Page:Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal.pdf/17

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INTRODUCTION.

1/

Thu Chat-in or Kaohari dynasty continued to hold southern Upper Asam «and. §adiya and part of ' Naugaon (Nowg'ozng), wlu-ro the v built a fortified city. called Dima p or; hut about tho middle of tho thirtoonth century of the Christian era thoy swore suhjngathd by hordos of Shams from tho south, who, after establishing themselvos in Upper Asam, pursued their career of conquest in a westerly direction, and fox-cod the custom port-ion of tho Ko“och-11indu kingdmn to submit, whilst the loyvor or " south-west [nu-t of Kain-

-,..-~ mil .....1. Lu. I um unu-

.n a“... n n

=r tlm mm, of the Muhammadan rulers of BCng-al. ‘

I have noticed tho Again tribos in order corresponding with their geographical position. Massed and oouueolod as tho).r am, this appeared the most convenient arrange:- merit, but in treating of tho aboriginal or non-Alivau trihos ol' Bongo] p1'(.J[)cr,.Billal'. and Orissa, I have onc'loavourod to group thom according- to their most obvious affinities. .15 believe they might all he (,somprisod in two grout divisions, the Dra'vidian, or those who spook a language. allied to the Tamil or Telugu, and the Kolarian, Or thoso whose lin- guistic affinities are with tho Sautul, Manda, and lhoir cognates. Of tho romoto north- eastern origin of the lattor pooplo, there cannot, I think. he a doubt, but thoro is a. Iznost' important section of the population, comprising srworal millions of people, who are (-orlainly non-Aryan, but Whom (from their having lost their own. language, mystilim'l their early history, and :uh‘rptod nuwh that is Hindu in their customs and rolig'ion.) it is not at first sight easy to class. II have described. allthoso under a third denmninatiml as Hinduist Almriginos. ‘

Tho remainder of tho fixod population I trout as Aryan, or mixed. In flu.- former

1, inshulo tho masses of Eur:an not, Go

., alas or ,lwallas and otho. Swims whom many are inclined to regard as mixed, or as a, distinct pooplo sulgjugatod by the Bralnnans : but in this suliiugatiml I do not believe; and Humidor there would be for mom mason in

treating the upper ten thousand in England as a distinct race from the remainder of the

L . ____ -_- .-. ._ z I

hon in so regarding, aiming: iho llimlus i-ho “ twain horn” and tho Sinlras.

1 how not deemed it necessary to describe. tho ceremonial. law, tho doctrines and rules of lift" In'oi‘nulgatod for tho guidam-o of “valuation, but I lun‘obtwn at Homo pains to oollato :.u.-.o«_u:uu.s of rules and (:(.n'on1on.i(:s practisorl by Hindus that are not onjoim-rd by tho s::u.-rod writings. And symbolioal as thoy generally are, they cmmoi, i, think, fail to be of intorost to the historian and ctlmologist. .

The population of Bengal. includes a vast multitudo who purifoss tho M uhamnnulm

religion"; but this multitude, if :‘malyzcd, would he found for the most part to he composed of clomonts that. are separately treated of in tho lbllmving pages; masses of the. nhori- glues as well as of the "H indus having under Muhnmnmdan rulers boon forced or induced to mulwaoo Islam. it would no doubt be interesting to noto tho ofl'uot, morally and Jinx-lolly, of tho oonvcrsion ;--m-to ascertain if tho different races operator] upon oonua down in us most amiable as Muhammadmrs or as 'I’agzms, but for this i have at present no umturinl, and there is nothing olso that if can think of entitling them to Heparnto notici'cs. 1 ha“: mulcm-Tmrod in my chapter on tho .l‘linduisnd Abtn’igines, when I found any

. nl‘ llnlnn- un 'I n u. u u” .u

population

( ll ‘ I. D . . . . . . . w . In: a mhu Him mun-1f tin/nun“ Thmvlr‘urn n1- 1‘ “luv-inn h: 1r‘rlnll , u: “Jung-um. uuu h: hum u. l JPJAIAJ, .I.'I.u v JLILuuL v.- .axuu‘... "mm, m- n "a ..

holongs; thus 1 have given. reasons for affiliating tho Chiaros and K Jul-Wars on. tho Nolan-inn fin-nily, and tho Ko’ooh, Blumiyn and others on the Dmvidian; but it is quite: lmssiblc ilmt further research may Show that. 1 am not always oorroot in 1in classifimition, and tho huhjt'ci is iii-1' from L'xilzlusiod.