of such marriages is considered to be of the mother's tribe, and can intermarry with the Agambadiyas, but not in the tribe of the Maravas. Among the whole of the Maravas, the usual titular sirname is Dever (god). Among the Agambadiyas, the ordinary sirname is Servikaren. The titular sirname of all the Kallars is Ambalakaren. The tribes that pay outward respect to the authority of the Sethupathi, are the eighteen chiefs of the Tanjore country; Udiyatdever, the chief of Sivagangai; the Tondaman of Puthu-Kotai (or new fort): these testify towards him great veneration. The reason is, because Tirumalanaicker, the sovereign of the Madura and Trichinopoly country, gave to the Sethupathi, the title of Tirumala-Sethupathi; bestowed on him the appropriate insignia of royal power; presented to him the lion-headed palanquin, in which he himself had been accustomed to be carried; called him his adopted son; invited him to cat of the cold rice of which he (the king) had before partaken; and conferred on him the title of Sethupathi. In consequence, the aforesaid persons, from that time forwards, rendered to the Sethupathi the respectful recognition due to a superior; (that is, standing before him, with the two palms of the hands joined together, and held in front of the breast). The following chiefs among the seventy-two Poligars of Madura, that is to say, the chiefs of Tinnevelly, Cata-boma nayak of Panjalam-curuchi, Serumalinayak of Cadal-cudai, the Tokal-var Dottiyas, being all of inferior caste, fall prostrate before the Sethupathi; and afterwards are not allowed to be seated in his presence, but stand with their arms (respectfully) folded. The following chiefs pay the Sethupathi no exterior sign of respect or homage whatsoever; that is to say, the Sillavas and others of Yettiyàburam, the Vadai-carei, Sokampattai, Uttu-malai, Settúru, Sarandai, and other Marava chiefs; with the Vanaiya chiefs of Siva-giri of seven thousand fields, the Talivan-Kotai, and other Vanaiya chiefs. If they come before the Sethupathi, he rises in token of courtesy. When the Sethupathi goes out publicly, the criers (or heralds) proclaim him to be servant of the house of Tirumala-naicker, and invincible by the seventy-two chiefs (poligars) of Madura. Thus much is the narrative of the Sethupathis, and other Maravas of the Sembu-nattu.

The following is a circumstantial account of the Maravas of Kóndian-Kottai, and of the Upu Kottai Maravas, who are heads of districts in the province of Tinnevelly. Among the Upu-kottai Maravas is Vadagarai Senna-nancha deven; among the Kóndian-Kottai Maravas are Periya-sami-deven of Sakampati; Maruthapa-deven of Uttu-malai, Tiru-vanal-deven of Settur, KadariSaravat-deven of Surandi, Sethu-rayen of Singam-patti; Nalla-Kutti-deven of Urkádu, Sevel-puli-deven of Ney Kútan, Arugu-dever of Kuruka-vatti, Muvaraiyan of Kodi-kulam, Tadiya-talavan of Cadambur, Indra Talavan of Maniyachi, and the ruler of Naduva-Kuruchi. With the exception of the Upukottai chief, the other twelve are of the Kóndian-kottai Maravas. The customs of their tribe are the following. They do not make use of palm-winearrack; and though they eat flesh-meat, they yet bathe daily; and, putting on their silk garments, they then pay homage to Siva. They also make charitable presents or donations (to temples and the Brahmins). With the exception of the wives and daughters of the ruling chiefs, all their relatives follow this rule in the case of young women who, being childless, have lost their husbands, * Or, 'wet garments.' According to the notions of the Hindus, garments, if wetted, or silk garments, cannot convey defilement by the touch. For example, there are native physicians of the Valluvar (pariah) tribe: if they wish to feel the pulse of a person of caste, a silk garment is interposed between the point of contact. Two or three native doctors have had sufficient weight, by reason of their high reputation, to overcome this custom. In the case of a Hindu doctor (of caste) having to feel the pulse of a woman, in a case of ceremonial uncleanness, a silk garment is in like manner interposed, in order to prevent contamination.

that is to say, the parents and principal persons among her relatives come and enquire whether, on account of her youth, it is her wish again to marry or otherwise if she consent, another marriage is arranged; but if she do not ⚫ consent, she remains a widow. In these things the customs of the Upu-kottai and Kóndian-kottai Maravas agree. The whole of the foregoing chiefs wear on their heads a handkerchief, either coloured or white, of seven or eight cubits, but do not wear turbans. They wear a body-cloth coloured, in the way called Nir-kawi (said to be the effect of constant washing every day), which is of eight cubits; but jackets, or vests, with long skirts, are not worn by them. Among the Kóndian-kottai Maravas, with the exceptions of the twelve before-mentioned chiefs, and their people, others of that class reside in the Ramnad province, which is under the authority of the Sethupathi; and are in some cases possessors of villages, in others renters of villages, for a time: these also give a certain smaller proportion* than usual of tribute (vari) to the Sethupathi; they also appoint their own substitutes in the cultivation, and then hold official revenue situations under the Sethupathi. Those not so employed manage their own lands, and give tribute of the proceeds (váramvarisai), according to the ordinary custom.

