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Presented to the

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY

by the

ONTARIO LEGISLATIVE LIBRARY

1980

ci-f^'

7^

^ THE ^- '"■ ^

PEOPLE OF INDIA.

A SERIES OF

PHOTOGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS,

WITH DESCRIPTIVE LETTERPRESS,

OF

THE RACES AND TRIBES OF HINDUSTAN,

OKIGINALLY PEEPARED UNDER THE AUTilOHITY OF

THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA,

AND

REPRODUCED BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR

INDIA IN COUNCIL.

EDITED BY

J. FOEBES WATSOli AXD JOHN WILLIAM KAYE.

VOLUME TWO.

LONDON :

INDIA MUSEUM,

1868.

W?? H. ALLEN AND CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE, S.W. 19ui)U!5l)crg to ti)c SniJia Office.

.air*"'*'*

LOSDON ; I'KISTEU liY C. WHITING, EEAVFOKT UOVSE, STKAXD.

VOL II.

CONTENTS.

No. OF SUBJECT OK PHOTOGRAPH.	TRIBES, CASTE, &c.	LOCALITY.*
56 & 57.	MECHIS ; Trans-Himalatan Origin	DARJEELING.
58, 59, & GO.	SUNWARS ; Sub-Himalayan Origin	NIPAL.
61, 62, 63, & 64.	LIMBOOS; Aboriginal	Ditto.
65 & G6.	MAGARS ; Military Tribe	Ditto.
67, 68, & 69.	GOORUNGS ; Military Tribe	Ditto.
70 & 71.	KHAS ; Goorkhas	Ditto.
72 & 73.	NEWARS ; Slave Population, supposed Aboriginal	Ditto.
74.	BANRAS ; Subdivision of Newars	Ditto.
75, 76, & 77. 78	MOORMIS- Tibetans . . .	Ditto
BAIS : Rajpoots Hindoo	OUDE.
79.	BHALI SOOLTANS; chiefly Mahomedan . . .	Ditto.
80.	CHOHANS; Rajpoots, Hindoo	Ditto.
81.	RAJ KOOMARS ; Rajpoots, Hindoo	Ditto.
82.	BUJGOTEES; Rajpoots, Hindoo	Ditto.
83.	GURGBUNSEES ; Rajpoots, Hindoo	Ditto.
84.	BHURS ; supposed Aboriginal	Ditto.
86.	TEEHURS ; supposed Aboriginal	Ditto.
86.	PASEES ; Low Caste Hindoo	Ditto.
87.	PATH AN S ; Mahomedan	Ditto.
88.	SYUDS ; Descendants op Mahomed	Ditto.
89.	MOHUNTS OF HUNOOMANGURHEE ; Hindoo	Ditto.
90.	MAHARAJAH OF BENARES; Hindoo. . . .	BENARES.
91	BHATS- Hindoo	Ditto.
92.	GUNGAPOOTRAS ; Hindoo	Ditto.
93	GHAUTEEAS; Hindoo	Ditto.
94	AGHOREES; Hindoo	Ditto.
95	DUNDEES; Hindoo	Ditto.
96.	BHURS ; Aboriginal	Ditto.
97.	MIRZAPORE HILLMAN ; supposed Aboriginal .	MIRZAPORE.
98.	SYUDS ; Shah Abdoolah Subzposh, Mahomedan	Ditto.
99.	KOEREES ; Hindoo	BEHAR.
100.	UGURWALLAHI; Ram Persad, Hindoo . . .	ALLAHABAD.
101.	PATHAN ; UsHRUF Ali Khan, Shiah Mahomedan
	OF Afghan Descent . .	Ditto.
102.	BOONDELAHS ; from Bundelcund, Hindoo . . .	Ditto.
103.	BAIRAGI ; Hindoo Religious Mendicant ....	Ditto.
104.	SOONEE MAHOMEDAN, from Cashmere . . .	Ditto.
104 A.	SOONEE MAHOMBDANS (Snake Charmers) . .	Ditto.
105.	NUTS; Hindoo (Dancing Girl)	Ditto.
105 A.	MISSER BRAHMIN (a Baishnoo & Bhugut) . .	Ditto.
106.	BISHNOI; Hindoo	MORADABAD.
107.	MIRASSEES, or MINSTRELS ; Mahomedan . .	Ditto.
108.	BOKSAS; Hindoo, probably Aboriginal . . .	B'Mo.
109.	BHATS; Mahomedan	Ditto.
110.	NUTS; Hindoo (GiPSEYs)	Ditto.

* Under this heading, hcalit// does not always show the place or even the district of l)irth, though it docs r<i when possible. The text will explain the origin of the difficulty which occurs in certain cases.

rAR

2^s

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MECHIS.

THE ]\Iecli people inhabit the forest portion of the Tiu'ai, stretchmg along the base of the mountains fi-om the BuiTampooter to the Kanki river, which leaves the Nipal mountains about twenty miles to the west of the Mechi ri^er. In this tract they are the subjects of the Nipalese, Sildiim, and Bhootan govenmients respectively, and occupy, along ^ith the Dhimals (an alhed tribe), and a tew GaiTOws, a countiy of about 250 miles in length, having an average breadth of fi'oni twelve to fifteen miles. In the eastern portion of the Xipal Tm'ai they are but recent settlers ; at Nagol Bundi, on the right bank of the Mechi river, there are about twenty famihes ; at Kalilvajhar about the same number ; and, west from these places, in the thickest parts of the forest, there are several small colonies, amounting in all to about 150 to 200 families. In the Sikliim Tm*ai, between the Mechi river and the Mahanuddy, there are about 400 fomilies ; to the east of the Teestah river, and in the Dooars of Bhootan, they are still more numerous ; and to this latter portion of then habitat they point as the original seat of the tribe, although its name w^ould indicate its derivation fi-om the Mechi river. It is believed that Mechis are also to be found on the northern confines of Lower Assam. They never Uve on the hills at a higher elevation than 800 or 1000 feet, and scarcelv ever settle in the cleared and inhabited parts of the Tm'ai ; but keep entirely to the forest m which they make clearances, cultivatmg crops of rice and cotton ^rith the hoe, and gTazmg buffaloes. The malaria of the forest, so deadly to strangers, does not at aU affect them ; on the contrary, they are a remarkabl}' healthy race, and dread visiting the plams, where they are subject to severe fevers. They have no towns, and rarely ever live in permanent \dllages, generally quitting a clearance after havmg raised two or three successive crops from the land, to take up theii- abode in a fresh portion of the forest. The cast of their comitenance is strongh* Mongolian, but of a softer outline than most Mongohan races, resembhng mostly the Newars of Nipal.

The religion of the Mechis, in so far as they have any, is the Shivaite form of Hindooism, but goes no fiirther than the occasional sacrifice — when they can

MECHIS.

afford a meny-maldng — of goats, buffaloes, pigs, and fowls, to a clay image of Kali, on which occasion they diink to excess spirits, and a fermented liquor made ti-om murwa, and indulge in much hcentiousness. Distinctions of caste are unknown among them. Marriages are contracted at convenience in youth or adolescence, the men purchasing their wives at prices varying from ten to sixty rupees, according to the beauty of the female and the means of the buyer. When an accepted husband has not the means of paying for his A\ife in money, he joins her fimiil}- party, Avorking for the parents until he has fairly earned his bride according to previous contract. Like the poorer classes elsewhere in India, a man can seldom afford to have more than one wife at a time. There is no restriction, however, on this head. The Mech language has no written character. It is destitute of all terms denoting the conveniences of ci"\nhzation ; such as exist are borrowed from the Bengali.

•^^

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THE HIMALAYAN TRIBES.

rr^HE triljes to whom the foUowmg iUustrations refer,, and who inhabit vaiious I portions of the Sub-Himalayan range, are all closely affihated, and all of Northern* origin. The legends of the dominant races indicate then transit across the Himalayas, from thirty-five to forty-five generations back, say 1000 to 1300 years, of which estimates the remoter is thought the more probable, as " the transit was certainly made before the Tibetans had adopted fi-om India the religion and literature of Buddliism in the seventh and eighth centuries of our era." The general description of the Himalayans, both of earher and later immigration, is as foUowsf : — " Head and face very broad, usually widest between the cheek bones, sometimes as \^ade between the angles of the jaws; forehead broad, but low, and somewhat receding ; chin defective ; mouth large and salient, but the teeth vertical, and the lips not tumid ; gums, especially the upper, thickened remarkably ; eyes wide apart, flush with the cheek, and more or less obliquely set in the head ; nose pyramidal, sufficiently long and elevated, save at the base, where it is depressed so as often to let the eyes run together, coarsely formed and thick, especiaUy towards the end, and fiirnished with large round nostrils. Hair of head copious and straight, of the face and body deficient. Stature rather low, but muscular and strong. Character phlegmatic, and slow in intellect and feelmg, but good- humoured, cheerful and tractable, though somewhat impatient of continuous toil. Polyandiy yet exists partially, but is falling out of use. Female chastity is httle heeded before mamage ; and drunkenness and dirtiness are much more frequent than in the plains. Crime is much rarer, however, and truth more regarded, and the character on the whole, amiable. The customs and manners have nothing very remarkable, and their creed may best be described by negatives. Indifterency is the only, but hitherto effective, obstacle to indoctrination by Brahmanical, Buddliist, or Christian teachers, so that the Scotch phrase ' we cannot be fashed,' serves best to describe the prevalent feeling of the Himalayans on this, as on many other matters.

" The whole population is intensely tribual, some races still bound together by

* Hodgson, p. 129. f Ut sup. p. 130.

THE HIMALAYAN TRIBES.

a common appellation being nevertheless divided into several septs, distinguished fi-om each other by strongly marked dialects, non-intermarriage, and some differ- ences of customs, while the tribes which bear distinct names are still more palpably separated in those respects ; but the barrier of caste in its true sense, is unknoA\Ti. The general status of all the tribes and races is that of nomadic cultivators. . There are no craftsmen generally speaking, proper to these tribes ; stranger and helot races located among them for ages untold, being their smiths, carpenters, curriers, potters, &c., and the women of each tribe being its domestic weavers. The Newars alone have any Uterature, and that wholly exotic." — Hodgson.

SUNWAE OR SANWAR.— NIPAL.

