Chapter IV: Part I: The Primary Varieties of the Human Species (1)

I. MONGOLIDÆ.

II. ATLANTIDÆ.

III. IAPETIDÆ.

The questions connected with the Natural History of the Human Species are so thoroughly questions of descent, affiliation, or pedigree, that I have no hesitation in putting the names of the primary divisions in the form of Greek patronymics; the supposed ancestor (or _eponymus_) being, of course, no real individual, but an ethnological fiction.

To have used, instead, the words _stock_, _race_, _tribe_, or even the more scientific terms--_order_, _class_, _sub-order_, preceded by an adjective, and to have spoken of the _Mongolian stock_, _race_, _tribe_ or _order_, &c., would, apparently, have been the correcter method. It is not, however, so convenient. Every word of the sort in question is either required for the expression of the minor divisions, or is objectionable on other grounds.

I am also aware that this use of the forms in _-idæ_ to express the divisions of a _species_, rather than those of an _order_, is at variance with the nomenclature of the zoologists. Still, the terms are less embarrassed with inconveniences than any I have hit upon.

I. MONGOLIDÆ.--Face broad and flat from either the development
of the zygomata, or that of the parietal bones; often from
the depression of the nasal bones. Frontal profile retiring,
or depressed, rarely approaching the perpendicular. Maxillary
profile, moderately prognathic or projecting, rarely
orthognathic. Eyes often oblique. Skin rarely a true white;
rarely a jet black. Irides generally dark. Hair straight, and
lank, and black; rarely light-coloured; sometimes curly, rarely
woolly.

_Languages._--Aptotic, and agglutinate; rarely with a truly
amalgamate inflection.

_Distribution._--Asia, Polynesia, America.

_Influence upon the history of the world._--Material rather
than moral.

II. ATLANTIDÆ.--Maxillary profile projecting, nasal generally
flat, frontal retiring, cranium dolikhokephalic, the parietal
diameter being generally narrow. Eyes rarely oblique. Skin
often jet-black, very rarely approaching a pure white.
Hair crisp, woolly, rarely straight, still more rarely
light-coloured.

_Languages._--With an agglutinate, rarely an amalgamate
inflection.

_Distribution._--Africa.

_Influence on the history of the world._--Inconsiderable.

III. IAPETIDÆ.--Maxillary profile but little projecting, nasal
often prominent, frontal sometimes nearly vertical. Face rarely
very flat, moderately broad. Skull generally dolikhokephalic.
Eyes rarely oblique. Skin white, or brunette. Hair never
woolly, often light-coloured. Irides black, blue, grey.

_Languages._--With amalgamate inflections, or else anaptotic;
rarely agglutinate, never aptotic.

_Distribution._--Europe.

_Influence on the history of the world._--Greater than that
of either the Mongolidæ or the Atlantidæ. Moral as well as
material.

These characters have been framed to meet the typical, sub-typical, and _quasi_-transitional, but not the true transitional forms. The reason of this is clear. Where the transition is _real_, and where the affiliation in the way of descent coincides with similarity of conformation, the tribe thus situated belong to _two_ divisions, rather than to any single one.

MONGOLIDÆ.

DIVISIONS.

A.--THE ALTAIC MONGOLIDÆ.
B.--THE DIOSCURIAN MONGOLIDÆ.
C.--THE OCEANIC MONGOLIDÆ.
D.--THE HYPERBOREAN MONGOLIDÆ.
E.--THE PENINSULAR MONGOLIDÆ.
F.--THE AMERICAN MONGOLIDÆ.
G.--THE INDIAN MONGOLIDÆ.

A.

ALTAIC MONGOLIDÆ.

The term Altaic is taken from the Altai mountains in Central Asia, these being a convenient geographical centre for the different nations and tribes comprised in this division. It contains the following sub-divisions:--

1. The Seriform Stock.

2. The Turanian Stock.

I.

_SERIFORM STOCK._

_Physical conformation._--Mongol.

_Languages._--Either wholly aptotic, or with only the rudiments
of an inflection.

_Area._--China, Tibet, and the Indo-Chinese, or Transgangetic,
Peninsula, as far as Malaya; the Himalayan, and parts of the
sub-Himalayan, range of mountains.

_Chief Divisions._--1. The Chinese. 2. The Tibetans. 3. The
Anamese. 4. The Siamese. 5. The Kambojians. 6. The Burmese. 7.
The Môn. 8. Numerous unplaced tribes.

I have begun with the nations and tribes represented by the Chinese, Tibetans, and Indo-Chinese, on the strength of the primitive condition of their languages. This represents the earliest known stage of human speech; by which I mean, not that it was spoken earlier than the other tongues of the world, but only that it has changed, or grown, more slowly. I should also add, that over and above the fact of these languages being destitute of true inflection, the separate words generally consist of only a single syllable. Hence the class has been called _monosyllabic_. This latter character, however, has no _essential_ connection with the aptotic form. A language of dissyllables or trisyllables may, for any thing known to the contrary, be as destitute of inflections as a monosyllabic one. Still, it must be admitted that no such tongue has yet been discovered.

THE CHINESE.

_Locality._--China; bounded by the countries of the Koreans,
Mantshu, Mongolians, Tibetans, and the hill tribes of the
Transgangetic Peninsula and Assam.

_Religion._--Modified Buddhism, or the religion of Fo.

_Mode of Writing._--Rhæmatographic, _i.e._ the written signs
represent whole _words_;[9] not merely the parts of words,
single articulate sounds or syllables.

_Physical Conformation._--Mongoliform. According to Prichard
the maxillary profile projects. According to Retzius, the
maxillary profile projects, and the cranial development is
elongated, or occipito-frontal. That the jaw, in some degree,
projects, and that the forehead also retires, is shown by a
remark of Tradescant Lay's,--_e.g._: that the Chinese profile
slopes upwards from the chin to the beginning of the hairy
scalp.

No country in the world of equal magnitude with China has so homogeneous or so dense a population. From the ocean to Tibet, from Korea to Cochin-China, the language is one, and the physiognomy is one; and it is only when we reach the mountain-ridges of the west and south, that we find, in the ruder and more imperfectly civilized tribes that inhabit them, any material variation from the general uniformity of the most populous empire in the world. This is the case whatever be the test that is applied. The language varies from the refined speech of the Mandarins to the comparative rudeness of certain provincial dialects; the complexion and contour of the face vary also; and the civilization is less characteristic in some districts than in others; but all these deviations lie within narrow limits.

