The five half-civilised Dravidian peoples are the Telingas or Telugus of the Coromandel coast, of Nizam and Jarpur (some twenty millions); the Kanaras of the Mysore table-land (about ten millions); the Malayalim of the Malabar coast (nearly six millions); the Tulus of Mangalore (350,000); lastly, the Tamils, occupying the rest of Southern India and the north of Ceylon (about fifteen millions).
As to the uncivilised tribes, some occupy the Anamalli hills (the Kader, the Madavars), others inhabit Travancore (Pulaya, Paligars, Tir, Shanar, etc.). Also to be noted are the Choligha, at the foot of the Mysore hills, the Paniyans (Fig. [126]) of Vaïnad or Vinad (Malabar coast), very short (1 m. 57), dolichocephalic (ceph. ind. on the liv. sub. 74), and very platyrhine (nas. ind. 95.1); lastly, the very interesting tribes of the Nilgiri hills; the Irulas (Fig. [127]) and, above these, the Kurumbas (Fig. [8]), on the southern and northern slopes; the Badagas, the Kotas, and the Todas on the plateau crowning these heights.[460]
The Kurumbas and the Irulas (58,503 in 1891) are of short stature (1 m. 58 and 1 m. 60), dolichocephalic (ceph. ind. on the liv. sub. 75.8), and platyrhine (nas. ind. 87 and 85). They are the half-savage tribes of the jungles.
As to the tribes of the plateau, they are distinguished according to their occupation and type. The Badagas (29,613 in 1891) are husbandmen, the Kotas (1,201) are artisans, and the Todas (Figs. [7], [129], and [130]) shepherds. The two former approximate to the other Dravidians in type; they are of average height (1 m. 64 and 1 m. 63), hyper-dolichocephalic (ceph. ind. on the liv. sub. 71.7 and 74.1), and mesorhine (nas. ind. 75.6). But the Todas present a particular type: high stature (1 m. 70), associated with dolichocephaly (ceph. ind. on the liv. sub. 73.1) and mesorhiny (nas. ind. 74.9), somewhat light tint of skin, and the pilous system very developed (Figs. [129] and [130]). In short, they appear to belong to the Indo-Afghan race, with perhaps an admixture of the Assyroid race. Besides, a number of customs and manners (group marriage, aversion to milk, rude polytheism, etc.) differentiate them from the other populations of India. They are a very small tribe, which, however, increases from year to year (693 individuals in 1871, 736 in 1891).
FIG. 129.—An old Toda man of Nilgiri hills.
(Phot. Thurston.)
2. The Aryans of India form the greatest portion of the population to the north of the Nerbada and Mahanadi; they speak different dialects of the neo-Hindu language (ancient Bracha language, branch of the Prakrit or corrupt vulgar Sanscrit). The following are the principal dialects: the Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Kashmiri, Guzrati, and Sindi. We distinguish several ethnic groups by these dialects, or the generic names designating aggregations of castes: Brahmans, Rajputs (10 1⁄2 millions), Jats and Gujars (9 millions altogether), Katis (42,000); or by their religion, as the Sikhs, renowned for their warlike disposition, and recognising, at least theoretically, no castes.[461]
The root-stock of all these populations is formed by the Indo-Afghan race. This race we find again in almost a pure state among the Sikhs (stature 1 m. 71, ceph. ind. in the liv. sub. 72.7, nas. ind. on the liv. sub. 68.8), and a little weakened among the Punjabi (height, 1 m. 68, ceph. ind. 74.9, nas. ind. 70.2). Among the Hindus of Behar, of the north-west provinces and Oudh, among the Mahratis between the river Tapti and Goa, the type is still more changed in consequence of interminglings with the Dravidians; the stature becomes shorter (1 m. 63 and 1 m. 64), the head rounder (ceph. ind. 75.7), the nose broader (nas. ind. 80.5 and 74), the complexion darker, etc.[462] With the Indo-Aryans are grouped, according to their type and language, the Kafirs or Siahposh of Kafiristan, and the Dardi or Dardu, occupying the countries situated more to the east, between the Pamirs on the north, Kashmir on the south, Kafiristan to the west, and Baltistan to the east—that is to say, Chitral, Dardistan (Yassin, Hunza, Nagar), Gilghit, Chilas, Kohistan. The Dardis are divided into four castes or tribes (Biddulph); that of the Chins, forming the majority of the people, is distinguished by its short stature and its dark complexion, and recalls the Hindus of the north-west provinces (Ujfalvy); while another tribe, called Yeshkhun, speaks a language which, according to Biddulph, has affinities with the Turkish languages, and, according to Leitner, is a non-Aryan agglutinative language presenting analogies with Dravidian dialects. The Yeshkhuns inhabit Dardistan. Biddulph affirms that one may often encounter among them individuals with light and especially red hair. The forty-four Yeshkhuns and Chins measured by Ujfalvy were below the average height (1 m. 61), dolichocephalic (ceph. ind. 75.8), with black wavy hair, fine shaped nose, and rather dark skin; while nineteen “Turki-Dardi” of Hunza-Nagar and Yassin measured by Risley and Capus give a stature above the average (1 m. 69), and the cephalic index almost mesocephalic (77). They are thus closely allied to the Chitrali (stature 1 m. 67, ceph. ind. 76.9 from six subjects only, measured by Risley).[463] Most of the Dardu tribes are endogamous; polygamy is general. In certain tribes there are to be found survivals of polyandry and of the matriarchate.[464]