Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and the eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 725 pages of information about Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and the.

Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and the eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 725 pages of information about Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and the.

The Chiefs were much fairer than their followers, and in the expression of face and eyes European; but in all cases the forehead was very slanting, and head generally badly developed.

Their dress consisted of cotton frocks, with slashed sleeves, embroidered thickly with worsted network:  they wear short pyjamas, and skin shoes, with thick skin soles; one had short boots with hair inside:  most were ornamented with the blue and yellow longhys of Pushut, etc.  The hair is cut short except that of the Chiefs, who had fillets left round their heads, adorned with cowries, in radiated shapes, with a red, worsted, pendant tassel.  The headman had a pendant wire chain with ornaments, and from the centre of the tassel, the Monaul pheasant feathers, and his back hair was plaited into many little tails.

Almost all had necklaces of beads, the better sort silver earrings (plain rings), and some pendant silver ornaments; many had bracelets, ornamented with brass; kumurbunds of plain white cloths:  the poor ones have their heads naked, or with bits of cloth wrapped round.

They had no swords, but Hindoostany ones, and of these very few.

Even their archery, Macgregor says is bad; one or two had spears, the Chief’s spear was provided with a very long head, and ornamented with cowrie shells at the top of the haft; two women came afterwards, their necks loaded with cowries and bits of bones, but otherwise well clothed with the usual gowns, the outer one without sleeves and very wide arm holes.  They were decorated with very coarse, large, circular earrings.  They approached the rest singing in chorus, not unmelodiously, but with very little variation in notes.  Then a whistle, general and loud from the whole party, representing their rejoicing over a slaughtered Mussulman.

On the whole these people present nothing peculiar as compared with other hill people:  like them they are vindictive, savage, poor, dirty, remarkable for great cupidity, fond of red cloth, beads, etc.  They are a mixed race, some are like Indians, some like Europeans, but in all the forehead is low, Tartar eyes, often light brown or grey, hair often light.  Put them among the Nagas, etc. of the Assam frontier, and none would notice them.

The Chief’s son wore a black, narrow band round his head, ornamented behind with a few cowries and bone ornaments.

They are independent, appear to delight in talking of their victories over the Mussulmans, but the oddest peculiarity as compared with Asiatics, is their shaking hands, which was certainly done with us in the European custom.

The limits of the firs, are as strict as those of Baloot, etc., of the latter it may be stated as between 3,500 to 5,600 feet, of the firs between 5,500 and 8,000; what makes me say this is, that at Katoor the mountains are covered with heavy snow, and are naked above, but with heavy pine forest below, and then with forests of Baloot.

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