﻿A SECT COMMONLY DENOMINATED NUTS. 46'ji 



iii2:ij:lin": in all its branches. As tiiniblers t])cy ex- 

 hibit not only feats of agility, but great instances of 

 strength. . I'here are about a hundrctl houses at pre- 

 sent of tliese people in Calcutta, formed into five di- 

 visions ; there is a Siirdar to each division, one of 

 whom, as with the Uazcegurs, is considered as the 

 head of the wliole. Mis revenues seem principally 

 to- arise from the offerings of strong litjuor, which 

 lie receives from his dependants; they, meaningsueh 

 as have attached themselves to. Calcutta and its en- 

 virons, seem to have nearly the same boundaries as 

 the Bazeegurs, though there are communities of this 

 cast spread all over Bengal, appearing under the va- 

 rious denomination of Cheerc-AJars, SumperaSy Bun- 

 diir Nachicya, Qniiindur, Diikijt, itc Alany of 

 these have become AJGOsulmaus, and having taken up 

 their abode in villages, gain a livelihood by exposing 

 dancing monkks, bears, kc. to the vulgar, or by the 

 fabrication of mat's, trinkets, &c. Some of them 

 Avaijder about as sects of religionists, and calling 

 themselves Moosulman Fucjccrs, live on the bounty 

 of the pious followers of the prophet. They have a 

 traditional account of four generations, and do not, 

 like the Bazeegurs, consider themselves as foreigners 

 in Jjcngal. This particular tribe of the Nuts are 

 suspected of being great thieves; many of them I 

 understand are daily punished for theft, and in their 

 capacity of Dukj/ts *, are no doubt often hanged. 



11 11 They 



help wondering, where so many men, women, children and other 

 domestic animals, manage to sleep or shelter themselves from the 

 storms which sometimes assail these itinerant people. A deiailed 

 account of the peculiar tribe, who trom their occupation of taming 

 and charming snakes, derive the name of Sumpera, might prove 

 worthy of public :ittention, especially if from it we could diicover 

 whether either they or the Mungoos called Newul, are acquainted 

 with any sj^ecific against the bite of a venomous snake, whose fangs 

 have not been bona fide extracted, or deprived of their poisonous fluid 

 by previous repeated exertions upon other bodies. 



* Daka means robbery, and in the active or agent form becomes 



Dukyt, 



