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
All these military tribes, including the Khasiyas, descended of Brahmans
or Khatris, who are more numerous than all the others, the Rajputs,
Thapas, etc. have again had children by widows of their own cast, and by
concubines of lower tribes, and these children are also called Khasiyas,
who, although they live equally pure, and observe equally the laws of the
Brahmans, are not permitted to wear the thread of distinction; but must
toil in ignoble professions. They are considered as of so little
consequence, that, of whatever descent they may be by the male line, they
may all freely intermarry. They speak the Khas language.
The low tribes, which also speak this language, are all supposed to form
part of the colony from Chitaur; but here there is a considerable number
of a tribe called Khawas, who are slaves, and accompanied the chief as
his domestic servants, having been in slavery at Chitaur. They are
reckoned a pure tribe, and their women are not abandoned to prostitution
like the slaves of the mountain tribes called Ketis. The Khawas adhered
to the chiefs of the Chitaur family, and were employed in confidential
offices, such as stewards; while these chiefs soon indulged in the luxury
of having mountain slaves round their persons. Next in rank, in the
following order, are,
1. Nai, or barbers. A Brahman may drink their water.
2. Karmi, who build and thatch houses, and Chunra, or carpenters. These
have degraded Brahmans as instructors.
3. Kami, miners and workers in iron and copper; Sarki, tanners and
shoemakers; Damai, tailors and musicians. All these are vile, and have
no priests but of their own cast. Any Musulman or Christian, however,
who should cohabit with a Damai woman, would suffer death, and the woman
would be severely punished; but, according to the Hindu law, a female,
however low in rank, cannot for any crime be deprived of life. When any
woman has been discovered with a Musulman, the whole kingdom is thrown
into confusion. Even if she has been of the lowest cast, she may have
given water to some person of the cast immediately above her own. He may
again have given it to a higher, and thus the whole inhabitants may have
been involved in sin and disgrace. This can only be expiated by a
ceremony called Prayaschitta, in which the prince washes in the river
with great ceremony, and bestows large sums on the Brahmans, who read the
expiatory prayers proper on the occasion. The expense of an expiation of
this kind, which was performed during our stay in this country, was, by
my Brahman, estimated at two thousand rupees; but the natives alleged
that it amounted to ten times this sum.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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