444 



On the Vayu tribe of the Central Himalaya. 



[No. 5. 



ence. The religious idsas of the Vayus are extremely vague, nor 

 does their language afford any term for the Deity or eveu for any 

 deity though they have, as usual, an exorcist who is their only 

 priest and physician and to whom they look for relief from all those 

 evils which malignant influence, whatever it be, afflicts them with. 

 They are a very inoffensive industrious race employed in the culti- 

 vation of the earth. Their use of the plough is noticeable from its 

 rarity in these regions. 



As it has been the chief object of this paper to illustrate the 

 highly interesting language* of the Vayus I shall not at present say 

 more of their status, manners and customs than by a reference to 

 their own account of these conveyed in the statement subjoined 

 to the language as a sample thereof and of which translation was 

 there furnished. 



But the physical traits of the Vayu are of an importance second 

 only to that of his language, and the following description will 

 help to illustrate them. 



Dimensions of a man named Pate, a Vayu of the Takum caste, 

 aged twenty-eight years, in the service of Captain Gojraj Thapa of 

 Nepal. 



Height, .. .. .. .. 5. 0.0 



Crown of head to hip, 



Hip to heel, ,„ 



Length of arm and hand 



Girth of head, 



Girth of arm, 



Girth of forearm, 



Girth of thigh, 



Girth of calf, 



Girth of chest, 



1.11* 



3. Q.| 



2. 2.J 



1. 9.0 



0. 9.0 



0. 94 



1. 6 

 1. 1.0 

 2.11.0 



Pate is rather below than above the standard height of his fellows, 

 which may be taken at about five feet three inches. His colour is a 



* I meant to have prefaced the details by a few general remarks under the usual 

 heads of article, noun, pronoun, &c. But time runs short and the philological 

 reader will readily apprehend these from the details already given whilst other 

 classes of readers are little likely to pay any attention to the matter. 



