B04 The Hodesum (improperly called Kolehan). [No. 104. 



tals, Bhoomijes, and other tribes inhabiting the jungles, they never 

 touch the flesh of bears, monkeys, snakes, and other wild animals. The 

 Hos, with some few exceptions, will drink spirits (of which they are ex- 

 travagantly fond) from wine glasses used by us ; but they will not drink 

 water contained in any earthen vessel, which may have been touched 

 by other classes. Many of them believe the essence or soul of a man to 

 lie in his shadow, and consequently will relinquish boiling rice or 

 other food, while preparing, if the shade of a different caste person fall 

 upon it. 



Their standard dish (as it is both meat and drink to them) is ^' Eely," 

 or rice beer. It consists of rice and water boiled and mashed together, 

 and then left to ferment for three days, with a piece of " Rannoo" 

 (a bitter root) to aid the process ; of this all classes, ages, and sexes, 

 partake, many of them intemperately. In their hunting parties it 

 often forms their sole sustenance for two or three days. The drink is 

 not badly flavoured, and use would make it, I should think, just as 

 palatable as our common small beer ; it causes moderate inebriation? 

 and all classes appear after their meals slightly *' jollified" by it. 

 They seldom drink to a disgusting excess, and quarrels from intoxica- 

 tion are not of common occurrence. The Soondees, a spirit manufac- 

 turing class of Hindoos, are numerous throughout Singbhoom, and 

 make a strong distillation of the Mowhooa berry, called by the Hos 

 " arkee ;" of this the latter, left to themselves, do not much partake, 

 preferring their own beer. 



As yet, commerce has been scarcely at all introduced into the Kole- 

 han ; the people, among whom poverty is unknown, remain contented 

 with the spoils of the chase, and the limited produce of their fields, 

 which are only cultivated in sufficiency to meet present want. They 

 are bad husbandmen, and no agricultural works on a large scale, such 

 as tanks and bunds to meet the exigencies of a dry season, are met 

 with in the country. The " levelling system" obtains so much among 

 them, that there is no farmer or landholder in the country with 

 capital sufficient to go through with such a work. The former lords 

 of the soil, the " Surawuks" (Hindoos), excavated many fine tanks, 

 the traces of which still remain; they have all however been destroyed 

 by the Hos, who let out the water for the sake of sowing the rich mud 

 at the bottom ; or have allowed them, through superstitious motives, 



