Specimens of languages of India, including those of the aboriginial tribes of Bengal, the Central provinces, and the eastern frontier

SPECIMENS LANGUAGES OF INDI iaC!LUX)I.'iC(«^taiSP'«»'lv-f^^^ ABORIGINAL TRIBES" OF BENGAL CENTRAL PROVINCES, AND THE EASTERN FRONTIER. PRINTED AT I'HE BENGAL SECEETAlJEVr PHESti .87LCORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRYWILLIAMS SAGELibraryCornell University 18741502.A1PK ofSpecimens lang"XHiiiiiHiiMiiiiiiiiilim 799 »".««20630233 1924CornellUniversity II Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023063799SPECIMENS LANGUAGES OF INDIA, INCLUDING THOSE OF THH ABORIGINAL TRIBES OF BENGAL, PROVINCES, AND THE EASTERN FRONTIER.CENTRAL AT THE BENGAL SECRETARIATPRINTED PRESS. 1874.; SPECIMENS OF LANGUAGES OF INDIA, IMClUDIHCf THOSE OP THE ABORIGINAL TRIBES OF BENGAL, CENTRAL PROVmCES, AND THE EASTERN FRONTIER. For language-specimens, indebted to thethis collection of I am chiefly officers now serving under and to those whom formerly engaged in suchme, I work when I administered the Central Provinces. I have also obtained, for the purposes of comparison, specimens ofthe principal languages of other provinces, withfor which I am indebted to the kindness of friends and fellow-workmen India. haswhom I have served in different parts of The Hon'ble R. Egerton procured me a most interesting and important collection of Punjabfor languages preparedby Messrs. Udney, Gladstone, Tucker, Hawkins, and others and to the Hon'ble R. Dalyell I am indebted for a collection of the civilised Dravidian languages of Southern India. The Hon'ble A. Eden, Chief Burmah, hasCommissioner of British been good enough to procure for me country. Theseveral of the languages of that Political Agents in Khelat and Cashmere, Major Harrison and Mr. LePoer Wynne, have favoured me with the languages of those localities. The'Mahratta and Guzratee specimens have been to whom my best thanks areprocured by Mr. Redder, c.s., due. Collected as these specimens chiefly have been byworking officers,burdened many duties, and without any prescribed system of transliterationwith or is probable that most ofthem cannot pretend to scientificspelling, it accuracy ; make up for this by the number and variety ofbut I have sought to specimens which the various dialects maythe less known languages, by be comparedof checked and ascertained. It has also been impossible-and the forms may be to passing through the press. My hope is thatthem critically in theexamine amplematerials thus affordedwill afford scope forthe work of theabundant raw that from the materials thus available,philologist, I trust muchscientific be educed by competent handsinformation and order may into whicb language-specimens may find their way.these— 2( ) Meantime, believe muchI that already, from a mere rough comparison, practical work in regard to the classification of people and tribes has been done, and may be done, andeven without scientific philology. The words phrases have been selected with alreadya view to test radical afiinities, and evident than hasaflBnities may be traced, and the tribes may be classified better heretofore been possible. This in fact, the primary object ofwas, and official undertaking the work, and the justification of all the labour which it has involved. The many officers who have undertaken that labour so zealously and so well, may, then, be assured that from a practical aswell as from a philological point of view their work is not without fruit. tender to them my veryI best thanks. especially distinguish amongIn these provinces I may manygood workers, as having taken a large share in this compilation Colonel Dalton, Commissioner of the Chota Nagpore territories. Hopkinson, Commissioner of Assam.,, Metcalfe, Commissioner of Cooch Behar.Mr.Ravenshaw, of Orissa.,, Edgar, Deputy Commissioner of Darjeeling. ,, Major Clarke, Deputy of Luckimpore. Lieutenant Trotter, Superintendent of Police, Durrung. Captain Lewin, Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong Hill Tracts. Butler, Political Agent, Naga Hills.„ Mr. Power, c.s.. Agent, Hill Tipperah. HaUiday, Magistrate of Tirhoot. ,, '^ Alexander, Magistrate of Shahabad.„ Colonel Lamb, Deputy Commissioner of Kamroop. Bivar, of Khasi„ Hills. Rowlatt, Deputy Commissioner of,, Manbhum. Revd. S. Endle. L. Skrefsend.,, A. Whitley.