sacrifice very
extensively. It is said that till the reign of Sri Dharma, the complement was one
thousand victims a year. Sri Dharma ruled that human sacrifices should only be offered
triennially, and at one time.* It can, I think, ‘be demonstrated that the tribes most
addicted to human sacrifices throughout Bengal were aborigines who had substituted
a debased Hindu idolatry for the purer paganism of their ancestors.

It is remarkable that in the Tripura District and in Hill Tripura there are very few
families of pure Aryan descent. There is a traditiont that the sons of Pandu travelling to
the Hast sent Bhima, one of the brothers, across the Megna to view the land, but he found
the inhabitants so barbarous, that all thoughts of a settlement there were abandoned.

To the east and south-east of the open country of the Chittagong District there is
a tract of hill and forest about 140 miles from north to south,
and about on an average 50 miles in breadth, known to the
revenue authoritiest as the ‘kapés’ or Cotton Mehal.

When we took possession of Chittagong, we found two Mug chieftains located in
this tract who paid their revenue in cotton. The tribes subject to these chiefs are called
Jumeas, or Jumea Mugs.

They are in fact Mugs who are called Jumeas from their affecting the peculiar mode
of cultivation called jhim, from a word, which, in the language of these people, means
‘to burn.’ The jungle is cut and when dried burned, and the ashes are spread over and
dug into the ground as manure.

We thus come to the Mugs who form the bulk of the population of Arakan, and
are the aboriginal inhabitants of that province.

The tradition of the Ktikis respecting their origin is, that they and the Mugs are
the offspring of the same progenitor,§ who had two sons by different mothers, and the
Mugs have the honor to be descended from the first born. This tradition of their
common origin receives much support from the similarity of the Mug and Kuki
languages, “‘ many words of which are the same, and their general resemblance is such
that a Mug and Kuki can make themselves understood by each other.”

Mugs.

 

 

 

* I do not know if he was the first monarch so to regulate them, but at a comparatively recent period they were thus
limited in many parts of Bengal.
+ General Report on Tripura by J. F. Browne, Esquire, C. S.
t Mr. Ricket’s Report on Wild Tribes of the Chittagong Frontier, 10th August 1847.
§ Asiatic Researches, Volume VII, page 184.
''112 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove IV.

The population of Arakan was estimated in 1851 at 321,000, and about half the
number are Mugs.

The term ‘Mug’ is exclusively a foreign epithet unknown to the Arakanese them-
selves; the Arakanese and Burmese are of the same race, and have the common national
name of Myam-ma, which is however a comparatively modern appellation for the several
tribes which conjointly form the nation. The difference between the languages spoken
by the Burmese and Arakanese is mainly in pronunciation. The written languages of
both countries are for the most part alike.

The Kukis remain Pagans, their elder brethren have become Budhists; but the
connection between the two being established, we may expect to find amongst the Mugs
vestiges of customs that will help us in affiliating them.

“In personal appearance* the Mugs resemble the Chinese; the cheek bone is high
and broad, the nose flat and the eyes oblique. They are of a
mulatto colour. Though short, they are a well-made people,
hardy, muscular, and athletic.” The hair both of men and women is generally very
beautiful and. of a glossy black; both sexes pride themselves on its fine quality.
The females wear it parted in the middle and tied in a knot at the back of the head.
The men wear a kind of turban of fine white cloth, which they entwine with their
hair. They wear no ornaments except in the ears, the lobe being largely perforated for
their reception, but the half smoked cigar is often carried in one of the holes. The dress
of the women consists of a cloth tightly bound round the bosom and flowing to the feet,
and a large outer dress thrown over the whole person and reaching to the knees. The
unmarried women wear a jacket, which. is assumed by girls when marriageable, and
abandoned when they become wives; it is again adopted upon widowhood. The dress of
the men is composed of a cloth round the middle, and one thrown over the shoulders.
The bachelors amongst them live in a part of the village separate from the rest.

The hut in which the Mugs reside is constructed of bamboo and is raised on piles
several feet from the ground. The dwellings are easily and
expeditiously erected, and assistance is always given by the
neighbours to the person engaged in the construction of one, The space between the
earth and the floor is occupied by pigs and poultry.

In regard to animal food, there is nothing, from the rat to the elephant, which does
not suit the palate of the Mug. Boiled rice and fish is, however,
their ordinary aliment, Both sexes smoke tobacco and chew
tobacco and pan. There is in most villages what is called a travellers’ home, where a
stranger is sure to meet with every care and attention. Is not this the bachelors’ hall ?
It is generally so amongst the tribes that have this institution, and they appear to be
legion.

Although somewhat slothful in disposition, they are very fond of hunting, and
delight in manly exercises, such as wrestling and boxing, and a
game peculiar to the country, called kilome, which is somewhat
similar to battle-dore and shuttlecock, only instead of the hands the feet are employed.
They are very partial to boat-racing.

Physical traits and costume.

Dwellings.

Food.

Manly exercises.

* From Thornton’s Gazetteer, article Arakan. Dr. Guerson, Translation of Medical and Physical Science, Volume II,
Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, for 1841. Ditto, for 1835.

 
''LUSHAIS. 113

Education is not neglected amongst them, and there are few persons to be found
who cannot read. The instruction of the children is part of the
duty of the priest who devotes several hours each day to the
functions of a school master, and receives the children of all, rich and poor alike.

A high range of hills called Modu-ting, Mranidong, and Yomdong, forms a natural
boundary between Chittagong and Arakan.* ‘To the eastward of
this boundary range, the Koladine river flows at a distance of 10
to 16 miles, and here are a few villages, but for 60 miles higher up no other villages are
met, the intermediate country being totally uninhabited. To the west of the boundary
range reside the Lushai Kukis, the Lushais, I suppose, of Stewart, the tribe that drove into
Kachar the four clans of Ktikis—Thadon, Shingson, Changsen, and Lamgam, noticed above.

The country to the east of the Koladine river from the mouth of the Sulla Kheony
northwards is occupied by the independent Shendus. Of the latter, Sir A. Bogle,
writing in 1847, states “they are very powerful, and reside so far back as to be almost
inaccessible.”’ +

The Koladine (inner) circle includes within its limits 2,652 square miles. The popu-
lation consists of Kheongthas, Mrons, Kumis, and Shendus. The Kheongthas live in 9
villages intermixed with the Kumis. They number 718 souls. The Mrons occupy 12
villages. They number 839 souls. Both Kheongthas and Mrons are quiet, inoffensive
people similar to the Jumea Mugs. Latham says, the Mrons are also called Rukheng,
i.e. Rukhaing,? but that is the name of the country, whence Arakan.

Both ‘ Mrw’ and ‘ Kheong’ are used by the Arakanese as generic terms for hill tribes.
The people who called themselves Mru are now a small tribe, numbering altogether
in Arakan about 2,800 souls,§ who have been gradually driven from the Koladine by the
Kumis, and occupy the hills between Arakan and Chittagong. The Arakanese annals
mention this tribe as already in the country when the Myan-ma race entered it; and
in the fourteenth century one of them was chosen King of Arakan, and they allude
to the Mrons as of the same lineage as the Myan-ma, though the connection is now
repudiated by the Arakanese, who call them ‘Toung Mru,’ wild men.

Tulukmi is a Keongtha village of 380 houses.|| During the day the people live on
land, but at night they occupy large substantial floating huts moved into the middle of
the stream, being afraid of the secret and sudden attacks made by their wild neighbours.
These villages appear to be all within the British pale and are preyed upon. From
the variety of names given they are probably seceders from the more savage and indepen-
dent tribes who prey upon them. Beyond them the Kumis, the largest and most im-
portant of the hill tribes in Arakan, occupy the country on both banks of the Koladine.
They do not acknowledge the authority of any Raja or paramount chief, but they
have their own village chiefs, and these chiefs form a confederacy, to the orders of
which as a body all are to some extent subservient. They are divided into 27 clans,
and the estimated number of the people is about 12,000. Of this tribe there are

Education.

Lushais.

 

* Notes on Tribes of the Eastern Frontier, by J. H. O’Donel, Esq., Revenue Surveyor of Arakan. Journal, Asiatic Soctaty
Bengal, of 1863.

+ Selections, Records of the Bengal Government, No. XI, page 95.

t Vide Colonel Phayre’s note on the History of the Burmah race. Journal Asiatic Society, Bengal, for 1664.

§ Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, No. I of 1853. Notes by Colonel Phayre and Mr. Hodgson.

| Notes by J. H. O’Donel, Esq.

2D
''114, DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grovp IV]

two divisions, called by themselves Kami and Kumi, and by the Arakanese Awa
Kimi and Aphya Ktimi; they are not considered the aborigines of the country
they occupy. They have driven before them the Mrus, and are themselves pressed for-
ward in a westerly and southerly direction by Khyengs and other powerful tribes.*

The more remote clans are called Shendus; they reside in the higher ranges distant
from the river, and pay no revenue. It would appear, then, that the names Kumi and
Shendu are sometimes applied to the same tribe, the more inaccessible and independent
being called Shendus. They are called ‘Poehs’ by the Muniptris, and in some maps
are noted as wild Khyens: they call themselves Heuma. Altogether the: nomenclature of
these tribes is very puzzling. We have Mrus and Mru Khyens, Khyens, Keoks, wild
Khengs, and very little information to enable us to assign to each its proper ethnological
position. The probability is they are all but different clans or tribes of the same race,
like the Abors, Nagas, &c. :

The plundering expeditions of the tribes} of the interior are chiefly to obtain slaves.
The village attacked is surrounded at night and generally set on fire, or a volley of
muskets is fired into it. The inhabitants are seized as they attempt to escape from the
burning houses. The males are put to death, and the women and children carried away
into slavery. In the distribution of the slaves and plunder, the leader receives a double
share. For the release of a captive thus taken, a ransom of Rs. 200 is generally demanded.

The Khyens occupy both banks of the Semru river from the Wah Kheong to the
Khee Kheong; the low hills west of the Jagarudony range, the valley of the Taroi
Kheong, and the low hills and plains within the Tandan Guachrain, Prwanrhay and
Dainboong circles. They are a quiet, inoffensive people, and number 3,304 souls. These
are within the pale, and pay revenue to the British Government. The males go
almost naked. The females wear a dark bluet cotton gown fastened at the neck and
descending to the knees. Their faces are tattooed to a most disfiguring extent, and they
have a tradition that the practice was resorted to in order to conceal the natural beauty for
which they were so renowned, that their maidens were carried off by the dominant race
in lieu of tribute. Figures of animals are sometimes imprinted on their flesh as orna-
ments. The operation is so painful, that the young girls are tied down when subjected
to it, and their faces remain swollen for a fortnight from its effects.

The more remote Khyens are erratic in their habits, rarely remaining in the same
place for more than two or three years. They move in large bodies, and when they have
fixed on a suitable site for a new settlement, they build houses like those of the Mugs.
In their nomadic habits and migrations they thus resemble the Kukis.

The Khyens of the higher ranges are independent: they declare that they at one time
lived under a monarchical government in the plains of Pegu and Ava§, but their king
was deposed by invaders, and retreating into the hills they formed a confederacy of
separate colonies, each under its own chief. They retained an hereditary priesthood,
called passin, who officiate at weddings and funerals, are conservators of traditions, and
exorcists in cases of sickness or seizure by devils or witches.

* Note by Colonel Phayre, Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, No. 1, 1853, page 16.

+ Notes on Tribes of the Eastern Frontier by J. H. O’Donel, Esq., Revenue Surveyor, Arakan
{ Other writers say black.

§ Latham, Descriptive Ethnology, Vol. I., pp. 157-159.

 
''KOOS AND KARENS. 115

One of the objects of worship with the Khyens is a thick bushy tree bearing a small
berry called subri. At certain seasons they hold festivals in honor of this tree, meeting
under its branches and sacrificing to it, or eating in its name pigs and fowls.

When a tree is struck by lightning, they search for the missile or thunder-bolt, and
any likely stone is accepted as such, made over to the Passin, and held sacred and sacrificed
to as something given from heaven.

They bury their dead—the poor where most convenient; the bones of the wealthy
must rest in a burial place on one of two holy mountains, Keyungnatin* or Zehantoung:
A hut is constructed near the tombs in which people stay to drive away malignant spirits.
The spot is marked by a log or post carved to represent the deceased, as with the Géaros.

All crimes against the community are punished by fine. Life must not be taken
even for life. The penalty of not paying the fine is slavery.

The Mru Khyens are within the pale on the Semru river. They number 4,020
souls, and pay revenue which they raise by rafting down bamboos for sale.t One
of their villages, Anungrua, is a refuge for deformed, maimed, and all sick persons,
labouring under palsy, leprosy, or other incurable disease.{ They are not allowed to beg,
and would on no account receive shelter in any other village.

Near the sources of the Semru river another wild tribe is met with, called by

A Mr. O’Donel Koo.§ They number, at 5 per house, 14,485 souls.
They have intercourse with the neighbouring Kumis of the
Koladine circle, from whom they differ but little in their habits. On occasions of rejoicing
they amuse themselves by dancing round a bull or Gayal tied down to a stake, and as
the dance continues, the animal is slowly dispatched by numberless spear wounds aimed
at every part of his body. The blood is caught in bamboo cups, and men, women, and
children drink it. The Koos have the reputation of torturing|| human victims in a
similar manner; but on this point Mr. O’Donel could obtain no satisfactory information.
They appear to be the most savage of these eastern tribes. No carriers or interpreters
could be found amongst the adjacent tribes who would proceed to their villages. Their
chief food is Indian corn, and they are unacquainted with the use of salt.

In the same ranges of hills to the south of the Khyens, we come on the better known
Karens. Latham thinks that word for word Khyen is Karen,
and this is probable. Mr. Mason tells us, it is a Burmese word
signifying ‘aboriginal’. We are told that the Karens are sometimes called Ka-Khyens
which is a name applied to the Singphos, and the Karen language has noticeable Singpho
affinities. This must be accepted as my reason for noticing a tribe quite out of Bengal.

It may be recollected that the Singphos had a tradition of a form of worship
purer than the paganism they adopted when driven out of their paradise. So with

* Probably Mayeng-Matong.
+ Notes on Eastern Frontier Tribes by J. H. O’Donel, Esq.

t Here those who cannot work are assisted by their relatives.

§ Notes by J. H. O’Donel, Esquire. This is probably the tribe alluded to by Colonel Phayre as Kha. Mr. Hodgson
considers all these terms,—as Khye for the Kasias, Kho or Kejo for Kambojian tribes, Khyen, Kakhyen for the Karens,
and this Khaa, Kho, or Ko, of the Koladine,—to be closely allied. So also the Ka Khyen, or Kakoo, applied to the Singphos.
(See notes on the Indo-Chinese Borderers. Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, for 1853, p. 14-17, note.)

(And see ante, Chapter on the Singphos.)

|| This resembles a sacrificial ceremony called the ‘Bhinda Purub’ till recently practised in Dholbhum, in which
the Santals and Bhumiz are said te take especial delight.

The Karens.
''116 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group IV. ]

the untutored Karen we find a solid foundation of religious belief under an incongruous
rubble structure of very foolish paganism, which Christian Missionaries found it easy to
remove and on the original plinth to raise a structure of pure religion. Divested of the
paganism their old doctrine is too identical with that of the Mosaical books to be of
spontaneous growth. They believe that they once possessed books or received their
religion from books, and the book must have been the Old Testament.

Of their having received instruction from the New Testament before the advent of
the American Baptist Missionaries about 1830 A. D., there is not a trace in any of

nel their traditions. Indeed their notions of the flood are rather

indistinct, and the identity of their traditions and the Mosaical

narrative ends at the dispersion of mankind and confusion of tongues: the first they

represent as having arisen from a want of love to each other and a lack of faith in God;

the latter as a natural result of the first. If their traditions had carried them further on
in Bible history we might have regarded them as one of the ‘lost tribes.’

It is suggested that as there have been Jews in China from time immemorial, the
traditions of the Karens may have been received from them.* This is corroborated by the
fact that the Karens speak of the books from which they received instruction, as having
been made of skin or parchment, and not many years ago some Missionaries in China
obtained from a few Jewish families at Khai-fung-fu several copies of the Pentateuch, the
only part of the Bible they possessed, beautifully written without points or marks for
divisions, on white sheep skins.

We can thus understand their calling the Supreme Being Ywah (Jehovah), and their
having preserved even the names of our first parents in the words E-u and Tha-nai.
Tha-nai, or Tennai, is one of the words for mankind amongst the Hill Miris and Dophlas.
They are represented as having transgressed the commands of God at the instigation
of the dragon and eaten of the white fruit which the dragon beguilingly told them was
the sweetest of all, but enviously kept from them, as eating it would make them divine.

We can imagine their having thus acquired and preserved such fragments of oral
instruction from the inspired writings, but Iam sceptical on the point of their having, as is
alleged, also retained a line of inspired prophets, and surely inspiration alone could have
predicted to a race supposed to have come from Central Asia, before they had yet seen the
sea, that white men would come to them in ships who would restore to them the book
with the words of the eternal God. I have the same faith inthe genuineness of this as a
prediction that I have in the genuineness of the Garo and Abor tradition of the origin of

the English.
The following notice of the Karen polity and paganism I take from Dr. Latham who

quotes Mr. Crosse.
Their government? is patriarchal, but besides the elders, two classes of men exercise

considerable influence, the Bukho and the Wi. The former is
FOV t; Priest f :
rate on a priest, an adept at the conduct of ceremonials, somewhat of a

* Notes of the Karen language by Revd. F. Mason.
+ The scriptural traditions are found chiefly amongst the Sgan Karens. All the tribes have traditions of God having

once dwelt amongst them; but in regard to creation many have wandered away from the old tradition into childish myths,
some evidently tinted with Hinduism, and some that appear to have been originated since they came in contact with the white
men ; vide Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, Volume 34, pages 176-196, &c.

{ Latham’s Desc. Ethnology, Vol. I.

 

 
'': KARENS, &C. 117

magician and a little of a physician. The latter is a prophet or oracle, but he only
predicts when the spirit throws him into epilepsy or into a state of quasi involuntary
writhing and foaming. We have seen this before in the Kachdri Ojha, and shall see it
again. On recovering from the fit he delivers his prophecy.

The local, personal, and individual, genii of the Karens are called Kelah, or La, or
Lai, or Yo.* Every object has its Kelah; if the rice crop is
unpromising, its Kelah has to be invoked. Every man has his
Kelah or La; it existed before him, comes with him into the world, and lives with
him till his death, but the Kelah does not die with him. Some Las thus separated
from the body which they have inhabited, remain on earth and become mischievous spirits.
Some go to hades, some (thence ?) to hell, some to heaven. But besides this aléer ego that
each man possesses, bad passions, reckless folly, and madness, have each their Kelah, and a
man ails, or appears according to the La of the kind that seizes him. The moral
principle or soul is called ‘Thah’; when we do good, or when we do evil, it is the Thah
that does it.

The head is the abode of a deity called Tso (conscience ?); so long as he keeps his
seat, no Kelah (evil propensity ?) can do any mischief.

The God Phi-pho presides in a sort of purgatory, called
cootay. Those who die ordinarily go to him. If the shades are good, and please him,
they are passed on to heaven; if they fail to give satisfaction, they are sent to ‘ Lerah’,
hell.

But some mortals, as the Burmese generally, are so wicked, that they do not go to
Phi. They become goblins, ‘ Kephoo’, &c., and wander about feeding on the Kelahs (evil
propensities ?) of men.f

In the Mukhas the parents and ancestors of the Karens are worshipped with offerings.
They are regarded as the creators of the present generation, and they preside over
marriages and births.{

The ‘ Wi’ has the power of reviving the dead or dying, but he must first catch the
spirit of some person alive and divert it to the dead one. The person thus robbed sinks
into death, but he is revived by a similar process, and so the Wi may continue the
operation ad infinitum.

One very benevolent deity, called Phibi-Ya, sits on a lonely stump and watches the
corn-fields, and it is due to her kind care that the corn ripens and the granaries are filled.

Under the denomination Karen are included several tribes speaking different dialects
of the same language. The Sgans are the most numerous; they
are found from Mergui in latitude 12°N. to Prome and Toungoo
in nearly latitude 19°. Beyond the Toungoo southern boundary, they call themselves
Man-ne-pgha, and on crossing Mitnam creek Paki.

The Pwos are found scattered in the same region as the Sgans to a short distance
above Sitang. They have generally adopted Budhism. The Sgans call this clan Pwos,
but they call themselves Sho, and they are distinguished by wearing embroidered

tunics.

Genii.

Religion.

Other Tribes.

* Revd. J. Mason, Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, Vol. 34, p. 200. + Latham. { Mason.
§ Notes on the Karen language, &c., by the Revd. F. Mason, Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, 1858, p. 134.
245
''118 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group IV.

Distinction by dress is common to other Karen tribes. The Red Karens are not, as
one would suppose, so called from the color of their skins; they owe the appellation to the
color of their breeches. The wild Karens have red radiating lines on the seats of the
same garment, but this appears to be a compromise on the orthodox custom, which is to
have the radiating lines tattooed on their backs.

The Bghai Karens are found in Pegu, south of Toungoo. Their eastern boundary is
the Salween. They are greater savages than the other Karens, robbers and kidnappers by
profession.

The Sgans, Pwos, and Bghais are the principal Karen tribes, but there are two or
three smaller ones, the Mopgha, the Toungthus (which signifies ‘southern mountaineers,’
they call themselves Pa-an), and a tribe called Tari, who shave their heads leaving a tuft
of hair on each temple.

I have no description of the personal appearance of the Karens. It would appear
from incidental references that their features are more regular or more Caucasian than
those of the tribes around them; but the best authority, Colonel Phayre, upholds that
their national physiognomy is essentially Indo-Chinese, and their speech connects them
with the same family.

Their tradition regarding their migrations is thus given by the Revd. Mr. Mason :—-

“These cities of our jungles were in ruins when we came here. This country is not
our own. We came from the north, where we were independent
of the Burmese, the Siamese, and the Talaings, who now rule
over us. There we had a city and a country of our own called Toungoo. All the
Karens of Siam, Burmah, and Pegu, came originally from that region: their traditions
carry them back far beyond Toungoo. There they had settled, but their ancestors
had crossed the river of running sand in coming there. That was a fearful trackless
region where the sands rolled before the winds like the waves of the sea, but they were
supernaturally led through it.”

Mr. Mason adds,—* To what this river or waters of running sand referred was quite
an enigma to me for several years, till I met with the journal of the Chinese Budhist
pilgrim, Fa Hian, who came from China to India in the early part of the fifth century
of the Christian era. He thus designates the great desert between China and Tibet. The
governor of the town of sands, he says, furnished his party with the necessary means of
crossing the river of sand. ‘There are evil spirits in this river of sand, he continues, and
such scorching winds, that who encountereth them dies and none escape; neither birds are
seen in the air, nor quadrupeds on the ground. On every side, as far as the eye can reach,
if you seek for the proper place to cross, there is no other marks to distinguish it than the
skeletons of those who have perished there; these alone seem to indicate the route.”

Of these traditional migrations, Colonel Phayre says, “Such tribes, as the Burmese,
the Karens, and the Mon (‘Talaings), would readily find their way from Central Asia by the
course of the rivers Salween and Meenam towards the south; some would be led westerly,
and so gain the valley of the Irawaddy in the upper course of that river. This the
Talaings and Burmese probably did at an early period, whilst the Karens kept for ages to
the mountain bordering east and west of the Salween and Meenam rivers, and only
lately came into the Irawaddy valley and along the mountains bordering on the seacoast;
as far as 12° northern latitude.

Traditions of migrations.

 
''KARENS, TALAINGS, &C. 119

I have introduced the Karens into this work, though they are not in Bengal, in
consequence of their evident connection with some of the Asim
races. I must notice one more tribe for a similar reason. A people
of no small importance, the Talaings, or Mon, of Pegu, who, we are informed, speak a
language quite distinct from the Indo-Chinese tongues of the adjoining tribes, but which
strongly resembles the Munda or Ho language of Singhbhum and Chitia Nagpur.
Mr. J. R. Logan, quoted by Colonel Phayre, in his paper on the history of the Burmah
race,* considers “ the radical identity of the relative pronouns, definitives, and numerals of
the Kol with those of the Mon-Anam group as established. Both groups in their glossarial
basis are branches of one formation, much more akin to Tibetan Burman than to Dravidian.

There appear to be good grounds for inferring that the ancestors of the Talaings or
Mon people were amongst the earliest settlers in the Burmese Provinces, and they may
be regarded as the aborigines of Pegu; but whether they came from the north or the
south, is still, I think, an open question.

Following the rivers that had been their guides from the snows they may have
pressed on to the seaboard, other hordes coming after them and filling up the most
advantageous positions in their rear. They could extend only by crossing the sea to
India; but Mr. Logany considers it more probable that they followed the course of
the Brahmaputra, as “the relation of the Mon-Anam to the Vindhyan dialects shows
that the Dravidian traits of the former were wholly or chiefly acquired in Bengal.”

The Asamese to this day call the Burmese Mon or Mdn, and the country Man-desh.
The Chinese call them Mien.

Is there any connection between this word Mon and the Midnda,} as the Chitia

Nagptir branch of the Kols call themselves? We generally find
La occurrence of the that the name used by one of these primitive tribes to indicate
themselves is their word for ‘man’. In the specimen of languages

of Southern Africa given in Pritchard’s Natural History of Man, we find the following :—

Delagoa Bay. Mozambique. Suali. Niko. Kamba. Pokomo. Nian. Kongo.
Monhi. Mantu. Mtu. Mutu. Mindu Mintu. Mindu. Moontau.

In the language of the Fiji islanders the word for sun is identical with the word
used by the Mundas, viz., ‘ singa.’

Mr. Logan notices that in the dialect of the Binnua and Simang people in Province
Wellesley and Prince of Wales Island, the pronouns used have the peculiar forms that
were current amongst the Himalaia people which predominated in the Gangetic
basin and its confines before the Arians advanced. ‘The pronouns and many other
common vocables are still used by the Kols or Santal tribes on the Ganges, the
Kgi or Kasia on the Brahmaputra basin, the Palaong, and the Mon, or Peguans, on the
Jrawaddy, the Kambojans on the Mekong, and the Anamese on the Tonguin. That a
Mon colony flourished on the Minda down to a period long subsequent to the intrusion
of the Arians into India, is evidenced by rocky inscriptions in characters similar to the
ancient Mon which are found in Province Wellesley and on Bukit Mariam.§

The Talaings.

 

* Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, No. 1, for 1864, page 28, note.

+ Journal, Indian Archipelago, paragraphs 157 and 159. See note, para. 24, to Phayre, on the History of the Burmah
Race.

{ Munda is generally said to be derived from the Sanskrit word signifying ‘a head.’

§ Note on Races in Prince of Wales Island and Province Wellesley by Mr. Logan, forwarded to the Government of the
Straits Settlements, in a letter from Colonel W. Man, dated October 12th, 1866.
''120

DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL.

VOCABULARY TO GROUP IV.*

 

[Group IV,

 

Burmeszt, Mve

 

Ktnt.

Mrvt.

 

 

 

 

ENGLISH. oa Meas KAYENG on SHOU. Kami, Rep Karen.
One see | OG o | abat e. he 3. | ha .. | loung eodtale
Two eee | nhit pan-nhi ni ~ | nhi eos | pre w. | Ne
Three . <i. | bon «| tham ... | ka-tain «os | tom ... | Shtin ... | theu.
Four . «i: ) esc} Thi .. | ma-li w | pal was) tall .-. | lwie.
Five | ngé ... | nghau pang-nga ee | pan ... | tanga a. | ava
Six e-- | khyouk ... | sauk bac eee | baer oe tara theutho.
Seven... | khun-nhit ...| s*hé ws | Sarl ose | SATE ra-nhit ... | theuthota.
Hight... | shyit ove | dt ... | kaya we. | ta-ya eve | Ti yat Iwietho.
Nine. <i. | RO ko ... | ta-ko ... | ta-kau ww. | ta-ka ... | Lwiethota,
Ten sin | SAL os | hd os | ba-suh ‘ox | Bal bee: | te ... | tashe.
Twenty ...| nhit-shai  ...| kqr ... | kisuh a-pum-ré ove | Pira-mi  ,.. | neshe,
Fifty ...|/ngazhai ...|nghau-gip .. ki-i-pang-ngd ... | wi-pa-rf pe Ss nya-shie.
Hundred... | tay wt ele RE see | tara, os | CHUM watl  <.. ales tayay.
I oe | nga «+ | kyi w. | ka-f wo kd Us os va.
We ee. | ngd-do ose | kin-nfi .e. | Ka-chi ... | k&-i-no a Ae pay-
Thou men or nen ... | néng | pan . | nang . ue na.
You --- | mendo . | ndng-nf ... | nan-chi ndng chino .. plete thie.
He so. | tAw sos [on Eo. | hana hi Be see cs a.
They _... | thido es. | ni-di or ni-li_... /hdn-na orha-ni-chi ae ve «rats
Of me ... sks dehiess Aeeves a vt ig
Cf as, oe i. abeees aieees ae see eee
Of him ... ee eecece eoscee see *e oe
Mine... | ngai +++ | ki-ko ... | ka-f-un si “ia eg serene be
Our -. | ngddoi ki-ni-ko ... | ké-chi-un iss ieee eyees Pays
Thine... | meni +++ | néng-ko ... | nan-un ban os oe eeee ae
Your _ ... | mendoi «| néng niko ...|nan-chiun ... sed ax teeeee thie.
His eve | thi «++ | ni-ko <o. \Deneiin 4c. si Weis eee >
Their ..|thidoi ... | nf-di-ko ... | hani-chi-un lo ae a.
aod 4s | let -- | kiith oe | akin ie ka 22 ant 525] Sue
Foot | khyé +». | ka-ko .. | a-kho ... | Khou ... | khouk w. | Kha.
Nose... | na kaung hee ie Le ae sssase
Kye — | myetsi we | midi pe paw | 6 _. | min ... | May.
Mouth nhup ee | hak-kau ... | a-ma-ka li-boung - | Dae mee tees :
Tooth ... | thw& «| ka-hau a. | a-fhé i 10 Lou ... | kho-khe,
Ear nd «+ | ka-nhau .. | aga-nd ka-no .. |parém ,,, | kha-lay.
Hair —.. | haben lu-sém .. | a-s’ham .. | shim _|shim __,.. | Kho-lya,
Head” as ghoung on 6 7 | ale a ele 2 146 ... | hoo-krau.
Tongue ..., Se oA con. Les oes sereee
Belly — «+ | woon ba biecy Sctens eat set aee es
Back «| kyo ae es oo ere ore eee “ee
Iron than. sve | OBE shein ... | ta-mhu ... | loung-h4.., | hto-htay
Gold... | shu ive ee ao ee avctne “ one
Silver... ngwe ee hive sepees eepves eves tosses
Go vee | thw w. | tsit eal son {16 - wes eee a
Eat Aa SE Seeclee a tes Ree tSA ze eees Ce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*The Red Karen words are taken from Journal, Asiatic Society,
for 1853, p. 8; the Burmese words in Italics are taken from the Selecti

Bengal, Part II, 1865, p. 239; the Burmese, Khyeng, Kami, Kami, MrG, from ditto,
ons, Records of Government of India, Foreign Department, No, 27, appendix.

 

 

 

 
''VOCABULARIES. |

VOCABULARY TO GROUP IV.

121

 

 

Burmese, Mue

 

 

ENGuisn. on Myaumd.* | SHYENG oR SHOU. Kami. Mrv. Rep Karen.
Sit ... | thding ngunge .. | ka-nd .. | tat ‘ stsase o-nya.
Father _—_.:. | ph4-6 ws ) pan pa-ei | am-po oe | pa . | phay.
Mother e-- | a-mi ae a ese | Da-t-i am-nu ve | ath ... | meu.
Brother _... | ako ngee Sica pone seen be a
Sister UMA NUMA « Ssecies ee Seeeee te eee aelaes
Man secla ... | klang oor | kant ku-mi 2. ai .. | pray-ka-ya,
Woman + | meingma ee eS ee soaas ui
Wife sap cre nO Ue lus a ec sues es Oe as cae
Child on eos ee ON ee demas ‘
Son --- | chagau kya... oe ee tll eteaas ‘ * ee be
Dauenier sv) chuniwee se kteene ee “ a
Slave Bee ee eh CU GO aeaaes tee * ay eee
Cultivator ... ew Od ewe a
Shepherd ee heee pee reas . mm bs dee
God oe. | phura ie soee teeeee “ tetees
Devil es. | nat pik ta reeees sees ” ais ws
Come la, youk:, «. [40 i eve | YOU : ove ray, Ha.
Beat (strike)... | yaik, pok ,,, | mo-lé ma-lé pu-khou-orathum be mu
Stand ... | tha, mat... | téin-e ka-do ... | dng-thou wes se-htau.
Sun eee | De se, | KO-Dha ... | Ka-ni ka-ni ta-nin hemos.
Moon oo .. | khlau oa tie hlo pa-la lay.
Star «| Kyai ... | 44-shé a-s’ hi .. | ka-si ki-rek shay.
Fire a | tat mi ... | mat mha-f ma-f me.
Water yé we. | taf o. | taf tti-f tt-i --- | htye.
House ... | eing ae us| oe wos | OD kin w+ | hie,
Horse ... | myin ws | BS ... | taphi koung-nga ko-ra-nga ta-the.
Cow nua .-. | Sharh kha-bo-i es. | SL-TA we, | tsi-ya | popu.
Cock ese Wises “ tees - ‘° ei
Duck oe, ses ee ys ee ee .
Ass a éteeee oe eee ee oh ae aGiey tence
Camel ae Pe eas aoe seen shanes 2
Bird --- | nghet hau ka-va or ta-va ... | ta-wi ta-wa htu.

To die tse do Ute te ee oats eee teeeee Soe
PORN © 2.) pe es. | pe-ge | ... | na-pa wes | pet _ dye.

Run --- | pyé see | Cho-né a-whi lel eek nl aes : kywa.

Up (above) ... | apomhé, ada-ma-ka.,.. |) @koungihe. «4; (RIGO Oo a klau-khoo.
Near ee | ME ... | a-shyo-ro-yan .. | nei eo. | ki-sd “i phoo.
Who ee | bhé cha ... | G-liam «. | a-pa-i-mé saan ak
And ligoung i neasie deh ing oe vau.

Yes «+ | hokhé ..- | ahi oo | ta-ko-ké ten | dla oe eu, ma-han.
Down (below) | ouk mh4 .., | dé-kan ting-bé i-klot ray: klau-lay.
Far wé ... | tsu-4 a-lhau a-me | khaén-l4 pi-la-pai ae ye.

What e | bhd i-ni-hém ee fie oe a Louies
But ose as #0 98 as saliva sees eavent
No ++ | mahok .- | hi-a .-. | na-u-ké .. | 1a-0 a“ e to.

Before on ue besos aa son ee ive
Behind... ne | ae aa . od
Why + | bhépyulo ... | fna-to-4m -» | ta-u-sa-ne eee sence eee es Bay-tie-te.
If ie oa dou cus Hone o tne sake
Alas eee elses lessens ee eee sees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
'' 

 
''re OG Paw,

HINDUISED ABORIGINES AND BROKEN TRIBES.

SECTION 1.—PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

We are told in the Purans that the inhabitants of the Vindhya mountains are the
descendants of ‘Nishdda,’ sprung or born from the thigh of King Vena.* They are
described as being of the colour of charcoal or as black as a crow, and having flattened
faces; and they are innately and hopelessly vicious, because Nishida was so organized, or
his birth was so arranged, that he bore away from the body of Vena all the sins for which
that monarch had previously been notorious, and bequeathed them to his offspring, leaving
his majesty free from all taint and ready for heaven.

We have in this and many similar legends indications that in the most remote times
there was in Central India an intensely dark race, and though the classification might
be deemed unscientific and indefinite, I do not think we should be wrong in fact,
if we were still to speak of their descendants as the swarthy aborigines, in contradistine-
tion to the people of Mongolian origin, who still retain their brown or tawny hues.

I do not wish to ignore the fact that a tropical sun and noxious: climate have
a powerful influence on the colour of the skin; but it is also true that under similar
circumstances of climate and situation certain races of the early settlers retain a
comparatively fair complexion, whilst others in the same position are almost black.
When we find, as we often do, in particular tribes a great variety of complexion, it is

generally under circumstances that on other accounts lead us to infer a mixture of races ;

but when we find one people nearly always yellow or tawny who have lived for ages
in the same climate with another people who are nearly always black, we cannot suppose
that climate is the only influence at work. Affiliating the blacks on Nishada if it pleases
us to do so, we look to some other origin for the tawnies.

In ascribing fanciful origins to the aborigines, the Aryans to a certain extent
admitted them into their own families as bastard relatives of their own and of their gods.
There is, says Menu, no fifth class from which impure tribes could have been born.

 

* Vena was an incorrigible heretic, perhaps some great potentate amongst the aborigines who would not be converted,

but he is represented as ignoring all the heavenly host and ordering that he alone

eae, ag da a was to be adored. The sages and Rishis gaining nothing by their expostulations,

* slew him. The country was without a ruler, as he had left no progeny. The Munis

rubbed the thigh of the dead king, and from it there sprung “a man like a charred log with flattened face, and very short.

They said to him “ nishdda,” sit down; so he was called Nish4da, and from him are descended the Nishaédas of the Vindhyan

Mountains, notorious for their wicked deeds. By this means the sin of King Vena was expelled. They then rubbed his
right hand and his glorious immaculate son Prithu was produced, and Vena, delivered from hell, ascended to heaven.
''124, DALTON.—-ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group V.

According to the theory of the origin of the castes given in the Santi Parva of the M4hé-
bharat,* Brahmans were born white, Kshetryas red, Vaisyas yellow, and Sudras black.
Brahmans, however, lost their colour by irregularities; those who became black were ad-
dicted to lying and covetousness! The impure races according to this theory are caused by
admixture of castes. The same authority says, “the Nishddas are the offspring of a Sudra
woman by a Brahman; a Chandala, ‘lowest of men,’ from a Sudra father and a Vaisya
female, or a Kshetrya. and a Brahmani. They became Mlechchas by abandonment of
proper rites.” In all probability, when Menu wrote, great masses of the aborigines had
become, as we still find them, converts to Hinduism; but as the Brahmanical doctrines
required that a man should be born in the faith, it became necessary to give the proselytes
new pedigrees. |

The Sudras are not, as a rule, a swarthy race. The dark Hindus may have become
dark from climate or from admixture with the swarthy aborigines, or both; but, as a rule,
all Hindus properly classed as Sudras show both in feature and colour an unquestionable
Aryan descent, though from exposure and the rougher nature of their avocations they
may generally appear to be darker and coarser than the so-called twice born classes.
When we find them, as in the Jungle Mahals, in juxtaposition with the dark aborigines,
the difference is distinguishable at a glance.

But the allusions to the Mlechchas and Dasyus in the early Sanskrit literature, de-
note that whilst there were amongst the earlier colonists people who had made some
advance in civilization and were sufficiently powerful to be respected and conciliated, there
were others who were despised and reviled as little above the level of the brute creation.
They had then as now tawny aborigines and black aborigines. The Vindhyan range,
which probably included all the hilly parts of Chiitiad Nagptr, are especially indicated as
the locality of the latter, the black, ill-favored, people; and there we still find specimens of
the lowest type of humanity; creatures who might justly be regarded as the unimproved
descendants of the manufacturers of the stone implements. found in the Damtdar coal-
fields.+ These are the true aborigines, the ‘ Asuras,’ from whom a considerable proportion
of the black pigment is derived that has darkened the skins of a large section of the
population and given us the lowest type of feature.

The pre-Aryan inhabitants of the Gangetic provinces may have included the people
described by Mr. Hodgson as the broken tribes of Nepal, who are dark, though in a climate
favorable to fair and ruddy complexions :—the Kocch, who are the most eastern of the
dark primitive races, the Cheros, the Kharwars, the Kolarian tribes, and some others to be
presently noticed. If we except the Dravidian dialect spoken by the Oraons and
Rajmahali hill tribes, who appear to be of comparatively recent introduction, the Kolarian
or Minda language is the only pre-Aryan tongue now spoken in Bihér and Bengal
proper. It has been wonderfully preserved by different tribes, some massed together as
the Mtinda, Santal, and Bhtimij; some quite isolated and far apart, who have had no
communication with those named or with each other for ages. The tribes Iam about to
describe in this chapter speak no language but a dialect of Hindi; but their physical

 

* Muir's Sanskrit texts, vol. I, page 38.

+ Discovered by Mr. Ball of the Geological Survey. See Memoir, Jherria coal-field, page 265. It would be singular if
these stone implements found on the banks of the Damvidar—Da in the Miinda language meaning water—and the great
veneration of the Santals for that river, were connected.

 
''SEcTIon 2.] THE CHEROS AND KHARWARS. 125

characteristics, some of their customs, the remnants they have preserved of their primitive
paganism, and, in some cases their traditions, lead to the conclusion that they are the
remnants of a people who, together with the Kolarian races, occupied Bihdér and
great part of Bengal proper prior to the appearance of the first Aryan invaders. And
as the Munda or Kol language is common to so many of the tribes who may be
thus linked together, and as those who do not speak it can only converse in the tongue
of the conquerors, it is highly probable that the Munda was at one time the spoken
language of all Bihdr and Bengal.

The priests of Ceylon, according to Captain Mahoney, allege that in Madhyadesa
(Gya), when Gautama was born, the art of writing was not known. The language
spoken, says Buchanan Hamilton,* was no doubt that of the Cheros and Kols. The
former are spoken of as a dominant, the latter as a subject race. It is said the Cheros
accepted the doctrines of Gautama, the Kols rejected them. Buchanan thinks, they were
originally the same people, but the Cheros adopting first Budhism subsequently obtained
and maintained a position as purely born Hindus, whilst the Kols rejecting all change
adhered to their impurity of life, and gradually isolating themselves, or driven from the
society of those who affected to despise them, preserved their unlettered language and
primitive customs to the present day.

That the proselytes should have gradually lost all recollection of their mother
tongue, is not surprising. The process of absorption of the ruder forms of speech is
rapidly progressing under our very eyes or in our hearing. I went this year (1868) to
Jashptir expecting to obtain there ready means of noting down the peculiarities of the
language of the Korwds. A number of most uncouth-looking savages of the tribe
attended on my summons. But they were ‘Dihi Korwas,’ that is, men who had
abandoned their nomadic hill life and made settlements in the plains; and not one of
them would acknowledge that he could speak a word of Korwa.

I may mention another instance. There are many Oraon villages in Chitia Nagptr
in which the Oraon language is quite lost, but the inhabitants nevertheless speak two
tongues—Miuinda and Hindi. It is highly probable that other tribes speaking the
Munda language, have acquired it, losing their own. There is so much difference in
character, physical traits, and customs between the Santal and the Singbhtim Ho, that I
should not be surprised to find they were of distinct origin, though speaking the same
language and having acommon faith. It is an interesting fact that the language
appears to have followed the religion. All the tribes that have become Hindu in faith,
have lost their old language and speak a rude dialect of Hindi. The Oraons in Chutid
Nagpur follow the Minda paganism and adopt the Munda language. The Munda,
Ho, Santaél, and other Kolarian tribes, who adhere to their ancient faith, have preserved
their old language, or at all events a pre- -Aryan language.

Section 2.—THE CHEROS AND KHARWARS.

I have already observed that the Gangetic provinces were in all probability once
occupied by a people speaking the Munda or Kolarian language, and of these the latest
dominant tribe were the Cheros.

 

* See Buchanan on Bihar, Mart in’s edition, page 26.
2G

 
''126 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group V.

In the districts of Bihar are numerous monuments attributed, according to
Buchanan, (and this is fully confirmed by all the enquiries I have been able to make,) to
’ the Kols and Cheros. As these include temples dedicated to the worship of idols, it is not
likely that the people now known as Kols were concerned in their construction, because, if
there be a distinctive feature in the pagan worship of that people, it is the absence of all
ideas of artificially lodging their deities or attempting to represent them. The Kols spoken
of were in all probability Kharwars, who have been for ages mixed up with the Cheros and
subject to them. They claim affinity with each other, and have some customs in common.

They may have both originally formed one nation with the Kols ; but the Kharwars,
like the Cheros, became proselytes to Hinduism, and established for themselves bastard
connectionship with the Hindus. The temple ruins attributed to them were most likely
built after they had undergone some process of conversion.

The distinctive physical traits of the Cheros have been considerably softened by the
alliances with pure Hindu families, which their ancient power and large possessions
enabled them to secure ; but they appear to me still to exhibit an unmistakeable Mongolian
physiognomy. They vary in colour, but are usually of a light brown. They have, as a
rule, high cheek bones, small eyes obliquely set, and eyebrows to correspond, low broad
noses, and large mouths with protuberant lips.

It appears from Buchanan that the old Cheros, like the dominant Kolarian family
of Chutia Nagpur, claimed to be Nagbangsis, and had the same tradition regarding their
origin from the great ‘ Nag’ or dragon that has been adopted by the Chitiad Nagpir
family. The latter were, it seems, even in Gorakhptr and Bihar, allowed to be the heads
of the Nagbangsi family, and Buchanan considered them to be Cheros; but they are, no
doubt, originally of the same race as their Kol subjects, though frequent alliances with
Rajptt families have obliterated the aboriginal lineaments.

The. western part of ‘ Kosala,’ that is Gorakhptr, continued sometime under the
Cheros after other portions of that territory had fallen into the hands of the people called
Gorkha (hence Gorkhaptr, Gorakhpur ?), who were in their turn expelled by the Tharus
also from the north.* The Tharus have left numerous monuments in Gorakhpur, and
a few of them still remain in the district and in Mithila. They claim to be of the
family of the sun, 7. e., the Aryan, but are said to have strongly marked Mongolian
features. One of the Rajas of this dynasty had for his chief priest a man named Rasu,
of the impure tribe of Musahar.*

In Shahdbaéd also the most numerous of the ancient monuments are ascribed to
the Cheros, and it is traditionally asserted that the whole country belonged to them in
sovereignty. Buchanan+ suggests, they were princes of the Sunaka family, who flourished
in the time of Gautama about the sixth or seventh century before the Christian era.
An inscription at Budh Gya mentions one Phudi Chandra, who is traditionally said to
have been a Chero. The Cheros were expelled from Shahabad, some say, by the
Savaras or Suars, some say by a tribe called Hariha; and the date of their expulsion
is conjectured to be between the fifth and sixth centuries of the Christian era. Both
Cheros and Savaras were considered by the Brahmans of Shahabéd as impure or
Mlechchas, but the Harihas are reputed good Kshetryas.

 

* Buchanan, Martin’s edition, Vol. Il., page 342.
tf Idem, Vol. I. page 405.

 
''SEcTION 2. ] THE CHEROS AND KHARWARS. 127

The overthrow of the Cheros in Mithila and Magadha seems to have been complete.
Once lords of the Gangetic provinces, they are now found in
the Shahabdid and Bihar districts, only holding the meanest
offices, or concealing themselves in the woods skirting the hills occupied by their cousins
the Kharwars, but in Palémau they retained till a recent period the position they had
lost elsewhere. A Chero family maintained almost an independent rule in that Pargana
till the accession of the British Government; they even attempted to hold their castles
and strong places against that power, but were speedily subjugated, forced to pay
revenue and submit to the laws. They were, however, allowed to retain their estates;
and though the rights of the last Raja of the race were purchased by Government
in 1813, in consequence of his falling into arrears, the collateral branches of the family
have extensive estates there still. According to their own traditions (they have no
trustworthy annals), they have not been many generations in Palamau. They invaded
that country from Rohtds, and with the aid of Rajput chiefs, the ancestors of the
Thdkurais of Ranka and Chainpur, drove out and supplanted a Rajpit Raja of the
Rakshail family, who retreated into Sirgija and established himself there. It is
said that the Pala4mau population then consisted of Kharwars, Gonds, Mars,
Korwds, Parheya, and Kisins. Of these the Kharwadrs were the people of most
consideration, the Cheros conciliated them, and allowed them to remain in peaceful
possession of the hill tracts bordering on Sirgija; all the Cheros of note who assisted in
the expedition obtained military service grants of land which they still retain. It is
popularly asserted that at the commencement of the Chero rule in Paldmau, they
numbered twelve thousand families, and the Kharwars eighteen thousand, and if an
individual of one or the other is asked to what tribe he belongs, he will say, not that he is
a Chero or a Kharwiar, but that he belongs to the twelve thousand or to the eighteen
thousand, as the case may be.

The Palémau Cheros now live strictly as Rajptits and wear the ‘poita’, or caste thread.
They do not, however, intermarry with really good Rajpit families. I do not think they
cling to this method of elevating themselves in the social scale so tenaciously as do the
Kharwars. But intermarriages between Chero and Kharwar families have taken place.
A relative of the Pal4mau Raja married a sister of Manindth Sing, Raja of
Rémegarh, and this is amongst themselves an admission of identity of origin; as both
claiming to be Rajptits they could not intermarry till it was proved to the satisfaction of
the family priests that the parties belonged to the same class. But the Pal4mau Cheros,
and I suppose all Cheros, claim to be descendants of Choin Muni, one of the Rishis, a
monk of Kumdon; some say the Rishi took to wife the daughter of a Raja, and that
the Cheros are the offspring of their union; others, that the Cheros are sprung in a
mysterious manner from the Ashan, or seat, of Choin Muni. They have also a tradition
that they came from the Morung.

The Kharwars have different legends. They declare their original seat to have been
Rohtads, so called from its having been the chosen abode of Rohitaswa, son of King
Harischandra of the family of the sun, and they, considering themselves to be entitled
as subjects of his paternal Government to claim to be of the same family as their father
and chief, call themselves Stirja-bangsas, and wear the ‘poita’, or caste string, as good
Kshetryas; others say they are a mixed race originated during the reign of Raja Ben,

History.
''128 DALTON.--ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group V.

by whose order all men were allowed to mate themselves with women of any caste or
country, and the Kharwars are the offspring of a marriage between a Kshetrya male
and ‘Bharni’ female (7. e., a woman of the aboriginal races) thus contracted. From
the extreme ugliness of their physiognomies, I am inclined to believe that the mass of
Kharwars are of pure Turanian descent, and it is not improbable that they are allied to
the Kiratis, who, we are informed by Mr. Hodgson,* call themselves by a nearly similar
name, viz., ‘ Kirawa,’ and have like the Kharwars one clan or division of the tribe called
Manjhi. The Kiratis are included amongst the descendants of Nishddas in the
Bhagavat, and are described “as of black complexion,” as “ black as crows,” with
projecting chins, broad flat noses, red eyes, and tawny hair.t The tawny hair alludes,
I imagine, to the rusty appearance it assumes when allowed to grow in a massed
unkempt state. I have seen Korwés to whom the above description is very applicable.

There is in the seventh volume of the Asiatic Researches, a notice of the Kharwars
of the Kaimir hills in the Mirzapir District to the north of the Son River by
Captain J. T. Blunt, who, in his journey from Chunar to Ellora in the year 1794 A. D.,
met with them and describes them as a very primitive tribe. He visited one of their
villages consisting of half-a-dozen poor huts, and though proceeding with the utmost
caution, unattended, to prevent alarm, the inhabitants fled at his approach. The women
were seen, assisted by the men, carrying off their children and moving with speed to hide
themselves in the woods. It was observed that they were nearly naked, and the only
articles of domestic use found in the deserted huts were a few gourds for water vessels,
some bows and arrows, and some fowls as wild as their masters. With great difficulty,
by the employment of Kols as mediators, some of the men were induced to return.
They were nearly naked, but armed with bows and arrows and a hatchet. Captain
Blunt was under the impression that these mountaineers spoke a peculiar language, and
collected a few specimens, but nearly half the words given are Hindi :—

English. Kharwar.
Food ou Gopuckney.
To sit down ie Goburro.
Salt co Minka.
A goat ae Chargur, H.
Fire uy Ugundewta, Hindi, Fire god.
A tiger De Kerona.
A hut i. Muyjjarh.
The Moon a Chandurma, Chandhurma, H.
The Sun Surjun dewta, Sun god, H.

Speaking of the Kharwars of Shéhdbid, Buchanan says that great confusion pre-
vailed concerning them, because in different places they have in very different degrees
adopted the rules of Hindu purity in very different situations of life. Some are found
amongst the labouring classes bearing burdens and carrying palanqueens, some have attained
positions as landowners, lording it over Brahmans and Rajputs, their ryots, whilst others
occupy the table-land unmixed with any other tribe, and there is little reason to doubt
that they are its original inhabitants. These, he observes, have retained the features by
which the aboriginal tribes of the Vindhyan mountains are distinguished, but no one has

* See Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, for 1858, page 448.
+ See Wilson’s Vishnu Purana, new edition, vol. I., p. 183.

 
''SEcTION 2.] THE CHEROS AND KHARWARS. 129

met with any of the tribe who retain a trace of their original language. If the conjec-
ture of affinity between Kiratis and Kharwars be correct, the structure of the original
language would connect them with the Munda or Kolarian races. Mr. Hodgson has given
a full account of the Kirant or Kirati languages in the journal quoted, and says that the
complex pronominalization of the Kiranti verb points to a special connection with the
Munda. In the fragments of an ancient religion preserved by the Kharwars notwith-
standing their Hinduism, there is much that supports the theory of their having been at
one time in some way associated, if not connected, with the Kolarians.

The Cheros and Kharwars both observe like the Kols triennial sacrifices. Every
three years a buffalo and other animals are offered in the sacred
grove ‘Sarna,’ or on a rock near the village. They also have like
some of the Kols a priest for each village called Pihn. THe is always one of the impure
tribes, a Bhttiya, or Kharwar, or a Parheya, and is also called Byga, and he only can offer
this great sacrifice. No Brahmanical priests are allowed on these occasions to interfere.
The Deity honored is the tutelary god of the village, sometimes called Duar Pahar,
sometimes Dharti, sometimes Purgahaili, or Daknai, a female, or Dura, a Sylvan god,
the same perhaps as the Darha of the Kols. I found that the above were all worshipped
in the village of Munka in Palamau, which belongs to a good typical Chero, Kunwar
Bhikari Sing.

Buchanan estimated the Kharwars of Shahabéd at about 150,000. They are still
more numerous in the districts of Chuti4d Nagpur, especially in the Palémau and
Raémegarh estates, and a large proportion of the landed gentry are Kharwars.

The Rajas of Ramgarh and Jashptr are members of this family who have nearly
succeeded in obliterating their Turanian traits by successive intermarriages with Aryan
families. The Jashptr Raja is wedded to a lady of pure Rajptt
blood, and, by liberal dowries, has succeeded in obtaining a similar
union for three of his daughters. It is a costly ambition, but there is no doubt that the
infusion of fresh blood greatly improves the Kharwar physique. The late Maharaja
Sambhunith Singh of Ramgarh, was a remarkably handsome man, sufficiently so to
support his pretensions to be a true child of the sun; but according to the traditions and
annals of his own family, his ancestors must have been very low in the social scale
when they first came to Rémgarh. They are descended from the younger of two brothers,
who, generations ago, came as adventurers, and took service under the Maharaja of -
Chiiti4 Nagpir. The elder obtained Ramgarh as a fief on his doing homage to the
Maharaja and receiving the ‘tilak,’ or mark of investiture, from that great potentate’s toe !

Almost all the men ‘of ancient standing with proprietary rights in the Ramgarh
estate are Kharwars. The Thakurs of Htsir S4ram and Babu Dalgovind of Khoyra,
of Raéjptit lineage, have become Kharwars by marrying into the Raja’s family.

The KharwiArs are divided into four tribes or families,—Bhogtas, Manjhis, Réits, and
Mahatos.

The Bhogtas are found in the hills of Palamau skirting Sirgtja, in Tori and Bhanwar
Pahar of Chiitia Nagpur and other places. They have always
had an indifferent reputation. The head of the clan in Pal4mau
-was a notorious freebooter, who, after having been outlawed, and successfully evading

every attempt to capture him, obtained a jagir on his surrendering and promising to
2H

Priesthood and Deities.

Intermarriages.

Sub-divisions.
''130 : DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group V.

keep the peace. He kept to his engagement, and died in fair repute; but his two sons
could not resist the opportunity afforded by the disturbances of 1857-58. After giving
much trouble, they were captured,—one was hanged, the other transported for life, and
the estate was confiscated.

The low Kharwars in feature strongly resemble the Santéls. They are very dark,
with pyramidal shaped low noses, thick protuberant lips, and
cheek bones or zygomata that project so as to make the temples

hollow. In their worship of the manes of their ancestors and their triennial, or sometimes
biennial, sacrifices to the tutelary pagan gods, they follow the custom of the Kolarian
tribes; but here, so far as I know, the similarity ends. The Kharwars are of a lazy,
sullen disposition, and have no festive meetings like the Santdls and their brethren.
In adopting Hinduism, it is the bloody Kali as Chandi that they most delight to
honor, and if they are not maligned, manya human victim suffers on the altars erected
*by them in her name. It is a fact that some of our people who fell into their hands in
1857 and 1858, were so dealt with. |
In a village* recently visited by the writer in Palamau on the borders of Sirgija,
I found all the inhabitants Kharwars except one family,—that of the village pagan
priest, who was a Korwaé. I have often remarked this peculiarity of the borderers to take
as priest the greatest barbarian they could find in the neighbourhood. They argue that
the hill people, being the oldest inhabitants, are best acquainted with the habits and pecu-
liarities of the local spirits, and are in least peril from them; besides, they are wholly
pagan, whilst the people in whose behalf they make offerings
having Hindu and Brahmanical tendencies, could only offer a
divided allegiance to the sylvan gods which it might not be safe to tender. The chosen
priest was called the Byga. He told me that he offered sacrifices in the name of the
village every second year to Chindol, a male spirit, Chanda, a female spirit, and to Parvin.
Buffalo, sheep, and goats are offered to all these promiscuously. They do not associate
Chanda with Ka4li, and make no prayers to any of the Hindu gods; but when they are in
great affliction, they appeal to the sun. They have no particular name for the luminary,
ealling it ‘straj,’ and any open place on which he shines may be the altar. The other
gods have shady retreats. These villagers honored their ancestors by a yearly offering of
a wether. goat ; this is strictly a family affair. The animal is killed and eaten at home.

The Kharwiars do not indulge in dancing as an amusement after the fashion of the
Kolarian and Oraons, but they have dancing festivals in which
the women join. They dance apart from the male performers,
and are so modest about it, that not only is each girl’s head covered by her own dress,
but a light cloth is thrown in addition over the heads of the whole group. The Kor-
was of this part of Pal4mau have adopted this mode of double veiling. It appeared
strange to see Kolarian girls disporting themselves in so prudish a fashion, and I am
satisfied that their cousins of Singbhim, Ménbhim, and Santélia, would soon laugh them
out of such mauvaise honte.

In the above practices the Kharwérs appear to have retained their primitive or
at least non-Aryan customs, but they generally follow the Hindu
observances in marriages and in their disposal of the dead.

Physical traits.

Priesthood and Deities.

Dancing.

Marriages and burials.

* Noka.

 
''SxcTrons 3 AND 4.] THE KISANS OR NAGESAR TRIBE. 1381

Parents arrange for the marriages of their children, whilst they are yet too young to
choose for themselves, and a Brahman priest attends to direct the ceremonial and read
the passages from the sacred books.

The dead are burned, and the ashes thrown into some river or stream with as little
delay as possible.

It is worthy of notice that the Rajmahal hill tribes in their traditions accounting for
the creation of various races of man,* make mention of the Kharwars as a people,
who, driven across the Ganges, lived in tents, having no settled abode.

SEcTION 3.—TIHE PARHEYAS.

The people in Palaimau so called appear to be the mere remnant of a tribe who,
according to their own traditions and the traditions of other races in this district, once
formed an important section of the population. I have little to say about them. They
are one of the numerous tribes, or perhaps, it might be more correctly stated, one of
the branches of the great tribe who, with Turanian features and many corresponding
customs, have adopted Hindi as a language to the obliteration of all their primitive
forms of speech, and who, though affecting Hindu customs, retain practices that are in the
eyes of Hindus impure and abhorrent. Their marriages and funeral ceremonies are
Hindu. In the former, the red powder called ‘sindtir’ is used, the bridegroom sealing
the compact by touching and marking with it the forehead of his bride. The Kolarian
races who have adopted the custom, show their superior appreciation of female dignity
by requiring an interchange of the process, the bride respectfully returning the com-
pliment by similarly marking her husband. The Hinduised tribes do not allow of her
taking so active a part in the ceremony. The Palémau Parheyas have retained the
adoration of sylvan deities, Dharti, whose name we shall frequently meet, and Gohet.
These gods dwell in the hills and delight in the blood of goats.+

I have noticed considerable variety of features amongst the Parheyas. Of fourI had
before me at Ramktnda in Palaimau, two might have been classed as Negro, two as
Mongolian. The two former were dark and prognathous; the latter bright copper colored
with flat, broad faces and slightly oblique eyes.

Section 4.—-Tue Kishns on NAGESAR TRIBE.

As the word ‘kisdn’, like ‘chésa’, merely means a cultivator of the soil, the tribe
so called has probably acquired the name from their devoting themselves peculiarly
to that occupation. In some parts of the country they are called Ndgesar; but they
do not in consequence claim to be cousins or clansmen of the Rajas of Chitié Nagptir—
the head of the Nadgbangsis or Nags. Much has been written on the origin of the
Nagas, who figure in the Mahabharat as antagonists of the Pandavas, and no doubt
Mr. Talboys Wheeler is right in his conjecture that they were prior occupants of the
forests whom the Pandavas sought to eject. Our Nagesars, still denizens of the jungles,
or cultivating the skirts of the forests, may be a remnant of this ancient race.

 

* Asiatic Researches, Vol. IV., page 46.
+ The Parheyas have a tradition that their tribe formerly held sheep and deer sacred, and used the dung of those animals
to smear floors with, as they now use cowdung.
''132 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group V.

The Kisdns are found in Sirgtija, Jashpur, Paldmau, and a few in the Lohardagga
District. My first introduction to them was at Moheri in Sirgitja. I found in this part
of Sirgaja a great variety of aborigines of the type now under consideration. Here
were the Mars, a mixed race, wild Korwds, Bhtiyas, Bhtihers, and Kisdns. The
Kiséns in appearance resemble the Kol, but not the best type of Kol, more Santdl
than Ho. ‘They showed to great advantage besides the Bhuihers, but were inferior in -
good looks to the Bhtiyas. Their resemblance to the Kol is not in looks alone. ,

As with the Santals, their chief object of worship is the tiger, the ‘ban raja,’ lord of
the jungles. They will not kill that ferocious enemy to man, and are disposed to think
that the tiger in return for their devotion would spare a Kisdin. They adore their ancestors,
and a spirit called the ‘ Shikéria deota,’ offering goats to the latter. They also worship
the sun, and when a sacrifice is necessary, offer a white cock to
that luminary. All this is Kolarian, especially Santal, shamanism ;
and they dance somewhat in Kolarian fashion, but less lively in step. They have the
‘jadur’, ‘jumhir’, and ‘karm’ dances as the Kols, but without so much variety of step,
melody, and figure. They have introduced another dance for the Hindu Hutli, and
eall it by that name. They speak no language but Hindi, and follow the Hindu custom
in the disposal of their dead.

The Kiséns or Nagesars of Jashpir are less civilized in appearance than those
of Moheri. They live more isolated, and closely follow the practice of the Mundas
in religious ceremonies. They do not worship the tiger, though they all swear by him;
their principal deity is called Moihidhtnia, to whom they sacrifice fowls and small
animals every year, and once in every three years a buffalo. Each village has two or
more groves or ‘sa, one is sacred to Moihidhtinia, the other to Mahddeo, a Hindu
appellation they have applied to some old pagan friend who is specially invoked at the
festival of the harvest home, when his votaries are in their merriest mood. The ‘khtnt’,
or tutelary god, of the villages is Darha, as with the Kols, and there are various ‘ pats’
or holy heights dedicated to divinities, as the Bamonipat and the Andaripét. They keep
the ceremony of the ‘sarhul,’ as the Kols, and have the Kol dances jadur, jiimhir, and
karm, but not the ‘kharria,’ which they say is peculiar to the Oraons.

The Kisins confine themselves to one wife and have no concubines. Girls are
not married or betrothed till they are mature, but the old people nevertheless settle the
matches, and there is no instance on record of a youth or maiden objecting to the
arrangement made for them. Two baskets of rice and a rupee
in cash constitute the compensatory offering given to the parents
of the girl. The anointing of the bride and groom with oil takes the place of the
usual sindtr ceremony. Notwithstanding the resemblance of this tribe to the Kols,
they repudiate all connection with that race, and would scorn to eat with them.
One outward mark of difference is carefully preserved, and was pointed out to me as
quite sufficient to settle the question. The Kol and Oraon women are all marked
distinctively with ‘Godna’. The Kisdn females have no such mark. If a female of
the tribe indulges in the vanity of having herself tattooed, she is at once turned adrift as
having degraded herself.

The Kisdns that appeared before me in the Jashpur highlands were singularly ill-
favored. The forehead receding, narrow and low, projecting as a ridge at the brow

Worship.

Marriages.

 

 
''Section 6.] THE BHUIHERS. 133

beyond the nose, which is short, broad at the base, and has there a truncated appearance,
exposing the lateral development of the nostrils. This exposure
is caused by the projection of the front teeth and jaws which tilt
up the lip and end of the nose, and make the mouth decidedly prognathous. All were
short of stature, and dark, deep brown to black. They are people of slovenly appearance,
- and are considered by their neighbours lazy and indifferent cultivators.*

It is singular that the songs they sing as accompaniments to their dancing are frag-
ments of old Hindu ballads, now so mutilated as to be unintelligible. Here is a morsel
verbatim from the lips of the prima donna: “Sri Bindabun men
Kusa Kanderio Jahan lotol Raor Kaia, Sundur lo Surbel nirdaia.”
The songsters had not the slightest notion of the meaning of the above, but it is
apparently the lament of one of the Brindabun maidens at her desertion by the sportive
and amorous but fickle Krishna.

Physical traits.

Songs.

SEcTION 5.—THE BuHUIHERS.

Another very primitive tribe met with in Palamau and Jashptr are the Bhitihers,
who must not be confounded either with the Bhttiyas or the Boydrs. Iam not quite cer-
tain if I give the right spelling of the names, but I spell them as they are pronounced by
the owners. The Bhutihers are about the lowest type of human beings that I have come across
in my wanderings, and I have had more opportunities than most people of seeing varieties of
race. They are very dark (41, about the average) ; faces, or rather heads, altogether round as
bullets, projecting jaws and lips, scarcely any prominence of nose, pig’s eyes, large bodies, and
small limbs, no muscular development, very short of stature, not one of them more than
five feet, very filthy in their persons, with diseased skins and sore eyes. One creature,
an adult male of a group which appeared before me at Moheri in Sirgtija, looked to me like
a disgustingly superannuated black baby. Baby-like his round head rolled about his
shoulders on a very short and unnaturally weak neck. You could imagine his proper place
to be bundled up in a cloth slung from the shoulders of his black mother, his head help-
lessly rolling about after the manner of native infants thus supported. They speak Hindi
plainly enough, but appear as devoid of ideas as they are of beauty, They adore the sun
and their ancestors, but they have no notion that the latter are now spirits, or that there
are spirits or ghosts or a future state or any thing. They have no veneration for a tiger,
but regard him as a dangerous enemy whom it is their interest to slay whenever they
have the opportunity. They were asked to dance and did so; but it wasa singularly feeble,
motiveless performance. Men and women were scantily clothed, and appeared to take no
thought for their personal appearance. The hair uncared for was matted and rusty coloured.
The Bhtihers in Palémau are said to be good cultivators, but I believe this means, they
are very docile farm labourers and beasts of burden. They appear to have no independence
of character, and are for the most part in servitude or bondage, and content so to remain.
If we have now in existence the descendants of human beings of the stone age, here I
would say are specimens. ‘They reminded me much of the representations I have seen
of the Andamanese.

* The Raja of Jashpfr informed me that these were the general physical characteristics of the Kisans or N Agesars
in his territory, and he of his own accord mentioned that many of them had short crisp spiral or curly hair.

at
''134 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group V.

The Bhutihers constitute a small tribe of not more than a few hundred families, and
they will probably disappear altogether in the course of a few more years.

SecTIoN 6.—Tue BoyArs.

The similarity of names and in some cases in the condition of the tribes I am
describing may lead to the inference that I am fancifully disconnecting them ; but the
people under these different, though nearly similar, denominations vehemently repudiate
all connection with each other, and do not intermarry or eat together. The Boydrs are
numerous and widely diffused. They are found in Paldmau,
Sirguja, Singrauli, Korea, Bhakhdr, Rewa, and other places in
somewhat different phases of civilization, but always affecting the hills. They live much
like the Korwas, cultivating millet and pulses on the virgin soil of newly cleared forests,
but are much more peaceably disposed. I never heard of them as murderers or plunderers;
and they do not carry arms with the same pertinacity as the Korwds, though they
accustom themselves to the use of the bow and arrow as a protection against wild beasts.

They live in small hamlets or detached houses, as a glance at a map of the country they
are found in clearly indicates. The occurrence at intervals of the words, ‘ Boydrs,’ ‘ hut,’
in tracts otherwise devoid of inhabitants, shows their love of solitude and independence.

The first I saw were some Boydrs of the Korea hills, who at my desire were caught
like wild animals and brought into camp trembling with fear.
I was told, they spoke a distinct language, but I found it was
only a peculiar dialect of Hindi: this first batch were too frightened to give me any
information. I was subsequently introduced to some families living near Jilmilli in
Sirgija, who were more civilised and were induced to confide in me.

They gave Jarbund and Bakeswar as the names of their principal deities, who,
they said, were adored as existing under Kusum trees. The household god they called
Dilhadeo, and some Boyars from Chind Bhakhar, upwards of 150 miles to the west of
Jilmilli, informed me that Dulhadeo was their sole object of worship. The word is
apparently Hindi, but I never heard of this god before.* To him
fowls are offered on the last day of Phalgun, and at marriages a
goat. In their languages I could not detect any words that were not Hindi, though
I tried many radicals, but they have adopted no Hindu custom except perhaps their
early marriages and the use of the sindzr at those ceremonies. <A girl of 11 years
was shown to me as a married woman. Her husband was present. He said, he had
brought her from her parents in Singrauli, saw and fancied her for himself, and the
matter was arranged for five Rupees and beer. This is the
orthodox or standard price of a bride, the only ceremony a feast,
dancing, and marking the girl’s brow with red lead, sindir.

They bury their dead depositing with each body of a male, an axe, a knife, and a
bow and arrow, the only implements they use in war or in

Geographical distribution.

Language.

Religion.

Marriages.

Disposal of the dead.
peace.

The young men have no separate domicile, their societies are not sufficiently large
to have suggested such an institution. They sleep in small sheds attached to the family

 

* He is one of the Gond divinities, as will subsequently appear.

 
''Sxcrion 7.] THE NAGBANGSIS. 135

houses, but though living thus isolated, or in very small communities, they have their
periodical festivals and at each a merry gathering of the tribe.

They have three dances—the ‘dawa,’ the ‘terriah’, and the universal ‘karm.’
In each of these the position of the dancers is the same. ‘The men
beating drums dance facing the women and singing. The women
joining hands dance facing the men, but with downcast eyes, respond to the singing,
and bow their heads. The only change is in the song and the step. The women
were all decently clad after the ordinary fashion of the Hindu agricultural classes
of this part of the country. Their persons enveloped in one large country-made cloth,
fastened or folded first round the waist, then crossing the bosom, and lastly veiling the
head. They did not use the extra cloth or canopy that I have noticed as in vogue
with the bashful maidens of Palaémau.

In complexion I found the Boydrs generally of a dark brown color, fairly propor-
tioned, and averaging upwards of five feet in height. 'The features
were characterised by great breadth across the cheek bones, very
narrow forehead, nose broad, nostrils wide apart, but the nasal bone more prominent than
in the types previously described; the mouth so wide as nearly to equal the space occu-
pied by both eyes, lips protuberant, chin receding, but not so the brow. There was more
appearance of hair on the face than is generally found amongst the tribes of this class.

Very closely resembling the Boydrs are the Santhas,* a small tribe occupying a dozen
villages on the Mainpat, a lofty table land in Sirgija, and found
also amongst the inhabitants of the villages skirting it. They do
not number more than a hundred families, but they consider themselves a separate tribe, .
though they have no traditions that give any clue to their origin. They know nothing
of the Santdls, but might very well be a detached fragment of that extensive tribe.

Dances.

Physical traits.

The Santhas.

Section 7.—Tur NAGBANGSIS.

Between the rivers Maini and Eeb in the Jashptr country, there is a valley so
secured on all sides by precipitous hills and rocks, that it was regarded and used as a
natural citadel by the ruling family in the Mahratta days—a place where the royal
ladies of the family and the treasure were secreted, when a visit from those marauding
rulers was impending. Here was space sufficient for several villages, and here I
found a remarkable colony of the aboriginal type calling themselves Nagbangsis.
They have occupied this nest for about ten generations, and their only tradition is that
they came here from Nagpur (i. ¢., Chota, or Chitid, Nagptr), and that they are
kinsmen of the Chutidé Ndgptir Raja. They are to be found in Udaiptr and Sirgtja
as well as in Jashptir, and may he estimated at about 300 families. Those in
Jashptr have recently become disciples of Gosains or Bairdgis, but some that I met
in other districts have no Brahmanical proclivities. They have, however, their own
Byga, village priest, or exorcist, who conciliates the local deities, especially one to whom
a huge rock forming the most prominent feature in the configuration of the valley is
assigned as an abode, called the ‘Bura-deo.’ To him they every third year sacrifice a
buffalo, clinging thus to the triennial sacrifice of their primitive faith like the Cheros and

 

* [have given further information about this tribe in the Section on the Korwas.
''136 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group V.

Kharwars, and the claim of those tribes to be Nagas or Nagbangsis has been adverted to.
‘They employ no Brahmans or other priests at their domestic ceremonies, and in regard
to the disposal of the dead they follow the practice of the Kaurs. Those who have so
forgotten their duty to society as to die unmarried are flung into graves any how. Those
who have fulfilled their duties as husbands and fathers are rewarded by a funeral pyre.

The Nagbangsis carry on their faces a most exaggerated type of the Turanian nose.
It is low, scarcely rising at all between the eyes, very broad
across the nostrils, and looks as if it had been there sliced off, so
as to display prominently that they are not round orifices but elongated in the wrong
direction. The lips are very full and prominent, and the chin receding. Their faces
generally present a Chinese flatness of surface. Eyes on a level with the cheeks and
frontal bones, but straight ; complexion tawny to brown.

I made some remarks on the general fairness of their complexion, and was told
that the people of the well shaded villages of the Jashptir lowlands are fairer than
those of the uplands. This is especially observable in the Oraons, Kharwdrs, and others
who are very dark on the tableland above the ghats, but a shade or two fairer below, the
difference in elevation being about 1,000 feet. The Raja, himself a Kharwdér and dark,
told me that if he or any of his people usually living in the highlands made any long sojourn
below, they all became for a time a shade fairer, but both color and feature indicate that
the progenitors of the Nagbangsis belonged to the tawny, not to the swarthy, Turanians.

Physical traits.

SECTION 8.—THE KAuRS oR KAURAVAS.

It is solely from their physical traits that I include the Kaurs in the class of which
I am now treating. Captain Blunt, in his narrative of a journey made in 1794, a. D.,
through a part of the country they occupy, published in Vol. VII of the Asiatic
Researches, mentions them as “another hill tribe called Cowhirs,” but he gives us no
further particulars regarding them. Ina paper entitled “ Notes of a tour in the Tributary
Mahals,” published in the Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, I introduced them as a dark,
coarse featured, broad nosed, wide mouthed, and thick lipped race, and it was natural to
conclude from this that they were one of the aboriginal tribes. I cannot say that my
opinions regarding their looks have undergone any change from the specimens that have
since come before me. They are decidedly ugly, but are taller and better set up than
most of the people described in this chapter.

The Kaurs form a considerable proportion of the population of Jashptr, Udaipir,
Sirgaja, Korea, Chand Bhakdr, and Korba of Chattisgarh, and
though they are much scattered, and the various divisions of the
tribe hold little communication with each other, they all tenaciously cling to one tradition
of their origin, that they are the descendants of the survivors of the sons of Kuru, called
Kauravas in the Purdns, who, when defeated by the Pandavas at the great battle of Kuru
Kshetrya, and driven from Hastindpir, took refuge in the hill country of Central India.

They not only relate this of themselves, but it is firmly believed by the people of
all castes of Hindus, their neighbours, who, notwithstanding their dark complexions and
general resemblance to the offspring of Nishida and some anti-hindu practices, do not
scruple to regard them as brethren.

Traditions.

 

 
''Srction 8.] THE KAURS OR KAURAVAS. 137

I met some very respectable intelligent-looking Kaurs in Jashptr this year | 1869, |
whom I questioned regarding this anomaly. I was informed that
the Kaurs were divided into four tribes—Ils¢, the Didh Kaurs,
we may call them not milk Kaurs, but the cream of the Kaurs. They are found in
Chattisgarh and live very purely according to Hindu doctrines and have Brahman priests.
2nd, Paikera, also orthodox, but a shade below the Didh. 38rd, Rettiah Kaurs. The
Kawrs of Udaiptér described by me in the paper above quoted belong to this class. They
rear and eat fowls, and have no veneration for Brahmans. The village barber is their
priest, and officiates as such at marriages and other ceremonies. At births, marriages,
and deaths, the males affected by the casualty and all connected with them of the same
sex, are clean-shaven all round. Some villages maintain, besides, a Byga priest, or
exorcist for the Dryads, Naiads, and witches. The Paikera Kaurs therefore, who are, I
think, the most numerous, cannot be regarded as Hindu in faith, though “ they adore
Shiva under the denomination of Mahadeva, and Parbatti as Gauri, and they have a
festival for each every year, at which they dance and sing, men and women.” 4¢h, the
Cherwa Kaurs, a scattered and impure tribe.

The Didh Kaurs alone preserve the true blood of the Kuru race. The others admit
that they have greatly degenerated in appearance since they took to the jungles and mixed
with the Mlechchas or barbarians. There is no doubt that they must have brought into
these wilds civilized ideas that were previously unknown to the older settlers. I have
always found them a well-to-do, clean, industrious, people, living in comfortable, care-
fully-constructed and healthily-kept houses, and well dressed. The houses are built like
bungalows with verandahs : and there is one to each married member of the family, and
they are placed so as to form a court-yard of family apartments, which is kept scrupulously
clean. In Udaiptr, Sirgija, Jashptr, they are not found in possession of proprietary
rights, except such as long settled cultivators in this part of India always have in the
lands they cultivate : the villages are all held in farm by one of the leading men of the
clan on short leases. They have none of them, in the tracts mentioned, attained to the
dignity of landlord either as zamindar, or jagirdér. I am told, however, that the zamin-
dar of Korba in Chattisgarh is a Kaur.

All this makes me inclined to separate them from the aboriginal tribes of Central
India, and to think that there is some foundation for their tradition ; but as I cannot efface
their Turanian traits, and from all I have seen of them must regard those traits as the
predominating and original characteristics of the tribe, I find myself in the dilemma
of having to come forward as the propounder of a new theory, and in opposition to the
Mahabharat to suggest that the war of the Pandavas and Kauravas was not a family
quarrel but a struggle for supremacy between an Aryan anda Turanian nation! It is
corroborative of this view that the Kauravas are spoken of in the Purdns* as forming
with the ‘ Panchalas’ the principal nations of the middle districts of Bharata, and they
are classed with others as ‘Jangalas,’ dwellers in the thicket, in the topographical
chapters of the Mahabharat. It may be, however, that the Kauravas of the day are
descendants of subjugated aborigines, who formed the bulk of the armies of Hastinapwtv.

This last theory would account for their Hindu proclivities, which, notwithstanding
the substitution for Brahmans of persons of impure caste as priests, are very strong.

Tribal divisions.

 

* See Vishnu Pur., Wilson’s Translation, Chapter III, 1st edition, page 176.

2k
''138 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group V.

I found that the Kaurs of Sirgija at one time encouraged widows to become Satis, and
greatly venerated those who did so. Sati shrines are not uncommon in the Tributary —
Mahals. Between Partabptr and Jilmilli in Sirgija, I encamped in a grove sacred to
a Kauraini Sati. Several generations have elapsed since the self-sacrifice that led to
her canonization, but she is now the principal object of worship in the village and
neighbourhood, and I was informed that every year a fowl was sacrificed to her, and
every third year a black goat. The Hindus with me were intensely amused at the idea
of offering fowls to a Sati. At Jilmilli there are Sati shrines appertaining to the Rajput
family that own the place, but the offerings are strictly confined to fruit and flowers.

There are no doubt amongst the present generation of Hindu females, ladies of
high church sentiments who deplore their inability to attain this spiritual elevation,
and envy the honors paid to their ancestresses, and I fear the Hindu dowagers in some
high families make themselves so disagreeable, that the male descendants of the sainted
ladies too often bewail that their grandmothers had not the opportunity of canonization
enjoyed by their predecessors,

SecTION 9.—THE MArs.

Amongst the broken tribes in Paldmau and Sirgiija are to be found a few families of
the people called Mar. They say that they came from Malwa, and are probably derived
from the people called Malavas in the Purdnas and Mahabharata, also assigned by Wilson
to Malwa. Wilford considered Mala to be the Malabhim of Medniptr (Midnapore).
One section of the Bengal Baori tribe are called Mélya from that place.

The Mars I have fallen in with, like many other tribes, declare they were formerly
Kshetryas, but disliking the trammels of caste, they gave up the distinctive brahmanical
cord and took to the plough. They have Brahmans for priests, worship the host of Hindu
gods, and, like the Kaurs especially, adore those amongst their ancestresses who became
Satis, though in their present degraded state they allow of widow marriage, and a man
always takes to wife, by the custom called sagai, his elder brother’s widow.

The Mars live comfortably in good houses, and are careful cultivators. They exhibit
a great variety of features and complexion. Some that I saw in Sirgtja were of yellow
or tawny complexion, with handsome features, eyes well protected by prominent brow
and nose, with good teeth and well-formed mouths, and they were of average height,
Some had the same light complexions, with very flat features, and some were very dark.
On the whole, it appeared to me that they were more Aryan than anything else, with a
dash of aboriginal blood. The Sirgija Mars say that they were expelled from Pal4mau; in
the latter district there is a tradition that they were a very wealthy people when established
there, and left much treasure when they were driven out of it, and it is said that Mars
have been frequently seen hovering about the sites of their ancient settlements, seeking
for the treasures that their ancestors left buried there.

Mar or Mala is a very uncertain name applied to or assumed by different people in
different parts of India; but it may be that there is some affinity between all the tribes
who bear it. It is the name assumed by the Raéjmahal hill-men, who from their language
are one of the Southern Dravidian nations. In Sirgija, Mars are probably sprung from an
Aryan colony who settled amongst and intermarried with people of the Dravidian stock.

 

 

 
''ha PO Ver,

BHUNIYA OR BHUIYA.

Section I.—Tur Butryvas.

I now proceed to notice a tribe which is perhaps the most interesting and widely-
diffused of the class we are considering—I mean the Bhttiyas. Buchanan Hamilton
found them in Bhagalpur, Bihdar and Dindjpir; he calls them Bhungiyas, and
considers them to be the remains of the armies of Jorasandhu. He notes that whilst
some of this tribe are thoroughly Hinduized, living pure according to Hindu tenets and
having Brahmans for priests, others are regarded as amongst the dregs of impurity,
eating beef, pork, camels, horses, asses, rats, cats, fowls, lizards,—everything that Hindus
abhor, and worshipping chiefly the Viras or spirits of their deified heroes or ancestors.

Mr. G. Campbell, in his Ethnology of India, suggests that they are connected with
the ‘ Buis’ of Madras and Central Provinces. This is probable. The Bhiiya feature is,
on the whole, of a Tamulian cast, and it is in the southern frontier of Bengal that we
find them in greatest strength and greatest purity. They belong, I dare say, to the
southern rather than to the northern races,—the Dravidian rather than the Kolarian.

In a preceding chapter on the population of Asim, I have noticed that a dynasty
called the Baérah Bhitiya once ruled in that province, and that the country to the north
of the Brahmaputra, from one end of the valley to the other, is full of great works
ascribed to this people, and the origin of their dynasty is probably alluded to in the
tradition given by Buchanan Hamilton in his account of Dindjptir, where it is
narrated that twelve distinguished persons of the Bhungiya race came to the Koladyne
river, the boundary between Kamrtip and the ancient Matsyadesh,
took up their abode there, extended their sway, and executed great
works. In Northern and Eastern Bengal and Chitia Nagpur, the persons now included
in the tribe are in the humblest positions of life, performing offices the most degrading,
few of them attaining to the dignity of farmers or cultivators of their own fields; but
there are grounds for supposing that some of the noblest families in Bengal are sprung
from this race, and they still hold high positions in the Jungle and Tributary Mahals.
The proprietors of the estates surrounding the Parisnath hill in the Manbhim and
Hazaribagh districts, though pretending to be Kshetryas, are Bhitiyas, and they have not
been able to efface the characteristic physical traits of their origin. They are swarthy,
almost black (41), and have coarse, Negro-like, features.

They form an important section of the population of Singbhum. Tradition says,
they were once dominant in the western and southern parts of that country, but were

Traditions.
''140 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove VI.

subjugated by the ‘ Hos’ (Kols). In the tributary estates of Gangpur, Bonai, Keonjhur,
and Baémra, they are almost the only class possessing proprietary rights under the
chiefs. They are the barons from whom those chiefs originally derived their authority,
and are either the support or the sap of that authority, according to the side they
take in the politics of the state. They have, in all these little governments, that useful
institution—an opposition.

Mr. Stirling, in his account of Orissa, classes them amongst the Kols; but there are
no grounds that I know of for so connecting them. As I have said above, they appear
to me to be linked with the Dravidian rather than with the Kolarian tribes. They were
the veritable monkeys that aided Rama in his invasion of Lanka. All the country now
occupied by the Bhuiyas is full of traditions of that great hero. He is the favorite god
of the Hinduized Bhiiiyas. The most awe-inspiring of their stupendous rocks are his
fanes; the most lovely of their pools are sacred in virtue of the tradition of his having
bathed in them. Hanuman, the general of the ape army, was Pawan-ka-put, ‘the son
of the wind;’ and the Bhtiyas to the south of Singbhtim call themselves Pawanbans,
the children of the wind, to this day. That they are the apes of the Ramayana, there
can therefore be no doubt.

But though I have seen some individuals of the tribe of a very low type, they are
not particularly simian in appearance. They are a dark-brown, well-proportioned race,
with black, straight hair plentiful on the head, but scant on the face ; of middle height,
figures well knit and capable of enduring great fatigue, but light framed like the
Hindu, rather than presenting the usual muscular development
of a hill-man. The features are very much of the same cast
throughout. The cheek and jaw-bones are projecting, so as to give a breadth and
squareness to the face. The nose is but slightly elevated, still neither so depressed nor
so broad at the root as the generality of Turanian noses and rather of a retroussé type;
mouths and teeth well formed, and the facial angle generally good. The eyes well shaped
and straight, but never very large or deep set.

In costume and general external appearance there is nothing but feature to dis-
tinguish the upper classes amongst them from Hindus, and they
like to be considered ‘Stdras.’ They sometimes call them-
selves Khandaits and claim to be of the same family as the Or-Khandaits or Paiks
of Orissa, and assume the Brahmanical cord. Those who do so of course act up to their
profession and abstain from forbidden meats, but in the countries bordering on the Ganges,
where they occupy a very low position, they are classed with ‘ musahars,’ rat-eaters.

They are the earliest known settlers in parts of Singbhim, Gangptr, Bonai, Keon-
jhur, and Bamra. The chiefs of these estates now call themselves Rajputs; if they be so
they are strangely isolated families of Rajpits. The country for the most part belongs
to the Bhitiya sub-proprietors. They are a privileged class, holding as hereditaments
the principal offices of the state, and are organized as a body of militia. The chiefs
have no right to exercise any authority till they have received the ‘tilak,’ or token
of investiture, from their powerful Bhtiya vassals. Their position altogether renders
their claim to be considered Rajputs extremely doubtful, and the stories told to account
for their acquisition of the dignity are palpable fables. ‘They were no doubt all Bhtiyas
originally ; they certainly do not look like Rajputs.

Physical traits.

Khandaits.

 

 
''Srcrron 1. ] THE BHUTYAS. 4d

It is singular that these Hinduized Bhiiyas retain in their own hands the priestly
duties of certain old shrines to the exclusion of Brahmans. This custom has no doubt
descended in Bhiiya families from the time when Brahmans were not, or had obtained
no footing, amongst them, and when the religion of the land, and the temples, were not
Hindu. They are now indeed dedicated to Hindu deities, but there are evidences of the
temples having been originally occupied by other images. At some of these shrines,
human sacrifices were offered every third year, and this continued till the country
came under British rule.

According to their own traditions, they were once united as a nation in Hastern
India, and had a king of their own, but they were broken up and dispersed by invasion
from the west. They have all lost the language that they spoke in those days, whatever
it may have been, and now speak Hindi, Bengali, or Uriya, according to their locality.

It may be said that I have not yet shown sufficient cause for treating them other-
wise than asa section of the great Hindu people. I consider they bear the Turanian
type of feature too markedly to be so classed, and I have yet to describe the more
primitive type of the race.

In my notes on the Tributary Mahals named, published in the Journal of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal, part II, No. 1, for 1865, I introduced the Bhittiyas, and men-
tioned that there was a hill section of the tribe which I had not seen, but who were,
I was informed, a very primitive and unsophisticated people. In 1865, I made the
acquaintance of the hill Bhitiyas in Bonai.* I had heard a very
good character of them from their Raja. He described them as
singularly truth-loving, simple and amenable, and from all I saw of them, I am inclined
to endorse this favorable opinion. I was accompanied on this occasion by Mr. T. E.
Ravenshaw, the Superintendent of the Katak Tributary Mahals. We crossed a range
of hills in which the Pahari Bhtiyas resided, and one of the first things that struck us
was the care they had bestowed on the ordinary duty of clearing and smoothing our way.
The road was not only repaired, it was carefully swept, and equal pains had been
bestowed by them to get up a halting place which had been prepared for us in the midst
of a forest. I found myself amongst a new undescribed people, and proceeded to note
their peculiarities. ;

In costume there is nothing peculiar, except that the men and women all wear
dresses of brown cotton or dyed a light brown. They have their own priests called
deoris,+ and their sacred groves called ‘ Deota Sara,’ dedicated to four deities, Ddésum
Pat, Bamoni Pat, Koisar Pat, and Borém. The three first are brethren, but there was
some difference of opinion as to whether Bamoni was male
or female. Borém is the sun, also worshipped under the
name of Dharm Deota, as with the Oraons. The three minor deities are represent-
ed by stones in the Sara, but Bordm has no representation. Bordm, as the first
and greatest of gods and as the creator, is invoked at the sowing season with
the offering of a white cock. In cases of sickness, goats are offered to Désum Pat
and his brethren. On such occasions the goat is given by the owner of the house in
which the sick person resides. On other occasions the victim is provided by the

Bonai Bhuiyas.

Religion.

 

~* One of the Tributary Mahals under the Commissioner of Chutia N fgpir, south of Singbhim, : ae
+ The priests of the primitive tribes in Asim were also called ‘deoris’, vide ante page 85.
21
''142 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VI.

community. The sacrifices are all offered at the foot of trees in the Sara; only men
partake of the meat. The deori gets the head.

They have no traditions regarding the order of creation, their own migrations,
or any defined ideas of a future state. They burn their dead near a stream, and throw the
ashes into the water, thus following the custom of the Santals, Hindus, and others.
Eleven days after the cremation all shave, put on fresh clothes, and have a feast.

The mother of a child remains unclean after its birth for seven days; the child’s head
is then shaved, and it is named, andthe ceremony of naming it is precisely the same
as that followed by the Mindas and Hos. The name of the grandfather is given to the
eldest son (except where in consequence of the failure of the test it is found necessary to
change it), the great grand father’s to the second son, and then
the names of collateral branches are given according to seniority.
There are no religious ceremonies after this till marriage, which cannot take place till
the parties are adult, and the parents have very little to do with the selection of partners.
I was told by people who knew the tribes well, but did not belong to them, that the
proposal of marriage came in the first place from the girl, as with the Gdros. This was
not confirmed by the Bhiiyas themselves; they, however, may have had a delicacy in
speaking of a custom which they could not fail to see astonished and amused all the
natives in our camp. At the marriage there is much dancing and singing, and that is
all I could find out concerning it, but they have a marvellous pretty and romantic
fashion of bringing such matches about.

In each village there is, as with the Oraons, an open space for a dancing ground called
by the Bhuiyas the ‘Darbar,’ and near it the ‘bachelor’s hall,’ a separate house, for
the young men, which is called the ‘ Dhangar bassa’ or ‘ Mandarghar,’ as here the young
men, ‘ Dhangar,’ must all sleep at night, and here the drums, ‘ mandar,’ are kept. Some
villages have a ‘ Dhangarin bassa,’ or house for maidens, which, strange to say, they are
allowed to occupy without any one to look after them. They appear to have very great
liberty, and slips of morality, so long as they are confined to the tribe, are not much
heeded. Whenever the young men of the village go to the darbar and beat the drums:
the young girls join them there, and they spend their evenings dancing and enjoying
themselves without any interference on the part of the elders. The Bhitiya dances have
their peculiar features, but compared with the lively and graceful movements of the
Kols, they are very tame performances.