In China, the steppe-land of High Asia slopes downwards to the North Pacific. Hence we have a sea-board of average proportion as compared with the inland area. It faces, however, one ocean only; and that the Pacific. Of this no island larger than Hainan is inhabited by a Chinese population; Formosa _not_ being Chinese. No mountain-ranges are of sufficient magnitude to be compared with the systems of Tibet or those of the Transgangetic Peninsula. Still, there are three well-marked watersheds--that of the Hoang-ho on the north, that of the Canton River on the south, and that of Kiang-Ku between them: and there are the fertile alluvial valleys corresponding.

Upon the whole the physical geography of China is that of an agricultural and industrial population. This the Chinese are to a preeminent degree: and when we come to the Malay Archipelago we shall find that they are also traders. I am much more inclined to measure their civilization by this test, than by their pretensions to an indigenous literature of an almost unfathomable antiquity; a point which will be noticed in the sequel.

In physical conformation the Chinese have a yellow-brown complexion, a broad face, and a scanty beard, lank black hair, dark irides, and a stature below that of the European. This is what we expect, as part and parcel of the common Mongol characteristics. Harshness of feature they have in a less degree than the true Mongolians; a tendency to obesity in a greater. In this respect, they have been called _Mongols softened down_. This is what they really are. One point of physiognomy, however, is more peculiarly Chinese than aught else,--viz. the linear character, and oblique direction of the opening of the eyes. This is _narrow_, so that little of the eye is seen. It is also drawn upwards at its outer angle, and so becomes oblique in its position. Sometimes in addition to this the upper eyelid hangs heavy and tumid over the eyeball; and sometimes the skin forms a crescentic fold between the inner angle of the eye and the nose; as may be seen in individuals out of China, and which is not uncommon in England.

Now the peculiarity that I have just attempted to describe, is one of the minute points of difference between the Chinese and several other Mongol nations. The _oblique eye_ will often be noticed in the following pages; sometimes from the fact of its presence, sometimes from that of its absence. It is not exclusively Chinese: but it is found in its most marked form in China.

THE TIBETANS.

_Localities._--Tibet, Bután, Ladakh, Bultistan, or Little Tibet.

_Political relations._--Tibet, subject to China, Ladakh a part
of the Sikh empire, Bultistan and Bután, independent.

_Divisions._--1. The Bhot of Tibet. 2. The Bhután Tibetans. 3.
The Ladakh Tibetans. 4. The Bulti.

_Conterminous._--Taking the family altogether, with the
Chinese, Mongolians, Turks, Northern tribes and nations of
Hindostan, North-Western tribes of the Burmese empire, and
certain tribes akin to the Persians.

_Religion._--Chiefly Buddhism. Brahminism on the Indian
frontier. Shia Mahometanism in Little Tibet.

_Language._--Dialects, in some cases, perhaps, independent
languages, of the Tibetan.

_Alphabet._--Derived from the Pali of India.

_Physical appearance._--Mongol.

1.--_The Bhot._--These are the inhabitants of Tibet Proper, and Tangut. They are all Buddhists in the more exaggerated form; and it is in the Tibetan monasteries where the greatest abundance of Buddhist literature is to be found. This is almost wholly religious, and in a great measure a translation from either the Sanskrit or the Pali. The first century after Christ is generally considered as the epoch at which the religion was introduced into Tibet: and this epoch is a likely one.

2.--_The Tibetans of Bután._--Although Buddhists, the Tibetans of Bután have been modified by Hindu influences. Their government is that of a Rajah, and many of their outlying tribes are extended to the south of the Himalayan range.

3.--_Ladakh Tibetans._--With the exception of the southern frontier of Bután, Ladakh is the portion of the Tibetan area which is best known, and where the proper Tibetan type is most subjected to foreign influences. Although the religion be the religion of Buddha, there was a short interval of Mahometanism. Originally dependent upon the Guru Lama of Hlassa, Ladakh subsequently became one of the extreme points of the Chinese empire, retaining its own princes. In the reign, however, of Aurungzeb, it was overrun by the Turks. These, however, Aurungzeb expelled at the request of the fugitive Rajah, who promised to become Mahometan in return; and kept his promise. It was broken, however, by his successor, so that the religion of Mahomet was professed for a time only. It was, however, tolerated afterwards. The last conquest of Ladakh was by the Sikhs under Runjeet Singh; and it now follows the fortunes of the Sikh dynasty. This has opened a door to the Indians of the Punjâb. To these elements of intermixture may be added, the presence of numerous settlers from Cashmir. Lastly, there is a settlement of Shia Mahometans from Little Tibet.

4.--_The Bulti of Bultistan, or Little Tibet._--The most differential characteristic of the Bulti Tibetans, is that they are no Buddhists, but Mahometans, of the Shia persuasion, their conversion having come from Persia. It has been already stated that the Bulti enjoy a political independence.

_Kunawer._(?) I have not examined how far the Kunawer tribes, located where the Sutlege breaks through the Himalayas, deserve to be classed as a separate division. At all events their language is monosyllabic (probably closely allied to the Ladakh), as may be seen in the Theburskud, Milchan, and Súmchú vocabularies of Gerard.[10]

_The Polyandria of Tibet._--The current doctrine respecting the so-called Polyandria of Tibet, is that it is the common polygamy of the east reversed; _i.e._, that one woman marries several husbands, who may all be alive _at the same time_.

What is most certain upon this obscure point is that the surviving brother inherits the wife of the one that died.

It is not so certain, although highly probably, that the wife is the property of two or more brothers _at the same time_.

At any rate the marriage, if so it may be called, is confined to the circle of the brothers-in-law. Perhaps the truth is that every brother-in-law is a husband.

THE ANAMESE.

_Locality._--Tunkín and Cochin-China.

_Conterminous_ with the Chinese; and, except so far as they are
partially separated by mountain-tribes, with the Kambojians and
Siamese.

_Religion._--Buddhism.

_Language._--Different from, but allied to, the Chinese.

_Physical Appearance._--Like that of the Chinese, except that
the average height is somewhat less. Upper extremities long,
lower, short and stout. Form of the skull more globular than
square. Eyelids less turned than that of the Chinese. Mouth
large; lips prominent, but not thick; moustache more abundant
than beard; beard scanty, though encouraged. Colour more yellow
than either brown or blackish. Clothing abundant.--_Finlayson
from Prichard._

THE SIAMESE.