( 58, 59, 60 )

THE Sunwars are a tribe mostly found north of the Magars and Gooiiings, and near and among the Cisnivean Bhotias. Hodgson (p. 134) assigns the Gandaceam basin, below the mountain peaks of Gosainthan, as their seat. They are among the principal Alpine tribes of the sub-Himalayas between the Kali, where the aborigmal tongues are merged into the Pralait, and the Dhausri, where they begin to pass into monosyllabic-tongued races of presumed Indo-Chmese origin. They inhabit the central and temperate parts of the mountains, " and may be said to occupy a very healthy climate ; but one," says Hodgson, " of exact temperatures, as various as the several elevations (4,000 to 10,000 feet) of the ever-varied surface, and which, though nowhere troubled mth excessive heat, is so by excessive moistm'e, and by the rank vegetation which moistm'e generates with the aid of a deep fat soil."

	\ 1
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SUNWAR. (SUB-HIMALAYAN ORIGIN'.

NIPAL.

(58)

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SUNWAR FEMALE.

(SUB-HIMALAYAN ORIGIN.)

NIPAL.

(59)

SUNWAR FAMILY. (SUB-HIMALAYAN ORIGIN.) ■ NIPAL. (60)

LIMBOOS.

THE term Limboo is a corruption of Ekthoomba, and is generally used to designate the whole population of the mountainous countiy lying between the Dood-Koosi and the Kanki rivers, in Nipal. Then original country is Chung, in Tibet. The Limboos are found m smaller numbers eastwards to the Mechi river, which forms the boundary of Nipal and Sikliim. In stiU fewer numbers they exist A\'itliin the Sikhmi tenitory, as far east as the Teesta river, beyond which they veiy rarely settle. In Bhootan they are unloiown, except as strangers. They doubtless belong to the gi-eat Mongohan family of the hmiian race. This is clearly evidenced in their fonn of featm'es, absence of beard, and yellow colour of the skin; but to which of the numerous divisions of this family, to be found between the Himalaya mountains and the Yellow Sea, they especially belong, or of which they are an offshoot, remains to be decided by further comparison of their language and then rehgion, with those of other Mongols. Then language has no written character, nor does it impress the hearer as havmg any resemblance to the Lepcha or Mech dialects. There is, however, reason to suppose that it once had a Aviitten character peculiar to itself (Journal As. Soc. Bengal., ii., 4.)

Although they have been long in close contact with the Hindoos, there is not any perceptible mixture of the blood to be observed, whether in more regular featm'es, or in the absence of the small low nose of the IMongolian races, and presence of the beard. In i-eligion they are neither Hindoos nor Buddliists ; though they outAvardly conform, as then locahty requires, to the practices of either creed. They believe in one gi*eat god, called Sham-mung, and worship many minor deities. Their marriage ceremonies are simple, involving httle but a sacrifice and a feast. Their funeral proceedings are thus described: — Just as the vital spark has taken its leave of the mortal tenement, it is usual among the Limboos, for one who can procure a little powder, to fire a gun. The report is supposed to give intimation of the event to the gods, and to speed the soul of the deceased to their keeping. They bum the dead, selecting the summits of mountains for the purpose, and afterwards collect and bury the ashes, over which they raise a

LIMBOOS.

square tomb of stone, about fom* feet high, placing upon it an upright stone. On this is engraved a record of the quantity of largess distributed at the funeral of the deceased. This inscription is either in the Dev-Nagri or Lepcha character, according to the comparative facility of procming an engraver in either. It is an act of vu'tue in the relatives to give largess, but it does not appear to be considered of any efficacy to the soul of the departed. The Limboos do not make offerings, or sacrifices for the dead, nor have they any beUef in the transmigration of souls. They mourn the dead by weeping and lamentations at the time, and by avoiding merry-makmgs, and adorning the hair with flowers for a month or two. They are a warlike race, and occasionally enhst in the British native army.

LIMBOO FEMALE.

ABORIGINAL-TRANS-HIMALAYAN.

NIPAL.

(62)

-fea ^ ,

LIMBOO GROUP.

ABORIGINAL-TRANS-HIMALAYAN.

NIPAL.

(64)

M

MAGARS.

THE Magars are a tribe of no very great magnitude, resident in Nipal. They are " unquestionably a people of this (the southern) side of the snows ( Himalayas), and their original country is Sildcim, fi-om which they Avere first driven \\est by the Lepchas across the Meehi and Konki rivers, and thence ftirther west by the Limboos beyond the Aiim and Doodlvooshi. Wliile in Sikkim they were not Hindoos ; they ate fowls, pigs, and everything except the cow, fi-om which I beheve they abstained. They had no piiests, or ' puja,' of any kind. Now, however, they have the Brahmins, and are, I believe, reckoned very good Hindoos in Nipal." (Ilan Sing, Dewan of Silvkim, in Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal., v. xi., p. o.) They are largely enlisted into the Nipalese army, and are excellent soldiers, having formed a considerable portion of the Goorkha regiment enlisted by Sir C. Napier in 1850. Their attachment to the house of Goorkha is but recent, and of no extraordinary or intimate nature. "They have acquired the Khas language, though not to the oblivion of their own ; and the Khas habits and sentiments, but with sundry reserv^ations in favom* of pristine liberty." They are divided into fifi:y-three difierent septs, or families.

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MAGAR GROUP.

MILITARY TRIBE.

NIPAL.

(66 )

GOORUNG (NIPAL).

THE Goonmgs of Nipal are a division of the " Purbuttiahs," and therefore nominally Hindoos. They live on the hiUs, uniformly selecting an altitude of 5000 or 0000 feet, especially between Jumla and Kirant, where they rear immense flocks of the Barwal goat. They exhibit, in common with most of the aboriginal tribes of Nipal, a modified form of the Mongohan type, retaming, like the Magars, their own vernacular tongue, though, from long intermixtm-e with the Khas, they have also acquired the language of the latter. Their original seat is supposed to be in the valleys around the peak of Gosainthan ; and they retam to a certain extent the manners and religion of theu* ancestors, though the latter has in some degree been mixed -vA-ith Hinduism ; mainly, it would seem, because this is the religion of the reignuig family, whom they serve largely in the capacity of soldiers. From their " energy of character, love of enterprise, freedom from the shackles of caste, miadulterated military habits, and perfect subjectibility to discipline," they are eminently fitted for a military life. The Goorungs are subdivided into no less than forty-two branches.

GOORUNG.

MILITARY TRIBE.

NIPAL.

(67)

GOORUNG GROUP.

MILITARY TRIBE.

NIPAL.

(68)

GOORUNG SOLDIERS.

MILITARY TRIBE.

NIPAL.

(69)

KHAS, OR KHUS.

THE Klias, or Klius, now the dominant population of Ni^^al, were, until 1816, the ruling tribe of the entire tract from the Sutlej to the Teesta. They are callecl Purbuttiah, or Highlander, fi-om their residence in the Hills ; the tenn being chiefly confined to them, though equally applicable to other tribes similarly located. Their aboriginal stock is Tm'anian ; a fact, says Hodgson, " mscribed in characters so plain upon their faces, forms, and languages, that we may well dispense mth the vain attempt to trace it historically in the meagre chronicles of barbarism." Wlien the tide of Musulman conquest and bigotiy, fi'om the tw^elfth century do ami wards, swept multitudes of the Brahmins fi'om the plains into these hiUs, they endeavoured to make the natives converts to Hinduism, and thus to confirm the fleeting mfluence which their learning and refinement gave them over an illiterate and barbarous population. In order to secure theh end, they granted to their earhest distinguished converts, in defiance of the creed they taught, the lofty rank and honours of the Khastriya order, which they also communicated to then- progeny by the Hill-women. Thus originated the now numerous, predominant, and extensively ramified tribe of the Khas, which, favoured by the Brahminical system, became entirely devoted to it. Subduing the neighbouring tiibes, they " gradually merged the greater part of their oami habits, ideas, and language, but not physiognomy, in those of the Hindoos, and the Khas language became a con'upt dialect of Hindi," conceahng fi'om aU but cuiious eyes its barbaric origin.

They are excellent soldiers, and form a considerable proportion of the Nipalese (Goorldia) army. Though more Hable to Brahminical prejudices than other military tribes of the country, they have no religious feelings A\iiich present them from becoming excellent servants in arms, and they possess pre-eminently that mascidine energy of character and that love of enteiprise which distinguish so advantageously the Nipal soldiery. Despatching their meals in half-an-hour, and " satisfying the ceremonial law by merely washing their hands and face, and taking off their turbans before cooking, they laugii at the pharisaical rigour of our (Bengal) Sepoys, Avho

KHAS, OR RHUS.

must bathe fi-om head to foot and make puja ere they begin to dress their dinner, must eat nearly naked in the coldest Aveather, and cannot be in marching trim again in less than three hours. The former will carry several days' provisions on their backs, the latter woidd deem such an act intolerably degrading."

The present royal family of Nipal belong to the Sahi, or Sah, branch of the Khas.

KUS OR KHAS.

GOORKHA-DOMINANT TRIBE.

NIPAL.

(70)

-"^^

s

NEWARS.

"VTEWAR is the name of the bulk of the inhabitants of Nipal, who were X 1 the rulers of the valley before the Goorkha conquest, and are, indeed, believed to have been its first inhabitants. Their original country has not been ascertained, though the Tartar cast of their physical form, and the monosyllabic structiu'e of their language, point to Tibet ; their traditions, however, indicate India as their previous home. They now" constitute the great mass of the agricultural and artisan population ; and the ruins of their well-built towns and temples attest the civilization to which they had attained before their conquest by the rude mountaineers, who now consume in military idleness, the fi'uits of theh fields. About two-thirds of the Newars are Buddhists, the remainder Brahminical Hindoos. They are a cheei-fiil and industrious race, possessing a sldll in agriculture far exceeding that which exists in Hindostan, and presenting a marked contrast to the sour looks and aiTOgant demeanour of the Goorkha on the one hand, and to the melancholy and apathetic countenance of the inhabitant of Hindostan on the other.

NEWAR GROUP.

SLAVE POPULATION.

SUPPOSED ABORIGINAL.

NIPAL.

(73)

THE BANEAS.

