148 F. A. de EoepstorfE — On tJie Inliahitants oftlte Nicohars. [July, 



I wanted him to take me to his place, hut though he seemed half willing, my 

 guides made him afraid, and he stoutly refused, but proniised that he would 

 go to his village and fetch me some spears, some cloth and also some of the 

 produce of their gardens. He said he could not do it in less than four days ; 

 and so foui' knots were tied on two sticks, he got one and we one. 



While we were talking, a pig walked up and he told me that this pig 

 had followed him, like a dog would follow us, all the way from his home 

 and went wherever he went. "We then left, and in consequence of our ar- 

 rangement I had to wait four days before I could commence my return jour- 

 ney. On the 4th day we started north for httle Nicohar, but I called in at 

 his place. It was highwater and the canoe went close up to his little hut. 

 I saw his pig in the old place and he was there. He brought me a magni- 

 ficent yam from his garden and some other vegetables, three spears, of which 

 one was made wholly of the wood of the areea, palm, and a piece of cloth. 

 He told me that he had asked his people whether I could visit their place 

 and that they were wilhng to allow me to come if I would bring my Avife. 

 I gave him some presents for his wife, himself and his brother, who had 

 come down this time with him. His brother was a little half -grown lad, 

 who had his hair in the same way falhng down over his forehead. I could 

 not do anything more in the matter, and after a little talk we parted. 



The result of my visit, I think, will be found to be, that the tribes 

 that live in the interior of Grreat Mcobar are Mongolians and not Nigritos, 

 that they subsist by cultivating land, that they have wooden spears and use 

 the cettis cloth. They have no cooking pots but boil their food in vessels 

 made ©f bark. 



This tallies in every detail with the description of the village seen by 

 the members of the Gralathea expedition. My information was got from 

 the tribe in the northernmost part of Great Nicobar ; the village they saw 

 was right south, on the Galathea river, so that I do not think that there can 

 be any doubt that these are the same people, although belonging to difEer- 

 ent tribes. 



Before concluding, I would beg to call attention to another circumstance. 

 The coast people and the Nancowry people are the same in aj^pearance, lan- 

 guage, customs and ways of living. These j)eople are par excellence fisher- 

 men. They dehght in fishing and all other work gives way to this passion. 

 It is true that they cultivate land at Nancowry, though not at Great Mcobar, 

 but that is quite a subsidiary means of support. When they make gardens, 

 they only consist of little patches. Not so with people of Schowra. This 

 little island is inhabited by a strong- built fair race of Mongolian origin. 

 They five by cultivating the soil mainly, and by supplying the other islands 

 with cooking pots. As fishermen they do not do much and their spears are 

 only small imitations of those used by the Nancowry people. Their language 



