The Kacháris
by Sidney Endle · English, Bodo · Gutenberg #50008 · 313,950 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: The Kacháris
Author: Sidney Endle
Author of introduction, etc.: J. D. Anderson
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Most recently updated: October 22, 2024
Language: English, Bodo
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE KACHÁRIS ***
THE KACHÁRIS
BY THE LATE
REV. SIDNEY ENDLE
For many years Chaplain of Tezpur and in charge of
the Kachári Mission of the Society for
the Propagation of the Gospel at that place.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
J. D. ANDERSON, I.C.S. (Retired)
Published under the orders of the Government
of Eastern Bengal and Assam
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON
1911
N.B.--The Editorial Notes in this volume are from the pen of Colonel
P. R. T. Gurdon, I.A., Director of Ethnology to the Government of
Eastern Bengal and Assam.
CONTENTS
PAGE
SECTION I
Characteristics, Physical and Moral; Origin, Distribution
and Historic Summary, etc. 1
SECTION II
Social and Domestic Life 11
SECTION III
Laws and Customs 24
SECTION IV
Religion 33
SECTION V
Folk-lore, Traditions and Superstitions 54
SECTION VI
Outline Grammar, Etc. 71
Appendix I. Tribes Closely Allied to Kacháris 81
Appendix II. Specimens of the Bodo Language 97
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
S. Endle.
From a Photograph by Messrs. Bourne & Shepherd Frontispiece
Group of Meches (Goalpara District).
From a Photograph by Mr. T. E. Emerson To face p. 5
Kachári Woman Weaving (Kamrup) ,, 20
Kachári Clothes ,, 21
Kachári Women Fishing (Kamrup).
From a Photograph by Mrs. H. A. Colquhoun ,, 22
Kachári Girls Playing Jew's Harp (Gongina).
From a Photograph by Mrs. H. A. Colquhoun ,, 30
Siju Tree (Euphorbia splendens).
From a Photograph by Mrs. H. A. Colquhoun ,, 36
Kachári Village Interior (Kamrup District).
From a Photograph by Mrs. H. A. Colquhoun ,, 56
Kachári Girl (Kamrup District).
From a Photograph by Mrs. H. A. Colquhoun ,, 67
Gorge of the River Manás.
From a Photograph by Mrs. H. A. Colquhoun ,, 96
Kachári Man (Kamrup District).
From a Photograph by Mrs. H. A. Colquhoun ,, 105
Group of Kachári Men (Kamrup District).
From a Photograph by Mrs. H. A. Colquhoun ,, 113
IN COLOUR
Kachári Man To face p. 10
Kachári Girl Fishing ,, 16
Kachári Woman ,, 60
Mech Girl ,, 82
Map Showing Area Occupied by the Bodo Races At end of Volume
INTRODUCTION
It is with some diffidence that I comply with Colonel Gurdon's request
that I should add a few words of preface and explanation to the last
literary work of an old friend and pastor, whose loss will long be
lamented in the Assam Valley, where he laboured as a missionary and
planter's chaplain for upwards of forty years. Mr. Endle's interest
in his Kachári flock was that of an evangelist rather than that of a
linguist or ethnologist, and this preoccupation has coloured his style
and affected the matter of his book in a way that, however pleasant and
natural it may seem to those who had the privilege of his acquaintance,
may perhaps require a few words of explanation for the benefit of
those who look for anthropology only, or linguistics, in his pages.
My first duty, then, is to say a few words about the author's life
and character. Sidney Endle was born about 1840 at Totnes in Devon,
of sturdy yeoman parentage. His grandfather was, it seems, proud of
being an armiger, and it is a family tradition that many Endles figured
in the ranks of the Catholic clergy of the West country. Mr. Endle
was educated at Totnes Grammar School, under the Rev. James Powney,
and early conceived a wish to enter the ministry of the Church of
England, and serve abroad as a missionary. With this view he entered
St. Augustine's College at Canterbury. Unfortunately the College
seems to have kept no written record of the dates at which one of
the most distinguished and devoted of its pupils entered and left
its roof. It was in February, 1864, however, that he was sent by
the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to Tezpur, in Assam,
to be the assistant of Mr. Hesselmyer, then in charge of the Kachári
mission at that place. In 1865 he was ordained deacon by the Bishop
of Calcutta, and in the following year he was admitted to priest's
orders. Soon after he was transferred to the independent charge of
the S.P.G. mission among the tea-garden coolies at Dibrugarh in Upper
Assam. In 1869, on Mr. Hesselmyer's death, Mr. Endle was made chaplain
of the important tea-planting district of Darrang, with the charge
of the Kachári mission in that district, having his head-quarters
at Tezpur. His pastoral duties were thus two-fold. On the one hand,
he became the pastor of an European community scattered over an area
some 100 miles in length by 30 or 40 in breadth. It was his duty to
gather his flock round him at some convenient tea-garden, or at the
pretty little rustic church at Tezpur itself, where his congregation
included the small band of officials. He was everywhere welcome, and
it was not long before he was as popular as he was respected. One
of the most unworldly and simple of men, almost an ascetic in his
personal tastes and habits, he could sympathise with and understand
men whose training and ideas were different from his. He had a
native shrewdness and quiet sense of humour which stood him in good
stead in his dealings with men probably as varied in their origins
and temperament as are to be found in any collection of Englishmen
beyond the seas. His sermons--and he could preach with equal ease and
eloquence in English, Assamese, and Kachári--were ever those of a man
who to shrewd observation of the various life about him, native and
European, added an unwavering devotion to the responsibilities of his
calling. Authoritative, and even stern, he could be when he thought
it needful to assert his responsibility as a priest. But, somehow,
the occasion rarely occurred, since his was not the disposition that
demands impossible perfection of ordinary human nature. There was
no touch of intolerance in his gentle and (there is no other word to
describe him) saintly nature. I think he would have liked to have it
said of him that, like Chaucer's Parson,
He was a shepherd and no mercenerie,
And though he holy were and vertuous,
He was to simple men not dispitous,
Ne of his speech dangerous ne digne,
But in his teaching discrete and benigne.
Innumerable were the marriages and christenings he celebrated in all
parts of Assam, and it was characteristic of the man that he regarded
it as a duty to keep himself informed of the welfare, spiritual and
physical, of the children he held at the font. During his rare visits
to England he endeavoured when he was not busy preaching for his
mission, to visit those whom in their infancy he had admitted to his
Church. Few chaplains in India can have been so universally popular
and respected as he was, and this without in any way relaxing from
the dignity which, in his case, belonged rather to his sacred office
than to any consideration for his own person.
But he made no secret of the fact that his heart was chiefly in his
missionary work among his beloved Kacháris. The Bodos of the Kachári
dwars (the dwars or "doors" of the Kachári plains are the passes that
lead into the rough mountains of independent Bhutan) are, like most of
the aboriginal races of Assam, cheery, good-natured, semi-savage folk;
candid, simple, trustful, but incorrigibly disrespectful according
to Indian notions of good manners. To a casual observer, they may
well have seemed incapable of comprehending the gentle reserve
and unaffected unselfishness of their pastor's nature. Among them,
however, it was his delight to unbend, and give way to the almost
boyish simplicity and sense of fun which to the last were among his
most engaging traits. When Mr. Endle approached a Kachári village
during one of the prolonged preaching tours which were to him at once
a duty and the keenest of pleasures, he was always greeted with a
joyous and often noisy welcome. He travelled on foot, and the villagers
would turn out to see the gami-ni-brai, the "old man of the village,"
as they affectionately called him. He was often cordially invited to
share in the village festivities, and it was an interesting sight to
watch him seated in the midst of rough semi-savage folk, listening to
the tale of their simple joys and sorrows, enjoying their primitive
jokes, and, when occasion served, talking to them, as probably no one
else will ever be able to talk to them again, of the matters nearest
to the missionary's heart.
In all parts of the Kachári country, Mr. Endle established many
village schools, served by trusty converts. But his chief pride
was in the church he built at Bengbari, which, to his great joy,
was consecrated by Bishop Milman in person. Under its thatched roof
has now been placed a tablet to the memory of its founder.
No account of Mr. Endle's life, however brief, would be complete
without a mention of the fact that in 1875 he married Miss
Sarah Ewbank Chambers, who for twenty years shared his pastoral
anxieties. Mrs. Endle was much respected by the European community
throughout Assam, and her sudden death in Calcutta in 1895 was
universally regretted. How sorely her husband felt her loss, not even
those who knew him best were allowed to guess, but it was plain that,
from this time onwards, much of his old elasticity of mind and body
deserted him, and though he continued his work with unabated industry
the effects of age began for the first time to be apparent to his
friends. In 1884 Mr. Endle compiled his well-known manual of the
Kachári language, published by the Assam Secretariat Press. From time
to time he contributed papers on the subject of the Bodo people to the
Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. In 1891 he was elected
an Honorary Fellow of St. Augustine's College, in recognition of his
linguistic studies and of his eminence as a worker in the mission
field. In 1906 he was offered a canonry by the Bishop of Calcutta,
but characteristically refused a dignity which might have involved
absences from his missionary duties.
Such, briefly told, are the few outstanding events in a life wholly
devoted to pastoral work, of which little was known outside his native
flock. It was Mr. Endle's repeatedly expressed wish that he might end
his life and be laid to rest among his Kacháris. This wish was not
fulfilled. Towards the end of 1905 it was evident that his persistent
disregard of his personal comfort in an enervating climate had taxed a
naturally robust constitution. He was induced with some difficulty to
pay a brief visit to England for rest and change. He spent this holiday
chiefly in preaching for his mission and visiting old friends. He
was soon, perhaps too soon, back at his work. It could no longer be
hidden from himself or others that he had overtaxed his strength. This,
however, caused him no disquietude. He had done his day's work, and
was cheerfully ready to take his departure. In July 1907, he could
struggle no longer against growing weakness, and was placed on one
of the little mail steamers that ply up and down the Brahmaputra,
in the hope that river breezes, rest, and change of scene might bring
about some restoration to health. He himself, however, knew that his
end was near, and he passed away, painlessly and peacefully, on the
river bank at Dibrugarh, close to the scene of his first independent
missionary charge, entrusted to him more than forty years before.
So much by way of biographical introduction seemed necessary,
not only as an inadequate and too brief memorial of a singularly
unselfish and blameless career, but also as an explanation of some
features in Mr. Endle's book not usually found in anthropological
manuals. Of the subject of the book itself I may now be allowed to say
a few words, if only to show that it has an interest and importance,
from an ethnological point of view, which are perhaps disguised by
the author's characteristically modest estimate of his task and of
his power of dealing with it. The book is, primarily, a monograph
treating of that branch of the Kachári race which lives in scattered
hamlets along the foot-hills of the Himalayas in Northern Bengal and
Assam, intermixed now with Hindu people who have intruded into what
was once their undisputed home. In Assam proper the Hindus call them
Kacháris; in Bengal they are known as Meches. [1] Their own name for
their race is Boro or Bodo (the o has the sound of the English o in
"hot"). Among this northern branch of the race is embedded the tribe
of the Koch, whose name is pronounced locally as if it were Koss,
(to rhyme with our English "boss"). (Kachári, I may mention in
passing, is also pronounced as Koss-ari.) The Koch have gradually
become a semi-Hindu caste, most of whose members now talk the Indian
Bengali or Assamese. It also contains the surviving remnants of the
royal family of the great and powerful Koch empire, which, roughly,
covered the same area as the present province of Eastern Bengal and
Assam. It can be proved that the aboriginal members of the Koch caste
within quite recent times spoke the Boro language. In the East of the
Assam Valley was another powerful kingdom, that of the Chutiyas, whose
language was another branch of the speech described in this book. The
river names of the whole Brahmaputra Valley are Bodo names, and it is
demonstrable that the Bodos were the aborigines of the Valley. In the
great mass of hills, an outlying spur of the mountains of Upper Burma,
which divide the Brahmaputra Valley from that of the river Surma which
runs parallel to it from east to west are two more Bodo groups. The
most eastern of these comprises the Di-ma-sa, Great-River-Folk (di-
means "river" or "water,") people who were driven out of the valley of
the great river Brahmaputra in historical times, and finally became
rulers of what is now the great tea-planting district of Cachar or
Kachar. They either gave its name to or perhaps derived their Hindu
soubriquet of Kachari from this district. Of this branch of the race
an interesting description will be found in the supplement to this
book. At the western extremity of the range of hills is another group,
the Garos, of whom an excellent account has lately been published by
Major A. Playfair, I.A. (London, David Nutt, 1909). The Garos are of
peculiar interest as members of the Bodo family, because they were
head-hunters within the memory of men still living.
Finally in the range of hills in the south of the Surma Valley,
there are the Tipperahs whose language is obviously a branch of
the ancient Bodo speech; quiet inoffensive people, ruled over by a
semi-independent Raja who is also a great land-owner in the British
districts of Tipperah and Sylhet.
Now, the anthropologists rightly caution us against rashly concluding
that a common speech, where races are in contact, implies a common
origin, since everywhere, and especially among people who use an
unwritten language, nothing is more common than the borrowing of a
neighbouring tongue. But where, as here, we have five absolutely
separate communities of semi-savage people, who nowadays are not
so much as aware of one another's existence, and yet speak what is
to all purposes the same language, it is plain that they must have
been united at no very distant date by some common social bond. The
date cannot have been very distant, because in the unwritten speech
of semi-savage people phonetic decay acts very rapidly, and a very
few years may serve to disguise the relationships of adjacent and
cognate tongues. No one who has heard members of the five branches of
the Bodo race speak their respective languages can fail to recognise
that they belong to the same linguistic group. Moreover, this common
Bodo speech was, till within a few years ago, the language of the
Koches, the dominant and ruling tribe in the great Koch kingdom,
which survived, with something of its ancient prestige and power,
long enough to be visited by an Englishman, Ralph Fitch, in Queen
Elizabeth's time. It would seem, then, that the language spoken
in the ancient Koch kingdom, which extended from the Himalayas to
the Bay of Bengal, was the Koch or Bodo language, and the mass of
the people must have been of Bodo origin. In the Brahmaputra valley
these Bodos have survived in the midst of Hindu and Shan invaders and
settlers, of whom those who are interested in the subject may read
in Mr. E. A. Gait's admirable History of Assam, (Calcutta, Thacker,
Spink and Co., 1906). Here the anthropologist may come to the rescue
of the historian. The Bodo type of face and physical construction is,
as Mr. Endle says, of an Indo-Chinese kind, easily distinguishable
from the Arya-Dravidian type common in adjacent Bengal, and careful
measurements in the Brahmaputra and Surma Valleys ought to show how far
the old Koch element still persists, how far it has been obliterated
by inter-marriage with Indian immigrants.
It may, however, be assumed that the population of the Koch kingdom,
and therefore of its predecessor, the famous classical empire of
Kama-rupa, of which Sanskrit scholars may read in the Mahabharata
(perhaps in a late interpolation in the epic) was chiefly Bodo, of
the same type as the humble folk who are the subject of Mr. Endle's
book. Kama-rupa was visited in the first half of the seventh century of
our era by the famous Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsiang, whose interesting
account of the land and people may be found at page 22 of Mr. Gait's
History. "They adore and sacrifice," says the Chinese explorer,
"to the Devas and have no faith in Buddha."
It was apparently in the kingdom of Kama-rupa that there came into
being that form of Hinduism whose scriptures are the later Puranas
and the Tantras, the worship of Siva and his Sakti, that form of the
Hindu cult which, to this day and even in the temple of Kali-ghat in
Calcutta itself, is distinguished by sacrifice by decapitation. In
the earlier times of British rule, as readers of Mr. Gait's book may
find for themselves, the Hindus of Assam were much addicted to human
sacrifice by beheading, and, to this day, the appropriate method of
propitiating the terrible goddess Kali, the "dark one" (who is also
Dur-ga, "hard of approach"), is by bloody sacrifices. The Saiva or
Sakta form of Hinduism would therefore seem to be due to an engrafting
of Koch superstitions on the purer and humaner religious ideas imported
into India by the Aryan settlers to whom we owe the Vedas and the
religious literature based on those early pastoral hymns. From this
point of view, it is important to bear in mind that the Garos were
till lately headhunters, and that the Chutiyas were conspicuous,
even in North-Eastern India, for their addiction to human sacrifices.
How does it happen then, it may be asked, that the Bodos described
in this book are among the most innocent and kindly of semi-savage
people? The answer seems to be that the bulk of the inhabitants of
North-Eastern India were always simple inoffensive folk, and that it
was only the ruling tribes and families that were addicted to war,
rapine, torture, cruelty, and the religious developments that go with
these. If Assam is undoubtedly still the home of the Tantrik beliefs
which have their centre at the famous shrine of Kamaksa at the old
capital of the Koch monarchs (now known as Gua-hati or Gauhati),
Assam is also the home of the Visnu-ite reform, an attractive and
learned account of which will be found in a paper by Sir Charles
N. E. Eliot, published in the "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society"
for October, 1910. The common people in Assam, the rustic Hindus of
the Brahmaputra Valley, are in temperament and habits very like the
cheerful and smiling Bodo folk among whom Mr. Endle laboured, and of
whom he writes with such frank regard and appreciation. The climate
of the valley is enervating and soft, and any traveller in Assam
can see for himself how the once fierce and warlike Ahom invaders,
who gave its name to the country of Assam, have become as soft and
kindly in disposition as the Kacháris themselves. No more remarkable
instance of the effect of environment on national temperament could
be found anywhere, and the anthropological theories of Dr. Ridgeway
could hardly have a more remarkable support than he might find by
contrasting the semi-savage inhabitants of the Brahmaputra Valley
with the bloodthirsty and warlike tribes in the surrounding mountains,
their neighbours and relatives.
I have only to say, finally, that I have added, as an Appendix to my
old friend's book, a literal interlinear translation of three stories
from my little Collection of Kachári Folk-tales. In adding these I have
followed the example set by Sir Charles Lyall in his monograph on the
Mikirs. By means of this interlinear and word-for-word translation,
the comparative linguist may see for himself how far Kachári is still
a monosyllabic agglutinative language, and how far it has borrowed
the inflectional mechanism of Assamese and Bengali. There has, of
course, been mutual borrowing, and I, for one, do not doubt that the
syntactical peculiarities of Assamese are largely due to the fact
that it is a speech with an Aryan vocabulary spoken by a people who
are largely non-Aryan. Any careful reader of the stories in this book
can see for himself that the Bodo spoken in the Kachári dwars is the
language of a biglot people. Their picturesque agglutinative verb is
plainly a survival of days when the language was as monosyllabic as
Chinese. But the general structure of the language is now governed
by inflections obviously borrowed from Bengali and Assamese.
J. D. Anderson.
Cambridge,
December, 1910.
THE KACHÁRIS
SECTION I
Characteristics, Physical and Moral; Origin, Distribution and Historic
Summary, etc.
[Characteristics.]
I. 1. The people generally known to us as "Kacháris" differ in some
material ways from their Hindu and Musulmán neighbours alike in
things material and moral. They are certainly not a tall or handsome
race, and in general appearance bear some resemblance to the Nepáli,
being as a rule shorter and stouter than the people of North-west
India, though well fitted to bear up against physical fatigue
and hardship. [Physical] In face and figure they show a distinct
approximation to what is known as the Mongolian type, i.e., they have
square set faces, projecting cheek-bones, with almond-shaped eyes,
and scanty beard and moustache, the last-mentioned being often wanting
altogether. In this way they are well fitted for all forms of outdoor
(field and factory) labour that require strength rather than skill,
and may very reasonably be regarded as the "navvies" of Assam.
[Mental.]
2. In mental and intellectual power they are undoubtedly far below
their Hindu neighbours; for they possess neither the quickness of
apprehension, nor the astonishing power of memory, &c., characteristic
of the higher castes among the Hindus. On the other hand, what they do
succeed in mastering, often with much toil and painful effort, they
digest and retain with much tenacity. Among other social and mental
features of character there are two which are seldom wanting to the
"Kachári": (1) he is an intensely clannish being. A fine imposed
on one member of a village community is sometimes paid by the whole
body of villagers together. When employed in any considerable numbers
on a tea factory, the Kachári labourers so employed, resenting some
real or fancied wrong done to one of their number, will often leave
the garden in a body, even though there may be a month's pay due to
every one of them. Again they have (2) no small share of that quality
so powerful for good or evil, according as it is guided into right or
wrong channels, i.e., a certain strength of will, "what their friends
might call firmness, and their enemies might term obstinacy." If they
once make up their minds, and they are abundantly capable of doing
this, to act in a certain way, it is mere waste of time to attempt to
reason them out of their resolution, for nothing short of absolute
and overpowering physical force is of any avail to turn them from
the course they have once for all resolved to adopt and act upon.
[Moral.]
