The uncivilized races of men in all countries of the world; vol. 2 of 2 / Being a comprehensive account of their manners and customs, and of their physical, social, mental, moral and religious characteristics

by J. G. Wood

The reader may remember that the Andaman Islands trench closely upon the shores of India, thus bringing closely together the two phases of utter savagery that never has advanced in the scale of humanity, and of a civilization which has advanced to the utmost limits of which it is capable. In the following pages I propose to give a brief account of various phases of Indian life, throwing most emphasis upon those which trench least upon civilization, as being most akin to the objects of this work.

From the figures which illustrate this country, and which are all taken from photographs, the reader will notice the very distinct type of man which is exhibited throughout India; and though in some of the tribes there is a facial resemblance to the Australian type, and in others to the Mongolian, it is impossible to mistake an entire figure in either instance. We will begin with those parts of India which are the least civilized, and in which the inhabitants retain most of their aboriginal manners and customs.

There is a remarkable hill tribe of India which deserves a short description, as the people seem to have preserved the original characteristics of their race better than any other inhabitants of the country. They are called Sowrahs, and live in a tract of country about lat. 18° 30´ N., and long. 72° 30´ E.

The Sowrahs are a tolerably good-looking tribe, some of the girls being even handsome, were not their faces disfigured by the nose rings, of which one woman will often wear three. The men, as is the case with all the Indian tribes, are slenderly built, and appear to be devoid of muscles, especially in the legs. This apparent slightness, however, conceals great muscular power, as has often been shown in the skirmishes which their predatory habits constantly entail upon them. In one of these skirmishes, a Sowrah who had been taken prisoner suddenly snatched a bayonet out of the hands of his captor, and bent the blade double.

There is about the features of the Sowrahs a decidedly Tartar look, which increases with age, and is marked most strongly in the men. Some photographs of them now before me exhibit this characteristic very distinctly marked, and in one case so strongly that, but for color and the mode of dressing the hair, the face might easily be mistaken for those of a genuine Tartar. Indeed, Mr. Hooper, from whose paper this account is condensed, thinks that they may have a Tartar origin.

One remarkable point about the Sowrahs is, that they have no distinction of caste, though they are divided into two distinct classes, the Hill Sowrahs and the Sowrahs of the Plain. The latter are comparatively civilized, and live in villages, and it is only of the former that this work will treat.

The dress of the Sowrahs is primitive enough. The men wear nothing but the “languti,” i. e. a narrow strip of cloth passing round the waist, through the legs, and tucked into the waistband. They are, however, very fond of ornaments, though they care so little about dress, and have their necks loaded with beads, and their ears and nostrils filled with rings. A photograph of one of these men shows that he is wearing no less than twenty-seven bead necklaces, as well as a broad brass collar. Besides the ordinary ear-rings, he wears an ornament which seems rather popular among the Sowrahs. A hole is bored in the upper part of the ear, and through it is passed one end of a string almost four inches in length, to the other end of which is attached a glittering bead about as large as a walnut. Some of the Sowrahs also thread small beads upon the string.

The hair of the men is allowed to grow to a considerable length, and on festival days it is gathered into a knot at the back of the head, and adorned with feathers, mostly those of the peacock. This mode of dressing the hair gives a very effeminate look to the countenance, and on seeing a photograph of the face alone, especially if it be that of a young man, it is not very easy at a hasty glance to discover whether it is the portrait of a man or woman.

The dress of the women consists of a cloth wrapped round the waist. Those women who have been photographed wear long calico cloths wrapped round them from shoulder to knee after the ordinary Indian fashion; but it is evident that they have borrowed these cloths for the occasion, and so, after the custom of all uncivilized people, have contrived, through anxiety to look their best, to baffle the real object of the photographer, i. e. to represent them as they really appear. Like the men, they wear an abundance of necklaces, and also are fond of simple bracelets, consisting of broad metal bands wound spirally round the wrists. The hair is parted down the middle, but no particular care is expended upon it.

When the colder weather comes on, and the Sowrahs want more clothing, they do not make it, but have recourse to the simple plan of waylaying travellers, killing them, and taking their garments. In these robberies, as well as in the skirmishes to which they often tend, the Sowrahs chiefly use the bow and arrow. The bow is a comparatively weak one, only being a yard or so in length, and having a string made of the outer coating of the bamboo. The arrows are of reed, armed with a flat, many-barbed iron head. The Sowrahs always lie in wait for their victims, and direct their aim at the stomach and legs, so that the wounds are always dangerous, and generally mortal.