Bhfitan by Mr. Hamilton, may;*bi&-considered Ss applying
to the Bhotiyahs in ■> general.
“ In person thei féeble-bodied; meek-Spiritednatives of
Bengal; are remarkably unlike their• active'and* herculean
neighbours, the mountaineers of Bhhtan, many of whom
are six. feet in height; a strong resemblance in features
pervades the whole Bhotiyah race, who, though of a dark
complexion, are more ruddy and robust than the Bengalese,
and havé broader faces and high cheek-bones. They^are'
greatly affected with glandular swellings in the throat";
One person in six labours under this complaint, which spares
the natives of Bengal. The Bhotiyahs have^black^hair,
whieh they c u t. close to the head. Theirieyé^is a^very
remarkable feature, being small and blaak,- with long
pointed corners, as if stretched and extended artificially.
Their eyWashes are so thin as to be scaE'cefy'pe^èpitillle!,
and the eye-brow is but slightly shaded. Below^the' feye-
is the broadest part of the face^-which;is rather- flat and
narrows from the cheek-bones to the chin, a character
prevalent among the Chinese*. The skins of the Bhutaniers
is smooth. Most of them arrive at a very advanced age
before they have the rudiments>of a beard. > Th eir whiskers
are.of a very scanty growth.*
2.—The Aboriginal Tribes to the eastward of the Kali River,
who divide the high country between tHeiri;," are* thus
enumerated by Dr. Hamilton.^
1. Magars. 4. Newars. ^ - 7. Limbus.
- 2. .Gurungs. 5. Murmis. — 8. Lapchas.:
3. Jariyas. 6. Kerats. 9. Bhotiyahs.
1. The Magars occupied a great part pf the lower hills
in the western parts of the country beyond the Kali; they
submitted tp the Rajput chiefs of the mountain Hindoos,
and are now instructed by Brahmans and follow some of
the Hindu rules. Formerly they had priests of their own
tribe and worshipped, chiefly ghosts. These priests were
called Damis. They were then divided into twelve thums
* W. Hamilton’s Description of Hindustan, vol. 2. page 731.
1 Page 25; $
or clans, Considered as fraternities. This name is conjectured?
by RMfér to'be connected with that of the Dorns
in Kumaon. The Magar language is peculiar, and unconnected
with the Parbatiya and the Sanskrit. Dr. Hamilton
considered it as wCll established that the Gorkha conquerors
CfifN:ep&l-weiS|lM%dality Magars, though they pretended to
be of Indian and genuine Xatriya origin. The language
of the Gorkhas was the Parbatiya.*
Mr. Frasér described “ the Ghoorkhas,” meaning the
Gorkha soldiery, who are, according to Hamilton, principally
Magars. Ho says - that “ the Ghoorkhas and the
people of 'ine ^neighbouring states ;tit$v‘e nearly the Malay
or'Chinese physiognomy.’? u He adds, that the features of
the people in various parts of the hills differ, though often
belonging to the Tartar or Chinese type and but little to
that pfNlte Hindoos .“f
The' Gurungs*. settled near the Magars, lead, like them,
a'pastoral life, but wander further ; they feed their flocks
in summer in the alpine region and return to! the valleys
Th wÉÉerü There are several tribes of Gurungs : Hamilton
say&^thak“ all the Gurungs require a cold climate, and
live much intermixed with the Bhotiyahs on both sides of
the snow-crowned peaks of Emodus “ and in the narrow
valleys interposed/’ They cultivate the ground with the
hoe and are diligent miners and traders. They adhere to
their old religion, that of the Lamas, none having been
admitted to the dignity of * Khasiya, that is reckoned to
belong to the Khatri, or the military tribe, as it exists in
the Khas country. The Ghartis however, one of the Khasiya
tribes above-mentioned, are supposed by Hamilton to be
a section of this race who have become Hindoos.
3.—The Jariyas were a numerous tribe who occupied
great part of the lower hilly region between the Kali river
and Nephl Proper, south from the Gurungs and intermixed
with the Magars. The Malebum family was of this tribe.
They have nearly all obtained the rank of Khas or KhasiyaS,
3 Hodgson, ubi supra.
2 A
t Fraser’s Journey to the Himalaya.
VOL.IV.