An Account of The Kingdom of Nepal: And of the Territories Annexed to this Dominion by the House of Gorkha — John Shaqi
An Account of The Kingdom of Nepal: And of the Territories Annexed to this Dominion by the House of GorkhaHamilton, Francis
History
An Account of The Kingdom of Nepal: And of the Territories Annexed to this Dominion by the House of Gorkha
Hamilton, Francis
Nepal -- Description and travel; Nepal -- History
The character in which this language is written is evidently derived from
the Nagri, and may be found in Colonel Kirkpatrick’s Account of Nepaul,
opposite to page 220; and in the twenty-eight following pages may be seen
a short vocabulary.
East from the Kali, the Brahmans, who are of pure birth, are only few in
number, there being no means for their subsistence, as they confine
themselves mostly to the duties of the sacred order. They are of the
Kanoj nation, and the sect of the Saktis, following chiefly the doctrine
of the books called Tantras. Where the chiefs who pretend to have come
from Chitaur settled, many of them were men of great learning. In other
parts, very few have made any sort of progress in grammar, law, or
philosophy; but they are considered as profound astrologers. Although
very few have taken service either from men or in temples, they
contaminate themselves by uncommon liberties in the gratification of
their appetites. They are divided into three ranks that do not
intermarry. The highest are called Jayurbedi, from the sacred book which
they profess to follow, and they assume the title of Upadhyaya. These
are the instructors (Gurus) and priests (Purohits) for Brahmans and
Rajputs, and eat goats, sheep, and some kinds of wild fowl, but abstain
from venison. The two lower orders are called Kamiya and Purubi, and act
as instructors and priests for the lower orders. These not only eat the
same animals as those of the highest rank, but many of them rear fowls
and swine for their tables.
The sixteen principal festivals observed by the mountain Hindus have been
described by Colonel Kirkpatrick, {17} nor have I any additional
information to offer.
All the Brahmans may keep widows of their own class as concubines, and
the spurious offspring of such connections are called Jausis. These,
having betaken themselves to agriculture and commerce, have become
exceedingly numerous, and are reduced to perform every kind of drudgery.
Among the poor people whom I observed coming to the markets in the
Gorakhpur district, loaded with goods even from the distant hills of
Malebum, at least a half stated themselves to be of this class. These,
although of illegitimate extraction, are not called Khas; but, until the
present dynasty seized on the government, were considered as entitled to
all the immunities and privileges of the sacred order, as were also the
children of Brahmans by widows of their own rank.
The descendants of Brahmans by women of the lower tribes, although
admitted to be Khas, or impure, are called Kshatris or Khatris, which
terms are considered as perfectly synonymous, and have now formed two
tribes, Pauriyal and Sili; but some proper Khatris, called Dewkotas and
Lahauriyas, from Bareli and Lahaur, have settled in the country, and
intermarry with the Pauriyal and Sili, all of whom wear the thread, and
are considered as belonging to the military tribes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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