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allowed by their religion to eat fish: they are dried for home consumption, and furnish a principal article of food for the Lascars, or Indian sailors, on board their vessels; they are also a considerable article of commerce in their dried state. Turtle are sometimes caught at Bombay and the adjacent islands; as are sea cray-fish, oysters, limpets, and other shell fish.

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INHABITANTS OF BOMBAY.

CHAPTER IV.

Inhabitants of Bombay-Origin of the Hindoos-The BrahminsThe Hindoo Religion-Extracts from the Vedas-Menu's Code of Laws-Brama, or the Supreme Deity-Devotion of the Hindoos-Fakeers, or Yogees-Religious Devotee-Life of the Brahmins-Candalahs, or Pariars-Dress of the Hindoo Tribes -Hindoo Women-Education-Early Marriages-Burning the Dead-Astrology and Augury-Rebekah at the Well-The Palankeen-Dancing Girls-Ablutions-Hummums- Effects of Opium-Halcarras,

HAVING briefly mentioned the animal and vegetable productions of Bombay, I shall proceed to describe its inhabitants, commencing with the Hindoos, the aborigines of Hindostan. From the northern mountains of Thibet and Tartary, to the southern promontory of Cape Comorin; and from the western shores of the Indus to the eastern banks of the Ganges, extended the boundaries of the vast empire of the ancient Hindoos; a country comprising nearly as much land as half the continent of Europe, and containing about seventy millions of inhabitants.

The Persians gave it the name of Hindustan, from being the country of the Hindus, or Hindoos; but in more early ages it was called by themselves Bhárata, and sometimes Punyabhumi, or the land of virtues : a name expressive of the gentle government, and

ORIGIN OF THE HINDOOS.

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flourishing condition of a mild and happy people. The Greeks derive the name of India, which has been so generally adopted, from the Persian appellation; and in modern times, India has been used as a general name, not only for the extensive region above-mentioned, but the still more eastern tracts of country, with the island of Ceylon, and those in the oriental archipelago. Sir William Jones traces the foundation of the Indian empire above 3,800 years from the present time; the highest age of the Yajur Veda to 1,580 years before the birth of Christ, or 100 years before the birth of Moses; and the highest age of the Institutes of Menu to 1,280 years before the birth of our Saviour.

The origin of the Hindoos, like that of most other nations, buried in obscurity, and lost in fable, has baffled the researches of the ablest investigators. Megasthenes, who was sent ambassador by Seleucus, to Sandracottos, king of Practri, whose dominion now forms the fertile provinces of Bengal, Bahar, and Oude, wrote an account of his embassy, which Arrian has preserved in his history of India; and that narrative, written two thousand years ago, when compared with the modern history of the Hindoos, convinces us how little change they have undergone in that long period: nor have the conquests and cruelties of their Mahomedan invaders, nor their commercial intercourse with the Europeans settled among them, been able to alter the long established manners and customs, so deeply interwoven with their religious tenets.

The Hindoos are divided into four principal tribes, proceeding from Brama, the creating power, in the following manner: the Brahmin, issuing from the mouth,

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implying wisdom, to pray, to read, and to instruct; the Cshatriya, or Ketterree, proceeding from the arms, implying strength to draw the bow, to fight, and to govern; the Bhyse, coming from the belly or thighs, which implies nourishment; these must provide the necessaries of life by agriculture and commerce; and the Sooder, coming from the feet, which means subjection; these are born to labour and to serve: and these chief tribes, or castles, are distinguished as the followers of Vishnoo, and Seeva; called Vishnoo-bukht, and Seeva-bukht.

The Brahmins study religion, astronomy, arts and sciences: they are the instructors of youth, take care of the dewals, or temples, and perform every kind of charity. The Cshatriya tribe includes kings, nobles, magistrates, officers, and the superior orders of mankind. The Vursya, or Bhyse, are employed in commerce, agriculture, arms, and the occupation of shepherds and herdsmen. The Sudra, or Sooder, consists of manufacturers, mechanics, servants, and all the lower classes of society. Each of these principal tribes is subdivided into a number of classes, or castes, amounting in all to eighty-four; who neither intermarry, nor intimately associate with each other. So that each caste differs in features, dress, and appearance, as much as if they were of different nations; and by laws most strictly observed, they are separated from each other by insurmountable barriers.

The Brahmins are in all respects the first caste among the Hindoos, and by the laws are entitled to very extraordinary privileges; especially in cases of delinquency: no other tribe is admitted to the priesthood; to them are all the mysteries of their religion and sacred knowledge confined: they alone understand the

THE HINDOO RELIGION.

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language of the Shastah, or Shastras, those holy volumes which contain the religion and philosophy of the Hindoos; which are divided into four Bedes, or Vedas, a word signifying science. They contain one hundred thousand stanzas of four lines each; treating of divination, astronomy, natural philosophy, the creation of the world, religious ceremonies, prayers, morality, and piety; including hymns in praise of the Supreme Being, and in honour of subaltern intelligence. These books the Brahmins esteem so sacred, that they permit no other castes to read them; and they are written in the Sanscrita language, which is now understood by very few except the Brahmins, and not by all of them: for although there can be no Hindoo priest that is not a Brahmin, yet it by no means implies that all of the Brahmin tribe are priests: on the contrary, they are employed in the political and revenue departments, and appear in various public characters under the governments in India; the great and powerful Mahratta empire is at this day ruled by a Brahmin sovereign, with the title of Peshwa: others throughout the vast peninsula, pursue a variety of employments in the agricultural and commercial lines, and some even cultivate their own lands.

The Hindoo religion admits of no proselytes; and is therefore a principal means of preserving the castes pure and distinct: neither have the Mahomedan conquests and oppressions, nor the intercourse of Europeans with the Hindoos, been able to subvert a system of theology and jurisprudence, founded on a firm basis, and interdicted from all change by the most rigid laws.

This religious and moral system is no doubt of great antiquity; but those who have deeply investigated the

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