Page:Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal.pdf/341

326 -. 326'  i V. 'hsLTONQ-nrunonoor or BENGAL-ii]-  I. Inent their discordant instrunients, drums, kettle-drums, Elf-drums, " I "liseers.

to proclaim the event1n-a, manner most honifymg to one _, I I_ I.  _ _ The lmbits of the Widely-spread Dom class are .as impure as those of tho-Ghésigand they got their living much in the some iashxon; they are to he

found in all parts of Bengal and Northern India, living on the

outskirts of villages. They are seldom seen working in the ﬂaws; “my We ‘BFEPIOYed to kill dogs and remove dead bodies, and sometimes as executioncrs, and when they have none of these congenial tasks to perform, they make baskets. I I The Dosdds or Doshdds are another type of a low-caste tribe, living freely and according to Hindu notions, impurely, but apparently “$119110!- DUHME Aryan than Turunian origin. The men, who are of strong build and as tall. as the average Hindu, have coarse features, but with nothing of the Chinese or N cgro about them. They have znlopted the worship of the demon l-tiiln’i, who is supposml to muse eclipses by his periodical attacks on the sun and moon in revenge for having had his head cut oil" by Vishnu. The Dosz’uls not only adore him, but claim to be his descendants, their upper class from Rehﬁ and his wife, and their second class from mum and his wife’s film-mo dc ckmnbm. ’l‘hcir mode of worshipping their thunder is as dmnouiacal as he could wish. The faithful ascend ladders formed of su‘ord bliulcs, so placed to ln‘ing the slump edge in contact with the sole of each foot, prchng its it ascends, and they afterwards walk through a ditch ﬁlled with blazing l'uggots on which oil or ghee is poured to intensify the heat, with no more injury than was sustained by Shudmch, Meshz-tch, and Aheducgo in the ﬁery furnace. The Dosz’tds aspire to higher employment than the Glu'tsis and Doms, They serve as village wctcluncn and sometimes as Police and us Court runners. They too sturtcd a. reformer some flu'ce or four y :zu's ago; but after it year's trial of abstinence, ﬂicy (sum: to the C(JllclUSlUIll that it did not suit them and relapsed.

The waiulcring gil')sy-li.kc tribe of Bedyus are found in most Bengal Districts, and so indiﬂbrcnt their cl.1uract<:-r that they are usually placed under the special surveillance of the Police. They are a. branch of the lhizigm or Nut i'zmiily, it good account of whom is to he found in vol. V II of the Asiatic Society's Researches, page {158. They are ji‘igglcrs, fortuuc-tcllcrs, rope-dancers, beggars, wzuulcrcrs, and bird-kilhn's, and their pursuits are further indicated by their having a slang, or roguc’s lz‘u‘iguage, only linden-stood by themselves. They suluuit to circmucision and call themselw—rs Muhmmuaduns, but they have many Hindu customs and idolutrmis practices, and consult hm’mhrnaus on particular occasions. Though scattered and nmuedic, they are organist-id  communities and. have “ head centres” in diﬂcrcut localities. They sometimes call themselves Miiujhi and Maheli.

Having no space left, I must spnrc my readers a long account of the mongrel tribes. I. think we may reckon amongst them the llojwz'u's, a tribe- well known in the Gyneud adjoining districts as troublesome characters, especially addicted to highway robbery. Dr. Buchanan was dismscd to class them
 * mumgst the aboriginal rams, chiefly in consequence of their impure practices. 'llrudi-

tiouzilly they appear to connect themselves with the Bhuiyus, ‘out- this is only in Bihtir. The lizijwzirs in Sirgdjo and the adjoining estates are peacealily-disposed cultivators, who declare themselves to he fallen lishutryus; they do not, however, conform to Hindu

' Doms.

.[ictl yus.

Rdj wdrs.