Page:The Indian Antiquary Vol 2.djvu/263

 August, 1873.] NOTES ON THE BHONDAS. 237 afflicted with loathsome scrofulous sores, which render them, almost useless to themselves and to others. Roads, which are nothing better than mere paths leading from one village to another, are few, and, with the exception of one or two, bad in the extreme, running as they do along steep ravines and over rocky ghats quite impracticable to beasts of burden. The several tribes inhabiting this portion of country are the Bhondas, f)era Porja, and a caste of people who speak the Telugu language exclu¬ sively. Of these, the Bhondas are the most re¬ markable, the rest being in general like the other tribes to be found in Jaypur and the adjacent districts. The marriage ceremony, costume of the women, and religious observances of the Bhondas, are peculiar to themselves. These people, who are to be met with chiefly on the highland between Andrahal and Dangapara in the district of Jaypur, and comparatively few in number, keep themselves apart from all other tribes, with whom they do not intermarry. The men are not bad-looking; they are well built and active, and passionately fond of sport, of which they seem to be very jealous with regard to Europeans; they dress like the other Uriya tribes, and adorn their necks with beads, but to a moderate degree. The women, however, are extremely ugly, both iu features and form, which is rendered more re¬ pugnant by their short hair, and the scantiness of their attire, which consists of just a piece of cloth either made of the kerong bark and manufactured by themselves, or purchased from tho weavers of the country, about a foot square, and only suffi¬ cient to cover a part of one hip ; it is attached to their waists by a string on which it runs, and can be shifted round to any side. A most ludicrous sight has often been presented to me by a stampede among a number of these women, when I have happened to enter a village unexpectedly where they had been collected in the centre space, usual in their villages, intent upon their occupations. On my approach, oach one and all hurried to their respective dwellings, and, as they ran in all directions, endeavoured to shift this rag round to the part most likely to be exposed to me. They are necessarily very shy, and aro seldom to be met with out of the village, except at midday when engaged assisting the men in the prepara¬ tion of ground for cultivation, and when thero is the least possible chance of meeting with strangers; but among themselves they do not seem to be at all particular. This peculiar mode of dress originated in the following legend, implicitly believed by the Bhon¬ das :—“ Time out of mind, the goddess Sita hap¬ pened to travel through this part of the country, and when she halted on one occasion, while super¬ intending the preparation of her midday repast, found herself surrounded by a large number of naked women; she blushed to behold such in¬ decency, and forthwith presented them with a piece of tussur cloth, which was eagerly accepted, but when divided was found to supply each one with only just enough to cover one hip. The goddess f whose travelling wardrobe evidently did not allow of greater liberality, then commanded that they should always in future cover themselves thus much, death being the penalty of their disobe¬ dience.” My informant gave me to understand that one of the Government agents in these parts some years ago insisted on a young woman being pro¬ perly clothed, the result was she survived the change only three days ! This story, which is declared to be strictly true, has unfortunately liad the ill effect of confirming these people in their superstition. Their marriages are consummated in a very curious manner. A number of youths, candidates for matrimony, start off to a village where they hope to find a corresponding number of young women, and make known their wishes to the elders, who receive them with all due ceremony. The juice of the Salop (sago palm) in a fermented state is of course in great requisition, as nothing can be done without the exhilarating effects of this their favourite beverage. They then proceed to excavate an underground chamber (if one is not already prepared), having an aperture at the top admit¬ ting of the entrance of one at a time ; into this the young gentlemen, with a corresponding number of young girls, are introduced, when they grope about and make their selection, after which they ascend out of it, each holding the young lady of his choice by the forefinger of one of her hands. Bracelets are now put on her arms by the elders (this has the same signification as the wedding ring among European nations), and two of the young men stand as sponsors for each bridegroom. The couples are then led to their respective pa¬ rents, who approve and give their consent. After another application of Salop and sundry greet¬ ings, the bridegroom is permitted to take his bride home, where she lives with him for a week, and then, returning to her parents, is not allowed to see her husband for a period of one year, at the expiration of which she is finally made over to him. Their religious ceremonies, like those of their neighbours, consist in offerings to some nameless deity, or to the memory of deceased relations. At each of the principal villages the BhondaB congre¬