18370 



An Account of the Tribe of Mhadeo Kolies. 



249 



niah and one or two of the inmates of the house to a thicket, and pres- 

 sing a naked sword on their, throats, demand money. To '/expedite the 

 matter, a Koly would probably give a gash to the Bunniah's ear who 

 would instantly make an offer of all the ready money, &c, in his house, 

 One of the party, being previously warned about not giving the alarm, 

 on pain of death, to his comrade, is permitted to proceed to fetch the mo- 

 ney. The Kolies cover their faces on such occasions to prevent detec- 

 tion. If one was recognized* it was seldom the Bunniah dared charge him 

 openly with the crime 5 but some of the ill-paid and corrupt police 

 agents would endeavour to gain the necessary information and avail 

 themselves of the circumstances of the case to obtain a portion of the 

 plunder, for a compromise is frequently entered into on such occasions 

 between the robbers and the police. To guard against fire and other 

 contingencies, the Bunniahs keep now several copies of their accounts 

 with the Kolies. One is lodged with their partner at Rajoor. The only 

 stone-built house and covered with tiles in the Koly villages is that be- 

 longing to the Bunniah. 



I have been credibly informed that during the Paishwah's govern* 

 ment the Bunniahs used to be occasionally warned against being too 

 rapacious in their dealings with the inhabitants of the hills. It is said 

 that when the Bunniahs lodged a complaint against any of these people 

 in consequence of their refusing to pay their debts, that the government 

 officers were directed to investigate the affair, and that, if the claim ap- 

 peared to be just, an order was issued, directing that the debt was to be 

 liquidated wfthin a fixed time The government officers always paid 

 themselves twenty-five per cent, of the debt, as a remuneration for the 

 trouble of adjusting the affair. 



The above is a specimen of the mode of charging and calculat- 

 ing, the rate of interest for money lent by the Bunniahs ; but the 

 Koly's account is frequently a much more complicated affair than 

 the above will give a full idea of. We may suppose that eight 

 and a half rupees or three times that amount has been borrowed to aid 

 in defraying the expense of a marriage ceremony, or pay up his rent 

 or share of the revenue for the current year ; the chances are that 

 there is a small balance* of revenue for two or three successive years : 

 then most probably follows a charge of half a rupee for a turban, also 

 one or two rupees for a piece of cloth for himself, or a sary, for his 

 wife. Again a charge of one or two rupees for salt, spices, oil and 

 tobacco for six months. Then a few rupees of very inferior value may- 

 have been paid by the Koly, and a consequent deduction made, and a 



* There are many lacs due of arrears of revenue for these eight or ten years past, the 

 balance of each year distinctly recorded and annually or more frequently a small por= 

 tion is paid oil', but this leaves the revenue of the current year paitly unpaid. 



