Chapter V: Introduction (2)

The Salim are oil-makers, and weavers of garlands, at which art the Newars are very dexterous, and there is a great demand for their work, as both sexes, of all ranks in Nepal, ornament their hair with flowers.

The Kasulia are musicians, and have a vast variety of ear-rending instruments. The Hindu music, especially that of the martial kind, is said by the natives to be in great perfection in Nepal; and in this holy land are still to be found all the kinds that were to be found in the army of Rama.

Still lower than these are the Kasai, who are butchers, and palanquin bearers for the vulgar. The Chhipi, or dyers, are nearly of the same rank.

Lower again are the two following casts.

Kow, or ironsmiths.

Gotoo, or coppersmiths.

Then follow two military tribes.

Kosar, who are said originally to have been robbers.

Tepai, who can marry, or keep as concubines any Hindu women that have lost cast by eating unclean things.

Then follow three exceedingly low casts.

Puria, fishermen and basketmakers.

Bala, who remove offals and nastiness.

Chamkal, who are dressers of leather and shoemakers.

These casts can scarcely venture to draw near any other Hindu, but would consider themselves as much degraded, by eating, drinking, or cohabiting with a Musulman or Christian; and any of their women who should venture to commit an act of such uncleanness, would be severely punished, as would also be the infidel by whom she had been corrupted. This, however, does not prevent Hindu women of all ranks and casts from being sold as slaves to either Musulmans or Christians. A master or a parent has the power of selling his slave or child, whose consent is not asked, who thereby loses cast, and who has no alternative, but to adopt the religion of her new master. Such incongruities may astonish a person unacquainted with Hindus; and what may add to his surprise is, that, while at Kathmandu, several Hindus, of high cast, among our followers, chose to embrace the Musulman faith, and thereby subjected themselves to severe restrictions and disgrace.

Musulmans have become pretty numerous, and are increasing, as they are zealous in purchasing girls, and in propagating their sect. Christianity has not been equally successful; and, on our arrival, we found the church reduced to an Italian Padre, and a native Portuguese, who had been inveigled from Patna by large promises, which were not made good, and who would have been happy to have been permitted to leave the country.

These are the various casts of Newars. I shall now give an account of the customs that are common to the whole nation.

All the Newars burn the dead; all eat buffaloes, sheep, goats, fowls, and ducks; and all drink spirituous liquors, to the use of which, indeed, they are excessively addicted. The highest of the Sivamargas kill animals with their own hands; but the higher orders of the Buddhmargs abstain from shedding blood, and from eating pork. They all live in towns or villages, and their houses are built of brick with clay mortar, and covered with tiles. These houses are three stories high, the ground floor being appropriated for the cattle and poultry, the second floor for servants, and the third for the family of the owner. This is in the houses of the wealthy. Among the poor, a number of families live under one roof. The rooms are exceeding low, as I could not stand upright in the principal apartment of what was reckoned the best house in Kathmandu, the palace excepted. At first sight, however, the houses look well, especially to a person coming from the towns of Hindustan. In Nepal, they have numerous large windows, which are shut by wooden lattices curiously carved, and which, in some measure, hang over the street, the upper end of the lattice projecting much more than the lower. Within, the houses are exceedingly mean and dirty, and swarm with vermin, which, added to all manner of filth, including the offals of the shambles, and the blood of sacrifices, that is allowed to corrupt in the streets, renders an abode in any of their towns utterly disgusting.

The following account of the Nepalese, or rather Newar, architecture, I have taken from papers communicated by Colonel Crawford.

The Nepalese possess a great advantage in having an excellent clay for making bricks and tiles; and their workmen are very expert. They use moulds nearly of the size and shape of our common bricks, and have also others for the bricks that are used in cornices and other ornaments. For the fronts and ornamental parts of their best houses, they make smooth glazed bricks, that are very handsome. Their bricklayers and masons are also good workmen, but labour under a great disadvantage, the want of lime. The tiles are flat, of an oblong form, and have two longitudinal grooves, one above and another below, which fit into the adjacent tiles, and the whole are put on with great neatness.

The houses of towns are in general three stories high, though some in the cities and large towns rise to four. The lower story has no windows, and the smoke of their kitchens comes out by the door, which renders the outside, even of their houses, very black and dirty. The windows of the second story are always small and nearly square. In each, a wooden trellis, which is highly ornamented by carving, but which cannot be opened and shut, admits the air and light, but prevents strangers from seeing into the apartment. The third or upper story has large windows, extending a great part of the length of each sitting apartment. Most of these windows have in front a wooden balcony composed of lattice work, in general much carved. This slopes outwards from a bench that is a little elevated from the floor, and joins the edge of the roof, which projects considerably beyond the wall. The bench is the favourite seat of the people, who, from thence, command a view of the street. The rooms are always narrow, the difficulty of carrying large timber from the mountains, per-venting them from procuring beams of sufficient dimensions. The beams, which can be usually procured, are fir of about six inches square. These are placed at about a foot distant from each other, and their ends project beyond the walls, so that from the street you can tell the number of beams in each house. The larger houses are square, with an open court in the centre.

In the villages, the houses are built of unburnt bricks, and often also consist of three stories disposed of in the same manner as in towns; but the windows of the upper story are not provided with balconies. Those of two stories are also very common, and one of them is represented by Colonel Kirkpatrick in the plate opposite to page 160.