3. As regards the moral character of the Kachári race, those who know
them best will be the first to speak favourably of them. Like many of
the Sub-Himalayan hill tribes, they undoubtedly have a certain weakness
for what may be looked upon as their national beverage (Madh, zu), a
form of rice-beer. Of this, in itself a comparatively harmless liquor
when taken in moderation, they at times consume very large quantities,
especially at weddings, funerals, and at the January and April Bihu
festivals; and more particularly at what is known as the "first eating
of the new rice" (Nowán bhát khoa; Mikham gadàn zánai), which usually
takes place about the middle of December or a little earlier. At this
last-mentioned gathering the writer has sometimes seen well-nigh the
entire population of a Kachári village hors de combat from the effect
of over-indulgence in the national beverage. But they are certainly
not habitual drunkards, and in this matter Kacháris as a rule would
compare not unfavourably with the working man in more civilised lands;
e.g., in England. But apart from this particular failing, one almost
universal among hill tribes on this frontier, it is pleasing to be
able to say that among them are to be found many simple virtues of
great price, i.e., honesty, truthfulness, straightforwardness and a
general trustworthiness deserving of all honour. In illustration of
their simple truthfulness, even when involving serious consequences
to themselves, the writer recalls a story told him some years
ago by an officer in charge of the subdivision of Mangaldai, the
late A. J. Primrose, I.C.S. A Kachári of Sekhár Mauza was brought
before this magistrate on a charge (manslaughter) involving a
very heavy penalty, when he without hesitation admitted his guilt,
though the evidence against him was of the slightest, or at least
utterly insufficient to secure a conviction. The relations of the
sexes too are on the whole of a very sound and wholesome character,
far more so probably than in many countries boasting of a higher
civilisation. Infant marriage is as yet unknown among them, and
so far as the present writer has been able to ascertain during
the past forty years, the young people are as a rule chaste before
marriage and true to their marriage vows in after-life. But it must
be clearly understood that all this holds good of the Kachári in his
simple, patriarchal, village life, and there only. His innocence is
the innocence of ignorance, not the innocence of experience: and he
is as a rule free from certain forms of evil because in his village
life he has never come under any temptation to indulge in them. When
contaminated by civilization, e.g., when brought into contact with
our civil and criminal courts, much of this innocence must inevitably
disappear; and of this sad deterioration of character any man who
has been long in the country, and learnt to know the people well,
must have experienced many melancholy and painful illustrations.
[Origin, &c.]
II. The origin of the Kachári race is still very largely a matter
of conjecture and inference, in the absence of anything entitled to
be regarded as authentic history. As remarked above, in feature and
general appearance they approximate very closely to the Mongolian type;
and this would seem to point to Tibet and China as the original home
of the race. The Garos, a race obviously near of kin to the Kacháris,
have a tradition that in the dim and distant past their forefathers,
i.e., nine headmen, the offspring of a Hindu fakir and a Tibetan woman,
came down from the northern mountains, and, after a halt at Koch-Behar,
made their way to Jogighopa, and thence across the Brahmaputra to
Dalgoma, and so finally into the Garo Hills. It is not easy to say
what degree of value is to be attached to this tradition, but it
does at least suggest a line of inquiry that might well be followed
up with advantage. [2]
It is possible that there were at least two great immigrations from
the north and north-east into the rich valley of the Brahmaputra,
i.e., one entering North-east Bengal and Western Assam through
the valley of the Tista, Dharla, Sankosh, &c., and founding there
what was formerly the powerful kingdom of Kamarupa; and the other
making its way through the Subansiri, Dibong and Dihong valleys
into Eastern Assam, where a branch of the widespread Kachári race,
known as Chutiyás, undoubtedly held sway for a lengthened period. The
capital quarters of this last-mentioned people (the Chutiyás) was
at or near the modern Sadiya, not far from which certain ruins of
much interest, including a copper-roofed temple (Támár ghar), are
still to be seen. It is indeed not at all unlikely that the people
known to us as Kacháris and to themselves as Bada (Bara), were in
earlier days the dominant race in Assam; and as such they would seem
to have left traces of this domination in the nomenclature of some
of the physical features of the country, e.g., the Kachári word for
water (di; doi) apparently forms the first syllable of the names of
many of the chief rivers of the province, such as Diputá, Dihong,
Dibong, Dibru, Dihing, Dimu, Desáng, Diku (cf. khu Tista), &c., and
to these may be added Dikrang, Diphu, Digáru, &c., all near Sadiya,
the earliest known centre of Chutiyá (Kachári) power and civilisation.
[Distribution.]
III. But however this may be, there would seem to be good reason
for believing that the Kachári (Bada) race is a much more widely
distributed one than it was at one time supposed to be. They are
undoubtedly found well outside the limits of modern (political) Assam,
i.e., in North-east Bengal Koch-Behar, &c., and also in Hill Tippera,
where the language of the people gives decisive evidence that they
are of the Bada stock. But apart from these outlying members of the
race, there are within the limits of Assam itself at least 1,000,000
souls, probably many more, who belong to the Kachári race; though
many of the number have of late years become more or less Hinduised,
and have lost the use of their mother tongue. These may perhaps be
conveniently divided into a (1) Northern and (2) a Southern group,
the Brahmaputra being taken roughly as the dividing line, thus:--
+------------------+--------------+---------------------------+
| | Approximate | |
| Name. | numbers. | Chief habitat. |
+------------------+--------------+---------------------------+
| |
| I. Northern Group. |
| |
|1. Bårå (Kachári) | 272,500 | Western Darrang, Kachári |
| | | Duars, and in North |
| | | Kamrup. |
|2. Rábhá (Totalá) | 31,370 | Golpara. |
|3. Mech (Mes) | 93,900 | Do. |
|4. Dhimal | (See Bryan | North-east Bengal. |
| | Hodgson) | |
|5. Koch | 10,300 | On Northern Frontier from |
| | | Jalpaiguri to North-west |
| | | Darrang. |
|6. Solanimiyas |15-18 families| Only in Mangaldai |
| | only | Subdivision. |
|7. Mahaliyas } | | Western Darrang. All |
| Phulgariyas } | | slightly Hinduised |
| Saraniyas } | | Kacháris. |
| |
| II. Southern Group. |
| |
|1. Di-má-sá | | |
| "big-water-folk" | 15,931 | North Cachar Hills. |
|2. Hojáis | 2,750 | Do. and Nowgong. |
|3. Lálungs | 40,160 | South-west Nowgong and |
| | | adjoining districts. |
|4. Garos | 150,000 | On Garo Hills and at foot |
| | | of same. |
|5. Haijongs | 8,766 | On plains adjoining |
| | | southern slope of the |
| | | Garo Hills. |
|6. Hill Tippera | | |
| (Tripura) people | 105,850 | Hill Tippera, &c. |
+------------------+--------------+---------------------------+
To these may be added one or two smaller communities, e.g., the Moráns
and the Chutiyás in Upper Assam, whose language, not altogether extinct
as yet though apparently dying out rapidly, would seem to prove them
to be closely akin to the Kachári (Bada) race.
[Historic Sketch.]
IV. The only branch of this widely spread race that may be said to
have anything like an authentic history is that settled in what is
known as the once powerful kingdom of Kamarupa (Koch), the reigning
family of which is now represented by the Rajas of Koch-Behar,
Bijni, Darrang (Mangaldai) and Beltola. But on the history of this
(the Western) section of the Kachári race there is no need to dwell,
as it was very effectively dealt with some few years ago. [3] But
the earliest historical notices of the Eastern branch of the race
show that under the name of Chutiyás they had established a powerful
kingdom in the Eastern corner of the Province, the seat of Government
being at or near the modern Sadiya. How long this kingdom existed
it is now impossible to say; but what is known with some degree of
certainty is, that they were engaged in a prolonged struggle with
the Ahoms, a section of the great Shan (Tai) race, who crossed the
Pátkoi Hills from the South and East about A.D. 1228, and at once
subdued the Moráns, Boráhis, and other Kachári tribes living near
the Northern slope of these hills. With the Chutiyás the strife would
seem to have been a long and bitter one, lasting for some 150 or 200
years. But in the end the victory remained with the Ahoms, who drove
their opponents to take refuge in or about Dimápur on the Dhansiri at
the foot of the Naga Hills. There for a time the fugitives were in
comparative security and they appear to have attained to a certain
measure of material civilisation, a state of things to which some
interesting remains of buildings (never as yet properly explored)
seem to bear direct and lasting witness. Eventually, however, their
ancient foes followed them up to their new capital, and about the
middle of the sixteenth century the Ahoms succeeded in capturing
and sacking Dimápur itself. The Kachári Raja thereupon removed his
court to Máibong ("much paddy"), where the dynasty would seem to
have maintained itself for some two centuries. Finally, however,
under pressure of an attack by the Jaintia Raja the Kachári sovereign
withdrew from Máibong to Kháspur in Kachar (circa 1750 A.D.). There
they seem to have come more and more under Hindu influence, until
about 1790 the Raja of that period, Krishna Chandra, and his brother
Govinda Chandra made a public profession of Brahminism. They were both
placed for a time inside the body of a large copper image of a cow,
and on emerging thence were declared by the Brahmins to be Hindus of
the Kshatriya caste, Bhima of Mahabharat fame being assigned to them
as a mythological ancestor. Hence to this day the Darrang Kacháris
sometimes speak of themselves as "Bhim-ni-fsa," i.e. children of Bhim,
though as a rule they seem to attach little or no value to this highly
imaginative ancestry.
The reign of the last Kachári king, Govind Chandra, was little better
than one continuous flight from place to place through the constant
attacks of the Burmese, who finally compelled the unhappy monarch
to take refuge in the adjoining British district of Sylhet. He was,
indeed, reinstated in power by the aid of the East India Company's
troops in 1826, but was murdered some four years later, when his
kingdom became part of the British dominions. His commander-in-chief,
one Tulá Rám, was allowed to remain in possession of a portion of
the subdivision now known as North Cachar, a region shown in old maps
of Assam as "Tula Ram Senapati's country." But on the death of this
chieftain in 1854, this remaining portion of the old Kachári Raj was
formally annexed to the district of Nowgong.
As regards this last-mentioned migration, i.e., from Maibong to Kháspur
about A.D. 1750, and the conversion to Hinduism which soon followed it,
it would seem that the movement was only a very limited and restricted
one, confined indeed very largely to the Raja and the members of his
court. The great majority of his people remained in the hill country,
where to this day they retain their language, religion, customs,
&c., to a great extent intact. It is not improbable, indeed, that
this statement may hold good of the earlier migrations also, i.e.,
those that resulted from the prolonged struggle between the Ahoms
and the Chutiyás. When as a result of that struggle the defeated race
withdrew first to Dimápur and afterwards to Máibong, it is not unlikely
that the great body of the Chutiyás (Kacháris) which remained in the
rich valley of Assam came to terms with their conquerors (the Ahoms)
and gradually became amalgamated with them, much as Saxons, Danes,
Normans, &c., slowly but surely became fused into one nationality in
the centuries following the battle of Hastings. In this way it may
well be that the Kachári race were the original autochthones of Assam,
and that even now, though largely Hinduised, they still form a large,
perhaps the main, constituent element in the permanent population of
the Province. To this day one often comes across villages bearing
the name of "Kachárigaon," the inhabitants of which are completely
Hinduised, though for some considerable time they would seem to have
retained their Kachári customs, &c., unimpaired. It may be that,
whilst the great body of the Chutiyá (Kachári) race submitted to their
Ahom conquerors, the stronger and more patriotic spirits among them,
influenced perhaps by that intense clannishness which is so marked a
feature in the Kachári character, withdrew to less favoured parts of
the Province, where their conquerors did not care at once to follow
them up; i.e., the Southern section of the race may have made its way
into the districts known as the Garo Hills and North Cachar; whilst
the Northern section perhaps took up its abode in a broad belt of
country at the foot of the Bhutan Hills, still known as the "Kachári
Duars," a region which, being virtually "Terai" land, had in earlier
days a very unenviable reputation on the score of its recognised
unhealthiness. And if this view of the matter be at all a sound one,
what is known to have happened in our own island may perhaps furnish
a somewhat interesting "historic parallel." When about the middle of
the fifth century the Romans finally withdrew from Britain, we know
that successive swarms of invaders, Jutes, Danes, Saxons, Angles,
&c., from the countries adjoining the North and Baltic seas, gradually
overran and occupied the richer lowland of what is now England, driving
all who remained alive of the aboriginal Britons to take refuge in
the less favoured parts of the country, i.e., the mountains of Wales
and the highlands of Scotland, where many of the people of this day
retain their ancient mother speech: very much as the Kacháris of
Assam still cling to their national customs, speech, religion, &c.,
in those outlying parts of the Province known in modern times as the
Garo Hills, North Cachar and the Kachári Duars of North-west Assam.
[Final Separation of Northern and Southern]
V. It may perhaps be asked how a people so clannish and united as the
Kacháris are well known to be, should ever become so widely separated
as the Western (Bara) and Southern (Dimásá) sections now undoubtedly
are. The separation would seem to be almost final and complete. The
writer, e.g., has often tried [Sections of the race.] to ascertain
if the Kacháris of the Northern Duars retained any tradition of ever
having been subject to the Raja of Dimápur; but up to the present time
no trace of any such tradition has come to light. Intermarriage between
the two sections of the race is apparently quite unknown; indeed, the
barrier of language would of itself probably go far to prevent such
intermarriage: for although the two languages have much in common,
yet in their modern form they differ from each other nearly as much
as Italian does from Spanish; and members of the two sections of the
race meeting each other for the first time would almost certainly fail
to understand each other's speech. Perhaps the following tradition,
[4] which apparently describes one of the closing scenes in the
prolonged struggle between the Chutiyá Kacháris and the Ahoms, may
go some way to account for the wide separation between the Northern
and Southern sections of the race. The story is as follows:--Long,
long ago the Dimásá fought against a very powerful tribe (the Ahoms),
and being beaten in a great pitched battle, the king with all his
forces retreated. But presently further retreat was barred by a wide
and deep river, which could in no way be crossed. The Raja, being thus
stopped by a river in front and an enemy behind, resolved to fight
once more the next day, unless the problem of crossing the river could
be solved. With this determination he went to sleep and had a dream
in which a god appeared to him and promised to help him. The god said
that early next morning the king with all his people must boldly enter
the river at a spot where he would see a heron standing in the water,
and walk straight across the river, but no one must look back. Next
morning a heron was found, sure enough, standing in the water near the
bank; and the king, remembering his dream, led his people to the spot
and went into the water, which they found had shoaled enough to form
a ford and allow them to wade across. In this way he crossed with a
great part of his people. But still all had not crossed. There were
some on the other bank and some in the middle of the river, when a
man among the latter wondering whether his son was following him,
looked back, with the result that the water at once got deep and
every one had to save himself as best he could; while the men on
the other bank, having no chance of crossing, dispersed. They who
were caught in the middle of the river had to swim for their lives,
and were washed down to different places. Some saved themselves by
catching hold of Khágris (rushes) growing on the bank, and are to this
day called Khágrábária. Others caught hold of nals (or reeds) and are
thus called Nalbárias. The Dimásá are the people who crossed in safety.
It is fairly obvious that the Oriental love for the grotesquely
marvellous has had no small share in the development of this tradition;
but whilst making all due allowance for this, the writer ventures to
think that the tradition itself is not altogether without a certain
historic value. It probably represents the closing scenes in the
protracted struggle for supremacy between the Ahoms and the Chutiyás
(Kacháris) when the latter, finally beaten, endeavoured to escape
their foes by crossing the Brahmaputra to the South bank, using for
that purpose whatever material was at hand, e.g., rude dug-out boats
(khel náu), extemporised rafts (bhel), &c. The student of Assam history
will remember that a like mishap befell Mir Jumla's expedition for
the conquest of Assam; Rangpur, Ghergaon, &c., when a violent storm
or sudden rise in the river carried away or sunk the boats containing
his ammunition and other stores, and he was compelled to come to terms
with the Ahom rulers. A sudden storm or rapid rise in the river may
have prevented many of the fugitives from crossing, and these would
perforce have fallen into the hands of the Ahoms. The latter, acting
on the principle "Divide et impera," may have forced their captives to
take up their abode in the unhealthy (Terai) country now known as the
"Kachári Duárs," and further may have prohibited any communication
between the two severed fragments of the conquered race, which would
thenceforth naturally drift further asunder, until the separation
became as complete as it remains to this day.
SECTION II
Social and Domestic Life
[Dwellings, houses, &c.]
In their domestic life, the Kacháris of this district (Darrang) do not
differ very materially from their Hindu neighbours, to the subordinate
castes of whom they are no doubt very closely allied. The houses are
of the usual type, one-storied only, the walls being of ekrá reed or
of split bamboo, and the roof of thatch fastened by cane. Each hut
commonly contains two rooms, one for eating, &c., and the other for
sleeping. There is no trace here of the practice which prevails among
some tribes of the Province who are undoubtedly very nearly related to
the Kacháris, i.e., the provision of bachelor-barracks (Dekáchángs),
where all the young unmarried men of the village have to sleep apart
from the dwellings of settled householders. It is probable, indeed,
that this custom formerly obtained here, but all trace of it seems
to have passed away long since.
[Villages.]
A Kachári village is as a rule much more compact than a Hindu one,
the houses being built more closely together. Usually, too, there is
comparatively little foliage in the way of trees, &c.; and occasionally
even something like a street separates the two or more lines of houses
which compose a village. One prominent feature in the typical Kachári
village cannot fail to strike the attention of any casual visitor at
first sight. Each house, with its granary and other outbuildings, is
surrounded by a ditch and fence, the latter usually made of ekrá reeds,
jungle grass or split bamboo, &c. The ditch, some three or four feet
in depth, surrounds the whole homestead, the earth taken from it being
thrown up on the inner side, i.e., that nearest to the dwelling-house;
and on the earthworks, some two or three feet in height, so thrown
up are firmly inserted the reeds or split-bamboo work forming the
fence itself, this latter often inclining outwards at a very obtuse
angle; so that the ditch and fence are not easily surmounted from the
outside by would-be intruders. A Kachári village usually abounds in
domestic live-stock of various kinds, e.g., ducks, fowls, goats, pigs,
cattle, &c.; and it can hardly be doubted that the fence and ditch
above spoken of are largely intended to prevent the cattle, pigs,
&c., from getting into the rice-fields at night, and so doing serious
damage to the paddy and other crops. With the abundance of live-stock,
especially hogs, reared and kept by the Kacháris, it need hardly be
said that the villages can scarcely be described as being cleanly;
though as a rule they do not differ so much as might be supposed in
this respect from their Hindu neighbours, separate buildings being
provided for the pigs, goats, &c., at an appreciable distance from
the family dwelling-house.
Furniture, Implements and Utensils
Little need be said under this head, as the equipment of the Kachári
householder for dealing with domestic or field work is almost identical
with that of his Hindu neighbours. But it may be stated that in a
Kachári house there will usually be found an exceptionally large
number of earthenware vessels (pottery, &c.) which are used freely
and frequently in the preparation and distribution of the much-prized
rice-beer (Zu).
[Occupation, crops, &c.]
Agriculture is still the great industry of the Kacháris of this
district, both the hot weather (áus) and the cold season (sáli)
varieties of rice being largely cultivated, especially the latter. In
carrying out this work the people show both application and skill,
so much so, that, failing some very overwhelming convulsion of Nature,
it would seem to be hardly possible that a famine could take place in
the Kachári Duars. This part of the district is abundantly supplied
with water by the numerous streams issuing from the lower spurs of
the Bhutan Hills, streams which for the most part flow in very shallow
beds, and therefore admit of being easily used for irrigation purposes,
whenever the seasonal rainfall may be at all scanty. Moreover,
the people are especially skilful in the construction of irrigation
canals and earthwork embankments for diverting water from river-beds
into their rice-fields: and their efforts in this direction are very
largely aided by their closely clannish organisation. Whenever the
rainfall threatens to be below the average, the village headman with
his associated elders fixes on the spot whence water is to brought
from the nearest river to the rice-fields. At this spot very rude and
primitive shelters of jungle grass, &c., are put up: and here all the
manhood strength of the village, each man armed with hoe, dao, &c.,
are compelled to take up their abode until the necessary work has been
fully carried out. In this way it will be obvious that the Kacháris
have a highly efficient and very inexpensive "Public Works Department"
of their own; and vigorous efforts of self-help of this character
would seem to be worthy of high commendation and hearty support.
But it is not only in constructing embankments and irrigation canals,
&c., that the people work together in this way. Very much the same
plan is adopted in carrying out other enterprises in the success
of which all are alike interested, e.g., in harvesting the great
cold weather rice-crop in December and January each year. When this
important work is in full swing, it is but rarely that the owner of
a rice-field is found cutting his paddy alone and single-handed. He
summons his neighbours to come and help him in this work--a summons
which usually meets with a ready and cheerful response. It is quite
common to see in December and January organised bodies of labourers,
varying in number from ten to fifty or more, all in line and busy with
the sickle in one man's field at the same time. Every man as a rule
works for the time being at high pressure, his toil being lightened
by much merry talk and laughter, and many jests and jokes--these last,
it must be admitted, not always of a highly refined character. There is
a pleasing absence of the mercenary element in the whole transaction;
for as a rule no money payments whatever are made to the workers. On
the other hand, the wife of the proprietor of the rice-field is almost
always present in person, and busies herself in keeping ever ready
an abundant supply of wholesome and highly appetising cooked food,
to be eaten on the spot, the nearest grove of plantain trees providing
ready-made plates and dishes. Her post is no sinecure, as the hungry
reapers make very frequent raids on the good things she provides; and
she has above all to be careful to see that the much prized rice-beer
(Zu) shall be at all times forthcoming in unstinted quantity. Her lord
and master is usually content to wield a sickle with the reapers,
like Boaz of old; and, of course, he holds himself ready to lend
a hand in the same unpaid fashion in carrying out his neighbours'
harvesting operations, whenever his services in this direction may be
called for. This whole system of mutual help in time of pressure is
a marked feature of Kachári social and domestic life, and tends in
no small degree to develop and strengthen that clannish temperament
of which it may be considered to be in some sense the natural outcome.
[Crops, &c.]
