THE PEOPLE
under cultivation, and they raise sufficient crops to support the whole population, including the lamas, who are a great burden to the State.
We saw no immorality. They follow certain curious customs, such as the right of the head man when girls marry, but after all, the same custom prevailed in Europe not so many years ago in the right of the Seigneur. But even this is being put a stop to by the present Tongsa. The women were open and frank in their demeanour, but with no trace of indelicacy. The men were cheery and jovial, always ready for a game at quoits, shooting at a target with arrows, jumping, &c., at the end of a day's march when we had settled into camp. They are fond of their beer, but there is no great harm in that, and small wonder they are thirsty after toiling up the hills with their loads. I have drunk many a choonga (bamboo mug) full of the mild ale myself and been none the worse for it.
Amongst the people of the East who live beyond the Pele-la the bulk of the population is not of Tibetan origin, nor do they speak Tibetan. I give a few words they use, spelt phonetically, which seem to me different to those of Tibetan derivation. Gami = fire, Nut = barley, Mai = house, Tyu = milk, Yak = hand, Tsoroshai = come here. Their origin is not clear, but they are allied to the people of the Assam Valley and to those living in the hills to the east beyond Bhutan. They are of a different type to those in the west, smaller in stature, the complexion is darker and features finer cut, and their dress is different. They also profess Buddhism, but are not so observant of its customs, nor are there so many monasteries and Lamas to be met with as in the other part of Bhutan. Sir Ugyen Wang-chuk estimates there are about 200,000 of them.
The remaining inhabitants are Paharias, the same as those in Sikhim, who are creeping along the foot hills and now form a considerable community extending the whole length of Bhutan where the outer hills join the plains of
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