Tlie " Koh" of Chota-Nagpore. 195 



change. "When a Ho swears, the oath has no reference whatever to a 

 future state. He prays, that if he speak not the truth he may be 

 afflicted in this world with the loss of all, health, wealth, wife, children ; 

 that he may sow without reaping and finally may be devoured by a 

 tiger ; but he swears not by any hope of happiness beyond the grave. 

 He has in his primitive state no such hope, and I believe that most 

 Indian aborigines, though they may have some vague ideas of conti- 

 nuous existence, will be found equally devoid of original notions in 

 regard to the Judgment to come. 



It may be said that the funeral ceremonies I have described, indicate 

 clearly a belief in resurrection, else why should food, clothes and money 

 be burned with the body or buried with the ashes ? The Kols have 

 given me the same explanation of this that I once before received from 

 the Chulikutta Mishmees in Upper Assam, who have no notion of any 

 existence beyond the grave. They do not wish to benefit by the loss 

 of their friend, which they would do if they were to appropriate any 

 article belonging to him : they therefore give with him all his person- 

 alties, all property that he and he alone used and benefited by ; but 

 this does not apply to the stock of the farm and household property 

 that all profit by, or even to new cloth, for that might have been 

 procured for any member of the family. It often happens that a 

 respectable ' Ho' has goods of this nature, that he abstains from using 

 even once, because if once used, the article will be destroyed at his 

 death. 



The Moondah Oraon races are passionately fond of field sports, and 

 are so successful that large and small game soon disappear from the 

 vicinity of considerable settlements ; and they fear not to make a new 

 settlement, consisting only of a few huts, in the jungles most infested 

 by wild beasts. Every year at the commencement of the hot season, 

 they form great hunting parties which are well described in Tickell's 

 memoir. They are also greatly addicted to cock-fighting. They have 

 periodical meets at assigned places where hundreds of fighting cocks 

 are collected. Cruel steel spurs are used, and the combat is always 

 a Voutrance, the victims becoming the property of the owners of 

 the victorious birds. This is, I think, the only stake. They are 

 fond of fishing too, and some of them are very expert in spearing large 

 fish. 



