That cast, or tribe, of nuts, known by the name of bauzeegurs, generally affect to follow the Mahomedan faith, but the purneah peeries, or budeea tribe, follow either that, or the doctrines of Brahma, just as may suit their purposes, or their locality. Either sect have so very few religious ceremonies, as to render it doubtful whether they profess more than may serve to screen them from the imputation of atheism; a charge which would sink them even lower in the estimation of every inhabitant of Asia. They inter their relations in a very slovenly manner, and may often be found lying drunk about the grave: their marriage forms are extremely simple, the bride and bridegroom mutually mark each other’s faces with red ochre, after which, they lock their little fingers together, and avow their union: the ceremony is usually concluded by a sacrifice to the muddled deity, in which all bear their parts with great eagerness, and devotion!
It is a rule among the nuts never to go to law, nor to submit their differences to any arbitrators, except of their own profession: owing to the extreme jealousy of the men, and the frequent excesses of both sexes in the use of gaunjah, and other intoxicating draughts, such differences are by no means rare, and contribute partly to the support of their rulers, who receive a fourth part of whatever is earned, or perhaps begged, borrowed, or stolen, by the several sets which ramble over the country, according to their own fancies, or as they may be ordered.
Such regular debauchery, added to the violent exercise undergone during their early years, reduce the period of life among these people to a very short compass. Few live beyond the age of forty, and by far the larger portion fail of attaining their thirtieth year; the women generally fall victims after having borne four or five children.
With respect to dancing, which is a part of the duties of a female nut, much encomium cannot be justly bestowed: their style of performance is vulgar, and they generally study that kind of lewd display, which renders their performances too indelicate to be described. Tumbling head-over-heels, walking upon their hands, Catherine-wheel, &c., &c.; all come within the display afforded for a trifling gratuity!
The traveller will sometimes be visited by sets of nautch-girls, who either reside in some of the principal towns, and make a point of offering their services towards the amusement of gentlemen traversing the country; or who are itinerants, that pick up a livelihood by rambling about, chiefly among the villages inhabited by Mahomedans, whose dispositions are more prompt than those of the Hindus to receive gratification from voluptuous exhibitions. Besides, the latter are generally more penurious, and are so rigidly tied down, both by tenet, and by the vigilance of their neighbours, as to have but little scope for indulgence in those sensualities, which the followers of the Prophet, who anxiously look forward to the enjoyment of the houris, are less scrupulous to conceal.
The greater part of the individuals composing the taffah, or set of female dancers, are either attached by family connections, such as marriage with the oostauds and surmaunjahs, who are the instructors and musicians; or they are slaves obtained by purchase during times of scarcity: some, indeed, are kidnapped when very young, on account of their promising features; these rarely are able to give any account of their parentage, and do not always know the districts in which they were born.
Whatever may be their origin, or their connection, the dancers, who are likewise vocal performers, are entirely subservient to some person, whether male or female, who is considered the proprietor of the set, and on whose application to any court of law, or to any soubah, or person in power, any run-away is immediately pursued, and restored to the taffah; whether the obligation be peremptory, such as in the case of a baundy, or actual slave; or merely implied, as in the case of a paulah, or person preserved from famine, &c., and reared in the capacity of a menial.
The Mahomedan law barely recognizes actual slavery, but makes a great distinction in favor of those who purchase, or thus adopt, children that would otherwise, in all probability, perish from want. The latter are considered to be the property of the patron, until arrived at their full growth, which is understood to be about the age of eighteen; but this affords easy evitation to such proprietors of taffahs as feel an interest in the detention of any particular girls under their authority.
To say the truth, very little cause of complaint seems to exist on such occasions: the girls are usually well cloathed, and well fed; they are rarely limitted in regard to paramours, and, on the whole, experience as much comfort as their habits, and those envious traits ever to be seen among persons of the same profession, admit. Where these taffahs are found in the vicinity of our camps, and stations, whether civil or military, it is common to see the dancers attach themselves to some particular European gentlemen, of whose friendship they make much boast: the profits of such a speculation cannot be wholly reserved by any one of the party; they are supposed to be surrendered, without diminution, to the proprietor, for the general benefit of the set.
That full surrender is not, however, always made; on the contrary, some contrive to redeem themselves from this species of demi-slavery, by means of sums accumulated in the course of years, and concealed, with extreme solicitude, from the scrutinizing eye of the proprietor. When such a redemption takes place, it is never done overtly, but by the pretended interference of some gentleman, or opulent native, who, either from love, or charity, feels disposed to pay the ransom: were the possession of the property to be acknowledged by the anxious female, it would instantly be seized as a droit, and she would probably undergo that severest of Hindostanee punishments, the loss of all her kase, or hair!