106 MR. C. A. SHEERING ON 



Large villages have more than one rambang, and, as the avowed object of these 

 rambangs is to arrange marriages, only those persons resort there who can marry one 

 another, such as the boys of a neighbouring village, or, if of the same village, only those 

 who are not relations. When a resident of a distant part of the country comes to a 

 village, travelling on business, he would not dream of asking his friends to give him 

 food and shelter, for this would be regarded as a disgrace : he must wait to be invited by 

 them first. However, if he goes to the rambang he is sure of a hospitable welcome. 

 In this way the rambang is a great convenience, but it can only be used thus by persons 

 known in the village. A stranger is unwelcome without an introduction. 



When the Bhotias are travelling or go to their winter quarters one of the first con- 

 siderations is to set apart some spot for the rambang. If girls wish to invite the boys of 

 a neighbouring village to meet them they wave long sheets, one girl holding one end 

 and another the other end. This waving can be seen for miles, and is really a very 

 pretty custom. It is also used in bidding farewell to friends and lovers, and is frequently 

 accompanied by whistling, the two fingers being placed in the mouth as in the familiar 

 London cat's call. Boys and girls are both adepts at this whistling, and it is the usual 

 method employed by the boys of inviting girls to come out of their homes. On hearing 

 the whistles the girls take a little fire and issue forth from their houses and proceed with 

 the boys to the chosen spot, and, if they are old friends, they sit side by side round a 

 blazing fire, otherwise all the boys sit on one side and the girls face them. 



Often the girls dance, and sometimes the boys, while singing, smoking and drinking 

 are continued until they are all weary, when sleep brings quiet to the scene. 



The Bhotia songs, called baj'yu, or old-fashioned, are the general favourites with 

 the elders, and are always sung by the company with a fervour that shows how keenly 

 all appreciate the formidable vicissitudes of climate, and the terrible hardships of 

 mountaineering, or the brave deeds of their ancestors, which are faithfully portrayed in 

 them. These songs of a bygone time, composed in the Bhotia language, are now sup- 

 plemented by others in the ordinary hill-dialect, of which those called timali most closely 

 resemble in their serious nature the old baj'yu, whereas the gay tubaira (tu = fleeting 

 and baira = a song) is full of levity, hilarity, and wantonness. 



The Bhotia is a wise and cautious trader and circumspect in all his dealings, and 

 it is not to be supposed that he allows the passion of the moment to override the value 

 he attaches to a powerful alliance through matrimony with a rich neighbour's family, 

 and therefore in almost all cases a young man takes his parents, friends and relations 

 into his confidence with regard to the object of his affections, and it is only if the ar- 

 rangement appears to be a satisfactory one that they advise him to make an offer of 

 marriage. And we must remember that the young ladies of these parts are allowed full 

 liberty in exercising a preference, and, further, that if they do not find a wooer they have 

 the certain prospect of remaining unmarried all their lives. In every village there are 

 women who have grown old and have never known wedlock, and similarly there are men 

 (I know one of a leading position and great wealth) who fail to find a mate owing to 

 some physical defect or bodily infirmity. 



After due consideration the young man, either personally or through his friends, 



