THE SAORIAS OF THE RAJMAHAL HILLS. 45 



to abandon the hills, and settle in that spacious belt of forest, and fertile country 

 below, and ply the arts of peace. Rut it was not to be, — Cleveland was cut off in 

 the flower of his youth. The incursion of the ubiquitous Sonthal commenced. Sal 

 forest (Shorea robusta) and game were things of the past, and the Saoria clung to 

 his heights eking out a precarious livelihood, his constant companions small-pox and 

 starvation. Settlement operations subsequently rendered the position of the Saoria 

 still more uncertain, and accorded to the incursion of the Sonthal the rights appertain- 

 ing to prescription. The disappearance of the forest on the north of the Saoria Hills 

 and the shrewd counsels of business men created the important industry in Sabai 

 grass. To the native banker and middleman it has, in many cases, been profitable 

 beyond the dreams of avarice ; to the Saoria it has, in the majority of cases, brought 

 a temporary affluence, which is the portal to wretchedness. Abject poverty is no 

 misnomer among the Saorias of to-day ; six annas has to suffice many a family for 

 victuals over eight weary days. L/and-settlement, the Sabai grass industry and forest 

 conservancy are indeed complex problems. The solution is intimately connected with 

 the prosperity and preservation of a race. To solve them on broad and humane 

 principles, and maintain a link with the past, may well tax the sagacity of a statesman. 



I. Divisions. 1 

 Mate. 



Male would mean hillman and is, probably, of Sanscrit origin. " Rama to his 

 brother said as on Malya's cloud-capped ranges, in their hermit guise they strayed" 

 (Ramayan) : the word c 'Mal" suggests hardy in the Sanscrit. Among the Saorias it 

 also conveys the sense of virility and manliness. The word "male" may, therefore, 

 be appropriately amplified as a "hardy hillman"; and, indeed, this is actually the 

 meaning which the Soaria intends to convey. 



1 Spelling of Malto words : The spelling adopted is that which is understood by Saorias who know the Roman alphabet. 

 There are rive vowels, long and short, viz., a a, e e, i i, o 6, u u. These are sounded more or less as they are in Hindustani. Short 

 e and o do not occur in Hindustani and are sounded as in " let " and " lot." 



Malto has no diphthongs. In prououncing foreign words with ai, or au, the Hillman uses the syllables ey and aw, as 

 •• Seytaneh" for " Shaitan." 



b, ch, d, d, g, g, h, j, k, 1, m, n, n, or n, p, q, r, r, s, t, t, th, w, y. B vibrates between th ; English B and v ; g and q come 

 deeper and fuller from the throat than in Hindi, th is a sharp English, tli sounded lightly with just a suspicion of z. The rest 

 resemble in sound the corresponding characters in Hindi. 



In Malto many words are pronounced with a lisp ; others jcome deeply from the throat with a sound of the Northumbrian " r." 

 H, as a general rule, is almost silent, except at the end of a word when it is clearly sounded, e.g., in the word Hindi the Hillman 

 would sound the H very nearly in the same way as the Frenchman in the word Hibou. In the word Maleh the H would be clearly 

 heard. 



2 Male, masculine singular — two syllables as mal-e. Maler, mas. plural. Malni, feminine singular. Malnir. feminine plural. 

 There is one declension of Majto nouns by means of case signs, e.g. : — 



(Mas.) 



Nom. 



Maleh. 



Gen. 



Maleki. 



Dat. 



Malek. 





Ace. 



Malen. 



Abl. 



Malente. 



Loc. 



Maleno. 





Inst. 



Malet. 



Voc. 



O'Male. 







iFem.) 



Nom. 



Malinth. 



Gen. 



Malniki. 



Dat. 



Malnik. 





Ace. 



Malnin. 



Abl. 



Malninte. 



Loc. 



Malnino. 





Inst. 



Malnit. 



Voc. 



O'Malni. 







