336

THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.

then the kari täran takes place, as follows:— Two bamboos, the height of three men, are fixed at some distance from each other in front of the

most ancient gate of the old petá near the Kasbd chauri, to which a rope is tied across, and leaves of the kadi, and nim, cakes of dried cowdung, cobari, dried dates and cocoanuts, are suspended therefrom by the Dheds of the village. This is called the kari tôran. About 4 P. M. the Pâtil, Kulkarni, and all the principal inhabitants walk in procession, pre ceded by music, to the Dešai's house, and select one red and one grey bullock. They are taken to some distance from the place where the kari is, and brought thence to the kari täran. One man holds each bullock. Each has a small piece of steel tied to some twine, which he throws against the kari täran to break it.

The man who breaks the

charm is taken to the Sarkār chauri, where he re

[NoveMBER 1873.

ceives a pagdi and some other present. After this the two bullocks are taken, preceded by music, to the Dešai’s house. If the man in charge of the grey bullock break the charm, it is said that the white javdri will yield abundantly: if the man in charge of the red bullock does it, then the mun gåri javári crop. Before the Dešai's bullocks are brought out in this manner, all the villagers take their bullocks outside the kari and exercise

them till the evening. Should any of them escape, from fear or any other cause, and enter the boun

dary of any village not within the tāluka to which it belongs, the rāyats of the village to which it belongs pursue it closely; but should they not succeed in catching it, and the rāyats of another village take it, the latter do not restore it, and there is no longer any kari ceremony in the village if the bullock is not caught.”

MISCELLANEA. THE GAROS.

The most interesting information with which we have yet met regarding the Gâro tribes, among whom a punitive expedition is still at work, is to be found in the second Report of the Ameri can Baptist Mission there, issued by the Rev. I. J. Stoddard. The Gâro Hills are in the south-west corner of

are not often mistaken. Adultery is punished with death. The unmarried guilty of immoral ities must marry, or be held as outcasts from village and friends.

At the proper age the young people fall in love, court and marry, very much like sensible civilized

folks. The young man in love can propose direct or through his father. The young woman in love

Åsam, the valleys of Åsam and Maimensing bound

has also the privilege of making known her feel

ing them on the north-west and south, the Khasia Hills lying east, with the Brahmaputra on the

ings through the medium of a near relative. In

north and west.

the case where the proposal comes from the young woman the young man is not at liberty to refuse!

They build large and substantial houses on piles.

The bride always brings her husband to her fa

The bamboo floor is from four to ten feet from the

ther's house. The favourite daughter (she may or may not be the eldest) inherits the estate per

ground. The houses are from fifteen to twenty-five feet wide, and from fifty to one hundred and fifty feet long. These are covered with grass and enclosed

their old age. The other married daughters with

with a firm bamboo wall. In one corner a small

their husbands usually live at home for a time, all

room is enclosed as a bedroom for the parents and girls. The remaining portion of the house is one long hall. Here they cook and eat, and store their year's supply of rice and fish. Here we find their farming utensils, their spears and swords, and everything that is valuable to them. Every vil lage has its “Bachelors' Hall,”—a building suffi ciently large to lodge all the unmarried men and boys of the place. Only the daughters stop at home at night with their parents. As compared with the people of the plains, the

Gáros have a high sense of honour. They do not lie, they do not steal. They leave their houses open and unprotected all day, while they are far away on the hills at work. They expect to find

everything on their return as they left it. They

sonal and real, and takes care of her parents in

sharing the common labours and profits. Finally they must strike out and shift for themselves. In no case is a son allowed to bring home a wife and live with his parents. In the event of the death of a husband or wife, the surviving party cannot make a second choice. His or her friends must choose the second com

panion. This is not always easily done. Those of the proper age and lineage cannot be found.

Hence in this second marriage we frequently meet with the widower of fifty years with his young wife of ten years, and the widow of forty with her young husband of eight years' In these domestic arrangements the Gâro customs seem as unalter able as the laws of the Medes and Persians. The Gâros burn their dead.

A few ashes are