THE BHOTIAS OP ALMORA AND BRITISH GARHWAL. 97 



gone that some authorities have classified them as Hindus. There can be no question, 

 however, that whatever opinion these Rawats may hold concerning themselves as ortho- 

 dox believers in the Hindu faith, the other Hindus do not consider them orthodox ; and 

 the lowest caste will not eat with them, although all, except Brahmans and superior Hin- 

 dus, will smoke with them. On the other hand, the Rawats and all Bhotias will eat pakki 

 (by which they mean cooked food as opposed to uncooked) with Rajputs and Brahmans, 

 and kachchi with all except Doms and Muhammadans ; and similarly they will drink with 

 all except Doms and Muhammadans. In Nepal, however, Hindus of the better castes 

 will drink with them. 



There could be no greater mistake than to suppose that the Mitakshara law is appli- 

 cable to any of the Bhotias ; in fact, excluding Johar, the Bhotias do not even know what the 

 Vedas are. It is in questions relating to property, the law of inheritance, adoption and 

 woman's property, that the difference between the Bhotias and other Hindus is most clearly 

 seen. A woman has no special property of her own, although at the will of her husband 

 or father she may be allowed to keep what she earns ; but this is entirely dependent on 

 the pleasure of the man concerned. The laws of inheritance are not those of Hindu law, 

 and the principles applicable to adoption, as found in Mitakshara law, are unheard of. As 

 a matter of fact, in cases of adoption the choice invariably falls upon the heir. The idea 

 of a joint family is quite unfamiliar. The father is the absolute owner of all property, 

 including ancestral, and can mortgage on his own signature without reference to his sons. 

 When the infirmities of age impair the father's business capacity, the sons divide the pro- 

 property and he is more or less at their mercy. There is no fixed share apportioned to 

 him, but custom generally insures that some extra portion is put aside for him, and he 

 lives with the son who is his favourite. Frequently the father is neglected, and cases of 

 great hardship on parents who have been rich, but whose property has been taken by the 

 sons, are often met with. A son can at any time insist on partition. Johar and Mana are 

 exceptions, in that the father can refuse to give his sons shares in his self-acquired pro- 

 perty ; but in regard to ancestral property he has no choice. 



There can be no doubt that originally the Johar Bhotias followed all the customs and 

 ceremonies at present to be found in Darma ; but since the Butaula Rawats migrated to 

 Johar from Garhwal via Tibet, some three hundred years ago, a gradual change has been 

 taking place, and the old customs have given place to the ordinary ceremonies of the 

 Hindu faith, such for instance as Bratbandha. 



Ceremonies among partially Hinduized Bhotias. 



The following are some of the ceremonies to be found among the partially Hinduized 

 Bhotias : — 



Birth. — On the fifth day after child-birth Pancholi is performed, the woman and child 

 being allowed to occupy a separate room or house, but no one is permitted to touch them. 

 Should anyone by accident touch them, the only purification is by sprinkling cow's urine 

 on the body and tasting the urine. 



On the eleventh day, Namkaran, or " name-giving, " called Mishi in Johar, takes 



