160 
SCENES IN INDIA. 
is doubled and the instrument thus secured,, the pow- 
er of hitting is considerably lessened. A heavy blow 
would probably dislocate the fingers of the striker, 
from the awkward position of the weapon, which does 
not cover the knuckles, but, as I have said, is fixed 
immediately between them and the finger-joints. The 
mode of hitting is by a sharp perpendicular cut, which 
instantly makes an incision and lays the flesh open 
to the bone. The Jetties are never allowed to strike 
below the head ; but wrestling forms the principal fea- 
ture of their contests, which are decided more by their 
skill in this art than by the use of the csestus ; that 
being a mere accessory, though in truth a most for- 
midable one, as the parties are frequently so dis- 
figured in these encounters that, when they are over, 
scarcely a feature remains perfect. 
A good deal of skill is displayed in these combats, 
and sometimes a considerable period elapses before a 
successful blow is struck, the combatants being very 
dexterous in defending their heads from the stroke of 
that formidable weapon with which their right hands 
are armed. They are generally fine men, perfect mo- 
dels in shape, and larger than the generality of Hin- 
doos. They are a distinct caste, and their profession is 
traced as far back as the remotest historical records of 
Mysore. Their choicest champions exhibit yearly at 
the great festival of the Dusserah, when many cou- 
ples of them contend at the same time before their 
prince. They are much feared by the peaceable inha- 
bitants of the neighbourhood in which they dwell, 
though a race, I believe, in general of sober habits; 
but the circumstance of their possessing the means 
