iji tut ®I«oIo 9 i w 
 
 riti .TO" ■ ■ 
 
 IgT PRINCETON, N. J. ^ 
 
 .. • ' * '*■ A / , # **+. , ' % '* 
 
 ■■■ * * . , . 
 
 * ->^ ~ .. 4 
 
 Purchased by th£ 
 
 Mrs. Robert Lenox Kennedy Church History Fund. 
 
 Division . 
 
 Section ,..0..0. SM/SG 
 
 1 
 
 
SONTHALS. 
 
 E. G. 
 
 
 MAN, 
 
 Of Lincoln's Inn, Barrister-at-Law j and late Assistant 
 Commissioner , Sonthal Pergunnahs. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 Geo. WYMAN & Co., Calcutta ; TINSLEY & Co., 
 1 8, Strand, London. 
 
PRINTED BY E. DEAN, 
 
 CALCUTTA CENTRAL PRESS COMPANY, LIMITED, 
 5, COUNCIL HOUSE STREET. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The following pages consist of scraps often 
 jotted down at the end of a long journey 
 through the jungles, or when, solitary and 
 tired, I passed away an evening after a hard 
 day’s work in Cutcherry. 
 
 I have attempted to convey to the reader 
 the impressions that I have derived from my 
 acquaintance with an interesting tribe. 
 
 Their traditions are noted as received from 
 themselves or from the Reverend F. Lehman, 
 and their customs as they came under my own 
 observation. 
 
 The speculations in Chapters VIII and X 
 are mentioned in the spirit of enquiry rather 
 than in that of argument, and are condensed 
 as much as possible. 
 
2 
 
 In the Chapter on the origin of the Sonthal 
 rebellion, I have given the opinion of the Son- 
 thals on it. This opinion I have inferred from 
 their chance expressions and desultory conver- 
 sations, sometimes uttered while they were 
 slightly under the influence of liquor, and there- 
 fore without caution in their speech. Whether 
 their opinion is a correct one, or the contrary, I 
 leave an open question ; but I have no doubt as 
 to the genuineness of the expression of their 
 feelings, and that “ out of the fulness of their 
 hearts their mouths have spoken.” 
 
 I am indebted to the Reverend Messrs. 
 F. Lehman and J. Phillips for their kind assist- 
 ance in the Sonthali language and songs, for 
 which I render my best thanks ; as well as 
 to the Hon’ble G. Campbell for his Ethnological 
 List, and to Colonel T. Dalton, Commissioner 
 of Nagpore, for his paper on the Coles. 
 
 Calcutta, } 
 
 January i st y 1867. > 
 
 E. G. M. 
 
TO 
 
 Tiie Honorable ASHLEY EDEN, 
 
 WHO INITIATED THE VILLAGE SYSTEM IN SONTHA- 
 LIA, WHICH PROVED TO BE THE FIRST STEP 
 TOWARDS RAISING THE SONTHALS FROM 
 A STATE OF MISERY AND HATRED .TO 
 THE GOVERNMENT, TO COMPARA- 
 TIVE PROSPERITY AND 
 
 CONTENTMENT, 
 
 • 7 
 
 THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED WITH ALL ESTEEM, 
 
 BY 
 
 HIS OBEDIENT SERVANT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2016 
 
 https://archive.org/details/sonthaliasonthalOOmane 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 8, line 17, for “ in,” read “near.” 
 
 „ 24 „ 27, for “ by means,” read “ by their means.” 
 „ 59 „ 10, for “ Sandrocottus,” read 41 Sandrocattus.” 
 5, for “ Zevq upx*)’ Zevg pEooa Aioe Sek 
 irayra TETVKrai,” read “Zevq upx>h 
 Zev e plooa, A 10c o’ek iravra 
 
 TETVKTaL." 
 
 3 & 1 1, for “ Huq,” read “ Hue.” 
 
 76 „ 18, for “ Baba,” read “Ay Baba.” 
 
 81 ,, 2, for “arrierepensee,” read “arrive pensee.” 
 
 88 „ 26, for “villages,” read “villagers.” 
 
 63 „ 
 
 68 
 

 
 ' 
 
 
 
 
 “ ( 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Pace. 
 
 Situation of Tribes, their peculiarity — Geography 
 of their settlement — Sonthalia Proper — Simi- 
 larity of customs — Numbers — “ Friend of India” 
 
 — Former prosperity — Increase of population — 
 Unexpected Rebellion ... ... ... i 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Oral tradition — Documents — Early origin — Lan- 
 guage — Absence of honorific or inferior pronouns 
 — Their independence — Freedom from slavery 
 — His industrious habits — The Bengali ryot 
 with reference to the Sonthali ... ... 6 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Mr. Sutherland’s Report of 1817 — Derivation of 
 name — Seeboo of Simra — Origin of Tribe — 
 Vermin eaters — Physique — Male and Female 
 Sonthal — High status of the Female — Their 
 large families— Their contentment-Vices — Mis- 
 sionary endeavours — Conversions — The Son- 
 thali character — “ Evil communications corrupt 
 good manners” ... ... ... ... n 
 
11 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Pagb. 
 
 Influence of outward impressions on Sonthali char- 
 acter — Polybius’ remarks — Wordsworth’s re- 
 marks — Tennyson — Inferences drawn therefrom 
 — Conversation with Sonthals — Their belief in 
 the Supernatural and Witchcraft — Susceptibility 
 if ridiculed, and consequent reticence ... 23 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Poetical feeling of the Sonthal — A love ditty — Their 
 tunes — Traditions — Formation of the world — 
 
 The first man and woman — Their family of 
 seven sons and seven daughters — Licentious- 
 ness at their feasts — Similarity to old heathen 
 mythology in their traditions ... ... 31 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Mirjadurrik — Dispersion of the first parents — 
 Chatro Champa— Names of the tribes — Coun- 
 tries into which they fled — Chronology — Their 
 gods — Chando Banga and others — Similarity 
 between them and the deities of the Greek my- 
 thology — Their sacred groves ... ... 40 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Druidical sacrifices — “Ahge Banga” — The priests 
 and their avocations— Their votive offerings — 
 Different kinds of festivals — Their rites — Their 
 parubs — Their fairs — Goats, fowls, &c., sacri- 
 ficed — Description of a Sonthal round-about ... 47 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 iii 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Pack. 
 
 Festivals continued— Patta Banga, Chatta Banga, 
 Sohorai, Churruck — Forms and ceremonies 
 common to each— Singular homage to an 
 umbrella — The great drinking festival — Son- 
 thal dinner party — Impressions concerning the 
 antiquity of the Sonthals — Is their similarity 
 to the ancient mythology a mere accident ? — 
 Historical facts with regard to the advent of 
 Alexander the Great, and deductions there- 
 from — Identity of all mythology ... ... 53 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Sketchy calibre of the work — Mythology and language 
 — The lead and line to sound the past — 
 Rhematic period — Unity of derivation of man- 
 kind — Pelasgian race — Egyptians — Phoenicians 
 — Malkin’s account — Newton’s statement — The 
 first inhabitants of Greece— Religion of Greece 
 — Similarity noticed in the myths of the 
 
 Egyptians, Jews, and Phoenicians — Paley’s 
 remarks ... ... ... ... ... 64 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Sanscrit, elder sister, but not fountain head, of lan- 
 guage — Conditions requisite to arrive at unadul- 
 terated ancient tongue — Sonthals fulfil those 
 conditions — Were they ever slaves ? — Reasons 
 for thinking that they were not — Honorific 
 terms — Case between Mahajun and Sonthal— 
 Curious system of accounts — Analysis of roots 
 of language — Remarks on the same ... ... 
 
 72 
 
IV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Pa<7E 
 
 Ceremonies observed at birth— Purification of the 
 child — Kindness with which their children are 
 treated — Ornaments — Remarkable weight of 
 those worn by the female — Free-and-easy style 
 of the women — Their dress— Their fondness for 
 flowers — Their weavers, kewars, or blacksmiths, 
 and carpenters ... ... ... .... 77 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The cold weather — Morning ride — Cheerful scenery 
 — Road — A Sonthal Hamlet — Description of 
 village — The Manjhee Stan — Hearty welcome — 
 Scene at the village — Punchayets and their 
 judgments — Ancient custom of the Duel — The 
 Sonthal baby — The interior of the Sonthal hut 
 — Their cooking apparatus — Ancient legend, 
 anent arbitrary conduct of Darogah, and death 
 of his victim — Consequences ... ... 83 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Camp at Simra — Marriage invitation — Ceremony at 
 night — The Bride and the Bridegroom — Curious 
 customs — Marital dance — The welcome to the 
 village — The pretty picture of Sonthali maiden 
 — Alarming procedure on part of Bridegroom’s 
 younger brother — Custom with regard to widows 
 — Marital basket — Return to camp — Marriage 
 supper — Songs sung by the women ... ... 94 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Origin and causes of Sonthal rebellion — Rapacity of 
 the Mahajuns — Corruption of the Police — 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 V 
 
 Pace. 
 
 Supinencssof Government officials — Inadequacy 
 of the Law Courts — Improvidence of the Sonthal 
 — Institution of slavery — Incompetence of’Moon- 
 siffs — Iniquitous system of personal slavery — 
 Activity shown by Mr. Robinson in abolishing 
 system— Mr. Robinson’s opinion thereon — Anal- 
 ysis of the system — Former distance of Law 
 Courts from the Sonthal, and corruption of 
 Mooktears — Ominous signs before breaking out 
 of the rebellion — Active measures taken by the 
 Hon’blc Ashley Eden at Aurungabad — Animus 
 against Government — Eccentric Perwannah 
 
 issued by Sonthal Chief — Heavy reprisals by our 
 troops — Results of rebellion— The Paharies — A 
 Bengali’s experiences — Melancholy end of Mr. H. 
 and his three sons ... ... ... ... 109 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Conduct of Officials and Government with regard to 
 the rebellion — Their indifference towards preven- 
 tive measures at an earlier period — Mr. Eden’s 
 first great blow to oppression and first instal- 
 ment of freedom — Abolition of the Police system 
 — Difference between Regulation and Non- Re- 
 gulation— Appointments of Assistant Commis- 
 sioners — Rules laid down by Mr. Yule — Non- 
 Regulation Officer in a crisis better able to cope 
 with difficulties and responsibilities than a 
 Regulation Officer — Sonthals were justified in 
 rising — Fortunate choice of officials, and their 
 hard work — Probability of the Sonthals again 
 
VI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Opportunity for observing Missionary efforts — Local- 
 ity — Proselytism — Great deal of good perform- 
 ed — The Doarmcs preached — Supposed charac- 
 ter of the Bengali — Good at bottom — Outward 
 life of Missionary counteracting evil effects of 
 debauchery of vagrant loafers — Revd. E. L. 
 Puxley — Establishment of Schools — Average at- 
 tendance of scholars — Reasons why little pro- 
 gress is made — Sonthals aware of importance 
 of education as a safeguard against the Maha- 
 juns — Schools in the jungle — Fair progress of 
 some Sonthal boys trained as teachers — Progress 
 of American Missions— Good done in an un- 
 ostentatious manner— Story related by Mr. 
 Phillips — Mr. Lehman’s judicious words — Num- 
 ber of Christians in Pakour Division — Drunken- 
 ness great drawback to conversion — Sonthals 
 not a Priest-ridden race — Sonthal Priests ... 135 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Curious belief with regard to hell— Heaven and en- 
 joyments there — Dread of the evil eye and omens 
 — Anecdote thereon — Ceremonies performed at 
 death of adults — Burial of children — Oracles of 
 death — Disposal of the ashes— Lamentation 
 death song for a child — The same for a hus- 
 band — Periodical pilgrimage to Damooda and 
 Brahminee — Exclusiveness of the old Bhoots ... 142 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Primitive knowledge of agriculture— Their food— 
 
 Not abstemious with regard to animals which 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 vu 
 
 Pace. 
 
 have died a natural death— Their system 
 of visiting — Quaint mode of letter carry- 
 ing— Peculiar notice from Juggernath — Their 
 athletic games — Standard of money — Accounts 
 of witchcraft — Persons’ opinion of supersti- 
 tion — Punishment not efficacious in stop- 
 ping witch-murders — The lightning box — Novel 
 mode of trying a witch-finder, and his condign 
 punishment — Murder of a reputed witch and 
 her child — Murder of another witch, and arrest 
 of the murderers — The trial— Four hyaenas 
 viewing the proceedings ... ... ... 148 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Sonthali dances — Picturesque scene— Camp life— 
 Deep gloom of surrounding scenery — Dance and 
 bonfire by night — Curious figures in the dance — 
 
 Two Sonthali dancing songs — Careful chaperons 
 for the girls on their return home — Assiduous 
 attentions of the Sonthals — Ascent of Mawa 
 Ghurri — Beautiful scenery on its summit — ’Un- 
 pleasant incident with regard to thorns ... 162 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Marked change with regard to the number of tigers 
 in Sonthal Pergunnahs — Tigers in garden of 
 nightly occurrence — Sheep taken — Tragic end of 
 a cartman — Pursuit of tiger — Awful appearance 
 of body — Man-eater — Nine persons taken — 
 Buxoo’s unfortunate end — Daring chase by Na- 
 tive Jockey — Escape of tiger — Retreat of ele- 
 phants — Pluck displayed by Mr. A. N. Stewart 
 in shooting man-eater from horseback — Happy 
 escape of little boy ... ... •••173 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 viii 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Snakes and reptiles in the Pergunnah — One man 
 saved from bite of a Krite — Active measures 
 taken — present scarcity of game — Elephants and 
 rhinoceros — Sonthals as poachers — Their hunt- 
 ing parties — Signal for hunting — Customs on the 
 road — Fire effectually used as a beater for game 
 — Attempts to extinguish it successful — Exagge- 
 ration — Farewell hunting party — Conclusion ... 182 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Sonthal Song ... ... .... ..... ... t 
 
 Extracts from Revd. J. Phillips’ Sonthal Grammar 13 
 Extracts from Oxford Essays, Max Muller, &c, ... 13 
 
 A list of words and phrases to be noted and used as 
 test words for the discovery of the radical 
 affinities of languages, and for easy comparison 15 
 Extract from Sir George Yule’s Report on the Son- 
 thal Pergunnahs, for 1858 ... ... ... 19 
 
SONTHALI A 
 
 AND THE 
 
 SONTHALS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Situation of Tribes . their peculiarity — Geography of 
 their settlement — Sonthalia Proper — Similarity of 
 customs — Numbers — “ Friend of India ” — Former 
 prosperity — Increase of population — Unexpected Re- 
 bellion. 
 
 A T the foot of a range of basaltic and 
 carboniferous hills extending from the 
 banks of the Ganges in Latitude 26° 10' North, 
 and 87° 10' East Longitude, and forming the 
 North-Eastern portion of the Vindhya Moun- 
 tains, there exists an uncouth, truth-telling, 
 savage tribe, differing entirely from their imme- 
 diate neighbours in their physique, habits, and 
 superstitions. They are interesting as a race — 
 the only race I can bring to recollection — which 
 seems to live in a condition of comparative 
 
 A 
 
2 
 
 Sonthalia and the SontJials. 
 
 happiness and prosperity, yet hopelessly ad- 
 dicted to intemperance, and who, as a weak 
 people after a rebellion against a strong and 
 powerful Government, although beaten, gained 
 their end. I have been for a few years amongst 
 them, and have dotted down what I saw and 
 heard of their manners and customs, hoping 
 that these few scraps may wile away a leisure 
 hour for those interested in the study of ethno- 
 logy. The Sonthals — for it is anent that tribe 
 I write — inhabit the jungles stretching along 
 the foot of the Rajmehal hills, and seldom 
 squatting further than a day’s journey from the 
 uplands, have gradually pushed their way 
 through wood and swamp, until the smoke from 
 their villages rises under the shade of a large 
 portion of the South-Eastern ridge of the 
 Vindhyas, lying in the Districts of Birbhoom, 
 Burdwan, Midnapore, and Cuttack. 
 
 As my acquaintance with them has been 
 for the most part confined to Sonthalia Proper, 
 which more immediately includes and surrounds 
 the Rajmehal hills, it is somewhat difficult 
 to state whether a people so greatly increas- 
 ed and multiplied, and spread over such a 
 large tract of country, have kept up intact, in 
 other districts, the same traditions and habits as 
 
' Sonthalia and the SontJuils. 
 
 O 
 
 in Sonthalia ; but from a casual interview 
 with an intelligent Sonthal in Midnapore, I 
 discovered his ideas of his race, his religious 
 ceremonies, and all his customs were identical 
 with those mentioned by another of his tribe 
 at Simra, in the Bhaugulpore District ; and 
 these two places are some 300 miles apart. 
 
 Regarding their numbers, the Rev. J. 
 Phillips, of Jellasore, in the preface to his useful 
 Grammar of the Sontali language, states — “ In 
 the Moharbunja, the Sontals are •eputed to 
 form three-eighths of the entire population. 
 They are known to be numerous in the different 
 native states all the way from Orissa to the 
 Rajmehal hills in Behar, where they form a 
 large and enterprising community.” Th z. Friend 
 of India gives a very animated description of 
 them in that vicinity. Speaking of Mr. Pontet, 
 who had special charge of their Revenue 
 collections, the Friend says : — 
 
 “ With little more jurisdiction than that 
 of a Deputy Collector, he (Mr. Pontet) has 
 acquired among this wild people a power which 
 is almost regal. He has increased the revenue 
 paid to Government from two thousand to 
 forty-three thousand rupees a year, and this 
 with so little oppression, that the Sontals have 
 
4 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 increased in number to 82,795 souls, inhabiting 
 upwards of fourteen hundred villages. The 
 most unobservant wayfarers can instantly dis- 
 cover the circle of Mr. Pontet’s jurisdiction; for 
 whereas beyond it there are villages containing 
 five thousand inhabitants without one solitary 
 hackery, within it there are broad roads from 
 village to village, and the country is alive with 
 the activity of a quiet and prosperous people.” 
 
 It is now more than sixteen years from 
 the time tlfc above was written, and since then 
 the Sonthals, always uncommonly prolific, must 
 have nearly doubled those numbers in that 
 once charmed spot so well described. It would 
 be quite impossible, spread as the tribe is over 
 such a vast tract of country, to give anything 
 like an approximate estimate of their total, 
 but, judging from analogy, I should certainly 
 be led to presume that 300,000 souls would 
 give a margin very much within their real 
 amount. 
 
 A tacit satire upon the able article quoted 
 above is offered by the fact that, some time 
 after it was written, this very contented, happy, 
 and prosperous people rose up, goaded to 
 rebellion, by the wrongs they were suffering, 
 and fought until their hearths were bathed in 
 
Sonthalia ami the Sonthals. 
 
 5 
 
 blood, their villages burnt, and themselves, in 
 the district towards Deoghur, reduced to a 
 state of starvation and utter misery. In their 
 case, at any rate, coming events had not cast 
 their shadows before. 
 
 Viewing the case as it appears now, dimly 
 looming through the vista of the past, the 
 writer was justified by his facts, and founded 
 right conclusions on them. The tribe was out- 
 wardly prosperous and happy, but the Mahajun, 
 or money-lender, was even then silently pushing 
 his trade amongst them ; and when hard times 
 and bad seasons came, the canker hid in the 
 bloom of apparent peace and happiness showed 
 itself, and in their struggle to shake off the 
 incubus, the pleasant chimera collapsed. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Oral tradition — Documents — Ea?-ly origin — Language — 
 Absence of honorific or inferior pronouns — Their 
 independence— Freedom from slavery— His indus- 
 trious habits — The Bengali ryot with reference to the 
 Sonthali. 
 
 T HE past history of a people unblessed with 
 a written dialect, and whose language 
 consists of a vocabulary just sufficient for the 
 wants of uncivilized life, must necessarily be 
 vague and meagre, as oral tradition has alone to 
 be trusted. In this case it is assisted by a few 
 meagre statements culled from old manuscripts, 
 in which the name of the tribe is found inci- 
 dentally mentioned, while the pith of the docu- 
 ment generally relates to some other matter — 
 an account of a raid, br the report of some 
 Collector’s tour. However, it is more my pur- 
 pose to recount what the Sonthals think of 
 themselves, of their own origin and history, 
 rather than to attempt a learned disquisition on 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. "] 
 
 their derivation, or an enquiry into what others 
 may have found out for, or think of them. 
 
 A portion of the great Cole family, their 
 language is, with few shades of variation, com- 
 mon to the Mahales, Kodas, Munda Bhumijas, 
 and others of that race. A somewhat remark- 
 able characteristic of their simplicity and freedom 
 is to be noticed in the- fact that, in their own 
 proper tongue, there is no honorific or inferior 
 pronoun by which a superior may be addressed, 
 or a dependant ordered. The first person plural 
 is the person in which the Sonthal addresses 
 almost all, and backed up with a slap on the 
 back (his usual style of greeting in his cups), it 
 implies great friendship and intimacy. Their 
 servants are treated as one of the family ; and 
 all, without exception, prefer the depths of the 
 jungle to the more cleared approaches of civi- 
 lized life. The Sonthal seems to have kept 
 himself free from the slavery which has been 
 the curse of the inhabitants of Bengal and 
 other parts of India. His happy exemption 
 from an oppression sufficient to break his inde- 
 pendent spirit, probably lies in the fact that 
 the plunder to be obtained would never have 
 paid the followers of an Aurungzebe or an 
 Akbar, for the trouble of looting him in his 
 
8 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 fastnesses ; especially as his settlements were 
 always far removed from any large cities or 
 important places from whence he could easily 
 have been got at. 
 
 Should it happen, as was once the case 
 in the neighbourhood of Peerpointee, that some 
 tyrannical Rajah raises his fortress near the 
 Sonthal clearings, the philosophic savage bears 
 the unwonted oppression for a little while, and 
 is then up and away with his goods and 
 chattels, piles his Lares and Penates on his 
 “ sugur” or buffalo wain, and retreats deeper 
 into the jungles to contest with the fierce lords 
 of the forest the possession of the virgin soil. 
 Soon the blows of his axe make the welkin 
 ring ; his wattle shed, buried amidst the foliage, 
 rises in the new clearing ; he sticks up his 
 bamboo, with a tuft of straw on the top of 
 it, as a rural sign of possession, and generally 
 sure of good crops from land lain fallow for 
 ages or never tilled by mortal man before; he 
 throws oppression and dull care to the dogs, 
 and spends all his leisure in feasting, drinking, 
 and hunting. His ideas about rent used to 
 be of the vaguest description, but civilization 
 has now taught him that he must pay even 
 for his jungle clearing. 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 9 
 
 An existence such as described above natu- 
 rally inculcates a habit of rollicking indepen- 
 dence in the Sonthal, and as it leads him 
 to pay little outward respect to strangers, 
 he never troubles himself about the use of 
 honorific pronouns or other conventionalities 
 of a more polite state of society. 
 
 H is life is that of a primitive Backwoods- 
 man, free and untrammelled by social or 
 traditional prejudices. As the pioneer of 
 civilization, however, he clears the way for an 
 evil he would fain wish to avoid — contact with 
 the Bengali ; for, as already noticed, when 
 cultivation reaches a certain point through the 
 exertions of the Sonthal, the astute Bengali 
 ryot generally contrives to slip in and gain 
 possession of the land thus prepared. The 
 former, no match for the wily cunning of the in- 
 vader, finds that he is getting poorer and poorer 
 the nearer the Bengali approaches: he there- 
 fore resigns his holding to retreat further into 
 the jungle. In Midnapore, where Mr. Terry 
 (the Manager of extensive Indigo plantations) 
 formerly saw crowds of Sonthals, he now finds 
 the jungle cleared, with Bengali squatters in 
 possession of the old Sonthal holdings. That 
 gentleman’s experience extends from the time 
 
 R 
 
IO 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 when there were more than one hundred square 
 miles of jungle with scarcely a human inhabitant. 
 He has seen the Sonthals come and settle 
 there, clear and prepare the land, and then 
 disappear to make room for the Bengali. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Mr. Sutherland's Report of 1817 — Derivation of name — 
 Seeboo of Sirnra — Origin of Tribe — Vermin eaters 
 — Physique — Male and Female Sotithal — High status 
 of the Female — Their large families — Their content- 
 ment — Vices — Missionary endeavours — Conversio?is 
 —The Sonthali character — '•'•Evil communications 
 corrupt good manners.” 
 
 J N a very able report by Mr. Sutherland. 
 
 who when Joint Magistrate of Monghyr, 
 about the year 1817, was specially deputed to 
 make an investigation into the state of the 
 landed tenures of the hill people, or Paharees 
 resident ou the Rajmehal Hills, I find the fol- 
 lowing incidental remarks regarding the Son- 
 thals, or Sonthars, as that gentleman termed 
 them. He writes: — “ Within these latter years, 
 very considerable tracts of the extensive forests 
 which here existed, have been brought into 
 gradual cultivation by the industrious Sonthars, 
 who emigrate from the Beerbhoom and Ram- 
 ghur Districts, and even from the Nagporc 
 
I 2 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 Territory.” The lapse of half a century, with 
 its many changes, has told upon the word 
 Sonthar, which is now corrupted into Sonthal ; 
 but according to an old Sonthal manjee, in 
 whose society I have beguiled many an hour, 
 the' word Sonthal, or Sonthar, is quite a mongrel 
 epithet. The old savage would often seat 
 himself on his plough, and while watching his 
 workpeople as they twisted the tails of the 
 unwilling buffaloes, employed in treading out 
 the last year’s dhan, he would expatiate on 
 the derivation of his race, and lay down the 
 law very freely. I am constrained to say that 
 he was most amusing when under the influence 
 of gin, or puchwaee, and only would shine, in 
 narrating tales of his youth, when “half seas 
 over.” According to his rendering, his tribe 
 first came from a place called “ Chai Jumpa” 
 (so he pronounced it), in the Nagpore District, 
 but having been greatly oppressed by a certain 
 Mahdeo Sing, they were obliged to quit his 
 neighbourhood, and retreating into the jungles 
 lying to the north-east of their former habita- 
 tion, cleared and cultivated their forward course 
 until they settled in their present places. 
 A small tribe, originally united for self- 
 protection, they first called themselves, and 
 
Southalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 *3 
 
 were called, Shaitals, which in course of time 
 became corrupted into Sonthars, and now 
 Sonthals. Some of them state that they 
 were originally Keicars, and that while in the 
 jungle, suffering great privation, a Deb or 
 spirit (probably the spirit of hunger) put it into 
 their heads to eat rats, snakes, field-mice, and 
 other vermin. They at once took the hint, and 
 thriving on and liking the fare, have ever since 
 continued to indulge in it whenever an oppor- 
 tunity offered. 
 
 The ethnological characteristics of the Son- 
 thals distinguish them from all other races in 
 India, nomadic or civilized. The men are 
 of middling stature and remarkably well made, 
 with darker skins than the Bengalis. They 
 have strong limbs, somewhat thick lips, and 
 in many instances their cast of countenance 
 almost approaches to the Negro type. They 
 wear their hair, which is long and coarse, tied 
 in a knot on the top of the head, the ends 
 hanging down from the centre like a Dragoon’s 
 plume, which gives them a wild, savage appear- 
 ance. Their foreheads can hardly be termed 
 high or classical ; but they possess a sparkling 
 black eye, and an open, jovial countenance, 
 which further acquaintance with them does 
 
I 4 Sonthalia ami the Sonthals. 
 
 not wholly belie. In the majority of instances 
 the face is with them a true index to their 
 character, which is of a free, bold, jovial turn. 
 Formerly, a Sonthal, as a rule, disdained 
 to tell a falsehood, but the influences of civiliza- 
 tion, transfused through the contagious ethics of 
 his Bengali neighbours, have somewhat impaired 
 his truthfulness. In the last four or five years a 
 great change for the worse has become evident, 
 although even now, as a people, they are glorious 
 exceptions to the prevailing idiosyncrasy of the 
 lower class of natives in Bengal. With the latter, 
 speaking the truth has been always an accident \ 
 with the Sonthal it was a characteristic principle. 
 
 The women, when young, possess good 
 looks and fine figures — that test of beauty in 
 the eyes of the ancient Romans : — 
 
 “ Formam aptat modico pueris, majore puellis 
 Murmure, cum Veneris fanum videt anxia mater 
 Usque ad delicias notorum, cur tamen, inquit, 
 Corripias ? pulchra gaudet Latona Diana.”* 
 
 * “The anxious mother, at the shrine of Venus, prays 
 softly for the boys a moderate share of beauty, but for 
 the girls she begs aloud a form complete, even to the 
 greatest nicety. Why, says she, do you blame me? Was 
 not Latona glad to see Diana fair ?” — Jtiv. Sat. X. 
 
Sonthalia ami the Sohthals. 
 
 15 
 
 They are also lively, and generally chaste ; they 
 have small hands and feet, and, to use an 
 Homeric simile, are ox-eyed ; not being given 
 too young in marriage, they wear better than 
 the women of most eastern climes, and hold a 
 much higher status in the family circle than 
 their less fortunate sisters. They also enjoy the 
 advantage of reigning alone in their husbands’ 
 wigwam, as there is seldom, if ever, a second 
 wife or concubine to divide his affections — 
 polygamy, although not exactly prohibited, 
 being not very popular with the tribe. 
 
 Blessed with amazingly large families, — 
 nine olive-branches being a common number to 
 one man’s quiver, — healthy, clean, and indus- 
 trious, with few troubles except an occasional 
 dunning visit from the mahajun, and with suffi- 
 cient to eat and drink, particularly where they 
 hold their lands direct from the Government of 
 Bengal without the intervention of any land- 
 holder or middleman, as they do in Sonthalia 
 Proper, they lead peaceful, happy lives, avoid- 
 ing, as much as possible, all intercourse with 
 outsiders, and varying their time, alternately, 
 with the hard work of jungle clearing and 
 husbandry, and with feasting, hunting, and 
 revelry. Drunkenness, one of the two evils 
 
I 6 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 already referred to, and despite all the maxims 
 and moralizings against it, does not seem in 
 their case either to palsy their industry, sap 
 their home affections, or ruin their constitu- 
 tions. Old Seeboo, of Simra, the Sonthal 
 mentioned at the commencement of this 
 chapter, one day confidentially informed me 
 that it was his custom, not only to put himself 
 and his family under the influence of Bacchus 
 once a year, but also to force liquor down 
 his animals’ throats, and to make them parti- 
 cipate in the general debauchery. He naTvely 
 remarked that, as the poor brutes did their 
 fair share of their masters’ work, they had 
 an equitable right to participate in their 
 masters’ revelry. An active Missionary, who 
 has labored with zeal and earnestness to convey 
 the light of the Gospel to them, was once told 
 by an old manjee that there was no objection 
 to his preaching in their villages, and to his 
 establishing schools in their midst : moreover, 
 as the Sonthal children seemed to improve 
 under tuition, the headmen even looked upon 
 their conversion to Christianity with a favorable 
 eye. — “ But,” continued the old reprobate, “ does 
 your God allow us old people to get drunk twice 
 a week?” “No!” replied the Missionary, aghast 
 
Sontlialia and the Sonthals. 
 
 1 7 
 
 at the question. “Then,” said the manjee, 
 turning on his heel, “ teach our boys and 
 girls, but leave us alone.” I fear that amongst 
 the older Sonthals the good seed is cast upon 
 dry and stony ground, and that there is but 
 slight chance of converting any of the race 
 after their youth is past. The majority 
 have such strong constitutions, and are so 
 hardened in drinking, that they are seldom 
 cursed with that which is, at any rate, a 
 temporary incentive to repentance — a splitting 
 headache the next morning. They seem to 
 carry out to the full the principle — “ To eat, 
 drink, and be merry, and care nought for the 
 morrow.” 
 
 “ Vivite contend casulis et collibus istis,” 
 
 O pueri, Marsus dicebat et Hernicus olim 
 Vestinusque senex ; panem quaeramus aratro 
 Oui satis est mensis : laudant hoc numina ruris, 
 Quorum ope et auxilio, gratae post munus aristae . * 
 
 * “ Live content, my boys, with your cottages and 
 your rugged hills, said honest Marsus and Hernicus 
 and old Vestinus in former days. Let us get bread 
 by the plough sufficient for our tables ; the rural gods 
 applaud our diligence: it was their bounty and assistance 
 that bestowed upon us the use of corn .” — Juvenal 
 Sat. XVI. 
 
 C 
 
i8 
 
 Son th alia and the Sont/ia/s. 
 
 Sir Buhver Lytton says, “ Contentment is 
 the absence of an object to be gained, or in- 
 difference as to its attainment — either ignorance 
 or lethargy.” The Sonthal is an example of 
 this definition for as long as he can feel his 
 skin tight as the head of a drum, his stomach 
 well filled with rice and rats, or some such 
 delicacy, and his head muzzy with puchwacc, 
 contented and lethargic, he yearns for nothing 
 else. 
 
 When I see a party of Sonthal women 
 wending their way through the forest in Indian 
 file, with their wood or market produce on 
 their heads, and singing in unison, the follow-7 
 ing lines often occur to me as expressing the 
 poetical meaning of their refrain : — - 
 
 “ Common is the vital air, 
 
 Common is the azure sky, 
 
 Common flowers are everywhere, 
 
 Common stars shine out on high : 
 
 Music of the forest bird 
 Cometh without stint or measure, 
 
 Friendly smile and loving word, 
 
 Common are as joy and pleasure : 
 
 Why from common things then turn, 
 
 And for the uncommon yearn ?” 
 