The Apanur-natta Maravas follow the customs of the tribe, with the receiving and giving in marriage, the same as the Kóndian-kottai Maravas. Some among them are possessors of the villages; some of them temporary renters; half of them are manual cultivators, paying tribute to the government.

The customs of the tribe of Agatá-Maravas are the following: these are servants to the before-mentioned Dottiyas, and this by hereditary descent. The men serve the men, and the women serve the women. The women of this tribe wear ornaments of red gum-lac, made to resemble coral. They imitate the females of the Dottiya tribe in the fashion of their ear-ornaments. The Dottiya men retain a portion of the Agatà women as a sort of inferior wives. The Agatàs are commonly called "earth-coral wearing Maravas;" because they fabricate the semblance of jewels from gum-lac. If the husband of a woman of the Agatà tribe die, she again enters on the marriage state. These women are at liberty to take as many successive husbands as they please. This is the detail of the Agatà Maravas.

The following is the account of the Curuchi Kattu Maravas. The customs of this class resemble those of the before-mentioned Sembu-natta Maravas. Although the females of the Curuchi Kattu Maravas intermarry with men of the Sembu-natta Maravas, yet the women of the latter class do not intermarry with the Agatà Maravas; and the male offspring of such marriages intermarry only with women of the Sembu-natta Maravas. Though the Curuchi Kattu Maravas are Saivas, yet they perform pujai (worship) to various images, as before specified. These people are all of them servants or labourers in cultivation, or small farmers, under the Sethupathi. Others are upon the footing of the Sethupathi's proper people; and pay tribute for their lands in the same manner. Such is the account of the Curuchi Kattu Maravas.

The following is the account of the Orúrnattu Vattagai Maravas. These are Saivas; but, as above, perform worship to various images. They are habituated to drunkenness. Like the before-mentioned Maravas, they are accustomed, on the part of the bridegroom, to give thirty+ fanams as a marriagepresent to the bride, which is received by her father and mother. The elder or younger sister of the bridegroom goes to the house of the bride and, to * The meaning seems to be, that these pay less in consideration of serving as clerks or accountants in the cutcherry,

† Most probably "cully fanams."

the sound of the conch-shell, ties on the táli; and early on the following morning brings her to the house of the bridegroom. After some time, occasionally three or four years, when there are indications of offspring, in the fourth or fifth month, the relatives of the pair assemble and perform the ceremony of removing the deficiency; placing the man and his wife on a seat in public, and having the sacrifice by fire and other matters conducted by the Purohitan (or brahman); after which the relatives sprinkle seshai rice (or rice beaten out without any application of water) over the heads of the pair. The relatives are feasted and otherwise hospitably entertained; and these in return bestow donations on the pair, from one fanam to one pagoda. The marriage is then finished. Sometimes, when money for expenses is wanting, this wedding ceremony is postponed till after the birth of two or three children. If the first husband die, another marriage is customary. Should it so happen that the husband, after the tying on of the tali in the first instance, dislikes the object of his former choice, then the people of their tribe are assembled; she is conducted back to her mother's house; sheep, oxen, eating-plate, with brass cup, jewels, ornaments, and whatever else she may have brought with her from her mother's house, are returned; and the táli, which was put on, is broken off and taken away. If the wife dislike the husband, then the money he paid, the expenses which he incurred in the wedding, the táli which he caused to be bound on her, are restored to him, and the woman, taking whatsoever she brought with her, returns to her mother's house, and marries again, at her pleasure. This class of people belonging to the Sivagangai district, are soldiers of Udiyat-dever, those of them who live in the Ramnad district are soldiers of the Sethupathi. Those who carry spear and sword have land given them, producing five kalams of rice; those bearing muskets, seven kalams; those bearing the sarboji, nine kalams; those bearing the sanjali (or gun for two men), fourteen kalams, because of the two men, being double allowance. A sirdar, of 100 men, has land equal to the produce of fifty kalams; half as much is apportioned to a chief of fisty men. These grants

are made from various villages and towns. In this way they derive the produce, paying tribute of five fanams for every kalam of rice; and in this way the cultivation is managed. Such is the account of the Orurnátta-Maravas. The like custom of military service is common to the other classes of the tribe of Maravas.

This is the completion of the illustration of the customs of the entire tribe of Maravas.*

From the Madras Journal of Literature and Science, for October 1836.

SKETCHES OF THE LATER HISTORY OF BRITISH INDIA.

