Among the Himalayas by L. A.

Waddell
Review by: W. Crooke
The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 28, No. 3/4
(1899), pp. 335-336
Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
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 Beviewsand Miscellanea.
Anthropological 3.35

which race belonged originallythe languages now known as Finnish and Ugrian, in
otherwords-Did the short-beadedmen impose theirtongateon the long-headedmen,
or viceversa?-no distinctanswercan be given; but Mr. Abercrombysuggeststhat it
is possible to believe that " the original congeries of human beings from which by
hypothesissprangthe united Finno-Ugriansor the united Finns alone, was not com-
posed of a homogeneouscranial type."
We have then the social developmentofthe race traced fromthe neolithicperiod
down to historical times. It is quite impossible to sQmmarisethe great mass of
valuable anthropologicaland folk-loreinformationwhich has thus been collectedand
arranged. We may speciallyrefer to the accou-ntof the tribal gods, the systemof
exogamy,the mutual aversionbetweenthe relativesof husband and wife,theinfluence
of namingand the pantheonof thepowers of Nature to whichtheirworshipis directed.
To the studentoffolk-lorethe second volumewill be of unusual interest,supplying,as
it does, a numberof curiouisspells and incantationsmuchin the style of the old Hindu
Atbarva Veda. We have spells to indace and removeall mannerof disease, to aid the
work of the hunter,farmerand housewife,and a large collectionof quaint traditional
accounts which explain the originof fire,the metals,and so on. Throughout we find
importantanalogies to the more importantcycles of mythologyand folk-lore. Mr.
Abercrombydeserves the gratitude of all studentsof the subject for his laborious
collationand arrangementof a great mass of scatteredinformation on the cultureand
beliefs of a people whomrecenteventshave made specially interestingto us.
W. CROOKE.

AMONG THE HIMALAYAS. By Major L. A. Waddell. Westminster: Archibald Con-

stable, 1899.
This book, whichmay be regardedas a supplementto Major Waddell's valuable
account of the Buddhism of Tibet, contains a lively record of a series of excursions
made by him in a region of which we have little definiteinformation. It is not a
systematic treatise on the geographyor ethnologyof the great range forming
the northernboundary of our Indian Empire, but it is brightlywritten,and inci-
dentallyrecordsmanyinterestingnoticesof the customs and beliefs held by a very
primitivepeople. Thus, we have a fairlycomplete account of the Lepchas: among
them if the lady take a basket of eggs fromher lover it is equivalentto the acceptance
of a proposal of marriage: they show obvious traces of the matriarchate,have usually
only one wife,and thereis no ceremonialmarriage. They had no true conceptionof
private propertyuntil theylearned the idea from contact with Benigal traders. The
husband who wishes to divorce his wife pays her a small sunmof money,varying
according to the length of time they have been married: the wife, if she desire a
separation,gives a fixed sum of money and one suit of clothes. He discusses the
question of polyandryat some length. It is of the fraternaltype,and is partlyan
arrangemernt to protectthe joint familywhile the head is away for weeks herdingthe
cattle, and partly a device to keep the common property within the family in a
countrywhich cannot supporta large population. If the eldest brothermarries,his
wife is commonto him and all the youngerbrothers: if the second marries,it is only
those junior to him who share her favours. But the case of the present queen of
Sikkhim is an exceptionto the rule: she was originally married to the youngerhalf-
brotherof the presentking, now she is joint wifeof both. Polyandry,ofcourse,gives
rise to a puzzling varietyof relationships: usually the childrenicall the eldest of tlhe
conjointbrothers" father,"

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336 Reviewsand Miscellanea.
Anthropological

Amongotherrecordsof customwe maynotethatof the bloodsacrifice in oath

taking,two bull yaksareslain,and the partiesto the oath dip theirhandsin the
blood: theTibetanformofsalutation is to pressforward the rightear and put out
thetongue:whena Nepalesereturns froma foreign landhe is obligedto drinkwater
withan official as a sortofreinitiationintocaste: in onecasetheskullsof somegirls
whoperished fromstarvation weremadeintodrumsforsummoning the devils. The
Lama,wearetold,has curlyhair,whichis remarkable in viewof thepopularrepre-
sentationoftheBuddha,whichdoesnotagreewithanydefinite Indiantype.
Amongfolk-lore references we have the case of the Mount Tendong,which
miraculously elongated itselfto savethepeoplefromthegreatflood:hot springsare
the abode of devilswhichcause diseaseif theyare not conciliated:the common
marmot ifill-treated bringsstorms:frogsare worshipped to causerain: a holywhite
bullyakappearsandbringsprosperity to a valley: theSpectreof theBrockenis an
omenofgoodluck,butthebeholdermustmutterprayersand spells: thelake spirit
appearsas a furious bullyakoras an alluringsiren.
We trustthatthisbookis theforerunner ofa largermonograph onthegeography
andethnology ofa mostinteresting region.
W. CROOxE.

HINDU MANNERS,CUSTOMS AND CEREMONIES. By the Abbe J. A. Dubois. Translated

and edited by H. K. Beauchamp. 2nd Edition. Oxford: ClarendonPress, 1899.
The account of the mannersand customsof the Hindus of SouthernIndia by the
Abbe Dubois ham long been recognised as one of the classical authoritieson the
religions of India. It was first published under the auspices of the East India
Company in 1817, and has been more than once reprintedin later years. Unfor-
tunatelythe standardeditiondid not include the last additionsand correctionsmade
by the revered author. The original MS. has now been discovered at Madras and
has been re-translatedand edited with excellent taste and aln adequate display of
learningby Mr. Beauchamp. The Abbe's work represents,of course,the earlierstage
of inquiryinto Hinduism,coeval with the writingsof Sir W. Jones and the establish-
mentof the Asiatic Society of Bengal. At that time little was knownof the original
Sanskritauthorities,and the Abbe's inquirieswere confinedto Southern India, where
Hinduism is largely impregnatedwith Dravidian beliefs,and appears in a very
different formfromthe versionof the faith as expounded by the Pandits of Mathura
and Benares. But the writer,who lived for many years as a native among the
natives,was in a peculiarly favourable position for acquiring a knowledgeof their
beliefsand practices,and if,as a missionary,he took a moregloomyview of Hinduism
than that of later and less prejudiced scholars,this is onlywhat might have been
expected. With these obvious limitationsthe book is valuable and interesting. In
manyways it resemblesWard's account of the Hindus of Bengal, and both are useful
as descriptionsby practical observersof the institutionsof Hinduism beforeit came
under the iufluenceof Christianity. Mr. Beauchamp might have done more in
referringto the later literatureof the subject as containedin the Sacred Books of the
East and miodernstudiesof popular Hinduism: but his notes are useful as correcting
manyof the Abbe's misconceptions. We trustthat the ClarendonPress will continue
their usefultask of renderingthe classical accounts of Hinduism more accessibleto
modernstudenlts.
W. (JROOKE,

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