2 Notes of a tour in the Tributary Mehals. [No. 1, 



The Bvalimini river in its progress from Gangpore has forced its 

 way through the harrier of hills separating the two districts, and 

 enters the valley I am describing, after a course of eight miles through 

 a beautiful glen, in a succession of rapids and loughs, the latter swarm- 

 ing with alligators. The shortest route from Gangpore to Bonai is by 

 a rugged path through this pass ; but is only practicable in the dry 

 weather. 



Bonaigurh, where the Rajah resides, is in the valley, occupying a 

 bend of the river in latitude 28° 49' N. and longitude 85° E., being 508 

 feet above the sea level. It has the river on three sides, and is sur- 

 rounded by a mud wall and moat, within which are about 150 houses, 

 including those of the chief, his court-house, and jail : the village 

 altogether, inside and outside the gurh, contains about 300 houses, 

 but nothing that can be called a bazar. The inhabitants are the 

 Brahmins and other retainers of the Rajah ; his own family, including 

 most of the collateral branches, legitimate and illegitimate ; people 

 practising trades — workers in brass and pewter, potters, weavers, 

 smiths ; and people of low caste, Gonds, Pahans, Ghassees and Domes. 

 Ooriah is the language spoken, and the costume and customs followed 

 are those of the Orissa provinces. This includes a lavish use of 

 saffron in their ablutions, hair neatly dressed with silver ornaments, 

 and a general tidy appearance. They have good features and rather 

 fair complexion. The young girls, till they attain the age of pubeity, 

 are veiy scantily dressed. The only garment usually worn by them 

 is a " kopin" — a scarf, round the loins and between the legs. This is 

 national and classical, as we find from the images of the oldest temples, 

 that it was the favourite costume of the Hindu goddesses, who thus 

 enjoyed the full play of their limbs. The young people of both sexes 

 are fond of adorning themselves with wreaths of bright yellow flowers. 



There are 217 inhabited villages in Bonai, and from the number of 

 houses returned by the topographical survey recently completed, the 

 population may be estimated at fifteen thousand six hundred souls. 

 About one half of the agricultural population is of the " Bhooya" 

 caste or race. They are doubtless the earliest settlers, and it was from 

 their hands that the ancestor of the present Rajpoot Rajah first ob- 

 tained his insignia as chief. The Bamra and Gangpore Rajahs are 

 reported to have in the same manner derived their chieftainships from 