No. XII.-DISTURBANCES At Bareilly,

THE reader who has merely a general knowledge of India, is apt to think of its people in the same way as of the Dutch or the Portuguese: he considers them as marked by strong national peculiarities, which extend with perfect uniformity over the vast tract of country known by the name of India. In the former part of this judgment he is right-the latter is at variance with truth. There are certain leading traits of character, which not only distinguish the people of India but which appertain to all the inhabitants of the East; but the slightest reflection upon the extent of the country, upon the numerous races of which its people are composed, and of the varied circumstances in which they have been placed, might induce a suspicion that great diversity of character might be expected, and local observation would shew that such diversity actually prevails. Timidity is generally believed to be one main feature in the native character, and, to a great extent, the belief is well founded. Nevertheless, there are exceptions to be made and degrees to be observed. The Mahometans, for the most part, are less timid than the Hindoos; and many tribes of each class evince far less of this quality than the majority of their fellows. In certain spots, entire communities are met with, whose activity and daring would seem to characterize as rather of European than Asiatic origin. These are the men with whom it is most difficult for a foreign Government to deal. An excess of rigour may provoke resistance-an excess of indulgence, by exciting a belief of the weakness of the ruling power, may readily lead to the saine result. An union of moderation with firmness is the only policy upon which a Government so circumstanced can be entitled to rely, and a very slight failing in the due admixture of these wholesome ingredients may be fatal.

Of the description of natives last adverted to, are a large proportion of the inhabitants of Rohilcund. In this province the number of Mahometans, in proportion to that of Hindoos, far exceeds what is usually found in other parts of India. By some, the Mahometans have been supposed to constitute nearly half the population, and if this estimate be exaggerated, its existence is sufficient to shew that the proportion must be large to have given rise to such a calculation. These Mahometans were of Afghan race, and emigrated about the beginning of the eighteenth century. They are represented as highspirited, sanguinary, and revengeful-strongly attached to a military life, but impatient of the restraints of European discipline. Great numbers of them had served under Holkar, and at the period under consideration, many found a refuge in the service of their countryman Ameer Khan. A numerous body, however, remained unemployed and in great distress: they consequently were ready to embrace any chance that appeared to promise subsistence and distinction, and even to accelerate the tardy career of fortune by fomenting discontent and disturbance.

Some curious particulars of the state of society existing in Rohileund are Asiat. Jour.N.S.VOL 22, No.88.

2 R

related in two papers submitted by Mr. Strachey to the Court of Nizamut Adawlut. These papers were drawn up eleven years before the occurrence of the transactions about to be related, but the changes wrought in the intermediate period were not sufficient to render Mr. Strachey's statements inapplicable. It appears that robberies were much less frequent throughout the ceded provinces than in the lower provinces, and the reason assigned by Mr. Strachey for this fact is, not the supremacy of the law, but the reliance of the natives upon their own prowess, and their habit of standing by each other in the event of being attacked. "The grand object of law and police," says the writer, "security of person and property, is better accomplished here by the spirit of the people than in Bengal by the Regulations." The number of crimes reported, it appears, was small, and the number of offenders taken and brought to justice, when compared with the number of cases reported, was larger than might have been expected. One remarkable and characteristic feature in the criminal statistics of Rohilcund was, that while offences against property were few, cases of homicide in all its gradations of guilt were comparatively of frequent occurrence. They were mostly the acts of individuals proceeding upon their own impulses, without concert or confederacy with others. They rarely originated in a desire for plunder, but generally had their rise in revenge, jealousy, wounded pride, or the sudden impulse of anger; but there was an exception to this of an extraordinary character, and which was not less detestable than anomalous. The murder of children, for the sake of the ornaments which they wore, was one of the most common crimes, and this horrible fact tends very much to lower our estimation of a people, who, with many of the vices of half-civilized nations, were supposed to possess many of the sterner and ruder virtues. That the really brave should, under any circumstances, imbue their hands in the blood of childhood, seems almost impossible: the fact that this cowardly crime was perpetrated in furtherance of petty robbery, is calculated to increase the disgust with which it must be regarded by all who retain the slightest tinge of humanity; and the alleged security of property in Rohilcund loses half its value in the well constituted mind, when it thus appears to have arisen from no better motive than fear. Property was safe in the hands of those who had the strength to protect it; but weakness afforded lawful prey the property which had no better guardian than infant innocence was seized without scruple, and the blood of its bearer shed without remorse. It is the disclosure of facts like these which reduces uncivilized and semi-civilized life to their true dimensions; and it is the concealment of them which had led to the absurd belief of the superior excellence of the savage and the gradual deterioration of man by civilization. If any virtue is of such hardy nature as to flourish best when deprived of the fostering hand of cultivation-a point more than doubtful—it is certain that, in a state of lawlessness, all the vices shoot out and fructify in wild and rank luxuriance. Man, untaught and unrestrained, may, for a time, and under favourable circumstances, manifest certain attractive qualities, and appear to be actuated by pure and elevated motives; but the appearance is fallacious; when his passions