25^ 



^Hfi TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



[Sept, i, 18B6, 



deserted Gdi'ms are very numerous in Assam, partly 

 caused by tbc ravages of tl)L" Burmese, when they con- 

 quered the couufry, killhig or carrying away the in- 

 habitants as slaves, and partly from the superstitious 

 ideas of the people. For iustance. if fever, smallpox, 

 cholera or some other deadly disease attacks the vil- 

 lage, the inhabitants immediately say that the place is 

 haunted, and in many cases they leave it e/i mnsse, and 

 settle elsewhere. The Assaniee at home rents a par- 

 cel of land from Government,, at a small yearly sum. 

 In April he plants his dhan (rice), and quite contentedly 

 waits until it grows, reaping it about October. Low- 

 lying land adjoining a jau (shallow wide river) as a rule 

 grows the bust dhan, the reason being that the dhan 

 requires a great deal of moisture. The only agricultural 

 implements used are a rude wooden plough, consisting 

 of one upright pole, and a wooden socket projecting 

 from the bottom ; this is drawn by a couple of bul- 

 locks or a buffalo ; for harrows, a bunch of prickly 

 bushes tied together is used ; for reaping, the usual 

 implement is a billhooked knife, about nine incheslong; 

 for threshing, the old plan is adopted of treading out the 

 corn by bullocks ; for winnowing the dhan they use is a 

 sort of plated tray, and they shake it up and down some- 

 thing like what was done in England long ago. When 

 all is gathered in, the native sells part of his grain to 

 the Bengalee coolie for about three rupees per maund 

 (80 lb.), the remainder he keeps for himself and family, 

 and as their food almost wholly consists of curried bhar, 

 pigeons, fish, goat's flesh, kc, they live quite happily 

 and contented. Such food as beef, mutton, fowls, and 

 the much hated G;i hori (pig) are forbidden by all their 

 religions save in a few cases where the jat is of the low- 

 est description. The native houses are built of bamboos, 

 plastered over with a mixture of clay, kc, and the long 

 jungle gra.-^s serves as an excellent roof. There are no 

 windows, chimney, or wooden floor ; the earth rubbed 

 over with water soon hardens and assumes a glossy 

 appearance, and as there are no nails in any of the 

 innaates' boots it never gets loose. In religion the 

 natives iire very mixed, but the greater portion are 

 Hindoos and Brahmins. They have two great feasts 

 yearly, one in April called Bor Behu, and another in 

 Decemoer named Soot Behu. The principal parts 

 consist of killing a few goats as sacrifices, feasting, 

 music (such as it is), and dancing for several days, 

 Intoxicating liquors are prohibited by their religions, 

 but the natives are fond of smoking hookahs and 

 chewing cuu tamel, a kind of hard berry about the 

 size of a marble, and growing on a kind of palm tree.* 

 Chewing c;ln tamel seems worse than the obnoxious 

 habit of chewing tobacco, it makes both the lips and 

 teeth quite red. The Assamese, like other Orientals, 

 marry very young. First of all a bargain is made 

 between tbe father of the young man and the father 

 of the girl. The matter being talked over the 

 young man'.-, father agrees to pay the girl's father 

 a certain sum. This is called the betrothal, and 

 to confirm the contract a feast is given to the friends 

 of the girl by the father of the young man. AVhen the 

 boy reaches the age of 14 or 15 the marriage takes 

 place; friends of both parties are invited, and a great 

 feast is given, lasting several days, at the close of 

 which the bride and bridegroom are carried to their 

 house shoulder high. In clothing, the Assamese diflier 

 very little from Bengalese as far as style is concerned, 

 but thek tastes just lie in opposite directions, the 

 Bengalese liking showy dress, such as red, yellow and 

 green, while the Assamese wear .spotless white, very 

 often native silk. In Lower Assam the natives are 

 called Kacharese, being a much finer class of men then 

 those met with in Upper Assam. They travel about 

 a good deal, and play much the same part as Irishmen 

 do at harvest time ui England and Scotland, coming up 

 here to work on the estates while their dhan is growing, 

 getting together a few rupees and then returning to their 

 homes. They are fair workers with the hoe, but are 

 often very troublesome customers to deal with ; a 

 manager who will employ more than 100 of them at 

 once is thought a bold man. Besides Kacharese, 

 we ha ve sim ilar jvisitors from the hills called Kia as. 



