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CHAPTER III.

THE INHABITANTS OF INDIA.

The Aryan Race-Their Appearance in Hindustan-Contrast between them and the Aborigines-Early Peopling of India -The Aborigines-Early Condition of India-The KingsThe Government-Religion of Hindus-Sacred WritingsBrahm, the First Cause - The Hindu Trinity- Devotion among Hindus-Sects in India-Superstitious PracticesCaste-Its Reputed Origin-Strict Observance of its Duties Buddhism The Mohammedans-Religion of the ruder Tribes--The Sikhs-Parsees-Christianity in India.

By far the greater portion of the inhabitants of India belong to that race whose many branches, bearing the generic name of Aryan, Caucasian, and Indo-European, have filled Europe, peopled a considerable portion of the areas of the continents of Asia, Africa, and America, and are fast superseding the aboriginal inhabitants of the Australian continent and the islands thereabouts.

There are many reasons for supposing that the particular branch of this mighty stock, whose teeming millions, under the name of Hindus or Hindoos, have peopled this Asiatic peninsula, were not the earliest occupants of its soil; but that, at some very remote period, they descended at successive intervals from the highlands of Central Asia, bringing with them civilization and the sword, displacing the aboriginal dwellers, and furnishing the land with a new race and all its concomitants—a new language, a new religion, new manners and customs, and a new complexion of things in general.

Their arrival, consequently, wrought a mighty change in the Indian peninsula-a change which, in its way, proved as advantageous to the land as the displacement of the

Red men of the Columbian Continent by the more civilised and enterprising types of the Old World. The physical qualities of the new comers were as far superior to the race they superseded as were those of the Hellenes to the "Children of the Black Earth." The exquisite beauty of their Sanskrit muse as greatly transcended that of the aborigines as do the rich and melodious GreekLatin tongues the copious, but withal unharmonious, Teutonic. Their religion was, in its poetic fancies, as far exalted above their crude systems of worship as the sublime teachings of Christianity soar above the doctrines of the code of Menu; and the condition of their society was as much superior as was that of the Sabines and Etruscans to the rude followers of Romulus.

To suppose, however, that the Aryans were the only invaders of Indian soil were to accredit the race with a monopoly of migratory and predatory habits. The acceptance of such a theory is forbidden by the existence of Cushite and Turanian or Scythian remains, which are found more especially in the southern half of the peninsula, where monuments that bear a close resemblance to the Druidical structures of Western Europe abound; while warlike implements and domestic utensils, corresponding with the antique remains of our own country, point to an unmistakable brotherhood. These various immigrations, however, occurred at a period anterior to the dawn of historic record; and to trace their progress is therefore impossible. In treating of the early population of Greece the great historian of that country bids us forego speculation, and contentedly accept the Hellenic aggregate as a primary fact from which to start; and in this spirit it is that we must, perforce, contemplate the primitive population of India.

In looking back, therefore, to primitive times we behold, as would be supposed, the land occupied by a scattered population of extremely rude habits, but withal one of the most ancient peoples of the earth. The tide of emigration progressing westward has already overwhelmed Greece and Italy; and now, bearing southward,

its irresistible tide passes the Indian Alps, breaks upon the Punjaub, and spreads itself over the plains of Hindustan proper. The advance of successive waves force the earlier comers southwards, who, swarming over the Vindhya chain, cover in time the Deccan, the more southern table-lands, and Ceylon. The ancient races, meanwhile, retreat before it to the more inaccessible regions of its hills and forests, much after the manner in which so many of the Celtic inhabitants of this island withdrew, before the onward pressure of the Saxon invaders, to the mountain fastnesses of the western part of our island.

