8 K. Banerji — Identification of Ahoriginal Tribes. [Jan. 



what they now are, and nothing, or next to nothing, has been done to unra- 

 vel their ancient history. The Nagas have been more fortunate ; they have 

 had a great number of historians, and a great deal has been ab-eady written 

 about their antiquity ; but even as regards them, mucli yet remains to be 

 known of what and who they were. The little knowledge liitherto possess- 

 ed by European scholars regarding the autochthones of India have been a 

 serious impediment in the way of a successful study of this branch of In- 

 dian archeeology. Few knew the names of the ancient races, and fewer 

 still of the modern ones with whom they could compare them. This dif- 

 ficulty has, however, now been in a great measure removed. The publication 

 of Col. Dalton's magnificent work on the Ethnology of Bengal has placed 

 in the hands of the public a large mass of information on the subject of the 

 most authentic kind, and the way to identification on the part of those who 

 are familiar with Sanskrit literature, is clear. The learned author has not 

 himself attempted much in the way of identifying the races he has describ- 

 ed with those named in Sanskrit works, but his book afi'ords valuable help in 

 the prosecution of the task ; and I have availed myself of it in compiling 

 the following rough notes regarding the antiquity of some of the races 

 noticed by him. My object is to bring together all the salient points regard- 

 ing the diff'erent races from Sanskrit works, and to render them easily acces- 

 sible to European scholars as helps towards further research. 



No. 1. 



The first race I have to notice are the Kiratas, otherwise called Kiratis 

 and Kirantis. 



Manu classifies the Kiratas mider the head of Mlechchhas in Chapter X, 

 where he reckons them along with the Paundras, Odras, Dravidas, Kambojas, 

 Yavanas, Paradas, Chinas and the Pahnavas. 



All these tribes have been indentified : the Paundras or Paundrakas 

 were the people of Western Bengal. Professor Wilson enumerates the fol- 

 lowing districts of Bengal and Behar to have comprised the ancient Pundra, 

 viz. : — Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Nadiya, Birbhum, Burdwan, Midna- 

 pur Jangal Mahals, Ramgarh, Pachete, Palamow and part of Chunar. 

 The word Pundra signifies sugarcane of a particular species, called Puii- 

 ri Akh in Bengali, so that Pundra evidently means the country of sugar- 

 cane. It may be remarked here, that the other name of Bengal, Gauda, is- 

 derived from guda^ or molasses ; Gauda consequently means the land of 

 molasses. The two names of the country thus have a meaning almost analo- 

 gous in purport. The quotation from Manu proves beyond a doubt that 

 Bengal and Behar were reckoned as Mlechchha Des'a, or unholy land, in the 

 daj^s of the great Hindu lawgiver ; and there was then no distinction of 

 caste in those countries, for Bharata, the sage, defines Mlechchha Desa as 

 the country where the four castes do not dwell. 