THE tribe of Bam-a is the leading one amongst the Newars, who were the original possessors of the vaUey of Nipal until subjugated by the Goorkhas under Prithee Narain about a century ago. The Newars, whose rehgion is Buddhist, select tlieu- priests from this sect; the Banras are not, however, prohibited from following other professions, since only a small number of this large and flourishing community can find admittance into the priesthood. They are sldlful handi- craftsmen. The greater part of them are to be fomid pursuing such trades as smiths, masons, caqienters, and taUors ; they reside chiefly in the great towns of the Nipal vaUey, such as Katmandu and the ancient Newar capitals, Bhatgaon and Patun. Being a weU-to-do class, with no very severe restrictions as to diet, their style of livmg is generous ; they can indulge in spirituous liquors, smoke tobacco, and eat the flesh of buffaloes, sheep, and goats. The Banras are the only tribe in Nipal that do not keep the " choorkee," or tuft of hair, on the crown of the head ; and they, in common Avith other Newar tribes, are not permitted to enhst into the Nipalese Ai'my. Intermarriage with other tribes is not permissible ; but one characteristic difference between Hindoos and Newars worthy of notice is, that the mdows of the latter, unless they prefer bm'ning themselves Avith their husbands, can re-many. The Banras, lilvc most of the Newar tribes, bum their dead. Once or twice a year, or oftener, if the wealthier classes of Newars feel charitably inclined, a festival called the Banra jatra is held either in Katmandu or the neighbouring city of Patun, on which occasion aU the Banras are collected, and presents of grain, rice, &c., are made to them only by those Newars fi-om whose hands water can be given without ceremonial defilement. Sometimes a rich Newar may be disposed to give a special jatra on his OAvn account. He then gives notice to the Banras that, on a certain day, all of the tribe who msh to partake of his bomity are to assemble at his house, and when the doors are opened, the Banra who succeeds in entering first gets a larger share of the charity than the rest. (MS. Documents.)

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BANRAS.

SUBDIVISION OF NEWARS.

NIPAL.

(74)

MOOEMIS.

(75)

THE jMoormis are a very numerous tribe, found in all parts of the Nipal mountains, from the Gunduck river, twenty miles west of Katmandu, to the Mechi ; whence, in smaller numbers, they are to be met Anth in the Sikliim country, as far east as the Teestah. The great buUc of this tribe, however, is to be found betAveen the valley of Nipal and the Dood-Koosi. Their Tibetan origin is well established. They are altogether a pastoral and agricultural people, rearing flocks of sheep and goats near the snows, and cultivating at the gi-eatest elevations capable of producing them, Indian corn and murwa, their staple grains. They settle on the mountain tops at elevations of fi-om 4,000 to 6,000 feet, living in cottages built of stone and thatched with grass. They are divided into several famihes or clans, as follows : — Mooktan, Pakreen, Shengar, Yemijan, Thokar, Bomjan, Eoomha, Gyapaka, Theng, Ghesing, Doom] an, Mepehan, GuAVTha, Beil. The Moormis are Buddliists, and follow the Bhotia and Lepcha Lamas, as well as those of their o^ni tribe. It is necessary for the Moonni Lamas, however, to have been educated at Lhassa, or at some other Tibetan college, ere they gain much respect among their own tribe. IMoormi priests are not restricted to cehbacy. The language of the tribe is supposed to be a dialect of the Tibetan, although the Bhoteahs and Moormis cannot converse in it. The only AAi'itten language knoAVTi to the IVIoormis is that of Tibet, in which their Lamas read the sacred writings of Buddhism. They bury their dead on the mountain tops, raising tombs of earth and stone over the graves, . occasionally engraving the name of the deceased in the Tibetan characters on slabs of stone laid into the erection. They are decidedly a IMongolian tribe, and are the least handsome of all the moim- taincers of this part of the Himalaya. Of all the Tibetan tribes on the south side of the Hinialava, thev are understood to be those whose habits have undergone the least change.

MOORMIS.

TIBETANS.

NIPAL.

(75)

MOORMI GROUP.

TIBETANS.

NIPAL.

C76)

MOORMI GROUP.

TIBETANS.

NIPAL.

ill)

BYS, OR BAIS.

(78)

THE Bais Eajpoots are one of the most ancient Rajpoot families in Oude, in ^A'hich they give the name of Baiswavra to a hirge district. Their tribe was, they informed Sir W. Sleeman, composed of two gi'eat famihes, Nyhnnnas and S}'nbnnsees ; the acknoAvledged head of the former being Hindpal, Talookdar of Koree Sudorlee ; and of the latter, Rugonath Sing of Kojurgow. Bais also exist in the adjoining districts of the north-western provinces.

The traditions of the Bais tribe are very remarkable. They refer their origin to Moongi Pattun in the Deccan, and assert that the 360 clans into which they are said to be subdivided are the descendants of Salivahana, king of that city m a.d. 78 (who gave name to the Saka era), by as many of his wives. The Bais are included among the thirty-six royal races, and intermarry with Chohans, Kachwahas, and other emment Rajpoot tribes. The branch of them called Tilokchandra (i.e., having the moon for their tilaka or fi-ontal mark), Avho reside at Dundia lOiera, and their nearest of kin, hold themseh'es superior to the other divisions, and profess to give their daughters to none but the very pm-est races. This tribe enlisted in great numbers in the Bengal anny before the mutiny, and were excellent soldiers, brave and temperate.

There is reason to suspect that mfanticide is practised among this, as among several other of the oldest and most esteemed Rajpoot tribes ; the difficulty, caused by pride of race, of finding for their daughters husbands of sufficiently pm-e blood, and the enonnous outlay (often emban-assing them for life) which their customs induce them to make on the occasion of mamages in their families, being the a])parent causes. The steady efforts of the Government to check the crime have, however, been attended Avith much success, — Wilson.

BAIS.

RAJPOOT TRIBE-HINDOOS.

OUDE.

(78)

BHALI SOOLTANS.

(79)

THE Bhali Sooltans are a Mahomedan tribe of Oude. It is reported that, several centuries ago, Rae Buriar, a Bais Rajpoot and horse merchant, came from Baiswara in Oude, and married two women, by whom he had a numerous progeny. In the course of time they became sufficiently numerous and powei-fid to expel the Bhur proprietors or zemindars, and to take entire possession of their villages. The name of this tribe, "Bhali Sooltan," is derived from a tradition which has existed for centuries, that on the occasion of an Emperor of DeUii visiting the neighbourhood for the purpose of subduing Oude, he invited the chiefs to a meeting, and was so struck by the manly bearing of one Avho stepped to the front and struck his spear deep into the ground, that he involuntarily exclaimed, "What king of the spear is this ?" " Bhali" is the name for a spear, and " Sooltan," for a king ; and the Emperor so greatly admired the fine and gallant bearing of the tribe during the war, that he desired they should be distinguished in future as the " Bhali Sooltans." They always carried spears into action. About two centuries back, numbers of them were converted to Mahomedanism. In every other respect what will be found stated concerning the Bujgotees and Rajkoomars, applies to this tribe. They occupy a large portion of the tract of country lying along both banks of the river Goomtee, and regard themselves as the most valorous race in Oude.

BHALI SOOLTANS.

MOSTLY MAHOMEDANS.

OUDE.

(79)

CHOHAN.

(80)

CHOHAN, Chonhan, or Chauhaii, is the name of one of the principal Rajpoot races, numerous and powei-flil branches of whom are found in Oude, as in every part of the North-western provinces of Bengal, as well as in Eajpootana and Malwa. The most distingaiished families of the Chohan race are, in Central India, the Ivhichi, Hava, Bhadauria, Ra,ikoomar ; in the British territories, the Rajor, Pertabnir, Chakarnuggm-, and Munchunna, the head of which last is known as the Rajah of j\Iynpoory : the Munchunna family trace then- descent fi-om the cele- brated Prithi Rai. The Chohans differ in no respect fi'om other Rajpoots, of whom a flill account ^^^ll be fomid under No. 119.

RAJKOOMARS.

(81)

RAJKOOIVIAR, meaning the son of a prince, is the name given to a numerous and opulent caste in Oude and the North- Western Provinces, Avho, though claiming to be of the military or regal tribe, yet follow agriculture Avith great success. They are of similar descent to the Bujgotees (No. 82, whom they resemble so much that no distinct account of them is necessary), and may, therefore, be considered of Rajpoot origin.

The Rajkoomars of the Benares district were notorious for the habitual practice of female infanticide, Avhich it is feared has not altogether ceased among them, and the other Rajpoot tribes of Northern and Central India.

RAJKOOMARS.

RAJPOOT TRIBE-HINDOOS.

OUDE.

(81)

BUJGOTEES.

(82)

THE Bnjgotee tribe is descended fi'om the Mynpooiy Chohans, who accom- panied the Emperor AUah-ood-deen Ghazee of Delhi, to Sookanpoor in the fourteenth century, and assisted him in subduing liaja Bheem Sen Bhur, sovereign of Sooltanpoor. The conquered country was bestOAved upon Bmiar Singh, chief of the Rajpoots, who settled in that part of Oude. His descendants multiplied and spread so that they now hold a great part of the Fyzabad district, as well as portions of the province of Sooltanpoor across the river Goomtee. They are a warlike race, and, under the late government of Oude, were in a state of chronic rebellion, always either fightmg fiercely among themselves, or resisting the king's forces, which came periodically to execute the decisions of Lucknow, or to collect arrears of revenue.

There is scarcely a village owned by them which has not at some time been the scene of an anned struggle for ownership, and many of the inhabitants bear marks of the fierceness of the fights. They are tall and usually well built, and can accomplish long journeys on foot.

J

NIMa«pp««

BUJGOTEES.

RAJPOOT TRIBE-HINDOOS.

OUDE.

(82)

GURGBUNSEES.

(83)

GURGBIIN"SEE is the name of a considerable Eajpoot clan, in the F^^zabad district of Oude, which claims descent from the famons saint Gm-g. There is a tradition that the kings of Onde, many centuries ago, were so pure that they walked unscathed through the flames of the nightly sacrifices offered to the deities, and that Gurg was so renomied for piety that he Avas invited from the other side of the Ganges to superintend the last of the " Jugs," as they were called. As a reward for his holiness, he received a number of villages, and settled in this ])art of Oude. The Gurgbunsees are a refractory and warlike race, and belie their holy origin by enjoying now the unenviable reputation of being the only Chuttrees of this district who are peculiarly addicted to thieving. The information already sup]>licd respecting the Bujgotees and Rajkoomars applies equally to this tribe.

GURGBUNSEES.

RAJPOOT TRIBE-HINDOOS.

OUDE.

(83)

BHUES.

(84)

THIS tribe existed in Onde before miy of the others ah-eady named, and theii* settlement in it is of so remote a period that they are sometimes considered to have been the aborigines. They lost all power and influence centmies ago, when the Emperor Allah-ood-deen Ghazee, of Dellii, attacked and conquered their stronghold at Sooltanpore, of which Bheem Sen Bhur was then monarch. The Bliurs at first offered a stout resistance, till the festival of the " Hoohe " (the Carnival of the Hindoos), when they di-anlv to excess, and the fact becoming known to then- assailants, they fell an easy prey to the enemy. The Bhurs are said to have fomided the town of Baraitch, which was so named fi'om " Bhur," and " druchria," a verb, meaning to make or to be made. It was an important place in their palmy days, though it is now sadly reduced.