The men have each a rude kind of tambourine. They march round in a circle,
beating these and singing a very simple melody in a minor key on four notes. The
women dance opposite to them with their heads covered and bodies much inclined,
touching each other like soldiers in line, but not holding hands or wreathing arms like
the Kols. The dances when confined to the people of the
village are regarded as mere rehearsals. The more exciting and
exhilarating occasions are when the young men of one village proceed to visit the
maidens of another village, or when the maidens return the call. The young men
provide themselves with presents for the girls, generally consisting of combs for the
hair and sweets, and going straight to the darbdr of the village they visit, they
proclaim their arrival loudly by beating their drums or tambourines. The girls of
that village immediately join them. Their male relations and neighbours must keep

Births, marriages.

Dances.

 

 

 
''Sxction 1.] THE BHUTYAS. 1438

entirely out of view, leaving the field clear for the guests. The offerings of the visitors
are now gallantly presented and graciously accepted, and the girls at once set to work
to prepare dinner for their beaux, and after the meal they dance and sing and flirt all
night together, and the morning dawns on more than one pair of pledged lovers. Then
the girls, if the young men have conducted themselves to their satisfaction, make ready
the morning meal for themselves and their guests ; after which the latter rise to depart,
and still dancing and playing on the drums, move out of the village followed by the
girls, who escort them to the boundary. This is generally a rockbroken stream with
wooded banks; here they halt, the girls on one side, the lads on the other, and to the
accompaniment of the babbling brook sing to each other in true bucolic style.

The song on these occasions is to a certain. extent improvised, and is a pleasant
mixture of raillery and love-making. There is a leader on each side who starts with
some word or name or phrase introduced chiefly for the sake of the rhyme, but generally
apposite to the idea that follows, somewhat in the style of that classical fragment of
didactic poetry—

Blankets and pins! blankets and pins !

When a man marries his sorrow begins.
There isno doubt an intentional connection between the first and the second line.
Blankets are suggestive of warmth and comfort which may be associated with
fortunate matrimony, but blankets with pins in them are horribly expressive of the
misery of ill-assorted unions.

I endeavoured to note down the song that was sung in our presence as a specimen,
and I give a close imitation of a part of it.

Boys.
A kanchan flower bring to us,
We'll listen whilst you sing to us.
GIRLS.
We'll gather greens for dinner, dear !
But cannot think of singing here.
Boys.
As-Radha’s pretty little bird,
You sweetly sing and must be heard.
GIRLS.
You silken meshes o’er us fling,
But truly, love! we cannot sing.
Boys.
A handful that of chaff and straw,
Us boys you surely beat at jaw !
Girzs (pouting).
Ah ! birds that chirp and fly away !
With us you care not then to stay ?
Boys (amorous).
Yes, yes, we’ve caught some pretty fish,
To part, dear girls, is not our wish.
Girts (pleased).
The clouds disperse, the day looks fair,
Come back then lads our homes to share.
''14.4 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VI.

Boys.
No! by the bar tree blossom ! but
You come with us and share our hut.
GiRLs.
The birds sing merrily, we agree
To leave pa ma and go with thee.

The song ended, the girls go down on their knees, and bowing to the ground,
respectfully salute the young men, who gravely and formally return the compliment,
and they part.

The visit is soon returned by the girls. They are received by the young men in their
darbar and entertained, and the girls of the receiving village must not be seen.

I have faithfully rendered the beginning and end of the song, but have omitted
more than half of the intermediate stages, and this makes the denowement more abrupt
than it appeared in the original. When I asked one of the girls at the conclusion if
there was no more, she archly replied, ‘‘ What more would you have?” They have
certainly more wit, more romance, and more poetry in their composition than is usually
found amongst the country folk in India.

SecTION 2.—BuHUIYAS OR BHUNIYAS OF KEONJHUR.

_ Keonjhur, a Katak Tributary Mahal, has long been one of the chief seats of the
Bhiiyas. There we find them as an aboriginal race still dominant; for, if not the
most numerous, they are certainly the most influential section of the population. The
Bhtiyas of the plains, including the Sdonts, a thoroughly Hinduized portion of the
clan, are the organized militia of the state. They all hold their lands on conditions
of service, and maintain themselves in a state of preparation for taking the field
at a moment’s notice to oppose their Raja or fight for him, according to their humour.
Some clans of the hill Bhtiyas are similarly organized, but the most powerful body
amongst them, the Pawri (for Paharia), the true hill Bhtiyas, are on a different footing.
They are not bound to fight for the Raja, though they occasionally take up arms
against him. Their duty is to attend on him and carry his loads when he travels
about, and so long as they are satisfied with his person and his rule, no more willing
servitors or devoted subjects could be found. They are then in Keonjhur, as in Bonai,
a race whom you cannot help liking and taking an interest in from the primitive simpli-
city of their customs, their amenability, and their anxiety to oblige; but unsophisticated
as they are, they wield an extraordinary power in Keonjhur, and when they take it
~ into their heads to use that power, the country may be said to be governed by an oligarchy
composed of the sixty chiefs of the Pawri Desh, the Bhtiya Highlands. A knotted
string passed from village to village in the name of the sixty chiefs throws the entire country
into commotion, and the order which is verbally communicated in connection with it,
is as implicitly obeyed as if it emanated from the most potent despot. It is not
because they are stronger, braver, or better armed, that they exercise this supremacy ;
it arises from two causes, prestige and position. The Pawris dispute with the Judngs
the claim to be the first settlers in Keonjhur, and boldly aver that the country belongs
to them. They assert that the Raja is of their creation, and that the prerogative
of installing every new Raja on his accession is theirs and theirs alone. The Hindu

 
''Section 2.] BHUIYAS OR BHUNIYAS OF KEONJHUR. 145

population of Keonjhur is in excess of the Bhtiya, and it comprises Gonds and Kols,
but the claim of the Pawris to the dominion they arrogate, is admitted by all; even
Brahmans and Rajputs respectfully acknowledge it, and the former, by the addition
of Brahmanical rites to the wild ceremonies of the Bhitiyas, affirm and sanctify
their installation.

The ‘gdnthi’ or knotted string of the sixty chiefs has been during the recent
disturbances in Keonjhur in active operation. The last one I heard of was a forgery.
An adherent of the Raja captured by the Pawris ingeniously fabricated a ‘ g4nthi,’
and having. effected his escape from his guard, it passed him unquestioned through the
remainder of the Bhtiya country to our camp.

The settlements of the Hill Bhtiyas are in valleys, some long and winding, some
circular; each village or cluster of two or three villages snugly
screened and protected by its own lofty barrier of hills, and acces-
sible only by steep tortuous passes, or by paths winding in ravines. Thus secured, the
Pawris are beyond the reach of retaliation when they choose to make a stoop on the low-
lands, and are therefore as formidable to the people of the plains as were the Highlanders
to the Lowlanders in Scotland a century ago. Some of the settlements are permanent, but
many villages have within the boundaries allotted to them two or more sites, on one of
which alternately they form a new village every ten years. The houses are nevertheless
tolerably substantial and comfortable. Every village has its ‘Darbar,’ the town hall,
resting place for travellers, and sleeping place for the young men, with dancing place in
front for the recreations of the maidens and youths after their day’s toil.

The hills rise to a height of 3,200 feet above the sea level, and amongst them are the
sources of the Baiturni river. The valleys are fertile, irrigated by numerous streams
and sundry rills, the waters of which may, with facility, be economized, and the
inhabitants of this hill tract rarely suffer from drought.

The Bhiiyas in Keonjhur are divided into four clans, the Mal or Desh Bhiiyas
(they call themselves, and are called, the Desh-lok, or the people
of the country), the Dandsema, the Khatti, and the Rajkuli
Bhutiyas. The latter, as connected with the royal line, I should have placed first, but
I give them in the order assigned to them by my informants. The Bhtiyas, it is said,
twenty-seven generations ago, stole a child of the Mohurbhauj Raja’s family, brought it
up amongst them, and made it their Raja. He was freely admitted to intercourse with
Bhitiya girls, and the children of this intimacy are the progenitors of the Rajkuli. But
they are not considered first among Bhtiyas, because they are not of pure Bhtiya descent.

Having witnessed the installation of a Raja of Keonjhur by the Bhiuiyas, I
proceed to describe the ceremony.

A. large shed attached to the Raja’s palace and ordinarily used as lumber room,
was cleared out, swept and garnished, spread with carpets, and
Otherwise prepared for the occasion. A number of Brahmans
were in attendance in sacerdotal costume, seated amidst the sacred vessels and imple-
ments, and articles for offerings used in the consecration of Rajas, according to the
ceremonies prescribed in the Veds.

Beyond the circle of the brahmanical preparations a group of the principal Bhiiyas
were seated, cleanly robed for the occasion and garlanded.

Settlements.

Tribal divisions.

Installation of a Raja.

2M
''146 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VI.

When the company were all seated and these arrangements complete, the young
Raja Dhananjai Bhanj entered and distributed pin, confections, spices, and garlands,
and retired. Then after a pause there was heard a great crash of the discordant but
wild and deep-toned wind instruments and drums of the Bhiiyas and other tribes, and
the Raja entered mounted on the back of a strongly-built Bhtiya chief, who plunged
and pawed and snorted under him like a fiery steed. Moving to the opposite side of
the brahmanical sacred circle, followed by a host of the tribe, one of them placed himself
on a low platform covered with red cloth, and with his body and limbs formed the back
and arms of the throne on which the Raja, dismounting from his biped steed, was
placed. ‘Then the attendant Bhtiiyas each received from the Raja’s usual servants
extemporised imitations of the insignia of royalty,—banners, standards, pankhas, chaurs,
chhatrs, canopies,—and thirty-six of the tribe as hereditary office-bearers, each with his
symbol, ranged themselves round their chief.

There was a temporary hitch in consequence of the unexpected absence of the
hereditary sword, bearer, but after a slight delay a deputy was found and the ceremony
proceeded, not, however, until the Bhtiyas had protested against such an irregularity
being admitted as a precedent. Then one of the principal Bhitiya chiefs, taking a light
flexible jungle creeper of considerable length, binds it round the Raja’s turban as
the ‘siropa’, or honorary head dress, conferred by them. ‘The bands strike up whilst
this is done. Bards chant hymns of praise, and Brahmans recite from the Shama Veda,
and a leading chief of the clan, Bamdeo Kanha, dipping his finger into the saucer of
sandalwood essence, makes on the forehead of the Raja the mark called ‘tikd.’ The
Brahman priest, the prime minister or bewurtha, and others then repeat the ceremony
of giving the tika, so that a considerable amount of such sealing is required to constitute
a Raja of Keonjhur. The brahmanical ceremony of consecration had been duly
solemnized on a previous occasion by the Brahmans, but a portion of this ceremony,
omitting the anointing with clarified butter, &c., was now again bere med by the priests,
ratifying and rendering sacred the act of the Bhiuiyas.

Then the sword, a very rusty old weapon, is placed in the Raja’s hands, and one of
the Bhiiyas, named Anand Kopat, comes before him and kneeling sideways, the Raja
touches him on the neck with the weapon as if about to strike off his head, and it is
said that in former days there was no fiction in this part of the ceremony. The family
of the Kopat hold their lands on the condition that the victim when required shall be
produced. Anand, however, hurriedly arose after the accolade and disappeared. He
must not be seen for three days; then he presents himself again to the Raja as
miraculously restored to life.

The Bhitiya chiefs next make offerings to the Raja, rice, pulse, pots of ghee,
milk, honey, and other things,—each article being touched by all the sirdars before it is
presented. The chief sirdars now solemnly address him, and telling him they have,
under the authority exercised by them and their ancestors from time immemorial, made
over to him the realm and the people therein, enjoin him to rule with justice and mercy.
It was a long speech, of which I could catch but little. The ceremony was then con-
cluded with a salute of guns. The Raja arose and again mounted on his curvetting and
frisky biped steed, left the assembly surrounded and followed by all the Bhuiya office-
bearers with their insignia, and was thus escorted to his own apartment in the palace.

 

 
''SECTION 2.] BHUIYAS OR BHUNIYAS OF KEONJHUR. 147

Soon after—it may be on a subsequent date—the Bhitiiyasdo homage to the Raja
elect. They come in a body bringing in as gifts, produce, gourds, fruits, Indian corn,
and laying them at the Raja’s feet, they ask after his health, his establishment, his
horses and his elephants, and in return the Raja inquires after their crops, cows, fowls,
and children. ‘This over, each sirdar prostrates himself, and taking the Raja’s foot in his
hand places the royal toe first on his right and then on his left ear, and then on his
forehead.

The Keonjhur Hill Bhuiyas are rather of an exaggerated Turanian type; very large
mouths, thick and somewhat projecting lips, foreheads narrow and low, but not receding,
eyes dark, but well-shaped, hair plentiful on the head, though rather frizzly and generally
scanty on face, but to this there are notable exceptions.
Short of stature, averaging about five feet two inches, round
shouldered, and many of them with the lump that is produced by the displacement of the
muscles in carrying loads banghy fashion. The color of the skin varies from a deep
chocolate, the predominating tint, to tawny, embracing the shades 42, 43, and 44 of
the test plate.

The religion appears to be much the same as that of the Bonai Bhiiyas. They
worship the sun as Dharam, and pay great attention to Bordm,
who is also called ‘ Bir,’ that is Vira or Mahabir Hanuman; but
their private and most frequent devotions are paid to a blood-thirsty tutelary goddess
called Thakurani something, generally ‘ Thakurani Maie,’ in all probability the origin of
the Hindu Kali, for I firmly believe, that goddess with her bloody sacrifices, especially
human sacrifices, was borrowed by the Hindus from the aboriginals. I have noticed
that in three of the Bhtiya Tributary Mahals, Bamra, Bonai, and Gangptir, human
sacrifices were in former times offered at certain shrines to Kali every third year, and
that the priests of these shrines are Bhiiyas, not Brahmans. That the same custom
prevailed in Keonjhur is likely enough, and that the Pawris, if left to themselves,
would take to it again is probable, as they recently* carried off and murdered the
Raja’s prime minister; and on his head being taken to the leader of the insurrection,
it was treated as a sacrificial offering to the Thakurani.

I have been favored by Mr. A. F. K. Hewit, c. s., Settlement Officer of Rdiptir, in
the Central Provinces, with the following account of clans of the same tribe in that
territory :—

“The Biiniyas are, I think, evidently the same as the Bhtiyas of the Garhjat estates ;
they have the same broad faces, with a considerable projection of
the lower jaw, and they say they came into this part of the
country from the east and south of the district; but if my information is correct, there
are considerable differences in the customs observed by the Btiniyas in these two -
quarters. Those south worship Bhawani and a deity called Bhim,+ those in the east call
their god Karo Byro. Their marriage ceremonies also show points of difference. In
both cases it is performed in the house of the bride’s father, but the Biniyas in the

Physical traits.

Religion.

The Buniyas.

 

* Ist May 1868.
+ Bhima, the Achilles of the Pandis, the dread of the Asuras. When a divine origin was ascribed to him, he was
reported to be the son of Vayu or Pawan, the wind, therefore, brother of Hanumén and of the same descent as that adopted

by the Bhtiyas themselves.
''148 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VI.

south commence the wedding by the bride and bridegroom each taking seven handfuls
of rice and throwing them at one another; then the bridegroom accompanied by the
brides-maids’ or rather their female relations, performs the ‘ bhanwar ’,* or circuit, seven
times round a stake placed in the centre of a shed erected in the court-yard. After
this the bridegroom acknowledges his wife and threatens any man who attempts to
take her away from him. The Byga tiest their clothes together when the stars appear,
and they are then left to themselves till morning. In the morning they are escorted to
the tank and bathe together, the Byga untying the knot as they go into the water.
They then return to the house and are made to stand in the
court-yard with pitchers of water on their heads, and after being
kept a weary time in this position, the contents of the pitcher are refreshingly poured
over them, and the ceremony is completed by a great feast.

“In the east, the Btiniyas commence the ceremony by grinding urid ddl, and
mixing it with warm water, after which the relations of the bride wash the bodies of both
with the mixture. They are then anointed with oil, and the relations of the bride-
groom touch his feet, knees, breast, and head, with mango leaves. Then the bride and
bridegroom take branches of the mahua tree( Bassia latifolia) in their hands, and holding
them go down to a tank or stream, and after steeping the branches in the water bathe
together. Returning they perform the ‘bhanwar’ round a branch of mahua set up by the
Byga, and the ceremony is concluded by a feast.

“These tribes after disposing of their dead, perform a ceremony which is supposed
to bring back into the house the spirit of the deceased, thence an object of household
worship. A vessel filled with rice and flour is placed for a time on the tomb, and when
brought back, a mark of a fowl’s foot is found at the bottom of the vessel, and this
indicates that the spirit of the deceased has returned.”

Mr. Hewit mentions another tribe called Buijwars and the Bygas of the Mundla
District, who are nearly connected with them. They speak a
dialect of Hindi, and generally observe Hindu customs, their
marriage ceremonies being very similar to those of the Hindus, but the manes of their
forefathers appear to be the chief object of their worship, and they live in a very wild
state, subsisting chiefly by hunting. I have seen an account of the same tribe by Mr.
E. Egerton, who says they are also called Bhaimias. Mr. Hewit considers they belong
to the eastern aborigines, from the reverence they pay their dead, which, as he observes,
is a characteristic of those races, distinguishing them from the Gonds and western
tribes. Mr. Egerton says they worship the earth as Mai Dharti, mother earth. This
appears to connect them with the Parheyas of Paldmau, whose chief object of worship
is ‘Dharti.’ They appear to lead the same kind of life as the Boydrs described above,
and are probably a kindred people. The Kharwars also worship Dharti.

Marriages.

Buijwars and Bygas.

 

* The ceremony of the ‘bhanwar,’ or circuit of the pole or branch, is noticed by Mr. Hislop as a characteristic feature
in Gond marriages. It is, however, a ceremony observed in most Hindu marriages, though not one of the observances
enjoined in the Purdns. Its origin is curious. Asa Hindu bridegroom of the upper classes has no opportunity of trotting
out his intended previous to marriage, and she is equally in the dark regarding the paces of her lord, the two are made to
walk round the post a certain number of times to prove that they are sound in limb. There are many observances in marriages
and other ceremonies common to Hindus and Aborigines, and when customs are practised by the former, which are not
enjoined by the Shastars, it is highly probable that they have been adopted from the latter.

¥ This is done by a Brahman in Hindu marriages.

 

 
''Section 3.] THE BENDKARS OF KEONJHUR, OR SAVARAS. 149
SECTION 3.--THE BENDKARS OF KxEongJHUR, OR SAVARAS,

Scattered throughout the southern Tributary Mahdls we find colonies of a people
of the aboriginal type, bearing a name often met in the Hindu
classics, the Suari of Pliny,* the Sabarce of Ptolemy, the Savaras,
commonly corrupted into Sauras, or Saurs. The Bendkars of Keonjhur, who have already
excited some curiosity from a brief notice regarding them published in the Journal, Asiatic
Society, Bengal, are a somewhat isolated fragment of the Savaras. I am informed that the
Savaras are numerous in Lehera, in Bamra, and elsewhere in the tributary estates, but
TI have not fallen in with any large communities of the race. Those I have seen are
broken up into parties of two or three families, living as menials or farm laborers in
large Hindu villages; but a few of them are still found forming isolated colonies,
cultivating lands, which they consider their own in out of the way places ; and their most
striking .characteristic is that they till the land with a small hand plough and have no
other agricultural implements.

The largest settlement of independent Bendkars that I have heard of is a village
called Dulukri under the Thakurain hill, in the northern part of Keonjhur, called
Chamakptr. It consists of eleven houses, three of Kols, the rest Bendkars.

I have questioned the inhabitants of this village and several Bendkars living as
dependants in other villages, and from the answers I have received and customs I have
observed, it is difficult to regard them otherwise than as members of the great
Bhitiya family, and thus connecting them we link the Bhiiyas and Savaras, and give
support to the conjecture that the former are Dravidian.

The Savaras, occupying the country between the Kandh Maliahs or hill tracts and
the Godavery, retain a primitive form of speech, but the Bendkar Savaras that I have
fallen in with have no language of their own and no tradition that they ever possessed
one. The form of speech used is Uriyd, and those living in mixed villages conform to
many customs of Hindu Uriyds of inferior castes. The points of difference are,
however, very noticeable ; for on those points they follow exactly the customs of the Hill
Bhitiyas, and the independent Bendkar communities have all the Bhtiya characteristics.

They worship a female divinity, whom they call Bansuri and Thikurdini, no doubt
the same as the blood-thirsty she-devil revered by the Bhiiyas,
the prototype of the Hindu Kéli. Every year, offerings are made
to her of goats and fowls, but every ten years each community of Bendkars offers a
buffalo, a boar, a sheep, and twelve fowls.

The Bendkars provide the necessary victims with difficulty, for it is not their custom
to keep cattle of any kind. They buy what they require for sacrifice. It is not stated
that there is any prohibition against their breeding such animals, nor are they restricted
to the use of their hand plough, but they seldom till lands on which a bullock plough
could be used. When they obtain such lands, they borrow ploughs from their neighbours,
the Kols.

It is in their feasts, festivals, amusements, and methods of bringing about marriage
that the points of resemblance between them and the Bhitiyas are
most marked. I saw a dance by Bendkar boys and girls. The

Distribution.

Religion,

Festivals.

 

 

* See Ancient Geography of India, by Major General Cunningham, vol. 1, p. 509.

6 rT
2 N
''150 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VI.

girls dance with their heads covered, bodies much inclined, and faces looking to the
ground or to their feet, which have to perform a somewhat intricate step, the right hand
holds down at arms length the portion of the dress that is thrown over the head. The
men playing on tambourines or half drums, sing as they dance. The girls appear too
intent on their steps to respond to them, but their peculiar attitude in the dance, the
steps, and the melody, are the same for all Bhiiyas, and are unmistakable characteristics
of the race from the Ganges to the Mahanaddi. The Kolarian dances are quite different.

The marriage ceremonies are very simple. The formal preliminaries are arranged by
mutual friends, but this generally follows a private understanding
which the parties most interested have come to without interven-
tion. After the bridegroom has made his election, the following gifts are bestowed in
his behalf :—to the girl’s father, a bullock; tothe maternal uncle, a bulloek; to the
mother, 1 Rupee and a cloth.

The girl is then brought by her friends to the bridegroom’s house. The young couple
are required to make two and a half turns round a pot of water, in which are mango
leaves. They are then bathed together, and their hands tied together, and the ceremony
is at an end.

When first I saw the Bendkar hand plough, it was of wood, only a branch cut with
a large piece of the stem, from which it sprung, attached, and that
shaped so as to give it the appearance of a miniature native
plough, but they have improved on this, and now insert a piece of iron as a share in
further imitation of the native plough. The implement answers well enough in preparing
for seed the light vegetable mould of the forest to which they confine their cultivation ;
but in a stiff clay it would be inoperative.

The Hill Bendkars cultivate kangni,* kheri, khodot or murowa, gangoi makait or
maize, a species of coxcomb, the seeds of which they eat, a cereal called ‘siko’, and a large
bean which is intoxicating or acts as an emetic, if eaten raw, but is pleasant and whole-
some when well cooked; also urid. They have ordinarily no rice cultivation. They
know well and use all the spontaneous edible productions of the forests, and showed
me some wild yams which they largely consume: they take an immensity of cooking.

The Bendkars burn the dead, following the practice of the Hindus in regard to the
position of the body on the pyre, that is, with the head to the
north. In this they vary from the Kols, who affeet the south, and
the Hill Bhttiyas, who honor the quarter of the setting sun as most appropriate; but the
Hill Bhuiyas are poetical.

Marriages.

Agriculture.

Disposal of the dead.

 

* Panicum ittalicum. + Eleusine eoracana. t Zea mays.
''GROUP. Vid,

THE KOLARIANS.

PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

In a preceding chapter I noticed certain traditions connecting the Kols with the
Cheros, who prior to the Aryan occupation of the Gangetic Provinces were the dominant
race in Gorakhpur, Bihar, and Shahdbdd, and ventured on the surmise that the now
despised Kol was in those days the language of that part of India. I find this opinion
has the strong support of Mr. Logan, who in a note which has been placed at my disposal,
speaking of the Simang dialects of the Eastern Archipelago, says—

“The pronouns have the peculiar forms that were current in the dialects of that branch
of the Himalayan people which predominated in the Gangetic basin and its confines
before the Aryans advanced into it, and which spread its language and civilization
eastward till they prevailed from Guzerat to Tonquin. These pronouns and many other
common vocables are still used by the Kols or Santal tribes on the Ganges, the Kgi or
Kasia in the Brahmaputra basin, the Palaung and the Mon or Peguans on the
Irawaddy, the Kambojans on the Mekong, and the Anamese on the Tonquin.”

Mr. Hodgson thought he could trace an affinity with Mutinda or Kol in the pro-
nominalization of some of the languages of the broken tribes of Nepal analyzed by him,
and some resemblance in physical traits and customs have been pointed out. Mr. Logan
has noticed a linguistic affinity between the Kasias of Asim and the Kols, and I have
in a previous chapter drawn attention toa very remarkable coincidence in the funeral
ceremonies of the Hos (the Kols of Singbhtim) and Kasias. The language of the
Santals, the Mundas, and Kharrids of Chutid Nagptr, the Bhimij of M4nbhim, the
Hos of Singbhtim is Kolarian, and though there are some slight dialectic differences,
these tribes have no difficulty in understanding each other. The savage Korw4 of
Sirgtja speaks a language less readily comprehended by the Munda or Ho, yet, when we
examine it critically, we find that it evidently belongs to the same family. The Kitrs* or
Mudsi of the Central Provinces carry the same tongue across the Mahadeva hills and
westward through the forests of the Tapti and Narbadaé until it mingles with that of the
Bhils, and it is foundt to extend to the Gavilgarh range of hills near Elichpir.
There is a tradition that the race speaking the Kolarian languages were once dominant
in Talingdna.

 

* Papers by Revd. G. Hislop, published by Sir R. Temple.
_ + Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, vol. XIII, for 1844, page 19.
''152 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove VII.

Thus the vast area through which we find the Kol language permeating, disappearing
at times like a river whose course is occasionally subterranean to appear again in distant
regions as a stream from the same source, makes the study of the Kolarian people one of
the most interesting that an Ethnologist can take up; but the interest is intensified when
we find that, vast as the area is, it is insignificant in comparison with the numerous
phases in the condition of the human race that varieties of existing Kolarians may be
considered as exemplifying. They are living illustrations of the progress of mankind
almost from the stone age to the confines of modern civilization.

The special Ethnographical number of the Journal of the Asiatic Society published
in 1866 contains a paper by me entitled the Kols of Chutia Nagptr. Under this appella-
tion, according to the ordinary acceptation of the term, are included the Ordons as well as
the Mtindas and their cognates, but I will now adopt the classification suggested by
Mr. George Campbell in his Work on Indian Ethnology, and treating as Kolarians those
only whose language is Mtinda or Kol, exclude the Oradons who as a Dravidian race
must be disposed of in a separate chapter.

In proceeding to describe the Kolarians of Bengal, I will commence with those who
appear lowest in the scale of civilization and introduce my readers to the leaf clad
mountaineers of Orissa.

SrcTrion 1.—THE JuANGs.

I class the Juangs with Kolarians chiefly in consequence of the linguistic affinity
which apparently links them with that family.

It is by no means certain, however, that they may not at one time have spoken a
different language. It will be found on reference to the list of
words annexed to this chapter that a great many of the terms
used by the Juangs for the most familiar objects are common or nearly so to them
and to the Hos and Santdls, and the pronouns and first of the numerals are identical ;
but as they have lived for ages among people speaking the language of Utkdla or
Orissa, many Uriya words have been adopted by them in supercession of the terms
previously used, and they have besides a number of vocables that I cannot connect
_ with any Aryan, Kolarian, or Dravidian language. I find some words employed both by
the Juangs and the Kharriais that have dropped out of the other Kol dialects, as
‘goné,’ tooth, and ‘lerang,’ moon, for which the Hos and Santdls have adopted terms
of Sanscrit derivation, and, on the whole, the Juang language approaches more closely
to the Kharrié than to the other Kol tongues.

The Judngs are found only in two of-the Katak tributary estates, Dhekandl and
Keonjhur, and they are most numerous in the latter. Iam
informed there are thirty-two settlements of the tribe in Keonjhur
occupying the hill country to the south of the Keonjhurgarh as far as Hundah, or
between 21° 20’ and 21° 40’ of north latitude and 85° 30’ and 85° 45’ of east longitude.
They have not got all this tract to themselves, the Hill Bhtiya villages and many
colonies of Godlas occupying a superior portion of it. It is probable that they have
been ousted by the Bhtiyas from the fertile valleys, and are thus compelled to restrict
their cultivation to the steep sides of hills. We may give twenty as the average
number of houses in each settlement, and estimate the Juang population in Keonjhur

Linguistic affinities.

Geographical distribution.
''Section 1.] THE JUANGS. 15S

at about three thousand people. They have no traditions which affiliate them with
any other race, and notwithstanding the similarity in their languages (but of which
they knew nothing till I pointed it out to them), they repudiate all connectionship
with Hos or Santals. ‘They aver very positively that they are autochthones in Keonjhur,
the direct descendants of the first human beings that appeared or were produced in
that country or indeed in the world. For they assert a claim to be the first produced
of the human race, though they make no pretensions to be the fathers of mankind.

The head quarters of the tribe or cradle of the race they consider to have been the
Gonasika in north latitude 21° 30’ and east longitude 85° 37’, where issues from two
holes in a rock, supposed to bear resemblance to the nostrils of a cow, a stream which is
the source of the Baitarni.* They assert that the Baitarni on whose banks they
were created, is older than the Ganges, and the present Juéng inhabitants of the
village of Gonasika and other villages in the vicinity occupy the very soil from which
the parents of their race were produced. They have no
traditions to record, except that very long ago, nine hundred
Juangs left the country of their birth and went to Dhekandal, and then the Bhtiyas came,
and took up the lands of the brethren who had left them; but it is more probable,
that they were driven out by the Bhtiyas who are now in those hills the dominant
race. The Bhtiyas however deny this, asserting that they are the true autochthones and
that the Juéngs are interlopers. There is a tradition of a Bora Raja (probably some
allusion to the Vara avatar of Vishnu) having had a fort in the heart of the country now
occupied by Juangs, the remains of which are still in existence, and it is said that the
Judngs are the remnant of his people.

The Juangs are in habits and customs the most primitive people I have met with
or read of. They occupy a hill country in which stone implements, the earliest
specimens of human ingenuity that we possess, are occasionally found, and though they
have now abandoned the use of such implements and have lost the art of making them,
it is not improbable that they are the direct descendants of those ancient stone cutters,
and that we have in the Juangs representatives of the stone age in situ.

Until foreignerst came amongst them, they must have used such weapons or none ;
for they had no knowledge whatever of metals. They have no iron smiths, nor smelters
of iron. They have no word in their own language for iron or other metals. They
neither spin nor weave, nor have they ever attained to the simplest knowledge of pottery.

In the hills of Keonjhur they are still semi-nomadic in their habits, living together
in villages during a portion of the year, but often changing the sites, and occupying
isolated huts in the midst of their patches of cultivation, whilst the crops are on the

Traditions.

ground.

‘ Gonasika, one of the largest of their villages, I found to contain twenty-five houses
of Juangs. The huts are amongst the smallest that human
beings ever deliberately constructed as dwellings. They measure
about six feet by eight, and are very low, with doors so small as to preclude the idea
of a corpulent householder. Scanty as are the above dimensions for a family dwelling,

Dwellings.

 

* Vaitarani, the Hindu Styx.
+ This was written before I had seen Mr. Ball’s paper, who has a similar remark regarding the Kharrids, another
Kolarian tribe noticed by him in Ménbhtm,
20
''154 | DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove VII.

the interior is divided into two compartments, one of which is the storeroom, the other
used for all domestic arrangements. The ‘ Paterfamilias’ and all his belongings of the
female sex huddle together in this one stall not much larger than a dog kennel; for the
boys there is a separate dormitory.

This latter is a building of some pretensions at the entrance of the village. It is
constructed with a solid plinth of earth raised about four feet, and has two apartments,
one inner and closed, in which the musical instruments of the village are kept and most
of the boys sleep. ‘The other is open on three sides, that is, it has no walls but the eaves
spread far beyond the plinth, and the inmates are effectually protected. This is where all
guests are lodged, and it makes a convenient traveller’s rest.

The Juangs cultivate in the rudest way, destroying the forest. trees by the deadly
process of girdling them, burning all they can of the timber when
it dries and sowing in the ashes. They thus raise a little early rice,
Indian corn, pulses, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, ginger, and red pepper, seed all thrown
into the ground at once to come up as it can.

They declare they subsist every year more on wild roots and fruits than on what
they rear, but I doubt if they are so badly off as they pretend to
be. The area of their cultivation appeared proportionate to their

Cultivation.

Food.

numbers. They pay no rent, being under obligation to serve the Raja, repair his house,
and carry his burdens when required to do so in lieu of money payment, and they spend
no money in clothes; it is difficult to under stand therefore their not having a sufficiency
of wholesome food, unless it be that they spend all their substance in drink. They are no
doubt addicted to ardent spirits, and they are obliged to buy what they consume, as they
have not acquired the art of distilling or even of brewing rice beer which every Kol
understands.

In regard to food they are not in the least particular, eating all kinds of flesh,
including mice, rats, monkeys, tigers, bears, snakes, frogs, and even offal, and for them
the jungles abound in spontaneously produced vegetables. In the quest of such food
they possess all the instinct of the animal, discerning at a glance what is nutritive, and
never mistaking a noxious for an edible fungus or root.

The Juangs do not look a war-like people, but when urged to it by the Bhiiyas
whose lead they invariably follow, they are sometimes troublesome.
They use the bow and arrow, but their favorite weapon is the primi-
tive sling made entirely of cord. ‘They take “ pebbles from the brook,” or stones as they
find them. ‘They have no idea of fashioning them to produce more efficient projectiles.

My first introduction to the Juéngs was in 1866, whilst with the Superintendent of
the Katak Tributary Mahals engaged in settling a boundary dispute between Keonjhur
and Bonai. We were far away from any Judng village, but Mr. Ravenshaw sent for
some specimens of this interesting people, and a well selected party, consisting of a
matron, half a dozen comely maidens, and about as many men, responded to the call.

In the Journal of the Asiatic Society, Bengal, vol. XXV, for 1856, page 295, there
is a brief notice of the Juéngs accompanying some very clever but very grotesque sketches
that give a correct idea of the singular costume of the women, but convey an impression of
malformation and hideousness, which, judging from the figures of our visitors on the
above occasion, grossly calumniates the race.

Weapons.

 
''Section 1.] THE JUANGS. | 155

The females of the group had not amongst them a particle of clothing, their sole
covering for purposes of decency consisted in a girdle composed
of several strings of beads from which depended before and
behind small curtains of leaves. Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together and made
themselves aprons. The Juéngs are not so far advanced; they take young shoots
of the Xsan (Terminalia tomentosa) or any tree with long soft leaves, and arranging
them so as to form a flat and scale like surface of the required size, the sprigs are simply
stuck in the girdle fore and aft and the toilet is complete. The girls were well developed
and finely formed specimens of the race, and as the light leafy costume left the outlines
of the figure entirely nude, they would have made good studies for a sculptor.

The beads that form the girdle are small tubes of burnt earthen ware made by the
wearers., They also wore a profusion of necklaces of glass beads, and. brass ornaments
in their ears and on their wrists, and it was not till they saw that I had a considerable stock
of such articles to dispose of, that they got over their shyness and ventured to approach us.

They made their first appearance at night and danced by torch light; it was a wild
weird-like sight. The men sang as they danced, accompanying
themselves on deep-sounding tambourines; the girls holding
together and circling round them in a solemnly grotesque manner. There was a want
of spirit in the performance, for they were shy and timid creatures, and the dancing by
torch light before so many strange spectators was evidently no pleasure to them. They
executed the movements under the orders of the men with an unimpassioned obedience,
as if they were so many dancing dogs or monkeys. The disarrangement of their leaves
in the movements of the dance was a source of great. anxiety to them, compelling them
frequently to fall out of their places and retreat into the darkness to adjust their plum-
age. It had been the intention of the party to flit by night as they had appeared ;
but, moved by an exhibition and liberal distribution of bright glass beads, they were in-
duced to stay that night and give usa performance by day light.

Next day they came to my tent at noon, and whilst I conversed with the males on
their customs, language, and religion, the girls sat nestled together in a corner, for a long
time silent and motionless as statues, but after an hour or two had elapsed the crouching
nymphs showed signs of life and symptoms of uneasiness, and more attentively regarding
them, I found that great tears were dropping from the downecast eyes like dew drops
on the green leaves. On my tenderly seeking the cause of their distress, I was told
that the leaves were becoming dry, stiff, and uncomfortable, andif they were not allowed
to go to the woods for a change, the consequences would be serious, and they certainly
could not dance. It was a bright dry day, and the crisp rustling as they rose to depart
confirmed the statement.

When they returned arrayed in fresh leaves, we induced them to give us not only the
solemn measure of the evening before, but to perform a variety of sportive dances, some
quite dramatic in effect, and it was altogether a most interesting “ ballet.” In one
figure, the girls moved round in single file keeping the right hand on the right shoulder of
the girl in front, in another with bodies inclined, they wreathed their arms and advanced
and retreated in line. In this movement, the performance bore a strong resemblance to
one of the Kol dances. Then we had the bear dance. ‘The girls acting independently
advance with bodies so much inclined, that their hands touch the ground; thus they

Dress.

Dances.
''156 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VII.

move not unlike bears, and by a motion from the knees the bodies wriggle violently, and
the broad tails of green leaves flap up and down in a most ludicrous manner.

The pigeon dance followed: the action of a love-making pigeon when he struts, pouts,
sticks out his breast, and scrapes the ground with his wings was well imitated, the hands
of the girls doing duty as wings. Then came a pig and tortoise dance, in which the
motions of those animals were less felicitously rendered, and the quail dance in which they
squatted and pecked at the ground after the fashion of those birds. They concluded
with the vulture dance, a highly dramatic finale. One of the men was made to lie on the
ground and represent a dead body. The girls in approaching it imitated the hopping,
sidling advance of the bird of prey, and using their hands as beaks, nipped and pinched
the pseudo-corpse in a manner that made him occasionally forget his character and yell
with pain. This caused great amusement to his tormentors.

I had heard of a “ ballet”’ called ‘the Cocks and Hens,’ but this they could not be in-
duced to exhibit. It was admitted that it was impossible to keep the leaves in proper posi-
tion whilst they danced it. It was too much of a romp, especially for a-day performance.

The ‘corps de ballet’ were very favorable specimens of the Juéng race. They were
belles who had taken evident pains in the arrangement of the simple elements of their
toilet. Their hair was carefully put up and the leaves disposed of in the most becom-
ing fashion. At Gonasika, I saw them in their more normal state, when they returned
from their work in the evening with dishevelled hair, dusty bodies and disordered attire,
2. e., somewhat withered leaves, and it was truly like a dream of the stone age; but each
lady had brought back with her fresh material for her evening dress.

The males of the community have abandoned the leaves and use in lieu the smallest
quantity of cotton cloth that can be made to serve the purposes of decency. The women,
it is said, are deterred by superstition from following their example, but the tradition or
traditions to account for it are apparently of Brdhmanical concoction. There are
several; the simplest and prettiest is connected with the origin
of the Baitarni. The river goddess emerging for* the first time
from the Gonasika rock, came suddenly on a rollicking party of Juéngs dancing naked,
and ordering them to adopt leaves on the moment as a covering, laid on them the
curse that they must adhere to that costume for ever or die.*

This story is told for the Juéngs rather than by them. Their own idea simply is the
converse cf the rule of civilized nations. They deem that the fashion of dress should
‘never change, and that for females especially it should be simple and cheap. The notion
must tend to conserve the Juangs in their present habits of hill and forest life. They
must be where there is a plentiful supply of the material of nature’s providing. I have
not heard of any of the tribe having settled in places where it would be difficult to os
their inclination in dress.

The old men tell me that they, the males, used to wear kopinst made from the
bark of a tree called Tumba. This is a tradition that takes them back to the days
when they had the woods to themselves and knew nothing of piece-goods.

* 1 om informed by Captain J. Johnstone that he has at length induced the Judng females to clothe themselves, he
supplying the first robes. If no misfortune follow the innovation, it will probably be permanent; so when the Juang girls
posed themselves for the photographs from which the illustrations given with this work were taken, it was almost their last
appearance in lewves.

+ ‘Kopin,’ a narrow strip of cloth worn round the loins and between the legs.

Legends.

 

 
''Section 1.] THE JUANGS. 157

The Reverend 8. Hislop has informed us that in the remote parts of the Chanda
district some of the Madian division of the Gonds are attired like the Judngs. He says,
“the women wear no clothes at all, instead of which they fasten with a string passing
round their waists a branch of leafy twigs to cover them before and behind.” He says
a similar custom is said to obtain amongst the Chenchwés that inhabit the jungles
between the Madians and Masulipatam. It did exist till about 30 years ago among the
Holiers in the vicinity of Mangalor.

The Singbhtim Kols have a tradition that they were once similarly attired, and
during the American war, when cotton was so dear, they told the cloth merchants
that they would revert to their leaves if cloth was not sold cheaper! Manchester
beware ! 7

The predominating physical characteristics of the Judngs, as I saw them massed in
their village, appeared to me to be great lateral projection of the
cheek bones or zygomatic arches and general flatness of feature ;
forehead upright but narrow and low and projecting over a very depressed nasal bone ;
nose of the pug species, alae spreading ; mouths large and lips very thick, but upper jaw
rarely prognathous, though the lower jaw and chin are receding. Hair coarse and
frizzly ; prevailing color a reddish brown, from 27 to 29 inclusive, of the color table.

I observe that some of them had oblique eyes of the Indo-Chinese type, but in this
feature there was considerable variety. |

It is noticeable that the Juang women tattoo their faces with the same marks that
are used by the Mtindas and Kharriés, and (probably adopted
from the Mundas) by the Ordons. ‘Three strokes on the forehead
Just over the nose, and three on each of the temples. They attach no meaning to the
marks, have no ceremony in adopting them, and are ignorant of their origin.

They are a small race like the Ordons, the males averaging less than five feet in
height. The women not more than four feet eight inches. The
Ho girls of Singbhtim look like giantesses beside them, and the
males in stature and carriage are equally inferior to the Ho men. The Judng males have
round shoulders, and walk with a slouching pace. The Hos are upright in carriage, and
have a stately manly stride, nor is it necessary to go to Singbhttm to find Hos to compare
with them. Many of the latter tribe have emigrated from Singbhiim and taken. up their
abodes with the Judéngs and Bhitiyas in the Keonjhur hills, and, though in an inferior
position working as farm laborers, the Hos retain their superiority of physique. The
Juéngs appear to bend under their burden-bearing lot. The Hos never, if they can
help it, carry burdens, the use amongst them of the block wheeled carts being almost
universal.

The Judngs appear to be free from the belief in witchcraft, which is the bane of the
Kols and perniciously influences nearly all other classes in the
Jungle and Tributary Mahdls. They have not, like the Kharrids,
the reputation of being deeply skilled in sorcery. They have in their own language no
terms for ‘God,’ for ‘heaven’ or ‘hell,’ and, so far as I can learn, no idea of a future state.
They offer fowls to the sun when in distress, and to the earth to give them its fruits in
due season. On these occasions an old man officiates as priest, he is called Nagam.
The even tenor of their lives is unbroken by any obligatory religious ceremonies.

2

Physical traits.

- Tattooing.

Stature.

Religion.
''158 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VIL.

Marriage is recognized, but is brought about in the simplest manner. If a young
man fancies a girl, he sends a party of his friends to propose for
her, and if the offer is accepted, a day is fixed, and a load of rice
in husk is presented on his behalf. The bridegroom does not go himself to the bride’s
house, his friends go for her and return with her and her friends, and they make merry,
eating and dancing, and all stay and make a night of it. In the morning the bridegroom
dismisses the bride’s friends with a present of three measures of husked and three of
unhusked rice, and this is a full and sufficient solemnization. A man may have more
wives than one, if he can afford it, but no Juéng has ever ventured on more than two at
a time. They are divided into tribes and are exogamous.

They burn their dead, and throw the ashes into any running stream, and their
mourning is an abstinence for three days from flesh and salt.
They erect no monuments, and have no notion of the worship of
ancestors. The dead are burned with their heads to the south; in this they agree with
the Hos and their cognates, and differ from the Hindus. If cremation is found to be the
custom of many of the aboriginal tribes, may it not have been the practice of the earliest
of mankind and account in some measure for the rarity of human bones in alluvium con-
taining flint implements. If the Juangs had borrowed the custom from the Hindus, they
would have followed the practice of the latter in placing the corpse on the pyre. All the

ribes that I have fallen in with speaking dialects of the Kolarian languageb urntheir dead.

The Judngs swear on earth from an ant hill and on a tiger skin. The ant hill isa
sacred object in the eyes of the Kharrié tribe, and the tiger skin
is introduced, when Hos and Santals are sworn.

Marriages.

Disposal of the dead.

Oaths.

SECTION 2.—THE KHARRIAS.

‘The tribes that are linguistically most closely allied to the Juéngs are the Kharrids.
They are found in Singbhtm in a very wild state, living much in backwoods and on the
tops of hills apart from the Hos and Bhimij, who are somewhat in dread of them, as
these isolated Kharriés have the reputation of being great wizards. They are found in
the Ménbhtim hills bearing the same name, and I apprehend that the people called
‘Birhor’ in the Hazaribagh District are of the same tribe. The Birhors call themselves
Hindus, live in the jungles, and subsist on wild animals, honey, and what they can obtain
by the exchange of jungle produce with people of the plains. They are great adepts at
ensnaring monkeys and other small animals, and sell them alive or eat them. They have
no cultivation whatever, but they are apparently Kolarian, as among themselves they
converse in Kol. They sell chob, a strong fibre of which ropes and string for various
purposes are made, honey, wax, and sikas, the sticks like bows for carrying loads banghy
fashion, and banghy ropes ; and with the proceeds and the spontaneous edible productions
of the forest they manage to exist and clothe themselves. There are people called
Birhors in Chiitid Nagptr proper and Jashptir, who live in an equally wild state, but
communicate with each other in a dialect of Hindi. They are a small, dirty, miserable
looking race, who have the credit of devouring their parents, and when I taxed them with
it, they did not deny that such a custom had once obtained among them.*

 

* A further notice of the Birhors is given below.

 
''Srctron. 2.] THE KHARRIAS. 159

The Kharrids are also seen in villages with other tribes as farm laborers, but in
the Chiitid Nagpur estate they are found in large communities,
and the Kharriés belonging to these communities are far more
civilized than those who live apart.

The best settlements lie near the southern Koel river, one of the streams that rise
on the Chiutia Nagptir plateau, the principal source of the Brahmani.

This river the Kharrids venerate as the Santils the Damiudar, and into it they
throw the ashes of their dead. At the village of Aghurma not far from it, I collected
about me a number of the tribe, and they gave the following account of themselves.

Their ancestors were formerly settled between Rohtdés and Patna. They quarrelled
with their relations and fled into the jungles, and wandered till
they came to the Koel river, where finding unoccupied lands to
suit them, they settled first at a place they called Pora on that river, from whence they
spread in different directions; but their settlements have much diminished in consequence
of the interference of interlopers who obtained from the Raja the farms of their villages,
and many have gone to settle in the estate called Birt Kasalptr,* the landlord of which
gives them lands to clear on very fair terms.

But there was also a tradition that they had come from the south, and that, driven
from the country they had originally occupied, they had ascended the valley of the Koel
till they found themselves in their present location. Their veneration for the Koel, and
the fact that in some customs where they differ feom the Kols, they approach the practices
of Dravidian tribes supports this account, but both may be true. They may have fallen
back south from the Gangetic provinces, passed through the Vindhyan range, and come
gradually round to the south-eastern watershed of Chiitiad Nagpur.

They worship the sun under the name of Bero. Every head of a family should,
during his life time, make not less than five sacrifices to this
divinity; the first of fowls, the second of a pig, third of a white
goat, fourth of a ram, and fifth of a buffalo. He is then considered sufficiently propi-
tiated for that generation and regarded as an ungrateful God, if he does not behave
handsomely to his votary. In praying to Bero, they address him as ‘ Parmeswar,’ the
Hindi word for God. The Ho term ‘Sing bonga,’ they do not know. The sacrifices are
always made in front of an ant hill, which is used as an altar.

This peculiar mode of sacrificing has fallen into desuetude among the Hos and
Mundas, but on my making some enquiries on the subject from old men of those tribes,
I was informed that it was orthodox, though not now generally practiced.

Their religious festivals are almost identical with those of the Mvtindas, and -will be
described in the account of that tribe. In worshipping Bero, the head of the family,
with the Kharridés as with the Hos, acts as priest, but at the Sarhil and other ‘ Pujas’
or sacrifices offered in behalf of the community, a person is employed as village priest,
whose office and name—Pahn—appear to me to have been introduced into Chitid
Nagpur by the Ordons. ‘The Hos have no priests.

From the Hindus they have adopted the custom of solemnizing the boring of the
ears of the children, and the occasion when the hair is for the first time tied up. They-have
further ceremonial observances similarly derived; but this probably will only be found

Distribution.

Traditions.

Religion.

 

 

* The south-western corner of Lohardagga district.
''160 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VII.

among the Kharrias on the Koel, who are much mixed up with Hindus and are under
Hindu headmen. I have no doubt their village communities were at one period organiz-
ed like those of the Mundas, and that they had headmen and village officers of their
own tribe, but every trace of this is swept away, and it is strange that whilst the Mtindas
and Hos struggled for, and maintained, their old institutions, the ceil should have
submitted to so degrading a change.

ee primitive idea of marriage with the Kharrids was a dance and a feast when the
bride was first taken to the abode of her lord; they have no word
for marriage in their own language, but after certain festivities the
bride and. bridegroom are left to the mselves, and next morning are carriedto the river, and
they and all the party bathe and wash their garments ; but under the Hindu term ‘ bibah’
certain ceremonies are superadded, borrowed from their neighbours, or to give the ceremony
more importance in the eyes of the Hindus. On reaching the house of her father-in-law, the
bride and bridegroom are bathed and anointed; and the bridegroom marks his bride with red
lead on her forehead. It will be observed that as with the Judngs the girl is brought by her
own friends to the bridegroom’s house, and the ceremonies such as they are take place there.

The nuptial dances of the Kharrids are very wild, and the gestures of the dancers and
the songs all bear more directly than delicately on what is evidently considered the main
object of the festivities, the public recognition of the consummation of the marriage.
The bride and bridegroom are carried through the dances seated on the hips of two of

irial

their companions.

Dancing is an amusement to which the Kharrids, like all Kolarians, are passionately
‘devoted. ,The only noticeable difference in their style is that in the energy, vivacity
and Sarmth of their movements they excel all their brethren.

T have already noticed that the Kharrits I am describing burn their dead, and put:
ting the ashes in an earthen vessel, throw it into the river. They
afterwards set up in the immediate vicinity of their houses tall
rough slabs of stone, and to these as representing the departed they make daily oblations.

On the whole, their customs sufficiently conform to those of the Mundas to confirm
the relationship suggested by the affinity of the tongues; but at the same time there is
dissimilarity enough to indicate that, though they were originally one people, it must
have been after a very long separation that they again met on the banks of the Koel.

These Kharrids are respectably dressed and comfortably housed, and as they are fair
cultivators, they are well supplied with wholesome food. They, therefore, have very little
resemblance to the Kharrids of the backwoods,* who live as precariously as beasts of prey;
and it is difficult to imagine their being of the same race.t+

Disposal of the dead.

 

ith . * Vide.—Proceedings Asiatic Society, Bengal, for August 1868, p. 120, Mr. Ball’s paper on the Kherriahs.

+ It is a singular circumstance that some tribes of Kharrias profess to be intensely exclusive in regard to cooking
and eating. This characteristic I found most developed in villages of Chutia Nagptir where Kharrids were associated with
Ordons under Bréhman proprietors; and it is a common saying in that part of the country that every Kharrid must have his
‘hariah,’ 7. e. cooking pot. He may not allow even his wife to cook for him, and if a stranger enters a house in which he
keeps his earthen drinking, and cooking vessels, and water pots, every vessel is polluted and the whole are destroyed or thrown
away. This class of Kharridés are especially filthy in their habits, and it is not improbable that Hindus may have been more
than ordinarily harsh in excluding them from their kitchens and inner apartments, and that the Kharrids retaliate by out-
casting every body.

There is a tradition that Kharrids with another tribe called Purans were the aborigines of Mohurbhanj, one of the Katak
Tributary Mabdls. They aver that they and the family of the chief, (Bhanj,) were all produced from a Pea-fowl’s egg, the
Bhanj from the yoke, the Purans from the white, the Kharrids from the shell.

 
''Spction 3.] THE MU'NDAS, HOS, BHUMIJ. 161

The Koel Kharrids are in point of physique much on a par with the Mundas,
rather coarser perhaps in feature and figure, but where they differ approximating more to
the appearance of a north-eastern tribe.

The women are all tattooed with the marks on the forehead and temples common to
so many of these tribes. ‘Three parallel lines on the forehead, the
outer lines terminating at the upper end in a crook and two on
each temple. The Juang marks of this nature take up a larger space on the forehead and
temples than those of the Mundas, the lines being longer and further apart. The Kharrias
in regard to the space over which the marks extend, occupy a middle place between the
Judngs and Mundas.

IT have had no opportunity of ascertaining if the peculiarity noticed by Mr. Ball in
treating of the Manbhtim Kharrids,—their abstaining from the flesh of sheep and the
use of its wool—is common to the Kharriis of Chitid Nagptr; but I think, I should
have heard of it, if it had been so. It is possible that the Kharri4s Mr. Ball fell in with
may call themselves the sheep tribe; if so, they would according to the custom of other
Kolarians be debarred from making any use of the animal:

Tattooing.

SEecTIoN 3.—TuEr Mtwnpas, Hos, Buturs.

Though the old Hindu bards are generally vindictively strong in the epithets of
abuse they hurl at the aboriginal tribes, some of them, in their ambition to explain
all things sacred and profane, deemed it necessary to assign to the Dasyus a genealogy
which affiliates them with the best blood of the Aryans. The ugliest and blackest of the
people of the Vindhyan Mountains were preternaturally the offspring of King Vena, and
even for the Kols a noble ancestor has been found.

The following legend is quoted from Colonel Wilford’s essays.* Yayati divided his
empire among his five sons. ‘To Puru, the youngest, he gave India, or the middle part;
to Yadu, the ancestor of Krishna, the South or Deccan; the North, to Anu; and the
West, to Turvasu. The offspring of Turvasu, according to the Harivansa, settled in the
south, and the tenth generation from him inclusive, consisting of four brothers, Pandya,
Kerala, Chola, and Kola, divided the empire they had inherited. Kola lived in the
northern part of the Peninsula and his descendants are called Kols or Kolers to this
day, and from them India was called Kolarva.

This places the chief seat of the Kols in Talingdna, but it does not appear there are
any of the race now there, or that the language spoken has in it any traces of Kol.+

I have already in my account of the Cheros and Kharwars noticed that Bihar, the
ancient Magadha, has numerous antiquities attributed to the Cheros and Kols, and from
the traditions handed down it appears that the sovereigns of the country were at one time
Cheros, the people being for the most part Kols. Doctor Buchanan Hamilton, the topo-
evapher, points to Kébar, the most important of the ruins in Bihar, attributed to the
Cheros or Kols, as evidently the work of a powerful ruler and probably the strong-hold
of the princes of the race. These legends of the Cheros and Kols are still preserved in

—_——— Ss er? ——_—__— an ———- a a a al een re

* Asiatic Researches, vol. IX, pages 91 and 92.
+ Buchanan Hamilton, Topography of Behar.
''162 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VII.

Bihar. The antiquities, forts and ruins in all parts of the district are by the present

inhabitants universally ascribed to that ancient dynasty and primitive race.
In the account of Shahabdéd the same author states that “by far the most numerous
monuments of antiquity in that district are attributed to the Cheros, to whom, it is
universally admitted, the whole country belonged in sovereignty; the ancient name of
the country was ‘ Kekata’ (Kikata), and all the tract west of the Son retained that name,
whilst the name of the country to the east formerly a part of Kekata was changed to
Magadha.’’*

The Cheros of Kikata, like the Rajas of Chitié Nagpir, claim the honor of being
descended from the great serpent who is King of Hell, that is to say, the Devil “which
is considered a very ancient and honorable connection.”

The Shahabad tradition regarding the expulsion of the Cheros is that they were
conquered by the Savaras. That would be by a Dravidian tribe, and it may be that they
were driven out by the irruption of the people from whom the Ordons and Raéjmahali
Pahdrias are descended, or by the Bhtiyas whom I also class as Dravidian and regard
as identical with the tribe in Katak that are still called Suars or Savaras.

The Savaras ruled in Kikata after the expulsion of the Cheros, it is said, from 421
to 911 of the Saliv4hana, or A. D. 500 to 990, when their Raja Phudi Chandra was
expelled by Jayadeva, a descendant of Bhoja Raja, or some say by Bhoja Raja himself,
who founded Bhojptr and was the ancestor of the Bhojpir Rajas.+

The following passages from the Rigveda, quoted in Dr. Muir’s Sanskrit texts
(vol. II, page 362), show that the Aryans had at a very early period come in contact
with the people of Kikata.

“What are thy cows doing among the Kikatas.} They yield no milk for oblations
and they heat no fire.” In the commentary it is explained that Kikata was a country
inhabited by a people who were not Aryans, and the following lines are quoted from the
Bhégavata Purdna (1, 3, 24). Then when the Kali age has begun, a person named
Buddha, son of Anjana, will be born among the Kikatas, in order to delude the Asuras.
The commentator explains “that isin the District of Gayd.”§ The Kikatas therefore
were people who lived in Magadha or Bihar. The Dravidian people who are said to have
expelled them from a portion of the country, are always called Siviras in the Puranas,
and it is probable that the snake race, Cheros and Kols, to whom the antiquities are
ascribed, were Kikatas.

The Kikatas according to the commentator Sdyana being destitute of faith say “ what
fruit will result from sacrifices, claims or oblations? rather eat and drink, for there is no
other world but this”— a doctrine modern Kols decidedly subscribe to.

In his account of Gorakhptr, Buchanan Hamilton says, there are many Nagbangsis
in that district now considered Rajptits and acknowledging the Raja of Chitid Nagptr
as the head of the family. If this be so, these Nagbangsis are almost probably, as he
is, of Kol extraction, i. e., they are Mundari.

 

* According to Colonel Wilford this change was made about the time of Jardsandhu, who, he says, was the first king of
Magadha before denominated Kikata,—Asiatic Researches, vol. LX, page 91.

+ Buchanan. :

{~ The Kols do not use the milk of their cows.

§ Muir’s Sanskrit texts, vol. II, page 363.

 
''SEcTION 3.] THE MUNDAS, HOS, BHUMIJ. 163

It appears therefore that the Mundas, of whom I am now going to treat, were
once located in Magadha, and were still there when Gautama was born, and it has been
noticed that the Buddha Gaya sculptures pourtray not Aryan but Turanian or Kol features.
The priests of Ceylon have a tradition, noticed by Captain Malony, that in Magadha where
Gautama* was born, the art of writing was unknown. Buchanan says that the chief
people, the Cheros, probably accepted his doctrine, whilst the lower orders, the Kols,
rejected them, and whilst the Cheros became Aryanised, the Kols adhered to the life of
freedom and impurity in which they are still found.

The Kols are according to these legends the earliest settlers in the Gangetic valley
that we hear of; and they had been long established there and had attained some advance
in civilization, when they were dislodged, partly by the Savaras of the bards who carried
their conquests beyond the Ganges and have left us the Kocch tribe that conquered
Kaémrtp and are still lords of Kocch Bihar, the RAjmahal Highlanders, the Ordons, and
the Bhitiyas, as the scattered remnants of the nation they founded.

Of the great Kol empire we have now no such remnants in the Bihar Division.
The Chero chiefs, on being expelled from it, fell back into Pal4mau, whilst the chief
seat of the Munda race is now the plateau of Chuitia Nagpur.

The people I am now about to describe comprise the Mundaris or Mundas of
Chutiad Nagpar proper, the Bhimij of Manbhim, and the Larka Kols or Hos of Sing-
bhim. These three divisions of the race would give us about 850,000 souls, thus—

Miundaris... ve on a on ute 400,000
Hos or Larkas 6 hale oe a 150,000
Bhimij ie = a = a bk 300,000

Torat ead 850,000

The Chuitid Nagpur plateau is so connected with the great Vindhyan range, that it
may be almost considered a part of it. It is, I believe, a portion of the country formerly
known as the great Dandaka forest, and it was also called Jharkhand,+ the forest tract,
and when the Mindaris first appeared in it, was doubtless all covered with such grand sal
timber as we still find in unreclaimed parts. It forms the heart of a territory in which
the Mindaris have been settled for ages, and in which other tribes of the aborigines
of India have found a secure ayslum, retreating from all sides up the courses of the

rivers that have their sources on the plateau. The conquered races ascended and found
refuge from the common enemy in an elevated and beautiful region that is itself a
gignatic natural fortress.

The mean elevation of the plateau thus occupied is upwards of two thousand feet
above the sea level. In the West, it rises to three thousand six hundred, and to the East
and South, its lower steppe, from eight hundred to a thousand feet in elevation, comprises
a great portion of the Maénbhim and Singbhtim Districts. Rivers flow from it in all
directions forming grand water-falls as they bound from the upper plateau to the lower
levels. The whole is about fourteen thousand square miles in extent.

 

* Asiatic Researches, Buchanan Hamilton.
+ In the fifth Report of the Select Committee it is called Jharkhund, Chutea Nagpur, and Kukera. The latter is still the
name of one of the Parganas. In the report it is said that it is called Nagpér from its diamond mines, The Raja has

in his possession a diamond worth about Rs. 40,000, the product of these now fabulous mines.
''164 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group VII.

The central table land, on which the tribes rallied, is admirably adapted for defence.
The approaches to it from the North, North-West, East, and South, are exceedingly pre-
cipitous, the paths winding up defiles which a handful of resolute men could hold against
hosts of invaders. ‘The highlands in the Western and South-Western direction stretch into
Sirgiija and Jashptr, uniting with the Vindhyan mountains in a Western direction and
the Sdtptira range to the South-West. They divide the waters of the Narbad& andMaha-
nadi, forming a covered way by which fresh accessions of cognates strengthened the
growing colonies of Kols on the ‘ Jharkhanda,’ and thus were founded the “strongholds
of the ten chiefs” referred to in the Puranas, and in Colonel Wilford’s essays, as the
Dasarna, or ten forest forts east of the Son.*

These Jharkhand or Chutia Nagpur chiefs appear to have maintained those isolated
and elevated defensive positions throughout the long series of Hindu dynasties, and came
with an indifferent reputation under the Muhammadan Government, as in the report of
the ‘Select Committee’ it is stated that the Birbhtim District was conferred by “Jafar
Khan on Asad-ulla Pathan, to guard against the incursions of the barbarous Hindus of
Jharkhand.” It is curious that they should be called Hindus, but the Muhammadans
probably regarded as such all who were not of their own faith. Mr. J. Grant, ‘Chief
Serishtadar,’ writing of them in A. D. 1787, thus speaks of the country and its people.
“This highland district, including Palamaw, Ramghur and Chutea Nagpur hath since
the days of Ptolemy been geographically termed the three ‘ Bellads’ or cantons in Arabic,
and from which its modern appellation of Velayt may be a corruption if not derived
from another root of the same language, modified to express a foreign dependent
Government.” +

“Tt is also generally described under the name of Kokera, more commonly called
Nagpore, from the diamond mines of that place, as giving most importance to the whole
country, making part of the same mountainous tract of land barren of every thing,
except the most precious jewels in the world. Yet, perhaps, this portion of unfruitful
country might be still more interestingly distinguished by delineating the character of its
inhabitants who are undoubtedly an original savage race, differing extremely in appear-
ance, religion, language, and manners, from the Hindu Lowlanders of Hindustan.” (Vth
Report, vol. 1, page 508).

From this it would certainly appear that Jharkhand has, to a comparatively recent
period, been regarded by Hindus as out of the pale of Hindustan, occupied by a people
who differed from them in religion, in customs, appearance and language.

I have never found much in Munda or Bhtimij folklore that threw light on the
early history of the race. The families that rank highest among them have lost such
traditions in the hazy fables which Hindus have invented for them. The lower classes, as
a rule, declare themselves to be autochthones, and even the chiefs found their claims to be
of noble birth on miracles that took place in the country which they call their fatherland ;
but ina manuscript account of the family of the Rajas of Chutid Nagpur I possess,
it is stated that the Mtindaris came to Jharkhand, afterwards called Chitiad Ndgptr, from
Pipra and Paligarh, names that occur in the Santdl traditions. It is also stated that the
Mundas as well as the Ordons fought with the Lowrik Sumwara, no doubt the Lowrik

 

* Asiatic Researches, vol. XIV, page 384. The Son or Soane River.
+ But the three Vildyats refer to Bihér, Bengal, aad Orissa; not to Palamau, Chiitia Nagptir, and Ramgarh.
''SEcTION 3.] THE MUNDAS, HOS, BHUMIJ. 165

Sowrik of the Ordons, whom I suppose to have been ‘ Sardwaks’ or Jains, and were worsted,
and having to fly from their own country, they successively occupied Jaiptr, Chitor,
Simaliya, Ruhidds, and at last found themselves in Jharkhand. It is noticeable that the
Ruhidds hills are said to have afforded a refuge, or temporary resting place, to the
Kharwars, the Kharrids, the Mvindaéris and the Ordons, but whilst the Mindaris seldom
speak of Ruhidds as a place they are interested in, I have often heard them speak of it
as the place that the Ordons came from. It is not, however, improbable that several tribes
of aborigines may have made a stand in the Ruhidas and Kaimtr Hills at different times,
before they were finally forced back into Palaémau, Jharkhand, and the Vindhyan
Hills.

The Miundaris say they had no Raja when they first took up the country, now called
Chiitid Ndgptr. They formed a congeries of small confederate states. Each village
had its chief also called a Munda, literally ‘a head’ in Sanskrit; and as a village often
consisted of one family, the inhabitants were all of Munda dignity, and hence it became
a name for the whole tribe. What the original name for the tribe in their own language
may have been, I do not know, but as the Mindaris on the plateau call themselves Konk
Pat Munda, Konk or Konkpdét may have been a national denomination. They appear
to have only one word for ruler, the term ‘Gtmki,’ and they apply it to every one in
authority. In the Ménbhim District, the word Mtnda becomes ‘ Mura,’ which is also
Sanskrit, and has the same meaning. As these Kols have taken up the word Munda, the
Santdls have appropriated the term ‘Manjhi,’ and the Bhimij ‘Sirdar.’ The Mundari
villages had each its staff of officers ,and from the customs that still prevail in most old
villages, the organization that has descended from very primitive times, appears to have
been very complete.

I must now proceed to give the fable of the origin of the family of the Raja of
Chitid Ndgptir, as it is told in the family annals. We have already heard some thing
of the snake race in connection with the ‘ Kikatas,’ but the branch of the family estab-
lished in Chitidé Ndgptr, whether it came from Kikata, or was produced in the country
to which it gave that name, had its own version of the snake story.

It is well known that Raja Janamejaya, in revenge for the death of his father,

Mythical origin of the Chiitia compassed the destruction of the whole of the Nag or serpent
Nagpur Rajas. race, and prepared a ‘ yajiiya’, or great incantation service for the
purpose; the total annihilation of the race was, however, prevented on the eve of its
accomplishment by the interference of Astika Muni, and amongst those that were saved
was the great Nag Pundarika.

In the 3044th year of the Kaliyug, Pundarika Nag assumed the form of a Brah-
man, and repaired to the house of a certain Bréhman of Benares, to perfect himself
in a knowledge of the sacred books. The learned instructor became so pleased with his
pupil, that he gave him to wife his only child, the beautiful Parvatt ; but though Pundarika
had the power to assume at pleasure any form, in the same way that our vulgar devil
cannot get rid of his cloven foot and some say his tail, the Nag could not divest himself
of his double tongue or his foul breath, and as it was of vital importance that his wife
should not discover his real character, he always slept with his back to her. However
‘one day, or night I should say, she managed to get round him, and found out his
unpleasant peculiarities, and she interrogated him sharply as to the meaning of his being

2k
''166 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove VIL.

thus different from the mortals of her acquaintance, and to divert her attention, he
proposed they should make together a pilgrimage to Puri (Jagannath). To this she gave
her assent, and delighted at the prospect of visiting that fashionable watering place, she
forgot the unpleasant peculiarities of her husband, and cheerfully accomplished the
pilgrimage. They returned through Jharkhand in which the Mundas and Ordons were
both then established, but on reaching the hill of Stitiamba, the time arrived for her
being delivered of her first child, and when the pains seized her, she remembered the
forked tongue and again eagerly sought for explanation.

There is even at the present day a current belief that a woman’s curiosity at such
moments must at all risks be gratified, and though the result of the announcement would
be the immediate separation of the immortal Pundarika and his mortal wife, he felt
himself bound to indulge her wishes, and after disclosing to her wondering ears his
marvellous history, he plunged into a pool and disappeared from her sight.

P&rvati was now inconsolable at the catastrophe she had brought about by her
insatiable curiosity. In the midst of her grief and remorse her child was born, but
instead of rejoicing at its birth, she prepared for herself a funeral pyre and became
a ‘ Sati.’

At this juncture a Sdkadwipa Brahman appears on the scene bearing an image the
idol of the sun. He slaked his thirst at the pool, and when about to proceed on his
journey, found he could not lift the idol that he had hitherto carried without difficulty,
and whilst pondering on this, his eyes fell on a child lying sheltered and guarded by a
ereat hooded snake. This was Pundarika in his proper form protecting his child. Ad-
dressing the Brdhman, he narrated his own history and foretold that the child would
become the Raja of the country to be called Nagptr, that the Brahman was to be his
Purohit and the idol his tutelary deity. The boy, he said, was to be called Phani-Mukuta
Raya, that is, ‘the snake crowned,’ and promising on his own part to return when
his presence was necessary, he confided the child to the Brahman, and again plunged
into the pool and disappeared.* It is in commemoration of this event that the Raja
and chief members of the Ndgbangsi family always wear turbans, so arranged as to
make the head dress resemble a serpent coiled round the head with its head pro-
truding over the wearer’s brow. The seal of the Maharaja and arms of the family
show as a crest a cobra with a human face under its expanded hood, surrounded by all
the insignia of royalty.

Near Stitidmba dwelt Madura who was Raja, or Manki, of one of the Parhds.f To
his house the Brdhman repaired with the infant, and the Manki was easily induced to take
charge of the foundling and bring it up as his own child. He had a son of the same age,
and when both the boys were twelve years old, Madura convened the Parha chiefs, and, it
is said, the neighbouring Rajas, the Raja of Sirguja and the Ditya Raja, that is, the
Raja of Pétkum who claims descent from Vikra Maditya, and it was then agreed that
Phani-Mukuta Raya should be proclaimed Raja of Chutia Nagpur.

The Ordons had at this time established themselves in the North-Western part of
the plateau and were present at Phani-Mukuta Raya’s inauguration as Raja. The next

 

* According to the family annals, this occurred A. D. 104.
+ And was also a chief of influence in the confederacy.

 
''SEcTION 3.] THE MUNDAS, HOS, BHUMIJ. 167

event recorded is the marriage of the Snake Raja with a daughter of the Sikharbhim
Raja, that is of the ancestor of the present Raja of Pachet. There was an awkward
hitch when the Pachet Brahmans asked for Phani-Mukuta’s pedigree, horoscope, and
record of his birth, and the match would not have taken place, if Pundarika had not
appeared and proved to the satisfaction of the ambassadors from Sikharbhtim that the
marriage proposed would be no misalliance. It is especially mentioned that the Mundas
and Ordons all got drunk at the wedding and had a fight.

The “snake crowned” was acknowledged by all the Parhd chiefs on the central
plateau of Chuitidé Nagpur proper, but the inhabitants of the lower steppe would have
nothing to do with him. They, however, followed the lead of the highland chiefs and
elected Rajas of their own, all miraculously nurtured foundlings, and all through their
representatives now claiming to be Rajptits. Thus have originated the Chiefs of what
are called the five parganas of the Lohardagga District and most of the Ménbhim
zamindars. I only know one of them who has the sense to acknowledge his Mindari
descent, but the conclusion that they are all of that race, is forced on us by their position,
their fables of origin, and the fact that they all intermarry. Some have indeed made
other alliances with good Hindu families, and owe to this an improved personal appearance
in the present generation. I do not, however, suppose that all the Manbhim zamindars
are Kols. Some few are Stdras, some are Bagdis, and the zamindars of the Northern
Jungle mahals are all Bhuiyas.

The place pointed out as the scene of the birth of the first Nag Raja is Pithauria,
a considerable market town on the Northern face of the plateau overlooking the valley
of the Damidar in Pargana Suti4mba. Many Mundaris regard this part of the country
as the cradle of the race, but it is not at present most densely populated by people of
that tribe. The representatives of the Madura of the tradition are still to be found
tenaciously clinging to the ancestral site and the graves of their forefathers, and, though
simple peasants, enjoying considerable influence which they sustain by performing at
’ the proper seasons the festivals that commemorate their former power. At all places
in the Province of Chutiad Nagpur that are, or have been, the head quarters of the
sovereign or chief, a festival is annually solemnized in his honour called the ‘ Ind-parab.’
Amidst great rejoicings an enormous umbrella, attached to the end of a mast some forty
feet in length, is raised like a maypole by the united force of all the people that can be
collected. At Suitidmba to the present day, two of these poles are annually set up,
one in honour of Madura, the other to the Nagbangsi Raja, and the latter must not be
moved from the ground till Madura’s umbrella is well aloft.

In support of the antiquity of the Nagbangsis of Chitié Ndgptr there is collateral
evidence in the annals* of the Kharonda dependencies of the Central Provinces. Jag-
gannith Deo, the last member of the Gangabangsi families who reigned there, finding
himself without heirs, sent to Chitié Nagptr for a Nagbangsi who founded the present
dynasty of Kharonda, 860 years ago.

The boy selected was a brother of the Satranjigarh chief. This was a collateral
branch holding a maintenance grant, and it can be shown that many generations of
Nagbangsi Rajas had passed away before this branch of the family took root.

%* Selections, Records, Government of India, No. 30, Report by Colonel Elliot.
''168 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VII.

Unfortunately as those Rajas became great potentates among Hindus, they
grew to despise the impure Kols, their subjects, and as the latter were not inclined to
submit quietly to degradation and were not unmindful of what the Nagbangsis owed
them, they revolted against such ingratitude, and the Rajas found it necessary to
seek extraneous aid to control them. Foreigners were gradually introduced to whom
lands were assigned for military services, who assisted or supported the Raja in
the innovations he wished to introduce, and Brahmans were encouraged by grants of
villages to settle in the country and to aid in civilizing it after their fashion. Their
attempts at proselytising were not unsuccessful amongst the Muindaris. The chief
men of that tribe were by degrees induced to see something very honorific and de-
sirable in the distinction conferred by the ‘ poita,’ the thread indicating that the wearer
is a Brdhman or a Rajput, and without altogether jilting their ancient sylvan deities, they
commenced paying their addresses to the new order of gods and goddesses that the
Brahmans and their now Brdhman-ridden Rajas were endeavoring to bring into fashion, —
but the change did not extend to the masses generally. They saw the encroach-
ments on their rights and liberties that were threatened, and preferred the freedom of
action and license they had hitherto enjoyed. The whole body of Ordons held steadily
to this view, and thus while most of the chiefs in Ndgptr and Manbhum adopted
Brahmanical ideas, the Ordons and bulk of the Mundaris remained in their pristine state,
and though intermarriage between the two peoples was not allowed, they otherwise
harmoniously amalgamated as one nation.

The system of government that obtained among the Mundas and Ordaons of Chutia
Nadgptr before their policy was disturbed by the conversion of their chief may still be
discerned in their existing organization. This country was divided into groups of twelve
or more villages, called ‘ Parhds,’ each under a headman, who was generally called the
‘Munda,’ and though not recognized by the authorities in the political divisions of the
present time, the people still acknowledge the ‘ Parhé’ jurisdiction, and questions
affecting their social relations are still adjusted in ‘ Parhd’ conclave.* Hach village had
besides its establishment of hereditary public servants, and these still exist. The principal
of these are the representatives of the most influential of the patriarchs. They originally
formed the colony, and each is literally a pillar of the little state called ‘Khint.’ The
head of one of these Khints or families is the chief or Munda, of another the Pahn, or
priest, and there is sometimes a third called ‘ Mahato,’ the Minda’s deputy.

The headmen had no superior rights in the lands cultivated by other villagers, they
were not landlords but chiefs, and they and the people acknowledging them held the soil
they cultivated in virtue of their being the heirs of those who first utilized it, and
when it became necessary to distinguish such men from cultivators of inferior title,
the former were called ‘ Bhitinhars,’ breakers of the soil.

This is not, perhaps, the only country where we find in the cultivators the actual
descendants of a primitive people who first brought the land under cultivation, but I do
not know where else to look for a people who having lived under different forms of
government yet link themselves with a remote antiquity by the continuous and not
unsuceessful struggle they have maintained to preserve in their integrity their prescrip-

 

* Jn the Kolhan of Singbhtim, the Parh4, or as it is there called the Pirhi, system is now fully maintained; but there
and in some parts of Chuitit Nagptir proper the head of a Parha is called a Manki.

 
''Sgction 3.] THE MUNDAS, HOS, BHUMIJ. 169

tive rights. Against infringement of these the Kols have in all ages protested and some-
times fought, and though in numerous instances the force of circumstances has hopelessly
transferred the proprietary right from the aborigines to the zamindar or his assign, many
thousands have succeeded in retaining what has come down through their family from
pre-historic times to a period when, under a law recently passed by the Bengal Govern-
ment, these rights are being defined and registered, and they may look forward to their
being transmitted in their integrity to their remotest posterity.

When the Mindaris and Ordons submitted to a Raja, and all were required to con-
tribute to his maintenance, the people in each village were divided into two classes.
The more privileged who retained the designation ‘Bhuinhar,’ had to give honorary
attendance and constituted the militia of the state. The remainder supplied food and rai-
ment, and these obligations were eventually commuted to money payment or rent, and the
lands cultivated by this class were called ‘ Rajhas,’ or rent-paying, in contradistinction
to the ‘Bhtinhdari’ which was no doubt originally rent-free. At a later period, the
Raja was allowed to hold in each village a proportion of land called Manjihas, which was
cultivated for his sole benefit; and the persons who cultivated this land for him or his
assigns had lands allotted to them, subject to no other service and no rent, called ‘béth
kheta.’ Besides the above, there were lands set apart for the expenses periodically incurred
in the propitiation of the national and local deities, and the Kols thus provided against
the dangers that threatened their gods from the impending changes of belief. The
produce of the lands has never, that I am aware of, been appropriated to the service of
the Hindu divinities, though the people contribute something yearly towards the public
worship of ‘ Kali’ inaugurated by the zamindavrs ; if, however, the villages were all to
adopt a new religion, they would doubtless assert their right to devote the assets of what
may be called their church lands to the service of the newly adopted faith.

The circumstances under which the Raja’s ancestor rose to power precludes his
making any division of the ‘Raj.’ It remains to this day an undivided estate, and the
succession to it is regulated by local custom of primogeniture acknowledged under Regu-
lation X of 1800; but as the families increased, the younger members or collateral
branches were supported by maintenance grants, which lapse to the parent estate on
failure of heirs male to grantee. These were among the earliest of the alienations
which changed so greatly the relations between the chief and his people; the latter had
agreed to serve and support him, but they were now compelled to serve and support his
assigns, and soon the assigns included not only relations but the Brahmans and mercena-
ries who received grants for religious or military services, and lastly foreign (all people
not belonging to the province were so considered) farmers to whom leases of villages
were given in supercession of the Kol headman.

Chiitid Nagpur, as part of Bihar, was ceded to the British Government in A. D.1765 ;*
but the earliest arrangement with the Raja of which I find any record occurred in

 

 

* It is recorded in the Akbarndmah that about the year 993 A. H. (1585 A. D.), Madhu Singh, Zaminddr of
Kokrah, 7. e., Chatié Nagptir, was forced to submit to Shahb4z Khan, one of Akbar’s Generals, and a few years afterwards
or in 1591, MAdhti Singh and Lakhmi R&i of Kokrah served with the Emperor’s army under Man Singh in effecting
the conquest of Orissa. According to the local chronicle MAdhti Singh, or as he is there called Madhikar Shah was the 43rd
of the Nagbangsi line of Rajas ; but it is recorded in the same history that the 41st Raja Bairi Sal first submitted to Delhi,
and his successor Durjun Sil failing to pay the tribute agreed upon, was attacked by Ibrahim Khan, taken prisoner, and
carried to Delhi. This event is noted in the Memoirs of Jahangir, and took place in 1615 A.D.

28
''170 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VII.

A. D. 1772, when it is stated that the chief appeared before Captain Camac commanding
a force in Palamau, and after exchange of turbans* with the Company’s representative, duly
acknowledged himself a vassal of that great power, gave as tribute Rs. 3,000 and agreed
to do service against the Mahrattas. The oldest settlement deed is dated 1179 Fasli, by
which Raja Dripnath Sahi of Khikhra, alias Nagpir, agreed to pay 12,000 rupees, viz., mal
or rent 6,000 rupees, nazrdnah or tribute, 6,000. For some years
after this, the Raja was allowed to administer the territory as
the chief of a tributary mahal, but in 1816 or 1817, it was found
necessary to deprive him of magisterial powers; the estate was placed under the Magis-
trate of Ramgarh, who held Court alternately at Sherghdti and Chatra. Natives of
Bihar who were considered foreigners in Chitid Nagptir were sent into the country as
Police officers, and occasionally the Nazir of the Ramgarh Magistrate’s Court was deputed
with extraordinary powers to inspect and report on the administration.

Up to A. D. 1831, when the most serious revolt of the Kols of Chitid Nagptr
occurred, there can be no doubt that the changes of government which had taken place
were not beneficial to them. ‘They were neglected by their new masters, oppressed by
aliens and deprived of the means they had formerly possessed of obtaining redress through
their own chief. The Raja, by no means satisfied at his own loss of dignity and
authority, gave but surly answers to complainants who came before him. The Darogahs
(Native Police officers), the highest resident officials under the British Government,
declared it was not competent to them to decide on the grievances that then most harassed
the Kols; these were complaints, that they had been dispossessed by foreigners, Muham-
madans, Sikhs, and others, who had obtained from the sub-proprietors farms of the Kol
villages over the heads of the Kol headman; but it often happened that the unfortunate
Kol who with difficulty made his way to the far off station found the tables turned on him
when he got there. A host of witnesses in the pay of the opposite party were already
there prepared to prove “ that he had not only no rights in the land, but was a turbulent
rebel besides.”

Major Roughsedge, the first Political Agent for the South-Western Frontier, notices
a case of this kind that occurred in A. D. 1811. Some disturbances had broken out in
Tamarh, and troops were sent there, but the officer in command reported that they arose
entirely from the oppression practised by the Tamarh Raja on one of his vassals named
Raghunath Singh, and on this the officer was allowed to enter into negotiation with the
malcontents, who hoping for redress returned to their allegiance. In this hope Raghu-
nath Singh went to the court then sitting at Chatra.t ‘The evidence kept in readiness
against him by the Tamarh zamindar caused his committal to the Court of Circuit, and the
result was his condemnation to transportation or imprisonment for life.’

For years after this event, Tamarh continued in a disorganized state, and in 1820,
serious disturbances broke out, and two Kols, Rudu and Kantu,
at the head of three hundred followers for a long time defied the

Arrangments for Govern-
ment made by the English.

Disturbances.

 

*In regard to this exchange of turbans, the family annals tell a strange tale. In the Raja’s turban were some very
valuable diamonds, which it is insinuated had excited the cupidity of Captain Camac. The proposal for the exchange emanated,
it is said, from him. He declared it was the English method of swearing eternal friendship, but the Captain had no diamonds
in his head dress, and the Raja evidently concluded that he had been rather ‘done’ by the Company’s Officer.

T Letter from Major Roughsedge to the Magistrate of Rimgarh.

 
''SEcTION 3.] MUNDAS, HOS, BHUMIJ. Wt

authorities, and were not reduced till military operations on an extensive scale were
undertaken against them.

The Kol insurrection of 1831, though no doubt only the bursting forth of a fire that
had long been smouldering, was fanned into flame by the following
little episode :—

The brother of the Maharaja and holder of one of the maintenance grants which
comprised Sonptr, a pargana in the Southern portion of the estate, gave farms of some
of the villages over the heads of the Mankis and Mundas to certain Muhammadans, Sikhs;
and others who had sought and obtained his favor. Twelve villages that had belonged to
Singrai Manki were thus given to the Sikhs, and not only was the Manki dispossessed,
but two of his sisters were seduced or ravished by these hated foreigners. A similar com-
plaint was made against the Muhammadan farmers. One of them had acted very oppres-
sively towards a Munda of Bandgdéon in Singbhtim and, it was said, had abducted and
dishonored the Miinda’s wife. These men and some other Mankis of Sonptir who were
equally dissatisfied invited all the Kols of Sonpir, Tamarh, and Bandgdon, to assemble at
the village of Lankah in Tamarh. The meeting took place and the conveners addressed
the assemblage. “'The Pathdns and the Singhs (Sikhs),” they said, “have dishonored us;
the Kunwar Harnath Singh has forcibly deprived us of our villages, which he has given to
the Singhs. Our lives are no longer of value. We are all brethren, let us act together.”

It was agreed that the wrongs inflicted on them could no longer be tolerated. ‘They
would at once “ commence* to burn, plunder, murder, and eat.”

This was no vain threat. A few days after the meeting, on the 11th December, 1831, a
raid was made on the village of Kamrang held in farm by a Muhammad Ali Naik, and
two hundred head of cattle carried off. On the 20th December, a number of villages
bordering on Singbhim held in farm by Hari Singh and Diydl Singh, Sikhs, were
plundered and burned by a body of 700 Kols under Strga, the aggrieved Munda of
Singbhtim, Singrai Manki, and others, and one of the Sikhs was wounded. These
villages formed part of the estate from which Singrai had been ejected. On the 25th
December, several villages held in farm by Kali Khan and Saifullah Khan were plundered
and burned, and one of the Khan’s men was thrown into the fire. On the 2nd January,
1832, Kamrang was again attacked, and next day they sacked Jafar Ali’s village and
murdered him and ten of his people including the unfortunate Kol female whom he had
seduced. The Nazir of the Sherghati court now appeared on the scene, and sent to the
Kols to say that if they would desist from disturbing the peace of the country, their
lands would be restored to them. They replied, they would attend to no orders but those
that emanated from the Maharaja of Chitid Nagpur; that they would not leave a single
foreign farmer alive ; they would destroy every village in Sonptir Pargana, even Govindpur
where Harndth Séhi resided, and then they would wash their weapons in the river Karo
that flows by his house !

In the meantime the arrowst of war were being circulated through the country like
the fiery cross, and by the middle of January the Mindaris and Ordons had all entered

Insurrection, 1831-32.

 

* Deposition of Singrai Manki.

+ An arrow passed from village to village is the summons to arm, and sent to any one in authority it is an open declara-
tion of war. The Hos of the Bhor Pir in Singbhim thus avowed their intention to espouse the cause of the dethroned
Raja of Porahdt in 1857, and summoned their brethren,
''172 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAN. [Group VII.

with zeal into the spirit of the insurrection. The country appears to have been entirely
unprepared for such an event, troops there were none, the police stations were generally
abandoned, and even the hereditary zamindars, connections of the Raja’s, sought safety
in flight. In every pargana the villages in which ‘Sads’ (Hindus) resided were
destroyed, and all ‘Dikos’ (foreigners) who fell into the hands of the insurgents were
murdered. The subordinate* Rajas of Rahe, Bindi, Tamdrh, Barwa, though neither
Sads nor Dikos, narrowly escaped with their lives, when those places were all sacked and
destroyed.

With the exception of the force from Singbhtim that came to the aid of the
insurgents and were the most formidable division of the rebel army, it does not appear
that the Kols in their work of destruction moved far from their own homesteads, as the
‘Sad’ portion of each village was plundered and burned by the Kols of that or neigh-
bouring villages. The murders were most numerous in the Dofsa and Kordmbe Par-
ganas, as the ‘Sads’ there were unprepared for the attack, and none were spared that
fell into the hands of the insurgents.

Troops to put down the insurrection were of course being collected from different
points and were gradually being concentrated in the disturbed district ; but before military
operations could be undertaken, the insurgents had done all that they had threatened to
do and might, though it is not again mentioned, have washed their weapons in the Karo
and retired. Captain (the late Sir Thomas) Wilkinson reached Pithauria, which as I have
already stated is on the brink of the northern face of the plateau, about the middle of
January, and the work of incendiarism was then in full blaze.

Captain Wilkinson was without sufficient force to penetrate far into the disturbed
districts, but he lost no time in compelling the villages near Pithauria to submit. This
was not done without fighting, and, indeed, the insurgents on more than one occasion
threatened his position, advancing against it with a force estimated at about 3,000 fighting
men, but they appear to have been easily repulsed. ‘The inhabitants of the large village
of Nagri between Ranchi and Pithauria had been particularly active in the work of
destruction, and had avowed their determination to fight to the last; but an expedition
was sent specially against them with the unequivocal instructions “attack, slay and
destroy,” and to such orders energetically carried out, the Nagri heroes speedily
succumbed. This is a very primitive Ordon village which up to the present time retains
all the old institutions; the bachelors hall with the banners, yak’s tails, trumpets, and
drums, &c., and the dancing arena in front where often songs are sung that remind the
young men how their fathers ‘went out’ in 1832. The subjugation of Nagri was
followed by the submission of most of the northern villages, but the Ordons of
the west and Mundaris of the centre and the south showed no inclination to lay down
their arms, and the insurrection now spread into Paldmau where it was taken up by
the Kharwars, merely it would seem for the love of the thing. It grew serious, however,
and a squadron of cavalry making its way to Chutia Nagpur through that pargana
found itself so hotly opposed in one of the hill passes, that the officer in command
deemed it necessary to make a retrogade movement and await reinforcements.

 

* Lal ditnath Sahi of Ginjo and Kapilnath of Salgi are prominently noticed as honorable exceptions. They held to
their respective villages, and repulsed several attacks made on them.

 
''Sxcrion 3.] THE BHUMIJ. 173

Not till the middle of February were the troops in a position to operate on a scale
adequate to the occasion. Then three columns were formed to start simultaneously from
three points* in the northern part of the plateau, and sweep the country in parallel lines
as they moved from north to south.

The right and centre columns met with little opposition, the heads of villages sub-
mitting as they advanced, but the left column when they reached Sonptir found that
the Kols had abandoned their villages, and with their flocks and herds and families had
taken refuge in the hills. In attempting to dislodge them, the troops, especially a
detachment of the 3rd Light Cavalry, suffered some loss. The columns, however, were
now concentrated in the south. Bindrai Manki, Singrai’s brother, and Stirga, the heroes
of the episode, held out to the last, but on the 19th March, 1832, these leaders came into
camp and surrendered to the Commissioner, the remaining sirdérs all then tendered
their submission, and the insurrection was at an end.

Great changes in the administration followed this insurrection. The disturbed
districts and jungle mahdls with the dependent tributary mahdls were organized as a
non-regulation province under the name of the South-Western Frontier Agency ;
the system of zamindari police, under which authority was restored to the chiefs to
whom the people had been accustomed to look for its exercise, was established in
Chitié Ndgptr; the border Mdnkis whose dispossession from their tenures was the
main cause of the insurrection, were reinstated, and the zaminddrs were deprived of the
power of ousting them without the orders of the European officer now placed at the
head of the district. They obtained title deeds constituting them ghatwals, or guardians
of the passes, and officers of police, and that position they still hold.

The insurrection of Chitiaé Nagptr and Palémau was speedily followed by
disturbances in the southern portion of the M4nbhtim District in
which the Bhtimij Kols were the chief actors.

Near the boundary of Chutia Nagptr, the term Bhtimij as applied to this class is
seldom used. The Kols who form the bulk of the population call themselves Mindas
or, as the name is usually pronounced in Manbhtim, Muras. The title Bhiimij, ‘the
children of the soil,’ is given to the members of the tribe settled further east; but,
generally, if asked to what class or caste they belong, they say ‘Sirdér.’’ In Dhalbhiim
the Bhiimij call themselves, and are called by the Singbhtim Kols, ‘Matktim.’

The Bhtimij are, no doubt, the original inhabitants of Dhalbhtim, Bar4hbhtim,
Patkim, Bagmundi, and still form the bulk of the population in
those and adjoining estates. They may be described roughly as
being chiefly located in the country between the Kasai and Subarnarekh4 rivers. They
had formerly large settlements to the north of the former river, but they were dislodged
by Aryans, who as Hindus of the Ktrmi caste now occupy their old village sites. The
Bhtimij have no traditions of their own origin, generally asserting that they were
produced where they are found; but some who dwell in the vicinity of old Jain temples
declare that the founders of the temples preceded them; though they can tell us nothing
of those founders, nor of the architects of the ruined and deserted Hindu temples
existing as additional marks of a prior occupation of the country by a more civilized

The Bhimij.

Geographical distribution.

people.

 

 

# Tako: Chota Pionda,:
2 7
''174 DALTON.— ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. ~ [Group VIL.

I have elsewhere* noted that these Bhtimij were probably the ‘ Vajra Bhtimi’
(the terrible indigénes) who are deseribed as abusing, beating, shooting arrows at, and
baiting with dogs, the great Saint Vira, the twenty-fourth Jina or Tirthankara of the
Jains, an account of whom will be found in Volume IX of the Asiatic Researches.

