Four principal Thai peoples may be distinguished in this territory: the Thos-Muong in the north-east (Tong King and China), the Shans in the north-west (Upper Burma), the Laotians in the south-east (French Laos), and the Siamese in the south-west (Siam).
We put together, under the name of Thos-Muong, all the natives of Upper Tong King and the Tong King hinterland (except the mountain summits occupied by the Mans, allied probably to the Lo-lo), as well as the primitive inhabitants of Kwang-si, Southern Kwei-chow, and Eastern Yunnan, now driven back to the mountains. The Thos inhabiting Tong King to the east of the Red River (basin of the Claire River), are sub-brachycephalic (ceph. ind. 82.5), of lofty stature (1 m. 67),[449] having elongated face, straight non-Mongoloid eyes, and brownish complexion. They partly recall the Indonesians, and partly the still mysterious race to which the Lo-lo belong (p. [381]). They are husbandmen, living in houses on piles, and wearing a very picturesque costume different from that of their ancient masters the Annamese. The Muongs of Tong King to the west of the Red River (basin of the Black River), the Pueun and the Pu-Thai of Annamese Laos resemble them both in type and in language, which is a Thai dialect very much altered by Chinese and Annamese. The Tu-jen, the Pe-miao, the Pa-i, forming two-thirds of the population of Kwang-si, and found in the south of Kwei-chow and the north-west of Kwang-tung, as well as the Pe-jen or Minkia of Yunnan, are Thos slightly crossed with Chinese blood in the same way as the Nongs of Tong King, the neighbours of the Thos. Most of these peoples have a special kind of writing, recalling that of the Laotians. The latter, as well as the Shans, differ somewhat from the Thos in regard to type, in which we may discern interminglings with the Indonesians, Malays, Mois, and Burmese. Among the Shans we must distinguish the Khamti (Fig. [122]), a very pure race, and the Sing-po with the Kackyen or Katchin, somewhat intermixed with the Burmese, both of them races of mountaineers of the northern parts of Upper Burma, between the Lu-Kiang (upper Salwen) and the Lohit-Brahmaputra. The upper valley of the latter river is inhabited by the Assamese or Ahoms, cross-breeds between the Shans and Hindus, speaking a particular dialect of the Hindi language. The Laotians are sub-brachycephalic (83.6) and of short stature (1 m. 59); those of the north tattoo their bodies like the Shans. They are husbandmen, shepherds, and hunters.[450]
It is perhaps among the Siamese that the primitive Thai type has been most changed by intermixture with the Khmers, Kuis, Hindus, and Malays. In stature above the average (1 m. 61), very brachycephalic (ceph. ind. 85.5) with olive complexion, they have prominent cheek-bones, lozenge-shaped face, and short flattish nose. They are fervent votaries of southern Buddhism, and are the most civilised of the Thai. They have succeeded in preserving their relative independence and forming a state in which several reforms of European character have been attempted in recent times.
V. THE POPULATION OF INDIA represents about a third of the inhabitants of Asia (287,223,431 inhabitants according to the census of 1891). It is sub-divided into a hundred tribes or distinct peoples, but this multiplicity of ethnic groups is rather apparent than real, and they may easily be incorporated into a small number of somatic races or linguistic families; these groups frequently represent castes alone.
Caste is indeed an institution peculiar to India. Of ancient origin, this institution has developed very considerably, assuming the most varied forms. Springing from a Hindu or Brahman source, it penetrated little by little the other ethnic and religious groups of the peninsula, and one might say that it is the basis of the social organisation for four-fifths of the population of India, despite of the fact that its power is declining at the present day beneath the strong hand of British rule. About 2000 castes may be enumerated at the present day, but year by year new ones are being called into existence as a certain number disappear.[451]
FIG. 125.—Gurkha of the Kus or Khas tribe, Nepal;
mixed Indo-Thibetan type.
(Coll. Ind. Mus., London.)
The names of these castes are derived either from hereditary occupations (tanners, husbandmen, etc.); from a geographical source (Pathani, etc.), or a genealogical one—from a supposed common ancestor; or, especially among the Dravidians, from objects or animals singled out as totems (p. [247]). The essential characteristics of all castes, persisting amid every change of form, are endogamy within themselves and the regulation forbidding them to come into contact one with another and partake of food together (Sénart). Endogamy within the limits of the caste implies, as a corollary, exogamy among the sections of the caste. The typical form of these sections is the “gotra,” an eponymous group reputed to be descended from a common ancestor, usually from a rishi, a priest or legendary saint.