The inroads of more intelligent and warlilve tribes either destroyed or drove them fi-om the province, so that Bhurs of the race which once held large possessions there are seldom to be found. They are now usually met Avith as menial servants of villages, and rarely own land. As such, they occupy a degi*aded position.

" The Oude teiiitory abomids ■with the sites of the towns of the Bhurs, but nothing seems to be knoA\n of the histoiy of the people to whom they belonged. They appear to have been systematically extu-pated by the Mahomedan conquerors m the early part of the fourteenth century. All their towns are built of brick, so far as now appears, while none of the tOA^-ns of the present day are so. There are numerous wells still in use, wliich were formed by them of the finest bm'ut brick and cement, and the people frequently discover others while ploughing the fields. It is not known that any arms, coins, or utensils peculiar to them have been disin- terred, though copper deeds of gi-ant from the Rajah of Kanooj to other people in Oude, 600 years old, have been found.

"The Bhm's must have formed town and village communities in Oude at a veiy remote period, and must have been a ciAolized people, though they have not left a name, date, or legend, inscribed on any monument. Brick ruins of forts, houses.

BHUUS.

and A\-ells, are the only relics left of them. Some few of the caste stiU exist among the lower grades of society as cultivators, police officers, &c., in Oude and other districts north of the Ganges. Up to the close of the thirteenth century their sovereignty certainly extended over a large territory ; and Sultanpore, under some other name, would seem to have been their capital. It was taken and destroyed early in the fourteenth century by Allah-oocl-deen, Sultan of Delhi, or by one of his generals, and was named Sultanpore. Chandour was another great toAvn of the Bhurs. No temples have been found to indicate their creed. The Bhur Goojurs are believed to be of the same race." — Sleemaii\s Journetj In Oude, vol. ii., p. 246.

BHURS.

SUPPOSED ABORIGINAL.

OUDE.

(84)

TEEHUES.

( 85 )

THE quasi-aboriginal tribe called Teehnr is not of a migratory character. A few families are fomid dispersed through callages, fi-om Avhicli they rarely move unless pressed for employment. They have no fixed or defined rehgion, neither Hindoos nor Mahomedans acknowledge them, and the most solemn oath they can take is on the spirits they drink.

They are a despised race, very ignorant, and extremely expert as thieves, but nevertheless generally laborious. Both sexes have but a nominal tie on each other, and they change connection -vnthout compunction ; living together, almost indiscriminately, in many large families. They are mild in disposition, except Avhen intoxicated, and even then seldom do worse than squabble and threaten each other.

They vnR eat anything ; but hve chiefly on the coarsest grains and the poorest vegetables, existing usually in gTeat poverty.

Their span of life, as a mle, is not so good as that of their masters, for they suffer much exposure and are not well fed ; thirty to thirty-five years is, perhaps, the average a2;e thev reach.

4-

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^^^^^m" ^Iv^H		^^m
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TEEHURS.
SUPPOSED ABORIGINAL.
OUDE.
(85)

PASSES.

THE Pasees live chiefly in the Banghor district, in the northern part of Oude, and are of very low caste in the Hindoo scale of gradation. They are generally short, square shouldered, and well built. They are brave, active, and strong, and characterised — paradoxical as it may appear — as much by their honesty as by theu" extreme cunning and deceitfulness. They seldom till the soil : agriculture is not theu" vocation. They are professional thieves, and steal eveiything they can lay their hands on, from a horse doA^^l to a pah of old shoes. In fighting they make use of bows and arrows, and, through then- practice and strength, use them with unemng aim. Their bow has generally a double cm've, and is made of horn. When drawing it they support it on the ground, and bend it with their toe and right hand. But theu- mode of ^vaifare is chiefly of a gueiilla character. In the Banghor districts the report of a gun used to bring together thousands of these brave little fellows; for by a mutual compact they were bound to assist any Zemindar, who might choose to declare himsetf agamst the Chucldadar of the King of Oude. They are often employed as watchmen and chowkeydars, and as such prove remarkably faithful and honest. They may be sent with any sum of money, however large, -\\dthout fear of their appropriating the least part of it ; but when they are not held responsible, they rob and steal to their heart's content. There are two Ragpugseas, or chiefs of the Pasee caste, but a very large proportion serve under Talookdars as armed retainers. "I should mention," says Sleeman, "that many of the landholders (in Oude under its native Government) have each armed and disciplined bodies of two thousand foot and five hundred horse ; and, Avhat is worse, the command of as many as they like of Pasees, armed Avith bows and an'ows. These Pasees are reckless thieves and robbers of the lowest class, whose only professions are thieving and acting as chowkeydars, or village ])olice. They are at the service of every refractory Zemindar (landliolder), for ^vhat they can get in booty in his depredations. The disorders in Oude have greatly increased this class, and they are now roughly estimated at a hundi-ed thousand families. These are the men from whom travellers on the road suftcr most." — {Sleeman H Jounieij in Oude, vol. i., p 67.)

mi^'mmmmf

^j^'-iSJ .^

J

PASEES.

LOW CASTE HINDOOS.

OUDE.

(86)

PATHANS— OUDE.

(87)

THE word Pathan, which signifies Afghan, is chiefly used, says Wilson, in Hindoostan to designate adventurers of the Afghan races or their descendants, who have colonized and settled in India, especially in Rohilcund. A full account of them will be found under the head of Bareilly, the capital of that province. It will suffice here to say that they raled at Delhi before the Moguls, and that they still bear the traces of the qualities which formerly ensured them sovereignty, being proud, warlilce, and energetic. They are found throughout Northern India, and many of them are in the service of native princes. His highness the Nizam, in particular, employs considerable numbers of them in the civil and military departments of his administration. A large colony of Pathans existed at Kui'nool, in the Madras Presidency, which was an independent principality up to the year 1838, when the reigning Nawab was convicted of treasonable intrigues and imprisoned. His territory was afterwards annexed to the Presidency of Madras, and his numerous retainers were embodied in a coi-ps of local irregular cavalry, called the Kurnool Horse, which still exists.

H

PATHANS.

MAHOMEDAN.

OUDE.

(87)

SYUDS.

(88)

S^TT) or Saypcl, also written Said (meaning a lord, a chief), is the designation assumed throughout the East by a large number of Mahomedans, Avho are, or more commonly pretend to be, descended from Hoosein, the son of Ali, and grandson of Mahomed. They are distinguished by a green turban, and are found wherever the Mahomedan religion exists.

■■■""•~<»il»»

SYUDS.

DESCENDANTS OF MAHOMED.

OUDE.

(88)

MOHUNTS OF HUNOOMANGURHEE.

(89)

HUNG OMAN is the name of the monkey which, according to the legend of the Ramayan, is said to have headed the army of King Ram, of Ajoodhia, M-hen he invaded Ceylon in remote times. A temple was afterAvards erected for the worship of Hunooman at Ajoodhia, which became renoAviied for its magnificence and the number of its votaries.

Some two thousand years ago. Raja Bikrama Dutt of Oojeyn, added to the temple, and bestowed a small idol upon it. A Avell is said to be all that exists of the ancient edifice. It is not known who were the original priests of the temple ; Init the present occupants came from Jejq^oor two or three centuries ago, and took possession of it when Mahomedan intolerance had almost reduced it to ruin, and they finished the present building, which is on a lofty mound, and resembles a castle, •with a long flight of steps ascending to the entrance. They also made the present idol, which is in the form of a monkey, and is decorated with costly jewels.

There are four or five hundred Bairagees, or religious mendicants, attached to the temple, who take it by turns to go begging all over India ; and twice a-year hundreds of thousands of pilgi-ims come from remote distances to make offerings to the shrine ; the income of the temple fi'om these sources is believed to be ver}^ considerable. The Mohunts are the chief authorities, or as they may be termed abbots of this great Bairagee monastery.

MAHARAJAH OF BENARES.

(90)

THE Rajaliship, or, in Indian phraseology, the Eaj, of Benares, was founded by Munsaram, the Zemindar of Gungapore. He was succeeded in 1740 by Bub\aint Sing, and the latter, tlmty years later, by the celebrated Cheyt Smg. These were all tributaries of the Nawab Vizier of Oude, who subsequently, in 1775, made over Benares, with other adjoining districts, to the East India Company. Cheyt Sing was permitted to remam in possession of his lands ; but, aspiring to be independent of the British Government, rebelled, was defeated, and died in 1810 at Gwahor, where he had taken refuge with Scindia. (It Avill be recollected that the transactions which led to the rebellion of Cheyt Sing formed the first article of the charges in the famous impeachment of Warren Hastings, of which article he was acquitted by 13 against 6. See Mill's History of India, book v., chap. 7, and book \a., chap. 2.) The rebelhon of Cheyt Sing was held to have forfeited the claim of his direct descendants to succession, and a collateral branch of the family was placed on the guddee in the person of jMohiput Narain. In 1794 the management of the estate (with exception to a few patrimonial lands) was relinquished by the then Eaj ah to the British Government, who pay the })rofits, after deducting administrative expenses, to the Rajah for the time being. In 1828 the family domains also were taken under British management on the same terms, by a law specially enacted for the pui-pose, the preamble of which (^Bengal Regulation, No. 7, of 1828) sets forth the insufficiency of the arrangement previously subsistmg — the real fact being that the then Rajah had shown himself totally incapable of managing the considerable ancestral estates still in his hands.

The representatives of this family, who continue to reside at Benares, have lately sho-vMi themselves fully ahve to the advantages of European civihzation ; and have displayed much munificence in contributing from theu* large revenues to the schools and other institutions of the city. The present holder of the title and estates, Deo Narain Sing, has recently been invested by the Viceroy of India with the second class (K.C.S.I.) of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, conferred on him by Her Majesty the Queen.

lit J ii^- l-^>

MAHARAJAH OF BENARES.

HINDOO.

BENARES.

(90)

»'

.u>

BHAT.

(91)

BHAT, also Bliarat and Bhattu, is the Hindoo equivalent for bard, herald, genealogist, and chronicler. In fonner days he was the son of a Cshatriya father and Vaisya mother ; but the modem Bhat is sometimes said to have been bom of a Brahmin widow by a Cshatriya father. He is to be found all over India, and fulfils the same office as his prototype, but -with inferior dignity, although in Western India, where he is identified -SA-ith the Charun, his personal security is held sufficient for the papnent of a debt or the ftilfilment of an engagement, its violation being followed by the voluntary death, either of the Bhat himself or of some member of his family, the retribution of which falls on the defaulter. In some parts of India Bhats are distinguished as Birru-bhat and Jaga-bhat ; the former bemg lined on special occasions to recite th(3 traditions and sing the praises of the family; while the latter are family chroniclers by hereditary descent, and visit the members periodically to take note of all occun-ences regarduig them.