„ not purpose to attemptI do here any comparisons of the languages I have neither the time norshown. the ability to do so. Fortunately the language-specimens were obtained before famine came upon us, and now the printing is completed, I issue themthat with the briefest possible I will only mention one or two salientnote. features in the classification Aryan tribesthe non- of these territories,of which the specimens render self-evident.3.( ) It is very clear that most of the aboriginal tribes the Central Provincesof and several of those of Western Bengal (including in these latter the Dangars, Oraons ofChota Nagpore, Paharies of Rajmehal, andKhonds of Orissa) are radi- cally allied to the Dravidians. Intermixed with these tribes, but speaking a language quite without affinity to the Dravidian^tongues, are the tribes which I call Kolarian, forming a minority among the aborigines of the Central Pro- vinces, but a great majority among those of Western Bengal. Throughout the western borders of Bengal, and all over the Chota Nagpore country, these andpeople are very numerous and prolific, form large, settled, and civilised communities among the best of ijer Majesty's Indian subjects. Strange as it their very fully developed language has notmay seem, I believe that yet been any other groups of whatever,found to have any affinity with except dying-out tongue, far away on the eastern side of thewith one now rapidly Mon or Talain of Pegu, with which some affinities are, IBay of Bengal, the think, apparent. make itnumbered 9 and 10 clear that all the non-AryanThe specimens Nepalesethe Darjeeling, Bhootan, and Hills are of the Thibetanlanguages of type. Bengal, Assam, andborder plains of Eastern Cachar, and the lowerIn the come on a group of tonguesthese countries, we evidently veryhills bounding another, and which show that a large number ofallied to one tribes,nearly very different conditions, over a wide extent of country, andextending, under names, are in fact closely cognate. This fact is the moredifferentknown by part ofthe population ofEasternBengal is universallybecause a largeimportant, the tribes speaking these languages. Thisbe cognate to grouprecognised to Meches of Cooch Behar the Sub-HimalayanCooches and Dooarsthecomprises and Mekirs of Assam and Cachar, the GarosCacharees of theGoalpara, theand Tipperah. Most of theTipperahs of Hill civilized Coochesand theGaro Hills, traditions acknowledge theirbut all their relationshiptheir language,have lost language regarding which there can be no doubt.speak aMeches, whoto the &c., people nearly alliedRajbunsees, Pullees, to thesename oftheUnder of the great districts ofof the population Rungporeproportionlargeform a Julpigoree, Goalpara, and parts of Assam.well as ofasDinagepore,and districts.and Mymensing Probablyin the Daccaalso foundThey are the population of North-Eastemthe main stock ofpeople formthesethen eastern hills.well as of all the lowerLower Assam, asandBengal variety of tribes whose languageshave a greatlower hills weBeyond these Garos Tipperahs &c., thoughthe Cacharees thosefrom that ofdistinctare very dialect and the(see the Looshai Khumi ofother tribesKookees andof the4( ) considerablewithoutChittagong and notBurmah, and also the Munipooree) are traces of affinity to the above. manyminvolvedGoing farther on becomethis eastern frontier, we languages, the affinities of to trace.which I cannot now attempt Assam.UpperinWe have several specimens Shan languagesof civilised affinitiesthelanguagesThe tribes to the north-east of Assam speak set ofa questionwasThereof which I know not, but of which specimens are given. mightidentical, orreallywhether the various tribes known to us as Nagas were language-specimensnot be found comprise many dissimilar tribes. Theto speak aNagasthat all theobtained from several different quarters show JynteahKhasi andlanguage substantially identical. The language of the others.all thesepeculiar one, apart fromHills is one, and a very Several dialects of this language are given. us toothers enablesThe comparison of languages of Burmah with several the languages oftrace the more or less remote connection of most of these with affinity between thethe south-eastern frontier of Bengal, and also the curious old Pegu language and the Kolarian tongues of Western Bengal. Calcutta, CAMPBELL.G. FebruaryThe 20th 1874.