Rice, roughly classified as the larger and the smaller grains (maimá
and maisá), is here, as elsewhere, the chief object of the peasant's
skill and labour; but other crops are not wanting, e.g., pulse,
gathered in December, cotton, sugar-cane in limited quantities,
tobacco, &c. Of this last-mentioned article there are two distinct
varieties commonly grown, i.e., country tobacco and Burmese [5] (Mán)
tobacco, the latter commanding the higher price in the market. All
surplus produce finds a ready sale among the ever-growing numbers
of imported labourers on tea estates, many of whom are consumers of
Kachári rice-beer or less harmless liquors, and who in consequence
fraternise readily with their Kachári neighbours. In this way the
average Bodo peasant is a very well-to-do person in worldly things,
the more so because the Kachári labourer is in great demand as a
factory worker. Where there are three or four brothers in a family
in Western Assam, it is quite usual for one, perhaps two, of the
number to remain at home to cultivate the paternal acres, whilst the
other brothers make their way to tea estates in Upper Assam for the
manufacturing season, often doing double tasks day after day, and
returning to the family fold in the autumn with a large and liberal
supply of lightly earned rupees at each man's disposal.
[Food, &c.]
As regards his food, the Kachári is as a rule by no means limited and
restricted, like his Hindu and Musulmán neighbours. On the contrary,
he enjoys and practises a freedom in this respect which no doubt goes
far to account for his often magnificent physique. With the exception
of beef he denies himself almost nothing. His great delicacy is pork;
and a Kachári village usually swarms with pigs in almost every possible
stage of growth. These animals are often exposed for sale at fairs and
markets in the Kachári country. There is, however, one common article
of food, which no orthodox old-fashioned Kachári will ever touch, i.e.,
milk. When questioned as to the ground of his objection to milk as an
article of food, he usually says that he is unwilling to deprive the
calf of its natural support, though the real reason is probably of
another character. [6] This prejudice against the use of milk would
now, however, seem to be passing away; and some of the Kachári lads
attending the writer's Training Class at Tezpur now partake freely
of this natural and sustaining food.
Among other delicacies of the Kachári is what is known as dried
fish (na gran), [7] i.e., the very small fish left on the surface
of inundated land after the water has subsided. This is collected
in large quantities near the banks of the Brahmaputra, and carried
northwards to the Kachári Duars, where it is exchanged for rice and
silk (eri), &c. This small fish is not cured or prepared in any way,
but simply dried in the sun; and is very far from being attractive
to the eye or the nose, especially to the latter. Nevertheless, it
is greatly prized by the Kachári peasant as a welcome and savoury
addition to his somewhat monotonous daily fare; nor does the free
use of this hardly inviting article of food seem to be attended by
any very injurious results to the physical well-being of those who
largely and liberally use it.
[Hunting, fishing.]
The Kachári often varies his diet by adding to it the proceeds of
the chase and by fishing in the numerous shallow hill-streams in
which his country abounds. Deer and wild pigs are frequently caught,
sometimes by the use of large nets, enclosing a considerable extent
of grass land in which some keen eye has detected the presence of the
much-prized game. The net is gradually contracted until the prey comes
within the reach of some stout Kachári arm, when blows from club or dao
speedily bring its career to a close. In this, as in almost all else,
the Kachári is clannish and gregarious in what he does; and regular
hunting parties are duly organised to carry out the work in hand. Much
the same system is observed in conducting fishing operations, though
here the leading part is commonly taken by the women. On certain
prearranged dates, the women of a village, sometimes of a group
of villages, will fish a certain stream, or a number of streams,
for a distance extending over several miles. The fishing implements
used are of a very simple character, and are commonly prepared from
materials found in almost every village. Nets are but rarely employed,
as the water in these hill-streams is in the cold weather, i.e., the
fishing season, usually very shallow, rarely exceeding two or three
feet in depth. The implements commonly used are mainly two, i.e., (1)
the zakhái [8] and (2) the palha, the former being employed chiefly,
but not exclusively, by women; and the latter by men. Both implements
are made of split bamboo work fastened together with cane. The zakhái
is a triangular basket, open at one end, the three triangular sides
closing to a point at the other. The whole is attached to a bamboo
handle some three or four feet in length. Grasping this handle firmly,
the holder enters the river, usually only two or three feet deep, and
lowers the basket to the bottom, keeping the open end in front of her
person; and then making a splashing with her feet, she endeavours to
drive her prey into the open mouth of the basket, which is then quickly
lifted and its contents rapidly transferred to the fish-basket. The
system seems to be a very simple and even a clumsy one, but is far from
being wholly ineffective. Armed with this zakhái, a number of women,
sufficient to extend across the entire width of the stream, enter the
river together, whilst another party commence operations fifty or a
hundred yards away. The two parties work steadily towards each other,
so that such fish as are not caught en route are gradually driven
into an ever-narrowing stretch of water: and as a rule not many fish
would seem to escape. The whole scene is a very merry one, accompanied
with much laughter and pleasing excitement; and more particularly,
as the two parties of fish-catchers approach each other, and the fish
make frantic efforts to escape their doom, the fun becomes fast and
furious. A fish-catching expedition of this kind is invariably looked
upon as a village holiday, the entire population not infrequently
taking an active part in it.
A second popular method of catching fish is the use of the palha, which
is not very unlike an ordinary circular hen-coop. It is made of split
bamboo fastened together by cane-work, and is about 4 or 4-1/2 feet
in height and about 3 feet in diameter at the base. The upper portion
is drawn somewhat closely together, leaving an open space at the top
sufficient to allow the admission of a man's hand, the whole structure
being quite light and easily manipulated by one hand. Armed with this,
the fisherman quietly enters the shallow water at any likely spot,
and whenever his quick eye detects the presence of prey, the palha is
at once placed over it, the lower surface of the basket-work closely
clutching the ground, and the fish so enclosed are then withdrawn by
the hand through the opening in the upper part of the instrument. This
too, like the zakhái, seems a very primitive, unsuitable contrivance,
but in the hands of men trained to its use from earliest childhood
it is quite capable of being made to bring about very useful results.
A third instrument used by Kacháris in fish-catching is a small,
pointed, metallic spearhead attached to a light bamboo. This is thrust
rapidly and firmly into soft mud or other like places where eels,
&c., are supposed to be concealed; and the fisherman occasionally
succeeds in transfixing and drawing out one or more of these, which
form a welcome addition to his daily diet.
[Rice-beer (Zu), its preparation, &c.]
In common with many other non-Aryan tribes on this frontier, e.g., the
Nágás, &c., the Kacháris of Darrang habitually consume large quantities
of what is usually known as rice-beer (Zu, Záu). It can hardly be
said to be a beverage in daily use, for it is only prepared when
specially wanted for immediate consumption. An essential ingredient
in the preparation of this most popular form of refreshment is the
condiment known as emáo [9] which is usually composed of at least
three, and sometimes four, distinct elements. To a definite proportion
of husked rice is added (1) the jack-tree leaf and (2) that of the
jungle plant known as bhetai, and in some cases the poison-fern,
though this last-mentioned does not seem to be really necessary. All
these ingredients are vigorously pounded together into a powder,
which is then passed through a very fine sieve, at least once and
sometimes twice. The powder so prepared is then mixed with water so
as to make a more or less tenacious paste, and this again is divided
into portions sufficient to form solid discs, about three inches in
diameter, and one inch thick in the centre, with thin edges. These
discs are sprinkled freely with powder from similar discs of some weeks
standing, and are for a short time kept covered up in rice-straw. They
are then placed on a bamboo platform inside the house for some four
days, and are afterwards exposed freely to the hot sun for another
four or five days, so as to become thoroughly dry. Finally they find
their way into an earthenware water-vessel, which is kept suspended
at a distance of several feet over the fireplace though they would
seem to need no direct exposure to the action of fire-heat; and here
they remain until required for use.
As mentioned above, rice-beer is not used as a daily beverage, but
is prepared as required, especially for use at marriages, funerals,
harvest homes and other occasions that break the monotony of village
life. A common method of preparation is as follows:--A quantity of
selected rice, about 3 or 4 seers, is carefully boiled in an iron or
brass cooking vessel, the contents of which are then spread out on a
bamboo mat and allowed to become cold. Two cakes of the emáo described
above are then broken up into powder, which is carefully mixed with
the boiled rice; and the whole is then stored in a thoroughly dry
earthenware vessel (kalas). This vessel with its contents is then
placed upon a platform some five feet high over a slow fire, in which
position it is allowed to remain for some three or four days, the mouth
of the vessel remaining open for the first day or two, though it is
afterwards covered. It only then remains to add water ad libitum,
and to pour out the beer, after well shaking the vessel, through
a rude straining apparatus composed of rice-straw. It is said that
the direct action of fire is not really needed in the preparation of
this beer and that exposure to the sun is sufficient for the purpose,
though the application of fire undoubtedly quickens the process. Rice
prepared in this way may be kept in the earthenware vessel for six
or twelve months, a fresh supply of boiled rice and condiment (emáo)
being added to the old from time to time; but the beer is rarely kept
in this way for any very prolonged period, though its quality is said
to be improved by such keeping.
It may perhaps be added that the beverage so prepared would seem
to be a thoroughly wholesome or at least a comparatively harmless
one. Very large quantities are, to the writer's knowledge, sometimes
consumed at a sitting, the consumer's brain apparently remaining wholly
unaffected thereby. There is, however, a far less innocent beverage,
commonly known as phatiká, prepared from this rice-beer by a process
of distillation. This is a raw fiery spirit, somewhat resembling in
taste the crudest possible whisky; and its use might very fittingly
be put under severe restrictions by taxation [10] or otherwise, with
results most beneficial to the physical, mental and moral well-being
of this very interesting race.
[Eri silk culture.]
One of the chief industries, a very profitable one among the Kacháris,
is that of the culture of the silk-worm known as eri, and the
manufacture of the eri cloth. The eri cocoons, which are about 2-1/2
or 3 inches in length, may often be seen suspended, a few feet from the
ground, in long festoons, a thin cord being passed through the base of
the cocoons for this purpose. In this condition the cocoons remain for
some fifteen days, at the end of which period the insects make their
appearance in the butterfly stage. Before they are able to fly away,
they are collected with care and placed in a suitable receptacle;
and at the end of three or four days eggs resembling sago-grains make
their appearance in great numbers. It is said that one insect can
on an average produce from eighty to one hundred such eggs, or even
more. In a further period of fifteen days the eggs are duly hatched,
the new-born insect being at first almost black, from which colour
it passes to brown, and finally to white, at intervals of three or
four days; and at each change of colour the worm is said to cast its
skin in snake-like fashion. Some four days after the last stage is
reached, i.e., about fifteen days after being hatched, the insect may
be expected to set about the formation of its cocoon. To assist it
in this work, small bundles of plantain or mango leaves are loosely
tied together and placed within broad baskets or on bamboo platforms,
and the insects are then carefully placed within these bundles; and
under favourable conditions the cocoon should be fully formed in about
twenty-four hours. The actual formation of the cocoon is preceded
by certain signs, very significant to the Kachári, i.e., the insect
itself refuses food for a short time beforehand and becomes of a light,
brilliant colour; and on handling it gently, a soft, rustling sound,
proceeding from the insect itself, can be distinctly heard. After
being carefully cleaned in water and dried in the sun, the cocoons are
stowed away, usually in an earthenware vessel, until a fitting time,
generally in the dry, cold season, appears for reeling them off, a work
carried out by women and girls. It is said that a Kachári, working
steadily at this occupation, can on an average reel off some 150 or
200 cocoons in a day. During the fifteen days preceding the formation
of the cocoon, the insects' quarters must be kept scrupulously clean,
and food carefully and regularly provided. Its favourite viand is
the eri (castor oil) plant, [11] which gives its name alike to the
insect itself as well as to the silk prepared from its cocoons. But
it also feeds freely on the leaves of certain trees known in Assamese
as Kurungá, Gámári and Sangla, especially the first named of the three.
The loom employed for weaving the eri silk is of very simple
construction, and most, if not all, the material needed for the purpose
can be provided by the villagers themselves from local resources.
The market value of a loom of this character is said to be about five
rupees. It is usually set up on a shady side of the dwelling-house,
or, where this is impracticable, a rude structure of thatch and bamboo
work is provided to shield the weaver from the sun. The actual work is
always carried out either by the lady of the house, or by one of her
grown-up daughters; and it is in every way suitable to women workers,
as it requires very little exertion of physical strength, but only a
certain quickness and readiness of eye and hand. The conditions under
which the industry is carried on are in all respects pleasing and
satisfactory. Indeed, a Kachári woman working placidly and contentedly
at the eri loom, singing quietly to herself in sheer happiness of
heart, offers perhaps one of the most complete illustrations of the
benevolent influence of the Pax Britannica to be found in the wide
realm of India, especially when it is borne in mind that less than
seventy years ago these Kachári Duars were subject to the Bhutan Rajas,
who seem to have harried and plundered the people in the most cruel
and lawless way. Soon after the master of the house, with one or
more grown-up sons, has betaken himself to the rice-fields, and this
he does almost at sunrise, his goodwife seats herself at the loom,
and works away steadily until about 8 or 9 a.m., when she may be seen
carrying a well-cooked and appetising meal, carefully shielded from
rain and sun by plantain leaves, to her goodman, who from an early
hour has been toiling in the fields for the good of the family. This
duty discharged, she resumes her position at the loom for the greater
part of what may remain of daylight. Immediately in front of the loom
there are probably two or three small children (the Kachári race is a
wholesomely prolific one) gambolling and tumbling over each other in
high delight. To these the mother now and then devotes a word or two
of remonstrance, whenever their gambols seem to threaten an infantile
breach of the peace; and she may occasionally rise from her seat to
administer some little corporal chastisement, though always "more
in sorrow than in anger"; but otherwise she devotes herself steadily
and assiduously to the work in hand. It is said that a Kachári woman,
if not greatly or frequently interrupted in her work, can weave about
half a yard each day; and, as this eri cloth, woven in long strips
about two yards wide, can always command a ready sale at about Rs. 2/-
per yard, it will be at once evident that a good worker can in this
way, without neglecting other urgent domestic duties, easily make a
substantial addition to the family income.
The fabric itself (eri cloth), so produced, is one of great value,
especially for use in the cold season, being at once soft and warm
as well as remarkably strong and durable. Of its very great merit in
this last-mentioned respect (durability) the writer has good reason
to hold a very high opinion. Some twelve or fifteen years ago he was
presented with a piece of eri cloth by one Leah Khángkhuáh, a good
Kachári churchwoman, living not far from St. Paul's Mission Church,
at Bengbari, whose payment of her "Church dues" (tithe) took this very
pleasing and highly practical form. The quantity of cloth given (the
donor declined all money payment) was sufficient to make two ample
bed-sheets, and in this character they have been in use now for at
least a dozen years past. During that period they have of course been
subjected to many and frequent barbarous washings; but even the rough
treatment they have so often received at the hands of the Assamese
dhobi has as yet failed to make any impression for injury on the warp
and woof of this sound material; so substantial and conscientious is
the work done by this good Kachári churchwoman and gentlewoman.
[Position, social and domestic, of women.]
Among the Kacháris women do not perhaps occupy quite the same
influential position as seems to be enjoyed by their sisters in the
Khasi Hills, where something like a matriarchate apparently holds
the field of social and domestic life. Still, with this interesting
race the position of the wife and mother is far from being a degraded
one. The Kachári husband and householder has neither sympathy with,
nor tolerance for, that degrading and demoralising creed "which
says that woman is but dust, a soul-less toy for tyrant's lust." On
the contrary, he usually treats his wife with distinct respect, and
regards her as an equal and a companion to an extent which can hardly
be said to be the rule among many of the Indian peoples. Kachári women,
both in early life and as matrons, enjoy a large measure of freedom,
a freedom which is very rarely abused for evil purposes. On being
spoken to on the wayside, the Kachári woman will generally reply at
once with absolute frankness, looking the questioner straight in the
face and yet with the most perfect modesty. It has often happened to
the writer during the last forty years to enter a Kachári village for
preaching purposes, or with a view to opening a school. On asking for
the village headman, that personage is usually not slow in making
his appearance; and after a few friendly words he will, quite as a
matter of course, introduce his wife, and that with no small pride and
pleasure. In discharging this social duty, he will very commonly use
much the same language as may be heard among the working classes in
England. The phrase most common is "Be áng-ni burui," literally "This
(is) my old woman." The words are not used jeeringly at all, but with
much real respect and affection; and are obviously so regarded by the
speaker's life-partner, whose face and features, somewhat homely in
themselves, may often be seen to light up at once with a very pleased
and pleasing smile on hearing herself thus referred to by the sharer
of her life's joys and sorrows. There is, too, another consideration,
not perhaps altogether unknown in other parts of the world, which has
great weight with the Kachári paterfamilias, viz., that his goodwife
for the most part does not a little to provide for the family needs
in the matter of food and raiment. Her prowess at the loom has been
mentioned before; and besides this, the actual planting out of the
young rice-seedlings is for the most part carried through by the
women. And all this is habitually done without in any way neglecting
or slurring over the usual duties more strictly appropriate to the
goodwife and mother.
On the whole it may perhaps be safely said that the social and domestic
life of the Kachári is not without its pleasing and satisfactory
features. It is probably for the most part far sounder and more
wholesome than the life of great cities, whether in Asia or Europe;
and it is with no little dismay and sorrow that the writer would see
any hasty ill-considered attempts made to supplant or override this
simple, primitive, patriarchal life through the introduction of a
one-sided, materialistic civilisation.
SECTION III
Laws and Customs
[Internal Organisation.]
From such information as is available at the present day it a
seems fairly clear that the internal and tribal organisation of the
Kachári (Bara) race rested in early days, very largely at least, on
a totemistic basis, although it is only here and there that any real
regard for the totems can still be said to survive. In primitive
days these subdivisions, all at one time strictly endogamous,
[12] were probably very numerous. But in the case of many of these
sub-tribes all trace of their distinct existence would seem to have
passed away; and no restrictions on the intermarriage of members of
such sub-tribes as still survive are any longer recognised. Among
septs or sub-tribes whose names still to some extent hold the field
may be placed the following:--
1. Swarga-ároi (Swarga = heaven). The heaven-folk. This sub-tribe
is said to be the highest of all; none of its members ever worked
as cultivators, for as a rule all deoris, ojhas, and others who
took a leading part in religious ceremonials, were chosen from this
subdivision; and the offerings made by worshippers were held to be
sufficient for their maintenance.
2. Basumati-ároi (Basumati = earth). The earth-folk. This clan has a
certain privilege not possessed by any other, i.e., its members can
bury their dead without in any way purchasing ground for the grave
or for the erection of the funeral pyre.
3. Mosá-ároi (Mosá = tiger), otherwise known in Darrang as Bagh-l-aroi
(Bagh-l-aroi, the l is probably inserted for reasons of euphony). The
tiger-folk. The members of this sub-tribe claim kindred with the
tiger, and all the inhabitants of a village peopled by them go into
mourning on hearing that a tiger has died in the neighbourhood.
4. Khángkhlo-ároi. The Khangkhlo-folk. Khangkhlo is apparently the name
of a certain jungle grass, used freely both at religious ceremonials
and at festive gatherings and merry-makings, of which the Kacháris
are very fond.
5. Sibing-ároi (Sibing, sesamum, the Assamese til). The
sesamum-folk. This sub-tribe is said to be the only one which in
olden time was allowed to cultivate sesamum plant, and its members
still hold this plant in special honour.
6. Gándret-ároi (Gándret, a leech or slug, Assamese Kumzeluka). The
leech-folk. This sub-tribe holds the leech in high regard and cannot
under ordinary circumstances kill it; though on occasions of certain
religious ceremonials, e.g., purification after a death in the family,
its members were required to chew a leech with vegetables for a
certain limited period, though apparently only once in a life-time.
7. Nárze-ároi (nárze = jute). The jute-folk. This sub-tribe held jute
in special honour, and on occasions of great religious ceremonials
its members were bound to chew a certain quantity of jute (see No. 6).
8. Doimá-roi (Doimá = a large river) (cf. Dimásá [doimá-sá], the
usual designation of the people of the North Cachar Hills). The
river-folk. These in olden time were the fisherman class, though
its surviving members are now merged among the mass of ordinary
cultivators.
9. Bibiziyá-ároi (Bibína = to beg). The begging-folk. Professional
mendicants having no fixed home or regular occupation, much like the
modern Fakirs, Vairagis, &c.
10. Bing-bing-ároi (Bing-bing, probably an onomatopoetic word
indicating a sound more or less musical). Itinerant musicians,
subsisting on the voluntary offerings of those to whom they
ministered. The writer has occasionally seen one or two members of
this class in Kachári villages.
11. Ding-ároi (dingá = a bamboo water-vessel [Assamese Chungá]). [13]
The dinga-folk. The members of this sub-tribe are said to have formerly
earned their livelihood by making, these bamboo water-vessels.
12. Goi-bári-ároi (goi = the areca-palm [14]). The areca-folk; formerly
devoted to the cultivation of the areca, of which they perhaps held
the monopoly.
In addition to the above sub-tribes, all at one time strictly
endogamous, though now no longer so, the following may be mentioned. It
may be noted that these are recognised, in Kamrup at least, mostly
to the north of the great earthwork embankment known as the "Gossain
Kamla Ali," though the writer has been unable to find any trace of
their separate existence in this (Darrang) district.
13. Rámshároi. Rámshá folk. Rámshá is said to be the name of a Mauza
in Kamrup. [15] It may be noted further that Rám-sá (?Ram's people)
is the name by which the Kacháris living in the plains are known to
their brethren in the North Cachar Hills.
14. Brahm-ároi. Brahma folk. Said to be a quasi-priestly class, found
chiefly in Upper Assam. This name, like the preceding, is obviously
of Hindu origin.
15. Bánhbárá-roi. [16] Bamboo-grove-folk. (Banhbari = Assamese) is
the sacred bamboo grove, found near many Kachári villages, where the
worship of the gods is carried on at certain seasons.
