Priend of india.
In all the mountain tracts of India are found nomadic races of various clans, each speaking of times when they were prosperous and when they enjoyed dignities wrested from them by superior force but the semblance of which they still retain in their rale forest homes. Yo the already long list the Madras Mait adds another people—the ' Hill-Kings of Tinnevelly." They acknowledge a certain fealty to the Raja of Travancore, whom they designate their Pomun Tamairan," of great deity, and on certain occasions they are said to visit his capital and to offer him, as presents, the productions of the forest, in return for which he gives them food and cloth. The latter article is a luxury indeed, and much do they value the gift. Tite cloth of their women does not exceed three cubits in length and is just sufficient to go round the loins once, leaving the upper part ofthe boy uncovered and not reaching below the knees, There are different clans, but each has a fine name which represents them to be the people of high caste kings. 'The women are not a whit behind the men in laying claims to distinction, but, not content with title sublunary, they' take the name of goddesses." A filthier lot of goddesses, however, exists nowhere, Living, as they always do, on the banks of the most beautiful streams of water, they never bathe and never wash their clothes; once or tsvice in a lifetime, perhaps, they indulge in the luxury, but the cleansing is only what may be effected by a pot of water carried from r into the retirement of the jungle, where the '*wash'" is held. Their reasons for not bathing, or washing in the river, however, bespeak an amount" of consideration for the comfort of others, that contrasts strongly with their personal disregard of themselves. They believe that along the banks of rivers, in the'cool and silent, shale of the dense forest, there dwell beautiful goddesses and holy spirits; that these goddesses bathe and disport. themselves when tired of their frolics, they sleep gently daily ly the pure impid streens, and that on the bosom of the water, its murmurings being their lullaby. 'They say that if they bathed their bodies or washed their clothes in the streams, the impurities thus imparted to the rolling' water would disturb the sleeping beauties, offend their olfactory nerves and so bring upon them their rage and vengeance. Hence their filth Their houses and" their utensils are sufficiently simple, hut perhaps their bedsteads are the most unique things of the kind. Four long stout poles, forked at one end, are firmly Torsa the framework being fastened to the planted in the floor, the necessary poles to forked ends of the posts; young bamboos are cut, cleaned and crushed and laid upon the frame where the owners deposit, not only themselves, but all their worldly goods. They never remove filth or ashes of any kind from the interior, so that, on the whole, their ma-Jesties are not very particular as to the sanitary condition of their royal abodes. They worship demons, but their favourite is goblin who is represented by a stone to which the first-fruits are offered. Polygamy is practised by them, but unfaithfulness is severely punished. The marriage ceremony is simple and, given asa bridal present to the girl's father inexpensive; a few fruits and a little rice are
the day is named, the friends come together, their drums awaken the echoes, the wom give a grand cheer, the brother-in-law and the sister-in-law address the young couple in right courtly language, and they are mau and wife. The language of the Mala Arasars, as these jople are called in the vernacular, is not orarly intelligible to the low-country people; it isa mixture of Tamil and Malayalam and is probably the nearest living approach to the ancient Tamil. They are all under the leadership of one man who is designated Konee, and whose orders are implicitly obeyed. He has a lieutenant, and between the two all the go-Serning business of the Mala Arasars is ear-ried on.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.