1894.] E. Vansittart— Tribes , Clans , and Castes of Neptil. 
247 
make necklaces of flowers, 'which they wear, and will also put flowers 
away in a glass of water in their barracks. 
General character. —As compared with other orientals, Gurkhas 
are hold, enduring, faithful, frank, very independent, and self-reliant; in 
their own country they are jealous of foreigners and self-asserting. 
They despise the natives of India, and look up to and fraternize with 
Europeans, whom they admire for their superior knowledge, strength, 
and courage, and whom they imitate in dress and habits. 
They have the following saying:—“ Topiwdr kamwdr , Lurjgiwar 
khannewdr ”—“The cap-wearer works, the lungi -wearer eats,” 
They are very jealous of their women, hut are domestic in their 
habits, and kind and affectionate husbands and parents. As a conse¬ 
quence, their wives are less shy and reserved, and have more freedom, 
and reciprocate their affection, carefully looking after their uniform 
and all culinary and domestic matters. 
As a rule, recruits on joining are very unsophisticated, very truthful, 
but dirty, and the first lesson that has to be taught them is that 
“ cleanliness is next to godliness.” 
The great vice of Gurkhas is gambling, to which they are greatly 
addicted. Though hot-tempered and easily roused, they are in general 
quiet, well-behaved men, and extremely amenable to discipline. With a 
firm just hand over them, punishments are rare. 
Gurkhas are capable of being polished up to a degree of smartness 
that no native troops can approach, and which cannot be much sur¬ 
passed even by British troops. No officer can be too strict with them 
in parades, but they hate being “ nagged at.” 
Education. —In Kathmandu good schools exist, in which English 
and Hind! are taught, but our recruits, being almost entirely drawn from 
the agricultural classes, are quite ignorant of reading or writing. In 
our battalions schools exist for their instruction in reading, writing, and 
doing accounts, both in English and vernacular, and these are generally 
well attended. Numbers of men learn to read and write from friends 
in their barracks. It may seem strange, but it is an undoubted fact, 
that a number of recruits are yearly obtained who profess to enlist 
merely for the sake of learning to read, write, and do accounts. 
Traditions. —The Gurkha, from the warlike qualities of his fore¬ 
fathers, and the traditions handed down to him of their military prowess 
as conquerors of Nepal, is imbued with, and cherishes, the true military 
spirit. 
His physique, compact and sturdy build,, powerful muscular develop¬ 
ment, keen sight, acute hearing, and hereditary education as a sportsman, 
eminently capacitate him for the duties of alight infantry soldier on the 
J. i. 32 