The Bhats are respected for then reputed sanctity, but equally dreaded for their rapacity. It is mdeed noteworthy that Avhen measm-es were adopted to abohsh female infanticide among the Rajpoots of the North- Western Provinces —one of the mam inducements to the crime being the enormous expense of weddings —the issue of an order to the poHce to prevent Bhats forcing themselves on wedding parties and extorting money, under threat of a cm'se, fi'om the master of the wedding feast, was one of the first steps taken.

In some parts of India the Bhats form village communities. Some have become converts to Islam, but this is rare. The village Bhat is a person of wholly inferior class.

Among all classes and tribes in which the crime of dacoity is followed as an hereditary profession, there is none whose proceeduigs are characterised by such boldness and skill as the Bhats. The Bhat dacoits claim to be of the same descent as the Bard Bhats, and imitate then calling, but in an inferior degree of perfection, and " Improvisatori " are seldom found among them, though they are competent reciters. Among this class, however, recitation is but a cloak for their hereditary profession ; and it is to that their whole energies and intelligence used to be devoted until the operations against them of the Department of Thuggee and Dacoity,

BHAT.

which has rendered such eminent service to the people of India in the discovery and suppression of hitherto concealed and unkno^vn crime. The dacoities of the Bhats were always directed against the houses of wealthy sahonkars or bankers, and their mode of proceeding was thus. The Bhats had no settled habitations ; they can-ied small tents of goat's hair cloth about with them, and travelled fi-om place to place as singers and reciters of plays and genealogical legends and histories. In these joiuneys they could discern where the leading bankers or money dealers of the district resided, and the most intelligent members of the gang were sent to gain a kn<jwledge of the locality. This having been effected, and the treasm-e room in the banker's house ascertained, the gang assembled at a place fifty or a hundred miles distant, and met at a rendezvous near the place to be attacked, on a certain day decided according to astrology or lucky omens. The attack took place at twilight, as an invariable custom. It is at that hour that people are returning to villages, and bodies of men are hardly remarked. The persons who carry the sacred axe or axes, are told off to the most important duty. The torch bearers are next, and the rest armed with spears, assist the axe bearers or guard the approaches to the house. Stations are taken up immediately by the watch- men, who place the spear-heads on the bamboos they cany. The axe-men put the helves mto the axe-heads, which are very heavy and faced mth steel ; with these they break in doors or hew padlocks from chests or cupboards, and the treasm'e found is secured. Any one who opposes is struck down by the axe or speared ; and the whole operation is so sudden and so violent, that many instances are on record of large amounts of plunder in coin and valuables being carried off by gangs without any alarm in the town or village until it was too late for pursuit. Once out of the town or village Avhere the crime was committed, the Bhats mounted their hardy ponies which had been concealed, and rode till morning, perhaps fifty miles, reaching their camp the second day. They had left no trace, and there was no clue to their detection. Hundreds of such cases are detailed by the approvers, and the adventures of Kankia Jemadar, or Bhow, are as full of romance as those of the most celebrated Thugs, The Bhats do not, however, commit indiscruninate or predetermined murder ; it is only during opposition that any one is stiicken doAvn, and as they would say, in fair fight and with steel, not lUve the Thugs, by treachery and deceit. The Bhats and their allies or connexions the Sanseas or Sausseas of Hindostan are, however, nearly extinct as dacoits, and all their famous leaders, have, like those of the Thugs, been appre- hended, tried and hanged, or transported, or have become approvers ; few notorious or experienced Bhat dacoits are now at large.

BHAT.

WANDERING MINSTREL.

BENARES.

(91)

GUNGAPOOTEAS.

GUNGAPOOTRAS, or sons of the Ganges, are Brahmins, who are specially devoted to the worship of the river Gunga (or Ganges), and are maintained by the alms they receive from bathers. They are not migratory, abstain from animal food, and subsist chiefly on grain and milk. They exercise despotic sway in their domain of the " Munkurnika," at Benares. Their numbers are consider- able, and in the division of spoil, desperate conflicts occur. But they know that union is strength, and consequently always combine to hunt the common prey, the Hindoo pubhc.

The " Munkurnika " is a reservoir lined with flags of he^n stone, on the bank of the Ganges. Dming the rise of the river, it is fiUed with the sacred stream ; besides which, a puny springlet chibbles into this basin, from the land side, and, during the hottest season of the year, sufiices to keep up a filthy puddle, rendered more and more impure by the daily immersion of hundreds. But nevertheless this filthy semi-fluid matter is looked upon by the Hindoo as the purest of the pure — the cleanser from sin and moral impurity. The holy pool is thronged every morning by votaries, each with his silver money in hand to bestow upon his Gunga- pootra, and eager to plunge into the basin of holy water.

These Gungapootras are (with the Ghauteeahs and Aghorees) the greatest rascals in the holy city of Benares. There is not a crime or enormity of which they are not suspected, and of which they are not believed to be capable. Violent assaults on women, with criminal intent, are common. The assailants are protected by their wealth and their position, and unless the comj)lainants can aflbrd to pay more largely than the Gungapootra, they are not lilvely to obtain redress. A common practice among the more disreputable of these Gungapootras, is to jostle a Avell-dressed woman, and to snatch from her nose or ears the golden jewel she wears. In dense crowds of thousands, cooped up in narrow thoroughfares, it is not easy to catch these miscreants ; and if caught, they easily evade proof by giving the robbed jewel to their companions, Avho rapidly pass it from one to another.

GUNGAPOOTREE.

HINDOO WORSHIPPER OF GANGES.

BENARES.

(92)

^■#:,

fi.

•f-

..ii5

■ tJ^ '■'■ >

'^ II, '

GHAUTEEA.

(93)

GHAUTEEA, in English " wharf or bank-men," is the name given to a class of people, always Brahmins, who at certain religious festivals Hne the banks of the Ganges, extorting a fee fi'om each bather.

At Benares, for a distance of five miles, " the bank of the Ganges is besprinkled with temples and earthen and wooden platforms, which overlook the brink of the holy stream; scarcely a cubit's length is left for a landing-place for boats and travellers. Every one of these platforms is occupied by its proprietor, who sits cross-legged, in the simple dignity of nudity, mumbling out, in a measured and monotonous voice, the names of his fiivomite divinities. Every orthodox Hindoo as he comes out of the broad bosom of Gunga makes an offering to the Ghauteea, who, in retm-n, marks his forehead and pronounces a blessing. When the bathers are foreigners, they are not allowed even to approach the stream in places occupied by the Ghauteeas, until they pay doAvn the sum demanded of them.

" Some of these Ghauteeas go to the most distant provinces and join a troop of pilgrims coming to Benares ; or they follow in the wake of some Rajah or Baboo who has voAved to perform a tour of pilgTimages. The whole of the party are then dubbed liis ' zimans ' by the Ghauteea ; he considers them under his special protection ; no one else may take a fi-action from them, and the Ghauteea and his partners alone reap the harvest. If other Ghauteeas mterfere, serious affrays ensue, and the magistrate is bewildered with their mutual complaints and recriminations. Suppose that the rich pilgi-im chooses to assert independence of will and to make presents to other Ghauteeas, then the parties who think themselves aggi-ieved threaten to stab themselves in his presence, and rather than be responsible for shedding the blood of the Brahmin Ghauteea, he is fain to give in on any conditions." — (Calcutta Review.)

GHAUTEEA.

HINDOO FRIAR.

BENARES.

(93)

AGHOEEES.

(94)

AGHOEPUNTS, or Aghorees, are a class of people who fi-equent the Ghiits at Benares, though they are occasionally to be found in other parts of India, and have been met with even in Assam. They are Ogres (indeed, the smiilitude of the word to Aghoree is noticeable), and affect a practical philosophy, which disbeheves in the existence of any difference between things, and asserts that all distinctions depend on the imagination. A cuff or a kick is as immaterial to them as a blessing. They go about in puris naturaUhus, with a fi-esh human skull in their hands (off which they had previously eaten the putrid flesh, and aftenvards scraped out the bram and eyes with their fingers), into which is pom-ed Avhatsoever is given them to drink. They pretend to be indifferent whether it be ardent spirits or milk or foul water. For food they take the first thing which offers, whether it be a putrid corpse, cooked food, or ordure. With matted hair, blood-red eyes, and body covered with filth and vermin, the Aghoree is an object of terror and disgust. He looks like a Avolf, ready to destroy and then devour his prey, rather than a human being.

Hindoos, however, look on these wretches mth veneration, and none dare to di'ive them fi'om their doors. They are among the worst of the many turbulent and troublesome inhabitants of Benares, and there is scarcely a crime or enormity which has not, on apparently good grounds, been laid to then- charge.

One of the ancient Hindoo dramatists, Bhava Bhutt, who flourished in the eighth century, in his di'ama of Malati mid Mahdava, has made powerful use of the " Aghorees " in a scene in the Temple of Chamunda, where the heroine of the play is decoyed in order to be sacrificed to the dread goddess Chamunda or Kali. The disciple of " Aghora Ghanti," the high priest who is to perform the horrible rite, by name " Kapala Kundala," is interrupted in his invocation to Chamunda by the hero Mahdava, who thus describes the sc^e : —

" Now wake tlie terrors of the place, beset With crowding and mah'gnant fiends. The flames From funeral pyres scarce lend their sullen light, Clogged with their fleshly prey, to dissipate The fearful gloom that hems them round. Well, be it so. I seek, and must address them.

AGHOREES.

How the noise .....

High, shrill, and indistinct, of chattering sprites,

Communicative fills the charnel ground :

Strange forms like foxes flit along the sky.

From the red hair of their lank bodies darts

The meteor blaze : or from tJieir mouths that stretch

From ear to ear thickset with numerous fangs,

Or eyes, or beards, or brows, the radiance streams.

And now I see the goblin host : each stalks

On legs like palm-trees : a gaunt skeleton,

^Vliose fleshless bones are bound by starting sinews,

And scantly cased in black and shrivelled skin.

Like tall and withered trees by lightning scathed,

They move, and as amidst their sapless trunks

The mighty serpent curls — so in each mouth

Wide ya\vning, lolls the vast blood-di-ipping tongue.