The Bhtimij of the Jungle Mah4ls were once, under the nick-name ‘ Chuar,’ the
terror of the surrounding districts, and their various outbreaks
were called ‘Chuaris.’ On several occasions since they came
under the British rule, they have shown how readily a Chudri may be improvised on very
slight provocation. I donot know that on any occasion they rose like the Mindaris
simply to redress their own wrongs. It was sometimes in support of a turbulent chief
ambitious of obtaining power to which according to the courts of law he was not entitled,
and it was sometimes to oppose the Government ina policy that they did not approve,
though they may have had very little personal interest in the matter.

Thus in the year A. D. 1798, when the Pachet estate was sold for arrears of revenue
they rose and violently disturbed the peace of the country till the
sale was cancelled. After hostilities had continued for some time,
in reply to a very pacific message sent to them by the officer commanding the force, they
asked if the Government were going to sell any more estates ? I do not think that the
settlement of any one of the Bhtimij Jungle Mahals was effected without a fight. In
Dhalbhtim the Raja resisted the interference of the British power, and the Government
set up a rival, but after various failures to establish his authority, they set him aside and
made terms with the rebel. In Bar4hbhtim, there was at one time a disputed succession.
The courts decided that the eldest born of Raja Viviké Nardin, though the son of the
second wife, should succeed in preference to the son of the first wife, the Pat Rani. The
Bhamij did not approve of the decision, and it was found necessary to send a military
force to carry it out. This was the origin of the last disturbance known as Gangé Nardin’s
rebellion, which broke out in 1832.+

Lakhman, the son of the Pat Rani alluded to above, continuing to oppose his brother,
was arrested, and died in jail leaving a son Gangd Nardin.

On the death of Raja Raghunath Singh, he also was succeeded by the son of his
second Rani, who was declared by the Sudder Court to be heir in opposition to a claim
again set up by Madhab Singh, the younger son, but the son of the Pat Rant; but failing
in his suit, Madhab Singh resigned himself to his fate and was consoled by being
appointed diwan, or prime minister, to his brother. In this capacity he made himself
thoroughly unpopular, more especially by becoming an usurious money-lender and
extortionate grain-dealer, and soon Gang& Nardin found that in opposing a man so
detested, a majority of the people would side with him. Accordingly in the month of
April 1832, he, at the head of a large force of gh4tw4ls, made an attack on Maddhab
Singhandslew him. This foul crime was committed with great deliberation, cunning, and
cruelty. Madhab was seized and carried off to the hills to be sacrificed. Gangé Nardin
himself first smote him with his battle axe, then each Sirdér Ghdtw4l was compelled

Chuars.

Recent disturbances.

 

 

* Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, for 1866, p. 186, N ote on ‘“Ménbhiim.

+ Decisions of the law courts in succession cases have on other occasions been the cause of disturbances in the J ungle and
Tributary Mahals. The last affair of the kind was in 1868, when the Hill Bhtiyas of Keonjhur revolted against their present
chief on the ground that he was not of pure blood or born in lawful wedlock. In determining what the local custom is in
such cases, the views of the people should always be ascertained.
''SEctron 3.] THE BHUMIJ. 175

to discharge an arrow at him, and thus all the leading Ghétwdls became implicated
in the plot. A system of plundering was then commenced, which soon drew to his standard
all the ‘chuars,’ that is all the Bhiimij of Baréhbhtim and adjoining estates. He attacked
Barahbazir where the Raja lived, burned the Munsiff’s (Native Civil Judge) cutcherry
and the police station from which the police had fled, but three unfortunate peons
(runners) of the Munsiff’s Court were caught and killed.

The officials and police fell back on Bardwan, and for some time Ganga Narain had
the country at his mercy; and he sacked every place worth plundering; but in November
following a force was collected, consisting of three regiments of Native Infantry and
eight guns, and military operations against the insurgents commenced. They were soon
driven to take refuge in the hills, but being pressed there also, Gang’ Nardin fled into
Singbhttm and endeavoured to enlist in his favor the reputed invincible and irrepres-
sible Larkas; they were just then at issue with one of the chiefs who claimed supre-
macy over a portion of them, the Thakur of Khars4wan, and though they were not un-
willing to join in: the row, they wished before they committed themselves to Ganga
Narain’s leadership to test his capacity to lead. They, therefore, demanded that he
should, in the first place, make an attack on the fort of the Thakur of Khars4waén. In
complying with this request he was killed, and the Thakur had the pleasure of sending
his head to Captain Wilkinson, with a letter quite in the style of Falstaff when after the
battle near Shrewsbury, he said, “there is Perey. If your father will do me any honor
so; if not, let him kill the next Percy himself. I look to be either Earl or Duke,
I can assure you.”

I have not been able to discover that the Bhtimij possess any independent traditions
of migrations. Those who live in proximity to Chitié
Nagptir recognise no distinction between themselves and the
Mundas. They intermarry and associate and coalesce in all matters indicating identity
of race, for, though it may be said that they are not much troubled with caste prejudices,
there is no portion of the old Indian population which is quite free from it. The Bhiimij
further east have become too Hinduized to acknowledge the relationship. The Dhal-
bhtim Bhtimij consider themselves autochthones, and will not admit that they are in any
way connected with the Mundas, Hos, or Santdls. It is pretty certain that the
zamindis of all these estates are of the same race as their people, though the only man
among them whom I found sensible enough to acknowledge this, was the Raja of
Bagmuindi; the others all call themselves Kshatryas or Rajptits, but they are not ac-
knowledged as such by any true scion of the illustrious stock. In claiming to be
Rajputs they do not attempt to connect themselves with any of the recognized families
of the tribe, but each family has its own special legend of miraculous production.

The family legend of the Raja of Baréhbhtim may be given as a specimen of their
skill in making pedigrees.

“Nath Varaha and Késvaraha, two brothers, quarrelled with their father, the Raja
of Virat, and settled in the court of Vikramaditya. (This has some connection with the
tradition of the adjoining estate Patktim, the Raja of which claims descent from Vikra-

Legend of the Barthbhim Maditya.) Kés the younger was sawn into two pieces, and with
family. his blood Vikram gave a ‘tik4’* to the eldest anda pair of

Traditions.

 

* Mark on the forehead.
''176 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VIL.

umbrellas, and told him that all the country he could ride round in a day and night
should be his. Nath mounted his steed and accomplished a circuit of eight ‘yojanas,’
whatever that may be, within the time specified, and a precious stiff line of country he
took in riding round what is now Barahbhtim, but it must be all true as the print of
his horse’s hoofs are still visible on the southern slopes of the hills.

With one or two exceptions all the Ghatwals (captains of the border and _ their
men) of the Bhtimij part of the Manbhtim and Singbhtim Districts are Bhtimij, this is
a sure indication of their being the earliest settlers. They were the people (like the
Mindéri Bhtinhérs in Chitiad Nagpur, the Bhtiyas in Bonai, Gangptir, Keonjhur, &c.,
Gonds in Sirgija and Udaiptr) to whom the defence of the country was entrusted
The Bhtiimij Ghatwdls in Manbhtim have now after all their escapades settled down
steadily to work as guardians of the peace.

The Raja of the extensive zamindari of Dhalbhtiim is no doubt of Bhiimij ex-
traction, but for him the Herald’s college of the period failed to
manipulate a Rajpat descent. His ancestor was a washerman,
who afforded refuge to the Goddess Kali when, as Rankini, she fled from a demon in
Pachet. The Goddess, in gratitude, gave the washerman a young Brdhmani, a ward
of her own, to wife, and the Rajas of Dhalbhim are the descendants of this union.
The origin of the story appears to be that a Bhtmij chief of Dhalbhim, probably, at
the instigation of a Brahman stole from its shrine in Pachet an image of Rankini and
set it up as his own tutelary deity. The shrine from which the image was abstracted
is shown at the village of Para near Partilia in Manbhtm, and it became the popular
object of worship in Dhalbhim by all classes of the people there. Rankini especially
rejoiced in human sacrifices. It is freely admitted that in former years children were
frequently kidnapped and sacrificed at her shrine, and it cannot be very positively
asserted that the practice of offering such victims has long been discontinued.

At the shrine of this goddess a very cruel scene was enacted every year till 1865,
when with the concurrence of the zaminddr it was put a stop to. It was called the
‘Bindaparab’, and Ganganarain probably had it in his mind when he so cruelly disposed
of Madhab Singh.

At this parab two male buffaloes are driven into a small enclosure, and on a raised
stage adjoining and overlooking it, the Raja and suite take up
their position. After some ceremonies the Raja and his Puro-
hit’* discharge arrows at the buffaloes, others follow their example, and the tormented
and enraged beasts fall to and gore each other whilst arrow after arrow is discharged.
When the animals are past doing very much mischief, the people rush in and hack at
them with battle axes till they are dead. The Santals and wild Kharrids, it is said,
took great delight in this festival, but I have not heard a murmur at its discontinuance,
and this shows it had no great hold on the minds of the people.

Many of the Bhimij tribe are well off. Some of them who are Sirddér Ghatwals
are in virtue of their office proprietors of estates comprising each
from one to twenty manors, but as the most substantial tenants
under them are also hereditary Ghétwals, rendering service and paying besides but a

Dhalbhim.

Binda parab.

Tenures.

 

* Family priest,
''Section 4.] THE HO OR LARKA KOLS. 173

very low fixed rent, these Ghdtw4li estates are not so valuable to the proprietor as
villages on the ordinary tenure would be.

The Bhtmij live in commodious, well-built houses, and have about them all the
comforts to which the better class of cultivators in Bengal are accustomed. Those who
live quite amongst the Bengalis have retained very few of their ancient customs; none
perhaps, except the great national amusement, the gay meetings for dance and song both
at their villages and at ‘ ydtras’, which are characteristic of all Kols.

In appearance they are inferior to the Hos of Singbhim and to the best of the
Mundas of Chutid Ndgptir. They are short of stature but
strongly built, and like the Santals rather inclined to fleshiness.
In complexion they are variable, like the Mindas ranging from a dark chocolate to a
light brown color; they observe many of the Hindu festivals but retain their sacred
evoves in which they still sacrifice to the old Gods. They have generally left off eating
cow’s flesh in which their unreformed brethren in Singbhtm and Chutid Naégptir

Physical traits.

indulge, but eat fowls.
The Bhiimij have, in a great degree, lost the simplicity and truthfulness of character

for which their cognates are generally distinguished. They have acquired from the
Bengali Hindus the propensity to lie, but they have not the same assurance or powers of
invention, and their lies are so transparent, that they are easily detected.

Mr. Ball of the Geological Survey informs me that he found in the Bhimij country
of Dhalbhim some remains of an ancient settlement which was said to have been the
abode of a Raja who had two tongues. ‘This is the only tradition I have heard directly
connecting the Bhiimij with the snake race, the Nagbangsi,* but it is an independent
testimony to the wide-spread influence of that mysterious people.

In the religion of the Kols there are no traces of snake worship, if it be not hidden
in their name for the rainbow ‘ Lurbeng,’ which means ‘ aserpent.’ I have noticed,
however, the occurrence in Chiitié Nagpur of people apparently allied to the Kols who
call themselves Nagbangsis, though not allied to the Nagbangsi family of Chitia Nagpur,
and the Nagesars, also called Kisans, and among the old sculptures that are found in the
country are images of serpents or snakes which must have been intended for altar pieces.

Section 4.—THE Ho or LAarka Kots.

The district of Singbhim in which the Ho or Larka Kols are located lies to the
south-east of Chutiéd Nagpur proper, or between 22° and 23°
of north latitude, and 86°53’ and 85°-2’ of east longitude. It
measures 124 miles in extreme length from east to west, and 64 miles in its greatest,
breadth from north to south. The total area is by survey 4503 square miles; —
of this 1905 square miles constitute the exclusively Ho territory known as the
Kolhan. The most fertile and highly cultivated portion of this tract surrounds the
station of Chaibasa at a general level of seven hundred and fifty feet above the
sea, and here are massed about two-thirds of the Kolhan population. To the south of
this extending to the Baitarni river, the general level rises to upwards of 1000 feet, and
the Kols of this plateau are less civilized and more turbulent than those of the lower

Geographical distribution.

 

 

* Who, till they became mortals, had forked tongues like serpents.

w
cS
''178 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grone VII,

steppe. The whole district is undulating, traversed by dykes of trap which rise in rugged
masses of broken up rock, and the views are on all sides bounded by ranges of hills rising
to 2900 feet. To the south-west bordering on Chitiaé Ndgpur is a mountainous tract of
vast extent sparsely inhabited by the wildest of the Kols, this, however, appears to be the
region from which they. first descended into the Singbhtim plains. Saranda bordering
on Gdngptr at the extreme south-west of the district is called ‘Saranda of the seven
hundred hills.’ It isa mass of mountains which rise to the height of 3500 feet, and
contains but a few poor hamlets nestled in deep valleys belonging for the most part to a
very unreclaimed tribe of Kols. The inhabitants of the western hills bordering on Chutid
Nagpur generally retain the name of Mundas, and connect themselves rather with the
people of Chiitid Nagptr than with the Hos of Singbhtim.

The Hos appear to have no traditions of origin or migrations that throw much
light on their history. They generally admit that they are of the same family as the
. Mundas, and that they came from Chitid Nagpur. The Ordons sometimes say that the
exodus of the Hos was caused by ¢heir invasion, but I cannot believe that the Hos could
ever have given way to so inferior a race, and the tradition usually
received is that the Ordons made friends with the Mundas and
were allowed to occupy peaceably the north-western corner of the plateau where the
former apparently had never taken root. The Hos are the only branch of the Kols
that have preserved a national appellation. The Mundas of Chitid Nagptr are some-
times called Kokpat*, or Konkpat, Mundas, and that may be a national word, but ‘ Ho’
‘Hore’ or ‘Horo’ means in their own language ‘man’, and they are not the only
people that apply to themselves exclusively the word used in their language to
distinguish human beings from brutes. They probably left Chitia Nagpur before
their brethren there had assumed the Sanskrit word Munda as their distinetive name,
taking with them their old constitution of confederate village communities under
hereditary head men, which system they have retained to the present day; but they
did not find in Singbhim an unoceupied country. It is admitted on all sides that
one part of it was in possession of the Bhtiyas and another held by the people who have
left many monuments of their ingenuity and piety in the adjoining district of Manbhim,
and who were certainly the earliest Aryan settlers in this part of India, the ‘Sarawaks’ or
‘Jains.’ The former were driven from their possessions in what is now the Kolhan, and fell
back into Porahdt. What became of the Jains we know not, they have left their marks
in Dhalbhim and the eastern and north-eastern quarters of the district; and it is not
- improbable that the Sudras, Godlas and Kuirmis now settled in Porahat, Kharsdwan,
Sardikela and Dhalbhim may be remnants of the colonies they founded, but it is
also probable that many were absorbed into the family that conquered them, and this may
account for the greater beauty of the Hos as compared with other Kols, and for their
having in use a number of common vocables of Sanskrit origin, though they insulated
themselves as much as possible, despised the Hindus, and for a long time had little or no
intercourse with them. A very intelligent observer, Mr. Ball of the Geological Survey,
informs me that local tradition ascribes to the Jains all the copper
mining works, the traces of which are seen in Sardikela and
Dhalbhim. The present population know nothing of the art, but the Jains appear

Traditions.

Mines.

 

* Perhaps the name sometimes given to the country ‘ Kokera’ may have some connection with Kokpat.
''Sxcrron 4.] THE HO OR LARKA KOLS. 179

to have fully understood it, and English speculators have found to their cost that the
operations of the old miners were thoroughly exhaustive.

It is probable that the chief who was called Raja of Sngbhtim and his brethren were
originally more intimately connected with the Dravidian Bhiiya tribe than with the
other races that make up the score of the population. The military force on which the
Raja chiefly depended were Bhtiyas; his tutelary deity, the Pawri Devi,* was a
Bhttiya divinity, corresponding with the Thakurani Mai of the Keonjhur Bhtiyas; and
the tradition regarding the founder of this family is that he was as a boy discovered in
a hollow tree which a Bhiiya forester was cutting down. But
the Singh family legend is somewhat different. They claim to be,
and are by noble families now admitted to be, Kshatryas of true blood. Their ancestor
came as a knight-errant from Mérwavr, a very Jain country now, whatever it may have
been in those days, and was adopted by the Bhtiyas; but a dispute subsequently
arose between the Singhs and the Bhuiyas, the former coalesced with the Kols; and when
with their assistance they had put down the Bhitiya revolt, they claimed supremacy over
both tribes.

According to the annals fabricated by Braéhmans in glorification of the Singh family,
the Hos first appeared in Singbhtm as part of a marriage procession ‘bardt’ with a bride
from Ndgptr for the Singh Raja, but however they came, they obtained possession of
the best part of the country and have never yielded an inch of the territory they then
appropriated. Ethnologically their position is singular and interesting; speaking them-
selves the Kol language only, they occupy a basin whose barrier of hills restrains the flow
and blending together of the three great Sanskrit derivatives Hindi, Bengali, and Uriya,
which but for this obstacle of an insulated language would have found a trijunction

boundary point in the centre of Singbhim. It is generally supposed that that name
was given to the country from: the patronymic of the chiefs, but without propounding
anything very extravagant, it is just as likely that it is derived from their name for
God, the Creator, Singbonga.
The Singbhtim Réjptit chiefs have been known to the officers of the British Govern-
ek Wie ie Bath ment since A. D. 1808. In that year, the Marquis Wellesley,
Government. Governor-General, caused friendly communications to be address-
ed to Kunwar Abhirdm Singh; ancestor of the present Raja of Sardikeld, in regard to the
assistance he was invited to render and which he promised to render in the prosecution
of the war against Maharaja Raghoji Bhonsla, The Kunwar is assured that the British
Government will always respect his rights to hold his territory free of rent. In no.
treaty that I have ever seen is there any mention of a cession of Singbhim. The
Sardikel& chief was communicated with, because his territory adjoined the Jungle
Mahdals then under the Company; but between British officials and the people of the
Kolhén there does not appear to have been any intercourse previous to the year
1819. Of the interior of their country, for years after the acquisition of all. the
surrounding districts, nothing whatever was known. The Hos would allow no strangers
to settle in or even to pass through. the Kolhdn, and pilgrims to Jagannath had to
make a circuit of several days journey to avoid it. In March 1819, the Political

Family legends.

 

* A corruption of Pah4&ri Devi, ‘the Hill Goddess.’
''180 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. | [Group VII,

Agent, Major Roughsedge, directed his Assistant to proceed to Porahdt to negociate
a settlement with its chief, who as the head of this family of chiefs was called
Raja of Singbhim. The officer was instructed to collect all possible information
regarding the country, and “ especiaily of the extraordinary race called Larkas.” The
Assistant, however, did not succeed in penetrating so far into the interior as to come
in contact with them. Writing of them in the following year, Major Roughsedge says,
“The Raja and Zamindars of Singbhim who are in attendance on me have so formi-
dable an opinion of the power and ferocity of these savages that, notwithstanding the
considerable force under my command, they are evidently much alarmed, and have made
a formal protest against the danger of the march.

The chiefs who thus trembled at the thought of penetrating into the cin of
the Larkas were at that time pressing on the Agent their claims to
supremacy in the Kolhan, and asserting that the Kols were their
subjects in rebellion, urging our Government to attack them and force them to return
to their allegiance; but they admitted that for more than fifty years they had been
unable to exercise any control over them, and it really appears quite an open question
whether the Kols were ever really subject to them or not. Old Kols have told me
that they honored and respected the Singh chiefs, but regarded them till they quarrelled
rather as friends and ailies than as rulers; but if they ever were subjects, they had
achieved their liberty in various hard fought fields, and their autonomy might have
been respected. Three formidable but abortive attempts to subjugate them are noted
in Major Rougsedge’s dispatches, one made by Dripnéth Sdhi, the grandfather of the
present Raja of Chutia Nagpur at the head of more than 20,000 men assisted by the troops
of the Raja of Singbhtm; the second by Raja Jaganndth Séhi of Chutid Nagptir with
almost an equal force in A. D. 1770, and a third in 1800, an invasion from the Mohurbhanj
(Mayurbhanj) side headed by a Gond chief called the Mahapater of Bamanghati. On the
first of these occasions the Larkas drove the Nagptr men out of Singbhtim with immense
slaughter. The scene of the second battle, the centre of an extensive and elevated plain,
was pointed out to Major Roughsedge by an eye witness, who told him that the action was
fought at noon-day in the month of May, when the heat must have been frightful.
The Raja’s troops succumbed to the first onslaught of the Larkas, many hundreds were
slaughtered on the battle field, and many more were killed or died from thirst in the
retreat, the Larkas pursuing them for ten miles till the fugitives had surmounted the
steep ascent into their own country.

It appears that after these attacks on their independence, the Larkas retaliated on all
the border villages of neighbouring states. Sonptr, Belsia, and Basia, in Chitia Nagptr,
were ravaged by them for several years and whole villages depopulated. They also
laid waste the adjoining portion of Gaéngptr, Bonai, Keonjhur, and Mohurbhanj, but
some of the raids on the Southern districts, were undoubtedly instigated by the Singbhim
Raja. It was usual indeed for these chiefs, when they wished to annoy a neighbour, to
incite the Kols to make a raid on him, and these were, I think, the only invitations of the
Singbhim chiefs that they ever attended to. Whenever there was a row, they eagerly
entered into it, and all malcontents invariably sought their assistance.

Major Roughsedge was particularly struck with the fine physique and manly in-
dependent bearing of the men of the first deputation that waited on him. They entered

Attempts to subjugate them.

 
''SEcTION 4. ] THE HO OR LARKA KOLS. 181

his tent, and after admiring it a little, it suddenly occurred to them that it was a
convenient place for a siesta, so stretching themselves at full length on the carpets, they
coolly composed themselves to sleep! Of their appearance he says they were as much
superior in size and form to their brethren of Chutia Nagpur “as wild buffaloes to the
village herds.” |

Major Roughsedge at the head of his battalion of Artillery, Cavalry, and Infantry
entered their country with the avowed object of compelling them to submit to the
Rajas who claimed their allegiance, but he did his best to conciliate them and was at
first in hopes he had succeeded, but apparently they had made up their minds to employ
against him the tactics which had been so successful in their encounters with the Nagptir
armies. He was allowed to advance unmolested into the heart of their territory and to
take up a position among their finest villages, at Chaibasa on the Roro River, near the
present station of that name. Here some camp followers were, in sight of the camp,
attacked by a body of armed Larkas, one killed and others wounded, and the Larkas, after
this feat, were seen moving away in the direction of the hills, but the pickets and a troop
of cavalry under command of Lieutenant Maitland, were sent out to intercept them.
The result I will give, nearly in Major Roughsedge’s own words. Lieutenant Maitland
making a sweep so as to cut off the retreat of the Larka party, they at once assailed him
with a flight of arrows, but finding they made no impression with these weapons,
“these savages, with a degree of rashness and hardihood scarcely credible, met the charge
of the troop half way in an open plain, battle axe in hand.” The result was of course a
terrible slaughter of the unfortunate Kols, not more than half the party effecting their
escape to the hills.

“ Tieutenant Maitland now moved rapidly towards the village where the grass cutter
had been killed and found standing near the corpse and prepared for action, a second
party of 60 men who behaved with still greater desperation, rushing at the troop and
striking like furies at both horses and men until the whole were sabred. ‘They directed
their attack chiefly at the horses killing two and wounding several ; only two suwars were
wounded’.

That evening Major Roughsedge found his rear threatened and mails intercepted,
and sent a strong party out next day to attack a body of Larkas assembled in arms at the
village of Gutidlor. Lieutenant Maitland, the officer in command, found a host in
arms ready to oppose him, and on approaching the village was received with repeated
discharges of arrows, which caused him considerable loss. ‘To drive them from the shelter
afforded by the enclosures he set fire to the village, but still there was an obstinate
resistance and numbers were slaughtered before they could be induced to lay down their
arms and accept quarter. The officer himself narrowly escaped death in a personal con-
flict with a Larka.

In the above and other encounters the Larkas suffered greatly; the conclusion
dawned on them that they were no longer invincible, and to avoid further devastation of
their villages, the whole of the Northern Pirs submitted and entered into engagements
to acknowledge and pay tribute to the Raja of Singbhim. But Major Roughsedge
had yet to meet the still fiercer Kols of the Southern Pirs, and in his progress towards
Sambhalptr he had to fight every inch of his way out of Singbhtim leaving them
unsubdued. On his quitting the district, a war broke out between the Larkas who had

2 Ww
''182 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grove VII.

submitted and those who had not. One hundred well-armed Hindustani irregulars
under a Native Officer were sent by the Agent to the support of the Raja and his allies
of the Northern Pirs, and this for atime gave them the advantage, but the Sttbadar, having
been unfortunately induced to enter the Kolhan to assist in levying a contribution, was
attacked and he and most of his party cut up. The Kols then advanced on a small
fort, in which the remainder of the Hindustanis sought shelter; they were driven out of
the enclosure and in their retreat twelve were killed and ten wounded.

After this the Kols ravaged the best part of the Singbhim Raja’s estate and
threatened Sardikela and the chiefs; who all again implored the assistance of the Agent
against their Kol subjects !

In 1821, a large force was employed to reduce the Larkas, and after a month's
hostilities the leaders, encouraged by a proclamation, surrendered. 'They earnestly prayed
at this time to be taken under the direct management of the British Officers, but un-
fortunately their wishes were not complied with. They were compelled to enter into
agreements to pay tribute to the chiefs at the rate of eight annas for each plough; but
after a year or two of peace, they again became restive and resumed their old
practices of pillage and plunder, committing raids and laying waste neighbouring
villages, not unfrequently, however, at the instigation of the chiefs. Other matters then
engaged the attention of the authorities, and for many years no attempt was made to
restore order to Singbhtim, or seriously to check the predatory predilections of its
turbulent inhabitants. This encouraged them to extend the circle of their depredations ;
they ravaged Dhalbhim, devastated Bamanghati and penetrated far into Chitia Nagpur,
but the assistance rendered by them to the Ndagptir Kols in 1831-32, was too gross
a defiance of the Government to escape the serious notice of the authorities.

The judicious officer who was now Agent to the Governor-General for the newly
formed non-regulation Province the South-Western Frontier, the late Sir Thomas
Wilkinson, at once recognised the necessity of a thorough subjugation of the Kols
and the impolicy and futility of forcing them to submit to the chiefs. He, therefore,
proposed an occupation of Singbhtim by an adequate force, and when the people were
thoroughly subdued, to place them under the direct management of a British officer to

‘be stationed at Chaibdsa in the heart of their country. These views were accepted by
Government, and in furtherance of them two regiments of Native Infantry, a brigade
of guns and the hamgarh battalion, the whole foree commanded by Colonel Richards,
entered Singbhtim in November, 1836. Operations were immediately commenced against
the refractory Pirs, and by the end of February following all the Mankis and Miindas had
submitted. There appears to have been very little actual fighting during this campaign.
All the most important parts of the Kolhan were visited by the Agent and his troops,
the men whom it appeared desirable to make examples of in consequence of their having
been leaders in the previous lawless proceedings were given up or captured, and the
others readily acquiesced in the arrangements proposed.

Engagements were now taken from them to bear true allegiance to the British
Government, and it was deemed necessary to stipulate that they
should no longer obey the orders of the chiefs to whom they had
previously been required to submit. Six hundred and twenty villages, with a population
estimated at the time at 90,000, of whom two-thirds were Larkas or Hos, were thus

Their submission.
''Srction 4.] THE HO OR LARKA KOLS. 1838

brought, and have since remained, under the immediate control of the British Govern-
ment, and simple rules for the administration of this new acquisition, which in all their
salient and peculiar features are still in force, were drawn up and promulgated.

The system of Government through heads of Pirs and heads of villages found to
exist was maintained. The former officers had under them from three to a dozen villages.
They were recognised as the head police officers of their circle and the collectors of
the Government dues, and were empowered to dispose of petty disputes of a civil or
criminal nature, but were not authorized to inflict any punishment. The Mdnda
exercised authority in his village as Police officer subordinate to the Manki, the Pir
officer, and assisted in collecting the revenue. The assessment at eight annas for each.
plough, imposed by Major Roughsedge, was continued, and under it the rental was about
Rs. 5,000. In 1854, an assessment on the same principle but double the former rates
was introduced ; this gave Rs. 17,700 which was fixed for twelve years.

During this period the revenue was paid with the utmost punctuality. The area of
cultivation rapidly increased, and there was every reason to suppose that the people were
contented and making fair progress in civilization and prosperity; but in 1857 the
disturbances that supervened on the mutinies caused a serious but brief check.

In that year the detachment of the R&mgarh light infantry, stationed at Chaibasa,
following the lead of the native officers and men with the head quarters of the
battalion, mutinied, and were marching to join their comrades at Ranchi with the
contents of the Chaibdsa treasure chest, when the Kols of the Pirs round the station
armed, collected in thousands and denying the right of the Sipdhis to remove the money
that had been collected as revenue from them, they intercepted the detachment on the
banks of a river and held them most completely in check, till a mandate arrived from
the Porahdt Raja to send the whole party to him.

- After some delay, the Porahét Raja determined to deliver these mutineers into
the hands of the British officers who had in the meantime returned to Ranchi, and
three or four thousand Larka Kols of the southern Pirs volunteered to act as escort,
and this duty they faithfully performed.

But unfortunately, after discharging this essential service, the Porahaét Raja
went into rebellion, and a considerable section of the Kols considered it their duty to
support him. The campaign that ensued was tedious and difficult, as driven from the
plains the rebels took refuge in the mountain fastnesses in which Singbhim abounds,
and for months during the rains, our troops could do no more than blockade their
positions and protect the peaceable villages from their onslaughts. In December, 1859,
detachments moved to the rear of the Raja’s hill retreat, whilst a cordon of posts was
established in his front. At last an attack was made in which many important captures
were effected, and though the Raja with ‘his wives escaped for the moment, they found
every avenue of retreat barred, and they surrendered to the Commissioner on the 15th
February, 1859.

The Kols had early in the struggle, considering the inequality of weapons, shew
themselves not unworthy of their former fame as savage warriors, but they were cowed by
the ‘enfields’ of a Naval Brigade which formed part of our force; and after a few casualties
at long ranges they avoided open attack, and their warfare latterly was confined to
cutting off stragglers and burning the villages of the well-disposed.
''184 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VII.

The capture of the Raja at once put an end to the disturbances; those who had been
in arms returned to their houses and ordinary pursuits, like lambs to a fold, and the
MaAnkis, resuming with zeal their police functions, readily arrested and sent up for trial
all heinous offenders that could not be amnestied.

On the whole there has been great progress since the Kols became directly subject to
the Government. Under the judicious management of a succession of officers whose names
will always be household words in the Kolhan, Tickell, Haughton, Davies, Birch, Hayes,
these savages have been gradually tamed, softened, and civilised rather than subjugated.
Not a dozen years ago, they steadily opposed the opening of roads through their territory,
removing from the villages to the hills, (their usual custom when dissatisfied and excited),
till the obnoxious posts set up to mark the alignment were taken down and the project
abandoned. Now their country is in all directions traversed by good roads made by them-
selves under the superintendence of their officers. New sources of industrial wealth have
been opened out, new crops requiring more careful cultivation introduced, new wants created
and supplied, even a desire for education has been engendered and fostered, and already
well educated Kols are to be found among the ministerial officers of the Chaibasa courts.

In 1867, the twelve years’ settlement of the plough tax expired, and so great an
advance had been made, that it was considered time to introduce a regular assessment
on the lands and remove the reproach that a district so prosperous did not defray the
ordinary expenses of its Government. —

For some two or three years previous to the settlement of 1867, every means were
taken to prepare the Kols for the impending change. In 1866,
a great meeting was held and the consent of the headmen obtained
to all that was contemplated. They admitted that it was incumbent on them to pay
their share of the burdens of the state, agreed that their lands should be measured
and assessment made on the lands instead of on the ploughs; and this was eompleted
next year by Dr. Hayes. In fixing the rates, an estimate was made of the quantity
of land that a man ordinarily cultivated with one plough, for which he paid Rs. 2.
This was taken as the basis of the new assessment and it might, therefore, be assumed that
there was no great enhancement; but the result gave a gross rental of Rs. 64,808, nearly
treble the amount of the plough tax. The Kols were somewhat startled at first, but it
has been cheerfully accepted. They made no attempt to shirk the measurements or to
conceal their lands; on the contrary, their great desire was to have all the land they
could call their own entered in the register that they might have a full record of rights.

The total net revenue from the Kolhén now fully defrays all expenses of its admin-
istration, and if the present admirable self-governing system be maintained, it will no
doubt, ere many years elapse, give a large surplus.

Settlement of 1867.

Section 5.—THe Mtnpas, Hos, Butts.

Having thus indicated the geographical position of the people that we have to con-
sider under the name of Muindari or Mtinda and given a sketch
of their history, I now proceed to describe their more prominent
ethnic peculiarities, and in doing so I propose to select the Hos as the branch of the
people, who, from their jealous isolation for so many years, their independence, their long

The Hos.

ae ae
''Srcrion 5.] MUNDAS, HOS, BHUMIJ. 185

occupation of one territory, and their contempt for all other classes that came in contact
with them, especially the Hindus, probably furnish the best illustration, not of the
-Miundaris in their wildest state, but of what, if left to themselves and permanently
located, they were likely to become. Even at the present day, the exclusiveness of the
old Hos is remarkable. They will not allow aliens to hold lands near their villages, and,
indeed, if it were left to them, no strangers would be permitted to settle in the Kolhan.
Now there are settlements of Godlas, Kurmis and others, but though such settlements
are under the authority of the Kol Manki of the Pir, the Kols hold little communication
with them and jealously watch and circumscribe the spread of their cultivation; for they
argue that they are themselves rapidly increasing and the waste lands should all be
reserved for their progeny. The only persons of alien race they tolerate, and so far as
suits their own convenience associate with, are the few ‘Tdntis’ (weavers), ‘ Godlas,’
(herdsmen), potters, and blacksmiths, who ply their respective trades for the benefit of the
community ; but these people, who are in all probability remnants of the Aryan colonies
that the Hos subjugated, must learn their language and generally conform to their
customs. The old Hos will not conform to theirs. It is only the rising generation that
takes kindly to the acquisition of another language.

The Hos have a tradition concerning the creation of the world and the origin of
the human race which is given in Colonel Tickell’s account of the tribe published in
Volume IX of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, page 797.

* Ote Borém and Sing Bonga were self-created, and they made the earth with rocks
and water, and they clothed it with grass and trees, and then
created animals, first, those that man domesticates, and, afterwards,
wild beasts. When all was thus prepared for the abode of man, a boy and a girl were
created, and Sing Bonga placed them in a cave at the bottom of a great ravine and finding
them to be too innocent to give hope of progeny, he instructed them in the art of making
‘Tlli,’ rice beer, which excites the passions and thus the world became peopled.

This little story the old Mankis are fond of telling with all sorts of indecent details,

When the first parents had produced twelve boys and twelve girls, Sing Bonga

eine the ovigin prepared a feast of the flesh of buffaloes, bullocks, goats, sheep,
of different nations. pigs, fowls, and vegetables, and making the brothers and sisters
pair off, told each pair to take what they most relished and depart. Then the first and
second pair took bullocks and buffaloe’s flesh, and they originated the Kols (Hos) and
the Bhimij (Matkum); the next took of the vegetables only, and are the progenitors
of the Brahmans and Chatris; others took goats and fish, and from them are the Sudras.
One pair took the shellfish and became Bhiiyas; two pairs took pigs and became Santals.
One pair got nothing, seeing which, the first pairs gave them of their superfluity, and
from the pair thus provided spring the Ghasis who toil not, but live by preying on others.
The Hos have now assigned to the English the honor of descent from one of the first
two pairs, the elder. The only incident in the above tradition that reminds one of the
more highly elaborated Santal account is the divine authority for the use of strong drinks.

The religion of the Mundari possesses a Shamanistic rather than a Fetish character.
They make no images of their gods, nor do they worship symbols,
but they believe that though invisible to mortal eyes, the gods

Kol Genesis.

Groves.

 

 

* Ote Bordm is but another name for Sing Bonga.

ox

iy
''186 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group VII.

may, when propitiated by sacrifice, take up for a time their abode in places especially
dedicated to them. ‘Thus they have their “high places” and “their groves’—the former,
some mighty mass of rock to which man has added nothing and from which he takes
nothing, the latter, a fragment of the original forest, the trees in which have been for
ages carefully protected, left when the clearance was first made, lest the sylvan gods of
the places disquieted at the wholesale felling of the trees that sheltered them should
abandon the locality. Even now if a tree is destroyed in the sacred grove (the Jahira
or Sarna), the gods evince their displeasure by withholding seasonable rain.

Sing Bonga, the creator and preserver, is adored as the sun. Prayer and sacrifice are
made to him as to a beneficent deity who has no pleasure in the
destruction of any of his creatures, though, as a father, he
chastises his erring children, and to him our gratitude is due for all the benefits we enjoy.

He is said to have married Chando Omol, or the moon, but she deceived him on
one occasion and he cut her in two, but repenting of his anger, he allows her at times to
shine forth in full beauty. The stars are her daughters.

The worship of the sun as the supreme deity is the foundation of the religion of the
Kols in Chiitid Ndagptr and also of the Ordons who address him as Dharmi, the Holy
one. He is not regarded as the author of sickness or calamity, but he may be invoked
to avert it, and this appeal is often made when the sacrifices to the minor deities have
been unproductive. 7

The Kharrids consider that each head of a. family is bound to make a certain
number of offerings to Sing Bonga during his life time, and he may complete the
complement and clear the account as soon as he pleases. This is not now practised by the
Hos or Mundas, but I have been informed that they regard it as a very orthodox
custom.

The other deities are all considered subordinate to Sing Bonga, and though they
possess supernatural powers, there are cases beyond their authority, and when they
are invoked in such cases, it is their duty to intercede with Sing Bonga and so
obtain for their votaries the solicited relief. This notion of the intercessional power of
the minor spirits is remarkable.

Chanala Desum Bonga and his wife Pangora have been included among the minor
deities of the Hos, but these are the styles under which Sing Bonga and his wife
Chando Omol desire to be worshipped by female votaries. Chanala is to women what
Sing Bonga is to men.

The following singular story has recently been recounted to me by a Mandari
Pdhn, or priest, of a village in the southern quarter of the Chutia’ Nagpur District.
It makes out that the minor deities are really fallen angels, like Satan and his
host.

There were formerly people in heaven who served Sing Bonga. They absented
themselves from work (deponent says from cutcherry) because after seeing their faces in
a mirror, they found they were in God’s image and, therefore, his equals. Thereupon God
kicked them out of heaven, and they fell in a place that goes by the name of ‘Terasi
Pirhi Ekasibadi.’ They found here quantities of iron ore, and they immediately made
seven furnaces and commenced smelting it, and the fire from them burnt the trees and
the grass, and the smoke and the sparks ascended to heaven. This went on night and

Divinities.
''Section 5. | MUNDAS, HOS, BHUMIJ. 187

day. It disturbed Sing Bonga, and he gave orders that if they worked all day, they
must stop all night; and if they worked all night, they must stop all day, but they would
not obey. Sing Bonga then sent two king crows and an owl to warn them, but they
did not attend, and they tried to catch the birds with their furnace tongs and spoil their
long tails. Then he sent a crow and a ‘ Lipi’ (lark); the crows were formerly white but
the Vulcans caught the crow sent by Sing Bonga and smoked it black, and they made
the Lipi red and flattened its head, but the orders of Sing Bonga were not carried out.
Other messengers were sent with no better success ; then Sing Bonga resolved to go him-
self, and he stopped at the house of Litkum Haram and Liitkum Burhi, an old couple who
made charcoal, and he served them incognito for some time and amused himself by playing
with the smelter’s children. They played with balls of iron, he with eggs, but the eggs
smashed the iron balls. When the old man and his wife went to the woods to make
charcoal, they left Sing Bonga in charge of the hut and told him to watch the dh4n
laid out to dry, but he played all the time and the fowls ate up the dhan except a
few grains, and when the old couple returned, they mourned for the loss of their dinner ;
but Sing Bonga consoled them, and taking the few grains that were left, he filled all
the pots with them, and when the old people accused him of having stolen rice to make
good what was lost by his carelessness, he answered mildly, “no, God gives it.”

The furnaces of the smelters were now continually falling in, and the smelters
sought an ‘Ojha’* to ascertain the cause, but as they could not find one, they placed rice
on a winnowing fan, and it led them to Sing Bonga, and they asked him what they
should do. He replied, you must offer a human sacrifice; but they could not find a
man, and returned to Sing Bonga who said that he himself would be the sacrifice.
‘Then under his direction they made a new furnace and instead of iron ore, they put
Sing Bonga into it, and blew the bellows and when there was sufficient heat, as they had
been instructed, they sprinkled water on the fire, and Sing Bonga appeared uninjured,
but from the furnace flowed streams of gold and silver, and precious stones shining like
the sun. Then Sing Bonga said, “ See what one person has done; if you all pass through
the furnace, what a heap of wealth you will have!” They agreed to be smelted, and they
entered the furnace, and were shut up, and Sing Bonga made their wives blow the
bellows. When the people inside began to howl, the women were alarmed, and would
have stopped, but Sing Bonga said, “ Blow away! they are only quarrelling over the
division of the spoil.” Thus they were all destroyed, because they had not obeyed the
word of Sing Bonga. Then the women said, ‘ You have killed our husbands, what are
we to do?” Sing Bonga then assigned to each of these women a locality, and they became
the minor deities or bhiits, male and female ; some had rocks, some groves, ‘some pools,
some rivers, as their abodes, and thus originated the Naiads and Dryads, the Marang-Birté
or Burd-Bonga of the hills, the Desa-ulis of the groves, and the Naga Eras of the streams.

The next in order among the gods is Marang-Birtit or Bird Bonga, the mountain
god. The highest or most remarkable hill or rock in the neighburhood is the shrine

 

* Diviner. The word ‘ojha’ means ‘entrails,’ and the person alluded to is so called, because he looks into futurity by
examining the entrails of birds.

When a vacancy occurs in the office of priest of a village, a‘ SGp’ or winnowing fan with some rice is used, and it takes
the person who holds it to the individual on whom the mantle has fallen.

+ The great mountain. The ‘Tay-an Song,’ great mountain, is the name of one of the gods worshipped by the Chinese
and Mandu Tartars. See “ Social Life of the Chinese,” by Rev, J. Doolittle, vol. i. p. 259.
''188 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grove VII.

of this deity or spirit. The Kols evidently recognise the importance of wooded hills —
in securing the needful supply of rain, and trusting entirely to rain for irrigation, and
regarding Buri Bonga as the head of the heavenly water department, they naturally
pay him special attention. Every third year, in most places, buffaloes are sacrificed in his
honor, and fowls and goats every year. He is also invoked in sickness. In Chutiad Nag-
pur a remarkable bluff, near the village of Lodhma, is the Marang-Buirti: or Mahd-Btri
for a wide expanse of country. Here people of all castes assemble and sacrifice—Hindus,
even Muhammadans, as well as Kols. There is no visible object of worship ; the sacrifices
are offered on the top of the hill, a bare semi-globular mass of rock. If animals are
killed, the heads are left there, and afterwards appropriated by the Pahn, or village
priest. Hindus say that the Marang-Bura, as a deity, is the same as Mahddeo, but under
what name the Muhammadans pay devotions to him I know not. They aver, however,
that they cannot exist in Chutid Nagpur without propitiating the local deities.

Every village has in its vicinity a grove reputed to be a remnant of the primeval
forest left intact for the local gods when the clearing was originally made. Here
Desauli, the tutelary deity of the village, and his wife, Jhar-Era or Mabtra, are supposed
to sojourn when attending to the wants of their votaries. There is a -Desauli for every
village, and his authority does not extend beyond the boundary of the village to which
his grove belongs ; if a man of that village cultivates land in another village, he must pay
his devotions to the Desauli of both. The grove deities are held responsible for the
crops, and are especially honored at all the great agricultural festivals. They are also
appealed to in’ sickness.

The next in order are Naiads, ‘ Naga-Era,’ who presides over tanks, wells, and
any bodies of stagnant water (called Ekhir-Bonga by the Mindaris), and Garhd-Era,
the river goddess. They, too, are frequently, and no doubt very truly, denounced as the
cause of sickness, and propitiated by sacrifices to spare their victims.

The remaining spirits are the ancestral shades, who are supposed to hover about,
doing good or evil to their descendants. They are often denounced as the cause of
calamitous visitation, and propitiatory offerings are made to them; but besides this, a
small portion of the food prepared in every house is daily set apart for them. The
ancestors are the Penates, and are called ‘ Ham-ho.’

The ancestors of the wife have also to be considered ; they are called ‘ Horatan-ho’,
because sacrifices to them are always offered on the path ‘Hora,’ by which the old
woman came as a bride to the house.

The name of the deity to be invoked in cases of sickness is ascertained by divina-
tion. This is done in various ways. One of the most usual is by dropping oil intoa
vessel of water; the name of a deity is pronounced as the oil is dropped ; if it forms one
globule in the water, it is considered that the right name has been selected ; if it splutters
and forms several globules, another is tried. The person who applies this test is con-
sidered a professional, but he has no priestly office. There is nothing like a hereditary
priesthood among the Hos. In every village there are one or more influential elders to
whom the duty of performing the general sacrifices is assigned, but on other occasions
the head of the family is according to the patriarchal model its priest.

It has been said that the Hos and Mundas, like the Karens, have a tradition of the
destruction of the human race, all but two persons, by deluge, but of this I have not

 
''Section 5. | MUNDAS, HOS, BHUMIJ. 189

been able to discover a trace, and it appears incompatible with their tradition of the
origin of different races. ‘Lirbeng’ is in their language a serpent, properly a
water-snake, and the same name is poetically given by them to the rain-bow, and by a
simple reasoning on cause and effect, they say “ the serpent stops the rain,” but it requires
stronger imaginative powers than I possess to eliminate from this a tradition of the
deluge.

‘The Mundas consult auguries in selecting the site of a house or village with prayer °
to Sing Bonga. A smal] quantity of rice is placed in holes made at the four corners
of the selected site where it is left all night, and if found undisturbed in the morning,
the site is good. Prayer is offered twice—/first, that the test applied may truly indicate, if
the site be good or bad; secondly, for a blessing on the chosen site. :

The Hos and Mundas are divided into tribes called Kilis, and a man must not
marry a girl of his own Kili. The Mandaris, like the Ordons,
adopt, as their tribal distinction, the name of some animal, and
the flesh of that animal is tabooed to them as food, as the Eels, the Tortoise. With one
exception I do not find among the Kilis of the Larkas or Hos the names of ‘any animal.
The ‘Murmu’, or Nilgai, is common as a tribal name to Hos and Santal.

The following are Ho Kilis—the list is not exhaustive :—

Ho Tribes.

t: Barink, 7. Murmu. 18, ‘Tahe

2. Purthi. 8. Marli. 14.  Hembarun.
3. Sincoi, 9e.. Kisku. 15. Podoro.

4, Baipoi. 10. Hansda. 16. Munduia.
5. Sundi. £1," Pod, 17. Lagori.

6. Bandi. 12. Chorai. 18. Kalundia.

Those in the second column, 7. e., seven to twelve inclusive, are common to Hos
and Santals.

The Ho villages of the old settlements in the best cultivated portion of the Kolhén
are often prettily situated on hills overlooking their flat terraced
rice fields and undulating uplands. The sites are well marked
by very ancient and noble tamarind trees, with mangoe and jack trees and bamboos, and
they form very pleasing features in otherwise very pleasing landscapes. The houses,
constructed by the better class of cultivators, nestling among the trees, are roomy with
substantial mud or wattled walls and thatched roofs, a neat verandah and well-
raised plinth. The out-houses are so placed as to form, with the family residence, three
or four sides of a square, having a large pigeon house in the centre. The place where
the ashes of the dead are deposited is generally near the Mtinda’s house, and the great
slabs, used as grave-stones under the shade of the grand solemn tamarind trees, are the
favorite seats of the elders when they meet after their work to gossip, smoke, or talk
over parish affairs.

Though pigs are bred in the villages, they are accommodated with well-constructed
styes, and the farm premises are kept tolerably clean. These remarks do not, however,
apply to the houses of the laborers, which are small and miserable. The Hos take
great interest in poultry, and fully appreciate the excellencies of a good fat capon.
Capons are generally found in Ho villages, but the owners are not always willing to
dispose of them, and the Hos have been subjected to much obloquy, because they prefer
to keep such delicacies for their own use.

Ho Villages.

2-¥
''190 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group VII.

Another incentive to the breeding of fowlwi is their great love of cock fighting; at
all market-places on market days, and at other places on meeilae
fixed days, they have great meetings for this amusement. The
cocks are armed with cruel steel spurs, and the combat is always @ Voutrance, the
winning cock gaining for his master the corpse of his foe. I have noticed with some
pleasure that women frequenting the markets kept aloof from the cock-fights, and there
was feminine delicacy and tenderness in this abstinence from which the fair sex of
some civilized nations might take a lesson.

Cock fights.

The Kols also breed ducks and geese, and they keep sheep and goats for food, but
it is generally for the purpose of propitiatory sacrifice that they are slaughtered and eaten.
Bullocks and buffaloes are also so used. The village cattle are during the day under
charge, not of their owners, but of the village herdsmen of the Gor or Godla caste,
who are paid in grain for their services. The Kols, like most of the Indo-Chinese hill
races, make no use of the milk, but the herdsmen are not absolutely prohibited from
doing so.

In the villages of the Southern Pirs, which have more the appearance of recent
settlements, the houses are so much scattered, that families may almost be said to live
apart, or a village consists of a number of separate hamlets; but in the older villages,
though each house stands within its own plot of ground, they are pretty close together,
and the community appear very socially inclined.

The Hos of Singbhim and the Mundaris of the Southern Parganas of the
Lohardagga District are physically a much finer people than
the Bhtimij, the Santals, or any other of the Kolarians previously
described. The males average five feet five or six inches in height, the women five feet two.
The average height of a number of the Judng tribe I found to be for males less than
five feet, and women four feet eight. In features the Hos exhibit much variety, and I
think in a great many families there is considerable admixture of Aryan blood. Many
have high noses and oval faces, and young girls are some times met with who have delicate
and regular features, finely chiselled straight noses, and perfectly formed mouths and
chins. The eyes, however, are seldom so large, so bright and gazelle-like as those of pure
Hindu maidens, but I have met strongly marked Mongolian features, and some are dark
and coarse like the Santals. In colour they vary greatly, 28-29 and 30 of Brossac’s
table are about the commonest tints, the copper tints, I may say. Eyes dark brown
(about two of Brossac), hair black, straight or wavy, and rather fine, worn long
by males and females, but the former shave the forehead. Both men and women are
noticeable for their fine erect carriage and long free stride. The hands and feet are
large but well formed. 'The men care little about their personal appearance. It requires
a great deal of education to reconcile them to the encumbrance of clothing, and even
those who are wealthy move about all but naked, as proudly as if they were clad in
purple and fine linen.

The women in an unsophisticated state are equally averse to superfluity of clothing.
In remote villages they may still be seen with only a rag
between the legs fastened before and behind to a string round
the waist. This is calleda ‘botoi;’ the national dress is however a long strip of cloth
worn as a girdle round the loins, knotted behind and the ends brought between the

Physical traits.

Dress.
''Section 5. ] MUNDAS, HOS, BHUMIJ. 191

legs and fastened to the girdle in front, but in the principal group of villages about
Chaibésa the young women dress themselves decently and gracefully. The style of
wearing the hair is peculiar, collected in a knot artificially enlarged, not in the centre
of the back of the head, but touching the back of the right ear. Flowers are much
used in the ‘coiffure.’ The neck ornaments most in vogue a year or two ago, were
very small black beads, but in this one small item of their simple toilette, fashion
changes, and the beads most prized one year are looked on with repugnance the next.*
As with the Santdls very massive bracelets and armlets are worn, and anklets of
bell-metal. Itisa singular sight to see the young women at the markets subjecting
themselves to the torture of being fitted with a pair of these anklets. They are made
so that they can just, with great violence, be forced on. The operation is performed
by the manufacturers, who put moistened leather on the heel and instep to prevent
excoriation. The girl clinging to and resting on one of her companions cries. bitterly
at the violence inflicted on her. and the operation is a long one but when it is over she
admires her decorated foot and instep and smiles through her tears.

The Ho women have adopted as their distinctive mark by ‘Godna,’ an arrow which
they regard as their national emblem. A Ho unable to write, if asked to attach his
mark or sign manual to a document, does so by making a rude representative of an
arrow. The Minda women use the same godna marks as the Judngs, and the Kharrids
previously described.

The Larkas are lightly assessed, and cultivating their own lands, never join any of
the numerous bands of laborers emigrating to the tea districts. They refuse to hear the
voice of the recruiter, charm he never so enticingly. They care not to work for hire, and
never, if they can avoid it, carry loads. The use of the block wheeled dray is universal
among them, and all the carrying necessary in their agricultural operations is done by it.

After the birth of a child+ both mother and father are considered unclean, ‘bisi,’

Social and domestic cus. for eight days, during which period the other members of the
oe family are sent out of the house, and the husband has to cook
for his wife. If it be a difficult case of parturition, the malignancy of some spirit of evil
is supposed to be at work, and after divination to ascertain his name, a sacrifice is made
to appease him. At the expiration of the eight days, the banished members of the
family return, friends are invited to a feast, and the child is ceremoniously named. The
name of the grand-father is usually given to the first born son,
but not without an ordeal to ascertain if it will prove fortunate.
As the name is mentioned, a grain of ‘tirid’ (pulse) is thrown into a vessel with water,
the name is adopted if it floats, rejected if it sinks.

The Hos have a pleasing custom of introducing into their families the names or
titles of persons they like, irrespective of creed or race. Thus Major, Captain, Tickell,
Doctor, have become common names in the Kolhdén. The names thus introduced will,
probably, remain in the Kolhdn for ages. The writer of an article that appeared not
long ago in the Calcutta Quarterly Review appears to be under the impression that this
custom of naming Kol children after officers had been introduced by the missionaries.

Naming the child.

* Necklaces of real coral and silver coins are now all the rage.
+ Settlement Report by Doctor Hayes.
''192 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grove VII.

The missionaries have had nothing to do with it. It is a spontaneous act of good will
on the part of unconverted Hos.

There are no religious ceremonies between childhood and marriage.

Owing to the high price placed on daughters by their fathers, the large number
of adult unmarried girls seen in every considerable village in
the Kolhan, is a very peculiar feature in the social state of
the community.

In no other country in India are spinsters found so advanced in years, and in many
of the best families grey headed old maids may be seen, whose charms were insufficient
to warrant the large addition to the usual price called ‘pan,’ imposed in consideration
of the high connection that the union would confer. The ‘pan’ is calculated, and for the
most part paid, in cattle, indicating that the custom dates from a time when there was
no current coin, and fathers of Manki dignity demand from forty to fifty head of
cattle for each of their girls. Dr. Hayes finding that in consequence of this practice,
the number of marriages was annually diminishing, and immoral intimacy between
the sexes increasing, convened in 1868 a meeting of representative men for the express
purpose of discussing this question, and after a long debate it was unanimously agreed
that a reduction should be made.

It was resolved that in future a ‘pan’ was not to exceed ten head of cattle, and
that if one pair of oxen, one cow, and seven rupees were given, it should be received as
an equivalent for the ten head. For the poorer classes it was fixed at seven rupees.
Even thus modified the ‘pan’ in Singbhtim is higher than it is in Chitié Ndgptr for the
multitude. The Mankis and head men of the latter country conforming to the Hindu
customs, have given up exacting it.

In olden times young men counteracted the machinations of avaricious parents
against the course of true love by forcibly carrying off the girl, and still at times evade
extortion by running away with her. Then the parents have to submit to such terms
as arbitrators think fair; the abduction it was necessary to put a stop to, and elopements
are not considered respectable, so until the conference, prices had a tendency to rise
rather than fall. The old generation of Mankis vehemently opposed any reduction.
The second generation, since the accession of the British, are now in the ascendant,
and they entertain more enlightened views, but, notwithstanding the compact, I have
not yet heard of a marriage in high life in which the reduced ‘ pan’ has been accepted.

It is certainly not from any yearning for celibacy that the marriage of Singbhtim
maidens is so long postponed. The girls will tell you frankly
that they do all they can to please the young men, and I have
often heard them pathetically bewailing their want of success. They make themselves
as attractive as they can, flirt in the most demonstrative manner, and are not too coy
to receive in public attentions from those they admire. They may be often seen in well
assorted pairs returning from market with arms interlaced, and looking at each other as
loveingly as if they were so many groups of Cupids and Psyches, but with all this the
“men will not propose.”

Tell a maiden you think her nice looking, she is sure to reply, “Oh yes,! I am,
but what is the use of it, the young men of my acquaintance don’t see it.” Even
when a youth has fully made up his mind to marry, it may happen that fate is against

Marriages, &c.

Ho girls of the period.
''Section 5. | MUNDAS, HOS, BHUMIMJ. 193

the happiness of the young couple; bad omens are seen that cause the match to be
postponed or broken off, or papa cannot, or will not, pay the price demanded. When
a young man has made his choice, he communicates the fact to his parents, and a
deputation of the friends of the family, is sent to the girls’ house to ascertain all that
should be known regarding her family, age, appearance, and means. If the information
obtained and the result of the inspection be satisfactory, and the omens observed on the
road have been propitious, an offering is made on the part of the young man, and if it
be received, the deputation are invited to stay and are feasted.

The report of the deputation being favorable, a day is fixed for a meeting between
the parents and the terrible question of the ‘pan’ discussed. At this point, many
matches are broken off, in consequence of greediness on one side or stinginess on the
other. The amount agreed on has tobe paid before the day can be fixed for the
marriage, and when delivery of the cattle is made, a pot of beer has to be given from the
bride’s side for each animal.

At last if all this is got over, the appointed day arrives, and the bride is escorted to
the village of her intended by all her own young female friends with music and dancing.
The young men and girls of the village, and those invited from neighbouring villages,
form a cortége for the bridegroom. They go out and meet the bride’s party, and after a
dance in the grove, in which the bride and bridegroom take part, mounted on the hips
of two of their female friends, they enter the village together, where there is a great feast,
a great consumption of the rice beer, and much more dancing and singing. Ceremony
there is none, but the turning point in the rite is when the bride and groom pledge
each other, A cup of beer is given to each; the groom pours some of the contents of
his cup into the bride’s cup, and she returns the compliment. Drinking the liquor thus
blended, they become of one ‘Kili’ that is, the bride is admitted into her hushand’s tribe,
and they become one.* ‘This has, I believe, succeeded an older custom of drinking from
the same cup.

“The bride touched the goblet, the knight took it up,
He drank off the wine, and he threw down the cup.”

After remaining with her husband for three days only, it is the correct thing for the
wife to run away from him, and tell all her friends that she loves him not, and will see
him no more. This is, perhaps, reparation to the dignity of tlhe sex injured by the bride’s
going to the bridegroom’s house to be married, instead of being sought for and taken as
a wife from her own. So it is correct for the husband to show great anxiety for the loss
of his wife and diligently to seek her, and when he finds her, he carries her off by main
force. I have seen a young wife thus found and claimed and borne away, screeching
and struggling in the arms of her husband, from the midst of a crowded bazaar. No
one interferes on these occasions, and no one assists. If the husband cannot manage the
business himself, he must leave her alone.

 

* It is worthy of notice that in the marriages of the Chinese a precisely similar custom obtains. “ After the worship
of the tablets they (bride, and bridegroom) rise to their feet and remain standing in silence, while they are helped to their
wedding wine. One of the female attendants takes the two goblets from the table, and having partially filled them with
a mixture of wine and honey, she pours some of the contents from one to the other several times, she then holds one to the
mouth of the groom and the other, to the mouth of the bride, who continue to face each other and who then sip a little wine.
She then changes the goblets and the bride sips out of the one just used by the groom, and the groom sips out of the one just
used by the bride. Sometimes only one goblet is used.” Social Life of the Chinese, by Revd. J. Doolittle, vol. I, page 87.

22
''194, DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grove VII.

After this little escapade, the wife at once settles down, assumes her place as the
well contented mistress of the household, and, as a rule, in
no country in the world are wives better treated. Dr. Hayes
says ‘‘a Kol or Ho makes a regular companion of his wife.
She is consulted in all difficulties, and receives the fullest consideration due to her sex.”
Indeed it is not uncommon to see in the Kolh4n, husbands so subject to the influence
of their wives, that they may be regarded as henpecked. Instances of infidelity in
wives are very rare. I never heard of one, but I suppose such things occur as there is
a regulated penalty. The unfaithful wife is discarded, and the seducer must pay to the
husband the entire value of the ‘ pan.’

The Mundari marriages, as solemnized in most parts of Chutid Ndgptir, have more
ceremonies, some of which appear to have been taken from the
Hindus, at all events the ceremonies I allude to are common to
Hindus and aborigines; but it is not always easy to predicate by whom they were origi-
nated. We may, however, safely assert that practices common to both, which are not
in accordance with the ritual prescribed in the Vedas, are derived from the aborigines.

Among Mundas having any pretensions to respectability, the young people are not
allowed to arrange these affairs for themselves. Their parents settle it all for them,
French fashion, and after the liberty they have enjoyed, and the liaisons they are sure
to have made, this interference on the part of the old folk must be very aggravating
to the young ones. The ‘pan’ varies from Ks, 4 to Rs. 20, but the marriage feast
is very liberally provided, and as it takes place at the bride’s house, the expense chiefly
falls on her father. When the day for the wedding is fixed, the bridegroom goes in
some state to the bride’s house, the young men who accompany him “a gallant band
with sword and brand” fantastically dressed, and as they approach the village of
the bride, her friends come out to meet them in similar guise, and a mimic fight
takes place which ends in the simultaneous rush of the whole party into the village,
making a terrible row. The bride and bridegroom are now well anointed with turmeric,
and then taken and wedded not to each other but to two trees, the bride to a mahwa
(bassia latifolia) the groom to a mangoe, or both to mangoes. They are made to touch
the tree with ‘sindtr’ (red lead), and then to clasp it, and they are tied toit. On
returning they are placed standing face to face, the girl on a curry stone over a plough
share, supported on sheaves of grass or corn. The bridegroom ttands ungallantly
treading on his wife’s toes, and in this position touches her forehead with the red lead,
she touches his forehead in a similar manner. The bridesmaids then, after some prelimi-
nary splashing and sprinkling, pour a jar of water over the head of each, this necessitates
a change of raiment, and apparently concludes the ceremony as the young people
going inside to change, do not appear again till the cock crowing announces the dawn
or its approach. At the first crow the bridesmaids, who with the young men have
been merrily keeping it up all night with the song and the dance, burst into the nuptial
chamber and bring forth the blushing bride and her bashful lord and ¢heir clothes.
They all go to the river or to a tank to wash the clothes and bathe, and parties of
boys and girls form sides under the leadership of the bride and bridegroom, aud pelt
each other with clods of earth, The bridegroom next takes a water vessel and conceals
it in the stream or water for the bride to find. She then conceals it from him, and when

Kind treatment of their
wives.

Mindari marriages.
''Suction 5. | MUNDAS, HOS, BHUMIJ, 195

he has found it, she takes it up, filled with water, and places it on her head. She lifts her
arm to support the pitcher, and the bridegroom standing behind her with his bow strung,
and the hand that holds it lightly resting on her shoulder, discharges an arrow through
the pretty loop-hole thus formed into the path before her. The girl walks on to where
the arrow falls, and with head erect, still bearing the pitcher of water picks it up with her
foot, takes it into her hand, and restores it to her husband with a graceful obeisance. She
thus shews she can adroitly perform her domestic duties, and knows her duty to her lord
and master, whilst he, on his part, in discharging an arrow to clear her path of an imagi-
nary foe, indicates that he is prepared to do his duty as her guide and protector for life.

The Hos are fair marksmen with the bow and arrow, and great sportsmen. From
childhood they practise archery ; every lad herding cattle or watching crops makes this
his sole pastime, and skill is attained even in knocking over small birds with blunt arrows.
They also keep hawks, and the country in the vicinity of their villages is generally
destitute of game. In the months intervening between the harvest home and the rains,
they frequently go in large parties to distant jungles ; and with them, as with the Santals,
there is every year in May a great meet for sport, in which people of all classes of the
neighbourhood and surrounding villages take part. From the setting-in of the rains to
the harvest, the time of the people is fairly employed in cultivation, to which they pav
great attention. The women have their full share of labor in the fields, indeed, the only
agricultural work they are exempted from is ploughing. They work from early morn till
noon, then comes the mid-day meal, after which their time is pretty much at their own
disposal. 'The young people then make themselves tidy, stroll about the village, or visit
neighbouring villages, and the old people sitting on the grave stones, indulge in deep
potations of rice beer, and smoke, and gossip, or sleep.

Amongst the amusements of the Hos, I must not omit to mention pegtops. They
are roughly made of blocks of hard wood, but their mode of spinning and playing them.
one on another, is the same as with us. Peg topping has been noticed as a Kasin
amusement, see page 58.

Their agricultural implements consist in the ordinary wooden plouzh tipped with
iron, a harrow, the kodali, or large hoe, a sickle and the tangs,
or battle-axe, for it is used for all purposes; the block-wheeled
dray, and an implement to remove earth with, in altering the levels of land to prepare it
for irrigation and rice cultivation. The latter consists of a broad piece of board, firmly
attached to a pole and yoke, so that its edge touches the ground at an angle as it is
drawn by oxen or buffaloes attached to it. The Elos make these agricultural implements
themselves; every man is to some extent a carpenter, handy with his adze, and clever in
simple contrivances.

The Kols plough with cows as well as oxen, but it is to be recollected that they
make no other use of the animal as they never touch milk. Buffaloes are preferred to
bullocks as plough cattle. They have a rude kind of oil-press in every village.

The Mundaris and Larkas raise three crops of rice, the early or Gora, the autumnal
or Bad, and the late or Bera crop. Indian corn and the millets Murwa and Gondali, are
also cultivated as early crops. Wheat, gram, mustard seed (sesamum), they have recently
taken to as cold-weather and spring crops. Tobacco and cotton they have long cultivate |,
but not in sufficient quantities even for their own consumption.

Agriculture.
''196 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group VII.

‘They have no notion of weaving, and if left to their own resources for clothing,
would probably resume their leaves, but every village has one or
two families of ‘TAntis’ or weavers, who are now almost undis-
tinguishable from the Hos. The villagers make over their cotton to the weavers, and
pay for the loom labour in cotton or grain.

The Kols generally understand the smelting of iron. Their country is pretty rich
in that‘mineral, but it is the wilder clans, the mountain Kharrids, the Birhors, and in
Lohardagga or Palimau, the Astirs and Agariahs, that chiefly utilize it, the people
who devote themselves to it regularly paying no attention to the cultivation of the soil.
The Mitndas have also acquired the art of washing for gold in the streams and rivers
that drain the plateau of Chuitid Ndagpdr, or rise in the bordering hills which are all
auriferous, but the average quantity obtained is not more than suffices to give a bare
subsistence to the persons employed in it, though this includes men, women, and children.
The richest field, Sonapet, is the valley of the Sonai river below the plateau opening on
Kharsdwin. The population are all Mundaris, enjoying a rich soil, a most romantic and
sequestered situation, and to complete it as a terrestrial paradise, low fixed rents. This
was secured to them after the insurrection of 1831, in which they lustily joined.

The Hos are a purely agricultural people, and their festivals are all connected with
that pursuit. In describing these festivals I avail myself of
information on the subject kindly collated for me by W. Ritchie
Esq., District Superintendent, Singbhim. The chief requisite for festivities of all
kinds is the preparation of an ample quantity of the home-made beer, called Illi.
It is made from rice which is boiled and allowed to ferment till it is sufficiently
intoxicating, and its proper preparation is considered one of the most useful accom-
plishments that a young damsel can possess. .

The Hos keep seven festivals in the year. The first or principal is called the Magh
Parab, or Desauli Bonga. This is held in the month of Magh, or January, when the
granaries are full of grain, and the people, to use their own expression, full of devilry.
They have a strange notion that at this period, men and women are so over-charged
with vicious propensities, that it is absolutely necessary for the safety of the person to
let off steam by allowing for a time full vent to the passions.

The festival, therefore, becomes a saturnale, during which servants forget their
duty to their masters, children their reverence for parents, men their respect for women,
and women all notions of modesty, delicacy, and gentleness; they become raging
bacchantes.

It opens with a sacrifice to Desauli of three fowls—a cock and two hens, one of
which must be black, and offered with some flowers of the Palas tree (Butea frondosa),
bread made from rice-flour, and sesamum seeds. The sacrifice and offerings are made by the
village priest, if there be one, or if not, by any elder of the village who possesses the neces-
sary legendary lore, and he prays that during the year they are about to enter on, they
and their children may be preserved from all misfortune and sickness, and that they may
have seasonable rain and good crops. Prayer is also made in some places for the souls of
the departed. At this period an evil spirit is supposed to infest the locality, and to get
rid of it, the men, women, and children go in precession round and through every part of
the village, with sticks in their hands as if beating for game, singing a wild chant and

Arts.

Ho Feasts and Dances.
''Srction 5. | MUNDAS, HOS, BHUMIJ. 197

vociferating violently till they feel assured that the bad spirit must have fled; and they
make noise enough to frighten alegion. These religious ceremonies over, the people give
themselves up to feasting, drinking immoderately of rice-beer till they are in the state of
wild ebriety most suitable for the process of letting off steam.

The Ho population of the villages forming the environs of Chaibasa are at other
seasons quiet and reserved in manner, and in their demeanour towards women gentle and
decorous ; even in the flirtations I have spoken of, they never transcend the bounds of
decency. The girls, though full of spirits and somewhat saucy, have innate notions of
propriety that make them modest in demeanour, though devoid of all prudery; and of
the obscene abuse so frequently heard from the lips of common women in Bengal, they
appear to have no knowledge. They are delicately sensitive under harsh language of
any kind, and never use it to others; and since their adoption of clothing, they are careful
to drape themselves decently as well as gracefully, but they throw all this aside during
the Magh feast. Their natures appear to undergo a temporary change. Sons and daugh-
ters revile their parents in gross language, and parents their children; men and women
become almost like animals in the indulgence of their amorous propensities. They enact
all that was ever pourtrayed by prurient artists in a bacchanalian festival or pandean
orgie; and as the light of the sun they adore and the presence of numerous spectators
seem to be no restraint on their indulgence, it cannot be expected that chastity is
preserved when the shades of night fall on such a scene of licentiousness and debauchery.

This festival is not kept at one period in all the villages. The time during which it
is held in different villages of a circle extends over a period of a month or six weeks, and
under a preconcerted arrangement, the festival commences at each village on a different
date, and lasts three or four days; so the inhabitants of each may take part in a long
succession of these orgies, and as the utmost liberty is given to girls, the parents never
attempting to exercise any restraint, the girls of one village sometimes pair off with
the young men of another and absent themselves for days. Liaisons thus prolonged
generally end in marriages.

The ordinary Ho dance is similar to that which I have described as the Rasa
dance of the Santdls, an amorous but not a very rapid or lively movement; but the
Magi dance is like a grande galope, a very joyous, frisky, harum-scarum scamper of
boys and girls through the village, and from one village to another. :

The Mundaris keep this festival in much the same manner as the Hos, but one
day is fixed for its commencement everywhere, the full of the moon in Magh, and there
is less commingling of the boys and girls from different villages. The resemblance to
a Saturnale is very complete, as at this festival the farm laborers are feasted by their
masters and allowed the utmost freedom of speech in addressing them. It is the festival
of the harvest home; the termination of one year’s toil and a slight respite from it
before they commence again. At this feast the Mundaris dance the Jadtira, remarkable
for the very pretty and peculiar manner in which the lines of performers interlace
their arms behind their backs.

The next in the order of festivals is what is called ‘Bah Bonga’ by the Hos, corres-
ponding to the Sarhtl of the Mindaris. ‘Bah’ means flower, and the festival takes place
when the sal* tree is in full bloom in March or April, a favorite season with many

* Called in Mindari ‘ Sarjum.’

a A
''198 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VII.

tribes; for it is then that the death of Gautama is commemorated. With the Hos and
Miundaris it is held in honor of the founders of the village and the tutelary deity or
spirit, called Darha by the Ordons. The boys and girls collect basketfuls of the flowers,
make garlands of them, weave them in their hair, and decorate their houses with them.
Each house makes an offering of these flowers and sacrifices a cock. The people dance
for a couple of days and nights incessantly and refresh themselves meanwhile with
beer, but in the Kolhan it is the quiet style of dance, and there are no open breaches
of decorum. ‘The dance on this occasion of the Mundaris is called the Bahni, the boys
and girls poussette to each other, clapping their hands and pirouetting, so as to cause
dos-a-dos concussions, which are the source of much mirth.

The selection of the sal flowers as the offering to the founders of the village is
appropriate, as there are few villages that do not occupy ground once covered by sal
forest, and at this period new ground, if there be any, is cleared for cultivation.

The third festival is the ‘Damurai’ which comes off in May, or at the time of the
sowing for the first rice crop. It is held in honor of the ancestral shades and other
spirits, who if unpropitiated, would prevent the seed from germinating. A he-goat and
a cock are sacrificed.

The fourth festival is the ‘Hero Bonga’ in June, the Mundaris call it ‘Harihar.
It is to propitiate Desauli and Jabir Burhi for a blessing on the crops. In the Mindari
villages every house-holder plants a branch of the Bhelwa in his field, and contributes
to the general offering which is made by the priest in the sacred grove, a fowl, a pitcher
of beer, and a handful of rice. In Singbhiim a he-goat is offered.

This is followed by the Bah-Towli Bonga, which takes place in July. Each
cultivator sacrifices a fowl, and after some mysterious rites, a wing is stripped off and
inserted in the cleft of a bamboo and stuck up in the rice-field and dung-heap. If this
is omitted, it is supposed that the rice will not come to maturity. It appears more like
a charm than a sacrifice.

This corresponds with the ‘ Karam’ in the Kol villages of Chutid Ndgptir, where
the ‘hoja’ is danced; the women in this dance follow the men and change their
positions and attitudes in obedience to signals from them. When the movement called
‘hoja’ is asked for, the women all kneel and pat the ground with their hands in time
to the music, as if coaxing the earth to be fruitful. On the day appointed, a branch of the
Karam tree is cut and planted in the Akhr4, or dancing place. ‘This festival is kep: by
Hindus in Chutia Nagpur as well as by Kols.

The sixth festival is the offering of the first fruits of the harvest to Sing Bonga ;
it is solemnised in August when the Gora rice ripens, and till the sacrifice is complete,
the new rice must not be eaten. The offering in addition to the rice is a white cock;
this is a thanks-offering to the Creator and Preserver. It is called Jum-nama and
considered of great importance. To eat new rice without thus thanking God is regarded
as impious.

The seventh festival is the Kalam Bonga, when an offering of a fowl is made
to Desdtli on the removal of the rice straw from the threshing floor, ‘kalam’, to
be stacked.

The Pahns, or priests, of the Kol villages in Chutid Nagpur have another festival
for the performance. of which they are in possession of some rent-free land called
''Srcrion 5. ] MUNDAS, HOS, BHUMIJ. 199

‘dalikatdri.’ The sacrifices are every second year a fowl, every third year a ram,
every fourth year a buffaloe, to ‘Marang Baru,’ and the main object is to induce him
to send seasonable rain.

The above are all general festivals, but the Hos on their individual account make
many sacrifices to the gods. In eases of sickness and calamity, they commence by sacri-
ficing what is small and of little value ; but if the desired change is retarded, they go on
until the patient dies, or their live stock is entirely exhausted.

All disease in men or animals is attributed to one of two causes, the wrath of some

Sipaietltiohe, wien evil spirit who has to be appeased, or to the spell of some witch or
sorcerer, who should be destroyed or driven out of the land.

In the latter case a ‘Sokha’, or witch-finder, is employed to divine who has cast the
spell, and various modes of divination are resorted to. One of the most common is the
test by the stone and ‘paila.’ The latter is a large wooden cup shaped like a half
cocoa-nut used as a measure for grain. It is placed under a flat stone as a pivot for the
stone to turn on. A boy is then seated on the stone, supporting himself by his hands,
and the names of all the people in the neighbourhood are slowly pronounced, and as each
name is uttered, a few grains of rice are thrown at the boy. When they come
to the name of the witch or wizard, the stone turns and the boy rolls off; this, no doubt,
is the effect of the boy’s falling into a state of coma and losing the power of supporting
himself with his hands. In former times, the person denounced and all his family were
put to death in the belief that witches breed witches and sorcerers. The taint is in the
blood. When during the mutinies the Singbhtim District was left for a short time
without officers, a terrible raid was made against all, who for years had been suspected
of dealings with the evil one, and the most atrocious murders were committed. Young
men were told off for the duty by the elders; neither sex nor age were spared. When
order was restored, these crimes were brought to light, and the actual perpetrators con-
dignly punished, and since then we have not only had no recurrence of witch murderers:
but the superstition itself is dying out in the Kolhén. In other districts, accusations of
witchcraft are still frequently made, and the persons denounced are subjected to much
ill-usage, if they escape with their lives. Some of the Sokhas, instead of divining the
name of the person who has cast the evil eye on the suffering patient, profess to
summon their own familiar spirits who impart to them the needed information. The
Sokha throws some rice on a winnowing sieve and places a light in front of it. He
then mutters incantations and rubs the rice, watching the flame, and when this
flickers, it is owing to the presence of the familiar, and the Sokha to whom alone the
spirit is visible pretends to receive from it the revelation which he communicates to
the enquirer to the effect that the sufferer is afflicted by the familiar of some rival
Sokha or sorcerer or witch whom he names. The villagers then cause the attendance
of the person denounced, who is brought into the presence of the sufferer and ordered
to haul out his evil spirit. It is useless for him to plead that he has no such spirit, this
only leads to his being unmercifully beaten, his best line of defence is to admit what
is laid to his charge and to act as if he really were master of the situation; some
change for the better in the patient may take place, this is ascribed to his delivery
from the familiar, and the sorcerer is allowed to depart; but if there is no amelioration
ir the condition of the sick person, the chastisement of the sorcerer is continued till he
''200 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. ° [ Grove VII.

can bear no more, and not unfrequently he dies under the ill-treatment he is subjected to
or from its effects.

A milder method is, when the person denounced is required to offer sacrifices of
animals to appease or drive away the possessing devil; this he dare not refuse to do,
and if the sickness thereupon ceases, it is of course concluded that the devil has departed;
but if it continue, the sorcerer is turned out of his home and driven from the village, if
nothing worse is done to him.

It must not be supposed that these dupeesdiiini are confined to the Kols, they are
common to all classes of the population of this province. 1 have noticed in my account
of the Agarias their prevalence in the Southern Tributary Mahals, and the alleged
existence of secret witch schools, where damsels of true Aryan blood are instructed
in the black art, and perfected in it by practice on forest trees. Even Brdhmans are
sometimes accused. I find in a report by Major Roughsedge, written in 1818, an
account of a Brahman lady who was denounced as a witch and tried, and having escaped
in the ordeal by water, she was found to be a witch, and deprived of her nose.

The Sokha does not always denounce a fellow-being ; he sometimes gives out that
the family bhtit is displeased and has caused the sickness; and in such cases a most
extensive propitiatory offering is demanded, which the master of the house provides,
and of which the Sokha gets the lion’s share; and I find an instance of the oracle giving
out that Desdtli, the village bhit, had caused the trouble; but on further enquiry, it
was averred that a spiteful old woman had on this occasion demoralised the honorable
and respectable guardian of the village, and though he was propitiated, the hag was
made to suffer very severely for her malignancy.

It will be seen that it is not only women that are accused of having dealings with
the imps of darkness. Persons of the opposite sex are as frequently denounced ; nor are
the female victims invariably of the orthodox old hag type. In a recent case, eight
women were denounced by a Sokha as witches, who had introduced epidemic cholera
into the village, and caused a terrible mortality, and among these were some very
, young girls. They were ill-treated until they admitted all that was imputed to them,
and agreed to point out and remove the spells they had prepared. They pretended to
search for dead birds which, it was said, they had deposited as charms, but nothing was
produced, and one of the poor creatures, fearing further-ill usage, destroyed herself by
jumping into a well.

In Singbhtim the wild Kharrids are looked upon as the most expert sorcerers, and
the people, though they not unfrequently seek their aid, hold them in great awe.

The Hos and other tribes have a firm belief that there are magicians who have
the power to assume at will the form of a beast of prey, and the person who gains this
unenviable notoriety, is naturally one against whom every man’s hand is raised. A Kol,
tried for the murder of one of these wizards, stated in his defence (and he spoke as
if he believed implicitly what he was narrating), that his wife having been killed
by a tiger in his presence, he stealthily followed the animal as it glided away after
gratifying its appetite, and saw that it entered the house of one Pusa, a Kol, whom
he knew. He called out Pusa’s relatives, and when they heard his story, they not only
credited it, but declared they had long suspected Pusa of such power and acts; and
entering his house, where they found him and not the tiger, they delivered him bound
''Srcrtron 5. ] MUNDAS, HOS, BHUMIJ. 901

into the hands of his accuser, who at once slew him. In explanation of their having so
acted, they deposed that Pusa had one night devoured an entire goat, and roared like a
tiger whilst he was eating it; and on another occasion, he informed his friends that he had
a longing for a particular bullock, and that night that very bullock was killed by a tiger!

I have alluded to their belief in omens, which are alwavs studied before any
important step in life is taken, but from the attention paid to them,
when the preliminaries of a marriage are being arranged, it is
clear that the parties I am describing regard the choice of a wife as the most important
step that they have to take. A very full list of these omens will be found in Volume IX
of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. A few as specimens will suffice here.

If the cry of a flying-squirrel is heard by the deputation on their route to view
the bride, it is so bad an omen that no further steps are taken.

If on the road the branch of a tree falls without apparent cause, the death of the
parents of both parties may be soon looked for if the marriage take place.

If the dung-beetle is seen on the path rolling his disproportionately large ball
of dung, it portends poverty. It might have suggested industry and perseverance !

If certain birds light on the Asan tree,* or if snakes cross the path, it portends
wealth.

A troop of Hanuman monkeys gives promise of larger herds of cattle.

If a bird lights on a keond, or ebony tree, the bride sought is sure to be a vixen.

Meeting women carrying full water-pots is auspicious, with empty water-pots the

Omens.

reverse.

The Hinduised Munda abstains from most meats which Hindus consider impure, but
it is not safe to place a fat capon in his way. Other Mundas
and all the Hos eat beef, mutton, goat’s flesh, fowls, fish, hares,
and deer. Pigs are not much relished except by the poorest classes, and the flesh of
bears, monkeys, snakes, field mice, and other small game that the Ordons and Santals
affect, the Mundas and Hos do not approve of. They will take from our hands cakes,
bread, and the like, but not cooked rice.

In regard to cooked rice these tribes are exceedingly particular. They will leave
off eating if a man’s shadow passes across their food. Very few of this people have been
known to take to trade as a pursuit, but the Kols of one small section of Chutia Nagpur,
Tamarh, known as Tamarias, are an exception. They are employed chiefly as brokers
for the purchase of the produce of the wilder parts of the Kolhén; but owing to exten-
sion of the market system, and a growing predilection on the part of the Kols for
more direct dealings with the traders, the amdrias’ occupation as brokers is on the
wane. The Singbhtiim Kols have of late years very generally taken to rearing the
tusser silk-worm, and the money that they obtain by the sale of the cocoons goes a long
way towards paying their revenue.

An equal division of property amongst the sons appears to be the prevailing custom
of inheritance, but they live together as an undivided family
until the youngest boy attains his majority, when the division is
made. ‘The sisters are regarded as live-stock and allotted to the brothers just as are the
cattle. Thus, if a man dies, leaving three sons and three daughters and thirty head of

Food.

Law of inheritance.

 

* Terminalia tomentosa.

3B
''902 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grover VII.

cattle, on a division each son would get ten head of cattle and one sister, but if there
be only one sister they wait till she marries, and divide the ‘ pan.’

The funeral ceremonies of the Hos are deserving of special notice, as they show
great reverence for the dead; and the variety and singularity of
the rites performed may materially aid us in tracing the con-
nection of the people we are describing. In my account of the Késias, I have already
drawn attention to the similarity between their funeral ceremonies and those of the
Hos. The funeral rites of the Hos and Garos have also many points of resemblance.

On the death of a respectable Ho or Munda, a very substantial coffin is constructed
and placed on faggots of firewood. The body, carefully washed and anointed with oil
and turmeric, is reverently laid in the coffin, and all the clothes, ornaments, and
agricultural implements that the deceased was in the habit of using are placed with it,
and also any money that he had about him when he died. Then the lid of the coffin is
put on, and faggots placed around and above it, and the whole is burned.

The cremation takes place in front of the deceased’s house. Next morning water
is thrown on the ashes, search made for bones, and a few of the larger fragments are
carefully preserved, whilst the remainder with the ashes are buried. The selected bones
are placed in a vessel of earthen-ware, we may call it an urn, and hung up in the
apartment of the chief mourner, generally the mother or widow, that she may have them
continually in view, and occasionally weep over them. Thus they remain till the very
extensive arrangements necessary for their final disposal are effected. A large tomb-
stone has to be procured, and it is sometimes so ponderous that the men of several
villages are employed to move it, and some wealthy men, kuowing that their successors
may not have the same influence that they possess, select, during their life-time, a suitable
monument to commemorate their worth, and have it moved to a handy position to be
used when they die. When required for use, it is brought to the family burial-place,
which, with the Hos, is close to the houses, and near it a deep round hole is dug for the
reception of the cinerary urn. When all is ready, a funeral party collect in front of the
deceased’s house, three or four men with very deep-toned drums, and a group of about
eight young girls. The chief mourner comes forth carrying the bones exposed on a
decorated tray, and a procession is formed. ‘The chief mourner with the tray leads, the
girls form in two rows, those in front carry empty and partly broken pitchers and
battered brass vessels, and the men with drums bring up the rear. The procession
advances with a very ghostly dancing movement, slow and solemn as a minuet, in time
to the beat of the deep-toned drums, not directly, but mysteriously gliding now right
now left, now marking time, all in the same mournful cadence, a sad dead march.

The chief mourner carries the tray generally on her head, but at regular intervals
she slowly lowers it, and as she does so the girls also gently lower and mournfully
reverse the pitchers and brass vessels, and looking up for the moment with eyes full of
tears, they seem to say, “Ah! see! they are empty.”

In this manner the remains are taken to the house of every friend and relative of
the deceased within a circle of a few miles and to every house in the village, and as the
procession approaches each habitation in the weird-like manner described, the inmates all
come out, and the tray having been placed on the ground at their door, they kneel over
it and mourn, shedding tears on the remains as their last tribute of affection to their

Funeral ceremonies.
''Srcrion 5.] _ MUNDAS, HOS, BHUMIJ. 203

deceased friend. The bones are thus also conveyed to all his favorite haunts, to the
fields he cultivated, to the grove he planted, to the tank he excavated, to the threshing
floor where he worked with his people, to the ‘ Akhra,’ or dancing arena, where he made
merry with them, and each spot which is hallowed with reminiscences of the deceased
draws forth fresh tears from the mourners. In truth, there isa reality in their sadness
that would put to shame the efforts of our undertakers and the purchased gravity of
the best mutes, and it is far less noisy and more sincere than the Irish ‘keening.’
When this part of the ceremony is completed, the procession returns to the village and
slowly gyrating round the great slab, gradually approaches its goal. At last it stops,
a quantity of rice, cooked and uncooked, and other food, is now cast into the grave,
and the charred fragments of bone transferred from the tray to a new earthen vessel
placed over it. The hole is then filled up and covered with the large slab which
effectually closes it against desecration. The slab, however, does not rest on the ground,
but on smaller stones which raise it a little.

With the Mundas as among the Kasias these slabs may cover the graves of several
members of a family, but the ghost of a Ho likes to have his grave all to himself.

A. collection of these massive grave stones indelibly mark the site of every Ho or
Miundari village, and they may now be found so marking sites in parts of the. country
where there have been no Kols for ages; but in addition to the slab on the tomb, a
megalithic monument is set up to the memory of the deceased in some conspicuous spot
outside the village. The pillars vary in height from five or six to fifteen feet, and ap-
parently fragments of rock of the most fantastic shape are most favored. Close to the
station of Chaibdsa on the road to Keonjhur may be seen a group of cenotaphs of
unusual size, one eleven feet two inches, another thirteen feet, and a third fourteen feet
above the earth; and many others of smaller dimensions. The groups of such stones
that have come under my observation in the Manda and Ho country are always in line.
The circular arrangement so common elsewhere I have not seen.

The subjoined sketch with which I have been kindly favored by Mr. Ball of the
Geological Survey of India will give the reader a clear conception of the appearance

 

Memorial stones, at Pokuria, 4 miles south of Chaibasa. The highest stone is eight feet four inches above ground.
''204. DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group VII.

of these cenotaphs. It will be seen that some are almost grotesque in form. The stone
No. 1 in the sketch is to the memory of Khundapater, the father of Paseng, the
present Manki of Pokuria, Nos. 2 and 3 are in memory of Kanchi and Samari, young
daughters of the Manki, and No. 4 in memory of his son.

Among the horizontal slabs under the tamarind trees in the village of Pokuria, Mr.
Ball noticed one over the grave of Seni, a former wife of Paseng. It measured 17 feet
2 inches in length. Its greatest width was 9 feet 2 inches and thickness from 10 inches
toa foot. Its weight was estimated at about six tons. This slate was procured in the
bed of a river about three miles off. It was brought on a wagon constructed for the
purpose, from three to four hundred men having been engaged in its transit.

When cenotaphs are first set up, they appear rising from an earthen platform on
which it is supposed the ghost of the departed may rest. This is gradually washed away,
and the older monoliths have no trace of it.

When stones are not procurable, wooden posts are put up supporting carved wooden
images of birds or beasts.

T think that Mindas who embrace Christianity might be allowed to retain as much
of the above beautiful funeral ceremonial as they wish to preserve. There is nothing in it
repugnant to our own religious sentiments. In truth, I think it evinces a greater
reverence and affection for the deceased than the hurried burial out of our sight that we
ourselves adopt, and in all probability it is the oldest method. Sanitary requirements com-
pel us to forego the old revered custom of burying our dead in graveyards round the
church where our aspirations to meet them again are expressed, but if we took example
from the Kols we might revert without danger to this time-honored custom of our fore-
fathers, and Christian Kols conserving the ancient practice would retain their picturesque
burial grounds under the tamarind trees in the village, or set up memorial stones round
their village churches.

I do not find that the present generation of Kols have any conception of a heaven
or a hell that may not be traced to Brdhmanical or Christian
teaching. They have some vague idea that the ghosts of the dead
hover about, and they make offerings to them, and some have like the Chinese an altar
in the house on which a portion of the ‘daily bread’ is offered to them; but unless under
a system of prompting often inadvertently adopted, they will not tell you that this after-
existence is one of reward or punishment.

When a Ho swears, the oath has no reference whatever to a future state. He prays
that if he speak not the truth, he may be afflicted with as many
calamities as befel Job, that he may suffer the loss of all his
worldly wealth, his health, his wife, his children, that he may sow without reaping or
reap without gathering, and finally, that he may be devoured by a tiger. It is a
tremendous oath, and it is a shame to impose the obligation of making it on so generally
truthful a people; but they swear not by any hope of happiness beyond the grave; and
the miserable wandering life they assign to the shades can only be looked forward to
with dread. They fear the ghosts and propitiate them as spirits of a somewhat malignant
nature, but can have no possible desire to pass into such a state of existence themselves.

The funeral ceremonies I have described are what I myself witnessed. Colonel
Tickell tells us that on the evening of the burning of the corpse certain preparations are

Hades.

Oaths.
''Suction 5. ] MUNDAS, HOS, BHU MIJ. 205

made in the house in anticipation of a visit from the ghost. A portion of the boiled rice
is set apart for it,—the commencement, we may presume, of the daily act of family devo-
tion above noticed,—and ashes are sprinkled on the floor, in order that should it come its
footprints may be detected. The inmates then leave the house and, cireumambulating the
pyre, invoke the spirit. Returning, they carefully scrutinise the ashes and rice, and if
there is the faintest indication of these having been disturbed, it is at once attributed to the
return of the spirit, and they sit down apart shivering with horror and crying bitterly as
if they were by no means pleased with the visit, though made at their earnest solicitation.

I have often asked the Kols if their custom of casting money, food, and raiment on
the funeral pyre, is at all connected with ideas of the resurrection of the body, or if they
thought the dead would benefit by the gifts bestowed. They have always answered in
the negative, and gave me the same explanation of the origin and object of the custom
that I received from the Chulikata Mishmis of Upper Asim.* ‘They are unwilling to
derive any immediate benefit from the death of a member of their family; they wish for
no such consolation in their grief. So they commit to the flames all his personal effects,
the clothes and vessels he had used, the weapons he carried, and the money he had
about him; but new things that have not been used are not treated as things that he
appropriated, and they are not destroyed; and it often happens that respectable old Hos
abstain from wearing new garments that they become possessed of, to save them from
being wasted at the funeral.

When the interment of the bones is accomplished, the event is mide known far
and wide by explosions that sound like discharges from heavy guns. ‘This is sometimes
done through the agency of gunpowder, but more frequentiy by the application of heat
and cold to fragments of schistose rock, causing them to split with loud noises.

In summing up the character of the people I have been describing, it is necessary
to separate the Hos from their cognates; the circumstances under which the character
of the former has been developed are different, and they are, in my opinion, physically
and morally superior to the Mindas, Bhimij, and Santals.

