554 Notes upon a Tour through the Rujmahal Hills. [No. 7. 



seat themselves, they appear to act as guides or masters of the cere- 

 mony ; radiating from this stage which forms the centre of the dance 

 are numerous strings composed of from twenty to thirty women, who 

 holding each other by the waistband, their right shoulder, arm and 

 breast bare, hair highly ornamented with flowers or with bunches of 

 Tussur silk dyed red, dance to the maddest and wildest of music drawn 

 from monkey-skin covered drums, pipes and flutes, and as they dance, 

 their positions are postures which are most absurd, are guided and 

 prompted by the male musicians who dance in front of and facing the 

 women ; the musicians throw themselves into indecent and most ludi- 

 crous positions, shouting and capering and screaming like madmen, and 

 as they have tall peacock feathers tied round their heads and are very 

 drunk the scene is a most extraordinary one. The women chant as 

 they dance and keep very good time in their dancing by beating their 

 heels on the ground, the whole body of dancers take about one hour to 

 complete the circuit of the central stage, as the progressive motion is 

 considerably retarded by a constant retrogressive one. Relays of fresh 

 women are always at hand to relieve the tired ones. 



The men swear by the tiger's skin, but swearing them at all is un- 

 pardonable, for the truth is by a Sonthal held sacred, offering in this 

 respect a bright example to their lying neighbours the Bengalis. 



The Sonthals are governed by Pergunnites and by Mangis chosen 

 by themselves from amongst their numbers ; the Pergunnite has charge 

 of perhaps twelve villages, from which he collects the rent and makes 

 it over to the Superintendent, the Mangi has immediate charge of his 

 own village and is answerable for all the misdeeds of his brethren, but 

 as they are in general an orderly race of people their rulers have little 

 more to do than bear their honors and collect the rent. 



The Sonthal will take service with no one, he will perform no work 

 except for himself or for his family and should any attempt be made 

 to coerce him, he flies the country or penetrates into the thickest 

 jungle, where unknown and unsought, he commences clearing a patch 

 of ground and erecting his log hut. 



The preliminary step to a Sonthal' s marriage is perhaps as extraor- 

 dinary a custom as any ever heard of amongst half savages ; it is, that 

 during a certain festival named Bandana, which is held in the month 

 of January and which lasts six days, all the unmarried candidates for 