The temples are of two kinds. One, constructed of solid brick, and peculiar to the worshippers of Buddha, resembles the temples of the same sect in Ava. The other is common to the Bouddhists and followers of the Vedas, and has a strong resemblance to the temples of the Chinese. The temples of this kind are destined to contain idols, and are squares consisting of from two to five stories, each of which is of smaller dimensions than the one below, and the last ends in a point. Each story has a sloping roof, and in some fine temples, these roofs are covered with gilded copper. The lower [Picture: Temple bell] story is surrounded by a rude wooden colonnade. From the corners, and sometimes all round the edges of these roofs, are suspended small bells with slender clappers, which are considerably longer than the bells, and end in a thin plate shaped like the ace of hearts, so that a strong wind occasions all the bells to ring. The roofs are supported by posts, which [Picture: Temple] project from the middle of the upright wall to the edge of the slope, and are carved with all the distorted figures of Hindu mythology. In the larger temples, these posts on the second story are covered with planks, and on these are fastened all the various offerings that have been made to the Deity, and which form a strange and ridiculous assemblage of swords and shields, pots, pans, spinning-wheels, mugs, jars, buffaloes’ horns, looking-glasses, knives, bracelets, etc. etc.

The view given by Colonel Kirkpatrick {41a} of Kathmandu affords a good idea of the place, and shows the strong resemblance of its temples to those of Thibet and China. I cannot but therefore wonder, when he says, {41b} “These edifices appeared to differ nothing in their figure or construction from the wooden Mundups, occasionally met with in other parts of India.” I have never in India seen any such, either in structure or in materials, every considerable temple there being either of brick or stone.

The Newar women are never confined. At eight years of age, they are carried to a temple, and married, with the ceremonies usual among Hindus, to a fruit called Bel, (Ægle Marmelos, Roxb.) When a girl arrives at the age of puberty, her parents, with her consent, betroth her to some man of the same cast, and give her a dower, which becomes the property of the husband, or rather paramour. After this, the nuptials are celebrated with feasting, and some religious ceremonies. Among the higher casts, it is required that girls should be chaste till they have been thus betrothed; but in the lower casts, a girl, without scandal, may previously indulge any Hindu with her favours; and this licentiousness is considered a thing of no consequence. Whenever a woman pleases, she may leave her husband; and if, during her absence, she cohabit only with men of her own cast, or of a higher one, she may at any time return to her husband’s house, and resume the command of his family. The only ceremony or intimation that is necessary, before she goes away, is her placing two betel-nuts on her bed. So long as a woman chooses to live with her husband, he cannot take another wife, until she becomes past child-bearing; but a man may take a second wife, when his first chooses to leave him, or when she grows old; and at all times he may keep as many concubines as he pleases. A widow cannot marry again; but she is not expected to burn herself; and may cohabit with any Hindu as a concubine. The children, by the betrothed wife, have a preference in succession to those by concubines; the latter, however, are entitled to some share. A man can be betrothed to no woman except one of his own cast; but he may keep a concubine of any cast, whose water he can drink. If the woman’s cast be lower than his, the children are called Khas, and are considered as belonging to the cast of the mother, but are somewhat elevated on account of their father’s birth.

A custom of the Newars, which was observed on the 11th of August by Colonel Crawford, deserves to be mentioned on account of its oddity. Each man on that day purchases a small quantity of boiled rice, mashed into a soft substance, and carries it to the field which he has cultivated. He then searches the field for frogs, and to every one that he can discover he gives a small portion of the boiled rice, at the same time uttering a prayer, and requesting the frog to watch over and protect his crop.

The Newars are a peaceable people, and not so much addicted to assassination as the Parbatiyas; but possess all the other vices of that barbarous race.

Colonel Kirkpatrick {43} doubts, whether the Newars have at any period been a warlike nation; but the long resistance which they made against Prithwi Narayan appears to me to indicate abundant courage, while his success seems to have been more owing to his cunning, and to his taking advantage of their internal dissensions, than to a superiority in the art of war.

One vile custom of the Newars of Kathmandu has been described by Colonel Crawford, from whose papers I have taken the following account. About the end of May, and beginning of June, for fifteen days, a skirmish takes place between the young men and boys, of the north and south ends of the city. During the first fourteen days it is chiefly confined to the boys or lads; but on the evening of the fifteenth day it becomes more serious. The opposing parties are drawn up in the broad, level, sandy bed of the river, which runs between the city and Swayambhunath. In the rear of each is a rising ground, which prevents either party from being hard pushed; for, the only weapons used being stones, the ascent gives such an advantage, that the pursuit of the victorious party is usually checked on their reaching the hill of their adversaries. The fight begins about an hour before sunset, and continues until darkness separate the combatants. In the one which we saw, four people were carried off much wounded, and almost every other year one or two men are killed: yet the combat is not instigated by hatred, nor do the accidents that happen occasion any rancour. Formerly, however, a most cruel practice existed. If any unfortunate fellow was taken prisoner, he was immediately dragged to the top of a particular eminence in the rear of his conquerors, who put him to death with buffalo bones. In remembrance of this custom, the bones are still brought to the field, but the barbarous use of them has for many years been abolished. The prisoners are now kept until the end of the combat, are carried home in triumph by the victors, and confined until morning, when they are liberated.