16. Dhekiábári-ároi. (Dhekiá fern), the fern-folk. The totem of
this sub-tribe was probably the fern, still sometimes used in the
preparation of the fatiká spirit.
17. Máómará-roi. The Máó-fish folk, perhaps originally the dwellers
near the Moamári bil. [17]
18. Kherkhathá-roi (Kerketuá, [18] squirrel). The squirrel-folk. Said
to be a low caste and more or less criminal. One of their functions
is to cut the horns of cattle.
19. Fadam-ároi. The fadam folk. The fadam is said to be identical
with the tree known as sáchi in Assamese.
20. Mohilá-roi. Mohilá folk. Mohilá is a word of uncertain origin
and meaning. It is said to be the equivalent of Maháldár, and to
be applied to fishery lessees, and petty traders in areca-nut and
betel-leaves and dried fish (na-gran).
It may perhaps be added that among the Meches in Gowálpárá some sixteen
of these subdivisions are recognised, all formerly exogamous. [19]
In designating these subdivisions the same suffix (ároi or roi)
is used as that characteristic of the Kamrup and Darrang Kacháris:
indeed, the names correspond closely in every respect, e.g.--
Swarg-ároi,
Masá-roi,
Doimá-roi,
Goibári-roi,
which seems to be practically identical with class-names Nos. 1, 3,
8 and 12, given above.
But it is among the Dimásá of the North Cachar Hills and the Hojais
of the Nowgong district that this minute subdivision of the clans
would seem to attain its highest development. In this portion of the
Bara race some eighty clans are recognised, of whom forty are known as
men's clans (sengfáng) and forty as women's (zulu). All the members of
these different clans eat and drink together freely, and are, or were,
all strictly exogamous. [20] The only exception to this strict rule of
exogamy is that of the so-called royal clan, known as Há-chum-sá, [21]
i.e., "black earth folk," all the members of which were compelled to
marry within their own sub-tribe, marriage with a member of a subject
clan being of old absolutely forbidden. (Cf. the analogous restrictions
enforced by various "Royal Marriage" Acts in other communities.)
In partial explanation of the terms used (their number might probably
be largely added to on further inquiry), it will be observed that
the first two are obviously of Hindu origin, the Kachári affix
ároi (people, folk) being attached to the Sanskrit words Swarga and
Vasumati respectively. Most of the designations applied to the other
sub-tribes merely indicate the occupation, probably hereditary, by
which the members of these sub-tribes obtained their livelihood. But
in almost every case, in these modern days, any special reverence
for the totem has very largely become a thing of the past. There is,
perhaps, one exception to this rule, that of the tiger-folk (Mosároi
or Baghlároi). (The l in this latter word is probably merely euphonic,
so that the two words have exactly the same meaning). Kacháris of the
old-fashioned conservative school still think it a duty to show respect
to their totem (the tiger) by formally going into mourning whenever
they learn that one of these animals has died in the immediate vicinity
of their village. The period of mourning is indeed but a short one,
seldom exceeding twenty-four hours; but during this brief period the
sorrowing would seem to be very real, and not a little material loss
is sometimes involved. No solid food whatever must be taken, in itself
no slight privation to the Kachári, who is as a rule provided with
an ample appetite. At the end of the mourning the floor and walls of
each house must be carefully smeared with a freshly prepared compost
of mud and cow-dung, a work usually carried out by the women. All
articles of clothing, as well as all household utensils made of brass,
must be thoroughly cleansed in running water, whilst all earthenware
vessels except those which are quite new and have never yet been used
for cooking purposes, must be broken up and thrown away. Then one
of the elder members of the community, acting as Deori (minister),
solemnly distributes the "water of peace" (Sánti-Jal) [22] to be
drunk by all in turn; and the buildings themselves and all articles
of clothing, &c., are freely sprinkled with this preparation. The
service is finally consummated by the sacrifice of a fowl or pig,
to be partaken of by all in common; after which relations of ordinary
social intercourse with the neighbours may be quietly resumed.
Marriage, Endogamy, Exogamy
It is said that each of the sub-tribes mentioned above was in early
times strictly endogamous; for though members of all these subdivisions
might freely eat and drink together, intermarriage between them was
absolutely forbidden. But all such restrictions on marriage seem to
have passed away long since, so that the whole subject has nowadays
little more than an antiquarian interest.
No formal hypergamy is recognised, though Kacháris occasionally
take wives from the cognate tribes known as Rábhas (Totlás), Koches
(Madáhis), and Saraniyas, &c. But such alliances are as a rule
not looked upon with favour, and the bridegroom in such cases has
generally to make his peace with his fellow-villagers by providing
them with a feast in which rice-beer (Zu) and pork are certain to
take a prominent place. Children born of such mixed marriages become
in all cases members of the father's subdivision of the Bodo race.
There is little or nothing specially distinctive in the laws
of consanguinity or affinity in their bearing on the marriage
relationship. A widower may marry his deceased wife's younger sister,
but not the elder, whom he is taught to regard conventionally in
the light of a mother. Much the same principle holds good in the
case of the re-marriage of widows, which is freely permitted, the
one limitation being that a widow may marry her deceased husband's
younger brother, but not the elder.
Polygamy
As a rule the Kacháris are a strictly monogamous race, though cases
of men having two wives have occasionally come under the writer's
notice. These cases are, however, almost invariably limited to men of
a somewhat high social position or great wealth, such as Mauzadárs,
Mandals, &c. Where, too, a first wife proves childless, Kachári custom
sanctions the taking of a second, mainly with a view to handing down
the father's name to posterity. On the other hand, polyandry would
seem to be absolutely prohibited, though it is known to prevail in
the adjoining regions of Bhutan, Tibet, &c.
Adoption
Children, more especially orphans, are occasionally adopted, usually
by near relatives, but sometimes by absolute strangers. In such cases
the children so adopted are treated as full members of the family,
and the foster-parents are considered by the community to have done
a highly meritorious act. Several pleasing instances of adoption of
this character have come under the writer's notice, and in all such
cases the adopted children seem to have found a very happy home.
Female Chastity
As stated above, the standard of chastity among the Kacháris,
both men and women, is by no means a low one. As a rule the young
people, in the villages at least, lead pure lives before marriage,
and are faithful to their marriage vows in after-life. In cases where
there are several unmarried girls in a family, and one of them is
suspected of having broken the law of chastity, the following plan for
detecting the offender is sometimes adopted. The whole family gathers
in the evening around the sacred siju tree (Euphorbia splendens),
which is often to be seen growing in the court-yard, surrounded by a
fence of split bamboo. At the foot of this revered tree a quantity
of rice (uncooked) is solemnly buried and allowed to remain there
over night. Early next morning this rice is carefully disinterred,
and a certain quantity given to each grown-up girl (sikhlá) to be
masticated. The offender, under the pressure of the fear of imminent
detection, is unable to masticate her portion of rice, the faculty of
secreting saliva failing her in her terror of discovery and disgrace.
She is then made to disclose the name of her paramour, whom Kachári
public opinion compels to marry his victim forthwith, the bride-price
(pan: see below) being in this case considerably enhanced as some
slight compensation to the girl's parents for the injury done to
the honour of the family. A similar procedure is sometimes resorted
to in cases of suspected theft or other like misdemeanours in the
family circle.
In some cases where the parents are unwilling to part with their
daughter to a prospective son-in-law of somewhat objectionable
character, the matter is referred for decision to the village elders,
who impose a fine of Rs. 20/- to Rs. 25/- on the offender. But whenever
pregnancy follows offences against the law of chastity, marriage
becomes absolutely compulsory, and the seducer is made to feel that
he has brought disgrace upon the village, and is distinctly under a
cloud. In this way a wholesome respect for chastity is maintained,
and Kachári domestic life is kept comparatively pure.
Divorce
Divorce sometimes takes place by mutual consent, but cannot be effected
without a certain formality. Man and wife appear before the village
elders and state their case, concluding by tearing a pan-leaf into
two pieces, fáthoi fesínai, (K.) pán chirá (Assamese), a symbolic act
indicating that, as the sundered leaf can never reunite, so their own
married life is severed for ever. Should the husband divorce his wife
for causes which seem to the village elders inadequate or capricious,
he forfeits all claim to reimbursement of his marriage expenses, and
even when the divorce is approved of, he must pay a certain small sum
(Rs. 5/- to 10/-) for his freedom, the amount being divided between
the village pancháyat and the divorced woman. On the other hand,
if the woman is divorced for just and sufficient reasons, e.g., for
unfaithfulness to her marriage obligations, the injured husband is
entitled to recover whatever he may have expended at his marriage, a
sum amounting sometimes to Rs. 140/- or upwards to Rs. 200/-. The man
who may afterwards marry the divorced woman is held to be responsible
for the payment of this money; and so long as this latter condition
is duly fulfilled, the divorcée is fully at liberty to live with a
second husband.
Inheritance of Property
Among the Kacháris the laws and customs relating to the inheritance of
property seem to be very vague, and it is not at all easy to obtain
any definite information on the subject. Generally speaking, on the
decease of the head of the household the eldest son takes charge of
all property, making a home for the time for his widowed mother and
his brothers and sisters. In this way the family may be kept together
for some years; but eventually it breaks up as the children grow
up and marry, in which case the father's property is broken up into
equal shares, the eldest son taking one share and a half, while what
remains is divided fairly among the other brothers. The daughters,
especially if married, can claim nothing. When a man dies without
sons, the property usually passes to his eldest surviving brother,
who generally makes some provision for the deceased man's widow
and daughters.
Disputes, whether matrimonial or otherwise (e.g., inheritance of
property, &c.), are almost invariably referred to the council of
village elders, whose members are not necessarily limited to five or
other definite number; and the decision of this rural council is very
rarely questioned or opposed in any way. It might be well to develop
and enlarge this simple and very effective way of settling disputes,
so that the villagers may be to a great extent saved from the necessity
of coming under the contaminating, demoralising influence of our civil
and criminal courts. As all the Kacháris of this district (Darrang)
are ordinary cultivators, holding land directly under Government like
their Hindu and Musulman neighbours, no remarks are needed under the
head of "tenure of land, and laws regarding land." So too with the
sections dealing with "war, and head-hunting," it is only necessary
to say that the latter practice (head-hunting) is quite unknown here,
though it would seem to have been very common in earlier days among
the closely cognate race known to us as Garos.
SECTION IV
Religion
[General character of popular beliefs.]
The religion of the Kachári race is distinctly of the type
commonly known as "animistic," and its underlying principle is
characteristically one of fear or dread. The statement "Timor fecit
deos" certainly holds good of this people in its widest and strictest
sense; and their religion thus stands in very marked, not to say
violent, contrast [23] with the teaching of the Faith in Christ. In the
typical Kachári village as a rule neither idol nor place of worship
is to be found; but to the Kachári mind and imagination earth, air,
and sky are alike peopled with a vast number of invisible spiritual
beings, known usually as "Modai," all possessing powers and faculties
far greater than those of man, and almost invariably inclined to use
these powers for malignant and malevolent, rather than benevolent,
purposes. In a certain stage of moral and spiritual development men
are undoubtedly influenced far more by what they fear than by what
they love; and this truth certainly applies to the Kachári race in
the most unqualified way. The Kachári Duars of this district (Darrang)
were in earlier days looked upon as being especially unhealthy, and to
some extent they retain that character still. It has repeatedly fallen
to the lot of the writer, when entering a Kachári village to find one
or more of its inhabitants prostrate with malarial fever of a virulent
type; and on asking what was wrong the reply has very commonly been
"modai [24] hamdang," i.e., an (evil) spirit has got hold (of me). And
this reply may be looked upon as typical and characteristic, and as
accurately expressing the very spirit and true inwardness of Kachári
religion. Of sin, i.e., the conscious violation of the moral Law of
a righteous God, the Kachári has of course no idea whatever. But he
does believe in the existence and active interference in the affairs
of men of certain invisible spiritual beings who are the authors
of sickness, famine, earthquakes, &c.; who are for the most part
influenced by malevolent motives, and whose ill-will towards mankind
must be propitiated and bought off by frequent offerings of rice,
plantains, pigs, goats, poultry, &c., in ways regarding which some
little information is given below.
[Worship of ancestors.]
1. Ancestor-worship would not seem to be in vogue to any extent among
the Kacháris of this district, though perhaps it is not altogether
unknown; e.g., when the head of a family or other man of note passes
away, it is not unusual at certain festivals to place on a platform
a small quantity of the viands of which the deceased was known to
be fond during his lifetime on earth, presumably for his use and
behoof. No adult members of the village community will ever presume
to touch these viands, though the village children are apparently at
liberty to consume them at their pleasure.
[Worship of natural forces.]
2. The worship of natural forces also would seem to be not at all
common, though some traces of it may perhaps be noted here and
there. For instance, (A) in connection with the popular festival
known as the April (Vaisákh) Bihu, there takes place what is called
the "Parwa" show or bhotheli, a festival apparently common to Hindu
and Kachári alike. The parwa is a tall bamboo pole draped with rags,
flags, &c., taken from the village on the last day of the Bihu, and
put up in a field alongside a tree, where the people amuse themselves
by dancing, wrestling, and tom-toming, &c., around it. It is possible
that this may be a relic or survival of phallic worship, the parwa
taking the place of the lingam or phallus. (B) Again, water would seem
to have about it something of a sacred character in the mind of the
average Kachári. The dead are often buried or cremated on or near the
banks of running streams, which are also favourite localities for the
celebration of the greater pujas. This reverence for water is perhaps
specially marked among the Kacháris of North-east Bengal (Jalpaiguri,
&c), in which part of the Province, Mr. Bryan Hodgson informs us,
all the smaller streams are regarded as a kind of lesser deities (dii
inferiores), whilst the Brahmaputra is looked upon as the mother of
them all (mater magna). It may be noted also in this connection that
one of the principal branches of the widely spread Bara race, i.e.,
the people of the North Cachar Hills, still speak of themselves as
Di-má-sá, i.e., "sons of the big river," or "children of the great
water," even though none of them would seem now to dwell anywhere near
a large river or lake, &c. It may therefore perhaps be safely inferred
that the element of water, though now apparently not often actually
worshipped, has ever been held in special regard by the Kachári race.
[Worship of deities.]
The Kachári Pantheon is a very extensive one, though it seems probable
that only a comparatively small number are strictly of tribal or
national origin, many having obviously been borrowed from their
Hindu neighbours. The popular Kachári deities fall naturally into
two classes, i.e., (1) household gods (na-ni madái); (2) village gods
(gámi-ni madái). [25] The former are worshipped inside the house, or
at least in the homestead (compound); the latter by the whole village
collectively, outside the house, and usually near the sacred grove of
trees or bamboos, often to be seen some fifteen or twenty yards from
the village, and known as the thansali. A long list of these gods
is given in an interesting paper by Maulvi Mahibuddin Ahmed, some
nineteen names of household gods being therein enumerated, whilst the
village gods number no fewer than sixty-five. Only a small proportion
of these deities would, however, seem to obtain recognition in this
district (Darrang), and it hardly seems necessary to mention by name
more than a few of them.
A. Household Deities.
Among the household deities may be placed the following:--
1. Bátháu brai, old Bátháu.
2. Maináo, otherwise known as Bhulli Buri, and looked upon
as Bátháu's wife.
3. Ásu Maináo.
4. Sáli Maináo.
5. Song Rájá.
6. Song Brái.
7. Burá Bágh Rájá, &c., &c., &c.
1. Bátháu (Siju, i.e., Euphorbia splendens).
Of these household gods by far the most important is the
first-mentioned, i.e., Bátháu, who is pre-eminently the guardian of
the family interests and family honour. He is never represented in
idol form, but is well in evidence through his living symbol, the
siju (hiju) tree (Euphorbia splendens), which is often to be seen
in the Kachári homestead surrounded by a circular fence of split
bamboo. Among the Meches of Goalpara, almost every home, it is said,
has its Bátháu (siju), though in Darrang it is less frequently met
with. Bátháu is said not to be worshipped separately, but always in
conjunction with Ai-Deo. Inside the house a slightly raised altar,
called dhám, is often erected in honour of Song Rájá, and at this women
especially pay their devotions and make offerings, particularly at the
monthly periods (menses). All offerings, however, made to Song Rájá
are finally brought outside the house, and laid at the foot of Bátháu;
and the writer has often seen such offerings in the form of heads of
goats, pigs, fowls, &c., as well as plantains, támul-nuts, pán-leaves,
gazi (i.e., a mixture of rice and pulse), &c., humbly laid down for
Bátháu's acceptance. In this way it is held that disease, famine,
and misfortunes of all kinds may be kept at bay, through the influence
of this powerful guardian of the family interest and well-being.
It may be added that it is apparently only among the northern section
of the Kachári race that the siju tree is regarded with special
reverence. The Garos are said to know this tree and to use certain
parts of it for medical purposes e.g., the preparation of poultices,
&c.; but to them it is never an object of worship. The Dimásá of the
North Cachar Hills, on the other hand, seem to have no special regard
for the siju or any other tree.
2. Maináo (Ceres).
Only second to Bátháu is his good consort, Maináo, though, unlike
her husband, she has no special emblem visible to the human eye. Her
special function is that of "Guardian of the rice-fields"; [26]
and among a purely agricultural community like that of the Kacháris,
she of course is held in very high regard. She is, in short, to the
Kachári peasant very much what Ceres was to the old heathen Roman
cultivator. Eggs are the offering that finds most favour in her eyes,
and these are presented to her in unstinted quantity. She is apparently
especially worshipped at the period of harvesting the ásu and sáli
crops; hence the twofold designation given above (Nos. 3 and 4,
household gods), Ásu Maináo, and Sáli Maináo.
Of the other domestic deities above mentioned, it is not necessary
to say much. Nos. 5 and 6 (Song Rájá and Song Brái) seem to be the
especial objects of devotion to women, worshipped for the most part
inside the house, whilst No. 7 (Burá Bágh Rájá) is apparently merely
the name of the tiger, often spoken of with bated breath as the
"monarch of the woods" (banar-rájá), especially by men travelling at
night, when danger from the tiger may well be apprehended.
B. Village Deities.
There would seem to be little need to dwell much on the village
deities; for no small proportion of them have evidently been adopted
from the Hindu Pantheon, as will be obvious from the names given
below. Some sixty-five such names are given in the valuable paper
above mentioned of village deities recognised in Kamrup, though the
writer only knows of some three or four of these gods as reverenced
in this district (Darrang). Among these may perhaps be mentioned
the following:--
1. Mero rájá.
2. Burá Mahádeo.
3. Burá gosain.
4. Jal Kubér.
5. Thal Kubér.
6. Ih Kubér.
7. Bih Kubér.
8. Kuber brai (masculine).
9. Kuber brui (feminine).
10. Sila Rai, &c., &c., &c., &c.
It is needless to continue the list, for almost all the names
are obviously borrowed from popular Hinduism; e.g., Kuber is
almost certainly the Hindu god of wealth and of the lower regions
(Pluto). Others are in all likelihood merely names of deified mortals
of some pre-eminence above their fellow men; cf. Ram, Krishna, &c. A
notable illustration of this principle of deification is probably
that given as No. 10 in the above list, i.e., Sila Rai. [27] This is
almost certainly the name of the well-known Commander-in-Chief of the
most famous of the Koch Kings, Nar Narayan, in whose time the Koch
kingdom reached the zenith of its power. As a soldier and commander
this man (Sila Rai) seems to have been the foremost captain of his
time in North-east India; and his striking personality would seem so
to have impressed the minds and imaginations of his contemporaries
as to lead to his apotheosis after death.
As might be expected among a purely agricultural community, the great
annual pujas, which are three in number, are directly connected with
the ingathering of the three chief rice crops of the year, i.e., the
Áhu, Pharma, and Sáli crops. The dates for these annual pujas do not
seem to be at all rigidly fixed, but are apparently settled by the
village elders to meet the public convenience. There is no prescribed
form of religious worship; indeed, the whole gathering is rather of
the nature of a village merry-making than a religious service; and
there is invariably a very large consumption of the national beverage
(rice-beer) at all these gatherings.
There is said to be another puja known as morong-puja, of which the
special object is to propitiate the cholera demon, to whom are made
offerings of he-goats, pigeons, fowls and betel-nuts, &c. In addition
to these, flowers, eggs, pounded rice-flour, &c., are sometimes
placed on rafts and set afloat on a river; and occasionally animals
(goats, &c.) are exposed in this way on rafts as an oblation to the
river god (doi-ni madai). [28] It may be taken for granted that,
whenever these rafts are found on streams in the Kachári country,
cholera or other malignant disease is or has been doing its deadly
work among the people. In addition to the pujas above mentioned,
which are more or less of a general character, offerings of goats,
chickens, and a mixture of pulse and rice known as gazi, are often
placed at the foot of certain trees, usually old trees, and finally
left there. As a rule, only the heads of the goats, chicken, &c.,
so offered will be found at the foot of such trees, the bodies of the
slaughtered animals being consumed by the offerers. These oblations
are made, not by the village community as a whole, but by the heads
of individual families, some one member of which is in severe trouble
from sickness or other like cause. The money value of such offerings
is sometimes not inconsiderable.
