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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[ August, 1924
to the North-east Monsoon. Acoording to Brown, they vary from west-north-west to Eastsouth-east, but also include occasional South-west winds as well, but are probably principally South-east.
If there is no evidence regarding the winds, there is another fact which connects this transition period rather with the rainy season—the fact that even beyond these periods a good deal of rain is usual. This is not shown clearly enough in Brown's description of the seasons. Portman, on the other hand, writes (op. cit., loc. cit.): "After the 20th of October variable winds and heavy gales (often cyclones) usher in the North-cast Monsoon, which may commence by the 10th of November. Sometimes the months of November and December are dry with high winds, but more generally a good deal of rain accompanies the North-east wind in these months, and heavy South-east gales have been experienced in the first week of December and even later. After the 1st of January the rain almost ceases, the force of the Monsoon declines, and until the middle of April there are light winds, fine weather and a fairly calm sea.' E. H. Man as well (p. 420), wanting to present the natives views of the seasons, prefers to include the critical transition period with the preceding rainy season, for he treats the whole period from the 2nd half of May to the 1st half of November together, under the name of Gumul and divides it into two parts; 15th of May to end of August Spring and 1st half of Rainy season (td-la-tông.de'rekar), and beginning of September till 15th of November the 2nd half of the rainy season (ga mul wab).
If according to Portman's interpretation the North-east Monsoon begins only on the 10th of November and ends on the 20th of April, soon after which the South-west Monsoon sets in, which lasts till October 20th, it follows that the 6 months of the latter correspond to only about 5 months of the former. Further, we would note the remarkable fact that only during the North-east Monsoon is there a lengthy bright period free of storms and rain ; which according to Portman lasts nearly 4 months. Here we completely understand why Brown at first could write :-"What is particularly puzzling is that the South-west Monsoon is the rainy mongoon, and during the North-east Monsoon the weather is generally fine." In fact nothing can be explained solely by the meteorological conditions of the Monsoons : neither that Puluga. Bilik stands in the foreground everywhere, nor that all storms in the south are ascribed to him. The explanation lies only in the fact that Puluga-Bilik originally wos & true Supreme Being and in the South is still more or less one." 26
VII.
The Moral Character of the Command of Puluga, the Supreme Being of the South
Andamanese. In pointing out that Brown's efforts to fasten the transition period at the end of the Southwest Monsoon on to the North-east Monsoon are not tenable, we have also removed the foun. dations of his meteorological social explanation of the commands which Pulugu-Bilik had set up. We must now set to work on the contents of these commands, because they are differ. ently stated by Brown and Man. Brown takes the trouble to discredit Man's interpretations, but this is really inadmissible, judging by Man's qualifications as compared to Brown's,
36 Brown's arguments as to Monsoons are due to inaccurate observation. Each-lasts five months, with April and October as the uncertain months, often of very calm weather. Rain falls all the year round. Soe Temple, Census of India, 1901, Vol. III, The Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Meteorology, pp. 37-39, for remarks on statistics-R, C. TEMPLE