They mark my coming, and the half-chewed morsel

Falls to the howling wolf — and now they fly." — Act V., Scene 1.

If. H. WilsorHs Translation.

The belief in the horrible practices of the Aghoree priesthood is thus proved to have existed at a very remote period, and doubtless refers to those more ancient and revolting rites which belonged to the aboriginal superstitions of India antecedent to the Aryan-Hindoo invasion and conquest of the country. It might be supposed that any such indecent, flagrant, and disgusting customs as are noAV practised by the Aghorees might be summarily suppressed mider the provision?* of the new Penal Code of India.

AGHOREE.

HINDOO MENDICANT.

BENARES.

(94)

DUNDEES.

(95)

DUNDEES, one of the sects of Hindoo religious devotees, are to be found in all places held sacred by Hindoos, especially in the city of Benares. They have no occupation, but pass their days in devotional exercises, and subsist on food voluntarily supplied to them by Brahmins.

The Benares Dundees are not generally migratory ; the Dundees of other parts of the country wander about fi'om place to place. They profess the Hindoo religion, and only Avorship the Supreme Being by meditation and prayer. The}' are generally of a mild disposition and irreproachable character. They abstain fi-om animal food, subsisting chiefly on grain and vegetables, and generally live l(jng. They are bound always to carry a staff" in their hands, and are recruited from the Brahmin and Chuttree castes.

DUNDEE.

HINDOO DEVOTEE.

BENARES.

(95)

BHUR.

(96)

AN aboriginal race of Hindostan, called also Rajblmr, Bhurat, and Bhui-patwa. Their original seat is traditionally stated to have been the whole country from Goruckpoor to Bnndlekund, and a tract m Benares is from them called Bhurdoi, corruptly Bhadoi. Many of the old forts, and other constructions in the Benares and adjoining districts, are ascribed to them.

They are further described under No. 84. Here it mil suffice to say that they are employed in the lowest vocations, and especially as swineherds. They are reported to be acquainted with the places where treasure is or has been hidden.

i\[IEZAPORE HILLMAN.

(97)

THE inhabitants of the Mirzapore Hills, which form portion of the north-eastern extremity of the great Vindhya range, and overspread the whole southern part of the Mirzapore District, are supposed to be aboriginal, and connected with the Sonthal, Cole, and other similar races. They profess, rather than practise, the Hindoo religion, and while they worship Hindoo gods, address their devotions more especially to their titular goddess of the forest. They hve principally on grain and vegetables, as well as on game ; or on fish, which they obtain by the proceeds of the sale of firewood in the plains. They are of a mild and inoffensive disposition, of fair character, and attain an average longevity.

v

'4

:<'3-

m

'V 'C^r-i'V,-. - (V-'j-:

MIRZAPORE HILLMAN.

SUPPOSED ABORIGINAL.

MIRZAPORE.

(97)

i

SHAH ABDOOLLAH SUBZPOSH.

(98)

IS of the S}Tid sect. The S}Tids, Avho claim descent fi-om the Mahomedan prophet, are respectable Mahomedans, most generally of the Soonnee sect, and are to be found everywhere in India. One of their chief occupations is the care of the Mahomedan shrines ; but they are soldiers also, and serve in the native and irregular armies of India, as professors of law and medicine, as farmers, and occasionally as merchants and bankers. Many of the noblest Mahomedan families of India are Syuds.. The poorer gain a livelihood by the instruction of children, the sale of charms or "taweezes," and the contributions of their Moreeds or disciples, who belong generally to other Mahomedan castes. The wealthier are landliolders. Their habits are settled ; they are proud of their descent fi'om Mahomed, and are generally bigoted and fanatic. Their diet is grain and vegetables of all kinds, beef, sheep and goat mutton, poultry of most kinds, the tiu"key being excepted, fish, and wild fowl. They attain the length of life usual in India. Shah AbdooUah is the head of a family which came from Medina in Arabia to India during the reign of Secunder Lodi, Emperor of Dellii, and have resided in the district of Goruckpore for several centuries. The title Subzposh (subz, green, and posh, dress) taken from the di-ess, is the distinctive mark of nobility, and is peculiar to all Syuds who are employed as priests, other classes wearing a green turban only. Shah AbdooUah is five feet six inches in height, of a dark complexion, with dark eyes.

Of the four sects or divisions of Mahomedans, the Syuds are esteemed the highest in rank ; and owing to their admitted claim of descent from Ali, the son- in-law of Mahomed, and his daughter Fatima, are held in peculiar reverence. The Syuds are divided into two classes : the first, denominated " Syud Hassanee," are descended fi'om Ali and Fatima ; the second, temied " Syud AUawee," fi'om Ali and his other wives. The origin of the teiTn Syud or Syed, which signifies prince or noble, arose, accordmg to a tradition quoted in the " Qanoon-i-Islam," fi-om the following circumstance : —

SHAH ABDOOLLAH SUBZPOSH.

" On a particulai' day, as his holiness Mahomed MoostufFa was sitting in company with his son-in-hiw Ali, and his daughter Fatima, together with his grandsons Hassan and Hoosein, the angel Gabriel descended from heaven with the divine revelation, and holding a blanket or sheet, or rather an abba or cloak, as a curtain of honour, on the heads of the holy ' Punjutum,' or five, as they are called, exclaimed, ' 0 jMuhummud ! the Almighty shoAvers down upon thee the abundance of his rich blessing ; and declares that ye who are present in the shade of this canopy, as well as the offspring of the four sitting with thee, and who believe in thee, shaU henceforth be Syeds.' "

The term Syed Avas therefore confined to the descendants of Ali, while other direct descendants from Mahomed remained in their original rank of Sheikh.

The claim of descent from Mahomed has not prevented the Syuds from espousing opposite creeds in Mahomedanism, and some are Sheeahs ; but the majority are Soonnees of the orthodox taith, who hold the so-called heretics in much abhorrence. Indeed, the dislike and even hatred of each other is common to both, and not unfrequently gives rise to disturbances, particularly at the festival of the Mohurrum, when the Sheeahs consider it meritorious, during the religious sei-vices of that festival, to curse their adversaries in a bitterly fanatical spirit. Among the Soonnees much license and buffoonery is practised at the Mohurrum, Avhile among the Syuds, both Soonnees and Sheeahs, it is a period of grief and lamentation.

As far as possible Syuds marry among themselves ; but daughters of poor Syuds are sometimes obtained under an ample consideration of dower, for the sons of respectable Sheikhs. It is by no means so common, even if it occurs at all, that young male Syuds marry into Sheikh families. Among the Syuds there are peculiar ceremonies, differing from those of the Sheikhs, at religious festivals, both public and domestic; and Syuds may be considered, perhaps, greater ritualists, and, if possible, more bigoted religionists than the Sheikhs. Any description, however, of these ceremonies, and their details, would be foreign to the present pm'pose, and are therefore omitted. The general reader may, however, consult with advantage Mrs. ]\Ieer Hassan All's narrative of her residence at Luldmow with her husband, her descriptions being very faithful and entertaining. Her husband, Meer Hassan Ah, appears to have been a Sheeah. Widows of S}aids of the poorer classes not unfrequently become Fakirs, put on a turban and green grave clothes, and make vows of devotion to the poor, supporting themselves by alms, which they share Avith sick and needy persons. In other cases they settle themselves on lonely roads, and minister to passing travellers, and many of such women receive almost saintly reverence from the people.

SHAH ABDULLAH SUBZPOSH.

MAHOMEDAN LANDHOLDER.

GORUCKPOOR.

(98)

.

K O E R E E S.

(99)

KOEREE is the name given in Behar and the North- Western Provinces to a Hmdoo caste, which, under ditFerent denominations in different provinces (IV'Ioorao, Cachick, &c.), is to be fomid all over India. The Koerees apply themselves chiefly to garden cultivation, in particular to that of the poppy, which they pursue with eminent success throughout Behar and in Goruckpoor. They are Hindoos of settled habits, worshipping chiefly Ram-Ivrishna, Mahadeo, and Debee ; and saciificing animals, Avith offerings of floAvers and leaves, to then- several deities.

The Koerees are pacific and industrious, and live on grain and vegetables of all kinds. They attain an average age.

«'§'*.

RAM PERSAD— MUHAJUN.

(100.)

BROWN eyes, complexion rather dark, black haii", light blue satin dress, edged with gold embroidery from Delhi, rich Cashmere shawl, yellow tm"ban; height five feet eight inches.

Ram Persad is a Bulcal and an Ugm^wallah by caste, and a IMuhajun or banker by profession. He is the richest native in Allahabad, and being an Ugurwallah, would not object to intermarry with the Suragee caste, which class are greatly disliked by all other Hindoos, on account of their worshipping an obscene image earned about on certam occasions (when permitted to do so). The Ugairwallahs are Hindoos, and are worshippers of Vishnu in his incarnation of Krishna. They are not migratory, and bear a good character for honesty. They ' eat no flesh of any land, nor drink either spirits or wme ; but live principally on milk, butter-milk, sweetmeats, pulse, wheaten and barley bread, rice, and vege- tables, cooked in many savoviry dishes.

The Ugurwallah IMuliajuns are a respectable but self complacent class of men, imbued with that pride of Avealth, which is often fomid to exist amongst people of the same profession in other countries of the world. They are famous in India for the correctness and universality of their exchange and bill transactions, and for their industry as merchants of money. Many of the class are men of enormous wealth, and then- agencies extend all over India. In loan transactions they have the reputation of being usmious, and of being also hard and exacting creditors ; they seldom grant private loans except upon deposits of jewels or gold, or upon mortgage of landed property, and are remarkably strict and precise in all their transactions. The caste is said to hold together like Quakers, and to assist members who are in cUfficulties. They do not readily join with other professional bankers in public loans, prefening to act independently and upon their own esta- blished principles, Avhicli the discipline of the caste does not allow to be infiinged. They recognise and support the authority of Deans of Guild, according to the most ancient Hmdoo principles, and their disputes are almost invariably referred to Punchayets, or arbitrations among themselves, in preference to resorting to com'ts of justice.

RAM PERSAD.

HINDOO TRADESMAN.

ALLAHABAD.

ClOO)

USHRUF ALI KHAN— PATHAIS'.

(101)

LIGHT bro'wii eyes, black hair, very sallow complexion, dressed in a rich blue satin coat, witli silver spangles, blue Cashmere shawl, brown tiu'ban, and yellow Paejamahs ; height five feet nine inches.

