48 
A NATURALIST ON THE PROWL. 
who followed the same vocation as themselves, the Bunnias 
or Banians. Read this old record : 
“ A people presented themselves to mine eyes cloathed in linnen garments, 
somewhat low descending, of a gesture and garbe, as I may say, maidenly 
and well-nigh effeminate ; of a countenance shy and somewhat estranged, yet 
smiling out a glozed and bashful familiarity. I asked what manner of people 
these were, so strangely notable and notably strange. Reply was made that 
they were Banians.” 
Naturally these practical merchants thought Banian 
meant Hindoo. They divided the people into two 
classes, Gentoos and Moors, and the Gentoos were also 
called Banians. So when they spoke of the notable 
Hindoo tree, they called it the Banian tree. Of course 
the sacred tree of the Hindoos is not the Banian, but 
another fig tree, the Pepul ; so in one sense the old mer- 
chants made a mistake ; but it is much easier to account 
for their mistake than for that of the Hindoos in not 
choosing the Banian for the holy tree. How they came 
to select the Pepul instead puzzles me altogether. I once 
asked an intelligent Hindoo to account for it, and he told 
me the reason was that the ancient Rishis used to sit 
under the Pepul tree. But the superficial man was only 
pushing the question away from him. Why did the 
ancient Rishis sit under the Pepul tree? 