 So conservative are the Sonthals, that when 
 
Sonthalia ami the Sonthals. T Q 
 
 Mr. l’ontct, who ruled them for many years, 
 wished them to plant potatoes and gave every 
 encouragement, they refused — saying, their 
 fathers lived long enough without the vegetable, 
 and why should not they ? 
 
 They are not cruel or vindictive, but 
 open and honest, gentle and very obliging, 
 kind and trusty, but superstitious, like the 
 majority of untutored people who are buried 
 in amidst the wilds and beauties of nature, and 
 easily led. That the Sonthal is industrious, 
 the cleared country at the base of the Vindhyas, 
 from Bhaugulpore to Cuttack, attests. May 
 there never be wanting jungle for him to clear, 
 or vermin and strong drink to fill his vacuum. 
 Thus may their highest aspirations be summed 
 up. 
 
 The following is the opinion of a Mission- 
 ary as to the Sonthali morals and character. 
 He has labored long amongst them; and, 
 without entirely endorsing all he states, yet, as 
 his ideas on the subject are entitled to great 
 weight from his constant intercourse with the 
 tribe, I insert his remarks in their integrity. He 
 adds : — • 
 
 “ The morals of the Sonthal are, generally' 
 “speaking, low, although they know little or 
 
20 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 "nothing of the pure refined villainy of the Hin- 
 “ doos. They send away their wives at their 
 “ pleasure for a trifling offence. I believe that 
 " they are nevertheless good husbands and wives, 
 “ and affectionate parents, who will starve cheer- 
 “ fully as long as their children have enough to 
 " eat. On their word one can rely better than on 
 “ that of other natives of the lower castes. 
 “ Nevertheless the great truthfulness which was 
 "said to exist amongst them was a fancy, or 
 “ has disappeared. I believe they do not cheat 
 “ as a body in business transactions, which 
 " may be more a negative virtue of theirs, they 
 “ being generally so ignorant. They don’t steal, 
 “ and I believe there are no beggars amongst 
 "them in ordinary times. There are in every 
 "village virgins who have passed their usual 
 " time of marriage, which generally takes place 
 "for the female at the age between 14 and 
 "18.” He continues, “They are a cheerful 
 " race, and take troubles in an easy manner as 
 “they come (on the principle of ‘what can’t be 
 “cured must be endured’.) Their women par- 
 " ticularly show a pleasing, naive freedom in 
 “ conversation ; free without being bold. They 
 “ are trusting to people whom they know, very 
 “ peaceably disposed, and offences are punished 
 
Sonthalia a id the Sonthals. 2 I 
 
 “ amongst them by heavy fines often quite dis- 
 “ proportionate to the offence. A certain amount 
 “ as a fine, varying according to the heaviness 
 “of the crime, is sufficient to put right again 
 “all kinds of offences. There is no quarrelling 
 “ or wrangling amongst the females ; they arc 
 “ frugal, can make a meal out of anything, but 
 “ given much to drink, under which influence 
 “ they sometimes act with great ferocity.” 
 
 It is greatly to be regretted that the respect 
 they paid to truth should be so quickly passing 
 out of their minds. Evil communications are 
 exercising their baneful influences over them, 
 and soon, I fear, the proverbial veracity of the 
 Sonthal will become a by-word. I was drawn 
 towards them by their natural, open, and joyous 
 bearing, and allowing for their superstitions and 
 ignorance, they were a race that, in the course 
 of a long sojourn amidst, it was impossible 
 not to feel a deep interest in. But my mind 
 was repelled with disgust when, after an absence 
 of three years, I returned to find my high 
 notions of them almost demolished by the 
 change which has over-taken them in that brief 
 interval — a gradual declining towards repul- 
 sive shuffling and chicanery. I believe the 
 general opinion of persons who know them 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 2 2 
 
 w'ell is, that they are falling from their pristine 
 innocence fast, and having once got a motive 
 power for evil on them, they arc going down 
 hill like a rolling tub, — gaining greater impetus, 
 the nearer it gets to the bottom, — “ facilis 
 decensus Averni !” 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Influence of outward impressions on Sonthali character 
 — Polybius' remarks — Wordsworth's remarks — Ten- 
 nyson — Inferences drawn therefrom — Conversation 
 with Sonthals — Their Belief in the Supernatural 
 and Witchcraft — Susceptibility if ridiculed , and 
 consequent reticence. 
 
 J T has often been remarked that the soil on, 
 and climate in, which a man is born, and the 
 scenery amidst which he is brought up, has a 
 great deal to do with the bent of his thoughts 
 and habits, and imperceptibly influences his 
 character. This power is all the greater in 
 circumstances where the advantages of educa- 
 tion have not been enjoyed ; as by that means 
 alone a man can always raise himself, to some 
 extent, above the level of outward impressions. 
 I think it is to be questioned, however, whether, 
 even in the strongest mind, education can ever 
 entirely eradicate that affinity which exists 
 between outward impressions and their influence 
 on the emotions. For instance, a country inn on 
 
2 4 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 a wet day, with nothing but a stable-yard to 
 look into and an old directory to read, would not 
 tend to impress the most educated with anything 
 but a sensation of dulness. Neither would a 
 moor call forth lively associations, when con- 
 templated in company with a tired horse on a 
 misty, drizzly November’s afternoon, and with 
 twenty dreary miles to traverse before home is 
 reached. Nature according to its different guises 
 acts upon the feelings of all, and the longer 
 a man is under the influence of one of them, 
 the more permanent will be the impression. The 
 impressions on all may not be entirely the same, 
 but that it does act more or less according as 
 the minds of each are constituted, I think there 
 is little doubt. Wordsworth, in his “ Historical 
 Greece,” allows the above proposition to be 
 proven, although at the same time he states 
 that the charms of music have a power 
 sufficient to counteract the effects produced. 
 After describing the scenery and climate of 
 the country and the blessings of the pipe, the 
 favorite musical instrument of the swains of 
 Greece, he adds — 
 
 “ The social character of the people was 
 “ beneficially affected by these influences. They 
 “ were beguiled by means of the rudeness which 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 25 
 
 “ they would otherwise have derived from the 
 “ ruggedness of their soil, and from the incle- 
 “ mency of their climate ; and thus, by a happy 
 “ and beneficent compensation of nature, the 
 “ same causes which gave them impulses towards 
 “ a rigid and savage mode of existence, supplied 
 “ the most efficient means for reclaiming them 
 “ from those tendencies and leading them to 
 “ habits more refined.” Such then, he continues, 
 “ were some of the results produced by soil and 
 “ climate.” 
 
 Polybius, whom Wordsworth also quotes, 
 when remarking on the manners and characters 
 of the inhabitants of Cynaetha, is of the same 
 opinion. 
 
 The overhanging hills, the deep dells, the 
 wind agitating the fluttering leaves of the 
 trees, — the noise of which was to the ancient as 
 the groans of the damned spirits of unjust men ; 
 the lights and shades thrown by the setting 
 sun over the gorgeous lichens and jungle foliage, 
 have (in my opinion) impressed the Sonthal 
 with an indefinable feeling of superstition and 
 a desire to venerate something, — has caused his 
 uncultivated imagination to run riot, and to 
 people the woods and springs with ghostly 
 beings, who are, in his estimation, generally 
 
 D 
 
26 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 more powerful for evil than good, and to be 
 propitiated with sacrifices — 
 
 “Are God and Nature then at strife, 
 
 That Nature lends such evil dreams?" 
 
 His traditions touch upon a future state, but 
 bear an impress of a wild, weird-like character. 
 He believes in the immortality of the soul, or 
 rather that there is an existence of some sort 
 beyond death. 
 
 “ The wish that of the living whole 
 N o life may fail beyond the grave, 
 
 Derives it not from what we have, 
 
 The likest God within the soul ?” 
 
 I presume that his solitary life in the midst 
 of the jungles, where, for a great part of the 
 year, he has comparatively nothing to do, and 
 but few distractions, gives nature a chance of 
 impressing him with her grandeur and of work- 
 ing on the “divine essence” which Tennyson 
 alludes to above, as the hand of the phrenologist 
 by pressing the bumps of his mesmerised sub- 
 ject is said to work on and elicit the correspond- 
 ing emotions. The drawback is that, having no 
 education to guide, or strong intellect to direct 
 him, his vague sense of veneration degenerates 
 
Sonthalia and the Sont/ia/s. 2 "J 
 
 into gross superstition, and his ideas of a future 
 state coalesce into an insane fancy. 
 
 That he does think more than a casual 
 observer would imagine, I strongly believe ; and 
 of his brain being bewildered with superstitious 
 visions, I have often had an opportunity of 
 judging. Sometimes, while returning from 
 shooting, I have been attracted by the shrill 
 sounds of his fife, and come up to a fine 
 specimen of the male animal — some village 
 dandy — with his beads round his neck, his 
 bracelets on his wrists, and the end of his hair 
 hanging over his top-knot, like the plume on a 
 horseguard’s helmet. It takes but a little time 
 to strike up a conversation with him, and if one 
 is fortunate enough to be accompanied by 
 an attendant from his own tribe, and rid of all 
 cringing chupprassies from one’s heels (a plan 
 which I was fond of adopting), he will allow 
 himself to be drawn out in a manner, that would 
 astonish those accustomed only to see him with 
 that stupid, stolid look he is so capable of 
 putting on when interrogated, and not knowing 
 what may happen next. 
 
 [Scene opens , and discloses Sonthal sitting under a 
 tree; Sailed, pushing his way through the 
 jungle , slops and thus addresses him ] : — 
 
28 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 Saheb. — You drink spirits, my son ? 
 
 Sonthal. — Yes, “ ma-bap ! !”* 
 
 [Saheb takes out his brandy-flask ; old Sceboo , his 
 only attendant , seizes hold of the knob of hair 
 on the crown of our Adonis’ head and forcibly 
 pulls it back , until his month opens and his eyes 
 look as if they were startling out of their sockets. 
 He then has about a wine-glassful of brandy- 
 and-water poured down his throat , after which , 
 although half choked, , he slaps his stomach and 
 relaxes into a broad grin.] 
 
 Seeboo, in apparent absence of mind, retreats 
 after this manoeuvre, and holding his right 
 hand up to his mouth, pours into its palm half 
 the remains of the brandy, and thus slyly drinks 
 it without spilling a drop ; looking very innocent 
 the while. He then generally contrives to screw 
 on the top of the flask the wrong way — and 
 squats down smacking his lips. This little epi- 
 sode over, the conversation continues — 
 
 Saheb (gravely). — I hear there is a spirit 
 (Bhoot) near that spring in the hollow. Is it 
 true ? Are there any Bhoots about here ? 
 
 Sonthal (looking up suspiciously). — Yes ! 
 father-and-mother, they say so, and there are 
 
 * A term of respect — mother and father. 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 2 9 
 
 two witches up in that village west of the 
 Janeera, besides the Bhoot in the hollow. 
 
 Saheb. — Baprc ! that’s very difficult to hear. 
 How do you know there are witches ? 
 
 Sontluil . — The Punchayet (an assembly of 
 all the old men of the neighbouring villages, 
 sometimes to the number of thirty or forty) 
 have said so. 
 
 This is quite sufficient for him ; what the 
 “ ten men” say must be true ; he never thinks 
 of questioning it, and if the Punchayet ordered 
 him to go and kill those witches — although 
 ordinarily a quiet, well-disposed person — he 
 would beat them to death, and glory over the 
 atrocity. 
 
 I must explain that ten men does not mean 
 the numeral ten, but may mean from three to 
 one hundred, or any number of persons selected 
 to try a case. 
 
 I recollect, in this instance particularly, 
 hearing words crop out which clearly demon- 
 strated the deep superstitious feelings with which 
 the Sonthals are imbued. No reasoning with 
 them, nor ridicule, can disabuse them of their 
 belief in witches, and of the necessity of their 
 being at once murdered ; and if they notice a 
 smile or any gesture of disbelief while they are 
 
Sont/ialia and the Sonthals. 
 
 30 
 
 speaking on the subject, they “ shut up” at 
 once, and one may as well try to get blood 
 out of a stone as any more information from 
 them. It is not, however, so many years ago 
 that in our own civilized isle many unfortunate 
 women were burnt at the stake, and bullied 
 to death, with much more refined brutality than 
 the Sonthal ever shows. History also leads us 
 to imagine that if any one dared to ridicule 
 the popular notions of the English boor, or 
 expostulate at one of those barbarous exhibi- 
 tions of ferocity common to the “good old 
 times,” he or she stood a good chance of 
 sharing the punishment with the witch — an 
 unpleasant liberality which the Sonthal is not 
 guilty of showing to those not agreeing with 
 his tenets, and bold enough to tell him so. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Poetical feeling of the Sonthal- — A love ditty — Their 
 tunes — Traditions — Formation of the world — The 
 first man and woman — Their family of sevm sons 
 and seven daughters — Licentiousness at their feasts 
 — Similarity to old heathen mythology in their 
 traditions. 
 
 'J'HERE is a dash of poetical feeling in the 
 composition of the Sonthals which shows 
 itself in their traditions. Their songs generally 
 allude to birds and flowers, and, unlike the lyrics 
 of their neighbours, are remarkably free from ob- 
 scenity. The tunes also which they play on 
 their flutes are often attempts at the imitation 
 of the notes of birds, or have a wild, melancholy 
 cadence, which, heard in the depths of the 
 jungle, sounds pleasing on the ear. 
 
 The following is the song of a love-sick 
 girl : — 
 
 The Richie bird’s (osprey) voice is heard on the 
 mountain, then the people feel pity — 
 
 Oh, mother, at midnight the peacock’s tail can be 
 seen on the top of the hills, and in the valley. 
 
32 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 My brother observes the Sikiyan flower (a large 
 white one) upon the dried-up tree — 
 
 The parrot has her young ones ; oh, aunt, when will 
 you dandle my children, when will you, my aunt? 
 
 The cock crows in the morning, the turtle-dove 
 builds its nest in the garden, 
 
 Oh, my mother, come and see it. 
 
 From the steep sides of the mountain, I hear a pair 
 a»f flutes, 
 
 And below in the valley the beating of a drum.* 
 
 She is supposed to disappear in the direc- 
 tion of the flutes, where we wiLl leave her. 
 
 Their traditions concerning the origin of 
 mankind, and the formation of the world, show 
 that amongst some of the Sonthals there is 
 both imagination to invent, and memory to 
 retain, the numerous stories handed down. The 
 following is their version of the creation of the 
 world and its inhabitants : — 
 
 "In the beginning there was only water 
 on the earth. 
 
 “A water god, ‘Lita Kutree’ or ‘ Marang 
 Buru/ was flying over the water, when he 
 dropped two feathers from his wings. 
 
 “ These settled on the top of the waters, 
 
 * The Sonthali for all these songs will be found 
 in Bengali and the Roman character at the end of the 
 volume. 
 
Sontlialia and the Sonthals. 
 
 33 
 
 and floated about for many days, when they 
 suddenly’ became transformed into a goose and 
 gander. 
 
 “ This goose and gander began at once to 
 fly' about between the water and the sky. 
 
 “ Then said Marang Buru, the chief Banga 
 or spirit, ‘ Where shall I put them ? 
 
 ‘“In the midst of the waters there is a 
 white lily. Who will raise the earth for me ?’ 
 
 “ The Hakko (a fish) offered his services, 
 but failed in his endeavours. 
 
 “ Upon this the Kaskorn (lobster) came and 
 volunteered for the business, but could not 
 effect it ; for as soon as he had raised the earth 
 a little, it was washed away again by r the floods. 
 
 “A spirit called Bangomaki was called 
 and asked if he could raise the earth. ‘ Yes,’ he 
 answered, ‘ but I shall not be able to do so alone.’ 
 
 “ Then the Horoh (tortoise) came to his 
 help, and took the earth on its head, and 
 with the assistance of a chain tied to its four 
 feet, it attempted the task. 
 
 “ The tortoise tried hard, but could not 
 succeed, and was followed by the earthworm. 
 
 “ The Lende (earthworm) then lifted the 
 earth upon the leaf of the white lily\ 
 
34 
 
 Sonthctlia and the Sonthals. 
 
 “ When this was accomplished, Mdrang 
 Buru descended (from Olympus). 
 
 “ Marang Buru then compressed the earth 
 with his own feet, and caused the green grass 
 to sprout, and the roots to descend into the 
 ground. 
 
 “ Thus the earth and the vegetation thereon 
 were formed.” 
 
 The following are their ideas of the forma- 
 tion of mankind : — 
 
 “ It came to pass that the Sirom (a kind 
 of coarse grass) sprang up luxuriantly, and 
 the goose and gander, after flying about for 
 twelve years, descended into it, and in process 
 of time the female laid two eggs. 
 
 “ While they were being hatched, two 
 human beings came into existence, and when 
 the period allowed for incubation had expired, 
 they duly came forth from their shell — one a 
 male, and the other a female. 
 
 “ Then Chando (god) said to Marang Buru 
 “ (chief spirit, or Bonga) ‘ Go and bring them to 
 “ me that I may see them.’ 
 
 “When they came into the presence of 
 “Chando, the human beings were already grown 
 “ into full size, but they were both naked. 
 
 “ The man and woman were giants. 
 
Sonthalia and the Soiithals. 
 
 35 
 
 “ Chando commanded clothes to be brought. 
 
 “ Then they brought one piece of cloth of 
 “ ten cubits, and the other piece of twelve cubits 
 “ in length. 
 
 “When the clothes were produced, then 
 “ Chando addressed himself to the human beings 
 “saying: 
 
 “ ‘ Children ! where have you come to ? Do 
 “you know, my children, that I have come to 
 “ visit you ?’ 
 
 “ ‘Yes,’ said they, ‘we know that well enough.’ 
 
 “‘Well then,’ replied he, ‘put these pieces of 
 “cloth on first.’ 
 
 “ So saying he ordered the piece of ten 
 “ cubits to be given to the male, and the piece of 
 “ twelve cubits to be given to the female. 
 
 “ The cloth for the male covered his middle 
 “ in front and behind. 
 
 “ The cloth for the female partly veiled her 
 “ bosom also. 
 
 “ When this was accomplished, Marang 
 “ Buru was commanded to bring them again 
 “ before Chando. 
 
 “ Marang Buru having called them his 
 “grandchildren, then asked them if they would 
 “ pay attention to what he had now to say to 
 “ them. . _ 
 
36 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 “ They both signified their obedience. 
 
 “ After this he gave them leaven, and told 
 “ them to prepare from it handi, their home- 
 “ made liquor. 
 
 “ This preparation required four days, during 
 “ which the leaven had to ferment. 
 
 “ On the fourth day they received a visit 
 “ from Marang Buru, who asked them as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 “‘My children, have you put by that handi 
 H or harri ?’ 
 
 “They answered at once ‘Yes, O grand- 
 “ father !’ 
 
 “ ‘ Then bring it to me and let me see it,’ he 
 “ said. 
 
 “ When he had seen it, he told them to add 
 “ water to it, which was at once done. 
 
 “ Then Marang Buru ordered them to fill 
 “ the phuru (a leaf-cup, or dish made of leaves 
 from which the Sonthals are accustomed to 
 drink their liquors). 
 
 “ Upon this they did so, and then asked him 
 “ respectfully to drink, but he refused and said : 
 “‘Stop! there is something that must first be 
 “ done.’ 
 
 “In surprise, they asked what it was. 
 
 “Then Marung Buru took the cup and 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 “ offered from it a libation. (This is always 
 now done at every sacrifice, as will be noticed 
 hereafter. 
 
 “ When he had accomplished this he encou- 
 “ raged them to drink, and they wanted him to 
 “join them, but he refused, excusing himself 
 “ by urging that he had to go home ! 
 
 “ After this they both drank until they were 
 “ drunken. 
 
 “ When Marung Buru returned’' (tradition 
 mentioneth not whither he had gone), “ he found 
 “ that they were very drunk. 
 
 “Up to this time each of them had slept in 
 “ different places, but now, when Marung Buru 
 “saw them so drunken, he dragged them along, 
 “ and shut them up together in one little room. 
 
 “ On the next morning, when the two human 
 “ beings awoke, they found themselves for the 
 “ first time on the bridal couch together. 
 
 “Then early on that day, when Marang 
 “ Buru came to visit them, and saw that they had 
 “ slept with each other, he said to them : 
 
 “ ‘ What, grandchildren, have you not yet 
 “risen, eh? It seems that you were drunk 
 “yesterday. Fie upon you ! How'did this come 
 “ to pass ?’ He then left them. 
 
 “ It happened in course of time, while they 
 
38 
 
 Sohthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 “still remained in that place, that they began 
 “ to dandle seven male and seven female chil- 
 “ dren on their knees. 
 
 “ It also happened that after this they dis- 
 “ pleased a powerful spirit— — ' 1 Mirjadurrik.’” 
 
 Some Sonthals say that this means a 
 Mussulman King, who raised such a persecu- 
 tion against them, that they were forced to 
 hide themselves from his anger in thick 
 jungles. 
 
 The incident which Marang Buru re- 
 marked upon is well remembered by all the 
 Sonthals of both sexes now, and the meeting of 
 their two first parents, while intoxicated, is 
 always the excuse for any accidents that may 
 occur of a like kind at one of their drinking 
 feasts, termed the “ Soharai.” So lenient are 
 they in this respect, that the fee which covers 
 wounded virtue and honor lost at this festival 
 is but trifling ; a graduated scale being used, 
 varying according to whether a maid, wife, or 
 widow is concerned* 
 
 * I am afraid Mr. Seeboo’s morals were not quite 
 so good as they might be. He is my authority for the 
 statement concerning their leniency in the above cases. 
 It often happens, however, that should a girl be impli- 
 cated and not married directly afterwards, she is turned 
 out of doors by the parents. 
 
Sonthalia ami the Sonthals. 
 
 39 
 
 It is fortunate for the morality of the tribe 
 that it is only at a certain season that this 
 feast is observed, otherwise their character for 
 chastity would scarcely stand so well as it does 
 at present. 
 
 I dare say the story of the eggs, mentioned 
 at the commencement of the chapter, will 
 sound somewhat familiar to the students of 
 a more refined mythology. It first struck on my 
 ear as if, while a schoolboy, I had heard it before 
 in the tale of Leda and the Swan ; but as I find 
 the tradition is well known amongst the tribe, 
 and the Rev. F. Lehman, a Missionary among 
 them, agrees with me with regard to its authen- 
 ticity, I insert it precisely as I received it. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Mirjadurrik — Dispersion of the first parents — Chatro 
 Champa — Names of the tribes — Countries into which 
 they fled — Chronology — Their gods — Chando Banga 
 and others — Similarity between them and the 
 deities of the Greek mythology — Their sacred Groves. 
 
 JT appears that the “Mirjadurrik,” referred to 
 in the last chapter, is by some supposed to 
 have been a Mussulman ; but I am of opinion 
 that this period must have been before the 
 Mussulman era. It might more probably relate 
 to some hill chieftain whom tradition had in 
 the lapse of time elevated into a god. It 
 gives the Sonthal, however, a point from which 
 he can account for the dispersion of mankind, 
 which his traditions explain as follows : — 
 
 They say that the seven male and seven 
 female children soon became so prolific, that 
 they were, by force of numbers, compelled to 
 emerge from their seclusion, and scatter them- 
 selves over the earth. 
 
 The narrative continues : — ■ 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 41 
 
 “And it came to pass that Mirjadurrik took 
 “ them to a strong place called ‘Chattro Champa,’ 
 (this probably is the Chae Jampa talked of 
 by Seeboo in his conversation narrated in a 
 former chapter). 
 
 “Then they remained at Chattro Champa 
 “ for some time. 
 
 “ That place had a door in the front and 
 “ one in the back ; and there the descendants of 
 “ Pilchu Haram (the first man) and Pilchu Furhi 
 “ (first woman) became divided and dispersed. 
 
 “ It was then that their gigantic descendants 
 “split up into tribes or families.” 
 
 The largest and most powerful tribe took 
 the name of Hansdah, which they hold to 
 this day; after these came the Murmu, then 
 the Soren, after them the Tudu, then the Mardi, 
 the Kisku, Besera, Kedoar, the Baski, Marmo- 
 ring, Bisra, and Hemron, twelve tribes in all. 
 
 About that time they went away from 
 the strong place Chattro Champa, and spread 
 rapidly. Some went to the Sing country, others 
 to the Sikur, others to Tundi, and the majority 
 to the Kuttra country. It is from this latter 
 place that they are now peopling this por- 
 tion of the face of the earth. Those among 
 them who have asserted their pretensions to 
 
 F 
 
4' 2 
 
 Southalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 historical lore, say that the Kuttra country has 
 the virtue of making its inhabitants increase 
 and multiply to a wonderful extent ; but this 
 attribute is apparently common to the tribe wher- 
 ever they seem to go. 
 
 Their chronology is of a very feeble 
 order, and their statements of events before the 
 division of the tribes partake largely of the 
 mythical. “ Once upon a time” gives all the 
 chronological data I could ever extract from 
 them, and considering that their months are 
 counted by moons, their years by the reaping 
 of the crops, that their accounts are either 
 notches on a stick, like those formerly used 
 by the rustics for keeping scores at cricket 
 matches in country villages in England, or knots 
 on a piece of grass string, or a number of bits 
 of straw tied together, it is not surprising 
 if (in relating events so far back as the Flood, 
 and the dispersion of their tribes) they do 
 not attempt to give any idea of the interval 
 they may consider to have elapsed betwixt 
 then and now. 
 
 I have not been able to discover that there 
 are more than twelve gods or ruling spirits recog- 
 nized by them ; besides these twelve, however, 
 there are numerous minor spirits of a sylvan 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 43 
 
 character, such as the spirits of springs, water- 
 falls, &c., but the latter I may class in the same 
 catalogue with their witches, and omit them 
 from the company of the more aristocratic 
 dozen, whose attributes and names are — 
 
 1. “Chando,” also called “ Chando Banga,” 
 who appears to be the supreme being, and to cor- 
 respond with the Zeus or Jupiter of the ancients, 
 but he is never personally worshipped, neither 
 are any sacrifices offered to propitiate him. 
 It appears to me that the Sonthals look 
 upon this god rather as a creative spirit raised 
 too high above them to take much notice of 
 their adoration ; and as he has a quasi Prime 
 Minister to whom they sacrifice, they regard the 
 former as a being only to be venerated through 
 this medium. I must mention, however, that 
 his name is used to swear by, as the Sonthali 
 oath in our Courts commences with Chando 
 Banga sarnangrk, “ before God.” 
 
 2. “ Marang Buru” or “ Lita Kuttree,” is 
 the highest “ bhoot” or spirit to whom sacrifices 
 are offered. He conveys to me the idea of a 
 mediator ; and were a Sonthal to hear the story 
 of our Saviour’s mediation for fallen man, I 
 should imagine that in his own mind it would 
 immediately awaken his ideas of Marang Buru. 
 
44 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 I write this with trepidation, as it is but an 
 idea and not an ascertained fact. I think, how- 
 ever, Marang Burn may be termed the mediator 
 beween Chando Banga and the Sonthal. 
 
 3. “Jatra Banga.” 
 
 4. “ Chatta Banga.” 
 
 5. “ Patta Banga.” 
 
 These three have an existence only known 
 from their yearly recurring festivals and occa- 
 sional sacrifices, but their actual position and 
 attributes are a mystery even to the Sonthals 
 themselves. Should one wish to question a 
 Sonthal about these gods, a nasal “ had' is 
 generally all the reply to be obtained, and as 
 this means “yes” or “eh,” or “what,” or 
 any like word, it does not tend to make the 
 curious inquirer any the wiser. These deities 
 are worshipped together with the rest of the 
 Bangas, and at the time of any distress or mis- 
 fortune happening to an individual or a village 
 community, the sufferers propitiate them by 
 special sacrifices and festivals. 
 
 Each of them has a stone stuck up to his 
 honor upon a small mound of earth outside the 
 village, which marks the spot where the worship 
 and sacrifices are to take place. 
 
 6 to 12. The “More Turui Horko,” literally 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 45 
 
 the 5 or 6 Bangas, or, as the Sonthals say, the 
 five brothers and the one sister. These half 
 dozen are thought to reside in the sacred grove, 
 Jaher (or holy grove), planted near every village, 
 where six stones at the foot of six separate 
 trees show their existence. 
 
 There is a great similarity between the 
 representation of these gods by the Sonthals 
 and the representation of Zeus or Jupiter by 
 the ancients : the flint stone in both cases is 
 the symbol of the god. In concluding a treaty, 
 the Romans took the sacred symbol of Jupiter, 
 viz., the sceptre and flint stone, together with 
 a small quantity of grass from his temple, and 
 the oath taken on such occasions was always 
 expressed per Jovis lapidem jurare * And 
 
 again the sacred groves outside every Sonthal 
 village, when once seen, immediately recall to 
 mind the sacred groves of the Greeks. A statue, 
 I believe, generally stood in the latter Grecian 
 groves, which were situated near or surrounded 
 many of their Doric temples. In the Sonthal 
 grove, however, a stone is placed for a statue, 
 their fine arts not having come to such per- 
 
 * August, de Cive. Dei ii, 29, Cic. ad Fam. VII, 
 Polyb : III. 26. 
 
4 6 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 fection as to enable them to sculpture the 
 human figure. The Sonthal’s idea, however, is 
 the same, although he may lack means to work 
 it out into such a form as the more refined 
 Greeks were able to accomplish. 
 
 There is a coincidence, too, worthy of 
 remark, that the Greeks had six representations 
 of Zeus placed in a row at their sacred place in 
 Cronium. Have the six stones of the Sonthals 
 any affinity with the above ? 
 
 The Greeks had an altar* erected to their 
 “ twelve gods” at the point where all the 
 principal roads of Attica converged, and from 
 which distances were measured. It is interest- 
 ing to note the identity existing in the number 
 of the principal Sonthalian and the principal 
 Grecian gods. 
 
 * The altar seems to have served the purpose to which 
 our parish churches are put ; distances in England always 
 being measured from those parochial centres. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Druidical Sacrifices — “ Ahge Bangd” — The Priests and 
 their avocations — Their votive offerings — Different 
 kinds ofi fiestivals — Their Rites — Their Parubs — - 
 Their fail's — Goats , fowls, &c., sacrificed — Descrip- 
 tion ofi a Sonthal round-about. 
 
 r J"HERE is a tradition that the Sonthals, like 
 the Druids of ancient Britain, were accustom- 
 ed to sacrifice human beings at a certain festival. 
 Should there ever have been such a practice, — ■ 
 and I am inclined to believe that there was, — the 
 change to British rule has long since swept this 
 remnant of barbarism from their religious code. 
 “ Ahge Banga”* was the god who used to be so 
 propitiated, but since his sacrifices have become 
 obsolete, his worship has also fallen off, and his 
 name, as such, is hardly known to the rising 
 generation. I am ignorant of the reason why 
 this spirit required such a sanguinary mode of 
 worship. 
 
 * Another name for Litta Kuttree, or “ Marung Buru,” 
 as far as I can gather. 
 
48 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 The Nake or Naickay is the name common 
 to their priests, about whom little is known ; 
 their office does not seem to be hereditary, 
 neither do they hold that power in the village 
 that the Brahmin priest holds in Bengal. They, 
 however, officiate at all the festivals, and kill the 
 goats, cocks, &c., offered at the shrine of the gods. 
 
 There is no worship without a sacrifice. 
 The former never takes place without the latter, 
 the sites for which are either before the three 
 stones raised in honor of Jatra Banga, Chatta 
 Banga, and Patta Banga, or in the sacred grove 
 (Jaher) to be found near every village, in each 
 Sonthal’s private dwelling, or at the “ Manjhee- 
 stan,” opposite every headman’s house. 
 
 There is some difference between the sacri- 
 fices offered at their several festivals, for they are 
 varied according to the different bhoots or 
 spirits before whom they may be presented, and 
 they also bear a relation to the effect which is 
 desired to be produced, such as exemption from 
 especial distress — for example, sickness, dearth, 
 famine, murrain, small-pox, and such like. 
 Special sacrifices are made upon the occa- 
 sion of marriages and deaths. 
 
 Amongst the festivals the following are 
 the most important : — 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 The Baha Parub, occurring on the return of 
 the spring season. 
 
 The Ma More Parub, which may perhaps 
 be best termed “ the general yearly festival of 
 the great propitiation day.” 
 
 The Sohorai Parub, or harvest joy. 
 
 The Chatta Parub, or Banga, which happens 
 during the rains, and is named after the god of 
 that name, as are the two following festivals : — 
 
 The Patta Banga, in connection with the 
 Sonthal swinging festival, from whence the 
 Hindoos probably borrow their Churruck Pooja. 
 
 The Jatra Banga, a drinking debauch in 
 January. 
 
