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JULY, 1887.]
MISCELLANEA.
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do not practise cannibalism ! Ghi never seasons their food, and they never like it to be brought into their presence; nay, the very smell of it is repulsive to them.
The pardd system is not in vogue, either among the higher or the lower classes, polygamy is held to be lawful, and bargains of females by trade and barter are common.
The males shave the head, the beard, and the moustachios completely, and dislike those who do not observe the practice.
The dialect of Ås&m differs from that of Bengal.
Muscular strength, arrogance, bravery, and fearlessness are indicated by the very appearance of the people. Some of their habits correspond to those of the lower and wild animals. They are warlike, hard-working, cunning, and quarrel. some; sympathy, truthfulness, affection, shame, and politeness, are utterly absent from their temperament.
A head-piece of gunny (gont), a cloth round the loins, and a sheet over the shoulders, form all the articles of their dress. They do not put on shoes or anything of that kind.
Masonry is nowhere to be met with except in the structure of the gates and temples of Karganv. The houses of the rich folk, as well as of the poor, are invariably constructed of wood, bamboos and grass.
The chiefs, and the aristocracy are carried in sedans, and the gentry in dov. (palanquins) borne on the shoulders of men. The horse, the camel, and the ass are not found at all, and the last forms the principal animal import. The sight of a camel strikes the people of Asâm with surprise, and that of the horse with terror; so much so that a single horseman is quite sufficient to disperse a company of a hundred armed Åsmis, or to make them lay down their arms and surrender, but they are not afraid in the least if called on to act against twice their number of infantry.
Of the two most ancient Tribes of Åsam, vit., (1) The Asamis, and (2) the Kultànis, the latter are held in the greatest esteem, but the former are the most remarkable for martial spirit, hardihood, and physical endurance. From 6,000 to 7,000 of them always guard the palace of the Chief, who places much reliance on them.
Their weapons are the sword, shield, musket, bow and arrows, larice, and sticks of bamboo. Guns and rámchangis (heavy. musketa) are mounted on fortresses and boate, and the people are expert at wielding these instruments of de- struction and defence.'
The mortal remains of the Chiefs and high
officials are deposited in underground vaults excavated for the purpose, and the wives, con cubines, and servants of the deceased, elephants, provisions, gold and silver utensils, and candles, &c.,-in short, all the necessaries of life,-are enclosed with the corpse. The opening of the vault is then hermetically sealed, as it were, with lasting beams and planks of wood, in the belief that all the things thus placed will be enjoyed by the departed soul in the next world (wherever it may go after leaving the body.) The soldiers under Mir Jumla's command, who opened several of such vaults, were able to gather gold and silver worth 90,000 rupees.
V.-Kargánv. The palace of Kargány stands at a distance of six miles from each of the four gates of the city, which are built of stone and mortar, the ramparts being constructed of bamboos and wood-work. The interior of the city is remarkable for a net-work of high terraces constructed for the convenience of passengers during inundations.
Every dwelling has a small garden and a field adjoining it,-a fact which accounts for the unusually large area of the town. The palace com. mands & view of the river Dikht, which flows through the heart of the city. In whichever direction the eye turns, it finds a set of small but busy markets for the sale of betel; no other article being exposed for sale, as the people of all walks in life, high as well as low, lay by enough provisions at a time to last them for the whole year.
The palace is surrounded by an elevated cir. cular footpath, one kós and fourteen chains' in circumference, pallisaded with clumps of the bamboo-palm, and having on the outer side a deep ditch with a perennial supply of water. It is a very lofty structure built of wood, bamboos and thatch. Sixty-six cylindrical pillars, each with a cross section of four yards in perimeter, support the roof of its largest hall, which measures 150 by 40 yards ; some parts of it being very finely polished. It is recorded that 3,000 carpenters and 12,000 other workmen were employed for two full years in constructing this spacious hall.'
The music of drums and cymbals is played on the occasions of the processions of the Chief, who is called the Celestial,' because his ancestors are believed to have once ruled over Celestial Beings; but one of them descended by menns of a golden ladder to take a pleasure trip to the earth, and, preferring to live there, his
1 chain - 60 yards.