Priesthood
There is no authorised priestly caste among the Kacháris, nor are
Brahmins ever employed in their religious ceremonies, these latter
indeed being generally of a social, and even festive, rather than
a religious character. In Kamrup, however, one of the recognised
sub-tribes is, or was, known as "Brahmaroi," a name which seems
to point to Brahmins as having a certain standing in the Bådå
community. All religious offices are now discharged by Deoris or
Deodáis, who are usually men of a certain age and recognised social
position in the village community; village elders in fact. The office
is not hereditary, and any one versed in the usual forms of exorcism,
&c., can discharge it. Another class of persons employed in religious
ceremonies is known as the Ojhá or Ojhá-Burá, who is generally armed
with shells, cowries, &c., by the manipulation of which he professes
to be able to foretell prosperity or the reverse to those who consult
him. These officials are supposed to be competent to deal with the
ordinary ailments of village life by indicating the approximate method
of propitiating the offended deity (modai), whose anger is held to
be the cause of all the ills that flesh is heir to.
But in times of special emergency, e.g., plague, pestilence, famine,
&c., the services of the "possessed" woman, [29] the Deodáni, are
called into action for a special puja organised on a somewhat large
scale. These gatherings are not very common, but when they do occur
the order of the proceedings is something as follows, as occasionally
witnessed by the writer. A piece of ground about fifteen or twenty
yards square, usually on the bank of a running stream, is selected for
the purpose. The surface of the soil is carefully removed, and a rude
screen of cotton cloth some six or eight feet high erected on bamboos
at the western side of the cleared ground. At the eastern side a slight
earthwork embankment, some three or four inches high and about a foot
broad is thrown up; and on this a number of figures, usually seven
or nine, but always an odd number, bearing a rude resemblance to the
outlines of the human form, are placed in an upright position. These
figures are roughly made of jungle grass twisted together, and are
about one foot in height. Before each figure is placed a layer of
the plantain tree with its concave side upwards, and in this are
deposited the heads of slaughtered goats, pigeons, chickens, with
salt, sugar-cane, plantains, gazi (a mixture of rice and pulse),
&c., the whole being freely sprinkled with blood and pounded rice
flour (pitháguri). The Deodáni, a somewhat weird-looking figure,
with dishevelled hair, and vermilion-stained forehead, wearing a
long petticoat, dances up and down to and fro before these figures,
keeping time roughly with the music of cymbals and tom-toms played
by four or five men, who act as her assistants. The ceremony is a
prolonged one, often extending over many hours: and the Deodáni,
whose faculties are apparently quite absorbed in what she is doing
and who seems for the time to be lifted above the world of time and
sense, gradually works herself up to a state of excitement bordering
on frenzy. At this stage, which is only slowly attained, a goat is
brought forward and taken up before one of the figures above mentioned,
when the Deodáni, with one stroke of the long sacrificial sword, known
as the imfi and reserved exclusively for such purposes, severs the
victim's head from the body. Most of the blood is held to be offered
in sacrifice to the madái, before whose emblem the animal has been
slaughtered; but some part is said to be sprinkled on the persons of
the assembled worshippers. It is at this climax of the puja, i.e.,
at the sacrificial slaughtering of the goat, that the Deodáni is
supposed to become possessed of the knowledge she is in search of,
i.e., the name of the offended deity who has brought about the plague,
&c., and also the best method of propitiating his anger; which usually
involves an offering of pigs, goats, &c., to the angered god, and the
giving of a feast to the whole village community, the expense being
defrayed by a general contribution.
1. Ceremonies Attending Birth.
In a Kachári village community there would seem to be no formally
recognised midwives (dháis), any respectable and competent matron
being at liberty to give attendance and assistance to the patient
in such cases. In severing the umbilical cord no scissors, knife,
or other implement of steel is ever used, nor is the severance
effected at one stroke, but in a succession of slight cuts, seven
such cuts being made in the case of a girl, and only five in that of
a boy. The cutting instruments consist of thin hard strips of bamboo,
[30] shaped roughly into the form of a knife; and a separate bamboo
knife must be used in making each slight cut, seven such knives being
thus made use of for a female child and five for a male. It is not
unusual for one of the bystanders to give a name to the newly-born
child at the severing of the umbilical cord. The good matron who
officiates as midwife receives no money payment for her services,
but on the mother becoming convalescent a feast is given at the
parent's expense, in which pork and other flesh meat is always present
in abundance; and at this feast the officiating midwife is accorded
the place of honour, as some recognition of the value of her kindly
ministrations in her neighbour's hour of trial and need.
For about a month or six weeks, (the period seems to vary within
these limits) after giving birth to a child, the mother is held
to be technically "unclean," and is subjected to certain social
and religious limitations; e.g., she may not approach the dhám or
domestic altar commonly found inside a Kachári's dwelling-house,
and on which she is ordinarily in the habit of making offerings of
eggs, chickens, &c., in times of trouble. This period of ceremonial
uncleanness is usually terminated by the use of the water of peace
(sánti-jal). The deori freely sprinkles the mother as well as the
house and its contents with this holy water, after which she is fully
at liberty to resume social intercourse with her neighbours. [31]
Naming.
There does not seem to be any special principle underlying the giving
of names to children, nor do such names as a rule resemble those
of their fathers. Like some of the lower castes among their Hindu
neighbours, children often take the name of the day or the month in
which they were born. [32] Hence we often find such names as Deobar,
Mangal, Budhu, as also Mághuá, Pháguná (names of months), &c., in use
among the Kacháris. Other names are obviously adopted from the Hindus,
e.g., Gangá Rám, Sáti Rám, &c. Others, again, were probably given by
the mother in infancy expressive of some peculiarity in the new-born
child's mental or physical temperament. Of this type, probably,
is a very common name, "Khángkhoá," i.e., the "voracious one," the
"great eater." [33] Another illustration is the name Gáb-grá, i.e.,
the weeper, the crier, &c., &c. In short, any unusually prominent
physical peculiarity is often seized upon to become the name by which
the child is known throughout his whole after-life.
3. Marriage.
[A. The marriage contract.]
From certain scattered scraps of information on the subject that
have incidentally come to the writer's knowledge during the past
forty years, it would seem that marriage by capture was largely, if
not universally, in vogue among the Kacháris in earlier days. Some
traces of this practice would seem to survive in the ordinary marriage
ceremonial which still to a large extent holds the field. A case
somewhat of this character came to the writer's knowledge some
twenty-five or thirty years ago. A young Kachári, employed as a
village pandit some thirty miles from Tezpur, carried off a girl
from the house of her parents some ten miles away. No actual violence
apparently occurred in the matter, and very likely there had existed
for some time previously a private understanding between the two young
people concerned. But what was done clearly had not the approval of
the girl's parents; for these latter laid a complaint on the subject
before the writer, and claimed redress for the wrong done to them. When
the offending pandit was called to account for his conduct, he simply
pleaded in defence that what he had done was quite in accordance with
the time-honoured custom of his forefathers: and on payment of the
usual bride-price, at a somewhat enhanced rate, the parents raised
no further objection to their daughter's union with the pandit.
But in modern times "marriage by capture" is rapidly passing out of
vogue, if indeed it be not already absolutely a thing of the past;
and the marriage contract is usually entered into in one of the four
following ways:--
(a) The young people occasionally take the matter into their own hands,
as in the case above mentioned, ignoring the wishes of their parents
on either side. This procedure is looked upon by the community as
blameworthy and irregular, but not invalid. The bride's parents claim
an immediate payment of Rs. 5/- from the bridegroom, and also exact
the bride-price at a higher rate than usual. But if these conditions
are duly complied with, no further objections are as a rule made to
the union.
(b) The more usual practice is as follows. When the son of the
house attains a marriageable age, i.e., from fifteen to twenty
years, his parents at once set to work to find a suitable bride for
him. Having made their choice, they pay a visit to the prospective
bride's parents, taking with them certain presents in the form of rice,
liquor, betel-nuts, &c., and formally ask the daughter's hand for their
son. If the presents are accepted by the girl's parents, it is assumed
that the proposal is favourably received, and the respective parents
at once proceed to settle the amount of the bride-price (gádhan),
[34] which is always paid by the bridegroom's family to the parents
of the bride. In Darrang the amount so paid rarely exceeds Rs. 40/-
to Rs. 60/-, though in Kamrup and Goalpara it is said to be often
double these sums; and even larger still among the Rábhás, Saraniyás,
&c. In paying this formal visit to the prospective bride's parents,
those of the bridegroom are always accompanied by some of the elders
or leading men of their own village, these latter acting as witnesses
of the marriage contract, and so constituting in their own persons
a very effective, if irregular, system of marriage registration. The
stipulated "bride-price" need not be paid at once, nor does the actual
union take place for some months after the marriage-contract has been
entered into. And in no case does the bride leave her parents' home
until puberty has been attained; so that the manifold and obvious evils
inseparable from the system of infant betrothals, and the prohibition
of the marriage of child-widows among the higher castes of Hindus,
happily find no place whatever in the more wholesome domestic life
of the Kacháris.
(c) In cases where the bridegroom or his parents are unable to pay
the bride-price demanded by the girl's parents, it is usual for
the young man to give the equivalent in personal service in the
house of the bride's parents, much as Jacob [35] served in Laban's
house seven years for Rachel. The period of service is a matter of
arrangement between the parents of the parties concerned, and seems
to vary greatly, i.e., from three or four to upwards of twelve or
fifteen years. Cohabitation, however, is allowed after about twelve or
eighteen months' service, and at the conclusion of the full period,
the young people are free to depart whithersoever they will, though
they usually return to the house of the bridegroom's parents. This
form of service is known commonly as "Olaó ghar-jiyá."
(d) A modification of the above form of service is that which is
known as "mál ghar-jiya" (Darrang) or "Khasrot-tháka ghar-jiya"
(Kamrup). In this case the prospective bridegroom severs all connection
with his own family, and identifies himself completely with that of
his bride, in whose house he serves until the death of her parents,
when with his wife he is entitled to the whole or the usual share of
their property. On that of his own parents or relatives he retains
no claim whatever.
The actual ceremony of marriage among the Kacháris can perhaps hardly
be looked upon as of a religious character, but must be regarded
as more of the nature of a social and festive gathering. The order
of proceedings is somewhat as follows:--On a fixed day a party of
the bridegroom's friends, numbering some four or five women and
thirty or forty men, set out for the house of the bride's parents or
guardians. The bridegroom may himself accompany the party but more
frequently does not. The immediate object of the journey is to bring
the bride to the bridegroom's house. The party take with them nine
loads of viands, i.e., two men carry a pig, other two a large jar
containing rice-liquor, four men carry loads of támal-pan, whilst the
last man carries a quantity of eatables meant for the men and cowherds,
who, it is supposed, might otherwise attempt to prevent the marriage
party from reaching the bride's house. Two women called bairati are in
charge of these materials for the wedding feast. [36] On reaching the
bride's house her people pour freely on the whole party an irritating
liquid known as kachu páni (water mixed with the juice of the kachu
plant) and to this somewhat rough welcome the bridegroom's party are
bound to submit without complaining, although the liquid causes much
irritation to, and even blisters, the skin. Finally the good things
brought by the bridegroom's party are taken charge of by the bride's
people, and the wedding feast is forthwith duly prepared. The village
elders sit in front of the assembly, often a large one, and the younger
people behind, each guest having in front of him either a brass plate
or (more usually) a plantain leaf. On each of these plates the bride
places a quantity of rice and curry, serving the elders first; and when
all are duly provided for she makes obeisance to the assembled company,
and sometimes kneels in their midst for their sanction and approval
on entering upon the duties of married life, her husband when present
kneeling with her. Then one of the village elders, acting as Deori,
makes a short address on the obligations of the married state, ending
by wishing every blessing, &c., to the newly wedded pair, the whole
assembly joining in at the end with one voice "eroina záthang," i.e.,
"so may it be," (Amen). The rest of the day is spent in feasting and
merry-making, but towards evening the bride is formally taken to the
bridegroom's house. If on the journey she has to cross a river, road,
or embankment (áli), &c., she is given at each such crossing nine areca
nuts and nine pan-leaves as presents to overcome her assumed reluctance
to proceed further. (Perhaps another relic of the "marriage by capture"
practice.) Before the bride enters the bridegroom's house, those who
bring her are entitled to receive a jar of molasses as well as one of
rice-liquor, and are hospitably entertained for the night. It is said
that Kachári custom sanctions a certain interval of time, sometimes
amounting to five days, between the bride's entering her husband's
house and the consummation of the marriage. All expenses attending
the marriage festival, which may extend to Rs. 200/- and upwards,
are borne by the family of the bridegroom, the bride's people as a
rule contributing nothing.
4. Death.
Immediately after death occurs, the corpse is carefully washed by
the nearest relatives, the arms and legs straightened out, the head
anointed with oil, and the hair reverently combed. A fowl or a pigeon
is killed, and from its flesh a curry is prepared with vegetables
and condiments. A portion of this food is then placed close by the
deceased's head, and the act of feeding him with a little of it is
carried out up to a certain point, though no food is as a matter of
fact actually placed within his lips. This act is repeated some ten
or twelve times, and what remains of the curry, &c., is then thrown
away, no one being allowed to consume it. The dead man's body is
then clothed with the best garments he owned in his lifetime, and
the whole covered with a perfectly new cloth; and in this condition
it is taken outside the homestead for final disposal.
[Disposal of the dead.]
There are two recognised way of disposing of the dead, i.e., (1) Burial
and (2) Cremation. The latter is looked upon as the more correct and
respectable, though from motives of economy the former is by far the
more common. [1. Burial] When burial is decided upon the corpse is
carried to its last resting place, which is often but not always on
the banks of a running stream, by the nearest surviving relatives,
no women being permitted to attend. Should it be necessary for the
burial party to cross a river or irrigation canal, a cord is usually
stretched from bank to bank at the crossing place, either above or
below the water, to serve a kind of bridge for the spirit (jiwa),
should he be at any time disposed to revisit the scenes amid which
his earthly life has been passed. [37] Arrived at a suitable place
(there are no recognised cemeteries for the interment), some pice are
thrown on the spot, to purchase the ground from the deity (madái) to
whom it is supposed to belong. The body is laid on the ground and the
grave duly dug, but before placing the corpse therein, the friends and
relatives make a solemn procession around it, five times in the case
of a man and seven in that of a woman. The body is then placed in the
grave, a somewhat shallow one, and the nearest relatives proceed to
fill it with earth. In carrying out this process a certain precaution
is taken, i.e., a hollow reed or a stalk of jungle grass (kher) is
placed perpendicularly in the grave extending from the nose of the
deceased to a point somewhat above the natural level of the ground;
and in filling the grave with earth, great care is taken not to injure
or displace this reed, so that the deceased's spirit may be able to
breathe should he so desire. After filling the grave four posts are
erected over it, one at each corner; and threads passed around them,
in order to prevent the spirits of other men from interfering with the
repose of the deceased. In the case of well-to-do people a certain
number of rupees are usually buried with the corpse, and even the
poorer classes make offerings of pice, &c., for this pious purpose;
whilst brass and other utensils needed in every-day life are almost
always left on the grave, it being supposed that the deceased may
require the use of these things in the new state of existence on which
he has recently entered. Finally, a rough shed of thatch is put up
close by the grave to shelter the deceased's spirit from rain and sun.
[2. Cremation.]
Very much the same procedure is in vogue in the case of cremation,
which is looked upon as the more respectable method of disposing
of the dead among the wealthier members of the community. Cremation
usually takes place on or near the banks of running streams, and is
prefaced by the formal buying of the land from the deity (madái) of
the locality. Here too a certain difference is made in disposing of
the corpse of a man and of a woman respectively; for in the case of a
woman seven layers of wood are placed under the body and seven above
it, whilst in dealing with a man's corpse five such layers under and
five above the body are held to be sufficient. After placing the body
on the funeral pile, the deceased's friends and relatives pass round
it in procession, five times in the case of a man and seven in that
of a woman (see above). The funeral pile is then set on fire on all
four sides at once, and the fire carefully fed until every vestige
of the deceased's body is consumed. The ashes are not carried away,
but four posts are usually placed in the ground enclosing the oblong
space on which the cremation has been carried out; and on the tops
of these a cloth is spread, which is held to shelter the spirit of
the deceased from sun and rain.
[Indications of belief in life after death.]
From what has been written above, it would certainly seem that the
Kachári has some idea, however vague and unsatisfactory, of a life
prolonged after the great change we commonly call "death," though
his notion of the future life is merely that of the "first (earthly)
life renewed." It has obviously little or nothing in common with
the hope of life eternal in Christ, i.e., life in God, life with
God, life like God, given us in the New Testament (see 1 Cor. xv.;
Phil. iii. 20, 21; 1 John iii. 2).
[Festivities. 1. Domestic.]
From such information as the writer has been able to ascertain,
there would seem to be few well-marked domestic festivities among
the Kacháris, though the race is a very sociable and hospitable one,
and the people entertain each other freely and frequently.
The two following may perhaps be mentioned:--
A. "Mikham gadán zánái," i.e., the "eating of the new rice." This is
a feast held about December 10th (there is apparently no fixed date),
in celebration of the commencement of the cutting of the great rice
crop of the year (sáli dhán). It is on this occasion that the proceeds
of the newly harvested rice are first partaken of as an actual article
of food. There is perhaps nothing of a religious character about it,
its main feature being a very free consumption of rice-beer, often
resulting in much drunkenness.
B. "Mahu hanai" (or thàmfoi hasa-nai K), i.e., "the driving away
of mosquitoes." This is a form of merry-making got up mainly by
the young people of a village about the latter part of November
or early in December, to celebrate the departure of the mosquito
plague for the cold season. Some twenty-five years ago the writer
was passing the night in a school-shed, and was aroused from sleep
by much shouting, dancing, &c., just outside the door. On looking out
into the moonlight he saw a group of fantastic figures, some of them
clothed in dry plantain leaves, and wearing a head-dress made of thatch
of preposterous proportions resembling an enormous conical-shaped
"dunce cap." On inquiring the reason of the gathering, he was told
that the performers were "driving away the mosquitoes." No doubt
this is an amusement got up by the younger members of the community,
who are sometimes rewarded for their efforts by small gifts of money,
food, &c., from their elders (cf. "Guy Fawkes," at home).
[2. Tribal.]
There would seem to be no distinctively tribal festivals characteristic
of the Kacháris of this district (Darrang), unless the January and
April Bihus can be regarded as such. The origin of these two festivals
is still somewhat obscure and uncertain, and further light on the
subject is greatly to be desired. Certainly they are not exclusively
Kachári festivals, for they are observed by the Hindus in this
neighbourhood as well as by the Kacháris. [38] Among the latter the
January Bihu is usually celebrated about the 12th of that month. For
weeks previously the young people have been busy building "Bihu huts"
of jungle thatch; also in erecting tall bamboos, sometimes surmounted
by ragged flags, &c., while straw, thatch and other combustibles
are piled up around these bamboos to the height of many feet. On the
appointed Bihu night these sheds, &c., are all set fire to amid much
rejoicing, dancing, singing, &c., and of course there is, as on all
like occasions, a liberal consumption of the national rice-beer. For a
month or two previously to this festival, the village boys and young
people have had to guard the growing and ripening rice crops night
and day; and in all likelihood this merry-making, which is very much
of the nature of a "Harvest home," is largely an expression of their
joy and gladness at being relieved from this hard and irksome duty.
The April Bihu, the origin of which it is not so easy to account for,
seem to be a "Saturnalia" of much more objectionable character. The
people abandon themselves freely both to drunkenness and other forms of
licentiousness, and cases of serious assault and riot have been known
to accompany and follow these gatherings. Among the Darrang Kacháris,
this festival lasts for seven days, during which little or no work
is done, the whole period being given up to merry-making, dancing,
feasting, &c. As is the practice among their Hindu neighbours,
on the opening day all cattle are taken to the nearest river or
tank, and there formally bathed, and afterwards sprinkled with a
preparation compounded of rice-beer (zu), tomatoes, and turmeric. The
horns are smeared with oil, and occasionally oil, ashes, and pounded
rice-flour are applied in patches to the bodies of the cattle. This
duty discharged, the people abandon themselves to sheer merriment,
the younger folks especially giving themselves up to dancing and
singing, &c. The verses sung at these festivals seem for the most
part to be little better than mere meaningless jingle-jangle rhymes,
made up on the spur of the moment, though occasionally some of them
give an insight into the peculiar humour of the Kachári character and
temperament. One or two samples of what is sung at these gatherings
are given below:--
1. Agoi, Boisági, faidá nang.
Dána bathar jánai-khai rang zágan zang.
2. Adá Puá Rám, laga laga thángdang;
Gámsá hádang, fáli hádang, mána brábdang?
3. Ádá Ráguna, fáriyá, ai fáriyá,
Námoisa, gunoisa, fáriyá, ádá fáriyá;
Áma máseyakhosa zuriyá, ádá zuriyá;
Dáosá máseyá-khosa zuriyá ádá zuriyá,
&c. &c. &c.
The above represents an exchange of playful banter between two members
(brother and sister) of a Kachári family who are about to take part in
a Bihu festival or some similar merry-making. The brother, Puá Rám,
with all a young man's impatience and eagerness to enjoy the fun,
calls to his sister, Boisagi, to come out from the house and join
him at once, while she from within (couplet two) pleads womanlike for
a few minutes longer grace to complete her personal adornment. Both
brother and sister then join in calling on a near relative, a mauzadár,
not to shirk his social responsibilities, but at once to provide the
ways and means for a plentiful Bihu feast. The general sense of the
three couplets, somewhat freely translated, is given below:--
1. Sister Boisagi, come out and play;
This is our Bihu holiday;
Don't move inside the house all day.
2. Dear brother mine, I'll come anon
I'm putting my best sari on;
Five minutes' grace; don't harshly press;
We ladies must have time to dress.
3. Uncle's a wealthy mauzadár;
Long has he served the great Sirkar;
He'll gladly give a bounteous feast,
A round half-dozen pigs at least.
&c. &c. &c.