They appear to me to possess a susceptibility of improvement not found in the
other tribes. They have been directly under our government for about thirty-seven
years, and coming to us as unsophisticated savages, we have endeavoured to civilize
without allowing them to be contaminated, and whilst they still retain those traits
which favorably distinguish the aborigines of India from Asiatics of higher civilization,
a manner free from servility, but never rude, a love, or at least the practice, of truth,
a feeling of self-respect rendering them keenly sensitive under rebuke, they have
become less suspicious, less revengeful, less blood-thirsty, less contumacious, and in all
respects more amenable to the laws of the realm and the advice of their officers.

They are still very impulsive, easily excited to rash, headstrong action, and apt to
vesent imposition or oppression without reflection, but the retaliation which often
extends to a death-blow is done on the spur of the moment and openly, secret assas-
sination being a crime almost unthought of by them. As a fair illustration of their mode
of action when violently incensed I give the following :—

A Bengali trader accustomed to carry matters with a very high hand among his
compatriots in the Jungle Mahdls, demanded payment of a sum of money due to him by

 

* Vide page 21.

BC
''206 DALTON.—-ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group VII.

a Ho, and not receiving it, proceeded to sequestrate and drive off a pair of bullocks, the
property of his debtor. The Ho on this took to his arms, let fly an arrow which brought
down the money-lender, whose head he then cut off, went with it in his hand straight
to the Deputy Commissioner, and explaining to that officer exactly what had occurred,
requested that he might be condemned for the crime without more ado! Murders are
not now more frequent in the Kolhan than in other districts, latterly less so; but when
one does take place, the perpetrator is seldom at any trouble to conceal himself or his
crime.

The pluck of the Hos displayed in their first encounter with our troops and former
wars, I have often seen exemplified on minor occasions. In competitive games they go
to work with a will, and a strenuous exertion of their full force, unusual in natives of
India. Once at the Ranchi Fair there was a race of carriages often used by travellers
in Chitia Nagpir drawn and propelled by men. One of these came from Singbhtim
and hada team of Hos; a collision took place early in the race, and the arm of one
of the Ho team was badly fractured. It fell broken by his side, but he still held on
to the shaft of the carriage, and cheering and yelling like the rest went round the
course.

The extreme sensitiveness of both men and women is sometimes very painfully
exhibited in the analysis of the numerous cases of suicide that every year occur. A
harsh word to a woman never provokes a retort, but it causes in the person offen-
sively addressed, a sudden depression of spirits or vehement outbreak of grief, which few
persons would a second time care to provoke. If a girl appears mortified by anything
that has been said, it is not safe to let her go away till she is soothed. A reflection on
a man’s honesty or veracity may be sufficient to send him to self-destruction. Ina
recent case, a young woman attempted to poison herself, because her uncle would not
partake of the food she had cooked for him. The police returns of Singbhtim show
that in nine years, from 1860 to 1869, both inclusive, 186 men and women committed
suicide in that district.

I have already spoken of them as good husbands and wives, but in all the relations
of life their manner to each other is gentle and kind. I never saw girls quarrelling, and
never heard them abuse or say unkind things of each other, and they never coarsely
abuse and seldom speak harshly to women. The only exception I know is when they
believe a woman to bea witch; for such a one they have no consideration. They have
no terms in their own language to express the higher emotions, but they feel them all
the same.

The Mundaris are not so truthful and open as the Hos, nor do I consider them, as
a rule, so manly and honest; but then the Mundas have lived for ages under conditions
ill-calculated to develope the good qualities for which I have given the Hos credit.
There has been a continued struggle to maintain what they consider their right in the
land against the adverse interest of the landlord or his assigns. The very conditions
under which most of them hold their lands place them in a position of depend
ence and inferiority, as they have to labour for their landlord as well as pay rent to
him. Moreover, they live among a people who look down on them as a degraded
race, and one of whose favorite theories is, that the Kols were created to serve them.
This, no doubt, must be as demoralising as it is aggravating, and in many places the
''Srotron 6.] THE SANTALS. 207

Miundaris and Ordons have listened to it so long that they begin to accept the doctrine,
and calmly subside into the position of serfdom allotted to them.

The licentiousness indulged in by Mindaris and Hos at their great festival is of
course incompatible with purity and chastity, and there is no doubt that the majority
of the elders are terrible sots; but in Singbhum the rising generation show a disposition —
to abandon sottish and licentious habits, and it is satisfactory to know that they
can be entirely weaned from them. About seven thousand Mundas have now embraced
Christianity, and recently the movement has extended to the Hos of Singbhim. One
of the Mankis with all his family and a considerable number of his villagers have been
baptized, and, generally speaking, all those who have embraced our religion have
entirely withdrawn from participation in the wild revelry of their pagan brethren. Their
pastors have made this a test of their sincerity, and it is no doubt a very severe one.
The women must lay aside all their trinkets, and should not be seen, even as spectators,
at dances. The last condition is too hard, and is, I know, frequently evaded; but the
first is readily acquiesced in, and native female converts look with astonishment at the
jewelry displayed on the persons of European ladies even in church, and wondering
ask—‘ Have they been baptized ?”

In regard to breaches of chastity and sins against modesty which I have noticed,
it is to be observed that whatever is done on these convivial occasions is confined to their
own people. The instances of Munda or Ho girls committing themselves to acts
of impropriety with males of another tribe are exceedingly rare, and such a thing as
prostitution or its baneful effects is entirely unknown among them, It is, I think,
true that the race generally are duller of comprebension and more difficult to teach
than Hindus or Muhammadans, and with the exception of those who embrace
Christianity, the Mundas are usualiy unwilling to learn ; but the Hos have of late years
evinced considerable interest in education, and the progress they make is satisfactory,
their anxiety to learn and wonderful diligence making up for sluggishness in intellect.

Section 6.—THE SANTALS.

The Santdls are found at intervals, sometimes in considerable masses, but more
generally much scattered, in a strip of Bengal, extending for
about 350 miles from the Ganges to the Baitarni, bisected by the
meridian of Bhégalptir or 87° east longitude, and comprising the following districts :—
Bhagalptir, the Santél Parganas, Birbhim, Banctira, Hazdribagh, Manbhim,
Medniptr, Singbhim, Mayurbhanj, and Balasore. The Santal Parganas, or Santalia,
said to contain upwards of two hundred thousand Santals, may now be regarded as the
nucleus of the tribe, but it does not appear to have been one of their original seats. |
Buchanan Hamilton, in describing the Hill tribes of Bhagalptr and its vicinity, makes no
mention of Santéls. The aboriginal tribes he fell in with are called ‘ Malers,’ the Rajma-
hal Hill men proper and their kindred, a Dravidian people. It is singular that no old
colonies of Santéls or other Kolarian tribes are found between the Himalayas and the
Ganges. The Santdl settlements that now border on that river or skirt the RAéjmahal
Hills are readily traced back to more southern districts, and their own traditions hardly
support the theory of their northern origin. Indeed, when we find that the Kolarian races

Geographical Distribution.
''908 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove VIT.

have left their trail in Asdm, that it may be followed throughout the Siam States and
Burma to the Pegu district, and is faintly discerned in the adjoining islands, that it may
be taken up at Point Palmyras and clearly traced along both banks of the Damidar river
till it reaches the hills and table-land of Chitid Nagpur, it is scarcely reasonable to
assume that they have all come direct from the Himalayas. The Damiidar, rising in
Palamau, divides the Hazdribigh and Chitid Nagpir plateaux, and draining the northern
face of the one and the southern face of the other, discharges itself into the Hiiehli,
near the mouth of the latter river. It is the terrestrial object most venerated by the
Santals; and the country that is most closely associated with their name, which they
apparently regard as their fatherland, is between that river and the Kasai.

There is no doubt, however, that Santdls colonised parts of the Hazdribégh district
and parts of Birbhim at a very remote period, and it is chiefly by migrations from
those colonies that the modern Santalia has been formed.

In 1832* a considerable impetus was given to the northward movement in the action
taken by Government to secure to the Rdjmahdl Highlanders
their possessions in the hills that form the turning point of the
Ganges at Sahibganj. To prevent the encroachments of the lowland zamindars of
the Bhagalptr district, which were constantly exciting reprisals from the High-
landers, a tract of country measuring nearly three hundred miles in circumference was
separated and marked off by large masonry pillars, and of all the land within those pillars
the Government was declared to be head proprietor, and the Hill people were informed
that their rights in it would be respected so long as they conducted themselves peaceably.
But the Hillmen only cared for the highlands and the tract included within the pillars
called the Daman-i-koh, or skirts of thie hills, and the valleys running into the hills were
available for other settlers, and were speedily taken up by Santdls. In a few years the
Santél population in the Diman had increased from three thousand to eighty-three
thousand souls, when the colony received a check by the Santél insurrection of 1854.

For a history of this rebellion and the causes that led to it the reader may be
referred to Mr. Hunter’s interesting volume, called ‘Rural Bengal.’ The Santdls,
starting with the desire to revenge themselves on the money-lenders who had taken
advantage of their simplicity and improvidence, found themselves arrayed in arms
against the British Government, and it was not without bloodshed that the insurrection
was suppressed ; but it led to their being re-established under.a more genial administration
in what are called the Santdl Parganas. In the Daman-i-koh their own form of self-
government is to some extent restored to them. The villages are farmed to the head-
men, called Manjhis, who are also the sole guardians of the peace, a system that had
been already introduced with success into the Kolhén of Singbhtim.

In marked contrast to the Kolarians of the Miinda and Ho divisions, the Santdls, as a
rule, care little for permanently locating themselves. A country
denuded of the primeval forest which affords them the hunting
grounds they delight in and the virgin soil they prefer, does not attract them; and when,
through their own labor, the spread of cultivation has effected this denudation, they
select a new site, however prosperous they may have been on the old, and retire into the

The Daman-i-koh.

Nomadic habits.

“* See “Notes on a Tour through the Réjmahal Hills,” by Colonel Walter Sherwill, Journal, Asiatic Society of Bengal,
No. VIL of 1851.
''SEctIon 6.] THE SANTALS. 909

backwoods, where their harmonious flutes sound sweeter, their drums find deeper echoes,
and their bows and arrows may once more be utilized. The traditions of their ancient
migrations are rendered obscure by the succession of dissolving views to which this
nomadic habit introduces us, but they nevertheless tenaciously cling to a wild and remote
tradition of their origin ; and though much scattered and intermingled with other races
whose creeds and customs they have partially adopted, they are characterised by many old
practices that they lovingly cling to, and they are one of the tribes which has preserved
the form of speech that in all probability predominated in the Gangetic provinces
before the Aryan conquest.

But though prone to change, the Santals are not indifferent to their personal comfort,
and are more careful in the construction of their homesteads and
villages than their cognates. Their huts, with carefully formed mud
walls and well raised plinths and snug verandahs, have a neat, and, owing to their love of
colour, even a gay appearance. ‘They paint their walls in alternate broad stripes of red,
white, and black—native clays and charcoal furnishing the pigments ; moreover, the houses
are kept perfectly clean, and by partitions decent accommodation for the family is provided.

In the situation of their villages they generally seek insulation, and would gladly, if
they could, exclude all foreigners, especially Brahmans; but as they clear lands that they
do not care to retain and render habitable, regions that wild beasts would without them
be sole lords of, they are soon followed into their retreat by the more crafty and enter-
prising Hindu, and the result often is they have to submit to, or give way to, the intruders.
It frequently happens that the Hindu intruder improving on the Santdl cultivation and
making more money by it, obtains from the landlord a lease of the village at a rent the
Santél would not think of paying or demanding, and so the pioneers of civilization are
prematurely forced to move on.

The Santadls have of late been the most honored of the aboriginal races in Bengal
in the attention that enquirers have directed towards them. In Mr. Mann’s monograph
we have an interesting account of their social state, and in the work by Mr. Hunter,
above alluded to, an elaborate and admirably written essay on their religion, customs, and
language, that have made them, no doubt, the best generally known of our Bengal non-
Aryans; but instead of following these accounts, I will give the information I have myself
collected about the Santals in this province.

Vast numbers of the Santals now settled in Santalia emigrated within the last
century from the Hazaribagh district, but there are still large settlements of the tribe
in Kharakdia to the north of Parisndth, and in the hill country between Gola and the
Damiudar; and some intelligent and influential head men, called Parganaits. One of
these, Bagh Rai Parganait, from a Damudar settlement, gives me orally the following
version of the mythical origin and progress of the tribe.

Biegu RArs Narrative.—* A wild goose coming from the great ocean a lighted at
Ahiri Pipri, and there laid two eggs. From these two eggs a
male and female were produced, who were the parents of the
Santal race. From Ahiri Pipri our progenitors migrated to Hara Duttie, and there
they greatly increased and multiplied, and were called Kharwars. Thence they removed
to Khairagarh and Hurredgarhi, and eventually settled in Chai Champa in the Hazdri-
bdgh district, where they remained for several generations.

Houses.

Legends.

3D
''210 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove VII.

‘There were many Birhors in that country (they are still to be found there), and one
of them seduced a Santal girl; she bore a child and cast it on a dung-heap, where it was
found by the Paramanik and Jag Manjhi; they brought it home and fostered it, and the
child grew up and became a very powerful man, whom no one could withstand, and he
demanded a wife. They said that no Santal girl should ever marry the son of a Birhor.
Then the strong man, to whom they had given the Hindu name of Maddhi Singh,
declared he would violate all the Santal virgins, if one were not bestowed on him in
marriage. The Santals above all things regard the honor of their maidens, and greatly
alarmed at this threat, they resolved to abandon Chai Champa to be rid of MAédht
Singh. In one night they all left with their women and children, cattle and move-
ables, and proceeding to Chiitié Nagpur, the country of the Mundas, they came to
‘Marang Burt’ (the great mountain), the god of that people, and prayed to him that
Madhu Singh and the Birhors might not be permitted to overtake them, and he, interpos-
ing his great mass between them and their pursuers (the path wound up a steep ghat
and round from the north to the south side of the mountain), effectually protected them.
Thus our fathers became votaries of Marang Burt, the god of the Mindas,: offering
sacrifices of goats to him, and we continue to worship him to this day, assigning to him
a place in the sacred grove with Jaéhir Hra and Monika. Our ancestors made no sojourn
in Nagptr, but went on tok halda, then in possession of the Mundas, though now the
Hindu Ktrmis hold it.” [This is confirmed by the fact that all the old village sites in
Jhalda are marked by the indelible monolithic monuments of the Mindas.] “They next
tried Patktiim, but found no resting place among the Bhitmij, and pushed on to Saont,
and finding much forest there, settled and built good houses and began to enjoy them-
selves, according to our custom, and to dance, play, and sing. But the Saont Raja,
seeing our maidens dancing, took a fancy to them, and demanded that one should be
given to him. ‘This was refused, and the people dreading the consequence of refusal,
left the Saont country and went to Sikhar. It was from our long sojourn in Saont that
we took the name of Santal; we were previously called Kharwars. We formed
numerous villages in what is now the eastern part of the M4nbhim district ; but as we
increased and the jungle disappeared, colonies of our people went west and took up
Sondbadi and Guttidri in the Gola Pargana (Hazaribagh district) and Sikhar, through
which the Damudar flows. My ancestor was the leader of the colony that took up
Sondbadi. There were many Kharwér Rajas in those days, and one was established at Gola,
to whom my ancestor paid tribute. In the time of my grandfather, Kangél Parganait,
the Ghatwali system was introduced (that is, they were required to protect the roads and
passes), and it was in his time that the English were first seen in our country. One
of them carrying a red stick, and thence called Lal-lathi, came to Sondbaédi. He had follow-
ers with brass-engraved plates on their breasts and two strange looking dogs, and he asked
for the head man, and when my grandfather appeared, they tied him up and ordered
him to point out land on which a bungalow could be built, and on my grandfather giving
the land he was released. ‘There was much iron ore lying about. Lal-lathi immediately
set the smelters at work, made quantities of iron and sent it all out of the country.”

Thus briefly and quaintly Bagh Rai tells, according to his light, the history of
his race from the creation to the establishment of British rule. The delineation of
the first bold Briton that appeared amongst them, energetic and practical, is evidently
''SEction 6.] THE SANTALE. 911

a life picture. The explanation regarding Lal-lathi is probably nothing more than
a Santél gloss on the word ‘Wildyati,’ foreigner. The tradition that Bagh Rai gives
of the origin of his race will be found at length, though somewhat differently told, in
Mr. Hunter’s ‘ Rural Bengal’ and Mr. Mann’s work. If, as is not impossible, the Santals
crossed the Bay of Bengal in coming to India, the wild goose may be the white sailed
vessel that bore them. The more detailed versions of the legend have been obviously filled
in from Brdhmanical sources. The Santals now speak of the Damiudar as their sea, and the
ceremonies in honor of their dead are always considered incomplete till some charred
fragment of the burnt body is committed to the stream to be borne away to the ocean.

T am unable to identify the Ahiri Pipri, but Khairégarh and Chai Champa are in
the Hazaribagh or Ramgarh district, and to Chai Champé remote Santals, as well
as those in this district, frequently allude.

At Chai there is an old fort, the walls of which, of earth and stones, enclose a space
of about five acres of land. The tradition about it is, that it was the abode of Jangra,
a Santdl Raja, who destroyed himself and his family on hearing of the approach of a
Muhammadan army under General Sayyid [brahim Ali,* alias Malik Bayé. A Muham-
madan officer named Hazrat Fath Khan Dudla was placed in charge of the fort, and on his
dying there, a place of worship or ‘ Dargé’ was erected near his grave. There is another
fort at Mangarh, four miles from Chai, which is also assigned by tradition to a Santal chief
called Mén Singh. He abandoned his fort on the approach of the Muhammadans. At
and about Chai it is said that there were formerly six Santal chiefs, three in Bihar and
three in the Hazdribagh district.

Saont, supposed to have given the Santals their present name, is Silda in Medniptr-
About the time that I was transcribing Bagh Rai’s narrative, my
friend Babi Rakhaldas Haldhar, Assistant Commissioner, Chiitid
Nagptr, was, at my request, making some enquiries regarding Santals in the eastern
district, and without having heard what Bagh Rai had stated, he wrote to ask me
if this might not be the place where the Santals first settled. He tells me that
Pargana Silda, in which the Santals still predominate, is properly called Samanta Bhimi,
and that Chatna, adjoining it, but in the Manbhtim district, is admittedly a corrup-
tion of the same name. Whether this name was first given to that part of the
country in consequence of its being inhabited by ‘Saontals,’ or that the people took
the name from the country as stated by Bagh Rai, I cannot tell; but putting together
all the facts and legends that we possess, it is probable that the Santals were originally
located in Eastern Bengal from the sea-coast inwards, and that colonies were gradually
pushed on to the Hazéribigh district, or to Chai Champ& and Kharakdia, and from
thence northward, and that Bagh Rai’s account of their movement eastward from Chai
Champa to Saont through Chitid Nagpur is the reverse of what took place.

Another very remarkablé circumstance touched on by Bagh Rai is the implied

Relationship with the Khar. Telationship between the Santals and Kharwars. In writing
wars, about the latter long before I had seen Bagh Rai (vide page 180),
I gave some reasons for suspecting such a relationship, and Mr. Mann and Mr. Hunter

Saont.

 

Vie 1 also called Malik Bayt, and was a General of Muhammad ‘ughluk. He died in the second year of Widsehah's
reign, on the 13th Zil Hajjah, 753 A. H., or 20th January, 1853 A. D. His tomb is in the town of Bihdr. The legends
of the district irequently mention his name.
''212 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VII.

both note that Kharwéar, or a name like it, is an old name of the Santdls. In the tradi-
tions of Bihar and Shahabad, as given in Buchanan Hamilton’s work, the Cheros, Kols,
and Kharwars are blended together, and it is probable that the Santdls are not wrong in
claiming relationship with the Kharwdrs, but by their own account the Santdls have
never played a prominent role in history; always clinging to the skirts of hills and forests
and constantly shifting, they appear never to have advanced beyond the polity of
a village community. Ignoring all relationship with other Kolarians, they yet have no
tradition that they ever formed a nation or had a Raja or ruler of their own; and though
great vocalists and melodists, they have no song commemorative of ancient glory. When
they rose in 1855 A.D., it is probable that they contemplated no more than the exter-
mination of their tormentors, the money-lenders. It is at all events the first time
we hear of them in revolt, though so constantly migrating to avoid oppression. I
cannot but think that the Mindas and Hos, who tenaciously cling to their holdings and
have always shown themselves ready to fight for them if necessary, must have. the
prestige of superior birth. There are many reasons for supposing that the Cheros,
who were a ruling race, and the Mindas and Hos, are of the same stock, but the Santdls
and Kharwars may have become one people with them after having been subjugated.

The Santals, like the Kharwars, belong to, or have mixed much with, the dark races
of India. The Cheros, Hos, and Mundas are, on the whole, fairer and preserve more
distinctly traits of the Tartar type.

The Santals are noticeable for a great vagueness in the chiselling of the features,
a general tendency to roundness of outline where sharpness is
more conducive to beauty, a blubbery style of face, and both in
male and female a greater tendency to corpulency than we meet in their cognates.
Their faces are almost round; cheekbones moderately prominent ; eyes full and straight,
not obliquely set in the head ; nose, if at all prominent, of somewhat a retroussée style,
but generally broad and depressed; mouth large, and lips very full and projecting; hair
straight and coarse and black. Mr. Mann notes of them, and I concur in the remark,
that their cast of countenance almost approaches the Negro type. The females, he
says, have small hands and feet, and are ox-eyed, and these are characteristics which the
tribes linguistically allied to them do not possess. Mr. Hunter describes them as about
the same height as the ordinary Hindu, but I should feel inclined to consider them as
rather below that standard; he further well characterises* them, as “created to labour
rather than to think, better fitted to serve the manual exigencies of the present than to
speculate on the future or venerate the past.”

The Santials, like the Israelites, are divided into twelve tribes: 1, Séran; 2, Murmu;
8, Marli; 4, Kisku; 5, Bésera; 6, Hansda; 7, Tadi; 8, Baski;
9, Hemrow; 10, Karwar; 11, Chorai; 12, * * Except No. 11,
the above agree with the nomenclature of tribal divisions of Santdl tribes given
in Mr. Mann’s work; numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 11 with the names of the
seven sons of the first parents in Mr. Hunter’s essay. Numbers 2, 3, 6, 9 and 11
are found in the list of the tribes of the Singbhim Larka Kols, or Hos. This
is remarkable, as the legends of origin handed down among the Larkas have little in

Physical traits.

Tribal divisions.

 

* «Rural Bengal,’ page 146.
''SECTION 6.] THE SANTALS. 9213

common with the traditions of the Santals; and though the former also assign twelve
sons to the first parents, they were the primogenitors, not of the various tribes, or kilis, of
Hos, but of different families of mankind, including Hindus and Santals, the latter being
the offspring of the youngest pair, who, when told to separate from the family, selected pig
as their staple food. The names given above include only one to which a meaning is
attached, ‘ Mdarmu,’ which signifies the Nilgdo, Portaxr (Antelope) pictus, and the Mirmus
may not kill the animal whose name they adopt, nor touch its flesh.

The polity of the Santals is very patriarchal. In each village there is, Ist, a Jag.
manjhi, whose most important duty is apparently to look after the
morals of the boys and girls, and if he is at all straightlaced, they
must often lead him a hard life of it; 2nd, a Parémanik, whose business it is to attend to
the farming arrangements and to apportion the lands. He disallows any monopoly of
peculiarly fertile rice lands; all must take their share of good and bad. He has to look
after the interests of new settlers and to provide for guests, levying contributions for the
purpose on the villagers. All the offices are hereditary ; when a new settlement is formed
the office bearers are elected, after that the next of kin succeeds. There is a village
priest who is called Naia (Nayaka, vulgo Layd). This is a word of Sanskrit derivation,
and as they have no name in their own language for such a functionary, it is probably
not an original institution. He has lands assigned to him, but out of the profits of his
estate he has to feast the people twice in the year—at the
festival of the Sarhtl, held towards the end of March, when the
Sal tree blossoms, and at the Moi Muri festival, held in the month of Asin (September—
October), fora blessing on the crops. At the Sohrai feast, the harvest home, in December,
the Jag-ménjhi entertains the people, and the cattle are anointed with oil and daubed
with vermilion, and a share of the handia, rice beer, is given to each animal. Every
third year in most houses, but in some every fourth or fifth year, the head of the family
offers a goat to the sun god ‘Sing Bonga’ for the prosperity of the family, especially of
the children, “that they may not.be cut off by disease, or fall into sin.” The sacrifice is
offered at sunrise on any open space cleaned and purified for the occasion. A very
important distinction is observed by all the Kolarians in the motive of the sacrifices to the
supreme deity and those by which the minor gods are propitiated.
To Sing Bonga the sacrifice is to secure a continuance of his
mercies and for preservation. The other deities are resorted to when disease or misfortune
visit the family, the sacrifice being to propitiate the spirit who is supposed to be afilicting
or punishing them.

Ancestors are worshipped, or rather their memory is honored, at the time of the Sohrai
festival, and offerings made at home by each head of a family.
In the meantime the Naia propitiates the local devils, ‘ bhits.’
In many villages the Santals join with the Hindus in celebrating the Dirgé Pija, the
great festival in honor of Devi, and the Holi in honor of Krishna. Their own priests take
no part in the ceremonial observances at those Hindu feasts; they are left to the BrAhmans.

The person or persons who have to offer sacrifices at the Santdl feasts have to |
prepare themselves for the duty by fasting and prayer and by
placing themselves for some time in a position of apparent
mental absorption. ‘The beating of drums appears at last to arouse them, and they

3 E

Polity.

Festivals.

The supreme deity.

Worship of ancestral manes.

Priestly functions.
''914A DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove VII.

commence violently shaking their heads and long hair till they work themselves into a real
or apparent state of involuntary or spasmodic action, which is the indication of their
being possessed. They may then give oracular answers to interrogatories regarding the
future, or declare the will of the spirit invoked or about to be propitiated. When the de-
moniacal possession appears to have reached its culminating point, the possessed men seize
and decapitate the victims and pour the blood into vessels ready placed for its reception.
Among the Santals in Chitid Ndgpir, Sing Bonga, the sun, is the supreme god,
the creator and preserver. The other deities are ‘Jdhir Era,’
Monika, and Marang Biri, and they are all malignant and de-
structive. In the eastern districts the tiger is worshipped, but in Ramegarh only those
who have suffered loss through that animal’s ferocity condescend to adore him. If a
Santal is carried off by a tiger, the head of the family deems it necessary to propitiate
the ‘Bagh Bhut’ (tiger devil). Occasionally the villagers all join in sacrificing a
bullock or buffalo to Marang Burt. They have no very clear conception to what Burt,
or mountain, their devotions should be especially paid, but he is honored as Lord of the
Jungles. The Santals further east adore deities and Chando Bonga, the moon god, and
Bagh Bhit, the tiger; and to be sworn on a tiger-skin is the most solemn of oaths.
Santals who, under the example and precept of Bengali Hindus, have abjured some
practices considered impure by the latter, are called Sat Santdls, that is, pure Santdls ;
but there is a national antagonism between them and the Hindus that prevents any close
fraternization or communion between the races. They are not over-particular about food,
but nothing will induce them to eat rice cooked by a Hindu, even by a Brdhman. Un-
fortunately during the famine of 1866 this was not known to us. The cooks who pre-
pared the food distributed at the relief centres were all Brahmans, and it was supposed that

Minor deities.

this would suit all classes, but the Santals kept aloof, and died rather
than eat from hands so hateful to them. They have no tradition
to account for this bitter feeling. The animosity remains, though its cause is forgotten.

The Santal parents have to undergo purification five days after childbirth; a kind of
gruel is prepared, and after a libation to Sing Bonga or Marang
Burt, it is served out to the mother and the other members of
the family. An eldest son is always named after his grandfather, other children after
other relations. The Santdls have adopted as a rite the tonsure of children and do not
appear to recognise the necessity for any other ceremonial observance till their marriage
- when adult. Child marriage is not practised.

There is no separate dormitory for the boys and girlsin a Santdl village. Accommo-
dation is decorously provided for them in the house of the parents, but the utmost
liberty is given to the youth of both sexes. The old people, though affecting great,
regard for the honor of the girls, display great confidence in their virtue. Unre-
strained they resort to markets, to festivals and village dances in groups ; and if late in the
evening, they return under escort of the young men who have been their partners in the
dances or have played to them; no harm is thought of it.

The peculiar emblem of the Santéls should be the flute ; they are distinguished from
all people in contact with them by their proficiency on that
instrument. Made of bamboo not less than one inch in diameter,
and about two feet in length, they are equal in size to the largest of our concert flutes

Food.

Social customs.

Music,
''Srction 6.] THE SANTALS. O15

and have deep rich tones. This faculty of playing the flute and a general knowledge of
singing and dancing were, they say, imparted to them by their first parents, and it was
also by their first parents that they were taught the mysteries of the home brew, and
they, therefore, consider there can be no great harm in freely indulging in it.

There is always reserved an open space in front of the Jag-manjhi’s house as a
dancing place. To this the young men frequently resort after the
evening meal, and the sound of their flutes and drums soon
attract the maidens, who smooth and adjust their long hair, and adding to it a flower or
two, blithely join them. si

It is singular that in this national aniitinents of the Santals we have handed down
to us a most vivid living representation ‘of one prominent scene in the sports of Krishna
in Vraja and Vrindévana. There is nothing in modern Hindu life that at all illustrates
the animated scenes so graphically delineated in the Purans; but the description of
the ‘Rasa’ dance in chapter XIII, book V, of the Vishnu Puran, might be taken
literally as an account of the Santél ‘Jumhir.’ We have in both the maidens decked
with flowers and ornamented with tinkling bracelets, the young men with garlands of
flowers and peacocks’ feathers, holding their hands and closely compressed, so that the
breast of the girl touches the back of the man next to her, going round in a great
circle, limbs all moving as if they belonged to one creature, feet falling in perfect cadence ;
the dancers in the ring singing responsive to the musicians in the centre, who fluting,
drumming, and dancing too are the motive power of the whole, and form an axis of

Dances.

the circular movement.

Thus, as the pivot for the dances, sometimes sported Krishna and his favorite compa-
nions, “making sweet melody with voices and flutes,” but more frequently they took their
places in the ring, “each feeling the soft pressure of two maidens in the great circling
dance.”

We are told that Krishna when he thought the lovely light of autumn propitious
for the Rasa dance, with Rama commenced singing sweet low strains in various
measures such as the Gopis (milkmaids) loved, and they as soon as they heard the
melody quitted their homes and joined him; just so, on a moonlight night, the Santal
youth invite the Santal maidens. Professor Wilson, in his note on the passages of the
Vishnu Purdn referred to above, observes that the ‘ Ras Yatra’ is celebrated in various
parts of India in the month of Kartika (October), but that a circular dance of men and
women does not form any prominent feature at these entertainments, and he doubts if it
ever is performed. In the late autumn months the Kols and Ordons have numerous
yatras or jatras, at which these circular dances are performed by thousands. I will revert
to these yatras in describing the Ordons of Chutia Nagpur.* .

With such freedom of intercourse, it follows that marriages are generally love

matches, and, on the whole, happy ones; but it is considered more

quien respectable. if the arrangements are made by the parents or
guardians without any acknowledged reference to the young people. The price to be
paid for the girl, averaging five rupees, with presents of cloths to her parents, having been
detetmined on, a day is fixed for a preliminary feast, and afterwards for the marriage itself,
and a knotted string ; which shows the number of days that interv ene, is kept as a. memo-

 

* See also description of the dance of the Havas, page 106.
''2°16 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VII.

randum. Each morning one of these knots is removed by the impatient lover, and when
the last is loosened, the bridegroom and his friends with noisy music set out for the abode of
the bride. As they approach the village, the Jag-manjhi comes out to meet them, attended
by women with water to wash the feet of the guests, who are then escorted to the house
of the bride, and the two mingling together merrily sing, dance, and feast in front of
the bride’s chamber. At the last quarter of the night, the bridegroom makes his appear-
ance riding on the hip of one of his comrades, and soon after the bride is brought out by a
brother or brother-in-law in a basket. Then comes the inevitable ‘sindra ddn.’ ‘The
groom daubs his lady-love on the crown and brow very copiously with vermilion (sindtr),
and the assembled guests applaud with cries of ‘hari bol.’ The bride and groom who
have fasted all the day now eat together, and this is supposed to be the first time that the
girl has sat with aman at her food. It is creditable to the Kolarians that this custom
has been retained through ages, notwithstanding the derision with which it is viewed by
all Hindus. On the following day before the party breaks up, the young people are thus
admonished by one of the sages—‘*Oh boy! oh girl! you are from this day forth to
comfort each other in sickness or sorrow. Hitherto you have only played and worked
(as directed ), now the responsibility of the household duties is upon you; practise
hospitality, and when a kinsman arrives wash his feet, and respectfully salute him.” No
priest officiates during a Santél marriage. The social meal that the boy and girl eat
together is the most important part of the ceremony, as by the act the girl ceases to
belong to her father’s tribe, and becomes a member of her husband’s family.

Santals seldom have more than one wife, and she is treated with most exemplary
kindness and consideration. Should the husband be for any reason, as her barrenness,
induced to seek a second partner during her lifetime, the first wife is never deposed
from her position as head of the household; the second wife must obey her and serve her.

A Santal in prosperous seasons leads a pleasant life. He is either busy with his
cultivation or playing his flute, or dancing with the gigs, or
engaged. in the chase. He throws himself with ardour into the
latter pursuit, and in hunting down beasts of prey he evinces great skill and powers
of endurance and indomitable pluck. They have every year a great hunting festival
in which thousands take part. These expeditions are organized with as much care and
forethought, as if the hosts engaged in them were about to undertake a military campaign,
and take place in the hot season, when the beasts have least
cover to conceal themselves in. When the array of hunters reaches
the ground on which operations against the wild beasts are to commence, they form
a line of beaters several miles in length, every man armed with a bow and arrows
and a battle-axe, and accompanied by dogs, who, though ugly creatures to look at, appear,
like their masters, to be endowed with a true hunting instinct. When they emerge from
the woods on open spaces, the game of all kinds that are driven before them suddenly
appear. Birds take wing and are beaten down with sticks or shot with arrows ; quadrupeds,
great and small, are similarly treated, and in this way deer, pig, jungle fowl, peafowl,
hare, &c., are bagged; but tigers and bears on these occasions of open warfare are
generally avoided.

These hunting excursions last for four or five days, and at the end of each day the
Santals feast merrily on the contents of their bags and thoroughly enjoy themselves.

Daily life.

Hunting expeditions.

 
''Srction 6.] THE SANTALS. a)

Their rule in regard to possession of an animal killed is that it belongs to him who first
wounded it, no matter by whom the coup de grace may have been inflicted.

The Santéls employed in the police force are very highly spoken of by ¢ an. officer
who long commanded them. They may not be expert detectives
in tortuous cases, but in following up dacoits and attacking them
when caught, they are far superior to the ordinary Bengali constables, and many
instanees of their activity and pluck have been related to me. Living as they generally
do on the edges of forests, their constitutions are proof against malaria, and they may
be employed on outpost duty in localities that are deadly to most people. They have been
thus utilized on the grand trunk road in places where the jungle comes down to the road.

It often happens that the virtues of Santals employed in the police “are sanctified and
holy traitors to them,” their truthfulness and honesty cause them to be mistrusted by the
more corrupt members of the force, and if their officer is not careful in protecting them:
they are often worried into resigning it; besides, their peccadilloes are watched and reported.
by men who are hostile to them, and this often bars their promotion or leads to their
dismissal, It is said that they are losing their character for truthfulness; I have not
myself found this. The Santdls in Singbhtim, who live much to themselves, are a
very simple-minded people, almost incapable of deception.

The Santals dress better than most of their cognates. This also, it appears, is derived
from the instruction of their first parents, who appointed the
size of the garments that were to be worn respectively by male and
female, but omitted to teach their offspring how they were to be made. They have no
weavers among their own people. According to the tradition, the progenitors of the race
gave their children an ornamental rather than a useful education ; they taught them to sing
and dance and play on the flute and drum, but failed to instruct them in any useful art.

The women wear ample ‘séris,’ a large thick cloth not less than six yards in length
with a gay red border. One-half of this forms the lower garment secured at the waist, but
not so as to impede the free action of the limbs; the other half is passed over the left
shoulder, leaving the right shoulder, arm, and part of the breast free, and allowed to hang
down in front. It is not, as with Hindu maidens, used also as a veil. The heads of young
girls are generally uncovered, displaying a mass of black, rather coarse, but sometimes
wavy hair, gathered into a large knob at one side of the back of the head, ornamented
with flowers or with tufts of colored silk.

‘Their arms, ankles, and throats* are each laden with heavy brass or bell-metal
ornaments. I had a quantity of these ornaments weighed and found that the bracelets
fluctuated from two to four pounds,’ and the entire weight sustained by one of ‘these
belles was found to be no less than thirty-four pounds of brass or bell-metal. The |
average may be estimated at about twelve pounds.

The Santél women are represented by all who have written about them as exceed-
ingly chaste, yet the young people of the different sexes are greatly devoted to each
other’s society and pass much time together. No one has observed of them that they have
customs of an immoral tendency such as obtain among the Mindas and Ordons; but I
do not suppose there is in this respect much difference between the three tribes. In all

Character as police constables.

Costume.

 

4
* From Colonel Walter Sherwill’s notes.

3F
''218 . DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group VII.

these the results of the nocturnal dances and freedom of intercourse must be pretty
much the same, and Jag-ménjhis have admitted to me that they have plenty of such love
affairs to arrange.

In funeral ceremonies the Santdl varies from the practice of the Ho and Minda
tribes. The body is borne away on a charpai (cot) by kinsmen,
and when it reaches a cross-road, some parched rice and cotton
seed are scattered about as a charm against the malignant spirits that might throw
obstacles in the way of the ceremony; it is then taken to a funeral pile near some
reservoir or stream and placed on it. The son or brother is the first to apply fire to
the body by placing a piece of burning wood on the face of the corpse, and soon
all that is left are ashes and a few charred fragments of bones of the skull which
are carefully preserved. ‘Towards evening, it is customary for a man to take his
seat near the ashes with a winnowing fan, in which he tosses rice till a phrensy
appears to seize him, and he becomes inspired and says wonderful things. After the
incremation, the immediate relatives of the deceased have to undergo a quarantine, as
impure, for five days. On the sixth, they shave themselves and bathe, and after the sacri-
fice of a cock repair for consolation to the nearest liquor shop.

In due course the bones that have been saved are taken by the nearest of kin to the
Damidar. He enters the stream bearing the sacred relics on his head in a basket, and
selecting a place where the current is strong, he dips and commits the contents of his
basket to the water, to be borne away to the great ocean as the resting place of the race.

All inquirers on the subject appear to have arrived at the conclusion that the
Santdéls have no belief in a future state. The pilgrimage to the Damtdar with the
remains is simply an act of reverence and affection unconnected with any idea that there
is a place where those who have left this world may again meet.

It is to be observed that when the Santals in disposing of their dead differ from the
Mundas, the former approximate to the Brahmanical custom. It is in fact a rough out-
line of the Bréhman ritual, and only wants filling in. The halting at cross-roads and the
scattering of rice, the application of fire first to the head by a relation, the collecting of
the charred bones, especially those of the head, are all included in the ceremonies
enjoined on Brahmans and orthodox Hindus. 3

The Brahman, like the Santal, carefully preserves the bones in an earthen vessel; he
is ordered to bury them in a safe place till a convenient season arrives for his journey to
the sacred river—in his case the Ganges—where he consigns the vessel with its contents

Funeral ceremonies.

to the waters.
Srorion 7.—TnHe Biruors.

The reference to Madhu Singh and the Birhors in the foregoing pages caused me
to make further inquiry regarding that tribe in the Hazdribigh
district, and I have been favored by Babi Kélidds Palit, Assist-
ant Commissioner, now in charge of the Ramgarh Estate, with some particulars about

Birhors and Madht Singh.

them, which I subjoin.
I have already noticed the Birhors in the paper on the Kharrits, supposing them
to be a kindred tribe. Among themselves they speak the Kol language, but can also

converse freely in such Hind{ as is spoken in this province.
''SxEctron 7.] THE BIRHORS. 919

The BaAbti visited some of their settlements; he found that the tradition about
Madhu Singh was evidently known to them, but they were disinclined to give any
information about him. An old Birhor of 85 years was communicative on other subjects,
and commenced on that of Madhti Singh, but the moment he mentioned the name, his
wife shut him up, and the old man would say no more.

The Birhors were found living in the jungles on the sides of hills in huts con-
structed only of branches of trees and leaves, but so made as to be quite watertight ;
their huts are as small as those of the Judngs, previously described. The entrance door
faces the east, and is about two feet from the ground. A man and his wife and young
children sleep together in this small hut six feet square, but grown up children are
provided with separate huts; they lie on date tree leaf mats
spread on the ground. They have hardly any cultivation, and
never touch a plough. A man with his family who not long ago left their community
and took to cultivating in the plains, are now considered outcasts. The men spend
their time in snaring hares and monkeys, collecting edible roots and jungle fruits and
the chob (Bauhinia scandens) bark, of which they make strings for various purposes.
They are seldom seen in the villages, but the women frequent the markets to sell their
ropes and jungle produce.

The Birhors affirm that they and the Kharwars are of the same race descended
from the sun. They came, seven brothers, to this country from Khairagarh (in the
Kaimtr hills); four went to the east, and three brothers remained in the Ramgarh
district. One day when the three brothers were going out to fight against the chiefs
of the country, the head dress of one of them got entangled in a tree. He deemed
it a bad omen, and remained behind in the jungle. His two
brothers went without him and gained a victory over the chiefs,
and returning found their brother employed in cutting the bark of the chob. They
derided him, calling him the Birhor,* or chob cutter; he replied that he would rather
remain a Birhor and reign in the jungles than associate with such haughty brothers.
Thus originated the Birhors, lords of the jungles. The other two brothers became Rajas
of the country called Ramgarh.

The number of the Birhors is limited, estimated at not more than 700 for the whole
Hazdribigh district. They are quite a nomadic race, wandering about from jungle
to jungle, as the sources of their subsistence become exhausted. There are about ten
families in the jungles near the village of Ramgarh, forty in the
vicinity of Gola, ten in the jungles of Jagesar, and forty
families about Chatra and Datar. Major Thompson, in his report on Palamau, speaks
of them as the aborigines of that district. They are found in Chitia Nagpur proper, in
Jashptr, and in Manbhim.

The women dress decently; they have marks of tattooing on their chest, arms,
and ankles; they have no such marks on the face.

After childbirth a woman remains in her hut for six days, and has no food,
except medicinal herbs. Then the infant is taken out, not by
the ordinary door, but by an opening made in the opposite wall ;
this, it is believed, protects it from being devoured by a tiger or bitten by a snake.

Houses.

Legends.

Numerical strength.

Women.

 

* Birhor is Munda for a woodman or forester.
''920 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. : [Grove VII.

Parents arrange the marriage of their children. The father of the bridegroom pays
three rupees to the father of the bride. They have no priests,
and the only ceremony is drawing blood from the little fingers
of the bridegroom and bride, and with this the tilak is given to each by marks made
above the clavicle. This, as I have elsewhere noted, I believe to be the origin of the
practice now so universal of marking with red-lead. The convivialities of feasting and
dancing conclude the day.

The ceremony takes place in the bride’s house, and next morning she is taken to her
husband’s; but after remaining there two days she returns to her father’s to complete
her education and growth at home.

Their ceremonial in regard to the dead is quite Hindu. They burn the body and
convey the remainder of the bones afterwards to the Ganges, they
say; but probably any stream answers. They do not shave for
ten days as a sign of mourning; at the end of that time all shave and they have a feast.

The Birhors worship female deities and devils. They have assigned to Devi the
chief place among the former, and the others are supposed to be her daughters and
erand-daughters ; she is worshipped as the creator and destroyer. The devils are Biru
Bhut, who is worshipped in the form of a raised semi-globe of
earth—Biru is also the Kharrié god—and Darha, represented by
a piece of split bamboo three feet high, placed in the ground in an inclined position,
ealled also the ‘Sipahi,’ sentinel. This is the immediate guardian of the site, as a god
or devil of a similar name is with the Mundas and Ordons. <A small round piece of
wood, nearly a foot in length, the top painted red, is called ‘Banhi,’ goddess of the
jungles. Another similar is Lugu, the protectress of the earth. Lugu is the largest
hill in Ramgarh, so this is their Marang Burt.

An oblong piece of wood, painted red, stands for ‘Maha Maya,’ Devi’s daughter. A
small piece of white stone daubed with red for her grand-daughter, Buria M4i; an arrow
head stands for Dudha Mai, Buria’s daughter, They have also a trident painted red for
Hanuman, who executes all Devi’s orders.

Sets of these symbols are placed one on the east and one on the west of their huts
to protect them from evil spirits, snakes, tigers, and all kinds of misfortune.

It is not easy to place the Birhors from what is above disclosed, but the fact that,
though a wandering and exclusive people, they commune in the Minda language, is, I
think, sufficient to establish that they belong to the Kol race; and then they have the
Mindari-Oréon deity Darh4 and adore the Biru of the Kharrids.

The people with whom they exchange commodities are all Hindus or Hinduised, so
it is not surprising that they should take up Hindu notions,

In notes of a tour in the Tributary Mahdls, published in the Journal of the Asiatic
Society of Bengal, I described the revolting cannibalism of which
the Birhors are accused, and I will repeat it here, though I have no
faith in the story. “ With much trouble some Birhors were caught and brought to me.
They were wretched-looking objects, but had more the appearance of the most abject of
one of those degraded castes of Hindus, the Domes or Pariahs, to whom most flesh is
food, than of hill people. Assuring me that they had themselves given up the practice,
they admitted that their fathers were in the habit of disposing of the dead in the manner

Marriages.

Disposal of the dead.

Deities.

Alleged cannibalism.
''Section 8. ] THE KORWAS. 221

indicated, viz., by feasting on the bodies ; but they declared they never shortened life to
provide such feasts, and shrank with horror at the idea of any bodies but those of their
own. blood relations being served up to them! The Raja of Jashptr said, he had heard
that when a Birhor thought his end was approaching, he himself invited his kindred to
come and eat him. The Birhors brought to me did not acknowledge this.

We are reminded of Herodotus’ description* of the Padcei, who killed and feasted on
all who fell sick, and of the Kalatii, who ate their parents.

Section 8.—THE KorwaAs.

The country jointly oceupied by the Mundas proper and the Ordons extends in a
westerly direction to longitude 84° 380’ east, and on reaching that meridian at about
latitude 23° 15’ north, we find ourselves in the centre of a dependency of Chutid
Nagptr, called Barwah, connected and bounded by the plateau of Chutia Nagpur,
Sirgtja, and Jashpur, a combination of hill and dale, well-cultivated plains and forest-
clad mountains, just suited to the mixed population that dwell in it.

The tract is rich in iron ore, and in the hills we find a branch of the family
living almost entirely by iron smelting, who, strange to say, like
the fallen angels of the tradition given at page 186, are com-
monly designated Astras, infidels, and have taken quite kindly to the name. It must,
however, have been originally given to them as a term of reproach, and we may observe
that it is an epithet frequently applied to the Nag or serpent race in the sacred writings.

The Astras of Barwah do not, however, acknowledge the tradition of the rise of
the Nagbangsi family, nor honor the memory of Madura. Singbonga they just recog-
nise, and the worship of the supreme deity by that name does not appear to have
extended beyond this point; they know nothing of Marang Buri as a god, but
they worship the great hills near them by other names. Nevertheless, from their name,
their vocation and position, we must infer their connection with the vulcans kicked out
of heaven by Singbonga, for I find in Barwah the very place Ekési where they
alighted on earth. They are also called Agorias.

Mixed up with the Astras and not greatly differing from them, except that they
are more cultivators of the soil than smelters, we first meet the
Korwias, a few stragglers of the tribe which under that name take
up the dropped links of the Kolarian chain, and carry it on west, over the Sirgija,
Jashpur, and Palamau highlands till it reaches another cognate tribe, the Kurs or Muasis
of Réw4 and the Central Provinces, and passes from the Vindhyan to the Satpuira range.

In the fertile valleys that skirt and wind among the plateaux, other tribes are
now found intermixed with the Korwéas, but all admit that the latter were first in the
field and were at one time masters of the whole; and we have good confirmatory proof
ef their being the first settlers, in the fact that for the propitiation of the local spirits
Korwaé baigas are always selected.

Whether the Korwas always cling to the highlands from choice or were forcibly
expelled from the more productive lowlands, it is difficult to determine. As lords
of the whole, they could no doubt have chosen the soil and situation that best suited

The AsGras.

The Korwas.

 

 

* Quoted in Latham’s Desc. Ethnology, Vol. II, p. 304.
3G
''932° DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VII.

them; but I am inclined to think that the genuine unreclaimed Korwas, glorying
rather in the wild life of the hunter than in the tame pursuits of the agriculturist,
have from the remotest antiquity lived by choice as highlanders, thoroughly despising
the lowlanders, who indeed appear to have been too much in dread of them ever to have
disturbed them. |

The savage and almost nomadic life that they lead is not favorable to increase of
population, and I do not think the tribe now numbers more than fourteen thousand souls;
but they assert themselves, and their neighbours support the statement, that they were
at one time more numerous and powerful, and it is possible that many of the broken
tribes now found scattered throughout this part of India once formed with the Korwas
a people united under some rude form of government.

We find in Sirgtija as in other nooks and corners of Hindustan temples and other
ruins exhibiting considerable architectural skill, lying forlorn and deserted amidst a
population who live themselves in huts of the rudest construction which they are
incapable of improving. ‘ach little state has its history which carries you back to some
mythic period, but no history or even tradition that touches the ruins. Some are
Buddhist, some Hindu, but beyond the symbols that determine to which of those religions
they appertained, there is nothing to indicate when or by whom they were constructed.

A group of such ruins may be seen on the main road from Ranchi through Sirgtja
in a valiey on the banks of the Kanhar river at a place called
Dipadhi. To the north is the Jamira, to the south the Khtria,
plateau, both occupied by hill Korwas, and the villages in the valley are all inhabited by
people of the aboriginal stock, Kolarian and Dravidian, with a sprinkling of Hindus of
the lowest caste, the descendants probably of Aryan helots.

The lowlanders have a tradition that these ruins belong to a period when the
dominant people in the country were Saonts, and they connect the Korwas with the
Saonts. On one side of the road are the remains of a fort and stone building where
the Saont Raja lived; on the other side may be traced the remains of three temples
dedicated to Shiva and Durgé, and amongst the sculptures is a colossal figure, too much
mutilated to be properly identified, supposed to be the Saont Raja himself.

No one could imagine that the wild Korwas ever possessed the skill to construct
such buildings, or that they are descended from a people who worshipped in them.
In their rough paganism there is not now a trace of Hindu teaching, and though
highly superstitious and impressionable, they have not the smallest reverence for the
mysterious-looking gods of the unknown architects of the temples. But these and other
similarly isolated ruins in Sirgtja and Barwah support the hypothesis that at a remote
period prior to its subjugation by Gonds, this country contained colonies of Aryans, whose
first attempts were to proselytize rather than subjugate, but who were not successful, as
their very name is lost, and the works of art they left behind are attributed to the savages
who withstood them. It is probably under similar circumstances that ruins in Bihar,
Tirhut, and other places are attributed to the ‘Chero-Kol-Raj.’

The name Saont or Saonta directs us to the Santaél branch of the Kols, and as I have
already noticed, there is in Sirgija a small tribe so called. I had not seen much of them
when I penned the brief account that is given of them in the chapters devoted to Hinduized
aborigines, but I have since met many of the tribe. They are the sole inhabitants of

Ruins at Dipadhi.
''Y

getty sh THE KORWSSo os

the magnificent tableland forming the southern barrier of Sirgtija, called the Mainpdt,
or more correctly perhaps the Manipat. They are a small tribe living scattered over the
vast area of the plateau in about a dozen hamlets, and they are strong in the belief that
they were especially created to dwell there, or that they and the plateau somehow
sprung into existence together, and cannot be separated. I saw a number of them
when I was last* in Sirgtja, and from their features I should be inclined to class
them as Kols, but they have some customs and notions which they must have
derived from the Dravidian Gonds. They acknowledge Dulhadeo as a household
god, and follow the customs of the Gonds and other southerners in their marriage
ceremonies; but there is one point, a very striking one, in which their funeral
rites are quite in accord with those of the Saonts. They told me without my
having in the least led them to the point that after burning their dead they throw
the ashes into a rapid stream with the view to their being borne away to the great
ocean, which they called ‘Samudra.’ The Santals also use a term of Sanskrit deriva-
tion, but they say ‘Sdgar’. It is singular that the Saonts, believing themselves to
be autochthonous on the Mainpdt, which is 250 miles from the nearest seaboard, and
isolated as they are, should have so fully realized the idea that the discharge of rivers
is into a great ocean, and still more so that they should have preserved the custom of
consigning their dead to it,—a custom which in speaking of the Santals, Dr. Hunter
poetically styles “ the reunion of the dead with the fathers.”

They worship the sun as Bhagawén, and like the Kharrids offer sacrifices to that
luminary in an open place with an ant-hill for an altar. The
Mainpat is their Marang Burt, and asit is16 mileslong, 12 miles
broad, and rises 8,850 feet above the sea level, it is not unworthy of the name; but they
do not use that or any other Kol term. The great Mainpat is their fatherland and their
god. They have it all to themselves except during the summer months, when it becomes
a vast grazing field for the cattle of Mirziptir and Bihar. They have heard that there
are Saonts elsewhere (I have met with some from the eastern borders of Sohagptr who
told me they lived in caves), but they are not Mainpét Saonts, and the Mainpatias do not
seek alliances with aliens. Their marriages are among themselves, though they number
not more than one hundred and twenty families. This interbreeding is not prolific, and
they diminish in numbers as years roll on.

The Saonts are armed like the Korwds with bows and arrows, and the peculiar
battle-axe of the country, but it is against the beasts of the forest that these weapons
are used. Formerly the Mainp4t was a magnificent hunting field, especially noted for
its herds of antelope and gaur. The late Maharaja of Sirgija strictly preserved
it, but on his death it fell into the hands of his widow, a very money-loving old lady,
who allowed it to become one of the great grazing tracts, and the pasturage alone gives her
an income of £250 a year; but the wild animals have in consequence withdrawn from it.

The position of the Saonts is altogether very curious, and though they now speak
no language but a rude Hindi, the evidence is, on the whole, favorable to their being
a remnant of the ancient Kol aborigines of Sirgtja, cut off from connection with those
people by successive inroads of other races or tribes. Their substitution of a Hindi

Deities.

 

* 1869-70.
''224 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grover VII.

dialect for their own language seems to indicate that they were first subjugated by
Aryans. The Gond chiefs only count about twenty-four generations in Sirgija, and
they have all adopted the Hindi language.

There were in existence within the last twenty years as highland chiefs and holders
of manors four Korwa notables, two in Sirgija and two in
Jashpur; all four estates were valuable, as they comprised sub-
stantial villages in the fertile plains held by industrious cultivators, and great tracts of
hill country on which were scattered the hamlets of their more savage followers.
The Sirgtja Korwé chiefs were, however, continually at strife with the Sirgdja Raja,
and for various acts of rebellion against the Lord Paramount, lost manor after manor,
till to each but one or two villages remained.

This was their position when the mutiny of 1857 broke out, and like many others
they thought that the disturbances and anarchy that supervened afforded them an
opportunity of recovering what they had lost. Placing themselves at the head of their
clansmen, they committed a series of raids on the lowland villages. Wholesale plunder-
ing and murdering were resorted to for a time, but ere long the insurrection was cut
short by the capture of the two chiefs; one* of them who was convicted of murder
was hanged, the othert was amnestied, but died.

The two Jashptr thanes conducted themselves right loyally at this crucial period,
and they are now prosperous gentlemen in the full enjoyment of their estates, the only
Korwé families left that keep up any appearance of respectability. Onet of them
is the hereditary Diwén of Jashpur, lord of the whole mountain tract of Khtria
and Maini, and chief of perhaps two-thirds of the whole tribe of Korwds. The
other holds an estate called Kakia, comprising twenty-two villages in the lowlands
and some hill country. Both these families abjure the impure practices of their
tribe, and, spurning alliances with the ordinary Korwas, have continued interbreed-
ing for several generations. They hope in time that their intimate connection with
the Korwds will be forgotten, and in the next century they will probably come
forth full-fledged Rajptits. Indeed, I was surprised to find that the Brdhmanical
heralds college had not yet given either of them a legend of miraculous birth or inde-
pendent lineage. But though affecting Hinduism, they dare not altogether disown the
spirits of the hills and forests that their ancestors adored, and they have each at their
head-quarters a Korwa Baiga, or pagan priest, to propitiate the gods of the race. I
could not find a member of either family, male or female, who would condescend to
speak one word of Korwaé. In this, however, they are not singular, as I observed that
even the poorer Korwds when once settled in the plains, were unwilling to converse in
their own tongue. The Laird of Kakia has recently assumed the imposing name of
MAnjhi Mahendra Nardin Séhi; but notwithstanding this ebullition of vanity, he is an
intelligent man, a kind landlord, an excellent farmer, and as portly and jovial a host as a
traveller could wish to meet. His farm, premises, and dwelling house are spacious, well
arranged, and kept scrupulously clean. The family residence contains under one roof
numerous apartments and occupies one whole side of a large quadrangle ; two comfortable
houses forming the north side afford accommodation to other married members of the
family ; opposite are the cow-sheds, and filling up the front side of the quadrangle there is

Korwaé Chiefs.

 

* Dharm Singh. + Jagmohun Singh. { Mandraj Singh.
''Sxctton 8.] THE KORWAS. 225

a long substantial building for strangers, pilgrims and attendants, through which is the
principal entrance. In the centre of the quadrangle there is a pavilion open on all sides,
and here I was invited to seat myself, whilst the young ladies of the house brought
vessels and water to wash my feet. I have been particular in giving this description
in order to show that a Korwé, however unpromising the material, is susceptible of
culture, and can become a useful member of society.

The Diwdén is no doubt the representative of the family which gave chiefs to the
Korwas when the tribe was dominant in this Jashptr hill tract. The aboriginal inhabitants
were all either Korw4s or Nagesars, who are commonly called ‘ Kisdns,’ that is, cultivators.
It is probable that Kiséns and Korwas are of common origin; the former are noticed
in my chapter on Hinduized aborigines, but their origin is uncertain ; there is a Dravidian
as well as Kolarian element in the Jashptr population, and it is doubtful to which they
are nearest of kin, but, on the whole, the preponderance of evidence is in favor of their
Kol extraction. They cannot speak the Kol language, but it is found that Korwas, desert-
ing the hills and joining the Kisdns in permanent rice cultivation in the valleys, lose their
language and most of their tribal peculiarities, and become so like the Kisdns that it is
difficult to discriminate between the two.

The present Raja of Jashptr fully admits that the Diwdén’s ancestors were the
original rulers of the country. His own family counts only
seventeen generations since assuming the sceptre, and were first
established in the lowlands, where the remains of their ancient stronghold may still be
seen. They were Kharwadrs, whom I suppose to have been an offshoot of the same race,
and their tradition, that they were driven out of Belonja in Bihdér, may refer to the
break up of the Chero-Kol-Kharwar nation, formerly located in Kikata or Khinkat,
afterward Magadha. The family having established themselves in the lowlands gradually
brought the highlands under subjection, but the great highland chief only yielded on
condition that he was to be acknowledged and maintained as the second person in
the realm, the Lieutenant or Diw4n. This was conceded, and from generation to gene-
ration there was no breach of the contract till the grandfather of the present Raja,
disregarding the ancient policy of his family, confided the affairs of the raj to his foster
brother, a Kahér named Arfand Rim. The hereditary Korw4 Diwan, Mundwar Singh,
resenting this, a small civil war ensued which lasted for many years, and was still in
active operation when Jashptr with Sirgtija and other territory was ceded to the British
Government by Appa Sahib in A. D. 1818. Some of the Company’s troops were sent to
co-operate with the Raja against his refractory vassal, but they made very little impres-
sion on the Korwas, and Munawar Singh fought till he died in A. D. 1821.

His son Maniar Singh, who had been captured during the hostilities and detained
in custody, was now released, and under the guarantee of the British Government
reinstated in all the hereditary honors and possessions of the family, since when the
Jashptr Korwas have always conducted themselves peaceably and loyally.

The Hill Korwas are the most savage-looking of all the Kolarian tribes. They are
frightfully wild and uncouth in their appearance, and have good-
humouredly accepted the following singular tradition to account
for it. The story was communicated to Captain Samuells, Assistant Commissioner, by a
Korwa of Sirgija, but the Jashpur section of the clan never heard of it.

eo

o

History.

Hill Korwads.
''9°26 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL, [Grove VII.

The first human beings that settled in Sirgtja being very much troubled by the
depredations of wild beasts on their crops, put up scarecrows in
their fields, figures made of bamboos dangling in the air, the most
hideous caricatures of humanity that they could devise to frighten the animals.

When the great spirit saw the scarecrows, he hit on an expedient to save his votaries
the trouble of reconstructing them. He animated the dangling figures, thus bringing
ito existence creatures ugly enough to frighten all the birds and beasts in creation, and
they were the ancestors of the wild Korwas.

They are short of stature and dark brown in complexion, strongly built and active,
with good muscular development, but, as appeared to me, dis-
proportionately short-legged. The average height of twenty
Sirgtja Korwds whom I measured was five fect three inches, and of their women four
feet nine only. In feature, the characteristic types are not very prominent; a breadth of
face from the lateral projection of the zygomatic arches and narrowness of forehead are
the most remarkable traits ; the nose, chin, and mouth are better formed than we generally
find them among the rude tribes of the Dravidian stock; and notwithstanding the
scarecrow tradition, the Korwas are, as a rule, better-looking than the Gonds and Ordons.
The males, I noticed, were more hirsute than the generality of their cognates, many of
them cultivating beards or rather not interfering with their spontaneous growth, for in
truth in their toilettes there is nothing like cultivation. They are as utterly ungroomed
as the wildest animals. The neglected back hair grows in matted tails which fall behind
like badly frayed ropes, or is massed in a ‘chignon’ of gigantic proportions, as preposterous
as any that the present tasteless period has produced; sticking out behind sometimes a
foot from the back of the head.

The women appear ground down by the hard work imposed on them, stunted
in growth, black, ugly, and wretchedly clad, some having only
a few dirty rags tied round their persons, and in other respects
untidy and unclean. On them falls the double task of labour in the fields and of provid-
ing the daily bread for the miserable household. They have all the burdens, but none
of the privileges, of women. The man may follow his instincts as a hunting animal, and
bow and arrow in hand search the hills for the meat that his soul loveth; but he,
day after day, returns unsuccessful, and in the meantime the woman has been hunting
for and digging up wild esculent roots, or culling wild vegetables, hewing wood and
drawing water, and woe betide her if she has not been more successful than her
lord.

The most savage of the Korwas answer well the description given in the Purdnas
of the inhabitants of the Vindhyan mountains—black skins with flat faces, projecting
chins, and tawny hair. The tuft by way of beard at the end of their chins, without
whiskers, gives that feature its apparent prominence, and the rusty tint that their long
matted hair acquires by their neglect of it, would appear tawny in comparison with the
well lubricated locks of the Brahmans.

The Korwés occupying the Khiuria plateau are equally wild and savage-looking,
and few of them can converse in any language but their own,
but they are some degrees fairer, and have better features than
the coal black savages of the Vindhyan.

Their legends.

Stature, &e.

Women.

The Korw4s of Khiria.

 
''SEctron 8.] : THE KORWAS. 227

They live in small detached hamlets, consisting each of three or four miserable huts,
or sometimes in single huts far apart. It is said by their neighbours, and admitted
by themselves, that they live thus to avoid the bloody brawls which generally follow
their attempts to form communities.

Sometimes they build their huts like eagles’ eyries on the ledges of mountain
precipices in the most inaccessible places. From below you may see such huts hanging
as it were to a steep cliff, and wonder how the owners, if without wings, approach them.

The Korwaé population of Khiiria does not exceed 2,000 souls. They have that great
table-land all to themselves, except when a few Ahirs with their cattle seek its fresh
pastures after the first fall of the regular rains ; but from its remote situation, Khtria is
not so frequented for grazing purposes as the table-lands of Sirguja, Palamau, and other
places.

The Khiria plateau averages 3,400 feet above the sea level, and rises to 4,000
fect. It is the cradle of many waters; affluents of the Son,
the Damiidar, and the Mahdnadi radiate from it, so it is no
unimportant watershed. Seamed by these streams, there is no want of variety in
the scenery which alternately presents to view miniature prairies covered with long
grass and swelling uplands forest-clad. The Korwa cultivation is chiefly in the latter.
So the prairies are left to the wild beasts and the cattle. What is called in the
Eastern Districts the jhim system of cultivation and in the common Chutia Nagpar
dialect daho, is here widely resorted to. Ploughs are not used in this elevated
region. In the cold weather the hoar frost is almost every morning thick on the
ground, and on this account there is no winter crop of rice. Their principal crop is
the pulse, called Arhar (Cajanus Indicus), and they have their harvest joy when it
is gathered in December; then for three or four days they are social and abandon
themselves to savage revelry, dancing, feasting, drinking, and giving themselves up
to unbridled debauchery. At other times, utterly indifferent to culinary art, they
now make cakes of millet flour, split peas, and honey, and this is their special
luxury, their plum-pudding for the festive season. Little else is known of the nature of
their orgies, but dancing with them, as with all their cognates, is a passion, and if they
perform when in a seasonable state of wild ebriety, armed to the teeth as I saw them
dancing when sober, the incidents of the ball must be often more sensational than
amusing. In civilized society, young men lose their hearts in this pleasant and exciting
amusement, but Korwd gallants have been known in the most literal sense to lose their
heads.

One morning, when encamped in a valley of Khiria, my slumbers were broken at
a very early hour by a chorus of Ordon youths and maidens
who were dancing and singing not 100 yards from the tent,
their song strangely mingling with or suggesting my dreams. I must have been long
listening before I could collect my thoughts sufficiently to comprehend the object and
cause of the loud, but not unmelodious, morning carol. On my emerging at length
to acknowledge the compliment, upwards of one hundred naked savage-looking Korwas,
all armed, sprang up from the grass, as if they had been lying there in ambush, and
were on slaughter bent, but instead of attacking me and chopping me up with battle-
axes, they too burst forth into rude song, utterly extinguishing the gentler strains of

Cultivation.

Dances.
''928 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL.» [Grove VII.

the Ordons, and forming a huge circle or rather coil they hooked on to each other by
the arms and wildly danced. In their hands they sternly grasped their weapons, the long
stiff bow and arrows with bright broad barbed heads and spirally feathered reed shafts in
the left hand, and the gleaming battle-axe in the right, some of the men accompanies
the singing on deep-toned drums and all sang, but I was surprised to find that the
songs were in a Hindi dialect like the songs of the Boyars, and the melody was the same.
A few scantily clad females formed the inner curl of the coil, but in the centre was the
Chorcegus, who played on a stringed instrument, promoting by his grotesque motions
unbounded hilarity, and keeping up the spirit of the dancers by his unflagging
energy.

The instrument was of curious construction. The bar subtending the wires was
connected with two hollow dried gourds acting as sounding boards; on one of them
was a very fair miniature representation of a tiger, and as the performer moved his hand
to strike the lute, he worked a string which caused this latter animal to bob up and

down and twist round and dance in time to the music like a veritable Jim Crow. This

was the most elaborate specimen of Korwaé art that I had seen.

The average height of the men who formed this dancing group was five feet four
inches, the tallest five feet eight; their sole garment was a rag
passing between the legs and attached before and behind to a
string round the waist. Their matted back hair was either massed into a chignon,
sticking out from the back of the head like a handle from which spare arrows depended
hanging by the barbs, or was divided into clusters of long matted tails, each supporting
a spare arrow, which, flinging about as they sprang to the lively movements of the
dance, added greatly to the dramatic effect and the wildness of their appearance.
The women were very diminutive creatures, on the average a foot shorter than their
lords, clothed in scanty rags, and with no ornaments except a few tufts of cotton, dyed
red, taking the place of flowers in the hair, a common practice also with the Santal
girls. Both tribes are fond of the flower of the coxcomb for this purpose, and when
that is not procurable, use the red cotton.

The dancing was, on the whole, very spirited, and resembled pretty closely a Munda
JAdura.

The Korwds are considered formidable as bowmen, but I was not struck with the
accuracy of their aim. I think that an average corps of our
fair archers would make more golds, but they pull an enormously
stiff bow and drive their arrows with a force that I have never seen equalled by amateurs.
The barbed arrow heads are nine inches long and one and a half in breadth. These
they make themselves of the iron they smelt in their own hills; they use the battle-axe
very adroitly.

The Korwas cultivate newly cleared ground, changing their homesteads every two or
three years to have command of a virgin soil. They sow rice
that ripens in the summer, vetches, millets, pumpkins, cucumbers,
some of gigantic size, sweet potatoes, yams, and chillis. They also grow and prepare
arrowroot, and have a wild kind which they use and sell. They have as keen a knowledge
of what is edible amongst the spontaneous produce of the jungles as have monkeys, and
have often to use this knowledge for self-preservation, as they are frequently subjected

Stature, &c.

Weapons.

Food.
''Srctron 8.] THE KORWAS. ; age

to failure of crops, while even in favorable seasons some of them do not raise sufficient
for the year’s consumption, but the best of this description of food is neither palatable
nor wholesome. They brought to me nine different kinds of edible roots, and descanted
so earnestly on the delicate flavor and nutritive qualities of some of them that I was
induced to have two or three varieties cooked under their instructions and served up, but
the result was far from pleasant; my civilized stomach indignantly repelled the savage
food, and was not pacified till it had made me suffer for some hours from cold sweat,
sickness, and giddiness.

They pack their grain in small parcels done up lightly in leaves. These they bury,
and they told me that grain so packed remained unimpaired for
years. They have no prejudices whatever in regard to animal food.
The Korwds trade in honey, beeswax, arrowroot, resins, gums, stick lac, and

Storing grain.

iron from their own hills and of their own smelting. This is
considered the best metal for battle-axes, and is in great request
wherever they are used.

The Korwds are unacquainted with the legends of their Munda cognates. Those
in Sirgija told me that they knew nothing whatever of Bongas,
and worshipped no gods. They sacrifice only to the manes of
their ancestors, and as this ceremony must necessarily be performed by the head of each
family, they have no priests. In Jashptir they have Baigas, and the Khuria Korwas
have at least one shrine to which all occasionally resort for worship, the shrine of the
Khiiria Rani. I was unable to visit it, but made minute enquiries, and I understand it
to be a small cave in a rock which rises abruptly from a stream, with a nook in front of
it, about half-way up the Khiiria plateau. It is supposed to be the abode of a sanguinary
deity, of course a female, more like the blood-thirsty goddess of the Gonds, the prototype
of the Hindu Kali, than any of the Kol objects of worship. All the Korwas adore her,
but she is more especially the tutelary deity of the Diwan. This family have to make a
great sacrifice to her every third generation. The last was made by the father of the
present Diwan, and the Korwa laird of Kakia who was present gave me a humorous
account of it.

Thirty to forty buffaloes were with difficulty driven to the place and immolated
together with an incalculable number of goats, but the ceremony was brought to an
abrupt close by a mysterious rumbling noise in the cave and a tremulous motion
of the rock, probably an earthquake, which caused the whole party to fly at the
imminent risk of their lives. One can well imagine the terror of the awe-stricken
votaries, worked into a high pitch of excitement by the bloody rites,—wading in the
gore of the victims—as brute after brute was decapitated. The goddess is a mystery
even to her priests, for into the cave no mortal has ever penetrated. No doubt when
the rumbling was heard, and the rocks shook, a dreadful appearance was expected,
- but notwithstanding the cost incurred in invoking her, no one was bold enough to await
the result.

I could obtain no information regarding Korw& marriages. The Dihi Korwas
adopt the Gondi ceremonies; their hill brethren have, I believe,
none at all, nor could I find that they had, like their cognates,
any tribal distinctions by which restrictions on intermarriages were imposed.

31

Trade.

Religion.

Marriages.
''930 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grovp VII. .

The Korwés on the highlands of Sirgtja are occasionally exceedingly lawless. ‘They

were at one time organized in bands of marauders and appeared to

subsist altogether by pillage, which was not seldom accompanied

by murder, but for some years they have been well conducted, the leaders having for the
most part been induced to take up lands in the plains.

They have shown great cruelty in committing robberies, putting to death the

whole of the party attacked, even when unresisting, but they

oe ae have what one might call the savage virtue of truthfulness to

an extraordinary degree, and, rightly accused, will at once confess

and give you every required detail of the crime. When several are implicated in one

offence, I have found them most anxious that to each should be ascribed his fair

share of it, and no more, the oldest of the party invariably taking on himself the chief

responsibility as leader or instigator, and doing his utmost to exculpate as unaccountable

agents the young members of the gang.

Marauding habits.

SECTION 9.—TuHeE Ktrs, Kurxvs, orn MuvAsis.

Very few Korwas are met with beyond the western confines of Sirgitja ; but when
on passing into the next state, Korea, we lose them, we at once pick up links to carry on
the chain of congeners to the far West.

The family now in possession of the Korea Estate call themselves Chauhén Rajputs.
In their annals it is stated that the Balands were originally rulers in Korea as in Western
Sirguja, where there exist the ruins of many great works traditionally ascribed to them.
They were driven out by a combined attack of Gonds and Kols. The latter are called
Kronch Kols, and their chiefs, it is said, held Korea for eleven generations. They were
subjugated by the Chauhan Chief Dhaurel Singh, the ancestor of the present Raja of
Korea, about 600 years ago. If this be true, Korea must have been one of the last
countries held by a Kol dynasty, and this may account for its retention of the name
Korea, or Kolia, as the country of the Korwas or Kols.

Whilst still in Sirgija amongst the Korwas, I fell in with a colony of people
speaking the same language who called themselves Koraku, but they appeared to be
far in advance of the Korwéas in civilization, and acknowledged no kindred with them.
About a dozen young men and six comely and neatly dressed girls came to my camp, and
danced and sang, and made themselves very agreeable.

The movement and melody were Bhtiya rather than Kol, but the flower-decked hair
of the maidens was uncovered, and in their frank address, freedom from prudery, and in
the palpably joyous manner with which they received and returned the attention of their
partners, they reminded me of the Ho or Singbhiim Kol girls.

The Korakts knew nothing of the Munda system of religion; they have dipped
into Gondi and Hindi mythology, and evolved from both sufficient to fill their minds
with fear of malevolent spirits, if not with reverence for good ones. They worship
the cloud-capped table-lands which surround them, giving to them Gondi and Hindi
names.

The Palamau Brijias evidently belong to the same family. In a short vocabulary of

their language kindly sent to me by Mr. L. R. Forbes, Assistant Commissioner, Palimau,

 
''Snotion 9.] THE KURS, KURKUS, OR MUASIS. 231

I find that their common word for man is ‘ Ktirako,’ which is simply the plural of Ktr
or Ktira (in Munda a boy), and we have thus a term equally near
the Koraku and Korwa of Siretija, and the Kur* of Gawilgarh.
Tn the appendix to the essay on the tribes of the Central Provinces by the late Rev.
S. Hislop, published since his death by Sir Richard Temple, the latter tribe is spoken of
as Kirkus, in another place they are called Kurs, but it is noted that those who live on
the Mahddeva Hills prefer to be called Mudsi. Now, leaving Sirgtija and passing into
Korea and Chand Bhakhar, we at once find ourselves among the Mudsis who are there
usually called Mawdsi Kols, and thus we trace a well-defined thin line of the race all
through Gondwinda and right across the continent till we come among the Bhils. There
is a pargana in Réwa called Marwasi, from which, perhaps, the name is derived, but
Mr. Hislop suggests its derivation from the Mahwa tree (bassia latifolia), and this their
own legend confirms.

Captain W. S. Samuells, Assistant Commissioner, Chitia Nagpir, has favored me
with some interesting information regarding the Muasi, picked up by him whilst recently
employed in laying down the boundary between Réwaé and Bengal. Their tradition
of origin takes us again to the serpent race. Some time after the creation of the world,
there issued from the earth a male and female, Naga Bhuiya and
Naga Bhuidin, that is, evidently the earth serpent and his wife.
They had pow er over and worshipped nine demons whose names as pronounced by the
Muiasis are given below. They are apparently all taken from the Hindu mythology.
The 1st, called Barhona, is no doubt Varana, the spirit of the waters; the 2nd, Andhiar,
the spirit of darkness; the 38rd, Rakas (Rakshasas), the demons of the forest; the 4th,
Chitdwur, which I do not recognise; the 5th, Pdt, the spirit of the mountain; 6th,
Danu, are Danawas, the sons of Danu, described in the Puranas as Astras, enemies of
the gods and subordinates of the great serpent king Kasuki; 7th, Bhainsadsur, the buffalo
demon; 8th, Agin, probably for Agni, the fire demon, and 9th, Kolara, not found in
the sacred books, perhaps a special Kol demon. The Naga and his wife, after living many
years on the earth’s surface, had a son which was apparently what they had been waiting
for, as on the birth of the child they wrapped it in a sheet, left it under a Mahwéa tree
and disappeared. The child was found and taken to the Raja of Kanauj, who gave it the
name Mahwasi and adopted it. The boy grew up and marrying became the father of
two sons, and the Raja gave them the country called Ganjar. This they held for many
years, paying tribute to the Kanauj ruler, but they increased and multiplied and grew
proud, and refusing to pay the accustomed tribute, the Raja gave their country to two
warriors from Kélinjar, named Apla and Adal. They made war on the Mudsis, subjugated
them, and brought the leaders bound before the king, who caused a loaded banghy to
be laid across the shoulders of each, and pronounced sentence that they and their
descendants were thenceforth for ever to bear burdens.

It is evident that this is another version of the legend previously narrated
from the annals of the Chitia Nagptr Nagbangsi familyt. In
both we find the snake oe the deserted child and the doom

* In the Central Provinces Gazetteer, Ktirs are uae as occupying “hil me sts in - Betal (Bi gikogh in Cihiniesnd, in in
Hoshangabad, in Nimér, and as the only inhabitants of Manjrod on the Tapti,

+ Vide page 165.

Koraku and Korwa.

Naga legends.

Religion.

 
''939 DALTON.--ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VII.

to burden-bearing, showing the alien origin of the tradition and the devices adopted by
the foreigners to reduce the aboriginal races to a perpetual condition of servitude.
We learn from the essay of the Rev. 8. Hislop that the chief objects of adoration to the
Muasis of the Central Provinces are the sun and the moon. They also worship at the
shrine of Sultan Sakada, whom they suppose to have been a king among them in
former times. The Mudsis of Barér and in the western tributary estates of Chitid
Nagptr worship Bhavani, a name of Durgdé, and Gansim or Ghanasydma. The latter
is a name of Krishna, but the Gansém of the Mudsis and Gonds is said to have been
formerly a Gond chief who was devoured by a tiger at an early age just after his
marriage. Cut off at such a moment, it was unreasonable to suppose that his spirit
would rest. One year after his death, he visited his wife, and she conceived by him, and
the descendants of the ghostly embrace are, it is said, living to this day at Amodah* in the
Central Provinces. He about the same time appeared to many of his old friends, and
persuaded them that he could save them from the maws of tigers and other calamities,
if his worship were duly inaugurated and regularly performed; and in consequence of
this, two festivals in the year were established in his honor; but he may be invoked
at any time, and in all sicknesses and misfortunes his votaries confidently appeal to him.

The Baiga is always the medium of communication, but he assembles the people to
aid him in the invocation. Musical instruments are produced,
dancing commences, and the invocation to the spirit is chanted
until one or more of the performers manifest possession by wild rolling of the eyes and
involuntary spasmodic action of the muscles. The affection appears contagious, and old
women and others who have not been dancing become influenced by it in a manner that
is horrible to contemplate. Captain Samuells, who frequently witnessed the incantation,
is confident that no deception whatever is practised. As at revivals where similar scenes
are produced by professing Christians, each person seized or exalted loses for a time
all self-control, and the body, limbs, and neck are worked in the most exhaustive manner,
till the Baiga interposes and relieves the victim.

The affection, says Captain Samuells, comes on like a fit of ague, lasting sometimes
for a quarter of an hour, the patient or possessed person writhing and trembling with
intense violence, especially at the commencement of the paroxysm. Then he is seen to
spring from the ground into the air, and a succession of leaps follow, all executed
as though he were shot at by unseen agency. During this stage of the seizure he is
supposed to be quite unconscious, and rolls into the fire, if there be one, or under the
feet of the dancers without sustaining injury from the heat or the pressure. This
lasts for a few minutes only, and is followed by the spasmodic stage. With hands and
knees on the ground and hair loosened, the body is convulsed, and the head shakes
violently, whilst from the mouth issues a hissing or gurgling noise. The patient next
evincing an inclination to stand on his legs, the bystanders assist him and place a stick
in his hand, with the aid of which he hops about, the spasmodic action of the body
still continuing and the head performing by jerks a violently fatiguing circular movement.
This may go on for hours, though Captain Samuells says that no one in his senses could
continue such exertion for many minutes. When the Baiga is appealed to, to cast out
the spirit, he must first ascertain whether it is Gansdm himself or one of his familiars

Priests. Invocations.

 

* J do not find this name in the Central Provinces Gazetteer. It may be Almod “in and round the Mahddeo group of hills.”

 
''SECTION 9.] THE KURS, KURKUS, OR MUASIS. 933

that has possessed the victim. If it be the great Gansim, the Baiga implores him to
desist, meanwhile gently anointing the victim with butter; and if the treatment is
successful, the patient gradually and naturally subsides into a state of repose from which
he rises into consciousness, and restored to his normal state, feels no fatigue or other
ill-effects from the attack.

This is certainly the most thorough form of demon worship with which we have met,
and one that must appear to its votaries to testify to its own reality each time it is
resorted to.

In many of their social customs, the Muasis of the western Tributary Mahals and
Réwa conform to Hinduism; in some they have adopted Gondi
practices. Amongst other notions which they have taken from
the Hindu model, is that of the wife not eating with the husband, but satisfying herself
with what he leaves; it is singular how readily this Hindu fashion so degrading to the
woman is followed. Some of the Hindu customs after childbirth, as ceremoniously
giving first food to the child, shaving its head, &c., they profess to have adopted, but
without the assistance of Brdhmans, who have not yet intruded on the functions of the

Hinduized practices.

Baiga.

With the view of ascertaining correctly what are the marriage customs of the
Mudasi, Captain Samuells handsomely offered to dower a young
lady, if a wedding could be improvised; and a well-matched pair,
whose course of true love had been hitherto baffled by their poverty, joyfully availed
themselves of the opportunity. Captain Samuells has kindly favored me with a note of
the result, from which I take the following :—

The proposal must emanate from the father of the girl, whose duty it is to spota
bridegroom as soon as his daughter becomes marriageable. We may presume that he
consults his child before he makes any overtures in her behalf, and knows well the house
to which her inclination would guide her. If the offer is favorably received, the father
of the selected swain visits the proposer, sees the girl, and leaves his first offering
at the shrine of her beauty in gallons of rice beer. The contracting parties then agree
as to the guerdon that is to be paid to the father of the girl; this is not paid in cattle,
as in Singbhtim, or in cash, but in rice, and four mans of grain are deemed a very fair
equivalent, so cheap are women held. ‘The girl’s father then invites his friends toa
feast, and announces the engagement, and the next stage is the solemn delivery of. the
stipulated bonus in rice. This is brought and measured out by the groom’s best man,
and it is the privilege of the bridesmaids to thwart the proceeding by pilfering from
the heap, and the best man and his friends have to make occasional raids after the girls,
who, if caught, pay penalty as bridesmaids should.

The marriage ceremony takes place eight days after the delivery of the rice. In
the evening, the bridegroom’s cavalcade proceed to the bride’s residence, his gallant
comrades all mounted and careering on hobby horses! made of bamboos, except one
warrior, who bestrides a representation of an elephant! The groom, however, is borne
on the shoulders of his best man, clad all in white, and crowned with a chaplet of reeds.
They halt at a short distance from the bride’s house, and there await her party. Presently
emerges a troop of girls all singing, headed by the mother of the bride, bearing on her
head a vessel of water surmounted by a lighted chirdgh (lamp). When they get near

3K

Marriage customs.
'' 

934, DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grovp VII.

enough to the cavaliers, they pelt them with balls of. boiled rice, then coyly retreat,
followed of course by the young men; but the girls make a stand at the door of the
bride’s house, and suffer none to enter till they have paid toll in presents to the
bridesmaids. The party is now received by the bride’s brother, who appears with offerings
of water and food; the bridegroom dismounts and seats himself on the ground, and the
bride’s mother coming forward stuffs between his jaws five mouthfuls of cooked food.
She then washes his mouth, gives him a kiss, and invites him to go inside; but here the
best man interposes demanding guerdon, and till this has been paid refuses to allow the
bridegroom to advance a step.

In the inner court-yard a bower is constructed of leafy branches of the sél tree
supported on a frame-work of bamboos. In the centre is the ‘ Bhanwar,’ here represented
by a bamboo post passing through the canopy, round which the bride and bridegroom
have to make a certain number of revolutions. It rises from a platform on which mats
made of fresh green leaves are spread for the young couple and their chief supporters.

The bridegroom on entering the court-yard is conducted by the women to the
inner apartments, and presented to the bride; then with their garments tied together
they are both led out and seated in their places in the bower. At this time some of the
young men are invited to go inside to partake of a repast prepared for them, and whilst
they are so engaged, the two fathers wash the feet of the young couple. There is then
a pause in the ceremonies, of which the lively bridesmaids avail themselves to pour
on the unfortunate bridegroom a torrent of not very delicate chaff.

Further preparations are now made for the Bhanwar ceremony. A vessel full of
water and a lighted lamp are placed near the pole, and a curry-stone on which is arranged
seven little heaps of rice and turmeric. When all is ready the chief bridesmaid and best
man lead the young couple once round the post, then leave them to perform the remainder
of the revolutions themselves, and each time as they approach the curry-stone, the
bridegroom causes his bride to kick away one of the heaps of rice and turmeric. When
the seventh is knocked off, the best man seizes the pole and violently shakes it, and on
this the people all exclaim, “It is done.” The wedded pair are then taken inside, and
after spending some time together, come out to receive the congratulations of their
friends, and retire again to the chamber prepared for them. Next morning all adjourn
to the camp of the ‘ barat,’* where a breakfast is provided by the father of the bride.

Captain Samuells was unable to induce a Muasi to die, in order that he might, as an
eye-witness, describe what then takes place; but I have said enough of the funeral
ceremonies and cenotaphs of the cognate tribes, and here close my account of the

Kolarians.

* The bridegroom’s party.

 
''235

Tables showing the different dialects of the Miénda or Kol language spoken in Chiitia Nigpir, Katak, and the
Central Provinces, compiled for Coronet Dauton’s ‘ Lthnology of Bengal’? by Basu Rakyat Das
Hatupar, Assistant Commissioner, Chitid Ndgpir.—With Vocabularies of the Khdst and Talain
languages added for purposes of comparison.

[N. B.—Babu Rakhal Das Haldar has added specimens of declensions, conjugations, and short sentences to show the
grammatical construction of the Manda language. ]

 

 

 

ENGLISH. Monpari. SanTAL, Korwa, Kawarria.
One ... | miad see tO ... | midtang ... | moifi af
Two | bari&d ...| birei ...| bdtang ... | ubathang...
Three _... | Api .. | pea ... | peitang .,., | uphethang
Four ...|upunié ...|poned ... | chdr-gotAng | iphan thang
Five ...|moned ...|mone ... | panchgoténg| molegothang
Six .- |turid  .,,|/turui ... | chhaugotang) tibhurthang
Seven... | e& ws. | €8@ satgotang... |thamgothang
Hight ... | iralid —.., | ial ... |Athgotang... | iralgothang
Nine ws | dred ... | are .. | nau-gotdng | dregothang
Ten oo | Bolu. ... | Bel ... | das-gotang | ghol a
Swenty 41 hast 2 os. | 181 8 a moin kudi
Fifty barhisigelna barisigel ... a ubakudighol
Hundred ...| mone _hisi, | moneisi, or | sao ... | Molfsay .

or say (s) say.
I .. | ing or ding | ing ... jangod,ingyuf, ing oa
Of me, or ifigyaf ... | ting, tingyan| engal ... | ingyéfi_...
mine.
We two dling _,,, | alang, aling ee ne
Of us two... | aldfigyafi.., | taling, tali- - ae
flagya.

We ... | dle, or abu.. | dle, or Aban | anga + ele ;
Of us... | dleé or|tale, tdban j|dla-a ..., | el& :

ve r
Our Ae abua.
Thou oo. | Am oe) a ... | am0 ... | 4m a
Of thee 4m4n_ .., | tam, ... | ama | ame: eS
Thine eae
You two ... | Aben aben a Ace an
Of you two| dbenafi ...|taben, ... ae ne
You ... | Ape +. | ape ... | apa saban,.. | Amp a

. z ,

Of you... | 4pea .-. | tape, | apaido ..,|ampaa ..,
a
Your v.. | ped ... | tape dos PAPAAED ... ca
eae ° . . °
He oa in ie | opal ... | mormika ... | uki, hoje ...
Of him. 4... jinija seta ... | enia ce a
His ATU pe bal ... | enid ... | hokoré ...
They two ... | inkin or | bunkin 40, ae oe
Of them two|inkinad ...|) takin .. a ay
They ... | Inku .» | hunko  ,.. | mormikano | ukidr ae
Of them .,.|inkué _.., | tako J end aay i
Their 2. (inkuae 3. | ako | inkud —... | ukijharié..
Hand = | i a te a ta ge ke is

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JUANGA. Ho. oo ee oF KnaAst.
moin ...| midd ,;.. | nekor...| mway ... | uwei.
umbar...| barid ,., | bar-ku... | pa i, (athe
i-gota...| Apia ... akor or | pe co ta
apkor.
ganda-mi, upunid upanko. | pon ae | Salle
| mofiyé | moneiku | pa-tson ... | san.
a turui4... | tureiku. | ka-roung ... | hinrew.
ie fy& .., | yeiké ... | kha-pau hin-ieu.
vee irilié ... | llarku or | khasan ... | phra.
ilaria.
see area... areiku,.. | khasi eee khyndai.
aaa cob gelku ... | t’sau ... | Shi-pheu.
Ss hisi ,,, | bis (s.)--.| pa-sau_... | arh-pheu.
.»  |barhisigel) = +++ patsu-tson.. | san-pheu.
a sau ...|Chovi...| kalun _... | shi-spah.
ain... | ing, aing in... | awai oie | DSB,
ainy&... |ing& ... ing [y4?]| kharu-awai | jong-ngd.
ie aling ... ov tee san
ie alingy& tee aoe ace
Aindera | ale, Abul ale .,, | pwa ee ek
i alea, Abud) nan, | Kharu-awai- | jong-ngi.
tau.
Ade .../4m 4.) dw ee w+ | pha.
dma .../4m4 ...|4m4 ,,, |kharu-hpd... | jong-me.
a aben ... a oy ie
cc Abend... oh a re
fmderé.| ape ...| Ape ..,| bin-tau ... | phi.
. dpe’ .., a kharu-hpay- | jong-phi.
tau,
Ma dped ... kharu-hpay- | jong-phi.
tau.
ara, ndi| dy, dyo|han .., nya a. Us
oe aya 4s. ae kharu-nyung | jong-u.
a AA oss ... __ kharu-nyung | jong-u.
“or aking... is ca ae
be akingié. ss abs ia
isa Ako ..,'\ avko .., |myaetau 42) | ie
ne akoé ... Aa kharum-yin- | jong-ki.
tau.
oe ako’ ... a kharum-yin- | jong-ki.
tau.
ge | te a ne tway tee] ice lett.

 

 
'' 

236

DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ENGLISH. Munpart. SANTAL, Korwa.
Foot kata kata, jangd | katam
Nose muhuh mu mumu
Eye ... | med me #..|medmi  ...
Mouth _... | mocha mocha... | ahamu
Tooth data data .. | tiringmi ,
Ear lutur lutur luturmi
Hair ee up u bmi
Head Be. | DO" baha’ bohmi
Tongue alang ... | lang nl alangmi .,,
Belly 1av’ lav’ lajmi
Back doya dea dehimu
Tron merefid menthe loha (s.) ..
Gold sAmrom samanom... | sond (s.) ...
Silver rupa (s) ... | rupa (s.) ... | rupé (s.) ...
Father . | appu baba, Apu .. | Apu
Mother... | enga ayo, enga... | ingd -
Brother’... | hagé dad, baihé | dads
Sister misi dai, aji
Man horo har e-- | horku
Woman er kori ... | kuri koriku
Wife je | era era, maiju | erd a
Child ie) | Hon: rs gidira,hopon hopon
Son ... | Kora, babu | koré-gidiré | kor4 hopon.

Daughter ...

Slave
Cultivator...

Shepherd ...
God

Devil
Sun
Moon

Star
Fire
Water
House
Horse
Cow
Dog
Cat
Cock

Duck
Ags 2

kori ue
dasi
kisén (s.) ..

merom-cu-
pinig.

: Pi
singbonga

.. jeigkan bonga

singi
chandu

eee

ipil
sengel
da

s
ora eee

ees

sadom
urig, gai ..,
seta

pusi abe
sim

gere

 

+. | gadha (s.)...
|

kurf-gidira
euti
chas4, chasi

gupi

eee
singbongé

bonga
singchaéndo
chando

ipil
sengel ,,,
da’

73
ord

-

sadom
gai
seta
pusi
sim

gere
gadha (s.)...

