1894.] 
E. Vansittart— Tribes, Clans, and Castes of Nepal. 
215 
dominant Tartar breeds of the mountains, and possibly emigrated from 
the plains countless generations back. 
The Tliarus and Boksas 1 inhabit the malarious districts of the Tarai, 
generally along the foot of the sandstone range. Here and there small 
patches of cultivation are scattered about, where the jungle has been 
cleared and little hamlets and villages formed. They grow a little 
gram, but hardly enough for their own consumption, and live from hand 
to mouth, eking out their subsistence by hunting and fishing. They are 
puny, badly developed, and miserable looking races, live almost in a 
state of nature, and never appear to suffer from any exposure. Though 
they look half-starved, they are capable of undergoing considerable 
fatigue. They supply the class of dak runners, and also mahauts, and 
others, who, during the hot and rainy months, are employed in catching 
wild elephants. They seem to combine the activity of an animal with 
the cunning and craftiness so characteristic of the human savage. In 
addition to the aboriginal tribes mentioned, we find living amidst the 
dense forests of the central region of Nepal, to the westward of the great 
valley, three broken tribes, viz., the Chepong, Kusunda, and Hayus. 
These are few in numbers, and live nearly in a state of nature ; they 
have no apparent affinity with the civilised races of the country, and 
seem like fragments of an earlier population. They pay no taxes, ac¬ 
knowledge no allegiance, and live entirely on wild fruits and the produce 
of the chase. They hold no intercourse with the people about them, but 
are inoffensive ; they appear to be gradually dying out, and will pro¬ 
bably be extinct in a few generations. 
The Mundas and Uraons, originally emigrants from Chutiya 
(Cuteya) Nagpur, also inhabit the Tarai, and enjoy the same immunity 
from malaria as the Tharus and Boksas. 
Military Tribes .—The Military tribes of Nepal, from which the 
fighting element in our arnry is almost exclusively drawn, are the fol¬ 
lowing :— 
Khas. I Gurung. 
Magar. | Thakur. 
There are also a few Limbus and Rais to be found in most of our 
Gurkha regiments. They are residents of Eastern and North-Eastern 
Nepal. A few Nagarakotis (Newars) are also found in most of the 
regiments. 
Gurkhas. —The district of Gurkha is situated in the north-east 
portion of the basin of the Gandak, occupying the country between the 
Tri^ulgaijga and the Sweti Gandak. 
Giorkhcl .—The chief town is called Gurkha, and is about 55 miles to 
1 Guides would probably be obtained from these classes. 
J. i. 28 
