ΟΝ THE ABORIGINAL TRIBES OF INDIA. 171 
powers (France and England), and evinced fidelity and even devotion to the 
cause of the party which each espoused. Further north we find the vast re- 
gion of Gondwana still peopled almost entirely by the aboriginal race, which 
extends throughout the hilly districts of Orissa in the direction of the valley 
of the Ganges. The territory of Gondwana appears never to have been re- 
duced to the condition of a Hindu state, but has preserved through successive 
ages its institutions, its laws, and its religion intact. 
In the more northern part of India there are recorded instances of princi- 
palities of the aboriginal tribes. which have resisted with great resolution and 
sometimes with success the efforts of the Hindis and Mahommedans to sub- 
due them, but at present there is hardly one in existence which retains any- 
thing like independence in the plains; indeed there are not many of any im- 
portance throughout all India, even in the hills. 
I have described the ancient Hindts as having attained, at a very remote 
period, a high degree of perfection in literature and in science. They were 
not less remarkable for their civil institutions. At whatever period they 
settled in the northern regions of Upper India, there is no doubt that (in 
common with the greater part of the Caucasian family, of which they must be 
deemed a branch) they established throughout the territory they occupied, 
municipal institutions in each village and township, by means of which, the 
inhabitants managed their own affairs. Besides this peculiarity of govern- 
ment, the Hindis adopted the practice of dividing their municipalities into 
castes, which could neither eat together nor intermarry. These consisted of 
four principal divisions, from each of which are minor ramifications. 
The four castes comprise,— 
Ist. The military, from which are sprung sovereigns and princes, as well 
as warriors. 
Qnd. The priesthood, derived entirely from Bramans. 
3rd. The mercantile and mechanical tribes or families. 
4th. The cultivator or landholder. 
As has been stated, these castes never intermarried, and thus kept themselves 
free from any admixture with any other race. 
The Hindis burn their dead. They abstain from eating the flesh of 
horned cattle, and from tasting ardent spirits. They believe in the transmi- 
gration of souls, give themselves up wholly to the guidance of the Bramanical 
priesthood, and are taught to worship their ancient heroes as demigods, who 
are supposed to plead with the supreme God for those who in humility ask 
in repentance. 
The aboriginal races, one and all, differ in every respect from the Hindts. 
Their government is strictly patriarchal ; all crimes are punished and disputes 
settled by the award of the elders or heads of tribes assembled. They have no 
prejudices against animal food of any kind, whether the animal be slaughtered, 
or die a natural death. They have no municipalities ; have no laws of caste : 
they bury instead of burning their dead. They have no regular priests, but 
select them for the moment, as necessity requires, out of the lay body. 
These are chosen usually from those believed to possess the power of magic. 
They have no other knowledge of a future state than what they occasionally 
pick up from their intercourse with Hindts or with other people. Instead 
of offering up thankgivings with a grateful heart for all the blessings they 
may enjoy, they confine their prayers to requests from the divinity to gratify 
their desires, supply their wants, and avert evil. For these purposes they 
offer up bloody sacrifices. In those parts stil] unsubdued, such as a great 
part of Gondwana and the contiguous tracts of Goomser and Bustar, and 
in some portion of the country lying farther eastward among the Assam 
