32 Annual Address. [Feb. 



cephalism so far discovered in South India. With an average cephalic 

 index of 799, the Coorgs just escape inclusion in Broca's class of sub- 

 brachjcephali. Of the other races in South India measured by Thurston, 

 none is even mesaticephalic, whilst the Todas are decidedly dolicho- 

 cephalic. The small tribe of 32,000 Coorgs thus occupy a completely 

 isolated position amongst the races of the South. 



" For the purpose of detecting any traces of aboriginal blood in the 

 Coorgs I have made a comparative examination of the next largest 

 caste in the province — the Yeruvas, with whom the Coorg have been 

 in close contact from time immemorial. The Yeruvas in physical 

 measurements and ethnographical characters fall into a group with the 

 Kurumbas, Irulas, Paniyans and Kadirs — people of a very dark colour, 

 curly hair, thick, slightly everted lips, feeble prognathism, distinctly 

 platyrrhine noses (index 89*6), low stature (158-7 cm.), and compara- 

 tively long feet, long fore-arms, wide span and dolichocephalic, cranium 

 (73'6). By selecting from amongst the Coorgs those whose nasal 

 indices are higher, more platyrrhine, more aboriginal so to speak, than 

 the average, and from these picking out the individuals more dolicho- 

 cephalic, that is also more aboriginal, than the average, we find that 

 in the comparative length of arm, span, foot, and size of chest these do 

 not show the slightest average tendency towards the Yeruva type. 

 Conversely, by selecting from amongst the measuied Yeruvas, those 

 which have a higher type of nose than the average and from these 

 separating the specimens which show a tendency towards bracliycepha- 

 lism, we find that in the other characters which distinguish the two 

 tribes these Yeruvas do not show the slightest Coorg affinity. Tlie 

 actual figures will appear in the paper ; but meanwhile it should be 

 stated that these statements refer to averages ; for whilst I have not 

 found a single Yeruva who uniformly shows a tendency towards Coorg 

 characteristics, I have met with two individuals with Coorg names, 

 who, besides having longer heads and broader noses than their fellow- 

 tribesmen, show also in all other points a tendency to conform to 

 aboriginal characteristics. Accidents will of course happen in all 

 communities ; but I look upon the results of these experiments as a 

 confirmation of Mr. Risley's assumption that the marriage customs 

 resulting fiom the rigid observance of caste regulations render the 

 methods of anthropometry superior in accuracy to all other forms of 

 anthropological research, and on this account India offers an unusually 

 favourable field for physical measurements. 



" Whilst the origin of the Yeruvas clearly becomes part of ' the 

 Uravidian problem,' the unique position of the Coorgs remains unex- 

 ])laiucd. Assuming that the tall, fair, dolichocephalic people of the 