 On the Baha and Ma More Parub, that is 
 to say, on the festival of the “ five brothers and 
 one sister,” termed the Jahev-era, but the names 
 of each of whom the Sonthals either know not 
 or will not confide to a stranger, the worship 
 and sacrifices are conducted in the following 
 manner: — 
 
 The six stones at the foot of the six trees in 
 the sacred grove are first marked with red paint 
 (ara herd) by the village priest, who is generally 
 an old man. He then cuts off the heads of 
 
 G 
 
5 O Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 six fowls over* the gahi, or sharp Sorithali 
 battle axe, and having accomplished this, imme- 
 diately allows the blood to drop from their necks 
 over the six stones. After this he appropriates 
 the half-dozen heads as his own share. The 
 villagers claim the bodies, and all partake of the 
 sacrifice in company and on the spot. Then 
 follows the drinking of their home-brewed Hanri, 
 which invariably terminates every public of 
 private sacrifice, whether it has taken place 
 inside or outside of their houses. Returning 
 home, each villager, at the close of every festival, 
 offers a sacrifice to Marang Buru (the chief 
 spirit), as well as to the manes of his ancestors. 
 The deity, however, is honored by the tribute of 
 a white fowl, which is sacrificed by the father of 
 the family in any spot he may choose in his 
 compound, and then the whole household, with 
 any occasional visitor who may have dropped in, 
 partake. This offering is immediately followed 
 by that of a pig or goat, which they kill in honor 
 of their departed ancestors’ spirits. The same 
 spot for the slaughter is used, and the same 
 ceremony undergone in this case as in the sacri- 
 
 * The axe is held with the edge upwards, the necks 
 being pressed down against it. 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals . 5 I 
 
 fice of Marang Buru ; the heads of the family 
 giving the usual dinner party. 
 
 On the Ma More festival, which takes place 
 in the grove, the first sacrifice offered is that of 
 the six fowls, which are also offered in the Baha 
 ceremonies. Three goats are the next victims, 
 the first of which must be white, the second 
 black, and the third must have some red hairs 
 on its body. 
 
 The Jatra Banga sacrifices are performed 
 outside the village, in front of the stones above 
 referred to. These stones are imbedded in raised 
 mounds of earth, and are first daubed with red 
 paint. The priest then mixes raw rice, milk, 
 butter, and betelnut together, and dedicates the 
 compound to the Banga. After this a pigeon 
 and a goat are killed, and their blood poured 
 out as an oblation. During the performance of 
 th is sacrificial ceremony, the “ Chatyas” or ora- 
 cles of the Banga, three or five in number, have 
 been sitting in a row on some adjacent spot, and 
 by wagging their heads backwards and forwards, 
 without ceasing, have addled their brains suffi- 
 ciently to work themselves up into the orthodox 
 prophesying frenzy. When this sublime condi- 
 tion is arrived at, any Sonthal desirous of peer- 
 ing into the future, or of obtaining an insight into 
 
5 ^ 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 the causes of the past, has but to go up and con- 
 sult the soothsayers in a reverent manner, and 
 he will at once get an answer to his questions, 
 whether as to his bodily ailments, the death of his 
 cattle, or the suspected presence of a witch in 
 his village. All this knowledge he may obtain 
 for the moderate charge of four annas thrown 
 down as a douceur at the feet of the oracles. 
 The heads of the offerings are perquisites of the 
 Chatya, and the people present share the bodies 
 between them. 
 
 With this festival they combine a fair, and 
 run up sheds made of the leafy boughs of trees, 
 which afford sufficient protection from the sun 
 and night dews. In these are sold looking-glasses, 
 combs, beads, &c., and sweetmeats. They 
 also have an attempt at a round-about, which 
 consists of a strong circular frame-work suspended 
 between two high posts, in which seats are placed 
 and the whole is then made to revolve. This 
 resembles very much the same kind of affairs as 
 those to be seen in use in the grounds of the 
 Crystal Palace. The Sonthali round-about, 
 however, would cut but a very sorry figure by 
 the side of its well finished rival. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Festivals continued '■ — Patta Banga , Chatta Banga, Soho- 
 rai, Churruck — Forms and ceremonies common to 
 each — Singular homage to an Umbrella — The great 
 drinking festival — Sonthal dinner party — Impres- 
 sions concerning the antiquity of the Sonthals — Is 
 their similarity to the ancient Mythology a mere acci- 
 dent? — Historical facts with regard to the advent of 
 Alexander the Great , and deductions therefrom — 
 Identity of all Mythology. 
 
 'P'HERE are three more festivals observed 
 by the Sonthals which I think deserving 
 of mention. They are the Sohorai festival, and 
 those dedicated to Patta Banga and Chatta 
 Banga. 
 
 At the ceremony observed in honor of 
 Patta Banga, and which is performed before the 
 raised mound and stone outside the village, the 
 same ordeal is gone through as when the Jatra 
 Banga is celebrated, but at the finish the Son- 
 thals formerly used to have the Churruck Pooja, 
 or swinging festival ; the hooks for suspending 
 the devotee being inserted in the muscles of 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 his back, who was generally an inebriated 
 oracle. He was then suspended in mid air and 
 swung round, apparently hanging by the hooks. 
 I have, however, seen a good many of these re- 
 volving martyrs, and although to a casual ob- 
 server it appears very dreadful to behold 
 a man thus pendant, it is not quite so bad 
 as it seems, for his friends take the precaution 
 to tie a girth of strong cloth round the victim’s 
 body, in such a manner that his weight rests 
 upon the cloth rather than on his muscles. 
 The perforation of the flesh may cost him a 
 few drops of blood, but that is all; perhaps he 
 may feel a very little more pain than is felt by 
 a schoolboy when he inserts a pin up to its 
 head in his thigh, and yet I fancy there are 
 very few English schoolboys that have not tried 
 the latter trick. 
 
 The Chatta Banga festival takes place 
 during the rains, and is only observed by one 
 tribe, the Hansdah, and by their Kewars or 
 blacksmiths, who are naturalized Hindoos. In 
 almost every village one of these knights of the 
 forge is to be found, and as they are always 
 wanted to repair the ploughshare or other 
 agricultural implements, they drive a fair trade. 
 The village communities pay them in kind, and 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthats. 
 
 each village is yearly compelled to contribute a 
 certain share towards their support. 
 
 The preliminary proceedings at this festival 
 resemble those of all the others, but at the end 
 of the offering a ceremony takes place, the 
 significance of which it is difficult to discover. 
 At a given signal a pole, some twelve cubits 
 long, is erected and made to turn a half circle, 
 perpendicularly and horizontally ; the pole is 
 fastened on a loose but strong iron pivot, 
 which rests in holes made in two upright pieces 
 of wood about a man’s height from the 
 ground. On the top of this revolving pole 
 is tied a small ornamented umbrella, and as this 
 is caused to jerk first one way and then the 
 other, a peculiar style of worship is offered to 
 it. Upon the erection of the pole, which is 
 hailed with shouts and other noisy demonstra- 
 tions of delight, the people gather handfuls of 
 dust and dirt and forthwith begin to pelt the 
 umbrella. This novel mode of veneration is 
 at the same time accompanied with war dances 
 by the men, the women also performing the 
 usual Sonthali marriage dance. Refreshments 
 and drink are dealt out from sheds erected for 
 the purpose, and the whole assembled population 
 regale themselves in the open air. The sacrifices 
 
56 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthdls. 
 
 in this festival are always eaten at home, and 
 not consumed on the spot. 
 
 The Soharai, or harvest joy, is their longest 
 and one of the most important festivals. It 
 extends over a period of five days and nights, 
 and is devoted to dancing, eating, drinking, 
 singing, and every imaginable kind of debauch- 
 ery. For the whole of that time the village 
 street is alive with noisy groups of both sexes ; 
 the elder ones smoking and drinking, while the 
 young people are flirting, romping, and dancing. 
 On one day in particular the confusion becomes 
 worse confounded, the brute creation being press- 
 ed in as unwilling sharers in the commotion. 
 The cattle are brought out and tied to ornament- 
 ed posts in front of their several owners’ com- 
 pounds : men and boys then fling at them bits of 
 sticks, baskets, &c., and the youngsters rush 
 between the animals from one side of the street to 
 the other, carrying in their hands skins and cloth 
 which they wave before the eyes of the baited 
 prisoners. This combined with the beating of 
 drums, the shouting of many voices, the reeling 
 figures of the drunken, and the shrill chantings 
 of the women, make up a series of Bacchanalian 
 orgies which baffle description. The sacrifices 
 offered are the same as those used in the 
 propitiation of Marang Buru. 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 5 7 
 
 There is one part of the ceremony which 
 I think deserving of notice, as in its performance 
 there is some similarity to the Egyptian myth 
 of the “ Bull and the Egg.” On one of the five 
 days of the Sohorai, there is a new-laid hen’s 
 egg brought into the village street by the 
 priest, or naick, and placed in a certain square 
 marked in the ground. The oxen are then 
 driven past it, and the one which stoops to 
 smell the egg is at once marked and held in 
 high estimation for that year. I believe the 
 Egyptian mythology states that the earth came 
 out of an egg which the bull broke* 
 
 The Sohorai festival is held for five days in 
 every village ; but as they contrive that all the 
 villages should not hold it at the same time, 
 it gives the Sonthal a chance to riot and drink 
 for a month, which he is not slow to take 
 advantage of. 
 
 The only other place appointed for sac- 
 rifice besides those before mentioned, is the 
 Manjhee Stan,- or open shed in front of every 
 village head man’s house. When the ceremony 
 takes place, the village priest first bedaubs 
 
 * The New Zealanders consider the egg to be a sacred 
 symbol. 
 
 IT 
 
58 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 with red paint the wooden heads or stones 
 placed in the shed ; he then fills a leaf cup with 
 their favorite home-brewed liquor, hanri, and 
 offers it to the manes of the village ancestry, 
 accompanying this ceremony with many fold- 
 ings of his hands, which are raised to his fore- 
 head, and prostrations. He is imitated in this 
 act of devotion by all the males present, who 
 bring on this occasion a fowl and a goat, which 
 are beheaded, and their blood is afterwards 
 poured out in front of the images or stones, 
 while the flesh is shared among men, women, 
 and children indiscriminately. This ritual only 
 takes place at the seed-time, at the Ma More 
 festival, and at their harvest joy (Sohorai). 
 
 I have before remarked upon the simi- 
 larity existing between some of the Sonthalian 
 myths and rituals, &c., and those of the an- 
 cients, and the longer I have resided among 
 their tribes the stronger have become my 
 impressions on the subject. This similarity 
 ought to be accounted for by some theory 
 other than that of the doctrine of chances. 
 With my present limited facilities of reference, 
 I feel neither competent nor willing to lay 
 down any broad proposition which may at- 
 tempt to account for what must be allowed 
 
SontJialia and the Sonthals. 
 
 to be a remarkable coincidence, and I content 
 myself, therefore, by suggesting a few sup- 
 positions, from which the thinking reader may 
 draw his own conclusions as to their tenability. 
 
 It is known that Alexander the Great, on 
 his march into India, only penetrated as far as 
 the Indus, and that it was left to his General 
 Seleucus to cross that river and with his army 
 to proceed towards the Ganges. On his route 
 he met Sandrocottus, a powerful king, and such 
 friendly relations arose between them that 
 Seleucus sent an embassy under one Megas- 
 thenes to Sandrocottus’ capital city, Palibothra ; 
 and Murray has it that intermarriages there 
 took place between the Greeks and the native 
 Indians. Now Colonel Franklin and others 
 find that the site of Palibothra, as explained by 
 Ptolemy and Pliny, must either have been at 
 Bhaugulpore or Rajmehal, and could not have 
 been so high up as Patna. Either of the two 
 former named sites will suit my purpose, but 
 I have a leaning towards Rajmehal, which may 
 be termed a suburb of the ancient city of Gour. 
 The ruins there, overgrown with jungle, show 
 that it was once a place of great importance, 
 although of course there is nothing left of the 
 original city as it stood in Sandrocottus’ time. 
 
6o Sonthatia and the Sonthals. 
 
 Might not the intermarriages alluded to by Mur- 
 ray have infused a Greek element (weak, I 
 allow) into the inhabitants of Palibothra and 
 the surrounding country? Juvenal says that 
 -wherever those wily Greeks get, they are sure 
 to work themselves into power, and have 
 everything their own way. I think it not far 
 from probable that the Greeks may have given 
 some idea of their mythology to the ancient 
 Indians, who must have come in contact with 
 them under the above circumstances ; and why 
 should not the ancient Indians who received 
 the infusion be the Sonthals ? Brace, in his 
 “ Races of the World,” says that “ one of the 
 signs of the oldness and aboriginal state of 
 a people is their capacity for living in mala- 
 rious and deadly miasmatic regions. That the 
 Sonthals do live and thrive under these dis- 
 advantages, it must be allowed. That they are 
 an ancient, perhaps the most primitive race in 
 India, I think very probable. That the jungles 
 in and about Rajmehal, and for many miles 
 through Godda and towards Nonee away to 
 Nagpore, have once been cleared and cultivated, 
 and then a second time allowed to run to waste, is 
 evident. On many a shooting excursion amidst 
 the limited jungles still remaining in the vicinity, 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 6 I 
 
 I have often come up on artificial mounds, and 
 remnants of old tanks, now silted up and 
 with just the outline of the tank left, whose 
 boundary even it took a long time to trace 
 out, and from their appearance the tanks were 
 many centuries old. Might not the Sonthal 
 tradition of Mirjadurrick relate to the time 
 subsequent to the advent of Alexander, and to 
 the persecution of the Sonthals and their being 
 driven back again further from the many-gated 
 city ? This would account in some measure for 
 the neglected cultivation apparent. Do not 
 the evidences of a former cultivation show that a 
 people must have once inhabited and cultivated 
 those present wastes ? — and what people so 
 likely as the Sonthals ? And if they were the 
 Sonthals, what so likely as that the similarity 
 observed between the Sonthal and the Grecian 
 mythology might have arisen from the infusion 
 of the Greek element into Rajmehal at the 
 time of the advent of the embassy of Seleucus ?* 
 I only throw out these suppositions by way 
 of a few notes and queries, without arguing on 
 the probabilities or improbabilities involved in 
 
 * Colonel Layard, of Bhaugulpore, informed me that 
 he had discovered the Statue of Phoebus Apollo at Gout- 
 while excavating there. 
 
6 2 Sonthalia and the Sonthals . 
 
 the proposition, for I think that the above 
 statement assigns too late a date for the assi- 
 milation to have taken place. 
 
 There is a remarkable identity in the pith 
 of all mythic history. Take the mythological 
 tradition of the Romans, Grecians, Persians, 
 Egyptians, Tartars, and Teutons, and in reading 
 the history of the one the reader must often have 
 an idea steal over him that he has read similar 
 tales in the history of the others. Has ancient 
 mythic history been all derived from one 
 source ? Was there a time when the races of 
 men were all gathered into one place ? (I do 
 not allude to sacred history, but to the Rhematic 
 period). Was there a time when the Sonthal 
 and the Greek, the Persian and the German, the 
 Feejee and the Maori, and others, were suffi- 
 ciently near one another, and sufficiently under 
 each other’s influence to receive and adopt a 
 like mythology ? Was there a time when the 
 speech of the Turanian, the Arian, and the 
 Semitic type was the same ? Are these classifi- 
 cations “ mere varieties of one specific form 
 of speech — ramifications from one centre ?” 
 May not the “Great Unknown” of the Greeks, 
 the Big Spirit of the American Indians — the 
 Great Father of the other savages — the Banga 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 63 
 
 of the Sonthal, — may not each of these be but a 
 representative of the same Deity, to wit, Zeus ? 
 Of minor gods, all savage nations have many, 
 but, looming in mysterious grandeur, there is 
 generally to be found the Zcue Zevc !*«*<*<*, 
 Atoc Sck iravra nrvKrat, “ Zeus the beginning, Zeus 
 the middle, out of Zeus all things have been 
 made.” 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Sketchy calibre of the work — Mythology and language — 
 The lead and line to sound the past — Rhematic period 
 — Unity of derivation of mankind — Pelasgian race 
 — Egyptians — Phan icians—M alkin’s account —New - 
 toil's statement— The first inhabitants of Greece — 
 Religion of Greece— Similarity noticed in the myths 
 of the Egyptians , Jews, and Phoenicians — Paley's 
 remarks. 
 
 \YERE I to attempt an investigation into the 
 origin of the Sonthal tribe by an analysis 
 of the roots of their language and a compa- 
 rison of their traditions with those of others, it 
 would be far beyond the calibre of a light 
 sketch such as this work is intended to repre- 
 sent. Howbeit it lies patent that the roots of 
 language and ancient myths are the two great 
 helps left for gauging the past. The one may 
 be termed the deep sea line, linked to the other, 
 the lead, by which the depths of the mysterious 
 ocean of the “ Has Been” may be sounded. 
 
 There is a further resemblance in the pro- 
 perties of the two. Both are only useful in 
 
Son t kali a and the Sonthals. 6 ^ 
 
 sounding to a certain depth, and then, after a 
 given maximum is attained, they fail to be quite 
 reliable indices, and often leave the enquirer to 
 conjecture alone. 
 
 In alluding to the past, I do not intend to 
 refer to that period of which we have some land- 
 marks still left in the shape of ruined temples, 
 coins, tombs, and remnants of statues, but to a 
 past still antecedent to those useful milestones 
 on the road of time, — to a past the events of 
 which without the aid of the Sacred Volume 
 would be buried in hazy conjecture: in other 
 words, I allude to the Rhematic period, when 
 the world was supposed to be in comparative 
 infancy. 
 
 I have attempted in a former chapter to 
 convey the impression my mind has been labor- 
 ing under with regard to the identity existing, 
 in some salient points, between the Sonthal 
 myths and rituals and those of the ancients. 
 That impression may be a wrong one, but I 
 feel justified in stating that it is shared to 
 some degree with others whose minds are 
 educated, and who are acquainted with the 
 subject. The difference, however, between 
 their impressions and those of the writer 
 lies chiefly in this : that each has noticed a 
 
 I 
 
66 Sonthalia and the Son t ha Is. 
 
 certain similarity, but all have been differently 
 struck with that similarity. For instance, one 
 gentleman informed me that there was some 
 resemblance betwixt the Sonthals and the Jews; 
 another said they reminded him of the Romans; 
 a third, that he thought they had borrowed some 
 ideas from the Egyptians; — all were prepared to 
 agree as to their similarity to the ancients, but 
 each made a different comparison. 
 
 This resemblance to ancient myths and 
 rituals gives rise to two conjectures : first, that 
 the traditions of all were derived from one 
 source ; or, secondly, that this tribe was connect- 
 ed with the races above-named at some early 
 period of its existence. Either of these con- 
 jectures would account for a certain resem- 
 blance with the myths of the Egyptians, J ews, 
 Grecians, Romans, and others. 
 
 The first proposition, however, is too broad 
 to be mentioned in any other shape than as a 
 supposition, and touches upon the vexed ques- 
 tion of the unity of the derivation of mankind, 
 which I leave to abler pens to ventilate. 
 
 I purposely avoid all mention of holy 
 writ, convinced though I am of its inspiration ; 
 for I consider, despite Colenso, that the deeper 
 our researches take us, the stronger will become 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 the proofs of the truth of every word contained 
 in the Sacred Volume* It appears now some- 
 what irreconcilable with the doctrine of the 
 unity of the derivation of mankind when we 
 view the Maori of New Zealand and the 
 North American Indian, and ask ourselves, — 
 Could these two races have sprung from one 
 source ? But I venture to add that it is far from 
 improbable that if the enquiring spirit that is 
 now abroad advances in a proportionate ratio 
 to its present progress, by the end of this 
 century we shall have a detailed account of the 
 traditions and language of every known tribe 
 on the earth, which will open a splendid field 
 for analysis and comparison ; for with such 
 a knowledge as the study of these will give us, 
 we shall have at once a powerful night-glass, as 
 it were, by the help of which we shall be able 
 to peer into the misty shades of the past, — and 
 then we may hope for some more definite answer 
 than can be given at present to the question. 
 
 * Bacon remarks — “ That as a little smattering in 
 philosophy inclines men to atheism, so does depth in 
 it bring men back to religion.” 
 
 “ Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas.” Vir°. 
 “ Quanto satius est causas inquirere et quidem toto in hoc 
 intentum animo : neque enim quicquam illo invemre 
 dignius potest, cui se non tantum commodit, sed impen 
 dat.” — Sen. vi. 3. 
 
68 
 
 Sonthalia and the Soiithals. 
 
 The Sonthal tradition in Chapter V. may 
 be taken as a garbled account of the flood. 
 
 Huq, in his travels through Tartary, relates 
 the surprise the Tartars felt when he recounted 
 to them the history of Noah and his three sons, 
 Shem, Ham, and Japhet; for, said they, “we 
 are descended from three men, also sons of 
 one man, but from these sons respectively 
 sprung the families of the Mongolian, the Tar- 
 tar, and the Chinese.” 
 
 * I think that from Huq’s statement we 
 may be led to presume that the wandering 
 Tartar tribes have their traditions tinged by 
 the events of an epoch happening but a little 
 time after the deluge. But, as followers of 
 Buddha, there is also a resemblance between 
 many of their myths and those of the 
 Hindoos. 
 
 I consider the Sonthal traditions, however, 
 to be more pure and unadulterated than 
 
 * From Wall, Siebald Jones, and Klaprath we 
 learn of a supposed identity between the Indian, Persian, 
 Assyrian, Egyptian, and Japanese, but the experience 
 of the traveller Huq in noticing the above is interesting 
 and partly corroborative of the generally received 
 opinion. I may add here that amongst the Australian 
 tribes the egg (so often alluded to) is an object of vene- 
 ration. Wall notices an identity between the Egyptians 
 and Chinese. 
 
Sonthalia and the Southals. 
 
 69 
 
 either, and to have been handed down more 
 uncorrupted ; for the Sonthal has never pos- 
 sessed the learning and education of a Llama, 
 Buddhist, or Brahmin, by which he might 
 enlarge and touch up his meagre and cherished 
 stock of mythical lore. The Sonthal, as a 
 distinct race, has every appearance of be- 
 ing older than the Hindoo, although Menu 
 wrote of the latter 800 B.c. I confess to feeling 
 like a child as he gropes in the dark, and fear 
 that in this digression I am presuming to wander 
 “ where angels fear to tread but the study of 
 the derivation of mankind is a fascinating 
 subject, the attraction of which grows stronger 
 the more the thoughts are turned towards the 
 investigation. 
 
 But, on the other hand, having set aside the 
 primary hypothesis mentioned above as vague, 
 let us revert to the second proposition, and 
 extend our researches back to a comparatively 
 late period, to the time when it is conjectured 
 that the Philistines united with the Edomites- 
 to drive out the Phoenicians from the plains of 
 Palestine, which Newton supposes to have hap- 
 pened in the reign of David the Jew, and, 
 according to Malkin, about thirty years after the 
 foundation of Athens. We then shall find that 
 
Son that ia and the Sent Jials. 
 
 the fugitives introduced an Egyptian and Phoe- 
 nician element into the Grecian worship and 
 mysteries. Groping still in the thickening twi- 
 light as it merges into the shades of conjecture, 
 history leads us to suppose that the ancient 
 inhabitants of Greece were Pelasgians, whose 
 religion afterwards became corrupted by the 
 infusion of the Egyptian and Phoenician element 
 alluded to. 
 
 Malkin says the latter worshipped nameless 
 gods, which renders it probable that their Pelas- 
 gian ancestors had quitted the regions of Asia. 
 
 Whether the tribes in India came from 
 Greece or some locality in those latitudes, or 
 whether the family were dispersed from some 
 fountain head in Asia, it is not my province to 
 enquire. The “ locus in quo” would form an in- 
 teresting subject for research to the antiquarian. 
 
 I think I may presume, however, to say 
 that the historical statements culled from good 
 authorities, such as I have quoted above, will (if 
 we allow of any affinity between the Grecian and 
 the Sonthalian) somewhat tend to account for 
 the similarity noticed as to rituals and myths 
 between the severally named ancient races and 
 those of the Sonthals. There is an identity in 
 the number of the Sonthalian tribes and of the 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. *j I 
 
 tribes of Israel, the number twelve being com- 
 mon to both. 
 
 While remarking on the singularity of 
 several minds being separately struck with 
 the identity above alluded to, I think I may 
 here aptly state an opinion given by Paley at 
 the conclusion of his “Natural Theology.” He 
 states : — 
 
 “If we observe in any argument that hard- 
 ly two minds fix upon the same instance, the 
 diversity of choice shows the strength of the 
 argument, because it shows the number and 
 competition of the examples.” 
 
 It must be borne in mind, however, that I 
 do not put the above statements down as argu- 
 ments, but merely as suppositions which will force 
 themselves into the mind during the process of 
 investigation, — a mere series of questions which 
 require greater leisure, acumen, and advantages 
 of reference, to elucidate or refute, than I, 
 buried in the jungles, can possibly possess. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Sanscrit, elder sister, but not fountain head, of langicage 
 — Conditions requisite to arrive at unadulterated 
 ancient tongue — Sonthals fulfil those conditions — 
 Were they ever slaves ? — Reasons for thinking that 
 they were not — Honorific terms — Case between Ma- 
 hajun and Sonthal — Curious system of accounts — 
 Analysis of roots of language— Remarks on the same. 
 
 gANSCRIT, although aptly termed the elder 
 sister of most civilized languages, can hard’ 
 ly be styled a mother-language, unless we are to 
 presume that in the earlier epochs man became 
 at once endowed with civilization, instead of 
 having to work up to it by a gradual process. 
 It is too civilized and complete to represent the 
 idea. It is too elaborate for the wants of the 
 Nomadic races, from whence, as is presumed, 
 the generations of man first sprung. I venture 
 to observe that amidst the few remnants of 
 ancient tribes now driven to eke out their exis- 
 tence in fastnesses where civilization has not as 
 yet been able to influence them, we are likely to 
 find language in its primitive and uncorrupted 
 
Son t //a/in and the Sonthals. / 3 
 
 form, and in comparison with which the Sans- 
 crit, as known to us, is but a mushroom in 
 age. Amidst those tribes who have had vita- 
 lity sufficient to keep up their numbers, in- 
 dividuality sufficient to withstand their ab- 
 sorption by more civilized invaders, and con- 
 stitutions sufficiently robust to enable them to 
 live in deadly swamps and jungles, where foes 
 could not annihilate nor oppression conquer them, 
 and by forced intercourse destroy the indivi- 
 duality of their mother tongue, — I think it is 
 amidst a race fulfilling the above conditions we 
 may look for the remnants of an ancient and 
 uncorrupted dialect. 
 
 The Sonthals appear to me to resemble 
 in many important features a tribe such as this. 
 I am aware that it is stated by some of the 
 learned that the Sonthals were originally slaves, 
 but I am unable to perceive the grounds on 
 which such a supposition is based. I can find 
 it mentioned in no statements before 1832; and 
 I rather think that the institution of slavery was 
 of late creation, introduced by the mahajuns, 
 who unwittingly copied the provisions of the 
 old Roman law of debtor and creditor. The 
 Sonthals spirit of independence and comparative 
 truthfulness also militate against this idea. 
 
 K 
 
74 
 
 Soiiihalia And the Sonthals. 
 
 Their way of addressing any person to 
 whom they wish to show affection and esteem, 
 is not in the flowery language of the Hindoo 
 -and Persian: to wit, “Refuge of the World,” 
 "Light of the Sun, Ruler of the Universe,” 
 -and so on ; but simply, in Sonthali, ^HTl, 
 
 “ Father-and-mother” — “ Ma-bap.” As a patri- 
 archal expression it has a double signification, 
 and is a term w'ell suited to convey the idea. 
 In the old Arian language, king and queen is 
 simply father and mother, and when a Sonthal 
 w ishes to show honor and respect, he conveys 
 a double signification of honor when he says 
 father and mother ; should he wish to show 
 dislike, he terms the person whom he addresses 
 the “grandfather of the devil.” The term 
 “ father of the devil” is less abusive in his ideas ; 
 and “ you are a devil” signifies that the speaker 
 is only slightly put out with him who receives 
 the epithet. 
 
 The word for “ poor” is “ hungry the word 
 “ hungry” in their dialect conveys to them the 
 same idea as “ poor” would to us. When they 
 say he is hungry, they mean to convey the idea 
 that he is poor. I don’t know another word in 
 their language w’hich would convey the same 
 idea of- “poor” as “hungry” conveys. 
 
Sonthalia and the Sontluils. 
 
 75 . 
 
 I consider the pure Sonthat numeral to stop 
 at twenty. They have a mongrel method of 
 numerals after twenty, but in my opinion their 
 language was formed when their ten fingers and 
 toes sufficed for all their counting, and up to. 
 twenty the numeral may be termed pure.* Their 
 primitive mode of account is either by help of 
 a knotted string, or by little bits of straw tied up 
 in bundles of tens. To arrive at a hundred, ten 
 bundles of ten bits of straw accomplish the feat. 
 
 I well remember my astonishment while 
 trying my first case between a grasping ma- 
 hajun and a Sonthal, when I ordered them to 
 produce their accounts. The attorney of the one 
 laid on the table an elaborate ledger, with a day- 
 book bound in red cloth, and with compound 
 interest calculated at the rate of 75 per cent. The 
 other produced from his back hair — where it had 
 been kept, I suppose, for ornament — a dirty bit 
 of knotted grass string, and threw it on the table, 
 requesting the Court to count that, as it had got 
 too long for him. Each knot represented a rupee ; 
 a longer space between two knots represented 
 the lapse of a year. 
 
 * Mr. Phillips’ remarks, page 53 of his “ Grammar 
 and Sonthal Numerals,” will be found in Appendix. 
 
?6 
 
 SontJialia ami the Sonthals. 
 
 I must add here, that if the debt is just, 
 ninety-five Sonthals out of a hundred will 
 never deny the receipt of the money. They 
 only come in, as they used often to tell me, 
 for “ an account,” desiring the Court, in a 
 familiar, free-and-easy manner, to inform 
 them how much they ought to pay. As the 
 Court generally found that the Mahajun had 
 been screwing every pice he could get out of 
 them, and often had taken payment of his 
 debt thrice told, in dhan and grain, the Sonthal 
 gained by his application to his “ father-and- 
 mother.” 
 
 It is somewhat singular, as Mr. Phillips 
 remarks in his Grammar, that in the vocative 
 case the word is often entirely changed ; thus 
 Apuing, my father, in the vocative is 
 Baba. In fact we might almost say 
 has no vocative. I have taken the pre- 
 sent tense of the verb “ to be” in several 
 languages, and compared them with the same 
 in Sonthali, the results of which will be found 
 in the Appendix, with the vocabulary of words 
 mostly in use amongst all nations. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Ceremonies observed at birth — Purification of the child — 
 Kindness with which their children are treated — 
 Ornaments — Remarkable weight of those worn by 
 the fe>nale — Free-and-easy style of the women — Their 
 dress — Their fondness for flowers — Their weavers, 
 kewars, or blacksmiths , and carpenters. 
 
 J UCINA has but little trouble in presiding 
 over the advent of a Sonthal’s entrance in- 
 to the world. Immediately the birth is announ- 
 ced, there is a gathering of the friends and rela- 
 tions for congratulation, and on the third, fifth, 
 or seventh day there is a purification, which 
 really consists in nothing but shaving off any 
 hair the child may have on its head at such an 
 early period of its existence. Until this is done, 
 it is considered unpropitious to engage in any 
 shikar or hunting expedition : in fact, in many 
 villages, it is positively forbidden. 
 
 When the purification has been completed, 
 the women and children of the village who have 
 assembled at the house each receive a leaf cup 
 
73 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 full of rice water, with which the bruised leaves 
 of the nimbree have been mixed. After this 
 they all take a draught of their home-brewed 
 liquor, and depart. 
 
 Upon the fifth day the child receives its 
 name. Should it happened to be a son and heir, 
 he takes the name of his grandfather; should he 
 be the second son born, he takes that of his 
 maternal grandfather ; then they proceed to the 
 paternal grandfather’s brother for boy No. 3 ; 
 then the maternal grandfather’s brother for boy 
 No. 4 ; and so on. The same routine is followed 
 for the girls ; the feminine relations being taken 
 in the same order, from the female side. I have 
 been told that three children at a birth are not 
 uncommon, but such a case has never come 
 under my personal knowledge. 
 
 The children are treated with great kind- 
 ness by both parents. I have never seen a child 
 whipped or treated harshly ; and should the mo- 
 ther die, the child is taken and brought up by 
 some married woman, who is generally connect- 
 ed on the husband’s side. The boys and girls 
 are always made to sleep separately, and, if the 
 reports spread by the newspapers are to be 
 believed, their general arrangements for decency 
 far exceed those of the poorer classes in England. 
 
Sont/ialia and the Sonthals. 
 
 The first attempt at clothing the baby con- 
 sists in tying a piece of string round its waist; 
 this suffices until he is three or four years of age, 
 and it serves a double purpose, as it admonishes 
 him when he has eaten enough. I have stood 
 looking on astonished to see the enormous 
 quantity of boiled rice a child of four will eat. 
 As Mr. Weller says, one could see him swelling 
 visibly before one’s eyes, and if the string 
 had not acted as a monitor by its cutting into 
 him, I feel certain he would have suffocated 
 himself. This is perhaps the only use the 
 string is intended for, viz., to teach the wearer 
 quantum sufficit.* 1 
 
 They are fond of ornamenting their chil- 
 dren’s necks with charms, and all the younger 
 men wear three or four necklaces of black and 
 white beads. They also tie on their arms, above 
 their elbow, a kind of a small pewter shield, and 
 wear light bracelets on their wrists. Most 
 females like ornaments, from the refined civilized 
 belle dressed in her sparkling jewels, to the 
 poorest savage with a brass ring' in her nose, 
 and the Sonthali is not an exception ; but she 
 likes weight and quantity instead of workman- 
 
 * There is generally a key tied on to this string, 
 as an ornament and plaything. 
 