_Locality._--From the Gulf of Siam and the neck of the
Malayan Peninsula to the frontiers of China. Part of Assam.
Conterminous on the east, except so far as they are separated
by mountain tribes, with the Anamese, and Kambojians; on the
west, subject to the same limitation, with the Môn of Pegu, and
the tribes of the Burmese empire. On the south with the Malays
of the Malayan Peninsula.

_Synonym._--T'hay, the native name.

_Religion._--Buddhist.

_Alphabets._--Of Indian origin, rounded forms of the Pali.
_Chief Divisions._--Laos, Shyán, (Ahom?) Khamti.

_Physical Appearance._--Average height of twenty men, taken
indiscriminately, five feet three inches, the tallest being
five feet eight inches, the shortest, five feet two inches.
Limbs and trunk robust. Complexion, light brown, lighter than
the Malay, darker than the Chinese. Hair, black, lank, coarse
and abundant. Hairy scalp descends low. Nose small, but not
flattened; nostrils divergent. Sclerotica yellowish. Outer
angles of the eye turned upwards. Cheek-bones broad and high.
Lower jaw square, so as to look as if the parotid gland were
swollen.--_Crawford and Finlayson from Prichard._

In the history of the Siamese Tribes, the conquest of Assam is, perhaps, the most important event; and this is connected with their wide distribution.

In the lower part of the valley of Assam the language is Bengali, or nearly so; but only in the lower part. The upper half is peopled by different small mountain tribes, one of which is the Khamti.

_The Khamti._--In the North Eastern corner of Assam, the Khamti are conterminous with the Singpho, Mishimi, and Miri, and are traditionally reported to have emigrated from the head-waters of the Irawaddi. In physical appearance they are middle-sized, more resembling the Chinese than any tribe on the frontier. Perhaps, a shade darker in complexion. Their alphabet is Siamese; and their language, far north as it is spoken, when compared with the Siamese of Bankok, closely resembles that dialect. In Brown's[11] Vocabularies the proportion of words, similar or identical, in Khamti and Siamese, is 92 _per cent._

Still it is by no means certain that the Khamti represent the original conquerors. These were Ahoms; their alphabet was _Ahom_, and the language _Ahom_. The Ahom, however, was Siamese; and probably the Khamti was a dialect of it.

The Ahom literature, preserved in the books of the Assam priesthood, is said to be remarkable for the negative fact of there being in it no traces of the Hindu religion--either Buddhist or Brahminical. This speaks much either in favour of the antiquity of the conquest, or for the recent date of the Hindu influence.

In A.D. 1695, the Brahminical religion was established in Assam: how much earlier is uncertain.

THE KAMBOJIANS.

_Locality._--Lower course of the Mekhong river. East of the
Siamese, west of the Anamese, except so for as they may be
separated by isolated mountain tribes, conterminous with these
nations.

Our knowledge respecting the Kambojians is not sufficiently definite to enable us to say how far they differ, or how far they agree with certain tribes of the interior, which have been described separately. In Prichard I find that they were supposed by the Portuguese to have been derived from a warlike nation of the interior, called _Kho_, or _Gueo_; who are still represented as painting and tattooing their bodies.

Now these Kho, or Gueo, are probably the _Ka_ described along with the _Chong_, as a separate people. If so we are enabled to dispose of three unplaced tribes; since, by Crawfurd's Ka and Chong vocabularies we can connect, perhaps identify, them with the Kambojians.

ENGLISH. KA. CHONG. KAMBOJIAN.

_Sun_ tangi tańgi tangai.
_Moon_ kot kang ke.
_Stone_ tamoe tamok tamo.
_Water_ dak tak tak.
_River_ dak-tani talle tanle.
_Fire_ un pleu plung.
_Fish_ tre mel trai.
_One_ moe moe moe.
_Two_ bar bar pir.
_Three_ peh peh bai.
_Four_ puan pon buan.
_Five_ chang pram pram.

Most of the Ka, and Chong words which are not Kambojian are either Anamitic or Môn.

Furthermore, in Crawfurd's Embassy to Siam, a vocabulary representing a fourth Kambojian dialect is given; the Khomen.

THE BURMESE.

_Locality._--Valley of the Irawaddi. Conterminous, save so far
as interrupted by mountain-tribes, with Assam, China, Siam, and
Pegu.

_Divisions._--1. The Myamma, or Burmese of Ava. 2. The
Rhukheng, or people of Arakan.

_Religion._--Buddhist.

_Alphabet._--Of Indian origin, a rounded form of the Pali.

_Physical appearance._--More beard, more prominent features,
and darker complexions than the Siamese, Anamese, and Chinese.
Beard also more abundant. The darkness of complexion increasing
towards the confines of Bengal.

THE MÔN.

_Locality._--The Delta of the Irawaddi; Pegu.

_Alphabet._--Burmese.

The notices hitherto given have applied only to the great _political_ divisions of the variety speaking monosyllabic languages; and have referred to nations of a known and similar degree of civilization. It would be an error, however, to suppose that they supply a complete enumeration. Hardly an empire mentioned will not exhibit some instance of a new series of phenomena standing over for investigation. The Chinese, the Burmese, and the Siamese, represent merely the dominant tribes of their several areas; those whereof the civilization and territorial power have given their possessors a certain degree of prominence in the history of the world. The intermixed tribes, sometimes imperfectly subdued, always imperfectly civilized, inhabiting barren tracts or mountain fastnesses, have a value in ethnology which they cannot command in history. In these we see the original substratum of the different national characters, as it may be supposed to have shown itself, before it was modified by foreign influences. In a more advanced stage of our knowledge, these tribes will probably be brought under one of the sub-divisions already noticed. At present, even when in some cases they may be so placed, it is best to take them in detail; premising that, the list does not pretend to be exhaustive, that, from the fluctuations of the geographical nomenclature, the same tribe may be mentioned twice over, and, lastly, that partly from imperfect knowledge, and partly from changes of locality, arising from migrations of the tribes themselves, the geographical position is, in many cases, difficult to fix.

The notice, however, of the minor representatives, real or supposed, of the great division of the human race speaking monosyllabic languages now commences.

THE SI-FAN.

The word[12] _Si_ means _west_, whilst _Fan_ means _stranger_;
so that _Si-fan_ means _western strangers_. The term means
one or more of the wilder tribes on the Tibetan or Mongolian
frontier.