The origin of this custom is attributed to two causes. Some allege, that at one time Kathmandu was subject to two Rajas, and that the skirmishings first arose among their respective followers, and have ever since been continued. Others, with more probability, think that the combat is meant to commemorate a battle between a son of Maha Deva, and a Rakshas, or evil spirit. Colonel Crawford justly gives a preference to this opinion, for, if one of the parties obtain the victory, every thing favourable, seasonable rains, plentiful crops, and fine weather, is augured for the remainder of the year; the reverse is expected should the opposite party gain an advantage.

The territory anciently called Mithila, comprehending much of the northern parts of the district of Puraniya, and all those of Tirahut, belonged for many ages to a dynasty of princes called Janaka, who resided at Janakipur in the low country subject to Gorkha. Long afterwards, in that part of the country there had arisen a dynasty, the seat of whose government was at Gar Samaran, through the extensive ruins of which, the present boundary between the Company and the Gorkhalese passes. In the year 1802, when in this vicinity, I heard an imperfect account concerning this dynasty, and have mentioned them in the observations on Nepal, which I then composed. Anxious to procure more accurate information, in 1810 I sent an intelligent Brahman to inquire after traditions, who discovered a person residing at Chotoni, whose ancestors had been registers of Tirahut, and who gave him the following account. In the year of the Bengal era 496, (A.D. 1089,) Nanyop Dev, of the Kshatria tribe, acquired the sovereignty of Tirahut, and was the founder of a dynasty, the princes of which succeeded from father to son in the following order.

Nanyopdev’ governed 36 years. Ganggadev’ 14 Narasingha dev’ 52 Ramsingha dev’ 92 Sakrasingha dev’ 12 Harisingha dev’ 20 --- 226

This person had great power, and is universally acknowledged to have settled the customs which are now observed by the Brahmans of Mithila. After his death there was an interegnum of thirty-four years. The greatest difficulty in this accession arises from the two enormous reigns of fifty-two and ninety-two years held in succession by father and son. It is just possible that a grandfather and grandson might reign such a number of years, and the minute distinction of grandson and son may naturally enough have escaped the notice of Hindu genealogist; but there is reason to suspect, that the accession of Nanyop dev is antedated, for the same authority states, that he took possession of Tirahut on the death of Lakshman Sen king of Bengal, who, it is well known, had conquered it in the 1104th year of our era, or twenty-five years after the accession given to Nanyop, and probably governed it for a good many years. On the death of that warlike prince, it is very likely that Nanyop may have wrested Tirahut, or the western parts of Mithila, from his successor, and may have been the Raja of Oriswa, against whom Lakshmam II. erected the works of Majurni Khata, for the learned D’Anville places Oriswa in these parts. When the length of these reigns is thus curtailed, the story may be sufficiently exact.

The account of this dynasty given by Colonel Kirkpatrick {46} differs considerably from that which I have above stated. He makes Hari Singha (Hurr Sinha) the last king of Gar Samaran, and states, that he was driven from this to Nepal in 1323 by the Patan king Secunder Lodi; but, at that time, according to Dow’s translation of Ferishta, Yeas ul deen Tuglick Shaw was the Muhammedan king of India; and the people of Mithila assert, that Hari Singha, their prince, died in quiet possession of his birthright. The predecessors of Hari Singha at Gar Samaran, according to Colonel Kirkpatrick, were,

Nan Dev, (Nanyop Dev’,) who began to reign in the year Sambat 901, (A.D. 843.)

Kamuk Dev, (Gangga Dev’.)

Nersingh Dev, (Narasingha Dev’.)

Ramsing Dev, (Ram’Singha Dev’.)

Bhad Sing Dev.

Kurm Sing Dev.

Nan Dev, the founder of this dynasty, according to Colonel Kirkpatrick, was descended of Bamdeb of the Surijbunsi, (Suryabangsi,) princes of Oude, (Ayodhya;) but in the Pauranic lists of these princes I can find nothing like Bamdeb, unless it be Bhanu or Bhanuman, mentioned both in the Sri Bhagawata and Bangsa Lots, among the later descendants of Ramachandra. The objections to this chronology are still stronger than to that which I received, in so much as it makes it commence still earlier.

There is, therefore, great room to doubt, whether in reality Nanyopdev was a Kshatriya. The Brahmans of Mithila, indeed, are totally unwilling to admit, that a person of any lower rank could have authority to settle their customs; but in Bengal a person of the medical tribe obtained this power; and the chiefs of the low tribe called Bhawar trace their origin to a Nanyopdev who brought the stud of the king of Dilli to pasture in the plains of Mithila, then entirely waste. Certain it is, that the Bhawars, about that time, extended their dominion over the Gorakhpur district as well as Tirahut, and that many petty chiefs of that tribe continued to occupy the parts adjacent to the hills until long after; and many of them continue to this day to be objects of worship among the low tribes. These may have been the descendants of collateral branches of the Raja’s family, or of the chief officers of their government; and it must be remarked, that many of them assumed the title of Dev, as all the princes descended of Nanyop had done.

