which in these countries is synonymous with Xatriyas or
people of the military class.
To one or the other of thêsèe three races Hamilton supposes
that all the tribes of Khasiyas belong, who inhabit ’the
mountainous countries to the westward of. the Kali. They
will be enumerated in the following section;
4. The more fertile part of Nepâl Proper was occupied
by the Newars,'a superior tribe, and more intelligent : «they
are still Buddhists, except a few who worship Siva without1
changing their manners or submitting to the Brahmans?
till conquered by the Rajah of Gorkha they had a' chief of
their own.
The Newars are the proper inhabitants ©fi> Nepâl. There
are among them many classes who have different superstitions
and customs, and form castes ©f-different habits dùd
professions, though not according to Ilind&ism. They live
in towns or villages ; they burn their dead and SSi animals
of various kinds, and have many- singular customs, which
have been fully described by Dr. Hamilton. The^Newars
consider themselves to be the aboriginal peopled) f 'the
country which they now inhabit. There is some*«diversity
in their features. “ Some have high features/’ that is,: not
flat Chinese features, “ large eyes
formed, faces.” But generally theNewars have, as G^Mnèl
Kirkpatrick described them, the physiognomy of thè$G|hinese
or Indo-Chinese race.* “ They are of armiddle sizë,-with
broad shoulders and chests, very stout limbs, ^ound and
rather flat faces, small eyes, low and somewhat spreading
noses.” Dr. Hamilton has observed, that this is a very
precise description of the Chinese countenanceri
5. The Murmis are a ruder tribe, who occupy the more
mountainous parts of Nepâl. They resemble the Bhotiyahs
or Tibetans, and by the Gorkhalese, who hate the followers
*“ Les Newars sont généralement d’âne taille moyenne; ils ont la poitrine et
les épaules très larges, le visage rond ou plutôt plat, de petits yeux, le nez
gros, e t une physionomie ouverte e t enjouée. Chez quelques femmes de
Bhatgan, on rémarque même une teint vermeille, mais la plupart d’entre elles
quoique d’une constitution aussi robuste que celle des hommes, sont ordinairement
d’une couleur qui est entre le jaune-gris, et le brun de cuivre.”—Malte-
Brun, Ann. des Voy., torn. 17.—Vide Kirkpatrick.
t Hamilton, p. 51 ;
of the'Lamas, are Bhotiyahs, or Bhotiyahs who
eabbarrion. > Dr.,,Hamilton supposes their language to be
near%|;relatedifo th e, Nevtarl...
18. Kicb|ks, live to the eastward of Nepal
Proper : they^are a iitt^fewarlike, and enterprising people,
still attacli^5t^i^ie. superstitiftirswof the Lamas, whose customs
they. £pe hardlyinducedfto layiaside.
7. The ^imb^^pe^r^f^^theKerats and.tosemb‘t e ^ em>
but are said to differ, in. language ^
Mi. Thp^Lapchas li^ji^fehpr^eastward mpafi the Teeafa
feiver, marked as thelbounljary q^Bhutaru; They,are,vigor-
ous barbarjarisi?par*tj$^pfldw^&cifj the Lamas,-and .resemble
the Kirats in manners;;*;,
jd . i; The Bhotiyahs are,the ppom^ff Bhutan an%Bkewise of
Pihet.* The, Hindoos call hy one namp^and
•the countrie|^nhabited ?by them are- termed generally
Bhutan or Bitot. . .Tibp| and1 Bhfitan are inhabited by
kindred-tril^< of people^,^o_ each ^o^hpr^in
Ifeaisures* cbmpJeponV language, and manners. g|
Akhbhg|§ffthi^ifferent .aboriginal mountain trife^.are
|said- to,.ha^-e,differentilangg^j^j^is very probable^that if
i%eir > idiomswere examined priticall^th^ difference, would
tornkpit ..to^bp .merely that of{dial#c|, It appears, from, a
memoir by Mr. Hod|gpp4$^re cited, that thi§ip-^e &case
with the .Newarl,. the dialect of Proper,.Nepal, which,Js
proved by a .„comparative (^cah.ulary1to,ha’^p much in common
with that of B h o t,or.Tibet.and Bhutan. A great proportion
of the words are indeed different in the Tibetau
'and Newarl lists, but the coinciding or-resemblingones are of
such a kind as to denote a family relation between.the tribes.
The' Newarl being, the poorer, dialect lias .borrowed more
from the Sanskrit. Many words of the ’sfinplest kind,
among“ which. are the first, of the numerals, resemble'so O nearly as to lead to this conclusion.. v The,alphabets used by
the Newars and Bhotiyahs are drived from the Devana-
g a ri: these letters are in general use, and the art of printing
being known, books on the religion of Buddha are
found in the hands of the meanest Bhotiyahs.*
* I t is a remarkable fact that the art of printing and that of reading have
been for ages so extensively diffused in Tibet and China.£ “ This example,” says