1^8 



The Antiquities of the 



[No. 32, 



The Puranas contain much historical matter confirmative of the 

 books of Moses ; indeed we find some reference to tlie leading events 

 therein recorded, such as the Creation of the World, the Deluge, the 

 Confusion of Tongues, &c., in all ancient histories. In the Phoenician, 

 Chaldean, Egyptian, and Greek accounts, these events are either 

 described, or broadly alluded to. 



Chapter 12tii. 



The great antiquity of the Thautawars and their claim's to be con- 

 sidered the aborigines of the plains as well as of the hills, are further 

 established in the fact, that a great number of the words in their 

 language are etymons of the Tamul, To account for this I can only 

 conceive, that the first Hindus adopted a large proportion of words 

 from the aborigines, whence their language became a compound of 

 what they brought with them as well as of the words of the Thauta- 

 wars, &c. ; for it is natural to suppose the Hindu invaders had some 

 intercourse with the people they subjugated, a portion of whom 

 acquiesced in the ru.le of the foreigners. Thus formed, the Tamul 

 language might be compared with the tongue of our own country, 

 which is a compound of the language of her ancient Saxon people and 

 the Norman French of the conqueror. 



The harsh words of the Indian aborigines were however softene 

 by the more elegant and cultivated Hindus, into the liquid expressions 

 now prevailing in their language. 



If the derivation of the Tamul words from the Thautawar be not 

 admitted, how are we to account for the fact of so many words being 

 common to both tongues ? to me it seems preposterous to suppose 

 that a people of Scythian extraction settled in India before the Hindu 

 eruption (for it has been seen that I have dismissed the idea of this 

 being of subsequent date ;) differing in every respect from the Hindus 

 by whom they were conquered, and not even reverencing their 

 priests ; should have adopted the language of their oppressors. The 

 experiment of forcing a language upon a people has generally 

 failed; numerous examples of which are afforded in the pages o 

 history. 



Mr. Stevenson says there is a resemblance between the mountaiii 

 tribe of Raj-Mahel (in the North of India where the Tamul is com- 

 paratively unknown) and the Khonds of Orissa, and the languages o 

 both, as well as that of the Thautawars and other descendants of the 



