An Account of The Kingdom of Nepal. Francis Hamilton

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СКАЧАТЬ of Nepal pay so very little attention to the observance of veracity, that I remain in suspense concerning this circumstance. Balabhadra was a mild attentive creature; and although he spoke of the human sacrifice with considerable glee, as being attended with copious potations of spirituous liquor, he was shocked when I asked him if two bulls made a part of the offering.

      The Karmi are bricklayers and carpenters.

      The Nau are barbers.

      Next follow three casts of nearly the same rank.

      Songat, or washermen.

      Japu, or potmakers.

      Hial, or Sial, who are cow-herds.

      Nearly of the same rank are the persons, by the Newars called Dhui, but whom the Parbatiyas call Putaul. They are the persons who carry the palanquins of the Raja, and of his family. None but Bakali Bangras will condescend to act as instructors (Gurus) for a cast so low as this is.

      All the casts yet enumerated are considered as pure, and Hindus of any rank may drink the water which they have drawn from a well; but the following casts are impure, and a person of any considerable dignity will be defiled by their touch.

      The Salim are oil-makers, and weavers of garlands, at which art the Newars are very dexterous, and there is a great demand for their work, as both sexes, of all ranks in Nepal, ornament their hair with flowers.

      The Kasulia are musicians, and have a vast variety of ear-rending instruments. The Hindu music, especially that of the martial kind, is said by the natives to be in great perfection in Nepal; and in this holy land are still to be found all the kinds that were to be found in the army of Rama.

      Still lower than these are the Kasai, who are butchers, and palanquin bearers for the vulgar. The Chhipi, or dyers, are nearly of the same rank.

      Lower again are the two following casts.

      Kow, or ironsmiths.

      Gotoo, or coppersmiths.

      Then follow two military tribes.

      Kosar, who are said originally to have been robbers.

      Tepai, who can marry, or keep as concubines any Hindu women that have lost cast by eating unclean things.

      Then follow three exceedingly low casts.

      Puria, fishermen and basketmakers.

      Bala, who remove offals and nastiness.

      Chamkal, who are dressers of leather and shoemakers.

      These casts can scarcely venture to draw near any other Hindu, but would consider themselves as much degraded, by eating, drinking, or cohabiting with a Musulman or Christian; and any of their women who should venture to commit an act of such uncleanness, would be severely punished, as would also be the infidel by whom she had been corrupted. This, however, does not prevent Hindu women of all ranks and casts from being sold as slaves to either Musulmans or Christians. A master or a parent has the power of selling his slave or child, whose consent is not asked, who thereby loses cast, and who has no alternative, but to adopt the religion of her new master. Such incongruities may astonish a person unacquainted with Hindus; and what may add to his surprise is, that, while at Kathmandu, several Hindus, of high cast, among our followers, chose to embrace the Musulman faith, and thereby subjected themselves to severe restrictions and disgrace.

      Musulmans have become pretty numerous, and are increasing, as they are zealous in purchasing girls, and in propagating their sect. Christianity has not been equally successful; and, on our arrival, we found the church reduced to an Italian Padre, and a native Portuguese, who had been inveigled from Patna by large promises, which were not made good, and who would have been happy to have been permitted to leave the country.

      These are the various casts of Newars. I shall now give an account of the customs that are common to the whole nation.

      All the Newars burn the dead; all eat buffaloes, sheep, goats, fowls, and ducks; and all drink spirituous liquors, to the use of which, indeed, they are excessively addicted. The highest of the Sivamargas kill animals with their own hands; but the higher orders of the Buddhmargs abstain from shedding blood, and from eating pork. They all live in towns or villages, and their houses are built of brick with clay mortar, and covered with tiles. These houses are three stories high, the ground floor being appropriated for the cattle and poultry, the second floor for servants, and the third for the family of the owner. This is in the houses of the wealthy. Among the poor, a number of families live under one roof. The rooms are exceeding low, as I could not stand upright in the principal apartment of what was reckoned the best house in Kathmandu, the palace excepted. At first sight, however, the houses look well, especially to a person coming from the towns of Hindustan. In Nepal, they have numerous large windows, which are shut by wooden lattices curiously carved, and which, in some measure, hang over the street, the upper end of the lattice projecting much more than the lower. Within, the houses are exceedingly mean and dirty, and swarm with vermin, which, added to all manner of filth, including the offals of the shambles, and the blood of sacrifices, that is allowed to corrupt in the streets, renders an abode in any of their towns utterly disgusting.

      The following account of the Nepalese, or rather Newar, architecture, I have taken from papers communicated by Colonel Crawford.

      The Nepalese possess a great advantage in having an excellent clay for making bricks and tiles; and their workmen are very expert. They use moulds nearly of the size and shape of our common bricks, and have also others for the bricks that are used in cornices and other ornaments. For the fronts and ornamental parts of their best houses, they make smooth glazed bricks, that are very handsome. Their bricklayers and masons are also good workmen, but labour under a great disadvantage, the want of lime. The tiles are flat, of an oblong form, and have two longitudinal grooves, one above and another below, which fit into the adjacent tiles, and the whole are put on with great neatness.

      The houses of towns are in general three stories high, though some in the cities and large towns rise to four. The lower story has no windows, and the smoke of their kitchens comes out by the door, which renders the outside, even of their houses, very black and dirty. The windows of the second story are always small and nearly square. In each, a wooden trellis, which is highly ornamented by carving, but which cannot be opened and shut, admits the air and light, but prevents strangers from seeing into the apartment. The third or upper story has large windows, extending a great part of the length of each sitting apartment. Most of these windows have in front a wooden balcony composed of lattice work, in general much carved. This slopes outwards from a bench that is a little elevated from the floor, and joins the edge of the roof, which projects considerably beyond the wall. The bench is the favourite seat of the people, who, from thence, command a view of the street. The rooms are always narrow, the difficulty of carrying large timber from the mountains, per-venting them from procuring beams of sufficient dimensions. The beams, which can be usually procured, are fir of about six inches square. These are placed at about a foot distant from each other, and their ends project beyond the walls, so that from the street you can tell the number of beams in each house. The larger houses are square, with an open court in the centre.

      In the villages, the houses are built of unburnt bricks, and often also consist of three stories disposed of in the same manner as in towns; but the windows of the upper story are not provided with balconies. Those of two stories are also very common, and one of them is represented by Colonel Kirkpatrick in the plate opposite to page 160.

      The temples are of two kinds. One, constructed of solid СКАЧАТЬ