Page:The People of India — a series of photographic illustrations, with descriptive letterpress, of the races and tribes of Hindustan Vol 2.djvu/142

 DUNDEES. (95) UNDEES, one of the sects of Hindoo religious devotees, are to be found in all places held sacred by Hindoos, especially in the city of Benares. They have no occupation, but pass their days in devotional exercises, and subsist on food voluntarily supplied to them by Brahmins.

The Benares Dundees are not generally migratory; the Dundees of other parts of the country wander about from place to place. They profess the Hindoo religion, and only worship the Supreme Being by meditation and prayer. They are generally of a mild disposition and irreproachable character. They abstain from animal food, subsisting chiefly on grain and vegetables, and generally live long. They are bound always to carry a staff in their hands, and are recruited from the Brahmin and Chuttree castes.