HOW I KILLED THE TIGER. 53 



Brahmanism, and Shamanism ; three monotheistic 

 faiths, Jewish, Christian, and Mahommedan ; a 

 mixed faith, the Sikh, partly monotheistic, but 

 believing in incarnations ; and, lastly, the worship 

 of fire as an element by the numerically small 

 but intellectual Parsee. The races occupying 

 India, which are now known to Europe as 

 Hindoos, have had three great changes in re- 

 ligion. The Vedic age was prior to the absorp- 

 tion of the Saraswati river into the sand. The 

 Brahmanic age extended from that time to about 

 B.C. 600. The Buddhist doctrine prevailed from 

 B.C. 600 to A.D. 800 or 1,000, from which date 

 the Brahmanic doctrines have again prevailed up 

 to the present time. 



The first institution of Hindu Society which 

 forces itself upon the attention of the stranger is 

 that of caste. In the City of Surat, in 1827, 

 two hundred and seven castes were counted. 

 Each of them was more or less restricted from 

 private intercourse with all the rest ; they could 

 not intermarry, nor even eat the same food nor 

 drink the same water. This applies more or less 

 to all India. The date of the origin of caste, 

 and the objects which led to its institution, are 

 alike obscure. 



Ablutions amongst the Hebrews, Hindus, and 

 Mahommedans are very rigidly practised, they are, 



F 



