BIOGRAPHER, HISTORIAN, AND MAN OF LETTERS. 237 



683. Its earlier stages, occurring as they do before 

 written records exist, cannot be definitely traced can only 

 be inferred from the fragmentary evidence furnished by 

 those uncivilized men who have made some progress. The 

 wild tribes of the Indian hills yield a few examples. Says 

 Malcolm, &quot; The BTiat is both the bard and chronicler of the 

 JShills&quot; He also states that according to native historians 

 certain lands of the Bhils were taken by the Rajpoots, and 

 that 



&quot; Almost all the revered Bhats, or minstrels, of the tribe, still reside 

 in Rajpootana, whence they make annual, biennial, and some only 

 triennial visits to the Southern tribes, to register remarkable events 

 in families, particularly those connected with their marriages, and to 

 sing to the delighted Bheels the tale of their origin, and the fame of 

 their forefathers.&quot; 

 So, too, concerning another tribe we read, in Hislop: 



The Padal, also named Pathadi, Pardhan, and Desai, is a numer 

 ous class found in the same localities as the Raj Gonds, to whom its 

 members act as religious counsellors (Pradhana). They are, in fact, 

 the IJiats of the upper classes, repeating their genealogies and the 

 exploits of their ancestors.&quot; 



Here, then, the priest is the narrator and his narrative is bio- 

 graphico-historical. It consists of leading facts in the lives 

 of persons, and these are so joined with accounts of tribal 

 deeds as to form a rudimentary history. 



In Africa where, for reasons before named, loyalty to the 

 living ruler has not usually given origin to worship of the 

 dead ruler, we meet with only the first stage in the develop 

 ment. 



Thd king of the Zulus has &quot; men who perform the part of heralds 

 in the dances, and who now, at every convenient opportunity, re 

 counted the various acts and deeds of their august monarch in a 

 string of unbroken sentences.&quot; 



In Dahomey, too, the union is between the courtier and the 

 historian. In that kingdom, where women play so dominant 

 a part, there are, as we have seen, female laureates; and 

 &quot; these troubadours are the keepers of the records of the 