Nothing is less likely than that the _Si-fan_ should differ
in _kind_ from the Chinese--unless it be that they are Turk,
Mongol, or Tibetan.

THE MIAOU-TSE.

These are the so-called _aborigines_ of China. It were, perhaps, more accurate to call them the Chinese in their most aboriginal form. The term means _children of the soil_. Their localities are the mountains of Southern and Central China. They seem to consist of a number of tribes rather than to constitute any particular people; so that it is possible that many varieties of the primitive Chinese may be comprised under the general appellation. Those of _Ping-sha-hwang_ are divided into the _white_ and _black_ Miaou-tse; from the difference of their complexion. Both the Abbé Gosier and Tradescant Lay[13] speak to their indomitable courage, and to their spirit of independence, their subjection being still imperfect. Their weapons are the bow and cross-bow. Their employment agriculture. The following is an account of their religious rites from the author last named.

"_Religious Rites._--When a man among the _Miaou-tse_ who inhabit the _Ping-sha-shih_ hills, marries, he sticks five small flags into a bundle of grass fastened together by about seven different bands. Before this strange pageant he kneels, while the rest of his friends fold their arms and bow; after this they make merry with music and dancing. At the death of father or mother, the eldest son remains at home for forty-nine days without washing his face; when this period has been completed, he sacrifices to a divinity which is called _Fang-kwei_, and seems to correspond in office with Mercury, who, according to the views of ancient mythology, conducted the spirits of the dead to the abodes of happiness. If the eldest son be poor, and cannot afford to lose the labour of so long a time, the grandson or some other descendant performs this duty in his stead. Among the mountaineers styled the _Hea-king_, when a man is sick, his friends offer the head of a tiger to the prince of divinities. The head is placed upon a charger, with a sword; three incense-sticks and two candles behind it, and three cups of wine in front. Before this curious oblation the worshippers fold their hands, or cross their arms and bow themselves. Another tribe, when they would propitiate the good-will of the powers which influence the weather, appoint ten companies of young men and women, who, after dressing themselves in robes made of felt, and binding their loins with an embroidered girdle, dance and play the organ with every suitable demonstration of joy and festivity. This gay ceremony is kept up for three days and three nights, at the end of which they sacrifice an ox, to obtain, says the Chinese writer, a plentiful year. A father among the same people, when his son is ten months old, offers a white tiger, and accompanies the oblation with such rites of merriment as his circumstances can afford. At this time a name is given to the child. This reminds us of a modern christening, when the solemnities of religion are straightway followed by the mirth, good cheer, and gaieties of a festival. When a tribe called the _Chung-king_ mourn for their dead, they kill an ox, and place the head and feet upon an altar, with basins filled with food, lighted candles, and cups of wine by way of drink-offering. The altar resembles a table, and explains a phrase used in Isaiah, "Ye have prepared a table for that number." The bridal ceremonies with another tribe are attended by the sacrifice of a dog, at which the relatives of husband and wife are present.

"A people called the _Western Miaou-tse_, in the middle of autumn offer a sacrifice to the great ancestor or founder of their race. For this purpose, they select a male ox or buffalo which is well covered with hair, and has its horns quite perfect; that is, in other words, an animal without blemish. To put it in good condition, they feed it with grass and water till the rice or corn is ripe, when the animal is fat. They then distil a certain quantity of spirit from the grain, and slay the ox. Being thus provided for a feast, they invite all their relatives, who come and carouse with them amidst plays, singing, and the loud challenges of jolly companions. In the first-fruits which the Chinese present at the close of harvest, we have a representative of Cain's offering; but in the ceremony just described, there are some traces of that which Abel brought to the altar. The aboriginal Chinese retain the rite, but the object worshipped is disguised under an equivocal name,--equivocal, because the Creator has a claim to the title of original ancestor by way of eminence, as well as the common parent of mankind. When the mind of man was darkened, he confounded Adam with his Maker, and worshipped the creature instead of the Creator, who is blessed for ever.

"With the _White Miaou-tse_, a rite is observed somewhat in character like the last, but for a different purpose. These select an ox well-proportioned and carrying a perfect pair of horns. This animal they feed carefully to prepare it for sacrifice. Each cantonment keeps an ox in this way in readiness to be offered to the great ancestor, whenever, in any of their contests, victory shall declare in their favour. After the sacrifice has been performed by the master of the sacrifice, or priest, the relatives of the sacrificer join in a regular festivity of singing and drinking. A tribe commended for the purity of their disposition and their obedience to the magistrate, at the death of a person collect a large quantity of fuel together, and, I suppose, make a great burning for him. When a man is about to marry among a particular race of mountaineers, he allows two of his teeth to be knocked out with a hammer and hard chisel, to avert the mischiefs of matrimony. These, too, cut off the forelocks and spread the hair behind; they also, like the Chinese, bestow some attention upon the beauty of their eyebrows."

THE LOLOS.

Probably these belong more to Siam[14] than to China. _Mutatis
mutandis_, they are on the southern frontier what the Si-fan
are on the west.

They are so far civilized as to have taken their religion
(Buddhism), and an alphabet from Ava or Pegu.

THE QUANTO.

The Quanto inhabit[14] the range of mountains between Anam
and China. They represent the original civilization, or want
of civilization, of Cochin-China and Tonkin,--_i.e._ of
Cochin-China and Tonkin before the influence of China.

They are in possession of an alphabet.

THE TSHAMPA.

Inhabitants of the southernmost[14] coast of Cochin-China.
Their language, of which I have not seen a specimen, is said
to differ from both the Chinese and the Kambojian. They are
a civilized people, and were so in the time of Marco Polo.
According to Crawfurd, their civilization was, to a certain
extent, due to Indian influences. At present there is a Malay
settlement on their coast.

THE MOY.

The southern part of the mountains which form the watershed
between Cochin-China and Kambojia is the residence of the Moy.
According to Chapman, they are eminently dark-complexioned;
an observation which will be found in the sequel to apply
to several other of the minor tribes of the division in
question.[14]

_Sub-divisions of the Laos branch of the Siamese._--As laid down in the maps, the Laos fill up the whole area between China on the north, Siam on the south, Cochin-China and Kambojia on the east, and Ava on the west; of this area, however, little is known in detail.