<So Soiithalrn and the Sonthals, 
 
 ship and quality. She is happy when she can 
 get about 5 lbs. weight of brass, in the shape of 
 bangles round each of her ancles, and with 
 these on in the fields or at the dance she works 
 or trips it without any apparent inconvenience 
 from the immense mass she carries. They are 
 also very fond of decking their hair with flowers. 
 The garden of a certain Assistant Commissioner 
 was regularly invaded on market days by troops 
 of these damsels who used to walk about to 
 pluck flowers, chirping and flinging their arms 
 round each other’s necks. Having gathered a 
 sufficient quantity, accompanied by two or three 
 old duennas, they would coolly walk into 
 his house and decorate themselves before his 
 glass in the dressing-room, thinking no evil, 
 and fearing none. He was at last compelled to 
 close his gates against them. Their manners 
 are very free and easy, but it is the freedom of 
 innocence — not the boldness of vice. They re- 
 frain from covering their faces as the Hindoos 
 do on the approach of a stranger, but of the 
 two classes they are more chaste and modest 
 in both dress and behaviour. Of course, I am 
 only alluding to the lower class of Hindoo 
 female, who attempts to hide her face while she 
 wears a gauze which displays her whole form 
 
Sont/ialia and the Sonthals. N I 
 
 and who in her simulated modesty always 
 appears as if attempting to convey an “ arriere 
 pensee.” 
 
 In their traditions they state that their 
 giants of huge magnitude, 
 and the cloth allowed ancr.. Marang Buru 
 hardly sufficed for the purpose it was intended. 
 At present their habiliments are of very coarse 
 material, and those of the men much more scanty 
 than the dhoties worn by the Hindoos ; but the 
 Sonthal women drape their figures by winding 
 a wide cloth once round their waist and over 
 their right shoulder. This covers them from 
 their knees to their neck, and the end of the 
 cloth hangs down behind. They have the head, 
 arms, and most part of their back uncovered, 
 and tie their hair, which is very coarse and luxuri- 
 ant, in a knot behind, much after the fashion 
 that was in vogue amongst our own country- 
 women some thirty years ago. 
 
 They have weavers from their own tribe, 
 and in every garden the cotton plant is to be 
 seen, the cotton from which it is the duty of 
 the females of the household to spin into thread. 
 It is a common sight to see a toothless old grand- 
 mother watching the last arrival in the family, as 
 he lies kicking upon a grass mat in the sun, while 
 
 J. 
 
82 
 
 Sotithalia and the Sotithals. 
 
 she, humming a Sonthal ditty, turns her spin- 
 ning wheel. 
 
 Each man is his own carpenter, and as all 
 their belongings, from the buffalo waggon to their 
 pig-stye, are very primitive, their limited know- 
 ledge of the trade suffice' r ~* ^ ie ' r wants. 
 
 tk~ u-i^ciwrtiitiis or kewars are often Hin- 
 doos who have become naturalized Sonthals, 
 which, in other words means, that they have 
 given up all caste, as the Sonthals have no caste 
 at all, in the true acceptation of the word. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The cold weather — Morning ride — Cheerful scenery — 
 Road — A Sonthal Hamlet — Description of village — 
 The Manjhee Stan— Hearty welcome — Scene at the 
 village — Punchayets and their judgments — Ancient 
 custom of the Duel — The Sonthal Baby — The inte- 
 rior of the Sonthal hut — Their cooking apparatus — 
 Ancient legend , anent arbitrary conduct of Da- 
 rogah, and death of his victim — Consequences. 
 
 WHILE camping during the cold weather, it 
 is quite a pleasure to take a ride towards 
 a Sonthal village a little after sunrise, when the 
 thermometer is often as low as 48°, and the 
 sharp bracing air seems to infuse quicksilver 
 into the veins of your horse, as he bounds 
 and curvets along on the dew-covered sward. 
 The jungle glistening in the joy-inspiring sun- 
 light, and covered as to its leaves with drops 
 of water, sparkles as if studded with diamonds. 
 The echoing cry of the camp dogs, as feathering 
 their tails they creep amongst the brakes ; the 
 strokes of the mallets of those hammering the 
 pegs preparatory to striking tents, still ringing 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 on the ear — all united, tend to raise the spirits. 
 Nature seems to smile, and when the rider 
 emerges from a roadway, just wide enough to 
 admit a cart, and belted by thick- leaved sal 
 shrubs, and finds himself in a clearing, a sight 
 still as pleasing greets him — a neat rustic 
 hamlet. 
 
 These Sonthal habitations are models of 
 cleanliness, and consist of about twenty or 
 thirty houses fringing the road on either side. 
 They are made of wattle and daub , — id est, 
 a row of sal stakes driven into the ground 
 close to one another, which constitute the sides 
 of the house, generally about fourteen feet 
 square and eight high. Thin lathes of the 
 split bamboo are then intertwined between them, 
 and the whole is plastered over with clay and 
 cow-dung. This is allowed to dry, and then 
 whitewashed. The roof is constructed of bam- 
 boos, thatched with long jungle-grass. Jotting 
 out from the wall on one side is generally a small 
 pen for the family pig, and at the back of the 
 house a kind of courtyard, with huts made like 
 the dwelling house, but without the mud and 
 cow-dung. The doors of these face inwards, and 
 serve as stables for their cattle, and gran- 
 aries in which to store the dhan. If the pro- 
 
Sonthalia and the So n't hals. 
 
 prietor is too poor to form the four sides of the 
 yard thus, he fills up the apertures with straight 
 branches of trees cut with their leaves on, and 
 stuck into the ground, thus completing the 
 square. The dwelling-house generally boasts a 
 verandah, under the roof of which is hung their 
 tum-tum or drum, any dried skins they may 
 possess, and their implements for the chase. 
 Their stock of furniture and kitchen utensils is 
 limited, and generally consists of a few cots 
 made of four stakes rough hewn from the neigh- 
 bouring jungle, the ends of which are bevilled 
 into four wooden legs, and the framework thus 
 formed is filled in with grass-string woven from 
 end to end, and then from side to side. These 
 primitive beds are of all sizes, from the diminutive 
 cot that serves for the baby’s cradle to the family 
 couch. The richer Sonthals boast of a few 
 brass pans for cooking, but in many houses brass 
 utensils are uncommon, and earthenware is used, 
 and forms a good substitute. The jungle, how- 
 ever, is the source from whence they get their 
 plates and drinking-cups, and it affords a fresh 
 supply daily. It is the duty of the women and 
 youngsters to gather big fresh leaves ; these 
 they pin together with thorns until they form 
 a platter about the size of a large sheet of 
 
86 
 
 Soiit/uilia and the Sonthals. 
 
 paper, only circular in form. Their harri or 
 home made liquor is always drank from leaf 
 cups, which are made from thick leaves with 
 the ends pinned together, until the centre forms 
 a hollow like a soup-ladle. 
 
 If a stranger asks for water, and the Sonthal 
 addressed owns a brass cup, the leaf cup is not 
 offered, but the brass one will be cleansed quick- 
 ly, and the water which is taken from an earthen 
 pot, perched with several others on a rude 
 framework in front of the family mansion, given 
 him. Their fire-place consists of a hole dug 
 in the ground, and the earth so taken out, 
 piled round the cavity, and soddened with 
 water. This is allowed to harden, and on it 
 they then put their pans for cooking ; a raised 
 platform at one end holds any spare clothes, 
 and nick-nacks there may be, including a dis- 
 taff and spindle, flute, &c., and from the roof 
 hang, suspended by grass strings, earthen pots 
 containing garden herbs or other delicacies. 
 The whole interior is well blackened to a uni- 
 form tint by the smoke from the fire, as but few 
 think of having a chimney. The^gude house- 
 wife” keeps her platters shining, and as soon as 
 she has cleaned them, with the assistance of her 
 mother-in-law and younger offspring, she sets 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 8 7 
 
 to work with a broom made of branches of 
 
 the sal, or reeds, to sweep t’- - 'ourtyard 
 
 and the road ner house ‘ The 
 
 e ^ r w rv j « either chatting with his next ^ oor 
 
 neighbour, or gone to turn the cattle out i x 
 graze in the jungle. 
 
 Opposite the village manjee or headman’s 
 house stands the Manjee Stan, or shrine to the 
 manes of his ancestors. As far as I can dis- 
 cover, it appears to be the privilege of the 
 headman of the village only to have this resting 
 place for departed spirits. It consists of a 
 raised mud mound about four feet high by five 
 long, over which a neatly thatched roof is 
 placed. The floor is kept washed with mud 
 and cow-dung, and in the centre is stuck a 
 small stone or wooden lump daubed with red. 
 From the roof is suspended an earthen gurra 
 or pot containing water for the spirits to drink, 
 and beside it hangs a peacock’s head. I once 
 asked Seeboo how it was they only put water 
 for the spirits, when in lifetime the departed 
 never drank water when they could get liquor. 
 The old man thought over this question for 
 some time, and then quietly remarked, that 
 if the pots contained handi or puchwaee at his 
 
88 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 Manjee Stan his spirit after decease would con- 
 stantly / 0 ^ 1 ~'-'ar them. 
 
 T- -ie ancestors of the maitiees _ „ 
 
 l _ 0 ,jme and watch over the interests v^-uieir 
 offspring. From this vantage ground there also 
 is gathered together in solemn conclave the old 
 men of the village, whenever any important 
 matter arises requiring their presence. Here 
 they arrange their weddings, talk over their 
 crops, and investigate their cases of witchcraft. 
 If a cow dies bewitched, a child gets convul- 
 sions, or any inhabitant is seized with low 
 fever, and fancies himself under the influence of 
 the evil eye, to this trysting place of the manes 
 of former village sages is brought the witch- 
 finder and his victim, and from thence emanates 
 all the village gossip and a great deal of real jus- 
 tice. I except the findings in cases of witch- 
 craft, as they are unjust and too often end in 
 murder. 
 
 Whenever a quarrel arises concerning the 
 possession of any disputed land, the sharing of 
 any crops, the dowry of a bride, &c., each of 
 the disputants names two, three, or five of his 
 friends who generally comprise the oldest and 
 most respected of the villages around ; these 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 constitute their punchayet or council of ten. 
 On a certain day appointed all parties assemble, 
 and evidence is gone into and facts investigated 
 with a patience and acuteness which would not 
 disgrace more civilized tribunals. They very 
 seldom come to a wrong conclusion. In the 
 majority of cases both parties leave, acknowledg- 
 ing the justice of their judges’ decision. Should 
 it so happen that the one who is in the wrong 
 refuses, after the finding of the punchayet, to 
 give redress, the injured party at once files his 
 suit in the Court of the Assistant Commissioner 
 of the District. I can safely state that in all 
 civil and generally in most criminal cases a 
 village jury has sat and decided the points 
 before the case is brought to the higher 
 tribunal. It is somewhat to be regretted that 
 greater encouragement is not given to the 
 villagers in deciding their cases by punchayet ; 
 for many Assistant Commissioners have seen 
 how readily they all acquiesce in the custom, 
 the justness of the decisions, and the saving 
 that it is to the time of the litigants* 
 
 * I hear that the Commissioner, Mr. Alonzo Money, 
 has lately ordered that these punchayets should be en- 
 couraged as much as possible. 
 
 M 
 
90 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 Tradition has it that years long since there 
 was a custom amongst the Sonthals of deciding 
 their disputes, when the parties were males, by 
 the ordeal of single combat. The bow and 
 arrow or hanger served in lieu of pistol and 
 sword for these rustic duels. Such affairs of 
 honor were always fatal to one party, but of 
 late times, as equitable remedies have been 
 brought nearer to them, this remnant of a bar- 
 barous age has disappeared. I have heard that 
 the Coles at one time also preferred the duel to 
 any other mode of seeking redress for a wrong. 
 
 This statement is corroborated by Dr. 
 Anderson, late Inspector-General in Calcutta, 
 who twenty-five years since was sent to Deoghur 
 to investigate a most ludicrous charge brought 
 against the priest of the temple there.* The 
 above gentleman spent some time in enquiring 
 into the habits and customs of the natives and 
 then remarked on the duelling code as a thing 
 of the past, but the traditions of which he had 
 discovered while at Deoghur. 
 
 I left the gude wife sweeping the road 
 
 * As the priest was disliked, a charge well illustra- 
 tive of the Bengali character was brought against him ; 
 although descriptive and apt, it is such that I fear to 
 sully these pages with an account of it. 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 9 1 
 
 when T digressed, and we may now presume that 
 the rider has escaped the risk of breaking his 
 neck by tumbling over the innumerable dogs* 
 goats, and pigs which always infest the entrance 
 to the villages, and that after a six-mile canter 
 he has arrived safely at the Manjee Stan. The 
 noise and clatter has brought every inhabitant 
 to their doors, and they stand, the women 
 surrounded by troops of fat-bellied children, 
 smiling and talking — the men more dignified, 
 but all apparently happy and anxious to assist. 
 
 Some auhtor has said that in the desire to' 
 please, the object of pleasing is attained, and 
 judging from my own feelings I think there is 
 truth in the opinion. It is far from unpleasant 
 to meet a welcome greeting, however uncouth 
 may be the greeter, or limited his power of 
 welcome. 
 
 We will imagine the steed placed under a 
 Sohajun tree — one of many that line the road 
 in the village — and left to the care of some 
 young fellow who immediately becomes a hero 
 in the eyes of the naked boys who tumble and 
 play round the animal within dangerous reach 
 of his heels. A cot is brought out to serve as 
 a seat — fire is forthcoming for the morning pipe 
 of peace, (representing a fitting emblem of that 
 
92 
 
 Sonthalia and the Southals. 
 
 myth in this world as it is of fragile clay,) one 
 manji brings some eggs, another a couple 
 of fowls, here a village Sonthal Paramanick 
 brings some milk, while others go to clear a 
 place whereon to pitch the tent. A posse of girls 
 have assembled near the big white dog, who, 
 the centre of attraction, sits quiet and dignified, 
 while they stroke him and search for any small 
 animals he may have in his coat. The older 
 men squat on their haunches round the Saheb 
 and begin a conversation which is kept up until 
 the tents arrive. 
 
 It was some time before I could under- 
 stand the reason why a box that one man could 
 easily take, should, as soon as it was brought 
 into a Sonthal district, immediately require 
 four to carry. I remarked on this one day as 
 I was sitting in a village, and was informed that 
 years ago, when the British Government was to 
 them merely another name for rapine, extortion, 
 and violence through the Police, and when the 
 Province was Regulation, that a Collector tra- 
 velling through a certain part of the Sonthal 
 district ordered the Darogah or Police Inspector 
 to expedite his luggage. The underling laid 
 hold on the first man he could get, who happened 
 to be old and feeble, and sent him, before he had 
 
Sonthalia and the SontJuils. C)^ 
 
 eaten, with a heavy load fourteen miles. The 
 victim, unable to accomplish his task, died on the 
 road : the Policeman hushed it up, and the Col- 
 lector* knew nothing about it. The account of 
 this accident spread through the Sonthal country, 
 and although this is said to have happened 
 while the present old men were young, yet to 
 this day the whole tribe religiously keep to the 
 custom of four men carrying the load of one, 
 whenever it is a European’s luggage or Govern- 
 ment property that they carry. They do not, 
 however, expect the wages of four men, neither 
 do they often get it. 
 
 * I hear that the Collector is since dead. 
 “ De mortuis nil nisi bonum.” 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Camp at Sintra — Marriage invitation — Ceremony at 
 night — The Bride and the Bridegroom — Curious 
 customs — Marital dance — The welcome to the 
 village — The pretty picture of Sonthali maiden — 
 Alarming procedure on part of Bridegroom's 
 younger brother — Custom with regard to Widows 
 — Marital basket — Return to camp — Marriage 
 supper — Songs sung by the women. , 
 
 "yyHILE in camp at Simra, said to be the 
 healthiest and, certainly, the hottest place 
 in the Rajmehal hills, old Seeboo appeared one 
 morning and invited me to witness the marriage 
 of his nephew, a boy of about sixteen. The 
 ceremony was to take place that evening in a 
 neighbouring village. He at the same time 
 gave an unmistakeable hint to the effect that if 
 the “ mother-and-father” would be pleased to 
 bring a bottle of spirits (either gin or brandy) 
 with him, it would not make his presence the less 
 acceptable. So as soon as “ atra nox” had com- 
 menced to darken the valley, armed with my 
 wedding gift (a bottle of brandy watered), and 
 
Sonthnlia and the Sonthals. 
 
 95 
 
 with a bundle of cigars for my own smoking, as 
 an antidote against the aroma that is exhaled 
 from the bodies of all Sonthals, unknown to any 
 of the servants, I quietly left my tent, and guided 
 by the noise of the turn-turns, which were mak- 
 ing the hills echo again and again, I soon 
 reached the spot. On my arrival, unobserved, 
 I took up a position behind my fat friend whose 
 oily sides were shaking as he hoarsely chuckled 
 with delight at the gyrations of the dancers. 
 As I thus stood I felt some small hands cling- 
 ing to my knees, and found a couple of children 
 who, having sustained the noise of the turn-turns 
 and other unearthly sounds, had succumbed at 
 last to fear, upon Seeboo commencing his cachin- 
 nations. Not able to get out through the closely 
 wedged crowd, they clung to the first object 
 they could turn to, which happened to be myself, 
 and there, holding fast, they howled in concert. 
 Luckily, a woman, standing near me, pushed her 
 way to the rescue ; so as she took them away. 
 I placed a cigar in each of their hands for them 
 to chew at their leisure and be quietly ill upon 
 In the meantime the dancers, to the number of 
 twenty or thirty males, each bearing a club or 
 sword and a black shield made of buffalo hide 
 • — their necks covered with black and white 
 
Sohthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 beads, their breasts and waists adorned with 
 shells, as also their ankles, and with a large tuft 
 of peacock’s feathers in their hair — were per- 
 forming the marital dance. Each performer 
 advances by hopping for three or four paces on 
 his left leg, while he touches the earth most 
 daintily at every hop with his right toes. He 
 then, sinking on the ground, makes a low bow, 
 and suddenly rising with the whole of the per- 
 formers in unison, gives an unearthly yell, turn- 
 ing round at the same time, much after the style 
 of the Highland Fling dancer. The turn- 
 turns at this crisis are beaten more furiously 
 than ever, and the excitement rises to a high 
 pitch. When one dancer is tired, he falls out 
 and some new arrival takes his place, so a never 
 ending round is kept up. 
 
 During the dancing, the bride, a plump, 
 buxom damsel of some fourteen years, swathed in 
 clothes which left only her face and leg bare to 
 the knee, stood a little removed by the side of 
 the bridegroom, who, considering the heat, was 
 also heavily clothed. About a year older, he 
 seemed more bashful and conscious than his 
 heart’s delight, who took everything in a very 
 matter-of-fact way. The bridegroom’s younger 
 brother, an important actor in the scene, stood 
 
SontJuilia and the Southals. 
 
 on her dexter side, and the whole party on the 
 road at the entrance to the hamlet. Here we 
 were met by a large crowd of village 
 females, each bearing a brass basin con- 
 taining a huge lump of coarse molasses of 
 the dimensions of a cricket ball, and a lota 
 (or brass vessel) filled with water. Upon the 
 usual greetings being offered, which consisted 
 of all bending down respectfully and touching 
 the ankles of the happy trio, the elder matrons 
 stepped forward, and each in rotation taking 
 a large pinch from the sweet ball she had 
 brought, first stuffed it into the bride’s mouth 
 with her finger and thumb, after which she held 
 the lota of water for her to drink from, and then 
 poured a portion of the liquid over her feet. 
 The same ceremony was performed on the 
 swain and his brother, until all three must have 
 been surfeited, as the number of their kind ad- 
 ministers could not have been less than thirty. 
 The dancing and music had been kept up 
 without cessation during this performance, and 
 many torches had also been lit. The glare from 
 these added to the wildness of the scene. When 
 the last ball had been stuffed down the victim’s 
 throat, three strong young women emerged from 
 the crowd, and seating the bridegroom, brother, 
 
 N 
 
9 8 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 and bride on their hips, walked away with them 
 into the village, followed and surrounded by the 
 other attendant girls and matrons, who amused 
 themselves by uttering jokes on the bride. She, 
 however, discreetly kept silent, only drawing 
 her cloth closer over her face with one hand) 
 while with the other arm she embraced the 
 neck of her carrier. The male mob with the 
 dancers closed the procession, and thus formed, 
 we all proceeded to a clean white-washed 
 house. On its threshold stood a young and 
 graceful maiden with a lighted taper in her 
 hand, the imperfect reflection from which caused 
 her bright black eyes to glisten as like a timid 
 fawn, half-frightened at the noisy crowd ; she 
 awaited their approach. The shrinking atti- 
 tude well pourtrayed her fears, and taking the 
 door lentil for a rough framing to the picture, 
 the lines of her contour, with her half-open mouth 
 displaying a row of white teeth, and her whole 
 pose would have offered a fine subject for the 
 pencil. Her retreat was cut off, had she wished 
 to disappear, for in the background, huddled 
 together, stood the remaining female members 
 of the household, whose forms blocked up the 
 way. 
 
 Here the carriers dropped their burdens, 
 
Sontlialia and the Sonthals. 
 
 and after salutation, the same cramming and 
 feet-washing process was undergone, when they 
 were again taken up and deposited at the 
 next house, and thus through the village, until 
 the three victims must have become heartily 
 sickened with sweets, and have vowed to eschew 
 molasses from that day. 
 
 Upon enquiry I found that the relations on 
 both sides were bound to show this civility, 
 as a sign that the new couple are received with 
 joy into the family circle. 
 
 It was near midnight before all these pre- 
 liminaries were settled, when about that time 
 the wedding party adjourned to the house of 
 the head man of the village. The bride had 
 been transferred to a basket in which she sat 
 looking very demure. The custom is for the 
 bride to be lifted by her relations in the 
 basket. The bridegroom, raised upon the 
 shoulders of the eldest brother, then meets her 
 in this exalted position, and applies five times to 
 her forehead streaks of red paint, daubing them 
 on with an horizontal stroke. This part is 
 the most important of the programme, and 
 is about equivalent in value to the placing the 
 ring on the finger in our contracts. She then 
 has dhan and grain showered on her. The 
 
IOO 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 basket figured as a prominent object in the 
 ancient Grecian marriage ritual, but I think it 
 only held the bride’s chaplet and flowers, instead 
 of her body. 
 
 A wedding supper had been prepared at 
 the Manjee’s house, and consisted of goat’s flesh, 
 pork, fowls, and such like, with quantities of rice 
 and large earthen pots filled with spirits, dis- 
 tilled from rice and termed Puchwaee. 
 
 I remarked with some surprise on the 
 alarming familiarities displayed by the youth- 
 ful brother of the bridegroom towards his 
 future sister-in-law, and was informed that it 
 was the Sonthali custom for the younger 
 brother (if unmarried) to take the face of his 
 elder brother’s bride (as Lady Duff Gordon 
 would say). My informant seeing astonishment 
 depicted in my countenance, merely shrugged 
 his shoulders and added, “ Mother-and-father, 
 such is our custom ; as our fathers did, so do we !” 
 
 When the elder brother dies, the next 
 younger inherits the widow, children, and all the 
 property ; so should a Sonthal be the younger 
 son of ten, and the nine die leaving widows, he 
 may be saddled with nine old women and a 
 large family of children in his old age, — an 
 awful prospect ! 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 IOI 
 
 As Bacchus had already begun to exert 
 his influence over the many, for their gait was 
 becoming more unsteady and their eyes blood- 
 shot, I thought it expedient to beat a retreat, 
 and at last I succeeded, not, however, before 
 two or three jolly good fellows ! ! in their 
 eagerness to see me home, had measured their 
 length on the ground, where I left them shout- 
 ing out incoherent praises in bad Bengali of 
 myself and themselves. 
 
 My own journey to the tent was accom- 
 plished under difficulties, as the glare of the 
 lights rendered the darkness more opaque, and 
 my progress was a series of tumbling over 
 hillocks and walking against trees, until I got 
 into the open, when the welcome white canvas 
 gave me a point to steer to. 
 
 Amongst the Sonthals, should a man re- 
 main as a bachelor, he is at once despised by 
 both sexes, and is classed next to a thief or 
 a witch : they term the unhappy wretch “No 
 man.” 
 
 There are two other ways besides the above 
 usual method by which Sonthal lovers may be 
 united in the bonds of matrimony. One is by 
 the Scotch fashion at the Soharai festival, 
 
102 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 adopted by those who “ love not wisely, but too 
 well.” After the festival is over, should the lover 
 take the lady to his house, no more than the pay- 
 ment of a fine is required to complete the cere- 
 mony. The other is by taking the romantic and 
 exciting course of an elopement. As soon as 
 the girl’s parents find out she has disappeared, 
 they are entitled to go to the “ happy swain’s” 
 house and take by force a cow or bullock, or 
 a certain number of goats, or property amount- 
 ing in price to about 30J. This obtained, “ vi 
 et armis,” the irate mamma and papa are 
 appeased, and the young bride holds her posi- 
 tion as a wife in Sonthal society. 
 
 Old Seeboo says there are not many elope- 
 ments, because, when the fearful parent sees that 
 any of his daughters are getting the “ warm 
 moist eye” of affection cast upon them, the 
 lover’s intentions are at once asked. Thus at an 
 early stage of the courtship the man finds 
 himself bound before his attentions are allowed 
 to become very marked. 
 
 For three afternoons in succession, before 
 the ceremony, such as I have attempted to des- 
 cribe, takes place, the Jog Manghi, or third officer 
 of the village, calls the villagers, together 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. I O j 
 
 to confer on the subject. Hanri is then served 
 out to enliven the proceedings, and on the third 
 day the marriage ceremony is celebrated. 
 
 The Sonthals make it a rule not to inter- 
 marry into the same tribe. There are two 
 tribes, however, which never intermarry in con- 
 sequence of some ancient feud between them ; 
 one is the Hansdah, the other the “ Murmuri” 
 tribe.* At all these ceremonies it is wonderful 
 to behold the gusto and vigorous manner with 
 which they keep up the songs and dances. 
 
 On this particular night no sleep visited the 
 writer; for as soon as the males had become 
 too unsteady in gait or voice to dance and 
 sing, the women took their places, and until 
 long after cock-crow such refrains as the follow- 
 ing were borne to my unwilling ears, as I lay 
 and tossed on my cot, even envying that hack- 
 neyed “ ship boy perched upon the mast” : — 
 
 SONG No. r. 
 
 They say that in olden times many were very rich, 
 
 My little sister ! 
 
 * I believe that the feud was with the “ Murmuri” 
 tribe ; I may, however, be mistaken as to the name of 
 the latter of the two. 
 
io 4 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 Their houses had roofs on four sides and strong 
 wooden fences, 
 
 My little one ! 
 
 Whilst mine is like the lippe bird’s cage with a door, 
 on the small side of the house. 
 
 SONG No. 2. 
 
 Verse i. 
 
 For ten months I was pregnant with thee, and 
 For twelve I had thee on my knees ; 
 
 How can I leave thee now ? Oh, my daughter, 
 
 The house is up to the door full of people. 
 
 Chorus ad lib. 
 
 F or ten months I was pregnant with thee, and 
 For twelve I had thee on my knees ; 
 
 How can I leave thee now my child ? 
 
 Verse ii. 
 
 Oh mother, for pity’s sake, do not leave me ! 
 
 How can I leave you ? 
 
 Get up, my daughter, and begone, 
 
 On the Tilayaka place stands the rich man’s horse 
 saddled and bridled. 
 
 Oh my darling mother, how can I leave you ? 
 
Sonihalia ami t/ic Sont/ials. 105 
 
 Verse iii. 
 
 My father has received a handful of rupees, and 
 a long horned bull, 
 
 My mother has got a striped dress. 
 
 The handful of rupees is spent, the striped dress of 
 my mother is worn out. 
 
 The tall horned bull died in the leaky watering- 
 place. 
 
 Verse iv. 
 
 My head is marked repeatedly with the red paint, 
 
 I am signed for ever and ever ! 
 
 SONG No. 3 . 
 
 In my elder brother’s country I have seen troubled 
 waters — troubled waters ; 
 
 In my sister’s, clear ones. Yes, clear waters. 
 
 In the garden the plantain trees wave to and fro — 
 wave to and fro ! 
 
 In the maize field, the Maskoru tree flowers ; 
 
 I have seen the Maskoru tree flower ! 
 
 In order to enjoy the puthi fish (for curry), I will dig 
 for turmerick — dig for turmerick. 
 
 The centipede had stung me. l’our out the tur- 
 merick. 
 
 Comb your hair, my darling. Tie the hair-string 
 from the beam under the roof, sweet one ! 
 
 My two little sisters, choose ye young leaves for me, 
 I say. Choose ye young leaves for me. 
 
 O 
 
io6 Sonthalia and the Sonthah. 
 
 Now stitch at noon the rice plate {of leaves). 
 
 My brother says, I will graze the herd — I won’t 
 plough in the open. Where the coarse grass 
 grows I will play the flute. 
 
 Shall I play the flute or the flageolet ? 
 
 SONG No. 4. 
 
 Verse r. 
 
 Your relations have come and have sat down, 
 O son of the house. 
 
 Bring first of all the stools and sitting boards, 
 (small boards, one for each person). 
 
 After that give us lota water. 
 
 Bring hukas, bring pipes stitched of leaves, says the 
 father of the bride. 
 
 Eat and drink, my friends, all of you ! 
 
 Verse ii. 
 
 0 ye relations that have come together from hill 
 
 and dale, 
 
 1 pray each of you sit down ; 
 
 Sit down before the sanctified door, sit down {says 
 the son.) 
 
 What do you choose, each of you ? What do you 
 like ? 
 
 Ye new arrivals, I pray you, let me give you dried 
 {not cooked rice. 
 
 And ye, let me give you this fresh-drawn milk. 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. io 7 
 
 {Here the bridegroom howls out) 
 
 I don’t care, my son, for this dried rice, and I don’t 
 care for this fresh milk. 
 
 Eh ! Old mother, bring out thy daughter ! 
 
 Bring out thy daughter ! 
 
 Verse hi. 
 
 A chain, a chain, a gold chain, a silver fishing-hook, 
 O baba ! 
 
 A silver fishing-hook for ever, O baba 1 
 
 A gold chain is forged for ever. 
 
 The silver-fishing hook has fastened on thee, 
 O baba ! 
 
 A gold chain has laid hold on thee, O baba ! 
 
 Who has forged the silver fishing-hook ? 
 
 Who has forged the gold chain ? 
 
 Whose is the fishing-hook ? God has forged the 
 gold chain ; 
 
 God has also forged the silver fishing-hook — the 
 silver fishing-hook ! 
 
 SONG No. 5. 
 
 Let us plant mango and palm trees, my brother ! 
 
 Let us enclose a tank, my brother, that we may 
 be remembered. 
 
 And on the top of the embankment, and on the 
 Kadum tree {jungle fruit tree), 
 
 May the Sasung bird sing. 
 
 By the side of the dirty pool in the eidel tree the 
 black Taxo {singing bird) nests. 
 
Ko8 Sonthnlia and the Sonthals. 
 
 On the mountain the Tironcla ( a kind of swallow) 
 stops beneath the clods of the field. 
 
 Hear the Lipido bird (a small bird), my sister-in-law, 
 
 At the time of the noon-day meal he screams. 
 
 The sun sees the going out and coming in of the 
 King. 
 
 The King of the Tandara entertained me in my 
 saffron-stained cloth, 
 
 On the banks of the brook. Yea, on its banks the 
 frogs croak. 
 
 The Duldung snake I did not see 
 
 On the banks of the Brahminee River. The heron is 
 said to eat the shrimps ; 
 
 I have not seen it. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Origin and causes of Sonthal rebellion — Rapacity of 
 the Maliajutis — Corruption of the Police— Supine- 
 ness of Government officials — Inadequacy of the 
 Law Courts — Improvidence of the Sonthal — Institu- 
 tion of slavery — Incompetence of the Moansiffs — 
 Iniquitous system of personal slavery — Activity 
 shown by Mr. Robinson in abolishing system — Mr. 
 Robinson’s opinion thereon — A Italy sis of the system — 
 Former distance of Law Courts from the Sonthal , 
 and corruption of Mooktcars — Ominous signs before 
 breaking out of the rebellion — A dive measures taken 
 by the Hon. Ashley Eden at Aurangabad — Ani- 
 mus against Government — Eccentric Perwannah 
 issued by Sonthal Chief— Heavy reprisals by our 
 troops — Results of rebellion — The Paharies — A Ben- 
 gali’s experiences — Melancholy end of Mr. II. and 
 his three sons. 
 
 JT is now some twelve years since the Son- 
 thals, goaded to resistance by the wrongs 
 they were suffering, rose up and attempted to 
 release themselves from the oppression and 
 misery inflicted upon them at the hands of 
 the unwitting British Government, and savages 
 
I IO 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 as the tribe were, they appear, while endeavour- 
 ing to obtain redress, to have raised a panic 
 even amongst the residents of Calcutta. 
 
 The primary causes which led to the rebel- 
 lion of 1856 may be traced as far back as the 
 year 1832, and may be shortly summed under 
 the following heads, 1st . — The grasping and 
 rapacious spirit influencing the mahajuns or 
 money lenders in their transactions with the 
 tribe. 2 nd . — The increasing misery caused by 
 the iniquitous system of allowing personal and 
 hereditary bondage for debt. 3 rd . — The un- 
 paralleled corruption and extortion of the 
 police in aiding the mahajuns. 4 th . — The im- 
 possibility of the Sonthals obtaining redress 
 from the Courts. And last, but not least, the 
 improvidence and “ happy-go-lucky” style of 
 living of the Sonthals themselves. These all 
 combined were, in my opinion, the primary 
 causes of the rebellion. 
 
