50 



Observations on the 



[No. 37, 



language with that of other tongues, that the race or tribe which af- 

 terwards split into Tamulians, Maleialies, Canarese and Telugus, must 

 be a Caucasian or Himalayan race, and must have entered India at a 

 very early period from the mountains, somewhere by way of Persia, 

 or from the east of Persia, mingling in a great measure with that 

 race of African, or Hamite physiognomy, thick lips and curled hair, 

 whom they found in India, and who seem to have been widely scat- 

 tered on the globe : of whom also the Papuans are a branch ; — 

 whilst the tribes which speak Sanscrit entered India subsequently, 

 still more towards the east, along the Ganges, by way of Hurdwar, 

 according to their own tradition." 



Other confirmatory matter follows ; but from its having been else- 

 where published, I do not lengthen out the quotation. The following 

 is from a letter of Dr. Schmid to myself, dated Ootacamund, Decem- 

 ber 12, 1848. 



" One striking proof among many that the Todaver speak an' an- 

 cient dialect of the Tamil is, that they call the nail (of the finger) 

 not jBGifcj but iir ; now a_S/f (contracted into ur) is the ancient Ta- 

 mil word for nail, according to Rottler's Dictionary; but feJS/f is to 

 my knowledge spoken in no province of the Tamil country ; the San- 

 scrit js&ih has taken its place. In short there can be no doubt 

 but that, by various similar observations concerning their language, 

 customs and traditions, joined to a further inquiry into their mo- 

 numents on the hills, a clear light will still be thrown on the ori- 

 gin, earliest history, and relationship of the Todavers with other 

 tribes." 



Dr. Schmid rests much weight on the desirableness of comparing 

 Todaver names of constellations, and signs of the zodiac, as to deter- 

 mining the relations to other tribes ; on the ground of Humboldt's 

 success, in that way, in tracing the Mantchou Tartars to South Ameri- 

 ca. This subject he again adverts to in a letter dated 16th Novem- 

 ber, 1849, from which I learn that much has been done as to the dia- 

 lects of the Todavers, Burghers, &c. that is not accessible to me. I 

 pass it by as irrelevant to my present object, beyond what has been 

 stated : but should I have more materials, at a future date, I should 

 like to institute a comparison between the Todaver dialect, and that 

 of the Khonds ; for which my present materials are quite insufficient. 