One of the divisions of the Laos is called _Lau[14]-pang-dun_, or the _Black_ Laos, from the darkness of their complexion.

Tribes, too, called _Pa-y_ and _Pa-pe_,[15] are said to be Laos.

Lastly, the relations between the true Laos, and the Ahom, Khamti, and Shyán, have yet to be made out in a satisfactory manner.

KARIEN.

_Distribution._--Irregular; from the eleventh to the
twenty-third degree of north latitude; from the Mergui Province
in Tenasserim to the borders of China, between the Burmese on
the west and the Siamese on the east. On the river Salwin, are
the so-called _Red Karien_.

_Name._--Burmese. Called _Kadun_ in Pegu.

The Kariens, unless they are Siamese, have next to that nation the greatest extension, north and south. Ground down by the oppression of the Burmese, they are, with the exception of the _red_ Kariens, who still preserve an imperfect independence, a decreasing race. Of their language we have specimens[16] in more than one dialect, viz., the Passuko, Maplu, and Play. They are agricultural tribes, clearing the land for the cultivation of rice, and then leaving it to migrate elsewhere.--_Arva in annos mutant, et superest ager._

SILONG.

_Locality._--Islands of the Mergui Archipelago.

_Numbers._--Said to be about one thousand.

_Language_.--Said to be peculiar.

_Authority._--Dr. Helfer's Third Report on the Tenasserim
Provinces.--_Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal_, vol.
viii.

The details now forthcoming apply to the districts lying north of a line drawn from the southernmost point of Arakan to the Irawaddi; and they comprise the eastern extensions of the Arakan tribes, the parts about Manipur, and the complex, but important line of frontier between the Indo-Chinese kingdoms, and the Indian portions of Bengal and Assam.

The first tribes that will be noticed are those which are most closely related to the inhabitants of Arakan.

NAGAS.

_Locality._--South-east Assam, in the north-eastern portion
of the mountain range between Assam and the Burmese empire.
Conterminous with the Singpho on the north-east.

KUKI.

_Locality._--Mountains of Tipperah, Sylhet and Chittagong. A
south-western prolongation of the Nagas.

_Synonyms._--Lunctas, Koung-thias.(?)

KHUMIA (CHOOMEEAS).

_Locality._--The same mountains as the Kuki, only on a lower
level. The word means _villagers_, _Khúm_=_village_.

The Naga, Kuki, and Khumia, are tribes of one family. Their ethnographical position is certain. They have long been known to be part of Rhukheng division of the Burmese tribes, speaking the same language with the inhabitants of Arakan, and connecting themselves with that people in their traditions respecting their own origin.

I may also add that the similarity of manners between them and the Garo is very manifest.

KHYEN.

_Locality._--The Yuma mountains between Ava and Arakan.
Independent Pagans.

_Name._--Burmese. Native name Koloun. Buchanan, in _Asiatic
Researches_, vol. v.

_Authority._--Lieutenant Trant in Asiatic Researches, vol. xvi.

The faces of the Khyen women are tattooed. That the following reason, however, for the practice is valid, is more than I will venture to vouch.

One of the forms of tribute to one of the conquerors of the Khyens, was the payment of a certain number of the most beautiful women of the country. In order to do away with the danger to which their unmutilated charms exposed them, the whole generation tattooed themselves; and their descendants have done so since.

MANIPUR.

_Synonyms._--Kathi or Kassay, Moitay.

_Locality._--Bounded on the east by the right branch of the
Irawaddi, on the north and west by the Naga and Kachari
countries, on the south by the Khyen.

An idea of the extent to which the language, for these parts varies within a small geographical area, may be collected from Captain Gordon's notices of the dialects spoken in the neighbourhood of Manipur.

Besides the Manipur proper, the following eleven dialects are illustrated by his vocabularies,[17] and are said to be spoken within the limits of a very inconsiderable circle, of which Manipur is the centre.

1. The Songpú. The most western. Per-centage of Manipur words, 21. _Brown._

2. The Kapwi. A very small tribe. _Ditto_, 41. _Brown._

3. The Koreng. _Ditto_, 18. _Brown._

4. The Maram. _Ditto_, 25. _Brown._

5. The Champhung. Thirty or forty families. _Ditto_, 28. _Brown._

6. The Luhuppa. _Ditto_, 31. _Brown._

7. The North Tankhul. _Ditto_, 28. _Brown._ } } Said to be 8. The Central Tankhul. _Ditto_, 35. _Brown._ } mutually } unintelligible. 9. The South Tankhul. _Ditto_, 33. _Brown._ }

10. The Khoibú. Per-centage of Manipur words, 40. _Brown._

11. The Maring. _Ditto_, 50. _Brown._

KYO.

_Locality._--Arakan, banks of the river Koladyng. A single
village.

_Religion._--Worship of Nats (_Spirits_).

_Physical Appearance._--Contrasted with that of their
neighbours, being so dark as to suggest the idea that they are
of Bengal origin. No traditions, however, to that effect.

_Language._--Monosyllabic, as ascertained by two
vocabularies.--Lieut. Phayre's _Journal of the Asiatic Society
of Bengal, and_ Lieut. Latter, _ditto_.

KACHARI.

_Locality._--Between the Kasia county, with which it is
conterminous on the east, and Manipur.

KASIA.

_Locality._--Southern border of Lower Assam. Conterminous with
the Kachari on the east and the Garo on the west.

A better knowledge of the wild tribes in these parts than we possess, will, probably, enable us to ascertain the nature of the most primitive Indo-Chinese religion. It seems in these parts to be the worship of _Nats_ or spirits.

In the Kasia country the occurrence of erect pillars, evidently objects of mysterious respect, if not of adoration, is frequent. These are explained by similar ones in the Khyen district. They are depicted by Lieutenant Latter--_accurate magis quam verecunde_--and are lingams.

Stout legs, thick lips, and angular eyes, are marked characters in the Kasia conformation. They burn their dead. Their ceremonies are few or none. Like the Garo, they drink no milk. Like the Garo, also, they are said to have no beast of burden. Like many of the tribes around them they chew pawn; and like many of the tribes around them they obtain, for drink, a liquor fermented from millet. Millet or rice are the usual sources for the stimulant beverages of this section of the Seriform tribes; and, it may be added, that the art of distillation as well as of simple fermentation is widely spread. I am not aware that the former is practised by the present tribe; it is common, however, in the Sub-Himalayan range.--Lieutenant Yule, _Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal_, xiii. 3.

