88 R. B. Sliaw — Stray Aryans in Tibet. [Mabch, 



importance of the Forest Department in India, or the wealth of the 

 country in natural products. 



In the absence of Mr. Blochmaistn, Capt. Waterhouse exhibited a 

 Persian MS. and read the following note by Mr. Blochmann regarding it. 



" The MS. contains the poetical works of a Dihli poet of the name of 

 Mir Qamar-uddin, poetically styled ' Minnat.' Warren Hastings conferred 

 on him the title of ' Poet laureate.' 



" Minnat died at Calcutta in 1793 A. D. He left numerous poems and 

 several works on general literature. Among the poems are several well- 

 known odes ; one in praise of the Nizam of Haidarabad, for which he 

 received a present of Rs. 5,000 ; and two odes on Warren Hastings and 

 Mr. Richard Johnson. The MS. exhibited belonged to Amjad Ali, King 

 of Lucknow, whose stamp it bears, and may be some 80 years old. 

 Among the illuminations are two portraits, one of Warren Hastings and 

 the other of Richard Johnson. Although the portraits are not very 

 excellent specimens of native painting, the likeness of Warren Hastings is 

 very good." 



The following papers were read : — 



1. Stray Aryans in Tibet. — By R. B. Shaw, Esq., C. I. E. 



Political Agent. 



(Abstract.) 



This paper describes a small tribe of Aryan race, which is wedged in 

 among the Tibetan populations of the Upper Indus, presenting to the 

 student of early institutions the interesting sight of pure Aryans isolated 

 in the semi-barbarous stage and practically unaffected by any of the great 

 religions. Their origin is traced back to Dardistan (the ancient Bohr) 

 which they must have left before the mass of the Dards became Musal- 

 mans. Their religion is local-demon worship ; their domestic institutions 

 are polyandrous ; they are divided into three castes : priests, husbandmen, 

 and artisans ; and they preserve themselves strictly from intermarriage 

 with the neighbouring races. They carry to an excess the Dard peculiari- 

 ty of abhorrence of the cow, so unlike the feelings of their Hindu brethren. 



The paper will be published in Part I of the Journal. 



The Presidei^t said that the paper just read raised several points of 

 extreme interest ; one, with which he had been especially struck, was the 

 extraordinary disproportion of the sexes in this curious tribe, and it was 

 difficult to understand why there should be so much fewer women than 

 men. It would be very desirable to ascertain some statistics of the births, 

 and as the people appeared willing to communicate particulars concerning 

 themselves, this might possibly be ascertained. 



