18 Remarks oti the Ethnography of Bellary. [No. 39 ? 



With a community of forty-five thousand people separated, as is 

 seen from the above list, into seventy-five sects or religious castes or 

 divisions, who neither eat nor drink nor associate with each other, 

 and many of whom dare not even approach the presence of the 

 other, it would be hopeless to attempt any description of their cus- 

 toms to be generally applicable ; and from this being a border coun- 

 try to which the Aravas, and Telingas, and Mahrattas have been 

 attracted by the number of troops, the difficulty of describing the 

 people is increased. 



The Native inhabitants i.e., the Canarese, have marked peculiari- 

 ties which distinguish them from the foreigners ; they are a simple 

 minded people, wanting in intelligence, and timid in their intercourse 

 with Europeans : their appearance is rude and the expression of 

 their countenance dull. Crime of all kinds is rare and crimes against 

 the person very rare, indeed. They arenaturally very unsuspicious 

 and allow themselves to be deceived by the most open fraud. 

 Litigation is unfrequent, and I am informed, that, on the Western 

 Coast, at Cannanore, more criminal cases are tried in a week, than 

 are brought forward here in two or three months. The dress of 

 the Canarese is sufficient to distinguish them ; they wear trowsers 

 " saladum" that reach from the haunch to the calf of the leg ; the 

 trowsers are tightly girt at the waist with a " marcutta" or waist 

 belt of white cotton, but they fall loose from the fork, like the 

 canvass overalls worn by English fishermen. The Mahrattas, on the 

 other hand, wear the " chiddi" or jehangeer, which fits closely at 

 the hips and descends for a couple of inches on the thighs : the 

 Mahomedans all wear long trowsers, and all the working classes of 

 the Aravas, and Telingas, here, wear the dhotee or putchee, a long 

 loose white scarf wrapped round the loins and legs. 



The food of the Canarese, here, is jooaree and ragi, and they take 

 generally three meals, one at daybreak, one at midday ; and one in 

 the evening. The evening meal is prepared for them after all their 

 work is done, any portion of it remaining over is eaten after day- 

 break on the following morning before commencing work. The 

 midday meal is likewise a hot one and is partaken during the inter- 