After the death of Hari Singha it is in Mithila generally admitted, that a Sivai Singha succeeded; and, although the Bhavans probably then formed the chief population of Gar Samaran and Tirahut, it is probable, as is asserted, that Sivai Singh vas a military Brahman of the tribe called Aniwar. It is alleged by the people of Tirahut, that Sivai having had a dispute with a brother, this unnatural relation fled to Dilli, and, having procured an army from the Musulman king, he advanced towards Gar Samaran with an intention of dethroning his brother. Before he had reached the Gandaki, Sivai Singha, having heard of the approach of an army of men that eat beef, was seized with a panic, and after having reigned twenty-two years, resigned his kingdom to Kangkali, the tutelar deity of his capital city. He then dedicated his life to God, and, having assumed the character of a religious mendicant, he passed his days in wandering about the places which are esteemed holy.

It is said, that about this time the unnatural brother of Sivai Singha died, and that the Musulman army, after a fruitless attempt on Gar Samaran, were obliged to retreat, owing, as the Hindus suppose, to the powerful influence of the tutelar deity. The Musulmans, however, seem to have seized on all the country near the Ganges, which afterwards continued subject to them till the establishment of the Company’s authority.

About the same time, the inhabitants deserted Gar Samaran, for what reason is not explained. They took with them the image of Kangkali, and retired with an intention of going to Nepal. On the route they were in danger of perishing from hunger, when Kangkali appeared to one of their chiefs in a dream, and told him, that in the morning she would grant a supply of provisions, and that she gave them permission ever afterwards to use the kind of food which she was about to send. Accordingly, in the morning, a large herd of buffaloes appeared, and were killed by the people, who ever since have indulged in that kind of food, which, according to the precepts of their religion, they had formerly considered unclean. They afterwards settled in the valley of Nepal, and are the people now called Newars.

From Dow’s translation of Ferishta, {49} we learn, that Yeas ul deen Tuglick Shaw, king of Dilli, in the year of Christ 1322, on returning from an expedition into Bengal, was passing near the hills of Turhat, (Tirahut,) when the raja of these parts appearing in arms, was pursued into the woods. Having cut down these, the royal army arrived at a fort surrounded by a wall, and by seven ditches filled with water. After a siege of three weeks the place was taken, and the government of Turhat conferred upon Achmet Chan. That this is the same story with that contained in the traditions concerning Sivai Singha and Gar Samaran, I think there can be little doubt, and the Musulman chronology is that upon which most reliance can be placed. Some of the Hindu traditions make Sivai Singha the son of Hari Deva, others make him of another family which succeeded after an anarchy of 34 years; but in both cases the period between 1315, the supposed era of Hari Deva’s death, and 1322, the time of Gar Samaran’s capture, is too short, and the difference between it and the actual time has probably been added, to make up part of the enormous reigns of Narasingha and Ramsingha. At any rate, if the people of Gar Samaran retired to Nepal, and became the Newars, then 1322 (or 1323, as Colonel Kirkpatrick has it,) {50a} is the most probable date of the event. There is nothing improbable in the circumstance, and the doctrine of cast prevailing among the Newars is a strong confirmation of their having come from Hindustan.

It must, however, be confessed, that the Newars themselves totally deny this origin, and allege, that the only foundation for it is the resemblance between the names Newar and Aniwar. They consider themselves as the aboriginal inhabitants of the country which they now occupy, and their houses have a great resemblance to those of the Bhotiyas, or people of Thibet, as described by Captain Turner, while in many points their customs resemble those of the other tribes of the Chinese race. It must be, however, observed, that their features are not clearly marked as of that origin, and that many of them have high features, large eyes, and oval faces; but considering the manners of their women, little reliance can be put on this mark, and the truth will be best discovered by an examination of their language, of which I have deposited a copious vocabulary in the Company’s library. I think, indeed, that I can trace many coincidences between it and the language of the Murmis, a tribe undoubtedly of the Chinese race, and it appears to me radically different from the Hindwi language, although religion has no doubt introduced some Sangskrita words.

A short vocabulary of this language has been given by Colonel Kirkpatrick, {50b} and may perhaps suffice to decide the language to which it has the greatest affinity. The character in which it is written is evidently derived from the Nagri of India, and will be found opposite to page 220 in Colonel Kirkpatrick’s Account of Nepaul.

In treating of the Newars, Colonel Kirkpatrick observes, {51} “That this people differ essentially, so as to prove abundantly that they are an insulated race of men, whose origin is not to be traced to any of the nations immediately surrounding them.” Now, if they came from Samaran, as he supposes, they must have been Hindus; and, if they are descendants of Thibetians, intermixed with Hindus, as I suppose, still their origin is to be derived from the nations immediately contiguous. He goes on to observe, “That the Newars are of a middle size, with broad shoulders and chest, very stout limbs, round and rather flat faces, small eyes, low and somewhat spreading noses; yet he cannot agree with those who affirm, that there is in the general physiognomy of these people any striking resemblance to the Chinese features.” For my part, I do not well know in what other terms the Chinese features could be better defined, than in the description of the Newars thus given by Colonel Kirkpatrick; and, for a confirmation of a considerable resemblance between the two people, I may refer to the figures given by this author opposite to pages 185 and 187, which, although called merely natives of Nepal, represent in fact Newars. In reality, if the morals of the Newar women had been more strict, I believe that the resemblance between the Chinese or Thibetians and Newars would have been complete; but since the conquest, the approach to Hindu countenance is rapidly on the increase, women in most cases giving a decided preference to rank, especially if connected with arms or religion. Until the conquest, there was probably little intermixture, except in the descendants of the governing family, which probably was of a mixed breed between a Thibetian lady and a raja of Banaras, as will be afterwards mentioned; and this family had, I believe, multiplied exceedingly, and composed a numerous and warlike gentry, which, of course, contributed largely to the propagation of the nation.