 It has been argued, as before remarked, that 
 the- Sonthals were always slaves, and that the 
 institution of slavery amongst them was of an- 
 cient date. But it seems rather to have been 
 introduced by the mahajuns, who derived the 
 institution from the inhabitants in the vicinity. 
 
 It appears, however, that from 1832 the 
 
Sonthalia and the Sontlials. 
 
 I I I 
 
 MoonsifFs had been in the habit of decreeing civil 
 suits in the mahajun’s favor, upon bonds the 
 terms of which were thus: — “ In consideration 
 of having received — Rs., I undertake to work 
 out (at any time I may be called to do so) 
 this debt with interest (often) @ 40 and 75 
 per cent.” Time was never made the essence 
 of the agreement, and an arrow-head or some 
 such mark was carelessly scrawled upon the 
 bond to represent the signature of the recipient 
 of the dole, who in nine cases out of ten never 
 read or understood what he was signing, and 
 was ignorant of the misery and ruin he en- 
 tailed upon his children. This bond was of 
 such value, that whenever the mahajun wanted 
 his own fields prepared, or crops cut, he would 
 immediately pounce down upon the unfortu- 
 nate donor of it, and drag him to compul- 
 sory and doubly unprofitable work; for while the 
 Sonthal’s time was taken up in looking after 
 the mahajun’s field without payment or fair 
 remuneration, his own land would lie fallow or 
 his crop rot from not being reaped at the right 
 time. To such a climax had this evil attained, 
 that it was a common thing for a Moonsifif to 
 decree that a grandson should give personal 
 service in liquidation of a debt due by a grand- 
 
I I 2 Sonlluilia and the Sonthals. 
 
 father, and of which debt the grandson was 
 ignorant, or which had never been incurred. 
 In too many instances, I fear, si vera est faina, 
 the lower Courts were guilty of gross negligence, 
 and fraud. 
 
 To Mr. Le F. Robinson, of the Bengal Civil 
 Service, is due the honor of having called the 
 attention of Government to this crying evil, and 
 of never abating in his exertions until this 
 great engine of oppression was abolished. His 
 name, with a few others, is now mentioned with 
 affection and gratitude by the people he bene- 
 fited. I herewith append his remarks on the 
 subject of slavery : he states that — 
 
 “It was called Kamiotee, but it is not pecu- 
 liar to Sonthalia or the Sonthals. You will 
 “ find it nearly all over the country, I believe, in 
 “ one form or another. But in Sonthalia it was 
 “ very bad. A man borrowed money and gave 
 “ a bond to work it out, binding himself to work 
 “ for the lender, whenever he was required, with- 
 “ out pay. The lender of course required his 
 “ services at harvest and the other busy seasons 
 “ of the year, when the debtor could have got 
 “ work and pay elsewhere, and when work was 
 “ slack the lender of course did not require his 
 “ slave’s services. He could make nothing else- 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 I 13 
 
 “ where ; all he got when working was food, and 
 “ sometimes a bit of cloth once a year. As 
 “ interest was taken in advance, the debtor 
 “ could never work out the debt ; the interest 
 “was never less than 25 per cent., often much 
 “ more ; the son, daughter, or other nearest re- 
 “ lation of the debtor used in case of his death 
 “ to be considered liable, and if suits were 
 “ brought on these bonds in the old Moonsififs’ 
 “ Courts, they used to give decrees for their due 
 “ execution, no matter how old the debt or 
 “ who was working it out at the time ! I have 
 “ had a bond brought to me in which 25 Rs. was 
 “ originally borrowed by a man who worked his 
 “ lifetime, his son did ditto, and I released his 
 “ grandson from any further necessity ; it had 
 “ been running on for over thirty years, if I 
 “ remember rightly ! Whenever I got a com- 
 “ plaint, I made the creditor produce the bond 
 “ and impounded or tore it up, and sent the 
 “ debtor to work on the railway. It was in 
 “ 1858 that the whole matter was reported to the 
 “ Bengal Government.” 
 
 The rapacity of the mahajuns (curtailed as 
 their power for evil has been, since the period 
 about which I am now writing) is still patent to 
 any who may come in contact with them. They 
 
 P 
 
I 1 4 Sontkalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 may be necessary evils, but the evil of doing 
 without them would be far preferable to any 
 supposed good to be derived from them. They 
 are not so grasping with men of their own caste 
 or nation, but the bargaining of the Bengali 
 mahajun with the Sonthalis the contest between 
 a knave and a reckless fool — about as equal as 
 a battle with a wolf on the one side, and a 
 lamb on the other. 
 
 When it is considered that under the old 
 regulation system an ill-paid Darogah or 
 Native Inspector of Police, with about twenty 
 Burkundauzes or Constables, was placed in the 
 country with no European or respectable Native 
 supervision, or with just sufficient to give such 
 supervision a name and to make it a farce ; 
 when the only English Officer performed at the 
 most one hasty dash through the middle of the 
 district but once a year ; when these Inspectors 
 were notoriously corrupt, and played into the 
 hands of the money lenders, besides practising 
 a little extortion on their own account — it ought 
 not to be a matter of surprise that this con- 
 fiding, impulsive, and unthinking Sonthal race 
 should rise to strike a blow for their freedom. 
 It was the custom of the mahajun to lend out 
 small sums at exorbitant compound interest, and 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. I I 5 
 
 upon presenting a fee to get the aid of the police 
 to plunder and give him the debtor’s property. 
 To obtain redress for a wrong such as this, the 
 sufferers were obliged to wend their weary way 
 on foot through swamp and jungle to a distance 
 of from 80 to 150 miles ere they could lay 
 their complaint before the Hakim at Bhaugul- 
 pore or Deoghur. Upon filing their petition and 
 paying through the nose in bribes to the Amlah 
 and fees to the Mooktears (Native Court Agents), 
 the first order obtained was generally an order 
 by an overworked Collector to the Inspector 
 to report on the plaint, and the same to be 
 produced some fortnight or three weeks hence. 
 It may be fancied that the bribe of the mahajun, 
 with the knowledge that in the report he was 
 reporting on himself, would hardly enable the 
 Inspectors to give an impartial return. The 
 necessity for the Sonthal to go constantly to 
 and fro, with his ignorance of the dates ap- 
 pointed for hearing the cause, and the expenses, 
 would tire him out long ere the case was in train 
 for redress. Sick at heart he would return to his 
 cottage, emptied by the money lender, to find 
 his wife and children starving, his homestead in 
 ruins, and his cattle and ploughs sold up for 
 some paltry debt which, in many cases, had been 
 
I I 6 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 allowed to accumulate at compound interest for 
 years ; for the mahajun, watching the industry 
 of his victim, would, at the time when his garners 
 were full and the sponge ready to be squeezed, 
 pounce down on him and take hundreds for 
 a debt of a unit, and but too often on some 
 false claim. When for oppression such as this 
 no remedy was to be found ; when they saw the 
 proceeds of their labor annihilated, and the de- 
 stroyers assisted by men wearing Government 
 badges; when many a dreary mile had been 
 trudged, and their last pice spent to enable 
 them to seek a remedy at the foot of the Hakim, 
 and when their claims were either ignored or 
 dismissed, it is not to be wondered at that 
 they should seek a remedy for their misery 
 in arms. When the Sal branch, their signal for 
 war, like the old fiery cross of the Scots, was 
 passed by willing hands from village to village, 
 the whole of this peaceful, industrious race rose 
 as one man, to contend not only for their rights, 
 — for they had long since given up all hope of 
 getting those, — but for bare existence, as they 
 had no faith in a Government which seen only 
 through the Police, and in their quarrels with the 
 mahajuns they had every reason to consider 
 tyrannical, unjust, and extortionate. Thus the 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. I I 7 
 
 torch was lighted which flamed over all the S011- 
 thalian country, caused the death of some Euro- 
 peans, both male and female, and thousands of 
 Sonthals, and was only extinguished when our 
 troops had burnt and destroyed many Sonthal 
 villages, all the crops accessible, and had starved 
 the people into a surrender. 
 
 The causes that gave rise to this rebellion, 
 with the prior inactivity to give the Sonthals 
 redress, and the stringent measures afterwards 
 taken, form a dark blot on the pages of British 
 History in India. 
 
 Long before the rebellion itself broke out, 
 ominous signs of discontent had appeared, and 
 appeals for redress had been presented to the 
 authorities ; but in the former instances, where 
 any tumultuous gatherings had taken place, 
 they seem to have been treated merely as un- 
 lawful assemblies, and no further action taken 
 on them at all, while in the latter the necessary 
 enquiry seems never to have been instituted, or 
 notice sent to the Government of the discontent 
 amongst the people or the oppression practised 
 on them. 
 
 This culpable negligence on the part of 
 the responsible authorities can only be account- 
 ed for on the plea, that they were so far off 
 
I I 8 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 from, and so ignorant of the people and their 
 language, that they had formed no conception 
 of the volcano then ready for eruption. At 
 any rate, no action was taken, no troops collect- 
 ed, and no enquiry made into their grievances, 
 until after the Sal branch had been passed 
 and held up in ominous silence at the Manjhee 
 Stan, while the place of rendezvous was de- 
 clared. The insurgent forces were collected, 
 and the work of plunder and death commenced 
 ere measures were taken to resist them. 
 
 It was on or about the 25th June, 1856, 
 when some servants of an indigo planter resid- 
 ing at Aurungabad, and who had gone into 
 the Sonthal country to collect coolies for the 
 indigo manufactory, returned, terror-stricken, to 
 their master with the intelligence that they 
 had been seized by a large body of armed 
 Sonthals on the war trail, who warned them 
 to retire at once, for vengeance was to be taken 
 on their enemies for injuries received, and 
 upon mahajuns and Government Officials in par- 
 ticular. They had already commenced by deca- 
 pitating every policeman, Inspector, or mahajun 
 who was unlucky enough to meet them. ' 
 
 The indigo planter referred to at once sent 
 notice of this to the Hon’ble Ashley Eden, 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. I I 9 
 
 who was then in charge of the Aurungabad 
 Magistracy. It was well for the interests of 
 Government, and for the protection of life and 
 property, that this intelligence came to one 
 who had ability to conceive, and energy to carry 
 out, a plan which probably saved the towns of 
 Jungipore, Moorshedabad, and the surrounding 
 country from being looted. Having sent ex- 
 press to Berhampore for all available troops, he 
 issued perwannahs to the neighbouring zemin- 
 dars to collect as many lattials or fighting 
 men as they could, with whom to meet the 
 insurgents. These assembling presented such 
 a bold front that the Sonthals, apparently 
 doubtful of their own strength, turned back and 
 never attempted to ravage this portion of the 
 boundary, but confined their depredations more 
 towards the Rajmehal, Bhaugulpore, and Deo- 
 ghur divisions, and to the regions about Nonee. 
 
 A curious instance of the animus shown 
 by the Sonthals against Government is depicted 
 in the following story which was told me by 
 the planter before referred to. It is said that 
 the Sonthals had made a Bengali gomashta 
 write perwannahs for the planters, informing 
 them “ that as they were ‘chassas’ or cultivators 
 like themselves, if they stayed in their factories, 
 
120 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 and gave the Sonthal army ‘ russud’ or Com- 
 missariat supplies, they should remain unmolest- 
 ed.” If this story can be relied on, — and it was 
 narrated by a good authority, — it proves that 
 the hostile feeling of the tribe arose, not from 
 an animus against Europeans in general, but 
 merely against Government and the police. 
 I will not attempt to describe the murders 
 committed and heavy reprisals taken by our 
 troops, since all my knowledge is derived from 
 hearsay evidence, which is seldom trustworthy. 
 Suffice it to mention that after a guerilla war- 
 fare, in which many lives were sacrificed, the 
 war was brought to a close, and the rebellion 
 crushed by the end of 1 85 8. 
 
 This period found the Sonthals houseless 
 and wretched, with a great portion of their tribe 
 annihilated, and their accessible villages and 
 crops destroyed; but they had cut to pieces every 
 mahajun they could get hold of, and had fright- 
 ened the remainder away with a wholesome fear 
 sufficient to keep them from again appearing to 
 dun their miserable debtors for some time to 
 come ; so to a certain extent the Sonthals had 
 temporarily gained their end, but at a fearful 
 cost to themselves. 
 
 There was a rude kind of chivalry shown 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 I 2 I 
 
 by the tribes in this war which deserves to be 
 recorded. Although, as a race, they are wonder- 
 fully well imbued with a knowledge of all the 
 kinds of vegetable poisons with which their 
 jungles abound, and although for hunting and 
 shooting they dip their arrow-heads into a 
 compound so poisonous that a full-grown 
 tiger, even if scratched with the prepared barb, 
 surely dies in half an hour; yet, despite all 
 this, they disdained or neglected to take such 
 an advantage when at war with our troops. 
 I have never been able to find an instance of 
 a case in which any of our men or officers were 
 wounded by poisoned arrows, although many 
 received arrow wounds. While in converse 
 with Sonthals, I have often thought of asking 
 them the question, why they omitted to use 
 the arrows poisoned, but have abstained, as I 
 feared to suggest a practice which they might 
 try upon the questioner, should he ever offend 
 them. 
 
 The only race that seems to have derived 
 benefit and no evil from the rebellion is that of 
 the Paharees, who live on the summits of the 
 hills, at the base of which the Sonthals cultivate. 
 These people followed the Sonthal bands at a 
 respectful distance, and waited until the latter 
 
 Q 
 
122 
 
 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 had driven away the peaceful inhabitants of the 
 villages en route, when they rushed in and, 
 taking advantage of their absence and of the 
 Sonthals pursuing, took everything they could 
 lay hands on, and when gorged with booty 
 speedily retired to their fastnesses, leaving to 
 the Sonthals the fighting part and but little 
 of the plunder. 
 
 I could scarcely refrain from laughter on 
 hearing the account from a Bengali of his expe- 
 riences of the rebellion. He lived on the margin 
 of the Sonthalian boundary and the Bhaugul- 
 pore district proper, and had built a comfortable 
 homestead, with his cattle, grain, and produce 
 all around him, but the Sonthals marching 
 through his village caused him to flee, and with 
 his family hide himself in the woods. The 
 Paharees following looted all his property, and 
 when, after the expiration of a few days, he 
 returned, congratulating himself that all was 
 over, the British force arrived, whose array, to 
 use his graphic language, “stretched from one 
 end of the horizon to the other,” and added to 
 his stock of misfortune by burning down the 
 whole village, and all his property also. 
 
 A melancholy incident occurred near Tela 
 Gurrie, which resulted in the death of a Mr. 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 123 
 
 II and his three sons. It appears that these 
 
 gentlemen having received news that a body 
 of Sonthals were approaching a village in the 
 vicinity, marched out with some hired fighting 
 men to meet them. But on the two parties 
 coming in sight, the Natives on the Europeans’ 
 side fled, leaving old Mr. H. with his younger* 
 son on an elephant and the others on horses. 
 
 The elephant, slow and cumbersome, ran 
 into a jheel or large swamp, and while in that 
 position and without a mahout or elephant 
 driver — for he had also fled — some of the enemy 
 scaled the brute’s side and with their battle-axes 
 split poor Mr. H.’s and his son’s skulls. The 
 others disdaining to leave their father, had al- 
 ready fallen pierced by many arrows. 
 
 Isolated incidents such as this occurred, but 
 I refrain from harrowing the feelings of the 
 surviving relations of the sufferers by recounting 
 them in detail. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Conduct of Officials and Government with regard to the 
 rebellion — Their indifference towards preventive mea- 
 sures at an earlier peiiod — Mr. Eden's first great 
 blow to oppression and first instalment of freedom — 
 Abolition of the Police system — Difference between 
 Regulation and Non-Regulation— Appointments of 
 Assistant Commissioners — Rules laid down by Mr. 
 Yule — Non-Regulation Officer in a crisis better able 
 to cope with difficulties and responsibilities than a 
 Regulation Officer — Sonthals were justified in rising 
 — Fortunate choice of officials , and their hard work 
 — Probability of the Sonthals again rising. 
 
 ^^LTHOUGH, before the rebellion, the con- 
 duct of the responsible officials who failed 
 to inform the Government, and the neglect of 
 the higher power itself in taking preventive mea- 
 sures earlier, was unfortunate in the extreme, yet 
 as soon as the latter had been awakened to the 
 gravity of the crisis, a sense of justice and mo- 
 deration was shown which went far to atone for 
 their former shortcomings, and repair the evil 
 caused. Attention was first turned towards 
 
Sontha/ia and the Sonthals. 
 
 125 
 
 that engine of oppression — the Police; and the 
 Hoij’ble Ashley Eden was appointed Deputy 
 Commissioner in the disturbed provinces. His 
 report, with its recommendations, was the first 
 instalment towards the freedom, and the first 
 great blow to the oppression which had tem- 
 porarily weighed down the light-hearted Son- 
 thals. By his recommendations, the whole of 
 the Police, with their stations and all their para- 
 phernalia of oppression, extortion, and cum- 
 brous red-tapeism, were swept clear from the 
 Sonthal Pergunnahs, and the duty of keeping 
 the peace, arresting criminals, and of carrying 
 on all executive duties, was vested in the villa- 
 gers themselves, the headmen of each village 
 being made responsible that the duties were 
 carried out. A few regular guards were left 
 merely as personal escorts, and as a protection 
 to the Assistant Commissioner. 
 
 This was a wise and politic measure, for the 
 Police institutions maintained the same as under 
 the old regime, despite any reforms introduced, 
 would have always been looked upon with sus- 
 picion and hatred. But the new change gave 
 peace and contentment to the Sonthal, and 
 monetary gain to the Government. 
 
 This system, initiated and proposed by Mr. 
 
1 26 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 Eden, was carried out in its integrity under Mr. 
 George Yule, C.B., by whose able management, 
 with Messrs. Robinson and Wood as his depu- 
 ties, the Sonthals were raised from misery, 
 dull despair, and deadly hatred of the Go- 
 vernment to a pitch of prosperity and happi- 
 ness which, to my knowledge, has never been 
 equalled iu any other part of India under the 
 British rule. The Regulation Courts, with their 
 herds of leeches in the shape of badly paid 
 and corrupt Amlah and pettifogging Mooktears, 
 were abolished, and in their place a number 
 of active English gentlemen, termed Assistant 
 Commissioners and nominated by Mr. Yule, were 
 set down amongst the Sonthals, with a Code 
 of Regulations drawn up by that gentleman, 
 the pith of which may be summed up as 
 follows : — 
 
 To have no medium between the Sonthal 
 and the Hakim, i.e., Assistant Commissioner. 
 
 To patiently hear any complaint made by 
 the Sonthal from his own mouth, without any 
 written petition or charge whatever, and with- 
 out any Amlah in Court at the time. 
 
 To carry out all criminal work by the aid 
 of the villagers themselves, who were to bring 
 in the accused, with the witnesses, to the 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. I 2 7 
 
 Hakim, who should immediately attend to their 
 statements, and punish those found guilty 
 according to the tenor of the law. 
 
 These were some of the most important of 
 the golden rules carried out by men who recog- 
 nized the responsibility of their situation ; and 
 with an adored chief, in the shape of Yule, for 
 their ruler, whose firm, judicious, and gentle- 
 manly conduct made them work with willing 
 hearts, their endeavours were crowned with a 
 success which far exceeded the expectations of 
 the most sanguine of those who had seen the 
 Sonthals reduced to the want and misery to 
 which the rebellion had sunk them. The Non- 
 Regulation system was introduced in its integ- 
 rity, and the Regulation abolished. As to the 
 uninitiated the difference between the two may 
 not be known, I will attempt to describe the 
 most salient points in which the two systems 
 appear to me to differ. 
 
 In the Regulation Provinces, law in all its 
 majesty and technicality is enforced, and no 
 discretion is left to the presiding officer to tem- 
 per his decision according to the caste or cus- 
 toms of the parties in the suits. In the Non- 
 Regulation Provinces, equity, in the true ac- 
 ceptation of the word, guided by the spirit 
 
12 8 Sonthalia ami the Sont/iah. 
 
 of the law, is enforced without any of the 
 cumbersome rules, intricate procedure, or ex- 
 pensive formula of the sister system. In 
 the Regulation Provinces, the more subor- 
 dinate officers, even to the Magistrates and 
 Collectors of the first grade, are but mere cogs 
 in the wheel of the Government machine; while 
 in the Non-Regulation system, the Assistant and 
 Deputy Commissioners have more independent 
 action, and are more powerful for good and evil. 
 In the former, a man of small energy and 
 mediocre abilities, or positive corrupt qualities, 
 is under so many checks, that the evil he is 
 capable of committing is reduced to a mini- 
 mum, and his incapability and corruptness may 
 pass long unnoticed ; while in the latter case, a 
 man of the same calibre is a powerful engine of 
 wrong and oppression, and soon has his district 
 in such a state of disorder, that a moderately 
 just and penetrative superior has no choice but 
 to obtain his removal. Whilst, however, the fact 
 of his incompetence and infamy is becoming 
 known, the district may be suffering, and count- 
 less cases of hardship and injustice undergone 
 by the people, for the protection of whom he 
 has been placed. But, on the one hand, while 
 a bad man can temporarily do more harm and 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 I 29 
 
 injustice in a Non-Regulation than the same per- 
 son could do were he in a Regulation Province, 
 yet, on the other, an active, energetic, and high- 
 minded gentleman, with a just idea of his duties, 
 can do a great deal more good in a Non-Regu- 
 lation than the same man could do in a Regu- 
 lation Province, for he is less tied and has 
 more pow r er for free action. Straws show which 
 way the wind blows, and little anecdotes 
 (if true) generally illustrate the feelings of a 
 people better than deep theories or learned in- 
 vestigations. One important difference between 
 the two systems may be presumed from the 
 following : — 
 
 I was travelling in the Midnapore District 
 (Regulation) when Mr. Herschell, a popular 
 friend of the natives, was Magistrate and Col- 
 lector there ; of all Regulation men, if any one 
 ought to have been known to every ryot, it 
 should have been this one, as his activity and 
 philanthropy in their cause, while Magistrate in 
 Jessore, during the indigo disturbances, is a 
 patent fact: but in a certain part of Midnapore, 
 where the Collector Saheb was brought into 
 conversation, I asked — “ What is the Collector 
 Saheb’s name ?” but could get no answer, 
 excepting “ the Collector Saheb.” No villager 
 
 R 
 
130 Sonthalia and the Southals. 
 
 there even seemed to think of any Govern- 
 ment official as having aught but an official 
 identity. 
 
 With the exception of the Amlah about the 
 Court, and those intimately connected in some 
 way with its hangers-on, the ryots or inhabi- 
 tants of a Regulation District, as a body, never 
 know the name of the Collector or Magistrate, 
 or seldom, if ever, the name of any official in it 
 Whereas, in the Non-Regulation Provinces, 
 ask any ryot or inhabitant, and the majority 
 will at once give you, not the name of the 
 office, but the name of the official. In the one 
 case the identity of the man is merged in the 
 office, in the other the man himself merges the 
 office in his own identity. In the Regulation it 
 is always Collector Saheb, Magistrate Saheb, 
 Judge Saheb; but in the Non-Regulation it is 
 always Jones Saheb, Brown Saheb, Robinson 
 Saheb : this in itself shows the more intimate 
 relations that exist between the parties. For a 
 newly annexed province, or for a semi-civilized 
 tribe, the Non-Regulation system is indispen- 
 sable, but it requires a man of peculiar tact and 
 discretion for the appointment. A genius — 
 according to Bulwer Lytton, “ a man who 
 knows everything but what is useful” — is not 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 13 I 
 
 required, for he would be crochetty and out of 
 place. Great ability of any kind is hardly requi- 
 site ; but, above all things, tact and common 
 sense, and some ideas of the rules of evidence, 
 with the feelings of a gentleman, are indispen- 
 sable. By the term feelings of a gentleman, I 
 don’t mean the polished habits acquired by home 
 influences and associations with refined society ; 
 for this outward veneer will soon be rubbed off 
 after a few years’ sojourn amidst solitary 
 jungles, with the rough-and-ready life it entails; 
 but I mean that feeling which the Greeks 
 termed the “ noble and good.” This appertains 
 to a man who would never allow petty con- 
 siderations to interfere with his ideas of justice, 
 who would work only to satisfy his own sense 
 of right, and who would disdain to serve for 
 “ eye service.” Religion and education have a 
 good deal to do with forming the gentleman, 
 but they are secondary aids; the feeling must* 
 be innate, and I believe is almost always heredi- 
 tary. Although, on the whole, when we wish to 
 pat a people on the back, as it were, and to raise 
 them up, the Non-Regulation system is certainly 
 preferable to the Regulation system, and when 
 a crisis comes gives us trained men to meet it, — 
 
I 3 2 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 men who always having had a great share 
 of responsibility, are more prompt to act and 
 less afraid of responsibility than Regulation 
 men, — yet I do not think it would be for the 
 benefit of Bengal were the Non-Regulation sys- 
 tem introduced there ; for so peculiarly consti- 
 tuted are the Bengalis, with their village system 
 half annihilated, and their fondness for litigation, 
 yet wanting independence, that the Non-Regula- 
 tion system would be to them a curse instead 
 of a blessing, particularly as large zemindars 
 intervene with their powerful interests between 
 the Hakim and the ryot. Before the rebellion 
 the Sonthals were badly treated, and reviewing 
 the whole bearings of the case, together with the 
 opinions the Sonthals held — anent their inability 
 to obtain redress by fair means — I think the 
 greatest fault they committed in thus rising was 
 that they rose without a probable chance of 
 success. With the Sonthals a weighty grievance 
 drew them to arms, but they fought with an 
 enemy that knew how to be generous, and who 
 had sinned in ignorance, in the first instance, 
 rather than from malice prepense, and who 
 nobly repaired their errors afterwards. 
 
 The Sonthals appear to have been as for- 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 133 
 
 tunate after the rebellion, with regard to their 
 official protectors, as they were unfortunate 
 before. Prosperity and justice were brought to 
 them, when Government appointed gentlemen' 
 like Yule and Money for their Commissioners, 
 Wood for their Deputy, and Wilmot and Cos- 
 serat for their Assistants. I will not attempt to 
 take up the names of any who were instru- 
 mental in causing the rebellion, but it is a plea- 
 sant task to inscribe the names of officials 
 who did, and are doing now, their duty with 
 such happy results. With the anomaly so ap- 
 parent in the majority of all mundane affairs, 
 the Non-Regulation officials, although, as a 
 rule, worked harder and with as great res- 
 ponsibilities as the Regulation officials, do not 
 enjoy the same fair remuneration or chances 
 of promotion the Regulation officials are blessed 
 with. 
 
 There seems to be a tendency in high 
 quarters to reduce the Sonthalian again to the 
 old Regulation system. The same natural laws 
 do not govern the tiger and the fish. Neither 
 should the levelling system of Indian legislation 
 govern with one code the Mahajun, the Bengali, 
 and the Sonthal. Class legislation is to be 
 
134 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 avoided, but in England the Truck Act affords 
 a precedent by which we may presume that 
 exceptions to every rule are to be made for the 
 sake of justice. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Opportunity for observing Missionary efforts — Locality — 
 Proselvtism — Great deal of good performed — The 
 Dourtnes preached— Supposed character of the Ben- 
 gali — Good at bottom — Outward life of Missionary 
 counteracting evil effects of debauchery of vagrant 
 loafers — Revd. E. L. Puxley — Establishment of 
 Schools — Average attendance of scholars — Reasons 
 why little progress is made — Sonthals aware of 
 importance of education as a safeguard against the 
 Mahajuns — Schools in the jungle — Fair progress 
 of some Sonthal boys trained as teachers — Progress 
 of American Missions — Good done in an unostenta- 
 tious manner —Story related by Mr. Phillips — Mr. 
 Lehman's judicious words — Number of Christians 
 in Pakour Division — Drunkenness great drawback 
 to conversion — Sonthals not a Priest-ridden race — 
 Sonthal Priests. 
 
 M Y opportunities for observing the efforts 
 of the Missionaries amongst the Sonthals 
 have been confined to the districts of Bhaugul- 
 pore, Rajmehal, Pakour, Godda, and thence on 
 towards Midnapore ; any remarks I may there- 
 fore make are not intended to refer to the 
 
136 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 contiguous province of Chota Nagpore, but 
 merely to the above places. 
 
 Apart from proselytism, a great deal of 
 good is performed by the Missionaries in India 
 in a quiet, unostentatious manner, and as an eye- 
 witness in many instances, I can speak to the 
 happy results produced by their endeavours. 
 I have never enquired whether they be Germans, 
 Americans, or English, or whether they be 
 college men and gentlemen, German artisans, 
 Baptists, or Wesleyans, but I can safely say 
 that all I have come in contact with appear 
 to be doing a greater amount of good than 
 is generally believed. 
 
 To my personal knowledge, wherever a 
 Missionary goes he is respected, and I believe 
 that, even by Mussulmen, he is seldom, if 
 ever, reviled. Amongst the Sonthals, as the 
 great instruments for conveying education to 
 the children, as well as messengers of Christ, 
 they are looked upon with veneration and 
 esteem, and in many instances with affection. 
 
 It is to be noticed that, despite the lying 
 and debauchery with which many Europeans 
 associate the lower class of Bengalis, many 
 redeeming qualities cannot be denied them, one 
 of which, like Hope at the bottom of Pandora’s 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 137 
 
 Box, lies deep in their mind — I mean their 
 admiration of good apparent in others. The 
 self-denying and outwardly blameless life led 
 by these Missionaries, inspires the natives with 
 a feeling of respect, and somewhat softens the 
 bad impression that they have received of 
 Europeans and Christianity, from witnessing the 
 drunken brawls and depraved life of those 
 unfortunate European loafers, who are undoubt- 
 edly lowering the English prestige and charac- 
 ter, by their wanderings over the rural parts of 
 India. 
 
 To one gentleman in particular, who, resign- 
 ing his career in a Dragoon Regiment, and 
 the blessing of civilized life, buried himself in 
 the jungles, and devoted his time and fortune to 
 the intellectual and religious improvement of 
 the Sonthals, too much praise cannot be accord- 
 ed. I refer to the Reverend E. L. Puxley, 
 who labored long amidst one of the most pes- 
 tilential swamps in India — -Taljerria. 
 
 Mr. Puxley, assisted by the Church Mission 
 Society, has established amongst the Sonthals, 
 in all parts of their country, a number of 
 schools, in which Bengallee and Hindee is 
 taught. He commenced about seven or eight 
 years ago. Although .there appears to be a fair 
 
 s 
 
I38 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 average attendance of scholars, and a desire 
 on the part of their parents to keep them at 
 school, yet the progress is not so good as it 
 might be, owing to the children themselves, who 
 often play truant and are seldom corrected. 
 For their mothers and fathers make a point 
 of never beating them ; and should corporal 
 punishment be inflicted by the master, he runs 
 the risk of losing all his pupils. Besides this, 
 they are generally wanted to act the part of 
 cowherds, and do the lighter work at reaping 
 time, &c., & c. This takes them away from 
 school too early, and militates greatly against 
 the benefit they would otherwise derive, did 
 they continue their studies uninterruptedly. 
 In fact, they leave school before they have been 
 sufficiently well grounded, to enable them to 
 make use of their knowledge in after-life. The 
 old men, however, seem to be aware of the 
 important defence education will prove against 
 the mahajun’s accounts. For, as Seeboo says, 
 “ let my son read, write, and add, and he will be 
 able to keep a check upon Piaree Loll, the 
 village money-lender.” So education is not by 
 any means despised. Those fortunate enough to 
 be allowed to apply steadily, make fair progress ; 
 and in the two schools of Taljerria and Heran- 
 
Soitt/ialia and the Sonthals. -139 
 
 pore, belonging to the Church Mission Society, 
 there are classes for the training of Sonthal 
 boys as teachers, who, when deemed qualified, 
 are sent out to form small branch schools in the 
 jungle. 
 
 These schools are under the superinten- 
 dence of the two clergymen, Mr. Puxley 
 assisted by Mr. Lehman. 
 
 There is an American Mission and schools 
 under Mr. Bachelor and the two Messrs. Phillips, 
 at Midnapore and Jellasore. They appear to 
 have had greater difficulties to contend with than 
 the English Mission, as I think the Sonthals 
 are more corrupt and drunken there than 
 those near Rajmehal. The elder Mr. Phillips 
 has written a most useful grammar and diction- 
 ary of the Sonthal language, and, I believe, was 
 the first Missionary who made himself acquaint- 
 ed with that tongue. I recollect hearing him 
 tell the following story, which I inscribe from 
 memory. After he had been with them for 
 some time, and had studied their language suffi- 
 ciently to understand what they said, it caused 
 him regret and anxiety that he could not render 
 a prayer into Sonthali, such that it might come 
 to the understanding of all the tribe. While 
 this was weighing on his mind, he happened to 
 
140 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 hear a young Sonthali Christian boy praying 
 eloquently (for him) in his own tongue, that 
 God would cause His light to shine upon his 
 parents and family. Mr. Phillips knew the 
 language sufficiently to understand him, and, 
 profiting by this happy accident, rendered a 
 prayer on the model of the boy’s supplication. 
 The trained Sonthal Christian teachers before 
 mentioned, assisted by some Hindoos and Ben- 
 galis learned in the language, have been, on the 
 whole, moderately successful in their endea- 
 vours. They have to fight against great super- 
 stition and ignorance; and bearing in mind Mr. 
 Lehman’s judicious words, — “ It is not desirable 
 that the people should embrace Christianity 
 without being first properly influenced thereto,” 
 • — we may presume that those who have become 
 Christians, are Christians in the true acceptation 
 of the word. I believe in the Pakour Division 
 there are about one hundred baptized persons. 
 A great many orphans are clothed and fed by 
 the Mission, and as soon as they get old enough, 
 are married off to some other of its members. 
 Drunkenness is one of the great stumblipg 
 blocks to Missionary efforts, and, in my opinion, 
 it is an impenetrable barrier in the case of the 
 cider Sonthals ; but I am glad to find that some 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 H 1 
 
 of those capable of judging, do not seem to view 
 this vice as such an impediment to Christianity 
 as I do. 
 