SINGPHO.

_Locality._--A tract of about one thousand four hundred square
miles in the north-eastern corner of Assam. Conterminous with
the Khamtis and Mishimis on the north. Bounded on the south and
east by the Patkoe range; which divides Assam from the Burmese
empire.

_Population._--Calculated in 1838 at six thousand.

_Government._--Clans under chiefs called Gaums.

_Religion._--Imperfect Buddhism. Worship of dead chieftains.

_Alphabet._--Shyán or Ahom.

_Physical Appearance._--Body long, legs short, complexion tawny.

JILI.

_Locality._--The Burmese side of the Patkoe range. Conterminous
with the Singpho, by whom they have been nearly extinguished.

_Language._--Seven-tenths of the Jili vocabulary is Singpho.

MISHIMI.

_Locality._--North-east extremity of Assam. Conterminous
with the Khamti on the south, and the Abors on the west.
Mountaineers. Tibet on the north.

_Mishimi Tribes._--The Chool Kutta=crop-haired, the Meahu, the
Tairi, or Digaru. According to Brown, the Maí Mishimi, the
Taron Mishimi, and the Maiye or Meme Mishimi.

_Probable Population._--Four hundred and sixty.

_Physical Appearance._--Stature short. Limbs small, but active,
and well-knit.

The Mishimi country produces, and the Mishimi collect, a poison called the Bikh Mishimi. This is used both for the purposes of hunting and of war. So poisonous is it that a single wound is said to kill an elephant. The flesh, however, of the animal so killed is eaten with impunity.

BOR ABORS.

_Locality._--The loftiest portion of the mountains to the north
of Assam.

ABORS.

_Locality._--The lower range of the mountains inhabited by the
Bor Abors.

MIRI.

_Locality._--The foot of the Abor and Bor Abor range. Speaking
generally, the Bor Abors, Abors, and Miri are conterminous with
the Khamti, and Mishimi on the north-east.

DUFLA.

_Locality._--South-west of the Abors, on the same mountain
range. No less than one hundred and eighty petty chiefs are
said to rule over the numerous disunited Dufla tribes of the
Char Dwán; and this is only one of their localities.

AKA.

_Locality._--The south-western prolongation of the range
inhabited by the Abors and Dufla. Conterminous with the latter.

_Language._--Half the words in an Aka and Abor vocabulary are
alike.

MUTTUCK.

_Locality._--North-east Assam, south of the Burramputer.
Conterminous with the Singhu, Khamti, and Miri.

_Synonym._--Muamaria, or Moa Mareya.

_Religion._--Imperfect Brahmanism.

The Muttuck persecution is one of the most important facts in the history of Assam. Prior to the Ahom invasion, said to have taken place 1224, A. D., the Muttucks had been converted to Hinduism; but to a form of it which denied the divinity of Durga, and would not admit the worship of her image. A violent persecution on this account, between A.D. 1714 and 1744, brought about a resistance which did much to weaken and disorganise the Assam empire.

GARO.

_Locality._--The Garo hills, at the south-western entrance of
the valley of Assam.

No tribe hitherto mentioned is of the ethnographical importance of the Garo.

If we call them _Indian_, they are the most northern tribe that has been described as having _Negro_ elements in their physiognomy.

If we call them Tibetan, or Burmese, they are equally remarkable for this peculiarity.

Taking their physical appearance as a test, it is the Garo that seem the likeliest to exhibit a transition between the type already illustrated, and the type of the aborigines of Hindostan, _supposing such a transition to exist_.

Taking their language into consideration, something of the same intermediate character is, perhaps, to be found. It has been referred to each class; by some to the monosyllabic tongues of Tibet, or the Burmese empire; by others to the Indian group of dialects and languages.

The first description of the Garo is to be found in the Asiatic Researches. Here it is where they are described as approaching the Negro type. Endued with great physical strength, at least as compared with the Bengali, they are pagans and savages: their manners, as stated above, agreeing in many points with those of the Kukis.

It is, however, by their language that their ethnographical position will best be determined.

The present writer, who had not then seen Mr. Brown's Vocabularies, placed this, in 1844, in the Tibetan division; being satisfied of its monosyllabic character.

Mr. Brown's Vocabularies confirm this view (so far as it goes) of the monosyllabic character of the Garo; and I think that the following table--Mr. Brown's also--shewing the per-centage of words in any two languages, does the same.