The assumption of the military dignity, and of the thread, one of its badges among the Hindus, and the title Rajput given to all the chiefs of the mountaineers, seems to have induced Colonel Kirkpatrick to suppose, that the Kshatriya tribe of India formed a large portion of the inhabitants in Nepal. Yet he had with accuracy observed, {52} that the progeny of a Newar female and one of these Kshatriyas may almost be taken for a Malay, that is, a mixed breed between people of a Chinese race with Hindus and Arabs; and farther, he accurately noticed, that illegitimate persons of the reigning family by Newar women, although he supposes their fathers to have been Rajputs, approach nearer than their mothers to the Tartars or Chinese. The reason of this, I would say, is, that the royal family are in fact Magars, a Thibetian race.

In the more rude and mountainous parts of Nepal Proper, the chief population consisted of these Murmis, who are by many considered as a branch of the Bhotiyas, or people of Thibet; but, although in religion and doctrine they followed the example of that people, and all their priests, called Lamas, studied its language and science, yet it seems doubtful, whether the two nations had a common origin; but this will be best ascertained by a comparison of the languages. For this purpose I have deposited in the Company’s library a copious vocabulary of the Murmi dialect. The doctrine of the Lamas is so obnoxious to the Gorkhalese, that, under pretence of their being thieves, no Murmi is permitted to enter the valley where Kathmandu stands, and by way of ridicule, they are called Siyena Bhotiyas, or Bhotiyas who eat carrion; for these people have such an appetite for beef, that they cannot abstain from the oxen that die a natural death, as they are not now permitted to murder the sacred animal. They have, therefore, since the conquest, retired as much as possible into places very difficult of access; and before the overthrow of Sikim a great many retired to that country, but there they have not escaped from the power of the Gorkhalese, and have been obliged to disperse even from that distant retreat, as they were supposed too much inclined to favour its infidel chief. They never seem to have had any share in the government, nor to have been addicted to arms, but always followed the profession of agriculture, or carried loads for the Newars, being a people uncommonly robust. Their buildings are thatched huts, often supported on stages, like those of the farther India.

The Kiratas, or Kichaks, have been already mentioned as occupying the country east from Nepal Proper. They seem always to have been a warlike and enterprising people, but very rude, although not so illiterate as many of their neighbours. The Lamas have made great progress in persuading them to adopt their doctrines; and the Lamas, who gave them instruction, were skilled in the language of Thibet; but many adhered to their old customs, and the old priesthood continued to perform the ceremonies of all. The Rajputs, on obtaining power, induced many to abandon part of their impure practices, and to employ Brahmans to perform their ceremonies; but in general this compliance was only shown when they were at court. The abstinence from beef, which the Gorkhalese enforce, is exceedingly disagreeable to the Kirats; and, although the Lamas have been banished, this people still retain a high respect for their memory, and a longing after the flesh-pots. Agam Singha, the chief of the nation, now in exile, told me plainly, that, although he received a Brahman as an instructor, it was only because he could not procure a Lama, and that he considered the chief Lamas as incarnations of God.

The Kirats, being vigorous beef-eaters, did not readily submit to the Rajputs. Previous to the invasion of these Hindus they had, it is true, been compelled to retire to the hills; but there, until the vast power acquired by the family of Gorkha, they retained, as I have already mentioned, a great degree of independence.

I have deposited in the Company’s library a full vocabulary of the Kirata language. They are said to have had a written character peculiar to themselves; but Agam Singha, their chief, is no penman, and the people with him, born in exile, have contented themselves with acquiring the Nagri character. The Kirats are allowed to marry several wives, and to keep concubines. Their property is divided equally among their sons by wives; but the sons by concubines are allowed a share, though smaller than that given to the offspring of a virgin spouse.

Among the Kirats was settled a tribe called Limbu, the manners of which were very nearly the same, and, indeed, the tribes intermarry; but their languages are said to be different, and it would not appear that the Lamas had made any progress in converting the Limbus. Since the overthrow of the Kirats, and since the reluctance with which they submit to the Gorkhalese has become evident, it has been the policy of the court of Kathmandu to show a decided preference to the Limbus, who have not been disgusted by the loss of power which they never possessed, nor by the banishment of their priests. They are not, however, reconciled to the loss of beef; but are certainly less discontented than any other neighbouring tribe. Their profession is that of agriculture, and they live in huts. I was unable to procure any vocabulary of their language, but Colonel Kirkpatrick {55} gives a short list of the words of the Limbu tongue, which he calls Limbooa. It has no affinity to the Sangskrita.

Another considerable tribe of Nepal, taken in its most extended sense, are the Lapchas, who occupy the country between the Kankayi and Tista, and east from that of the Kiratas; but by most Hindus they are included under this odious name. Their manners were very nearly the same with those of the Kirats. The Lapchas are a set of vigorous barbarians, about one half of whom had been deluded by the monkish austerities, and superior learning of the Lamas.

The Lapchas ate beef, pork, and every other thing reckoned abominable, and drank strong liquors without shame. Their women did not marry until after they had arrived at the age of maturity, and had become sensible to the assiduities of courtship. The Lapchas were chiefly armed with swords and bows, with which they shot poisoned arrows. Spears were not in use, being ill fitted for a mountainous country, thickly overgrown with wood, and where men cannot charge in compact order. They had a few muskets, but too large to be fired from the shoulder. They were tied to a tree, and fired by a match.

