country of considerable extent, situated to the eastward of
the Bengal district of Silhet. The Cachari are a numerous
tribe who are scattered over many neighbouring countries,
though their name is usually limited to the state of Cachar’
of which the'ehief has been converted by the Brahmans, and
stiles himself a rajah and a Xatriya of the Suryabansi, or
Offspring of the Sun.*
The Cachari are a people in features resembling the
Chinese; their complexion is lighter than that of the Ben-'
galese; their language is monosyllabic, but is said to be
quite different from that of the Manipurs. A vocabulary of
this idiom was deposited by Dr. F. B. Hamilton in the
library of the East India Company. It is said to: have
some affinity to certain provincial dialects of. the Chinese;1
but this requires elucidation. According to Fisher the
Cachari are very short, seldom above five feet high, of
very dark colour. This account differs from that given by
Dr. Hamilton, who says that theyare tall and fair.. * Ritter
supposes that the latter description belong» only to ?t!h§
mountaineers, and that those who are-'''short and alfinpsl?
biack are natives of the valleys.f F. Hamilton conjectures
that before the Brahmans gained them over, the impure
superstition termed Patris prevailed among them.
Of the Cossyahff.—1-The mountainous tract l^tfg between
the Garro hills on the west, and those of Cachar on the east,
termed Gentiah or Jaintiya, is inhabited-by a tribe called
Khassies or Cacis, from which the Bengalese have made
Cossyahs. According to Dr. Scott they call themselves
Khyi. They are said by him to be a fine race of men,
and an independent people. They are muscular and
active. He adds that the Cossyahs are distinguished
from their neighbours, as from the Garros, Cachari and
others, who speak different dialects of a language once
widely spread and have features approaching the Chinese;
The Cossyahs want these characters, and in particular
the oblique position of the eye-lids. Yet other writers
* W. Hamilton’s Description of India, yol, 2.
t Bitter’s Asien, iv, s, 380. \
suppose them to be a tribe of the same family, and describe
them of shorter stature than the former, but yet taller than
the Cachari. Their, monosyllabic speech contains many
words resembling. th^fihinUseiif^’
. According to a latej#count the Cossyahs are a fine race
of peopfei superior to^many other Asiatics. They resemble
the Malays a good deal in appearance, but are of a stouter
make. They are good-natured and cheerful, and are employed
from infancy in* carrying burdens from the plains;
the women are even stouter in proportion than the men.f
Peopte.of Manipur or-Ca^say^-—ThevCassays are natives of
Man ip dr ;. the^r.esemble the Hindoosdh personal character
and-manUersamoreJhan the dndo-jChhiesefixations. By the
Bengalese, they are called ,Maggalosh$ They areucivilised
industrious, people,1 and^resemble the Hindoos'$1® manners,
and religions
2.T^-Ofi.the Miras* Abors, Mishmis, Kangtis, Bor-Kangtis,
-^,^igpho,s, Muamarias, and Nagas orKukis.
Thq* territory o f Assam is^separated 'from th e I empires, o f
China and A ; a narrow but^ong tdra c t o f mountainous
country .containing the.sources,<of theigreatest;ri-versTwhich
traverse the IndQ^hinpse Peninsula. «- From this mountains
ous range desoendtbe. Yangjtsi-kiang,,|-he5 river -of Nanking ,
and the gj;eat streams o f the Ca?nb®ja, Ira^adi, and Saluaen,-
and the rivers o f Ava and o f Assam. I t ^appears, de’stined
to th e g r e a t high-way-of in te $ e o u r^ between the nations
of.JJitra-Gangetic Asia. This, beautifuljjepuntry, says Mr.
M ’Cosh, though thinly;.peopled % straggling -hprdes^of
slowly-’prpcreating barbarians, and allowed to lie jeo v e r ed
with primeval forests or run tQ .waste* with luxuriance, o f
vegetation, has a ll the qualities fitted,-to yender it one o f
th e fin e s tsin the yrorld. Its c lim a te ,is cold, healthy, and
congenial to European constitutionsdtp^num erpus crystal
streams abound in . masses and dust o f g o ld ; its mountains
* Ritter, s. 390.
f Account of the Cossyahs.—Geographical Journal, vol. 2: ,