1877.] Cust — Non- Aryan Languages of India. 13 



for the lost privilege o£ making raids on the peaceful settlers in the valley : 

 the Aka, whose language is known to us by a vocabulary prepared by the 

 Rev. Mr. Brown, and another in the Journal of the Bengal Asiatic Society ; 

 the Abor, of whose language we have a vocabulary prepared by Captain 

 Smith ; the Doffla, of which we have a grammar by Robinson : the Miri, of 

 whose language we have a grammar prepared by Mr. Robinson ; this tribe 

 appear to have supplied interpreters to commrunicate with the others : and 

 it is asserted that the word ' Miri' means ' go between', and is identical with 

 the word ' Meriah' of the Khonds, so famous in connexion with the human 

 victims sacrificed by that tribe ; the Mishmi, of whose language we have a 

 vocabulary by the Rev. Mr. Brown. These tribes extend back through 

 unknown tracts to the frontier of Tibet, and are under a very imperfect 

 control on the part of the Government of British India. 



At this point — the head of the Asam valley — we cross the Burham- 

 puter River, and find traces of new linguistic influence, for we are not far 

 distant from the boundaries of China proper ; and the Khamti language, of 

 which we have a grammar by Robinson, is a member of the great Thai or 

 Shan family, of which the Siamese is the political head. This tribe is but 

 the representative of much larger and unknown hordes in Bor Khamti 

 within the Burmese kingdom : they are civilized Buddhists, and have 

 friendly relations with the Anglo-Indian authorities. At one period the 

 Shans conquered the whole valley of the Burhamputer : the settlers 

 assumed the name of Aham, from the Sanskrit asama, ' unequalled' : like 

 the Normans in France, they gradually lost both their language (Shan) and 

 their religion (Buddhist) , and still constitute a large portion of the popu- 

 lation of the valley, under the name of Ahdm, as Asamese-speaking 

 Hindus: only a few priests have preserved the ancient religion. It is 

 worthy of remark that the valley is called Asam, and the people call thena- 

 selves Ahama from Asama also. There is another Shan language, the Alton, 

 of which we have a vocabulary in Sir G. Campbell's Specimens of Languages. 

 The Khamti has a strong resemblance to the Siamese : it is purely 

 monosyllabic, and more strongly accented than the other languages on the 

 Asam frontier : it is in some degree connected with the Chinese itself, as 

 the intonations are so finely modulated, that sounds organically the same 

 express a totally different idea : inflections are unknown : the alphabet is 

 derived from the Burmese. 



Adjoining the Khamti is the Singhpo tribe, whose language occupies 

 a transitional position betwixt Tibetan and Burmese : one-fourth of its 

 vocables are allied to Burmese, and one-fourth to Munipuri. This tribe is 

 also the representative of a much greater horde lying behind, known as the 

 Kakhyen, who occupy the hilly tract betwixt Burmah and Yunan in China. 

 Mr. Robinson, assisted by Mr. Bronson, has compiled a grammar of the 



