1834.] Further Information regarding the Siah Posh Tribe. 77 



man is allowed either to enter the room or pass by the house, but 

 only females. This custom I believe prevails among the Jews. 



The funeral of the Siah Posh people is triumphantly solemnized. 

 The corpse is generally attended by young men, who sing, skip, 

 dance, and play upon drums. The deceased, unwashed, is carried away 

 upon the shoulders of men, in a large box, as among the Muhammedans. 

 It is taken upon the top of a high mountain, and put open in the sun. 

 They sacrifice a cow, and give a feast to the attendants of the funeral. 

 Then they return home, and do-not weep at all. 



After sixty days, when the body is putrefied, and eaten by birds, 

 the women of the family go in an assembly upon the mountain. They 

 pick up the bones, and after washing them in a stream, they bring them 

 home, sit round them, and then mourn for a short time ; after this, the 

 men come and convey the bones to a large cave excavated in the ground. 

 They throw them in it, and turning to the bones, they say, " This is 

 the heaven for you." 



The language of the Siah Posh is mixed with that of Hindusta- 

 ni, Persian, and Afghani. They use the word istri, which means 

 either in Hindi or Sanscrit, a wife : they say, ravray, which signifies 

 in Afghani to bring. They also use the word khub, which imports in 

 Persian, good. 



From the instruments of war of the Siah Posh people, we imagine 

 that a model of the Macedonian soldiery continues yet in this country. 

 They make war with spears, and are good archers. They tie scimitars 

 round their waists, and carry shields upon their backs. They fight with 

 great ferocity, gnashing their teeth, and roaring like a lion. The victors 

 are crowned with the chaplets made of the leaves of the mulberry-tree. 

 The women, who possess an unbounded beauty, manage all the exterior 

 business, while their stout and handsome husbands remain in the house, 

 feeding the children in their arms. The females cultivate, bargain, and 

 rove about to procure a livelihood. The men follow no employment 

 except that of occasional warfare. 



The labours of the women in tillage are productive of fine rice, wheat, 

 and barley. Fruits are abundantly reared : from the fine gi-apes they 

 make good wine, and the syrup of the water-melon they use instead of 

 sugar. They eat the flesh of every animal except that of dogs and 

 jackals. 



If any stranger is found guilty of adultery, either with any body's 

 wife or daughter, the Siah Posh never sentence him to death like 

 Muhammedans, but extort from him a little sum of money amounting to 

 12 or 13 rupees. 



At this unlawful act the Siah Posh Kafirs, (the Mufti says,) in lieu 

 of getting enraged, are happy to say to their acquaintances that their 



