a ee 
action in the matter. 
€, 
ON LINGUISTIC AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS. 659 
Linguistic and Anthropological Characteristics of the North Dravidian 
and Kolarian Races.—the Urdnws.—Report of the Committee, con- 
sisting of Mr. E. Sipney Hartianp (Chairman), Mr. HuGu 
RayYNpirdD, jun. (Secretary), Professor A. C. Happon, and Mr. 
J. L. Myres. 
Tus Coramittee was appointed to report upon the materials accumulated 
by Mr. Hugh Raynbird, jun., during several years’ residence among the 
Uranws and other non-Aryan races of Chutia Nagpir. The languages 
of these races are almost unknown to philology. Dr. Oscar Flex has 
published an elementary introduction to Uranw, and there are grammars 
and vocabularies of an elementary character in some of the Kolarian 
dialects, but these languages have not yet been treated scientifically or 
fully. Mr. Raynbird has collected, including variants, more than 800 
folk-tales, 4,000 folk-songs, many riddles, proverbs, and phrases ; has 
compiled vocabularies, and begun a systematic Uranw grammar. His 
materials are already partially, and will, it is hoped, be eventually wholly, 
deposited with the Royal Asiatic Society, where they will be accessible to 
specialists. Mr. Raynbird is now in England, but is prevented by his 
circumstances from devoting his time to the elaboration of his materials. 
He hopes eventually to be enabled to return to India to resume his 
investigations. 
The Committee have conferred with Mr. Raynbird, have examined 
some part of his materials, and have assisted him to prepare some part of 
them for publication ; a representative selection from them is appended, 
consisting of three tales which illustrate points in the cosmology, historical 
traditions and customs of the Uranes, with Mr. Raynbird’s explanatory 
notes. 
As the work of translation, transcription, and indexing so large a mass 
of quite new and unfamiliar data is necessarily slow and laborious, the 
Committee ask to be re-appointed, and hope at the end of the coming 
year to be in a position to recommend the Association to take effective 
APPENDIX, 
I. The Sun and the Moon. 
' This tale was first of all told to me in English by a Christian Uraon 
named Elias Bochcho whilst we were out for a walk together. As soon as 
we got home he wrote it down for me in English. I then asked hin if he 
_ €ould write it down in the Uraon language, and he did so. 
He was at that time a schoolmaster in the 8.P.G. Mission school at 
Ranchi. He could speak and write High Hindi and the dialect of Eastern 
Hindi spoken in Chutia Nagpur. He was well acquainted with both the 
Roman and Devanagri characters. {[ taught him Church history, Euclid, 
and Algebra, and he was the most intelligent specimen of his race I have 
met with. 
He said that the tale was told him by his mother. She belonged to a 
uu 2 