 

 

kuri hopon,
era hopon.

dhangar ..
lasant (8.))...

rut
ber ae

bhut (s.) .
beru
bango

 

pilu ms

sengel
dau
ordo

ghoré (s.)...

edi a
kuttu
pusi
sim

gadh (s.) .«

 

 

KHaARRIA, JUANGA. Ho, Boas ee ae oe Kaast.
kata Hing ...| kate ... |gane ... | bteiin ka slajat.
mu muttai.../mudmuté) mu... ka khy mit.
mod emmor,.. | met met, med | mot ... | ka khy mat.
tamod tamoni | 4 mache, | khamoupan | ka shintur.

musan,
gone gone ,,, | dantd.., | tiding... | nget ka bainiat.
lutur lutur ... | lutur ,., | lutur ... | khato ka shkor.
ului ve. | Jounta... up katha, up} swet ... |ka shniuh,
boko boka 1 bo: | dui katau ka khleh.
lang elang ...| aldng ... ka thylhit.
laij itib lai lai oa
kundab kenapa | de4 bhawadi a
lw’ang oh (83) | ined loha (s.) | kasway u-nar.
sonaé sona (8.) | sAmrom | sunna... ka ksier.
rupa (s.) ... | rupa (s.) rupa .., |chandi(h.) a ka rupa (s.)
appa baba ... | Apu ba, abba | ma ukypa.
madam .,,. { boy-i ...| eng4 .., | aya, ma | ya kakyme.
dada --- | boka or | b4o, un- | dada... eae u para.
ka. dite.
kulamdai... | aji mist jijl $3 ka para.
lebu .. |juang.ma| ho, horo | koro ... | karu u briu.
nush (s.)
kamaholo
konsel ... |juangde | org Napa es oo ka briu, ka
kynthei.
konday eg es ass ka tyn-ga.
adhro(?.) ... | wariki(?.)) pon tadei . es u or ka khy
nnah.
beta (h.) ... oe ok hen | nou tes u kun,
a
beti (h.) ... | kandi... | kui-hon | konjai... oy ka kun.
kongher ,. a dasi mrau.
kisno hertanai - ae
(P).
meromegupa gupinig a a
singbonga... | bhagwén| singbon- - ee u blei.
(S))) fee.
bhut (s.) ... | bhuto (s.)} bonga... a u ksuid.
bero bela singi ... | gomoi... | tangway ... | ka sngi.
lerang ,.. | Jerang,,, | chandu | gumong,| khatu u bainai.
chando.
musing kujimda | ipil epal, idin} noung u khlur.
timsong ,., | laldi sengel,,. | singal,,, | ka-mol kading.
da dag Gey te occ) da, dhihk, =... (\kka ume
0 Gee laneya.., |-o8 ura hnyi ka jing.
ghord (s.) ... | ghora (s.)|'sAdom,.. | ghodgi | chway u kulai.
ortig orai uri gai (s.)...| karau ka massi.
solo’ . setag,sello seté ... \chita, seta kala - u kseu.
billi, pusi.., ; billi ... pusi, bilai, minnu... | pakway ka miaw.
sing koi ..,| sangot. | sim eee Sa u sim.
kononhésa | hans (s.) | gere Nae ase ka han.
gadha godo “

 

 

 

 

i ie dha...

 

 

 

gadda (s.)

 

 

 
''VACABULARY TO GROUP VII.

237

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ENGLISH. Munpart. Santa. Korwa, Kwarata. JUANGA. Ho. ea oe or Kuast.
Camel unt (ssc) ) unk Gy ee) unth (s.) ... ie ant 45 i ay ut (s.)
Bird w. | ore .. | chenre ,,, | titiju, ore...| konter .,,| kontere | oe _.., | titit kha-ten ,,, | ka sim.
Go ... | sen ... | Sen ... | duo seno ... | daiseno .,,| onde ...|seno ,., ia aara ... | leit, khie,
‘Come we | hiju oa we taabe 6.0 Pal ». | dende... | huju, i kalonra ... | Wan.
setre
Eat »-+ | Jom ye. | Jom +.» | Jome ... | lofige Lee i jome ... Ree tsi ve» | bam,
Beat ru seo dae ... | nagada gille bed aes ru ie ee dat.
Sit du’b i curap) ec durup dokona .,,|dokona | du’b ae khagyo ,.. | shong.
Stand tingu ,..|tingu ,.. | chanran _,., | berona eae tingun... tae ee kha- | ieng.
au.
Die ee BON wu | BUG oe | Bae goig ses, | POTD ec ONE: ate A a tes
Give Aye raal s.. | em emja tergore Anadi ... | eme he ka oes | Ale
Run nir .. | mir nirjam .,,, | dhaen dadobore | nir a garitaa .., | phet.
Up chetan ... | chetan ubh ... | tubhlung,,, | uling4... | sermare ie atota ... | ba-nong, ha-
jerong.
Down . | latar ... | latar a a tuta ». | loka subare... S kha-ta-ta .,, | sha-ram, ha-
ram.
Near ». | ndrej vec thenre tJ¢\ bat vex | AROPDL wi a naite ... | merd tsouk w. | DA-jan.
ya
Far +. | Sanging ... | sdnging ... | sanin ses | Gis& fo lama singing | atér .., | DU-Ma-way jing-ngai.
Before ‘ayar —,., | sdmang, ma-| arang sengnd ,,,| onaku? | ’ayarte “a nee shiwa,
nang.
Behind doy ...| t&yom .,.| hortoma ..,/lorho _ ... | kinomit4?| danangre i ven diin.
Who okoi »+ | koe ee eas .., | ata lebu ... a okoi_ ... | tune, eiye/nyay-gau-rau csc y
i-ba.
What ...|chié — ... | chetko chilé —,,, | ikki w+ | ou. | chié ... | tune, yo | mu-gau-rau |ka-ei, kamno,
Why _.,, |chid-l4gin | chdh, ched4 | karalaj& ... | ind ,.. | mandu ? | chikan ... | mu-parau,,, | na ka ba lei.
mente.
And ‘ado +. | ‘ado’, &r ... | aord ve. | OO 1s was ‘ando ... oy young, | ruh, de.
But ... | batkama ...! menkhan... a ove batkamaé a aie hin-rei.
lf solids.) eeu lichen aay wee Sau a sad la da.
Yes he ve. |) hun hogs | han ... | ban i han ev las ie tot-kwai .., | ho oid.
No ka rece mela bang, erensena ... ombo a6 <a bano ,.. sie! ha-tsen .., | ab, wau, em.
Alas eh oes | ONG, OHO! siz Be hay “ ove hay! ... ik wee Was
A father ‘apith ace | apo i Apa a ie a a u kypa.
Two fathers | ‘appukin ... | ‘apukin ... " ubarapa ... pa apukin . Ae Ap ki ar kypa.
Fathers ‘appuko ...|‘apuko .., A jughay apa op apuko,.. A * ki kyp.
Of a father | ‘appud ‘apured ss. a APA ie Eda RU ee le, ii jong kypa.
Of fathers... appukod ... | ‘apukored... oe jughayapa- fe apukoa . i a jong ki kypa.
ind.
Toa father | ‘appuke ... ‘aputhe ... 2 Apate ae ApU as, Ma ie ia kyp4.
To fathers... | 4ppukoke... | Apukothe .« : jughdyépdte| .., | &puko se ia ki kypa.
From afather| appute ... | Apukhon ... a Apélo’ a apute... By es na da kypi.
From fathers| &ppukote ... | 4pukokhon ay jughay4pélo’| —,,, Apu kote a ‘i na da ki ky-
pa.
A daughter...| kori-hon ... | kuri gidird oo > VC Vinee, le ka kun.
Two daugh- | kori-hon kin |kurigidiraékin a ' kui hon ta kiar ka kun,
ters. o kin.
Daughters... kori-honko | kurigidiréko i. cs ena honiko oo oy kika kun.
Of adaughter| kori-hon ra |kurigidiréred Me ee a lai hon a ce jong ka kun.
Of daughters | korihonko& |kurigidirdko- vue [« father ” kui hon sis eee jong kika
rea. is declined. a kod, kun.
To a daughter} korihonke... i gidird- My 7 kui hon a a ia ka kun.
the’
To daughters | korihokoke knrigidiréko a J Lia) Veni bon iol) (0) io ia ki ka kun,
e’,
''238

DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ENGLISH. Muwnpart. SANTAL. Korwa. | Kuarria.| Juanaa. Ho. 5 a ee OF Kuasr.
From a daughter | korihonte kurigidirakhon. kuihonte na ka kun.
From daughters:| korihonkote .., | kurigidira ko- kuihon- - na ki ka kun.

khon. kote.
A good man ... | bugin horo bugi har bes lebu bugi ho... oe bha briw.
Two good men | bugin horokin | bugi harkin ... ubar bes bugihokin ar bha briw.
a lebu.
Good men bugin horoko,.. | bugi harko jughay bugi hoko a ki bha briw.
beslebu.
Of a good man | bugin horora...| bugi har rea... bugi hoa * jong bha briw
Of good men ... | bugin horokoa | bugi harkoed nS bugi ho- “ jong kibha
koa. briw. -
To a good man | bugin horoke... | bugi harthe’ ... bugi ho = ia bha briw.
To good men .. | bugin horokoke | bugi harkothe’ {bugi hoko ia ki bha briw.
From a goodman) bugin horote... bugi harkhon bugi hote ae na bha briw.
From good men | bugin horokote| bugi har ko- bugi ho- na ki bha
khon. kote. briw.
A good woman | bugin kori bugi kuri bes konsel bugi era bha ka briw.
Good women ... | bugin koriko... | bugi kuriko ... jughay bugieréko ‘kibhakabriw.
bes kon-
sel.
A bad boy eigkan kora ... | bari’ kora a ombaru Fe etké koa oe sniw kynna.
beta.
A bad girl eigkan kori ... | bari’ keri . ombaru etka kui “3 sniw ka kyn-
beti. na.
Good bugin bugi ee bes diaraw... | bugi ... | awal (p.)| kha ba bha.
Better batri bugin ... | uri bugi ba kham bha.
Best isu bugin uri utar bugi... Ps e tsi ba bha kham
tam.
High salangi usul tubhlung | jaling... ea bajerong.
Higher batri salangi... | uri usul ie ae kham jerong.
Highest isu salangi ... | uriutar usul... es a bajerong
khamtam.
A horse sandi sAdom .,. | Andid sAdom ... . ghoré ... sindi sa- u kulai.
, dom.
A mare .-- | engd sidom ... | engd sidom ... - ghori ... ae engd sa- m ka kulai.
: dom,
Horses sandi sAdomko | 4ndia sAdomko jughay i sAndi sa- “ ki kulai.
ghora. domko.
Mares engé sidomko | engd sidomko jughay «» | enga sa- i: ki ka kulai.
ghori. domko. |
A bull hada andia andia hams 7, i u massi.
oreig.
A cow (| cal ies hal ie A Ale oye ve gai ka massi.
Bulls hadako ... | andiako a eee iiss harako i ki massi.
Cows eaiko gdiko na oe ie gdiko ... ki ka massi.
A dog kota, seta seta Bole; a seta a u kseu.
A bitch koti bal Open gets... koti solo’ ia engé seta a ka kseu.
Dogs ... | kotaéko ... | setako ie fs setiko ki kseu.
Bitches kotiko ... | enga setako .. ae A engd seta- Pos oc ki ka kseu.
ko.
A he-goat sindi merom:. | 4ndia merom,.. e bota merom... | bod&me- | bongara, | khapa.., | u blang.
merom. rom. sirl.
A she-goat engaé merom .::'| eng& merom ,.. pathia ee eng me- ka blang.
merom. rom.
Goats meromko ... | meromko fe jughd4y | merom...| meromko ki blang.
merom | :
A male deer ... | sandijilu andia jel ee andia ie sandi jilu wee qa
khajar.

 

 

 
''VOCABULARY TO GROUP VII.

239

 

 

 

ENGLISH. Munparkt. SANTAL, Korwa. KHARRIA. JUANGA, Ho.
Atemale deer... |engdjilu .../engajel ... ..  |méikha-| .. |engé jilu
jar.
Deer ee s | jel ese es khajar... harin (8.)| jila =...
Tam ... |ing menangy4n | menangyan ... S, aN ayasime |ing mena
Thou art ...| 4m mendmedn |menama ,., i ue e Am mena
He is ,.. | ini’ mendja menaia nae os e (ayo mend
We are ... | Ale mendled .., | mendled we o a ...  jabumend
You are ...| ape mendped...| mendped s aa ... [Ape mend

They are al
I was

Thou wast >...
He was bee
We were
You were ae

They were...

Be ha
To be ree
Being Bee

Having been ...
I may be Ss
Pshall ber <3,

I should be ..

Beat ee
To beat sag
Beating fy

Having beate
I beat wae

Thou beatest...
He beats es

We beat ae
You beat a

They beat...

I am beating ...
I was beating...

I had beaten ...

I may beat

I shall beat...
I should beat...

 

inku mendkoa
. ee 2 -
ing taikina ...

am taikina

ini’taikinay ...
‘ale taikinale...
‘ape taikindpe
inku taikinéko

hobéome
Woba(s)) 3).
hobatan ee
hobdalenete,
hobéjanete.
ing hoba dha

riotea.

eee

ing hobawa ...

hobawaing

honang.
ruime Se
wy oor
rutan

rulijate, ruki-
jate.
ing ruid

‘ ae
am rula

sala 7
inl rula

bee
‘ale ruia me
6 Led
ape ruia ae

inkurwa ,..

ing ruiajaing...

ing ruiajétai-
kinding.

ing rukijaing...

ing rudh4ridited| °

ing ruiding

Ge ,
ruiaing honang

 

,
menakoa San

taheit kaénding
tahefi kanam...
tahefi kanay...
tahefi kindle...
tahefi kanape

tahefi kaéniko

tahenme ae
tahente, aes
tahenkate ...
tahenente ...

tahen choing ..
tahen ding ...
tahenko’ ding

daleng me ...
dalte a

délkate ee

dalkete hee

(?)

délim (P) ..
dalay (?)

dalaing

daléle (P) — ...
dalape (Py...

dalako (P) .

dalkateding .,

 

 

 

 

Ako mena
ing tain
keda.
am tain
keda.
ay tain
keda.
abu tain
keda.
ape tain
keda.
Ako tain
keda.
tainme...
tainted...
tainiente
tainkedte

ing hob&
dhaiotea.
ing hoba-
wa.
hobawé
inghon-
aug.
ruime,,,
ruted’ ...
TUtan: ..4
rukedte

ing ruid
or rutana
£ 2
any rutanda
ayo ru-
tana.
Ale rutand
Ape ru-
tand

-,
Ako.ru-
tana.

. ,
ing rutana

ing ruike-
da.

ing rui-
dhaia.

ing ruia

ing rnia
honang.

 

 

 

 

 

Kurror | TALAIN oR
Marker Mon. KwAsr.

eee eee geo
Cee eee ear

7 oa eee
‘
ve ae <n
we aK vee
a ae don,
zo Oe eee

; oe vee
ooo eee eee
ep ose eee

vee
oe nee eee
La ese eee
eee eee
oe

sek ee ue
2. aoe eee

‘ ia a
eee Aan ee
eee eee

 

 

 

 
''240

DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL.

 

 

 

ENGLISH. Munpart. Santan,
Jam beaten .,./ing ruing Jo- |q4) hoyw’ kan
meada. tingy4ih

I was beaten ...

I shall be beaten
I go

Thou goest

He goes ae
I went

Thou wentest...
He went Boe

Go Ms

Going

Gone -

What is your
name P

How old is this
horse ?

Howfar is it from
here to Ranchi?

How many sons
are there in
your father’s
house P

Thave walked a
long way to-
day.

The son of my
uncle is marri-

_ed to her sister.

In the house is
the saddle of
the white horse.

Put the saddle
upon his back.

I have beaten
his son with
many stripes.

He is grazing
cattle on the
top of the hill.

He is sitting on
a horse under
that tree.

His brother is
taller than his
sister.

The price of that
is two rupees
and a half.

 

ing ruing jom-
eda.
ing ruing jomea

ing senod
4m senoad
ini’ senoa
ing senoend ...

am senoend ...
ini’ senoend...

senome ae

senotan

senlendte

4maé chikan
nutum P

ne sidom chi-

min sermaé
hobakana.

netayte Ranchi
chimnany
sdnginyan P
ami  Appum
orare chimin
horo korahon-
ko mend ko&P
ing tising isu
sangingaing
senkeda.
7 se s
kakaingyan P
hon inija misi

te ke doakajay

orére  pundi
sadomra jin
mena,
inijé doydre
jin ladime.

ing inij& hon
teke khub
chabukteing
hanrsa kija.

ini buru chetan
re urljay gupi
tana.

end4ru subare
ini’sadom che
tan re du’ba-
kanay.

ini'ja hagé ini’ja
misi te te sa-
langid.

enara gonong
bar taka adi
mena.

 

 

dalhoi enting
yan.

dal hoyw’
tingyan.

 

 

Korwa.

 

Kuarria,

4m4 iimi? ,..

{ ghora kitte
umer aij P

utitay Ranchi
kitte disa P

ama Aponma o’
te kittego-
thang beta
kiding P

ing Jughay dis,
cho'lsi’ king.

kakaingyafi be-
ta hokora ku-
lamdayé_be-
tidom )bihai
oki.

o'te osel ghora
& jin aij.

hokord kandab-
te jin 1a’de-
gore.
hokor4 bette
ing khub cha-
buk lo’ gile.

hoje oreig biru-
tobhlung gupa
na 1A si.

ho daru tutaé te
hoje ghora
tobhlung te
dokosi.

hokoré kulam
dai lo’ hokora

bhai jelhomaij.

hokora gining
ubar ruped
ath ana.

 

 

JUANGA.

Ho.

Kurt or
Muasi.

TALAIN OR
ON,

Kast.

 

 

ain onde

ree

ing senod
am senod
ayo senoa
ing sen-
keda.

4m. sen-

keda,

Ayo sen-
keda.
senome
senotan
senokedte
4ma chik-
an numu?
ne sadom
chimin
sermay
hobiena.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
''VOCABULARY TO GROUP VII.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

241
EN@uisn. Munpakt. SaNTAL. Korwa. Kuarrra, Juanaa, Ho, eek vo Krast.
My father lives | ingy4n 4ppuing ingyah Apding
in that small} en huding ora o’ konon o’te
house. re taintanay. aij.
Give this rupee | ned tak ini‘ke { rupead hokarte He
to him. emai me. tergore.
Takethoserupees| ini’tayte en hokora tai jhari
from him. soben taka rupea ole.
auime.
Beat him well | ini’ke  besleka hokar te bes bo
and bind him; rukid pagate gile edo keke-
with ropes. inike toli me. te tolgore.
Draw water from} kudnte da’ kuéfi tay da’ i
the well. odonge me, bibe ro ole.
Walk before me.| ingyén ayarte
senome.
Whose boy comes} ama tayomte 4 ma kundabte fe
behind you? | okoyé  kora ber beta delta.
hijutanay P ...
From whom did | okoy ta’ te 4m berA t&y hoje wae 4
youbuythat?} endkem kring songob.
14 P
From a shop- | haturem miur po’dé dokandar ve
keeper of the | dokandar tay tay songoii.
village. te.
Separate list of Vocables of the Judng language.
ENGLISH. JUANGA. ENGLISH. JUANGA,
NuMERALS. MisceLLanrous Worps.
One moifi. | Wife ‘o kutomo,
Two ambar. | Son sas landa.
Three igota. Daughter ... kunchelan.
Four ganda mi. Cultivator ... .» | tasi.
Five se panchugota. | God and sun és eTO:
Six ... | choogota. | Devil eae w+ | bhuto.
Seven satgota. Moon tee lerang.
Eight atgota, Star aes kujimda.
Nine ..- | naugota. Water hen dah.
Ten ne dasgota. House eae ... | jahngnié.
Twenty oor vee | Sur, Horse ae ghora.
Hare ne,
Pronouns. Cow orai.
Dog ae san LOLO,
I aing. Cat ie ... | bilai.
Of me, mine aingiah. Cock on senkoi.
We me +» | aing loko. Hen is ... | Senkoi.
Thou, those... ove | OTU, OM, Duck i ... | honso.
You, of you, Mo .-» | apare. Ass a .. | godo,
He, of him, his «+ | al, arah Camel 7 ie
They, of them, their... | ereki. Bird a .. | konter,

 

 

 

3 M
'' 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

242 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL.
ENGLISH. JUANGA. Eva@uisq. JUANGA.

Hand as iti. Fish wee ... | Karom.
Foot ijing. Go, ». dai, domong domrai.
Nose ... | muthe. Wome, a... 0a.
Eye Be emor, emet. Bring, v. oro.
Mouth tomor. Die, v. goje.
Tooth »». | gone. Eat, v. Go (cau
Ear oe wee | Latur. Beat, v. nubujiko.
Hair see junta. Give, v. diana.
Head “ae boka. Dance, v.  ... eee | nikijiko.
Tongue ce . | elang. Sit, w. dakno.
Belly See | able Plough, %. \... eee i|ele:
Back kinop. Stand. 40. tongua.
Tron loa. Run, v. ... | dhour.
Gold a suna. Up sek ... | alingta.
Silver ++ | SUPA. Down tariloka.
Father ba. Before sengna.
Mother ee boin. Near ee dena.
Brother ka. Far a lanka.
Elder sister ... ajini. Behind) (ie. ... | kinom.
Younger sister «se | Dukai. Who oe es | apre.
Young woman selan kongher. What biri.
Man eee ... | MUNOSO. Why kotha-biri.
Young man... parla munoso. Yes Ns hoi.
Old man komdor munoso, No aes haklah.
To-day ekono-mising. Alas ere-biri.
To-morrow ... tera. Thigh bulu.
Day-after-to-morrow __,,, | miang. Skull antu.
Fourth day ... ..» | moreng. Leg bay ... | emojing.
Yesterday wet ... | tera domong. Black kaliah.
Good dio. White handra.
Bad kanah, bagi. Red sundru.
Goat. ... | Merom. Shoulder taran.
Deer J... | silip. Arm, Forearm bati.
Sambur seram. Elbow antukoro.
Forehead ws. | emong, Fingers anguti.
Cheek ie .. | galo Toes konoujing.
Chin ‘ ... | putom, Cloth kotoe.
Moustache .., ie Tall jaling.
Beard niso. Short huari.
Whiskers ... f Bow kakah.
Quick begi. Arrows kakom.
Slow ... | batin. Ouiver oi: ... | katkom.,
Till ... | sumosing. Axe harsiah.
Firewood .., songon, Sword turuli.
Paddy 2 bua. | Matchlock ... nori.

ee bial wed i Salt ... | bulting.

© plura/ 1s denoted by adding loko to the word a8-— Igex is shown by adding andeah and petah respectively—

Brother... aie Male Goat... andeah merom. :
Brothers ... | ka loko. She Goat ..| petah merom.

 

 

 

 

 
''GROUP V Eri.

DRAVID E A

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

The Dravidian element enters more largely into the composition of the population
of Bengal than is generally supposed. I believe that a large majority of the tribes
described in the foregoing pages as Hinduised aborigines, might with propriety have
been included in this group. The.people called Bhitiyas diffused through most of the
Bengal districts and massed in the jungle and tributary estates of Chutié Nagpur and
Orissa, certainly belong to it, and if I am right in my conjecture regarding the Kocch
nation, they are of the same stock. I roughly estimate the Bhtiyas at two and a half
millions, and the Kocch at a million and a half, so that we have in these two peoples
about one-tenth of the Bengal population, who in all probability should be classed as
Dravidian.

But my design in the present division of the subject is to treat only of tribes wha
have preserved the rudiments of an original language having more or less connection with
the Tamil or Dravidian tongues. They comprise four great divisions of the aborigines,
numbering in all about one million and one hundred thousand souls, as follows :—

Ordons of Chitié Nagpur and other places see a ius ss + 600,000
Rajmahaél Hillmen Be wa zy “a as ..« 400,000
Gonds in Bengal ne a a 2 Aa ue 80,000
Kandhs in Bengal ap ose tees E DOLG00)

The bulk of the Gond population is in the Central Provinces, where they have been
numbered at a million and a half. The Ordons and Raéjmahalis are for the most part
located in Bengal, but the form of speech which they have both retained, connects
them closely with the Tamil and Telugu-speaking people. The languages of the more
civilized of the southern nations have been largely enriched by drafts from the Sanskrit
source, but the rudiments of the primitive speech have been singularly preserved
notwithstanding the submission of the upper and civilized classes to Brahmanical
institutions and their adoption of the Hindu religion. Dr. Muir observes of the
Brahmans that ‘ though by their superior civilization and energy they placed themselves
at the head.of the Dravidian communities, they must have been so inferior in numbers
to the Dravidian inhabitants as to render it impracticable to dislodge the primitive speech
of the country and to replace it by their own language. They would, therefore, be com-
pelled to acquire the Dravidian dialect.” Thus, though breaking up into different
nations, there is a marked uniformity between the Tamil, Telugu, Canarese, and Malayalim
''924A, DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grovr VIII.

languages and sufficient accord between them and the dialects of the Gonds and other hill
tribes to substantiate their affinity. The Kandhs are of Madras rather than of Bengal,
and they too extend into dependencies of the Central Provinces. The vocabularies
appended to this chapter show less resemblance between the Dravidian languages and the
Kandh and Savara, of which specimens are given; but in respect to the last-mentioned
tribes, the information I possess is very inadequate for the purposes of comparison. I do
not venture to enter on any disquisition regarding the origin of the Dravidian people, but
quote the following passage from the appendix to the second volume of Dr. Muir’s
Sanskrit Texts,* as comprising the theories or surmises on the subject now commonly *
received.

“ Regarding the question whether the non-Aryan tribes of the north and south
are themselves of the same stock, Dr. Caldwell remarks that the Dravidians may
be confidently regarded as the earliest inhabitants of India; or at least the earliest
that extend from the north-west, but it is not so easy to determine whether they are
the people whom the Aryans found in possession or whether they had already been
expelled from the north by the irruption of another Scythian nation.” Without deciding
this point positively, Dr. Caldwell is led by the apparent differences between the
Dravidian languages and the aboriginal element in the northern vernaculars to incline
to the supposition that the Dravidian idiom must belong to an older stage of Scythian
speech; and if this view be correct, it seems to follow that the ancestors of the
Scythian or non-Aryan portion of the North Indian population must have immigrated
into India at a later period than the Dravidians; and must have expelled the Dravidians
from the greater portion of Northern India before they were themselves subjugated by
a new race of Aryan invaders from the north-west. In any case Dr. Caldwell is
persuaded that it was not by the Aryans that the Dravidians were expelled from
Northern India, and that as no reference occurs either in Sanskrit or Dravidian to
any hostilities between these two races, their primitive relations could never have been
otherwise than amicable. The pre-Aryan Scythians by whom Dr. Caldwell supposes
that the Dravidians may have been expelled from the northern provinces are not, he
considers, to be confounded with the Kolas, Santals, Bhils,t Doms, and other original
tribes of the north, who, he supposes, may have retired into the forests before the
Dravidians, or like the Bhutdén tribes have entered into India from the north-east.
The language of the forest tribes Dr. Caldwell conceives to exhibit no affinity with
the aboriginal element in the North Indian vernaculars. We have, therefore, according
to the views thus summarily expounded, four separate strata, so to speak, of Indian
population :—

‘ First and earliest, the forest tribes such as the Kolas, Santals, Bhils, &c., who
may have entered India from the north-east.

Second—The Dravidians, who entered India from the north-west and either advanced
voluntarily towards their ultimate seats in the south of the peninsula, or were driven by
the pressure of subsequent hordes following them in the same direction.

 

* Dr. Muir’s Sanskrit Texts, Volume IT, pp. 485 to 487.
+1 do not think that in the above extract the Bhils are correctly associated with the Kolas and Santals. From such frag-
ments of their language as I have seen, I incline to the opinion that they are Dravidian, not Kolarian ; but it is difficult to

determine as they ayyarently retain very few words of their primitive speech.
''Section 1.] THE ORAONS. 245

Third—We have the race (alluded to at the end of the preceding head No. 2) of
Scythian or non-Aryan immigrants from the north-west, whose language afterwards
united with the Sanskrit to form the Prakrit dialect of Northern India.

Fourth—The Aryan invaders.’

SEcTION 1.—THE ORAONS.

The Khurikh or Oraons of Chutia Nagpur are the people best known in many parts
of India as ‘ Dhangars,’ a word that from its apparent derivation
(dang or dhang, a hill) may mean any hillmen, but amongst
several tribes of the southern Tributary Mahdls, the terms Dhdngar and Dhdngarin
mean the youth of the two sexes both in highland and lowland villages, and it cannot
be considered as the national designation of any particular tribe. The Ordons are
found massed in the northern and western parts of Chitidé Ndgptr proper, in the
eastern parts of Sirgija and Jashptir, and scattered in Singbhim, Gangptr, Bonai, and
Hazaribagh, all in the Chitid Nagpir province, and in Sambalptr of the Central
Provinces; but all the scattered colonies are offshoots from the nucleus of the race in the
districts first mentioned.

The Ordons in the Lohardagga District, which includes the whole of Chiitié Nagptr
proper, number 362,480, in Sirgtija about 20,000, Jashpir 25,000,
and diffused through the other districts mentioned above, em-
ployed in the tea districts, in the Mauritius, Demarara, and other places, there are as
many more as would, I think, make up a total of 600,000.

According to the traditions I have received from the most venerable and learned of
my Ordon acquaintances, the tribe has gradually migrated from
the western coast of India. Some of the elders point to Gujrat
as the starting point, by others the Konkan is given as the eradle of the race (the latter
derivation is adopted by the Rev. William Luther of the Chitié Ndégptir Mission, who has
kindly favored me with an account of the tribe written by himself), and thence, it is
supposed, is derived the name Khurfikh, by which they invariably call themselves.
Ordon appears to have been assigned to them as a nickname, possibly with reference to
their many migrations and proneness to roam. The people of the Konkan are called
Kaunkanas in the topographical list from the Mahabharata in the Vishnu Purdn, but
the affection of the Ordons for gutturals is marvellous,

The Ordons all agree in this, that they were for many generations settled on the
Xohtas and adjoining hills and in the Patna District, and they say that they were driven
from that part of the country by the Muhammadans, but as they declare they were
in Chutid Nagptr before the birth of Phani Mukuta Rai, the first N dgbangsi Raja,
and the present Raja of that illustrious race claims to be the 52nd in descent from Phani
Mukuta, they must have been under the sway of the Nagbangsis before Muhammad
was born.

The Ordons have a tradition that when driven from Rohtas, they divided into two
parties. One under the chief went north towards the Ganges and eventually occupied
the Réjmahal hills, the other under the chief’s younger brother went south-east. This
tradition of a separation is borne out by the evident affinity in language, and similarity

3 N

Geographical distribution.

Numerical strength.

Migrations.
''946 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grove VIII.

in customs of the Ordons and Raéjmahalis, and, though the latter do not acknowledge
the relationship, their common origin may be considered as established; and as the
Réjmahalis are Malas or Malavas, it may be assumed that the Ordons are Malavas too.

Leaving Rohtas they proceeded up the Son into Palémau, and pursuing their
course eastward along the Koel found themselves eventually on the highlands of Chititié
Nagpur.

They emerged on the north-western and western portions of the plateau, where they
found but a few scattered colonies of the Munda race, and, according to the tradition
which I have received, were permitted to settle without opposition from that people.
The Rev. William Luther records that they attacked and dislodged the Mindas who
retreated into the hills bordering on Singbhim, but it is difficult to believe that the
Ordons ever vanquished the progenitors of the Larka Kols, and after minute enquiries
I do not find any such tradition in the part of the country alluded to. There are still
a few Mundas in the specially Ordon quarter of Chitié Nagpur, who are acknowledged
and looked up to as the descendants of the founders of the villages in which they live.
This is hardly compatible with the supposition that they were subjugated and driven
out by the new arrivals. The Ordons, indeed, maintain that they were then a more
advanced people than the Mundas, and that they introduced cultivation by ploughs
into Chutié Nagptr. This may be true, for the Mundas are still partial to the dahé6
or Jhim system of tillage so prevalent among the Indo-Chinese families.

The country thus colonized is the most gently undulating portion of the Chitia

Coir iad Cates atthe Nagpur plateau, lying between the sources of the Koel, the
district. Damiudar, and the Subarnarekha, and comprising the well culti-
vated tract more than forty miles in breadth between the towns of Lohardagga and
Ranchi. In these days it presents to view vast areas of terraced. rice-fields, divided
by swelling uplands, some well wooded with groves of mango, tamarind, and other
useful and ornamental trees, some bearing remnants of the ancient forests preserved
from the days when the axe was first heard in them, as a refuge for the startled
Sylvan. sprites. Still more remarkable as landmarks are the protuberant rocks which
on all sides meet the eyes, either in great fragments of granite and gneiss fantastically
piled up so as to appear in the distance like heaps of ruins hundreds of feet in height,
or majestically rising to the same altitude in huge semiglobular masses, like domes
of sunken temples. In many places acres of rock just show above ground, as if the
crust of the earth had been there stripped bare, and such spots the Ordons especially
affect as sites for villages: the flat or gently undulating rock affording them threshing
floors, that only require to be swept, hard surfaces on which to spread out their grain
and cowdung fuel to dry, holes which they can use as mortars for the pounding of their
rice, and very convenient dancing places. ~

Besides these features the landscape is generally bounded on one or more sides
by ranges of hills rising to fourteen hundred feet above the average altitude of the
plateau, or three thousand four hundred feet above the level of the sea.

The domiciles of the humble men who claim to be the original lords of the soil
assort but ill with such grandeur of scenery. The Ordons are
wanting in the organ of constructiveness, and their huts, badly
built, and incapable of affording decent accommodation to a family, are huddled together

Houses.
''Srctron 1. ] THE ORAONS. 247

in a manner little conducive to convenience, health, or decorum. Groups of houses are
built in rows of three or four facing each other, and forming a small enclosed. court:
seldom properly drained or cleaned. In these huts the human beings and cattle have
common tenancy. ‘The pigs alone have buildings appropriated to their own use.

The walls of the huts are of mud, but, when constructed of the red laterite soil
of which the uplands are generally composed, they are as durable as if built of brick
and mortar, though but a foot in breadth; there is no limit to the permanency of such
walls when protected by roofs; and, even when exposed, all that is necessary to render
them durable is to prevent the direct action of the rains by some slight covering of leaves
or straw by way of coping. The worst of this method of building is that holes are
dug to supply the material, which are ever afterward receptacles of filth and hot-beds of
fever.

Very few villages are now found tenanted only by Ordons. The majority have been
assigned to middlemen, whose more pretentious tiled dwellings with their upper stories
look down patronisingly or contemptuously on the low thatched gable-ended huts of the
aborigines, and it may be surely predicated that the grander the manor house the poorer
and more squalid are the huts that surround it.

The constitution of an Ordon village is the same as that of the Mindari. In each
the hereditary Munda, or headman, and the hereditary Péhn have
their lands on privileged terms as the descendants of the founders
of the village. ‘The hereditary estates of the two families are called ‘ Khtints;’ there is
sometimes a third Khint called ‘the Maéhato,’ on all of which a very low rent is fixed,
but there are also conditions of service attached. These may now be commuted to cash
payments at the instance of either party.

There is also in charge of the Pahn the land dedicated to the service of the village
gods. The priestly office does not always go from father to son.
The latter may be ignorant and disqualified, he may be a Chris-
tian, therefore when vacated it is filled by divination. The magic ‘stp,’ or winnowing
sieve, properly spelled like a divining rod, conducts the person holding it to the door of
the man most fitted to hold the office. A priest there must be; an Ordon community
cannot get on without one. The fate of the village is in his hands; in their own
phraseology it is said that ‘he makes its affairs.’ He is also master of the revels which
are for the most part connected with religious rites. The doctrine of the Ordons is, that
man best pleases the gods when he makes merry himself, so that acts of worship and
propitiatory sacrifices are always associated with feasting, drinking, dancing, and love-

Tenures.

Priests.

making.

The Minda or Méhato is the functionary to whom the proprietor of the village looks
for its secular administration. In contradistinction to the Paéhn who makes (‘ banataé’) the
affairs, the Mdhato administers (‘ chaldté’) them, and he may be removed if he fail to give
satisfaction.

In all the older Ordon villages, when there is any conservation of ancient customs,
there is a house called the Dhimktiria, in which all the bache-
lors in the village must, when not absent from it, sleep under
penalty of a fine. Precisely similar institutions are met with amongst the Hill Bhiiyas
of Keonjhur and Bonai, and, from the notes left by the late Rev. 8, Hislop, I find, they

The Bachelor hall.
''IAS DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grove VIII.

Zs

are common to other Dravidian tribes. I have already observed that the domiciles of the
Ordons have insufficient accommodation for a family, so that separate quarters for the
young men are a necessity. The same remark applies to the young unmarried women,
and it is a fact that they do not sleep in the house with their parents.. Where they do
sleep is somewhat of a mystery. They are generally frank enough when questioned
about their habits, but on this subject there is always a certain amount of reticence, and
T have seen girls quietly withdraw when it was mooted. I am told that in some villages
a separate building is provided for them like the Dhtmkiuria, in which they consort
under the guardianship of an elderly duenna, but I believe the more common practice is
to distribute them amongst the houses of the widows, and this is what the girls them-
selves assert if they answer at all when the question is asked; but however billeted, it is
well known that they often find their way to/the bachelor’s hall, and in some villages
actually sleep there. I not long ago saw a Dhimkiria in a Sirgija village in which the
boys and girls all slept every night. They themselves admitted the fact, the elders of
the village confirmed it, and appeared to think that there was no impropriety in the
arrangement. That it leads to promiscuous intercourse is most indignantly denied, and
it may be there is safety in the multitude; but it must sadly blunt all innate feelings of
delicacy. Yet the young Ordon girls are modest in demeanour, their manner gentle,
language entirely free from obscenity, and whilst hardly ever failing to present their
husbands with a pledge of love in due course after marriage, instances of illegitimate
births are rare, though they often remain unmarried for some years after reaching matu-
rity. Long and strong attachments between young couples are common. Dhtmktria
lads are no doubt great flirts, but each has a special favorite amongst the young girls of
his acquaintance, and the girls well know to whose touch or pressure in the dance each
maiden’s heart is especially responsive. Liaisons between boys and girls of the same
village seldom end in marriage. It is considered more respectable to bring home a bride
from a distance,* but it does not follow from this that there is no preliminary love-
making. Maidens of one village go frequently on visits to their friends in another and
stay several days, and sisters can always arrange to have for visitors the girls whom their
brothers are best pleased to see. It is singular that in matters of the affections, the
feelings of these semisavages should be more in unison with the sentiments and customs
of the highly organised western nations than with the methodical and unromantic heart
schooling of their Aryan fellow countrymen.

The Dhimkiria fraternity are under the severest penalties bound down to secrecy in
regard to all that takes place in their dormitory; and even girls are punished if they
dare to tell tales. They are not allowed to join in the dances till the offence is condoned.
They have a regular system of fagging in this curious institution. The small boys serve
those of larger growth, shampoo their limbs, and comb their hair, &c., aud they are
sometimes subjected to severe discipline to make men of them.

Immediately in front of the Dhtimktria is the dancing arena, called ‘Akhra,’ an
open circus about forty feet in diameter with a stone or a post

The Akhra. a :
ae ve marking its centre. It is surrounded by seats for tired dancers

 

* It is singular how universal this feeling is. Even amongst ourselves there is always a fiction that the bridegroom comes
from afar for his bride, it would be indecorous for him to appear in church as if he came from the same quarter, and he bears
her away to some distant land after her marriage.
''Srcrion 1. ] THE ORAONS. 249

or non-dancing spectators, and shaded by fine old tamarind trees that give a picturesque
effect to the animated scene, and afford in their gigantic stems convenient screens
for moonlight or starlight flirtations. During the festive seasons of the year, dancing
at the Akhra commences shortly after dark every night, and, if the supply of the home
brew holds out, is often kept up till sunrise. Very rakish do the dancers appear in
the early morning after a night so spent. On some occasions the circus is laid down
with red earth which pulverises under the many twinkling feet and rises in a lurid
cloud about the dancers, till the garments, the dusky skins, and the black hair of the
performers become all of brick-dust hue; ordinarily on the party breaking up at dawn,
they proceed from the Akhra to their usual avocations and work as cheerfully and vigour-
ously as if their night had been passed in sound sleep. This says much for the whole-
someness of the beverage that supplies them with the staying power.

The Ordon youths, though with features very far from being in accordance with the
statutes of beauty, are of a singularly pleasing class, their faces
beaming with animation and good humour. Their costume is
peculiar, and shows off to great advantage their supple, pliant, light figures, which are
often models of symmetry. They are a small. race averaging 245%, but there is perfect
proportion in all parts of their form, they have not the squat appearance or muscular
development of the short Himdlayan tribes; but though lightly framed like the
Hindu, they are better limbed. There is about the young Ordon a jaunty air and
mirthful expression that distinguishes him from the Ménda or Ho, who has more of
the dignified gravity that is said to characterise the North American. Indian. The Ordon
is particular about his personal appearance only so long as he is unmarried, but he is in
no hurry to withdraw from the Dhimkitria community, and generally his first youth is
passed before he resigns his decorative propensities.

He wears his hair long, gathered in a knot behind, supporting, when he is in gala
costume, a red or white turban. In the knot are wooden combs
and other implements useful and ornamental with numerous
ornaments of brass and looking glass. At the very extremity of the roll of hair gleams
a small circular mirror set in brass, from which and also from his ears, bright brass
chains with spiky pendants dangle, and as he moves with the springy elastic step of
youth and tosses his head like a high mettled steed in the buoyancy of his animal
spirits, he sets all his glittering ornaments in motion and displays as he laughs a row
of teeth, sound, white, and regular, that give light and animation to his dusky features.

His middle garment consists of a long narrow strip of cloth carefully adjusted, but
in such a manner as to leave him most perfect freedom of limb,
and allow the full play of the muscles of the thigh and hip to
be seen. He wears nothing in the form of a coat; his decorated neck and chest are
undraped, displaying how the latter tapers to the waist, which the young dandies
compress within the smallest compass. In addition to the cloth, there is always round
the waist a girdle of cords made of tusser-silk, or of cane. This is now a superfluity,
but it is no doubt the remnant of a more primitive costume, perhaps the support of
the antique fig leaves.

Out of the age of ornamentation nothing can be more untidy or unprepossessing
than the appearance of the Ordon. The ornaments are nearly all discarded, hair utterly

3 0

Physical traits.

Coiffure of the men.

Dress of the men.
''950 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grovr VIII.

negleeted, and for raiment any rags are used. ‘This applies both to males and females
of middle age.

The ordinary dress of the women depends somewhat on the degree of civilization
of the part of the country in which you make your observations.
In the villages about Lohardagga, a cloth from the waist toa
little below the knee is the common working dress; but where there is more association
with other races, the persons of young females are decently clad in the coarse cotton
cloth of the country, white with red border. Made up garments are not worn except
by the converts to Christianity. The one cloth six yards long is gracefully adjusted
so as to form a shawl and a petticoat. The Ordons do not, as a rule, bring the upper
end of the garment over the head and so give it the functions also of a veil, as it is worn
by the Bengali women; they simply throw the end of the dress over the left shoulder,
and it falls with its fringe and ornamented border prettily over the back of the figure.
Vast quantities of red beads and a large heavy brass ornament shaped like a torque are
worn round the neck. On the left hand are rings of copper, as many as can be indued
on each finger up to the first joint, on the right hand a smaller quantity; rings on the
second toe only, of brass or bell metal, and anklets and bracelets of the same material are
also worn.

The hair is, as a rule, coarse and rather inclined to be frizzy, but by dint of lubrication
they can make it tolerably smooth and amenable, and false hair
or some other substance is used to give size to the mass (the
chignon) into which it is gathered, not immediately behind, but more or less on one
side, so that it lies on the neck just behind, and touching, the right ear, and flowers are
arranged in a receptacle made for them between the roll of hair and the head. The ears
are, as usual with such people, terribly mutilated for decorative purposes ; spikes and
rings are inserted into holes made in the upper cartilage, and the lobe is widely distended.
When in dancing costume on grand occasions they add to their head-dress plumes
of heron feathers, and a gay bordered scarf is tightly bound round the upper part
of the body.

Although the Ordons, when young, both male and female, have countenances whieh
are pleasant to look upon from their good humoured and guileless expression, they must,
on the whole, be regarded as a dark complexioned and by no means well favored race.
When we see numbers of them massed together as in a market,
the features that we find to predominate are excess of jaws and
mouth, thick lips pushed out by the projection of the jaws and teeth, a defect which
age increases, the teeth becoming more and more porrect till they appear to radiate
outwards from the upper jaw. The forehead is low and narrow, but not, as a rule,
receding, and the eyes have nothing very peculiar about them, often bright and full
with long lashes and straight set, sometimes small and dim but not oblique. These
upper features give them a human and intelligent expression notwithstanding the
Simian characteristics of the lower. There is the indentation usualin the Turanian
races between the frontal and nasal bones, but the latter are more pronounced
than we find them in the Lohitic tribes. The color of the majority is of the darkest
brown, almost black, but the observer may not only pick out individuals in the
crowd who are of ecmplexion as light as the average Hindu, but may find villages in

Dress of the women.

Coiffure of the women.

Features.
''Srctron 1.] THE ORAONS. 251

which all the Ordon inhabitants are light brown to tawny. The fact is, they have to
a surprising degree the faculty of assimilating their own color and features to those of
the people amongst whom they dwell, and it may be generally remarked that when there
are good looking Aryans in the same village with Ordons, the complexions of the latter
become brighter, and the features more in accordance with a classical standard of beauty.
Not long ago a man came to me whom I took to be a follower of the prophet from the
west country, but I ascertained that he was a scion of a respectable Ordon family. I
went to his village and found it to be a small place inhabited by Ordéons and Pathans; the
latter had been settled there for many generations, and were living on terms of perfect
amity with the primitive inhabitants notwithstanding the intervention of pigs. I could
not help noticing aloud the singular resemblance between the two families; the remark
was received with some indignation, but more laughter, and the indignation was quite
subdued when I told those concerned that women were in the habit of bringing forth
children in the image of the people they saw daily, as well as with the lineaments of their
ancestors. The old wives all acquiesced in this view.

The Ordon women are all tattooed in childhood with the three marks on the brow
and two on each temple that distinguish a majority of the Munda
females. One must have taken it from the other, and as we find
the isolated Judngs and scattered Kharrids have the same marks, I consider it established
that the Kols originated the fashion. The young men burn marks on their forearm ; this
is part of the discipline of the Dhimkuria, one of the ordeals that the boys have to go
through to make them hardy and manly. Girls when adult, or nearly so, have them-
selves further tattooed on the arms and back.

The Ordons live generously, more frequently partaking of flesh than hes neigh-
bours, but their cooking is wretched, and they have themselves
a proverb* expressive of the low state of their culinary skill.
Their chief food is rice and the pulse called tirid or kalai. They seldom cultivate
vegetables, but many wild plants and the tender leaves of the pipul (ficus religiosa)
and other trees are used by them as pot herbs. Besides esteeming field mice and
such small game as great delicacies, they eat the flesh of bullocks, goats, buffaloes,
sheep, tigers, bears, jackals, foxes, snakes, lizards, most birds, all fish, tortoises, and large
frogs, but prefer pork to everything, and their villages swarm with pigs. They indulge
to an immoderate degree in rice beer, which is made in every house, and it is not an
uncommon event for a traveller to arrive at an Ordon village and find every soul in it
drunk. I recently noted the following entry in the journal of an officer out on duty:
« Arrived at the village of at 10 a.M., but unable to proceed to business, as
the people are all drunk.” They will drink spirits when they have the opportunity, but
indulge in no narcotics except tobacco, which the males chew and smoke; of gdnja,
bhang, and opium they have a wholesome dread.

Women think little of the perils of childbirth, and perform the office of midwife for
each other; yet during labor, and for fifteen days afterwards, the
mother is liable to the influence of a spirit called Chordewan,
who, appearing in the form of a cat, causes injury to the womb; to avoid which

Tattooing.

Food.

 

Births.

 

 

* Khurfikhar nunna akhnai ona caluar. ‘The Ordons are good laborers, but bad cooks.’ Revd. W. Luther’s MS.
''259 DALTON.— ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove VIII.

the husband must all the time indicated keep a fire burning, and the woman must live
on gruel. When the woman is considered fit to appear in public, the child is named.
A number of old crones meet for the purpose, and sit like witches round a vessel filled
with water into which a grain of rice is thrown as the name just thought of for the child
is announced. If the grain sinks the name is adopted, if it floats, it is rejected and
another chosen. The name of the day of the week is often given, as Etwar to a boy,
Etwari to a girl born on Sunday, Sumar and Suméari for Monday, but these are Hindu
terms ; they have no such names for the week in their own language. Most of the
common names are, by a change of termination, adapted to male or female, as Birsa,
Birsi, Dalka, Dalki, Chamra, Chamri. The Ordons attach no importance to the operation
of tonsure, but the heads of young children are kept shorn till they are six or seven
years of age, after which the hair is allowed to grow till the girl approaches maturity ;
then it is incumbent on her to gather it in a knot behind, and this process enforces
a considerable change in her habits. As a girl with cropped head, or locks flowing,
she may eat whatever food is given to her, no matter by whom it has been prepared,
but when she obeys her mother’s injunction to ‘ bind her hair,’ she is restricted to
what is cooked by her own people. Young men retain this freedom of appetite till their
marriage.

From what has already been stated relative to courtship, it will be understood that
the marriage of children is not in favor amongst the Ordons.
When a young man makes up his mind to marry, his parents
or guardians go through a form of selection for him; but it is always a girl that he
has already selected for himself, and between whom and him there is a perfect under-
standing. The parents, however, have to arrange all preliminaries, including the price
of the damsel, which is sometimes as low as Rs. 4. In the visits that are interchanged
by the negociators, omens are carefully observed by the Ordons, as by the Mundas, and
there are, consequently, similar difficulties to be overcome; but when all is settled, the
bridegroom proceeds with a large party of his friends, male and female, to the bride’s
house. Most of the males have warlike weapons, real or sham, and as they approach
the village of the bride’s family, the young men from thence emerge, also armed, as if to
repel the invasion, and a mimic fight ensues, which, like a dissolving view, blends
pleasantly into a dance. In this the bride and bridegroom join, riding each on the hips_
of one of their friends.

A bower is constructed, in front of the residence of the bride’s father, into which the
bride and bridegroom are carried by women, and made to stand on a curry-stone, under
which is placed a sheaf of corn, resting ona plough yoke. Here the mystery of the
Sindir ddén is performed, but the operation is carefully screened from view, first by
cloths thrown over the young couple, secondly by a circle of their male friends, some
of whom hold up a screen cloth, while others keep guard with weapons upraised, and
look very fierce, as if they had been told off to cut down intruders, and were quite
prepared to do so. In Ordon marriages, the bridegroom stands on the curry-stone
behind the bride, but, in order that this may not be deemed a concession to the female,
his toes are so placed as to tread on her heels. The old women under the cloth are
very particular about this, as if they were especially interested in providing that the heel
of the woman should be properly bruised. Thus posed, the man stretches over the

Marriages.
''SecTIon 1.] THE ORAONS. 953

girl’s head, and daubs her forehead and crown with the red powder, ‘sindir,’ and
‘f the girl is allowed to return the compliment (it is a controverted point whether she
should do so or not), she performs the ceremony without turning her head, reaching back
over her own shoulder and just touching his brow. When this is accomplished, a gun is
fired, and then, by some arrangement, vessels full of water, placed over the bower, are
capsized, and the young couple, and those who stand near them, receive a drenching
shower-bath. They now retire into an apartment prepared for them, ostensibly to change
their clothes, but they do not emerge for some time, and when they appear they are
saluted as man and wife. Dancing is kept up during their retirement, one of the per-
formers executing a ‘pds seul’ with a basket on her head, which is said to contain the
trousseau.

The Ordons have no prescribed wedding garments. They do not follow the Hindu
custom of using saffron colored robes on such occasions. The bride is attired in
ordinary habiliments. No special pains are taken to make her lovely for the occasion.
The bridegroom is more dressed than usual. He wears a long coat anda turban. Nor
have the Ordons any special. days or seasons for marriages. The ceremony may
take place in any month of the year, but, with all natives, the hot, dry months are
generally selected, if possible; there is not then much work on hand. Granaries are
full, and they prefer those months for marching and camping out.

When the bride reaches her husband’s house, food is offered to her, but she scornfully
or sulkily refuses to touch it, and continues in this temper till something is presented to
her that she considers worthy of her acceptance, then she unbends, and, smiling on
her new friends, eats.

The young Ordon girls always appear on friendly terms with each other, but a
custom obtains amongst them by which the ties of friendship
are made almost as binding as those of marriage. It is not
exclusively an Ordon practice, but it is more generally resorted to by the girls of that
tribe than by other maidens.

Two girls feel a growing attachment for each other. They work together, sing
together, and strive to be always together, till they grow so fond, that a sudden thought
strikes one or other of them to say “let us swear eternal friendship.” The formula
being in Chitia Nagptr Hindi—*Toi vor main gui jurabi amren phil lagébi.” Then
each plucks flowers and neatly arranges them in the other’s hair. They exchange
necklaces and embrace, and afterwards jointly, from their own means, prepare a little
feast, to which they invite their friends of their own sex, who are made witnesses to
the compact, and this ceremony is considered complete.

From that hour they must never address, or speak of each other, by name. The >
sworn friend is “my gui,” or my flower, or something of the kind. They are as particular
on this point as are Hindu women, not to mention the names of their husbands.

A young man makes a demonstration of his affection for a girlin a similar fashion.
He sticks flowers in the mass of her back hair, and if she subsequently return the
compliment, it is concluded that she desires a continuance of his attention. The next
step may be an offering to his lady love of some nicely grilled field mice, which the
Oraons declare to be the most delicate of food. Tender looks and squeezes whilst
both are engaged in the dance are not much thought of. They are regarded merely

3 P

Friendship.
''O54, DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VIII.

as the result of emotions naturally arising from pleasant contiguity and exciting strains ;
but when it comes to flowers and field mice, matters look serious.

The Oraons are divided into tribes, and are what a recent author on the subject
of primitive marriage calls exogamous, as are also the Mundas.
I have shown above that the Oraons preserve very remarkably
the symbol of the marriage by capture. The family or tribal names are usually those
of animals or plants, and when this is the case, the flesh of some part of the animal or
fruit of the tree is tabooed to the tribe called after it.

The following are names of tribes :—

Tribal divisions.

Tirki va ... toust not eat ‘ Tirki,’ young mice.

Ekhar ay ... must not eat head of tortoise.

Kirpotas ie .... do not eat the stomach of the pig.

Lakrar es ... must not eat tiger’s flesh.

Kujrar a ... must not eat oil from this tree or sit in its shade.
Gedhiar a) ( Kite.

Khakhar Oe | | Crow.

Minjar ee rag pinot “9 Eel.

Kerketar | The bird so called.
Barar .. J must not eat from the leaves of the Ficus Indicus.

(These are used as plates).

There is no such thing as slavery among the Ordons, many are in a position to
employ farm laborers, and those are generally engaged for the year. They receive their
food daily, and two or three rupees for the year’s work, the last instalment of which is
always paid at the Saturnalia called the Magh festival.

The Ordons have adopted all the Munda dances, and improved onthem. They have
one called the Ordon’s jadura, which is quite a refinement on
the ordinary jadura, most complicated in step and figure, but
the movements in it are executed with wonderful precision by girls accustomed to
dance it together. They commence at avery early age to learn this accomplishment.
Children may be seen practising their steps whose powers of toddling are but rudi-
mentary. They positively dance as soon as they can walk, and sing as soon as they can
talk. Their voices are more musical than those of the generality of native children.
They are naturally accurate timists, and have good ears; and the choir singing in parts
of the Ordon and Munda converts is most remarkable. They acquire with facility, and
sing correctly, pieces of sacred music, that very few English parish church choirs would
attempt.

The tribe I am treating of are seen to best advantage at the great national dance
meetings called Jatras. ‘They are attended by all classes of the people, nut the
most conspicuous groups are those that come from the Ordon, or from the Ordon-Mtinda
villages.

The Jatras are held on appointed days, once a year, at different places chosen as
convenient centres. They are generally large mango groves in the vicinity of old
villages, formerly the head quarters of the Parhé, and on the evening preceding the
gathering, there is a sacrifice to the tutelary spirit, followed by a carousal in the
village, and the elders of that village are sure to be all very drunk on the following
morning,

Dances and music.
''Section 1.] THE ORAONS. 955

As a signal to the country round, the flags of each village are brought out and set
up on the road that leads to the place of meeting. ‘This incites the young men and
maidens to hurry through their morning work and look up their Jdtra dresses which are
by no means ordinary attire. Those who have some miles to go put up their finery in a
bundle to keep it fresh and clean, and proceed to some tank or stream in the vicinity of
the tryst grove, and about two o’clock in the afternoon may be seen all around groups
of girls laughingly making their toilettes in the open air, and young men in separate
parties similarly employed. When they are ready, the drums are beaten, huge horns are
blown, and thus summoned, the group from each village forms its procession. In front
are young men with swords and shields or other weapons, the village standard bearers
with their flags and boys waving yaks’ tails, or bearing poles with fantastic arrangements
of garlands and wreaths intended to represent umbrellas of dignity.’ Sometimes a man
riding on a wooden horse is carried horse and all by his friends as the Raja, and others
assume the form of, or paint themselves up to represent, certain beasts of prey. Behind
this motley group the main body form compactly together as a close column of dancers
in alternate ranks of boys and girls, and thus they enter the grove where the meeting is
held in a cheery, dashing style, wheeling and countermarching, and forming lines,
circles, and columns with grace and precision. The dance with these movements is
ealled Khariah, and it is considered to be an Ordon rather than a Munda dance,
though Munda girls join in it. When they enter the grove, the different groups join and
dance the Khariah together, forming one vast procession and then a monstrous circle.
The drums and musical instruments are laid aside, and it is by the voices alone that the
time is given; but as many hundreds, nay, thousands join, the effect is grand. In
serried ranks so closed up that they appear jammed, they circle round in file, all keeping
perfect step, but at regular intervals the strain is terminated by a ‘hurtrd,’ which
reminds one of Paddy’s ‘ huroosh’ as he “ welts the floor,” and at the same moment they
all face inwards and simultaneously jumping up come down on the ground with a
resounding stamp that marks the finale of the movement, but only fora momentary
pause. One voice with a startling yell takes up the strain again, a fresh start is made,
and after gyrating thus till they tire of it, the ring breaks up, and separating into village
groups they perform other dances independently till near sunset, then all go dancing home.

I have seen Jatras that were attended by not less than five thousand villagers, all
in the happiest frame of mind, as if nothing could occur to ruffle the perfect good
humour of each individual of the multitude. The elders are often muddled with beer,
but never cross in their cups, and the young people are merry from excitement. The
shopkeepers from the neighbouring towns attend and set up stalls, so that it becomes
a kind of fair at which business in sweets and trinkets is brisk. ;

The banners exhibited at the Jatras are relics of the old Parhd system. Properly it
is not every village, but every Parhd that may bear a distinctive
flag, and it is a casus belli, if the ancient device of one village is
improperly assumed by another. The banners are triangular in shape and of unusual
size. They fly them plain white, plain red, and striped red and white. I have never
seen any form of cross.

It is not an unfrequent occurrence in Ordon dances for the free joyous movements
of one or more of the girls to be suddenly transformed into involuntarily spasmodic

Banners.
''256 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. . [ Group VIII.

action, somewhat akin to the demoniacal possession by Ganshdm, described in a previous
chapter, and probably not far removed from what are known in some Christian countries
as ‘exaltations’ in so-called revivals. Young girls of nervous temperament are most liable
to these attacks. After dancing for some time, the motions of head, body, and legs appear
to become intensified and cease to be voluntary, and though the girl seized usually
drops, the violent rolling and nodding of the head and movements of the limbs continue.
The bystanders in the belief that they are dealing with the spirit by whom the girl is
possessed unmercifully pummel her till she ceases to struggle, then after a few minutes
of utter prostration, she revives, and resumes her place amongst the dancers as if
nothing had happened. It is said, there is one particular strain which girls cannot long
sing without being thus affected. I believe, it is the song which usually accompanies
the patting of the ground movement described in the account of the Minda dances.
The religion of the Ordons is of a composite order. They have no doubt retained
some portion of the belief that they brought with them to Chiti4
Nagpur, but coalescing with the Mindas and joining in their
festivals and acts of public worship, they to a certain extent took up their ideas on
religion and blended them with their own. There is, however, a material distinction
between the religious systems of the two people. The Mundas have no symbols and
make no representations cf their gods; the Ordons and all the eognates whom I have
met with have always some visible object of worship, though it may be but a stone or a
wooden post, or a lump of earth. Like the Mundas, they acknowledge a Supreme God,
adored as Dharmi or Dharmesh, the Holy One, who is manifest in the sun, and they
regard Dharmesh as a perfectly pure, beneficent being, who created us and would in his
goodness and mercy preserve us, but that his benevolent designs are thwarted by
malignant spirits whom mortals must propitiate, as Dharmesh cannot or does not inter-
fere, if the spirit of evil once fastens upon us. It is, therefore, of no use to pray to
Dharmesh or to offer sacrifices to him; so though acknowledged, recognised, and rever-
enced, he is neglected, whilst the malignant spirits are adored. Here we have a savage’s
solution of the antagonistic principles of good and evil, happiness and misery, and not a
bad illustration of what untutored man, with no aspirations beyond this life, may
imagine. How, they reason, could a benevolent and omniscient Creator subject his
creatures to suffering P yet suffer they do, often without fault of their own, and to eause
this there must be other powers at work, who act independently of and in opposition to
the Creator. These malignant spirits afflict us, because (as children learn that dogs bark
and bite) ‘it is their nature to do so.’ Ido not think that Ordons have an idea that
their sins are visited on them either in this world or ina world to come. It is not
because they are wicked that their children or their cattle die, or their crops fail, or
they suffer in body, it is only because some malignant demon has a spite against them,
or is desirous of fleecing them. Their ideas of sin are limited. Thou shalt not commit
adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour,
is about as much of the decalogue as they would subscribe to. It is doubtful if they
see any moral guilt in murder, though hundreds of them have suffered the extreme
‘penalty of the law for this crime. They are ready to take life on very slight provocation,
and in the gratification of their revenge an innocent child is as likely to suffer as
the actual offender. There is one canon of the Mosaical law that they in former years

Religion.
''Srction 1.] THE ORAONS. 257

rigorously enforced,—* Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.’ I have dwelt on this
subject in treating of the Mindas, and need only say that the Ordons are quite as
inveterate against reputed witches as the Mundas, and if left to themselves, the life of
elderly females would be very insecure. As it is, a suspected old woman (and sometimes
a young one, especially if she be the daughter of a suspected old one) is occasionally
condemned, well drubbed, and turned out of the village, and she does not always
survive the treatment she is subjected to. If we analyse the views of most of the Ordon
converts to Christianity, we shall, I think, be able to discern the influence of their
pagan doctrines and superstitions in the motives that first led them to become catechu-
mens. The Supreme Being who does not protect them from the spite of malevolent
spirits has, they are assured, the Christians under His special care. They consider that,
in consequence of this guardianship, the witches and bhits have
no power over Christians, and it is, therefore, good for them to
join that body. They are taught that for the salvation of Christians one great sacrifice
has been made, and they see that those who are baptized do not in fact reduce their
live-stock to propitiate the evil spirits. They grasp at this notion, and long afterwards
when they understand it better, the atonement, the mystical washing away of sin by the
blood of Christ, is the doctrine on which their simple minds most dwell.

I have not found amongst the pagan Ordons a trace of the high moral code that
their cousins of the RAjmahal hills are said to have accepted. I consider that they have
no belief whatever in a future state, whilst to the Rajmahdalis is attributed a profound
system of metempsychosis. The Ordons carry that doctrine no further than to suppose
that men who are killed by tigers become tigers, but for other people death is an
annihilation. As the sole object of their religious ceremonies is the propitiation of the
demons who are ever thwarting the benevolent intentions of Dharmesh, they have no
notion of a service of thanksgiving; and so far, we may regard the religion of the
Mundas as of a higher order than theirs. When suffering or misfortune befall a man,
he consults an augur ‘Ojha’ as to the instrument of his affliction, and acts according
to the advice given. The Ojha has it in his power to denounce a mortal or a particular
devil. The method employed has been described in the account of the Mundas, and the
result is the same. If a fellow-being is denounced, it is said
that he has caused his familiar to possess and afflict the sufferer,
and the denounced is seized and tortured, or beaten, to force him to effect the expulsion
of the evil spirit. But the family or village Bhat may be accused; the Ojha, under
inspiration, of course, decides what is to be sacrificed, and frequently ruins, if he does
not cure, the patient consulting him. In the process of propitiation, the fetish nature of
the Ordon system is shown. The sorcerer produces a small image of mud, and on it
sprinkles a few grains of rice. If fowls are to be the victims, they are placed in front of
this image, and if they peck at the rice it indicates that the particular devil is satisfied
with the intention of his votaries, and the sacrifice proceeds. The flesh of the animals
killed is appropriated by the sorcerer, so it is his interest to have a hecatomb, if possible.

In regard to the names and attributes of the devils, the Ordons who live with
Mundas sacrifice to Marang Birt and all the Munda Bongas.
The Ordons on the western portion of the plateau, where there
are few Mundas, ignore the Bongas, and pay their devotion to Darha, the Sarna Burhi

3 Q

Converts.

Casting out devils.

Minor deities.
''258 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove VIII.

(lady of the grove), and the village Bhdts, who have various names. Chanda, or Chandi,
is the god or goddess of the chase and is always invoked preparatory to starting on great
hunting expeditions. Any bit of rock, or stone, or excrescence on a rock, serves to
represent this deity. The hill near Lodhma, known to the Mundas as Marang Biri, is
held in great reverence by the Ordons. To the spirit of the hill, whom they call Baranda,
they give bullocks and buffaloes, especially propitiating him as the Bhit, who when
malignantly inclined frustrates God’s designs of sending rain in due season to fertilize the
earth.

In some parts of the country Darha is almost the only spirit they propitiate. If
fowls are offered to him, they must be of divers colors, but once in three years he
should have a sheep from his votaries; and once in the same period a buffalo, of which
the Ojha or Pdhn gets a quarter. The Oraon must always have something material to
worship, and for Darha a representation of a ploughshare is set up on an altar dedicated
to him, and renewed every three years.

Besides this superstitious dread of the spirits above named, the Ordon’s imagination
tremblingly wanders in a world of ghosts. Every rock, road,
river, and grove is haunted. They believe that women who die in
childbirth become ghosts, called Chorail,* and such ghosts are frequently met hovering
about the tombstones, always clad in robes of white, their faces fair and lovely, but with
backs black as charcoal, and inverted feet; that is, they walk with their heels in front:
they lay hold of passers-by and wrestle with them, and tickle them, and he is lucky,
indeed, who, thus caught, escapes without permanent injuries. If, however, the man be
brave and resolute, he may always overcome the ghost, but if the person caught is some
luckless wight returning from a fair or dance, who, like Tam O’Shanter, had been
“drinking divinely,’’ woe betide him! He is found next morning senseless, with a
twisted neck, and the services of a sorcerer, or medicine-man are necessary to set him
right again.

Towards Lohardagga many Oraons take the name of Bhagat, the corruption of
Bhakt, and attach themselves to some Bradhman or Gosdin who
gives them ‘ Mantras.’ The Bhagats, without absolutely aban-
doning the religious observances of their ancestors, adopt the worship of Siva or
Mahddeo; have in their houses, or on their premises, the usual monolithic emblem of
that deity, and keep brazen images of Ganesh and other Hindu gods. The Bhagats
rather discourage the unrestricted intercourse between the youth of the two sexes that
their ancestors smiled upon, and do their best to keep their girls from joining in the
dances, but the young men heed not the injunctions of the elders on this point, and the
girls evade them as much as possible. The Bhagats conform to Hindu notions regarding
what should be considered clean and unclean for food, and they will not eat or drink
with the people of their own tribe who are not Bhagats. I have been informed by a
Christian convert, who formerly belonged to the Bhagat fraternity, that in some villages
near Lohardagga, they annually make an image of a man in wood, put clothes and
ornaments on it, and present it before the altar of 1 Mahddeo. The person who officiates
as priest on the occasion says :—‘‘O, Mahiadeo, we sacrifice this man to you according to
. ancient customs. Give us rain in due season, and a plentiful harvest.” Then, with one

* From Rey. Mr. Luther’s M.S.

Ghosts.

The Bhagats,

 
''Sxcrron 1.] THE ORAONS. 259

stroke of the axe, the head of the image is cut off, and the body is removed and buried.
The Gonds make a similar offering to their Baradeo, and it is not always in effigy that
the human sacrifice is made. ‘here are grounds for concluding that the practice was
observed by all the peoples of Dravidian origin.

The Ordons and Mindas keep the same festivals, but, according to Mr. Luther,
the Karm is, with the former, the most important. It is cele-
brated when the time arrives for planting out the rice grown
in seed beds, and is observed by Hindus, as well as by Kols, and other tribes. On the
first day of the feast, the villagers must not break their fast till certain ceremonies
have been performed. In the evening, a party of young people, of both sexes, proceed
to the forest, and cut a young Karma tree, or the branch of one, bearing which they
return in trumph,—dancing, and singing, and beating drums,—and plant it in the middle
of the ‘Akhra.’ After the performance of a sacrifice to the Karma Deota by the Péhn,
the villagers feast, and the night is passed in dancing and revelry. Next morning all
may be seen at an early hour in holiday array; the elders in groups, under the fine old
tamarind trees that surround the Akhra; and the youth of both sexes, arm-linked in
a huge circle, dancing round the Karma tree, which, festooned
with garlands, decorated with strips of colored cloth and sham
bracelets and necklets of plaited straw, and with the bright faces and merry laughter of
the young people encircling it, reminds one of the gift-bearing tree so often introduced
at our own great festival, and suggests the probability of some remote connection
between the two. Preparatory to the festival, the daughters of the head men of the
village cultivate blades of barley in a peculiar manner. The seed is sown in moist, sandy
soil, mixed with a quantity of turmeric, and the blades sprout and unfold of a pale
yellow, or primrose color. On the Karma day, these blades are taken up by the roots,
as if for transplanting, and carried in baskets by the fair cultivators to the Akhra.
They approach the Karma tree, and, prostrating themselves reverentially, place before
it some of the plants. They then go round the company, and, like bridesmaids distri-
buting wedding favors, present to each person a few of the yellow barley blades, and all
soon appear, wearing, generally in their hair, this distinctive decoration of the festival.
Then all join merrily in the Karma dances, and malignant, indeed, must be the Bhié
who is not propitiated by so attractive an ovation. ‘The morning revel closes with the
removal of the Karma; it is taken away by the merry throng and thrown into a stream
or a tank, but after another feast, dancing and drinking are resumed; and on the
following morning, the effects of the two nights dissipation are often, I fear, very

Festivals.

The Karm festival.

palpable.

At the Karma feast, the children are all presented with new garments, but, lightly
clad as they are, the expense of this to paterfamilias is not ruinous.

I have noticed that this festival is celebrated by Hindus as well as by the tribes
I am describing, and the authority for observing it is a passage in the Bhavishya
Purana, of which Babu K4lidés Pélit has kindly favored me with a translation.

Narod having asked by what actions and ‘vratas’ (religious observances), virtue,
wealth, desire, and final emancipation, are to be attained, Narain replies :—

“There was a beautiful city named Bardnashi, where a highly respectable Brahman, ©
named Dev Surma, resided. Je had two sons, the elder named Karma, and the younger
''960 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grove VIII.

Dharma. One day Dev Surma informed his sons that he wished to make over to them
his property, and devote the remainder of his life to meditation on a future state, and
he accordingly divided between them all that he possessed. In a short time after
receiving his share, Karma, by his extravagance, was reduced to such indigence, that
he was obliged to resort to begging for his subsistence. One day, the wife of Karma
Surma said to her husband, “Oh, my lord! please go to-day to your brother who is rich
and wealthy’. Her husband, according to her words, went to his brother’s house. On
that day Dharma Surma was employed in the field with his laborers in transplanting
the rice plants. Karma engaged himself in the work with them. When the sun set
and fearful night approached, Dharma, after taking his meal in the field, went. home.
Karma Surma waited as a servant with the laborers at his door, but his rich brother
gave him neither rice nor paddy. Much depressed, he was returning home, when, on
his way, he saw some males and females of the village worshipping the Karma tree, by
adorning it with flags and flowers, and presenting it with naivedya, (oblation) incense
and other articles. He asked them what was the object of this ‘vrata.’ They told him
that it would avert all kinds of misfortune, and that whoever, after fasting, properly per-
formed it, seldom suffered from distress. Hearing this, he returned home, and told all to
his wife, who joyfully received this account of the vrata, and made a vow to perform it.
Accordingly, on the eleventh lunar day of the increasing moon of Bhadra, just at night-fall,
Karma Surma and his wife planted the Karma tree and rice plants together in the
yard of the house and worshipped it, keeping a lamp burning, and offering sandal,
flowers, naivedya, and incense, and giving money to the Brahmans. By performing this
chief of vratas, he obtained enormous wealth. Thus, those who with their wives perform
this ceremony, become rich and happy in this world; and their sons and grandsons
become rich and happy too; and all ultimately go to the heaven of the Gods!”

My simple Ordons are only intent on obtaining a good harvest, and that is, doubt-
less, the original motive for the feast. It is noticeable in the above passage, that it
does not profess to explain the origin of the ceremony, but shows how a Br&éhman was
first induced to imitate what he had seen the people of the country performing; and
considering how the territory in which the custom most prevails is inhabited, and the
deep interest taken in the feast by the non-Aryan tribes, we may infer that the
narrative of the Purana is to explain how a festival of the aboriginal people was adopted
by Hindus. The necessity of the females of the family joining in the ceremony is
against its Hindu origin, and all the observances have a geniality about them, and, at the
same time, a decorum which are not usually characteristic of Hindu, Puranic, or
Tantric rites.

The ‘ Karma’ or ‘ Kelikadamba’ is the Neauclea parvifolia. Ido not know what
attributes the tree possesses to render it so sacred, but it is singular to find it prom-
inently noticed in botanical works, as a native of the Konkans, from whence the Oréons
are said to be derived. One of the Purdnas, explaining why this tree is to be worship-
ped, tells us that Krishna delighted in climbing it, and concealing himself in its dense
foliage. From a Kadamba tree he leaped into the serpents’ pool, and subdued the snake
king Kaliya.*

 

* Vishnu Purana, Wilson’s translation, Chapter VII.
''Sxctron 1.] THE ORAONS. 961

The Oréons have some observances during the Sarhul festival that differ a little
from those of the Mundas. Their idea is that, at this season,
the marriage of ‘ Dharti,’ the earth, is celebrated, and this cannot
be done till the Sl trees give the flowers for the ceremony. It takes place, then,
towards the end of March, or beginning of April, but any day whilst the Sal trees are in
blossom will answer. On the day fixed, the villagers accompany their P&hn to the
Sarna, the sacred grove, a remnant of the old Sal forest in which the Ordons locate a
popular deity called the Sarna Buirhi, or woman of the grove, corresponding with the
‘Jéhir Era’ and Desauliof the Mindas. To this dryad, who is supposed to have great
influence on the rain, (a superstition not unlikely to have been founded on the import-
ance of trees as cloud compellers,) the Pahn, arriving with his party at the grove, offers
five fowls. These are afterwards cooked with rice, and a small quantity of the food is
given to each person present. They then collect a quantity of Sal flowers, and return
laden with them to the village. Next day the Pahn, with some of the males of the
village, pays a visit to every house, carrying the flowers in a wide open basket. The
females of each house take out water to wash his feet as he approaches, and, kneeling
before him, make a most respectful obeisance. He then dances with them, and places
over the door of the house, and in the hair of the women, some of the Sal flowers. The
moment that this is accomplished, they throw the contents of their water vessels over
his venerable person, heartily dousing the man whom, a moment before, they were
treating with such profound respect. But to prevent his catching cold they ply him
with as much of the home brew as he can drink, consequently, his reverence is generally
gloriously drunk before he completes his round. The feasting and beer drinking now
become general, and after the meal, the youth of both sexes, decked with Sal flowers
(they make an exceedingly becoming head-dress), flock to the Akhra, and dance all night
and best part of next day.

Where a death occurs in an Ordon family it is made known to the village by the
loud lamentations cf the women, who loosen their hair, a demonstration of grief which
appears to prevail in all countries, and ery vigorously. They
lay out the body on the common cot, called ‘charpdi,’ and after
washing it carefully, convey it to the appointed burning place, covered with a new
cloth, and escorted by ail the villagers, male and female, who are not, for some reason,
unable to attend. In some families the funeral procession proceeds with music, but
others dislike this custom, and nothing is heard but the cries of the women. Arrived
at the place where the funeral pile has been prepared, the body is again washed, and
the nearest relations of the deceased make offerings of rice, and put rice into the mouth
of the corpse, and some put pice or other coin. The body is then placed on the pile
and anointed, and further offerings of rice are made, and the pile is ignited by a father
or mother, a wife or a husband. When the body has been consumed, notice is given
in the village, and there is another collection of friends and relatives to collect the
charred bones which remain. These are placed in a new earthen vessel, and ceremoni-
ously taken to the village, and as the procession returns, parched rice is dropped on
the road to mark the route selected. ‘The cinerary urn is suspended to a post erected
in front of the deceased’s late residence, the guests are feasted, and the party then

breaks up.

The Sarhtl festival.

Funeral ceremonies.

cP)
o Rk
''262 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grovp VIII.

In the month of December or January next ensuing, the friends and relations are
all again collected to witness the disposal of the bones, in the place that, from the first
establishment of the community, has been appropriated to the purpose. This is a point
on which the Ord4ons are exceedingly tenacious, and even when one of them dies
far from his home, his relations will, if possible, sooner or later, recover the fragments of
his bones, and bear them back to the village, to be deposited with the ashes of his
ancestors. The burial ground is always near a river, stream, or tank. As the proces-
sion proceeds with music to this place, offerings of rice are continually thrown over
the cinerary urn till it is deposited in the grave prepared for it, and a large, flat stone
placed over it. Then all must bathe, and after paying the musicians, the party returns
to the village. The money that was placed in the mouth of the corpse, and afterwards
saved from the ashes, is the fee of the musicians. The person who carried the bones to
the grave has to undergo purification by incense, and the sprinkling of water. It is
to be observed that this ceremony occurs in each village but once in the year, and on
the appointed day the ashes of all who have died during the year are simultaneously
relegated to their final resting place. No marriage can take place in a village whilst the
bones of the dead are retained there. The most ardent lovers must patiently await the
day of sepulture.* The marriage season commences shortly after it.

The Ordons, if not the most virtuous, are about the most cheerful of the human
race. Their lot is not a particularly happy one. Not one of their own people now
occupies a position which would give him the power to protect,
or influence to elevate them from the state of degradation
into which a majority of the tribe have long ago fallen. They submit to be told
that they were especially created as a laboring class. They have had this so often
dinned into their ears, that they believe and admit it; and I have known instances
of their abstaining from claiming, as authorised by law, commutation for the forced
labor exacted by their landlords, because they considered that they were born to it.
There are indeed some amongst them, stern yeomen, who cling with tenacity to the
freeholds they have inherited, and will spend all they possess, even their life’s blood
(and peradventure shed blood) in defending them, but the bulk of the people seldom
rise in their own country, above the position of cottiers and laborers. There the value of
labor has not risen in proportion to the advance that has taken place in other parts of
India, and Ordons are easily induced to migrate for a time to other climes, even to
regions beyond the great ‘ black water,’ where their work is better remunerated. But
those who return with wealth thus accumulated, regard it not. They spend in a month
what would have made them comfortable for life, and relapse into their lot of labor
and penury, as if they had never had experience of independence and plenty. I believe
they relish work, if the task-master be not over-exacting. Ordons sentenced to im-
prisonment without labor, as sometimes happens, for offences against the excise laws,
insist on joing the laboring gangs, and wherever employed, if kindly treated, they
labor as if they felt an interest in the work. In cold weather or hot, rain or sun, they
eo cheerfully about it, and after some nine or ten Lours of toil, (seasoned with a little
play and chaff amongst themselves,) they return blithely home, in flower decked groups,

Conclusion.

 

* Which is called ‘ Hadbari.’
''SEcTION 2. ] THE MALERS—PAHARIAS OR HILLMEN OF RAJMAHAL. 963

holding each other by the hand or round the waist, and singing. When I first saw
them, this struck me as a very noteworthy characteristic; for, as a rule, the working
classes of all countries, especially in India, move unsociably in Indian file. It is only
people of fine organization, and gentle nurture, and the aborigines of Chitié Ndgpir,
who voluntarily walk abreast and linked together in line. The Ordons have acquired
this habit from their naturally genial dispositions, and their dancing drills and parades.

Section 2.—Tar MALERs—Pawirias on HinuMen or RAMAHAL.

The Rajmahal hill country extends from the banks of the Ganges at Seerigallt,
in Latitude 25° 15’ north, and Longitude 87° 3’ east, to the
Brahmani river, and the boundary of the Birbhim district, a
distance of seventy miles. To the south of the Braéhmani the hills continue to the river
Dwarka as the Ramgarh hills of the Birbhtim district.

It has been often asserted that the Rajmahél hills are a continuation of, and that
they form the northern and eastern limit of, the Vindhyan range; but this has not
been confirmed by more recent and detailed examination, for particulars of which
I am indebted to Mr. V. Ball, of the Geological Survey of India.

Mr. Ball observes that ‘ physically, both the Rajmahal and Rémgarh hills may be
regarded as forming an isolated group, the north-eastern extremity of which constitutes
the turning point of the Ganges.

Physically, these hills are quite detached from the Vindhyan range.

Geologically, there is nothing in common between them. The Vindhyan being com-
posed of quartzite sandstone, limestones, and shales of ereat age, and the Rajmahal hills
of overflowing basaltic trap of comparatively recent age, which rests upon coal mea-
sures, and metamorphic (gneissose) rocks.”

The measures taken to separate the Rajmahal hills from the cireumadjacent
country with the view of terminating the disputes and collisions which were constantly
occurring between the proprietors of estates in the plains and the hillmen or Pahdrias,
have already been detailed in my account of the Santdls. By this measure, which was
carried out in A. D. 1832, the chief proprietary right in this interesting country has
centred in the Government, and the authorities were empowered to deal with the claims
on the soil, preferred by the hill people, in an equitable and liberal spirit.

Round the skirts of the hills a cordon was drawn embracing a tract called,
from that circumstance, the Daman-i-koh; and on the hills
within this line reside the Malers, or Malairs, who may be
allowed to designate themselves as the ‘asal,’ or true, Pahdrias, The skirts and
valleys of the Daman are occupied by Santéls, whose settlement in this part of the
country is comparatively recent. So long as the new colonists confine themselves to
the Lowlands, the Paharias, from their lofty eyries, look down on their rapidly in-
creasing cultivation with indifference, but the slightest attempt on the part of the
Santdls to encroach on the hills, arouses their jealousy, and ensures the expulsion
of the intruder. Sometimes, indeed, they watch, with chuckling complacency, the
labors of a Santél, who, presuming that silence means consent, has been beguiled
into clearing for a short distance the slopes of the hills, but the moment he commences

Geographical extent.

The Daman-i-koh.
''964 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VIII.

to cultivate, he finds from very significant threats that he must withdraw, and leave the
hillmen to profit by his toil.

Dr. Buchanan estimated the Malers at 35,340 souls; but the Saj4wal, or Native.
Superintendent, told him that there were, in all, 80,000 houses, which would give a
population of not less than 400,000.

The Rajmahalis describe themselves as divided into clans, but from all the inform-
ation I have been able to procure on this subject, I am inclined to define the
divisions as sectarian rather than tribal, arising from some having been indoctrinated with
Hindu notions of purity in the matter of food, whilst others retain their liberty of:
conscience and appetite.

The Malers call themselves the Asal Pahdrias, because they have not subjected
themselyes to any restrictions in regard to what they eat. The people of the southern,
or Ramgarh, hills, called Mal, have another division called Kimhars, who abstain from
cow’s flesh, from flesh of animals which die a natural death, and will nct partake of food
that has not been cooked by themselves; repudiate all notions of consanguinity with the
impure feeding Northerners, to whom they apply the term Chit, which is probably
the reverse of complimentary. I have no doubt that they have, besides the above, the
usual family or tribal distinctions, but they have not been noticed.

The Malas of the Purana topographical lists have been variously placed by
commentators. Professor Wilson referring to the position assigned to the Mdla of
KAliddsa’s poem, the Meghu Data, places it in Chattisgarh; Colonel Wilford assigns as
the position of the country or people Malabhim in Midnapore. We have no reason
for supposing that the Raéjmahél Malers came from that eastern district, but with
reference to the Ordon tradition of the western origin of the tribe, we might assume
that the Mdlavas of the Vishnu Purdna, supposed to be the people of Malwa, the
country to the north of the Vindhyan range, between Bundelkhand and Gujrat, were
the prototypes of our RAjmahdl Paharias. We have a tribe called Mal or Mar, scattered .
over Sirgtja, Palamau, Belounja, &c., who are now a thoroughly Hinduised people, and
resemble Hindus in appearance. They declare, they came originally from Malwé;
it is said by them, and of them, that they at one time formed the bulk of the population
in Paldmau, but there are very few there now. Malwa is the chief seat of the Bhil
race, who are considered aborigines of that district. Madlavas and Bhils may be identical,
and our Paharias and Bhils cognates.

Although the Malers were the first of the aboriginal tribes of Bengal that were
prominently noticed by the officers of the East India Company, our information
regarding their customs and ethnic peculiarities are derived almost entirely from a
monograph by Lieutenant T. Shaw, published in 1795, A. D., in vol. IV of the Asiatic
Researches. The accurate investigator and topographer, Dr. Buchanan, refers us to
that paper, instead of giving us his own observation ; and another more modern enquirer,
the late Colonel Walter Sherwill, who surveyed the hills, acknowledges that, for most of
the information regarding the customs and religion of the tribe given by him, he is
indebted to Lieutenant Shaw.

I have never had an opportunity of personal intercourse with them, and am,
therefore, entirely dependent on the writers above mentioned, and some manuscript notes
which have been kindly drawn up at my request by Mr. William Atkinson of Rajmahal.
''Section 2. ] THE MALERS—PAHARIAS OR HILL-MEN OF RAJMAHAL. 965

From all I can learn the Mdlers have no traditions throwing any real light on their
history. They do not endorse the story of their common origin
with the Ordons and migration with them from the west, pre-
served by the latter people; on the contrary, they aver that the human race was first
produced on the hills to which they cling. This is their tradition, as related by Lieu-
tenant Shaw :—

“Seven brothers were sent from Heaven to people the earth, the eldest fell sick
whilst the remainder were preparing a great feast. It was arranged that each was to
‘take of the food that he preferred and go to the place he had chosen to live in. One
took goat’s flesh and went to a distant country, and his progeny are Hindus; another,
from whom the Musalmdans are descended, took flesh of all kinds, except pork. It is not
stated what the third took, but he originated the Kharwars. The fourth took hog’s
flesh, went north, and from him sprang the Kiratis; a fifth became the ancestor of the
Kawdir (? Koda, Kora, Kola, tank-digging Kols). The sixth took food of all kinds and
went far away, and it was not known what had become of him till the English appeared,
when it was at once concluded that they were the descendants of the omnivorous
brother. The seventh brother was named Malair; he was the eldest who was sick ; they
gave him all kinds of food in an old dish, thus he became an outcast, and was left in the
hills, where, finding neither clothes nor means of subsistence, he and his people neces-
sarily became thieves, and continued in that vocation till taught better by Mr. Cleveland” !

This wild legend is only useful as indicating the people with whom the Malers have
successively come into contact. They recognise, and attempt to account for, the
existence of Kiratis, Kharwdrs, Kols, Hindus, Muhammadans, and the English, but
apparently none of their own cognates were known to them. The story gives us no clue
to migrations, but the Ordon tradition brings the whole nation gradually from the
Western Ghats to Rohtds, where it is said they were established for a long period, till
attacked and driven out by Aryans. They divided into two parties, one selecting the
Raéjmahal hills, the other, the highlands of Jharkhand or Chitid Nagptr, as their place
of refuge. They assign to this flight from Rohtas a comparatively recent period, making
out that their conquerors were Muhammadans, but this is inconsistent with the more
reliable accounts we have of the long sojourn of the Ordons in Chitia Nagptr.

Before they had been weaned from lawless pursuits by the judicious treatment of
Mr. Cleveland and other British Officers, the Pahdrias appear to have been left to their
own notions of Government, and though, according to Lieutenant Shaw, they possessed a
code of ethics of singularly elevated tone, their practices are represented as utterly savage
and cruel. We are told that if a man of one village had a claim on a person subject to
a different Manjhi, and settlement was evaded, he made application to his own chief, who
assembled his vassals and seized the offender after plundering the village in which he
resided. The plunder was appropriated by the chief and his followers. The accused was
detained until his relations paid what had been originally claimed with costs; the costs in-
cluding full compensation to the persons who in the raid on the village had been pillaged.

Under the Muhammadan Government, the inhabitants of the Réjmahal hills were
the terror of the surrounding country; but they were encouraged in predatory habits by
the zamindars at the foot of the hills, who invited the chiefs to plunder neighbouring
estates, giving them a passage through their territory for the purpose, on condition of

oS

Traditions of origin.
''266 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group VIII.

getting the lion’s share of the spoil. Thus tempted and encouraged, they grew (as they
themselves admit) to live on plunder, and not only were the roads near the hills
unsafe, but boats on the Ganges hugged the northern bank of the river to avoid them.
Under the British Government a corps of Light Infantry was specially organised to keep
these mountaineers in order, the two successive commandants of which were the first to
impress the hillmen with a new sense of their obligations to the rulers. of the country
and to pave the way for their submission to Mr. Augustus Cleveland,* who to this day
is revered by them as their great benefactor and reclaimer.

Mr. Cleveland’s plan appears to have been to preserve, as far as possible, their system
of self-government, and to utilize the rude administrative machinery that he found in
existence. On condition of their becoming responsible for the good behaviour of their
adherents, the chiefs were salaried according to their rank. The head of a ‘Tappah’t
received ten rupees a month, his deputy three rupees, and the Manjhi, or head, of each
' village two rupees.

Further to secure their co-operation, Mr. Cleveland formed from their young men
a regiment of archers, 1,000 strong; and within two years from their first formation, they
had so gained his confidence, that he gave them fire-arms, and they became the Bhagal-
pur hill-rangers; which were in existence till disbanded on the reorganization of the
Native Army after the mutiny in 1857.

The difficulties experienced by -the Government of the East India Company in

Origin of the Non-Regula. dealing with the Rajmahal hillmen, and the exceptional

tion system. measures they found it necessary to resort to, first opened their
eyes to the fact that their laws, however wise, were not applicable to all their subjects.
Thus originated the Non-Regulation system. We have this enunciated in the preamble
to Regulation 1 of 1796, which is worth quoting for the brief and reliable account it
gives of the condition of the tribe.
‘The hills situated to the south and west of Rajmahal, and other parts of the district
of Bhégalptr, are inhabited by a distinct race of people, entirely
differing in manners, customs, and religion, from the inhabitants
of the circumjacent country, and who, as far as can be traced, never acknowledged the
authority of the Native Government.”

“ Being destitute of manufactures, and but little ee with agriculture, they
subsisted principally by plunder; and their incursions into the low country, which
were attended by every species of cruelty, had almost desolated the districts to which
they had extended.” ;

In consideration of their uncivilized state, and entire ignorance of the language,
laws, and customs of the Hindus and Muhammadans, it was determined, on the 14th of
June 1782, that the inhabitants of the hills should not be subject to the ordinary
tribunals; but that all crimes and misdemeanours should be tried by an assembly of
their chiefs, under the superintendence of the Magistrate, who was ordered, in particular
cases, to report the sentence passed by the assembly for the revision of the Governor-

Preamble to Reg. 1 of 1796.

General in Council.

 

* Collector of Bhigalptir, died A. D. 1784. | A local division comprising several villages.
{ In Mr. Cleveland’s time.
''Szctron 2.] THE MALERS—PAHARIAS OR HILL-MEN OF RAJMAHAL. 267

The Regulation provided that the Magistrate should commit all important cases to
be tried before an assembly of hill chiefs. He was to attend the trial as Superintend-
ing Officer, and confirm or modify the sentence, if not exceeding fourteen years’ im-
prisonment. Higher sentences were referred to the Nizimat Adawlat, as the Supreme
Criminal Court was then called. This unusual procedure was followed till 1827, when
the law was repealed by Regulation 1 of that year; the moun-
taineers were then declared amenable to the ordinary courts, but
some of the hill Manjhis were to sit with the Magistrate as Assessors, when he tried
cases in which the hillmen were concerned, and he was also authorised to adjudicate
summarily in disputes about land, succession, and claims to money, when the value of
the suit did not exceed one hundred rupees. These were most salutary provisions, as
there is nothing so unsatisfactory and bewildering to an unsophisticated hillman, as to
be bandied about from one court to another in search of a Judge with the jurisdiction
that suits his case.

Although the accounts hitherto published do not show as much similitude between
the social customs of the Ordons and Raéjmahdlis as the Ordon legend of their con-
sanguinity and the similarity of their language might lead us to expect, I believe that
if one who was familiar with the Ordon peculiarities were to visit the Réjmahdlis, he
would find that where they differed, it was owing to the influence on each of the
foreigners they had during a long separation severally come in contact with, anda
close analysis would prove that where Ordons and Mtndas most differ, the former
are generally in accord with the Rajmahdalis, and when the RAéjmahdlis are at variance
with the Ordons, it is owing to the former having been indoctrinated by Hindus.

