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AUGUST, 1874.] TRIBES AND LANGUAGES OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.
Among the classes now mentioned are many gangs and consociations habitually addicted to fraud, robbery, burglary, and other atrocities. In the suppression of their crimes much has been done by the Government, with the aid of such acute, skilled, and withal benevolent detectives as Colonel Hervey, C.B., Colonel Taylor, F. Souter, C.S.I., Forjett, and others who are following in their footsteps in the Maratha Country and adjoining provinces. Many of the Brahmans, too, even of respectable character, wander about the country as religious mendicants, Bhikshukas, soliciting alms both from prince and peasant. The secularized Brahmans are now considerably on the increase, many of them devoting themselves to the teaching of schools, to the practice of medicine, to mercantile transactions, to lending of money, to legal pursuits, etc.
The Pastoral Tribes in the Maratha Country, though very considerable in their flocks and herds, are not so important as those in Central India and other parts of the country. Their occupation is not much approved by the Brahmans, even though the Marathas use all kinds of edible animal food but the flesh of the cow. The tribes and castes dealing in cattle and sheep are the Gavalis, (from 'the cow'), who are doubtless the remains of Great Skythian tribes entering India in remote times; the Dhangars (Sansk. Dhénukaras), dealers in cows,' to whom, as shepherds and weavers of coarse woollen cloth, the famous family of Holkar belongs; the Sangaras (from San, Crotalaria Juncea) and thus weavers of cloth, at present carrying on nearly the same employment as the Dhangars; the Banjaras, who both rear cattle and transport grain, salt, cotton, and other merchandise on pack-bullocks throughout the country.
The Konkant.
In connexion with the Marathi language it is proper to notice the kindred Konkant, above alluded to. By this designation is not meant the very slight dialectic difference which exists between the language of the British Dekhan and the corresponding country running between the slopes of the Ghâts and the Indian Ocean, forming the British Konkan, but the language of the country commencing with the Goa territories and extending considerably to the south of K&rwår and even Hon & war. The speech of this dis trict differs from Marathi as much as the Gujarati differs from Marathi. It is manifestly in the main formed, however, on the basis of the Sanskrit, and compared with other vernacular dialects throws some light on their formation from the Sanskrit, and on some of their peculiar Vide ante, p. 188.-ED.
grammatical forms. In proof of the remark now made, an example of the declension of a noun and of the present tense of the substantive verb is here inserted as illustrative of a subject which has excited but little attention.
Ramu in the singular.
Nom. Ramu. Ace. Ramaka. Ins. Ramâna. Dat. Rámáka. Singular. Nom. Ghodo, horse. Ace. Ghodyaka.
Ins. Ghodyanimitti. Ghodyanimitim. Dat. Ghodyaka.+ Ghodyanka. Abl. Ghodyanimitti. Ghodyarithavun. Gen. Ghodyagelê. Ghody&gels. Chodyânta.
Abl. Romârun.
Loc. Ghodyantu. Voc. Ghodya. Hava asa, I am.
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Gen. Ramagélén or Råmåsken.
Loc. Ramantun.
Voc. Ard! O Rama.
Plural. Ghode. Ghodyanka.
Ghody&non. Amma asava, We are.
Tummi asata, You are.
Tu assa, Thou art. To assa, He is.
Té asat or asati, They are.
Little has been known to be published in the Konkani; but a few religious narratives called Puránas,' &c. were set forth in it by the Portuguese about two centuries ago. A translation of the New Testament by the Serampur Missionaries, and one or two tracts by the German Missionaries, have also been published for the benefit of the Konkanesc.
The Castes which are found in the districts in which the Konkani appears do not much differ from those of the Kânarese country, under which they should be noticed, except, perhaps, in the case of the Brahmans. The Konkani Brahmans are to be distinguished from tho Konkanasthas of the Maratha Country. They have to a great extent secularized themselves. and are Sarasvatas, of kin to the Shenavis, already mentioned. With them are associated the Huba Brahmans, holding land near Karwar originally received from Jainas, who have not yet abandoned agriculture either in that part of the country or the Karnataka, giving themselves, however, principally to trade, and using the Kerala Grantha character for their accounts and books.
The Gujarats.
The Gujarati language, which is supposed to be spoken by six or seven millions of people, is that of the province of Gujarat, comprehending both its peninsular provinces, now called K&thiswad by the Marathas and English, of old known as Saurashtra, the 'country of the Sauras' (a name indicating an early Aryan con nexion), and the continental provinces more especially denominatedGujarator Gurjarashtra. It is more easy to trace the limits of the Gujarat? ↑ Prostána.
+ Like Kanarese, Aek.