+-----------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
| |K |S |A'|A'|M |B |K |S |J |G |M |S |
| |h |i |k |b |i |u |a |i |i |á |a |o |
| |a |a |á |o |s |r |r |n |l |r |n |n |
| |m |m | |r |h |m |e |g |í |o |i |g |
| |t |e | | |i |e |n |p | | |p |p |
| |í |s | | |m |s | |h | | |u |ú |
| | |e | | |í |e | |o | | |r | |
| | | | | | | | | | | |í | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
+-----------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
|Khamti | |92| 1| 1| 5| 8| 8| 3|10| 3| 3| 1|
|Siamese |92| | 0| 0| 3| 6| 8| 3|10| 1| 3| 1|
|A'bor | 1| 0| |47|20|17|12|15|15| 5|11| 3|
|A'ká | 1| 0|47| |20|11|10|18|11| 6|15| 6|
|Mishimi | 5| 3|20|20| |10|10|10|13|10|11| 0|
|Burmese | 8| 6|17|11|10| |23|23|26|12|16| 8|
|Karien | 8| 8|12|10|10|23| |17|21| 8|15|10|
|Singpho | 3| 3|15|18|10|23|17| |70|16|25|10|
|Jili |10|10|15|11|13|26|21|70| |22|16|10|
|Garo | 3| 1| 5| 6|10|12| 8|16|22| |10| 5|
|Manipurí | 3| 3|11|15|11|16|15|25|16|10| |21|
|Songpú | 1| 1| 3| 6| 0| 8|10|10|10| 5|21| |
|Kapwi | 0| 0|10|11|11|20|15|18|21| 6|41|35|
|Koreng | 1| 1| 3| 5| 0| 6| 8|11|13| 5|18|50|
|Maram | 0| 0| 8| 8| 3|11|12|11|11| 8|25|53|
|Champhung | 0| 0| 8| 6| 5|11| 4|13|11| 5|28|20|
|Luhuppa | 0| 0| 8| 8| 6|11|12|15|18| 8|31|23|
|N. Tángkhul| 0| 0| 5| 8| 8|10| 8|13|20|13|28|15|
|C. Tángkhul| 0| 0| 6| 8| 6|13|12|25|20|11|35|15|
|S. Tángkhul| 0| 0|10|10|13|13|12|13|13| 5|33|13|
|Khoibú | 0| 0| 8|10|10|16|10|20|20| 5|40| 8|
|Maring | 0| 0|10|18| 8|16|15|18|20| 5|50|15|
|Anamese | 5| 5| 0| 0| 1| 1| 2| 5| 3| 3| 6| 6|
+-----------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
+-----------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
| |K |K |M |C |L |N.|C.|S.|K |M |A |
| |a |o |a |h |u | | | |h |a |n |
| |p |r |r |a |h |T |T |T |o |r |a |
| |w |e |á |m |u |á |á |á |i |i |m |
| |í |n |m |p |p |n |n |n |b |n |e |
| | |g | |h |p |g |g |g |ú |g |s |
| | | | |u |a |k |k |k | | |e |
| | | | |n | |h |h |h | | | |
| | | | |g | |u |u |u | | | |
| | | | | | |l |l |l | | | |
+-----------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
|Khamti | 0| 1| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 5|
|Siamese | 0| 1| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 5|
|A'bor |10| 3| 8| 8| 8| 5| 6|10| 8|10| 0|
|A'ká |11| 5| 8| 6| 8| 8| 8|10|10|18| 0|
|Mishimi |11| 0| 3| 5| 6| 8| 6|13|10| 8| 1|
|Burmese |20| 6|11|11|11|10|13|13|16|16| 1|
|Karien |15| 8|12| 4|12| 8|12|12|10|15| 2|
|Singpho |18|11|11|13|15|13|25|13|20|18| 5|
|Jili |21|13|11|11|18|20|20|13|20|20| 3|
|Garo | 6| 5| 8| 5| 8|13|11| 5| 5| 5| 3|
|Manipurí |41|18|25|28|31|28|35|33|40|50| 6|
|Songpú |35|50|53|20|23|15|15|13| 8|15| 6|
|Kapwi | |30|33|20|35|30|40|45|38|40| 5|
|Koreng |30| |41|18|21|20|20|--|10|15| 3|
|Maram |33|41| |21|28|25|20|16|23|26| 3|
|Champhung |20|18|21| |40|20|20|16|15|25| 3|
|Luhuppa |35|21|28|40| |63|55|36|33|40| 5|
|N. Tángkhul|30|20|25|20|63| |85|30|31|31| 3|
|C. Tángkhul|40|20|20|20|55|85| |41|45|41| 1|
|S. Tángkhul|45|11|16|16|36|30|41| |43|43| 5|
|Khoibú |38|10|23|15|33|31|45|43| |78| 3|
|Maring |40|15|26|25|40|31|41|43|78| | 3|
|Anamese | 5| 3| 3| 3| 5| 3| 1| 5| 3| 3| |
+-----------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+

In the face of this, however, the author writes that it "would be difficult to decide from the specimens before us, whether it is to be ranked with the monosyllabic or polysyllabic languages. It probably belongs to the latter."

Again--Mr. Hodgson connects the Garos with the _Bodo_, not, indeed, as a sub-division of that group, but as a class with a common origin; adding, that fifteen out of sixty words in Brown's Vocabulary are the same in Garo and Bodo.

This involves the position of the Garo with that of the Bodo; whilst, in respect to the Bodo, it is convenient to consider them along with the _Dhimál_.

We are now in that part of the Indian side of the Himalayan range, which lies between Assam on the east, and Sikkim on the west, and which is bounded on the north by Bhután. This is the area where the aboriginal Indian and the Tibetan most intermix.

DHIMÁL.

_Locality._--Mixed with the Bodo, in their most westerly
locality, _i.e._ between the Konki and Dhorla.

_Numbers._--According to Mr. Hodgson, about 15,000.

_Authority._---Hodgson's _Dissertation on the Kocch, Bodo, and
Dhimál._

BODO.

_Locality._--The forest belt (not the mountains) in a circle
round the Valley of Assam, from Tipperah S. E. to Morung, N.W.
Mixed, in their most westerly localities with the Dhimál.

_Synonym._--Mécch.

_Name._--Native; the Mécch call themselves Bodo, and so do the
Kachari.

_Authority._--Same as for the Dhimál.

The Bodo are the rudest division of the present group whereof we possess anything like a sufficient amount of detailed information; Mr. Hodgson's Dissertation being, perhaps, the best ethnological monograph existing. Hence, it is in the Bodo nation that, in the present state of our knowledge, we must study the general phenomena of the wilder Seriform tribes.

In respect to their social development the Bodo are good examples of a very peculiar form. They are tillers of the soil, and (as such) agriculturists rather than hunters, fishers, or feeders of flocks and herds. But their agriculture is imperfect, and quasi-nomadic; since they are not fixed but erratic or migratory cultivators. They have no name for a village, no sheep, no oxen, no _fixed_ property in the soil. Like the ancient Germans, _arva in annos mutant, et superest ager_. They clear a jungle, crop it as long as it will yield an average produce, and then remove themselves elsewhere.

"They never cultivate the same field beyond the second year, or remain in the same village beyond the fourth to sixth year. After the lapse of four or five years, they frequently return to their old fields, and resume their cultivation, if in the interim the jungle has grown well, and they have not been anticipated by others, for there is no pretence of appropriation other than possessory, and if, therefore, another party have preceded them, or, if the slow growth of the jungle give no sufficient promise of a good stratum of ashes for the land when cleared by fire, they move on to another site new or old. If old, they resume the identical fields they tilled before, but never the old houses or site of the old village, that being deemed unlucky. In general, however, they prefer new land to old, and having still abundance of unbroken forest around them, they are in constant movement, more especially as, should they find a new spot prove unfertile, they decamp after the first harvest is got in."[18]

It is a fact of some importance that erratic agriculture, a rare and exceptional form of industrial development, is probably more general among the Seriform tribes than elsewhere. It has already been stated to be the habit of the Karien, and there is little doubt as to its being far more general than it has hitherto been described to be. Contrast with this imperfect form of agricultural industry the cultivation of the soil in China. The Bodo villages are small communities of from ten to forty huts. The head of these communities is called the Grá. It is the Grá who is responsible to the foreign government (British, Tibetan, or Nepalese), for the order of the community, and for the payment of its tribute. In cases of perplexity the Grás of three or four neighbouring communities meet in deliberation. Offenders against the customs of the community may be admonished, fined, or excommunicated.

