OCCUPATIONS AND TRADE.
the villages. Judging from the bids for the right to collect the fees in these, the best attended are those at Kottavalasa in Vizagapatam taluk, Sálúr, Pálkonda and Párvatípur.
The last three of these owe some of their importance to the fact that they are situated near the foot of the hills and so are marts of hill-produce. All along the foot of the hills, from Krishnadévipet and Kondasanta in the south to Pálkonda in the north is a line of markets at which hill-produce is exchanged for the goods of civilization. On the hills themselves are many-markets on the main lines of communication. On the Sálúr-Koraput road are Rállugedda and Damriput; between Jeypore and Malkanagiri is Mondiguda; between Jeypore and the Indrávati, Kebbedi, Kalliyaguda and Bobbiya; on the Kálahandi frontier is Maidalpur market; in the Párvatípur part of Jeypore is Ráyagada; and on the Vamsadhára to the north of Gunupur is the fair at Bhámini. In these and the numerous other markets (almost every important village has its own and the people date all events from them) barter is still the rule rather than the exception,cowries are still used as currency, and the people prefer the old ten cash and twenty cash copper dubs of the East India Company to any other coins which can be offered them.
The real business of import and export to and from the Agency is managed by the Kómatis of the low country and their agents. These men penetrate to the grain-producing centres, such as Kótápad and Naurangpur, and there see to the loading and despatch of the carts which have come up from the low country to take down the grain; they organize the operations of the many gangs of Brinjáris who drive pack-bullocks between this district and the Central Provinces, furnishing them at convenient centres (such as Sálúr and Párvatípur) with loads of salt, etc. to take to the hinterland, and giving them commissions for purchases of grain and so on to be made in return and they conduct the distribution to the retail shop-keepers (such as Muhammadans, Dombus and others) of the imports from below.
The weights and measures of the district are more variable even than usual. The goldsmiths' table of weights is ordinarily as under: —
- 4 vísams (grains of paddy) = 1 pátika,
- 2 pátikas = 1 addiga.
- 2 addigas = 1 chinnam.
- 30 chinnams = 1 tola (180 grains).
- 24 tolas = 1 seer.
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