We learn from Lieutenant Shaw’s paper, that the Pahdrias have a firm belief in the
transmigration of souls. Their high-toned, moral code is, in
respect to rewards and punishments after death, entirely based
on that doctrine which, with the code, was, it is said, revealed to their first parents
by the Creator. It will be sufficiently understood by a perusal of the following little
homily.*

Whoever obeys God’s commandments will behave well in all respects. He will
neither injure, abuse, beat, nor kill any one; nor rob, nor steal,
nor waste food or clothes, nor quarrel; but he will praise God
morning and evening: and the women must do this too. When a good man has lived
this life as long as God pleases, God sends for him and says, “you have behaved well,
and have kept my commandments, and I will exalt you, but fora season you must remain
with me.” The object of this sojourn is not stated, but when it is completed, the spirit
of the good man is remitted to earth, to be born again of a woman as a Raja or Chief,
or in some higher position than that he previously held. If he show shimself unmindful
or ungrateful in his exaltation, his days are cut short, and he is born again as an
inferior animal.

The abuse of riches or other good gifts is often punished in this world. The riches
disappear, or calamity befalls the offender. Concealment of crime, as murder, or adultery,
is looked on as a great aggravation of the offence. It becomes still more heinous, if

Regulation 1 of 1827.

Religion. Metempsychosis.

Pah4ri ethics.

 

* Asiatic Researches, vol. LV., page 48.
''268 . DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group VIII.

the object of the concealment is to throw blame on another. God sees all that is done,
and though mortals may be deceived, and punishment fall on
the innocent, the really guilty is sure in the end to suffer a
greater calamity than he inflicts. Suicide isa crime in God’s eyes, and the soul of
one who so offends shall not be admitted into heaven, but must hover eternally as
a ghost between heaven and earth, and a like fate awaits the soul of the murderer.
The above is a brief abstract of the Pahdri doctrines and ethics communicated
to Lieutenant Shaw by an intelligent mountaineer, a Stibaddr of the hill-rangers, who
had been a protege of Mr. Cleveland’s, and had received some education from him. I
suspect the Stibaddr was himself the ‘Menu’ of his tribe, and that many of his precepts
were inspired by his patron. The notices’given of the minor deities that the Pahdrias
revere, and of the propitiatory rites practised, are more in accordance with the ordinary
customs and notions of the aboriginal tribes, than the passages above quoted.
The MA4lers call God Bedo, and the title affixed to the name of all their deities
is Gosdi or Gosdin, a corruption, apparently, of the Sanskrit
Goswimi. The word Nad is sometimes used. The minor deities
are as follow :—
1sf.—Raxie. When a man-eating tiger infests a village, or a bad epidemic breaks
out, Raxie has to be sought, and with the aid of the priest or diviner, a black
stone, which represents the God, is found and set up und2r a large tree,
and hedged round by plants of the ‘Sij,’ Huphorbia.

2nd.—Chal or Chalnad is similarly sought when any calamity befalls a village,
and he also is found asa black stone and set up under a Mukmum tree.
In his house the Chitarin festival is held every three years, at which a cow
is sacrificed.

8rd.—-Pow Gosdin, the God of highways, invoked by all persons going on a journey.
His altar is under a Bel tree Ggle marmelos and the offering is a cock.
One such sacrifice may serve many journeys. It is not repeated unless
the votary meets with an accident.

4th.--The tutelary deity of each village community is called Dwara Gosdin. This
may be the same as the Ordon Déré or Darhd. Whenever, from some
calamity falling on the household, it is considered necessary to propitiate
this deity, the head of the family clears a place in front of his house, and
sets up a branch of the tree called Mukmum, which appears to be held
very sacred, like the ‘ Karm’ in Chitiaé Nagpur; an egg is placed near the
branch, then a hog is killed, and friends feasted ; and when the ceremony
is over, the egg is broken and the branch placed over the suppliant’s house.

5th.—Kul Gosdin, the Ceres of the mountaineers,* is annually worshipped, when
the sowing season approaches, with the sacrifice of a wether goat or hog
by those who can afford it, or of a fowl by persons in indigent circum-
stances. The offering is made by the head of each family under a tree
near which the Mukmum branch is set up, but the village priest assists,
and drinks some of the blood of the victim or pretends to do so; a fore-
quarter of the animal killed is presented to this Manjhi.

Retribution.

Divinities.

 

* Shaw, Asiatic Res., vol. IV, page 62.
''SECTION 2. | THE MALERS—PAHARIAS OR HILLMEN OF RAJMAHAL. 969

6¢h.-—The god of hunting is called Autga, and at the close of every successful
expedition a thank offering is made to him. ‘This is the favorite pastime,
and one of the chief occupations of the Malers, and they have their game
laws which are strictly enforced. If a man losing an animal he has killed
or wounded seeks for assistance to find it, those who
aid are entitled to one-half of the animal when found.
Another person accidentally coming on dead or wounded game and appro-
priating it, is subjected to a severe fine. The Manjhi, or head of the village,
is entitled to a share of all game killed by any of his people. Any one
killing a hunting dog is fined twelve rupees; certain parts of an animal
are tabooed to females as food. If they infringe this law, Autga is
offended and game becomes scarce. When the hunters are unsuccessful,
it is often assumed that this is the cause, and the augur never fails to point
out the transgressing female who must provide a propitiatory offering.
The Midlers use poisoned arrows, and when they kill game, the flesh
round the wound is cut off and thrown away as unfit for food. Cats are
under the protection of the game laws, and a person found guilty of killing
one is made to give a small quantity of salt to every child in the village.
7th.—Gumu Gosdin is sometimes associated with Kul, but he is specially invoked
as a deity of no small influence, and a person desirous of propitiating him
must abstain from all food prepared in his own house, and must not
partake of the meat offered in the sacrifice; the obligation of abstinence
extends to five days after the ceremony.
The last of the gods on Lieutenant Shaw’s list is
Sth.—Chamda Gosdin, evidently one of the most important, as it requires so
extensive an offering to appease him, that only chiefs and men of wealth
can afford to make the attempt. The supplicants have to ascertain
from the priests or augurs what they have to provide and act implicitly
according to their orders. They may have to supply one dozen of hogs,
as many goats, with rice and oil in proportion, and a quantity of red
lead. Three bamboos are procured and a number of strips of bark
prepared and attached to the bamboos as tricolored streamers, the ends
being painted black and red and the centre ieft the natural color. To
one of the bamboos ninety of these streamers are attached, to another
sixty, to the third twenty, and the poles are further decorated with
peacock’s feathers; they are then set up as the Chamda Goséin in front
of the house of the person who organises the sacrifice, and offerings are
made to them. After feasting, the guests spend the night in dancing, three
of them, relieved at intervals, supporting the bamboo effigies of Chamda.
In the morning special sacrifices are offered in the house of the master of
the ceremony and in his fields for a blessing on what is produced in each,
progeny and crops. The Mukmum branch sprinkled with blood marks the
spot where the altars have been raised. At the close of the ceremony, the
bamboos are taken inside and suspended from the roof of the votary’s
house in token of his having performed the full sacrifices required of him.
aT

Game laws.
''270 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [| Grovr VIII.

According to Buchanan the Malers had formerly priests called Naiyas or Laiyas,
but these men do not now exercise priestly functions, which have
devolved on the Demanos who were previously only diviners,
and the office was separate from that of the priesthood. The Demanos are elected by
inspiration like the Pope, and after their call they spend a certain number of days in the
wilderness in (as they make their flock believe) intimate communication with Bedo
Gosdin. From the time that any one devotes himself to the profession of priest and
augur, his hair is allowed to grow like a Nazarite; his powers of divination entirely
disappear if he cuts it. Before he is admitted to full orders, his ability to foretell events
correctly must be verified, and he must prove by the performance of some stupendous
work beyond the strength of one man, that he is supernaturally aided by the supreme
being. The priest may be a married man, but after entering into holy orders he must
refrain from associating with or touching any woman except his wife. Having under-
gone all the tests, his nomination is finally confirmed by the Manjhi of the village, who
ties a red silk thread to which cowries are attached round his neck, and binds a turban on
his head. He is then allowed to appear at the periodical sacrifice of buffaloes celebrated
by the Manjhi in the month of January, and must drink some of the blood of the victim.

At this festival a branch of the Mukmum tree is planted in front of the Manjhi’s.
house, and under its shade the great man sits on a chair or stool which is reserved for
such ceremonies. Taking rice from the priest he scatters it about, and all who are supposed
to be possessed with devils scramble for it. The demoniacs are then bound till a buffalo is
slaughtered, when they are released, in order that they may taste of the blood which
cures them! ‘The skulls of the animals killed on these occasions are preserved on stages
erected in front of the Manjhi’s house, on which are also deposited trophies of the chase,
heads of spotted deer, wild hog, porcupine, nilgai, barking deer, hare, &c.

The heads of animals sacrificed on other occasions are the perquisites of the priests,
the remainder is eaten by males only who are invited to the feast. Women are not
permitted to touch the sacrificial meat or the flesh of any animal that has not been
killed in a particular way, by a blow on the side!

There are two processes of divination; Lieutenant Shaw calls one Satani, the other
Cherin. ‘The former is a test by blood sprinkled on Bel leaves.
In the latter the knowledge is obtained by watching the direction
of the oscillations of a pendulum.

As so many years have elapsed since Lieutenant Shaw drew up his account of the
Paharias, we might expect at the present time to find many and important changes in
their customs, but the following précis of notes on the tribe with which I have been
kindly favored by Mr. W. Atkinson of Rajmahal shows that they are very conservative
in their sociology.

The Paharias are divided into three tribes, the Malers, the Mal, and the Kumar ; the
first retain more of the habits of their ancestors than the other two, and are rather
proud of their unbounded liberty in the matter of food. They say, they eat anything
that Christians eat, and a little more, for they turn not away from the carcasses of
animals which have died a natural death.

They have priests, Daimonos (Demanos), and priestesses, Khiendri, who when
officiating become wildly excited, as if demoniacally affected. The priest folls on the

Priests.

Divination.
''SEctTion 2.] THE MALERS—PAHARIAS OR HILEMEN OF RAJMAHAL, 271

ground in his phrenzy, but the priestess must maintain an erect position. The Pahérias
all adore the sun as Bedo or Bero Gosdin. They have no special seasons for worshipping
him, but when offerings are made to the minor deities, prayers are addressed also to the
great God Bedo. This is quite in unison with the Ordon theology.

They have material representations of all their gods. They make wooden images
which are honored for a season as idols, but they are renewed every year, and.the old ones
are discarded and thrown away as rubbish, when the festival for which they are made is
over. This may be derived from the Hindu custom at the Durgé and other festivals, but
if properly analysed it might be found to be identical with the Ordon practise of break-
ing up and throwing away with rubbish the altars of earth they construct for invocation
purposes when they have no longer use for them.

Colonel Sherwill in his paper on the Raéjmahal hills* gives a sketch of some
Pahari idols called elephant gods, which are probably of a more permanent character.
They have a very fetish appearance. In each village a shed is put up for the tutelary
Gosdin in which stones are placed to represent him and his attendants. This practice
is found to prevail in most Hindu villages, and was in all probability derived from the
aborigines. The single stone that is seen in some may be the origin of the ling worship.
The minor deities now invoked by the Paharias for good harvests are Chal, Singpat, and
Raxi.t The priests are still under the obligation to drink some of the blood of the
animals sacrificed, but the priestesses are exempted from this part of the ceremony.

The Pahdrias appear to be singularly timid or shy and averse to strangers. This has
been noticed by every European who has visited them; and Mr. Atkinson tells me that
they have not to this day got over their diffidence and reserve, but apparently they are
rarely visited by officers, and I have observed equal timidity and seeming inhospitality
in Ordon villages when first visited; but with frequent intercourse the feeling wears off
and they become very sociable.

The Paharias have great reverence for the noble forest trees of their native hills,
and from Colonel Sherwill’s descriptions itt appears that their principal villages are built
on sites which are richly adorned by them. The village of Simuria is described as
buried in a fine forest of magnificent Nauclea and Noaria, and the old chief pointed out
with sorrow the denuded appearance of an adjacent hill, all the old timber on which
had been felled by some Missionary who had made preparations for building there but
had abandoned the design.

The villages are described as having rather a civilized appearance. Gaupdra, one
of the largest, containing eighty houses, with four bundred
inhabitants, is built on the summit of a high range of hills.
It is surrounded by gardens enclosed with neat hurdle fences containing vegetables,
mustard, tobacco, plantains, date, and other palms; and in the centre of the villages and
shading the houses are luxuriantly growing tamarind, pipal, mango, and jack trees,
clumps of bamboos, palms, and plantains. The houses are built with care, all of »
wattled bamboo, no mud whatever being used in their construction, and numerous out-

Villages.

 

* See Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, for 1851, page 552.
+ Singpat is apparently new.
f Sherwill, Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, 1851, page 586,
''272 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group VIII.

houses, pig-sties and well-stored granaries bespeak plenty and comfort. A long
bamboo is fixed in the ground in front of each house to ward off evil spirits.

Besides the dwelling houses, there are a number of well thatched round and
rectangular granaries supported on posts in which the harvest of Indian corn and millet
is carefally stowed away. The ‘machans’ often give a peculiarly Malayan aspect to
the villages. The Rajmahalis do not as a rule use rice; they aver that it does not agree
with them.

Colonel Sherwill noticed in the thickest part of the jungle on the hills several
places where mystic ceremonies had been performed. These were marked by two up-
right posts supporting a beam from which depended old baskets, calibashes, earthen pots,
old wooden mortars, winnowing fans, and other articles of domestic use; at other places
the collections were of old arms; and at a short distance from the posts small earthen
vessels were observed full of blood and spirits. We are not told the object of this
curious collection, but the first is no doubt the Raéjmahali version of the Ordon cere-
mony called the ‘rog-pelowa,’ expulsion of an evil spirit that has been afflicting the
village with disease amongst cattle or men.

I nowhere find any description of the dances or of the songs of the Paharias.
Mr. Atkinson found the Malers exceedingly reticent on the
subject, and with difficulty elicited that they had a dancing place
in every village, but it is only when under the influence of God Bacchus that they
indulge in the amusement. All accounts agree in ascribing to the Pahdrias an immo-
derate devotion to strong drink, and Buchanan* tells us that when they are dancing,
a person goes round with a pitcher of the home brew and without disarranging the
performers who are probably linked together by circling or entwining arms pours into
mouth of each, male and females, a refreshing and invigorating draught. Buchanan
considers the origin of this custom to be the feeling that in no other way would they
drink fair. The beverage is the universal pachwai, that is fer-
mented grain. The grain, either maize, rice or janera (Holcus
sorghum) is boiled and spread out on a mat to cool. It is then mixed with a ferment
of vegetables called bakar and kept in a large earthen vessel for some days; warm
water may at any time be mixed with it, and in a few hours it ferments and is ready
for use.

I have been informed by the Revd. Mr. Droese, Missionary at Bhagalptr, that the
Ordon custom of excluding the unmarried adults of both sexes
from the family residence is followed by the Paharias, and that
the Bachelors’ hall and maidens’ dormitories are institutions of the Rajmahal hills as
well as of the Chuitid Nagptr highlands (See section on Ordons, page 248).

Buchanan says that the Malers are fully as well dressed and as cleanly in their
persons as the ordinary peasantry of the plains, and their women
possess more valuable ornaments than the lowland females of
the cultivating class.

The Maler is represented as short of stature and slight of make. He is particular
about his hair which he wears well oiled and combed in a knot on the top of his head.

Dances

Their national drink.

Bachelors’ clubs.

Costume and physical traits.

 

 

* Buchanan—Topography of Bhagalpur, page 125.
''Srotron 2. ] THE MALERS—PAHARIAS OR HILL-MEN OF RAJMAHAL. Fa

The features are of a mild Tamulian type. The nose indeed is not prominent, but
it is broad below, having circular rather than elliptical nares; their faces are rather oval
than lozenge shaped; their lips are, as a rule, full, but their mouths and chins are pretty
well formed, and the facial angle is good ;* their eyes are of the Aryan or Circassian form,
not buried in fat and obliquely set like Chinese, but full and straight in the head. This
would answer very well for a description of the better looking Ordons, especially where
there is a reason for suspecting some. slight intermixture of blood, and it is said that
the Pahdrias were in former days much given to the capture of wives from the plains,
but with or without such admixture the Dravidian eye is always, I think, more
Circassian than Mongolian.

Mr. V. Ball, of the Geological Survey, has favored me with the following description
of the Asal Pahdrias. Their mode of dressing the hair is peculiar; most of it
is collected in a knot behind the head, but two long locks are generally left free and
hang over the ears. The men have an erect carriage and generally active figure; there
is nothing singular in their costume, but they are fond of red turbans, and being for
the most part well to do are able to gratify their fancy.

The women are often endowed with good figures and sometimes pretty faces.
Their dress is extremely graceful and effective. It consists of an ordinary white
skirt, with a square of gay colored striped, or banded, tusser silk, one end of which is
passed over the right and under the left shoulder, and the opposite corners tied; the
other end is tucked in under the skirt at the waist. Red coral necklaces are worn in
eveat profusion, but metal ornaments, such as the Santdls delight in, are scarcely used
at all.

The Hill lads and lasses are represented as forming very romantic attachments
exhibiting the spectacle of real lovers “ sighing like furnaces,”
and the cockney expression of “keeping company”’ is peculiarly
applicable to their courtship. If separated only for an hour, they are miserable, but
there are apparently few cbstacles to their enjoyment of each other’s society, as they
work together, go to market together, eat together, and sleep together! But if it be
found that they have overstepped the prescribed limits of billing and cooing, the elders
declare them to be out of the pale, and the blood of animals must be shed at their
expense to wash away the indiscretion and obtain their re-admission into society.

On the day fixed for a marriage, the bridegroom with his relations proceeds to the
bride’s father’s house, where they are seated on cots and mats,+
and after a repast the bride’s father takes his daughter’s hand
and places it in that of the bridegroom, and exhorts him to be loving and kind to the
girl that he thus makes over to him. The groom then with the little finger of his right
hand marks the girl on the forehead with ‘ sindur,’ vermilion, and then linking the same
finger with the little finger of her right hand he leads her away to his own house.

Polygamy is allowed and practised, and if a man dies leaving several widows, they
can become the wives of his brothers or cousins, but only one to
each. In regard to tribal or other restrictions on marriage,
I find no information except that a man may not marry a near relation.

Love.

Marriage ceremony.

Polygamy.

 

* Buchanan, Topography of Bhagulpore, page 128.
+ Vide Asiatic Researches, Vol. IV., page 70.

oo
ce
''274 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group VIII.

The Paharias bury their dead, unless it bea priest’s body that they have to dispose
of. In that case it is carried on a cot into the forest and placed
under the shade of a tree, where it is covered with leaves and
branches and left. The reason assigned by them for treating Demanos exceptionally is,
that their ghosts are exceedingly troublesome if the bodies are laid in the village
cemetery. The bodies of people who die of contagious diseases are similarly disposed of.

In other cases the corpse is taken on its cot to the burial-ground and buried with
the cot. When the grave is filled up, stones are put up round and above it. Over
the grave of a chief a hut is constructed, which is surrounded by a fence, and for five
days after the funeral the retainers and vassals are all feasted. At the end of a year,
there is a second season of feasting, and if within that period a man should have lost his
wife, he must not marry again, and there can be no division or distribution of the
deceased’s property till the second feast is given. The eldest son, if there be one,
takes half, and the other half is equally divided amongst the agnates. Nephews by
sisters get no share.

In concluding his report on the mountaineers, Lieutenant Shaw gives them a
high character for veracity; he says they would sooner die than
lie. ;

In the Ramgarh Hills of the Birbhim District and at the foot of the Réjmahdl
hills there are villages and detached houses occupied by a tribe
who call themselves Mal Paharias, but who appear to be alto-
cether unconnected with the Rajmahal hilmen. Mr. Ball informs me that these people
reminded him of the Kharriés and Pahdrias met with in Manbhtm, who belong to the
Koldrian group, but their language does not lead me to infer any very close affinity
between them and the Kols. I am indebted to Dr. Coates for a specimen of their
language, which I have added to the vocabulary appended to this chapter, though I
cannot say I have found in it analogues sufficient to justify its association with the
Dravidian dialects, but it is equally unlike Kol. The vocables were obtained from a
prisoner in the Hazdribégh Central Jail, who came from Naia Dumka, and he gave also
the following account of some customs of his brethren:—In calling themselves Mal,
they are of opinion that they declare themselves free from most of the impurities
practised by the Réjmahdlis, whom, the prisoner says, they call Savaras. They dance
like the Kols and are fond of the amusement, and have one great festival in the year in
the month of January or Magh, corresponding with the great harvest joy of the Hos
and Mindas. It is called ‘Bhttindeb,’ which is evidently Hindi, the earth god. The
Mals plant in their dancing place two branches of the sal tree, and for three days they
dance round these branches, after which they are removed and thrown into a river,
which reminds one of the Karma festivals as solemnised by the Ordons and Kols in
Chitid Nagptir. On this occasion the men and women dance vis-a-vis to each other, the
musicians keeping between. ‘The men dance holding each other above their elbows, the
left hand of one holding the right elbow of the other, whose right hand again holds the
left elbow of the arm that has seized him. The fore-arms touching are held stiffly out
and swayed up and down. ‘They move sideways, advance, and retire, sometimes bending
low, sometimes erect. The women hold each cther by the plams, interlacing the fingers,
left plam upon righ plam and left and right fore-arms touching. ‘They move like the men

Burial ceremonies.

Veracity.

Mal Paharias.
''SEcTION 3. ] THE GONDS. 275

They dance at births (galwari) and at weddings (behar), and have a dance called
‘jhumar’ for any time or season. This sounds very like the Santél or Munda name
for the same, and may be borrowed from the Santdls, their neighbours.

I have no information regarding the religion of this tribe, except that they worship

the earth and sun.

SECTION 3.—THE Gonps.

In most old maps of India, the territorial name Gondwana is printed across the
greater portion of the territory now known as the Central Provinces. Gondwana
extended from the Vindhyan mountains to the Godavari, and embraced the Sdtpurd
range. Of the districts now under the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, it included
Korea, Sirgtja, and Udaiptir, but Gond colonies are found as far east as the Katak
Tributary Mahdls, where they blend with the Kandhs and the Sauras, or Savaras, and
they extend to Khandesh and Malwa in the west, where they touch the Bhils.

A considerable proportion of the population of this tract—the core of India—

are Gonds, and they are by far the most numerous of the abori-
ginal people still found there. According to the census of 1867,
there are a million and a half of Gonds in the Central Provinces, of Bhils 25,454,
and of Kurkwus or Kols 39,114.
Under what system or form of government the primitive inhabitants of Gondwana
lived, when they were the sole possessors of the country, we have
nothing to show. It was no doubt in a rude state, with scanty
settlements separated by vast intervals of virgin forest and uninhabited hills, under
numerous petty chiefs—sometimes confederates, but oftener at war with each other—till
in course of time Aryan sages or warriors penetrated into the fastnesses, astonishing the
savages by their knowledge and prowess: and Bréhmanical doctrines, permeating the
country, tinged the primitive paganism without obliterating it. The Gond chiefs and all
who wished to appear respectable in the eyes of their civilized visitors accepted what
they could comprehend of the new faith, but the Brahman policy was ever to leave the
hewers of wood and drawers of water in their ignorance, so that whilst the ‘ upper ten
thousand’ were gradually Hinduised and partially civilized, the lower classes were left in
the unreclaimed state in which we find some of them to this day.

The Hindu subjugators of the Gonds are traditionally styled Rajpits. They formed
alliances with the people of the land, especially with the families of the chiefs, and hence
sprung up a superior class of Gonds who assumed the title of Rajputs or Raj Gonds,
and by them several kingdoms were formed. The most northern of these *“had its
capital at Mandla and at Garha (near the modern city of Jabalptir) and dominated the
greater part of the Narbada valley. Of the two midland kingdoms one had its capital:
at Deogarh on the southern face or slope of the S&tpur& range, overlooking and com-
manding the plains which now belong to Nagptr. Deogarh is now ruined and utterly
desolate, but it was a city before Nagpir was even a village. The other midland king-
dom had its capital at Kherla, a hill commanding the rich valley of Baittl in the heart of
the Satpura range. ‘To this also belonged the celebrated forts of Gavilgarh and Narndéla,
both in the same hills.”

Numerical strength.

Historical notices.

 

* Administration Report by Sir R. Temple for the year 1862.
''276 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grove VIII.

«The southern kingdom had its capital at Chandé on the Wardha, and comprised
a vast but wild territory: it stretched far up to the north-east and again, commanding
the Godavari, stretched far down to the south. These four dynasties existed at least some
time before the formation of the Mughul Empire. They were brave and independent,
but they could never have been rich or powerful.”

It is said that the Hindu dynasties first established in Gondwana or Central India
lost ground during the sectarian war between Budhists and Brahmans;* the Gond
chiefs availed themselves of the opportunity to re-assert their independence, which they
apparently maintained till the decline of the Hindu power. Subsequently, though the
northern and southern Gond kingdoms succeeded in preserving their autonomy, the
remainder were gradually subjugated or made tributary by the Muhammadans. The
midland kingdom was thoroughly reduced, and its princes forced or induced to embrace
the Mubhammadan faith. '

Bakht Buland, the Gond Raja of Deogarh, was the first to apostatize. He went to
Delhi and embraced the Court religion, hoping thus to obtain
favor and protection in his contests with his neighbours. He is
described by Sir Richard Jenkins as an able administrator. He encouraged the resort
to his Court of Hindus and Muhammadans of ability, and it is said that much of the
success of the Mahratta Government, subsequently established, was owing to their
adoption of the institutions formed by Bakht Buland. His descendants, availing them-
selves of the assistance of the Mahrattas in their intestine wars, suffered the wily leaders
of that restless people to obtain a footing in Gondwana, which in the end led to its
subjugation by Raghoji Bhonsla, who died in 1755, A. D. His descendant Madhuji
Bhonsla, after the celebrated fight at Sitabaldhi, had to succumb to the British power, and
died in exile at Jaudhpur in 1818.

The above brief sketch will explain how at the present time we find Gonds who
have retained their primitive customs and ancient faith; Gonds
who, adopting Hinduism as a more fashionable and civilized
religion than their own, hold to its tenets without altogether abandoning their old gods;
Gonds who wear the BrAhmanical cord as members of the twice-born class and conform
strictly to Hinduism; and Muhammadan Gonds.

In taking the census, it is probable that many of the two latter classes are returned
as Hindus or Muhammadans, and that, therefore, the one and a half million is not their
full tale in the Central Provinces. If we add the Gonds of Bengal and Madras, we
shall certainly have upwards of two millions of souls, perhaps nearly three. My business
is chiefly with the Gonds of Bengal, but I find I must make excursions into the
Central Provinces to obtain glimpses of the raw material of the race. Of Bengal territory,
one half of Sirgtija, the whole of Korea, and Udaiptr, appear to have been dominated by
Gond dynasties. But although they were included in the Gondwana of the old geogra-
phers, I am in doubt as to their having been first occupied by Gonds. The chiefs of
these estates have for many generations taken up positions in the peerage of India as
Rajputs or Kshatriyas, but their claim to the distinction rests on no very firm footing.
According to their traditions, they were either specially raised on the spot to rule over
the wild countries they are found in, or they came as knights-errant in the Indian

Bakht Buland.

Classification.

 

* Settlement Report of the Bhandara District, by A. J. Lawrence, Esq., B.C. S., p. 56.
''SEcTION 3. ] THE GONDS. oT

days of chivalry, and forced or induced the savages to accept them as rulers. Can it be
really true that people, zealous of their independence, thus chose rulers ? I was told in
Bamyra, one of the dependencies of the Central Provinces, that this had happened there
within the last 800 years. The country was originally divided into distinct nationalities,
Gonds, Kandhs, and Bhiiyas, each under an independent chief of their own race or tribe,
till they chose as their ruler the ancestor of their present Raja, who, being a Hindu and a
Rajput, introduced a fourth nationality of his co-religionists, to avoid the indignity of
receiving the ‘tilak’ of investiture from impure hands. We find in all the tributary
estates that the tribe, or tribes, who originally predominated, form still under the
so-called Kshatriya or Raéjpit Rajas the landed aristocracy of the country. Thus, in
Sirgtija, Korea, and Udaiptir, the principal subproprietors are Gonds; in Gangpar,
Bonai, Keonjhar, &c., Bhiiiyas; in Chuitia Nagptir and many of the Jungle Mahals,
Kols. In Bamra, where, as I have said, three nationalities meet, representatives of
each tribe are in possession of fiefs. ‘The Gonds joined the Bhitityas as colonists in
Bonai, and we find in the south of that small state two fiefs held on terms of
military service by Gonds, whilst the Northern tenures of the same kind are held by
Bhitiyas.

In the Singbhtim District there are many colonies of Gonds, but they are there styled
Dorowas. They are also called Naiks, and are probably brethren of the clan thus noticed
in the Central Provinces Gazetteer, page 138.—‘‘ The Naik or Dhurwe Gonds are found
in the south of the district (Chanda), but their numbers are very small. They appear
under the Gond kings to have been employed as soldiers, and at the present day to prefer
such service to agricultural work. ‘They are divided into seventeen families or houses.”
The majority of this tribe were formerly settled in Bamanghati, a part of Mayurbhanj.
They were the military retainers and clansmen of the Mahdpdter, who held all
Bamanghati in virtue of his office, but after many years of opposition to his feudal Lord,
the Raja of Mayurbhanj, he broke out into open insurrection, forced the Government to
interfere, and the result was, that he and all his people were banished from Bamanghati
and permitted to settle in Singbhim.

All the Gonds above noticed, as located in Bengal, have adopted Hinduism, wholly
or partially, and I have not met with one individual in the entire tract who would own
to a knowledge of the Gondi language, or who had retained habits and customs character-
istic of his race.

There is a powerful tribe,* numbering about 15,000, in Chitia Nagpur called
Rautia, who are probably of the Gond family ; they were at an
early period introduced by the Nagbangsi Raja to aid him against
his irrepressible Kol subjects, and they obtained grants of land as military colonists,
which their descendants still hold. They resemble the Gonds in feature and in disposi-
tion; but as they aspire to be of Aryan descent, have lost all trace of their original
language, and follow the customs of Hindu Stidras, it is impossible to be certain of their
affinities.

They made their first appearance in a place called Pandri, and though now scattered,
they still maintain there a Rautia Pahn, or Baiga, i. e., priest, who performs for the tribe
the worship of their tutelary deity called Mahaddn, whom I take to be the same as the

ee

The Rautias.

 

 

* Hssay on Gonds, by Revd. 8. Hislop, pp. 4 and 6.
3 W
''278 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grove VII.

Bura Deo of the Sirgdja and Singbhim Gonds, and Bada Deo and Badial Pen of the
Southerners.

The Gond landed gentry in Korea and Sirgija do not claim to be indigenous. They
say that their ancestors came into Sirgtja from Mandla and Dan-
gargarh on the disruption of the Gond kingdoms in Central India
by the Muhammadans. ‘They all call themselves RAj Gonds; the following are given
as tribes of the smaller fry :—1, Badiya; 2, Koram; 3, Paoli; 4, Mtirpdsi or Murpachi;
5, Siamb; 6, Merkand. Amongst the Singbhim Gonds, or Dorowas, I found—1, Bursa;
2, Naga; 3, Murpachi; 4, Merkam; 5, Ko siamb; 6, Kariamb; and 7, Suriam.

The Gonds of the Central Provinces are divided into twelve and a half tribes,* viz.,
hk4j Gond, Raghawél, Dadave, Katulya, Padél, Dholi, Ojhydl, Thotyal, Koilébhufil,
Koikopal, Kolém, Madyal, and an inferior sort of Padaél as the half class. The first
four, with the addition according to some of the fifth, are classed as pure Gonds styled
‘ Koitor’, which Mr. Hislop considers to have reference to their love for hills, but other
denominations have been given.

The Dholis are so called from their being employed to beat the dhola, a drum.+
The Ojhyal are augurs, from qjh. Thotyal means ‘maimed,’ and signifies a low tribe who
are employed as bards. The Koilabhutal bring up their daughters as dancing girls and
prostitutes. The Koikop&l are herdsmen, the word being a Gondi corruption of the
Hindi ‘ Gopal.’

The other tribes are all more or less Hinduised, and to no small extent apparently
demoralised in consequence. Amongst the non-reformed aborigines, prostitution and pro-
fessional dancing and singing are unknown, as is also any division of the tribe or people
according to occupation, but in the Kolam and Maria we have apparently the primi-
tive type not found in Bengal, and it is to them we must look for typical peculiarities
of the race.

«“ The Kolams+ extend all along the Kandi-Konda, or Pindi, Hills on the south of the
Wardha River, and along the table-land stretching east and north
of Manikgad and thence south to Dautanpali, running parallel to
the western bank of the Pranhitd.” They do not intermarry with other Gonds, and
there is considerable difference between their language and what is given to us as ordinary
Gondi in Mr. Hislop’s vocabulary, but it appears to be pretty closely allied to Telugu.
Of their sociology, all that is noticed is, that amongst them the marriage by capture is
fashionable. All may be agreed between the parties beforehand, nevertheless the bride
must be abducted for the fun of the thing, but the bridegroom has only to overcome
the opposition of the young lady’s female friends,—it is not etiquette for the men of
her village to take any notice of the affair.

The Marids appear in Bastar, Chanda, and other southern dependencies as Marias.
The name is apparently derived from the Gondi term for a tree,
‘Mara,’ but they are also called Jhorids, from ‘jhodi,’ a brook.
This is the name given to the gold-washers in Chutia Nagpur, who are in all probability
Gonds likewise. The more civilised Gonds in the southern dependencies are called
Marids, Hulbds, and Badiyas.

Tribal divisions.

The Kolams.

The Marias.

 

* Essay on Gonds, by Revd. 8S. Hislop, pp. 6 & 7.
+ Hislop’s paper, p. 10.
''Srcrion 3. ] THE GONDS. 279

The Marids are described as an intensely shy people; so much so that those who
are most accustomed to deal with them are not admitted to an
interview. ‘The officer who collects their annual rent, approaches
a Maria village, beats a drum, and retires. The customary dues are then deposited for
him at a spot previously agreed upon and left for him to appropriate.

The uncivilized Marids have very little clothing, either for warmth or purposes of
decency,* and as their bodies are generally begrimed with ashes
and dirt, they do not present an attractive appearance.

They shave the head, leaving only a top knot, but as the process is a very painful one,
they rarely have recourse to it, and the neglected hair grows in a matted and most
untidy form. They wear as many as fifteen small ear-rings in one ear, and round the
waist a girdle of cowries, or a girdle of ten to fifteen cords, attached to which is a tobacco
pouch and a naked knife. A hatchet hanging from the shoulders, or a bow and arrows,
completes the costume of a Marid in his native wilds.

It has been reported that the women of some of the Hill Marids of Bastar are
clad only in leaves like the Judngas of Keonjhar, but as I do not find that any leaf-clad
tribes have actually been identified as Gond by competent persons, I think it probable
that the people alluded to may be a section of the Judngas, who are linguistically and

otherwise connected with the Kols. The dress of the MA4dia, or

Maria, Gonds of Bastar described by an observert is for the
women a cotton cloth round the waist, which is often the sole garment, but for full dress
a wrapper is added. They are tattooed on the face and on the thighs, but the particular
marks are not described. They wear small brass ear-rings and a profusion of white bead
necklaces, and sometimes an iron loop encircles the neck, on which brass and iron rings
are strung to make, I suppose, a pleasing jingle.

Captain Glasford sought in vain for the leaf-clad Madia ladies; but he notices a tribe

called Gadbas or Gudwas, and gives a specimen of their language,
‘from which it appears that they speak a Kol rather than a Gondi
dialect, and dress in cloth made from the fibre of the Kuring tree.

A M4rié woman, after giving birth to a child, has to remain in retirement for a whole
month, and unless she has a daughter old enough to serve her, she
must cook for herself the whole time.

The bachelors are excluded at night from the family residence ; and like the Ordons
and other tribes described have a common dormitory, in which they are compelled to sleep.

Betrothals take place about two years before marriage. The father, making all
arrangements for his son, settles with the father of the bride ;
but a method of divination is employed to ascertain if the pro-
posed union is likely to prove a happy one. Two grains of rice are separately dropped
into water contained in a brass plate : these are supposed to represent the boy and the
girl. If the grains come together, it is auspicious. It forebodes ill, if they separate.
Fourteen rupees is the average price of a bride, with the addition of Rs. 2 to her father,

Their shyness.

Appearance.

Dress.

The Gadbas.

Social peculiarities. Births.

Betrothals and marriages.

 

* Colonel C. Glasford. Selections from Records ‘Government of India,’ No. XXXIX, page 39. The M4rids and Jhorias in
Bastar form, it is said, 45 per cent. of the total population.

+ Tbid., p. Al.

~£ Reverend S. Hislop, p. 9.
''280 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grove VIII.

to pay for the pig he has to furnish for the feast. A large quantity of liquor has also to be
provided. When the payment has been made, the bride-elect makes a round of farewell
visits to her friends, and receives from each presents according to their means. In Bastar,
when the bridegroom goes with his friends to fetch his bride, the shrinking maiden seeks
refuge in a neighbour’s house, and hides herself amongst the rafters, from whence, when
found, she is ruthlessly dragged down, and borne away to her fate.

In Nagpur the marriage ceremonies of the Gonds resemble those of the Ordons
already described.

In Group VII, section 8, on the Mudsfs or Kiirs, I gave a description of a marriage
ceremony performed in the presence and at the expense of Captain W. L. Samuells, of
which the hero and heroine were Muasis. Visiting the same neighbourhood in the follow-
ing year, Captain Samuells found that several couples had postponed their marriages on
hearing that he was coming, and were eagerly expecting him, and he selected a pair of Gond
lovers to be made happy under his patronage. ‘The ceremony was apparently the same
as that observed on the former occasion, and, in truth, I believe that the previous wedding
was solemnized rather according to the Gond than the Mudasi or Kol rituals; but in lieu
of Ghansim, there was a frightful apparition of two demoniaes, possessed by a spirit
called ‘ Bagheswar’, the tiger-god, who fell ravenously on a bleating kid and gnawed it
with their teeth till it expired. The possessed men otherwise conducted themselves in a
frantic manner, the wedding guests beholding them in awe-stricken silence, and it was
not till the spirit had been duly exorcised that the demoniacs
subsided into a tranquil state. This was effected by the father of
the bride, who poured down the throat of each, first a liberal allowance of rice-beer, and
then a quantity of ghee (clarified butter), which apparently lubricated a passage for the
demons’ departure, and they were left in peace. Captain Samuells writes :—‘ The manner
in which the two men seized the kid with their teeth and by that means killed it, was a
sight which could only be equalled on a feeding day in a Zoological Garden or Menagerie.”

This tiger-god is held in awe by numerous tribes who dwell in the vicinity of
that animal’s haunts, but the apparition on the present occasion was of a spirit specially
attached to and connected with certain tribes of Gonds occupying the hill country between
Sirgija and Rewé. The master of the feast was of one of these tribes ; it was in his family
ages ago that the tiger-spirit was born, and for some years so faithfully served his father in
the flesh, that the latter was inconsolable when the creature died ; but it was subsequently
found that whenever a marriage took place, the spirit, like an Irish Banshi, re-appeared
and conducted himself in the violent manner described.

It appears from the interesting* notes left by the late Reverend L. Hislop, that the
wild Gonds of Chhindwara and other places are distributed into
sects known by the number of gods they each pay devotion
to.. Some are worshippers of two, some of three, some of more, up to seven gods, and
there are restrictions on the intermarriage of different classes of worshippers, which,

The tiger-god.

Religion.

however, are not very clearly defined.

The names of the gods are different in different places, a five-god worshipper of
Chhindwara gave them as—1l, Pharsi Pen, or Dula Deva; 2, Nurma; 3, Gangara ;
4, Rayetal; 5, Badiatal. Here Dula Deo has the first place and is made one with Pharsi,

* In hig Appendix lL.

 
''SECTION 3. | THE GONDS. 281

a warlike deity, but he is reverenced as a household god throughout a very extensive
area. He is the chief object of worship to the Boyars of Sirgtja, Rewd, and other places ;
and I was told in Jashptr that his worship there had become so popular, or was deemed
so essential, that every family of every caste or tribe, even Brahmans, had altars
dedicated to him in their houses. Gangara is sometimes called Budha, and placed at the
head of the list. This was probably in the days of Budhist ascendancy. Each divinity has
his particular symbol; Dwa Deo or Pharsi, a battle-axe fastened to a tree; Nurma,
a round piece of wood; Gangara, four links of an iron chain; Rayetal and Badiatal,
a rude image of a tiger in iron; but round stones may be set up as the representative
of any or all the gods, the number of stones indicating the number of gods worshipped.
This is common to all tribes of the Dravidian group; and we frequently see, in villages
where there are Gonds, two curved posts, one much shorter than the other, which are said
to represent the tutelary deities, male and female, of the locality. The names Salei, Mal,
Palo, Chawar, and Kham, or Kank, are also given, but we have no information regarding
their different attributes.

The Gonds are, however, found to have one common object of worship, called accord-
ing to the linguistic peculiarities of the locality, Bira Deo, Bada Deo, or Badial Pen.
Pen and Deo mean the same, but the signification of Bira or Bada I am not sure of.
Major Macpherson tells us that Buira Pen, the Kandh god, means ‘the god of light.’
Mr. Hislop no doubt rightly conjectures that Badidl Pen, whom he also calls Badhal
Pen, and the Kandh god is the same; but he translates Badhal in one place (page 14:) as
‘the old god,’ though in a note to the same page he quotes as if affirming the Calcutta
Review in translating the words ‘Sun-god.’ If Btira deo means ‘old god,’ it should, I
suppose, be written ‘Burha,’ but in the way the word is pronounced, I do not detect the
aspirate.

The Singbhim Gonds, though in most matters completely Hinduised, have a grand
festival once every year in honor of Bura Deo. At the appointed
time all the adult males of the tribe proceed to the forest, and
clear a space round an dsan tree (Zerminalia tomentosa), and then offer a sacrifice in
front of an altar on which the symbol of Bura Deo is set up. After which they enjoy a
‘ban bhojun,’ or pic-nic in the woods, every man contributing to the feast. The mahwa
tree (Bassia latifolia) is also held sacred by the Gonds, and truly no product of nature
has greater claims on their gratitude. I was credibly informed that the Gonds in
Sirgtja formerly offered human sacrifices to Butra Deo, and they
go through the form of doing so still—a form prescribed, I
believe, in the Jogini Tantra. Not long after the cession of Sirgtija by Appd Sahib
to the British Government, one of the Gond zaminddrs was arrested and imprisoned
for having seized the ‘ Raj Guru,’ the head priest of the Sirgtja family, and sacrificed
him before the altar of Bira Deo. There is no doubt that this was done, though
the Gond died in jail before he could be tried for the crime; but his estate was confiscated.
The Gonds now make up an image of a man with straw or other material, and find that
it answers the purpose just as well.

In regard to the faith or religious belief of this people, I find very little on record, and
the Gonds with whom I have conversed, have no ideas on the subject, except such as they
have been indoctrinated with by the Brahmans or Gosdins, at whose feet they now sit.

ox

Feasts.

Human sacrifices.
''ISP DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grovp VIII.

Sir Richard Temple, in editing Mr. Hislop’s essays, has given us a translation of
a very long Gondi poem, which it is said is recited by their bards; but it is so obviously
derived from Hindu teachers, of wild imagination, that it cannot be regarded as embody-
ing any true Gondi traditional lore.

The ‘argument’ is, that the twelve families of Gonds are sprung from a boil which rose

Story of Lingoandthelegena 0 the hand of Kalia Adao, who was similarly produced from
of the origin of the Gonds. + the hand of Mahadeva. These Gonds filled the hills and valleys,
and’ were distinguished by their promiscuous appetites and high odour. They stank
in the nostrils of Mahadeva, and he shut them up in a cave, all except four brothers,
who escaped... But Parbati loved the Gonds and their smell, and missing the latter,
she engaged herself in devotional exercises to ascertain what had become of them.
‘Bhagovan,’ God, listening to her prayer caused Lingo to be produced from a flower.
Ife was fed on honey that dropped from the flowers of a fig tree. At nine years of age,
he started on his travels and came on the four Gond brothers above mentioned. He
remained with them, and helped to clear and prepare lands for cultivation, and in all he
did he displayed miraculous power. One day they killed some deer, but had no fire
wherewith to roast the venison. Then Lingo directed them to the abode of a giant
Rikad, who had an old wife and seven lovely daughters. The youngest of the brothers
was deputed, and he tried to steal the fire, but was detected by the giant who gave chase
to the thief; but Lingo made a lute and going to Rikad’s house played and sang so
charmingly, that the old giant delighted danced, and the old wife delighted danced, and
so pleased were the seven daughters, that they left the paternal roof and followed Lingo
home. He gave the seven girls to the four Gonds; to the three eldest each two, and one
to the youngest, and having prepared the bower and garlands, instituted and performed
the marriage ceremonies proper for Gonds. ‘Lingo, the holy Saint,” would not
himself take a wife, and when the girls, fired by his insensibility to their charms, made
love to him, he sternly rebuked them, but when they proceeded to take liberties with him,
he flogged them. In revenge they reported to their husbands that Lingo had dishonored
them, and the husbands put their benefactor to death in a very cruel manner.

Bhagovan, however, restored Lingo to life, and he then undertakes the delivery
of the Gonds whom Mahadeva had shut up in a cave, and after accomplishing a
series of tasks set him by that god, he obtains their release, and they form a settlement
in the forest under his guidance. Lingo is next found calling before him all the Gond
eods or devilsand giving them names, and he then causes himself to be possessed
by each in turn, and dances and prophesies, anda ritual of offerings and sacrifice is
established. Next,.by the selection of a venerable man of the assembly to be Pardhan,
an order of priests is established. The Pardhan was instructed to negotiate marriages,
anda ritual of marriage was given out which embraces all the ceremonies, of probable
Hindu origin, observed among the Gonds of the present day. Lingo further enjoined his
Gonds to practise hospitality, and gave them permission to sing, dance, laugh, and drink,
as much as they liked.

Of the personages mentioned in the above disjointed legend, the Gonds whom I have
met with know nothing. I have frequently questioned them on the subject, but they never
apparently had heard of Lingo and his feats. Some Murpachi, or four God Gonds, in
Bamra told me they had heard of Lingo, but he belonged to the Western Gonds.
''SrctroN 3.] 3 THE GONDS. | 983

The half-Hinduised Gonds we meet in Bengal have no peculiar funeral ceremonies,
and, so far as I have been able to judge, evince but little reverence
for their dead; but *amongst the Marids, who are probably the
best type that we possess of the primitive Gond, the dead are ‘ waked’ in the Irish fashion.
Summoned by a peculiar beat of a drum, all the Marids within hearing attend. A cow
is killed, ample provision of the intoxicating beverage called Lundi is made, and the
euests are feasted. If the deceased was an adult male, the body is next secured by cords
to a Mahwa tree in an erect posture and then burned. This is a very singular variation
from the ordinary method, and has in all probability some special and local origin. The
funeral rites are performed by the nephew of the deceased. After cremation, the ashes
are collected and buried by the side of a road; a large slab of gneiss is erected over the
evave; and the tail of the slaughtered cow is attached to it as a token that the obsequies
of the deceased have been decently performed. Children and women are always buried,
and perhaps further enquiry by Captain Glasford, to whom I am indebted for the above
account, would have shown that amongst the Marias as amongst the Kurs, all males
who die unmarried are similarly disposed of.

The Marias, like the Kols and Oraons, are deeply imbued with a dread of witchcraft
and of the power of the evil eye, and when there is the slightest suspicion that a death
has ensued from such a cause, the burning of the body is postponed till it is made to
point out the delinquent. The relations solemnly call on the corpse to do this, and the
theory is, that if there has been foul play of the nature indicated, the body on being
taken up will force the bearers to convey it to the house of the person by whom the spell
was cast. If this be three times repeated the owner of the house is condemned, his place
is destroyed, and he is expelled from the district.

Socially I consider the Hinduised or semi-Hinduised Gonds to be the least interest-
ing of the great families of the aborigines of India. They have
none of the lively disposition of the Ordons, or of the free dignified
demeanour which characterises many of the Singbhtim Kols. They are in character reserved,
sullen, and suspicious. They are indifferent cultivators and careless about the appear-
ance of their homesteads, and they are withal singularly ill-favored, and though some of
the wealthier families have formed series of alliances with other races which have improved
their looks, I can point to many who have tried this in vain, and who show to this day
features more closely resembling the lower Negro type than any I have met with amongst
the tribes of Bengal. They often have short crisp curly hair, and though it is said, and no
doubt truly, that this is far removed from the regular woolly covering of a Negro’s head,
I have generally found such hair in conjunction with features very noticeably Negro in
type, and accompanying a very dark skin. They are larger and heavier in build than the
Ordons or Kols, and with none of the graceful physique to be found in both these tribes.

It is probable that a more accurate knowledge of the wild hill Gonds would have
enabled me to have shown that they are not devoid of those pleasant traits which render
us generally partial to the primitive hill races. The description given by an officer+
of the Dhtir Gonds in Narsinghpir proves that they have much in common with other
tribes of Central India. They are represented as a wild race, supported by a blind

Disposal of the dead.

Characteristics.

 

* Captain Glasford’s Report, Selection, No. XXXIX, quoted above.
+ Mr. C. Grant, c. s., Selections, Government of India, No, LIII, page 10.
''IS 4 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grovp VIII.

fatalism through lives of privation, disease, and danger. ‘A true Gond will commit
a murder, but he will not tell a lie. Though skilled in medicinal herbs, in illness he
prefers trusting to fate. He will not turn from a tiger, but will fly from cholera. Like
a dog he sets fidelity above all other virtues, and will without hesitation take life at the
bidding of his master. These qualities adapt the Gonds for services of danger, and they
are said to make admirable miners in the coal mines of Mohpani.”

They have been tried as soldiers and were not found wanting in pluck, but they
cannot be made to submit to discipline. :

These Gonds are described as flat nosed, thick lipped, straight haired, with frames
short and thick set. The few who pass unscathed the constant risks and hardships of
their forest life, are remarkable for longevity, and do not readily show signs of old age,

A Gond ordinarily retains sound teeth and black hair to the day of his death. In
this particular they have the advantage over many kindred tribes. The happy disposition
of the Ordon does not avert the decay to which most people have to submit as they
approach the close of life.

The hill Gonds appear to be very backward in arts. An artizan of their own race is
rarely met with, but like other tribes they have availed them-
selves of the services of low Aryan craftsmen who live with them,
accommodate themselves to Gond habits of impurity, and in return for a scanty means
of subsistence do all the weaving and pottery required.

Amongst the social customs that are described, it is strange to find no mention of the
pastime which the Ordons and Kols are so passionately fond of—dancing,—but I believe
this may arise from their reticence before strangers. I have expressed my belief that the
*Boyars of Sirgtja, &c., are a tribe of Gonds, and ¢hey dance and sing merrily enough.
A description of a Boyar dance that I witnessed may help the solution of the question
of their consanguinity. Half a dozen young women holding hands as low down by their
sides as possible, and bending their bodies forward till the clasped hands are within a
foot of the ground. The men, in front of them, and detached, with drums and girdles of
bells, singing, playing, and capering sometimes in an erect position, sometimes squatting
on their hams. ‘The girls’ step is very simple and quict. The left foot is advanced a
short step, the right foot brought up to its heel, then right retires and left assumes its
former position, but as they move they sidle round so as to make a half circle. The
girls were all neatly clothed and clean and in good condition, but not beauties, both sexes
had broad snub noses, large mouths, thick projecting lips, faces round. from fulness of
cheek, brown skins. Girls very plump figures: and this was the burden of their song.

No one sings with me, who will be my spouse ?

The tiger seizes the Ast (iron smelter) and eats him, who will be my spouse ?

Go father and mother, who will be my spouse ?

Why do I want a pitcher ?

Why need I a support for it ?

There is no one to ask for water,

Who will be my spouse ?

Artizans.

 

* I have written ‘Boyars’, because I find the word so spelt in maps, and it appeared to me to be in accord with the pro-
nunciation ; but I find that the Jashptir and Sirgtija chiefs write it Bhainhars. Some of the tribe whom I recently conversed
with, declared that they and the ‘ Parheyas’ were of one family. This is quite possible. See page 131 for Parheyas, and 134
for Boyars. The Boyars may be a connecting link between the Gonds and Oraons.

 
''Section 4. ] 285 °
Section 4.—THE KANDHS.

In the most southern region of Bengal, from the eastern limit of Gondwana to the
sea coast, are situated the feudal dependencies or Tributary
Mahdals, in which alone the Kandh race are found. The meri-
dional limit of their western extension passes through Bamra, and, except as wanderers
from their fatherland, they are not found further north than the 22nd degree of latitude.
They extend south as far as Bastar, whence their position as the aboriginal people is
taken up by the Savaras or Sauras. |

There appears to be a difference of opinion amongst authorities as to the origin
or derivation of the name. Some consider it to be a kindred word with Gond, and
that it should be written Kand, both being derived from the Tamul ‘ Kandas,’ a hill.
Others say that it is derived from ‘ Kandra,’ an arrow; but however derived, unlike most
names of the kind, it is accepted by the people as their national designation, and as
I am informed that in Orissa it is usually written Kandh, I will retain that spelling,

My personal acquaintance with the Kandhs is very limited. I have seen a few
in attendance on tributary chiefs, and have fallen in with some families of the tribe in
the Bonai dependency ; but they had been too long dwelling in a servile position amongst
aliens to have retained any distinctive or typical characteristics of their race, and
could converse only in Uriya. I noticed, however, that physically they were finer men
than the people about them, who were Gonds, Bhiiiyas, and Pans (Panvas). They were
as tall as the average Hindu, and not much darker in complexion ; while in features,
many of them might have been taken for Hindus of the laboring classes.

Their carriage and bearing reminded me of the Larkas of Singbhtim. It struck
me at the time that they were a mixed race; that in them the Kol, the Gond,
and the Aryan, were probably blended, and if there be no error in the accounts
we receive of them, one of their peculiarities is an utter disregard of the pre-

Geographical distribution.

cautions practised by neighbouring tribes for the preservation of the purity of the
blood. It was a custom with some of them to destroy their own female children
and buy as wives daughters of aliens. Very little appears to have been known
of the Kandhs till British officers were brought face to face with these mountaineers
whilst engaged in operations for the reduction of the great Gimsur estate in the
Ganjim District, the chief of which had rebelled and taken refuge amongst them. Mr.
Stirling, in his account of Orissa or Katak, notices them as forming the principal part
of the population of “‘ Killah Rampur, which was thence called the ‘ Kandrah Dandpat,’
and adds that “the natives have the idea of a district situate between Daspalla, Boad,
and Gutmsur, inhabited entirely by this tribe, which they call Kandra. ‘This then was
the extent of our knowledge of the people when British troops entered Gimsur in 1835.*

The astounding diseovery was then made that we included amongst our fellow
subjects a whole people who practised human sacrifice and female
infanticide on a scale and with a cruelty which had never been
surpassed by the most savage of nations, and from that period to the close of the year

Human sacrifices.

 

* In a report by Major Roughsedge, dated 25th March 1821, he notices that two Kandhs had been introduced to him by
the Raja of Boad. One of them named Gh4si Malik was soon after implicated in the attack on a village that was
plundered by the Kandhs, when twenty of the villagers were murdered. This is the first mention I have found of the
Bengal Kandhs in official documents.

ay
''286 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grove VIII.

1861, the strenuous efforts of very able officers were directed to the repression of these
most appalling crimes.

Hitherto the Government had exercised little or no interference with the inhabitants
of what are called the Maliahs or hill districts, between the Mahanadi and Ganjam, and
this added. greatly to the difficulty of carrying out the policy adopted, which was an
attempt to eradicate the deeply rooted superstitions of a whole nation with the least
possible display of force. It was hoped that something might be effected through the
chiefs; but it was found that they exercised but a nominal control over the Kandh
Maliahs.

The Meriah sacrifices, as they were called, and Kandh female infanticide, may now
be regarded as amongst the plague spots of the land which have been effectually cured
and obliterated by the enlightened treatment and strong hand of, the British Govern-
ment. It seems to be admitted, not only that the practices have ceased, but that
the people have been actually weaned from the fears and superstitions which gave
rise to them. Nevertheless, no account of the Kandhs would be complete without
a description of the mysterious and awe-inspiring rites of a Meriah sacrifice, and a
detail of the circumstances under which female infants were so unmercifully massacred.

The Kandhs are strictly an agricultural people, and the salient points of their
religious belief all have reference to the fertilization of the earth. They are divided
into two sects. One called Btira, worship the supreme God under that name, and hold
human sacrifice in abhorrence. The other sect devote themselves to Tari, the earth-
goddess, who, by shedding her own blood on sterile soil, manifested to her votaries its
marvellously beneficial effects, and persuaded them that this process of fertilization
must be continued by periodical human sacrifices in her honor.

It was incumbent on the Kandhs to purchase their victims.* Unless bought with
a price, they were not deemed acceptable to the goddess, and, as a rule, victims from their
own tribe were not thus procurable; but it sometimes happened that in bad seasons,
Kandhs were reduced to selling their children, and they might then be purchased as
Meriahs.

The agents employed were usually people of the Pan or Panwa class, a low tribe of
bastard Hindus, who are found diffused amongst the population of all the Tributary
Mahils, under different denominations, as Pans or Panwas, Chiks, Gandas, Pankas.

These agents sometimes purchased, but more frequently kidnapped, the children,
whom they sold to the Kandhs, and they were so debased that they occasionally sold
their own offspring, though they knew of course the fate that awaited them.

The word Meriah+ is Uriya, not Kandh. The Kandhs call the victims Toki or
Keddi. Persons of any race or age and of either sex were acceptable, if purchased, or the
children of purchased Meriahs. Numbers were bought and held in readiness, and, during
their period of probation or preparation, were well treated and fed. Male and female
Meriahs were encouraged to cohabit, and other persons might have intercourse with
female Meriahs, and in this manner numbers of children were produced, who were all
treated as dedicated to destruction. If a male Meriah had intercourse with the daughter
of a Kandh, it was considered a distinction.

 

* Account of Religion of the Kandhs, by Major Macpherson, Journal, Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. XIII, part ii,
+ Loe. cit., page 244,
''Section 4. ] : THE KANDHS. 9837

Ten or twelve days before the time appointed for a sacrifice, the hair of the
victim selected, till then unshaved, is cut off, and the villagers, having bathed, go to
the sacred grove with the priest, who there invokes the goddess, and proclaims to her
that they are preparing for her the repast she loves best, and implores her favor in return.
The festival itself lasts three days, and it is a time of unbridled license, drunken feasting
and mad dances “ under excitement which the goddess is believed to inspire, and which
it would be impious to resist.”* On the second morning, the victim who has been kept
fasting from the preceding evening, is carefully washed, dressed in a new garment, and
led forth from the village in solemn procession, with music and dancing, to the Meriah
erove. This, as with the Ordons and other tribes, is a remnant of the old forest, kept
sacred from the axe and haunted by ghosts and spirits. In the centre of the grove a
post is set up sometimes between two plants of the ‘Sankissar’ shrub, to which the
victim is bound in a sitting posture by the priest. He is then anointed with oil, ghee,
and turmeric, adorned with flowers and worshipped, and there is now great contention
amongst the bystanders to obtain some relic of his sacred person, even a portion of the
unguent with which he has been anointed. He is thus left all night, during which the
licentious feasting of the previous night is resumed, and the air resounds with horrid
revelry. At noon on the third morning these orgies terminate, and “the assemblage
proceeds with stunning shouts and pealing music to consummate the sacrifice.”

The victim must not die in bonds, and to prevent escape, of which there have been
instances, the arms and legs are broken, or stupefaction by opium is produced.

The priest now offers up prayers to the earth-goddess for full granaries, increase
of children, cattle, pigs, and poultry, and for the decrease or disappearance of tigers and
snakes; besides which, each individual of the assembled multitude gives expression to the
wish that is at the moment uppermost in his thoughts. The priest then recites the
tradition of the origin of the sacrifice and the necessity they were under of continuing
it, and this, according to the author Iam now chiefly quoting, is followed by a very
long and somewhat sentimental, but at the same time argumentative, conversation between
the priest and Meriah, the object of the one being to show that the victim must
calmly submit to suffering in a cause so greatly to the benefit of mankind, and that he
had nothing to complain of, as the Kandhs had purchased him for that especial purpose ;
and of the other, to prove that he had been cruelly deceived, that he had not been
a party to his own sale, but believing that he had been purchased as a laborer, he had
honestly worked for his employer.

The actual sacrifice to the earth goddess was performed in different ways, all brutal
enough—brutality is indeed too mild a term to apply to it. Major Macpherson’s
account proceeds as follows :—

“The priest, assisted by the chief and one or two of the elders of the village, now
takes the branch of a green tree, cleft several feet down the centre. They force the
victim to place himself within the reft, fitting it, in some districts, to his throat. Cords
are then twisted round the open extremity of the stake, which the priest, aided by his
assistants, strives with his whole force to close. He then wounds the victim slightly with
his axe, and on this, the crowd throws itself on the sacrifice and strips the flesh from the
bones, leaving untouched the head and intestines.” The remains are next day burned

 

* Loc. cit., page 246. The whole of the above account is taken from the same work.
''988 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group VIII.

on a funeral pile, with a further sacrifice of a sheep; and the ashes are scattered over
the field, or are made into a paste with which the floors of the houses and granaries
are smeared. Subsequently a bullock is given to the father or procurer of the victim,
and another is sacrificed and eaten at the feast which terminates the rite; but one year
after the human sacrifice, the blood thirsty Téri Penna is reminded of it by an offering
of a pig.

Major Macpherson further notes that the Meriah in some districts is put to death
slowly by fire, the great object being to draw from the victim as many tears as possible,
in the belief that the cruel Tari will proportionately increase the supply of rain !

Colonel Campbell* thus describes the modus operandi in Chinna Kimedy. ‘The
miserable Meriah is dragged along the fields, surrounded by a crowd of half intoxicated
Kandhs, who, shouting and screaming, rush upon him, and with their knives cut the flesh
piece-meal from his bones, avoiding the head and bowels, till the living skeleton, dying
from loss of blood, is relieved from torture, when its remains are burnt and the ashes
mixed with the new grain to preserve it from insects.”

Captain MacVicar,t in a report dated the 6th April 1851, thus describes the mode of
performing the sacrifice in Maji Déso, midway between Boad and Patna. “On the day
of sacrifice, after the appointed ceremonies, the Meriah is surrounded by the Kandhs,
who beat him violently on the head with the heavy metal bangles, which they purchase
at the fair, and wear on these occasions. If this does not destroy life, an end is put to
his sufferings by strangulation by means of a slit bamboo. Strips of flesh are then cut
off the back, and each recipient carries his portion to the stream which waters his fields,
and there suspends it on a pole. The remains of the mangled carcass are then buried,
and funeral obsequies are performed and repeated a year afterwards.” This is ap-
parently in imitation of the Hindu shradh.

But it was more usual for the fragments of flesh to be buried in the fields. When
a sacrifice took place, a deputation from all villages of Tari Kandhs within a certain
radius attended it, and returned the same day, or as rapidly as possible, with the flesh, a.
little of which was given to each head of a family. To secure its arrival in time, it was
sometimes sent by relays of men and conveyed with postal fleetness fifty or sixty miles.}

Hideous and extraordinary as were the bloody rites above described, it appears
to me more wonderful and shocking that female infanticide
should have prevailed to such an exterminating extent amongst
the Kandhs. The neighbouring races all treat their female children with exemplary
tenderness, most of them indeed regard the girls as marketable and valuable property,
to be carefully nurtured, in order that they may grow in beauty and appear to the best
advantage when called for.

The Kandhs had to pay high prices for wives of their own tribe—a fact which
they assigned as one of their reasons for wishing to get rid of their maidens. Mr.
iussel, of the Madras Civil service, in a report§ dated August 1836, first brought
the subject to notice. The expenses attending the marriage rites were then said

Female infanticide.

 

* Report, dated 17th March 1849, Selections, Home Department, No. V, page 108.

+ Loe. cit., page 116, Captain MacVicar’s Report.

t Colonel Campbell.

§ Selections from the Records of Government of India, Home Department, No. V, page 2.
''Srction 4. ] THE KANDHS. 289

to be the motive. They killed their own girlsand purchased wives from other parts of
the country. The custom was not universal. It was practised in what was called
the middle Kandh region, but even there some tracts were honorably excepted, as
Digi and Bodo Ghoro. Major Macpherson* reported in April 1842, that in many
villages he did not find a single female child. Amongst the causes assigned are,
lst, that male births are increased by the destruction of female infants; 2nd, that
it is better to destroy girls in their infancy than to allow them to grow up and become
causes of strife afterwards; but the most probable solution of the question was
brought to light by Captain McNeile after visiting the districts of Putiadeso, Sorobisi,
Korkapatah, Jhtimka, and Ryaghada, where infanticide, both male and female, prevailed
to an appalling extent.7

When a child is born, tan astrologer called a Jani or Desauri is summoned and
consulted by the parents. He constructs a horoscope or pretends to do so, and consults
a palm-leaf manuscript called a ‘puwnji?, in which are written sentences interspersed with
rude pictures of gods and devils. After certain ceremonies the ‘stylus’ of bone or ivory,
used to write on the palm-leaf, is thrust into the book, and the fate of the child is decided
according to the image or sentence which it strikes. If from this test it be predicted
that the child is not likely to prove a blessing to its parents, but rather that misfortune
may befall them if they attempt to rear it, the living infant is placed in a new
earthen pot and removed in the direction of the point of the compass from which,
if the child were spared, evil might be expected, and buried. A fowl is sacrificed over
the grave.

The Desauris are generally Uriyas, who practise on the credulity of the Kandhs,
but in Korkapatah and Jhtimka the Desauris are Kandhs, who do not use a ‘punji,’ but
do the astrology and vaticination themselves.

Of the numerous Meriahs recovered from the Kandhs, a large proportion were young
girls, who, becoming wards of Government, were brought up with some care, and were more
or less educated. It was deemed good policy to give some of these damsels in marriage to
Kandh bachelors of respectability, and it was expected that they at least would not out-
rage their own feeling as mothers by consenting to the destruction of their offspring.
Subsequently, however, Colonel Campbell ascertained that these ladies had no female
children, and on being closely questioned, they admitted that at their husbands’ bidding
they had destroyed them.

I now proceed to detail briefly the measures which were undertaken to repress
these barbarous customs.

The first action taken by the officers of Government towards reclaiming the Kandhs

Measures to suppress the WAS an effort to release the Meriahs. It was found that the
barbarous customs. Kandhs were inclined to yield to mild coercion in the matter,
and Mr. Russel, in a despatch, dated 11th May 1887, reported that 29 Meriahs had
been surrendered. Some had been kidnapped, who were restored to their friends; 18
were children from three to ten years of age, who had been sold to the Kandhs by their

 

 

* Loe. cit., page 47. Report of April 1842.
+ Another reason comes from Ganjam, “that deceased female ancestors are re-born in the same families.”
MS. Report by Captain Smith, Assistant Agent.

£ Selections, Madras Government, No. LXXXI, Captain A. C. McNeile’s Report, dated 12th May 1857.
3 Z
''290 _ DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group VIII.

parents; they were retained as Government wards. In the following year, Captain
Campbell, then Assistant Collector in charge of Gtmsur, effected the release of 100
Meriah children, and it was found that they comprised people of all races, religion
or caste, even Kandh children were amongst them.

Ina despatch, dated July 1888, Lieutenant Hill, of the Survey Department, described
the practice of human sacrifice as existing in the Kandh Maliahs of Gamsur in Daspala,
Boad, and Sohnpur, just south of the Mahénadi, and in. Chinna Kimedy, Pedda Kimedy,
Jaipar, and Bastar. The Bastar Raja had the credit of having himself organised the
most extensive sacrifice that had ever been heard of, on which occasion twenty-seven
adult males had been immolated; in fact it was not supposed that any Kandh Maliah
was free from the stain.

The proceedings on the Madras side led to enquiries being made on the Bengal side,
and there also some Meriahs were given up to the demand or at the request of
Messrs. Ricketts and Mills, but it was found that ih the feelings of the people, or in their
determination to carry on a custom which they believed necessary to their existence,
no real change had been effected. They indeed gave up some Meriahs, but reserved many
and bought more; and the sacrifices continued. ‘The Agent to the Governor General,
South-Western Frontier, in 1844, finding that the Kandhs in the Tributary Mahdls under
his jurisdiction were no better than their neighbours, entered on the field and succeeded
in obtaining the release of a few Meriahs, but all officers employed were now convinced
that far more stringent measures than those hitherto adopted were necessary, and
a special agency under one Head, armed with full authority to use force, was advised.

- On the Madras side, from the time of the Gtimsur war, several officers had been
engaged in measures, mostly of a conciliatory nature, to wean the Kandhs from their
dark superstitions. In 1844, Lieutenant Hicks was appointed Assistant Superintendent,
Tributary Mahals, for the repression of human sacrifices. Moral pressure was, however,
all that was attempted, and though Meriahs were recovered, and some were snatched
from the very altars, the sacrifices did not cease. The number, however, had, it was
said, diminished from hundreds to ten or a dozen per annum; but this improvement was
not general. It is noticed* that the Kandhs of Boad had promised acquiescence in the
wishes of Government, but they deemed it right to offer Tari enough to last her a long
time before they gave it up, and the valedictory sacrifice is said to have comprised one
hundred and twenty-five victims.

In 1845, the Government of India determined on bringing all the Kandh Maliahs
under one system of management, and Act XXI of that year was passed, separating them
from the ordinary jurisdiction of the Courts with a view to their being placed under
special rules. And, in November 1845, Captain William Macpherson, who had been
long employed in the Kandh districts, and to whom we are indebted for so much
valuable information about the people, arrived in Ganjim with the title of “ Agent,
Governor General, for the suppression of human sacrifices and female infanticide in the
hill tracts of Orissa.” But still the orders were to abstain from violence, and the first
season’s operations were not encouraging.

The Kandhs of Boad had become impressed with the notion that further yielding on
their part would lead to their taxation and subjection to forced labor: and early in 1846,

 

* Macpherson’s Memorials of Service, page 246,
''Section 4. | THE KANDHS. 291

we find them threatening or making an attack on the Agent’s camp and demanding and
obtaining the restoration of rescued Meriahs. This led to reprisals, which of course
greatly impeded the proposed policy of conciliation, and affairs were further complicated
by the rebellion of the Raja of Angul, one of the tributaries on the Mahdnadi, who
appears to have fomented to the utmost the resistance of the Kandh tribes. Serious |
disturbances followed ; troops were employed on a large scale and all authority tempo-
rarily transferred from the Agent to the Officer in Command, Brigadier General Dyer.

LT have no details of the military operations which followed. On the 21st of
April 1847, Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell was appointed Agent, and coming on the
scene with powers to coerce, which were perhaps all that was wanting to ensure
success to the measures of the previous agency, he was soon in a position to report* the
submission of the Bisai Chiefs of the Kandh hill tracts visited by him, and the
restoration of peace to the disturbed districts. The operations against Angul were
successful. The Raja was deposed and subsequently captured, and as his estate was
confiscated there was no difficulty in bringing into subjection all the Kandhs whom
he had influenced. With Boad there had been at first some difficulty, but on the
1st April 1848, Colonel Campbell reported that with one or two exceptions all the
influential men had pledged themselves by the most solemn oaths, (sworn on a tiger
skin and on some earth) thenceforth to abandon human sacrifices, and in earnest of
their sincerity 235 Meriahs were given up. During the following season, the Saurada
Maliahs and the more remote hill region of Chinna Kimedy were visited by the
Agency.

Chinna Kimedy was found to be divided into seven districts each under a Hindu
chief or Péter, subdivided into Matahs, (groups of villages or parganas), and villages
each under a Kandh headman called Maji (so this title is found thus far south). There
was little intercourse between the districts owing to feuds. ‘The country is described
as in steppes. In the second range of hills the villages are far apart, and with few ex-
ceptions poor, and the country has a neglected unreclaimed appearance, a succession of hills
covered with s4l and bamboos. The districts on the upper ranges are more picturesque,
and the cultivated valleys appear fertile; but throughout this hilly region, whether
bountifully or sparingly dealt with by nature, human sacrifice and female infanticide
generally prevailed, the only exceptions being in the districts of Sarangad, Chandra-
ghari and Degi of Kosadah.

The annual season for the sacrifice was about to commence when the Agent
marched into this country; but though not previously visited for the repression of human
sacrifice, the design of holding it was at once abandoned, and eventually the whole people
agreed to submit to the conditions proposed, and engaged to try if Tari would not, after
all, be as well pleased with the blood of beasts as with human sacrifices. In this year,
1859, two hundred and six Meriahs were given up.

It was satisfactory to find that in the Boad highlands no blood had been shed
since the last visit, and the Gimsur Mdliahs were reported equally free from the
stain.+ It had providentially happened that an unusually productive and healthy season
had distinguished the first year’s dreaded intermission of the rite. We can well

 

* Kandh Agency, and Calcutta Review, page 138. Colonel Campbell’s Report to Government, 1st April 1848.
+ Colonel Campbell’s Report, 18th March 1859.
''292 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group VIII.

conceive the anxiety that must have been felt by the whole tribe as they watched the
sprouting seed and ripening grain and their joy when in the full promise of a bounti-
ful harvest they felt assured that the earth goddess did not resent their abandonment
of the ancient custom.

The total number of Meriahs given up in the two seasons was 547.

It is useless to follow the operations of the Agent through the remainder of the
Kandh districts. In Jaiptr it was found that human sacrifices had been annually offered
to Maniksoro, the god of war, as well as to the earth goddess, and the ceremony was
performed in the following manner :—

A stout wooden post about six feet long is firmly fixed in the ground. Close
to it a narrow grave is dug. ‘The victim is tied to the post by his long hair;
assistants to the officiating priest hold out his arms and legs so that the body is
supportel over the grave with the face downwards. ‘The priest standing on the
right side then recites an invocation to the god, praying for success in battle and
preservation “from the tyranny of kings and their officers,” and as he prays he
at intervals hacks at the neck of the unfortunate victim avoiding the infliction of
a mortal wound. Then the priest addresses him in consolatory words, assuring him
that he would soon have the honor of being devoured by the great god Maniksoro
for their benefit, and that his obsequies would be performed decorously, and reminding
him, if still unreconciled to his fate, that they had bought him for this special purpose
from his parents. He is then decapitated, the body falls into the grave, and the bleeding
head remains suspended from the post till the birds devour it.

Colonel Campbell had some difficulty in Jaiptr, but eventually succeeded there,
as elsewhere, rescuing or causing to be given up 77 Meriah males, and 117 females.
The following extract from Colonel Campbell’s last published report sums up the work :—

“Tt affords me heartfelt satisfaction to be able to report thus of the suppression
(I will not presume to say of the complete suppression,—for that will depend on our
future supervision and watchfulness) of the Meriah rite in Gtmsur, Boad, Chinna-
Kimedy, Jaipur, Kalahandy, and Patna.”

Strange to say after the suppression of human sacrifices in the Maliahs of Jai-
pur it was found that the practice existed in the low country, and the agent, Captain
A. C, MeNeile, wrote* that in suppressing it there, he had to deal with relatively
civilized and educated men and not with semi-barbarous tribes. It does not appear
that Kandhs were implicated; the victims were generally of the ‘Tira class’ purchased
from their parents. At the town of ‘Mulcagherry,’ 100 of these children reserved
for sacrifice were found and were surrendered.

On the 18th December 1861, in consequence of the arrangements which had been
made for the organization of Police in the Ganjim and Vizagapatam agencies, the
special agency for the hill tracts of Orissa was abolished.

With regard to the existing feeling of the Kandhs on the subject which led to the
formation of the hill tract agency, I append an extract from MS. notes written by
My. T. E. Ravenshaw, now Superintendent, Katak Tributary Estates, on the Kandh
Mals, in his jurisdiction :—

 

* Madras Selections. Captain A. C. McNeile’s Report, dated Ist May, 1855.
''   

oe | THE KANDHS. — sis

‘“‘ Human sacrifice is, I believe, completely forgotten. The people have no objection
to talk about it and point out the spots where the rite was performed, but they speak
of their former superstitions on the subject as a delusion. They thought, they say,
that human blood improved the quality of the turmeric, their most profitable crop ;
but they now find that the earth yields its increase as before and the turmeric is as
good as ever it was.” Mr. Ravenshaw does not find that animal sacrifice has been
substituted, or that flesh of any kind is now buried to fertilize the earth. The suner-
stition has entirely died out. He adds that infanticide where it was practised is also
entirely suppressed.

There is nothing on record which gives us any clue to the early history of
the Kandhs. We find them occupying the highlands of the
southern hill districts of old Orissa, following the ramification of
ranges into various petty states, and claimed as subjects by the chiefs of those states
whom Mr. Stirling and the historians of the Meriah operations recognise as Hindus,
and who like the hill chiefs further north style themselves Rajputs. It appears probable
that in the Kandhs we have all that remains of the aboriginal inhabitants of this region,
and that they were masters of the entire country, the lowlands as well as highlands, till
they were forced back into the hills by the extension of the Hindu kingdom of Orissa ;
but the Hindu chiefs, if such they be, exercised very little authority over them, at least
over those who lived in the Maliahs or highlands. Major Macpherson divides the Kandhs
into three classes, Betiah, a servile class, who worked for hire or held lands on
conditions of labor; Beniah who occupied the skirts of the hills and paid rent for their
lands or held them on a more honorable description of service; and MAéliah or high-
landers who were virtually independent, though they performed homage to the chief on
his accession, and, if well disposed to his service, occasionally took the field at his bidding.

The social organization and government of the Maliah Kandhs very closely
resemble the ancient polity of the Mtindas, which we still to a great extent preserve in
the Singbhim Kolhan.

Over each village an elder presides* called an Abbaye corresponding with the
Singbhim Mtinda; and a number of adjacent villages form a
district under a district Abbaye like a Singbhim Pir under its
Ménki. The district Abbaye is, or ought to be, the lineal descendant or representative
of the leader of the colony when the settlement was first made.

Tn addition to the above, Major Macpherson gives us a tribal Abbaye or Patriarch,
the representative of the common ancestor of the tribe; but as the division into tribes
is not now geographically defined, people of various tribes living in one village, the
duties of the tribal patriarch are chiefly to take notice of breaches of tribal rules. It is
probable enough that formerly each tribe had its own locality, and as they took wives |
on the exogamous principle, they had to win their brides from a quarter more or less
remote; but this system is now broken up: people belonging to various tribes inhabit
the same village, and there is nothing to prevent a man marrying a girl of the same
street if he likes, except that it is more dignified to go to a distance for a wife,

In addition to the above, there is a federal Abbaye, the representative of a superior
chief formerly selected to superintend the affairs of as extensive a tract of country as

Tribal divisions.

Polity of the Kandhs.

 

 

* Calcutta Review, vol. 5, page 35.

4A
''994 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grove VIII.

could be conveniently placed under him. ‘The offices are all hereditary; but in regard to
the federal Abbaye, though the succession never goes out of the family, the next-of-
kin is sometimes set aside for a more competent relative.

The federal Abbaye may when he pleases convene a council of the heads of
the people. They sit in the open air in concentric circles, the
inner circle composed of the district and the tribal Abbayes,
outside are the village Abbayes, and outside them the general public. Women may attend,
but they take no part in the discussion. Major Macpherson highly commends the
loyalty of the Kandhs to their head men. It is said that their devotion to the federal
Abbaye “is equal to any that the annals of humanity record.’’* :

At the great councils disputes regarding property and offences of all kinds are
enquired into, and witnesses are examined onoath. The litigants
are forced to put into their mouths rice moistened with the blood
of a sheep which had been sacrificed to the earth goddess, and
this, it is supposed, will inevitably cause the death of the person so sworn who swerves
from the truth. If the dispute is about land, a morsel of the soil similarly placed
has the same effect. They are also sworn on the skin of a tiger, like the Kols; on the
skin of a lizard (invoking scaliness of skin on the false witness) ; on the earth of an ant-
hill; and on a peacock’s feather.

Serious offences against the person, homicide, and severe wounding, are regarded as
private wrongs, and compensations may be adjudged. In murder-
cases all the property of the murderer may be made over to the
family of the deceased. Jn cases of wounding any portion of the offender’s goods may
be awarded to the injured party, and he is further bound liberally to provide for all the
wants of the wounded man till his recovery. The code on the subject of unfaithfulness
of wives is contradictory. In one place we are told that the husband may put the
adulterer to death, in another that the latter has only got to make good the amount
paid for the girl when she was asked in marriage.

Succession to real property is always through males. Shares of personal property
may be given to daughters. The rule of primogeniture is not
acknowledged. The real property is divided amongst the sons.
By one authort it is asserted that no division of property can take place during the
lifetime of the father, by another,t it is said that a son on his marriage quits the
paternal roof and becomes a householder, receiving a share of the land from the hands
of the father. Girls are not allotted to the shareholders as is the case in Singbhtim, but
the brothers are jointly responsible for their care till they marry.

The Mdliah Kandhs§ consider themselves absolute proprietors of the soil they
cultivate, and in this view of their right, which was no doubt at
one time common to all the primitive tribes, they are supported
by the fact that even by the British Government they have not yet been required to pay
rent. Mr. Ravenshaw informs me that if a Kandh of the Kandh tracts in modern
Orissa be asked to specify his position or calling, he answers boldly, “I am a zamindar.”

National Assembly.

Procedure.

Oaths,

Penal code.

Succession.

Proprietorship in lands.

 

* Calcutta Review, Vol. V, page 42. + Major Macpherson.
+ Lieutenant Frye, on the Kandh population of Orissa, Journal, Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. XVII.
§ Lieutenant Frye.

 
''SECTION 4 ] THE KANDHS. 295

The chiefs have no pretensions to any right over the soil which is adverse to this claim
of their people, and this is a point which has unfortunately in many instances been lost
sight of in dealing with the aboriginal tribes. An Abbaye can have no right to alienate
his title and interest in a village or district, yet such alienations have taken place in
cases precisely analogous, and have been upheld by Courts acting in blind ignorance of
the true position of the parties, thereby creating endless complications and intense
dissatisfaction.

‘The Kandhs love to build their houses on the slopes of the valley over-

looking their cultivation which winds like a river amongst
the hills.
The houses are small and. low, but substantially constructed of plank inserted
horizontally in grooves cut in the corner posts. The whole
surface is plastered with mud. Each hut contains usually three
apartments, in the centre the family dwells, one is used exclusively for cooking, and
the third is a store-room. ‘There is but one door which in the cold season is firmly
closed, while the family sleep round a wood fire burning on a central hearth. The roof,
as well as the sides, is sometimes of plank. The houses have no plinths.

In each village there is a house assigned to the bachelors as their dormitory and

Separate accommodation for club, and another for the maidens, and as it is said that chastity
bechelie at epee is not one of their virtues, and that free intercourse between the
sexes is not discouraged, it may be assumed that the separation contemplated in this
arrangement i is not very rigidly enforced. I learn, however, from Mr. Ravenshaw’s notes
that in Boad the girls’ dormitories are under charge of an elderly matron, who sleeps
inside and locks the door. She sleeps very sound, I dare say.

Births are celebrated on the seventh day after the event by a feast given to the priest

and to the whole village. The name is determined as with the
Customs at child birth. eS : :
Kols. The names of ancestors are called over as grains of rice
are thrown into water, but Major Macpherson* adds that the oracle is required to show
which of the ancestors is regenerated in the person of the child. The Kols have not
the faintest idea of anything of the kind as the name of persons still living are fre-
quently selected.

According to the same author every Kandh village has its priest, but they have no

sae official privileges or endowments, their only emoluments con-

sisting of the fees paid by those who employ them, or in gifts

from the community, when the religious ceremonies they conduct have a favorable
issue. There appears to be no Levite class. The priestly office may be assumed by any
one, who fancies or boldly asserts that he has been called thereto by a mandate of the
deity duly communicated in a vision or dream. At the human sacrifices and mystic
rites in honor of the earth goddess, the Jani, a recognized priest, always officiated ; but
every head of a family could on ordinary occasions assume priestly functions, and the
whole spirit of the Kandh policy renders it probable that originally all sacerdotal offices
were combined in the patriarchs of families, villages, or circles, and that the mysterious
Meriah rites and an order of priests came in together. I do not find any mention of
pr iests in Mr. Ravenshaw’s notes—their occupation is gone. Major Macpherson records

Sites of villages.

Houses.

* Major Macpherson, Calcutta Review, Vol. A page 31.
''296 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group VIII.

the singular circumstance, that a class of Hindus are employed by the Kandhs as
priestly co-adjutors in the service of the minor divinities. This alone would indicate
that there has been a great change in their religion; but it is probable that the low
Hindus alluded to are but the Ojhas or Sorcerers whom the witcheraft superstition has
called into existence. The belief of the Kandhs regarding sickness and physical afflic-
tions of every description is the same as that of the Kols and Oréons.

Our knowledge of the religion of the Kandhs is derived from a very elaborate essay
on the subject by the late Major J. C. Macpherson, C. B., which
was read before the Royal Asiatic Society in 1852. The paper
has been reproduced in the memorials of that officer published in 1865. It propounds a
system of theocraey and ethics more profound than one would expect to find amongst so
ignorant a people, but it appears to me to be a melange of Genesis, the several
Hindu systems and primitive paganisim. Colonel Campbell, who was for so many
years employed amongst the Kandhs, is somewhat sceptical as to the purely Kandh
origin of the scheme of religion thus ventilated; but under the peculiar circum-
stances of the race, it is quite possible that such a system may have been gradually
built up for them by Brahmans, Gosdins, and other Hindus, who not only lived amongst
them, but joined in their sacrifices, supplemented with notions gleaned from Missionary
teaching or books.

The fundamental doctrines appear to be a belief in a Supreme Being, the source of
good, and Creator of the universe, called Bira Penu, the god of light, or Bela Penu,
the sun god, the same as the Dharmi of the Oraons and the Bedo Gos4in of the Raéjma-
hali highlanders who injured no one, and whom it was not therefore necessary to
propitiate, and his wife Tari, who in antagonism to her husband, became the originatol
of all the ills that befall mankind. We are told that Bara Penu found his wife “ want-
ing in affectionate compliance,” which in a note is explained to mean that she declined to
scratch his back; but this simple domestic difference put it into Bira Penu’s mind to
clothe the world with vegetation, fill it with animal life and finally to create human
beings to pay him the adoration and veneration which he expected and could not obtain
from his wife. Mankind was created exempt from moral and physical evil, and thus
enjoyed free intercourse with God. They lived without labor on the spontaneous abun-
dance of the earth in perfect harmony, peace and innocence, and knew not that they were
naked till Tari, like the old serpent, filled with envy at their happiness, sowed the seed of
sin in their hearts, and like Pandora introduced all the ills that flesh is hein to. A few
who withstood temptation and bore up against the powers of darkness, were elevated
to the position of secondary gods, to whom the regulation of the affairs of the fallen
brethren was consigned; but the consequences to the latter were terrible. The earth
no longer yielded her abundance. Animals previously innocuous became vicious and
destructive to life. Snakes became venomous and some plants poisonous. Man
found out that he was naked and encumbering himself with clothing, lost the power
of soaring through the air and skimming through the water, which in innocence
he had possessed, and fierce strife raged between Bura and Tari, each contending

Religion.

for mastery.
Out of this contest two great sects arose, one holding that Bura, the other that
Tari, had come off triumphant.

 
''Suction 4. J THE KANDHS. 297

The sect of Burd believed that Bira punished Tari by the curse on her sex, tanta-
mount to the “in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children,’ and that Tari, however
malevolent and destructive she may be, can only strike when Bira permits. The sect
of Téri believe that their goddess cannot be frustrated by Btra in her evil designs,
but if she can be persuaded by adoration to abstain from injuring, man will be free
from misfortune. She alone therefore should be propitiated.

_ Notwithstanding the tiff between Bira and Tari, their union was fruitful, and six
godlings were produced to meet the primary wants of fallen man.

First, Pidzu Pennu, the rain god; second, Burbhi Pennu, the goddess of spring,
who gives new vegetation and first fruits; third, Pitteri Pennu, the god of increase and
gain; fourth, Klambo Pennu, the god of the chase; fifth, Loha Pennu, the iron god
or god of war; sixth, Sundi Pennu, the god of boundaries.

The above clearly indicate the most important requirements of such a people, and
I do not doubt that the gods on this list may have been very generally recognised. They
are styled inferior deities of the first class.

The addition of a seventh deity to the above also included amongst the children
of Bira Pennu was clearly an after-thought. Dinga Pennu, the judge of the dead, is
probably the Hindu Yama.*

The third class of gods are the descendants of the human beings who resisted evil.
They are now the presiding spirits over villages, hills, streams, tanks, fountains,
houses, forests, ravines, and orchards. Each of these gods is worshipped when his
turn comes, that is, when a requisition is made on the department over which he
presides. Offerings are presented, and for each a special form of address is to be found
in Major Macpherson’s essay, which is poetical enough to be introduced in an epic,
but in the aggregate they are too long for my purpose. In one of these invoca-
tions the priest is made to say, truly enough, “ Were we, O god of streams, con-
stantly to expend our means upon your rites as well as those of the other gods, we should
lose our lands, and then where would be your worship ?”

The Kandh Yama has no sinecure, for the Kandhs are represented be Major Macpher-
son as possessing each four souls. Colonel Campbell and other writers who are well ac-
quainted with their habits, did not discover that, in their own estimation, they had any
souls at all, and this is certainly more in unison with the creed of their neighbours, but
it appears that many Abbayes were men of education fond of studying the mysteries of
the Hindu religion, and as it was from them that Major Macpherson chiefly derived his
information, I am not surprised that the religious views of these authorities embraced the
Hindu doctrines of metempsychosis and ‘ nirvana’, or final absorption into the deity, which
T think must be what is meant by +“ restoration to communion with Bira.” The notion
of four souls apparently resolves itself into this, that the more enlightened Kandhs had
adopted the Hindu doctrine of the immortality of the soul, and its liability to an im-
mense variety of probations by successive re-births in an improved state or lower condi-
tion, according to the views taken by the divine judge of the life just quitted ; until,

 

* In Major Macpherson’s first essay on the religion of the Kandhs, read before the Royal Asiatic Society on the 20th
November 1841, there is no reference to Dinga Pennu. The name first appears in the second essay, which was published in
part II, Vol. XIII, of the Journal, Royal Asiatic Society.

+ See ‘Memorials of Service’, page 92.

4B
''298 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grove VIII.

purged of all taint, it is finally absorbed into the divine essence. ‘This theory disposes of
three of the souls described by Major Macpherson, viz., first the soul that is beatified,
secondly, the soul that has to bear punishment for an ill-spent life; and thirdly, the soul
that is re-born in the tribe, which must all be regarded as the one soul of the Hindus in
different conditions. The fourth soul Major Macpherson describes as a soul which dies
on the dissolution of the body, or in other words there is a belief in no soul at all, which
is probably the creed of most untutored Kandhs.

Of the Kandh gods, Bira and Tari alone dwell in heaven*, Dinga resides on a rock
‘or mountain in the region beyond the sea, from which the sun rises, so the souls have to
cross the water (query, the Baitarani or Styx) to get tohim. It is called Gripavali,t the
leaping rock. ‘This idea is also apparently borrowed from the Brahmans.

The other Gods of the Kandhs live exclusively upon the earth. But when they
move, they skim along at a short distance above its surface invisible to human eyes,
but seen by the lower animals. They feed on the sacrifices offered to them, but
also help themselves, as the farmer knows to his cost when he finds blind ears in
his corn.

The rites observed at the Meriah sacrifices to the blood-thirsty Téri have been des-
eribed. Her gentler husband, the supreme god Bura, receives the adoration of all his
votaries at the same period of the year,} and though it is supposed that Bara demands
no blood, a pig is at this season sacrificed in his honor, and the blood scattered widely
about. At the festival there is much dancing, feasting, and drinking, and every kind
of licentious indulgence. Many of the Bura-ites practised female infanticide and justified
the act as one which was permitted and even enjoined by Btra, who by the conduct
of his wife was unfairly prejudiced against all the sex.

I proceed now to avail myself of the information kindly furnished by my friend
Mr. T. EB. Ravenshaw, C. S., Commissioner of Katak, regarding the Kandh country
in his province.

At the close of the operations for the suppression of Meriah sacrifices in Boad,
the chief of that dependency doubting his capability of control.

ing the Kandhs on that question, and dreading the consequence
to himself of any relapse on their part, ceded to Government all that portion of his
territory which comprised the Kandh Maliahs or as they are now styled Mals. This
portion of Boad rises abruptly about 1,500 feet, and the approaches to it are all very
steep and difficult ascents. They lead you to an undulating plateau portioned off by
numerous ranges of low hills in the valleys between which wind the principal sheets of
cultivation. The villages are prettily situated on the borders of the cultivation, and the
hills rising from behind them are densely covered with sal.

The size of the villages varies in proportion to the water supply. In a few places
the clearings are extensive, and the settlements have a thriving and comparatively civilized
appearance.

The area of this tract known as the Katak Khand Mals is 480 square miles, and the
population, numbering 45,000 souls, live in 677 villages.

The Boad Kandhs.

 

* Journal, Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. X, page 228.— Memorials of Service’, page 92.
+ he residence of the Hindu Yama is at the extremity of the earth floating on the waters.
~ Memorials of Service, page 107.
''Suction 4. ] THE KANDHS. | 299

No revenue whatever is derived from the Kandhs. The Superintendent (Mr. Raven-
shaw) has a native assistant called a Tahsilddr (tax collector),
which appears rather a misnomer, who resides in the Mals and has
the powers of a Subordinate Judge and Assistant Magistrate. A Police force is main-
tained consisting of one inspector, one sub-inspector, eight head constables, and forty-nine
constables, but there is little crime. The only heinous cases are homicides committed in
drunken broils or in disputes about land. I have already adverted to the tenacity with
which they cling to their right in the soil. They consider it inextinguishable. They
utterly scorn the notion of being barred from re-entry by a statute of limitation. No
amount of adverse possession, however undisturbed, could, according to their code,
transfer to another their title to the land.

