MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 



51 



precaution they conceive requisite 

 is to place it so, that one piece 

 shall not touch another. 



Tiie Brahooes are equally faith- 

 ful in an adherence to their ])ro- 

 inises, ande(iually hospitable with 

 the Belooches, and on the whole 

 I greatly prefer their general cha- 

 racter. From what I have already 

 said on it, it is evident that they 

 are a more quiet and industrious 

 class, and their habits are decided- 

 ly a%'eise from that system of I'a- 

 pine and violence pursued by the 

 other ; nor can we fairly ascribe 

 this to any sentiment save a good 

 one, for in peisonal bravery and 

 endurance of privations and hard- 

 sliips, the Brahooes are esteemed 

 superior to the inhabitants of all 

 the neighbouring countries : their 

 chiefs exercise a much more despo- 

 tic authority in the various tribes 

 andKheils.than among the Beloo- 

 ches, and the people are equally 

 tenacious of th^ir respectability, 

 though tiiey obey them from a 

 ditferent feeling : in manner they 

 are mild and inoffensive, though 

 veiy uncivilized and uncouth ; 

 but as the lattei' is evidently the 

 effect of a want of worlilly know- 

 ledge and guile, their awkward 

 attempts to be civil please, because 

 we see hat they are incited to 

 make them by a natural pro])en- 

 sity to oblige, imaccompanied by 

 any interested motive. They are 

 free from ti\e woi-st traits of the 

 Belooches, which are comprised 

 in being avaricious, revengeful, 

 and cj'uel, and they seldom look 

 for any i-eward for their favours 

 or services : their gratitude is 

 lasting, and fidelity such, that 

 even the Belooche chiefs retain 

 them as their most confidential 

 and trust-worthy servants. 



The amusements of this class 

 are so correspondent with those 

 already described of the Beloo- 

 ches, that I need not particula- 

 rize them : in general the Bra- 

 hones pride themselves on being 

 better marksmen than the Beloo- 

 ches, who admit the fact, and as- 

 cribe it to their having more 

 practice, for iione of them ever 

 quit their Ghedans, even to go a 

 few hundred yards, without a 

 matchlock : they are likewise good 

 swords-men, but never use spears, 

 considering them a useless cum- 

 beisome weapon. A Brahooe al- 

 ways dresses in the same style, 

 and whether it be summer or 

 winter, freezing hard, or under a 

 vertical su:i, his whole clothes 

 are comprised in a loose white 

 shirt, a pair of tiowsers of the 

 same texture, and a felt cap : the 

 shepiierds sometimes wear a co- 

 vering of white felt, made so as 

 to w)-ap round the body, and 

 come to a peak above the crown 

 of the head ; tliis habit will keep 

 off a vast deal of rain or snow, 

 and is exclusively used for that 

 pur[)ose. The domestic life of 

 the Brahocci is simple in the ex- 

 treme ; the men tend the Hocks, 

 till the ground, and do other out- 

 door labour, in which they are, 

 if needful, assisted by the women; 

 but commonly the duties of the 

 latter are to attend to the house- 

 hold affairs, such as milking, 

 making butter, cheese, and Ghee, 

 and they also weave and work 

 carpets, felts, and coarse white 

 cloth. They are not, as I have pre- 

 viously reniai'ked, secluded from 

 the society of the men, but all 

 live and eat together. Their dress 

 consists of a long shift and pair 

 of trowscrs, both of cotton cloth, 



^h-Z and 