* TUc ivrckanut it;, of toiube, rufwxwd ty.— Ei>. 



These people can handle au a.ve or a knife with 

 much ade))tness, and they arc generally employed 

 cutting jungle. While at work they keep time to 

 every stroke with their war cry, which sounds some- 

 thing like hae hoe, and when walking along the 

 road in single file you will often hear the same 

 hae hoc to every step. They are a very dirty lot 

 of people. Nothing makes a better feast for them, 

 than a roast dog stuffed with rice, or au old Gharry 

 bullock. They seldom even wash tlieir faces. They 

 are very warlike people, some tribes are quite in- 

 dependent, and many arc the feuds between the 

 different tribes ; sometimes 100 will be killed at 

 once. The real labouring classes of Assam, ao to 

 speak, are the imported Bengalese. These coolies 

 are imported by owners of estates, all their e.\- 

 peuses are paid in coiasideratiou of their giving an 

 agreement tor a period of years, at a certain wage 

 per month, at the expiration of which agreement 

 they are free to go where they please. In most 

 cases they remain there all their life or at least 

 10 or 15 years ; when they reach a certain age, 

 they are called dependents and receive a pension, so 

 that they are better off than some people think. 

 Those who leave after serving a number of years 

 generally take up a piece of laud, build a houBe 

 and setttle down, having saved enough money to 

 keep them the remainder of their lives. In this way 

 Assam is being rapidly colonized by Bengalese and 

 the Assamese in their turn are dying out. Their 

 houses are built much in the same style as those 

 of the Assamese, but all are together ; the village, 

 so to speak, is generally known as the lines. In 

 religion there are all sorts. Two general festivals 

 are held annually, one in March called the Fugwa, 

 and the other in September called the Doorga Pooja. 

 The Fugwa consists of a great feast at which every- 

 body puts on his showiest clothes. Music and 

 dancing and painting each other's faces with a kind 

 of red powder called " Fakwoogooie " are among 

 the things indulged in, and at th? end of it all 

 drink is used to excess. The Doorga Pooja is the 

 greatest festival of the year. The ceremonies differ 

 according to the particular part of the country. 

 The chief ojifice consists in sacrificing goats, pigeons, 

 d'c, to the god Kali. If the first stroke of the 

 axe kills the goat that signifies that it is accepted, 

 but if it should require two strokes, it is counted as a 

 bad omen. After the animal is killed the blood is 

 daubed on a long bamboo with the t'ps of the four right 

 hand fingers. A piece of cloth to serve as a flag is 

 afterwards fastened on the end of the bamboo and placed 

 upright in the ground to commemorate the event. An- 

 other part of the business consists of an image of Kali 

 being thrown into the river, and if it sinks that is taken 

 as signifying a good season, but should it float, it is 

 regarded as the omen of a bad season. There are many 

 other ceremonies some performed by elephants, &c., 

 the conclusion being much hke the Fugwa, and Ting 

 Ting heads are rather fashionable when work is re- 

 sumed. Tlie favourite Bengalee liquor is lau pani, a 

 kind of intoxicant made from fermented rice — I mean 

 favourite because they cannot afford to j»ay for Euro- 

 pean liquors, though whisky or beer seems to bo liked 

 uncommonly well wiicn the Sahib gives them any. In 

 clothing nothing is " too loud for the natives, 

 They are also very fond of jewellery, BraceletB 

 are worn on the arms and ankles : rings in their 

 ears, noses, toes and fingers. A little casket is hung 

 round their necks from infancy to keep away the evil 

 spirits. In regard to te.i planting a few particulars 

 may be of interest. The seed for the tea resembles 

 black marbles. We plant about January in a piece 

 of good land, about four inches apart. These plants 

 boon ajjpear above ground, and in about nine months' 

 time they are about two feet high. In Deo mber they 

 are removed into the new clearance prepared for them, 

 and planted at intervals of G feet by 5 feet. It takes 

 two years more before they yield any leaf, and then 

 for the two succeeding years they yield but very sparing 

 quantities. Plucking generally commences about the 

 end of March, and is carried on all through the year 

 until December, The loaves after being plucked are 

 t^i'rtjiid cu tiayb tg witliur them ; this opcratiou iu im 