The large divisions of the Kandh hill country are called Maliahs, Mélos, or MAls.
These are sub-divided into groups of villages called Mutahs. They recognise the authority
of one chief over all the Mals, called Mahé Mullik (malik?) His position is that of
the federal Abbaye previously described. ‘The village headmen are called simply méaliks.
There is no mention of a Tribal malik or Abbaye.

Besides the indigenous Kandh headmen, each Mutah, and sometimes each large
village, has an officer called Bisoi, who is always an Uriya. They were originally estab-
lished as ‘go-betweens’ and interpreters between the Raja and the Kandhs ; they speak both
languages and being well versed in Kandh customs, often obtain great influence. Of
late years they have acquired lands by intrigue or purchase from the Kandhs who
were better advised when they would not part with an inch of the soil to an
alien.

The low bastard Hindu people called Pans, already noticed as procurers for the Meriah
sacrifices, are numerous in Boad. In the Chitid Ndgpir tributary
states this class are found, but are regarded both by Hindus and
aborigines as vile. The Kandhs associate with them on a more equal footing, allowing
them to hold lands and to share in the village festivals. They also ply their trade as
weavers, and the poorest of them work as farm laborers, cultivating land belonging to
Kandhs and making over to their landlords half the produce as rent.

The Kandhs also tolerate Hindus of the Sundi (Sandika), or spirit distilling, caste, as,
though inveterate drunkards, they cannot distill for themselves.
Sundis are traders as well as distillers ;—a good deal of the trade
of the country is in their hands, and some of them have accumulated considerable
wealth.

The Kandh huts are built for the accommodation of the father, mother, and younger
children only. At 8 to 11 years of age, boys and girls are ejected from the nest, and
have to take up their abodes in their respective clubs till they marry and build nests for
themselves.

Female infanticide was not one of the sins of Boad, and the evil consequences of the
system are not found there. The Boad Kandhs repudiate the
notion of intermarriage with other races, and sexual selection is
carried on in a rational manner. A man is not encouraged to indulge in matrimony till
he has the means of supporting a wife in a house of his own; when thus eligible he joins
confidently in the village dances and makes his choice, and if fathers and mothers after

Present government.

The Pans.

Drinking.

Marriage customs.
''300 - DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group VIII.

this make themselves disagreeable, they may look out for an elopement. The young
couple disappear and keep out of the way till the parents relent, and the price of the
girl is accepted.

It would appear that most hill tribes have found it necessary to promote marriage
by stimulating intercourse between the sexes at particular seasons of the year. Mr.
Darwin would, perhaps, call this a reversion to the Balyen or love seasons of feathered an-
cestors. At one of the Kandh festivals held in November all the lads and lasses assemble
for a spree, and a bachelor has then the privilege of making off with any unmarried girl
whom he can induce to go with him, subject to a subsequent arrangement with the
parents of the maiden.

The Kandhs are as fond of dancing as the Ordons, and like them have a dancing
place in every village, surrounded by stones or wooden seats and shaded by venerable
trees.

The instruments are drums, tambourines and a reed instrument with a sound like
that of an indifferent bag-pipe. ;

The performers of both sexes pay particular attention to their dress and to the
arrangement of their hair. The ball dress when complete is apparently similar to that
of the Ordons when similarly engaged.

In commencing the dance the girls form themselves into semi-circles of two
rows. They stand close together, keeping their position by the
touch only, as the hands are employed in holding the dress,
which they occasionally extend by opening out their arms and as they do so waving
the draperies and at the same time forming a long line instead of a semi-circle. As
the excitement increases, the girls sing, the young men respond, and the movement
becomes brisker until the whole breaks into a romp in which the girls pinch the boys
and peck at them with their hands like the Judéng girls when performing as vultures.
In other respects the dance appears to be of the Bhuiya class.

The men have a separate war dance, armed to the teeth and decorated with red
cloth and feathers.: They divide into two parties, and a mimic fight takes place. One
side gives way, the other pursues, a man falls; he is set on by the opposite party and
carried off in triumph as a fallen foe.

Another dance represents a bison hunt; one man with the horns and skin of the
animal takes to his heels followed by the remainder, who capture him after a brief chase, —
and bear him back as a trophy.

The cessation of internecine struggles, abolition of demoralising rites, and settle-
ment to peaceful pursuits, has had a most salutary effect on the condition of the Kandhs.
I quote descriptions of them before and after the cure.

Lieutenant J. P. Frye, writing of them in 1857, says* —

“Cloth being an article of very limited import, the use of dress is confined amongst
all to the narrowest bounds admitted by decency. The Patro
himself is distinguished by a species of robe of office, consisting
of a red blanket with variously colored fringe, but the ordinary Kandh is more
scantily clad than the Uriya, and his mode of dress more repulsive to decency, the
only scrap of cloth worn being old and foul. The festival dress consists of a long

Dances.

Dress.

 

* Journal, Royal Asiatic Society, Part I., Vol. XVII, page 13.
''Section 5. ] THE KANDHS. 301

narrow slip of cloth with fringed ends worn so that the end hangs down like a tail.
But the head-dress is the characteristic feature of a Kandh’s vanity. The hair, which
is worn very long, is drawn forward and rolled up till it looks like a horn projecting
from between the eyes. Around this it is his delight to wear a piece of red cloth
and insert the feathers of favorite birds, as also his pipe, comb, &c. On the western
frontier cloth was unknown and strips of paper sufficed to procure fowls and rice.
The clothing of the women is nearly as limited as that of the males. The bosom
is invariably exposed, and a single cloth round the loins, scarcely reaching to the
middle of the thigh, the sole garment.”

Mr. Ravenshaw, writing in 1871, says:—‘‘ The Kandhs formerly possessed little
property of any sort. A red cloth or a brass plate was rare. Now-a-days in most of
the more respectable houses you see brass vessels in tolerable profusion. They have
acquired considerable wealth in silver and brass ornaments, and where they formerly
went half-starved and half-naked, they have now abundance of food and a liberal
supply of raiment. Cultivation has extended, and they grow large quantities of cotton,
oil seeds, and turmeric for export.”

T learn further from Mr. Ravenshaw’s notes that the Kandhs now manifest a desire for
education and moral improvement. They propose to establish schools at their own
expense, and agree to submit to any well-concerted méasures for the suppression of
drunkenness; and they couple with this a petition for a recognised system of adminis-
tration of justice through their own elders—a proposal which, in my opinion, should
meet with every encouragement.

The burial service of the Kandhs is not very impressive. The bodies are ordinarily
burnt without ritual or ceremony,* but ten days after the death
the friends of the deceased meet for a feast and console them-
selves with a bout of drinking. An Abbaye, however, is not so easily disposed
of. When a man of this dignity dies, the event is proclaimed by the beating of
drums and gongs, and thus summoned the heads of villages attend the funeral. The
body is laid out in state on a funeral pyre, and near it a flag denotes where a large
bag of grain and the personal effects are deposited. It is then fired, and the family
and people of the village perform the funeral dance round the flag whilst the faggots
are burning. ‘The effects are then made over to the tribal Abbaye. The village priest,
though present, takes no part in the ceremony. ‘The dancing round the flag is continued
at intervals till the tenth day, when there is a gathering of the tribe, and the succession
of the heir is proclaimed.

Disposal of the dead.

 

* Macpherson, Memorials of Service, page 73.
''VOCABULARY TO GROUP VIII.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

: RaMGARHA
Enenisu. | Tamus. | TreLvev. | Canarzsz. Tuv. Oraon. ie eas eee
PAHARIA.
One wondru | okati ... | vondu,.. | vonji unta
Two ...|irendu |randu...|yeradu | radda enr
Three ... | mtindru | mudu... | mtiru ... | muji mund ...
Four nangu,,, | nalugu | nalku ... | nal nach
Five anjei ...;|aidu ,,, | aidu aind
Six aru ‘aru ane... | ayl
Seven ... | yezsu -. | yedu ...|yelu ... | yel ¥
Right ... | yettu ... | yenimidi| yeatu ... | yenmo eC
Nine onbadu | tommidi | vombattu; vorambo ... 8
Ten pattn padi hattu ... | patta = e g
Twenty... | irupadu | iruwei... | ippattu | irvo 2 a a
Fifty ainbudu | yabai ... | aivattu | aivo =
Hundred | ntru ... | ntiru ...|nuru .., | nudu
I nan Ment... | Manu... | yan en en mui
We nangul | manamu | naum ... | yenkul em en ambi).
Thou ni nivou ... | ninu yi nin nina tui
You ningul |miru ...| nium ... | nikul nim nina tumhi...
He avan ... | wadu ... | avanu... aye As ath eai
They 4vargal | waru ... | avaru... | akul dr oun hohova
Mine ... jyennudaya| nayokka | nannadu | yennau enghai ... ee
Our yengalu-/ mana- |namma , yenkulna...
daya yokka
Thine .., }unnudayal niyokka | ninnadu | ninnau emghae 2
Your ... | ungalu- | niyokka|nimma | nikulna
daya
His avanu- | vadiokka| avana.., | ayana asoal =
daya.
Their ... | avarga- | wariyok-| avara .,, | akulna asgai wuhor (B),
ludaya ka
Hand .. kai kai copie ke | ratu, tettu | thébona
a.
Foot padam ieee pada .,. | pado khed khed, tekua| chapta...
SUI.
Nose mukku | mtku,,, | mugu... | munku moy Muna <.. a
Eye kangul | kanlu... | kannu... | kénna khan Bo dhenda...
Mouth... a of bai bai vai toro. _... |thonthono
Tooth ... | palgal... | panlu... | halla ... | kuli pala pila béthf ...
Ears kadugul | chevvalu kivi kebi kévuda.., | kedu kanwé...
Hair meir ,,, | ventru- | kudlu... | romo «| chuti tale chw
kalu
Head ... | talai tala tale tare .-- | kuku, ku- | koku mundri
kha. (A).
Tongue...| nak nalika ... | nalige.., | nalai tatkha ... | turthe
Belly ... | walrd...| potté ...| hotte ...| banji ..|kul  ...| kochu &
Back muduvt | vipu bennu... | beri kokha, Kok. 42.
med.
Tron jrumbu | inumu...| kabina..,) karbo ...| pan’ha ... | lohar masti ...
Gold pon banga | chinna.. | bangar sona (H) | sonai (H) | sona (H)
ramu
Silver ... | vellie ... | vendi ... | belli bolli rupa (H) | chandi (H) | rupa ...
Go po poutam | hogu ... | po kalai eken (to go) ees (to
go).
Eat tinu tinu ms ona tophen (to | tindiana
eat) (to eat)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SavaRA OR
Gonp. Kanpu. ere
undi ... | randi,ra ... | aboy*
reEhGy Caw | as bagu*
mund... yagi*
nalung... vonji*
selung... mollayi*
Sarum... kudru
yedung gulji
yermud tamuji*
tinji*
cS } seey
= £ galiji
a a vokodi*
ae °
sali, | bg Kod
galiji
nur kodi molloyi
kodi*
anna =... | anu ena*
amot ... | amu moni*
imme ...; inu aman*
immet... | ninga aman*
hore ivanju, a... | ani*
hurk ~.. | avi ani*
nawa ... | nae granate*
mawa... | nai ... | moni, nate
niw4.... amonanate
niwa ... | ni
hona ... | ovani tana | aninate
hon. wora aninate*
kyk kajju ase
kal mada, kAdu | ajal
masor.., | mungeli ... | amu
kan kankaé amét
Hes 14a
palapalk | patka ajagna
kavi_... |kériulao,kriuj alu
chuti .., | talow meri | un
tlamberi
tala talo, tlau. | abtib
wanja ... | Vangosi
pir 4.4 te
morchul,
parki.
kachchi | loha se
sono ... | sona
kuro ... | taka
handana | salba ma
tindana | jinba
(to eat)

 

 

 

 

 

 
''VOCABULARY TO GROUP VIII.

 

303

 

 

 

ENGLISH,

Sit

Father...
Mother ..

Brother ..

Sister ...
Man
Woman...
Wife
Childe ==.
Son

Daughter

Slaves
Cultivator

Shepherd
God

Devil ...
Come ...
Beat

Stand ...

Sun

TAMUL.

ulkara...

appa ...
tala:

anna
tamlie...

Wkka s,
manidan

pendu...
pullei ...
magan

magal...

(caret)

ove

bhuta ...

va

Hila aye

suryam

 

Moon .,..
Star

Birge
Water 7,
House ...
Horse ...
Cow

Dog

Cat
Cock

Duck
Ass 4
Camel.
Bird

Die

Give

Run

nela,
chandran.

tarakei

nerupu
tunnir...
vad
kudurai

... jpasumadu

nal

puny.
chawal

 

kuruyi...
savu

Ieada 5.
woda ...

 

TELUGU.

kurchun-
data,

abba ic

amma,tali

anna
tammudu

ukka ..
mantishi

Adadi ...

palace os.
koduku

kutru ...

(caret)...

paws...
ra

niluvuta
suryadu
yennala

chukka

nippu ...
nilu

illu
guram
au

kukka...

pilli
punju...

pitta ..
chau ...
Wi
urkota

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

oat ace
BR OR NAIA s
CANARESE., TuLv. Oraon, Pia ee Gonp, KAnpu. piety rad
katuko.. | kullu oka oken je uddana(to} kapka ...
sit)
tandé ... | amme baba abu . | buba ... baka . olabu aba...
tayi (tai) | appe ... | ayo aya mainy... | ya, ma, | iya, talli, aj&
palaye bau
sahodari (elder). | ¢ snnako | nuna dada, |didé,tambesa
yee tamur
(younger).
sahodari | pali, megdi | ankoi ...|nuni ... didi, ntinf | taka bai | vai A
manushu| naramani,,, | alalla ...| male .,, | maler ... | ménwAl | mandra, lok- | robal
ka mdehe,
eattanju
hengsu, | ponjo... | mua... | pile batker... | ad asa mai gat- | amihelonjeo
st. | tari
hendati...| budeddi ... | mukha.., | dani pacho... | maiju... | kdua
magu ... | bale ... | badha ... | mokalh ... a, chawé... | mira oa.
maga ... | mage tangdas | engadhi... rochwa...| marri, mrienju robal pasi
tudal, (boy)
magalu | magal tangda... | moki batker... | miér ... | budi, mréu | amchelon
(girl)
(caret)... | (caret) (caret) ,.. oi lid (servant) ao
besdya- | bestyagara s He
gara.
kuruba ..| mepunaye... i a odémaharia
devaru ..| dever dharmi, | gothiéne,,, | gosain |penu deva} penu « | sonam
|. nad. mosan.
bhuta:.. || bhuto  — ... | ban nad dakin ... a pedari, pida-| bota
; rani
ba bala barai barén (to wara ... | vamu ya
come).
hodiyu...| hak la’wai ... | badjen (to Jiana...{ vemu _... | tide
beat).
nillu untu chowai... | chien (to | thiai (to | nittana | nfte ote
stand. .. stand).
suria .., | suria birt bare béla surial ... | bélé . joyum(also
sky)
chandra | chandre | chanda... | belpo chandra | nalej ... | dhanju, d& | angai
singol (H) anju
nakshatra| darai binko ... | binki tarai ...|sukum | sukhanga, | tttte
suk&
chitzechitz chichti chicht... | kis .| nari, nani... | togo
nira nir ams awe | fm. | GEM... | Yr sidrt, kakeri| ada
mane ... | illé vipa ada dhako...| ron... | yeda, iddu.., | asin
kudre.., | kudre eph 3 ghoda... | kodé ... a kurta
dhana... | petta ginit: i) Ou bardi ... | tali muda} kodi tangli
nai nai w | alla ole kel “ae nei nahuri “na- | kinchoi
huni
bekku...| puche _... | berkha... e birao ... | bilal mea ... | drdmi
hunha, | punje khair kono, kair | ktikré... | ghoghoti] kask&é ...
hunja,
battu ... | batta ghéri bataki katé
katte ... | katta gadha .. ; fee
vonte ... | vonte unth undi a os ur
pakshi...| pakhi ... | ora pagu gugri... | pitte ...| pota onti*
sayu saipuni a bee a sayana...| sind, si ...
.. |koduvadu| korpuni ...| chia ...| chiyen chiore ... | siana ... | siadu, sidu
vadu ... | par bunga ... | venghen .. | jhingai | vittana... | geddu

 
'' 

 

 

304

VOCABULARY TO GROUP VIII.

4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RaMGaRre
EneuisH. | Tamuy. TreLveau. | CANARESE. Tuuv. OrRaon. ARG ae Gonp.
PawaRia,
Up 4 Ws mele mitta merka ... | mekthi ... :
Near kitta ... | daggira | hatra ... | kaital hidhé, hirj} banano ... | dntre ... | karum...
And um nunniu... | mattu.,, | nana dara aw. |undyy...
MOS. sss) avunu,,, | havadu, | anda mula ron (hon)} hingi ...
handu,
Down Pe ee kelage.., | tirta khekhel | bere, argi. ee ae
Far... | dtiram,,. | déramu | duya duro gétéha...|géche .../dighuo..|lak .
What ...|yenna.,.| yimi ... | yenu .. | dane endar ... | edh kisga ... | bang .
But i ve adaru ... |} andala pahe ee bee
Me)... 4 alle ledu ... | illa iyi mala mala malaga | halli ...
Before ... |munne.,. |-yedatta | mundé | dumbu mandbar | agdu godri ... | munnai..
Behind... pinne ... | yenaka | hindé ... | piran khokha... | xoakwaje paja
Why yen. .. | yenduku endhar ... | endher ... bass&ti...

 

Kanpu,

anna, ylana

vea

 

SAVARA OR
SauRA.

jadité*
sangay 1*

yajo*

 

 

 

 

Nore.—Tamul and Telugt from Revd. S. Hislop’s works edited by Sir R. Temple, K. 0. s. 1.; Canarese and Tulu, furnished by Alexander
MacCallum Webster, Esq., c. s., Collector of Canara; Ordon, from local sources ; Rdjmahali Paharia, from a MS. belonging to
the Asiatic Society of Bengal; Naia Dumka Pahéria by Dr. Coates, Superintendent of Jail, Hazéribagh; Gond, from
Revd. S. Hislop; Kandh, from Captain Frye’s publications, and a MS. by V. Ball, Esq., Geological Suryey, to whom I
am also indebted for some Savara vocables; Kandh and Savara words marked with an asterisk, from Dr. Hunter’s work.
''GROUP.

THE ARYANS.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

In many works on India, especially in Marshman’s History, we are told that the
original settlers, whose characteristics we have been describing in the foregoing pages,
were driven from the plains by fresh colonies of immigrants, and these were in their
turn conquered by the Hindus, who brought their religion and language with them from
regions beyond the Indus, and having reduced the inhabitants to a servile condition
branded them with the name of Stidra. I do not know on what authority the Stdras are
thus treated as a distinct people, nor do we find that they ever were in fact reduced
to a servile condition. Brahmans, in the pride of their self-exaltation, certainly flung
hard words at them, and writing on stilts treated them as prostrate; but it is reason-
able to suppose that they were, from the very first, as they now are, the working bees
of the hive, the bone and sinew of the nation, the real supporters of the whole
fabric.

Professor H. H. Wilson, in his essay, No. 2, on the religious practices of the Hindus,
thus briefly describes the four castes,—first, the Brdhmans whose duties were to study
and teach the Veds and to conduct the domestic worship of the next two classes ;
second, the Kshatriya, the warrior and prince, whose duties were to fight and govern ;
third, the Vaisya, the merchant and farmer; fourth, the Stidras, who supplied artificers,
laborers and servants to the other three. The Stidras were subjected to much in-
dignity and injustice, but their condition was never so bad as that of the helot,
the bondsman or the serf. They were free masters of their own property and at liberty
to settle where they pleased. Intermarriage between all four castes took place, and
the only check upon them was the degradation of the children. They were not even
Stidras. They, therefore, formed new castes, distinguished according to their mixed
descent. and the occupations which came to be peculiarly their own.

A very large proportion of the Hindu population is, if the Purdns are to be believed,
the offspring of these mixed alliances. According to different authorities, the number
of inferior castes so originated ranges from 30 to upwards of 40, and includes some of the
most useful of the people, as carpenters, smiths, weavers, potters, fishermen, braziers.
Strange to say, the caste called Chandala, vilest of all, whose chief duty is the removal
of dead bodies, is sprung from the union of a Stidra male with a female of the Brahman

caste. It was only in the event of their not obtaining service in the house of one of the
4D
'' 

306 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group IX.

twice-born that a Sidra was permitted to practise a trade or profession, but there was no
interdict against his engaging himself in agricultural pursuits either as proprietor,
farmer, or mere cultivator. :

The above mode of accounting for the varieties of classes is fanciful and nonsensical,
but the object of the propounders of the idea was doubtless to preserve the purity of the
upper classes by degrading the offspring of those who married beneath them, and it
pre-supposes the point I argue for, that the upper and lower castes of the Hindu popula-
tion do not spring from different stocks.

An intelligent native friend of mine gives me the following as an old tradition
preserved in the Mahabharat :—

«There is no virtual distinction of castes; all were Brdhmans, so men were created,
but different trades and professions produced the different classes.”

In the Vayu Purana there is a somewhat similar passage.* In speaking of the
Treté age the author says there were then no castes, orders, varieties of condition or
mixture of castes; they were alike in form and age without distinction of lower
and higher.

It appears to me necessary, to a proper understanding of the ancient Hindu
population or constitution of the Aryan people established in India, to treat all four castes
as originally homogeneous, but divided into two great classes, the pastoral and agricul-
tural, and we have in the present day the type of these two classes in the two most
numerous of the Hindu castes, the Gopas or Godlas, and the Kurmis.

They formed the raw material on which Braéhman and Budhist priests and re-
formers successively worked ; the horizon from which the other classes arose or fell. It
is obvious that Brdhmans, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas, each strictly following the position
assigned to them, could not from their very constitution have had separate or distinct
national existence. Isolated they would have been as disjecta membra, wanting a
stomach and digestive organs.

It was on the other hand necessary to the existence and progress of the pastoral
and agricultural tribes that they should have their warriors, a section of the population
devoted to the profession of arms, who fought the aborigines, and defended the new
colonies, and it is probable that having this duty exclusively assigned to them they were
exempted from the labour of tillage or care of the flocks and herds, and thus was formed
the military class or Kshatriyas ; and it appears very natural that this class, thus pri-
vileged, should become dominant and monopolize the ruling power, and gradually arrogate
to themselves a separate and nobler descent than that of the tillers of the soil.

Great numbers of the agricultural tribes have traditions that they too were 3
once Kshatriyas, or might have been, but preferring the plough to the sword, were
obliged to give up the distinction of wearing the thread, the emblem of the twice-
born.

In regard to the Brihmans, there is nothing that I know of to militate against the
theory that they were eliminated in a similar way; but it is highly probable that the
Rishis or Munis, the magi or sages, from whom they claim descent, were of different ori-
gin, probably Egyptian, and that the doctrines eventually enunciated and adopted by the

 

* Quoted in Muir’s Sanscrit Texts, Vol. I, page 29.
''IntRopuction. | ; THE ARYANS. 307

Aryans were derived from two or more distinct sources. Some of the Rishis* appear to
have been established in India as missionaries to the primitive inhabitants long before
its conquest by the Aryans. These holy sages are frequently spoken of as occupying
hermitages far in advance of the Aryan settlements in the midst of the wild Rakashas
or Dasyus. Some they succeeded in converting, others resisted and reviled them, but
the sages, miraculously supported or aided, held their ground. The connection of the
old Rishis with the aborigines may be referred to in the following passage from the
story of Nahusha,t+ as told in the Mahabharat,—* This energetic prince slew the hosts of
the Dasyus and compelled the Rishis to pay tribute.” But the old Rishis, whatever
may have been their origin, formed alliances with Aryan girls without regard to
caste. The sage Vyasa, compiler of the Veds, was the son of a Kaibartini, that
is, a fisherman’s daughter, whom his father, a Rishi, had married, and the offspring
of such alliances might be priests, warriors, princes, or anything else. ‘Tod, in
his ‘Annals of Rajasthan,’ tells us that in the early ages of the Solar and Lunar
dynasties, from which the Brahmans and Kshatriyas spring, the priestly office was not
hereditary in families ; it was a profession, and the genealogies exhibit frequent instances
of branches of these races terminating their martial career, abandoning the world, and
starting a religious sect, and their descendants sometimes continued in the priestly office,
and sometimes reverted to the profession of arms; but after the conclusion of the
struggles between the two lines described in the Ramayan, the military class appears to
have withdrawn from all desire to enter the priesthood. Thus in those days there was
no hereditary ‘priesthood. The priestly offices were held by men told off or called to
the work who were required or inspired to live for years a life of meditation or seclusion
as a preparation for the avocation.

Like the priests of the Roman Church in the middle ages, they were the reposi-
tories of all the lore of the age, and having the power, they freely used it to twist and
distort the annals of the people and the records of their faith into instruments of
glorification of their own class, till they gradually obtained for themselves recognition
as a separately and divinely begotten, heavenly inspired race entitled to adoration.

For the production of the professional castes, it is not necessary to have recourse
to interdicted alliances. Amongst primitive people, the children naturally take to the
trade of their father, and we need go no further to account for such tribes or castes as
oil-pressers, potters, boatmen, gold-washers, fishermen, &c.

Thus we may expect to find, and do find, a certain uniformity of feature pervading
all the Natives of Hindustan who may be classed amongst the four great divisions into
which the Hindus are divided and their off-shoots, with physical and moral character-
istics of one prevailing mould. ‘There is, on the whole, in Hindus of pure blood a very
marked conservation of beauty of feature of the Aryan type. We certainly see great
variety, sometimes startling variety, of complexion, not unfrequently unmistakeable
evidence of mixture of race, and in some classes, as a whole, less delicacy of feature and
form than in others. This is to be expected. The out-door, rough employment of some
renders them dark and coarse, when compared with others who are subjected to no

 

* The sage Gautama (Muir’s Sanskrit Texts, Vol. II, page 382) is described in the Mah4bharat as having become like the
Dasyus from living amongst them.
+ Muir’s Sanskrit Texts, Vol. I, page 67.
''208 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group IX.

exposure or severe manual labour; but amongst the hard-worked Kurmis may be seen
occasionally maidens and youths with all the delicacy of feature, beauty of form, and
fairness of complexion, that are more especially the attributes of the twice-born, and I
have seen amongst Godld girls worthy representatives of the pretty milkmaids, amongst
whom the amorous Krishna passed so much of his time.

I do not doubt that the Aryans had their helots, and I consider that we have in
the really servile castes ‘the Chandalas, lowest of men,’ Pariahs, Doms, and others, the
people to whom, from time immemorial, the vilest offices have been assigned, and who so
seldom rise from their abject condition, the descendants of those very helots; but I
find no reason for the assertion that the progenitors of the modern Stdras were helots.
Manu, the great propounder of Brahman supremacy, indeed, proclaimed that the Stdras
were to serve the other three classes, but no degrading offices were imposed on them, and
the service was optional. It was the mass of the people they thus attempted to depress ;
morally they succeeded in the influence they obtained. The Stidras became priest-ridden,
and were domineered over by Kshatriyas, but though bullied, they were never enslaved.

Neither do I find any evidence of their being a conquered race. The terms ap-
plied to the Stidras, though purposely humiliating, are very different from the epithets
of bitter resentment that are launched by the bards and hymn writers against the
Dasyus, who, from the description* given, are obviously the dark-skinned aborigines
who had the audacity to defend themselves against the Aryans. In one of the oldest
Vedic accounts of the origin of castes, it is stated that the Stidras were created by
Brahma as “the nourishers,’ a good name for those to whose labor the earth yielded
her riches for the benefit of all classes.

The condition of the fowr castes, when created by Brahma, is thus described in the
first book of the Vishnu Purdn ( Wilson’s translation ).—‘ They abode wherever they
pleased. They were free from every impediment, pure hearted, and blameless in every
observance.’

The province of Chiitidé Nagptir protected from invasion by its elevation, and the
natural barriers that surround it, afforded an asylum to the ancient races, in which they
long existed as a dominant people, maintaining their independence for ages after the
subjugation or expulsion of their congeners from the Gangetic provinces. It was one of
the last countries in which the Aryans obtained a footing : their intrusion is indeed so recent
that the struggle for supremacy between the two races is even now going on. The
Aryans are still regarded as foreigners, and in some parts of the country, as in the
Kolhén of Singbhtim, never allowed to forget that they are intruders, but in other
parts the aborigines show a tendency to give way to them.

Here then we have aglimpse of the process long since worked out elsewhere.
We see the two races in juxtaposition yet opposed. The moral and physical distinctions
between them are, as a rule, most marked, and they naturally divide themselves into only
two nationalities. For the Hindus there is only one general term—Sud, or Sudh, or
Sudhan, which includes all castes, Brahmans, Rajptits, Godlas, Karmis, Kahars, &c.,
and they distinguish themselves by that term, which means pure, when differencing
themselves from the aborigines, whom they call Kol, vile or impure, or Chuar, robber.

 

* See quotation from the Vrihad Aranyaka Upanishad of the Yajur Ved, in Muir’s Sanskrit Texts, Vol. I, page 13.
''Section 1. ] BRAHMANS. 309

The Kols quietly accepted the distinctive denomination. Uniting in themselves a
Dravidian and Kolarian element (the Ordons and Miindas), they were in want of a
generic term to distinguish them from the Sudhs, but to the latter they also apply the
epithet ‘ Diku,’ a word of uncertain meaning, but not intended to be complimentary.
The word Sidra is, I doubt not, from the same Sanskrit root as Sud, meaning ‘ to
purify.’ If the Sadras had always been regarded as a helot race born to a servile con-
dition, why should this honourable epithet have been applied to them? I think it was —
of old, what it is now in Chiitid Nagptir, the term by which the Aryans en masse
chose to distinguish themselves from the Dasyus or Kols or Mlechchas. They were all
“the pure people,” but the twice-born, the first three classes, were the lords, spiritual
and temporal, and the knights and burgesses. The fourth class were the ordinary people.
The three upper classes were under very strict obligations to qualify themselves for
the maintenance of the superiority assigned to them by birth. It was incumbent on
every male of those classes to pass the first stage of his life as a religious student, and
it is declared that a twice-born, whether Brdhman, Kshatriya, or Vaisya, who has not
studied the Veds, falls, even whilst living, into the condition of a Stidra, and his descend-
ants after him; but a Vaisya of the present day studies only his ledgers, and the

representatives of the military classes are, as a rule, as innocent of literature as were
the knights of the middle ages.

' SECTION 1.—BRAHMANS.

The mysterious Rishis or Munis above alluded to appear to be the first persons
to whom the name of Brahman was applied. They were the light of their age, and
are supposed still to shine on us, as the seven great stars of the Great Bear. They

were anchorites of great reputed sanctity, but judging from the highly-coloured anec-

dotes of their private life that are handed down to us, of very questionable moral
character. Many of them were of the royal blood of the solar line; but though they
lived as ascetics, they did not consider continency or celibacy as essential to their
condition. Their liaisons included maidens of high and low degree, goddesses and
nymphs, princesses, and fishermen’s daughters, and the greatest monarchs were glad
to bestow their daughters upon them. They became thus the most noble ancestry that
an Indian family could claim descent from, and from their reputed progeny the
Brdhmans were started as a hereditary priesthood.

The creation of three privileged classes instead of one was no doubt a device to
reconcile the ‘upper ten thousand’ generally to the innovation.

The ceremonial ritual, subsequently promulgated as Br&hmanical, lays down rules
of daily routine for the guidance of the twice-born, which are only adapted to a people
who had settled permanently in a tropical climate. They inculcate constant ablutions
involving a protracted immersion of a part of the body in cold water, whilst long reci-
tations are made that would be intolerable in a cold climate; in some cases very
light clothing is enjoined, and in all temperance in food and abstinence from strong
drink.

It must be allowed that if Brdhmans elevated their caste by writing down the
lower classes, they did not assign to themselves very easy duties. A Brdhman should

AB
''310 2 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grove IX.

study hard in his youth, and practise austerity and devotion during the remainder of
his existence. His life is passed, if he acts up to the ritual enjoined, in the performance
of prescribed ceremonies and religious duties of a singularly monotonous and un-
interesting character. From the moment of his awaking at earliest dawn, till he
retires at night, there is a rule not only for every action of his life, but even for his
thoughts and meditations. These will be found detailed in the pages of Wilson and
Colebrooke,* and in the Purdns. They are too prolix and numerous to be treated of
here.

The Braéhmans of Bengal are descendedt from five priests invited from Kanya-
kubja by Adisura, King of Gaura, who is said to have reigned A. D. 1077. They are
therefore of comparatively recent importation, and the priestly duties were previously in
the hands of Sidras. In the eastern province of Asim, the ancient Kamartpa, there are
still large and very ancient religious establishments presided over by Sidra priests, and
there are others the head priests of which were of the same order till within the last cen-
tury, but into which Brahmans have now insinuated themselves. ‘The names of the five
imported priests were, Bhatta Ndréyana, of the family of Sandilya; Daxa, of the family
of Kasyapa; Chhdndara, of the family of Vatsa; Sriharsha, of the family of Bharadwaja ;
and Vedagarbha, of the family of Savarni.

At the period when these priests were invited by the King of Gaura, some seven
hundred inferior Brahmans, called from their number Saptasati, and a few Vaidicas
resided in Bengal. Of the former, none are now found in that country; five families of
the Vaidicas are extant, but are not permitted to intermarry with the Brahmans of
Rarna.¢

Many of the Brahmans of Lower Bengal have assiduously cultivated the decidedly
superior ability that their class may lay claim to, and, well educated and enlightened, fill
with credit important offices under Government, or attain high positions as merchants
or traders. The Brdhmans also include a numerous body of industrious and energetic
farmers and cultivators. They engage in all the operations of agriculture except that
of holding the plough,.and support themselves creditably by honest labor.

The Bréhmans of the present day, who devote themselves exclusively to priestly
duties, are far out-numbered by those who have taken to secular pursuits. The most
ignorant amongst the former are usually the most bigoted and assuming, and I
think there are no more intolerant and offensive members of the class than may
be found in Bihd4r and Chitié Ndgpfr. There we find men who with but little
or no knowledge of their books or duties arrogate adoration of their miserable persons
by all classes. These men will enter into familiar conversation with an acquaintance
in a public place, and. continue to talk and smile as if they were entirely regardless of
the necessity they were under of having at the same time frequently to withdraw
the foot from the slipper in order that the passers-by might have the opportunity of
kissing it!

I do not wish to disparage Brdhmans; they are unquestionably physically and
mentally a fine race of men, and considering the false position their pretensions place

 

* See Vishnu Puran, Book III, Chapter 11, &. Colebrooke, page 77.

+ Colebrooke, p, 277,
t Country east of the Bhagirathi,
''Srorrow 2. ] RAJPUTS, OR KSHATRYAS. 311

them in, and the natural repugnance they must feel to descend to the level of ordinary
mortals, it is all the more creditable to the class that so many amongst them have given
up this masquerading as gods, and appear before the world as enlightened and useful

members of society.

Section 2.—RAsptts, on KsHatryas.

The pretensions of the Rajptts of the day to represent the Kshatryas of days gone
by are not generally allowed by Bréhmanical writers, many of whom maintain that the
Kshatryas were destroyed by Parasurdma; but this fable of the total annihilation of the
race is contradicted by the very writers that assert it, and I doubt not that many noble
families of Rajputs scattered throughout India have as much right to consider them-
selves truly scions of the great lunar race as the Brahmans have to claim descent from
the saints of the solar line, but there are many noble and respectable families now ad-
mitted into the fraternity of the Rajputs, and calling themselves Kshatryas, who have
very little Aryan blood in their veins. It is a fact that many rajas and chiefs, who
are invested by Brahmans in due form at the proper age with the sacred string, and who
may show you a pedigree proclaiming their descent through fifty generations from a Rishi,
or a cow, or a snake, or some other animal or thing, are Kols, or Bhiiyas, or Gonds.

The Rajputs, under the Bengal Government, are chiefly to be found in Bihar.
Buchanan, in his aceount of that district,* estimates them at 14,000 families, and
enumerates 34 tribes; this nearly equals the number given by Tod in his account of the
tribes of Rajasthan, and amongst the names that may be found in both lists are Chauhdns,
Rahtors, Chandel, Baghel, Bayis, &c. To these Chitid Ndgptir adds Nagbangsis,
Sikhar, Raksel, and others, who are acknowledged as good Rajptit families and inter-
marry with the best; though, with the exception of the Raksel, I do not think that
any of them trace their descent out of the province.

Very good specimens of country gentlemen may be found amongst the Rajput
landlords of Western Bengal. Where, as is sometimes the case, primogeniture is the
local custom or family usage, and estates have been long in the family, the best relations
generally exist between the landlord and the peasantry ; indeed it will be found that a
very indifferent landlord is, in such estates, more respected and beloved than the most
indulgent new man. Good or bad, they live amongst their people ‘like a fine old
English gentleman, all of the olden time.’ They may fleece the tenants sometimes when
they levy contributions for marriages, or to reimburse themselves for some act of needless
extravagance, but in whatever tends to the dignity of the family, the people deem
themselves personally concerned and give without demur, and it is a satisfaction to
them when the duties of hospitality are religiously observed by their chiefs. The
objects of their charity are often the reverse of worthy, but still ‘the poor seldom
pass unrelieved from their gates.’

The class of Native gentlemen that I speak of are not the inert sensualists that
wealthy Bengalis so often become; they are fully capable of enjoying field sports ; they
generally ride well, are good shots and keen sportsmen. They are sure to have a

 

* Buchanan, Vol. I., p, 159.
''312 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group IX.

eood battery of guns by the best English makers, good horses, dogs, elephants,
and hawks, and even fishing tackle. As already remarked, a Rajpat claiming to
be one of the twice-born is bound to study the Veds, and to perform most of the
religious duties that are enjoined on Brdhmans. I know some Rajput gentlemen
who, acting up to the Brdhmanas or sacred precepts, spend a great part of the day in
devotion, such as it is, but the Br4hmans are after all the most indulgent and accommo-
dating of religious guides. Any Rajpit gentleman who finds the observances prescribed
’ tedious or irksome may hire a Bréhman to do it all for him. The Rajput may be
shooting or hawking whilst it goes on,—the result is the same so far as his spiritual
welfare is concerned.

I have said the rites of hospitality are considered a sacred duty. The guest, of all
others, who is received with most distinction in the house of a noble Hindu is a bridegroom.
He is treated with divine honors. Any visitor that the raja wishes very particularly to
distinguish is received in somewhat similar fashion. He is met at some distance on the
road by the host and escorted to the castle or house preceded by musicians, attended by
a well-dressed suite bearing silver sticks and other insignia of the host’s rank, and flanked
and followed by armed men, horse and foot; the latter with long matchlocks, which they
discharge ad libitum. As the cavalcade reaches the castle, there issues from a side gate
a procession of females in saffron-coloured garments bearing lights, water, and unguents,
They precede the guest into the castle, and tender their services to wash his feet.

This truly oriental attention may often be met with in the south-west frontier
districts of Bengal. It is practised by all classes of the people. Once, in passing by
the house of a wealthy Godld, I was invited by the owner to enter. A chair was
placed for me in a veranda of the inner court, and the females of the family summoned,
They came with water in a flat brass vessel and turmeric. They looked aghast at my
boots, and were proceeding to operate on the leather, when I told them to remove the
obstacle; they did so, and having fairly accomplished their devoir, they tried to restore
the hose to its place, but failing in this, they got frightened and fled.

VAISYAS.

Whatever may have been originally the occupation of the third class, the Vaisyas,
those who now claim to belong to it, are nearly all merchants and traders. The
Agarwalds, Oswdls and some Banias are of this class, but they are for the most part
foreigners in Bengal. They leave their homes in Western India early in life, and return
to them when they have made their fortunes. In Bengal Proper it is doubtful if there be
any true Vaisyas domiciled. The mercantile class are either Braéhmans, who enter largely
into it, Chatris or Rajputs, and numerous Sahts, Modis and Banias who are of various
inferior castes.

Secrion 3.—THE KAYASTHS.

I believe that in the present day the Kayasths arrogate to themselves the position
of first amongst commoners, or first of the Sidras, but their origin is involved in some
mystery. No one appears to know much about them, the sacred writers and bards make
no mention of such a class, and they have not, that I can hear of, any annals of their
own. They say they came into Bengal in the train of the Bréhmans from Kanav}
''SEctTion 3. | THE KAYASTHS. $13

introduced by Adisura, but this does not account for their origin. The fact seems to
be that as organized systems of Government were established, a demand for a new class
of scriveners arose with duties that neither Brahmans nor Vaisyas had time, or thought
it consistent with their dignity, to attend to, and a fresh dive was made into the great
Stidra element and a new order eliminated. Intelligent Kayasths make no pretensions
to be other than Sidras. From their appearance we might say that the first selection
was made of people with weak bodies and strong intellect, of small courage, but great
cunning, and that physical beauty was of less consequence than sharpness of wit.
However they worked their way out of obscurity, and are now boldly in the foreground
as a well defined and very influential class. They are largely employed as clerks in Gov-
ernment offices, and attain to much higher official positions; they supply accountants to
the landed gentry, and the Native bar opens a wide field for their peculiar talents. The
potent pen which has thus elevated them is their favorite object of worship. The
festival of Sripanchami observed by most learned Hindus in honor of Saraswati, the god-
dess of learning, is especially celebrated by Kayasths. Pens and ink-stands are collected
cleaned and arranged, strewn with flowers and barley blades, and there must be no
writing on that day except with chalk. A puny Kayasth will shake the pen, thus
honored, in the face of a club-bearing athlete or staff-bearing police man, and declare,
often with truth, that he is armed with a more effective weapon than either of them.

Having established themselves as a distinct class, the Kayasths looked about for a
new pedigree and found one that was vacant at the time, and suited them exactly.

When Yama sits in judgment on the dead, Lali Chitragupta turns over the pages
of the register in which the good and bad deeds of men are recorded by him. This
worthy the Kayasths selected as their ancestor. He had several sons from whom the
different tribes of Kayasths derived their origin.

1. Sribastab. 7. Mathur.

2. Ambashtha. 8. Saksena.

3. Karan. 9. Aithana.

4. Bhattanagar. 10. Kulasreshtha.
5. Gaura. 11. Nijam.

6. Valmika. 12. Suradhwaja.

Some interested authorities wishing to extricate the caste from the degradation of
belonging to the fourth class, declare that Chitragupta or Chitra Sen was created from
the dust that covered the body of Brahmd. Others maintain that Chitra was the son
of Bhuttidatta, created especially as chief of the Stidras. The book called the Rudra-
yamal states that the Ambashthas, who in Bihar are the most numerous class are not
pure Sudras, but were born of a Vaisya mother by a Brahman father. The Ambashthas
first appeared in Magadha. Next to them, in numbers, are the Sribastab, who are said
to have first appeared in Tirhut.

The Maitis or Mahantis of Singbhim and Orissa are Karanas.

The Kayasths wish to be considered orthodox Hindus, and in their mode of life and
observance of rites and ceremonies follow pretty closely the injunctions of the Purans.
In marriages, in funeral ceremonies and the adoration paid to the dead, they are strict
observers of Brahmanical doctrines, and perhaps there is no class more antagonistic to
widow marriage than they are, but they are much addicted to ardent spirits. I know of
no caste of Hindu which more openly and freely indulges in intoxicating beverages.

AF
''314 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL, [ Grour IX.
SECrIoN 4.—PastoRAL TRIBES. THE GoPAS.

I believe all the authorities are agreed in assigning to the Gopas a high place
amongst Stdras, though there may be a difference of opinion as to whether all the
tribes of the pastoral family are entitled to so honorable a position.

In ranking the Gopas, their intimate connection with their Hero and God Krishna

~ is allowed to have its weight. Originally a cow-herd himself, he rose to be chief of the

pastoral race and his history is theirs. Wheeler, in his delightful analysis of the
Mahabharat, thus epitomizes it; “He, Krishna, appears to have belonged to a tribe well
known in Hindu History as the Yddavas, or descendants of Yadu. These Yadavas
were a nomadic race who grazed cattle and made butter, and occasionally migrated to
different places accompanied by their cows and waggons. The time and circumstances
under which they first entered Hindtistén are alike unknown. At the birth of Krishna
they appear to have settled in the neighbourhood of the city of Mathura, the modern
Muttra, about 120 miles to the south of Hastinaptr.”

Of the Ahirs or Gopas who were the companions of the eich of Krishna at
Mathura we have various accounts.

It is contended by some authorities that they were Vaisyas, who were degraded
in consequence of having introduced castration amongst their herds,* but the Brahma
Vaivarta Purdn makes out the whole group that sported in Brinddban to have been
gods and goddesses out masquerading.

According to this authority the immortal Radha had, by a curse, been condemned
to a sojourn on earth as a maid of Brindaéban, and Krishna to console her came into the
world in mortal form as her lover.

This was the main object of his incarnation, but the other gods implored him not
to lose the opportunity of laboring in his divine capacity for the moral elevation of
mankind, so he divided his time between preaching and love-making.

Immense numbers of Ahirs or Gopas still cling to the nomadic life of their
ancestors. Seeking the high grazing grounds of Central India and Western Bengal they
form encampments on the pasture lands where they reside with their wives, families, and
herds till the grass in the neighbourhood is exhausted, subsisting entirely on the
proceeds of their milk and butter. The houses they use are constructed of large
bamboo mats; they can be taken to pieces and removed like tents.

But a still larger section of the tribe have quite given up this wandering life, and
forming permanent villages have settled down as good farmers and cultivators, only
distinguishable from other agriculturists by a possession of larger herds of cattle, by the
ereater care bestowed on them and in profiting more by the sale of butter and milk.

The religious festivals observed by the Gopas are chiefly those in honor of their
god and hero Krishna.+ Professor H. H. Wilson describing the Doljatraé which begins
in the fourteenth day of the light half of Phalgtn, or about the middle of March, when
the image of Krishna is put into a swing at dawn, noonday and sunset, says, “ the caste
of Gopas or cowherds is everywhere prominently conspicuous in this ceremony, especially
so coma the alae and at the ae or Holi they not only renew their own

 

* Buchanan, Vol. I. p. 169.
+ Essays on Religion of the Hindus, Vol. II, page 226.
''Srction 4. ] PASTORAL TRIBES. THE GOPAS. 815

garments but all the harness and equipments of their cattle. They also bathe them
and paint their foreheads with sandal and turmeric.”

“‘They themselves collect in parties each under a leader or chorcegus whom they
follow through the streets singing and dancing and leaping, as if wild with joy. A
curious part of their proceedings suggesting analogies, possibly accidental, with some
obsolete usages amongst ourselves, is their being armed with slender wands, and as they
go along the leader, every now and then halts, and turns round to his followers, and the
whole clatter their wands together for an instant or two, when they resume their route
repeating their vociferations and songs chiefly in praise of Krishna, or in commemora-
tion of his juvenile pastimes.” The Holi is not always exclusively connected with
Krishna. There are different legends concerning a witch so called, who is burned in
effigy during the festival; but one of them is, that she presented herself as a nurse to
Krishna with poisoned nipples to destroy him, but he knowing her malignant intenton
nevertheless applied his lips to the venom, and sucked till the whole substance and the
vitality of the witch was absorbed to her utter destruction and the infant’s benefit.

We have avery large Godld population in parts of Singbhim and the adjoining
Tributary Mahals of Katak and Chitid Nagptr, especially in Keonjhar. They do not
appear to have any particular legend to account for their being where they now
hold rather a subordinate position, the Bhuiyas or Kols being the dominant races;
but they are, on the whole, the most flourishing of the peasantry in that part of the
country.

They are not all of one family, and do not profess to be allof one race. Those that
call themselves Mathurdbasis claim to be pure Gopas, and are fond of making pil-
grimages to Brindéban. They are the handsomest and most truly Aryan looking of
the lot. The Magadba Godlas have a much commoner appearance. The latter are
suspiciously like Kols.

The features of the Mathurabdsis are high, sharp and delicate, and they are of
light-brown complexion. The Magadha features are undefined and coarse, and they
are dark complexioned, and have large hands and feet. Seeing the latter standing in
a group with some Singbhim Kols, there is no distinguishing one from the other.
There has, doubtless, been much mixture of blood.

In every Kol village there are a few of these Godlis who look after the Kol
cattle and are paid for doing it. They thus hold a very subordinate position, but the
Mathurabdsis never stoop to this. They are found as extensive farmers, employing a
number of aborigines as ‘ Kémias’ or farm laborers, and it is astonishing how easily
they succeed in seducing Kols from their independent position as peasant proprietors to
become their servants. They do not however forsake their hereditary calling; they
keep large herds of buffaloes and cows, and freely sell the milk and butter, the latter
in the form of ghee. hey live very generally in village communities and have their
hereditary village headman, who with a council of village elders decides all questions of
caste. They claim amongst other things the right of disposing of widows, but are now
seldom permitted to exercise it. “

T am indebted to Babi Rakhaél Dds Haldar, Assistant Commissioner, for the
following account of the Sadgops who may be regarded as at the head of the Gopas
of Bengal.
''316 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Grovp IX.

The Sadgops, literally superior Godlds, are now more an agricultural than a
pastoral caste; but whatever predilection other agricultural castes may have for the
worship of Rama, the Sadgops are not peculiarly attached to that divinity. They devote
themselves more particularly to Krishna like other Godlas, but this is a common case
with all the castes now known as Sudras. Krishna’s religion is the most actively
proselytizing form of Hinduism now existing, and it is absorbing gradually all the
castes, aboriginal, Aryan, and mixed. If, therefore, it be a fact that the agricultural
tribes are found to be peculiarly devoted to Rama and the pastoral tribes to Krishna,
that distinction will soon cease to exist, as evidently Rama’s religion and all other forms
of Hinduism are on the decline.

The Sadgops, like every other Sidra caste, are impure on account of child birth for
one month, not ten days as is the case with the Brahmans. ‘They are impure for the
same period after a death in the family. They do not perform the three important
rites which constitute the second birth of the Brahman, Kshatrya and Vaisya, viz., the
(1) karna bedha, or piercing of the ear, (2) chird karana, or tonsure, (38) wpanayana, or
investiture with the thread.

In weddings the following ceremonies are gone through :—

1. Gdyehalud—anointing the ‘var’ or bridegroom, with turmeric, two or three

days previous to the wedding.

2. JalsawA—ceremonious drawing of water by village girls for the ‘ var’s’ bath.

3. Adhib&s,—a tray in which samples of 22 articles in common use are placed is
presented to the ‘var’ by being made to touch his forehead, and the same
time a bunch of dub grass is tied to his wrist.

4. NAndimukh,—sacrifice to deceased ancestors.

5. Snan,—ceremonious bathing of the ‘var,’ in a space ‘ ch’hdonitala’, enclosed by
four plaintain trees with the water obtained by ‘jalsawa.’

6. Baran,—the forehead of the var is touched with betel leaves, a winnowing
fan, &c.

7. Kanakdnjali,—address of his mother to him at parting, when she asks, ‘“‘ Where
are you going, my son,” and he replies “to bring you a maid servant (or
slave), mother !”

The bride in her own house has to go through the ceremonies 1 to 6.

When the var enters the bride’s house, he is received by the village barber, who
throws on him sugar and rice, and the var then takes his seat for a time in the assembly
room, and converses with the young men, whilst the pandits in loud tones wrangle on
questions concerning their laws or ritual.

The var is then taken inside and stands within the ch’hdonitala, whilst five or six
married women walk round him seven times bearing the ‘adhibas’ tray, a pitcher of
of water, &c. The bride is brought in on a tray and carried round the var seven times,
after which the ‘ subhadrishti,’ auspicious interview, is permitted, that is the bride and
var look at each other, often for the first time.

They are then both taken to the place where the guests and the pandits are assembled,
and the ceremony proceeds. The bride’s father performs adoration of the var, whilst
he says “I give away my daughter to you.” The var and bride are made to say to each
other, “ What is my body is thine, what is thy body is mine”, and they exchange flower
''Section 5. | AGRICULTURAL TRIBE '.—THE KURMIS, KOLITAS, AND AGAREAHS. S17

garlands. The var then touches the bride’s forehead with the sindur, or red lead, which
apparently completes the ceremony.

‘he var must now re-enter the female apartment, where he is subjected to much ~
banter by the female friends of the bride, which he must bear as best he can. Great
liberty of speech is allowed on this occasion, and the jokes that are made and the songs
that are sung, are not always very delicate. The bride is now taken to her future home,
where other ceremonies await the couple, which are of little interest and need not be detailed.

The Gareris, or shepherd tribe, are in dignity of caste in much the same position
as the Gops. In the west of India, they founded a dynasty, that
of Holkar, which still flourishes. They tend sheep and make
blankets from their wool—a bad conjunction of trades, as the poor sheep are invariably
shorn when blankets are in most request.

Gareris or Shepherds.

Section 5.—AGRICULTURAL TRIBES.—THE Ktrmis, Ko1itas, AND AGAREAHS.

The Kurmis.

It is probable that in the Kuirmis we have the descendants of some of the earliest of
the Aryan colonists of Bengal. ‘Tradition, at all events, assigns to them a very ancient
place in the country, and many antiquities, now concealed in dense jungle or rising as
monuments of the civilization of bygone days amidst the huts of half-savage races now
occupying the sites, are ascribed to them and attest the advance they had made in
civilization at a very early period. 3

In his account* of: Gorakhptr, Buchanan gives the Ktirmis a high position amongst
Hindus of the Sudra caste. A Ktirmi zamindar is spoken of, the proprietor of Paraona,
who had obtained the title of Raja from Asaf-ud-Daulah, but was obliged to resign it, as
it gave offence to the older Barons, the proud Rajputs of the district. The family are
nevertheless deemed noble, and it would be considered a breach of their privilege, if any
of them were seen at the tail of a plough. There are tribes called Saithawar and
Patanawar, who having attained or aspiring to a similar position, dislike being called
Kiirmis. In Southern India this tribe is most commonly called Kumni or Kunbi.

Mr. Campbell in his Ethnology of Indiat says, the Kuirmis are numerous in the
central and eastern parts of the North-Western Provinces, where they are well known as
a very industrious class of cultivators, and he traces them from the Lower Duab to the
Jabalpur and Sagar territories along both sides of the Narbaddé and in Malwa. Farther
west in Gujrat they form the main body of the best cultivating population, and
throughout the whole of the Mahratta country. In short, if they were all told, they
would be found to be the most numerous of all the castes in India.

In the province of Chutid Nagpir the ancestors of the people now called Kiurmis
appear to have obtained a footing among the aboriginal tribes
at a very remote period, and in more than one part of Manbhim
have supplanted them. There are traditions of struggles between them and the Kolarian
aborigines of these regions, and though the latter generally managed to hold their own,
we find in some places Kuirmi villages established on sites which we know from the groups

Karmis in Chitié Nagpir.

* Page 468.
+ Journal, Asiatic Society of Bengal, Special Number, 1866, page 92.
''318 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group IX.

of rude stone pillars or cenotaphs still conspicuous were once occupied by Bhimij or
Mundas, and in others vestiges of ruined temples appertaining to Hindu and Jain
settlements, both most likely belonging to successive generations of Kurmis, amidst
villages that have for ages been occupied by Bhiimij.

The Ktirmis settled in the western part of Manbhim told me they had been there

for fifty-two generations. The Pachet Raja claims just so many
Bae Paha family of the descents from the deserted child that is said to have founded his

race. A babe was discovered in the woods by the Ktirmis draw-
ing its nourishment from a cow. This they took and brought up, and afterwards adopted
as their Raja. As the family cannot trace back its origin rationally out of the district,
and there is no particular reason for supposing them to be Bhtimij or Mtnda, I think
that they are more likely to be of Ktirmi extraction than descended from the cow nurtur-
ed foundling, but they prefer the latter origin and are welcome to it. There are other
high families of Kiirmi origin. Sindiah is the descendant of a Kurmi Patel of Satara,
and the celebrated Bhonsla family were ecard Patels of Deori, and also, I believe,
Kurmis.

In Gordkhptr, Shahabad, and Bihar, Buchanan reckoned 66,833 families of Kurmis,
but they are numerous in most of the districts of Bengal. In the Central Provinces *
they have Jhéri Kunbis, or Kunbis of the woods, who were probably the persons who
first cleared those woods, and Mahratta Kunbis, descendants of the followers of Raghuji
I., who came with him from Berar and the Deccan.

Though the Kurmis include so many noble families, their social position in Bengal
Proper is not high. They are not even ‘ Jala-charaniya,’ or a tribe from whose hands a
Hindu of the higher castes would drink water, but in Bihar this honor is accorded to
them.t :

The social customs and religious observances of Kurmis vary much in different
districts.

When they are found in common tenancy with non-Aryan tribes, they conform to
many usages which they must have acquired from the latter, and, following their example,
swerve considerably from orthodox Hindu practices.

The Kurmis employ Brdhmans as priests in all ceremonies except marriages. A
Kurmi can marry at any age and have as many wives as he fancies, and can also divorce
a wife at pleasure. .

The brides may be infants or adult girls. Widows may marry again. A married
woman wears an iron ring on her wrist, the removal of which by the husband proclaims
her divorced and free to take another.

In the marriage arrangements and ceremonies of the Karmis and other Sidra castes,
there are several practices which are not found in the ritual
enjoined by the Puranas, but may be traced in the ceremonies
followed by the aboriginal tribes, and there is besides a certain amount of fiction
introduced, much of which appears to point to some period when the circumstances of
the people were very different from what they are at present.

Marriage customs.

* Settlement report published by Government.

+ I am indebted to Babu Rakhal Dds Haldar, Assistant Commissioner, for most of this information regarding Kuirmis
of Bengal.
''SEcTION 5. ] AGRICULTURAL TRIBES._THE KURMIS, KOLITAS, AND AGAREAHS. 819

The bridal parties amongs$ the aboriginal tribes often meet in hostile array at the
entrance of the village of the bride, and a mimic fight takes place before the bride-
groom’s party is permitted to enter, and this custom is followed by some Kurmis and other
Hindu castes.

After proposals have been made and accepted a ceremony called ‘Duar Khanda’
is performed, which appears to be then rather superfluous. Seven or eight of the
bridegroom’s friends.and relations go to the bride’s house, and appear there and
are received there as strangers come from afar. They are asked who they are and
where they come from and for what purpose. They in reply describe themselves as
travellers overtaken in a storm, giving fictitious names. They are hospitably treated, and
in the more primitive parts the women bring water and turmeric and wash their
feet. Before they take leave they ask to see the young daughter of the house of whose
beauty they have heard so much. The bride is thus inspected and the party return with
their report to the ‘var’ or bridegroom. Then on behalf of the bride, or to gratify her
curiosity, a similar visit is paid to the ‘var’ by a party of her friends.

The wedding day is now fixed, and till it takes place, the bride and bridegroom are
in their respective abodes subjected to daily ablutions in a somewhat public and
ceremonious manner. On the wedding morning, the ‘var’ is first married to a mango
tree. He embraces the tree, is for a time tied to it in a particular manner with a thread,
and he daubs it with red lead. Then the thread is removed from the tree, and is used
to attach some of the leaves to the ‘ var’s’ wrist. The ‘var’ now takes an affectionate
leave of his mother. The form of speech that passes between them is used on like
occasions by all Hindus. She says, “ Where art thou going, my son?” “To bring
thee a maid servant,” is the dutiful and often over-true reply.

However short the distance may be from the ‘var’s’ to the bride’s house, if they live
next door to each other, there is always a fiction of a long journey having to be under-
taken to reach it, and it is usual for the ‘var’ to be carried to his destination seated
on a covered platform borne on men’s shoulders, which is called the jahdz, 4. e.,
ship.

Although a bridegrocm is amongst Hindus always treated with great respect, it is
customary with the Kuirmis for the brethren of the bride to treat the ‘var’ somewhat
roughly, teasing and chaffing him, probably to try his temper. This continues till he
presents his tormentors with new clothes. The bride is now introduced into the assembly,
and the gifts prepared for her by her father-in-law, and the ‘ var’ presented. She is then
taken by her friends to a Mahwa tree, which she must wed as the ‘ var’ wedded the mango,
and she is brought back to the bower of Hymen ina basket. The ‘var’ then applies the
sindir to her forehead, making a red mark between the eyes, and the guests all shout
‘‘haribol, sindradan.”’

In some places, as in Singbhtim, they touch and mark each other with blood as a
sign that they have become one flesh, and this is probably the true origin of the singular
but very universal custom of ‘sindradan.’ They are now man and wife, and receive the
congratulations of their friends, and next morning go home together on the ‘jahdz,’ the
bride sitting submissively at her husband’s feet.

The presence of a Brahman is not necessary to give validity to a Kirmi marriage.
They consult a Brahman astrologer as to whether the marriage is likely to prove happy
''320 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group IX.

and fruitful, or otherwise, and he is sometimes asked to name a fortunate day, but his aid
is not otherwise sought.

The Kurmis do not appear to have any anti-Hindu religious ceremonies, but one
of their festivals, the Akhan Jatra, or cake festival, is notice-
able. On the last day of the month of Pas (in the middle of
January) when the granaries are full, the people make cakes in the shape of a double
cone called ‘gargaria pitha,’ put on their best attire and assemble on a green outside
their village, and the young men and women form circles and dance and sing. This is
followed by a joust of archery : a cock is thrown up in the air, and this is continued till one
of the young men manages to shoot the bird with an arrow. The successful archer is
then treated as the hero of the day.

The Kiérmis are a brown to tawny colored people, of average height, well propor-
tioned, rather lightly framed, and with a fair amount of good
looks. They show well shaped heads and high features, less
refined than Brahmans, less martial than Rajpits, of humbler mien even than the
Godids; but except when they have obviously intermixed with aborigines, they are un-
questionably Aryan in looks. Grey eyes and brownish hair are sometimes met with
amongst them. The women have usually small and well-formed hands and feet.

In some districts the Koiris appear to be more numerous than the Kirmis. The
distinction between them is, that the former are generally
market gardeners as well as agriculturists. They rear vegetables,
tobacco, opium, and other produce that requires more careful cultivation than the staple
crops, but they are also good agriculturists as well as gardeners.

Buchanan estimated that there were 30,000 families of Koiris in the Shahdbdéd
District, and 45,000 families in Bihar. I have no means of estimating their number
elsewhere. In Chiitiad Nagptir they bear no comparison to the Kirmis in numbers, and
I imagine that this is the case in most districts of Bengal. It is perhaps the opium
cultivation that has attracted so many of them to Bihar.

The Koiris are generally allowed to be ‘Satsudras,’ pure Sudras. Their own
tradition is, that they were produced specially by Mahadeo and Parbati for the gardens
of the holy city of Benares.

The Sakiars are, I am told,a tribe of Koiris, not a distinct caste.

A learned pandit informs me that the derivation of the name is ‘ Ku,’ earth, and
‘Ari, enemy. ‘They are so called from their constant attacks on the soil. Koiris, men
and women, are always troubling it.

They observe the Brdhmanas more strictly than most Sudras and inferior castes.
Six months after birth the first food is given toa child by a Bréhman from rice,
‘mahdprashad,’ that has been offered to idols. At the age of five or six, boys and. girls
have their ears pierced by the guru, or priest, who is a Sanyasi Gosdin, not a Brdhman,
and the ‘ mantra’ is at the same time given; but as the child does not always recollect
the mysterious words imparted to him, they are repeated to him when he grows

The Akhan JAtra.

Physical traits.

The Koiris.

‘older. No other ceremony occurs till marriage, which takes place when the boy is ten to

twelve and the girl seven to ten.
The preliminaries are first arranged by mutual friends, who meet at the house of the
bride, Tf they come’ to an agreement, smali sums of money are interchanged. . The
''Srction 5.] AGRICULTURAL TRIBES.—THE KURMIS, KOLITAS, AND AGAREAHS. oe

boy’s friends give four annas and a half, and the girl’s friends one and a half, and this is an
engagement.

But as a betrothal it is incomplete till the ceremony called ‘sugan béndhna’ is
performed. Ten or more of the boy’s friends with music and a Bréhman go to the girl’s
house; her friends are also invited and the ceremony commences by the father of the
girl and the father of the boy, each spreading a new cloth on the ground. The Brahman
then takes some dhan from the store of the bride’s father, and places it in the hands
of the maiden who throws it on the cloth spread by her father-in-law that is to be.
The Brdhman next takes some grain that has been brought from the bridegroom’s house,
and this is thrown on the cloth spread by the father of the maiden. The cloths are
then rolled up with the grain in them, the bride retains that which was brought from her
betrothed’s house. The friends of the latter take away the cloth produced by the
bride’s father.

Hight days after the above ceremony the marriage takes place. A Brahman priest
presides, and the service is strictly Brahmanical. At the conclusion of the orthodox
ritual the bride and ‘var’, their scarfs tied together, are made to perform seven times a
circuit round a collection of vessels containing water, grain, oil, and a light. This is
called the ‘Bhanwar.’ The girl goes first, she carries one of the cloths with grain and
the boy the other, and allowing the grain to drop they thus mark the circuits they make.

When all is over, the boy is taken into the women’s apartments and invited to eat,
but he will not touch food till a present is made to him. In the same manner when
the bride first appears amongst the females of her husband’s house, she obstinately
declines all refreshments till bribed to eat. The ‘jahdz’ is used by the Koiris as well as
by the Kurmis.

Widows may marry again, but for such a union the full marriage ceremony is not
needed; an interchange of gifts and the presentation of the sindtr is all that is
requisite. This is called Sagoi. The offspring of such a marriage are considered

legitimate. It is usual fora younger brother to take his elder brother’s widow unless

she objects.
The ‘Gram Deotds,’ village gods, of the Koiris, at least of those that I have met

with, are ‘Sukha,’ ‘Parameswari’ and ‘Mahavira, Hanumén.’ Altars to these three
are in each house, one altar to all three and a plant of ‘tulsi’ in the court yard.

They keep the Hindu festivals of ‘J anmoshtomi’ and the ‘Sivarat,’ and like
many other Hindus settled in Chiitidé Nagptir, the Pagan festival of ‘ Karma’, and every
three years they make offerings on a hill known as the Marang Baru of the Kols, the
god that is invoked by the aborigines, especially when rain does not fall in due.season.

The Kolttas.

In my account of the people of the valley of the Brdhmaputra, I have noticed the
Kolitas as the remnant of the earliest Aryan colonists of Asim. They were an impor-
tant section of the population of the ancient Kdémartipa, including Rangptir in older
times, and are now looked on as the purest of the old Hindu people in Asim. I had
met with them in no other place till I visited the Tributary Mahals of the South-
Western Frontier, and from what 1 saw of them there, I am inclined to class them as a

purely agricultural tribe connected with the Kurmis.
4
'' 

 

399 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Grover IX.

They form a considerable portion of the agricultural population of Sambalpiir,
and appear in Bonai as the best cultivators and most substantial people there.

I found them occupying villages together with Gonds, and Kandhs ; but these, the pro-
bable representatives of the aborigines of the place, had nearly all fallen into the position
of farm servants to the Kolitas who had large substantial well stocked farm yards and
very comfortable houses. I was freely admitted into their domiciles, and the women and
children all presented to me. They afterwards came to my tent and sat there. The
‘ pardah’* system was entirely unknown to them.

The old men told me that the Kolitas came originally from Mithila in the days of
Rama, and it is to that deified hero that they chiefly pay their devotions. There was a
temple to Radha Krishna in the middle of one of the villages, but this had been put
up for them by the Raja, and though they worshipped there also at his request, they
did not neglect their favorite Rama.

Though doubtless best part Aryan in blood, there is, I think, a slight deterioration
arising from admixture with the less comely aborigines. Their
color varies from coffee to tawny yellow, or from 438 to 45
of the table published in the Memoires de la Société danthropologie. The mouths are
well formed, though large; eyes generally large, full and clear, many hazel. I especially
observed that many of the fair sex were distinguished by well-marked eyebrows and
long eyelashes. The noses are not aquiline or prominent, but there is no remarkable
deficiency of nasal bone, though the feature is often inclined towards the pug species.
They have straight foreheads, but a want of breadth across the temples which takes from
the oval of the face. The men show moustache and beard, but little whisker. They
are well proportioned and about the average height of Hindus of the lower provinces.

The Kolitas generally allow their girls to grow to maturity before they give them
away in marriage. I saw many full grown spinsters in the villages that I visited.

A very large proportion of the agricultural class of the Katak Tributary Estates
are Kolitas. They are generally called there ‘Tdsa’, for ‘Chasa’, but if you ask them
to define their caste less vaguely, they will tell you they are ‘ Kolita Tasa’, or ‘ Or Tasa,’
and the ‘ Kolita Tdsa’ are, I understand, most numerous: The Or Tasa area different
caste, but there appears to be very little real difference between them and the Kolitas; they
are all considered to be Sat Sudra.

Physi sical traits.

The Agareahs.

The Agareahs, a small but very thriving tribe of Hindu cultivators in the Tribu-
tary Mahdls, may be noticed amongst the agricultural classes. According to their
tradition they are called Agareahs from having come from Agra. They were there,
they say, Kshatryas, but having been subjected to some persecution by the ruler of
the State they left it, and taking up new lands in a new country cast aside their
sacred thread, the badge of the twice-born, with all its privileges and obligations, and
took to the plough.

Their appearance favors their pretensions to be of good blood. ‘Tall, well made,
with high Aryan features and tawny complexions, they look like Rajpits, but are
more industrious and intelligent than the generality of the fighting tribe.

 

* Praction ot secluding feed.
''Section 5. | AGRICULTURAL TRIBES.—THE KURMIS, KOLITAS, AND AGAREAHS. B23

The women are spared from all out-door labour, but are not secluded, and have
their own share of industrial avocations as well as household duties. They spin their
own cotton and give the yarn to the weavers, who return it to them in piece goods.
They are all decently, and even handsomely clothed, and have a good store of silver
ornaments. ‘The girls are betrothed at a very early age, but remain in their fathers’
houses till they grow up into women, so one of the evils of early marriage is avoided.
T made enquiries amongst a number of young girls, and found that all above seven years
old were betrothed and wore the silver ornaments which had been given to them when
they became engaged.

At the marriage a Brahman priest officiates, but it must be a Brdhman from the
North-Western Provinces. They do not employ the Utkala Bréhmans. They have
only one for a large tract of country, he goes his rounds and marries them all off
periodically. They are orthodox Hindus in most customs, but they allow widows to
remarry, and they bury the dead, but at any time when the bones are dry, the principal
joints and part of the skull are taken up and conveyed by the representative of the
deceased to the Ganges. This service is often neglected. My informant told me that his
father, grandfather, and great-grandfather’s bones were all in the ground and on his con-
science. The bones taken are called ‘ Ashta,’ ‘ Ashtang,’ as representing the eight parts
of man. The young girls, though betrothed, appear to enjoy great liberty. Some of them
are very pretty, bright-looking creatures of reddish light-brown complexion; fine glossy
long black hair; very bright eyes, remarkable for the clearness of the conjunctive
membrane; slight flexible graceful figures; teeth white and regular; faces not dis-
figured by paint, and no godna, or marks of tattooing, except on hands and legs. The
hair is very neatly and elaborately dressed, secured by a large silver ornament. I have
seen among them many pairs of grey eyes, and long eye-lashes are a prevailing feature.

It is reported in Gangpur, where there are some three or four thousand Agareahs,
that the beauties I have been describing and all Agareah females are witches. There
is among all classes in Gangptr a wide-spread and deep-rooted belief in witchcraft.
It is equally dreaded by the wildest and by the most civilized of the people, and I have
had before me proceedings in several cases in which it appeared that Agareah women
had been badly treated to drive the spirit out of them or make them give up the black
art. I have been told that in Gangptr there are old women, professors of witchcraft,
who stealthily instruct the young girls. The latter are all eager to be taught and are
not considered proficient till a fine forest tree selected to be experimented on is des-
troyed by the potency of their ‘ mantras,’ or charms, so that the wife a man takes to his
bosom has probably done her tree and is confident in the belief that she can, if she
pleases, dispose of her husband in the same manner, if he makes himself obnoxious.

TRADING CLASSES, ARTIZANS, MIxED AND IMPURE TRIBES.

I am reminded that I have already exceeded the allotted space, and I must bring
this work to a close with a very brief notice of some remaining sections of the population
of Bengal.

Trades.—Amongst the Hindus, all trades are hereditary, and each forms a caste, the
persons belonging to which must not marry out of it. These guilds are not included
'' 

324 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [Group IX.

amongst the four classes by the ancient exponents of the Hindu system. They are
absurdly declared to be the issue of marriages between a male of one or other of the
recognised castes with a female of another, and. are thence called the Mixed Classes, of
whom from thirty to forty are enumerated, including the tribes to whom the vilest
offices are assigned.

Some trades are deemed honorable, and those who follow them are placed at least
on a footing of equality with members of the fourth or Sudra class; others are dishonor-
able, and cause the degradation of the fraternity who practise them. Dr. Buchanan
tells us that the following members of the trading classes rank as Sudras in the Patna

division :—

Sang tarash a .... Stone-cutters and masons.
Thathéra ae ... Workers in bell-metal.
Kansara on ... . Ditto and _ braziers.
Tambali i ... Sellers of betel (piper).
Malis a ... Gardeners,

Barai ae '.,, Cultivators of betel.
Kandu ae ... House-builders.

(Women parch grain).

The blacksmiths, are pure in Bengal, but not in Bihdr. The Nai or Napits,
barbers, are pure in Bengal, impure in Bihér. In some places they have certain priestly
functions assigned to them (originating probably in the importance attached to the oper-
ation of shaving on some occasions), and are respected accordingly.

Tt is not in all instances easy to explain why certain trades are regarded as degrading.
The Barhais, carpenters, are considered impure—I know not why—and so are the indis-
pensable Kumbhars, potters, because, it is said, they cut the throats of the vessels which
they make when they remove them from the wheel. The Lakheri, or workers in lakh, are
in the same class.

The following are included amonst the lowest class of Hindus; none of the other
castes would touch water drawn by them :—Binds, Chaing or Chain, fishermen, boatmen,
and general labourers; Kewots and Malers, fishermen only. A man may fish for sport
without loss of dignity, and people of good caste may catch fish for their meals in baskets,
traps, &c., but the man who makes it his profession, is a degraded creature. Jogis and
Patwas, rearers of the silk-worm and weavers of silk, are impure, though many of this
class acquire wealth, and they are, on the whole, a well-favored people.

The weavers of cotton piece-goods are deemed vile, and in consequence I believe
of the low position assigned to them by their co-religionists, great numbers embraced
Tsl4m and are now called Jola4has. The oil-pressers, Kulhus or Télis, though pushing
a most lucrative trade and living well, are in the class I am describing; so are the Pasis,
whose chief duty is to express the juice of palm trees. Dabgars, who make the leathern
vessels for holding ghee, and all other workers in leather, the Mochis in Bengal, the
Chamars in Bihar, are ex-officio impure; and truly the skinning of deceased cattle
and seething the skins is not a sweet employment, but some years ago a reformer arose
amongst this “ worshipful company,” who established a sect called Satiamas, led by a
reformer who professed deism and inculecated cleanly habits and purity of life. Many
thousands of Chamars were converted, and they are now described in the Gazetteer of the
Central Provinces as “a regenerate people, frugal and temperate.”
''Srction 5. ] TRADING CLASSES, ARTIZANS, MIXED AND IMPURE TRIBES. 825

We must discard as altogether absurd the Hindu notion of the trade and low menial
classes having been deduced from an illicit commingling of the recognised castes ;
but the absolute exclusion of persons so essentially necessary to society is an additional
proof of the fallibility of the theory that the twice-born, meaning Bréhmans, Kshatryds
and Vaisyas, were in themselves a complete nation. I have already shown that they
could have had no ploughmen, and they surely could not have existed without manu-
factures of any kind or menials for the low offices; for it must be remembered that
they could not employ their own sanctified hands on works declared derogatory to their
caste. It is clear that a large proportion of the existing trading classes always belonged
to the Hindu Aryan nation; but as some of them have the honor of being regarded as
people from whose hands the twice-born condescend to take water, and others are so
degraded that their touch is pollution, it appears to me probable that certain offices
and trades were exclusively performed by slaves, and the Aryans introduced a very numer-
ous body of these helot artificers and low menials into India.

I have observed that weavers are conspicuous amongst the craftsmen thus degraded
and still despised, and that many of them in consequence became
Muhammadans. I think this also explains why we now find
so many thousands of them in the special preserves of the aboriginal races. I have
noticed in my account of the Hos of Singbhim, the Tantis, weavers of apparently Hindu
origin, whom we find domesticated as essential constituents of every Ho village community.
We have besides thousands of weavers in the Pans or Panwas, Gandas, Chiks of the
Southern Tributary Estates, and the Paébs and Panikas of the western districts. In feature
these people are Aryan or Hindu rather than Kolarian or Dravidian. Their habits are
all much alike, repudiating the Hindu restrictions on food, but worshipping Hindu gods
and goddesses, and having no peculiar customs which stamp them as of the other races.
This helot weaver caste, if I am right in thus characterising them, cannot number less
than 50,000 in the province of Chutid Nagpur.

But far viler than the weavers are the extraordinary tribe called Ghasis, foul parasites
of the Central Indian hill tribes, and submitting to be degraded
even by them. If the Chandalas of the Purfns, though des-
cended from the union of a Bréhmani and a Sudra, are the “lowest of the low,’ the
Ghasis are Chandalas, and the people, who further south are called Pariahs, are no
doubt of the same distinguished lineage. If, as I surmise, they were Aryan helots, their
offices in the household or communities must have been of the lowest and most degrad-
ing kinds. It is to be observed that the institution of caste necessitated the organisation
of a class to whom such offices could be assigned, and when formed, stringent measures
would be requisite to keep the servitors in their position. We might thence expect
that they would avail themselves of every opportunity to escape, and no safer asylums
could be found than the retreats of the forest tribes. Wherever there are Kols, there
are Ghasis, and though evidently of an entirely different origin, they have been
so long associated that they are a recognised class in the Kol tradition of creation.
which appropriately assigns to them a thriftless career, and describes them as living on
the leavings or charity of the more industrious members of society. There are not fewer
than 50,000 Ghasis in the Kol countries. Their favorite employment is no doubt that
of musicians; no ceremony can take place or great man move without the accompani-

4 I

Weavers.

GhAsis.
'' 

326 DALTON.—ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL. [ Group IX.

ment of their discordant instruments, drums, kettle-drums, half-drums, and huge horns,
to proclaim the event in a manner most horrifying to civilised ears. ,

The habits of the widely-spread Dom class are as impure as those of the Ghasis, and
they get their living much in the same fashion; they are to be
found in all parts of Bengal and Northern India, living on the
outskirts of villages. They are seldom seen working in the fields; they are employed
to kill dogs and remove dead bodies, and sometimes as executioners, and when they have
none of these congenial tasks to perform, they make baskets.

The Dosdds or Doshdds are another type of a low-caste tribe, living freely and
according to Hindu notions, impurely, but apparently rather of
Aryan than Turanian origin. The men, who are of strong
build and as tall as the average Hindu, have coarse features, but with nothing
of the Chinese or Negro about them. They have adopted the worship of the
demon Rdéhi, who is supposed to cause eclipses by his periodical attacks on the
sun and moon in revenge for having had his head cut off by Vishnu. The Dosdds
not only adore him, but claim to be his descendants, their upper class from Raha and
his wife, and their second class from Réht and his wife’s femme de chamdre. Their
mode of worshipping their founder is as demoniacal as he could wish. The faithful
ascend ladders formed of sword blades, so placed as to brmg the sharp edge in contact
with the sole of each foot, pressing as it ascends, and they afterwards walk through a
ditch filled with blazing faggots on which oil or ghee is poured to intensify the heat,
with no more injury than was sustained by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the
fiery furnace. The Dosdds aspire to higher employment than the Ghasis and Doms,
They serve as village watchmen and sometimes as Police and as Court runners. They
too started a reformer some three or four years ago; but after a year’s trial of abstinence,
they came to the conclusion that it did not suit them and relapsed.

The wandering gipsy-like tribe of Bedyas are found in most Bengal Districts, and
so indifferent is their character that they are usually placed under
the special surveillance of the Police. They are a branch of the
Bazigar or Nat family, a good account of whom is to be found in vol. VII of the
Asiatic Society’s Researches, page 458. They are jugglers, fortune-tellers, rope-dancers,
beggars, wanderers, and bird-killers, and their pursuits are further indicated by their
having a slang, or rogue’s language, only understood by themselves. They submit to
circumcision and call themselves Muhammadans, but they have many Hindu customs
and idolatrous practices, and consult bréhmans on particular occasions. Though scattered
and nomadic, they are organised as communities and have “head centres’ in different
localities. They sometimes call themselves Manjhi and Mahali.

Having no space left, I must spare my readers a long account of the mongrel tribes.
I think we may reckon amongst them the Raéjwars, a tribe well
known in the Gya and adjoining districts as troublesome characters,
especially addicted to highway robbery. Dr. Buchanan was disposed to class .them
amongst the aboriginal races, chiefly in consequence of their impure practices. Tradi-
tionally they appear to connect themselves with the Bhuiyas, but this is only in Bihar.
The Rajwars in Sirgija and the adjoining estates are peaceably-disposed cultivators, who
declare themselves to be fallen Kshatryas; they do not, however, conform to Hindu

Doms.

Dosads.

Bedyas.

Rajwars.
''Srction 5. ] TRADING CLASSES, ARTIZANS, MIXED AND IMPURE TRIBES. 307

customs, and they are skilled in a dance called chailo, which I believe to be of Dravidian
origin. The Réjwars of Bengal admit they are derived from the misce-genation of Kurmis
and Kols. They are looked upon as very impure by Hindus, who will not take water
from their hands.

The Badoris and Bagdis are, I conceive, the remnant of an aboriginal race who by

intermarriage with low-caste Hindus have nearly effaced their

_ primitive lineaments. The Bagdis are now employed as fisher-
men, palki-bearers, and general laborers, but some holders of large estates in Eastern
Bengal are of this family. I consider that the fact of Baoris being still in possession
of Ghatwdéli tenures as ancestral, shows that they had once a proprietary interest in the
soil. Babu Rakhal Das Haldar suggests that the name is derived from the Sanskrit
vavar, barbarian, the root of the Asém Abor; but in Asim the word opposed to Abor, which
is applied only to independent tribes, is Bori, which means dependent or subjugated, and
that seems in every way more appropriate to the condition of the Baori, who appear to have
meekly accepted their burden-bearing lot, both men and women hiring themselves out
as day-laborers or accompanying travellers on journeys. The men carry palkis.

The Béoris have some singular customs. They are excluded from caste if they kill
a heron ora dog. In regard to the heron, it is the emblem of the tribe, and its flesh
they must not eat; but in regard to dogs, I was gravely informed by some of their elders
that as they killed and ate cows and most other animals, they deemed it right to fix on
some beast which should be as sacred to them as the cow to the Brahman, and they
selected the dog because it was a useful animal while alive and not very nice to eat when
dead,—a neat reconciliation of the twinges of conscience and eravings of appetite.

Baoris and Bagdis.

a
'' 
''INDEX.

Ae or headman, 293, 295, 299.
Abengya tribe, 61, 65, 66, 67.

Abhiram Singh, 179.

Abor Nagas, 39, 114.

Abor tribes, 18, 20, 21, 22, 36, 40; vocabulary, 73 ; 92, 114,
327. ;

Achhik tribe, 66.

Aconitum ferox, 16.

Adal, a hero, 231.

Adi Budhism, 79.

Adistira, king of Gaur, 310.

African tribes, Béchudénas, 57 ; 63, 119.

Agariah tribe, 196, 200, 317, 322 ff.

Agarwalas, 312.

Aghurma, a village, 159.

Agin, a goddess, 231.

Agorias, 221.

Agra, 322.

Ahiri Pipri, 209, 211.

Ahir tribe, 227, 314.

Ahom tribe, 5, 77, 78, 79, 80, 82, 83.

Ahom vocabulary, 69.

Aiengya Miri tribe, 29.

Aka, or Anka, tribe, 22 ; 37, vocabulary, 73, 95.

Akbarnamah, 169.

akhan jatra, or cake festival, 320.

4khré, or dancing place, 198, 203, 248, 259, 261; wide
darbar.

Alompra, king of Burma, 5.

Alundi, name of a chief, 19.

Alunga, name of a chief, 19.

Amodah, 232.

Anamese, 119.

Andamanese, 133.

Andaripat, a holy mountain, 132.

Anderson, Dr. J., pref. ii.

Andhiar, a god, 231.

Angami Naga tribe, 39, 44, 46, 53; vocabulary, 71, 75.

angels, fallen, ideas of, 186, 231.

Angil district, 291.

Anka, or Aka, tribe, 37.

Anka Miri tribe, 35.

ant-hill, vide oaths.

Anungrua, a village, 115.

aoos rice, 33.

Aphyakumi tribe, 114.

Apla, a hero, 231.

Apongma, a Garo goddess, 59.

Appa Sahib, 225.

aqueducts of bamboos, 61.

arhar (Cajanus Indicus), 227.

Arracan, 44, 112, 113, or Rukheng, 113.

Arakanese, 112, 113.

arrows passed from village to village as a summons to arm,
171; national emblem of Hos, 191.

Artizan tribes, 323.

Arun, 102.

Arting Naga tribe, 44 ; vocabulary, 75.

Aryans, 1, 2, 79, 80, 84, 119, 128, 125, 187, 188, 161, 162,
163, 173, 178, 185, 200, 209, 222, 224, 265, 275, 285,
305ff, 325.

Asadullah Pathan of Birbhum, 164.

Asafuddaulah, 317.

Asal Paharias, 263, 264, 273.

 

Asam, 1, 2; history of, 5; name of, 5; kings of, 5; 6, 22, 46,
54, 55,77 ; chronicle, 78 ; 82, 84, 92, 95, 208, 310, 321, 327,

dsan tree, vide Terminalia tomentosa.

Asango, king, 110.

assokhat, a dye, 12.

Astika Muni, 165,

astrologers, 289.

Asur, 80.

Asuras, 124, 162, 186, 221, 231.

Asur tribe, 196.

Atkinson, W., 264, 270, 271, 272, pref. iv.

Autga, a god, 269.

Ava, 114.

Awakumi tribe, 114.

bag Deo, 278, 280.
Badhal Pen, vide Badial Pen.

Badial Pen, 278, 281.

Badiatal, a Gond god, 280.

Badiya Gonds, 278.

Bagdis, a caste, 167, 327.

Bagh Bhitt, or tiger devil, or Bagheswar, 214, 280.

Bagh Rai’s narrative of the origin of the Santals, 209.

Bagmundi, 173, 175.

Bah-bonga festival, 196.

bahni, a dance, 198.

Bah-Towli Bonga feast, 198.

Baiga, or Byga, a class of priests, 129, 180, 135, 137, 148,
221, 229, 232, 277.

Bairf Sal of Kokrah, 169.

Baitarnf, 153, 156, 177, 207.

Bakeswar, a god, 134.

Bakht Baland of Deogarh, 276.

Balands, 230.

Balasore, 207.

Ball, V., 160x, 161, 177, 178, 203, 204, 263, 273, 274, pref. iv.

Bamanghati, 180, 182, 277. :

bamboo, 19, 26, 61, 115, 233, 234, 269, bamboo festival, 86 ;
109, 220.

Bambusa gigantea, 34, 141.

Bamunipat, a holy mountain, 132.

Bamra, 139, 147, 149, 282, 285.

Bammi Pat, 141.

ban, 103.

Banctira, 207.

Bandgaon, 171.

Bangni, or Dophla tribe, 35.

Banhi, a goddess, 220,

Banias, 312.

Banjugis, a tribe, 44.

banners, 255.

Bansuri, a goddess, 149.

Baoris, a tribe, 138, 327.

Bapus, or priests, 97; bapuchang, 6.

Baradeo, god of the Gonds, &c., 185, 259, 278.

Barah Bhuiya, 81, 82, 92, 139.

Barahbazar, 175.

Bar4hbhtim, 173, 174, 175, 176.

Barai caste, 324.

Barak River, 39.

Baranda, a hill god, 258.

Barbaras, 102.

Barber caste, 324.

4K
''INDEX.

»

Barhai, or carpenter caste, 324.

Barhona, a goddess, 231.

Barwé, 172, 221, 222.

Basia, in Ch. Nagpur, 180.

Bassia latifolia, or Mahua tree, 148, 231, 281, 283, 319.

Bastar, 278, 279, 280, 285, 290.

bachelors’ hall, 61, 64, 112, 141, 172, 247, 248, 272, 279,
295.

Batho, god of the Kacharis, 59, 85, 86.

Bazigar tribe, 326.

beads, 26, 32.

Beames, J., 90.

Bechudnas, an African tribe, 57.

Bedford, Capt., 19, 22.

Bedingfield, Lt., murdered, 55.

Bedo, a god, 268, 271, 296 ; vide Bero.

Bedyas, or wandering tribes, 326.

bel tree, vide Oegle Marmelos.

Bela Penu, 296.

Belonja, in Behar, 225, 264.

Belsia, in Ch. Nagpur, 180.

Be-malwa, opp. to Malwa, 22, 59.

Bendkar tribe, 149.

Beniah Kandhs, 293.

Ben Raja, 127.

Bero, the sun god, 159; vide Bedo.

betelnuts, 56. :

Beth kheta, 169.

Betiah Kandhs, 293.

Behai Karens, 118.

Bhagadatta, king of Kamrup, 79.

Bhagalptr, 139, 207, 266, 272.

Bhagat Ordons, 258.

Bhagavat, 128.

Bhageswar, or tiger god, 280.

Bhainsasur, a god, 231.

Bhakhar, 134.

bhanwar, or circuit, 148, 234, 321. _

Bhanwar Pahar, 129.

Bharata, 102.

Bhavishya Purana, 259.

Bhawani, 147, 232.

bhelwa, a tree, 198.

Bhettiah, 82.

Bhils, 151, 231, 244, 264, 275.

Bhim, 147.

Bhinda Purub, 115.

Bhogta tribe, 129.

Bhojptr, 162.

Bhoj Raja, 162.

Bhoroli River, 36, 37.

Bhor Pir in Singbhtim, 171.

Bhiinhars, 168, 169, 176, 2842.

Bhuindeb feast, 274.

Bhuiya tribe, 1, 129, 132, 133, 139, 144, 149, 162, 163, 167,
174, 178, 179, 185, 230, 2438, 247, 277, 285, 300, 326.

Bhuiyers, 132, 133.

Bhumia tribe, 148.

Bhumiz, or Bhumij, 115, 124, 151, 158, 161, 165, 173, 174,
184, 210, 318.

Bhungya, or Bhungiya, tribe, 81, 139.

Bhuniya tribe, 1, 2, 139, 144.

Bhupal Raja, 82.

Bhitan, 37, 38, 80, 84, 89, 95, 100, 102.

Bhuyas, 105; vide Barah Bhuya a

Bihar, 124, 125, 126, 151, 161, 169, 170; town, 211; 212,
222, 225, 310, 311, 313, 318, 320, 326.

Bihiya tribe, 77.

Bihu festival of the Miris, 29, 80, 81.

Bijni, chief of, 96.

Bijowas, a class of priests,104.

Bindaparab, 176.

Bind caste, 324.

Binnua race, 119.

Birbhtim, 164, 207, 208, 263.

Birch, Capt. R. C., 184.

Birhor tribe, 158, 196, 210, 218.

Biru Bhiit, 220.

Birt Kasalptr estate, 159.

 

 

Bisa, 10, 13.

Bishnath, in Asam, 80.

bisi, or unclean, 191.

bisoi, a Kandh officer, 299.

black mail paid to chiefs, 35.

Blacksmith caste, 324.

Blochmann, H., pref. iii.

blood, marks of, in marriages, 319.

Blunt Capt. J. T., 128, 136.

Boad District, 285, 288 290, 292, 298, 299.

Bodo nation, 1, 58, 59, 78, 79, 80, 82; vocabulary, 93 ;
109.

Bodo Ghoro District, 289.

Bogle, Sir A., 113. ,

Bomjir, an Abor village, 22, 25, 27.

Bonai, 140, 141, 144, 176, 180, 245, 247, 277, 285, 322.

Boram, 141, 147.

Bora Raja, 153.

Bordoloni, a place in Asam, 30.

Bordwaria Nagas, 39.

Boridihing River, 9, 39.

bori, or dependent, opp. to ‘Abor,’ 22.

Bor-Khamti tribe, 6, 7

Bos frontalis, 16.

Bourri, Mons., 14.

Boyars, 133, 134, 148, 228, 281,284.

Brahmakund, 13, 18, 82.

Brahmani River, 159, 263.

Brahmans, introduced in Manipur, 49 ; in Kamrup, 84; white,
124; of Shahabad, 126; 129, 137, 141, 168, 169, 185
260, 305, 309ff.

Brahmaputra, 1, 7,13; upper course of, 14; 15, 18, 22, 29,
39, 58, 80, 82, 109.

brass petticoats, 27.

bridegroom, comes from afar, 248”; is honored, 312; among
the Sadgops, 316; 319.

bridges in Brahmaputra valley, 15, 26, 98.

Brijia tribe, of Palamau, 230.

Brindaban, 314.

Brown, Dr., pref. iii.

Browne, J. F., 110.

Buchanan-Hamilton, 59, 64, 66, 125, 126, 128, 1389, 161,
162, 207, 264, 269, 272, 318, 320, 326.

Buddha, son of Anjana, 162.

Budh Gya, 126, 163.

Budhism, 79, 80, 81, 104, 105, 112, 117, 276, 281.