 Although the Sonthals are not a priest-ridden 
 race, yet they boast of a kind of spiritual 
 teacher or Guru of their own. These generally 
 make yearly visits to the villages. The majority 
 can read and write, and all claim the same 
 distinction from their followers as the Brahmins 
 do from the Hindoos. But the priestly office 
 does not seem to be hereditary, neither is much 
 honor paid to them, except when they combine 
 the office of oracle as well. 
 
 These Gurus must not be confounded with 
 those prophets who pretend to have intercourse 
 with spirits. People often come from a great 
 distance to consult them in cases of sickness, 
 in all kinds of family distress, and when any 
 perplexity happens to the village commune. 
 They invariably sell their prophecies for a small 
 remuneration, and their general fee is a quarter 
 of a rupee, or six-pence, in each case. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Curious belief with regard to hell — Heaven and enjoy- 
 ments there — Dread of the evil eye and omens — 
 A necdote thereon — Ceremonies performed at death of 
 adults — Burial of children — Oracles of the dead — 
 Disposal of the ashes — Lamentation death song for a 
 child — The same for a husband — Periodical pilgrim^ 
 age to Damooda and Brahminee — Exclusiveness of 
 the old Bhoots. 
 
 ^ICERO says that no old woman would 
 believe the tales told about the heathen 
 Hells. The Sonthals also have a peculiar 
 belief with regard to the place of torment, which 
 must try the credulity even of the most 
 inane old Sonthali crone. They term it Ihkuur 
 (place of stinks or stink place), and imagine 
 that after death the damned live in poverty, 
 hunger, and thirst, and are always subject to 
 disagreeable smells. According to their idea, 
 it is situate in a corner of the “ Hurapuri” or 
 other world. 
 
 They place their heaven also in the Hura- 
 puri, and believe that there the good Sonthal will 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. H3 
 
 have his agriculture and live comfortably, eating, 
 drinking, and hunting for ever and ever. They 
 will also be excellently housed. 
 
 They have a great dread of the evil eye and 
 of omens. I was travelling with an official 
 of high position, when we met an old Sonthal 
 who had grown so fat that he would not 
 have known his own feet had they been placed 
 before him, for it must have been such a 
 long time since he last saw them. My 
 companion remarked to him, “You have grown 
 fat.” Instead of a polite answer he got a scowl, 
 which seemed more severe than the occasion 
 required. But the reason of this was that 
 amongst the tribe it is believed that a remark 
 on one’s obesity causes early misfortune or 
 death to the unhappy person thus addressed. It 
 is our ignorance of the prejudices and supersti- 
 tions of the natives, in small matters such as this, 
 that occasions the breach between the two races, 
 rather than any positive oppression or injustice 
 on the part of the European. 
 
 Should a Sonthal boy or girl die young, the 
 body is buried with little ceremony ; but in case 
 of an adult’s death, the rites and ceremonies 
 are elaborate. 
 
 While the person is dying, they generally 
 
144 Sonthalia and the SontJials , 
 
 keep their door open, as they prefer to have 
 the spirit of the departed wandering about 
 outside the house than taking up a permanent 
 abode inside. This is one of the reasons why 
 the Manjee Stan is built, as it affords a resi- 
 dence to the manes of the departed. Although 
 this Stan is only seen before the headman’s 
 house, yet I think that the spirits of all the 
 deceased villagers are commonly considered to 
 congregate there. After death, the body is taken 
 to where two roads meet, and there the women 
 and relations cry over it. Before the ceremony 
 of burning takes place, the next heir of the 
 family, with his face averted, and walking back- 
 wards, inserts a piece of grass between the 
 lips of the deceased, and also places a small 
 coin in his hand. At the place of burning, the 
 body, thus prepared, is laid on its charpoy 
 on the funeral pyre, and a small chip is taken 
 off the collar bone and deposited in a new 
 pot. The body is then consumed, and the 
 ashes collected and placed in what remains^ 
 of the skull. The clothes and brass utensils 
 are often sold at half price near the pyre, and! 
 when the ashes are collected, the mourners return 
 to the house. A cock is then caught, and his. 
 bead being pounded on a stone^he .is cooked 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. H5 
 
 and eaten. If the deceased was rich, a cow, 
 a goat, and a pig are also sacrificed. Before 
 partaking, every one bathes, the house is 
 thoroughly washed, and then the “ funeral 
 baked meats” are produced. When all the 
 guests have departed, the relatives place a 
 pan of water and rice in separate corners of the 
 house, and leave the door open all night. On 
 the next morning, should a few grains of rice be 
 found in the pan of water, they suppose that the 
 departed spirit, pleased with his funeral obse- 
 quies, has come to pay them a visit, eaten a 
 little of the rice to show his good will, and in 
 using the pan as a finger-glass, has necessarily 
 left a few grains in the water. Should he not 
 have come, they are compelled to appease and 
 call him. They therefore call an oracle or ghost- 
 finder in whose body the spirit is supposed to 
 enter. The oracle works himself into a frenzy, 
 and turns his head round and round. The de- 
 parted then speaks through the medium. When 
 he utters the words “ I have come ! I have 
 come !” the desired effect has been produced 
 and the relations are satisfied. The speedy 
 appearance of the spirit depends a good deal 
 upon the amount of remuneration given or ex- 
 pected by the medium. During the time the 
 
 T 
 
I zj.6 Sont Italia and the Sont Juris. 
 
 body is in the house, the lamentations for the 
 dead are thus chaunted : — 
 
 Oh me, oh me, my beloved one, 
 
 Where art thou now, my darling ? 
 
 I said to myself all is well with me. 
 
 Alas ! alas ! my treasure, how short a time thou wast 
 with us. 
 
 Oh my beloved, oh my beloved, where hast thou 
 found a place ? 
 
 I said to myself he will get well again — 
 
 Ah me ! ah me ! 
 
 The above is for a child, and the following on 
 the death of the husband : — 
 
 Ah me, my husband, why didst thou die ? 
 
 Why didst thou leave me on this side of the gener- 
 ation ? 
 
 My husband, hast thou really left me ? 
 
 Oh me, oh me, my partner, 
 
 For a few days didst thou come, a few days didst thou 
 stay ; 
 
 Thou wast like a flower of two days. Oh me ! oh me ! 
 My companion, where can I go ? Where on earth 
 can I turn ? 
 
 Where can I get one sight of thee ? Oh ! oh me ! 
 
 My own darling, where can I find thy beloved face ? 
 From jungle firewood the villagers kindled to-day the 
 fire — 
 
 They have burnt thee ! Oh me ! 
 
 For two days thou wast on the face of the earth, 
 
 I saw my husband’s body break like glass, 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. I 4 7 
 
 It happened as it was written in my destiny. Oh me ! 
 
 Oh me ! oh me ! my darling, he has now left me 
 alone. 
 
 Oh me, as it was, so it came to pass. 
 
 I shall walk bowed down to the earth. 
 
 The earth shall feel hard under me. 
 
 Although I pray towards Heaven, 
 
 Heaven itself has gone up. 
 
 Oh me ! oh me ! No vhere advice and hope. 
 
 I have no discernment, no hope, 
 
 Why shall I live longer ? 
 
 Why shall I feel any more comfort ? 
 
 It is the custom of the villagers to wait 
 until a sufficient number of their fathers and 
 mothers have died, when they take their 
 ashes and proceed in a body to throw them into 
 the Damooda River, which is to them a sacred 
 stream. 
 
 Unless this last ceremony is performed, the 
 bhoot or departed spirit is not allowed to asso- 
 ciate with those spirits whose ashes have been 
 thrown in before. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Primitive knowledge of agriculture — Their food— Not 
 abstemious with regard to animals which have 
 died a natural death — Their system of visiting — 
 Quaint mode of letter carrying — Peculiar notice 
 from Juggernath — Their athletic games — Standard 
 of motley — Accounts of witchcraft — Persons' opinion 
 of superstition — Punishment not efficacious in stop- 
 ping witch-murders — The lightning box — Novel 
 mode of trying a witch-finder , and his condign pun- 
 ishment — Murder of a reputed witch and her child — 
 Murder of another witch , and arrest of the murder- 
 ers— The trial— Four Hycetias viewing the proceed- 
 ings. 
 
 I 
 
 Sonthal knowledge of agriculture is 
 primitive. Although they use the same 
 implements of husbandry as the Hindoos, yet 
 I hardly imagine they obtain so much return 
 for their work as the latter. For they are care- 
 less, although industrious, and are jmore suited 
 for clearing land of jungle, than for afterwards 
 bringing it into a high state of cultivation. 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 149 
 
 As observed before, they are not at all par- 
 ticular as to what they eat ; they partake often 
 of the sacrificial meats, such as fowls, goats, 
 pigs, and pigeons. Should any of their cattle 
 die a natural death, all the males of the village 
 assemble around the animal, which is cut up 
 with great expertness, and divided into as many 
 shares as may be required. A portion is then 
 eaten at once, and the remainder carried away 
 to their homes. Rice is their chief food, but 
 they also eat a variety of pulse. The women 
 can concoct a soup, aud are not ignorant of the 
 way to make a kind of bread. They are skilled 
 in their knowledge of the different edible jungle 
 roots, and often use wild greens, leaves, and 
 dried flowers boiled for food. In fact, as a 
 Missionary once remarked, “a Sonthal will 
 manage to live where even a rat would starve.” 
 They are very fond of paying visits to 
 their relations in different villages, and as soon 
 as they have stored their crops, it is usual 
 to see the young people of a family march 
 off together to spend a few days with some 
 friends, or connections perhaps, sixty or seventy 
 miles away. They are also fond of dinner par- 
 ties. Their way of carrying a letter is primi- 
 tive ; they take a small green twig and split it 
 
I5O Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 slightly at one end ; in the cleft thus made they 
 insert the manuscript, and it is thus carried, 
 without being touched by the bearer, until it 
 reaches its destination. 
 
 I recollect being encamped out in a wild 
 jungly place, when I met a Sonthal thus carry- 
 ing a dirty bit of coarse native paper. I had 
 the curiosity to read the bad Bengali it was 
 written in. The contents were, as far as I can 
 recollect, as follows : — 
 
 “The doors of Juggernath are shut. 
 
 “ A bull with snakes hissing all over him 
 “ will pass towards J uggernath .... (here 
 “ the writing was obliterated.) Keep your streets 
 “well cleaned and clear that he may pass 
 “through your villages without obstruction. 
 “ Send this on to the next four villages, or you 
 “ will be smitten with disease and die in a year.” 
 I found three of these papers being carried 
 about, and in each instance the messengers were 
 chokeedars or Government village watchmen. 
 I may add that I was some hundreds of miles 
 from J uggernath when this happened. 
 
 The villagers are fond of athletic games, 
 and of contests with the bow and arrow. I 
 have heard that an expert can peel the skin 
 of a plantain without wounding the fruit; 
 
Sontlialia and the Sonthals. I 5 I 
 
 but this is mere report, and has never been 
 witnessed by me. The victor in these trials 
 of skill is taken to the headman of the village 
 by the lower village official (the Paramanick) 
 and made to kneel down, when the ancient gen- 
 tleman places his hands upon him. After con- 
 gratulations, he is carried off in triumph on the 
 shoulders of his comrades. 
 
 It is only of late times that they have had 
 money value for anything ; formerly their stand- 
 ard was a handful of rice or pulse ; so many 
 handsful of rice or pulse equalled the value of 
 a fowl, so many fowls a pig, and so on. Even 
 to this day, when cattle graze in another’s maize 
 or crop, the damages are assessed, and so many 
 handsful of rice or pulse given as a fine by the 
 owner of the trespassers. 
 
 I have been unable to obtain a good witch 
 song from any of their reputed witches. In 
 only one instance did I find a woman willing 
 to sing one, and I had placed her in hajut with 
 her husband, for complicity in a witch murder. 
 This young lady, to save herself, had accused 
 a friend of having taught her the black art, and 
 in consequence the unfortunate woman, thus 
 charged, had been condemned to death and exe- 
 cuted. The prisoner told me that she, with four 
 
I52 Sonthalia and f/ic Sonthals. 
 
 others, had been put into a sleep by the victim, 
 and then carried through the air in a winged 
 chariot to the bottom of a lake near Burhait ; 
 arrived there, they saw beautiful houses and 
 gardens and horses, &c., &c. Although appa- 
 rently willing to talk, she used to put off singing 
 her incantation song from day to day with 
 a kind of “ call-to-morrow” sort of manner. I 
 resigned my hopes of ever obtaining the verses, 
 for her husband had eyed me uneasily, not seem- 
 ing to like the daily interviews I was having 
 with his bride. As the girl was young and 
 pretty, and her protector imprisoned by me, — re- 
 collecting that “ Caesar’s wife should not even be 
 suspected,” — I resigned my pursuit of knowledge 
 to the considerations of prudence. 
 
 Superstition is the cause of more than half 
 the wrong and murders committed in Sonthalia. 
 Their witches (Dan Aima) are supposed to have 
 intercourse with the Bongas, which gives them 
 the power of killing people by eating their 
 entrails, and also of causing fevers, murrain 
 in cattle, and all other kinds of evil. 
 
 Although punishment never seemed to 
 have a very great effect in stopping witch-finders, 
 yet a certain Assistant Commissioner found a 
 great deal of use in an electrifying machine. 
 
So nth alia and tiic Sent hals. 
 
 I 53 
 
 If a parent or husband would conie up and 
 confidentially ask his advice, with regard to a 
 daughter or wife charged with witchcraft, this 
 “ lightning case” or “ Devil’s Box” was brought 
 out with great awe by the servants, who had 
 been often experimented on, and the girl told 
 to hold the handles. When the wheel was 
 turned no result would take place, and therefore 
 she was considered quite correct ; but on the 
 same ordeal being put to the questioners, they 
 generally used to dance for half an hour, — a 
 practical proof which would stay any further 
 belief in the girl’s guilt, and procure the witch- 
 finder condign punishment * It was ludicrous 
 to see the awe the box was held in, and the 
 careful manner with which the servants used to 
 carry it about to catch lightning. They used 
 to be convinced that it wanted a supply from 
 heaven periodically to ensure its safe action, and 
 their delight consisted in seeing it used with 
 full power on. 
 
 Before the Penal Code with its Draconian 
 laws was in force, a young Sonthal came running 
 in to tell Amicus (a certain Assistant Commis- 
 
 * In one case the drum was disconnected, in the other 
 connected. 
 
 U 
 
154 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 sioner) that his wife had been accused of witch- 
 craft by a professional witch-finder ; and as the 
 son of the head of the village had been long ill, 
 and was said to be under her influence, he had 
 fears for her safety. My friend immediately rode 
 out to the spot, and upon his arrival called a 
 punchayet. It did not take long for the whole 
 of the village to assemble under a group of 
 trees. The elder men formed a circle, sitting 
 on their haunches, outside of which were 
 grouped the younger ones, and the women — 
 some with children in their arms, some just 
 rising into conscious womanhood — grouped them- 
 selves in wondering curiosity beyond, so as 
 they could see the whole proceedings. Amicus 
 had also squatted himself on his heels, forget- 
 ting he had spurs on, but apparently finding 
 that position inconvenient, sat with his back 
 against a tree. The witch-finder, a debauched 
 and sinister looking vagabond with one eye, 
 and tattooed as to his arms and thighs with 
 divers colors, was then called into the assembly. 
 So great was the awe in which he was held, 
 that it was noticed, as he stalked forward, 
 exulting in the commotion he had excited, 
 that every one kept at a respectful distance 
 from him. He first began by threatening 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. I 5 5 
 
 Amicus with sudden death, blindness, and 
 sundry other lively punishments if he was not at 
 once allowed to depart. The anathematized, 
 however, who was smoking a disreputable short 
 clay, apparently the cast-off property of some 
 Blackheath donkey boy, seemed immoveable 
 under the execrations he was receiving, but coolly 
 motioned him to be quiet, at the same time 
 calling for the accused — a demure, plump little 
 damsel of some sixteen years, who darted a 
 frightened look around her, and then gliding in, 
 squatted down with her head between her knees, 
 overcome by her misery. She neither moved 
 tongue nor limb, although, had my friend left ere 
 the investigation had been concluded, she would 
 have looked her last on the sun in this world 
 as he then went down in all his glory behind the 
 adjacent hills. The husband bravely came and 
 stood by her, notwithstanding the scowls that 
 met him from all sides, as every Sonthal there 
 was convinced she was a confirmed witch. For 
 had not the witch-finder tried the “ Tel-pani” 
 (oil and water) and the fowl’s entrails, .and was 
 not that enough ? 
 
 Amicus in a most unfeeling manner rated 
 the unfortunate girl for bringing him out in the 
 sun, and causing all this trouble, to the great 
 
I 56 Sonthalia ami the Sonthals. 
 
 "lee of the witch-finder, who saw that now his 
 triumph was complete ; but his looks changed 
 to a puzzled expression of doubt, when a syce 
 or groom stepped forward with a suspicious 
 •looking rope and began, by my friend’s order, 
 and in a dexterous way, to fasten the witch- 
 finder’s legs tight together. Now, says Amicus, 
 you seem to have power to do everything 
 and know everything, “Sab Janta.” I make 
 this agreement with you. Bring your fowl 
 and your Tel-pani, and if you are as you say 
 .you are, you can at any rate, by help of your 
 incantations, get out of this circle and rid your- 
 self of these ropes. But if you don’t in half an 
 hour, lookout, my son. Manjees, is this fair? 
 A muttered grunt of assent from the assem- 
 bly was heard, and every one watched with 
 anxiety the ordeal the man was about to 
 undergo. First, with great solemnity he obtained 
 a fowl from the village, and proceeded to disem- 
 bowel it, he then obtained a leaf and some oil, 
 and began to rub it on the leaf, waiting until 
 the countenance of the accused should appear 
 photographed, as it were, on the fibres. 
 
 After having done that, he began to rave 
 and to roll about head over heels, invoking 
 apparently all the denizens of the infernal 
 
Sonthalia and the Sohthals. 157 
 
 regions, until foaming at the mouth and covered 
 with perspiration and dust, the end of half an 
 hour found him with his feet still tied, and with 
 his body inside the cursed circle. All this time 
 the villagers had been watching the struggles 
 with breathless interest, yet, with native impas- 
 sibility, not allowing a word to escape them. 
 Amicus pulled out his watch, cried time is up, 
 and appealed to the manjies whether the witch- 
 finder ought not to be punished for the imposi- 
 tion instead of the girl, and whether the girl 
 was not innocent. She, half-stupefied, had risen 
 to her feet, her large eyes filled with tears, and 
 crept closer up to her protector. The manjies 
 seemed to have little doubt on the subject, and 
 declared the accused innocent and the witch- 
 finder guilty. The husband above any one 
 showed a pleasing alacrity in carrying out any of 
 the orders given to him, particularly if he could 
 get close enough to pull the accuser’s hair or 
 hit him a sly poke in the ribs. His gratitude 
 was overwhelming ; he ran by the side of the 
 horse as Amicus returned home on a beautiful 
 moonlight night, pointing out where the stones 
 and holes were, and every minute bowing down 
 to the ground. When questioned, he said he had 
 no fear now of his wife being beaten to death, 
 
158 Sontlialia and the Sonthals. 
 
 as a policeman had been left in the village to 
 bring the head men in to give security for the 
 safety of the girl, and the opinion of the village 
 was in her favor. A few doses of quinine from 
 the Government medicine chest expelled the 
 demon from the manjie’s son. I need hardly 
 add that the witch-finder did not escape scot- 
 free. 
 
 Thus by a little tact ended happily a scene 
 which might have finished in a hanging for 
 two or three, and a painful death to the poor 
 innocent girl. 
 
 It is not always, however, that the cases 
 have such a prosperous termination as the one 
 I have been relating. I recollect Amicus telling 
 me that he was called out to investigate the 
 death of a newly married mother with her first 
 child : it was the old story — the accusation — the 
 punchayet — the sentence — the five men picked 
 out for the deed — the husband ordered to keep 
 quiet, and get out of the way — and the poor 
 girl taken out at midnight, and brutally beaten 
 to death with clubs on the side of a road. When 
 Amicus arrived there, he found the body showing 
 but few cuts, but very much disfigured ; the poor 
 little child lying on the ground, wailing close to 
 its dead mother, and no soul to be seen. To 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. I 5 9 
 
 make a long story short, said Amicus, as he 
 balanced his chair on one leg and swung half into 
 the fire — for it was a coldish night in December 
 — I boned the females of that family first, my 
 boy ; women leak like sieves — never can keep a 
 secret all the world over ; got them to confess ; 
 found the men after and committed them. I 
 was sorry to hear that although he offered Rs. io 
 to any woman who would suckle the baby, not 
 a female would have her breast polluted by the 
 lips of the offspring of a witch. A dirty old 
 cloth dipped in milk kept the little innocent 
 alive for a few days, when exhaustion sent 
 it to its long last sleep, to wake, let us hope, 
 in its mother’s bosom. 
 
 It is but a few months since that a girl near 
 Simrah, in one of my old friend Seeboo’s villages, 
 was charged with witchcraft, and with having 
 killed the child of another Sonthal by convul- 
 sions. A punchayet of nearly thirty old men 
 was summoned, and the girl, while confessing her 
 guilt as a witch, said she was taught witchcraft 
 by a certain chief witch, termed Rohomonee, and 
 that they had buried a spirit in a certain house. 
 Rohomonee was summoned to take the spirit out, 
 and dug up a bit of clay in the floor. This was 
 deemed sufficient for her condemnation, and her 
 
i6o Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 daughter being taken away from the house by the 
 father who had bid his doomed wife goodbye, 
 and the whole of her family leaving her, she was 
 set upon by five men, picked out for the purpose, 
 and beaten to death, while the punchayet sat that 
 night for three hours in solemn conclave outside, 
 listening to the cries and groans of the victim 
 as in her agony and supplication she broke the 
 stillness of the night. The bloody deed con- 
 summated, an old woman was left to watch the 
 corpse, and next day her husband and daughter 
 were allowed to return. Luckily a woman in 
 the house at the time witnessed the whole affair, 
 and, like most of her sex fond of talking, mutter- 
 ed the name3 of the murderers to some who, less 
 bigoted, noised it abroad. Very soon the cul- 
 prits were in jail, the evidence completed, and I 
 had the satisfaction of committing the case 
 and seeing it tried by Browne Wood, the 
 Deputy Commissioner, in a way which even 
 satisfied the Sonthals themselves, although con- 
 victed. I shall long recollect seeing the en- 
 campment at Barcope ; the Deputy Commis- 
 sioner’s tent underneath the mangoe trees ; the 
 Sonthals whom he had summoned as a kind of 
 punchayet, sitting around him on their haunches ; 
 the trembling culprits with their relations 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. I 6 I 
 
 grouped amongst the guards ; the women cry- 
 ing ; and high above all, perched upon some 
 rocks, four hyaenas eyeing the scene as they lazily 
 basked in the sun. I longed to get a crack at 
 them, as they were within bullet range ; but fear 
 of disturbing the court curbed my ardour, and 
 when the case had finished they were gone. 
 
 \V 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 SontJiali dances — Picturesque scene — Camp life — Deep 
 gloom of surrounding scenery — Dance and bonfire 
 by night — Curious figures in the dance — Two Son- 
 thali dancing songs — Careful chaperons for the girls 
 on their return home — Assiduous attentions of the 
 Sonthals — Assent of Mawa Ghurri— Beautiful 
 scenery on its summit — Unpleasant incident with 
 regard to thorns. 
 
 J HAVE often had opportunities of witness- 
 ing the Sonthali dances, but one in par- 
 ticular appeared so picturesque that I will 
 attempt to describe it. Our camp stood on a 
 plateau some way down the slope of a hill, 
 which rose to the height of nearly eight hun- 
 dred feet above us. At the foot stretched a 
 valley half a mile in extent, and walled in 
 on all sides by precipitous mountains with their 
 sides covered by big sal trees, the sakwa, and 
 the graceful hill bamboo. Huge boulders of 
 grey and brown rock, partly clothed with 
 creepers, projected at intervals from the sur- 
 rounding foliage. 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. I 6 j 
 
 The blackened remains of an old pole which 
 had formerly served as a pivot for the suspended 
 votaries of the Churruck Poojah, stood erect 
 and solitary at the foot of the slope, and added 
 to the somewhat sombre air which pervaded 
 the whole scene. We had before sent the Perg- 
 nite notice that we desired a dance and a 
 bonfire, so as soon as we had arrived hackeries 
 laden with dry wood seemed to start from all 
 parts of the jungle, and ere nightfall a huge 
 pile of dry logs and sticks, some fifteen feet 
 high and double that number in circumference, 
 was heaped up round the post. The villagers 
 from all directions had before assembled, and 
 with their wives and daughters gave a cheerful 
 bearing to a scene which otherwise would have 
 been depressing from the deep gloom of the 
 overhanging mountains and the dark foliage of 
 the woods, deepening more and more in the 
 shades of evening. 
 
 No impression of gloom seemed to affect 
 the happy groups below us, who had already 
 begun to arrange themselves for the evening’s 
 amusement. First of all some three score 
 village girls, laughing and chattering, sepa- 
 rated themselves from the groups and forming 
 four lines with their arms crossed and hands 
 
164 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 clasped, began a shrill and not unmusical 
 chant, keeping time with their feet, and knock- 
 ing their anklets together with every motion 
 of their bodies. Their hair was adorned with 
 flowers, and some of them had wreaths round 
 their necks. A party of young men had 
 taken up their position under some trees, and 
 were blowing away at their flutes, every muscle 
 of their whole economy being brought into 
 play, as they swayed themselves backwards and 
 forwards. Heading the damsels were the drum- 
 mers, adorned as to their heads with peacocks’ 
 feathers, and who battered away most vehe- 
 mently on their instruments, which were shaped 
 like barrels. Ere they had warmed to the work, 
 the darkness of night threw its veil over the 
 valley, and for a few minutes there was a 
 deep silence, while all stood wondering what 
 might happen next; but our patience was 
 not long tried. A huge Sonthal soon made his 
 appearance bearing a flaming bundle of straw, 
 with which, aided by a troop of youngsters, he 
 proceeded to ignite the pile. This was intended 
 to be a signal to the dancers to commence, and 
 as soon as the light from the flames had thrown 
 a lurid glare upon them, we perceived that they 
 had formed themselves into two long lines. 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. I 6 5 
 
 intersecting each other in the middle at right- 
 angles, and forming an equilateral rectangular 
 cross. 
 
 Two or three girls in the centre then struck 
 up a shrill chaunt, the rest joining in chorus 
 at the end of every verse, and keeping time 
 with the song by a peculiar swaying motion 
 of the whole body, which increased as the voices 
 rose higher and higher. They then, clapping 
 their hands, divided into four separate bands, 
 and stepped backwards and forwards, followed 
 by the drummers, who at every chorus turned 
 head over heels and rolled on the ground, 
 never (even while in the midst of their salta- 
 tions) attempting to forego for an instant the 
 tum-tuming. I noticed that these gymnastic 
 feats elicited great applause from the lookers-on, 
 who had formed an immense ring around the 
 performers. 
 
 I have tried to note down a few of their 
 dancing songs, and give the two following as an 
 example : — 
 
 i 
 
 My mother is no more, 
 
 My father is no more — 
 
 On the Jhangeeri reed tree 
 I shall hang myself and die. 
 
I 66 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 2 
 
 Then I shall drink honey 
 And revive myself again. 
 
 Before the house we both got dirty, 
 
 On the road we sank in mud. 
 
 3 
 
 Why will we go on the way, 
 
 It is miry, why walk there ; 
 
 On the heights there are creepers, 
 
 Here is the wild vine, here the bandhu creeper, 
 There let us walk. 
 
 Jaipur Bazaar Town has very good water, I hear, 
 Let us buy there small rice pots and large pots 
 The Dahee fruits (rather sour) let us eat. 
 
 The Dahee fruit is sweet — the Dahee. 
 
 The following is a part of an inpromptu 
 song sung on that day. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 The Saheb’s garries are on the road, 
 
 On the road, on the road, 
 
 We shall have luck, we shall have luck, 
 
 The tigers fear him, &c., &c. 
 
 I noticed them all join and surround us 
 upon our approaching the fire, and could only 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. \ ()J 
 
 distinguish the word “ gharries” amidst the 
 noise, but am indebted to a Mr. Paroo Manjie 
 for a translation. 
 
 Viewed from the verandah of our tents, the 
 sight was as wild and weird like as any lover of 
 the romantic could have wished to behold. 
 
 The glare of the fire threw the whole group 
 well out into the light, touched up the white 
 tents on the plateau in the foreground, and 
 just gilding the jungle behind, left in dark and 
 gloomy outlines the hills above. 
 
 The singing continued until midnight, when 
 all retired to their homes. Some had to re- 
 turn a distance of six or eight miles. I had 
 called two or three of the elder manjies to the 
 tent and was regaling them with some genuine 
 Old Tom, when the eldest rose and informed 
 me he must go, as he had to see the girls of his 
 village home, as it was their custom to send out 
 the females under the charge of an elder male, 
 who was responsible for their good behaviour. 
 He naively informed me he never allowed 
 them to go home with the young men, for fear 
 of the pranks they might have on the road. 
 Sympathising with him as to the responsibility 
 he must labor under, I at once gave him leave ; 
 the others followed his example, and ere I had 
 
I 68 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 finished the evening pipe of peace, we gazed on 
 nought but some smouldering embers which 
 were glimmering in the darkness around. 
 
 It was quite cold, with the thermometer 
 at 46°, when we turned into our camp beds, and 
 I was glad to snuggle under a warm resai, and 
 find that for warmth’s sake a couple of dogs and 
 a small tame tigress* had already laid them- 
 selves near my feet. I once tried the experi- 
 ment of having a charcoal fire in the tent, but 
 the atmosphere soon got so oppressive, that I 
 was glad to get rid of it, and trust to a large 
 bonfire outside, which was kept burning all 
 night by the guard. 
 
 I will refrain from describing the usual tent 
 striking in the morning, the horror with which 
 one hears the mallets of the tent coolies as they 
 commence to loosen the pegs, &c., &c. Not 
 until the sharp air with the rising morn had 
 invaded my privacy, did I care to unwind my- 
 self from the blankets, and perform a toilet in 
 the open air. 
 
 It was great fun to see the number of assist- 
 ants at the toilet ; some of the head Sonthals 
 used to come round and struggle which should 
 
 * She now performs in Edmond’s show in England. 
 
Southalia and the Sonthals. I 6q 
 
 hold the glass ; another party would escort the 
 shaving brush, while a third would produce a 
 glass of water, and stand by with his thumb and 
 finger well inserted in the liquid in company 
 with the tooth brush. I once detected my friend 
 Seeboo dry polishing the soles of his feet with 
 Brown Windsor just before I was going to use 
 it. There was generally a dead silence during 
 the shaving operation, and that finished, the 
 Bearer used to press the younger ones to hunt 
 the fowls preparatory to putting them into their 
 baskets. By daybreak the tea was ready, 
 elephants and carts packed, and then onwards 
 for another camping place. 
 
 These cold weather tours were enjoyable 
 and with a friend of like habits and thoughts as 
 Nicholas Stewart for a companion, I have passed 
 many a happy day amidst scenery something 
 similar to that seen on the road between 
 Llanrwst and Capel Carrig, in Wales. I well 
 remember our ascent of Mawa Gurri, the highest 
 hill in the range, where we spent our Christmas. 
 
 As we ascended, the elephants had to put 
 their trunks round trees to keep themselves from 
 slipping, and a part of the journey was per- 
 formed on their knees. We had a party of hill 
 men supplied by Mr. Eaton, who had a coal mine 
 
 x 
 
■Soiithalia And the Sonthals. 
 
 I 70 
 
 near. These travelled before, armed with axes, 
 and cleared a way wide enough for the elephants, 
 whom we took to the summit. A beautiful 
 view appeared when we arrived there. About 
 1,800 feet below us lay a plain extending for 
 near one hundred miles, until it mingled with 
 and was lost in the horizon ; a small stream ran 
 through the centre, and lay glistening like a belt 
 of silver, as it meandered amongst the dark 
 patches of indigo, which the clusters of trees re- 
 sembled. The cultivated fields and their boun- 
 daries appeared like the different divisions on a 
 very irregular chess-board, while the small white- 
 washed cottages might have been mistaken for 
 toy houses, as they dotted the landscape, here 
 and there surrounded by their castor oil and 
 janeera gardens. Close to our feet flourished 
 the hill bamboo, the flowering mewa, large 
 creepers, and the sal, which mingled and mingled 
 until they were lost in luxurious confusion in 
 the khud below. Hardly a leaf stirred. All 
 nature seemed to be buried in one calm repose. 
 The heat haze was plainly distinguishable exud- 
 ing from the ground, while we, in comparative 
 coolness and shade, talked and surveyed the 
 scene below us with that dreamy satisfaction 
 which the . contemplation of anything calm 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. I y I 
 
 quiet, and beautiful generally conveys to the 
 mind. As the sun retired like some good god 
 in his glorious eastern majesty, offering in its 
 quiet grandeur such a contrast to the final 
 retiring of the man of the world after all his 
 striving and struggling, a regret stole over me 
 — a regret that any of the small evils and 
 annoyances of life should be allowed such power 
 over mortals, and that contentment should not 
 always be attained by the mere fact of striving 
 to do one’s duty ; while the old saying (true 
 in part) recurred to memory, that, after all, 
 “ Youth is but a blunder, manhood a struggle, old 
 age a regret.” Thus moralizing, we stayed until 
 the sun, which had been tipping the ranges with 
 gold and lake, and then with purple, had at last 
 marked out the outlines of some far off hills in 
 the Bhaugulpore district, distinct and clear on 
 the horizon, and then, refreshed with the scene, 
 we were turning towards our hut, where we were 
 to pass the night, when the very fact of turning 
 caused us to utter a howl, and drew our atten- 
 tion to our present mundane evils. We had 
 been reclining on the long grass which contained 
 a peculiar barbed head, about one-third of an 
 inch long, that insinuates itself into the clothes 
 of the sufferer, and causes a feeling only to be 
 
Sonthalia and the SontJuils. 
 
