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flabby and very subject to elephantiasis, hernia and 
hydrocele.” 
Dr. Wise describes the women as “remarkable fur 
their beauty, confinement within dark rooms giving them 
a light wheaten complexion. They are, however, squat, 
becoming corpulent in adult life, and their features 
though still handsome, inanimate. They are very shy, 
but the fact that in former days their good looks exposed 
them to the insults and outrages of licentious Muham- 
madan officials is a sufficient excuse for their timidity. 
Even now-a-days the recollection of past indignities 
rouses the Sankhari to fury, and the greatest abuse that 
can be cast at him is to call him a son of Abdul Razzaq 
or of Raja Ram Das. The former was a zamindar of 
Dacca ; the latter, the second son of Raja Raj Ballabh, 
Diwan of Bengal. It is stated that they frequently broke 
into houses and carried off the Sankhari girls, being 
shielded by their rank and influence from any punishment.” 
To the above Risley (doc. czt.) adds the following 
information :— 
“ Sankharis marry their daughters as infants by the 
ceremony in use among the highest castes. It is the 
fashion for the bridegroom to ride in the marriage pro- 
cession, while the bride, dressed in red, is carried in a 
palanquin. Polygamy is permitted subject to the same 
restrictions as are in force among Brahinans and Kay- 
asths. Widows are not allowed to marry again, nor is 
divorce recognized. 
Nearly all Sankharis belong to the Vaishnava sect, 
and comparatively few Saktas are found among them. 
Their principal festival is held on the last day of Bhadra 
(August-September), when they give up work for five 
days and worship Agastya Rishi, who, according to them 
rid the world of a formidable demon called. Sankha 
Asura, by cutting him up with the semi-circular saw used 
by shell-cutters. Others say that they revere Agastya, 
because he was the guru or spiritual guide of their 
ancestor Dhanapati Saudagar. Rice, sweetmeats and 
fruit are offered to him, and are afterwards partaken of 
by the Brahmans who serve the caste as priests. These 
Brahmans act also as priests for the Kayasths, and are 
received on equal terms by other members of the sacred 
order. They also observe the /hulansatra and 
