94 An Account of the Tribe of Mhadeo Kolies. [Jan, 



are so often guilty, when collecting the revenues of the state, and dis- 

 tributing justice to the vast population of its extensive territory. 



The inhabitants of this part of the country (Rajoor, Malldesh, &c.) 

 assert that their village lands were never measured, that the size of the 

 patches of arable land was determined merely by estimation, and a 

 certain number of these patches, or thikkas,* according to their dimen- 

 sions, were considered to constitute a chour, or measure of one hundred 

 and twenty begahs of land. 



The revenue is therefore adjusted according to the ooktty or contract 

 principle, but several modes exist under this head. First " the thick- 

 ka bundy system," or patches of an estimated size and value— secondly 

 " the outh bundy," or quantity cultivated with a plough either with 

 two, four, or six bullocks,— thirdly, " the Dullie," or plots of ground 

 cleared and prepared by means of the hoe or koitta, 



A few poor Kolies (but much more frequently the Thakoors) cultivate 

 small patches of ground with the hoe, or koitta, on the summits or de- 

 clivities of the hills that are inaccessible to the plough ; this the people 

 term Dullie. The ordinary rent levied from a man for the extent of ground 

 he can cultivate with the hoe is one rupee, and from a woman half a ru- 

 pee annually. If the man and woman labour together, and the spot they 

 cultivate is rather open, and the soil tolerably good, they will have to pay 

 two, and sometimes three rupees. In the months of December and 

 January they cut down the trees and bushes in particular spots, on the 

 summits and the declivities of many of the hills, and when these have 

 partly withered and the surrounding grass has become 'quite dry in 

 the hot weather, they set fire to it, and after the first fall of rain, gene- 

 rally in June, when they have had a few fair days, they sow nagly, 

 khoorachny, sawa, and wurraie broad cast. They endeavour to 

 cover the seed with the ashes and a little earth, by scratching and 

 drawing lines in a zigzag manner with the hoe. 



The outh bundy system. — As the ground has not been measured, the 

 Kolies sometimes pay their rents according to the quality of the soil 

 and the quantity they can cultivate with a plough with four bullocks ; 

 for the best description of soil they pay 28 rupees annually ; for me- 

 dium soil from 18 to 22 rupees, and for the third or inferior sort some- 

 times only from 8 and 10 to 12 rupees. With a plough of four bullocks, 

 a man will cultivate from 30 to 40 begahs of land. A plough with two 

 bullocks will of course only have to pay half of the above rates, while 

 one with six bullocks will have to pay half as much more. 



In the low grounds, and along the banks of rivers or streams, there 

 are patches of land composed entirely of black earth, and others of 



* Thikka, meaning a patch or lot, is a different word from the term Tukka, which 

 means a few copper pice, and is applied to a measure of land in some parts of the country. 