It must be observed, that the inhabitants of both Thibet, and of what we call Bhotan or Bootan, are by the natives of India called Bhotiyas, and their countries Bhotan or Bhot. Some of these people, who inhabit near Kathmandu, call themselves Sayn; and the same name is given by the Newars to the whole nation. Thibet, I am inclined to believe, is a Persian word, totally unknown to the natives. At Kathmandu I had a patient who had been chief of a territory north from Lassa, and who had been dispossessed by the Chinese; and, so far as I could learn from him, the native appellation, at least of the territory subject to Lassa, is Borka, from whence Bhotiya is perhaps a corruption; but I could not ascertain any general name for the countries which we call Thibet. These, however, and also Bhotan, are inhabited by kindred tribes of people, who resemble each other strongly in features, complexion, language, and manners. In the plate opposite to page 40 of Kirkpatrick’s Nepaul, are well represented, in a sitting posture, two persons of this nation, although, by some mistake, probably in the publisher, they are called natives of Nepal.

The Lamas are the priests of the sect of Bouddh, in Thibet and the adjacent territories, and are monks, who have nominally at least forsaken the pleasures of the world. They totally reject the doctrine of cast, and a person of any nation may be admitted into the order. The whole, at least of those at a distance, consider themselves as under the authority of Sakya Gomba, who came from India about the time of Jesus Christ, and has ever since resided at Lassa, where he remains in perpetual youth. On this account he is not considered as an incarnation, (Avatar.) There are, however, many personages of this sect who are considered as incarnations of different Buddhas, or persons who have obtained divinity. These enter into the bodies of children, and inspire them through life; and when the body dies, the deity enters into another. Of this nature is the Dharma Raja, or spiritual chief of what we call Bhotan; and still more celebrated is the Tishu Lama, who resides at Degarchi, and is the spiritual guide of the Chinese emperors. This class of supposed deities seems to be pretty numerous, as, in the territory of the Lapcha and Kirats, their number would appear to have been at least twelve, as so many were known to my informant, who was only well acquainted with the former territory. The ordinary lamas pretend only to be saints. The best account I have seen of their doctrine is that given by the learned Pallas, which is much more complete than any I could procure in Nepal. The followers of Buddh have had five great lawgivers, and a sixth is daily expected. As each of these is supposed to have been an incarnation of a Buddh or Bourkan, and as all have been usually taken as one person, we may readily account for the difference that prevails in the opinions concerning the era when this sect arose. Gautama is the fourth of those lawgivers, and his doctrine alone is received by the priests of Ava, who reject the fifth as a heretic; but by the Bouddhists of Nepal, Thibet, Tartary, and China, he is named Sakya. Gautama, according to the best authorities, lived in the sixth century before the Christian era, and Sakya in the first century after the birth of our Lord.

Although there is no distinction of cast among the Sayn or Bhotiyas, yet they are not without differences in religious opinions; for some of them in Nepal worship at Swayambhunath, while others prefer a temple of Bouddhama, which is situated near Pasupanath. The doctrine of Sakya Singha differs most essentially from that of Gautama. The Bhotiyas, following the former, worship all the spirits, that by the Burmas are called Nat, a practice which is held in abhorrence by the Rahans of Ava. They also consider the Buddhs as emanations from a supreme deity, view many of their Lamas as incarnations of a Buddh, and accordingly worship them as living Gods, although they do not consider them as equal to Sakya, who is the Lama of Lassa. There is among the Lamas no prohibition against the laity from studying any character or any book; but they must have wonderfully degraded the human understanding, when they can induce the people to swallow the belief in the deities living among them. It is true, that these are in all probability very much secluded, and rarely shown to the vulgar, except at a very great distance, and in obscurity; but still this seems to be nearly the utmost height of human imbecility.

The belief of Sakya having lived among them since about the commencement of the Christian era, is probably confined to Nepal, and other remote parts, where no means of knowing the contrary exists. Such an absurdity could scarcely pass among actual observers, however degraded in understanding, and in Thibet the Lama of Lassa is probably considered as merely an incarnation of Sakya.

Besides the countries which we call Thibet and Bootan, the Bhotiyas occupy, every where between the Kali and the Tista, the Alpine region adjacent to the snowy peaks of Emodus, on both sides of that chief of mountains, where none of the highland tribes above mentioned can endure the cold of winter any more than the Bhotiyas can suffer the moderate summer heats of Kathmandu. This induces me to think, that the present highland tribes, although of the same race with the people of Thibet, had originally occupied the plains, and, on the invasion of the present Hindus, had retired to the mountains, so far as they considered the temperature of the air tolerable, just as a colony of Hindus had retired to the same quarter, to avoid Mohammedan intolerance. In a region so extended, as that occupied by the Bhotiya nation, it is probable, that there exists a great variety of custom and dialect, for I heard of many different kinds, even among those who inhabit the southern face of Emodus; but the accounts given by people of different tribes and languages, differed so much, that I can say nothing satisfactory on the subject, especially as the season, when I resided on the frontier, was totally insufferable to a Bhotiya, so that I had no opportunity of conversing with them; the Lama from whom I received an account of the Lapchas being by birth a Murmi.

