Jan. 6, 1881] 



NA TURE 



223 



beard and whiskers well famished aad always frizzled, 

 or at least wavy, eyes perfectly straight and horizontal, 

 nose not particularly prominent, but nearly always 

 straight and never flattened at the root, cheek-bones 

 scarcely if at all prominent, mouth of medium size and 

 even small size, vi-ith moderately thick lips but no trace 

 of prognathism, complexion mainly of a bister or brown 

 colour, but varying from fair and even white to light 

 brown an:l dark, though never so dark as that of the 

 Aryans of India." 



This description, given by a scientific observer, is the 

 very antithesis of the Mongolian, and corresponds in all 

 essentials to the ordinary Caucasian of Western Asia 

 and Europe. Hence it is not surprising to find recent 

 French writers freely applying to these peoples such 

 epithets as " Caucasique," " Indo-Europeen," " blanc," 

 and so on. Bouillevaux calls the Chareys " white savages 

 of Caucasian type." Thorel connects the northern tribes 

 with '■ the Caucasian race, or more correctly with the 

 Indo-European peoples." Dr. Harmand gives us a 

 description of a beautiful Khang woman, dwelling par- 

 ticularly on her "aquiline nose, large eyes, thin lips, 

 round shoulders," and other points of a European cha- 

 racter. The Bolovcns of Bassac he describes as of 

 lighter complexion and taller than the surrounding Laos 

 (Mongoloid) peoples, with sub-dolichocephalous head, 



whereas that of the Laos is decidedly brachycephalic. 

 Many Boloven women are remirkably beautiful in the 

 European sense, with large straight eyes, regular features, 

 and ruddy rather than yellow complexion. The colour 

 of these wild tribes is often described as darker than 

 that of their Siamese and Laos neighbours ; but Dr. 

 Harmand points out that this is due to the deep-rooted 

 prejudice of the Laos, who habitually speak of them as 

 even " black," though often fairer than the Laos them- 

 selves. The essential difference between the two races 

 in this respect is precisely what we should expect, the 

 Thai being more yellow, the Khas, or Caucasian wild 

 tribes, more red. This red or ruddy tinge was also 

 noticed by Dr. A. Maurice amongst the Banhars, and the 

 Piaks are even said to have wavy black hair with a russet 

 hue, a trait never occurring in any pure branch of the 

 Mongolian family. 



These Caucasian tribes seem to be the true Aborigines 

 of Indo-China, where they have been mostly sup- 

 planted, or driven to the impenetrable forests and high- 

 lands of the south-east by the intruding Mongol races, 

 descending by the valleys of the great rivers from the 

 Tibetan plateau. Still one branch, the Khmcrs, or 

 Cambojans, were powerful and numerous enough to 

 hold their ground in the lower Mekhong \'alley, where, 

 under Buddhistic influences, they established a flourishing 



empire and erected monuments 2000 years ago, whose 

 stupendous ruins rival those of Java and India itself in 

 archaeological and artistic interest. Indeed it may be 

 doubted whether there is anything in the whole world 





tal Work on Stleng Quiver. 



more wonderful in its way than the magnificent temple of 

 Ongkor Vaht, on the northern shores of Lake TouM-sap. 

 It is noteworthy that the bas-reliefs and other figures on 

 these monuments are of the same type as the present - 

 Cambojan race, with the same regular features, full beard, 



-Ornamental Work 



and even their very dress, arms, and musical instruments. 

 Traditions of this early civilisation still linger amongst 

 the surrounding Khmer tribes, many of whom, such as 

 the Stiengs, Kings, and Chams, possess natural endow- 