II
The following couplet, which is not connected with the foregoing, calls
perhaps for some explanation. The words, of which a free translation is
appended, are supposed to be uttered by a Kachári damsel, the village
belle, to a fickle lover, who, after paying court to her for a time,
deserts her and marries another. The faithless swain is a man of
some little importance in the village community as a dang daliya, or
drum-major, one of his functions being to beat the big drum (madal)
at all festivals, marriage processions, &c. He has the misfortune
to lose his wife after a month or two of wedded life, and then would
fain return to the "old love."
Armed therefore with his big drum of office and apparelled in his
gayest attire, he presents himself before the Kachári belle and renews
his suit for her hand. Now the average Kachári maiden has a wholesome
sense of her own value (in married life she is not unfrequently the
"better man" of the two), and no more relishes being "jilted" than
her sisters in other and more civilised parts of the world. She
at once, therefore, repels his advances in the most positive and
unqualified way; and not only so, but in the presence of a large bevy
of scornful village maidens, all highly resentful of the faithless
lover's fickleness, she proceeds to pour contempt on his suit in the
following severely sarcastic couplet ("facit indignatio versus"):--
Dáng-dáliyá, dángdáliyá.
Mozáng mozáng gán-blá-ba
Náng-kho náng-li-yá; nang-li-yá
Handsome raiment though you wear,
I'm not for you, I do declare.
(The original Kachári verse is singularly emphatic.)
Or
"You come to me in bright array:
I'm not for you; be off, I say.
This dandy swain my mate would be?
No 'second-hand lover,' girls, for me."
The above couplets may perhaps be fairly looked upon as typical
illustrations of the Kachári temperament and character, and it may
be inferred from them that human nature among this interesting race
does not greatly differ from human nature in other and more civilised
countries of the world.
It may perhaps be added that whilst the Garos living in the plains
observe both the January and the April Bihus, their brethren in the
Hills ignore both, though they would seem to have certain special
harvest festivals of their own. The people of the North Cachar
Hills, on the other hand, seem to observe only one annual Bihu,
of the nature of a harvest home, at any time between October and
December. These Kachári festivals are almost always attended by an
immoderate consumption of the national rice-beer, not to say by actual
drunkenness in not a few cases. On the other hand, they have their
good side in that they help to keep the people to some extent beyond
the influence of the destructive vortex of Hinduism, in which their
simple primitive virtues might otherwise be so readily engulfed, and
the adoption of which in whole or in part is invariably accompanied
by a grave and deep-seated deterioration in conduct and character.
SECTION V
Folk-Lore, Traditions and Superstitions
On this section of the subject there is no need to dwell at any length;
indeed, materials for the purpose are to a great extent wanting. Of
traditions, properly so called, whether historical or otherwise,
the Kacháris of this district would seem to be almost absolutely
destitute. Nor can they be regarded as a superstitious race, for it
is only when suffering from a serious outbreak of cholera, Kálá-azár,
or other like public calamity, that they make frequent, and sometimes
costly, offerings to their deities as shown in some detail in the
preceding section. As a rule the people are of a bright, cheerful
disposition; and as a planter friend once remarked to the writer,
of all the various races employed on his extensive tea estates the
Kacháris were the only people who might be frequently heard whistling
merrily as they went to and from their daily toil. Moreover, the
subject of Kachári folk-lore has already been effectively dealt with
by a writer fully competent to do it ample justice; and perhaps the
objects aimed at in this section will be best attained by re-issuing
three or four of the more characteristic and typical of the interesting
series of Kachári folk-tales collected by this writer, some fifteen
years since, from an intelligent member of the Kachári race still
(1906) resident in this district (Darrang). [39]
I
In Section IV some reasons have been given for the view that the
Kachári race has a special respect, if not reverence, for the
element of water, especially perhaps for flowing water, rivers,
&c. And the latter part of the following folk-tale furnishes some
sort of explanation of this presumed respect and reverence.
DÙIMA DÙISÁ NI KHORÁNG.
Sánùi brai burui man. Pháre unau bisur gothai brai-burui zálangbá,
buruiá zingásínánai brainu khithánaise, "Brai, zangfurhá zi danai
fisáfur dang, bísùr má zánánai thánggan?" Erui bungbá braiá mai hu
khàmnu lági Khuberniáu thángnánai, mai sobai bisor áru lai-megong,
láfá megong, bifùr máni-ni bígot-zului bínánai nå-i-au lábonánai sànsni
sànzàt lámáibau hor thánánai, nå man-fai-nánai buruinu khithánaise:
"Áng gásenu bigot-zului lábobai." Pháre nå-i-au sànne-su thánánai, khet
khàmnu lági sorai fithá-gúndui lánánai há nainu lági tháng-naise. Pháre
gahàm há datse nai-ui frábui fátbrui-thing-bu zurá khánánai dinnánai
nå fainaise. Unau sànse-ni-kháli khodál sekhá bifur máni lánánai
thángnánai hágrá eonánai áru bi hágráfurkho saunánai hákho mazáng
khámnaise. Binifrai, sànzá sànàp áru sà khlá fàtbruithing khulumnánai
khoná bruithing phongse phongse záunaise.
Biaunu há gásenu mannaise. Pháre baidi baidi mai áru fifáng megong
thaigong boikhobu funánai hunaise. Pháre hábá zapbá braia nåi-au
thángnánai zirai-nánai thánaise. Obásu ázibu dang khalibu dang sànse
buruiá mai nainu lági braikho lugu homnaise. Khintu braiá bungnaise
"Lamáiau dui guiá. Nangha dui gángbá áng maunifrai hunu?" Theobu
bi brai-ni khorang khnásongálábá embrábrá braikho homnaikhai
lángnáng-naise. Pháre thángui thángui maini há man-si man-si zábá,
burui-há dui gángnánai brainu khithábaí, braiá bungnaise, "Áng nangnu
duhui-nu khithádangman, nongga? Theobu ángni khoráng khná-i-álábá
fainanai ángkho dukhu hùiù." Ereùi bungbá, buruiá bungnaise, "Dini áng
dùi manlángábá thoi-si-gan. Nang áng-nu dui hunu-nánggo." Pháre unau
braiá mungbu upai mane zánánai, dùi namai-nángnaise. Namaiè namaiè
fukurimanse nubá bi buruini megonkho hí zang khánánai be fukuri-hálági
lángnaise. Aru braiá bungnaise "Nang be fukuri kho naiálábá dùi
láng." Khintu dùi lángbá-rù mábá mábá dùi ni dau áru hángsufrá
birlai-bá, bikho khnánánai, bikho nainu lubuinánai nai-naise. Beaunu
daufurni gelénai áru rong zlainai nunánai bihábu brai zang rong zlainu
mon zánaise. Obásu braiá khàmá, buruiá ágárá. Pháre braiá, buruini
khoráng lánu gnáng zánaise. Obásu bisurhá áji-bu-thaiu kháli-bu-thaiu
gåthå gáthai zánaise. Zábá, bisurkho fisínu háekhai braiá bisurkho
buruini khoráng-zang Hem-ni házo-au lángnánai beaunu fukuri manse
khamnánai baidi baidi ná khàmnánai dùiau hogàrnánai dinbunaise.
Pháre unau Sri braiá suimá fudrun máse lánánai mùi sessá áru
khusung námaibaie námaibaie dùi gángsu dangman. Ereaunu Sri braiá
be fukuriau tháng-fnáng-naise. Beaunù dùi nunánai lángnu namaibá,
náfrá bikho raidaunaise, "Áfá, nang beni dùi langbá, zangfurkho
gahàm khamnánggan." Beaunu bi sumai lánánai, dùikho lángbá, náfrá
bungnaise, "Dá nang zangfurkhu Loitho hálági láng." Beaunu Sri braiá
gaigainu lauthi zang dru-dru bu-bu-bá khithu khithu dùi bù-hùi bùnai,
aru náfrá bu fainaise. Bibaidinu dùisá zánaise. Obásu unau náfra
Sri brai-nu láo thaise áru khumrá thaise hotnaise. Pháre bikhonu
lábonánai sáse khurmá-ni nå-i-au hápfaibá binu zo mikhàm áru omá máse
buthátnánai hùnaise. Pháre okhá naibá Sri braiá be khumrá-kho bini
khurmánu hunaise. Hubá bi khumrákho dànkhaubá tháká gazá, mannánai áru
báti-se khàm záhùnù lági omá buthátnaise. Áru omá bikhau [40] man-se
dinnaise. Zákháng-ùi-frábui fainu námáibá omá bikhaukho Sri brainu
hùnaise. Hùbá áru braiá laukhobu khurmánu hùnaise. Bi lau-au darbi
gazà dangman. Khintu be khorángkho braiá mithiá. Áru bini khurmaiá-bu
bi-nu khithá-i-a-khùise. Unau braiá nåi-au fainaise. Áru bihá nå-i-au
bini fisázu-kho zábrá zánanai thánai nunaise. Bi láo aru khumrá-kho
khurmá-kho hùláng-naikhai bibaidi zabrá zánai áru bini khurmaiá-bu be
lao áru khumrá-kho lákhman-aikhai zabrá gabràp zánánai thánáise. Obásu
bini unau náfrá ozá zá-thí-nánai bisur-ni nå-i-au thángnánai gadán
nai-hùi-nánai [41] khithánaise "Nang-sur zusá mairong áru goe zoráse
áru dau màse lánánai duisá-i-au hùnánai khulumbá, nang-sur-há zabrá
zágan. Besur bibaidi-nu khámnánai zabrá zanaise. Binikhai dá Båråfrá
duisá duimá-furkho khulumu. Zapbai.
HOW THE RIVERS WERE MADE.
Once upon a time there lived a man and an old woman. And when they
were quite old, the old woman said to her husband, "How shall these
our children get food when we are gone?" So the old man travelled afar
to the great god Kuvera, [42] the god of riches, and taking from him
seedlings of paddy, pulse, mustard, and gourds, journeyed for eight
days and so reached his home. And after staying a couple of days he
set forth to cultivate, taking dry food with him. And first he marked
out a piece of rich land by placing boundaries on all four sides of
it, and so came home. And again he set out another day with hoe and
axe, and cut and burned the jungle, and cleaned the soil, and after
worshipping on each side of his field--on the east and on the west,
on the north and on the south--he struck one blow with his hoe on
each side.
And when all was ready, the old man planted his seedlings of various
sorts, and finally went home and rested. And so, as time went by,
the old woman desired vehemently to see how the crops were getting
on. But the old man said, "There is no water on the road, and if you
grow athirst you will get no relief." But she persisted and prevailed,
and made her husband take her along. And as they went and were now
quite close to her husband's field, behold, the old woman began to
be very thirsty. And the old man, being enraged, cried "What did I
tell you? There is no water and yet you would come." But she, being
a woman, said "If you do not give me to drink I shall die. So water
you must procure as best you can." So the old man, seeing no other
way, went to seek for water. And after long search, seeing a tank,
he bound the old woman's eyes with a cloth and dragged her to the
water's edge and said to her, "Drink if you will, but look not upon
the tank." Now the ducks and other water-fowl were playing in the
water, and were making a merry noise, clacking and quacking. And,
the old woman being curious, like all her sex, peeped at them. And,
seeing them at their play, she too desired to be happy in her husband's
society, and, though he was very loth, prevailed with him. And so in
due course there were born to them many sons and daughters. And then,
in order to provide for their food, he journeyed to the Himálayas
and digged a great tank, stocked with many kinds of fishes.
Now, one day the god Sri, the god of good luck, came that way with
his white dog, a-hunting for deer and hares and tortoises. And when
he came to the margin of the tank, behold he was very thirsty. But
when he stooped to drink, the fishes said to him eagerly that he must
grant them a boon in return for their water. To which he assented;
and when he had satisfied his thirst, the fishes said, "Take us to the
great river, the Brahmaputra (or Lohit)." So the god Sri tied them
to his staff, and drew them after him, making runnels of water. And
that is how the rivers were made. And the fishes in return gave him a
pumpkin and a gourd. And, taking these with him to a friend's house,
his friend regaled him with rice-beer and pig's flesh; and in the
morning he gave his friend the pumpkin. But when his friend cut open
the pumpkin, it contained nothing but pure silver. So he bade the
god Sri stay another day, and brewed fresh beer and killed another
pig, and when he was going away gave him a flitch of bacon to take
with him. So the god Sri gave him also the gourd. But when he cut
open the gourd, it contained nothing but pure gold. And so the god
Sri journeyed to his home. And when he got there, he found that his
little daughter was very ill. And that was because he had given away
the presents which the fishes had made him. But the fishes took pity
on him, and came to him in the guise of physicians, and told him
that if he would worship and do sacrifice on the banks of rivers,
then his daughter would be healed; which he did. And that is why we
Kacháris worship rivers. And that is all.
II
The moral of the following story is a thoroughly sound one. It is
obviously a kind of sermon on such familiar texts as "Procrastination
is the thief of time," "Never put off to to-morrow what you should
do to-day," &c. Its teaching is clearly the same as that which finds
expression in the well-known words:
"There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which taken at the flood leads on to fortune:
Omitted, all the voyage of their lives
Is bound in shallows and in miseries."
SÁSÈ OLSIÁ GÅTHÅ NI KHORÁNG.
Sásè olsiá gåthå dangman. Bi málai háli oinánai mai gai zap-bá, obásu
bi mámmár dubliau háli oi-hùi-dang. Pháre Buthur [43] braiá olsiá
gåthå-kho háli oinai nunánai bi thángnu haekhai, bungnaise, "Helùi
gåthå, nanglai dá má háli oidang-ùi, buthurá mobábá-nu thángbai. Dá
mai gaibá má zá-bau-nu?" Theobu bi bikho nai-finá, mosokno buá dhum
dhum dhàm dhàm bunánai, natzret nat-flet háli oibai tháiù. Unau
braiá khonle khonle sungnaikhai gåthåá bràp-nánai nai-gedau-nánai
bung-naise, "Nanglai máuni brai lùi? Áng kho háli oinaiau be baidi
sungbai tháiu? Ángha má zádang, áng su mithidang." Beaunu braiá
bungnaise "Nonggá, lui áfá, áng nangkho gahàm khoráng-sù khithánu
námaidang." Beanu gåthåá bungnaise "Má khoráng dang? Mámár kithá. Ángha
háli oinu sàn zolángbai." Obásu braiá bungnaise "Dá háli oinánai
má zánu? Buthur thángbai," hanbá, gåthåá bungnaise "Bi bobething
thángkhu? Mau thangkhu, nang ángnu kithánánai hu. Áng mai gainu
manábá, ma zánánai tháng-gan?" Obásu braiá bungnaise "Nang aglánù
málai zang luguse háli oinánai mai gaibá hàmgauman, dálai buthurkho
sùr nunù hágo, áru mábrui bikho laifin-nu?" Beaunu gåthåá bungnaise
"Nang khithínánai hunu hábá, áng bikho zeruibábu lábonu hágan." Hanbá
bikho braiá bulu haekhai khithánaise "Nang bething thángui thábá
khårå phut-thru-thru brai sáse thokon thunánai dubli gezer gezer
thángnai nugan. Obániá nang bikhonu hom. Áru bi zere khíthá-i-u, nang
bebaidinu khàmdui" hannánai, buthur braiá thángnaisei. Obásu gåthåá
háli hogàrnánai nåiau fainánai bima buruikho mámár khàm songnu hùnánai,
zaùi lángùi bimánù kithánaise "Ai, nang gábun fungzáni khàm songnánai
hù, áru mairong khotháse bunnánai hù. Ang buthur braikho husu-láng-nù
nánggo. Maná-thu dini áng háli oinaiau brai sáse fainánai mai gainaini
Buthurá tháng-bai hannánai kithánái, áru bikho hùsù-lángbá mangan, áru
bi zere khámnu thinu, bebaidi-nu khàm, hannánai kithalángnai." Obásu
buriá okhá naibá khàm songnánai gåthåkho zá-hù-ùi làng-hù-ui mairong
khotáse bunnanai hunánai gåthå-kho hogárnaise. Gåthåá thángui
thángui zaikhonu lugù manù, bikhonù sungù, bisur bungù: "Buthur
thángbai hannanai mithigo. Bi mábrùi áru bobething thángkhu, bikho
zangfur khithánu haiá." Beaunu gåthåá gadau-srau zánánai bobething
thán-gan hannánai zerenu manu erenu dubli gezer gezer thábai-baibá
gazànau brai sáse nu-hotnaise. Nuhotbá binu buthur zánù nánggo
nungnánai, bikho bungnaise "Áfá råthå; dase råthå. Áng nang-ni-au
manse khoráng sungnu námaidang." Theobu braiá khnásonglábá thángui
tháiù. Gåthåá-bu khithu khithu thángui thángui khithálangu. Gabauzang
braiá nai fafinnanai bungnaise "Má hekhong hekhong sùr gåthålùi
mauni lùi nanglai?" hannánai sungbá gåthåá bungnaise "Áfá brai, dá
braplùi. áng manse dukhuau gaglainá-nai, nangni kháthiau faidang,"
hanbá braiá "Mámár khithá; mámár khithá; áng thángnu nánggo, ánghá
nåá gazàn, hor-tho-hùi-gan;" hannaise. Obásu gåthåá khithánaise,
"Áfá, áng nangkho buthur brai baidi nuïù. Binikhai nang ángkho dá
buthàt. Málaiá boibu mai gaithrå-bai; áng un zánánai dase-bù gainu
há-e-khuise. Binikhai nang dase tháng-fáfin-bá ángha mai zágan"
bungnaikhai, braiá binu khithá-naise, "Áng dá faibai, tháng fá-finnu
háliá, nang benifrai mámár tháng-nánai, zese háiu gatháng-gabrám háli
oinánai mai gaihùitháng." Obásu gåthåá fainánai zerenu manu erenu
khothia [44]-khini-kho gaibrop-nánai dinnaise. Zapbai.
THE STORY OF THE LAZY BOY.
There was once a very lazy boy. And when everybody else had planted
out his paddy, he was only setting forth to plough. But the old man
of the season, seeing him, said "The season has gone; what are you
ploughing for now? The paddy is all planted out, and it is late." But
the boy would not listen to him, and ploughed sturdily ahead, beating
his cattle soundly as he went. And when the old man again and again
questioned him, he cried "What sort of old man is this? Can he not
see that I am busy? I know very well what I am about." But the old
man said gently, "Nay, my son: but it is for your good that I would
speak to you." And the boy said "Speak quickly then, and have done with
it." And the old man said, "My son, the season is gone; what avails
it to plough now?" And then the boy cried "Where has it gone? And
when has it gone? And why has it gone? And how shall I find it?" But
the old man of the season said, "You should have ploughed when others
did. The season has gone, and no man can bring it back." But the boy
said, "I must bring it back; else, how shall I eat, and how shall I
live? Do tell me where it is gone." And as he would not let the god go,
finally, losing patience, he said "You go over there, and you will find
an old man with a snow-white head ploughing in a field. You get hold
of him and do as he tells you." So saying, he made his escape. Then
the lad hastened home to his mother and bade her cook supper quickly,
and tie him up some rice to take with him on the morrow, for he was
going to bring back the departed season for ploughing.
"For," said he, "when I was ploughing to-day, an old man told me that
the season was gone, and that if I went after him and pursued him I
would find him, and that I must do as he would tell me." So she rose
very early in the morning, and, giving him to eat and drink, sent him
on his way. And as he went, he asked all he met "Can you tell me where
the old man of the season has gone?" But they said, "Everyone knows
that the season is gone, but where it is gone, or why it is gone, who
can say?" At last, when he was nearly in despair, he saw an old man
ploughing afar off, and shouted to him "Stay a moment, father, stay;
I want to ask you a question." But the old man was busy, and went
his way. Then the lad pursued him and never ceased calling after him
till at last the old man losing patience, turned upon him, and said,
"What pertinacious noisy lad is this, who won't leave me alone?" But
the lad said, "Be not angry, my father; I am fallen into great trouble,
and it behoves you to help me." "Speak quickly, then," said the old
man. And the boy said, "I take you to be the old man of the season,
and I pray you not to slay me. All the others have planted out their
paddy, and I have fallen behind, and have planted nothing. Therefore,
unless you turn back, I cannot hope to get any harvest." But the old
man said, "It is too late for me to return. Go you back, and plant
your paddy as best you can." And so the lad hastened back and planted
out his seedlings in such heedless haste as became him. And that's all.
III
By his Hindu neighbours the Kachári is often looked upon as a Boeotian,
a simpleton from whom little in the way of intelligent action is to
be expected. And undoubtedly in the matter of mere book-learning he
is never likely to take a very high place, nor will he shine brightly
in the examination-room as an ordinary competitor. On the other hand,
he is often endowed with certain practical qualities which are of
great value to him in the battle of life. He usually has no small
share of what is well called "the saving sense of humour," which
prevents him from taking himself too seriously, and does not a little
to lighten for him the cares and toils of life. Of his possession of
this invaluable endowment many illustrations will be found in the
collection of Kachári Folk-tales, &c., referred to above, a volume
which the curious in such matters will do well to consult. And in
addition to his sense of humour, he has often a goodly supply of sound
homely mother wit, which stands him in good stead when brought into
relations with other men, who from a merely intellectual point of
view are undoubtedly his superiors. These, and other like endowments
of great price, often enable him to seize with unerring instinct on
the weak points of an opponent's position and to avail himself of them
with no little dexterity and success. In the following amusing story,
for instance, the simple (?) Kachári servant completely outwits his
astute Bráhmin master, turning the tables on the latter to his no
small dismay and discomfiture.
BÁMUN ÁRU BINI SÁKOR NI KHORÁNG.
