248 THE NICOBARESE 



For the last few years the authorities at Port Blair have 

 attempted to inculcate in the natives a liking for tea, the taste 

 for which they have fostered by presenting the headmen with 

 quantities of the leaf, in the hope that it will, if it become popular, 

 somewhat minimise the prevalent consumption of toddy, which, 

 when largely indulged in, cannot but have a bad effect on the 

 general health of the people. 



Toddy, however, does not stand alone as an intoxicant : 

 nearly everywhere one comes across the black, square bottles 

 in which gin is conveyed to all parts of the world : occasionally 

 brandy is inquired for, but on all the islands there is a demand 

 for rum, and this seems to have been the favourite drink since 

 it was introduced to the natives by British captains bartering 

 for coconuts in the early part of the last century. At present, 

 however, Chinese traders are the only smugglers, and the 

 spirit they introduce, samshu, runs only occasional risk of 

 confiscation, as the trade of the junks is for the most 

 part in places seldom visited by the occasional patrolling 

 steamer. 



Tobacco is used by everyone — men, women, and children — 

 both for chewing and smoking : the native cigarette is a very 

 crude affair, composed of a small quantity of the weed and a 

 large amount of a certain dried leaf The tobacco finding most 

 favour is of Chinese and Javanese manufacture, and cigars are 

 much appreciated. 



Betel-chewing is universal, and the quid — which undoubtedly 

 acts as a stimulant — consists of areca-nut, lime, and the sireh leaf 

 only, without the addition of gambier. The teeth of the 

 Nicobarese are both large and prominent, and the continuous 

 use of betel and tobacco stains them a brown and black colour 

 that is much admired. 



In person, the natives, although generally clean, are less 

 particular than tropical races as a rule : there are none of the 

 fenced-in wells {panchurans, or bathing-screens) on the stream 

 banks that one sees near all the villages of the Malays, but an 

 occasional bath is taken by pouring the contents of a dozen 



