THE ABORIGINAL TEIBES. 139 



wrought among them by their acceptance of Hindu, ideas ; 

 and in the meantime will proceed to some description of the 

 aboriginal beliefs and institutions, which still lie, in the most 

 advanced of their sections, but a little way below the surface, 

 and which, among the undiluted denizens of the wilder 

 regions, are yet found in their primitive purity. 



It is not an easy matter for the inquirer among such tribes 

 really to ascertain the peculiarities of their language, religion, 

 or ideas. Like all savages there is a child -like vagueness 

 about their conceptions which it is very difficult to get the 

 better of, and to this is added a suspiciousness which frequently 

 leads them to deliberately withhold information the object of 

 which they are unable to comprehend. In the case of these 

 particular tribes, moreover, the admixture of Hinduism has 

 proceeded so far that one has to be constantly on his guard 

 against admitting as belonging to them what is in fact of foreign 

 origin. An intimate acquaintance with Hindu beliefs and 

 peculiarities is therefore the first essential quality of him who 

 attempts to ascertain the distinctive features of these races ; 

 and from the want of this great mistakes have constantly been 

 made in describing them. The poverty of their languages is 

 another great obstacle to the inquirer. In the aboriginal 

 tongues there seem to be no expressions for abstract ideas, the 

 few such which they possess being derived from the Hindi. 

 In fact, the aboriginal roots are really almost confined to 

 the expression of the barest necessities of savage existence. 

 The names even of most of their personal deities, the nomen- 

 clature of religious ceremony, of moral qualities, and of nearly 

 all the arts of life they possess, are all Hindi. The form, and 

 particularly the termination, of these imported words is, how- 

 ever, frequently a good deal modified, the pronunciation being 

 as a rule broadened ; and thus an imperfect acquaintance with 



