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
Musikot was the residence of the chief of this name, who had a
brick-house on a hill close to the Barigar river, and, unlike the other
chiefs of his race, rejected the pure doctrines of the Brahmans. The
house of the chief was surrounded by 400 houses of his subjects, mostly
thatched. He had no possessions on the plain, and his whole territory
might contain 3000 houses, of which 5-16ths were occupied by Rajputs,
1-16th by Brahmans, mostly of spurious birth, (Jausis,) 4-16ths by
Khasiyas, and 6-16ths by impure cultivators and tradesmen. Most of the
Rajputs were of the Raja’s family, a circumstance uncommon on the hills,
where the governing families seem seldom to have propagated to nearly
such an extent, and were often rather weak. The Raja’s share of the
landed revenue was estimated at 2000 rupees a-year. There was no great
mart, but near the Barigar there is a mine of copper. The great crop
here, also, is winter rice. When Damodar Pangre seized the country, the
chief and many of his family went to Kathmandu, where a great part has
obtained service.
Isma, the last chief of this family, resided at a fortress of the same
name, situated on a lofty hill, of very difficult access, three coses in
ascent. Horses could not ascend more than half way, where there were
about 250 houses. Round the castle, on the summit, were 50 or 60. These
houses are thatched huts, with walls of stone or planks. On the hill are
several springs of water. The Raja had no possessions on the plain, and
his subjects might amount to 2500 houses, from whom his share of the rent
might amount to 2000 rupees. One half of his subjects were Khasiyas,
1-8th pure Brahmans, (Upadhyayas,) 1-16th bastard Brahmans, (Jausis,)
1-16th Rajputs, and 1-4th low cultivators and tradesmen. The country
contained neither mines nor marts. It must, however, be observed, that
both in this country and in Musikot, Corundum (Kusan) is found in
detached masses, either on the surface or mixed with the soil. Some of
it is bluish like lead, and some is of a copper colour. The pieces
seldom exceed 4lbs. or 5 lbs. in weight. It affords no revenue. The
chiefs of this family waged a constant war with their kinsman of Musikot,
and the twenty-third or twenty-fourth of them married a daughter of
Makunda Sen of Palpa, so that Mahadatta leagued with the chief of Gorkha
to destroy his nephew.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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