The process, we repeat, is shrouded in impenetrable darkness; and the veil will probably never be uplifted therefrom. Nevertheless, its operations are confirmed not less by analogy than by the present composition of the Indian people; for, while the blood of the Aryan stock remains in the great bulk of the inhabitants, the primitive, indigenous races are represented by certain ̄alien tribes, whose condition is one of pristine rudeness. They are diminutive in stature, extremely dark, and have the high cheek-bones, small eyes, and flat noses characteristic of the Mongols; and thus they differ from the Hindus, who are tall and lithe, with handsome oval features, large eyes and eyebrows, and have a skin which, in the cooler regions, is not darker than that of the inhabitants of southern Europe. In all instances they preserve the practices of their ancestors, and cling with the most remarkable tenacity to their superstitions. They are found at the foot of the Himalayas, amid the unhealthy forests of the Terai; in the wooded country of the Ganges valley; further south in the region of Kuttack; in Central India; amid the Vindhya, Aravelli, and Satpura Mountains; further west in Guzerat; and in the tablelands of the Deccan and Mysore, and among the Neilgherries. Their various tribes, though differing in many respects, nevertheless preserve the general characteristics of kindred race, language, and habits.

Among these aboriginal tribes may be mentioned the Garrons, Lepchas, and Loshais, who dwell beneath the

shadow of the Himalayas; the Korewahs and Koles-the latter a comparatively docile race, who are found in Kuttack and Western Bengal; the Santals who, in 1855, rose in rebellion against the British government; the Khonds, inhabiting the hill-country to the west of Orissa, whose name is associated with the barbarous practice of kidnapping; the Bheels and Kholus, found in the hilldistricts of the old Mahratta country; the robber-bands known as Wagherns, living to the west of them; and many others.

The condition of early Hindu society was that of an advanced civilization. Its government took the form of an absolute monarchy. The executive powers were in the hands of a being who was supposed to be endued with divine attributes, and exercised an authority against which there was no earthly appeal. His actions, however, were limited in some degree by the influence of the Brahmins, the laws which bore the seal of divinity, and the usual dread of revolt. The Hindu sovereign appears, like all monarchs of primitive times, to have been commander-in-chief, diplomatist, chief magistrate, and manager of the national finances. These duties he was at liberty to perform by deputy; and such deputy could further delegate his powers to a third. This method was

frequently adopted.

Further, he was supposed to be an example of industry, self-denial, self-restraint, and every other virtue under the sun. The succession was generally hereditary; but the sovereign appears to have had the privilege of choosing his successor. Kingship was, however, more often than otherwise confined to the family, and the worthiest member of it was usually chosen.

His revenue was derived chiefly from the produce of the earth, of the mines, from certain imposts upon merchandise, and from other sources. The tax upon grain varied according to the character of the soil, and the amount of labour required for its cultivation.

The internal administration of the country was in the hands of civil officers appointed by the king, who were

immediately responsible to a superintendent-a man of high rank and authority-one of whom resided in every large town or city. The land was, for convenience, divided into military districts, each under a duly appointed resident officer of tried qualifications. The rules of warfare, as drawn up by the Brahmins, were exceedingly crude and impracticable, and quite unworthy of the high degree of civilization and general intelligence to which this people had attained. This much may, however, be said of them, that they enjoined a regard for humanity which would put to the blush the boasted civilization and progress of the nineteenth century. Every means were adopted to mitigate the horrors of the battle-field, and to relieve a conquered people from the usual consequences of defeat.

The vast majority of the Hindu people belong to the religion known as Brahaminism or Hinduism-its votaries numbering some 150 millions of souls. The doctrines of this ancient system of worship are set forth in the Vedas, the Shastras, Puranas, and other sacred books, whose possession and right of research belong exclusively to the Brahminical order. The Vedas-the Bible of the Hindus

-are written in the Sanskrit, a language held by the Hindus to belong exclusively to the gods. They are four in number, namely the "Rig-Veda," the "Yugur-Veda," the "Sama-Veda," and the "Atharva-Veda," of which the "Rig-Veda" is the most ancient. They comprise a collection of sacred poems and prayers, with which legends, religious rites, philosophical reasoning, and moral teaching, are largely mingled. The sacred books, which are supposed to have been compiled so early as the fourteenth century before Christ, contain the earliest authentic record of the people who profess the creed it teaches. Its doctrines were considerably modified and improved six centuries later by the code of Menu, which affords the earliest complete picture of the state of Hindu society.

It is a remarkable, yet well-authenticated truth, that nowhere in the universe is the phenomenon presented of

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