Volume 1

The East-India gazetteer; containing particular descriptions of the empires, kingdoms, principalities, provinces, cities, towns, districts, fortresses, harbours, rivers, lakes, &c. of Hindostan, and the adjacent countries, India beyond the Ganges, and the eastern archipelago; together with sketches of the manners, customs, institutions, agriculture, commerce, manufactures, revenues, population, castes, religion, history, &c. of their various inhabitants / By Walter Hamilton.

  • Hamilton, Walter, M.R.A.S.
Date:
1828
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The East-India gazetteer; containing particular descriptions of the empires, kingdoms, principalities, provinces, cities, towns, districts, fortresses, harbours, rivers, lakes, &c. of Hindostan, and the adjacent countries, India beyond the Ganges, and the eastern archipelago; together with sketches of the manners, customs, institutions, agriculture, commerce, manufactures, revenues, population, castes, religion, history, &c. of their various inhabitants / By Walter Hamilton. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    societies, hostile to each other, and yielding scarcely a nominal obedience to any chief. The exports from Kelat are at present insignificant, but it was once the great channel of merchan¬ dize from Khorasan, Candahar,Cabul, and India. The imports from Hin- dostan consist of iron, tin, lead, steel, copper, indigo, betel-nut, co¬ chineal, sugar, spices, silks, kincaubs, gold cloths, chintzes, and coarse woollens. Land watered by wells pays one-twentieth of the produce; that by the rains from one-tenth to one-sixteenth; and that by natural springs a still higher proportion. The inhabitants are divided into two great classes, severally known by the appellations of Baloochy and Brahooee, which are again subdivided into an infinite number of tribes, khails, and tomuns. Between these two great classes there are leading distinctions of language and appear¬ ance, but the national aggregate is exclusively denominated Baloochies, partitioned into three distinct tribes, the Nharooees, the Rinds, and the Mughsees. These are mostly sta¬ tionary, but the Brahooees are more migratory and unsettled. The latter have tall persons, long visages, and high features; the former short, thick bones, round faces, and flat linea¬ ments, and the hair and beards of both are brown. In husbandry and domestic occupations the Brahooees are hard workers. Those residing near the plains till large tracts of land, and dispose of the produce to the Hindoos for exportation. This and the sale of cheese and ghee, the produce of their flocks, with a few coarse blankets, carpets, and felts, form the only traffic in which the Brahooees engage. Their food is the same as that of the Baloochies, ex¬ cept that they prefer flesh meat half cooked, without bread, salt, or vege¬ tables, to any other species of nou¬ rishment. The Brahooees and Baloochies are equally noted for their hospitality; but the latter are less addicted to rapine and predatory violence, yet are fully equal in personal bravery and the endurance of hardships. They are also considerably exempted from the worst traits of the Baloochy charac¬ ter, which are avarice, a vindictive disposition, and proneness to cruelty. All the Baloochies are excellent marksmen, but the Brahooees excel in strength and courage. They train greyhounds with great care, and fre¬ quently exchange them for one or two camels, or pay 400 rupees for one of superior quality. The breed of shepherds’ dogs is also excellent. The broad-sword exercise and shoot¬ ing at a mark are favourite amuse¬ ments with the Brahooees, and, as swordsmen, they are said to surpass most of their neighbours. Their common dress is an under coat which fits close to the body, and is worn over the pyrahun or shirt; their trowsers are gathered up at the ancle, and they wear a small round flat- topped cap of felt silk. The shep¬ herds wear a covering of white felt above the shirt in winter, with cloth trowsers and a small felt cap. Petty quarrels are usually adjusted by the chief of the khail or society; but an appeal in capital- cases may be made to Kelat, except when a traveller has been murdered, on which emergencies the nearest chief is authorized to carry the law into execution. In religion, both the Baloochies and Brahooees are of the orthodox Soonee sect of Mahomedans, and strenuous adversaries to the Shias. Neither the Baloochy nor the Bra¬ hooee are written languages, and the early history of both tribes is entirely traditional. On examining the trans¬ lation of the Lord’s Prayer into the Baloochy dialect, the missionaries found only four words of Sanscrit origin. The Baloochy partakes con¬ siderably of the idiom of the modern Persian, from which at least half its words are borrowed, but greatly dis¬ guised by a peculiar pronunciation. The Brahooee, on the contrary, in no respect resembles the Persian in sound, but contains a great many Hindu words, having a strong re¬ semblance as they strike the ear to the Punjabee dialect. The Dehwars