196 The " Kola 1 * of Chota-Nagpore. 



The arms of the Kols are to this day what they were in the days of 

 " Bama" — the bow and arrow and battle-axe. The bow is simply 

 a piece of bamboo, and the string is of the same material. The war 

 arrows have large broad blades doubly and trebly barbed, but they 

 make them of all shapes : poison they do not use. They commence 

 practice with the bow and arrow at the earliest age. In Singbhoom 

 boys three and four years old and upwards, when herding cattle or 

 otherwise engaged, have always their bow, and blunt and sharp arrows ; 

 the former for practice, the latter to bring clown birds when they have 

 a chance. 



In the villages of Chota-Nagpore where the Oraon and Moondah are 

 mixed up together, the difference of character between the two races 

 is not much marked ; but if we compare the Singbhoom Hos or Chota- 

 Nagpore Mankees and the Oraons, we see strong contrasts. The Oraon 

 has the lively happy disposition of the Negro. He is fond *of gaiety, 

 decorating rather than clothing his person, and whether toiling or 

 playing, is always cheerful. 



The Ho or Moondah has more the dignity and reserve of the North 

 American Indian, at least when he is sober. He appears to less 

 advantage when he is drunk, and he is not unfrequently in that state. 

 At all festivals and ceremonies, deep potations of the rice-beer called 

 " eeley" are freely indulged in by both sexes. -Inspirited by this 

 beverage, the young men and girls dance together all day and half the 

 night ; but the dances are perfectly correct, and whenever these 

 meetings have led to improprieties, it is always attributed to a too 

 free indulgence in eeley. As a rule, the men" are reserved and highly 

 decorous in their treatment of the women ; and the girls, though 

 totally free from the prudery that secludes altogether or averts the 

 head of a Hindoo or Mahommedan maiden When seen by a man, have 

 a modest demeanour, combined with frank open manners and womanly 

 grace. 



It is said by some, that at the seasons of their great festivals 

 amongst themselves, breaches of chastity are of frequent occurrence ; 

 but the mere freedom of intercourse allowed to the sexes is likely to 

 be viewed with unmerited prejudice and misconstrued by their neigh- 

 bours of different race who place such restrictions upon it, and I believe 

 that this may give rise to false imputations of impropriety. It is, at 



