32 VARIETIES OF THE HUMAN SPECIES. 



7. THE INDOSTANIC FAMILY. 

 THE HINDOOS. 



There are perhaps no people on the globe who present more varied physical 

 traits than the Hindoos. In general, however, the face is oval, the nose straight 

 or slightly aquiline, the mouth small, the teeth vertical and well formed, and the 

 chin rounded and generally dimpled. The eyes are black, bright and expressive, 

 the eye lashes long, and the brow thin and arched. The hair is long, black and 

 glossy, and the beard very thin. The head of the Hindoo is small in proportion 

 to the body, elongated, and narrow especially across the forehead, which is only 

 moderately elevated. 



India presents every tint of complexion from an absolute black to a clear and 

 beautiful brunette ; but the different shades of olive are predominant, especially 

 among the higher castes, while the Pariahs, and others of the lowest class, are as 

 uniformly dark. 



" The great diflFerence in color between the different natives," says Bishop 

 Heber, " struck me much : of the crowd by whom we were surrounded, some 

 were black as Negroes, others merely copper-colored, and others little darker than 

 Tunisians. It is not merely the difference of exposure, since this variety is visible 

 in the fishermen, who are naked all alike. Nor does it depend on caste, since 

 very high-caste Brahmins are sometimes black, while Pariahs are comparatively 

 fair."* 



The people of Cambaia are said to be nearly of an ash color; those of Guzerat 

 and Mahratta are yellow, while olive is the prevalent tint in Goa. 



The women of the Brahminical caste are celebrated for their beauty, 

 especially those of Canara and Malabar, who are said to bear a comparison with 

 those of Georgia and Circassia. They are often mothers at ten years of age. 



The stature of the Hindoos is low, in general not exceeding five feet three 

 or four inches; their persons are slender, their limbs long and delicate, but well 

 moulded, and their hands and feet small and beautifully formed. 



The moral character of the Hindoos varies much in the different sections of 

 India, whence the discrepant statements of modern travellers. They appear by 

 nature to be a mild, sober and industrious race, warm in their attachments and 



^ Narr. T, p. 45. ^m. ed. 



