12 GEORGE D-S-DUNBAR ON 



expected to be similar are different in the two languages, it may be recalled that the 

 Loteus were said to learn the Tibetan names for trade purposes. 



The following sentences give examples of the constructions of Abor and Tibetan : — 



i. I gave it to my brother, 

 [Abor] Ngo ngo-ke bui-ru em bi to. 



I my brother to given have. 

 [Tibetan] Ngapeunje la ter-wa yin. 



I brother to gave. 



2. I was in the jungle when you called. 



[A] No-ke gog-do dem ngo yum-ra lo dung-ai. 



your calling whilst I jungle in was. 

 [ T] Kyo ke-tung tu nga shing-la de wa-yin 



you calling- time I jungle in was (sitting). 



3. Where does this road lead ? 



[A] Si lambe si in-ko la pui du-ne. 



This road this where reached. 

 [T] Lamga di kaba leb-gi-re. 

 Road this where will it reach. 



4. How many boats are there there ? 



[A] De lo e-lung e-dit-ko du-ne. 



There boats how many are. 

 [T] Pa-gi tru kat-so du-ga. 

 There boats how many are. 



It may also be noted' that certain words are common to the Limbus and Rais of 

 Nepal and the Abors of the Dihang Valley. The few words that have been collected 

 would need to be augmented into a considerable list before any scientific value could 

 be attained. But the fact that certain words in common use are similar may be of 

 some interest. Various customs and beliefs are also alike. 



It is for consideration that the desiccation of Central Asia may possibly have driven 



the ancestors of the Abors and kindred tribes through the 



Migrations. ° 



passes of the north down into the mountainous zone they 

 now occupy. The legend existing amongst the Subansiri Daflas that they originally 

 came from the east would not controvert it. Whether the clans came sweeping down 

 into what we now call Assam on the full tide of invasion, to be washed back to the 

 hills when once more the invader became the invaded, is hidden in the mists that 

 obscure so much of the past history of this frontier. Once established in the 

 highlands immediately to the south of the Himalayas proper the gradual increase 

 of population and the corresponding difficulty in finding sufficient land for cultiva- 

 tion within reach of the village, periodically obliged a portion of the community 

 to seek fresh woods to convert into fields and pastures new. At first, referring 

 to conditions in the Dihang area, the colonies spread east and west and then, as the 

 available sites eventually became occupied by flourishing communities, the tide 