The Pathans are Mussulmans of the Shiah sect, and come from Afghanistan ; but the family of Ushruf Ali Ivlian has resided in AUahabad for upwards of a century: they consume the ordinary food used by Mussulmans, but are particularly fond of two dishes which other Mussulmans hardly ever eat, they are called Kuree and Koolma ; the first is composed of butter-milk, meat, and "basun" (or the flour of ground gram) mixed together, and boiled ; the second consists of meat, mixed with spices enclosed in the clean gut of a sheep or goat like a sausage, and left in the sun till (juite hard and dry; this is sent to their friends as a present in the cold weather.

The Pathans are a proud race, and rarely follow other than militaiy employ- ment. The ranks of the in-egular cavalry of India are largely recruited from them. — Vide Article upon Pathans of Bareilhj.

USHRUF ALI KHAN.

SHIAH MAHOMEDAN, OF AFGHAN DESCENT.

ALLAHABAD.

(101)

BOONDELAHS.

BOONDELAHS are the principal inhabitants of Bundelcund, or rather Boon- delacund ; and were originally a tribe of warlike Rajpoot adventurers from Goharbhuni, whose chief, Dewacla Bir, was the founder of the great Boondelah dynasty ; then- capital, Oorcha, now the principal toAAai of a small district, was founded in 1587 by Pretaub, the tenth in descent from Dewada. Although defeated by Shahjehan, they nevertheless eventually expelled the Mahomedan invaders, and resumed possession of tlieir territories ; which, however, they were henceforth content to hold under a dubious obligation of fealty to the Mahomedan Government. Then- obedience was, at a much later date, transferred to the Peshwa, and their ter- ritory eventually ceded by him to the British Government. The descendants of the Boondelahs proper are still in all known cases members of families of some importance, and are generally chieftains. They are allowed to be a brave and warlike race, and there is something haughty and independent about them to the present day. They are deeply attached to the soil they inherit, which, however, they never themselves cultivate. — As. Soc, vol. i.

Dm-eeahon, the subject of photograph 102, has a very dark complexion and dark eyes, his height about five feet, and he is a strongly built man. His dress consists of a padded green cotton coat and white trousers ; he cames on his shoulder an arched framework of bamboo, covered with tinsel embroidery, sunnounted by two red flags ; at each end of the bamboo, a basket enclosing an earthern jar ftill of holy Ganges water is suspended, and the framework is neatly fringed with various colours. He is evidently upon a pilgrimage, and having visited Benares, or some holy city on the Ganges, is now carrying jars of water which he has vowed to pour over a sacred image, not improbably that at Eameshwar or Ramisseram, in the south of India, to which shrine many Boondelahs annually resort in pursuance of vows. Generally speaking, the mhabitants of Bondelacund are a rude unmannerly ])eople, not possess- ing the natural courtesy of other races of India, indeed " as boorish as a Boondelah " is a common ])rovcrb. They are also comparatively little educated ; and their

BOONDELAHS.

exclusive character, and dislilce of Mahomedans, prevented the extension of IMahomedan civiUzation among them. The habitual lawlessness of the chieftains is, however, now restrained, and there is no doubt that education will follow among the people at large, under the influence of the local British administration.

Dureeahon is a Hindoo cultivator, of low caste ; he will eat anything except cow's flesh.

^

	DUREEAHON.
HINDOO	FROM BUNDELCUND.
	ALLAHABAD.
	(102)

T

BAIRAGI.

UN SOOKH DOSS — 103 — is a Bairagi or Hindoo religious mendicant. Has dark eyes, and white hair, Avears a cloth about his loins, and a basket cap on his head. He is a resident of Fyzabad in Oude, and has been dragged from thence to the Mela-Magh Fair at Allahabad.

He is one of the class sometimes, but improperly, called Fakir, avIio live by charity, is forty-two years of age, and was born with his legs behind his back, as shewn in the photograph. He will not eat animal food, but is not very particular about the other observances of his i-eligion.

Bau-agis (Hindoo) and Fakirs (Mahomedan), religious mendicants, abound in the vicinity of Fyzabad, where some eleemosynary institutions, generally managed by some one or more of the order, are maintained by the wealthier land- holders for their support. One large establishment near the city of Awadli has a revenue of more than 50,000 rupees. It was instituted by Shooja-ood-dowla, himself a Mussulman, for the exclusive use and behoof of Hindoo religious mendi- cants (bairagis). No Mussulman is allowed to enter its Avails, and the revenues are absorbed by about 500 resident and itinerant bairagis, who under the authority of their malik or abbot, manage the estates themselves, taking a moderate rent, which is never augmented. — Butter, Tojwg. of Oude, ]x 1 63.

ZAHOEE BEGUM.

(104)

ZAHORE BEGUM is a Cashmere Mussidmaui, and follows the profession of a courtezan. As may be supposed, her character is not very respectable. She belongs to the Soonee sect of Mussulmans.

She has a very foir complexion, black hair and eyes ; she wears a black silk di'ess and yellow shawl, diamond and emerald ornaments over the forehead and round the neck ; a diamond ring on her left thumb, cloth shoes, embroidered with gold and set \\ith precious stones, and her silver anklets have small bells attached to them.

ZAHORE BEGUM.

MAHOMEDAN.

ALLAHABAD.

(104)

DEENA AND HIS NEPHEW HOOSEINEE— SNAKE CHAEMEES.

(104a)

DEENA has bromi eyes, and is dressed in white, yviih red blankets : both he and Hooseinee reside at Benares.

Their occupation is exhibiting harmless snakes, and catchmg or charming venomous ones. Their tribe is migratory; going fi-om place to place during the cold and hot months of the year, and remaining m one spot during the rainy season. They are Mussulmans of the Soonee sect, and have a great veneration for the memory of a deceased Fakir or saint called Madar Shah, who is buried at Mukun- pore, in the Cawnpore district ; they believe that the three most sacred places on earth, are Mecca, Meduia, and Mulcunpore, and the three objects of worship are — Moulah, namely the Almighty, Mahomed, and Madar Shah.

They are considered gi-eat liars by the rest of the natives; and are not allowed to associate or intemiarry with other ]\Iahomedan sects, Avho hold them in disre- pute, as well on account of their profession, as on account of the heathen ceremonies with which their occupation is connected, many of which belong to the ancient aboriginal snake Avorship of IncUa.

Diet, the same as every Mussulman.

Interesting anecdotes of the astounding feats of these snake charmers "will be found in almost every narrative of travels in India.

KESAEAH— NUTNI.

(105)

BLACK hair and eyes, complexion rather dark, black dress, with figured boddice over the bosom, coral necklace, and head-di-ess of silver beads Avith a knot on the tojD made of cowiies, a white scaif over the head and shoulders. Age seventeen years ; height five feet six inches.

Kesarah belongs to the Hindoo caste called Nut, con-esponding to the gipsies in Europe.

Nuts are Hindoos of a very low caste, they will eat ever}i;hing except garlic.

Kesarah gains her hvelihood by going about and dancing in the streets.

Nuts are professional acrobats as well as Avorkers in iron and brass, and many of their perfomiances are remarkable for daiing and agiUty mism-passed in Europe. Among the Nuts, dacoity (gang robbery ^yith violence) has been practised to a great extent, and as an hereditary occupation. As the tribe never possesses local habitations and is migratoiy, living wholly m tents throughout the year, members of it were not only enabled to select wealthy persons for attack, but to carry out theu- plans fi'om great distances. Thus robberies by Nut Dacoits were difficult to trace ; but under the system of detective police, and the operations of the depart- ment for suppression of dacoity, the mystery which was attached to them has ceased to exist ; most of the celebrated Nut leaders have been apprehended ; and, as with other tribes formerly practising crime as a profession, the Nuts are carefully watched and theu* nonnal depredations prevented. .

Nut women, or Nutnees, are supposed to possess the secrets of love philtres and potions. They are consulted by w^omen as to lucky and unlucky days, the ailments of children and their supposed affection by witchcraft or the evil eye. They also make patchwork quilts veiy cleverly, which they sell. Some of them embroider saddle cloths, and make up boddiccs for females. Some of the gMs have sweet voices and are trained as singers, but they do not dance hke the ordinaiy ])rofessional dancers, or Bayaderes, of India ; and when they sing they are invariably seated.

Although professedly Hindoos, the Nuts have peculiar ceremonies of their own, Avhich mark them as one of the aboriginal races of India, and they have never been allowed by real Hindoos to belong to any of the recognised divisions of Hindooism.

KESARAH NUTNI.

LOW CASTE HINDOO.

ALLAHABAD.

(105;

J

SOOK NARAIN— PUNDIT, BRAHMIN.

( 10.) A )

BKOWN eyes, Avhite haii-, rather fair complexion, dressed in \vliite clothes and turban, ^nth red shawl, string of beads round his neck ; height five feet six inches.

8ook Narain belongs to the class of Brahmins called IMisser, who are found almost all over India. Sook Narain is a high priest, and performs religious ceremonies for those who require his services.

He is a Baishnoo, namely, an especial worshipper of that god, and a Bhugut, or one that never touches animal food. He lives on the offerings made to him by the Avorshippers who attend his ministrations.

His diet is the usual one prescribed for strict Hindoos.

SOOK NARAIN PUNDIT.

HINDOO: MISSER BRAHMIN.,

ALLAHABAD.

C105A)

BISHNOI.

THE Bishnoi is a caste common in the Moradabad district and in other parts of the North- Western provinces. Its members combine, says Wilson, Hindoo and Mahomedan tenets and practices, and often call themselves Sheikhs. They are a quiet, mdustrious people, and are chiefly employed in caipentry, being expert at making wheels for common native carts, a trade pecuhar to this part of India. lOiate Bishnoi — 106 — the man photographed, is a Hmdoo. His height is five feet seven and a half inches, and he is sixty-three years of age. He holds a hookah in his hand ; his clothes are of a red, black, and white pattern, and his tunic is padded with cotton.

KHATE BISHNOI.

HINDOO MECHANIC.

MORADABAD.

(106)

MIRASSEES.

(107)

MIRASSEES, or minstrels, are not a reputable class of people, and are generally employed by dancing gii'ls to play to them, when engaged to dance or sing at nautches. They attend festivals also, and play their instruments at marriages and bhths. They are common in the district of Moradabad. They wear bright-colom'cd clothes trimmed with lace, and tinselled skull caps. They swarm at Rampoor and in all native states, and the ex-king of Oude kept them in larffe numbers to attend his dances. After the rebellion, all the Mirassees of the court of Lucknow went over to the Nawab of Rampoor.