I have already said that the Murmis are by many considered as a kind of Bhotiyas, but this the Lama denied, and the languages seem to have little affinity. I heard, besides, of Khat, Sirmi, and Kutung or Kutiya Bhotiyas, but cannot venture to speak of the nature of these distinctions, farther than to state, that the Khat Bhotiyas are mentioned by Colonel Kirkpatrick {59} as having long governed Nepal before the Newars, and as at this time occupying the lower parts of Bhotan, (Kachar,) on which subject I have already given my opinion. The resemblance to be traced between the Newar and Murmi languages, induces me to suppose that these two tribes are originally the same, and the historical hints given by Colonel Kirkpatrick induce me to draw the conclusion, that the Newars are Khat Bhotiyas, who have adopted some new customs in consequence of a greater connection with the Hindus. I never, indeed, heard the Murmis and Khat Bhotiyas mentioned as the same; but the former I have often heard named Siyena Bhotiyas, which is very likely to be another appellation for the Khat Bhotiyas, one name implying wild or forest Bhotiyas, and the other implying Bhotiyas who eat carrion like jackalls.

The Bhotiyas, at least the greater part of those in Thibet, neglect agriculture, and, like the Dasnami Sannyasis of Puraniya, chiefly pursue commerce and a life of monkish austerity, but occasionally they wield the sword; and the principal support of the country is in its mines, and its numerous and various herds of cattle. The quantity of grain is said to be very inconsiderable, and both it and the herds of cattle are probably reared by some inferior tribe; but on this subject I have not yet had sufficient information. I have only learned, that the highest and proper Bhotiyas confine their attention entirely to religion, commerce, and arms, and it is in the first alone that they have had much success.

One circumstance relative to the Bhotiyas is remarkable, and seems to me to decide a matter that has long been agitated concerning the natural history of man. All those that I have seen at Kathmandu, not only from the territory of Gorkha, but from Mostong, Kuti, Lasa, and Degarchi, are as black as the natives of Canton or Ava. Climate is not, therefore, able to change the colour of a nation; but it seems to have a greater effect on the temperament. Cold can produce a change of temperament from the melancholic and choleric to the phlegmatic and sanguine, and heat acting on the human frame, is capable of producing a contrary revolution. Hence, rosy cheeks and lips are frequently observed among the mountain Hindus of Nepal, although they are very little fairer than those of Madras.

Such are the principal tribes that occupy the mountains subject to the dominion of Nepal, or rather of Gorkha. In the plains adjacent to the mountains, and subject to the same prince, are several other tribes; but it is my intention to treat of them when I describe the Company’s provinces, where the greater part of these tribes is now found.

CHAPTER SECOND. NATURE OF THE COUNTRY.

Division into four Regions from their relative elevation.—First, or Plain Region, or Tariyani.—Soil.—Productions, Animal and Vegetable.—Cultivation.—Climate.—Rivers.—Second, or Hilly Region—Productions.—Minerals.—Forests.—Birds.—Vallies called Dun.—Cultivation.—Climate.—Third, or Mountainous Region.—Elevation.—Climate.—Diseases.—Cultivation.—Pasture.—Sheep and Cattle.—Minerals.—Spontaneous Vegetables.—Extent.—Fourth, or Alpine Region.—Vallies.—Mountains.—Productions, Mineral, Animal, and Vegetable.

I shall next proceed to give a general view of the appearance, soil, climate, and productions of the country, and for this purpose I must divide it into four stages of elevation. My actual observations are confined to the three lower of these, and I have seen these only in the vicinity of the capital. What I say concerning the highest region is, therefore, entirely from report, and what I mention concerning the others, so far as I write from actual observation, is strictly applicable only to the parts near the capital; but inquiries have enabled me to judge, that a great similarity prevails over the whole territory, and whatever differences have come to my knowledge shall be mentioned either in this part, or when I come to treat of the different principalities, which have now been subjected to the chief of Gorkha.

The lowest region is a part of the great plain of Hindustan. In a few places the Company’s territory extends to the foot of the mountains which bound the great plain on the north, which are called Himadri, Himachul, Himalichul, or Himaliya, and which form the Emodus of the ancients: but in most parts the dominions of Gorkha extend about twenty miles into the plain, and it seems in general to have been the policy of the princes of India to allow the mountain chiefs, even when very petty, to retain at least this extent of the low country, as being too obnoxious to their incursions to be of a value adequate to defray the expense of its defence. At times, some of the mountain tribes, which had acquired power, have been able to extend their authority over the plains much farther, and as none of them have ever equalled in power the chiefs of Gorkha, these have for some time been eager in taking every opportunity of encroachment; but although powerful, they have been opposed by a force vastly more formidable than was ever before known in India, and this has checked their power, which might have been very formidable to an undisciplined state however extensive.

This low region is called Tariyani, Tarai, or Ketoni, and, as I have said, is, in general, about twenty miles in width. In this space there are a few scattered small hills, and much poor high land overgrown with trees and bushes of little value; but there is, also, a very large proportion of rich land, and on the whole the soil is much better than in the adjacent parts of the Company’s territory.

