Page:The Aristocracy of Southern India.djvu/84

64 The Jeypore Samastanam is divided into two parts, Upper and Lower, which are within the jurisdictions of the Special and Senior Assistant Agents, whose Head-Quarters are at Koraput and Parvatipur respectively.

To the east and north-east of Gunupur lies the Savra Hill Country, consisting of two table-lands about 200 square miles in extent. North of Gunupur the Samastanam runs up in a wedge-like form to a distance of 70 miles between Kalahundi of the Central Provinces on the west, and Parlakimidy on the east reaching very nearly 20° N. Lat. In the centre of this district stands out the remarkable group of hills named Nimghiris which rise to a height of 5000 feet separated by the valley of not more than 1200 feet from the ranges on either hand. The drainage from Nimghiries and the neighbouring countries flows directly south-east to the sea, forming at Kalingapatam, the river Vamsadhara, so called from the bam boos, (vamsa) growing on its banks and the Nagavali at Chicacole. The population chiefly Khonds and Sawras number 1,37,966, the largest towns being Jeypore, Kotpad, Nowrangpur, Nandapur, Gudari, Gunupur, Rayaghada, Singapur and Bissamkatak. The western portion of the country consists «f the taluks of Jeypore, Nowrangapur, and Malkanagiri, while the taluk of Koraput lies in the east. The principal towns are Jeypore, Kotpad and Nowrangapur.

The religion of the country is mainly Hinduism. Ethnologically the inhabitants include Aryans, Colarians, and Dravidians. The Aryans are comparatively recent colonists and comprise the ruling and fighting men and the priests. The cultivators called Purajas (literally subjects) number about more than two-thirds of the