34 Migratory Tnhes of 



the grave, but no omen of the state of the deceased is drawn 



from the creatm:e that eats it. 



HIRN-SHIKARRY OR HIRN-PARDY, — THE HUNTERS. 



The Hirn-shikarry or Hirn-pardy, the Indian hunters, term 

 themselves Bhourie. They are of short stature, greatly wanting 

 in inteUigence, and timid in their intercourse with their fellow 

 men ; while constant exposure to the vicissitudes of the seasons 

 and their familiarity with toil and want, has stunted their 

 growth and made them black and shrivelled in their form. 

 Their numbers are great. They range from the snowy Hima- 

 layahs in the north through the vast plains of Hindustan, till 

 at Cape Comorin, beneath the equator, the Indian ocean checks 

 their further progress.* From each valley and each forest 

 that civilized man has as yet left unoccupied, or has once again 

 abandoned to the wild creatures of nature, the hunter obtains 

 his means of subsistence. The creatures that they kill they eat, 

 for, with the exception of the cow and bullock, all animals, the 

 elephant, the tiger, and the leopard, the jungle dog and jungle 

 cat, the wild- boar, the wolf, the iguana, and the rat and mouse, 

 are used as food by the Bhourie. They obtain a little money 

 by disposing of the skins of the animals they destroy, and often 

 earn large rewards for destroying the leopards and wolves that 

 at all times prowl about the outskirts of villages. The women, 

 on visiting a town, gain a little money by disposing of charms 

 and antidotes to the bite of a snake or scorpion's sting. 



The language of the Bhourie seems to have little relation to 

 that of any of the other migratory nations. It has many words 

 like the Guzerattee and Mahrattee, and several of pure Sanscrit. 

 The Bhourie are divided into five tribes, receiving among 

 themselves the names, 1. Rhatore or Mewara ; 2. Chowhone ; 

 3. Sawundia ; 4. Korbiar ; and 5. Kodiara. It would appear 

 that the hunters dwell in distinct localities, restrained from 



• Lt. De 3utts, in his Rambles in Ceylon, describes a race termed " Ved- 

 dahs," who, from his description, seem to be the same as the Bhouries of 

 India. 