I do not intend here to enter into a detailed account of its productions; because they are nearly the same with those of the Company’s adjacent territory, of which it is my intention to give hereafter a full account, only being less cultivated, there are in the Tariyani more wild beasts, especially elephants and rhinoceroses. The breed of the former is considered as uncommonly bad, and it has been lately remarked to me by Mr Venour, the surgeon at Puraniya, that every one of them has a toe of some one of its feet very much lengthened, which gives the foot an unseemly appearance. So far as I have been able to observe since, the remark of Mr Venour is accurate; but the number of elephants of this kind that I have seen is not great. In the dry season the elephants retire to the lower ranges of hills; but in the rainy season they abandon these forests, and are then very destructive to the crops, which, indeed, prevents the natives from being so attentive to the cultivation of rice as they otherwise would be, so that, although the country is best adapted for the culture of this grain, the farmers content themselves chiefly with winter crops of wheat, barley, and mustard. The Raja reserves to himself the sole right of catching the elephants, and annually procures a considerable number. They are sold on his account at 200 Mohurs, or 86 rupees, for every cubit of their height; but five cubits of the royal measure are only six English feet. As few merchants are willing to give this price for elephants which have not been seasoned, the Raja generally forces them on such persons as have claims on the court, who sell their elephants in the best manner they can. Tigers are not so numerous as might have been expected in a country so uncultivated. Black bears of a great size are more numerous, and are very troublesome. Wild hogs, hog-deer, hares, foxes, and jackalls, are to be found in abundance.

In the waste lands of the Tariyani, the most common trees are the _Palas_, (_Erythina monosperma_, Lamarck,) and the _Simul_, (_Bombax heptaphyllum_, Lamarck;) but by far the greater part of these wastes is covered with long grass or reeds, which once a year are burned, in order to keep the country clear, and to improve the pasture. Owing to the moisture and coolness of the air, the fields, at all seasons, preserve some verdure, but the grass seems to be of a very bad quality, as the cattle, although abundantly supplied with it, are to the last degree wretched; still, however, in the heats of spring, very large herds are sent from the Company’s provinces to these wastes. In these, also, there grows a great quantity of the species of _Ischæmum_ called _Sabe_, of which ropes are made, and of which a good deal is exported to the territory of the Company.

Before the conquest by the Nepalese, the petty Rajas, who governed its different portions, were so much afraid of their neighbours, that they did not promote the cultivation of this low land. They rather encouraged extensive woods, and contented themselves, in a great measure, with the produce of the forests in timber, elephants, and pasture; even then, however, many rich spots were occupied, and very productive; but they were so buried in the forests as to be little observable. The Gorkhalese, being more confident, have cleared much of the country, although still a great deal remains to be done. Even now they export a considerable quantity of grain; and, were property somewhat more secure, this territory is capable of yielding considerable resources. Its tobacco is said to be uncommonly good, and the reddish cotton wool is said to be very thriving.

In the annexed register of the weather, the state of the atmosphere, during the two months stay which I made in the country, will be seen. The climate is considerably cooler and moister than that in the vicinity of Patna; and the hot winds, according to report, are almost a month later in commencing, than they are at that city. Our residence in the Tariyani was at the most favourable season; but about the time (1st April) at which we advanced towards Nepal, the country becomes very unhealthy, good water for drinking becomes very scarce, and, till the cold season, the people are very subject to fevers and disorders in the bowels, which by the natives of Nepal are attributed to the Ayul, or a poisonous air, which many of them imagine proceeds from the breath of large serpents, supposed to inhabit the forests of the northern mountains. The existence of such serpents in any considerable number, is very doubtful, and rational men assign a more natural origin to the Ayul or bad air. They say, that the ground in the forests, during spring, is covered with fallen leaves, which are rotted by the first rains of the hot season, and, by their putrefaction, corrupt the air. They accordingly allege, that the climate continues healthy, until the first rain after the commencement of the hot season, after which the unhealthy season begins, and continues until the cold weather, although it abates considerably of its virulence with the heavy rains which happen after the solstice.

The Tariyani is intersected by numerous small rivers, which not only serve for watering the crops in the latter end of the dry season; but, when they are swollen by rain, become navigable, and enable the farmer to send the produce of his fields to a good market. These rivers also serve to float down the valuable timber that abounds in the forests, by which the hills are skirted. The term Tariyani, indeed implies the country’s being navigable.

Fish are found in abundance in the rivers of the Tariyani; and the mullet, which I call Mugil Corsula, and the carp, which I call Cyprinus Rohita, are of an excellent quality.

Bounding the above mentioned plain on the north, is a region of nearly the same width. It consists of small hills, rising, however, gradually towards the north, and watered by many small rivers, which spring from the southern faces of the first lofty mountains, to which these hills gradually unite.

The channels of these rivers or torrents, even when they have no communication with the high mountains, are filled with fragments of granite and shistose mica; but the hills themselves are in general composed of clay, intermixed with various proportions of sand, mica, and gravel. This mixture contains many masses of rock, and is disposed in strata, that are either horizontal, or dip towards the north with an angle less than 25 degrees. In many places, these heterogeneous materials have been indurated into stone of considerable hardness. But besides those, I observed many rocks in these hills, especially in deep vallies, where they were disposed in vertical strata, running easterly and westerly, and consisting of limestone, hornstone, and aggregates, usually called primitive. These parts abound in incrustations, formed by the deposition of calcareous matter; but I have not been able to hear of the exuviæ of marine animals, except such as are washed down by the Gandaki, and are loose in its channel. The calcareous matter has either formed itself in crusts, covering the surface of rocks, or has assumed the form of the mosses, lichens, and other such plants, that it has covered.