THE ABORIGINAL TRIBES. 147 



much Hinduized resort by preference to cremation. The 

 process being an expensive one, however, it is not lavished 

 on all alike, women and children being still mostly buried, 

 while adult males are burnt. Also during the rainy season, 

 when burning is inconvenient, burial is often adopted for all 

 alike. Most of the tribes erect some sort of a memorial to 

 the dead ; the Gonds generally in the shape of little mounds, 

 covered by slabs of stone ; while the Korkiis carve elaborate 

 pillars of teak-wood, with emblems of the sun and the 

 crescent moon, and of the deceased party mounted on a 

 horse, which they erect under a tree appropriated to the 

 purpose near each of their villages. A very populous ceme- 

 tery of this sort may be seen close to the village of 

 Puchmurree. 



I have already described the personal appearance of the 

 men of the Gond and Korku tribes. Their women, I think, 

 differ among themselves more than do the men of these races. 

 Those of the Gonds are generally somewhat lighter in color 

 and less fleshy than the Korkus. But the Gond women 

 of different parts of the country vary greatly in appearance, 

 many of them in the opener parts near the plains being 

 great robust creatures finer animals by far than the men ; 

 and here Hindu blood may be fairly suspected. In the inte- 

 rior, again, bevies of G6nd women may be seen who are liker 

 monkeys than human beings. The features of all are gene- 

 rally strongly marked and coarse. The young girls occa- 

 sionally possess such comeliness as attaches to general plump- 

 ness and a good-humoured expression of face ; but when 

 their short youth is over, all pass at once into a hideous 

 age. Their hard lives, sharing as they do all the labours of 

 the men except that of hunting, suffice to account for this. 

 They dress decently enough, in a short petticoat, often dyed 



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