330 



BANYANS. 



The Bhattias are forbidden by their Dharma 

 (' caste-duty ') to sell animals, yet, with the usual 

 contradiction of their creed, all are inveterate 

 slave- dealers. They may not traffic in cowries, 

 that cause the death of a mollusc; local usage, 

 however, permits them to buy hippopotamus- 

 tusks, rhinoceros-horn, and ivory, their staple of 

 commerce. We cannot wonder if, through their 

 longing to shorten a weary expatriation, they 

 have sinned in the matter of hides. This, together 

 with servile cohabitation, caused a scandal 

 some years ago, when the Mahanij, their high 

 priest, sent from Malwa a Chela, or disciple, to 

 investigate their conduct. Covered with ashes 

 and carrying an English umbrella, the holy man 

 arrived in a severe mood ; he rejected all civili- 

 ties, and he acknowledged every address with 

 a peculiar bellowing grunt, made when ' Arti 1 is 

 offered to the Dewta or deity. The result was 

 a fine of §20,000 imposed upon the rich and 

 wretched Jayaram. The sum was raised amidst 

 the fiercest and most tumultuous of general 

 subscriptions, and since that day the spoils of 

 the cow have been farmed to a Khojah employe. 

 All oppose with might and main the slaughter of 

 cattle, especially in public, and they attempt to 

 quit the town during the Moslem sacrificial days. 