 I 72 
 
 compared to so many needles inserted in one’s 
 flesh. It was impossible to move, and there 
 being no other help for it ; as the Novelist 
 James would say: — 
 
 “ Two gentlemen, resembling highlanders, in 
 scanty white kilted costume might have been 
 seen, picking from some articles of male attire 
 hanging before them, on a branch, sundry barb- 
 ed points which had entered into their flesh. 
 This tedious operation completed, we cautiously 
 retreated to our camp. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Marked change with regard to the number of tigers in 
 Sonthal Pergunnahs — Tigers in garden of nightly 
 occurrence — Sheep taken — Tragic end of a car (man 
 ■ — Pursuit of tiger — Awful appearance of body — 
 Man eater — Nine persons taken — Buxoo's unfor- 
 tunate end — Daring chase by Native Jockey — Escape 
 of tiger — Retreat of elephants — Pluck displayed by 
 Mr. A. N. Stewart in shooting man eater from 
 horseback — Happy escape of little boy. 
 
 within the last few years a marked 
 change has come over the face of the Son- 
 thal country. Where rank jungle and fetid 
 swamps prevailed, once the homes of elephants, 
 rhinoceros, wild boars, and their compeers, now 
 stands many a thriving Sonthali village, buried 
 in the midst of its rice, sugarcane, and barley 
 fields, all in good cultivation, and attesting the 
 industry of the race. Formerly it was no 
 uncommon thing to be awoke by the sentry, 
 and on going out, to see, at the bottom of a 
 long walk in the garden at Pakour, a large tiger 
 crawling with his nose close to the ground. 
 
1 74 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 and with a peculiarly slouching gait, half trot 
 half walk. I never but once got a shot at one 
 when thus awoke, and as there was hardly 
 light sufficient to distinguish the brute, and I 
 half asleep, I discharged a couple of bullets into 
 the elephant sheds, where two elephants and 
 their drivers were sleeping. Luckily, besides 
 frightening them, no mischief was done. That 
 same tiger, however, not deterred by the warm 
 reception given him, leaped the enclosure of 
 the pound where the sheep were kept, and 
 walked off with a fine one. We traced his 
 marks on the wall the next morning, and found 
 some traces of the victim in the shape of his 
 wool, but nought else. It was my lot while 
 there to see the bodies of many persons slain 
 by wild animals, and whatever Cumming or any 
 other lion killer may remark as to the pleasant 
 feelings experienced by persons while in the 
 clutches of a wild beast, I can positively say 
 that, judging from the countenances of those 
 I have seen after death, one unvaried expres- 
 sion of deep anguish is expressed on their 
 faces. I recollect one instance where a cart- 
 man was loading some wood on his cart, while 
 his mate was fetching it, when a tiger sprung 
 out of a small patch of jungle near, and caught 
 
Sbnthalia and the Sonthals. I 7 5 
 
 him by the left arm and carried him off. Intel- 
 ligence was brought to me, and, of course, instant 
 search was made for the cartman, when he was 
 found about a mile from the spot quite dead, 
 with his arm wrenched from the socket, and 
 all the ligaments over the left ribs actually torn 
 away. The expression of agony on the man’s 
 face was deep and painful to witness, he had 
 his eyes shut and his face wrinkled all over — 
 every lineament expressing agony and horror. 
 He looked as if in that mile’s drag he must 
 have lived a lifetime of misery. It seemed to 
 me extraordinary that there was so little blood 
 from the wound. The tiger must have put one 
 paw on the side of his head by his ear, and one 
 on the poor wretch’s side, and then torn off the 
 arm with a wrench. It is now some time since 
 news was brought in that a man-eating tiger 
 had taken up his position near a village on a 
 raised mound covered with high grass, brier, 
 and jungle, and near a pond which contained 
 the only water drunk by the villagers, and that 
 every morning either a man, woman, or child 
 "was taken away. After he had massacred about 
 nine people, it suddenly struck the villagers that 
 he had better be killed, so they sent in word to 
 .Amicus of his doings and his whereabouts. 
 
I 7 6 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 Amicus, however, having been too often sold 
 by false news, deputed a Rajpoot chupprassie 
 to make sure of the truth of the report before 
 acting on it. 
 
 Buxoo accordingly, very valiant, marches 
 forth, and prepares to make a close inspection 
 of the brute’s lair. Early in the morning, alone 
 and armed with a lattie, he approaches the 
 cover side. The Fates had willed that he should 
 see the sun rise that morning for the last time ; 
 for he had hardly got to the place when, with a 
 roar, the tiger was on him, gave him one slap 
 on his shoulder with his paw, which broke his 
 arm and felled him to the ground. The brute 
 then leaped back into the jungle. Poor Buxoo, 
 in relating it before he died, said : — “ For some 
 time I lay stunned, but when I awoke to con- 
 sciousness, feeling my side cold and numb, I put 
 out my unwounded hand to pull my cloth 
 over me. I had hardly moved when the brute 
 tvas on me again, and having torn a large 
 piece off the inner part of my thigh, and 
 wounded me about the stomach and other parts, 
 he crouched near me.” By this time the 
 villagers had mustered with drums, &c., and 
 managed to drive him away — too late, however, 
 to save Buxoo’s life, who, despite all attention 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 1 77 
 
 paid to him, died from lockjaw that evening. 
 Vengeance was vowed against the tiger, and 
 Amicus on an elephant, accompanied by about 
 50 men and his native jockey, armed with a spear 
 and riding a first-rate pig sticker, proceeded to 
 call the destroyer to a reckoning. Amidst great 
 rejoicing and tumult the whole party arrived 
 on the spot, and presently a rustling of the 
 grass showed that the lair was not deserted. 
 Crack went Amicus’ rifle, the smoke from 
 which had not cleared away before the tiger 
 dashed through the bushes and made off across 
 country. To the horror of all present, the 
 native Jock, who had shown decided symptoms 
 of nervousness previously, now uttered an 
 unearthly yell, and with spear at the charge 
 cleared a stiff ditch with a mud wall on the 
 other side, and sticking spurs well in, gave chase 
 as hard as his horse could gallop. “ Mind my 
 
 horse, for G d’s sake,” was the immediate cry 
 
 of its owner ; but impervious tq abuse or ap- 
 peals of any kind, away rode the jockey with 
 the tiger well in view. It appears that feeling 
 he wanted a little extraneous courage, he had 
 plied himself well with ganja, and this was 
 the result of the action of the drug. I regret to 
 say that this man-eater’s career was not finished 
 
I 78 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 on that day, but he fell some time after to Mr. 
 A. N. Stewart’s unerring rifle. But as cultiva- 
 tion increases, so do tigers and leopards de- 
 crease, and in a short time their existence will 
 be a thing of the past. In places where, a few 
 years since, one might have seen four or five 
 tigers in a week, now a solitary one, driven by 
 hunger from the hills, is seldom to be met with. 
 Of all animals, a Royal Bengal is the most dan- 
 gerous to attempt to kill on foot. Even with a 
 steady hand and a sure eye, pluck and a good 
 gun, the odds are against the adventurous biped. 
 About three* months ago news was brought in 
 of a tiger having killed a buffalo near Jungipore, 
 just outside the Sonthal Pergunnahs. A party 
 at once started to bag him, and they found 
 the brute’s whereabouts in a grass jungle of 
 three or four feet high. This covered two or 
 three acres, but had a clear patch in the middle, 
 where stood a tree surrounded at the bottom 
 with a few creepers. Although the beaters 
 twice traversed the grass, yet no animal 
 appeared. A cowherd who was minding his 
 buffaloes drove them in a line also through 
 without any success. One of the beaters, 
 
 * These last chapters are extracts from letters. 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 179 
 
 however, seeing the creepers at the bottom of 
 the tree move, hit the place with a big stick. 
 Unluckily for him, he must have hit the tiger on 
 the head, for he immediately sprang out and 
 with one claw scalped him clean, the hair falling 
 over his face. Away went the buffaloes with 
 their tails in the air, bellowing furiously, and the 
 two elephants soon followed their example, one 
 choosing for his course a mango grove, the 
 boughs of which conveniently hung down, so as 
 to sweep everything off his back while he 
 ran under unscathed. Providentially, he got 
 through without damaging the sculls of either 
 the mahout or his rider, the latter of whom had 
 wisely slipped off the pad and was hanging by 
 the ropes behind, much as one used to see 
 carpet bags and baskets of fish swinging behind 
 the old stage coaches at home. When stopped, 
 it was found that no persuasion, forcible or mild, 
 would cause the elephant to return to the scene 
 of combat ; so Mr. A. N. Stewart, determining 
 to have the brute, mounted a South American 
 horse and, armed with a double breech-loader, 
 proceeded to the spot. After some trouble 
 his horse entered the grass, and before long 
 the usual symptoms of the enemy, in the shape 
 of a peculiar wavy motion of the top of the 
 
I So Sonthalia and the Sou t ha Is. 
 
 jungle, were apparent. My friend rode up to 
 within two yards of the place, and the tiger still 
 retreated, but at the edge of the grass, which 
 was higher just there, he disappeared. A shriek 
 and a yell from an unfortunate cowherd on the 
 Other side soon, however, gave notice of his where- 
 abouts. It took but a second to dash into the 
 open and to find another victim to the brute’s 
 claws lying on the ground, his back ripped up, 
 and the tiger just on the edge of the jungle. 
 But his career of butchery was brought to a 
 close by a ball from the breech-loader which hit 
 him just under the shoulder. He turned round 
 to the charge, hitting a little boy, the son of the 
 cowherd, a blow on the head with his paw, 
 which stunned him. Although desperately 
 wounded, the noble beast, disdaining the 
 youngster, dashed down towards Mr. Stewart, 
 who with unerring aim and steady nerve drop- 
 ped his rifle on his bridle arm and sent ball 
 No, 2 into the brute’s chest. This rendered him 
 hors-dc-coinbat. Both of the men attacked 
 died, and although the child lay senseless, he 
 had not a mark upon him, and soon came to 
 consciousness. For a long time after, it was 
 feared he would go out of his mind, as he 
 would often start up in his sleep, cry out 
 
Son 1 /tafia and the S on t ha/s. I 8 I 
 
 “ Tiger, Tiger,” and wander about in the most 
 insane manner, seeking rest, but finding none. 
 Time, however, brought strength and calm to 
 his shaken nerves, and the last time he showed 
 himself, all traces of his fright had left him. 
 He was but 12 years of age. In after days he 
 will probably look back on his little adventure 
 as some hideous nightmare. To his grand 
 children, should he live long enough to be blessed 
 or cursed with them, as the case may be, he 
 might describe the scene, but will perhaps have 
 to explain the form and nature of the fierce 
 brute that attacked him. For there is every 
 chance of tigers disappearing altogether from 
 his part of the country, and with them a good 
 deal of the excitement of shooting in the 
 vicinity. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Snakes and reptiles in the Pergunnah — One man saved 
 from bite of a Krite — A dive measures taken— Present 
 scarcity of game — Elephants and Rhinoceros— Son- 
 thals as Poachers — Their hunting parties — Signal 
 for hunting— Customs on the road — Fire effectually 
 used as a beater for game — Attempts to extinguish it 
 successful — Exaggeration — Farewell hunting party 
 — Conclusion. 
 
 Pergunnahs, and many of them are of a 
 deadly kind. They consist of the cobra, krite, 
 cheeti or spotted snake, demna (the cow-sucker), 
 and many others whose chief delight appears to 
 consist in getting into the thatch of old houses. 
 One of the bungalows at Godda went by the name 
 of “ Snake’s Castle,” from the number of those 
 reptiles found in it. I have never been able 
 to find that the natives know any antidote for 
 their bites, and consequently a large number of 
 deaths occur yearly. In one instance two men 
 and a boy were sleeping in a house in the 
 Pakour division, when a krite crawled under their 
 
 and scorpions abound all over the 
 
Sonthalia and the Sent hals. I S3 
 
 sleeping mat, and the next morning all three 
 were found dead. I have seen a man recover 
 from the bite of a krite, or whip-snake, in one 
 instance only, and he was working in my own 
 garden at the time. Hearing a shriek, I ran out 
 and found him bitten on the back of the hand 
 by a krite. Some of his companions were busily 
 employed in killing the reptile, while others 
 crowded around him, desiring to know his last 
 wishes, as they kindly informed all in his hearing 
 that a quarter of an hour was the longest time 
 he could possibly live. Luckily, when disturbed, 
 I had a razor in my hand and ran out with it. 
 
 Seeing the marks of the bite on his flesh, 
 I told him to turn his head away, and before 
 he could remonstrate, I cut out the whole 
 piece from his hand with a deep incision. I 
 then told my servant to heat a knife in the 
 charcoal fire, which was in the verandah, as I 
 was just going to breakfast, and after allowing 
 the wound to bleed freely for a little time, I 
 applied the knife almost red-hot to the incision. 
 This active treatment proved successful, and 
 only left the man with a bad hand to cure. 
 
 Tradition says that wild elephants and 
 rhinoceros were abundant some twenty years 
 ago ; now the latter are quite extinct, and of the 
 
I 8-J. Sonthalia and the Sontluils. 
 
 former but three specimens remain — the last 
 remnants of the many herds of days gone by. 
 One of these three is, by common report, a 
 magnificent animal. While riding through the 
 jungle at the beginning of this year, I came 
 across his tracks, and measured the size of their 
 marks in the mud with a pocket handkerchief. 
 The circumference of the print of one footstep 
 measured was over four and a half feet, which 
 would make him above nine feet high; for twice 
 round the foot is a sure standard of the height. 
 The neighbouring villagers informed me that 
 the three were inseparable, and had contracted 
 a liking for parched grain. They used, there- 
 fore, to enter a village at one end, which was the 
 signal for the inhabitants to vanish at the other, 
 and after inspecting the shops for any delicacies 
 that might tempt them, they would finish up by 
 pulling down a house or two for recreation, and 
 then quietly retire. These unwelcome visits 
 might generally be looked for twice a year, at 
 the spring and autumn seasons. 
 
 A few peacocks and numbers of deer still 
 offer inducements for shooting, but the inve- 
 terate non-preserving instinct of the Sonthal is 
 aiding to eliminate from the jungle the little 
 game left. These poachers — for I can hardly 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. I 8 5 
 
 term them anything else — collect in numbers, 
 averaging from two or three hundred to five 
 thousand, and armed with clubs, bows and 
 arrows, and spears, they form themselves into 
 two lines, and march for days through forest 
 and glen, over swamp and high land, killing 
 indiscriminately every bird, beast, and reptile 
 they may meet with. 
 
 Their mode of conveying intelligence of a 
 proposed gathering is by sending out a branch 
 of Rohur or Sal with a wisp of straw twisted 
 round it. This is carried from the village where 
 the project may have originated to the next, 
 and there put up (generally) near the Manjhee 
 Stan. On its being seen and the question 
 answered as to locality and time of assembly, 
 the branch is handed over to some able-bodied 
 youth of village No. 2, who rushes off with it 
 to the next village, and so on, until the news 
 and the signal has been passed to the whole 
 tribe with a marvellous rapidity. On the day 
 appointed, the villagers armed and carrying 
 dried rice or pulse as provision for four or five 
 days, with their heads decorated with feathers 
 and with their flutes stuck in their waistbands, 
 assemble at the place of “ rendezvous.” 
 
 The time on the road is generally beguiled 
 
 z 
 
I 8 6 Sotithalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 by playing practical jokes, or by a tune on 
 their flutes and a roll on the drums carried by 
 the village drummers. Thus, light-hearted and 
 merry, they often travel journies of one 
 hundred miles, stopping at night near some 
 convenient tank, or where a clump of trees 
 offers a grateful shelter. Then commences the 
 cooking for the evening meal, which generally 
 consists of rice and dhal seasoned by a few rats, 
 an old crow or two, and perhaps a fine snake 
 caught by the way. The Pergonites and heads 
 of the villages having the privilege of get- 
 ting drunk whenever they like, are generally 
 luxurious enough to bring beer bottles full 
 of country spirit with which they regale them- 
 selves, while the young men are preparing the 
 supper. Long into the night their laughter and 
 singing may be heard, until sleep gradually 
 gains its ascendency over the band of perhaps 
 4 or 500 men, who with the shelter of the 
 trees for a coverlet, and the ground for a bed, 
 sleep as sound as if they were on beds of 
 down. Some people say the more uncultiva- 
 ted the mind, the greater the sense of animal 
 enjoyment. The feeling of rude robust health 
 which their savage life gives them, must of 
 itself be a luxury ; not to mention the delight 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. I 8 7 
 
 of bein'? able to kick about their limbs in a hot 
 climate, with unclothed freedom and untram- 
 melled by the conventional armour of a Poole 
 or a Ranken. When a savage looks upon our 
 black chimney-pot hat he may well laugh, and, 
 if he thinks at all, reflect, that even savage life 
 has its delights which as a civilized man he 
 could never enjoy. 
 
 Black and brown partridges are still plenti- 
 ful in the uplands, and hares were numer- 
 ous near Godda. When I last stood, gun in 
 hand, at the cover side, I had an opportunity 
 of viewing the number of the latter there were ; 
 for after beating for a couple of hours and not 
 getting a shot, the thought struck me that the 
 most effectual and cheapest beater I could 
 employ would be fire. So getting a light, as 
 there was a strong favorable wind blowing, I 
 applied it to a long ridge of grass which, dry as 
 timber, ignited like so much gunpowder. Fanned 
 by the wind, it extended in a second into some 
 large brier trees well dried ; they soon shrivelled 
 and sent out such myriads of sparks, that very 
 soon the destructive element was extending its 
 ravages in every direction.* For a few seconds 
 
 * I misjudged the direction of the wind. 
 
I 88 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 I stood feeling as a very small boy might be 
 supposed to feel when he has set in motion 
 some huge engine which is beyond his power 
 to control. I must say I felt very small indeed 
 as I recollected the flames were speeding 
 towards my camp every minute, and threatened 
 a large village on the way. The Sonthals who 
 had been acting as beaters for me had squatted 
 in the shade to enjoy a hubble-bubble and talk 
 over the Sahib’s bad luck, but no sooner did 
 they hear the flames crackle, and saw them 
 mounting up and licking the tops of the brier 
 trees, than they gave a yell, and throwing off 
 all sloth and apathy, howled out that the jungle 
 was six koss in extent, holding in its centre 
 numerous villages, and, worst of all, their own 
 houses were not far off, with the wind blowing 
 the flames straight for them. This was a lively 
 situation for the unwitting causer of the mischief. 
 It seemed hopeless to attempt extinguishing the 
 evil, and the heat was so great that it made the 
 very leaves under our feet curl up and smoulder. 
 We had not any time to lose, for the long dry 
 grass was burning all around us, and as it com- 
 posed the lower part of the jungle, while the 
 upper part consisted of brier trees, thorns, and 
 bushes, averaging from 8 to io feet in height, 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. I 89 
 
 well prepared by an April’s sun for fire, there 
 was a probability of our all being well baked 
 before we could get into the open. We ran as 
 hard as we could. The man carrying the pow- 
 der begged to be allowed to throw it away, and 
 kept unpleasantly close to me ; but heeding 
 nothing, we dashed down a narrow track until 
 we got into a comparatively cleared space, free 
 from trees, and held there a council. An old 
 Pergonite, who was luckily in the way to join 
 us, came up with some of his young Sonthal 
 villagers, and, knowing the country well, in- 
 formed me that unless the fire was extinguished 
 one thousand houses would be in ashes, one thou- 
 sand women and children burnt, and an unheard 
 of number ruined; but, said the old man, we can 
 put it out — here he stopped. I caught him by 
 the shoulders and shook out of him that some 
 distance ahead of the fire there was a space 
 without trees and only covered with long grass, 
 and if we could get there with his “ Jawans,” we 
 might form a line and beat it down, and thus 
 arrest the flames. The words were hardly out 
 of his mouth, when I seized him by the top-knot 
 (answering to the eccentric knob of hair ladies 
 carry at the back of their heads), and although 
 he was about the size of a hogshead, and had 
 
I C)0 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 long given up violent exercise, yet, by dint of 
 my dragging, and a Sonthal pushing behind, 
 whose house was near, judging from his zeal, 
 we got him into a shambling trot. He started 
 with a roll like a Dutch galliot in a gale, but 
 when-he had once got his steam up he seemed 
 to gain impetus by his weight, and we soon 
 reached the desired spot. The old gentleman, 
 however, dropped down immediately, exhausted 
 and quite horror-struck at the undignified man- 
 ner with which he had been treated. Unfortu- 
 nately, instead of giving sage counsel as to how 
 the fire might be extinguished, he sat with his 
 mouth at its widest stretch, and merely mum- 
 bled some unintelligible ejaculations. How- 
 ever, a shrewd son of his, who had bounded 
 along without any effort, and without so much 
 as starting a single bead of perspiration on his 
 polished black skin, suggested that some large 
 leaves of Sakwa should be cut down, and 
 as the fire approached the grass, we should 
 beat it out. As a Sonthal is seldom without 
 his hanger, in a few seconds every man was 
 armed with a branch, and we stood in line to 
 receive and beat back the enemy, who w r as 
 crackling and roaring away like an infuriated 
 demon with a dark canopy of smoke over 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. I C) I 
 
 head. It seemed to find some difficulty in pass- 
 ing a long line of green hill bamboos that 
 providentially intervened. This gave the men 
 leisure, by walking close together, to trample 
 the grass well down, on the edge of the thicker 
 jungle. About 300 Sonthals had assembled and 
 extended in an unbroken line, each armed with 
 a green-leaved bough. Unlike other natives, 
 they never uttered a cry, but, expectant, stood 
 still with their eyes directed on the flames, 
 which soon licked up the dry brier trees, and 
 drove the whole line back, the heat being un- 
 supportable. We then derived benefit from 
 having trodden down the grass as it slackened 
 the fury of the fire, and enabled us to sweep 
 over it our green boughs as we gradually 
 retreated. What with the smoke, dirt, and fire, 
 we must have looked like so many demons 
 engaged in playing a peculiar kind of Hockey. 
 While thus employed, I heard a shout, and 
 found that some daring salamanders had got in 
 behind the line of fire after it had left the 
 higher jungle, and were sweeping and beating 
 away in grand style ; this gave the coup de grace. 
 Swept and beaten down on both sides, the 
 flames were at last smothered before they got 
 hold of the higher brier, which again rose 
 
I CJ2 So'nthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 behind us, and after half an hour’s hard beating 
 in front, we were enabled to confine our attacks 
 to the sides, where we soon had the pleasure 
 of pounding out the last spark. I can attest 
 to the efficacy of fire as a beater for turning 
 out game, for when we were ahead of it, large 
 numbers of partridges, two or three peacocks, 
 and innumerable hares passed us as they retreat- 
 ed before the flames. A few of the hares were 
 knocked on the head, but not one fell to my 
 gun, as my ammunition man, thinking a close 
 proximity to the devouring element unpleasant, 
 under the circumstances, had relieved me of my 
 weapon and disappeared. The Thermometer 
 was 98° in the tent on my return, but that was 
 quite cool to the heat in the jungle. Bathed 
 in perspiration and covered with dust and 
 smoke — Oh! the delight of a plunge into a 
 cold-bath, followed by a cup of cold tea and a 
 pipe. I observed that for some time afterwards 
 there was considerable caution shown by all the 
 camp people with regard to bringing a pipe light, 
 and a general fear of the element shown by all. 
 It is the custom to burn the jungles yearly in 
 April and May, for by so doing the young 
 grass grows the stronger for cattle grazing, but 
 my mistake consisted in not carefully noting 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. I 93 
 
 the direction of the wind before I ignited the 
 herbage. The statements made by the Manjees 
 regarding the extent and population involved 
 in the probable catastrophe, were much exag- 
 gerated, as there were cleared spaces every 
 two or three miles, sufficiently wide to have 
 stopped the flames, and but very few villages 
 in the vicinity. 
 
 When I made known to old Seeboo and 
 several Manjees my intention of leaving the 
 Sonthal Pergunnahs, the former, mindful of the 
 walks he and I had performed together, and of 
 the many “ pegs” he had imbibed at my expense, 
 proposed a hunting party on a large scale as a 
 farewell gathering. To this I gladly assented, at 
 the same time taking the opportunity of asking 
 two or three friends to join. But to my surprise 
 I found, in a couple of instances, a decided back- 
 wardness in accepting my invitation from men 
 who were both tried and good sportsmen. It 
 appears that so vigorous and active had been 
 Seeboo’s issue of the sal branch, that it had 
 travelled from Peallapore to Raneegunge (about 
 one hundred and ninety miles) in an incredible 
 short time, and a rumour had spread that 20,000 
 men would be the number collected. This 
 would have been as fine a body of beaters 
 
 A I 
 
194 Sonthalia and the Sonthals. 
 
 as one could wish, but my friends having a lively 
 reminiscence of the Sonthal rebellion, rather 
 mistrusted their own safety amidst such a large 
 body of Sonthals, and excused themselves, 
 advising me to be on a good horse and outside 
 the force. As even ten thousand would have 
 been unmanageable, I informed the Com- 
 missioner, Mr. Money, who at once let me 
 know 'that five thousand would be quite 
 sufficient for the purpose. So my leisure 
 hours were employed in sending out orders 
 to stop their advent, and I am glad to 
 say that , on the day appointed not more 
 than three thousand made their appearance. 
 Six deer, forty hares, and a large number of 
 partridges and peacocks, with sundry poor doves, 
 formed the first day’s bag. The sun was sd 
 overpoweringly hot, and the jungle so unhealthy, 
 that I was compelled to give in and let them 
 follow their forty miles beat by themselves. It 
 was impossible to carry tents, and bivouacing 
 under trees or small shrubs in a malarious dis- 
 trict, with the Thermometer at I io° in the shade', 
 caused the difficulty and danger of the shooting 
 to counterbalance the pleasure to be obtained. 
 
 Looking over my rough notes, I find records 
 of the keeping of Chinese pigs in India, accounts 
 
Sonthalia and the Sonthals. I 9 5 
 
 of many an unsuccessful day after tigers and 
 deer, prescriptions for ague, notes of cases, 
 with here and there a memo, of some very plea- 
 sant days while out in camp during the cold 
 weather, but no more concerning the Sonthalian 
 tribe, and therefore, Reader, to tire your patience 
 no longer, I conclude, with the hope that 
 the Government may never be cursed with an 
 adviser who may recommend the absorption into 
 the Regulation system of a tribe so capable and 
 desirous of improvement, for, writing as regards 
 this tribe alone, I fear such an absorption may 
 prove a “ tragic” mistake. 
 
 As my pen creeps to the finish, the unwil- 
 ling hand guides it slowly, for Memory is pour- 
 ing into the storehouse of the brain the recollec- 
 tions of all that was good in the Tribe and its 
 Rulers. The harsher tints are already mellowed 
 by the hand of Time. The imperfections are 
 toned down. The good stands out in a stronger 
 light. Sonthalia ! in wishing thee and all thy 
 belongings prosperity, I ako indite a Farewell! 
 
 FINIS. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 SONTHAL SONGS* 
 
 1st SONG. 
 
 1. Burure richido dayagi rah eday. 
 
 2. Ayogo tala guindare Bum chetan chotante. 
 
 3. Pinchar maradoh harah latar latarte. 
 
 4. Sikiyam Balia Bareng rohor darere. 
 
 5. Mirudo hopon akatkoe. 
 
 6. Heyo liting me kaki Ba Budo lieyo liting kaki se- 
 
 tahre simdoh rah ledai. 
 
 7. Bargi pothamdo tuh kahkan. 
 
 8. Nayogo dela gnel jong. 
 
 9. Burn lodam lodamte juri tiriyo. 
 
 10. Harah latar latarte dundha sadekan. 
 
 11. Setai doko mena achil pochil gnelketodo- dai jange 
 
 jhanti dai. 
 
 12. Lippi kumbah muthul duar. 
 
 *> CJT^I 
 
 •> fafkTl ; 
 
 * These translations are by the Bev. F. Lehman, to whom I am 
 indebted for them. 
 
2 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 V9 cm Tfat: ^TtKo ; 
 
 8 ftrjwfa ns* ; 
 
 & fmptm c^tc*tt* » 
 
 ** extort g i ^tf?F Tf^pfl octan fs=rt%^ 
 
 CTTot: a fa^TTFl ^f: C^fTftF ; 
 
 *} TtTft C^t^rsion ^t: ; 
 
 \t TOTtetl CTreTl c-ipeT^?. ; 
 
 a f& csrtFfa certTfNc^ f^ftarl ; 
 
 ^irt: ^Tf'FtW *Tt^5t?J^ SWl ; 
 
 ’i'i carats cxtrm ^rlf^ *rrf&*r c^m- 
 c^fiotcFi Tfhsr srftm 4Tfe 
 
 2nd song. 
 
 1. Dosb manse kukhimay rakalom Baro manse danda- 
 
 may rakalom ebekaise rackabo madbiya, duyar rabi 
 lagigelare tbesb, dosh manse kukbimay rakba- 
 lom Baro manse danda, may rakbalom ebekaise 
 rakabo madhiya yayokera mayakoise cbbora Bore ; 
 
 2. Utbo dbanicbala dbanige yutb dbanicbala dbani 
 
 gborge, cbala dbani yutbi cbali jay, tilayaka tandi 
 purbbu gbora Jbini laga, yayokera mayakoise 
 cbbora Bore ; 
 
 3. Baba bipaoyalang mutba Bbari taka oyajo Bbayabi 
 
 paoyalang surusingya Barada, mayabin paoyalang 
 kancbura kapra jore ; 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 3 
 
 4. Mutha bhari taka paoya yudali jay gel snrasingya 
 Barada gada sbote jay gelo, kancbura kaprajo 
 cbhitali jai gelo, matba Bhari sindura jo jonome 
 jonome dagbbel. 
 
 C¥t¥? I 
 
 *> ¥lr*r <^fPt¥ sMptK- ¥fc?i1 
 
 \5t«t¥t¥ <rt^tc*Tt¥, 4 c¥^ilr¥, ¥Nft¥| 
 
 srtfan, s¥t¥ *rrfrr c^urs d*r. 
 
 Tf*r ftp! <rWt*rf¥, ¥t¥ vst- 
 
 ^t¥t¥ vg sWtrfoT- 
 
 fa¥l, ¥tnrtt<F?rl, ^Tfaor. 
 
 ¥tf¥¥t«ri srrftt*r, srrfsr 
 W*T Ft«Tl Sfffsr FKi, # 5ff^T5?r^- 
 f^M^I iftfs *T» c^t^Fl f^fsr ?rN1 ¥t- 
 C¥t<^¥l ¥t¥l ^7f ^Ft^. 
 
 vs f?t*rt3¥Mk pi «tf?r few 'Q ¥tnr] 
 
 *5t¥tfc 4|3 3¥t*TK, f¥WI ¥t¥|?1 
 ¥f¥Tft *irS¥T?rK W*tTl 
 
 8 ^Vt '»tf¥ feW *ftQ¥l ^Jrtfsr 3rt¥ C^T, pp 
 f¥^1 ¥t¥lTl «Ttv5l *fc5 3?t¥ C^T ; 
 
 ¥Pp1 ^MTl CW1 f^fetfsT "Srt¥ C*|*T, ¥t¥l 
 ^tf¥ cFfi wrtwtFi c^?tc¥t^ Tft?r 
 
 C5*T. 
 
4 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 3ed— MARRIAGE SONG. 
 
 1 . Baring telco disomdo seyalom dali ho seyalom dah ; 
 
 2. Najing telco disomdo nagi gando dahhon nagi gando 
 
 dah ; 
 
 3. Kochare lcoerado lewer kodor kaerado, lewer kodor 
 
 kaerado 
 
 4. Bargere matkomdo lokom duri matkomdo lokom duri 
 
 matkom 
 
 5. Puthi hako guelte sasanging lalakana sisingye tor 
 
 lcedingyai 
 
 6. Naki kohme maina rotkohme koyalire mai toya Baha 
 
 mai rehetcliongme. 
 
 7. Juri juri day suri surjom kandir akando, dai kandir 
 
 akando. 
 
 8. Nit mana mit lchala tikinma Bar khala gupi aing 
 
 Baing siyo : a 
 
 9. Kasi tandi tiriyoing poyora, Baing poyora. 
 
 V9 CTOf* I 
 
 f^rMnrl Tft: c^i 
 
 CTHtCsTtN ?f:, 
 
 ^ Tfffr tffrel Tt: CTl 
 
 ntfa Mirerl ift: ; 
 
 V3 CTfl ^431 CTfl 
 
 ^Tf? ^T4<r|. 
 