Buijwar tribe, 148.

Buis, a tribe, 139.

bukho, a class of priests, 116.

Bukit Mariam, 119.

bullfights, 67.

Bultistan, 95.

Bundt, 172.

Buniya tribe, 147.

Bura, a Kandh god, 286.

Bura Bonga, 187, 188.

Bura Buri, an Asamese god and goddess, 88.

Bura Deo, vide Bara Deo.

Bura Pen, 281.

Bia Penu, a Kandh god, 296, 297.

Buria Mai, 220. é

Burinji, Asim chronicle, 78.

Burmese, 82, 88, 112,118; vocabulary, 120.

Bursa Gonds, 278.

Burton, Lt., murdered, 55.

Butan, vide Bhutan.

Butea frondosa, or palas tree, 196.

But tribe, 59, 60, 88, 95, 97 ; vocabulary, 107.

Byga, vide Baiga.

nae old name of the Singpho tribe, 9.
Caldwell, Dr., 244.

Camak, Captain, 170.

Campbell, Col., 288.

Campbell, Dr. A., 90, 100, 106.

Campbell, Mr. G., 139, 152, 317.

Canarese vocabulary, 302.

cane petticoats, 30.
''INDEX.

castes of the Hindus, 305.

Cathay Shans, 44.

cenotaphs, 43. |

Central India and Central Provinces, 123, 136, 189, 151, 167,
232, 243, 275, 278, 317, 318.

Ceylon, 106, 125, 163; vide Lanka.

cha, Bos frontalis, 15.

Chachag, Raja, 111.

Chaibasa, 177, 182, 183, 191, 197, 203.

Chai Champa, 209, 210, 211.

Chain, or Chaing, caste, 324.

Chal, or Chalnad, a god, 268, 271.

Chamakptr, 149.

Chamars, 324.

Chamda Gosain, a god, 269.

Chanala Desum Bonga, a god, 186.

Chanda, a goddess, 130, 258.

Chanda District, 157, 278.

Chandals, 124, 305, 308, 325.

Chand Bhakhar, 134, 136, 231.

Chando Bonga, 214.

Chando Omol, or moon, a goddess, 186.

Chandraghari District, 291.

chang-garh, name of the Miri houses, 29.

Changnoi Nagas, 39.

Changsen, a Kuki tribe, 45.

Chardwar, Durrung District, 37.

Charipak, a Rabha goddess, 87.

chasa, or tasa, 322.

Chatamla, king of Asam, 5; adopts Hinduism, 5.

Chatna, 211.

Chatra, 170, 219.

Chattisgarh, 136, 137, 264.

Chauhan Rajputs, 230.

Chedwar, Lukkimptr District, 36.

Chenchwa tribe, 157.

cherin, a kind of divination, 270.

Cheros, 2, 124, 125, 161, 162, 163, 212, 222, 225.

Cherra, a Kasia state, 55.

Cherwa Kaur tribe, 137.

Chicks, a tribe, 286, 325.

chignons, 20, 226.

Chindol, a god, 1380.

Chindwara, 280.

Chinese, 112, 187», 192n.

Chinna Kimedy, 288, 290, 292.

Chitarin festival, 268.

chit, a term for foreigners, 264.

Chitawur, a deity, 231,

Chitor District, 165.

Chitragupta, or Chitra Sen, 313.

Chittagong, 45, 109, 111, 113.

chob, a fibre, 158.

Choin Muni, a Rishi, 127.

Chokeng Gohain, a Khamti chief, 14.

Chorail, evil spirit, 258.

Chordewan, a malignant spirit, 251.

Chorihachu mountain, 88.

Christianity, 247, 250, 254, 257.

Chuars, 308.

Chuars, or Chuaris, 174, 175.

Chukupha, king of Asam, 5.

Chtlikata Mishmis, 17, 18, 24, 42, 205.

Chunar, 128.

Churai Rombu, of Manipur, 49.

Churia, a place, 173.

Chutia or Kachari, 1, 2.

Chutia, Durrung District, 77, 79, 80; vocabulary, 93.

Chutia Miri tribe, 29.

Chutid Nagptr, 124, 125, 129, 131, 158, 159, 160, 162,
164; orig of Rajahs of, 165,168», 169, 177, 192, 210,
219, 221, 227, 231, 243, 245, 263, 265, 278, 308, 309, 310,
31), 315, 320; 321, 325,

Chutupha, an Ahom chief, 77.

Cleveland, Mr. A, 265, 266, 268.

Coates, Dr. J. M., 274, pref. iv.

cockfights, 190.

cocks sacrificed, 86, 132, 138, 141, 198.

Colebrooke, 310.

 

 

Comber, Capt., 18.

conscience, ideas of, 117. .

conversions to Budhism, 97, 125. / d

conversions to Christianity, 207; vide Christianity and mis-
sionaries.

conversions to Hinduism, 78, 82, 84, 89, 110, 126, 130.

conversions to Islam, 2, 89, 324, 325.

copper-mines, 178.

Coptis tecta, 16.

cotton, cultivation of, 26, 65, 103, 111.

Cowhir tribe, 136.

creation, ideas regarding, 59, 185, 231, 256, 296.

cremation, 202.

crosses, 13, 26.

crows, formerly white, 187.

Cuttack, vide Katak.

Ds caste, 324,
Dadave Gonds, 278.
daho, a kind of tillage, 246.
Dainboong, 114.
Daknai, a goddess, 129.
dalikatarf, 199. '
Daméaji, a place in the Lukkimpur District, 30.
Daman-i-Koh, 208, 263.
Damipaon, a Mishmi god, 16.
Damiudar River, 124, 158, 208, 209, 211, 218, 227, 246,
Damurai festival, 198.
dances, vide jadur, jumhir, war dances, terriah, khariah,
karm, rasa, dawa, bahni.
Dandaka Forest, 163.
Dandsena Bhuiyas, 145.
Dangargarh, 278.
Danu, or Danawas, deities, 231.
dao, or dhao, 8, 11, 33, 40, 47.
Dapha, 10.
Dapha Bhum Mountain, 13.
Daplas, or Dophlas, 22; vide Dophlas.
darbar, or dancing ground, 141, 145 ; vide akhra.
Darha, tutelary god of the Kols and Ordons, 129, 132, 198,
220, 257, 258, 268.
Darjeeling, 100.
Dasarna, ten forest forts, 164.
Daspalla District, 285, 290.
Dasum Pat, a deity, 141.
Dasyus, 124, 161, 307, 309.
Datar, 219.
Dautanpali, 278.
Davies, Mr., 184.
dawa, a dance, 135.
dead men eaten by Birhors, 220; wide offals,
Debroghar in Asim, 8, 22.
dekachang, bachelors’ hall, 61, 64.
Deko River, 40.
deluge, ideas of, 188.
Demanos, a class of priests, 270, 274.
Deoda, a class of priests, 86.
Deodars, or soothsayers of the Abors, 25.
deogantas, or metal bells, 32.
Deogarh, Central Provinces, 276.
Deori Chutia tribe, 78.
Deoris, or Aka priests, 38; Deori tribe, 78, 85, 141.
Deoshis, a class of priests, 85, 92.
Deota Sara, 141.
Desauli, 187, 188, 261; Desauli Bonga, 196, 198, 200.
Desauri or Jani, a priest, 289.
Desh Bhuiyas, 145.
Devi, 220.
Dewangiri, Temple of, 98.
Dhalbhtim, 115, 173, 175, 176, 177, 178, 182.
Dhangarbassa, 141.
Dhangars, or Ordons, 141, 245.
Dharm Deota, 141, 147.
Dharmi, 186, 256, 296.
Dharti, goddess, 129, 131, 148, 261.
Dhaurel Singh, ancestor of the Rajas of Korea, 230.
Dhekanal, 152, 153.
Dhimal tribe, 82, 88 ; vocabulary, 93.
''INDEX.

Dhimapur, 83.

Dholbhum, vide Dhalbhim.

Dholi Gonds, 278.

Dholla River, 78.

Dhormong, a god, 88.

Dhumkuria, v2de bachelors’ hall, 247, 248.

Dhunsiri River, 39, 40, 83.

Dhur Gonds, 283.

Dhurma, or Dharma Rajah, 96.

Dhurwe Gonds, 277.

di, a prefix in Asamese names, signifying ‘ water,’ 87.

diamonds, 1632, 170 x.

Dibong River, 18, 19, 22.

Digaru River, 13, 15, 18.

Digi District, 289, 291.

Dihi Korwas, 125, 229.

Dihing River, 39, 40.

Dihong Abors, 36, 78.

Dihong River, 34, 35.

dikos, or foreigners, a Kol term, 172.

Dikrung River, 78,

Dilli, a village of the Mishmis, 14.

Dimapur, 2.

Dinajpur, 102.

Dinga Pennu, a god, 297.

Dingong or Sikhim, 100.

diokoras, holy vessels of the Garos, 32.

Dipadhi, ruins at, 222.

Dirjmo River, 22, 28, 30.

divination by oil, 188; vide ojha, 191.

dogs, 327.

Doima, or Brahmaputra, 87.

Doisa, a parganah, 172.

Doljatra, 314.

Dom caste, 77, 244, 308, 326. ~

Donjongma, a Garo goddess, 59, 60.

Doolittle, Revd. J.,193 ».  -

Dophlas, or Daplas, 22, 35; vocabulary, 73 ; 116.

Dorowas, a Gond tribe, 277, 278.

Dosad, or Doshad, caste, 326.

Doyang River, 39, 42, 44, 53.

Dravidian, 2, 92, 103, 119, 124, 138, 139, 140, 149, 152,
159, 162, 207, 222, 223, 225, 226, 248, 244m, 248, 259;
eye, 273; 281, 309, 325, 327.

Dripnath Sahi of Kokrah, 170, 180.

Droese, Mr., 272.

Duaniyahs, a mongrel race of Singphos, 10, 12, 12x.

Du River, 13, 14.

duarkhanda, a ceremony, 318.

Duar Pahar, a god, 129.

Duars, 84, 88, 96.

dub grass, 316.

Dubri, in Asam, 80.

Dudha Mai, 220.

Dudh Kaur tribe, 137.

Dudkusi, 102.

Dula Deo, a Gond god, 280.

Dulhadeo, a god, 134, 223.

Dulukzi, a village, 149.

Dulungiri, a place, 61.

Dura, a sylvan god, 129.

durbar, the dancing ground; 14], 145.

Durjun Sal of Kokrah, 169 x.

Durrung District, 22, 87, 77, 84.

Dussera festival, 50.

Dwara Gosain, a god, 268.

Dwarka River, 263.

es tribe, 102.
Eastern Archipelago, 151.
Eden, Lt. F. G,, 14, 22; Hon'ble A., 95; pref. ii.
Eeb River, 135. j
Egerton, E., 148.
eggs used in worship, 57, 86.
Ekasf, 221.
Ekhir Bonga, a deity, 188.
Ekthtmba tribe, 102.

 

elephant flesh, not eaten, 88.

Ellora, 128.

Enghan, a feast of the Kouptiis, 52.

English, their descent in the eyes of savages, 26, 59,.116,
185, 265 ; a whistling race, 58; 210.

ert silk, 32, 101.

E-u and Tha-nai, parents of mankind, 116.

Euphorbia, 85, 86, 89, 268.

eyes, grey, of Rajptits, 79; of the Dravidians, 273.

aa the Chinese traveller, 118.
Famine of 1866, 214.

Fakhials, vide Phakis.

Fath Khan Duala, 211.

Fayrer, J., pref. i.

Ficus religiosa, or pfpal tree, 251.

Fifth Report, 163 n.

Fiji Islanders, 119.

Firan, an Aka god, 38.

Firengis, their origin, 60.

Fisher, Major, 58, 84, 88, 109.

Fitch, Ralph, the old traveller, 95.

flutes of the Santadls, 214.

Forbes, L. R., 230, pref. iv.

Forest forts, 164.

Forest of Dandaka, 163.

fowls sacrificed at Suttee shrines, 138.

friendship among Ordon women, 253.

Frye, Lt. J. P., 294.

Future life, ideas of, 21, 205, 256; vide Paradise, Hell,
Creation,

Fuxo, an Aka god, 38.

Gas or Gudwas, a Kol tribe, 279.

Gakhind, chief of, 12.

Gallom Gam, a Mishmi chief, 15.

game laws of the Malers, 269.

Gams, or heads of families, 10, 19, 23, 35.

Ganak caste, 77.

Gandas, a tribe, 286, 325.

Gangabangsis, 167.

Ganga Narain, 174, 176.

Gangara, a Gond god, 280.

Gangpur, 140, 147, 176, 178, 180, 245, 323.

Ga-nhat, a god of the Singphos, 12.

Ganjam, 285, 286.

Gansim, 232, 233.

ganthi, or knotted string, 145.

Gareris, or shepherds, 317.

Garha-Era, a goddess, 188.

Garha-Mandla, 275.

Garjhat estates, 147.

Garo Hills, 91.

Garos, 1, 22, 55, 58, 88, 92 ; vocabulary, 93, 95; 109, 115,
141, 202.

Gaur, in Bengal, 78, 310.

Gaurinath Sing, king of Asam, 6, 9.

Gautama, 8, 125, 126 163.

Gavilgarh Range, 151, 231, 275.

gayat bull, 115.

genna, a kind of tabu, 43.

Gharib Nawa4z of Manipur, 49.

Ghasi tribe, 185, 325, 326.

Ghatwals, guardians of the passes, 173, 327.

ghosen, a musical instrument, 47.

Ghumoishee, a Kuki god, 45.

Ghy-ghasi Miri tribe, 30,

Ghylongs, or priests, 97.

Ginjo, a village, 172.

Girgaon, 83.

Glasford, Col. C., 279, 283.

Goalas, or Gopas, 2, 152, 178, 185, 190, 306, 314 ff.

goblins, 117.

godna, or marks, 132, 191, 323; wide tatooing.

Gohet, a divinity, 131.

Gola Parganah, 209, 210, 219.

goldwashers, 31.

 

 
''INDEX.

goldwashings, 196.

Gonasika, 153, 156.

Gonds, 127, 145, 157, 222, 224, 226, 229, 230, 232, 243,
259, 275 ff; vocabulary, 302; 322.

Gondwana, 231, 275, 285.

Gopas, or Goalas, 306, 314 ff.

Gorakhptir, 126, 151, 162, 318.

Gorkhas, 126.

Gor, or Goala caste, 190.

Govindptr, 171.

Gowalpara, 58, 82, 88, 89.

Gowhatty, 37, 80.

Gram Deotas, or village gods, 321.

Grant, C., 283 2.

Grant, J., Sarishtahdar, 164,

Griffiths, Dr., 14, 15.

Gripavali, a mythic rock, 298.

groves, sacred, 129, 132, 141, 177, 186, 88, 258.

Guami Nagas, 53.

Gudwas, or Gadbas, a Kol tribe, 279.

gut, or friend, 253.

Gujrat, 245,

gumki, a term for a king, 165.

Gumsar, 285, 290, 292.

Gumu Gosain, a god, 269.

Gunduk River, 105.

Gurung tribe, 103.

Guttiari, in Gola Perganah, 210.

Gya, 125, 162, 326.

Lyte 58. )
hadbari, 262 2.

Haioo tribe, 105.

Hajong tribe, 87, 88.

Haju, temple of, 80.

Haju, the Koch leader, 89, 90.

Ham-ho, or penates, 18.

Hanchog feast in Maniptr, 50.

Hang, or Hwang, tribe, 103.

Hanhart, Messrs., pref. iii.

Hannay, Col., 78, 79.

Hanuman, the ape general, 105, 140, 147,220, 321.

Hara Duttie, 209.

Hari, an Aka god, 38.

Hari caste, 77.

Harihar festival, 198.

Harihas, a caste, 126.

Ha Tsungtsa Dynasty, 84.

hattee pakee, a bird, 47.

Haughton, 184.

Haya, 105, 215 n.

Hayes, Dr., 184, 191 7., pref. iv.

Hazai Kacharis, 83, 88.

Hazaribagh, 139, 207, 208, 209, 245.

Hazarikowa tribe, 37.

hell, ideas of a, 117, 162, 204.

Hempatim, a Mikir god, 54.

Hemsung, a god, 104.

Hera Bongo festival, 198.

Herodotus, 221.

heron, 327.

Heselmeyer, Revd. C. H., 37.

Heuma, a tribe, 114.

Hewit, A. F. K., 147, 148; pref. iv,

Hiang feast in Maniptr, 50.

Hill, Lt., 290.

Hill Marias, vide Maria Gonds.

Hill Miris, a tribe, 22, 28, 116.

Hilo, a Kuki goddess, 46.

Hindu Chutia tribe, 78.

Hinduised Aborigines, 123.

Hiraman, the Garo Pluto, 59.

Hirumba, or Kach4r, 109, 110.

Hislop, Revd. S., 151, 157, 231, 232, 247, 278, 280, 282.

Ho, 106; language, 119; 125, 132, 140, 151, 157, 158, 159,
161, 163, 171, 177 ; meaning, 178 ; 184, 274; superior to
Mundas, Bhumij, and Santals, 205; sensitiveness, 206 ;
212, 218, 230; vocabulary, 235 ; 249, 325.

 

hockey, 50.

Hodgson, 59, 84, 89, 102, 124, 128, 151.
ho, hore, horo, a ‘man,’ 178.

hoja dance, 198.

Holcus surghum, 272.

Holi, or Doljatra, 314.

Holier tribe, 157.

Hora, Horatan-ho, divinities, 188.

horse races in Bhutan, 99, 101.

Hrusso, or Aka tribe, 37; vocabulary, 73.
Hulba Gonds, 278.

Huli festival, 132.

human sacrifices, 68, 78, 79, 115, 147, 286 ; vide keddi, toki.
Hundah, 152.

Hungoibun Brahmans of Manipur, 49.
Hung tribe, 103.

Hunter, W. W., 208, 209, 211, 212, 223.
Hurredgarhi, 209.

Hiisir Saram, Thakurs of, 129.

Hwang tribe 103.

brahim Khan, Governor of Bihar under Jahangir, 169 x.
illi, or rice-beer, 185, 193, 196.
images, wooden, of deceased friends, 62.
Impure tribes, 325.
India, called Kolaria, 161.
Indian Archipelago, 119 x.
Indian corn, 33, 65.
indigo, 12.
Indo-Chinese tribe, vide Lohitic tribes.
Ind parab, 167.
infanticide, female, 288.
Inscriptions, 126.
installation of Raéjahs, 145. —
insurrection of the Kols, 170 171; of the Santals, 208.
iron smelters, 187, 196, 210, 229.
Irrawaddy, 10, 118, 119.

aoe 275, Ble
jadtir, or jadura, a dance, 1382; 197, 228, 254.
Jagannath, or Puri, 166, 179.
Jagannath Deo, the last Gangabangsi, 167.
Jagannath Sahi, Rajah, 180.
Jagarudony Range, 114.
Jagesar, 219.
Jag-manjhi, 213.
Jago, a goddess, 91.
jahaz, 319.
Jahira, or Sarna, 186 ; vide groves.
Jahir Burhi, 198.
Jahir-Era, 188,210, 204, 261.
Jains, 173, 174, 178, 179, 318; vide Sarawaks.
Jaiptr District, 165, 290, 292.
Jaiyadhaya Singh, king of Asam, 5.
Jam, the Hindu god, 25, 34; vide Yama.
Jamira plateau, 222.
Janamejaya Rajah, 165.
Jani, or Desauri, a priest, 289, 295.
Janmoshtomi festival, 321,
Jarbund, a deity, 134.
Jashptir, 129, 132, 133, 135, 136, 137, 158,-164, 219, 221,
224, 225, 229, 245, 281.
Jatras, 254.
Jayadeva Rajah, 162.
Jenkins, Sir R., 276.
Jews, in China, 116; law book of, 116.
Jhalda, 210.
Jhari Kumbis, 318.
Jharkand, 163, 164, 165, 166, 265.
Jholahs, low Mahommadans, 86.
Jhoria Gonds, 278, 279 n.
jhum, a kind of cultivation, 51, 111, 227, 246.
jhumar, a dance, 275; vide jamhir.
Jhimka District, 289.
Jilmilli, in Sirguja, 134, 138.
Jingsha, name of a chief, 13, 14, 15.
Jobeka Nagas, 39.

4 L
''INDEX.

Jogini Tantro, 80.

Jogis, 324.

Johnstone, Capt. J., 156 x., pref. iv.

Jolaha caste, 324,

Jomalia tribe, 110.

Jorasandhu, 139.

Juang tribe, 144, 152, 160, 161, 190, 191, 219; vocabulary,
235, 241; 251, 279, 300.

Jumea Mug tribe, 111, 113.

juimhir, a dance, 132, 215; vide jhumar.

Jum-nama, an offering, 198.

Jungle Mahalls, 124, 139, 174, 205.

Jyntia, 54, 58.

| das jn Bihar, Kol ruins, 161.
Kachar and Kacharis, 1,5, 39, 42, 44, 45, 46, 51, 54,
58, 59, 77, 80, 81, 82; vocabulary, 93; 109, or Hirumba,
109, 110.
Kachu Naga tribe,"44.
kadamba tree, 260.
Kaimur range, 128, 165, 219.
Kaisa, a Mishmi chief, 14, 15.
Kaist, vide Kayasths.
Kakhens, vide Singphos.
Ka-khyen, or Kaku, the Burmese name for Singphos,
10; 39.
Ka-khyen tribe, 115, 115 x.
Kakia estate, 224, 229.
Kaku, or Singpho, 10.
kakubdns, the great hollow bamboo, 19, 34.
Kalahandy District, 292.
kalai, a pulse, 251.
Kalambonga feast, 198.
Kalapahar, the iconoclast, 90.
Kalatii, 221.
Kalia Adao, 282. :
Kalidds Palit, Babu, 218, 259, pref. iv.
Kalika Purana, 80.
KaAlinjar, 231.
Kali worship, 169, 176.
Kaliya, a snake king, 260.
Kali River, 65.
Kalumalupara, 58.
Kamakhya Temple, 80, 90.
Kamal, name of Garo priests, 60,
Kambojans, 119, 151.
Kami, 114; vocabulary, 120.
KAmias, farm laborers, 315.
Kamichcha, vide Kamakhya.
Kamjang tribe of Sadiya, Asam, 5.
Kampa, or Tibet, 95, 99, 100.
Kamrang, a village, 170.
Kamrup, 1, 5, 58, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 89, 90, 109, 139, 163,
310, 321.
Kanauj, 231, 310, 312.
Kandh Maliahs, 149.
‘Kandi-Konda Hills, 278.
Kandra Dandpat, 285.
Kandras, a tribe, 285.
Kandti caste, 324.
Kangniba, a Naga god, 43.
Kanhar River, 222.
Kansara caste, 324.
Kapas, or cotton Mahall, 111.
karam, a tree, 198. 259, 268.
Karanas, a tribe, 313.
Karen, vocabulary, 71; 115, 116, 116n, 117, 188.
Kariamb Gonds, 278.
Karibari, 58.
Karma Deota, 258.
re or karam, a dance, or festival, 182, 135, 198, 259,
Karo Byro, a god, 147.
Karo River, 170.
Karotya River, 81.
Kasai River, 173, 208.
Kasia tribe, 1, 45, 54, 88, 104, 110, 115 m, 119, 151, 202.

 

Ka4suki, the serpent king, 231.

Katak (Cuttack), 162.

Katulya Gonds, 278.

Kaunkanas, 245.

Kaur, or Kaurawa, tribe, 136, 283.

Kaurawas of the Mahabharat, 137.

Kawdir (Kol ?) tribe, 265.

Kayasths, 77, 312 ff.

keddi, or human sacrifices, 286.

Kei, a class of Manipuris, 49, 50.

Kekata, 162, 165, 226.

Kelah, a genius, 117.

kelikadamba, 260.

Kembang Rai tribe, 103.

Kengra Barsa, a Garo god, 59.

Keok tribe, 114.

Keonjhar, 140, 144, 145, 149, 152, 174, 176, 179, 180, 247,
277, 279, 315.

Keot tribe, 77.

Kephoo, or goblins, 117.

Keranti tribe, 88.

Kewot caste, 324.

Keyungnatin, holy mountain, 115.

Kei, or Kasia tribe, 119, 161.

Kha tribe, 115 x.

khaikhiew, a kind of root, 12.

Khairagarh, 209, 211, 219.

Khalong tribe, 7.

Khamba-Lepcha tribe, 100.

Kham, in China, 100.

Khampa, vide Kampa.

Khamti tribe, 5, 8, 12, 14, 15, 49, 69, 97.

Khands, 243, 244, 275, 281, 285 ff; vocabulary, 302; 322.

Khapok tribe, 7.

Kharakdia, 209, 211.

khariah, a dance, 255.

Khari Nagas, vocabulary, Moke

Kharonda, Central Provinces, 167.

Kharria tribe, 151, 152, 153 n, 157, 158, 165, 176, 186, 191,
196, 200, 218, 220; vocabulary, 235 ; 251, 274.

Khars4wan, 175, 178, 196.

Kharwars, 2, 124, 125, 186, 148, 161, 165, 172, 209, 210,
211, 212, 219, 225, 265.

Khasi vocabulary, 235.

Khaiti Bhuiyas, 144.

Khee Kheong, 114.

Kheng tribe, 114 ; vocabulary, 120.

Kheong, or Arakanese, 113.

Kheongtha tribe, 113.

Kherla, 275.

Khiendri, or priestesses, 270.

Khinkat, vide Kikata.

Khomba, 102.

Khomoungno, a Kuki god, 46.

Khongjai tribe, 53.

Kho tribe, 115 x.

Khoyra, 129.

khuahs, or Kuki villages, 44.

Khuchoan, a Kuki goddess, 45.

Khukhra, vide Kukera.

Khumi tribe, 44.

khunt, meaning of the term, 168, 247.

Khunt, or tutelary god, 132.

Khuria plateau, 221, 224, 226, 227, 229.

Khurnkh, or Ordons, 245.

Khwombo tribe, 102.

Khyen tribe, 114.

Khyi tribe, 54, 58, 115 x.

Kichak tribe, 84.

Kikata, 162, 165, 225.

kilis, or tribal divisions of the Hos, 189, 193.

kilome, a play, 112.

Kiranti, or Kirati tribe, 102; vocabulary, 107 ; 128, 129, 265.

Kirawa tribe, 102,

Kisan tribe, 127 ; or Nagesars, 131; 177, 225.

Kishn Chandra Rajah, 83.

Klambu Pennu, a god, 297.

Koch Behar, 89, 95, 163 ; vide Kooch.

Kochna-sindeya tribe, 59.

 

 
''INDEX.

Koel River, 159, 160, 246.

Koikopal Gonds, 278. .

Koilabhutal Gonds, 278.

Koiris, a caste, 320, 321.

Koisar Pat, a deity, 141.

Koitor Gonds, 278.

Kokera, vide Kukera.

Kokpat, vide Konk.

Kokrah, vide Kukera.

Koladyne River, 44, 118, 115, 139.

Kolam Gonds, 278.

Kolara, a deity, 231.

Kolarian tribes, and Kolaria, 2,124, 125, 129, 130, 131, 132,
151, 152, 148, 160; Kolaria, 161 ; 207, 221, 222, 228,
244, 317, 328.

Kolhan, 168, 177, 178, 179, 180, 182, 184, 185, 191, 308.

Kolia, or Korea, 230.

Kolitas, 77, 78, 79; a caste, 317, 321 ff

Kols, 103, 104, 106, 119, 125, 128, 182, 140, 161, 212, 215,
230, 231, 265, 275, 279, 283, 284, 308, 309, 315, 325, 327.

kong, name of a creeper, 60.

Konkan, Western India, 245, 260.

Konki River, 88.

Konk, Konkpat, Konkpat Munda, 165, 178.

Kooch, or Koch, 1, 2, 58, 77, 80, 81, 89, 124, 243.

Koo tribe, 115.

Kopili River, 39, 42, 53, 54,

kopin, 156.

Koraku, vide Kur tribe.

Korambe, a Pargana, 172.

Koram Gonds, 278.

Korba, in Chattisgarh, 186, 137.

Korea, 134, 136, 275, 276, 278.

Korea, 230, 231.

Korkapattah District, 289.

Korwas, 125, 127, 128, 130, 182, 221 ; vocabulary, 235.

Kosada District, 291.

Kosala, or Gorakhptr, 126.

Kosiamb Gonds, 278.

Kosi River, 105.

Koupfti tribe, 49, 51.

Krick. Mons., 14, 15, 20

Krishna, 260, 314.

Kronch Kols, 230.

Krosha, a Mishmi chief, 14, 15.

Kshatryas (vide Rajputs), 78; red, 124; 126, 128, 188, 139,
105, 305, 306, 308, 311 ff., 326.

Kuchimpai, a Naga god, 42.

Kukera, or Chiitia Nagptir, 163 n., 164, 169 n., 170, 1787.

Kuki tribe, 44, 48, 51, 53, 57 ; vocabulary, 75; 110, 111,
12:

kukri, 103.

Kul Gosain, a goddess, 268,

Kulhu, or Teli caste, 324.

Kumaon, 127.

Kumar tribe, 270.

Kumhar caste, 324.

Kumhar tribe, 264,

Kumi tribe, 118, 115 ; vocabulary, 120.

Kumni, or Kunbi, 317.

Kumong tribe, 7.

Kumul tribe, 48, 49.

Kunbi, or Kumni, 317.

Kunuung tribe, 10

Kupachor tribe, 37.

Kur tribe, 151, 221, 230 ; vocabulary, 235, 275, 280.

kuring tree, 279.

Kurku tribe, vide Kur tribe, 275.

aa caste, 79, 173, 178, 185, 210, 306, 308, 317 ff,
327.

kusum tree, 134.

Kyendwyen valley, 10, 39.

Kyrim, a Kasia state, 55.

a, a genius, 117.
Lakheri caste, 324.
Lakhmi Singh of Kokrah, 169 2,
Lala Chitragupta, 313.

 

Lalong tribe, 1, 77, 78, 83.

Lal-lathf, 210.

Lamas, another name for Tibetans, 14, 97, 100.
Lamgam, vide Lhungum.

Lanka, or Ceylon, 105, 140.

Lankah, a village in Tamarh, 171.

Laos Shangirls, 72.

Laos vocabulary, 69.

Larka Kols, or Hos, 163, 177, 246, 288.
Latham, Dr., 92, 116, 117.

Latora, 10.

Laya, 213, 270.

Lehera, 149. :

Lepcha tribe, 88, 100, 103, 166 ; vocabulary, 107.
Lerah, a hell, 117.

Lhungum, or Lamgam, a Kuki tribe, 45.
Likhu, 102.

Limbu tribe, 88, 102; vocabulary 107.

Lingo, story of, 282.

lipt, or lark, 187.

lizard’s skin used in oaths, 294.

Lodhma, a village, 188.

Lodhma hill, 258.

Logan, J. R., 119.

Logan, Mr., 151.

Loha Pennu, a god, 297. ;
Lohardagea, 132, 159 x., 190, 196, 246, 250, 258.
Lohitic tribes, 1, 92, 250.

lokma, a Garo term, 64.

Long, Revd. J., 109.

Lowrik Sumwara, 164.

Luang tribe, 48, 49.

Liigt, a goddess, 220.

Luhupa tribe, 53.

Lukkimptr District, 30, 78.

lurbeng, or rainbow, 177 ; a water snake, 189.
Lushai tribe, 45, 113.

Luther, Revd. W., 245, 246, 259.

Lutkum Burhi, and Lutkum Haram, 187.
Lyntea tribe, 59, 66,

Me 188.

machans, or grainstores, 272.
Mackenzie, A., 37.
Macpherson, Major J. C., 281, 290, 296.
MacVicar, Captain, 288 x.
Madhob, an idol.
Madhub Singh, 174, 176.
Madhukar Singh, 169 x.
Madhu Singh of Kokrah, 169 n.
Madhu Singh, 210, 218.
Madhyadesh (Gya), 125.
Madia Gonds, vide Maria Gonds.
Madian Gonds, 157.
Madras Presidency, 139.
Madura Rajah, 166, 167.
Madura, 221.
Madyal Gonds, 278.
Magadha, 92, 127, 162, 225, 313, 315.
Magar tribe, 103.
Magh Parab of the Hos, 196.
Mahabharat, 110, 124, 131, 137.
Maha-Buru, 188.
Mahadan, a god, 277.
Mahadeva, 282.
Mahadeva Hills, 151.
Mahali, a tribe, 326.
Mahamaria, or Muttuck sect, 9.
Maha-Maya, 220.
Mahanadi River, 227, 286, 291.
Mahantis, or Maitis, 318.
mahari, a Garo term, 63, 64.
Mahato, the Munda’s deputy, 168, 247.
Mahato tribe, 129.
Mahavir, 321.
mahua tree, vide Bassia latifolia.
MahwaAsi, 231.

Maibees, or priestesses in Maniptir, 50, °
''INDEX.

Mai Dharti, 148.

Maini, 224.

Maini River, 135.

Mainon, a Garo goddess, 59.

Mainpat, tableland of Sirguja, 135, 223.

Maitis, or Mahantis, 313.

Maitland, Lieut., 181.

Majai-Singrabhum, East of Sadiya, 13.

Maji Deso, a place, 288.

maji, vide manjhi.

Mal tribe, 264.

Malabhtim, 138, 264.

Malairs, or Malers, vide Rajmahdli hill men.

Mal Bhuiya tribe, 145.

Maler caste, 324.

Maler tribe, 207.

Mali caste, 324.

Maliah Kandhs, 293. .

MAliahs, or hill districts, 286.

Malik Bayt, 211.

Mal Paharids, 274.

Mals, Malos, Maliahs, 299.

Malwa, opp. to Be-malw4, 22, 59, 138, 246, 264, 317.

Malya tribe, 138.

Manbhtim, 130, 139, 151, 158, 163, 165, 167, 168, 174 x,
176, 207, 210, 211, 219, 274, 317.

mandar, 142 ; mandarghar, 142.

Man-desh, 119.

Mandla, 275, 278. :

Mangalore, 157.

Mangh Kirant tribe, 102.

Manikead, 278.

Maniksoro, or war god, 292.

Manim, a Garo goddess, 59.

Mani Nath Sing of Ramgarh. 127.

Manipat, vide Mainpat.

Manipur, 5, 44, 48, 49, 51, 110.

Maniptiris, 9, 43, 44, 45, 48 ; vocabulary, 75.

manjhi, a term for a chief, 165, 208, 291.

Manjhi tribe, 128, 129.

Manjhir, a tribe, 326.

manjihas, 169.

manki, or Raja, 166, 168 293.

Mann, Mr., 208, 211, 212.

Man-ne-pgha tribes, 117.

Man Singh, a Santal chief, 211.

Manu, 308.

Mar tribe, 127, 132, 138, 264.

Marang Buru, 187, 188, 199, 210, 214, 220, 221, 257, 321.

Maria Gonds, 273, 279, 283.

Marjet Singh, Raja of Maniptr, 49.

Maro, a Mishmi sub-division, 18.

Marwar, 179.

Marwasi, in Rewa, 231.

Mason, Revd. J., 1177, 118.

Masulipatam, 157.

Matchisong, an Asim chief, 16.

Mathurabasis, 315.

Matkiim, 173, 185.

Matsya, kingdom of, 81, 89, 102, 139.

Mawasi Kols, 231.

Mayeng-Matong, 115 x.

Mayurbhanj, 145, 160 n, 180, 207, 277.

McCosh, Dr., 44. :

McCrea, Surgeon, 44.

McCulloch, Major, 48 7, 53.

McNeile, Capt. A. C., 289. —

Mech tribe, 1, 58, 59, 77, 82, 88, 90; vocabulary, 93.

Mechi, 102, 105. ?

Mech Kachari tribe, 58, 89.

Mechpara, 58, 88.

Mednipur Midnapore), 207, 211, 264.

Meghu Data, by Kalidasa, 264.

Meena River, 111.

Meinam River, 118.

Meithei tribe, 48, 49.

Meiung tribe, 49.

Mekong River, 119.

Membu, 24, 25 n, 28.

 

Memoirs of Jahangir, 169 x.

Menu, 123, 124.

Mergui, 117.

Meriah sacrifices, 29, 286.

Merkam Gonds, 278.

Merkand Gonds, 278.

Mhang Mo, a god, 104.

Miaoutze, a Mishmi sub-division, 18; of Yunan, 21.

Midhis, or Chulikata Mishmis, 18, 21, 28.

Midili, a Garo goddess, 60.

Mien, 119.

Migi tribe, 37.

Miki tribe, 58.

Mikir tribe, 45, 53; vocabulary, 75.

milk, not used as drink, 34, 162 7, 190, 195.

mines, 178.

Mining Mija, a Garo, 59

Miri tribe, 22, 28; origin of name, 29, 36; vocabulary, 73.
116, vide Hill Miris.

Mir Jumlah, 82.

Mirzaptr, 223.

Mirzaptr District, 128.

Mishali, a Garo goddess, 60.

Mishmi tribe, 13, 26, 28.

Missionaries, 116, 192, 204, 206, 296.

Mithila, 92, 126, 127, 322.

mithun, Bos frontalis, 15, 34.

Mithun Nagas, 39; vocabulary, 71.

Mitnam creek, 117.

Mixed tribes, 323.

Mizha, a Mishmi sub-division, 18.

Mlechchas, 124, 126, 309.

Mochi caste, 324,

Modis, 312.

Moduting Range, 113.

Mogong, capital of Pong, 5.

Moheri, in Sirguja, 132, 133.

Mohpani, mines of, 284.

Mohurbhanj, vide Mayurbhanj.

Moihidhtinia, 132.

Moi Muri feast, 213.

Moirang tribe, 48, 49.

Moir, Dre Ri. 22:

Mon tribe, 118, 119, 151; vocabulary, 235.

Mon Anam, 119. ’

Mongmarong, vide Mogong.

Monika, 210, 214.

Moon, a goddess, 185.

moon worship, 232.

Mopgha Karens, 118.

morang, or townhall, 23, 24.

Morang tribe, 84.

Morung, 127.

mountains, holy, 115, 182, 1365.

Mow tribe, 53.

Mranidong Range, 113.

Mron tribe, 113.

Mru Khyen tribe, 114.

Mru, or Arakanese, 113, 114; vocabulary, 120.

Muiasi tribe, 151, 221, 230, 231, 280.

Mug tribe, 44, 88, 111, 112; vocabulary, 120.

Muhammadans (in As&m), 82, 84; in Chiitia Nagpur, 171,
188, 276.

Muhammadan tribes, 326; wide conversions to Islam.

Muir, Dr. J., 162, 243, 244, 306.

Mujidagrah, a Mishmi god, 16.

Mukhas, deities of the Karens, 117.

mukmum tree, 268, 269, 270.

Mulcagherry, a town, 292.

Mulong Nagas, 39.

Mundari, 162; Mundari tribe, the same as the Munda tribe,
163, vide Munda.

Munda tribe, 103, 104, 106, 119, 124, 151, 160, 161; name,
165, 168, 178, 184, 210, 212. 217, 218, 229, 230, 246,
an 250, 252, 256, 254, 261, 309 ; vocabulary, 235; 274,

Mundla District, 148.

mundu, a custom of the Kouptis, 53.

Mungol Mo, a god, 104.

 

 

 
''INDEX.

Mu-nhat, a god of the Singphos, 12.
Munipur, vide Manipir.

munjit, or munjista, India madder, 33, 34.
Munka in Palamau, 129,

Muram tribe, 53.

Muras, the same as Mundas, 173.
Murmi tribe, 88, 103, 105; vocabulary, 107.
Murpachi, or Murpasi Gonds, 278, 282.
Murring tribe, 49.

Musahar caste, 126, 140.

musical instruments, 47.

musk-deer, 16.

mutahs, or groups of villages, 299.
Muttuck sect, 9.

Myam-ma, 112, 113; vocabulary 120.

N* 268.

Naga Eras, 187, 188. *

Naga Gonds, 278.

Nagam, a class of priests, 157.

Naga tribe, 38, 48, 49, 51, 92; Naga legends, 231.

Nagbangsis, 126, 131, 135, 162, 166, 167, 177, 221, 311,

Nagesar, or Kisan tribe, 131, 177, 225.

Nag Pundarika, 165.

Nagptr, or Kokrah, 170; vide Chitié Nagptr; Nagpur,
C. B:, 275.280,

Nag race, legends, 165, 231.

Nagri, a village near Ranchi, 172.

Nahusha, story of, 307.

Naia Dumka, or Ramgarh, 274; vocabulary, 302.

Naia, or Nayaka, a kind of priest, 213, 270.

Naik Gonds, 277.

Nai, or Napit caste, 324.

Namrup, a part of Asim, 9, 78.

Namsang, in Asam, 40, 41.

Namsangya Nagas, 39.

Nanklao, 55.

Nao Dihing River, 7. :

Naodwar, Tezpur District, 36.

Naphak, a Garo place, 60.

Napit caste, 324.

Narnala, 275.

Narsinghptr, 283.

Nartang, a Kasia state, 55.

Naspang, a Kasia state, 55.

Nat tribe, 326.

Naucha parvifolia, 260; vide krama tree.

Naugdon (Asam), 2.

Negrais, Cape, 58, 109.

Negro types, 283.

neina, a kind of taboo, 53.

Nemlang River, 13.

Nepal, 102, 103, 105, 124, 151.

Nhats, malignant spirits of the Singphos, 12.

Nij Vihar, 89.

nilgdo, 213.

Nishada, 123, 128, 136.

nokma, a Garo term, 64.

nokoba, or freemen; nokol, or slaves, among the Garos, 58.

Non-Aryans, 244,

Nongjar, a Kuki goddess, 45.

Non-Regulation System, 266.

Norok, a king of Asam, 80.

Noro Narain of Koch Bihar, 90.

Nowatyah tribe, 110.

Nowgong District, 39, 53, 54.

Nunya tribe, 58, 59.

Nurma, a Gond god, 280.

Nustoo, a Garo goddess, 59.

Cy 158, 223, 294; vide ant-hill, tiger, peacock’s
feather, lizard’s skin.

O’Donel, J. H., 115.

Ocegle Marmelos, or Bel tree, 268, 270.

offal, eaten, 154.

Ojhas, a class of priests, 46, 60, 85, 116, 187, 257, 278,

Ojhyal Gonds, 278.

 

 

 

Oldham, Dr. T., pref. iti.

omens, 201.

opium, cultivation of, 26.

Ordons, 52, 124, 125, 130, 1382, 136, 141, 157, 159, 160, 162,

' 163, 164, 165, 166, 168, 172, 178, 185, 198, 215,217, 226,
243, 2465 ff., 264, 265, 267, 271, 272, 279, 283, 284, 284 n,
287, 300; vocabulary, 302, 309.

Orissa, 140, 152, 293, 313.

Or-Khandaits, 140.

Ortasa, 322.

Oswals, 312.

Ote Boram, god of the Hos, 185.

Oualong, a Tibetan village, 14.

a-an Karens, 118.
Pabs, a tribe, 325.
Pachet District, 167, 174, 176; P. Rajah, 318.
pachwai, a beverage.
Padal Gonds, 278.
Padam Abor tribe, 21.
Padcei, 221.
Paharias, vide Rajmahali hill tribes.
Pahari Bhuiyas, 141,
Pahari Devi, 179 2.
Pahn, or Kol priests, 129, 159, 168, 186, 188, 198, 247,
258, 261, 277.
Paikerah Kaur tribe, 137.
Paiks of Orissa, 140.
paila, a test for witches, 199.
Paki tribe, 117.
Palamau, 126, 129, 131, 132, 133, 138, 148, 163, 164, 170,
172, 196, 208, 219, 221, 227, 264.
Palaong tribe, 119.
Palasen tribe, 103.
palds tree, vide Butea frondosa.
Pal Dynasty, 81.
Paligarh, 164.
Pallo Kirant tribe, 102.
Panari, a place, 277.
Pandavas, 131, 137.
Pangis, poisoned bambu spikes, 20.
Pangora, a goddess, 186.
Panibotia Miri tribe, 30.
Panidwaria Nagas, 39.
Panikas, a tribe, 325.
Pani Koch, 87, 88, 90, 92; vocabulary, 93.
Pankas, a tribe, 286.
pan-leaf, in ceremonies, 86.
pan, or price paid for a woman, 192, 194, 202.
Pans, or Panvas, or Panwas, a tribe, 285, 286, 299, 325.
Paoli Gonds, 278.
Para, a village in Manbhiim, 176.
Paradise, ideas of, 13, 46, 115, 116, 186, 204.
Paramanik, 213.
Parbati, 282.
Parbatia Miri tribe, 28.
Parbati Kacharis, 83.
Pardhan, a class of priests, 282.
Parganaits, 209.
Parha chiefs, 166, 167; meaning of the name, 168 ; 254,
255.
Parheya tribe, 127, 129, 131, 148, 284 n.
Pariahs, 308, 325.
Parisnath, 139, 209.
Paro, in Bhutan, 99.
Partabptr, 138.
Partlia, 176.
Parvin, a deity, 130.
Pasi caste, 324.
Passin, 115. ~
Pasung tribe, 103.
Pat, a mountain god, 231.
Patalipam, an Asamese village, 31,
Patanawar, a tribe, 317.
Pati tribe, 87.
Patktim District, 166, 173, 175, 210:
Patna, 159; district, 245.
Patna, in S. Orissa, 288, 292,

4 M
''INDEX.

patso, silk worn by the Burmese, 8, 10.

Patwa caste, 324.

Pawanbans, 140.

Pawri clan, 144; Pawri Desh, 144, 147.

peacock feathers, used in oaths, 294.

pegtops, 58, 195.

Pegu, 114, 118, 119, 208.

Pemberton, 54, 55, 95, 96.

Penlos, or Pillos, 96.

Peppé, Messrs. T. F. and Togco, pref. iii.

Petta Kimedy, 290.

Phakis, or Phakials, a tribe on the Dihing River, 5.

Phani Mukuta Rajah, ancestor of the Chitié Nagpir
Rajahs, 166, 245.

Pharsi Pen, a Gond god, 280.

Phayre, Colonel Sir A., 115 n, 118, 119.

Pheda hung tribe, 103.

Phedangkos, a class of priests, 104.

Phibi-ya, a goddess, 117.

Phi-pho, a god, 117.

Phudi Chandra Rajah, 162.

phumbankaba, or royal accession, 49.

Pidzu Pennu, a god, 297.

pilgrimages, 80.

Pindi Hills, 278.

Pipri, 164.

pirhi, the same as parha, 168.

Pithauria, in Stitiamba, 167, 172, 173 x.

Pitteri Pennu, a god, 297.

ploughshare, representation of Darha, 258.

Pocham, and Pochi, festivals, 81.

Poeh tribe, 114.

Point Palmyras, 208.

Poiron tribe, 53.

Pokuria, near Chaibisa, 203, 204.

polyandry, 98, 102.

polygamy, 12, 16, 33, 36, 45, 54, 273.

Pong, kingdom of, 5, 49.

Pora, on the Koel River, 159.

Porahat, 178, 180, 183.

Pow Gosain, a god, 268.

Powri Devi, 179.

Pragjyotisha, 80.

Pranhita River, 278.

Priests, vide Deodars, Deoris, Ojha, Bijowas, Tojaees, Bukho,
Byga (Baiga), Nagam, Sokhas, Maibees, Thimpus, Brah-
mans, Phedangkos, Péhn, Sokha, Khiendri, Pardhan,
Pungyes, Kamal, Deoshis, Deoda, Bapu, Lamas, Ghylong,
Naia, Laya, Demonos, Jani, Desauri.

Prince of Wales Island, 119.

Pritchard’s Natural History of Man, 119.

Prome, 117.

property, laws of, 63, 98, 108, 201, 294.

Prwanrhay, 114.

Pungyes, or Burmese priests, 12, 97.

punji, a palm leaf MS., 289.

Puranas, 79, 80, 102, 125, 215, 245.

. Purans, a tribe, 160z.

Purgahaili, a deity, 129.

Puri, or Jagannath, 166.

Purniah, 89, 90.

Purulia, 176.

Puthen, a Kuki god, 45.

Putiadeso District, 289.

Putimari, a Garo hat, 65.

Pwo tribe, 117, 118.

6 aa tribe, 53.

k tribe, 87, 90, 92.
Radha, goddess, 314.

Raghawal Gonds, 278.

Raghunath Singh Rajah, 174.

Rahe, 172.

Rabi, a demon, worshipped, 326.

rainbow, 177.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rais tribe, 102.

Raj Gonds, 275, 278.

Rajhas, opp. to Bhttinhari, 169.

Rajbansi caste, 88, 89, 90, 100.

Rajkili Bhuiyas, 1465.

Rajmahall Pahdarids, or hill tribes, 181, 138, 162, 163, 207,
243, 245, 246, 257, 263; vocabulary, 302.

Rajmala, 109.

Rajptits have grey eyes, 79, 126, 140, 275, 276, 311, 312.
322; vide Kshatryas.

Rajwars, a tribe, 326, 327.

Rakas, demons, 231.

Rakashas, 307.

Rakhal Das Haldar, Babu, 211, 316, 327; pref. iv.

Raksel Rajputs, 311.

Rakshail family, 126.

Rama, the god, 140. Ram Chandra, of Awadh, 105.

Ramayana, 140.

Ramegarh, 127, 129, 164, 170, 219, 220, 263, 274; Ram-
garha vocabulary, 302.

Ramkunda, in Palamau, 131.

Raémptr Killah, 285.

Ranchi, 172, 183.

Rangptir, 79, 89.

Rangsiram, in the Garo country, 60.

Rangtsa, a Kachari tribe, 84.

Rankini, or Kali, 176.

Rapiaba, a Naga god, 43.

Rar4, country east of the Bhagiratti, 310.

rasa dance, 215.

Raut tribe, 129.

Rautia tribe, 277.

Ravenshaw, T. E., 141, 154, 292, 298; pref. iv.

Rawan, the Rakhsha king, 105, 106.

Raxie, a god, 268, 271.

Rayetal, a Gond god, 280.

Red Karens, 118; vocabulary, 120.

Reignay, a feast of the Kouptis, 52.

Ret Rebong, a Garo god, 59.

Rettiah Kaur tribe, 137.

Rewa, 134, 221, 233, 280.

Reyanga tribe, 110.

Reynolds, H.S., 45; Mr. H. J.,110.

Rhea nivea, 20.

rice beer, or illf, 43.

Richardson, Col., 182.

Rigam, abode of spirits, 25.

Rigveda, 162.

Rikad, a giant, 282.

Rima castle, 14.

Rishi, a god, 87,91. Rishi Salgong, a Garo god, 59.

Rishis, 307, 309.

Ritchie, W., 196; pref. iv.

Robinson, W., 35, 56.

rogue’s language, 326.

Rohtas, 126, 159, 245, 265.

rom, a kind of indigo, 12.

Rongdaniya tribe, 87.

Rong Lepcha tribe, 100.

Roro River, 181.

Roughsedge, Major, 170, 180, 181, 183, 285.

Rowlatt, Col. E. A., 14, 78.

Ruhidas District, 165.

ruins, ancient, 79, 161, 222.

Rung-Shar District, 84.

Rupagiri, a village, 61.

Russel, Mr. C. S., 288.

Rya-ghada District, 289.

=e vide Savaras.
Sadgops, 315, 316.
Sadiya, in As4im, 2, 5, 6, 9, 18, 14, 18, 77, 78.
Sads, or Hindus, in Chitié Nagptir, 172.
Sagai, a custom, 138.
sagoi, or widow marriage, 321.
Sahtis, 312.
Saiengya Miri tribe, 29
Saikwah, in Asdm, 7, 14, 18, 20.

 

 
''INDEX.

Saithawar, 317.

Sakiars, a tribe, 320.

Salgi, a village, 1727.

Saljong, a Garo god, 97.

sal tree, 110, 197, 213, 234, 261, 274.

salt, trade in, 20 ; use unknown, 115.

Salween River, 118.

Samanta’ Bhumi, 211.

Sambalpur, 79, 181, 245, 322.

Sambeiba of Manipir, 49.

Samlonpha, or Samlong, 5, 49.

Samuells, Captain, W. L., 225, 231, 232, 233, 280 ; pref. iv.

Sandika, or distilling caste, 299 ; vide Sundi.

Sangnoi, 39, 41.

Sangtarash, or stone-cutters, 324.

Santalia, or Santal Parganahs, 207.

Santal tribe, 106, 115, 119, 124, 130, 132, 141, 1651,
158, 159, 164, 165, 175, 176, 185, 189, 190, 207, 246,
263, 273, 276 ; vocabulary, 235.

Santhas, a tribe, 135; vzde Saont.

Saont, a Bhtiya clan, 144.

Saont, a place in Mednipur, 210, 211.

Sadont, a tribe, 222, 223.

Saptasati Brahmans, 310.

Saréikela, 178, 179.

Sarak, a Miri tribe, 30.

Saranda District, 178.

Sarangad District, 291.

Saraswata Brahmans, 310.

Saraswati, goddess, 313.

Sarawaks, or Jains, 165, 178.

Sarhul feast, 159, 197, 213, 261.

sarna, or grove, 129, 186, 257, 261.

satani, a kind of divination, 270.

Satiama sect, 324.

Sati (Suttee), 137, 138.

Satpura Range, 221.

Sartanjigarh, 167.

Sat Santals, 214.

Satsudras, 320, 322.

Satu, an Aka god, 38.

Saurada Maliahs, 291.

Saurs, or Sauras, vide Savaras.

Savaras, or Suars, 126, 149, 162, 163, 274, 275, 285 ; voca-
bulary, 302.

Sayyid Ibrahim Alf, 211.

Scot, D., 61.

Scythians, 244,

Semes, a Naga god, 42,

Semraunghur, 105.

Semru River, 114, 115.

sengmung, interchange of meat, 25.

Sgau Karens, 116 n, 117.

Shahabad, 126, 128, 129, 151, 162, 318, 320.

Shahbaz Khan, a general of Akbar, 169 x.

Sham Mungh, a god, 104.

Shan race, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 44, 77, 78.

Shangyai, 5.

Shargiah Kachari tribe, 84.

Shaw, Lt. T., 264 ff, 274.

Shendu tribe, 113, 114.

Sherghati (Sherghottf), 170.

Sherpur, 58.

Sherwill, Col. Walter, 101, 208 », 217, 264, 271, 272.

Shikaria Deota, 132.

Shiku, a stream in Asim, 22, 26.

Shingson, a Kuki tribe, 45, 113.

Shivites, 79, 109, 111.

Sho, or Shou tribe, 117 ; vocabulary, 120.

Shrines, Sivite, Budhist, in Asim, 79.

Siamb Gonds, 278.

Siamese, 5.

Siamese Vocabulary, 69.

Sidli, chief of, 96.

stj, vide Kuphorbia.

sikas, or bhanghy sticks, 158.

Sikhar, 210.

Sikhar Rajputs, 311.

Sikhim, 100; or Dingong, 100, 102, 105.

 

 

Sikhs in Chitié Négpiir, 171.

Silda, in Medniptir, 211.

Silhet, 55.

silk, 32 ; silkworms, 201.

Siluk Abor tribe, 28.

Simaliya District, 165.

Siman, an Aka god, 38.

Simang people, 119.

Simpson, Dr. B., pref. ii.

Simuria, a village, 271.

sindur, or red lead, 131, 184, 194, 216, 273, 319, 321.

singa, or sun, 119.

Sing Bonga, god of the Hos, 159, 185, 186, 213, 214, 221.

Singhbhum, 106, 130, 139, 140, 157, 158, 163, 168 », 171.
172, 178, 177, 179, 180, 181, 182, 192, 200, 207, 208,
217, 233, 245, 277, 278, 313, 315, 319.

Singilela, 102.

Singpat, a god, 271.

Singpho, 7,9; meaning of the word, 10; affinities with
other tribes, 12, 15, 39 ; vocabulary, 71, 115.

Singrauli, 134.

sirdar, a term of the Bhumij, 165.

Sirgtija, 129, 132, 133, 134, 1385, 1386, 137, 164, 166, 176,
221, 222, 223, 224, 226, 227, 230, 245, 253, 264, 275,
278, 280, 281, 326.

Sisi, in the Lukkimptr District, 30.

Sisupal of Asam, 78.

Sitabaldhi, 276.

Sitang, 117.

Sivarat feast, 321.

Siviras, a tribe, vide Savaras.

skulls, kept as memorials, 39, 40, 68.

slang, or rogue’s language, 326.

slaves, 51, 57, 58, 254.

small-pox, 53.

Smith, Captain, 289.

Sohagpur, 223.

Sohnptr District, 290.

Sohrai festival, 213.

Sokhas, a class of priests, 46, 199, 200.

Sommeu, a village near the Brahmaputra, 14.

Son River, 128, 162, 164.

Sonabadi, 210.

Sonai River, 196.

Sonapet, 196.

Songbu tribe, 53.

Sonptir Parganah, 171.

Sonthal, vide Santal.

Sorobisi District, 289.

Soronia, or Kachari tribe, 82.

Soto Nagas, 39.

soul, ideas of a, 117.

South-Western Frontier Agency, 173, 182.

Sowrik, 165.

Sri Dharma, 111.

Sripanchamf festival, 313.

Steward, Major, 42, 47, 111.

Stirling, Mr., 140, 285.

Stoliczka, Dr. F., pref. ii. ,

stones, used as cenotaphs, 43, 55, 105, 203, 318; valuable
stones, 47.

Suari, vide Savaras.

Suars, vide Savaras.

Subanshiri Abors, 16.

Subanshiri River in Asim, 30, 31, 78.

Subarnarekha River, 173, 246.

subri tree, 115.

Sudras, 54, 79 ; black, 124, 140, 167, 178, 185, 305, 308;
meaning, 309.

sud, sudh, sudhan, 308.

sugan bandhna, 321.

suicide prevalent among Hos, 206.

Sukempha, king of Pong, 5.

Sukha, a god, 321.

Sulla Kheony River, 113.

Sultan Sakada, 232.

Sunaka family, 126.

Sundi, or distilling caste, 299.

Sundi Pennu, a god, 297.
''INDEX.

Sundri River, 35, 36.

Sunkosi, 102.

Sunwar tribe, 103.

sun worship, 159, 185, 232, 281.

stip, or winnowing sieve, 247.

Suriam Gonds, 278.

Surjabangsis, 127.

Susung, 58.

Sutiamba, hill of, 166; Parganah of, 167.
Suttee, vide Sati.

ages a Mishmi god, 16.
Tablong Nagas, 39; vocabulary, 71.
tabu practices, 16, 43, 53.
Tagi Raja, an Aka chief, 37.
Tai Race, 5.
Tain, a Mishmi sub-division, 18, 30.
Takpaka, a god, 104.
Talaing, or Mon tribe, 118, 119; vocabulary, 235.
Talingana, 151, 161.
Tamarh District, 170, 171, 172, 201.
Tamasuri Mai temple, 78.
Tambiulf, or pansellers, 324.
Tamul, 111; vocabulary, 302.
Tandan Guachrain, 114.
tangi, or battleaxe, 195.
Tantis, or weavers, 185, 196, 325.
Tantrica Purana, 80.
Tarbatia Miri tribe, 30.
Tari Kandhs, 288.
Tari Karens, 118.
Taripenna, or Tari, 288, 290, 296.
Taroi Kheong, 114.
tAsa, or chasa, 322.
Tattooing, 39, 114, 132, 161, 219, 250, 323, vide godna.
Tay-an Song, a mountain, worshipped by the Chinese, 1877.
Teba-sum, a god, 104.
Teli, or Kulhu caste, 324.
Telugu, allied to Gondi, 278; vocabulary, 302.
Tema, a Miri chief, 31.
Temple, Sir R., 152, 282.
Temple ruins in Asam, 79.
temples, vide Kamakhya, Dewangiri, Haju, ruins.
Tenae Miri tribe, 35.
Tengapani River, 6, 9.
Tennai, vide Thanai.
Téphé, supposed to be Koch Bihar, 95.
Terai, 88.
Terasi Pirhi Ekasibadi, 186. ;
Terminalia tomentosa, or asdn tree, 155, 201, 281.
terriah, a dance, 135.
Tezpur District, 36.
Thabhera caste, 324.
Thadan, a Kuki tribe, 45, 113.
Thah, or soul, 117.
Thai Race, 5.
Thakurain Hill, 149.
Thakurani M4i, 147, 149, 179.
Thanai and H-u, parents of mankind, 116.
Tharus, a tribe, 126.
Thawa tribe, 88.
Thila, a Kuki god, 45.
Thimpus, or Kuki priests, 46.
Thompson, Major, 219.
Thuspois, the Kuki council, 45.
Tibet, trade with, 18, 14, 16, 19, 28, 32, 36, 80, 95, 98, 118.
Tickell, Col., 184, 185, 191, 204.
tiger, flesh eaten, 33, 154; worshipped, 132, 214
281; tiger’s skin used in oaths, 158, 204. ni
Tiko, 173 n.
Tipperah, 5, 39, 45, 79, 84, 105; or Kirat, 109.
Tirhut, 222, vide Mithila, 313.
Tirut Singh, 55.
tobacco, cultivation of, 26, 33, 43, 46, 52, 251.
Tod’s Rajasthan, 307, 311.
toino, a valuable stone, 47.
Tojaees, a class of priests, 110.
toki, vide human sacrifices, 286.
Tolaram’s country, 54, 83.

{
|
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Tonquin River, 119, 151.

Tori, 129.

Tothyal Gonds, 278.

Toung Mru tribe, 113.

Toungoo, 117, 118.

Toungthu tribe, 118.

town-hall, or Morang, 22.

Trading classes, 323.

tree worship, 115, vide sal tree and bamboo, 134.
Tributary Mahalls, 136, 138, 139, 141, 157, 160n, 174.
trident, for Hanuman, 220. '
Tripura, vide Tipperah.

tso, or conscience, 117.

Tularam, vide Tolaram.

tulsi plant, sacred, 85.

Tulukmi, a village, 113.

Tulu vocabulary, 302.

tumba tree, 156.

Tuppang, village of, 14.

Tura Mountain, 59.

Turanian, 163.

turban, exchange of, 170.

daipur, 111, 135, 136, 137, 176, 275, 276.
Udal tree, 2
Udoeyung, a feast of the Koupttis, 52.
urid ddl, 148, 191, 251.

aisyas, yellow, 124, 303, 306, 312. ©
Vajra Bhimi, 174

vavar, or barbarian, 327.
Vaya tribe, 105.
Vayu Purana, 306.
Vedas, 80. _
Vena, king, 123, 161.
Vindhya Range, 123, 124, 159, 161, 163, 221, 226, 263, 275.
Vira, the Saint, 174.
Vishnuism, 79, 81.
Vivika Nardin Rajah, 174.
Vocabularies, 69, 93, 107, 120, 235, 302.
Vyasa, 307.

vee tenures, 103.
Wallich, Dr. G., pref. iii.

Wallokirant, 102.

wardances, 41, 43.

Wardha River, 278.

Wellesley, Marquis, 179.

Wellesley, Province of, 119.

Wha Kheong River, 114.

Wheeler, J. T., 131, 314.

whistling, 58.

Wi, a class of physicians, 116, 117.

Widows, 54, 137, 138.

Wilcox, Captain, 13, 14, 18, 22, 27, 31.

Wilford, Colonel, 161, 162 », 164.

Wilkinson, Captain Sir Thomas, 172, 175, 182.

Wilson, H. H., 305, 310, 314.

winnowing sieve, or stip, 247.

witches and witchcraft, 199, 257, 283, 296.

Witurgiri, 59.

Women, their freedom among Shan tribes, 8 ; value, 33 ;
4l, 50, 53, 63, 66, 91, 104; not allowed to cook amons
Kharrias, 160; their curiosity when pregnant, 166, 191,
192; kindly treated by Kols, 194, 200; friendship
among Ordon women, 253.

Woo den images of deceased friends, 62,

ce tribe, 102.
Yama, god of the Hindtis, 25, 34, 297, 313.
Yatras, 177
yinchan, or great house, 49.
Yomdong, 113.
Yule, Colonel, 55.
Yunan, 18, 21.
Ywah (Jehovah), 116.

re 116.
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FRONTS? feo i

«THE REST AT NOON.’
Group of Ordons taken at Ranchi by 'T. F. Puprs, Esq.
1.—Btpuw4, an Ordon youth, age 22 years.

Height : : : : : : ; : é
Measurements*of head :—

oe

; : i D tts ie

Short diameter, in front . : ‘ : : ‘ ' ‘ : 5 inches.

Ditto ditto, behind . ; : : : : : ) 4 me,

Long ditto . : : : ; : ; : : ; : tes
Length of arm from acromion process to end of middle finger  , ; 204 ,,

Color 28.

Fig. 2.—Ev'rno, an Ordon girl, age 15 years.
Height : : : : : : ‘ : : :
Measurements of head :—

‘ 5 ft. 4 in.

Short diameter, front ; ; ; : : ; : j ‘ 4} inches.
Ditto ditto behind . : 4 : : j ; : ; be &,,
Long ditto . : ; : : ; : : : | ie.
Circumference : ; ; : : C0. ;,
Arm, acromion to olecranon. : ; : : : : : : re
Olecranon to end of middle finger. : ; : ; : 16 pn,
Aeromion to ditto : ; ; ; ; ; ; : ‘ : 26

3)

Color between 29 and 30. Iris 2.

Fig. 3.—S<ont, Ordon girl, age 16.

Height . : oS ; : ‘ ‘ : : : ‘ 4 ft. 8 in.
Circumference of head -. : ; rs ’ : : : : 204 inches.
Arm, acromion to end of middle finger. ; i z : : 254 4;

Color 27, Ing 2:

Fig. 4.—Stxt, an Ordon girl, age 12.

Height ; : : : i ; ; ‘ : ; : . & ft. 84 inches.
Circumference of head. é : : : ; ; : ; : 20k. 45
Short diameter, front : : : , é ; : ; : ‘ 44°,
Ditto ditto behind . : d ; : 4 i : s é Be eg
Long ditto: : : : ji ‘ : : . : : 7 s
Length of arm, acromion to end of middle finger. ; : : ; 26 %
Color 28. Iris 1.
Fig. 5.—Saunpf, an Ordon girl, age 14 years,
Height . : : : } 5 ; ‘ é : . A ft. PS im,
Measurements of head :—
Short diameter, front : : , : : : ; i : 44 inches.
Ditto ditto: —behma - : 3 . ' ° : : ; Bao
Long: ditto ; : ‘ ; ; : a : : : Gao og
Length of arm, acromion to end of middle finger : : ; ; : 23 is

Color 28.

For account of the Ordous, see Section 1, Group VII, page 245.
'' 

FLATT.

From a Photograph by Dx. Simpson.

KHAMTt.

“The chief seat of the Khamtis, who are a branch of the Shan or Tai race, is in Bor Khamti, a
Province of Burmah, on the Upper Irrawaddy. Several colonies from thence have settled in
Upper Asim, on both banks of the Brahmaputra River, east of Sadiya. They are Budhists in
religion, and by far the most intelligent of the tribes of the North-Hastern Frontier.

For account of the Khamtis, see pp. 5 to 9.
'' 
'''' 
''PATE i,

From a Photograph by Dr. Simpson.

Fig. 1.—Kuamri Femare.

This is a very typical representation of a young Khamti woman. The elevation of the
hair on the crown of the head indicates that she is married, and the style is reeom-
mended as dignified and becoming. Unmarried girls wear it in a roll low down on
the occiput. They are exceedingly industrious, spin, weave, dye, and embroider, and
can themselves make up all that they wear. The jacket ig ordinarily of cotton,
dyed blue; the petticoat of the same material, and round the waist a colored silk-
scarf asasash. But the dress of the lady in the illustration is of richer material—
black velvet boddice and silk skirt. The ear ornaments are of amber.

Fig. 2.—Cutiixaré Woman.
A typical, but not a favorable specimen of a Chilikata, or crop-haired, Mishmi woman.

See note to Plate VII, and pp. 18 to 21.
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Lrom a Photograph by Dx. Simpson,

ig. 1.—A capital specimen of a StverHo Cuter,

The father-land of the Singphos, or Kakis, the Kakhyens of the Burmese, is the valley
of the Sgin Mae-kha, or great eastern branch of the Irrawaddy. Their settlements
in Asdm sweep round the extreme Eastern Frontier from the Dépha Bhim, the loftiest
of the hills south of the Brahmaputra in Asém, to the Patkye (Patkoi) Range, which
separates Asim and Burma, and banks of the Bori Dihing River. The word
‘Singpho,’ adopted by the members of the tribe settled in Asim, merely means ‘ man’
in their own language. See pp. 9 to 13,

Fig, 2,—ApBrto, Cutirkars Misumi Carer,

Measurements.
Height . ; : : : : : : : ; ‘ . : 66 inches.

Of head with callipers :—

Short diameter of skull, in front ; ; ‘ : ; A E 42 inches.
Do. do. do., behind Deo,
Long diameter os
Cireumference ‘ : , ‘ ; ‘ : . oe ss
Arm, from acromion to olecranon : : iy 4s
Forearm, from olecranon to end of middle finger 18 :
Arm from acromion process to end of middle finger 264 4,

This isa very favorable specimen of a Chilikété, who are generally much coarser in
feature and fierce in expression. This tribe are found in the hills to the north of
Sadiya in Upper Asim, between the Digdro and Dibong Rivers. See also Plate IX.

Vide note to Plate VII, and pp. 18 to 21.
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From a Photograph by Dx. Simpson.
Male and Female of the Tarn or Digdru Mitsumi Trips.

These are both good average specimens of the tribe. They are, as a rule, fairer and with softer
features than the Abors, acquiring from their journeys across the snow a becoming ruddiness
of complexion: The young women have generally pretty figures, which their costume shows
to advantage. The frontlet, a thin plate of bright silver, is a picturesque and becoming
ornament, worn on the forehead by all women who can afford it. They are a quiet, inoffensive
people, occupying the hills and skirts of the hills between the Digdru and Dillt Rivers, two
of the north hillsaffluents of the Brahmdputra, and devoting themselves chiefly to trade.

See pp. 18 to 18 for an account of the Mishmis.
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''PLATE. Yd.

From a Photograph by Dr. Simpson.

Group of Mizuu or Mizu Misumfs.

Of the Mishmi tribe who are in habits of intercourse with As&m, the Miju or Mizhu live in the
farthest East. In their commercial journeys between As&m and Tibet, they cross the snowy
range, and so appear in warmer vestments than are in use by the tribes who seldom quit
the valley. The long coats of the male figures are of woollen fabrics, or mixed wool and
nettle fibre. The white frontlet on the forehead of the girl is a thin plate of silver; the
coil round her neck of thick brass wire. The weapons shown are long spears, dirks and
straight swords, the latter and their pipes of brass are of Tibetan manufacture.

See pp. 13 to 18 for account of the Mishmis.

 
''HANHART LITH

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From a Photograph by Dr. Simpson.

Group of Mirpur or Cutiixdts Misuts.

This tribe occupies the hills north of Sadiya, but their country is so difficult of access, that very
little is known about it. They trade between Tibet and Asdm, when at peace ; but they are
considered the most treacherous and aggressive of all the North-Eastern tribes, though more
skilled in arts and manufactures than their neighbours, the Abors to the East, and the
Mishmis to the West. They are called Chtlikata, or crop-haired, from their having originated
the modern fashion of cutting the hair straight across the forehead. The men cut theirs to
the level of the rims of their wicker helmets as far as the back of the ear; both sexes wear

it long behind.

For account of the Chilikatés, see pp. 18 to 21.
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From a Photograph by Dr. Simpson.

Fig. 1.—-An admirable and thoroughly typical representation of a Tain Mishmi girl.—/ide Plate VII,
and page 17,

Fig. 2.—A Bor Abor girl, belonging probably to some village near the great Dihong River in the
Sub-Himdélayan range. These ladies crop their hair all round as the least troublesome
method of disposing of it. The illustration gives a capital representation of their strongly
marked Mongolian features, and- their coarse, good-tempered faces. This young girl’s
costume and the ornaments are all apparently from the North : the blue vitreous turquoise-
like beads, which our glass manufacturers cannot imitate, and cornelian and agate pebbles.
'' 

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''PLATE YItIa.

From a Photograph by Dx. Simpson.

A Muu or Mizuu Mitsumi in undress.
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''PhATE IX.

From a Photograph by Dr. Simpson,
A Cutuikstd Misumt Chief in full dress.

NV. B.—This plate has been erroneously lettered asa Miju Mishmi. The portrait represents the
same individual, taken in full face, as is shown in profile in the right hand figure of Plate III,
which see.
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''PLAT x:

From a Photograph by Dr. Simpson.

Group of Bor Azors.

If a traveller were to cross the Himalayas in about Longitude 95°E., he would soon, after entering

The

the hills from Asdm, find himself amongst the clans who are thus designated by the Asamese.
They are a rough rude race, but are not without some good qualities.

word Abor is Asamese, and means ‘independent,’ and it is applied to the northern hill clans
nearest the plains between the Dibong and the Dirjmo Rivers, because they never were subjugat-
ed or interfered with by the old Asim Government, and seldom appeared at all amongst the
Asamese. The Abors, as a matter of policy, have always asserted that the clans of the same
people further North are very numerous and powerful, and from these reports the name Bor
(great) Abor was assigned to them; but I have no faith in such accounts of their power. The
Abors obtain goods from both sides. They export some commodities from Asim to Tibet, but:
chiefly buy in the North with the money of the South, and accumulate wealth. The Bor Abors,
on the other hand, always appear poor and mainly dependent on the resources of their own im-

practicable country.

For account of the Abors, see pp. 21 to 28.
''   

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CROUP OF BOR ABORS
'' 

 
'' 
''PLATE XL

Irom a Photograph by Dr. Simpson.

Figs. 1 and 2.—Axor Cuter.

This is a thoroughly good specimen of the Dihong Abor, of whom a tolerably

The

full account will be found in Section 5, Group I, but I’ avail myself of this
opportunity to supply an important omission in the description. The rugged
rocky soil, on which their villages are built, has probably originated a unique
custom of sepulture, by which very small graves are required. The dead are
trussed up so that the chin rests on the knees, and are placed in the small
chamber prepared for them in a sitting posture.

goitre with which the original of the illustration was evidently afflicted, is a
common disease amongst the Abors.
'''' 
'' 
''PLATE XL.

From a Photograph by Dx. Stimpson,
A Duopa ABzor.

This tribe of Abors have their settlements in the hills between the Dirjmo and Sisi Rivers, which
discharge their waters into a northern channel of the Brahmaputra called the Buri-Stti, opposite

the Debrogarh.

A colony of Dhoba Abors were located by the Revd. E. Higgs on his farm near Debrogarh.
Attended by the young men of this party, he visited their hills in 1855, and was hospitably
received by them. The account given of the Hill Miris in Section 5, page 31, applies in most

points to this tribe also,
''   

uTON . ETHNOLOG

 

BENGAL PL XII

 

HANHART LITH

 
'' 
'' 
''Ppa XAT.
From a Photograph by Dx. Simpson.
A Duopa Axor, an admirable typical specimen of the clan.

The helmet of this chief is decorated with boar’s tusks, so as to give an effective protection to the
head; for no ordinary blow would cut through them. The ornament hanging just over the
clavicle is the palate and the upper jaw of some feline, studded with cowrie shells. The large
necklaces are formed of beads of a vitrified substance exactly resembling turquoise. He has

a ‘Lama’ sword, a weapon of Tibetan manufacture.

Section 5, Group I, page 21.
''DALTON. ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL

 

MAN, AL

DHOBA ABOR
'' 

 

 
'' 
''PEATE XY.

From a Photograph by Dr. Stueson.
Wig. 1.—A Puakid.

The Phakidls or Phakis are incidentally referred to in the foregoing pages as one of the
Shain tribes established in As&m; their principal settlement is on the Dihing River
near Jaiptir, and it is believed that they have been there since the time of the first
Ahom kings, and were placed where we find them on the high road to Hukong

and Mogoung of Upper Burmah to keep up the intercourse between the Ahoms and their
Shan brethren of Mogoung.

They follow generally the customs of the Khamtis (see Section 1, Group I), but the
Phaki women have adopted the fashion of the Burmese ladies in the cut of their
petticoat, whcih is open down one side, so as to give a classical freedom to the limbs.

Fig. 2.—An admirable specimen of an old Miri Woman from one of the villages on the banks of one
of the Upper Asém rivers. These Miris have all emigrated from the Abor Settle-
ments, and, according the Abors, are run-away slaves.

For account of the Miris, see Section 5 (2), Group J, pp. 28 to 35.
'''' 
'' 
''Pian XY.

Lrom a Photograph by Dr. Simpson.
Mirfs, Male and Female.

These are also Miris of the valley, emigrants or refugees from the hills, but not of the same clan
as the woman represented in Plate XIV. They appear to me to be members of the Chiitid-Mtré
tribe, who claim connection with the Chétiés, or Kacharis, once the dominant race in the Upper
and Central portions of the Asim Valley. Though for centuries settled in the plains, the Miris
mix little with the other races, and have preserved their northern ethnic peculiarities in a

- remarkable degree. They are well portrayed in this Plate.

See page 29.
'' 

 

 

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'' 

 
'' 
''PLATE XVI.

From a Photograph by Dr. Simpson.

Nicos Cuter.

The

The

wild inhabitants of the southern barrier of the Asim Valley, from the Dihing River in Upper
Asim to the Kopili in the lower part of the Valley, are all called Nags ; but the Doyang River
divides the clans into two groups, and we find little affinity between the tribes on the right

and left banks of that stream.

warrior represented in Plate XVI is a chief of one of the clans of the Hastern or Upper Naga
Group. In fantastic eccentricity of costume, the Nagas take the lead of all the tribes
described in this work. Their love of decoration is only equalled by their antipathy to clothing.
They study ornamentation and manage to produce a very picturesque effect. The materials
chiefly used are shell, ivory, boar’s tusks, beads of agate and other pebbles, goat’s-hair dyed
scarlet and other colors, brass and glass. Their arms are adorned like their persons. The plate
is a good illustration both of the decorative propensity and the physical traits of the people.
As usual amongst animals when the male takes great pride in his personal appearance, the
female withdraws from the contest, the Naga women appear to eare little for dress.

See Seetion 6, Group I.
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From a Photograph by Dx. Simeson.

Male and Female of the NAmskne Nkok Trise.

The Namsdngya Nagas are found in the hills south of Jaipir in Upper Asim, near Hukunjuri tea
garden, and from constant intercourse with the plains are more civilized and better clad than
the clans of the interior. They have possession of salt springs, the produce of which enables
them to obtain, without much labor, the raiment, ornaments, and addition to food which they
require.

See Section 6 of Group I, page 38.
'''' 
'' 
''Piatt ATi la.

From a Photograph by Dr. Stimpson.
Male and Female from Murruck, Asm.

~The term Muttuck (Matak) is generally applied to a sect of the Hindi Asamese properly called
Moamériah, who, under a very warlike priest, rose in rebellion, and all but subverted the
Asim Government in A. D. 1784. The Ahom Rajah applied for assistance to the British
Government, and troeps under a British Officer were sent, by whom the insurrection was
quelled, and the Moamfriahs were permitted to settle in the tract called Muttuck (Matak).
Moamariahs are not all of the same caste or race; but the majority are, ] believe, Ahoms.
The male figure may serve as a good type of an Asamese Hindi. The woman is a fair specimen
of the Hindu-Ahom hybrid, of which I believe a considerable proportion of the population
of Asém is composed. The costume is that of a well-to-do Asamese girl. She wears no
jacket or bodice, but a scarf of fine silk with embroidered border is lightly wreathed round
her bosom, leaving one arm and shoulder bare, as shown in the picture. The lower garment

is usually of the drab thicker silk called ‘ maga.’

See page 79.
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''PLATE XVIIL

Male and Female of the Lower NAc Grover.

This is an admirable illustration of one of the Naga tribes, who are found in the hills south of the
Nowgong District, between the Doyang and Kopili Rivers, in the Asim Province. There is
nothing that I know of except the name to connect these clans with the tribes east of the
Doyang. Their features are harsher, more decidedly Mongolian; and their language, which is
quite different, associates them with the Maniptiri and Kuki tribes and their cognates.

See page 44.
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'' 
''PLATE: XTX,

From Photographs by Dr. Brown, late Political Agent, Manipir.

Figs. 1, 2, & 3 are natives of the Manipir Valley, where a more civilized type of the people of the
surrounding hills have formed alittle nation under a monarchical form of govern-
ment. The features of the Maniptris, male and female, and the peculiarities of their
costume, are fairly represented in the illustration, but the young girl should have
had a spencer.

See page 48.
Vig, 4.—Aneami Nias.

This was one of the most warlike and troublesome of the Naga tribes, till, after years of raids
on villages of the British pale and retaliatory or conciliatory expeditions into their
country, the Naga hill district was established, and a station fora Deputy Commissioner
with an armed Police force formed at Samfiguting on the right bank of the Dhansiri
River. The Ang&mi Hills lie between that river and the Doyang and northern
boundary of Manipur. The illustration represents an Angdmi from the Maniptr side
of the valley.

See Section 7, Group I, page 48.

 
''    

 

MUNIPURL.
Hindu »

 

 

 

MUNIPURI

(Young girl.)
Shs

 
'' 

 
'' 
''PLATE XX,

From Photographs by Dr. Simpson.
Kacudrt, Male and Female. :

The Kacharis, called by Mr. Hodgson Bodo, are diffused throughout a very wide extent of country.
It appears certain that they were at one time the dominant race in the upper valley of the
Brahmaputra, but though they overran a country pre-occupied by Aryans, and many of them
adopted the religion and language of the more civilized race with whom they thus came in contact,
their physiognomy to this day shows that they have, as a rule, managed to retain their purity
of blood, and their northern physical traits have not, like those of the Ahoms, been obliterated
or modified by intermixture with the Aryan people.

For account of the Kach&ris, see Section 2, Group II, page 83.
'' 

 

 

HANHART .LITH.
'' 
'' 
''PLAT Xx hd.

From Photographs by Dre Simpson.
Kiuxts, Male and Female.

Although the Ktikis are, doubtless, connected with some of the North-Eastern tribes, it is only
within the present century that they have made their appearance on the Asm frontier as
emigrants from southern regions, propelled in a northern direction by the pressure of the
kindred Lushai tribes. They appear very well clad in the illustration, but it is alleged that
they were in a very nude state when first seen in Kachaér. They are known to extend from
the neighbourhood of the Mugs of Arakan to Kachdr and the confines of the Asim Naga
tribes, a distance of 300 miles.

See Section 7, Group II, page 44.
'' 
 

 

 

 
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''PLATE XX.

Giro Women and uEAD or A G&ro Boy.

The old lady, figure 1, I take to be an Abéngya Garo female from the portentous size of her ear
ornaments. The female without these decorations and the fillet of cloth round her head is
not, I think, a Hill Garo, but belonging to a family settled in the plains. Unless the fashions
have changed since the days of my acquaintance with them, neither of the women are in the
national costume; the cloth wrapped round the bosom is the effect of contact with the serpent,
or people of the plains.

Figure 8 is a capital typical portrait of a Garo lad, with retroussé nose, small oblique eyes, mouth
well formed, but large and full, neither forehead nor chin receding, the facial angle being

ordinarily good.

See Section 10, Group I, pages 58 to 68.
''PL. XXII

DALTON ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL

 

 

HANHART LITH

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''PEATE. Salt.

From Photographs by Dr. Simpson.
Bnitt1as or Burs, Male and Female.

These are very favorable specimens of the inhabitants of Bitan. They are evidently portraits of
well-to-do people wearing gems and gold and silver ornaments, not ordinary beads. Such high
aquiline noses are rarely seen on the faces of Bats, but are occasionally met with amongst all
the Northern tribes.

See Section 1, Group ITI, pages 95 to 100.
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From Photographs by Dr. Simpson.
Leprcnas (SIKKIM).

This beautiful specimen of a Sikkim Lepcha woman should have had a page to herself. It presents
us with the finest type of the Mongolian physiognomy: a well formed head, features somewhat
flat, but with a good mouth, forehead and chin, and luxuriant hair. The Sikkim Lepchas
differ materially from the Dhurma Lepchas.

The Lepchas are found in Western Batan, Eastern NepAl, and in the small state between both, called
Sikkim. They are well known at Darjiling. :

See Section 2, Group III.
'' 

 

 

 

 

 
'' 
'' 
''PEATE XXY.

Photographed by Dr. Simpson.
Liuwet Male and Female.

The very respectable-looking gentleman here represented and the richly bedizened old lady belong,
I presume, to the upper class of Limbf society. The Limbis, or Kerantis, are represented
by Mr. Hodgson and others as approximating in appearance to the darker Turanian race in
color and feature, but the old lady is apparently of light complexion, and has a very Mongolian
type of face.

See Section 3, Group IIT, page 102.
'' 
'' 
'' 
''PLATE: XVI.
Fig. 1.—A Moe.

I know nothing of this miserable-looking creature. He does not at all correspond with the’
description of a Mug given at page 112. He is probably one of the hybrids from
Chittagong so called, who serve us as cooks, and very good cooks they make.

Fig. 2.—A ‘Ho’ or Kon of Sincustm.
From a Photograph by Dr. Simpson.
Bovr. Age 22 years.
Measurements.

Height . : ‘ ‘ . ; ‘ : ; : : ; : 5 ft. 54 in.

Callipers :—
Short diameter of head in front : ‘ ; , ; 58
Ditto ditto at back . : : : : ; .
Long diameter of head in front to back. : ‘ : : ‘ oe
Cireumference of head . ; : i : : : : ; bie 3
Length of arm from acromion to olecranon. : : : ; : 123
Ditto from olecranon to tip of middle finger . . ‘ : : io,

This is a good typical representation of a young Singhbam Ho or Kol of the clan, os’
Kili, Koada-dah. Tn his right hand he grasps the national weapon called ‘ ténghir.
This division of the Kols, called also the Larka, or warlike, Kols, are found only

in Singhbim.

See Section 4, Group VIT.
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'' 
''PLATE XXVII.
From a Photograph by Dx. Stimpson.

Munpas or Cuttré Nacrtr, male and female.
Sanicuerta, bachelor, aged 25; Spinster, aged 15.

The above are Mundas of villages close to Ranchi, the capital of the Province of Chutié Nagpur,

‘who living with Ordons have adopted their style of decoration, They are good typical repre-

sentatives of the race, though not handsome specimens. They show the breadth of face and

obliquity of eye, which affirm the north-eastern origin ascribed to them. This pair were working

for me as garden coolies, when their photographs were taken by Doctor Simpson, but Ihave lost
sight of them for some years. They were both of a bright copper color, 29 of Brossai’s Table.

See Section 8, Group VII, for account of the Mundas.
''  

 

 

HANHART LITH

 
'' 
'' 
''Pia. XXVIIL

This is a representation of a dancing group composed of Oréons and Mundas of Chiitid Nagpur, from a
photograph by Doctor Simpson, taken in Colonel Dalton’s garden at Ranchi.

The young men on the right hold the village flags, drums, chaunrs and regalia; and the girls are placed
so as to indicate how their arms are interlaced in the dance, called ‘jéddér’ It was found impossible
to make them pose in a dancing attitude. The flags were furled to keep them quiet as it was
a windy day.

See page 254.
'' 

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''PLAT ; XXixX.

From a Photograph in the Album of the Asiatic Society.
SaNTALS.

The large head in this plate is not a handsome specimen of a Santal, but he represents a large division
of the family, fairly, and affirms what I have said, page 212, that they have a “ blubbery
style of face.”

The Santals of this type are, as a rule, of dark complexion, and it is probable that they have mixed
much with the dark races; but I have seen Santal communities with finer features and light
brown complexion, and am sorry I have not a more pleasing illustration of this tribe.

See Group VII, Section 6.
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''PU ATE AX xX.

From a Photograph by Dr. Simpson.
A Grovr or Korwas.

This is one of the wildest of the Kolarian tribes. They are found in the hills of the Sirgija and
Jashpur Estates in the Province of Chutié Nagpur.

See Section 8, Group VII, page 228.
''PL.XXAX.

 

HANHART IMP

KORWALI
'' 
'' 
''Pith xx XT.
From a Photograph by Dr. Simpson.
Fig. 1—An Ordon of Chiitié Nagptr, aged, when picture was taken, about 23.
Fig. 2.—Rémia, an Ordon girl of Chiutié Nagpur ; age, when the picture was taken, 15.

These are very fair specimens of the great Ordon tribe who have been sometimes called the
‘navvies’ of India. The nucleus of the tribe is in Chitia Nagpur proper, from whence
they have spread as settlers to all the surrounding districts, and as laborers to Asim,
Kachar, Mauritius, the West Indies, and other British and French Colonies.

For a full account of the Oraons as they exist in their father-land, see Section 1, Group VIII.
''PL.XX2

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''PUATE XXXII.

Koccu, Male and Female.

Two upper figures are representatives of the Kocch Nation, a very ancient people who were once -
numerous and powerful in Matsya-désh, and Kamarupa, and still retain their dominaney in
Koech Behar. In my account of this people I disconnect them from the North-Eastern tribes
with whom they have often been affiliated, and suggest that they may be allied with the

Drayidian races. I have no description of the plate, but they are evidently very dark and in
features resembling some of the Central Indian tribes as the Gonds.

For an account of the Kocch, see Section 4, Group II, page 89.

Kuxis.

For particulars of Kukis, see explanation to Plate XXJ.
''ALTON . ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL

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HANHART. LITH:
'' 
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''FOATH XXXII.

From a Photograph by Mr. Tosco Prprs.
JuANG GIRLS.

This illustration of the most primitive of the Kolarian race was obtained at Gonasika in Keonjhar,
noticed in the account of this tribe as the legendary cradle of the race. The beads or
bugles forming the girdles are of fine earthen-ware made -by themselves. ‘Ihe bracelets are of
brass and the necklaces of glass beads or flowers. The rest of the attire is of leaves. Mr.
Peppé had immense difficulty in inducing these wild timid creatures to pose before him, and it
was not without many a tear, that they resigned themselves to the ordeal. It is right
to mention that they were brought in from the forest where they had been searching for
their daily bread which chiefly consists of forest produce, aud their leaves were not as neatly
arranged as they would have been if the girls had had time to make a fresh toilette.

See Section 1, Group VII, page 153.
''PL XXXII.

BENGAT

ON .ETHNOLOGY OF

  

 

 

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HANHAR'T

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1
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JUANG G
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''Pele. RXAITY.

Very typical specimens of the Juane Trips.

\

This is from another of Mr. Tosco Peppé’s photographs taken at Gondsika in Keonjhar, one of the
Katak Tributary Estates. The young man keeps his spare arrows hanging by the barbs
from his matted black hair, as is also the custom of the Korwas.

See Plate XXX. ~
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''PATE XXXV.

From Photographs by Mx. Tosco Prprt.
Male and Female of the Benpkar TRIBE.

I have assigned to the Bendkars of Keonjhar a relationship with the Sauras or Savaras. They have
only been met with in Keonjhar, and they are found there in small communities widely
separated. The man holds the only implement that they use in tillage. It is the origin of the
plough! The handle with the crook is all one piece of wood, in the illustration the crook is
made to appear as if it was fitted on to the handle, but this 1s incorrect, there is no joint,
and there should have been no shade at the junction. The only use they ever make of cattle is
to offer them as sacrifices to the Gods. Thus we have in the Bendkars a people who in their

agriculture use neither iron nor cattle.

See Section 3, Group VI, page 149.
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''FUATE XARVL

From a Photograph by Mr. Tosco Prres.
Ho or Larxa Kou Frmates.

Fig. 1—‘ Jama’, a girl of the Saondi Kili (tribe) of the village of Narsénda, near Chaibésa in
Singhbhum, age about 16 years,—height : : : : : 58 inches.

Measurement of head by callipers—

Short diameter in front . : : ' : 4°, inches.
Ditto ditto behind . : : : ‘ . : : 54 .
Long ditto . ' ‘ : : : : : : : (ee.
Circumference . : : : : : : ; ‘ : — 20) -
Of arm,—From acromion to olecranon. ‘ : : : : eee a
From olecranon to tip of middle finger. ; : ~ = Oe
From acromion to — ditto ditto. ‘ : ; ae =
Color 30.

This is a fair average specimen of the ‘Ho girl of the period,’ in the modern style of
dress, one long thick cotton cloth with a deep red border. See page 192.

Fig. 2.—Group, young girl and old woman of the same tribe.

The old lady appears in the national costume, which she finds very convenient as a
working dress and cool withal. See page 190.
''DALTON.ETHNOLOGY OF

   

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HANHART. LITE.

GIRL iO. WOMAN
MODERN a Ss
'' 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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''PLATE XAXVIE
From a Photograph by Mr. Tosco Pepper.
Paort (on Pananrt) Buttyas or Keonsuar, Male and Female.

The Bhiiyas are a widely spread people, holding a very low position as laborers and carriers in
Bihér and Western Bengal, but appearing as lords of the soil in the Southern Tributary
Estates.

The illustration represents a male and female of the Keonjhar Hill Bhiiya tribe, who in manners,
customs, and features retain more of the idiosyncracies of the race than the sophisticated
members of the family further north.

The following measurements of Bhiiyas are taken from a paper by Doctor Coates :—

Height ; : : : ; ‘ i : : ‘ ‘ : ‘ 5 ft. 26 in.

Short diameter of head ‘ : ‘ ; : : : ‘ ‘ 54 inches.

Long ditto — ditto : ‘ : : ; ‘ : : ; (eo 33

Circumference : ; : : : : ‘ : ; ‘ : wa ee os

Length of arms . : ' Z ‘ ; ; : ; : ; : 5 ft. 26 in.
Color 42. '

This however must have been a short specimen, The Gangpir Bhiéiyas average about 5 feet
5 inches in height.

See pages 139 to 150.
'' 

HANHART. LIT

 

aL BHUIYA

FEMALE
OF NEONSHE
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