The principal native musical instruments are the surinda, or vioUn ; the choutura, or guitar; tuphla, or di-um; and the sunod. The last is the leading instrument, and is sounded with a plectum, like other native guitars. The surmda plays in unison with it, "s^hile the choutura forms a kind of bass accompaniment. The mens' voices occasionally chime in with the au', and again leave room for some ad libitum movements of the chief performer, who then exerts all his energy in rapid, impassioned execution, wagging his head with every intonation, until his enraptured audience applaud him with the flattering " wall wah, sha-bash, sha-bash !" The dexterity displayed in these passages is often very extraorduiarv, and their effect is by no means unpleasing.

None of the stringed instniments in use among the natives have either the power of the viohn or the melloAvness of the guitar ; they rather resemble in sound the hurd}'-gm-dy and the mandoline. The sm-inda, however, ^\hich has catgut strings, and is played with a bow like a \'ioHn, has a sweet mellow tone, which nearly resembles that of the human voice, and fonns a pleasing accompaniment to singers. In skilful hands these instruments are capable of much expression : and the soft, melancholy cadence of Hindoostanee music accords very agreeably with the languid influence of an Oriental chmate. To those deshous of acquamtance Avith the science of Hindoo music, the Essays of Sir William Jones mU be found mteresting and mstructive.

MIRASSEES. MAHOMEDAN, MINSTRELS. MORADABAD. ( 107 )

BOOKSA OR BOKSA.— HINDOO.

(108)

THIS tribe, who closely resemble the Tharoos (see No. 117), Hve entkely in the Terai forest ; they are a quiet, shy race, keeping very much to themselves. In the rebellion, they showed themselves much attached to the British Government.

The members of the tribe are of short stature and very spare in habit ; in both respects exceeduig the ordinary Hindoo peasant of the distiict, fi-om whom, however, they do not differ much in general build or complexion. Their eyes are small, the opening of the eyehds bemg narrow, linear, and horizontal ; the face is very broad across the cheek-bones, and the nose is depressed, tluis increasing the apparent flatness of the face ; the jaw is prognathous, and the lower lip thick ; the moustache and beard being usually very scanty. Some of these peculiarities are much more marked in certain individuals than m others ; but most of them are noticeable in almost eveiy man's face, and it seems certam that a Boksa will at once recognize another to belong to his tribe, even if he never saw him before. The fact of the Boksas having features with so many points of resemblance to the Turanian type so well marked, has been commented on by aU previous observers.

The features of the women who allow an opportunity of seeing them closely, are comely enough ; and of the same general character as those of the men.

The dress of the men is the same as that of the ordinary native of the North- West Provinces ; but, except in one or two cases, none of them wear turbans over the thm cotton cap which generally covers the head. The little boys run about naked, or nearly so ; the girls wear a scanty rag. The women's di'ess consists of a petticoat, generally blue or of an orange-red, mth a dirty white or orange-red cloth (chaddar) passed over the breast and head, falling over the right ami.

The clear and connected accomits of Elliot and Batten state, that the traditions of the Boksas make them out to be Powar Rajpoots, descended fi-om Oodya Jeet (or his relative Jey Deo) and his followers, who, in the twehih century, left his territoiy in Rajpootana on account of family quaiTels, and came, either inter- mediately or du'ectly, to settle in their present location.

The only assertions m which most of these Boksas agTced were two — that

BOOKSA OR BOKSA. — HINDOO.

tliey are of Rajpoot origin (although they confess that the Rajpoots of the plains hold them impure, on accomit of theu* less cleanly habits), and that they had come from the Deccan. But even in this they were not vmanimous. AVlien they attempted details, their statements were more varied than satisfactory.

Boksas only intermarry with their own tribe; but there appears to be no restriction within its hmits. Their religious profession is Hindoo, to which they conform in an ignorant, unmeaning manner ; and the usual rites of that faith are performed on the occasion of bulhs, maniages, and deaths. Marriage, as among the Hindoos, takes place at eight to ten years. In small matters also the Boksas adlaere to Hindoo customs. Thus, they do not wear then- shoes (when they have any to wear) during cooking, and they kill animals to be used as food by a bloAv or cut on the back of the neck, not by the throat-cuttmg "halalkama" of the Mussulmans.

A considerable proportion of the tribe follow Nanak Matha — that is, have adopted the Gooroo of the Siklis as theu- own — and are called Silchs by their brethren. In some idllages they form the majority of the inhabitants.

Among so rude a people as the Boksas, it Avould be vain to look for any elaborate religious tenets either held or understood by such a sect as these Sndis ; and accordingly theu* own distinctive mark is the avoidance of spirituous Hquor, opimn, and chaiTas, which the Boksas in general use fi-eely. The Sildis will not even smell spirits voluntarily. Tobacco is, however, la^^•fld among these followers of Nanak.

Boksas generally are much addicted to tobacco, which, when they have no hookah by them, they smoke in a twisted-up leaf: and they took Idndly to Cavendish, which, however, they found very strong after the light unferaiented tobacco they use. AU the men who do not follow Nanak, and many of the women, indulge in spirits ; but rarely carry the practice, against which then' priests in vain warn them, to the extent of intoxication.

The Boksas bear an excellent moral character. For at least three years not one of the tribe had been a party to a suit, either civil or criminal, in the courts of the districts Avhicli they inhabit. Any disputes which may occur among them, are generally settled by the head man of their own, or of an adjoming, village.

Then' indolence and ignorance are on a par mth their moffensiveness. They have a strong objection to all labour which is not absolutely essential to provide means for subsistence. Near some of theu villages immense quantities of manure, of which they well knew the value, were lying unused, the trouble of taking it to their fields being too gi-eat for them ; and they gave as a reason for not collecting kino ill the forest, that it would be a great deal of trouble.

They are excessively greedy after animal food, and then- only amusement seems the pursuit of game, terrestrial and aquatic. They say themselves that

BOOKSA OR BOKSA. — HINDOO.

"without wild pigs a Boksa would die. Notmthstanding, they are so fond of flesh, they keep no goats or sheep, and in only one instance did it occur that a few fowls were kept. They mostly hve on grain, and on wild herbs cooked with oil. The scanty cultivation — in one case only fifty acres to a village of one hundred souls — tends, however, to hmit the supply of gram ; while the Disaraiing Act, adopted after the mutiny of 1857, has deprived the Boksas of the means of Idlhng game. Hence they are greatly dependent on a sort of yam or tuber called githi, which is found m abundance in the forests where they chiefly reside. These are cut into slices and soaked, then cooked over a slow fire.

They are undoubtedly restless and nomadic in then habits, and migrate from ^^llage to village, but evmce unconquerable adliesiveness to then native swamps and jungles. Boksas rarely, if evei", emigrate fi'om the forest belt (Terai), and a tradition exists among them that no Boksa had ever gone abroad for service.

Agricultm'e, which is ahnost their only regular employment, is of the rudest and most primitive kind. They do not even cultivate the tobacco plant, to which, as above noted, they are so partial ; but leave this occupation to persons called Sanis, who enter the jungle for a few months only, specially for the tobacco-crop.

Few of the Boksas cut bamboo or timber for export, and still fewer collect drags and gums, which are largely produced and gathered in the forest. Their most interesting avocation is gold-washing, the average sum gained by which is stated at about threepence a day for a gang of three or four people ; and one village of a hundred persons Avas said to earn fi-om one to two hundred rupees (£10 to £20) annually fi-om gold-washing. Of the process adopted, an interesting account Avill be found in a paper relative to the Boksas, by Dr. J. L. Stewart, of the Indian Anny Medical Department, which was contributed to the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for the year 1865, and fi-om which the above details have mostly been di-awii.

The age of the man photogTaphed is eighteen years, and he is of average stature. He is represented carrying a bvmdle of grass on his head, and a Koorpa, or sickle for cutting grass, in front of his chest. He is di-essed m a red and white pattern chintz.

BOOKSA.

PROBABLY ABORIGINAL.

MORADABAD.

(108)

BHAT.— MUSSULMAN.

(109)

BHATS, as has been already observed under head of No. 91, are to be met with throughout India, especially in the North- West and Western provinces. They are importunate beggars, and, like such people elsewhere, are for the most part an idle, worthless set ; subsisting upon doles at festivals and the general charity of the rich. There are not many of them in the Moradabad district. The specimen photographed comes fi'om Umroha, a tOA\Ti in Moradabad foil of old and decayed Mahomedan famihes. The occupation of the Bluit shown in this photograph is the narration of family traditions and legends, and remarkable historical and other local events, many of which are very cmious and interesting. The Bhats may be considered as much the hereditar}^ depositaries and professors of this knowledge as the ancient Bards were in Britain. The offices of both correspond exactly. The Bhat is well paid and fed for his work. Umroha was a to^vn which, hke many other places where Mahomedans preponderate, behaved infamously in the rebellion.

Tlie height of the individual represented is five feet five inches ; his age, forty-eight years; colour of eyes, grey; and his beard is dyed bright red. He wears a puce-coloured cotton-velvet dress bound with gi-een ; with a mala, or long necklace of beads, round his neck.

^^^7

Wk.

. X.

BHAT.

WANDERING MINSTREL. MAHOMEDAN.

MORADABAD.

(109)

NUTS.

nVTUTS, or Naths, called in Western India Nutwa, correspond to the European A^\ gipsy tribes, and, like them, have no settled home. They are arrant thieves, and then- principal occupations are conjuring, dancing, and tricks of legerdemain. The men are very active and clever as acrobats. The women attend theu' performances, and sing and play on small native drums or tamborines. They also affect knowledge of the science of palmistry, and prepare and sell love philtres and other charms. The Naths do not mix with or intermarry mth other tribes. They hve for the most part in tents made of black blanket stuff, and move fi'om village to village through all parts of the country. Some of the men are skilful blacksmiths, and the women make patchwork quilts, fi-equently very ingenious in pattern and neatly sewn. Some of the boldest dacoits ui India have been found among the Njiths, and there are famihes among them which have practised dacoity and gang robbery for generations, while their constant movements and unsettled habits have made them difficult to trace. It is difficult to say whether Ntiths are Hindoos or Mahomedans, as they have indifferently Hindoo and Mahomedan names, and practise the observances of both religions, intermixed with strange ceremonies of their own at man'iages and other festivals, which are kept secret among them. They are a very marked race, and are generally distrusted wherever they go. Then- ornaments of silver are peculiar, and their whole appearance picturesque. Gwal Nut — 110 — the gipsy woman represented, is five feet three and a hah' inches in height ; her age, thirty-one years ; colour of her eyes dark brown ; clothes bright red ; ornaments solid silver.

GWAL NUT.

HINDOO: NUT TRIBE.

MORADABAD.

(110)

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