 CTfl lf?l *teC*t* 
 
 Oft ^f?f ; 
 
 8 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 a M>rre 
 
 fafwi ; 
 
 & *tfa c*r *r£sri 3\5Wfc* c^Mf%c?r 
 Cvotirl ^trl ^ C<1C^ CSTft CH. 
 
 ^ ^f<r ^ffr ?t^ ^fa *rrcsn*r *tfo? 
 
 Ctrl Tfr^ Wtot* Ctrl. 
 
 V f5T5 *K| 1%f^ *ri ^rt*Ti 3f*r 
 
 ^Tt^, f*Ot: *n. 
 
 j» fttfg fsfanrf^, cartel 
 
 4th SONG. 
 
 1. Kutumeto ailebaba kutume aile baisal agu agu maclii 
 
 pirba dehore tahin picbnu guti jol liuka auore puta 
 cbilim anore huka tamakur borore beohar kbauya 
 piya solore sonjog. 
 
 2. Purub so poscbim so ayela jugiya baisebo jugiya 
 
 dhoromo duyariyabo dborome duyariya kina kina 
 lebe puta kina kina lebe kina kina lebe puta kina 
 kina lebe jugike debo j-eho aruwa chaula jugeke 
 debo yebo kacba duta nahami lebogo baba yeho 
 yarwa chaula nahami lebogo baba yebo kacba duda 
 hamiyayo lebogo baba saunwa sinir bitiya ho saun- 
 wa sinir bitiya. 
 
 3. Sikirike sikiri sone kiri sikiri banarsige banarsige 
 
 go baba rupa kiri banarsi tire juge lagi baba sone 
 kiri sikiri tire juge lagi baba rupe kiri Banarsi 
 kata lomachhindalom go baba sone kiri sikiri 
 
G 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 kataloma chliira lom go baba rupe kiri banar ko- 
 nabin cboralang sonakiri sikiri konabin siri jalang 
 rupe kiri banarsi ishorabin siri jalang hon sone 
 kiri sikeri isborabin joralang rupe kiri banarsi 
 rupe kiri banarsi. 
 
 8 c*rc?Ki 
 
 f 1 <rtn 
 
 ^rt« wts stffa vtfi 
 
 fafare 
 
 CrTCTtC^ C<T3^fa *ft3¥l 
 
 fafa 
 
 ^ *fa<r c*rl *rfa^ c*n wftwl i%m ^t^JT 
 ctI ^rai $*tf?rcr| <^i '<?rsi ifa- 
 f?fa fa «r| fa C«=TC^: fa ^rf% 
 
 ^1 Cr[Z7V. fa fa fa sr| 
 
 fa sri cwwl c^i ^rfa'sn 
 
 ^fa*ri GFOTl OTC^l *FtFl WRt- 
 
 ^rfa ^n^3ui ^r- 
 
 ^«rt ^fatfa c?tl <rfa] wc^t <Fte1 
 
 wl ^Tfasfa C*t| Tfal ^t3*1 fa- 
 
 fa^ fatifai c^i ^t3*l fafar farf^sn, 
 
 V5 fafafai^ fafafa OTtoT fafa faffafa Tf- 
 ^fafafat^r c-sri Tfal <Ft^ fafa 
 ^fatrfafat* i*rtfa ^fal c^rtc^ fafa 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 7 
 
 fafrfjfsnr ^ faflr 
 
 ^1 OTfal f^«1 (&u C5fl Tfal 
 cxz* f^f?r fafafs ^tfcl c^rfai c*ri Tfrl 
 <p:*f fata afata caWf^ vfPrtK cmt* 
 Ma f*rfaf^ c^t^tff f^rfw art^rt* 
 
 Ma aW^fa t^rft fafa ^t«=rK c$\ 
 c*rfta fafa ^?t 1 r csft^t^rK 
 aw fata atat^fa aw frfa 
 
 5th song. 
 
 1. U1 dare tale dare roboiben jabaring roboiben Bandb- 
 
 ben pukhriben guitumbea jabaring gniutben 
 
 2. Pukliri pindere kadam darire sasang cbenne do dalabi 
 
 latarere Edel darire bende pijo do ; 
 
 3. Buru cbetan tirom tbelka latar lipido anjom mese 
 
 bilibo manjam akan birdo dayagi ragai 
 
 4. Sing Bongaraj do bejubte senobte cbiya lidingjai 
 
 pandara rajdo sindur sarire atang letingjai. 
 
 5. Gada are arete rote barudung duludung bai gue guela 
 
 nai are arete icba baku cbauriya bakdo bai gue- 
 guela. 
 
 e i 
 
 •> ^rctca ^tc*rctta catca^caa arfatfa* 
 catt^foaa. 
 
8 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 *ttf* IHwrc* >rfrK ctracrl, 
 
 TfMtf^ *rtett?rar 4zw*{ ¥tfe c?z% fa- 
 
 <aton* 
 
 « p? c^sfsr fet*r cfc$1 s*rt>5t?r f^*f)r?1, 
 «rrcg?farc*r wfat* fk/i 
 
 Trt^tf^T ?t*rt*. 
 
 8 fW<TW TTl^Ctfl C^rs C^te f&Ti 
 
 *rtet<rl ?rtwc?i ftpr ^rtfora csT- 
 frot*. 
 
 a fftsi ^rtr^ ^rk^c^ c^'kt* ^t^5K , 'S®r'5X 
 <Tft C^-C^Stf, 
 
 srft wtrs <5rtc5t5 ^tt^f^rl *t- 
 
 Tft C^-C^cT-J, 
 
 6th SONG. 
 
 Lamentation foe the Death of a Child. 
 
 1. Jare jave dullarya tingdo, avdo okare tahenkan 
 
 tingia ? 
 
 2. Ingdo men keda bugegi menai tinya. 
 
 8. Haire haire dhon tingdo okarbo. 
 
 4. Tin dine jom leda ! 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 9 
 
 5. Jare jare dullarya tingdo okakoreye suroli baraikan 
 tingya 
 
 C. Ingdo menkedaing jahan lekateye beret ketingya. 
 
 to l 
 
 5?. l cw c^w l wfa cswbr 1 w|- 
 o ^isnr Tfats k * fW?1 tI. 
 
 8 f^r ftfc*r c^ft^r fan. 
 a vtta *rtnr iwtfsn t%«nFl 
 ^t\5fa ^IST IWi- 
 
 to ^°nfl cwwt^ 0 c^t^snr 
 
 7th SONG. 
 
 On a husband. 
 
 1. Jare, jare, jare! tingdo goib endom jare jonomer para 
 
 jurim Bagiya dingdo 
 
 2. Haire, baire, haire ! juri tingdo okabarn join let sukb 
 
 baba lekam kek lenam bar sing gan lagitge 
 
 3. Haire, baire, bare ! juri tingdo oka konrre babaing 
 
 danra lering oka dhartire babing senlenre jurireya 
 rupdo going gnel guamtaya. 
 
 4. Haire, haire, baire ! juri tingdo okare baba jurireya 
 
 rup dooing gnel gnam tay r a. 
 
10 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 5. Bir Sahan ato sengelge nuya hormo doi metau kot 
 
 tamdo 
 
 6. Haire, haire, haire ! bar sing lagitge nuya dbartire 
 
 juri arsi leka hormo dom agu let tamdo. 
 
 7. Jare, jare, jare ! kopal bbangare ! 
 
 8. Haire, haire, haire ! hiyatingdo ! 
 
 0. Tala tandire jurim bagiyadingdo 
 
 10. Jare, jare, jare ! kupal bhangare ! 
 
 11. Haire, haire, haire ! hiyatingre oting oyanglerekon 
 
 oth onh ketehgeya. 
 
 12. Sermaing koyok lerehon sermahon chotge 
 
 13. Jare, jare, jare okahon Bangem Budh Bhorsa oto 
 
 atingya okahon bain hudh adingya 
 
 14. Jare chekate jiwidoing tina ckekating rareh tingya 
 
 0 CWK I 
 
 3?tc?r 
 
 Tsruzm <rff*nri fcf^c^n. 
 
 ^ ^ fs^c*n w 
 
 55 ^ Tt?r 
 
 c=T|f^ £5f. 
 
 vs ^ fswl wi c*t- 
 
 ot frt'sl csrfsr* 
 
 *tfa* «ttt® 
 
 8 f%w v^tnr ^t<n 
 
 ^ftrarcrj cw w voftri. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 21 
 
 a fa?r TOt* =pi ^s.wi 
 
 of& c^s vot* c?i. 
 
 & 3.t^c?t ^t?r fwtfte os r 
 
 ntfecs ^f?r 'srrf^fbr^i c?r wt- 
 
 wre ^T* uri- 
 
 ^i ^tRT WtCI STTEa C^t*t|3T vst^tc*. 
 v trttnr ?jtz<\ tzn Uj\ l%<m 
 ?> t>T 3T1 fctfws $|f?rc Ttf^nri fw^r*rt- 
 'io wtc$ ^rfra c^ft^r tatofts. 
 
 ‘i'i ^t?T \f$Z<l f^Tl 1W<J ZfcK 3U:^ 
 
 c?r^r^i <5r<CTi c?rci»:«Rr|. 
 
 ^ OT ^ C^Tmr.t^Rl OTTC^I sk^r. 
 
 "iV5 3fft?t «Tfc?T VfcSf WfcTl ^t“W vSlRl 
 'SCSI Wtfel Tfa X s * SrtftfSH . 
 
 *»8 srttw 1%*i 
 
 TttUS- f&f\. 
 
 DANCING SONG.— No 1. 
 
 1. Engaing banuh ane, apuinghon bamili ane, jankari 
 
 darere tol, gojuk ! 
 
 2. Luti terom rasate gnui jiwedoh 
 
 3. Eaebalang losot ena, patelangdo dalalii cliiti telaiig 
 
12 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 \ 
 
 4. Batelangdo losot ena, ckiti delang tundang ! 
 
 5. Ina mina lar nari Bandu naki ina telang tundang. 
 
 4C3tWt° CTO 0 1 
 
 wt^*. ctI 
 
 Tft uu ^ c^. 
 
 5, ^rfs c^at* < 11 * 1 ^ <*>* f^nr cfI. 
 
 < 4s 
 
 O StFfal 0 ^{tfcrtW ?Wftf fi>- 
 
 1%^eTto 
 
 8 *tt^T° Ctrl s=r*^*1 ctr*rt° 
 
 G 1*1 f**1 *lt? *tf^ k*} fs|*1 *1^ *tf* t*1 
 c^rT° 
 
 DANCING SONG.— No. 2. 
 
 1. Jaipur nangarho jathe sut daklio kiring lang chil- 
 
 land relang tikeyalang 
 
 2. Daliu jomgela dahu sebel geya daku ! 
 
 3, ^C^CWt 0 C*C?° I 
 
 * ^Z r < tft; C%\ f%f^° 
 
 ^t° fVwf 0 CfteTl 0 t%OTt*Tt° 
 
 ^ ^ ^ c*c^?r c*nri st^;. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 13 
 
 Extracts from Revd. J. Phillips’ Sonthal Grammar. 
 
 “ What however appears singular in the Sonthal is, the 
 word itself is often entirely changed in the vocative case : 
 thus, my father, is used when speaking of, but 
 
 never in addressing, one’s father ; in the latter case, f, 
 or C^l, or 4 would be used. So also, instead 
 
 of my mother, ^5[ HO, or 0 mo- 
 
 thcr, is used. The same also 
 
 of other 
 
 words.” 
 
 1 
 
 fa*, 
 
 7 
 
 
 2 
 
 Ttorarl, 
 
 8 
 
 
 3 
 
 C«f5Tl, 
 
 9 
 
 
 4 
 
 C^tfarsrl, 
 
 10 
 
 c*r*r, 
 
 5 
 
 
 20 
 
 fas 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 Extracts from Oxford Essays, Max Muller, §c. 
 
 
 Sanskrit. 
 
 Zend. 
 
 Greek. 
 
 Latin. 
 
 Father : 
 Mother : 
 
 pitar 
 
 matar 
 
 patar 
 
 matar 
 
 narrjp 
 
 gurrip 
 
 (ppUTtjp 
 
 pater 
 
 mater 
 
 Brother : 
 
 bhratar 
 
 brata 
 
 frater 
 
 Sister : 
 
 svasar 
 
 kanha 
 
 soror 
 
 Daughter : 
 
 duhita 
 
 daghdhar 
 
 dvvuTrjp 
 
 ... 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 14 
 
 
 SONTHALI. 
 
 Gothic. 
 
 Slav. 
 
 Irish. 
 
 Father : 
 
 apat or baba 
 
 fadar 
 
 
 at hair 
 
 Mother : 
 
 engat 
 
 
 mati 
 
 mathair 
 
 Brother : 
 
 boiha 
 
 bropar 
 
 brat 
 
 brathair 
 
 Sister : 
 
 misera 
 
 svistar 
 
 sestra 
 
 siur 
 
 Daughter : 
 
 hoponera 
 
 dauhtar (Lith.) dukte. 
 
 dear 
 
 
 Sans. 
 
 Zend. 
 
 Doric. 
 
 Gothic. 
 
 , Armen. 
 
 SONTHALI. 
 
 I am 
 
 asmi 
 
 ahmi 
 
 ifi/i i 
 
 im 
 
 em 
 
 menaing or ga« 
 naing 
 
 Thou art 
 
 asi 
 
 ahi 
 
 E(T(Tl 
 
 is 
 
 es 
 
 menama 
 
 He is 
 
 asti 
 
 asti 
 
 E<TTL 
 
 ist 
 
 e 
 
 menaia 
 
 W e are 
 
 *smas 
 
 hmahi 
 
 ECT/AEQ 
 
 8ijum 
 
 eneq 
 
 menale 
 
 You are 
 
 stha 
 
 stha 
 
 EGTE 
 
 sijun 
 
 ug 
 
 menapea 
 
 They are 
 
 santi 
 
 ueuti 
 
 EVTl 
 
 sind 
 
 en 
 
 menakoa 
 
A list of words and phrases to le noted and used as test words for the discover// of 
 the radical affinities of languages, and for easg comparison. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 15 
 
 U1 © 
 
 o 
 
 O 
 
 e 
 
 $ 
 
 (^8 » 
 s Sn 
 
 e e s 
 
 P5 
 
 < 
 
 O 
 
 d 
 
 H 
 
 ►J 
 
 a 
 
 "h 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 s* 
 
 ►J 
 
 Q 
 
 £ 
 
 m 
 
 a 
 
 Ph 
 
 a 
 
 § 
 
 a 
 
 £ 
 
 a 
 
 <1 
 
 i— i 
 I— I 
 
 EH 
 
 £ 
 
 O 
 
 02 
 
 O 
 
 c 3 
 
 W 
 
 3 
 
 o 
 
 ^5 
 
 c 
 
 o 
 
 Ph 
 
 sc sp 
 S 3 
 
 !|?3 
 
 c2 =2 
 
 o S> 
 tn m 
 
 3 3 
 
 g 3 
 
 r° 3 
 
 a 
 
 o 
 
 3 • a 
 5 s S 
 
 X *5 V 
 
 «5 a 
 m 
 
 a 
 
 O 
 
 a 
 
 ◄ 
 
 p 
 
 a 
 
 Ph 
 
 Q 53 v 5 
 
 a 
 
 ■<1 
 
 P 
 
 £ ; 
 
 
Thou, am. Of thee, amreya . Thine, tama. 
 
 amren. 
 
 16 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 
 ►J . 
 
 
 
 
 « 
 
 -*J 3 
 
 
 ►4 ^ 
 
 -« §s 
 
 *r, ~ 
 
 « ^ 
 
 
 •< .§ 
 
 ps o* 
 
 & k> 
 
 C| 
 
 tT 
 
 2 
 
 o 
 
 g S, 
 
 Ph 5 
 
 « 
 
 I s 
 
 NO 
 
 «T 
 
 w 
 
 Q s 
 
 ‘3 
 
 _a 
 
 H 
 
 t> ^ 
 
 i-3 « 
 
 Ph~ 
 
 CO 
 
 O 
 
 5 
 
 CO p 
 
 bp ^ 
 
 *5 sc 
 
 Qj* <15 
 5k k 
 
 R R 
 
 k) 
 
 hC *C> 
 
 J>5 
 
 Cl_, 
 
 o 
 
 $ . 
 
 $>V § 
 
 §■& 
 
 S 
 
 13 
 
 b-i 
 
 o 
 
 <5 §i 
 
 >5 S» 
 
 • S? § 
 
 ij 5J ■ j* 
 
 -H ^ 
 &>Si S 
 Q8S 
 
 ** 
 
 R e 
 «S Sss . 
 . § 
 ^ 
 
 ^ k O k 
 « 6 ^ o 
 Lj ^ R **£ 
 
 ^ R R g 
 
 $2 '•R $ 
 
 
 Si 
 
 hi 
 
 i r 
 
 cs 
 
 o 
 
 r* 
 
 t-3 
 
 ◄ 
 
 PS «• 
 
 § & 
 
 Ph e 
 
 rt-S 
 ■< <*£ 
 U a 
 
 C * 
 
 o 
 
 n3 
 
 H 
 
 ►J s 
 
 - Ph 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 17 
 
good woman, huge aimai. Good women, huge aimailco. 
 
 bad boy, bari kora. A bad girl, bari kuri. 
 
(food, huge. Better, ana Ichon huge. Best, adi huge. 
 
 Hi«li, usul. Higher, ana lclion usul. Highest, adi usul. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 o Z S. s 
 
 -a. S 3 O o 
 
 -2 s -“ si £ • 
 
 » SJ J - § -IS 
 
 Cc X ‘^S 
 
 £ ^ <D ~ 
 
 «T cj x rC vT 
 
 fee % £ a o> 
 
 G* C ^ O O) 
 
 5 h3 o 
 
 £ « s 
 
 ^ s-* 
 
 3 ft 3 
 
 c3 
 
 >» 
 
 5? 
 
 H 
 
 s « 
 
 I ft 
 
 a ~ 
 
 Si 12 
 
 • I ^ 
 
 « *• e • 
 
 Oj ^ I 
 
 e ^ 
 
 *5 . 
 
 a" » 
 
 a a 
 o a 
 
 -~ s - 5> 
 
 g,* S’* S § 
 
 bp „ af '« 
 
 N.S g is 
 
 ZJ r-G X q 
 
 <t) <j << ^ W P5 
 
 M 
 
 H 
 
 ci 
 
 3 
 
 o 
 
 >-« 
 
 I* 
 
 
 ^3 
 
 H 
 
 
 ◄ ' 
 
 Q 
 
 3 
 
 O 
 
 JS 
 
 £ ^ 5 : 
 
 § e-§ 
 
 :■§ 
 
 if* o _ e 
 
 s a 5 b $5 I 1 
 
 5 S *cS -+**Z £ 
 
 r ’8*g’ 3 - 
 
 ; -« ? C J2 2 
 
 3 3 o° i 3 3 
 
 : n 21 2 a 
 
 << <J << <J <J ■< t-i 
 
 ft _- 
 
 “ 2 
 
 U “ 
 ft a® 
 
Plural. Plural. 
 
 ale taken Icanale. ape taken Icanape. 
 
 abo taken Tcanabo. 
 
 20 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 
 © ©s' - ^ 
 
 ^ .§ ©.£ 
 
 ,© ^ 
 
 ©i ; 
 © 
 
 © © © © 
 ^.r<S ~© ^© 
 
 •« ©* £ 
 ^ "<Z ^o 
 
 o o' ci 
 £ ^ 
 
 be: 
 
 bD 
 
 >£> 
 C 3 X. 
 
 *-S 
 
 ◄ <C 
 & © 
 
 *3 § © 
 *5 ^ ^ ■ 
 
 © 
 
 rQ 
 
 o 
 
 w 
 
 h 3 . 
 
 ◄ © 
 
 C 3 r^i © _r 
 
 ©■r»^ 
 
 ■*© P-t c :3 o 
 
 < 3 > O _Q 
 
 "t* ce ^ o 
 
 a 
 
 s* * SJ 
 
 ^3 *““’ Cfi CO 
 
 o £ 
 bC £ 
 o o 
 
 XX i 
 
 © s 
 
 si s° 
 
 .5 .-J 
 
 cq S 1 S 
 w *§pq 
 © „ 
 « © 
 
 . «S> HO 
 
 © :> ^ 
 
 ~ © f >5 
 © 
 
 I 1 of'* 
 
 »C ~ 
 
 o cc O 
 
 hwH 
 
 iJ . 
 
 < s 
 
 t> © 
 
 Q| 
 
 . 'I 
 
 « a 
 ». 
 
 © 2 ■ 
 
 2 
 
 . © S 
 
 • © *© . © 
 
 H 0 s © ©j^ 
 
 < © JS © 
 
 C 2 'hc f>o .?> o 
 
 bc~e - o 
 
 t~> „ C t» 
 
 . m -*— 1 o .-T ® 
 
 -3 * -§ « -B 
 
 c3 o c3 o C 
 
 % o ® 
 •— ^ be ^ 
 
 Ph 
 
 S3 
 
 o 
 
 ►» 
 
 ci ” 
 
 ^ Ik 
 
 be 
 
 a 
 
 iHHO 
 
 © 
 
 ^ n © 
 
 I s £*. 
 
 ~ g c3 
 O W o 
 
 PPmPP 
 
 ►3 
 
 . ◄ 
 ©S t) 
 
 .50 
 
 J 
 
 © 
 
 ^ © 
 R §5 
 
 ’© • 2 
 
 . © e .§ m» 
 
 . >J O <s o 
 
 fc; < s "g «s o 
 
 ■5 g «-§-S e 
 
 nj n, « be s *' _r 
 
 *© ^ .S •% S ( 
 
 -v c2 ^ <ri 
 
 "% © O r^© O t 
 
 o ^ ^ 
 
 s 2 S 
 
 ^ § s § 
 
 ■ o 
 iO 
 
 . What is your name ? Ama guiutum chili ama ? 
 
 !. How old is this horse? Nui xadom tin sermarenhanai ? 
 
 >• How tar is it from here to Kashmir? Nondekhon Kashmir disom tin san gingya ? 
 
s. How many sons are there in your father’s Amren apum ora re tina hopon menalioa ? 
 house ? 
 
 i. I have walked a long way to-day. Ing teheng adi sanging kJioi jangate ing he 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 *21 
 
 
 § 
 
 
 R -C 
 
 I S 
 
 e ^ ^ 
 
 *= s $ 
 
 &3 
 
 •5 © R £ 
 
 5 « ^ a 
 
 S 8 S 
 
 8 
 
 •8 
 
 
 • -* 5$ 
 
 R R 
 
 O 
 
 
 R 
 
 5$ 
 
 *R 
 
 3 
 
 e ~ 
 6^ 
 
 8; a 3 
 
 s ^ fctj 
 
 s R 
 
 fRi © 
 
 r| £ 
 00 s 
 
 ’'O ^ 
 © ^ ^ 
 R © 
 
 ~ ^ © o 
 
 1^8 
 
 ;3|-*S*s 
 
 e 1.2r« 3 s 
 
 a 
 
 i-O 
 
 a -a ~ a 
 
 3 
 
 "5 « 
 
 »S 
 
 s 
 
 r4 
 
 o 
 
 « O 
 
 2U 2 
 
 £ 
 
 r3 
 
 O 
 
 "3 _§ * 
 
 r-} ^ 
 C3 05 
 M • — 
 
 a°rS 
 
 rH © C 
 
 C M 
 
 ° g 
 
 >> 
 
 p 
 
 $ g.S3-§ * 
 
 .2 o ^ ^ o 
 
 ®3 o a sc 
 2 rd -m .- C 
 5 a a n .S 
 O 02 02 ri ^ 
 
 r— ' r ~~ tc*M 
 
 a j=. <d 
 
 02 r Ji 
 
 Cfl ^ > 02 
 
 <y 4:1 5? ' H 
 
 H kh Ph (— i K H 
 
 »o o ^xoion 
 
 ^3 
 
 £ 
 
 o3 
 
 ^3 
 
 <3 
 
 nzJ 
 
 £ 
 
 S.S 
 
 c 
 
 jJ 
 
 P..73 
 
 J§ *> 
 
 H S 
 
 o 
 
 • ^ ^ 
 
 •3 ? is © 
 
 ~ «£ ^ ^3 
 O « % H 
 
 t 8 S | 
 
 o ^ ■_ P 
 3- £ 'o> ^ 
 
 ~ ^ > u © 
 a; ^ O U 
 
 * § a -§<2 
 
 ^ J.S 
 
 -m _c: ^ 
 
 <a o 
 
 > ^ c3 T3 
 
 CH ^ 
 
 CO »0 O N X C5 
 
 20. Whose boy comes behind you ? Okoeren gidra ing tayomte heju kanai ? 
 
 21. Prom whom did you buy that ? Okoe then hhon nuam hiring heda ? 
 
 22. Prom a shop-keeper of the village. A tore mi dokan hor then khon. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 9,2 
 
 Extract from Sir George Yule's Report on the 
 Sonthal E ergunnahs , for 1858 . 
 
 With regard to the no-Police system, public opinion 
 cannot be called as a witness, for it knows nothing about 
 it. I might cite the residents in these Districts as wit- 
 nesses in favor of the new plan ; but they will in time 
 speak for themselves. I shall only say at present that their 
 reporting costs nothing but the journey of the Chowkeedar 
 and of the sufferer, if he so pleases, to the Hakim ; that 
 investigation and trial of crime also costs nothing but the 
 time spent by the people themselves in investigating and in 
 going to and returning from the Hakim’s station, and 
 they are paid from the day they leave their homes till their 
 return. No Police or Amlah have to be feed, enmity and 
 rascality are deprived of their friends, they have nobody to 
 fee ; the villagers, therefore, that is, at least nine-tenths of 
 the population, are free to do what they think best, to report 
 or to conceal a crime. They are not deterred from reporting 
 by the fear of a Government Officer concerned in concealing 
 it or by fear of the Zemindar, who, without the aid of that 
 Officer of Government, always at his service for a sufficient 
 consideration, loses great part of his power for evil. There 
 is no general influence at work to keep a matter secret. 
 One Zemindar wishes, we will say, to conceal a murder ; he 
 may prevent his own ryots from reporting, but he has not 
 the influence of the Police to assist him in preventing the 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 23 
 
 ryots of neighbouring Zemindars letting out the secret 
 openly or quietly to the Hakim. 
 
 Granting, then, what I have said of both systems to he 
 correct, — and I do not think any one really acquainted with 
 the ways of the Natives will say I entertain too strong a 
 prejudice on either side, — what is the probability that 
 crime will he better reported where there are Police or where 
 there are none ? Of course I suppose the Hakims in each 
 system to he of average abilities and character, and in doing 
 so I give up a great deal to the opponents of the new 
 system. 
 
 It is true the Mahajun, under the Regulation system, did 
 not trouble himself with referring to the Courts to any great 
 extent. He simply sent his people and swept off the whole 
 of his debtor’s cattle, selling or keeping them as best suited 
 himself. The people, ignorant and timid, and aware of the 
 hopelessness of redress against their wealthy oppressor in any 
 Civil Court or Magistrate’s, with a Native Executive, sel- 
 dom complained. If they did, a deed of sale or mortgage 
 generally, I verily believe forged for the occasion, was the 
 ready reply. What could a poor ryot,- with his sole wealth, 
 his cattle, gone, do ? He could not fee Mooktears, Amlah, 
 Vakeels, &c., and without feeing them handsomely, did any- 
 body in India, European or Native, rich or poor, ever get 
 justice, if justice indeed it can be called, in a Civil Court ? In 
 a Magistrate’s they might by chance. Since the introduction 
 of the new system, the complaints against Mahajuns for this 
 forcible carrying off of cattle have been numerous and well- 
 proved. I did not consider we should be justified in interfer- 
 ing incases which had occurred before the insurrection ; there 
 were plenty after it, however, and indeed the practice had 
 become so much a matter of course that even yet a case 
 
n 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 occasionally happens, some sharp lessons have hcen required 
 regarding this and the Kamiotee system (hereafter described) 
 by the Hindoo Rajpoots and other high castes settled in the 
 Sontal Districts with reference to their treatment of the 
 lower castes and wild tribes, for whom they have not one 
 atom of feeling. A more inhuman set in this respect it 
 is not possible to conceive. 
 
 In former Reports I have described the Sontal Districts 
 at so much length that I need say little now. A wonderful 
 change has come over the people ever since last year. 
 They all, and the Sontals in particular, have become so fat 
 and sleek, and they have entirely lost the look, either sulky 
 or anxious, which most of them at first had. Their com- 
 plaints too now are individual, not general. Two deputa- 
 tions of Sontal Manjees — one from Khurruckpore, the 
 other from Chukye, both in Mongliyr — came to us at 
 Deoghur to complain of the exactions and oppressions they 
 suffered at the hands of the Mahajuns and Zemindars. 
 I had enquired into their complaints while passing through 
 Khurruckpore, when the Manjees were all absent, having 
 gone to consult Mr. Robinson, whose name is great in 
 Soritaldom. The complaints resolved themselves into two 
 general subjects. The Sontals had pottahs for short periods 
 only ; they had settled in the jungles at low rents at first ; 
 these had been gradually increased, and were about to be 
 increased still more. The Sontals wished to revert to the 
 first jurnma, or if that could not be done, then they hoped 
 Government would take all their villages into its own hands 
 and retain the present rents without further increase. I 
 could not give them any hope of compliance with either of 
 their requests. The Zemindars had the right, by law, under 
 the circumstances, to increase their rents, and were doing no 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 25 
 
 more than Mr. Pontet did in the Damun, and received praise 
 and thanks and a gold watch from Government for doing. 
 The second subject of complaint was the cheating of Maha- 
 juns and Zemindaree Agents in their accounts with the Son- 
 tals. Here the inability of the Sontals to read and write, 
 their ignorance and timidity, and the constitution of the 
 Regulation Courts, present obstacles in the way of redress 
 not easily overcome. The Sontals have knotted strings and 
 memory only to trust to, and the Manjee of the village has 
 to do the recollection for all its inhabitants. The other side 
 have their accounts nicely kept and plenty of witnesses to 
 answer to their correctness. Other complaints related to 
 cheating in weights and measures, &c. We explained to the 
 deputations with much repetition that we in the Sontal Dis- 
 tricts could not help them ; that they lived under another 
 system, and must be guided by the rules of that system ; in 
 endeavoring to obtain redress, that they should not, on suffer- 
 ing any injustice, sit down and hope that things would some- 
 how improve, but they should at once proceed to the Magis- 
 trate or to the Collector of Monghyr, according to the nature 
 of the complaint, and tell their tale : and I wrote to the 
 officers named, requesting them to take up personally, or to 
 make over to their best European Assistants, all Sontal com- 
 plaints, to keep them away from the Amlah and hangers-on 
 of Courts, and to watch carefully the proceedings in cases 
 of distraints. 
 
 Another matter on which I shall make a few remarks, is 
 the stoppage put to the Kamiotee and Hurwahee systems of 
 bondage by Mr. Robinson. Under the Kamiotee system, a 
 poor man, borrowing Rupees 5, 10, or 20, hinds himself to 
 work for the lender till the loan is re-paid, sometimes with 
 the condition of getting food (one seer of paddy a day !)— 
 
2G 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 sometimes with no such condition. A Huvwahee bond is the 
 same, except that the borrower has to plough the lender’s 
 fields, whenever required, until the loan is repaid. Of course 
 the loans are never repaid. Where is the Kamiot to get 
 money when he has to work for the lender always gratis ? 
 The Hurwahee is no better ; he is always wanted to plough 
 the lender’s fields when he ought to be ploughing his own, 
 and, of course, he is soon reduced to the lowest level. When 
 the father dies the son becomes a Kamiot in his place, and so 
 it goes on — slavery under the pretence of hired labor. Mr. 
 Robinson’s attention was attracted to the subject, I believe, 
 by the number of thefts committed by Kamiots on their 
 masters, and their common reply, when asked if they had 
 committed the theft — “ What could I do, Saheb, he made me 
 work all “ day and gave me nothing to eat.” I have not 
 Mr. Robinson’s Report on the subject with me, but it will be 
 submitted shortly, together with a copy of my orders to the 
 officers in general on the subject. As the Kamiotee system 
 was in great favor with the Rajpoots and other Hindoo 
 castes, who will not put their own hands to plough or other 
 works, and as these people are tolerably numerous in Mr. 
 Robinson’s division, the stoppage of the practice caused a 
 little excitement, and some bitter appeals were made to me on 
 the subject, particularly when Mr. Robinson fined a wealthy 
 Hindoo severely for starving his Kamiot. The system 
 is now dying out. Those who have not complained don’t 
 want to be released, their masters now treating them better ; 
 and the Deputy Commissioner has had the satisfaction of 
 putting a stop to a system of slavery as thorough as ever 
 existed, and has never said a word about it except to m 3 T self ; 
 the late slaves though know him well. 
 
 - Without such officers as Robinson, Taylor, Wood, and 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Braddon, I fear the new system would have succeeded but 
 little better than the old Regulation one. If this is true, 
 what important inferences must be drawn from the fact, 
 no less than the incapacity, of a dose service and Regulation 
 Law to give satisfaction to the people. 
 
 E. Deas, Calcutta Centbal Pbess Compact, Limited,