The Ethnology of the British Colonies and Dependencies

by R. G. Latham

Lastly, they have an equivalent to the Lycanthropy of the older European nations:—

"Among the Garrows a madness exists, which they call transformation into a tiger, from the person who is afflicted with this malady walking about like that animal, shunning all society. It is said, that, on their being first seized with this complaint they tear their hair and the rings from their ears, with such force as to break the lobe. It is supposed to be occasioned by a medicine applied to the forehead; but I endeavoured to procure some of the medicine thus used, without effect. I imagine it rather to be created by frequent intoxications, as the malady goes off in the course of a week or fortnight. During the time the person is in this state, it is with the utmost difficulty he is made to eat or drink. I questioned a man, who had thus been afflicted, as to the manner of his being seized, and he told me he only felt a giddiness without any pain, and that afterwards he did not know what happened to him."[30]

In a paper of Captain C. S. Reynolds, in the "Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,"[31] we have the notice of a hitherto undescribed superstition; that of the Korah. A Korah is a dish of bell-metal, of uncertain manufacture. A small kind, called Deo Korah, is hung up as a household[112] god and worshipped. Should the monthly sacrifice of a fowl be neglected, punishment is expected. If "a person perform his devotion to the spirit which inhabits the Korah with increasing fervour and devotion, he is generally rewarded by seeing the embossed figures gradually expand. The Garos believe that when the whole household is wrapped in sleep, the Deo Korahs make expeditions in search of food, and when they have satisfied their appetites return to their snug retreats unobserved."

The Miri are supposed to believe the same of what are called Deo Guntas, brought from Tibet.

Now what is the classification of all these tribes? Preliminary to the answer on this point, there are eleven dialects spoken in the parts about Manipur—besides the proper language of Manipur itself—to be enumerated. These are as follows:—1. Songpu. 2. Kapwi. 3. Koreng. 4. Maram. 5. Champhung. 6. Luhuppa. 7, 8, 9. Northern, Central, and Southern Tangkhul. 10. Khoibu; and 11. Maring. Now these twelve (the Manipur being included) have been tabulated by Mr. Brown, in such a way as to show the per-centage of words that each has with all the others; and not only these, but nearly all the tongues which we have had to deal with, are similarly put in order for being compared. The part of the table necessary for the present use is as follows:[113]—

	Á k á	Á b o r	M i s h i m í	B u r m e s e	K a r e n	S i n g p h o	J i l í	G á r o	M a n i p u r í	S o n g p ú	K a p w í	K o r e n g	M a r á m	C h a m p h u n g	L u h u p p a	N. T á n g k h u l	C. T á n g k h u l	S. T á n g k h u l	K h o i b ú	M a r i n g
Áká		47	20	17	12	15	15	5	11	3	10	3	8	8	8	5	6	10	8	10
Ábor	47		20	11	10	18	11	6	15	6	11	5	8	6	8	8	8	10	10	18
Mishimí	20	20		10	10	10	13	10	11	0	11	0	3	5	6	8	6	13	10	8
Burmese	17	11	10		23	23	26	12	16	8	20	6	11	11	11	10	13	13	16	16
Karen	12	10	10	23		17	21	8	15	10	15	8	12	4	12	8	12	12	10	15
Singpho	15	18	10	23	17		70	16	25	10	18	11	11	13	15	13	25	13	20	18
Jilí	15	11	13	26	21	70		22	16	10	21	13	11	11	18	20	20	13	20	20
Gáro	5	6	10	12	8	16	22		10	5	6	5	8	5	8	13	11	5	5	5
Manipurí	11	15	11	16	15	25	16	10		21	41	18	25	28	31	28	35	33	40	50
Songpú	3	6	0	8	10	10	10	5	21		35	50	53	20	23	15	15	13	8	15
Kapwí	10	11	11	20	15	18	21	6	41	35		30	33	20	35	30	40	45	38	40
Koreng	3	5	0	6	8	11	13	5	18	50	30		41	18	21	20	20	11	10	15
Marám	8	8	3	11	12	11	11	8	25	53	33	41		21	28	25	20	16	23	26
Champhung	8	6	5	11	4	13	11	5	28	20	20	18	21		40	20	20	16	15	25
Luhuppa	8	8	6	11	12	15	18	8	31	23	35	21	28	40		63	55	36	33	40
N. Tángkhul	5	8	8	10	8	13	20	13	28	15	30	20	25	20	63		85	30	31	31
C. Tángkhul	6	8	6	13	12	25	20	11	35	15	40	20	20	20	55	85		41	45	41
S. Tángkhul	10	10	13	13	12	13	13	5	33	13	45	11	16	16	36	30	41		43	43
Khoibú	8	10	10	16	10	20	20	5	40	8	38	10	23	15	33	31	45	43		78
Maring	10	18	8	16	15	18	20	5	50	15	40	15	26	25	40	31	41	43	78

The last eleven dialects are not spoken in any British dependency; and they have only been mentioned for the sake of explaining the table.

All belong to one and the same class; a point upon which I see no room for doubt; although respecting the value of that class I admit that some exists.

For this, the term Burmese is as good as any other—without professing to be better; yet, should it seem too precise, there is no objection to the sufficiently general term of monosyllabic being substituted for it.

The reader, however, may doubt the fact of the[114] affinities. This has been done. Long before the present writer knew of such dialects as the Jili, Mishimi, Aka, Abor, Singpho, and the like, he had satisfied himself that the Garo was monosyllabic, and had so expressed himself in 1844,[32] when Brown's Tables had been published, though not seen by him. It was with surprise, then, that he found the author of them writing, that "it would be difficult to decide from the specimens before us, whether it is to be ranked with the monosyllabic or polysyllabic languages. It probably belongs to the latter."