Sáse Bámun dangman, áru bihá sákor sáse dangman. Sànse sáne zang
Bámun ni bi-hau-bikhunzu-ni nåiau thang-nù-lági thálit gur gákhir
sorai lánánai sákhor-kho bán hùná-nai, bikho khithánaise "Nang be
thálit-furkho dá zá. Zábá, ánghá khithu fàtse bù megon dang." Eru
hannánai thángui thánaise. Pháre unau boi sákhorhá mikhàm ukhuibá,
thálit-kho lánánai, thaise thaise binu un-phat-si khithinánai bebaidinu
boibò-kho-bù zà-thro-lángnaise. Pháre unau bisur dàpseau zirai-hùibá,
Bámun bibànkho nueákhai, sákhor-ni sigáng-au sungnaise "Bibáná má
zákhu?" Oba sákhorá bungnaise, "áng duk-hui-nù nángnu khithinánai bi
thálit-furkho zábai. Áru dá nang mánu sung-dang?" Bebaidinu Bámuná bolo
[45] háekhai sri sri thánaise. Pháre besur beaunu khàm song-zá-nu-lági
zothon khàmnaise, áru beaunu ná khawai má-ne-sù mandang-man. Bini
sákhornu máse buá hunánai, gásenu Bámuná lánaise. Pháre zeblá
khàm man-naise, sàne-bù zánu lági zodangman. Ereaunu sákhorá
sungnaise "Bámun gohain, ná khawaaiá máse buá daugaiù, ná dulù dulù
daugaiù?" Beaunu Bámuna bungnaise "Dulu dulu daugiaù." Obà bi bini ná
másekho bini khàm-au khubui-hot-detnaise, "Maná-thu be hàtsing dauganu
háià, nang-ni zang dulùse záthang." Beaubu gaigai-ni khoráng-zang-nu
zennánai bikho mung-bá bung-nu haiá-khuise. Unau khàmkho sákhorá
hàtsing manzánaise.
Pháre binifrai thángui thángui simli bifáng dulùse nunánai, Bámun-kho
sungnaise "Bámun gohain, be nunai bongfáng-frá má bongfáng?" Bámuná
khithánaise "sirmolu." Sákhorá bungnaise: "Sirmolu nunggá. Bikho
hirmolu hanu." Pháre obásu phong-bá phong-bá sonu lági khoráng
khálai-naise. Pháre gurkhiá dulùse lugù mannánai, bisurkho sung-bá,
"himulù" hannánai bisur bungnaise. Obánu sungá-hoá-lábá Bámunkho
phongbá, sonaise.
Áru bebaidi thángui thángui burmá dulùse nunánai sákhorá Bámunkho
sungnaise "Bámun gohain, boi gángsu zábai thánai zanthu-fur má,
bungo?" Bámuná khithánaise "Bifur ság." Sákhorá bungnaise "Nunggá,
bifur ságoli." Beaubu bibaidinu Bámuná phongbá so-zá-naise. Áru
binifrai thángnánai dáu-ba dulùse nunánai sungnaise. "Bámun gohain,
befur má dáu?" Bámuná bungnaise "Nang bifurkho mithiá? Bifurkho bog
hanu." Bi bungnaise "Má bog hanu? Nunggá. Bikho boguli hanu." Beaubu
bebaidinu Bámuná phongbá sozá naise. Unau bi manse slok hannaise:
"Ság sirmolu bog ba-káran
Tini pánch panra kil sudá akáran."
Phá binifrai thángnánai bihaibikhunzu ni nå kháthi manbá, sákhorkho
thin-hot-gru-nánai khithanaise "Nang thángnánai mámár khàm songnu thin;
manáthu ángha mikhàm ukhui-su-dang." Pháre bibaidi-nù bi thángnánai,
Bámun-ni bikhunzunu hángsu buthàtnánai sobai kháre zang mikhàm
songnánai dinnu khithánaise, áru bungnaise, "Nangni nángzá-madùiá
megongau gabàp nunggábá zaiá." Obásu bi songnánai dinnaise. Pháre unau
bizámádùiá so-fai-bánù, mamárui khàm khutnánai hunaise. Bizámádùiá
ukhui-su-naï-khai, khàm megong mungbo básiá-lábá zánu gnáng zánaise.
Abásu unau bebaidinu baidi baidi lázi mannai zánaikhai, Bámuná
bidánulági sitti gangse lit-nánai sákhorni ákhai-au hunánai
nå-i-au hotnaise. Lámá sáse thángbá, beaunu litnu-gráng sáse mànsui
lugù man-nànai, binu sitti khithinaise. "Beau má litdang, ángnu
khithá." Obásu, mànsuiá sitti-kho nainánai, "Nangkho dànnu láge Bámun
ni bidá-kho thindang" erui bungbá, bi sitti-kho phisinánai bungnaise
"Áfá nang ángnu gubun sitti gángse litnánai hù." Áru be sittiau
erehai lit, "ádá, nangni fisáhingrzauzang be sákhorá man-hui-bá-nù
hábá khàmnánai hù. Áng benifrai thángnánai bisur-ni hábá nunu nánggá"
Bebaidinu be sittikho langnánai Bámun-ni bidánu hùnaise. Khintu bi
sittikho nunánai, monau dukhu man-su-naise. Theobu, bigùi-ni khoráng
gárnu háekhai, fisázù zang mámár hábá khàmnánai hunángnaise.
Pháre sànse thánánai bi fainanai bidá-kho sungbá, gásenu khoráng
khnánai, bi sákhor kho dánnùlági sri sri upai khàmnaise. Be upaikho
sákhorni hingzauá mithinánai, bekho onnánai binu khithánaise. Khithábá,
hingzau zang horau uduniau mosofisá máse khá-khrop-nánai futhunánai
dinnaise. Pháre Bámuná fisázu zang udubai thádang mon khàmnánai,
sri sri thangnánai mosofisákho dànnaise. Sàn-so-ba mosáfisákho
dánfnáng-nai nunánai mámárùi bizámádui sákhor-kho gárhùinù lági
thinnaise. Khintu bizámáduiá bisurni bariau lángnanai, lànzai
dihonnánai, fopnánai dinnaise. Unau Bámuná mosá buthàtnai-ni
nungge sri sri uddhar zánu lági gámini mànsuifurkho lingnánai phozu
hudangman. Pháre mánsuifur zánu zobá, sákhorá báriau thángnanai moso
lànzai-kho bunanai bungnaise "Bámuná mosobù buthárá-khùi phozù-bù huá
khùi, hùi-sù." Bebaidi bungbai-thábá, phozuni mànsuifrá khnánánai,
phozu zaiákhùise. Bebaidinù bisùr ud dhár manákhuise. Zapbai.
THE BRÁHMIN AND HIS SERVANT.
There was once a Bráhmin who had a servant. And one day when they were
going to the house of the Bráhmin's mother-in-law, the Bráhmin gave his
servant a bunch of plantains and other things to carry, and said to
him, "Now, mind you don't eat those plantains, for I can see just as
well behind as I can in front." And, so saying, he marched ahead. And
presently the servant, getting hungry plucked one of the plantains from
the bunch, and, holding it out to his master's back, ate it. And this
he did again and again till all the plantains were gone. And when the
Bráhmin presently asked what had become of the load, the servant said,
"You told me you could see behind as well as in front. So I showed
you each plantain before I ate it. And you never said anything."
So the Bráhmin went his way speechless. Presently they stopped
to cook their midday meal, and they had got with them a few khawai
fish. But the Bráhmin gave only one to his servant, and kept the rest
himself. And when he was about to eat, the servant asked innocently
"Oh! Bráhmin, do khawai fish swim about singly or in shoals?" To which
the Bráhmin said, "Why, in shoals, of course." So the servant said,
"Then my fish had better go with yours." And, so saying, he threw his
fish on the Bráhmin's mess, which was defiled. So the Bráhmin got no
dinner, and the servant ate the whole.
A little later they came across a number of simul trees. Seeing them,
the servant asked his master, "And what do they call these trees,
master?" And the Bráhmin (being an educated man) said, "These are
sirmolu." But the servant said, "Not so, not so. These are himulu,"
and offered to bet five blows that it was so. And, meeting some cowherd
boys, he asked them what the trees were. And when they said "himulu,"
he gave the Bráhmin five blows without further question.
Next they met a drove of goats. "And what may these be, Bráhmin,
these animals that are grazing?" And the Bráhmin said, "These be
called chág." But the servant cried, "Not so, not so. These are
chágali." And the result, as before, was that the Bráhmin was worsted
and got five blows. And next they came across a flock of paddy-birds,
which the Bráhmin called "Bog," but the servant "Boguli." And again
he was worsted and got his five blows. On which he consoled himself
by reciting an Assamese saying, to the effect that it is ill arguing
with a fool:
"Ság sirmolu bog ba-káran
Tini pánch panra kil sudá akáran."
And when they were now come near the Bráhmin's mother-in-law's house,
and the Bráhmin was become very hungry, he sent his servant on ahead
to beg them to get supper ready. So the servant went on ahead and bade
the Bráhmin's mother-in-law cook a duck and put in lots of plantain
ashes, which the Kacháris use for salt, well knowing that his master
disliked its acrid taste. So the duck was cooked with plenty of alkali.
And when the Bráhmin arrived, his meal was set before him, and he
was so hungry that he had to eat it whether he liked its savour or no.
And so in various ways the Bráhmin was put to shame by his servant. So
he wrote a long letter to his brother, and putting it in his servant's
hand, bade him deliver it. But he went a little way, until he met
a man who could read and write, and he bade him tell him what was
written in the letter. And the man read him the letter, which was
to the effect that the brother was to kill the servant. On this,
the servant tore up the letter and bade his friend write another one,
saying: "Dear brother, on receipt of this letter marry my servant to
my niece without delay. I shall not be able to come to the wedding."
Taking this letter, the servant went to his master's brother, who was
much vexed, but dared not disobey. Accordingly, though reluctantly,
he married the servant to his daughter.
And, when the master came to see if his servant had been disposed
of, and heard what had happened, he set about to kill him. But his
niece got to know of the matter and told her husband, who got a calf,
and, binding it hand and foot, put it by her in her bed. And in the
night the Bráhmin came, and thinking the calf was his niece's husband
sleeping by her side, killed it. And when he found out his mistake
in the morning, and learned that he was guilty of cow-killing, he
bade his niece's husband go and bury the calf in all haste. And the
servant dragged the calf into the garden and buried it with its tail
sticking out of the ground. Meanwhile, the Bráhmin set to work to
get himself purged of the offence of cow-killing, and summoned the
villagers to a feast without telling them why. And when they were all
seated,the servant ran out into the garden and hauling at the calf's
tail, called out, "The Bráhmin didn't kill a cow, Oh, no. And that
isn't why he gives a feast, Oh, no." So the feast broke up, and the
Bráhmin was not absolved. And that's all.
IV
KACHÁRI THEORY OF THUNDER AND LIGHTNING [46]
Aglaiau sáse rázá dangman, áru bihá hoásá sáse, hingzhausá sáse,
dangman. Hoasáni nau Ráoná, hingzhausáni náu Ráoni, dangman. Láse
láse bisur gaded záabá Ráonaiá gagai binánaukhonu hábá khàmnu
namainai. Sànse Ráonaiá runùiau tháhoinai. Amphára bini bifaiá
ikham zánu namaibá manákhuise, mánathu bi runuiau thánákho bifaiá
mithiákhauman. Amphá bini sáse bandiá runuiau nunánoi rázáni
sigángau khithánaisui; abánu razaiá thangnánoi sanghoinaisui,
balui "Áfá, nangnu má nánggo? Háthi nánggobá, háthi hùgan; gorai
nánggobá, gorai hùgan; theobo nang manau dukhu dá khàm," hannanoi
khithánaisui. Abá Ráonaiá hannaisui, "Ángnu mungbo nánga; nang sumai
lábasu áng khithágan." Ámphá bifaiá mungbo uphai manikhai sumai lánánoi
khithánaisui, "Nangnu zikhonu nanggo, bikhonu hùgan." Hanbá Raonaiá
bungnaisùi, "Ángnu Ráonikho hábá khàmnánoi hù; abásu áng mikhàm dùi
lánggan." Abá bifaiá bibaidi khoráng khnánánoi manau zabrá-sin dukhu
mannaisui. Ampháre bifaiá guninánoi sumai lánai-khai hába khlàmnánoi
hùnù zathan khlàmnaisui; khintu be khorángákha Ráonini sigángau
khithánu bádá hùnai; binikhai raubo khithai-a-khuise. Amphá Raoniá
mairang sunù thángbá dùigá-thánau sáse buruiá Ráoniniau sangnaisùi,
balùi, "Nangsurhá má záadang?" Abá Ráoniá khithánaisui, "Zangfrá ádáhá
hábá záagan." Áru buruiá hannaisui, "Maunithu hingzhausá zang hábá
záanu?" Ráoniá bungnaisùi, "Áng khithánu haiá." Abánu buruiá hannaisùi,
balùi, "Ai, nang zangsù hábá záanunù." Áru Ráoniá hannaisùi, "Ai, be
khoráng thik ná?" hannánoi sangbá, buruiá sumai lánaisùi. Abá Ráoniá
akhrángsau birláng-naisùi, áru Ráunikho birlangnai nunánoi Ráonaiábo
guzarinánoi hasu-lángnaisui. Bikhonu mànsuifrá ákhá khrumniákhonu
"Ráoná guzaridang" hannánoi bungù; áru Ráoni khàtlángnánai thap
naifinbá bini makhángá at baidi nuiù, bikhonu akhá mablíbnai hanù;
Båråfrá eroi bhábiù.
There was once a king who had one son and one daughter. The son's
name was Ráoná and the daughter's Ráoni. As they gradually grew up
together, Ráoná wished to marry his sister. One day Ráoná remained
alone in an outhouse unknown to his father; and when the latter wished
his son to come to dinner, the young man could not be found. However,
a servant saw the youth in the outhouse and told the king, who going
to the boy asked him what was the matter. "If," said the king, "you
want an elephant, I will give you an elephant; if you want a horse,
I will give you a horse; but do not abandon yourself to sorrow in this
way." And then Ráoná replied, "I am in no special want of anything,
but if you give me a promise on oath, I will tell you what is the
matter." Thereupon, the king, seeing that there was no help for it,
took an oath saying, "Whatever you want, I will give it to you." And
then Ráoná said, "Give me permission to marry Ráoni, and then I will
eat my food." On hearing this the king was sorely troubled in his mind;
but remembering the terms of his oath, he took steps to bring about
the marriage, at the same time forbidding anyone to mention the matter
to Ráoni, who, therefore, heard nothing about the proposed marriage
with herself. But one day Ráoni went to the village stream to clean
the rice for the daily meals, when an old woman met her and inquired,
"What is going on in the palace to-day?" And Ráoni replied, "The son
of the house is to be married to-day." And when the old lady asked
further "But to whom is he to be married?" Ráoni replied, "Mother,
I cannot say." And then said the old dame, "Ráoni, it is you that
he is going to marry." And when Ráoni inquired, "Mother, can this be
true?" the old woman took an oath to confirm what she had said. And
then Ráoni at once flew right away up into the sky, and when Ráoná
saw Ráoni thus flying away, he shouted after her, doing his utmost
to catch her. It is these loud shouts and threats of Ráoná that men
call "thunder"; and when Ráoni occasionally looks back to see if her
pursuer is gaining upon her, she in so doing reveals for an instant the
brightness and beauty of her face, glowing like fire; and it is this
bright, dazzling beauty of her countenance that men call "lightning."
Hence during a thunder storm may sometimes be heard the words "Ráonikho
Ráonaiá hasùdang," i.e. "Ráoná is chasing Ráoni."
It is not impossible that the foregoing story may be a Kachári
version, greatly altered, of a well-known episode told at length in
the Rámáyana, i.e. the abduction of Sitá by Rávana the demon-king
of Ceylon. The name Rávana in a slightly altered form (Ráoná) is
not unknown among the Kacháris of this district (Darrang). About
four or five miles south-west of the Událguri Tháná there are still
existing the remains of a very fine earthwork road, known to this day
as "Rowana's embankment" (Rávanagarh), which gives its name to the
Mauzá in which it is situated. The construction of this earthwork must
have involved a large outlay of labour, but the tradition about it is
that it was thrown up in a single night by Rávana and his followers,
the Rákhshases, Asurs, &c.
N.B.--Among the Kacháris of the North Kachár Hills, the mode of
accounting for thunder and lightning is very different from that
given above, though towards the end of the account given by the late
Mr. Soppitt [47] certain statements are made which would serve to
show that the two theories have something in common.
SECTION VI.
Outline Grammar, Etc.
The mother tongue of the Bårå race at least as spoken in this (Darrang)
district undoubtedly belongs to the "Agglutinative" as distinct
from the Inflexional family of languages. Here and there, perhaps,
certain slight traces of inflexion may be found, but even these are
doubtful and in any case very rare, indeed where they exist at all it
may perhaps be assumed that they have been adopted with some obvious
modifications from the speech of their Assamese and Bengali neighbours.
In the following pages only a very slight outline sketch of Kachári
Grammar is attempted, as the writer has already dealt with the subject
at some length over twenty years ago, [48] and most of the conclusions
then arrived at still hold good, so far as the Kacháris of Darrang
are concerned. But it is hoped that what little is given here may be
of service to those who may have occasion to learn and make use of
this language in after years. No attempt is made to draw any clear or
well defined line between Accidence and Syntax, for these two closely
allied branches of the subject may be best studied together by the
use of certain illustrative sentences which to the attentive reader
will give an insight into the structure of the language, whilst at
the same time doing something to supply him with a useful vocabulary
of words and phrases.
I. NOUNS.
1. Gender.
A. Nouns denoting inanimate objects have no formal distinction of
gender as Oá, a bamboo, mai rice (paddy).
B. In the case of animate objects, the gender of the noun is indicated
by a separate qualifying word, placed usually after the noun, e.g.
(a) Hóa, man (male); Hingzhau, woman (female) used only of human
beings.
(b) "Zalá," zo' used of birds, e.g. Dau zalá, a cock; dau zo, a hen.
2. Number.
Plurality (there is no dual) is indicated by adding fur, frá, or far,
to the singular as
masá, a tiger.
masá-fur (-frá or -far), tigers.
3. Case.
The case endings, which hold good of nouns, pronouns, and adjective
are given below:--
SINGULAR. PLURAL.
Nom. masá a }
Obj. khó a }
Instru. zang by a }
Dat. no to a } masá-far, tigers, &c.
Abl. ni-frai from a } Tiger. (case-endings identical
Poss. ni of a } with those in singular
Poss. há of a } number).
Loc. au (iau) in a }
Voc. Heloi mosá O }
(a) The possessive case has two signs, the former (ni) being by far
the more commonly used.
(b) The ablative case ending is a compound one, as its proper sign
(frai) is preceded by that of the genitive, ni. The same remark holds
good sometimes with the locative case.
II. ADJECTIVES.
1. Many adjectives begin with the letter g, to which a very short
vowel is attached, so short indeed that in rapid speaking the vowel
of the first syllable may not be heard at all, whilst in composition
this first syllable is sometimes omitted altogether, as
"mánsoia gahàm ná?" Hám-go.
man good (is he?). Good (he) is.
2. In composition the adjective usually, though not invariably,
follows the noun it qualifies, as
Doima ga-súm.
(The) water black = (kálá páni).
3. Comparison.
This is effected by appending the syllable "sari" or "khri" (= than)
to the word with which comparison is made, this word being always in
the dative case. The superlative degree is denoted much in the same
way, the noun being preceded by some word signifying "all," thus
(a) Bi áng-no-khri ga-zau--he (is) taller than I (comparative).
(b) Bi boi-na-sári ga-zaú-sin--he is the tallest of all (superlative).
In making these comparisons the first syllable (ga) of the adjective
is often omitted: as
nang áng-no-khri zaú (ga-zau)
you I than tall (are)
i.e. zau = (ga) zau, tall.
4. Numeral Adjectives.
The numerical system in this District is very defective, only seven
digits, i.e. sè, nè, thàm, brè (broi), bâ, rå (då), sni (sini),
being generally used, though the remaining three, skhó, zàt, zi
(zu), are occasionally recognised. There is also a useful collective
word za-khai = four, which when followed by two numerals is to be
multiplied by the former whilst the latter is to be added to the
product so obtained; thus
zakhai-thàm sà thàm,
Four × three + three = fifteen (men).
Burma zakhai-brè má-nè,
Goats four × four + two = 18 goats.
Before the second numeral are always inserted certain monosyllables,
which classify the noun referred to, e.g. as above, sá (human beings)
and má (irrational animals). This classifying syllable always indicates
the point at which the multiplication ends and the addition begins.
III. PRONOUNS.
(a) The personal pronouns which undergo no change of form to indicate
gender are:--
1. Áng I. Záng-fur we.
2. Nang thou. Nang-sur you.
3. Bi he, she, it. Bi-sur (fur) they.
The possessive pronoun is expressed simply by putting the personal
pronoun in the possessive case, as--
Bé áng ni no, this (is) my house. This me of house (is).
To nouns expressing close family relationship, pronominal prefixes
of possession are commonly added, e.g.--
Father. Mother.
My Áng-ni á-fá. Áng-ni á-i.
Your Nang-ni nam-fá. Nang-ni nam-má.
His Bi-ni bi-fá. [49] Bi-ni bi-má.
Interrogative pronouns in common use are--
1. Sur (sar)--who?
2. Má--what? Plural má-fur.
3. Bå-bê--which (of two or more)?
The demonstrative pronouns are:--
1. Bé--this (near).
2. Boi--that (far).
3. Bí--that (of remote distance).
Properly speaking, there are no relative pronouns, though a form zi,
borrowed from Assamese, is sometimes heard. The place of the relative
pronoun is usually supplied by a participle, e.g.--
Mi-á nu-nai masá thoi-bai.
yesterday seen tiger died has.
