Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 3 of 7Thurston, Edgar
History
Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 3 of 7
Thurston, Edgar
Caste -- India, South; Ethnology -- India, South; India, South -- Social life and customs; Tribes -- India, South
places, he very frequently carries a bow and arrows, the former made
of bent bamboo, the string of a long strip of bark, and the handle
ornamented with stripes of the white quills of the peacock.]
"The Khonds are very keen in the pursuit of game, for which the hot
weather is the appointed time, and, during this period, a sambar or
'bison' has but little chance of escape if once wounded by an arrow,
as they stick to the trail like sleuth hounds, and appear insensible
to distance or fatigue. The arms they carry are the bow, arrows,
and tangi, a species of light battle-axe that inflicts a serious
wound. The women are not addicted to drink, but the males are
universally attached to liquor, especially during the hot weather,
when the sago palm (solopo: Caryota urens) is in full flow. They
often run up sheds in the jungle, near especially good trees, and
drink for days together. A great many deaths occur at this season
by falls from trees when tapping the liquor. Feasts and sacrifices
are occasions for drinking to excess, and the latter especially
are often scenes of wild intoxication, the liquor used being either
mohwa, or a species of strong beer brewed from rice or koeri. Khond
women, when once married, appear to keep pretty straight, but there
is a good deal of quiet immorality among the young men and girls,
especially during the commencement of the hot weather, when parties
are made up for fishing or the collection of mohwa fruit and other
jungle berries. At the same time, a certain sense of shame exists,
as instances are not at all uncommon of double suicide, when a pair
of too ardent lovers are blown upon, and their liaison is discovered.
"The generality of Khond and Pâno houses are constructed of broad sâl
logs hewn out with the axe, and thatched with jungle grass, which is
impervious to white-ants. In bamboo jungles, bamboo is substituted
for sâl. The Khond houses are substantially built but very low, the
pitch of the roof never exceeding 8 feet, and the eaves being only
about 4 feet from the ground, the object being to ensure resistance
to the violent storms that prevail during the monsoons.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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