COMPOUND POLITICAL HEADS. 367 



brotherly love,&quot; have no other &quot; authority among them than 

 the decisions of their elders.&quot; Among the harmless Todas 

 &quot;all disputes and questions of right and wrong are settled 

 either by arbitration or by a Punchayet i.e., a council of 

 five.&quot; Of the Bodo and the Dhiimils, described as averse to 

 military service, and &quot; totally free from arrogance, revenge, 

 cruelty, and fierte,&quot; we read that though each of their small 

 communities has a nominal head who pays the tribute on its 

 behalf, yet he is without power, and &quot; disputes are settled 

 among themselves by juries of elders.&quot; In these 



cases, besides absence of the causes which bring about chiefly 

 supremacy, may be noted the presence of causes which 

 directly hinder it. The Papuans generally, typified by the 

 Arafuras above-named, while described by Modera, Pioss, 

 and Kolff, as &quot; good-natured,&quot; &quot; of a mild disposition,&quot; kind 

 and peaceful to strangers, are said by Earl to be unfit for 

 military action : &quot; their impatience of control . . . utterly 

 precludes that organization which would enable&quot; the Papuans 

 &quot; to stand their ground against encroachments.&quot; The Bodo 

 and the Dhimals while &quot; they are void of all violence towards 

 their own people or towards their neighbours&quot; also &quot; resist 

 injunctions, injudiciously urged, with dogged obstinacy.&quot; 

 And of a kindred &quot;very fascinating people,&quot; the Lepchas, 

 amiable, peaceful, kind, as travellers unite in describing 

 them, and who refuse to take service as soldiers, we are told 

 that they will &quot; undergo great privation rather than submit 

 to oppression or injustice.&quot; 



Where the repugnance to control is strong, an uncen- 

 tralized political organization is maintained notwithstanding 

 the warlike activities which tend to initiate chieftainship. 

 The Nagas &quot; acknowledge no king among themselves, and 

 deride the idea of such a personage among others ;&quot; their 

 &quot; villages are continually at feud ;&quot; &quot; every man being his own 

 master, his passions and inclinations are ruled by his share of 

 brute force.&quot; And then we further find that 

 a Petty disputes and disagreements about property are settled Ly a 

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