IV. VERBS.
1. The verb substantive is dang-a, is, dang-man, was, zá-gan, will be;
this last being apparently formed from the root, zá-no, to become. The
negative forms are
(1) goi-á (emphatic goi-li-á) and (2) núng-á, it is not.
A very useful word is náng-go (Assamese lá-ge), to express necessity,
the negative form is náng-á, needless, in emphasis, náng-li-á,
altogether needless. This root náng is often appended to nouns to
form adjectives, as
Be budhi-gnáng (or náng).
He is possessed of sense.
2. Conjugation.
In Kachári the verb undergoes no change to express number or person,
which are indicated by the subject alone. But a slight trace of
inflexion (euphonic) is perhaps found in the fact that when a
verbal root ends in a vowel and the termination begins with one,
a disagreeable hiatus is avoided by inserting the letter i between
the two, thus:--
Tháng-a--I go.
Nu-i-o--I see.
Taking the verb, Bu-no, to beat, as an illustration, the various
tenses, moods, &c., of the Kachári verb may be thus indicated:--
Present indefinite, Ángbú-i-u--I beat.
Present definite, bú-dang--I am beating.
Imperfect, Áng bú-dang-man--I was beating.
Past, bú-bai--I beat (did).
Pluperfect, { bú-dang-man--I had beaten (some time ago).
bú-nai-se {
Future, bú-gan--I shall beat.
Future (early paulo post), { bú-si-gan--I shall beat (very soon).
{ bú-nu-soi
Subjunctive mood { Ang bú-bá If I beat
{ bú-blá had beaten.
Potential, Áng bú-no há-gô--I may (or can) beat.
Imperative, 1. Bú--beat thou. 2. Bú-tháng--let him beat.
Participial forms:--
Bú-ni--beating.
Bú-na-noi--having beaten.
Bú-nai--beaten.
Bú-oi--while (on) beating.
Agent:--
Bu-grá.
Bu-nai-á--a beat-er.
3. The Passive voice is not very frequently used. Its tenses, &c.,
are expressed by conjugating the verb zá-no, to be, with the past
participle of the verb, e.g.--
Ang bú-nai zá-gan--I beaten be-shall.
4. The causal verb is formed in two ways. The more idiomatic method
is to prefix the letter f (with any euphonic vowel) to the principal
verb, e.g.--
Ang { rang-dang --I understand,
{ fa-rang-dang cause to understand, I teach.
Ang { si-gan --I become wet,
{ fi si-gan shall make wet, soak, immerse.
In the above it will be observed that the causal force lies in the
letter f, its vowel (always a very short one) being drawn by attraction
(euphonic) from that of the principal verb.
A second way of expressing causation is to combine the verb ho-no,
to give, with the infinitive mood of the principal verb, e.g.--
Ang { rang-a I learn,
{ rang-no ho-i-o I cause to learn, teach.
5. The distinctive vowel of the negative verb is á, which in some
cases gives place to i or e, probably for reasons of euphony. Its
chief forms of tense and mood, &c., may be shown thus:--
Present, Bú-á--(I) am not beating.
Imperfect, Bú-á-khoi-man.
{ Bú-á-man
Past { Bú-á-khoi-no
{ Bú-á-khoi-se.
Future, Bú-á.
Imperative. { --2 Dá bú--beat thou not.
{ 3 Dá-bú-thang--let him not beat.
Subjunctive { Bú-á-bá
{ Bú-a-blá
Potential, Bú-no hai-á
Participial forms:--
Present, Bú-i--not beating
Past, Bú-á-lábá--not having beaten, without beating
Past, Bú-e--not beaten.
V. INDECLINABLE WORDS (AVYAYA).
Very little need be said on this part of the subject, because the
work of qualifying words (adverbs, &c.,) is very commonly done by
means of infixes following the verbal stem which is in many cases,
though not in all, monosyllabic. Thus the root hàm (be) will,
becomes (1) an adjective by prefixing ga, ga hàm, good; and (2) an
adverb, by affixing oi; gahàm-oi in a good manner. So, hàm-á--bad;
hàm-á-oi--bad-ly. Further the adjective thus formed may be duly
conjugated as a verb by combining it with the different tenses, &c.,
of the substantive verb, thus:--
Bi { hàm-dang he is { good
{ hàm-á-dang (good-not-is) { bad
hàm-gan he will be { good
hàmá-gán { bad
&c. &c.
In the same way the passive participle in nai can be (1) declined
as a noun, or (2) used as an adjective, or (3) take the place of a
relative pronoun; e.g.--
1. Zang thoi-nai-kho fóp-bai--we (the) dead (man) buried-have.
2. Miá nu-nai gathai-á thoi-bai--(the) yesterday-seen-girl,
died-has.
3. Tezpur-na, tháng-nai-au áng bi-kho nu-bai--Tezpur to
going-in I him see-did.
&c. &c.
VI. SYNTAX.
The great and characteristic feature of the Syntax of the language is
the remarkable way in which verbal roots, mostly monosyllabic, are
combined together to form a very large and useful class of compound
verbs. In this way the use of conjunctions &c. is very largely avoided,
and the language becomes possessed of a vivid force and picturesqueness
often wanting in more cultivated tongues. These compound verbs may
perhaps be roughly classified under two groups, e.g.--
I.--Those in which each verbal root has a distinct meaning and may
be used separately;--
II.--Those in which one or more of the verbal roots is never used
separately but in combination only. As illustrations of class I. the
following may be mentioned:--
1. Lai-no--to bring.
Tháng-no--to go.
Åt lai-tháng } (in combination)
Fire bring-go }
2. Há-no--to cut (paddy, &c.)
Zap-no--finish.
Zang mai há-zap-bai } (in combination).
We paddy cut-finished-have }
3. Tham-no--catch; lábo-no--bring; gorai-kho tham-labó--those
horses catch bring.
&c. &c.
The compound verbs of Class II. are very numerous and in frequent
use. A few illustrations only can be given here, which may serve
to show that the second and subsequent members of the agglutinative
verb, while they have no independent existence, yet serve to enrich
and expand the meaning of the primitive root in a very remarkable way.
1. Bai, denotes continuous action.
Bí = to beg; bi-bai-no } { begging
Bráp = to be angry; bráp-bai-no } = to continue { being angry
Namai = to seek; namai-bai-no } { seeking
2. Láng implies completion.
Bát (jump) } { jump across
Udu (sleep) } { sleep heavily
Thoi (die) } láng { die outright
Bir (fly) } { fly away
Zá (eat) } { eat up
3. Su } are intensitives greatly strengthening the
Thrå } meaning of the first verbal root.
On (love) } { love much
Ukhui (hunger) } su { hunger greatly
Mini (laugh) } { laugh heartily
Gai (plant) } { plant completely
Ga-glai (fall) } thrå { fall heavily
Thoi (die) } { die outright
In not a few cases several, sometimes as many as five or six, of
these infixes are combined with the original verbal stem, each one
materially contributing to enlarge and enrich its meaning. A few
illustrations are here supplied.
1. Dáo-frá bír-láng-thrå-bai.
The birds flown completely away-have.
2. Áng bi-kho bai-nái-thá-bai.
I him continue-watching-did.
3. Nu-zá-nai-soi-lá-tháng.
See-become-watch-much-take-go, i.e. go and see and take and
observe carefully.
&c. &c.
From what little has been here stated it would seem to be fairly
obvious that the language in its original form is strictly an
agglutinative one. But a gradual process of deglutinisation has for
some time been going on, no doubt originating through intercourse with
neighbours speaking languages of quite another type, e.g. Assamese,
Bengali, &c. Most Kacháris (Bårå) in this district are quite familiar
with Assamese; indeed, it is very rarely that the writer has met
with men who did not know this form of Aryan speech. Now a Kachári in
the habit of speaking Assamese will, even when using his own mother
tongue, to which he is strongly attached, not infrequently resort to a
partially inflected form of expression instead of restricting himself
to the use of infixes, &c. This gradual change in the language is
especially brought out in the usage of the participial forms of the
verb. It has been shown above, e.g. that the past participle (passive)
can be declined like a noun. Again, in expressing a simple sentence
like the following:--
I ran and caught and brought the horse
an Assamese speaking Kachári would probably make use of the active
participle in ná-noi; whilst his more primitive brother, who might
be less familiar with Assamese, would confine himself to the more
idiomatic use of infixes. Thus the sentence given above might be
expressed in two ways:
Áng gorai-kho { Khàt-nanoi ham-nánoi } lóbo-bai.
{ Khàt-ham }
I the horse { running catching } bring-did.
{ run-catch }
It would seem to be not improbable that the language may gradually
lose its agglutinative character, and approximate to the inflected
type, though the process most likely will be but a slow one, owing
to the very clannish temperament of the people which makes them
cling strongly to anything they regard as their very own, e.g. their
language (cf., a somewhat similar state of things in Wales and the
Scottish Highlands). But in its present stage the language is one of
no small interest to the student of comparative philology, because
it is an apt illustration of a form of speech which, once strictly
agglutinative, is now in process of learning inflexion through the
pressure of contact with the speakers of Aryan tongues. [50]
APPENDIX I
I.--TRIBES CLOSELY ALLIED TO KACHÁRIS.
In a former section, something has been said in favour of the idea
that the Kachári race is a much more widely distributed one than was
supposed to be the case some years ago; and members of this race under
different names still occupy large areas in north-eastern India. It
may be useful to add a few brief notes on some of the principal of
these closely cognate tribes, confining our notice mainly to those
points and details wherein they differ more or less from the Kacháris
of Darrang, whose language, habits, religion, etc., as described above,
may perhaps be provisionally taken as a standard.
1. Garos.--One of the most important of these allied races is
undoubtedly that known to us as the Garos, dwelling in what is
called the Garo Hills District. This tribe, like the people of the
North Cachar Hills, has until recent years been largely confined to
the part of Assam which bears it name, and has not come into contact
with Hinduism to any great extent, and hence it has in all likelihood
preserved its aboriginal manners and customs almost intact. But it
is not necessary here to do more than merely mention the name of this
interesting people, as their whole manner of life has been sufficiently
dealt with elsewhere by a highly competent hand. [51]
2. Mech (Mes). 70,000.--Nor is it necessary to do much more for the
people known as Mech (Mes) who are undoubtedly merely a branch (the
western one) of the Bårås of Darrang. The name is almost certainly a
corruption of the Sanskrit word mleccha, i.e., an outcast from the
Brahmin point of view, a non-observer of caste regulations; such
persons being in the light of modern Hinduism very much what the
barbarian was to the Greek, or the "Gentile" to the Jew, some twenty
centuries ago. This term mlech (mech) is not in use here (Darrang)
or in Kamrup.
[Subdivision.]
The uncomplimentary epithet "mlech padre" has sometimes been hurled
at the writer when preaching to Brahmins or other high caste Hindus,
though it would seem to be the recognised name for the Bårå race from
the Manás river westwards to the neighbourhood of Jalpaiguri. They
would seem to be especially numerous in Goalpara district, where one of
the principal landholders is known as the "Mech-párá zamindár." Some
sixteen exogamous septs are recognised among the Meches, of which
the most important would seem to be the following:--
1. Meshá-ároi--the tiger folk
2. Bánsbár-ároi--bamboo folk
3. Doim-ároi--water folk
4. Goibár-ároi--betelnut folk
5. Swarg-ároi--heaven folk.
Of these the last-mentioned, which is obviously of Hindu origin, is
looked upon as the highest, whilst the names of the remaining four
are apparently of totemistic origin. The first on the list, Mashá-aroi
(tiger folk; Mashá, tiger), still retains a certain hold on the regard
of the members of its sept, all of whom go into a kind of mourning (see
above) when a tiger is found lying dead near one of their villages.
[Origin.]
Nothing definite is known as to the origin of the Meches; by some
they are said to be descended from Bhim and Hidamba, whilst others
maintain that they are the descendants of Turbasu, son of Raja Jajáti,
who fell under his father's curse, his children thus becoming outcasts
(Mlecchas).
[Religion.]
Their religion is distinctly of the Animistic type with a tendency
towards Hinduism, Batháu being replaced by Siva in some cases. The
siju tree is regarded with much reverence, and is to be seen in
the courtyard of most Mech houses, much more frequently than among
the Kacháris of this district. This sacred tree is sometimes used
as a means of divination or detecting crime or other misdoings in
domestic life.
[Marriage and funeral ceremonies.]
In all ceremonies relating to marriage and funerals, what has been
already said of the Kacháris holds good almost word for word of
the Meches. But speaking generally it may be said that the marriage
rites among the Meches are more simple than among the Kacháris, the
essential features being the exchange of betel-leaves and areca-nuts
between bride and bridegroom followed by the offering of a cock and
hen in sacrifice to Batháu or Siva. The funeral ceremonies, on the
other hand, among the Meches are perhaps somewhat more elaborate than
is the case with the Kacháris (Bårå), as an informal Shrádh has to
be performed by them, by the son or daughter of the deceased Mech,
seven or nine or eleven days after death, and sometimes on the day
of the funeral itself, an indication that Hindu customs are creeping
in among this portion of the Bårå race.
[3. Rábhás (70,000).]
The name of this tribe (Rábhás) is of uncertain derivation and in this
district (Darrang) the people themselves are sometimes called Totlás,
which may perhaps be a nickname. Another term used in designating
them is Datiyál Kachári, i.e. Borderer Kacháris (dáti--border,
edge, boundary); and it is held by some that their original home and
[Habitat.] habitat was the region bordering on the northern slopes of
the Garo Hills. This supposition is partly confirmed by the fact that
the only words in their language to express (1) north and (2) south,
respectively, are (1) Bhotá hi-chu, Bhotan Hills, [52] and (2) Tura;
their physical horizon being apparently absolutely limited by the two
localities thus designated; moreover, Rábhás in somewhat large numbers
are still to be found at the base of the northern slope of the Garo
Hills. Some 30,000 have their home in Goalpara district, whilst others
are located in Kamrup, north-west Darrang, and among the Garos in their
hills. [Origin (traditional).] Their origin is but imperfectly known,
but they are said to be descended from a Hindu father who lost caste by
marrying a Kachári woman. Their [Language.] language, which would seem
to be rapidly dying out, forms a very interesting link between Garo
and Kachári, having much in common with both, but with some special
features peculiar to itself. Like the tongue of other branches of the
Bårå race, the Rábhá language, at one time undoubtedly agglutinative,
seems to be in process of becoming inflexional, through contact and
intercourse with the speakers of more or less broken-down Sanskritic
languages, e.g., Bengali, Assamese, etc. Some [Subdivisions.] seven
sub-tribes are said to be still recognised among the Rábhás, i.e.,
Rangdaniya, Maitariyá, Páti-Koch, Bitliyá, Dáhuriyá, and Sanghá. The
members of the three sub-tribes first in this list occupy a position
of some eminence above the others, and are at liberty to intermarry
among themselves. They are, however, so far "hypergamous" that if any
one of their members should marry into any of the last four sub-tribes,
the person so marrying would have to pay a fine of Rs. 100, or upwards,
to the members of the lower sub-tribe concerned. As regards [Social
(caste) status.] caste-position and status, the Rábhás hold themselves
to be slightly higher than the pure Kacháris, e.g., the Rábhá will
not eat rice cooked by a Kachári, though the latter freely partakes
of food prepared by a Rábhá. On the other hand, the Rábhá eats and
drinks quite as freely as does the Kachári, and intermarriage between
the two branches of the race is not very uncommon, a young Kachári
bridegroom selecting a Rábhá bride having to make his peace with her
people by giving them a feast and paying a bride-price (gá-dhan) on a
somewhat enhanced scale. The children born of such a "mixed marriage"
belong to the father's tribe. Kacháris sometimes formally enter
the Rábhá community, though it is not necessary for them to do so,
on their way to Hinduism. A Kachári wishing to be received into the
Rábhá sub-tribe has to pass through a somewhat elaborate initiation,
which may be briefly summarised as follows:--
[Admission of a Kachári convert into the Rábhá community.]
"A deori (Priest) divides a pig into seven pieces in front of the
convert's door, and disposes of them by throwing away one such piece
towards each of the four cardinal points; while of the remaining
three pieces one is thrown skywards, a second earthwards, and the
last Patálwards. [53] At the same place he then proceeds to cook
a fowl and prepares therefrom a curry, which he divides into seven
equal parts; and arranging these portions on the ground he leaves
them there, after sprinkling them with pad-jal. [54] This part of
the ceremonial is known as chíládhar, or báodhar katá, i.e., forms
of making práyas-chitta (reconciliation). The deori then lays down
a plantain-leaf on the courtyard and places on it a lighted lamp,
a handful of rice, a betel-leaf, and an areca-nut, together with
some tulasi leaves and a few copper coins. The convert is then made
to drink pad-jal in public, and after this he must pay at least one
rupee to the assembled people, and treat them to two vessels full
of rice-beer (mådh). He is further required to entertain liberally
the members of his newly-acquired brotherhood for three successive
evenings, pork and mådh forming the principal materials of the feast."
[Religion.]
Very little need be said under the head of religion; for in this
respect they are but little separated from the closely-cognated Kachári
(Bårå) race. The general type of the Rábhá religion is distinctly
animistic; but one or two of the higher subdivisions, especially the
Pátis, are said to show a leaning towards Hinduism of the Sákta form,
the deity chiefly worshipped being known as Bhalli (? Bhareli), to
whom puja is done in Kartik, Magh and Baisakh. There are no temples or
fixed places of worship, nor are Brahmins employed; the deori (deosi)
doing all that is deemed necessary in public religious ceremonies.
[Relations of the sexes.]
Marriage is almost invariably adult, and is usually entered into
by payment to the bride's parents, or by servitude as among the
Kacháris. Cases of ante-nuptial unchastity would seem to be rare;
but when an unmarried girl does become pregnant, she is compelled
to disclose the name of her lover, often through the siju-ordeal
process (see above), and public opinion forces the seducer to marry
his victim, paying a somewhat higher bride-price (gá-dhan) than he
would otherwise have done. Monogamy is the rule in marriage, but
public opinion permits the taking of a second wife when the first
proves childless. Divorce is permitted for adultery, but would seem
to be comparatively rare: widows are at liberty to marry whomsoever
they will, except the deceased husband's elder brother, a second
bride-price being sometimes paid to the bride's parents. The marriage
ceremony itself is very simple, the essential features being (1) the
exchange of betel-leaves and areca-nuts by bride and bridegroom, and
(2) the formal sacrifice of a cock and hen, the latter being made into
a curry of which bride and bridegroom partake together. The dead are
disposed of generally by cremation, though in cases of destructive
epidemics, e.g., cholera, kálá-azár, etc., known as "sirkári rog,"
the bodies of deceased people are either hastily buried, or simply
thrown into the neighbouring jungle. [55]
[4. Hajongs--Haijongs. (8,000).]
About the small tribe (8,000 souls) known as Hajongs or Haijongs
only very little definite information can at present be obtained;
but it seems probable on the whole that they are a branch of the
widely spread Bårå race. The tribal name is of uncertain derivation,
but it is not unlikely that it is connected with the Kachári word for
mountain or hill (ha-jo); and this supposition receives, perhaps,
some little confirmation from their present known habitat, i.e.,
the southern slope of the Garo Hills, and the sub-montane tract
immediately adjoining it. It is possible that these people may be
the modern representatives of the inhabitants of the old kingdom
of Koch Hajo, which corresponds roughly with the present district
of Goalpara. It is known that during the period 1600-1700 this
part of the country was overrun by Musalmán invaders, when many of
the inhabitants probably took refuge in the Garo Hills, returning
therefrom, and settling in the adjoining plains at the foot of these
hills, when the pax Britannica gave them a certain amount of security
for life and property. In appearance and dress the people are said
to have a close resemblance to the well-known Kachári type, but this
resemblance hardly holds good of their language as now spoken, for
this is little more than a medley of Assamese and Bengali.
[Religion.]
There are said to be two recognised subdivisions among them, i.e.,
(1) Byabcháris and (2) Paramárthis. The latter are largely Hinduized
(Vaishnabs) and abstain from pork and liquor, etc.; whilst the
former, who are Sáktas to a large extent, follow the practice of
their Garo neighbours in matters of diet, etc. In spite, however,
of this distinction of meats, it is said that members of the two
sections of the tribe freely intermarry with each other. No Brahmins
seem to be employed among them, any leading member (adhikári) of the
village pancháyat doing what is customary at all marriages, etc. It
may be added that the siju tree (euphorbia splendens) which occupies
so important a place in the social and religious life of the Bårå,
Meches, etc., on the north of the Brahmaputra does not seem to enjoy
any special regard or respect among the cognate tribes (Haijangs,
Dimásá, etc.) who have their homes on the south and east of that
great river.
[Relations of the sexes, marriage, &c.]
As among other members of the Bårå race, the relations of the sexes
are on the whole sound and wholesome; ante-nuptial unchastity is but of
rare occurrence, but when it does take place and pregnancy follows, the
seducer is compelled to marry the girl, and to pay a certain fine of
no great amount to the village elders. This form of union is known as
a dái-márá marriage. But generally, as among the Kacháris of Darrang,
the parents of bride and bridegroom arrange for the marriage of the
young people, which always includes the payment of a bride-price (pån)
of from 20 to 100 rupees to the bride's parents, or the equivalent in
personal service. It is said that among the "Paramárthi" subdivision,
who are largely Hinduized, the betrothal of children is coming into
vogue, but as a
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