This last term suggests a new series of ideas. The Bodo religious ordinances are apparently very simple; so that they form a remarkable contrast with the numerous details of Hinduism. The birth, the weaning, and the naming of children are all unattended with ceremonies requiring the presence of a priest. At funerals and marriages, however, the priest presides. This he does, not so much as a minister to the essential ceremony, as for the sake of the feast that accompanies it. No Bodo or Dhimál will touch flesh which has not been offered to the gods: and this offering a priest must make. Such being the case, notwithstanding the statement of Mr. Hodgson, who describes in somewhat flattering terms the negative merits of the simple Bodo creed, and who especially affirms that the priesthood is no hereditary office, I cannot but suspect that the influence of the spiritual power is greater than he admits. If not, the Bodo must have but few meals of meat.

Marriage is a contract rather than a rite. Polygamy or concubinage is rare: the adoption of children common. All the sons inherit equally; daughters not at all. A Bodo can only marry to one of his own people. Divorce, though practicable and easy, is rare; the wife and daughter have their due influence. No infanticide, no suttí. Children are named as soon as the mother comes abroad, which is generally four or five days after her confinement. The idea that the delivery involves a temporal impurity is recognised; so that all births (and deaths also) necessitate a temporary segregation and certain purificatory forms. The one, however, is short, and the other simple. The infant "is named immediately after birth, or as soon as the mother comes abroad, which is always four or five days after delivery. There are no family names, or names derived from the gods. Most Bodo and Dhimáls bear meaningless designations, or any passing event of the moment may suggest a significant term: thus a Bhótia chief arrives at the village, and the child is called Jinkhap; or a hill peasant arrives, and it is named Góngar, after the titular or general designation of the Bhótias. Children are not weaned so long as their mother can suckle them, which is always from two to three years--sometimes more--and two children, the last and penultimate, are occasionally seen at the breast together. The delayed period of weaning will account in part for the limited fecundity of the women. When a Bodo or Dhimál comes of age, the event is not solemnized by any rite or social usage whatever. Marriage takes place at maturity, the male being usually from twenty to twenty-five years of age, and the female, from fifteen to twenty. Courtship is not sanctioned: the parents or friends negotiate the wedlock."

In this the commercial element is predominant. A price--_Jan_--must be paid by the bridegroom elect for the intended bride. If the former have "no means of discharging this sum, he must go to the house of his father-in-law elect and there literally earn his wife by the sweat of his brow, labouring, _more Judaico_, upon mere diet for a term of years, varying from two as an average to five and even seven as the extreme period. This custom is named Gabóï by the Bodo--Ghárjyá by the Dhimáls."

When the preliminaries have been arranged, the bridegroom proceeds to the house of the bride, in procession with his friends. Two females attend him. The business of these is "to put red lead or oil on the bride elect's head, when the procession has reached her home. There a refection is prepared, after partaking of which, the procession returns, conducting the bride elect to the house of the groom's parents. So far the same rite is common to the Bodo and Dhimál--the rest is peculiar to each. Among the Dhimáls, the Déóshi now proceeds to propitiate the gods by offerings. Dáta and Bídata who preside over wedlock are invoked, and betel-leaf and red lead are presented to them. The bride and groom elect are next placed side by side, and each furnished with five pauns, with which they are required to feed each other, while the parents of the groom cover them with a sheet, upon which the Déóshi, by sprinkling holy water sanctifies and completes the nuptials. Among the Bodo the bride elect is anointed at her own home with oil; the elders _or_ the Déóshi perform the sacred part of the ceremony, which consists in the sacrifice of a cock and a hen, in the respective names of the groom and bride, to the sun: and next, the groom, rising, makes salutation to the bride's parents, and the bride, similarly, attests her future duty of reverence and obedience towards her husband's parents; when the nuptials are complete. A feast follows both with Bodo and Dhimáls, but is less costly among the former than among the latter--as is said, because the higher price paid for his wife by the Bodo incapacitates him for giving so costly an entertainment. The marriage feast of the Dhimáls is alleged to cost thirty or forty rupees sometimes, the festivities being prolonged through two and even three days; whereas four to six--rarely ten rupees suffice for the nuptial banquet of a Bodo.

"The Bodo and Dhimáls both alike bury the dead, immediately after decease, with simple but decent reverence, though no fixed burial ground nor artificial tomb is in use to mark the last resting place of those most dear in life, because the migratory habits of the people would render such usages nugatory. The family and friends form a funeral procession, which bears the dead in silence to the grave. The body being interred, a few stones are piled loosely upon the grave to prevent disturbance by jackals and ratels, rather than to mark the spot, and some food and drink are laid upon the grave; when the ceremony is suspended, and the party disperses. Friends are purified by mere ablution in the next stream and at once resume their usual cares. The family are unclean for three days, after which, besides bathing and shaving, they need to be sprinkled with holy water by their elders or priest. They are then restored to purity and forthwith proceed to make preparations for a funeral banquet, by the sacrifice of a hog to Mainou or Timáng, of a cock to Báthó or Pochima, according to the nation. When the feast has been got ready and the friends are assembled, before sitting down they all repair, once again, to the grave, when the nearest of kin to the deceased, taking an individual's usual portion of food and drink, solemnly presents them to the dead with these words, 'Take and eat: heretofore you have eaten and drunk with us; you can do so no more; you were one of us; you can be so no longer: we come no more to you: come you not to us.' And thereupon the whole party break and cast on the grave a bracelet of thread priorly attached, to this end, to the wrist of each of them. Next the party proceed to the river and bathe, and having thus lustrated themselves, they repair to the banquet, and eat, drink, and make merry as though they were never to die! A funeral costs the Dhimáls from four to eight rupees--something more to the Bodo, who practise more formality on the occasion, and to whom is peculiar the singular leave-taking of the dead just described."

The details relating to the priesthood, and to the festivals of the Bodo tribes, will best indicate the nature of their religion. The list of the Bodo gods is very nearly the list of the Bodo _rivers_. Báthó, however, the chief god, is no river but a _plant_; one of the Euphorbeace. Mainon is Báthó's wife. All diseases are referred to preternatural influence. Oaths and ordeals are very general.