166 THE LATE REV. P. DEHON ON 



superstition about it, and a common saying among them is : Can the money of the Pach- 



bal be of any use ? 



V. — Character. 



The Family. — No one can say that conjugal love is unknown among the Uraons 

 though it becomes only demonstrative in time of sickness. There are indeed very happy 

 couples who are very much attached to each other. The woman is far from being a 

 slave. She has nearly everything to say to the management of the house, and can assert 

 her own authority when her husband tries to interfere in her business. Both are exceed- 

 ingly fond of their children, and it is admirable how in time of famine they deprive them- 

 selves of everything and starve themselves, eating only roots and jungle fruits to be able 

 to give some rice to their children. Their fondness goes so far that they never beat 

 them and very seldom say a harsh word to them. This system of course upsets the roles, 

 and the children instead of doing the will of their parents, impose their will on them. 

 Up to six or seven years of age they sleep at home, and many a European would be sur- 

 prised if he could penetrate into the interior of an Uraon family during the long winter 

 evenings. The father is seated on a mat with his children around him, and he propounds 

 riddles to them. The mother is cooking the supper, but not losing a word of what is 

 said, and her face is beaming with pleasure when she looks at the puzzled faces of the 

 little ones. Those riddles are nearly always the same, and have been handed down from 

 generation to generation ; but they are as interesting to the children as the stories of Blue 

 Beard, etc. Some of them are also manufactured on the spot. 



Here are some specimens : 



Young, he adorns himself with flowers ; old, he stands stiff with a sword in his hand. 

 What is it ? The answer is kurthi a kind of pea (Dolichas uniflorus). 



A gentleman goes on his way carrying a tail in front and one behind. What is if? 

 Answer : an elephant. 



A boy perched on a tree with his face marked with smallpox. What is it ? Answer : 

 Jack fruit. 



When they are tired with this, the most fearful stories of devils {churel or chordwa) 

 are related to them. 



Uraons are considered good cultivators, and they are known to be very good coolies 

 in the tea-gardens, as coolie recruiters get a higher price for an Uraon than for any other 

 labourer. In cultivating the ground they use all the implements that are common all 

 over India. They are most of them occupancy ryots, but some of them bhuinhari or 

 rent-free lands, and are called Bhuinhars. These are the first settlers in the village. 

 They have also another kind of land called korkar, i.e., paddy-fields which they have 

 made themselves and for which they have to pay only half rents. In some districts a 

 queer custom exists. When a zamindar gives land to a ryot to cultivate he puts in his 

 hand a small pebble called goti. This is called goti dena, and when the ryot does not 

 wish to cultivate that land any more he gives back the pebble. This is called goti ghura 

 dena. 



The striking feature of their character is their joviality. When they are together 

 they always laugh and are in the most excellent spirits. Their cheerfulness makes them 



