114 ON THE SANTHAL8 



been : 1. The Kolarian (orKerwars) the earliest, who en- 

 tered from the northeast the mountain region of Assam 

 and Thibet ; 2. The Dravidian, who came from the north- 

 west, from the direction of Afghanistan, across the Indus, 

 who went to the extreme south, either voluntarily or driven 

 by other tribes following the same course ; 3. The Scy- 

 thian, non Aryan race, from the region of the Black Sea, 

 who formed with the Sanskrit the mongrel Prakrit dialect 

 of North India ; 4. The Aryan invaders or Hindoos. 

 These races probably fought against each other, until the 

 Aryans conquered, driving the Kolarians to the moun- 

 tains where they maintained their independence, the Dra- 

 vidians submitting and retiring southward. Both these 

 races are doubtless offshoots of the pro-Malay stock, from 

 which Mongolians, Malays, and many so-called Aryans 

 are supposed to be descended in remote prehistoric times. 

 According to their sacred Rigveda, the Aryans are be- 

 lieved to have come in about 1500 B. C, from Persia, and 

 alter a long and severe struggle to have vanquished the 

 Kharwars or Kolarians. In the north, then, were the Ko- 

 larians or Mundas, to which the Santhals belong, avoiding 

 extermination by retreating to the hilly regions to the 

 northeast, on the southern flank of the Himalayas; the 

 Dravidians were regarded by the Aryans, at least live cen- 

 turies before Christ, as the aborigines of South India. 

 To these belong the Tamils or Tamulians, the Klings, and 

 the Cingalese, all of whom I have seen in Ceylon and Sing- 

 apore. The Tamils are about 10,000,000, mostly in East 

 Ceylon, great wanderers and excellent seamen, and from 

 whom the name Coolie (Kiili, or hire) is derived — mean- 

 inn; a person who will work for hire. The Telingas or 

 Klings are about 14,000,000, and are most common in 

 East India, taller, fairer, and equally energetic; both are 

 more bearded and with better heads than the Mongolians, 





