Tin: ZKUU UKKKP.] (' A T'l' I. K. A N 1 ) I' 1 1 H 1 K V A 1{ 1 111' 1 i:S. [tui: zr.nu bbeed. 



t'lTatic people, possess vast herds, iind breed the 

 JJrahmin cattle on an extensive scale ; " and an 

 army rarel}' moves in the iiolci without 15,000 

 or 20,000 bullocks to carry its grain. Dwarf 

 cattle are not met in Dukhiin." The bufValo, 

 however, divides the palm of usefulness witli 

 the zebu in the agricultural labours of Imlia, 

 and is preferred for many purposes, on account 

 of his more robust con^itntion. In the Ma- 

 wals, or hilly tracts among the Ghauts, this 

 animal supersedes the zebu. " In those tracts," 

 says Colonel Sykes, " much rice is planted ; and 

 the male buftalo, from his superior hardihood, 

 is much better suited to resist the ellects of 

 the heavy rains, and the splashy cultivation of 

 rice, than the bullock. The female is also in- 

 finitely more valuable than the cow, from the 

 verj- much greater quantity of milk she yields." 

 In point of beauty and docility, there is no 

 comparison between the heavy savage buffalo 

 and the " Sacred bull of Bramah." Nor is the 

 former ever devoted to Bal-Siva as a meri- 

 torious offering. On tlie contrary, it is common 

 to meet with Brahmin bulls thus devoted, 

 which wander at their pleasure, exempt from 

 the servitude of the yoke, and which are re- 

 garded as endowed with a sacred character. 

 The beautiful form and sleek appearance of 

 these fortunate creatures, particularly engaged 

 the notice of Bishop Heber. The first which 

 the bishop met, in his journey, was grazing in a 

 green paddy-field, and was branded on the 

 haunches with the emblem of Siva. He crossed 

 their path, and found them both tame and fear- 

 less ; and seeing some grass in one of the 

 European's hands, they coolly walked up and 

 smelt it. These privileged bulls are turned 

 out, when calves, on certain solemn occasions, 

 by wealthy Hindoos, as acceptable offerings to 

 the divinity Siva. To strike, or in any way to 

 injure or molest one of thcin, is held as a mortal 

 sin. " They feed," he observes, " where they 

 choose, and devout persons take great delight 

 in pampering them. They are exceeding pests 

 in the villages near Calcutta; breaking into 

 gardens, thrusting their noses into the stalls 

 of fruiterers' and pastry-cooks' shops, and 

 helping themselves without ceremony. Like 

 other petted animals, they are sometimes mis- 

 chievous ; and are said to resent, with a push 

 of their horns, any delay in gratifying their 

 appetites or wishes." 



4 K 



Between tliis absurd reverence for conse- 

 crated bulls, and the ordinary tn-ntmont of the 

 working ox, tiii-re is a vast distinction ; tho 

 hitter is iiarslily, and often severt'ly treated. 

 The cow, however, has more forbearance exer- 

 cised towards her than, from the treatment of 

 tho ox, might be expected. Bishop Jlcber, 

 speaking of the mode of treading out the corn 

 still practised in India, relates the following: — 

 " One of the Hindu farmers was threshing 

 out a small kind of millet by driving oxen over 

 it, round and round in a circle. They were 

 just leaving off work as I came up ; and a hind 

 we^ bringing a largo bundle of green Indian 

 corn, weeded from tho thick crop, for their 

 provender. I observed, however, that tlie ani- 

 mals, during their previous employment, were 

 not muzzled, according to the Scriptural rule; 

 at the same time, they were kept so constantly 

 moving, that a few mouthfuls were all they 

 could get. While I was examining this heap 

 of grain, and asking the old man some ques- 

 tions, his cows came for the evening ; and I 

 pleased him exceedingly, when tho cowman 

 ran forward to beat them from my path, by 

 forbidding him to strike thera. * Good ! good 1' 

 he said, with an air of much satisfaction ; ' one 

 must not beat cows.' It seems to me that the 

 tender mercies of tho Hindus towards animals, 

 are exhausted on cows and Brahmin bulls only ; 

 for oxen they have no pity — they are treated 

 with much severity." That the ox should be 

 severely treated or employed in hard work by 

 the Brahmins, seems a sort of contradiction to 

 the principles by which these people profess to 

 be guided; but such inconsistencies are too 

 common to be surprising. Thevenot, who de- 

 scribes the zebu oxen of India as excellent 

 both for the saddle and draft, adds, that some 

 gallop as fast as a good horse ; and goes on to 

 state that they are equally used for the plough, 

 and for coaches and chariots. Tiiey are har- 

 nessed by means of a long yoke at the end of 

 the pole, which is placed on the neck of the two 

 oxen, and the driver holds in his hand the cord 

 which is attached to a small double cord passed 

 through the gristle of the nose, instead of a bife 

 in the mouth, as in the case of the horse. 



It would appear that white oxen are highly 

 esteemed in India, as they have also been in 

 other parts of the world. Olearius notices the 

 procession of an Indian prince, who was drawn 



C17 



